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I remember almost seven years
ago quoting Revelation quite early

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on in some of my sermons here.

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And I said that it's unwise to
preach Revelation within the five

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years of coming to a new congregation.

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Well, it's now seven years,
and we're about to begin a series

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that I have been anticipating
for the past two years in coming

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to what is a glorious book in
the Bible, one that can be understood

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and should be understood,
because it is a book that presents

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to us glorious hope.

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Now, I have had interesting
conversations with some of you as

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we approach this series.

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I announced it at midweek in
May and then in the summer from the

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pulpit.

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And those conversations have
been helpful and they've been pleasant

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conversations about it.

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But of all the books of the
Bible, even more than the prophets

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of the Old Testament, the book
of Revelation courts the most controversy.

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Now, maybe controversy is a
strong word, but it is the book that

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has divided the Church in its interpretation.

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Its style is unlike any other
book in the Bible, except for some

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chapters in Daniel that appear
to have a similar structure.

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The early church fathers who
came in the centuries immediately

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after it was written down by
John saw it as written for their

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time and with certain immediacy.

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Well, as that age passed away
and the events had not happened as

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believed and the centuries
kept climbing up, it was Augustine

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in the 4000 AD that saw it
more in its wider sense of the life

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of the church until Christ returns.

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When it came to the reformers
of the 16th century, Martin Luther

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famously said, christ is
neither taught nor recognized in

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it.

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Now, who would ever have
thought I would have had a negative

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quote from Martin Luther?

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But he set Revelation along
with James, Jude and Hebrews.

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He said they were disputed
books and placed them at the end

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of his German New Testament.

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Although eight years later, he
did change his mind and Revelation

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was fully placed in the canon.

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The French reformer John
Calvin said Revelation was too obscure

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to be useful for detailed exposition.

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He feared speculative
interpreters, like those circulating

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in his day, would use it to
form radical groups and bring discord

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to what had been established
in Geneva.

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Heading into the 18th and 19th
centuries, there was a great flurry

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of activity in interpreting Revelation.

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And this continued until World
War I.

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And today we have five main
approaches to Revelation.

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Now, this is as technical as
it's going to get this evening.

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The five main approaches are
five main interpretations of how

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we understand Revelation.

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There's classical pre
millennialism, there's dispensational

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premillennialism, there's
amillennialism, there's new creation

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amillennialism and there's
post millennialism.

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Do you see the.

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At least the one thread that
works through it all, Millennialism.

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And that's not just talking
about a group of people who happened

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to be born two decades ago.

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Now, each one of us here,
whether we know it or not, have been

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influenced in our thinking on
Revelation from those who have expounded

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on these theological interpretations.

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But culture has also had a
huge part to play in how Revelation

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has been interpreted.

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Now, if you don't know what
millennialism means, this is simply

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interpreting how to view key
passages in Revelation.

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The millennial reign of
Christ, the Second Coming, the Rapture,

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the resurrection of the dead,
Tribulation, and Israel and the Church.

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Now, Revelation is not
exclusive in pointing us to end times,

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but it does contain the most information.

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And before we begin, there are
a few things that need to be said

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in approaching a series.

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First of all, I want us all to
have an honest conversation with

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ourselves regarding the Book
of Revelation.

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I had a conversation with
someone a few weeks ago, and they

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were very excited about a
series on Revelation.

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We chatted and talked about
different ideas in the book, and

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what I thought was a casual
question turned out to be deeply

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insightful.

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I simply asked, have you read
the Book of Revelation?

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To which the response came, no.

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When I asked how they learned
so much about it, because they were

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speaking very articulately
about it, they confessed that all

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their learning had been from
YouTube and American pastors.

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And in reading the Left behind
series of books, I don't think that's

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how we are to understand the
Book of Revelation.

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So let me ask you the same question.

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Have you read the Book of Revelation?

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Are you willing to read
Revelation for the text that it is?

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In my preparations for this
series, I've found this little book

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very helpful.

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It's called a Scripture Journal.

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On one side you have the
printed text, and on the other you

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have space to make your notes.

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You can circle and highlight
and everything like this.

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I phoned the Faith Mission on
Friday, and they're going to have

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about five or six of these in
stock by the end of the week.

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I do encourage you, if you
want to take Revelation seriously

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and thinking about what it
means, pick yourself up one of these.

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They're £6.25.

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I'm not on commission, as I
assure you, but I have found this

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exceptionally helpful and
would encourage you that if you do

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want to read Revelation, if
you do want to study it, then this

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is the opportunity to have
that, to circle the text, to highlight

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the text, but also to write
notes that you find helpful or questions

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that the text poses.

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But while preparing for this
series, particularly over the summer,

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I was reading some of the
Psalms and I came across this comment

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from Dan Ortland about how we
read Scripture.

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He said, the Bible is not.

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There's a spelling mistake.

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First of all, it's not a family.

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The Bible is not a set of
books of advice telling us what to

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do.

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It is mainly a book of
redemption telling us what God has

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done.

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The Bible is not commands with
stories sprinkled into it.

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It is a story with commands
sprinkled in.

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See, this is what Scripture is.

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It's one big story from
eternity to eternity.

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We just happen to be in time
at this moment.

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And what Revelation does is
fit in with the rest of Scripture

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in what God's great plan of
salvation is.

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And so this leads us secondly,
to how we will study Revelation.

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This pulpit is not a
classroom, nor is it the academy.

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And so I will preach
Revelation as I preach any book of

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the Bible from start to
finish, and it will be preached pastorally.

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I will be applying the same
techniques that I do with every other

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book of the Bible and see how
the Bible interprets, firstly, itself.

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And thirdly, if you disagree
with a bit or maybe with a lot, what

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I want us to do is not fall
out over this secondary matter of

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interpretation.

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My job is not to compare and
contrast the different interpretations.

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I respect your view because
you have been biblically convinced

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of it.

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My aim is not to change your
mind, because I can't change your

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mind.

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Only the Holy Spirit can
change you, as only the Holy Spirit

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can change me.

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Rather, I want us to agree on
what we can agree on.

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That's why this series is
entitled Glorious Hope, because that's

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what the book of Revelation
points us to.

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The conclusion of the book and
of human history is the same.

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Christ is coming back.

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Whether we think it is a
return that will happen once or twice,

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we are left with no doubt he
is coming back.

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So we're not going to fall
out, but we're going to look ever

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to Christ as the one who
guides us in his truth.

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Now we're reminded at the
outset that the book of Revelation

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has brilliance and it has
beauty, outshining any attempt to

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explain it.

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John wrote Revelation to
churches facing persecution, being

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tempted to compromise with
Roman imperial power and cave in

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to the social pressures of
pagan society.

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He calls upon these churches
to stay faithful until the end, reminding

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them that God and Christ are
sovereign over the evil that they

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face.

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And, you know, believers
should rejoice that despite persecution

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and Discrimination from
opponents, they can be assured a

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place in the heavenly city,
since they are washed clean by the

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blood of the Lamb.

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If they endure until the end,
they will enjoy God and they will

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enjoy the Lamb forever.

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Now, the book itself, we're
told, is the revelation of Jesus

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Christ given to John.

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That's what the first three
verses tell us by way of a prologue,

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an introduction to, to this revelation.

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And this sets the scene for
the whole book and not just for the

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first three chapters and the
letters to the churches.

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Because John receives the
revelation while on the island of

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Patmos, an island in the
Aegean Sea opposite Miletus, off

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the coast of modern day Turkey.

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And as we read the book, we
will see similarities in his writing

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in the Gospel and also in his letters.

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And John is on Patmos, having
been exiled by the Roman authorities

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under emperor Domitian around
AD 95.

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And John receives this
revelation of Jesus Christ by an

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angel, and he writes it down
as the Word of God.

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Now that's important for us.

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This is given to John as God's words.

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Therefore it comes to us as
the Word of God.

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So this is God's message for
the churches where he says of the

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things that must soon take place.

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Charles C. Ryrie, American
Baptist theologian, helpfully comments,

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this word shortly does not
indicate that the events described

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in this book will necessarily
occur soon, but that when they do

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begin to happen, they will
come to pass swiftly.

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Now, John also bears witness
to the testimony of Jesus Christ.

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He has been a faithful
believer and he has known the faithfulness

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of Christ as he has lived
through for him.

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And it's in verse three that
we get what this book means to us.

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Blessed is the one who reads
aloud the words of this prophecy,

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and blessed are those who hear
and who keep what is written in it,

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for the time is near.

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This verse tells us that
Revelation is for our good.

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It's not here to divide us,
trip us up, or to completely bamboozle

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us.

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God has given it so that we
may be blessed.

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And again, Charles C. Rare
comments on this.

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There are seven Beatitudes in Revelation.

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This is the first.

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John wanted the book read at
once and preferable around in the

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churches, sorry, allowed in
the churches.

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This is what this message is.

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It is for the churches that
they may hear and that they may know

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the glorious and blessed hope
that is in the Lord Jesus as they

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face troublesome days.

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Now, the purpose of this was
to see the church blessed, to see

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the church being drawn closer
to Christ.

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And verse four begins the
introduction to the seven churches

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in Asia.

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And here you have those seven
churches with Patmos there identified

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around the little white box
there in the Aegean Sea.

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But there in Asia Minor you
have the seven churches, and we'll

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look at those over the next
number of weeks.

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And John's greeting here in
Revelation 1 would fit in that of

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any of the New Testament epistles.

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He prays upon them.

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Grace and peace in the name of
the eternal God.

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The seven spirits here are the
Holy Spirit in His perfect fullness.

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We never hear of grace and
peace coming from humanity, only

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from the Trinity.

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So it would seem that as God
is referred to as him who is and

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who was and is to come, Jesus
Christ is referred to in verse 5a.

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And from Jesus Christ the
faithful witness the firstborn of

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the dead and the ruler of the
kings on earth.

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It would seem natural to
understand the seven spirits this

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way as the Holy Spirit and His
perfect fullness.

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And so John continues with a
very christological formula and his

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opening in the second half of
verse five and verse six, if you

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have the text, look at it
there, because it won't be on the

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screen for you.

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Notice what he says about Jesus.

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First of all, he says it is in
Christ that we find freedom because

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Christ frees us from our sins,
all because of his sacrifice.

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Here he is pointing us to the
Lamb, whom we'll talk about later.

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The Lamb who was slain, the
Lamb that was foretold in the Old

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Testament prophets.

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And here he is, the one whom
John affirms is the one that frees

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us from our sins because of
his sacrifice.

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Secondly, he goes on that what
he says about Jesus, it's because

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of what was achieved on the
cross and through the resurrection

241
00:15:05,500 --> 00:15:09,220
that those who trust in him by
faith are now dwellers of a different

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kingdom.

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We are called priests to his God.

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This isn't simply an idea,
this is a replacement.

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This is where they have been
moved from one place and replaced

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00:15:24,510 --> 00:15:24,990
in another.

247
00:15:25,310 --> 00:15:28,190
They have been positioned in a
different dwelling.

248
00:15:28,190 --> 00:15:31,950
Although they may still live
on earth, they have been called into

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00:15:31,950 --> 00:15:36,790
an eternal abode of which they
have a new designation, priests to

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00:15:36,790 --> 00:15:37,470
his God.

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And as John writes this to the
Church, so this is for us.

252
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We must know that we are not
people of this world.

253
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We may like the things of this
world, but they must never be our

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00:15:50,530 --> 00:15:50,930
God.

255
00:15:51,490 --> 00:15:56,370
We must never rely on them,
because we are dwellers of a different

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00:15:56,450 --> 00:15:57,090
kingdom.

257
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The now, but not yet.

258
00:16:03,890 --> 00:16:09,090
And the final thing in verses
5 and 6, John also wants to keep

259
00:16:09,090 --> 00:16:10,050
us in our place.

260
00:16:11,000 --> 00:16:15,720
And the burst at the end of
verse six is a wonderful benediction

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00:16:15,800 --> 00:16:17,480
of praise to God.

262
00:16:18,360 --> 00:16:25,160
Listen to these words where he
says to him, be glory and dominion

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00:16:25,400 --> 00:16:27,160
forever and ever.

264
00:16:27,640 --> 00:16:30,680
It's almost as if it's Paul
writing again, trying to get this

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00:16:30,680 --> 00:16:34,040
out of his heart, overflowing
of just how good God is.

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Yes, we may be dwellers of his
kingdom, but he is still the one

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00:16:37,720 --> 00:16:37,990
who.

268
00:16:38,060 --> 00:16:41,660
Who receives all the glory,
all the dominion, everything that

269
00:16:41,660 --> 00:16:43,100
is due his name.

270
00:16:43,660 --> 00:16:46,940
And so, right from the outset,
we have a Christological approach

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00:16:47,180 --> 00:16:49,180
to how we understand Revelation.

272
00:16:49,740 --> 00:16:54,259
It is firmly rooted in the
Lord Jesus as the risen Savior, as

273
00:16:54,259 --> 00:16:56,940
the Lamb that was slain and
risen and ruling.

274
00:16:57,820 --> 00:17:01,340
And so, as we move from verse
six to verse seven, we have truly

275
00:17:01,500 --> 00:17:03,500
what is the glorious hope of
this book?

276
00:17:03,500 --> 00:17:06,220
Now, I'm not suggesting that
it is the central verse of this book,

277
00:17:06,809 --> 00:17:11,409
but as we begin, I hope it
will set all of our minds on the

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purpose of the revelation of
Jesus Christ.

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00:17:14,169 --> 00:17:18,689
Verse 7 says, Behold, he is
coming with the clouds, and every

280
00:17:18,689 --> 00:17:21,689
eye will see him, even those
who pierced Him.

281
00:17:21,769 --> 00:17:26,249
And all tribes of the earth
will wail on account of Him.

282
00:17:27,049 --> 00:17:27,929
Even so.

283
00:17:28,889 --> 00:17:29,609
Amen.

284
00:17:31,129 --> 00:17:32,889
Do you see what these words
are saying?

285
00:17:34,350 --> 00:17:36,990
There will never be no missing
this event.

286
00:17:37,630 --> 00:17:40,190
The whole world will see him
when he comes.

287
00:17:41,230 --> 00:17:43,150
His coming will not be secret.

288
00:17:43,790 --> 00:17:45,310
Nancy Guthrie comments.

289
00:17:45,630 --> 00:17:49,349
But his coming will not be a
day of celebration for all who see

290
00:17:49,349 --> 00:17:49,630
him.

291
00:17:49,790 --> 00:17:52,830
For those who have rejected
him, ignored him, and refused his

292
00:17:52,830 --> 00:18:01,520
offer of grace and mercy, his
coming will be mocked.

293
00:18:01,520 --> 00:18:06,760
Him and refused to believe in
him will finally see his glory.

294
00:18:07,800 --> 00:18:13,240
And it will bring them to
their knees, weighted down by sorrow

295
00:18:13,800 --> 00:18:15,400
and regret and regret.

296
00:18:16,680 --> 00:18:19,800
This is the reality of the end
of the world in human history.

297
00:18:20,440 --> 00:18:26,240
Christ's return will be
tremendous to those who believe,

298
00:18:27,760 --> 00:18:32,320
but it will be a horrific
moment for those who have rejected

299
00:18:32,320 --> 00:18:32,640
Him.

300
00:18:33,600 --> 00:18:37,040
And revelation is about
getting us ready for that return.

301
00:18:37,760 --> 00:18:42,400
So we will be on the side of
celebration and on the side of victory.

302
00:18:43,760 --> 00:18:48,040
I'm old enough to remember
different people who made wild claims

303
00:18:48,040 --> 00:18:52,430
about dates for the coming of
Christ, and they all got it wrong.

304
00:18:52,430 --> 00:18:55,470
And if you search today, you
will find others who still proclaim

305
00:18:55,470 --> 00:18:57,230
to know when Christ will return.

306
00:18:58,270 --> 00:19:02,990
South African pastor Joshua
Mlakela claimed earlier this year

307
00:19:02,990 --> 00:19:07,870
that Jesus will return on the
23rd and 24th of September, 2025,

308
00:19:08,190 --> 00:19:11,590
citing a vision and linking it
to the Feast of Trumpets, which is

309
00:19:11,590 --> 00:19:16,270
a Jewish holiday celebrated on
the first day of the seventh Jewish

310
00:19:16,350 --> 00:19:16,750
month.

311
00:19:20,380 --> 00:19:25,540
Well, it now being the 21st,
we'll see what the next number of

312
00:19:25,540 --> 00:19:26,380
days bring.

313
00:19:28,060 --> 00:19:31,900
American Christian speaker
Kent Hovind has suggested a date

314
00:19:31,900 --> 00:19:36,140
at the same time in the Feast
of Trumpets, but this time for 2028,

315
00:19:36,220 --> 00:19:39,820
which will be between the 20th
and 22nd of September.

316
00:19:40,940 --> 00:19:42,860
So there's a date for your diary.

317
00:19:43,840 --> 00:19:47,520
Now, we may have a wry smile
at these, but these are people who

318
00:19:47,520 --> 00:19:51,040
believe what they're saying,
but they're also people who believe

319
00:19:51,120 --> 00:19:53,440
them and people who are being misled.

320
00:19:53,840 --> 00:19:55,680
Why do I say that so confidently?

321
00:19:55,680 --> 00:19:56,960
Because of what Jesus said.

322
00:19:57,440 --> 00:20:02,120
For in Matthew 24, verses 23
to 27, Jesus said, then if anyone

323
00:20:02,120 --> 00:20:05,840
says to you, look, here is the
Christ, or there he is, do not believe,

324
00:20:06,320 --> 00:20:09,360
for false Christs and false
prophets will arise and perform great

325
00:20:09,360 --> 00:20:13,400
signs and wonders so as to
lead astray, if possible, even the

326
00:20:13,400 --> 00:20:13,960
Elector.

327
00:20:14,350 --> 00:20:16,190
See, I have told you beforehand.

328
00:20:16,430 --> 00:20:20,550
So if they say to you, look,
he is in the wilderness, do not go

329
00:20:20,550 --> 00:20:20,830
out.

330
00:20:20,830 --> 00:20:24,590
If they say, look, he is in
the inner rooms, do not believe it.

331
00:20:24,830 --> 00:20:28,550
For as the lightning comes
from the east and shines as far as

332
00:20:28,550 --> 00:20:33,230
the west, so will be the
coming of the Son of Man.

333
00:20:34,990 --> 00:20:41,920
No one knows when Christ will
return, so we needn't pay attention

334
00:20:41,920 --> 00:20:43,960
and we needn't even try to
figure it out.

335
00:20:45,560 --> 00:20:51,520
The date of Christ's return
has been placed in all eternity to

336
00:20:51,520 --> 00:20:53,160
come back in our human history.

337
00:20:53,560 --> 00:20:56,800
And so Jesus tells us to avoid
these predictions and see them for

338
00:20:56,800 --> 00:20:57,480
what they are.

339
00:20:57,960 --> 00:21:01,040
Rather, as he concludes in
verse 27 and as John tells us in

340
00:21:01,040 --> 00:21:04,720
verse 7, we will not ignore
the sight of Christ's return, nor

341
00:21:04,720 --> 00:21:07,000
will we ignore the
implications of his return.

342
00:21:07,570 --> 00:21:12,730
Great celebration for
believers and great sorrow and torment

343
00:21:12,730 --> 00:21:15,090
for those who have rejected Him.

344
00:21:16,130 --> 00:21:18,210
But look at what John writes
in verse 8.

345
00:21:19,010 --> 00:21:24,570
I am the Alpha and Omega, says
the Lord, who is and who was and

346
00:21:24,570 --> 00:21:25,410
who is to come?

347
00:21:25,970 --> 00:21:26,930
The Almighty.

348
00:21:27,970 --> 00:21:31,090
Now, here are the words of the
Lord God.

349
00:21:32,130 --> 00:21:33,730
They almost feel out of place.

350
00:21:35,180 --> 00:21:39,420
But this is an emphatic
statement of God's sovereignty.

351
00:21:40,060 --> 00:21:43,740
God declares himself the
first, and he declares Himself the

352
00:21:43,740 --> 00:21:44,060
last.

353
00:21:44,860 --> 00:21:48,380
At the outset and the
conclusion of this book of Revelation,

354
00:21:48,620 --> 00:21:50,220
God claims this title.

355
00:21:50,860 --> 00:21:54,340
He reigns over all history
from beginning to end.

356
00:21:54,340 --> 00:21:57,380
And if he rules over the
beginning, and if he rules over the

357
00:21:57,380 --> 00:22:00,140
end, then he rules over
everything in between.

358
00:22:01,070 --> 00:22:05,350
As Martin Luther's great hymn
says in its concluding verse, that

359
00:22:05,350 --> 00:22:08,990
word, above all earthly
powers, no thanks to them, abideth

360
00:22:09,150 --> 00:22:11,510
the Spirit, and the gifts are ours.

361
00:22:11,510 --> 00:22:17,230
Through him who with us
sideth, let goods and kindred go

362
00:22:17,710 --> 00:22:22,830
this mortal life, also the
body they may kill.

363
00:22:23,790 --> 00:22:27,050
God's truth abideth still.

364
00:22:27,850 --> 00:22:31,850
His kingdom is forever.

365
00:22:33,290 --> 00:22:37,050
You see, it turns out we know
the conclusion.

366
00:22:38,250 --> 00:22:39,770
We don't have to try and work
it out.

367
00:22:39,770 --> 00:22:44,570
We don't have to Guess will be
in the words that we'll finish with

368
00:22:44,570 --> 00:22:45,450
this evening.

369
00:22:46,090 --> 00:22:49,370
Who will not tremble when you stand?

370
00:22:50,490 --> 00:22:52,330
Christ the victor.

371
00:22:53,690 --> 00:22:56,490
You see, Revelation points us
to a victory.

372
00:22:57,370 --> 00:23:02,370
Revelation points us to the
victory of Christ, a Christ who calls

373
00:23:02,370 --> 00:23:08,010
us to trust in him in these
last days, so that as we await his

374
00:23:08,010 --> 00:23:13,370
return, not knowing the date,
but as we await, so we will be certain

375
00:23:13,370 --> 00:23:17,010
that there will be celebration
when we see him appear as a lightning

376
00:23:17,010 --> 00:23:19,700
flash that that goes from the
west to the east.

377
00:23:23,220 --> 00:23:28,660
So as we finish tonight, this
introduction to Revelation, I hope

378
00:23:28,660 --> 00:23:31,900
that we have a bigger vision
of the book that we're about to read.

379
00:23:31,900 --> 00:23:34,339
I want to encourage you to
read it.

380
00:23:35,220 --> 00:23:39,540
Don't wait until we go through
maybe 10 or 15 or 20 verses each

381
00:23:39,540 --> 00:23:39,860
week.

382
00:23:40,580 --> 00:23:41,780
Take it and read it.

383
00:23:42,180 --> 00:23:43,860
40 minutes will get you
through it.

384
00:23:44,620 --> 00:23:45,740
Read it and read it again.

385
00:23:46,060 --> 00:23:48,660
Because as much as I want us
to have a bigger vision of the book

386
00:23:48,660 --> 00:23:51,620
of Revelation, that we may
indeed enjoy it and know that it

387
00:23:51,620 --> 00:23:55,380
is for our benefit and our
blessing, even more so, I want us

388
00:23:55,380 --> 00:23:57,100
to have a bigger vision of Jesus.

389
00:23:57,900 --> 00:23:59,580
His return is sure.

390
00:24:00,380 --> 00:24:04,260
And ultimately, the question
that these eight verses poses for

391
00:24:04,260 --> 00:24:07,820
us is, are you ready?

392
00:24:11,350 --> 00:24:12,150
Are you ready?

393
00:24:13,670 --> 00:24:16,230
You see, there won't be a
false start.

394
00:24:17,750 --> 00:24:20,630
It's not as if Jesus is going
to dip his toe across the starting

395
00:24:20,630 --> 00:24:22,750
line and then back again when
he comes.

396
00:24:22,750 --> 00:24:24,870
He will come and you will know.

397
00:24:25,910 --> 00:24:29,510
The question is, will you be
ready for when he returns?

398
00:24:30,230 --> 00:24:33,110
Because the time of his return
has been set in eternity.

399
00:24:33,510 --> 00:24:37,660
And yes, it will be soon this evening.

400
00:24:37,660 --> 00:24:39,220
Do you know him as Savior?

401
00:24:40,660 --> 00:24:45,060
And so you await the great
celebration, because if you don't

402
00:24:45,060 --> 00:24:48,100
know him as Savior, then
you're rejecting him.

403
00:24:48,580 --> 00:24:51,819
You're thinking you're going
to be okay, but that okay will be

404
00:24:51,819 --> 00:24:52,420
too late.

405
00:24:53,060 --> 00:24:57,500
Because living in sin and
obstinance, well, then that day of

406
00:24:57,500 --> 00:25:00,340
Christ's return will be one of
great sorrow and torment.

407
00:25:01,630 --> 00:25:05,270
And actually, as we go to the
end of the book of Revelation, we

408
00:25:05,270 --> 00:25:09,310
have words to heed in
Revelation 22 from Jesus.

409
00:25:10,110 --> 00:25:15,030
So Revelation 22 and verse 12
says, behold, I am coming soon, bringing

410
00:25:15,030 --> 00:25:20,110
my recompense with me to repay
each one for what he has done.

411
00:25:20,830 --> 00:25:22,990
The warning signs are there.

412
00:25:24,270 --> 00:25:26,030
Why are we ignoring them?

413
00:25:26,670 --> 00:25:29,310
Why do we think we know God better?

414
00:25:29,630 --> 00:25:31,630
Is it because we're too comfortable?

415
00:25:32,030 --> 00:25:34,710
Is it because we like the
things of this world too much?

416
00:25:34,710 --> 00:25:38,590
Do we actually think that
doing wrong things is better than

417
00:25:38,590 --> 00:25:41,710
living in glorious and with
glorious hope?

418
00:25:42,270 --> 00:25:47,470
That hope that Christ will
come and what a day it will be?

419
00:25:49,310 --> 00:25:53,710
Revelation will take us
through many twists and many turns.

420
00:25:55,000 --> 00:25:59,600
There will be much to agree on
and there will be much to disagree

421
00:25:59,600 --> 00:25:59,960
on.

422
00:26:01,720 --> 00:26:03,880
But let me bring us back to
where we began.

423
00:26:05,240 --> 00:26:13,160
Jesus is coming back and he
will take his own home.

424
00:26:14,120 --> 00:26:16,520
Are you counted among that number?

425
00:26:17,400 --> 00:26:20,850
So that indeed it will be a
true day of celebration.

426
00:26:21,970 --> 00:26:24,050
I hope that it is.

427
00:26:24,450 --> 00:26:25,250
Let's pray.

428
00:26:26,130 --> 00:26:31,370
Our Father God, we thank you
for this, your word, a book that

429
00:26:31,370 --> 00:26:34,650
we open, a book that we've
maybe closed quickly again because

430
00:26:34,650 --> 00:26:37,090
we don't understand what we're
seeing and what we're reading.

431
00:26:37,810 --> 00:26:41,290
But yet, Father, you did not
give it to us to punish us or to

432
00:26:41,290 --> 00:26:42,210
make it complicated.

433
00:26:42,930 --> 00:26:45,010
You reveal yourself to us in it.

434
00:26:45,010 --> 00:26:48,650
And so, as a group of your
people here in the southeast of Northern

435
00:26:48,650 --> 00:26:53,370
Ireland, over this next year
or so, we look ever to you to instruct

436
00:26:53,370 --> 00:26:56,730
us that we will be sure of
Christ, that we will know Christ

437
00:26:56,730 --> 00:26:57,810
is coming back.

438
00:26:58,610 --> 00:27:02,850
And, Father, that indeed we
will be a people who are ready for

439
00:27:02,850 --> 00:27:03,410
that day.

440
00:27:04,210 --> 00:27:07,530
May we each be honest with
ourselves, not just about reading

441
00:27:07,530 --> 00:27:11,730
Revelation and how we've come
to our understanding of it, but may

442
00:27:11,730 --> 00:27:14,210
we be honest with ourselves
about Christ.

443
00:27:15,500 --> 00:27:19,820
May we be honest before you,
whether we know him as Saviour or

444
00:27:19,820 --> 00:27:20,140
not.

445
00:27:20,380 --> 00:27:25,060
And be assured this night,
Father, that we have a Saviour who

446
00:27:25,060 --> 00:27:28,620
is mighty to keep, and we look
ever to him.

447
00:27:29,580 --> 00:27:33,500
So may we respond well to you
and to your word this night.

448
00:27:34,460 --> 00:27:35,100
Amen.

449
00:27:41,010 --> 00:27:50,220
Sam.