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Understanding Bible Prophecy

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Pr. David Asscherick

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Series Code: DP

Program Code: DP000001


00:15 Before we jump right into the preaching of God's word,
00:19 by our friend Pastor David Asscherick,
00:21 I would like to invite Camille Aragones to the front.
00:25 She is going to be singing a special number for us,
00:28 welcome to the front Camille.
00:31 çMusicÑ
05:27 Now I just want to say right at the outset, in the interest
05:29 of absolute transparency, there are basically four reasons
05:33 that we are conducting this Bible Prophecy Seminar.
05:35 You might be wondering, Why do they do this?
05:37 Why do they take the time and great expense, and great energy,
05:41 and man hours to put this on.
05:42 There are four reasons: Reason number one is this:
05:45 We believe that the time of the end is near.
05:49 I want to be perfectly transparent about that.
05:52 I believe that the world is coming apart at the seams.
05:54 We're going to be presenting abundant evidence to that effect
05:58 but really, do you need someone to demonstrate that
06:00 to you, I mean with the showing of hands tonight,
06:02 how many people believe you know, things seem to be unusual.
06:05 Just raise your hands.
06:06 You know, there does seem to be something going on,
06:09 I believe that as well, so that's the first reason.
06:10 We want to give you absolutely compelling, and
06:13 unequivocal evidence that we are in fact living
06:15 in the time of the end.
06:16 The second reason that we're here:
06:18 Is that we want to show you from a Biblical perspective
06:22 from "what" did I say everyone?
06:24 A Biblical perspective, how this world is going to end.
06:29 There are many people in the world today, that have no hope,
06:32 no confidence, no security.
06:34 They think that the United States Government,
06:35 will give them security, and surely there is a modicum
06:37 of security.
06:38 But they are looking for real, lasting, transcending security.
06:42 The Bible alone, and God alone,
06:46 can give us that kind of security.
06:47 Can somebody say "Amen!"
06:49 You are going to find out throughout the course
06:51 of this presentation, and throughout the course
06:53 of this seminar, I'll invite you to say Amen.
06:55 Now that's sort of religious speak, and so for some,
06:57 of you who maybe are not super religious people,
06:59 you've come in maybe as a seeker.
07:01 I want to let you know that the word Amen, simply means
07:03 I agree with that, or I consent to that.
07:07 So when I say Amen, and you agree with that,
07:09 you say yeah! "Amen. "
07:11 Are we all together on that?
07:12 - Amen! - Amen Good!
07:14 So we want to take a look at what the Bible has to say
07:16 about how this world is actually going to end.
07:18 The third reason that we are conducting this seminar:
07:19 Is that we want you to know how to be ready to meet
07:24 the strange and unusual times that are rapidly coming upon us.
07:27 We live in a very different world since September 11,
07:30 isn't that true, yes or no?
07:32 The post September 11, world is a very different world,
07:35 than the pre September 11 world,
07:37 and what we're going to see from a Biblical picture
07:39 is that this is only the beginning of many things.
07:42 The marvelous, glorious prophecies, particularly
07:45 of the book of Revelation, are coming to pass,
07:47 right before our eyes, and what we're going to see
07:50 as we look at the Bible, it's going to give us confidence.
07:53 Give us "what" everyone?
07:55 - Confidence!
07:56 - Confidence in the coming crisis, and you will
07:57 be able to say I want to be ready.
07:59 The fourth reason we do this is:
08:00 not just so you can be ready, but so you can stay ready.
08:04 Are we all together, that's why we're doing it,
08:07 so if one of those reasons is why you are here,
08:10 then you are in the right place.
08:11 You got an extended schedule tonight when you came in,
08:13 you might have thought, well this will be a nice way
08:15 to spend the evening, and oh that will be a nice thing
08:17 to go out for the evening, and you came in tonight
08:19 and you got that extended schedule, and it shows that
08:21 the meetings are going to last for almost a month.
08:24 Beloved, we are going to be here basically every night
08:28 for a month, we'll take more or less Sunday's and Wednesday's
08:30 off, and we are looking forward to a power packed
08:34 time together, and not because of David Asscherick,
08:37 but because of what God says,
08:38 in this book called "The Bible. "
08:40 Amen! Now that introduces a question,
08:43 and what we are going to do right at the outset,
08:45 is ask the question, is the Bible true?
08:48 Is the Bible true? You have come to a Bible Prophecy Seminar
08:53 and right at the outset we need to understand,
08:55 if we are going to trust the Bible,
08:57 there has to be reasons.
09:00 There has to be what everyone?
09:01 Reasons!
09:03 Reasons, and so many people are asking today,
09:04 and by the way, for those of you who are in that room,
09:05 we apologize that we do not have a screen.
09:07 I've been informed by my production crew,
09:10 here, that we are going to have a screen in that room tomorrow,
09:12 so you will be able to look here and there.
09:14 Don't not come back tomorrow because you couldn't see
09:16 the screen, because tomorrow there will be a screen
09:18 right in that room.
09:19 You take a look at the screen, this was an article that was run
09:22 by US News and World Report.
09:24 Several years ago now in the title of the article,
09:27 the cover story was, is the Bible True?
09:30 and of course that's the very question
09:31 that we're asking tonight.
09:32 I don't know if you can read the subtitle there,
09:34 but it says new discoveries offer surprising support
09:38 for key moments in scripture.
09:40 Many people today are wondering,
09:42 is there something that can be trusted?
09:44 Is there something in which I can place my confidence?
09:47 Is there something that can give me
09:48 real genuine lasting security?
09:52 The answer is "yes," there is abundant evidence.
09:55 In fact our thesis here in the Discover Prophecy Seminar,
09:58 is that there is plenty of evidence to trust this Bible,
10:01 to trust this book, as what it claims to be,
10:04 and that is God's word.
10:05 Now we don't have a lot of time to spend on this,
10:07 but I want to spend a few opening moments
10:10 a few preliminary observations, as to the voluminous evidence
10:14 that supports this book, as a unique and special book.
10:17 It is internally consistent, you'll notice
10:19 the various consistencies that we put up here
10:21 on the screen, this is not part of your notes incidentally.
10:24 It is internally consistent, it is translationally consistent.
10:27 That is to say that the Bible has been accurately translated
10:30 down through the ages, before the time of fax machines,
10:33 and hard drives, and computers, and e-mail, and all
10:36 of the modern technical amenities that we are used to
10:38 today, the Bible has been accurately almost perfectly
10:42 accurately translated down through the centuries.
10:44 Can you say Amen to that?
10:46 Amen!
10:47 Remarkable, the scientific consensus,
10:48 we will spend some time on that, scientific consistency,
10:51 cultural consistency.
10:52 How is it that a book can apply so powerfully, so amazingly,
10:57 so consistently to so many different cultures.
10:59 Just here this evening we have people who are from Russia,
11:03 we have people here tonight who are from Jamaica,
11:05 we have people here tonight from a variety of cultures,
11:07 and yet the Bible is a unique book,
11:09 able to speak to Jamaicans, able to speak to people from
11:12 the United States, able to speak to people from Russia,
11:14 and Australia, all over the world different cultures find
11:18 this book to be absolutely encouraging, that is unique
11:21 in human history.
11:23 Can you say Amen!
11:24 Amen!
11:25 Not many books are like that, archeological consistency,
11:27 there has never been a single archeological discovery
11:30 that has controverted even one point of history in the Bible.
11:35 Also historical consistency goes along with that,
11:37 experiential consistency,
11:39 I'll be perfectly transparent with you
11:41 I have found the Bible to be the voice of God to my soul.
11:44 I want to say that again, I have found the Bible to be
11:47 voice of God to my soul.
11:48 I believe this book is a "living book. "
11:51 Is a "what" did I say everyone?
11:52 "A Living Book!"
11:53 The Bible even says that in Hebrews 4:12, The word of God
11:56 is quick and powerful, living and powerful,
11:59 I have had encounters with God through reading,
12:02 and studying this book, it's a supernatural book.
12:04 Can you say Amen?
12:05 Amen!
12:07 Now surely there are other good books out there,
12:08 but this is a unique book, experientially consistent.
12:11 I'm a different person than you, you are a different person
12:12 than the individual sitting next to you,
12:14 and yet we all come with our unique personalities,
12:16 our unique idiosyncrasies, we come to this book,
12:19 and it speaks to each of us in a powerful and
12:22 personally consistent way.
12:23 Are you with me everyone?
12:24 - Yes!
12:26 What we're interested in here of course is this final one,
12:28 and that is prophetic consistency,
12:30 what we are going to see is that Bible prophecy provides
12:34 indisputable evidence that God's word, the Bible,
12:38 is in fact what it claims to be, and that is
12:41 a remarkable revelation from God Himself.
12:45 Now I want you to think about that for a moment.
12:47 If what the Bible says about itself is true,
12:50 if this book is really from God, that would make it
12:54 the most important book in the world, wouldn't it.
12:57 I said that would make it the most important book in the world
13:00 wouldn't it?
13:02 What we're going to see here that there is excellent
13:04 evidentiary, and even objective evidence, comparing
13:07 the great prophecies of the Bible, with
13:09 the outlay of history, and we're going to be able
13:11 to stand back and say objectively this book is
13:14 supernatural, and this book can be trusted.
13:20 I hope you came in here tonight,
13:21 I hope you did not come in tonight as a skeptic,
13:24 but I hope if you did come in tonight, and you are skeptical
13:26 that you will stay with us and see, these are not just
13:29 religious claims.
13:30 Listen, I was not a religious person nine years ago,
13:32 I converted to the Christian faith,
13:34 because I saw that the prophecies of the Bible,
13:37 were so totally consistent with history.
13:39 Are we all together everyone, yes or no?
13:41 I'm not standing up to you tonight,
13:44 and speaking to you tonight as a person who has been
13:46 religious all his life, and
13:47 totally interested in religious things, no! no! no!
13:49 As Nathan said, I'm was a purple haired punk rocker.
13:52 I didn't become a Christian until the age of 23 years old.
13:55 When I became a Christian, I said there's something
13:57 powerful special, about this book, and more importantly
14:01 about the Savior and the God that this book reveals.
14:04 Are we all together?
14:06 So what we want to introduce tonight is the Bible true?
14:09 I want you to know that I believe there are excellent
14:11 reasons to trust the Bible.
14:13 When I say the Bible is true, I'm not just saying,
14:15 well it's true for me, in the same way you might say,
14:17 well that's not true for you, No! No!
14:19 When we say the Bible is true, we are saying that it is true,
14:22 in an objective sense.
14:24 In a what sense everyone?
14:26 What we mean by that is this, even if nobody believed it,
14:30 it would still be true.
14:32 We don't buy into this, well, you know it's true for you
14:34 but it's not true for me, and let's just all get along
14:36 and be happy together, No! No! No!
14:38 It is true in the most emphatic sense of the word,
14:43 True!
14:44 What we are going to discover as we spend some time together
14:48 is that the great prophecies of the Bible, are not difficult
14:51 to understand, I want to under gird that.
14:53 The great prophecies of the Bible
14:55 are not difficult to understand.
14:57 Now I don't want to be overly simplistic here,
14:59 there are some prophecies that are complicated,
15:01 there are some prophecies that do require a degree
15:03 of sophistication and real critical thinking,
15:05 but for the most part Bible prophecy in not difficult
15:10 to understand, in fact that's going be one of the
15:12 major premises of this entire series, is that Bible prophecy
15:16 is very available and very accessible to the common person.
15:21 To the "what" did I say everyone?
15:22 The common person, surely the scholar and the intellectual
15:27 and the erudite can spend time in the scriptures
15:29 and find great and wonderful, marvelous depths there to plumb.
15:32 But our premise here is going to be that even
15:35 the common person, even the so called non-theologically
15:38 educated person, can come to this Word and actually
15:42 understand the prophecies for himself and for herself.
15:46 You might be dubious, you might say that's impossible
15:48 I've re-read the book of Revelation,
15:49 I don't understand anything, I've read the book of Ezekiel,
15:51 I didn't get it, I've read the book of Daniel, I didn't get it.
15:53 You come to these prophecy meetings and I guarantee you.
15:58 Now what did I say everyone?
15:59 - Guarantee!
16:00 And I'm not just whistling Dixie up here, I guarantee you,
16:03 you will be able to understand Bible prophecy for yourself.
16:08 That's one of the reasons that we're going to be giving you
16:10 the study guides night by night, is I don't want you
16:12 just to take my word for it.
16:13 I want to put the tools in your hand,
16:15 so that you can go from this seminar,
16:17 you can go from this presentation,
16:19 you can go from this event, go to your own house,
16:21 your own kitchen table, your own room, your own desk,
16:23 sit down with the Bible, and a few tools that we will put
16:26 into your hand, and you can start to see these
16:28 great prophecies unfold before your own eyes, with your study.
16:32 Does that sound like a good idea, yes or no?
16:34 That way you just don't leave here and say oh,
16:36 Well Pastor so and so said thus and so, No! No! No!
16:39 I want you to have tools in your own hands,
16:41 so you can do your own study, your own thinking
16:45 Your own "what" everyone?
16:46 - "Thinking!"
16:47 And never forget this, if you are not thinking,
16:50 someone is doing your thinking for you.
16:52 We don't want to do your thinking for you here,
16:55 we want to give you the tools that will enable you
16:57 to responsibly.
16:58 What "word" did I say everyone?
17:00 Responsibly and in a Biblical way,
17:04 to understand these great prophecies.
17:06 Prophecy is not just something that religious people
17:08 are interested in, that is why magazines
17:10 like Newsweek can run covers like this
17:12 Prophecy, notice the subtitle here,
17:14 What the Bible says about the End of the World
17:17 and so we're not just talking about something here that
17:19 is of interest to religious people.
17:22 Perhaps no book in the course of human history,
17:24 and certainly in modern times, has more fascinated
17:27 different cultures, and different peoples,
17:29 religious and irreligious alike, than the book of Revelation.
17:33 Why don't you take out your study guide,
17:34 and we're going to begin by reading that first paragraph
17:38 there that's on you study guide,
17:39 it's just a brief introduction to this marvelous book,
17:42 The Book of Revelation.
17:43 Now just by a showing of hands, how many people of here
17:46 have read the entire book of Revelation through,
17:48 just raise your hands nice and high, "Excellent, Good. "
17:51 Notice what it says here on your study guide.
17:53 The book of Revelation contained in the Holy Bible,
17:56 is a remarkable book indeed.
17:58 it's fantastic imagery, and poetic language,
18:02 have fascinated people for generations,
18:04 even today nearly 2,000 years after it was written.
18:09 It inspires and intrigues the mind, the root word
18:13 of Revelation is what everyone?
18:14 To reveal, to reveal is to uncover, to disclose,
18:20 or to make plain.
18:21 This title is consistent with the Greek title of the book,
18:25 which is APOKALYPSIS which sounds to us like the word
18:27 apocalypse which also means to unveil or to uncover.
18:32 The very title of the book suggests that
18:34 it can be understood.
18:35 How very unusual then, that many Christians today,
18:39 both laity and clergy alike, suggest that it is a quote
18:42 " closed book" which cannot be understood or comprehended.
18:45 Strange indeed!
18:46 Is there anyone here tonight who has ever heard that before?
18:48 The Book of Revelation cannot be understood,
18:50 raise your hand if you have heard that before.
18:52 Ok! Oh that's a book that can't be understood,
18:55 that's a closed book.
18:56 I want you to think about that for just a moment,
18:58 It's a closed mind, that's exactly right.
19:01 Why would God write 65 books in the Bible,
19:04 there are 66 books in the Bible,
19:05 39 books in the Old Testament, 27 books in the New Testament,
19:07 but think about it logically, why would God write 65 books
19:11 which can be understood, only to make the last book,
19:14 a book which could not be understood,
19:15 and then give the title of that book, the uncovering,
19:18 or the revealing.
19:19 Does that make any sense to anyone in here?
19:22 - NO
19:23 God is..., an incidentally the very reason that
19:25 the Book of Revelation, is the last book of the Bible,
19:27 is that you need everything else before it,
19:29 in order to understand it.
19:31 In fact that's what we're going to discover this evening.
19:34 Notice the next paragraph, the Book of Revelation
19:36 is a prophetic book, meaning that it's primary content
19:39 is what everyone?
19:41 - Prophecy!
19:42 Prophecy! Of course, never the less it must be noted at the
19:44 outset, that according to the first three verses of Revelation
19:47 the primary purpose of the book is to reveal Jesus Christ,
19:52 it is a Revelation of Him.
19:53 Open your Bibles with me to the Book of Revelation,
19:56 I hope you have your Bibles tonight,
19:57 you will be needing them every night.
19:58 Some of the text we will give you on the screen,
20:02 but many of them, we will want you to turn to
20:04 right in your own Bibles, now you can find that,
20:06 it's easy to find, it's the last book of the Bible.
20:08 Go to the far end of your Bible, the far cover,
20:12 the right cover there, and you will find
20:13 the Book of Revelation.
20:15 Revelation chapter 1, and I want you to notice
20:19 the very first 1st verse, and
20:20 we'll look at the 3rd verse as well.
20:21 Revelation Chapter 1 and Verse 1,
20:25 it says the Revelation of "who" everyone?
20:30 - Jesus Christ!
20:31 Many people have this idea that the Book of Revelation
20:34 is all about beasts, and dragons, and cryptic imagery,
20:38 and smoking alters, and all kinds of fantastic
20:42 almost mystical imagery and all of that is in there,
20:45 but right at the outset we are told
20:48 that the book of Revelation is about "who?"
20:51 - Jesus Christ!
20:52 - Jesus Christ, that's exactly right,
20:53 we'll talk more about that in a moment.
20:54 Which God gave Him to show His servants,
20:57 things which must shortly take place.
21:01 What we are going to discover through all of Revelation,
21:03 is that there is a sense of urgency.
21:06 A sense of "what" everyone? - Urgency!
21:09 That permeates this book through all of it's 22 chapters,
21:12 here in the first verse it says, things that must shortly
21:15 take place, it's saying don't be lazy, don't be lackadaisical,
21:19 don't be lethargic, there's something that's happening,
21:21 it's going to happen soon.
21:23 It says, which must shortly take place, and He sent
21:26 and signified it by His angel to His servant John.
21:30 My Bible uses the word "signified,"
21:34 how many of your Bibles tonight say He signified it,
21:36 raise your hands, Ok!
21:37 What is the root word of signified?
21:39 Sign, that's exactly right.
21:41 One of the reasons that some people find Revelation
21:44 difficult to understand, is that it is written in
21:46 signs and symbols.
21:49 Written in "what" everyone?
21:50 - Signs and symbols.
21:52 Well, don't let that be a surprise to you,
21:54 it says right in the first verse of the first chapter
21:56 of this book, that when God gave it to John,
21:59 through His angel, He gave it in symbolic language,
22:03 He sent and signified it.
22:06 Now jump down to verse three.
22:08 "Blessed is he... The word Blessed means happy.
22:11 Blessed is he who reads, and those who hear the words
22:19 of this prophecy and keep those things which are written in it
22:23 for the time is near," there's that sense of urgency again.
22:25 The time is near, don't be lazy, don't be lackadaisical,
22:29 don't put it off, the time is near.
22:31 Notice the three fold blessing, Blessed are those who hear,
22:35 Blessed are those who read, and Blessed are those who
22:37 keep a book that no one can understand.
22:40 Does that make any sense?
22:43 God is saying, oh you know I gave you the 65,
22:45 but I gave you that last book that you can't understand
22:47 but if you could understand it you would be happy,
22:49 but nanny, nanny, boo, boo, it doesn't make any sense.
22:51 The Book of Revelation can be understood,
22:55 and we're going to see tonight that it is not even that
22:56 difficult if we have the proper tools.
23:00 The proper "what" everyone?
23:02 - Tools!
23:03 The other day I was trying to hang up a picture at my house,
23:05 and I needed a hammer, but the hammer seemed like it was
23:08 so far away, after all, it was all the way in the garage,
23:11 and so I was looking around for something,
23:14 and I found a shoe, ha! ha! ha! you ever done this before?
23:18 How come the garage seemed so far away sometimes?
23:21 Well you know I'll just use the shoe, you pick up the shoe
23:24 and of course you know it doesn't dawn on you at the time,
23:25 but the shoe has a rubber sole, and you hold the nail up there
23:29 and it just doesn't seem to be working, and you are getting
23:30 black scuff marks on the wall, and you are really making
23:34 hanging up a picture, look like a difficult thing.
23:36 Why does it seem so difficult?
23:39 You have the wrong tools.
23:42 If you have the right tools, is that difficult?
23:45 Not at all.
23:47 What we're going to discover tonight..., in fact tonight
23:48 we're going to put two tools in your hand,
23:50 that will transform the way you understand
23:53 the Book of Revelation.
23:54 But before we get there,
23:55 we must ask two important questions.
23:57 Now we're right on your study guide.
23:58 Two important questions: Number one.
24:07 Well the first one is actually quite simple.
24:09 What is Prophecy? The answer is this:
24:18 That's what the word prophecy means, you can look it up
24:21 in your dictionary, the word prophecy is to foretell,
24:24 To predict something.
24:26 Our second question was: Where can I find true and reliable
24:29 Prophecy, and what are those two words right there everyone?
24:32 The Bible, that's exactly right, now you are not following along
24:35 with me any more because you are busy writing on your sheets
24:37 and that just fine, you are welcome to do that.
24:39 Now let me just give you a quick Biblical picture.
24:42 Two texts, one from the Old Testament, one from the
24:45 New Testament, that sort of paint the picture
24:47 of what prophecy is.
24:49 Isaiah 46:9, 10, Old Testament verse, notice what God says:
25:11 Notice what God is saying here in chapter 46 verses 9 and 10,
25:15 God says I am God, no one else is God,
25:17 and I'll prove to you that I am God.
25:18 I know the future and I can declare the future.
25:22 I know what is going to happen before it comes to pass.
25:27 Notice a New Testament verse, these are the words of Jesus
25:30 Himself, in John chapter 14:29, Jesus said notice this.
25:33 It just makes such good sense.
25:36 And now I have told you... What's that word everyone?
25:39 before it takes place, so that when it does take place
25:42 you may "what", believe, that just makes good sense
25:49 what Jesus is saying.
25:50 Jesus says listen! I'll tell you in advance what is going
25:52 to happen, so that when it does come to happen,
25:55 just like I've said, you can believe in the credibility
25:58 of what I am saying, if that makes sense
25:59 I want you to say "Amen. "
26:00 If someone could accurately, and consistently, and unequivocally,
26:05 and unarguably tell the future, that person would by nature
26:08 be supernatural, and you would be interested in what else
26:11 they had to say.
26:12 Jesus says listen, I will tell you in advance,
26:13 what is going to happen, so that when it does happen,
26:16 just as I've said, you can believe that everything else
26:19 that I say is true.
26:20 So prophecy is a foretelling of events.
26:24 Other religious books surprisingly, or perhaps
26:28 I should say not surprisingly, do not contain
26:31 predictive prophecy.
26:32 We could look at the writings of Confucius,
26:36 and we find there, no prophecy.
26:38 We can look to the writings of Buddha and about Buddhism,
26:42 and there we find no predictive prophecy.
26:45 We can even look to the Qur'an, and we find in the Qur'an,
26:48 no predictive prophecy.
26:51 Yet a remarkable statistic about the Bible, is that a full 30%
26:57 of the Bible is prophecy.
26:58 How much everyone?
26:59 30%, I want you to think about that for just a moment
27:02 we're not poking fun here, we're not being pejorative here
27:05 we're just stating the facts.
27:07 In order to declare the future by definition,
27:13 what would you first have to know?
27:14 You would have to know the future, doesn't that make sense
27:17 everyone yes or no?
27:18 Now think about that, in order to declare the future
27:21 you must first, know the future.
27:24 So why might it be the case that other religious books
27:28 do not contain predictive prophecy, perhaps
27:31 because the authors of those books, don't know the future.
27:37 That's exactly right, that is exactly right.
27:41 There are two classifications of prophecy in the Bible,
27:44 Classical prophecy, number one, and number two Apocalyptic
27:49 prophecy, we've already talked about that word
27:51 apocalyptic, it comes from the Greek work Apokalupsis
27:54 which means to unveil to uncover or to disclose,
27:57 that is the title of the Book of Revelation.
27:59 The Apokalupsis, two kinds of prophecy in the Bible
28:03 and it's going to be helpful for us to understand,
28:05 that these two kinds of prophecy will significantly
28:09 and dramatically inform how we understand the prophecies
28:12 of the Bible.
28:14 Are we all together so far, so good yes or no?
28:15 Classical prophecy was directed primarily at the nation
28:20 of ancient Israel, most of the commonly known Biblical
28:25 prophets fall into this category.
28:27 Prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Amos,
28:30 the vast majority of Biblical prophets would fall into that
28:33 categorization of classical prophecy.
28:36 There are certainly apoplectic themes is some
28:38 of those books, but broadly
28:40 these are the classical prophets.
28:42 There are only two books however, in the entire Bible
28:45 that are in their entirety apocalyptic, and those two books
28:50 are the Old Testament book of Daniel and the New Testament
28:54 book of "what" everyone? Revelation!
28:56 I want to show you something absolutely fascinating.
28:59 Open your Bible with me to the Book of Matthew.
29:01 That's the first book of the New Testament.
29:04 Matthew chapter 24, and if you are sitting next to someone
29:07 who looks like they are having a little difficulty finding it,
29:08 then be a good friend, be a brother, be a sister,
29:11 lean over and help them to find it.
29:12 Matthew chapter 24, the first Book of the New Testament,
29:16 right between Malachi, and Mark.
29:17 Matthew chapter 24, I'll give you plenty of time to get there,
29:23 It's important for me, that you see it.
29:24 Matthew chapter 24, now in two nights, not tomorrow night,
29:28 but the following night, we will spend the entire night
29:30 in Matthew chapter 24, looking at one of the most
29:32 remarkable prophecies in all of the Bible.
29:35 Look at Matthew 24,and verse 15, verse 15 Jesus speaking,
29:42 If you have the words in red in your Bible,
29:44 then you will notice that these words are in red,
29:46 that means that Jesus is speaking.
29:47 Jesus says in verse 15, therefore, when you shall see
29:52 the abonominations of desolation spoken of by "who"
29:55 everyone? Daniel the prophet.
29:58 You say well, I'm already confused,
29:59 what's the abomination of desolation?
30:00 Don't worry, that's not what we are here for,
30:02 We'll spend plenty of time on that abomination of desolation.
30:04 What I want you to see is the second part of that verse.
30:07 Verse 15, therefore when you shall see,
30:09 the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet
30:13 standing in the Holy Place, who so reads, let him "what"
30:18 understand.
30:20 Isn't that interesting, Jesus here is speaking to the people
30:24 of His day, and incidentally, it's about the second coming,
30:27 it's about the end of time, and right in the middle of it
30:29 He says, by the way, you should understand
30:32 the book of Daniel.
30:34 In an end time context Jesus says, understand
30:37 the book of Daniel, well we've already read in the book of
30:40 Revelation, Blessed is he that reads, and keeps and hears.
30:43 In fact, these are the only two books that I'm personally
30:47 aware of in all of the New Testament, where Jesus
30:50 explicitly says, understand this book.
30:54 The book of Daniel and the book of Revelation,
30:56 we're going to discover in our Bible prophecy seminar,
30:58 that these two books are like sisters, brothers,
31:02 it is basically impossible to understand one,
31:04 without the other.
31:06 Daniel and Revelation, go together,
31:09 go "what" everyone?
31:10 Together, and not coincidentally these are the very two books
31:13 that Jesus said that you better understand it
31:15 You better understand the book of Daniel,
31:17 and you better understand the book of Revelation.
31:19 Not coincidentally, those are the two books that are
31:23 apoplectic in nature, two classifications of prophecy.
31:28 So the burning question that we have this evening is this,
31:31 How can we correctly interpret Bible prophecy?
31:35 How can we correctly interpret end-time prophecy?
31:39 We don't to just know what one man thinks,
31:42 can someone say Amen to that?
31:43 We want to have the tools to arrive at correct conclusions
31:47 our self.
31:49 Well in order to correctly understand Bible prophecy
31:51 we're going to need two essential keys.
31:55 Two essential keys.
31:57 If you are following along, we are on the second page,
32:00 under the correct interpretation.
32:03 Correct interpretation on the second page.
32:05 Let's read that introductory paragraph,
32:08 second page where it says correct interpretation.
32:11 This brings us to the question of interpretation.
32:14 How can we correctly interpret apocalyptic,
32:17 or end time prophecy, that's our burning question,
32:18 that we had just here a moment ago.
32:20 As we'll discover the Bible holds the keys to unlock
32:24 the message of it's own prophetic books,
32:26 especially Revelation.
32:28 It is simply a matter of discovering the keys,
32:31 and then "what" everyone? Using them.
32:34 How many of you have heard of this book the Bible Code Book?
32:38 Oh yeah! the Bible Code Book, it's all a great big mystery.
32:42 Let me tell you something, that is what the Devil
32:45 would love you to believe, oh it's a great big mystery
32:48 Takes a real Genius to understand it, No! No! No!
32:50 You want to see the Bible Code Book,
32:51 I've actually got it over here, let me grab it, "here,"
32:54 Oh! There it is! There's the Bible Code Book right there.
32:56 The Bible is it's own interpreter,
33:00 let's say that together.
33:02 The Bible is it's own interpreter,
33:06 you don't need a PhD., a ThD., or any of that,
33:08 you surely don't need some esoteric, do-do-do-do-do,
33:11 Code Book, God speaks in natural normal language.
33:17 I'm not here to make fun or put anybody down,
33:19 but the point is this.
33:20 Whenever you see something that says,
33:21 oh it's all so mysterious, it's all so mystical.
33:24 You should immediately be concerned,
33:26 is God not intelligent enough to communicate with us
33:28 in normal every day language?
33:30 Can you say Amen to that?
33:31 Surely He can do that, and he has done it.
33:34 What we're going to discover tonight, is that there are two
33:36 very simple keys to understanding
33:38 the book of Revelation, and here they are:
33:40 Key number one:
33:41 The Book of Revelation rests upon the broad foundation
33:48 of Old Testament history, imagery, and prophecy.
33:51 That's what you would write in on the line right there,
33:54 Old Testament History Imagery and Prophecy.
33:57 The second key is this:
33:59 Jesus Christ is the focus of end-time prophecy, especially
34:05 the Book of Revelation
34:06 and we've already seen that in the first three verses of
34:07 Book of Revelation chapter one.
34:08 Those are the two keys that are absolutely essential,
34:11 as we begin tonight.
34:12 Number one, we need a sure foundation,
34:14 and number two, we need a sharp focus.
34:16 The sure foundation of the Book of Revelation,
34:19 is the Old Testament.
34:20 The sharp focus of the Book of Revelation is Jesus Christ.
34:24 Are there beasts in Revelation, sure there are,
34:26 are there dragons in Revelation, sure there are,
34:29 is there mystical imagery in Revelation, sure there is,
34:32 but those are not the focus of Revelation,
34:34 those are all props on the stage,
34:37 Jesus is the focus, does that make sense?
34:39 I want you to say Amen.
34:41 So tonight we're going to apply these two keys,
34:43 and in applying these two keys...
34:45 Let's spend a moment here on the first key,
34:47 that the Old Testament is the foundation,
34:50 and it's imagery, and it's history,
34:53 and all of its illustrations help us to understand,
34:57 the Book of Revelation.
34:59 The Book of Revelation contains:
35:09 Trying to understand the Book of Revelation without
35:13 knowing the Old Testament context,
35:15 is like trying to understand the English language
35:17 without knowing the alphabet.
35:19 It's an exercise in impossibility,
35:23 if you are going to go buy the Detroit News,
35:25 or you are going to buy the Free Press,
35:27 and pick those papers up, and in one hand have the
35:30 Detroit News, and in one hand have the Book of Revelation,
35:31 and think you are going to understand
35:33 the Book of Revelation, based on these events,
35:34 that is an exercise doomed to failure.
35:38 There are all kinds of religious figures, that are saying,
35:40 oh yeah, Russia is the Great Dragon of Revelation 12,
35:44 and oh, Russia, Russia, Russia, and every time
35:46 they open the Book of Revelation
35:47 Russia was all over it, until Communism basically evaporated
35:52 right before our very eyes, and hm, hm, hm, hm, hm,
35:55 got to go back and think that one through again.
35:57 because their interpretation wasn't based
35:59 on the Old Testament foundation.
36:01 It was based on a man made foundation
36:03 of current news events, and this is fanaticism,
36:06 this is sensationalism, and this does not lead to a responsible,
36:10 What word everyone?
36:11 - Responsible! - A responsible understanding
36:14 of the book itself.
36:15 If we want to responsibly understand this book,
36:17 hey, if you are looking for sensationalism
36:18 then you came to the wrong place, if you are looking for
36:20 responsible Bible interpretation for responsible tools,
36:24 that you can apply yourself, you came to the right place.
36:26 404 verses in the Book of Revelation,
36:30 more that 270 are taken directly from the Old Testament
36:33 Let me give you five quick examples you've got there
36:36 in your study guide, five quick examples
36:38 of how this works.
36:39 I'll just give you five examples of how it would be basically
36:42 impossible to understand the Book of Revelation,
36:44 without the Old Testament context.
36:47 Key number one: The Old Testament is the foundation
36:49 Bible example number one.
36:51 Ancient Israel's economy centered around the sanctuary
36:55 and it's sacrifices, the lamb was the most prominent
36:59 of the sacrificial animals, you find that all throughout
37:01 Exodus, all throughout Leviticus, particularly,
37:03 the lamb, the lamb, the lamb, the sanctuary,
37:05 and the sacrifices.
37:07 When we come to the Book of Revelation,
37:10 we find that Jesus Christ is referred to as the lamb
37:14 26 times.
37:17 John the Baptist said in John chapter one verse 29 there,
37:20 he said: Behold the lamb of God which takes away
37:25 the sins of the world.
37:26 So if we are going to understand what John the revelator means
37:30 in the Book of Revelation, when he uses the word 26 times.
37:33 Incidentally, the word lamb only occurs 29 times,
37:36 in the whole of the New Testament, think about that,
37:38 29 times in all the New Testament,
37:40 and 26 of them are in the Book of Revelation.
37:43 What John is saying is go back and figure out what that means
37:47 the lamb, go back and take a look at it in it's Old Testament
37:50 context, it doesn't mean a literal lamb,
37:52 it's pointing to something significant.
37:55 To try to understand the Book of Revelation without
37:58 the Old Testament context, is "impossible. "
38:01 It's "what" everyone?
38:02 Impossible!
38:04 The second one here: When we come to Daniel chapter 7
38:09 and we're going to study this prophecy in just a few nights.
38:11 It's absolutely amazing, I love this painting,
38:14 a good friend of mine Eric Pletcher, painted this,
38:15 I just love this.
38:17 We find there these incredible images,
38:20 I mean just out of this world images, a lion with eagles wings
38:24 and a bear that's raised up on one side
38:26 with three ribs in his mouth, a four headed leopard,
38:28 of all things, with four wings, and a beast that was so
38:32 horrific, so terrible that Daniel
38:33 couldn't even describe it, and he sees these unusual beasts
38:37 coming up out of the water.
38:38 You are saying what does all that mean, hang in here,
38:39 we are going to study that, we're going to spend quite a bit
38:41 of time on that, as a matter of fact.
38:43 But here's something interesting when we come to Revelation
38:45 chapter 13, we find this beast called the Antichrist beast.
38:49 Oh, oh did he say it, the Antichrist, sure we said it
38:52 nothing mysterious about it, in fact if you look at your
38:54 extended schedule there.
38:55 We have a message entitled, The Actual, Definite,
38:58 Certain, Unavoidable, Identity of the Antichrist.
39:00 We will show you from the Bible, from the "what" everyone?
39:04 - Bible! - From the Bible,
39:05 who this actually is.
39:06 The point is this, when you come to Revelation chapter 13
39:10 and you encounter this beast, I mean this thing is a
39:12 hideous looking beast.
39:13 John says, listen carefully, he has the mouth of a lion,
39:16 he has the body of a leopard.
39:19 He has the feet of a bear, and he has ten horns.
39:22 Guess where that imagery comes from, just guess!
39:25 It comes from the Old Testament,
39:29 and guess what book it comes from.
39:31 - Daniel! - You are exactly right.
39:32 Try to understand who this beast is,
39:34 without first understanding what those beasts represent in Daniel
39:37 it's going to be impossible.
39:40 Now you can pick up your Detroit News and say well
39:42 I think that that is North Korea, yeah that is North Korea
39:47 right there, and that interpretation will last
39:48 for about five or six years until North Korea
39:51 passes off the scene, and we hope that that situation
39:54 is alleviated in a positive way.
39:56 Notice this one here Bible example number 3:
39:58 According to Daniel and Isaiah, in the Old Testament,
40:02 ancient Babylon fell after a man named Cyrus diverted the river
40:07 Euphrates into an field and this allowed the armies to come in
40:12 and Babylon fell.
40:14 That's history, that's how Babylon fell,
40:17 and we'll spend some more time talking about that.
40:18 What's remarkable is when you come to the Book of Revelation,
40:21 you find in Revelation, the great river Euphrates
40:25 in Revelation 16, is depicted as drying up,
40:27 and immediately after the drying up of the river Euphrates,
40:30 in Revelation 17, Babylon falls.
40:33 Whoa! where did John get that idea from?
40:36 Where did John get that imagery from?
40:38 It comes directly from the Old Testament.
40:40 You want to understand that prophecy, we better go back
40:43 and understand the prophecy that it is based upon,
40:46 is this making sense everyone, yes or no?
40:48 You might be saying, well wait a minute, I don't understand
40:50 those Old Testament things either.
40:52 Well, that's why you come to a Bible prophecy seminar, Amen!
40:54 Exactly!
40:56 Example number four: We'll give you just five of these.
40:59 In the Book of Exodus, that's the second book of the Bible,
41:02 Israel was delivered from Egyptian bondage
41:05 by divine intervention in the form of ten plagues.
41:08 Maybe you saw the movie with Charlton Hesston, right!
41:10 "The Ten Commandments," God delivered His people
41:14 in the form of ten plagues, well guess what we find
41:18 in the Book of Revelation.
41:19 In the Book of Revelation, God's last day people
41:22 are delivered again by divine intervention in the form of
41:26 the seven last plagues.
41:28 Say whoa! where did that imagery come from?
41:31 It comes directly from the Old Testament.
41:33 The fifth example here: Actually this is still part of
41:38 example number four, pardon me, according to Exodus 15,
41:41 the pinnacle of Israel's deliverance came
41:44 when God brought them through the Red Sea.
41:46 Remember that story, God lead them through the Red Sea.
41:49 It was the pinnacle of Israel's exodus experience,
41:52 and according to Revelation 15, the pinnacle of deliverance
41:56 for God's last day people comes, when they stand
41:59 on the Sea of Glass.
42:01 The imagery is so similar, it's almost synonymous.
42:06 Here is our fifth Biblical example.
42:08 According to the Book of Genesis,
42:10 the center of the Garden of Eden was the tree of life.
42:17 According To Revelation, the center of the New Jerusalem
42:21 is "guess what," the tree of life.
42:24 In fact we're going to be spending some pretty
42:25 significant time on that very theme.
42:28 Two essential keys, absolutely essential.
42:31 Number one: The Book of Revelation
42:33 say it with me, rests upon the broad foundation of
42:36 Old Testament history, imagery, and prophecy.
42:39 Tonight we have given you just five examples,
42:41 we could literally give you 50 examples if time allowed.
42:44 What I want you to see here is that if we're going to
42:47 understand the Book of Revelation,
42:48 it's at the end of the Bible for a reason.
42:51 Many people come right to the Book of Revelation,
42:53 and they try to read it and they don't understand it.
42:55 That's a little bit like picking up a Calculus text book,
42:57 and trying to understand it when you don't understand
42:59 simple arithmetic.
43:00 If you go through the process of understanding Revelation,
43:04 listen to these words, on it's own terms.
43:07 What did I say everyone?
43:09 On it's own terms, it really is not very difficult,
43:13 in fact you have got a key in your hand tonight,
43:15 the first one we've already talked about,
43:16 that will already open up the Book of Revelation
43:19 before you, in ways that you never knew possible.
43:21 It's not a scary book, it's not a mystical book,
43:23 It's an awesome book, it's an amazing book,
43:25 and it's an understandable book that brings glory
43:28 to Jesus Christ.
43:30 Number two: That brings us to our second key.
43:33 Jesus Christ is the "what" everyone?
43:36 Focus of end time prophecy, especially
43:40 the Book of Revelation, these two keys are essential
43:42 to unlocking prophecies doors.
43:44 We have a sure foundation in key number one,
43:47 and we have a sharp focus in key number two.
43:49 What I would like to do now is take you through
43:53 the Book of Revelation very quickly.
43:57 In fact as we survey the Book of Revelation,
43:59 I want you to note with me carefully the preeminence
44:03 of Jesus Christ.
44:04 He is clearly the central figure of this amazing book,
44:08 in fact what we are going to do is take a whirlwind tour
44:11 this evening, of the Book of Revelation,
44:13 and I mean whirl wind, it's going to last about 10 minutes.
44:15 If you go walking through a forest,
44:18 you can look at the trees, you can look at the bark,
44:21 you can look at the flowers, you can spend time looking at
44:24 all of the details and the nuances of the forest.
44:27 It's a very different experience than if you fly over the forest.
44:31 If you "what" everyone?
44:33 When you fly over the forest, you get an airplane view.
44:36 You can see the lay of the land, it's very helpful to understand
44:41 the lay of the land, before you go walking into the innermost
44:44 details of it all.
44:46 Does that make sense everyone?
44:47 So instead of just starting right into Revelation
44:49 chapter one and saying verse one, verse two, verse three,
44:52 verse four, and start wading our way through,
44:54 we're going to start loosing people
44:56 What we're going to do tonight is we're going to fly over
44:59 the Book of Revelation in kind of an airplane fashion,
45:01 and we're going to look down and say,
45:03 so that's what the book is all about.
45:04 Let's walk through it together.
45:07 In Revelation chapter one a man by the name of John,
45:10 he was the last living apostle, he was stranded on an island
45:15 a penal colony called Patmos, P- A-T-M-O-S,
45:19 24 miles out into the Aegean Sea, he was Christ's
45:24 last living apostle, he was there, he was separated from
45:26 his family, he was separated from his friends,
45:28 he was separated from everything that was familiar
45:31 to him, and there he was all alone, dejected perhaps,
45:34 and forlorn, just wandering, all of his friends gone,
45:37 all of his family gone.
45:38 He's been exiled to this island because of the Word of God,
45:41 the Bible says, and he's sitting there, and Jesus appears to him
45:45 on that island.
45:46 There's an older man, perhaps
45:48 80 or 90 years old at the time.
45:49 Most scholars believe that the
45:51 Book of Revelation was written some time around 96 A.D.
45:54 and here's John an old man, and his weathered hand,
45:57 and his weathered face on that island, his friends all gone,
46:00 his fellow disciples all gone, separated from all that was
46:04 familiar and common to him, and "BOOM,"
46:06 Jesus appears to him.
46:10 He says John I have appeared to you for a reason,
46:13 I'm going to show you things that everybody
46:17 is going to wonder about right down to the very end of time.
46:20 People are going to read what I'm going to show you
46:23 and John just basically sat back and got to watch
46:26 the most amazing movie to ever transpire,
46:30 directed by Jesus Christ.
46:32 All of these visions began to flash before John,
46:36 in cinematic fashion, and he guides him right through
46:40 these remarkable visions.
46:42 The visions that we are going to be spending time on,
46:44 night, by night, by night, looking as John looked
46:48 at these amazing images.
46:49 Looking as John looked at these mysterious and unusual signs
46:54 and symbols.
46:55 There's John looking up into heaven,
46:56 and what's the first thing he sees in Revelation chapter one?
46:58 He sees the risen Christ, it's the first thing he sees
47:02 the risen Christ, and the Bible says He was walking among
47:06 seven golden candlesticks, and He had seven stars in His hand,
47:10 His feet burned like fire, and were bronze, He had white hair,
47:13 and He speaks to John, and He says John don't be afraid,
47:16 I am the Alpha and the Omega, I am Him who was, and who is,
47:22 and who is to come, I'm Him who was dead, and who was risen.
47:25 John looked up, and he saw the glorified face
47:30 of his best friend in the world, Jesus.
47:32 The Man that he had spent three and a half years
47:34 of his life with, and he looks up and he sees Jesus in Glory
47:37 that's Revelation chapter one.
47:38 Revelation chapter two, and three we find Jesus saying John,
47:42 I've got my churches Ephesus and Smyrna, Pergamum,
47:46 Thyatira's, Sardis, I've got my churches Laodecia,
47:49 I need you to send letter of encouragement,
47:52 letters of rebuke, letters of inspiration,
47:55 to my churches John.
47:56 Write these letters down and send them out.
47:58 Jesus in Revelation two and three is depicted
48:01 as the tender shepherd, keeping watch over His dear churches
48:05 keeping watch over those that were close to Him
48:08 He said John before we get into the visions,
48:10 I need you to send out some urgent letters
48:12 to my special churches, give them encouragement,
48:15 give them inspiration, and some of them give them rebuke,
48:18 and council.
48:19 In Revelation chapter four, we are transported to what is my
48:22 personal favorite vision in all of Revelation,
48:25 Revelation four and five, John sees a throne
48:28 and he looks at that throne and he is amazed at the throne,
48:31 and one sat on the throne, and as the story develops you know
48:35 that that's God on the throne.
48:37 John looks around and there is a scroll,
48:41 in our modern time we bind books like this,
48:45 this is what is called the Kodak's form,
48:47 but in those times, there were scrolls and
48:50 John sees this scroll, and it's sealed with seven seals
48:53 and John has a sense that
48:55 whatever is in that scroll is important.
48:57 He doesn't know what it is, but it's important
48:58 and then the cry is "Who can open the scroll"
49:02 it's been sealed.
49:04 They would seal in ancient times scrolls with wax or with pitch
49:09 so that they couldn't be opened when a message was sent
49:11 from one dignitary to another by a messenger,
49:13 and they would know if it had been opened.
49:15 John sees this marvelous scroll with seven seals,
49:19 and he's looking and no one was found in all of Heaven
49:22 to open it.
49:23 John begins to cry, he begins to weep, because he has a sense
49:29 that whatever is in that scroll, that the destiny of humanity
49:32 hinges on what is in that scroll and he begins to weep.
49:35 Then an angel turns to John and says don't cry.
49:38 The lion of the tribe of Judah has prevailed to open the scroll
49:45 and loose it's seals.
49:47 Then John looks in Revelation chapter five, and he sees a lamb
49:51 as if it had been slain, so in Revelation four and five
49:54 you have the lamb slain, and the lion of the tribe of Judah
49:57 and Jesus comes in, the "Risen Christ"
50:00 and He takes that scroll from the hand of Him
50:02 who was sitting on the throne.
50:03 That's God the Father and He sits down on the throne.
50:07 Powerful imagery, the coronation service of Christ
50:13 taking place there, Christ taking His rightful place
50:16 there on the throne.
50:19 Revelation six and seven, is the opening of those seals.
50:24 Every time Jesus peels back a seal there is a vision.
50:28 Every time Jesus takes off one on the seals,
50:31 there is a special vision that correlates to that seal.
50:35 Revelation six and seven, you can see the flow of it,
50:38 It makes perfectly good chronological sense.
50:41 It's not to say the Book of Revelation is entirely
50:44 chronological, in fact it's not entirely chronological
50:47 that's one of the reasons that people have trouble with
50:48 the Book of Revelation.
50:49 The Book of Revelation is not written chronologically
50:52 it is written thematically, it's based on themes
50:54 more than chronology, and we'll spend time on that.
50:56 Revelation six and seven, Jesus the glorified Christ
50:59 begins to peel back those seals and vision, after vision,
51:02 after vision comes and then we get to Revelation eight
51:05 and nine, and the trumpets begin to blow.
51:08 The trumpets of judgment, ta tada da, ta tada da
51:11 the great shofar is sounding, what did you think of that?
51:13 I can play the trumpet, but I didn't want to scare you.
51:15 The trumpet sounds and these horrific judgments
51:21 begin to fall.
51:22 So what are those judgments, and what are those trumpets.
51:25 It's Christ that is issuing these things,
51:28 Christ is at the center of it, are there judgments?
51:30 Sure there are, but it is Christ who is issuing them,
51:32 it's Christ who is at the center and the judgments flow out.
51:37 In Revelation chapter 10, we find this angel who looks
51:40 exactly like Christ in Revelation chapter one.
51:43 Many Bible expositors believe it is Jesus, a messenger
51:46 and He returns and He puts one foot on the sea,
51:49 and He puts one foot on the land and He lifts His hand to heaven
51:52 and swears that there will be time or delay no longer.
51:55 He has a little scroll in His hand, a remarkable,
51:58 remarkable prophecy.
52:00 Revelation chapter eleven, we find these two witnesses.
52:04 Two witnesses that could call down fire from heaven,
52:09 and a witness that could cause plagues to fall,
52:11 and then the witnesses are slain.
52:12 Who are they witnesses of?
52:15 Jesus Christ!
52:17 These things do not exist in a vacuum, even the witnesses
52:20 were testifying of Christ and their slaying.
52:23 And then Revelation 12 and 13, is the undisputed climax
52:28 of the Book of Revelation.
52:29 Here we find Jesus Christ, the Risen Christ,
52:32 the Glorified Christ, in direct conflict and combat
52:37 with the enemy.
52:38 In Revelation chapter 12 is the conflict with the dragon,
52:41 verse nine says, that dragon that deceives the whole world
52:44 is the Devil and Satan.
52:45 Here we find Jesus locked in almost hand to hand
52:49 combat with His arch enemy.
52:51 Well, who is this dragon? Who is this Devil?
52:53 Where did he come from?
52:54 You got to keep coming to the meetings,
52:55 that's exactly what we're going to talk about.
52:57 Revelation 13, this beast that we've already talked about,
52:59 The body of a leopard, the feet of a bear, the mouth of a lion,
53:02 and these ten horns, and Jesus in direct conflict,
53:05 the people of God, in direct conflict with these
53:07 satanic, anti-Christian powers.
53:10 Revelation 14, we see these three angels streaking
53:14 through the midnight heavens.
53:15 Three very special important messages:
53:17 The first message is fear God and give Glory to Him,
53:20 for the hour of His judgment is come.
53:22 And these angels have special messages that point us to,
53:26 guess who everyone? Jesus Christ!
53:28 That's exactly right.
53:29 Revelation 14, ends with the second coming of Jesus Christ,
53:33 Powerful, unimaginable, unfathomable glory that will be.
53:36 Revelation 15 all the way through 19, Jesus in chapter 19
53:41 is depicted as riding on a great white stallion.
53:44 The Bible says He has on His vesture a name King of Kings,
53:48 and say it with me Lord of Lords,
53:51 He is the Word of God, He's clothed in a garment
53:53 dipped in blood, and He returns victorious over His enemies.
53:57 That imagery comes directly from an ancient practice.
54:01 When one army had been defeated, the general of the
54:04 victorious army would get on a white stallion,
54:06 and he would ride victoriously across the battlefield
54:09 on that white stallion.
54:10 That's exactly what we find in Revelation 15, 16, 17, 18,
54:14 and 19, is Christ gets the victory over His
54:16 self styled opposers.
54:18 Revelation 20, Christ takes that nail scarred hand,
54:21 and lays it directly on the hand of Satan, and binds him,
54:26 and throws him into a pit.
54:27 Her we find Christ in direct conflict with His arch-enemy
54:32 and that is awesome, I can not wait to get to Revelation 20.
54:36 Revelation 21: The best of all, we see the New Jerusalem,
54:41 the Bible says there will be no more pain, no more sorrow,
54:44 no more death, no more disease, no more terrorism,
54:47 someone say Amen!
54:48 - Amen!
54:49 What's the focus of the New Jerusalem?
54:51 It's not a city, it's not gold streets, it's not gold walls,
54:55 it's who's in that city, that is "Jesus!"
54:59 All the way through the Book of Revelation,
55:03 the whole focus is Jesus.
55:06 From Revelation one to Revelation 22,
55:09 we can understand this book.
55:12 We can understand Bible prophecy,
55:15 but we're going to need two keys.
55:16 Number one, we're going to need the key that says
55:18 the Old Testament, is the foundation
55:22 of the Book of Revelation.
55:23 Number two: We're going to need the key that says,
55:26 the focus of this book is not dragons, the focus of this book
55:29 is not the anti-Christ, the focus of this book is not
55:31 all of this mystical imagery.
55:33 The focus of this book is who? Say it with me now.
55:35 Jesus Christ!
55:38 Can you say Amen?
55:40 - Amen! - Alright!
55:42 Is your appetite wetted?
55:43 Alright, Well we're done for tonight.
55:46 Ha! ha! ha! ha! We're going to close with
55:48 a word of prayer, we're going to turn you loose,
55:50 tomorrow night, I'm going to let you know something,
55:51 I'm going to make you a promise.
55:52 We want to be very sensitive to your time, are you busy?
55:57 Anybody here busy? Hey, I'm busy.
56:00 Here's what's going to happen, I want to let you know,
56:02 I'm not whistling Dixie up here.
56:03 These meetings are going to start at 7:00 sharp.
56:06 Seven sharp, so don't think, well I'll show up at 7:10,
56:10 you show up at 7:10, you miss the first ten minutes
56:11 of the meetings.
56:12 You show up at 7:00 sharp, this meeting is going to last
56:15 about 55 minutes, and you can walk out of here most nights
56:19 by eight o'clock.
56:20 Sound like a good idea?
56:21 So can still get home and eat your meal, and see the game,
56:25 whatever you want, but beloved, we are going to be here
56:28 responsibly, carefully, studying God's Holy Word.
56:33 I want to give you a personal invitation to be with us
56:35 as many nights as you can, and I'll let you know.
56:38 I don't gain anything from you being here except the fellowship
56:42 of good Christian brothers, and sisters.
56:43 But you will gain a lot from being here, do whatever you can,
56:47 change your schedule, manipulate your schedule,
56:50 adjust your schedule, if you cannot make it on certain nights
56:53 no problem, we'll have audio CD's available
56:55 every single night for a nominal fee,
56:56 again that money doesn't go to me, that money goes to
56:59 defray the expenses of this event.
57:01 You are all invited as my personal guests, to come,
57:03 to bring family members, to bring friends,
57:05 and to go on a journey with us as we discover prophecy.
57:11 Let's pray together, Father in Heaven,
57:13 we have just spent a few moments together tonight
57:16 trying to unlock a few of the mysteries of Revelation,
57:20 and Father we have seen tonight it is not some mysterious book,
57:23 incomprehensibly difficult, to understand no!, no!, no!,
57:26 In fact tonight with just two keys in our hands, we've already
57:29 begun to unlock some of the
57:31 marvelous mysteries of this book.
57:32 Father, I want to pray for every person here, unique people,
57:36 special people, people that you love.
57:38 Father there are people here tonight with challenges,
57:40 there's people here with frustrations,
57:42 people here with needs, Father minister to every person
57:45 that is here and their families, and Father bring them back
57:48 not to my Glory but to your Glory in the name of Jesus,
57:52 let everyone say, "Amen. "


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Revised 2014-12-17