Revelation's Ancient Discoveries

Revelation's Most Amazing Prophecy

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

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Series Code: RAD

Program Code: RAD170008A


00:01 What does the future hold?
00:02 Where can we find certainty in a world of uncertainty?
00:05 The book of Revelation provides hopeful answers for today,
00:09 tomorrow, and forever.
00:11 Join Mark Finley, author and world renowned speaker
00:14 on a journey into the future with
00:21 Welcome back, and thank you for joining us for
00:23 Revelation's Ancient Discoveries.
00:25 There are really two ways you can study the
00:27 book of Revelation.
00:28 You can take it chapter by chapter, verse by verse,
00:30 and that's a very valuable way to study the book.
00:33 The other way you can study it is look at the big pictures;
00:37 look at the large themes in the book of Revelation.
00:40 And that's what we're doing in this series,
00:42 Revelation's Ancient Discoveries.
00:44 We're looking at the big picture, looking at the huge
00:47 themes of the great controversy between good and evil.
00:51 You'll be thrilled at this presentation.
00:53 But let's pray. Father in Heaven, thank You so much for
00:58 the opportunity to study Your book.
01:01 Thank You so much for the privilege of opening the pages
01:06 of Scripture, and seeing Jesus Christ revealed
01:09 there in Revelation.
01:11 As we study, give us a sense of Your presence.
01:15 Move within us and help us to see light penetrating the
01:22 darkness of our world with the glory of Your soon return.
01:26 In Christ's name, Amen.
01:28 My topic this presentation is Revelation's
01:34 Most Amazing Discovery.
01:37 Have you ever had a secret dream, a secret wish,
01:43 something you've really wanted to do?
01:45 Maybe it was to go sky diving. You say, Not me!
01:50 You know, not long ago I talked to a friend, and my friend said,
01:54 I just went skydiving this week.
01:56 It was the most awesome experience, the most wonderful
02:00 experience I've ever had.
02:01 He did not tempt me with his skydiving experience at all.
02:07 And it kind of reminded me of a story that I read some time ago.
02:11 Debbie was a skydiver; very experienced skydiver.
02:17 And she went with a group on a Sunday afternoon far above
02:25 the deserts of Arizona skydiving.
02:28 It was a beautiful day.
02:30 The sky was blue, not much wind blowing, one of those
02:34 perfect days for skydiving.
02:36 She went with her instructor, and about five other people.
02:40 The instructor, knowing Debbie was very experienced at
02:43 skydiving said, Debbie look, I'm going to jump out first.
02:46 I want to watch the others jump out of the plane.
02:50 And then you jump out last.
02:52 Debbie made her jump.
02:55 When she went to pull her rip cord for the parachute,
02:59 for some reason the parachute didn't open.
03:01 She began going faster, and faster, and faster in her dive.
03:06 She hit another diver; knocked her unconscious,
03:11 blood was running down her face.
03:13 She streamed past her instructor.
03:16 And as she plummeted toward earth, her instructor knew
03:21 that something was wrong.
03:23 He saw the blood running down her face.
03:25 He knew that she would hit the ground in just a few
03:29 seconds in sudden death.
03:31 Her instructor, Greg, recognizing there was a disaster
03:35 in the making, tucked in his arms, folded his legs,
03:40 and he made a rapid dive, 186 miles an hour.
03:48 As he sped past Debbie, he reached out and
03:52 pulled her reserve cord.
03:54 Her parachute opened.
03:56 And as it did she floated down to earth.
04:01 Now she was injured, but she would never forget
04:05 this instructor who saved her life.
04:08 It was a mid-air rescue.
04:11 As I think of planet earth, we too,
04:15 are hurtling toward disaster.
04:17 We, too, are hurtling toward the last days of earth's history,
04:23 hurtling to our death.
04:25 And as you look at what's going on in our world
04:28 you see terrorism, you see death on every hand,
04:33 a world in serious trouble, a world that is
04:37 hurtling toward disaster.
04:39 The moral fabric of society is falling apart: divorce,
04:45 immorality, sexual perversion.
04:48 We're living in a world hurtling toward disaster:
04:53 famine, fire, flood, hurricanes, earthquakes,
04:58 natural disasters on every hand.
05:01 Would you agree with me that this world
05:04 needs a mid-air rescue?
05:06 We need intervention that we cannot find humanly.
05:11 God has a message, a message to prepare men and women
05:16 for the last days of Earth's history.
05:19 Of all the books of the Bible, where do you think you would
05:22 find God's last day message?
05:26 What book of the Bible do you think you'd find that in?
05:28 If you were looking for it, if you were searching for it
05:30 you'd look at the last book of the Bible, Revelation,
05:35 that's written for the last generation of men and women
05:38 to live on planet earth.
05:40 Revelation has an end time message, a message to prepare
05:44 people for the coming of our Lord.
05:47 Here in the book of Revelation we discover
05:55 Just like Greg rescued Debbie as she was plummeting
06:01 to disaster after that dive from the plane,
06:05 so God is getting ready for a mid-air rescue, to rescue His
06:10 children on planet earth.
06:12 The book of Revelation speaks of hope.
06:15 The book of Revelation speaks of a bright glorious tomorrow.
06:19 Yes, there is trouble ahead.
06:21 We can't minimize that.
06:23 Certainly there's a time of trouble coming that this world
06:27 has never known before.
06:29 Certainly there'll be natural disasters,
06:31 rising crime, and violence.
06:34 Certainly the Bible teaches about a mark called
06:37 the mark of the beast, a time when no man can buy or sell.
06:42 The Bible talks about a universal death decree.
06:45 It talks about the economic powers, and the religious
06:48 powers and the civil powers uniting.
06:51 In this series on Revelation, we will study about
06:55 those varying events.
06:56 But beyond that trauma, beyond that tragedy,
07:00 beyond that difficulty, beyond all of those attempts by Satan
07:06 to destroy goodness and righteousness on Planet Earth,
07:09 beyond all of that we will see God has a plan; that's there's
07:14 a bright, glorious tomorrow that God has
07:17 planned for you and me.
07:26 That's true down through history.
07:28 And it would be surprising if God did not have a message
07:32 for His people today.
07:34 Down through history God has sent a message.
07:45 Let's think about some of those times when crises were facing
07:50 the world, and God sent a message.
07:52 Think of the of the days of Noah.
07:55 The Bible says, in Genesis 6, that the earth was corrupt
07:59 before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
08:03 The Bible says, that's in verse 5, in Genesis 6:11 the
08:07 Bible says that the thoughts of their heart were only evil,
08:10 ind the imaginations of their heart continually.
08:15 God saw the wickedness, the sin of the world
08:19 in the days of Noah.
08:20 And so God was going to destroy the world by water.
08:23 But He sent a man, Noah.
08:25 Now it was not God's plan that there was the only one ark.
08:29 You know, I think a loving God would have liked to have seen
08:31 a hundred arks, a thousand arks, don't you?
08:34 Wasn't it God's intent to save all of humanity?
08:37 The reason they weren't saved is not because God didn't
08:39 send a message to prepare them.
08:41 The reason they weren't saved is because they didn't heed
08:45 the message that God sent.
08:46 God sent a man, Noah, to prepare the world for the
08:50 flood; a coming disaster.
08:52 Only a few accepted that message
08:56 and entered into the ark.
08:58 The great majority rejected that message.
09:02 God had a message to prepare for the flood.
09:06 In the days of Joseph, Pharaoh was going to experience,
09:12 and all of Egypt in fact, and experience famine.
09:15 But God sent Joseph with his dream.
09:18 There would be seven years of plenty, seven years of famine,
09:20 before the great crisis that was to hit.
09:23 God was preparing the world, preparing Egypt, Israel,
09:29 the Middle East, to face that crisis.
09:32 God sent a message before the first coming of Christ.
09:36 Did God raise up a messenger before the
09:38 first coming of Christ? Did He?
09:40 Who was that? John the Baptist.
09:42 And John the Baptist preached a message to prepare men and
09:45 women for the first coming of Christ.
09:47 Now let me ask you this question.
09:49 Wouldn't it be surprising that God would prepare the world
09:53 in the time of the flood, with a message from Noah,
09:56 that God would send Joseph to prepare for that great famine,
10:00 that God would raise up John the Baptist for the
10:02 first coming of Christ, and God would not have a message to
10:07 prepare a people for the second coming of Christ?
10:09 Wouldn't that not be surprising?
10:11 Would that not be shocking?
10:13 Would that not be certainly something that
10:16 would be unbelievable?
10:17 But I have good news for you.
10:19 God has sent a message to prepare a world
10:24 for His soon return, and that message is found in the
10:29 last book of the Bible.
10:30 That message is found in the book of Revelation.
10:33 If God has sent a message to prepare a world for the coming
10:36 of Jesus, do you think it's important to study Revelation?
10:39 Do you think it's important to look into these prophecies,
10:42 and understand God's message to prepare the world
10:47 for His soon return?
10:48 Here in Revelation we find God's end-time message.
10:54 That message is in the heart of the book of Revelation.
10:59 It's found here in Revelation 14.
11:02 Everything before Revelation 14 leads up to this message,
11:07 and everything after Revelation 14 grows out of this message.
11:12 So Revelation 14 is really the summary of the entire
11:15 book of Revelation.
11:21 Now notice the angel doesn't float, he flies.
11:23 Here's an urgent message.
11:29 The eternal gospel that is spoken to the hearts of men and
11:32 women down through the centuries.
11:40 Here is a message that leaps across geographical boundaries.
11:45 Here is a message that bridges all cultures.
11:49 Here is a message that goes to the ends of the earth.
11:52 This is not something done in a corner.
11:55 This is not a message for one denomination.
11:57 This is a message rather that goes worldwide; a message that
12:02 covers every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.
12:05 It's beyond denominations.
12:07 This message is for all humanity everywhere.
12:10 It's a message for Muslims.
12:12 It's a message for Hindus.
12:13 It's a message for Buddhists.
12:15 It's a message for athiests.
12:16 It's a message for Christians.
12:18 It is God's final message to all men and women on earth
12:22 in earth's last hour.
12:24 And men and women who accept that message, whoever they are,
12:27 wherever they are, will be prepared
12:29 for the coming of Jesus.
12:31 It is as important a message for our day as Noah's
12:34 message was for his day.
12:36 Was anybody saved from the floodwaters who did not
12:40 accept Noah's message, and get into the ark?
12:43 Not at all. And does God have an urgent, vital, significant,
12:49 end-time message for today?
12:51 Indeed He does. It's
12:54 that's to go around the globe rapidly.
12:59 We would expect then, just before the coming of Jesus,
13:02 that God would send His message around the globe.
13:05 It's exciting to me that I can stand here in a little place
13:11 in Illinois, in Southern Illinois, and speak to the
13:14 world from this place.
13:16 It's exciting to see that God is using television
13:20 around the world to share His message.
13:22 That through Internet God is sharing His message.
13:25 Through radio God is sharing His message.
13:27 Through literature God is sharing His message.
13:29 Totalitarian regimes cannot keep that message from going
13:33 to the ends of the earth.
13:34 Repressive governments can't keep that message from going
13:37 to the ends of the earth.
13:39 God's message is penetrating the deepest jungles.
13:42 God's message is penetrating the largest cities.
13:46 God's message is penetrating the most closed countries.
13:50 Because Jesus said that He would send a last day message,
13:54 pictured by angels flying in midheaven,
13:57 to go to the ends of the earth.
13:59 And those prophecies are being fulfilled today.
14:02 We are living in the time when those prophecies
14:06 are being fulfilled.
14:13 What event does it prepare them for?
14:16 Revelation 14 is divided into three parts.
14:20 First there is a people that are redeemed by Christ,
14:24 and stand on the sea of glass.
14:26 Secondly, there is a message that prepares those people.
14:31 That's from Revelation 6 to about Revelation 12.
14:34 Then there's an event for which they're prepared.
14:37 Did you get those three things?
14:39 A people... A what? message and an event.
14:43 Once again, what are they? a people,
14:45 a message, and an event.
14:47 So let's look at the event.
14:49 We find it in Revelation 14.
14:51 We see it there in Revelation 14:14-16.
14:55 John says, I looked...
14:56 I gazed in prophetic vision.
15:13 And notice what the angel says when he comes out of the temple.
15:16 The angel cries with a loud voice.
15:19 What kind of voice everybody? a loud voice.
15:22 Why a loud voice? So all humanity can hear it.
15:25 The angel says with a
15:43 Now when the Bible uses the symbol of harvest,
15:46 what does that mean?
15:48 In the book of Revelation, we don't have to guess what
15:52 symbolism means, because as we look at Revelation,
15:56 in other parts of the Bible the symbols are explained.
16:00 And so when the Bible uses the term harvest,
16:04 how is that explained?
16:05 You remember Jesus told a parable about the harvest,
16:10 and this explains the meaning of
16:12 Revelation's symbol of harvest.
16:15 Remember Jesus said there was a field, and the farmer sowed
16:18 good seed, and there were wheat and tares in the field?
16:21 And then Jesus taught that the harvest would come?
16:24 And then Christ puts it this way:
16:31 Who's the enemy? That's the devil.
16:41 Now how do you know the harvest is the end of the age?
16:44 You know that because I told you, right?
16:45 No, you know that because of what? the Bible says it.
16:49 Jesus says, The harvest is the end of the age.
16:51 So when the book of Revelation 14, talks about the final
16:55 harvest, it's talking about the end of the age.
16:58 It's talking about the time that Jesus Christ will come.
17:02 The time that the destiny's of all humanity would be settled.
17:06 The time that Christ would come, and the righteous
17:10 would be resurrected.
17:11 The righteous living would be changed, and along with the
17:15 righteous who are resurrected and changed, will be caught up
17:17 to meet Christ in the sky.
17:19 The time that Christ would come, when the wicked would be
17:22 destroyed by the brightness of His coming.
17:24 There is a message, an eternal message, a universal message,
17:29 a global message that would prepare men and women for that
17:34 event of the coming of Christ.
17:36 The reign of sin will come to an end.
17:40 Jesus will be victorious, and glorious.
17:44 He will reign forever and ever.
17:46 But what is that message?
17:49 That message that must go to all of humanity?
17:52 That message that must go to the ends of the earth?
17:55 That unique message, like Noah's day, to prepare a world
17:59 for the coming of Christ.
18:00 Let's study that message phrase by phrase.
18:03 Understanding that message means eternal life.
18:14 Let's pause for a moment.
18:16 Let's not pass over that phrase, everlasting gospel, quickly.
18:20 What is the everlasting gospel?
18:23 The everlasting gospel is defined for us in Scripture.
18:29 It is about the death, the resurrection,
18:34 the priestly ministry, and the coming of our Lord.
18:37 The Apostle Paul talks about the everlasting gospel in
19:06 The fact that through Jesus Christ and His shed blood,
19:10 and because of His grace, you and I can find peace.
19:14 Just last evening I got a message from my webpage.
19:20 It was a short message; message from a young man, and he said
19:25 something like this: He said, life for me is not worth living.
19:32 Can you call me, Pastor?
19:35 Because I want to know how do I find Jesus Christ?
19:38 I don't have any peace in my life,
19:41 and any purpose in my life.
19:44 There is one way that we can have peace.
19:47 One of the reasons we don't have peace often is because
19:50 guilt strangles that peace.
19:53 One of the reasons we don't have peace is because the
19:55 condemning voices in our head say, You've failed.
19:58 You're not worth very much.
20:00 There's no hope for you.
20:02 One of the reasons we don't have peace is because we don't
20:04 have purpose and meaning in our lives.
20:06 But coming to Jesus we find One who forgives us, One whose arms
20:11 are wide open for us, One who gives us grace, One who died
20:15 for us so that our guilt could be gone, One who assures us
20:18 of the gift of eternal life.
20:20 In 1 John 5, the Bible says this: it says, This is the
20:24 confidence that we have in Him.
20:26 In the book of John it says, And I've written these things that
20:31 you may know that you have eternal life, because His,
20:34 this life is in His Son.
20:35 When we accept Jesus He gives us the gift of eternal life.
20:40 We can find peace again.
20:42 What is the gospel?
20:49 You see, it's not that we can do enough good works to be saved.
20:53 It's not, look how righteous and great that I am.
20:57 It's rather, this is what Christ has done for me.
21:00 And what's the essence of Christianity?
21:02 It's kneeling at Jesus' feet.
21:04 It's saying, Lord, I am Yours.
21:05 I accept Your sacrifice for me.
21:08 I accept Your death on my behalf.
21:11 I accept Your perfect life makes up for my imperfection.
21:15 I want to live for Christ.
21:17 For me to live is Christ.
21:20 Remember what Jesus said in John 3:16, when He's talking to
21:24 Nicodemus, and Nicodemus has no peace.
21:26 He has all the external trappings of religion,
21:29 the formal, ritualistic religion,
21:31 that Jewish background.
21:34 And Jesus says to Nicodemus,
21:50 Here is the good news!
21:52 Here is Christ's message for a final generation.
21:54 You need not perish.
21:56 You can live, and live forever.
21:58 The grave need not be a dark hole in the ground.
22:01 Death need not be a long night without a morning.
22:04 You need not perish, Jesus says.
22:06 You can have everlasting life.
22:08 What is the gospel?
22:10 The gospel is the good news that Christ died, but it's also
22:14 the good news that He lived a perfect life.
22:19 Jesus resisted every temptation of the Devil,
22:23 by the strength of the Father.
22:25 Jesus resisted every temptation of the evil one.
22:29 Everything that was thrown at Christ by
22:36 the Devil, Jesus resisted.
22:37 He lived a perfect life.
22:39 What difference does that make?
22:41 It really makes two differences.
22:42 1. That the perfect life that He lived atones for, makes up for
22:48 our imperfect lives.
22:50 But secondly, it also makes this difference: if Jesus, through
22:55 dependence on the Father, if Jesus through divine strength
23:01 could be an overcomer, Revelation says you and I
23:05 can also be overcomers.
23:06 In the message to the seven churches, they all end with
23:10 the same phrase: To him that overcomes,
23:12 to him that overcomes, to him that overcomes.
23:15 You and I need not be strangled by sin anymore.
23:28 We come to Jesus just as we are.
23:31 We don't have to wait until we have some
23:33 kind of super perfection.
23:35 We come to Jesus just as we are, but we don't stay as we are.
23:39 He comes into our lives by His grace.
23:42 By His Divine power He changes us, makes us new again.
23:49 Christ died for us.
23:50 Christ lives for us.
23:52 Christ rose from the dead for us.
23:54 Christ, indeed, is alive!
23:58 And because He is alive, we can come, and His power
24:02 can change our lives.
24:04 He can make us over again.
24:06 He can give us new purpose and meaning in life.
24:12 He is there before the throne of God.
24:15 The Bible says in Hebrews 4:15, Let us come boldly,
24:20 or confidently to the throne of grace that we may find mercy
24:24 and grace in time of need.
24:26 Do you have some time of need?
24:28 Going through some challenge in your life?
24:30 Revelation's end time message is you're not alone,
24:34 that through Jesus' power, and by His grace you can be a
24:37 changed man, you can be a changed woman,
24:39 you can be a new person.
24:41 The great leaders of this world have lived, and died,
24:46 and they're in their grave: Stalin in his grave,
24:49 Chairman Mao in his grave, Napoleon in his grave.
24:53 You look at the great leaders of the world; they live,
24:57 they're on the world's screen for a blip, and they're gone,
25:02 but the living Christ is alive.
25:06 This is the message of Revelation, that we serve a
25:10 risen Savior, and His power can be yours,
25:14 His power can be mine.
25:15 Because He lives for us, the Jesus that died for us,
25:20 is the Jesus that lives for us.
25:22 What is the message, this special message that's to go to
25:25 the ends of the earth? It's the gospel.
25:27 You remember what Matthew 24:14 says?
25:30 This gospel of the kingdom shall go to the ends of the earth,
25:34 as a witness to all nations.
25:36 Then the end will come.
25:40 I think of a young woman, a young attorney in Bulgaria.
25:46 Came to our meetings; accepted Christ.
25:49 She found peace. I think of a thief in Moscow, scarred down
25:54 his face, in and out of court twenty-seven times.
25:57 He came to our meetings; listened to messages like this.
26:00 He found peace. I think of a young motorcycle gang leader
26:06 in Fitchburg, Massachusetts came in with his motorcycle
26:10 gang to the meetings, and he found peace.
26:12 I think of a young up and coming rock star came to our meetings,
26:17 New Haven, Connecticut.
26:18 He found peace. Yes, as we come to Jesus Christ there is a new
26:24 peace that flows into our life, because the everlasting gospel,
26:28 Revelation 14:6, is the answer to the great
26:32 problems of humanity.
26:34 This message, according to the Bible, is to go to
26:37 the ends of the earth.
26:38 It's a message that's to move this world with the
26:42 Holy Spirit's power.
26:43 It will lighten the earth with the glory of God.
26:47 The Holy Spirit, in the last days of earth's history, will be
26:51 poured out like it was in the book of Acts.
26:54 Now this message will reveal
27:02 It will reveal truths that have been hidden
27:04 down through the ages.
27:07 The message in Revelation goes on, and it reveals an
27:14 of the gospel. Parts of that Biblical message that
27:19 have been neglected.
27:21 It's a message to call men and women to receive God's grace
27:26 so powerfully in their lives that they obey God.
27:30 The Bible says in Revelation14:7
27:47 Now some people say that that's a little frightening.
27:51 The Bible says fear God.
27:55 The Old Testament was written in Hebrew.
27:58 The New Testament was written in Greek.
28:01 And there's an interesting word.
28:03 Do you see where it says there, fear God?
28:05 Their word is theou in Greek.
28:08 And that means, have the deepest respect, have the deepest awe,
28:15 a respect for God that leads me to desire to do
28:20 whatever He asks me to do.
28:22 To fear God means not to tremble in fear, in the sense
28:28 of being afraid of an authoritarian dictator, but
28:37 That I have such respect for Him that all I want to do is what
28:41 God wants me to do.
28:42 That I have such reverence for Him, such awe for Him,
28:46 such a sense that He will never ask me to do something that's
28:51 not in harmony with my best good, that I fall at His feet
28:54 and I say, God, all I want to do is what You want me to do.
28:58 So fearing God and obedience are a link.
29:00 They're linked through Scripture.
29:07 Now if you come to the wrong conclusion,
29:10 you missed the whole point, right? So,
29:15 That's reverence and respect Him.
29:18 And how do I do that?
29:23 So there's a message in the book of Revelation that calls
29:27 us who are saved by grace.
29:28 Calls all humanity everwhere to fear, or respect God,
29:33 and live obedient Godly lives.
29:40 Are people forgetting God's law today?
29:42 Are we living in a society where men and women at times,
29:46 have turned their back on God's law, because they feel God's
29:49 law is restrictive?
29:51 But yet, God's law is the essence of freedom.
30:00 It's not only your head.
30:01 What's the difference between having the law in our mind,
30:04 and the law in our heart?
30:05 You can have the law of God in your head, and simply try to
30:08 keep it legalistically, and ritually,
30:11 and fail again and again.
30:12 You can know what God wants you to do, but when He puts it in
30:16 your heart, you love to do it.
30:17 When He puts it in your heart you desire to do it.
30:19 When He puts it in your heart that's what you want.
30:22 And so God says, My son, don't forget my law.
30:25 In other words, don't forget it out of your mind,
30:27 but let your heart know that I'll do nothing that is not
30:33 for your best good.
30:34 Know, my children, that just like a father wants the best
30:39 for his children, just like a father would never harm his
30:43 children, because he loves them, God says to you,
30:46 Let your heart keep My law.
30:49 Recognize the beauty of My law, and by My Spirit,
30:54 I will give you the strength to follow Me.
30:56 Revelation 14:12 describes a people, a people that live in
31:00 the last days of earth's history.
31:04 Another word for patience is endurance of the saints.
31:07 Saints are believers.
31:08 Here are the endurance of my end time people.
31:11 Say, where are God's people today?
31:13 They have heard God's message.
31:15 They have responded to the gospel.
31:17 They've accepted His grace.
31:19 They are redeemed by His love.
31:21 They have reverential awe for Him.
31:23 They want to obey Him.
31:30 Somebody said, I thought if you were saved by grace
31:33 through faith, you didn't have to keep the law.
31:35 Grace does not lead you to disobey God,
31:40 grace leads you to obey God.
31:42 Love does not lead you to be disobedient,
31:45 love leads you to be obedient.
31:47 Here is an end time message; a message for all humanity,
31:51 a message for every man, woman, and child living on the
31:54 face of planet earth.
31:55 Here is a call for those who have faith...
31:58 Now notice it doesn't say faith in Jesus,
32:01 it says the faith of what? faith of Jesus.
32:04 They've accepted His grace, so the same quality of faith
32:09 that was in Christ, the same quality of faith that guided His
32:15 life, the same quality of faith that led Him to be dependent
32:19 on the Father, that is living in end time believers.
32:22 And that faith is dynamic, that faith is powerful,
32:25 and that faith leads them to keep the commandments of God.
32:29 And they long to obey Him; not because it is some
32:33 legalistic requirement, but because the living faith of
32:36 Christ is in their life.
32:38 And when you know Christ, you want to obey Christ.
32:41 Now notice, Fear God...
32:43 Here's an end time message.
32:44 Reverence God, respect God, let the faith of
32:47 Christ live in your life.
32:53 What does it mean to give glory to God?
32:57 How do we give glory to God?
33:13 Let's ask the Bible to define what that means.
33:16 Let's go to the Apostle Paul.
33:22 It means to honor Him in the things we take into our bodies.
33:26 It means to honor Him in the things we look at and see.
33:30 It means to honor Him, or give glory to Him in the things we
33:33 hear, the music we listen to.
33:35 It means to give glory to Him in the things that we watch on
33:39 television, the places we go, the lifestyle that we have.
33:54 Is everything you do to the glory of God?
33:56 Can you take a cigarette and put it in your mouth and smoke it,
34:00 and destroy your body to the glory of God?
34:03 Can you take alcohol and just imbibe of it
34:06 to the glory of God?
34:08 Can you treat your body like a fun house, and eat whatever
34:11 you want, and say that's to the glory of God? Certainly not!
34:14 What does the Bible say?
34:23 We desire to keep this created habitation that God has
34:28 given us to His glory.
34:30 I remember one time I was helping a lady quit smoking.
34:33 She was an older grandma, and she had been smoking for about
34:37 forty years, and she could not quit.
34:40 Everything we did...
34:41 One day I went to visit her and she said,
34:43 Pastor Mark, guess what? I quit smoking! she said.
34:46 I said, How did you quit smoking?
34:48 She said, Well, I had this one thought, every time I took a
34:52 puff of cigarette...
34:53 I'm a Christian! I committed my life to Jesus!
34:55 But I never could quit smoking.
34:57 But then I had this thought, If I'm a Christian,
34:59 the Holy Spirit lives within me.
35:01 If I'm a Christian, I'm the temple of God.
35:05 If I'm a Christian, and I take a drag on a cigarette,
35:08 Pastor Mark, I might be choking the Holy Spirit.
35:10 I don't want to do that! I quit!
35:12 Once you recognize your body is the temple of God,
35:16 what do you want to do?
35:17 You want to give glory to God.
35:19 And so here's a message, an end time message,
35:21 a message of the gospel of God's grace,
35:24 a message of His love and mercy,
35:27 a message that goes to the ends of the earth.
35:29 Here's an end time message that calls those of us who were saved
35:33 by grace to obey God and keep His commandments.
35:35 Here's an end time message, a message that echoes the message
35:40 of the New Testament, that has been lost sight of
35:42 down through the ages.
35:46 I urge you, I appeal to you.
35:54 Notice you present, that is you choose.
36:04 You see where it says, your reasonable service?
36:06 The Phillips translation of the Bible puts it this way,
36:09 which is an act of worship.
36:12 So when we come to God and say, God, I'm not going to take
36:15 anything into my body that defiles it.
36:18 We really enter into an act of worship, because we're
36:21 presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice to God;
36:25 holy and acceptable to Him.
36:27 This is not salvation by diet.
36:31 It is not salvation by works.
36:34 It is rather the response of a heart of love that wants only
36:39 to glorify God in the bodies that He's given us.
36:43 Can you see why, in the last days of earth's history,
36:45 that God is sending a message to a final generation
36:49 on planet earth, because this world often is defiling their
36:54 bodies with the things they take in, defiling their minds with
36:59 the things that they watch, defiling their whole beings
37:04 by the places of entertainment that they go.
37:07 So here is an end time message that says, Fear God.
37:12 Give glory to Him. Live in harmony with the marvelous laws
37:16 of health that He has given you.
37:19 An end time message of physical, mental, spiritual, emotional
37:24 health to prepare a people for the coming of Jesus. Now notice:
37:35 Of all the things that God has made or created,
37:38 what's the most marvelous?
37:39 What's the most amazing of all the things God has made?
37:42 What is it? The human body.
37:44 Can I worship Him, worship the Creator,
37:49 by tearing down what He has made?
37:52 If I want to worship the Creator, I want to work in
37:56 harmony with what Jesus Christ has made,
37:59 I don't want to tear down what He's made.
38:01 But notice what it says:
38:07 In other words, worship the Creator.
38:09 Now who is this, a message calling us to worship?
38:12 It's a message calling us to worship the Creator.
38:17 Throughout the book of Revelation, there is this appeal
38:22 to worship the Creator.
38:23 Can there be anything more meaningful than worshipping
38:27 the Creator in an age of evolution?
38:30 In an age where people believe that through fortuitous chance
38:35 that some kind of inanimate substance in the ocean came
38:41 together, and over millions of years, they understand that that
38:45 formed some kind of life form, and then that life form,
38:49 over millions of years, began to progress.
38:52 And down through those millenniums, it eventually
38:55 evolved into humanity?
38:57 That's what many people believe.
39:00 They believe given enough time, and given the right
39:03 circumstances, through some kind of biological accident
39:08 here the majority of the world today, and the majority of the
39:13 scientific community, and in the majority of the Universities
39:16 of the world today, the evolutionary
39:19 hypothesis is taught.
39:21 And in end time God has a message in the Bible calling
39:26 men and women back to the Creator.
39:29 We are not merely a random collection of genes and
39:34 chromosomes that came together.
39:37 We are created by a living God.
39:39 That's why we have purpose.
39:41 That's why we have meaning.
39:43 When God created you He threw away the pattern.
39:46 There's nobody else like you in the Universe.
39:49 That's why you have meaning and purpose in God's sight.
39:53 In an age of evolution, God has a message, an end time message
39:58 to call men and women back to
40:03 the sea, and the fountains of waters.
40:19 We did not evolve. We're not skin covering bones.
40:23 We're not some genetic accident.
40:41 God has left an eternal sign of His creative authority.
40:48 It's called the Bible Sabbath.
40:50 And in a future presentation here in
40:53 Revelation's Ancient Discoveries we're going to study that.
40:56 God has an end time message.
40:58 It's to go to the ends of the earth.
40:59 People saved by grace will be led to obey God.
41:04 They will be led to desire one thing:
41:07 to glorify God in their bodies.
41:09 God is getting a people ready for His soon return.
41:13 Now in the book of Revelation there are two worships:
41:23 We will, in this study, of course, eventually study about,
41:27 Who is the beast? What is the mark? and What is the way
41:32 to avoid receiving the mark of the beast?
41:34 But it's critically important in this telecast,
41:38 this presentation, to understand that the essence of the book of
41:42 Revelation, and the conflict in the book of Revelation,
41:46 is about worship; worshipping the Creator,
41:49 or worshipping the beast.
41:51 The Bible says, Here's an urgent end time message.
41:59 Now the first angel's message tells us:
42:03 It tells us that the gospel's going to go to
42:05 the end of the earth, and that we are to worship God.
42:09 It tells us why we are supposed to do it.
42:12 He created us. He made us. He shaped us.
42:15 And it also tells us why it's so vitally important.
42:27 Does it say they will come some time in the future?
42:30 No, it says the hour of God's judgment has come.
42:33 In other words, the clock has struck the hour.
42:35 In other words, this is no longer business as usual.
42:37 This is no longer pleasures as usual.
42:40 This is no longer common business.
42:42 We are living on the knife edge of eternity.
42:45 Before Jesus returns to this world, there must be a judgment
42:50 to determine who receives what rewards when He comes.
42:54 Remember, Jesus says in Revelation 22:12,
42:58 Behold, I come quickly, and My reward is what? with Me.
43:03 Where is His reward? with Me, He says.
43:06 If Jesus is coming to give out the rewards, there must be a
43:10 judgment before He comes to determine who receives what
43:13 rewards when He comes.
43:15 So Revelation's message stimulates us
43:18 out of our complacency.
43:19 Revelation's message shakes us up.
43:22 It says we're living in the judgment hour.
43:24 This is time to get ready for the coming of Jesus.
43:30 The sands in the hour glass of time indeed are running out.
43:39 Revelation is a book about eternal destiny.
43:43 Revelation is a book that compels us
43:47 to make eternal decisions.
43:49 We no longer can be neutral.
43:51 Revelation gets us off the fence and moves us to
43:55 decision for Christ. Jesus says in
44:09 Jesus says, I'm coming to give out the rewards.
44:13 This is the judgment hour right now.
44:23 In this world often, very, very often,
44:28 things that that are unjust happen.
44:30 But one day Christ is going to come, and in the final judgment
44:35 before His coming, He will set all things right.
44:38 And Jesus will triumph in the Universe.
44:42 He is the righteous judge.
44:45 Sometimes in this life we experience
44:48 things that are unfair.
44:50 Sometimes in this life we experience
44:53 things that are unjust.
44:54 But the good news is He will set everything right.
45:00 In that final judgment He'll explain to us in fact, just why
45:04 certain things happened to us in life.
45:06 He'll explain to us all of our heartache, and every tear.
45:09 But He'll explain to us how He was with us during
45:13 those periods of time.
45:14 When Christ comes, according to
45:27 Now, in this judgment hour, Christ gives us the
45:31 opportunity to make a choice.
45:33 Because when He comes again there is no second opportunity.
45:38 When Jesus comes again the destiny's of all human
45:42 beings are settled.
45:43 This is the time to make eternal decisions for Christ.
45:48 This is the time when God's final urgent message is going
45:53 to the ends of the earth to make decisions for Christ.
45:56 Now there are three angels that bring their messages.
46:11 And say, Jesus, all I want to know is what You want me to do.
46:29 and live in harmony with the commands of that Creator.
46:41 But a second angel flies, and the second angel flies and
46:50 This world is filled with religious falsehood.
47:01 Notice the first four letters in the word Babylon.
47:04 They are baby. Why do you call a baby a baby?
47:07 You call a baby a baby because it's speech is
47:11 garbled or confused.
47:12 So Babylon in Revelation...
47:15 And we'll study more about this in this series.
47:17 ...Babylon in Revelation represents a confused religious
47:22 system based on the traditions of man, rather than the clear
47:27 teachings of God's Word.
47:29 God, in His Word, gives us the truth of Scripture.
47:35 Now notice what Babylon, this false religious system has done.
47:45 In other words, she's passed around the wine cup
47:49 of her false doctrines.
47:50 The world has become drunk with the false doctrines of Babylon.
47:54 And what does Jesus say?
47:56 He says, I want to sober you up with the truth of My Word.
48:06 So in the last days of earth's history the errors of Babylon,
48:10 the false teachings, the deceptive teachings will be
48:13 exposed by the truth of God's word, as the message of the
48:17 three angels' goes to the ends of the earth.
48:20 But then the third angel flies.
48:32 Before that third angel flies, I want to review the
48:35 first angel's message again.
48:42 This message shakes up Babylon; a message of the gospel,
48:46 a message of dependence on Christ,
48:48 a message to obey God reverently,
48:51 a message to give glory to God, a message that the hour of
48:54 God's judgment is come, a message to
48:56 worship Him as Creator.
48:58 Now notice, true worship is mentioned in Revelation 14:6, 7.
49:03 Worship the Creator that made heaven, earth, sea,
49:06 and the fountains of waters.
49:08 Now we go to the third angel.
49:09 Look, here's false worship.
49:13 What kind of voice?
49:14 If the Bible says it with a loud voice, why?
49:17 Because God wants you to hear it.
49:19 God wants you to hear it.
49:20 If anyone worships the what? beast.
49:22 What did we read about in Revelation 14:7?
49:25 Worship the what? Creator.
49:27 Revelation 14:9. Don't worship the beast.
49:31 See, here's the conflict in Revelation between
49:34 true and false worship.
49:44 The wrath of God are the judgments of God.
49:45 So two worships in Revelation.
49:49 Now what about those that don't receive the mark of the beast,
49:52 but do worship the Creator?
50:02 We could summarize it this way:
50:17 Is there one commandment of the ten that talks about
50:22 worshipping the Creator?
50:23 Is there one? The Sabbath commandment.
50:26 So here true and false worship contrasted, and a message to
50:31 all humanity to worship the Creator by worshipping
50:34 on the true Bible Sabbath.
50:42 It calls us to true worship.
50:45 It's an appeal to surrender completely our lives to God,
50:49 and to commit our lives to following Him.
50:52 Some time ago a young boy was hit by a car, and there crossing
51:01 the street he was dying, losing blood, rushed to the hospital.
51:06 They looked for a blood donor, and they found the father
51:11 had the same blood type as the boy.
51:14 These were the days of direct blood transfusions.
51:18 They took a needle, pressed it in the arm of the father,
51:22 blood began to flow from the father directly to the boy.
51:28 The father looked at the lifeless form of his son,
51:30 and he looked at the doctor and he said, Doctor,
51:34 if you need to, take it all!
51:37 Take every drop of my blood.
51:40 That father was willing to give his all for his son.
51:43 On Calvary's cross, Jesus, gave His all for you,
51:48 because He wants you to be ready for His soon return.
51:52 There's nothing more that He wants than you to be ready.
51:56 Jesus gave His all for me.
51:58 I want to give my all to Him.
52:00 What do you say? Because one day soon He will come.
52:03 One day soon the earth will quake.
52:05 One day soon Jesus will return.
52:07 I think I hear the sound of a mighty rushing wind.
52:12 Listen as Celestine sings.
52:23 I hear the sound of a mighty rushing wind,
52:34 and it's closer now than it's ever been.
52:44 I can almost hear the trumpet as Gabriel sounds the call.
52:58 At the midnight cry we'll be going home.
53:08 When Jesus steps out on a cloud to call His children,
53:20 the dead in Christ shall rise to meet Him in the air.
53:32 And then those that remain will be quickly changed,
53:46 at the midnight cry, when Jesus comes again.
53:59 I look around me, and I see prophecies fulfilling,
54:10 and signs of the times, they're appearing everywhere.
54:20 I can almost hear the Father say, Son,
54:28 go get all My children.
54:34 At the midnight cry the bride of Christ will rise.
54:46 When Jesus steps out on a cloud to call His children,
54:58 the dead in Christ shall rise, to meet Him in the air.
55:09 And then those that remain, will be quickly changed,
55:22 at the midnight cry, when Jesus comes again.
55:34 When Jesus steps out on a cloud to call His children,
55:47 the dead in Christ shall rise to meet Him in the air.
55:59 And then us that remain will be quickly changed.
56:12 At the midnight cry, the Lord will come again!
56:32 And He will! At the midnight cry Jesus will come again.
56:37 The only response is to say, Jesus, I'm Yours.
56:43 Jesus, I give You my life.
56:46 Jesus, I want to serve You forever.
56:50 Let's pray together, and in your heart let the Spirit of God
56:54 touch you to make that decision right now.
56:57 Father in heaven, we thank You so much that Jesus is coming,
57:02 that through His grace, and by His power we can
57:05 live in His kingdom.
57:07 Grant to us Your strength to live godly obedient lives,
57:11 and to follow Your truth now and through all eternity.
57:14 In Christ's name, Amen.
57:17 Thank you for joining us for Revelation's
57:21 Ancient Discoveries.
57:22 We'll continue in this series in our next presentation.


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Revised 2018-03-29