Participants: Ivor Meyers (Host), James Rafferty (Host), Jason Bradley, Yvonne Lewis
Series Code: SISS
Program Code: SISS000002A
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00:30 Salvation in Symbols and Signs,
00:33 that's basically what we've called 00:34 this little Bible study 00:36 that we're having in the Book of Revelation, 00:37 Salvation in Symbols and Signs. 00:38 And really, it's, it's more than just Revelation. 00:41 We want to take in prophecy as a whole, 00:44 but we started with this book. 00:46 And it's gonna be really awesome to see 00:48 how the Lord leads, because the Book of Revelation 00:51 is a summary of the entire Bible in a sense. 00:54 It's, as we looked at the overview, 00:56 it's a picture of a God of love, 00:58 who is the bridegroom and us 01:00 who are the bride being rescued from the dragon, if you will. 01:04 And it's a story with a happy ending. 01:06 It's beautiful story with a happy ending. 01:08 So we're going to be looking at it, 01:09 from the Book of Revelation 01:10 but we're also gonna be delving into other parts of the Bible. 01:14 And eventually we're gonna even get 01:15 into the Book of Daniel 01:16 and connect the two books together which I think, 01:19 it's really gonna bring out this picture, 01:21 this beautiful picture of God's heart and God's love. 01:24 I call it prophetic pictures of God. 01:28 And a lot of times we look at prophecy, 01:29 we attribute it to the antichrist, beast, 01:34 and to dark gloomy pictures. 01:36 But I think its prophetic pictures of God. 01:38 So I'm thinking as we get started right now, 01:40 we should just ask God to bless us 01:42 and guide us and lead us. 01:44 Yvonne, would you like to pray for us? 01:45 Yeah, sure, sure. 01:47 Father God, we just praise Your name and thank You so much 01:49 for the privilege of being able to study this book 01:52 and to learn more about You and Your Son 01:55 through this book. 01:56 We thank You Lord God. 01:57 So we ask for Your Holy Spirit's 01:59 presence here with us 02:01 as we open the pages of this, of Your holy word. 02:05 We thank You Lord God in Jesus' name, amen. 02:07 Amen. Thank you, Yvonne. 02:09 So Salvation in Symbols and Signs, 02:12 I just want to emphasize that, Salvation in Symbols and Signs. 02:14 Yeah. That's really what it's about. 02:16 Yeah. 02:17 And I think that one of the things 02:19 that's really turn this book is verse 3. 02:21 Revelation Chapter 1:3. 02:23 Jason, would you read that verse for us? 02:24 Sure. 02:26 "Blessed is he that readeth, 02:28 and they that hear the words of this prophecy, 02:31 and keep those things which are written therein: 02:33 for the time is at hand." 02:34 Okay. 02:36 There is a threefold blessing in the Book of Revelation. 02:39 And the reason why God has put a threefold blessing 02:41 in the Book of Revelation is to encourage us, 02:44 to read it, to hear it and to keep it. 02:47 Why would we need to be encouraged 02:49 to read and keep and hear the Book of Revelation? 02:53 Why? 02:54 Is there... 02:56 Possibly in God's understanding 03:00 a danger that people would be uninterested, 03:04 disinterested in the Book of Revelation? 03:08 Afraid, perhaps of the Book of Revelation? 03:09 I mean, when I was in Pakistan years ago, 03:11 I was doing a series on Revelation, 03:12 and a young man was translating the meanings into Urdu. 03:17 And my translator came to me between sessions 03:20 and he said to me "Pastor, I need to tell you something, 03:23 I need to tell you something." I said, what is it? 03:25 He said, well, he said, when I started to study 03:27 the Book of Revelation... 03:29 He said, my dad who is an elder in the church, 03:32 and the pastor of my church came to me 03:33 and they said "don't study the Book of Revelation." 03:37 If you study the Book of Revelation, 03:39 scary beast will come to take you tonight. 03:43 I couldn't believe it. I was like, are you serious? 03:45 But yes, he was serious. 03:47 I've been to seminars where people have told me 03:49 that they are dutifully reading through the Bible. 03:52 They are Christians and they believe it's good, it's right, 03:56 it's important to read through the Bible. 03:58 And they will read through the Bible dutifully, 03:59 and when they get to the Book of Revelation, 04:01 they'll do a 180 and go all the way back to Genesis 04:03 and start again, 04:04 but they will not read the Book of Revelation. 04:06 I was... 04:08 Over and over again. Yeah. 04:09 It's interesting that one of the reasons 04:10 why many Christians avoid the Book of Revelation is 04:14 because they believe that the Book of Revelation 04:17 is really for the future, 04:19 and it doesn't have any relevance for them 04:22 because they are gonna be gone, raptured away. 04:24 Good point. 04:26 And so, you know, I think Christ giving us 04:29 this injunction, listen, 04:31 "Blessed are they who read this, 04:33 who understand it." 04:35 This is the one book that Satan doesn't want you to get. 04:39 It's the last book of the Bible. 04:41 You know the consummation of the Bible. 04:45 And so, it's like the Lord's final sayings to us. 04:51 And He's gonna put His most important information 04:55 in those final sayings. 04:57 So there's a reason I believe that, you know, 04:59 it's actually Satan behind 05:01 making this book look unattractive. 05:05 You don't want to read it 05:07 because things might happen to you. 05:08 I mean, he uses these tactics of fear, 05:14 and, all, well, you know, 05:16 I can't understand about 05:17 or I can understand everything else, 05:18 but no I'm just, 05:20 I'm not a scholar so I can't understand that. 05:22 And I think that's crucial because a failure 05:25 to understand prophecy is what led the people in Christ, 05:31 they too reject Him. 05:34 That's an interesting... 05:35 That's an important connection right there. 05:36 Their misunderstanding of prophecy. 05:38 Yes. 05:40 Led them to reject Him as the Messiah. 05:43 That's right. 05:44 Because they confused His first coming 05:48 with the second coming. 05:50 And I think the same thing is true today. 05:52 You know, a misunderstanding of Christ's second coming 05:56 for His third coming is gonna prepare people 06:00 to receive a counterfeit messiah 06:04 who puts his feet on the ground and... 06:05 You know these are all kind of big things in the Bible, 06:07 but the point I'm making is that, 06:11 if we fail to understand prophecy, 06:14 we're not going to be able to be prepared 06:18 for those events that are coming up on the earth. 06:20 It is true. 06:21 And that's, that's why this verse is so important. 06:24 You know, this is the only book of the Bible 06:26 that has a threefold blessing on it, pronounced on it? 06:29 There's no other book of the Bible, where God said, 06:31 "blesses he that reads, blesses those that keep, 06:33 blesses those that hear the prophecies of this book. 06:36 There's no other book in the Bible 06:37 that has that in it. 06:38 And the word blessed is a really interesting word. 06:40 Do you know what it means? 06:42 The actual literal meaning of the word blessed 06:45 is to be happy, to be happy. 06:48 Now, here's where we start already identifying 06:51 counterfeits of Satan. 06:53 God says, if you read, if you hear 06:56 and if you keep the words of the prophecy of this book, 06:59 you will be happy. 07:00 Satan says, some scholars say, some people say, 07:04 no you will be, you will be afraid, you will be scared, 07:07 it's a fearful book, it's a book of doom and gloom. 07:09 So this is, this is an issue of God's word 07:13 against man's word. 07:14 Of God's word, taking God's word by faith 07:17 versus the experience that we have in our understanding 07:22 of how this book reads. 07:23 And that's why I really appreciate the way 07:25 that we are approaching this book 07:27 because it's different. 07:29 When I was a dad, I'm still a dad, 07:32 but my son is 23 and my daughter is 18. 07:35 So she is Legal Smeagol now, if you know what I mean. 07:38 So once a dad, always a dad. 07:39 But when I was a dad of kids, we played a game in our house. 07:44 I was a guilty of starting it. 07:45 And it will go something like this. 07:48 I will be walking along in the house 07:51 somewhere minding my own business 07:53 and out of nowhere my son or my daughter would say, 07:55 boo, and they would try to scare me, 07:58 and I did the same to them. 08:00 And I remember, I came home one day, 08:02 I was parking in the driveway and going through the garage 08:06 into the house from the garage there was a laundry room 08:09 and the pantry. 08:11 And right off the laundry room, 08:13 and then through the next door was the kitchen 08:15 and you could see the counter. 08:17 As you got to the garage store into the laundry room, 08:18 you could see the kitchen counter. 08:20 And I could see the counter, I was coming home for lunch, 08:22 I could smell the food, and I saw the counter, 08:24 and I saw the plates there. 08:25 And I was just, you know, oh, yeah, I am hungry. 08:28 And but, all of a sudden 08:30 I realized there is unusually quiet. 08:34 And my antenna went up, 08:36 and I stopped right at the door, 08:38 right at the steps into the laundry room. 08:40 And I decided to do my fake steps. 08:43 Those are the things that you do while you are walking, 08:45 but you are not actually going anywhere. 08:47 And I made the noise as if I was walking, 08:49 but I wasn't actually going anywhere. 08:51 And right after about the third or fourth step, 08:54 out of the pantry jumped my wife and my son 08:56 and my daughter, boo! 08:59 And I stood there as calm as a cucumber 09:02 and I said "boo to you too". 09:05 They said, oh, dad, you didn't scare us. 09:07 And I said, no, because I knew you were there. 09:09 And that's what prophecy is all about. 09:11 Prophecy is not to scare us, 09:13 prophecy is to prepare us by showing us 09:16 what's hiding around the corner. 09:17 Good, good. 09:18 And so, if we know God is so loving and so kind, 09:21 as to show us what the future holds. 09:23 You know, sometimes I wish 20 years ago, oh, man, 09:25 if I was alive 20 years ago, I know how to invest. 09:28 You know, I know what, because I would have known 09:30 what was coming around the corner. 09:31 When it comes to prophecy, 09:33 we don't have to wish backwards. 09:35 Our vision can be 2020 right now. 09:37 And God is telling us in Bible prophecy, 09:39 this is what's coming, this is what's it gonna look like. 09:41 So we don't have to be deceived, 09:42 we don't have to get in a ruckus 09:44 about events that are taking place in the world 09:46 that aren't identified in Bible prophecy. 09:47 Right. 09:48 God is telling us exactly how it lays out. 09:51 And He tells us once, seven churches, 09:53 then He tells us again, seven seals, 09:54 then He tells us again, 09:56 seven trumpets and He tells us again, 09:57 seven salvation signs. 09:59 And every time He adds another picture of these events, 10:03 He gives more details for us, so that we can understand them. 10:06 So this way you are checking yourself. 10:08 You know, the process is repeat and enlarged. 10:11 So something that is just out of the blue 10:15 that doesn't match what you have seen before. 10:19 Right? 10:20 You know, yet I can't be in it because we are repeating 10:22 and enlarging. 10:24 Yes. 10:25 That is such a good point. 10:27 In fact, as we've been talking about the Book of Revelation 10:29 and the idea that's a summary of the entire Bible. 10:32 Guess what? 10:33 The entire Bible is written this way, 10:35 repeat and enlarged. 10:36 For example, Genesis Chapter 1, Creation Story. 10:39 God created man and woman in His own image, 10:42 He created them, right? 10:43 Genesis Chapter 2, repeat and enlarged. 10:46 How specifically did He create man and woman? 10:49 Well, He created Adam from the dust of the earth, 10:51 but He created Eve 10:53 from the rib in the side of Adam's 10:54 or the rib in Adam's side. 10:56 You see, right from the beginning, 10:57 God uses this repeat and enlarged idea. 11:01 In fact, you start with Exodus and then you go to Leviticus 11:04 and then you go to Numbers and then you go to Deuteronomy 11:07 and you're repeating and enlarging. 11:09 The Ten Commandments in Exodus are repeated and enlarged 11:11 upon in Deuteronomy. 11:13 All of the three days are in each one of those four, 11:16 first four books. 11:17 Then you go to Samuel, 1st and 2nd Samuel, 11:20 repeat and enlarged, 1st and 2nd Kings, 11:21 repeat and enlarged, 1st and 2nd Chronicles. 11:23 And when you read through the Bible 11:25 and you're reading Chronicles Chapter... 11:26 Wait a minute, I already read this. 11:27 This is... This is... 11:29 Or, yeah, it's repeating. Yeah, that's true. 11:30 Psalms, Psalms is the same way. 11:32 David starts a thought and he ends a thought. 11:33 And he starts a thought 11:34 and he ends a thought and he starts it... 11:36 He says the same thing in this, this parallel poetry. 11:39 And then you go through to the New Testament 11:41 and what do you find? 11:43 Mathew? Repeat and enlarged. 11:45 Mark? 11:46 Mark is probably the first gospel 11:48 that's been repeat and enlarged. 11:49 Luke, repeat and enlarged, John. 11:50 Same story told the... 11:52 And it's really interesting, isn't it? 11:53 Because in Daniel, you have Daniel 2, 11:55 Daniel 7, Daniel 8, Daniel 11, you have four repeat enlarges. 11:59 In the gospels you have four repeat enlarges. 12:02 God inspired four people to write these gospels, 12:05 like He did it in fours. 12:06 And four is the significant number 12:08 in the Book of Revelation. 12:09 Four is representative of all people, 12:12 it's north, south, east and west. 12:14 It's a four directions of the compass. 12:17 For the four winds? Yes, the four winds. 12:18 That means everyone is included in this. 12:20 Everyone's included in the gospels. 12:22 I like stuff like that, 12:23 like, you see that's was confusing to me. 12:26 So you have all these symbols, you have all these signs. 12:28 And where do you find the meaning 12:30 like prophetic days, a year or something like... 12:35 Like where do you look for that? 12:37 Where do you find that? 12:38 You know, this is a really good question. 12:41 And sometimes the symbols are identified 12:43 immediately in the text. 12:45 Let me give you an example of this. 12:47 In Revelation Chapter 1, 12:49 Jesus is pictured among the candlesticks. 12:53 Now the candlesticks, that sanctuary language, 12:57 that's sanctuary symbolism, that again is borrowed 12:59 from the Old Testament, from the rest of the Bibles, 13:02 all through the old and the New Testaments and Hebrews. 13:04 Right. 13:05 And in Revelation 1:20, we're told what the mystery of this, 13:11 these candlesticks are. 13:13 It says here, Revelation Chapter 1. 13:15 Yvonne, would you like to read that for us, Revelation 1:20? 13:18 Are you there? Sure. Sure. 13:19 "The mystery of the seven stars 13:21 which thou sawest in my right hand, 13:23 and the seven golden candlesticks. 13:25 The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: 13:29 and the seven candlesticks 13:30 which thou sawest are the seven churches." 13:33 Yes. 13:34 Now this is, this is sometimes 13:36 how the symbols are broken down. 13:37 Okay. 13:39 In Daniel 7 for example, Daniel sees these beasts 13:42 rising up out of the sea and in this dream. 13:46 And in verse 17, he's told what the beast represent. 13:49 Those beasts that you saw are kings, 13:51 their kingdoms verses 17 and 23. 13:54 So there are times in Revelation 17:15, 13:58 John is told "the waters where that woman is sitting, 14:01 are peoples and nations, and multitudes, and tongues." 14:04 There are times when it's right in the context 14:07 of the prophecy that the symbol is unfolded. 14:09 But then there are other times 14:10 when you have to go search for it. 14:12 And so this day for a year thing, 14:14 that is definitely something that God has used 14:16 in the Old Testament in a number of different places, 14:19 and you have to go look for it and see... 14:21 Oh, and then you have to see, does the symbol fit. 14:24 You can't just take a symbol 14:25 and identify it in a Bible verse 14:27 and then just throw it in there and, 14:28 you know, wield in where you've got to see 14:30 if it actually make sense. 14:31 So... 14:33 When you read the prophecy. Christ is described as a lion. 14:36 Well, we wouldn't say that 14:37 He is the lion in Daniel Chapter 7. 14:40 Six. That's what I'm saying. 14:41 Or Daniel... In Daniel... 14:43 in Daniel 7. 14:44 Oh yeah, right, right. 14:45 He is the, you know, that the lion, the leopard, 14:47 the bear, the dragon. 14:49 So He's not-- You see what I'm saying. 14:50 So the symbol has to match with the context. 14:53 Good point. 14:55 And... 14:57 When you look at, you know, some of these symbols 14:59 you have to actually see the pattern in scriptures. 15:03 So if you look at, for example the number three, 15:06 you'll see the number three. 15:08 You may not realize that first, 15:09 but every time you read about the number three, 15:11 you begin to see. 15:12 Oh, there's something symbolic here. 15:14 And the first time number three is mentioned, 15:17 there's, you know, that, on the third day, 15:20 God brought forth the fruit from the ground, 15:23 and that's immediately something... 15:25 Like, wait a minute. 15:26 So the first fruits were brought forth from the ground 15:31 on the third day. 15:34 So the first fruits were brought forth from the ground 15:38 on the third day. 15:40 And you begin to think, huh, 15:42 Jesus Christ who is our first fruits, 15:46 brought forth from the ground on the third day. 15:50 Now you begin to see, look at that number three 15:52 and see every time three is mentioned, 15:55 the butler and the baker, 15:56 after three days, 15:57 one of you is gonna be let loosed, 15:59 the other one is gonna die. 16:00 Jonah, in the belly of the whale, three days. 16:06 The, Abraham, sees a place where he is to sacrifice 16:09 his son three days, right? 16:13 All these examples of the number three, 16:15 leads to the conclusion that three has something to do 16:18 with life and death. 16:20 So when you look at different numbers or symbols, 16:25 you want to be careful to look for repetition, 16:28 because that's what's happening. 16:30 When you see something being repeated, 16:31 connected with a certain symbol or sign, 16:35 take note of that repetition. 16:37 So if you were to go home right now and do a study 16:39 on the number three. 16:41 All the three days of scripture, 16:43 you would find, oh, wow, look at this. 16:47 So many of them tie into that particular 16:52 thought of the dividing line between life and death. 16:56 So that would be just one example 16:58 of how to find symbols, how to find signs. 17:02 And when you see the pattern, 17:05 I'm seeing a pattern here with this number three. 17:07 I'm seeing a pattern here with this number four, 17:09 or with the number seven. 17:11 Those things are gonna be crucial 17:13 when you come to the Book of Revelation. 17:15 What about the number 12? 17:17 Number 12 is... 17:18 and before we get there, I want to just hit on 17:20 what Ivor said just to expand on the thought. 17:23 So a number of points that Ivor just mentioned, 17:26 I've never heard before. 17:27 Okay, I've been studying the Book of Revelation. 17:29 I've been studying Bible for 30 some years, 17:30 never heard it before, and that is the way it is. 17:33 Yeah. 17:34 Okay, God, the Holy Sprit teaches individuals, 17:37 they bring forth stuff that's new and old. 17:39 And some of the ideas are brand new to us. 17:41 And what I tell people as I say, write it down, 17:45 write, take notes. 17:46 Use your Bible if, you know, if that... 17:48 make the connections, 17:50 because now that you have heard this 17:51 and it make sense and it's biblical, 17:54 you're gonna have an opportunity 17:55 and now God is gonna give you an opportunity 17:56 to share with somebody else. 17:58 And when, it's not when you hear it, that it lodges, 18:00 that it's, that it click. 18:02 It's when you share it, that it becomes yours. 18:04 Right. 18:05 That's when it really lodges in your heart, 18:07 in your understanding. 18:08 Now 12 is another symbolic number. 18:11 How do we... 18:12 How do we identify that number? 18:14 Well, we go back to the Old Testament again 18:16 and we realized that when God first developed His people, 18:19 they were developed as 12 sons that became 12 tribes. 18:22 The 12 tribes of Israel, they were God's people. 18:26 And then when we go to the New Testament, 18:27 we find Jesus doing something very significant with 12. 18:31 He calls 12 apostles. 18:33 The 12 apostles become God's New Testament church, 18:37 or we understand today 18:39 they will be the Christian church. 18:40 So God had an Old Testament Church, 18:42 the 12 tribes of Israel. 18:43 God had a New Testament Church, the 12 apostles. 18:47 Wow, 12, 12, that number is now connecting 18:51 with God's church, God's people. 18:53 The number 12 represents God's organized church 18:56 or organized people on planet earth. 18:58 When you get to the end of the Book of Revelation, 19:00 you have the city the New Jerusalem 19:02 that we're all gonna enter and guess what? 19:04 It has 12 gates and it has 12 foundations, 19:07 and the name of the 12 tribes over the gates, 19:09 and the foundations have the 12 apostles, 19:11 12 times 12 is 144. 19:13 144,000 is the symbolic number of the redeemed, 19:18 God's people, God's kingdom. 19:20 So we connect all of this together. 19:21 The Book of Revelation connects all of this together. 19:23 The numbers play out and give us understanding, 19:27 representation of certain aspects of truth. 19:30 The three, the life and death, the 12, the Kingdom of God, 19:33 the four, the all inclusiveness for example 19:35 going back to the four. 19:37 When Jesus Christ gave a parable 19:39 of the sower and the seed, 19:41 He was talking about the word of God 19:43 being sown in the earth, in all the earth. 19:46 How many types of ground that He identify in that parable? 19:49 Not three, not five, but four, four types of ground, 19:53 one good, three bad. 19:54 When you get to Revelation Chapter 6, 19:57 you have the opening of the seals. 19:59 And in Revelation Chapter 6, there are four horses. 20:03 Not five, not three, but four. 20:04 And what do we say, the four represents? 20:07 Four is inclusive of all the people of the earth, 20:09 north, south, east and west, 20:11 the four directions of the compass, 20:12 the four winds of earth. 20:14 So, so in Revelation 6, you have these four horses. 20:17 One of them, the white horse is good, three of them, 20:21 the red, the black, and the pale are bad. 20:23 Same with the ground. 20:24 In fact, there's a perfect parallel between the horses 20:27 and the sower when they see the parable 20:29 of the sower and the seed. 20:30 And when we look at that as we get into Revelation 6. 20:32 So four is symbolic of God's sowing seed in all the world, 20:35 of everyone being included in the seed sowing, 20:37 everyone being included in the horses. 20:39 Twelve, God's Kingdom, God's New Testament Church, 20:43 Old Testament Church. 20:44 So when the angel... 20:46 In the Book of John, I mean it's now Revelation 7, 20:50 there are four angels, 20:52 standing on the four corners of the earth. 20:55 It symbolizes that the sealing message 20:58 is not a local message, it is a global message. 21:02 Yes. 21:04 So now that we begin to see the number, 21:05 when we look at the number, we say, okay, 21:07 I know that number four represents worldwide. 21:09 So when I see it now, 21:12 I can bring into my understanding 21:14 or my interpretation, this has something to do 21:18 with something that is global and worldwide. 21:22 And it is something to do 21:23 with what we're doing right here on Dare to Dream. 21:25 That's right. 21:26 We're taking a message 21:27 that God has blessed to every nation, 21:30 kindred, tongue, and people, 21:31 we're taking into the world because Revelation 7 21:34 and the symbolism there of four tells us 21:35 that's what we should be doing. 21:37 Absolutely. 21:38 And another symbol 21:39 that's identified in relation to that is, 21:41 what we call the Three Angels' Messages, 21:43 but actually it's four angels. 21:45 If you have Revelation 14, the 1, 2, 3, 21:47 and you got Revelation 18, what we call the fourth angel, 21:50 the message of the fourth angel. 21:51 And it lightens the earth with the glory of God. 21:54 So these are, how these symbols break down. 21:57 It's beautiful. 21:59 It's basic, it's simple, but it's beautiful 22:02 when you look at this. 22:03 It's so amazing to me, that it's so designed, 22:08 that it's not have hazard, that it's not, 22:11 all of these things have meaning, 22:14 have deeper meaning. 22:15 And that's, you know, it just bespeaks of an omniscient God, 22:22 Who just knows everything there is to know, 22:26 and yet can break it down for us. 22:28 Yeah. 22:30 This is incredible to me. 22:31 I think when we approach the Book of Revelation, 22:32 we need to approach it like it's a science, 22:35 and there are laws that govern science. 22:38 So there are laws that govern the understanding 22:41 of the Book of Revelation. 22:43 And I think many times people approach it, 22:45 and there's no law to how they approach it. 22:49 You know, it's just like okay, we'll make this mean, 22:51 this is this, and then, this, 22:53 I think that means this is this. 22:55 I mean, if we went through science like that, 22:57 we be in trouble. 22:58 You know, so just as there are laws that govern science, 23:02 there are laws that govern the Book of Revelation. 23:04 And when you understand those laws, 23:06 then you know this couldn't possibly fit 23:09 the description of what this beast states or, 23:12 you know, what these seals are 23:14 or what these churches represent 23:16 because the laws dictate the interpretation. 23:19 Right, right 23:21 Right? 23:22 So there is a symbol, actually a design that, 23:26 that I want to share with you that, 23:27 again kind of shows this principle 23:30 of repeat and enlarged but also divine design. 23:33 And that is the fact that when we look 23:34 at the Book of Revelation, we see Jesus. 23:37 The book opens up with Christ 23:38 standing in the middle of seven golden candlesticks. 23:43 Now that should ring a bell to us because, wait a minute, 23:46 that's from the sanctuary, right? 23:49 So as you go through the Book of Revelation, 23:52 you'll find the Book of Revelation 23:54 has many symbols from the sanctuary in it. 23:58 Which means, that it would be a good idea for us to have a, 24:01 an understanding of the sanctuary 24:03 if we want to understand the Book of Revelation. 24:07 So we'll see that the Book of Revelation 24:09 is based upon the pattern of the sanctuary. 24:14 So take for example, 24:15 we'll just run through the sanctuary very quickly. 24:17 If you're familiar with it, great. 24:19 If not, then you'll get familiar 24:21 with it very quickly. 24:22 But there were six articles of furniture in the sanctuary. 24:27 The first was the alter of sacrifice, 24:31 this is followed by the laver. 24:32 Now of course we know that those point 24:35 to the death of Christ, the altar of sacrifice, 24:38 and the laver represents baptism, 24:42 you know being washed. 24:43 And they're in the courtyard, they are on the outer part 24:45 of the sanctuary. 24:46 They are in the out, they are in the courtyard, absolutely. 24:48 So those two articles of furniture show 24:52 how Christ came to redeem us from sin, 24:57 how He forgive us and purified us, okay? 25:01 He was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. 25:03 He was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. 25:04 And that's Revelation 13. 25:05 Absolutely, and He washes us in Revelation 1:5. 25:08 And the Lamb slain is the first symbol 25:10 in Revelation Chapter 5 that we find identifying Christ. 25:13 Absolutely. 25:15 And when we look at the Lamb slain, 25:16 I don't want to deter, 25:18 but when you look at the Lamb slain 25:19 in Revelation Chapter 5, 25:20 the Lamb slain is a symbol of the cross. 25:24 From that point on, 25:26 there are another 28 references to the Lamb 25:29 in the Book of Revelation, 25:30 which is also sanctuary language. 25:31 Absolutely. 25:33 Every time that reference is made to the Lamb in Revelation, 25:35 it's a reference to the cross, 25:36 because it goes back to the Lamb slain. 25:38 Therefore the cross is a central theme 25:40 of the Book of Revelation. 25:42 In the Old Testament, 25:44 the sinner would place his hands 25:46 on the head of the lamb 25:48 and confessed his sins over that lamb, 25:50 and then the lamb was slain. 25:52 So when John the Baptist sees Jesus for the first time, 25:56 the first thing he does is, he uses sanctuary language. 25:59 Behold the Lamb of God. 26:01 Right? 26:03 You wouldn't have understanding of Lamb of God. 26:05 Okay, unless you understood the sanctuary, oh, 26:08 this is the one that is gonna take up on the sins 26:11 of the whole world and die for their sins. 26:13 Right? 26:15 So that's the altar of sacrifice 26:17 and then the laver. 26:19 In the holy place, you had three articles of furniture, 26:22 they were the table of showbread, 26:24 the altar of incense 26:25 and the seven branched candlestick. 26:29 And those articles of furniture, 26:31 the table of showbread represents the word of God, 26:34 the altar of incense represents prayer, 26:37 and the candlestick letting your light shine. 26:40 Christ is our light witnessing. 26:42 But those three articles show 26:44 how God sustains the repentant sinner. 26:48 All right, so after I'm, I've accepted Christ, 26:50 am I born again? 26:52 Okay, now this is how I sustain my walk with Christ. 26:56 Okay. Okay? 26:58 Then you get into the most holy place, 26:59 and this is where Christ does the work 27:01 of finally removing sin once and for all. 27:05 Okay, that's the Day of Atonement. 27:07 And remember what happened on the end of the Day 27:09 of Atonement, Christ would... 27:10 I mean, the high priest would lay his hands on the head 27:13 of the scapegoat and send the scapegoat out 27:16 into a desolate place. 27:17 Right, right. 27:19 When you look at this pattern, you find 27:22 that the whole New Testament is based off of this. 27:24 Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, 27:25 deal with the sacrifice of Christ. 27:28 That's your altar of sacrifice. 27:29 The laver, Pentecost, the Book of Acts, 27:35 from Acts all the way to Jew, 27:36 tell us how we ought to be purified. 27:39 When you get to Revelation, you have the candlesticks, 27:42 the table of showbread and the altar of incense, 27:47 which takes us into the holy place. 27:48 Revelation 11, brings us into the most holy place 27:52 and from there on now you have the close of the book. 27:56 Wow. Wow. 27:58 That is beautiful and we are out of time. 28:00 This, where did the time go? 28:02 So let's just close with a word of prayer 28:04 and we'll continue on in our next study together. 28:08 Father, I want to thank You, 28:09 You've been leading and guiding us step by step 28:11 and we just praise You for that. 28:12 I ask, You'll continue to do so 28:14 as we continue to study this book. 28:15 We want the blessings. 28:17 We thank You for them in Jesus' name, amen. 28:19 Amen. |
Revised 2016-07-11