Participants: Ivor Myers (Host), James Rafferty (Host), Jason Bradley, Yvonne Lewis
Series Code: SISS
Program Code: SISS000072A
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00:29 We are here... we are here,
00:31 we have landed in Revelation chapter 22 00:34 and basically... this is a close... 00:37 it's... we have those four prophetic cycles, 00:39 do you remember those? 00:40 It started with an introduction 00:42 and then started with the seven churches 00:44 that was Prophetic Cycle number 1, 00:45 that ended in Revelation 3 00:47 and then we pick up in Revelation 4 00:49 with the seven seals that ended in Revelation 8 00:52 and then we picked up in Revelation 8 00:54 with the seven trumpets 00:55 and that took us to Revelation 11 00:57 and then in Revelation 12, we have the last prophetic cycle 01:01 which was the seven vials 01:02 and that takes you all the way 01:04 to Revelation chapter 22 and verse 7 and then in verse 8... 01:09 Ivor: Chapter 15... seven vials... 01:11 James: Yeah... Ivor: Chapter 15... 01:13 James: But it starts in chapter 12... 01:15 Ivor: Okay... the 12 includes this. 01:17 James: Yeah, because 12 and 13 01:18 are kind of this summary and then boom! 01:20 bring us to the end of time and then the vials are... 01:22 Ivor: Hmmm... hmmm... hmmm... hmmm... 01:24 James: And then in Revelation chapter 22 verse 8 01:27 John is closing out... 01:29 "And I John saw these things... 01:30 I John saw these things and I heard them... " 01:32 so that's where we're landing there 01:34 so what we want to do is just kind of... look at these verses 01:37 how is John closing this out, maybe do a little bit of summary 01:40 and just bring it all together. Yvonne: Yes... 01:43 James: That's what we want to do so... it's been a good journey, 01:44 it's kind of reluctant to end it you know. 01:46 Yvonne: I know... I know. 01:48 Jason: You guys can stick around for a while... 01:52 we'll just knock out Daniel, you know. 01:54 James: Hey, there you go... I didn't think about that. 01:56 Laughter... 01:58 Jason, will you pray for us as we get started? 02:01 Sure, "Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you so much 02:03 for being with us throughout our journey 02:06 through the book of Revelation, 02:07 this is a book that is deemed by many to be very confusing 02:12 but it's been presented as a love story 02:17 which it truly is 02:19 as we've seen over the course of this program, 02:21 as with any program that we do Lord, 02:24 we ask that your Holy Spirit would be with us, 02:28 that He would lead and guide us into all truth 02:31 and help us to retain the information that we're studying, 02:36 in Jesus' name we pray, amen. " 02:37 "Amen. " 02:39 Okay, Revelation 22... 02:41 let's just begin by reading some of these verses, 02:43 let's start in verse 8... 02:45 there are some interesting things that happen here, 02:48 if you could just read those first two verses, verses 8 and 9 02:50 Yvonne, would you like to read those for us? 02:54 Sure, "Now, I John saw and heard these things, 02:57 And when I heard and saw, 02:58 I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel 03:01 who showed me these things. 03:03 Then he said to me, See that you do not do that: 03:06 for I am your fellow servant, 03:08 and of your brethren the prophets, 03:11 and of those who keep the words of this book: worship God. " 03:14 Wow! just hold there for just a second, 03:16 what do you think about this? 03:18 We talked about this a little bit in the previous program 03:20 but I really want us to nail it here, 03:21 what's going on right here in these two verses? 03:26 John mistakenly goes to worship a created being. 03:30 James: Yes, and how does that created being respond? 03:34 Yvonne: Get up... 03:35 Jason: Let's not do this again. 03:38 James: I like that, "Let's not do this again... 03:40 let's not do this again... " 03:42 and then what does the angel say? 03:44 Worship God... worship God, 03:47 you know, 03:48 John is an older disciple, 03:53 I mean, this is in his later years, 03:56 he's sanctified and dedicated to God, 03:59 obviously, God has come to Patmos 04:02 and given him the vision of the book of Revelation 04:05 and they tried to kill John before this time 04:08 and God preserved His life. 04:09 so, we know that John is just this... 04:12 dedicated all-out follower of Jesus, 04:15 but he's inclined... he inclines to worship this angel. 04:20 In our fallen humanity, 04:24 we have these things that's hard to get rid of, 04:26 or they're just our natural tendency and I think that... 04:30 that we are... we are created to worship God 04:34 but we have inclinations to worship stars... 04:36 angels in the Bible were likened to stars. 04:39 We worship movie stars, we worship sports stars, 04:43 we worship music stars... 04:47 we worship people... created beings... 04:51 that's what John is doing here 04:52 or inclined to do here instead of God, 04:54 so I think it's... I think it's a revelation of his humanity, 04:57 it's a reminder to us... coming from the angels 05:00 and I imagine in my mind, 05:01 I don't know if this is true or not 05:03 because I don't know the name of this particular angel 05:05 it's going to be interesting when we get to heaven 05:07 to actually see if these angels have names... 05:10 like we know Gabriel does 05:11 but I wonder if this is one of the angels 05:14 that almost got deceived by... but didn't quite... 05:16 you know what I'm saying? 05:18 Like, not quite... and so he is very sensitive about this, 05:22 he is just like, "No way... no way John, don't do this, 05:27 worship God... 05:29 I don't want this to all start all over again. " 05:30 And you know what's so powerful about this is that 05:32 you think 05:34 when Satan and his angels appear, 05:36 they're appearing as angels of light... 05:38 and if John the Revelator, right, 05:41 who was like... bowing... 05:47 because he knew who God was, he knew who Jesus was, 05:52 and this "being" is so... this angel... he's still like... 05:57 so if John in his position... you know... 06:02 how much more do we need to understand 06:07 the gravity of what will happen at the end of time, 06:10 these are things we are not used to seeing 06:13 and the overwhelming sight that we face... 06:16 of what Revelation is trying to warn us about 06:19 I think, wow, this verse along with the one in Revelation 19 06:23 is in there for a reason, 06:25 God's saying, "Look, this is my servant, 06:28 I am showing him all this stuff and he's still like... bowing. " 06:32 James: Ivor, Ivor, we've got to connect these verses 06:35 back to Revelation 13. Ivor: Yes. 06:37 James: Whenever you share that, you've got to come back and say, 06:39 "Hey, we're talking about Revelation... 06:40 and by-the-way... just so you know how real this is, 06:43 let's just jump over to Revelation 22 real quick... " 06:45 Ivor: Yeah... Yvonne: Hmmm... 06:47 James: Even John... you think you're safe from this deception, 06:50 this delusion... this fire coming down from heaven, 06:51 even John... 06:53 so you could see why the whole world 06:54 would follow in one direction... wow! 06:56 Ivor: Yes... yes... 06:57 Jason: And with things today 06:59 with that whole New Age Movement and all that stuff 07:01 you see... in turn you were talking about 07:04 people worshiping stars and movies and... they're created... 07:07 a lot of times you hear people saying, 07:10 "Well, just put it in the universe... 07:12 the universe... give it to the universe... " 07:15 like, who do you think created the universe? 07:17 Why would you go to the created instead of the Creator? 07:20 God is the One that you need to go to, 07:24 not the trees, not the stars, not the... 07:28 that's something that just gets me... 07:31 the "put it in the universe thing" like it's... 07:34 I don't know... 07:36 All right, there are a couple of more thoughts here, 07:41 we've talked about it a little bit 07:43 but I just want us to... 07:45 to bring them back because they're really good, 07:47 if we can read, Yvonne, could you keep reading for us 07:50 in Revelation chapter 22 verses 10 through 12, 07:55 10 through 12? 07:56 Yes, "And he said to me, 07:58 Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book: 08:00 for the time is at hand. 08:02 He who is unjust, let him be unjust still: 08:05 he who is filthy, let him be filthy still: 08:07 he who is righteous, let him be righteous still: 08:10 he who is holy, let him be holy still. 08:13 And, behold, I am coming quickly; 08:15 and my reward is with me, 08:17 to give every one according to his work. " 08:19 Now there are some nuggets in here 08:21 that I want us to just look at, 08:23 the first one is found in verse 10. 08:25 "Do not seal the prophecies of this book... " 08:27 this book is not sealed, 08:28 the book of Daniel was sealed 08:30 but the book of Revelation is not sealed, 08:32 it is an unsealed book... 08:34 the word Revelation means to uncover... to disclose... 08:38 it is a book that is open, it's symbolic but it's open, 08:42 it's never been sealed, "don't seal it up... " 08:44 people need to understand this, why? 08:46 because in the 12th verse and I'm just skipping number 11 08:51 but we'll get back to it, in the 12th verse it says, 08:52 "Behold, I come quickly... " 08:54 actually, let's just stay at verse 10, 08:57 the point I wanted to make here is in verse 10, 08:59 "For the time is at hand... " 09:00 how could he say, "the time is at hand?" 09:02 We're reading prophecies right now and studying prophecies 09:05 that we're applying to the future, 09:07 this was written 2,000 years ago 09:08 we got to remember that every one of these prophetic sections 09:12 began in John's time, 09:13 it began in John's time, "the time is at hand... " 09:15 so, remember the prophecies start with Christ 09:18 and they go through the Apostolic Age 09:21 and then to the pagan persecution 09:23 and then to the Dark Ages... you see what I'm saying? 09:25 It begins now so the time is at hand, 09:28 when you understand the prophetic cycles of Revelation, 09:30 that makes sense... 09:32 that makes sense. 09:34 And then... go ahead. 09:35 I had a question so if you wanted to emphasize... 09:41 So, there's something that's a little confusing here to me 09:46 because Revelation 22 verse 8, right, 09:51 the angel who showed him these things... 09:55 "And the angel said, 09:58 He who is unjust, let him be unjust still... " 10:00 but then in the next verse, it's Jesus talking... 10:03 "Behold I'm coming quickly" 10:05 so, if you don't know any differently... 10:09 James: It's verse 13 that clarifies 10:11 and we haven't got to it yet. 10:13 Yvonne: Okay. 10:15 James: Verse 13 is where we see... 10:16 see a transition is taking place here that we haven't seen 10:19 but verse 13 is where He says, 10:20 "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. " 10:21 Yvonne: Right. Ivor: Hmmm... hmmm... 10:23 James: So, many times in Revelation and also in Daniel, 10:26 Daniel 10 is notorious for this, 10:28 you're like, "Is that Christ or is that the angel? 10:32 Is that Christ or is that the angel? 10:33 Is that Christ or is that the angel?" 10:35 When we go back to Revelation chapter 1, 10:36 it says, "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, 10:38 which God gave unto him, 10:40 to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; 10:42 and he sent and signified it by his angel 10:44 unto his servant John... " 10:45 so you have this interaction taking place 10:48 but then John sees Jesus... the Son of man 10:49 but then there's an angel and then there's... 10:51 so you have this interaction that's taking place here 10:53 and that's why the book of Revelation... 10:55 you can't just divide it up into chapters neatly 10:57 because the things that John sees, 10:59 "And I saw... and I saw... and I saw... " 11:01 sometimes those visions are including an angel 11:04 but sometimes they're directly a vision of Christ, 11:06 Christ is the One talking and many times what happens is 11:10 like we saw in the previous verse, 11:12 the angels says, "Hey, I'm an angel... " 11:13 and Christ says, "I'm the alpha and the omega" 11:16 John is seeing this and then he's seeing Christ 11:18 then he's going back to this and then he sees Christ 11:20 and usually it's clarified within the verses. 11:22 Yvonne: Yeah. James: Good question. 11:23 Jason: I like something that one of you said 11:27 in a previous program about 11:30 how we can't be selfish with prophecy, 11:32 a lot of times we have a tendency 11:33 to be selfish with prophecy 11:35 where we think it only applies to our... to the future 11:38 or it only applies to our time 11:41 but they had their prophecy too back then... back in the Bible. 11:44 James: "Surely the Lord God will do nothing 11:46 except He reveals His secrets unto His servants the prophets" 11:49 so God is working through prophecy, that's Amos 3:7 11:51 and He gives prophecy 11:54 so that He can tell His people what He's doing 11:56 and He's always cared about His people in every generation 11:59 therefore, He's given prophecy for every generation 12:01 and the benefit that we have... 12:04 in the final generation... 12:06 is not that we should greedily take all the prophecies 12:08 and apply to them 12:09 but that we could learn from all those prophecies 12:11 because they're our prophetic history 12:13 that bring us to where we are 12:14 because a lot of them are repeated... 12:16 not the prophecy itself 12:18 but the history of that prophecy is repeated. 12:20 We see the same principles, the same spirit, 12:22 the same manifestations of the character in the end of time 12:27 that took place back in that time. 12:28 This is why it's important to understand... 12:30 one of the first things... 12:32 in fact, our first program we opened up with 12:34 Preterism, Futurism and Historicism... 12:38 and Idealism 12:39 and we talked about how Preterism 12:42 says all the prophecies related to one time in the past... 12:45 Futurism says, "it's all in the future" 12:47 Historicism takes it age by age, step by step... 12:52 every generation of people... generation of Christians 12:57 have been able to look at the road map using Historicism 13:01 and say, "Okay, you are now here... you are here. " 13:06 Right, at every stage, "You are here, you are here," 13:09 God is always telling us where we are 13:11 and so, now, we know where we are 13:14 versus where they were in the time of... 13:16 you know... the Dark Ages 13:18 this is why that kind of prophecy... 13:22 Historicism is so important because it helps us to 13:26 not only look back and see, "Okay, where we came from 13:29 but we look forward... all that is true... 13:32 right, then, we know where we're going, 13:34 yeah, we're on the right track. " 13:36 Yvonne: Hmmm... it's good. 13:37 James: So when you get lost, you're like, 13:39 "Yeah, I don't know where it is 13:41 but I know that I've passed the landmark 13:43 that I was supposed to pass so far, 13:44 so from this point on, I know... 13:46 I just need to get back to where the last landmark was 13:48 and then go forward from there, 13:49 maybe I took a left too soon and I need to go a little further. " 13:51 Ivor: You have a point of reference. 13:52 James: You have a point of reference. 13:54 Ivor: What makes the book of Revelation so difficult 13:56 for so many people 13:58 is that they have no point of reference. 13:59 It's just like, "When is this?" 14:01 We have no clue... is this after we leave, 14:03 is this... there's no point of reference 14:05 and so most people just pretty much stay away from the book, 14:08 or they're all over the place. 14:10 Jason: So, Historicism then encompasses all the other 14:12 Futurism, Preterism, Idealism and just brings it all together. 14:19 James: Yes, it's all inclusive it's like the whole grain. 14:23 Here's Preterism and Historicism that's past... 14:25 there's Futurism and Historicism there's future. 14:28 There's Idealism and Historicism there are principles there 14:31 that apply all through the ages, 14:33 Idealism is saying, "Oh, these are just principles that apply, 14:35 these are powers and principles 14:37 there's no real history... 14:38 you don't have to nail this down to a day... " 14:39 well, Idealism is also there 14:41 because there are principles that apply that are... 14:44 that are... that go beyond dates and years etc. 14:46 So, we... this has been a great journey 14:50 because what we've seen here is a book that really makes sense, 14:55 it's a book that has... it's a masterpiece. 14:57 It's a book that was written by Divine origin 15:00 and the reason why we don't have 15:02 every answer to every question is because we're not God... 15:05 but God has the answers 15:06 and God can bring those answers to us as we need to see them 15:10 and there are some things that won't be clear 15:13 until they actually unfold... 15:14 some prophecies won't be completely clear 15:17 I mean, we have the ideas... the general ideas 15:19 but they're not completely clear until they unfold. 15:20 Hmmm... hmmm... 15:22 So we talked about this next verse here, verse 11, 15:25 "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: 15:27 and he that is filthy, let him be filthy still: 15:28 and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: 15:30 and he that is holy, let him be holy still. " 15:31 We talked about that 15:33 in relation to not being an arbitrary decree of God 15:37 God is not fixing people's destinies, 15:40 we fix our own destiny, we decide... 15:43 but God has brought the whole world to a place of decision... 15:47 He's lightened the earth with His glory 15:49 and He looks out in the world and He says, 15:51 "You know what? Everyone's made a decision 15:53 if I let this go for another year or another month 15:57 or another week or another day, it wouldn't make any difference 15:59 he that his holy is going to be holy still 16:00 and he that is righteous is going to be righteous still 16:01 and he that is filthy is going to be filthy still 16:03 and he that is unjust is going to be unjust still 16:04 I'm going to come... I'm going to go... " 16:06 everyone's made a decision and no one's changed 16:07 and that picture of God is vital in our understanding 16:11 because God is longsuffering He doesn't want anyone to perish 16:14 so He'll hold out... He's holding out... for one more 16:17 but He's bringing the world to a place 16:19 where they're finally going to make a decision 16:20 and He can bring this to an end 16:22 and He comes quickly and we think, 2,000 years... 16:24 but remember... a day with God is like a thousand years 16:28 and a thousand years is like a day 16:29 so for heaven... for eternity... 16:31 2,000 years... that was two days ago. 16:33 God can wait a couple of days for one more sinner to be saved 16:37 He'll wait a couple of days... 16:39 and when we get to heaven, we'll figure that out. 16:40 "Oh yeah, it was just a couple of days... yeah, it's over... " 16:43 it's like... it's kind of like, 16:45 it's kind of like our session... our 72 sessions 16:47 "Wow, you know, one session... oh! 16:50 we've got to get two sessions, oh! 16:52 oh, we're only at Revelation 12 after three sessions... oh!" 16:55 and then we get to the end we're like, 16:56 "Oh, it's over... oh!" 16:59 Jason: It's like growing up. 17:00 Ivor: 6 years old... oh Man! I want to be 11. 17:04 Laughter... Yeah. 17:05 James: And then, we want to go a little bit further here, 17:10 we've looked at verse 13, 17:13 "I'm alpha and omega, the beginning and the end" 17:15 verse 14... 17:17 Ivor: "Blessed are they that do his commandments, 17:18 that they may have right to the tree of life, 17:20 and may enter in through the gates into the city. " 17:23 This is what I like about this verse... 17:24 James: Hmmm... 17:26 Ivor: That... 17:27 the book of Ecclesiastes chapter 12 says, let's read it. 17:32 James: Let's hear the conclusion of the whole matter... 17:36 Ivor: Yeah, it's kind of like, I can almost hear us go, 17:39 "Why do we need to study the whole book of Revelation?" 17:43 But let's look at it anyway, you want to quote it? 17:45 James: "Let's hear the conclusion of the whole matter... " 17:47 Ivor: But first it says, "Of study of many books, 17:49 there is great weariness of flesh... " 17:52 oh, anybody weary over this long study of Revelation? 17:55 Right, but then, 17:57 "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter 18:00 fear God and keep His commandments: 18:02 for this is the whole duty of man. " 18:04 Ivor: "For God shall bring every work into judgment, 18:05 with every secret thing, 18:06 whether it be good or whether it be evil. " 18:08 God says, "Okay, look, we could be writing books... 18:09 James: We can wear our flesh out. 18:12 Ivor: Yes. James: But... 18:14 Ivor: In case... in case... 18:16 you've missed everything we've just done 18:18 in the book of Revelation, let's sum it up for you, 18:20 last chapter of the book... he closes with those words... 18:24 "Blessed are they that do His commandments 18:28 that they may have right to the Tree of Life. " 18:31 Why was Lucifer cast out of heaven? 18:33 Because of lawlessness. 18:35 Why were Adam and Eve put out of the garden? 18:37 Because of lawlessness. 18:39 How do we get back in? Commandments of God... 18:42 faith of Jesus... 18:43 believing in Christ... 18:45 and "if you love me, keep my commandments. " 18:48 So He says, "Look, in case you got confused, 18:51 in case there was something you missed, 18:53 let me just summarize it for you... 18:55 blessed are they that do His commandments 18:58 that they may have right to the Tree of Life... 19:00 I've just summarized the whole thing for you. " 19:03 So, we are without excuse right, 19:06 He says, "In case it was too wearisome... 19:09 I couldn't follow those half-an-hour programs, 19:11 it lost me in the head... " 19:13 well, we could have just told you this in the beginning 19:15 but we wanted you to watch the program 19:17 but now that you've watched the program, 19:19 we're just summarizing it by saying, 19:22 "Keep His commandments... keep His commandments. " 19:25 He says, "If you love me, keep my commandments. " 19:28 James: And Matthew 22, puts the topping on that... 19:30 brings it all together in a sense... Jesus said, 19:32 because He was asked the question, verse 36... 19:34 "Master, which is the great commandment in the law?" 19:36 And what does He say? 19:38 "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God 19:41 with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, 19:42 and with all thy strength, with all thy mind, 19:44 and this is the first and great commandment. 19:46 And the second is like unto it, 19:48 Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. 19:49 On these two commands 19:51 hang all the law and the prophets. " 19:52 "Keeping my commandments... is love... it's love... " 19:55 so we don't want our Viewers to see these as separate... 19:58 Ivor: Right. 20:00 James: Love and commandment-keeping 20:01 is one and the same thing 20:02 and God... in the book of Revelation 20:04 has finally brought them back together 20:05 see, because they've been separated... 20:07 he's... "Oh, I love God... " 20:09 "Oh, that's legalism... keeping the commandments is legalism. " 20:11 No... no it's not... 20:13 because the whole law is fulfilled in this... love... 20:16 love is the fulfilling of the law. 20:19 Ivor: The wedding vows... the wedding vows... 20:20 James: That's right, that's such a good illustration. 20:23 Ivor: But it's quite amazing because... think about it... 20:25 this very moment of entering into the gates of heaven, 20:28 Jesus Himself says, at the end of time, 20:31 He will stand... He's going to put the goats on one side, 20:33 the sheep on the other... 20:34 He's going to say, "Come in sheep... 20:37 because I was naked and you fed me, 20:39 I was hungry... 20:41 naked and you clothed me... 20:42 I was hungry and you fed me... 20:44 I mean, He goes down this list, 20:45 I was thirsty and you gave me water to drink, 20:47 I was in prison... you visited me. " 20:48 "When did we do that? 20:50 Wait a minute... I don't remember... " 20:53 Yeah, they are so selfless that they're like, 20:57 "Okay, what are you... what are you talking about?" 21:00 Right, and He says, 21:02 "Inasmuch as you did it to the least of these, 21:04 you have done it unto me. " 21:06 That was love, right, 21:08 then, to the others... "You didn't feed me... 21:11 you didn't visit me... you didn't clothe me... " 21:14 "But Lord, we knew how you were coming... 21:16 we knew your feet weren't going to touch the ground... " 21:18 right, "we understood prophecy. " 21:23 Yvonne: Hmmm... hmm... 21:24 Ivor: Love will determine where we end up, yeah... yeah... 21:31 James: Hmmm... hmmm.. destiny... it's destiny... 21:33 and that's why in the very next verse it says, 21:36 "For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, 21:39 and murderers, and idolaters, 21:40 and whoever loves and makes a lie. " 21:43 Whoever loves and makes a lie... 21:45 and it starts early... lying starts early. 21:48 I ask... when I do a class or two 21:51 with some of our RICE students 21:54 we go through some basic questions 21:58 and I ask them, one of the questions I ask is, 22:00 "Do you ever lie... do you ever lie?" 22:03 "Honey, you look great today!" 22:04 "How do I look?" "You look good. " 22:06 "Do you ever lie?" 22:08 Because... because 22:10 sometimes lying is the greatest form of pride 22:14 we want to be liked, we want to be... 22:17 so we say things that aren't really true 22:20 to people and about people, 22:23 we say things that aren't really true 22:24 and we fall into this natural tendency to lie. 22:27 I think that if we look at our political world, 22:30 it's just all caught up in that 22:32 and I really don't think that these guys even realize... 22:34 these people even realize how much they're lying. 22:38 To them, it's just the way the world operates, 22:42 this is the way the world operates, 22:43 and it is hard because you have to take... 22:45 and you have to think about this... 22:47 you have to take a certain amount of responsibility 22:50 in order to always tell the truth. 22:51 You have to... there's a certain amount of... 22:54 yeah, there's a certain amount of pressure 22:56 that's going to come upon you to tell the truth all the time 22:59 and there's a consequence to that 23:00 and so, ultimately I think, this is going to be... 23:03 that's why it says here, "Whoever loves... " 23:04 like, we're summarizing "the saved" 23:07 as those who keep the commandments of God and love God 23:09 we're summarizing "the lost" as those who lie, 23:11 who love a lie and believe a lie. 23:13 Phew... that's pretty big when you think about it 23:17 because I can tell you honestly 23:20 that lying is something that I struggle with... on that level. 23:24 Not on the level of just... you know... 23:25 but on the level of wanting myself to look good 23:28 or wanting to come across in a way 23:30 that isn't "hurting someone" or whatever, 23:32 and we really need to be honest with people 23:35 and we can be honest with people 23:36 if we have the love of God in our hearts... 23:37 we can be honest with people. 23:39 You know, when Peter was filled with the Spirit and they said, 23:42 "Don't preach anymore in the name of Jesus Christ, 23:43 we're going to kill you and put you in prison. " 23:47 He could have said, "Well, you know" but he didn't 23:50 he said, "Hey, whether it's good or not... you judge... 23:54 but I am going to be preaching Christ 23:55 I'm just going to be... I'm not... I'm not even... " 23:59 but at the trial of Jesus... "I don't know Him... 24:02 I don't know Him... I don't know Him. " 24:04 See how easy it was for him to fall into the lie 24:06 to protect himself. 24:07 I think that's part of the dilemma 24:09 that we're dealing with here 24:11 you know, in the end of time. 24:12 You also look at what Lucifer did in heaven, 24:15 he was... the Bible says, 24:17 "By the multitude of your merchandise... " 24:19 called him "a trafficker" 24:22 what was he trafficking? He was trafficking lies... 24:24 What was he merchandising? 24:26 He was merchandising lies and the angels bought it. 24:30 So they bought his merchandise, right? 24:32 The message for us today is, "Don't buy it... " 24:36 right, don't buy his lies, 24:38 don't buy his merchandising, 24:40 and that's part of what the false gospel is, 24:44 the false gospel is a picture of God that is a lie. 24:47 It's a picture of Christ that is a lie 24:50 and much of that has to do with the doctrines, 24:53 "God burns people forever and ever... " 24:56 "You want to be forgiven? You have to pay God. " 24:58 Right, "you have to pay... indulgences" 25:01 Yvonne: Purgatory... indulgences... 25:04 Ivor: Yeah, you know, all these different teachings 25:07 that reflect something that is not true 25:11 about the character of God 25:12 which again is one of the main reasons 25:14 why people turn away from God, and then, 25:17 people love that lie, people like... 25:20 think about the Atheist who may be like, 25:22 "Ah, this is who God is" 25:24 and they are intent on making God to be someone that He's not, 25:28 right, but they're looking at it through faulty eyes. 25:31 So, this is why it's so important for God's people 25:35 at the end of time to show the truth about God's character 25:39 because in Him is truth... in Him there is no lie. 25:42 It goes right back to Satan and the first deception, 25:45 read John chapter 8 verse 44 for us, 25:47 this is really a powerful verse. 25:50 "Ye are of your father the devil, 25:53 and the lusts of your father ye will do. 25:55 He was a murderer from the beginning, 25:57 and abode not in the truth, 25:58 because there is no truth in him. 26:00 When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: 26:02 for he is a liar, and the father of it. " 26:04 Wow! this is taking about Satan, 26:06 the reason why this is such a big deal here 26:08 in Revelation's close is because Satan is the father of lies, 26:12 he's the father of deception, 26:13 we need to walk... we need to pull away... 26:16 have you ever heard of a white lie? 26:17 Yvonne: Oh yeah. 26:18 James: What is that? An acceptable one? 26:21 Yvonne: Yeah, right... 26:22 James: It's okay... no... Yvonne: Harmless... 26:25 James: he's the father... yeah, he's the father of it. 26:27 So in a sense... and I love it because it's a contrast... 26:31 "Here are they that keep the commandments of God" 26:33 and when we're filled with the love of God, 26:34 we're going to be okay... we're going to be okay. 26:36 Ivor: And it's beautiful because the book ends, 26:39 after he says... you know... warns... 26:41 "Don't take any words out of this book or add any to it... " 26:43 and then it just ends with the encouragement, 26:47 He's coming quickly 26:49 and in that last verse, 26:50 "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all... 26:53 the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. " 26:56 James: But, I like this verse... and I want to share it, 26:58 it's so powerful... verse 17, 27:00 "And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. 27:03 And let him that hears Come. 27:07 And let him that is athirst come. 27:09 And... not only those that hear, not only those that are thirsty 27:13 but whoever will... whoever will... 27:16 I just want to say to all of our Viewers, 27:18 whoever will... come... 27:22 take of the water of life freely... 27:25 freely... 27:26 Yvonne: And He will in no wise cast you out. 27:28 James: Yes... 27:29 Yvonne: Come... He will in no wise cast you out. 27:31 Ivor: Have you ever missed a family reunion? 27:35 Man! that's the worst... "You weren't there?" 27:39 "No, Man! I couldn't make it. " 27:40 This is the fact... 27:42 God is inviting us to an eternal family reunion, 27:45 and that's how He closes the book, "Come... " 27:48 Yvonne: Yes. 27:49 Ivor: "Here's your invitation... will you be there?" 27:52 James: If we only had one promise, that would be enough, 27:54 "and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. " 27:57 Beautiful... beautiful... beautiful closing. |
Revised 2017-05-31