52: World News & Prophecy - Revelation 21 & 22: The New Heaven and New Earth

[McNeely] So now we’ve come in Revelation, chapter 21. In the last class, we read Peter’s comment that we look for new heavens and a new earth. This is where it comes. After the thousand-year millennium, after the period of the great white throne judgment, however long that will be, if it’s 100 years or less or more, then we have come to a time when we have a new heaven and a new earth.

"Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband" (Revelation 21:1-2).

And so after all the periods of judgment, after all of that has taken place, this is what John sees, a holy city called New Jerusalem that is prepared as a bride. It’s not the bride. We’ve covered that in Revelation 19:7. The church is the bride, but it says here that Jerusalem is prepared as a bride, a little bit of distinction here. And I don’t think we need to comment further on that, but there’s a preparation for this.

And the preparation really, when you put it all together, I think the way I would explain it and do explain it and understand it, we are being prepared as the bride, the church. And we are going to be then the inhabitants of this city that has been in the making or in the preparation as part of God’s plan.

So we’re going to dwell with God in this city called New Jerusalem as then it appears in what is a spiritual entity. We’ve moved beyond the physical realm at this point. And that’s something that needs to be understood.

What John is seeing and what he’s describing—no more sea—we’re looking at a spiritual existence, if you will, explained with physical terms because we’re physical and that’s how we understand it, a city. But it is an existence with God and the Father as He comes and joins at this particular time.

This would be what we have back in 1 Corinthians 15, the resurrection chapter, verse 24, where it says—well, verse 23,

"But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming. Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power" (1 Corinthians 15:23-24).

And so that ending would be when this event is being occurs and the appearance of the Father in this relationship with His creation that is called the New Jerusalem. So look at it as an existence and a relationship that is spiritual, but it’s couched in the terms of a city.

Verse 3 says, "And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, 'Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God'" (Revelation 21:3).

So a tabernacle, a temporary type of dwelling, but a dwelling where there is an occupation or a residence, that is what is being talked about here. And really, it’s describing a very basic and easy-to-understand theme of the Bible—that God wants to dwell with His people. He wants to dwell with His creation, very reason for the creation.

Let us make man in our image. God’s intent is to create many sons to glory. And He wants to—God is relational with His creation. And this is where it comes to its ultimate purpose. That’s what’s being described here. That is what tabernacle, tabernacles is. And back in Leviticus 26, God says, I will set my tabernacle among you, my dwelling place. I will walk with you, be your God, you shall be my people.

That was first represented by that tabernacle in the wilderness, later by a temple built by Solomon, and ultimately fulfilled in this scene. All of the other physical with a purpose for the time, but now toward this end here.

I would also take us back to John 1:14, where we spent a lot of time on that when we were studying about the nature of God. But that this scripture says, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. By Christ, the Word becoming flesh, becoming Jesus, that too demonstrated a desire upon the part of the God family to dwell with and among the people, the creation. And that’s what is being described here.

Verse 4,

"And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away" (Revelation 21:4).

I don’t know how many times I have read that verse at a graveside to give people comfort. Encouragement. That death will be one day destroyed. It will not be man’s enemy. God will wipe away. There’s a lot to happen to get to this point here, but it’s the Word of God. And when it’s read, uttered, if I can say, in tone, to use that term, at a moment—look, when you go to the grave for a funeral and you’re putting a friend, a family member, a loved one into the ground, that’s a moment. That is a moment.

And if you’ve never been at that moment, you will. I’ve been there many times. For people as a pastor, burying my own family, friends, and it is a moment. And you have all kinds of thoughts going through your head. But to have read words of truth like this and others that we do, comforts, gives courage, helps. Doesn’t wipe away every tear, even today. That’s going to come in the future, but it gives hope. And when you hear it, when others hear it—and that’s why, you know, the only thing when I go to a funeral, just read the Word of God. Just read the Word of God. Make your comments few and good, but let God’s Word do the talking. And that helps because it’s words of truth. And this is one of them here. It echoes many other scriptures about death, but it is where God is taking us.

Let’s go on to verse 5. "Then He who sat on the throne said, 'Behold, I make all things new.' And He said to me, 'Write, for these words are true and faithful'" (Revelation 21:5).

So this is God speaking and directing John to record this at this point. Christ is the Alpha and the Omega. He’s the beginning. He’s the ending point of all creation. And to Him and through Him are all things and to His glory.

In verse 6, He said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son" (Revelation 21:6-7).

So that takes us back to Revelation 2 and 3, where we have in the messages to the churches, the seven churches. There is to each one the encouragement, the admonition to overcome and to inherit all things. He said, He who does that, I will be His God and he shall be My son. So in verse 8 here, then it goes on to describe a grouping of people who won’t be a part of this relationship with God.

"But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death" (Revelation 21:8).

Which is a reference back to what we have in chapter 20. So in other words, they could not overcome that—any or all of these—and they're part of the second death. So they're not going to be in this relationship with God. So it's a huge contrast, obviously, of overcoming.

And so again, when you look at the messages to the churches in chapters 2 and 3, to he who overcomes, He offers a reward. And so many other scriptures, that's what life is about. And here's a list of things to overcome. Now, you might look at that list and you're not a murderer. You're not sexually immoral. You're not dabbling with sorcery and witchcraft, and you're not bowing down to an idol.

But look at the first one—cowardly—a little different. What's the opposite of being a coward? Courage. Be strong. Take courage. It takes courage to believe God and overcome.

Why is that at the beginning? I don't know, but I could say that this Christian life has to be driven by courage, bravery, resilience—however you want to describe and define courage or the opposite condition from cowardly. Don't be afraid. I mean, that's what Jesus gives us as we focus on the Passover. He said, be not afraid. I have overcome. You can overcome. That's one of the key things that He says when we read the scriptures on the night of the Passover. I have overcome, which means we can. But to do that takes courage and it takes belief.

All right, moving on. Verse 9: "Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, 'Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife'. And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal" (Revelation 21:9–11).

And so beginning of a listing of fine jewels here. And so one of the angels that could have been one who showed John earlier back in chapter 17 in verse 1, there was an angel that said, Come, I'll show you the judgment of the great whore. But here we have another one of the angels unnamed, maybe the same one, but showing a different city, the city of God, and a different relationship.

So the huge contrast—the false city of Babylon, the true city of Jerusalem. And again, I call you back to what we looked at at the beginning of our class this year, Daniel chapter 1, verse 1. When Babylon came against Jerusalem and took it captive, all that we have been talking about is the contrast between these two cities—Jerusalem, the city of God, and Babylon, the city of Satan—and the contrast and the differences here.

Here we see who wins. Here we see the one city that we want to be relational with because it represents everything that is God's and our relationship that we are being prepared for, where God dwells with His people who have been made immortal through the resurrection, called chosen and faithful, living stones forming a true temple of God and Christ, all of the different teachings from Peter to Paul to Revelation, all pointing to this one relationship.

So it goes into more detail in verse 12. "Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel" (Revelation 21:12).

And so on the gates that make up the wall—and this again, the imagery that would be called to mind in the readers or the members of the churches in the first century living in that world, a city with walls they could relate to.

We don't. The only time you and I might see a city with walls is if we go to some very old city in Italy or other places where you will still see medieval cities with the medieval wall. I think I'm thinking of one in Italy. I think it's Lucca. The city of Lucca has parts of the old medieval wall. And there are other places that you can see that, but we don't have walls around the city of Batavia or Cincinnati or cities of—you know—they're modern cities. But they would have related to that.

And that brought certain things. And I'm going to save my comments when we get into the next chapter to kind of show you exactly what they would have thought, what they would have seen, and what is being said here. But note here—so take note—that on the gates are the names of the tribes of the children of Israel.

Verse 13: "Three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb" (Revelation 21:13-14).

So twelve gates with the names of Israel, which are the sons, the descendants of Abraham. And the whole story in the Bible begins with Abraham and his descendants. We talked about the promises to Abraham and one of our fundamentals of belief and how important that is to ultimately what God is doing. And here again in Revelation, we come down to the very—you know—next to the last chapter, and there's Israel again on the gates of this New Jerusalem.

God has unfinished business with Israel even to this day. We see that carried even into the New Jerusalem here. But the foundation have the names of the twelve apostles. In Ephesians 2:20 points us to the fact that the church is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Christ is the chief cornerstone. So there's twelve apostles. They're the foundation. Paul clearly shows us that, and that carries into this imagery. And twelve names of the tribes of Israel upon the gates.

"And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal. Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel" (Revelation 21:15-17).

It's a big city. Some estimates have the dimensions range from 1,200 to up to 1,500 miles in terms of the square miles that is here.

One commentary, I think, put it the best way, and I like to kind of just leave it at this, that the size that is being described and as it would kind of relate to the first century, but also to our theme here, is the size that is being described in the ancient world—this city would come down and reside on top of the entire area covered by the Roman Empire at its height. All right, this is written during the empire at its height.

And I think that that is probably the best way to understand what is being described here—that through John, Christ is showing that His New Jerusalem, the city of God, is going to just fit over the Roman Empire. In other words, it's greater than the Roman Empire. It will subdue the Roman Empire, which they were under and suffering from in the first century. Remember, John was on exile on the island of Patmos when he received the vision.

So I think that's the best way to understand what is being said here, regardless of the—you know—all of the dimensions, which is quite large, and what is being brought out here. And so we have a city. We have gates with a foundation.

Let's read on verse 18: "The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass" (Revelation 21:18).

This is an expensive city.

"The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl." (Revelation 21:19-21).

Now that is a big oyster. In nature, I don't think there's any pearl that's been found that is that big, but this is a heavenly city. 

And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

And again—quite wealthy, representing a lot. The finest, most luxurious materials. There's connections that are always made here, and to be sure. These stones match what was in the high priest's breastplate. And you've got a connection there. And of course, with the high priest of Israel and to the temple, was the type of Christ who is our high priest. And again, it all points to God. And so there's a consistency of God's word as well that we find from the beginning all the way to the end. So precious, precious, precious gems here.

Going on to verse 22:

"But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light" (Revelation 21:22-23).

And so again, the temple always has been a symbol of God's presence among His people. He will be in the New Jerusalem, and there's no need for anything symbolic anymore. God's glory is going to give the light, and the Lamb—that of the Lamb and of the Father in all of this. You would recall John 8 and verse 12, where Christ said, I am the light of the world when He was walking in Jerusalem at that time. Even to us, Christ said Matthew 5:14, that we are to be the light of the world.

And that light that we would reflect to the world would be the glory of God in us. And again, we couldn't take credit for it and shouldn't, and I don't think we would in our right mind, but it all goes back to God. So God's Spirit in us, producing good works, being a light to people, an example of righteousness—ultimately we will give it all back to God. And in this, we are seeing that God is the one who gives the light.

Now, it says here, it doesn't say here that the sun or any other astronomical body gives the light. Well, why not? Well, it could very well be, and I think is, that they will not be existing at this point in time. And they're not needed as a light source. So, I mean, this is something to wrap our mind around—to realize that what the known cosmos that we have doesn't exist.

But God gives the light. So, we're not in Kansas anymore, Toto, when we come to this particular fulfillment of this time.

"And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there). And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life" (Revelation 21:24–27).

So again, telling us exactly what it will take and how we will be a part of that.

Going on to chapter 22 then. "And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb" (Revelation 22:1).

So again, it's the city that God lives in. And He lives in this setting. We've already had a picture from Revelation 4 and 5 of the throne of God. And so here's an expanded picture here of the fulfillment of something that really started long ago and got sidetracked. We're being taken back to Eden—the garden in Eden—in Genesis, where God began it all. And there is, in this case now, we have a city and a development. We see the end result of what God began there.

And though there was a sidetracking of Adam and Eve taking of the knowledge of the tree of good and evil, God's purpose now comes back around and will be fulfilled. This picture is the completion of that story that was interrupted. God's purpose will stand.

It goes on to verse 2: "In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations" (Revelation 22:2).

And so a picture of God's environment—what His way will produce. And so here's a pure river of water of life, verse 1, proceeding from the throne of God. And going through the city, and in the middle of its street on—so the river's going down the river, down the street. Picture this in your mind. And in the middle of the street, and on either side of the river was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each yielding its fruit every month.

So it's a tree-lined boulevard coming out of the throne of God here in this. Now there's echoes of obviously Genesis and a millennial prophecy back in Ezekiel 48 concerning Jerusalem and a temple there. But this is the ultimate. The water, the river of life comes from under the throne of God and the Lamb that we've seen earlier. And you will see then, again, we won't go back to Ezekiel 47, but it takes you through all of that. But all of this—all of it—points to this.

Now here's what I want to kind of lead up to, or I've been leading up to this. I didn't comment. We had the gates earlier, and whose names were on the gates? Israel—each of the sons of Jacob. Whose names were on the foundation of the city? The apostles. All right. So you've got—and I've told you about gates before in an ancient city.

Remember I showed you, I think it was in the last couple of classes back about the city of Megiddo there in Israel. And I showed you the remnants of the ancient gates, and I explained that those gates were like kind of like a courthouse. They were big. They were buildings, but people walked under or through that into the city.

All right. That's what's being described here. And it's what a large ancient city, particularly a Roman city, was like. Imagine you're the apostle Paul. Let me take you back. You're the apostle Paul, and you've got Barnabas with you. And you get off the boat that has brought you from Cyprus, going back to the first journey of Paul. And you get off the boat right here in Asia Minor, and you begin walking north.

The first city that Paul encountered—and it's recorded there in Acts 13—was the city of Perga. P-E-R-G-A, Perga. I've been to Perga. Paul and Barnabas walked into Perga, and guess what they did? They walked through a gate. Well, I've walked through that same gate. You could too, if you went to Perga today.

Now, when Paul walked through the—he actually walked through two gates. There was a Greek gate built during the time of the Greeks, and then right next to it there's a Roman gate built during the time of the Romans. And remnants of both are still there. And you actually walk through both of them. And then you walk out into a big area of a street of the city of ancient Perga.

And what stretches for several hundred yards ahead of you is the remnant of a river. Well, not exactly a river, but a man-made river or stream, fountain we would call, that would have flowed—that did flow right down through the middle of the street. And on either side, there would have been trees. And on either side, there would have been shops and other buildings. You see the remnant of that today.

Now, if you're Paul and you turned around and you look back at the gate after you came through, you know what Paul would have seen on that gate? Names of people who built the city of Perga. Roman names and Greek on the earlier Greek one, but the last one he would have seen as he turned around—and had he paused there—he would have seen a name of some benefactor of a few decades or a hundred years earlier.

And another one right next to it, there might have been a bust of that person, a Roman, would have all been on that gate. Why? Because people who build cities and make them beautiful and build monuments and buildings and develop it, they want to be remembered. City fathers. Benefactors. And Paul would have walked right on down and along the artificial river as he then made his way through Perga on up as he would have been going up to Antioch and Pisidia.

I've walked down that road. And when I did, you got the picture of what is being described here in Revelation 21 and 22. When God says that on the gates of that New Jerusalem are the names of the sons of Israel, the tribes of Israel, those were the benefactors of Israel. They were the city fathers, the nation's fathers, from Abraham to Isaac to Jacob to Reuben and all the others. They were the ones who built—and upon whom the church then later came. And of course, the foundations would have that of the city—of the foundation of the apostles.

Again, someone having this letter read to them in Laodicea, in Ephesus, in Thyatira, would have thought about their city and the names of their benefactors. And they would have realized that this city to which they look, whose builder and maker is God, has been in the making for a long, long time and will supersede the city that they were in in Pergamum or Ephesus. And as Paul walked down that river, he's walking down the river that is being described here—that gives life.

So the Romans didn't know what they were doing, but they had built a city that was a copy, a counterfeit really, of what God had intended from the very beginning in Eden where there was water and where there were rivers. And so this is what is being described here. And there are remnants of it for us today to understand the city that we look for is that same one that Abraham looked for, whose builder and maker is God.

"And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. There shall be no night there: they need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever" (Revelation 22:3-5).

At this point, any curse that has been put upon mankind is removed.

Then he said to me, "These words are faithful and true. And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show His servants the things which must shortly take place" (Revelation 22:6).

So God gave visions to many of His servants. Isaiah had a vision of the throne of God—so did Ezekiel. Moses had a vision of the land that he was not able to go into—the promised land—when he was on Mount Nebo. Now John has this vision, and so God has had it reserved for us to look at.

"Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book" (Revelation 22:7).

So here's another blessing—another one of the several beatitudes that are within the book of Revelation—and a blessing to those who keep the words, who read it, acknowledge it, understand it, and seek to increase that knowledge.

So direct—almost a repetition of chapter 1 and verse 3 of Revelation, where it says,

"Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it, for the time is near" (Revelation 1:3).

And so he goes on to verse 8:

"Now I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things. And he said to me, “See that you do not do that, for I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.” (Revelation 22:8-9)

And so he points to the power behind all the prophets and the servants of God, and that is God. And so in another sense, we take this and we realize that we can’t understand the book of Revelation without the foundation of the Old Testament, and especially the prophets. We’ve studied Daniel, but we have also brought in aspects of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, and other prophets of the Old Testament as well to then add to the understanding and the fullness of the Revelation that we have.

He goes on in verse 10, “And he said to me, ‘Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand.’” (Revelation 22:10)

And so while the imagery pertain to John’s time, it continues into our time and into the future yet. And it is written in such a style and such a way to apply to all time.

“He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still” (Revelation 22:11).

Well, God is essentially saying that if one insists on clinging to his evil anti-God ways, there will be a judgment for that. Now, that’s not His desire. We know that. But He contrasts it here with that of righteousness and holiness for those that seek righteousness—to have the courage, keep your eyes on the goal. And any that would read this today or at any time that might not be righteous or holy, the admonition, because there’s a coming time of judgment, is to be holy.

In verse 12, He says, “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last” (Revelation 22:12-13).

So, in one sense, everyone who has ever read the book of Revelation from the first century forward really has to read it with this idea that He comes quickly. And His reward is with Him to give to every one. That’s the way the book was intended to be read. We read it in our time. We read it in our moment. And we then are moved to action realizing that it is true that it will happen.

And if we die before it happens, then we’re sealed until the events transpire. And that’s the way to read the book without all the predictions that, you know, we’re so prone to get into trying to predict the appearance of a beast or who will be that beast’s power and try to put a person to it. Or in a sense, as I have told you, we try to get ahead of Daniel in everything. And God said to Daniel, go your way. It’s sealed until the time of the end.

But our human nature—sometimes our pride, sometimes intellectual vanity—kind of wants us to get ahead of God or to figure it all out when it’s not clearly set. Read the book for what it says and take it for what it means. And what it means is, “I’m coming quickly.”

Well, I’ve been reading it since I was an early teenager. I think I told you the first major Bible study that I can remember going through in my hometown congregation back in Missouri in the late 1960s was the book of Revelation. So I’ve been reading it, studying it a long time. And I read it with a word to understand, but in the back of my mind, it’s not that I’m trying to figure out, is it five years or 10 years? But no. What do I do now?

In alignment with the spiritual teaching of the book now. And I’ll leave to God all the details that I’d like to know, but I don’t know and won’t know. And as one of my good friends says, speak loud where God is loud and be soft where God is soft. There’s wisdom in that.

Verse 14: “Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city” (Revelation 22:14).

That’s what we are to do. Keep the commandments.

“But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie” (Revelation 22:15).

I trust that is not us.

“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star” (Revelation 22:16).

So there’s echoes back to the messages to the seven churches there.

“And the Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely” (Revelation 22:17).

Back in John 7, Christ stood up and He said, “If you’re thirsty, come to Me and out of you will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:37–38).

That He is the source.

“For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book” (Revelation 22:18–19).

So be careful what you’ve written in your margins. Just keep it all in the margins there, and you won’t be guilty of writing words into the lines and in between the words of this book.

“He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming quickly.’ Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen” (Revelation 22:20-21).

And so the book comes to a close. John finished up whatever writing he had with whatever instrument and on the papyrus or the scroll that he had, and the book was done. The book was sealed, and the book was sent to the churches to read. And so we have read the book of Revelation and come to the end of it.

So I hope that you’ve all found it to be profitable here, and those of you that have watched online are profitable as well. Anytime we go through the book of Revelation, it brings us to a point where we see the whole story unfold—and God wins. Let’s make sure we’re on that winning side with Him.