Understanding the Book of Revelation, Part 1

All right, I came into God's truth in 1973, 1974, when I was a senior in high school. That's when God really began to work with me, although my mother had gotten the plain truth since I was three years old. So I was exposed to some degree, but not a whole lot. It wasn't anything that we didn't go to church on the Sabbath. In fact, she would take us to church on Sunday and tell us we really ought to go on the Sabbath. That's that kind of a thing. My dad never did go to church, so we had bacon and things like that in the house, but she would tell us we really shouldn't eat it.

She would fix some for my dad, but she wouldn't eat it, and I didn't eat very much either because of that influence. But it was in 1973 and 1974, almost 40 years ago, that God really began to call me. The church's booklet, 1975 in Prophecy, had already been pulled by that time. Some of you old-timers may remember the booklet, 1975 in Prophecy. It was a pretty scary book, and I know it put a lot of fear in people's hearts and minds. In fact, my wife was 10 years old when she started attending church, and in 1975 in Prophecy, that was in 1965 when she started coming to church. So, 1975 in Prophecy was still around and circulating, and for a 10-year-old girl, it was pretty frightening to think that these things could happen so quickly.

Well, as I said, that booklet had already been pulled by that time. We in the church realized that Christ was not returning as soon as we had first thought was possible that that would likely happen. Frankly, we made the same mistake that just about everyone has made throughout history, including the Apostle Paul and other biblical heavyweights. We believe Christ was returning sooner than he truly was. Because of the timing of my calling, because of my understanding, also that we needed to be very careful not to add to or take away anything from the Scriptures, I've always been very careful not to speculate too heavily on the return of Christ when that's going to happen, the timing of Christ's return. We've all heard many men come and go who have prophesied a date for Christ's return. It wasn't too long ago when someone else was prophesying the return of Christ on a particular date, and of course that date has come and gone.

They've been very wrong in their assessments, so I am very cautious. I never want to be guilty of crying wolf when the wolf really isn't ready to pounce. Now, in this case, it's probably a bad analogy because Christ is certainly no wolf, but we want to be careful not to cry wolf prematurely when it comes to the return of Jesus Christ. It could be damaging the one's spiritual walk, but at the same time, being too lethargic and apathetic about the return of Christ can also be potentially more damaging. So we need to have a proper balance when we consider the return of Jesus Christ. So today we're going to begin a series of sermons on the book of Revelation. I've been doing this in Tulsa and Oklahoma City and in Lawton now. So we're going to go ahead and start the series today on the book of Revelation. We'll discuss some of the basics regarding prophetic events that shall surely come to pass before Christ's Second Coming. The most important thing is to know what the Bible says about what's going to happen before Christ returns.

God doesn't tell us when He's going to return, but He does tell us some of the events that will take place before Christ returns. So we can know some of the things that will be happening shortly before the return of Christ. Many believe that the book of Revelation cannot be understood.

I have to admit that when I first read the book of Revelation, to me it seemed pretty confusing and not all that easy to understand. But actually the opposite is true. The book of Revelation can be understood. We can understand the book of Revelation. For those who have eyes to see and ears to hear, let them both see and hear the true meaning of the book of Revelation. So we're going to take a number of sermons to discuss the book of Revelation. I think you will find it fascinating. I have found it very fascinating as I've been studying into the book of Revelation more. Not that I haven't studied the book of Revelation in the past because I have, but it seems like it's coming more clear to me. Now it's a little bit easier to keep things in mind. The main purpose of this sermon, again, is to help us understand the book of Revelation, thus the very catchy title to the sermon, Understanding the Book of Revelation.

This is part one, Understanding the Book of Revelation.

I'm sure we'll all be inspired and also sobered by the events that are prophesied to happen very quickly and perhaps in the very, very near future. We know we're certainly closer to Christ's return now than we've ever been. We can state that with great surety. We are closer now than we've ever been to the return of Christ. Since Christ's first coming, there have been events that have taken place around the world. There have been earthquakes in various places throughout history. There have been tsunamis. In fact, the most devastating tsunami, tsunami, obviously of recent times took the lives of over 200,000 people. There have been volcanic eruptions. There have been tornadoes, floods. Every year it seems there's certain floods, flooding that goes on. There have been conflicts. There have been local wars, regional wars, national wars, and world wars.

These events, as well as a great deal of religious confusion and deception, I know have caused a great deal of sorrow, pain, and suffering for billions of people down through the ages. This has been what's been happening since Christ's first coming. One might easily say that all of these events collectively that I've mentioned, coupled with religious deception, are indeed the beginning of sorrows. And frankly, that's where we're still at when it comes to Bible prophecy. We're still in the beginning of sorrows. Now, I think we may be at the end of the beginning of sorrows, but nevertheless, if someone were to ask me, where are we, I would say we're still in this beginning of sorrows. Let's go to Matthew 24 and let's read what it means, what we mean by the beginning of sorrows and what the scripture reveals in this regard. Matthew... Oh, I'm going to go into the book of Revelation, but I want to go to Matthew 24. Let's go there. Matthew 24. We're going to read a few verses, several verses, I guess, three through eight. Matthew 24, beginning in verse three. And we will see that there are tremendous parallels between Matthew 24 and the book of Revelation. Verse 3, Matthew 24, verse 3, Now, as he, Jesus Christ, said on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age? And Jesus answered and said to them, Take heed that no one deceives you. So Christ, first of all, warns them about deception. For many will come in my name, saying I am the Christ, and will deceive many. Now, that certainly happened, hasn't it, over the last two thousand years. People have professed Christ, but they frankly, not taught what Christ taught. They've taught that Christ did away with the law. Mr. Sani and his sermonette, again, showed that Christ didn't do away with God's law. Christ kept God's law perfectly, and he is our example that we are to emulate and to follow. So many will come and they will deceive many. Verse 6, And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars, See that you are not troubled, For all these things must come to pass, But the end is not yet.

For nation will rise against nation, And kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines. And I know in Oklahoma we're getting close in some areas. We haven't had a lot of rain. Texas is very dry in many, many places. We did have some rain last week in the area of Oklahoma where I live, so we've gotten some relief. And I am having to start to mow again, as was mentioned in the opening prayer. But there will be famines, there will be pestilences, there will be earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. As I said, there's been a lot of sorrow over the years because of earthquakes and tsunamis and wars, world wars, volcanoes and so forth. A lot of people have lost their lives. There have been diseases like the bubonic plague that have taken many, many thousands and thousands of lives. But we are still in the beginning of sorrows. In Luke 21, which is a parallel chapter to Matthew 24, Luke 21, we'll just read a verse here, Luke 21 verse 9, Luke chapter 21 verse 9, But when you hear of wars and commotions, do not be terrified, for these things must come to pass first, but the end will not come immediately.

So there will be frightening things that are going to happen and have happened for 2,000 years, but the end is not yet. There are other things that we need to understand and know regarding the Scriptures, what they tell us about the return of Christ and what's going to happen first. So let's go to Revelation chapter 1. Let's go launch into the book of Revelation.

And we'll probably cover five or six chapters today, although we won't cover some of the chapters in any great length, but we will get that far probably today. Revelation chapter 1, I do want to read the first 12 verses.

The Revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave him to show his servants, things which must shortly take place.

And he sent and signified it by his angel to his servant John. Now right off the bat, we realize this is the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God the Father gave to him to show his servants. Things which must shortly take place or which will quickly and swiftly take place. When they begin to happen, they are going to happen very quickly. They're going to happen very swiftly.

And he sent and signified it by his angel to his servant John. Now John was the oldest apostle. He was the only one that wasn't martyred, that didn't actually give his life according to the legends and so forth.

As far as we know, he was not martyred. He was quite old at this time.

Verse 2, John who bore witness to the Word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ to all things that he saw. John is a reputable witness. He was an eyewitness of these things. He saw them in vision. God revealed to them those things to him and undoubtedly, God brought them to mind as he was writing all of this down because he's very detailed in many respects in the things that he's written.

So God was inspiring John and helping him write this down so that we could have it. Verse 3, blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy. So there's actually going to be a blessing in us going through this. Taking the time to go through this book will be a blessing on all of us.

So we should be grateful that that's what we're doing here. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep those things which are written in it. So there is a part of obedience, too, to the things that we're going to cover.

You know, we need to obey the things that we're going to be talking about in this book of Revelation. And keep those things which are written in it for the time is near. John, to the seven churches which are in Asia. So we see that these initially, this was a letter to the seven churches which are in Asia.

He says, Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come. He's speaking of God the Father and from the seven spirits who are before his throne and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler over the kings of the earth.

To him who loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood and has made us kings and priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Now, John understood our destiny to become kings and priests and to rule under Jesus Christ. And it will be mentioned in other places in the book of Revelation. Verse seven, Behold, he is coming with clouds and every eye will see him.

He's not coming secretly. He's coming and every eye will see him. Even they who pierced him, they will be resurrected. Those who had a part in killing Christ and who repented other sins, they'll be a part of the first resurrection. They will see Christ at his return. Those who pierced him and all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of him. Even so, amen. Christ says, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, says the Lord, who is and who was and who is to come the Almighty.

So the same description is given for God the Father and Jesus Christ because they are one. You know, they were there in the very beginning and in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. And later the Word became flesh and dwelled among us. Verse 9, I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos. John was exiled to Patmos. For the Word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ, he was basically imprisoned on the island of Patmos.

Now, my wife and I have had the opportunity to be on the island of Patmos, a beautiful island, and I've never seen such beautiful water as I've seen in the island of Patmos. It was so blue and just so rich and beautiful. It was neat to be there. I mean, we didn't get to see all of the island, but we we supposedly saw where John knelt and prayed constantly. There were indentions in the stone where he supposedly prayed. Now, I know I say supposedly because I'm not so naive to believe everything that I hear.

There was a fascinating... I guess he was a priest. Pardon? A monk. Yeah, there's an old monk. He had a beard that came down to about here, a white beard, and he had memorized most of the Bible. It was incredible. We could tell him Ezekiel this or that, and he'd start going off.

A monk, though, they don't have a whole lot to do on the island of Patmos, but to memorize scripture. So he was amazing. He could really quote the scripture.

So John was exiled on the island of Patmos. Verse 10, he says, I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day.

Okay, what is this talking about? Christ was in Spirit on the Lord's day. Some will say that he was there on a Sunday. You know, he was there on Sunday, and God was revealing this vision to him on the Lord's day on Sunday. We'll see that that's not the case, and I'm sure you all realize that isn't the case. It's not talking about a particular day of the week. It's talking about the day of the Lord. He was there on the Lord's day or the day of the Lord. He was in vision. He was catapulted, into the day of the Lord, so that he could see the things that were going to happen prior to Christ's return.

I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice as of a trumpet, saying, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last. What you see, write in a book, and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia, to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and Delaia, to Sia. Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me, and having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands. All right, now we'll stop here, and let's go to 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, where it talks about the day of the Lord. John was envisioned on the Lord's day or the day of the Lord. Revelation, I'm sorry, 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 and verse 23.

1 Thessalonians chapter 5 and verse 23. That's not right. Oh, I'm in second. Wait a minute. 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 and verse 24. I think it's verse, actually it's verse 1. Let's start with verse 1. 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, verse 1. 1 But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.

2 For when they say peace and safety, then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they shall not escape. 3 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this day should overtake you as a thief. So it is important to realize that, yes, we can understand what's going to happen before Christ returns, so that we are not taken by surprise, but that we are prepared and that we are ready for the return of Christ. We need to be spiritually prepared and ready for Christ's return. And that's going to be one of the major purposes of going through the book of Revelation to help us be prepared for the return of Christ. We need to know what's going to happen before Christ's return, but more importantly, we need to understand what we need to be doing spiritually before Christ returns. So again, it shows that the day of the Lord, know perfectly that the day of the Lord, so comes for those who are not prepared as a thief in the night. Now, in Isaiah chapter 13, it's going to talk here about the day of the Lord. These are prophecies in the Old Testament about the day of the Lord. Let's go to Isaiah 13. Isaiah chapter 13.

The day of the Lord is described throughout the scriptures as a time of God's direct intervention in human affairs. It's a time of His judgment on His adversaries, on those who defy His correction, and those who refuse His commandments. So in Isaiah 13.6, we see that Isaiah succinctly sums up the day of the Lord. Isaiah 13 verse 6. He says, "...whale for the day of the Lord is at hand, it will come as destruction from the Almighty." So this is something that God is going to send upon the earth. This day of the Lord is something it's of God's doing. It will come as destruction from the Almighty. In Jeremiah chapter 46, Jeremiah chapter 46, it also talks about the day of the Lord. And we might ask, who is going to be the object of this destruction that we read about in Isaiah 13? It's coming from God. It's a destruction. And who is it going to be upon?

Jeremiah chapter 46 verse 10. For this is the day of the Lord, God of hosts, it is a day of vengeance, that He, God, may avenge Himself on His adversaries. The sword shall devour, it shall be satiated and made drunk with their blood. For the Lord God of hosts has a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates. So in Isaiah 46 verse 10, we see that this is a day of vengeance.

It's Isaiah, Jeremiah 46, that He may avenge Himself on His adversaries.

Anyone who would oppose God the Father and Jesus Christ throughout the ages, this day of the Lord will come on those who are living at that time as God's judgment upon the adversaries. Now, there will be many who have died, obviously, that are in the same boat as those who happen to be alive at the return of Christ. And they will also have an opportunity to be resurrected and to have God tell them all about His judgment upon them. And they'll have an opportunity to choose at that time those who have not known God and have never received His Spirit. They will have an opportunity to repent of their sins, but God's going to send destruction upon those who are living just before the return of His Son, Jesus Christ. Now, Zephaniah also bears this out, the book of Zephaniah, chapter 1. It's right before the book of Hagia, if that helps you find it. Zephaniah.

It's right after Habakkuk 2. Zephaniah chapter 1, verse 14, The great day of the Lord is near. It is near and hastens quickly. The noise of the day of the Lord is bitter. There the mighty men shall cry out. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress. It is a day of devastation and desolation. It is a day of darkness and gloominess. It is a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of trumpet and alarm against the fortified cities and against the high towers. I will bring distress upon men and they shall walk like blind men.

And why? Because they have sinned against the eternal. So this is God's wrath upon a sinning people, a people who have not repented of their sins. They haven't accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior. He says their blood shall be poured out like dust and their flesh like refuse. So we are going to talk about some sad events that will take place in the book of Revelation. But we need to be able to wade through some of the gloominess and the sadness to see that there is a wonderful plan at the very end of all this and that there is a purpose for God doing what He's going to do.

We certainly need to be prepared and understand why God is doing what He's doing. You know, God has been extremely merciful in not wiping us all off the face of the earth already. You know, the wages of sin is death and we've all sinned. We all deserve to die. And the history of mankind is a very sordid history. Man's inhumanity to man throughout history, it certainly does not reflect the love of God. The way we've treated one another down through the ages, you know, is just sick to turn on the news and hear about what people are doing to one another, even their own families. It's just tragic how we treat one another. God has been so merciful and patient putting up with all that. You know, if you were God and you could see all that's happening, I mean, God has to just cut Himself off from all that, I think, otherwise it would be too much for Him. You know, that's why I'm sure that in many reasons He's not as involved as we would all like Him to be because it's too sad to be involved with all the nonsense that goes on down here. Not that God isn't aware, you know, He is aware. He can be certainly aware of everything that's happening. He knows everything, so I'm not saying that, but I think God in a way chooses to keep Himself from some of the stuff that goes on. Revelation puts many of the earlier prophecies of the Bible, those in the Old Testament, the minor prophets, and also, of course, the major prophets. It puts many of these earlier prophecies of the Bible into an understandable context.

It's important that we study the book of Revelation and understand what it says there because it gives us more information, and it will help us put into context the things that we read in the other prophecies in Joel and Amos and Obadiah and so forth, the various other prophecies Isaiah and Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel. So it helps us understand the context of these end time events. So that's very important. It's an understandable context. It also reveals a much-needed framework.

So Revelation gives us a context in which to work and understand prophecy. It also gives us a much needed framework. Revelation is more detailed than anywhere else in chronological order. It gives us a framework. We've got basically 22 chapters of prophecy in the book of Revelation, and it goes into things that other books don't go into. It's important that we understand and know what's happening. Also, the book of Revelation accomplishes this partly through the use of symbols and figurative language. Sometimes those symbols and figurative language are also used in other places, like in Daniel and Isaiah and Ezekiel. So it helps us put it all together much more fully. Very, very important what's revealed in the book of Revelation so that we can understand other prophecies. For example, the prophetic book of Daniel does use similar language. Beasts of seven heads and ten horns. There are different beasts that it talks about in the book of Daniel, but having the book of Revelation helps us understand Daniel more fully. Many of its visions and figures of speech are clearly explained when we understand the book of Revelation. We wouldn't have near the understanding of the book of Daniel if we didn't have the book of Revelation. Daniel also helps us in some places to understand Revelation.

God revealed to Daniel that the meanings of certain things were to remain mysteriously obscured until the time of the end. When Daniel was written, Daniel didn't comprehend much of what he was given to see. He wrote it down, but he knew that it would be later on that it would be understood. In fact, Daniel chapter 12 says that. Daniel chapter 12.

Daniel chapter 12 starting at verse 12. Daniel chapter 12 verse 8.

Although I heard I did not understand, then I said, my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? Daniel wanted to know what all this meant, all these things that he was seeing in dreams and visions. He said, Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.

Now, we are in the time of the end. Even though we're in the beginning of sorrows, I think it's also accurate to say we're also in the time of the end. We're at the end of the beginning of sorrows. We're into the time of the end. I mean, these are general, broad phrases that are used in the Bible. Much has happened since these things were written. There's a great deal of history that has taken place that helps us understand the book of Daniel for sure. You know, there are prophecies in Daniel that if we didn't see the history that had taken place since then, you wouldn't understand it about Greece and about the Roman Empire and various historical events that have taken place since it was written. All right, in Revelation 22, it does show us that we can understand the book of Revelation. Revelation 22 and Mr. Armstrong taught many of these things that we'll be talking about, obviously. This understanding has been around for a long time. The book of Revelation Unveiled was a booklet that Mr. Armstrong wrote many years ago. Revelation 22, verse 10. Revelation 22, verse 10. And he said to me, Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand.

Now, of course, we know Christ didn't return at that time, but there are actually things that did occur in type a long time ago. We'll talk about the duality principle in prophecy.

There are certain things that did take place a long time ago that we'll read about in the book of Revelation. There are certain persecutions and things that took place on the churches of God back years and years ago. But there is also a greater fulfillment that's going to take place just prior to Christ's return. So it is important to realize that this book was opened so that it could be understood. And I'm sure many of God's people understood certain aspects of it, even close to 2,000 years ago. There are certain things that they understood. They didn't understand at all. And we have an opportunity to understand a lot more because a lot has happened since then. And we can put it into a proper framework or a time period.

Also, in Daniel 12, it reveals that there's a certain group of people that will understand these prophecies. Who is given to understand the prophecies of God? Daniel chapter 12. Go back to Daniel chapter 12. Daniel chapter 12 verse 10.

Daniel 12 verse 10. Many shall be purified, made white, and refined, but the wicked shall do wickedly. Now again, it's talking about in the end days, these things will happen. And it has happened throughout history to some degree. It will happen in a greater intensity just before Christ returns. Many shall be purified, made white, and refined, but the wicked shall do wickedly. And none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand. Even when everything is falling down around them, the wicked aren't going to understand what's happening. They're going to continue to curse God and to fight against Him, but we will realize what's happening. We'll see that this is the day of God's wrath. You know, this was prophesied to happen. It has to happen before Christ returns. So it's going to give us a great deal of comfort, at least being able to understand what's happening. And other people who don't have understanding are going to be so frightened. It's going to be frightening enough, I'm sure, for us. And we know that some will be taken to a place where they'll be protected. But there are others of God's people that will go through some of the tribulation. In fact, much of it, some will be martyrs. We will see all that as we go through the book of Revelation. Now, let's go back to the book of Revelation. We're basically going to skip over chapter 2, where it talks to the various churches. And we're going to go to just the Church of Philadelphia and Laodicea. Not that the others aren't important, they are very important. And I will refer you to a series of sermons by Gary Petty. Gary Petty gave a number of sermons about the Revelation chapter 2 and 3, about these churches. I don't want to take... I mean, I would be here three years if I could cover everything that needs to be covered.

We don't have the time to do that. So I would encourage you to go listen to Gary Petty's sermons.

They're on the website, the UCG website. They're very good, and he will give you a lot to think about regarding the churches that are listed in Philadelphia. And... or I'm sorry, all the church eras. So Revelation chapter 3, let's go there. Revelation chapter 3 verse 10.

Because you have kept my command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial, which shall come upon the whole world. Now this is to the faithful church at Philadelphia.

Verse 10. Because you have kept my command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial, which shall come upon the whole world to test those who dwell on the earth. Behold, I am coming quickly. Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. We need to hold fast to the truth of God. We need to continue to cling to the faith that was once and for all delivered to us. God has called us out of the world. He has chosen us. He's opened our minds to His truth, and we need to remain faithful. Only those who are called, chosen and faithful. Those are the ones who will become firstfruits. Those who are called, chosen and faithful, we've been called. We've been chosen. We must remain faithful.

So behold, Christ is coming quickly. Make sure no one takes your crown. Verse 12. He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God, and I will write on him my new name. Well, we want to continue reading here. Verse 13. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches, and to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, These things, says the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God. I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish that you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of my mouth. Mr. Petty talks about an interesting consideration regarding these verses. We've read these verses many times regarding being lukewarm and where God says, I would rather that you were neither cold nor hot. I'm sorry, that he would rather us be cold or hot rather than lukewarm. There were pools of water that were refreshing and cool, and people would be refreshed by those cool pools of water in Laodicea. There were also the hot springs that they would go to, and they would get therapeutic value from being in the hot springs. But they would also be refreshed. I've always enjoyed going from a hot tub into a cold pool and back and forth. I mean, to me, that is refreshing in many ways. He was bringing out that this could be one aspect of what God's talking about here. I know that we've always said that it would be better not to have known the truth of God, in that sense you would be cold than to be someone who had known the truth and turned away from it and become lukewarm. That's another aspect of how we've looked at these verses.

The point is, God wants us to be tuned in with Him. He wants us to be refreshed by His truth and by His way of life. We could be zealous and hot for the Word of God. It's important that we are all of the above, that we are inspired by the Word of God and that we are zealous and faithful and true.

Anyway, you'll find Mr. Petty's comments interesting if you listen to the sermon on that. Verse 16, So then, because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of my mouth. See, there wouldn't be anything refreshing about lukewarm water. I mean, it's not therapeutic and it's not refreshing.

Verse 17, Because you say I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing, and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked, I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich, and white garments that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed, and anoint your eyes with eyesave that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten, therefore be zealous and repent. God is talking to a church that has become lukewarm, a church that is not on fire, that is not zealous for the word of God. We need to be sure that we are zealous for God's truth, and that we are vibrant Christians who are tuned in with God and with Jesus Christ, and have not become lukewarm, and we need to stir up the love of God in us as we continue to show our consideration and concern and love for each other.

So he says, verse 20, Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him and dine with him, and he with me. To him who overcomes, I will grant with me on my throne, as I also overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. We must be overcomers. We can't become lethargic and lackadaisical about God's truth and about God's commandments. We need to be doers of the law. Mr. Sani talked about that some. We need to have faith, and we need to step out in faith by obeying God and doing what he has given us to do and what he's revealed to us. So these are important words to the church at Philadelphia and the church at Laodicea.

And certainly, you know, I believe that it is talking about certain eras because this is prophetic. You know, all the different, the seven churches, there is an element of that that is prophetic and that there were eras of God's church. And Laodicea and Philadelphia are the last two that are listed in terms of churches, church eras. So God is certainly speaking to us to be zealous, to be repentant, to draw close to Him. Verse 22 says, He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

And again, it's important that we understand what He says to the other churches as well. I just don't want to take the time to do that in this series of sermons. You can read that and you can go to those sermons that I mentioned by Mr. Petty. Now, chapter 4 describes the throne room of heaven. It's very fascinating. I'm not going to take the time to go through it today. You may want to go back and read it today or later on because it describes the throne room of heaven with the 24 elders and the four living creatures and, of course, the one who sits on the throne.

It's obviously fascinating and I've always been impressed by the praising that goes on at the throne of God. I mean, these people are very great. These beings, the 24 elders, the angels that are there, they really appreciate God. They praise Him day and night. They see how wonderful and good and beautiful He is and His way is. So they set a good example for the rest of us.

We should follow the example of the 24 elders and the four living creatures and those who praise God day and night and appreciate Him and appreciate Jesus Christ, of course. I will read verse 11. It says, "...you are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they exist and were created." That's the starting point, isn't it? To be grateful that you exist in the first place and you owe all of that to God and to Christ, the one who became Christ, who is actually the Creator.

Now let's go into chapter 5 and we're going to go through this verse by verse.

Verse 1.

"...and I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back and sealed with seven seals." So John sees in the right hand of Him who was on the throne a scroll. So God the Father is on the throne. In His right hand is a scroll written inside and also on the back. It's sealed with seven seals. Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals.

And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look at it. So I wept much." Okay, you can imagine if you were John and you saw these scrolls and the 24 elders and everything that was going on and all that God was revealing, but no one could open the scrolls. You've got seven scrolls here and you know there's got to be some really fascinating things to understand and to see. So John wept much. He cried because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll or to look at it. Verse 5, but one of the elders said to me, do not weep. Behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals. So John didn't have to cry any longer because the lion, the tribe of Judah, the root of David, of course, is talking about Jesus Christ. Verse 6, and I looked and behold in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures and in the midst of the elders stood a lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

It doesn't tell us a whole lot more about the seven spirits of God.

Seven angels. It does talk about angels, of course. Verse 7, then he came and took the scroll out of the right hand of him who sat on the throne. So Christ came and takes the scroll out of his father's hand. Verse 8, now when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the 24 elders, they fell down before the lamb, each having a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, you are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals. For you are slain and have redeemed us to God by your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation. And you've made us kings and priests to our God and we shall reign on the earth. So here we see Jesus Christ is worthy to take the scrolls. He was the one who was slain for us. He gave his life. He shed his blood. We have been redeemed through the blood of Christ. And not only that, he has made us kings and priests and we shall reign on the earth. So it reveals that we are going to reign on the earth with Jesus Christ. Verse 11, then I looked and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures and the elders. And the number of them was 10,000 times 10,000 and thousands of thousands. So we're talking about millions of angels around the throne of God. And they're saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb who is slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven and on earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea and all that are in them, I heard saying blessing and honor and glory and power be to him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever. So again, we see all the praising of God that's going on and the appreciation for God and to the Lamb forever and ever. Then the four living creatures said, Amen, and the 24 elders fell down and worshiped him who lives forever and ever. So the four living creatures and the 24 elders again fell down and worshiped God and Christ.

And again, that's the example that we need to follow. Now, Chapter 6, we'll go into the various seals. And I think we will go ahead and cover Chapter 6 now. And we won't take too long to do this. And we'll be coming back to Chapter 6. Actually, we need to go to Matthew 24 at the same time. I think we'll go ahead and just... it is pretty hot in here. And I think we'll just go ahead and finish the sermon here today. And we'll pick it up next time. And we'll go back and forth between Matthew 24 and Chapter 6. And we'll see very clearly that these two chapters parallel amazingly well. So we'll stop here in Chapter 5. The book of Revelation is indeed a fascinating prophecy of what will come to pass before, during, and after Christ's return. So let those who have ears to hear, let them hear. Let all of us pay close attention to what we're learning. Those of us who have eyes to see, we need to see these things. And again, who will understand? The Scripture says the wise will understand. What makes you so wise?

Right. It's God's calling that makes us wise. It's when we actually... it's when we humble ourselves before God, then we are made wise. Those who are arrogant and proud and vain, they're not the wise. It's those of us who realize we have a lot to learn. That's why we're here. We're here to learn. We're here to understand God's truth more fully. So next time I come, we'll go into the book of Revelation in greater detail, starting with chapter 6.