back to indexWed Bible Study - Revelation Lesson 19
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All right, so we're looking at chapter 15 today. 00:00:07.000 |
It's only eight verses, but this is the last interlude before we get into chapter 16 where 00:00:14.600 |
So I'm sure you, hopefully if you read through it or studied through it, you picked up the 00:00:18.760 |
language that it's final, it's great, it's awesome. 00:00:22.200 |
And again, all of this to kind of prepare for the final judgment that's coming in the 00:00:28.400 |
So let me pray for us and then we'll jump right in. 00:00:35.760 |
Heavenly Father, we thank you for this evening and we thank you for your living word, especially 00:00:41.280 |
as we've been studying through the book of revelations and all the things, Lord, that's 00:00:50.720 |
And even though we may live in safety and we don't have anything external, at least 00:00:56.000 |
immediately Lord God, that we sense of, have a sense of urgency. 00:01:00.680 |
But we know Father God that our life is only a mist, that whether we die of natural causes 00:01:09.640 |
or unnaturally early, we know Father God that ultimately that eternity is real, that we're 00:01:19.920 |
We pray Father God that you would help us not to be entangled with civilian affairs, 00:01:24.920 |
to really live Lord God with eternal mindset. 00:01:28.400 |
And we pray that your word would help us Lord to keep that in mind. 00:01:37.720 |
So our study this evening in chapter 15 is divided into three parts. 00:01:43.320 |
It's a heavenly sign, heavenly singers and heavenly temple. 00:01:48.200 |
So that's how your worksheet has been divided into three parts. 00:01:51.320 |
So the first part is just verse one and verse one is kind of an introduction to what's coming 00:01:59.840 |
And then the second scene, the heavenly singing is a vision of worship and is a very typical 00:02:06.680 |
And I mentioned I think last week that various parts of the book of revelations up to this 00:02:11.120 |
point where there's intense judgment and then there's a break to kind of give a glimpse 00:02:16.140 |
And whenever they see this glimpse of heaven, they see worship taking place. 00:02:20.400 |
And then the third scene is the preparation before the angels are sent out and judgment 00:02:25.760 |
So God gives John a glimpse of the temple and the preparation that's taking place before 00:02:34.360 |
So that's the three scenes that we're going to be looking at today. 00:02:35.960 |
So the first one, which we see in verse one, the heavenly sign. 00:02:43.480 |
And so first of all, a sign is not the reality, but something that points to reality. 00:02:50.400 |
And again, this is something that we may or may not know, but when we, when all the things 00:02:55.440 |
that we've been studying in the scripture, especially as we've been looking at the book 00:02:59.040 |
of revelation that mentions various signs and each one of these signs, basically it's 00:03:09.640 |
As an example, if you're driving on a highway long distance and you see a sign that says, 00:03:14.680 |
that shows you a picture of a gas station or a hotel or whatever it may be, that is 00:03:19.680 |
a sign that there's a city coming down the street. 00:03:23.880 |
And so you're to look for the exit, you have to look for whatever is coming. 00:03:27.720 |
So the whole purpose of the sign is to prepare you to point to something that is coming in 00:03:33.960 |
So it starts out by saying, this is a sign, a great sign. 00:03:38.120 |
It's pointing to a great reality that's coming. 00:03:46.560 |
For international standard Bible encyclopedia, the literal understanding of it is a mark 00:03:52.880 |
by which persons or things are distinguished or to made known. 00:03:57.520 |
It is something that points to something greater. 00:04:01.640 |
So Jesus oftentimes performed signs, he says, to show them who he was, that he is the Messiah. 00:04:08.520 |
The apostles, their works were accompanied by signs and miracles to point to the fact 00:04:13.480 |
that they were specifically chosen by God to take the gospel. 00:04:17.540 |
So when it says there's a sign, it's to point to something. 00:04:20.300 |
So what we're seeing is not the reality in itself. 00:04:24.000 |
It's just a point to something that's happening. 00:04:27.600 |
Again, I mentioned that Jesus performed many miracles, a sign to point to his identity, 00:04:37.040 |
So what John saw was not the reality, but the pointing to the reality that's about to 00:04:44.160 |
And because this is the last sign of the last stage of God's wrath, it's described as a 00:04:51.520 |
So three separate places where in the book of Revelation where it says there's a sign 00:04:58.960 |
that's taking place, and it's in chapter five, oh no, sorry, chapter 12. 00:05:04.520 |
And the first sign, it was a sign of the woman. 00:05:08.520 |
Remember when the woman gives birth to a son, and then the beast comes and tries to destroy 00:05:18.400 |
And the second sign, if you guys remember, was the beast himself. 00:05:24.600 |
Those signs are given to us as an indicator that he's going to be very plain. 00:05:29.080 |
In other words, God has given specific markers so that the church, as we are anticipating 00:05:36.520 |
So the first thing that happens is an intense persecution of God's children. 00:05:42.800 |
So he says when that begins to increase, then look for the man of lawlessness to show up. 00:05:47.500 |
And then when he comes and it intensifies, and then he says the last and the great sign 00:05:55.320 |
So it doesn't mean that there are other things that aren't going to happen, but those are 00:06:02.960 |
Those are things that we ought to look for, and if you see those things happening, you 00:06:09.320 |
So there's three specific indicators that are given to us. 00:06:24.580 |
John sees a vision of heaven, and it's much like the description that we see in chapter 00:06:32.340 |
And if you remember chapter 4 and 5, before they get into the seal vision, chapter 4 and 00:06:42.300 |
And then you have the four creatures there and the elders who are bowed down, and then 00:06:45.660 |
you have the 144,000 and then the nations behind them worshiping God. 00:06:49.660 |
So before this, what we look at is utter chaos is about to break out. 00:07:00.980 |
Chaos may be coming from heaven as a judgment, but it's not from heaven. 00:07:04.240 |
So in the same way, intense judgment is about to happen, but God gives John a glimpse of 00:07:14.860 |
And I mentioned this several times as we're going along, and this is not by accident. 00:07:22.740 |
Imagine if you're reading this, the first generation people reading this, and I asked 00:07:26.820 |
you this before, how would you have received this letter? 00:07:30.780 |
What would have been your first response when you read all the judgments that were coming? 00:07:46.820 |
If you read this late at night in the dark by yourself with nobody in the house, what 00:07:55.900 |
Most likely the first generation when they read this was probably trembling in fear because 00:08:01.100 |
it says a third of the heavens, third of the sea, a third of mankind diseased, and all 00:08:06.420 |
this stuff is taking place, and it's not just one time. 00:08:08.660 |
The people are going to beg for death, and they're not going to find death. 00:08:11.420 |
And so this intense judgment that breaks out, so you could imagine what kind of fear must 00:08:19.460 |
But in the midst of all this revelation, God gives a glimpse of heaven, that God is on 00:08:28.660 |
He's not out on the battlefield swinging at it, and there's a battle going on with Satan, 00:08:35.860 |
What we see is everything that is happening, all the judgments, people being wiped out, 00:08:41.660 |
all of it is completely under God's sovereign control, and they're worshiping. 00:08:50.620 |
Remember we talked about that even this Sunday, the severity and the kindness of God, that 00:08:57.320 |
We see the severity of God as intense as mankind has ever seen it, but on the flip side of 00:09:02.740 |
that, you see the kindness of God where people are falling down and worshiping him, following 00:09:09.020 |
So that's the scene that John sees before we get to chapter 16. 00:09:12.580 |
We see a picture of heaven where they're all bowed down and singing worship to him. 00:09:20.740 |
Some of you guys may remember that from chapter 4 and 6. 00:09:26.260 |
Sorry, 4, 6, where John sees a vision of heaven, and one of the things that he describes in 00:09:32.220 |
heaven is the same scene, a sea of glass or crystal. 00:09:37.180 |
So it says, "Before the throne, there was something like a sea of glass, like crystal." 00:09:44.180 |
In fact, other places, I didn't list all of them, but the other places where a sea of 00:09:50.700 |
So they get a glimpse of what heaven looks like and they see a sea of glass. 00:09:55.020 |
We see that with Moses in Exodus chapter 24, verse 10. 00:09:59.020 |
He said, "He saw God of Israel, and under his feet there appeared to be a pavement of 00:10:07.020 |
So Moses is given a scene of where God dwells and he sees a similar picture. 00:10:12.660 |
And Ezekiel, oh sorry, Ezekiel 1, 22, the same scene is described. 00:10:19.460 |
Something like an expanse, like the awesome gleam of crystal. 00:10:37.180 |
So when you think of glass or crystal, what's the first thing that comes into your mind? 00:11:40.540 |
When I think of glass and why a picture of glass or crystal in heaven, again, this is 00:11:47.540 |
not, I'm not telling you the right answer, but what it makes me think of is jewelry. 00:11:54.540 |
And if you turn to Revelation chapter 21, it describes a new heaven and new earth. 00:12:06.540 |
It says, "And the wall was built of jasper while the city was pure gold, clear as glass. 00:12:13.540 |
The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. 00:12:17.540 |
The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third a gate, the fourth emerald, the 00:12:22.540 |
fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, seventh the crystallite, the eighth the barrel, the ninth 00:12:32.540 |
So I don't know if John was necessarily seeing jewelry, but definitely in other places, when 00:12:39.540 |
John sees later on, he sees a clear picture and he actually describes jewelry. 00:12:42.540 |
So again, it could be for other reasons, but the first thing that I think of is something 00:12:49.540 |
So the initial picture that I showed you up there, I don't think it did it justice. 00:12:54.540 |
I was trying to look for something more majestic, but these are pictures that were drawn probably 00:13:01.540 |
That's why nobody has rights for it and that's why we can use it. 00:13:06.540 |
But I think what John is seeing in heaven, it is a similar picture that Ezekiel, that 00:13:12.540 |
Moses saw, and Daniel, and so various people in the Bible, when they see a picture of heaven, 00:13:19.540 |
typically we draw heaven as like meadows or oceans or mountains, but the one universal 00:13:26.540 |
thing that we've seen over and over again is God on his throne, the four creatures, right? 00:13:32.540 |
24 elders, angels, and crystal or glass, something shiny. 00:13:42.540 |
It doesn't mean that when you go to heaven, you're going to be looking for glass, you 00:13:45.540 |
know, but all of this points to something majestic, something royal, right? 00:13:55.540 |
But the difference between the vision that Moses and Ezekiel saw is that it says, along 00:14:01.540 |
with this crystal, this glass, it's mingled with fire. 00:14:07.540 |
Fire is often associated with God's judgment. 00:14:11.540 |
So, understandably, because this scene is going to prepare or take us to chapter 16 00:14:20.540 |
So, he sees a glimpse of heaven, but the picture that he sees of heaven, even though God is 00:14:25.540 |
on the throne and people are worshiping him, when you see fire in the midst of that, something 00:14:35.540 |
So in Hebrews chapter 10, 27, it says, "But the fearful expectation of judgment, a fury 00:14:40.540 |
of fire that will consume the adversaries," and again, Hebrews 12, 29, our God is a consuming 00:14:45.540 |
fire describing the judgment of God, the severity of God. 00:14:49.540 |
So, again, the picture of heaven that we see is the same picture. 00:14:54.540 |
There's nothing disturbed other than the fact that there's fire in its midst, pointing to 00:14:58.540 |
the fact that judgment is a great, intense judgment is about to take place. 00:15:10.540 |
And then it says, "The ones who conquered the beast and its image and the number of 00:15:13.540 |
its name were standing beside the sea of glass singing the song of Moses and the song of 00:15:22.540 |
He sees a picture of shiny glass, angels about to give in the bold judgments, and then he 00:15:29.540 |
sees all these redeemed who are standing there and singing songs, singing praises to God. 00:15:34.540 |
And what we have in verse 3 to 4, where it says, "Great and amazing are your deeds, O 00:15:42.540 |
Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations. 00:15:45.540 |
Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? 00:15:49.540 |
All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed." 00:15:53.540 |
So, there's two places where it's revealed Moses' song and the lamb song. 00:15:58.540 |
So, the first place is Exodus chapter 15, 1 through 21. 00:16:01.540 |
For the sake of time, we're not going to read that, but Exodus chapter 15, 1 through 21 00:16:07.540 |
is basically a celebration song, a song of victory, where God delivers them from Egypt. 00:16:13.540 |
They cross over the Red Sea, and they're on the other side celebrating and praising God 00:16:19.540 |
So, the song of Moses that he's referring to is a song of victory. 00:16:25.540 |
So, a great intense judgment is about to come, and before it even happens, the people are 00:16:32.540 |
there already singing and praising God for his victory, right? 00:16:39.540 |
Revelation 5, 9 through 14, the lamb's victory. 00:16:43.540 |
Again, it's to celebrate lamb's victory to ransom people for God. 00:16:48.540 |
"From every tribe and language which gave the lamb the power to open a scroll that no 00:16:53.540 |
So, if you also remember when we're studying through Revelation 5, 9 through 14, it is 00:16:59.540 |
the heavens breaking out in worship, the elders, the angels, the beasts, and they're all singing 00:17:05.540 |
to God because they were weeping before because there was nobody worthy to be able to open 00:17:10.540 |
the scroll, and they see the Lion of Judah coming, and they turn around, they see the 00:17:14.540 |
Lamb of God, and he is able to open it up, and then as a result of him opening the scroll, 00:17:20.540 |
So, again, the song of Moses and song of the lamb is a song of victory, praising God for 00:17:30.540 |
So, that's the typical scene that we see in heaven of worshiping God. 00:17:34.540 |
So, the content of worship is about salvation, victory, right? 00:17:40.540 |
Even in the midst of chaos, and I think, you know, this is one of the questions that I 00:17:48.540 |
asked for your discussion questions later, considering what happened in Las Vegas this 00:17:53.540 |
week, you know, I mean, I think, understandably, the world is distraught, the fact that somebody 00:17:59.540 |
was so deranged, and he was willing to kill that many people, and if he had a chance, 00:18:03.540 |
he would have probably done more, and they're all trying to figure out what kind of evil 00:18:07.540 |
was in a man like that that would just go out and kill, you know? 00:18:11.540 |
So, everybody's looking into it, and anything they find, they say, "Oh, that's why. 00:18:19.540 |
So, they're all searching and combing through his life and his background, his girlfriend, 00:18:23.540 |
and what his motives are, because they're trying to figure out, well, what possible 00:18:27.540 |
motive could he have to want to kill that many people, right? 00:18:33.540 |
All we know is it's as evil as we can possibly imagine, right? 00:18:38.540 |
But in the midst of this, you know, there's theological questions that come up. 00:18:44.540 |
Is God in that, or is that just purely just evil? 00:18:50.540 |
And so, a lot of people who already have their hearts bent away from God will use that and 00:18:54.540 |
say, "If God is so good, why did he allow that to happen? 00:18:58.540 |
If God is so powerful, why does he allow him to do that kind of stuff?" 00:19:06.540 |
We're shocked by what that guy carried out, but see that in the context of the larger 00:19:12.540 |
picture of what the Scripture says is going to happen at the end times, right? 00:19:16.540 |
Persecution of Christians, wiping out of a third of mankind, disease, famine, right? 00:19:23.540 |
So, we have to understand that in the context of the larger picture where John is seeing 00:19:31.540 |
In the context of seeing this, I mean, think about it. 00:19:39.540 |
They're looking at people who want to die but can't die. 00:19:44.540 |
John is seeing this as a vision, and yet when he looks up into heaven, God is on his throne 00:19:50.540 |
being worshipped, and we see that scene over and over and over and over again, right? 00:19:56.540 |
So, again, when we – again, I'm not trying to speak on the specific matter of what happened 00:20:01.540 |
in Las Vegas, but as Christians, our perspective should be different than the world, right? 00:20:09.540 |
Because we believe in a God who is absolutely sovereign. 00:20:13.540 |
I can't explain to you what is going on, what is in the mind of God, but what I do 00:20:18.540 |
know is that our God is absolutely sovereign, that even in that, God is on his throne. 00:20:26.540 |
God is – like the whole world has been sitting on its edge, like how could this be? 00:20:38.540 |
Nothing has changed for our God, whether it was last week or this week, and that's 00:20:42.540 |
the scene that we see, that God shows John and to us over and over and over again that 00:20:47.540 |
in the midst of this chaos, God is still on his throne, right? 00:20:50.540 |
And that's the picture that we're seeing here with the heavenly singers. 00:20:55.540 |
The heavenly temple, Revelation 15, 5 through 8, the scripture tells us that the temple 00:21:02.540 |
served as a copy of the true temple in heaven. 00:21:11.540 |
So, he said what's happening in heaven is not a copy of what happened here. 00:21:14.540 |
He says what happened here is a copy of what's happening in heaven. 00:21:17.540 |
So, Hebrews 8, 4 to 6 says, "Now if we were on earth, he would not be a priest at 00:21:21.540 |
all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law. 00:21:24.540 |
They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things." 00:21:28.540 |
So, all the priests and the sacrifices, all of these things are mimicking what's 00:21:33.540 |
"For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, 'See 00:21:38.540 |
that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.'" 00:21:46.540 |
"But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than 00:21:50.540 |
the old, as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises." 00:21:55.540 |
So, again, the vision that he's seeing in heaven is the reality, and what we have 00:22:06.540 |
"The fact that these angels with the seven plagues are in the sanctuary of the tent 00:22:10.540 |
signifies that God is the direct agent of these judgments." 00:22:16.540 |
Not that he wasn't sovereign before, but the fact that they're actually in the 00:22:20.540 |
temple, and they're about to be sent out from the inner sanctuary of where God 00:22:26.540 |
dwells, they're basically coming and they're hearing directly from God. 00:22:31.540 |
So, God, the intense judgment that's about to be unleashed on mankind, God's hand 00:22:36.540 |
is like, God is not far off kind of allowing it to happen. 00:22:40.540 |
God is the direct agent that is bringing upon this. 00:22:48.540 |
"The temple of the tent is specifically in reference to the inner part called the 00:22:54.540 |
And the reason why they call that is because they say the tent of the 00:22:58.540 |
tabernacle, the sanctuary of the tent, right, is literally referring to the inner 00:23:08.540 |
So, he's not just in the temple, he's in the sacred chamber of the Holy of Holies, 00:23:13.540 |
and they're giving instructions directly from God. 00:23:18.540 |
So, other judgments are also God-ordained, but these angels are in direct 00:23:24.540 |
So, the bowl judgment is intense, but part of the reason why it's intense is 00:23:33.540 |
Remember we talked about that, how up to this point where the judgment is coming, 00:23:37.540 |
but after the judgment, there's always opportunity to repent, but this is the 00:23:43.540 |
In other words, this judgment is not for the purpose of repentance. 00:23:52.540 |
And that's why it's called great and awesome judgment, because God is not 00:23:57.540 |
Everything that he held back, all the wrath of God that's being stored up, 00:24:01.540 |
now is going to be poured out on these final judgment. 00:24:08.540 |
And even their clothing, it testifies to regal nature of their calling, 00:24:15.540 |
The clothing itself signifies that they were sent out directly from God himself. 00:24:21.540 |
One of the four living creatures that was introduced in Revelations 4, 00:24:25.540 |
give the seven angels the seven golden bowls full of God's wrath, in verse 7. 00:24:34.540 |
They're introduced to us as guardians of the throne, and they appear all 00:24:39.540 |
They're the guardians of the kingdom, and they're the guardians of the 00:24:44.540 |
And they're the guardians of the kingdom of God. 00:24:46.540 |
They're introduced to us as guardians of the throne, and they appear all 00:24:49.540 |
throughout the book of Revelations, chapter 4, 6, 5, 6, 6, 1, 7, 11, 00:24:56.540 |
So, we see two things that are universal in the throne of God is, again, 00:25:01.540 |
we see this crystal or glass, something majestic, and also these four 00:25:09.540 |
Those are common scenes that they see up in heaven. 00:25:14.540 |
The bowl or the cup was often associated with God's wrath. 00:25:20.540 |
So, the seal, the seal judgment was something concealed that's opened up. 00:25:24.540 |
So, that's the first judgment, right, where God is withholding his judgment, 00:25:28.540 |
and he's been holding it back, and it was contained inside the seal. 00:25:32.540 |
But when God begins his judgment, he breaks the seal, and one by one, 00:25:39.540 |
The trumpet judgment, trumpet, again, to alarm, to basically warn the world 00:25:46.540 |
So, you don't use the trumpet if you want to put people to sleep, right? 00:25:49.540 |
You don't use the trumpet if people are about to rest. 00:25:51.540 |
You use the trumpet to get people's attention. 00:25:54.540 |
So, the first, the seal judgment, is to break the seal, what was hidden 00:25:59.540 |
The second judgment is to warn the world that this is happening. 00:26:02.540 |
But the final judgment is the outpouring of God's wrath, right, 00:26:09.540 |
There's nothing left that he's holding back, right? 00:26:16.540 |
They've been warned, and then the real judgment is in the bowl judgments. 00:26:25.540 |
That's why in Matthew 10:22, Jesus says, "Are you able to drink the cup 00:26:32.540 |
And again, in Matthew 26, 39, "Let this cup pass from me, nevertheless not 00:26:38.540 |
And again, the word cup is used instead of the bowl, but a similar idea 00:26:48.540 |
5.8, it says, "The golden bowls were full of incense, representing the prayers 00:26:56.540 |
So, John seems to be making a correlation between the prayers of the saints 00:27:01.540 |
So, God is acting upon the prayers of the saints. 00:27:04.540 |
So, remember in chapter 5, verse 8, who are these saints that was praying, 00:27:16.540 |
They were martyrs under the altar, and their prayers are taken up by the angels. 00:27:30.540 |
So, 2 Thessalonians 1, 7-9, it says, "And to grant relief to you who are afflicted 00:27:38.540 |
as well as to us, when the Lord is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, 00:27:42.540 |
in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God, 00:27:46.540 |
and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 00:27:49.540 |
They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence 00:27:53.540 |
of the Lord, and from the glory of his might." 00:27:55.540 |
So, Paul himself warned that these things are going to take place. 00:27:59.540 |
So, what he says here is basically what we're seeing here in Revelation 15. 00:28:30.540 |
Smoke is often represented as a sign of God's majestic presence. 00:28:35.540 |
We see that in Exodus chapter, I think, 19, 18. 00:28:41.540 |
"Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it with fire. 00:28:45.540 |
The smoke of it went up with the smoke of the kiln, and the whole mountain trembled." 00:28:53.540 |
"And one called to another and said, 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. 00:28:58.540 |
And the foundations of the threshold shook at the voice of him who called, 00:29:03.540 |
So, the idea of the temple being filled with smoke, meaning that his glory, 00:29:13.540 |
Obviously, we're talking about God's throne, but at the same time, 00:29:18.540 |
it's like a preparation for something spectacular that's about to happen. 00:29:21.540 |
So, God is preparing himself, and he's getting the angels ready. 00:29:25.540 |
And so, the very last part of God's redemptive history is about to unfold. 00:29:31.540 |
So, all of this is to kind of get us ready for chapter 16. 00:29:40.540 |
"No one will be able to enter the temple until it is done, 00:29:42.540 |
until the wrath of God is completely carried out." 00:29:47.540 |
Now, you're going to notice, like considering this whole setup, 00:29:52.540 |
chapter 14, 15, 13, 14, 15 was all a setup to get us to chapter 16. 00:30:02.540 |
But when you get to chapter 16, you're going to notice it goes by pretty quick. 00:30:07.540 |
Now, you would think that it would be long, elongated, 00:30:10.540 |
like another 10 chapters, each chapter of judgment. 00:30:13.540 |
But all of the judgment takes place in one chapter. 00:30:19.540 |
But I don't want you to be fooled by the brevity of what's recorded. 00:30:25.540 |
So, one of the questions that I ask, I think I asked this question. 00:30:30.540 |
A, if you look at your questions below, it says, 00:30:32.540 |
"Carefully jot down the details of each of the seven bold judgments, 00:30:36.540 |
and how do they compare with the seven seal judgments and the seven trumpet judgments? 00:30:40.540 |
What are the similarities and the differences?" 00:30:42.540 |
So, I want you guys to go back and review the content of these judgments 00:30:53.540 |
sometimes some of the judgments would only have two sentences on it. 00:31:02.540 |
there's a reason why there's been a setup for three chapters, 00:31:06.540 |
because God basically wants us to pay attention to this, 00:31:09.540 |
because it is the great and awesome final judgment. 00:31:12.540 |
So, go back and take a little bit more time than you would normally 00:31:18.540 |
and what the major difference is between the two. 00:31:34.540 |
and I asked this already, but I want you guys to take some time to discuss. 00:32:11.540 |
It says no one is able to enter the Holy of Holies. 00:32:14.540 |
And right now, it's kind of like a command center 00:32:20.540 |
But when it's over, he said then they can enter, 00:32:22.540 |
and the temple will again be a place of refuge and rest. 00:32:33.540 |
All right. So, the three questions that I have-- 00:32:36.540 |
"Considering the mass shooting in Las Vegas this week, 00:32:39.540 |
how can we as Christians decipher between God's divine wrath versus man's evil?" 00:32:50.540 |
I don't think anybody can possibly justify that there was any good in what has happened. 00:32:58.540 |
But as Christians who believe in a sovereign God, how do we understand this? 00:33:03.540 |
God just kind of like, "Ah, I don't see it." Right? 00:33:08.540 |
Is it safe to say that this was pure evil and God had nothing to do with it? 00:33:13.540 |
Or do we attribute this within God's sovereign plan? 00:33:16.540 |
How will you know if the tragedy the world will face in the end times 00:33:21.540 |
is directed from God or from the beast rebellion against God? 00:33:29.540 |
I think it will be helpful for us, at least take some time to digest and discuss, 00:33:35.540 |
based upon what we know of who God is and what is revealed to us, 00:33:39.540 |
that we don't just jump on the bandwagon like the world 00:33:49.540 |
We need to have a biblical perspective of what's happening. 00:33:53.540 |
Or else, the scripture says when the end time comes, 00:33:56.540 |
we're going to be caught off guard like a thief in the night. 00:34:01.540 |
So we are to be sober and to watch for the signs, 00:34:04.540 |
watch for the things that the scripture says. 00:34:07.540 |
So I thought it would be helpful for us to take some time to discuss, 00:34:12.540 |
How do we understand this in light of the bigger picture of what we see in scripture? 00:34:19.540 |
What are the signs of the times that we are to watch for according to Matthew 24 specifically? 00:34:24.540 |
So you're going to have to open up Matthew chapter 24, 00:34:27.540 |
and there's a bunch of stuff that are written there, 00:34:30.540 |
and say, "What are specific signs that we are told to watch for in Matthew 24?" 00:34:34.540 |
What is the most obvious thing that you noticed recently about world events 00:34:38.540 |
that may or may not be things we should pay attention to? 00:34:42.540 |
And I'm not saying like, you know, I don't know, 00:34:49.540 |
and getting a computer chip in your hand is the Mark of the Beast. 00:34:54.540 |
I'm talking about generally when you compare it to what you see in Matthew 24, 00:35:00.540 |
There's other things that are written in Matthew 24. 00:35:02.540 |
There are certain things that we ought to pay attention to. 00:35:07.540 |
Verse 3, number 3, "If victory in Christ is already ordained, 00:35:10.540 |
what is the purpose of all the redemptive drama past, present, and future?" 00:35:14.540 |
If what we read in the book of Revelation is a fact, 00:35:19.540 |
not hope, but a fact that this is going to happen, 00:35:23.540 |
what God has ordained, right, from the beginning, 00:35:27.540 |
this is just telling us that this is what's going to happen. 00:35:29.540 |
If that's the case, God has ordained it, He is sovereign, He is almighty, all-powerful, 00:35:33.540 |
then why the drama of redemptive history, past, present, and future? 00:35:41.540 |
Why does God allow mankind to experience all of this if the end is ordained? 00:35:49.540 |
Why do you think God allows human sin and conflict to play out 00:35:52.540 |
before He accomplishes the ultimate plan of redemption? 00:35:56.540 |
So what we are studying is not fortune-telling. 00:36:02.540 |
Somebody didn't look way down into history and say, 00:36:05.540 |
"Oh, maybe that's going to happen." He's predicting. 00:36:08.540 |
What we're studying is God telling His servants that this is going to happen. 00:36:14.540 |
That's why they look up into heaven and all chaos is breaking out 00:36:18.540 |
and they're singing praises of victory, right? 00:36:21.540 |
Way before it even happens, way before the end happens. 00:36:24.540 |
They're already singing praises of victory of the Lamb. 00:36:29.540 |
So the question is, in the context of what we know, 00:36:33.540 |
if we're studying what has been ordained by God, 00:36:36.540 |
why does He allow the redemptive history to run its course? 00:36:44.540 |
These are some hard questions, so my guess is you're going to take a little bit longer today 00:36:50.540 |
Let me pray for us and then I'll have you guys get into your groups. 00:36:57.540 |
Gracious Father, we want to especially pray about all the world events that are taking place. 00:37:04.540 |
We want to pray for our brothers and sisters around the world who are suffering for Your name. 00:37:12.540 |
Help us, Lord God, not to live each day as if we have nothing to do with any of them. 00:37:19.540 |
Help us to know, Lord God, that we are of the same family, 00:37:25.540 |
Help us to be vitally connected and concerned, Father God, 00:37:29.540 |
that we would pray for them, support them as much as we can. 00:37:32.540 |
But we pray that You would give them courage, give them strength. 00:37:36.540 |
And we pray, Father God, that in the midst of chaos, 00:37:41.540 |
as the world is trying to figure out what was in this man, 00:37:51.540 |
that our history, human history, is filled with horrendous things, Lord God, 00:37:57.540 |
Help us, Lord God, to see from Your perspective 00:38:03.540 |
And as a result of that, we are seeing fallen things, Lord God, to its extreme. 00:38:08.540 |
And we know, Father, that when the end comes, 00:38:11.540 |
that all of this, Lord God, is going to seem trivial 00:38:14.540 |
in light of the great judgment that's coming. 00:38:17.540 |
Help us to be sober, even in this context, Lord God. 00:38:23.540 |
and not to simply follow the pattern of this world. 00:38:26.540 |
I pray that You would give us soberness as a church, 00:38:29.540 |
as we are constantly wrestling, Lord God, with entanglement, with foolish things. 00:38:34.540 |
Give us strength, Lord, that we do not have by ourselves, 00:38:38.540 |
that Your Holy Spirit would grip our hearts and our minds so firmly, so tightly, 00:38:43.540 |
that we would not be able to turn to anyone else but to You. 00:38:47.540 |
I pray that You would anoint the time that we have in our discussion. 00:38:52.540 |
The thoughts that we have, may it be biblical. 00:38:55.540 |
And I pray, Father, that it would cause us to be sober and in much prayer. 00:38:59.540 |
So we entrust this time to You. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.