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Speaker 1: Life Audio.

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Speaker 2: For more resources to help you in your walk with Christ,

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Speaker 2: please visit us at Bible Studyheadquarters dot com. This morning,

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Speaker 2: we're going to be looking at Revelation chapter twenty two,

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Speaker 2: and we're going to be talking about the fact that

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Speaker 2: the time is near. But before we get into today's passage,

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Speaker 2: I just have to show you a little something. So

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Speaker 2: if you're on the church email list, you probably already

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Speaker 2: saw this, but earlier this week. So Wednesday, at five

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Speaker 2: twenty pm, our daughter Julia and her husband Vinnie welcomed

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Speaker 2: our first grandchild, Noah.

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Speaker 1: He's in the back in the corners, first time to church.

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Speaker 1: But I know that it's.

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Speaker 2: Hard to see him over there, and so I asked

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Speaker 2: Julius permission to show a couple couple pictures. Now, look

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Speaker 2: at this, Look at that. Isn't that just supreme contentment?

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Speaker 1: Thought?

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Speaker 2: Is he smiling already? He was born happy, he was

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Speaker 2: born joyful, And so first time I got to hold him,

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Speaker 2: Vinnie and Julia. Here's another picture I really like. This

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Speaker 2: is him coming home from the hospital the other day.

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Speaker 2: And now this is unreasonable of me to expect for

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Speaker 2: our first grandchild, but I thought, you know, you're wondering like, Okay,

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Speaker 2: first of all, thank you Lord that he's here, Thank

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Speaker 2: you Lord that we get to see him and experience

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Speaker 2: him and all that. But then you start wondering, well,

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Speaker 2: I wonder what he's going to be like. I wonder

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Speaker 2: what he'll be like. And then you wonder, I wonder

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Speaker 2: if he'll like any of the things that I like.

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Speaker 2: And people are like, well, what do you like. It's like, well,

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Speaker 2: I like rock music and professional wrestling, and then I discovered.

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Speaker 1: We like the same things.

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Speaker 2: So I'm pretty excited about that. So he's just really

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Speaker 2: off to a great start. What a delightful grandson. But anyway,

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Speaker 2: I could tell he and I are going to be

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Speaker 2: best friends.

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Speaker 1: Best friends. So if you haven't had a chance to

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Speaker 1: see Noah yet, make sure you do. Make sure you

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Speaker 1: see them all right.

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Speaker 2: Well, this morning, we are looking at Revelation twenty two.

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Speaker 2: We're going to pick up at verse six and go

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Speaker 2: right to the end of the chapter. And this is

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Speaker 2: our final week studying the Book of Revelation. For the

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Speaker 2: past group of months, we've been working our way chapter

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Speaker 2: by chapter through the Book of Revelation. And I mentioned

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Speaker 2: this pretty early in our study, but the Book of

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Speaker 2: Revelation is not often preached in its entirety from pulpits.

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Speaker 2: It's normally when it's taught in church context. Normally, because

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Speaker 2: there's so much to discuss, it's normally talked about like

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Speaker 2: in a Bible study context or a Sunday school context,

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Speaker 2: something like that. So it's a unique experience. And Greg

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Speaker 2: and I as we've been putting together the messages and

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Speaker 2: preaching through this series, sharing these things with you, knowing

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Speaker 2: that many of the things that are in the Book

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Speaker 2: of Revelation, you have people throughout the core of history

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Speaker 2: wondering about all sorts of things that are just fascinating.

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Speaker 2: And when you look at the Book of Revelation, and

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Speaker 2: when you look at it in its context in scripture,

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Speaker 2: you recognize that it's actually tying all the scripture together.

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Speaker 2: It's taking all the things that happened in Genesis and

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Speaker 2: showing you the resolution here in the Book of Revelation.

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Speaker 2: And as we look at this portion of Scripture, one

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Speaker 2: of the things that is a clear theme in the

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Speaker 2: final paragraphs or final sentences of the Book of Revelation

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Speaker 2: is the fact that the time is near for these

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Speaker 2: things to ultimately be fulfilled. The time is near, the

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Speaker 2: return of Christ is near. The fulfillment of these things

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Speaker 2: is near. And so what we're going to do is

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Speaker 2: we're going to look at this portion of God's word.

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Speaker 2: We're going to look at verse six down to verse

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Speaker 2: twenty one. I'll read it for us in a second.

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Speaker 2: But then I want to take us back and I

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Speaker 2: want to recap the.

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Speaker 1: Book of Revelation.

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Speaker 2: I want to take a look in detail at the

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Speaker 2: portion that we're at today. I want to show us

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Speaker 2: how it time all the loose ends from the book

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Speaker 2: of Genesis together, and then I want to talk about

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Speaker 2: what we're supposed to do with that.

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Speaker 1: So follow along.

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Speaker 2: With me as we look at Revelation twenty two, starting

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Speaker 2: with verse six, it says this, and he said to me,

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Speaker 2: these words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the

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Speaker 2: God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his

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Speaker 2: angel to show his servants what must soon take place.

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Speaker 2: And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one

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Speaker 2: who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.

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Speaker 2: I John am the one who heard and saw these things.

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Speaker 2: And when I heard and saw them, I fell down

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Speaker 2: to worship at the feet of the Angel who showed

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Speaker 2: them to me. But he said to me, you must

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Speaker 2: not do that. I am a fellow servant with you

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Speaker 2: and your brothers, the prophets, and with those who keep

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Speaker 2: the words of this book worship God. And he said

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Speaker 2: to me, do not seal up the words of this

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Speaker 2: prophecy of this book, for the time is near. Let

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Speaker 2: the evil doers still do evil, and the filthy stony

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Speaker 2: be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the

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Speaker 2: holy still be holy. Behold, I am coming soon, bringing

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Speaker 2: my recompense with me to repay each one for what

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Speaker 2: he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega,

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Speaker 2: the first and the last, the beginning and the end.

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Speaker 2: Blessed are those who wash their robes so that they

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Speaker 2: may have the right to the Tree of life, and

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Speaker 2: that they may enter the city by the gates. Outside

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Speaker 2: are the dogs and sorcerers, and the sexually immoral, and

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Speaker 2: murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

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Speaker 2: I Jesus have sent my Angel to testify to you

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Speaker 2: about these things. For the churches, I am the root

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Speaker 2: and the descendant of David, the bright morning Star, the Spirit,

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Speaker 2: and the Bride. Say come, and let the one who

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Speaker 2: hears say come and Let the one who is thirsty come,

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Speaker 2: Let the one who desires take the water of life

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Speaker 2: without price. I warn everyone who hears the words of

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Speaker 2: this prophecy of this book, if anyone adds to them,

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Speaker 2: God will add to him the plagues described in this book.

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Speaker 2: And if anyone takes away from the words of the

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Speaker 2: book of this prophecy, God will take away his share

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Speaker 2: in the Tree of life and in the Holy City,

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Speaker 2: which are described in this book. He who testifies to

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Speaker 2: these things says, surely I am coming soon. Amen, Come,

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Speaker 2: Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be withal.

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Speaker 1: Amen.

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Speaker 2: Let's praank Father. We are so grateful to be able

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Speaker 2: to look at this portion of your word. And we're grateful,

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Speaker 2: Lord for the time that you've given us over the

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Speaker 2: past few months to study this book. And now as

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Speaker 2: we read this final section, as we study it together,

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Speaker 2: we know Lord that we have the opportunity to see

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Speaker 2: the resolution of things that you have promised for centuries

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Speaker 2: and centuries. So Lord, we're grateful to be able to

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Speaker 2: read these things and think about these things and contemplate

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Speaker 2: what it means for our walk with you and what

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Speaker 2: it means for the future of all humanity. Lord, we're

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Speaker 2: grateful for the fact that you have chosen to reveal

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Speaker 2: these things to us. These are things we would not

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Speaker 2: naturally know if you had not chosen to reveal them.

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Speaker 2: And Father, we know that it could be very easy

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Speaker 2: when studying portions of prophecy like we've been studying, it

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Speaker 2: could be very easy to maybe treat these things as

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Speaker 2: either technical or somewhat irrelevant, or think that they're just

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Speaker 2: too confusing to be understood. And yet your spirit enables

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Speaker 2: us to understand your word. And so Father, I pray

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Speaker 2: that through your spirit that we would understand the portion

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Speaker 2: of your word that we're studying together today, that through

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Speaker 2: his presence in our lives, through his illumination in our minds,

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Speaker 2: that we would.

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Speaker 1: Be able to grow in our walk with you.

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Speaker 2: So, Lord, thank you for your word, Thank you for

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Speaker 2: the privilege to look at this together. Now we commit

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Speaker 2: this time to you, and we pray this all in Jesus' name.

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Speaker 1: Amen.

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Speaker 2: So the Book of Revelation is essentially you could call

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Speaker 2: it the grand finale of all of scripture. It makes,

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Speaker 2: it makes known to us God's sovereign plan for history,

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Speaker 2: and it assures us. It assures believers that Jesus Christ

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Speaker 2: will be victorious. And so when you look through the

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Speaker 2: Book of Revelation, these things get illustrated for us in

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Speaker 2: a variety of ways. And so let me just walk

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Speaker 2: us through kind of a brief overcap of some of

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Speaker 2: the things that we see in the Book of Revelation. Now,

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Speaker 2: the book was written by the apostle John. You have

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Speaker 2: John referencing his name in the portion that we just

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Speaker 2: read today as well. But it was written by the

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Speaker 2: apostle John while he was exiled on the island.

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Speaker 1: Of pat Mos.

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Speaker 2: It's a book that was given to strengthen persecuted believers

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Speaker 2: and encourage them, while also reminding every generation that no

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Speaker 2: matter how dark this world becomes, and no matter how

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Speaker 2: dark things look at any given season of human history,

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Speaker 2: God's purposes will not fail. He's going to accomplish everything

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Speaker 2: that he said he.

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Speaker 1: Was going to accomplish.

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Speaker 2: Now, when you look at the start of the book,

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Speaker 2: and again I'm recapping here to bring us up to

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Speaker 2: where we are today, the book begins with the risen

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Speaker 2: walking among his churches. You see that in chapters one, two,

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Speaker 2: and three, and these passages.

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Speaker 1: When you look.

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Speaker 2: At the variety of things that the Lord reveals in them.

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Speaker 2: One of the things that we quickly see is that

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Speaker 2: Jesus isn't distant from his people. He isn't distant from

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Speaker 2: his church, he isn't distant from his bride. He knows

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Speaker 2: his people's faithfulness, our failures. He knows when we suffer

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Speaker 2: and go through hardship. He also knows the opportunities that

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Speaker 2: He's giving to us, and whether or not we're making

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Speaker 2: the best of.

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Speaker 1: All of those opportunities.

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Speaker 2: And in the midst of that, as he's speaking to

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Speaker 2: the churches and the first three chapters, he calls his

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Speaker 2: church to remain faithful to the end. That's a calling

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Speaker 2: for the churches that were around at the time the

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Speaker 2: prophecy was given. It's also calling for us to remain

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Speaker 2: faithful to Christ right up into the end. We see

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Speaker 2: that in the first three chapters. Then when you get

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Speaker 2: to chapters four and five of the Book of Revelation,

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Speaker 2: the scene shifts and we see things in heaven that

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Speaker 2: we wouldn't naturally see if the Lord hadn't revealed them

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Speaker 2: to us. We see God seated on his throne. We

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Speaker 2: see that he's completely sovereign over every event on earth.

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Speaker 2: The Lamb, who was slain. Jesus Christ is declared worthy

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Speaker 2: to open the scroll because through his death and resurrection

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Speaker 2: he purchased people from every nation for the Father, And

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Speaker 2: so we see that in that section of God's Word.

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Speaker 2: But then it transitions a little further, and from their

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Speaker 2: revelation it unfolds with a series of judgments that God

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Speaker 2: is ultimately causing to come upon this earth. We see

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Speaker 2: what we refer to as seal judgments. We see trumpet judgments,

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Speaker 2: we see bold judgments. These things are in succession, and

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Speaker 2: the scripture tells us about their unfolding.

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Speaker 1: We also see the.

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Speaker 2: Rebellion of mankind and it reaches its climax as Satan

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Speaker 2: empowers the Beast and the false Prophet to deceive the nations.

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Speaker 2: And so we see that at some point this individual

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Speaker 2: who's referenced as the Beast the Antichrist, partnered with someone

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Speaker 2: referenced is the false Prophet, will be deceiving the nations.

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Speaker 2: And yet throughout these judgments, God continues to call his

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Speaker 2: people to repentance. So we see that happening through that

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Speaker 2: center section of the book. But then we also see

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Speaker 2: something else. We see the fact that the Lord preserves

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Speaker 2: a faithful remnant, he seals his servants, and then he

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Speaker 2: proclaims his gospel throughout the course of this earth. And

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Speaker 2: it looks at times like evil is super powerful on

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Speaker 2: this earth. But in the midst of all of that,

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Speaker 2: we're also shown that the defeat of evil is certain.

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Speaker 2: We're also shown that evil is seasonal in nature, meaning

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Speaker 2: the power of evil will come to an end. And

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Speaker 2: one of the things that I've tried to emphasize as

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Speaker 2: we've been working our way through the Book of Revelation

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Speaker 2: is the fact that that's what Scripture reveals to us.

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Speaker 2: Because I know that at times it feels like evil

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Speaker 2: is winning. I know that at times it feels like

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Speaker 2: things are getting worse and worse and worse. But Scripture

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Speaker 2: tries to reveal to us in the midst of everything

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Speaker 2: you go through on this earth, remain hopeful. Remain hopeful

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Speaker 2: because the Lord ultimately is going to work all things

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Speaker 2: together for the good of those who love him, for

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Speaker 2: those that he's called undo himself. The power of evil

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Speaker 2: will come to an end. And then as we get

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Speaker 2: to the later chapters of the book, we saw that

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Speaker 2: Jesus returns in glory as the King of Kings and

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Speaker 2: the Lord of Lords. Were told that the armies of

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Speaker 2: Heaven accompany him as he defeats his enemies with absolute authority.

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Speaker 2: Then we're told that Satan is bound for one thousand

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Speaker 2: years and then released briefly afterward, but then finally thrown

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Speaker 2: forever into the Lake of Fire, never to deceive anyone

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Speaker 2: ever again. And then that's followed by the final judgment,

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Speaker 2: every unbeliever standing before the Great White Throne being judged

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Speaker 2: by Jesus according to what's written in the books. We're

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Speaker 2: told that those whose names are not found written in

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Speaker 2: the Book of Life experience eternal separation from God. But

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Speaker 2: that's not where the story ends. Last week we were

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Speaker 2: looking at the fact that scripture reveals to us that

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Speaker 2: God creates a new Heaven and a new Earth. The

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Speaker 2: New Jerusalem descends from heaven as the dwelling place of

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Speaker 2: God with his redeemed people. It's one of the most

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Speaker 2: beautiful things in this description here, and we're told that

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Speaker 2: every effect of sin is completely removed forever. I love

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Speaker 2: what Revelation twenty one to four happens to say about this.

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Speaker 1: This is in the.

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Speaker 2: Previous chapter, but it says he will wipe every tear

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Speaker 2: from their eyes, and death shall be no more.

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Speaker 1: Neither shall there.

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Speaker 2: Be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former

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Speaker 2: things have passed away. How often do you think about

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Speaker 2: that scripture? That's one that since I became familiar with

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Speaker 2: that particular passage, it's one that I think about a lot.

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Speaker 2: It actually comes up like a replay reel in my mind.

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Speaker 2: It's something that I've quoted to myself many times. It's

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Speaker 2: something I've quoted to others many times. It's something I've

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Speaker 2: just thought about many times. But Revelation twenty one four

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Speaker 2: tells us basically, the effects of sin are going to

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Speaker 2: be done away with. Those things will pass away. No

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Speaker 2: more crying, no more mourning, no more pain, All of

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Speaker 2: that goes away. That's what we're promised as the Book

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Speaker 2: of Revelation comes to an end, meaning the Bible doesn't

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Speaker 2: end with destruction, It ends with restoration.

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Speaker 1: Not a beautiful thought.

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Speaker 2: So God's people dwelling forever in His presence, worshiping the

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Speaker 2: Lamb who redeem them. That's what the Book of Revelation

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Speaker 2: is talking about. So we work our way through it.

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Speaker 2: We see, you know, Christ among the churches. We see

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Speaker 2: the scene in heaven. We see judgment, we see God's

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Speaker 2: people being protected. We see Christ returning, we see Satan defeated.

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Speaker 2: We see the new heavens and new Earth. We see

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Speaker 2: the dwelling place of God with humanity. It's a beautiful thing.

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Speaker 2: And now this final section that we're in today, this

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Speaker 2: particular section gives us a variety of things. It shows

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Speaker 2: us certainty, it shows us urgency, and it also shows

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Speaker 2: us hope. And you have when you get to verse six,

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Speaker 2: you have the Angel declaring this. He says, these words

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Speaker 2: are trustworthy and true. And but what I think the

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Speaker 2: Angel is trying to communicate to John and then through

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Speaker 2: him to us, is that everything John has seen in

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Speaker 2: the previous chapters, it's being revealed that this isn't symbolic,

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Speaker 2: This isn't wishful thinking, meaning these are God's own promises.

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Speaker 1: Because God can't lie.

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Speaker 2: Believers can build their lives on these promises with confidence.

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Speaker 2: But then Jesus speaks when you get to verse seven,

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Speaker 2: and in verse seven we read this and behold.

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Speaker 1: I am coming soon.

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Speaker 2: Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the

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Speaker 2: prophecy of this book. Now the word soon that Jesus

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Speaker 2: is using here. Notice that word. It doesn't just emphasize timing.

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Speaker 2: That's part of it, but that's not the only thing

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Speaker 2: he's trying to emphasize. It's also communicating certainty and suddenness,

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Speaker 2: the fact that he's definitely coming, and the fact that

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Speaker 2: when he comes, he's going to come with just a suddenness. Now,

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Speaker 2: from God's eternal perspective, Christ is always near. When he comes,

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Speaker 2: it's going to happen quickly, it's going to happen decisively,

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Speaker 2: And that's what the scripture's trying to help us to

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Speaker 2: be prepared for. Maybe you'll be part of the generation

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Speaker 2: that sees aspects of this that are referenced here in

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Speaker 2: this portion of scripture. But John, as he's hearing all

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Speaker 2: of this, Now, imagine being John, who at this season

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Speaker 2: of his life is quite old, and he's.

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Speaker 1: Been exiled on the island of pat Most, and he's

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Speaker 1: seen a lot.

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Speaker 2: He's spent several years being trained directly by Jesus. He's

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Speaker 2: seen the church grow and expand, he's experienced persecution along

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Speaker 2: with the church.

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Speaker 1: That's why he's sent to the island of Patmos.

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Speaker 2: And he's seeing all these things, and then all of

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Speaker 2: this is revealed to him as he's a very elderly man,

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Speaker 2: and he's told to write these things down and reveal

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Speaker 2: these things to the church. Do you imagine that if

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Speaker 2: if you were the first person to have all of

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Speaker 2: these details revealed to them the way John had them revealed,

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Speaker 2: do you think that that would be overwhelming? I mean,

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Speaker 2: some of these things, even if you've read these throughout

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Speaker 2: the course of your life. When we think about these things,

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Speaker 2: it's a lot to try and take in. It's also

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Speaker 2: why this book typically doesn't get preached on from pulpits.

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Speaker 2: It typically gets discussed in context where people can hash

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Speaker 2: it out conversationally, because it's a lot to take in.

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Speaker 2: And I get the impression by what John does here

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Speaker 2: that he feels a bit overwhelmed by this as he's

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Speaker 2: trying to take it all in, trying to communicate all

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Speaker 2: this trying to make sure that it's recorded for the

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Speaker 2: benefit of you and me and believers throughout the centuries.

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Speaker 2: But he's so overwhelmed that he actually falls before the

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Speaker 2: angel that Jesus is using to communicate these things to John.

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Speaker 2: John falls before this angel and actually, in the midst

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Speaker 2: of his confusion, attempts to worship the angel, and immediately

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Speaker 2: the angel corrects him. It says, don't do that, we

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Speaker 2: don't do that. Get up, And I imagine John's like,

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Speaker 2: I don't know what to do. I don't know what

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Speaker 2: to do, you know, it actually surprises me. There's a

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Speaker 2: couple things that John puts in scripture as the spirit

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Speaker 2: of God obviously inspired him to do. So there's a

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Speaker 2: couple things that surprise me that John includes. One is

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Speaker 2: kind of entertaining, where he makes sure that you know

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Speaker 2: that he outran Peter to the tomb. Okay, in the

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Speaker 2: Gospel of John, he makes sure that that's abundantly known.

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Speaker 2: I ran faster than Peter. Peter, that slow guy is

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Speaker 2: that slow guy with.

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Speaker 1: The big mouth. Right, I ran faster than him.

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Speaker 2: But he also records something here that I look at

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Speaker 2: and I think I'm surprised that he recorded it. He'd

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Speaker 2: only record this if the spirit of God implored him

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Speaker 2: to record it. The fact that he was willing to

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Speaker 2: admit that he, in his confusion and in his overwhelm,

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Speaker 2: attempted to worship this angel because that's kind of embarrassing

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Speaker 2: to think about, right. But he's like, I don't know

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Speaker 2: what to do, and he's just overwhelmed, and he gets

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Speaker 2: corrected by the angel. The angels like, knock it off.

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Speaker 2: Knock it off, just kind of like a good friend.

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Speaker 2: They'd be like, what are you doing? Do you have

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Speaker 2: anyone in your life that can speak to you that

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Speaker 2: way and be like, what are you doing? Literally, that's

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Speaker 2: the dumbest thing you've ever done.

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Speaker 1: I have a few people in my life.

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Speaker 2: By the way, when my wife married into my family,

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Speaker 2: one of the things she discovered was that my side

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Speaker 2: of the family just literally just says whatever, and then

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Speaker 2: you're expected to emotionally just deal with it, right, And

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Speaker 2: so you know, they'll be like, You'll show up to

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Speaker 2: a family event and people are like, that is the

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Speaker 2: ugliest shirt you have ever worn to Easter. That is

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Speaker 2: the ugliest. Look at look at john shirt. Look at

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Speaker 2: his shirt. That is so ugly. That is Okay, Happy Easter, everybody.

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Speaker 2: It's so good to see everyone. And then Andrea comes in.

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Speaker 2: She's like, what why is your family like that. You

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Speaker 2: need people in your life that are just gonna tell

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Speaker 2: you what's up, right, You need those people. The angel

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Speaker 2: here tells John what's up, and John actually records it,

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Speaker 2: and it kind of surprises me. When you look at

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Speaker 2: verse nine, it says this. It says, but he said

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Speaker 2: to me, you must not do that. So this is

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Speaker 2: John in his confusion. He bows down to worship this angel.

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Speaker 2: He says, you must not do that. I'm a fellow

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Speaker 2: servant with you and your brothers, the prophets, and with

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Speaker 2: those who keep the words of this book worship God, And.

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Speaker 1: Like, get up, what on earth are you doing? Get up?

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Speaker 2: And John's like, I don't know what I'm doing. I

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Speaker 2: don't know what I'm doing. What's going on here? You're

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Speaker 2: telling me all these things, you're revealing, all these things.

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Speaker 2: I'm trying to write it down, just overwhelmed. But even

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Speaker 2: the most glorious angels refuse worship. Why because worship belongs

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Speaker 2: to God alone.

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Speaker 1: And that's what's illustrated for us right there. And in

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Speaker 1: his humility, John.

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Speaker 2: Actually writes this down so that we could see a

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Speaker 2: mistake that he makes in the midst of this. And interestingly,

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Speaker 2: when you work your way throughout the Book of Revelation,

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Speaker 2: you probably notice this.

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Speaker 1: When we're looking at other chapters.

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Speaker 2: Throughout the Book of Revelation, every holy being that was

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Speaker 2: created points the attention away from themselves. Toward the Creator,

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Speaker 2: all the angelic beings, all the holy beings, you know, others,

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Speaker 2: the believers themselves, they all point the attention back to

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Speaker 2: God himself.

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Speaker 1: Well.

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Speaker 2: Next in this passage that we're looking at today comes

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Speaker 2: a very important contrast. I've often heard it said that

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Speaker 2: if you want to understand the Book of Revelation in

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Speaker 2: its fullness, it's actually helpful to read the Book of

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Speaker 2: Daniel first. So i'd encourage you, along with our study

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Speaker 2: of Revelation, check out the Book of Daniel. But earlier

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Speaker 2: in scripture, in the Book of Daniel, Daniel was shown

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Speaker 2: similar things to what John was shown, who's shown the

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Speaker 2: same things in many respects. But at that time he

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Speaker 2: was actually instructed to seal up his prophecy because he

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Speaker 2: was told it was still far away. Was told to

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Speaker 2: seal it up. But John receives opposite instructions. He's told

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Speaker 2: this when you look at verse ten, do not seal

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Speaker 2: up the words of the prophecy of this book, for

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Speaker 2: the time is near. So Daniel was told during his era,

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Speaker 2: seal it up. It's a distance away here, don't seal

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Speaker 2: it up. The time is near, meaning the message of

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Speaker 2: the Book of Revelation the things that we've been studying

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Speaker 2: for the past few months, the things that we're looking

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Speaker 2: at today. This is a message that's meant to be

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Speaker 2: proclaimed openly. This is something we're supposed to be talking

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Speaker 2: about with one another. This is something that we're supposed

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Speaker 2: to be talking about with others. Every generation of believers

437
00:21:51,400 --> 00:21:53,639
Speaker 2: should read it, and as we read it, we should

438
00:21:53,640 --> 00:21:55,760
Speaker 2: obey it. And as we obey it, we should find

439
00:21:55,800 --> 00:21:58,199
Speaker 2: hope in it. And hope the way Scripture speaks of

440
00:21:58,200 --> 00:21:59,879
Speaker 2: the word hope is a wish.

441
00:22:00,240 --> 00:22:01,720
Speaker 1: It's something that you could bank on.

442
00:22:02,160 --> 00:22:04,800
Speaker 2: It's something with absolute certainty that you could have confidence

443
00:22:04,800 --> 00:22:07,960
Speaker 2: that God is going to fulfill. And then Jesus announces

444
00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:11,520
Speaker 2: in verse twelve his coming judgment. He says it this way.

445
00:22:11,560 --> 00:22:15,760
Speaker 2: He says, behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense

446
00:22:15,840 --> 00:22:17,640
Speaker 2: with me to repay each.

447
00:22:17,480 --> 00:22:19,280
Speaker 1: One for what he has done.

448
00:22:19,320 --> 00:22:22,639
Speaker 2: Now that's an interesting statement, to repay each one for

449
00:22:22,720 --> 00:22:24,320
Speaker 2: what he has done. Well, when you look at what

450
00:22:24,359 --> 00:22:27,880
Speaker 2: Scripture teaches us about salvation, it's very clear that salvation

451
00:22:28,040 --> 00:22:31,680
Speaker 2: is never earned through works. You cannot earn your salvation.

452
00:22:31,800 --> 00:22:34,400
Speaker 2: You cannot be good enough to get your salvation because

453
00:22:34,440 --> 00:22:38,160
Speaker 2: of what you've done. You cannot be somebody that accomplishes

454
00:22:38,320 --> 00:22:43,119
Speaker 2: enough to somehow merit your salvation. Salvation is only obtained

455
00:22:43,280 --> 00:22:46,000
Speaker 2: by the grace of God, meaning it's an undeserved gift

456
00:22:46,800 --> 00:22:50,160
Speaker 2: that is received through faith. So Jesus did the work

457
00:22:50,200 --> 00:22:53,119
Speaker 2: for us. We receive salvation as a gift of grace.

458
00:22:53,480 --> 00:22:57,080
Speaker 2: We receive it by faith. But yet our works are

459
00:22:57,160 --> 00:23:00,119
Speaker 2: still important. Well, what's the point of our works. We

460
00:23:00,160 --> 00:23:02,480
Speaker 2: can glorify God with our works. But here's something else

461
00:23:02,520 --> 00:23:05,800
Speaker 2: that our works do your works as you serve the Lord,

462
00:23:05,880 --> 00:23:07,360
Speaker 2: as I serve the lords.

463
00:23:07,400 --> 00:23:08,520
Speaker 1: We serve the Lord together.

464
00:23:08,640 --> 00:23:12,280
Speaker 2: Our works demonstrate the reality and the sincerity of our faith.

465
00:23:13,800 --> 00:23:15,520
Speaker 2: If I tell you that I love Jesus, but you

466
00:23:15,520 --> 00:23:18,200
Speaker 2: don't see any measurable change in my life, you would

467
00:23:18,240 --> 00:23:20,480
Speaker 2: have reason to question whether or not I actually love

468
00:23:20,520 --> 00:23:24,680
Speaker 2: him or know him at all. But are the things

469
00:23:24,680 --> 00:23:26,720
Speaker 2: that we do, the life that we live, the works

470
00:23:26,720 --> 00:23:30,479
Speaker 2: that we accomplish. They don't earn us salvation, but they

471
00:23:30,520 --> 00:23:33,679
Speaker 2: are a response to that gift, and they demonstrate the

472
00:23:33,760 --> 00:23:37,159
Speaker 2: reality and the sincerity of our faith. Because what happens

473
00:23:37,200 --> 00:23:39,280
Speaker 2: is the Lord changes your mind, he changes your heart,

474
00:23:39,320 --> 00:23:41,880
Speaker 2: He makes you a new creation, He makes you want

475
00:23:41,960 --> 00:23:45,000
Speaker 2: to do things, and he makes you care about things

476
00:23:45,359 --> 00:23:47,120
Speaker 2: that in the past you didn't care about at all.

477
00:23:47,880 --> 00:23:49,280
Speaker 2: But now all of a sudden, you start thinking with

478
00:23:49,359 --> 00:23:53,600
Speaker 2: his mind and seeing with his eyes. And so Scripture

479
00:23:53,640 --> 00:23:55,920
Speaker 2: is very clear about that, and Jesus says, I'm going

480
00:23:55,960 --> 00:23:58,359
Speaker 2: to repay each one for what he has done. The

481
00:23:58,400 --> 00:24:01,240
Speaker 2: Lord has rewards in store for us, which is amazing,

482
00:24:01,280 --> 00:24:02,680
Speaker 2: because salvation is a gift.

483
00:24:02,920 --> 00:24:03,720
Speaker 1: That's good enough.

484
00:24:04,119 --> 00:24:05,679
Speaker 2: But he also looks at you, and he looks at me,

485
00:24:05,720 --> 00:24:08,520
Speaker 2: and he says, be faithful, I have some other things

486
00:24:08,560 --> 00:24:09,640
Speaker 2: in store for you as well.

487
00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:11,600
Speaker 1: Those rewards are mysterious to me.

488
00:24:11,880 --> 00:24:14,359
Speaker 2: Scripture talks about crowns, it talks about a variety of

489
00:24:14,400 --> 00:24:17,480
Speaker 2: other things. But we're told these things on purpose, And

490
00:24:17,520 --> 00:24:20,280
Speaker 2: I think the Lord tells us this to motivate us,

491
00:24:20,680 --> 00:24:22,840
Speaker 2: to just encourage us to be faithful.

492
00:24:22,440 --> 00:24:23,960
Speaker 1: While we wait for him to come.

493
00:24:24,600 --> 00:24:27,040
Speaker 2: But then Jesus also takes some time to declare his

494
00:24:27,160 --> 00:24:30,520
Speaker 2: eternal identity. He says this, I am the Alpha and

495
00:24:30,560 --> 00:24:33,679
Speaker 2: the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and

496
00:24:33,720 --> 00:24:36,520
Speaker 2: the end, meaning history begins with him and history ends

497
00:24:36,560 --> 00:24:41,120
Speaker 2: with him. Nothing exists outside of his authority. I have

498
00:24:41,280 --> 00:24:44,200
Speaker 2: loved studying history ever since I was a young child.

499
00:24:44,320 --> 00:24:47,199
Speaker 2: I remember when I was a child, my grandparents had

500
00:24:47,240 --> 00:24:51,399
Speaker 2: an almanac. It was put out by Reader's Digest, and

501
00:24:51,440 --> 00:24:56,440
Speaker 2: it had just different details about American history, had details

502
00:24:56,480 --> 00:24:58,600
Speaker 2: about the lives of each of the presidents. And I

503
00:24:58,680 --> 00:25:00,960
Speaker 2: was very fascinated by it, and so I would read

504
00:25:01,000 --> 00:25:02,840
Speaker 2: a lot about American history. I would read a lot

505
00:25:02,840 --> 00:25:04,920
Speaker 2: about the president's And I remember when I was five

506
00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:08,080
Speaker 2: years old going over to my other grandmother's house and

507
00:25:08,560 --> 00:25:11,439
Speaker 2: she had been vacuuming right before we got there, and

508
00:25:11,480 --> 00:25:13,800
Speaker 2: she had a Hoover vacuum right in the entryway of

509
00:25:13,800 --> 00:25:14,080
Speaker 2: the house.

510
00:25:14,119 --> 00:25:15,000
Speaker 1: It was still plugged in.

511
00:25:15,280 --> 00:25:18,000
Speaker 2: And I looked at it and I said, Grammy, I

512
00:25:18,040 --> 00:25:20,680
Speaker 2: said Hoover. I said, is that named after the President,

513
00:25:20,720 --> 00:25:23,399
Speaker 2: which she did not expect from the mouth of a

514
00:25:23,440 --> 00:25:24,440
Speaker 2: five year old.

515
00:25:24,560 --> 00:25:26,840
Speaker 1: And she said, it's the.

516
00:25:26,840 --> 00:25:29,280
Speaker 2: Same name, but it's not the same guy. And she's like,

517
00:25:29,280 --> 00:25:31,960
Speaker 2: how do you know about Hoover the President? And I said, well,

518
00:25:32,040 --> 00:25:38,080
Speaker 2: I've been reading the almanac at nana's house. And she's like, wow, okay,

519
00:25:38,680 --> 00:25:41,080
Speaker 2: And so it was kind of a neat thing. I've

520
00:25:41,119 --> 00:25:43,520
Speaker 2: always been fascinated by history, but it's also cool when

521
00:25:43,560 --> 00:25:45,879
Speaker 2: you look at the book of Revelation and realize that

522
00:25:45,920 --> 00:25:49,320
Speaker 2: literally all history begins and ends with Christ. If you

523
00:25:49,359 --> 00:25:52,280
Speaker 2: actually want to understand the point of history, if you

524
00:25:52,280 --> 00:25:54,640
Speaker 2: want to understand the direction of it and the purpose

525
00:25:54,720 --> 00:25:58,000
Speaker 2: of it, it's really meant to point you toward Jesus.

526
00:25:58,000 --> 00:26:01,679
Speaker 2: He's the Alpha and the Omega. You know, there's interesting

527
00:26:01,760 --> 00:26:04,640
Speaker 2: historical figures that I've often been fascinated by, like I said,

528
00:26:04,680 --> 00:26:08,240
Speaker 2: presidents and other people, but there's no one as fascinating

529
00:26:08,240 --> 00:26:11,159
Speaker 2: as the author of history himself, Jesus Christ, the Alpha

530
00:26:11,200 --> 00:26:13,560
Speaker 2: and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning in

531
00:26:13,600 --> 00:26:16,160
Speaker 2: the end, history beginning with him and ending with him,

532
00:26:16,200 --> 00:26:20,200
Speaker 2: and nothing existing outside of his authority. Jesus created all things,

533
00:26:20,480 --> 00:26:24,119
Speaker 2: every promise in scripture ultimately rests in his eternal nature.

534
00:26:25,720 --> 00:26:27,159
Speaker 1: And it's a beautiful thing to see.

535
00:26:27,840 --> 00:26:30,720
Speaker 2: And then the chapter continues and we show, or we're shown,

536
00:26:30,760 --> 00:26:34,679
Speaker 2: the invitation of God's grace continuing even here at the

537
00:26:34,800 --> 00:26:36,800
Speaker 2: end of the Bible. When you look at verse seventeen,

538
00:26:36,840 --> 00:26:39,560
Speaker 2: we read this the Spirit and the bride say, come,

539
00:26:40,040 --> 00:26:42,360
Speaker 2: and let the one who hears say come, and let

540
00:26:42,359 --> 00:26:44,560
Speaker 2: the one who is thirsty come. Let the one who

541
00:26:44,640 --> 00:26:49,200
Speaker 2: desires take the water of life without Christ. This, by

542
00:26:49,240 --> 00:26:51,760
Speaker 2: the way, is one of the most beautiful invitations in

543
00:26:51,960 --> 00:26:55,320
Speaker 2: all of Scripture. I love the fact that when you

544
00:26:55,359 --> 00:26:57,639
Speaker 2: look at this, what we're being shown is that God's

545
00:26:57,720 --> 00:27:02,359
Speaker 2: final message in scripture isn't a warning of judgment. There's

546
00:27:02,400 --> 00:27:05,200
Speaker 2: warnings of judgment prior to this, but the final message

547
00:27:05,200 --> 00:27:09,080
Speaker 2: isn't a warning of judgment. It's an invitation to salvation.

548
00:27:09,600 --> 00:27:14,119
Speaker 2: It's an invitation to escape condemnation. It's an invitation to

549
00:27:14,359 --> 00:27:18,840
Speaker 2: escape judgment. And anyone who thirst, meaning like that spiritual

550
00:27:18,840 --> 00:27:22,959
Speaker 2: thirst that's spiritual longing that only Jesus can satisfy. Anyone

551
00:27:22,960 --> 00:27:26,880
Speaker 2: who thirsts for Christ can come freely. Why, because Jesus

552
00:27:26,880 --> 00:27:31,120
Speaker 2: has already paid the price. You are welcomed into his presence,

553
00:27:31,560 --> 00:27:36,600
Speaker 2: because your sin was paid for at the cross. Anyone

554
00:27:36,600 --> 00:27:39,800
Speaker 2: who thirst can come freely to Jesus because Jesus has

555
00:27:39,960 --> 00:27:42,399
Speaker 2: already paid that price. He says, Let the one who

556
00:27:42,520 --> 00:27:45,159
Speaker 2: desires take the water of life without price.

557
00:27:47,240 --> 00:27:48,280
Speaker 1: The book concludes with.

558
00:27:48,280 --> 00:27:53,399
Speaker 2: A solemn warning immediately after that, a warning against adding

559
00:27:53,440 --> 00:27:58,520
Speaker 2: to or taking away from God's revealed word. God's revelation

560
00:27:58,680 --> 00:28:02,159
Speaker 2: is complete. His people are called to treasure it faithfully,

561
00:28:02,680 --> 00:28:05,560
Speaker 2: don't reshape it. According to human preferences. I see people

562
00:28:05,600 --> 00:28:07,800
Speaker 2: try and do that all the time, or take verses

563
00:28:07,840 --> 00:28:10,240
Speaker 2: out of context, or skip things that they don't want

564
00:28:10,240 --> 00:28:12,560
Speaker 2: to hear, whatever it may be. The Scripture says, no,

565
00:28:12,640 --> 00:28:15,959
Speaker 2: don't take anything away from it, don't add anything to it.

566
00:28:17,119 --> 00:28:20,119
Speaker 2: And then immediately after that you have one of the

567
00:28:20,119 --> 00:28:21,960
Speaker 2: greatest promises in all of Scripture.

568
00:28:22,240 --> 00:28:25,800
Speaker 1: Look at verse twenty. Jesus says this.

569
00:28:26,240 --> 00:28:28,440
Speaker 2: Well, it says, he who testifies to these things says,

570
00:28:28,680 --> 00:28:33,160
Speaker 2: surely I am coming soon. Surely I am coming soon.

571
00:28:33,280 --> 00:28:36,159
Speaker 2: And then look at how John responds. He says, Amen,

572
00:28:37,080 --> 00:28:40,880
Speaker 2: Come Lord Jesus. Amen, Come Lord Jesus. That's the cry

573
00:28:40,960 --> 00:28:44,440
Speaker 2: that's been the prayer of believers through every generation. Amen,

574
00:28:44,520 --> 00:28:46,920
Speaker 2: Come Lord Jesus. We long for the day when faith

575
00:28:47,000 --> 00:28:50,240
Speaker 2: becomes sight. We long for the day when our Savior returns.

576
00:28:50,520 --> 00:28:52,960
Speaker 2: I have to tell you this has been a wonderful

577
00:28:53,000 --> 00:28:57,640
Speaker 2: week for our family, wonderful week experiencing the birth of

578
00:28:57,680 --> 00:29:02,840
Speaker 2: my first grandchild, getting to meet Noah, my first grandson,

579
00:29:04,120 --> 00:29:08,320
Speaker 2: loved it, love it. And you know what, as beautiful

580
00:29:08,360 --> 00:29:10,200
Speaker 2: as that is, and that's one of the most beautiful

581
00:29:10,240 --> 00:29:12,320
Speaker 2: things that I know I'll ever get to experience.

582
00:29:12,400 --> 00:29:13,160
Speaker 1: On this earth.

583
00:29:14,760 --> 00:29:17,480
Speaker 2: Scripture reveals that the Lord has even greater things in

584
00:29:17,560 --> 00:29:18,240
Speaker 2: store than that.

585
00:29:19,560 --> 00:29:20,480
Speaker 1: What's John saying?

586
00:29:20,640 --> 00:29:24,360
Speaker 2: Amen, Come Lord Jesus, because the greatest things on this

587
00:29:24,400 --> 00:29:27,120
Speaker 2: earth cannot compare with living in the presence of Jesus

588
00:29:27,240 --> 00:29:31,320
Speaker 2: Christ for all eternity, with the people that we love,

589
00:29:31,400 --> 00:29:36,600
Speaker 2: with those grandchildren, with our kids. But we long for

590
00:29:36,640 --> 00:29:39,320
Speaker 2: a day when faith becomes sight, when our Savior returns.

591
00:29:41,040 --> 00:29:43,440
Speaker 1: Amen, Come Lord Jesus. You know I think about that.

592
00:29:43,840 --> 00:29:46,440
Speaker 2: I mentioned how I think about Revelation twenty one to

593
00:29:46,480 --> 00:29:47,200
Speaker 2: four quite.

594
00:29:47,040 --> 00:29:48,600
Speaker 1: A bit, but I think about that too.

595
00:29:49,040 --> 00:29:51,680
Speaker 2: I think about this idea of look like Come Lord Jesus.

596
00:29:51,720 --> 00:29:53,480
Speaker 2: I think about that when things are going well, and

597
00:29:53,480 --> 00:29:55,800
Speaker 2: when things aren't going well. I think about it when

598
00:29:55,840 --> 00:29:57,959
Speaker 2: things are going well, because I don't want to idolize

599
00:29:58,000 --> 00:30:01,520
Speaker 2: the blessings that God in trusts to me. I don't

600
00:30:01,520 --> 00:30:02,920
Speaker 2: want to look at those things and say, all right,

601
00:30:02,960 --> 00:30:05,000
Speaker 2: this is so good that I don't want this to

602
00:30:05,040 --> 00:30:08,080
Speaker 2: ever change. That I would enjoy the blessings of God

603
00:30:08,120 --> 00:30:10,000
Speaker 2: more than I did enjoy God himself. I don't want

604
00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:12,640
Speaker 2: to make that mistake, and so I think, all right,

605
00:30:12,680 --> 00:30:14,920
Speaker 2: Come Lord Jesus, because You're better than all of this,

606
00:30:15,920 --> 00:30:17,600
Speaker 2: but I also think about that in the midst of

607
00:30:17,640 --> 00:30:21,080
Speaker 2: seasons of trial and the seasons of difficulty, recognizing what

608
00:30:21,120 --> 00:30:23,959
Speaker 2: scripture reveals to us. Right at the end, here he's coming,

609
00:30:24,280 --> 00:30:26,480
Speaker 2: and when he returns, it's going to be better than

610
00:30:26,560 --> 00:30:30,560
Speaker 2: we've ever experienced. Everything is living in the presence of

611
00:30:30,600 --> 00:30:31,600
Speaker 2: God for all eternity.

612
00:30:31,640 --> 00:30:33,120
Speaker 1: Amen, Come, Lord Jesus.

613
00:30:33,440 --> 00:30:37,520
Speaker 2: And then you have the final verse, just leaving the

614
00:30:37,560 --> 00:30:42,000
Speaker 2: readers of this book resting in grace, right, the grace

615
00:30:42,080 --> 00:30:44,080
Speaker 2: of the Lord Jesus be with all Amen.

616
00:30:45,200 --> 00:30:48,520
Speaker 1: That's how the Bible concludes. So the Bible begins with

617
00:30:48,600 --> 00:30:52,520
Speaker 1: creation and it ends with grace. It's a beautiful thing.

618
00:30:53,560 --> 00:30:58,080
Speaker 2: Now we've just spent some time recapping and looking at

619
00:30:58,120 --> 00:31:00,640
Speaker 2: the Book of Revelation. We've also spent a group of

620
00:31:00,680 --> 00:31:03,800
Speaker 2: months going through each and every chapter, each and every verse,

621
00:31:04,080 --> 00:31:05,880
Speaker 2: and I hope you followed along. Now some of you

622
00:31:05,920 --> 00:31:07,880
Speaker 2: I didn't even know when we first started this series,

623
00:31:07,920 --> 00:31:09,640
Speaker 2: So you have to go back and you have to

624
00:31:09,640 --> 00:31:11,960
Speaker 2: listen to all the earlier messages and then we'll all

625
00:31:11,960 --> 00:31:12,680
Speaker 2: be caught up.

626
00:31:13,120 --> 00:31:13,960
Speaker 1: But I do want to.

627
00:31:14,440 --> 00:31:16,800
Speaker 2: Give a little spoiler here, and it's a real fun

628
00:31:16,920 --> 00:31:20,240
Speaker 2: spoiler because when you look at how the Bible is

629
00:31:20,280 --> 00:31:23,000
Speaker 2: set up. If you've ever taken the time to read,

630
00:31:23,320 --> 00:31:26,960
Speaker 2: in particular, the first eleven chapters of the Book of Genesis.

631
00:31:28,440 --> 00:31:31,440
Speaker 2: When you read that, you realize everything. We're being shown

632
00:31:31,480 --> 00:31:34,880
Speaker 2: the foundation for all things. In those chapters, we're being

633
00:31:34,920 --> 00:31:36,240
Speaker 2: shown the foundation.

634
00:31:35,960 --> 00:31:38,360
Speaker 1: For all things. And then when you get to the

635
00:31:38,400 --> 00:31:38,720
Speaker 1: Book of.

636
00:31:38,720 --> 00:31:41,960
Speaker 2: Revelation, you see how all of it resolves. Have you

637
00:31:42,040 --> 00:31:44,160
Speaker 2: ever taken the time to connect the Book of Genesis

638
00:31:44,160 --> 00:31:46,320
Speaker 2: in the Book of Revelation. Do you ever take the

639
00:31:46,360 --> 00:31:47,960
Speaker 2: time to think through the things that are said in

640
00:31:48,000 --> 00:31:50,840
Speaker 2: that first book and how the Lord fulfills them here

641
00:31:50,840 --> 00:31:54,120
Speaker 2: in the last book. Let me share some of these details,

642
00:31:54,640 --> 00:31:58,840
Speaker 2: because Genesis introduces every major theme that the Book of

643
00:31:58,840 --> 00:32:04,560
Speaker 2: Revelation brings to. Genesis opens with a perfect creation, and

644
00:32:04,680 --> 00:32:09,280
Speaker 2: how does Revelation close with a perfect new creation? So

645
00:32:09,400 --> 00:32:15,120
Speaker 2: perfect creation, perfect creation. Genesis introduces the Tree of Life

646
00:32:15,160 --> 00:32:18,680
Speaker 2: in the Garden of Eden after Adam and Eve Sinn

647
00:32:18,720 --> 00:32:21,720
Speaker 2: were told in Genesis that access to that tree was lost.

648
00:32:22,080 --> 00:32:24,400
Speaker 2: But then you get to Revelation twenty two and the

649
00:32:24,440 --> 00:32:26,600
Speaker 2: Tree of Life it appears again. You're like, oh, wait,

650
00:32:26,640 --> 00:32:29,880
Speaker 2: it's here as well, and yet now it's freely accessible

651
00:32:29,880 --> 00:32:31,840
Speaker 2: to God's redeemed people forever.

652
00:32:33,160 --> 00:32:33,680
Speaker 1: How about this.

653
00:32:33,800 --> 00:32:35,400
Speaker 2: When you go back to the Book of Genesis, it

654
00:32:35,440 --> 00:32:39,800
Speaker 2: records humanity's first act of rebellion, and then you get

655
00:32:39,800 --> 00:32:44,280
Speaker 2: to the Book of Revelation and it records Sin's final defeat.

656
00:32:45,200 --> 00:32:45,960
Speaker 1: You see it end.

657
00:32:46,000 --> 00:32:51,680
Speaker 2: You see how it'll never deceive people any longer. Genesis

658
00:32:51,720 --> 00:32:56,200
Speaker 2: introduces Satan in the form of a serpent who deceives humanity,

659
00:32:56,960 --> 00:33:00,120
Speaker 2: but then Revelation reveals his final destination in the Lake.

660
00:33:00,080 --> 00:33:02,440
Speaker 1: Of Fire, where he will never deceive again.

661
00:33:03,800 --> 00:33:08,280
Speaker 2: Genesis announces the curse upon creation after Sin enters the world,

662
00:33:08,720 --> 00:33:13,080
Speaker 2: but then Revelation has a victorious declaration that says this

663
00:33:13,520 --> 00:33:15,080
Speaker 2: in verse three of chapter twenty two.

664
00:33:15,080 --> 00:33:16,880
Speaker 1: It says, no longer will.

665
00:33:16,680 --> 00:33:20,520
Speaker 2: There be anything accursed, No longer will there be anything

666
00:33:20,520 --> 00:33:20,840
Speaker 2: a curse.

667
00:33:20,880 --> 00:33:23,440
Speaker 1: So you see the curse completely reversed.

668
00:33:23,960 --> 00:33:29,880
Speaker 2: Genesis tells us that death entered humanity through Adam's sin.

669
00:33:30,880 --> 00:33:36,640
Speaker 2: Revelation promises us that death will be destroyed forever. Genesis

670
00:33:36,680 --> 00:33:41,520
Speaker 2: records humanity being driven out of God's presence, and then

671
00:33:41,600 --> 00:33:46,160
Speaker 2: Revelation celebrates God permanently dwelling with his people forever. You

672
00:33:46,200 --> 00:33:48,640
Speaker 2: see how all the loose ends. One at a time,

673
00:33:49,080 --> 00:33:53,200
Speaker 2: they just get chipped away. But most importantly, Genesis introduces

674
00:33:53,240 --> 00:33:56,280
Speaker 2: God's promise of redemption. In fact, right after Adam and

675
00:33:56,320 --> 00:33:58,800
Speaker 2: Eve sin, God declared that the offspring of the woman

676
00:33:58,840 --> 00:34:01,440
Speaker 2: would one day crush the serpent's head. It's found in

677
00:34:01,480 --> 00:34:04,960
Speaker 2: Genesis three point fifteen. Well, that promise points us directly

678
00:34:05,000 --> 00:34:08,640
Speaker 2: to Jesus Christ. And throughout the Old Testament, God continued

679
00:34:08,719 --> 00:34:12,319
Speaker 2: unfolding this plant, and we saw that plan unfolding through

680
00:34:12,360 --> 00:34:18,560
Speaker 2: covenants and sacrifices and feasts and kings and prophets and promises.

681
00:34:19,160 --> 00:34:21,680
Speaker 2: See the unfolding all throughout the Old Testament. Then you

682
00:34:21,719 --> 00:34:24,680
Speaker 2: get to the New Testament, and the gospels reveal Jesus

683
00:34:24,719 --> 00:34:28,000
Speaker 2: accomplishing redemption through his death and resurrection. And then you

684
00:34:28,040 --> 00:34:31,000
Speaker 2: get to the epistles, and the epistles explain what is

685
00:34:31,120 --> 00:34:34,359
Speaker 2: finished work means for the Church. And then you get

686
00:34:34,400 --> 00:34:36,120
Speaker 2: to the Book of Revelation and it gives us this

687
00:34:36,280 --> 00:34:40,360
Speaker 2: victorious conclusion, meaning the Lamb who is slain becomes the

688
00:34:40,400 --> 00:34:44,560
Speaker 2: reigning King, the suffering Savior becomes the conquering Lord, the

689
00:34:44,640 --> 00:34:49,839
Speaker 2: rejected Messiah becomes the universally worshiped king, the one who

690
00:34:49,920 --> 00:34:55,640
Speaker 2: wore a crown of thorns now wears many crowns. Every

691
00:34:55,680 --> 00:34:59,040
Speaker 2: promise that God ever made finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ.

692
00:35:00,160 --> 00:35:01,760
Speaker 2: We get to see that in the Book of Revelation.

693
00:35:02,320 --> 00:35:06,040
Speaker 2: So from Genesis to Revelation, the Bible's literally telling us

694
00:35:06,120 --> 00:35:07,440
Speaker 2: one unified story.

695
00:35:07,640 --> 00:35:08,920
Speaker 1: It's the same story.

696
00:35:09,000 --> 00:35:12,400
Speaker 2: It's being told to us in peaces all along the way.

697
00:35:12,960 --> 00:35:15,839
Speaker 2: You have the Father redeeming a people for himself through

698
00:35:15,880 --> 00:35:18,920
Speaker 2: the work of his son Jesus Christ, by the power

699
00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:23,800
Speaker 2: of the Holy Spirit. And it's a beautiful thing to witness,

700
00:35:23,880 --> 00:35:25,600
Speaker 2: and we get to see it all throughout the pages

701
00:35:25,600 --> 00:35:27,479
Speaker 2: of Scripture, and it resolves right here in the Book

702
00:35:27,480 --> 00:35:31,600
Speaker 2: of Revelation. But let me say this, I find all

703
00:35:31,600 --> 00:35:34,080
Speaker 2: of that fascinating. I hope that that's something that interests

704
00:35:34,120 --> 00:35:36,600
Speaker 2: you as well, because it's a helpful way to be

705
00:35:36,680 --> 00:35:39,759
Speaker 2: able to understand the totality of what Scripture is communicating.

706
00:35:40,400 --> 00:35:42,920
Speaker 2: But I also want to finish up this morning with

707
00:35:43,120 --> 00:35:47,319
Speaker 2: just a few words of encouragement, because I know it

708
00:35:47,320 --> 00:35:50,600
Speaker 2: can be very very easy to become discouraged when we

709
00:35:50,640 --> 00:35:51,759
Speaker 2: look at our world.

710
00:35:52,040 --> 00:35:52,840
Speaker 1: And I was even.

711
00:35:52,640 --> 00:35:56,720
Speaker 2: Listening earlier as John, our worship leader today, was praying

712
00:35:56,760 --> 00:35:59,680
Speaker 2: and just bringing up. You know the fact that there's

713
00:35:59,680 --> 00:36:02,239
Speaker 2: a lot of challenging things in this world. You've seen

714
00:36:02,280 --> 00:36:04,360
Speaker 2: a lot of challenging things in your own personal life.

715
00:36:04,719 --> 00:36:06,719
Speaker 2: We see a lot of things in this world. I

716
00:36:06,760 --> 00:36:08,560
Speaker 2: know it could be discouraging at times when you see

717
00:36:08,600 --> 00:36:12,560
Speaker 2: those things. You see war, you see evil, oftentimes looking

718
00:36:12,640 --> 00:36:17,000
Speaker 2: like it's prospering. Times we see various forms of injustice

719
00:36:17,040 --> 00:36:20,239
Speaker 2: that feels like it goes unanswered, or people treated unfairly.

720
00:36:20,800 --> 00:36:21,719
Speaker 1: And then you look at our.

721
00:36:21,640 --> 00:36:25,319
Speaker 2: Own lives and over the course of over the course

722
00:36:25,360 --> 00:36:28,560
Speaker 2: of our lives, we see sickness, we see disappointment, we

723
00:36:28,600 --> 00:36:32,040
Speaker 2: see grief, we see unanswered questions. There are trials that

724
00:36:32,120 --> 00:36:35,200
Speaker 2: sometimes stack one at a time. I can still remember

725
00:36:35,200 --> 00:36:39,200
Speaker 2: a time, maybe about twenty five thirty years ago, when

726
00:36:39,239 --> 00:36:42,279
Speaker 2: I just asked the I practically begged the Lord to

727
00:36:42,480 --> 00:36:45,600
Speaker 2: just give me a brief reprieve from trials that felt

728
00:36:45,680 --> 00:36:48,320
Speaker 2: like they were stacking. I was like, I feel like

729
00:36:48,360 --> 00:36:51,160
Speaker 2: these things are stacking so close together. Meanwhile, the Lord

730
00:36:51,200 --> 00:36:53,680
Speaker 2: was strengthening my faith, helping me to grow. But I

731
00:36:53,719 --> 00:36:56,040
Speaker 2: still remember how earnestly I prayed to him. I was like, Lord,

732
00:36:56,080 --> 00:36:58,000
Speaker 2: can you just give me a reprieve? Can I get

733
00:36:58,000 --> 00:37:00,920
Speaker 2: a break sometime soon, because these things are stacking. And

734
00:37:00,960 --> 00:37:02,880
Speaker 2: I know that sometimes when we look at day to

735
00:37:02,960 --> 00:37:05,080
Speaker 2: day life, it can be very easy sometimes to feel

736
00:37:05,120 --> 00:37:07,839
Speaker 2: a bit overwhelmed with those things, especially when those things

737
00:37:07,880 --> 00:37:11,080
Speaker 2: hit home and you've experienced tough things throughout the course

738
00:37:11,080 --> 00:37:12,520
Speaker 2: of your life, and some of you are going through

739
00:37:12,560 --> 00:37:15,880
Speaker 2: difficult things right now at present. I know, just yesterday

740
00:37:15,880 --> 00:37:18,400
Speaker 2: I read the post of a friend, A good friend,

741
00:37:18,440 --> 00:37:22,280
Speaker 2: but she's always so supremely negative online. You have friends

742
00:37:22,320 --> 00:37:23,960
Speaker 2: that you really like in real life, but you just

743
00:37:23,960 --> 00:37:26,080
Speaker 2: don't like the online version of This is one of

744
00:37:26,080 --> 00:37:26,560
Speaker 2: those friends.

745
00:37:26,600 --> 00:37:28,440
Speaker 1: I'm like, real life you is great.

746
00:37:29,160 --> 00:37:34,960
Speaker 2: Online you totally stinks, right, She's supremely negative. Everything she

747
00:37:35,080 --> 00:37:39,839
Speaker 2: shares is just all about I don't know everything that's wrong,

748
00:37:39,880 --> 00:37:42,000
Speaker 2: And I'm like, okay, some of that stuff is wrong,

749
00:37:42,000 --> 00:37:44,080
Speaker 2: But I think, do you ever think about anything else?

750
00:37:45,120 --> 00:37:47,560
Speaker 1: You never post about anything else, so I don't know.

751
00:37:47,560 --> 00:37:49,719
Speaker 1: I hope you think about other things. But I have

752
00:37:49,760 --> 00:37:51,040
Speaker 1: to tell you.

753
00:37:51,120 --> 00:37:53,479
Speaker 2: The Book of Revelation reminds us that none of those

754
00:37:53,520 --> 00:37:56,000
Speaker 2: things that bring your heart down get the final word.

755
00:37:56,960 --> 00:38:01,399
Speaker 2: No sickness, no trial, no severe grief. That is not

756
00:38:01,440 --> 00:38:03,920
Speaker 2: what gets the final word In your life. I know

757
00:38:03,960 --> 00:38:05,719
Speaker 2: you're going to go through seasons of those things, and

758
00:38:05,760 --> 00:38:07,399
Speaker 2: I know some of you are going through it right now,

759
00:38:07,640 --> 00:38:09,759
Speaker 2: but that is not what gets the final word. And

760
00:38:09,800 --> 00:38:11,520
Speaker 2: I hope that you're able to hear that. As we

761
00:38:11,560 --> 00:38:13,120
Speaker 2: look at a portion of scripture like this, you know

762
00:38:13,160 --> 00:38:14,320
Speaker 2: who gets the final word.

763
00:38:15,239 --> 00:38:16,000
Speaker 1: Jesus does.

764
00:38:16,560 --> 00:38:19,239
Speaker 2: He gets the final word. That's how the Book of

765
00:38:19,280 --> 00:38:24,760
Speaker 2: Revelation concludes, meaning our king isn't absent. Jesus isn't absent

766
00:38:24,800 --> 00:38:28,400
Speaker 2: from our lives. He's reigning right now from his heavenly throne.

767
00:38:28,440 --> 00:38:32,560
Speaker 2: Scripture reveals that every event in history unfolds under his

768
00:38:32,719 --> 00:38:35,040
Speaker 2: sovereign authority. That's what we've been seeing is we've been

769
00:38:35,040 --> 00:38:38,200
Speaker 2: working our way through this book. Nothing surprises him. Even

770
00:38:38,239 --> 00:38:41,200
Speaker 2: the things that surprise me and surprise you, nothing surprises

771
00:38:41,280 --> 00:38:43,719
Speaker 2: him and nothing can stop his plan. You know how

772
00:38:43,760 --> 00:38:46,799
Speaker 2: I know nothing surprises him. All the things that we're

773
00:38:46,840 --> 00:38:49,200
Speaker 2: told in the Book of Revelation, there's things that happen

774
00:38:49,280 --> 00:38:52,400
Speaker 2: before that that lead to those things. Well, if Jesus

775
00:38:52,440 --> 00:38:55,000
Speaker 2: is able to tell us those things and what's going

776
00:38:55,040 --> 00:38:58,000
Speaker 2: to happen, it must mean he knows everything that leads

777
00:38:58,080 --> 00:39:00,279
Speaker 2: up to that as well, which means he might be

778
00:39:00,320 --> 00:39:03,120
Speaker 2: in control of the whole story, even leading up to

779
00:39:03,160 --> 00:39:06,080
Speaker 2: the conclusion. If he's able to tell you the conclusion

780
00:39:06,160 --> 00:39:10,600
Speaker 2: and direct the conclusion and nothing can stop his plan.

781
00:39:10,640 --> 00:39:12,680
Speaker 2: And I think that should give us confidence if our

782
00:39:12,719 --> 00:39:15,120
Speaker 2: life ever goes through seasons, which it will, where things

783
00:39:15,120 --> 00:39:19,279
Speaker 2: feel a little bit uncertain or shaky or painful, just

784
00:39:19,320 --> 00:39:21,440
Speaker 2: look to the Word of God and what he's revealed

785
00:39:21,480 --> 00:39:25,000
Speaker 2: about his plan. I think revelation also reminds us in

786
00:39:25,040 --> 00:39:29,399
Speaker 2: a personal way that holiness should be our priority. Now

787
00:39:29,400 --> 00:39:31,120
Speaker 2: why am I saying that, And I'm not saying have

788
00:39:31,160 --> 00:39:33,960
Speaker 2: a holier I'm better than other people kind of mindset.

789
00:39:34,080 --> 00:39:36,600
Speaker 2: I'm just saying, reflect the heart and the character of

790
00:39:36,600 --> 00:39:38,080
Speaker 2: God in your day to day life.

791
00:39:38,200 --> 00:39:38,520
Speaker 1: Why.

792
00:39:38,680 --> 00:39:41,680
Speaker 2: Because eternity is real, and this is something that matters

793
00:39:41,719 --> 00:39:44,120
Speaker 2: to the Lord. Jesus is returning, and I have to

794
00:39:44,120 --> 00:39:46,200
Speaker 2: tell you he says he's coming soon.

795
00:39:46,440 --> 00:39:47,920
Speaker 1: Well, I don't know what you want to.

796
00:39:47,840 --> 00:39:51,920
Speaker 2: Be found doing when Christ returns, but when he returns,

797
00:39:52,160 --> 00:39:54,839
Speaker 2: I would like to be found faithfully serving him when

798
00:39:54,840 --> 00:39:58,440
Speaker 2: he comes, not going my own way, because it'd be

799
00:39:58,520 --> 00:40:00,400
Speaker 2: very easy for me to just go my own or

800
00:40:00,440 --> 00:40:02,239
Speaker 2: go the way of this world. I don't want that

801
00:40:02,280 --> 00:40:04,160
Speaker 2: to be the case. I want to be found faithfully

802
00:40:04,200 --> 00:40:08,200
Speaker 2: serving him when he returns. Now Again, our obedience doesn't

803
00:40:08,239 --> 00:40:11,840
Speaker 2: earn his love. But what our obedience does is basically

804
00:40:11,880 --> 00:40:14,640
Speaker 2: it flows from hearts that have already received his grace.

805
00:40:14,680 --> 00:40:16,799
Speaker 2: And it's a way of saying, Lord, you've been so

806
00:40:17,000 --> 00:40:20,000
Speaker 2: good to me, I'm truly going to honor you with

807
00:40:20,040 --> 00:40:22,319
Speaker 2: the life that you've blessed me with to begin with.

808
00:40:23,040 --> 00:40:24,919
Speaker 2: And when you look at this final chapter, it also

809
00:40:25,040 --> 00:40:30,120
Speaker 2: encourages us to keep inviting others to Christ until Christ returns.

810
00:40:30,160 --> 00:40:33,320
Speaker 2: That invitation remains open again. In verse seventeen, the spirit

811
00:40:33,360 --> 00:40:37,760
Speaker 2: and the bride say what come, come, meaning the invitation

812
00:40:37,920 --> 00:40:41,960
Speaker 2: is still open. So tell others about the fact that

813
00:40:42,040 --> 00:40:44,560
Speaker 2: Jesus has made himself available to them, the fact that

814
00:40:44,600 --> 00:40:48,480
Speaker 2: he desires to quench the thirst of their soul. Someone

815
00:40:48,560 --> 00:40:55,040
Speaker 2: you know, maybe many people you know, are spiritually thirsty today.

816
00:40:55,160 --> 00:40:58,280
Speaker 2: You know some spiritually thirsty people. I know some spiritually

817
00:40:58,320 --> 00:41:01,399
Speaker 2: thirsty people. They may be searching for meaning. They may

818
00:41:01,400 --> 00:41:04,520
Speaker 2: be searching for forgiveness, they may be searching for hope.

819
00:41:04,560 --> 00:41:07,640
Speaker 2: They may be searching for peace or comfort. Well, the

820
00:41:07,680 --> 00:41:10,480
Speaker 2: answer to those things isn't found in worldly success. It

821
00:41:10,520 --> 00:41:13,400
Speaker 2: isn't found in possessions. It isn't found in the glut

822
00:41:13,520 --> 00:41:17,239
Speaker 2: of self improvement books that come out, you know, every

823
00:41:17,600 --> 00:41:19,719
Speaker 2: two minutes or something telling us how we and our

824
00:41:19,719 --> 00:41:23,160
Speaker 2: own strength can improve ourselves. That's not where where ultimate

825
00:41:23,960 --> 00:41:29,080
Speaker 2: satisfaction is found, ultimate peace. Ultimate satisfaction is found in

826
00:41:29,200 --> 00:41:31,960
Speaker 2: Jesus Christ, who freely gives the water of life to

827
00:41:32,000 --> 00:41:34,720
Speaker 2: everyone who believes in him. He will satisfy the thirst

828
00:41:35,200 --> 00:41:38,400
Speaker 2: of our thirsty souls. And again, the Book of Revelation,

829
00:41:38,520 --> 00:41:40,399
Speaker 2: in the midst of all of that, does one other

830
00:41:40,440 --> 00:41:44,279
Speaker 2: thing for us, and it teaches us to live with anticipation,

831
00:41:45,560 --> 00:41:48,400
Speaker 2: meaning that as you think forward to the future, don't

832
00:41:48,400 --> 00:41:51,759
Speaker 2: think about the future with dread. Don't go through your

833
00:41:51,800 --> 00:41:54,680
Speaker 2: life dreading the future. Many people go through life dreading

834
00:41:54,760 --> 00:41:57,480
Speaker 2: the future. Don't dread the future. The early Church, by

835
00:41:57,480 --> 00:41:59,120
Speaker 2: the way, when they would greet one another, they would

836
00:41:59,160 --> 00:42:01,480
Speaker 2: do so with the xpect that Christ could return at

837
00:42:01,520 --> 00:42:04,200
Speaker 2: any time, even impacted the way they'd greet one another.

838
00:42:04,239 --> 00:42:08,359
Speaker 2: Their hope wasn't rooted in changing political situations. Their hope

839
00:42:08,360 --> 00:42:11,759
Speaker 2: wasn't rooted in cultural trends. Whichever direction it felt like

840
00:42:11,760 --> 00:42:15,040
Speaker 2: the cultural winds were going. Their hope rested in the

841
00:42:15,080 --> 00:42:17,840
Speaker 2: coming King, and that same hope is something that you

842
00:42:17,920 --> 00:42:20,400
Speaker 2: and I have through Jesus Christ as well, because one

843
00:42:20,480 --> 00:42:24,200
Speaker 2: day every prayer will be answered, every injustice will be

844
00:42:24,280 --> 00:42:28,640
Speaker 2: made right, every tear will be wiped away, every promise

845
00:42:28,680 --> 00:42:33,520
Speaker 2: will be fulfilled, every enemy will be defeated, every believer

846
00:42:33,920 --> 00:42:35,200
Speaker 2: will be safely home.

847
00:42:35,520 --> 00:42:37,799
Speaker 1: And until that day, this is what we do.

848
00:42:38,120 --> 00:42:41,680
Speaker 2: We keep trusting, we keep serving, we keep worshiping, and

849
00:42:41,719 --> 00:42:44,799
Speaker 2: we keep proclaiming the Gospel because we know where this

850
00:42:45,000 --> 00:42:48,880
Speaker 2: all is going. We know where this is headed. Scriptures

851
00:42:48,880 --> 00:42:52,279
Speaker 2: made it very clear. So the Bible ends basically where

852
00:42:52,280 --> 00:42:58,040
Speaker 2: our hearts should remain fixed. Jesus says, what surely I

853
00:42:58,080 --> 00:43:03,560
Speaker 2: am coming soon. Surely I Am coming soon, and every

854
00:43:03,600 --> 00:43:09,720
Speaker 2: believer can joyfully answer with the apostle John, Amen, Come Lord, Jesus,

855
00:43:10,840 --> 00:43:11,840
Speaker 2: Come Lord Jesus.

856
00:43:13,160 --> 00:43:19,160
Speaker 1: That's our prayer. Let's pray. Father.

857
00:43:19,239 --> 00:43:21,719
Speaker 2: We are so so thankful that we could look at

858
00:43:21,760 --> 00:43:24,759
Speaker 2: a portion of scripture like this today, that we could

859
00:43:24,760 --> 00:43:28,359
Speaker 2: look at the totality of the Book of Revelation and

860
00:43:28,520 --> 00:43:32,319
Speaker 2: we can rejoice over the things that You've revealed to us.

861
00:43:33,200 --> 00:43:33,439
Speaker 1: Lord.

862
00:43:33,440 --> 00:43:36,600
Speaker 2: We're just so grateful for the fact that everything we've

863
00:43:36,680 --> 00:43:41,279
Speaker 2: ever marred, everything we've ever damaged, everything that we've ever

864
00:43:41,320 --> 00:43:43,800
Speaker 2: taken in a direction that was unhealthy or unholy.

865
00:43:44,880 --> 00:43:49,440
Speaker 1: You show us that you're going to restore all things. Lord.

866
00:43:49,440 --> 00:43:50,759
Speaker 1: We're just so grateful for that.

867
00:43:51,280 --> 00:43:53,640
Speaker 2: We're so grateful that in the midst of hard seasons,

868
00:43:53,640 --> 00:43:56,560
Speaker 2: you've given us so much to look forward to. Lord,

869
00:43:56,600 --> 00:43:59,120
Speaker 2: you lift our hearts up, You make us hopeful, you

870
00:43:59,200 --> 00:44:05,400
Speaker 2: make us joyful. And it's not because of circumstantial type things.

871
00:44:05,440 --> 00:44:08,640
Speaker 2: It's not just a circumstantial happiness that so many people

872
00:44:08,680 --> 00:44:11,320
Speaker 2: get just so wrapped around in their mind.

873
00:44:11,719 --> 00:44:11,879
Speaker 1: Lord.

874
00:44:11,920 --> 00:44:13,440
Speaker 2: There are many people that we know in our day

875
00:44:13,480 --> 00:44:15,520
Speaker 2: to day lives who think that their souls are going

876
00:44:15,520 --> 00:44:19,239
Speaker 2: to feel some level of satisfaction through temporary things, things

877
00:44:19,239 --> 00:44:23,480
Speaker 2: that can be taken away from them, jobs, careers, successes, finances,

878
00:44:23,960 --> 00:44:27,959
Speaker 2: perfect weather, any of those things. None of those things

879
00:44:27,960 --> 00:44:31,000
Speaker 2: can satisfy the soul. Those things can be nice things,

880
00:44:31,000 --> 00:44:35,479
Speaker 2: but they have a temporary capacity, they have an expiration date.

881
00:44:35,960 --> 00:44:38,160
Speaker 2: But the hope that you offer through your son Jesus

882
00:44:38,239 --> 00:44:40,000
Speaker 2: Christ has no expiration date.

883
00:44:40,480 --> 00:44:42,480
Speaker 1: And anyone who recognizes.

884
00:44:41,880 --> 00:44:44,600
Speaker 2: The spiritual thirst within their soul is invited to come

885
00:44:44,640 --> 00:44:48,719
Speaker 2: to you through your son Jesus Christ, the longing of

886
00:44:48,760 --> 00:44:52,480
Speaker 2: our soul is satisfied through him. So, Father, through the

887
00:44:52,520 --> 00:44:54,399
Speaker 2: power of your Holy Spirit, we pray that you would

888
00:44:54,440 --> 00:44:56,359
Speaker 2: draw us unto you. We pray that you'd help us

889
00:44:56,360 --> 00:44:59,080
Speaker 2: to be reminded of the hope that you've revealed to

890
00:44:59,160 --> 00:45:01,600
Speaker 2: us in your word. We pray that we would be

891
00:45:01,640 --> 00:45:04,440
Speaker 2: men and women who truly live a hopeful and expectant

892
00:45:04,600 --> 00:45:07,759
Speaker 2: life because we look forward to the fact that you're

893
00:45:07,760 --> 00:45:10,120
Speaker 2: going to fulfill everything just as you said you will.

894
00:45:10,520 --> 00:45:12,320
Speaker 1: You've already fulfilled so much. Lord.

895
00:45:12,800 --> 00:45:15,080
Speaker 2: We go through the other prophecies of scripture, we see

896
00:45:15,120 --> 00:45:16,880
Speaker 2: all the different things in the Old Testament that you

897
00:45:16,960 --> 00:45:19,440
Speaker 2: revealed to us we're going to be fulfilled. And then

898
00:45:19,440 --> 00:45:21,640
Speaker 2: we've seen the fulfillment of so many of these things.

899
00:45:21,680 --> 00:45:24,000
Speaker 2: And now you've given us additional prophecies, and you say

900
00:45:24,120 --> 00:45:26,279
Speaker 2: they're going to happen soon. There's going to be a

901
00:45:26,360 --> 00:45:28,560
Speaker 2: day when we look back at these things and say, yeah,

902
00:45:28,640 --> 00:45:32,640
Speaker 2: it's already happened. We're here, We're at the day just

903
00:45:32,680 --> 00:45:35,440
Speaker 2: as the Lord promised. Father, we thank you for the

904
00:45:35,440 --> 00:45:37,239
Speaker 2: fact that you've told us in your word that you

905
00:45:37,280 --> 00:45:39,799
Speaker 2: want us close to you, not at a distance from

906
00:45:39,840 --> 00:45:43,680
Speaker 2: you that you desire to dwell with us, that you

907
00:45:43,840 --> 00:45:47,360
Speaker 2: desire that we dwell with you in a perfect setting

908
00:45:47,400 --> 00:45:48,520
Speaker 2: and a perfect creation.

909
00:45:49,600 --> 00:45:50,839
Speaker 1: Father, thank you.

910
00:45:50,880 --> 00:45:52,960
Speaker 2: So much that that's the future that you hold out

911
00:45:53,000 --> 00:45:56,560
Speaker 2: for us. That's what you've given me to look forward to.

912
00:45:56,600 --> 00:45:58,400
Speaker 2: That that's what you've given each of us who know you,

913
00:45:58,800 --> 00:46:01,200
Speaker 2: to look forward to. We pray that you'd make our

914
00:46:01,239 --> 00:46:03,279
Speaker 2: trust in you strong. We pray that you would help

915
00:46:03,360 --> 00:46:05,880
Speaker 2: us day by day to live as men and women

916
00:46:05,960 --> 00:46:08,680
Speaker 2: who are not trying to earn your approval. We know

917
00:46:08,760 --> 00:46:11,000
Speaker 2: that that's not how your approval is received. That's a

918
00:46:11,000 --> 00:46:15,200
Speaker 2: matter of grace. We receive your favor by grace through faith.

919
00:46:15,280 --> 00:46:17,440
Speaker 2: We know that that salvation is a matter of you

920
00:46:17,640 --> 00:46:20,760
Speaker 2: choosing to give it to us Lord as a gift,

921
00:46:20,880 --> 00:46:24,120
Speaker 2: and we receive that gift by faith. But Father, I

922
00:46:24,200 --> 00:46:26,080
Speaker 2: want you to be able to look at my life

923
00:46:26,600 --> 00:46:28,480
Speaker 2: and I want you to see a man who is

924
00:46:28,600 --> 00:46:33,520
Speaker 2: so so thankful for the fact that you have rescued

925
00:46:33,600 --> 00:46:36,920
Speaker 2: and redeemed me, for the fact that you walk beside me,

926
00:46:37,040 --> 00:46:39,000
Speaker 2: for the fact that you guide me every day of

927
00:46:39,000 --> 00:46:42,000
Speaker 2: my life, and you show me things that I would

928
00:46:42,040 --> 00:46:45,440
Speaker 2: not naturally see. And I want my life to be

929
00:46:45,480 --> 00:46:49,200
Speaker 2: lived to say I thank you, Lord, and Lord, I

930
00:46:49,280 --> 00:46:52,080
Speaker 2: say that in a personal way, But Lord, I'm speaking

931
00:46:52,120 --> 00:46:54,879
Speaker 2: on behalf of each of us. Lord, that is our

932
00:46:55,280 --> 00:47:00,719
Speaker 2: collective desire as a church family, that our lives demonstrate

933
00:47:00,800 --> 00:47:04,719
Speaker 2: just how thankful we are for who you are and

934
00:47:04,760 --> 00:47:08,239
Speaker 2: for how you operate in our lives. Again, Lord, thank

935
00:47:08,239 --> 00:47:10,600
Speaker 2: you for revealing these things to us in your word.

936
00:47:11,160 --> 00:47:14,279
Speaker 2: We pray that we would just experience the joy of

937
00:47:14,400 --> 00:47:17,680
Speaker 2: knowing you each and every day, and we praise you,

938
00:47:17,800 --> 00:47:20,520
Speaker 2: Lord for all that you hold in store with joy.

939
00:47:20,880 --> 00:47:23,600
Speaker 2: We look forward to everything that comes next, and we

940
00:47:23,680 --> 00:47:25,879
Speaker 2: pray this all in Jesus' name.

941
00:47:27,760 --> 00:47:28,120
Speaker 1: Amen.