One of the Best Reasons for Reading The Book of Revelation

Revelation 1:1-8 ~ "The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testifies to everything he saw - that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near. 

John, 

To the seven churches in the providence of Asia:

Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. 

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father - to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen. 

Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen. 

"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty." (NIV).

Picking back up from our study from Friday, we have learned the reasons why Jesus must come back. In these references from Scripture, just in the first chapter of Revelation, there are eight references to Jesus Christ alone.


In Revelation 1:5, He is the faithful witness and the firstborn from the dead. In verse 8, He is the Alpha and Omega, the One who was, who is, and who is to come, the Almighty!

The book of Revelation is amazing in that it contains it's own outline. In Revelation 1:19, it says, "Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this." So there are three sections to the Book of Revelation.

1. There are things which are seen. That is what John describes in Chapter 1 as he views the glorious and resurrected Christ who is in complete control of everything that is about to happen.

2. There are the things which are. This is a reference to the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3. This describes not on the seven real churches but gives us a chronological look at church history from the beginning up to the present day.

3. There are the things that are after these things. These are the future events to follow that are found in Chapters 4 to 22. It is this simple outline that gives us a brief overview of the contents of the Book of Revelation.

Another unique thing about the Book of Revelation it is the only book that was sent and delivered by angels. In Revelation 22:16, "I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches." In fact, Revelation is full of angels from beginning to end, and appear in every chapter with the exception of chapters 4 and 13. This book was given from Jesus through the angel to the apostle John.

John was one of the three special disciples who was often singled out from the rest along with Peter and John on special missions, to witness the glory of Jesus on the hilltop along with Moses and Elijah, as well as being asked to pray with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. John was the only one who stood at the foot of the cross when Jesus was being crucified along with Mary, Jesus's mother. At one point, Jesus sets aside a special task to John from the cross, when he says to John, "Behold your mother!" The Bible clearly states that from that moment, John took her home and cared for her in John 19:27.

When they were told the tomb was empty, both Peter and John ran to the tomb, and John arrived first. He was the one to look in and saw the tomb was empty and the grave clothes folded where the body had been but the body of Jesus was gone. We read that he saw and believed. He seems to be a bit more spiritually perceptive and was always close to Jesus, calling himself, "the disciple that Jesus loved." He was the one leaning his head on Jesus during the last supper, perhaps as not to miss a single word Jesus was saying. After Christ, had risen from the dead and was calling them from the shore while they were on the boat fishing, it was John who realized it was Jesus, and said, "It is the Lord!" (John 21:7).

We know that Patmos was not the tropical island location but it was cold, windy and barren. This was during a time when the church was facing extreme persecution in the Roman Empire. It began with emperor Nero and continued with other emperors, most notably Diocletian. Many believers were losing their lives and families were being torn apart as they were arrested, imprisoned, tortured or put to death in the Coliseum.

They thought that by exiling him to the island of Patmos, they would never hear from him again. It was on this wind swept island that God gave the incredible revelation to John which is contained in the book of Revelation. In many ways the Book of Revelation reads like an action-packed thriller. If you love a great novel, you will love this book. It has drama, suspense, warfare, horror and mystery. It contains rebellion, unprecedented economic collapse, and the ultimate war of all wars in the world. But is also a book of hope and joy and comes with a dramatic climax where sin and death are destroyed forever and those of us that believe in Jesus Christ will live with Him forever. It reminds us that we win in the end, and there is no better hope than that.

Revelation 21: 3-4 ~ "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." 

When we read in verse 3 of the special blessing that accompanies those who reads, hears and keeps the words of the book, we need to understand what that means.

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

In order to receive the promised blessing you must:

1. You must read it. By the way the term in the Greek for "read: means to read it out loud. Sometimes when we read it out loud when hear it with our ears and it becomes not just words on a page. We hear it as well as read it. The impact on retaining this is much greater when you do that.

2. You must hear the words of this prophecy. Jesus would often say, "He who has ears, let him hear!" If the Holy Spirit opens your spiritual eyes and ears to see and hear what the Word is saying, it will make all the difference in the world.

3. You must keep it. It means keeping the truths of what you read. It means applying these truths to the way we live our life. It should motivate us to live our lives in anticipation that Jesus could be coming at any time and thus we should be doing the work He has called each of us to do. The reason we want to learn about the future is to help us live right in the present.

So what can we learn from Chapter 1? First of all Revelation reveals that the events of the last days are closely linked. Verse one speaks of "things that must shortly take place." or better stated might be, what must happen rapidly. Some might argue that this book was written over 2000 years ago, so how is this rapidly beginning to happen. But John wasn't referring to how quickly these events would happen in his lifetime, but once they happen, whenever that is, it will be in rapid succession. In other words, once the first domino falls, the rest fall in succession quickly.

Verse 5, speaks of Jesus Christ, the faithful witness. Who better to reveal Himself to us than Jesus? It means that He is the faithful witness, there is no lies about who He is, He is 100% authentic and true. It is followed up by "to Him who loved us," or better stated, "to Him who always keeps on loving us." There are some who believe we must do something in order to earn our way into Heaven, but this is not the case. God loves you the way you are, defects and all. He knows you intimately inside and out.

Jeremiah 31:3 ~ "I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with loving kindness I have drawn you." (NIV). 

What a contrast between the love Jesus has for us, and the love we find in our culture today. The world's love in conditional based, if you are pretty enough, popular, wealthy enough. God loves you when you are unknown and a complete nobody. God loves you when you are penniless and weak, offering nothing in this world. The world loves the extraordinary while God loves the ordinary. He showed this kind of love for us by his death,

"Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends." ~ John 15:13. 

Jesus showed us this kind of love which brings us back to verse 5, in Revelation 1, "He washed us from our sins in His own blood." Did you notice the past tense "washed?" Meaning it has been done. He paid the price for all of our sins, past, present and future. There is no other option in this world for someone to forgive you of everything you have ever done, are doing or will do in the future. No other god offers the power to forgive all sins, based on a love for us, like Jesus.

Tomorrow, we will pick back up with our study and detail Jesus's arrival in the clouds, how the entire world will see him and that Jesus is in fact God incarnate and that this chapter of Revelation is the only book in the Bible where we get a detailed description of what Jesus looks like. Hope you will join me tomorrow.

Following the Lamb Wherever He Goes!

Ezekiel promises that in the last days the Jewish people will be brought back into their homeland in unbelief. In fact, if you go to Israel today, many Jews there today will tell you that they don't believe in God. How is that? Their argument is "Where was God during the Holocaust? So their argument isn't that they don't believe in God, they just don't agree with how He is running things. That's a convoluted declaration of faith in God. However the Holocaust was defined in Deuteronomy 28 where God told Israel what would happen if they disobeyed and it happened exactly as prophesied.

The People of the Vision - The Evangelists of God are the 144,000.

Revelation 14:1 ~ "Then I looked, and thee before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads."

Let us look at who the 144,000 are NOT.

If you have heard of the holiness movements or holiness groups, a group of special highly evolved people of God, super saints if you will, who live a life dedicated to God, and if you're lucky they'll let you fellowship with their group or meeting to see if you're worthy enough. This is a legalistic self righteous group of 3-10 people who are not the 144,000 spoken of in the Bible.

They are not the 7th Day Adventists who believe that if Jesus comes back on a Saturday, this will be the group he comes for, because they only worship God on Saturday. If you worship God on any other day of the week, you have received the mark of the beast and you're a devil worshiper. Only those who are found worshiping on Saturday will be selected to be the 144.000.

They are NOT Jehovah's Witnesses. This is a watch tower society that believed that each of them were part of the 144,000 until the numbers grew too large. When that happened, they believed that Jesus has come back already. Next time you see one, ask them what tribe they are from.

Revelation 7 and Revelation 14 tells us exactly who these people are. There will be 12,000 from each of the tribes of Israel listed in Revelation 7. They have not defiled themselves with women, so they are virgins. They are men only. They have been sealed by God. They are Jewish men who speak Hebrew and their hearts are pure for God.

This being sealed, means that God has sealed us as Christians if you're saved and born again.

2 Corinthians 1:21-22 ~ "And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee."

Every believer of Christ, has been sealed by God. Born again, sealed by the Holy Spirit. Your belief has lead you to faith in Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 1:13-14 ~ "In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory!"

This means the Holy Spirit lives in the believer of Jesus Christ. We are guaranteed a home in heaven! You can't lose your salvation! You can't be a zip-lock baggy Christian. Sealed one day, unsealed the next. You can't be unborn again! Sheep can't turn into goats. You just need to rest in your assurance that if you are truly saved and your faith is in Jesus Christ, rest in your salvation as a sealed believer. Stop second guessing yourself everytime there is an altar call. If you feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit working in your life when you're about to do something you know you shouldn't. You're a believer in Christ. Just start paying attention more and become obedient to what He is asking you to do.

The Practice - The Worshiper of God.

Revelation 14:2-5 ~ "And I heard a voice from heaven like the roar of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps, and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb, and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless." 

It is easy to spot an unhealthy Christian.
Worship is not a priority in their life. They haven't sang the Lord a song in a long time. They don't have a balanced spiritual diet.

They were godly men = ones who were not defiled with women.
They were set apart to God = for they are virgins.
They were uniquely born-again Jews = being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb.
They were holy people = and in their mouth was found no deceit, for they are without fault before the throne of God.

These verses deal with the Second Coming of Jesus Christ who will come back to sit on the throne of David on Mount Zion after the Tribulation.

These 144,000 men were holy. To follow the Lamb wherever He goes. What does being holy mean?

They were willing to follow the Lamb wherever He goes. To say with certainty that you have had a life-changing encounter with Jesus Christ.

Holiness means: the way you conduct yourself around your neighbors, the way you treat your kids is the way Jesus would treat them; the way you conduct business is the way Jesus would conduct it; that you can hear an internal voice that is not your own, leading you.

We are in the time of the quickening, just before a woman gives birth, there are signs the labor is progressing and that is where we are at today in the world.

There are more frequent earthquakes happening all around the world.
There is a breakdown of lawlessness in the world.
There is growing antisemitism
There is a growing hatred towards the nation of Israel.
Jerusalem is the hot spot on the world.
There is a rise in persecution of Christians around the world
There are beheadings happening.

You can't deny the facts, the time is growing short.

The Enemy Comes With A False Alternative to the Truth!

Before we head into Chapter 6 of the Book of Revelation, a transition has taken place. Let us recap in case you are just joining us today. We have learned up to this point about the revelation of Jesus Christ and His love for us, we have learned about His instruction for the church and what heaven is going to be like regarding worship that is beautiful, challenging, exciting, and personal. From Chapter 6 on out to Chapter 19, the vantage point is solely from heaven looking down on the earth, it is bloody. It is the wrath of God. It is the punishment of the earth for their sins. It is man gone crazy. It is evil unchecked. Chapter 6 through Chapter 19 is the Great Tribulation period. It is horrific and it all begins with the first rider in the famous four horsemen of the apocalypse. We now meet the first rider. This is a time yet coming for all of us. But the question is, will you be here on earth or will you be with us, looking down from heaven?

For some of you that have been following, we are getting into the Great Tribulation and you really want to hear more about this stuff. The dynamic about the Christian faith is that we do not worship some dead God or some token religion. But the fact of the matter is our Lord is risen, He is alive and His book, His love letters given to us in the Bible. In Revelation 5, we saw the glories of heaven and the worship that was taking place there. We saw those whom Christ has purchased through His blood and redeemed by every kindred tribe, tongue, nation and people. They have been raptured up into heaven. Now we come to Chapter 6, where the Tribulation Period begins. It covers all 7 years of it all the way to Chapter 19 around verse 11. The bulk of it, is the last 3 1/2 years of the Tribulation period. By the time we get to the end of the Book of Revelation, you should be an expert on the End Time Events!

We are going to set the plow today to begin to dig in deep into the Scriptures so you might want to gather together your Bible and something to write down what you have learned alongside your Scriptures for easy reference.

Revelation 6:1-2 ~ "I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, "Come!" I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest."

This is the first of the four riders of the apocalypse and we will be spending some time really studying what they mean, what they are carrying and what it means for the inhabitants of the world. The first rider comes with the loosening of the first seal. Now remember that Jesus Christ was the only one found in heaven, on earth and under the earth, in all the created world both spiritual and physical,  to be worthy to take the scroll and open the seven seals. The word "worthy" meant that Jesus had met all the requirements necessary to take the scroll from God the Father, the Lamb of God, the Root of David. He was the only One to be found worthy to open the seven seals. Once He opens one, He will continue until they are all opened. This all takes place in a very short period of time. Once it begins, it will run its successive course. Once the seven year Tribulation period begins, yet one day in the future, and it will be so clear that those living then, will be able to mark their calendars and count the days as 7 years begins to the day. It will go 7 full years without stopping or pausing, without hesitation, without a comma, until Christ returns in the Second Coming.

We may all remember in high school or college, being on a time table. We enter high school on one day and will graduate on another. It may be two years or four years but there is a predetermined time table that must be followed to go from the beginning all the way to the end. We will have met all the requirements and all that needed to happen to graduate and be free from those institutions. As we approach graduation, there is an increase in the tests, exams and effort. There are finals we have to go through, and we have had to go through all those years to get to the point where we can finally graduate. We have met all the requirements.

The seven year Tribulation Period  must happen, it will happen, because all the requirements in both the Old and New Testament describe, must take place. When it comes to the prophetic Word of God, let alone all the other portions of the Bible, when we fail to take these Scriptures literally, unless otherwise specified by the Bible, we often wind up being in error. Most of the mistakes we often make is when we don't take the Bible literal enough. For example when Jesus says, "All those who come to Me, I will no wise cast out." What does that mean? It means that all those who turn to Him, He will not turn away! When He says, "You must be born again to enter the kingdom of heaven," what do you think He meant? If you keep reading John 3, He tells you exactly what He means. God is not mysterious in that He withholds all the information that we need. He gives us all what we need to know. He's a great God!

So in regards to the time table in your life, you are coming to a predetermined graduation so to speak, and so is this world, by the way, everything, politics, economy, ecological issues, are all marching forward in a predetermined moment of time in the mind of God. That is kind of eerie in one point but awesome in another. I don't know what tomorrow holds, but I know who holds tomorrow! We often feel that God is not on time. "Where is that predetermined moment in my life?" God is never early and He is never late. He is always on time and God's prophetic Word is one of those truths, about that.

In Chapter 6, this view is from heaven because the church is no longer mentioned from Revelation 4:1 on earth, until it comes back to earth from heaven with Jesus Christ in Revelation 19. That is significant with all the efforts put forth in chapters 2 and 3 of Revelation, regarding the church on the earth, now there is no church on the earth, and we shall see some of the reasons why as we go further into our study. The events of the 7 Year Great Tribulation Period is those 7 literal years that will usher in the return of Jesus Christ to the earth, in what is called the Second Coming.

These seven years or the seven year time table, is a time reserved specifically by God for global judgments and God's revisitation upon the nation of Israel. Make note of that.You may think Israel is out of the picture, but Israel is in the picture! The Bible tells us that God will re-establish the nation of Israel in the last days, and He will come and visit His people. The nation of Israel must be established and on the earth before the Second Coming of Christ. The 7 year period of the Tribulation deals with God's judgment on the earth for a Christ rejecting world, and the re-establishment and the redemption of the nation of Israel! This is very important. Always keep your eye on Israel! Up until May 14, 1948, we didn't have an Israel to look at. According to the Scriptures of Isaiah 66 and the United Nations, on May 14, 1948, Israel was born as a nation a second time in one day.

The Bible speaks of these 7 years that are coming. They will be commencing on a very specific and certain day. It's a day the Bible tells us that a peace treaty will begin with Israel and its surrounding neighbors, which just so happens are their enemies. When the peace treaty commences, there will be a date when its signed, and does anyone know how long that peace treaty will last in a contract form? 7 years! But in the middle of that time, the man who forges that agreement, breaks that agreement in 3 1/2 years! It will take place with the nation of Israel, not any other nation. This is what the Bible said would happen thousands of years ago! That day will commence a very terrible moment in time! That Jesus said would be unlike any other time on the earth, and unless He shortens those days, no flesh would remain upon the earth. Jesus said, "it will be a time of such tribulation nor shall ever be in the world."

In other words, it will make the Holocaust look like a picnic. One man, the Bible says, will be the one who instigates this process that will lead to earth's last attempt to govern itself in human politics, and that man, the Bible refers to him as the son of Perdition, the beast, the worthless shepherd, and in Zechariah, the Bible refers to him as the Antichrist.

As we look around in the world today, where the Bible says this man will come into the world, seeing and riding on the back of another beast called a religious beast. He will use that pseudo false church system and will come out of the old ancient Roman Empire, and he will come and use religion as a tool. At some point, he will discard that false religious system, and the Bible says, he will stand in Jerusalem in the temple and declare himself to be God, and the world will marvel and worship him.

What I find very interesting about that is even now people have been working and have spent tens of millions of dollars reconstructing the tools and the devices, that they believe will be used in the coming temple of their Messiah. They have already completed the menorah they plan on using that stands four feet tall, made of solid precious metal. It's under lock and key and they are waiting, they have tracked and trace men in their lineage of Levites, to be priests and make offerings and sacrifices because they believe their Messiah is soon to come. The problem is that the Bible says, the Messiah that they are going to receive will come riding upon a white horse. You might say, well what is wrong with that? The Bible says that Jesus will come riding on a white horse? It is not Jesus Christ, but the Antichrist. It is the one that is a false representation of the Messiah!

Revelation 1:17-19 ~ "When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades. Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now, and what will take place later."

We learned that when He (Jesus) told John to "write the thing you have seen", that is in reference to Chapter 1 of the Book of Revelation, "what is now," that is in reference to Chapters 2 and 3 and "what will take place later." is in reference from Chapter 4 until the end of the Book of Revelation.

The first rider of the apocalypse brings the advent of evil in human flesh. This man will be unlike Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Hussein, and unlike them he will have success in what he plans to take place on the world. There are powers that are sinister and dark that are moving toward the reception of this man. I believe this man is alive in the world today somewhere, biding his time. I believe he is coming. He may be in his 30's, 40's, or 50's, I don't know, but I believe this Antichrist figure is alive. When he comes, the Bible tells us in the book of Daniel and Revelation, how specifically he arises. He will be evil personified. He will be the son of Satan.

As we go from chapter 6 to 19, keep this in mind, that Satan will always attempt to mimic what God has already given. As we have read in the Bible, we read that God told Moses to thrown down his staff and it would become like a serpent. Remember that? What did Pharoah's magicians do? Same thing. They mimicked back and forth, these miracles of God until they reached a point where their gods were exposed. Satan is always mimicking. He can not create anything new. When Solomon said there is nothing new under the sun, that applies to Satan too! He creates nothing! He only steals and manipulates, that which exists. He steals. He rips off. He does that in people's lives. Jesus says "he is the father of lies." The only thing he has ever produced is false lies. Because whenever there is the truth, he comes with a false alternative. He always comes in our life, trying to offer a false alternative.

From Chapter 6 to Chapter 19, these are the chapters in the Book of Revelation that no one wants to read. This is the reason why most people say they won't read the Book of Revelation. It shouldn't be the case. Each of us has the opportunity to choose where we will be viewing this from. If you make the right choice, Jesus being THAT choice, none of this will be yours to inherit. If you just listen to the Word of God, this is heavy stuff, because you don't get these in churches very often. The church in America today is messed up because it has been playing church for far too long. We need to get right with God and get back to the Bible! The first step in doing that is found in John's gospel, where he said, "Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world." Jesus Christ is your literal ticket to heaven. It's not your smile, your wealth, not your achievements or righteousness, that is all garbage to God. It's what Jesus has done! That is why at the base of the cross, everyone comes at equal footing. Rich man, poor man, beggar, thief. We all come to Him in need of His blood, which He shed upon the cross, Jesus died for us.

If you say to Him, wherever you are at right now, "Jesus save me! Jesus I love You today for what You have done for me. You died on the cross, You rose again from the dead, I declare You today and I receive You today, as my Lord and Savior!"