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All right Revelation chapter 1 verse number 1 says the revelation of Jesus Christ the title of the sermon this morning is the revelation of Jesus Christ and then it continues by saying which God gave unto him to show which God gave unto who to Jesus. So you can see that this doctrine this book comes from the father has been given to the son and it says to show unto his servants that's that's you and me. Okay we are the servants of our Lord Jesus Christ to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John. So let's start off with chapter 1 verse number 1 very quickly the father gives this revelation to his son the son then also it says and he sent and signified by his angel so his son also has an angel which then gives that unto his servant John that's John the apostle and then John wrote this so we as God's servants can receive this. So hey it's gone through a long lineage to get this information into our hands and we started with by saying on last Sunday is the fact that it's called the revelation of Jesus Christ which means to reveal. Okay when we want to understand the end times when we understand want to understand the coming of the Lord we must use the book of revelation as our primary source because it's all been revealed to us and then we can go back to the other scriptures Old and New Testament and understand them better understand the timeline better because this is the revelation this is what God has revealed this is what he's made clear unto us so we can understand the other scriptures. Now unfortunately as I said last Sunday many people think the book of revelation is a confusing book and so when they think it's a confusing book then they'll always think of the end times as confusing okay because this is the book which reveals. Now if you know the book of revelation you know that chapter one where what we just read there we have John speaking directly to Jesus Christ and yes so this revelation came from Jesus Christ to John but also if you understood and you've read the rest of the book you also know that much of what John writes about has also been revealed to him by an angel which is why it says that and signified by his by his angel unto his servant John and we are going to come back to this I just want you to remember that it says that and signified it by his angel unto his servant John I want you to just keep that in mind as we go later on into this chapter okay let's go back to verse let's go to verse number two speaking of his servant John, John the apostle it says who bear record of the word of God and of the testimony of Jesus Christ and of all things that he saw so we get the um the identification of who this John is okay now I've said it over and over again you already know that it's John the apostle one of the apostles of John who wrote the book of John who wrote first John second John and third John but verse number two just confirms that that is the very John that we're speaking about if you can keep your finger there and come with me to first John now look I'm going to have a lot of other references other than the book of Revelation for you this morning so do your best if you can to keep up if you can't look maybe write down the reference or go back and listen to the sermon and look up the references yourselves okay I've got a lot to cover this morning and I'm also focused on time so I want to make sure that you get everything that I've prepared everything that I believe is important but also I don't want to waste too much time flipping through too many scriptures if you're fast enough praise God otherwise just keep note of the references but first John chapter one verse number one first John chapter one verse number one says that which from the beginning which we have heard which we have seen with our eyes that which we have looked upon and our hands have handled of the word of life so John says look I've seen my own eyes I've looked upon him I've handled him I've touched him the word of life now the word of life is of course the person of Jesus Christ which says in verse number two for the life was manifested and we have seen it and bear witness now remember in the book of Revelation it says who bear record of the word of God where he says I bear witness and show unto you that eternal life which was with the father and was manifested unto us so of course if you know the book of John John chapter one he says that Jesus the word of God was with God and is God because Jesus Christ of course is the almighty God but we also believe in the trinity God the father God the son God the holy ghost but what I'm trying to show you in first John chapter one is that John says look I bear witness I bear record of this word of life okay of this word of truth and of course when we get back to Revelation verse number two it identifies that being the same John that we we see in the scriptures okay now back to Revelation chapter one verse number three Revelation chapter one verse number three I love I love verse number three because it says blessed is he that readeth okay brethren you know the book of Revelation has a special blessing if you read it now look I'm glad we're going through chapter by chapter it's taken us six years to finally get here okay I'm glad we're going chapter by chapter and we're preaching through this book but you must read it you must read it I encourage you read it before the service read it Sunday morning maybe okay so it's fresh in your mind read it throughout the week it says blessed is he that readeth look at this and they that hear the words of this prophecy so right now you are hearing the words of the prophecy you're hearing the preaching but again you want to read it and they that hear hey both these elements come together in order to receive this blessing from the Lord and then it says and keep those things which are written therein for the time is at hand so it says and keep the things that are written therein in other words the book of Revelation is for us it's for us to keep okay to do to take the lessons of the book and apply it to our lives so you want the fullness of God's blessing great it's your great that you're here in the sermon great that you heard the reading of the chapter but you've got to read it and you've got to keep it in order to receive this this blessing now that's chapter one and as we saw last week come with me to the last chapter Revelation 22 Revelation 22 and verse number seven Revelation 22 and verse number seven Jesus Christ says these words behold I come quickly blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book why is Jesus Christ repeating that on the last chapter what he says that in the first chapter he says it in the last chapter because everything in between is for us isn't that isn't that logical everything in between is for us but some people say no no no no chapter one's for you chapter two chapter three's for you the start of chapter four is for you but the rest is not for you anymore then how do I keep the sayings of the book why would Jesus Christ say at chapter 22 once we finish reading all of it to keep it the sayings of this book because it's all for us okay and look obviously what I'm going to be preaching this morning and throughout this chapter by chapters teaching is going to be contrary to what you hear in many IFB churches but I'm not going to apologize for that you know I'm not a preacher of a theological interpretation I'm a preacher of God's word okay and I expect that the reason you've come to New Life After Church is to hear the preaching of the Bible not the teachings of John Nelson Darby and not the teachings of C.I. Scofield and not the teachings of Dwight Pentecost and name whatever names Tim what's that Tim LaHail left behind series of books you're not coming to hear that being taught at behind the pulpit you're coming to hear what he's been taught in God's word and God says I want to bless you if you read it if you hear it if you keep the sayings of this book God tells us twice the start of the book the end of the book this is all for you all right now verse number four first Corinthians chapter one sorry first Corinthians revelation chapter one verse number four where'd that come from anyway uh chapter four verse number four please it says now just in case you don't think it's for you all right I mean John to the seven churches John is writing this to churches is this a church then this is for us okay John why didn't you just why didn't you just write down chapter one chapter two chapter three and a bit of chapter four and then send it to the churches okay now everything is for the churches okay it says John to the seven churches and just in case you think these churches are church ages periods of time you know the first church is from first century to 100 years and then the second church age is from this period to that period and this period to that period no no the seven churches which are in Asia these are present-day churches in the time of John I don't have to give you some cryptic understanding John God tells us these are present-day churches these aren't churches that represent periods of time but again you're going to hear that in a lot of Baptist churches okay it's nonsense there's so much nonsense that's taught it's right at the beginning all the book is for you it's for churches and specifically for present-time churches when John wrote these books churches in Asia or Asia Minor Turkey as we know it today grace be unto you and peace from him which is and which was and which is to come and from the seven spirits which are before his throne we'll look at which is and which was which was is to come soon but I want you to notice that there are seven spirits which are before his throne before God's throne now a lot of people have this question well what are these seven spirits I thought there was only one holy spirit and just very quickly if you can turn to Isaiah 11 Isaiah 11 and verse number one the only other place in the bible where you can look at the spirit of God you see seven spirits specifically has more to do with seven characteristics of the spirit of God okay and we'll go to Isaiah 11 verse number one Isaiah 11 and verse number one please Isaiah 11 and verse number one Isaiah 11 and verse number one it says and there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse and a branch shall grow out of his roots now what is the the rod that comes out of the stem of Jesse who is the branch which will grow out of his roots for those of you that have known your bibles you've read your bibles for a period of time you know that's speaking of Jesus Christ a prophecy of Jesus Christ that he would come from this lineage and of course from the kingdom of David the David's kingdom Jesus Christ would follow that lineage but then it says in verse number two and the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him you may recall when Jesus himself read from the book of Isaiah he spoke about the spirit of the Lord being upon him okay and it says here and the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him upon Jesus and the spirit of wisdom and understanding the spirit of counsel and might the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord what we find here is the spirit of God has these seven characteristics of himself I'll just quickly go through them one more time and the spirit of the Lord verse number two that's the first part of it that's the characteristics that it's of the Lord shall rest upon him and the spirit of wisdom and understanding that's your third one the spirit of counsel the fourth and might the fifth the spirit of knowledge six and the and of the fear of the Lord seven so you've got these seven characteristics of the spirit of God all right I don't know of anywhere else in the bible where you're going to find that seven listed items referring to the spirit of God directly and of course we know that this is the spirit that came upon Jesus Christ yes at his first coming but of course the spirit of God is God himself you know as well because the trinity okay but back to revelation chapter one revelation chapter one in verse number five revelation chapter one verse number five it says and from Jesus Christ who is the faithful witness and the first begotten of the dead and the prince of the kings of the earth unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood now what I want you to pick up in verse number five is that he is the first begotten of the dead what does that mean and most people understand yeah that means he was resurrected from the dead but what some people struggle to understand is well how does that make him the first begotten the word begotten means to be brought forth you know well hold on I know Jesus Christ was resurrected from the dead when he was crucified buried and he came back you know three days later but how is he the first because don't we have other stories of the bible where there have been dead people that have been resurrected from the dead and of course the first time that we read in the scriptures of someone being resurrected from the dead it's by the prophet Elijah and he resurrected the widow's son that's the first time you see a resurrection from the dead so you go how wouldn't the widow's son then be the first begotten from the dead and of course the most famous story of a resurrection besides Christ would be probably Lazarus would you say I think so Lazarus being resurrected from the dead well hold on how is Jesus Christ the first begotten from the dead well what this means is that when Christ was resurrected from the dead he has a body that can never die a body that can never die the widow the son's widow could obviously still died he's not walking the earth still today okay and Lazarus is still not walking the earth today he had even though he was brought back to life he had a physical body that could still perish it was still the same corruptible body that could die all right when Jesus Christ resurrected from the dead that's it the first coming when his body was a sacrifice it was put to death but now he has a body that has been resurrected it still bears the marks has that you know when Christ came back he still bared the marks of the of the crucifixion of the cross and so here's the first begotten with a body that could never perish a body that can never die if you can keep your finger there come with me to first corinthians 15 come with me to first corinthians 15 and verse number 22 first corinthians 15 and verse number 22 let me confirm this a little bit further for you in the scriptures that the first begotten of the dead means a resurrected body that can never perish first corinthians 15 22 it says in first corinthians 15 22 for as in Adam all die and so in Christ shall all be made alive so we're all of Adam we're all of mum and dad we all have our background you know our fleshly origins going back to Adam and Eve right well with that body we will die but if you're in Christ Jesus you're saved you shall be made alive verse number 23 but every man in his own order Christ the first fruits okay so this is the order Christ is the first that's why he's the first begotten from the dead then it says afterward they that are Christ's at his coming now without any biases any issues with the word of God when it says at his coming what just anybody what do you think that's about what's that sorry at his coming the coming of Christ which is what what do we commonly call it the second coming but it's a the rapture that's the word I'm looking for okay that's important for you to remember okay the rapture is the coming of Christ because as we go through this series and I show you passages of the coming of Christ some people are going to say to you no no you're getting confused that's the second coming you're confusing the second coming with the rapture well I'm not getting confused because God's word said they that are Christ's at his coming that's you that's the Corinthian church the church the Corinthian gentle church okay he's going to be resurrected at the coming of Jesus Christ which of course is the rapture God himself is telling you the rapture is his coming okay and again you say oh pastor you don't you're confused I'm not the bible's not confusing you it doesn't confuse you yeah yeah go listen to C.I. Scofield he'll confuse you all right go listen to John Elson Derby they'll confuse you they'll tell you no you're getting the two things mixed up the bible doesn't mix them up okay the rapture is the coming of Christ and I'll prove that as we keep going but I want to show you that we too will be begotten from the dead praise God we too will receive bodies that will never perish that will happen at the resurrection at the rapture back to uh revelation chapter one revelation chapter one and verse number I want to notice verse number five again and from Jesus Christ who's a faithful witness first we go from the dead and the prince of the kings of the earth so who's over our kings on this earth Jesus Christ and we know that one day he's going to be very literally upon the kings of the earth but I want you to remember that okay when you think of the kings of the earth you go okay those in power those in authority all right now here's what makes it really interesting verse number six and have made us kings and priests okay unto God and his father to him be glory and dominion forever and ever amen I know it blows my it still blows my mind today I still blow and I I think a lot of Christians don't understand don't really understand this part they think okay I'm saved praise God I'm going to heaven praise God I'll be with Christ forever you're gonna rule on this earth you will be the government you have the authority you call the shots you'll be passing the laws that of course are God's laws upon this earth you'll be enforcing those laws you've been made kings and priests okay and if you're not sure about that come with me to revelation 20. Revelation 20 verse number six revelation chapter 20 and verse number six revelation 20 verse 6 says blessed and holy is he that have part in the first resurrection hey again another word for the rapture is the resurrection why because on such the second death have no power but they shall be priests of God and that's what we saw earlier right made kings and priests they shall be priests of God and king look at this not just priests and shall reign with him a thousand years so again we're kings again this passage saying we're priests and kings we're going to reign with Christ say pastor why are you making that an emphasis because I've been in church that has told me no no that's not for you you're not going to reign with Christ the Jews are going to reign with Christ what the Jews that don't believe in Christ the Jews that take the mark of the beast no no no look again the bible is not confusing honestly if you just look at a few passages if you just be honest with yourself say god just show me what you say lord just let me believe your word and look lord maybe I'm a respecter of persons maybe I respect my old pastor a little bit too much okay and look your old pastor that taught you that you know you're not going to rule for a thousand years with Christ he's mistaken I don't believe he's a bad man he's just mistaken all right I can be mistaken too and so I always welcome and encourage you test everything you hear from this church from this pastor with the word of God the reason I show you so many scriptures and support scripture with scripture is so you can see it for yourself you know where to turn to and do your own reading and your own study I'm not afraid of being corrected if you correct me with the word of God hey and you show me I'll love you for that I'll be like thank you for sharpening me thank you for refining me I'm not going to get offended but you ask some other pastors a question they'll get offended they don't want to be challenged with the word of God they want to go with the teachings of their favorite preachers teachings with their favorite books they rather go with their left behind series and the left behind movies and and and interpret God's word through that lens rather than letting God's word speak for itself back to revelation chapter one and verse number seven now we just finished saying that it's for those churches he just finished saying that he's made as priests and kings so God is speaking to us is he not he's not speaking to the Jew unbelieving Jews here I mean he's speaking to believe in Jews of course believing of any uh anybody that's in Christ Jesus Jews and Gentiles that in Christ Jesus because verse number seven is so important okay in verse number seven look the first word behold what does behold mean look pay attention oh behold okay who are you talking to God who's going to pay attention who's looking for this part are the Jews you're long gone it's not for you anymore I'm telling you people teach this he's speaking to us we just finished right churches priests and kings washing the blood of Christ that's me me me but that's not me behold he cometh with clouds there's the word coming again cometh with clouds when does Christ come in the clouds or with clouds the rapture he cometh bible words come in again clouds I want you to remember behold now people say okay this is rapture yeah I know we're going to see Christ but then it says this and every eye shall see him there is no secret rapture every eye shall see him when Christ comes in the cloud every single human being on the planet are going whoa what is that I mean for us we're gonna be whoa we're gonna be rejoicing brothers like whoa what's going on every eye shall see him look we've been misled by left behind and the and the apparently Nicolas Cage has done a left behind movie so even Hollywood's getting into the teacher now but it's always if you've seen him I've seen him it's always just from one moment to the next like let's say you know a Christian's preaching praise God hallelujah and then all of a sudden and my clothes are just on the floor it's like what happened to him what happened just disappeared his clothes are here and then there's always like maybe you know a few people left in church like oh man we weren't even saved you know we missed the rapture but that's the impression a lot of Christians have you know why they misinterpret this verse in a moment in the twinkling of an eye so how long how quick is the twinkling like a little light a light reflection the speed of light that's how quick it's going to be I know it says for we shall be changed in a moment in the twinkling of our eye Christ coming is not in the twinkling of an eye our bodies will be changed in a moment and you're on time read it first Corinthians 15 that's what changes the speed of light the corrupted body to the incorruptible body the resurrection is the speed of light but not the coming of Christ the coming of Christ every eye shall see him he cometh with clouds all right and then it says and by the way if you're saying well how about everyone that's sleeping when Christ comes back well if you've read Matthew 24 just I'm going to go ahead now but the sun goes dark the moon goes dark the stars fall from heaven whoever's sleeping is going to be shaken out of bed what's going on okay this is everything turns off all the lights turn off it's complete darkness and that which brings light it's Christ and people say well if it just descends in one place how's the whole world going to seem well Christ gives the illustration as lightning coming from the east to the west even so shall the coming of the son of man be so I don't I don't my interpretation of that like lightning it moves okay and you see lightning you see it you see it move you see it travel if you don't know many times well that's Christ he's traveling the earth okay and every eye shall see him I remember being woken up 9 11. I remember I think it was wasn't I can't remember exactly now because it's so long ago but I was either sleeping in was an early morning for me or was it an evening for me or was I just having a nap I don't know but I remember my dad waking me up Kevin come watch this on the tv 9 11 right but what about when the sun turns off what about when the moon turns off what about the stars start falling don't you think everyone's going to be walking out of sleep hey something's going on wake up okay and every eye shall see him and it says and they also which pierced him and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him even so amen this is confirmed even so this is the truth no I'd rather I'd rather the left behind I'd rather I'd rather just everyone disappears and just close everyone sees every eye shall see clothes on the floor I'd rather that version no every eye shall see him this is the coming of the Lord this is the rapture now very quickly this is not to confuse when Christ comes on the white horse at the end of the seven years okay the rapture takes place before that I'm in faith I'm not confusing those two things one is he comes with the clouds the other one he comes on a white horse he comes with the armies of heaven on his white horse these are separate events okay I'm not combining those two things in case someone's getting that impression that I'm combining those two things no okay he cometh with cloud cometh again it's his coming when someone says to you it's not his coming they're trying to deceive you because God's word says it's his coming okay and every eye shall see him okay it's not a secret rapture now just to confirm this can we meet to Acts chapter one verse number nine Acts chapter one verse number nine I'm doing my best to speed through this but I realize this is important because there's a lot of bad teaching on this area okay Acts chapter one verse number nine now the reason we turn to Acts chapter one verse number nine is because this is when Christ ascends to heaven right after his ministry his death burial resurrection then he shows himself as the resurrected Christ then he is ascended up to heaven to be at the right hand of the father but in verse number nine Acts chapter one verse number nine it says and when he had spoken these things while they be held remember behold while they be held what are they doing they're looking at Jesus they're paying attention to what Christ says he was taken up and a cloud received him out of their sights so when he ascended he went up by cloud and every eye was looking at him well every eye that was there witnessing that event verse number 10 and while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up behold two men stood by them in white apparel which also said ye men of Galilee why stand ye gazing up into heaven this same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven do this shall so come in like manner as you have seen him go into heaven what's the like manner he was ascended the clouds okay and they be held like manna when he returns guess what the clouds behold every eye shall see him okay so that's the consistency of the bible that's how he's coming back all right now uh come come me to first Thessalonians chapter four now first Thessalonians chapter four everyone agrees it's the resurrection everyone agrees it's the rapture regardless of what timing of the rapture you hold everyone agrees that this is the rapture okay first Thessalonians chapter four verse number 16 first Thessalonians chapter four verse number 16 it says for the lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of the archangel and with the trump of god and the dead in christ shall rise first then we which are alive and remain shall be look at this caught up together with them in the clouds because christ is coming in the clouds so we come together with them who's the them jesus and those that have gone before us those that have passed away the believers to meet the lord in the air and so shall we ever be with the lord all right so i'm just trying to show you even the most famous rapture passage gives a focus on the fact that he's in the clouds because that's what we're going to be with them in the clouds okay and so shall we ever be with the lord now come with me to matthew 24 matthew 24 and verse number 29 matthew 24 and verse number 29 very quickly we saw the archangel we heard the trump of god right we saw people getting caught up together to meet the lord in the air for matthew 24 29 matthew 24 29 and this is where my pre-treat brethren will think i'm out for lunch matthew 24 29 pastor why are you preaching from matthew 24 it's not for you it's for the jews okay that's what they say all the time but you know every pre-treat preacher that i've heard will say to me will say to all of you anyone no man know of the day or the hour which is from matthew 24 remember how i told you last sunday they create rules and then breaking straight away rules for thee but not for me is their approach okay no look matthew 24 verse 29 immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened and the moon shall not give her light and the stars shall fall from heaven and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken and then shall appear the sign of the son of man in heaven look at this and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn what did revelation chapter one say that they will wail because of him wailing mourning it's talking about the same issue it says all the tribes of the earth shall mourn why are they mourning it says here and they shall see the son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory well if it comes with power and great glory that again makes sense that every eye shall see him because if god turns on his power if god turns on the glory guess what's going to light the whole heaven up when sun moon are all darkened it's going to be the light of jesus christ it's like when it's it's dark time it's night time and lightning right lightning thunder it's storming time have you ever like have you ever seen so much lightning that just lights up the whole backyard or something it's like whoa someone just turned on the lights and that's going to be the glory of jesus christ okay everyone's going to see him and he's in the clouds and every say the trouble of the earth shall mourn that lines up exactly what revelation chapter one said behold he cometh with clouds and every eye shall see him they also which pierced him and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him that's after john just told the churches behold pay attention this is for you but they'll say to you matthew 24 even though it's exactly the same thing oh that's not for you anymore they just pick and choose how do they pick and choose because they said so because john nelson darby said so because ci scofield said so because anta preacher's name said so well what did god say so what does god say even with me forever if i teach something and you're like pastor that's just you you said so that god didn't say that okay you go with what god said i'll put the same rules on me that i'm putting on these other preachers the same rules apply you go with what god says in fact that's my topic for this afternoon sermon now i've had some i've read this before so you come up with clouds uh sorry matthew 24 verse 30 again uh and then shall appear the sign of the son of man in heaven and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn and they shall see the son of man by the way come in in the clouds what's christ come in matthew 24 once again okay again he's not coming on the white horse he's not coming to start armageddon at the end of the seven years which we'll talk about later on he's coming the clouds with heaven and with look with power and great glory someone said to me once will meaning of course pastor matthew 24 is not the rapture because christ is coming with power and great glory okay like it so obviously yeah right power and great glory because in their mind the rapture is not power and great glory remember in their mind rapture is clothes on the floor that's that's their that's their view okay well come with me to titus chapter 2 titus chapter 2 verse number 13 titus chapter 2 verse number 13 so i just turned them to this passage now titus was a pastor right of a church the apostle paul was training titus and it says to titus in chapter 2 verse number 13 everyone knows and again every pre-tribber knows that this verse is about the rapture everyone like everybody everyone does okay title of the service number 13 looking for that blessed hope look and the glorious appearing of the great god and our savior jesus christ so matthew 24 comes with great power and glory oh that can't be the rapture but this verse about the rapture says that he's a glorious appearing so he is coming in glory he is coming in power he is coming in might this is the blessed hope but again create rules no no he's not coming in glory but title 2 that is yeah he's coming glory that's the rapture i don't want you as a church to pay attention to these things because preachers lie to you they do i'm just telling you the truth i'm trying i don't want to lie to you i'm trying my best to just stick with what god says i don't want to say something that god did not say all right he's coming in great power he's coming in glory the rapture is the glorious appearing of our lord jesus christ that's why it's the blessed hope come back with me to revelation chapter 1 verse 8 revelation chapter 1 and verse 8 of course i could just create a whole sermon just on this one topic here okay but we need to get through the chapter verse 8 please verse 8 christ says i am alpha and omega the beginning and the ending alpha if you don't know is the first letter of the greek alphabet and omega is the last letter the greek alphabet has 24 characters and alpha is the first omega is the last okay the beginning and the ending makes sense for christ then say those words saith the lord which is and which was and which is to come the almighty who's the almighty jesus christ okay i guess that's important because when you show uh jahub witnesses where it speaks about christ's um prophecy of his coming for unto us a child is born unto us a child is given you know is isaiah and then it says and he shall be called wonderful counselor the mighty god you show them that they go well he's the mighty god he's not the almighty god well christ here is saying that he is the almighty now how do we know that this is christ speaking in specific words because they'll say to you i've shown them that okay and they say to me no no that's not jesus that's the father speaker now okay so that you know whatever whatever is going to accompany their teaching and this is why i said to you this is now the second time in this chapter where christ describes himself as which is and which was and which is to come okay these words are important okay now i think the most common teaching that i've heard on these verses i think it is is the fact that well is that there what they people say is that this is teaching of the the eternal nature of god so which is is present time that you know christ is today uh which was that's the past and is to come that's the future so the teacher there i think this is the most common teaching is that god is eternal god has always been god is and god will always be okay and it's kind of similar to hebrews 13 8 jesus christ the same yesterday today and forever so that's the general teaching that i've heard about this issue but i don't believe that's the case at all okay and i'll show you in a moment why first of all how does verse number eight end it says well let's read again which is and which was and which is to come which is to come the almighty okay now verse number seven behold he cometh with clouds you guys know how much i like to stick with context okay so verse number seven already told us he's coming with clouds which when i was a rapture and then so we'll get to this like literally the next verse okay which is to come well you just told us how he's coming he's coming with clouds and so you can see how my interpretation at least my understanding is is quite different and i believe i can prove this to be the case okay not just the fact that the verses are just so closely connected but so i do believe which is to come is of course speaking of his second coming the rapture now if you can come with me to uh verse number drop down to verse number 17 in revelation 1 verse number 17 just the last words he says i am the first and the last which is the same what pretty much what he said in verse number eight i am alpha and omega the beginning and the ending would you say that's the same first letter last letter he says i'm the first and the last but notice how he then continues that statement in verse number 18 i am he that liveth and was dead and behold i am alive forevermore so to understand then using the chapter itself okay as our definition then what doesn't mean to be which is which is which was and which is to come well which is again yes the fact present tense jesus christ is alive today he did not stay dead right which was well which was verse number 18 said and was dead which was yeah he was dead okay and then which is to come the rapture okay so when you look at the chapter itself i believe that's the stronger understanding of these verses okay which is he's alive today which was he was dead and which is to come come in the clouds the almighty okay now when you understand that all right that changes everything because then the jehovah ministers won't say well the almighty that's the father well when did the father die only christ died only christ resurrected from the dead that's speaking of the son okay and again that then confirms the almighty is jesus christ verse number nine listen to mine now listen i just read i john who also am your brother who's writing to churches is john our brother he's our brother okay he's our brother the lord okay now this is where people get really uncomfortable and i've heard this from teachers no no no no no no john and the apostles they're associated with the jews so when john came in method 24 with peter and etc and came to ask jesus can you tell us about the end times and then christ tells him and then he gives you know come you know you come in the clouds all that kind of stuff immediately after tribulation oh no no no jesus is speaking to john and the jews but revelation chapter one he says i john who also am your brother to the churches to the saved yeah to god's people because then he says these words and companion in tribulation he's our companion in tribulation he says look he's writing to the church he said look you guys are going to go for tribulation and we know the the tribulation that he's spoken greatly about in this book is the great tribulation he will say no no that's not for you that's for the jews i don't know john is telling me he's accompanying us in tribulation he's a companion in tribulation and i'm going to show this this has to do with great tribulation of the end times i'll show you okay by this very verse it says here and in the kingdom and patience of jesus christ which was in the aisle that is called patmos so we see the location that he's in he's on the aisle of patmos he's there because of tribulation he's there because of persecution then he says these words this is so important why is he in tribulation for the word of god and for the testimony of jesus christ keep that in mind for the word of god and because of the testimony of jesus christ that's why he's our companion in tribulation does it make sense all right now come with me to revelation chapter uh 10 please revelation chapter 10 revelation chapter 10 actually i'm gonna i'm gonna go a little bit change my direction here come with me to revelation chapter six please revelation chapter six revelation chapter six verse number nine now these this verse is about the great tribulation that's going to come upon the saints on the end times revelation of the sixth verse number nine it says and when he had opened the fifth seal i saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain look at this for the word of god and for the testimony which they held so these believers going through tribulation persecution losing their lives why are they being slain for the word of god and for the testimony which they held the testimony of jesus christ so when john says i'm your companion in tribulation because of the word of god and because the testimony is christ now you know who he's talking to he's talking to us he's talking to god's people he's talking to the churches the last generation that will go through this period they're going to suffer greatly there's going to be great tribulation upon these people now look even if we're not the generation that goes through the end times and through great tribulation we still go through tribulation in life we still go through troubles and problems okay so to take the view well maybe that's not us i believe and i i still believe that's far away i don't think it's going to happen in a lifetime i could be wrong okay but even so when you understand the truth that you will suffer persecution if you live godly in christ jesus if you know you're going to go through troubles and difficulties then the teachings of revelation are going to help you go through this go through whatever tribulation we may face okay so revelation of the six is speaking of the great tribulation and i'll prove this to you later as we go through those chapters but now come with me to revelation chapter 10 revelation chapter 10 and verse number eight please revelation chapter 10 and verse number eight you know what i got the wrong reference bear with me revelation chapter 12 i know it's revelation chapter 12 let me just get my references right here all right revelation 12 and verse number 17 now you may recall last sunday that i had mentioned chapter 12 starts a retelling of the events a second prophecy of the end times okay so when we get to verse number 17 in revelation 12 17 it says and the dragon was wroth with the woman and went to make war with the remnant of her seed which keep the commandments of god and have the and have the testimony of jesus christ okay so again where are the commandments of god located in the word of god why are these people being persecuted by the devil because they have the word of god or the commandments of god if you want to put it that way and the testimony of jesus christ john is their companion john says i'm with you in this journey churches but you go to church oh that's not for you i don't know i don't know i don't know what's going on with our modern day churches i mean the bible does speak of a great fall in a way to come okay and i you know obviously the first step of falling away is to fall away from god's word start teaching everything else but god's word this can't be any clearer we're in the same book i'm your companion i'm accompanying you churches because about the word of god because of his testimony then when we get to the stories of that happening oh no that's not you now who makes these rules and why do people just so easily give up god's word and just go with the expert so-called expert you know when it comes to the end times you read the new testament how many times we're warned by jesus and the apostle paul let no man deceive you it's so easy to be deceived hey don't let me deceive you go to god's word i strongly encourage you and if you come up to me later on pastor watch this documentary or read this book and they'll clear up show me in the bible show me god's word okay now remember i told you pay attention to verse number one which said let's go back to verse number one revelation chapter one verse number one it said uh the revelation of jesus christ which god gave unto him to show unto his servants things which must surely come to pass and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant john what does it mean to signify something well i just got a dictionary definition to signify is to give meaning or importance for example if i said i'm going to give this doctrine significance what am i saying i'm giving it importance right if something is significant it's something important all right something that um yeah we want to give a proper risk like the proper appreciation for what it is we're going to signify it we're going to give it meaning we're going to make it significant why is that being said here you know that the angel is coming to signify these things to servant john as i said to you we have christ who speaks to john chapter one christ speaking to john i'll show that in a moment okay but then an angel speaks to john later on okay now the first time in the book of revelation that we have an angel that starts telling john about the end times is in revelation chapter 10 this is why it's getting confused my references now go to revelation chapter 10 i want to show you something really neat okay revelation chapter 10 and verse number one revelation chapter 10 and verse number one this is the first time we have an angel not jesus an angel telling john hey write these things i'm telling you things okay this has to be documented etc etc revelation 10 verse number one and i saw another mighty angel come down from heaven clothed with a cloud and a rainbow was upon his head and his face was as it were the sun and his feet as pillars of fire and he had in his hand a little book open and he set his right foot upon the sea and his left foot upon the earth so you can see this angel has a little book in his hand right drop down to verse number eight and the voice which i heard from heaven spake unto me again and said so this is now a voice from god go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth and i went unto the angel and said unto him give me the little book and he said unto me take it and eat it up and it shall make thy belly bitter and it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey and i took the little book out of the angel's hand and ate it up and it was in my mouth sweet as honey and as soon as i had eaten it my belly was bitter and he that's the angel said unto me thou must prophesy again before many peoples and nations and tongues and kings now the angel is telling john you're going to prophesy again and i've shown last week that's why revelation chapter 12 begins the prophecy all over again okay and he's received that information from this angel after eating that book sweet nice that was nice when he went into his belly it was very bitter have you ever eaten something and just had a that didn't sit well with me at all why is that why is it in this scenario here bitter it's been signified by his angel okay it's been given significance because when we go through the first telling now look let's put it this way is the idea of being persecuted and beheaded and killed for the cause of christ is that can be a little bitter right it's a bit hard to take in that's why preachers don't want to preach about it don't worry you'll be you'll escape before that happens i mean look it is bitter it is it is man i wouldn't be surprised if people are fearful a little bit or don't really want to hear this on a sunday morning pastor and i can't you just preach on the love of god or something this is god's love though god's word is his love it's sweet it should be sweet to our mouth but yeah when you contemplate it it gets a bit bitter the reason it's bitter and the reason it's been signified or given significance okay is because the first telling from revelation chapter 4 specifically to revelation chapter 11 the topic of the great tribulation is only in three verses revelation chapter 6 verses 9 10 and 11 three verses not much time is given to the great tribulation but when it comes to the retelling from revelation chapter 12 we've got three chapters revelation chapter 12 revelation chapter 13 revelation chapter 14 all has to do with the great tribulation so is the angel given significance from three verses given meaning making it significant with three chapters absolutely is hearing about the antichrist pursuing god's people bitter yeah but it's sweet as well okay we want to know the truth if you want to know the truth you know god's word is sweet and look if this sermon is bitter for you this morning don't get mad at me that's god's word okay but i want you to appreciate the sweetness of it in your mouth okay god wants you to enjoy it okay it ought to be tasty but yeah there is a harsh reality that things are going to get bitter and difficult for that final generation of christians that go through this end times back to uh revelation of the one please revelation chapter one verse number 10 revelation chapter one and verse number 10 he says i was in the spirit on the lord's day and heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet saying i am alpha and omega the first and the last and what thou seest writes in a book and send it unto the seven churches which are in asia go what is this are these time periods past no no it says here uh unto ephysis and unto smurner and unto pergamos and unto thyatira and unto sadhus and unto philadelphia and unto lay the seer john had to write the book of revelation seven times and then he sent it to seven churches is that an important book you think absolutely ah it's not for you i don't know i mean you know people often look at you know like when they talk about bible scriptures they're like oh man we could only really believe the original manuscripts well there were at least seven original manuscripts when it comes to the book of revelation this is pretty important this is an important book sent to the churches now of course the first church unto ephysis already covered this last week we have a whole book called the book of eph Asians it's a present literal church not a church age period of time you know why they do that because they want it to be so far away in time these events oh that's not for you you're gonna avoid it all no no these are literal churches then the other one uh ephysis smurner and unto pergamos thyatira side is filled up later can you keep me thinking they come with me to Colossians chapter four Colossians chapter four very quickly Colossians chapter four verse number 15 Colossians chapter four verse number 15 because people say well we're now living in the lay of the sea and church age where the where the church now that god wants to spew out his mouth i mean if if i'm in a church that god wants to spew out of my mouth i wouldn't be the pastor right now i wouldn't be a church man i'll be like i'm out of here i don't want to be spewed by the mouth of jesus christ but that's what people teach you we are now living in the lay of the sea and church age maybe your church needs to be spewed out of god's mouth but not this one not this one okay lay the seer and look at Colossians chapter four verse number 15 it says this is to the colossian church which was a time a church that existed when the when this was written salute the brethren which are in lay of the seer ah there are brothers in the city and nymphos and the church which is in his house and the church so there is a church there right and when this epistle is read among you cause it to be read also in the church of the lay of the seans and that you likewise read the epistle from lay the seer so this is the colossian church hey salute your brethren in the lay of the sea and church and and when you've received the book of the colossians send it over there so they can read it too so is it a literal church present time church in time of john absolutely and i went to see the practice hey colossians i know this is epistles for you but get the lay the scenes to reach it read it okay well if this was written to seven churches doesn't make sense that it ought to be read by other churches also should it also be read by this church and understood by this church and be blessed like we saw being blessed by reading it hearing it and keeping the words of the prophecy of this book revelation chapter 1 verse number 12 and i turned to see the voice that spake with me and being turned i saw seven golden candlesticks now we're going to read verse number 20 very quickly drop down to verse number 20 so he sees seven golden candlesticks okay what are these candlesticks verse number 20 the mystery of the seven stars which are sorest in my right hand so they're going to be seven stars shortly and the seven golden candlesticks the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches and the seven candlesticks which are sorest are the seven churches okay so we don't need to go we don't need to go oh seven candlesticks what can that represent churches he just told us okay oh no no no the ages i don't know reverend i just do you see why it's important to read and not just get your chapter out of the way meditate on god's word pay attention jesus what are you telling me i don't need to fill the gaps what are you telling me jesus oh the seven churches okay the seven churches that we just read about that makes sense okay verse number 13 and in the midst of the seven candlesticks who's in the who's in the midst of the churches one like unto the son of man clothed with a garment down to the foot and gird about with the paps with with the paps of a golden girdle so the son of man of course is a name that christ has given to himself many times we know that speaking of christ makes sense that he's in the midst of the seven churches okay because matthew 18 20 christ says for where two or three are gathered together in my name there am i in the midst of them speaking in context of church yeah of course christ will be in the midst hey guess who's in the service with us this morning jesus jesus is in our midst right now okay so i want to give honor to christ as i preach this omen i want to make sure jesus yep you're the boss i will teach what you said oh seven churches okay seven churches not seven ages right imagine imagine i say that christ is our midst and he's like why didn't just read my scriptures why don't you just say what i say it's like i've given you the information why are you rejecting my word i don't man i again i wouldn't want to be the passer you're like oh lord your ass i'm stepping down immediately you know if i'm starting to make things up i went to notice also like unto the son of man like okay there is a there is a reason for that i'll touch upon that in a moment verse number 14 his head and his hairs were like white were whites like wool as white as snow and his eyes were as a flame of fire now when christ came to the earth the first coming do you think his hair was white like wool and his eyes were like fires fire everyone would know that stage he's not just a normal man but obviously that's not but then when christ came he said he calls himself the son of man because yeah he was a hundred percent man he came in the likeness of sinful flesh right so there's a reason why it's his like unto the son of man because his appearance it's the same person but he's turned on the glory is what i'm trying to say this is not his appearance as uh you know um where he made himself with no reputation no he's turning on the reputation he's turning on the glory okay when he turns on his head's wider wool his eyes are as flames fire verse number 15 his feet are like undefined brass as if they burned in a furnace and his voice as the sound of many waters okay i was asked recently which actually last week i think was last week what does it mean that his feet are like unto fine brass as if they burn in a furnace well the fact that it says fine brass you know it talks about fine it's being something of high quality okay and the reason you put metal in a furnace is to purify it okay so it's a high quality brass okay so for example in in psalm 12 6 the words of the lord are pure words as silver tried in a furnace of earth purified seven times okay so it speaks of his purity he's turning on the glory okay he's shining brightly okay there's there's just purity in the body of christ there and this is where i want to show you some of the passages if you come with me uh to daniel chapter seven come with me to daniel chapter seven and verse number nine daniel chapter seven and verse number nine daniel chapter seven verse number nine because this description of christ also appears in daniel seven daniel seven verse number nine please daniel seven verse number nine now you know the book of daniel is another great book on the end times how are we going to understand the book of daniel by understanding the book of revelation you may even remember at the end of the book of daniel daniel says to god god i don't know what i've written i'm just paraphrasing and god says well that knowledge is shut up to the end well it's because now we have the book of revelation as we get closer and closer to the end these other passages are going to make a lot more sense to us okay but daniel seven verse number nine it says i beheld till the thrones were cast down and the ancients of days did sit now this is god whose garment was white as snow and the hair of his head like the pure wool his throne was like the fiery flame as his wheels and his wheels as burning fire so there is one on the throne there the ancient of days speaking of god same description hair that is white okay uh like pure wool and if you drop down to verse number 13 i want you to notice this though verse number 13 it says i saw in the night visions and behold one look at this look at the words like the son of man same language like the son of man came with the clouds of heaven oh i wonder who that could be and came to the ancient of days oh well we know that's christ always coming to the ancient of days that's of course the father okay and they brought him near before him verse number 14 and there was given him it's been given to christ there dominion and glory and a kingdom that all people nations and languages should serve him his dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed so i want you to notice when god when christ turns on the glory that is very much like the image of his father upon his throne the difference though the big difference between these two descriptions is that we revelation describes the face of christ with eyes burning fire but you don't see the face of the father in isaiah which makes sense because christ says no man has seen the father okay except for the son except himself okay no man has seen the face of the father at the end of revelation later on we'll prove this when we go for the series we will see him face to face once we have received our new resurrected bodies and once god has created a new heaven and a new earth but i want to show you this description okay and some angels as well have a similar description in the book of revelation this is christ turning on the glory that's why it's like unto the son of man like a man but not really glorified powerful okay and the reason this is important come meet now to revelation chapter 14 revelation chapter 14 now when christ is coming on the clouds remember it said that it's coming with power and great glory he's turning on the glory okay it's not just a regular looking man come in the clouds he's got it all on i wouldn't be surprised if he literally will look like when he comes on the clouds hair as wide as wool eyes flame of fire legs like brass okay i wouldn't be surprised if that's how he appears because it says here in revelation 14 14 speaking of the rapture revelation 14 14 and i looked and behold a white cloud and upon the cloud one sat like unto the son of man having on his head a golden crown and in his hand a sharp sickle so i want to show you the like unto the son of man like a man but the glory is turned on is what i'm trying to say this makes sense if christ is coming with power and great glory yeah he's going to look amazing when he appears on the scene okay and i do believe revelation chapter one gives us that description of his appearance of what he's going to look like when he comes at the rapture back to revelation chapter one please and verse number 16 revelation chapter one verse number 16 thank you for your patience we're coming to the end now it says and he had in his right hand seven stars now we saw earlier the seven stars are the angels of the churches now again very quickly this really gets understood really with the book of revelation the word angel can be a man it doesn't have to be the heavenly hosts okay because the word angel just means messenger i've shared that before that's why we have the office of the evangelist evangel angelist angel evangelist is an angel okay he's bringing message okay so when we see here that the uh in his right hand had seven stars these are the the pastors of the churches those that bring the message they're the messenger of the churches and what gives me a lot of joy and a lot of comfort is that as the pastor of this church i'm in his right hand i'm in christ's right hand that's where i want to be i want to be as i lead my church as i lead this church i want to be in the right hand i want to remove myself from that i want to be right there okay and that gives me comfort to know that god is holding me in his hand it says and that of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword and his countenance was as the sun shiner finished strength have you ever looked upon the sun just full black like you're not recommended to look at it really are you but you know i've looked straight into the sun and then looked away and everything's just been dark like it's just it's been that bright and it's just taken a little while for my eyes to adjust again and that's the brightness and the glory of christ okay hey when moses came off the mount sinai remember what his face was shining like the sun that to put a veil of his face because he had an account of jesus i saw jesus jesus gave him the commandments and he walked away man the shine of christ's face you know was reflecting off him and um verse 17 and when i saw him i fell as his at his feet as dead he almost can't handle it he just collapses to the floor as soon as he sees this image of christ no wonder people are wailing and mourning when they see christ come in the clouds and you know chapter six of revelation they're like hide us hide us from the wrath right they're trying to hide themselves bearing themselves deep underground into the mountains into the rocks well i mean if john one of god's people is like man i just can't handle this appearance he drops like dead imagine the rest of the world who are unbelievers no wonder they're wailing and mourning no wonder they're so fearful of the wrath of god which is about to fall upon them but then i love christ and he laid his right hand upon me saying unto me fear not i am the first and the last reverend you know what i do believe i bible teachers look come on we are going to go for this tribulation for the last generation but jesus fear not don't be afraid okay look you need to if it if it's so bitter this teaching pastor look you need to learn not fear i'll be honest with you when i came to this truth when i started to see the problems of the pre-tribulation teaching and i saw the consistency of the bible and man i'm gonna go for tribulation if i'm that last generation you know the first response that i had fear it's like oh man because i've not been i've not been taught i've i've been told my whole life you're gonna skip it all don't worry about it first fear okay but then when you search for the truth again it's sweet to you you just want more of it don't you you take it in you absorb it and you get to a point in time it's like you know what this is no longer fear i've got christ if i die for him the bible says you know if you get beheaded for christ those people are going to get thrones in in the in the in the when christ comes to rule on the earth i mean there's great reward you lose your life for christ it says you get you receive you lose your life for christ it says you get you receive the crown of life that must be a great reward for you to be able to give up your life for jesus christ and soon instead of being fearful in the flesh you start to be strengthened in the spirit you start to be strengthened in the new man and you go well lord that could be me but even if it's not me lord i know i'm going to face tribulation anyway and i know i'm not to fear because you're with me lord you're going to guide me you're going to lead me through the difficulties of my life and then verse 18 he says i am i am he that liveth and was dead and behold i am alive forevermore amen and have the keys of hell and of death so when someone has keys to a house keys to a car what does that mean they own it they've got authority in that area so why should we be afraid of dying price has the keys of hell he's got the keys of of death if you come with me quickly to uh revelation up to four sorry revelation of the free revelation of the three verse number seven revelation of the free verse number seven it says and to the angel of the church in philadelphia writes these things save he that is holy he that is true he that hath the key of david so what else do we see he's got he's got authority and power and ownership over hell over death but also over the key of david david being the throne the kingdoms again that's what we saw earlier that he's the prince of the kings of the earth look he owns this place he owns the earth he owns hell he owns uh death okay he's got authority he's got power in these areas revelation chapter 1 verse number 19 write the things which thou has seen and the things which are and the things which shall be hereafter and of course when it says write the things which thou has seen well now that you've just seen this um uh john writes the things you've seen so that's chapter one the things that he's just seen the things of the past he's got to write those down then he says the things which are now we know the things which are he's writing to seven churches okay they are present tense in the time of john which is why when you get to chapter two and chapter three it's about those seven specific churches which are okay and then it says um and the things which shall be hereafter so just last passage revelation chapter four revelation of the four of us on one revelation of the four of us on one the things which shall be hereafter revelation of the four of us number one it says after this i looked and behold a door was opened in heaven and the first voice which i heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me which said come up here though and i will show thee things which must be hereafter so chapter four begins the hereafter chapter four begins the future events to come the end times all right brethren we already read verse number 20 in relation to one person 20 but just as a reminder in chapter 20 don't forget that our church is a candlestick don't forget that jesus christ is in our midst don't forget there's a great blessing from christ if you read here and keep the sayings of this book all right what i really want to end with you guys is we don't need to be fearful we have christ on our side he's in our midst if you're fearful if you're like pastor i've never heard it before pastor i don't want to go for tribulation what did jesus christ say fear fear not okay he is the prince of the kings of this earth he's got authority over hell over death like why should we be afraid of dying we're in christ's hands he's got a power in this area and he's got authority over the earth there's nothing that we as god's people if we're in the right mind that we should be fearful maybe a little bitter i understand understand okay but very sweet and i think as we go through chapter by chapter for the bible you're really going to appreciate the sweetness of this book okay let's pray