HopeLives365

Guest (Male): What is the wrath of God? Is it God's anger? Not at all. When you read about the wrath of God in the Bible, it's God's judgment against sin. Now, how does the Bible define the final wrath of God?

Guest (Female): This is Hope Lives 365 with Pastor Mark Finley. Today's message: Revelation Unlocks the Future, part one. Enjoy and remember you can always catch up with past messages and stay up-to-date with Hope Lives 365 and Pastor Mark by going to hopelives365.com. And now, Pastor Mark Finley.

Mark Finley: When you think about last day events and coming events, many thoughts can come to your mind. Some young people think about the coming Mark of the Beast, a time when no man or woman can buy or sell. They think about a coming death decree, a time of trouble, and they really focus on that, and it brings them a lot of fear and uncertainty.

Some young people have heard about a time of trouble when there is no mediator, and they say, "I really am filled with fear." So one of my goals is to help you sense the presence of Christ in the coming conflict. So we will focus on the events that are coming, but we're going to focus on Christ in the coming conflict.

Second goal is this: I want to show you biblically that what Seventh-day Adventists believe about last day events is solidly in scripture. There are many people who will say to you, "Let's study coming events," but the first presentation or two, this presentation and the next one this morning, I'm going to really spend a lot of time in the Bible. We will look at statements from the Spirit of Prophecy as corollary to the Bible, but I'm going to give you a very solid biblical base so that you'll be able to explain to any friend what Seventh-day Adventists understand and believe from the Bible.

You are aware that Seventh-day Adventists understand last day events quite differently than the traditional evangelical world. The evangelical world basically will say that Christ can come essentially at any time, and you might be walking down the street and Jesus will come. Seventh-day Adventists don't believe that. We believe that there are certain events that must take place before the return of the Lord. And those events are all part of a larger picture, the great controversy.

If you understand the great controversy, that makes all the difference in the world. So we're going to look at the great controversy theme in the light of last day events. So that's another goal of mine, is to give you a strong biblical foundation. If you come to one class, you will get something out of it, but if you stay with us all five classes, it'll make a dramatic difference in your life. You will see last day events in a new perspective and in a new way that you really haven't seen before.

I have a third objective, and the third objective is to give you a very solid biblical and Spirit of Prophecy understanding of the sequence of events, and to help you to avoid a lot of the heresies that are currently in the Adventist church and currently—and a lot more will be coming in the future. So those three goals: one, a Christ-centered approach to last day events; second, a biblical approach to last day events; and thirdly, an approach to last day events that helps us to avoid many of the conflicts, many of the controversies and crises that are coming and the heresies in our world. So let's bow our heads in prayer and then we're going to go right into scripture.

Father in heaven, we thank you with all of our hearts for the Word of God. We thank you for the events that you have clearly outlined in scripture. And as we study particularly the book of Revelation, combined with the book of Daniel, combined with the prophetic understanding of Jesus in Matthew 24, Luke 21, Mark 13, and as we look at those varying chapters, give us a clear mind and give us a deep understanding of your word. In Christ's name, amen.

If you have your Bible, I invite you to take it and turn to the book of Thessalonians. And we're going to be taking a look at 1 Thessalonians the fifth chapter because here Paul invites us to have our eyes wide open. There are many who look at the events that are taking place in our world and have very little understanding of them. They will see hurricanes, tornadoes, fires, floods, natural disaster. They will see a world that is arming for nuclear war, and they won't quite understand these events. They'll see an economy that is teetering on disaster, and they look out at the world and they see these things through natural eyes.

We who are Bible students see them through divine eyes. We see them differently. And here in 1 Thessalonians chapter five, the apostle Paul begins with verse one: "But concerning the times and seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you know yourselves perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night."

Now notice the expression "thief in the night." Does not mean in any way Jesus is coming quietly or in some kind of rapture. Revelation 1:7 says he comes with clouds and every eye is going to see him. Psalm 50 verse 3 says he comes and he will not keep silence. And so throughout scripture, the coming of Christ that is described is a glorious coming with every eye to see it, every ear to hear it. But when the Bible uses the term "thief in the night," it uses it as quickly, rapidly, unexpectedly. So Christ is coming quickly, he's coming rapidly, he's coming unexpectedly.

Now notice verse three: "When they say peace and safety." Do you see the word "safety" in that text? The Greek word means security. And so people today are looking for security: security when it comes to financial security, security when it comes to healthcare, security when it comes to national security and freedom from terrorism. It says: "When they say peace and security," the world talks about peace and security, "then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so this day should overtake you as a thief."

Now notice you're not in darkness, and it's verse five and six that I want to look at: "You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep as others, but let us watch and be sober." So here the apostle Paul calls us to be alert. He calls us to be cognizant of what's going on in our world. We who know the truth, we who do what? Know what? The truth. Do Seventh-day Adventists know and understand the truth? Certainly. Should be preparing for what's soon to break upon the world as an overwhelming surprise.

Something's going to come to this world and for the world, it's going to be what? An overwhelming surprise. But what does the apostle Paul say? He says concerning the times and seasons, I don't need to write to you because you know perfectly the Lord's going to come as a thief in the night.

Second reference is found in the seventh volume of the Testimonies, page 14. And it says: "Those who place themselves under God's control," that's where I want to be, don't you? Under God's control. "To be led and guided by him will catch the steady tread of events ordained by him to take place." I'm interested in this expression, "the steady tread of events." When you look at the books of Daniel and Revelation, there are a clear outline of events that are going to take place just before the coming of Jesus. And that's what we're going to take a look at, this steady tread of events in the first session.

So let's go back to the book of Revelation. The book of Revelation is really divided into two parts. The first 11 chapters are largely historical. The last 11 chapters are largely prophetic. The first 11 chapters of the book of Revelation largely deal with the seven churches, the seven seals, and the seven trumpets. They all start in John's day and they end with the coming of Christ. So when you look at the first 11 chapters of the book of Revelation, they start in John's day and they end in the second coming of Christ.

Here are two very important principles of prophetic interpretation. First, the prophecy always begins where the prophet is. You remember Daniel chapter two: the head of gold, breast and arms of silver, thighs of brass, legs of iron. The image, where does the prophecy begin in Daniel 2? In Babylon. Where is Daniel living? In Babylon. The prophecy begins with where the prophet is.

Somebody said the journey of a thousand miles begins where you are with the first step. So in the prophecies of Revelation, they typically don't take you back to Babylon. John is living at the end of the first century and they begin there. Seven churches are sequential prophecies that begin in the first century. The same with the seven seals and the seven trumpets.

The second principle of prophetic interpretation is this: it's called repetition and enlargement. Just like you have Daniel 2 in the image, so when you go to Daniel 7, you repeat Daniel 2 and you enlarge. Daniel 8, you repeat and enlarge. Daniel 11, you repeat and enlarge. Same thing in Revelation. You have the seven churches, and then the seven seals cover the exact same area but repeat and enlarge. Same with the seven trumpets. We're going to begin with Revelation chapter one, and I'm going to give you an overview of Revelation and then in the first section, look at Revelation 10, 12, and 14. But you need the setting of that.

Guest (Female): We'll be right back with Pastor Mark Finley. We thank you for listening and hope you're enjoying today's message. Our mission is to attractively present the Christ-centered biblical truths of scripture in a practical, relevant way to people around the world so that they may experience the abundant life that Christ offers and effectively share with confidence his life-changing truths with others. You can support this ministry and help us reach even more by going to hopelives365.com/donate. And now, back to Pastor Mark Finley.

Mark Finley: Revelation chapter one, verse one. Now notice the name of this book is what? Revelation. Is a revelation something that's sealed or unsealed? The word Revelation actually in the Greek language is "apocalypsis," and it means unfolding or unsealing. Some people have the idea that Revelation is a closed book, but in actual fact, Revelation is an open book, and it's the last book of the Bible.

Revelation 1 verse 1. Some of our evangelical friends say, "I don't want to study Revelation, I just want to study about Jesus." Well, Revelation 1:1 should answer that question, shouldn't it? "The Revelation of Jesus Christ." Whose revelation is this? Jesus. If Jesus has a revelation, I certainly want to know Jesus' revelation for end time, don't you? If Jesus gave to John a revelation, well where did Jesus get it? Well God gave it to him, verse one.

Why? "To show his servants things which must shortly take place. And he sent and signified it by his angel to his servant John." So God had a special message for mankind. And God gave that message to whom? To Jesus. And who did Jesus give it to? The angel. And what did the angel do? He left the courts of heaven and he came down and he blessed John with that prophetic vision. And John wrote it down in a book.

So when you and I pick up the Bible and we turn to the book of Revelation, we stand in awe. We stand in wonder. Here is a book conceived in the mind of God, given to Jesus, sent by an angel, and John wrote it down, and we read it today. This is no common message. This is no ordinary message. It's a message given by God to Jesus through the angel to John, and you and I beat with eager anticipation as we read it.

Every book has a central theme, and verse seven introduces the central theme of the book of Revelation. You find it in verse seven. If we have it, let's read it all together, Revelation 1 verse 7: "Behold, he is coming with clouds, and every eye will see him, and they also who pierced him, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of him. Even so, amen." The second great theme of the book of Revelation is the second coming of Christ.

If you look at the sequence prophecies, the seven churches end up with the church at Laodicea, which means a people judged—the judgment, the second coming of Christ. The seven seals end up with the second coming of Christ. The seven trumpets end up with the second coming of Christ. So when you look at the book of Revelation, the great theme of Revelation you can summarize in four words: Jesus wins and Satan loses. So the great theme of Revelation is what, everybody? Jesus wins and Satan loses.

Now there are three great chapters in the book of Revelation on the True Church. Revelation chapter 10 describes the historic rise of the True Church. Revelation chapter 12 describes the identifying characteristics of the True Church. And Revelation chapter 14 describes the message of the True Church. So you really have three chapters in the book of Revelation on the True Church. Revelation 10 is the historic rise of the True Church. Revelation chapter 12 are the identifying characteristics of the True Church. Revelation chapter 14 is the message of the True Church.

It's in this context that we can understand last day events. And so we're going to look at those three chapters in some detail in this first session. And so take your Bible and turn to Revelation chapter 10. And we're going to look at Revelation 10, Revelation 12, and Revelation 14 to get a general outline of last day events in this first session.

Revelation the 10th chapter. Understanding Revelation 10 will save you from a thousand heresies. And all of the heresies are not outside the Adventist church today. Every wind of doctrine is blowing within the Adventist church. And I want you to be solid in your understanding. I want you to have a solid foundation for your faith.

We begin with Revelation 10. Now the theme of Revelation 10 is the historic rise of the True Church. So we're going to start with verse one: "And I saw still another mighty angel come down from heaven." When a mighty angel comes down from heaven, what do we do? We pay attention, right? "And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud, and a rainbow was on his head, his face shone like the sun, and he had feet like pillars of fire."

Before we go on, that first verse is power-packed. Notice what it says, "I saw another angel, a mighty angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud." Can you think of another time when God used the symbolism of a cloud when he was leading his people out of Egypt to the Promised Land? When did that happen? In the wilderness. So are we modern Israel? Is God leading us from the Egypt of this world to heavenly Canaan? So what was the cloud a symbol of? The cloud was a symbol of God's divine favor to protect Israel from the scorching sun of the Sinai Desert.

Throughout the Bible, clouds represent the favor of angels. They represent God's divine favor. Let me give you an example of that. Keep your finger in Revelation 10 and turn to Proverbs 16 verse 15. The clouds are a symbol of divine favor. They can represent angels, or they can represent the blessing or the favor of God. Proverbs 16, you're looking there at verse 15. Proverbs 16 verse 15.

And I want to show you just from the first verse how you can get the theme of Revelation 10 and how it's so easy to pass over significant passages in scripture. So the angel is clothed with a cloud, or clothed with God's divine favor. God's going to bless his people with his favor. Look at Proverbs 16 verse 15: "In the light of the king's face is life, and his favor like a cloud of the latter rain." So here, the favor of the king is like the cloud.

So God is going to give favor to his last-day church in the outpouring of the latter rain in the Holy Spirit so that his church can complete its work on earth. So we have introduced here the favor or blessing of God. Now notice, there was a rainbow on his head. When you think of a rainbow, what's the first thought that comes to your mind? Rainbow, biblically. Noah's flood.

Now keep your finger here and we'll see something very fascinating about the rainbow. Go back to Genesis chapter 9. When you read about the rainbow, that's covenant language. And when you think about the covenant, you're thinking about justice and mercy. So Genesis the ninth chapter. Genesis chapter nine. You can read it throughout Genesis 9, but we'll look at verse 12 and 13. Speaking of the rainbow, it says: "And God said, 'This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you for perpetual generations. I set my rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.'"

So God introduces the covenant. When you think of the covenant, you're thinking of justice and mercy. In the mercy of God, he sent Noah to prepare a world for the soon return of Jesus—to prepare the world for a flood as a type of a message that would prepare the world for imminent destruction. But God also was just in destroying sin.

So when you come to Revelation chapter 10, it's talking about the favor and blessing of God upon his last-day people by pouring out the clouds of blessing that are filled with rain, namely the latter rain. It's talking about the justice and mercy of God in the final end-time judgment. We see God's justice and mercy revealed on the cross, but we also see God's justice and mercy revealed in the judgment just before the coming of Jesus because God reveals before a waiting world and a watching universe those people that everybody could have been saved if they would have responded.

So back to Revelation chapter 10. Notice also Revelation 4 verse 3 talks about the rainbow. Revelation 4 verse 3, and it tells us where that rainbow is. Revelation 4:3 says: "And he who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance, and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like emerald." So a rainbow around God's throne. God's character is love. And what are the two aspects of love? Love reveals mercy and love reveals justice.

Because if you have mercy and you have no justice, sin goes on perpetually. But if you have justice and you have no mercy, you destroy Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. So God reveals justice and mercy and that's what the covenant is all about. That's what the cross is all about. On the cross Christ dies because the law could not be broken, so he is just and receiving the condemnation of sin upon himself, but he is also merciful in reaching out in love to save those who respond to his grace.

So we see a mighty angel comes down from heaven. He's clothed with a cloud, a rainbow, justice and mercy is on his face. His face is shining like the sun, the righteousness of Christ, the sun of righteousness. So this angel reveals he's iridescent with the glory of God. And his feet were like pillars of fire. When do you read about a pillar of fire in the Old Testament? Moses, yes, but what about how was Israel guided at night? By the pillar of fire. So what does the pillar of fire indicate? Guidance, guidance.

So in Revelation 10 verse 1, you have an introduction to the whole chapter. God is going to bless his people with clouds of favor in the latter rain. This God of justice and mercy at the end-time judgment will reveal his grace to all humanity. This God will reveal Jesus as the sun of righteousness in his final last-day message. And this God will guide his people just like he guided Israel with the pillars of fire. We continue.

Guest (Female): You've been listening to Hope Lives 365 with Pastor Mark Finley. We hope you've enjoyed today's message and remind you that you can find more in our many ministry resources at hopelives365.com. And you can support this ministry by going to hopelives365.com/donate. And now, a final thought from Pastor Mark Finley.

Mark Finley: He has a little book open in his hand, and his left, he sets his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land. What's this all about, a little book opened? Is there any book in the Bible that was ever closed? Daniel. Go back to Daniel chapter 12. Here it talks about the book of Daniel being sealed, shut up, or closed, verse 4: "But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase."

You know, I've heard people say that that's scientific knowledge that will increase. That would be a secondary application. Do you see where it says many shall run to and fro? The Hebrew expression is they'll leaf back and forth. They'll go over the scroll. Knowledge of the book of Daniel would increase at the time of the end. The book of Daniel would be shut up or sealed. What portion of the book of Daniel would be shut up or sealed until the time of the end? The prophetic portion.