In the Word

Pastor Mike Warren: Turn to Revelation, not Revelations, Revelation. And it is not the revelation of Saint John; it is the revelation of Jesus Christ. Amen. How many were here the last time we went through the book of Revelation? Okay, let me say this: how many were not here? Oh, wow. You guys are in for a real treat.

We're going to do the introduction this morning. We're going to try to get through the first eight verses. We're going to find that there's a built-in outline and a built-in blessing in the studying of this book. The first three verses are the prologue, which sets the stage for everything else that's going to be said through the next 22 chapters. Then we're going to find that from verse four to verse eight is the introduction. Hopefully, we can get through that because the book really begins, as far as content goes, in verse nine of chapter one.

Let's pray and we'll just dive right in. Father, we thank you this morning again that you would reveal to us the things of the future so that we can be prepared for those things. You tell us in Amos, the minor prophet, chapter three, verse seven, that the Lord our God does nothing until first He reveals His secrets to His servants the prophets. We're going to see this morning that you reveal these things through your son Jesus Christ to angels in some cases and to your servant John in other cases for these things to be written down so that we could understand them.

So, Lord, we just ask that over the next number of months—I know it's going to take a while to get through this—that you would just speak to us about the time that we're living in, and that we would be aware of it and in preparation, as it were, for the things to come. We pray these things in Jesus' name, and all God's kids would say, amen.

If you're a note-taker, you want to get your notepad and pen out right now because there are a lot of things we're going to say to you by way of introduction this morning that really set the stage for where we're going to be studying over the next weeks and months. So, that's why we're going to go through the prologue and the introduction, but there's a lot in those things.

I want you to know that the two most controversial books of the Bible are Genesis and Revelation. There's more scrutiny of those two books than any other books of the Bible. The reason why is in Genesis we find out where we came from. Yet, when we understand where we came from, that we were created by a God—an infinite God, an almighty God, a transcendent God who still rules in the affairs of men—in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth and everything that we see, and then finally He created man. We are created, as we find in Genesis, to worship Him, to serve Him.

Your life will never be fulfilled until you understand the purpose for your life. It's not to be driven. You drive cows; you lead sheep. There have been a lot of books written about the purpose-driven church. You're not driven; you are to be led by the Spirit into a relationship with the God that created you. We're going to find that out in Revelation as we move through: that we were created to worship Him, to serve Him, to surrender our lives to Him.

Then the second most controversial book is before us this morning: the book of Revelation. People will say stupid things like, "You can't understand it." Well, we're going to find out this morning that the very title reveals to us that we're supposed to understand it. We're going to see this morning that it's the only book of the Bible that has its own built-in outline. It's the only book of the Bible that says that if you read it, hear it, and keep it, you will be blessed. In fact, it is the book that reveals who Jesus Christ is.

Here's what I want you to know, everyone listening. Every one of you in the sound of my voice—whether you're sitting in this congregation this morning or listening to me later on the radio or whatever platform: live stream, Vimeo, Facebook, YouTube, whatever we're out there on—you need to know this: you are going to live forever. Every one of you, saved and unsaved. You're going to live forever. There is no death. You're going to step into eternity at some point, either by grave or by rapture for the Christian, but you're going to step into eternity.

You're going to face God, every one of us, none excluded from that. But from Genesis to Revelation—Genesis where you came from and Revelation where you're going—everything in between is given to us as preparation for that which is to come so we can make a proper choice. Choose you this day whom you're going to serve. Like Joshua said, if it doesn't seem right to serve the true and living God, then go serve the gods of this world and see how it works out for you. But you're not going to die; you're going to change locations. You're going to leave this life and you're going to change locations.

That's why Revelation is written to us: to warn us that there are only two locations. You're not going to cease to exist. You're not going to join the stardust. You are an eternal soul the moment you came into this life and breathed your first. From cradle to grave, you're making decisions, and the most important decision you will ever make is whom you're going to serve. There are only two masters: there's either the true and living God or the god of this world. There are only two destinations: heaven or hell.

That's why these are the two most important books in the Bible: Genesis, which tells us where we came from and who made us, that we were created in His image and what sin had done in the Garden of Eden to separate us from our God. All the way from there to Revelation is this work of the Spirit, this work of Christ on Calvary's cross, to bring us back into relationship with the Father so that we can step out of this life and go to heaven.

So, that's what's before us. I just want you to know this morning, hey, you can ignore it, you can reject it, you can mock it. You can mock Genesis and you can mock Revelation, but one day you will stand before the true and living God and you're going to give an account for your life. So, I'm going to try to make your destination as clear as possible over these next weeks and months so there's no confusion. In fact, there's no confusion about where you came from. Do you understand that you are fearfully and wonderfully made?

Every scientist today knows that evolution cannot have happened. The genome, the DNA coding in your body tells you, just like it said in Genesis, each after their own kind. There are so many things around us that are measurable that the Lord told us are witnesses—not just the Word, but nature speaks of His glory. You have three billion bits of information that make you *you*. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. Because of the DNA and the genome, you can't be anything but what you were. Monkeys don't turn into men. Well, men can turn into monkeys, but monkeys don't turn into men.

We are fearfully and wonderfully made by a Creator and we are responsible to Him. You can reject Him, but one day the Bible says every knee is going to bow and every tongue is going to confess that He is Lord, to the glory of the Father. Every knee. I thank God that 50 years ago, my knee bowed to the right Master. You see, life is about choosing the right Master. Life is about acknowledging who made you, who your life belongs to, and then choosing right choices to determine where your life is going and where you're going to end up.

That's what we're in this section of: where we're going. If you've got your pad and pen out, let's take a look at the very title of the book. It is Revelation, not Revelations. There's no "s" on it. It's not the revelation of Saint John. Some of your Bibles have said that and you'll see it in some of the titles. This is the revelation of Jesus Christ. Maybe your Bible might say underneath it the word for revelation means *Apocalypse*, and that's exactly what it means.

The word for *Apocalypse* means something a little different to us today than it meant when the ink was put to the quill and pen to the paper and wrote this. So, if you're a note-taker, *Apocalypse* is two words put together: *apo*, which means "away from," and *calypsis*, which means "to conceal." So, the very title of the book, Revelation or *Apocalypse*, is to take away that which is concealed or, in other words, to take off the coverings that are concealing something.

The very title tells us this is not a book that cannot be understood. In fact, the very title of the book is that I'm going to reveal to you, I'm going to take the cover off, I'm going to take the wrappings off, I'm going to show you, and I'm going to give it to you as the revelation, the understanding, the absolute manifest understanding, the clearest understanding of who Jesus is, what's coming in light of the church, what's coming in light of those who reject the church, and where this thing is going for eternity. It is the unveiling. "The Unveiling" would be a better title for this: the unveiling of Jesus Christ, removing anything that would distract, anything that would cover, anything that would hinder so that we have a clear view of who Jesus Christ is, a clear view of eternity, a clear view of our direction and purpose in life. It's to be made clear to us.

In this particular title, it's so important because how many have heard you just can't understand it? That's why we don't teach it. No, no, no. The very title tells us you can understand it. In fact, again, the minor prophet Amos in chapter three, verse seven, says the Lord our God does nothing unless first He reveals His secrets to His servants the prophets because He's not playing hide-and-seek with us. He wants you to have every bit of information that you need to make a proper choice.

Let me say this: your life—and I've heard this said so often—you just want to be happy. It's as though happiness was to be the pursuit of life. Well, the Bible talks about that, where people say, "Let's eat, drink, and be merry because happiness is the pursuit." Happiness is not the pursuit of this life. Did you know that? If the devil has lied to you, you need to change course. God didn't call you to be happy; He called you to be holy.

God called you in this life to make decisions that are preparatory for the life that is to come. When we get on the other side of this thing, then there'll be peace and joy. Happiness, if you get to experience it in this life, is a product of a right relationship with your Maker. In His presence, Psalm 16 says, is fullness of joy; at His right hand are pleasures evermore. So, if you're pursuing the things of this life that make you happy, they will lead you away from Christ. We're going to find that out.

You can be a Christian in name only, but Jesus is coming back for those who are watching and waiting. In fact, He says in Matthew chapter seven—by the way, this is just introduction to the introduction—in Matthew chapter seven, He said many will say to me on that day, when I come to judge the living and the dead, and that's what's going to be before us these next 22 chapters, many will say to me, "Lord, Lord, haven't we done all of these things in your name?" and they'll have a whole list of things that they've done. Yet, the response of Jesus will be to them, "Depart from me, you worker of iniquity; I never knew you. We never had a relationship."

So, the thing you need to understand this morning is Jesus didn't come to suffer and die on Calvary's cross to create a religion. He came to bring you back into relationship with the one who made you. That's our origin. And then in this life to lead you to make proper choices about your destination because we are quickly moving through this life. This life is a vapor. It's here one moment and gone the next. We're only guaranteed about 70 years, and if you live longer than that, you're definitely in grace. I'm approaching it. I got two more years of promise and then the rest of it's going to be grace. You can figure out how old I am.

But we're moving through this life. This life is preparatory for the life that is to come. That's why this book is the revelation, it's the unveiling of Jesus Christ—what He has done for us, where He's taking us, what our hope is, and what our future will be. That's what's contained in this book.

Now, we're going to find as we go through this book that there are 44 separate visions. There are 44 visions in this book. There are 49 times that John is going to say that he saw something. We're going to see in a few moments that this book is laid out in such a way it's just not Jesus speaking to John and him writing; He's going to show us this book in ways that cannot be misunderstood. Language over the years can change; it can be misunderstood. Do you agree with that?

Like *Apocalypse*, when I say the word *Apocalypse*, you think of some big tragic thing that goes on, like *Apocalypse Now*, the movie that came out about Vietnam. You think of a tragedy when *Apocalypse* simply means to take away the wraps, to take away that which conceals so that you can see clearly. It is to unveil something. You see how words change. So, we're going to see in a few moments when we go through the introduction that he is taken to see things so that he gives us a description of what he's seeing, not just what he's writing, so that we can understand it.

Forty-nine times he's going to say that he saw something. Thirty times he's going to be told to behold something: "Behold this, take note of this, be in awe of this, John, set this to heart." Behold 30 times. Seventeen times he's going to be transported from earth to heaven and from earth to other places on earth. He's going to be taken in the spirit, as it were, 17 times and transported to different places in this book. Fifty-four times we have the number seven, which is the number of completion. Eight's the number of new beginnings.

The book of Revelation is the book of completion. It's where the work of God comes to its finality, it comes to its completion. And then when the new heaven and earth come at the end of this book, that's the number eight because we start all over. It's a new beginning. So, 54 times this number seven is found in this book.

Then 65 times, he's going to say to us—because he's trying to see things that are in the future from a first-century mindset, from a first-century understanding—so he's going to say, "Well, what I'm seeing is like this over here, but it's not the same." Like as, or unto. He's trying to describe to us what he's seeing, something he's never seen before. Because I believe when we go through chapter one, we're going to find that when he was in the spirit on the Lord's Day—and Chuck Smith brought this out—it could easily be interpreted in the Greek and the Aramaic that he was in the spirit unto the Lord's Day.

Most Bible scholars believe that he was literally transported out of time. He saw, as he writes chapters two and three, the church ages. He saw the church in heaven before the throne in chapter four. He saw Christ taking the scroll, the title deed of planet earth, from the throne. He's seeing these things. He's there in that timeframe and in that event. He sees from chapter six to chapter 18 the Great Tribulation. He sees the church return with Christ to set up His millennial reign. He actually sees the whole millennial reign and he sees at the end of the millennial reign that Satan is loosed for a short season and then fire comes from heaven and consumes him and those that will follow him. He actually sees—although he doesn't give us any commentary on it—he actually sees the new heaven and a new earth, and then he's brought back, as it were, and put in his timeframe and told to write these things.

Well, how do you do that? Well, this is what I saw. This is what I was told to behold. This is the end of all things. This is the completion. Like I said, the number seven. And then he's going to say, "Well, let me take my best shot at it." I appreciate John. You know, when Paul had traveled to heaven—he talks about a man some 14 years ago, in the body, out of the body, I'm not really sure, but he was caught up into the third heaven where Christ dwells—when he returns, all he tells us is, "Hey, your eyes have never seen, your ears never heard, it's never entered your heart what God has prepared for them that love Him." Really, Paul? That's all you've got to say? You couldn't have done what John did? You couldn't have taken a shot at it? No, no, no. You have no idea. Really? Well, give me one. No, you'll just have to wait and see.

But John tries because he's told to do these things. He's told to write. So, sitting here this morning, if you're a believer, you will embrace these things. If you're a non-believer, you will mock these things. But you won't mock Him. He will not be mocked. These things are coming to pass, and this book is a warning.

When we study prophecy, prophecy is never to titillate the mind. It's not an intellectual exercise like a crossword puzzle so you can figure it out. The motivation of prophecy is always to prepare your heart for what is yet to come. I pray as we make this journey that that's what it does: that it opens your eyes and your heart, your ears to hear what it is the Spirit is saying.

In fact, when Jesus—as He's writing these seven letters to the seven churches—when we get to chapters two and three, He ends every one of those warnings to the seven churches, which we're going to see represent the church age from its inception to the time Jesus comes for it, He is warning the church and He closes every one of those short little epistles with: "He that hath an ear, let him hear what it is the Spirit is saying to the churches." He's still speaking today.

The problem is we don't want to surrender our lives. We think that Christianity is something we add to our lives instead of our lives. Let me just say this by way of introduction. This is what Paul wrote to the church of Colossae. By the way, out of the church to Colossae came the Gnostic heresy and some of those false teachings of antinomianism, where the whole thought was you can live as carnal as you want now and you can still be saved by grace. Yet Paul has to write to that church and says, "Listen carefully, saint: if you then be risen with Christ..."

Let me ask you this morning, how many would profess, by the raising of your hand, that you have been born of the Spirit, you're born again, and you have been risen with Christ? You've confessed Christ as your Savior. You've confessed that His blood was sufficient to wash you of all of your sins. You've confessed that through His grace and mercy you are saved, and He's wrote your name in the Lamb's Book of Life. You believe that Jesus Christ was the eternal God, God the Son, who took on human form, who suffered and died as He was conceived of the Spirit, born of a virgin, lived the sinless life, suffered and died for your sins, and He became the atoning work for you. He took your sins upon Him, gave you His righteousness, rose again the third day, ascended to the Father, and is there ever-living to make intercession for you. How many believe that? Then listen, you are risen with Christ. That's the first step. That's not the only step. That's coming through the door.