{"id":18967,"date":"2018-11-18T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-11-18T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sugar-land-bible-church.local\/sermon\/revelation-019-our-heavenly-destiny\/"},"modified":"2018-11-18T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2018-11-18T06:00:00","slug":"revelation-019-our-heavenly-destiny","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/slbc.org\/es\/sermon\/revelation-019-our-heavenly-destiny\/","title":{"rendered":"Revelation 019 – Our Heavenly Destiny"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","book":[111],"series_event":[490],"sermon_service_type":[472],"speaker":[6],"class_list":["post-18967","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","hentry","book-revelation","series_event-revelation","sermon_service_type-main-service","speaker-dr-andy-woods","no-post-thumbnail"],"acf":{"sermon_title":"Revelation 019 - Our Heavenly Destiny","sermon_date":"20181118","sermon_month":"11","sermon_year":"2018","sermon_notes":6224,"sermon_slides":6228,"sermon_mp3":6226,"sermon_id":"111818153540335","series_or_event":490,"service_type":[472],"speaker":6,"books_of_the_bible":111,"chapter_and_verse":"4:1-6a","sermon_transcript":"Andy Woods\n\nOur Heavenly Destiny\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 11-18-18\n\nRevelation 4:1-11\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Lesson 19\n\nLet\u2019s take our Bibles and open them to the Book of Revelation, chapter 4 and verse 1.\u00a0 The title of our message this morning is Our Heavenly Destiny.\u00a0\u00a0 And as you\u2019re turning there I want to thank Will Miller and Gabe Morris for filling in, in the pulpit, the last couple of weeks.\u00a0 I trust their ministries were a blessing to you.\u00a0 I know some of you are very eager to hear what we encountered on our trip and I\u2019d love to share it with you but right now my pictures are a little disorganized so I\u2019ll try to put together some kind of presentation to give at some point.\u00a0 But we did have a very blessed time and we really appreciate your all\u2019s prayers during that time.\n\nBut for this morning let\u2019s take a look at Revelation 4.\u00a0 Of course if you\u2019ve been tracking with us through the Book of Revelation we had a little interruption for three weeks but\u00a0 we started off the study by answering some basic questions about the background of the Book of Revelation.\u00a0 We went through the prologue or the introduction of the book and then we hit this verse here, chapter 1, verse 19, John is told, \u201cTherefore write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after these things.\u201d\u00a0 There is your three part outline of the book.\u00a0 The \u201cthings that you have seen,\u201d chapter 1.\u00a0 The vision that John saw of the glorified Christ on a little tiny island called Patmos.\u00a0 We weren\u2019t too far from there on our trip in the Mediterranean Sea.\n\nThen he\u2019s told to write down \u201cthe things that are,\u201d and that\u2019s\u00a0 where we have been for several weeks prior to our departure, studying chapters 2 and 3, the seven letters to the seven churches.\u00a0 We worked our way through those seven letters and it was an astounding section, wouldn\u2019t you agree, the things that Christ reveals to His church.\n\nBut then there\u2019s a third part of the outline, \u201cwrite down the things that will take place after these things.\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s the final section of the book, the longest section of the book that we\u2019re entering into now, the information that everybody is very interested in because it concerns the future, chapters 4-22.\u00a0 John was told to \u201cwrite down the things that would take\u00a0 place after these things.\u201d\u00a0 The translation of \u201cafter these things\u201d is meta tauta<\/em>.\u00a0 So how do we know we\u2019re in that final section?\u00a0 Well, we know it because of chapter 4, verse 1, \u201cAfter these things\u201d does that sound familiar-- meta tauta<\/em>?\u00a0 \u201c\u2026I looked, and behold, a door standing<\/em> open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound<\/em> of a trumpet speaking with me, said, \u2018Come up here, and I will show you what must take place\u201d when? \u201cafter these things.\u201d\u2019 meta tauta<\/em> is repeated twice; that\u2019s how we know we\u2019re in the third and final section of the book.\n\nBecause this is the longest section of the book we kind of have to think about how we\u2019re going to divide this up and here is a very simple outline.\u00a0 The first part of the outline is the things in heaven that will take place before the tribulation period, chapters 4 and 5, the section we\u2019re starting to study today, sometimes called The Heavenly Scene.\u00a0 Part 2 is events during the tribulation period itself, this is the section of the Book of Revelation that most people are aware of, at least some of its contents, chapters 6-19, where God pours out His judgments upon this earth.\u00a0 And then you have a third part, the things that will take place after the tribulation is over, chapters 20-22, things like the kingdom, (20:1-10) the Great White Throne Judgment [20:11-15),\u00a0 the Destruction of this Earth by fire \u00a0(21:1), and then finally, the last two chapters, the New Heaven and New Earth (21\u201222).\n\nSo we have tribulation, Second coming, kingdom, Great White Throne Judgment and then the eternal state and don\u2019t worry if you didn\u2019t grasp all of that first time around, we\u2019ll be making many references to that.\u00a0 But that\u2019s the general thrust, the general trajectory (if you will) of these final chapters in the Book of Revelation.\n\nLet\u2019s start with the things that will take place before the tribulation period even begins.\u00a0 Before the judgments of God are ever poured out on the earth we have sort of a pause in the action, chapters 4 and 5, the heavenly scene, where we\u2019re told the place where the judgment will come from (heaven), and then we\u2019re told about the person who will bring forth this judgment, (Jesus Christ).\u00a0 Before the judgment comes the Holy Spirit wants us to know from where the judgment will come, place, and who is going to pour out this judgment, Jesus Christ, person.\u00a0 Who and where would be another way of saying this.\n\nNow you might recall how the prior chapter ended\u2014as Jesus was speaking to the church at Laodicea He says, \u201cHe who overcomes, I will grant to him\u00a0to sit down with Me on My throne<\/u>, as\u00a0I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne<\/u>.\u201d [Revelation 3:21]\u00a0 He made an issue of the fact that there are two thrones here. \u00a0But it\u2019s very interesting to note that in heaven on the Father\u2019s throne you have two members of the Trinity currently.\u00a0 And that insight dovetails nicely into chapters 4 and 5 which highlight those two members of the Trinity in heaven on the Father\u2019s throne, God the Son and God the Father.\u00a0 God the Father is the focus of chapter 4, the chapter we\u2019re going to begin looking at today.\u00a0 God the Son is the focus of chapter 5, the final chapter in this heavenly scene before the judgments come to the earth.\n\nMaybe this chart will help.\u00a0 How do you navigate\u00a0 your way through Revelation 4 and 5?\u00a0 Well, first of all, they\u2019re different chapters (obviously).\u00a0 Secondly, they feature different members of the Godhead, God the Father is the focus in chapter 4, God the Son is the focus in chapter 5.\u00a0 Their different roles are highlighted.\u00a0 The role of God as the Creator is highlighted in chapter 4; the role of God the Son as the Redeemer is highlighted in chapter 5.\n\nAnd when you look, for example, at chapter 4, verse 11, the very beginning of the verse, \u201cWorthy are you.\u201d\u00a0 [Revelation 4:11, \u201cWorthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.\u201d\u00a0 If\u00a0 you go over to chapter 5 and verse 9 it says the same thing,\u00a0 \u201cWorthy are You.\u201d\u00a0 [Revelation 5:9, \u201cWorthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men<\/em> from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.\u201d]\n\nAnd\u00a0 you drop down to chapter 5, verse 12 it says the same thing, \u201cWorthy is the Lamb.\u201d\u00a0 [Revelation 5:12, \u201c\u2026\u201cWorthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.\u201d]\u00a0 What is happening here is\u00a0 you\u2019re seeing true worship, worship or worth is being ascribed to God the Father and God the Son.\u00a0 God the Father is being glorified because He created all things; God the Son is being glorified because He redeemed all things.\n\nAnd you see, some of these judgment that we\u2019ll be reading about in chapters 6-19 are of such an intensity level and of such a severity you might ask yourself the question, does God really have the right to judge creation, like He\u2019s going to do it?\u00a0 And the answer to that question is found in this heavenly scene, before the judgments even come, because we learn that God the Father and God\u00a0 the Son are qualified because through God we have creation itself and through God we have redemption itself.\u00a0 The Triune Godhead is the Creator (which would be enough of a right) but also the Redeemer.\u00a0 God the Son stepped out of eternity into time to redeem through the crucifixion and the resurrection the creation that was brought into existence.\n\nSo if someone is the Creator of creation and the Redeemer of creation can you think of any higher credentials than that?\u00a0 There are no higher credentials.\u00a0 And so what happens is the credentials of the Trinity are established in these two chapters and so God have every single right, both as Creator and Redeemer to pour out judgment upon creation in His providence and His timing, because you see, man is always challenging God\u2026 you have no right to do this!\u00a0 God says of course I have the right to do it, I created you!\u00a0 In fact, you wouldn\u2019t even have your very next breath if I wasn\u2019t allowing it.\u00a0 And not only did I create you I did everything in My power to redeem you.\u00a0 So man cannot stick his finger in God\u2019s face and say you have no right to do this.\u00a0 Every right God has as established in these chapters. That\u2019s why there\u2019s some very critical information here about the place of judgment (where the judgment will come from), and the person who will bring forth this judgment.\n\nAnd so now inching our way into chapter 4, we have three parts to chapter 4.\u00a0 Number 1, the summons into heaven to see these things, verse 1.\u00a0 John is summoned into heaven to observe this heavenly scene.\u00a0 Number 2,\u00a0 you have the sights that John saw in heaven, verses 2-8.\u00a0 And then number 3 you have the song of heaven itself, verses 9-11, as the heavenly entities are praising God the Father for His role in creation.\n\nNotice verse 1, the summons into heaven.\u00a0 Notice, if you will, the summons into heaven, we have a vision, verse 1 and then a voice, verse 1.\u00a0 Notice the vision, Revelation 4:1, \u201c1<\/a><\/strong>After these things\u201d after what things? After the information that John was given concerning the seven letters to the seven churches, \u201cAfter these things I looked,\u201d that information was given in chapters 2 and 3, \u201cAfter these things I looked and behold, a door standing<\/em> open in heaven,\u201d John sees in heaven a heavenly doorway, and this is the vision and the vision is followed by the voice.\n\nWhat does John hear, \u201c\u2026and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound<\/em> of a trumpet speaking with me,\u201d and He said, \u201cCome up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.\u201d\u00a0 The expression \u201cCome up here\u201d is imperative, it\u2019s in Greek what you call an imperative.\u00a0 He\u2019s commanded to come up.\u00a0 He sees the door in heaven and he is commanded to go up and actually\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 he goes into heaven to observe the heavenly scene, the person who will bring forth the judgment and the place through which the judgment will come demonstrating the qualifications and credentials of the Triune Godhead to bring forth this very harsh judgment on planet earth.\u00a0 \u201c\u2026and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound<\/em> of a trumpet speaking with me, said, Come up here.\u201d\n\nNow the big question here is this the rapture, because we too will hear a voice one day,\u00a0 the trump, a trumpet of God and we will be taken out of this world.\u00a0 Is chapter 4, verse 1 talking about the rapture.\u00a0 I hate to sound like a politician when I answer this question; the answer is yes and no.\u00a0 It\u2019s no in\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 this sense, the church here is not really being raptured (that I can tell), it\u2019s John being personally catapulted up to heaven in the first century.\u00a0 It\u2019s John\u2019s personal rapture, not so much describing the rapture of the church.\u00a0 You say this is crazy, this sounds like science fiction, you mean a guy all the way back in the first century is suddenly torn out of the earth and brought into heaven?\u00a0 You expect me to believe that?\u00a0 Well, the reality of the situation is there have been many such occurrences in the Bible, going all the way back to Enoch, Genesis 5; Elijah, 2 Kings 2, even Jesus Christ in His ascension, Philip the deacon was brought up into heaven and in Acts 8 Paul was brought into the highest third heaven, 2 Corinthians 12.\u00a0 This is what is happening to John.\u00a0 And even in the Book of Revelation itself it\u2019s going to happen to two more individuals in the city streets of Jerusalem, the two witnesses.\u00a0 So this idea of people suddenly being pulled up into heaven is not a strange idea at all; it\u2019s something that\u2019s happened many times before in the Bible.\u00a0 There have been many personal raptures in the Scripture.\n\nBut this is not talking about the rapture of the church, this is talking about John\u2019s personal rapture.\u00a0 So is this describing the rapture of the church.\u00a0 No, in the sense that it\u2019s speaking only of what John experienced.\u00a0 But let me give you the other side of the equation: Yes, in the sense that what John experienced here is a prefigurement (if you will, it\u2019s a type if you will) of what the church itself one day will experience.\n\nYou see, who was John?\u00a0 John was very special because he was the last living apostle at this particular point in time.\u00a0 And here the last living apostle is summoned out of the earth into heaven.\u00a0 And there will arise, by way of prefigurement, by way of typology, a final generation in the age of the church.\u00a0 Just as John, the last living apostle, was summoned into heaven one of these days the last generation of Christians will be taken into heaven through what is called the rapture of the church where God is not coming for an individual: He\u2019s coming for a whole busload of people.\u00a0 You find this doctrine of the rapture described very overtly in the Bible: John 14:1-4, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and 1 Corinthians 15:50-58.\n\n[John 14:1-4, \u201cDo not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. [2] In My Father\u2019s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. [3] If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there<\/em> you may be also. [4] And you know the way where I am going.\u201d\n\n1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, \u201cBut we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. [14] For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. [15] For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. [16] For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the<\/em> archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. [17] Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. [18] Therefore comfort one another with these words.\u201d\n\n1 Corinthians 15:50-58, \u201cI declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. [51] Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed\u2014[52] in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. [53] For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. [54] When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: \u201cDeath has been swallowed up in victory.\u201d [55] \u201cWhere, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?\u201d [56] The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. \u00a0[57] But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. [58] Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.\u201d]\n\nAnd it\u2019s interesting to me that John\u2019s personal rapture is described so similarly to the future rapture\u00a0 of the church.\u00a0 John hears a command; that\u2019s what we\u2019re going to hear according to these other passages.\u00a0 He hears a loud voice; we\u2019re going to hear a trump, the voice of an archangel.\u00a0 John here, you\u2019ll notice, mentions a trumpet; that\u2019s what we will hear in passages like I gave earlier. John is instantaneously caught up; that\u2019s what will happen with the church.\u00a0 He\u2019s \u201ccaught up\u201d or harpaz\u014d<\/em>, \u00a0<\/strong>which is the same word used to describe the rapture of the church by the Apostle Paul in\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.\u00a0 In fact, you\u2019ll notice that some of these verses I have underlined; that\u2019s where the same word harpaz\u014d<\/em>, <\/strong>is used.\n\nSee Paul, in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 says we will be caught up, he uses the word harpaz\u014d<\/em>.\u00a0 <\/strong>From the word harpaz\u014d<\/em> we get the word harpoon; you can think of what you do with a harpoon, you stick it into something and pull it to yourself.\u00a0 That is sort of what the rapture is, it means to be seized or caught up by force.\u00a0 [1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, \u201cFor the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the<\/em> archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. [17] Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.\u201d]\n\nThat\u2019s what happened with Jesus in His ascension, Revelation 12:5.\u00a0 Revelation 12:5, \u201cAnd she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne.\u201d\u00a0 Acts 8:39, \u201cWhen they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him, but went on his way rejoicing.\u201d 2 Corinthians 12:2, \u201cI know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago\u2014whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, God knows\u2014such a man was caught up to the third heaven.\u201d]\n\nIt\u2019s what happened with Philip in Acts 8, the deacon.\u00a0 It\u2019s what happened with the Apostle Paul in terms of him being \u201ccaught up into the third heaven,\u201d 2 Corinthians 12.\u00a0 That\u2019s what\u2019s happening here to John the apostle.\u00a0 That\u2019s what\u2019s going to happen, not just to John, the final apostle, but the last generation of Christians.\n\nSo the rapture is here in Revelation 4 by type or prefigurement only.\u00a0 And is it a valid type?\u00a0 Is it a valid prefigurement?\u00a0 I mean, does John\u2019s personal rapture really signify the future rapture of the church?\u00a0 I\u2019m convinced that it is a valid type.\u00a0 Why is that?\u00a0 Because after John is caught up into heaven the word \u201cchurch\u201d appears nineteen times in the prior chapter.\u00a0 How many times is the word \u201cchurch\u201d ever mentioned on the earth (or in the whole book for that matter) after John is caught up into heaven?\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s not mentioned a single time.\u00a0\u00a0 You are going to go all the way through the Book of Revelation and you\u2019re never going to see the word \u201cchurch\u201d again.\u00a0 The only time it\u2019s even mentioned is when Jesus signs off at the end and says preach these things in the churches.\u00a0 Revelation 22:16.\u00a0 [Revelation 22:16, \u201cI, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.\u201d]\n\nI mean, isn\u2019t it kind of interesting that this word \u201cchurch,\u201d ekklesia<\/em> in Greek [\u03b5\u03ba\u03ba\u03bb\u03b7\u03c3\u03af\u03b1] is mentioned 19 times in chapters 1-3 but not a single time after John is taken into heaven.\u00a0 Why is that?\u00a0 Because John\u2019s personal rapture prefigures typologically the future rapture of the church.\u00a0 And we\u2019re going to go through the Book of Revelation and we\u2019re going to see God\u2019s hand once again on a nation, the nation of Israel.\u00a0 It\u2019s going to be clear in Revelation 7, Revelation 11, Revelation 12, Revelation 14, God is dealing with the nation again.\u00a0 And so therefore how could the church be present because the church, by definition, consists of people from where?\u00a0 All nations.\u00a0 We\u2019ve just moved from a transnational program back to a national program.\u00a0 Why is that?\u00a0 Because the church isn\u2019t there.\u00a0 The church is in heaven.\u00a0 John\u2019s personal rapture therefore prefigures typologically the future rapture of the church.\n\nAnd this morning I\u2019m going to show you, as time permits, two references to the church immediately that John sees.\u00a0 They are number one, the \u00a0twenty-four \u00a0elders and number two, the seven lamps.\u00a0 Both, as I\u2019ll try to demonstrate, refer to the church.\u00a0 And where are the \u00a0twenty-four \u00a0elders and the seven lamps?\u00a0 They\u2019re not on the earth but they\u2019re in heaven.\n\nSo what you have in the Book of Revelation is John is caught up; the word \u201cchurch\u201d disappears\u00a0\u00a0 and if the church is ever referred to it\u2019s always in heaven, so therefore I am very confident to say that yes, this is not the rapture of the church but it prefigures it typologically.\u00a0 Is John\u2019s rapture representing the rapture of the church?\u00a0 Yes and no.\u00a0 No in the sense that it\u2019s just John\u2019s rapture; yes in the sense that it\u2019s a valid type or prefigurement.\n\nSo John is caught up, He\u2019s summoned upward and what does he see?\u00a0 This takes us to the second part of our chapter outline, verses 2-8, the sights in heaven.\u00a0 What did John exactly see when he was \u201ccaught up.\u201d\u00a0 He sees two things: number one, a throne; number two, he sees items surrounding the throne.\u00a0 Let\u2019s talk first of all about this throne.\u00a0 What does John see exactly in heaven?\u00a0 He sees a heavenly or a celestial throne.\n\nTake a look, if you could, at chapter 4:2-3, \u201cImmediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne.\u00a0 [3] And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Now you\u2019ll notice this word \u201cImmediately.\u201d\u00a0 John hears the call and \u201cimmediately\u201d he goes into heaven; that is a prefigurement of the rapture.\u00a0 Why is that?\u00a0 Because when the rapture happens, 1 Corinthians 15:52, it will take place in the twinkling of an eye.\u00a0 [1 Corinthians 15:52, \u201cin a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.\u201d]\u00a0 How long does it take someone to twinkle their eye?\u00a0 A split second.\u00a0 It will take place in a flash or a moment and the word translated \u201cmoment\u201d in 1 Corinthians 15:52 is the Greek word,\u00a0 atom\u014d<\/a><\/em> [\u1f00\u03c4\u03cc\u03bc\u1ff3] where we get the English word atom; it\u2019s a particle so small it\u2019s indivisible.\u00a0 So that indivisible particle is analogized to the speed at which the rapture will take place.\u00a0 And this is typified by John\u2019s immediate removal from earth into heaven to see this heavenly scene.\n\nAnd you\u2019ll notice what John says [Revelation 4:1] after the word \u201cImmediately\u201d he says, \u201cI was in the Spirit;\u201d what is this talking about? It\u2019s talking about revelation and inspiration, something that only the biblical writers can claim.\u00a0 2 Peter 1:20-21 says, \u201cBut know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter<\/em> of one\u2019s own interpretation, [21] for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.\u201d\u00a0 That is the claim of the Bible.\u00a0 The claim of the Bible is the Holy Spirit came upon the writers of Scripture in such a supernatural way that they penned God\u2019s message.\u00a0 And in fact, when 2 Peter 1:20-21 says \u201cthey were carried along, it\u2019s the Greek word \u201cphero\u201d<\/em> which is used in Acts 27:15 and verse 17 to describe wind that comes upon the sails of a sailboat in the Mediterranean Sea near the island of Crete, where I just was on my trip and I can testify to you that there\u2019s an awful lot of wind out there.\u00a0 [Acts 15:17, \u201cSO THAT THE REST OF MANKIND MAY SEEK THE LORD, AND ALL THE GENTILES WHO ARE CALLED BY MY NAME,\u2019\u201d]\n\nSo the wind would come upon this boat and the boat would be propelled; that\u2019s basically how your Bible came into existence.\u00a0 The Holy Spirit used these men to write God\u2019s message and now the Holy Spirit is using John to write God\u2019s final message, giving him information about what he sees, and propelling him along to write God\u2019s message and record it.\u00a0 This is why 2 Timothy 3:16 says, \u201cAll Scripture is\u201d what? \u201cinspired by God.\u201d\u00a0 What does \u201cinspired by God\u201d mean?\u00a0 It\u2019s a compound word, [the\u00f3pneustos<\/em>] \u00a0theo<\/em>, meaning God, neustos<\/em> meaning Spirit, God-breathed, God\u2019s breath.\u00a0 The Holy Spirit somehow took these people, respecting their individual temperament, and gifts, and writing styles, and backgrounds, and strategically used them.\u00a0 First he showed them the things that they were to write and then they were propelled along in the writing process itself.\n\nJohn claimed this expression, \u201cin the Spirit\u201d as early as Revelation 1:10.\u00a0 [Revelation 1:10, \u201cI was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet.\u201d]\u00a0 The whole Book of Revelation is written this way, as is the entire Scripture.\u00a0 And here John is re-emphasizing that he was in the Spirit.\u00a0 He is doing something that very few human beings in world history have ever had the privilege of being used in this way, delivering God\u2019s message to man.\n\nSo we see \u201cImmediately,\u201d we see \u201cin the Spirit,\u201d and what does John see?\u00a0\u00a0 He sees a celestial throne, a heavenly throne. That shouldn\u2019t surprise us because I mentioned earlier Revelation 3:21 [\u201cHe who overcomes, I will grant to him\u00a0to sit down with Me on My throne<\/u>, as\u00a0I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne<\/u>.\u201d [Revelation 3:21]\u00a0 It concludes with the two members of the Godhead on God the Father\u2019s throne in heaven.\u00a0 That\u2019s how chapter 3 ends.\u00a0 So it should come as no great shock that this throne, which we have a few references to at the end of chapter 3, would move into the forefront there in chapter 4.\n\nAnd who does John see on this throne?\u00a0 If you go down to verse 5, verse 4 and verses 2 and 3 he begins to talk about a throne standing in heaven, actually verse 2, and he talks about one sitting on the throne.\u00a0 [Revelation 4:2-4, \u201cImmediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne. [3] And He who was sitting was<\/em> like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was<\/em> a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance. [4] Around the throne were<\/em> \u00a0twenty-four \u00a0thrones; and upon the thrones I saw<\/em> \u00a0twenty-four \u00a0elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and golden crowns on their heads.\u201d [5] Out from the throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were<\/em> seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God;\u201d ]\n\nNow as we go through the Book of Revelation I\u2019m going to try to make the case that the one \u201csitting on the throne\u201d is always God the Father.\u00a0\u00a0 We see that in Daniel 7:9, Revelation 4:5, Revelation 5:5, Revelation 5:7, Revelation 6:16, Revelation 7:10, Revelation 9:4, it\u2019s always God the Father on this throne.\n\n[Daniel 7:9, \u201cI kept looking Until thrones were set up, and the Ancient of Days took His seat; His vesture was like white snow And the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was ablaze with flames, Its wheels were a burning fire.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Revelation 4:5, \u201cOut from the throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God;\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Revelation 5:5, \u201cand one of the elders said to me, \u2018Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals.\u2019\u201d\u00a0 Revelation 5:7, \u201cAnd He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.\u201d\u00a0 Revelation 6:16, \u201cand they said to the mountains and to the rocks, \u2018Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb;\u201d\u2019 Revelation 7:10, \u201cand they cry out with a loud voice, saying, \u2018Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.\u2019\u201d\u00a0 Revelation 9:4, \u201cThey were told not to hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but only the men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.\u201d]\n\nAnd so when John sees someone sitting on the throne there in verse 2 I believe that he is seeing God the Father.\u00a0 So what is John seeing?\u00a0 He\u2019s seeing things on the throne, here\u2019s where we\u2019re going to see our prepositions work out, \u201con the throne,\u201d then he sees something \u201cabove the throne,\u201d then he sees something coming \u201cout of the throne,\u2019 and then he sees something \u201cbefore the throne.\u201d\u00a0 What exactly is on the throne?\u00a0 On the throne is God the Father.\u00a0 But what does he see above the throne?\u00a0 Take a look at verse 3, \u201cHe who was sitting was<\/em> like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was<\/em> a rainbow\u201d that\u2019s interesting, \u201caround the throne, like an emerald in appearance.\u201d\n\nNow God the Father is on the throne and He is analogized to this color, sardius, which is a fiery red color.\u00a0 So that most likely speaks of holiness, purity, judgment, and wrath, all appropriate images because that is what is going to be brought to the earth in the Book of Revelation.\u00a0 So that is what is on the throne.\n\nBut what is above the throne is a rainbow and it\u2019s not\u00a0 your normal multicolored rainbow; it\u2019s a rainbow like an emerald in appearance.\u00a0 Now when you think of rainbow you obviously think of God\u2019s covenant with Noah, how God in Genesis 9:11-17 said that he would never flood the earth again, He would never wipe out the world as He had done in the Book of Genesis, reducing it to just eight survivors.\n\n[Genesis 9:11-17, \u201cI establish My covenant with you; and all flesh shall never again be cut off by the water of the flood, neither shall there again be a flood to destroy the earth.\u201d [12] God said, \u201cThis is the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all successive generations; [13] I set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth. [14] \u201cIt shall come about, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow will be seen in the cloud, [15] and I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh. [16] \u201cWhen the bow is in the cloud, then I will look upon it, to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.\u201d [17] And God said to Noah, \u201cThis is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.\u201d]\n\nSomething like that will never happen again.\u00a0 And isn\u2019t interesting that as wicked as\u00a0 humanity has become God has always kept that promise.\u00a0 In fact, He\u2019s even keeping that promise as the judg\u00adments will come forth in the Book of Revelation because although vast segments of the population will be destroyed the entire world will not be reduced to eight people, as it was in the Book of Genesis.\u00a0 He will preserve a remnant and through that remnant he will fulfill His covenants and begin His kingdom on planet earth.\n\nAnd it\u2019s also interesting that when the judgments of God come forth in the Book of Revelation they are not a flood, as God did in Noah\u2019s day.\u00a0 That form of judgment is past, these are different forms of judgment.\u00a0 So God is, even in judgment itself, remembering to some extent the covenant that he made with Noah which may be the reason for the reference to this rainbow above the throne.\n\nNow what comes out of the throne?\u00a0 Take a look at chapter 4 and verse 5, \u201cOut from the throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder.\u201d\u00a0 A storm is coming forth from the throne.\u00a0 That storm is foreboding, prefiguring the judgment that is about to come to the earth.\u00a0 A storm is brewing because a storm is about to come to planet earth.\u00a0 In fact, in the oldest book of the Bible, Job 37:4 God\u2019s judgment is analogized to thunder and lightning.\u00a0 Job 37:4 says, \u201cAfter it, a voice roars; He thunders with His majestic voice, and He does not restrain the lightnings when His voice is heard.\u201d\u00a0 So there\u2019s coming upon the earth a terrible storm through the seal judgments, the trumpet judgments and the golden bowl of wrath judgments.\u00a0 We\u2019ll have much more to say about those as we progress through this study.\u00a0 But here those judgments are sort of revealed in a fore-boding storm. A storm is coming forth as represented by this lightening and this thunder coming out of the throne.\n\nSo we have seen what\u2019s on the throne, God the Father. We have seen what\u2019s above the throne, the rainbow, the emerald rainbow. We\u2019ve seen what\u2019s coming out of the throne, peals of lightning and thunder.\u00a0 And then we also have, verse 6, a description of what is before the throne.\u00a0 Take a look if you could at verse 6, I\u2019m jumping around just a little bit but don\u2019t worry, we\u2019ll be covering every single verse in this study.\u00a0 It says, \u201cand before the throne there was something<\/em> like a sea of glass, like crystal;\u201d he sees what best could be described as a glassy sea.\n\nIt is interesting that when God describes Himself many times in the Bible before a person can approach God there\u2019s always water between themselves and God.\u00a0\u00a0 For example, if\u00a0 you were to enter the temple of the Old Testament time period, or going back to the time of Moses, the tabernacle, and you were to enter from the east one of the first things you would see is a bronze laver. In fact, it\u2019s very interesting that that bronze laver in 1 Kings 7:23 is actually called the sea, a \u201csea of cast metal ten cubits from brim to brim, circular in form, and its height was five cubits, and thirty cubits in circumference.\u201d\n\nIsn\u2019t it interesting that when man approaches God they typically see water.\u00a0 In this case this glassy sea. Why is that image so prominent in the Scripture?\u00a0 Because God wants us to understand that you cannot come into His presence without cleansing.\u00a0 That\u2019s why you come into the tabernacle, you come into the temple, the first thing you see is this bronze laver reminding sinful humanity that they cannot come into God\u2019s presence without proper cleansing.\u00a0 And perhaps this glassy sea before the throne is revealing the same idea.\u00a0 And isn\u2019t it a wonderful thing to understand that we have that cleansing available to us through Jesus Christ.\u00a0 He becomes that bronze laver, He becomes that glassy sea, that body of water that gives us the cleansing that we so desperately need to allow us as mere sinners to enter into the presence of a holy God.\n\nSo John has seen quite a bit.\u00a0 Number one, he\u2019s seen a throne, he\u2019s seen what\u2019s on it, what\u2019s above it, what\u2019s coming out of it, and what is before the throne.\u00a0 Now what did he also see?\u00a0 He sees items surrounding the throne and there are three items he sees.\u00a0 Number one, \u00a0twenty-four \u00a0elders, verse 4.\nNumber two, seven lamps, verse 5, and number three, four living creatures, verses 6-8.\n\nLet\u2019s talk about some of these, shall we?\u00a0 Who are these \u00a0twenty-four \u00a0elders and why should we care who they are?\u00a0 Well, their identification is a big deal for reasons I\u2019m going to make you aware of in just a moment, but notice verse 4, \u201cAround the throne were<\/em> \u00a0twenty-four \u00a0thrones; and upon the thrones I saw<\/em> \u00a0twenty-four \u00a0elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and golden crowns on their heads.\u201d\u00a0 Who in the world are these \u00a0twenty-four \u00a0elders.\u00a0 Let\u2019s talk about who they are not.\u00a0 Many people pontificate that these \u00a0twenty-four \u00a0elders represent the nation of Israel.\u00a0 That really wouldn\u2019t make a lot of sense, would it?\u00a0\u00a0 The nation of Israel will not receive its resurrection until the beginning of the millennial kingdom, much later on in the Book of Revelation.\u00a0 Revelation 20:4, Daniel 12:1-2.\n\n[Revelation 20:4, \u201cThen I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.\u201d\u00a0 Daniel 12:1-2, \u201cNow at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard<\/em> over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued. [2] \u201cMany of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and<\/em> everlasting contempt.\u201d]\n\nThese \u00a0twenty-four \u00a0elders look to me like they\u2019re resurrected but Israel doesn\u2019t receive its resurrection until later so to make this Israel would be chronologically out of place in the Book of Revelation.\u00a0 Other people pontificate, well, these \u00a0twenty-four \u00a0elders represent the redeemed of all ages, people saved today, people saved in Old Testament times, Noah, Job, Daniel, Ezekiel, people that will be saved later on. But again, that really doesn\u2019t work well because these folks look resurrected and all non-church age saints, everybody that\u2019s not part of the body of Christ between Acts 2 and the rapture, they don\u2019t receive their resurrection once again until the beginning of the millennial kingdom.\u00a0 Daniel 12:2, Revelation\u00a0 20:4.\n\nSo I don\u2019t think these are generic references to Israel.\u00a0 I don\u2019t think they\u2019re generic references to the redeemed of all ages.\u00a0 Probably the most popular interpretation of the \u00a0twenty-four \u00a0elders is that they are angels.\u00a0 But I don\u2019t think that works because what are these \u00a0twenty-four \u00a0elders doing?\u00a0 Look at verse 4, [Revelation 4:4]\u201cAround the throne were \u00a0twenty-four \u00a0thrones and upon the thrones I saw \u00a0twenty-four \u00a0elders\u201d what are they doing? \u201csitting.\u201d\u00a0 They\u2019re sitting.\u00a0 What we know of angels is angels do not sit in the presence of God; angels stand in the presence of God.\u00a0 Luke 1:19 talks about Gabriel, a very high ranking angels, and it says, \u201c\u2026 I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, [and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.\u201d]\u00a0 These \u00a0twenty-four \u00a0elders are in a seated position.\n\nIf you look over at Revelation 5:11 you\u2019ll see that the \u00a0twenty-four \u00a0elders are distinguished from the angels. It says in Revelation 5:11, \u201cThen I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; [and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands.]\u201d\u00a0 Category one, angels; category two, living creatures, category number three the elders.\u00a0 The elders are marked off from the angels, demarcated from the angels.\u00a0\u00a0 You see the same thing in Revelation 7:11, \u201cAnd all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures; [and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,\u201d] you\u2019ll notice there that the elders are in a different class of persons than the angels.\n\nBeyond that, when you go over to Revelation 5:8-9 you read these words, these are what the \u00a0twenty-four \u00a0elders are singing.\u00a0 This is the praise, if you will, coming from the \u00a0twenty-four \u00a0elders.\u00a0\u00a0 Revelation 5:8, \u201cAnd when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the \u00a0twenty-four \u00a0elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God\u2019s people. [9] And they sang\u201d who\u2019s the \u201cthey\u201d?\u00a0 The \u00a0twenty-four \u00a0elders.\u00a0 What are they singing about, \u201cthey sang a new song, saying:\u201d and here comes the song, quote, \u201cWorthy are you to take the book and break its seals for you were slain and you purchased for God with your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and language.\u201d\n\nWhat are these \u00a0twenty-four \u00a0elders praising the Lord for?\u00a0 They\u2019re praising the Lord for redemption,\u00a0 the fact that they\u2019re counted in that number that has been redeemed due to the costly blood of Jesus Christ.\u00a0 Now how could that be angels?\u00a0 The plan of salvation is not open to the angels.\u00a0 First of all, the good angels are confirmed in their holiness and don\u2019t need the plan of salvation.\u00a0 And secondly the wicked angels, the ones that sinned with Lucifer the third are confirmed in their wickedness and have no hope of salvation.\u00a0 So it would be kind of odd, wouldn\u2019t it, to have an angel praising the Lord for redemption when they\u2019re not even a recipient of redemption?\n\nSo if these \u00a0twenty-four \u00a0elders do not represent Israel, they do not represent the redeemed of all ages, if they don\u2019t even represent angels who in the world do they represent and why should we even care?\u00a0 I think it\u2019s very clear that these \u00a0twenty-four \u00a0elders represent the church.\u00a0 Why do I think that?\u00a0 Because they are described exactly as the churches have been described in the chapters we just finished studying, Revelation 2 and 3.\u00a0 When you read Revelation 4 you should be reminded in verse 4 of the seven churches because notice the parallel of the descriptions.\n\nNumber one, these \u00a0twenty-four \u00a0elders are crowned, does it not say that?\u00a0 \u201csitting clothed in white garments, golden crowns on their heads.\u201d\u00a0 Revelation 4:4.\u00a0 Did not Jesus tell the church at Smyrna that because of her sufferings, Revelation 2:10, that she would receive the crown of life?\u00a0 \u00a0[Revelation 4:4, \u201cAround the throne were \u00a0twenty-four \u00a0thrones; and upon the thrones I saw \u00a0twenty-four \u00a0elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and golden crowns on their heads.\u201d\u00a0 Revelation 2:10, \u201c'Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.\u201d]\u00a0 Did not Jesus tell the church at Philadelphia be careful that no one take your crown, no one take what you have worked for, no one take that you have labored for, Revelation 3:11.\u00a0 [Revelation 3:11, \u201c'I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, so that no one will take your crown.\u201d]\u00a0 The church is promised crowns, these \u00a0twenty-four \u00a0elders are crowned.\n\nNumber two, they are clothed in white.\u00a0 Doesn\u2019t Revelation 3:5 make a promise to the church at Sardis, \u201c'He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; [and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.\u201d]\n\nNumber three, they are redeemed.\u00a0 That\u2019s what they are praising God for, their redemption.\u00a0 Doesn\u2019t that describe the church?\u00a0 Aren\u2019t we redeemed in Jesus Christ?\n\nNumber four, they\u2019re seated on thrones.\u00a0 Isn\u2019t that what Jesus said to the church at Philadelphia?\u00a0 Revelation 3:21, \u201c'He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down\u201d aren\u2019t these \u00a0twenty-four \u00a0elders seated, \u201csit down with Me on My throne, [as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.\u201d]\u00a0 That\u2019s why these elders are portrayed in the seated position.\n\nNumber one, they\u2019re crowned, number two, they\u2019re clothed in white.\u00a0 Number three, they\u2019re redeemed.\u00a0 Number four, they\u2019re enthroned.\u00a0 Number five, isn\u2019t it interesting that they\u2019re called elders\u2026 elders!\u00a0 Wait a minute, that rings a bell, isn\u2019t that how the local church is governed, through a plurality of elders?\u00a0 We learned about that, did we not, in Sunday School this morning.\u00a0 Acts 15:6, Acts 20:17, 28.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0[Acts 15:6, \u201cThe apostles and the elders came together to look into this matter.\u201d\u00a0 Acts 20:17, \u201cFrom Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the church.\u201d\u00a0 Acts 20:28, \u201cBe on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.\u201d] \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In Sunday School this morning we talked about how you determine if the elders are qualified or disqualified from their role.\n\nNumber six, is it not interesting that they are called a kingdom of priests\u2014where are they called that?\u00a0 Over in Revelation 5:10; this is what the \u00a0twenty-four \u00a0elders are singing about.\u00a0 \u201cYou have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.\u201d\u00a0 Isn\u2019t that what the church is called, a kingdom of priests?\u00a0 Isn\u2019t that how the Book of Revelation opened?\u00a0 Revelation 1:6, \u201cHe has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father-- to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.\u201d\u00a0 The similarities are really starting to pile up here.\u00a0 Crowned, clothed in white, redeemed, enthroned, elders, they\u2019re called a kingdom of priests.\u00a0 Now I know what you\u2019re thinking, okay, Mr. Smarty Pants, why are there only \u00a0twenty-four \u00a0of them?\u00a0 I mean, why does it say \u201c twenty-four \u00a0elders\u201d?\n\nIt\u2019s interesting that when you go into the Book of 1 Chronicles, chapter twenty-four interestingly enough, the priesthood in Israel was organized into unites of \u00a0twenty-four .\u00a0 The church is not Israel, Israel is not the church, but the church is analogous to Israel in some respects.\u00a0 Israel had a priesthood organized in \u00a0twenty-four \u00a0units or increments.\u00a0 The church, by definition is a priesthood.\u00a0 By the way, did you know that you\u2019re a priest?\u00a0 And that was part of the struggle on my trip is when it came time to pray, since I was the trips Bible teacher everybody looked at me and said well let\u2019s let Andy bless the food, as if I\u2019m the only priest in the room when the reality of the situation is everybody on that trip, we had three buses of people, they were as much priests as I\u2019m a priest, I just happen to have the role of teacher.\u00a0 But they have an access to God just like I do.\u00a0 So we are all priests with direct access to God but number twenty-four is a reminder of that priesthood because that\u2019s how Israel\u2019s priesthood was organized, in a unit of twenty-four.\u00a0 It\u2019s a very subtle way that the Holy Spirit is reminding us of our priestly identity.\n\nWasn\u2019t the rallying call of Martin Luther\u2019s Protestant Reformation the priesthood of all believers?\u00a0 Isn\u2019t that why Martin Luther wanted the Bible in the hands of the common person, so they could read the Bible for themselves and not have it given to them through a magisterium called the priesthood.\u00a0 Isn\u2019t that why the Protestant Reformers were all about literacy and schools, not so their kids could pick the best stocks and retire early but so they could become literate and therefore read the Scripture themselves, in their own language.\u00a0 Isn\u2019t this why Martin Luther took eleven years not trusting the Roman Catholic translations of the Bible, the Latin Vulgate, but going back to the Hebrew and translating from Hebrew into the German language, the language of his people.\u00a0 And he did the same thing with the New Testament in a shorter period of time.\u00a0 Why go to the trouble?\u00a0 Because Martin Luther believed in the priesthood of all believers.\n\nThis number twenty-four, I don\u2019t have a problem believing these are literally \u00a0twenty-four \u00a0elders, no problem!\u00a0 But the number twenty-four is more significant than just the number twenty-four, it\u2019s a reminder of the priestly identity of the church and that\u2019s what the \u00a0twenty-four \u00a0elders are singing about, that they\u2019re a kingdom of priests, because God, Revelation 1:6 has made them to be a kingdom of priests\u00a0 [Revelation 1:6, \u201cand He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father-- to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.\u201d]\n\nNow many people get very weird with this number twenty-four, and they give you this long explanation and the commentaries go on and on about this\u2014well, if you take the number twenty-four and divide it into two you\u2019ve got twelve and twelve and therefore we\u2019ve got twelve apostles and we\u2019ve got twelve tribes.\u00a0 Does John ever say to divide by two here?\u00a0 I mean, is this a math problem?\u00a0 People want it to be some kind of mathematical issue, let\u2019s divide by two.\u00a0 It never says to divide by two.\u00a0 It never says these twelve mean this thing and these twelve mean that thing.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t even mention twelve.\u00a0 It says twenty-four. twenty-four goes back to chapter twenty-four of 1 Chronicles twenty-four where the priesthood was organized, I can give you the verses if you want to read them on your own\u20147-18 into increments of twenty-four.\n\nThe number twenty-four is literal, these are literally twenty-four guys but the number twenty-four is a reminder of the priestly identification of the church.\u00a0 Crowned, clothed in white, redeemed, enthroned, elders, kingdom of priests, twenty-four representing the priestly identification of the church.\u00a0 Can I offer you my conclusion on the matter?\u00a0 These elders are not Israel.\u00a0 They don\u2019t represent Israel.\u00a0 They don\u2019t represent the redeemed of all ages.\u00a0 They don\u2019t even represent angels.\u00a0 They represent the church in heaven before the judgments of God come forth to the earth.\u00a0 Well how do they get into heaven?\u00a0 They were raptured there.\n\nWell, gee, pastor, do we have any prefigurements of the rapture?\u00a0 Yes, we do, verse1 and verse 2. \u00a0John\u2019s personal rapture into heaven prefigures the rapture of the church.\u00a0 The church is in heaven before these judgments come forth upon the earth and that\u2019s why the word \u201cchurch\u201d is not found in the futuristic section of the book.\u00a0 This is why God\u2019s hand is on Israel in the futuristic section of the book, because the church is not there.\u00a0 You see?\n\nWhy make an issue out of this?\u00a0 Because there is a growing \u00a0cacophony of voices today trying to tell you that the church will not escape the wrath of God but will be plunged into it.\u00a0 Now I notice that a lot of these voices would teach the perverted doctrine are also selling survival gear, get your weapons, get your guns, get your gold, get your copper bullets, because you\u2019re going to eyeball it with the antichrist.\u00a0 Bu the way, I\u2019m sort of a prepper myself, but it has nothing to do with my eschatological position.\u00a0 It\u2019s always a good thing living in a fallen world to have some supplies and we do live in Texas (the last time I checked), the second amendment still applies.\u00a0 Amen!\u00a0 To defend\u00a0 yourself should mayhem break out, but it has nothing to do with the fact that I think I\u2019m going to eyeball it one day with the antichrist.\n\nAnd by the way, if you think you\u2019re going to eyeball it with the antichrist one day do you think your copper bullets are really going to help?\u00a0 I mean, he\u2019s going to take you down, he\u2019s more powerful than\u00a0 you.\u00a0 People say well, you know, I\u2019m going to be the last man standing.\u00a0 Well, lots of luck with that!\u00a0 Beloved, the church is not appointed unto wrath and that\u2019s why as the twenty-four elders representing the church, she is in heaven.\u00a0 Don\u2019t live your life expecting to see the antichrist.\u00a0 You live your life expecting to see who?\u00a0 Jesus Christ!\u00a0 The rapture of the church is imminent, it is the next event on the prophetic horizon. And so many people lose this doctrine, their minds become fixated upon the world and the new world order and the struggles of the world and the antichrist is coming and I believe all of that.\u00a0 He is coming and there is a new world order coming that won\u2019t be good but that\u2019s not you, that\u2019s not\u00a0 your identity.\u00a0 It certainly isn\u2019t your destiny.\n\nNow I\u2019m not up here painting Christianity as a bed of roses, an easy path.\u00a0 In this world we go through all kinds of problems; the wrath of man, the wrath of the world system, even the wrath of Satan himself.\u00a0 We\u2019re perpetually at war with our three great adversaries, the world, the flesh and the devil.\u00a0 We\u2019re in bodies that are decaying but need resurrection.\u00a0 I\u2019m not here arguing that we\u2019re going to have some kind of easy path.\u00a0 What I\u2019m saying is theirs is a dimension of wrath and a form of wrath that you, as a member of the church, have no part in, and that is the wrath of God. When Jesus is in heaven opening the scroll, which we will be studying, which brings forth these catastrophic events on the earth, you\u2019re not part of that.\u00a0 God is not going to propose to His bride and beat the daylights out of her before the wedding day.\u00a0 That\u2019s why these twenty-four elders are in heaven.\u00a0 God is not a spousal abuser.\n\nNow Israel has a different calling and a different program where she will be brought back into faith through a time of distress.\u00a0 Jeremiah 30:7.\u00a0 [Jeremiah 30:7, \u201c'Alas! for that day is great, There is none like it; And it is the time of Jacob's distress, But he will be saved from it.\u201d]\u00a0 That\u2019s Israel\u2019s program; that\u2019s not the church\u2019s program. \u00a0And so the twenty-four elders representing the church are in heaven before these judgments take place.\u00a0 Now what else does John see here, and by the way, here\u2019s all the rapture views.\u00a0 Pre-tribulation rapture theory, Mid-tribulation rapture theory, Post-tribulation rapture theory, Pre-wrath rapture theory, Partial rapture theory, you feel like you\u2019re in the tribulation itself trying to figure out all these different views.\u00a0 We believe the Pre-tribulation one is correct because what did Jesus say, and Paul say when He gave the doctrine of the rapture?\u00a0 He said \u201ctherefore comfort one another with these words.\u201d\n\nBy the way, you\u2019re going to go into the wrath of God and most of you are going to be martyred and assuming you\u2019re not martyred maybe you\u2019ll be protected by the rapture, \u201ccomfort one another with these words.\u201d\u00a0 Does that make any sense?\u00a0 Those aren\u2019t comforts at all.\u00a0 When Jesus and Paul articulated the rapture, John 14:1-4, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, He said \u201ccomfort one another with these words.\u201d We\u2019re not in the wrath of God; we\u2019re in heaven when the wrath of God comes to the earth.\u00a0 That\u2019s who these twenty-four elders are.\n\nWhat else does John see here?\u00a0 He not only sees twenty-four elders but he sees 7 lamps.\u00a0 Look, if you will at chapter 4 and verse 5.\u00a0 \u201cOut from the throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder.\u201d\u00a0 Look at the second part of verse 5, \u201cAnd there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God;\u201d\u00a0 John, when he\u2019s caught up into heaven in his personal rapture doesn\u2019t just see twenty-four elders, he sees seven lamps and these seven lamps represent the fullness\u00a0 of the Holy Spirit because that\u2019s what it says right there in verse 5.\u00a0 The \u201cseven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God\u201d \u00a0seven being a complete number.\n\nHe saw \u201cthe seven Spirits of God\u201d in Revelation 1:4, Revelation 3:1, at the time I said it represents the fullness, the completion of the Holy Spirit.\u00a0 The Holy Spirit in heaven completely has His way.\u00a0 There\u2019s nothing to restrain Him, there\u2019s not one to disagree with Him.\u00a0 Aren\u2019t we told in 1 Thessalonians 5:19, \u201cDo not quench the Spirit\u201d?\u00a0 Why do I have an ability to quench the Spirit, 1 Thessalonians 5:19, grieve the Spirit, Ephesians 4:30?\u00a0 [Ephesians 4:30, \u201cDo not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.\u201d]\u00a0 Why do I even have that ability today?\u00a0 Because I\u2019m living in a fallen world, in a fallen body with a sin nature that happens to have the Holy Spirit inside of him.\u00a0 And as a Christian I can, through my own volition, go back to the sin nature.\u00a0 I shouldn\u2019t do that but it\u2019s always a possibility and every time I do that until my sin is confessed before God I grieve the Spirit, I quench the Spirit, I minimize the impact that the Holy Spirit wants to have through me, through my own sin.\n\nBut think of being in heaven, after the rapture, in a resurrected body where the temptation to go back to the sin nature doesn\u2019t even exist anymore.\u00a0 That\u2019s what happens when\u00a0 you receive your glorified body.\u00a0 At the rapture the sin nature is removed from it.\u00a0 It\u2019s the body as it was meant to be. And so therefore the temptation to go back to sin, the opportunity to go back to sin doesn\u2019t even exist anymore; you can never again quench the Spirit nor grieve the Spirit.\u00a0 And consequently in heaven the Spirit is having His fullness, His completion.\n\nIsaiah 11:2 talks about this seven fold ministry of the Holy Spirit through seven genitive expressions.\u00a0 [Isaiah 11:2, \u201cThe Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.\u201d]\u00a0 \u201cThe Spirit of the LORD,\u201d number one, will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom,\u201d number two, \u201cand of understanding\u201d number three, \u201cThe spirit of counsel\u201d number four, the spirit of \u201cstrength\u201d number 5, \u201cthe spirit of knowledge\u201d number 6, and of \u201cthe fear of the LORD,\u201d number seven.\u00a0 Those are all the things that the Holy Spirit did through Christ that He wants to do through the child of God today and\u00a0 yet many times it\u2019s hindered.\u00a0 And yet in heaven, in glory, He\u2019ll have a complete ability to work those things through us.\u00a0 That\u2019s what John sees in heaven.\u00a0 He sees these seven lamps which are the seven spirits of God, the fullness of the Spirit.\n\nNow can I ask you a question? Can you have a lamp without a lampstand?\u00a0 I think that would be somewhat difficult, wouldn\u2019t it.\u00a0 I mean, doesn\u2019t a lamp in heaven imply that the lampstands are in heaven as well?\u00a0 Would you say that\u2019s a safe assumption?\u00a0 And you say well, gee, pastor, that\u2019s a very interesting question, what do the lampstands represent?\u00a0 And I\u2019m so glad you asked the question because if you go back to Revelation 1:20, you might recall this verse, it says very clearly, \u201cand the seven lampstands are the seven churches.\u201d\u00a0 [Revelation 1:20, \u201cAs for the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches.\u201d]\n\nSo the lamps have lampstands, seven lamps, seven lampstands, the seven lampstands are the seven churches so where are the lamps in heaven?\u00a0 Where are the lampstands in heaven?\u00a0 The church represents the lampstands so where is the church?\u00a0 In heaven. See what is happening here is you don\u2019t have one image of the church, you\u2019ve got two.\u00a0 The twenty-four elders represent the church; the seven lampstands represent the church, the church is not on the earth when these judgments come to pass, the church is in heaven.\n\nSo I don\u2019t know about you; you can go ahead and a Midtribulationalists and weapon up or a posttribulationalist and weapon up, a pre wrath rapturist, these are people that think the rapture will take place three-quarters into the tribulation, weapon up, nuke up, do whatever you\u2019re going to do, sit around in fear that you don\u2019t have enough [can't understand word] foot and gold because the economies of the world are going to collapse because God is going to take His bride and thrust it into the tribulation period. If you want to live your life that way you just go right ahead and watch what happens to your level of joy.\u00a0 You\u2019re not going to have a lot of joy in the Christian life but you live every single day of your life as perhaps today, perhaps today I can hear the trump of God and go home to be with Jesus Christ.\u00a0 Yeah, this world is a dark place but maybe today is the day.\u00a0 You know what\u2019s going to happen to your level of service, your level of commitment, your level of joy, your level of expectancy in the Christian life?\u00a0 It\u2019s going to skyrocket.\n\nPaul says living the days as though the days are evil, we\u2019re not na\u00efve, we recognize that we\u2019re living in a fallen world and bad things happen to good people.\u00a0 The Bible never sells us any different program but while we\u2019re living in the devil\u2019s terrain, living in wisdom, we understand the promise of Jesus Christ that at any moment the church could hear the call, be summoned into heaven and be part of that glorious witness and audience in heaven, as represented by the twenty-four elders and the seven lampstands praising the Lord.\u00a0 You say well, what are we going to be praising the Lord for once we\u2019re there?\u00a0 And I\u2019m going to try to answer that question next week because once you\u2019re in heaven you\u2019re going to see worship like you\u2019ve never seen it before, and honor and worth and majesty are being ascribed to God because He\u2019s the Creator and because of God the Son He is the Redeemer.\u00a0 So He deserves the honor, doesn\u2019t He?\u00a0 And if He deserves that honor He\u2019s got the credentials to bring judgment to the earth which everybody in this book is going to second guess but He has the authority to do it because of who He is.\n\nIf you\u2019re here today visiting and maybe you\u2019re not a Christian at all, maybe you\u2019ve never trusted in the Savior, maybe you just talk of an appearance of Jesus as just sort of a new thing to you, you really don\u2019t know if you have a real with God the Father through God the Son.\u00a0 And our exhortation to you here at Sugar Land Bible Church is the gospel; \u201cgospel\u201d means good news, it\u2019s called good news because Jesus did everything possible to give us this relationship, through His death, burial, resurrection and ascension.\u00a0 His final words on the cross were \u201cit is finished!\u201d\u00a0 A translation of the Greek word tetelestai<\/em>, which means paid in full.\u00a0 It\u2019s all paid!\u00a0 So to enter into a relationship with God you either receive that as a free gift or you don\u2019t.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t want to receive it as a free gift you can\u2019t receive it; if you do want to receive it as a free gift\u00a0 your whole destiny is changed.\u00a0 God doesn\u2019t come down and negotiate terms with us; that\u2019s the package, it\u2019s the grace of God once received involves participation in the rapture should it occur today, should it occur this afternoon.\n\nThe Holy Spirit has come into the world to convict the world of their need to receive this gift.\u00a0 That\u2019s what the Holy Spirit is doing in the world today.\u00a0 And maybe you\u2019ve never received it.\u00a0 If you\u2019ve never received it our exhortation to you is to receive it the only way you can receive it which is to receive it as a gift which has to be by faith.\u00a0 Faith means trust, you hear the gospel, you\u2019re convicted by it and you trust in its promise.\u00a0 Another way of saying it is you rely on the promise, you depend on the promise, it\u2019s not a matter of walking an aisle, joining a church, giving money, it\u2019s a matter of privacy between\u00a0 you and the Lord where you rest or trust or biblically believe in this promise and you have a personal relationship at that point with the God that made you.\u00a0 Our exhortation to you is to receive that gift right now even where you\u2019re seated.\u00a0 People may be listening online or via social media, just to receive that gift the best you know how, in the privacy of your own mind and the quietness of your own thoughts and heart receive that gift, trust in what Jesus has done.\u00a0 And once you receive that gift continue to grow as a believer, continue to grow as a Christian and we think we can help you with that here at Sugar Land Bible Church as we continue to teach God\u2019s Word verse by verse.\n\nShall we pray.\u00a0 Father, we\u2019re grateful for this ancient book, these ancient places, and\u00a0 yet how they speak to us in the twenty-first\u00a0 century, where you continue to have Your hand of blessing on this church as we honor Your truth and\u00a0 Your word.\u00a0 We\u2019ll be careful to give you all the praise and the glory. \u00a0We ask these things in Jesus\u2019 name, and God\u2019s people said\u2026 Amen!","series_sermon_number":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t