Address—T. Cedarland
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287 Which is not far off the hour when Christ will claim his own, Who soon shall hear that voice of power? The Lord himself shall come. 287.
Is not far off the arm when Christ will play it all way to love children.
My life is not our love for you.
Some shallow.
Please this afternoon to the Book of Revelation.
Revelation chapter one.
Revelation chapter one, and beginning with verse one, the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him to show unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass. And he sent and signified it by his Angel unto his servant John.
Verse 10. Excuse me. Verse five. And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the Prince of the kings of the earth, unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings. And praise unto our God and his Father. To Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, he cometh with clouds, and every hour shall see him.
They also which pierced him, and all the kingdoms of the earth, shall well because of him Even so. Amen. Chapter 2, and beginning with verse one. And unto the Angel of the church at Ephesus write these things, saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks. I know my works, and thy labor, and thy patience, how thou canst not bear them which are evil, and how thou has tried them which say they are apostles and are not, and has found the liars.
And has born, and has patience. And for my namesake has flavored, and has not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou has left thy first love. Remember therefore from once thou art fallen, and repent and do thy 1St works. Or else I will come unto thee quickly and remove thy candle. Stick out of this place, except thou repent. But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He could have an ear to ear. Let him hear. He can have an ear. Let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
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To him that overcometh I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
Well, I'd like to look a little bit this afternoon at the subject of the church. And I believe that there's not a another book in all the Scriptures that gives us an outline of the history of the church as we find in the Book of Revelation, the past and present and future, the things which are and the things which are are going to shortly come to pass. We can find them all in this book.
And we know that this book, too, is one that warms our hearts to the person of the Lord Jesus.
Like perhaps no other, it says it begins in the title of the first verse. It's not what we see in our Bibles. What says is the revelation of Saint John divine, but it's the revelation of Jesus Christ as we see in Christian. That's the proper title of this verse and of this book. And we'll see here, like I say, a little history of the church, that Pearl of great price that the Lord Jesus has sold all he had and bought it.
We have adversary Ephesians in chapter 5 that says Christ loved the church and gave himself for it, and every one of us here this afternoon who know the Lord Jesus Christ are part of that church, which is the body of the Lord Jesus. That tells us in first Corinthians 10, you being many are one bread and one body. We know that the church was something that was future. It was nothing to do with the Old Testament.
Jesus could say in Matthew 16 upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of town shall not be able against it. And so on the day of Pentecost, the Spirit of God was given and those individual believers that were there were all baptized into one body. There was the beginning of the church. You know that the word of the church comes from the word ecclesia, which means called out companies. And so we see that the the church is not a people that's for this earth like Israel was.
But it's a called out company. Not an earthly people, but a heavenly people.
I was in a bookstore a few days ago and there was a book on the shelf and it said these words. It said whatever happened to heaven? And it attracted my attention and I pulled the books off the shelf and began to read. And the author of this book and was a man who knew the Scriptures very well. He had a good understanding of the the church as being a heavenly people. And he was pointing out how that in the 1970s, he said it was sort of the zenith maybe of and believers looking for the hope of the Lord's coming of the rapture.
Sort of man named Hal Lindsey wrote a book and it had much about the rapture in it. It's called the late great Planet Earth. And many people read those books and they begin to look for the Lord to come. And after time went on and the Lord didn't come, then Israel and was in the land 40 years and the Lord still didn't come. And this man pointed out how many believers today are no longer looking for the rapture of the church, but they're beginning to settle down in this world and try to make it heaven on earth. And there's a great movement in in Chris, Chris London today.
What they call reconstructionism to try to make the world a better place and clean up the world and maybe.
If we do that, we can pressure in the Kingdom. That's the thinking the sun, but only look in the word of God and we see that the believer is always in out of heaven and open. I believe and the time that we're living. Satan is doing everything he can to rob Christians of that hope because he knows the time is short. The time is short. We're right there just at that point. We can't be here much longer. I believe those of us that are in this room this afternoon, the company that are going to be on earth when the Lord Jesus comes.
So may the Lord encourage us this afternoon to.
Had be stirred up to be looking along for the coming of the Lord Jesus, we find in this little chapter we read in chapter 2 about the church at Ephesus.
And another emphasis prophetically represents that first period of time when the apostles in the history of the church, when the apostles were just passing off the scene and emphasis was that church that was given the highest truth, and they had those truths about being seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. And we see that they were doing everything right. They had tried those that were apostles and were not, and they found them liars and they were laboring and not fainting and so on. They were going through all the motions.
But the Lord Jesus had to say, nevertheless, I have somewhat to say against thee, thou hast left thy first love. And so we find that the first step in departure in the history of the church and the first step of departure in the history of the individual believer always comes from leaving the first love, that first love. You know, it's always interesting to me when I look at a couple that's newly in love and there's, there's three things that always stand out so much.
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In my mind, when I view a couple that's newly in love, one of the things that I've noticed about a couple that's newly in love is that they always want to be together. Every opportunity they can they they want to be together. I can remember and getting off work at 5:00 and my wife to be was living down and about 40 miles away and just as soon as I leave the office that the nose of that part would be headed South towards Federal Way where where my wife lived so that we could be together.
And I know that tomorrow I'm going to step on an airplane and fly towards home and that plane won't be able to fly fast enough to get me to deal with that person that I love. You know, Peter Rhode and his officially said Jesus Christ, whom having not seen ye love and.
Even now, believing would rejoice with joy unspeakable. So there should be that first love, that desire to be with it, one that we love. Another thing I've noticed about a couple that's newly in love.
Is even when they're apart, they always speak about the person they're in love with. Scripture says out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh. You're not around them very long and pretty soon they're talking about that person that they, they love. Their name comes up in the conversation because that person was on their heart. And another thing that I've noticed is that couple that's in love, even when they're away from each other, they always want to please because they don't want to do one thing that will displease that person that they're in love with. They wouldn't want that person to find out that they had done something.
It would displease them and so we could look at perhaps those three things is a little barometer. I first love for the Lord Jesus. Do I have a desire to be with him? Do I have that desire to take time with him each day of my life to have that desire to be at the meetings where the Lord Jesus is in the midst. I can remember being in the meeting room and a brother bounding up the steps of the meeting room and he said this to another brother who said, brother, I hear the Lord is going to be here this morning. He said.
Let's go and meet him into the meeting room and work with great anticipation. He was on his way to breaking the bread. And what is Mike feeling when it comes time for prayer meeting and had a busy day? Do I want to eagerly be there where the Lord is in the midst? Do I want to enjoy His company? There's a little test of first love. Is there that desire to speak about him to others and to give testimony to the Lord Jesus isn't on my heart out of the abundance of the heart, and I'll speak it when I get together with other believers.
Those of Malachi's day they spake often one to another.
Anna, who was there when the Lord Jesus was brought in the temple for dedication, to say she spake of him, part of everything else, but she spake of him to all those that look for the redemption of Israel. Is there that desire to speak of Christ and then to please him in my life? He mentioned so often, but it's so true when you repeat it again, the happiness in being a Christian doesn't come in just receiving Christ. It comes in pleasing Christ. That's where the true happiness is. Maybe a Christian here this afternoon.
And you accepted the Lord, and there was a measure of joy.
But it seems like there's a lack of happiness. Well, I'm not walking in obedience to the Lord. I lose that happiness because the Spirit of God is grieved. So the real joy and the real happiness being a Christian is having the Lordship of Christ in my life and praising him and the things that I do. Well, those at Ephesus left their first love. And so he said, go back and repent and do your first works, those things that you did in the beginning. And there's that need to do that. You know, a couple when they see the nerve starting to wing in the relationship, they go.
Back and do those things they did in the beginning. The husband will come home and he'll buy his wife's bring home some flowers to his wife or maybe he'll take her out to dinner. Maybe months have gone by and they've just gone through the drudgery of of the routine of the home and they've forgotten those things that keep the romance alive. Well, same thing happens in our romance with the Lord Jesus Christ. We get busy in the routine of things and perhaps and we don't go back and do those things.
That we did in the beginning. There's not the time spent in the room and fair. There's less frequency at meetings and there's less talk of the Lord Jesus. And little things that we know are phasing, we let slip, well, here we have an expectation that says he that happened here to here, let him hear what the Spirit say it to the churches. So all of these things are things that we can learn from the Apple movies churches. Well, I don't want to take a long time with these seven churches because I think perhaps maybe four or five years ago we might have taken up to seven churches in Tawa.
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A little bit, but we will touch on them and go on through the book. We're here mostly to look at the church and and that heavenly calling of the church and the history of it is past, present and future. But the next church that's mentioned in verse eight is Smyrna.
We know that Smyrna was that time period when there was tremendous persecution. Satan came against the Church as a roaring lion. And from Nero's time right up to Constantine's time, Christians were persecuted. They were down in the catacombs and many were martyred for their faith. And he says the devil shall cast some of you into prison. He names the root of the trouble. You know the enemy is busy. The devil would like to come right into the assembly appellate and like to cause trouble and cause difficulty in the assembly.
Because dissension if we get our eyes off the Lord.
But though there was tremendous persecution and trial received a really blessing. Church thrived during that period. And you know, sometimes we don't appreciate the trials when they come. But it's been pointed out that this is not our our reigning time. This is our training time. And this trials come and they bring us give us a deeper yearning to be with the Lord Jesus Christ and the longing for his coming and everything goes smooth. Sometimes we're not really longing for his coming.
As we should be your brother chapter Brown and used to ask the searching question. You would say, well, if there was a button you could push that would make the Lord come, would you push it? Would you push it? But sometimes we have to admit there's time in our lives where we get so busy and our affections are on other things and not seeking those things which are above. We might hesitate to push that button. I know there's some here that without the trials and the pressures and maybe the loneliness or losing the main and all of those things.
That if there was a button that would bring the Lord's coming, they wouldn't hesitate. Well, if there's that first love, that would be the desires of our heart. We'd be looking up like we find at the end of this book where there's that cry, Amen. Even so funny, Lord Jesus. Well, we find that 313 AD Constantine came into power and the persecution lifted. And someone said that Constantini found the church in the catacombs and he left it on the throne of the world.
And so the next church, Pergamos, which is mentioned in verse 12, it means a thorough marriage. And there we find that the church got involved in the world. They had the doctrine of of Balaam, which we know in the Old Testament. It was the prophet Balan tried to curse the people of God, but he can only bless them as he viewed them from all sides on the mountain top, because he viewed them according to their standing rather than their state, but he could tell.
That man, they look, you could say, well, I'll tell you what you can do.
You have your daughters come in and bring in mixed marriages and introduce their idols, and then God will judge them. And so they brought in worldliness and mixed it with the things of God, idolatry and fornication and so on. And then God did step in and judge. And so we see that the church began to settle down in the world, The persecution was lifted and they were even involved in the politics of the day, he says.
You're dwelling where Satan's seed is and he says, my faithful martyr Antipas, the slain were Satan seeded. He makes a contrast between those two. There they were involved in those things. And he said also you have you have the deeds of the Nicolaitans, the thing which I hate. Now those at Ephesus, they handle the deeds of Anibal agents. But here at Quermos he says you have those details. What are the deeds of the Nicolaitans? Well, the word nickel.
And knowing the great means ruler and the word lady is the same word where we get our name for layperson or layman. It just means people. And so the literal meaning of the word is rulers of the people. And what happened was as the church began to settle down in the world, they left it to just a few diligent souls to seek out and learn the scriptures and learn the word of God. If they read church history, can read about some of this Miller's church history.
They left it to just a few diligent souls to take that responsibility, and eventually it wound up where there were, you might say, a special class of priests. And finally it wound up in the potpourri. And that's what we have in Thyatira. Well, there's a warning in there for that, isn't there, that perhaps maybe we can get so busy with our jobs and our families and these things and we can leave it to maybe just a few brothers in the Assembly to carry on most of the responsibility. And those brothers may not want that position.
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Sometimes I've been assemblies where there's certain, rather than saying, well, brother so and so and so and so, they always take part in the meeting. But then when you get to talk to brother so and so and so and so, you find out they really don't want that responsibility. And the fault of the problem has come because others have neglected to take their responsibility. And so sometimes we look and point the finger at others, but really every one of us should be exercised, even the sisters, as to what part we should have.
In the assembly and take that responsibility and not just leave it to others to take that responsibility. Well, we don't have time to speak much about fire timer, but it represents the dark ages in the period where Rome was there the woman Jezebel was teaching. But at the end of that we come to the third chapter and we find Sardis and he says about Sardis. I just might mention that the meaning of the name of Sardis literally means.
Those escaping or escaping out of it and it represents that period of time when.
The Reformation period came and there arose a protest against the Church of old men like Martin Luther. He was climbing those steps on his knees trying to earn favor with God. And the Spirit of God brought that verse home to his heart. That just shall live by faith. And the truth of salvation by grace was recovered. And there was a movement that rose in protest against Rome, but it wasn't a complete return to 1St principles. So the name means escaping out of the escaped out of that system.
That they never went back to the very beginning.
So the word Protestant really comes from the word protest. That's where the word came from. And someone has put it this way that if you protest against something long enough, you become like it. And we see an example of that. Some of us remember the days of the hippie movement in the 60s and more young men who grew their hair out born and they didn't want to work and they were living in immorality. And they sit down and their father would tell his son, when you need to get a haircut and you need to get a job, And the son would tell his father, well, you're just a materialistic bigot. You're just interested in making money.
So they argue back and forth and now we look at them 20 years later and the man who the young man is now what they call a yuppie, and he's investing in the stock market and he drives a BMW, lives in a big fancy house. And the father is the one who maybe has the modular, has left his wife and and so on. Well, they protested against each other long enough. They became like each other. And that's really what happened. Much of what was protested against came right back into the Protestant movement.
But when we come to Philadelphia, in verse seven of chapter 3, it says to the Angel of the church at Philadelphia write these things. Say, if he that is holy and he that is true, he that hath the he of David, he that openness, and no man shut us, and shut us and no man openeth. I know thy works. Behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it. For thou hast a little strength. Thou hast kept my word, and not denied my name.
They will know that the word name Philadelphia means brotherly love.
I believe it represents that period of time where there were believers who went back to the very beginning and recovered those truths that had been held by the river church. It says they kept His word and did not deny His name. In other words, these were Christians who didn't want to settle for anything less or anything more than the whole Word of God. They weren't content to just compromise and bring in some of the traditions of men and have some of the word of God and have a mixture of those things.
I think earlier this morning that God hates mixtures. He eats mixtures. But they were those who wanted to settle for nothing less or nothing more than walking in all the narrowness and all the broadness of the word of God. And so they began to look in the Scriptures. How did the early Christians meet? And on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to do what? Listen to a beautiful sermon, doesn't say that the greatest preacher in the world was there, the apostle Paul. But they didn't come together preach. They came together to break bread. They dug out those crews of the one body and the rapture of the church and so on.
And it was recovered to the church at large and the truth in one body and the heavenly hope of the rapture. And we see those things happen in Philadelphia. There was that desire to keep his word. Not tonight. And someone has said to say that your Philadelphia is only really condescending to lay the same ground. I hope there's nobody here that would say, well, the little group where I go and we're Philadelphia and these other people are all ready to see it because.
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We know these last four belong to the Union, but I believe it's a spirit, Philadelphia Spirit is something that we should covet and it's there. And so you can see that they were those who didn't want to compromise the word of God. Well, I believe the devil would say to someone who would want to walk this way. If you're going to walk in all the narrowness of the wood of God, there's not going to be the opportunities for service with other groups of Christians might have.
But what does he say about those? He says.
Is there no door? No, he says. I set before you an open door. And why? There's a wide open door, he says, which no man can shut and see. Satan would like us to think that if we're going to be connected with a narrow group of believers who are seeking to walk in the principles of the Word of God, that there's no opportunities for service. But that's not true. Number of years ago I can remember.
Going to a little town in the state of Washington.
Way up on the Olympic Peninsula to preach the gospel and we had some meetings in this school and after the meetings there was a couple that came up and they handed me a name on a piece of paper.
And this Papa said, if you ever get to the town of Quil scene another way logging town remotely pound, you said look up this man, he's a Christian. Well, I didn't think any more about it. I just took the piece of paper and slipped it in my pocket and my wallet. A couple weeks later, I woke up in the middle of the night. It just seemed like the word was saying, I want you to go to listening and preach the gospel. Well, I told my wife the next morning I said, I don't know what what's going to happen, but I feel the Lord wants me to go to full scene today. Pray for me.
Put some tracks and went up to that little town. Haven't been there since I was just a child, a boy had been well over 15 years since I've been able to come. But I got there and left some tracks and just seemed like the Lord was opening the door. And so we went down to the to the school. We like to have gospel meetings in the school because it's kind of a neutral ground for some people who wouldn't ever come into a church building or a meeting room or come to something in high school.
And went in and talked to the principal about using the school.
Well, when we told him what we wanted, he said there's no way I could let you use the school and said I wouldn't touch it with a 10 foot pole, probably have the ACLU actress, he said. I just wouldn't do it.
Well, I said, you might think this is kind of strange, but first of all, I said we'd have meetings in other schools and then we had a problem. Secondly, I feel the Lord has sent me here. Well, they said if you were to go down to the superintendent's office and talk to the Superintendent and get permission from him and the board, he said, which I doubt, he said, well then maybe you could use the building. So we asked where the superintendent's office was and went down. If you're in trembling, waiting to be brought in before this man.
Told him what what I wanted and that after I was off he was speaking to him.
He hesitated for a moment when he snapped his thigh and said praise the Lord. He said I've been praying that somebody would come to listening town and have some gospel news. He said I'll take care of all the details as to the use of the building and he did so and we had several nights of meetings and that the auditorium and the Lord filled that building every night with people coming in to hear the word of God. Loggers with their suspenders and their beards. But you know if we were to come there and the last assist of being.
A Baptist minister? We're Presbyterian or some denomination or name. Only the Baptist will confirm the Presbyterians, maybe a few others.
So we could come there and just serve on the Lord when I'm Sinner that's been saved by the grace of God to preach the gospel, the grace of God and other people from all of those groups and many others who came in became the word of God because I believe that there is a door of wider open doors. There is if we're willing to walk. And then in the narrowness of the Scriptures, he says, I sent before to an open door and a known answer well.
From Philadelphia.
Briefly. Atlanta, Sia.
Which is mentioned in verse 14.
You might just mention that these last four churches all go on to the end. The Lord's coming is mentioned in all of them. And the word laodicea, there's that word Leia again, like we had with the Nicolaitans, it means people, but to see it means judging or rights of the people. It's just the opposite of manipulationism.
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Nicolaitanism was rulers of the people or men over the people, whereas.
Laiaciaism is just the opposite of mythologianism. It's the people deciding what they want. It's like what we have in the Book of Judges. Every man did that which was right in his own eyes, and we know that.
In Second Timothy chapter four we have Paul warns. He says in the last days day that is the people will heap to themselves teachers having itching errors.
And so that's what we have today people say. And so that's what we have today. People say, well, I like somebody who preaches a good gospel sermon. So they go over to this group and somebody says, I like good Bible teaching. So they go to this group or whatever. But rather than looking to the Lord for his direction in the industry is the people deciding what they want to hear. That's what the middle meaning of the word legacy means. There is much more to it that's here, but I just make that point because sometimes we don't always look at the means of names and I feel they're significant.
And he speaks about those at latest, he said. You're neither hot nor cold. I'm going to spew the out of my mouth.
Well, we know that when the Lord Jesus comes, the true church is going to be taken out. Every believer, those that are saved in this room are going to be gone down the road and other buildings and homes where there's believers, they're going to be gone. They're going to be taken out. But the machinery of the Falls Church is going to continue right on into the tribulation and make up that great horror that we find later on in the 17th and 18th chapter. We're just going to spew it right out of this mountain with tribulation.
But we're looking for the Lord to come, those who are real.
And the denominations of men and everywhere, all true Saints would be taught to meet the Lord in the air. Well, that's really what we find in the 4th chapter. There's the beginning of the 4th chapter. There's a door in heaven, open verse one, and as a voice that says come up, hit her.
So in chapters 4:00 and 5:00 you could say you're back. In chapters 2 and three we have the history of the church on earth. Chapter four and five, we have the church in heaven to know that the church will not go through the tribulation. The church is a heavenly people. God has not appointed us to wrath. That's the wrath of the tribulation that the kings in chapter 6 are saying it is from the wrath of the Lamb. And he says God has not appointed us to wrath. Another verse says He's delivered us from the wrath, but to obtain salvation or to be saved out of this world.
Speaking of the salvation of the body. And so when the Lord comes for his church, the Lord himself comes to take the church up. But when it comes at the end of the tribulation, the gather is elect from the four corners of the earth, and to sever the wicked from the just, He has the angels do that. And when it comes to His bride, when it comes to you and I, the Lord isn't going to settle in the angels. The Lord himself will come and take the church out. That's what we're looking for. That's about what we're about to hear.
A voice that says come up Hitler and I will show these things which must be hereafter. Well just look at one verse in the 5th chapter.
In chapter and verse 6.
He says, And I beheld and loathed in the midst of the throne will the four beasts. In the midst of the elder stood a lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God set forth into all the earth.
Well, here's the scene in heaven. John gets a glimpse of it, a lamb, and it had been saved. And it doesn't say I looked in there in the front or in the in the the back section, but it says in the midst.
You know this morning we had the privilege here to somewhere in color to gather around the person of the Lord Jesus. We claim that verse a promise of the Lord in Matthew 1820. Two or three are gathered together in my name. There am I in the midst of them.
Where was that loaf on the table that spoke with the body of the Lord Jesus given for us? And I thought it spoke of his precious blood. And the Lord Jesus was in the midst and what we had and this morning was just a little foretaste of heaven because we get when we get to heaven, it's going to be the same way. The Lord Jesus is going to be in the midst. But there's two things that I enjoy that are different. One of those things is I looked around the room and slowly here this morning and there were some empty chairs.
We know there's other believers in the Saudi area who were not there. When we get to heaven, every Christian will be gathered around the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Every one of them. There won't be one empty seat, and there won't be one cold heart. Sometimes our hearts are so cold and they feel it, but they're in heaven. The praise is going to go out uninjured. Those thousands who were martyred during the Smyrna time period, they're going to be there. The apostles down to the Dark ages, those faithful ones that only God knows who they are, they'll be there.
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And you think of the millions of Christians that are in the world at this very moment. They'll all be there. And the praise that is going to flow forth to the Lord Jesus Christ, Sometimes we sing that with him. What rich, eternal burst of praise will fill you on courts through endless days, and time shall cease to be. Can you imagine what that phrase is going to be like when you hear that shout and every believer is there around the person in the world? Jesus, we have a little foretaste of it this morning.
But their faith is going to give way to say.
Well, and says, in the midst of a Lamb, as it had been slain, it could be translated a freshly slain land.
When we get to the end of the when we find Zechariah, the question is asked, what are these wounds that are in my hands? It doesn't say what are the scars, but it says what are these wounds? He says, these are the wounds that I received in the House of my friends. And so the proof, the Lord's love to the believers is fresh today and it will be for all eternity. It is just as fresh what he did for us.
Not only that, but I believe here the reason you find it a lamb as it had been slain, a freshly swimming, is that the Lord Jesus in this scene here is just about to loose those seals, the seals of judgment that are going to be poured out during the tribulation. And God has not forgotten what this world did to his sin. God has not forgotten the horrible crucifixion and the despising and the rejection they went through the Lord Jesus, what he went through when he was slain at the cross.
And so he's about to open those seals of judgment and he says a lamb as it had been strained. That is not forgotten. It's still fresh in his mind what this rule did to his son. Well, there's much more in this chapter. We get the song and redeem then the angels joining in and worship. They can't join in in the in the song of the redeemed because angels aren't redeemed. But we find them there too in that scene and then find the end of the chapter of creation.
But in chapter 6 through 18, we have the tribulation period, as we mentioned that we're not going to be here, though there's 12 Chapters that take up with that time. We see the long-suffering of God. He pours out of the judgment and waits for men to repent, pours out a little more and waits for men to repent for the gospel of the Kingdom of being preached. And even at the end, the everlasting gospel is we know that anybody who hears the gospel now will never have a second chance.
From the 2nd Thessalonians, who tells us about those that hear it now, that God will send them strong delusion.
If they believe a lie, that they all might be damned because they received not the love of the truth and pleasure and unrighteousness. If there's somebody here this afternoon who doesn't know the Lord and you've heard the gospel and the rapture takes place today, you're going to be left behind and you'll never have a second chance. Never. But there will be many who have never heard it. And the gospel of the Kingdom is preached that will be saved. Someone will pay for it with their lives, and we have to refuse to take the market at least, but they'll be meaning that will be saved during that time.
But only those who have never heard it. Now well as we mentioned that Falls Church goes into the tribulation. And if we find an immoral order of revelation that God judges and exposes the false church in Revelation 17 and 18 and then the 19th chapter he displays the truth church. And we might mention this, that after chapter 3, never again do you find the word church in the Book of Revelation.
Because God doesn't own the apostate church, but called out company has been called out and is spoken of later as the bride, a lamb's wife that you never found in their church after the third chapter, after the rapture. So I've spoken of that anymore, but it's spoken of as the bride, the man's wife. Well, let's turn over to the 19th chapter and get a little voice.
Of these things.
It says in verse 6, And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, and the voice of many waters, and the voice of mighty thundering, saying, Hallelujah for the Lord God omnipotent greeneth, Let us be glad and rejoice and give honor to him. For the marriage of the land has come, and his wife has made herself ready. And to her it was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white, for the fine linen is the righteousness of the Saints.
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He saith unto me, Right blessed are they which are followed to the marriage supper of the land. The saith enemy D's are the true sayings of God.
We'll now receive this, the scene in heaven, the marriage supper of the Lamb, and there's that rejoicing. There's two suppers in this chapter we might mention. There's the Supper of the great God, which is horrible world and judgment, but here it's the Mary Supper of the Lamb. It's those of us that know the Lord are going to be there very, very shortly enjoying this occasion. This time. No, we don't feel worthy to speak of these things. Israel was an earthly people.
But the believers, the Church, is a heavenly people.
It's amazing the God would love us enough to pick us out of this world. All the sinners here and those of us in this room, probably the worst of them to say I want to choose you're all eternity to be a bribe for my son to be a bride and to be there, a marriage stuck over the land. We deserve help and we don't want to take these things up in an intellectual way. We want to take them up in a way that it might affect our hearts.
It might reach our hearts because we're really when we think about these things, it's as if we're on holy ground. We can't do them justice, even to speak of them, but yet we're going to be there and there, the marriage supper of the Lamb. There's the rejoicing and we can rejoice now. Believers should be happy. Falsehood rejoice evermore.
One person I know, he said a lot of Christians walk around like they've been baptized in in pickle juice. And it might seem kind of funny, but sometimes we can have a sour look in our face. Well.
It should be the happiest people in the world, when you think about what a bright future that we have. Well, there at the marriage supper of the land, he says his wife hath made herself ready, and to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white, which is the righteousness plural, or it should read that could read the righteous acts of the Saints. In other words, this isn't the righteousness we've been made through the blood of the Lord, but these are the things that have been done.
For the Lord Jesus that will be on display for his glory. Someone said Lord saves us by his grace. He works through us by his grace and then he rewards us for it by his grace. It's all of him and so we're told as believers our responsibility is to lay up treasures in heaven, not on here on the earth or thieves breakthrough in the steel and north and West Coast, but where your treasure is there where your heart. We also I often have mentioned that the Christian.
As a hook chest, I know before my wife and I were married that she had in her bedroom.
A cedar chest and in that chest she put away things for a time. It was yet future a time when she believed that a a man would come and take her it could be his wife. And so she put things away in that chest. And you know, she had a couple little brothers and maybe they kind of laughed and thought the idea of their big sister getting married was rather strange and.
And they made fun a little bit and one of them called it a despair girl. But much to their amazement, the time came when a young man came and reported their big sister and took her away to be his wife. And that chest was opened up. And many of the things that were in that chest are on display in our home today. The world is such a believer. He sees them living for a different time and time to come. And he may mock and he may scoff. Tells us that then the last days that we stoppers.
But you know what a privilege we have. What a hope our hopes aren't wrapped up in this world. We have that book called from Above heavenly men by birth, who wants were but the citizens of earth. Oh, the blood of Christ and the work of the Lord Jesus has lifted us in position far above this world. We're already, as it were, seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus where we should be laying up treasures in heaven, living in view of that day.
We find that after the marriage supper of the Lamb once again there's a door in heaven open in Chapter 11 or verse 11 and we get in the coming of the Lord Jesus coming back with his Saints 3 coming spoken of in Scripture. There's his coming to his own. He came under his own and his own received him not that's passed his coming for his own. That's the rapture of the church. That's what we haven't checked before now another door of chapter in verse 11 of this chapter.
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Where he comes with his own, and we see the Lord riding out of heaven. He's on the White Horse and on his head are many crowns. This is the one who left this world despised and rejected men, crowned with horns, hung on a cross, made a purse and lifted up as if to say to God, take him back. We don't want him here. He comes back to majesty crowned with many crowns. And we're going to be with them. We're going to be with them. Can you imagine that? Touch your heart.
Want to make it, doesn't want to make you live for the Lord Jesus now and suffer a little bit of reproach for Him. All said, if we suffer with Him, we'll also reign with him. The sufferings of His life are not worthy to be compared to the glorious that are going to be revealed. Well, the Lord comes back and we see the supper of the great God, when the fowls of the air are called together to eat the flesh of captains and the flesh of mighty men and kings that are going to try to fight against the Lord and his armies, and then the beast and the false prophet.
Those two individuals who headed up, we might say all of that iniquity against the Lord are going to be taken and cast alive into the lake of fire, which is the second day they're going to be in the lake of fire, 1000 years, 1000 years before from what I see, anyone else is there. You'll know later on that the dead, small and great are going to be brought out deaf and hell will give up the dead and they're going to be all cast into the lake of fire. But they're the false, the the beast and the false prophet are taking the cast of life in the Old Testament.
There were two men who were taken out of this world and I never saw dead.
And Elijah, here's the contrast to we leave this world and never saw death, but they're not taken to heaven like Enoch was to be with the Lord, but the cast in the world of fire. And then in chapter 20, we get the millennial reign of Christ where he reigns for 1000 years. We're going to be reigning with them over the years.
And as we find in the 20th chapter.
They lived and reigned with Christ 1000 years. The end of verse 4.
And we know that in the Millennium, righteousness will reign. In the eternal state. Righteousness dwells the Millennium. Judgment goes out every morning, and the righteousness reigns. But there'll be those who will only heal feigned obedience. Their hearts aren't really linked with Christ, and one statement is loose for little season.
At the end of that thousand year ring, they'll gather themselves to Satan. Their true colors will be manifested and then they'll be judged as we find it. Unity chapter, that great white throne, judgment on the dead, small and great standing before the gun. Judas Iscariot and Adolf Hitler and many others will be there along that company. And anybody in this room who rejects Christ will be a little bit company who will stand there before God in the finger of God and look down that list for your name and it says Chris Southern's name is not found written in the book of life.
Will be cast into the lake of fire, which means literally Pearl into the lake fire. Really hope that won't be the case of anybody in this room. God isn't ruining any should perish, but we also come to repentance as well. We see in the 21St chapter a little glimpse of the eternal state. As we mentioned the eternal state. Righteousness dwells in the morning. Righteousness means so it says in verse one and I saw a new heaven and a new earth.
For the 1St heaven and the first earth were passed away, and there was no more seed. And I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of them, and prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the Tabernacle of God is with men, He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain for the former things I passed away. Well, this is the eternal state. Peter says, we look for a new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. The heavens that we see now, and the earth one day going to be burned up.
It's reserved under fire, and then maybe a new heavens and a new earth, and we see a little glimpse of the eternal state. We don't have a lot to tell us about it because we can't imagine what it's going to be like, but we know this in First Thessalonians 4. So shall we, that is, believers, be forever with the Lord Jesus. Nothing can separate us and the Lord Jesus Christ, and we'll be with and life and for all eternity, while our finite minds couldn't take in the glories that are going to be there.
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But God gives us a little glimpse and then we the eighth verse he gives the eternal state of the unbeliever. Someone has entitled that eight ways to hell.
The fearful and unbelieving and so on will have their part in the lake, which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.
I like to call your attention to the very end of verse 9.
The end of the verse that says Come hit her, and I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.
And here we see a little glimpse of God's purposes from all eternity past. I will show thee the pride, the Lamb's life. This is the last. I will in the Bible, the last time in the Bible we find the expression. I will.
Where was the first time that expression was used.
Well, if we were to turn back to Genesis chapter 2, we would see that God says they're showing his purposes in the very beginning. He says it's not good for a man to be alone. I will make it. Help me for him. And what happens? We know the Lord Jesus, he said except the corn of wheat fall under the ground and die and invited the moon. Well, and the Lord Jesus Adam being a figure of that and the first Adam, He went into a deep sleep picture of death.
And his side was opened up, and out of that side he was given Adam a bride.
The Lord Jesus went into the sleep of death. His side was open there at Calvary, and he purchased with his own blood you and I, those of us that are saved in this morning, this afternoon. And Adam could stand back and look at that bride that had been given him, and he could say burn a pipe, bone, flesh of my flesh.
The Lord Jesus looks at you and I and says, This is my body, this is my body. And it goes on to say, for this cause shall a man leave his father and mother? All the perfection of Scripture. The Lord Jesus left his Father's glory, He left his mother there at the cross, and he went all the way to take a bride for himself and cleave unto his wife. And they too shall be one flesh, sometimes with some level of him. Lord Jesus, are we one with thee?
Oh, height. Oh, depth of love. Well, our time is going fast. Let's just look at a few more verses in this wonderful Book of Revelation, the Revelation of Jesus Christ.
In chapter 22.
Verse four, They shall see his face, and his name shall be in their foreheads. Verse 7. Behold, I come quickly. Blessed is He to keep up the sayings of the prophecy of this book.
Verse 12 Behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me to give every man according as his work shall be.
Then in the verse 17 and the Spirit and the bride say, come and let him adhere it. Say come and let him. It is a thirst come. And whosoever will let him take in the water of life freely. In verse 20, he which testifies these things saith, surely I come quickly, Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
Well, after John lays out all of these things by inspiration of the Spirit of God, it's just like the Spirit of God is saying John, stop, stop. After unfolding all of these wonderful truths that I wanted recorded in my words for my people to know what a little warning in there put an invitation after somebody was listening who's not saved the spirit and the bride say come there it is the call, but in the hearth.
Say, come him that is a thirst come, and whosoever will.
Let him come and take a lot of life through. So before God finishes his book, he puts a call, a little invitation for someone who's not saved to come and take it. That water would like to enjoy these blessings that are going to be the portion of every believer for all eternity. Not the supper of the great God endless Willow, but the marriage supper of the Lamb and the eternal state.
Be all eternity discovering the glories of the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Well, then he says at the end, he could testify at these things. Say it. Surely I come quickly. You know, there's a number of of peas that I've enjoyed in this verse and I like to share them with you. It helps me remember sometimes when I put peas or things. But surely that's positive. All right, That's personal. Come. That's powerful. It'll raise the dead and change the living quickly. That's crazy. Surely that's positive.
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You know what he said in one translation of Hosea chapter 6 and verse three? His coming is as sure as the dawn is sure.
When it says in Titus looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing medicine of hope. So like what we hope it might happen, but it's a hope. That word literally means deferred certainty. Something that's going to happen for sure. The blessed hope to coming in the world Jesus. Surely that's positive it's going to happen. I that's personal. They mentioned that when the Lord comes for his elect at the end of the tribulation. He sends his angels to the vehicle when he comes for his bride, the Lord himself.
Showed the same from Heavenly to shall. I don't think there's anybody in this room this afternoon.
Who has ever been to a wedding where one of the groomsmen came down and took the bride up and brought him to come up and stand by the groom? I never have. It's always been the groom himself. I was at a wedding rehearsal this past year.
And there was as the couple came up the aisle and it was just a rehearsal. I was standing on the on the platform and some of the groomsmen were there and the and the groom was there. And as they came up, they tried to be hanging on to the arm of their father. The question was asked, who gives this woman to be married to this man? And the father answered in the rehearsal of her mother and I. And I was standing next to the groom and I watched him take a flying leap off that stage.
There must have been four or five steps that he cleared in the air, and while I was in the air, he let out a shout and he went down and took his bride to be up onto the stage. It was just a rehearsal and I kind of think, I'm sure there was some there who thought that was just a little bit immature. But I couldn't help but think that the joy and the anticipation that's in the heart of the word Jesus, He wants us to be with himself far more than we want to be there.
And he's sitting, as it were right now.
On the very edge of his throne and he's waiting for that moment where the father will say, go catch thy bride, and he'll say, I rise, my love, my fairly. He'll descend from heaven with a shout. There's joy in his anticipation of having you and I to be with himself. He hasn't lost his first love. He hasn't left his first love. He says, yeah, I've loved you with an everlasting love, therefore with loving kindness, and are drawn in.
What about my affectionate?
What about that love is it there do I need to repent and do those first works. May the Lord Jesus through our hearts to be looking longing for his soon return. He would have this hope within purifying himself. Surely I come that's powerful quickly that's president at any moment says in Hebrews chapter 10 verse 37. Yet a very little while new translation. He that shall come will come.
And will not delay. Will not delay.
It might be in this afternoon. My child doesn't stop there. Spirit of God has one last exhortation in verse 21. That grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
Well, may the Lord help us to go on in grace together until He comes to take us to be with Himself. We're just saying that Him 200 and 88288.
For thou whose mercies for Savior.
We can do the worst day.
As him right it falls down.
And he does it. May what the Lord is my name.