Revelation chapter number four in Revelation chapter four of a Bible should be one under the seat in front of you be in Revelation chapter
Number four relation for Bible reads after this I looked and behold a door was opened in heaven and the first voice
Which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me
Which said come up hither and I will show thee things which must be hereafter and immediately I was in the spirit and behold
the throne was set in heaven and one sat on a throne and he that sat was to look upon like a
Jasper and a sardine stone and there was a rainbow round about the throne in sight like unto an emerald and round about the throne
Were four and twenty seats and upon the seats
I saw four and twenty elders sitting clothed in white raiment and they had on their heads crowns of gold and out of the throne
Proceeding proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne
Which are the seven spirits of God and before the throne?
There was a sea of glass like unto crystal and in the midst of the throne and round about the throne were four beasts full
of eyes before and behind and the first beast was like a lion and the second beast like a calf and the third beast had
A face as a man and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle and the four beasts had each of them six wings about him
And they were full of eyes within and they rest not day and night saying holy holy holy
Lord God Almighty which was and is and is to come and when those beasts give glory and honor and thanks to him that sat on
The throne who liveth forever and ever the four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne and worship him
That liveth forever and ever and cast their crowns before the throne saying thou art worthy
O Lord to receive glory and honor and power for thou has created all things and for thy pleasure
They they are and were created for the Sean
we pray for us. Revelation chapter 4 entitled my sermon if I was to give it a title would be blink and you'll miss the pre-trib rapture
Because supposedly it's in here somewhere
Alright, so just to recap real quickly on where we've gone so far in the book of Revelation is that
the seven churches of Asia have been covered and John saw the risen Christ of course in chapter number one and he
instructed the Lord Jesus Christ instructed him to write the things that he sees in a book and
that's of course the book that you're holding in in front of you there the book of Revelation and to send it to the seven churches and
to write the things that were are and the things to come and now we're kind of going to change gears for a couple chapters where
the scene changes to heaven and
the things that happened there before
these seals are opened which kind of
When these seals are opened then that's when kind of these seven the final seven years kicks off and it kind of
That's it's kind of like sets the wheels in motion for Daniel's
70th week, so
And that's you know what I believe so
So right now we're kind of in this holding pattern waiting for Daniel 70th week to kind of kick off so and
The Prejudice would deny that but I'd like to ask them when Jesus came back so
They don't have an answer for that because he didn't so
Anyway, so we're here, and you know of course
There were seven individual messages for the angels of the seven churches that they were supposed to
You know to read or preach to their congregations, and I believe those
Angels that it's talking about were the messengers of the churches, so I believe they're the pastors that were leading those churches
not angelic beings, so we have to understand that the context is sometimes that angels are
They can be men sometimes and excuse me for just a second
The tiniest issue doesn't want to seem to go away, okay anyway, sorry about that so and then let's see so yeah, so then
Let's look at verse number one and so we see the the throne in heaven is described here
says after I looked and behold a door was open in heaven and the first voice which I heard was as it were a
Trumpet talking with me which said come up hither, and I will show thee things which must be hereafter and
so the thing that
So he looked he saw this door open okay. He looked into heaven so he
Obviously can see into the third heaven because there's obviously three heavens
You got the heaven that we would see when we look up in the sky that blue sky
We see here from the the ground up until we can't see any further is
What you would call the first heaven the firmament and then you have the second heaven which would be
What people would call outer space and then the third heaven is the heaven that we cannot see and that is where God lives
Okay, and that is the third heaven Paul describes it
When he describes the out of out of body or inner body he could not tell whether it was which one it was or not
I mean, I believe it's talking about the Apostle Paul anyway, and
So he sees heaven open up. So I believe that it's something that it could be a little closer than we realize
I think it's maybe
Something that you can only obviously see when God allows you to see it. So it says and then he heard this voice as it were
A trumpet talking with me. So
Just just a quick question here though. Do you think it's an actual trumpet?
That's talking to him or it's as it were a trumpet
Do you think it's a loud sounding voice or you think it's an actual trumpet going?
Like Charlie Brown's teacher or something. No, it's it's it's I think it's a voice that sounds loud like a trumpet
That's what I think it's saying. And so sometimes you get a
Realize what is symbolism and and that John is describing things as he knows them and sees or hears them
So when he says it's a trumpet talking with it's as a trumpet talking with me
He means it's a loud voice because trumpets are loud trumpets are meant to be loud so you can hear them
And that's why they use those as a warning system
When they had millions of people in the wilderness and they had to sound off these
These trumpets so that they knew when to move and an army's use these things before they had
Sophisticated logistical tools like they have today where you can just talk over over radios and things like that
They had to use trumpets in war and they you know, they would have certain sounds of certain
Certain blasts that would tell you this is the type of movements you use and all that
How many different blasts you would use would tell you what kind of movement you would have to make and things like that
so
Anyway, so but they have to be loud enough so people can hear them because if they don't hear the trumpet blasts
They're not gonna know so a trumpet is a very loud sounding instrument
I think we've had in the past where I had someone bring a trumpet
So that you can hear how loud they really are and so if you have someone playing a trumpet in a church orchestra
It could be pretty overwhelming. So anyway, let's go on to
Listen, I actually want you to turn with me to Exodus chapter 20 and
This whole thing about the trumpet talking with me
When God speaks to the children of Israel in a couple different paths and especially X where I'm having you turn in Exodus chapter 20
he also there's a there's a noise of a trumpet that that goes alongside of the when he speaks to the children of Israel and
and it's also so loud that it terrifies them and
So like when God comes down on Mount Sinai, it's in a smoke the mountain is smoking and
It's a very terrifying scene so much that the children of Israel kind of back away from the mountain
Exodus chapter 20 verse 18 says and all the people saw the thunderings and lightnings and the noise of the trumpet and the mountains
Smoking and when the people saw it they removed and stood afar off
It's kind of like when you get close to a campfire that's really and then someone throws some extra stuff on it gets really
You know with or like a barbecue when you put too much
Fluid on it and it just kind of it's you know, you're like I'm gonna back off a little bit here
But it's kind of like that, you know, but they are freaked out
It says and they said unto Moses speak thou with us and we will hear but let not God speak with us lest
We die so they're afraid that they're gonna die just because God is speaking with them
And what is what is a coinciding with him speaking?
this trumpet blast and it says and Moses said unto the to the people fear not for God has come to prove you and
That his fear may be before your faces that you sin not and the people stood afar off
And Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was and the Lord said unto Moses thus
Thou shalt say unto the children of Israel you have seen that I have talked with you from heaven
so you you have this word God is speaking to them from heaven and
This trumpet blast is going on with it now
This was there to terrify them and make them afraid but when it happens with John here with this trumpet
He doesn't it doesn't seem like he's afraid and I don't think that that because I don't think that that in the New Testament
God doesn't want us to necessarily be
Afraid of him. What is the purpose of him giving the revelation?
So that we would know the things that are going to shortly come to pass that we can be prepared for the things are going
To happen to the rest of the earth. So we'll be prepared. He doesn't want us to be afraid necessarily of him
He wants us to be you know ready for the things that are going to come upon us from other people
But hit you know obviously we should fear the Lord and keep his commandments and things like that
But as far as us, but it seems like he's not trying to have this effect
But in Exodus he is trying to have that effect. He doesn't want them to you know
It is a little bit different, but it is similar in the fact that trumpet blasts
Are happening at the same time here and Hebrews chapter 12. Go ahead and turn to Hebrews chapter 12 verse 18
It says in Hebrews chapter 12 verse 18. I'm not gonna linger for too long here
So Hebrews 12 18 says for you're not come unto the mount that that might be touched and that fought and and that burned with fire
Nor unto blackness and darkness and tempest and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words
Which voice they heard that they heard and treated that the word should not be spoken to them
Anymore so they were they asked Moses not to let that that voice and that trumpet be heard
But it's interesting how it equates that trumpet and the voice of words
Together at the same time and the voice that thou heard and treated that the word should not be spoken to them anymore
For they could not endure that which was commanded and if so much as a beast
Touched the mountain it should be stoned or thrust through with a dart and so terrible was the sight that Moses said I exceedingly
Fear and quake so the children of Israel actually backed away from it
But Moses actually is recorded as saying that he exceedingly feared and quake
but he actually went up into the into the darkness and
It was probably a very scary situation to the point where they thought that if God even talked to them that they were gonna die
So and they didn't see him they didn't see the similitude of God at all and because you can't see God the Father
You know and you know, no man has seen God and lived no man has ever seen him at any time
So that's what the Bible teaches, right?
So now back in Revelation chapter 4 1 once again
It says after this I looked and behold a door was opened in heaven and the first voice which I heard was as it were
Of a trumpet talking with me which said come up hither and I will show thee things which must be hereafter
So there it is church family the pre-trib rapture, you know
If you if you you know, you blinked you missed it right there
So it's right there plain as day very clear isn't it says come up hither and I'll show the things which must come hereafter
This must be that you're after that's it
Because if you ask the pre-trib rapture people that believe in this doctrine when you ask them
Where's your clear scripture that teaches the pre-trib rapture?
This is the verse that they'll take you to is there anything in there that indicates that Jesus came back in the clouds?
To gather his elect does it does it say that anywhere to me? It seems like it's not saying that at all
It's just saying for one person. He's just asking somebody to come up to heaven and
So I mean I it's kind of like driving through the town of North Bonneville
You blink and you'll miss it who knows where North Bonneville is that town? Okay?
It's like if you if you drive it if you're driving past it like you if you don't accidentally look to the right you're not gonna
See it
Unless it's nighttime or something, but it's very small
But it's just like this if you're just reading this
Generally and nobody tells you that this is the pre-trib rapture verse you're gonna miss that because it's just not there
It doesn't exist in this passage. It's really
straining to try to find the pre-trib rapture here because it's just not there at all and
The verses that we count on for our doctrine should be based on clear scripture
This is something that all that this should believe but when it comes to the pre-trib rapture
There's no verse that teaches it. So they really struggle to find something that actually
teaches it so they'll just grasp at straws like this one here because
Doesn't he say that to the two witnesses after they're killed and then they come back to life and then a voice says come up
Hither same thing. So that must be the second rapture or whatever
But he says the same thing to them. They're just called back
They they go up to heaven after they are reserved after they're brought up from the dead. So
Where in this verse though does it say that Jesus came in the clouds does it say that and
Where this verse does it say that Jesus raised anybody from the dead right here? Did John die in this passage?
Did it say John died right here? No, and that he was risen from the dead
Was this the voice of Christ here because it says the trumpet was talking with him
It says and the voice which I heard was as it were a trumpet talking with me
But does this I mean was this the voice of Christ if who has a red letter edition of the Bible right now?
Are those words in red? Why aren't they is there like in this whole chapter?
Who who has the red letter edition in this whole chapter are any of the words in red? No, they're not are they?
So is Christ speaking in this chapter? And I'm not saying that all the that all red letter editions are foolproof or whatever
I mean whatever but like I think that all of them would agree mine's a blue letter edition
And let's see what mine says. Oh wait
There's it's all black but the previous chapter is all in blue and the next so chapter 5 is all black and this one's all black
That's pretty interesting. So
Jesus Jesus is not speaking in this passage and the what's really hard on those on this theory of theirs
Is that don't they have to hear the voice of the Son of God in order to be resurrected?
Don't they have to hear the voice of Jesus turn to John chapter 5 because if this is true if this is
supposedly the rapture happening then well, I mean
It's just a bizarre teaching because did John get raptured in real life at that time. No, well, they're like
Oh, this is in spirit. Well, I would agree with you on that
He did he did go up to heaven in spirit
But I thought the rapture was that when your body and your spirit come together and that you're have a resurrected body that goes up
To heaven isn't that what the rapture is or is the pre or is the rapture when you're only your spirit goes to heaven?
I mean, it's really kind of dumb
It's it's it's got a lot of holes to have this be a rapture verse at all
So look at John 5 24 says verily verily I say unto you he that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me
Hath everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life
Verily verily I say unto you the hour is coming and now is when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God and
They shall and they that hear shall live and so he's saying now is that time people when he when Jesus preached to people
Out in the public at this time they got saved and they and they passed from death until or yeah from death unto life
And it says in verse 26 for as the father hath life in himself
So hath he given to the son to have life in himself and hath given him authority to execute judgment
Also because he is the son of man marvel not at this for the hour is coming in the which all that are in the grave
Shall hear his voice
So the voice that you hear is a trumpet
Speaking to John saying come up hither, but that voice is not Christ
So they're their thought that this is a rapture verse can't be true because that's not the voice of Jesus Christ
Because the voice of Jesus Christ is the sound that they're gonna hear is that what it said? Well, let me read it for you again
Marvel not at this for the hour is coming in the which all that hear or all that are in the grave shall hear
His voice and that voice was a trumpet speak
it was somebody else talking to him wasn't it and
Shall come forth and they that have done good unto the resurrection of life and they that have done evil
Unto the resurrection of damnation turn to Revelation chapter 22 Revelation chapter 22
Because John is being spoken to in this book by more than one person
Jesus did speak to him in chapter 1 and other chapters
He actually speaks to him in this chapter in chapter 22, but it differentiates who's talking to him in this passage
Doesn't it look at verse number seven?
It says behold I come quickly blessed is he that keepeth the same of the prophecy of this book
Is that Jesus speaking right there you guys paying attention who's speaking right there Jesus is right?
Why do you know that is this in red right and then at verse 8 says and I John
Saw these things and heard them and when I had heard and seen I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel
Which showed me these things then sayeth he unto me
See thou do it not for I am thy fellow servant and of thy brethren the prophets and of them which keep the sayings of
This book worship God so this is a man that he's that's that's up there in heaven with him speaking to him
This is not Jesus. This is not an angel like a heavenly angel
This is a man isn't it not what it says and he saith unto me
"Seal not the sayings of this prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand."
So remember when Daniel got the message of the things of the end times, he told Daniel
to seal the book, remember?
So he's not supposed to seal this.
He's supposed to write these things for the time is at hand.
"And he that is unjust, let him be unjust still; he that is filthy, let him be filthy
still; and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still; and he that is holy, let
him be holy still.
And behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me, to give every man according to
his work shall be.
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last."
So you have multiple people talking here, you have Jesus Christ talking, then you have
John talking, and then you have the guy that says, "Don't worship me, John, I'm just
a man."
And then you have Jesus talking again.
Now let's go to Matthew chapter 24, because Jesus explains, let me just show you what
a plain and clear scripture says about Jesus coming back.
Because the pre-trib argument, which most people in modern day Christianity believe,
but you know, I think that films like After the Tribulation, I think that those things
have helped a lot of people believe the truth.
Because I remember when I was a Baptist before I ever saw After the Tribulation, and I felt
like I was alone a lot in different Baptist churches I was at because I'd never believed
the pre-trib rapture.
I was always post-trib.
I didn't necessarily have everything nailed down.
I thought it was like, you know, at the end of the seven years, kind of like post-trib.
I thought the tribulation was the full seven years, so I was kind of confused on some things.
But one thing I knew wasn't true, that it wasn't pre-trib.
I knew it wasn't a secret rapture because when it says, "Every eye shall see him,"
that means it's not secret, because if every eye sees him, then it can't be a secret, right?
And then when they would say, in chapter four, that that's the rapture, I'm like, "What
are you talking about?"
Anyway, Matthew 24 verse 29, here's the difference between their clear scripture and our clear
scripture about the post-trib pre-wrath.
It says, "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and
the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers
of the heavens shall be shaken."
But when does he say?
"Immediately after the tribulation."
Right?
Isn't that what it says?
"And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes
of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven
with power and great glory."
See how it says they'll see Him?
And when does He come after the tribulation?
When does that happen?
Well, after the moon and the sun shall not give its light, and the stars of heaven will
be falling, and they'll see all these calamities in the heavens.
And it says that He'll be coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
"And He shall send His angels," verse 31, "with a great sound," what does it say there?
"A trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end
of heaven to another."
To me that sounds a lot like a rapture, doesn't it?
It sounds like He's gathering people to Himself.
Now turn to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, verse 13, "And they will claim this as the pre-trib
rapture."
And it's like, how are you claiming this to be a pre-trib rapture when that's not what
it says?
Because the first time that it's even brought up in Scripture is in Matthew chapter 24,
when the disciples clearly ask Him, "When shall the end of the world be, and what shall
be the sign of that coming and the end of the world?"
And then He answers them with this quote.
He never says, "Hey, you know, there's going to be a secret rapture first."
He never says that.
In fact, He says, "If someone says I'm in secret chambers, believe them not."
I mean, that clearly goes against a secret rapture, doesn't it?
Now, why do you think He says that?
Because people will probably be saying in the end time, you know, in this very end time,
they'll be like, "Jesus is in the desert.
Go to Him."
And then they're going to get slaughtered because they're dumb, you know.
The rapture's happening, but it's out in the desert.
You've got to go to Jesus.
It's at the north pole.
Just go north.
Take the sled dogs.
Go!
Go!"
And it's like, "No.
You should have listened to what the Bible said."
But here in 1 Thessalonians 4.13 it says, "But I would not have you be ignorant, to
be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not even as others
which have no hope.
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus,
will God bring with him."
Where is he bringing them with him from?
From heaven.
So what would that tell you?
That when people die that are saved, they go to heaven.
Jehovah's Witnesses, what do they teach?
Soul sleep.
That your soul goes to sleep and you're just unconscious until Jesus comes back.
But it sounds to me like their soul goes to heaven because the Bible says to be absent
from the body is to be present with the Lord.
And it says in verse 15, it says, "For this we say unto you, by the word of the Lord,
that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them
which are asleep."
So they're not going to, the people that are alive and remain will not be resurrected
before those which have died in the Lord already and that are buried in the ground.
It says, "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice
of the archangel, and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first.
And we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds
to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Wherefore, comfort one another with these words."
So there it is, it's the pre-trib rapture.
Did you see it?
Did you see that?
Oh, you didn't see it?
You know why?
Because it's not there.
And they will take you here as if they got you.
See it's right there.
It's like, where?
Where do you see it?
Because I've never been able to see that.
I've seen the events of the rapture, but I've never seen the timing of the rapture in that
passage before.
It doesn't say anything about it being before the tribulation, does it?
It doesn't say that.
But they'll say like, they'll use verses like, well, we're not supposed to be, you know,
we won't have wrath come upon us or whatever.
God is not a wife beater or whatever.
They'll say stuff like that.
But we don't believe that God is going to, we're not going to see wrath.
That's why we call it the post-trib pre-wrath rapture.
And why do we call it that?
Because He takes us out of here before He pours His wrath out upon the earth.
We'll get to that in chapter 6.
So we still have this chapter, then we have chapter 5.
And then chapter 6 is where, you know, the fire and brimstone and all that stuff happens.
So and the rapture happens in chapter 6.
So turn to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, 2 Thessalonians chapter 2.
And this really nails it too, and they'll use this verse too.
This passage is what they'll use this for the pre-trib rapture when it actually says
the opposite of what they're saying, which is just mind-boggling to me.
It's like, "Are you yet without understanding?"
It's like Jesus would say that to his disciples sometimes, it's like, "Are you yet without
understanding also?
What's wrong with you?
How come you don't get this?"
And sometimes I'm just baffled by the fact that Baptists or Christians cannot understand
when the Bible is plainly saying here, because they're just, you know, they've looked at
too many charts, they've looked at the chipmunk guy, what's his name, Robert Breaker, and
his charts are like this, and he's just like, you know, whatever, it's a little chipmunk
face and saying the rapture is going to happen. No, it's going to be this year. No, it's
going to be next year. No, it's going to be this year. It's like, dude, I mean, how
many times does he have to predict the rapture happening or Jesus coming back before you're
going to call him a false prophet? But, you know, oh no, he's not a false prophet. He's
a King James Bible believer. Yeah, okay. Well, the Bible says that no man knows what the
day or hour, so how is he predicting the rapture? Anyway, 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 verse 1,
the Bible says, "Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and
by our gathering together unto him." Sounds like the rapture, doesn't it? The coming of
our Lord Jesus Christ. Does it say the second, the third coming? I mean, people will go,
that's the, you know, they'll say stuff like, you know, when he comes back in Matthew 24,
that's the second coming. It's like, yeah, I know, that's what we believe too. Yeah,
you're right, that is the second coming. And this is the second coming also, because
it doesn't say the third coming, but I mean, which one is this? Is this coming 2.1? But
anyway, it says, "That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled neither by spirit,
nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand." So, if
anybody tells somebody that the day of Christ is at hand, which is, what, eminence? That
it could happen at any moment? Isn't that what that means? He said, "Don't believe
people that say this to you, whether it would be by a spirit, or by word, like an epistle
from one of the apostles, nor by letter from us, nor by someone preaching something, as
that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means." And people
just, they just look at that verse and they're just like, "They're deceived." Oh my god.
How do you get deceived when it says, "Let no man deceive you by any means?" And it says,
"For that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of
sin be revealed, the son of perdition." So what has to happen? This apostasy has to happen,
this great apostasy, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition. Who is that
man? That man is the antichrist, and so the day Jesus Christ cannot come back before the
antichrist is revealed. Isn't that what it says? So how do you get the pre-trib rapture
out of this? Because I'm pretty sure that the tribulation is already going on when the
antichrist is here. I mean, hello, is anybody home? And the great tribulation kicks off
at the midpoint when he actually does reveal himself, and then it's only a short time of
great tribulation. I mean, that's what the Bible teaches. So, what are they talking about?
When did he come in the clouds before all this happened? Because I'm pretty sure, oh
yeah, verse number one says, "Now we beseech you, brother, by the coming of the Lord, by
the Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, that ye not be soon shaken
in mind or troubled." Quit saying that he's going to come back, or that his coming is
at hand. And what do these YouTube people always say? "Yep, he's coming. His time is
at hand. It's going to happen. The battle of Gog and Magog is just about to happen,
because Russia is about to do this, and Russia is about to do that." I mean, they're always
saying this stuff. And it's just, it's bizarre that people just fall for this hook, line,
sinker, you know, "Look, Syria is a desolate wasteland." And all, you know, they're just,
dude, Gog and Magog doesn't happen until the very end. I mean, people just don't know
their Bible. It's plain and simple. Now, it says in verse 4, "Who opposeth and exalteth
himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped so that he as God sitteth in
the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Remember ye not that when I was yet
with you I told you these things? And now you know that withholdeth that he might be
revealed in his time, for the mystery of iniquity doth already work; only he who now letteth
will let until he be taken out of the way. Then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the
Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy the brightness of
his coming, even him whose coming is after the working of Satan, with all power and
signs and lying wonders; and with all deceivableness and unrighteousness, and them that perish
because they receive not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause
God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie, and they all might
be damned who believe not the truth, but have pleasure in unrighteousness." I mean there
it is. Turn to 1 Corinthians 15 22, 1 Corinthians 15 22. Now tell me where the pre-trib rapture
is in this passage right here, because I don't see it. 1 Corinthians 15 22, and this whole
chapter is specifically dealing pretty much the whole time about the resurrection. What
chapter is this called? If someone says, "Hey, what would you sum up the 1 Corinthians 15?"
What would you say the subject is of 1 Corinthians 15? What would you say? This is the resurrection
chapter, right? Okay, so it says in verse 22, "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ
shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order price the first fruits, afterward
they that are Christ at his coming." It doesn't say comings, it says coming. "Then cometh
the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father, when he
shall have put down all rule and all authority and power." So, yeah, I believe that it's
the second coming when he receives everybody up, just like the Bible says in 1 Thessalonians.
And just like it says in the 2nd Thessalonians, just like it says in Matthew chapter 24, Mark
13, Luke 17. Look, the Bible is very clear about when Jesus comes back, and guess what
it says after the tribulation. Those are clear verses. John 3.16 is a clear verse about salvation.
It's a clear verse about eternal security. There's tons of verses that are super clear.
But you know what's not clear? I heard a trumpet speak. You know, the trumpet spoke to me or
whatever and called me up and said, "Come hither." That's not a clear verse. It's not even close.
So those are about as clear as mud. So in verse 2 it says, "And immediately I was in the Spirit.
And behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne." So in verse 2 it says that as
soon as that happened he was immediately in the Spirit. He wasn't immediately in a new glorified
body. He was immediately in the Spirit. "And behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one that sat on
the throne." So he was in the Spirit and again if he was raptured he would be in a body also.
And Jesus is the only one with a glorified body right now. Even to this time he's the only person.
The two witnesses that are next to him sitting, you know, that are before the Lord that have not
come down to earth yet, they don't have glorified bodies. They are still... because how could you
kill somebody that has a glorified body? So that's the thing about the two witnesses, by the way,
is that if they're able to be killed then that means that they don't have resurrected bodies.
So they get the resurrected bodies after they're killed by the beast. So anyway, so verse three.
"And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone. And there was a rainbow
round about the throne in sight like unto an emerald." So in Ezekiel chapter one explains
similar things. It explains about these winged creatures that are the four beasts that it explains
in verse number four where it says, "And round about the throne were four and twenty seats."
And well, before we get to the beast, I guess we'll get to the elders first.
But, "And round about the throne were four and twenty seats, and upon the seats I saw four and
twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment, and they had on their heads crowns of gold."
So, but in Ezekiel 21, verse, you know, in Ezekiel 1 it talks about, you know, the same kind of
bow and all the different things that it explains in Revelation about the throne of God, about
the color of terrible crystal, or I mean, excuse me, the rainbow of like an emerald and everything.
So God's throne is explained in different passages in the Old Testament and it matches up with what
you see in Revelation. I don't have time to turn that around. But Revelation 4 has these
four and twenty seats and upon the seats four and twenty elders sitting. So there's a lot of
speculation about who these four and twenty four, twenty four elders are. And I mean people have
even put like Pastor Anderson, Pastor Amen is in the four and twenty four, the twenty four elders
and you know, whatever. But the Bible doesn't tell us who they are. So, but I mean there's
definitely a great list of men in the Bible that they could be. I wouldn't say that Elijah is one
of them because I think Elijah is one of the two witnesses. But they could be people that we've
never heard of that were just like maybe good leaders that, you know, God just has picked.
But, I mean, if they're in the Bible, they might be pretty high candidates. You know,
I think that just like any job that would, you know, be like a fortune 500 company,
they're going to pick the top guys to be leaders of that company, right? They're not going to pick
the worst of the worst. They're going to pick the best of the best. So it seems to me that if God's
God's going to pick four and 20 elders to sit in these seats, and he's probably going
to pick the best cream of the crop that he has of believers of all time.
So and he's got a lot of people to choose from.
So I'm not sure how he judges this to make the cut, but here's some names that I've
thought of.
Abel, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Job, Moses, Joshua, Samuel, David, Asa, Jehoshaphat,
Hezekiah, Josiah, Elisha, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, John, Paul, Stephen, Peter.
Anybody else got any good ones?
I covered them all.
Come on, people.
Give me something.
Throw me a bone here.
Matthew.
All right.
Anybody else?
Luke.
Yeah.
All the apostles.
I mean, you know, the city is made up of the foundation of the 12 tribes of Israel and
the—I think the gates of the apostles.
And it says that they'll reign on 12 thrones, right?
So yeah, I mean, it's interesting that there's somewhat of a hierarchy of people up there
and people that God has counted as faithful.
And look what it says in verse number five.
It says, "And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunders and voices, and there
were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God."
So it's explaining this throne area, and we already saw that it has an emerald rainbow
that is over the top of it.
So what color are emeralds?
They're green, right?
So the rainbow isn't the colors of the rainbow necessarily, but it's this green color.
And then before the throne proceeds out lightnings and thunders and voices.
So this is not like a throne that we've ever seen before.
It's probably a pretty scary throne.
I mean, if you're going to approach it as a human being, it'd probably be kind of scary.
So it's got these lamps, the burning, the fire burning, and lightning and thunder coming
out of it, okay?
And those, those spirits are the seven spirits of God, which is the Holy Spirit, okay?
So look at Isaiah, let's turn to Isaiah chapter 11 verse number one, Isaiah chapter 11 verse
number one, and the seven spirits of God are explained in Isaiah chapter 11 verse one.
And it's good to compare scripture with scripture so you can kind of figure out what these things
mean.
And of course, God sends the Holy Spirit to testify of Jesus, but the Holy Spirit is God.
So and obviously we believe in the Trinity at this church, Father, the Son, the Holy
Ghost, these three are one, and Isaiah 11 verse one says, "And there shall come forth
a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of its, out of his roots."
Of course, we're talking about the Lord Jesus Christ, "And the Spirit of the Lord shall
rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom, the Spirit of understanding and understanding, and the
Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord."
If you're counting there, that is seven, and remember the Lord Jesus Christ had the
Spirit without measure, and so all of the Holy Spirit was filling him up completely
the whole time after his baptism, and it was without measure.
Verse 6 it says, and back in our passage it says, "And before the throne there was a sea
of glass like unto crystal, and in the midst of the throne and round about the throne were
four beasts full of eyes before and behind.
And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast
had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.
So these guys are pretty interesting creatures, and they are also explained in the book of
Ezekiel in chapter one, they're the same interesting creatures, they're angels, these are angelic
beings, but they're kind of scary and kind of weird looking, you know, I mean the way
it's explained they kind of look weird, and they sound weird, but it's just because we
haven't seen anything like that before, but it says that they're in the midst of the throne
and round about the throne, and there's four of them, full of eyes before and behind.
So I'm not sure really what that represents, maybe the fact that, because I believe that
they kind of represent the four gospels, and maybe the gospels before and behind, you know,
the gospels cover salvation to the previous generation and to the generation before, or
going forward.
And also, of course, you know, God sees everything from the beginning to the end, so that might
be something that means too.
But it says in the first beast was like a lion, the second beast was like a beast, like
a calf, and the third beast had a face of a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying
eagle.
So you could read about these different creatures in Ezekiel chapter one, we don't really have
time for it as the scope of the sermon, but if you want to read up more about the throne
and matching it up with the book of Revelation, just go to Ezekiel chapter one for extra reading
there.
But the angels matched the themes of the gospel, and you're like, well how is that so?
Well you have Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and why would God represent Matthew like a
lion, Mark like a calf, or an ox, and Luke like a man, and John with a flying eagle?
Because that's how I think that they're matched up.
Matthew would be like the Messiah, and he's the lion of the tribe of Judah, right?
So the lion of the tribe of Judah is what he's called, and that's a moniker that's
given to him as the Messiah.
So I believe that Matthew is that book that proves, it like goes through and just says
all the verses from the Old Testament, speaking about him being the Messiah, it's kind of
got this messianic, you know, a very big angle towards him being the Messiah, many verses
about it.
So I think that when it comes to that, it's talking about the book of Matthew is there
to show, to prove that he's the Messiah, and I think that's very easily represented
by the lion.
Now Mark, if you notice in the book of Mark that he's just, Jesus is just working so
hard that people think he's crazy, that people think he's nuts, and actually his disciples
get upset with him, and they're upset for chapters upon chapters.
When I went through the book of Mark I showed that they're like mad because they didn't
get a break when they were supposed to, they were supposed to go to a desert place and
rest for a while, they didn't get that rest, and they were irritated about it, and Jesus
kind of took them to task about it.
But an ox, or a calf as it's said in here, is like a beast of burden.
Oxes are used to pull weight and to do lots of work, and so Jesus Christ was the servant
that suffered for us and did all the work for us to get saved.
And so Mark is a book that really painstakingly shows how much work Jesus had to do for our
salvation.
He's up early in the morning, he's going to bed late at night, and he's just like
working so hard that he doesn't even have time to eat.
So Luke goes through and shows the humanity of Christ, and then with John, you have him,
you know, of course it's proving that John is deity.
So John's deity is proven all throughout the book of John.
It starts out, "In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word
was God."
And that would be represented by the eagle, and obviously he came from heaven, Jesus came
from heaven to earth, he talks about that in the book of John, all throughout the book
of John.
How he came from heaven, he was sent from God, by God, from heaven, and eagles, where
do they fly at?
They fly in heaven, don't they?
And then, he also talks about, I know he talks about it in Matthew, but how, well he talks
about it in Exodus too, how he led the children of Israel out of the desert on eagle's wings.
Have you ever read that verse in the Bible, those verses in the Bible, how he led the children,
he took the children of Israel upon him and led them with eagle's wings.
And he also, and let's see, I'll just have you turn there, so turn to John chapter 14.
And I'm going to start reading just in Exodus 19 and just kind of show you really quickly
what it says.
In Exodus 19-4 it says, "You have seen what I did unto the Egyptians and how I bear you
on eagles wings and brought you unto myself.
Now therefore, if you will obey my voice indeed and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar
treasure unto me above all people, for all the earth is mine; and ye shall be unto me
a kingdom of priests and an unholy nation.
These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all
these words which the Lord commanded him, and all the people answered together and said,
"All that the Lord hath spoken we will do."
And Moses returned with the words to the people unto the Lord.
Here in John chapter 14 it says, "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God,
believe also in me.
In my father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you.
I go to prepare a place for you; and if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come
again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also."
And how's he going to do that?
Well, he's going to come like an eagle would come and he's going to snatch us up and take
us to where he also is.
Where does Jesus go after he dies?
Well, he flies up into the sky and the last thing they see is him going up into a cloud
into heaven.
And so it's really fitting that an eagle would represent the Lord Jesus Christ and
the deity of Christ.
Verse 4 says, "And whither I go, you know; and the way you know."
Thomas saith unto him, "Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the
way?"
Jesus saith unto him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life.
No man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
Matthew 24 verse 26 says, "Wherefore, if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the
desert; go not forth; behold, he is in secret chambers; believe it not; for as the lightning
cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west, so shall also the coming of the
Son of Man be. For wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
So when, you know, he's likening the rapture unto an eagle coming and snatching and going
to where a carcass is to feed on it. So, I mean, there's a lot of symbolism there that
he, again, will bear us up as eagle wings. So Revelation 4.8 says, "And the four beasts
had each of them six wings about him, and they were full of eyes within, and they had
rest not day and night, saying, 'Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was and is
and is to come.'" So all day, all night, no rest, day or night, this is what they're
saying over and over and over again. And why do you think that they say holy three times?
Because of the Trinity. And, you know, they just want to make sure everybody knows he's
holy three times, right? And this is the lyrics of one of Brother Sean's favorite songs.
What's the song, brother? Doxology, right? Yeah. So doxology is a great song, and it's
real simple and real true. And so this is what they're saying continuously. The Bible
says there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, the Holy Ghost, and
these three are one. So verse nine, "And when those beasts give glory and honor, and thanks
to him that sat on the throne, who liveth forever and ever, the four and twenty elders
fall down before him and set on the throne, and worship him that liveth forever and ever,
and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory
and honor and power, for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are
and were created.
So why did God make us?
People sometimes wonder and ask these questions.
People that are not saved, they want to know, like, where did we come from?
Now there's these great questions that are asked, you know, where did we come from?
Why did God create us, or, you know, who created us?
And it's like, well, God created us.
And why did he create us?
Well, the answer is right here in verse number 11.
It says, "For thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created."
So why were we created?
For God's pleasure.
That's why.
Like, it's just a real simple answer.
And it's like, well, I didn't want to be created for God's pleasure.
It's like, people just think weird things sometimes.
It's like, how dare you just reply back towards God like that?
But that's just how brazen people are.
That's how sinful people are, that they'll reply back to their maker and ask them stupid
questions like that, or accuse God of being evil for bringing them into this world.
I think my wife was telling me about, I'm probably going to get the story wrong, but
about a kid, I forgot what she said exactly, but they said that they don't want to work
because they didn't ask to be born or something like that.
I was like, that sounds like something a kid would say.
Well, I didn't ask to be born.
You know, it's like, well, you were, so get to work, you know.
You're going to get the lash, you know.
So everybody has to pull their weight.
But God created us to have fellowship with him.
It's not like he just created us so he could abuse us or something.
He created us so he could have fellowship with us, and the only way he can have fellowship
with us is if we're saved.
And you know, he put together the plan to make it happen.
So you know, we need to get something straight in this world.
He created us and not the other way around.
See, people will say, well, you know, religion is the construct of humans so they can control
people.
Well, who am I controlling?
I mean, am I like walking up to your house the days that you skip church and walk it
up with a gun and say you missed church again, you're dead?
No.
Who am I controlling?
I don't control anybody.
You either want to serve the Lord or you don't, and it's up to you whether you serve Him or
not.
Turn to Ecclesiastes 5.1.
I'm almost done.
Almost done.
Suffer with me for just a couple more moments here.
Ecclesiastes 5.1.
And you know, people get this attitude that they can just reply back to God or say whatever
they want, but "by thy words shalt thou be justified" and "by thy words shalt thou
be condemned."
So we should be careful about the things that we say about God, to God, and about other
people.
Like, accountability for the things we say is kind of a big deal and, you know, just
running off at the mouth whenever we feel like saying something is, you know, sometimes
we're a little too brash with our mouths.
And even as Christians we can be that way.
But it says, "Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to
hear than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they consider not that they do evil.
Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God.
For God is in heaven, and thou upon earth; therefore let thy words be few."
I mean that, if that doesn't smack you a little bit, then I don't know what does.
Because it's kind of a sobering verse.
You know, maybe you should just keep quiet.
If you don't have anything, you know, what would your mommy say when you're growing
up if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all?
But, you know, when it comes to God, maybe you should just, if you don't have anything
intelligent or if you don't have anything to add to the conversation or, you know, maybe
you just shouldn't talk to God if you don't have anything, you know, good to say.
It says, "For a dream cometh through the multitude of business, and a fool's voice
is known by the multitude of his words."
You know, the less words you speak, the better off you might be.
"When thou vowest to vow unto God, defer not to pay it, for he hath no pleasure in
fools pay that which thou has vowed."
So it's better to just say, you know, do not say anything.
Don't say you're going to do something and not do it because God has no pleasure in fools.
He doesn't want to hear you say you're going to do something and not do it.
"Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin, neither say thou before the angel that
it was an error. Wherefore, should God be angry at thy voice and destroy the work of
thy hands?" I mean, that's scary. "For in the multitude of dreams and many words, there
are also diverse vanities, but fear thou God." And this is just a good lesson on what we
should say in utter before the Lord and about Him and about the things of God. When we go
into God's house, you know, it's kind of a, I'm not saying that we can't ever joke
around and stuff like that. I'm just saying that we should just be careful the things
that we say. Jude chapter one, Jude chapter one, and when unbelievers are saying things
about God, you know, they should be careful also. The things that they say about God because,
you know, every idle word that a man shall speak, he shall give an account thereof on
the day of judgment. Every idle word. And that means all these atheists and phagnostics,
the gay theists and phagnostics that are just saying all these manner of evil things and
saying, "I didn't ask for God to make me." Well, I mean, he could just snap his finger.
He doesn't even have to snap his finger. He can just think it and you're going to die.
He can just speak a word and you're done. Like, he doesn't have to allow you to live.
He doesn't have to allow you to breathe. But I guarantee you if they thought that God actually
would do something immediately if they said something like that, they probably wouldn't
say such stupid things. But yet they do, because they don't think he cares. They don't think
he's going to do anything. Jude 1-14 says, "And Enoch also the seventh from Adam prophesied
of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his saints, to execute judgment
upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of their ungodly deeds, which they
have ungodly committed, and all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken
against him. These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lust, and their mouths
speaketh great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration, because of advantage.
But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before the apostles of the apostles
of our Lord Jesus Christ hath they told you there should be mockers in the last time,
who should walk after their own ungodly lust. These be they who separate themselves, sensual
having not the Spirit. So the people that are the wicked of this world should be careful
about how they talk about God also, because if they think that they're just going to get
away with all the things that they say about Him, you know, God made us, and He's made
us and continues to produce things in this world, and He does it for His pleasure. It's
like, well, what does that mean exactly? It means that He does it for His pleasure, and
He's God, and He can do whatever He wants. That's what it means within, of course, goodness,
because God is good, and God is love. But He also is a terrible God, which means He's,
you know, He's somebody to be feared and someone that should strike awe into you. And you know,
He does have some standards, and He is one to be feared. People should not just take
Him lightly, because there's a lot of people in this world that take Him lightly, and you
know, they probably wish they could take back the things that they said. And you know, what
we're going to get into as this book progresses is just how angry God actually is, because
they think that New Testament is kind, hippie, tree-hugging Jesus with Birkenstocks and a
dress and long hair. But they're going to find out really quickly when He actually does
come back, when He actually does start to pour His wrath, because when He comes back,
that's when they get really scared, right? When they actually see Him come, when the
fish bowl, when the lids peeled off the top and they see these things in the heavens start
to happen, that's when people are going to freak out. They're going to say to the mountains
and rocks to fall on us and hide us from the face of the Lamb. And all the things that
they were talking about before, they're going to wish they had never said. But even then,
the reprobates at heart are going to still curse God. As they're frying in the hot sun
and these scorpions or whatever attacking them with long hair. I mean, they wanted to
have long hair, well God's going to give them some scorpions with long hair or whatever.
They like to listen to the scorpions having long hair, well they're going to have some
scorpions with long hair. I don't know if that's the judgment or whatever of God. He's
like, "You like the scorpions, huh? Well, here you go. Here's some scorpions with long
hair." Anyway, let's pray. Lord, we thank you so much for the scripture. We thank you
for making us, Lord. We thank you for having us for your pleasure, Lord, and that you would
even think about people that you made, Lord. And Lord, that we would reply back to you
in a negative manner. Lord, I pray that you'd forgive us. And if we use your name flippantly
and not with fear in our voice, I pray that you'd help us, Lord, to think about the
things that we say and not to just be hasty with our mouth and to not reply against you
and not to take you for granted, Lord, that we would ask for forgiveness even just right
now. Lord, forgive us when we're not humble and respectful towards you, Lord. We thank
you for loving us and saving us. Pray that you'd be with us and your spirit would fill
us this week. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.