THE WHOLE BOOK OF REVELATION2020 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: The Whole Book Of Revelation

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2020. Well, as we look at Revelation chapter 1, or starting here this morning, we've been reading Revelation for the past few weeks now as we work our way through the Bible in three years. But for the past few weeks, we've had some guest speakers because I was out with the coronavirus.

We had some Christmas services and Christmas messages that God had for us. And so we didn't spend time in the book of Revelation. And so we haven't been able to really teach from the book of Revelation this whole time that we've been reading through it. And so what the Lord had on my heart this morning is to make it up to you now. And so today we're going to look at the whole book of Revelation.

So hopefully you brought some comfortable clothing and you're ready for the marathon message. We're just going to go into the evening service. No, we are going to cover the whole book, but as an overview and just kind of getting some of the highlights

and some of the things that really stand out for us as we consider the book of Revelation. You know, sometimes as we go through the book of Revelation, we can drown in the details because there's so much symbolism. There's so many, you know, different aspects to explore and consider, so many different interpretations to kind of meditate on and think about and kind of play with in our minds. And we can kind of get lost as far as the whole picture is concerned. Right?

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One of the easy ways to find that is just go to livingwatercorona.com slash revelation and that'll bring up all the teachings that we have in Revelation and you can see that. Now one thing I'm praying about and I'd invite you to pray along with me is doing a Revelation refresher series.

on Wednesday evening, starting in January. So not set for sure, but just praying about it. Pray along with me, maybe doing two, three, four chapters a week and getting a little bit more in depth, but not, you know, spending the whole year in the book of Revelation as it would take to go through it verse by verse and get through all the details, but get a little bit more detail than we're going to go through this morning. So pray about that with me and we'll see what the Lord says about that.

But as we look at the whole book of Revelation this morning, we're going to be looking at five parts to the book of Revelation. And the first part is here, chapter 1, Revelation chapter 1. The first part of the book of Revelation is the revelation of Jesus.

Jesus. This book is the revelation of Jesus Christ. Although it is, you know, filled with end times events and prophecies and incredible and exciting things, we need to make sure that we keep our focus on the one that this book is about, and that is Jesus Christ and his final plan for all of eternity. Well, here in chapter one, the apostle John, who's writing this book, has a vision of Jesus. And

And this vision becomes important in the next couple of chapters as Jesus addresses the various churches and each church has different elements of the vision attached to it.

But the things that I wanted to highlight here in chapter 1, there's two things that I'd like to highlight here as we look at chapter 1. The first is the blessing of reading the book of Revelation. And then the second is the outline of Revelation. So the blessing is found in verse 3 that we read just a moment ago. But let's read it again.

Revelation chapter 1 verse 3. The book of Revelation can be a challenging book to work through. And so right at the beginning, God says, I want you to know it's worth the effort.

It's worth the effort to wrestle with those symbols, to navigate through those difficult passages and those challenging things to understand. It's worth it. There's a blessing for you. There's a blessing for those who read it. There's a blessing for those who listen to it. And there's a blessing for those who keep it, that those who would take these things and then allow them to impact and make a difference in their life. At the end of the book of Revelation, it

The angel tells John in Revelation chapter 22 verse 10, do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book for the time is at hand. Although we can look at the book of Revelation and think it's just not, we're not able to comprehend it or understand it. The Lord says, no, this is a book that is unsealed.

This is for us to consider. This is stuff for us to work through and understand. As opposed to when Daniel received a prophecy from the Lord, the angel told him, seal up this prophecy. It's not for you to think about or understand. I'm giving it to you, but it's for a different people for another time. And they'll make sense of it then as the Holy Spirit guides them.

But when it comes to the book of Revelation, he says, no, this is for you today. This is for you to think about, to understand, and to allow the Lord to minister to you through. Well, he also gives us the outline of what he's about to share in verse 19. Here's what it says, Revelation 119. Write the things which you have seen and the things which are and the things which will take place after this.

And so we can see there's three parts in this outline for Revelation. The things that you have seen, that refers to chapter 1 here that we're looking at, and the revelation of Jesus or the vision of Jesus that John has. Then he says, write the things which are. And for that, we would look at chapter 2, 3, and 4, which is addressing the church, the seven churches and the church age.

Well, then he says the things that will take place after this, write down those things as well. And that's pretty much the rest of the book of Revelation, chapters 5 through 22, all of the end times events and prophetic things that we will consider. And so here, as we look at chapter 1, two key things stand out. The blessing, there's a blessing for you to read it, to hear it, to listen to it, to consider and meditate on it. Most importantly, to keep it, to let these things impact your life.

But then there's also the outline to help you understand how these things are laid out. Well, moving on to chapters 2 through 4, we see the second part that we'll consider this morning as we look at the whole book of Revelation, and that is the present church age. The present, as in current, right now, the church age, the time period that we're living in is the church age where God is working with and dealing with the church, the body of Christ.

And so here in chapters 2 and 3, we have letters from Jesus to the church. It's to seven specific churches that actually existed, seven specific locations in Asia Minor that Jesus was writing to through the Apostle John. And as he writes these letters to seven different churches, we can look at and understand these letters in a few different ways.

First of all, they were written to literal churches in 95 AD when John was receiving this vision. It was a message from Jesus to them right then at that time. But we can also see the pattern of the global church today.

At different times throughout history, how God has been working in the church and the church has needed different instructions from God throughout history, that there is this kind of general condition of the church worldwide at different times in history. And you can kind of follow along in chapters two and three, the Lord addressing these different ages of the church. You can also look at these and understand that there are individual churches today that fit

the description of and need the exhortation of each letter to each church. And so perhaps you could consider chapters two and three and think about living water and say, where are we at as a church, Lord, in these and which would be the message for us today? But then we can also look at these letters to the churches and understand them personally.

that each of us at different times in our lives will likely identify with each of the seven churches, that we will be in a state, in a condition in our spiritual life that the message for each church will minister to us in different times. And so as we look at these things, these are things that God is speaking to us about today.

Things that God wants to address in our lives and things that God wants to work in the midst of us. Now, of course, we're not going to go through all of these seven churches and all of the details that we could consider, but I'd like to highlight just a couple things here. The first thing is that each church has a unique revelation of Jesus.

Each church that Jesus writes to and addresses here, as we consider this for our own selves, as we consider this for our church, we can take courage and take heart in the reality that the Lord has a unique and special revelation of himself to us. Consider the example of the church of Ephesus.

In chapter 2, the first church that Jesus writes to, it's often referred to as the loveless church because Jesus says they have left their first love. But notice what he says in verse 1. It says, This is a callback to the revelation or the vision of Jesus that John sees in chapter 1.

He sees Jesus amongst the lampstands holding the seven stars in his right hand. And these are explained to be Jesus in the presence of the church. And so think about that for a second. Here's the church that left their first love. And to them, Jesus says, I want to reveal myself to you as the one who is right there in your midst. You've left me, but I haven't left you. I'm right here. Come back.

And here the Lord is revealing himself in a way that is important to them and is unique to them and is what they need for that moment. And you can kind of work through all of the different churches. Again, we don't have time to work through all those churches, but a couple other examples. In Revelation chapter 2 verse 8, you have the persecuted church, Smyrna. And here's what the Lord says to them.

These things, says the first and the last, who was dead and came to life. So to the church that is suffering great persecution, the Lord says, hey, I know what persecution is like, and I was dead, and I came back to life, and I'm going to bring you life if you overcome and trust in me. And so to the persecuted church, the Lord reminds them, I am the one who suffered persecution, who was dead and was brought back to life.

To Thyatira, the corrupt church in Revelation chapter 2 verse 18, it says, To the church that was due for judgment, the Lord reveals himself.

And shows himself to be the one who has eyes like a flame of fire and feet like fine brass. And brass is often connected to the idea of judgment in the scriptures. And so here we have this revelation of the Lord that is exactly what they need and where they're at. And so I would encourage you in that this morning that the Lord has a revelation of himself for you.

that fits exactly where you are, that fits exactly your life and your ministry and your calling and what God wants to do in your life. God has a unique revelation of himself to us as a church, as a gathering of believers, where he wants to reveal himself and show himself to us in ways that are meaningful and exactly what we need. And so the present church age includes this unique revelation of the different aspects of Jesus.

Well, another common thread throughout all of these letters to the seven churches is the promise to those who overcome.

And each one, he says, look, if you overcome, there's reward. There's great things in store for you. And so he's encouraging every church. He's encouraging every believer, hold fast. There's going to be battles. There's going to be temptations. There's going to be opposition. But overcome. Hold fast to the Lord. Hold fast to your walk with him, your relationship with him until the end. And you will be rewarded.

Another theme that is found in these letters is a call to repentance. Although Jesus is writing to churches, there are Christians within the churches that are in need of repentance, and some of them are quite serious and severe in his call to repentance.

The different churches were off track in different ways. They, you know, wandered from the Lord in a variety of ways, sometimes in religion, sometimes in works, sometimes in sin. It was different things that led the different Christians astray. But the Lord is saying, come back. And so there's the opportunity to repent. And I think the thing that's important here to note is that these churches were not aware of their need to repent, right?

Jesus had to write to them and tell them to repent.

And that's important because, well, if we don't give it more than a surface thought, we're not going to think we need to repent, right? We're just going to think I'm okay. But we need to allow the Lord to instruct us and call us to repentance in his ministry to us, in his word that he would bring us to right relationship with him. And so there are Christians listening to this right now who need to repent. And the Lord would give you a call to repentance and you need to stop repenting

living that way, stop that behavior, turn around and get right with God, overcome that you might enjoy the reward of eternity. Well, the last thing I'll consider here about the church age is moving on from chapters two and three in these letters into chapter four. Because in the outline that we saw back in Revelation 119, remember he said, I want you to write the things which are

the present, the church age, but also the things that will take place after this. And that is important to understand as we head into Revelation chapter 4. Look what it says in verse 1. After these things, I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me and saying, come up here, and I will show you the things which must take place after this. That word after this

Metatauta in the Greek is used in Revelation chapter 1 verse 19. And Jesus says, write the things which are and then the things that will take place after this. And then in Revelation chapter 4 verse 1, he says it twice. After these things at the beginning of the verse and then verse 1, these are the things which must take place after.

after this. And so there's a strong connection here from this outline that Jesus gives to indicate to us what we would call the rapture of the church. And specifically, the rapture of the church taking place before the tribulation comes upon the earth. And as we head further into Revelation, we're going to be, you know, seeing in depth all of the details of the tribulation period. And

And so Jesus is laying out this pattern here. After these things, after the church age, then will come this period of persecution. And there's some cool pictures of the rapture here in these first couple verses. First, you see here in verse 1 that he saw a door standing open in heaven. And so John, as he sees this vision of Jesus and he gets these letters from him, he's on earth.

But then now he sees a door open in heaven and you could say that he is caught up to meet the Lord in heaven. In verse 2 it says, And so you have John on earth saying,

receiving a vision, and then immediately, a moment later, an instant later, he is before the throne in heaven. It's a nice visual picture of the rapture of the church. There's some common elements. He hears a voice like a trumpet, and the voice says, come up here.

In a similar way, 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, we see that the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, with the trumpet of God.

Those who are alive and remain shall be caught up together to meet the Lord in the air. And so the voice of the Lord, the sound of the trumpet, the catching up, the door into heaven, all of these parallels make a strong case for understanding that this is a preview of the rapture of the church here in Revelation chapter 4. And so this is where we belong. We're in the present church age and

Needing to understand the revelation of Jesus that he desires to give to us. Needing to hold fast and overcome until the end. Needing to repent and get back on track so that we'll be ready for the rapture of the church, to be caught up, to meet the Lord in the air.

Well, we've looked at two parts of the book of Revelation so far. The revelation of Jesus in chapter 1, and then the present church age in chapters 2 through 4. Now we move on to chapters 5 through 18. It's a huge selection of chapters to understand the seven-year tribulation after this. And that's point number three this morning. The seven-year tribulation after

After this, again, the emphasis on the after the church age, after these things, as the Lord says. And so here, the bulk of the book of Revelation is concerned with and discussing the tribulation period, the seven years of great tribulation that will come upon the earth. Now, obviously, we're not going to cover all the details in all of these chapters, but

But to highlight some key elements of the tribulation period, we're going to look at the wrath of God. We're going to look at people's refusal to repent. We'll look at the beasts of the tribulation period and the mark of the beast. And so the first thing to consider here in the tribulation is the wrath of God. Now the stage is set in Revelation chapter 5.

Where there on the throne is the Lamb, and he's given the scroll that has seven seals. And this scroll that is sealed with seven seals is going to be opened.

And as each seal is opened, there are judgment events that are transpiring upon the earth. The scroll is often referred to and considered the title deed of the earth. It's definitely a possibility. And here the Lamb is Jesus Christ as he opens the scroll. He's the only one worthy. And the seven seals, again, unleash seven different judgments.

following the seven seals, we see the seven trumpet judgments. And then following those trumpet judgments comes seven more judgments called the bowl judgments. And there's, you know, great detail as you work your way through all of these here in the book of Revelation. But as you consider these things, I like what David Guzik says about it. He says, "...it is best to regard these pictures as real but poetic."

John isn't using technically precise scientific language, but he simply describes what he saw.

As these judgments are poured out, some of them are, you know, quite interesting to consider and, you know, make us wonder exactly what it is that is going on. And Guzik encourages us, understand he's describing what he saw. It's poetic language. Something really happens. It really is traumatic and dramatic, but it might not be, you know, a scientific explanation of what is going on. For example, the stars falling from the sky, right? Well,

That's probably not what we would scientifically call the stars. It probably is a meteor shower that hits or something like that. So John's describing what looks like stars falling to the earth. And so it's a poetic language to describe these judgments that are coming upon the earth.

And what are these judgments? Well, again, there's seven seals, then seven trumpets, then seven, I know I'm showing, I'm pretending I have seven fingers on my hand, right? There's seven trumpets, seven bold judgments that come. And each of these are devastating on their own, but combined all together, it becomes worse tribulation than the world has ever seen before.

Just to run through some of these things briefly, the seven seals, as they're opened up, you can read about that in chapters six through eight of Revelation. Here we see the Antichrist come on the scene. Here we see as the Antichrist makes a peace treaty that the second seal is open and peace is taken from the earth. So the peace doesn't last very long. Then comes famine that devastates the earth greatly. Then comes death for a quarter of the earth.

Then we see martyrs comforted in heaven. Then we see some great cataclysmic, catastrophic events happen in the heavens. And then as the seventh seal is opened...

There's silence in heaven and seven trumpets are brought forth. And so the seven trumpets are actually nested in the seventh seal. It's like those, you know, nested dolls, right? So you open the seventh doll and then here's another doll with seven dolls inside of it. The seven trumpets come forth as part of the seventh seal.

Now, one thing to consider as you look at these things and consider this first wave of judgment in the tribulation period is the devastation that will be upon the earth is like nothing it's ever seen before. Nothing in any of the world wars that have happened will compare. Nothing in the coronavirus pandemic will compare to

to what will take place in the tribulation period. Just to give a little perspective here, I looked up the amount of coronavirus deaths this year,

worldwide. And it's 1.76 million people is what they're saying have died from the coronavirus. Now, I know there's a lot of, you know, wrestling over whether or not that's an accurate count or whatever, but let's just assume, okay? The exaggerated number is an accurate count. 1.76 million, that's a lot of people who have died this year as a result of that. But in the tribulation period, the seven years of tribulation,

As the fourth seal is opened, a quarter of the earth dies. Now, doing some rough math based on today's population, minus the rapture of the church and, you know, those who will be missing, a quarter of the earth at that time will be somewhere in the ballpark of one

1.3 billion people would die as a result of that fourth seal being opened. And then later on in the sixth trumpet, another third die. That would be another 1.3 billion people. So think about that. Over a seven-year period, we're talking a minimum of two and a half billion people die in this tribulation period. That is multitudes upon multitudes upon multitudes more than what we're seeing here in this current pandemic.

And so what we're looking at here in this time of tribulation is great devastation. It truly is the wrath of God. Check out Revelation chapter 6 verse 15 for a moment. Revelation chapter 6 verse 15 and then I want to look at 16 and 17. It says, And the kings of the earth...

The great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains and said to the mountains and rocks, fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the lamb. For the great day of his wrath has come and who is able to stand?

As this tribulation unfolds here in the opening of the sixth seal, we see this group of people who are recognizing and understanding this is the wrath of God that we're seeing unfold.

we are seeing the judgment of God happen to us. And it's impacting everybody. The kings, the mighty men, the great men, every slave, every free man. There is nobody who escapes this period of judgment. It is going to be worldwide on all classes of people, on every race, on every nation. The judgment of God is going to be known and felt by every person on earth at that time. And that's just...

Still in the first portion, in the sixth seal. Then comes the seven trumpets. In the seven trumpets, just to run through them briefly, we see these things happen. First, a third of the vegetation on earth is burned. Then a third of the sea is turned to blood. Then a third of water is made bitter. Then a third of the stars are darkened. And then there's five months of demonic torment. And

And then there's four angels that kill a third of mankind. And then the seventh trumpet sounds, the temple in heaven is opened. And like before, the seven bowls of judgment are prepared. And that comes, that will bring the next wave of judgment upon the earth. But as I think about the seven trumpet judgments, the thing that stands out to me is the precision in which God judges. And think about that for a moment. It's one third of the vegetation that's burned, right?

Not one half, not one quarter, one third. It's a specific, designated, precise judgment that God is bringing. God is able, as we talked about his sovereignty recently, he's able to accomplish his judgment precisely and specifically. No more than is needed, just the right amount. And so a third of the sea is turned to blood. A third of the water is made bitter. In my mind, I liken it to popping popcorn.

When you're making popcorn, there's this perfect sweet spot that you want to get. You want to get as many kernels popped without burning any of the ones that popped. You want to get the most kernels popped, but you don't want to burn the ones that have popped. And so you're always trying to find that sweet spot of getting that perfect amount of popcorn ready for you. In a similar way, God brings judgment in a way that it's the perfect amount.

He finds that sweet spot so that it's the least amount of judgment necessary to bring the most amount of people to repentance. And when God brings judgment and discipline in our lives, it's always precise and measured. Never more. He doesn't, you know, get upset and just go off the handle and give more judgment than is deserved. He never does that. It's always as little as possible.

because of his grace and mercy, even in the midst of judgment, to give people an opportunity to repent. And so we see the precision of God here in his judgment as he brings out these seven trumpets. Well, then we see the bowl judgments in Revelation chapters 16 through 18. And these bowl judgments are

Again, running through them briefly, there comes a foul and loathsome sore upon all of humanity. The sea completely turns to blood, not just a portion of it now. The fresh water completely turns to blood. The sun scorches humanity, burns much greater intensity than we're seeing today. There's darkness upon the kingdom of the beast.

The kings are gathered to Armageddon and that's where the final battle will take place. And then there's a great earthquake and there's hail and again, cataclysmic events that are happening upon the earth. It's an all out unleashing of judgment here in these final seven judgments. Overall, these 21 judgments, the seals, the trumpets, the bowls happening over a seven year period. We don't know exactly the timing of each one, but if you spread them out evenly, it's a new one every four months, right?

Now think about that. Like, let's just imagine for a moment, what if there was a new pandemic every four months, right? How devastating would that be? Here we're talking about something that is far greater than what we're seeing, and it's going to be completely devastating to the earth. It is the wrath of God, the judgment for sin being poured out upon the earth. And the really interesting thing about that

highlighting the next thing to consider in the tribulation period is that people will not repent. Would you turn to Revelation chapter 9 for a moment with me? Revelation chapter 9, looking at verse 20 and 21. Here's what it says. But the rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, and that they should not worship the works of their hands.

They're understanding that it's the judgment of God. They recognize it is God bringing forth his wrath upon the earth for sin. And yet in the midst of this tribulation period, this is during the sixth trumpet, they're

They refuse to repent. No, I'm holding on to my sexual immorality. I'm not going to let it go. I'm not going to turn and get right with God. The opportunity is there for those who have not received the mark, right? But no, I'm not going to turn. I refuse to let go of my sin. And here it highlights the justice of God. God is right and just in executing this judgment. As devastating as all of these things are, as we look at the wrath of God being poured out, we can see that

Again, in Revelation chapter 16, there's a couple of references. Again, people will not repent as these things continue to unfold. They hold on to their sin and refuse to turn and get right with God.

Well, a couple other quick things to highlight here in this tribulation period is the three beasts. You have the dragon in Revelation chapter 12, which there in chapter 12 is declared to be Satan himself. And so the dragon, Satan, is at work in the midst of this tribulation period in trying to defeat the plan and purposes of God. Then in chapter 13, you have two beasts.

Two come out of the sea. One is the Antichrist, and then the second is the false prophet. Now the Antichrist, this one who comes anti means not just against, but also in place of or a substitute for. And the Antichrist is that. He's a substitute for Jesus.

And so it's often been referred to as the unholy trinity because you have Satan, you have his savior, the Antichrist, and then you have the false prophet who comes along and calls everybody to worship the Antichrist. And so these three working together are seeking to deceive all of humanity and bring people to a place of resistance to the work of God and the word of God.

Well, along with that comes the mark of the beast.

And there's often, you know, a lot of talk and speculation, wondering and concern over the mark of the beast. We don't know exactly what it's going to be. You know, way back in the day before I was born, you know, they assumed it was going to be a tattoo. And then as technology started to develop, okay, well, now it's going to be a microchip. And, you know, there's all of this talk and speculation. And it could be a tattoo. It could be a microchip. It could be something that, you know, we have not imagined or thought of yet. We don't know exactly what it is.

But here's one thing that's really important to know about it. Turn with me to Revelation chapter 14, verse 9 and 10. Revelation chapter 14, verse 9 and 10. Here we're jumping into the middle of a proclamation of an angel who will be flying in the heavens and declaring something to the world at that time. Revelation chapter 14, verse 9 says,

If anyone worships the beast in his image and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of his indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. Here, this angel, as he makes this announcement, makes it very clear. Receiving the mark of the beast is an act of worship.

it's a declaration of worship. It's a statement of allegiance. Like I'm identifying with the beast. I'm not going to follow the Lord. I'm going to follow the Antichrist. And so the mark of the beast is not going to be something that happens accidentally. Like, oops, I signed up for that credit card. I didn't know it was the mark of the beast. You know, now I'm doomed. That's not the mark of the beast, right?

but it's going to be an act of allegiance, an act of worship. Again, it's found in there in verse 9, if anyone worships the beast and receives the mark on his forehead or on his hand. And so it's a statement of worship, an act of allegiance to the Antichrist. And so that's a

Good summary of the seven-year tribulation period. Now, again, there's so much more, right? I wish we could go into all the details. But let's move on now to verses, or sorry, chapters 19 and 20. And here we find the fourth aspect of the book of Revelation, and that is the return and reign of Jesus. And we're going to hit these things just kind of, again, pretty briefly looking at some of the overview.

Here in Revelation chapter 19 and 20, we find God's conclusion to this tribulation period with the return of Jesus. The first part of chapter 19 is some worship that's taking place in heaven as it's now time. Okay, now God's let man have his day on earth. Now God is going to bring an end to all of those things. And it brings about the return of Jesus in verses 11 through 16.

Check out verse 11 here of Revelation chapter 19. It says, Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And he who sat on him was called Faithful and True. And in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns. He had a name written which no one knew except himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God.

And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed him on white horses. Now out of his mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it he should strike the nations, and he himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and the wrath of Almighty God. And he has on his robe and on his thigh a name written, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Here we see a description of Jesus at his return.

It happens at the end of the tribulation period during the battle of Armageddon when the armies have gathered together and they're about to fight each other, then here is Jesus coming in this way that is described here.

I always like how Pancho Juarez describes this or talks about this. He says, you know, the first coming of Jesus, we just celebrated with Christmas. He says, if there's a music album to it, you know, it's Silent Night. You know, it's just nice and peaceful. He just, Jesus comes there in Bethlehem and it's a coming in peace.

But at the second coming of Jesus, he says the soundtrack is going to be P.O.D., right? It's just heavy metal, just solid rock. He has a tattoo on his thigh. He's come to conquer. He's come to reign, to put an end to all the nonsense of man there at the battle of Armageddon. And you see that unfold in verses 19 through 21.

Jesus wipes out the armies there at the battle of Armageddon. Just in an instant, boom, the armies are destroyed and the beast is cast into the bottomless pit for a thousand years. And so we have the return of Jesus and the 1,000 year reign of Jesus as we head into now chapter 28.

And chapter 20 describes this binding of Satan in the first couple verses, describes the saints reigning with Jesus for a thousand years upon the earth, and then one final rebellion that takes place at the end of the thousand years as Satan is released. He doesn't escape, right? He is not more powerful than God. He doesn't outsmart God, but he is released and he leads one final rebellion, uh,

against the Lord. And of course, it fails miserably quite quickly. Well, that brings us to the great white throne that's found in Revelation chapter 20, verses 11 through 15. This is the final judgment where all who are not written in the book of life are cast into the lake of fire. It's the final judgment. There's no coming back from this. When we talk about hell, this is what we're talking about.

There is the place called Hades, which is a temporary place of judgment. But this, the lake of fire, is that eternal and final place of judgment that will take place there at the end of the 1,000-year reign of Christ. And so here in Revelation chapter 19 and 20, we have the return and the reign of Jesus.

Again, we're just hitting some of the overview, right? Some of the highlights, not getting into details. Maybe you have some questions. And so again, pray with me. And perhaps the Lord will take us a little bit deeper into these things as we head into the new year on Wednesday evenings. Well, the final piece of this, as we look at the whole book of Revelation, we've seen the vision of Jesus in chapter one. We've seen the present church age in chapters two through four.

We've seen the seven-year tribulation in chapters 5 through 8.

18, and then the return and reign of Jesus here in 19 and 20. And finally, in chapters 21 and 22, we see a new heaven and a new earth for eternity. And so this gives us the glimpse of eternity. Not a lot of detail here, a lot of things to wonder about, but we see a new heaven and a new earth, a new Jerusalem, but most importantly, God's presence.

Revelation chapter 21 verse 1 says, I saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also, there was no more sea.

As a result of this tribulation period, as a result of, you know, like what Peter talks about in 2 Peter 3, that the elements will melt with fervent heat. There is going to be a renewing now, a new heaven and a new earth that God establishes for eternity.

Along with this comes the new Jerusalem. Now, typically when we talk about heaven, we're picturing in our mind what is described here as the new Jerusalem, right? If you're picturing the streets of gold,

that's what's described here in the New Jerusalem, here in Revelation chapter 21, verses 9 through 21. It gives us some details of that, some dimensions, and it's kind of interesting. It comes down from heaven and seems to be separate from the earth, but it's a lot of interesting things to consider and discuss as far as what it is and what the Lord has for us in that New Jerusalem. But the most important thing about heaven is

is not those dimensions, not those things, not the new heaven, not the new earth. The most important things about eternity is the presence of God. And so I just want to highlight a couple things here in Revelation chapter 21 and 22. If you'll look with me at verse 3 and 4 of Revelation chapter 21, it says, And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people.

God himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain for the former things have passed away. The most important thing to understand and know about heaven is that it will be in the midst of the presence of God. Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men and he will dwell with them.

They shall be his people. God himself will be with them. This is what makes heaven great. Not the streets of gold, not the mansion, not, you know, those, what, what will be great about heaven is the very presence of God. In Revelation chapter 21, verse 22 and 23, it tells us, I saw no temple in it for the Lord God Almighty and the lamb are its temple.

The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it for the glory of God illuminated it. The lamb is its light. Imagine that. No more need for sun or stars because the very presence of God lights up the environment. It will be an immersion in the presence of God like we can't even imagine or understand at this point. It's going to be with God.

there in eternity. Revelation chapter 22, looking at verse three through five says, there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and the lamb shall be in it and his servants shall serve him. They shall see his face and his name shall be on their foreheads.

There shall be no night there. They need no lamp nor light of the sun for the Lord God gives them light and they shall reign forever and ever. This close relationship with the Lord that we will have in eternity is described. And so there will be no more sorrow. As we saw earlier in chapter 21, God will wipe away the tears. There will be no more pain, no more sorrow, no more sin, no more agony.

but we will be enjoying the presence of the Lord. It will be filled with meaning and purpose. His servants shall serve him, it says. There will be meaning and purpose and value in the things that we do for all of eternity. We're not gonna be sitting on clouds, just kind of passing the time away. What it is that we're gonna be doing, how we're gonna be serving, we don't know that yet. The Lord will show us when it's time. But we can understand that it will be meaningful and purposeful.

We'll get to be with the Lord. We'll get to be active and working along with him in the things that he wants to accomplish. We'll get to see his face and have this close relationship, so close it says his name will be on our foreheads, that we're going to be identified with and close to the Lord in ways that we have not known here in this life.

And so this new heaven and new earth for all eternity brings us into this close relationship with the very presence of God. And so this is the overview. This is the look at the book of Revelation. Again, looking at

Just some of the highlights, the vision of Jesus, the present church age, the seven-year tribulation, the return and reign of Jesus, and then the new heaven and earth for eternity. Well, what do we do with all this information? That's a lot of information we've gone through, and I know I went through it fast. What do we do with all of this?

Well, the Lord tells us what to do. As we finish up, we'll look at one last passage, Revelation chapter 22, verses 12 through 15. Here's what Jesus says. "'Behold, I am coming quickly, and my reward is with me to give to everyone according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Blessed are those who do his commandments.'

that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters and whoever loves and practices a lie. I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the root and offspring of David, the bright and morning star, and the spirit and the bride say, Come.

And let him who hears say, come. And let him who thirsts, come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely. Jesus says, look, I sent this message to you, the church, so that you could know these things. But what does that mean? What do we do with them? Well, Jesus says, behold, I'm coming quickly. That is not necessarily quickly as in the next couple minutes, but quickly as in when I come, all of this is going to unfold quickly.

fast. It's going to happen immediately. Here Jesus is saying, get ready. Be ready for the return of Jesus Christ. Be ready for the rapture of the church. I'm coming quickly. I'm telling you all of these things so that you will be prepared. He gives the warning here. Those who obey the commandments are those who get to enjoy eternity. And what is the command of God? To believe in the one that he has sent.

And so walking with the Lord is what's important. Outside, those who don't make it into eternity are those he describes in verse 15. Dogs, sorcerers, sexually immoral, murderers, idolaters, whoever loves and practices a lie. Those who reject the things of God, the truth of God, and reject to walk with God. Jesus says, look, I've sent my angel to bring all of this to your attention. I'm going to

so that you can be prepared for the things to come. And then verse 17 is important too. The spirit and the bride say, come. Let him who hears say, come. The invitation is open. The Holy Spirit is saying, come. Jesus is coming back. Get ready, come. Get right with God, come. Enjoy the benefits of knowing God and walking with him. The spirit is calling out, but notice the bride also is calling out. A reference to the church of God.

As we look at the book of Revelation and understand the things that are to come, we can see it is our responsibility to pass along that invitation along with the Holy Spirit to invite people and say, come, get ready. Time is short. Jesus is coming back quickly.

And whoever thirsts is come. Whoever is able to come, whoever desires, it's an open invitation. Whoever desires can know God, can be forgiven of their sins and can experience the eternity that God promises here in Revelation. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for your word and the great insight that it gives us into those things that are to come. I pray, God, that you would help us to stay focused on the things that matter.

Lord, not to be sidetracked too far by all the interesting ways that these things might be fulfilled. Of course, there's nothing wrong with exploring those things in our minds, Lord, but may we keep our focus on you and recognize the truth of all of these things is meant to lead us to you, meant to help us prepare our hearts and prepare our lives for your return. And it's meant to inspire us and encourage us to invite others to know you and walk with you.

And so God, I pray that you would pour out your Holy Spirit upon us. Give us a good and accurate understanding of your word and this book of Revelation. Lord, that we might get ready. Lord, that we might understand your revelation to us, the church. Lord, that we might overcome and hold fast until the end and not give up when things get difficult. Lord, that we would repent as you bring to light issues and things that we need to turn back from to get right with you.

Help us, Lord, your church, to draw near to you and be ready for your return at any moment. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.