1 00:00:04,660 --> 00:00:10,220 Greetings. This is Pastor David Bass at New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church with a 2 00:00:10,220 --> 00:00:15,480 moment of truth, where we challenge you to think through an important issue of life and faith. And 3 00:00:15,480 --> 00:00:22,859 today I want to challenge you to think through the issue of the opening of the book of Revelation. 4 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:31,239 Yes, I have decided to tackle the giant, the big gorilla in the room when we talk about 5 00:00:31,239 --> 00:00:36,280 the scriptures. And that gorilla is, of course, the book of Revelation, which is 6 00:00:36,280 --> 00:00:44,500 the last book in the Bible for a reason, and oftentimes one that we should take on in the 7 00:00:44,500 --> 00:00:49,799 latter part of our ministries too. Well, I am approaching the latter days of my ministry, 8 00:00:50,259 --> 00:00:55,799 and so it is time for me then to take on this book of books, the challenging book of the book 9 00:00:55,799 --> 00:01:03,579 of Revelation. And so we have taken this up in our church. I have begun to preach in the book of 10 00:01:03,579 --> 00:01:10,579 Revelation, and I'd like to share with you some of the things that we have touched on in our worship 11 00:01:10,579 --> 00:01:17,000 services, and I invite you to them too. If you'd like to join us for our worship service, you can 12 00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:25,000 come and join us on Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. We're New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church. 13 00:01:25,340 --> 00:01:31,319 We meet on Sunday at 10 a.m., and we're located at 101 4th Street on the corner of 4th and Boulevard, 14 00:01:31,700 --> 00:01:41,120 and you'll receive a warm welcome, and you will be plunged immediately into the midst of this book 15 00:01:41,120 --> 00:01:48,359 of books, this book which indeed forecasts the ends of all things, and that is the book of Revelation. 16 00:01:48,859 --> 00:01:55,700 And I'd like to begin with my part one of the introduction to the book of Revelation. We need 17 00:01:55,700 --> 00:02:03,340 to be prepared in our heads to interpret, receive, and understand this book before we ever even begin 18 00:02:03,340 --> 00:02:12,120 to tackle its bizarre sometimes and figurative, metaphorical imagery. We're ever going to come 19 00:02:12,120 --> 00:02:18,900 to an understanding of this marvelous book, which indeed opens up for us the person of the Lord 20 00:02:18,900 --> 00:02:26,280 Jesus Christ. And this is who I love, and this is who has saved me, and this is the one into whom 21 00:02:26,280 --> 00:02:32,099 I've been incorporated in the body of Christ and with whom I'll dwell eternally. So I love to unpack 22 00:02:32,099 --> 00:02:37,919 those things that reveal the Lord Jesus Christ not only to myself but to my people, consequently then 23 00:02:37,919 --> 00:02:44,439 to you as well, our listening audience. So let me begin by reading for introduction the first three 24 00:02:44,439 --> 00:02:53,180 verses of the book of Revelation, and jump into my introduction. So Revelation chapter 1, verses 1 25 00:02:53,180 --> 00:03:01,400 through 3. The revelation, and that word in the Greek is apocalypsis. The apocalypse, the revelation 26 00:03:01,400 --> 00:03:10,039 of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants what must soon take place. He made it known 27 00:03:10,039 --> 00:03:15,879 by sending his angel to his servant John, who testifies to everything he saw, that is, the word of 28 00:03:15,879 --> 00:03:21,900 God, and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, 29 00:03:22,159 --> 00:03:29,099 and blessed are those who hear it. Take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near. 30 00:03:29,099 --> 00:03:36,580 Yes, dear listener, the time is near, not some 2,000 years hence, i.e. our own day, but in the day of 31 00:03:36,580 --> 00:03:42,680 John himself. Well, when I think of the book of Revelation, I was delightfully reminded of the 32 00:03:42,680 --> 00:03:49,699 power of the human imagination. It takes great imagination to comprehend, understand, and interpret 33 00:03:49,699 --> 00:03:55,879 the book of Revelation. I was delightfully reminded of the power of the human imagination and the spoken 34 00:03:55,879 --> 00:04:02,919 word. On some of our church camping trips so many years ago, there in the pitch blackness of night 35 00:04:02,919 --> 00:04:09,780 around the campfire, out in the wilds of nature, once with a bear warning even, with only the light 36 00:04:09,780 --> 00:04:17,240 and heat of a campfire to dispel the blackness, I would read the macabre poem, The Cremation of Sam 37 00:04:17,240 --> 00:04:25,759 McGee, written by Robert W. Service. Now, The Cremation of Sam McGee was about a guy in the Alaska 38 00:04:25,759 --> 00:04:32,160 gold rush who honored the last wish of his partner, who died of cold in the dead of winter, by cremating 39 00:04:32,160 --> 00:04:39,500 his body in the furnace of a beached and abandoned steamer ship. Now, this poem is creepy and suspenseful, 40 00:04:39,680 --> 00:04:44,980 such that the heat from the furnace defrosts the old Sam McGee, and he sits up and speaks from the 41 00:04:44,980 --> 00:04:52,339 midst of the fire. Whoa. It was enough to fascinate not only the kids, but the adults. Anyone with 42 00:04:52,339 --> 00:04:58,639 half an imagination was captured and terrified by this poem and immensely entertained, too. My son 43 00:04:58,639 --> 00:05:04,860 John became so enamored of that poem that he committed it to memory, and he would recite it to his men 44 00:05:04,860 --> 00:05:11,819 in the army, in the field, in his tank squad. Well, there's a brief and rather poorly done video of 45 00:05:11,819 --> 00:05:17,959 Robert W. Service's poem, The Cremation of Sam McGee. But I suggest to you, it doesn't approach what 46 00:05:17,959 --> 00:05:24,480 everyone saw in their imagination around that spooky campfire on those dark nights. The human 47 00:05:24,480 --> 00:05:29,720 imagination far surpasses the ability of any Hollywood director or cinematographer to vividly 48 00:05:29,720 --> 00:05:35,120 bring to life the spoken or written word. The Oxford English Dictionary defines imagination 49 00:05:35,120 --> 00:05:43,319 as the mental faculty forming images or concepts of external objects not present to the senses. 50 00:05:43,319 --> 00:05:50,100 The ability of the mind to be creative or resourceful, unquote. Well, and I must suggest 51 00:05:50,100 --> 00:05:56,459 to you when I think of these things, not even Tolkien's film trilogy, Lord of the Rings, ever quite 52 00:05:56,459 --> 00:06:05,500 measured up to my imagination reading the series. Although Jackson's film version of Lord of the Rings came 53 00:06:05,500 --> 00:06:12,660 pretty close at times. What Joseph Conrad says about writing, about his task as an author, and I love 54 00:06:12,660 --> 00:06:20,079 this because it is the task of an author. He says, my task, which I am trying to achieve, is by the power 55 00:06:20,079 --> 00:06:29,319 of the written word to make you hear, to make you feel. It is before all to make you see, unquote. I suggest 56 00:06:29,319 --> 00:06:36,860 to you, dear listener, that that is precisely what the apostle John and our Lord Jesus Christ is trying 57 00:06:36,860 --> 00:06:44,899 to do of revelation by the power of the written word, yea, the living word, to make you see the certainty 58 00:06:44,899 --> 00:06:53,019 and sovereignty of our Lord triumph of his kingdom. The genre of apocalypse, which John declares to be 59 00:06:53,019 --> 00:07:00,399 his genre, the very first word, the apocalypse of Jesus Christ. And it's a genre that is a type or kind 60 00:07:00,399 --> 00:07:08,300 of writing. The genre of apocalypse is very effective in getting this done. It relies upon your imagination, 61 00:07:08,300 --> 00:07:16,300 dear reader, to bring history and eschatology to life. Dragons, angels, locust demons, vast, 62 00:07:16,420 --> 00:07:23,060 limitless scenes of golden crystal heaven above, skies being rolled up like a scroll. All of these 63 00:07:23,060 --> 00:07:31,600 images provoke your imagination to see Christ at work conquering his inheritance. Most of these visions 64 00:07:31,600 --> 00:07:37,560 are terrifying and unsettling, aren't they? The author Scott Hahn says, the most sympathetic character 65 00:07:37,560 --> 00:07:45,500 is a seven-horned, seven-eyed lamb. Oh, yes. And as such, apocalypse is powerful when it's used in 66 00:07:45,500 --> 00:07:52,540 the context and manner that's intended by the author. But apocalypse is equally dangerous and injurious 67 00:07:52,540 --> 00:08:00,800 when twisted and abused to serve the selfish, fleshly interests of the ignorant reader. So, therefore, 68 00:08:01,139 --> 00:08:06,399 with that challenge, dear listener, I invite you to bring your sanctified imagination to the book of 69 00:08:06,399 --> 00:08:12,779 Revelation with us. Even Albert Einstein said this about human imagination. He said, imagination is 70 00:08:12,779 --> 00:08:19,560 more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world. Oh, dear listener, 71 00:08:19,740 --> 00:08:26,199 today let us begin to set the stage for our study with this introduction. First of all, let's understand 72 00:08:26,199 --> 00:08:32,419 we're dealing with a prologue here in the book of Revelation. In the prologue, the revelation of Jesus 73 00:08:32,419 --> 00:08:39,879 Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place, not 2,000 years. Hence, 74 00:08:39,960 --> 00:08:45,440 that is in our own day. No, in the day of John himself, right? He made it known by sending his angel to his 75 00:08:45,440 --> 00:08:50,720 servant, John, who testifies to everything he saw. That is the word of God and the testimony of Jesus 76 00:08:50,720 --> 00:08:55,940 Christ. Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy. Blessed are those who hear it, 77 00:08:56,259 --> 00:09:02,960 take to heart, written in it. Unquote. So, we're dealing with a prologue, and our work begins by 78 00:09:02,960 --> 00:09:10,980 identifying itself by its genre, apocalypse of Jesus Christ, the revelation of Jesus Christ. We're going to 79 00:09:10,980 --> 00:09:16,899 fill this in more fully momentarily, since it's utterly necessary to interpret Revelation in any 80 00:09:16,899 --> 00:09:22,580 meaningful way, by its genre, that is its type or kind of writing. You get this wrong, you get 81 00:09:22,580 --> 00:09:27,779 everything wrong. You get the wrong genre, you get the wrong mantra. There is a mantra, isn't there, 82 00:09:28,299 --> 00:09:37,299 to Revelation that many, many people have? That is 666, beast, beast, beast, is the mantra, right? 83 00:09:37,620 --> 00:09:43,179 Great tribulation, great tribulation, great tribulation. Oh, wrong mantra, though. Wrong genre, 84 00:09:43,179 --> 00:09:51,519 wrong mantra. We have an account here, then, also of the chain of custody of this revelation in its 85 00:09:51,519 --> 00:09:57,360 prologue. That is, we get it from the sovereign hand of the Father, who determines all things. The 86 00:09:57,360 --> 00:10:02,679 chain of custody then extends to his Son, who executes the will of his Father, and then to the 87 00:10:02,679 --> 00:10:09,620 hand of a messenger, that is an angel, and then to Christ's servant, that is the Apostle John. He gives 88 00:10:09,620 --> 00:10:17,899 his own self-identification as his servant, who bears witness, that's martyros. That word is martyros. 89 00:10:18,039 --> 00:10:23,980 Perhaps you'll hear our derivative English word, martyr, which comes from this Greek word, 90 00:10:24,480 --> 00:10:31,620 witness, or martyros. Ah, Revelation is a very important word, so we need to understand it, because 91 00:10:31,620 --> 00:10:40,360 in the days of its composition, Revelation spells that time when the word meant a witness to Christ, 92 00:10:40,539 --> 00:10:47,340 martyros, a witness to Christ and his sufferings, to one who suffered himself, then for the same Christ, 93 00:10:47,600 --> 00:10:53,620 that is, a martyr, as we know him, a witness to Christ who later suffered himself, that is, 94 00:10:54,039 --> 00:11:00,299 a martyros, a martyr. Therefore, it is important to note John's bearing witness, 95 00:11:00,299 --> 00:11:07,539 because his bearing witness to the risen Christ meant his freedom, his health, indeed his very 96 00:11:07,539 --> 00:11:14,240 life. Nevertheless, John did so, bearing martyros to the word of God, the testimony of Jesus Christ, 97 00:11:14,539 --> 00:11:20,480 which are synonymous in this apocalypse, this Revelation. We sit comfortably in our living rooms 98 00:11:20,480 --> 00:11:25,539 reading the book of Revelation, and the Apostle John sat alone on a barren rock in the Mediterranean 99 00:11:25,539 --> 00:11:31,879 sea, banished there for his composition and distribution of it. Yet even here, John manages 100 00:11:31,879 --> 00:11:37,720 to write down all that he saw and get it to the seven churches of Asia. What a blessing to them, 101 00:11:37,960 --> 00:11:45,320 too, right? And eventually to us. And that blessing is extended in verse 3 to three classes of people. 102 00:11:45,500 --> 00:11:50,700 Note this with me. You should have your Bibles open to Revelation chapter 1, because there are three 103 00:11:50,700 --> 00:11:58,320 classes of people to which the blessing of this book extended. A, those who read aloud the words of 104 00:11:58,320 --> 00:12:03,159 this prophecy. Immediately, we are to deduce that the apocalypse was intended to be read aloud in 105 00:12:03,159 --> 00:12:09,580 the service of the church, that is, its liturgy. And it was. This deduction is reinforced with a 106 00:12:09,580 --> 00:12:16,960 vengeance as we move through Revelation and see all of the profound divine liturgy that is revealed 107 00:12:16,960 --> 00:12:25,039 for us to practice in worship services ourselves, not just happy-clappy 7-11 choruses. That is, 108 00:12:25,120 --> 00:12:32,320 seven words repeated 11 times. No, there is solid, substantial liturgy given us in the book of 109 00:12:32,320 --> 00:12:38,919 Revelation. It's a major motif in Revelation. Those pastors who do so, that is, read aloud the words 110 00:12:38,919 --> 00:12:45,379 of this prophecy, are themselves blessed, John says, in that practice. And then B, also blessed are those 111 00:12:45,379 --> 00:12:53,919 who hear the words of this prophecy. That is, when read as our standards recommend in the catechisms of 112 00:12:53,919 --> 00:12:59,879 the church, that is, within high and reverent esteem of them, with a firm persuasion that they 113 00:12:59,879 --> 00:13:05,299 are the word of God. Indeed, when we hear the words of Revelation in this manner, we will be blessed. 114 00:13:05,659 --> 00:13:11,480 And as we'll see with amazement, Revelation was meant to be read in the liturgical calendar of the 115 00:13:11,480 --> 00:13:18,580 church. Great blessing to the hearers. Yes, dear listener, great motif. All through the book of 116 00:13:18,580 --> 00:13:27,039 Revelation. And then C, also blessed are those who keep what is written in it. Those who keep is obey 117 00:13:27,039 --> 00:13:34,100 what is written in it. Those who obey that which is commanded for them to do will be blessed. Contrary 118 00:13:34,100 --> 00:13:41,399 to the bulk of interpreters today, Revelation is less an escapist fantasy of end times to watch, 119 00:13:41,639 --> 00:13:46,340 cheering from the grandstands. It is less that than it is a book to encourage the faithful, 120 00:13:46,639 --> 00:13:52,159 persecuted church who are in the trenches, vocally, personally present in the world as witnesses for 121 00:13:52,159 --> 00:13:56,879 Christ who are doing the sweating and the bleeding. The ends could not be more different. 122 00:13:56,879 --> 00:14:05,500 To them comes a blessing, not to the curious, titillated dilettantes dabble in prophecy. 123 00:14:06,120 --> 00:14:11,279 Secondly, we have the author of Revelation, that is the Apostle John. And this was virtually 124 00:14:11,279 --> 00:14:16,840 the unanimous testimony of the early church. Plausible alternatives have been proposed, 125 00:14:17,080 --> 00:14:22,840 but they really don't present a serious threat to Johannine authorship. For example, there's one, 126 00:14:22,840 --> 00:14:29,080 a patriarch John that's mentioned by the church historian Eusebius. Some name him, or perhaps 127 00:14:29,080 --> 00:14:34,440 Elder John, other than the Apostle John, but the evidence is in the end too strong for the Apostle 128 00:14:34,440 --> 00:14:40,659 John. There are many parallel expressions, for example, in both the Gospel of John and in the 129 00:14:40,659 --> 00:14:49,399 Revelation of John. For example, the phrases, Lamb of God, so loved and used by both Revelation and the 130 00:14:49,399 --> 00:14:55,240 Gospel of John and the both, or the Word, right, the living Word, or this Word we talked about a 131 00:14:55,240 --> 00:15:01,740 minute ago, marturos, witness. So note with me from the book of John, for example, on the last day of 132 00:15:01,740 --> 00:15:09,019 the feast, John says, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, if anyone thirsts, let him come to me 133 00:15:09,019 --> 00:15:14,320 and drink. And then compare it, of course, with Revelation chapter 22. The Spirit and the bride say, 134 00:15:14,320 --> 00:15:20,039 come, and let the one who hears say, come, and let the one who is thirsty, come. Let the one who desires 135 00:15:20,039 --> 00:15:27,600 take the water of life without price. Oh, this water of life. So parallel in both John and Revelation. 136 00:15:27,820 --> 00:15:32,980 And also note with me this idea of the Word. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, 137 00:15:33,019 --> 00:15:38,679 and the Word was God, from John 1.1. And then from Revelation chapter 19, he is clothed in a robe, 138 00:15:38,679 --> 00:15:43,419 dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is the Word. And then both books, too, 139 00:15:44,320 --> 00:15:52,320 in a series of sevens. For example, there are seven major sign, miracles, and discourses around which 140 00:15:52,320 --> 00:16:01,120 the narrative of John hinges. And then there are six series of sevens around which Revelation hinges 141 00:16:01,120 --> 00:16:07,700 as well. I have a beautiful outline of the book of Revelation. If you call and request it, I'll send 142 00:16:07,700 --> 00:16:13,340 you a copy of the book of Revelation with which we are working. And then, of course, both books, 143 00:16:13,340 --> 00:16:21,379 John and Revelation, are structured in terms of the biblical and heavenly liturgy and the festival 144 00:16:21,379 --> 00:16:27,139 calendar, too. No dispensationalist brings this out. The dispensationalist's understanding of 145 00:16:27,139 --> 00:16:35,460 Revelation falls far, far short of the true biblical nature of the book of Revelation. Because both books, 146 00:16:35,500 --> 00:16:42,179 the Gospel of John and the book of Revelation, are structured in terms of the biblical and heavenly 147 00:16:42,179 --> 00:16:48,559 liturgy and festival calendar of both books. For example, our Lord's migration and movements in the 148 00:16:48,559 --> 00:16:54,879 Gospel of John center around the three Passovers, which constitute the life of Christ's ministry. 149 00:16:55,360 --> 00:17:00,740 It's the reason we know that he ministered for three years, for example, because it is all comprehended 150 00:17:00,740 --> 00:17:07,440 in the three years of festivals in which Jesus celebrated, and secondarily with the other feasts of the 151 00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:15,480 calendar two. And as well, parallel, the book of Revelation's vision not only commences upon a 152 00:17:15,480 --> 00:17:20,680 Sunday Sabbath, very significant, we'll see this in a minute, where John says, I was in the Spirit on the 153 00:17:20,680 --> 00:17:28,200 Lord's day, but also it oscillates, the book of Revelation oscillates liturgically between heaven 154 00:17:28,200 --> 00:17:35,920 and earth at key points of heaven's liturgy, dear listener. And then, of course, finally, both books 155 00:17:35,920 --> 00:17:43,619 use numbers in a very symbolic sense that transcends their literal significance. What is often overlooked 156 00:17:43,619 --> 00:17:50,900 is that the Apostle John, as well, was likely from the high priest's family. The Apostle John was 157 00:17:50,900 --> 00:17:57,480 likely from the high priest's family, which explains much of the organization of the Gospel of John, 158 00:17:57,640 --> 00:18:03,099 according to the liturgical calendar of the temple, for example, as well as the book of Revelation 159 00:18:03,099 --> 00:18:11,460 being organized according to the liturgical calendar of Israel in the temple. The Gospel of John makes 160 00:18:11,460 --> 00:18:22,579 clear that John the Apostle was at least well-known and familiar, and then he thinks a part of the family 161 00:18:22,579 --> 00:18:32,099 of Levi, that is the temple order and family. The Gospel of John says this in 18, chapter 18, 162 00:18:32,240 --> 00:18:39,299 Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple, that is John. Since that disciple was 163 00:18:39,299 --> 00:18:44,660 known to the high priest, he entered with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest. Peter stood 164 00:18:44,660 --> 00:18:50,839 outside at the door. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the 165 00:18:50,839 --> 00:18:57,599 servant girl who kept watch at the door and brought Peter in, unquote. The result is, since John is indeed 166 00:18:57,599 --> 00:19:03,079 a member of the priestly family, that Revelation is indeed a liturgical handbook, not only of the 167 00:19:03,079 --> 00:19:08,660 temple, but then of the worship of the church. And we need to reorient our thinking towards this, 168 00:19:08,720 --> 00:19:16,200 dear listener. As Alfred Edersheim puts it in his book, The Temple, its ministry and services as they 169 00:19:16,200 --> 00:19:21,900 were at the time of Christ. This fine scholar, Alfred Edersheim, says this, 170 00:19:22,440 --> 00:19:29,759 Indeed, the apocalypse as a whole may be likened to the temple services in its mingling of the prophetic 171 00:19:29,759 --> 00:19:36,140 services with worship and praise. It seems highly improbable that a book so full of liturgical 172 00:19:36,140 --> 00:19:43,140 allusions as the book of Revelation, and these to minutiae, could have been written by any other 173 00:19:43,140 --> 00:19:49,339 priest, unquote. And here, of course, Edersheim is speaking of the author of the apocalypse, 174 00:19:49,799 --> 00:19:57,920 that is, John the Apostle. And so the liturgy, excuse me, say liturgy 10 times fast. Well, 175 00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:04,240 the liturgy of the church is a major motif in the book of Revelation, and this in part is due to 176 00:20:04,240 --> 00:20:11,160 John's facility in liturgy as a priest. How often have you heard this brought out 177 00:20:11,160 --> 00:20:18,359 when they were talking about Revelation, red heifer rapture rants, right, by your local 178 00:20:18,359 --> 00:20:23,160 dispensationalist preacher? You don't hear this from him, do you? Well, then we have the date 179 00:20:23,160 --> 00:20:31,440 of the book of Revelation, and that is A.D. 64. The apocalypse was most likely written on or around 180 00:20:31,440 --> 00:20:37,880 A.D. 64 because there's both internal and external evidence for this. For example, 181 00:20:37,880 --> 00:20:45,019 Revelation is in part a prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem. Who tells you this, too? Nobody tells 182 00:20:45,019 --> 00:20:50,119 you this, do they? This has been the ancient angle, the ancient interpretation of the church 183 00:20:50,119 --> 00:20:56,559 for millennia. Revelation is in part a prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem. And consequently, 184 00:20:57,200 --> 00:21:04,359 we'll see this. I'll lay this out for you in great detail. And if it indeed is a prophecy of 185 00:21:04,359 --> 00:21:11,339 the destruction of Jerusalem in part, consequently, it was composed prior to Jerusalem's destruction in 186 00:21:11,339 --> 00:21:19,160 AD 70. Not in the mid-90s of the first century. This is a popular, probably the most popular dating 187 00:21:19,160 --> 00:21:27,839 of Revelation, who was under the Emperor Domitian at that time, who persecuted the church. Or neither is 188 00:21:27,839 --> 00:21:34,660 that the early second century, whose people were under the rule of the Emperor Trajan, who also 189 00:21:34,660 --> 00:21:40,339 persecuted the Christian church at this time. And finally, we have the identity of the beast, too, 190 00:21:40,339 --> 00:21:47,180 is another internal evidence in Revelation. The identity of the beast is so uncannily that of 191 00:21:47,180 --> 00:21:55,480 Nero. Not Hillary Clinton, and not Bill Clinton, not Napoleon, not Hitler, as in history we've seen 192 00:21:55,480 --> 00:22:02,180 so many other identifications of the beast. All of them wrong. The identity of the beast is so uncannily 193 00:22:02,180 --> 00:22:09,339 that of Nero that it is astonishing to me that the church has so far drifted in the modern age 194 00:22:09,339 --> 00:22:17,420 from this understanding. Nero reigned from AD 54 to AD 68, and his persecution of Christians began in 195 00:22:17,420 --> 00:22:25,420 AD 64. That's why we can peg so clearly authorship of the date around AD 64, because that's when the 196 00:22:25,420 --> 00:22:32,119 brutal persecution of Christians began under Nero, after that famous fire at Rome in which he ostensibly 197 00:22:32,119 --> 00:22:39,400 accompanied with a violin solo, right? Well, Nero fiddled, Rome burned. Now, some commentators dismiss 198 00:22:39,400 --> 00:22:48,839 this persecution under Nero as only local and very limited, and not as vast and extensive as that 199 00:22:48,839 --> 00:22:54,680 pictured in Revelation. So it can't be, right? That's what they say. But they're wrong. As the great 200 00:22:54,680 --> 00:23:01,579 scholar J.A.T. Robinson points out, both the Christian pastor Clement and the Roman historian 201 00:23:01,579 --> 00:23:10,559 Tacitus record that immense multitudes, quote-unquote as Tacitus puts it, immense multitudes were slaughtered 202 00:23:10,559 --> 00:23:18,000 under Nero all over the empire, not just at Rome. We will see this as well borne out for us in our study 203 00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:24,480 of Revelation. So you have to bear with us in this. Understand it. And then finally, in the book of 204 00:23:24,480 --> 00:23:31,559 Revelation, too, the whole structure and ethos of Revelation, that is the cultural air that they breathe, 205 00:23:31,779 --> 00:23:39,359 the very historical situation in which they lived, the very understanding and preconditions of that 206 00:23:39,359 --> 00:23:45,920 whole culture, the whole structure and ethos of Revelation is structured around the temple and its 207 00:23:45,920 --> 00:23:52,779 worship. And so central a place does the temple place in the book of Revelation and its liturgy way 208 00:23:52,779 --> 00:24:01,039 that the book of Revelation begs a date prior to the destruction of the temple, the 70. So John's 209 00:24:01,039 --> 00:24:09,240 consciousness and his devotion to temple detail shows that he is writing not only about it per se, 210 00:24:09,640 --> 00:24:15,640 but also about the impending destruction of the temple and its replacement, how significant it is 211 00:24:15,640 --> 00:24:22,680 the placement of the temple with an overtly Christian worship and liturgy far more expansive 212 00:24:22,680 --> 00:24:30,740 and true to heavenly worship. Do you see this yet, dear listener? Revelation will describe for us 213 00:24:30,740 --> 00:24:36,980 a Christian worship now, placing that of the temple worship, a Christian worship and liturgy far 214 00:24:36,980 --> 00:24:42,240 more expansive and true to heavenly worship. We have opened for us, peeled back the veil 215 00:24:42,240 --> 00:24:50,559 of heaven to show us what indeed is heavenly worship. Oh, dear listener, we'll leave off here and our 216 00:24:50,559 --> 00:24:57,019 introduction of the book of Revelation, but I hope that you see some of the things that you aren't 217 00:24:57,019 --> 00:25:02,900 always treated to in the book of Revelation. Usually people go right to the Revelation red heifer 218 00:25:02,900 --> 00:25:08,900 rapture crowd and all of the guessing as to who the beast is and when the great tribulation is going to 219 00:25:08,900 --> 00:25:14,460 begin and just when the rapture is going to be, is it going to be a pre, mid or post tribulation and 220 00:25:14,460 --> 00:25:21,119 people fret and wring their hands when indeed all of that stuff is falderall, flapdoodle, when you 221 00:25:21,119 --> 00:25:26,700 compare to the real themes and meat of the book of Revelation. And I hope you bear with us in this. You 222 00:25:26,700 --> 00:25:33,559 can come and join us as we treat of this, as we exalt the Lord Jesus Christ. That is what is so central 223 00:25:33,559 --> 00:25:40,200 to the book of Revelation. John turns to see the Lion of Judah take the scroll from the hand of his 224 00:25:40,200 --> 00:25:47,599 father and instead he sees a lamb looking as if it had been slain. This is the central character, the 225 00:25:47,599 --> 00:25:53,259 central point of all of the book of Revelation. That is our Lord and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. We 226 00:25:53,259 --> 00:26:00,000 exalt him in the book of Revelation. We exalt him at New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church in our 227 00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:07,339 worship service. And I invite you to join us as we continue to unpack this beautiful book of the 228 00:26:07,339 --> 00:26:14,160 Lord Jesus Christ, a book of Revelation, his apocalypse, his revealing of himself to us for 229 00:26:14,160 --> 00:26:21,559 this age. New Geneva meets for holy worship at 10 a.m. at 101 4th Street on the corner of 4th and 230 00:26:21,559 --> 00:26:29,059 Boulevard. Come and join us. Worship 10 a.m. 101 4th Street on the corner of 4th and Boulevard. And you 231 00:26:29,059 --> 00:26:37,359 can call us for more information at area code 208-523-0196. Call me. Give me some feedback. 232 00:26:37,680 --> 00:26:42,960 Perhaps you're a little disgruntled and unsettled by my interpretation today. That's okay. Give me 233 00:26:42,960 --> 00:26:49,420 some feedback. We'll talk about it. Area code 208-523-0196.