1 00:00:04,820 --> 00:00:10,000 Greetings. This is Pastor David Bass at New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church with a 2 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:15,599 moment of truth, where we challenge you to think through an important issue of life and faith. And 3 00:00:15,599 --> 00:00:21,760 today, I want to challenge you to think through the issue of the book of Revelation and what 4 00:00:21,760 --> 00:00:29,600 our Lord means when he calls himself the Alpha and the Omega. We are going to look at his 5 00:00:29,600 --> 00:00:36,920 self-designated title in the opening chapter of the book of Revelation, the Apocalypse, 6 00:00:37,460 --> 00:00:48,079 where indeed our Lord reveals what is unfolding even in our day, that is his conquering of the 7 00:00:48,079 --> 00:00:56,140 world, his taking of the world for himself as his own possession, and his soon return, as he puts it, 8 00:00:56,140 --> 00:01:03,640 for he says that the time is near, doesn't he, in chapter 1. And he was talking about the first 9 00:01:03,640 --> 00:01:09,560 century. And he talks about Jesus Christ, whom God gave to show his servants the things that must soon 10 00:01:09,560 --> 00:01:15,920 take place. So we're talking about things that would transpire, some of them at least in the 11 00:01:15,920 --> 00:01:22,680 lifetime of that first century church, the church to whom the Apostle John ministered in about 12 00:01:22,680 --> 00:01:32,859 AD 64. So we have verses 4 through 8 that we're going to take up today, where Jesus indeed designates 13 00:01:32,859 --> 00:01:38,540 himself as the Alpha and the Omega. And we're going to unpack what that means, because it has a very 14 00:01:38,540 --> 00:01:44,739 wide application in the life of the church. So let me go ahead and read for you Revelation 1, 15 00:01:44,799 --> 00:01:50,599 verses 4 to 8, and then we'll begin to unpack what they mean and the implication for the entire book 16 00:01:50,599 --> 00:01:58,319 of Revelation, dear listener. Okay, Revelation 1, verses 4 to 8. John, to the seven churches that 17 00:01:58,319 --> 00:02:06,900 are in Asia, grace to you in peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the 18 00:02:06,900 --> 00:02:13,199 seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of 19 00:02:13,199 --> 00:02:21,039 the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his 20 00:02:21,039 --> 00:02:28,879 blood and made us a kingdom, priest to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. 21 00:02:29,259 --> 00:02:35,000 Amen. Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, 22 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:43,060 and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so, amen. I am the Alpha on the Omega, 23 00:02:43,560 --> 00:02:50,780 says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. Oh, what majestic words. 24 00:02:51,740 --> 00:03:00,300 Indeed, a majestic opening to the book of Revelation, the apocalypse. And we have unpacked for you with a 25 00:03:00,300 --> 00:03:07,379 series of weeks preparing you with an introduction to the book of Revelation so that we indeed can 26 00:03:07,379 --> 00:03:15,180 understand its context and understand how to unpack it with understanding. Now, I want to unpack for 27 00:03:15,180 --> 00:03:21,240 you, first of all, verses four and five. And I have an outline, if you have a pencil there ready 28 00:03:21,240 --> 00:03:26,900 to jot down what that outline might be. But verses five tell us this about the Alpha and the Omega. 29 00:03:26,900 --> 00:03:33,500 That is the Trinitarian God of the Bible. Oh, there's great Trinitarian doctrine here packed 30 00:03:33,500 --> 00:03:38,919 into these few verses. The Trinitarian God of the Bible, with all of his attributes, 31 00:03:39,379 --> 00:03:45,520 lavishes grace and peace upon his beloved, that is, the church. Yes. Trinitarian God of the Bible 32 00:03:45,520 --> 00:03:53,080 lavishes grace and peace upon his beloved, the church. Oh, he loves you. Dear Christian, 33 00:03:53,080 --> 00:04:02,680 indeed, you are an incorporated member of the body of Christ, and thus a member of the Universal Church, 34 00:04:02,759 --> 00:04:09,819 the worldwide church, expressed in membership in a local church, too, by the way. There's not one 35 00:04:09,819 --> 00:04:15,460 without the other, I must submit to you. As in heaven, so on earth. If you indeed are a member of 36 00:04:15,460 --> 00:04:22,959 the living body of Christ, then you will testify to this by becoming a member of a local congregation 37 00:04:22,959 --> 00:04:29,519 as well. But verses four and five of Revelation chapter one tell us that the Trinitarian God of 38 00:04:29,519 --> 00:04:37,420 the Bible lavishes grace and peace upon his beloved, the church. And let me say as well that every word 39 00:04:37,420 --> 00:04:43,319 of this greeting, verses four through eight, which is John is doing, he's greeting the seven churches 40 00:04:43,319 --> 00:04:50,220 of Asia, and consequently, he's greeting all of us down through the ages. Every word of this greeting 41 00:04:50,220 --> 00:04:56,180 lays down themes that we will see from beginning to end in Revelation, from beginning to end, 42 00:04:56,240 --> 00:05:00,939 that is Alpha and Omega. I'm kind of hinting at what Alpha and Omega mean. Some of you may know what 43 00:05:00,939 --> 00:05:06,439 that means already, but not all of its implications. We're going to unpack those today. Every word of this 44 00:05:06,439 --> 00:05:12,259 greeting. So we must pay attention to this greeting and what it means and not just rush on trying to 45 00:05:12,259 --> 00:05:19,519 find out who the beast is and what 666 means and when the Great Tribulation starts, all of that stuff, 46 00:05:19,779 --> 00:05:26,399 right? First of all, let's note the addressees. Three, four things I want to bring out to you here. 47 00:05:26,579 --> 00:05:33,000 First of all, the addressees. They are the seven churches of Asia. That is to Ephesus and to Smyrna 48 00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:41,019 and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea. Some of these 49 00:05:41,019 --> 00:05:45,660 names may sound foreign to you, but indeed they were significant in John's day and should be in 50 00:05:45,660 --> 00:05:53,120 ours too. And when you plot these cities on a map, as every good Bible atlas does, you might want to 51 00:05:53,120 --> 00:05:58,600 pull down your atlas from your shelf if you have one. And sometimes you have a good study Bible. 52 00:05:58,600 --> 00:06:05,180 We'll also have maps in the back that kind of plot out these seven cities in Asia. And when you do, 53 00:06:05,279 --> 00:06:12,399 you put them on a map, they lie in order on a road that begins in Ephesus and then they fall in perfect 54 00:06:12,399 --> 00:06:21,139 order until one reaches Laodicea and back around to Ephesus again in a nice circle. And so Revelation 55 00:06:21,139 --> 00:06:29,040 or Apocalypse is also a circular letter. And also the number seven for John, as we will see throughout 56 00:06:29,040 --> 00:06:35,300 the book, the number seven is the number of completion and perfection. And so, as almost 57 00:06:35,300 --> 00:06:40,939 every teacher has embraced, these churches represent the whole church through the ages, 58 00:06:41,040 --> 00:06:47,339 including us. Therefore, listen up. And not just for the rapture, Antichrist, and Great Tribulation. 59 00:06:47,339 --> 00:06:53,100 No, because there are many other things that the book of Revelation teaches us. We can't just ransack 60 00:06:53,100 --> 00:07:01,699 Revelation for a rapture. No. Secondly, we must also note in this greeting that grace and peace are 61 00:07:01,699 --> 00:07:11,000 ours. Grace, very important to understand, grace and peace are ours, that is the church's. This is not a 62 00:07:11,000 --> 00:07:18,459 mere pro forma introduction. Grace that is undeserved favor and merit from God, and peace that is true 63 00:07:18,459 --> 00:07:24,740 shalom, that is blessing in all of its fullness given by God since we have been reconciled to Him. 64 00:07:26,160 --> 00:07:33,439 Grace and peace are lavished upon us. Bask in this for a while, dear listener, dear believer, 65 00:07:33,439 --> 00:07:40,019 because Revelation will bear this out. As the church and her martyrs are given grace to endure 66 00:07:40,019 --> 00:07:46,000 suffering and persecution, and then peace enfolded into the everlasting arms of her Savior, 67 00:07:46,920 --> 00:07:52,120 Revelation beautifully portrays this for us. Grace and peace, dear listener. And then thirdly, 68 00:07:52,180 --> 00:07:59,600 we must also note the source and fountain of this grace and peace. The source and fountain of this grace 69 00:07:59,600 --> 00:08:14,000 and peace that we embrace, indeed demonstrating and proving the Trinity as it has been traditionally 70 00:08:14,000 --> 00:08:19,959 articulated by the church. The source and fountain of this grace and peace that we're just talking about 71 00:08:19,959 --> 00:08:26,620 is the three persons of the Godhead. The New Testament is now revealing the Trinity in all 72 00:08:26,620 --> 00:08:32,620 of its power and glory. And the Apostle John does his part here with some very vivid imagery. Let's note 73 00:08:32,620 --> 00:08:40,879 three of these images, first of all, which demonstrate the Trinity for us. First of all, the Father. We're 74 00:08:40,879 --> 00:08:46,580 going to talk about the Father and the Holy Spirit and the Son. First of all, the Father transcends time 75 00:08:46,580 --> 00:08:53,960 and space and the limitations of His creation. That's the sense of His solemn declaration, Him who is 76 00:08:53,960 --> 00:09:02,039 and who was and who is to come. This is a transcendent statement, dear listener. Past, present, and future 77 00:09:02,039 --> 00:09:09,519 are all the same to Him, to the Father. Go to the beginning, the creation of all things, and He is there 78 00:09:09,519 --> 00:09:15,240 in all of His presence, power, and glory. And this is true of every moment of redemptive history 79 00:09:15,240 --> 00:09:20,679 tracked in the Old Testament for us. God is there right to this moment documented for us 80 00:09:20,679 --> 00:09:28,179 in the New Testament in the book of Revelation. It is true for our moment in redemptive history, too. 81 00:09:29,519 --> 00:09:35,080 Him who is and who was and who is to come still is here, present with all His great power and glory, 82 00:09:35,559 --> 00:09:42,019 the same as He was at the beginning of creation. He is the same, unchanging God of grace and peace, 83 00:09:42,100 --> 00:09:46,860 now as He was then, present in His full presence, power, and glory. 84 00:09:46,860 --> 00:09:52,759 Such will be the case when He concludes all things as well, in the consummation of all things, 85 00:09:52,779 --> 00:10:00,879 that is at the end of the book. You cannot outmaneuver or outsmart the Father, no matter 86 00:10:00,879 --> 00:10:09,039 how hard you try, though Satan sure does try, doesn't he? And then, B, we also must note the 87 00:10:09,039 --> 00:10:13,419 seven spirits who are before His throne. What does this enigmatic statement mean, dear listener? 88 00:10:13,419 --> 00:10:21,580 The seven spirits before His throne. Well, we must note here that the Holy Spirit 89 00:10:21,580 --> 00:10:28,139 ministers in His fullness on behalf of the Father and the Son. This is what we mean by the seven 90 00:10:28,139 --> 00:10:35,980 spirits ministering before the throne. John does not mean to communicate that the Holy Spirit 91 00:10:35,980 --> 00:10:43,320 is a septophrenic. That is a seven personality being. That's not what He means here. We know 92 00:10:43,320 --> 00:10:49,779 there are schizophrenics, but indeed, the Holy Spirit is not a septophrenic, septo meaning seven, 93 00:10:50,840 --> 00:10:57,740 but rather, He is present in redemptive history in His fullness and perfection. Once again, the number 94 00:10:57,740 --> 00:11:04,679 seven, although this is an unusual picturesque representation of the Holy Spirit, which is 95 00:11:04,679 --> 00:11:10,759 foreshadowed in Zechariah chapter four, and if you wanted to make a note of looking and reading 96 00:11:10,759 --> 00:11:19,580 Zechariah chapter four in your own time, you'll see this verified, that John is not using any new 97 00:11:19,580 --> 00:11:28,620 imagery or metaphors, although this is a very metaphorical book using images to communicate 98 00:11:28,620 --> 00:11:37,100 biblical truth to us, the sevenfold spirit being one of those beautiful, stunning metaphors for us, 99 00:11:37,720 --> 00:11:44,519 it is nevertheless very much to the point in Revelation. The seven spirits of God represent 100 00:11:44,519 --> 00:11:51,200 the Holy Spirit in His fullness of life and blessing, as one commentator, a man I respect 101 00:11:51,200 --> 00:11:58,299 named Beasley Murray. He says, the seven spirits of God represent the Holy Spirit in His fullness of 102 00:11:58,299 --> 00:12:05,200 life and blessing. Such symbolism will have been welcome to John in view of the close association 103 00:12:05,200 --> 00:12:12,419 in his theology between the Spirit and the seven churches. The complex origin of the symbol is matched 104 00:12:12,419 --> 00:12:19,320 by its complex application in John's vision, but he and his readers were happy to have it sold, 105 00:12:19,580 --> 00:12:28,340 unquote. So, from Dr. Beasley Murray, and indeed, he's so right on this. It has a complex origin 106 00:12:28,340 --> 00:12:36,340 and a complex application, but we can handle complexity, can't we, dear listener? It doesn't, 107 00:12:36,580 --> 00:12:42,100 just because it's complex doesn't mean it's not understandable, but you have to apply yourself to it, 108 00:12:42,100 --> 00:12:47,200 and not just fly through the book of Revelation, turn these pages rather quickly so you can find out 109 00:12:47,200 --> 00:12:53,440 who the beast is and what 666 means and when the great tribulation starts, and can we find any 110 00:12:53,440 --> 00:12:59,600 evidence for the rapture in Revelation and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. No. Let's understand 111 00:12:59,600 --> 00:13:08,419 what we mean here by the sevenfold spirit of God. It is indeed a beautiful picture and metaphor 112 00:13:08,419 --> 00:13:16,259 of the Holy Spirit. And then we have, lastly, the Son. We have the idea of the faithful witness. 113 00:13:17,139 --> 00:13:23,399 The Son accomplishes in redemptive history the will of his Father. We have the Father, the Holy Spirit, 114 00:13:23,899 --> 00:13:29,279 and now the Son. Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings 115 00:13:29,279 --> 00:13:33,919 on earth. Three different understandings, three different things that are said about Jesus Christ. 116 00:13:33,919 --> 00:13:39,039 The threefold mission of Jesus on behalf of the Father to be a faithful witness to his Father, 117 00:13:39,559 --> 00:13:46,600 and the mission upon which he sent him. Jesus himself tells his listeners, 118 00:13:47,240 --> 00:13:52,580 but the testimony, that is the witness he has, a faithful witness, but the testimony that I have 119 00:13:52,580 --> 00:13:57,879 is greater than that of John the Baptist. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, 120 00:13:57,879 --> 00:14:05,240 the very works that I am doing bear witness about me that the Father has sent me. Unquote from John 121 00:14:05,240 --> 00:14:12,419 chapter five, verse 36. So Jesus indeed is a faithful witness. His acts, his works that he done on the 122 00:14:12,419 --> 00:14:19,480 earth, for example, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me. Jesus himself said this theme of 123 00:14:19,480 --> 00:14:26,419 bearing witness, that is martyros. You hear the word martyr in there? That word martyr that we now know as 124 00:14:26,419 --> 00:14:33,919 one who bears witness to the point of death first had its currency back at this time. It first initially 125 00:14:33,919 --> 00:14:40,539 meant one who merely bore verbal witness, but soon, because Christians gave verbal witness to Christ, 126 00:14:40,659 --> 00:14:46,679 their lives went forfeit, didn't they? So martyros began to be identified with martyrs, those who bore 127 00:14:46,679 --> 00:14:53,440 witness to the point of death. And this theme of bearing witness, martyros, determines much of the meaning 128 00:14:53,440 --> 00:14:58,779 of revelation. Oh, we need to understand these things if we're going to understand the book of 129 00:14:58,779 --> 00:15:04,759 revelation. We can't just go lickety split through the book of revelation, plundering those things we 130 00:15:04,759 --> 00:15:10,080 want to hear, the things that tickle our ears. No, if you're going to understand the book of revelation, 131 00:15:10,080 --> 00:15:16,299 you must begin and understand piece by piece, block by block, understanding what this book means. 132 00:15:16,299 --> 00:15:22,460 Christ is also the prototype of all the rest of us who will be raised from the dead in being the first 133 00:15:22,460 --> 00:15:29,720 born from the dead. Oh, what a great expression. Born from the dead. He is our pioneer in these 134 00:15:29,720 --> 00:15:35,559 matters. As Hebrew says, he is our older brother who experiences these things before we do. And Paul 135 00:15:35,559 --> 00:15:42,139 recognizes this in likening Jesus' resurrection to being begotten. Oh, the second Psalm says, 136 00:15:42,139 --> 00:15:46,600 we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this he has fulfilled to us, 137 00:15:47,200 --> 00:15:53,159 their children, by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm, you are my son. Today, 138 00:15:53,299 --> 00:15:58,720 I have begotten you. Peter, or I'm sorry, Paul preaches this in Acts chapter 13, doesn't he? 139 00:15:59,500 --> 00:16:03,919 You are my son. Today, I have begotten you. He's speaking about Christ there in the resurrection 140 00:16:03,919 --> 00:16:10,960 in Psalms 2 already. So the resurrection plays a central role in revelation, doesn't it? 141 00:16:10,960 --> 00:16:17,759 And it's only fitting that the firstborn of this mighty feet be glorified in it. 142 00:16:19,000 --> 00:16:24,580 Christ is also called the ruler of the kings of the earth, the ruler of the kings of the earth. 143 00:16:24,659 --> 00:16:33,460 Do you hear that, dear listener? Not just in some projected, supposed, literal 1,000-year reign. No, 144 00:16:33,559 --> 00:16:38,340 he is ruler of the kings of the earth. Now, it's a major motif in all of scripture, 145 00:16:38,340 --> 00:16:42,080 but on sanctified steroids, if we can put it that way here in Revelation. 146 00:16:44,139 --> 00:16:48,980 Though the wrath of the lamb brings cognitive dissonance to the sinner, right? Nevertheless, 147 00:16:49,220 --> 00:16:54,600 how can a crucified Savior reign and rule? How can a crucified Savior reign and rule? 148 00:16:55,720 --> 00:17:02,000 Dr. Yarbrough Collins, another scholar on the book of Revelation that I respect very much, 149 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:08,839 she puts it this way. She says, the idea that an obscure teacher and wonder worker from Galilee 150 00:17:08,839 --> 00:17:15,339 who had been executed as a criminal in the most degrading way known to Roman law is actually the 151 00:17:15,339 --> 00:17:21,380 ruler of the kings on earth must have seemed preposterous to the average citizen of the Roman 152 00:17:21,380 --> 00:17:28,500 empire, unquote. Oh, but the Old Testament foresees it. Ask of me, the Psalms say, and I will make the 153 00:17:28,500 --> 00:17:33,240 nations your heritage and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of 154 00:17:33,240 --> 00:17:41,660 iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. Oh, this transpires in Revelation. It happens in the 155 00:17:41,660 --> 00:17:49,460 apocalypse. It is not for a post-rapture people, the book of Revelation. Oh, dear listener, because 156 00:17:49,460 --> 00:17:59,319 indeed Christ is the ruler of the kings on earth now, our destiny is dominion on this earth. Our destiny 157 00:17:59,319 --> 00:18:10,799 is dominion here and now, not in just some supposed projected literal millennium sometime in the future. 158 00:18:10,799 --> 00:18:17,640 No, our destiny is dominion here and now. The sooner we understand it, the sooner we can go about 159 00:18:17,640 --> 00:18:26,220 conquering, dear listener. This brings confidence to us in the face of the seeming total domination 160 00:18:26,220 --> 00:18:35,299 of evil and tyranny, right? Oh, the beast will be very intimidating. And the beast is among us now. The beast 161 00:18:35,299 --> 00:18:41,680 is trying to intimidate and tyrannize us now, dear listener. And so many of modern contemporary Christians 162 00:18:41,680 --> 00:18:48,119 are so busy trying to peek over the ramparts, wondering when the beast is coming that they don't 163 00:18:48,119 --> 00:18:55,799 realize he's here already and eating their lunch in the process. No. Well, dear listener, behold your 164 00:18:55,799 --> 00:19:02,700 introduction to the Trinitarian God of the Bible, the Father, the Spirit, and the Son. And that order 165 00:19:02,700 --> 00:19:10,420 also is speculated because indeed the temple was set up that way. The temple, of course, is also very much 166 00:19:10,420 --> 00:19:18,720 in play all through the book of Revelation, isn't it? The temple and the ark and the inner sanctum. And we go 167 00:19:18,720 --> 00:19:26,299 in the order of the inner sanctum as well, from the Holy of Holies, where indeed the Father dwelt, then to the 168 00:19:26,299 --> 00:19:34,819 seven-pronged candelabra, the seven lampstands, if you will, which represent the Holy Spirit, and then to the 169 00:19:34,819 --> 00:19:44,259 the altar where indeed our Lord, his blood then representively, symbolically slaughtered and bled. 170 00:19:44,559 --> 00:19:50,900 So we have then from the inner sanctum to the altar, that order representing indeed the Holy Spirit. 171 00:19:51,039 --> 00:19:57,660 That's why rather than Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, here in these verses, you have Father, Spirit, 172 00:19:57,660 --> 00:20:05,900 and Son, because it is symbolic of the inner sanctum of the temple. Well, that was just some free 173 00:20:05,900 --> 00:20:11,740 additional information for you as to why it was ordered that way. But we do have an introduction 174 00:20:11,740 --> 00:20:18,039 then to the Trinitarian God of the Bible in Revelation. It's almost enough to prompt us to break out in a 175 00:20:18,039 --> 00:20:23,019 benediction, isn't it? At least for me, in worship. And oh, my goodness, lo and behold, 176 00:20:24,380 --> 00:20:31,079 chapter, or verse 6, chapter 1 does precisely that for us. And we have then our second point of our 177 00:20:31,079 --> 00:20:36,200 outline, if you wanted to jot this down. That is, we're unpacking the idea of the Alpha and the Omega. 178 00:20:37,200 --> 00:20:45,240 And we have then, in point 2, the loving and liberating Son is worthy of glory and dominion 179 00:20:45,240 --> 00:20:52,579 for making us kings and priests to God his Father. And indeed, he says, 180 00:20:52,700 --> 00:20:58,779 to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, 181 00:20:59,319 --> 00:21:04,920 priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 182 00:21:05,079 --> 00:21:09,900 What a great benediction. But it also communicates a great deal of biblical truth for us 183 00:21:09,900 --> 00:21:16,940 and helps us then to begin to understand the book of Revelation. And this doxology then, 184 00:21:17,900 --> 00:21:27,539 and doxology is a combination of two Greek words, doxos and logos. Doxos means to praise, and 185 00:21:27,539 --> 00:21:34,400 logos, of course, mean words. So we have words of praise in the doxology. And this doxology 186 00:21:34,400 --> 00:21:42,180 introduces us to the motif of worship in the book of Revelation, which is lush and ubiquitous 187 00:21:42,180 --> 00:21:50,740 throughout Revelation. Revelation is intended to lay a pattern for us in our worship. Oh, 188 00:21:50,920 --> 00:22:03,299 a thing stubbornly ignored by the greater contemporary church, isn't it? The worship model, the low church 189 00:22:03,299 --> 00:22:12,039 worship model, and by low, I don't mean low in terms of its worship model, but rather 190 00:22:12,039 --> 00:22:20,799 it ignores the rich model given to us all through Scripture, especially here in Revelation. 191 00:22:21,759 --> 00:22:27,539 The songs and doxologies and the motions of worship, the creatures and costumes, the liturgy and locale, 192 00:22:27,539 --> 00:22:34,660 all have pertinence for our worship today. The worship that is pictured for us all through 193 00:22:34,660 --> 00:22:39,619 Revelation is not airy-fairy extraneous fluff to be breezed down through our way to the good stuff 194 00:22:39,619 --> 00:22:44,700 like raptures, great tribulations, and 666 beasts. No, we're not here to plunder and ransack 195 00:22:44,700 --> 00:22:50,180 Revelation for our own prophetic speculations and titillations. The book of Revelation teaches us 196 00:22:50,180 --> 00:22:56,519 much about worship that we are meant to apply, and the early church has done this. We've lost this 197 00:22:56,519 --> 00:23:04,440 feeling for worship, which the early church so eagerly embraced. That early church did not see 198 00:23:04,440 --> 00:23:11,480 Revelation as a mysterious code to be broken in the 21st century, but rather the early church, 199 00:23:11,599 --> 00:23:18,980 that first century church and subsequent decades and centuries, they saw Revelation then as a blessed, 200 00:23:18,980 --> 00:23:27,619 life-saving guide for them here and now. And so it remains for us if we will just wake up from the 201 00:23:27,619 --> 00:23:36,099 dispensational delusion that surrounds us that we are here to ransack Revelation for raptures and for 202 00:23:36,099 --> 00:23:41,500 red heifers. No, we are not here to do that. We are here to see patiently how the book of Revelation 203 00:23:41,500 --> 00:23:47,680 teaches us how to live here and now in this day and age, as it has for every century previous. 204 00:23:47,680 --> 00:23:53,200 And worship is very much a part of the book of Revelation communicated to us too. That early 205 00:23:53,200 --> 00:23:59,440 century, that first century indeed embraced the book of Revelation and structured its early worship. 206 00:23:59,680 --> 00:24:04,980 I have one of the church fathers' volumes that goes on for hundreds and hundreds of pages giving us 207 00:24:04,980 --> 00:24:12,440 prayers and liturgies and orders of worship that are meant indeed to bless the church even as they 208 00:24:12,440 --> 00:24:18,119 did early on in the early centuries. And that is what we need to get back to, very much so, 209 00:24:18,119 --> 00:24:24,019 in the life of the modern church, because it is our heritage. We are meant to embrace the worship of 210 00:24:24,019 --> 00:24:30,160 the living Trinitarian God of the Bible, and the book of Revelation enriches our worship if we would 211 00:24:30,160 --> 00:24:38,359 only open our eyes and begin to apply and use some of the prayers and songs, the new songs that are given 212 00:24:38,359 --> 00:24:42,839 to us, the prayers that are given to us, the doxologies that are given to us, and incorporate 213 00:24:42,839 --> 00:24:47,400 them into our worship even as the early first century church did, second century, third century, 214 00:24:47,400 --> 00:24:54,599 much of the early church used very much of the guide to worship that Revelation provides for us. 215 00:24:55,640 --> 00:25:01,000 Oh, we have lost that feeling. Let's get it back, that life-saving guide for us here and now by 216 00:25:01,000 --> 00:25:09,319 taking up and applying the book of Revelation for more than just prophetic futurism. No. It is a 217 00:25:09,319 --> 00:25:14,559 practical guidebook for us in so many ways if we will only embrace it and it unfolds for us, the 218 00:25:14,559 --> 00:25:21,259 Lord Jesus Christ, beautifully and wonderfully. We can see so much of our Lord Jesus Christ if we open 219 00:25:21,259 --> 00:25:26,680 our eyes and begin to see what the Lord offers to us in the apocalypse, the revelation, because it is the 220 00:25:26,680 --> 00:25:33,000 revelation not only of Jesus Christ given to us, but the revelation of him personally too as our Lord 221 00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:39,160 and Savior. What a beautiful picture of Christ the book of Revelation gives to us if we will only seize 222 00:25:39,160 --> 00:25:47,559 it, use it, and open our eyes to it. This has been Pastor David Bass at New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian 223 00:25:47,559 --> 00:25:53,000 Church, and we meet for holy worship. We're going through, I'm preaching through the book of Revelation 224 00:25:53,000 --> 00:25:58,359 even now. Just love to have you join us and maybe gain a perspective on the book of Revelation that 225 00:25:58,359 --> 00:26:07,240 you've never had before, but which has lived and been applied and used many, many centuries in the past, 226 00:26:07,240 --> 00:26:12,440 drawing upon the rich tradition of interpretation of the book of Revelation, not just the modern 227 00:26:12,440 --> 00:26:20,119 revelation, red heifer rapture ruse. No. Please join us as we preach through the book of Revelation at New 228 00:26:20,119 --> 00:26:27,480 Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church. We meet for holy worship on Sunday at 10 a.m. at 101 4th Street 229 00:26:27,480 --> 00:26:35,160 on the corner of 4th and Boulevard. Worship, once again, 10 a.m. at 101 4th Street on the corner of 4th 230 00:26:35,160 --> 00:26:43,559 and Boulevard in Idaho Falls, and you can call us for further information at area code 208-523-0196. 231 00:26:43,559 --> 00:26:49,400 Once again, that's area code 208-523-0196.