1 00:00:04,719 --> 00:00:09,679 Greetings. This is Pastor David Bass at New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church 2 00:00:09,679 --> 00:00:14,060 with a moment of truth where we challenge you to think through an important issue of life and 3 00:00:14,060 --> 00:00:21,839 faith. And today I want to challenge you to think through the issue of who is it that has an open 4 00:00:21,839 --> 00:00:30,699 door of access to the very throne and presence of God. We are in the book of Revelation and we are 5 00:00:30,699 --> 00:00:40,179 unpacking Revelation chapter 4 today where this very thing opens up before us. An open door into 6 00:00:40,179 --> 00:00:46,780 the very presence of God. John is ushered into that open door before the very throne room of God 7 00:00:46,780 --> 00:00:54,799 and we've just concluded our look at the seven churches of Asia who are on the ground 8 00:00:54,799 --> 00:01:04,200 experiencing all kinds of suffering and persecution and tribulation. And now we are going to see how 9 00:01:04,200 --> 00:01:11,400 these churches are seen and viewed and loved and treated before the very throne of God. But we have 10 00:01:11,400 --> 00:01:17,439 to first ask the question, who is it that has an open door access into the very presence of God? 11 00:01:17,439 --> 00:01:25,519 And before we get to that, particularly I want to remind you of an upcoming study on this very book, 12 00:01:25,620 --> 00:01:34,540 the book of Revelation, where we can interact with one another over this profound book, 13 00:01:35,200 --> 00:01:40,659 the last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation. And so I want to encourage you to think about 14 00:01:40,659 --> 00:01:48,140 joining us for a Bible study. It's entitled, Revealing Revelation, A Community Study of the Apocalypse. 15 00:01:49,040 --> 00:01:57,620 Revealing Revelation, unpacking, throwing light on the images, the bizarre sometimes images in the book 16 00:01:57,620 --> 00:02:06,659 of Revelation and the sometimes complex layers of meaning that the book of Revelation has that our Lord 17 00:02:06,659 --> 00:02:14,840 Jesus Christ revealed through the prophet John. And so we are commencing a community Bible study, 18 00:02:14,919 --> 00:02:22,360 not one that is restricted to our church, New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church. And so we have 19 00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:30,939 located the Bible study off of our premises, Revealing Revelation, A Community Study of the Apocalypse, 20 00:02:30,939 --> 00:02:40,699 will take place at Starbucks on 17th Street, beginning Thursday, October 10. And thereafter, 21 00:02:41,080 --> 00:02:49,000 each Thursday evening for the foreseeable future, but it begins on Thursday, October 10, and it runs 22 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:57,500 from 7 p.m. to 8.15 p.m. And it's going to be led by myself, Pastor David Bass of New Geneva 23 00:02:57,500 --> 00:03:03,819 Orthodox Presbyterian Church, and Pastor Mike Gillia of Share the Sun Ministries. One reason 24 00:03:03,819 --> 00:03:11,879 this is a community study is it's led by more than just me, Pastor Mike. We'll also be contributing, 25 00:03:12,039 --> 00:03:18,439 we'll be oscillating, we'll be sharing the lesson load one with another, but we invite you to come 26 00:03:18,439 --> 00:03:24,259 and share your perspective. Learn some things perhaps, but also we will learn some things, 27 00:03:24,259 --> 00:03:29,719 no doubt, and we'll also be able to interact on our points of view on the book of Revelation, 28 00:03:29,740 --> 00:03:35,639 not always an easy book to understand. It's so often the one that new believers are the first 29 00:03:35,639 --> 00:03:44,199 one to go to with very little background and study of the rest of the Bible. When you do need to have 30 00:03:44,199 --> 00:03:50,639 your biblical hat on, so to speak, if you're going to unpack Revelation, you better know the rest of 31 00:03:50,639 --> 00:03:58,719 the Bible pretty carefully. So we invite you to join us for this Bible study, a community Bible study 32 00:03:58,719 --> 00:04:05,199 of the apocalypse. It's called Revealing Revelation. Once more, it's going to begin Thursday, October 10, 33 00:04:05,840 --> 00:04:12,680 running Thursdays thereafter, and it's going to go from 7, precisely 7 p.m. to 8.15 p.m. 34 00:04:12,680 --> 00:04:22,199 It'll be at Starbucks on 17th Street, and it's going to be led by Pastor Mike Gillia of Share the Sun Ministries 35 00:04:22,199 --> 00:04:28,579 and Pastor David Bass of New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church. And you can get more information 36 00:04:28,579 --> 00:04:32,540 and let us know that you're going to be coming. We've been getting some good responses. 37 00:04:33,459 --> 00:04:40,639 Let us know. You don't need to reserve a place, but we'd like to know somewhat of who might be there. 38 00:04:40,639 --> 00:04:53,439 And so call, if you can, at area code 208-523-0196, area code 208-523-0196 to let us know that you'll 39 00:04:53,439 --> 00:05:01,379 be there. Well, let us then look now to chapter 4 of the book of Revelation. I'm preaching through 40 00:05:01,379 --> 00:05:09,100 the book of Revelation, and what a delight it's been. A lot of great response. Not everybody always 41 00:05:09,100 --> 00:05:17,100 agreeing. That's okay, too. But serious inquirers, those that are learning things that they'd never 42 00:05:17,100 --> 00:05:24,139 heard before concerning the book of Revelation. We just finished the seven letters to the seven churches, 43 00:05:24,139 --> 00:05:33,639 and today we're going to be transported from earth to heaven as we look at Revelation 4, verses 1-6. 44 00:05:33,639 --> 00:05:38,959 And I want to read that today and then make some comments on the throne room of heaven. Okay? 45 00:05:39,720 --> 00:05:45,300 So, let us look at Revelation 4, 1-6. And I read, 46 00:05:45,300 --> 00:05:52,360 After this I looked, and there in heaven was an open door. The first voice that I had heard speaking 47 00:05:52,360 --> 00:05:58,600 to me like a trumpet said, Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this. 48 00:05:59,439 --> 00:06:05,399 Immediately I was in the Spirit, and a throne was set there in heaven. One was seated on the throne, 49 00:06:05,399 --> 00:06:12,620 and the one seated looked like jasper and carnelian stone. A rainbow that looked like an emerald 50 00:06:12,620 --> 00:06:20,959 surrounded the throne. Around the throne were 24 thrones, and on the throne sat 24 elders dressed 51 00:06:20,959 --> 00:06:27,920 in white clothes with gold crowns on their heads. Flashes of lightning and rumblings of thunder came 52 00:06:27,920 --> 00:06:34,459 from the throne. Seven fiery torches were burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of 53 00:06:34,459 --> 00:06:43,660 God. Something like a sea of glass, similar to crystal, was also before the throne. Revelation 4, 54 00:06:43,800 --> 00:06:55,740 1-6a, the first part of verse 6. And this message is entitled, Door. Yes, because we have before us here 55 00:06:55,740 --> 00:07:02,180 an open door into the very presence of God through which the apostle John is issued. 56 00:07:02,180 --> 00:07:10,879 Now, one of the highlights of a family trip to New York, and then to Washington, D.C., way back in 57 00:07:10,879 --> 00:07:20,279 2001, was the Bass family visit to the New York Metropolitan Art Museum. We had a chance to go 58 00:07:20,279 --> 00:07:26,240 there. My brother lived in New York City, and so we stayed with him, visited a lot of the highlights 59 00:07:26,240 --> 00:07:34,040 of New York City, where, indeed, they featured a special extravagant show at the Metropolitan Art 60 00:07:34,040 --> 00:07:39,660 Museum of the original works of one of my top three artists of all time, and that is William Blake. 61 00:07:40,079 --> 00:07:46,360 I love William Blake. His poetry, his painting, he's sometimes bizarre himself, too, if you know him at all. 62 00:07:46,360 --> 00:07:53,959 And it couldn't have been more fortuitous for me. Now, Blake was a genius of insight and vision. He was 63 00:07:53,959 --> 00:08:00,720 also half mad, half crazy. I still cannot decide whether I like his painting or his poetry more, 64 00:08:00,839 --> 00:08:07,699 so I'm content to live with a tie in this regard. But in his work, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, 65 00:08:07,699 --> 00:08:15,279 he has a line that is very apt for our subject today. He says, if the doors of perception were 66 00:08:15,279 --> 00:08:21,699 cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is, infinite, unquote. From William Blake, 67 00:08:22,220 --> 00:08:27,500 the doors of perception. He has become very famous for that phrase, the doors of perception. 68 00:08:28,060 --> 00:08:33,240 And part of the reason that Blake was considered mad was precisely because those doors of perception 69 00:08:33,240 --> 00:08:41,899 were open to him as they are open to some men. William Blake madly, obsessively chronicled what 70 00:08:41,899 --> 00:08:49,179 he saw with both pen and paint. And guess which book of the Bible, besides Job, guess which book of 71 00:08:49,179 --> 00:08:56,840 the Bible was William Blake's favorite to paint? Oh, yes, of course, it was the book of Revelation. 72 00:08:56,840 --> 00:09:06,519 Oh, doors of perception. He painted them as well. Doors. They allow access and egress and they portend 73 00:09:06,519 --> 00:09:15,379 great change and transformation. Doors and often danger. My favorite director of Westerns, Sergio Leone, 74 00:09:15,740 --> 00:09:23,840 he also used doors very effectively to communicate abrupt changes in plot direction or danger or mood 75 00:09:23,840 --> 00:09:32,960 or all three at once with Sergio Leone and his movies, doors. Characters step through doors. They 76 00:09:32,960 --> 00:09:40,519 get shot. They meet loves of their lives or they find great fortunes. The apostle John also uses doors 77 00:09:40,519 --> 00:09:46,759 very effectively to communicate a very important transition in the apocalypse. Things as they are 78 00:09:46,759 --> 00:09:53,500 in the infinite, in the heavenly realms, as William Blake might say. Well, into what kind of world are 79 00:09:53,500 --> 00:10:02,500 we ushered through this door with the apostle John? Well, let's see. First of all, in verse one, I have 80 00:10:02,500 --> 00:10:10,639 a multi-point outline here that I'd like to go over with you. And point one is taken from verse one. 81 00:10:11,580 --> 00:10:19,500 First of all, door, consistent with that revealed under the old covenant, we are from time to time 82 00:10:19,500 --> 00:10:28,500 given access to that unseen reality, which is ours under the new covenant. Yes. Verse one reveals to us 83 00:10:28,500 --> 00:10:35,259 that unseen reality and we have access to it too, which is ours in the new covenant because it's 84 00:10:35,259 --> 00:10:40,899 consistent as well. Verse one, consistent with that revealed under the old covenant, we are from time 85 00:10:40,899 --> 00:10:47,940 to time given access to that unseen reality, which is ours under the new covenant. Verse one, the heavenly 86 00:10:47,940 --> 00:10:57,820 counterpart to what we have just experienced on earth is inaugurated here. We have two chapters of the 87 00:10:57,820 --> 00:11:04,740 church universal on earth. That's the seven chapters, or I'm sorry, the seven churches over the chapters two 88 00:11:04,740 --> 00:11:12,799 and three, the seven churches of Asia, with all of its warts, faults, and foibles, as well as its triumphs 89 00:11:12,799 --> 00:11:20,360 and glistening good works, right? We saw this in the white garments of the church and all of that was on 90 00:11:20,360 --> 00:11:27,740 display. And now we will see the themes and motifs of those churches reprised in the heavenly realms in 91 00:11:27,740 --> 00:11:35,059 another two chapters, chapters four and five. Here begins what I've talked about is characteristic of 92 00:11:35,059 --> 00:11:41,460 apocalyptic literature is that the pattern of oscillation between the two realms of creation, 93 00:11:41,659 --> 00:11:48,220 that of heaven and earth. That happens in the genre of apocalypse. There is oscillation between 94 00:11:48,220 --> 00:11:55,480 heaven and earth. And we know this because John signals major changes in the apocalypse. He does that 95 00:11:55,480 --> 00:12:02,240 six times with the phrase, after this, I looked. When John says in Revelation, after this, I looked, 96 00:12:02,559 --> 00:12:10,679 you know, we're in for a change. Indeed, here we are ushered from lower earth to heaven with a bold 97 00:12:10,679 --> 00:12:17,200 behold, right? Which as you might expect is meant to grab our attention. The idea of behold, it's meant 98 00:12:17,200 --> 00:12:25,360 to grab our attention in order to focus us. Well, what is that upon which we are to set our focus? 99 00:12:25,480 --> 00:12:34,980 A door standing open in heaven. Whoa, where do you find those? I constantly highlight that we are 100 00:12:34,980 --> 00:12:43,080 creatures who straddle two realms. We humans, we are those created to straddle two realms, the physical 101 00:12:43,080 --> 00:12:48,899 and the spiritual. And most of the time we are unconscious of that spiritual realm, though we may 102 00:12:48,899 --> 00:12:54,960 perceive it in subconscious ways, unperceived by the five senses. Yet from time to time, 103 00:12:54,960 --> 00:13:03,759 those doors of perception, as Blake calls them, are cleansed and opened such that we are given an even 104 00:13:03,759 --> 00:13:12,240 fuller access to that reality, which is ours under the new covenant. Yes, we, the church, we, Christians, 105 00:13:12,779 --> 00:13:20,019 we, saints of Christ, have a fuller access to that spiritual reality, which is ours, and it's under the new 106 00:13:20,019 --> 00:13:26,299 covenant too. Oh, these are some of the blessings of the new covenant. And this is what is happening to 107 00:13:26,299 --> 00:13:31,820 the apostle John. This is what happened as well to the prophets under the old covenant too. 108 00:13:32,620 --> 00:13:38,580 Amos says, for the Lord God does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants, the prophets. 109 00:13:38,580 --> 00:13:45,960 prophets. And he says as well, the doors of perception were cleansed for Ezekiel in this vision of the 110 00:13:45,960 --> 00:13:53,039 Lord too, where he says in Ezekiel chapter one, as I look, behold, a stormy wind came out of the north 111 00:13:53,039 --> 00:14:00,580 and a great cloud with brightness around it and fire flashing forth continually. Yes. 112 00:14:00,580 --> 00:14:07,639 And the doors of perception were also cleansed for Isaiah and his vision of the Lord too. He was 113 00:14:07,639 --> 00:14:12,659 ushered into the throne room, into the very presence of God. He says in chapter six of Isaiah, 114 00:14:13,440 --> 00:14:20,320 in the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up and the 115 00:14:20,320 --> 00:14:26,960 train of his robe filled the temple, unquote. Oh, but nowhere are we given a clearer vision 116 00:14:26,960 --> 00:14:35,360 of unimpeded access to the presence of God. Then in Jacob's ladder, way back in Genesis chapter 28, 117 00:14:36,200 --> 00:14:43,700 where we see that Jacob as he slept, and he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set upon 118 00:14:43,700 --> 00:14:50,259 the earth and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and 119 00:14:50,259 --> 00:14:56,440 descending on it. Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, surely the Lord is in this place 120 00:14:56,440 --> 00:15:02,700 and I did not know it. And he was afraid and said, how awesome is this place. There is none other, 121 00:15:03,120 --> 00:15:10,200 this is none other than the house of God and this is the gate of heaven, unquote. All through the 122 00:15:10,200 --> 00:15:16,559 ancient world, there were places where the veil between the physical and the spiritual were 123 00:15:16,559 --> 00:15:24,759 especially thin and the Bible is no exception. At Horeb, for example, the Mount of God, as it's put 124 00:15:24,759 --> 00:15:31,080 in the Old Testament, Moses encountered God at the burning bush. Then again at Mount Sinai, 125 00:15:31,399 --> 00:15:38,840 Moses and Israel met God in thunder, lightning, and earthquake. The Mount all through the Gospels is 126 00:15:38,840 --> 00:15:45,440 Mount Hermon as well. Remember this as we go further into Revelation because we'll see the Mount all 127 00:15:45,440 --> 00:15:51,620 through the Gospels is Mount Hermon where our Lord went to pray, to preach the Sermon on the Mount 128 00:15:51,620 --> 00:15:59,220 and where he was transfigured before his disciples. But these gates of heaven are not always obvious to 129 00:15:59,220 --> 00:16:06,039 the naked eye, brother and sister. Generally, there are no department of the interior signs which mark 130 00:16:06,039 --> 00:16:14,500 them as a point of interest ahead. No, such was the stone upon which Jacob lay his head before his 131 00:16:14,500 --> 00:16:20,700 fateful encounter with the angel of the Lord. He said, surely the Lord is in this place and I did not 132 00:16:20,700 --> 00:16:26,580 know it. And he was afraid and said, how awesome is this place. This is none other than the house of God 133 00:16:26,580 --> 00:16:34,700 and this is the gate of heaven. What we miss, oh dear listener, if we do not have this as background, 134 00:16:34,940 --> 00:16:42,100 what we miss is profoundly crucial is that which Jesus claims for himself as he gathers his first 135 00:16:42,100 --> 00:16:48,440 disciples. He says, truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God 136 00:16:48,440 --> 00:16:56,919 ascending and descending on the son of man. This is back in the book of John. Remember, perhaps this is 137 00:16:56,919 --> 00:17:04,660 a rather enigmatic claim for many, but no longer for you. You now know that it is Jesus who is the very 138 00:17:04,660 --> 00:17:11,200 gate of heaven. The one by whom we as Christians have access to the very throne room of heaven. 139 00:17:11,940 --> 00:17:18,799 When you are in Jesus, you have an open door to heaven. There is now no longer a random stone or a 140 00:17:18,799 --> 00:17:27,339 high mountain access to which is had only by a few. No, now in Jesus, all of us now have access to the 141 00:17:27,339 --> 00:17:34,099 presence of God through him, through Christ. Ah, that's the upshot of behold, a door standing 142 00:17:34,099 --> 00:17:41,059 open in heaven in chapter four of Revelation verse one. And as you will discover increasingly 143 00:17:41,059 --> 00:17:48,400 as we go through Revelation, John is deliberately leaving breadcrumbs of interpretation for us 144 00:17:48,400 --> 00:17:54,440 as he did only a few verses ago in chapter three, verse 20. Remember that promise? Behold, 145 00:17:54,440 --> 00:18:02,539 I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him 146 00:18:02,539 --> 00:18:09,539 and eat with him and he with me. Only a few verses back, right? And now behold, a door standing open 147 00:18:09,539 --> 00:18:15,880 in heaven. Ah, here is that door to fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Welcome, pilgrim. 148 00:18:17,099 --> 00:18:23,220 You are here. You're almost home. Straddling heaven and earth you are as a creature, 149 00:18:23,220 --> 00:18:29,539 spiritual creature. And you are straddling heaven and earth in ways old covenant saints were never 150 00:18:29,539 --> 00:18:36,640 able to do. We do this now, every Sunday in worship too. Guidance for which is given throughout 151 00:18:36,640 --> 00:18:41,440 Revelation too. Revelation is also a book about worship. And we're going to unpack this in our 152 00:18:41,440 --> 00:18:48,319 Bible study too. Revealing Revelation, a community study of the apocalypse. So many of us are so 153 00:18:48,319 --> 00:18:57,160 eager to get to what we call the good stuff, the stuff about prophecy, that we miss what Revelation 154 00:18:57,160 --> 00:19:04,859 has to tell us about worship. And there is much to offer in worship. I hear people say all the time, 155 00:19:04,960 --> 00:19:11,000 well, pastor, there's no order of worship. There's no liturgy in the New Testament. So we're free to do 156 00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:18,619 really what we please, full well what we please in worship because there's no prescriptions for us 157 00:19:18,619 --> 00:19:25,880 for worship in the New Testament. Ah, au contraire, dear listener. There is a lot that the New Testament 158 00:19:25,880 --> 00:19:30,980 has to tell us about worship and liturgy. And the book of Revelation is one of those books. 159 00:19:31,720 --> 00:19:38,019 The early church used to take much of her liturgy and much of her style of worship from the book of 160 00:19:38,019 --> 00:19:43,299 Revelation. And we'll see how this happens more and more as we unpack the book of Revelation. 161 00:19:45,259 --> 00:19:54,339 We do this every Sunday in worship, don't we? We open a door to heaven, guidance for which is given 162 00:19:54,339 --> 00:20:00,019 throughout this book, the book of Revelation. And it's all because of the Agnus Dei, the Lamb of God, 163 00:20:00,019 --> 00:20:08,319 who we will encounter momentarily, figuratively speaking, okay? Well, that's the significance 164 00:20:08,319 --> 00:20:15,799 and the portent for behold, a door standing open in heaven. But there are also things this text 165 00:20:15,799 --> 00:20:23,920 is not saying to, dear listener. We are confronting here another indication that the church is not to 166 00:20:23,920 --> 00:20:28,579 pass through the tribulation, but it's to be removed for the prophesied terrors. That is, 167 00:20:28,579 --> 00:20:34,720 is to, we are to be raptured out of them. That's Donald Gray Barnhouse speaking about what he thinks 168 00:20:34,720 --> 00:20:40,720 this text means, an open door into which John is bidden to come up, right? We're confronting here 169 00:20:40,720 --> 00:20:45,599 another indication that the church is not to pass through the tribulation, but is to be removed 170 00:20:45,599 --> 00:20:50,240 before the prophesied terrors. That is, is to be raptured out of them. That's how he sees these 171 00:20:50,240 --> 00:20:57,500 things. And many of you see it too. This is one of those daisy chain claims. As I have mentioned 172 00:20:57,500 --> 00:21:03,559 before in understanding how to interpret the apocalypse, this is one of those daisy chain 173 00:21:03,559 --> 00:21:10,240 claims for a text, which on its face says no such thing. In the context of the apocalypse's genre, 174 00:21:10,640 --> 00:21:18,119 this is a classic vision encounter with God, a vision encounter with God, which has far larger 175 00:21:18,119 --> 00:21:24,539 consequences for the church in which John will expand upon as we progress. But nowhere does he 176 00:21:24,539 --> 00:21:32,900 even hint about the fiction of a pre-tribulation rapture here. This is pure wishful exegesis, 177 00:21:33,059 --> 00:21:39,740 as I call it. It is a figment of imaginative interpretation. The pre-tribulation rapture 178 00:21:39,740 --> 00:21:44,980 being a kind of interpretive rubber band, which when stretched to tie together bunches of unrelated 179 00:21:44,980 --> 00:21:51,680 texts, merely snaps and breaks. And that's what's happening here. If you think that this indicates 180 00:21:51,680 --> 00:21:58,839 anything to do with a rapture, and its teaching really pales in comparison with its true meaning, 181 00:21:59,259 --> 00:22:06,740 you cheapen the text when you foist upon it a rapture here. The true meaning of this text has far 182 00:22:06,740 --> 00:22:13,359 greater consequences that we as ordinary believers now stand before the very gates of heaven, 183 00:22:14,039 --> 00:22:19,759 having an open door to the presence of God whenever we participate in our covenant renewal service, 184 00:22:19,759 --> 00:22:27,900 our worship, the Lord Jesus now being the very ladder of heaven. Yes. And this is further reinforced for 185 00:22:27,900 --> 00:22:35,579 us when our Lord's voice bids John. That's the voice which we first heard, right? As John puts it, 186 00:22:36,140 --> 00:22:41,140 that voice which we first heard, hearkening back to the founding vision of Revelation. 187 00:22:41,799 --> 00:22:47,740 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day. You remember back from chapter one, I was in the Spirit on the 188 00:22:47,740 --> 00:22:54,359 Lord's day. That is Sunday. And I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet. And now we hear that 189 00:22:54,359 --> 00:23:03,240 voice say, come up here and I will show you what must take place after this. Well, we're going to see 190 00:23:03,240 --> 00:23:09,599 in days to come that our oscillation will take us on a journey into the very presence of the sovereign 191 00:23:09,599 --> 00:23:15,160 God of the universe. And we'll see the seven churches of Asia, that is the whole of the church 192 00:23:15,160 --> 00:23:22,140 throughout redemptive history, shepherded and superintended to her final destiny as the beautifully 193 00:23:22,140 --> 00:23:30,079 prepared bride of Christ. That's the beautifully prepared bride of Christ, excuse me, of later 194 00:23:30,079 --> 00:23:37,920 chapters. But for now, we are scheduled for an important appointment with a very important person. 195 00:23:37,920 --> 00:23:45,960 And we'll see this then in days to come and weeks to come. And we're going to put a pause here on this 196 00:23:45,960 --> 00:23:52,980 study of Revelation chapter four, at least for the time being, because we're swiftly running out of 197 00:23:52,980 --> 00:24:01,220 time. And I would like to once more remind you of a very important study of the book of Revelation. 198 00:24:02,059 --> 00:24:06,299 You may be sitting there scratching your head right now or saying, no, no, no, I'd like to defend 199 00:24:06,299 --> 00:24:14,200 the view of the rapture in this verse. Well, you can do so by attending our community study of the 200 00:24:14,200 --> 00:24:21,539 apocalypse that is called Revealing Revelation, a community study of the apocalypse. And we're going 201 00:24:21,539 --> 00:24:28,880 to be doing this, inviting you, the public, to join us for a community study of the book of Revelation. 202 00:24:28,880 --> 00:24:37,160 And it's going to be held at Starbucks on 17th Street beginning Thursday, October 10th. And it's 203 00:24:37,160 --> 00:24:45,259 going to run promptly from 7 p.m. to 8.15 p.m. beginning October 10th, but running subsequently 204 00:24:45,259 --> 00:24:52,079 on Thursday nights thereafter, at least until Christmas. We'll evaluate around Christmas and see if 205 00:24:52,079 --> 00:24:59,579 there's enough interest to continue. But we invite you to at least have a taste of the study of the 206 00:24:59,579 --> 00:25:07,500 apocalypse, Revealing Revelation. And it's going to be taught community-wide as well by Pastor Mike 207 00:25:07,500 --> 00:25:13,359 Gilea of Share of the Sun Ministries, as well as myself, Pastor David Bass of New Geneva 208 00:25:13,359 --> 00:25:19,539 Orthodox Presbyterian Church. And we invite you to join us for this. You can call us for more 209 00:25:19,539 --> 00:25:24,740 information about this study. Let us know you're coming. We'd love to just have an idea of how many 210 00:25:24,740 --> 00:25:32,759 people we're going to get. And call us to let us know, area code 208-523-0196 to do that. 211 00:25:33,539 --> 00:25:41,019 And I would invite you also to join us for our worship services, where we are at this very moment 212 00:25:41,019 --> 00:25:47,720 unpacking the book of Revelation, preaching through it, I am. And it's been a delight to do. Our people 213 00:25:47,720 --> 00:25:54,480 have loved it. And we've had many positive feedback, much positive feedback on it, as well as some 214 00:25:54,480 --> 00:26:01,420 criticisms here and there. That's okay. Differences are welcome. We wouldn't be the church if we didn't 215 00:26:01,420 --> 00:26:08,779 have differences of points of view on this. And we invite you then to join us for worship. We meet for 216 00:26:08,779 --> 00:26:19,160 holy worship on Sunday at 10 a.m. at 101 Force 3 on the corner of 4th and Boulevard. And you can call us 217 00:26:19,160 --> 00:26:29,279 for more information at area code 208-523-0196. That's New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church 218 00:26:29,279 --> 00:26:36,660 meeting for holy worship on Sunday at 10 a.m. at 101 Force 3 on the corner of 4th and Boulevard. Join us. 219 00:26:36,660 --> 00:26:49,779 Come and join us. Call us for more information or feedback at area code 208-523-0196. That's area code 208-523-0196.