The Sovereign God of Heaven – Part 3
Revelation 4:1-11 (5-11)
July 31, 2016

As you know we are studying through the book of Revelation
And for the last couple of weeks we have traveled with John
Up into the throne room of heaven.

We are now glimpsing the end.

God is showing John “what must take place after these things”
Which is a reference to the church age.

God begins by giving John a view of heaven.
Since the only authoritative and accurate views of heaven are those which come to us from Scripture, we certainly love this one since it is by far the most extensive.

And as we have been looking at chapter 4 we quickly learned that
One thing dominated John’s gaze as he looked at heaven.
That one initial thing was the throne.

(2) “Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven”

John has then begun to describe all that he sees in relation to this throne.
• “on the throne”
• “around the throne”
• “from the throne”
• “before the throne”
• “in the center and around the throne”

The throne is the reminder to us
Of the ultimate sovereign authority of God.

We are reminded that He is in absolute control of all things.
Nothing happens outside of His sovereign control.

HIS SOVEREIGNTY INCLUDES:
• Everything regarding the systems of creation
• Everything regarding the reign and fall of kings and governments
• Everything regarding the birth, death, and geographical limits of man
• Everything regarding who has understanding and discernment
• Everything regarding salvation and the dispensing of grace
• Everything regarding the enemy and the limits of his activity
• Everything regarding the future and the determined end of all things

GOD IS IN CONTROL.

But also by looking at this throne we are establishing our theology
On the person and nature of God.
John didn’t see an empty throne, John saw “One sitting on the throne. And He who was sitting on the throne was like as jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance.”

He also saw that “Around the throne were twenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and golden crowns on their heads.”

These realities begin to paint a wonderful picture for us
Regarding the nature of God.

• His appearance as “jasper stone and a sardius” are tremendous pictures
of His glorious nature and even of His holy wrath.

• We talked about how the “sardius” was a ruby and so in this glorious
refraction John saw a red hugh. Ezekiel said it was like molten metal or fire.

And we are reminded that our God is “a consuming fire”.
He is not to be messed with.

We read Psalms 2 about how all the nations took their stand in order to throw God’s authority off and God merely laughed from the heavens.

His answer was that they had better show discernment
And submit to God’s authoritative King.

We also saw the “rainbow around the throne” and remembered that the rainbow is a symbol of God’s faithfulness.

It was the bow He put in the heavens to remind earth and heaven that He will never again destroy the earth with water.

Also a picture of God’s faithfulness were the “twenty-four thrones” which surrounded His throne.

These we discerned could be no one other than the raptured church,
Who are only present in heaven because of God’s great faithfulness.

• He is the One who has kept them from stumbling.
• He is the One who has protected them for this time.
• He is the One who held them in His hand.

And so thus far when we gaze into heaven
We are overcome with three tremendous realities.

• The Authority of God
• The Glory of God (mixed with wrath)
• The Faithfulness of God to accomplish all that He purposes

This morning we wish to move on looking at this vision.
We have seen the throne, on the throne, and around the throne
#4 FROM THE THRONE
Revelation 4:5a

And here we read: “Out from the throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder.”

Of all the things John heard and saw,
This one is probably the EASIEST to understand.
This literally speaks of TERROR.

While that is easy to understand, it is difficult for most people to swallow.
If I tell you this morning that God is a God of terror,
Many of you would scoff and say, “NO!”

Many would argue: “God is gracious and loving and accepting and He only wants my fellowship and companionship. There is nothing terrible in Him. There is nothing in Him that causes terror. There is no reason to be afraid of God.”

Are you sure?
• I wonder then why Scripture speaks so much of “The fear of the Lord”.
• I wonder why His servants routinely hit the ground in trembling at His presence.

When God was making His covenant with Abraham:
Genesis 15:12 “Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, terror and great darkness fell upon him.”

When God called Israel out of Egypt and they came to Sinai:
Hebrews 12:18-21 “For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and to a blazing fire, and to darkness and gloom and whirlwind, and to the blast of a trumpet and the sound of words which sound was such that those who heard begged that no further word be spoken to them. For they could not bear the command, “IF EVEN A BEAST TOUCHES THE MOUNTAIN, IT WILL BE STONED.” And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, “I AM FULL OF FEAR and trembling.”

THAT’S NOT ALL
When God was sending Israel into the Promised Land:
Exodus 23:27 “I will send My terror ahead of you, and throw into confusion all the people among whom you come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you.”

Micah even promised that the coming Day of the Lord would be described like this:
Malachi 4:5 “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD.”

It is actually this terror that is about to be released upon the earth. Isaiah prophesied:
Isaiah 2:10 “Enter the rock and hide in the dust From the terror of the LORD and from the splendor of His majesty.”

Look at:
Revelation 6:15-17 “Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

If God is not a God of terror, I’m curious about passages like:
1 Peter 1:17 “If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth;”

Hebrews 4:1 “Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it.”

Hebrews 10:31 “It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

Matthew 10:28 “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

There has always been a holy terror regarding God.
And please understand this.
HE IS NOT APPROACHABLE!

Which is what made this promise in Hebrews so amazing:
Hebrews 10:19-22 “Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”

Jesus makes it possible for us to approach the throne.
Jesus makes it possible for us to draw near to God.

But God’s presence is literally terrifying.

And that is certainly signified here.
It is a picture of His divine judgment.
• On the throne is glory
• Around the throne is faithfulness
• From the throne comes judgment

TURN TO: Psalms 18:1-19
It was the terror of the Lord which was unleased on his enemies.
Judgment comes from the throne of God.

David was prophetically speaking of the coming deliverance for all Israel.
He will return with fury and terrible judgment.
From the throne comes judgment.

#5 BEFORE THE THRONE
Revelation 4:5a-6a

“And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God; and before the throne there was something like a sea of glass, like crystal;”

So first we see “seven lamps of fire”

And we already know that this represents the Holy Spirit in His fullness
He is “the seven Spirits of God”
(We learned that back in chapter 1.)

Isaiah 11:2 “The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.”

We know that this is a picture of the Holy Spirit in His fullness.

When you read about the Holy Spirit in His fullness
All His attributes speak of accurate judgment.

“wisdom” “understanding” “counsel” “knowledge”

It is a picture of Perfect Understanding, Perfect Discernment,
Perfect Judgment in all things.

Now hold on to that for just a second.

Because John also says, (6) “and before the throne there was something like a sea of glass, like crystal.”

John is not the only one to have seen this sight.

In Ezekiel’s vision:
Ezekiel 1:22-25 “Now over the heads of the living beings there was something like an expanse, like the awesome gleam of crystal, spread out over their heads. Under the expanse their wings were stretched out straight, one toward the other; each one also had two wings covering its body on the one side and on the other. I also heard the sound of their wings like the sound of abundant waters as they went, like the voice of the Almighty, a sound of tumult like the sound of an army camp; whenever they stood still, they dropped their wings. And there came a voice from above the expanse that was over their heads; whenever they stood still, they dropped their wings.”

In the Old Testament we read:
Exodus 24:9-10 “Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and they saw the God of Israel; and under His feet there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself.”

From both of those accounts we find that this “sea of glass”
Wasn’t just BEFORE the throne, but was in fact BENEATH the throne.

We are talking about then THE FOUNDATION of God’s throne.
We are talking about what God’s throne stands upon.
Psalms 89:14 “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Lovingkindness and truth go before You.”

Psalms 97:1-6 “The LORD reigns, let the earth rejoice; Let the many islands be glad. Clouds and thick darkness surround Him; Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne. Fire goes before Him And burns up His adversaries round about. His lightnings lit up the world; The earth saw and trembled. The mountains melted like wax at the presence of the LORD, At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. The heavens declare His righteousness, And all the peoples have seen His glory.”

Not only are we dealing with what is “before” the throne,
But literally what is the foundation of His throne.

And that fits perfectly with what we just saw regarding the Holy Spirit.

God’s throne rests upon perfect “wisdom”, perfect “understanding”, perfect “counsel”, perfect “strength”, perfect “knowledge”.

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.

AND THAT IS A VERY ENCOURAGING REMINDER TO US.
We live in a day where we see people in authority
Without any of those qualities.

People without wisdom or counsel or knowledge or strength
Or righteousness or justice.

WE LIVE IN A WORLD OF CORRUPTED AUTHORITY.

BUT NOT THE ULTIMATE AUTHORITY
Every judgment He makes; every verdict He renders
Is absolutely right and just.

The wrath and terror that is coming from His throne
Are absolutely justified and right.

He is not acting carelessly or uninformed or out of corruption.
God’s judgments are true and righteous and perfect.

What a glory to see that the foundation of all that God does
Is done in perfect wisdom and righteousness.

So now let’s ZOOM BACK and take a quick look at the God we are seeing in the heavens.
• He is a God of AUTHORITY
• He is a God of GLORY AND WRATH
• He is a God of FAITHFULNESS
• He is a God of JUDGMENT AND TERROR
• He is a God of WISDOM AND RIGHTEOUSNESS

These are the attributes that overcome John as he sees heaven.
And realities like this help us understand then
What the Psalmist meant when he wrote:
Psalms 15 “O LORD, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill? He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness, And speaks truth in his heart. He does not slander with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor takes up a reproach against his friend; In whose eyes a reprobate is despised, But who honors those who fear the LORD; He swears to his own hurt and does not change; He does not put out his money at interest, Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.”

Do you see now why the Psalmist wrote such things?
We are not talking about a softy, ignorant, complacent, apathetic, tolerant, push-over God.

He is filled with wrath and glory and justice and faithfulness
And if you ever plan to stand before Him,
You had better be righteous
Because the wicked will not stand before Him.

Psalms 1:4-6 “The wicked are not so, But they are like chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the wicked will perish.”

Psalms 5:4-7 “For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness; No evil dwells with You. The boastful shall not stand before Your eyes; You hate all who do iniquity. You destroy those who speak falsehood; The LORD abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit. But as for me, by Your abundant lovingkindness I will enter Your house, At Your holy temple I will bow in reverence for You.”

Do you understand that?

It certainly then emphasizes the necessity of
Being clothed in the righteousness of Christ.

Mankind is utterly foolish to assume they can stand before this Holy God
Apart from the imputed righteousness of Christ.
You’d be a fool to try and draw near to God without Christ.

John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

That verse takes on new meaning in view of the One John saw in heaven.

JOHN SAW ONE WHO IS HOLY.
That’s really the key word here.
You can take all of those other attributes we just discovered
And to sum them up in one word, that word is: HOLY.

And that makes what we see next fit so perfectly.

The Throne, On The Throne, Around The Throne, From The Throne, Before The Throne
#6 NEAR THE THRONE
Revelation 4:6b-11

After having sort of panned the camera out and saw the big picture,
John now begins to zoom back in.

“and in the center and around the throne”

John says he saw, “four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind. The first creature was like a lion, and the second creature like a calf, and the third creature had a face like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle. And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within;”

WOW, WHAT IN THE WORLD?
I don’t want to spend a ton of time here because these creatures are not the focus, but they do in fact teach us such a valuable lesson.

If you were to turn and read Ezekiel 1 you would see these creatures again.
• Ezekiel 1 we see God’s throne on the move.
• I’ve always likened it to a war chariot, which is certainly fitting to the message of Ezekiel, where Ezekiel literally sees God’s glory depart on that chariot from Israel.
• But Ezekiel sees these same creatures with a few slight differences.
• Ezekiel says they all four have all four faces on all four sides.
• And in Ezekiel 10 he calls them “cherubim”

This is important because throughout Scripture
Cherubim are the protectors of the holiness of God.

• When Adam and Even were removed from the garden it was a cherubim who was stationed at the gate with a flaming sword.
• It was cherubim who literally spread over the mercy seat in the holy of holies.
• Just by way of reference, Ezekiel 28:11-19 describes Satan and his fall from heaven. Of him God said in verse 14, “You were the anointed cherub who covers” (or literally, “who guards”)

Cherubim are guardians of the holy.

Now, were we don’t want to bog down
Is in attempting to understand what their appearance means.
There have been multitudes of people guess as to what the four faces represented.

I’ve heard they represent Christ.
Lion = King, Ox = Sacrifice, Man = Man, Eagle = God
I’ve heard they represent the four gospel accounts in the same way.

Some say they represent
Power – lion, Service – ox, Intellect – man, Glory – eagle
And on and on and on
I do know that according to Jewish history when the 12 tribes of Israel broke into their 4 formations.
• Reuben was one head and flew the banner of a man.
• Dan was a head and flew the banner of an eagle.
• Ephraim was a head and flew the banner of an ox.
• Judah was a head and flew the banner of a lion.

But even then I don’t know why.
So we’ll just leave them at that
Until some day when we understand things more fully.

We do see however that they each have “six wings”
THIS IMPLIES ACCESS.
They are not omnipresent, but they can go anywhere they desire to go.

We see that they are “full of eyes around and within”
This implies perception.
They are not omniscient, but they can see whatever they desire to see.

And yet when dealing with creatures
Who can be anywhere they want to be
And see anything they want to see
We only find them near the throne of God.

“and day and night they do not cease to say, “HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is THE LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY, WHO WAS AND WHO IS AND WHO IS TO COME.”

• They can be anywhere they want to be and they surround the throne of God.
• They can see anything they want to see and they surround the throne of God.
• They can do anything they want to do and all they do is worship.

All they do 24-7-365 is proclaim the Excellency of God.
They never tire, they never quit, they never go on break,
They worship “day and night” and they “do not cease” in their worship.

Do you know why they never stop worshiping?
Because they never leave the presence of God and they never cease to see Him as He is.

WORSHIP IS NEAR THE THRONE OF GOD.

Worship is the automatic response
To gazing upon the glory of God
It is the proper response, it is the only response,
It cannot be helped.

• We fail to worship because we fail to draw near to God.
• We fail to worship because we set our gaze on other things.

Why do you suppose that the natural result to being filled with the Spirit is that (according to Ephesians 5) we speak to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs?

It is because worship is the natural response
To having drawn near to God.

You may not realize it but failure to worship God (like when we gather at church like today) Is not only the most unbelievable form of arrogance,
But it is also quite a condemning testimony for yourself.

If you go through life or attend church without participating in worship,
You might as well hang a sign around your neck that says,
“I’m not close to God.”

Because everyone and everything that is close to God worships God.
Psalms 84:4 “How blessed are those who dwell in Your house! They are ever praising You.”

Psalms 29:3-9 “The voice of the LORD is upon the waters; The God of glory thunders, The LORD is over many waters. The voice of the LORD is powerful, The voice of the LORD is majestic. The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; Yes, the LORD breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon. He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, And Sirion like a young wild ox. The voice of the LORD hews out flames of fire. The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; The LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. The voice of the LORD makes the deer to calve And strips the forests bare; And in His temple everything says, “Glory!”

THESE CREATURES NEVER STOP WORSHIPING.

And incidentally their song is so important.
“HOLY, HOLY, HOLY”

Did you know that this is the only attribute of God that is 3 times repeated like this in Scripture?
• You never hear God called “love, love, love” or “mercy, mercy, mercy”.
• But He is called “HOLY, HOLY, HOLY”

And that is certainly true based on who we saw on the throne isn’t it?
They worship because of His authority, His faithfulness, His glory, His wrath,
His judgment, His righteousness, His justice, His wisdom.
THEY CONTINUALLY DECLARE WHO GOD IS.

Look at what else they say.
They call Him “THE LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY”

“ALMIGHTY” is an amazing term.
I heard it defined as “Power equal to one’s will”
Think about that. You can have a will for all sorts of things to happen,
But you don’t have the power to put it into play.

God has power equal to His will.
There is nothing that He desires that He can’t do.

Psalms 115:3 “But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases.”

That is an amazing truth about our God.

They also call Him “WHO WAS AND WHO IS AND WHO IS TO COME.”

That speaks of His transcendence.
• We talked about this last Sunday night.
• You and I dwell in the dimension of time and space. It is a box that we cannot
escape.

But God is not limited by such things.
He transcends time, He transcends space.

And the creatures, who are themselves created,
Recognize that God is beyond them in all things.

It is non-stop worship near the throne.

AND CAN WE MAKE ANOTHER OBSERVATION HERE?
Their worship is absolutely contagious.

(9-11) “And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying, “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”

In fact the worship is just going to keep escalating on through chapter 5.
The song gets bigger and so does the choir.
The worship is contagious.

And once the raptured church hears the cherubim sing
They instantly fall on their face, cast their victor’s crowns before Him (that’s all they have to give)
And join in the song of worship.

“Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power [authority]; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”

They are sensing what God is about to do.
They are sensing that God is about to redeem creation.

Romans 8:18-21 “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.”

• Paul said that creation itself groans waiting to be redeemed from the curse
• Here we find that heaven senses that the time is close.

The twenty-four elders instantly begin to sing that
God alone is the rightful ruler of creation.

Remember Satan is presently referred to as the “god of this world” and “the prince of the power of the air”, but heaven knows those are temporary titles.

God alone is worthy of the praise of creation.
• He alone “created all things”
• It is because of His “will they existed, and were created.”

Interesting too to note that while the earth seems confused
About how the earth appeared, speaking of things like evolution,
HEAVEN ISN’T CONFUSED AT ALL.

The heavens know how this all started.

And they worship God because they can sense that
GOD IS ABOUT TO REDEEM ALL THINGS BACK TO HIMSELF.

• You’ll see in chapter 5 that God is in fact holding a sealed up book in His
hand.
• It is the title deed to the earth, and the enthusiasm of heaven is beginning to
erupt as they sense what God is about to do.

And worship breaks out!

LET ME SHOW YOU SOMETHING YOU DON’T SEE IN HEAVEN.
Do you see even the slightest hint of panic in heaven?

Psalms 2:1-9 “Why are the nations in an uproar And the peoples devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, “Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!” He who sits in the heavens laughs, The Lord scoffs at them. Then He will speak to them in His anger And terrify them in His fury, saying, “But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain.” “I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Your possession. ‘You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.'”

Psalms 37:12-13 “The wicked plots against the righteous And gnashes at him with his teeth. The Lord laughs at him, For He sees his day is coming.”

There is no panic in heaven, only worship.

That is certainly the expectation from all of creation,
Both of those in heaven and those still on earth.

The world has a tainted view of who God is.
We hear so much bad theology and bad doctrine about God and what He is like.

John saw Him! He saw Him!
And John was overcome by
• His sovereign authority,
• His magnificent glory,
• His faithfulness,
• His terrible wrath,
• His wisdom and justice.

And all of heaven is literally overwhelmed by His holiness
And divine ability to do whatever He pleases.

Do not get sucked in to the common notions that
He is a God who is fine regarding sin and sinners. He is not!

He is a holy and terrifying God of wrath and judgment and perfect justice.

AND PEOPLE ARE SHOCKED BY THIS!
BUT LISTEN:
The remarkable revelation is NOT that God is holy and judges sin.
The remarkable revelation is that this Holy God
Chose to offer pardon to unworthy sinners.
Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

This God of holiness and wrath was yet willing to justify sinners
Through the horrible death of His own Son.

• Do you see the necessity of the cross?
• Do you see the beauty of what Christ did for us?
• Do you see the exclusivity of the cross and why there is no other way?

We now as wretched sinners
Can come before the throne of this holy and terrifying God,
And Scripture says we can go there boldly or with confidence
Because of what Christ has accomplished for us.

(Incidentally that is the theme and point of chapter 5)

• How could there be any other response aside from worship?
• How could there be any other response aside from awestruck wonder and gratitude?

Worship this Holy God who deserves it.
Worship the Lamb who died on our behalf.

And regardless of what this world throws at you,
Don’t fret it, don’t worry.
We have a sovereign God who reigns in the heavens.

A Behind The Scenes Look at Daniel’s Revelation
Daniel 10:1-11:1
July 24, 2016

If you’ve been studying Daniel with us
You know that Daniel has certainly be singled out by God
As a conduit through which He would reveal much of His sovereign plan.

• We saw God use Daniel to reveal His sovereign authority even over pagan nations and Gentile kingdoms.
• We have seen God use Daniel to also begin to reveal His plans for Israel, both near and far.
• And beginning in chapter 11 God will give His most extensive and detailed revelation to Daniel yet.

But before the book jumps into that revelation we first come to chapter 10
Before we are given the revelation,
We first are given a Behind The Scenes look at the revelation.

And the MAIN THING we learn is it is a tremendous privilege
That we would ever possess any of the revelation of God.

Perhaps you’ve never thought about it before,
But it is worth contemplating it for a moment.
John MacArthur did a good job explaining this to our youth at camp,
And it is certainly something you should consider as well.

Namely that God exists in a dimension that is beyond you and me.
• We exist in the dimension of time and space; we are trapped in it.
• God exists outside of that dimension. He is not limited by either.

So to really simplify it, we live inside the box, God lives outside of it.
That means that it is NOT possible for you or I
To ever go and gain knowledge of God.

We’ve heard stories of various religious pilgrimages that people have gone on seeking enlightenment and understanding.
• Someone may travel to the depths of the oceans looking for understanding…
• Someone may travel through the realms of space looking for answers…
• Some have sought enlightenment through pain and deprivation…
• Some have looked for understanding through mind altering drugs…

People have gone on all sorts of pilgrimages looking for knowledge.

But it is not possible that you and I could ever travel far enough, deep enough, high enough, inward enough, or outward enough
To ever gain 1 peck of a knowledge of God.

He exists outside of our box.
The only possible way that we could ever gain knowledge of God
Is if God chooses to reveal Himself to us.
The only way we could know anything of God is if God chooses to speak into our world.

SO THINK FOR A MOMENT ABOUT THE VALUE OF DIVINE REVELATION
Think of what a tremendous treasure it is to us
For God to shine light into our darkness.

THIS IS HUGE!
• It is remarkable that God would choose to make Himself known.
• It is remarkable that God would choose to reveal a piece of His sovereign plan.
• It is remarkable that God would choose to reveal His holy standards.

He certainly didn’t have to, but He has chosen to break into our world
And reveal to us His divine truth.

This reality has led writers of Scripture to make statements like:
Psalms 19:7-11 “The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether. They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them Your servant is warned; In keeping them there is great reward.”

Psalms 139:17 “How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them!”

Psalms 119:72 “The law of Your mouth is better to me Than thousands of gold and silver pieces.”

The fact that God would break through into our dark and silent world and reveal His truth to us is nothing short of remarkable and wonderful.

And we are talking of course about the infinite value of sacred Scripture.
Hebrews 1:1-2 “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.”

In the Old Testament God spoke in various ways to various people.
In the New Testament God spoke to us in Christ.

Jesus was the final word of God.
In Him the revelation was complete.
God appointed the apostles to record this message of Christ,
And in Him the message of God was finished.

Revelation 22:18-19 “I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.”
With that statement God put an end to all new revelation.

Jude said:
Jude 3 “Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.”

“the faith” Jude speaks of was the written and revealed word of God which came through the apostles and it was “once for all handed down to the saints.”

There is no more.

I only bring that up because we have had a minor issue in our church over the course of the last month regarding the idea of ongoing revelation.
According to Scripture these are NOT occurring.

I do get bothered by talk of the “ongoing personal revelations from God”

For not only are they false,
But they’re only effect is to reduce man’s dependency
Upon the true revelation of God, which is Scripture.

Ezekiel was livid with them:
Ezekiel 13:3-9 “Thus says the Lord GOD, “Woe to the foolish prophets who are following their own spirit and have seen nothing. “O Israel, your prophets have been like foxes among ruins. “You have not gone up into the breaches, nor did you build the wall around the house of Israel to stand in the battle on the day of the LORD. “They see falsehood and lying divination who are saying, ‘The LORD declares,’ when the LORD has not sent them; yet they hope for the fulfillment of their word. “Did you not see a false vision and speak a lying divination when you said, ‘The LORD declares,’ but it is not I who have spoken?”‘” Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD, “Because you have spoken falsehood and seen a lie, therefore behold, I am against you,” declares the Lord GOD. “So My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and utter lying divinations. They will have no place in the council of My people, nor will they be written down in the register of the house of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel, that you may know that I am the Lord GOD.”

Jeremiah had these would be prophets pegged early:
Jeremiah 23:25-32 “I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy falsely in My name, saying, ‘I had a dream, I had a dream!’ “How long? Is there anything in the hearts of the prophets who prophesy falsehood, even these prophets of the deception of their own heart, who intend to make My people forget My name by their dreams which they relate to one another, just as their fathers forgot My name because of Baal? “The prophet who has a dream may relate his dream, but let him who has My word speak My word in truth. What does straw have in common with grain?” declares the LORD. “Is not My word like fire?” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer which shatters a rock? “Therefore behold, I am against the prophets,” declares the LORD, “who steal My words from each other. “Behold, I am against the prophets,” declares the LORD, “who use their tongues and declare, ‘The Lord declares.’ “Behold, I am against those who have prophesied false dreams,” declares the LORD, “and related them and led My people astray by their falsehoods and reckless boasting; yet I did not send them or command them, nor do they furnish this people the slightest benefit,” declares the LORD.

• There have always been those who claim to speak for God who do not.
• There have always been those who have claimed to hear from God when they did not.

And the devastating effect of these visions and revelations is that
They lead people away from the true revelation of God
Which is the Scripture.

And leading people away from a dependency of Scripture
Neither honors God nor benefits the people.

It was during the days of the Reformation (16th century)
• That the church of God was rescued from the dark ages
• Regardless of who you read or study regarding that period, the catalyst for
the reformation was crystal clear.

Men began to examine and understand Scripture.

That is why in the old city of Geneva, where John Calvin preached
• There is a walking park and the center piece of the park is giant wall of
marble which is called “The Reformation Wall”.
• It is a tribute to the heroes of the reformation of the 16th century.
• In the top of the wall is a motto chiseled which says: POST TENEBRAS LUX

It means “after darkness light”

It referred to the time of the dark ages when the Scriptures were only recorded and preached in Latin (which common people did not speak) and therefore did not understand.

It was the dark ages because people did not have access to God’s Word.
But through the reformation, God began to once again reveal His word.

God did not speak new revelation,
He merely used amazing men to bring the revelation of Scripture
Back to the people and with it came revival or light.
One of their cries was SOLA SCRIPTURA or “Scripture Alone”

They had no interest in church tradition or hierarchy
They had no interest in new or private revelation.

In fact Martin Luther said, “Whenever you hear anyone boast that he has something by inspiration of the Holy Spirit and it has no basis in God’s Word, no matter what it may be, tell him that this is the work of the devil.” (Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, vol 23, ed. Jaroslav Pelikan (St. Louis: Concordia, 1959), 173-174

Furthermore Luther stated, “Whatever does not have its origin in the Scriptures is surely from the devil himself.” (Luther’s Works, vol.36, 144)

These men understood the tremendous value that is Scripture
They saw Scripture alone as the true revelation of God
And had no need nor desire for any other revelation.

And this is what we are talking about here tonight:
THE VALUE OF GOD’S REVELATION TO US.
• How precious it is that God would break the silence and the ignorance and the darkness and would choose to speak!
• How precious it is that God would choose to reveal to us His perfect word!

• How awful it would be to not have that revelation.

Amos 8:11-12 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord GOD, “When I will send a famine on the land, Not a famine for bread or a thirst for water, But rather for hearing the words of the LORD. “People will stagger from sea to sea And from the north even to the east; They will go to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, But they will not find it.”

What a horrific day that would be!
God’s revealed truth of Scripture is extremely valuable!

TONIGHT I WANT TO SHOW WHY IT IS SO VALUABLE
AND ALSO HOW YOU AND I SHOULD TREASURE IT.

We see this in Daniel chapter 10.

There are two main points we will look at tonight.
#1 THE DIFFICULTY OF OBTAINING GOD’S REVELATION
Daniel 10:1-17

Verse 1 is simply and introductory verse to the chapter
Which helps us understand the point.

(1) “In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a message was revealed to Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar; and the message was true and one of great conflict, but he understood the message and had an understanding of the vision.”

Revealed in that verse are two remarkable occurrences.
1) “a message was revealed to Daniel”
2) “he understood the message”

It is in fact remarkable that “a message was revealed to Daniel”
Especially when you understand how difficult it is for this to happen.

One of the ways WE APPRAISE VALUE even in our culture
Is through the idea of how hard something is to come by.
If something is rare or difficult to obtain its value only increases.

This reality will help you understand
Why God’s revealed truth in Scripture is so valuable.

Let me show you why it was so hard for Daniel to receive this message.
The writer actually reveals 4 massive obstacles.
1) THE INABILITY OF MAN TO DISCERN IT (2-3)

That is to say, that even if God were to speak,
There is no way man would be able to comprehend it.

We certainly find that truth here with Daniel.
(2-3) “In those days, I, Daniel, had been mourning for three entire weeks. I did not eat any tasty food, nor did meat or wine enter my mouth, nor did I use any ointment at all until the entire three weeks were completed.”

• Daniel has been in “mourning for three entire weeks”
• He is actually in a state of fasting.
• No “tasty food”, No “meat”, No “wine”, No “ointment”

Daniel is not fasting in order to manipulate God to speak,
Rather Daniel is in a state of fasting
Because he can’t understand what God is saying.

Fasting occurs when the spiritual takes precedent over the physical.
Daniel isn’t eating because food is not what he wants.

What does he want?
Look at verse 12
(12) “Then he said to me, “Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words.”

What did Daniel not have that he wanted? “understanding”

Do you not remember what God just showed Daniel back in chapter 9?
Daniel 9:24-27 “Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place. “So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress. “Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined. “And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.”

Daniel wants to understand God’s truth, but there is a problem.
HE CAN’T

• It didn’t matter how humble he was…
• It didn’t matter how educated he was…
• It didn’t matter how deprived he was…
Daniel could not understand what God was doing.

And this true not just for Daniel, but for humanity in general.
Isaiah 55:8-9 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.”

Paul said:
Romans 11:34 “For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR? NASU

1 Corinthians 2:14 “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.”

That simply means that on his own
Man can’t understand the things of God.

That is one of the things that makes God’s revelation
So difficult and so valuable.

MAN CAN’T OBTAIN IT ON HIS OWN.

We learn from Daniel that the only way man can gain understanding is to petition God for it, and hope that God is merciful and desires to reveal Himself.

Proverbs 2:1-6 “My son, if you will receive my words And treasure my commandments within you, Make your ear attentive to wisdom, Incline your heart to understanding; For if you cry for discernment, Lift your voice for understanding; If you seek her as silver And search for her as for hidden treasures; Then you will discern the fear of the LORD And discover the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.”

That is what Daniel is doing.
He is seeking God for understanding.

We will see that God is going to honor that request and send a revelation.
But that leads to a second problem.

There is a second obstacle that makes it difficult:
2) THE UNWORTHINESS OF MAN TO POSSESS IT (4-9)

Daniel has been crying out for understanding
And God is merciful and determines to send a revelation.

That revelation is found in verses 4-9.
(if you’re paying attention on Sunday mornings you should know who this is)

This is Jesus!
It’s the same way John saw him in Revelation 1:12-16
God sends Jesus to Daniel and Jesus even begins to speak.

BUT DID YOU CATCH THE PROBLEM?
No one could handle it!
• Certainly not the men with Daniel, they didn’t even see Jesus, and they took off.
• And Daniel couldn’t even handle it.

(9) “But I heard the sound of his words; and as soon as I heard the sound of his words, I fell into a deep sleep on my face, with my face to the ground.”

When it doesn’t frustrate me, I actually get a little amused at people
Who claim all these revelations from Jesus in their lives.

I had a guy at camp tell me, “I’m one of those people Jesus regularly comes and speaks to.”

WOW! Even John the apostle, Ezekiel and Daniel couldn’t handle that!
They all fell on their face like dead men.

Isaiah said:
Isaiah 6:5 “Then I said, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.”

Peter told Jesus on the fishing boat, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”

Adam hid, Zacharias became deaf

It’s remarkable to me that so many today claim these special revelations from God when Scripture made it clear that this was no minor thing.

MAN (even the best of them throughout Scripture) IS NOT WORTHY to receive revelation from God, and those that did knew it!

NOW DO YOU KNOW WHAT JESUS SAID TO DANIEL?
Me neither! Daniel couldn’t handle it.

• In fact, God is going to send an angel to Daniel to try and help him receive the revelation and most of the chapter is spent with this angel trying to reassure Daniel that it will be ok.

(READ VERSES 10-11)

And then the angel will try again in verse 14, but Daniel still can’t handle it.
(READ VERSES 15-17)

Are you getting the point?

That is the difficulty of God’s revelation.
Man can’t obtain it on his own, and even when God chooses to give it,
Sinful man can’t handle it!

This is no minor thing!

There is a third barrier to us receiving the revelation of God.
3) THE OPPOSITION OF SATAN TO HINDER IT (10-14)

Here we are given the answer to the 3 week delay.
• God was willing to speak in instant regard to Daniel’s request, but there was a spiritual war occurring that would could not see.

• And when the angel finally calmed Daniel down enough to get him back on his feet he explained to him about the delay.

(12-14) “Then he said to me, “Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words. “But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for twenty-one days; then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia. “Now I have come to give you an understanding of what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision pertains to the days yet future.”

We will talk about this more as we get into the book of Revelation, and because time is short, I don’t want to dwell here forever, but here is what you should know.

“the prince of the kingdom of Persia” is not Cyrus.
It is a demonic presence who has been assigned to Cyrus.

Satan has assigned a demon to him
To seek to sway him against the working of God’s people.

• Remember Cyrus is the one who sent them back.
• If you’ll read Ezra 4 you’ll discern that Satan is seeking to stop the rebuilding of the temple.
• There is also a demon working on Cyrus.

That does not mean he is possessed (though some world rulers are),
It means there is a continual evil influence seeking to direct him.

This helps us understand why Paul was so adamant in 1 Timothy 2
That we pray for our leaders and for those in authority.
Satan is at constant work seeking to influence the leaders of this world.

After all, Ephesians 6 reminds us that he is the prince of the power of the air and our battle is not against flesh and blood but instead is against him.

Here we find that God has dispatched His angel
To war against that demonic presence.
This is the spiritual warfare in the heavenlies.

And this angel was dispatched by God to come and reveal the truth to Daniel, but that demonic presence was fighting against him.

Why?
Because Satan hates the truth!
• He tries to block the truth
• He tries to distort the truth
• He tries to dilute the truth

• During the time of the reformation men like William Tyndale were killed simply for trying to translate the Bible into the English language.

• He also sends false prophets to distort the truth and malign the Scriptures saying it means what it does not mean.

• And even in our day he floods the air waves with countless false prophecies and spiritual words to dilute the truth and take the focus of man off of Scripture.

This is one of the things that made receiving God’s word so difficult.
Satan is fighting against it.

A passage that sheds great insight on this reality is:
1 Thessalonians 2:13-18 “For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe. For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, for you also endured the same sufferings at the hands of your own countrymen, even as they did from the Jews, who both killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out. They are not pleasing to God, but hostile to all men, hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved; with the result that they always fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath has come upon them to the utmost. But we, brethren, having been taken away from you for a short while — in person, not in spirit — were all the more eager with great desire to see your face. For we wanted to come to you — I, Paul, more than once — and yet Satan hindered us.”

That passage reminds us of the infinite value of the word of God
Which accomplishes its work in people’s lives.

But Paul said Satan was hindering them from preaching it.
Did he mean Satan put up an invisible force field or something?

No, it was the Jews whom Paul said in verse 16 were “hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved;”

Satan was using the Jews to hinder Paul
From spreading the revelation of God.

Do you understand how privileged you are to have the Scripture?
• It came to you when you could not obtain it on your own.
• It came to you who were not worthy to receive it.
• It came to you in spite of demonic efforts to stop it.

And there is a 4th barrier.
4) THE WEAKNESS OF MAN TO PROCLAIM IT (15-17)

Even if a man is so fortunate to actually receive the word of God,
It is extremely difficult for that man to spread it to anyone else
For who is he that he should be entrusted with the revelation of God?

That is what Daniel said.
In verse 14 the angel tried to give him the revelation again and once again Daniel fell on his face and became speechless.

The angel started touching Daniel’s lips trying to get Daniel to speak
And Daniel said, “I can’t!”

(16-17) “O my lord, as a result of the vision anguish has come upon me, and I have retained no strength. “For how can such a servant of my lord talk with such as my lord? As for me, there remains just now no strength in me, nor has any breath been left in me.”

We aren’t talking about insignificant words here,
We are talking about the weighted words of God.
Daniel said, “Who am I to speak such things?”

Exodus 3:11 “But Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?”

And that is another thing that makes God’s word so precious.
Even when a man receives it,
It is a tremendous weight that he should go and proclaim it.
Indeed, on his own he can’t!

And this is what makes chapters 11 & 12 so remarkable.

WE HAVE THERE RECORDED THE TRUTH OF GOD.
• It came to a man who could not obtain it.
• It came to a man who was not worthy to receive it.
• It came to a man despite the devil’s attempt to block it.
• And that man was able to proclaim it despite his inability to do so.

And that’s just two chapters in the Bible!
DO YOU SEE HOW VALUABLE THE SCRIPTURE IS?
AND HOW REMARKABLE IT IS THAT YOU EVEN HAVE IT?

Think about that next time you are tempted to disregard the word of God.
• Think about that next time someone tries to give you a new word as though this one is insufficient.
• Think about that next time you seek to offer up some advice or counsel that does not include God’s word.

If you have God’s word you are blessed
Because getting it from God to you is a very difficult thing.

The Difficulty of Obtaining God’s Revelation
#2 THE DUTY OF HAVING OBTAINED GOD’S REVELATION
Daniel 10:18-11:1

This won’t take long, I know we’re out of time,
But the point here is so true and powerful we can’t miss it.

First the angel strengthens Daniel.
He gives him the ability to speak.

Liken this to Acts 1:8
Acts 1:8 “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

It is supernatural power which is enabling Daniel
To do what he was not strong enough to do on his own.

And after giving Daniel strength notice what the angel says:
(20) “Do you understand why I came to you?”

That is to say, “Do you understand why you are being given this revelation?”

The angel then says, “I’m leaving”
I have to go back and fight “the prince of Persia”,
That’s my job, no one else does it with me.

In chapter 11:1 he says that has been job since Darius the Mede took over.

My job is to fight spiritual battles in the heavenly places.
“Do you understand why I came to you?”

Because your job is to proclaim the vision!

Do you see that?
Angels aren’t the evangelists, we are.

Angels are fulfilling their own mission from God.
Hebrews 1:14 “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?”

They are fighting spiritual battles.
Our job is to faithful declare
That remarkable revelation which has been entrusted to us.

Romans 1:14-16 “I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

1 Corinthians 9:16-17 “For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel. For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have a stewardship entrusted to me.”

1 Timothy 6:20-21 “O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called “knowledge” — which some have professed and thus gone astray from the faith. Grace be with you.”

What a reminder: YOU SHALL BE MY WITNESSES!

God did not go through the trouble of
Getting His perfect revelation to you
So that you could ignore it, disregard it, add to it, or bury it away.

God went through the trouble of getting His perfect revelation to you so that you would treasure it and proclaim it everywhere!

That is what the angel wants Daniel to understand.

(1) “In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a message was revealed to Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar; and the message was true and one of great conflict, but he understood the message and had an understanding of the vision.”

• God has chosen to reveal His truth to weak and unworthy men,
• He has accomplished that purpose despite the efforts of the enemy.
• God has strengthened those weak men that they might go and proclaim that truth to all creation.

That is what is behind the scenes
Of every revelation from God contained in Scripture.

Next time we’ll look at what Daniel’s specific revelation was.

The Sovereign God of Heaven – Part 2
Revelation 4:1-11 (2-4)
July 24, 2016

As you know we have now entered
A new segment of the book of the Revelation.

(1) “After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.”

As we talked about last week this vision pertains to
The things that “must take place after these things.”

That is regarding the things mentioned in chapters 2 & 3, namely the church age.

Last week we saw the redemptive plan of God regarding Israel.
Sunday night we saw Daniel’s prophecy regarding the 70 weeks.

And we learned that the purpose of these last days
Is to complete what is lacking in the nation of Israel.

The angel Gabriel told Daniel:
Daniel 9:24 “Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place.”

None of those things has happened yet for Israel.
• They have not finished their transgression
• They have not put an end to their sin
• Their sin has not been atoned for
• Their righteousness has not been established
• All of their promises have not been fulfilled
• And God’s holy place is not sanctified in their hearts

Namely because all of those things occur in a person’s life
When they trust in Christ.
Israel failed to do that.

And according to the timeline given to Daniel,
Israel is still 7 years away from that reality.

Gabriel told Daniel it would take 70 – 7’s (490 years) to bring that about.
• 483 years have passed and then the pendulum of God’s clock was paused as Israel was broken off.

• Once the time of the Gentiles is over, the pendulum will begin to swing again and Israel will be 7 years away from her final and perfect redemption.

IN REVELATION 4 WE BEGIN THE VISION OF THAT TIME.
We are transported into heaven with John to see exactly what God will do
In order to fully redeem Israel back to Himself.
It is a most amazing reality, and it begins with a trip to heaven.

And as we said last week, this account is the only authorized
Account of heaven that God has ordained for us to have.

I’m not particularly interested in “90 Minutes in Heaven” or “Heaven is For Real”,
In fact I don’t even believe those accounts.

Christ was pretty clear to John at the end of this book:
Revelation 22:18-19 “I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.”

I don’t know what else you could call those accounts but
A DIRECT VIOLATION OF THAT WARNING.

This account is the only authorized and authoritative vision of heaven
That Christ intended for us to have.

Now John is going to see much more than just heaven,
BUT HEAVEN IS THE MAIN FOCUS OF CHAPTERS 4 AND 5.

And in heaven there are two things that specifically stand out to John.
• In chapter 4 it is THE SOVEREIGN THRONE
• In chapter 5 it is THE SACRIFICIAL LAMB

No talk of past friends and relatives…
No fascination with the size of his mansion…
No focus on the golf courses or mountain lakes of heaven…
John is captivated by the throne and by the lamb.

AND THIS IS WHAT WE BEGAN TO LOOK AT LAST WEEK.

We started examining chapter 4, and the focal point is obvious.
• Vs. 2 “and behold, a throne”
• Vs. 2 “and One sitting on the throne.”
• Vs. 3 “around the throne”
• Vs. 4 “around the throne”
• Vs. 5 “out from the throne”
• Vs. 5 “before the throne”
• Vs. 6 “before the throne”
• Vs. 7 “in the center and around the throne”

It’s obvious to us what caught the attention of John, it was the throne.

And indeed that was our first point last week.
#1 A THRONE
Revelation 4:1-2a

The point is that there stands One who is in full sovereign control.

God is in charge working His full sovereign plan out to perfection.
• There is no higher throne
• There is no more authoritative throne
• None can stop His judgments
• None can question His authority

TURN TO: PSALMS 2
This is a remarkable chapter to us
Regarding the sovereign authority and unlimited power of God.

• The Psalm literally begins with those who would do their part to literally break
the yoke of God around their necks. They want no part of submission to God.

Notice God’s response to their full scale rebellion:
(4) “He who sits in the heavens laughs, the Lord scoffs at them.”

• Despite all their conspiring and all their cooperation they can’t even cause God
to take their threat seriously.

God isn’t concerned in the least, because He has already decreed who will rule this world and it is His Son.
Read 4-9

And that reality then leads to a great piece of advice from God
To those earthly kings who thought so highly of themselves.

(10-12) “Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; Take warning, O judges of the earth. Worship the LORD with reverence And rejoice with trembling. Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way,
For His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!”

See the very appearance of the a throne in the heavens
Demands the submission of all who come before it.

• God is not seated on a PEDESTAL for you to evaluate Him.
• God is not seated behind a COUNTER for you to question Him.
• God is not seated at a DESK for you to counsel Him.
God is seated on a throne that you may obey Him.

Romans 9:20 “…who are you, O man, who answers back to God?”

Romans 11:33-36 “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR? Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.”
But perhaps the most powerful picture of the majesty and sovereignty of God comes in the 38th chapter of Job.

TURN TO: JOB 38
(Read the chapter)

• Of course you know this revelation was given to Job in response to the pride
with which he came before God.
• Job questioned whether or not God was just,
• God reminded Job that such accusations where not for him to make.

God reigns upon the throne.
He is God.

We are carried before the throne of God for 1 purpose;
Namely that we might acknowledge Him as God.

Think of what Jesus told His disciples as He taught them to pray:
Matthew 6:9-10 “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.”

That prayer comes from the heart of One
Who understands that God reigns upon His throne.

God is in control.
And as we said last week that is a comforting thought to know.
Regardless of all the uncertainties that seem to consume our world, one thing remains the same and that is the throne which John saw fixed in the heavens.

So right off the bat John said, “behold, a throne was standing in heaven,”

A Throne
#2 ON THE THRONE
Revelation 4:2b-3a

“and One sitting on the throne. And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance;”

Here we are certainly confronted with the reality that the throne of heaven DOES NOT SIT VACANT.
• We know that God is on His throne.
• We know that it is He who rules all things.
• We know that He is in sovereign control.

But here we also focus on THE APPEARANCE OF
This “One sitting on the throne.”

WHAT TYPE OF PERSON IS SITTING ON THE THRONE?
(we certainly care about such things)

(3a) “And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance;”

And He describes the One on the throne as “like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance;”

• A “jasper” was a diamond which is the costliest of stones and certainly the most brilliant.
• A “sardius” was a ruby.

So John describes Him as a sort of red brilliance.

Ezekiel 1:27 “Then I noticed from the appearance of His loins and upward something like glowing metal that looked like fire all around within it, and from the appearance of His loins and downward I saw something like fire; and there was a radiance around Him.”

Ezekiel is obviously looking at the same thing,
But his descriptors are a little different.

Ezekiel doesn’t compare Him to a red glowing stone, but rather to “glowing metal that looked like fire all around with it”

Ezekiel 1:4 “As I looked, behold, a storm wind was coming from the north, a great cloud with fire flashing forth continually and a bright light around it, and in its midst something like glowing metal in the midst of the fire.”

Daniel 7:9 “I kept looking Until thrones were set up, And the Ancient of Days took His seat; His vesture was like white snow And the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was ablaze with flames, Its wheels were a burning fire.”

There again are flames and fire and sparkling and dazzling brilliance.

Certainly it implies perfection, but
It also seems to imply divine WRATH or consuming HOLINESS.

TURN TO: HEBREWS 12:18-29
Hopefully this passage will come back to your memory since it hasn’t been that long since we studied it together.

The writer of Hebrews is laying out for the reader
THE DANGER OF NEGLECTING OR REJECTING THE GOD OF HEAVEN.

And he begins by reminding them of the day when Moses and the children of Israel approached Mt. Sinai.

(VERSES 18-21)
• It was a terrible sight at that mountain, and that was just an earthly mountain
that God descended upon.

The writer of Hebrews reminds us that
This is different from the mountain we approach.
(VERSES 22-24)
They went to an earthly mountain, we are approaching a heavenly one, where God dwells.

And then comes the warning.
(VERSES 25-29)

• You should not “refuse Him who is speaking”.
• Namely because (29) “our God is a consuming fire.”

It coincides with what the writer of Hebrews said previously:
Hebrews 10:31 “It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

It is an analogy of judgment,
But it certainly fits the revelation that John receives here.

When John sees God on His throne,
He sees God in full glory and as a consuming fire.

JOHN IS SEEING THE GLORY OF GOD.

Ezekiel 1:28b “…Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell on my face and heard a voice speaking.”

Ezekiel said, it is the glory.
• It is what Moses could not look at.
• It is what drove the priests out of the temple.
• It is what sent Isaiah reeling in fear.

Isaiah 6:1-5 “In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.” And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. Then I said, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.”

When Isaiah saw this sight he was terrified and literally overcome with his sinfulness.
He just knew he was about to be judged.

That is the One John sees on the throne of heaven.
It is God in all His glory, and it is not necessarily a comforting image.
• He is a God of pure holiness and consuming fire.
• He is not One to be messed with or provoked.
• He is not One to be refused or ignored.
• He is not One that you should offend or ridicule.

JOB FOUND THAT OUT THE HARD WAY.
He is holy God filled with glory and splendor and divine wrath and power.
He is in fact a consuming fire.
And this is whom John saw “on the throne”

So John was caught up to heaven and he saw a throne and on the throne was glory.
#3 AROUND THE THRONE
Revelation 4:3b-4

“and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and golden crowns on their heads.”

So now we are sort of panning the camera out
And we see what is around the throne.

And it begins with “a rainbow around the throne”

• Only it’s not like a normal rainbow that we would instantly think of,
• This one is “like an emerald in appearance”
• Which of course implies it had more a green tone than that of all the colors.

But a rainbow is consistent with the other visions
Ezekiel 1:28 “As the appearance of the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the surrounding radiance. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell on my face and heard a voice speaking.”

Ezekiel saw it too, only Ezekiel doesn’t seem to focus on the green hue.

What are we to make of this?

I think certainly we could see it is simply a refraction
That is coming off of the glory of God.
God’s glory is so brilliant and majestic that
It literally throws off a rainbow like refraction all around it.

But I do think it is more than that.
We know about the rainbow and its purpose.

Genesis 9:11-17 “I establish My covenant with you; and all flesh shall never again be cut off by the water of the flood, neither shall there again be a flood to destroy the earth.” God said, “This is the sign of the covenant which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all successive generations; I set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth. “It shall come about, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow will be seen in the cloud, and I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and never again shall the water become a flood to destroy all flesh. “When the bow is in the cloud, then I will look upon it, to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

Long before the gay and lesbian community tried to hijack the rainbow to be the symbol of their sin, God reminded us what the true purpose and significance of the rainbow is.

It is a sign of covenant God made with humanity.
• It is a two-way reminder.
• We look upon it and remember that God will never again flood the earth,
• And God is able to look upon it and remember the promise He made.

The rainbow then becomes a symbol of God’s faithfulness.
It is the sign of a covenant or a promise He made with humanity
And it is a reminder that He will never break that covenant.

And I don’t think it’s far-fetched at all to say that
God’s throne is surrounded with faithfulness.

He is the One who always rules and reigns in perfect faithfulness.
• He is incorruptible
• He cannot lie
• He does not break His word
• He is faithful to do what He said

His faithfulness literally reflects off of Him in the form of a rainbow.

But a rainbow is not all we see here.
(4) “Around the throne are twenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and golden crowns on their heads.”

Who are they?

Some have quickly said that they are the 12 apostles and the heads of the 12 tribes of Israel.

That is problematic since nothing in the text indicates that they are two groups of 12. That is to say there is no indication given that we are to split these groups into two.

• Furthermore we have extreme difficulty saying that any of these 12 are part of
Israel since it is during the time of the tribulation that Israel is going to be saved.

• In fact in a couple of chapters we are going to see the 144,000 each
sealed from Israel to prepare for their ministry.

Calling them the apostles and the tribes simply does not fit.

Some have said that they are simply angels.

Again that is problematic since the angels are specifically referenced in chapter 5.
Furthermore these 24 are sitting on thrones
• And we have no indication in Scripture of angels resting or ruling. Hebrews 1 calls them ministering spirits, literally servants of believers.

Another problem there is that
These 24 have “golden crowns on their heads.”

“crowns” here is STEPHANOS which is the overcomers crown.
It is the victor’s crown.

Paul said:
1 Corinthians 9:25 “Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.”

“wreath” there is STEPHANOS

This is a crown given to those who overcome their struggle against sin.
• But this is not a struggle with the angels.
• They are not those who would have had to overcome so as to be crowned before the throne with the overcomer’s crown.

To see these as Israel or Angels or even the apostles is quite a stretch.

SO WHO ARE THEY?
Well, the fact that there are 24 of them is significant.

John MacArthur noted this:
“There were twenty-four elders appointed by David to represent the Levitical priesthood, that’s in 1 Chronicles 24, interestingly enough. There were twenty-four elders appoint by David and they were to represent the twenty-four courses of priests. Furthermore, according to the next chapter, 1 Chronicles chapter 25, there were twenty-four divisions of singers in the temple. Twenty-four patriarchs listed, twenty-four elders representing the priesthood, twenty-four singers representing the musicians in the temple. Twenty-four then is an interesting number that seems to speak of completion. It seems to speak about a representative group. All of the priests were represented by the twenty-four. All of the Messianic genealogy was represented in the twenty-four. All of the musicians were represented in the twenty-four. We could conclude then that twenty-four can be a representative number. So whoever these twenty-four are, they represent a larger group.” (Sited in A Sermon by John MacArthur on www.gty.org. Sermon Title “A Trip to Heaven, Part 2” Code: 66-17)

So the question is, WHO DO THESE REPRESENT?

I think it has to be representative of the church.
• They are sitting on thrones.
• They are clothed in white garments.
• They are awarded the victor’s crown.

And all of those realities are consistent with the church.

These CAN’T BE TRIBULATION BELIEVERS since the tribulation hasn’t even started yet, and they are actually introduced in chapter 7.

These are already in heaven, before the tribulation, and they already have their thrones, their robes, and their crowns.

And let’s remember some of the promises that
Christ made to the church back in chapters 2 & 3.

Revelation 2:26-27 “’He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, TO HIM I WILL GIVE AUTHORITY OVER THE NATIONS; AND HE SHALL RULE THEM WITH A ROD OF IRON,AS THE VESSELS OF THE POTTER ARE BROKEN TO PIECES, as I also have received authority from My Father;”

Revelation 3:21 “’He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”

Both of those speak of people who overcome and reign with Christ.

Certainly we are aware that Christ is the One who clothes His bride in white garments.
Revelation 3:18 “I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.”

Or even the promise Christ made to Philadelphia:
Revelation 3:10 “Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.”

I do think it’s well within reason to see these 24
As representatives of the church.

• They have overcome and been given their crown.
• They have trusted in Christ and been clothed in His righteousness.
• They have endured to the end and are sitting on thrones with Christ.

Now, I know some of you are already putting the pieces together (most likely many of you were last week already) and are ready to say:
“SO DOES THIS MEAN THE CHURCH SKIPS THE TRIBULATION?”

• And those of you who have studied this with me for a while know that this was an issue that I wrestled with for a while.

• Namely because the timing of the rapture is not listed anywhere in Scripture so trying to nail down the timing is extremely difficult.

However there are several indications that
The church will in fact be home before the tribulation begins.

ONE is the fact that all we are seeing here occurs “after these things”
SECOND is that the church never appears in Revelation again.
THIRD is the appearance of the 24 elders already in heaven.

• It seems very fitting that these 24 represent the raptured church.
• That the fullness of the Gentiles has now come in
• The pendulum of God’s timing has once again started swinging.

Now, if that is the case, what are we to take from this?
We are looking at what is “around the throne”

We already saw a rainbow which indicated God’s faithfulness.

But understand if this is in fact the church, and we believe it is,
Then that is ALSO AN INDICATOR OF GOD’S FAITHFULNESS.

Consider statements like these:
John 10:27-28 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.”

Or the prayer of Jesus:
John 17:11 “I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are.”

Or listen to this:
Romans 8:31-39 “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, “FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED.” But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Or
1 Peter 1:3-5 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

Or
Jude 24-25 “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.”

Do you know why these 24 are able to gather around the throne?
Because God was faithful to His promise to keep them from stumbling.
There is only one reason why the church will arrive in heaven victorious
And that is because God has caused them to do so.

• He has been faithful to never leave them nor forsake them.
• He has been faithful to complete what He started.
• He has been faithful to bring them safely home.
• He has been faithful to anchor them through the storm.
• He has interceded over every sin
• He has carried through every trial
• He has empowered through every persecution

They have made it safely home because God is faithful.

Both the rainbow and the elders around the throne are reminders of God’s faithfulness.
• He accomplishes His purposes
• He keeps His word
• He does what He intends

And as we are carried into heaven we see a throne.
On the throne we see glory
Around the throne we see faithfulness

GOD CAN AND WILL DO ALL THAT HE INTENDS.
He has accomplished His purposes and now comes the end.

IT DOES MY HEART GOOD to know that when given a vision of the end,
I know where I’ll be.
I’ll be among the saints gathered around the throne
All because Jesus kept His promise to never leave me or forsake me.

It is in fact an encouraging reminder.

“How firm a foundation you saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith in His excellent word. What more can He say than to you He hath said, to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?

Fear not He is with us oh be not dismayed, for He is our God our sustainer and strength. He’ll be our defender and cause us to stand, upheld by His merciful, almighty hand. How firm our foundation, how sure our salvation, and we will not be shaken, Jesus firm foundation.

The soul that is trusting in Jesus as Lord, will press on enduring the darkest of storms, and though even hell should endeavor to shake, He’ll never no never no never forsake. He’ll never no never no never forsake. How firm our foundation, how sure our salvation, and we will not be shaken, Jesus firm foundation.

Age to age He stands, faithful to the end. All may fade away, but He will remain, He will remain. How firm our foundation, how sure our salvation, and we will not be shaken, Jesus firm foundation.”

To Gain Understanding
Daniel 9:20-27
July 17, 2016

One of the reasons we started the book of Daniel now
Is because it is a book that fits so well
With our Sunday morning study of Revelation.

This morning in Revelation we began to talk about God’s redemption plan for Israel and how that plan includes the time of the tribulation.

God told John that the tribulation was something that “must take place”.

The book of Daniel helps us understand that even better.
In fact understanding is the entire purpose of the final 8 verses of Daniel 9

At the end of verse 23 Gabriel tells Daniel, “so give heed to the message and gain understanding of the vision.”

It is the equivalent to what we have heard Jesus say over and over
To the churches: “He has an ear, let him hear…”

The purpose of this portion of Scripture is understanding.
It is actually the purpose of the entire chapter, the first 19 verses merely show us why Daniel was given the privilege of receiving this revelation.

And the reason namely is because Daniel was contrite of heart.

Psalms 51:17 “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.”

If you were here with us two weeks ago when we studied the first 19 verses of Daniel 9, it was DANIEL’S CONTRITION that was on full display.

• Daniel had no desire to argue with God or question God.
• Daniel had become fully aware of his sin and the sin of Israel.
• Daniel was in full agreement that the consequences for that sin were both just and deserved.
• Daniel even realized that the sins that caused their predicament had yet to be repented of, and therefore God was perfectly right and just in allowing their suffering to endure.

• And finally Daniel understood what so many fail to grasp and that is that by reason of her sin Israel had blasphemed God, and the entire purpose of this Babylonian exile was to transform Israel into a nation that would rightly glorify God.

Daniel saw and confessed all of that in the opening verses of this chapter.

And if you’ll notice, it is because of his contrite heart
That God determines to give Daniel even greater understanding.
IS THAT A TRUTH YOU ARE WILLING TO SEE?
God grants more of His truth and more of Himself
To those who are truly contrite of heart.

That is when God sent word to Daniel.
(20-21) “Now while I was speaking and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God in behalf of the holy mountain of my God, while I was still speaking in prayer, then the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision previously, came to me in my extreme weariness about the time of the evening offering.”

We saw Daniel’s contrition.
God did too.
• Daniel was praying, Daniel was seeking.
• Daniel even reached the point of “extreme weariness” over his sin.

And God responded to that.

It’s no different than the prophet Isaiah.
Remember Isaiah 6 when Isaiah saw the LORD and then said, “Woe is me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips and I live among a people of unclean lips.”

Remember God then used a live coal from the altar
To purify Isaiah’s lips and to take away his iniquity.

Then what does it say?
Isaiah 6:8 “Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

“Then I heard…”

It was after Isaiah’s contrition that God was willing
To reveal to Isaiah His plan for the nation.

I’m not saying God will map out for you what is coming for America.
What I am saying is that God responds to the humble in heart.

And notice what Gabriel has to say to Daniel.
(23) “At the beginning of your supplications the command was issued, and I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed; so give heed to the message and gain understanding of the vision.”

That proves that is was the state of Daniel’s heart
And not simply the words of Daniel’s mouth
That prompted God to respond.

Daniel was answered “at the beginning” of his prayer, not the end.
God saw his heart and responded.

And Gabriel was sent to give Daniel (22) “insight with understanding”.

God is revealing the plan.
He wants Daniel to “give heed to the message and gain understanding.”

It is not God’s desire to hide all His plans from His people.
If that were so, we would have nothing.
But God has broken into our world and revealed His truth to us.

In short, God wants us to have understanding.
He wants us to be a people of discernment.

And that is the purpose behind Daniel 9.
God wants Daniel (and us) to understand what is about to happen.

And as I said, these verses fall right in line with
What we talked about this morning as we began Revelation 4.

God told John that these things “must take place”, by reading the 9th chapter of Daniel you will understand more fully why that is so.

So let’s look at the message that Gabriel brings to Daniel.

For the purpose of understanding we can break it down into 3 points.
#1 THERE IS A DETERMINED TIME PERIOD
Daniel 9:24

“Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city,”

Don’t get too caught up on the word “weeks” there.
Gabriel isn’t speaking of a week as you think of one.

The word simply means “sevens”
It is used more like you would use the word “dozen”
It can be a dozen of anything.

Gabriel tells Daniel that “Seventy sevens have been decreed…”
We’ll come to understand that Gabriel was referring to years.
If you are slow in math, that’s 490 years.

I want you to understand why that is interesting here.
If you look back at the beginning of Daniel 9 you will remember that Daniel found a very interesting piece of information by reading the prophet Jeremiah.

Daniel 9:1-2 “In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of Median descent, who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans — in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, observed in the books the number of the years which was revealed as the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years.”

Daniel had been reading Jeremiah 29 and he learned that God
Had decreed that it would take 70 years to actually cause Israel
To once again seek God with all her heart.

Jeremiah 29:10-14 “For thus says the LORD, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place. ‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. ‘Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. ‘You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. ‘I will be found by you,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.’”

You can imagine Daniel’s excitement
Since at this time they had already been in Babylon for 67 years.

Daniel saw that the time was almost up
And that repentance was absolutely necessary,
So Daniel began to repent.

And God is answering Daniel here,
But he has what COULD BE PERCEIVED AS DIFFICULT NEWS.

“Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people”

It is true that it would take 70 years for the children of Israel
To learn their lesson in Babylon and once again begin to seek God.

It would take 70 years to rid Israel of her idolatry
And once again give her a heart for God.

However…
It would take 490 years for Israel to fully become
All that God intended for her to be.

The Babylonian exile was not the end, it was barely the beginning.

It is true that Israel was exiled to Babylon because of her idolatry.
They worshipped every false god known to man.

And it is true that the exile cured that.
Israel came out monotheistic
And never again ventured into that type of idolatry.

But God desires more for Israel than that she just be monotheistic.

You must understand the difference between
True worship and false worship.
True worship is when you worship the right God in the right way.

But there are varied forms of false worship.
• One is to worship the wrong god (which is what Israel did before the exile)
• The other form of false worship is to worship the true God in the wrong way.
And this is what Israel did after the exile.

The 70 year exile cured the first type of false worship,
It would take 490 years to cure the second.

God is not just interested in monotheism.
God is interested in pure worshipers.

Remember what Jesus told the woman at the well?
John 4:23 “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.”

That is what God is looking for from Israel,
And that is what He has NEVER received.

It will take “seventy weeks” to bring that about.

Listen to what Gabriel says:
(24) “Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place.”

There were six things Gabriel listed there that God is still waiting for from Israel.
1) “to finish the transgression”

We that from the moment Moses descended off of Sinai with those tablets
And the people entered into covenant with God
They have done nothing but transgress that covenant.

Every promise they ever made to God they broke.
Their history has been one of repeated lying and unfaithfulness.

Psalms 78:34-37 “When He killed them, then they sought Him, And returned and searched diligently for God; And they remembered that God was their rock, And the Most High God their Redeemer. But they deceived Him with their mouth And lied to Him with their tongue. For their heart was not steadfast toward Him, Nor were they faithful in His covenant.”

Hosea said:
Hosea 6:4 “What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? For your loyalty is like a morning cloud And like the dew which goes away early.”

And while the 70 year exile stopped their idolatry,
It did not change their lack of loyalty.
It would take 490 years to stop that.

2) “to make an end of sin”
The difference between transgression and sin is that
Transgression refers to the breaking of an agreement, or willful sin.

“sin” is simply just a falling short of God’s standard of holiness
And Israel has done this from the beginning as well.

The great deception of Israel’s past is that they actually thought
That their religious works made them acceptable to God.

They actually assumed all their religious ordinances
Somehow nullified their sinfulness.
And that has never been the case.

Prophet after prophet in the Old Testament reminded Israel that her religious sacrifices were a poor substitute for her sinful ways.

When John the Baptist came on the scene
He was still preaching the same message.
“Repent! And do not suppose you can say we have Abraham as our father…”

Israel was sinful and no religious ordinance had taken that away.

The 70 year captivity stopped Israel’s idolatry, but it didn’t stop their sin.
It would take 490 years to do that.

3) “to make atonement for iniquity”

Once again Israel’s stubbornness will work against her.

You and I know that God would send His Son as atonement for sin
To offer Israel forgiveness,
But she would reject Him and nail Him to a cross.

This is explicitly why it will take 490 years and not just 483.
That last 7 is required because it will take all 490
To finally get Israel to look on the One they pierced.

Their sin will never be atoned until they come to Jesus.

And while the Babylonian captivity removed idolatry,
It did not atone for their iniquity.

It would take 490 years to do that.

4) “to bring in everlasting righteousness”

This runs hand in hand with the previous, for Christ does both.

2 Corinthians 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

It is the truth known as IMPUTATION
• Our sin was imputed to Christ.
• His righteousness was imputed to us.

But Israel rejected Christ so neither occurred for them yet.
And as a result they are still sinful and still not righteous.

They may not bow down to Molech any longer,
But that doesn’t mean they are righteous in the sight of God.
It will take 490 years to accomplish that.

5) “to seal up vision and prophecy”

That simply means to FINISH all the prophecies.
There are still numerous promises and prophecies in the Old Testament
That have yet to be fulfilled.

Isaiah 65:17-25 “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind. “But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing And her people for gladness. “I will also rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people; And there will no longer be heard in her The voice of weeping and the sound of crying. “No longer will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, Or an old man who does not live out his days; For the youth will die at the age of one hundred And the one who does not reach the age of one hundred Will be thought accursed. “They will build houses and inhabit them; They will also plant vineyards and eat their fruit. “They will not build and another inhabit, They will not plant and another eat; For as the lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of My people, And My chosen ones will wear out the work of their hands. “They will not labor in vain, Or bear children for calamity; For they are the offspring of those blessed by the LORD, And their descendants with them. “It will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear. “The wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox; and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain,” says the LORD.”

It is a promise yet to be fulfilled.

This morning in Acts 3 we listened as Peter told the children of Israel that Christ had already fulfilled every passage regarding the suffering of the Messiah.

The only thing missing was for Israel to “Repent and return so that her sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; and that God may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for them.”

The reality is that in leaving Babylon Jeremiah 29:10-14 was fulfilled,
But there are a host of other promises yet to be fulfilled.

It will take 490 years to get all that done.

 

6) “and to anoint the most holy place”

It is not fully understood what is meant by “anoint the most holy place”
But it is clear whatever it was did not occur at Calvary.

It seems most likely that the idea here is that of sanctifying or setting apart the holy place as the most important place of all the earth.

When Ezekiel saw the end he said:
Ezekiel 43:6-9 “Then I heard one speaking to me from the house, while a man was standing beside me. He said to me, “Son of man, this is the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell among the sons of Israel forever. And the house of Israel will not again defile My holy name, neither they nor their kings, by their harlotry and by the corpses of their kings when they die, by setting their threshold by My threshold and their door post beside My door post, with only the wall between Me and them. And they have defiled My holy name by their abominations which they have committed. So I have consumed them in My anger. “Now let them put away their harlotry and the corpses of their kings far from Me; and I will dwell among them forever.”

It carries the idea of God’s presence
Being the most important thing in Israel.

And while 70 years in Babylon did get them to remove foreign gods,
It did not get them to value the true God as they should have.
It will take 490 years for that.

So you see the message for Daniel.

God has a bigger plan for Israel than just to cause them to lay down their idols and seek Him.
• God wants them to be completely finished with transgression and sin.
• God wants to atone for that sin and make them perfectly righteous.
• God wants to be able to fulfill every promise He ever made to them.
• And God wants to be the most important thing in their lives.

Incidentally that is God’s goal for every one of us.
And all of those things are fulfilled in Jesus.

He not only atones for our sin and makes us righteous,
But He is also the fulfillment of all God’s promises to us.

Remember what Paul said about Jesus being our “Amen to the promises of God”.

It is Jesus also who causes us to be born again with a new nature
That hates sin and loves righteousness
And loves God with all our heart and soul and mind and strength.

That is why trusting Jesus is the plan of God for each of us.

Israel is not there.
God tells Daniel it will take 490 years to get them there.
There is a Determined Time Period
#2 THERE ARE DETERMINED EVENTS
Daniel 9:25-26

Now I don’t mind telling you that this may be
The most profound prophecy recorded anywhere in the Bible.
God reveals to Daniel how this 490 years is going to play out.

First God reveals when the clock starts.
(25) “So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress.”

Now don’t confuse this with Cyrus’ decree to rebuild the temple,
That is not what Gabriel said.

This is the “decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem”

And it happened in Nehemiah 2
Nehemiah 2:1-8 “And it came about in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, that wine was before him, and I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence. So the king said to me, “Why is your face sad though you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of heart.” Then I was very much afraid. I said to the king, ” Let the king live forever. Why should my face not be sad when the city, the place of my fathers’ tombs, lies desolate and its gates have been consumed by fire?” Then the king said to me, “What would you request?” So I prayed to the God of heaven. I said to the king, “If it please the king, and if your servant has found favor before you, send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it.” Then the king said to me, the queen sitting beside him, “How long will your journey be, and when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me, and I gave him a definite time. And I said to the king, “If it please the king, let letters be given me for the governors of the provinces beyond the River, that they may allow me to pass through until I come to Judah, and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress which is by the temple, for the wall of the city and for the house to which I will go.” And the king granted them to me because the good hand of my God was on me.”

In the month of Nisan Nehemiah received the decree to rebuild Jerusalem.

First Gabriel said there would be “seven weeks”
• (49 years) which is the time it would take for Jerusalem to be rebuilt.

And then Gabriel said there would be “sixty-two weeks”
• (434 years) until the next major event would happen.

What event would that be?
(26) “Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing,”

Let me make this as clear as I know how.
First you need to know that the Jewish calendar differs from the Gregorian calendar, which is the one you and I use.

If you try to take a Jewish prophecy and align it by a Gentile calendar
You run into trouble, so let me help you out.
(And I don’t expect you to fully grab all of this, but you will get the point)

Take 483 years according to the Jewish calendar.
(The Jewish calendar has 360 days per year in it)

So the total number of days we are talking about is 173,880 days.

Now the decree by Artaxerxes was in 444 BC
And obviously Jesus died in 33AD
By our calendar that is 476 years
(So it appears we are 7 years off)

However, if you go by days.
476 x 365 is 173,740

And you say preacher we’re still off by 140 days.
• That is unless you account for the 116 leap years that would have
occurred during that time
• And the 24 days which occurred from March 5 to March 30 and you
realize this:

Artaxerxes gave the decree on March 5, 444BC
Do you want to know what happened on March 30, 33AD?

Jesus entered Jerusalem seated on the foal of a donkey.

God showed Daniel the exact time of the rejection of the Messiah.
It is absolutely staggering.

God has now told Daniel that it was going to take 490 years to finish everything He intended to do with Israel.

• The first 49 years was to rebuild the city.
• The next 434 years was to wait for ultimately kill the Messiah

Now you should know that killing the Messiah
Would have devastating repercussions for the nation of Israel.

Here is what Gabriel told Daniel would happen as a result of that.

(26) “and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined.”

Now pay attention here because this is important.

Gabriel introduces “the prince who is to come”.
We haven’t seen him yet, he’ll show up in verse 27. You and I know him as Antichrist.

But we find that BEFORE HE ARRIVES on the scene his “people”
Will inflict much pain on the nation of Israel.

• His people will “destroy the city and the sanctuary” which did
happen in AD 70.
• “there will be war” which has happened nonstop for Israel.
• “desolations are determined” which has also been constant.

This is where we throw in horrific events like the holocaust under HITLER
Or the persecution under STALIN or even the TERRORISM of today.

All of these things are continually occurring in Israel
As a result of her killing her Messiah.

What is not spelled out here,
But is made clear to us in places like Romans 11
Is that when Israel killed the Messiah
The DIVINE CLOCK regarding their redemption STOPPED.

• At 483 years the pendulum quit swinging and Israel since that day has been trampled underfoot by Gentiles.

If you want me to do a little CONNECTING OF THE DOTS for you.
This is the period Jesus spoke of in Matthew 24.

Matthew 24:4-8 “And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you. “For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many. “You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. “But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.”

That is where Israel has been stuck for nearly 2000 years.

Luke 21:20-24 “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near. “Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those who are in the midst of the city must leave, and those who are in the country must not enter the city; because these are days of vengeance, so that all things which are written will be fulfilled. “Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days; for there will be great distress upon the land and wrath to this people; and they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.”

This has been the repercussions
Israel has continually faced for killing her Messiah.

However, you must have noticed that
We are only 483 years into this promised timeframe.

That is because there is A DAY COMING in the future.
The day we learned about this morning in Revelation 4
That “must take place after these things.”

It is that final 7 years that is yet to be fulfilled
When God will once again start the pendulum swinging
And fulfill all those things listed in verse 24.

That day is coming.

So you’ve seen There is a Determined Time Period
There are Determined Events
#3 THERE IS A DETERMINED END
Daniel 9:27

This is that “prince” spoken of earlier. You know him as Antichrist.

In that final 7 year period he will make an agreement with Israel to be their deliverer, but 3 ½ years into it he will break that agreement.

(just as was foreshadowed by Antiochas Epiphenes)

And he will terrorize Israel “even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.”

That final 7 is on its way.
• A time of great tribulation.
• A time of great desolation.

But it will be this final 7 years that will finally cause
That list of 6 things back in verse 24 to happen.

Because it will be during this period that Israel will finally
Look on Him whom they have pierced and will mourn for Him

And as a result of that:
• Their sin will be removed
• Their righteousness will be granted
• And they will finally love God the way He intended
• And God will bring the fulfillment of all the promises He made to them.

This is what it will take to finally mold Israel into the nation God intended.

I’m sorry Daniel, but 70 years in Babylon isn’t going to cut it.
It’s going to take 490 years (that is if you don’t count the 2000 plus where God had broken them off and focused on the church)

This helps us understand passages like:
Isaiah 65:1-2 “I permitted Myself to be sought by those who did not ask for Me; I permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me. I said, ‘Here am I, here am I,’ To a nation which did not call on My name. “I have spread out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, Who walk in the way which is not good, following their own thoughts,”

It helps us understand the weeping of Jesus over Jerusalem.
Matthew 23:37-39 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. “Behold, your house is being left to you desolate! “For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!'”

And it helps us to understand why the tribulation
We are studying in Revelation MUST take place.

It will happen because God is not willing to forsake the nation of Israel,
And that is what is required to bring about their salvation.

So, I encourage you to “gain understanding”
From the vision just as Daniel did.

• Understand God’s unfailing redemptive love for Israel and the
lengths to which He will go to save them.
• Understand God’s sovereign prerogative and the immense wisdom
that is His in orchestrating such events.
• Understand the grace that is yours to have salvation in the midst of
their rebellion.
• Understand the high cost of stubbornness before God and the high
cost of rejecting Jesus.

“so give heed to the message and gain understanding of the vision.”

The Sovereign God of Heaven – part 1
Revelation 4:1-11 (1-2a)
July 17, 2016

Well this morning we begin a most anticipated journey.
We are granted the wonderful privilege of seeing
HOW GOD WILL WORK OUT THE END OF ALL THINGS.

(1) “After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.”

That verse leaves absolutely no doubt as to the purpose of the chapter
And the direction we are headed.

In chapter 1 Jesus told John this:
Revelation 1:19 “Therefore write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after these things.”

• “the things which you have seen” refers to the vision of chapter 1
• “the things which are” refers to the church age seen in chapters 2 & 3
• “the things which will take place after these things.” Is the rest of the book.

That is where we now are.

Here in chapter 4 God issues an invitation to the apostle John to “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.”
• John is about to see future things.
• John is about to see things that have not yet happened.
• John is about to see what is coming next.

And as we begin to step into this tremendous revelation,
I think it is important to gain an understanding of what is intended here.

It is important to understand
The entire scope of the redemptive plan of God
So that you and I can fully understand what is happening here.

I want you to remember with me here that
This whole thing did not begin with the church.
It began with Israel.

The story begins with men like Abraham and promises to his descendants.

Even in the New Testament we get verses like this:
John 4:22 “You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.”

Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”
This entire plan has always revolved around Israel.
And much of what Scripture deals with
Is actually regarding the redemption of Israel.

That is certainly true as we begin to look towards the end.

And I want to sort of show you that ahead of time
So that you can see exactly what it is we are looking at.

And this is actually made clear here in the first verse.

God tells John, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.”

The “these things” here refers to what we will call “The Church Age”

The Church Age is what was represented in chapters 2 & 3.
• It was there that Jesus addressed the church.
• It was there that Jesus evaluated the church.

Now we are looking at the time frame after that.
We are looking at “what must take place after these things.”

If I could get a little more specific,
We are talking about the plan of God
After the time of the church has run its course.

Let me show you.
TURN TO: ROMANS 11
If you are familiar with Romans 9, 10, &11 you know that
It is a portion of Scripture that deals with the fall and rise of Israel.

Chapter 9 = The Present State of Israel
• And we read about their great rejected privileges
• We read about how Israel did not respond in faith
• We see that Israel is currently lost

Chapter 10 = The Possible State of Israel
• It is in this chapter that we find that if they would simply confess Jesus as Lord, they could be saved since “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Chapter 11 = The Promised State of Israel
• Namely that God is not finished with them.
• That God made irrevocable promises to them.
• And that God will in fact honor His word regarding Israel.

I don’t want to spend a lot of time here,
I just want you to get the highlights.

(1) “I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be!”
(2) “God has not rejected His people whom he foreknew.”
(11) “I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? May it never be!”
(23) “And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.”

You see statement after statement indicating that
God still has a plan for Israel.

• He made promises to Abraham and to his descendants.
• He made promises to Isaac and to his descendants
• He made promises to Jacob and to his descendants.
GOD HAS NOT FORGOTTEN THOSE PROMISES.

And that leads us to the important passage I want you to see.

(Romans 11:25-29) “For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery — so that you will not be wise in your own estimation — that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, “THE DELIVERER WILL COME FROM ZION, HE WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB.” “THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH THEM, WHEN I TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS.” From the standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of God’s choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers; for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”

And here is the truth.
“a partial hardening has happened to Israel
UNTIL the fullness of the Gentiles has come in”

• But there is coming a day when God will save them.
• Namely because “the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”
• God called them and so God will save them, and according to Romans 11, it will happen after “the fullness of the Gentiles has come in”

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

TURN TO: MATTHEW 21:33-44
I hope you are familiar with the vineyard reference here. It comes from Isaiah 5 in which God revealed that despite all that He had done for Israel, they failed to produce the fruit of righteousness and justice.

Jesus references that reality here in a parable of His own.

• And we find that the vineyard owner (God) went to receive fruit from His vineyard (Israel).

• But when the slaves went they were mistreated and even killed by the vine-growers. (this would have been the O.T. prophets all the way up to John the Baptist)

• So the vineyard owner decides to send His Son to the vineyard, of course this is Christ.

• And there we find that the vine-growers killed the Son in order to try and steal His inheritance.

And look at the announcement of the Lord
(READ 40-44)

Jesus said, I will take it away from you (Israel)
And give it to a new people (Gentiles)

Jesus is referencing the same reality that Paul spoke of in Romans 11, that Israel would be broken off and the Gentiles (a wild olive shoot) would be grafted in.

What we are talking about then was basically a moment in which
The redemptive working of God toward Israel was paused
And a door was opened for the Gentiles.

This reality is clearly seen throughout the book of Acts,
Probably none more than by Paul repeated saying
“from now on I’m going to the Gentiles”

So the reality is that Christ came, Israel rejected Him, and Israel was broken off for a time while the door swung open to the Gentiles.

In Romans 11 Paul taught us
• A day is coming when “the fullness of the Gentiles” will have come in
• Then God will reopen the door to Israel, and will then save them all.

In fact, if we could take it just a brief step further.
The only thing prolonging the return of Christ to reign upon the earth, is in fact the repentance and faith of Israel.

TURN TO: ACTS 3:17-21
• Here Peter was preaching in Jerusalem and he makes an astounding observation.
• He references that Jesus suffered at the hands of Israel just as the prophets said He would.
• But he also reminds them that Jesus fulfilled all that was said regarding His suffering. (Meaning He has no more suffering to endure) Hence Jesus saying, “It is finished!”

All we are waiting for now is the repentance and return of Israel to Christ
So that He can return and reign upon the earth.
(READ: 19-21)

Do you see it?
When Israel finally repents, Jesus will finally return.

The important reality then is that we understand that
Jesus is not going to end this thing without His people Israel.
There will be no final judgment until God has been able
To draw His people Israel back to Himself.

And the main agent God will use to draw Israel back to Himself
Is the period of time which will occur after the church age;
That period known as “The Tribulation”.

The tribulation referenced in the Revelation is not for the church.
In fact, after chapter 3 the church is not seen at all.

Now don’t misunderstand me. That does not mean the church will not have tribulation. More Christians are dying for their faith in this day than at any other point in human history.

• Russia is in the process of passing a law that says no evangelism can take
place outside of the church building.
• Christians are being beheaded in the middle east

Tribulation will occur and perseverance is required.
The church at Smyrna certainly taught us that.

But this tribulation in the book of Revelation
Is God’s tool to draw Israel to Christ and back to Himself.

And that is clearly spelled out in the Old Testament.
Daniel 9:24-27 “Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place.”

If you come back tonight we are going to study that passage
And see that 70 weeks were required to fully redeem Israel.

• 69 weeks have already occurred.
• All that is left is that final week (the final 7) which will be what finally pushes Israel over the edge and back to Christ.

The tribulation is God’s means of bringing Israel to repentance.

TURN TO: ZECHARIAH 11
Again, we don’t have time to fully unpack all of this, but I can skim the mountain tops here and show you the plan of God.

• Zechariah 11:4-6 is a preincarnate conversation between the Father and the Son, where the Father commanded the Son to go and Shepherd His people Israel.

• In Zechariah 11:7 the Son did just that. He became flesh and dwelt among us.

• Verses 7-14 indicate the tremendous struggle that He would have trying to shepherd such a rebellious flock.

• Verse 8 shows us His continual battle with the religious leaders of the day.

• Verses 9-11 show us the rebellion of the sheep and the Shepherd’s rejection of them.

• Verse 12 even shows the price at which the nation would value this good Shepherd.

And finally in verse 14, this flock was broken off.
It’s the same thing Jesus referenced in His parable regarding the vineyard.
The same thing Paul referenced in Romans 11.

• In verses 15-17 we find that God promises to raise up a corrupt shepherd to lead them and ultimately afflict them. (This false shepherd is none other than the Antichrist)

And that leads to a tremendous time of tribulation
Which is what is spelled out in Zechariah 12:1-9.

But the result of this tribulation is what you need to see,
And that is what is revealed in Zechariah 12:10.

Israel, as a result of her tribulation, will finally
Look on the One whom they pierced and will mourn for Him.

Now does that phrase look familiar to you?
It should we actually saw it referenced in the opening chapter of Revelation when we were looking at the preview of the book.

Revelation 1:7 “BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.”

This is what we are talking about.
By means of the tribulation, Israel will finally come to Christ.

And the RESULT of their repentance
Will be the return of the Lord and His earthly reign.

And this reality is seen in Zechariah 14.
(Read 1-5)

SO WHAT ARE YOU GETTING AT PREACHER?

Namely that everything you are about to see
Through the remainder of this book
Is nothing short of the intended plan of the Sovereign God of Heaven.

• We’ve recently studied stories like that of Joseph, whom God directed through enormous suffering and hardship. But God did that in order that He might save Israel.

• We’ve recently studied the story of Job, whom God put through enormous suffering, but God did that in order to humble Job and reveal that a relationship with God cannot be severed.

• We’ve recently seen the story of Daniel, who at 15 years of age God allowed to be kidnapped and thrown into a Babylonian brainwashing system, but God has done this as a means of purifying Israel from her idolatry.

The Tribulation that is about to unfold
Is nothing short of the sovereign plan of the God of Heaven.

Satan is NOT in charge here, God is.
• God is doing this
• God is controlling this
• And as is always true with the affliction God allows, it is only meant for good.

Just as God told Israel before they were exiled to Babylon.
Jeremiah 29:11-13 “For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. ‘Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. ‘You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.”

This period of tribulation must been seen in that exact same light.
• This is God’s plan for finally redeeming Israel back to Himself.
• This is God’s plan for finally redeeming creation back to Himself.
• This is God’s plan for finally seeing His Son reign upon the earth.

GOD IS IN TOTAL CONTROL HERE.

I just want you to understand the purpose of what we are about to see.

God told John in verse 1 “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.”

We are about to look at the things that “must take place”
In order to bring about Israel’s repentance and Christ’s return.

And in order to see it all God calls John up to heaven.

NOW THE VISION IS AN EXTENSIVE ONE.
John is going to see all sorts of judgments unfold on the world.

But the beginning of the vision occurs in chapters 4 & 5
And these chapters set the stage.
These chapters serve as the lens through which
We must view the coming destruction.

In Ch. 4 the vision centers on and focuses on THE SOVEREIGN THRONE
• We are drawn not only to the sovereign rule of God,
• But also to the nature and glory of the One who is on the throne.

In fact a quick reading of chapter 4 shows us that
Everything John sees is in regard to the throne.
• (2) “on the throne”
• (3-4) “around the throne”
• (5) “from the throne”
• (5-6) “before the throne”
• (7) “in the center and around the throne” (near the throne)

Everything John sees relates to the throne.
Chapter 4 focuses on THE SOVEREIGN THRONE

Ch. 5 makes a shift and the focus becomes THE SACRIFICIAL LAMB
• This chapter is all about the Lamb who was slain and what the Lamb accomplished through His sacrifice.
• It also focuses on the rise of the Lamb to take the scroll and to begin His work of redeeming the world back to Himself.

These chapters combine as an important foundation
Because they help us bring stability
To the chaos that is about to hit the world.

Despite what you will see, God has not lost control.
Despite what you will see, Redemption remains the purpose.

So we begin looking at the end by first looking at the throne,
Let’s begin looking at it this morning.

We can easily break it down into 6 points. As I said, everything relates to the throne.
#1 THE THRONE
Revelation 4:1-2a

After hearing God’s call to come up and see the things, John says:
“Immediately I was in the Spirit”

This simply means that John was in the spiritual realm.
Somehow by the power of God, John was allowed to see a realm
That is otherwise invisible to you and me.

And John was transported to heaven.

This is not the first time in Scripture that this occurred.

• As the children of Israel were coming out of Egypt, Moses went up on the mountain of God and the elders followed at a distance and Moses records:
Exodus 24:9-10 “Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and they saw the God of Israel; and under His feet there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself.”

• In the book of the kings when Ahab was seeking direction from the LORD, the prophet Macaiah came and said:
1 Kings 22:19 “Micaiah said, “Therefore, hear the word of the LORD. I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by Him on His right and on His left.”

• In Isaiah’s day, King Uzziah died after a 52 year reign and Isaiah was distraught wondering what was going on in the world. He writes:
Isaiah 6:1-4 “In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.” And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke.”

• Ezekiel was a prophet of Israel who was actually deported to Babylon (like Daniel) and while there, Ezekiel was granted a vision. It’s too long to read it all right now, but here is part of it:
Ezekiel 1:26-28 “Now above the expanse that was over their heads there was something resembling a throne, like lapis lazuli in appearance; and on that which resembled a throne, high up, was a figure with the appearance of a man. Then I noticed from the appearance of His loins and upward something like glowing metal that looked like fire all around within it, and from the appearance of His loins and downward I saw something like fire; and there was a radiance around Him. As the appearance of the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the surrounding radiance. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell on my face and heard a voice speaking.”

• Also in Babylon was Daniel, who wrote:
Daniel 7:9 “I kept looking Until thrones were set up, And the Ancient of Days took His seat; His vesture was like white snow And the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was ablaze with flames, Its wheels were a burning fire.”

These were all people of God throughout the course of history
Who were granted the privilege of gazing into heaven.

And no doubt you have probably seen
The STRIKING SIMILARITIES to what all of them saw.

They were all overcome with the sight of the same thing.
It was the throne of God and the utter holiness and wrath
That seemed to radiate from it.

Everything pointed there.
And it was a terrifying scene for all of them.
• Isaiah cried out “Woe is me! For I am undone!”
• Ezekiel fell on his face.
• Daniel said his spirit was distressed within him.
• In 2 Corinthians 12 Paul went and he couldn’t even speak of what he saw.

This is a most sacred and holy and terrifying scene.

And could I add one more important thing for you here?

THIS IS THE ONLY AUTHORITATIVE AND CERTIFIED ACCURATE ACCOUNT OF HEAVEN WE SHOULD EVER LOOK TO.

Have we forgotten what was written at the end of this book?
Revelation 22:18 “I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book;”

But that warning hasn’t stopped the countless charismatic counterfeits
From adding their own heaven experiences to the list of best-selling books.

Yes, you heard me right.
I do not agree with or like or believe accounts like:
• “90 Minutes in Heaven”
• “Heaven is For Real” (I think I already knew that)
• Or any of the other MANY counterfeit preachers who have claimed trips to
heaven and back.

When God wanted to give an authoritative view of heaven,
He ordained to give it to the apostle John
And that revelation came with strict orders that
This vision should never be added to or taken away from.
This is it.

So it’s certainly tragic and terribly disturbing to me that when most of the world wants to know about heaven they go read “Heaven is for Real”
Instead of the book of the Revelation.

THIS is God’s Revelation; I don’t believe those others for a second.

JOHN SEES HERE AN INCREDIBLE SCENE.

And please notice
• He isn’t captivated by loved ones who have gone before.
• He isn’t running down the streets looking for his mansion.
• He doesn’t immediately talk about the amazing golf courses.

You see what captivates his attention.
“Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven,”

“A throne”
Obviously indicates sovereign rule; sovereign authority.

The fact that it was “standing” indicates that
It is fixed, unchanging, unwavering.

The vision reiterates what we have often said:
GOD IS IN CONTROL

The overwhelming testimony of heaven is that there is One who sits supreme and authoritatively in charge over all of creation.

Look down to the end of the chapter at the praise of heaven.
(11) “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”

Do you know why everything is here?
God told it to be here.

Do you know why everything remains?
God tells it to remain.

God is SOVEREIGN

Psalms 103:19 “The LORD has established His throne in the heavens, And His sovereignty rules over all.”

Isaiah 43:13 “Even from eternity I am He, And there is none who can deliver out of My hand; I act and who can reverse it?”

Psalms 115:3 “But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases.”

And that is the overwhelming point of this vision.
Don’t look at the chaos of the world
And then wonder if God is somehow in danger.

And you might be tempted to think that.
• World war is coming, followed by intense famine, and death
• ¼ of the world’s population will soon die
• The sun will turn black, the moon to blood, and 1/3 of the stars will fall
• The entire heavens will then roll up like a scroll and the mountains will move
• Meteors are about to hit the earth
• Fresh water will turn bitter
• And a 1/3 of the sea will turn to blood
• A demonic army will spread through the earth inflicting pain
• Followed by a destructive angelic force with 100 million strong army which will kill 1/3 of the remaining people on earth.
• In the middle of the mayhem Antichrist will rise blaspheming God, killing Jews, and starving the faithful.
• And this before things like the malignant sores, and 100lb hailstones

Things are about to appear out of control, but don’t let appearances fool you.

GOD’S THRONE IS FIXED IN THE HEAVENS.
THIS IS ALL PART OF THE PLAN.

I wish we had been able to go a little further this morning,
But it is a good beginning for us to simply recognize that
OUR GOD REIGNS.

That means that you and can take a sigh of relief and rest.
• Isn’t it good to know that a world filled with terrorist attacks have absolutely no bearing on God’s redemptive plan?

• Isn’t it good to know that November’s election has no bearing on God’s redemptive plan?

None of those things can stop a single thing God is doing.
In fact, we learn that God orchestrates all things
In order that His perfect plan will always succeed.

Romans 8:28-31 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?”

That my friends is the earthly response
To the reality of God’s Sovereign Rule.

Psalms 118:5-9 “From my distress I called upon the LORD; The LORD answered me and set me in a large place. The LORD is for me; I will not fear; What can man do to me? The LORD is for me among those who help me; Therefore I will look with satisfaction on those who hate me. It is better to take refuge in the LORD Than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the LORD Than to trust in princes.”

Psalms 11:4-7 “The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD’S throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men. The LORD tests the righteous and the wicked, And the one who loves violence His soul hates. Upon the wicked He will rain snares; Fire and brimstone and burning wind will be the portion of their cup. For the LORD is righteous, He loves righteousness; The upright will behold His face.”

Psalms 20:6-7 “Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven With the saving strength of His right hand. Some boast in chariots and some in horses, But we will boast in the name of the LORD, our God.”

That is the point.
Do not fear the appearances of things.

For when John was granted by the mercy of God
To see things that even Paul was not allowed to speak of
He was instantly captivated by one great thing:
“a throne was standing in heaven,”

Take courage, The Sovereign God of Heaven is on His throne.