REVELATION TRANSCRIPT 2010

Transcription

1 Pictures by an American who s name was Pat Smith. REVELATION TRANSCRIPT 2010 God willing tonight we will talk about the book of revelation through a series of pictures. Whenever anyone mentions the book of revelation we realise that it is very complex and unclear however the aim of this presentation is to take away the paranoia associated with this book. The way the bible is organised is truly amazing. In the book of genesis we as humankind begin in the Garden of Eden then we are kicked out until we struggle till the coming of the messiah in the New Testament. Nevertheless it is fitting that we conclude our journey through the bible back in heaven with the book of revelation which is basically mans second journey to heaven to our eternal kingdom, in other words the bible has given us this book as a joyful gift. Something to look forward to. The book of revelation was written by St John the Beloved the one who cared for St Mary after the death of Christ and after the death of St Mary he went about establishing seven churches in Asia Minor which is modern day turkey. However after he established these churches they were severely tortured by the roman emperors of the time who until Constantine despised Christianity. Anyway St John was exiled to the island of Patmos which is an island off modern day turkey where he saw the revelation a series of visions that would reveal the fate of the world and its inhabitants. Theologians believe that it was written between 95AD to 97AD basically towards the end of the 1 st century. This first image is at the beginning of St Johns vision he tells us in chapter 1 vs 10 I was in the spirit on the lords day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet And this my friends is the beginning of the revelation The first vision which St John the beloved saw was this.a picture of Christ Jesus with all his Glory..the church fathers tell us if we saw the weak Christ in this world we will see the strong mighty and triumphant saviour in the second coming. This picture is found in chapter 1 St John Tells us that Christs head and hair were white as snow which signifies wisdom and his presence everywhere in this world and in the world to come. Secondly, he saw the eyes of Christ as flames of fire..symbolising the fire toward the unrepentant and sinners however for the repentant a fire of purity. Thirdly he saw the face of Christ as the sun. if you remember in the transfiguration the disciples could not look at the face of Christ likewise St john could only see the face of Christ as a bright light that of the sun. 1

2 Fourthly he saw coming out of the mouth of God a two edged sword. Which is the words of the lord which come out of his mouth. The first edge is comforting to the pure and frightening to the sinful So you know this are just visions that St John saw and they are the best description he could give to us about Christ in our language. Further in the chapter St John describes Christ as wearing a golden band about the chest this signifies the gathering of the people around the bosom of god where they feed on both testaments. Further he saw the feet of Christ as fine brass as if refined in a furnace. Symbolising that the feet of god and merciful and just. To his people they bring protection and salvation and to the enemies of the church they bring destruction. Another heart warming meditation on this brass is that the hotter it gets the stronger it becomes..and as the church faces more troubles the feet of Christ become stronger since he is part of the church. This is seen as the eternal defence..no one can touch the church for it is the almighty that protects it. St John also saw Christ girded with a white garment-----which symbolises the garment of priesthood.since Christ never ceases his priestly works. Further if you remember in the old testament Christ ordered Aaron to where a long white garment which symbolised the priesthood since Aaron was a priest. Furthermore, St John realised that around Christ where seven Golden lamp Stands and these he says are the seven churches which he established. I want you to imagine this Christ walking through his church because he owns them. Even if the church is facing any difficulties what gives us joy is the fact that Christ is among us and he comforts us. Finally he saw in the hand of Christ seven stars which he tells us are the servants of the church or the angels of the church.another interpretation given by the fathers is that they are the seven bishops of the churches and each one is in the hands of Christ who directs him if your in the right hand of god he carries and protects you and so you know this is one of the most comforting things since as servants we are in his right hand and he is the one that leads and protects us. This however had to be the beginning of the book of revelation because as we go on through the book of revelation we will see persecution death destruction we still can find something to cling onto again and that is this introductory picture of Christ in his majesty. Chapters 2 and 3 in the book of revelation deal with the seven churches which are in asia minor Which were 2 Ephesus-----love for Christ no longer fervent------do the works u did at first Smyrna and Philadelphia---did not have any criticism----be faithful until death

3 3 Pergamos------tolarated idolatry immorality and heretics----repent Thyatira-----same as pergamos keep faith Sardis A dead church-----repent strenghten what remains Laodecia indifferent not true Christians------be zealous and repent. However we will not discuss these churches in depth because chapters 2 and 3 are the most straightforward in the whole book so we will leave them till another time. Moving on the 4 th chapter begins with another joyful image of the gate to heaven St john begins the chapter by saying After these things I looked and behold a door standing open in heaven This door symbolises the gate through which we will see the great revelations that are to come This picture here reveals Christ on his arch in all his glory.so u know this is probably the first time we see in the whole bible Christs throne..this image was mentioned three times in the bible. Once in Isaiah, Once in Hezekiah and finally in chapter 4 of the book of revelation. Both Isaiah and hezkeiah mentioned what was on the arch but did not describe the throne.because looking at the throne of God is like looking at the sun you cant look at it. Moving on St John saw at the feat of the throne Seven Lamps of fire and the church fathers interpret this as meaning that the holy spirit is present in all of the seven sacraments. St John also saw in front of the throne of God the Four incorpral creatures with eyes all over their bodies. These four incorporeal creatures were starting from the left \ 1. A lion 2. A Calf 3. A Human Image 4. An eagle Each of These creatures has six wings which signify four important stages in the life of Christ. The Human signify the incarnation of Christ The Calf signify the sacrifice of Christ on the cross The lion is seen as a symbol of the resurrection And the Eagle resembles the ascension of Christ to heaven.

4 Another interpretation of these 4 incorporeal creatures is that they are the four evangelists matthew (man), mark (lion), luke (calf) and john (eagle). And its like as if these four evangelists are offering Christ for us. Another thing which is also important to mention the sea of glass like crystals under the throne..and the rainbow behind the throne of God. Further St John in This Chapter saw around the throne of God 24 priests 12 on the left and 12 on the right. These priests were dressed in white which symbolises purity with a golden crown to signify there richness in spirit. 12 of these priests represent the old testament 1 from every tribe and likewise the other 12 symbolise the disciples from the new testament. Moving on St john realises that the four incorpral creatures continually praising God saying HOLY HOLY HOLY.. At this moment the twenty four priests come down from their chairs and bow down in front of god but as u can see they take of their crowns. Imagine that the four incorpral creatures saying holy holy holy while the priests are worshipping truly it is so joyful a life of praise with god. In Chapter 5 of the book of revelation st john saw Christ holding a scroll which had writing on the front and back which is symbolic of the many things that have taken place and that will take place. Also on the scroll he saw seven stamps. St Jerome Origens disciple thought that stamps were a seal on human understanding for they rely on human wisdom to understand what can not be understood. ST John was desperate to know what was written on this scroll so he heard a voice saying to him who is worthy to open the scroll and loose its seals So st john waited for someone to reply to the angel however he found no one so he started to cry. However 1 of the 24 priests spoke to St John and told him Do not weep, behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of david has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals Rev 5:5 And who was this lion from Judah Jesus Christ. And why the picture of the lion because of Christs dominance over the lion. 4

5 So in chapter 4 st john saw Christ in all his glory and now he saw Christ in what all his love. So recapping in this chapter we see Christ opening the scroll.and after that he saw the picture of the lamb which is symbolic of the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. In this book alone Christ is mentioned as a lamb 29 times. The lamb which he saw had seven eyes which again signify the seven spirits he sent to the seven churches to protect them. Further the lamb had seven horns which point to power and seven means complete so put together it means complete power of Christ. Finally he heard a voice saying I am the alpha and the omega the beginning and the end. This picture represents the first four seals. The first horse St john saw was white and carried a bow and arrow This horse is symbolic of the prophets and disciples who carried the good news who is Christ the one holding the bow and arrow because he aims the good news at ur heart. He then saw a second horse which was red with a horseman who is holding the sword. This seal is symbolic of the persecution era in the church. Further it tells us that Christianity was spread by the sword of faith of these martyrs. The third horse he saw was black and the horseman was holding a scale. This horse points out to everyone the appearance of heresy and the spread of famine and hardships. The scale signifies the peoples desire to way god on his judgement is it good or is it bad. The fourth seal or the fourth stage in the history of the church is the image of a green horse. This horse is symbolic of the many churches in today s world that have taken many believers away from the true word of Christ. So in the first four seals we see the hardships of the church from crucifixion to this present day. The fifth seal that st john saw was this image here it reveals to us a remarkable vision of those who have become martyred for the sake of Christ. St John tells us I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of god and for the testimony which they held. St John heard these martyrs crying out and saying:"how long O Lord, Holy and true, Until you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on earth" Rev 6:10 They were crying out to God so that he may avenge their murderers it is not rage but submission to god judgment. And when will this take place on Judgment day.\\ 5

6 And something of interest in some churches they put the bones of saints under the altar and as u can see this teaching is from the book of revelation. Moving on, when Christ opened the sixth seal st john saw countless scenes. The first thing he realized was that the sun became black. This sun is Christ and Christ is the light of the world however his teachings have become unclear and mistaken by many people. This refers to a stage in the churches history. And the moon which is symbolic of the church has become red with blood. And if u know anything about science the moon is white because it reflects the sun but it is red because of the blood of the martyrs. There will come a stage in life when those who kill u will say they have done god a favour. Further in the sixth seal he saw the ground destructed by earthquakes which portray the wrong teachings and the persecution of the church. St John also saw meteorites falling from the sky and they were covered in blood. These meteors resemble the elders of the church who have gone astray like nestorius and son. They will deceive even the elect. A bit depressing so far, so this chapter had to reassure us a bit so the next thing st john saw was that angel of the lord was stamping the children of god and the church fathers tell as Christians we need to act as Christians and stand out of the world. After this st john saw the elect in heaven and these are the children of God. But so u know this is just a symbolic number and it definitely does not mean only this number will go to heaven. And so u know this is what jehova s witnesses believe and the church totally refuses it. Now for a bit of math thousand is what 12 x 12 x 1000 but 12 is what 4 x 3. 3 is symbolic of the trinity and 4 represents the four corners of the world. And 12 from the old testament and 12 from the new testament. And 1000 is a complete Number So the fathers tell us that st john saw all the believers who believed in Christ the triune from the old testament and the new testament from north east south and west in heaven. Further he saw these divided into 12 groups each group resembling 1 of the twelve tribes. 6

7 Know it is interesting to note that each tribe has a certain characteristic. For example Naphtali means wide ----someone who has a big heart and who is willing to love infinitely therefore all these people come under the tribe of Naphtali. Same with the tribe of Simeon which is characterised by listening ---someone who listens and obeys the word of god. Furthermore in the chapter he saw people from every nation holding palm leaves 7:9After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. These are the people who have finally reached heaven. After this image of the departed St John saw a vision of seven angels each 1 holding a trumpet. And so u don t get confused we are still in the seventh seal. In the beginning of chapter 8 St John tells us the following. When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. But so u know this is not our 30 min its just symbolic something St John couldn t determine. FIRST TRUMPET When the First angle blew the trumpet st john saw hail being thrown and looked like fire was mixed with blood. These fiery hailstones burnt a third of the trees and all green grass was burnt. This is where the book of revelation starts to become SCARY. The trees symbolise the strong believers and their roots are embedded in the faith a third of these were burnt The grass symbolises the believers with no roots. And these ones were all burnt. What s scary u might ask in the final days a third of even the strong believers will fall and those with no roots will have no chance. THE SECOND TRUMPET: When the second angel sounded his trumpet something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea became blood, A third of the creatures died and a third of the ships were destroyed. 7

8 The sea in the holy bible refers to the world. This mountain which will fall represents a high person who will fall and will take with him a third of the world..again this 1/3 is symbolic but one should realise it is a fair number. THE THIRD TRUMPET: When the third angel sounded a great star fell from heaven burning like a torch and again it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. And this star was called wormwood which means something unpleasant. Anyway this star again signifies a great star like Nestorius who fell and took with him many of Christs followers with him. THE FOURTH TRUMPET: When the fourth trumpet sounded a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon and a third of the stars. So that a third of each became dark. We said earlier that the sun represents Christ. The moon is symbolic of the church which reflects the light of Christ. And who are the stars they are the believers. So this trumpet signifies the false teachings that will cover the real meaning of Christ and will affect a third of the church. So the first four trumpets are God s warning to mankind. THE FIFTH TRUMPET: When the fifth angle sounded his trumpet a star fell from heaven and to him was given the key to the bottomless pit. And smoke arose from this bottomless bit and darkened the atmosphere. This smoke points to the many hardships that the true believers will face, Out of this smoke came locusts and they were given the power of scorpions. However god commanded them not to have dominion over those stamped with his stamp. And if u remembers in the thanksgiving prayer we say you have given us the power to trample upon serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemies. So trumpet 5 known as punishment through satanic warfare. THE SIXTH TRUMPET: Punishment through human warfare. When the angle sounded this trumpet st john witnessed two hundred million horsemen-and he tells us that he heard this number. Who are these soldiers. They are described as having breast plates of fiery red, blue and yellow and out of their mouth came fire, smoke and brimstone. Know these soldiers wiped a third of mankind with these three weapons. 8

9 This is quite symbolic of today s times and all the wars which will come at the end of time where soldier will fight against soldier and neighbour against neighbour. After these images of trouble and heartache their had to be a joyful image. And this image came in the form of A mighty angle who came down from heaven, and around his head was a rainbow and he was clothed with a cloud. His face was like the sun and his feet like pillars of fire. And in his hand their was a little book. Most of the church fathers believe that this angle was in fact Christ and if u realise one of his feat is on the land and one of his feet is in the sea symbolising Christs dominion over the world. In Christ s hand is a small book if you remember in the beginning he had the scroll with seven seals and it had writing back to the front. And we said that referred to all the teachings of Christ. However this is a little book for the second coming is near because only a few prophecies remain unfulfilled. After this St John was given a rod by an angel and he was told to measure three things 1. The temple of God 2. the altar 3. the people who worship there. What does this all mean? In the olden days they didn t have a meter ruler so they used a stick to measure. This rod was given to john who was a priest and he was told to measure the following The temple of God----- which is Us. But how can he measure us by two ways the first through our giving and sacrifices which signifies the altar. And secondly through our repentance and submission to Christ and this refers to the people who worship there. That is why the priest has authority to give us holy communion and take our confession because it is God that has given them this stick to measure how we are travelling in the spiritual path towards salvation. However in the dark days to come God won t leave us alone he will send to us to prophets and these are Elijah and Enoch. St John describes these to prophets as two olive trees----which is symbolic of peace remember the dove brought Noah an olive branch. So these two prophets would become peace-makers. Secondly he described them as two lamp stands standing before the God of the Earth. This symbolises that these two prophets would become the light of the dark world. What will happen to these to prophets is unbelievable. They will be killed and not only that their corpses will be left on the ground for three and a half days and no one will take care of putting their corpses into graves. This shows the strength of Satan who will cause even the believers to falter. 9

10 But what happens after these three days they will rise to heaven which will give strength to those who have slight hope. And the non believers will here a voice from heaven which will say come up here as they ascend to heaven And in that hour their will be a great earthquake and many will be afraid and give glory to god. A final point we should mention before moving on is that many of the fathers tell us that they would be on earth for 3.5 years like Christ. THE SEVENTH TRUMPET: Finally, the seventh trumpet signifies the coming of the lord for the judgement. St john heard a voice from heaven saying The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our lord Jesus Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever Rev 11:15 After these visions associated with the seven trumpets, St John saw a woman clothed with the Sun. The first thing this women is the church-----the community of believers. He then begins to describe this woman On her head were twelve stars who are the founders of the church. They are the 12 disciples. Secondly she was clothed with the sun and we have agreed that this sun is Christ. Thirdly under her feet was the moon which symbolises the worldly glory and the church never follows this stuff. After this St John saw a great fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns and seven diadems which are crowns. The seven heads point to the fact that Satan is consonantly thinking about the battle. The 10 horns point to the use of all his power to spoil the faith On his head are the seven diadems which are the seven crowns which symbolise his appointment as self ruler of the world. Finally his tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. Many see this as the fact that when Satan fell he fell with a legion of angels which were under his control. As chapter 12 draws to a conclusion St John tells us that this women bore a male child to rule all nations with a rod of iron. Who is this child Jesus. 10

11 After this vision St john saw in heaven a war between Michael and his angels who fought against the dragon. But the dragon lost and their was no place for them in heaven. However satan was distraught about this so he tried to attack the church but God gave the church to wings to fly like an eagle to a place far from the presence of the serpant. However the satan didn t want to give up so out of his seven heads came gushing out a river of water which signifies all the hardships the church will face as it escapes the wrath of Satan. From this moment onwards the book of revelation starts to go into a new phase. He starts to talk about the fight of Satan against the church through two beasts. First of all we have the picture of Satan as described earlier. Secondly he saw coming out of the water a leopard with 7 heads and 10 horns. His mouth was like that of a lion, and his feet like a bear. And the dragon gave him authority. One of his heads was wounded and wound was healed this signify s that Satan will deceive the church even through good and miraculous deeds. After this he saw a second beast coming out of the ground and he had to horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. This beasts job is to force people to follow the first beast who was healed. So we see that Satan can appear in different forms but at the end of the day he has the same plan. For example the second beast which is like a lamp signifies s his meekness which can fool believers into thinking that he is right. If you remember earlier we saw the angel of God stamping gods children with a stamp, likewise Satan does the same to those that follow him. He gives them the sign of 666. We said seven is a complete number but 6 is not complete so Satan s followers are missing something and that is the word of God. So until know we are still talking in the seventh seal. After this St john heard a voice from heaven saying to seven angels Go and pour out the bowls of the wrath of God on the Earth. What are these bowls they are seven plagues that will hit the earth in the final days. He then goes about explaining each 1 of these plagues. The first bowl: A loathsome sore came upon the men who had the mark of the beast.-- signifying the physical pain of sin or even more pain due to sin for example AIDS and herbies. Realise this only comes to those with a mark of 666. The Second Bowl: Blood of a dead man and every living creature in the sea died. this signifys the countless wars which will wipe out many and this is one of the signs of the second coming. 11

12 The Third Bowl: the rivers and oceans turned to blood this signify s the fact that we can not find the good water and we are thirsty for Christs true word but in the days to come this world will not find the word of Christ. The Fourth Bowl: the sun was given the power to scorch the people on the Earth and men started blaspheming against God. The Fifth Bowl: this plague is against the antichrist himself-----his kingdom becomes spiritually and ethically dark. men will become confused against who he is but instead of repenting they will blaspheme god The Sixth Bowl: The Euphrates river is dried up and three satan spirits will try and convert many to become his followers. The Seventh Seal: When the angel poured out of his bowl this time a loud voice came from heaven saying it is done. After this earthquake will occur and the great city Jerusalem will be divide into three parts because the antichrist will dwell there. The book of revelation goes into a further phase and it starts to talk about the city of Babylon which was known in the old testament as the heart of people who worshipped idols and lived in sin. After this St john tells us that 1 of the 7 angels came to him and told him come I will show you the judgement of the great harlot who sits on many waters This is the first characteristic of Babylon. The waters signifies all the nations so the antichrist is everywhere in the final days. Kings have committed fornication with her. Many rulers will succumb to this beast and many people will follow them. The third Characteristic was that this women was sitting on a scarlet beast. The colour of this beast signifies the loss of life due to the many hardships which are to come, The Beast had seven heads and ten horns. Who is this beast and who is driving it it is satan the ruler of the world. On her forehead a name was written, mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and of the abominations of the Earth Rev 17:5 This is really scary even though Satan knows what he really is doing and how bad it is he doesn t try to hide it but in fact try s to make it known to the world. The women had two robes 1 red and 1 purple. 1 red to signify the hardships satan forces on the people of god. And the purple represents success. We need to realise and not get depressed when we see someone who is evil in high positions because this is also the work of the devil who will use this fact to make us doubt. 12

13 As you have realised by know that the book of revelation after each terrible thing it reveals it gives us a joyful image which helps us keep faith and hope in our lord jesus Christ. In chapter 19 St john saw a white horse and on him sat the faithful who is this? Christ. The white horse is symbolic of Christ s victory His eyes are red and as we mentioned above they burn the sinners and they purify the hearts of the faithful. On his head were many crowns and a name which no one could understand. This name is symbolic of the fact that no one can understand the will og god except the spirit of god. Out of his mouth came a two edged sword and again as we mentioned above 1 side of the sword kills the sinners and for the pure it is the word of god which is directed to the heart. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood. This is symbolic of the crucifixion of Christ and the blood which he shed for humanity s sake. On his thigh and cloth was written the following king of kings and lord of lords this signifies the power and authority over all authorities in the world. After this vision of Christ st john was reassured and after that he witnessed the death of the antichrist. The beast was captured and his prophet who helped him were cast into the lake of burning fire with brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword of him who sat on the white horse. We said the devil is three the beast with seven heads the leopard and the lamb so these two were cast into the pit. Satan until now is still alive at this point. After this st john saw an angel coming down from heaven and he says Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand What does the angel do with this chain he bounds Satan and locks him up for a thousand years where he can do little trouble. But after the thousand years he must be released for a short while. This is the scariest part in the whole book of revelation. 13

14 The thousand years began at the beginning of the church and until know we are in this thousand years. So all these troubles that are in the world are all the outcome of a limited Satan who is bound. And evidence for this is the fact how the church is spreading how there are many who still have communion and so on. After this thousand year reign Satan will be released from his prison. He will cause havoc in the four corners of the world. However fire will come down from heaven and Satan will be cast into the lake of fire. And he and the other two will be tormented forever. So Satan can never repent because the book of revelation says he will be tormented forever. After this depressing seen St john had to see a joyful scene. St John Says the following, He saw the king of Glory in heaven I saw a great white thrown and him who sat on it from whose face the Earth and Heaven Fled away. And there was found no place for them Rev 20:11 This image of Christ is that of peace he can rest for he doesn t need to care for the church any longer because Satan has been thrown into the lake of fire. After this St john saw the book of life he tell us that those that had died in the sea their souls were delivered for judgement those in hell were delivered for judgment those that were alive were delivered for judgement according to their works. Those whose name wasn t found in the book of life were thrown into the lake of fire For those That were in the Book of life we begin to see their reward. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city Jerusalem. Having the glory of God and her light was like a most precious stone like a jasper stone clear as crystal Rev 21:10-11 And he tells us Then I john saw the Holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband And he will dwell with them and they shall be his people. Imagine that living with Christ in his place. After this st john the wall of this great city. It had 12 levels each 1 out of a certain stone like jasper and sapphire. These 12c levels symbolise the twelve disciples. And on this wall were twelve doors. Each door represents 1 of the tribes of Israel for they are the ones who have prepared the path to heaven. And the only way we can get 14

15 through these doors is with the help of the church. Simply no church means no heaven. After this he was given a glimpse inside this great city. It was all Gold and from the throne of god flowed a river of life. And on the side of the river there are trees of life which don t give us food but fill us up with joy and happiness. At the end of the book of revelation St John cries out with a loud voice and says Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! The grace and pace of Jesus Christ be with you all amen 15