BTS 7: The Revelation Premiere

hello hello hello hello check check hello hello hello hello hello hello check one two check check one two one one two check hey everybody hey how are you guys hey welcome everyone thanks for coming yeah yeah yeah ha ha sweet let's bring the energy I'm a little sick so hopefully I could have some energy yes and if I was try to shake your hand it's because I'm sick but i sanitized up so I think we'll be ok with that bottle back there yeah I'm 1 so thanks for coming yeah everyone guys um there's a couple people came from Vancouver BC raise your hand if you're from oh there's another one oh dude awesome yeah great anyone else there's a gal travel over Southern California who came up what's after and a gal from San Diego Lily Anna I think it right there hi yeah that's awesome see ya um yeah you guys thank you yeah hey it's really great to see you huh um the only way you're likely here is because you care about and support and help spread the word about the Bible project yeah we already like you I like you a lot um thank you guys so much for coming this is really really fun to be here with you tonight yeah and tonight's gonna be really great you have a few bookkeeping things um well yeah we just we wanted to thank the imago Dei community and there's a number of leaders here because they're letting us use the space tonight which is awesome don't mind my kids over there and all of the other kids that you have some kids are great total it'll run wonderful yeah so on that note just one important thing for body functions there are bathrooms here only went in the foyer woman's on that side only men's on this side so don't do the dog but just women over there and four families if you have kiddos and you just feel like they're not going to be able to hang here that your noise level we're fine but whatever there is a family room down the stairs that has like a audio and video there of what's happening in this room so your kids can't hang they can you can go to that room downstairs and you probably you guys get like tea and coffee and all this yeah okay go Lee welcome in here feel free to drink it and yet I'm still you probably saw that the tables back there but if you didn't check out what's going on at the tables we're selling the revelation posters so the videos tonight you know it all ends in a poster so we're selling those if you want to get one for 25 bucks or you can sign up and become a monthly donor tonight and get one for 10 bucks signing up for being a monthly donor for 10 dollars and if all you have to do is sign up on your phone and just show them your phone this is what they told me to tell you and show them your phone saying look here we go I became a monthly member and you can get a poster for that there's t-shirts yeah there's the heaven inner circle tea arts which are only available here right now yeah it's only place yeah um so there's uh there you go that's what's going on at the tables um and there you go um you guys we're really we're really grateful to have you here yeah also there's a live stream going yeah you want to put that up we've got I don't know how many people are on it we'll find out here a lot of people obviously are from all over the world so say hi to everyone in live stream hey everyone 1,300 people awesome really cool online let's say uh right now it's incredible let's see Darren Harris do you recognize anyone I recognize anyone hey guys welcome Toronto London poll poll in Portland Portland weren't in here lazy yeah come on yeah cool so want to tell you a little bit about how this all came to be we were Tim and I are making videos that walk through the literary structure of the Bible we were doing I'm fully animated it was taking us months to make one video and and we got connected with Francis Chan who's it was a speaker author guy you probably heard of him he wrote crazy love for familiar with him yeah he's great guy mover and shaker and he was like excited bout the project which was awesome yeah and so he's like guys I want to use these can you get them all done in a year and we were like no no no way it's gonna take us like 10 years is probably what it would take yeah and then we went we thought about it we brainstormed we did some research and we came up with this idea of let's just maybe if we made it really simple diagram the book and one illustration and then just had an animator reveal it while Tim teaches we could get through all the books in here and so we tried that out the first one was with the book of Romans and start easy start with an easy one yeah yeah nailed it yeah um and then went from there and that about 18 months ago and and we produce Romans the first Romans video in about two weeks we were able to put that out in two week yeah and so I think we could do this yeah yeah yeah and so we went for it and then this whole idea of read scripture was born and so how many people been following read scripture for a while and watch the videos awesome great so we're first Peters about to release and by the end of this year we're going to get through everything but tonight you get to watch a premiere of the revelation which will be out officially on December 20 something yes it's a two-part series and I wanted hear from Tim a little bit just really quickly like what's it been like tim has done about 72 videos in 18 months it writing like a madman like what give up for Tim yeah tell us a little about that um well yeah well there's a much longer story to be told that we do kind of tell we're putting all the posters and scripts for the videos into a big coffee table book we're almost done designing and this is going to be available next year too through our website so I was already kind of thinking about the story but a lot of the story begins for me as a brand new Christian in my early 20s and I took classes at Multnomah Bible College announced the University here in Portland and Ray Lubeck is the Bible professor there and and his how to read the Bible class the culminating project was called the art of the chart and he would make you draw out the literary design of the biblical book he'd been studying and do basically is like the videos just more rudimentary and so the first one I ever did was Jonah and then second semester was Ephesians and that's just how I learned to read and engage the Bible was by drawing it as a way of processing my way through so I just kept doing that over the years and as I would teach I would just work through the books of the Bible and do that and I had was building up notes and then but I mean I was like almost twenty years ago that I started doing that but it's just been a habit that I've been in over the over the last 20 years and so this project is really the culmination of all of that work my wife is here oh she just where yes right through back there um that's Jessica right back there yes she this 18 months after we kind of worked out with Francis like yeah we're gonna do this she helped me plan out the writing breaks you know I would take three or four days to just hold up and write and draw and she would go solo with our two energetic boys and do that so literally this project exists because of her work to give me the space to work on it so thank you sweetie we're really grateful for you yeah so it's we've been calling it my second PhD it was just a monster of work actually and I wanted there a number of illustrators and animators are here to working with them sudden Nate napes here right back here in the doors he's been one of the primary animators for the read scripture videos um Everett Patterson where are you ever yeah right here he ya Everett um Everett illustrated 50 of the posters including the revelation you'll see tonight he's an animal working with him has been a pleasure and Matt Cooper are you here Mac Mac I don't know if he is Mac did 10 of the posters most almost all Old Testament there we go and I did something animating giving guy he's up there running slides yeah they're running see yeah yeah totally yeah so an incredible incredible team for the read scripture project and it's just it's been an absolute privilege I am obsessed with the Bible yeah I J yeah I don't know any other way to I just really dry entire 18 months Tim would walk out of his you know zone and he would just be like oh the book of Titus or whatever he was working on every single time yeah every book yes he's yeah it's been really fun I've learned a lot in the process but it was it was like a marathon and I just took time to enjoy each book and turned it into a two and a half page Google Doc at 11 point font uh was was my limit but the videos that I was really thinking about in the whole project I fell in love with the book of revelation from the first class that I took on it and the person who's going to be reciting the book of Revelation tonight Jason Nightingale will introduce in a minute I remember the semester I didn't tell you this Jason the semester that I took my first class on the revelations my first time studying it was in the spring of 2000 and there was a local church putting on an event where Jason came and recited the whole book of Revelation and that was two years ago and so my introduction to studying the revelation was connected to hearing you read it and me being in that class so for me these two videos tonight represent a real special project for me and the revelation is so incredible it's just so incredible it's so many ways which I've said for every book of the Bible yes no but it really is it's also really strange yeah right yeah Megan amen strange book yeah so and and it's the most asked for video of all the time everyday when are you gonna do the revelation yeah so tell us a little bit about like what's all the hype yeah well I mean I I probably don't need to tell you why it's most asked for video it's because it's also one of the most controversial books of the Bible in interpretation some of the best and the worst religious voices out there in public love to appeal to imagery or passages in the book of Revelation but the revelation is unique among the New Testament books especially it's the most image driven book of the Bible the authored the Prophet John deals in images and symbols in the book and he actually says that right in the opening chapters and so that's part of what makes it so intriguing is because every generation has been trying to figure out what these symbols and images mean but John grew up here's a Jewish and he grew up saturated in the Hebrew and Greek scriptures that's what filled is he didn't have Twitter to melt his brain he grew up on the Bible and and so that's exactly what's happened he's had these visions of the Risen Jesus he's had visions of what it means for God's kingdom to come on earth as in heaven and he's given those dreams and exquisite literary form in the apocalypse of John so we're really really excited to let these go out into the world and it's controversial lots of different ways that people interpret the book so in this video more than any of the others I stop at certain points and say now some people think this means this it could mean this where some people think it means that but everyone agrees that and I just move on uh and like you know some peasants likes a stack of 20 books that I'm trying to summarize in 10 seconds so I do that at multiple points but what I hope sinks in both as we watch it tonight and for the people that get to watch it as it goes out John wrote this as a pastor to a network of churches some of whom were undergoing real active persecution some of whom had grown apathetic in their commitment to Jesus because of the spirit of the Roman age and so he wrote this to both comfort and shake up the followers of Jesus in these churches and that's the effect that the book is supposed to have not make us think of conspiracy theories but make us think about Jesus and his victory over evil in his death and resurrection so we're super excited for tonight so here's what we're going to do we are going to show the two videos but we're going to show them and not back-to-back we're going to show part one which covers exactly the first half of the book chapters 1 through 11 and then right after the video is over Jason Nightingale is going to come up and recite from memory of chapters 1 through 11 of the revelation Jason Nightingale has a ministry called word sower ministries if you don't never heard about him or what he does it will be very clear to you why this is his ministry and why God's called him to this it's remarkable ministry of reciting whole books of the Bible in church communities all around the world and so he's going to recite Revelation chapters 1 through 11 then we're going to pause because that's a significant literary break in the book we're going to give ourselves some brain space and some bladder space because we're giving you liquid so you might need to yeah deal with that so um but we'll have a 10 minute clock going we'll come ak will watch part 2 which goes from chapter 12 to the end of the book and then Jason will get up and recite to the end so that's simple pretty simple layout for the evening you know here to both learn about the scriptures and then just hear a whole book of the Bible read aloud tonight and I'm really stoked about that I'm excited too you're in for a treat so that's it let's split everything we were going to say cool yeah thank you guys again for your support and enthusiasm and for comments really good to be here with you the book of the revelation of Jesus the author of this book which is not called revelations by the way is named at the beginning it was written by John which could refer to the Beloved Disciple who wrote the gospel and the letters of John or it could be a different John a Messianic Jewish prophet who travelled about and taught in the early church whichever John it was he makes clear in the opening paragraph what kind of book he is written he calls it first of all a revelation or Apocalypse the Greek word is apocalypsis and it refers to a type of literature very familiar to John's readers from the Hebrew Scriptures and from other popular Jewish texts apocalypse has recounted a prophet symbolic dreams and visions that revealed God's heavenly perspective on history and current events so that the present could be viewed in light of history's final outcome and John says this apocalypse is a prophecy which means it's a word from God spoken through a prophet to God's people usually to warn or comfort them in a time of crisis by calling this book a prophecy John saying that it stands in the tradition of the biblical prophets and is bringing their message to a climax and this apocalyptic prophecy was sent to real people that John knew the book opens and closes as a circular letter that was sent to seven churches in the ancient Roman province of Asia now seven is a meaningful number for John it's a symbol of completeness based on the seven day Sabbath cycle in the Old Testament and John has woven sevens into every single part of this book now with this opening John has given us clear guidance about how he wants us to understand this book Jewish apocalypse is communicated through symbolic imagery and numbers it is not a secret predictive coding of the end of the world rather John is constantly using these symbols that are drawn from the Old Testament and he expects his readers to go discover what the symbols mean by looking up the text he's alluding to also the fact that it's a letter means that John is actually addressing the situation of these first century churches and so while this book has much to say to Christians of later generations the book's meaning must first be anchored in the historical context of John's time place and audience which brings us into the books first section Jesus's message to the seven churches John was exiled on the island of patmos and he saw a vision of the Risen Jesus exalted as king of the world and he was standing among seven burning lights and John's told this as a symbol of the seven churches in Asia Minor that's been adapted from the book of the Prophet Zechariah and Jesus starts addressing the specific problems that face each Church some were apathetic due to wealth and influence others were morally compromised their people were still eating ritual meals and sleeping around and pagan temples but others among the churches remained faithful to Jesus and they were suffering harassment and even violent persecution and Jesus warns that things are going to get worse a tribulation is upon the churches that will force them to choose between compromise or faithfulness by John's day the murder of Christians by the Roman Emperor Nero was passed and the persecution of Christians by emperor Domitian was likely underway and so the temptation was to deny Jesus either to avoid persecution or simply to join the spirit of the Roman age and Jesus calls them to faithfulness so that they can overcome or literally conquer and Jesus promises a reward for everyone in these churches who does conquer each reward is drawn directly from the books final vision about the marriage of heaven and earth and so this opening section it sets up the main plot tension that will drive the storyline in this book will Jesus as people endure will they inherit the new world that God has in store and why is faithfulness to Jesus described as conquering the rest of the book is John's answer after this John has a vision of God's heavenly throne room and he describes it with imagery drawn from many Old Testament prophets surrounding God are creatures and elders that represent all creation and human Nations and they're giving honor and allegiance to the one true Creator God who is holy holy holy in God's hand is a scroll that's closed up with seven wax seals it symbolizes the message of the Old Testament prophets and the sealed scroll of Daniels visions these are all about how God's kingdom will come here fully on earth as in heaven but it turns out no one is able to open the scroll until John hears of someone who can it's the lion from the tribe of Judah and the root of David he can open it these are classic Old Testament descrip of the messianic king who would bring god's kingdom through military conquest now that's what John hears but then what he turns and sees is not an aggressive Lion King but a sacrificed bloody lamb who's alive standing there and ready to open the scroll now the symbol of Jesus as the slain lamb this is crucially important for understanding the book John saying that the Old Testament promise of God's future victorious Kingdom was inaugurated through the crucified Messiah Jesus overcame his enemies by dying for them as the true Passover lamb so that they could be redeemed because of the resurrection Jesus's death on the cross was not a defeat it was his enthronement it was the way he conquered evil and so this vision concludes with the lamb alongside the one sitting on the throne and together they are worshipped as the one true creator and Redeemer and the slain lamb begins to open the scroll it's a symbol of his divine authority to guide history to its conclusion which brings us to the next section of the book the three cycles of seven seven seals seven trumpets and seven bowls and each cycle depicts God's kingdom and justice coming here on earth as in heaven now some people think that the three sets of seven divine judgments represent a literal linear sequence of events that either happened in the past or it could be happening now or are yet to happen in the future when Jesus returns but notice how John has woven all the sevens together so the final seven bowls come out of the seventh trumpet and the seventh seal and the seven trumpets emerge from the seventh seal they're like nesting dolls each seventh contains the next seven also notice how each of the series of seven culminates in the final judgment and they have matching conclusions so it's more likely that John is using each set of seven to depict the same period of time between Jesus's resurrection and future return from three different perspectives so the slain lamb begins to open the scrolls first four seals and John sees four horsemen it's an image from the book of Zechariah chapter one and they symbolize times of war conquest famine and death in other words a tragically average day in human history then the fifth seal depicts the murdered Christian martyrs before God's heavenly throne and the cry I of their innocent blood rises up before God like smoke from the altar of incense and they're told to rest because more Christians are yet to die we're not told why but we are told that it won't last forever the sixth seal is God's ultimate response to their cry he brings the great day of the Lord that was described in Isaiah and Joel and the people of the earth cry out who is able to stand and then all of a sudden John pauses the action with an intermission to answer that question John sees an angel with a signet ring coming to place a mark of protection on God's servants who are enduring all this hardship and he hears the number of those who were sealed 144,000 it's a military census like the one in the Book of Numbers chapter 1 there are 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel now pay attention the number of this army is what Jon heard just like he heard about the conquering Lion of Judah but in both cases what he then turned and saw was the surprising fulfillment of those military images in Jesus the slain lamb so when he sees this messianic army of God's kingdom it's made up of people from all nations fulfilling God's ancient promise to Abraham it's this multi-ethnic army of the Lamb who can stand before God because they've been redeemed by the Lambs blood and now they are called the conquer not by killing their enemies but by suffering and bearing witness just like the lamb after this the seventh and final seal is broken but before the scroll is open the seven warning trumpets emerge and fire is taken from the incense altar it symbolizes the cry of the martyrs and it's cast onto the earth bringing the day of the Lord to its completion now with the seven trumpets John backs up and he retells the story again this time with images from the Exodus story so the first five trumpet blasts replay the plagues sent upon Egypt and then the sixth trumpet releases the four horsemen that came from the first four seals but then John tells us that despite all these plagues the nations did not repent just like Pharaoh didn't in the Exodus story so it seems that God's judgment alone will not bring people to humble repentance before him then John pauses the action again with another intermission an angel brings the unsealed scroll that was opened the lamb and just like Ezekiel John is told to eat the scroll and then proclaim its message to the nation's finally the lamb scroll is open and now we will discover how God's kingdom will come here on earth the scrolls content is spelled out in two symbolic visions first John sees God's Temple and the martyrs by the altar and he's told to measure and set them apart it's an image of protection taken from zechariah chapter 2 but then the outer courts in the city are excluded and they get trampled down by the nations now some think that this refers literally to a destruction of Jerusalem that happened in the past or will happen in the future but more likely John's following the tradition of Jesus and the apostles who all used the new temple as a symbol for God's new covenant people in that case this is an image about how Jesus's followers may suffer persecution by the nation's but this external defeat cannot take away their victory through the lamb this idea gets expanded in the scrolls second vision God appoints two witnesses as prophetic representatives to the nation's and once again some people think this refers literally to two prophets who will appear one day in the future but John calls them lampstands which is one of his clear symbols for the churches so this vision is more likely about the prophetic role of Jesus's followers who are to take up the mantle of Moses and Elijah and call idolatrous nations and rulers to turn back to the one true God but then all of a sudden a horrible beast appears let the reader remember Daniel chapter 7 and the Beast conquers the witnesses and kills them but then God brings them back to life and vindicates the witnesses before their persecutors and the end result is that many among the nation's finally do repent and give glory to the Creator God in the day of the Lord now stop think about the story so far God's warning judgments through the seals and through the trumpets did not generate repentance among the nations just like the Exodus plagues only hardened Pharaoh's heart but the Lamb he conquered his enemies by loving them dying for them and now the message of the lamb scroll reveals the mission of his army the church God's kingdom will be revealed when the nations see the church imitating the loving sacrifice of the Lamb not killing their enemies but dying for them it is God's mercy shown through Jesus's followers that will bring the nations to repentance and this surprising claim is the message of the open scroll that John has placed at the exact center of the entire book after this the last trumpet sounds and the nations are shaken as God's kingdom comes here on earth as it is in heaven so now we know how the church will bear witness to the nation's and inherit the new creation but who is that terrible beast that waged war on God's people and how will the whole story turn out John will tell us in the second half of the book of the revelation I wish I could draw that fast of Jesus given by God to Jesus you made it so he might he made Jesus Christ blessed is a man who reads and blessed are those who listen to the words of this prophecy and heed what is written in it but the hour fulfillment is near John to the seven churches in the province of Asia grace be to you and peace from Himalayas and awashed wish to come from the seven spirits before his throne and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness the firstborn from the dead and ruler of the kings of the earth not to him who loves us and who freed us from our sins of his life's blood who made of us a royal house to service behold he is coming with the clouds and every shall be I am there the Omega and who is and who was and was to come the Lord God Almighty hi John your brother who share with you in the suffering and the sovereignty and the endurance which is ours in Jesus I was on the island called Patmos because I preach God's Word and and born my testimony to Jesus he was on the Lord's Day and I was caught up by the spirit when behind me I heard a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet which said to me write down what you see on a scroll and send it to the seven churches to Ephesus Smyrna Pergamum Thyatira Sardis Philadelphia and Laodicea well I turned to see whose voice it was it spoke to me and when I turned I saw seven standing lamps of gold and among the lamps one like a son of man robed down to his feet with a golden girdle around his breast the hair of his head was white as snow white wool and his eyes flame like fire his feet gleamed like burnished brass refined in a furnace and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters in his right hand he held seven stars and out of his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword and his face or his face shone like the Sun in full strength when I saw him I fell at his feet is so dead but he laid his right hand upon me and said do not be afraid for I am the first and the last and I am the living one for I was dead and now I'm alive forevermore and I hold the keys of death and of deaths domain write down therefore what you have seen what is now and what shall be Hereafter here is a secret meaning of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand and of the seven lamps of gold the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches and the seven lamps are the seven churches to the Angel of the turreted Ephesus right these are the words of the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven lamps of gold I know all your ways your toil and fortitude I know that you cannot endure evil men that you have put to the proof those who claim to be apostles but or not and have found them false fortitude you have you are born up in my cause and never fly but I have this matter to bring against you you've left your early love fake from what a hide shall fall it and repent and do as you once did otherwise if you do not repent I shall come to you and remove your lap from its place and yet you have this in your favor you hate the practices of the Nicolaitans as I do here you who have ears to hear what the Spirit says to the churches to him who is victorious I will grant the right to eat from the tree of life that stands in the Garden of God to the Angel of the church at Smyrna right these are the words of the first and the last who was dead and came to life again I know how hard pressed you are and poor and yet you are rich I know how you are slandered by those who claim to be Jews but are not they are Satan synagogue do not be afraid of the suffering that is to come the devil will for some of you into prison to put to the test and for ten days who will suffer cruelly only be faithful until death and I will give you the crown of life here you who have ears to hear what the Spirit says to the churches he who is victorious cannot be harmed by the second death to the Angel of the church at Pergamum right these are the words of the one who eyes the sharp two-edged sword I know where you live it is the place where Satan has his throne and yet you're holding fast to my name you did not deny your faith in me even at the time when Antipas my faithful witness was killed in your city the home of Satan but I have these matters to bring against you you have in Pergamum some will hold to the teaching of Balaam who taught Balak to put temptation of the way of the Israelites by encouraging them to eat food sacrificed to idols and to commit fornication in the same way also you have some hold of the doctrine of the Nicolaitans so repent if you do not repent I shall come to you soon and make war upon them with the sword which comes out of my mouth here you who have ears to hear what the Spirit says to the churches to him who is victorious I will give some of the hidden manna and I give him also a white stone then upon the stone shall be written a new name known to none but him that receives it to the angel of the church at Thyatira right these are the words of the Son of God whose eyes flame like fire and his feet gleamed like burnished brass I know all your ways you love and faithfulness your fortitude and good service and of date late you have done even better than it first but I have this matter to bring against you you tolerate that Jezebel the woman who claims to be a prophetess who by her teaching lures My servants into fornication and into eating food sacrificed to idols I have given her time to repent but she refuses to repent of her fornication and so I will throw her onto a bed of pain and plunge your lovers in the terrible suffering and let's say forswear what she is doing her children I will strike dead this will teach all the churches that I am the searcher of men's hearts and thoughts and that I will reward each one of you according to his deeds now I speak to you others in Thyatira who do not accept this teaching and I've had no experience with what they like to call the deep secrets of Satan on you I will impose no further their burden only holdfast what you have until I come to him who is victorious through him will persevere in doing my will to the end I will give authority over the nation's that same authority which I received from My Father and he shall rule them with an iron rod smashing him to bits like earthenware and I will give him also the star of dawn here you who have ears to hear what the Spirit says to the churches to the Angel of the church at sardis right these are the words of the one who holds the seven spirits of God the seven stars I know all your ways until you have a name for being alive you are dead wake up and put some strength into what is left which must otherwise die for I have not found any work of yours completed in the eyes of my god remember the teaching you received observe it and repent if you do not wake up I shall come upon you like a thief and you will not know the moment of my coming yet you have a few persons inside us who have not polluted their clothing they shall walk with me in white for so they deserve he who is victorious shall thus be robed all in white his name I will never strike off the role of the living for in the presence of my father and his angels I will acknowledge him as mine here you who have ears to hear what the Spirit says to the churches to the angel of the church at Philadelphia right these are the words of the Holy One the true one who holds the key of David when he opens none may shut when he shuts none may open I know all your ways and look I have set before you an open door which no one can shut your strength I know is small yet you have observed my commands and not disowned my name this what I will do I'll make those who Satan's synagogue who claim to be Jews but are lying frauds come and fall down at your feet and they will know that you are my beloved people because you have kept my command and stood fast I will also keep you from the ordeal that is coming to fall upon the whole world and test its inhabitants I am coming soon so hold fast what you have and let no one rob you of your crown to him who is victorious I'll make him a pillar in the temple of my god and he shall never leave it and I shall write the name of my god upon him and the name of the city of my god that New Jerusalem which is coming down out of heaven from my god and my own new name here you who have ears to hear what the Spirit says to the churches to the angel of the church at Laodicea right these are the words of the Amen the faithful and true witness the prime source of all God's creation I know all your ways it's you are neither hot nor cold oh how I wish you either hot or cold but because you are lukewarm neither hot nor cold I will spit you out of my mouth you see how rich I am and how well I have done I have everything I want in the world when in fact or you do not know it you are the most pitiful rich poor blind and naked so I advise you to buy from me gold refined in the fire to make you truly rich and white clothes put on to hide the shame of your nakedness an ointment for your eyes so that you may see all whom I love I reprove and discipline be on your mettle therefore and repent here I stand knocking at the door if anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come in and sit down to supper with him and he with me to him Oh is victorious I will grant a place on my throne as I myself was victorious and sat down with my father on his throne here you who have ears to hear what the Spirit says to the churches after this I looked I saw a door open in heaven and the voice I had first heard speaking to me like the trumpet said come up here and I will show you what must happen Hereafter at once I was caught up by this spirit and there in Heaven's to the throne and upon the throne set one whose appearance like the gleam of of Jasper and cornelian and round the throne was a rainbow bright is an emerald in a circle about this throne stood twenty-four other Thrones and upon them sat twenty-four elders robed in white and wearing crowns of gold from the throne without flashes of lightning and peals of thunder and burning before the throne were seven flaming torches the seven spirits of God and in front of its Jesuits seem to see of glass like a sheet of ice in the centre round the throne itself stood four living creatures covered with eyes in front and behind the first creature was like a lion the second like an ox the third had a human face and the fourth like an eagle in flight the four living creatures each of them had six wings had eyes all over inside and out and by day and by night without paws they sang holy holy holy is God the Lord God Almighty who is and who was news to come as often as the four living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to the one who sits on the throne who lives forever and ever the twenty-four elders fall down before the one who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever as they lay their crowns before the throne they cry thou art worthy O Lord our God to receive all glory and honour and power because out its create all things by thy will they were created and have their being after this I looked I saw on the right hand of the one who sat on the throne a scroll with writing inside and out and was sealed up with seven seals and I saw mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice who is worthy to open the scroll and to break it seven seals and there was no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll of look inside it I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll of look inside it but one of the elders turned to me and said do not weep for the lion from the tribe of Judah thus kind of david has won the right to open the scroll and to break it seven seals and I saw standing in the very middle of the throne inside the circle of living creatures in a circle of elders a lab with the marks of slaughter upon him he had seven horns and seven eyes the eyes which are the seven spirits of God sent out over all the earth and the line went up and took the scroll from the right hand of the one who sat on the throne and when he took it the four living creatures no twenty-four elders fell down before the lamb each of the elders had a harp and they held golden bowls full of incense the prayers of God's people and they were singing a new song now it worthy to take stolen to break its seals for thou was slain and by thy blood did purchase for God men of every tribe and language people and nation and that has made them a royal house to serve our God is priests and they shall reign upon earth then I heard the voices of countless angels these were all around the throne the living creatures and the elders Myriad's upon Myriad's there were thousands upon thousands and they cried aloud worthy is the lamb the Lamb that was slain to receive all power and wealth wisdom and might honour and glory and praise then I heard every created thing in heaven and on earth none of the earth in the sea all that is in them crying praise and honor glory and might be to him who sits on the throne into the lamb forever and ever and the four living creatures said amen and the elders fell down and worshiped and I watched as a lamb broke the first of the seven seals and I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder come there's a look was a white horse and it's rider held a bow he was given a crown and he rode forth conquering and to conquer when the lamb broke the second seal I heard the second living creature say come now came another horse all red to its rider was given power to take peace in the earth and to make men slaughter one another and he was given a great sword when he broke the third seal I heard the third living creature say come and out came another horse all black and it's rider held in his hand a pair of scales and I heard what sounded like a voice from the midst of the living creatures which said a whole day's ways for a quart of flour a whole day's ways for three quarts of barley meal but spare the olive in the vine and we broke the fourth seal I heard the fourth living creature say come and there's a look was another horse sickly pale and it's rider's name was death and Hades followed close behind to him was given authority over a quarter of the earth with the right to kill by sword and by famine by pestilence and wild beasts and I watched he broke the fifth seal and I saw at the foot of the altar the souls of all those who've been slaughtered for gods word and for the testimony de Bourgh and they gave a great cry how long Sovereign Lord holy and true must have been before that will vindicate us and avenge our blood upon the inhabitants of the earth each of them was given a white robe and they were told to rest a little while longer until the tally should be complete of all their brothers in Christ service who were to be killed as they had been and then I walked she broke the sixth seal and there was a violent earthquake and the Sun turned black is a funeral pall in the moon all red his blood the stars from the sky fell to the earth like figs shaken down by a gale and the sky vanished as the scroll is rolled up and every mountain and island was moved from its place in the kings of the earth magnets and marshals are rich and powerful and all men slave and free hid themselves in caves and mountain crags and they cried out to the mountains and the crags fall on us and hide us in the face of the one who sits on the throne and from the vengeance of the lamb for the great day of their vengeance is calm and who who will be able to stand in after us I saw four angels stationed at the four corners of the earth holding back the four winds so that no wind should blow on sea or land on any tree then I saw another angel rising out of the east carrying the seal of the Living God and he called aloud to the four angels who have been given power to ravage land and sea do no damage to sea or land or trees until we have set the seal of our God upon the foreheads of his servants and I heard the number those who received the seal from all the tribes of Israel there were a hundred and forty-four thousand twelve thousand from the tribe of Judah twelve thousand in the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand the tribe of GAD and twelve thousand the tribe of Asher twelve thousand from the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand from the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand from the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand from the tribe of Levi twelve thousand from the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand from the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand in the tribe of Joseph and twelve thousand from the tribe of Benjamin and after this I looked I saw a vast throng which no one could count when every nation and tribe language in people standing in front of the throne and before the lamb they were robed in white and held palms in their hands shouted to God together victory to our God who sits on the throne and to the lamb and all the Angels stood round the throne on the living creatures and the elders and they fell on their faces and worshipped God saying Amen praise and glory and wisdom Thanksgiving honor honor power and might be to our God for ever and ever amen then one of the elders turned to me and said these men that are robed in white who are they and from where do they come but I answered my lord you know not I then he said to me these are the men that have come out of the great ordeal they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb and that is why they stand before the throne of God and minister to him day and night in his temple and he who sits on the throne will dwell with them they shall never again feel hunger or thirst the Sun shall not beat on them nor any scorching heat for the lamb who is at the heart of the throne will be their Shepherd and he shall guide them to the springs of the water of life and God will wipe all tears from their eyes now when the angel woke the Seventh Seal There was silence seven in heaven for what seemed half an hour and the seven angels stood in the presence of God were given seven trumpets and another angel came and stood before the altar the golden censer he was given a great quantity of incense to offer the prayers of all God's people upon the golden altar that stood before the throne and from the Angels hand the smoke of the incense went up before God with the prayers of his people and the angel took the censer filled it from the altar fire and threw it down upon the earth there came flashes of lightning appeals of thunder and an earthquake and the seven angels that held the seven trumpets prepared to blow them so the first angel blew his trumpet and there came fire and hail mingled with blood nurse was hurled upon the earth and the third of the earth was burnt a third of the trees were burnt all the green grass was burnt and the second angel blew his trumpet and what looked like a great blazing Mountain was hurled into the sea and the third of the sea was turned to blood and a third of the living creatures and it died and a third of the ships on it founder and the third angel blew his trumpet and a great star shot the sky flaming like a torch and it fell on the third of the rivers in the springs and the name of the star was wormwood and the third of the water was turned to wormwood and men and great numbers died of the water because it had been poisoned and the fourth angel blew his trumpet and the third part of the Sun was struck in a third of the moon and a third of the stars so a third of their light went dark and the third of the light of the day failed end of the night and then I saw an eagle calling with a loud cries it flew in Midheaven woe woe woe to the inhabitants of the earth when the trumpet sound was the three last angels must now blow in the fifth angel blew his trumpet and I saw a star that had fallen from heaven to earth and the star was given the key of the shaft of the abyss and with this he opened the shaft of the abyss and from the shaft smoke rose like smoke from a great furnace and the Sun in the air were darkened by the smoke from the shaft then over the earth out of the smoke came locusts these were given the powers of earthly scorpions have they were told to do no injury to the grass or twenty plant or tree but only to those men who would not receive the seal of God upon their foreheads these they were allowed to torment for five months of the torment like a scorpion sting but they were not to kill them during that time these men will seek death but they will not find it they were long to die but death will elude them in appearance the locusts are like horses equipped for battle they had on their heads would look like golden crowns their faces were like human faces their hair like women's hair their teeth like lion's teeth and were breastplates like iron and the sound of their wings was like the sound of horses and chariots rushing to battle their tails like scorpions with stings in them and in their tails they their power to plague mankind for five months and they have what their king the angel the abyss whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon and in Greek apollyon or the destroyer first world has now passed but there's still 2 more to come and this sixth angel blew his trumpet and I heard a voice in between the horns of the golden altar the stood before the throne and it said to the angel that held the trumpet release the four angels held bound at the great river you afraid so the four angels will let loose to kill a third of mankind they had been held ready for this moment for this very year month day and hour and their squadrons of cavalry count I heard number 200 million this is how the horses and their riders looked in my vision they were breastplates fiery red blue and sulfur yellow the horses heads are like lions heads and from their mouths came fire smoke and sulfur by these three plagues that is by the fire the smoke and the sulfur that came from the horse's mouth a third of mankind was killed the power the horses lay in their mouths and their tails also for their tails are like snakes with heads and with these two they dealt injuries the rest of mankind who survived these plagues still did not renounce the gods their hands at fashioned nor ceased their worship of Devils nor of idols made of gold silver bronze stone and wood which cannot see or hear or walk nor did the repent of their murders their fornication their sorcery or their robberies and after this I looked I saw another mighty angel coming down out of heaven from God it was wrapped in cloud with a rainbow around his head his face shone like the Sun and his legs were like pillars of fire and in his hand he held a little scroll unrolled his right foot he placed in the sea is left on the land then he gave a great shout like the roar of a lion and when he shouted the seven thunders spoke I was about to write down with the seven thunders it said but I heard a voice speaking to me from heaven which said seal up but the seven thunders have said do not write it down then the angel I saw standing in the sea in the land raised his right hand to heaven and swore by him who lives who created heaven earth to sea and everything in them there shall be no more delay for when the time comes for the seven things of the soundest trumpet the hidden purpose of God will have been fulfilled as he promised to his servants the prophets and the voice that first heard speaking to me from heaven was speaking again and said now go and take the open scroll from the hand of the angel that stands in the sea in the land so I went to the engine and I asked him to give me the little scroll he said take it and eat it it'll turn your stomach sour although in your mouth it will taste sweeter money so I took the scrolls names when I ate it in my mouth they did taste sweet as honey but when I swallowed it turned my stomach sour and then they said to me once again you must have two prophecies over peoples and nations and languages and mini kings I was given a long cane and told now go and measure the temple of God the altar and the number of worshippers but have nothing to do with the outer Court of the temple do not measure that but has been given over to the Gentiles and they shall trample the holy city under foot for 42 months and I have two witnesses whom I will appoint to prophesy dressed in sackcloth all through those 1260 days these are the two olive trees and the two lamps that stand in the presence of the Lord of the earth if anyone seeks to do them harm fire pours in their mouths and consumes their enemies and thus shall demand I who seeks to do them injury these two have been given the part I set up the sky so that no rain may fall during the time in their prophesy and they have the power to turn water to blood and to strike the earth at will with every kind of plague but when they have completed their testimony the Beast which comes up from the abyss will wage war upon them and defeat and kill them their corpses will lie in the street of the great city whose name in allegory is Sodom or Egypt were also there Lord was crucified for three days and a Half Men from every nation of All Tribes languages in people's gaze upon their corpses and refused in burial all men on earth gloat over them make merry and exchange presents for these two prophets were a torment to the whole earth but at the end of the three days and a half the breath of life from God came into them and they stood up on their feet to the terror of all who sought then a voice was heard speaking them from heaven which said come up here and they went up to heaven in a cloud in full view of their enemies at that very moment there was a violent earthquake and a tenth of the city fell seven thousand people died in that earthquake the rest in terror paid homage to the God of heaven the second woe has now passed but the third is soon to come in the seventh angel blew his trumpet and there were voices heard in heaven shouting the sovereignty of the world has passed to our Lord in His Christ and he shall reign forever and ever and the twenty-four elders stood on their Thrones before God fell on their faces and worship I'm saying we give thee thanks O Lord God Lord God Almighty who art and who wast for thou has taken thy great power to thy hands and entered upon thy reign the nations raised but thy day of retribution has come now is the time for the dead to be judged now it's a time for recompense to thy servants the prophets to thy dedicated people and to all who honour thy name both great and small the time to destroy those who destroy the earth then God's temple in heaven was laid open and within the temple could be seen the Ark of his covenant and there came flashes of lightning peals of thunder an earthquake and a storm of hail and so in the first 11 chapters I got Oh first oh yeah all right we're still going we're going to do a 10-minute break and there'll be a countdown clock so you could be in your seats and we're going to then start the second half of the revelation there's coffee and tea and cider women's bathrooms men's bathrooms and we'll see you back in ten minutes thanks guys all right thanks again for coming you guys I don't know if you caught in the opening paragraph of the revelation but there's a blessing pronounced on the one who reads this book and a blessing on those who hear it did you catch that at the beginning John designed this book for the very experience that we're having this evening he designed the book to be read aloud at one go but modern Westerners we're brain fried and so we have to have a 10-minute you know intermission but the book was designed for the very thing that we're experiencing here tonight and I don't know if you've ever heard a whole book of the Bible read aloud that's how most of the earliest followers of Jesus experienced the Bible for centuries was through hearing whole sections or whole books of the Bible read aloud so this is really a privilege to get to experience something that puts us in touch with thousands of years of a heritage and practice in in the in the church so with no further delay you guys ready for action so the the lamb scroll has been opened how many of you have ever noticed that kind of narrative arc to the book before I think the images can so overwhelm you there's a story being told about the persecuted church that's shaken awake and that's given comfort through the message of the lamb scroll that calls God's people to this strange vocation of suffering love before the nation's so who who is the beast and what will happen when the beast in the kingdom of God collide this is the second half of the book of Revelation so let's watch the video and then again Jason will read for us the last half of the book the revelation of Jesus given to John the Prophet in the first video we explored how John composed this apocalyptic prophecy as a circular letter to seven churches in Asia Minor to challenge and comfort these Christians who were suffering from apathy and persecution under the Roman Empire we also encountered John's main symbol for Jesus the slain lamb who conquered his enemies by dying for them he is the one who opens up the scroll containing God's purposes to bring his kingdom on earth as in heaven the scrolls opening brought warning judgments like the plagues of Egypt and like Pharaoh the nations do not repent and then John introduced the multi-ethnic army of the Lamb and the open scroll revealed their strange mission it's to follow the lamb by bearing witness to God's justice and mercy before the beastly nations even if it kills them and they will conquer the beasts by laying down their lives just like the lamb and this will move the nations to repentance in the remainder of the book John will fill out his portrayal of this beast and his war on God's people and how the whole story ends after the seven trumpets John stops the drumbeat of sevens with a series of visions that he calls signs the word literally means symbols and these chapters are full of them these visions explore the message of the open scroll in greater depth the first one reveals the cosmic spiritual battle that lay behind the suffering of the seven churches under Roman persecution it's a manifestation of that ancient conflict that began in Genesis chapter 3 the serpent who represents the source of all evil is depicted here as a dragon it attacks a woman and her seed they represent the Messiah and his people then the Messiah defeats the dragon through his death and resurrection and it's cast to earth there the dragon inspires hatred and persecution of the Messiah's people but they will conquer the dragon by resisting his influence even if it kills them John's trying to show the churches that neither Rome nor any other nation or human is the real enemy there are dark spiritual powers at work and Jesus's followers will announce Jesus's victory by remaining faithful and loving their enemies just like this John's next vision retells the story of the same conflict but this time in the earthly symbolism of Daniels animal visions John sees two beasts empowered by the dragon one of them represents national military power that conquers through violence the other bee symbolizes the economic propaganda machine that exalts this power is divine and these bees demand full Allegiance from the nations and that symbolized by taking the mark of the beast and his number 666 on the forehead or hand now this is the infamous image and you won't discover its meaning by reading news headlines John's making a clear Hebrew Old Testament reference here first of all this mark is the anti Shema the writing on the forehead in hand it's a clear reference to the Shema an ancient Jewish prayer of allegiance to God that's found in the book of Deuteronomy this prayer also was written on the forehead and hand as a symbol of devoting all your thoughts and actions to the one true God but now the rebellious Nations demand their own Allegiance and they force everyone to decide who they will follow then there's the number of the beast which has fascinated readers for thousands of years but this was not a mystery to John he spoke Hebrew and Greek and Hebrew letters were also numbers if you spell the Greek words Nero Caesar and the word beast in Hebrew each one amounts to 666 now John isn't saying that Nero was the only fulfillment of this vision Nero is just a recent example of the ancient pattern set out by Daniel that the nation's become beasts when they exalt their own power and economic security as a false God and then demand total Allegiance so Babylon was the beast in Daniels day but that was followed by Persia followed by Greece and now Rome in John's day and so it goes for any later nation that acts in the same way standing opposed to the beastly nations and the dragon is another king it's the slain lamb he's with his army who have given their lives to follow him and from the New Jerusalem their song of victory goes out to the nation's and what John calls the eternal gospel and they call everyone to repent into worship God and to come out of Babylon that will fall its days are numbered then John sees a vision of final judgment it symbolized by two harvests one is a good harvest of grain as king Jesus comes to gather up his faithful people to himself the other is a harvest of wine grapes it represents humanity's intoxication with evil they're taken to the winepress and trampled now throughout all these sign visions John is placing a stark choice before the seven churches will they resist the lure of Babylon and follow the lamb or will they follow the Beast and suffer its defeat now that the choice is clear John replays a final cycle of seven divine judgments symbolized as pouring out seven bowls now we know from the lamb scroll and from the sign visions that many among the nation's do repent but as the exodus plagues are repeated and poured out through the bowls there are many people who do not repent they resist and curse God just like Pharaoh and so it all leads up to the sixth Bowl as the dragon and the beast they gather the nations together to make war against God's people in a place called Armageddon this refers to a plane in northern Israel where many battles were fought by Israel against invading Nations and some people think that this sixth Bowl refers to an actual future battle other people think that it's a metaphor for God's final justice on evil either way John's clearly taken images from the Book of Ezekiel about God's battle with gog gog was Ezekiel symbol of the rebellious Nations gathered before God to face his justice and that's what comes in the seventh Bowl it's the fourth and final depiction of the day of the Lord when evil is defeated among the nation's once and for all now John has fully unpacked the message of the Lambs unsealed scroll and now he goes back to expand on three key themes that he's introduced earlier the fall of Babylon the final battle to defeat evil and the arrival of the new Jerusalem and each one of these explores the final coming of God's kingdom from a different angle so first the fall of Babylon an angel shows John a stunning woman who's dressed like a queen but she's drunk with the blood of the martyrs and of all innocent people she's riding the dragon beast from the sign visions it's a symbol of the rebellious Nations and she's called Babel lon the prostitute now the detailed symbols of this vision they would be very clear to John's first readers he's personifying the military and economic power of the Roman Empire but he's also doing more in this vision John has blended together words and images from every single Old Testament passage about the downfall of ancient Babylon tyre and Edom John showing how Rome is simply the newest version of the Old Testament archetype of humanity in rebellion against God they come together in form nations that exalt their own economic and military security into a false god this isn't something limited to the past or the future it's a portrait of the human condition throughout history and babylons will come and go leading up to the day when Jesus returns to replace Babylon with his kingdom but how will Jesus's kingdom come up to this point the day of the Lord has been depicted as a day a fire or earthquake or harvest and now it's depicted as a final battle and it's told twice it results in the vindication of the martyrs now John takes us back to the sixth Bowl where the nations were gathered together to oppose God and all of a sudden Jesus appears he's the great hero he's the word of God riding on a white horse and he's ready to conquer the world's evil but pay attention he's covered with blood before the battle even begins and that's because it's his own and his only weapon is the sword of his mouth it's an image adapted from Isaiah John's telling us that Armageddon will not be a bloodbath rather the same Jesus who shed his own blood for his enemies now comes proclaiming justice he will hold accountable those who refuse to repent of the ways that they participate in the ruin of God's good world and the destructive Hellfire that they've unleashed in God's world justly becomes their own God appointed destiny after this John sees a vision of Jesus followers who have been murdered by Babylon and they're brought back to life and they reign with the Messiah for 1,000 years then after this the dragon who inspired humanity's rebellion against God rallies the nations of the world together to rebel against God's kingdom but before God's throne of Justice they all face the consequences of eternal defeat and so the forces of spiritual evil and everyone who doesn't want to participate in God's kingdom are destroyed they're given what they want to exist by themselves and for themselves and so the dragon and Babylon and all who choose them are eternally quarantined never again able to corrupt God's new creation now there's a lot of debate about the relationship of the 1,000 years to these two battles there are some who think it refers to a literal chronological sequence Jesus's return followed by a thousand-year Kingdom on earth called the millennium followed by God's final judgment other people think that the thousand years are a symbol of Jesus's and the martyrs present victory over spiritual evil and that the two battles depict Jesus's future returned from two different angles whichever view you take the main point is clear when Jesus returns as king he will deal with evil forever and he'll vindicate those who have been faithful to him the book concludes with a final vision of the marriage of heaven and earth an angel shows John a stunning bride that symbolizes the new creation that has come forever to join God and his covenant people God announces that he's come to live with humanity forever and that he's making all things new John's vision here is a kaleidoscope of Old Testament promises this place is a new heavens and earth a restored creation that's healed of the pain and evil of human history it's also a new Garden of Eden the paradise of eternal life with God but it's not simply a return back to the garden it's a step forward into a new Jerusalem a great city where human cultures and all their diversity work together in peace and harmony before God and then the most surprising twist of all there's no temple building in the new creation because the presence of God and the Lamb that were once limited to the temple now permeate every square inch of the new world and there's a new humanity there fulfilling the calling placed on them all the way back on page 1 of the Bible to rule as God's image to partner together with God in taking this creation into new and uncharted territory and so ends john's apocalypse and the epic storyline of the whole bible john did not write this book as a secret code for you to decipher the timetable of Jesus's return it's a symbolic vision that brought hope and challenge to the seven first century churches and every generation of Christians since it reveals history's pattern and God's promise that every human kingdom eventually becomes Babylon and must be resisted in the power of the slain lamb but there's a promise that Jesus who loved and died for this world will not let Babylon go unchecked he will return one day to remove evil from his good world and make all things new and that is a promise that should motivate faithfulness in every generation of God's people until the King returns that's what the book of Revelation is all about good job praise God then God's temple in heaven was laid open and within the temple could be seen the Ark of his covenant and there came flashes of lightning and peals of thunder an earthquake and a storm of hail next appeared a great portent in heaven a woman rolled with the Sun beneath her feet the moon and on her head a crown of twelve stars she was pregnant and in the anguish of her labor she cried out to be delivered then the second portent appeared in heaven a great red dragon with seven heads and ten horns on his heads were seven diadem's and with his tail he swept down a third of the stars from the sky and flanked flung them to the earth the dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth so the one her child was born he might devour it she gave birth to a male child who was destined to rule all nations with an iron rod but her child was snatched up to God and his throne and the woman herself fled into the wild so she had a place prepared for her by God there to be sustained for 1260 days then war broke out in heaven Michael and his angels waged war upon the dragon the dragon and his angels fought but they had not the strength to win and no foot hole was left them in heaven so the Great Red Dragon was thrown down that serpent of old who led the whole world astray whose name is Satan or the devil thrown down to the earth and his angels with him then I heard a voice from heaven proclaiming aloud this is the hour of victory for our God the Alvis sovereignty and power when his Christ enters upon his rightful rule for the accuser of our brothers is overthrown who day and night accused them before our God by the sacrifice of the Lamb they have conquered him and by the testimony which they uttered for they did not hold their lives too dear to lay them down rejoice in you heavens and you who dwell in them but woe to you earth and sea for the devil has come down to you in great fury knowing that this time is short when the dragon found that he been thrown down to the earth he went off in pursuit of the woman who had given birth to the male child but the woman was given two great eagle wings to fly to the place in the wild where for three years and a half she was to be sustained out of the Serpent's reach from its mouth the serpent spewed a flood of water after the woman to sweep her away with its spate but the earth came to a rescue and open its mouth and swallowed the river which the dragon had spewed from its mouth that this dragon grew furious with the woman and went off to wage war on the rest of her offspring that is on those who keep God's commandments and maintain their testimony to Jesus he took his stand on the seashore then out of the sea I saw a beast rising he had ten horns and seven heads on its horns were ten diadem's and each had a blasphemous name the Beast I saw were like a leopards but it feet were like a bears and it's not like a lion's mouth the dragon conferred upon it his power and rule and great Authority one of it said to Bree she appeared to received a death blow but the war her wound was healed the whole world went after the beasts and wandering or admiration men worshiped the dragon because he had conferred his authority upon the beast men worshiped the beast also enchanted who is like the Beast who can fight against him the Beast was allowed to mouth bombast and blasphemy and was given the right to reign for 42 months he opened his mouth and blasphemy against God revealing his name and his heavenly dwelling he was allowed to wage war upon God's people and to defeat them and was given authority over every nation and tribe language and people all on earth will worship the Beast except those whose names the Lamb that was slain keeps in his role of the Living written there since the world was made here you who have ears to hear whoever's to be made a prisoner a prisoner he shall be whoever takes the sword to kill by the sword he is bound to be killed this is where the fortitude and faithfulness of God's people has its place then after I looked I saw another beast which came up out of the earth he had two horns like a lamb but spoke like a dragon he wielded all the authority of the first beast in its presence and gave the earth and its inhabitants and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the Beast who had been wounded by the sword yet lived he was allowed to work great miracles even making fire come down from heaven to earth before men's eyes and by the miracles he was allowed to perform in the presence of the Beast he deluded the inhabitants of the earth and made direct an image and honor the Beast had been wounded by the sword and yet live was allowed to give breath to the image so there could speak and could cause all who would not worship it to be put to death moreover he caused all men great and small rich and poor slave and free to be branded with a mark on his right hand or forehead and no one was allowed to buy or sell unless he board this beasts mark either name a number here is the key and anyone who has intelligence may work out the number of the beast the number represents a man's name and the numerical value of its letters is 666 and then I looked and on Mount Zion stood the lamb and with him were 144,000 who had his name and the name of his father in their foreheads and I heard a sound from heaven like the noise of rushing water and the deep roar of thunder was a sound of Harper's playing on their harps there before the throne and the living creatures and the elders they were singing a new song that song which no one could learn except these hundred and forty-four thousand who alone from the whole world had been ransomed these are men who did not defile themselves with women for they have kept themselves tastehh and they follow the lamb wherever he goes they have been ransomed as the firstfruits of humanity for God in the lamb no lie was found in their lips they are faultless then I saw an angel flying him in heaven with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those on earth to every nation and tribe language and people he cried out loud fear God and pay him homage for the hour of his judgment is near worship Him who made heaven and earth to sea in the water Springs and another angel a second followed and he cried out for word full and his Babylon the Great she who has made all nations drink the fierce wine of her fornication and yet another angel a third followed and he cried out loud whoever worships the Beast in its image and received his mark on right hand or forehead he shall drink the wine of God's wrath poured undiluted into the cup of his vengeance he shall be tormented in sulfurous flames before the holy angels in the lamb and the smoke of their torment shall rise forever and ever there will be no respite for those who worship the Beast in its image and who wear the mark of the beast this is where the fortitude of God's people has its place in keeping God's commands and remaining loyal to Jesus moreover I heard a voice speaking in me from heaven which said right this blessed are the dead who die in the faith of Christ henceforth says the spirit they may rest from their labors for they take with them the record of their deeds now after this I looked a white cloud appeared and upon the cloud sought one like a son of man in his hand he held a gold sickle and on his head was a golden crown and from the angel came from the temple came another angel and he shouted in a loud voice to him who had this the sharp sickle stretch out your sickle and gather nurse crepe harvest for its clusters are overripe so the angel put his sickle to the earth and gathered in its harvest and from the temple came another angel he also had a sharp sickle then from the altar came yet another the angel who has authority over fire and he shouted in a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud stretch out your sickle and gather a nurse grape harvest for its clusters are ripe so the angel put his sickle to the earth and gathered a nurse grape harvest and threw it into the great winepress of God's wrath and the winepress was trodden outside the city and for 200 miles around the blood flowed from the from the height from the winepress to the height of the horses bridles next another great an astonishing portent appeared in heaven seven angels with seven plagues the last plagues of all four with them the wrath of God is consummated and I saw what seemed to see him glass shop of fire and beside the sea holding the harps of God had given them were those men who would won the victory over the Beast and its image and the number of its name they were singing the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb as they chanted great and marvellous are thy deeds O Lord God sovereign over all true and just to thy judgments out king of the ages who shall not revere the Lord and pay homage to thy name for thou alone art holy all nations shall come and worship in thy presence for thy just dealing Stan revealed in the sanctuary of the heavenly attentive testimony was thrown open and out of it came the seven angels with the seven plagues they were clothed in fine linen clean and shining and had golden girdles around their breasts then one of the four living creatures gave the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever and the sanctuary was filled with smoke from the glory of God his power so that no one could enter it until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed and then from the sanctuary heard a loud voice which said to the seven angels now go and pour out the seven bowls of God's wrath upon the earth so the first angel went and poured his bowl upon the earth and foul malignant sores appeared upon those men who worshiped the beast his image and who Ward the mark of the beast and the second angel poured his bowl on the sea and its water was turned to blood like the blood from a corpse and every living thing in the sea died and the third angel poured his bowl on the rivers in the springs and they too were turned to blood then I heard the Angel of the waters say just art thou and these eye judgments our Holy One who Artin to us for they shed the blood of thy prophets and of thy people and now has given them blood to drink they have their desserts and I heard the altar cry yes Lord God sovereign over all true and just to thy judgments and the fourth angel poured his bull on the son it was allowed to burn men with its flames they were fearfully burned but they only cursed the God of heaven for their source and pains and they would not repent or do a moment and the fifth angel poured his bowl on the throne of the beast as kingdom was plunged in darkness men gnawed their tugs in agony but the only curse the name of God who had the power to inflict such plagues and they would not repent of what they had done and the sixth angel poured his bowl on the great river Euphrates and this water was dried up to prepare the way for the king from the east then I saw coming from the mouth the Beast and not the false prophet in the mouth the dragon three fouls spirits like frogs these spirits were Devils with the power to work miracles and they were sent out to muster the kings for the great day of battle of God the sovereign Lord that is a day when I come like a thief blessed is the man who stays awake and keeps on his clothes so will not have to go naked and ashamed for all to see so they assembled the King at the place called it the Kings at the place called in Hebrew Armageddon the seventh angel poured his bull on the air and from the sanctuary heard a loud voice in the throne which said it is over and there came flashes of lightning and peals of thunder and a violent earthquake like none before in human history so violent it was and the great city was split in three and all the cities of the world fell in ruin and God did not forget Babylon the Great what made her drink the cup which was filled with the fierce wine of his vengeance and every island vanished and there was not a mountain to be seen and huge hailstones weighing perhaps a hundred weight fell on men from the sky and they cursed God for that plague of hail for that plague of hail was so severe then when the seven angels of hell the seven bowls came and spoke to me said come and I will show you the great enthroned above the ocean so in the spirit he carried me away into the wilds and there I saw a woman mounted on a scarlet beast which had seven heads and ten horns and was covered with blasphemous names and the woman I saw was clothed in purple and scarlet and behd eyes and with gold and jewels and pearls and in her hand she held a gold cup full of obscenities and the thumbless of her fornication and written upon her forehead was a name with a secret meaning Babylon the Great the mother of and of every obscenity on earth and the woman I saw was drunk with the blood of God's people and with the blood of those who had borne their testimony to Jesus and as I looked at her I was greatly astounded but the angel said to me why are you so standard I will tell you the secret of the woman of the Beast she ride to the seven heads in ten horns the Beast you've seen is he who wants us alive and is alive no longer and has yet to ascend out of the abyss before going to perdition those on earth whose names have not been inscribed in the lamb's role of the living ever since the world began all will be astonished to see the beast for he once was alive and is alive no longer and has yet to appear but here is a clue for those who can interpret it the seven heads represent Seven Hills on which the woman sits they represent also Seven Kings of whom five have already fallen one is now reigning and one is yet to come and he does come his own to last for a short while as for the Beast you've seen who once was alive and is alive no longer he is an eight and yet he is one of the seven and he is going to Perdition the ten horns are ten Kings who have not yet begun to rain but who for one hour will share with the big beasts the exercise of royal authority but they have about a single purpose among them and will confer their power and authority upon the lamb upon the Beast excuse me they will wage war upon the lamb but the lamb will defeat them for he is Lord of lords and King of Kings and his victory will be shared by his followers called and chosen and faithful the ocean you saw were the great horse sad is an ocean of people's and populations languages and nations the ten horns together with the Beast will come to hate the they will strip her naked and leave her desolate they will back on her flesh and burn her to ashes for God has put it into their heads to carry out his purpose by making common cause and conferring their sovereignty upon the Beast until all that God has spoken has been fulfilled the woman you have seen is the great city that holds sway over the kings of the earth after this I looked I saw another mighty angel coming down out of heaven from God he came with great Authority and the earth was lit up with this splendor and in a mighty voice he proclaimed aloud fallen full and his babylon the great she's become a dwelling place for demons a hunt for every unclean spirit for every vile and loathsome bird for all nations have drunk deep of the fierce wine of her fornication the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her and merchants to world over have grown rich on her bloated then I heard another voice from heaven which said come out of her my people lest you take part in her sins and share in her plagues for her sins Apollo high as heaven and God has not forgotten her crimes pay her back in her own coin repay her twice over for her deeds double for her the strength of the potion she mixed meat out grief in torment to match her voluptuous pomp she says in her heart I'm a queen on my throne no mourning for me no widow's weeds because of this her plague shall strike her in a single day pestilence bereavement famine and burning for mighty is the Lord God who has pronounced her doom the kings of the earth who committed fornication with her and wallowed in her luxury will weep and well as they see the smoke from her conflagration they will stand at a distance for or torment weeping and mourning and saying alas alas through the great city the mighty city of Babylon in a single hour your doom is struck in the merchants of the earth also weep and mourn for her for known any longer buys their cargoes cargoes of gold and silver jewels and pearls cause a purple and scarlet silks and fine linens all sort of scented woods ivory all kinds of things made of costly woods iron bronze and marble cinnamon and spice incense perfume and frankincense wine oil flour and wheat sheep and cattle horses chariots slaves and the lives of men the fruits you long for they will say is gone from you all the glitter and glamour lost never to be yours again the traitors and all these wares who gained their wealth from her will stand at a distance for or torment weeping and wailing and saying alas alas for the great city which was clothed in purple and scarlet and but dies and with gold and jewels and perils alas and in a single hour so much wealth to be laid waste and all the sea captains and voyagers the sailors and those are traded by sea will cry out as they see the smoke from her conflagration was there ever a city like the great said hey they threw dust on their heads weeping and wailing and saying alas o alas for the great city were all of ships in secret rich on her wealth alas in a single hour she should be laid waste but let heaven exalt over her exalt the apostles and prophets and people of God from the judgment against her he has vindicated your cause and I saw mighty angel take up a stone like a great millstone he hurled it into the sea and said thus shall Babylon the Babylon the Great Beast sent hurtling down never to be seen again no loss of the sound of Harper's and minstrels of flute players and trumpeters be heard in you know more so Christ went of any trade be found in you know more so the sound of the mill be heard in you know more so the light of the lamp be seen in you know more so the Brydon brought voice of the bride and bridegroom be heard in you for your traitor who wants to merchants princes of the world and with your sorcerer you deceived all nations or the blood of God's people and of God's prophets was found in her the blood of all we'd been done to death on earth and I heard what sounded like the roar of a vast throng in heaven and they were shouting hallelujah victory and glory and power belong to our God for true injustice judgments he has condemned the great who corrupted the earth with her fornication and has avenged upon her the blood of his servants and once more they shouted amen Alleluia then I heard a voice in the throne which said praise our God all you his servants you that fear him both great and small and once again I heard what sounded excuse me I skipped a verse and you dropped back one excuse me and then that the four living creatures in twenty-four elders seated on their throne begun before God fell on their faces and worshiped God as he sat on his throne and they too cried Amen Alleluia and then I heard a voice in the throne which said praise our God all you his servants you did fear him both great and small and once again I heard what sounded like the roar of a vast throng in heaven like the noise of rushing water and the deep roar of thunder and they were shouting I don't know yea the Lord our God sovereign over all has entered upon his reign exulte and shout for joy and pay him homage for the wedding day of the Lamb has come his bride has made herself ready and for her Jesse's been given fine linen clean and shining now the fine linen signifies the righteous deeds of God's people then the angel who spoke to me said write this blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb then he added these are the very words of God well at this I fell at his feet to worship Him but he said to me no not that for I am but a fellow servant with you and your brothers who bear their testimony to Jesus it is God you must worship then he said to me the testimony to Jesus is the spirit of prophecy and after this I looked I saw heaven wide open and there before me was a white horse whose rider's name was faithful and true for he is just in judgment and just in war and on his head were many diadem's in his eyes flame like fire written upon his forehead was a name whose meaning was known to none but himself and he was robed in the garments in blood he was called the word of God and the armies of heaven followed after him on white horses clothed in fine linen clean and shining and from this mouth there when a sharp sword with which to smite the nation's for he it is who shall rule them with an iron rod and tread the winepress of the wrath and retribution of God the sovereign Lord and upon his robe and upon his thigh that was written the name king of kings and Lord of lords and I saw an angel standing in the Sun calling aloud to all the birds flying in Midheaven calm and gather for God's great supper to eat the flesh of kings and commanders and fighting men the flesh of horses and their riders the flesh of all men great and small rich and poor slave and free and I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies mustered to do battle with the writer in his army and the Beast was taken prisoner and so was the false prophet who would work miracles in its presence and had deluded the inhabitants of the earth to worship the beast in Simmons and wore the mark of the beast these two were thrown alive to the lake of fire with its sulfurous flames while the rest were killed by the sword which went from the riders mouth and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh then I saw another angel coming down out of heaven from God with the key of the shaft of the abyss and a great chain in his hands and he seize the dragon that serpent of old his name is Satan or the devil and chained him up for a thousand years he threw him into the abyss shutting and sealing in over him say my seducer nation's No More to the thousand years are over after that he must be let loose for a short while when I saw Thrones and upon them saith the host those to whom judgment was committed I saw the souls of all those who've been beheaded for the sake of God's Word and for their testimony to Jesus those who had not worshiped the Beast in its image and had not received its mark on right hand or forehead these came to life again and reigned with Christ for a thousand years though the rest of the Dead did not come to life again until the thousand years are over this is the first resurrection blessed indeed in one of God's own people a man is the man who shares this first resurrection upon such the second death has no claim but they sell be priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with him for a thousand years when the thousand years are over Satan will be let loose from his dungeon and come out to seduce a nation's in the four corners of the earth and must of them for battle yes the hosts of Gog and Magog countless is the sands of the sea so they marched over the breadth of the land and laid siege to the camp of God's people and to the city that he loves but fire came down on them from heaven and consumed them and the devil their seducer was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur were also the beast and the false prophet had been flung there to be tormented day and night forever and I saw a great white throne and the one who sat upon it from his presence heaven earth vanished away and there was no place left for them and I said the dead both great and small standing before the throne then books were opened and then another book was opened the role of the living from what was written in these books the dead were judged each one upon the record of his deeds and the sea gave up the dead in his keeping death and Hades gave up the dead in their keeping they were judged each one upon the record of his deeds then death and Hades were thrown for like a fire this lake of fire is the second death and into it or thrown any whose names and not to be found in the Lamb's roll of the living and I saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven the first earth that vanished away and there was no longer any sea and I saw the holy city of Jerusalem New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God made ready like a bride adorned for her husband and I heard a voice from the throne proclaiming aloud now at last God has this dwelling among men he shall dwell among them and they shall be his people and God Himself will be with them and he shall wipe away every tear from their eyes and there shall be an end to death at the mourning and crying and pain for the old order has passed away and he who sat on the throne said behold I am making all things new then he said to me write this for these words are trustworthy and true indeed they are already fulfilled I am the Alpha and the Omega the beginning in the end a draft from the water Springs of life will be my free gift to the thirsty all this is a Victor's heritage and I will be his God and he shall be my son but as for the Cowardly the faithless and the vile murderers fornicators sorcerers idolaters and Liars of every kind their lot shall be the second death in the lake that burns with sulfurous flames then one of the seven angels of Hell the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and spoke to me and said come but I will show you the bride the wife of the Lamb so in this spirit he carried me away to a great high mountain and there I saw the holy city of Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God or so know the glory of God now the radiance of some priceless jewel like a Jasper clearest crystal the city had a great high wall which had twelve gates at which were twelve angels and upon the gates to inscribed the names of the 12 tribes of Israel there were three gates to the east three to the north three to the south and three to the west and city wall had twelve foundation stones and upon them were the names of the Twelve Apostles of the Lamb the angel that spoke to me carried a gold measuring rod we'll do it to measure the city it's wall in its gay and the city was built as a square and was as wide as it was long and it measured by his rod twelve thousand furlongs its length breadth and height being equal the city wall was a hundred and forty-four cubits high that is inhuman measurements which the angel was using and the wall was built of Jasper while the city itself was a pure gold bright as clear glass the foundation stones of the city wall were adorned with jewels of every kind the first the foundation stones being Jasper the second lapis lazuli the third Caledonia the fourth Emerald this is sardonyx a six cornelian the seventh chrysolite the eighth beryl the ninth topaz the tenth chrysoprase the eleventh turquoise and the twelfth amethyst the twelve gates were made from twelve pearls each gate being made from a single pearl and the streets of the city were of pure gold like translucent glass and I saw no temple in this city for its temple is the sovereign Lord God and the lamb nor did they have need of Sun or moon to shine upon it for the glory of God gave it light and its lamp was the lamb and by its light shall the nations walk and the kings of the air shall bring into it the city all their splendor and the gates of the city will never be shut by day and there will be no night and all the wealth and splendor the nation shall be brought into it but no unclean thing shall enter nor anyone whose ways are false or foul but only those whose names are inscribed in the lamb's roll of the living in the angel showed me the river of the water of life sparkling like crystal flowing the throne of God and the lamb down the middle of the city street and on either side of the the rivers to the Tree of Life which shows twelve crops of fruit one for each month of the year and the leaves of the trees serve for the healing of the nations and every Ackerson thing shall disappear and the throne of God and the lamb will be there his servant shall worship Him they shall see him face to face and bear his name on their foreheads and there shall be an inn tonight nor will they have lead a need of lamp or Sun for the Lord God will give them light and they shall reign forevermore the angel said to me write this for these words are trustworthy and true the Lord God who inspires the prophets has shown his sent his angel to show service what must shortly happen and remember yes I am coming soon blessed is a man who heeds the words contained in this book of prophecy is I John who heard these things and when I had heard and seen them I fell in worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me but he said to me no not that for I am but a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets and those who heed the words of prophecy contained in this book it is God you must worship then he said to me do not seal up the words of prophecy containers book for the hour fulfillment is near meanwhile let the evildoer go on doing evil and the filthy minded wallowing is filth but let the good man persevere in His goodness and let the dedicated man be true to his dedication I am coming soon and bringing my recompense with me to requite everyone according to his deeds I am the Alpha and the Omega the beginning in the end the first and the last I Jesus have sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches I am the scion and offspring of David the bright morning star blessed as the men who washed his robes clean he shall enter by the gates of the city and have a share in the Tree of Life outsider dogs murderers fornicators sources idolaters and all who love and practice deceit come to the spirit and the bride come bloody terror reply come forward you were thirsty accept the water of life a free gift to all who desire it for my part I give this warning to everyone who is listening to the words contained in this book of prophecies you take away from the words of prophecy contained in this book God will take away from him they share in the holy city in The Tree of Life described this book he who gives this testimony speaks yes I am coming soon though amen come Lord Jesus may the grace of the Lord Jesus be with you all amen cool give it up for Jason thank you Jason I don't really want to say anything yeah yeah you sit down um thank you so much for coming aiming so much to us that you're here because that means you care so much about this project and and thank you for that that was amazing it was a privilege to to listen to the book read aloud and that that's it that's really it for tonight we're going to be hanging out so come say hi oh and then but you're gonna do a prayer and I'm gonna sit down when you do that cuz I will sure okay yeah um I'd be good just one thing one of the most common questions that we get is what are you going to do when you finish the books of the Bible oh yeah and we finished the books of the Bible but we're not done we we feel like this the spirits opening up more opportunity than when we thought possible when this project began so you probably saw the video we put out earlier this week about all the projects that we want to get out there but the the scriptures are a living spirit empowered word that change people when it encounters them amen and we experienced that tonight and we feel so privileged to be able to be a part of helping given create a new conduit for the Spirit to bring the Scriptures alive to people all over the planet through YouTube and so we'll be done when we feel like God tells us that it's going to be done but the continuing support of you all when people around the world it's made it clear to us that we need to keep keep at it so that's what we're going to do until and so thank you so much really your presence here and of 1,300 people around the planet I think it was when it was he actually got go yes so what's happening yeah so anyway thank you guys this is a very special thing that we're all a part of together thank you for joining the Bible project absolutely um yeah that's it that's what I've got to say alright can I close us in a prayer yeah great um when I started learning Hebrew 17 years ago I would attend a Messianic Jewish congregation on Vancouver Washington with a with a friend and I heard a rabbi sing the blessing of Aaron from Numbers chapter 6 over the community and I was just like I must learn that and learn how to do that and so that's what I'd like to pray over us as a community around the Bible project you around the world who are watching and supporting this is a one of the oldest living active prayers in human history that has a continuous heritage reaching back over three millennia to prayer from Book of Numbers chapter 6 Eva Rehan IVA is Marisa Yair Adonai pon Avella ha v honey ha ISA haha upon a belief of the Assembly ha shallow may the Lord bless you and he keep you may the Lord cause his face to shine upon you and may he show you his favor may the Lord lift his countenance towards you and may he give you peace Shalom abundance and wholeness where Jesus we are so grateful for the gift of your word to us we ask thee we continue to empower through your spirit your word that has the potential to heal and transform and liberate and confront people around the world thank you for this this project this thing you're doing in our myths that we are all behind and excited to participate in we anticipate the coming of your kingdom may your will be done and may your kingdom come here on earth as in heaven and all God's people said amen thank you guys thanks for coming have a good night

Channel: BibleProject

Views: 596,751

Rating: 4.8344793 out of 5

Keywords: Revelation, Bible Project, New Testament, Bible

Id: 1YD__DCKb7o

Length: 124min 0sec (7440 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 02 2016

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[u/daw-nee-yale]

Live reading @33:40.