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The Vision of the Glorified Son, Part 2 (Revelation 117–19) John MacArthur · THE BELIEVER'S CHURCH | Let’s Build Our Faith Together

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  Speaker 1: Well, tonight we return to the first chapter of the
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  Speaker 1: book of Revelation. Let me read you the text to
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  Speaker 1: which we will look tonight, Revelation chapter 1, verses 17
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  Speaker 1: to 19. And when I saw him, I fell at
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  Speaker 1: his feet as a dead man, and he laid his
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  Speaker 1: right hand upon me, saying, Do not be afraid. I
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  Speaker 1: am the first and the last and the living one.
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  Speaker 1: and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore,
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  Speaker 1: and I have the keys of death and of Hades. Write, therefore,
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  Speaker 1: the things which you have seen, and the things which are,
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  Speaker 1: and the things which shall take place after these things.
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  Speaker 1: Anyone who is observant at all of the culture around
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  Speaker 1: us knows that it is obsessed with the metaphysical and
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  Speaker 1: obsessed with the paranormal. Our culture is obsessed with fantasies,
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  Speaker 1: science fiction, other worldly interests, bizarre kinds of dreams, visions.
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  Speaker 1: And all of this leads to a very great preoccupation
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  Speaker 1: with imagining and guessing what the future would be like.
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  Speaker 1: Books Motion pictures, television programs focus on the future, trying
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  Speaker 1: to imagine how it will be. And I suppose it's
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  Speaker 1: no different than it's been in any age or in
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  Speaker 1: any culture in the history of the world. Men have
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  Speaker 1: always been preoccupied with wanting to know the future. But
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  Speaker 1: there is only one book that tells us the future accurately, and.
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  Speaker 2: That is the Bible.
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  Speaker 1: And in the Bible, there is one particular book which
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  Speaker 1: devotes greatest detail and attention to the future, and that
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  Speaker 1: is the book of Revelation. And so, in our hands,
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  Speaker 1: as we open to this book, is the future. Here
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  Speaker 1: we have the chronicle written by God through the pen
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  Speaker 1: of John to tell.
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  Speaker 2: Us how the world will come to its end.
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  Speaker 1: Here is the last great chapter in human history written
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  Speaker 1: before it ever happens. The focal point of this future
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  Speaker 1: look is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. That's
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  Speaker 1: why it's called the revelation of Jesus Christ. That's why
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  Speaker 1: John begins that way, the revelation of Jesus Christ. The
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  Speaker 1: main character in this book of 22 chapters is the
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  Speaker 1: Lord Jesus Christ. We have already seen Him in the
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  Speaker 1: Old Testament as He was prophesied. We saw Him in
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  Speaker 1: the gospels as He came into the world and lived
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  Speaker 1: His life in humility, died and rose again and ascended.
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  Speaker 1: We have heard the apostles write about the meaning of
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  Speaker 1: His humiliation, the meaning of His death, and the meaning
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  Speaker 1: of His resurrection. All of that is past and present.
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  Speaker 1: This book takes us to the future. And so we
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  Speaker 1: don't see Christ in humiliation here. We see Him in
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  Speaker 1: full glory. This book gives us the unveiling, the apocalupsis,
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  Speaker 1: the revealing of the full glory of Jesus Christ in
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  Speaker 1: the future.
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  Speaker 2: It is not a fantasy. It is fact.
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  Speaker 1: It is, if you will, cold, hard, historical data. For
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  Speaker 1: in the mind of the eternal God there is no past,
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  Speaker 1: there is no present, there is no future. Everything is
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  Speaker 1: one vast eternal now. He then can tell us the
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  Speaker 1: history of what hasn't happened as well as He can
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  Speaker 1: tell us the history of what has happened and what
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  Speaker 1: is happening. And so you have here history. The history
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  Speaker 1: of the end of the world, the history of the
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  Speaker 1: glorification of Jesus Christ and His return in every detail.
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  Speaker 1: Now this monumental book was written originally by the Apostle
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  Speaker 1: John with the intent that it would be sent to
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  Speaker 1: seven churches which were in Asia Minor. And from these
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  Speaker 1: seven churches would be disseminated to the whole of the
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  Speaker 1: Christian world and eventually put together with the rest of
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  Speaker 1: the New Testament books to make up what we now
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  Speaker 1: have as the New Testament. These churches, for the most part,
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  Speaker 1: were experiencing difficulty. They were experiencing persecution by the time
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  Speaker 1: John wrote, it's 96 A.D. Sixty years after the crucifixion
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  Speaker 1: of Jesus Christ, Christianity has become an intolerable sect. John
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  Speaker 1: himself is in exile on the island of Patmos for
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  Speaker 1: preaching Christ.
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  Speaker 2: Believers are losing their lives.
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  Speaker 1: The reign of terror under Domitian which began maybe about 81.
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  Speaker 1: was the very reign of terror which resulted in John
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  Speaker 1: being exiled and taking the life of numerous Christians. There
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  Speaker 1: was much suffering in the church. There was death in
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  Speaker 1: the church. And it was very necessary at this time
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  Speaker 1: for the church to be encouraged because it looked on
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  Speaker 1: the surface as if Jesus had come and gone. ascended
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  Speaker 1: into heaven and everything got progressively worse. And the church
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  Speaker 1: could have been well on the brink of losing all hope.
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  Speaker 1: And so comes this last New Testament book, many, many
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  Speaker 1: years after its predecessor. And it is to assure the
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  Speaker 1: Christians that all their troubles under persecution are only temporary.
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  Speaker 2: That in fact, Jesus is coming in full glory.
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  Speaker 1: In fact, He already exists in the full glory in
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  Speaker 1: which He will come.
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  Speaker 2: And it gives the detail of His coming.
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  Speaker 1: Its intent then is pastoral.
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  Speaker 2: In other words, it is to come as an encouragement.
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  Speaker 1: It would have been easy for Christians in that day
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  Speaker 1: to be weary of the way the world was. It
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  Speaker 1: has been easy for Christians throughout the history of the
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  Speaker 1: church to be weary with the way the world was,
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  Speaker 1: and frankly, it is not difficult for Christians today to
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  Speaker 1: be weary with the way the world is. I don't
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  Speaker 1: like the world in which I live.
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  Speaker 2: I don't like a world that mocks God.
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  Speaker 1: I don't like a world that mocks and scoffs at
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  Speaker 1: Jesus Christ. I don't like a world that belittles the
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  Speaker 1: Holy Spirit. I don't like a world that ignores the
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  Speaker 1: Word of God. I don't like a world that exalts
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  Speaker 1: sin and perversion. I don't like a world that perverts
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  Speaker 1: justice and equity. And I would hope that this is
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  Speaker 1: not the way it's going to always be. I don't
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  Speaker 1: like a world that kills Christians, persecutes those who take
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  Speaker 1: a stand for Christ. I don't like it now any
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  Speaker 1: more than Christians have ever liked it. This book comes
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  Speaker 1: then to us as much as to that early group
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  Speaker 1: of churches as a comfort.
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  Speaker 2: It's not always going to be like this.
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  Speaker 1: Jesus is coming, and He's coming not in humiliation to
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  Speaker 1: be scoffed at and mocked and killed again. He's coming
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  Speaker 1: in full glory. And when He comes, He will deliver
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  Speaker 1: the world. He will deliver the universe. from the wicked,
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  Speaker 1: from sin, from demons, from Satan, and from death. This
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  Speaker 1: is the promise of this book. Before the future unfolds, however,
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  Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit wanted to reveal to John some other things.
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  Speaker 1: And so before the first vision of the future is given,
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  Speaker 1: there is a vision given in chapter 1. It is
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  Speaker 1: a vision of the glorified Christ in the present tense.
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  Speaker 1: Because the natural question would be, we know what Christ
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  Speaker 1: was doing when He was on earth. We have the
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  Speaker 1: record in the Gospels. We know what's going to happen
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  Speaker 1: in the future because that starts to unfold in chapter
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  Speaker 1: 4 all the way through the rest of the book
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  Speaker 1: of Revelation. But the one remaining question is, what is
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  Speaker 1: He doing now? If He is exalted and glorified in heaven,
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  Speaker 1: what is He doing now?
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  Speaker 2: The vision in chapter 1 answers that question.
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  Speaker 1: Starting in verse 9 and running all the way through
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  Speaker 1: verse 19, the first vision is given and is the
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  Speaker 1: vision of the glorified Lord of the church. It shows
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  Speaker 1: Christ in vivid, majestic form ministering to His church. You
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  Speaker 1: will remember verses 9 through 11, John introduced himself as
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  Speaker 1: the writer. He introduced his circumstances as being on the
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  Speaker 1: Lord's day on a Sunday in the Spirit, that is
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  Speaker 1: transcending temporal senses and And he heard a voice and
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  Speaker 1: was commissioned to write what he saw. Then in verses
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  Speaker 1: 12 to 16, the specific vision was given. And we
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  Speaker 1: saw the Lord of the church in blazing glory moving
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  Speaker 1: through His church, which is symbolized by golden lampstands. And
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  Speaker 1: we said that He is doing many things in His church.
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  Speaker 1: He is there moving to empower, to intercede, to purify,
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  Speaker 1: to speak, to control, to protect, and to reflect and
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  Speaker 1: radiate His glory. That is His present ministry. That is
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  Speaker 1: what He is currently doing for us, empowering us, interceding
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  Speaker 1: for us, purifying us, speaking to us, controlling us, protecting us,
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  Speaker 1: and radiating through us the reflection of His glory. So
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  Speaker 1: John sees in verses 12 to 16 the glorified Jesus Christ.
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  Speaker 1: He sees Him robed in holiness, majesty, dignity, and glory
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  Speaker 1: that shines like the blazing brightness of the noonday sun
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  Speaker 1: in a regal heavenly splendor bearing sovereignty, authority, and power.
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  Speaker 1: And we saw that vision, that absolutely incredible vision last time.
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  Speaker 1: Now tonight as we come to verse 17, and wrap
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  Speaker 1: up this vision, we come to the effects of the vision,
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  Speaker 1: the effects of it.
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  Speaker 2: How did it affect him? How should it affect us?
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  Speaker 1: There are three effects, fear, assurance, and duty. Fear, assurance,
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  Speaker 1: and duty. And I just want us to see these
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  Speaker 1: simply and directly. The first response is understandable. What John
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  Speaker 1: saw was absolutely overpowering. And so the first effect was fear.
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  Speaker 1: Go back to verse 17. And when I saw him,
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  Speaker 1: I fell at his feet as a dead man. John's
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  Speaker 1: response was similar to Daniel's response back in Daniel chapter 10.
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  Speaker 1: Daniel had an angelic visitor, a vision that was equally startling.
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  Speaker 1: Daniel 10, 7,' Now I, Daniel, alone saw the vision,
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  Speaker 1: while the men who were with me did not see
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  Speaker 1: the vision. Nevertheless, a great dread fell on them, and
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  Speaker 1: they ran away to hide themselves. So I was left
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  Speaker 1: alone and saw this great vision, yet no strength was
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  Speaker 1: left in me, for my natural color turned to a
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  Speaker 1: deathly pallor, and I retained no strength.' But I heard
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  Speaker 1: the sound of his words, and as soon as I
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  Speaker 1: heard the sound of his words, I fell into a
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  Speaker 1: deep sleep on my face with my face to the ground.
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  Speaker 2: He was devastated.
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  Speaker 1: The blood rushed out of his face, and he turned
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  Speaker 1: as white as a corpse, and he fell on his
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  Speaker 1: face in the dirt, shocked by the vision that he
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  Speaker 1: had seen. He, like John, fell over. like a dead man.
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  Speaker 1: Such prostration, such fear, such shock was the experience of
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  Speaker 1: a number of people who had visions. In fact, if
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  Speaker 1: you go back to the book of Ezekiel, you will
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  Speaker 1: find repeatedly that Ezekiel was literally knocked over by the power.
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  Speaker 2: Of the visions that he had.
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  Speaker 1: Chapter 1, verse 28, As the appearance of the rainbow
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  Speaker 1: in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the
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  Speaker 1: appearance of the surrounding radiance. Such was the appearance of
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  Speaker 1: the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when
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  Speaker 1: I saw it, I fell on my face. The same reaction.
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  Speaker 1: Just fell over on his face. Chapter 3, verse 23.
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  Speaker 1: He says, I got up and went out to the plain.
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  Speaker 1: And behold, the glory of the Lord was standing there
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  Speaker 1: like the glory which I saw by the river Kibar,
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  Speaker 1: and I fell on my face, prostrating himself in fear,
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  Speaker 1: in awe of the holiness of God. Chapter 9, verse 8,
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  Speaker 1: it came about as they were striking and I alone
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  Speaker 1: was left that I fell on my face and cried
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  Speaker 1: out saying, Alas, Lord God! You can go all the
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  Speaker 1: way to chapter 43, verse 3, see a similar response.
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  Speaker 1: Chapter 44, verse 4, see a similar response. And if
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  Speaker 1: you push the point, you might even consider Ezekiel the
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  Speaker 1: dirty-faced prophet. It was not uncommon for people to be
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  Speaker 1: so jolted and so shocked by visions of the glory
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  Speaker 1: of God.
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  Speaker 2: That they fell on their face.
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  Speaker 1: You will remember the Apostle Paul giving his testimony, Acts
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  Speaker 1: 26 to Agrippa, at midday, O King, I saw on
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  Speaker 1: the way a light from heaven brighter than the sun
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  Speaker 1: shining all around me and those who were journeying with
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  Speaker 1: me and when we had all.
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  Speaker 2: Fallen to the ground. There it is again. There is
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  Speaker 2: a fear that is inherent in a vision of the
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  Speaker 2: glory of God.
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  Speaker 1: When Jesus walked the earth, generally people didn't fall to
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  Speaker 1: the ground. Generally in seeing the incarnate Christ, they didn't
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  Speaker 1: fall over on their face. Why? Because His glory was
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  Speaker 1: veiled by human flesh. But to see unveiled glory is
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  Speaker 1: so devastating and so shocking that it causes one to
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  Speaker 1: fall over lifeless. You might think this is a strange
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  Speaker 1: response for John because John knows Jesus so well. John
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  Speaker 1: happily and joyfully, comfortably walked and talked with the Lord
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  Speaker 1: Jesus Christ day after day after day in His earthly ministry.
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  Speaker 1: John leaned on Him at the Last Supper. John was
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  Speaker 1: part of the inner circle. Why then would John be
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  Speaker 1: so incredibly shocked? Why is John lying face down in
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  Speaker 1: the dirt.
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  Speaker 2: As if dead?
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  Speaker 1: W.A. Criswell, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Dallas,
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  Speaker 1: has unequaled insights into John's reaction. I could not do
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  Speaker 1: as well to share with you as his words and
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  Speaker 1: give you the feeling of what was going on.
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  Speaker 2: He writes.
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  Speaker 1: That response of John is most strange. It would seem
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  Speaker 1: that he would have looked upon the face of his
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  Speaker 1: master with ecstatic bliss and joy beyond words to describe.
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  Speaker 1: I would suppose that John, this beloved disciple, knew the
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  Speaker 1: Lord all of his life. Their mothers were sisters, which
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  Speaker 1: would mean, according to the flesh, that John and Jesus
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  Speaker 1: were first cousins. He was a beloved disciple in that
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  Speaker 1: inner circle who lived next to the very heart and
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  Speaker 1: ministry of our Savior. He laid His head on Jesus'
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  Speaker 1: bosom at the Last Supper. He stood at the cross.
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  Speaker 1: He saw the blood and the water flow out like
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  Speaker 1: a fountain from His heart. It was this beloved disciple, John,
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  Speaker 1: who in obedience to the loving, tender, shepherdly word of
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  Speaker 1: the Savior, took Mary, the Lord's mother, to His home
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  Speaker 1: and cared for her. Yet when He sees the Master
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  Speaker 1: on this isle of Patmos, He falls.
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  Speaker 2: At His feet as dead.
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  Speaker 1: I repeat, it would seem that he would have looked
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  Speaker 1: upon the Lord with joy unspeakable, with a bliss and
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  Speaker 1: a gladness that would be indescribable. Instead, great fear fell
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  Speaker 1: upon him. Then he suggests there were two reasons for
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  Speaker 1: the fear. The first is this. The beloved disciple is
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  Speaker 1: looking upon unveiled deity. In the days of his flesh,
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  Speaker 1: in the days of the Lord's ministry in the earth,
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  Speaker 1: his Godhead was covered over.
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  Speaker 2: It was shrouded. It was curtained in the flesh.
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  Speaker 1: His flesh, His body was a veil that covered the
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  Speaker 1: glory of His Godhead. Just once in a while did
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  Speaker 1: the glory of the deity of Jesus shine through, such
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  Speaker 1: as on the Mount of Transfiguration when His face shone
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  Speaker 1: like the sun and His garments were white as no
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  Speaker 1: fuller could make them. But for the most part, the
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  Speaker 1: Godhead of our Lord shined through the veil of His
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  Speaker 1: face with only an occasional and softened light. But here,
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  Speaker 1: John is looking upon the unveiled glory and deity of
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  Speaker 1: our Lord Christ. This certainly wasn't the vision that he
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  Speaker 1: saw on earth when he saw Jesus. No, this time
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  Speaker 1: he is looking at the ancient of days. He's looking
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  Speaker 1: at God whose countenance shines like the sun. He's looking
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  Speaker 1: into the eyes of the judge of all the earth,
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  Speaker 1: eyes that burn and flame like fire. He is beholding
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  Speaker 1: the presence, the face of the great living God Himself.
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  Speaker 2: As such, He falls down before our Lord as one
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  Speaker 2: who is dead.
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  Speaker 1: John could look with undimmed and undaunted eye upon the
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  Speaker 1: throne made of jasper.
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  Speaker 2: He could look unhindered on the emerald rainbow.
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  Speaker 1: He could look unabashed on the seven lamps that burned
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  Speaker 1: before the throne of God.
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  Speaker 2: He could even gaze in glory.
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  Speaker 1: And wonder on the crystal sea that was like unto
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  Speaker 1: beautiful burnished glass. In fact, when the Lord opened to
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  Speaker 1: him the doors into heaven and into hell, his soul
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  Speaker 1: didn't tremble and his spirit didn't even quake. But when
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  Speaker 1: he looked at Jesus and saw deity Resurrected and glorified,
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  Speaker 1: he fell as a dead man. There's a second reason
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  Speaker 1: why John fell over as a dead man in the
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  Speaker 1: presence of the great God and Savior Jesus Christ, and
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  Speaker 1: it's this. He immediately was conscious of the burden of
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  Speaker 1: His own nothingness, the burden of His own folly, the
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  Speaker 1: burden of His own insignificance, His own shortcoming, His own humanity,
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  Speaker 1: His own sin and iniquity. No insect would be expected
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  Speaker 1: to live in the furnace of the sun. No sinful
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  Speaker 1: mortal can look into the face of God. No man's
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  Speaker 1: ear can hear the voice of the Almighty. In awe,
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  Speaker 1: in reverence, in godly fear for his own destruction because
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  Speaker 1: of his sin, he fell like a dead man at
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  Speaker 1: the feet of Christ. This is a reverential fear that
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  Speaker 1: recognizes who it is it sees and recognizes who is
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  Speaker 1: being seen by God. And frankly, this is the proper response.
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  Speaker 1: I have to say that. It is the right response.
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  Speaker 1: Turn over to chapter 6 for a moment, verse 12.
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  Speaker 1: John tells us, looking into the future here, that there
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  Speaker 1: is coming a day at the breaking of the sixth
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  Speaker 1: seal that will have a great earthquake. The sun will
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  Speaker 1: become black as sackcloth made of hair. And the whole
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  Speaker 1: moon will become like blood. The stars of the sky
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  Speaker 1: will fall to the earth like shaking a fig tree.
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  Speaker 2: The sky will split.
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  Speaker 1: Apart like a scroll when it is rolled up like
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  Speaker 1: a Venetian blind, if you will. Every mountain, every island
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  Speaker 1: will be moved out of their places. The whole universe
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  Speaker 1: goes pitch black. The kings of the earth, the great men,
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  Speaker 1: The commanders, the rich, the strong, every slave, every free
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  Speaker 1: man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks
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  Speaker 1: of the mountains. They said to the mountains and to
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  Speaker 1: the rocks, fall on us and hide us from the
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  Speaker 1: presence of Him who sits on the throne and from
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  Speaker 1: the wrath of the Lamb.
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  Speaker 2: Fear.
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  Speaker 1: When they see the blazing coming of Jesus Christ, they
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  Speaker 1: will be in fear. So there you have unbelievers who
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  Speaker 1: fear the presence of Here is even a believer who
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  Speaker 1: falls over in a dead faint, afraid, terrified by what
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  Speaker 1: he has seen. John's reaction actually is not unlike the
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  Speaker 1: reaction of Isaiah. One of my favorite passages is Isaiah
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  Speaker 1: chapter 6.
• 23:45
  Speaker 2: Turn to it for a moment.
• 23:47
  Speaker 1: Isaiah went into the temple upon the death of King Uzziah.
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: because he wanted to see God. He was concerned about
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: his people. Uzziah had been king for 52 years. And
• 24:06
  Speaker 1: as long as Uzziah was king, everything seemed to be okay.
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: It was like God's blessing was on them because Uzziah
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: had brought about prosperity and peace, strong position in the
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: Cold War. The people of Israel were still on the
• 24:23
  Speaker 1: surface religious, and having the same king 52 years who
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: was basically a good man appeared to be the blessing
• 24:30
  Speaker 1: of God. And then Uzziah did a foolish thing. He
• 24:36
  Speaker 1: tried to move from being a king to being a priest.
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: He invaded the sanctity of the priestly office, and God
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: gave him leprosy and killed him.
• 24:48
  Speaker 2: And it was obviously the judgment of God.
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: And so Isaiah wants to find out what's happening because
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: he wants to bring a message to the people, so
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: he goes to the temple. And it says in verse
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: 1 that when he went to the temple, he said,'
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted,
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: with the train of His robe filling the temple.' He
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: sees God is still sovereign even though Uzziah is dead,
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: even though they have begun to feel the judgment of God.
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: God is still on the throne. He is still sovereign.
• 25:19
  Speaker 1: He is still ruling. He is still lofty. He is
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: still exalted. And He sees the blazing Shekinah glory in
• 25:27
  Speaker 1: this vision filling the temple where He is. It's as
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: if God's throne appears in the temple and then fills
• 25:36
  Speaker 1: it with blazing glory. Then He sees in this vision Seraphim,
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: angels whose unique task it is to guard the holiness
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: of God. They're standing above the throne of God having
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: six wings, with two cover their faces, with two cover
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: their feet, and with two they hovered or flew. They
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: had to cover their faces because they couldn't look at
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: the full glory of God or they would be consumed
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: for they're also created beings. They covered their feet for
• 26:03
  Speaker 1: the place whereon they stood was holy ground and their
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: wings were in motion because they were ready to do
• 26:09
  Speaker 1: service at a moment's notice. And then the angels, you remember,
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: called back and forth, holy, holy, holy is the Lord
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: of hosts. The whole earth is full of His glory.
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: of Him who called out while the temple was filled
• 26:25
  Speaker 1: with smoke. This is a vision of God. He sees
• 26:29
  Speaker 1: God as sovereign. He is on the throne, lofty, exalted.
• 26:34
  Speaker 1: He sees Him as all-glorious as the emanating Shekinah glory
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: fills the temple. He sees Him as absolutely and perfectly holy, holy, holy, holy.
• 26:47
  Speaker 1: He sees Him as a God of judgment as fire
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: and smoke fill the temple.
• 26:53
  Speaker 2: This is an overpowering vision.
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: And what was Isaiah's response?
• 27:02
  Speaker 2: Verse 5,' Woe is me, for I am destroyed.' That's
• 27:09
  Speaker 2: his response.
• 27:11
  Speaker 1: Some versions say I am ruined. Some say I am disintegrating.
• 27:15
  Speaker 1: The verb means I am going to pieces.
• 27:17
  Speaker 2: I am shattered. I am devastated. I am destroyed. What
• 27:22
  Speaker 2: does woe mean? Curse, damn, sentence to judgment. I'm damned.
• 27:27
  Speaker 2: I'm doomed. I'm cursed. I'm destroyed.
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: Now, Isaiah was the best man in the country. He
• 27:35
  Speaker 1: was the man of God, the prophet of God, the
• 27:38
  Speaker 1: holy man. But when he saw himself compared to God,
• 27:43
  Speaker 1: all he could see about himself was his sin.
• 27:46
  Speaker 2: See that?
• 27:47
  Speaker 1: Any true vision of God is devastating. It is devastating.
• 27:57
  Speaker 1: Job said, chapter 42, I had heard of you with
• 28:01
  Speaker 1: the hearing of mine ear. But now my eye sees you.
• 28:05
  Speaker 1: And you know what his reaction is? I repent.
• 28:07
  Speaker 2: I repent. I repent. Why is he saying that? It's
• 28:12
  Speaker 2: another way to say, God, don't what? Kill me. I repent.
• 28:20
  Speaker 2: Dust and ashes.
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: Seeing God is a frightening thing. It fills the heart
• 28:28
  Speaker 1: with fear to see the glory of God. Go to
• 28:33
  Speaker 1: the New Testament, Matthew 17. I alluded a few moments
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: ago to the appearance of Jesus Christ on the Mount
• 28:41
  Speaker 1: of Transfiguration when He revealed His glory. They went up
• 28:47
  Speaker 1: to the Mount of Transfiguration, Matthew 17 verse 2, He
• 28:53
  Speaker 1: was transfigured before them, and here it is, His face
• 28:56
  Speaker 1: shone like the sun and His garments became as white
• 28:59
  Speaker 1: as light. That's almost a reduplication, isn't it, of the
• 29:03
  Speaker 1: appearance of Christ in Revelation chapter 1? Blazing light. Brilliant
• 29:09
  Speaker 1: is the noonday sun. They saw His glory. The veil
• 29:11
  Speaker 1: was removed. They saw the glorious Christ. What was their response?
• 29:19
  Speaker 1: Verse 6, following what they saw, a voice out of heaven,
• 29:24
  Speaker 1: this is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased.
• 29:27
  Speaker 1: Listen to Him. And when the disciples heard it, what
• 29:32
  Speaker 1: did they do? They did the same thing everybody else does.
• 29:36
  Speaker 1: Fell on their faces. and were terrified.
• 29:41
  Speaker 2: Terrified.
• 29:46
  Speaker 1: If it weren't so sad and pathetic, it would be
• 29:48
  Speaker 1: amusing to hear the silly, frivolous testimonies of the people
• 29:52
  Speaker 1: who run around claiming they saw God.
• 29:58
  Speaker 2: If you saw God... you'd be terrified.
• 30:03
  Speaker 1: If you saw the glorified Christ, you'd be terrified. John
• 30:10
  Speaker 1: had the normal reaction of someone who has really seen
• 30:16
  Speaker 1: the resurrected, ascended, glorified Christ.
• 30:21
  Speaker 2: Awesome fear. Holy fright. And so should we. So should we.
• 30:32
  Speaker 1: I don't think that we will be able to say
• 30:35
  Speaker 1: honestly that we have understood this vision until it inspires
• 30:41
  Speaker 1: a healthy fear in our hearts. When you see the
• 30:46
  Speaker 1: blazing holy glory of Christ, you have reason to be afraid.
• 30:55
  Speaker 2: Because of your sin.
• 30:59
  Speaker 1: I've said through the years, and I say it again
• 31:01
  Speaker 1: just as a The church will never be holy until
• 31:07
  Speaker 1: preachers begin to preach the glory of God. Because until
• 31:13
  Speaker 1: people see God for who He is, they'll never understand
• 31:20
  Speaker 1: their own sinfulness and be driven to holiness. There was
• 31:29
  Speaker 1: a second effect. of this vision, back to Revelation chapter 1.
• 31:36
  Speaker 1: Let's call it assurance, assurance. The Lord was not satisfied
• 31:42
  Speaker 1: to leave John lying in the dirt like a dead man.
• 31:47
  Speaker 1: This is wonderful, verse 17, and He, being the very
• 31:52
  Speaker 1: Christ of the vision, He laid His right hand upon Me.
• 31:57
  Speaker 1: Now some commentators think they have to write a whole
• 32:05
  Speaker 1: paragraph on here. How could the Lord put His right
• 32:08
  Speaker 1: hand on John if He had in His right hand
• 32:11
  Speaker 1: seven stars?
• 32:14
  Speaker 2: I read a whole.
• 32:14
  Speaker 1: Paragraph about where He put the stars when He touched John.
• 32:20
  Speaker 1: Now let's not get too far gone here. He laid
• 32:27
  Speaker 1: His right hand on me saying, do not be afraid. Oh,
• 32:33
  Speaker 1: that's good news, isn't it? That's assurance. No, this wasn't
• 32:45
  Speaker 1: the Jesus John had walked with in Galilee. This wasn't
• 32:49
  Speaker 1: the Jesus that John had watched hanging on the cross.
• 32:52
  Speaker 1: This wasn't the Jesus he had eaten with after the
• 32:55
  Speaker 1: resurrection by the sea when they had breakfast in Galilee.
• 33:00
  Speaker 1: This was the unveiled, glorified, exalted Lord of the church. Yes,
• 33:06
  Speaker 1: He had seen some glimpses of that glory, a few
• 33:11
  Speaker 1: post-resurrection appearances, but this is devastating.
• 33:17
  Speaker 2: And John is undone.
• 33:19
  Speaker 1: Just like Isaiah, but also like Isaiah, who in the
• 33:26
  Speaker 1: depths of fear and self-condemnation was touched.
• 33:31
  Speaker 2: And cleansed. So John is touched.
• 33:36
  Speaker 1: And if you go back to Matthew 17, you will
• 33:38
  Speaker 1: find that Jesus reached over and touched the terrified disciples.
• 33:47
  Speaker 1: And so it says, He laid His right hand on me.
• 33:51
  Speaker 1: A touch of reassurance, a touch of comfort. Those people
• 33:57
  Speaker 1: who saw the glory of God and fell on their
• 33:59
  Speaker 1: face may have felt they were about to get a
• 34:01
  Speaker 1: sword through their chest. They may have felt that they
• 34:05
  Speaker 1: were about to get an axe into their neck, but
• 34:13
  Speaker 1: instead they received a touch. For John, a familiar touch,
• 34:20
  Speaker 1: a touch from the one he had walked with 65
• 34:22
  Speaker 1: years before, and.
• 34:25
  Speaker 2: Now a comforting touch. for this troubled apostle.
• 34:30
  Speaker 1: This is wonderful comfort, beloved, to all Christians who feel
• 34:33
  Speaker 1: overwhelmed by the glory of Christ, for all Christians who
• 34:36
  Speaker 1: feel overwhelmed by the holiness of God. We preach the
• 34:42
  Speaker 1: holiness of God, and sometimes people say to me, oh,
• 34:44
  Speaker 1: you frighten people. You're too strong. People feel fear instead
• 34:52
  Speaker 1: of love. Well, here's the balance. To all who are
• 34:59
  Speaker 1: overwhelmed by the glory of God and the holiness of God,
• 35:03
  Speaker 1: here is a touch. And Jesus said, don't be afraid. Literally,
• 35:09
  Speaker 1: in the Greek, stop fearing. Stop being afraid. And actually,
• 35:15
  Speaker 1: He's commanding him to be comfortable. Stop being afraid, by
• 35:21
  Speaker 1: the way, is a common biblical expression. First spoken by
• 35:27
  Speaker 1: God to Abram.
• 35:29
  Speaker 1: And very often spoken to God's people, Israel, at least
• 35:35
  Speaker 1: seven times in the book of Isaiah, in the book
• 35:39
  Speaker 1: of Joel. You even find it in John's gospel, chapter 12,
• 35:43
  Speaker 1: verse 15. Stop being afraid. Listen, frankly, to be exposed
• 35:49
  Speaker 1: to the absolute unveiled blazing holy glory of Jesus Christ
• 35:54
  Speaker 1: is a frightening thing. And comfort is needed. John was
• 36:01
  Speaker 1: so afraid he thought he was going to be killed.
• 36:03
  Speaker 1: He almost died of a heart attack. It's not good
• 36:06
  Speaker 1: when you're 90.
• 36:06
  Speaker 2: He almost died of fear. Frightened to death.
• 36:16
  Speaker 1: Because he knew his sinfulness. The reassurance is absolutely thrilling.
• 36:24
  Speaker 1: The reassurance is all bound up in who Jesus Christ is.
• 36:28
  Speaker 1: Notice the titles here. I am the first and the last,
• 36:32
  Speaker 1: the living one. I was dead and behold, I am
• 36:35
  Speaker 1: alive forevermore. And I have the keys of death and
• 36:39
  Speaker 1: of Hades. All of those are terms to identify Jesus Christ.
• 36:46
  Speaker 1: And they identify Him to John in a way that
• 36:49
  Speaker 1: brings comfort. He begins by identifying Himself in verse 17 as,
• 36:56
  Speaker 1: I am. And let me just stop there to mention
• 36:58
  Speaker 1: to you that John must have remembered those two familiar words, ego, a, me,
• 37:03
  Speaker 1: in the Greek, because they were the very words Jesus
• 37:06
  Speaker 1: used when He calmed the troubled sea.
• 37:09
  Speaker 2: You remember that? Matthew 14, 27, Mark 6, 50, John 6, 20.
• 37:11
  Speaker 2: He said, behold, I am God.
• 37:21
  Speaker 1: Stop being afraid. It's like saying, don't be afraid, I
• 37:27
  Speaker 1: Am is here. And who is I Am?
• 37:31
  Speaker 2: God. That's the personal name for God. That's Yahweh.
• 37:37
  Speaker 1: That's His name that He took in Exodus 3, 14.
• 37:43
  Speaker 1: That's not only His name that speaks of His eternality,
• 37:46
  Speaker 1: but that's His redemptive name. And so he is saying
• 37:50
  Speaker 1: to him, don't be afraid, I am is here. The
• 37:56
  Speaker 1: Redeemer God is here. The God who, back in verse 5,
• 38:03
  Speaker 1: loves us and released us from our sins.
• 38:09
  Speaker 2: And then he adds, I am the first and the
• 38:14
  Speaker 2: last God.
• 38:17
  Speaker 1: Now this is one of the great, great texts to
• 38:20
  Speaker 1: affirm the deity of Christ. First, the living Lord, the glorified,
• 38:26
  Speaker 1: exalted Christ says, I am, and takes upon Himself the
• 38:31
  Speaker 1: covenant name, the redemptive name of God. Then He says,
• 38:36
  Speaker 1: I am the first and the last. And I want
• 38:40
  Speaker 1: you to note, please, this also is the name God
• 38:45
  Speaker 1: took for Himself throughout the book of Isaiah. Isaiah 41.4,
• 38:50
  Speaker 1: Isaiah 44.6, Isaiah 48.12. In all of those places God says,
• 38:56
  Speaker 1: I am the first and the last. Here Jesus Christ
• 39:00
  Speaker 1: is saying, I am the first and the last, and
• 39:03
  Speaker 1: therefore claiming to be whom?
• 39:06
  Speaker 2: God.
• 39:08
  Speaker 1: This same title is applied to Jesus Christ at the
• 39:11
  Speaker 1: end of the book of Revelation, chapter 22, verse 13,
• 39:16
  Speaker 1: I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and
• 39:19
  Speaker 1: the last. Chapter 2, verse 8 of Revelation, writing to
• 39:26
  Speaker 1: the church in Smyrna, the first and the and the
• 39:30
  Speaker 1: last who was dead and has come to life says this,
• 39:35
  Speaker 1: here beloved is Jesus Christ taking the very Old Testament
• 39:40
  Speaker 1: name of God and applying it to Himself.
• 39:45
  Speaker 2: John doesn't need to fear.
• 39:47
  Speaker 1: Because the one who tenderly touched him to reassure and
• 39:50
  Speaker 1: comfort him was no other than the glorified God-man. The
• 39:56
  Speaker 1: very one who struck fear in his heart is the
• 39:59
  Speaker 1: one who touches him and tells him not.
• 40:01
  Speaker 2: To be afraid.
• 40:04
  Speaker 1: And when the holy glorified Lord Himself touches a sinner
• 40:07
  Speaker 1: with tender assurance, that is encouraging. Because as Paul said
• 40:12
  Speaker 1: in Romans 8.31, if.
• 40:12
  Speaker 2: God is for us... Who can be against us? The
• 40:19
  Speaker 2: ultimate comfort.
• 40:23
  Speaker 1: So the glorified Lord of the church is the great
• 40:25
  Speaker 1: king and high priest without equal.
• 40:29
  Speaker 2: When all false gods have come and gone, he remains.
• 40:33
  Speaker 1: He was before them the first and he will be
• 40:37
  Speaker 1: after them the last.
• 40:39
  Speaker 2: Idols will come and go. He was before them, he'll
• 40:43
  Speaker 2: remain after them.
• 40:46
  Speaker 1: Then further he says, verse 18, not only I am
• 40:51
  Speaker 1: the first and the last, but and the living one.
• 40:57
  Speaker 1: Here is the third indication of his deity that again
• 41:02
  Speaker 1: identifies Jesus as the God of all comfort who is
• 41:05
  Speaker 1: comforting John.
• 41:08
  Speaker 2: He says, I am the living one.
• 41:10
  Speaker 1: That's a tremendous statement.
• 41:17
  Speaker 2: Jesus made it before. He said in John 14, 6,
• 41:21
  Speaker 2: I am the way, the truth, and the life.
• 41:26
  Speaker 1: John made it on behalf of Jesus in John 1,
• 41:29
  Speaker 1: 4 when He said, in Him was life. But I
• 41:34
  Speaker 1: just want you to know this, the living one is
• 41:37
  Speaker 1: a title for God in the Bible. I mean it's
• 41:43
  Speaker 1: a title for God all over the Bible. In Joshua 3.10,
• 41:49
  Speaker 1: God is called the living one. In Psalm 42.2, Psalm 84.2,
• 41:54
  Speaker 1: God is called the living one. In Hosea 1.10, God
• 41:59
  Speaker 1: is called the living one. You come into the New Testament,
• 42:04
  Speaker 1: listen to Matthew's gospel, chapter 16 and verse 16. And
• 42:09
  Speaker 1: Simon Peter answered and said,' Thou art the Christ, the
• 42:13
  Speaker 1: Son of the living God.' Later on in Matthew's gospel,
• 42:22
  Speaker 1: chapter 26, verse 63, the high priest said to Him,
• 42:27
  Speaker 1: I adjure You by the living God. You find the
• 42:35
  Speaker 1: same kinds of references in Acts 14, 15, Romans 9, 26.
• 42:41
  Speaker 1: 2 Corinthians 3, 3, 6, 16, 1 Thessalonians 1, 9,
• 42:46
  Speaker 1: 1 Timothy 3, 15, and 4, 10. You'll find it
• 42:49
  Speaker 1: in Hebrews 3, 12, 9, 14, 10, 31. God over
• 42:53
  Speaker 1: and over and over is called the living one. And
• 42:59
  Speaker 1: Jesus here says, I'm the living one. This is a
• 43:03
  Speaker 1: claim to deity. There is no other explanation for this.
• 43:07
  Speaker 1: He is saying, I am God the living one. What
• 43:13
  Speaker 1: does it mean? He's not a dead idol. He's not
• 43:17
  Speaker 1: made out of stone or wood or metal. The glorified
• 43:21
  Speaker 1: Lord of the church is the eternally living God who
• 43:25
  Speaker 1: was before all gods and will remain after all gods.
• 43:28
  Speaker 2: He is the I AM.
• 43:29
  Speaker 1: And listen, is it not thrilling that that very God
• 43:39
  Speaker 1: is the one who touches the sinner and comforts the sinner?
• 43:43
  Speaker 1: Is that not assurance? John doesn't need to fear because
• 43:51
  Speaker 1: the living God, the first and the last, the I am, says, stop.
• 43:58
  Speaker 2: Being afraid of me.
• 44:03
  Speaker 1: Then he adds this, verse 18, and I was dead
• 44:07
  Speaker 1: and And behold, I am alive forevermore. Literally the Greek says,
• 44:12
  Speaker 1: and it's really well to say it this way, I
• 44:15
  Speaker 1: became dead.
• 44:16
  Speaker 2: And behold, I am alive forevermore.
• 44:23
  Speaker 1: The living God who could never die became man and
• 44:29
  Speaker 1: became dead. God did not cease to live, but the
• 44:35
  Speaker 1: man Jesus Christ died. You remember very carefully, don't you,
• 44:43
  Speaker 1: the words of Peter, 1 Peter 3, 18? He was
• 44:46
  Speaker 1: dead in the flesh but alive in the Spirit. God
• 44:50
  Speaker 1: could never die. The living God lived, but the human
• 44:56
  Speaker 1: flesh of Christ died.
• 44:57
  Speaker 2: I was dead.
• 45:03
  Speaker 1: Behold, I am alive forevermore. In other words, I died
• 45:10
  Speaker 1: for you. John, I died for you. Yes, I became dead,
• 45:16
  Speaker 1: but behold, look. This calls for startling vision, amazement, and wonder.
• 45:22
  Speaker 1: I am alive forevermore. Hebrews 7.16 says, He burst the
• 45:27
  Speaker 1: chains of death by the power of an endless life.
• 45:30
  Speaker 2: That's a great statement. By the power of an endless life.
• 45:34
  Speaker 2: He couldn't die. He's God.
• 45:37
  Speaker 1: He lives again in glorified humanity and deity that will
• 45:41
  Speaker 1: never die.
• 45:42
  Speaker 2: There's nothing to fear, for I will always be alive.
• 45:46
  Speaker 1: I have conquered death for you and I will always
• 45:50
  Speaker 1: live to secure you. He ever lives to make intercession
• 45:57
  Speaker 1: for us, says the writer of Hebrews. Jesus Christ then
• 46:01
  Speaker 1: claims to be the eternal, redeeming, living God. the God
• 46:05
  Speaker 1: who is before and after all other gods, the God
• 46:08
  Speaker 1: who has personally conquered sin and death and hell and
• 46:11
  Speaker 1: lives forever to secure His people, the God who alone
• 46:16
  Speaker 1: has the power to give life.
• 46:21
  Speaker 2: And take it away.
• 46:23
  Speaker 1: And it is that God who says, stop being afraid
• 46:25
  Speaker 1: of Me. And then He reminds John And I have
• 46:34
  Speaker 1: the keys of death and of Hades. Death and Hades
• 46:39
  Speaker 1: in a way are synonyms, although if you want to
• 46:41
  Speaker 1: make a distinction, death is the condition and Hades is
• 46:44
  Speaker 1: the place. Hades would be the equivalent of Old Testament Sheol,
• 46:50
  Speaker 1: the place of the dead.
• 46:52
  Speaker 2: He says, I have the keys. What does that mean?
• 46:57
  Speaker 2: Keys mean access. Keys mean authority.
• 47:01
  Speaker 1: A key gives someone the power to open and close.
• 47:05
  Speaker 1: And the living, exalted Christ says, I'm the one who
• 47:08
  Speaker 1: controls the door to death and Hades. I have the
• 47:14
  Speaker 1: keys that open it and let people in. I have
• 47:18
  Speaker 1: the keys that close it. I decide who dies and when.
• 47:23
  Speaker 1: I decide who lives.
• 47:27
  Speaker 2: What a statement. What does John have to fear?
• 47:31
  Speaker 1: Holy God, in the form of the living glorified Lord
• 47:36
  Speaker 1: of the church, reaches down and touches this sinner and says,
• 47:41
  Speaker 1: stop being afraid.
• 47:46
  Speaker 2: The touch is a touch of comfort.
• 47:49
  Speaker 1: Amazing reassurance because it comes from the eternal I Am,
• 47:54
  Speaker 1: the One who transcends all the gods that come and go,
• 47:57
  Speaker 1: the One who alone is life and gives life, the
• 48:00
  Speaker 1: One who has died and conquered death, and the One
• 48:03
  Speaker 1: who controls life and death.
• 48:09
  Speaker 2: John, you have nothing to fear, nor does anyone who
• 48:12
  Speaker 2: loves Him.
• 48:15
  Speaker 1: No matter what we might see of His glorious holiness,
• 48:17
  Speaker 1: no matter how it might traumatize us and shock us
• 48:20
  Speaker 1: and leave us lifeless, no matter how unworthy we feel,
• 48:26
  Speaker 1: no matter how deserving of the judgment of God, no
• 48:30
  Speaker 1: matter how fearful of death, Jesus touches us and says,
• 48:36
  Speaker 1: stop being afraid. You belong to Me. I, the eternal God,
• 48:44
  Speaker 1: have determined your destiny. I have paid the price for
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  Speaker 1: your sin. You have nothing to fear. And so from
• 48:55
  Speaker 1: that golden sash that went across his chest and down
• 48:58
  Speaker 1: around his waist hang the keys that unlock death.
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  Speaker 2: And Hades. John's fear, healthy.
• 49:12
  Speaker 1: We need to have fear, holy fear but balanced with
• 49:18
  Speaker 1: a tender touch of assurance that if God is for
• 49:22
  Speaker 1: us who can be against us how wonderful that the
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  Speaker 1: God man touched John himself and said stop being afraid
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  Speaker 1: then there's a final effect.
• 49:38
  Speaker 2: Duty One who has such.
• 49:43
  Speaker 1: An experience of the vision of the glory of Christ,
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  Speaker 1: one who has received such assurance is bound to have
• 49:51
  Speaker 1: a duty. For John, verse 19, write therefore. In other words,
• 49:59
  Speaker 1: based upon what you've just experienced, get up and do
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  Speaker 1: your task. You already told him what he wanted him
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  Speaker 1: to do in verse 11.
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  Speaker 2: Write in a book what you see.
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  Speaker 1: Now instead of writing it, he's laying there on the
• 50:15
  Speaker 1: ground like a dead man. I commend your fear. I
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  Speaker 1: give you assurance. Now get up, dust yourself off, and
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  Speaker 1: go to work. This vision should inspire the healthy tension
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  Speaker 1: between fear and assurance, but it also should lead to duty.
• 50:38
  Speaker 1: Get a grip on yourself, John. Get your pen moving.
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  Speaker 1: Write therefore the things. It's a call to duty. And
• 50:49
  Speaker 1: it's more specific than the call in verse 11. There
• 50:52
  Speaker 1: he was told to write what he saw. And now
• 50:55
  Speaker 1: that's expanded here. He's told to write three things. First,
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  Speaker 1: write the things which you have seen. What's that? Well,
• 51:05
  Speaker 1: you know, he just saw it. Write what you just saw, John.
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  Speaker 2: The vision.
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  Speaker 1: This is part one of Revelation. The vision of chapter 1.
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  Speaker 1: Write it down, John. Secondly, he says, and the things
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  Speaker 1: which are. That's the present. The first one is the past.
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  Speaker 1: Write what is just past, what you just saw. And
• 51:33
  Speaker 1: then he says, write... The things which are, that's the present.
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  Speaker 1: You say, what's that? The message that's coming immediately in
• 51:41
  Speaker 1: verse 20 and runs through chapters 2 and 3, the
• 51:43
  Speaker 1: letters to the seven churches. That's the present tense. Thirdly,
• 51:51
  Speaker 1: he says, write also the things which shall take place.
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  Speaker 2: After these things. That's chapter 4 to the end of
• 52:01
  Speaker 2: the book. That's the future. Write your immediate past experience.
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  Speaker 1: Write the present revelation that I'm going to give you
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  Speaker 1: in a split second. And then write down what's going
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  Speaker 1: to happen after these things have happened. So John was
• 52:18
  Speaker 1: commissioned to write a three-part book. The vision just seen,
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  Speaker 1: chapter 1. The letters to the churches, chapters 2 and 3.
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  Speaker 1: The revelation of future history, chapters 4 through 22. And
• 52:32
  Speaker 1: all I want to do is draw out of that
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  Speaker 1: the simple principle for you, beloved, that anyone who has
• 52:36
  Speaker 1: the opportunity to experience God, to see God, to fear God,
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  Speaker 1: and to be assured by God has the duty to
• 52:43
  Speaker 1: pass it on. Our duty, back in verse 3, read, hear,
• 52:54
  Speaker 1: and heed. And here, if we can piggyback on John,
• 52:58
  Speaker 1: spread it around, pass it on. The visions that you're
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  Speaker 1: going to see in this book are going to shock you.
• 53:12
  Speaker 1: They may put fear in your heart. And the Holy
• 53:16
  Speaker 1: Spirit may have to come and touch you to give
• 53:17
  Speaker 1: you assurance. But their intention is to bring practical bearing
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  Speaker 1: on your life and make you responsible to spread this message.
• 53:33
  Speaker 2: To others.
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  Speaker 1: You have a duty You have a duty to read it,
• 53:40
  Speaker 1: to listen to what it says, to heed it, and
• 53:46
  Speaker 1: then to testify to it when given the opportunity. One
• 53:55
  Speaker 1: final verse in closing. Turn to 2 Corinthians 3.18. As
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  Speaker 1: we go through this book, you're going to be changed.
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  Speaker 1: No question about it. Because nothing that I know of
• 54:12
  Speaker 1: could fulfill 2 Corinthians 3.18 as much as a study
• 54:16
  Speaker 1: of Revelation. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as
• 54:25
  Speaker 1: in a mirror the glory of the Lord.
• 54:29
  Speaker 2: Stop right there. If you look in the Word of God,
• 54:33
  Speaker 2: which is a mirror....
• 54:35
  Speaker 1: And it reflects to you the glory of God. The
• 54:37
  Speaker 1: glory of God is reflected through the Word. The veil
• 54:42
  Speaker 1: has been taken off our face in Christ. We can
• 54:46
  Speaker 1: see clearly. And as we look at the glory of
• 54:50
  Speaker 1: the Lord coming through the Scripture, the rest of the
• 54:55
  Speaker 1: verse says, we are being transformed into the same.
• 54:59
  Speaker 2: Image from glory... to glory, from one level of glory
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  Speaker 2: to the next level of glory, to the next level
• 55:06
  Speaker 2: of glory, to the next level of glory from the
• 55:10
  Speaker 2: Lord the Spirit, by the Holy Spirit He means.
• 55:16
  Speaker 1: In other words, if you study the book of Revelation,
• 55:19
  Speaker 1: you are going to see the glory of Christ because
• 55:22
  Speaker 1: this is the revelation of His glory. As you look
• 55:25
  Speaker 1: in the mirror of the book of Revelation, it will
• 55:28
  Speaker 1: reflect to you the shining glory of the Lord, the
• 55:31
  Speaker 1: brightness of His glory, and that reflection will transform you
• 55:35
  Speaker 1: into His very image from one level of glory to
• 55:38
  Speaker 1: the next as the Spirit of God applies.
• 55:41
  Speaker 2: It to your life.
• 55:44
  Speaker 1: So you are, and I am in for a life-changing experience. Father,
• 55:54
  Speaker 1: we thank You for Your Word to us again this evening.
• 56:00
  Speaker 1: How refreshed our hearts are by its truths. How excited
• 56:05
  Speaker 1: we are to know that the Lord Jesus Christ, perfectly
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  Speaker 1: holy and all-glorious, who inspires fear in us, who makes
• 56:17
  Speaker 1: us tremble, at the same time reaches out to us
• 56:21
  Speaker 1: as unworthy sinners and touches us with tenderness. and says, yes,
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  Speaker 1: I am the eternal God. Yes, I am the first
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  Speaker 1: and the last.
• 56:29
  Speaker 2: Yes, I am the living one.
• 56:31
  Speaker 1: Yes, I was alive. I became dead and now live forevermore. Yes,
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  Speaker 1: I possess the keys of hell and death, but stop
• 56:40
  Speaker 1: being afraid. Stop being afraid. You belong to me. Your
• 56:50
  Speaker 1: sins are paid for. Your sins are covered. And just
• 56:54
  Speaker 1: do your duty to spread the truth of my return
• 57:02
  Speaker 1: and my glory. So, Father, put into our lives that
• 57:07
  Speaker 1: balance of fear and assurance and duty that we might be,
• 57:14
  Speaker 1: as we gaze at your glory, transformed into your image.
• 57:19
  Speaker 2: In the name of Christ, amen. You've been listening to
• 57:27
  Speaker 2: John MacArthur, Bible teacher with Grace To You. For free
• 57:30
  Speaker 2: access to all of John's lessons and a listing of
• 57:33
  Speaker 2: study Bibles and books available for sale, visit Grace To
• 57:37
  Speaker 2: You's website at gty.org. John MacArthur and Grace To You
• 57:43
  Speaker 2: reserve all copyright protection under applicable law. Our copyright policy
• 57:48
  Speaker 2: is available at gty.org, and it includes instructions for and
• 57:53
  Speaker 2: limitations on duplicating this digital file.