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Grace Notes Sermon Ministry:
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AN INSPIRED OUTLINE OF THE
BOOK OF REVELATION
REV. 1:19
The book of Rev. is the
only book of the Bible that gives the reader an outline right from the
beginning…it’s right here in v. 19…look again
1, 2, 3!
This appeals to me,
personally, because I like to preach from an organized outline…you probably
hadn’t noticed. Most of my
sermons will have several points...some have several more than they
should…when I gave my 1st Sunday morning sermon here at GBC I
said from the introduction we’d be out in time to eat, and we were…it was
supper, be we ate!
As a young preacher I
asked my Pastor dad once how many points a sermon should have, he said, at
least one! What’s the point!
Rev. has 3 good points:
1.
The things
which thou hast seen
A Glimpse of the
Glorified Christ…God’s Glory—ch. 1
2.
The things
which are
The Present…letters to
the 7 churches of
Church Age…Dispensation of God’s Grace
3.
The things
which shall be
The Future…God’s
Government—chs. 4-22
That’s the outline,
1,2,3. Imagine it’s a skeleton.
We’ll look at the bones today, then put meat on it each week verse by
verse.
#1 is finished,
God’s Glory. In the
first chapter of the book, the main character is revealed, and we’ve seen
Him in detail in a way never before seen!
One question remains,
however, from ch. 1:
Gospels--Revelation
Justifier/Judge
Redeemer/Ruler
Savior/Sovereign
Humiliation/Glorification…the risen, living, ascended, majestic, glorious,
powerful, holy, God of the Universe, full of splendor!
“Why didn’t Jesus come
like this the first time?”
Why, 2000 years ago, did
He not come in a dazzling display of glory?
Why veil that glory in human flesh?
Why come as the meek and lowly, humble carpenter, Jesus?
Isaiah said, “He had no
form nor comeliness, no beauty that we should desire Him.”
I don’t mean any disrespect, but Isaiah is saying Jesus wasn’t
particularly good looking…He didn’t look like the Messiah the Jews had
supposed in their minds. We
always see artist’s renditions of Jesus like He just walked out of a
makeover, with glory shining forth out of His head, or a halo hovering
atop…but that’s not how it was.
Why did He come that way,
why not come the 1st time in the spectacular fashion in which He
came in Rev. 1?
If He had come the first
time with penetrating, omniscient eyes of fire, burning a hole in all he
looked upon,/with feet of flaming brass, pursuing judgment/with the snow
white hair of His holy, perfect purity/wearing the garments of the high
priest/with a voice like the roaring thunder of crashing waves…
…people would have
followed Him not in faith, but in fear.
They would have been afraid NOT to follow Him!
Our God wants people to CHOOSE to follow Him.
Oh, but many want proof, don’t they?
As a boy, about 70 miles
west of here, I wanted God to prove Himself to me, so I said, “Lord,
if you really love me, strike me with lightning!”
I told my folks, who said
promptly, “the reason He didn’t is because He loves you.”
It’s not that He
couldn’t, but our Lord chooses not to work that way.
He could speak a word and the WORLD would fall on its face before Him
and plead for salvation…but there’s no glory for the Lord in that.
He is glorified when a single sinner CHOOSES Him in faith, from their
free will!
This is a major problem I
have with today’s modern Charismatic Movement, based almost entirely upon
signs and wonders. Jesus said,
an adulterous generation seeketh after a sign…people were always trying to
get Jesus to do a miracle to prove His deity… “if you’re really God, you’ll
do this…or that!”…even Satan tried this on Jesus, fasting and hungry:
“if you’re really God, turn these stones into bread and eat!”
On the cross, the soldiers said, if you’re really Him, come down!
Jesus is not into
publicity stunts…He wants people to choose Him for who He is and not what He
can do!
So, we’re 1/3rd
of the way thru Rev.! I know,
it’s only 1 chapter, but the first division is complete…point #1:
GOD’S GLORY
The next division is
GOD’S GRACE. Ch’s. 2-3 is 7
letters to 7 literal churches that existed at the time of this writing.
“Reading Someone Else’s Mail”…a subseries we covered a couple years
ago and will summarize again soon.
And we’ll see Grace
Baptist in many verses, in good light and bad, and in one particular letter,
we’ll see GRACE BAPTIST practically mentioned by name!
We’ll be challenged and changed as we snoop thru the mail…and while
it’s got someone else’s name on it, we’ll see that God put your address on
it, He knows right where we live and what we need!
Glory, ch. 1/Grace, ch.
2-3/ …
God’s Government…future
events…ch’s. 4-22.
Today let’s look at a
timeline of the future, an overview in 10 minutes of what we’ll study
together over the next few months in the next 21 chapters of Revelation.
Here’s the big picture:
This is Rev. 101…here’s the big picture painted in broad strokes:
Right now we’re living in
the church age…chapters 2-3, and the next event on God’s prophetic time
table is the rapture of the church…look at 4:1
An entire generation of
Christians will not taste death, and I’ll be surprised if we’re not part of
that generation!
By the way, what are the
last 5 words of 4:1? Same as
last 5 of 1:19! This definitely
marks the beginning of the last division of Revelation…future events…God’s
Government on Earth!
And it all begins w/ a
trumpet!
I Cor. 15
51Behold,
I show you a mystery; (nursery theme verse)…We shall not all sleep, but we
shall all be changed, 52In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,
at the last trump: for
the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we
shall be changed.
16For
the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of
the archangel, and with the trump
of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17Then we which
are alive and remain shall be
caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and
so shall we ever be with the Lord.
It’s true, the word rapture does not appear in the Bible.
Neither does missions or the Trinity, but they’re all very real
concepts! “Rapture” literally
means catching away, and I don’t care what you call it, I’m goin’ up!
Joke—grammar teacher asked a farmer, “would you say the hen is sitting, or
setting?” “I don’t care, I just
wanna know, is she laying, or lying!”
The next event on God’s
time table is the rapture of the church, and I’m so glad today that before
there will be a tribulation…
…there’s gonna be an
evacuation!!
I’m not looking for the
anti-Christ, I’m looking for Jesus Christ!
That’s what’s next, the
rapture of the Church…and that’s the end of the age of Grace…
…and immediately begins
the horrible 7 year period called,
“The Great
Tribulation”…it will be, literally, “hell on earth.”
Satan will be given full
control, thru the person of the anti-Christ, aka, Satan’s Superman.
It will be a very unique
period of time…there’s never been a time like it before!
In the meanwhile, the
ACLU wants rid of Christians, the liberals want us “right-wingers” to get
out of their way, the new-agers say the world would be a better place if we
could just be free of the born-agains…
…oh, wait, this just in:
“they’re gonna get their wish!”
But what they don’t
realize is that the Bible says that believers are the salt of the earth.
Any old-timers here ever salt down your meats?
Why? To preserve it.
Salt preserves! Yes,
right now, they would say, salt irritates…we’re like salt in a wound to them
as they are convicted of their sin…but they’ll see that the salt of the
earth had a preserving effect, holding back God’s judgment in this age of
grace.
And if you think this
world’s bad now, wait ‘til the salt is removed, in the person of the Holy
Spirit in the hearts of the born-agains!
How bad will it be in the
tribulation? Look at 9:6
6And
in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire
to die, and death shall flee from them.
The tribulation period will be so bad as demon spirits are set free on the
earth, that people will want to commit suicide…and much worse will be the
fact that they won’t even be able to succeed at killing themselves!
The tribulation period will begin w/ the anti-christ making a 7 year peace
treaty w/
I
dare you to try to watch a 30 minute news program without seeing something
about
What will propel the anti-christ to power?
He’ll do something no one has done in 4,000 years…bring peace to the
middle-east…and for a while, it will look like his plan is working, but
after 3.5 years he will break his agreement w/ Israel, he’ll set himself up
in the temple as God, that’s the “abomination of desolation”, and Israel
will realize they have been betrayed, deceived, and will refuse to worship
the anti-christ, and he’ll turn on them w/ Satanic fury…
…and anti-christ will make Hitler look like a choir boy!
In Mt. 24, Jesus said, when that happens, head for the hills, don’t go back
for clothes or possessions, get out of town, it’s the darkest day Israel has
ever known.
The anti-christ will gather all the armies of the world together in the
valley of Megiddo [Armageddon], to make war w/ Israel…it’s the battle of
Armageddon…the goal, is to totally exterminate God’s precious people…
…but that battle will be interrupted…interrupted by a sudden, cataclysmic
event…the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ!
19:19
19And
I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered
together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his
army. 20And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet
that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had
received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These
both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. 21And
the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which
sword proceeded out of his mouth:
and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.
The anti-christ will show up w/ tanks, guns, lasers, bombs, jets, and
nuclear warheads…
…our captain will have only one weapon: a Sword proceeding out of His mouth,
His spoken Word! And with 1
spoken word the battle of Armageddon will be over…and the one Who spoke them
into existence will speak them into oblivion!
So, next is the rapture, then the tribulation: and after 3.5 years the
abomination of desolation, it all culminates w/ the battle of Armageddon,
and when Jesus returns and delivers Israel…the Jews will finally turn to
Him, receiving Him for who He is.
Then begins the Millenium: a
big word which literally means, “1,000 years”.
Jesus will rule and reign in His kingdom here on earth for a thousand
years!
Look at 20:6
6Blessed
and holy is he that hath part in
the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they
shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand
years.
That verse says you and I will rule and reign w/ him…that is, if you’ve been
born again!
Jesus said, “the meek
will inherit the earth.”
At the 2nd
coming, when Jesus Christ defeats Satan and his forces, many people think
that is the end…but it’s just the beginning!
God will keep His ancient promise that Jesus will sit on the throne of David
in
For centuries men have prayed: “our Father, which art in heaven,…thy kingdom
come, thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven”
Has never happened yet…It WILL happen!
The millennium, then what?
The Great White Throne Judgment
It’s the final judgment of the unsaved dead!
Those who die w/out Christ will stand before God to be sentenced.
Their final sentence will be pronounced, “depart from me, I never
knew you”.
How do they get there? Where
did they come from?
FROM HELL!
The Bible says, death and hell cough up their occupants for final
sentencing, and death and hell are cast into the lake of fire, this is the 2nd
death! Death had the body, hell
had the soul.
Much like a criminal who is held in county jail awaiting trial, and final
sentencing to prison. Jail is
bad, but it doesn’t compare to prison…and those in hell today awaiting
sentencing don’t know how bad it will be when they are cast into the lake of
fire!
Look at 20:11
11And
I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the
earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
12And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books
were opened: and another book was opened, which is
the book of life: and the dead
were judged out of those things which were written in the books,
according to their works. 13And the sea gave up the dead
which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in
them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
14And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the
second death. 15And whosoever was not found written in the book
of life was cast into the lake of fire.
But, I thought people can only be saved by grace?
Why are these judged according to their works?
To determine degrees of punishment!
Jesus said that some are worthy of many stripes, some of few
stripes…he said to the Pharisees that hell will me more tolerable for Sodom
and Gomorrah than for them…and while the slightest degree of punishment in
hell will be absolutely INTOLERABLE, it will be even worse for some.
All sin must be judged…and if you’ve been born again, your sin was judged on
the cross of
Why are the unsaved dead reserved away for judgment someday?
Because not all the record is in!
Take Larry Flint, or Hugh Hefner.
I take no pleasure in imagining these men in hell, but if they die in
their lost condition they will wait in hell for their judgment…
…and the books which keep record of their evil works will continuously grow
page by page, for these men have corrupted people, who corrupt other people,
and long after their deaths their works will continue to pile up, and
eventually, they will be judged according to their works!
Someone says, I thought there is no big sins or little sins, that it’s all
the same to God? That’s true,
when it comes to the saving, cleansing power of the blood of Jesus Christ on
the cross…yes, Flint and Hefner, despite all they have done can turn to
Jesus and be saved, just as saved as this little boy was at the age of 6,
comparatively innocent!
The bottom line: Why do people
go to hell? V. 15
Because they were not found written in the book of life! (repeat, repeat)
Did they go to hell because they committed adultery, yes or no?
Murder/drank or smoked/lied or cheated or stole?
No, but because their name wasn’t there in the book!
You don’t go to hell for what you do, but for what you don’t
do. A person goes to hell
because they don’t accept the forgiveness offered thru Jesus Christ, for
rejecting Him and His offer.
The last 2 chapters of Rev. are about that wonderful city of
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