01 12 25 Book of Revelation Part 1 Here Comes The Bride

All right, good morning. Welcome, welcome, welcome to everyone, and we are here for our morning study on the Book of Revelation. We're going to be talking today on part one of Here Comes the Bride. There were some things that we didn't quite finish on last week, so we're going to touch on those, and maybe that'll take us into the study of the Bride this morning. Good to see everyone with us at this point. Good morning to you, Richard, Eric, Deb, Rod, of course, and we trust that the audio is good that you're hearing, even though seemingly I've been having a little bit of choppiness with the audio. Hope that it's okay for now. If anybody's having any difficulty hearing, let me know, and we'll try to make the adjustments, but it sounds like it's okay. Actually, Zoom does a test audio, and so that worked, but still, when you get live on Facebook, you wonder if that is working. Okay, so let's go ahead and get underway. On last week, we talked about rejoicing for the judgment and salvation had come, that Jerusalem, the great harlot of Revelation 17, was judged. The prophets, apostles, and saints' blood had been avenged on Jerusalem, as the prophets had foretold. And next, we see the smoke of Jerusalem's fall rising up forever and ever, which is a figure taken from Sodom and Gomorrah, from Genesis chapter 19 and verse 28. The smoke of the land which went up like the smoke of a furnace, and so that's the concept of where this idea of smoke rising forever and ever. It's not a literal forever burning of the city of Jerusalem. I mean, it was burned, sure enough, but this is the figure that's being used in the to talk about its, you know, ultimate destruction. You also have the language that's being used from Isaiah chapter 34, verses 8 through 10, that says, for it is the day of the Lord's vengeance, the year of recompense for the cause of Zion. And of course, this is against Edom, who was one of the enemies of God, and so of God's people particularly. It says, its streams shall be turned into pitch, and its dust into brimstone, its land shall become burning pitch, it shall not be quenched night or day, its smoke shall ascend forever from generation to generation, it shall lie waste, no one shall pass through it forever and ever. And yet, people misunderstand the figurative use of this language by the prophets, and they use it to talk about, you know, an eternal burning hell, you know, that people are going to be tormented forever, based on the use of this language in the prophets. Yet, when you go back and you look at Isaiah 34, and read even beyond verse 10, from where we read, he talks about the ostriches and the pelicans, etc., that would be in the land, and maybe a few other wild animals that would be in the land once it had been destroyed. So, it's not, you know, a literal burning over or forever without stop from that perspective, but it just indicated the total demise of that country, of that land, when God destroyed it. Next, we see, and we're in Revelation 19, by the way, verses 6 through 8, or 6 through 9, and so next we see the worship, and the posture of the 24 elders, and the four living creatures who fell down and worshiped God, who sat on the throne, saying, Amen, Hallelujah. They expressed their praise for seeing God's truth and power. We have a statement from Isaiah, chapter 45, and verse 14, which speaks of the products, the labor, the merchandise of Egypt and Cush, which is Ethiopia, by the way, and Seba, which were some of the tall men of the sons of Cush, the sons of Ethiopia. They were like his first sons. You can see that in Genesis chapter 10 and verse 7, but it talks about them coming over to you, and they shall be yours. So, here they are, coming over to Israel, and it says they shall be yours. They shall walk behind you. They shall come over in chains, and they shall bow down before you, or bow down to you. They will make supplication to you, saying, Surely God is in you, and there is no other. There is no other God. So, they come, and they acknowledge that God is the only God of the world, and acknowledging him as God. Now, we have a text that sort of mirrors that in 1 Corinthians, chapter 14, when Paul is talking about the miraculous gifts, and he's trying to eliminate the confusion that arises over the use of miraculous gifts in the public assembly. While he's in Corinth, and he talks about either foreigners or aliens, people who were unbelievers coming into the church and hearing them speak in tongues and prophesy. And of course, if everyone were speaking in tongues, he says, you know, this would cause people to believe that you were out of your mind, because they couldn't understand what was being said. There was no interpreter that might have been present at the time, and people would be confused. It wouldn't have any impact on them, in terms of their response, and appropriate response, to the gospel, and to the worship of God. However, on the other hand, using, of course, that statement, which seems very clear to me, from Isaiah 45, and verse 14, he says, but, and this is 1 Corinthians 14, 24, and 25, but if all prophesy, and an unbeliever, or an uninformed person comes in, he is convinced by all, he is convicted by all, and thus, the secrets of his heart are revealed, and so, falling down on his face, he will worship God, and report that God is truly among you. And so, these sons of Seba, or Sebaeum, for the plural, also mentioned in Psalm 72, where the text speaks of the universal reign, and the sovereignty of the Lord. It says, he shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth. Those who dwell in the wilderness will bow before him, and his enemies will lick the dust. The kings of Tarshish and of the Isles will bring presents. The kings of Sheba and Seba will offer gifts. Yes, all kings shall fall down before him. All nations shall serve him. And you can, again, see this concept in Isaiah chapter 60, and verse 12, where, when speaking of Gentile nations, he says, for the nations and kingdom, which will not serve you, shall perish, and those nations shall be utterly ruined. A similar text is found in Zechariah chapter 14, starting at around verse 16, but nevertheless, he talked about all the nations that would not come up to Jerusalem, on them there would be no reign. Now, in addition to that, we have the voice of God from the throne that issues another command of praise. And the throne, by the way, was in the tabernacle, or the temple of God, and you can see that from Exodus chapter 25, verses 21 through 22. It was the place from which God spoke to Israel through Moses and the high priest, and gave them his commands. And it says, in verse 21, you shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony that I will give you. And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel. So that is the place that was recognized by Israel as the throne of God. That's where he spoke to them. That's where the high priest represented them before God. And this is the place from which God is giving his testimony. And so when it says that he spoke to them, or there was a voice out from the throne, that's indicating it is from the throne seat of God, which was in the tabernacle. And in this case, the heavenly tabernacle. Now he repeats the command saying, praise our God. And it is likely that the one who is referred to in this case, as I mentioned on last week, is Christ. And you can see another example of this in Revelation chapter 16 and verse seven, where the text says, then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven from the throne saying it is done. So notice how it's connected just like before. It says that a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven from the throne saying it is done. It's interesting also, as we are looking at how these texts just kind of put together, you know, like pieces of a puzzle that when he's talking about this seventh angel sounding and coming out and the fact that these things are done, well, we sort of noticed that when we looked in chapter 15. So let's kind of go back over a little bit of that in Revelation chapter 10 and verse seven. And we had already mentioned Deuteronomy 32 and Daniel chapter 12 and verse seven, but in Revelation 10, seven, it says, but in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound the mystery of God would be finished as he declared to his servants, the prophets. So just as you see in chapter 16 and verse seven, where they say it is done, when he, when the seventh angel poured out his bowl, you'll see in chapter 10 and verse seven, when the seventh angel sounds the mystery of God would be finished as he has declared to his servants, the prophets, then compare that with revelation, chapter 15 and verse one, where he says, then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous seven angels having the seven last plagues or in them, the wrath of God is complete. So when we are seeing this, uh, these seven angels sound and particularly the last angel, uh, it is when the wrath of God is complete. It is when the mystery of God is complete. And, uh, it is when all things were done. And so they announce the Lord's victory saying for all nations to come to worship before you, uh, for your judgments have been manifested. And then after these things, that is after the judgment on Jerusalem, he says, I looked and behold the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was open. Now the temple was filled with smoke. Uh, and this is from a chapter 15 as well. The tip was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power. And it says, no one was able to enter the temple till the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed. And, uh, that parallels also Hebrews chapter nine, where it talked about the way of the holiest of all was not made manifest while the first tabernacle was yet standing. And so what this is showing you is, uh, at the time of the end of the old covenant. And at the time of the fall of the temple, at the time of the mystery of God, complete, all of these things are wrapped up into this scene that we have in chapter 19 and, um, leading into the time of the wedding or the marriage. And so it was universal to all servants and those who feared him both small and great. Now this resulted in a huge waterfall, like sound of many waters. It was the voice of a great multitude in response to the command. And it also sounded like the mighty thundering, uh, echoing the voice of God who spoke from, uh, Mount Sinai in Exodus 19, because that was the time of the giving of the covenant. And what we have here is the time of the establishing of the new covenant as well. Uh, even though it had been inaugurated, uh, from the day of Pentecost through the death of Christ and his resurrection and Ascension, but we see it coming into full play. And that's, uh, what's indicated in the Hebrews chapter eight and the verse, uh, is 13 and, uh, other passages, because that's the time where the kingdom really comes in its fullness and that is established at the time of the Pharisee. Now the servants represent the whole church corresponding to the 144,000 of chapter 14, who stood on Mount Zion, uh, revelation 14, one and two, as the text says, then I looked and behold a lamb standing on Mount Zion and with him 144,000, having his father's name written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, like the voice of many waters and like the voice of loud thunder. Uh, and I heard the sound of harpists playing their hearts. They sang as it were a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures and the elders. And no one could learn that song except the 144,000 who were redeemed from the earth. So here they praise God saying, hallelujah, uh, the Lord God omnipotent reigns. Actually, even though our translation says that the Lord God omnipotent reigns, it's actually in the, uh, the heiress tense. And it's saying that the Lord God omnipotent has reigned. Now there may be, uh, of course with the heiress, it's kind of hard to pin that tense down, which could indicate that this is, um, uh, sort of, um, it starts in the past, but it may have a linear effect where it continues to that present time in which they were speaking. And that may very well be the case, but it's certainly indicative of the fact that this reign was already in progress. Uh, and the reason that that's important is because the whole purpose of the pre-Pharisee reign was to put down all of his enemies. And in these verses, we're seeing that that is in fact, uh, what is taking place and, and what has taken place from the perspective of the judgment having come. And so that refers to, uh, Christ or the reign of Christ, uh, being his pre-Pharisee reign. And the purpose of that reign, as we said, was the subduing of all his enemies, that is to put them all under his feet. The last of which was death. This he has done. And as a result, uh, we have the fall of the temple. Now that's why in revelation three and verse 21, it speaks of Christ having overcome. And at that point, uh, had sat down on his father's throne. And then he tells the church that if they were to endure and they were to overcome, they would sit down, uh, in his throne as he had sat down on the father's throne. And so, uh, from that perspective, the father and Christ reign is in the most holy place, the Holy of Holies, which shows the character and the nature of their reign being about atonement, because that was the purpose of the building of the tabernacle. And so that God could, um, uh, meet with them and could, um, have sanctuary among them. And so this was all about redemption. It was about reigning in righteousness, uh, the righteousness that God bestows on a forgiven man through the gospel, according to Romans one, 16, 17, 10, one through four, and many other such passages. Now the opening of the tabernacle of God is access, as we said to the Holy of Holies, but that's also wedding terminology. It's where Christ and his espoused bride meet in consummation of the marriage. Now, uh, Paul taught in second Corinthians chapter 11 and verse two, that he had espoused the church to Christ as a church virgin, that he might present them at some time in the future, uh, as a chaste virgin to Christ. He had espoused the Corinthians, of course, and, and, uh, the church, uh, as a whole, uh, so that they might be, uh, presented as a chaste virgin to Christ. They had been betrothed. And that means that they had entered into the marriage agreement. However, uh, they had not come together. And it's just like Mary and Joseph, uh, in Matthew chapter one, when it says, you know, uh, when, uh, Mary was espoused to Joseph before they came together or betrothed to him, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy spirit and, uh, Joseph, you know, wanted to put her away, but the angel told him that she was, you know, uh, pregnant with the child of the Holy spirit. And therefore, uh, she had done no wrong. And so there was a time after she had given birth that they actually came together and consummated the marriage. And so that's, what's indicated in the text in second Corinthians chapter 11 and verse two, uh, where they would come together at a time in the future. And that's also Ephesians chapter five, where the text talks about that he might present her as a glorious church, holy and without blemish. And, uh, that is at the time of his coming. Now, some people have the idea that, you know, this is the time of the divorce of the church, so to speak. Uh, but this is the time when they do come together. Also, uh, in Matthew 25 and verse six, it is in the bride chamber where the five wise virgins meet the Lord who consummate the marriage. The word me is me is the same word up and tastes in first Thessalonians chapter four. And the verse is 17. Uh, the word and is, uh, of course the Greek to signify where the church meets Christ in the clouds, in the air. Um, you know, sometimes there are people who clearly understand that the air was a sphere of rule and reign and authority. Uh, for example, when you look in Ephesians chapter two and verse two, it talks about those who were once, uh, the children of wrath who walked according to the Prince of this world, um, the, um, ruler of the air. And so, you know, that's talking about, uh, primarily it's probably talking about the high priest, but of course, you know, we have the reference to Satan because it's, uh, one who stands against everything that was godly from that perspective. But the idea is, uh, he was the Prince and power of the air, but that didn't mean that, you know, there was something or someone floating around in the sky, uh, in the heavens, as people think that they would be raptured off the earth into the sky. That's a realm of authority, a realm of power. And of course, uh, because he had access to the most holy place, you could see, uh, that concept. I think I spoke, uh, not too long ago, uh, from Zechariah chapter three, where it shows that Satan was in that most holy place, uh, contending for the destruction of Israel and Joshua, the high priest who was clothed in, um, filthy clothes. And then God said, you know, put clean, um, or a new clothes on him, uh, clothes that indicated righteousness, because he was not going to allow the nation to be, uh, you know, trashed, so to speak as a result of their sins, because he had for them redemption plan through the atoning work of Christ. But that's the same idea from this, uh, perspective. But when Christ came, then that's where he had that war that we see in revelation chapter, uh, 12, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon and his angels and cast them out, cast them out of heaven, cast them out of the realm of the air, the realm of authority. And then that's where Christ takes up his reign. And that is where, uh, the saints reign with him. And so that word is the same word it's used in Matthew 25, six, it's also used in, uh, Acts chapter, um, 28, uh, in terms of Paul meeting the brethren who came, uh, from Rome to escort him back. But, uh, this idea is, uh, the thanks meeting him in this realm of authority where they rule and have power over the nations as revelation two 27 speaks, but, uh, it says they would meet Well, we've been talking about the tabernacle. That's where the voice of God is coming from. And in Hebrews chapter 10, it talks about their having boldness that they might enter into the holiest of all through the blood of Christ and, uh, which would be consummated at his coming. And at the time of the wedding. So this is where the bride is meeting the groom, you know, here comes the bride, if you please. So this is the, uh, the glory cloud of God's Now, you know, compare that, uh, uh, pair revelation 19, five with Leviticus chapter 16 and, uh, verses, uh, two and three, let's look at Leviticus 16 and verse three. It says, and the Lord said to Moses, tell Aaron, your brother, not to come at just any time into the holy place inside the veil before the mercy, uh, seat, which was the place foretold, which is on Watch for, I will appear in the cloud above the mercy seat. So if the saints are entering into the holy of holies, and that is the, uh, presence behind the veil as Hebrews six 19 and 20 says, uh, Christ, our forerunner has entered for us. And then, uh, it says he has entered, uh, the presence behind the veil. If they are boldly coming through that veil, they're entering into the clouds. And I think that's the idea of what's spoken of there. And of course you had clouds in Exodus 19 as well. When Moses entered up into the Mount, God was in the cloud from that perspective. So this is tabernacle language, it's temple typology, and I'm not talking about people being jettisoned off the earth at some time in, uh, in the future. And, uh, from that perspective, uh, he says, he shall put the incense on the fire before the Lord that the cloud of incense may cover the mercy seat that is on the testimony lest he died. And so it was very important for Aaron to carry out those things, but he was carrying them out in the clouds, in the heaven, you know, at the throne of God, uh, and performing that work inside the tabernacle. Uh, so note this voice from the throne. He says, you shall put, uh, the mercy seat, uh, on top of the ark, which I've mentioned that from, um, Exodus 25 verse 21, where God said he would speak with them from above the mercy seat and give them all the, uh, testimony about everything that he would give them in commandment to the children of Israel. Now, the Hebrew word for meat is yaad. And look, I am no Hebrew, uh, person and I do the very best I can to, uh, butcher these words, but nevertheless, it is a primitive root, which means to fix upon by agreement or appointment by implication to meet at a stated time, because there was an appointed time for Christ to come for the wedding, for the judgment, for all of these things. And thus to summon to trial, we've seen the fact that, and we'll see in the next chapter where the court is assembled, but this is the idea he's bringing them to judgment and, um, uh, in a certain portion, but also it says to engage for marriage, to agree, to make an appointment, assemble and to betroth together, uh, together, uh, at a set time. So all of that is in couched in that particular word from that perspective. And, um, and so he says this would be from above from the beginning, uh, from their origin, uh, origin and source from a higher place. And of course, ascending into this, uh, most holy place was of course, um, at a higher level. Uh, then, uh, we have the wedding, the reigning, the meeting, the speaking and clouds above the heaven are all, as we said, tabernacle and holy of holies, uh, atonement typology. It's the fulfillment of Daniel 70 weeks in making atonement for the sins and for reconciliation for iniquity. Uh, it is that 10th jubilee of the end times, the meeting of Christ in the clouds, in the air and the presentation of the betrothed bride for her, um, the flowering intimacy with Christ, according to Ephesians five and 26. And as we said, it is the time of judgment. Now he says, let us be glad and rejoice and give him glory. That's the second response of praise. The first was the Lord God omnipotent has reigned, uh, which takes us back to Isaiah chapter 24 and verse 23. And, uh, that's an interesting section of, uh, of, uh, scripture that, uh, lays out basically the very imagery that we have here in revelation after, um, after 19, uh, the second is, uh, meaning the second voice, uh, and command was for the marriage of the lamb, uh, has come and therefore the rejoicing. Now, if we go back to Isaiah 25 and read verse nine, you will see that language. It says, and it will be said in that day, behold, this is our God. We have waited for him and he will save us. This is the Lord. Uh, we will fade it. We have waited for him. We will be glad and rejoice in his salvation. Remember in revelation 19, uh, verse two, he said the salvation had come because God had judged the harlot. And this is what they had been waiting for. They had been eagerly waiting for the, uh, this revelation and this judgment that was about to come this vindication that God would bring about on their behalf. And so Isaiah begins his text with the fall of the fortified city, uh, with the fall of Moab in that particular context. Now what's interesting to see there is how he links the time of the wedding with the fall of a fortified city. And as we are contemplating that it is, um, showing us these correlations that we have in revelation chapter 19. Uh, let's read a few verses there from Isaiah, uh, 25. I know that my time is quickly, quickly evaporating here. Pretty much has evaporated, but I'll try not to leave this, uh, hanging too much. And, uh, we'll have to get more into, um, this, uh, correlation a little bit, uh, next week, but notice it says in verse two of, uh, Isaiah 25, for you have made a city, a ruin, a fortified city, a ruin, a palace of foreigners to be a city. No more. It will never be rebuilt. Remember the smoke of Jerusalem goes up forever and ever. So, uh, this is, uh, the foundation or the basis of some of the language that we find in revelation 19. Therefore, the strong people will glorify you. The city of the terrible nations will fear you. We talked about those nations coming over, falling down and worshiping for you have been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat for the last of the terrible ones is a storm against the wall. You will reduce the noise of aliens as heat in a dry place, as heat in a shadow of a cloud, the song of the terrible ones will be diminished. And in this mountain, the Lord of hosts will make for all people a feast of choice pieces. We'll get to the messianic banquet a little bit later, a feast of choice pieces, a feast of wines on the leaves of fat things, full of Merrill of will refine wines on the leaves. And he will destroy on this mountain, the surface of the covering cast over all people and the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever. And the Lord will wipe away tears from all faces, the rebuke of his people. He will take away from all the earth for the Lord has spoken. And it will be said in that day, behold, this is our God. We have waited for him and he will save us. This is the Lord. We have waited for him. We will be glad and rejoice in his salvation. Now, look, there's some great stuff that's that continues in this particular chapter. You also kind of get sort of a recap, a capitulation all the way back to Genesis with the fact that when this fortified city is destroyed, of course, they're made, they're trampled and made to, you know, sort of wallow in the refugee. But one of the things he says in this context, the fortress of the high fort of your walls, he will bring down lay low and bring down to the ground, down to the dust. Well, what was the end result of the circle? It was that he would dwell in the dust. And so Jerusalem was likened to a serpent as well. And you see in revelation chapter 12, it talks about that same thing. So when they're destroyed, they're like the serpent being cast down to the dust. And so you have this correlation between them. And again, you see that mention. And also he talks about opening the gates. Well, look, I've got to try to wrap this up. And I was trying to see, you know, how close to the end I could get. But what I want you to see in all of that is the fact that all of these things are happening in Revelation 19. Now, it doesn't specifically say it. But when you look at the background text for where john is drawing that and where the Holy Spirit is drawing this language, it's from Isaiah chapter 25, a little bit in 24, and some in chapter 26. And showing that there was a 45 city that was destroyed. That was the time of the marriage that was also the time of the swallowing up of death. So what that's telling you is that everything that's happening in Revelation 19 is also happening in Revelation 21. And vice versa. And yet in Revelation 19, it's clearly linked with the fall of Jerusalem in 70 ad. Well, look, that's about as much as I can bring in. I hope you got the point that we were trying to make on that. And maybe we'll say something briefly on it on next week. But with that, I want to thank all of you for being present this morning. I hope I can see all of the names here. I see Roosevelt. Philip and Deb. Let's see Dale, Thomas Carroll, Alan, Marlena, William, William Sanders. Let's see Philip, Gail, Stephen, Eric. And I think that's Richard if I didn't call your name. I think that's just about everyone. Certainly appreciate your being here. Hope that you have enjoyed the message this morning and that everything was as plain as I could possibly make it. We'll look forward to being back with you on next week. So have a great Sunday morning and may God bless you all.