Walk With Me

Revelation 4: The Stage is set....

• JJ

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Hello everybody, welcome to today's episode of Walk With Me. I am your host, JJ. So good to have each and every one of you here. So good to be with you again for another week, another episode of this end-time Bible study. And I know some of you are kind of like, oh my god, is he gonna talk about letters again? No, no, we are done with the letters. Uh we we I had to make sure that we covered the letters, and I had to make sure we cover them in depth because what comes after that is what everyone is referring to as quote unquote the exciting part. Before we get into that, big shout out to our sponsors, TrueBoss Lyricist, with the intro and the outro. Big shout out to Squizzit Creations, and yes, folks, um, I have a little bit of a news uh breaking. Um, but when it's finalized, I I I told my wife I wasn't going to say anything until it's actually finalized. So uh big, big, big, big, big, big, big news coming down the pike. Y'all keep praying for me, y'all keep praying for us. Pray for this radio show or this podcast. I say it's radio show because it's on iHeart. Uh, but some of the I I will let you know that um because of some of you uh the amount of people that are viewing, uh, we were given a special or a little bit of an extra time slot so we could actually go into another um have another episode like we did last week. We have two episodes. Uh we have a special episode once a month. Um, basically is how it's gonna work out. So I get to have the normal episode and then a sort of a different episode that would not use that just for questions, and I I'm really, really, really excited about that. Um, thank you all so much. Thank you all so much. And also, if you have questions or anything like that, send it to walk with me, Bible study at Gmail. Questions, comments, concerns. If you're watching on YouTube, uh drop a comment, a like, a subscribe. Thank you very much. It's coming soon to Rumble. Um, I want to be able to transfer all the episodes to Rumble, and we're kind of having a bit of a formatting issue, but I will figure it out. It's a one-man show, and I say one man show, but God is in control. So thank you all so much, so much, so much. And uh, we're going to jump right into it because we got a lot to cover today, okay? So, like I said, we are finished, we are finished going over the letters, and I wanted to go into them very uh in a very detailed way because I wanted to make sure that we were clear on what was going on with these letters. Now, this is the part where everybody wants to talk to about too. Hey, let's get to the exciting part. Well, it's kind of like the exciting part, like the way in Independence Day, um, you know, the the doctor that was played by Brent Spiner. I he was like the scientist, the alien, the guy who's a doctor or the scientist who studied the aliens. He said, Oh man, the last three days have been very exciting because he had no idea that almost every major city on the planet had been wiped out. And the president who was played by Brill Pullman said, I wouldn't necessarily call the last three days of exciting because millions of people have died. And so this is this is uh when people talk about the exciting part in Revelation, this is kind of the attitude and the feeling that I have because it is anything but exciting, things will begin to happen fast, and um it it you know it will happen, it will happen fast, and we don't really want that, okay. And the reason why I say that is because once at the end of this episode, chronologically speaking, at the end of this episode, if you are still on this planet, you have a 25% chance of living to the end, only a 25% chance of living the next um through the tour at the end of the tribulation. Okay, so let's get into and describe it and figure out what was what's gonna happen here. We're gonna jump right into it. Um, because the next thing we see after the uh after the letters, John is going to talk about Revelation chapter 4. Now we are getting to typically the end of what preachers normally preach. I I very rarely see anybody preach past Revelation chapter 4, and I and there's reason for that, and when we get into some of the later chapters, you will see why. Okay. Um and and I've I've say I've I've had the Holy Ghost now since '94, and I think I've had one person preach, uh, preach past, I only can remember one person that preached past Revelation 5, and and it was such a uh sermon that I I still remember to this day. Okay, so we're gonna get into it. Revelation chapter 4 is where we're gonna start off here. Revelation 1. I'm sorry, Revelation 4 and 1. Now, the words there are gonna be some words that you're going to see starting um after Revelation 2 and 3 that you didn't see after, didn't see before that. Those two words are going to be after this, those words specifically deal with the status of the church, and this is what denotes what happens to um kind of tell us or hint to us that the church age had been over. Now, there are a lot of people right now, there are a lot of people on social media, a lot of people sit standing behind pulpits, there are a lot of people that are out there that are saying that hey, the the church age is done, the church age is behind us, but um, and people are already speaking about it like as if it is as if there's no church here. But um, although the the church is mentioned uh 16 times, I think 15 or 16 times in the first three chapters of Revelation, it is absolutely imperative to note that after that word, after this, nowhere else in the book of Revelation do you see the word church. You it the church resident is not there. The rapture of church is clearly taught, though, in the Bible, and to understand that to go exactly to where it's taught. Now, wait, let me stop there because somebody just said the word revelation is not in the Bible. This is absolutely true. The word revelation, I'm sorry, the word rapture is not in the Bible. This is absolutely true. The word rapture is nowhere to be found in the Bible. That's let's not, you know, let's not mince onions here, it is absolutely not in the Bible, however, it is specifically described. Um, Jesus talked about it, um, and but the actual process is laid out in First Thessalonians 4. Now, before we read it, because I'm gonna read it to you. We have a rule here. Always read the verse or two above, the verse or two below, but preferably the whole chapter. But we jump absolutely have to stick to the verses here. Now, for the Lord Himself, and you're gonna start at verse 16. This is what describes the rapture in detail. But the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with the shout and with the voice of the archangel, the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then which we are alive or to 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. That's first Thessalonians 4, 16 and 17. That is for the because of all those extra words, we say rapture. Now, in Revelation chapter 4, you're going to see something, you're gonna see a command that that uh that Jesus gives to John, come up hither. Now, this is a very strong suggestion that this is going to be a um a simulation based on the prophecy, based on the revelation, that this is a simulation about this is where the rapture takes place. Um, and this is Jesus saying, Come up hither, this is how the rapture is going to happen. And John then finds out that there are two big promises that are given to the church that she would have not to go through the great tribulation. Now, uh, before I get into that, please understand that there are a lot of people who say that there is a tribulation and a great tribulation, and the tribulation being seven years and the great tribulation being the latter three and a half, the second part of the three and a half. We kind of talked touched on that before. I JJ, in the book of JJ, I'm of the belief that the church will see none of the actual tribulation, that um the rapture will happen and then will kick off the seven years. But listen, I I I don't know. I honestly I don't know, but I'm just saying that that I believe that um that it will the church will um we being raptured out will start the tribulation. All right, so watch ye therefore, and this is Luke chapter 21, verse 36. Watch therefore and pray always that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass and to stand before the Son of Man. Now, this is 21 and 36, and this is echoed in Revelation 3 and 10. Because thou art kept the word of my patience. Remember now those were the letters, I will keep thee from the hour of temptation which shall come upon all the world, and to try them that dwell upon the earth. This is Jesus basically saying that we are going when I when I call you guys up, I am calling you up to save you from the tribulation, and so and you know, and there's another scripture where it says, Except the days be shortened, no flesh shall be saved alive. So this is where this is talking about. Now, John is going to have an experience where he's going to be looking and then he's going to see a door opened in heaven. Now, it is absolutely important to pay attention to all the orders, the way things are done in chronological order. This way you don't get deceived. Um, you don't have any situation where somebody comes along and tells you that the rapture is going to be at 2 p.m. tomorrow, and you don't sell everything and quit your job. You have to pay attention to the order, the way it was done in the Bible. John looked and then the door opened. Now it doesn't state that the door was open and then John looked, because in the rapture of the church, Jesus coming for them for us who look for him, and unto him, unto them that look for him, shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. Hebrews 9 and 28. So they're all these things are God does not do anything by happenstance or by accident, he does it based on his word and how he's telling us it's going to happen. Looking for God's return is is one of the one of the necessary conditions of being ready. We have to always be ready that the sky may split at any time, the trumpet may sound at any time. God could appear in the sky at any time and take us out of here. Not an appointment, just anytime. Please understand that physically John was still on the island of Patmos when this happened. But when this when this happened, when God said, Come up hither, John said he was caught up in the spirit, Revelation 4.2. And John was given a vision of what would take place in heaven when the church is raptured. So now we are no longer on the Isle of Patmos, we are no longer in an earthly scene. So let's set the scene here because we're gonna set the scene and then we're gonna go into everything that's happened. Now we probably won't get through everything today, but first let's set the scene. So you first got the big throne, and this is gonna be a central place. It drew John's attention immediately. Now, something you gotta note here, I'm always gonna hit it every time I see it. There's only one throne, and only one person or one being that sat upon that throne. There's only one God, and that name is Jesus. He's gonna be the Christ, he's gonna be the Lord and Savior, he is God, and the way the Bible describes him, it it kind of describes him in terms of precious stones, and that's because John had a little bit of a problem understanding how to describe Jesus, and the fact that he was looking at a glorified body, something he had never seen before, a glorified body. So two of the things that that um John was specific to use was jasper and sardine. Now, sardine is like a super blood red. Have you ever seen the difference between um uh oxygenated blood and uh carbon uh carbon dioxide laden blood? Oxygenated blood is super super super super red, super bright, super red. And this is what a sardine looks like. Not not not the fish, but the gem, sardine. And jasper is a uh brilliant stone, it's it's it's brighter than a diamond. It's it's uh it's hard to really explain it because I wish I had a I wish I upgraded to video and I could show you what what the pictures of these look like. So um now this throne of judgment for the world, this is the throne of judgment that the that God is going to use during the world's judgment during the tribulation. I want to point out that this is not the great white throne judgment, that's a completely different judgment, that's a completely different throne, and the reason why you say this is because you see the red sardine, which is you know speaks of God's wrath, but you also see an emerald rainbow. And what does the rainbow symbolize? The rainbow symbolizes mercy, and green speaks of mercy. So we should know that we should notice that on in Revelation 20, where it talks about the great white throne judgment, there is neither there is no rainbow there, there's no color there, everything it was just you in the throne and God sitting there. Nothing else was there. So only here during the tribulation, as bad as it gets, as bad as it's going to get, as bad as it will get, this is still tempered with mercy. And I need y'all to let that sink in because when I figured when that revelation hit me, it was pretty pretty heavy. So now you have John describing that there were four living creatures, and it was talking about four beasts on each side of the throne. Now, this beast, this word beast in this context means something that's living. It was described as a lion and a calf, a man and an eagle. It is also important to note here that this is not the beast that we're talking about, the one that we're not supposed to be following. This is not the mark of the beast or the beast in the Antichrist. This is a completely different thing, and as a matter of fact, and I can't really prove it, but it's possible, this almost seems like it's the same thing that Ezekiel saw when you read Ezekiel 1:5 through 11. I'm not gonna go there because we're already running out of time, but their main purpose was to worship God, and they did this day and night, unlike the other beasts which did not worship God. That's how you know which beast is which. So, and besides these beasts around the throne, there were 24 seats where 24 elders uh were seated, and these represent the entire church. Now, I don't know where he got 24 from. I you'd have to ask God that you have to ask John that, but these elders represented the entire church, they were clothed in white, and they had crowns of gold on their heads. Now, these were saints that were made kings and priests unto God, and these crowns speak of being kings, and the white raiment also speaks of being priests, and they had a song that they were singing that identified them as representatives of the church that is saying that thou wilt slain and hast redeemed us to God by the blood out of every kindred, tongue, people, and nation. So, wait a minute, let me stop right there. This is not meaning, this is just Jews. I know that there's a I I just had a big blow up with a guy a couple weeks ago about it was just gonna be Jews that went up, but no, these elders are saying every kindred, every tongue and people and nation. So that's gonna be and if you wanted proof of that, read Revelation 5 and 9. Now, out of the throne came a lot of lightning and thunder, and whenever you see lightning and thunder together, it speaks of judgment, just like the the flood, because the flood was a judgment, and it always sent lightning and thunder, and also I want to also want to point out that there were seven uh lamps in front of those thrones, and those thrones were representative of the seven spirits of God, which we just talked about as far as letters are concerned, but this is not the same thing. Remember, I remove your candlestick, and this is where and all each one of these churches had a candlestick, which is uh the spirit or the presence of God, and the number seven means perfect in this, you know, and when it comes to God, and it shows perfect omniscience, nothing is is hidden from God, He knows everything, He's conscious of everything. And around this throne, around um where John was standing, and under all the the this this 24 seats and the and the beast that was worshiping God, everything sat on a sea of glass. Now, I've had people tell me that this was actually refined gold, gold that was so pure that it was transparent. Now, I think I read that before, but I I now that I think about it, I think I've read that before. Um, but I don't have the scripture reference, I don't want to mislead you. So, um, right now I'm just gonna say it's the sea of glass, right? And this was to represent peace and tranquility before the throne, and that area was reserved for the tribulation saints which shall stand on this sea of glass, and that's you're gonna see that in Revelation 15. Um, now there's only one throne. I want to go back and emphasize that there's one throne, we shall only see one throne in heaven. Now, some people will tell you they'll stand up and they'll argue you down. You're gonna see three thrones. Three thrones. See that five times fast. You're gonna see three thrones, but the Bible is very definitive in that we shall see Jesus first. John 3 and 2, who is seated upon the one throne. Um, so when now we mean in chapter 5, Jesus saw Jesus was seen by John, and that was the Lamb of God who had to take that sealed book out of the right hand upon him on the throne. Now, does that make um does that make it to God because Jesus took the the book out of the hand of God? No, no, I again you have to read it in context. Um, it's simply the Lord doing two things at the same time. Not only is he the lamb, but he's also the lion in the tribe of Judah. He's also God often does this does two things simultaneously, it doesn't make him any less God. Um, again, Revelation 5. But this is um not the only place we see God revealed occupying two uh more than one office at the same time, like um, like in Isaiah 53, and this is the old testament. The old testament is always was here, O Israel, the Lord our God was one Lord. The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of his all, and he's talking about Jesus. And in this scripture, it's kind of stated that the Lord is both priest and a sacrifice, and we see that this is the glorified body of Jesus that filled both offices at the same time, and so what's what's so inconsistent about when Isaiah said, rather than we see it in Revelation, we understand that the Revelation, the book of Revelation, and what is John is seeing is a combination of everything that we have touched on and have laid uh foundation for in the Bible. Okay, oh, time is running away. So, um we have the title deed. Basically, uh, you're gonna see like a title deed being exchanged, and that book that Jesus went in got was to could be for for lack of a better term, considered the title deed, and this book contained the term by which the earth would be redeemed from the curse that it was given. When was the curse given? Since uh Genesis 3, 17 and 18. Now, there now there were some parts of the curse that was lifted where uh Jesus said, Well, God said that um the earth would no longer be cursed for your sake, but there was still a cursing on the planet, right? And the earth had been waiting for this moment this entire time, entire time for that to be transferred from the the curse of judgment to the curse of redemption or to the blessing of redemption, and that's going to be and I would say Romans 820 to 23, maybe 820 to 23. So that book or scroll is sealed with seven seals, and and seals, this is an ancient Jewish custom. This is kind of a under the law, one could not levy an estate beyond a certain period, and that period is often referred to as the Jubilee, and whatever that year that Jubilee was, anything that was mortgaged had to be released. Any money that was owed had to be forgiven, any inheritance that was mortgaged had to be forgiven. And so this sealed book was kind of a sign of an alienated inheritance, but an inheritance so held that recovery of it, if it was possible on the term specified, that it was time to be released. Um, so let's just say a legal representative of a um like a lien holder or a regional property holder broke the seals and bought back the property, he's called the redeemer. We have auctions sometimes in in your local your local county, tax liens. So you can actually redeem the taxes on a property and get the property for the cost of the taxes and not the cost of the property. You don't believe me, look it up. So in Revelation 5, we find that we have a worthy redeemer, someone who is able to break these seals and redeem the whole world. And this title deed is in God's hands, and Satan couldn't redeem it. No, you can't redeem it, I can't redeem it. Only person that could redeem it was Jesus. Again, Romans 8. Um, so this time will come when Jesus executes this judgment and gives the inheritance back to the saints. So, um, and then we're gonna next week, because we're out of time, we're gonna talk about what the redeemer is, who the redeemer is, and how he's going to redeem it. And here's where we are actually going to start. Um, if I can get to it in time, we're gonna start looking at what these seals really represented. All right. I love each and every one of you. Thank you all so much. I I know we we I we got the stage set, all right. We got the stage set, and this is where everything is going to kick off. The rapture of the churches happened. Um, and now every all the pieces are in place, all right. So uh I love each and every one of you. Remember to like, share, comment. Uh, I hope you enjoyed this this the series. We are coming, I think. Honestly, I I honestly I kind of think we're about halfway through. I know, I know, I know. I'm I'm going through it very slowly and methodically because I don't want anybody to be deceived. And this end time seems to get a lot of people deceived. All right. Love each and every one of you. See you on the next one. God bless you. Bye bye.