02.15. LECTURE No. 15 -- Rev_4:1
LECTURE No. 15 -- Revelation 4:1
We Now Approach the 3rd Division of the Book - The Things Which Shall Be Hereafter, i. e., After the Church Age Is Finished - Change of Setting - God’s Plans Have Not Failed Either Under Law or Grace - What John Saw in Heaven - The Blessed Hope Is the Rapture of the Saints
I WISH to impress upon you once again the great importance of the truth contained in this Book. Every thoughtful man and woman recognizes that we are approaching a world crisis, and that great and mighty changes are soon to come in Government, in Industry and Religion; but few people recognize the underlying causes for all of these things, and only a comparative few have any conception or understanding whatever as to what the outcome will be.
For those who desire to know the final outcome of forces now at work, the Book of Revelation is of timely interest and importance; for this Book is a Revelation of the great consummation of all things recorded in the Word of God. It is primarily a Book of Prophecy, and as such it reveals the great purposes of God, both in grace and in judgment, to the very end of the plan of redemption!
In our last lesson we studied the message of the risen and glorified Christ to the Church at Laodicea, and every thoughtful person knows that we are now in the Laodicean period of the Church age, and because the Church is lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, Jesus will very soon spue it out of His mouth. The Third Division of This Book
Now, having concluded our study of the Seven Messages to the Seven Churches, which were in Asia, as given in chapters two and three of the Book of Revelation, we now come to a study of the third important division of the book.
The first division was found in chapter one, where we were given a vision of the glorified Son of Man, which rightfully falls under the heading suggested in Revelation 1:19, where John was commanded to “Write the things which he had seen.”
Next he was commanded to write concerning “the things which are.”
Under this heading we have the messages to the Seven Churches, which then existed in Asia Minor, and which, as we have pointed out, give us a prophetic outline of Church history from day of Pentecost to the coming translation of the Church!
John was also commanded to write concerning “the things which shall be hereafter,” i. e., the things which shall be after the Church Age is finished, and the Church has been raptured away to be with the Lord.
This third division of the Book of Revelation Revelation 4:1-11, Revelation 5:1-14, Revelation 6:1-17, Revelation 7:1-17, Revelation 8:1-13, Revelation 9:1-21, Revelation 10:1-11, Revelation 11:1-19, Revelation 12:1-17, Revelation 13:1-18, Revelation 14:1-20, Revelation 15:1-8, Revelation 16:1-21, Revelation 17:1-18, Revelation 18:1-24, Revelation 19:1-21, Revelation 20:1-15, Revelation 21:1-27, Revelation 22:1-21, and includes, of course, all of the events suggested under the opening of the Seven Seals, and the sounding of the Seven Trumpets, and the pouring out of the Seven Vials of the wrath of God.
There are, however, some parenthetical passages which have to do with certain important events.
- Revelation 17:1-18 and Revelation 18:1-24 tell us prophetically of the final doom of apostate Christendom, which will occur during the coming tribulation period!
- Revelation 20:1-15 reveals to us the doom of Satan and the Judgment of the wicked dead, and speaks to us also of the coming reign of Christ, which is to be for one thousand years.
- Revelation 21:1-27, Revelation 22:1-21, give to us a prophetic vision of the new Heaven and the new Earth, and the final state of those who ha. e been full; redeemed.
Although we cannot in any wise cover all of the material suggested in the fourth chapter in our present lesson, it would be well for us to read the passage in preparation for things which we shall have to say later on. Therefore, let us give careful attention while we read the entire chapter, which contains only eleven verses (Revelation 4:1-11) John said:
“After this I looked, and, behold, door was opened in heaven; and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.
“And immediately I was in the Spirit: and, beheld, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne,
“And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the Throne, in sight like unto an emerald.
“And round about the throne were four and twenty seats; and upon the seats II saw four and twenty elders sitting clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.
“And out of the throne proceeded lightenings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the Seven Spirits of God.
“And before the throne there was sea of glass like unto crystal; and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes, before and behind.
“And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast has a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.
“And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not, day and night, saying, Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and which is, and is to come.
“And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to Him that sat on the Throne, which liveth for ever and for ever,
“The four and twenty elders fall down before Him that sat on the Throne, and worship Him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the Throne, saying,
“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”
Change of Setting
We cannot read this unusual and interesting chapter without recognizing that the drama of events has entirely changed, and that the setting of those things which are spoken of in this chapter are in heaven and not here upon the earth.
The time element of this chapter is also very important. Just as the messages to the Seven Churches gave to us a prophetic foreview of the entire Church Age, from its beginning to the Second Coming of Christ, even so, this chapter reveals to us the state of things as they will be between the removal, or rapture of the Church, and the sending forth of God’s terrible judgments upon the world of wicked men!
In other words what we have in this chapter is a revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ in relation to His elect in heaven; after they shall have been caught up at the rapture; which is described in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. The State of the Church
Now, before we undertake an exposition of Revelation 4:1-11 we would do well to consider the state of the Church as described in the Seven Messages to the Seven Churches which we have just studied.
We have already stated that these seven messages were a prophetic foreview of the entire church age, and in our study we have seen how they reveal the internal corruption of the Church, and that in a progressive sense, the outward visible Church will go on and on until it reaches a final state of apostasy; it will go on in its present downward course until Christ will be compelled to spue her out of His mouth! Have God’s Plans Failed?
Now this, my friends, naturally gives rise to the question, have God’s plans and purposes for the Church failed; or in other words is the Church itself a failure?
If we were to judge the Church, only in the light of this present dispensation, and by conditions as they now exist, we would be prone to say that it has been a failure; but let us not be too hasty in our judgment, but examine the matter more carefully. The Age of Grace is not the only dispensation in God’s plan of redemption. Therefore, we must judge the Church, and its work, in relation to the whole plan, and not merely in relation to some part of it. Where Sin Began
Every student of the Bible knows that sin did not have its beginning in the Church when the church first began nearly two thousand years ago. No, no, a thousand times no! Sin and moral failure began first in heaven among the angels, among those who followed Satan and kept not their first estate.
Then when God created Adam and Eve, and placed them in the Garden of Eden, in a state of perfect innocency, it was not long until sin and disobedience brought upon them the wrath, and the pronounced judgments of God, And so, ever since then among all men in every age, there has been a state of admixture of good and bad, and the whole history of man is but a record of the spiritual victories of a believing remnant, and the moral failure of the masses! Was the Law a Failure?
Those who understand the dispensation of the Law know that while the Jews themselves failed to understand the language of their own prophets, and failed to accept Christ when He came, as the Son of God, and as the Messiah of Israel, we cannot say that the dispensation of the law was a failure from God’s point of view!
God’s purpose in giving the law was in order to reveal to Israel, and subsequently to all men, the sinfulness of sin, and to use it as a school master to bring them to Christ.
And who can deny but what the purposes of God in this respect have been fulfilled. Therefore, even though the Jews were cast off, because of their unbelief, we cannot say that the Mosaic dispensation was a failure!
God would not allow it to be a failure, even though the Jews themselves failed to accept Christ. What did God do about it? Well, He just broke off the natural branches and grafted in the Gentiles, into the old Olive Tree, as stated in Romans 11:11-36.
From this we are able to see that in spite of man’s failure, God’s purposes under the law were accomplished, and that He made ample provision to retain and to conserve all the good, which had been accomplished under the law.
How About the Church?
Now let us apply this same principle to the Church, in the present age!
We might have some right to say that the Church has been a failure, if it were not for the fact that God Himself foreknew, and foretold that the Church Age would end in exactly the manner which we now see. In the parables of the 13th chapter of Matthew, Jesus gave a sevenfold word-picture of the mystery state of the Kingdom as it would be during this present age, while the King would be absent.
First of all Jesus said that the Kingdom of Heaven, during this a would be like unto a Sower, who went forth to sow, and we know from the parable that three-fourths of the seed sown became unfruitful. He also said that the Kingdom of Heaven in this age would be likened unto a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while men slept his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.
In the parable of the grain of mustard seed, Jesus revealed that the Kingdom of Heaven, in this age, would have an abnormal growth, and that it would become a shelter for the wicked of every sort, to come and lodge in the branches thereof.
In the parable of the Leaven, Jesus revealed that the Kingdom of Heaven in this age would have hidden in it corrupting influence like yeast in the bread, until the whole was leavened, Leaven in the scriptures is always used as a symbol of evil, and not once is it used as a symbol of good.
In the parable of the Dragnet, Jesus revealed that the Kingdom of Heaven in this age would be as a net cast into the sea, which gathered of every kind which when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away.
By each one of these parables, Jesus Himself revealed the future conditions of the Kingdom of Heaven as they would be during His absence; and in every instance these parable revealed a state of admixture of good and evil, and that the tares would grow together with the wheat until the harvest.
Second Timothy the Third Chapter In second Timothy the third chapter it is also prophesied that in the last days of the present dispensation, or Church Age, perilous times would come: “For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful and unholy,” and in 2 Thessalonians 2:3; the Apostle Paul says: ‘Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.”
They Agree And so my friends, we can see that the prophetic, historic and present condition of the Church does agree perfectly with what God has foreseen and foretold in His word concerning the Church in this present age of grace. Can we say, therefore, that what God has foreknown, and foreseen and foretold is a failure? I hardly think so! It may be a failure if we look at it only from the human point of view; but we must not forget that God’s plans and purposes are eternal, and therefore we must view the accomplishments of every age in the light of God’s eternal purpose.
Grace
Even during this present age, from Pentecost until now, during which time God has been dealing with men, according to the terms of grace, we cannot say that the preaching of the Gospel has been a failure!
We must not forget that the great purpose of the present dispensation is the calling out of the Church through the preaching of the Gospel of God’s redeeming Grace, to the Jews and Gentiles alike.
And, this we know, that in every successive age of Church history, in spite of the state of admixture, which has existed in the Church, and in spite of the fact that some men have made themselves self-appointed lords over God’s heritage, and that local Churches in many places have so utterly failed God that He has been compelled to remove their candlestick, nevertheless, God has seen to it that the Word of God has been preached in spite of the devil, and in spite of human failure. It is comforting to know that while the work of the Church has lagged behind in some places because of men’s disobedience and unbelief, in other places because of faith and obedience the work has gone forward, and the light of Christian testimony has shown brightly and much fruit has been gathered in for the Lord. A Faithful Remnant And so, my friends, we see that God has always had a faithful remnant who have fully believed His word, and who have loved and trusted the Lord Jesus Christ even under suffering and persecution and reproach, and have borne faithful testimony to the grace of God, and the saving power of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We must be made to realize that in His Word, God nowhere promises that the entire world will be converted during this present dispensation. In fact, the word teaches that quite the contrary is true.
We should not forget that even the wonderful ministry of our Lord with all that He spoke, and the mighty miracles which He performed, only resulted in a little flock who believed and trusted and followed Him; and even among them was Judas, who betrayed Him.
The full and complete revelation of the Church was given to the Apostle Paul, and with perfect knowledge of the dispensational plans and purposes of God in this age, his greatest expectation was that he might “save some”! Indeed, my friends, the gospel has been preached for nearly two thousand years, and there has been no place where all the people have been converted one hundred percent.
The Apostle James also declared in Acts 15:14-15, saying, “God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for His name, and to this (He said) agree the words of the Prophets.”
We Dare Not And so, my friends, we see again, that we dare not say that the Church Age has been a failure from God’s point of view.
True enough the outward professing church has become well nigh apostate from God; having only a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.
True enough the Church has failed, and is failing to evangelize the heathen nations of the earth, so that today they are increasing more rapidly by natural birth rate than they are being reached with the gospel. Nevertheless, if, during the present age, through the preaching of the Gospel of the Grace of God to Jews and Gentiles alike, the Church, which is the Body of Christ, has been called out, we cannot say the age has been a failure.
This we know that in spite of present day conditions, there is still a believing remnant of God’s people who are truly born again of His Spirit, and who still love the Lord with all their heart, and who are willing to suffer and to sacrifice for the carrying on of “His work to the very end of the age!
What About the Saints?
Now, since this is true, and since the shadows of earth’s darkest night are gathering about us, the question naturally arises, WHAT IS TO BECOME OF THESE TRUE SAINTS OF GOD, AS THE HOUR OF GOD’S WRATH, AND THE TIME FOR THE EXECUTION OF HIS JUDGMENTS UPON THE WICKED, DRAWS NEARER AND NEARER?
The answer to this important question, my friends, is found in the fourth chapter of the Book of Revelation, which we are now studying. Now, let us read again Revelation 4:1, where John said:
“After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven; and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said. Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.”
Hereafter
Now, let us not forget that the “them” of this passage is “The things which shall be hereafter.” i. e., after the completion and translation of the Church. The things which shall be hereafter include all of the events of the Tribulation Period, which is to immediate follow the rapture of the Church, and also the events of the millennial reign of Christ, and the judgment of Satan and the ushering in of the new age wherein dwelleth righteousness!
What John Saw The passage now before us plainly teaches that a door was opened in heaven.
It further shows that John himself was caught up into heaven in the Spirit and was given a vision of the Throne in heaven, which included a vision of the enthroned Elders and the four living creatures. And he was also given a vision of worship in heaven!
In fact he was given to see in one great panoramic vision, all the events which will transpire under the opening of the Seven Seals, and the sounding of the Seven Trumpets, and the pouring out of the Seven Vials of the wrath of God! And besides this he was given to see also the New Jerusalem and the new heaven and the new earth! How his heart must have thrilled as he was given to see these wonderful things, which revealed to his understanding, God’s plans and purposes for the future on through to the very close of the plan of redemption.
Now, what was the significance of this open door in heaven? And the sounding of the Trumpet which John heard, which said, “Come up hither”? The Rapture
It is generally accepted in this instance, that the Apostle John was representative of the entire Church, and that which happened to him was symbolic of the fulfillment of what is spoken of in Titus 2:13, as “THE BLESSED HOPE.”
In other words, every true child of God today is waiting for a similar event to happen to the entire Church of God. In other words, we who belong to Christ are waiting for the rapture of the Saints to take place.
The doctrine of the rapture is clearly taught in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, where Paul says:
“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them that are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him.
“For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For 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;
“Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and we shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these Words.”
This, my friends, is indeed a very instructive and very comforting passage to every child of God.
It means that if Christ should come in our day, we, like John on the Isle of Patmos, would also see a door open in heaven, and we too would hear the voice of a Trumpet, saying. Come up hither; and not in Spirit only, but in reality we who are alive and remain would be caught up together in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we would ever be with the Lord.
What Paul Said The Apostle Paul gives us added information on this interesting and important subject in 1 Corinthians 15:51-53, where he says,
“Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In 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.
“For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”
These scriptures, my friends, should establish beyond the shadow of a doubt and beyond controversy that the true Saints of God will be caught up and raptured away to be with Christ suddenly at some time during the closing days of the present dispensation. No one knows just when this will be, but since it is so clearly taught in the Word of God, it is a prophetic certainty and will surely come to pass.
Why Will the Church Be Translated
Now, there is no question but what some will ask, Why will the Church be translated?
And the answer is, so that sin may come to a head. We know that just as long as the true Church, which is being called out during this age, is still in the world, this cannot happen. Just as God would not allow the Angels to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah until Lot had been delivered; even so God will not allow iniquity to come to its full, and the righteous judgments to fall upon the wicked of the whole earth until the Church, which is the Body of Christ, has been completed and raptured away to be with Christ.
This is confirmed in 2 Thessalonians 2:7-8, where it says,
“For the mystery of iniquity doth already work; only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the Spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming;”
Another Reason
Another reason why the Church will be raptured away to be with Christ is so that we may escape the judgments which will come upon the earth during the Tribulation Period.
At the present time we are Ambassadors for Christ here upon the earth!
We are pilgrims in a weary land, and we are His witnesses to the great truths of the Gospel; but we know that when two nations are about to go to war, the first step is for a nation to withdraw the Ambassador, and that such diplomatic action is virtually a declaration of War.
And so, my friends, when God is ready to inflict His righteous judgments upon the wicked of the whole earth, one of the first things which He will do, will be to call us, who are His Ambassadors, to the Court of Heaven, and then, friends, the judgments of God will break forth in unrestrained fury upon the wicked, and there will be no escape until the purposes of God in judgment shall have been accomplished!
~ end of lecture 15 ~