This sermon delves into the book of Revelation, emphasizing the blessings that come from studying its prophecies. It explores the diverse prophecies regarding the Messiah's first and second comings, highlighting the importance of recognizing Jesus as the faithful witness, the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. The sermon concludes with a powerful reminder of the imminent return of Jesus, urging listeners to choose to be among those who rejoice at His coming.

Well, we start the last book of the Bible, that book of Revelation. And the exciting thing about the book of Revelation is that we can guarantee, as you study it together with us, you're going to be blessed. Guaranteed. Verse 3 said, blessed it is he that reads and those that hear the words of this prophecy and keep those things which are written therein for the time is at hand. So this is an exciting book to study and we'll be studying it each Sunday evening now for several weeks as we go through the final events of the world prior to the return again of Jesus Christ. So we look forward to seeing you tonight and each Sunday night to receive the blessings of studying this marvelous book of Revelation. This morning we'd like to draw your attention to chapter 1 and tonight we'll be studying the entire chapter. But in this opening salutation beginning with verse 5, he is greeting them from Jesus Christ, who he said is the faithful witness. He's the first begotten of the dead and of the prince of the kings of earth. Unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood and has made us kings and priests unto God and his father. To him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold he cometh with clouds. Every eye shall see him and they also which pierced him and all of the kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, amen. The Bible is interesting in that it foretells in advance of things that are going to happen. And there are many prophecies in the Bible. They're in the Old Testament that spoke of the coming of the Messiah into the world. But these prophecies concerning the Messiah were confusing in the minds of so many people because it did seem that they were contradictory. There were wonderful promises of his establishing his kingdom here on the earth and his reign over the earth. And yet there were prophecies that spoke of his being despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with griefs. There were prophecies of his sitting upon the throne of David, ordering and establishing in righteousness and injustice from now on. And yet there were the prophecies that spoke of his death and spoke of his being slain for the transgressions of the sinners. And thus because of the diverse prophecies that seem to contradict each other, even the disciples were confused when they tried to understand the prophecies concerning the Messiah. But the confusion is ended when you realize that there were prophecies of both comings of the Messiah, coming once to take our sins and to bear our sins by his death for us. Prophecies that deal with his second coming when he comes to rule and to reign over the earth and to establish the kingdom of God on this earth, when the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Messiah. These prophecies concerning the first coming of Jesus was given, or they were given, in order that when the Messiah would come, people would recognize that this is the Messiah. It was prophesied that he would be born of a virgin in the city of Bethlehem. Micah prophesied, But thou Bethlehem, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth unto me the one who is to be the ruler of Israel, who has existed from everlasting. But also was prophesied that God would give you a sign. Behold, a virgin would conceive and bring forth a son. Call his name Emmanuel, which by interpretation is God with us. It was prophesied that the Messiah would come 483 years after the commandment was given to restore and rebuild Jerusalem. In Daniel chapter 9 verse 25, no one understand. From the time the commandment is given to restore and rebuild Jerusalem to the coming of the Messiah the Prince will be 483 years. We know that the commandment was given to Nehemiah by Artaxerxes in 445 BC. We know that 483 years later Jesus made a triumphant entry into Jerusalem. But as Zechariah prophesied, he would enter the city riding on a donkey. Rejoice greatly, Zechariah said. O daughter of Zion, shout, O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, your King is coming to you. He is just. He is bringing salvation, yet he is lowly. He's riding on a donkey. It was prophesied that he would be a descendant of King David. And of course in the books of Matthew and Luke, we have the genealogy of Jesus tracing back to David. And Jeremiah predicted, but they shall serve the Lord their God and David their King, whom I will raise up unto them. It was prophesied that he would be betrayed by a friend for 30 pieces of silver. That this silver would be thrown down in the house of the Lord and then used to buy a potter's field. Listen to what Zechariah prophesied. And the Lord said unto me, cast unto the potter a good price that I was sold for to them. And so they took the 30 pieces of silver and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord. It was prophesied that he would be despised and rejected by men. He obeyed a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Isaiah 53 3. He is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows acquainted with grief. And we hid as it were our faces from him. He was despised and we esteemed him not. But it was prophesied that he would be wounded for our transgressions. He would be bruised for our iniquities and the chastisement of peace would be upon him. And by his stripes we would be healed. It was prophesied in Psalm 22 that his hands and his feet would be pierced. David said, For dogs have come past me. The assembly of the wicked have enclosed me. They pierced my hands and my feet. It was also prophesied that his clothes would be divided among those at his death, but they would cast lots for his robe. And as we read in again, Psalm 22 18, they part my garments among them and they cast lots upon my vesture. It was prophesied that his face would be so marred that you could not recognize him as a human being. Isaiah 52. Many were astonished when they saw you. Your face was so marred you could not be recognized as a man. And so God gave all of these prophecies of the first coming of the Messiah, so that when the Messiah would come, they would recognize that this is the promised Messiah of Israel. But as I said, there were also other prophecies that seemed to contradict these prophecies, so much so that even the disciples were confused. When Jesus was with his disciples there at Caesarea Philippi, he said unto them, Who do you say that I am? And Peter said, You're the Messiah, the Son of the living God. And Jesus said, Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah. Flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say unto you that you're Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, the gates of hell, so not prevail against it. Now the moment that they acknowledged and recognized that he was the Messiah, Jesus then said, We must go to Jerusalem. I'm going to be turned over to the Gentiles. I'll be betrayed. They're going to crucify me. And the third day I will rise again. And Peter began to rebuke him. He said, Lord, shame on you. You shouldn't say that. And yet he was only declaring what the prophets had said, that he would be betrayed and crucified, but the third day rise again. But the disciples were only looking at those prophecies that dealt with the glorious reign. In fact, they were even arguing among themselves as to what positions of power they might have when he established his kingdom. And so there were these other prophecies concerning the Messiah that brought confusion. In Jeremiah 23 5, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, I will raise unto David a righteous branch. A king shall reign and prosper. He will execute judgment and justice in the earth. And in his days Judah will be saved, Israel will dwell safely. And this is his name whereby he will be called the Lord, our righteousness. Oh, I like that. Yes, I'll believe that one. And he will establish a kingdom that will never be destroyed. In Daniel 2 244, And in those days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed. And the kingdom will not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Like that one. Will believe that one. In Daniel 7 13, he said, I saw in a vision, Behold, one like the Son of Man, he came with the clouds of heaven, and he came to the ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given to him dominion and glory and a kingdom that all of the people, nations, languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away. His kingdom will not be destroyed. Oh yes, amen. Like that one. He will have dominion over all of the earth. Psalm 72 7, In his days righteous shall flourish, and the abundance of peace, so long as the moon endures. And he shall have dominion from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth. And all nations shall serve him. Again, positive, I like it. Isaiah 2 4, He will judge among the nations and rebuke many people, and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, their spears into pruning hooks. Nations shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. No more wars. Diverting the military budgets to agricultural development. Oh, I like that. And he shall reign forever. Of the increase of his government and peace, Isaiah 9 7, there shall be no end. Upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom, to order it and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. For the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. So you see how that the prophecies and the predictions of the Messiah seemed diverse and contradictory and caused confusion. That's because they could only see one coming, but they couldn't reconcile all of these prophecies with just one coming. But it's all solved very easily by realizing that Jesus is coming again. He came the first time and he fulfilled the more than 300 prophecies that identified his first coming. He's coming again to fulfill the many prophecies concerning his second coming, and many of those predictions of the time of the second coming are happening in our world today, causing us to realize that Jesus is coming again and very soon. But going back to verse 5 there in chapter 1 of Revelation, it first of all says of Jesus that he is the faithful witness. What does that mean? He is a faithful representative of what God is. Do you want to know the truth about God? Do you want to know what God is really like? Take a look at Jesus. He came to represent the Father unto man. He is the faithful witness. Jesus said to his disciples the night before his betrayal, he said, if you have known me, you should have known my father also. And from now on, you know him because you have seen him. And Philip said, Lord, just show us the Father and we'll be satisfied. And Jesus said, have I been so long a time with you? Haven't you seen me, Philip? Don't you realize that if you have seen me, you have seen the Father? How sayest thou then, show us the Father? In other words, I am a representative. I am a faithful witness. If you have seen me, you have seen the Father. Jesus said to his disciples, you shall be witnesses of me, both in Jerusalem, in Judea, Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth. What Jesus is of God, we should be of Jesus to the world. It's interesting that in Antioch is where the people first began to describe the believers as Christians because they were so much like Christ. You know, it was an interesting thing as God has moved here at Calvary in such a wonderful way. The press in the world began to call us Jesus people. And I like that because it meant that we were like Jesus. We were representing Jesus. We were witnesses of Jesus. He shall be witnesses unto me by the power, he said, of the Holy Spirit. It should be that we could say to people, well, if you have seen me, you've seen the Lord because of his love, his joy, his peace, his work in my life. I need to be a representative of Jesus Christ. We're told here in chapter one, verse five, that he is the first begotten of the dead. Now there were instances, miracles in the Old Testament where God raised the dead. We know that Jesus on different occasions raised the dead, Lazarus, the daughter of Jairus. But they were raised from the dead only to die again. When it talks about Jesus being the first begotten of the dead, it's referring to the fact that he is the first fruits of those that will be resurrected, who will rise to die no more. And the first begotten of the dead. In the book of Acts, when Paul was defending himself before King Agrippa, he declared Moses and the prophets taught that the Messiah should suffer and that he would be the first to rise from the dead and should show light unto the people and to the Gentiles. In Colossians 1.18, Paul wrote that Jesus is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning. He is the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he might have the preeminence. He is described here as being the prince of the kings of the earth. In Psalm 72, it said, and all of the king shall fall down before him and all nations shall serve him, the prince of the kings of the earth. Isaiah 89.27, also I will make him my firstborn higher than the kings of the earth. In Revelation 11.15, and when the seventh angel sounded, there were great voices in heaven saying, the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he shall reign forever and ever. Revelation 17 tells us that these shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for he is Lord of Lords and King of Kings. In Revelation 19.6, we're told that on his vesture, on his thigh, it will be written King of Kings and Lord of Lords. It declares unto him who loves us. Before Jesus was crucified, he said to his disciples, greater love has no man than this, that a man will lay down his life for his friends, and then he laid down his life for us. The Bible tells us that God commended his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for the ungodly. John goes on to tell us that he washed us from our sins in his blood. In 1st John 1.7, we read, if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with the other, while the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, is cleansing us from all sin. He's made us unto our God, kings and priests. Exodus 19.6, and you shall be made unto me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation. 1st Peter 2.5, you also as living stones are built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifice that are acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. As the church is glorifying Jesus in Revelation 5.10, it declares that we'll be singing, you have made us unto our God a kingdom of priests, and we will reign with you upon the earth. Revelation 26, blessed and holy is he that has a part in the first resurrection, on such the second death has no power, and they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him for a thousand years. As John said, beloved, now are we the sons of God. It does not yet appear what we're going to be, but we know that when he appears, we're going to be like him. We will see him as he is. And then it goes on to say here in Revelation, behold, he is coming with clouds, and every eye shall see him. I always get excited on cloudy days, and I wonder, is this the day? Behold, he comes with clouds, every eye shall see him. Daniel 7.13, I saw in the night visions, and behold, one that was like the Son of Man, he came with the clouds of heaven, and he came to the ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. In Matthew 24, as Jesus was talking to his disciples about his coming again, he said, and then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven, and then shall all of the tribes of the earth mourn, for they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. When Jesus was on trial before the high priest, he said unto him, nevertheless I say unto you, hereafter you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. It tells us here that they that pierced him shall mourn. We read in John 19.34 that one of the soldiers took his spear and he pierced his side, and there came forth blood and water. Zechariah prophesied, and I will pour out on the house of David upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and supplications, and they will look on me whom they have pierced. And they shall mourn for him as one mourns for his only son. There'll be a bitterness for him as one that is in bitterness at the death of his firstborn. And we read, all of the families of the earth shall wail because of him. When they recognize their folly of failing to receive Jesus as the Messiah and as their Savior, they will wail at their folly. They will mourn. Jesus said in Matthew 24.30, then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven, and then shall all of the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. Now do you realize that you will be in one or the other of the crowds? When Jesus returns, you will be either in the crowd that will be rejoicing, caught up to meet the Lord in the air, and declaring the kingdoms of this world have now become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and you'll be in that rejoicing crowd. Or you will be in that crowd that is mourning and wailing, saying, how could I have been so blind? How could I have been so foolish? How could I have been so misguided, putting such emphasis upon myself, upon pleasures and things of this world, and neglect the most important thing of all, my own personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. And the mourning and wailing, it says there will be weeping, Jesus said, and gnashing of teeth by those who have rejected, those who have not received him as their Lord and as their Messiah. One of two crowds, and it's an awesome kind of a thought to realize that each one of you today will be in one or the other of these crowds when Jesus returns for his church. But which crowd you will be in is dependent upon you. Whether or not you have acclaimed him as Lord of your life. Whether or not you have received him. The Bible tells us that as many as received him, to them he gave the power to become the sons of God, even to those that believed on his name. So the crowd that you will be in is depending on you and your relationship with Jesus. And that can be determined today. For the Lord again is opening his arms and inviting you to come. He said, come unto me all ye that weary and are heavy laden, I will give you peace. Take my yoke upon you, learn of me. For my yoke is easy, my burden is light. And you can accept that invitation today. And you can be looking forward to that glorious day, not the far distant future. When he's coming with clouds, every eye will see him. They also which pierced him. They'll be mourning those that have rejected, but those that were ready. Rejoicing forevermore in the goodness and in the glory of God's kingdom. Shall we pray? Father, we thank you that you have opened the door to us to receive your love and your goodness. We thank you Lord that Jesus came and was indeed a faithful witness. And that we've had Lord that opportunity to realize that he was the promised Messiah. That he did suffer and die, carrying our iniquities in his own body, dying in our place. Now Lord, we pray that we might this day recognize the signs of the Messiah, who is coming again very soon. As you've made it very clear Lord, in the prophecies. And help us Lord, that we'll be among those that will acclaim him as Lord over all. In Jesus' name, Amen. Shall we stand?