Edgar Parkyns delivers his last publicly shared message at Pinecrest Bible Training Center, focusing on the Book of Revelation. He emphasizes the importance of understanding the coded love letter in Revelation as a message from Jesus to His Church, revealing future events that will soon come to pass. Parkyns highlights the transition from the Old Testament order to the New Testament order symbolized by the Lamb in Revelation 5, receiving equal praise with the Father. He encourages the congregation to be diligent in studying the Bible to discern the true meanings and messages within the Book of Revelation.

Talk given at Pinecrest Bible Training Center November 12, 1987 (Edgar Parkyns’ last Publicly Shared Message) …Nigeria. And in his palace, it was smelly and dirty and he was surrounded by old men in various states of what I thought was disarray. At least it wasn’t European. And I had the privilege of saying a few words to him about the Lord Jesus, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And we got on quite well, too. I don’t think he got converted, though. Nevertheless, I walked out with a whole skin. But I want to talk about the King of Kings. Halleluia! Wonderful, the language of the Bible is understood all over the world. Even in Russia I believe they still have an idea of what a king might be like. Especially if he were righteous. And God has set His king upon His holy hill in Zion. So I want to talk to you a little bit about one of my pet themes. You know when you are suddenly called upon for an occasion like this, you think up your pet themes. Not the new ones you are just putting into the mixing bowl, but those which have matured a little bit. And, of course, you all know where I gravitate. We all have our particular direction, and everybody knows that I gravitate in the area of the last book in the Bible -- from the King of Kings. The book which tells of the ultimate victory. Why not? Why shouldn’t we get something to cheer us on our way? And it’s good sometimes to look at the end of the book and find out that after all the vicissitudes, they all lived happily ever after. So, there you are. At the end of the Book, in the Bible, is this last delightful letter. I call it “The Coded Love Letter” -- my pet title for it. It is a love letter. People are so scared of it. When anyone gets converted, especially if he is a boy, the first book he goes to is Revelation, when nobody else is looking, so he’ll know all the future and how it all comes out in the end. And then, generally, he gets a bit disgruntled and disappointed, especially when he finds wonderful notes in the margin of his wonderful Bible which tells you how to get all the answers without working at it. And soon he changes his viewpoint a little bit. But let’s have a look at it: The Revelation of Jesus Christ. To some of you this may be a little bit of old hat. You’ll say, “Oh, it’s that Parkyns’ stuff.” Well, it’s Jesus stuff anyway. [Laughter] He’s the author. The Revelation of Jesus Christ. Why, I used to get some book written by Paul and some by Peter and some by John and some we don’t know where they came from. But this one we do know who the author is. And I hope that we have a little bit of a personal acquaintance with him, too. A love letter from the Great Heavenly Bridegroom to the Bride, the Church. Halleluia! That’s better than looking at it as a sort of candoring [?] trim box. It’s a love letter from Jesus and His portrait occurs in chapter one. The Revelation of Jesus Christ and we are told what it’s all about. It’s not so difficult to understand this book. It says “to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John” [Rev. 1:1]. Who are the servants, then, to whom this book is addressed? They are the fellow servants of John. John is one of the company. The book supplies its own keys. You don’t have to go a long way off into somebody’s commentary. The answer is right there. He sent and signified it by His angel unto His servant John, one of His many slaves, bond slaves, in the love and redeeming grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. That great big family. The revelation. It’s a word which means “an unveiling”. I have had the doubtful privilege of having been through two world wars. That means I have had to see a double series of unveilings. When at last they have stopped bashing each other about, and they decide to put up a memorial to the wonderful occasion, a great monstrosity, which is generally quite useless, goes up in the middle of the town or city and there it’s shrouded with cloth. Everybody knows what is underneath it anyway. And then at a given signal, somebody pulls a cord and down it comes, and there is a wonderful monument to man’s folly. There are quite a lot of them. And this book is an unveiling. God pulls the cord, and lets us have a little glimpse of what is hidden there. And He tells us what it is about. First of all He tells us for whom it is written: to show to His servants. Then why it was written: to show them things which shortly must come to pass. I was talking to a friend of mine about this book and he has great difficulty understanding any of it. He said, “Well, in the Book of Revelation when it says ‘shortly come to pass’ that might mean anything.” Well, if that’s his attitude, how can he understand anything? If I think any word you say might mean any old word in the dictionary, how can we possibly communicate? So move in and give the writer credit for meaning what he wanted to say: “to show unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass [Rev 1:1].” And I take it that Jesus is saying that some of this book is going to pass from the written page into history, into current events, very soon. Isn’t that what it means? “Things which must shortly come to pass.” That’s so obvious. I can’t understand people writing whole volumes to prove it’s not so. Take it -- I didn’t earn it -- for what is written here. “To show unto His servant.” That’s people like John who love the Lord. And “things which must shortly come to pass.” That it’s soon going to move onto the stage of action. You won’t be sitting back watching it for long. You’ll soon be in it. Not just looking at pictures, but involved in it. And then He signified it. That’s an interesting little word: S I G N. Sign–ified. SIGN-ified. To show by signs. And that is precisely what the Greek word means. To show by signs. Revelation is a book in which God shows by signs the secrets that His servants ought to know on earth while it’s still of use to them. Why, wouldn’t it be disappointing if someone was going to send you a letter which was going to guide you all the way around the world and you went all the around the world and couldn’t find anything corresponding to the letter? And then he said, “Well, I meant it for another world, some other time.” My, why do people treat the lovely book like that? He sent it, signified it, showed it by signs. Does He? Yes, you know He does. In this book – let me see – a city doesn’t mean a city. And a sword doesn’t mean a sword. “Two witnesses” might have a far wider significance than many people think. This is a book loaded with secrets, and you have to go through it very, very carefully and get a good knowledge of the rest of the Bible before attempting to sort this one out. It’s the most complex book in the whole Bible. How nice of God to set a puzzle at the end of the book. That’s for good students to work out. “Blessed is he that readeth, (That’s mine) and they that hear the words of this prophecy, (That’s yours) and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand [Rev 1:3].” “Edgars. Near.” Now if that means anything at all – sensible I mean. Not something out of fairyland – it means that these visions are going to come into action in the lifetime of those who first heard them. We are a long way further down the line, but as the Lord has not yet come for us, and the message of His second coming is strong throughout the whole book right up to the last chapter…. Let me just check that for you. Last chapter, verse 16, “I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches.” So it’s a good job you’re here, to listen. Or to read it for yourself in your own Bible. And verse 6 of the same chapter, he said to me, “These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to testify unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.” We have already found that the servants are people in the churches. You have a right to know what’s in the Book of Revelation. No wonder Satan gets so many people to make it all mean something different. Most of us would be much better off reading the book carefully for what it says, than being led astray by notes at the bottom of the page. And you probably know that most of those notes are from the Jesuits who deliberately wrote to deceive – the cleverest deceivers in the world, in the religious world. And those notes in the majority of Bibles are Jesuit-inspired. So I would advise you to keep a long way away from them until you begin to know the ground more clearly. Then the last verse reminds us that the book is leading up to the Second Coming. It began with the Lord’s message to the early churches and the vision of Christ in Heaven. It closes with the hint of – uh, the promise of -- His second coming. “Surely I come quickly [Rev 22:20].” That word ‘quickly’ is not the same as the word ‘soon’. ‘Soon’ is not a correct translation. It means this: He shall come with a cloud and every eye shall see Him. And all the kindred of the earth shall wail because of Him. His second coming is going to be sudden. It will take the world and many of the Church by surprise. “Behold, I come quickly.” And that exhortation is used in many parts of the New Testament to teach us to be on our toes. I am, as some of you may have discovered, a little bit inclined to take things easily and slowly. Very often people don’t find me out. When I was at Elim, I was able to have a little snooze on the platform without anybody finding out at all – unless I let a book drop. [laughter] But we should be ready for His coming. So coming back to those introductory words, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ…. to shew to his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it,” showed it by signs, “by his angel unto his servant John: Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw [Rev1:1-2].” And there is the three-fold blessing: he that readeth, they that hear, and those that keep the things which are written therein: for the time is at hand [Rev 1:3]. It began then early. It goes right on to the Second Coming. “Surely I come quickly.” “Even so, come Lord Jesus.” [Rev 22:20] You’ve got the outline of your map marked out by the Author Himself. Why turn to other people’s books. Jesus said it. Why waste your time with any other complexity. It’s from Jesus, the author, to His churches, to His servants. It was going to come into action – verse 3 – almost right away, and it’s going to go on until the glorious consummation. So we’re in the Book. How to get out of it? You’ve got a place here somewhere. Halleluia! Nearly everybody who preaches from the Book of Revelation preaches on the messages to the seven churches. Now, and especially they enlarge on the Laodician church, because that’s a nice one to preach. You can half plow folk under with that one and there’s nothing a preacher seems to enjoy more than putting them down. No, not you. No, No. Nor I. So let’s move on through the messages to the seven churches. They are profitable to read. Some people tell me that they are historic periods in the life of the Church. My bible doesn’t say so. And when they begin to explain from history, they will make some periods 50 years, some periods 300 years, and, my, some such a conglomeration where history is squeezed into an unnatural mold. And I find no justification for it in scripture that I take the letters to the seven churches as we take Paul’s letters to seven churches. Paul wrote to seven churches. You know that, don’t you? And Jesus sent this lovely letter to the seven churches representing the whole Church. “Come up hither,” says the voice like a trumpet, “and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter [Rev 4:1]” -- things which are just ahead. METATARTA. They are after these things – things waiting around the corner for you. And John, caught up in the Spirit, looked and saw the throne of God set in Heaven and One sat on the throne with the rainbow of covenant mercy about Him and the four and twenty elders sitting clothed in white raiment and they had on their heads crowns of gold. These are victorious elders. They’ve been through the fight and they have come through victorious. And their identity is shown by their number: twenty four elders. Where do you read about twenty four? Well, very few people can think of that one. You’re not alone in this dreadful blank. It’s because people haven’t really studied the book. But, I wonder. I thought I’d go and have a look for that twenty four and find out what it means. And to my delight I found that somehow the number twenty-four had got into it more than I expected. The twenty fourth chapter of the First Book of Chronicles. So that’s easy to remember: One Chronicles. I hope you don’t go to sleep on me because I’m giving you a lecture. And when I’m looking down at my Bible I can’t see that you are keeping awake. And I haven’t got a long pole to prod you with either. And… Now then, one Chronicles twenty four. And I find that David is giving to his son the description of the worship that’s going to take place in the temple that Solomon is going to build. And this chapter contains a list of the singing priesthood and they are all told within their families. I won’t require you at the moment to read through the whole list, which starts in verse seven, but we will save ourselves a little effort by going right to the end of the list to verse eighteen. And we read that the three and twentieth of these groups’ lots fall to Delaiah and the four and twentieth to Maaziah. Four and twenty groups of singing priests. How’s that? And, uh, in chapter twenty five, the next chapter, here’s another list of worshippers in the temple. And they were divided by lot in verse eight. And how many groups are there? Let’s save ourselves the time and effort and come to the last verse of the chapter and we read that the four and twentieth lot went to Romamtiezer – he and his sons and brethren, were twelve. So once again the worshippers in the Old Testament temple are marked by the number 24. And chapter 26 follows similarly, but not quite so clearly the number connection. But then this is made up in chapter twenty seven where the number 24 gets out of all control. You can’t catch them; you can’t count them. There are so many of them flying around in every part of One Chronicles 27. All these follows that came in month by month. Verse One – end of the verse -- 24,000. Verse two: another 24, 000. Verse four: another 24,000. Verse five: another 24,000. Verse seven: another 24,000. And so right through the chapter, it’s filled with singing servants of God in the temple. And they are all marked by the number 24. Twenty four doesn’t belong to the Church; it belongs to the old temple. All right? So when the number 24,000 reoccurs in Revelation, we may fairly assume that this is a picture of the Old Testament saints. Praise God. Their service completed, now around the throne of God praising their creator and redeemer. Wonderful. How nice to be among them. Stamped with Israel’s number: 24. Again in Chapter 4 [Revelation], you see the four living creatures that Ezekiel saw and the seven lamps of fire that Ezekiel saw, which are the seven Spirits of God, burning, not on earth, but before the throne. The four livings creatures like a lion, a calf, a man, and a flying eagle. They all belong to the Old Testament system. If you know your Bible, you’ll know where to find them. And they rest not day and night saying, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.” It’s the song of praise to the Almighty God. And from where is it taken? Do you know? Where else do you read, “Holy, holy, holy”? Isaiah Chapter 6. Good! Some who knew their Bible. So once again we have an Old Testament link. And when they all sing – Revelation 4 – a song, listen to what they sing: verse 11. “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.” -- the song of creation. Old Testament saints with the Old Testament numbers stamped on them singing about the God of Creation, and not a word about Jesus in the whole chapter. God’s saying something by His omissions. Now then, turn to the next chapter [Revelation 5] and here are some changes: a book written inside and out, sealed with seven seals. John is tremendously interested in the book. What he’s seen so far hasn’t satisfied his soul. And now he sees a book which is sealed and he longs to know what that book contains. He feels that the church ought to know what it’s about. “I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon. And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof [Rev 5:4-5].” He’s given to Old Testament titles: the Lion of the Tribe of Judah – That’s Old Testament, isn’t it? The Root of David – That’s Old Testament. He’s identified by the Old Testament elders. They know quite a lot about him and are introducing John to the One who is symbolized there. So he looked for the Lion, and he looked for the Lamb, and he didn’t see quite what he was told. Instead, “I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns” of power, “seven eyes,” – of…. There’s a word I want to pronounce a word, and I can’t… -- seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth [Rev 5:6].” Change number one, then, as we turn from on chapter [Rev 4] to the other [Rev 5], is: the Lamb in the midst of the throne. Who’s that? Jesus. Is He there now? Yes, He’s there now and He’s still receiving praises. In the midst of the throne and the four living creatures, stood a Lamb, as it had been slain with “seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God [Rev 5:6].” Change number two: The Spirit of God, seven-fold, is now sent forth. Before: burning before the throne. Now: sent forth into all the earth. That’s a significant change. Chapter four: it’s the Old Testament order before the Holy Spirit is sent forth into all the earth. Chapter 5: New Testament order -- when the Lamb is at the Father’s right hand and, as Peter says, “sent forth this which he do now see and hear [Paraphrased Acts 2:33].” So there is the change from the Old Testament to the New Testament. Praise the Lord! When you get used to this, it’s not quite so complicated. At least we’ve got the idea of Jesus in Heaven, seated, victorious. And His eyes are the seven Spirits of God. When Jesus ascended on high, He sent the Holy Spirit to His Church, didn’t he? And He is with us. Jesus is with us now. How is He there? By His Spirit. It’s not so strange after all. You should be at home in all this. Seven Spirits to meet the need of seven churches. And they sang a new song -- a new situation, a new song. No longer the song of creation, as in chapter 4. But a new song. “Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain,” Jesus’ redeeming work is done. “And hast redeemed to God.” The word “us” might be an interpolation. “And has redeemed to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and hast made them unto our God kings and priests: and they shall reign on the earth.” It’s more likely third person than first person – second person. Sorry. No, what have I got. No, I got that wrong. But, never mind. That’s my… I’m breaking down and getting very, very old. “And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands,” And, oh, how wonderful. It is a lamb-centered praise. “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. And every creature in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne,” That is the Father, “and unto the Lamb,” That’s the Son “for ever and ever. And the four living creatures cried -- said, Amen. The four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.” And you’re going to be in it if that song is in your heart. As I’d tell my African friends: one day, I was speaking at a big Methodist gathering in Ilesha Town. It was a choir festival and I spoke about this song, and showed them that there was a song to be sung by the Church. And all the Church was God’s choir. And I said to them – cause they were all very well educated Nigerians in Ilesha Town, a very important town. I said to them, they had to be present at the choir practices in order to be there for the final performance. They understood that very well. I said you are in the choir practice now learning a new song. And you can only sing it by the Spirit. It’s no good just joining the choir and thinking that will do, and more of you have got to learn the right song. Because even though you might be singing a snippet out of Handel’s “Messiah”, if it’s the wrong song, it won’t sound right. And they may ask you to leave. And remember that you’ve go to learn your song now for the coming great final performance. “Worthy.” Why, there are some who are practicing down here and they are singing, “Worthy am I because I’m in the Methodist choir.” But I said, “That’s the wrong song. They’ll ask you to leave.” I rubbed it home to them as best I knew how. And I’m pleased that the message got there. Singing the Methodist songs, wonderful as they may be, is not good enough. God’s ear is attuned to the song of the redeemed heart. Halleluia. I think they got the idea. Worthy is the Lamb. And all creation joined in and those mighty four living creatures said “Amen.” And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped Him that liveth forever. And the seals that sealed the book were in the hands of the Lamb. He was controlling the secrets. And he was going to show to the Church, through this Book, the things which lay ahead for her. That’s the way it comes together. And they write all sorts of stuff in the margins to put you off. But I’m giving you what the book says. And I think it’s lovely. I may not understand it all, but I know it’s from Jesus to you and me. And it’s the last letter he wrote. And you and I should know it fairly well. It’s not just a peculiarity of E. F. Parkyns. I only just nobody at all. But it’s from Jesus to you. And you ought to say, “Lord, I’d like to know a little bit more about it, and I’d rather learn it from the Book itself than from the opinions of man.” Isn’t that fair enough? And why shouldn’t a spiritual Christian do a little bit of homework and start finding out where all these references come from? Praise the Lord. Well, have I nearly killed you now with doctrine? [laughter] I don’t want to sink you all together. There’s the Great Book, chapter five. This hugh scroll rolled up tightly and it’s sealed with seven seals, so that you could break one seal and read a little bit of the book. But to get to the next page, you’d have to break another seal. So that seals open up some of the things of the book in sequence – one after another. No one was found worth in heaven or earth to understand it all. And then, just when John was weeping much at the bareness of the situation, he was comforted by one of those dear elders – Old Testament elders. And he says, with a typical Old Testament emphasis, “Weep not. Behold, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book and to loose the seven seals thereof. And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood,” not a lion, but, “a Lamb [Rev 5:5-6].” Halleluia! Wonderful. When John on earth had first been introduced to Jesus, he was told, “Behold, the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world [John 1:29].” Now he sees it in this heavenly vision. He came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat on the throne. And the four living creatures and the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped before the Lamb [Rev 5:7-8]. Jesus receiving equal praise with the Father. How’s that, Jehovah’s Witnesses? [Laughter] Whew! The answers are in the book. Halleluia. And they sang a new song [Rev 5:9]. And it’s a song which cannot be attached to anyone other than Jesus. “Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed,” difficulty about the word “us”. It probably should be “men”. “Hast redeemed men to God by thy blood out of every kindred, tongue, people, and nation; and hast made them unto our God kings and priests: and they shall reign on the earth. And I beheld the voice of many angels round about the throne and the living creatures and the elders: ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. [Rev 5:9-12]. Doesn’t that make you want to be sure you’re in the choir practice now? And, thank God, sometimes we’re in it. And you know it, don’t you? Every now and again when you are singing away in the usual happy, happy manner or thoughtless manner, then there comes the wonderful awareness that Jesus is real. Halleluia! And he occupies the praises – inhabits the praises – of His people. And you get just a little foretaste of heaven. Appetites in you that are deeper than anything this world knows are stirred. Your ears are opened. You hear the glory of the music. Halleluia! And you begin to realize one day I shall be there. “Under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever [Rev 5:13].” Eternal praise to the Father and the Son by the Spirit. “And the four living creatures said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped Him that liveth for ever and ever [Rev 5:14].” When I was a kid, I thought, “Fancy being in this choir practice. How horrible. When do I get out to play?” But now we witness something else that has been born in us which understands that worship to the Lamb is immeasurably superior to any other occupation. Halleluia. There it is in chapter five. Chapter four, the Old Testament order; chapter five, the New Testament order. I think probably I better stop there. You’ve taken in enough for one meeting, don’t you think? The book gets more and more exciting as you go along. Halleluia! And more and more you realize that you’re in it. And we discover some wonderful things about it. For instance, let me drop you a little hint just to cause you to go searching. In Revelation chapter 12 you’ll find a woman. She is a mother. She has one special son. And she also has a number of other brethren who are his younger brothers. Nice little puzzle. Some people say the woman is the Church. No. The Church is a bride, a spotless bride in Bible configuration. It’s not a bad guess, but it’s not the whole thing. Who’s your mother? Dear me. Galatians chapter four. Galatians 4 verse 28. “We, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.” Look, verse 23. Uh, verse 22. “Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. Which things are an allegory: for these are the two woman are the two covenants [Gal 4:22-24].” And your mother is not the first covenant of law, is she? I hope not. You won’t half make a mess in the home if that one is your mother. You’ll be quarrelling with everybody. No, your mother is the new covenant, the other covenant, the gospel covenant. Halleluia! You were born again by the Word of God. You’re, “begotten into newness of life,” says Peter, “by the promises.” Halleluia! Who’s your mother? The gospel. If you weren’t born of that one, you’re not born again. You’re just a church-goer. You’ve missed it, missed your mother. You’re like Paul says in Galatians. You’ll be cast out. Cast out the bondwoman and her son. But, oh, if your mother is God’s promise in Christ, to you, a guilty sinner, -- save your undeserving soul by the gospel of Him who died for you and rose again -- you’re in the right family. Halleluia! And that’s why, when there’s a good gospel meeting on, you want to go to it. And when the preacher is in a full spate talking about the way of salvation for sinners, you heart leaps for joy because you’re right at home. Isn’t that right? You’re children of the new covenant. So there we are. “Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband. And we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise [Gal 4: 26-28].” What promise? The gospel promise. Halleluia! Whosoever will, may come and drink and receive the water of life freely. That’s if you’re really born again. That’s your mother. I hope you like her. She’s rather nice. Beware of a servant taking her place. Beware of thinking that your mother is church membership. Pooh! A mere slave mother. Now your mother is the promise of God in Christ Jesus. Halleluia! So keep clinging to mother’s apron strings. And don’t get far away from the gospel. And don’t be ashamed of being cud – this speech of mine – being cuddled by God who, “so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life [John 3:16].” Be at home with your mother. I like churches who understand who their mother is. Praise the Lord. The promise of God in the gospel of Jesus Christ. So there’s the woman of Revelation 12. Wonderful soul. She first of all brought forth Jesus, didn’t she? Jesus was the first child of promise. He, in his eternal sonship, exists from all eternity. But when He was born of the flesh, in the flesh, He was a child of promise. Promise to Mary, and indirectly, promise to Joseph. And promise in all the Old Testament. And at last in the fullness of time, he came forth. I’m glad to have such a nice elder brother. I don’t deserve Him at all. I’m not worthy of Him. But, oh, thank God, He came. And while we were yet sinners, He paid the ultimate price that we might be redeemed by our elder brother. Halleluia. And find yourself right at home in the family of God. So there’s a little bit of Revelation for you. It’s full of little nuggets. I think I’ll go. Praise the Lord. The Lord bless you all. Thank you for your patience. God bless you.