Sermon
Bible Guys Classics: Revelation - End Times Part 1
Publisher transcript
Transcript
-
Hey, Jeff, I got a question for you. Yes, are
-
you a player?
-
Not really.
-
Today today? I love how he just immediately said no, moub.
-
But today we're talking about all the players in the story, right,
-
Who are the people who are the main players? That's
-
what we're talking.
-
About, that's right, people and events in the book Revelation
-
and throughout the rest of the end time. So he's
-
Chris and I'm Jeff, and we're the Bible place.
-
All right, Well, Jeff, today we are given a list
-
of who's most likely?
-
Oh, these are fun Now, if you're.
-
Watching as opposed to listening, then you'll see that we
-
have paddles in our hands, and we have Jeff on
-
one side and then the good looking guy on the
-
other side. And so it's our job to hear and
-
then hold up who we think that's right? Is most likely?
-
My picture looks like I'm about to knee.
-
You think it really does? Yeah, it really does? And
-
mine I'm explaining something I think yep. So here we go. Okay,
-
number one, who's most likely? This is funny. Who's most
-
likely to eat something off of the ground?
-
Me?
-
I'd say me too, really, Oh yeah, you lead off
-
the ground. I totally have the five second rule.
-
Oh, I have like the thirty five second rule.
-
Do you remember the episode of Seinfeld when George Costanza
-
ate the donut in the garbage. Yes, somebody had set
-
the Eclaire on the top of the garbage.
-
He's like, it was right on to didn't even touch anything. Yeah,
-
I totally agree with him in the whole episode.
-
By the way, it's great. Okay, here we go. Number two.
-
Who's most likely to take days to reply to a text?
-
Jeff?
-
That'd be Jeff. I don't know if you know this
-
or not, but I reply almost always immediately.
-
Yeah, yeah, you reply, you ply it quickly, Yeah, very quickly.
-
Huh So it's because your phone is an appendage.
-
Yeah, well that's what my family need.
-
And you've taught everybody that that is their leash. They
-
can yank that leash whenever they want.
-
Yeah.
-
Yeah, And everybody's figured out my phone is not my leash,
-
and I'll check it when I want to. I'll get
-
back to you, right right.
-
Yeah, Well, there's benefits. There's definitely benefits and drawbacks.
-
The bet if you need me really bad, call me
-
because I'll answer if you call.
-
That's good, all right, Number three. Who's most likely to
-
plan the best birthday party?
-
Chris, Yeah, that's definitely yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
-
So I definitely love planning surprises and detailed things for
-
my family especially. Yeah, and I've done my share of things.
-
Uh you know that when one time when I was
-
dating my wife, I rented a U haul and in
-
the back of the U haul, first of all, I
-
backed it up to like a lake and a beautiful scene.
-
And then in the U haul I put a fine
-
dining table with candles and everything else, and everything was
-
in this U haul And then I brought her to
-
it and then open the U haul door and we
-
had this beautiful candle at dinner. Oh and then I
-
just hauled it away. Look how nice I can give
-
you like seventeen of those creative daty Yeah. Yes, so
-
I liked all of that stuff.
-
That's great.
-
So here we go. Number four. Who's most likely to
-
sleep walk throughout the night?
-
Oh? Not me, It's got to be you.
-
I don't know who to put here. I guess I'll
-
put me because I do get up in the night,
-
but it's usually to use the restroom.
-
Yeah, dude, I am shocked when it's time to wake
-
up like somebody. If my alarm goes off, it startles me.
-
If if somebody touches me, I'm ready to fight. I'm
-
so deeply asleep. Really yeah, yeah, yeah, I don't yeah it.
-
I don't believe even though I don't sleep walk, it
-
would probably mean yeah.
-
Be me. I'm dead. I'm dead to the world, and
-
I resurrect every morning.
-
So so one more quick reference Big Bang theory. Bob
-
Hope was playing an old man and Charlotte Sheldon knocks
-
on the door. No, Bob Hope NewART and and uh
-
and Bob Sheldon knocks on the door, and he goes, uh,
-
and he goes, no, I was up. He goes, well,
-
I have to go to bed now. He goes, I
-
have to go to bed, because he goes in about
-
two hours, he goes, I have to get up to
-
pee and then just wander around the house. He's like
-
a nine year old man, right, because that's what they do,
-
all right. Number five, who's most likely to own a
-
pet chicken? There's no question.
-
I've already owned it's.
-
I know it's you. You'll get a whole story about you.
-
In our county.
-
I won. I won against the city to have chickens
-
at my house.
-
That is hilarious. All right, Well, we're gonna go ahead
-
and move on, and we're gonna move right back into
-
the people in the events of the end Times, and
-
we'll be doing this for several days.
-
Oh yeah, yeah, this is pretty much it. The first
-
couple of days we were laying the foundation trying to
-
encourage people. Now it's we're getting into the nitty gritty.
-
And again, just to remind you, don't you know, watch
-
out for polarization. There's people who have very strong opinions
-
about the things we're going to talk about, stronger opinions
-
than are reasonable. Because we just can leave it at that.
-
Yeah, and another disclaimer is that we're the Bible guys,
-
and we don't claim to be theologians or professors. We
-
are two guys that know the Bible and teach the Bible,
-
and so we like to talk about the Bible. So
-
this is.
-
Almost certainly on a casual level, is what we're doing
-
in this.
-
Yeah, and so we're not covering revelation in detail, and
-
we're also not going from chapter to chapter. What we're
-
doing is, as we're saying, these are the highlights. These
-
are the main events. Let's talk about what we know
-
is coming in generalizations, because to be honest with you,
-
revelation people are the ones who comment the most, the
-
comment forever, and they have the strongest opinions.
-
Yes, yes, So what we're going to say is we're
-
going to kind of take what would be the mainstream view.
-
The majority of Christians globally and historically have believed along
-
these lines for the last thousand years. But uh, we
-
are accepting the fact that there are minority groups of
-
theologians that would differ with these things, right sure, and
-
so we're we love them and we're fine with the
-
fact that they have a different things.
-
Absolutely.
-
So the first one and by far the most controversial one,
-
would be what is called the rapture of the church.
-
Although the word rapture of the church doesn't exist, that
-
phrase doesn't exist in the Bible. This idea rapture is
-
the Latin for caught.
-
Up, caught up in the air.
-
And there's different different views on this. So some people
-
believe in a rapture that happens before the tribulation. Tribulation, Yeah,
-
raptor and rapture is two different things, different things, very
-
astute Chris.
-
Yeah, one of them, Chris Pratt works with, that's right,
-
and the other one is the second company, that's the rapture.
-
Yeah, so velociraptor Velocira. Yeah. So then, boy, you got
-
me distracted there. So there are some who believe there's
-
a tribulation. We're gonn talk about that, and then the
-
tribulation is the bad part seven years, really really bad.
-
Some people believe that the rapture of the church happens
-
before the.
-
Bad stuff happened, which is which is pre right, that's
-
a pree tribulation of pre tribulation. That's referring to how
-
all the Christians will be exempt from all the trials
-
and tribulations of the seven years because they get raptured
-
up before that happens.
-
Caught up bodily taven. Yes, that's right. Then there's people
-
who believe in a mid trib because.
-
That's clearly divided with three and a half years and
-
three and a half years, that's right. And in the
-
Bible they describe fourteen and twenty days or whatever it is,
-
forty two months, you know, I mean it lists very clearly.
-
In the first three and a half years. It's pretty good, right,
-
there's a lot of global stability and wealth and all
-
those kinds of thing. So people are like, hey, we
-
want to go in the middle. I don't I don't
-
want to miss the good part. Right, So some people
-
have like a middle of the trib tribulation view. Others
-
would have a post tribulation, meaning the Christians will go
-
all the way through it. And it's because the Bible
-
talks about martyrs and things, and so there's some people
-
believe that there there's a that the rapture happens at
-
the end of the tribulation or after the tribulation, and
-
that there's just one time that all of the of
-
a resurrection. And then there's some people who don't believe
-
in any rapture at all. They're called a tribulation or
-
you know, no rapture, right, but that's not Uh, that's
-
probably the most obscure of all of the different views.
-
So the majority of Western Christians would say that they're
-
pre trib they believe in apture. So, uh, that's we
-
tried to give that as fair of a thing. I
-
would I would land. I think I would land pre
-
trib and be content with mid trib and I'm ready
-
for post. That's how I describe it.
-
Just be prepared, Yeah, just be really prepared.
-
Yeah, what about you? Where do you fall?
-
Yeah? I lean toward what you know, we were raised
-
and taught the same way and I and when I look,
-
and more importantly, pre trip makes sense to me. So
-
regardless of you know, regardless of whether or not the
-
first three and a half years are different than the
-
last three and a half years, I think that it
-
just makes sense. Yeah, so lean that way. But again,
-
I'm not committed to it.
-
So this idea of the rapture is Jesus coming back
-
and getting his people right. That's really what it is.
-
John fourteen three. Jesus said, when everything is ready, I'll
-
come and get you so that you will always be
-
with me. Hey where I am.
-
By the way, can I tell you why I'm not
-
committed to it? I just felt like I had to
-
follow up in that comment because I don't think it
-
matters that much. Yeah yeah, yeah, So whether or not
-
I get you know, raptured before the three and a
-
half years, or after three and a half years, or
-
even post three and a half years, right, like like
-
you know, you sort of said, you know, be ready, Yeah,
-
you know, you know, here we go, buckle up. Yeah,
-
a lot of these things for me, because I'm such
-
an application person. I'm like, well, whether how it plays
-
out is how it's gonna play out.
-
I'm not in charge of this, right, I'm not in
-
charge of it.
-
Right. I just don't like it's going to matter.
-
Other than it's not like you stepped up to the
-
counter said i'd like a pre tribulation rapture ticket, right right, Yeah,
-
I'm sorry, we're a pretribulation.
-
Don't be wrong. Here's a post trip but bye by.
-
When I say it doesn't matter, I don't mean that
-
the truths themselves don't matter, because I'm not saying I
-
don't mean it doesn't matter in the sense the words
-
they're not important. Right. What I'm saying is for me
-
it doesn't matter, oh right, because I'm saying like it's
-
not gonna make a difference in my life, sure, right, yeah,
-
because how it plays out is how it's gonna play out. Yeah.
-
So he says he's gonna come and get you when
-
he's ready. That's when he's ready, not when you're ready.
-
When he's ready. Right, So, so Matthew twenty four Jesus
-
says and then at last, the sign that the Sun
-
of Man is coming will appear in the heavens. We
-
already talked about that sun, moona stars, all that creazah. Yeah,
-
And there'll be deep mourning among all the peoples of
-
the earth, and they will see the Son of Man
-
come out on the clouds of heaven with power and glory,
-
and he will send out his angels with the mighty
-
blast of a trumpet, and they will gather his chosen
-
ones from all over the world, from the farthest ends
-
of the earth in heaven. There it is, there you go.
-
So he's gathering his chosen ones there, he's gathering believers, right,
-
And so some people would say that that's only in
-
connection to the final return of Christ, the second Coming,
-
which is different. This one though, doesn't say he comes
-
to earth. This one says he's in heaven, right, So anyways,
-
who knows. And then but it does say he's coming,
-
and there'll be a mighty trumpet blast, and Gabriel's gonna
-
let her fly on the horn, and he's going to
-
bring his people home first. Thessaloni's chapter four says, and now,
-
dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what
-
will happen to the believers who've died, so that you
-
will not grieve like people who have no hope. For
-
since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to
-
life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God
-
will bring back with him the believers who have died.
-
We tell you this directly from the Lord. We who
-
are still living when the Lord returns, will not meet
-
him ahead of those who have died, For the Lord
-
himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout,
-
with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet
-
call of God. First the believers who have died will
-
rise from their graves, and then together with them, we
-
who are still alive and remain on the earth, will
-
be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord
-
in the air. And then we will be with the
-
Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words. So
-
the idea here is he's wanting to cover the fact
-
that the that the rapture is not just for the living,
-
it's also for those believers who've already died ahead of us.
-
Yeah, and so there's and there's different views on this too, right,
-
so and by the way, it's people. Some people believe
-
that heaven is not immediate. As we understand it is
-
that like people die, they go into the earth and
-
then actually heaven is reserved for this moment. Yeah, right,
-
but because God exists out of time and space, it'll
-
be immediate. So other other persons.
-
Here, Heebres says, to be absent from the body is
-
to be present with the Lord.
-
That's what I was about to quote, right, So, so
-
it will seem immediate to me. But but but the
-
time as we know it, it's not immediate. So so
-
there's there's sorts, there's all sorts of nuances that are
-
attached to this.
-
Theologically, we're just not going to fight it.
-
Yeah, we're not gonna fight No, we're not gonna fight it.
-
And again this is where this is where I know
-
it sounds funny, but it doesn't matter to me, right exactly.
-
So it doesn't matter to me because because like listen,
-
that's why I don't care to fight it, because here's
-
here's what I know. When I die, immediately, I'm gonna
-
be with the Lord. So so how that plays out
-
for my dust of my body, sure, I don't really
-
care r right. I just know that, like, uh, you know,
-
by the way, So, so the rapture is God comes
-
for his people, and then this describes uh, the second
-
coming coming back after the seven years. God comes with
-
his people, right, so you know, for it comes for
-
the church, comes with the church, right and and and
-
so anyway, I do believe that the visual here is
-
again just something that's supposed to be again intimidating, but
-
at the same time very comforting for us.
-
That's right. And you really one of the other evidences
-
that people would point to for a pre tribulation rapture
-
would be that in the book or Revelation, churches aren't
-
really mentioned. After Revelation what three I believe, and it
-
seems to be that the churches from that point on,
-
the tribulation happens and church isn't referenced anymore. The believers
-
aren't referenced anymore. Only martyrs are reference. But no no church,
-
no Holy Spirit reference in the world at that time.
-
Which raises another question. Will there be converts and then
-
martyrs in the time?
-
Yeah?
-
Yeah, during that time? So what martyrs are we talking about?
-
Yeah, we'll talk about that.
-
Martyrs old or martyrs of you know, new.
-
Martyrs martyrs in the tribulation the one hundred and forty
-
four thousand, I mentioned that way. Yeah, so we'll talk
-
about that. So here's the issue though, with regard to
-
a rapture. When it will happen? Shouldn't detract from the
-
fact that it will happen. Right, There will be a
-
time when Jesus comes back. There will be a time
-
when the trumpet blasts. There will be a time when
-
all of his saints are going to heaven with him, Right,
-
so when uh, shouldn't distract from the insurance that it will. Now,
-
what do you think is going to happen? How will
-
the governments of the world explain what happened to two
-
billion Christians disappearing all at one time?
-
You know, It's just I don't know, but I have
-
a feeling that aliens will be involved.
-
Oh, I totally think that that's going to be the argument.
-
They're going to say, Oh, aliens took everybody. Yeah, well again,
-
what other claim could you make?
-
No, you couldn't. You couldn't make any other claim besides that, right,
-
maybe uh maybe vaccines.
-
Yeah, well, vaccines didn't make everybody disappear. I just kidding.
-
I was trying to think of something hilarious to say.
-
But I think that's what's going to be. I think
-
we're being conditioned for it now.
-
Yeah, yeah, the aliens. Yeah well, I mean again, it's
-
just it's the we talked about it a couple of
-
podcasts ago. But like when you see all these signs,
-
there will be people connecting the dots and saying, see,
-
this is the Book of Revelation. But then then there'll
-
be people who so don't believe in God. They're going
-
to say, of course you're going to say that, right, right,
-
because there is a logical explanation, right.
-
The logical explanation is aliens.
-
Well, I mean, well.
-
That's what they're going to do though, right, that's what they're.
-
Going to say, say, say, you know, it's it's certainly
-
logical to yeah, to I would think half of the
-
world or more sure, absolutely they believe in aliens.
-
Yeah. Well, so most of the world just believes whatever
-
the experts say and what the science leads to. So
-
alls they have to do is have a couple of sciences,
-
get on TV and go this is what we believe in.
-
Shame on you don't. You're not allowed to post anything
-
on Facebook or Twitter. That's any different from what we
-
just told you. It was aliens quit arguing with us.
-
Hey, by the way, uh, we don't have that much time,
-
but just really quickly, do you believe in aliens?
-
No?
-
Yeah, so so so the my professor I think I
-
mentioned this way back in h Daily. My college professor
-
pointed out that in Genesis it said he created the
-
stars and the hosts of them. So he said, so
-
there's room for aliens. But at the same time, theologically
-
doesn't make any sense, and like that, but like I
-
also heard another hero of mine.
-
Talking about to be clear that the hosts that Hebrew
-
word is a huge number of them. Yeah, the hosts
-
would be the huge number of right, right, right, implying
-
that there are more stars than you can see? Is what? What?
-
Which is true? That that's which is what the Hebrew
-
word is saying.
-
Which is along the same lines where he says a
-
host of heavenly angels. That's right.
-
It's not talking about the hostesses and the hosts of
-
the you know, welcome to our star. It's not talking about.
-
Right, which we would say.
-
On this star if they landed on if they landed
-
on this planet. We'd shoot them. That's really well anyways,
-
go ahead anyway.
-
The but then I so one of my hero is
-
Lui Giglio talk about if God's billboard was the universe
-
to remind us of how big he is and how
-
small we are, then he's done a good job, did
-
a great job, because if it's a if creation is
-
supposed to reflect the Creator, then an infinite and expanding
-
universe that we will never get to see the ends
-
of that reminds us of how big God is. But
-
it can't be big enough. So if you think about
-
it that way, then it makes total sense.
-
Absolutely, yeah, absolutely, So you have this rapture that happens
-
most Christians believe it happens before what we call the
-
Tribulation begins. Now, the tribulation last seven years is divided.
-
We've already said this divided into two three and a
-
half year segments, and during that time many things happen.
-
Most of what we talk about next happens over the
-
next few days happens during the tribulation. So we can't
-
cover it all right now, but we'll just start dealing
-
with issues that happened. One of the very first things
-
that happen happens is It talks about how the governments
-
of the world begin to trample the Holy City. They
-
trample the Holy City for forty two months as three
-
and a half years, and I will give power to
-
my two witnesses, and they'll be closed in burlap and
-
will prophesied during those twelve hundred and sixty days. So
-
some people believe that those witnesses eleven Yes, Revelation chapter eleven.
-
Some people believe those witnesses are Elijah and Moses, or
-
Enoch and Moses. We don't know. The Bible doesn't say,
-
but it seems to be resurrected. Profits it seems to
-
be who is prophesying outside Jerusalem and the whole world
-
to be able to see it. And then they get
-
assassinated in front of the whole world.
-
The whole world.
-
Sees their bodies, sees them being assasinated, and nobody picks
-
up their bodies. They just lay outside the city during
-
that time. Well, in John's day when he wrote this,
-
he couldn't fathom how the whole world and everybody on
-
the planet could see it. But you and I carry
-
a TV in our pocket, right, we could see it.
-
My daughter would see it. In five minutes after it happened,
-
right right, So it's different now than so we're closer.
-
And then it goes on and it says in chapter eleven,
-
it says, but after three and a half days, God
-
breathed life into them and they stood up. So he
-
resurrects these two prophets to get assassinated and terror struck
-
all who were staring at them. And then a loud
-
voice from heaven called out to the two and prophets
-
and said, come up here, and they rose to heaven
-
in a cloud as their enemies watched. Yeah, this is
-
the last great these are my people. Let me get
-
your attention one more time. Moments. This is God's final
-
warning to the world, and the whole world watches these
-
two dudes ascend to heaven.
-
And this, among all of the signs, is a crystal
-
clear explanation. This is not figurative, it's not vague, it's
-
not metaphorical.
-
That's right.
-
This is very specific, like this is going to happen.
-
Because he's talking about two humans to prophets, he mentions
-
a specific city. He talks very specifically about the number
-
of days and the literal heaven. So all that to say.
-
Other things in Revelation may symbolize things, but we believe
-
this is a sign that is pretty crystal clear.
-
If you ever watching on your phone or on TV
-
and you see two guys get assassinated outside the city
-
of Jerusalem, and three days later they rise from the dead,
-
and then you hear God shout from heaven buckle up,
-
come on up, and then they send to heaven on
-
a cloud. It's happening.
-
Yeah, yeah, I'm pretty sure it's happening.
-
You need to fall to your knees repent of your
-
sins and calling Jesus. But you know what the world's
-
going to say. It was aliens, right, that's for sure.
-
So I think we're going to have to wrap up here.
-
You don't think you want to just read through this?
-
I do.
-
Okay, Well, let me read through Revelation chapter twelve because
-
there's this little pause and it kind of summarizes the
-
spiritual war that's happening between Satan, the Dragon and Jesus.
-
Even as birth. We think of the Nativity as the
-
cute little baby in the manger, but this is pretty crazy.
-
Here's what he says, Then I witnessed this is in
-
Revelation twelve. Then I witnessed in heaven an event of
-
great significance. I saw a woman clothed with the sun,
-
with the moon beneath her feet, and a crown of
-
twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant, and she
-
cried out because of her labor pains and the agnity
-
of giving birth. And then I witnessed in heaven another
-
significant event. I saw a large red dragon with seven
-
heads and ten horns, with seven crowns on his heads.
-
His tail swept away one third of the stars in
-
the sky and he threw them to the earth. He
-
stood in front of the woman as she was about
-
to give birth, ready to devour her baby as soon
-
as it was born. She gave birth to a son
-
who was to rule all the nations with an iron rod,
-
and her child was snatched away from the dragon was
-
caught up to God to his throne, and the woman
-
fled into the wilderness where God had prepared a place
-
for her. Earth for twelve hundred and sixty days. Then
-
there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought
-
against the dragon and his angels, and the dragon lost
-
the battle, and he and his angels were forced out
-
of heaven. This great dragon, the ancient serpent called the
-
devil or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world, was
-
thrown down to earth with all his angels. Then I
-
heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens. It has
-
come at last salvation and power and the kingdom of
-
our God and the authority of His Christ. For the
-
accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down
-
to earth, the one who accuses them before our God
-
day and night. And they have defeated him by the
-
blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And they
-
did not love their lives so much that they were
-
afraid to die. Therefore, rejoice, oh heavens, and you who
-
live in the heavens, rejoice. But terror will come on
-
the earth and the sea, for the Devil has come
-
down to you in great anger, knowing that he has
-
little time.
-
So we don't have a ton of time to unpack this.
-
There's some a million things, a million.
-
Things in there. But let me say two or three sentences.
-
Number one is that as we read revelation, it may
-
seem so scary, but at the same time this gives
-
us an indication that things are always scary in the
-
spiritual realm.
-
Yeah, yeah, right, So this.
-
Is describing the birth of Christ. You know, you know,
-
there's so much in there with sweeping away one third
-
of the star is talking about one third of the
-
angels going down with the devil and all these kind
-
of things, but then also war in heaven, war in heaven.
-
But again, it's just it's another thing that just lets
-
us know that God's in control always and even though
-
there are evil forces, God wins. He's always won. He
-
won this battle, He's not going to lose. And it's
-
just it's a great thing to be able to look
-
at the birth of Christ and see it in this
-
way that there was actually a battle that took place
-
as Mary was given birth to Jesus.
-
And the Bible says that the devil loves to accuse believers.
-
The guilt doesn't always come from God, right, once you've
-
had your sins forgiven, guilt comes from the devil. He
-
loves to accuse you. But it says they, the people
-
that he's accused, have defeated him by the blood of
-
the lamb and by the word of their testimony. The
-
two bullets in your gun to defeat Satan is the
-
fact that Jesus shed his blood for you and the
-
story that God's told in your life. Those are the
-
two bullets that knock Satan out every time.
-
Wow. Right, well, our time has come to an end
-
and so we will see you hopefully tomorrow on the Bible. Guys,