Transcription downloaded from https://sermons.gracespringfield.com/sermons/42548/the-jewish-final-solution-to-the-worlds-problem-revelation-the-eternal-state-end-of-the-series/.

Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions.
Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt.


[0:00] Gary will not be reading Scripture this morning, but we will have quite a Scripture reading anyway, a little later. But first we're going to ask him if he will just share with you the comments that are in the bulletin regarding this morning's message and our conclusion for the book of the Revelation.

[0:20] Gary? The Eternal State, Revelation 21-22 Planet Earth comes to an end.

[0:44] Its replacement involves a new heaven and a new earth. The why of it will be explained as best we can.

[0:55] We possess more questions than answers. But such as we have, we give them unto thee. This morning constitutes our 42nd and final message from the book of Revelation.

[1:13] It also marks the finality of the extensive subject begun many months ago, over a year, devoted to the comprehensive theme, the Jewish final answer to the world's problem.

[1:32] Shortly after the beginning of 2018, we tend to plan to amplify the campaign of Armageddon.

[1:45] It deserves more consideration that we were able to give it in our exposition of the book of Revelation. This will likely compromise 10 to 12 sessions.

[2:00] And while you turn to the last book in the Bible, in the last two chapters of the last book, I am turning also to a chapter in a book entitled The Footsteps of the Messiah that I want to share with you.

[2:24] At least just one paragraph from the pen of Arnold Fruchtenbaum. I probably have on my library shelf in excess of 70 or 80 different volumes or commentaries on the subject of this one book in the Bible, the book of the Revelation.

[2:45] Only a very few of them do I consider very valuable. Most of them are just so-so and don't add a whole lot.

[2:56] A couple of them are doing nothing but just taking up shelf space. They really have nothing much to offer at all. But there are two that I have come to view as very reliable and very consistent.

[3:09] And one of them is this volume by Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum. A Hebrew Christian who has great insight into the whole Bible and is able to approach it from a Jewish point of view.

[3:23] And, of course, every writer of the Bible whom God used, every penman, was Jewish. And the vast majority of the content that is in the Bible is Jewish and is intended for the Jew.

[3:38] Unfortunately, there are those in the body of Christ, in the Christian church, who insist on trying to Christianize the whole Bible.

[3:51] And when you do that, you inevitably wrongly mix it instead of rightly divide it. But to be sure, the church, which is the body of Christ, has not been given the short end of the stick.

[4:04] We have more than ample blessings that are packed into the Bible for us. And as Paul said, whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we, through patience and comfort of the Scriptures, might have hope.

[4:17] So, a mantra of mine over the past few years has been something like this. All of the Bible, every word and every line is for us. But not every word is to us.

[4:30] And there is a huge difference. I think of these as being mailboxes, if you will, that God has established for receiving His communication.

[4:41] And He sends information to each category in those mailboxes. And some is for the Jew. Some is for the Gentile. And some is for the Church of God, as Paul mentioned in 1 Corinthians 10.

[4:53] I think it's 31. And when you get into trouble is when you get into somebody else's mailbox and try to appropriate it for yourself. It doesn't work.

[5:06] Because it's not supposed to work. And that, in and of itself, is a great lesson to learn. So, regarding these last two chapters of the Bible, and there is something really dramatically different about them, let me share this paragraph with you from the pen of Dr. Fruchtenbaum.

[5:25] It's entitled, The Eternal Order. While the Messianic Age is the high point of Old Testament prophecy, the Eternal Order is the high point of New Testament prophecy.

[5:42] Whereas most of the information in the first 20 chapters of the Revelation can also be found in the Old Testament, the last two chapters of the Revelation contain brand new material not revealed to the prophets of the Old Testament.

[6:02] The Millennium itself is only 1,000 years long. However, according to the promises of the Davidic Covenant, there was to be an eternal dynasty, an eternal kingdom, and an eternal throne.

[6:22] The eternal existence of the dynasty is assured because it culminates in an eternal person, the Lord Jesus Christ.

[6:34] But the eternal existence of the throne and kingdom must also be assured. The millennial form of the kingdom of God will end after 1,000 years.

[6:48] But the kingdom of God in the sense of God's rule will continue into the eternal order. Christ will continue his position of authority on the Davidic throne into the eternal order.

[7:07] All that is known about the eternal order is to be found in Revelation chapters 21 and 22. And that entire passage of Scripture is the concern that we are facing this morning.

[7:24] So, as you go through the Old Testament, you will find a lot of references and a lot of descriptions that are provided regarding the first 20 chapters of the book of the Revelation.

[7:41] But you will search in vain throughout the Old Testament to find any real helpful information at all regarding the eternal state.

[7:52] And that is because it is limited to what is right here in Revelation 21 and 22. So, we are going to commence reading. And because it is a lengthy passage and because much of it does not really lend itself to exposition or explanation, so we are essentially going to just be reading several lengthy portions that I think are relatively self-explanatory as we read them.

[8:22] And they really require no comment from me. And, before we begin, are we to take these things literally?

[8:35] Absolutely. You must understand that the Bible was given for the purpose of communication, not obfuscation. The Bible is not a book of riddles.

[8:47] It is a book that is intended to be understood. Because, if you cannot understand what is written, there is no way you can make an intelligent response to it.

[9:00] You have to know what it is you're responding to. So, the vast, vast majority of the Scripture is to be interpreted literally because it was intended to be taken at face value.

[9:14] There are, of course, symbolic references. We found a ton of them in the Revelation. But, the symbols always mean something and they are always consistent with what they mean.

[9:26] The moment you depart from a literal interpretation, you are limited only by the imagination of people. And, sometimes, they get really way out on all kinds of things.

[9:38] So, let us keep that in mind as we read, beginning with Revelation, chapter 21, the new heaven and the new earth. And I saw this is a phrase, these three words, and I saw and I heard, found repeatedly throughout the book.

[9:56] Because, John has been elevated in the Spirit to a position where he is going to be provided graphic information in symbol and in vision of what is coming upon the earth and he is instructed to write what he sees and what he hears.

[10:18] And this book is the result of what John has written. I saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven and the first earth passed away and there is no longer any sea.

[10:38] Well, I know what I said, but I have to comment on something here. and that is this. This present globe, this third rock from the sun that we call planet earth is going to come to an end.

[10:59] It is not going to exist in the eternal state. It will be in place for the millennium. It will be here for a thousand years.

[11:10] and the essence of that was incorporated in chapter 20 of the revelation which we considered in our last session. That is going to be a refurbished earth, a revitalized earth, an earth made new, made over, but it will still be eventually done away with.

[11:34] I mean, the globe, the sphere on which we are situated, is going to come to naught. It is going to be completely replaced. And so is all of the atmosphere with a new heaven and a new earth.

[11:48] And when the Bible talks about the new heaven, it is not talking about the dwelling place of God in the third heaven. It is talking about our atmosphere and our stratosphere. John says, I saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven and the first earth in which we now dwell passed away and there is no longer any sea.

[12:16] There will be no bodies of water, no oceans, no Pacific or Atlantic or others in this new earth. It will be devoid of the oceans.

[12:28] I do not know exactly why or how the oceans came to be except to suggest that they may have been part of an interim between Genesis 1-1 and 1-2.

[12:40] And no, I am not a gap theorist. That is not what I am talking about. But that may have been involved with the fall of Satan and the cataclysm that took place on the earth, part of which was provision of the seas.

[12:53] So we are actually saying or suggesting the possibility that the oceans themselves are part of the fallenness of humanity.

[13:03] But let us move on. And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, not to be confused with the Jerusalem that we know on the Mediterranean coast.

[13:16] This is a new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men and he shall dwell among them and they shall be his people and God himself shall be among them.

[13:45] And he shall wipe away every tear from their eyes and there shall no longer be any death. There shall no longer be any mourning or crying or pain the first things have passed away.

[14:01] Let me insert another comment. In contrast to the millennium people will die during that thousand years. It will be a reversion of the earth to much what it was before the fall occurred or before the flood of Noah occurred rather in which people will live extended periods of time.

[14:21] And Isaiah refers to it by saying that if a person dies at the age of a hundred he will be thought a child to have died. Well today we consider that a pretty ancient age to reach but when their thousand year reign is underway that will not be the case.

[14:39] and we read he who sits on the throne said behold I am making all things new and he said write for these words are faithful and true and he said to me it is done I am the alpha and the omega the beginning and the end this is probably in our alphabet it's like saying from A to Z and I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost he who overcomes shall inherit these things and I will be as God and he will be my son and the implication there is and that's the way it's going to be forever with no cessation we are talking about the eternal order we are talking about that which is ultimately eventually going to be and when once it is in place it will never cease this is the eternal state this goes on into perpetuity but for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and by the way the cowardly here has to be understood in light of the context the chapters we have preceded that preceded this and the cowardly here I think makes reference to those who were cowardly enough that they were unable to resist the mark of the beast and they took the mark of the beast and they settled and sealed their own doom in doing so so in this larger context

[16:35] I think it has to do primarily with those and let's face it in so far as just pure old unadulterated cowardliness is concerned we all have some of that in us don't we some of us may think that we don't have a yellow streak down our back but we all do given the right circumstances and the right kind of situation but this is the kind of cowardliness that seals a person's eternal doom it's not your regular run-of-the-mill cowardliness the unbelieving abominable murderers immoral persons sorcerers that too deserves some comment because as I've related to you in the past when the Bible uses the word sorcerers here in the Revelation it uses the word in the Greek pharmakeia and that's the word from which our word pharmacy comes and these sorcerers are not people with pointed hats and black robes at witches with no teeth who stand around cackling and stirring up a witch's brew in a big cauldron these are not sorcerers here this is pharmakeia what he's talking about here is sellers and purveyors and users of potions elixirs and narcotics and our culture has never been so subjected to illicit drug use and abuse as it is today it is a gigantic problem everywhere state of ohio itself is struggling with this it's just it's just a terrible terrible blight on all of humanity you know that as well as

[18:15] I and idolaters and all liars their part and by the way this needs to be qualified as well is there anyone here who is not a liar raise your hand I don't see any hands had you raised your hand I would have had to embarrass you by saying you are not only a liar you are self-deceived we are all liars but this has to do with those whose methodology of living is by the lie these are people who do not have a true bone in their body their lifestyle is made up of untruth this is what he's talking about here we've all engaged in some of these things but bless God forgiveness is available and when appropriated through the finished work of Christ we are cleansed and forgiven for that they will have their part in the lake fire that burns with fire and brimstone which is the second death and everybody wants to know and so do I is this a real fire because we all know if you've even come in contact with a hot stove how much pain can be incorporated in just one inch of skin that is really burned and seared extremely painful now I don't know that there's any way of saying that this is literal fire or not because we want to know if it's literal fire then why is it that people aren't completely burned up this may be something outside our realm with which we are not familiar

[20:01] I do not know but I will say this if it is not real fire and real pain whatever it is symbolizing is and any way you look at it has got to be super negative and to be avoided at all costs and one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and spake with me saying come here I will show you the bride the wife of the lamb and he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God this vision had to have been just absolutely overwhelming this thing this new

[21:04] Jerusalem which is in heaven is going to descend from heaven and come to earth you're going to be living in it we all are this new Jerusalem is described as a cube and it is 1500 miles long and 1500 miles wide and 1500 miles high and it will accommodate literally billions of people without without anybody being crowded this isn't going to be a heavenly Jersey city New Jersey where people are packed almost on top of one another this is going to be spacious it would extend from the east coast perhaps to

[22:06] St. Louis and cube that if you will it is absolutely mind boggling let's continue having the glory of God her brilliance was like doesn't say it is but he says it is like a very costly stone as a stone of crystal clear jasper it had a great and high wall with twelve gates and at the gates twelve angels and names were written on them which are those of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel there were three gates on the east three gates on the north three gates on the south and three gates on the west and the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the land and the one who spoke with me had a gold measuring rod to measure the city and its gates and its wall and the city is laid out as a square and its length is as great as the width and he measured the city with the rod fifteen hundred miles its length and width and height are equal and he measured its wall seventy two yards according to human measurements which are also angelic measurements and the material of the wall was jasper and the city was pure gold like clear glass now

[24:01] I suspect and I do not notice but I suspect that the reason these precious jewels and gold and things are mentioned is because these are items with which man has a frame of reference and is able to attach great value as well as beauty to them because while we were here on earth these were the precious elements of the earth these were the things that were valued so highly and here they are going to be used in incredible abundance and very lavishly and they are designed to appeal to our frame of reference for value and for beauty so that's what we're being given a dose of here and it is a very major dose if I may say the foundations of the stones foundation stones of the city wall verse 19 were adorned with every kind of precious stone the first foundation stone was jasper the second sapphire the third chalcedony the fourth emerald the fifth sardonyx the sixth sardius the seventh chrysolite the eighth beryl the ninth topaz the tenth chrysophrase the eleventh jason and the twelfth amethyst

[25:25] I don't even know what half of these are probably we wouldn't know them if I saw them but I can promise you this when we see them there it's going to be a major wow you see what this eternal state is going to consist of in this new Jerusalem and here's what I really want you to keep in mind until you see it and that is this it is going to be as great as wonderful as beautiful as God is able to make it how good is that and in the midst of all this one other thing I'm absolutely certain of even though I have so many questions so many more questions than I have answers about this I've got two things that I can say that I am absolutely certain

[26:26] I'm on solid ground one is there's going to be a lot of surprises and the second is there's going to be new disappointments I really like that because like you I've experienced my share of disappointments in life I know you have too and I don't care if you are of a tender age of six or eight even you you've had your disappointments too and the longer you live the more susceptible you are to multiplying life's disappointments there won't be any here in addition to there being no tears and no sorrow no pain and all those former things are passed away so keep that in mind if you will be some surprises but no disappointments nobody nobody is going to walk around heaven looking it over and saying huh so this is it huh this is this is what we've been waiting for all this time is this the best

[27:43] God can do there won't be any comments like that nobody will even be thinking it much less saying it everything is going to be a major while this is all jaw dropping stuff this is only as the almighty can do it and make it and let me tell you it's part of his job description and he's really he's really good at it too no disappointments lots of surprises no disappointments twelve gates verse twenty one were twelve pearls get one of those tiny little things that was nothing but a actually but a misfortune in an oyster shell where their irritation is and ends up being a beautiful little pearl and most of them no bigger than the tip of your little finger these gates are going to be made of pearl I can't imagine what that configuration is going to be like as a woodworker and somebody who builds things

[28:49] I wonder what those hinges are going to be like how big they're going to be how is that thing going to work wow mind blowing the street of the city was and I saw no temple in it for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple and the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine upon it I do not know if Tom Edison was a believer or not but if he was and he's here in heaven there won't be any need for his services won't need any incandescent light or fluorescent or anything else this is going to be a supernatural light and has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine upon it for the glory of God this is the Shekinah that goes all the way back to the Old

[29:49] Testament the Shekinah the glory of God has illumined it and its lamp is the Lamb and the nations shall walk by its light and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory into it and in the daytime for there shall be no night there its gates shall never be closed and they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it and nothing unclean and no one who practices abomination and lying shall ever come into it but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life and the only question that each of us should stop and ask ourselves right now is your name written there if you are a believer in Jesus Christ your name is in the

[30:50] Lamb's book of life I do not know for sure exactly how these books work because they are not given in great detail we're just told that they exist and there's information in them but I am of the opinion and I think that this will be borne out that every single living person who ever was I guess I would go so far as to say every person who was ever conceived name is entered into the book of life that's why it's called the book of life it's the book of the living and for those who are unbelievers and who die that way their names are blotted out of the book of life so they are not in the book of life they are transferred to the book of death solemn thing to consider and he showed me a river of the water of life clear as crystal coming from the throne of

[32:26] God and of the land in the middle of the street and on either side of the river was the tree of life where did we hear about the tree of life it's all the way back in Genesis remember we told you at the outset that there is an undeniable connection between Genesis and Revelation the book of beginnings and the book of endings and what is sandwiched in between is everything that has occurred in human history but these two books Genesis and Revelation represent the extremes the beginning and the end the middle of its street and on either side of the river was the tree of life bearing 12 kinds of fruit I'm really glad that it's fruit and not vegetables

[33:27] I have some favorite vegetables and I have some unfavorites too and I just cannot handle Brussels sprouts but I don't think there is any kind of fruit that I don't like someone has said that fruit is nature's dessert and I just boy I love peaches and apples and oranges you name it and I'm really glad this is going to be fruit probably some kind of fruits that we've never seen before never heard of but again nobody's going to be disappointed in the fruit either just no disappointment there won't be any room for disappointments there yielding 12 kinds of fruit yielding its fruit every month you know we've got fruit of the month clubs you can sign up for them and you can have them delivered to your doorstep lushes pears and peaches oranges or whatever well here it's going to be an ongoing fruit of the month club and you will not have to send off a check to Harry and David just going to be wonderful

[34:32] I tell you it's just something and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations and I can't begin to explain that that's just a complete puzzlement to me I don't I just don't understand that at all but I'm sure that we will then and there shall no longer be any curse that was imposed back in Genesis 3 and the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it and his bondservants shall serve him a bondservant is of course a love servant a willing servant not someone who is forced to be a servant but someone who wants to be actually it would be an honor and they shall see his face and his name shall be on their foreheads and there shall no longer be any night and they shall not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun because the

[35:39] Lord God shall illumine them and they shall reign forever and ever no night there now does this mean there won't be any sleep there won't be any need for sleep and I know you're wondering the same thing as I am what in the world are we going to do I can't imagine anybody being bored or dissatisfied so there's going to be some kind of activity and involvement and it is going to have to be satisfying in order to be positive it's going to be a whole lot that earth is not and he said to me these words are faithful and true and the

[36:45] Lord the God of the spirits of the prophets sent his angel to show to his bondservants the things which must shortly take place we saw this word shortly surface in the very first chapter and we labored somewhat to explain the meaning of it because it is often misunderstood when the Lord says behold I come shortly or which things which must shortly come to pass many look at this and they say well good grief this shortly business that's supposed to come to pass shortly was written 2,000 years ago and it hasn't happened yet how short or how long is shortly and it doesn't mean what we think it means at all but it means with great rapidity and it's probably not the best way to translate the word but the concept is that when these events get underway and begin to transpire they will come in rapid fire succession they will be bang bang bang bang very quickly and when he says behold I come quickly it means with great rapidity this is the concept of the thief in the night kind of thing so it doesn't mean very quickly within the next two weeks it means that when he comes he's going to come lightning fast and that's the meaning of quickly here

[38:07] I'm coming quickly blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book and that too must be referenced again because at the beginning of the book in chapter one we saw the same promise given before you even get underway in the book there is a special blessing promised for those who read this book and appropriate its truth and I don't know about you but it's already been a blessing to me and here at the conclusion of the book that promise is repeated blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book it simply means those who take it to heart those who regard it seriously those who understand that this is the word of God it's not just a bunch of meaningless symbols but this has reality behind it and the God of reality is the one who is going to provide everything that is incorporated in these pages blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book and I

[39:19] John this is the beloved John one of the sons of thunder his brother was James and their father was Zebedee and they were in the fishing business and as far as we can determine the John who wrote the revelation was the baby of the twelve apostles he most likely was the youngest of all and that I guess would be consistent with him probably being the last one alive because most scholars date the revelation somewhere in the 90s AD which would put it approximately 60 years after the crucifixion and resurrection and we cannot be completely certain of those dates and there are good scholars who hold different opinions as well but in all likelihood John not the Baptist of course but John the brother of James and son of Zebedee was in all likelihood the last of the twelve apostles to survive most of them had died a martyr's death by execution under

[40:25] Roman emperors John had been exiled by Domitian the Roman emperor and he is living and receiving this vision on the isle of Patmos which is just a few miles off the coast of modern Turkey which was then Asia Minor and he says I John am the one who heard and saw these things and when I heard and saw I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things no doubt just out of being overwhelmed and out of gratitude he just falls prostate before this angel and the angel says hold it hold it the angel says do not do that I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brethren the prophets and of those who heed the words of this book worship God best advice that angel could give deity alone is worthy of worship no idol no man no anything is deserving of the worship of humans other than the one true

[41:38] God of heaven that's where all worship should be directed and by the way numerous places in the scriptures and in the gospels where people fell at the feet of Jesus and bowed to him and never did he say please don't do that reserve your worship only for God because he was God incarnated in human flesh he was deserving and worthy of receiving worship let the one who does wrong verse 11 still do wrong this is nothing more than saying man is not even throughout eternity going to be in any way reformed he is going to remain in his evil posture if that is where he is if that is what he is he will continue in that way which by the way contains its own misery and let the one who is filthy still be filthy this doesn't mean the guy who hasn't had a bath this means the guy who has a filthy disposition a filthy personage about him he is filthy inside doesn't mean that he needs a scrubbing on the outside although he might need that as well but this is somebody with we would say somebody with a really dirty mind he'll continue that way and let the one who is righteous still practice righteousness and let the one who is holy still keep himself holy and all he's saying is that in this eternal state whatever one is when they enter it that is the way they will remain throughout this time it is an issue of being locked in to what you are and when you are locked in to the wrong stuff that contains its own misery behold

[43:43] I am coming quickly there's that word again and my reward is with me to render to every man according to what he has done and I delight in that because that means that this all knowing God knows absolutely everything about everything that we have done he knows the circumstances he knows the motivation he knows the intention he knows it all and he doesn't have to ask us because he just knows it this is part of the job description of an omnipotent God and he cannot be fooled he cannot be conned he just everything is naked and open before him with whom we have to do there are no secrets with the almighty he will be able to render appropriate reward to every man according to what he has done outside are the dogs these are not the four legged variety with the wagging tail these dogs are the kind of dogs which the apostle

[45:09] Paul spoke when he wrote to the Philippians when he said beware of dogs beware of the concision these are animal like cur human beings these are vicious kind of people who love and make lies and who are people who deceive and this kind of thing these are the kind of people that are going to be excluded from this the immoral person the sorcerers there's the drug thing again the murderers and the idolaters and these again are people whose lifestyle is characterized by these vices it doesn't mean that anyone who has ever committed murder will not be there of course not there are going to be a lot of murderers in heaven you know that David David the king is going to be a vice regent under the authority of his son the greater son David our Lord Jesus Christ and David David was a liar and a murderer and an adulterer and he's going to have one of the choice responsibilities and positions in heaven not because he did those things but because he was forgiven for having done those things you see heaven this place that we're talking about here this place is not for what the world calls good people some of you are thinking well I knew that this place is not for bad people yes it is this is for bad people who have been forgiven it's not for bad people who've turned over a new leaf and tried to be good this is for bad people because all have sinned and come short of the glory of God you realize we're all bad people do you know that we're all bad people all of us are bad people it all depends on what you're comparing yourself to to determine whether we're bad and God just has one standard for goodness

[47:31] God's standard for goodness is his son this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased Jesus is God's standard for goodness now if you are as good as Jesus Christ is you have nothing to worry about you're home free but if you're not you're in big big trouble someone said I measured myself alongside Jesus Christ and I didn't come up to his ankles that's a pretty realistic assessment but you know something God has a remedy for that and it isn't pull yourself up by your own boot straps it isn't try harder it isn't knock off some bad habits quit that it isn't go to church more regular read your Bible no no God's remedy is found in the sacrificial death of his son who gave himself on that cross for you for you every one of us those for whom he died

[48:42] I Jesus have sent my angel to testify to you these things for the churches I am the root and the offspring of David this is David the king Jesus was the root and the offspring of David a thousand years later in the direct line the bright morning star and the beautiful thing about it is that God through the inspiration of this scripture in these last few verses makes one last attempt to extend an invitation it's almost as if the sun is setting quickly and before it gets down God wants to make through his graciousness he wants to make one more effort to call in those who will come isn't that just like him and the spirit and the bride say come let the one who hears say come and let the one who is thirsty come you realize of course this thirst is not a craving for a drink of water it's a craving for the water of life it's a craving for the water that satisfies this is the kind of water of which

[50:23] Jesus spoke when he said to the woman at the well he who drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst again that's this kind of water he's talking about never thirst again take of the water of life without cost doesn't cost you a thing someone says well nothing in this life is free to a certain degree that's true but it costs somebody and in this case what Christianity is all about is it costs Christ Christ paid the price so that we wouldn't have to pay the price salvation is free but it is not cheap it cost God the death of his son he was willing to pay it and Jesus was willing to be the payment so let the one who wishes that is an appeal to your will is this what you want because if it isn't what you want

[51:33] God won't make you drink of this water he'll hold it out to you and he'll implore you to drink it but he won't make you because you have a will you can dig your heels in you can be adamant you can be stubborn you can say I want to do my own thing I want to be my own person I don't want anybody telling me what they got a lot of that you can do that if you want but you cannot do it without paying an attendant price someone has said you can choose any path you want to take but you cannot choose the consequences that come from your choice if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy which apparently is a pretty heavy offense God shall take away his part from the tree of life from the holy city which are written in this book and you know what this all comes down to is something that we've said so many times what this whole thing about what this whole thing about this book and the whole thing about life and living and death and the hereafter and everything else what it is all about always has been always will be is authority authority the issue is authority always has been always will be whose do you accept as your ultimate authority and he who testifies to these things says yes

[53:25] I am coming with great rapidity amen and then John John says come Lord Jesus the grace of the Lord Jesus be with all amen my oh my what a book what a book well my plan is and I realize that sometimes our plans don't always come to fruition that's for sure but our plan is that this is the concluding message for the series that we kind of labeled in the beginning well over a year ago and we called it the Jewish final solution to the world's problems and this is what it is this book of the revelation that sets forth the coming of Christ and actually it even goes back to the birth of Christ that's where it began but that's going to be

[54:27] God's final solution and I do apologize because I do feel that we gave very short shrift to the campaign of Armageddon and there was so very much involved with that but I just felt constrained to move on and complete the book and we are going to revisit shortly sometime shortly after the first of the new year we will revisit the campaign of Armageddon which focuses primarily upon Revelation 19 and it has to do with the amassing of the armies we'll be doing this probably in 8 to 12 sessions and I really want to focus on God's miraculous provision for the remnant of Israel in the land of Edom I think you'll find that fascinating and it's coming as sure as God is God and would you stand with me please Father we realize that much of what we have shared this morning is just begging for answers that we do not have and we freely admit that but we know that you have lodged this truth in your own heart and that your mind and heart are full of secrets that we cannot even begin to imagine but you have been pleased to reveal certain things to us and we are grateful for that revelation and our prayer here and now at the conclusion of this book regards the invitation that is extended this one last time at the end of the

[56:02] Bible a gracious offer extended for any and all willing to recognize their own personal shortcomings and their own personal failures and be willing to acknowledge their sin and look to the Lord Jesus as the one and only individual who can forgive sin and cleanse them and pardon them and make them your child our prayer is for that person boy or girl man or woman to be willing to be honest with themselves and with you and say Lord Jesus I know I'm not what I need to be I'm not what I want to be and I'm certainly not what you demand but you have provided a way whereby all my lacking can be made up and compensated for because

[57:07] Jesus paid the price that I couldn't pay and as best as I know how with all my questions and doubts I know I want Jesus Christ to be my Savior and I want to deliver myself to him for his forgiveness and his salvation that's my decision right here and now I pray that you will reveal yourself to me and the truth of what has happened in a way that only you can and I will thank you and look forward to enjoying this eternal state of all other believers and if you made that your prayer dear friend that your commitment you let somebody else know let me know if you will I've got some literature to give you that will be very helpful to you thank you father for this marvelous book we are aware that we have fallen painfully short of all that deserves but we trust that you will take that which has been offered come from your spirit and seal it to our hearts and minds anything from the flesh may it pass away thank you in

[58:17]  Christ's name amen