1 00:00:00,900 --> 00:00:02,200 Now, good evening to you all. 2 00:00:02,240 --> 00:00:04,000 Let's turn, if you will, please, to the 3 00:00:04,000 --> 00:00:05,540 book of the Revelation, chapter 1. 4 00:00:07,440 --> 00:00:09,280 And I would like to read with you 5 00:00:09,280 --> 00:00:11,280 tonight some of this chapter together. 6 00:00:11,620 --> 00:00:12,940 We shall start at verse 1. 7 00:00:17,890 --> 00:00:20,710 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave 8 00:00:20,710 --> 00:00:23,690 unto him, to show unto his servants things 9 00:00:23,690 --> 00:00:25,510 which must shortly come to pass. 10 00:00:26,630 --> 00:00:28,970 And he sent and signified it by his 11 00:00:28,970 --> 00:00:32,090 angel unto his servant John, who bare record 12 00:00:32,090 --> 00:00:34,210 of the word of God, and of the 13 00:00:34,210 --> 00:00:36,650 testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things 14 00:00:36,650 --> 00:00:37,270 that he saw. 15 00:00:39,440 --> 00:00:41,820 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that 16 00:00:41,820 --> 00:00:44,160 hear the words of this prophecy, and keep 17 00:00:44,160 --> 00:00:47,040 those things which are written therein, for the 18 00:00:47,040 --> 00:00:47,940 time is at hand. 19 00:00:49,840 --> 00:00:51,540 John to the seven churches which are in 20 00:00:51,540 --> 00:00:51,840 Asia. 21 00:00:53,140 --> 00:00:55,840 Grace be unto you and peace from him 22 00:00:55,840 --> 00:00:58,240 which is, and which was, and which is 23 00:00:58,240 --> 00:01:01,160 to come, and from the seven spirits which 24 00:01:01,160 --> 00:01:04,900 are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ 25 00:01:04,900 --> 00:01:07,600 who is the faithful witness, and the first 26 00:01:07,600 --> 00:01:10,060 begotten of the dead, and the prince of 27 00:01:10,060 --> 00:01:10,920 the kings of the earth. 28 00:01:12,240 --> 00:01:13,920 Unto him that loved us, and washed us 29 00:01:13,920 --> 00:01:16,300 from our sins in his own blood, and 30 00:01:16,300 --> 00:01:18,100 hath made us kings and priests unto God 31 00:01:18,100 --> 00:01:20,740 and his father, to him be glory and 32 00:01:20,740 --> 00:01:22,180 dominion for ever and ever. 33 00:01:22,880 --> 00:01:23,360 Amen. 34 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:28,460 Behold, he cometh with clouds, and every eye 35 00:01:28,460 --> 00:01:31,340 shall see him, and they also which pierced 36 00:01:31,340 --> 00:01:31,640 him. 37 00:01:32,560 --> 00:01:34,420 But all kingdoms of the earth shall wail 38 00:01:34,420 --> 00:01:37,040 because of him, even so. 39 00:01:37,800 --> 00:01:38,280 Amen. 40 00:01:39,400 --> 00:01:41,440 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and 41 00:01:41,440 --> 00:01:43,720 the endings of the Lord which is, which 42 00:01:43,720 --> 00:01:46,520 was, and which is to come, the Almighty. 43 00:01:47,840 --> 00:01:49,800 I, John, who also am your brother and 44 00:01:49,800 --> 00:01:51,740 companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and 45 00:01:51,740 --> 00:01:54,080 patience of Jesus Christ, whose name in the 46 00:01:54,080 --> 00:01:56,000 islet is called Patmos, for the word of 47 00:01:56,000 --> 00:01:58,360 God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. 48 00:01:59,280 --> 00:02:00,800 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's 49 00:02:00,800 --> 00:02:02,520 day, and heard behind me a great voices 50 00:02:02,520 --> 00:02:05,220 of a trumpet saying, I am Alpha and 51 00:02:05,220 --> 00:02:08,080 Omega, the first and the last, and what 52 00:02:08,080 --> 00:02:10,160 thou seest, write in a book, and send 53 00:02:10,160 --> 00:02:11,740 it unto the seven churches which are in 54 00:02:11,740 --> 00:02:16,920 Asia, unto Ephesus, unto Smyrna, unto Pergamos, unto 55 00:02:16,920 --> 00:02:21,480 Thyatira, unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto 56 00:02:21,480 --> 00:02:22,080 Laodicea. 57 00:02:23,860 --> 00:02:25,360 And I turned to see the voice that 58 00:02:25,360 --> 00:02:27,840 spake with me, and being turned, I saw 59 00:02:27,840 --> 00:02:30,820 seven golden candlesticks, and in the midst of 60 00:02:30,820 --> 00:02:32,700 the seven candlesticks, one like unto the son 61 00:02:32,700 --> 00:02:35,100 of man, clothed with a garment down to 62 00:02:35,100 --> 00:02:36,600 the foot, and girth about the breast with 63 00:02:36,600 --> 00:02:37,340 a golden girdle. 64 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:40,300 His head and his hairs were quite like 65 00:02:40,300 --> 00:02:42,880 wool, as quite as snow, and his eyes 66 00:02:42,880 --> 00:02:43,980 were as a flame of fire. 67 00:02:44,940 --> 00:02:46,820 His feet like unto fine brass, as if 68 00:02:46,820 --> 00:02:49,140 they burned in a furnace, and his voice 69 00:02:49,140 --> 00:02:50,860 as the sound of many waters. 70 00:02:51,660 --> 00:02:53,560 And he had in his right hand seven 71 00:02:53,560 --> 00:02:56,100 stars, out of his mouth went a sharp 72 00:02:56,100 --> 00:02:58,900 two-edged sword, and his countenance was as 73 00:02:58,900 --> 00:03:00,400 the sun shineth in his strength. 74 00:03:01,460 --> 00:03:03,180 And when I saw him, I felt his 75 00:03:03,180 --> 00:03:03,880 feet as dead. 76 00:03:04,860 --> 00:03:06,460 And he laid his right hand upon me, 77 00:03:06,560 --> 00:03:09,180 saying unto me, Fear not, I am the 78 00:03:09,180 --> 00:03:10,180 first and the last. 79 00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:12,620 I am he that liveth and was dead, 80 00:03:13,060 --> 00:03:17,420 and because I am alive forevermore, amen, and 81 00:03:17,420 --> 00:03:19,300 have the keys of hell and of death. 82 00:03:20,400 --> 00:03:22,100 Write the things which thou hast seen, and 83 00:03:22,100 --> 00:03:23,620 the things which are, and the things which 84 00:03:23,620 --> 00:03:24,380 shall be hereafter. 85 00:03:25,220 --> 00:03:27,240 The mystery of the seven stars which thou 86 00:03:27,240 --> 00:03:29,500 sawest in my right hand, and the seven 87 00:03:29,500 --> 00:03:30,640 golden candlesticks. 88 00:03:31,100 --> 00:03:33,260 The seven stars are the angels of the 89 00:03:33,260 --> 00:03:35,520 seven churches, and the seven candlesticks which thou 90 00:03:35,520 --> 00:03:38,640 sawest are the seven churches." 91 00:03:40,080 --> 00:03:42,000 Now, I hadn't actually planned on reading the 92 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:43,900 whole chapter with you, but once you get 93 00:03:43,900 --> 00:03:45,800 into it, it's very difficult to stop. 94 00:03:47,060 --> 00:03:48,640 I want to pursue with you this evening 95 00:03:48,640 --> 00:03:50,900 the subject that we began on this evening, 96 00:03:51,160 --> 00:03:54,660 the trilogies in particular of Revelation Chapter 1, 97 00:03:55,620 --> 00:03:58,340 the revelation of Jesus Christ. 98 00:03:59,560 --> 00:04:01,760 And by doing so, I shall endeavor not 99 00:04:01,760 --> 00:04:02,320 to wander. 100 00:04:03,880 --> 00:04:05,480 I'm trying hard, have you noticed? 101 00:04:06,100 --> 00:04:07,880 I was thinking what would be a good 102 00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:09,240 trick would be to put one of those 103 00:04:09,240 --> 00:04:11,880 little chains hooked on the one side, and 104 00:04:11,880 --> 00:04:13,260 you could bring it around behind the preacher 105 00:04:13,260 --> 00:04:14,360 and hook it on the other side of 106 00:04:14,360 --> 00:04:16,240 him, and then he just couldn't go anywhere. 107 00:04:16,800 --> 00:04:18,680 That would hold him in, at any rate. 108 00:04:19,640 --> 00:04:22,680 And speaking of that, I only once saw 109 00:04:22,680 --> 00:04:24,480 some kind of a remedy of that nature 110 00:04:24,480 --> 00:04:27,720 that was supplied for people who come to 111 00:04:27,720 --> 00:04:29,880 the Lord's Supper on Sunday morning late. 112 00:04:30,880 --> 00:04:32,980 Now, I don't suppose that happens here, but 113 00:04:32,980 --> 00:04:35,520 in many of the Latin American countries where 114 00:04:35,520 --> 00:04:37,800 I am able to frequently visit, we have 115 00:04:37,800 --> 00:04:38,680 that difficulty. 116 00:04:38,680 --> 00:04:41,140 It's part of their culture never to do 117 00:04:41,140 --> 00:04:42,420 today what you can put off to tomorrow, 118 00:04:42,560 --> 00:04:44,200 never arrive on time if you can arrive 119 00:04:44,200 --> 00:04:44,520 late. 120 00:04:44,820 --> 00:04:46,620 So, they nearly always arrive late. 121 00:04:47,260 --> 00:04:49,000 Anyone who works in Latin America would tell 122 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:49,360 you that. 123 00:04:49,960 --> 00:04:51,200 And on one occasion, I was in the 124 00:04:51,200 --> 00:04:54,780 Dominican Republic for a five-day congress, as 125 00:04:54,780 --> 00:04:57,340 they call it there, and I went to 126 00:04:57,340 --> 00:05:01,020 the oldest assembly in the capital city, Santo 127 00:05:01,020 --> 00:05:03,620 Domingo, and when I walked in the door, 128 00:05:03,700 --> 00:05:06,120 I was surprised to see on the far 129 00:05:06,120 --> 00:05:09,780 side of the wall a thick rope, a 130 00:05:09,780 --> 00:05:12,520 rope of almost an inch in thickness, in 131 00:05:12,520 --> 00:05:14,640 diameter, and it was hanging on the hook 132 00:05:14,640 --> 00:05:16,400 on that side of the wall. 133 00:05:16,740 --> 00:05:18,300 And I just caught a glimpse of it 134 00:05:18,300 --> 00:05:19,660 as I walked by, and wondered what it 135 00:05:19,660 --> 00:05:22,940 was, and then I noticed that most of 136 00:05:22,940 --> 00:05:24,560 the folks arrived on time, which is very 137 00:05:24,560 --> 00:05:25,000 unusual. 138 00:05:27,100 --> 00:05:29,460 But, I soon discovered why they all arrived 139 00:05:29,460 --> 00:05:32,100 on time, because when the clock struck the 140 00:05:32,100 --> 00:05:34,440 hour, one of the elders who was standing 141 00:05:34,440 --> 00:05:36,760 at the back went over and unhooked the 142 00:05:36,760 --> 00:05:39,000 rope from that side, and pulled it across, 143 00:05:39,080 --> 00:05:41,560 and hooked it on the other side, and 144 00:05:41,560 --> 00:05:44,040 anybody who arrived after the hour had to 145 00:05:44,040 --> 00:05:45,280 sit behind the rope. 146 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:48,100 They were not allowed to break bread. 147 00:05:49,440 --> 00:05:51,480 That's the only time I've ever seen in 148 00:05:51,480 --> 00:05:53,640 a Latin American congregation, and I have seen 149 00:05:53,640 --> 00:05:56,460 a good number of them, the problem solved 150 00:05:56,460 --> 00:05:59,060 by keeping people from arriving late. 151 00:05:59,460 --> 00:06:03,000 It didn't actually work a hundred percent, but 152 00:06:03,000 --> 00:06:05,100 it did work a hundred percent as far 153 00:06:05,100 --> 00:06:06,520 as the separation was concerned. 154 00:06:06,620 --> 00:06:08,540 They just were not allowed to cross the 155 00:06:08,540 --> 00:06:10,980 line or cross the rope after the time 156 00:06:10,980 --> 00:06:11,320 had come. 157 00:06:11,520 --> 00:06:12,680 So, I got to thinking this would be 158 00:06:12,680 --> 00:06:14,460 a good thing for these wandering creatures up 159 00:06:14,460 --> 00:06:14,640 here. 160 00:06:15,080 --> 00:06:16,440 You could put a chain like that and 161 00:06:16,440 --> 00:06:18,320 hook it on either side of them, and 162 00:06:18,320 --> 00:06:21,000 then Brother Stewart wouldn't have the problem with 163 00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:22,620 the microphone that he had with me the 164 00:06:22,620 --> 00:06:23,940 first time I was here. 165 00:06:25,260 --> 00:06:27,500 So, I want to continue this evening with 166 00:06:27,500 --> 00:06:28,140 the trilogies. 167 00:06:28,220 --> 00:06:30,620 We've been speaking about the trilogies of chapter 168 00:06:30,620 --> 00:06:30,880 one. 169 00:06:30,940 --> 00:06:32,500 You may find eight, you may find nine, 170 00:06:32,560 --> 00:06:35,600 you may find ten, according to the manner 171 00:06:35,600 --> 00:06:37,560 in which you separate them. 172 00:06:37,740 --> 00:06:39,780 The first one we have right in the 173 00:06:39,780 --> 00:06:41,180 early part of the chapter where we read 174 00:06:41,180 --> 00:06:43,840 the first paragraph, in fact, and it says 175 00:06:43,840 --> 00:06:46,180 in verse two regarding John and his stewardship 176 00:06:46,180 --> 00:06:48,440 that we were mentioning, he bore record of 177 00:06:48,440 --> 00:06:50,240 the word of God that's the first thing, 178 00:06:50,720 --> 00:06:52,880 and the testimony of Jesus Christ, that's the 179 00:06:52,880 --> 00:06:54,820 second thing, and of all things that he 180 00:06:54,820 --> 00:06:55,100 saw. 181 00:06:55,200 --> 00:06:57,860 So, there's a trilogy, three things in one. 182 00:06:59,380 --> 00:07:01,200 Then the next one comes in verse three, 183 00:07:01,300 --> 00:07:03,320 blessed is he that readeth, and they that 184 00:07:03,320 --> 00:07:05,960 hear the words of this prophecy, and keep, 185 00:07:06,120 --> 00:07:09,920 another trilogy, reading, hearing, and keeping, those things 186 00:07:09,920 --> 00:07:12,260 which are written therein for the time it 187 00:07:12,260 --> 00:07:12,680 has had. 188 00:07:14,930 --> 00:07:16,590 I was noticing today when I was thinking 189 00:07:16,590 --> 00:07:18,930 about this in connection verse two, John bearing 190 00:07:18,930 --> 00:07:21,550 record of the word of God, and of 191 00:07:21,550 --> 00:07:23,390 the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all 192 00:07:23,390 --> 00:07:24,270 things that he saw. 193 00:07:25,310 --> 00:07:27,290 Now, it has been sometimes suggested that we 194 00:07:27,290 --> 00:07:29,430 have here John's writing in the gospel. 195 00:07:30,010 --> 00:07:32,190 You remember he starts off something along that 196 00:07:32,190 --> 00:07:34,370 strain, the beginning was the word, and the 197 00:07:34,370 --> 00:07:36,030 word was with God, and the word was 198 00:07:36,030 --> 00:07:36,470 God. 199 00:07:37,770 --> 00:07:42,750 The word became flesh, verse 14, and he 200 00:07:42,750 --> 00:07:44,730 dwelt amongst us full of grace and truth. 201 00:07:45,490 --> 00:07:47,110 And then the second thing we have here, 202 00:07:47,130 --> 00:07:49,650 the testimony of Jesus Christ, and that has 203 00:07:49,650 --> 00:07:52,390 been likened to the subject of the epistles 204 00:07:52,390 --> 00:07:55,010 of John, when he spoke and speaks to 205 00:07:55,010 --> 00:07:58,130 us so clearly regarding the various attributes and 206 00:07:58,130 --> 00:08:00,570 presentations of our Lord, he who came to 207 00:08:00,570 --> 00:08:02,810 destroy the works of the devil, he who 208 00:08:02,810 --> 00:08:04,950 came to take away our sins, he whom 209 00:08:04,950 --> 00:08:06,970 the Father sent to be the Saviour of 210 00:08:06,970 --> 00:08:09,890 the world, he who is coming again, when 211 00:08:09,890 --> 00:08:11,250 we see him we shall be like him, 212 00:08:11,650 --> 00:08:13,670 or we shall see him as he is. 213 00:08:14,330 --> 00:08:16,910 And so that has been likened to the 214 00:08:16,910 --> 00:08:19,210 second of the first trilogy here, the testimony 215 00:08:19,210 --> 00:08:21,310 of Jesus Christ, and then of all things 216 00:08:21,310 --> 00:08:23,730 that he saw concerning the rest of the 217 00:08:23,730 --> 00:08:24,630 content of the book. 218 00:08:24,890 --> 00:08:26,650 But I was noticing as well that farther 219 00:08:26,650 --> 00:08:29,170 down in the chapter, in verse nine, we 220 00:08:29,170 --> 00:08:32,870 have that John was a brother and a 221 00:08:32,870 --> 00:08:34,870 companion in tribulation in the kingdom and patience 222 00:08:34,870 --> 00:08:35,669 of Jesus Christ. 223 00:08:35,789 --> 00:08:37,210 Again, we have a trilogy. 224 00:08:37,789 --> 00:08:39,490 He was in the islet of Cob, Patmos, 225 00:08:39,650 --> 00:08:42,530 on account of the word of God, and 226 00:08:42,530 --> 00:08:45,690 on account of the testimony of Jesus Christ. 227 00:08:47,230 --> 00:08:49,170 He was a prisoner, as you know. 228 00:08:49,250 --> 00:08:50,690 He was exiled. 229 00:08:50,930 --> 00:08:53,530 He was sent away to the isle of 230 00:08:53,530 --> 00:08:54,590 Patmos as a criminal. 231 00:08:55,150 --> 00:08:59,030 The infamous and notorious place where the criminal's 232 00:08:59,030 --> 00:09:03,090 blood was shed upon the craggy rocks of 233 00:09:03,090 --> 00:09:05,690 Patmos, where they worked in quarries and so 234 00:09:05,690 --> 00:09:05,930 on. 235 00:09:06,270 --> 00:09:08,850 And John, as an Egypt man, is sitting, 236 00:09:09,110 --> 00:09:10,970 and I judge he was sitting on one 237 00:09:10,970 --> 00:09:13,430 of these crags of the isle of Patmos, 238 00:09:13,710 --> 00:09:16,230 and I think perhaps he was looking towards 239 00:09:16,230 --> 00:09:16,990 the west. 240 00:09:17,710 --> 00:09:19,230 He was looking towards Rome. 241 00:09:20,510 --> 00:09:22,790 You see, he had been exiled because of 242 00:09:22,790 --> 00:09:26,330 the testimony of Jesus Christ, on account of 243 00:09:26,330 --> 00:09:28,210 his proclamation of the word of God. 244 00:09:29,210 --> 00:09:31,850 He had paid a price for this, and 245 00:09:31,850 --> 00:09:33,250 the reason why I suggest to you that 246 00:09:33,250 --> 00:09:36,930 he was looking west is because Rome had 247 00:09:36,930 --> 00:09:38,990 exercised her imperial authority. 248 00:09:39,610 --> 00:09:40,870 The prophets were all gone. 249 00:09:41,030 --> 00:09:42,170 He only is left. 250 00:09:42,610 --> 00:09:44,770 They have sealed their testimony with their blood, 251 00:09:45,410 --> 00:09:48,030 and John now is sitting on that lonely 252 00:09:48,030 --> 00:09:50,510 island in the Aegean Sea, and he is 253 00:09:50,510 --> 00:09:52,770 spending the last of his days, possibly in 254 00:09:52,770 --> 00:09:55,710 his early nineties at this time, because of 255 00:09:55,710 --> 00:09:58,290 the testimony that he has borne to Jesus 256 00:09:58,290 --> 00:09:58,770 Christ. 257 00:09:59,070 --> 00:10:01,250 It reminds us a little bit of Paul's 258 00:10:01,250 --> 00:10:02,770 expulsion from Thessalonica. 259 00:10:03,190 --> 00:10:05,410 You remember he was expelled, and the charge 260 00:10:05,410 --> 00:10:07,830 laid against him politically was that he said 261 00:10:07,830 --> 00:10:11,630 there was another king, Jesus, and that was 262 00:10:11,630 --> 00:10:12,470 political heresy. 263 00:10:15,490 --> 00:10:17,590 Thessalonica was a city under not only Roman 264 00:10:17,590 --> 00:10:20,530 domination, but it was called a Roman city, 265 00:10:21,010 --> 00:10:22,850 and so he was not allowed to say 266 00:10:22,850 --> 00:10:24,530 in a city of that kind, it would 267 00:10:24,530 --> 00:10:26,170 be political heresy to say that there was 268 00:10:26,170 --> 00:10:29,670 another king, and not Caesar, and that is 269 00:10:29,670 --> 00:10:30,770 one Jesus. 270 00:10:31,450 --> 00:10:34,790 So, John here has borne testimony to our 271 00:10:34,790 --> 00:10:37,570 Lord himself in his proclamation of the word 272 00:10:37,570 --> 00:10:39,090 of God, and he has paid a price 273 00:10:39,090 --> 00:10:40,130 for his testimony. 274 00:10:41,070 --> 00:10:43,890 He's been banished, he's been exiled, and he 275 00:10:43,890 --> 00:10:47,190 is to die in that lonely, sorrowful place. 276 00:10:48,290 --> 00:10:50,730 Well now, from his day until our day, 277 00:10:50,830 --> 00:10:53,910 and even included in our day, those who 278 00:10:53,910 --> 00:10:56,270 have lived godly in Christ Jesus have suffered 279 00:10:56,270 --> 00:10:59,270 persecution, and our brethren and sisters in other 280 00:10:59,270 --> 00:11:01,090 lands, as some of you will know and 281 00:11:01,090 --> 00:11:03,190 be very conscious of, even today, are paying 282 00:11:03,190 --> 00:11:05,410 a price for their testimony and for the 283 00:11:05,410 --> 00:11:08,090 word of God, which they prize, which they 284 00:11:08,090 --> 00:11:11,050 teach, and which they constantly read. 285 00:11:13,060 --> 00:11:15,740 Let me tell you another little story of 286 00:11:15,740 --> 00:11:17,040 an incident that happened when we were in 287 00:11:17,040 --> 00:11:17,920 Cuba just recently. 288 00:11:18,540 --> 00:11:19,880 My younger son and I, we went to 289 00:11:19,880 --> 00:11:21,500 Cuba, as I mentioned to you the other 290 00:11:21,500 --> 00:11:24,100 night, and just before we left Cuba, a 291 00:11:24,100 --> 00:11:25,500 number of years ago, I married a young 292 00:11:25,500 --> 00:11:28,740 couple over there, and when we went back, 293 00:11:29,500 --> 00:11:30,720 they had had two sons. 294 00:11:30,940 --> 00:11:32,880 These two sons now were married, and they 295 00:11:32,880 --> 00:11:34,720 met us at the airport when we landed, 296 00:11:34,860 --> 00:11:36,580 and they said, you must come at one 297 00:11:36,580 --> 00:11:38,800 point in your visit and have dinner with 298 00:11:38,800 --> 00:11:39,060 us. 299 00:11:39,460 --> 00:11:40,320 So we said we would. 300 00:11:41,140 --> 00:11:42,340 Well, we went away down to Pinar del 301 00:11:42,340 --> 00:11:44,640 Río, in the western part of the country, 302 00:11:44,760 --> 00:11:46,280 and then we came back to the towns 303 00:11:46,280 --> 00:11:49,580 of Gabriel and La Salud, and one evening 304 00:11:49,580 --> 00:11:52,140 in the meeting, this brother, Daniel, came to 305 00:11:52,140 --> 00:11:53,180 me, and he said, you remember what you 306 00:11:53,180 --> 00:11:54,100 promised me at the airport? 307 00:11:54,300 --> 00:11:55,100 And I said, what was that? 308 00:11:55,140 --> 00:11:56,500 He said, you promised that you would have 309 00:11:56,500 --> 00:11:58,500 a meal with my wife and me while 310 00:11:58,500 --> 00:11:59,000 you were here. 311 00:12:00,000 --> 00:12:01,460 So I said, very well, when would it 312 00:12:01,460 --> 00:12:01,660 be? 313 00:12:01,720 --> 00:12:03,600 And he said, well, we're only a night 314 00:12:03,600 --> 00:12:05,220 or two left, so we chose a night. 315 00:12:05,540 --> 00:12:08,040 We went over there for supper that night, 316 00:12:08,640 --> 00:12:10,180 and his mother and father, whom I had 317 00:12:10,180 --> 00:12:12,560 married 30 years before, were there, and also 318 00:12:12,560 --> 00:12:13,780 his brother and his wife. 319 00:12:14,980 --> 00:12:16,460 And after the meal was over, we're standing 320 00:12:16,460 --> 00:12:18,140 outside before we went to the hall for 321 00:12:18,140 --> 00:12:20,200 the night meeting, and we're chatting away, and 322 00:12:20,200 --> 00:12:23,140 Daniel said to me, I'd like to tell 323 00:12:23,140 --> 00:12:25,740 you what happened to me after you folks 324 00:12:25,740 --> 00:12:26,060 have gone. 325 00:12:26,140 --> 00:12:28,260 Of course, my brother and I were born, 326 00:12:28,900 --> 00:12:32,240 and I chose a university career, and I 327 00:12:32,240 --> 00:12:34,820 was going through university, and I was three 328 00:12:34,820 --> 00:12:38,600 years into my course, my university course, and 329 00:12:38,600 --> 00:12:41,100 then I was caught reading my New Testament. 330 00:12:41,880 --> 00:12:43,700 At least, I was denounced, I was reported 331 00:12:43,700 --> 00:12:44,720 for reading my New Testament. 332 00:12:45,620 --> 00:12:48,380 And so the head of the operation where 333 00:12:48,380 --> 00:12:50,860 he was, the university, called into his office, 334 00:12:50,980 --> 00:12:52,400 and he said, it's been reported to us 335 00:12:52,400 --> 00:12:54,840 that you're reading a Bible. 336 00:12:55,360 --> 00:12:56,960 And he said, yes, he is reading a 337 00:12:56,960 --> 00:12:57,100 Bible. 338 00:12:57,240 --> 00:12:58,280 He said, well, where is it? 339 00:12:59,320 --> 00:13:00,320 He said it was in his room. 340 00:13:00,400 --> 00:13:01,320 He said, well, go and bring it. 341 00:13:01,320 --> 00:13:03,080 So, he went and brought his New Testament, 342 00:13:03,340 --> 00:13:06,080 and he demanded it, and he confiscated it, 343 00:13:06,400 --> 00:13:08,860 and as a result, he was thrown out 344 00:13:08,860 --> 00:13:09,480 of the university. 345 00:13:09,800 --> 00:13:10,700 His career was ended. 346 00:13:11,060 --> 00:13:11,800 His calling was finished. 347 00:13:13,040 --> 00:13:14,780 They sent him out into the farms, into 348 00:13:14,780 --> 00:13:17,240 the country, a number of miles from his 349 00:13:17,240 --> 00:13:20,780 hometown, to raise chickens, from the third year 350 00:13:20,780 --> 00:13:22,200 of university, for raising chickens. 351 00:13:22,540 --> 00:13:24,100 And it was all because he was found 352 00:13:24,100 --> 00:13:24,900 reading his New Testament. 353 00:13:26,900 --> 00:13:29,660 So, he said, I must tell you what 354 00:13:29,660 --> 00:13:29,860 happened. 355 00:13:30,180 --> 00:13:32,560 When I got out raising chickens, he said, 356 00:13:32,780 --> 00:13:36,180 my girlfriend, Christina, she started writing me letters. 357 00:13:36,540 --> 00:13:38,940 One occasion, she got permission to come and 358 00:13:38,940 --> 00:13:40,180 visit me on the weekend, and when she 359 00:13:40,180 --> 00:13:41,500 came to visit me, I said to her, 360 00:13:41,520 --> 00:13:44,240 Christina, I want you to do something for 361 00:13:44,240 --> 00:13:44,480 me. 362 00:13:44,860 --> 00:13:47,800 We can't see each other very infrequently, but 363 00:13:47,800 --> 00:13:49,080 I want you to do something for me. 364 00:13:49,440 --> 00:13:51,600 When you write me a letter, I want 365 00:13:51,600 --> 00:13:53,160 you to begin the letter as you have 366 00:13:53,160 --> 00:13:55,300 been doing, but after you write that first 367 00:13:55,300 --> 00:13:57,400 part, then he said, I want you to 368 00:13:57,400 --> 00:13:59,360 write me the first chapter of the Ecclesiastical 369 00:13:59,360 --> 00:13:59,740 Romans. 370 00:14:01,080 --> 00:14:03,220 And he said, the next letter, I want 371 00:14:03,220 --> 00:14:04,480 you to do the same thing, but write 372 00:14:04,480 --> 00:14:06,780 me the second chapter of the Ecclesiastical Romans, 373 00:14:07,560 --> 00:14:09,340 and in your third letter, I want you 374 00:14:09,340 --> 00:14:10,840 to write me the third chapter of the 375 00:14:10,840 --> 00:14:13,820 Ecclesiastical Romans, and just continue on doing that. 376 00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:15,240 Now, if you get to the end of 377 00:14:15,240 --> 00:14:17,160 Romans, and I hope to get more than 378 00:14:17,160 --> 00:14:19,880 16 letters from you, then he said, I 379 00:14:19,880 --> 00:14:22,020 want you to start at 1st Corinthians, and 380 00:14:22,020 --> 00:14:24,140 I want every letter for you to send 381 00:14:24,140 --> 00:14:26,380 me a chapter out of 1st Corinthians. 382 00:14:26,620 --> 00:14:28,960 Now, don't forget, when you start these letters, 383 00:14:29,280 --> 00:14:30,860 don't just be thinking of the chapter you're 384 00:14:30,860 --> 00:14:31,260 going to write. 385 00:14:31,500 --> 00:14:34,200 You write me that first paragraph that you 386 00:14:34,200 --> 00:14:35,140 always put in there. 387 00:14:35,580 --> 00:14:36,880 I want that first paragraph. 388 00:14:37,080 --> 00:14:40,640 Don't forget the first paragraph, and in case 389 00:14:40,640 --> 00:14:42,120 you don't know what the first paragraph is, 390 00:14:42,220 --> 00:14:43,880 I shall just leave that until the time 391 00:14:43,880 --> 00:14:44,820 when you're following along, too. 392 00:14:44,980 --> 00:14:48,580 Now, he said, you'll be sure you'll promise 393 00:14:48,580 --> 00:14:49,900 me to do that, so she said she 394 00:14:49,900 --> 00:14:50,140 would. 395 00:14:51,360 --> 00:14:52,200 So, he told me the story. 396 00:14:52,320 --> 00:14:54,140 He said, every letter I got from Christina, 397 00:14:54,360 --> 00:14:56,000 I got a chapter of Romans, and so 398 00:14:56,000 --> 00:14:58,240 she finished Romans, and she started in 1st 399 00:14:58,240 --> 00:15:00,280 Corinthians, and then she went right through 1st 400 00:15:00,280 --> 00:15:03,200 Corinthians, all the first 16 chapters of 1st 401 00:15:03,200 --> 00:15:04,580 Corinthians, and then she started in 2nd Corinthians, 402 00:15:04,940 --> 00:15:06,420 and I got all of 2nd Corinthians, and 403 00:15:06,420 --> 00:15:07,680 I got all of Galatians, and I got 404 00:15:07,680 --> 00:15:08,980 all of Ephesians, and I got all of 405 00:15:08,980 --> 00:15:09,560 Philippians. 406 00:15:11,260 --> 00:15:14,600 And one day, the foreman called me in, 407 00:15:14,680 --> 00:15:16,560 and he said, you know, there's some comments 408 00:15:16,560 --> 00:15:19,260 going around here that you're a bit tocado 409 00:15:19,260 --> 00:15:19,660 a queso. 410 00:15:19,780 --> 00:15:21,340 That means, you know, you're kind of hushed 411 00:15:21,340 --> 00:15:23,780 in the head, and he said, you must 412 00:15:23,780 --> 00:15:27,180 be because, well, because of what? 413 00:15:27,540 --> 00:15:29,560 He said, because when everybody else has finished 414 00:15:29,560 --> 00:15:31,400 the day's work, and they've gone to bed 415 00:15:31,400 --> 00:15:33,420 to sleep, and they're caught, he said, you 416 00:15:33,420 --> 00:15:35,780 sit up reading those letters from your girlfriend. 417 00:15:36,900 --> 00:15:38,580 He said, you're always reading these letters. 418 00:15:38,660 --> 00:15:41,700 You must be off your head, or you're 419 00:15:41,700 --> 00:15:43,280 dreadfully in love, whatever it is. 420 00:15:43,620 --> 00:15:45,280 He said, why would somebody sit up every 421 00:15:45,280 --> 00:15:46,480 night of the week, after they've done a 422 00:15:46,480 --> 00:15:49,060 hard day's work, reading their girlfriend's letter? 423 00:15:49,540 --> 00:15:51,820 Man, you know what she's going to say. 424 00:15:52,620 --> 00:15:53,900 Well, he said, I just like reading your 425 00:15:53,900 --> 00:15:54,380 letters over. 426 00:15:54,420 --> 00:15:56,420 I like to do that after work is 427 00:15:56,420 --> 00:15:56,620 over. 428 00:15:56,860 --> 00:15:58,060 He said, what he didn't know was I 429 00:15:58,060 --> 00:15:58,900 was studying the Scriptures. 430 00:16:01,280 --> 00:16:03,260 And he said, I lost my university career 431 00:16:03,260 --> 00:16:05,800 because I was reading my Bible, but I 432 00:16:05,800 --> 00:16:07,500 got most or a lot of my New 433 00:16:07,500 --> 00:16:09,500 Testament back again in Christina's letters. 434 00:16:10,340 --> 00:16:12,140 So, he said, I spent my evening hours 435 00:16:12,140 --> 00:16:14,560 reading the Scriptures, and then I spent the 436 00:16:14,560 --> 00:16:17,060 daytime when I was working, meditating, and going 437 00:16:17,060 --> 00:16:19,200 over what I was able to read of 438 00:16:19,200 --> 00:16:19,560 the Scriptures. 439 00:16:19,680 --> 00:16:21,880 So, she put the Bible together, a good 440 00:16:21,880 --> 00:16:23,320 part of the New Testament together for me. 441 00:16:24,740 --> 00:16:25,960 And all of the years went by, he 442 00:16:25,960 --> 00:16:27,220 was out there for some time, and then 443 00:16:27,220 --> 00:16:28,840 finally he was released. 444 00:16:29,620 --> 00:16:31,300 And he came back to his town, and 445 00:16:31,300 --> 00:16:35,140 back to Christina, and I'll tell you what 446 00:16:35,140 --> 00:16:36,620 he did when he came back, right? 447 00:16:38,520 --> 00:16:41,040 No, no, some of you are looking very 448 00:16:41,040 --> 00:16:42,460 blank with innocent faces. 449 00:16:42,600 --> 00:16:44,660 Well, he married the girl. 450 00:16:44,720 --> 00:16:45,840 What did you expect him to do? 451 00:16:48,420 --> 00:16:50,620 And she was standing there beside him, and 452 00:16:50,620 --> 00:16:52,560 they had a little girl, two years old, 453 00:16:52,780 --> 00:16:53,520 when I was there. 454 00:16:53,960 --> 00:16:56,360 And he said, this is my, and then 455 00:16:56,360 --> 00:16:58,760 Ewen says, this is my scribe, this is 456 00:16:58,760 --> 00:16:59,460 the lady. 457 00:16:59,800 --> 00:17:01,000 But no, he says, no, I've got a 458 00:17:01,000 --> 00:17:01,300 problem. 459 00:17:01,520 --> 00:17:02,440 I said, what's your problem? 460 00:17:02,860 --> 00:17:05,160 He said, my problem is that I want 461 00:17:05,160 --> 00:17:06,859 to teach the Scriptures in the assembly. 462 00:17:07,480 --> 00:17:09,700 But you know, we have some older men 463 00:17:09,700 --> 00:17:11,579 here in this assembly, and he said, they 464 00:17:11,579 --> 00:17:14,640 tell me we don't want the exposition or 465 00:17:14,640 --> 00:17:15,440 the teaching of the Scriptures. 466 00:17:15,520 --> 00:17:16,460 We want the Gospel. 467 00:17:16,619 --> 00:17:17,880 Just preach the Gospel. 468 00:17:18,180 --> 00:17:20,480 That's all the world needs, and that's all 469 00:17:20,480 --> 00:17:21,140 we need. 470 00:17:21,380 --> 00:17:22,700 So, just preach the Gospel. 471 00:17:23,800 --> 00:17:26,460 And he says on the beat, I don't 472 00:17:26,460 --> 00:17:28,020 have any ambition to preach the Gospel. 473 00:17:28,900 --> 00:17:31,680 He said, I've spent long months studying the 474 00:17:31,680 --> 00:17:31,980 Scriptures. 475 00:17:32,580 --> 00:17:34,680 And he said, I feel, in my heart, 476 00:17:34,920 --> 00:17:37,520 I want to teach the Christians the doctrines 477 00:17:37,520 --> 00:17:38,140 of the Scriptures. 478 00:17:38,820 --> 00:17:41,300 But the older brethren don't want me to 479 00:17:41,300 --> 00:17:41,740 do it. 480 00:17:42,320 --> 00:17:43,000 Now, what do I do? 481 00:17:45,950 --> 00:17:49,050 Well, what was I going to say? 482 00:17:50,510 --> 00:17:53,410 You can't tell a young man to rebel 483 00:17:53,410 --> 00:17:55,650 against the authority of the oversight, can you? 484 00:17:57,110 --> 00:18:00,250 And I said to him, Daniel, there's one 485 00:18:00,250 --> 00:18:00,870 thing you must remember. 486 00:18:00,930 --> 00:18:02,990 He was terribly frustrated. 487 00:18:03,290 --> 00:18:04,270 And by the way, I should tell you 488 00:18:04,270 --> 00:18:06,170 that at the conference we were attending that 489 00:18:06,170 --> 00:18:08,190 weekend, I heard him speak. 490 00:18:09,870 --> 00:18:14,410 And my judgment unquestionably, he is by far 491 00:18:14,410 --> 00:18:15,970 the best teacher of the Scriptures in the 492 00:18:15,970 --> 00:18:18,930 country, in the various assemblies there. 493 00:18:19,670 --> 00:18:21,330 So, I knew how he was feeling, and 494 00:18:21,330 --> 00:18:22,730 I knew he was in a very difficult 495 00:18:22,730 --> 00:18:23,250 situation. 496 00:18:23,390 --> 00:18:25,910 And I said to him, Daniel, just remember 497 00:18:25,910 --> 00:18:28,810 that for 30 years, these older men have 498 00:18:28,810 --> 00:18:30,670 kept this assembly going. 499 00:18:32,130 --> 00:18:34,030 Now, you must take that into consideration. 500 00:18:34,910 --> 00:18:36,150 I know how you feel. 501 00:18:36,230 --> 00:18:37,230 I know what you want to do. 502 00:18:37,310 --> 00:18:38,610 I know what your first love is. 503 00:18:39,090 --> 00:18:41,530 And I said, God has prepared you for 504 00:18:41,530 --> 00:18:43,450 this, and I'm sure the assembly needs what 505 00:18:43,450 --> 00:18:44,250 you can give them. 506 00:18:44,890 --> 00:18:46,150 And he did have an opportunity at the 507 00:18:46,150 --> 00:18:47,010 conference, as I've said. 508 00:18:47,730 --> 00:18:49,150 And I said, God will open the door 509 00:18:49,150 --> 00:18:49,610 for you. 510 00:18:49,710 --> 00:18:52,490 You just wait till the opportunity comes when 511 00:18:52,490 --> 00:18:54,290 the Lord has given you this in these 512 00:18:54,290 --> 00:18:57,710 unusual and unexpected circumstances, the knowledge of the 513 00:18:57,710 --> 00:18:59,970 Scriptures, as well as the ability to expound 514 00:18:59,970 --> 00:19:02,310 the Scriptures, you just wait, and the Lord 515 00:19:02,310 --> 00:19:04,090 will provide the opening for you to do 516 00:19:04,090 --> 00:19:04,370 that. 517 00:19:04,910 --> 00:19:06,830 But, you see, he had paid a price. 518 00:19:07,470 --> 00:19:10,730 He lost his university career, but he got 519 00:19:10,730 --> 00:19:12,790 a career that he never would have got 520 00:19:12,790 --> 00:19:16,150 in university, and that is to be a 521 00:19:16,150 --> 00:19:18,750 very able teacher of the Scriptures for the 522 00:19:18,750 --> 00:19:19,230 saints there. 523 00:19:19,430 --> 00:19:20,970 And, of course, that was a higher calling, 524 00:19:21,030 --> 00:19:21,990 really, wasn't it? 525 00:19:21,990 --> 00:19:24,050 Now, John has paid a price. 526 00:19:24,850 --> 00:19:26,350 He's on the Isle of Patmos because of 527 00:19:26,350 --> 00:19:29,550 his testimony concerning Jesus Christ, because of his 528 00:19:29,550 --> 00:19:32,010 faithfulness to the Word of God, and he's 529 00:19:32,010 --> 00:19:33,690 going to pay a price, finally, with his 530 00:19:33,690 --> 00:19:33,870 life. 531 00:19:33,930 --> 00:19:35,850 Now, let's look at some of these things 532 00:19:35,850 --> 00:19:37,490 that I want to notice with you regarding 533 00:19:37,490 --> 00:19:38,810 some of these trilogies. 534 00:19:39,690 --> 00:19:40,910 We go down to verse 4. 535 00:19:40,930 --> 00:19:42,630 John said, The seven churches were in Asia. 536 00:19:42,770 --> 00:19:45,390 Grace be unto you, and peace from him 537 00:19:45,390 --> 00:19:48,950 which is, which was, and which is to 538 00:19:48,950 --> 00:19:49,230 come. 539 00:19:49,510 --> 00:19:50,570 Marvelous bit of the ending. 540 00:19:52,470 --> 00:19:53,950 Now, we wouldn't have said it that way. 541 00:19:54,010 --> 00:19:55,230 I'm sure you and I wouldn't have. 542 00:19:55,690 --> 00:19:59,370 We would have said, Peace, grace unto you, 543 00:19:59,430 --> 00:20:03,490 and peace from him which was, and which 544 00:20:03,490 --> 00:20:05,390 is, and which is to come. 545 00:20:06,670 --> 00:20:08,130 But that's not the way he said it. 546 00:20:09,470 --> 00:20:11,410 He said, Grace and peace to you from 547 00:20:11,410 --> 00:20:18,500 him which is, and who is he which 548 00:20:18,500 --> 00:20:18,900 is. 549 00:20:23,450 --> 00:20:26,850 You'll notice in the tenses of these expressions 550 00:20:26,850 --> 00:20:30,010 he's heard, he always is. 551 00:20:30,670 --> 00:20:33,330 There is no time that embraces him. 552 00:20:33,830 --> 00:20:35,170 He is the Eternal One. 553 00:20:35,330 --> 00:20:36,610 He is the I Am. 554 00:20:38,430 --> 00:20:40,550 Exodus chapter 3, the burning bush. 555 00:20:42,050 --> 00:20:43,070 Whom shall I send? 556 00:20:43,230 --> 00:20:45,290 Whom shall I say has sent me? 557 00:20:45,290 --> 00:20:49,070 At most God said, Tell them the I 558 00:20:49,070 --> 00:20:50,890 Am sent you. 559 00:20:51,990 --> 00:20:53,730 But they won't believe me. 560 00:20:55,250 --> 00:20:58,310 Tell them that the I Am that I 561 00:20:58,310 --> 00:21:00,670 Am sent you. 562 00:21:02,410 --> 00:21:05,290 Not I Am that I was not, not 563 00:21:05,290 --> 00:21:06,550 that I am that which I shall not 564 00:21:06,550 --> 00:21:09,190 be, but I Am that I am. 565 00:21:10,470 --> 00:21:14,310 Ever, always, eternally, the I Am. 566 00:21:15,110 --> 00:21:16,830 He lives. 567 00:21:17,750 --> 00:21:19,730 The marvelous thing about our Lord, I believe 568 00:21:19,730 --> 00:21:21,030 that the verse has been quoted here already 569 00:21:21,030 --> 00:21:23,670 this week from Hebrews 13 and 8. 570 00:21:24,490 --> 00:21:28,710 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, forever. 571 00:21:29,650 --> 00:21:31,750 As he was, he is. 572 00:21:32,190 --> 00:21:33,950 As he is, he shall be. 573 00:21:34,910 --> 00:21:36,870 That's why if we walk with the Master 574 00:21:36,870 --> 00:21:39,390 through the Gospels, we get to learn him 575 00:21:39,390 --> 00:21:42,970 not only as he was, as he is. 576 00:21:44,570 --> 00:21:46,670 And when we come into the epistles, we 577 00:21:46,670 --> 00:21:49,270 not only learn now who he is and 578 00:21:49,270 --> 00:21:52,510 where he is, but we learn what he 579 00:21:52,510 --> 00:21:54,510 is and will be when we see him. 580 00:21:54,610 --> 00:21:57,910 We'll be in our terms, in our conjecture 581 00:21:57,910 --> 00:21:58,330 of time. 582 00:21:58,870 --> 00:22:01,070 When we see him, he will be the 583 00:22:01,070 --> 00:22:02,190 unchanging one. 584 00:22:02,930 --> 00:22:06,170 As I have known him here, I will 585 00:22:06,170 --> 00:22:06,810 know him there. 586 00:22:08,800 --> 00:22:11,820 As I learn of him here, I will 587 00:22:11,820 --> 00:22:14,400 know whom I'm going to meet there. 588 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:16,980 This is the marvelous thing about it, isn't 589 00:22:16,980 --> 00:22:17,180 it? 590 00:22:18,180 --> 00:22:22,740 Changeless, ageless, the one who always is. 591 00:22:23,360 --> 00:22:25,940 That is what provoked the ire, the wrath 592 00:22:25,940 --> 00:22:27,980 of the Jewish leaders when our Lord was 593 00:22:27,980 --> 00:22:28,220 here. 594 00:22:28,360 --> 00:22:30,100 So many times in the Gospel by John, 595 00:22:30,180 --> 00:22:31,160 he said, I am. 596 00:22:32,100 --> 00:22:33,000 I am. 597 00:22:36,700 --> 00:22:38,500 Not I will be the light of the 598 00:22:38,500 --> 00:22:41,760 world, not I will be the bread of 599 00:22:41,760 --> 00:22:44,340 life, or not that I am the bread 600 00:22:44,340 --> 00:22:46,320 of life but will not be the bread 601 00:22:46,320 --> 00:22:46,880 of life. 602 00:22:47,460 --> 00:22:51,380 He always is what he said when he 603 00:22:51,380 --> 00:22:51,920 was here. 604 00:22:52,360 --> 00:22:52,980 I am. 605 00:22:53,940 --> 00:22:56,740 He still is, my friends, the light of 606 00:22:56,740 --> 00:22:57,120 the world. 607 00:22:57,640 --> 00:22:59,580 He still is the true God. 608 00:23:00,400 --> 00:23:01,960 He still is the Eternal One. 609 00:23:02,360 --> 00:23:04,480 And so, John says that he's writing to 610 00:23:04,480 --> 00:23:09,400 them from him who is, ever is, and 611 00:23:09,400 --> 00:23:12,100 in that sense never was, but always is, 612 00:23:12,680 --> 00:23:14,880 and in that sense never will be, because 613 00:23:14,880 --> 00:23:15,480 he is. 614 00:23:16,160 --> 00:23:17,900 Now, that's difficult for us to understand, isn't 615 00:23:17,900 --> 00:23:18,140 it? 616 00:23:18,440 --> 00:23:20,100 Because we relate everything to time. 617 00:23:21,560 --> 00:23:23,240 We go back in our minds to the 618 00:23:23,240 --> 00:23:23,680 creation. 619 00:23:24,420 --> 00:23:26,780 We go back to the time when space 620 00:23:26,780 --> 00:23:29,940 and matter and time began, and we can't 621 00:23:29,940 --> 00:23:32,900 go beyond that, because our minds can't embrace 622 00:23:32,900 --> 00:23:33,800 anything beyond that. 623 00:23:33,900 --> 00:23:37,460 We can't conceive of anything beyond space, matter, 624 00:23:37,740 --> 00:23:40,120 and time, because we are space creatures. 625 00:23:40,560 --> 00:23:42,480 We are creatures of matter, we are creatures 626 00:23:42,480 --> 00:23:43,060 of time. 627 00:23:43,360 --> 00:23:44,320 That's our world. 628 00:23:44,540 --> 00:23:45,580 These are our boundaries. 629 00:23:46,340 --> 00:23:48,600 But here is one who is outside and 630 00:23:48,600 --> 00:23:50,640 beyond all the boundaries of time. 631 00:23:51,860 --> 00:23:55,840 He is what he ever was. 632 00:23:57,760 --> 00:24:00,580 So, he says, from him who is, and 633 00:24:00,580 --> 00:24:03,240 then he goes on to say, and which 634 00:24:03,240 --> 00:24:09,000 was, but he ever was what he is. 635 00:24:11,890 --> 00:24:15,390 So, I'm to understand, when I consider the 636 00:24:15,390 --> 00:24:18,410 revelation of Jesus Christ, I'm to understand one 637 00:24:18,410 --> 00:24:22,690 who doesn't know mutation, who doesn't know development, 638 00:24:23,610 --> 00:24:26,730 who doesn't become something that he wasn't, because 639 00:24:26,730 --> 00:24:32,050 he ever was as he ever is, and 640 00:24:32,050 --> 00:24:35,330 then he is the one who is the 641 00:24:35,330 --> 00:24:35,890 coming one. 642 00:24:36,150 --> 00:24:37,830 One of his titles, particularly in the book 643 00:24:37,830 --> 00:24:40,370 of the revelation, is he's the coming one. 644 00:24:41,050 --> 00:24:43,090 He's always coming. 645 00:24:43,690 --> 00:24:45,650 It is difficult for us to grasp this 646 00:24:45,650 --> 00:24:45,990 sometimes. 647 00:24:46,310 --> 00:24:48,130 You remember Enoch, the seventh from Adam, as 648 00:24:48,130 --> 00:24:50,270 Jude tells us, he looked at the world 649 00:24:50,270 --> 00:24:52,870 around him, and he saw the violence and 650 00:24:52,870 --> 00:24:56,630 crime and destruction and devastation around him, and 651 00:24:56,630 --> 00:25:00,510 he said, the Lord has come with ten 652 00:25:00,510 --> 00:25:01,750 thousands of his states. 653 00:25:02,570 --> 00:25:06,870 The Lord is come, but he hadn't come, 654 00:25:06,950 --> 00:25:07,230 had he? 655 00:25:07,890 --> 00:25:09,950 No, and he hasn't come yet, as far 656 00:25:09,950 --> 00:25:11,830 as we're concerned, to execute judgment. 657 00:25:12,670 --> 00:25:15,710 But Enoch, as Hebrews 11 and 6 says, 658 00:25:15,830 --> 00:25:20,570 believes that God is, and he that comes 659 00:25:20,570 --> 00:25:22,330 to God must believe that he is. 660 00:25:23,870 --> 00:25:26,870 Because Enoch believed that God is, he said 661 00:25:26,870 --> 00:25:27,350 he's come. 662 00:25:28,630 --> 00:25:30,590 There's no question about it in Enoch's mind. 663 00:25:30,890 --> 00:25:32,490 Because the world was in the state it 664 00:25:32,490 --> 00:25:35,990 was, and because God is in his character, 665 00:25:36,090 --> 00:25:39,110 in his person, in his justice, in his 666 00:25:39,110 --> 00:25:41,470 righteousness, then Enoch says he's come with ten 667 00:25:41,470 --> 00:25:43,370 thousands of his things, especially his judgments. 668 00:25:43,590 --> 00:25:47,230 Now, we say, well, but Enoch was, he 669 00:25:47,230 --> 00:25:49,330 was certainly convinced that God is, and because 670 00:25:49,330 --> 00:25:51,250 he was convinced that God is, he was 671 00:25:51,250 --> 00:25:52,610 convinced there had to be a time of 672 00:25:52,610 --> 00:25:52,910 judgment. 673 00:25:53,350 --> 00:25:54,450 And I think that's good for us in 674 00:25:54,450 --> 00:25:55,970 understanding the world in which we're living in 675 00:25:55,970 --> 00:25:56,230 today. 676 00:25:58,500 --> 00:26:00,080 David, don't drop your voice and don't mutter. 677 00:26:02,400 --> 00:26:04,580 We look around the world in which we're 678 00:26:04,580 --> 00:26:08,040 living, and we are at times devastated at 679 00:26:08,040 --> 00:26:11,020 all the injustices of the so-called justice 680 00:26:11,020 --> 00:26:14,800 system, at all the unreliability of the promises 681 00:26:14,800 --> 00:26:17,600 of men, and all that which is supposed 682 00:26:17,600 --> 00:26:21,500 to be is not, and the facade behind 683 00:26:21,500 --> 00:26:24,420 which so many live, and the lack of 684 00:26:24,420 --> 00:26:27,980 reality, and the outbursts of the disintegration of 685 00:26:27,980 --> 00:26:30,520 society as we know it, and the crumbling 686 00:26:30,520 --> 00:26:33,220 and deterioration of all that which was, we 687 00:26:33,220 --> 00:26:36,200 felt, standards ensured. 688 00:26:37,880 --> 00:26:40,240 Now, they tell us, of course, there are 689 00:26:40,240 --> 00:26:40,940 no absolutes. 690 00:26:41,500 --> 00:26:43,040 Did you ever hear a more ridiculous statement 691 00:26:43,040 --> 00:26:43,380 than that? 692 00:26:43,420 --> 00:26:45,020 It's an absolute statement saying there are no 693 00:26:45,020 --> 00:26:48,380 absolutes, but that's what they're telling us. 694 00:26:48,760 --> 00:26:51,660 That's what the intelligentsia are telling us, the 695 00:26:51,660 --> 00:26:53,480 university profs. 696 00:26:53,840 --> 00:26:56,300 They're saying there are no absolutes. 697 00:26:56,500 --> 00:26:59,960 Well, that's an absolute statement, isn't it? 698 00:27:00,400 --> 00:27:04,100 And, it's absolutely ridiculous to say there are 699 00:27:04,100 --> 00:27:05,060 no absolutes. 700 00:27:05,540 --> 00:27:07,180 How can you make a statement like that? 701 00:27:07,500 --> 00:27:08,980 How can you make an absolute statement saying 702 00:27:08,980 --> 00:27:09,760 there are no absolutes? 703 00:27:12,340 --> 00:27:16,120 It's astounding modern intelligence and technology. 704 00:27:16,280 --> 00:27:18,220 So, here we are. 705 00:27:18,360 --> 00:27:19,640 We're living in a world where everything is 706 00:27:19,640 --> 00:27:20,560 crumbling around us. 707 00:27:20,800 --> 00:27:21,820 There's no point of reference. 708 00:27:21,900 --> 00:27:22,640 There are no standards. 709 00:27:22,960 --> 00:27:25,560 Relativism has brought us into absolute chaos. 710 00:27:26,560 --> 00:27:28,060 There is no morality. 711 00:27:29,220 --> 00:27:31,100 Morality is something that must be defined by 712 00:27:31,100 --> 00:27:34,980 an objective, authoritative source that demands the right 713 00:27:34,980 --> 00:27:37,600 to mandate concerning a man's character and conduct 714 00:27:37,600 --> 00:27:39,180 irrespective of social trends. 715 00:27:40,600 --> 00:27:42,120 That's what morality is. 716 00:27:44,300 --> 00:27:47,240 But, relativism has told us that no one 717 00:27:47,240 --> 00:27:50,160 has the right to mandate regarding anyone's character 718 00:27:50,160 --> 00:27:53,520 or conduct, and social trends dictate what our 719 00:27:53,520 --> 00:27:54,400 conduct shall be. 720 00:27:54,540 --> 00:27:55,920 Then, there is no morality. 721 00:27:57,560 --> 00:27:58,900 It's merely convenient. 722 00:27:59,860 --> 00:28:02,420 It's the individuality of personal convenience. 723 00:28:02,720 --> 00:28:03,540 That's all it is. 724 00:28:04,420 --> 00:28:05,760 We're living in that kind of world. 725 00:28:06,060 --> 00:28:09,180 But, we believe that God is because He 726 00:28:09,180 --> 00:28:12,420 is because Jesus Christ is. 727 00:28:13,260 --> 00:28:15,720 The Lord has come in thousands of His 728 00:28:15,720 --> 00:28:18,280 saints, and such was the confidence and the 729 00:28:18,280 --> 00:28:21,860 surety and the conviction of Enoch, believing in 730 00:28:21,860 --> 00:28:25,020 the midst of all that turmoil and chaos 731 00:28:25,020 --> 00:28:26,660 and disaster, that God is. 732 00:28:28,120 --> 00:28:29,460 The Lord rewarded him. 733 00:28:30,560 --> 00:28:32,080 He just took him away home to heaven. 734 00:28:33,080 --> 00:28:35,780 He was not where God took him. 735 00:28:37,340 --> 00:28:38,580 You know, it says, by faith he was 736 00:28:38,580 --> 00:28:39,100 translated. 737 00:28:40,120 --> 00:28:42,820 I can understand very readily some of the 738 00:28:42,820 --> 00:28:44,780 marvelous things that are attributed to the heroes 739 00:28:44,780 --> 00:28:45,880 of the faith in chapter 11. 740 00:28:45,960 --> 00:28:48,240 By faith, Noah moved his spear-building ark. 741 00:28:48,580 --> 00:28:52,720 By faith, Abraham went out, not knowing where 742 00:28:52,720 --> 00:28:53,280 he was going. 743 00:28:54,120 --> 00:28:57,640 By faith, Moses endured, as seeing him was 744 00:28:57,640 --> 00:28:59,700 invisible, not hearing the wrath of the king. 745 00:28:59,840 --> 00:29:02,140 I can understand those things being the product 746 00:29:02,140 --> 00:29:03,760 or the result of faith, but tell me 747 00:29:03,760 --> 00:29:04,100 something. 748 00:29:04,320 --> 00:29:06,020 A man is translated by faith? 749 00:29:08,200 --> 00:29:11,880 By faith, Enoch is translated. 750 00:29:12,520 --> 00:29:13,420 He should not see death. 751 00:29:15,390 --> 00:29:17,390 So, we're waiting for the fulfillment of the 752 00:29:17,390 --> 00:29:18,850 promise of Him who is. 753 00:29:20,730 --> 00:29:23,810 Unchanged, unchanging, and unchangeable. 754 00:29:24,470 --> 00:29:25,470 He is the one who is. 755 00:29:25,910 --> 00:29:27,350 He is the one who always was. 756 00:29:27,510 --> 00:29:29,190 There never was a time when He wasn't. 757 00:29:29,810 --> 00:29:31,710 We're on a talk within the boundaries of 758 00:29:31,710 --> 00:29:33,930 time, and He is the one who is 759 00:29:33,930 --> 00:29:37,530 coming, and who is constantly coming. 760 00:29:37,790 --> 00:29:40,330 So, he says, from Him which is, which 761 00:29:40,330 --> 00:29:41,910 was, which is to come. 762 00:29:42,050 --> 00:29:43,230 Now, there's a trilogy here. 763 00:29:44,150 --> 00:29:45,250 Let me note the three things. 764 00:29:45,610 --> 00:29:49,010 First, you have the salutation from Him, from 765 00:29:49,010 --> 00:29:50,230 Him which is, which was, which is to 766 00:29:50,230 --> 00:29:50,430 come. 767 00:29:50,710 --> 00:29:51,970 And then you have the second part of 768 00:29:51,970 --> 00:29:53,770 the salutation from the seven spirits which are 769 00:29:53,770 --> 00:29:55,950 before His throne, and then you have the 770 00:29:55,950 --> 00:29:57,910 third part of the salutation which makes the 771 00:29:57,910 --> 00:30:01,790 salutation a trilogy, and from Jesus Christ who 772 00:30:01,790 --> 00:30:04,510 is the faithful witness, and the first begotten 773 00:30:04,510 --> 00:30:07,370 from amongst the dead, and the prince of 774 00:30:07,370 --> 00:30:08,690 the kings of the earth. 775 00:30:10,410 --> 00:30:11,970 I would like to notice with you some 776 00:30:11,970 --> 00:30:13,290 of these things. 777 00:30:13,710 --> 00:30:16,530 Jesus Christ who is the faithful witness. 778 00:30:18,670 --> 00:30:21,430 We were speaking the other evening about stewardship, 779 00:30:21,790 --> 00:30:25,990 the stewardship of testimony, the stewardship of the 780 00:30:25,990 --> 00:30:28,610 trust of the word of God which is 781 00:30:28,610 --> 00:30:31,430 given into our hands, the stewardship of all 782 00:30:31,430 --> 00:30:34,070 that He has bestowed us with, and endowed 783 00:30:34,070 --> 00:30:34,510 us with. 784 00:30:35,530 --> 00:30:38,530 Here is the faithful witness. 785 00:30:39,410 --> 00:30:41,710 Here is the one who in himself knows 786 00:30:41,710 --> 00:30:44,990 no equal when it comes to the faithfulness 787 00:30:44,990 --> 00:30:45,830 of his witness. 788 00:30:46,370 --> 00:30:48,930 This is the one who is also included 789 00:30:48,930 --> 00:30:52,450 in the salutation, and John writes from Jesus 790 00:30:52,450 --> 00:30:54,690 Christ who is the faithful witness. 791 00:30:55,150 --> 00:30:57,770 John himself has been up to this point, 792 00:30:57,990 --> 00:30:59,550 and will be, with the visions that are 793 00:30:59,550 --> 00:31:01,890 entrusted to him, a faithful witness. 794 00:31:03,250 --> 00:31:05,810 You remember about Paul writing to Timothy, he 795 00:31:05,810 --> 00:31:10,890 talks about the good confession which Christ made 796 00:31:10,890 --> 00:31:12,230 before Pontius Pilate. 797 00:31:14,260 --> 00:31:24,100 Our Lord knew no variation, no wavering, no 798 00:31:24,100 --> 00:31:27,160 defecting in the service of his witness. 799 00:31:27,840 --> 00:31:30,440 The pathway which the Father had outlined for 800 00:31:30,440 --> 00:31:32,900 him, he never deviated from it, he never 801 00:31:32,900 --> 00:31:35,600 swerved from it, he never changed his circumstances 802 00:31:35,600 --> 00:31:36,680 when he could have. 803 00:31:37,340 --> 00:31:39,140 If thou be the Son of God, command 804 00:31:39,140 --> 00:31:41,000 that these stones be made red, forty days 805 00:31:41,000 --> 00:31:42,460 and forty nights, nothing to eat and nothing 806 00:31:42,460 --> 00:31:42,920 to drink. 807 00:31:43,600 --> 00:31:47,120 With a wild beast tempted of the devil 808 00:31:47,120 --> 00:31:49,580 for those forty days and forty nights, and 809 00:31:49,580 --> 00:31:51,280 now at the close of them he is 810 00:31:51,280 --> 00:31:54,880 hungry, his body is reacting to the fasting 811 00:31:54,880 --> 00:31:56,580 of forty days and forty nights. 812 00:31:57,140 --> 00:32:00,540 If thou be the Son of God, who 813 00:32:00,540 --> 00:32:04,060 heard it said at the river Jordan, lift 814 00:32:04,060 --> 00:32:06,140 this thy beloved son in whom I am 815 00:32:06,140 --> 00:32:06,840 well pleased. 816 00:32:08,000 --> 00:32:10,280 He comes to him in the wilderness, in 817 00:32:10,280 --> 00:32:13,640 his emaciated state, in his weakness of body. 818 00:32:15,020 --> 00:32:17,500 When an angel had to come and minister 819 00:32:17,500 --> 00:32:20,820 to him, he says, if thou be the 820 00:32:20,820 --> 00:32:22,240 Son of God, command that these stones be 821 00:32:22,240 --> 00:32:22,680 made red. 822 00:32:23,120 --> 00:32:25,420 He had the power to do it, he 823 00:32:25,420 --> 00:32:27,240 could have done it very readily, he needed 824 00:32:27,240 --> 00:32:27,660 the red. 825 00:32:29,280 --> 00:32:30,980 But, it was the Spirit of God that 826 00:32:30,980 --> 00:32:32,940 carried him into the wilderness, and it was 827 00:32:32,940 --> 00:32:35,680 his Father that planned that experience for him, 828 00:32:35,820 --> 00:32:39,680 and he would not alleviate the situation by 829 00:32:39,680 --> 00:32:42,820 his own ability to do so when it 830 00:32:42,820 --> 00:32:44,140 was not the Father's time. 831 00:32:45,320 --> 00:32:48,100 He was the faithful witness, and all the 832 00:32:48,100 --> 00:32:51,260 way through his earthly pathway, he was constantly 833 00:32:51,260 --> 00:32:52,260 the faithful witness. 834 00:32:52,320 --> 00:32:54,040 I came down from heaven, he said, not 835 00:32:54,040 --> 00:32:55,620 to do mine own will, but the will 836 00:32:55,620 --> 00:32:56,460 of him that sent me. 837 00:32:57,160 --> 00:32:59,240 The doctrine that I teach is not my 838 00:32:59,240 --> 00:33:02,780 doctrine, but he taught me. 839 00:33:03,380 --> 00:33:04,320 Marvelous, isn't it? 840 00:33:05,840 --> 00:33:07,700 That's worth pondering, isn't it? 841 00:33:08,720 --> 00:33:09,520 He taught me. 842 00:33:10,220 --> 00:33:12,880 The Lord is the faithful steward to what 843 00:33:12,880 --> 00:33:13,900 his Father taught him. 844 00:33:14,720 --> 00:33:16,860 He is the faithful witness in his ministry. 845 00:33:17,740 --> 00:33:19,960 He was the faithful witness in his weakness, 846 00:33:20,140 --> 00:33:23,300 in his lowliness, his humility, and that last 847 00:33:23,300 --> 00:33:26,600 interminable night, and those six trials that he 848 00:33:26,600 --> 00:33:29,420 went through, the last night and morning of 849 00:33:29,420 --> 00:33:32,600 his life, he was the faithful witness. 850 00:33:34,020 --> 00:33:35,800 When there was a time when he could 851 00:33:35,800 --> 00:33:38,520 have defended himself, he lifted not his hand. 852 00:33:39,460 --> 00:33:41,000 When he stood in the presence of Herod, 853 00:33:41,260 --> 00:33:43,100 who longed to see him, because he had 854 00:33:43,100 --> 00:33:46,560 tried to stultify his conscience by saying God 855 00:33:46,560 --> 00:33:48,180 had raised John the Baptist from the dead, 856 00:33:48,180 --> 00:33:49,540 and he was eager to see him, and 857 00:33:49,540 --> 00:33:51,220 now he has him, and he's asking things 858 00:33:51,220 --> 00:33:52,920 of him, the Lord answers him with a 859 00:33:52,920 --> 00:33:53,880 dignity of silence. 860 00:33:55,220 --> 00:33:57,740 There's a dignity in silence that's difficult for 861 00:33:57,740 --> 00:34:00,340 some of us to learn, isn't it? 862 00:34:01,380 --> 00:34:03,800 He was faithful in the presence of the 863 00:34:03,800 --> 00:34:04,320 Sanhedrin. 864 00:34:04,900 --> 00:34:06,540 Until they put him under oath, he had 865 00:34:06,540 --> 00:34:08,080 no defense of his own. 866 00:34:08,500 --> 00:34:10,260 We adjure thee by the living God. 867 00:34:10,300 --> 00:34:13,620 We put thee under oath by the Christ, 868 00:34:13,820 --> 00:34:18,860 and he said, we've said it, and hereafter 869 00:34:18,860 --> 00:34:19,920 I say unto you, you shall see the 870 00:34:19,920 --> 00:34:21,100 Son of Man sitting on the right hand 871 00:34:21,100 --> 00:34:22,480 of power, and coming in the clouds of 872 00:34:22,480 --> 00:34:22,719 heaven. 873 00:34:22,860 --> 00:34:24,020 We're going to come down to that shortly, 874 00:34:24,120 --> 00:34:24,400 aren't we? 875 00:34:24,460 --> 00:34:26,860 In verse 7, coming with the clouds of 876 00:34:26,860 --> 00:34:27,120 heaven. 877 00:34:27,360 --> 00:34:28,420 I want to notice with you, when I 878 00:34:28,420 --> 00:34:30,120 come to that point, it says every eye 879 00:34:30,120 --> 00:34:30,719 shall see him. 880 00:34:32,480 --> 00:34:33,920 Let me just suggest something to you right 881 00:34:33,920 --> 00:34:34,239 now. 882 00:34:34,739 --> 00:34:36,540 Jesus, standing in the presence of the high 883 00:34:36,540 --> 00:34:38,620 priest, when the high priest said that thou 884 00:34:38,620 --> 00:34:41,420 tellest if thou be the Christ the Messiah, 885 00:34:41,920 --> 00:34:44,239 he said, you have said it, and I 886 00:34:44,239 --> 00:34:48,320 say unto you, you will see the Son 887 00:34:48,320 --> 00:34:50,400 of Man sitting on the right hand of 888 00:34:50,400 --> 00:34:52,699 power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. 889 00:34:52,880 --> 00:34:54,639 You will see it. 890 00:34:55,980 --> 00:34:57,080 Where's the high priest now? 891 00:34:58,440 --> 00:35:00,100 Where's the Sanhedrin tonight? 892 00:35:01,120 --> 00:35:03,060 Where are they going to be when he 893 00:35:03,060 --> 00:35:04,840 comes with clouds, and every eye shall see 894 00:35:04,840 --> 00:35:05,040 him? 895 00:35:05,740 --> 00:35:06,860 Where will they be? 896 00:35:08,800 --> 00:35:13,860 Well, you see, that's probably poetic, or metaphorical, 897 00:35:13,960 --> 00:35:14,780 or something to say. 898 00:35:15,520 --> 00:35:15,900 No? 899 00:35:16,480 --> 00:35:18,800 Let me suggest to you that when the 900 00:35:18,800 --> 00:35:21,520 Lord told the high priest that night, that 901 00:35:21,520 --> 00:35:24,640 agonizing long night of his sorrow, his suffering, 902 00:35:25,500 --> 00:35:28,320 when he was finally battered, and bruised, and 903 00:35:28,320 --> 00:35:30,600 beaten, and led out to the cross, when 904 00:35:30,600 --> 00:35:32,560 he said to the high priest, I say 905 00:35:32,560 --> 00:35:39,430 unto you, you will see, I believe, and 906 00:35:39,430 --> 00:35:40,990 I can only tell you that I believe 907 00:35:40,990 --> 00:35:45,990 it, but I do believe it nevertheless, and 908 00:35:45,990 --> 00:35:48,490 I suggest it to you, when God brings 909 00:35:48,490 --> 00:35:52,110 him back in majesty and power, and every 910 00:35:52,110 --> 00:35:54,170 eye shall see him, he's going to open 911 00:35:54,170 --> 00:35:57,670 the gates of Hades, and let them see 912 00:35:57,670 --> 00:35:58,150 him come. 913 00:36:01,440 --> 00:36:02,220 He will do it. 914 00:36:03,620 --> 00:36:05,940 There will not be a living creature anywhere 915 00:36:05,940 --> 00:36:08,920 in the universe that doesn't witness the glory, 916 00:36:09,340 --> 00:36:11,580 and the majesty, and the power of the 917 00:36:11,580 --> 00:36:15,840 one who stood that night, seemingly a helpless 918 00:36:15,840 --> 00:36:19,420 prisoner in the hands of his cruel murderers. 919 00:36:20,000 --> 00:36:21,220 They'll see him come. 920 00:36:22,620 --> 00:36:24,700 Every eye shall see him. 921 00:36:26,830 --> 00:36:29,530 He was the faithful witness at all times, 922 00:36:29,670 --> 00:36:31,170 and then, what else does it say? 923 00:36:31,510 --> 00:36:33,610 He was the first begotten from amongst the 924 00:36:33,610 --> 00:36:33,890 dead. 925 00:36:36,190 --> 00:36:38,230 The only one that ever stepped into the 926 00:36:38,230 --> 00:36:40,410 dynasty of death, and defied the monarch. 927 00:36:41,230 --> 00:36:44,090 The only one who never laid down his 928 00:36:44,090 --> 00:36:46,190 arms in the presence of this death watch. 929 00:36:47,190 --> 00:36:49,550 This one, as Romans chapter 3 and 6 930 00:36:49,550 --> 00:36:52,030 tell us, had rained from Adam to Moses. 931 00:36:52,430 --> 00:36:55,550 Death rained, and here someone comes in to 932 00:36:55,550 --> 00:36:59,650 this empire, this empire of death, where the 933 00:36:59,650 --> 00:37:02,510 monarch sits upon the throne, and every king 934 00:37:02,510 --> 00:37:05,030 abdicates to him, and every general lays down 935 00:37:05,030 --> 00:37:07,170 his sword, and every politician gives up his 936 00:37:07,170 --> 00:37:07,630 post. 937 00:37:08,270 --> 00:37:10,750 They've all got to yield to him, to 938 00:37:10,750 --> 00:37:12,190 the imperial majesty of death. 939 00:37:13,530 --> 00:37:17,010 Someone comes in, steps into his kingdom, and 940 00:37:17,010 --> 00:37:17,670 what does he say? 941 00:37:18,490 --> 00:37:19,870 He that believeth in me, though he were 942 00:37:19,870 --> 00:37:21,650 dead, yet shall he live, and whosoever liveth 943 00:37:21,650 --> 00:37:22,990 and believeth in me shall never die. 944 00:37:23,810 --> 00:37:25,410 And they said, how can you say if 945 00:37:25,410 --> 00:37:27,030 someone believes in you they'll never taste of 946 00:37:27,030 --> 00:37:27,250 death? 947 00:37:27,330 --> 00:37:28,570 That's exactly what he said. 948 00:37:29,370 --> 00:37:31,510 They shall never taste of death. 949 00:37:32,450 --> 00:37:33,650 Who could say that? 950 00:37:35,010 --> 00:37:37,570 The one who became here the first begotten 951 00:37:37,570 --> 00:37:39,990 from amongst the dead, the one who wrested 952 00:37:39,990 --> 00:37:42,410 the scepter out of the hand of this 953 00:37:42,410 --> 00:37:46,650 undeposed monarch for all these centuries, tore his 954 00:37:46,650 --> 00:37:49,990 kingdom, burst the shackles of his prison house, 955 00:37:50,270 --> 00:37:53,070 and stepped out in the glorious triumph of 956 00:37:53,070 --> 00:37:56,170 the resurrection morning, the first begotten from amongst 957 00:37:56,170 --> 00:37:57,050 the dead. 958 00:37:57,050 --> 00:37:59,230 He was one of them, as we read 959 00:37:59,230 --> 00:38:00,610 farther down in chapter one. 960 00:38:00,990 --> 00:38:03,290 He became dead, but now he's the first 961 00:38:03,290 --> 00:38:05,890 begotten from amongst the dead, and because he 962 00:38:05,890 --> 00:38:09,090 is that, my friends, everything as an animal 963 00:38:09,090 --> 00:38:11,610 died in Christ, all shall be made alive, 964 00:38:12,430 --> 00:38:15,010 and every last one in the grave shall 965 00:38:15,010 --> 00:38:16,350 hear his voice and come forth. 966 00:38:17,110 --> 00:38:18,990 It's on chapter 5 and verse 28, isn't 967 00:38:18,990 --> 00:38:19,190 it? 968 00:38:19,850 --> 00:38:22,010 There'll be no place in all the universe 969 00:38:22,010 --> 00:38:25,910 of God, this vast ever-expanding universe, there'll 970 00:38:25,910 --> 00:38:27,930 be no place where the voice of the 971 00:38:27,930 --> 00:38:30,170 majesty of him who was the first begotten 972 00:38:30,170 --> 00:38:31,610 from the dead will not be heard. 973 00:38:32,490 --> 00:38:35,770 They shall respond, they must come forth, because 974 00:38:35,770 --> 00:38:38,490 he deposed the monarch, he destroyed his kingdom, 975 00:38:39,910 --> 00:38:41,310 and him who had the power of death 976 00:38:41,310 --> 00:38:44,130 was destroyed at the same time, and we 977 00:38:44,130 --> 00:38:45,930 who all a lifetime were subject to bondage 978 00:38:45,930 --> 00:38:47,730 because of the fear of death, he set 979 00:38:47,730 --> 00:38:49,150 us free, gloriously free. 980 00:38:50,450 --> 00:38:52,650 He's the first begotten from amongst the dead, 981 00:38:53,070 --> 00:38:54,650 and then I must close. 982 00:38:56,780 --> 00:38:58,000 I'm over time on this one, but I 983 00:38:58,000 --> 00:38:58,700 have a minute on that one. 984 00:38:58,720 --> 00:38:59,720 I'm going by that one tonight. 985 00:39:02,720 --> 00:39:04,360 He's the prince of the kings of the 986 00:39:04,360 --> 00:39:04,560 earth. 987 00:39:05,660 --> 00:39:07,220 I like to look at this in various 988 00:39:07,220 --> 00:39:09,580 ways, but just let me say to you 989 00:39:09,580 --> 00:39:12,180 that the prince, we speak about a prince, 990 00:39:12,360 --> 00:39:14,060 he is a prince of a man, don't 991 00:39:14,060 --> 00:39:14,240 we? 992 00:39:15,380 --> 00:39:16,980 He is a prince of a man. 993 00:39:17,160 --> 00:39:19,580 He's the prince of the kings of the 994 00:39:19,580 --> 00:39:19,800 earth. 995 00:39:20,400 --> 00:39:23,940 He is the most handsome, the most majestic, 996 00:39:24,360 --> 00:39:25,780 the mightiest of them all. 997 00:39:26,160 --> 00:39:29,520 He is supreme amongst all the potentates of 998 00:39:29,520 --> 00:39:32,160 earth, but he is the heir as well. 999 00:39:33,020 --> 00:39:35,660 He is the heir of all the kingdoms 1000 00:39:35,660 --> 00:39:37,780 of the world, and of all the worlds 1001 00:39:37,780 --> 00:39:40,660 of his kingdom, he's the prince of the 1002 00:39:40,660 --> 00:39:41,980 king of the earth. 1003 00:39:43,120 --> 00:39:43,920 So we pray. 1004 00:39:46,220 --> 00:39:49,800 Our Father, we thank you tonight for him, 1005 00:39:51,220 --> 00:39:54,360 the vision of whom fills our hearts as 1006 00:39:54,360 --> 00:39:57,440 we sit together and sing crown him Lord 1007 00:39:57,440 --> 00:39:57,960 of all. 1008 00:39:59,480 --> 00:40:02,520 There's a name we love to hear, we 1009 00:40:02,520 --> 00:40:03,440 love to speak his word. 1010 00:40:03,600 --> 00:40:07,540 We would rather have Jesus than anything this 1011 00:40:07,540 --> 00:40:09,360 world affords today. 1012 00:40:10,040 --> 00:40:11,420 We thank you for his beauty. 1013 00:40:12,000 --> 00:40:13,360 We thank you for his strength. 1014 00:40:13,900 --> 00:40:15,720 We thank you for his nearness. 1015 00:40:16,360 --> 00:40:17,360 We rejoice in him. 1016 00:40:18,160 --> 00:40:21,180 This evening as we close our service and 1017 00:40:21,180 --> 00:40:23,660 close the activities of the day, we bless 1018 00:40:23,660 --> 00:40:27,940 thee for the vision, the revelation of Jesus 1019 00:40:27,940 --> 00:40:28,500 Christ. 1020 00:40:29,320 --> 00:40:29,900 Amen.