Don't miss the pictures of the zoo days. The Lord willing, Creation Creature Features soon.

Review: See the previous sermon notes on the Web -

Every warning, struggle, temptation, promise, strategy, and victory 
in the Revelation can also play out in your life, your family, and your church!  
The choice is yours ................

The Text ("Blue Letter Bible"): Revelation 6-19  
(Strong's numbers, Hebrew-Greek lexicons, cross references, etc., can be accessed from the above link)

Review: Outline of The Revelation:  Key verses = Rev 1:8 & 19

I.  Character of Christ  for His Father's Glory (Who Was) (Things You've Seen) Chapter 1
What about your character, & your family's character, & that of your church?
Can other people see Jesus' goodness, unselfishness, & humility through each one?
  A.  Introduction (1:1-8) Of Jesus to His servants (1:4 Church)  (see also 6:1 Israel)
  B.  Post-Incarnate, glorified Jesus (1:9-18)

II.  Counsel of Christ for the Church (Who Is)  (Things Which Are)  Chapters 2-3
This counsel also applies to you personally, your family, your local church, & all of "Christianity".
  A.  Command to Prophesy (1:19)
  B.  Seven Churches Counseled (1:20) ESP-TS-PL  (Praise before correction!)
  C.  Ephesus (2:1-7)                Loveless
  D.  Smyrna (2:8-11)               Persecuted
  E.  Pergamos (2:12-17)          Compromising
  F.  Thyatira (2:18-29)             Corrupt
  G.  Sardis (3:1-6)                   Dying
  H.  Philadelphia (3:7-13)         Revived
   I.  Laodicea (3:14-22)           Lukewarm (no praise)

III.  Consequences of Christ for the Church, Israel & the World  Chapters 4-22
         (Who is to come again!) (Things which will happen soon!)
Are you ready for your future?  The judgment seat of Christ?
  A. Church In Heaven

1.  The Rapture  (Jesus Rescues His Bride) up to Heaven (4:1)
2.  The King & His Bride prepare for the future. (4:1-5:14) (see also Ch 19)

  B. Tribulation of Israel (Jacob's) Trouble on Earth (6:1-18:24) (Daniel's 70th Week)

1.  Seals (Seven) of Judgments (Rev 6:1-8:2)
        2.  Trumpets (Seven) of Judgments (Rev 8:2-11:19)
            3.  Players (Seven) on the Tribulation Stage (Rev 12-14)
                  * These three chapters are an interlude, zooming in for a personal look at the people.
                        4.  Bowls (Seven) of Judgments (Rev 15-16)
                                5.  Babylon's Final Fall (Rev 17-18)

  C.  Christ's Wedding & War (19:1-21)
  D.  Millennial Kingdom (20:1-6)
  E.  Final Futile Rebellion (20:7-10)
  F.  Great White Throne & Second Death (20:11-15)
  G.  New Heaven & Earth Coming (21-22:15)
  H.  Jesus' Promise & Warning for YOU, your family, & your church (22:16-21)

III. B. Tribulation of Israel (Jacob's Trouble)
            Rev 6:1-18:24  Daniel 9, the 70th Week of Years

1. God commands it!  (2 Tim 2:15)
2. Reveals the glory of our sovereign God.  (Isa 41-48; Mat 24; Revelation)
3. Motivates worship worthy of God.  (Eph 1-6; esp. 1:6, 12, 14 ....)
4. Motivates prayer & evangelism.  (Psa 68:4)
5. Motivates discipleship of brothers.  (2 Tim 2; Titus 2)
6. Motivates real church family.  (L.E.A.D. Mat 18; Gal 5-6; 1 Ti 3)
7. Motivates multiplying new churches.  (Mat 28:18-20)
8. God promises a reward if you do it.  (Rev 1:3)

It’s the most deliberately organized of any book in God's Bible.
It gives you its own outline (1:19) (Past 1, Present 2-3, Future 4-22).
It clearly subdivides events into a series of sevens, to make it easier to
understand.  (Rev 5:1 Seals; 8:2 Trumpets; 15:1 Bowls)
It uses OT allusions common to anyone who has studied the OT well, especially Jews.  (Rev 12:14; Moses literal plagues; Exo 19:4)
It often zooms in, to give personal explanations of important people & events.  (Rev 7:1-8 Witnesses; Rev 10-13 Players)
It even fast forwards to the end, giving hope to persecuted readers. God will win!  (Rev 7:9-17; Rev 14:1-5)
Rev. 6-19 parallels Jesus’ Tribulation outline in Mat 24.  
(Also, Eze 36-40; Dan 9-12; Zech 12; etc...)

First note, that Mat 24:1-3 involves 3 questions, not 1.  In v. 1 Jesus predicts the destruction of of the Temple in 70 AD by the Romans.  Then Jesus predicts the final time of tribulation, the time of Jacob's trouble (Jer 30:6-7).  Verses 4 and following could not be talking about the events of 70 AD or any other time of history that we've seen so far, because He said it would be so bad (vv. 21-22) that all flesh on the earth would come close to being destroyed!  So, He must have been referring to the final, greatest time of trouble.

1. Purpose of the Tribulation = God’s glory, Israel’s repentance, World’s judgment. ("Church", "called out ones", is not used since Israel is called to rule as the world’s center of governance.)

2. Synonyms for the Tribulation = Birth Pangs, Day of the Lord, That Day, Great Tribulation, Wrath of God, Wrath of the Lamb, Day of Christ, False Covenant for 7 years .....

3. Chronological Context = Literal Chronological 7 Years: 
Abomination of Desolation (Midweek = 3.5 years)
The second half of the seven years is called the "great" tribulation.
Many references to the last half of the seven years: 3.5, 42 mo, 1260 days (Hebrew calendar had 30 days per month).  
(Dan 7:25; 9:27; 12:7; Mat 24:15; 2 Thes 2:4; Rev 11:2-3; 12:6, 14; 13:5) 
* Also note the reference to 1290 & 1335 days in Dan 12:11-12.  Why these specific numbers.  Those who claim that the number 1260 is not literal but symbolic, cannot give us any rational, symbolic explanation for adding more days (1290) and then an extra 45 days.  The only reasonable interpretation is that these numbers refer to literal, chronological periods of real days.  The extra 30 days is likely for Jesus to carry out the judgments of the nations (Mat 25, sheep and goats), & the further 45 days for Jesus' to assign responsibilities of delegated leadership to those who will enter the literal millennial kingdom.

4. Sample references to the tribulation: Deu 4:27-31; Psa 2; Isa 13:9; 26:20-21; 34:2, 3, 8; Eze 36-40; Dan 9-12; Joel; Amos 5:18-20; Zeph 1:14-18; Zech 11-12; Mat 24:8, 9, 21-22 So bad almost all flesh destroyed (Mar 13; Luk 17:22-23; 21:5-36); Rom 5:9; Rom 11:26; Rom 11; 1 Th 1:10; 5:9; 2 Th 2:1-13; Rev 6-19 (7:14 "Great Tribulation")

5. 100's of Passages on prophecy: All of them dovetail most naturally into a pretribulation view.

6. The Goal of studying prophecy =  A comprehensive, systematic harmonization of all relevant passages in God's Word.  There is no interpretive viewpoint of the End Times that perfectly answers every question or solves every problem with difficult passages.  However, the exciting thing, folks, is that a simple and macroliteral, pretribulation-premillennial interpretation is the viewpoint that best harmonizes the prophetic passages of Holy Scripture.

Now, folks, that is worth singing and shouting about!  Amen?  Yes !!
Are you ready?  Where are you going? 
What evidence is there in your life that proves you'll be their with Him?
Examine yourselves, folks, before it's too late.  

       or   

Man's Way is Self-love
James 4:1-2

                      
Pulling from one another, things, and activities
to try and feel loved, esteemed, and satisfied.
A 50% - 50 % relationship:
"I'll do my part if you do yours.  But if you don't, then I won't"
(Isaiah 53:6; 2 Tim 3-4)

Remember, every warning, struggle, temptation, promise, strategy, and victory in the Revelation can also play out in your life, your family, and your church!  The choice is yours ................
What do you need to change?

(The final question to ask God, whenever you study God's Word)
Lord, how am I doing on your conflict meter, for your glory?
Giving Up < < < < Standing Firm > > > > Blowing Up

Remember there are only two modes for a believer:
* Marching forward with the gospel.
* Standing firm when conflict arises!

Return to related articles from "The Bible:  One Bite at a Time" -

Biblical Prophecy:  A Jigsaw Puzzle with Pieces Throughout the Bible
How to Interpret Prophetic Passages: Four Different Views with Important Consequences
Why "Normal" Interpretation is the Key to Prophetic & Apocalyptic Passages
Daniel's 70 Weeks: The Heart of God's Prophetic Puzzle 
      (Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Zechariah, Mat 24, 2 Th 2)
Introduction & Outline of The Revelation
 . . . . . . . 

For further study of prophecy:

Prophecy Today - http://www.gospelcom.net/shofar/pp/htm/report.shtml
Soulcare's Recommended Materials on Prophecy (books, audios, videos, etc.)
http://www.soulcare.org/Resources_Biblical_Authority.htm#Prophecy
Booklet:  The Rapture, by Thomas Ice & Timothy Demy
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1565073924/qid%3D980349983/104-6768955-3395119
John MacArthur, D.D., The Second Coming of Jesus: Signs of Christ's Return & the End of the Age.
     - Book: This text is an excellent overview, placing the puzzle pieces together until the picture is clear.
   *- Audio Set (9 tapes): This tape set is the best I've heard yet. Nothing beats the spoken word for clarity.
J. Vernon McGee, B.D., M.Th., Th.D.,, Thru the Bible Commentary Series, Revelation.  Dr. McGee's commentaries are probably the simplest, most practical, yet thorough and biblical that are available on the Bible.
_______, Reveling Through Revelation.
Chuck Missler, Revelation Commentary in MP3 on CD.  Chuck's commentaries on Daniel, The Revelation, etc., on CD not only contain extensive study notes, but also many hours of audio teaching.
Dwight Pentecost, Ph.D., Things to Come: A Study in Biblical Eschatology. This is a 600 pp encyclopedic reference to all of the major passages, topics, and issues involved.
_________ Thy Kingdom Come:  Tracing God's Kingdom Program & Covenant Promises Throughout History.  1995.
Randall Price, Ph.D. Jerusalem in Prophecy (Th.M. graduate of   Dallas Theological Seminary and holds a Ph.D. in Middle Eastern Studies from the University of  Texas at Austin. He has done graduate study at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and  conducted archeological excavation in Israel with the University of  Texas in conjunction with the   teaching of courses in biblical archaeology and the history and culture of modern Israel.)
Renald Showers, Th.D., Maranatha, Our Lord, Come! A Definitive Study of the Rapture of the Church.  [Dr. Showers, a graduate of Grace Theological Seminary, serves with Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry, as well as the Institute of Biblical Studies.]

Audio Message: "The Rapture: The Great Escape", John Ankerberg
http://www.khouse.org/media/conferences/steeling/stmankerberg98.html
Article:  "The Great Snatch", by Chuck Missler
http://www.khouse.org/articles/prophetic/19950101-35.html
Article:  Byzantine Text Discovery & the Rapture
http://www.khouse.org/articles/biblestudy/19950601-39.html