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 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), includes chapter 7's message of encouragement
                ** Ch. 7 Who Can Stand?  Those God Has Chosen, & Who Choose Him
        2.  Trumpets (Seven) of Judgments (Rev 8-9)
                a.  The Little Book  (Rev 10)
                b.  The Two Witnesses (Rev 11)
            3.  Players (Seven) on the Tribulation Stage of His-story (Rev 12-14)
                    (Woman, Child, Dragon, Michael, 144,000, Sea Beast, Earth Beast)
                  * These three chapters are an interlude, zooming in for a personal look at the people.
                        4.  Bowls (Seven) of Judgments (Rev 15-16)
                                5.  Babel's Final Fall (Rev 17-18) The Woman Who Rides The Beast
                            (The Martyr's Motive & Method:  Loving Our Enemies Into Our Family !)

  C.  Christ's Wedding & War (19:1-21) 
        (also, Rev 19 & Eph 5,  "Your Marriage Reflecting Christ's Marriage: For God's Glory & Other's Blessing)
        (also, Rev 19:11-16,  "The Real Father's Day:  The Day of the LORD)
  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)

Outline - 
The Real Father's Day: The Day of the LORD
Rev 19:11-16; Philip 2:5-11

* Repeated scores of times! Judgment is the theme.
* Joel 2:28-32; Act 2:19-24; Zech 12-14
* Mat 24:21-22, 36; 1 Th 5:2; 2 Pet 3:10
Not everyone has a biological father here on earth.  My own father passed on to be with the Lord less than a year ago.  But by grace alone, through faith alone, a you can have an intimate, permanent relationship with God the Father, through the work of Jesus, His only begotten Son.  You can be adopted (Rom 8) into His family, where God almighty will be your "Abba" Father!

But the Bible over and over again, warns that a day is coming in which God will end all selfish rebellion and establish His Kingdom of unselfish love to be enjoyed by His children.  The term "day" in the Bible can refer to an extended period of time, and to a "kind" of time period, rather than a 24 hour day.  (However, whenever the term "day" is used with qualifiers like "evening" and "morning" as in Gen 1, it always refers to a literal, 24 hour day.)

The day, the period, of the Lord's judgment begins with the time of "Jacob's [Israel's] Trouble" (Jer 30:7), called by Jesus, "the great tribulation".  It is a time that begins the final judgment on the unbelieving world, starting with the corporate nation of Israel which rejected Jesus as Messiah, and will also include the entire world system that opposes God's Way.  Jesus said it would be the worst time in all of the history of the world, so severe that unless God would intervene, "all flesh would be destroyed" (Mat 24).

Since this time of final judgment is centered around bringing about the restoration of Israel (Zech 11-14), the believing Bride of God the Son will be rescued out of the world prior to its start.  That rescue is called the "rapture".  (Please see the earlier sermon notes in this end time series for a detailed delineation of the evidence for a pretribulation rapture.  Remember, that the coming of Jesus for the Church is strangely described as both imminent as well as predictable.  How can both be true?  How could He come unexpectedly like a thief in the night, and yet also come visible to all the world after expected signs indicated that He was right at the doorstep?  The answer is best reconciled by the truth that He will first come invisibly to rescue/rapture His bride before the judgment of the unbelieving world.  Then after the tribulation has brought Jacob/Israel to a point of officially crying out to Him for help, He will come visibly and physically down to Jerusalem to rule with a rod of iron.)

* Mat 11:27-30; 26:39-42
* John 8:19, 28-29, 38, 58; 10:17-18, 29-30
* John 14:2, 6-7; 20:17; 18:11
* 1 Cor 15:1-28 All things submitted

The One who will accomplish this recompense and restoration of God the Father's ruined creation is Jesus, the only Son of God, the second Adam, the only God/Man.  Can you imagine the love of Jesus, the Son, who without any jealousy was eager to step down from His position and make it possible for you and I to be sons of His Father!  Would you or I have done that?  No way, because our sinful hearts don't have that kind of love apart from him (Rom 5).  But Jesus, filled with perfect love (1 John 4), for both His Father and for us, came to pay the full and final price so that we could be adopted into the household of God.

At Jesus' second coming, He will come and end all rebellion.  All things will be subjected to His authority and then He will openly display His own eager submission to His Father, as He offers Him the gift of a New World in Order.  The disorder and dysfunction of rebellion will be stopped by His Word alone, and for 1,000 years he will demonstrate that He, God alone, is able to bring peace and harmony back to the earth.  (Next week we will look further at the coming millennial kingdom, it's purpose and its glory.  Until then, here is the most important question for you:

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.
Henry Morris, Ph. D. (Physical Science doctorate), The Revelation Record.  A theologically and scientifically sound commentary on the book of The Revelation.  Dr. Morris explains the amazingly accurate scientific parallels described in the Revelation that were unknown to the culture of the first century.  Only God's direct revelation to John can explain such accuracy.  For example, the "flaming mountain" crashing into the sea during the second trumpet judgment.  How would John have known of even the possibility of massive asteroids that would ignite in our atmosphere as a result of the friction and tremendous speed?
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.]
John F. Walvoord, Every Prophecy of the Bible.  This reference commentary is over 600 pages long and is an invaluable tool for those studying prophecy regardless of their perspective.  When studying eschatology, nothing is more important that having a comprehensive awareness of all that the Bible says on the subject.  This new work is more than comprehensive.  It is exhaustive.  Dr. Walvoord was on the faculty of Dallas Theological Seminary for 50 years, and is recognized even by those who do not hold to a premillennial perspective as being one of the most knowledgeable scholars in the area of prophecy and eschatology.

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