Revelation Explained in One Hour

Hey everybody, Greg Laurie here. Let me ask you a question. Are you eager to make a difference in the spiritual lives of others? When you give to Harvest, you become a part of our mission to make God known through unique avenues like television, radio, and large-scale evangelistic events. Support us today at harvest.org slash donate and help us to continue to spread the gospel around the world. I thought I would do a flyover.

I am calling this Revelation Rewind, trying to get the big picture of what this book says. In preparation, I was watching a Woody Woodpecker cartoon. Maybe I should explain. I have grandchildren, four granddaughters, one grandson. They love cartoons. Their favorites are bubble guppies.

If you have little kids, you know what I am talking about. Also, Lala Loopsie. Finally, Dora the Explorer. By the way, here is the plot of every Dora cartoon.

It is always the same. Dora and her pet monkey boots get lost. Every week they get lost. While they are out and about, she realizes she is lost. She has a backpack. She has a song.

She sings to the backpack. Then a map appears. The map tells Dora how to get home. But wait.

There is danger because there is a little fox named Swiper. It always takes something from Dora. She gets it back. Arrives safely back home. Then says, we did it.

We did it. I think Dora has too much self-esteem. Dora you just got home. Relax a little bit. Finally is it a good idea to send your child out every week with a monkey.

I don't know. But that is the plot of every Dora cartoon. So I have seen so many of these cartoons with the kids. So I thought I am going to find something else for them to watch. So I went back into the archives of cartoons I used to watch. You know the good old days when there was no little moral message. It was just cartoon characters hurting each other.

You know. I am talking Tom and Jerry. I am talking the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote. I am talking Felix the Cat. I am talking Woody Woodpecker.

Right. So I was watching Woody Woodpecker. By the way they love these old cartoons. And so we are watching Woody Woodpecker and in one of the little episodes Woody has some guys that try to fool him into using their time machine. And Woody already knows what is up.

And instead of being outsmarted he outsmarts them and so forth. So that was the plot of the cartoon. And I thought about the idea of a time machine. You know.

That has been used in so many cartoons and books and films. The idea of going into the future. But it seems so implausible. But wait. It actually happened. Well not a time machine. But John the apostle was taken into the future and was allowed to see by God Himself what was about to take place.

How did this happen? Well John was the only apostle that was not put to death as a martyr. In fact Jesus even said He was going to live His life out. So He was an old man.

They banished Him to the island of Patmos never expecting to hear from Him again. But while He was on that island Jesus gave to John what we call the revelation. Jesus gave John a guided tour of the future among other things. And John speaks of the future for him which really is in many ways not completely but a good part of this book the present for us. I mean here is a man with first century language trying to describe 21st century phenomena and beyond. You know he is talking about these wars that are going to break out.

And the massive destruction. And how could he have envisioned what could be a nuclear exchange in AD 90. There was no precedent for such a concept. In fact black powder wasn't invented until the 9th century after Christ and dynamite invented in the 19th century. John writes prophetically about one man that will take control of the world and no one will be able to buy or sell unless they take the mark of this man the antichrist. That would sound so implausible and futuristic even 50 years ago. But today with computer technology this system could be up and running at no time.

In no time. We read in the book of Revelation about an army marching 200 million strong. When John wrote these words there were not even 200 million people on the face of the earth. But today the population of the planet is around 7 billion.

And indeed there is a nation on earth that could field an army of 200 million. Revelation. The book that dares to predict the future not once, not twice, but many times. And it is just one of the prophetic books of the Bible. Now some will say, well I just don't think you can understand the book of Revelation. Wait a second.

I disagree with that. I already pointed out there is a blessing promised to the one who reads, hears, and keeps the words of this book. Why would God promise a blessing to me if I could not understand it? And to the point what does the word revelation mean?

It means the unveiling or the revealing. God's desire is not to conceal but to reveal. It is God's desire to make clear what is happening in our world. It is God's desire to show us there is a supernatural world coexisting with a physical world. It is the realm of heaven and hell. Of angels and demons. It is the realm of Satan and God.

We see across time in the book of Revelation as though time does not exist. It is that other dimension. Some will say, well what good is it to study things like that? Isn't it possible to be so heavenly minded you are no earthly good? My concern is far too many people are so earthly minded they are no heavenly good.

Listen. One day you are going to pass from this material world. One day you are going to leave this earth and according to Scripture you will either go to heaven in the presence of God and fellow believers or you will go to hell separated from God for all eternity. Revelation tells us all about that. And God in this book reveals the future. And know this. God is omniscient, which is a theological word simply meaning He knows everything. He knows the future as well as we know the past. Well let me correct that.

He knows the future better than we know the past. Because I forget details. Don't you? Sometimes when I am telling a story my wife will stop me mid-story, which I don't like. She will say, Greg you left out a couple of details. And the problem is she is right.

And here is what is even more frustrating. She wasn't even there when the event happened I am describing. But you see what happened was I told her all about it. Right after it happened she remembers all the details. And so then she tells me and wrecks my story. But I heard a story about an older couple that were getting ready to go to bed late one night. And the wife said, honey you know you would be so sweet if you would go get me an ice cream sundae.

I had just gotten in the mood. He said, dear it is so late. We are going to bed. It is 8 o'clock.

What do you mean? Remember they are old. Ok. You know you are old when someone calls you at 8 o'clock and says, did I wake you?

Right. An ice cream sundae at this hour. Yes sweetie please.

You would be such a dear if you did it. An ice cream sundae. Oh with some chocolate sauce. Ok. All right.

All right. Oh you better write it down because I want whipped cream too. No I remember. Ice cream sundae. Chocolate sauce whipped cream.

Yes but I want some nuts on it. Write it down sweetie. You always forget.

I won't forget. Ice cream sundae. Chocolate sauce whipped cream. Nuts. Hey one other thing. I want a cherry on top. All right.

I got it. Ice cream sundae. Chocolate sauce whipped cream.

Nuts. Cherry on top. Write it down.

I don't need to write it down. So he goes out to get her sundae. He comes back an hour later and throws a ham sandwich on the bed. She opens it up and says, I told you to write it down.

You forgot the mustard. See it is a good thing when you are both losing it around the same time. It kind of works out. See for God when He looks at the future in a way it is like the past. Or even the present. Ecclesiastes is a fascinating little verse. It says in verse 15, whatever exists today and whatever will exist in the future has already existed in the past for God calls each event back in its turn.

You might say I don't get that at all. I know. Precisely. God is in the eternal realm.

It is all the same. Future. Past.

Present. He sees it all. It is like a continuum to Him. So when He says something is going to happen trust Me. Or better yet trust God it is going to happen. Oh but revelation is too hard to understand some will say.

No. Fact of the matter is God has given us a golden key. And this golden key is hanging right on the front door of the first chapter. Revelation not only comes with a built-in blessing it comes with a built-in outline.

It helps us to wrap our minds around it. That is Revelation 1.19. Write the things that you have seen. The things which are. And the things that will take place after this. Those are the three divisions of revelation.

Number one. John was to write the things that he had seen. That would be what we find in chapter 1. The resurrected and glorified Jesus with all power on heaven and earth. The revealed Jesus who is in complete control of all that is about to happen. Then number two. There are the things which are. This is a reference to the letters of Jesus to the seven churches found in Revelation 2-3. And finally the things that will take place after these things.

What things? After the churches taken from the earth in the rapture. So where are we now?

We are in that category called the things which are. We haven't gone to that point yet with the things that will take place after the rapture. That is still coming. Now whenever you mention revelation people get excited.

Because they think of all the juicy stuff if you will. Oh revelation. Armageddon. Antichrist. Second Coming.

This is going to be good. Yeah well that is all in Revelation. But that is not all that is there. I mean right out of the gate as this book begins to unfold Jesus first reveals Himself. Remember revelation is the unveiling.

It is not just about the future. God is saying, I want you to see who I am. Revelation is from Jesus Christ revealing Himself to us. And who is a better source on Jesus than Jesus.

Nobody. And so He tells us all about Himself in Revelation chapter 1. I am going to read verses 1-2.

Then I will drop down to five. Read along with me if you would like. The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, who bore witness to the Word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ to all the things that He saw. From Jesus Christ the faithful witness. The firstborn from the dead and ruler over the kings of the earth to Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood. So verse 5 says, Jesus is the faithful witness.

You know it is hard to find a faithful witness isn't it? Someone who doesn't spin the truth. Sometimes people who make up outright lies. Someone will share a piece of information with me. And my first question is where did you hear that?

I want to know the source. There are certain people if they say something I feel they are a reliable source. There are other people if they say something I don't trust it. Because I have seen them misspeak if you will, which is a nice way of saying they distorted the truth in the past. But when Jesus speaks He is the faithful witness. But He doesn't just speak the truth. He speaks the truth lovingly. Sometimes you can have the truth and you can use it as a weapon to destroy rather than a tool to build.

I have met people who are technically and perhaps even theologically correct. But the way they use that truth is to hurt people. Now we need to take the truth and share it lovingly. And notice that we read that this is from Him who loved us.

It could better be translated who keeps on loving us. So these are the words of a sovereign powerful God in control of everything but yet who loves all of us. He tells us He is coming again soon. Verse 7. Behold He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him. This truth of the imminent return of Jesus is found repeatedly from Genesis to Revelation. In fact the truth of the coming of Christ is found in 500 verses in the Bible. One out of every 25 verses in the New Testament refer to the second coming that gives hope in a hopeless world.

Here is a quick flyover. A quick outline. Revelation chapter 1 is a revelation of the glorified Christ in control and returning. Revelation chapters 2 to 3 we have the entire scope of church history. Revelation 4 and 5 we have the church taken up to heaven.

In chapters 6 to 19 we have what is known as the great tribulation period that lasts for seven years. In chapter 20 of Revelation we have the millennial reign of Christ. And in chapters 21 to 22 we have the new heaven and the new earth. So let's take in Revelation 1 verse 9 we have John on the island that is called Patmos.

And verse 11 the Lord says, I am Alpha and Omega the first and the last. What you see right in the book, send it to the seven churches that are in Asia to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. Now why should we read about the seven churches?

Well for three reasons. Number one they were literal churches. There really was a church of Ephesus really. There was a church of Philadelphia, Smyrna, and so forth. And they had pastors. So these were the words of Jesus to those actual churches.

And by the way they follow a postal route when they would deliver mail back in this time. Number two, and this comes home to us more, the words of Jesus to the seven churches speak prophetically. It is sort of like an overview of church history. And instead of the church growing stronger we find it growing weaker. The first church, the church of Ephesus, is a group of believers that are beginning to lose their passion.

And they are in danger of leaving their first love. And you end up with a church of Laodicea which is so corrupted Jesus is on the outside trying to get back in again. In fact Revelation 3.20 an oft-quoted verse contextually is to the church of Laodicea where Jesus is saying, "'Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any men will hear My voice and open the door, I will come in.'" So we start with an apostolic church and we end seemingly with an apostate church.

But also they speak to us personally. You will find yourself in one of those seven churches. You will find that you really sound like a believer in the church of Ephesus or the church of Pergamos or the church of Sardis or Philadelphia or Laodicea. Then in chapter 4 we have a turn upward as we are in heaven.

The church is removed in the Rapture and we are safe and secure in God's arms. Verse 2, "'Immediately I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne set in heaven. One sat on the throne, and he that sat on it was like a jasper and sardius stone in appearance. There was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald, and around the throne there were twenty-four thrones. And on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes.

They had crowns of gold on their heads. And from the throne proceeded lightning and thundering and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God.'" So in Revelation 4 John writes after these things. After what things? After the things of the church. You see before the great tribulation begins the church is going to be removed.

What do I mean by that? The Bible says, "'The Lord will come in a moment in the twinkling of an eye. The dead in Christ shall rise first, and we which are alive and remaining shall be caught up.'"

That is from the Greek word harpazo. Caught up. Taken by force. Caught up to meet them in the air and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Writing on this Paul says in the book of Corinthians it will happen in a moment in the twinkling of an eye.

This corruption will put on incorruption. This mortal will put on immortality. And then after the church is removed the antichrist will emerge. So where are we at this point?

Hey man. We are in heaven. We are in heaven enjoying the glory of God.

And you know what. Revelation has a lot to say about heaven. And I bring this up because there are books that have been written about heaven. There are movies that have been made about people who claim to have gone to heaven. And I think we need to approach all of these writings with great skepticism. I am not in a position to say a person did or did not go to heaven. But I will tell you this.

I am only going to believe them in as far as what they say lines up with what the Bible teaches about heaven. You see. Because the Bible is the only authoritative source. I was talking with a lady a while back and we got in a discussion on what Jesus looked like. She says, oh we know what Jesus looked like. I said, well actually we don't. She says, oh no we do. I said, well how do you know.

Well I read about a child that went to heaven and saw Jesus and He described me. Well there you go. That ends it. What? No.

We can't base anything on that. We go to the Scripture. Listen. Everything you need to know about heaven is found in the Bible. If God wanted you to know more He would have recorded more. But I find that a lot of believers haven't even read what God has said in His Word about heaven.

And actually it says quite a bit. In fact right here in the book of Revelation we learn a few important things about heaven. We learn that we will serve God while there. Revelation 22 3. We discover that in heaven much to the surprise of some there is an awareness of what is going on on planet earth. Revelation chapter 6. We discover that no prayer is ever wasted but it is heard by God.

Many prayers are placed in bowls stored to be answered at a future date. And we discover in heaven there is a lot of worshipping. We have the elders and the angels and us singing holy holy holy as the Lord God Almighty. So Revelation 4 and 5 deal with some of the glories of heaven. But Revelation 6 gives us a view of what is happening on earth.

And it ain't pretty. Because now the tribulation period has begun with the four horsemen of the apocalypse. And by the way you could say Revelation 6 is the heart of the book. These verses contain 21 judgments that will be unleashed on the world during the seven year period of the great tribulation period. And this scenario that we read about in Revelation 6 could start at any time. It hasn't started yet. Antichrist has not been revealed yet.

But when he is the other events will happen. One after the other. Just like dominoes. Now I have never played dominoes. I have just knocked them over.

I don't even know how to play dominoes. But I have stacked them up closely together. And you tap the first one and then goes the next one.

Then goes the next one. The same could be said of the events that we read about here. I mean think about how the world has changed in just the last three decades alone.

The computer age has dawned with global access allowing people to get information on demand from anywhere in the world. Militant Islam has emerged as the world's most dangerous threat. Two Gulf wars have been fought as well as the protracted conflict in Afghanistan. Governments have been violently overthrown in Libya, Egypt, and Tunisia. Having just returned from Israel it is clear that she is more isolated and hated than she has ever been. And Russia has come with great force of light.

Some thought that was all over with. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union. But now under the leadership of Vladimir Putin we have a new Russia that is very aggressive. Speaking of horsemen who can forget the video of Vladimir Putin riding bareback on his horse not wearing a shirt. Have you seen that? I get the memo Vlad.

You are just a macho dude aren't you? Well in the same way we have the four horsemen of the apocalypse emerging on the scene. Let's look at horse number one. Revelation 6. I saw the lamb opening one of the seals. I heard one of the four living creatures.

Same with a voice like thunder. Come and see. And behold a white horse. He that sat on it had a bow and a crown was given to him.

And he went out conquering and to conquer. Some of us secretly thought this is a reference to Jesus Christ. That is because in Revelation 19 we read of Him returning on a white horse. But this is not Jesus Christ. This is anti-Christ.

You say, but Greg why is He riding a white horse? Because that is exactly what anti-Christ is. He is a pretender. He is an imitator. The prefix anti not only means against.

It also means instead of. So anti-Christ emerges on the scene. He is not going to be dressed head to toe in black.

Think the devil wears Prada. He is not going to have steam rising off of him with his own Darth Vader theme song playing behind him wherever he goes. No. He is going to come off like a man of peace. He is instead of Christ. In fact you might be surprised to know that initially He emerges on the scene with a peace treaty. We are told in Daniel 8.25, through peace He will deceive many. Anti-Christ will do what no one has ever been able to do. He will solve the Middle East peace puzzle and rid the world of terrorism. No one has pulled that off. No one has even come close. Anti-Christ will pull it off for three and a half years.

And listen to this. He will win the hearts of many of the Jewish people by rebuilding their long awaited temple. But it is all part of a plan.

A wicked plan. And then we have horse number two who could be described as the war horse. Revelation 6.3, He opened the second seal. I saw another creature saying, Come and see. And this horse fiery red went out and it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth and that people should kill one another. And it was given to Him a great sword.

Listen. Satan is into mass destruction. He is behind the wars and struggles on this planet.

In Revelation 12.3 He is described as a great fiery red dragon. So here we see the anti-Christ starting out with gestures of peace followed immediately by the outbreak of war. Historically we know that the atom bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki killed 200,000 people.

But listen. 67 years later one nuclear submarine carries enough explosive firepower in its warhead equal to 40 times every bomb that was used in World War II. That is just one nuclear sub. And think of all this weaponry spread around the world. We have the capacity to blow ourselves up many times over.

Some have estimated that there are 23,000 nuclear weapons in the world today. The sequence of events starting with war followed by feminine pestilence follow the pattern of what would happen if there were a nuclear exchange. And that is interesting. In light of what Revelation says about the pale horse in verse 6 of chapter 6, the name of Kim that sat on it was death.

And Hades followed with them and power was given to them over a fourth of the earth to kill with hunger and with sword and by the beasts of the earth. By the way the word used here for pale is chloros. It is a yellowish-green color.

We get our English word chlorine from it. It is the color of illness and death. According to this passage one quarter of the world's population will be lost in this rampage. It is going to be horrible. Now we shift over to Revelation chapter 11. The tribulation period is in full swing. Antichrist has rebuilt the temple for the Jewish people. And once again we are reminded that Jerusalem is indeed the epicenter of end time events. Jerusalem.

A tiny little city. Every time I visit it I am just amazed to think that this is where world history as we know it is going to culminate. Ironically the name Jerusalem means city of peace.

Yet more wars have been fought at its gates than any other city on the face of the earth. And yet the Bible says this is going to be the stone of stumbling in the end time. Zechariah 12.3 says, And that day when all the nations of the earth had gathered together against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock, a stone of stumbling for all of the nations, and all who try to move it will injure themselves.

But this would not even have been possible until some recent events. I mean why Jerusalem? It wasn't in Jewish hands. There was not a hostility against Jerusalem 100 years ago or 70 years ago. But today there is.

Why? Because it is the capital of Israel. Now that is how the Jews see it.

No other nation sees it. But they see Jerusalem as their capital. And Israel became a nation on May 14, 1948.

But they did not have control of Jerusalem until the six-day war in 1967 when they were attacked and they got Jerusalem again. So that part is fulfilled. But then we know the temple must be rebuilt. That has not happened yet.

But it is getting closer. And that is going to be a gesture of goodwill from Antichrist who will rebuild the temple for the Jewish people. But after he has done that he will erect an image of himself and command people to worship it. That is what Jesus described in Matthew 24 as the abomination of desolation. Second Thessalonians 2.4 says, of Antichrist he will oppose and exalt himself above all that is called God or is worshiped.

He will be as God sitting in the temple whose coming is after the working of Satan with all pretended miracles and all of them lying wonders. Now I know these things I have said to you sound very bleak and depressing. Here is the good news. If you are a Christian you will not be around for the tribulation period. You will be safely in heaven.

Why? Because Scripture says God has not appointed us to wrath but rather to obtain mercy from the Lord Jesus Christ. But know this. If Revelation says nothing else it says this. We win in the end. We win in the end.

And in many ways we win before the end. Despite the devil's best efforts God is still at work. Did you know that the greatest revival in human history is going to happen in the tribulation period. Millions will believe. Now sometimes people think the Holy Spirit is going to be taken from the earth.

And this is a mistake. The Scripture does not teach that. It does teach in Thessalonians, he who is now restraining will continue to do so until he is taken out of the way. Then that wicked one whom the Lord will destroy with the brightness of His coming will appear. That is speaking of the work of the Spirit in the church. The church is the restraining force in the world today. Folks if we were not here speaking up for what is true, speaking out against what is wrong, we would be going downhill so fast it would blow your mind.

I mean you think things are bad now. Try removing the church. And that is exactly what is going to happen. Then Antichrist is revealed.

But that doesn't mean the Holy Spirit leaves the world because a person cannot be converted without the work of the Holy Spirit. So millions are going to believe. God is going to raise up 144,000 Marty Getzes. Now if you don't know who Marty is he is a Messianic Jew.

They are not all going to have their little piano singing songs. But there is going to be 144,000 Messianic Jewish evangelists. Think of kosher Billy Grahams blanketing the planet. They are going to reach many. And if they miss someone the Bible says there will be an angel flying to the heavens preaching the everlasting gospel.

Think of that as an angelic mop up operation. So this will deal once and for all with that often asked question. What about the person in the middle of the jungle who has never heard the gospel?

I don't know why they are always in the middle of a jungle. Well they are going to be reached by either the 144,000 Jewish evangelists or the angel flying to the heavens. And finally God is going to raise up two witnesses right there in Jerusalem that will speak up for the Lord. Revelation 11.6. They have power to shut heaven so no rain falls in the day of their prophecy. They have power over waters to turn them to blood and strike the earth with all plagues as often as they desire.

I can only think of two people that would meet this criteria. And that would be Moses and Elijah. Interestingly the two that appeared with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration. So they will have a role in the end times. Antichrist will kill them. God will resurrect them while all the world watches the Scripture says. Revelation 11.9. And they will ascend to heaven.

It is interesting all the world watches. When would that have been possible? Until now. Now let's shift gears to Revelation chapter 12. We have the original Star Wars.

Why do I say that? Because the angels are described as stars early in this book. And here we have an angelic battle. Revelation 12.7. War broke out in heaven. And Michael and his angels fought with the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought and they did not prevail nor was the place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out. That serpent of old called the devil and Satan who deceives the whole world he was cast to the earth and his angels cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, Now salvation and strength in the kingdom of our God and the power of his Christ have come for the accuser of the brethren who accused them before our God day and night has been cast down. I want you to underline verse 11. We just sang about it. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb by the word of their testimony.

And they did not love their lives to the death. See right now Satan effectively has in all acts has passed to heaven. He says, It is okay with the band. Let me in.

Right? You know in the book of Job how the angels appear before the Lord. And Satan is among them.

Why? His role is the accuser of the brothers. He accuses us before God day and night. But here in Revelation 12 he is removed. God tells Michael to take out the trash. Satan is ejected because he is a loser.

And if you follow him you are a loser. And you will end up where he ends up in hell. So Satan is dumped. But you see until this day Satan wants to wreck as much havoc as possible. Look at Revelation 12. The devil has come down to you in great anger and he knows he has a little time.

This phrase great anger could be translated a violent outburst of rage. Why is the devil behaving as a cornered animal ready to strike? Why is he so filled with wrath? Because even though some liberal theologians don't believe it the devil believes Jesus Christ is coming back. Now when we hear that we want to go out and do as much good as possible until the Lord returns. The devil hears that and he wants to go out and do as much bad as possible until that day. Now having talked about all these heavenly things here are three practical principles for overcoming Satan. How do these believers overcome the devil?

Number one. They overcame the devil by the blood of the Lamb. Verse 11. What does that mean? Well here is how the devil works. I told you he is the accuser of the brothers. Right?

And sisters. You don't get off. Here is how it goes. He will come to you and say, hey Christian. Yeah you with a stupid smile on your face. You know what.

It would be a lot of fun if you went out and committed this sin. And he puts it out in front of you. And he says, you know what you will get away with it.

No one will ever know. I won't tell if you won't. So we take the bait. And the moment we sin he comes back and he says, you pathetic hypocrite. How dare you do that as a Christian. How can you call yourself a Christian. You don't believe in God. You don't love God. Don't even think about showing your ugly face in church again. Don't you dare read the Bible.

How hypocritical that would be. So how do I overcome them? Here is what I do. First of all I agree. Yeah. I am not worthy. I never was worthy and I never will be worthy. The reason I can approach God right now is through the blood of the Lamb. You see. That is what these believers need.

That is what you need to know. Hebrews 10.19 says, "'Dear friends, we can enter boldly into heaven's most holy place because of the blood of Jesus.'" This is the new life giving way. Christ has opened up for us. Over in Ephesians 2.13 we read, "'You who are sometimes far off have been made near by the blood of Jesus.'" First John tells us if we walk in the light as He is in the light we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin.

So listen. I am telling you when you sin you beat a quick path to the cross. And you say, Lord thank You for dying for me. Thank You because of Your shed blood I can go to the Father and say, Father I have sinned and I am sorry. The devil says, You are not worthy. And you can say, Go to hell.

I wasn't cussing. I mean it literally. That is where he is going. They overcame them by the blood of the Lamb. And also by the word of their testimony. What does that mean? It means every believer has a testimony. I didn't say they all have a good one.

We all have one. You know if you lose your testimony you lose everything. That is why Satan will hit you so hard in this area. Even if what you have proclaimed for 30 years as a follower of Jesus is true. When you contradicted by falling into some blatant sin the devil has got you in the way. Ah. You see. You blew it.

And then when you talk to others. Oh don't even start with Jesus with me. I know what you just did.

Why would I listen to you? See that is why a testimony is important. The devil knows the power of a good name. Of a good reputation. They overcame them by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. And that not only speaks of living a godly life but that speaks of verbalizing your faith.

See the best defense is a good offense. When you come out front in your workplace and your neighborhood and your family and say, I am a Christian, in a way it holds you accountable. Sometimes nonbelievers do a really good job of holding our feet to the fire as Christians because we will do something that is a little squirrely and they will say things like, aren't you a Christian? Yes. Then why are you doing that?

Good question. Especially when they are right. They overcame them by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. And third and lastly they did not love their life until the death.

What does that mean? That means these believers knew that their lives belonged to God. They knew God was in control. They knew that every breath they drew was a gift from God. And their reasoning was, hey if you kill us we go to heaven. If we live we serve the Lord. So if you live you serve God. If you die you see the Lord.

You can't stop people like that. Revelation culminates in chapter 19 with the second coming of Jesus Christ. You don't need to turn there. Revelation 20. We have the great white throne judgment.

Chapters 21-22. We see the new Jerusalem coming down to earth. Heaven and earth have become one. And as the fairy tales say, and it is true, we live happily ever after. And we can all sing, I did it. I did it. Like Dora.

No I am kidding. God did it. Revelation closes with these words. Revelation 22. Then He said to me, these words are faithful and true. And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show His servants the things which will shortly take place.

Behold I am coming quickly. Blessed is He that keeps the words of the prophecy of this book. I love that sentence. These words are faithful and true.

After giving the elderly apostle a view of the new heaven and the new earth he wraps up the tour with these six words. These words are faithful and true. There are not many people we can say that of. Wouldn't it be wonderful to know that when you are president or your senator or your congressman or your governor or your mayor or your used car dealer when he spoke those are trustworthy words.

Hey if he says it it is true. But we can know this of God for sure. And you can know that the Scripture speaks the truth. And you know that God will keep His promises. And you can depend on Jesus.

You can rely on these words. And you can entrust your eternity into His keeping. Now Revelation closes with an invitation to believe.

Revelation 22 17. And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. Let him who hears say, Come. Let him who thirsts, Come. Whoever desires let him take the water of life freely.

I love that. This closes with an invitation. It is not a summons. It isn't a decree.

It is not even an order. It is an invitation. Hey whoever desires it says, Let him take the water of life freely. Jesus is saying if you want a drink of the water of life the living water that will save you from hell and a wasted life on earth come and take it.

But if you don't want to you don't have to. It is an offer I extend to all humanity. There it is. Revelation. 45 minutes.

Boom. Let me extend that same invitation to you now. Maybe you have come here with a spiritual thirst. You have tried to satisfy with all the things this world offers. Material things.

Experiences. Maybe it is drugs. Maybe it is alcohol. Sex.

None of it works. You are still thirsting. You are still hungry. That is because you were designed to know God. And there is nothing this world offers that will fill a hole in your life that only God can fill.

But here is the good news friend. Jesus Christ died on that cross. He rose again from the dead. And now He stands at the door of your life and He knocks and says, If you will hear His voice and open the door He will come in and He will satisfy that spiritual thirst. You say, Well I don't believe you Greg.

Really? Well I have some witnesses. How many of you in this room before you were a Christian had a deep spiritual thirst? Raise your hand up. You had a deep spiritual thirst.

How many of you have had that deep spiritual thirst satisfied by Jesus Christ? Raise up your hand. See there is your evidence. Those are witnesses.

It is kind of weird. More people said they are satisfied than they had it. Are we confused? Ok. But here is the deal. He will satisfy your spiritual thirst. But you need to come. It is an invitation. And we are going to close in prayer right now with an opportunity for you to believe in Jesus and be ready for His return.

Listen. Here is what He says. He is coming quickly. He can come at any time. Are you ready? If Jesus were to come back today would you be ready to meet Him or would you be one of the ones who would be left?

Yes. To go into the great tribulation period. Or would you be one of the ones caught up to meet the Lord in the air in heaven? You decide that by what you do with Jesus right now. Let's pray. Father we have heard Your Word and I pray for any hearing this, watching this who do not yet know You. Lord help them to come to You right now. Help them to believe in You right now.

Help them to find the answer to their spiritual thirst right now. Now while our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed and we are praying how many of you would say today, Greg pray for me. I want my spiritual thirst satisfied. I want my sins forgiven. I want to know Jesus in a personal way. I want to know that when Jesus comes back I will be ready to meet Him. Pray for me. If that is your desire.

If you want Jesus Christ to come into your life and you want Him to forgive you of your sin. If you want your guilt taken away and your spiritual thirst satisfied I want you to raise your hand up wherever you are. And I am going to pray for you. Raise your hand up high where I can see it please. God bless you. God bless you. Raise it up where I can see it.

Now for you that are watching the screen that doesn't matter. Because God sees you. Take that little step of faith wherever you are watching this and say, yes I want this. I want Jesus.

For those of you that you can see God bless each one of you. If you want Christ to come into your life raise your hand up. Let me pray for you.

Maybe some of you would say, you know what I have been living a compromised life. I know it is right as a Christian and I haven't been doing it. And frankly I am not even sure if I would be ready for Christ's return.

But I want to change that. I want to turn from that sin and I want to recommit my life to Jesus right now. If that is your desire I want you to raise your hand up. And I am going to pray for you. If you want to make this commitment or recommitment to Jesus.

That is right. Stand up. By the way others are standing. You watching the screen in a satellite site outside wherever you are you stand to your feet too. Stand to your feet wherever you are.

And we are going to pray a prayer of commitment and recommitment to Jesus. Anybody else? Stand now.

I will give it one more moment. Anybody else? You want to make this commitment to Christ. Stand to your feet. God bless you.

Anybody else? God bless you that are standing. All right you that are standing pray this prayer out loud after me. Again as I pray you pray this prayer out loud after me.

Pray with me now. Lord Jesus I know I am a sinner. But I know that you are a Savior who died on the cross for my sin.

Who rose again from the dead. Now Jesus I choose to follow you from this moment forward. Be my Savior and Lord. Be my God and my friend. Thank You for loving me and calling me and forgiving me. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

Hey everybody thanks for listening to my podcast. Before you go I wanted to let you know about the important work we are doing here at Harvest. You know we have had the same goal these last 50 years which is simply this. We want to know God and we want to make Him known. And we do that in a lot of ways. Documentary films, animation, radio, television, large scale evangelistic events and more. If you want to be a part of what we are doing to fulfill the great commission you can support us with whatever you can give at harvest.org slash donate. Again that is harvest.org slash donate. And thanks so much.