A Glimpse Into Heaven

While we're on Earth, the clouds obscure the sky. We can't see the life to come as clearly as we see what's around us. But the Bible does give some tantalizing views of what's ahead for a child of God. Today, we peer across the great divide into the ultimate destiny for all who trust Christ. From Chicago, this is The Moody Church Hour, a weekly service of worship and teaching with Pastor Erwin Lutzer.

On this program, Erwin Lutzer concludes a series on the invisible world where battles are lost and won. Later, we'll turn to Revelation chapter 4 and take a glimpse into heaven. Pastor Lutzer comes now to open today's service. And we are so glad that you are worshiping with us today, and I know that some of our friends and members are elsewhere because of the weekend. But then there are those of you who are visiting, and we're going to be inviting you also to the visitors center afterwards.

But thank you so much for being here. In a moment, we are going to ask the Lord to open our eyes. The ministry of the Holy Spirit of God is here among us so that we can better understand God's truth. He takes truth that we already know and brings it home to our hearts. We've been praying that this will be a transforming opportunity for all of us and that God himself will be honored. Later on, I'm going to have the privilege of preaching on a passage of scripture the likes of which is scarcely imaginable. Thank you for being here on the journey.

And we also welcome all those who have joined us in different parts of the world because, as you know, this service is streamed live throughout the world. May we bow together in prayer, asking the Lord to bring quietness and focus to our hearts, and then we shall sing. Our Father, we thank you today that you are with us by your Spirit, and we ask for all those who are here gathered today in Chicago at The Moody Church. Attend to your blessing, we pray. Unify us as we sing together, as we learn together, and as the blessing of the Lord rests upon us. Oh Father, may we see you better and more clearly because we have been here today in your holy name.

Amen. Open the eyes of my heart. I want to see you. I want to see you. Open the eyes of my heart, Lord.

Open the eyes of my heart. I want to see you. I want to see you. To see you I am lifted up, shining in the light of your glory.

Pour out your power and love as we sing holy, holy, holy. Open the eyes of my heart, Lord. Open the eyes of my heart. I want to see you. I want to see you. Open the eyes of my heart, Lord.

Open the eyes of my heart. I want to see you. I want to see you. To see you I am lifted up, shining in the light of your glory. Pour out your power and love as we sing holy, holy, holy.

Holy, holy, holy. I want to see you. Open the eyes of my heart, Lord. Open the eyes of my heart. I want to see you. Singing holy, holy, holy. Holy, holy, holy. I want to see you.

I want to see you. There's a land that needs forever living. And by faith we can see it apart. For the Father makes all of the way.

To prepare us to rather than stay. In the sweet by and by we shall lean on that beautiful soul. The melodious songs of the land and our spiritual song.

Now the cycle of life's insurance. In the sweet by and by we shall lean on that beautiful soul. We shall lean on that beautiful soul. You better clap for this one. Clap for me when this life is over. I'll fly away. On God's bloodstream so I'll fly away. I'll fly away. When the shadows of this land have gone, I'll fly away. I'll fly away. I'll fly away. Oh glory, I'll fly away. When the shadows of this land have gone, I'll fly away. I'll fly away. When the shadows of this land have gone, I'll fly away.

I'll fly away. We are a moment, you are forever. Lord of the ages, God before us now.

We are a moment, you are too. Love everlasting, reigning on high. Holy, holy Lord God Almighty. Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, highest praises on earth. He unto your name. He unto your name. We are the road to heaven, you are the healer. Jesus, really mighty to save us.

You are the one who will sing forever. Vowing before us, blessing your name. Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, highest praises on earth.

Holy, holy Lord God Almighty. Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, highest praises on earth. He unto your name. He unto your name. We read together from Revelation chapter 4. Please read aloud with me on the bold print.

This is God's holy word. After this, I looked and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, Come up here and I will show you what must take place after this. At once I was in the spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven with one seated on the throne. And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. Around the throne were 24 thrones, and seated on the thrones were 24 elders, clothed in white garments with golden crowns on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning and rumblings and peals of thunder. And before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God.

And before the throne there was, as it were, a sea of glass like crystal. And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind. The first living creature, like a lion. The second living creature, like an ox. The third living creature, with the face of a man. And the fourth living creature, like an eagle in flight.

And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within. And day and night they never cease to say, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come. And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the 24 elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne saying, Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.

Please be seated. Today we come to the end of the series of messages entitled The Invisible World. We've spoken about God before, we've talked about angels and demons and Satan's accusations that he brings before the throne of God, accusations about us. But I've saved the best till last, the teaching of the Bible regarding heaven and God, which is truly breathtaking. Today we find that there are many books that are written and all of them have essentially the same theme, namely that I visited heaven. The storyline is I was dead and then I was revived and this is what heaven is like and I'm often asked the question of what I think of these books. I wouldn't discount the possibility that somebody could go to heaven or begin to see it, even as Stephen did when he was stoned and he saw the heavens open. But as I read some of these books, and I've not read them all, I see things and I say, uh-uh, that doesn't sound like heaven to me. Now I believe that all these people are telling the truth in terms of their experience, but whether or not we should interpret this as heaven, we must remain very skeptical. And then there are some instances in which very clearly the person is deceived, where you have a being of light that tells you that from now on you have to understand Jesus is non-judgmental and it doesn't matter what you believe, you're welcomed into heaven.

The Bible says that Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light and he's deceived many by these, quote, near-death experiences. When it comes to talking about heaven and hell and eternity and the invisible world, we're always well-informed when we go to the Bible and we see what it has to say. And that's what we're going to do today. And let me say that as I was preparing this message this week and even this morning, there were times when I was so stunned at what I was studying and reading that I said, God, I have nothing to say to you. My mouth is stopped in your presence. What a passage we're going to look at.

No matter how difficult your week has been, no matter what you've gone through this morning or you anticipate tomorrow, would you take time even now silently as I speak? Ask God to give you an open mind, a focused mind that we might be able to look together at this passage and be changed forever because of our better understanding of heaven and God. A word before we turn to Revelation chapter 4. And you may turn to that in your Bibles. Please do if you brought your Bibles. And if not, in the Bible, in the seats in front of you, I think it's page 1030. That is a thousand and thirty. You have to see this in the text with your own eyes.

I hope today that you do. You must understand that the Book of Revelation is filled with symbolism. And the reason is John is trying to grasp revelations and images for which there are no words. Maybe a crude illustration would be, let's suppose you were in a primitive culture, a pre-Stone Age culture. And to this culture, you were to bring a car and you were to drive the car through the village.

And then you expected these villagers to explain to the next village in the language that they share. You expect them to explain the car and to describe it. They have no word for wheels and tires and a motor. They've never seen a motor. They've never seen a windshield.

They've never seen a vehicle in which you can enter. And now they, with their limited vocabulary, are to explain this to the folks next door. Maybe they'd say, you know, it's hard like a spear. But it doesn't look like a spear, assuming that they had spears or stones. And maybe they would say, this is the kind of spear or stone that you can get into. And it has four things that are like slices from trees as they try to grasp the whole idea of a wheel.

Well, you get the point. They don't have a vocabulary to describe it. And that's why you find in the Book of Revelation there are mixed metaphors, there are descriptions. I saw something like, as John is doing the best he can, but he doesn't have the vocabulary to do it.

And you and I, even if he did, couldn't understand it. With that introduction, let's go now to the fourth chapter. And let's take it verse, phrase by phrase at first, and then we'll take it in chunks. Chapter four of the Book of Revelation, after this I looked and behold a door standing open in heaven. This is now the third heaven. You must understand that the ancients believed that the first heaven, that's where the birds are, the atmosphere. And then beyond that, the stellar universe, the stars and the planets were the second heaven. And now this passage takes us right into the third heaven, the very abode of God.

Of course, God exists everywhere. He is omniscient and omnipresent. But what the text is telling us is that there is some central location where God is localized so that you can say, this is the very throne room of God. And that's what John sees. He goes through the open door and you'll notice that the text tells us the first voice, which I heard speaking to me like the trumpet said, come up here and I will show you what must take place after this.

Years ago, way back in the 90s, I preached a message on the little word must, what must come to pass. You'll notice what must take place after this. That's why we know that the rest of the Book of Revelation, I believe, is all future. And the Book of Revelation from here on out is telling us what's going on in heaven while the judgments are piling on earth as God finally judges and wraps up history.

So these are the things that John sees, things which must take place after this. At once I was in the spirit and behold, a throne stood in heaven with one seated on the throne. By the way, the form of the one seated is not described. And he who sat there had the appearance of Jasper and Carnelian. And around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald.

Wow. Obviously, the person on this throne is God. It is God the Father seated on the throne of the universe. We're reminded of Isaiah chapter six, you remember, where the prophet says very clearly, in the year that King Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord sitting on a throne high and lifted up and his train filled the temple. This is the throne of Jehovah, the throne of God.

I mentioned that the form isn't described. Ezekiel has a similar vision and on it is the form of a man. But you'll notice that he goes on to talk about how to describe the person on the throne and he uses color. He says, and by the way, the classification of stones in the book of Revelation is different from the way in which you and I perhaps classify them. So scholars differ as to what stones they really are and perhaps their colors. When it says he who was on the throne had the appearance of Jasper, very probably that's a diamond, but it is not a cut diamond like you and I understand it would be diffused light.

And then Carnelian, many translations say Sardis or Sardin. It's a jewel that comes from the city of Sardis and is a bright red ruby. Regardless of how we understand the colors, what he wants us to understand is that the person on the throne is incredibly beautiful. And John is just grasping for words so that we can understand his beauty and his colors. And then, of course, around the throne there is a rainbow that is like an emerald. What else happens around the throne?

Let's skip to verse five for just a moment. Then from the throne comes flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder. And before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God. And before the throne there was, as it were, a sea of glass like crystal.

This is a terrifying throne. It reminds us of the children of Israel at Sinai where flashes of lightning and thunder are coming and God says, stay back, get back. If you come close to the mountain, you will be incinerated.

And if an animal gets close, don't touch the animal. Shoot him with an arrow at a distance because God is coming. When the text says that there are seven torches like seven spirits of God, don't ever think that there are actually seven holy spirits. This is really a reference to the fullness of the spirit and all of his fullness. For example, in Isaiah 11, we read that the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him. The spirit of wisdom, understanding, counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. So it's different aspects of the ministry of the spirit. And it, of course, is before the throne. And the Holy Spirit of God is the one who mediates Jesus Christ to us today in his absence, in Christ's absence. So here you have the Holy Spirit present also at the throne.

But what's going on there in the text? John wants us to understand the absolute centrality, the centrality of God in the midst of his universe and in the midst of his heaven, the centrality of God, the indescribable majesty of God, the beauty of God, if you please. And it's right in the midst of heaven. God dwells here.

Wow. So the first thing we notice is this one throne. But there are other thrones. There are lesser thrones. You'll notice that John is speaking here. And if I can go back to my text here, John is speaking and he says in verse four, And around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments with golden crowns on their heads. Who are they? Of course, there's been a lot of discussion among commentators as to who these twenty-four are. Some people say that it's just a higher level of angels.

I don't think so for the following reasons. First of all, whenever you have those that are clothed in white, you think of redeemed saints. In fact, as God spoke to the seven churches, he said, Those who are faithful, I will clothe them in white.

But even more telling, they have crowns on their head. And nowhere in the book of Revelation or elsewhere do we ever find that angels get to rule with Jesus Christ. And these twenty-four elders rule with Christ. It may be the rapture church. If you believe in the pre-tribulation rapture, you believe that this is now, the church has been raptured in heaven, and it represents twenty-four fullness. Priests came in twenty-four shifts.

So it may be that. Maybe also, and here we're just speculating, since you have twenty-four, it may refer to the twelve tribes of Israel, the twelve sons of Jacob, the twelve apostles, Old Testament saints, New Testament saints, together with the twenty-four elders representing the entire spectrum of God's redemptive history. But here they are, the twenty-four elders. And they, as we'll see in a moment, they worship, but also, all throughout the book of Revelation, you find that they are involved.

For example, this comes to us from chapter eleven. And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying, We give thanks to you, O Lord Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign. The nations raged, but your wrath has come, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and the saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth. Have you ever met a destroyer?

The destroyers will be destroyed. So there you have the elders continuing to worship, all throughout the book of Revelation. Let's go on to another order of beings as we look here at the throne, an order of beings that is closer to the throne than the elders. You'll notice it says in verse six, And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind. I was going to mention that if you're an artist, don't even attempt to draw the fourth chapter of the book of Revelation.

I've seen attempts, and they're pretty pathetic. This is beyond all human imagination. It's okay to do it in a classroom so that you get the picture, but notice that these creatures, full of eyes in the front and behind, in fact, it says in verse eight, each of them have six wings. They are full of eyes all around and within.

Wow, I don't know that you want to really draw that. But notice, the first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. Don't ever get the impression that in heaven there was a lion, in heaven there was an ox, in heaven there was an eagle in flight.

No, remember what I mentioned at the beginning of the message. John is grasping, grasping for something to associate it with in this world because he has no vocabulary or category to describe what he is seeing. It has been pointed out that these are, of course, cherubim. We see this also from the book of Ezekiel as well as Isaiah. These are cherubim and it has been said, you know, that the lion represents royalty, the ox represents strength, man represents intelligence, eagles represent speed, etc.

That's the best we can do. But the point is, it is indescribable. And they have six wings. And from Isaiah we learn that with two they cover their face because not even angels can look directly at God and his indescribable holiness. With two they cover their feet and they do that because they know that they are in the presence of holiness and greatness and majesty. And then with two they fly and they fly as a mark of their obedience and day and night without being tired ever because they live in a different realm. They are giving praise and honor and gratitude to God. And they also are found throughout the book of Revelation. For example, in chapter six when the seven seals begin to be opened, it says, Come, and I looked and behold a white horse.

I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice of thunder, Come. So they participate in the judgments of the earth. And they are found also throughout the book of Revelation. So we've looked very briefly, all too briefly, at the personalities that are around the throne. You have, of course, the great throne, God. You have the elders, the 24, that are more distant. And then you have the living creatures that are right there next to the throne.

But even there someone is closer, as we'll see in a moment. What's the activity of heaven? What's going on there?

What's the activity? Is it a place of rest and tranquility? Most people believe that heaven is going to be a place where we'll sing number one in the hymnal, sing all the way through, and then when we're finished we begin again at number one.

And they think it is going to be boring. Let me tell you something today. In heaven you are going to be more active than you ever were on earth, being given assignments by God to glorify him with perfect fulfillment and joy and freedom. It is. I said to myself this week, preparing this message, if it's half as good as I'm going to describe it, and have already described it from the book of Revelation, we're in for a fantastic time. Let me just say that.

So what's going on? Worship ceaselessly. And I want you to notice the order of beings, all right? The closest around the throne are the four living creatures. They are a high level of angels, of cherubim, as shown also in the book of Ezekiel and in Isaiah. And then what's the next order around the throne?

A little farther back, the 24 elders. And you'll notice it says that they are full of eyes. We're speaking here in verse 8 about the beasts or the living creatures, I should say, around the throne.

They are around within. And day and night, they never cease to say, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come. Sometimes we define the word holy as separate. How would that sound? Separate, separate is the Lord God Almighty.

Of course he's separate. But it's much more than that. It has a moral quality. It is something like our word purity.

It is the utmost purity and holiness without even a smidgen of darkness or sin. That's what they mean when they say, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of hosts, who was and is to come. And whenever, I'm in verse 9 now, and whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the 24 elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne, and they worship him who lives forever and ever. And they cast their crowns before the throne saying, worthy are you, Lord God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.

So, you have two order of beings. You have, of course, the living creatures next to the throne. Just next to them, but a little bit beyond them, you have 24 elders who are bowing down and casting down their crowns before him. And those 24 elders, as I mentioned, they continue to give praise to God. I just read the passage moments ago from chapter 11, as they continue to give praise to God all throughout the book of Revelation and probably throughout all of eternity. And then by the time you get to chapter 5, now when you get to chapter 5, you'll notice it says in verse 11, then I looked and I heard around the throne and the living creatures, first category, second category, the elders, the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands saying in a loud voice, worthy is the lamb that was slain. I'm not preaching today on chapter 5 except to make reference to it a couple of times. Isn't the Bible ever an amazing book?

Any of you agree with that? Do I have a witness that it is an amazing book? Chapter 4, God the Father is being worshipped. And what is he being worshipped for?

What is the category? It is, he's the creator. You get to chapter 5, Jesus is the lamb, verse 6, that was slain, a lamb that looks as if it was slain, and Jesus now is being worshipped. And what is he being worshipped for? Thou art worthy because thou was slain and hast redeemed men and women for God from every tribe and kindred and nation. And so he is being praised for his redemption in the fifth chapter of the book of Revelation.

And of course, it would be wonderful and maybe at some time I'll preach a whole sermon just on that fifth chapter. But you know, the question is sometimes asked, you know, why do we have to give praise to God? Does he always have to be stroked? Does he always have to be praised? I mean, if you have a human being who goes around and needs constant praise, we don't like human beings like that. We don't like to be married to people or connect with people who need constant praise.

And there's a good reason why we don't like people like that because they don't deserve it. God is the creator. And even if you say, I built it, really? And who created you and gave you a mind and gave you a body and gave you aspirations?

And by the way, who is it that keeps your heart going moment by moment? And who is it that supplies the breath that you have so that you can wake up in the morning and build whatever it is that you are building? The glory and the honor goes to God. Do you remember that story about a scientist who was having a discussion once with God and the scientist said to God, we can now create life just like you did. God said, oh, really?

Show me. So the scientist scoops down and picks up a handful of dirt. God says, uh-uh, get your own dirt. We owe it to God to give him ceaseless praise because by his will and by his pleasure, we were created and all for his glory and for his honor, and he deserves all the praise in the universe.

And you don't, and I don't either because everything that we have is derived from the Almighty. So all the praise goes to God. So that's the first lesson that I want to emphasize today. The emphasis is the fact that all the glory goes to God.

What are the two bottom lines that we need to also take home with us today? First of all, do you notice that in this passage, there's only really one great throne. All the others, they're sitting on thrones, but my, they're casting their crowns before him. They get off their thrones. There is only one throne in the universe. If I recall correctly, when we were in England in the Westminster Abbey, I think I remember seeing the throne upon which the kings and the queens of England have sat as they have been crowned.

My wife and I have been to Budapest, and we've seen the throne and the crown of those who used to rule the Austrian-Hungarian Empire right there. But all of those thrones, and we have people around the world, we have government leaders, we have presidents and kings and dictators and you name it, all of them must submit ultimately to the one throne that is there in heaven because all the glory goes to the one who is on the throne. And that's why the Bible says that when Jesus returns, it says on his head are many diadems.

Why many diadems? Well, the imagery is there because in ancient times when a king lost a war, when he had to submit to his superior, he would take the crown off of his head and give it to the winner. And in the end, there is only one winner, and that is Jesus Christ, the Lord, God, and King. So you know, the people that bother you in the presence of God who's going to raise the dead and who's going to judge all the motives of men's hearts, in the end, though they may escape it on their earth, in the end, they are dealing with God, the one on the throne. And you and I in this life oftentimes have to commit our case to him because we believe him and we trust him, even as I read moments ago, to raise the dead and bring order and justice to a chaotic universe. Luther had enemies, and I remember him saying, you know, my enemies, and I won't quote who he thought were his enemies, he says, they are like fleas on God's fur coat.

I like that. You know, the people, your enemies, they are like fleas on God's fur coat. When you get discouraged, look at the throne, the throne. And then there's a second lesson I want you to get, and that is that don't ever think that you can enter into God's presence alone, that you can just go barging in and say, well, you know, I just am entering into God's presence. I'm going into God's presence in my own way.

Are you serious? Do you realize who you have to get past? You have more chance of going to the White House this afternoon and saying I'm going to talk to the president and I'm just going to get into the White House in my own way. You've got one level of security, another level of security. Look at what you have to do to get to God's presence.

Think about it. You know what you have to do? You have to get past the myriads of angels. Then you have to get past the 24 elders. Then you have to get past the living creatures which are closest to the throne. And then finally, you have to get into God's presence.

Don't try it alone. There's something that ought to bless you and send you rejoicing that I want you to see in chapter 5. He's closer even to the throne than the living creatures and the elders.

Well, there it is. It's in verse 6 of chapter 5. And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders, wow, I saw a lamb standing as though it had been slain. He's closer to the throne than even the living creatures because he is between the throne and the four living creatures. It is the lamb that gets us to God. It is the lamb that was slain who forgives our sins and gives us the righteousness of Jesus Christ. He's the only one who gets us to the Father, who gets us to the throne room. The Bible says in the book of Hebrews, encouraged, that as you come to God through Jesus Christ, we can come into the very throne room of God. The lamb gets us there. Do you notice it doesn't say, you know, that standing beside the throne was Buddha?

At least not in my translation. Or standing beside the throne is a Krishna or Confucius. Nor standing before the throne would be Mohammed. But standing before the throne between the four living creatures and God's throne is Jesus. And you're having a hard life, aren't you?

You're sick, you're out of money, you're out of work, life is hard. Well, you ought to give thanks to God today. Listen to what I'm reading out of the same book, book of Revelation. This is now when you have the new heaven and the new earth.

Now we're really talking eternity. It says, no longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb, there is going to be a Trinitarian reigning in eternity, separate topic that we must hurry over. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him, and they shall see his face and his name will be on their foreheads. Jesus is going to bring us right before the face of God, and it'll be our first opportunity to see God unmediated. Because Jesus as mediator having redeemed us will now say, you can look on his face directly, for I have fully and completely redeemed you, and you'll be standing at that throne as well, giving honor and praise to almighty God. I mean, aren't you enjoying this?

I am. Think of eternity, beholding the face of God, and worshiping him right in the midst of the throne, but only the Lamb can do it. If you've never trusted the Lamb that was slain, the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, you will not be there. I read the book of Revelation and I say to myself, I don't know, where's the third category? You've got all those around the throne, you've got all those who are in hell, I'm looking for category three. I'm looking for people who are too good to go to hell, but won't quite make it to heaven because they never trusted Christ.

There is no category three, wow. Only Jesus brings us to the very throne of God. There is nobody else out there who's able to do that. And you know, one of the best, thank you for that amen, I heard it from way back there. One of the best ways for us to prepare for heaven is to praise God on earth, get used to it here, because you're sure going to be doing it over there. And that's why we're going to end by singing holy, holy, holy. We're going to take our place with the four living creatures, we're going to sing their song, we're going to sing the song of the redeemed, the holiness and the greatness of God and the redemption brought to us through the Lamb. And if you've never trusted the Lamb as Savior, whether you're in the balcony, whether you're listening to this by radio or internet or whatever else, would you at this moment say, I believe and trust the Lamb to forgive me, to redeem me.

I receive him as mine. It's the only way to get to almighty God. Father, we ask in Jesus' name that you'll take these thoughts from your holy word and make them transforming, we pray, and help us to understand your sovereignty, your greatness, and the might of your holy name as we take our place and worship you. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty. In Jesus' name, amen. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty. On today's Moody Church Hour, Pastor Lutzer spoke about A Glimpse into Heaven, the last in an eight-part series on the invisible world where battles are lost and won.

We hope you now have, by faith, a clearer view of the invisible world around all of us. Advent is upon us, and we'd like you to have a very special book, The First Songs of Christmas. Written by Nancy DeMoss-Wolgemuth, this devotional book tells of the many songs sung by Mary, Elizabeth, Simeon, Zechariah, and the angels. It's our gift as a thank you for your gift of any amount to support The Moody Church Hour during this season. Just call 1-800-215-5001.

That's 1-800-215-5001. Or write to us at The Moody Church, 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois, 60614. Online, go to moodyoffer.com. That's moodyoffer.com. Join us next week at this same time for another Moody Church Hour with Pastor Erwin Lutzer and the Congregation of Historic Moody Church in Chicago. This broadcast is a ministry of The Moody Church. O Lamb, thy glory made us sing.