Hello, and welcome to another week of the Weekend Sermon. Thank you for reading this blog. It is my prayer that these weekly messages are helping people to know more about Jesus and how to serve Him better. When I started these sermons, I had the hope that they would be instrumental in bringing people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. I don't know if that is the case, but I continue to pray that the Lord will use these messages for His honor and glory.
I would like to ask everyone who reads this blog to pray for God's provision in being able to get all the bills paid this month. So far, July hasn't been a good month. I will continue to trust in the Lord to provide now as He has in the past.
In last week's message, I talked about the compassion of Jesus. Jesus means so much to me. He has had mercy on my soul, and He is with me no matter what the struggle. How great is His love.
Today, I am starting a series of messages based on the first five chapters of the book of Revelation. I may focus on the last two chapters of the book as well.
The reason that I want to look at these chapters is because they contain the words of Jesus that are so precious to me. The words of Jesus are found the the Gospels, the book of Acts and in Revelation.
The book of Revelation presents Jesus in the majesty of His glory. It shows Jesus as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The book gives us here on earth a glimpse of the praise given to Jesus in Heaven for all that He has done as the worthy Lamb of God.
So, let's look at the book of Revelation. This is one of the most controversial books in the Bible. There are many different theological viewpoints as to how this book should be interpreted. Most people are familiar with the dispensational and premillenial view of Revelation because that is the view presented by most radio and television preachers. It is the viewpoint expressed in the "Left Behind" series of books. I am not a dispensationalist, but I am premillenial.
There are many other interpretive frameworks for Revelation. Some of these are the preterist, partial preterist, historicist, spiritual and allegorical views.
As I said in a previous message, I believe in the end times teachings of Jesus. In the Gospels, Jesus taught that things would go along until one day when He will return and judge the earth. Jesus will establish His kingdom at that time and reign on the Earth forever and ever.
I approach the book of Revelation from the perspective that it had a meaning that was fulfilled shortly after it was written, and parts of the book are yet to be fulfilled. All of it is beneficial to knowing more about Jesus and what He expects of us.
The introduction of the book says, "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants. Things which must shortly take place." This message was given to John.
There is a debate about who wrote Revelation. By and large, scholars believe that the book was written by the Apostle John while he was in exile on Patmos. We know that John was on this island. However, some scholars believe that the book was written by someone referred to as John the elder. I see no reason not to accept that this book was written by the Apostle John. The best reason for taking him as the author is stated in verse 2 that says, "who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ." This definitely applies to the Apostle John who followed Jesus as one of the inner circle of three disciples that included James and Peter. John saw Jesus' miracles. He saw Jesus in His glory on the mount of Transfiguration, and He saw the risen Christ.
Verse 3 is very interesting. This verse says the those who read and hear the words of Revelation are blessed. In other words, it is important to study this book as it contains many important truths for our life on earth. It is important because it is about Jesus.
Next week, we will get more into chapter one as Jesus is revealed in His glory. On Wednesday, I will post another book review. May God bless you. Amen.
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