Sermon Transcript Tone Analysis

We're firing up our series on the second part of the Book of Revelation.

We did Revelation chapters 1 through 3 in the fall.

And now we're picking up again and we're going to do a 13-part study through the rest of the Book of Revelation and in this Study that we're going to do.

We're going to see difficulties, were going to see Warfare.

We're going to see judgements.

There's going to be some sort of.

Looks like the world is imploding on itself.

Kind of stuff that we're going to come across in the Book of Revelation.

But of course, we're going to see God's good plan to and at the beginning of our study, the part that we're looking at today.

God chooses.

To first, before it gets into any of that detail to show us.

This picture that I'm imagining, God was one to show us and this picture is important for us to know.

In fact, if we don't get this picture in our head, we're not really going to understand what the Book of Revelation is about.

This, this picture is what The Book of Revelation is really about, And I want to suggest that if you get this picture in your head, it will help you.

When you look at this world with look, it's beautiful things and it's challenging things to understand what the state of it all is.

Revelation today, chapters four and five.

It's one picture, but it's comes in two parts.

So we have someone who's going to read for us today.

And we're going to ask that person to read Twice, first chapter 4.

And then, we're going to think about that picture, and then chapter 5 and will think about that picture.

So Deb snow, thank you for reading for us today.

And please start us off with Revelation chapter 4.

After this, I looked and there before me was a door, standing open and Heaven and the voice.

I had first heard speaking to me, like a trumpet, said, come up here and I will show you what must take place after.

At once I was in the spirit.

And the one who sat there had the appearance of Jasper and Ruby a rainbow that Shone like an emerald encircled.

The throne surrounding the throne were twenty-four other Thrones 24, elders and had crowns of gold on their has from the throne came flashes of lightning Rumblings and peals of thunder in front of the throne seven lamps for blazing.

These are the seven spirits of God.

Also in front of the throne.

There was what looked like a sea of glass, clear, as crystal in the center around, the throne were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes in front and in back.

The first living creature was like a lion.

The second was like an ox, the third had a face.

Like, a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle.

Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings day and night.

They never stop saying.

Holy holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come whenever the living creatures, give glory honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives forever and ever, the 24 Elders, fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship Him, lives forever and ever, they lay their crowns Before.

The Throne and say, you are worthy of our Lord and God to receive glory and honor and power for you created all things.

And by your will they were created and have their being

you asked God.

Talk to us.

Please about about what's going on in the world and where the world is going and and he shows us a picture as his answer.

What would that picture have to say to us?

And so, I think

Thanks, I think that.

This is the first part of the picture at the center of all things.

God, sits on a throne and receives worship.

Explain that a little bit, the first verse that Deb just read first part, was that a Divine person who's in some sort of place, says to John, who's the author of the book of Revelation?

Come on up here because I want to show you what's going to take place and we're calling this kind of literature.

Apocalyptic literature that apocalyptic literature appears in outside of the Bible and other places.

Of course, when it's in the Bible, it's about God and what God's revealing.

But the idea of apocalyptic literature is a human being gets invited to some place where that human being can.

Look at the world.

From a different perspective in this case, God's inviting a representative human being the disciple John to a place where John can look at reality from God's perspective.

That's what's happening here.

And what is John C John.

First sees a throne and on this Throne.

The Bible says there is a person who has the appearance first of all of Jasper, this is what we call Jasper and it brings to mind that it's actually quite difficult to look at a text from 95 a.d. that describes gemstones and understand what of the gemstones we know is being talked about here so this is what we called Jasper but prom What he's thinking of is more like a diamond because let me read, this is revelation 21 verse 11.

It Shone with the glory of God, and its Brilliance was like that of a very precious Jewel, like a Jasper clear as Crystal.

So it must be that what John's calling Jasper isn't the same thing that we called Jasper.

Because this is what we call Jasper and you wouldn't describe that as being clear as Crystal.

So, Probably John's thinking of this gym that we call a diamond.

At least, it's one of the gyms that we were described as being clear as Crystal.

This person has the appearance of a gemstone like that end of a ruby.

So here's what we call a ruby and around this person, there is a rainbow with the appearance of an emerald.

So here is what we call in Emerald.

the Temptation is to kind of be literal about it, and to think there's some big Creature made out of gemstones sitting on the throne but I think what we should do is think about the fact that John's trying to describe something that's that really can't be described and he's using what's available in in his world.

So he's aware of precious gems and he's aware of those few stones that are clear enough that light can radiate out of them and somehow this picture evokes, all of that.

And in front of this Throne, there's a sea as clear as glass.

So this happens to be a lake.

That is absolutely Clear Water.

You can describe it as a see that's as clear as glass and

yeah, and then there's some other parts when I first read this, not this week but when I first read it and try to understand it, I

I was picturing the movie, The Wizard of Oz, It's got like these Hollywood set.

These old Hollywood sets looks her to plasticky like a plastic C and and coloring.

I don't know the technology but maybe it was black and white first and got color later.

I don't know.

The colors aren't don't really look genuine.

They they look fake right and somewhere along the line.

I'm like, no, he's describing a beautiful Grand View.

That is probably like something we've seen.

So here's where my mind went.

This is a lake that I went too often when I was growing up, this is Lake Tahoe at the intersection of the State of California in the state of Nevada and this is certain, this is my picture when I think about what John's describing this beautiful colorful awesome scene and here's God on a throne in the in the middle of it in there and he's surrounded by just just Beauty and Majesty.

and then there's a couple of other parts there are Four creatures.

That seem to represent the categories of creatures on the earth.

There is one creature that looks like a lion.

So if you think about the most powerful of the wild animals Alliance, there's one that looks like an ox.

If you think about the most powerful of the domesticated animals, there's two knocks.

One of these creatures has a face that looks like a human being.

You think about the the strongest, most powerful of the creatures on the planet.

There are human beings.

There's one with a face, like an eagle, you think of the creatures of the sky and the most powerful among them, there's an eagle.

So maybe these four creatures represent the created order and they have six wings and they have eyes, even Eyes under their wings, Which must be about.

They're observing us, they they see everything.

And what they see in this scene is the Holiness of God, because that's what they say when when it's, when they're crying out there saying.

Holy holy holy is the Lord, God Almighty.

And then in addition to those, four creatures around the throne there are 24 elders.

12 is the number of the tribes of the people of Israel.

Twelve is the number of the disciples that Jesus called to follow him for all this sort of this, this Perfection kind of number in the Bible on.

This is two times that there are twenty-four of them and and they have crowns and white clothes.

We know about crowns.