The Almighty
End of Days • Sermon • Submitted
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· 3 viewsGod has all of the power over all things, past, present and future.
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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 twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four 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 twenty-four 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.”
After this...”
When was “after this?”
Well, for John “after this” was immediately after the vision of Jesus dictating the seven letters to the seven angels of the seven churches which we just studied for seven weeks.
But for us, when is “after this?”
This sounds kind of like an esoteric argument but it’s not - it’s actually very, very important.
When is “after this?”
If we answer the way we’ve always been taught to look at the Revelation, “after this” is the future - these are the things to come at the end of days.
Things that will happen in the end times - a time filled with signs and wonders and the rapture and Jesus return and reign for 1,000 years and judgments and lakes of fire and a new heaven and a new earth.
Scores of books have been written about what will happen, you and I have read them all trying to divine from John’s apocalyptic vision of when will these things happen.
But you and I have learned something, haven’t we?
We’ve learned from the seven churches that in their day there were four types, classifications, four categories of people.
There were those who belong to the dark side to borrow from Star Wars.
They belong there - they believe everything Dark Lord teaches.
They are anti-christs.
Remember something else John said? 1 John 2:18
Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour.
Remember the idol worshippers and emperor worship we talked about?
Anti-christs - the dark side.
People who do not and will not worship God.
Then there were Christians in Name Only.
They claimed to be Christian but they were fully immersed in the Dark Side.
The church at Sardis with their dead works - doing what they because they wanted to feel good about being good, but they weren’t good.
“You have the reputation of being alive,” Jesus said, “but you are dead.”
Then there were the Christians who flirted with the dark side.
You can’t blame them - better not blame them because many times the modern church falls into this category.
Life is hard and the world is mean - and between the time Jesus came the first time and when He comes back the second time, “In the meantime,” as a friend of mine says, “it was a mean time,” and it is.
So in order to survive and thrive as they want to, people decided to go along to get along - Jesus said that about several churches, right?
Finally, there were the Christians who persevered.
The church at Smyrna and the church at Philadelphia.
These will be given a crown and death will not hurt them and they will be pillars in the community of God.
These will remain at the end.
Four classes, four categories of people.
“After this...”
We are transported across space and time to the end times, right - to a time of dragons and bowls and trumpets and seals and a woman and fire.
Or are we?
On March 23, 2021, USA Today - I used to read USA today when I traveled with Bellsouth.
I regularly stayed at Hampton Inns and the USA Today newspaper was provided free to the folks that stayed there and I often picked up a copy and read it.
I don’t know if they still do that but it appears that USA Today has a somewhat robust web presence.
On March 23, 2021, Hemal Jhaveri, an editor and columnist for the “For the Win” section of USA Today sports section published an article on their website entitled, “Oral Roberts University isn’t the feel good March Madness story we need.”
The accompanying picture looks like something we should celebrate.
There is a gaggle of extremely tall black men and extremely tall white men all gathered in a pseudo-group hug celebrating their latest win.
They are the Cinderella story of the year.
Ranked 15th coming into March Madness, they immediately knocked off number 2 Ohio State - sorry about that John Ling - not really - then they knocked off number 7, the University of Florida Gators.
Again, not really sorry about that.
And this puts them in the sweet 16 - and considering their competition so far, they shouldn’t be - but they are.
But, accord to Jhaveri, this “isn’t the feel good March Madness story we need.”
Why would she, a sports editor and columnist of a national newspaper say this?
Jhaveri says, “Founded by televangelist Oral Roberts in 1963, the Christian school upholds the values and beliefs of its fundamentalist namesake, making it not just a relic of the past, but wholly incompatible with the NCAA’s own stated values of equality and inclusion.
“...it is the school’s discriminatory and hateful anti-LGBTQ+ policy that fans should protest as the Golden Eagles advance in the tournament.”
“Also, as part of their honor code, the university requires students to abide by a pledge saying that they will not engage in “homosexual activity,” and that they will not be united in marriage other “than the marriage between one man and one woman.”
She continues in the article to say, “What is not up for debate however is their anti-LGBTQ+ stance, which is nothing short of discriminatory and should expressly be condemned by the NCAA.”
Read it for yourself - https://ftw.usatoday.com/2021/03/oral-roberts-ncaa-anti-lgbtq-code-of-conduct
We don’t have a lot of time for this argument, so listen quickly.
The call it March Madness because almost everyone, except the 10 of us who don’t like basketball, follow the games and have filled out our brackets.
Nothing wrong with that.
You aren’t going to die and go to hell because you end up winning $25 in the office March Madness pool, but...
I have said and will continue to say that the 21st century church is now the ball field.
It is - children’s Awana attendance drops when ball starts up, and God forbid we schedule an activity during a University of Georgia game.
It’s undeniable - don’t deny it.
But now here’s the deal.
Should the NCAA ban Oral Roberts and thus all Christian and religious schools that hold these “transphob[ic], homophob[ic] [and] regressive, sexist policies,” as Jhaveri says, and your child is good enough to get an athletic scholarship to an NCAA school and a Christian school, which-one-would-you-choose?
Jesus identified four categories of people.
Welcome to “after this...”
“After this,” is now.
“After this,” has been every now in history up to now and will include every now in history until Jesus’ physical return.
Welcome to “after this...”
And just to be as inflammatory as I can be, Hemel Jharveri is an antichrist.
The USA Today is an antichrist.
The NCAA is an antichrist.
Why? Because they stand against Christ.
“...so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour.”
We are just over 1/3 done for today, we’ve done two words, Lord help us.
After John receives the letters he sees a door open in heaven and he hears that trumpet voice which we know is the voice of Jesus telling him to “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.”
“At once,” John is no longer standing there but is now “in the Spirit,” and is transported to the throne room of God the Father.
Now, let me remind you, John is written in apocalyptic language.
That means the visions and symbols and words are all spoken in a way convey both information and emotion.
You are supposed to feel something when you read this - it’s not meant for intellectual study for a test - it’s not meant to study to figure out what each symbol means and what sequence will they happen in until they all take place.
These images are meant to move you and me - to frighten us and delight us and scare us and give us hope.
I don’t know if John actually saw God in the vision or not.
He says there was a throne and one seated on the throne, but his description is not of a man.
He “had the appearance of jasper and carnelian...”
Jasper and carnelian are precious stones that get their beauty from reflecting light.
If you have a diamond, you know what makes it beautiful is the way the facets catch the light and break it into all of the colors of the rainbow.
A diamond sparkles, but only in the light.
It has no sparkle or beauty of its own, it’s only dazzling when it reflects the light.
Paul tells Timothy (1 Timothy 6:16) that God “dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see.”
What difference does that make?
John’s not seeing a man.
The prophet Samuel said that God, “is not a man.” (1 Samuel 15:29)
Job said that God, “is not a man.” (Job 9:32)
God says in Hosea, “…for I am God and not a man.” (Hosea 11:9)
God is not a man.
He’s not like you and me.
While His children can call him “abba,” He’s not your granddad with a lap you can plop into.
His being is so bright, so holy, so pure, that it exudes from his being in colors of red and yellow and brown and dark green and a deep reddish brown.
And green - the rainbow surrounding the throne in all of its brilliant green color is exuded by the presence of God.
Now real quick, why the word rainbow and not the word halo?
When have we seen a rainbow before?
Noah.
Who saw the rainbow?
God’s chosen people who had been saved through the flood.
The evil people didn’t see it, did they?
They couldn’t - they were all destroyed by the wrath of God.
But the saved, the redeemed, the chosen, the elect, God’s children, His very own, they saw the rainbow.
The rainbow around the throne is a reminder to us that God is not mad with us.
That He has made a way for us to endure whatever is thrown at us.
That He will never abandon us.
He promised Noah - He is promising us now.
What’s the message?
Deuteronomy 31:6
Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”
Because you are His chosen.
Around the throne were 24 smaller thrones with 24 elders.
Lot’s of people have lots of ideas but here’s where I fall out.
The 24 elders are 24 angels - 12 representing the 12 tribes of Israel, 12 representing the 12 disciples.
All of them representing all of the chosen of every nation and tribe and language and people.
The full church, the entire body of Christ - all of those God called, all of those that responded and ...
You see the golden crown?
It’s a special word for a crown here.
You know in those days the winners of their athletic contests won a crown made of a wreath of garland.
That’s the word here - it’s a wreath of garland except the garland has leaves of solid gold - like gold refined in fire.
What does that mean?
It means they endured, they conquered.
It means (2 Timothy 4:7-8)
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.
The elder’s crown is the same kind of crown Jesus promised to the 4th tier Christians.
“Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life,” Jesus said.
Apocalyptic language’s goal is to make you feel something.
Thunder, lightning, the rumbles of thunder as it travels into the distance.
John is caught in a thunderstorm - how does that make you feel?
Have you ever been caught outside in the open in a thunderstorm.
There’s very real fear here.
You don’t run to a thunderstorm - you run away - but John doesn’t.
The Holy Spirit is there - seven torches burning with fire.
There are four living creatures.
I nervous laughed about the word “living.”
These creatures are nothing like we’ve ever seen and yet God wants us to know they are living - that God created them, not like us but like something.
They surround the throne on four sides and they are covered in eyes.
In front and behind.
Watching, seeing, knowing - what?
You and me - every moment - every day - every thought - every whisper - every secret - nothing remains hidden.
The four faces means something but God didn’t clarify - He left it mysterious.
I like the old rabbinic saying that “The mightest among the birds is the eagle, the mightest among the domestic animals is the bull, the mightest among the wild beasts is the lion and the mightest among all is man.”
“Whatever is noblest, strongest, wisest, and swiftest in animate Nature,” all things great and small, worship the Father.
Everything with life worships Him.
The four creatures are the worship leaders in this scene and they have a very specific message for those people who are living “After this...”
“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”
Listen to me, the secret of our being able to endure the NCAA and the news writers and hostile governments and hostile people is in this song of praise.
What’s the secret?
Holy, holy, holy.
The Father is pure, His justice is not corrupt , His righteousness is unassailable, His truth is complete, His judgments are faultless.
No sin can be found in Him.
No temptation has been found that can tempt Him.
No evil can be made that will entice Him.
He is other.
He is perfect.
He is holy.
He is the Lord God Almighty.
Almighty means that God has the power over all things.
That means that “no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed.” (Isaiah 54:17)
It means that God “goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.” (Deuteronomy 20:4)
He is the “God of my strength, in whom I will trust; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my Savior...” (2 Samuel 22:3-4)
He is the “Lord [who] hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.” (Psalm 34:17)
He is the Father who, though we are “hard-pressed on every side, [we are] not crushed; we [may be] perplexed, but [we do not] despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9)
He is the “Lord…my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:6)
He has power over all things.
“Who was and is and is to come!”
When is He holy?
When is He Almighty?
When is He not?
The rainbow over the throne and the words of worship of the four living creatures are promises to the church that those who believe and endure to the end, that nothing on earth, above the earth or under the earth, no power, no principality, no might, no dominion, nothing can over come them because the Father is Holy, Almighty forever and ever more.
Listen, standing with the Father, we are invincible.
When the four creatures worship, the 24 elders worship.
They cast their crowns (casting crowns - get it?), they cast their crowns before the throne and then they say this:
“Worthy are you.”
Listen, listen, listen - you’ve got to hear this.
Remember we’ve said in the seven letters, that Jesus always spoke to the churches in language they understood.
He picked some characteristic of their community and used it to make a point.
He’s doing the same thing here - and no joke, it applies perfectly to us today.
When the Roman emperor entered a room, the people cried, “You are worthy.”
In the temples they built to worship the emperor, they called him “our Lord and God.”
This language is their language - right here the Almighty God says, “No, it’s not. It belongs to me.”
Caesar is not worthy.
Listen, listen - no political leader is worthy.
Listen - Donald Trump is not worthy.
Listen - Joe Biden is not worthy.
No political leader is worthy.
No leader of any people of any place any where at any time is worthy of honor and glory and power.
Listen, not a one of them can deliver us.
Only God.
But wait, there’s just a little bit more and it answers a question one of our third grade Awana students asked Wednesday night.
If God knows everything, He knew Adam and Eve were going to sin and all of these bad things would happen. So why did He create us knowing what we were going to do?
“For you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”
Listen, don’t miss this.
God created us, knowing that we were going to sin, because He wanted children to love.
Because He knew before He created the first electron of the first atom that He had made way that some people would follow so that He would have a people that would “glorify Him and enjoy Him forever,” and He would enjoy them.
God didn’t want a pet - He wanted a person - a person who by His calling and their desire to follow, they would be made different from everything else in all of creation.
They would be adopted as Children of God because the Father wanted children to love.
Next week, we re-learn how - it’s going to be different from anything you have ever experienced on Easter.
In a few moments we’ll sing a hymn of response.
This is your only invitation, after we pray, I’ll not say another word.
Who will save you from this coming storm?
Decide and put your stake in the ground.
That’s the whole point of what’s going on right now.
God is making us choose side - and choose sides you must.
I’ll be standing down front - if you’ve never trusted Jesus, take your first bold step and come tell me your decision.
If you want me to walk to you, simply raise your hand and I’ll come to you.
And if you have already trusted Jesus, maybe you should be like an elder, come to the altar and get on your knees to worship the only one who can deliver you.
It is time to be bold, people. It’s time.
Let us pray.