7:02 Well, good afternoon, Maranatha Bible Church. Welcome to this Lord's Day service where we have yet another opportunity, a joyous opportunity to worship our great God. And it is a joy as always to do that with brothers and sisters in Christ. You know, church church isn't just a nice thing that we get to do. Church is essential.
7:30 It is powerful. I think, for a reason. Because this Psalm is so deep and rich and glorious. And may it truly tune our hearts to the Lord today as we begin our service. Psalm 19 to the choir master, a Psalm of David.
8:06 The heavens declare the glory of God and the skies above proclaim his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor are there words whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the world earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them, he has set a tent for the sun, which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber and like a strong man runs its course with joy.
8:36 Its rising is from the end of the heavens and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat. The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
9:03 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. The rules of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold, sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is your servant warned. In keeping them, there is great reward.
9:26 Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults. Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins. Let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless and innocent of great transgression.
9:44 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, oh lord, my rock and my redeemer. Father, truly, we look to you today as our rock and our redeemer. Father, help our desires today. Help our weak and half hearted and puny desires for these things of this world, for gold and silver and success and comfort and entertainment. Lord, help these puny desires to disappear in the face of Jesus Christ.
10:28 Lord, may you inflame our desires to want so much better and greater and more joyous things out of this life, namely knowing you and the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Father, help us today. Focus our hearts on you. Focus our minds on you. Lord, truly open our eyes that we might behold wondrous things out of your word.
10:55 May we come away changed from this day, and may you receive all the glory in here in this place now and forever. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Church, will you please stand and sing unto the Lord?
11:47 the word of God the father from before the world began. Every star and every planet has been fashioned by your hand. All creation holds together I know just my
19:59 Yes, Father, we love you And the only way we can love you is because you have first loved us. Help us love you more. I'll remove all the fog and all the clutter in our hearts that would distract us and blur our vision of just how glorious you are. Make Christ real to us today. In Jesus' name we pray.
20:27 Amen. Church, turn to somebody. Greet them in the love of Jesus Christ before you're seated. Welcome, Maranatha Bible Church. Welcome to members.
20:54 Welcome to the visitors. Glad that you can make it here on this warm, sunny afternoon. And I pray that your hearts would be worn by the trues that you will hear today, and that we sing today, and that we fellowship over today. Only few more Sundays left here. We're still discussing when the exact closing date will be.
21:13 The official one is on May 4. But as you know, we are still trekking away and believing God to raise all the funds necessary to enter into this new season. And so we're being very intentional and, prayerful about our giving. And we're gonna worship the Lord in that very act now as the ushers help us in our giving. If you do desire to give towards this new building that will be our soon and very soon new home, you can just make a note in the memo somehow just indicating that this is going towards Maranatha Bible Church's new home.
21:46 And, between now and then, there are a few things that are happening that I'd love to bring to your attention. Ladies, you have a Saturday morning breakfast on April 18 at 10AM. So if you are a part of this church or maybe you're not and you like to be more familiar with the the family here, you can join us sisters for April 18 at 10AM for a time of fellowship, prayer, testimonies, and of course fellowship over food. So that's taking place on the eighteenth. Many of you have been asking about our yearly family conference, and that is set in terms of the date.
22:23 We don't have the registration open just yet. But Maranatha conference will be taking place on August 27 to the thirtieth. So the twenty seventh is on a Thursday and the thirtieth is on the Sunday. So that is all ready to go. Just mark that off in your calendars, and we will open up registration on June 1.
22:42 I can't believe the conference is around the corner. You just you blink and then you're there again. And that seems to be the case here. Things are happening very quickly. Now I mentioned a new building.
22:51 Let me mention it again, but with some update here. As we're getting closer and closer, we've been preparing you to get ready to work. We're all gonna work. Here's how we're gonna organize ourselves here. We have in the back a sign up sheet with the name slot and a phone number and email address, whatever way you'd like to be contacted.
23:13 But with that, we also have different categories, for you to be able to check off or indicate how you can help. So there's electrical, there's painting, there's organization, there's, I don't know, cheerleading those who are doing work. Whatever it is that you can do to help, that will be laid out there. And if there's a unique way you can help, you can make a note of that somewhere. So we're gonna be announcing this every week leading up to the closing date.
23:38 So what that means for us is after the service, find that sheet, it should be there at the sound booth, put in your name, put your contact information as clearly as possible, and then just check off different places where you can where you can help. And that way, our leadership will be able to organize different teams. And once we have the dates available for us to be able to go to the actual site, you will be contacted ahead of time and we will have a wonderful, wonderful time together going there and cleaning and organizing and just getting things ready for the grand opening. So be mindful of this in the weeks ahead. This will be starting as of today in terms of signing up and we look forward to seeing as many of you as possible make this, reality that much more enjoyable and ready for this transition.
24:25 Well, for some reason, what came to mind today was a question that was asked me many years ago that maybe you've wondered or you've been asked. I remember a group of young men once approached me after a service from a different church background and wondered, hey. Why is it that you Christians sing? Why do you sing? I understand the preaching.
24:48 I understand the time together, but why do you take time to actually belt out lyrics to tunes? And when I reflected on the answer, I remember, you know, showing how it's instructed and commanded in the Word of God. But I was also reminded recently that one reason why we sing is because our God sings. That's one of the most fascinating insights about the God that we worship found in the Hebrew scriptures. Let me read this verse to you.
25:15 You know this very well, but I I want you to remember or maybe know for the first time what makes God sing. In Zephaniah three seventeen, it says, the Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save. He will rejoice over you with gladness. Yesvi says, he will quiet you by his love. He will exalt over you with not just singing, loud singing.
25:46 What's the context? The salvation and redemption of the nation of Israel. The Jews, God says that he will sing about it. You know what's amazing? You find that there are different creatures, heavenly spiritual creatures, who also rejoice in different ways, namely angels.
26:15 And in Job thirty eight seven, we learned that the morning stars sing together. The sons of God, which is another way of describing the angels, the sons of God shout with joy. What's the context there? Over creation. When God created the world, the universe, the angels could not help but rejoice and sing about it.
26:36 There's no indication that God sang over his creation. He did say it was good. He did enjoy his creation. But you know what makes God sing? Your redemption and mine.
26:51 Imagine that. That's what moves God's heart to actually rejoice in song when we come to Him and belong to Him forever. So why do we sing? Well, we reflect the character of our God. But we are not the object of our rejoicing.
27:09 He is. And what he has done on our behalf is why we come here and sing. So let's do that together, shall we? Let's stand and let's continue to sing. Lord, we thank you for the truths in this word.
27:24 May every verse quoted, may every application made cause us to be a singing people and reflect your heart. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
36:53 Yes, God. Praise be to you, Lord, the God, father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from everlasting to everlasting. Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor from everlasting to everlasting. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom. You are exalted as head over all.
37:12 Wealth and honor come from you. You are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. Now our God. We give you thanks and we praise your glorious name.
37:23 But who am I? And who are these people that we should be able to praise you freely and come before your throne of grace, Lord? We thank you that we can come before you unimpeded, Lord, by our sins, past, present, or future. Lord, God, we pray today that you would assist us in receiving your word, understanding your word, applying your word, and obeying your word. Lord, we need you, by the power of your spirit, to assist us this day.
38:21 Let's meet together in God's word in the book of Revelation chapter 15. Revelation chapter 15. What you and I have before us today is the shortest chapter in the entire book of Revelation, but don't mistake its brevity for insignificance. Last time we were together in this book, we examined the closing verses of Revelation chapter 14. And in it, we discovered that God has given us a preview of the final judgments that he will unleash upon mankind.
39:05 Namely, they were a prelude to the seven bowls of God's wrath. The final series of his justice against an evil world before the return of the Son of God. Now as we come to chapter 15, we arrive at their introduction. In other words, the trailer for these judgments has ended and the opening scene now begins. But when you read this chapter carefully, you'll notice that John is doing something much more profound than setting the stage for the culmination of God's manifest justice.
39:48 There seems to be a weaving of other things taking place, a profound picture that he is putting together, and it's my prayer that we will seek to capture it in our time together this afternoon. And the best way to start is by just reading the entire chapter. It's very short as you know. So let's start here in verse one of Revelation 15. Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing.
40:22 Seven angels with seven plagues which are the last for with them the wrath of God is finished. And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire, and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb saying, great and amazing are your deeds, oh Lord God the Almighty. Just and true are your ways, oh King of the nations. Who will not fear, oh Lord, and glorify your name?
41:01 For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you for your for your righteous acts have been revealed. After this, I looked and the sanctuary of the tent of witness in heaven was opened. And out of the sanctuary came the seven angels with the seven plagues, clothed in pure bright linen with golden sashes around their chest. And one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever.
41:29 And the sanctuary was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished. Lord, we ask that you would do a work in our hearts as you did to your servant Titus. We read in your word that Paul confessed gladly that you put it into the heart of Titus to have the same earnest care for the Corinthians that he had. And Lord, we see a promise in that truth that you can take our hearts and put in it what you desire. So Lord, as your church, we extend our hearts to you.
42:12 We say put in these hearts your love. A love for you, a love for the word, a love for the church, a love for the lost, a love for that which is holy. And use this message to accomplish that. We ask these things in Jesus name, amen. A lot of imagery here is familiar to us, isn't it?
42:35 We've seen echoes of this throughout the book of Revelation and yet there is something very unique, one element in what we just saw that stands out. A reference to Moses. That seems a little strange. Moses doesn't appear before this and Moses doesn't show up after this in the book of Revelation. But John is not only making reference to the man, Moses.
43:09 He tells us specifically here in verse three that they sang the song of Moses. So it's less about him bringing our attention to the person and more about us remembering an event. We know exactly where the song of Moses was sung and we'll get to that in a moment, but this clear reference is absolutely essential to unlocking other illusions in this prophetic passage. When you see this, you understand that there are other details around it that when you put it together, it forms a grand and familiar picture. And that's what I want us to see.
43:53 Keep the song of Moses in the back of your mind and let's look over very quickly the verses that we just read. Look at verse one again. And I and I think that as we read this, light bulbs are gonna go off. Verse one. Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, seven angels with seven, what?
44:13 Plagues. Verse two, and I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its names standing beside the sea. The ESV writes beside because the Greek word epi is very elastic. It can mean beside, before, on. So some of your translations say they were standing on the sea, but the ESV renders it beside.
44:41 Standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. Look at verse three. And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God and the song of the Lamb, saying. Skip over to verse five. After this, I looked and the sanctuary of the tent of witness in heaven was opened.
45:04 Other translations say the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony. This is a clear picture in reference to the tabernacle. Verse six, and out of the sanctuary came the seven angels with the seven plagues, clothed in pure bright linen with golden sashes around their chest. In other words, they're dressed like priests. Finally, verse eight.
45:31 And the sanctuary was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power no one could enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished. So think about this with me. Plagues, deliverance from a global tyrant, singing victoriously by a sea, Moses and more specifically the song of Moses, a lamb, the tent of witness, priestly looking servants of God, and finally, the sanctuary filled with the smoke of God's glory. It couldn't be more obvious. What John is doing here in this vision is clearly making an allusion to the exodus story and the journey into the wilderness.
46:27 But for what purpose? Well, by borrowing these details, John is obviously bringing to mind this pivotal moment in redemptive history, but more than that, he's also describing a new exodus to come. That's what's happening here. It's as old the aged apostle is saying, you are very aware of God's redemptive power. Namely what he did for Israel bringing them out of Egypt.
46:59 But I'm here to tell you by the authority and this inspiration of the Holy Spirit that there is another exodus to come. And what I wanna speak to you about is just that, the new exodus. Have you ever thought about it? It's promised. It's illustrated.
47:20 It's presented to us right here in this chapter. And the way we're going to seek to understand this new Exodus is by coming to this text, looking at the major characteristics and then comparing it with the Exodus of old. Paralleling some truths and and contrasting some realities. For what reason? So that in the end, we would come to the conclusion that what is to come, this great act of deliverance is far more significant, far more powerful, and far more glorious than what Israel experienced in Egypt.
47:53 I want you and I today by the grace of God to consider three facets of this new exodus, of this exodus that is promised for the future. They're very simple to remember. Again, there's gonna be similarities but we're also going to see how this exodus is greater. Number one, John wants us to see the wrath of God in connection to this act of deliverance. That's what he immediately perceives in the opening of this chapter.
48:24 What he sees in this new vision is seven angels who come and emerge with seven plagues that will complete God's wrath on the earth. Notice, they are the last. This is another clue that the book of Revelation is chronological. Some people believe it's cyclical, that it's repetitive, that it's just showing different angles of the same scene. But this is an indication that no, there's a progression taking place in Revelation.
48:50 We've already covered the seal judgments, we've seen the trumpet judgments, and now these bowls of God's wrath, they're the final acts of God's judgment. But notice this, the same way that God's judgment was the means of bringing total and complete deliverance to Israel, so will be for the church at the end of the age. Jesus Christ took God's wrath upon himself on the cross, yes, and he secured our redemption. But there's still more judgment to come namely upon the wicked to make way for our total redemption, For the new age, the new world, the new kingdom to come. And that's what John is indicating here.
49:33 You and I, we know that the way God accomplished this deliverance for Israel was by unleashing 10 plagues. But more than that, the final blow against pharaoh and his tyrannical regime was what? Being buried beneath the Red Sea. And that's what seems to be indicated here. The message being illustrated when John sees not just the last plagues, but also a scene of a sea of glass mingled with fire.
50:07 Did you see that? Verse two, and I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire. The last time we saw the sea of glass was back in chapter four but there was no mention of it being mixed with fire. It was like crystal. It was calm.
50:22 It's a reflection of God's purity, his holiness, his righteousness, his his consistency. But then now the sea of glass before his throne reappears but this time it's being illuminated by flames. It's being stirred so to speak by fire. That doesn't mean that there's gonna be a literal splitting of the Red Sea in the tribulation period. What it does show, however, is that this glass like mass mixed with fire before God's throne conveys that God is about to bring the fatal and total defeat of the evil systems of the world just like the Red Sea did in the past.
51:03 John is deep. Clearly, he's being led by the Holy Spirit. However, there is a difference between what we see here in this experience of a future exodus for the church, for the redeemed in Christ and what Israel knew. There is a clear order of events. When you go back to Exodus, what do you find?
51:26 The plagues being poured out upon Egypt, and then the Red Sea. And then after the Red Sea, what? On the other side of the shore, the people of God looking upon their enemies, drowning in the in the water and rejoicing. They were singing then. But now we come here and what do we discover?
51:45 We have mentioned of plagues. We have even this connection with the idea of a sea and they're singing. But when are they singing? Well, keep in mind, the plagues are being introduced in this chapter. In chapter 16, they're gonna be triggered.
52:03 They're actually going to be released. They haven't been released yet. And yet, the redeemed in heaven are singing. They're singing before it happens. Why?
52:19 Because they know that the outcome is guaranteed. This is a declaration of faith. This is a demonstration of absolute trust. There's a contrast here. The redeemed in the old testament erupt in praise after God achieved his promise which is wonderful.
52:37 But the righteous here who are in heaven namely, they choose to praise God and glorify him before anything plays out on the earth. This is obviously a look into a future end times event but the worship of these saints instructs us about our worship. You and I cannot afford to reserve our praise only for when God does something for what he has accomplished in the past. He is worthy of that. We must continually acknowledge him for the good that he has allowed us to experience and enjoy.
53:13 Yes. But broaden your worship, my brother and sister. You and I have permission and we are invited more than that. We are commanded to praise God for what he will do. What he what he promised that would happen.
53:27 Not just what he has performed, but what he has promised will take place. And the reason why we can sing about those things with absolute fervor and zeal and rock solid confidence is because he said it would happen. And because he said it, he will do it. And so the explosiveness of our worship, yes rightly so, should be in response to what the Lord has done but also what he will do. And this is what we find here.
54:01 These saints are not experiencing yet, but they are still glorifying God. Now speaking of singing, we come to the second feature of this new Exodus that is so important. We We looked at the wrath of God, but now we have to look at the song. The songs that they are singing in verse three and four. And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the lamb.
54:24 Now there is a harmless debate about this singing taking place here. And here's the discussion. Is this speaking about two songs or one? Harmless. Your salvation doesn't count on it.
54:40 Thank God. So is this two titles for the same song? Others will say and argue, no, no, these are two separate tunes blended together like a medley. And then there are a minority who say, no, this is clearly indicating that there are two separate songs being sung here. If you and if you take the text at face value, it seems to be just that.
55:06 There's the song of Moses and then the song of the lamb. If it was one song, you would think that it would say something like, and they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God and the lamb. But that's not what happens. You have two songs here being mentioned. Now, why is that distinction important?
55:27 I think one reason why it's important is because when we look at the song of Moses, we are aware that this is the people of God rehearsing God's past faithfulness. This is something that we find in Exodus 15. And so they are looking back and they are even echoing what the saints of old were rejoicing about. But the song of the lamb appears to be a new song. And John gives us a glimpse into some of the lyrics of this new song.
55:56 And before we look at these lyrics, consider what this means for us. On this side of the cross, this is so glorious. We as followers of Christ have more to sing about than those who went before us. The prophets of old, they had insight into the future. There is there is obvious clues in even the Psalms about Messiah and what he will do and what he will accomplish on behalf of the world.
56:24 But in reality, the redeemed of old sang about a shadow. You and I get to sing about the fulfillment. We have the complete picture. We have our eyes opened Because a new covenant grants us clarity, more revelation, more testimonies, and as a result, it should stimulate and encourage greater worship. We have more to sing about.
57:01 It's not just the song of Moses that's been there from nearly the beginning, we also have the song of the lamb. This is one of the advantages that we have as followers of Christ today. I want you to turn to a verse that is so important for us and being able to answer why we are more blessed in the new covenant. It's in second Timothy one verse 10. This will confirm the argument that I'm trying to make here.
57:28 Listen to what Paul says about one of the treasures of being in Christ. What Christ was able to offer us. In second Timothy one ten, in describing the power and the privilege of the gospel, notice what he mentions. Paul says, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. We know that when Jesus came, he destroyed death, but he did more than just destroy death.
58:00 It says here that he brought life, that is eternal life, life now, and immortality to light through the gospel. In other words, when Jesus Christ entered into the scene and did what he did and taught what he taught, he turned the light on. In the old testament, they could see but it was almost like entering into a room with a very faint light. And so you can make out the shapes and and you could touch and see maybe this is what this object is but when Christ comes into this whole picture of redemptive history, he flicks on the light and we can see everything. And we know what we need to know by God's grace concerning immortality, everlasting life, what's what's gonna happen after death and about life now.
58:49 So the Old Testament, they had their songs but we have more. They had their insights but we have greater. And this is what I find here that there is a principle that reminds us of our great treasure in Christ. Not just the song of Moses but the song of the lamb. Now let me add something that I know I don't need to convince you of.
59:09 I'm aware who I'm preaching to, but it's good to be reminded about it anyway. The fact that these saints who are in heaven, we're gonna discover that they're they're the saints who were martyred during the tribulation period. The fact that they're singing the song of Moses and the song of the lamb teaches us that the Old Testament and the New Testament are consistent. That they're in harmony. The old does not contradict the new and vice versa.
59:39 The new completes the old. And this is this is illustrated here because I'm afraid that there are many people who are under the illusion that there is disagreement or even different versions of God or that because we're New Testament believers, this really gets me going. So I'm That because we are now followers in Christ and we are enjoying the new covenant and Christ inaugurated this New Testament, we don't need to really look into the Old Testament. That there's not much benefit for us there. We're in the last book of the Bible and guess what they're doing, they're singing the song of Moses.
1:00:24 I adjure you and again, I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but just in case there's one who's listening to this and has been convinced that we can disconnect ourselves from the Hebrew scriptures, no, no, no, no, no. God bids us to explore and examine and relish in what came before. Especially because we have the complete picture now in Christ. We have the flashlight to look at everything that's found and what came before and see it for what it really is. Why would you miss out on that?
1:01:00 I'm telling you there's a growing trend within the evangelical circles of dismissing the Old Testament, of ignoring the Hebrew Scriptures, and that's creating a lot of problems theologically. I'm gonna take my cue from the saints found here in the book of Revelation. They didn't just sing the song of the lamb. In fact, you can't sing the song of the lamb unless you know the prior songs. The lamb, where does that come from?
1:01:30 Well, if you know the song of Moses, it'll make more sense. So here's the application, read your old testament. Enjoy it. Enjoy enough where you can sing about the truths you find in it. And that always point you to Christ.
1:01:50 So they sing. Now we'll look at some of the lyrics here. We can't look at every detail. I wanna just mention one thing and it's how the words you and your repeated over and over again. Again, we can spend a whole message just on the lyrics here but consider this, your deeds, your ways, glorify your name, you alone are holy, worship you for your righteous acts.
1:02:15 Six times in the stanza. God and God alone is the object of this choir's adoration and affection. You, you, your, your, you. And that becomes even more meaningful when you remember who it is singing these truths. Go back to verse two.
1:02:38 It says here, and I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled fire and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. Those who had conquered the beast. In what way did they conquer the beast? These are Christians during the regime of the antichrist and they clearly refused to bow the knee to him. And because of that, they lost their lives.
1:03:06 These are those who have shown great strength and resilience. Those who have shown absolute and total devotion to Christ. Those who overcame unspeakable difficulties in the world because of their love for the Lord Jesus to the point where they had to lose their heads in order to prove it. You might say these are super Christians. Right?
1:03:31 You might say these are very impressive believers who have displayed such incredible faithfulness to the cause of Christ. And indeed, these are saints that we can applaud but I love what I find here. That these victorious triumphant believers when it comes to worship give all the glory to God. You. Your.
1:03:55 It's all about you. Again, we're learning about how to worship. We're learning what worship is in the book of Revelation. Do you do you notice how much there is about worship in this book? True worship is being able to acknowledge that no matter what I do for Christ, no matter what I accomplish in his name, means nothing.
1:04:18 My boast is in the Lord alone. Anything that happens in me, anything that happens through me should cause me to recognize that God is the source of it. And if it wasn't for him, then I wouldn't be able to do any of this anyway. And so these saints here who did great feats, who accomplished great things for Christ in the darkest hour of human history, we're able to still give God all the glory because that's what true worship looks like. The song of this new exodus, but finally the tent.
1:04:57 For the third and final time in this particular vision, John tells us that his attention is turned to something and it's found in verse five. After this I looked and the sanctuary of the tent of witness in heaven was opened. So this sanctuary of the tent, this is speaking about another translation, the tabernacle. The tabernacle that is in heaven and what what John highlights is that this tent opens. And as it opens, something's gonna come out of it.
1:05:33 Now the reason why this tent is highlighted is because the Holy Spirit uses that through John to keep the theme of the Exodus alive, to to keep our minds still connected to that motif. And I trust that we're all aware that the tabernacle is a very obvious symbol in the Old Testament. That after the people escaped Egypt and went into the wilderness, God called them to build a dwelling place for his presence with his people on the earth. The tabernacle was God's temporary home on this planet. So that's what we have in mind.
1:06:13 This tent speaks about God's presence. It speaks about his the hosting of his glory which then causes us to interpret that what's about to trans see next because of this tent means that this is issuing from the undefiled pure glorious presence of the Lord. And what does John see next? Seven angels with seven plagues that will be the punctuation mark of God's judgment upon humanity. And there's no confusion here.
1:07:00 They're not operating with their own authority. They're not doing this independently. These angels were dispatched from the presence of God. That disturbs some people. And in case that might agitate you, this truth is further confirmed in that this is not only something coming from God the father, this is also something that Jesus Christ affirms.
1:07:28 How do we know that? It's very subtle but it's profound at the same time. Did you notice how they were dressed? Bright linen garments but more than that, John tells us that they had golden sashes around their chests. Does that remind you of anything?
1:07:47 The last time we saw anybody wearing a golden sash was back in Revelation chapter one. Revelation one, look at this in verse 13. This is John's experience of the glorified Christ, and this detail shows up about him here. Revelation one thirteen, and in the midst of the lampstands, one like a Son of Man clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. What is happening here?
1:08:14 Many chapters later, now we see angels with a golden sash around their chest. And here's the point that's being made. These angels who are reporting for duty are resembling and reflecting the nature of Jesus Christ. They are about to do something that is in complete alignment with the will and desire of Christ himself. And that irks people because they have developed a theology about the person of Jesus Christ that completely disassociates him from any judgment against sinners.
1:08:53 No. These angels who are walking towards the bulls are actually reflecting Jesus. Representing Jesus and showing that what they're about to do is what Christ wants to do. God's judgment is real. And not only is it real, nothing and no one can change that reality.
1:09:25 And that becomes even more obvious when we see what happens next with this tabernacle. Look at verse eight. And the sanctuary was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power and no one could enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished. So these seven angels come towards the bowls. One of the four living creatures gives them the actual instruments symbolically and they're going to pour them out in the coming chapters.
1:09:52 We'll look at that next week. But notice what John sees. He sees a cloud, the tangible presence of God filling this heavenly tabernacle. And my question is, why do I need to know about it? Is this just cinematic drama?
1:10:11 Is this just to add more color to the scene? Is this just to make us realize the seriousness of the moment? In part, yes. But again, we're looking at the new Exodus. Again, we're looking at the Holy Spirit making connections and references for us to understand the deeper message here.
1:10:29 And you know your old testament well enough, I'm sure to understand that we've seen a similar manifestation in the past. That the earthly counterpart to this heavenly tabernacle also once hosted the manifest presence of God's glorious cloud. Do you remember in Exodus chapter 40? Let me read this to you. You don't have to turn there, but listen to what happens in Exodus 40 verse 35.
1:10:56 And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. This actually happens not with the tabernacle but with the temple. When Solomon builds it in Jerusalem. Listen to this in first Kings eight verse 10. First Kings eight verse 10.
1:11:19 And when the priest came out of the holy place, a cloud filled the house of the Lord so that the priest could not stand to minister because of the cloud. For the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord. So both times in the past, when the earthly counterparts hosted God's cloud, the same thing occurred. The leadership namely the priest could not enter in and do what they were supposed to do. What's one of the main duties of a priest?
1:11:47 To intercede and stand in the gap on behalf of a sinful people. So keeping that pattern in mind now, what do we have? We come to the new testament, we see the true tabernacle, the heavenly one that the earthly ones copied from and a cloud fills it. Same thing. So then we must assume that the same outcome is here.
1:12:13 What do I mean by that? In the same way that the priest could not enter in to do what they were supposed to do, the fact that a cloud comes to this temple in heaven suggest that God will not allow intercession to take place. In other words, as he is prepared to pour out these bowls of judgment, he will not accept any prayers. He will not accept any intercession. He will not receive any cry to stop his hand.
1:12:49 The tabernacle will be closed for service until every drop of those bowls is poured out. So this is an illustrative way for the Holy Spirit to describe one of the most frightening components of the period of the bold judgments. God will not hear any prayers during that time. It will be too late. He gave way too many chances and so he will do what he is going to do and it will be unstoppable and it will be irreversible.
1:13:30 You know, this brings to mind Jeremiah's language when he wrote in that short book called Lamentations of what happened when God allowed Babylon to be the instrument of his judgment against his own. Listen to these words from Lamentations three verse 44. Ready for this? Jeremiah writes, you have wrapped yourself with a cloud so that no prayer can pass through. There are times when God has done that.
1:14:08 We're a nation where people have sinned so grievously, so consistently, so rebelliously that he wraps himself in a cloud so to speak and not one single prayer can penetrate it, it will fail. And what we find here in this vision is it has reached that point at the end of time. So it doesn't matter how strong the nations cry out, doesn't matter how much they plead, doesn't matter how long they fast. In fact, as we're about to discover with these judgments, they're gonna be in such rapid succession, there'll be virtually no time to be able to pray anyway. We've come to a very important turning point in our understanding of Bible prophecy.
1:14:59 This is the end of the end. But here's how I wanna end this message today. The status of the tabernacle in heaven is a hopeful one this afternoon. It's a hopeful one. There is no cloud wrapping around it where no prayer can pass through.
1:15:20 You know, it's amazing when you read the book of Hebrews. Oh, I love Hebrews. When are we gonna go through Hebrews? It's too deep. Need a little bit more time.
1:15:32 The more you study, the more you realize that the author is showcasing how Christ is more brilliant, more awesome than virtually everything. And we're familiar with the comparison of Jesus being our great high priest and the Levitical priest and how the different components of the Levitical priesthood is inferior to Christ. But I was reminded through this when I went to Hebrews last night, late last night, looking at the tabernacle. There's a heavenly one, it's the one that actually God called Moses to look at, to imitate when he built this physical one on earth. But in Hebrews eight verse one and two, we're actually told that Christ does what he does as our high priest in heaven in the true tabernacle.
1:16:18 And why is he teaching that at that point in his book? Because he wants to tell the Jewish Christians who want to so badly go back to the ironic way of worship and atonement, that Jesus Christ is not only a greater high priest, he does his priestly work in a more superior place. You wanna go back to the temple, do you realize that the temple is just a copy of a greater and a heavenly one? Jesus, our great high priest in the new covenant is there on our behalf. And not only is he there, he's doing something there.
1:16:57 Here's what he's doing right now. Hebrews seven verse 25. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him since he always lives to make intercession for them. He always lives to make intercession for them. That's now.
1:17:22 There's a time coming that there will be no intercession. It will only be judgment. Nobody can do anything about it. But between now and then, there is one who's willing to take anybody who humbly comes before him by faith and he will enter into this heavenly tabernacle, so to speak, and bring that request on your behalf and it will be answered. Listen, there is an open door in this heavenly tabernacle for mercy and for our needs to go in.
1:17:55 But in Revelation 15, it will be open for judgment to come out. Don't wait. Now is the time to understand that I have an open heaven above me. That there is something greater than what Moses built, and I can connect to that reality by faith and say, oh, this Jesus who rose from the dead, he didn't stop ministering. He stopped ministering on the earth, but in heaven now, he's willing to actually represent me before God the father.
1:18:29 And he remains the single greatest unending high priest. He will never be replaced. He will never die. He doesn't borrow from heavenly lambs and ox and bulls. He brings his eternal blood every single time.
1:18:49 And so this is a prophecy of doom in Revelation 15, but let me end it on a note of great hope and joy. Today, if you don't know Jesus Christ and you cry out to him, he will hear it. He will hear. I'm talking about the real Jesus of Nazareth. He will hear you.
1:19:11 I say this often, that apart from salvation itself, one of the greatest thrills and ecstasies that you can know in this life, on this side of eternity, is when God answers prayers. I'm talking about real prayers. Not like, was that God or was that coincidence? No. No.
1:19:27 No. No. Prayer is like, that was God. And one of the strongest ways you can know God answering your cry is when you cry out for salvation. You'll know when you're saved.
1:19:41 You will know. You know how you'll know? Because you won't recognize yourself. Not perfect but new direction. Not instantaneously glorious, but set on the path of sanctification.
1:19:56 And the only way that is possible now is because we're in the age of grace and that heavenly tabernacle is still open. And this priest is willing to take your request and bring it to God and make it real in your life. Let's thank him for these truths. Father, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts that though we can rejoice with the song of Moses of what you've done for Israel and Egypt, we can look forward to a new exodus where you will destroy the Antichrist, his system, all the oppressors of the people of God for all time in a single moment and we will enter into the promised land. We thank you that we have more songs to sing on this side of the cross.
1:20:42 We thank you that even now there's a greater tabernacle in our favor. One in heaven that we have access to. And so Lord, if one here doesn't know what this means, we pray that you would open their eyes to experience the reality of the great work of our great high priest. Lord, for us who are here and know you and enjoy you and love you, may everything that we heard in this message only stir us to see the majesty and the brilliance of your word. We are amazed and we stand amazed before you.
1:21:15 We ask these things in the name of the great high priest, one who will never be replaced, one who has infinite mercy available. Jesus. Amen. Let's stand church. Let's rejoice.
1:21:33 Christ and our deliverance that is to come at the end of the age. I'm so grateful for the church. You know, from time to time, I peek over the fence and I look over and see what's happening in the world. It's crazier than ever. How do people keep up with this stuff?
1:31:35 So many voices, so much anger. You notice that? Anger, so much distrust. Nobody believes anything anymore, and they feel like they can't. And there's frustration and there's tension, and you read some of these comments on YouTube and just the vitriol and the it's ugly.
1:31:56 It's ugly. And then I remember I'm a Christian, and I get to go to church on Wednesday and Friday and Sunday. And I'm coming to a place where there is rock solid truth that never changes. So reliable, so reliable that even if I haven't seen it, experienced it, I can sing about it. But let me provide a a pastoral warning if I may.
1:32:21 This has been on my heart for a couple days. When there are times in history where there is confusion and frustration, and now more than ever, so many platforms, self promoted platforms, this is a very opportune time for false prophets to emerge. Beware of false prophets. People who speak on behalf of Christ. People who have no right giving theological insight, giving theological insight.
1:32:55 With all due respect, you are a pundit. You are a political podcaster. And yet, there's so much misinformation. If they wanna be misinformed about the things of the world, so be it. But we're seeing it trickle into the truth of God's word.
1:33:13 Beware of false prophets. They sound smooth. They seem convincing. They whip up the emotion. And I'm not even speaking about one particular thing, I'm just speaking in general.
1:33:26 This age that we're in today in the West is a breeding ground for false teachers and they don't have to get behind a pulpit and preach to be a false teacher. They can be sitting in their living room with a microphone on their face. They could be interviewing people. They could be very popular. Stick your nose in the Bible.
1:33:44 Stay close to God's Word. Know your Bible more than anything else. Most of the stuff that people wanna try to figure out today has no value to me. It really doesn't. Yes.
1:33:57 I'm not saying be ignorant, but be careful getting sucked into an endless cycle of theories and ideas. And next thing you know, you're being like those who are so caught up in the frenzy of what's being propagated. Stay close to God's word and be aware of those who speak on the name on behalf of the name of Christ. Lord, we ask for your protection over us, over our minds. We pray for discernment.
1:34:24 And we know that the only way we can be discerning is if we are diligent to study your word, to be prayerful, to be humble. Thank you for Maranatha Bible Church, Lord. Thank you. This is your creation. This is your doing.
1:34:38 We give you all the glory. It's you. It's you. It's you, Lord. And you are allowing us to grow.
1:34:43 You're allowing us to go to a new place where we can do this more, And we pray that you would bring us that new place smoothly and graciously. And we ask, Lord, more importantly, if our hearts are not right, it doesn't matter what kind of building we acquire. We are your church ultimately. So keep us sensitive to your spirit. Keep us hungry for the word.
1:35:03 Keep us obedient and loving you and keep us strong in this tempest, this whirlwind of narratives and ideas that's swirling around us. Keep us anchored in you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Brothers and sisters, there's fellowship downstairs.
1:35:24 Join us. It's cooler than it is up here. I can promise you that. And don't forget to sign up your name in the back. If you wanna help out in any way, you can put down your your name and your information and and check off any box that you think would be helpful, for us.
1:35:37 God bless you. We'll see you next week.
