I'll be speaking this morning
from the book of Revelation, chapter 22. Revelation, chapter
22. Now, there's an old saying which
says, He who does not study history will repeat it. In other words,
If we do not learn from the past, we will repeat the same mistakes
and errors. But more importantly, let me
say this, he who does not study God's word, who does not heed
and hear God's word, will fulfill it. One of the apostles said
that. said that those who condemned
Christ fulfilled the very Scriptures that said they would condemn
Him. And the same is true with all of God's Word. If we do not
study it, if we do not hear it, if we do not believe it, we will
fulfill it. We will do exactly what Scripture
says we will do and say. Let me ask you a question. Do
you believe this book, the Bible, is God Almighty's Word, the Word
of the Creator, the only Word of the Creator? Do you believe
that? That's what it means to be a believer. Do you believe
this book is right, everything it says? Well, this is really
a mute point because all those who believe this is God's Word
must certainly believe it is right if God said it. David in the Psalms said this,
I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right. And let me ask you another question.
If you do believe this is God's Word and that it is right, Everything
it says, everything God said is right. Do you then hate everything
contrary to this book? Well, David went on to say in
that same verse, ìI esteem all thy precepts concerning all things
to be right, and therefore I hate every false way.î Paul said it in Romans 3, ìLet
God be true and every man a liar.î People, I am here to say this
morning that this book is being scoffed at more and more and
more as time passes. It is the object of ridicule,
argument, debate, even the jokes of men. stories in this book, particularly
Old Testament scripture, are the object of ridicule. Very
few people truly believe that these things are true. They laugh
at the story of creation. They mock the story of the flood. But it's God's Word. Look at
Revelation 22. Look at verse 6 with me. The
Lord Jesus Christ says, These sayings are faithful and true. Faithful and true. If a man publicly declares any
of the precepts of God's Word, you will quickly hear the public
outcry against them. Just declare. Just boldly declare. the most basic declarations of
Scripture, such as, God is holy and just, well, men will quickly
cry against that. No, we don't believe God is that
holy or that just. If you say what Scripture says,
that is, that man is dead in trespasses and sin, that God
must raise him from the dead. Man is not alive, but he's dead
in trespasses. He does not have a free will. It's dead to sin. Oh no, we don't believe that.
We don't believe that. Well, if you say what God's Word
says from the very beginning, that God does the choosing, that
God will have mercy on whom He will, oh no, we don't like that. Away with that. If you say what
God's Word says, that Christ came in this world to seek His
sheep, that He came to seek and to save His own, those whom God
gave Him, and He died for those, Those people, those only, and
He actually put away their sins. No, no, no. We don't believe
that. We believe every man has a chance. Men will cry. Oh, anything. Just bring up anything
that the Scriptures plainly declare. Man is the head of the woman.
Oh, my. Oh, my. We won't hear that. For
the Scriptures, it says, It's not permitted for a woman to
teach or usurp authority. Oh, no, we don't like that. We
don't believe that. Well, our Lord says these sayings
are faithful and true. They're faithful and true because
God said them. They're faithful and true. They're
faithful because they certainly have and certainly will come
to pass. And they're true because they're
true to God. true to his character, true to
man, his only hope, and true to all circumstances. They fit
every single circumstance. Well, listen to the next line
of this verse 6. The Lord God of the holy prophets
sent his angel to show unto his servants the things which must
shortly be done. He sent his angel to show his
servants, or his people, the things which must shortly be
done. Many people are taken up with
angels today. You see that. You hear it all
around you. Religion. There are many books
concerning angels. Hollywood itself is taken up
with angels today. Movies. Television. shows all
taken up with angels, endless speculation and much blasphemy
concerning these heavenly creatures. You know, John thought he was
talking to an angel here in this last chapter of the Revelation.
Verse 9 says, though, that he started to bow down, verse 8,
he started to bow down and worship at the feet of the angel. And
in verse 9, he said unto me, Don't do that. I'm your fellow
servant of thy brethren the prophets. Worship God. Don't fall down
before any man or angel. Worship God. The point I want
to show you here is that this was not an angel per se, but
was a man, one of the former prophets. It could have been
Isaiah. It could have been Ezekiel or
Daniel. For those three said much of what was revealed to
John here in the Revelation. Well, the letters to the churches were
addressed to, each letter was addressed to the angel of the
church of Sardis, Philadelphia, Ephesus and so on. There is no
doubt that celestial beings are in and around this earth. No
doubt about that. But the Apostle Paul one time
in the book of Galatians said this. He said to the believers,
you receive me as an angel of God. To the Thessalonians he
said, you receive my word. I thank God you receive the word,
not as the words of man, but as it is in truth, the word of
God. The fact is, those who preach
the gospel are as angels sent to God's people, and they esteem
them highly, sometimes too highly. But the fact is, those who preach
the gospel, God speaks through them, and God's people hear them
and receive them, just as John did here. Now, here is what I
want us to dwell on for the next few minutes. The Lord Jesus Christ said, Behold,
I come quickly. Blessed is he that keepeth the
sayings of the prophecy of this book. Behold. That's a word that
is used strictly in Scripture. We don't use that word very often
anymore. Behold. Behold. But the Scriptures,
this is said in Scripture. over 1,200 times. And what the
word behold means is simply see. Now, we use that word for emphasis. When something happens, we say,
see, or I told you so. See there? Don't you see now? See that? Behold, it has come
to pass. There are several verses in Scripture
that use this word, beginning those verses. One of the things
which God told the prophet in Isaiah chapter 40, to cry. He told the prophet, cry two
things. One was, all flesh is grass. That it's like the flower of
the field and the grass of the field. The beauty fades away. The grass withereth. Nothing
too flesh. Nothing is going to become of
flesh. It is going to wither away. And then he tells the prophet
to tell everyone in verse 9 of Isaiah 40, Behold, your God. Behold, your God. See? Don't
you see? Your God. Paul said this in Romans
1. He says, While his eternal power
and God had it clearly seen, men should be able to behold
God's glory. Only a fool would say there is
no God, no Creator, while the heavens declare His glory. The
firmament showeth His handiwork. Day unto day others speak that
God is. And then he goes on to say there
in that book of Isaiah, chapter 40, that, Behold, the Lord God
will come. He did. See, don't you see that
even time is measured around the coming of the Lord Jesus
Christ? We have B.C. and A.D. Behold, he said in that same
chapter, the nations are as a drop in the bucket. That's verse 15
of Isaiah 40. Behold, don't you see that the
nations are as a drop in the bucket? Don't you see mighty
Rome fall in a day? Don't you see the Medes and the
Persians falling? Alexander the Great, the Greeks,
the Turks, the Germans, the Nazis, all these things come to nothing. There is a drop in the bucket.
Time itself is a vapor. Don't you see? See? Don't you
see how things come to naught? Well, in Isaiah 42, the most
significant of all the beholds in Scripture. Verse 1 says, Behold
my servant, mine elect, speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ. Behold,
he came, he lived. Why did he come? He came to justify
his people by living that life they could not live and giving
them his righteousness. Behold, see, he died. Why did
he die? To pay for their sins. to put
away their sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And He did just that.
And He arose and is seated at the right hand of the Majesty
on high, ever living to make intercession for them, to ensure
that what He did is fulfilled. Behold, it is. And He says here,
Behold, I come quickly. I come quickly. Folks, let me
tell you. I don't believe the Lord Jesus
Christ is coming New Year's Eve of 2000. I don't believe that,
because so many people think He is. When the Scripture plainly
says, at a time when you think not, I believe it will be at
another time, a latter time, when men are not thinking, when
God is not in all their thoughts, when they are not thinking of
Him. But then the cry will come someday
in God's good time. Behold, the bridegroom cometh. Behold, the bridegroom cometh. And all those that believe him,
who look for his coming the first time, who are taken up with his
first coming, will be looking for him to come the second time. And he will appear the second
time, Scripture says, without sin. under righteousness, he
will put away all sin and repair for his people. Blessed are they
that keep and lay hold on the sayings, the word of God, and
believe Christ who is the word. Well, until next Sunday, Brother
Lord, bless this word to your understanding.