In a moment I will be speaking
to you from the Revelation, the last book in God's Word, the
Revelation chapter 1. Revelation chapter 1. Now I approach
the preaching of God's Word with a sense of urgency. And you should
hear it in the same way, with urgency. For the time is short. Verse 1 says, These things must
shortly come to pass. Verse 7, the Lord says, he cometh
with clouds. And the next to last verse in
this book says, I come quickly. Time is short. Peter said in
his letter that many scoffers will say, where is the promise
of his coming? Well, the signs are everywhere. The signs of the time are clearly
seen if you know them. In this book, The Revelation,
not Revelations, I said that correctly. It is not plural,
but singular. The Revelation, because it is
one. Like the Bible, which is made
up of 66 different books, yet all speak the same subject. One
subject, one theme, Jesus Christ and Him crucified. He is the
theme. He is the subject. He is the
purpose of God's Word in all of the book of God, from Genesis
to the Revelation. It begins in verse 1 by saying,
the revelation of Jesus Christ. The revelation. There's only
one. The revelation, meaning it must
be revealed. It cannot be known. Can man,
Scripture says, can a man by searching find out God unto perfection? No. His ways are past finding
out. Must be revealed. Must be revealed
by the Spirit of God. And it says the revelation of
Jesus Christ. In chapter 19, verse 10, it says,
the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. The sum,
the substance, the spirit, the heart, the soul of all prophecy,
of all the Word of God. Verse 1 goes on to say, the revelation
of Jesus Christ which God gave unto him to show unto his servant,
which God gave to him. John the Baptist spoke, and John
wrote, in John 3, that the Father loveth
the Son, and hath given all things into his hand. Christ himself
said, All power is given unto me in heaven and earth. All things
are delivered unto me of my Father. And so it says that God gave
unto him to show unto His servants things which must shortly come
to pass. God gave this revelation to show
unto His servants, His chosen ones, His elect, His ministers,
His prophets, apostles, pastors, teachers, preachers, His disciples,
His witnesses, His servants. Now, one doesn't decide to be
a servant of someone. They're chosen. They're appointed.
So it is with God's children and God's servant. All of God's
children are His servant. It says in verse 1, He gave this
revelation to Christ to show unto His servants things which
must shortly come to pass. Must. They must come to pass. They have, they are, and they
must come to pass. Because God has ordained them. Because God has purposed them.
God said, I have spoken it, I will bring it to pass. God said, I
have purposed it, I will also do it. God will work, Isaiah
43 says, and who will let it? Who will prevent it? Acts 15-18
says of the God of the Bible, known unto God are all his works
from the beginning of the world. Known, ordered, ordained, purposed,
predestined, that is the God of the Bible. who says of himself,
I change not. And none of these things can
be changed. If you think so, you don't know
the God of the Bible. You don't know His will, His
purpose in all things. Ordered. Things which must shortly
come to pass. Shortly. Now, with the Lord,
a day is as a thousand years. But you just think for yourself
how quickly time flies. The older we become, the more
quickly time goes by. Scripture says, what is your
life but a vapor? It seems the older we get, that
years seem like months, months seem like weeks, and weeks pass
by like days, and days but a few moments. Evolution is the absurd
invention of fools trying to disprove God. The earth is not
billions of years old, but rather thousands of years. Oh, it is
6,000 or more years. Creation. God created the world
in six days and rested on the seventh. Six actual days. It says the morning and the evening
were the day, the first day. He created this whole world in
six days and rested on the seventh. Well, the same will happen soon.
After 6,000 some years, God will rest. God will destroy this world,
though no man knows the day or the hour. No man knows that. Anyone who says so, anyone who
makes a prediction, is a liar, is a false preacher. Christ said,
though, in Matthew 24, when you see all these things, know that
the end is near. He said, when the gospel is preached
into all the world, then the end shall come. Now here's the
important thing. Here's the urgent thing. Do you
know the One who's coming? Do you know the Lord Jesus Christ? If you're not known by Him, you
will not know Him. And if you do not know and worship
Him, you will perish at the brightness of His coming. So call. Seek. Ask. He says in verse 1, things
which must shortly come to pass. And verse 19 says, write the
things which thou hast seen, the things which are, and the
things which shall be hereafter. Now, the Lord told John to write
these things 2,000 years ago. This was written 2,000 years
ago. And He said, things which thou
hast seen. That means things previous to
that time. And he said, things which are,
that is, at that present time, two thousand years ago, and the
things which must shortly come to pass in the last two thousand
years. People, most of these things
have already been fulfilled. The problem with man is he's
blind. He doesn't see them, but they
have already been fulfilled. The time is very short now. We're
in the 11th hour. Verse 1 goes on to say, He sent
these things and signified them by His angel unto His servant
John. Signified. He sent and signified. Meaning, He delivered them to
this particular servant named John and signified. That is, they were signed, sealed,
and delivered. Now people, false preachers say
that God changes, God does this, God does that, a new name written
in heaven, or your name will be taken out. But in all this
book, He speaks of the seals, seals, all things being sealed
up, the word sealed up and delivered to his servant, and the seals
to be opened in the end. These things are signed by God,
certain, sealed, and delivered to his servant to preach. Now,
he says they're delivered by an angel. Don't worship angels.
John did this and the Lord rebuked him. In another chapter, the
angel said to John, I am your fellow servant of thy brethren.
Worship God. Worship God. Don't be enamored
with angels, people. Don't be amazed by prophecy.
Many and most are. Be a worshiper of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Be enamored with the Lord Jesus
Christ. He is the spirit of prophecy. Now, many and most talk of Jesus
coming, and they don't know the Lord Jesus. Many love to hear
and talk of prophecy, but don't know that prophet. Many talk
of the Antichrist, but don't know the Christ, and perhaps
are under the dominion of the Antichrist himself. John said,
even now, are there many Antichrists, and that was 2,000 years ago. In verse 1, he says, it was given
to his servant John, verse 2, who bear record of three things. John bore record of three things
here in verse 2. He said, I bear record of the
Word of God. The first thing, the Word of
God. John was an apostle. John was a preacher of the Word
of God. He's a witness of the Word of
God as is every prophet, every apostle, every pastor, Every
teacher, every preacher, every witness is a preacher, a teacher,
a witness of the Word of God. Not man's thoughts or opinions,
but the Word of God. That Word we have translated
today into the English language in the form of the King James
Version of the Bible. This was translated from the
original Hebrew and Greek manuscripts. All other versions are perversions. They're corruptions of the original.
If you leave out or change or add to God's Word one jot or
tittle, one addition or subtraction will change the whole meaning.
So we have the pure Word of God in this form. And Paul told Timothy,
now John said, I bear witness of the Word of God. And Paul
told Timothy, preach the Word, Timothy, in season or out of
season, whether popular or not popular. Preach the Word. It
is His power. We're born again by it. He upholds
all things by it. We're kept by it. We are comforted
by it. We are reproved, rebuked, instructed,
led by the Spirit of God through His Word. What is the Word we're
to preach? Many say they do. Many say, I
preach the Word or my pastor preaches the Bible. What is the
Word we're to preach? Well, verse 2 says, John said,
I bore record of the Word of God and of the testimony of Jesus
Christ, the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the Word. This is the word that we pray.
Peter said that. He said, The word of the Lord
endureth forever. And this is the word which by
the gospel is preached unto you. The gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ. is the Word of God. Now, many
seem and say that they preach the Word. They say they do. But the Word is, to preach the
Word, it is to preach the Word made flesh. Jesus Christ made
flesh. He is the Word. He is the purpose
of God, the mind of God, the voice of God, the will of God,
the covenant of God. No man knows God but by Christ.
No man comes to God but by Christ. No man is accepted by God but
by Jesus Christ. No man is heard of God but by
and through Jesus Christ. Christ is all. He's all the fullness
of God in a body. Christ is that prophet, that
priest, that king, the only mediator, the only intercessor, the only
advocate. He is the judge, the executioner. He is Lord and He is the only
Savior. Do you know Him? You better call. You better ask. You better seek
Him. John said, I bore witness of the Word of God, the testimony
or gospel of Jesus Christ, and of all things that I saw. What did you see, John? In the
first epistle of John, he says, we saw Him, the Word of life. And all these things, he said,
we write unto you. Do you know Him? Do you know
Him? Do you know the One of whom the
Scriptures speak? Do you know the One who is coming?
Call. Seek. Ask Him to reveal Himself
to you. Until next Sunday, good day.