Revelation 11, 15. It is not my intention this morning
to offend anyone who does not share my view of this book of the Bible. It's
a good thing to be able to agree to disagree. And I am well aware
that there are many who do not share my view as concerning what
this Bible teaches, what this book of the Bible teaches. I
do not see it just to be a crystal ball, fortune-telling, futuristic
book, as many suppose and have been taught. The statements in the verse we
read are in the past tense. It's already so. When Christ died, was buried,
rose again, ascended back to glory, having conquered death, hell,
the grave, sin, and Satan, that's what's meant by the statement,
the kingdoms of this world are become. That's past tense. The kingdoms of our Lord and
of his Christ and he shall reign forever and ever. The Apostle John riding as a
prisoner in the Isle of Patmos is not trying to tell his friends
suffering and being persecuted and being martyred under the
cruel arm of the Roman Empire. He is not trying to tell them
about something that's not going to occur for at least 2,000 years
future. That would be no encouragement
to them. It's no encouragement to me. But this is about the victory
of our Lord Jesus Christ, the conquering one. Just this week
I heard, as I have many times, that from chapter four to the
end of the book is future. Things yet to occur. But I repeat,
this is not a foretelling of the future. It's about the present
warfare of Christ and his church in every generation. He conquers. He conquers. It's a warfare between
Christ and the church and the forces of Satan and his demons. It's a battlefield picture. And the message is that in spite
of all that hell can do and bring against God's church, Christ
has prevailed. Satan loses and Christ wins yesterday,
today, and forever. Now you might not see that, just
looking around in the world today, but John says, hey, we're on
the winning side. Everything's going to come out
all right after a while. I had a preacher tell me that the devil
is in control of the world now. Christ is going to come back
and he's going to take over. No, he took over at Calvary.
He conquered then and there. That's what this book is about.
Things are not as they appear all around us. There's a warfare
going on. And Christ reigns and rules right
now. You ask, well, then why does
He allow all the suffering and all the injustice in the world? A lot of people ask that. Well,
I'm going to give you a blunt answer. For the unbelieving,
unregenerate world that's going to hell, things are ripening
for judgment. Ripening for judgment. But for
the Lord's people, the reason all this stuff's going on around
us, is for our benefit. To bring us to naught. If everything in my life I wouldn't need the Lord. I wouldn't
give Him a second thought. Neither would you. But He rules in everything. And
there's a purpose in everything. Like the clay on the wheel, the
potter is at work in your life and mine. With this heartache,
that heartache, this trouble, that trouble, This impossible
situation, that impossible situation. He's doing it. He's doing it.
Now as I move along with this, we do not agree with current
teaching that specific conditions in each of the seven churches
addressed here in the chapters 2 and 3 that they represent a specific
time period in church history. I wouldn't fall out with you
over that. But I believe that all seven of the churches are
represented in every church, in every generation. There is
always love waxing cold. And there is always death claiming
to be life. And there is always hypocrisy.
And there is always the spirit of Jezebel. And there are always
some faithful saints. And there are always some lukewarm
professors. All seven are present all the
time. And as John writes this, many
believers are being persecuted and slain. They know not what
tomorrow holds. And John is saying, The Lamb
wins. Don't recant. Keep believing.
Keep standing. Christ has the last word. It was understood, and most theologians
hundreds of years ago believed and preached, that Rome, the
Roman Empire, was the Antichrist. In John's generation, it was. But the mistake that many make
is to limit antichrist to an individual at a specific time. The Bible teaches us that antichrist
is a spirit. Anti means against. Any spirit
against God, against Christ, is Antichrist. And it's not just
one. John said, 1 John 2, 18, that
even now, that is when he lived 2,000 years ago, even now are
there many Antichrists. So when you hear someone say,
the Antichrist, they haven't read the Bible. That phrase is
not in the Bible, the Antichrist. Antichrist is any and all spirits
opposing Christ and His church. Yes, Rome was Antichrist then. Others said in World War II,
Hitler was Antichrist. He was then. Many, many others have come and
gone throughout history. And there are many today Antichrist spirits. And so I
repeat, it would have been of no comfort to the believers in
John's day if he was writing to them about something that
was not going to occur for at least 2,000 years in his future,
even today. Uh-uh. He's writing to them about
life. Here's where we are. It looks
bad. We appear to be on the losing
end, but no, the Lamb has already won. We're on the winning side. We're on the winning side. He's
gone forth conquering, and to conquer past, present, and future. This is the revelation of Jesus
Christ. That's what the book says in
the beginning. This is who He is. John is saying you're safe
in Him, Even if they do chop your head off. He's our head. All is well. So I want to just
quickly give us four things about Him. About Christ. The Lamb wins. The Apostle Paul said, I won't
waste time preaching anything but Him. And this morning, I would say
to you, when the hounds of hell are on your heels, and there's so many things wrong
and so much tearing your heart out, why should I get up here
and waste God's time and my time and your time screaming into
your ears some little silly notions about what you ought to do and
not do? If the Holy Spirit of God dwells
in your heart, that's what our lesson was about today, He'll
take care of how you live. I'm to preach Christ. So, number
one, Christ, the Lamb in this book, He is the God of eternity. Wow! He's not just a little somebody
lesser than God, Jesus. He's the God of eternity who
came into this world. Emmanuel, God with us. Now you
and I know these things, but we're in a world that denies
this. Many believe that Jesus was an
exceptionally good man. And some believe that he was
adopted by God into divinity at his baptism
and that he's a created being like ourselves. And God chose
him and he attained to deity. That's not so. Many other attempts
have been made. One much more successful attempt
was made to undermine his person in his office as the one and
only mediator between God and men. Mary, the mother of Jesus,
was declared to be a perpetual virgin who also had the power
of mediating between God and men. That idea, very much alive
today, has demoted Christ to the powerless role of an infant
Jesus. That's what Christmas is about
and the bigness of it, especially in this country. It's not to
acknowledge a crucified, risen, reigning Lord. But it's to worship a helpless
babe in a manger. We don't worship a babe in a
manger. We worship the God of Eternity who came, was born,
lived, died, conquered, did everything He came to do and ascended back
into the glory, the Eternity of which He came. He's the God of Eternity. This message, we won't turn to
all these places, chapter 1 verse 4, and which was and which is to
come. There's not but one like that. The prophet Micah said of Christ,
his goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. He's forever been coming this
way. He's the creator. The same Apostle
John wrote in the Gospel, chapter 1, verse 3, all things were made
by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. He's not just a little come along
later Jesus. He's the Creator. He was in the beginning with
God and was God. When He came, He identifies Himself
as the I Am. the same one who spoke to Moses
way back yonder in the desert. I am what I am. And he identified
himself this way in the Gospel of John. I am the bread of life,
John 6. I am the light of the world,
John 8. I am the door, John 10. I am the good shepherd, John
10. I am the resurrection and the
life, John 11. I am the way, the truth and the
life, John 14. I am the true vine, John 15. He said in Revelation 1, 18,
I am he that liveth and was dead and behold I'm alive forevermore. Four times in this book of Revelation,
he said, I am Alpha and Omega. Four times he said, I am the
first and the last. There's nothing before me, nothing
after me. He always was and is and shall
be. He's never I used to be or I
shall be. He's I Am. He's eternal God,
whose kingdom shall have no end. He shall reign, not for a literal
thousand years. That's a symbolic term. This
book says He shall reign forever and ever. He's God, the Creator,
the God of eternity. Immanuel, God with us. Jesus
Christ is God. The Jehovah's Witnesses deny
that. They say, no, He's the Son of
God, but He wasn't God. No, He's God. He's God. Number two, in this book, He's
the Lamb that was slain. And yet He arose from the dead. He it is who conquered death,
hell, and the grave. He's conquered sin and Satan. He lives. When John writes this, the crucifixion
was not such ancient history as it is today. Some of the people John wrote
to were living when Christ was crucified. And they know He died. And yet in chapter 5 and verse
6, John identifies Him as the Lamb that was slain, but He's
standing in the midst of the throne. He died, but He's alive. In chapter 5, And verse 9, He's declared worthy in song. They sung a new song. A song that's never been sung before.
Because no one ever did what He did before. They sung a new
song saying, Thou art worthy to take the book and to open
the seals thereof. For thou wast slain and hast
redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred and tongue
and people and nation." Yeah, He's worthy. He's worthy. This is the Lamb whose blood
has cleansed us. Chapter 7, verse 14. These are they which came, talking
about the redeemed, those whom He has cleansed, His own. These
are they which came out of great tribulation. Not the great tribulation. Not some literal seven year time
period. It's longer than that, honey.
These are they which came out of great tribulation. And the saints of God through
the ages. It has been our lot. In the world you shall have tribulation. You shall suffer persecution. These are they which came out
of great tribulation, and have washed their robes and made them
white in the blood of the Lamb. It doesn't say these have washed
their robes Made them white because they didn't get drunk and cuss
out loud. No. It's the blood of the Lamb. This
is about the crucified, risen Lamb. And the Lamb wins. This slain Lamb is our Shepherd. Chapter 7, verse
17, "...the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall
feed them." He does that. This slain Lamb is the powerful
Lamb. Chapter 12, verse 11, "...and
they overcame Him," Satan, "...by the blood of the Lamb." He's
the victorious Lamb. Chapter 14, "...standing on Mount
Zion, and the saints are said to be those who follow the Lamb,
whithersoever he goeth." In chapter 17, we have the enemies of the
Lamb. Chapter 17, verse 14, These shall
make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them. Chapter 19 is the marriage of
the Lamb. In chapter 20, the conquering
of the Lamb. That old serpent, which is called
the devil, is bound for a thousand years. Symbolism. Infinitive. Infinity. Forever. And he's cast into the
bottomless pit. Romans 20 and 10, excuse me,
chapter 20 and verse 10 of Revelation, the devil is cast into the lake
of fire and brimstone where the beast, Antichrist's government,
and the false prophet, Antichrist's religion, are and shall be tormented
day and night forever and ever. The Lamb wins. In chapter 21, the Bride of the
Lamb, she's described in the symbolism of a holy city called New Jerusalem, coming
down from God out of heaven. When Christ returns, those who
sleep in Jesus will He bring with Him. It's a city coming
down. Not a city of skyscrapers and
office buildings, oh no. But she's a city, a company,
the church, prepared as a bride, adorned for her husband. And
in this city, the church, the bride, Christ, the slain lamb, is the
temple of the city. Chapter 21, verse 22. He's the
light of the city. Chapter 21, verse 23. That's
not old Jerusalem. That's new Jerusalem. Not a place,
but a people. A bride. A church. He's the water of life. to this
city. 22 and 1. He's on the throne,
chapter 22 and verse 3. John is telling his generation
and ours that our Redeemer, though slain as God's Lamb, is alive
and He rules and reigns forever, including right now. And that's
the part you need to get, including right now. Number three, he's the leader
of the heavenly armies. He's the conquering captain,
chapter 6, verse 2. In chapter 19, verse 11, he's
called faithful with a capital F, and true with a capital T. He's the only totally faithful,
and totally true, one this world's ever seen. 1913, with his vesture dipped
in blood, as the mighty warrior, he's called
the Word of God, the communicating voice and authority of God. Chapter 19, verse 16, he is the
king of kings. and Lord of Lords. He has gone
forth and He is still going forth in the hearts of His people,
conquering and to conquer. He is the leader of the heavenly
armies. He is our leader. He is our captain.
And by heavenly armies, we don't mean angels from heaven. No. We mean sinful men and women
born from above. That's the heavenly army. And
by regeneration, by quickening of God's Spirit, we're in the
army of the Lord. And when time is no more, and
we go to be with Him forever, there will be no civilians there. just old veterans, old soldiers of the cross that have struggled in the war
with sin all through the years of our lives. You want to fight the devil,
look in the mirror and start looking in here. Old soldiers. One old writer
said, that's what heaven is, an old soldier's reunion. Old Dr. Percy Ray told about in Mississippi before the turn
of the century, he can remember as a little boy, would go with
his family, they'd load up in a wagon and go for miles, full
day trip to this huge field where there'd be hundreds and maybe
thousands of families and wagons camped. And they'd stay several days.
And it was a Confederate veterans reunion. And he said as a little boy he
remembered those old men with long beards, some of them missing
an arm, some of them missing a leg, some of them blind. And the band would start playing
Dixie and those men would shout and throw their hats in the air. and tears streamed down their
cheeks. I don't mean to get political
on you, but that was an old veteran's, an old soldier's reunion. And that's what heaven's going
to be. If you think it's anything like this hellish stuff you're
trying to survive in, you're wrong. The Lamb wins. He has conquered all that does bother us and plague
us in this world. There's war in the spirit world
right now. Warring against your spirit.
There's hell popping on every side. Your nerves can't take it. Physically. Financially. Family problems. Everything going
haywire. And in light of the COVID-19,
in light of all the protesting, all this stuff, it's all out
of hell. And it don't matter that one
bunch of hell is trying to whoop another bunch of hell. That's
what Democrats and Republicans are about, you know. But the bottom line is, it's
all about the forces of Satan and hell Trying to make this
world as miserable as possible for God's people. And to keep you tore up. Oh my. Satan fights constantly
to discourage you. To disarm you. To defeat you. But if you're God's child, he
cannot destroy you. Thank God. All right, one more and I'm through.
This lamb, he's the judge. He's the judge of all the earth. Christ is the ordained judge.
Acts 10 41. He was ordained of God to be
the judge of the quick and the dead. Christ is the appointed judge,
John 5, 22. The Father hath committed all
judgment unto the Son. Christ is the righteous judge,
2 Timothy 2, 8. He's the judge of all. And He
it is who accurately separates the wheat from the tares. I can't
do it. He accurately separates the wheat
from the tares. Matthew 13. Here it is in Matthew
25 who accurately separates the sheep from the goats. I can't
do it. You're not going to hell because
I tell you you're going. I don't know. And you're sure
not going to heaven because I tell you you're going. He's the judge. So the message
of God through John to his generation and to ours is simply this. The Lamb wins. The Lamb wins. I read a little book several
years ago entitled The Lamb Wins by a pastor
in London named Richard Buse. And he tells here in the introduction
how he came to name this book. The Lamb Wins, the simple three-line
slogan was all that featured on the sign erected by the small
Methodist church in Prague. It was November 27, 1989, the
day that communist domination came to an end in Czechoslovakia. Until then, the harassed Christian
community had been permitted no publicity at all. Even the
displayed title, Church, was forbidden on the outside of the
building. Now, the message was movingly
evident to the passers-by. The lamb wins. It was not that
victory had at last arrived, but the theology of the little
poster was exactly right. Christ is always the winner. He was winning even when the
church seemed to lie crushed under the apparatus of totalitarian
rule. The lamb wins even when hell
is beating you up. The slogan was good in John's
day under Roman rule. The lamb wins. It was good under communism.
The lamb wins. It's been good in every generation.
The lamb wins. It's good in your life. When
you think God's a million miles away, the lamb wins. It's still good today in spite
of all the chaos, in spite of all the seemingly Hopelessness
that prevails. The truth is, the lamb wins. We become fearful with just a
thought, a slight thought of what might be tomorrow, what
might be just around the bend. We get so discouraged when we
lend an ear to this Christ-hating world and listen to the news
media. Well, the book of Hebrews gives
us the very best advice, the most sound advice there is. Hebrews
12-1, looking unto Jesus. You need not look elsewhere.
You need not try to look any further. But you must look that
far. whatever their situation, looking
unto Jesus, the Author, Finisher of our faith. The Lamb wins. He has won. He is winning. He shall forever win.