Discerning The Person Of Christ Jesus Series

Introduction

A. Before I went into the hospital, I had planned to speak on Psalm 110 after I got home again

1. But, after all the changes in the world direction in the Middle East, I got to thinking about that part of the world and what it means to us

a. Besides the rising gasoline prices

b. The very possible destruction of the world economy

c. And the devastating lost of human life

d. What do these thing in the Middle East mean to you and me?

2. There is a tsunami of rage which began in Yemen

a. It spread to Egypt

b. Has erupted in Lybia

c. Bahrain

d. Iran

e. And Iraq

f. Only God knows where it will end

3. On top of that there is the 6.5 earthquake in New Zealand causing massive destruction in a place that has existed peacefully for the last century

a. All of this has lead me to thinking about God’s plan for the Middle East and the entire world

B. Last Sunday evening I was watching the John Ankerberg show as there began a series with Dr. Jimmy DeYoung on the Revelation

1. If you happen to watch this show, you may begin to understand what just might be driving the series which I will begin today

a. Lets begin by turning to Revelation chapter 1 verses 1 - 4

Revelation 1:1-4 (NKJV)

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants; things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, {2} who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw. {3} Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near. {4} John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne,

b. John the beloved Apostle is the human author of this Revelation

(1) Now, you might note that in the Old King James this book is called the Revelation of John

(2) In my New International it is titled the Revelation to John

(3) But, my New King James has got it right, there the title is The Revelation of Jesus Christ

c. In Revelation 1:11 & 19 John is commanded to write the things he is to witness and to pass his writings on to the seven churches

Revelation 1:11 (NKJV)

saying, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last," and, "What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea."

Revelation 1:19 (NKJV)

"Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this.

d. These things were important enough for the Lord to reveal them to God’s people 2,000 years ago

e. Important enough for God to have them included in His Bible chronicled for us today

f. And the promises we see in the Revelation of Jesus Christ are precious enough for us to take serious note of what the Spirit of God has revealed

2. Before we begin I want to start with several Scripture verses, the words of Jesus just to set the stage

a. Matthew 24:36-39, lets read this together

Matthew 24:36-39 (NKJV)

"But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. {37} "But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. {38} "For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, {39} "and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

(1) Notice no one knows the day or the hours of Christ’s return, only the Father knows

(a) The word day means the time from dawn to sunset

i) It can also mean a special day, in our thinking it might be applied to Christmas day

(b) The word hour means just that an hour, 60 minutes or as shown on a sundial, an hour

i) It can also mean a special hour, perhaps what is often refereed to as the witching hour

(c) No one knows but the Father the day or hour of Christ’s return

b. Acts 1:6-7 gives us an even further idea along these lines