Keys of Revelation

Kameron DeVasher

Muskegon SDA Church

8. Blood in God’s Tent

It honestly doesn't sound that good, but trust me, at the end of this, there is good news for us.

Blood in God's Tent is nothing but upside for us.

But we're going to study what it means and why we're talking about it now, but let me give you a little context.

We noted last night in our presentation from Daniel chapter 7 that the same sequence of kingdoms that we had seen in Daniel chapter 2 was repeated except new information was given.

Now, in Daniel 2, we saw Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, then divided Rome, then Jesus comes.

Daniel chapter 7, we saw Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, divided Rome, then we have the little horn of papal Rome, and then we have this judgment scene in heaven, and then Jesus comes again.

So the 2 added pieces of information in Daniel chapter 7 with a little horn of the Antichrist's power and the judgment scene of God in heaven before Jesus returns.

Tonight we lay a foundation that will be developed over the course of the following 2 evenings, okay, so much like Antichrist had part 1 and part 2, tonight's presentation and the next 2 develop the idea of this judgment that we saw occur before Jesus comes in Daniel chapter 7, okay?

So we're still in that stream of prophetic history, but we're going to be looking at this judgment seen in heaven more closely, understanding it more fully, so that when we come to it in the stream of prophecy, we will understand it and not have questions.

So we're going to be looking at this concept of judgment, and tonight's presentation is entitled Blood in God's Tent.

But before we study God's word, what do we need to do first?

Heavenly Father, thank you so much for giving us another day of life at all.

And thank you for this particular time that we can come away from the rest of the hustle and bustle of our daily life.

And for a few moments, Lord, open your word, study together, and see your message for us.

Lord, send your Holy Spirit now, not just in a big, nebulous, vague way, but very specifically, Lord, teach us what we need to know and let our hearts be receptive to your truth for we pray it in Jesus name.

Let's go all the way back to the very first book of the Bible.

Of course, our series is entitled Keys of Revelation and Revelation is the very last book of the Bible.

But as we mentioned in night number 1, all the themes and all the keys of Revelation are actually built on things that come before the book of Revelation.

So in understand number book number 66, you need to be familiar with the 65 books that come before it.

In Genesis chapter 2 is where we're gonna be going.

As we begin our study tonight, blood in God's tent.

Genesis chapter 2, that's page 2 in your pew Bible.

Right there at the very beginning of Scripture, we find this account.

This is before there's sin in the world, before there is disobedience of any kind, hot off the presses, if you will, comes humanity.

And Notice what the Lord commands of the newly formed man.

I think there's an incorrect verse in there.

It is chapter 2, but we're gonna go to verses 16 and 17, not 6 and 7.

After in verse 15 we read, The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and keep it.

We read in verse 16, And the Lord God commanded the man.

If the Lord God commands something, does that mean it's a requirement or it's an option?

So it's not a suggestion, It's a commandment, right?

And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, of every tree of the garden you may freely eat.

He had access to every tree in the garden, except, Verse 17, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not, what?

For in the day you eat of it you shall surely, what?

You can eat of all the trees, but this 1.

And the day you decide to disobey and eat of that tree, you will surely, not just possibly, but you will absolutely, guaranteed, die.

The woman God gave to be with the man wandered off and has an interesting conversation with a serpent right there in the very forbidden tree.

Now being near the tree doesn't break God's command, but it does put you in danger, right?

But she's there, and of course Satan is there in the form of the serpent speaking to her.

And notice what the serpent says in verse 4.

Then the serpent said to the woman, you will not surely die.

And the serpent says, no, no, no, no, you will not die.

Which of the 2 ideas is more appealing, dying or not dying?

Obviously to my natural sense, I prefer not dying to dying, right?

But God had said, but now she's hearing someone else say something different.

So the serpent said to the woman, you shall not surely die.

And he explains that God knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.

Notice his argument is not just that it's okay for you, but it is actually good for you to eat of it.

Your eyes will be opened, kind of meaning that they're already closed right now, and you'll be like God.

So it's appealing to her to eat this fruit.

It's not just okay, you're not just allowed to, but it's actually beneficial for you.

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and pleasing to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make 1 wise, she took of its fruit and ate.

She also gave to her husband with her and he ate now what had the Lord God said in the day you eat of it you shall what so what should have happened to them that very day should have died now here's my question.

Genesis chapter 5 gives the genealogy of Adam, which kind of is a clue right there that he didn't die that day because he lived long enough to have children.

Did he die a week later, a month later, a year later?

How long did the Lord allow him to continue to live?

So all the days that Adam lived were how long?

But God had said, in the day you eat of it, you shall surely die.

Good, the answer to was God wrong is always no.

7. Antichrist Evidence- Part 2

As we noted last night, the Antichrist, though not specifically mentioned by that term in the book of Revelation, is actually talked about a great deal in the book of Revelation.

Bible prophecy has a tremendous amount to say about the Antichrist's power.

So, though it doesn't employ the specific term, don't for a moment think that it doesn't say anything about it.

There's a great deal said about the Antichrist, and we're going to study it out a bit tonight.

But again, the burden of our message last night was to clear away the cobwebs so we could see clearly what the Antichrist isn't.

So whatever preconceptions, whatever ideas might have been there, kind of wash those away in the light of God's Word.

And now let's open our minds to what it is.

Okay, Laying the foundation from last evening, we wanna build on that in study guide number 7, Antichrist Evidence, part 2.

But before we dive into any study, no matter how superficial or how deep, we wanna always begin with a word of prayer.

Thank you that you give us the opportunity to come together safely, that you give us this place and the freedom to discuss these things, And Lord, that you give us your word.

You could have not told us anything at all, but you gave us, sent us the prophets.

You sent your only son that we may know you.

Lord, help us to take you up on that opportunity.

And help us to understand who you are and the deceptions that we have to face in these last days.

Bless our minds tonight that maybe see your truth clearly for we pray it in Jesus name.

Let us go into our Bibles to the book of Daniel and the Old Testament.

Now, the reason we go to Daniel, and we'll be going there often, is that Daniel is an end-time prophecy book, just like the book of Revelation, except it's the Old Testament version.

And you'll find, as we continue these studies, that As we mentioned the first night, the book of Revelation is the very last book in the Bible and it assumes that you've read all the other books that come before it.

It makes reference to biblical terms and plots and characters that you wouldn't be aware of if you hadn't been familiar with the scripture that comes before it, Okay?

Well, prophetically, the book of Revelation has an Old Testament partner, if you will, and that's the book of Daniel.

Daniel and Revelation fit together like hand in glove.

In fact, there are places you're going to see as we continue our study, where the book of Daniel walks right up to a point and stops, and then the book of Revelation comes up and takes the baton from there and just continues the thought.

Daniel and Revelation go together like hand in glove.

And in Daniel chapter 2, this goes all the way back to our first night together, King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream.

He couldn't recall the dream, in particular its interpretation, but he knew it was an important dream, and he called in his magicians and astrologers and all the wise men, quote, unquote, of that day and age, but they were unable to answer him.

But Daniel, who the Lord had blessed with the gift of prophecy, the ability to translate and interpret these dreams and visions, was called in, the Lord gave him this vision, gave him the interpretation, and he declared it before the king.

And what he explained to the king was what we find in Daniel chapter 2.

And we'll begin with verse, well, we don't have to read through all the verses, but we'll go down to the interpretation.

If you recall in verse, we'll start with verse 36.

The dream that he had looked like the image that's there on your worksheet.

On the left side, Daniel 2, it was the image of a man.

A great statue, a man, but composed of different metals for different body parts.

For instance, the head was made of particular materials.

The chest and arms were made out of silver.

The belly and thighs were made out of bronze or brass.

The legs were made out of iron, and the feet also were made out of iron, but also iron mixed with clay, right?

So you had this statue which basically outlined 4, not just a man's body parts, but kingdoms or empires that would rule the then known world.

The first 1 of course was the kingdom of Babylon.

This is the dream, Daniel confidently declares.

Now we will tell the interpretation of it before the king.

You, O king, are a king of kings, for the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory.

And wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field, and the birds of heaven, he has given them into your hand and has made you ruler over them all you are this what head of gold speaking to Nebuchadnezzar the king of what Empire Babylon and it's clear that he's talking about the entire kingdom of Babylon and not just the individual because we just keep reading.

After you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours, much like silver is inferior to gold.

You notice the value decreases, but the strength increases.

Then another, he says, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth.

And then he moves in to the fourth kingdom.

And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything.

And like iron that crushes that kingdom, that fourth kingdom, will break in pieces and crush all the others.

Then he moves in to the next phase of that kingdom, where it divides into iron mixed with clay.

Verse 41, Whereas you saw the feet and toes partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, the kingdom, now we're still talking about the fourth kingdom, yes?

The iron kingdom, the kingdom, shall be what?

Notice it's not overthrown, it's not a new kingdom coming along, it's the same kingdom, but now it's in a phase of division right yet the strength of the iron shall be in it it's still the iron kingdom but just now divided and mixed with clay And as you saw the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom, still that fourth kingdom now in its divided phase, shall be partly strong and partly fragile.

As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men, but they will not adhere to 1 another, just as iron does not mix with clay." Now, he's basically just walked through this statue.

The Medes and Persians came together to make the Medo-Persian Empire.

Greece was that belly and thighs of bronze, or brass.

So you have a sequence of 4 empires, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and then what?

But Rome is not just the legs, it extends, the iron of Rome extends into the feet and toes, yes?

He says it's still iron, still the strength, still the kingdom, but now he talks about it in a divided phase.

Now, as we review what we just saw, Look back at the passage.

Which empire does the interpretation focus on the most?

Does it spend the most time explaining the head of gold, chest and arms of silver, belly and thighs of bronze, the legs of iron, or that feet of iron and clay?

You notice he says, you, O king of the, and he starts talking to him, he's there directly.

You, O king of the king of kings, and this is the head of gold.

After you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours, then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over the other.

Anyway, there's another 1 and then another 1.

Then he gets down to the fourth kingdom, gives a whole verse just for that in verse 40, and talks a lot more about it.

But he spends multiple verses on the time of the feet and the toes, right?

The focus is on the lower end of the statue, particularly the fourth beast, or I mean, not the fourth beast, the fourth kingdom, and in particularly the end of that kingdom, the divided time of the feet and the toes.

Now, and of course the end of the dream was not just a statue, but what happens at the end of the dream.

A rock is cut out without human hands and comes in and smashes the kingdoms on the feet and toes and everything the whole statue then comes crumbling down becomes dust and it blows away and the rock that struck it becomes a great mountain, and that rock and that mountain represent the final world superpower, which is the kingdom of God, which he will set up during the times of those kings.

So basically what you have in Daniel chapter 2 is a skeletal outline of world history starting from the time of Daniel, several hundred years before Jesus arrives, all the way to the second coming of Jesus and his established kingdom.

6. Antichrist Evidence- Part 1

The burden of our message tonight is not to reveal who the Antichrist is, but rather to reveal who the Antichrist isn't.

So, as was already noted out already, the very first verse of the book of Revelation tells us a revelation of whom?

Now, many people have a misconception that the book of Revelation is all about the Antichrist and all the things that go along with it.

Well, friends, though the Antichrist and the power that goes along and all the activities thereof are talked about, very much so in the book of Revelation.

I want to again be clear that what we're studying is a revelation of Jesus Christ.

But if Jesus wants us to know something about the Antichrist, should we?

In fact, the question is, if Jesus wants us to know, the answer is always yes.

So if it's in his book, he wants us to know it, but the ultimate goal is not to tell us about the Antichrist, but it's more clearly reveal Jesus Christ.

So before we begin our study about Jesus Christ and his enemy tonight, we're going to begin as we do each night with a word of prayer.

Heavenly Father, thank you so much for such a beautiful day.

Thank you for this group of people who are here together to study your word.

And Lord, I ask now that you would send your Holy Spirit not just in a general vague sense, but as you promised he would, that he would lead us into all truth as we study your word.

Let him knock on the heart of every person here and open the portals of the mind to see clearly what your word says.

And more than just an intellectual study, Lord, help us to be spiritually renewed by the reading of your word, for we pray it in Jesus' name.

This will be the burden of our message tonight and tomorrow night, looking at the evidence that Scripture gives us of who the Antichrist first isn't and then who the Antichrist is.

Antichrist evidence part 1 and we'll begin right there in Revelation chapter 1 and verse 1.

1174 in your pew Bible, Revelation chapter 1 and verse 1.

We've seen this passage before, but I want to reiterate what it says here.

The opening words of the book of Revelation are these, The Revelation of whom?

Now, after this, there are going to be beasts.

There are going to be things that might seem scary.

But let me tell you something, anytime you're with Jesus Christ, you're safe.

So there's no reason to be afraid to go past those opening lines, because right at the beginning, he tells us, this is a 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, who bore witness to the Word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ to all things that he saw and Then notice what it says in verse 3 not only is it okay to go to the book of Revelation But what does it specifically tell us?

Blessed is he who what Reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy.

And keep those things which are written in it for the time is near.

And we think, oh good, as long as I read it and as long as I hear it, but what's that next 1 say?

Keep those things which are written in it, for the time is near.

God is looking for people who will hear his word, read his word, and then keep his word in preparation for his soon coming.

But again, the book is all about Jesus Christ.

We've been there several times in this series already.

After we saw the original casting out of Satan, we then noticed that Jesus came and died on the cross of Calvary, effectively casting Satan out of heaven for a second time, the sympathies of heavenly beings.

And we read here in chapter 12, verses 10 and 11.

Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, now salvation and strength and the kingdom of our God and the power of his Christ have come.

For the accuser of our brethren who accused them before our God day and night has been cast down." So Jesus Christ is the focus of the book.

He's the victor in the battle with Satan.

Satan has been kicked out of the courts of heaven.

He's been kicked out of the sympathies of heavenly beings, Christ is victorious.

I want to make sure that we get that squarely in our minds because as we go and look at the Antichrist, it could look like he's got a master plan to really ruin everything, but friends, don't forget the revelation is of Jesus Christ and He wins in the end.

Notice again in verse 11, and they, that is the brethren, that is us, who put our faith in Jesus Christ overcame him.

Notice it doesn't just say has to deal with him or is tempted by him, but in what condition are they?

Not in their own strength, but by the blood of Jesus.

And they overcame Him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.

They're willing to lay down everything for this truth.

So clearly the focus in the book of Revelation is on the conquering figure of Jesus Christ.

The same author, but in a different book.

Chapter 17, Chapter 17, verse 3, Jesus Christ Himself tells us why it's so important to know about Him.

1 sentence, John chapter 17 and verse 3, and this is eternal life.

Now friends, don't you want to know how that sentence finishes?

If this, whatever he's going to talk about, is the key to eternal life, here it is, and this is eternal life, that they may know you, Jesus is speaking here to the Father, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom he sent.

To know God through the person of Jesus Christ, his representative whom he sent to show us who the Father was.

If you want to go to the Father, in fact Jesus himself said it in John chapter 14 verse 6, Jesus declares, I am the way, the truth, and the what?

And in fact he goes on to say, no 1 comes to the Father but by me.

He says I am the only access to eternal life, period.

Now this is a powerful truth for the Christian, that we have victory in Jesus, that we have righteousness in Jesus, we have salvation in only 1 name, Jesus Christ.

Can you think, Is it possible to think that you're following Jesus Christ when in fact you're following the Antichrist?

If Jesus is the only way to salvation, you want to make sure you're following Jesus Christ.

5. Your Two Biggest Problems

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you so much for this evening.

Thank you for this little bit of time that you've carved away from our schedules.

We can come together, fellowship and enjoy each other's company, but more than that, Lord, to study your Word and understand the message that you have for us.

Please bless the words that are presented and the ideas that are conveyed.

Help them to be your words and your message tonight and speak not to us in a general sense, but Lord, I would ask that very specifically, you would send your Holy Spirit this evening to knock on our hearts door and help each 1 of us to let the Holy Spirit in, for we pray it in Jesus' name, amen.

That's our theme for the whole presentation, the book of Revelation.

Back to Menu

All Teachings

8. Blood in God’s Tent

1h

7. Antichrist Evidence- Part 2

1h 16m

6. Antichrist Evidence- Part 1

1h 11m

5. Your Two Biggest Problems

55m

4. God on Trial

59m

3. Did God Make the Devil?

1h

2. Watch Out!

57m

1. The Next World Superpower

1h

Recapturing the Wonder of Adventism, Part 3

53m

Recapturing the Wonder of Adventism, Part 2

48m

Recapturing the Wonder of Adventism, Part 1

1h

God On Trial

30m

Sound Doctrine