OCI 2014 Leadership Retreat: One Thing

Evening Worship: Revelation

Steven Grabiner

Outpost Centers International

Revelation, Part 4

I said yesterday, since we started looking at the book of Revelation, that from my viewpoint, the heart of the book of Revelation, the framework with which John weaves his verbal tapestry is the great controversy.

And last night we mentioned that the throne is the central object in the book of Revelation, and whenever we see the throne, we need to remember that the throne is contested territory.

Now, some people have asked, yeah, but if you read chapter 4, it just looks like a worship scene and it certainly is a worship scene.

Starting again in Revelation 4 in verse 4, John sees around the throne, around God's throne, 24 thrones and upon those thrones, 24 elders sitting clothed in white garments and golden crowns on their head.

Then John sees coming out of the throne flashes of lightning, sounds and peals of thunder, and then he describes, as he continues to describe the scene, a group of 4 living creatures.

The King James tells us that there are 4 beasts.

Their face in their figure in verse 7 is described.

1 looks like a lion, the other like a calf, the other like a man, the fourth like a flying eagle.

And then they fall down or they don't fall down, they begin to sing this song in Revelation 4 in verse 8.

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.

And when we see that sound or we hear that song and it does sound, and it is unquestionably a worship scene.

And so the question is, well, if this is really a worship scene, how can we conclude, excuse me, how can we conclude that this is really a contested territory, that there's some great controversy taking place.

Well, let me give you a few examples as to why I think that's true.

First of all, that phrase, holy, holy, holy.

Good Bible students, Where does that come from?

Comes from the book of Isaiah, exactly right.

And Isaiah chapter 6, Isaiah sees a scene of the temple and he sees the throne of God.

He sees the Lord sitting on his temple and then he sees these angelic beings who have 6 wings and they're flying.

Well, you could turn there, Isaiah chapter 6, if you don't have it in your memory, but holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts.

That quote from the book of Isaiah is used all over ancient Jewish literature.

And it's always quoted, holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, the earth is full of His glory.

But when you come to Revelation, John doesn't quote it that way.

He says, holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty, which compares to the Lord of hosts, but then he has a different phrase, The 1 who was and who is and who is to come.

In the book of Revelation, the earth is not full of the glory of God until when?

The third angel's message is to fear God and?

And so the way John hears the song is the way John communicates the song to us.

He leaves out or he changes a very important part.

Because from Revelation's point of view, right now the earth is not full of the glory of God.

There's a contest over who's going to rule.

There's another reason that I think this is true.

And we notice here, how often did these living creatures sing this song?

Well, Revelation, remember I said in the very first night, we need to become re-readers of Revelation.

That phrase is also used someplace else in the book of Revelation.

Somebody else that does something day and night.

So an important point that's coming out here that in Revelation chapter 4, we see this heavenly council, we see these angelic beings, the 4 living creatures.

Interestingly enough, you know, remember in Solomon's temple, there were not only the 2 cherubim on top of the ark, but Solomon also built 2 other cherubim that were in the most holy place.

In Revelation chapter 4, you have these 4 living beings around the throne.

Just let me share this interesting quotation with you as well from Story of Redemption, page 184.

4 heavenly angels always accompanied the ark of God in all its journeyings.

Well on the ark were 2, Solomon added 2 others in the temple.

Spirit of prophecy tell us that wherever the ark went, there were 4 angelic beings.

I believe that these 4 living creatures are representative of those angelic beings and they are by the throne where God dwells.

And they're part of this heavenly council.

As I mentioned in Desire of Ages, it brings out that it was before that heavenly council that Lucifer started his rebellion.

Day and night in the heavenly courts, Satan tries to accuse God's people.

In Revelation, there's a voice of accusation, almost offstage if I can use that example.

But here in Revelation 4, you have these living creatures.

They don't say the earth is full of God's glory because they realize there is a controversy taking place.

And The earth will be filled with the glory of God when God's people give the 3 angels message, when the fourth angel comes down, and ultimately when the holy city comes down and reflects the glory of God.

In Revelation chapter 4, I mentioned yesterday as well that there's this question in where this is taking place.

We have this image of the seven-branched land stand.

We have all this different imagery in here taking place from the sanctuary above, which is the place the great controversy began.

It's important for us to keep that background in mind.

But the question is, where in the heavenly sanctuary?

And there's some discussion within Seventh-day Adventism as to whether this is taking place in the holy place or in the most holy place.

I'd like to share a couple of thoughts with you that at least reflect my study.

And I would like to suggest that this imagery, chapter 4 and 5, is taking place in the most holy place.

Well, remember what I said, the throne is the central object in the book of Revelation.

It opens this book and it closes that book as we'll see on Saturday night.

But somebody might say, well, yes, that's true, but the throne could be the table of showbread in the holy place, possibly.

Revelation chapter 4 in verse 3, as it describes the 1 on the throne, there's something that goes around the throne.

Listen to this quotation, Signs of the Times, May 2nd, 1895.

Fasten your eyes on the Son of righteousness.

Do not try to adjust all the difficulties, but turn your face to the light, to the throne of God.

Revelation, Part 3

I invite you to turn with me, and if you have a Bible with you, to the book of Revelation, chapter 4 and chapter 5.

On Monday evening, we noted that Revelation teaches us that we need to have a heavenly perspective rather than an earthly perspective.

Last night we saw the admonition from Revelation chapter 2 about our great need of love.

And I appreciated some of the thoughts that came out today as well, Elaine this morning and some of the others about our great need of loving the way Christ loves.

Tonight and the next couple of nights, I'd like to look with you at Revelation chapter 4 and 5.

Again, just briefly, Revelation 4 and 5 are foundational chapters for understanding the rest of the book.

Some individuals have called these chapters the fountainhead of the entire book of Revelation.

In chapter 4 and 5 is introduced to the heavenly sanctuary.

There's some tremendous pictures that are brought to view in these 2 chapters.

Now there's questions as to where in the sanctuary is this, what's the time setting of that?

Let's leave those aside for this evening.

And I wanna focus on a particular part here, Revelation chapter 4 in verse 1.

And it says, After these things I looked, after these things, after the 7 churches, after the last church, the church of Laodicea, after these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven.

And the first voice which I heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me said, come up here and I will show you what must take place after these things.

Immediately, I was in the Spirit and behold, what?

A throne was standing in heaven and 1 sitting on the throne.

As John's view is taken away from the 7 churches here on earth and it's taken up into heaven, the first thing he sees is the throne.

And then he sees The 1 sitting on the throne.

Incidentally, 1 sitting on the throne is John's favorite expression for God in the book of Revelation.

The first object of attention though is the throne.

Well, in the book of Revelation, the throne is the preeminent object in the story.

And when I use the word story, I don't mean a made-up story, but John's telling us a story.

He's telling us the story of the great controversy.

And the throne is the central object in the book.

The word throne, for example, is used in the New Testament some 62 times.

47 of those times is in the book of Revelation.

So you can tell that the throne is vitally important.

God's people ultimately sit on thrones, Revelation chapter 20.

The 24 elders, members of the heavenly council, they sit on thrones, but someone else has a throne in the book of Revelation, and that's it.

Turn back with me, Revelation Chapter 2, just briefly, Revelation 2, in the letter to the church of Pergamum, verse 12, Revelation 2, 12, and then 13, and to the angel of the church in Pergamum write, The 1 who has the sharp two-edged sword says this, I know where you dwell, where Satan's...

If you have the King James, it'll say where Satan's seat is.

But it's the exact same underlying word as throne.

And more modern translations would translate it and other language translations will translate that as Satan's throne.

So God has a throne, God's allies have a throne, but who else has a throne?

There's the kings of the earth, which by implication have thrones, but turn with me to Revelation chapter 13.

Revelation 13, it's a very important chapter.

In verse 2, 1 of Satan's allies comes up out of the sea.

He's got 7 heads, he's got 10 horns, he's got diadems on his horns.

Verse 2, he's partially like a leopard, his feet are like those of a bear, his mouth is the mouth of a lion, and the dragon gave him his power and his, well, King James again says seat, but that's the same word throne.

So just as Christ sits with the Father on his throne, Satan has an associate, the dragon has an associate that sits on his throne as well.

Well if we're thinking about this and we're thinking biblically, we're thinking of some of the imagery that John would use, is there another Old Testament verse, let's see if you can get it, I'm thinking about it, that relates Satan and his desires and the word throne.

Isaiah 14 which says, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God.

So here we see Revelation, John as he's writing the book of Revelation through the imagery that he saw through the Holy Spirit, is the very first thing we see is the throne, and it's important for us to realize as we reread Revelation that in Revelation, the throne is contested territory.

It's true that God is sovereign, but it's not true that that sovereignty is uncontested.

That is what the great controversy is about.

God has a throne, but is God fit to rule on that throne?

And that's the big question that Revelation tries to answer.

And so as we, as this, these 2 chapters, chapter 4 and 5, which are linked together, As soon as John is introduced to heaven, the first thing he sees is the throne, and then he sees the 1 that sits on the throne.

And back to Revelation chapter 4, he's described the 1 that sits on the throne in verse 3, Revelation 4 in verse 3, and he who was sitting, again, notice that expression, is like a jasper stone and a sardis in appearance, and there's a rainbow around the throne like an emerald in appearance.

Verse 4, around the throne are 24 thrones, and upon the thrones I saw 24 elders sitting, clothed in white garments and golden crowns on their heads." And as the chapter unfolds, we're introduced to 4 living creatures and the chapter continues.

But just tonight, in our short time together, I wanna focus our attention on the throne.

And in Revelation, the throne is contested territory.

The question is, who will ultimately rule?

Satan, since the beginning of the great controversy, which began in that council in heaven, Ellen White calls it a divine council, in that council in heaven, that heavenly council, rather, that's where the great controversy began.

That's where Satan began to implant in people's minds, not in people's minds, in angelic beings' minds, is God really fit to rule?

And when we read Revelation and we realize that Satan takes his throne and he gives it to the beast, what's our normal way of thinking?

Who does the beast represent in a prophetic historic sense?

Revelation 13, who would the first beast in Revelation 13 represent in a prophetic historic sense.

And when we talk about the dragon giving his seat to the papacy, we're thinking of a lot of historic events, which are true.

Don't misunderstand what I'm about to say.

That is true, but there's something else we need to see.

I'd like to point it out to you from an article that I came across, Signs of the Times.

Actually, a very interesting article, Signs of the Times, February 19, 1894.

The other night, we also mentioned briefly this video that's going around about the protest being over.

Protestants are losing the mark of distinction that distinguished them from the world.

They are lessening the distance between themselves and the Roman power.

That that distance is getting smaller and smaller.

She has a whole host of things, something else.

She says, shall we offer insult to the God of heaven after he has freed us from the Romish yoke and place ourselves in bondage to this anti-Christian power?

The problem is that we think that anti-Christian power is exclusively out there.

But the question for us is, who is on the throne?

Have I really come to the decision through the cross of Christ that God is fit to rule here?

She goes on to say, potpourri is the religion of human nature.

If you're human, you have to battle with potpourri inside.

Now, none of us have a tiara or any of those things.

But again, in the book Education, on page 190, Ellen White says that the student, that's us, should understand the nature of the 2 principles that are contending for supremacy and learn to trace the working through the records of history and prophecy.

The student should see how this controversy, the great controversy, who is going to sit on the throne, enters into every phase of human experience.

How in every act of life, he, the student, you, me, are revealing the 1 or the other of the 2 antagonistic motives.

Revelation, Part 2

If you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me for a few minutes to the book of Revelation.

As we continue what we started last night, as I said, my theme for this, our short time together in the evenings, is re-reading Revelation.

And last night we began looking at Revelation.

I mentioned to you a book written, The End of Historicism.

And a couple of people I've talked to, you know, raised this question, really is historicism, is the principle of looking at revelation being fulfilled throughout history, is it still valid?

In fact, it's questioned, even among some of the Adventist scholars in different ways, and particularly the 7 churches have come under scrutiny because they really don't seem to have much prophetic imagery in them.

So we're gonna start, we're gonna look tonight in Revelation chapter 2, And if you're familiar with Revelation, you know that there are series of sevens in the book.

There's the 7 churches, chapters 2 and 3, and we find the 7 seals, chapter 6, and part of chapter 8.

Then we have the 7 trumpets and all that perplexing imagery in chapters 8, 9, and then ending in chapter 11, and then of course the 7 last plagues.

And I really want to focus on 1 particular part of the first church, the church in Ephesus.

But before I do, I want to just share a few reasons that I think that the 7 churches should and can be read from a historicist perspective.

That is that they have meaning for the people that lived in John's day, but they also had prophetic application throughout history.

I'm gonna share a couple of quotes from Ellen White, but let me share a few.

I have actually 11 or 12 points on my list.

I'm not going to read them all by any means.

But first of all, it's very clear that these letters are not ordinary letters.

The imagery that's used about them, the fact that each 1 of these different letters, starting with the Church of Ephesus and ending with the Church of Laodicea, all of them have Jesus saying or a reference about Jesus saying, the Alpha and the Omega or the Amen says this, or the 1 that has the sharp two-edged sword says this, the 1 that holds the 7 stars and walks among the 7 candlestand says this.

It's a very structured expression which reminds us, if we think carefully about the entire Bible, of a, thus saith the Lord.

These are not just letters coming from John to these churches, these are prophetic utterances.

Just like in the Old Testament, you had a, thus saith the Lord.

In addition to that, the imagery in these 7 churches, these small 7 letters, the imagery in it transcends the local historic context.

Well, for example, in the church of Thyratia, you have a woman named Jezebel.

Well, in the book of Revelation, there's another harlot queen.

And so The imagery in the letters to the 7 churches is tied, remember I mentioned yesterday John makes a tapestry and he uses verbal threads to create his picture.

The imagery in the 7 churches is tied to the rest of the book of Revelation.

In fact, as we'll look tomorrow night in the church to Pergamum, there's a throne.

It's Satan's throne, which is very important to the larger part of the book of Revelation.

So there's lots of reasons if you're interested in more, let me know and I can share some of them, but I think there's good reasons for understanding these letters as moving through time.

They applied in John's day, but they also moved prophetically through time, but more importantly, and I stress that, more importantly, they apply to us today.

And that's really what I want to focus on.

First of all, from 7 Bible Commentary, page 957, Ellen White looks at the Church of Ephesus in a historical context, 7 BC, 957, paragraph 2.

And she says this, in view of the many virtues enumerated, how striking is the charge brought against the church at Ephesus.

Then she mentions the charge, we'll come to that in a moment.

This church, Ephesus, was highly favored.

It was planted by the apostle Paul." And then she goes on and she describes what happened in the historic city of Ephesus with the temple of Diana.

So Ellen White reads this, and I think we need to read it as those first century readers that heard or read Revelation in Ephesus, it meant something to that particular congregation.

But Ellen White also makes a prophetic connection to the church in Ephesus.

Acts of the Apostles, page 578, paragraph 1.

She says, the zeal manifested at this time by the followers of Jesus has been recorded by the pen of inspiration for the encouragement of believers in every age of the church at Ephesus, which the Lord used as a symbol of the church in the Apostolic Age.

The faithful and true witness declares, and then she quotes some of the passages.

First of all, she talks about the Church of Ephesus and the literal people there, historic, 7 BC.

Then she talks about it, no, the church of Ephesus is a symbol of the church in the apostolic age.

And when we think prophetically, that's usually what we think.

We think of Ephesus in the apostolic age, Smyrna in a time of persecution, coming on down to the church of Laodicea, which is the church just before the coming of Christ.

But did you know that Ellen White also applies Ephesus to you and to me?

And that I think is very important for us today, especially as we think of 1 thing in our retreat.

Ellen White asked the question, is not this experience of the Ephesian church repeated in the experience of the church in this generation?

How is the church of today that received knowledge of the truth of God using this knowledge?

And then she goes on and she continues describing how the church in her day, this generation, had this first love experience, but something happened.

And that's what I want to look at with you tonight, just briefly for a few moments.

Revelation chapter 2, starting in verse 1.

To the angel of the church in Ephesus write, the 1 who holds the 7 stars in his right hand, the 1 who walks among the 7 golden lampstands says this.

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Revelation, Part 4

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Revelation, Part 3

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Revelation, Part 2

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Revelation, Part 1

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