The Tabernacle Today

The Radiance of the King!

Today we’ll see that the truly beautiful one has come, and as we behold His radiance, His power, and His presence among us, we can persevere in whatever we are facing because the Radiant One is with us!

Read Revelation 1:9-20 The Radiance of the King Let’s Pray!

Outline of The Book of Revelation (1:19)

The things which you have seen: John’s PAST vision of the risen Christ (Ch. 1)

The things which are: The PRESENT church age we are in (Ch. 2-3)

The things which will take place after this: FUTURE events to come (Ch. 4-22)

There are 16 different names for God in verses 1-20! That’s the most of any opening chapter in any of the 27 New Testament books!

Welcome to the P.I.T. Club!   V. 9-11

P.I.T. = Partners in Trouble!

John hastens to add that we are also partners in advancing Christ’s kingdom despite trouble, partners in patiently persevering together!

Four times the phrase “in the Spirit” occurs in Revelation, and there are some who use that phrase to outline the book. Those times are- 1:10; 4:2; 17:3; 21:10

Because John took the time to draw near to God, God drew near to Him!

“In the Spirit” is to be contrasted with “in the flesh.”

The Radiance and Power of the King!  V. 12-16

“As I kept watching, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took His seat. His clothing was white like snow, and the hair of His head like whitest wool. His throne was a flaming fire…A river of fire was flowing, coming out from His presence. Thousands upon thousands served Him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him.” -Daniel 7:9-10

Jesus is seen here to be the All-knowing, All-powerful, Everywhere-present Prophet, Priest, and King!

The Presence of the King! V. 17-20

There are 365 occurrences of “don’t be afraid” in the Bible, one for each day of the year!

“Keys stand for authority, possession, and privilege. The one who has the keys is the one who is in control. What do keys do? They open things. They lock and unlock things. They liberate and imprison. What are these keys to? Death and Hades – the two great enemies of man…When a person dies, death gets the body but Hades gets the spirit and the soul.” -Adrian Rogers

The Radiant Lord reveals two secrets about His presence V. 20

Secret # 1: Jesus walks among the church’s people!

What should we do in response to this truth?

We should cultivate a sense of His presence when we gather together!

Our faith and witness will take leaps forward if we begin acknowledging Christ’s presence in all we do!

Secret #2: Jesus holds in His hand the church’s pastors!

“See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands.” -Isaiah 49:16

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.” -John 10:27-28

The Age of Grace

The first 3 ages (innocence, conscience, and human government) included the two covenants with the __________________ world through Adam and Noah. The Adamic covenant was that we are to be stewards of the earth’s resources; the Noahic covenant promises that there won’t be another global flood.

The next 2 ages (promise and law) included the 3 covenants that God made with ______________________ through Abraham, Moses, and David. Whereas some of these covenant promises were just for Israel, others involve the blessing of the world through Israel’s Messiah, Jesus Christ. Some of these promises were fulfilled at Christ’s first coming, which inaugurated the age of grace; others will be fulfilled in “ages to come.”

The name of the age: The Age of Grace

Scriptures covered: Acts 2 to Revelation 19

Time Period covered: 33 AD to ???

The Day of Pentecost to The Second Coming of Jesus Christ, with the church being _______________________ at least seven years before Christ’s Second Coming.

Privileges/ characteristics:

Christ’s presence on earth has shown everyone what God is truly like (John 1).

Christ _____________ the demands of the law for all who believe (Romans 10:4).

Believers now have the Holy Spirit abiding ______________ (Ephesians 1:13-14)

Believers have a __________________ place in Heaven, and their spirit rises to Heaven at the moment of their death (2 Corinthians 5; Philippians 1)

Believers will not go through the coming time of Tribulation (Revelation 3:10)

New Responsibility:

For individuals to repent and believe in Jesus Christ (John 3:16)

For those who have believed to be ____________________ (Matthew 28:18-20)

For believers to gather in local churches and to grow together in Christ (Acts 2:42-47)

For believers primary allegiance to be to Jesus Christ and His church, __________ their ethnicity, national origin, socio-economic status, etc… (Galatians 3:28)

With the Spirit’s aid, to obey what Christ and His apostles have commanded, which basically lines up with God’s moral law

To take the good news about Jesus to every people group on earth

To do that which God can __________________ at the judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor. 5:10-11).

Failure:

Like Israel, the church has often gone through times of flagrant ______________ of what Jesus made clear He expected of us.

The church has often gone through times of inward ________________ and failed to be as evangelistic and missions focused as the Great Commission calls for.

Of individuals within the world: to embrace the offer of salvation in Jesus Christ.

Of Israel’s first century leadership: rejection of Christ at His first coming, postponing His second coming until after this age of grace.

Judgment:

Worldwide Tribulation for all non-Christians living at the time of the Rapture

2ndComing of Jesus Christ/ ___________________ of Armageddon

What will end when that age ends:

Satanic and demonic ____________________ during Christ’s thousand-year reign.

Carry-over to the next age(s):

Jesus will one day ___________________ and reign on the throne promised to David in the land promised to Abraham, keeping all of God’s promises to Israel.

This sermon was preached by Isaac Mooneyham on September 19, 2021 during our 2021 Homecoming Sunday Service!

The Radiance of the King!

Today we’ll see that the truly beautiful one has come, and as we behold His radiance, His power, and His presence among us, we can persevere in whatever we are facing because the Radiant One is with us!

Read Revelation 1:9-20 The Radiance of the King Let’s Pray!

Outline of The Book of Revelation (1:19)

The things which you have seen: John’s PAST vision of the risen Christ (Ch. 1)

The things which are: The PRESENT church age we are in (Ch. 2-3)

The things which will take place after this: FUTURE events to come (Ch. 4-22)

There are 16 different names for God in verses 1-20! That’s the most of any opening chapter in any of the 27 New Testament books!

Welcome to the P.I.T. Club!   V. 9-11

P.I.T. = Partners in Trouble!

John hastens to add that we are also partners in advancing Christ’s kingdom despite trouble, partners in patiently persevering together!

Four times the phrase “in the Spirit” occurs in Revelation, and there are some who use that phrase to outline the book. Those times are- 1:10; 4:2; 17:3; 21:10

Because John took the time to draw near to God, God drew near to Him!

“In the Spirit” is to be contrasted with “in the flesh.”

The Radiance and Power of the King!  V. 12-16

“As I kept watching, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took His seat. His clothing was white like snow, and the hair of His head like whitest wool. His throne was a flaming fire…A river of fire was flowing, coming out from His presence. Thousands upon thousands served Him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him.” -Daniel 7:9-10

Jesus is seen here to be the All-knowing, All-powerful, Everywhere-present Prophet, Priest, and King!

The Presence of the King! V. 17-20

There are 365 occurrences of “don’t be afraid” in the Bible, one for each day of the year!

“Keys stand for authority, possession, and privilege. The one who has the keys is the one who is in control. What do keys do? They open things. They lock and unlock things. They liberate and imprison. What are these keys to? Death and Hades – the two great enemies of man…When a person dies, death gets the body but Hades gets the spirit and the soul.” -Adrian Rogers

The Radiant Lord reveals two secrets about His presence V. 20

Secret # 1: Jesus walks among the church’s people!

What should we do in response to this truth?

We should cultivate a sense of His presence when we gather together!

Our faith and witness will take leaps forward if we begin acknowledging Christ’s presence in all we do!

Secret #2: Jesus holds in His hand the church’s pastors!

“See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands.” -Isaiah 49:16

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.”  -John 10:27-28

The Age of Law

Scriptures covered:

Exodus 19 – Acts 1

Synopsis:

The Age of Law (Exodus 19 – Acts 1) began with the giving of the Law to Moses and lasted until AD 33 when Jesus completed His atoning work for sinners and returned to Heaven. This was a ___________________ covenant with Israel that stated there would be blessing for obedience and curses for disobedience. The Law revealed God’s character, expectations, and provision for forgiveness. Israel’s failure showed the need for the Messiah to come and provide redemption.

Time Period covered:

1445 BC – AD 33

Davidic Covenant is given around __________________ BC (2 Samuel 7)

Privileges/ characteristics:

Mosaic Law/ Covenant, with its 3 parts

Blessings for obedience/ curses for disobedience

Tabernacle and later _______________________ to worship God

Conquest of the Land promised to Abraham’s descendants

Cycle of sin & redemption in the days of the ______________________

Davidic Covenant

________________________ Kingdom

Captivity

New Responsibility:

Obey the terms and ____________________ of the Mosaic Covenant/ Law

Model God’s holiness and love to the nations

Be ready to ______________________ the Messiah when He comes

Failure:

Disobedience to the Mosaic Law

Rampant ______________________, starting with the golden calf incident

Insistence on having a human king

National ______________________________ of Christ at His first coming

Judgment:

Cyclical loss of God’s ____________________ during the sinful days of the judges

Divided kingdom

Assyrian captivity for the Northern Tribes; Babylonian captivity for the Southern

___________________________ of the first Temple by Nebuchadnezzar

Time of the Gentiles begins (Israel under foreign occupation & influence)

___________________ of Christ’s physical rule due to rejection at His first coming

Destruction of Temple in AD 70

What ended when that age ended:

Necessity of the priestly law – fulfilled by Jesus Christ (Matthew 5:17)

Binding nature of the civil law – (Galatians 3:24-25)

Carry-over to next age(s):

The _______________________ Law

Abrahamic Covenant promises not yet fulfilled will be one day

Davidic Covenant promises not yet fulfilled will be one day

Look at specific verses:

The Return of the King

Revelation is the Bible’s last book. Every book has to end somehow, and I have come to understand that this was the best way for God to end the Bible…

Read Revelation 1:1-8 The Return of the King  Let’s Pray!

Verse 1 lets us know that The Book of Revelation is first and foremost an indispensable source for rounding out the Biblical portrait of Jesus!

Revelation is BOTH an unveiling ABOUT the person of Jesus Christ and an unveiling of events BY Jesus Christ.

Now because the word apokalysis occurs in 1:1, some say that tells us that Revelation is primarily an apocalyptic book.

Even though Revelation has some similarities with apocalyptic language, like symbols and interesting images, the book itself claims to be much more.

So that the genuineness of your faith – more valuable than gold, which perishes though refined by fire – may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. -I Peter 1:7

You do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.  -I Corinthians 1:7

To the best of my knowledge, no scholars say that either of those letters is an apocalyptic book based on those verses!

I believe Revelation is much more of a prophetic book than it is an apocalyptic book. But from verse four we also learn it is a letter to churches.

John wrote exactly 50 chapters of the Bible!

Now when you read the Bible there is always a first audience and then subsequent audiences, including all of us!

The number 7 symbolically represents completion, fullness, perfection!

So together the 7 churches give us a complete portrait of the church.

In verse 3 we get a unique promise: you’ll be blessed if you do three things with The Book of Revelation: read it, hear it, keep it!

Unlike chronos, which is more focused on chronological time, kairos is time as significant events. -Mounce, 732

In verses 4 & 5 we get a greeting from the Triune God!

Isaiah spoke of the sevenfold attributes of the Spirit in Isaiah 11:2-3.

Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Might, Knowledge, Piety, & Fear of the Lord.

Verse 5 gives us three titles for Jesus:

Jesus is the faithful witness!

Jesus is the firstborn from the dead!

Jesus is the ruler of the kings of the earth!

Verse 6 reminds us of three things Jesus has done for believers:

Jesus loves us!

Jesus freed us!

Jesus “kinged” us!

“Jesus, thank you that you love me, that you have freed me, and that you have ‘kinged’ me! To you be the glory today and forever!”

Verse 7 is the theme of the book: The return of the King!

There is not a single specific quotation from the Old Testament in the Revelation, but over 260 of the 404 verses contain allusions to over 550 Old Testament references.

These are the days people try to take or leave Jesus – but on that day everyone who did not turn to Him in faith will mourn over the many ways they rejected God’s revelation in their lives.

Verses 7 & 8 tell us the return of the King is certain!

The certain return of the King should motivate us be ready for Him!

Get ready, church, the boss may come today!

Get ready, church, the boss may come today!

Join Dr. Campbell as "John the Revelator" in his monologue from our September 5, 2021 Sunday Service!

Bible Themes to know before Studying Revelation

There are 2 focal points in studying prophecy:

First and foremost, Jesus!

“…Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”  -Revelation 19:10b

Second but very significant – Israel.

Ten Bible Themes to know before studying Revelation:

1. The Lionlike King will decisively defeat Satan

2. The Lamblike Sufferer will take away the sins of the world

3. The Abrahamic Covenant

First Reference – Genesis 12:1-7

Favorite Reference – Galatians 3:17-18

4. The Mosaic Covenant/ Law

First Reference – Exodus 20

Favorite Reference – Galatians 3:22-25

5. The Davidic Covenant

First Reference – 2 Samuel 7

Favorite Reference – Isaiah 9:6-7

6. The Future Day of the Lord, Part 1 (The Tribulation/ Antichrist)

First Reference: Prophets; Daniel 9:24-27

Favorite Reference: Revelation 6-18

7. The Future Day of the Lord, Part 2 (2nd Coming/ Millennium Reign)

First Reference: Psalms & Prophets; Zechariah 14

Favorite Reference: Revelation 19-20

8. The Future Day of the Lord, Part 3 (Great White Throne/ Eternity Future)

First Reference: Exodus 32:33-34

Favorite Reference: Revelation 20-22

9. The Age of Grace we currently live in

First Reference – Matthew 16:17-19; Matthew 28:18-20

Favorite Reference – Revelation chapters 2-3

10. The imminent rapture of the global church of Jesus Christ

First Reference – John 14:1-6

Favorite Reference – 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Revelation 3:10

The Age of Human Government

Dispensationalism is God’s creative management of the ages in keeping with His own eternal plan, incorporating the good and bad choices of humans.

The name of the age:  The Age of human government

Scriptures covered: Genesis _________________

Synopsis:

The Age of Human Government was between the Flood and the Tower of Babel (2000 BC?). God instructed humans to enact the ____________________ penalty for murder (Gen. 9:6). Ever rebellious, people gathered at Babel and began building a godless city & a huge tower, proclaiming “let us make a name for ourselves” (Gen. 11:4). The age ended with their inability to speak the same language and their being scattered geographically. God called out Abraham to provide hope.

Time Period covered: 2400 BC – 2000 BC?

Privileges/ characteristics:

Humanity given a chance to _____________________ _____________ by God!

New Responsibility:

Scatter and multiply after the flood

Institution of the Death Penalty for murder, necessitating human _____________

Failure:

Did not scatter over the earth

Instead of _________________ God they wanted to make a name for themselves

Judgment:

Specific Judgment on the Canaanite line within the descendants of Ham

___________________ of languages

People now scattered throughout the earth

What ended when that age ended:

Having one global language understandable by all!

Carry-over to next age(s):

Death Penalty for murder

The ________________ on the Canaanite people (NOT Ham’s other descendants)

Different languages spoken throughout the earth

Nimrod and Babel/ Babylon as _________________ of anti-God power

Grace: a godly remnant preserved through Shem and the selection of Abraham

Look at specific verses:

The curse of Ham was a curse on Ham exacted through his descendants, but it was not a curse on _______________ his descendants, only the Canaanites.

Genesis 1 and 10 give a comprehensive look at a period of time, whereas Genesis 2 and 11 go back and get more ________________ about a key event.

The 2 great kingdoms that would later harass Israel, Babylon and Assyria, had their __________________ in a guy named Nimrod!

The first 3 ages of human life on earth lasted about 2,000 years and all three ages ended with HUGE judgments affecting us to this day – The Age of Innocence ended with the Fall; The Age of Conscience ended with the Flood; The Age of Human Government ended with The Confusion of Languages and humans being scattered throughout the earth.

The God of our Opportunities

Affirmation:

The secret of victory in the Christian life is saying “Yes” to God the Holy Spirit, one decision at a time.

To be Spirit filled is to be Spirit controlled, and the Spirit Filled Life means walking in the Spirit instead of the flesh, being guided and led by Him throughout a day and throughout a lifetime.

Read Acts 16:7-10 The God of our opportunities Let’s Pray!

The 3 R’s of walking in the Spirit (The God of our opportunities):

1. Relationship

“And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” -Jesus in John 17:3

“I am the Vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” -Jesus in John 15:5

2. Realignment

No doubt Paul went to prayer in Troas, saying, “Lord, I am not sure why you said no to my plans, but I trust you, and I thank you for leading me even though I am not sure where I am going – realign me to Your plans for this season of my life.”

The Bible makes clear that God wants to be the Lord of our plans on the front end of our planning, with His kingdom priorities in mind!

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him (His Lordship over you), and He will direct your paths. -Proverbs 3:5-6

3. Reward

For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? For you are our glory and joy. -1 Thess. 2:19

Ultimately the Spirit filled life means that we are 100% devoted to Jesus Christ and His will being done in our lives, whatever the consequences.

There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many? -John 6:9

Holy Spirit mathematics: when we give our all to Jesus, be it little, God multiplies it into enough to accomplish His purposes!