[Music] thank you Welcome to our program that we have titled revelation of the coming King let me first introduce myself I am ranko stefanovich professor at The Seventh-Day Adventist Theological Seminary Andrews University Berrien Springs Michigan and I'm so excited to be with you here and go through that series I'm so excited because For the first time in my life I'm a taping a series on the Book of Revelation that covers all the chapters of this book it means from chapter one to chapter 22. so I want to express my deep gratitude to 3ab for inviting me and making this occasions and and taping of this series are possible I'd like to invite our viewers to support this ministry because we want to understand the word of God better and Proclaim God's Everlasting gospel to the world why am I so excited about the Book of Revelation put at least two reasons the first one is very serious the second one is little bit informal it was after many years of being a Christian and I started to study the Book of Revelation yes I met Jesus Christ he spoke to me through this book and believe me he changed my life completely upside down and I just want to tell to all of you if God was able through this book to speak to me and to change me he can do it with every person in the world actually my first presentation that we'll be just doing just in few minutes I want to share with you how actually the Book of Revelation changed my perspective with reference to God change my Christian Life made me better Christian loving Christian and motivated me to meet the king who very very soon appear in the clouds why am I in the Book of Revelation for the second reason is if you go to the Book of Genesis in Chapter 11 . we read there there was a time in the past when all the people on the Earth they spoke one language and that language was English I'm excited about that but then there are some technical problems there at the Tower of Babel and people go toxins so please don't blame me blame the Tower of Babel there but I decided not to stay in the Book of Genesis I decided to go to the Book of Revelation because according to this book chapter 7 the time is coming very soon when all the people of all Nations all generations for all tongues they'll be there before the Throne of God and once again all the people will use one language and that language will be English you know why I'm doing this I want just to tell you yes I have a heavy accent but I believe if God used a donkey to speak to balam she was able to use a rooster to convert Peter he can use also a very strange accent even my accent to speak to people and to present a testimony about how God changes human lives so just pray for me please pray for me that God gives me that spiritual gift of speaking tongues and I'll be praying for you that God gives you the spiritual gift of understanding the tongues but we are all together for for one purpose so from now on it will be a long series we will go Section by section a chapter by chapter we'll be going through the Book of Revelation but in order to do it it's impossible to cover everything in the time that is allotted to us as I mentioned this is for the first time that I am taping a series that covers the entire Book of Revelation at Andrews University usually I have 45 hours and I'm able to cover about 10 to 12 chapters with my students and are constantly complaining how fast we are going through the material this reason we need a good textbook are you with me so that after each one of these presentations you can go and take that textbook and to find much deeper sense of the text that we will cover each presentation we need a good textbook and I'm so happy that this moment I can present to you the best text book I really mean that the best textbook for starting the Book of Revelation if you use the textbook you cannot miss the meaning of the of the of that of the text and I'd like to encourage all of you our reviewers that you come and bring that textbook for yourself and believe me you can buy that that's that textbook even for 25 cents I don't know you wonder what I'm talking about I want to present to you the best textbook for studying The Book of Revelation if you follow the instructions from this book you cannot miss in understanding of the main message of the Book of Revelation doesn't mean that you we will get the answer to every problem each detail of this book but this is the infillable guide to the understanding of this book so I would like to encourage you I'd like to encourage our viewers take this book to put in your hands because we will refer to this book very very often as we are trying to get much deeper sense and meaning the text of the Book of Revelation what we need also some to other tools that can help us in order to understand the messages of the Book of Revelation and our present the presentations that I will be making our studies during this series actually will be followed but the material that is found in this book titled the revelation of Jesus Christ and you'll notice the author is ranco stefanovic it means that this book is a product of many years of research my own research of the Book of Revelation actually you will find in this book the product of my research the product of many other Scholars their research and you will find also what our church today officially teaches and believes about the Book of Revelation so I would like to invite the viewers and each one of you if you can provide a copy of this commentary for yourself and I'd like to do something if we can make an agreement every time at the end of one segment of my presentation before we conclude I will give you the pages from this commentary that will tell you that you can go and follow and continue to study that topic for yourself I'd like to invite you if you have some very good friends of yours some other Fortune members that are with you in your congregation make a small group take that portion of the Book of Revelation study together and deep much much deeper and what riches what the wealth of information you will get from from from from the text of this last book of the of the Bible so please pray for me as we are going through this series I'm a trained scholar I'm trained how to think critically not to take anything for granted try to find really what the text says I read the book of Revelation in original languages but I want to remind you I'm simply human and sometimes people refer to me as an expert in the Book of Revelation I feel very uncomfortable because there is only one expert and he knows everything below me unfortunately he's not here with us however he gives some people an opportunity and time to study the Book of Revelation in much a deeper way and to share it with others so I'm not here to teach you I'm not here to even to preach to you I'm not here to instruct you I am here simply to share with you what I have learned from this book at the same time to share with you what my church today believes and understanding that my church today has with regard to different parts and portions with with this book so please pray for me they're simply human beings and I pray to God that I'll be praying for you you know we are all tempted with something when we come to the Book of Revelation sometimes we hold our favorite View and we think that the view that I hold is the Bible everybody who disagrees with me is contrary to the Bible but we are simply humans we need the mercies of God we need the guidance of the holy spirit so please pray for me I will pray for you because it's my prayer to God that this series for all of us becomes a journey for the last book of the Bible that the end we all can say yes I Found Jesus Christ in the Book of Revelation and he transformed and he changed my life completely that's actually the reason that we are going going here for this through this book that's why we would like to spend this time by studying The Book of Revelation in much different deeper way so I promise I will be praying for you you pray for me so before we go to the first text of the Book of Revelation to share with you how God changed the Book of Revelation to to transform my personal life I'm like just that we ask God for guidance as we're going through this book our heavenly father thank you for killing us this opportunity so that we can go and take this book revelation of the coming King and we would like to hear your voice speaking to us father we are aware that there are many difficult passages in this book the many things we would like to understand better and we feel how people are struggling to make so many times a sense of some difficult portions of the Book of Revelation but please help us that we can understand the central message the message that we will really change and transform our personal lives thank you Father for your guidance thank you for being with us and we pray all of this in the precious name of Our Savior Jesus Christ amen as I promise to you that we will follow this textbook so please I'd like to ask you that we open the first text and the first statement of the Book of Revelation namely Revelation chapter 1.
verse 1 are you ready for this okay so revelation one verse one I would just like to read the first line the revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave him to show to his servants the things which must soon take a place like during the time that is allotted to us now to understand something from these opening statement of the book and that's about two Central themes that is opening statement introduces to us that's very crucial very important for an understanding of the rest of the book two Central teams the first one it's introduced in the opening statement the revelation of Jesus Christ they wanted to do something the word revelation that we have actually comes from the Greek word apocalopsis just that you see how it's little bit complicated to read to read Greek but already you guess what it means the Greek word apocalopsis actually renders the meaning what we have today the word apocalypse the Greek word apocalypse is actually consists of two words APO which means from or off and the word accolipses which simply means covering so any guess what is the meaning of the word apocalypses it simply means unveiling revealing and uncovering so we have already here something very interesting at the at the very beginning and what is that that actually we learned that the open line of this book is telling us that this is the unveiling uncovering revealing of Jesus Christ now you already guess that from this we have the word apocalypse and that this opening line actually gives us the title of the last book of the Bible does he Call It The Apocalypse of Jesus Christ unfortunately many people do not call it the apocalypse or Revelation Jesus Christ they simply call it the apocalypse now there is a question The Apocalypse of what and I meet many very good Christians but when they come to the Book of Revelation they're telling me this book does not make sense to me because for some people this is the revelation of those final events that are terrifying that are very very very very scary and that's why many people are discouraged actually to go and to study this this book as I mentioned that this opening statement actually provides the title of the book the purpose of a title have you ever thought you have a book seven 800 pages thick book and you just have a three four words that appear on the cover actually those three four words they provide in a nutshell the content of the entire book as you read the title you know exactly what the book is all about am I correct if I want to learn something about history of United States I go to the bookstore what is the title that I'm looking for the answer is clear let me ask you one question when Christians they call the last book of the Bible the revelation of Jesus Christ who do they expect to find in this book when today there is a movie and you'll see a flood of young people going and running to watch that movie and you ask them what is the title of the movie they say it's the Apocalypse and when young people are going to watch that movie what do they expect to watch Jesus Christ his life you know what young people they say they expect to see to watch an action bloodshed persecution torture final events and everything that is associated with that and my question is who invented such a meaning of the content of the last book of the Bible or the meaning of the word apocalypse Christians actually is telling us but the way how the Christians understand the Book of Revelation so please allow me now it is understanding of this phrase it actually changed my my perspective yes please I would like that we point to something very title of the last book of the New Testament is telling us what we are supposed to find in this book it's the revelation of Jesus Christ but you know many Christians are debating and in English so many times uh doesn't look problematic but in Greek it's a big problem when you say the revelation of Jesus Christ apocalypse is to yesu Crystal it can be understood in two different ways is it so-called boy just to make a little bit problematic is it subjective or objective genitive which means is this the book that came from Jesus Christ that he is the source of that Revelation or is this book about Jesus Christ you see usually when we read just a casual reader that does not see the difference that can be understood in two different ways and the scholars are debating I just want to suggest to you that both meanings are implied here if you see verse 1 it says the revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave him to show to his servants the things which must soon take place and he Jesus he sent and he communicated it by his Angel to his servant John he's telling us that it is from Jesus Christ are you with me it came from him he's the one who sent that Revelation but please let's go to verse 7. behold he is coming with the clouds and every eye will see him even those who Pierce him and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over him so it is to be amen suddenly he is not only just source he The Book of Revelation is about him he is the main object of the Book of Revelation by the way is that what our Christian doctrine is all about it came from Jesus Christ it's about Jesus Christ the entire Bible is about that the entire Bible came from God came from Jesus Christ but Jesus said read it start it because he testifies about me so the Book of Revelation is the line with the basic premise of Christianity he came from Jesus but it's about him by the way if you go from chapter one all up to chapter 22. you will see the Jesus Christ is the main focus of this book the very beginning he's introduced the Alpha and the Omega he is the beginning of the end what I'm trying to say this phrase is found in chapter one it's found in chapter 22.
the book begins with that and the book concludes with that the entire book is about this so I just want to tell you the Book of Revelation is not intended to be a kind of Hollywood apocalypse a littered with bizarre and horribly events to come on the world that causes fear and concern to all of us by naming it the revelation of Jesus Christ The Inspired Auto wanted to tell us that we understand that the book he wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit offered a new portrayal of Christ that could be found nowhere else that's why this book is so much important and please allow me to share two things with you number one I promise to you that I'll explain to you how God changed my life by starting this book what I discovered that the Book of Revelation is as much the gospel as the four gospels are and I really mean that explain this you know for Gospels Matthew Mark Luke and John when you read those four gospels what do you find there you know let me just put it in simple way about God who took a human form he came down to the Earth to save the Fallen Humanity so after his ministry he died on the cross he was buried he resurrected and he ascended there to the Heavenly places you know that what is he doing over there if we know that he intercedes on behalf of us please can you open any of the four Gospels to learn about that what is he doing there in the hungry places no because the four gospels they end with his Ascension but there are two books of the New Testament that are very important and those two books they begin at the point where the four gospels end are you still with me so the four gospels they end with the Ascension of Jesus and the book of Hebrews and the Book of Revelation begin with that point of Jesus existence they describe Jesus who is there in the Heavenly places when you read the book of Hebrews Jesus is there the priest and the high priest intercedes on behalf of us but you will find in the book of Hebrews that Jesus is also our King Hebrews 8 verse 1 says we have a such high priest sat there on the Heavenly throne and the right hand of the greatest there in the Heavenly places the emphasis is on Jesus as our King that's what we titled this series in such way while the Book of Revelation he's still our priest and you will see very soon in our third order four presentation we'll see him as a priest there but the emphasis of the book is on his Royal and kingly Ministry so now you see both four Gospels and the Book of Revelation they deal with the same Jesus are you still with me the only difference is that the four gospels that dealing with the Earthly Jesus men of Galilee who is in a human flesh but the Book of Revelation portrays the glorified Christ who is there in the Heavenly places working on behalf of us and our salvation but let me explain a little bit more this is the second Point what I wanted to introduce here is you know when we read the four Gospels and before Jesus left he left disciples and to all of us two promises in these two promises all other promises are Incorporated the first promise is I will refer to Matthew 28 to verse 20. and I will be with you along always how long always until the very end of the age this is the first promise that Jesus left and the second one is probably the best representative text is the Gospel of John chapter 14 1-3 I will come again when I prepare the place for you when I prepare that place I will come again and you will be there where I am so I will be with you always until the very end but when the end comes then I will come again to take you so you will be there where I am see these two promises the incorporate all other promises and the purpose of the Book of Revelation is to tell us how actually Jesus is fulfilling these two promises the first 19 chapters of the book describing how actually Jesus while he is there in heaven he's supporting his church he's supporting you and me in our struggles to overcome sin and to prepare ourselves for that great the moment that we are waiting so much to meet him one day when he comes to the cloud so he's telling us actually how he is with his people until the very end are you still with me and then the last three four chapters of the book it's very hard to draw the line okay are telling us how he will come again and take us there where he is and we will with me so now you understand why for me The Book of Revelation is the truly the gospel revealing Jesus Christ and telling me how great a savior he is to me there is no difference between the Book of Revelation and four Gospels so I really dare to say the tribulation that the last book of the New Testament is titled the apocalypses The Apocalypse of Jesus Christ is actually the Fifth Gospel of the New Testament please whenever I presented this topic people become excited they said oh boy I always thought that the Book of Revelation is telling us about the future from now on I don't want to think about future there is no prophecies in the Book of Revelation it's just about Jesus Christ just wait you remember we mentioned that the very introduction to the Book of Revelation give us two Central themes this is just the first theme so please can you go back to the text you tell us the revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave him to show to his servants the things which must soon take place please can you help me this is the revelation of Jesus Christ but what is the purpose of the book to tell us what will happen in the future and you will notice how Christians are jumping from one to another extreme for some Christians this is simply the revelation of Jesus Christ and that's what they like to hear some other Christians everything that they find in the Book of Revelation is about the future and please I try to use different expressions and hope that you will understand me for some Christians The Book of Revelation is a kind of a crystal ball a kind of a horoscope another Nostradamus book fortune teller however we have to have to be mine that this is the revelation of Jesus Christ but the purpose of the book is to tell us what will happen in the future so how can we reconciled these two opening statements is the Tribulation of Jesus Christ or is it a book that is telling us about the future and my answer is yes yes please let me explain it any person who is confronted with the content of the Book of Revelation really realize the Book of Revelation has 22 chapters that most of those 220 chapters are about the future we cannot deny it and that's what leads some Christians really just to see in the Book of Revelation the future events but let me suggest something to you that the primary purpose of the Book of Revelation one more time the primary purpose or exclusive purpose of the Book of Revelation is not simply to inform us about the future but the purpose of the revelation of the future is to move us to the right Christian Living to make us to be a better Christians and also to impress and to seal on our mind the promise that Jesus made to all of us that he will be with us always until the very end of the age and finally that he will come at the end and to take us to ourselves you now allow me to explain it a little bit in in my my own way in the book testimonies to ministers page 100 18 there is a statement that really made this presentation possible the statement really to move him to go into that direction to find about that first and central theme of the book of Revelation listen to this statement Advance new principles and crowd in the clear-cut truth but being not too ready to take a controversial attitude there will be times when we must stand still and see the salvation of God let Daniel speak let the Revelation speak and tell what is truth but whatever phase of the subject is presented uplift to Jesus as the center of all hope the root and The Offspring of David and the bride and The Morning Star what a statement so now let me explain how the book the discipled the revelation of Jesus Christ purpose is to tell us about what will happen in the future how that work can change somebody's life how those two statements really they fit nicely together actually it is because of the needs of my students at Andrews University I invented keep in mind I invent invented this illustration this is just illustration that I usually use and I'd like to explain really how this opening sentence of the Book of Revelation synchronizes the title with the main purpose of the book are you still with me so let me use this illustration can you just imagine that there is a family a husband and wife and they have a boy they have problem with him the boy does not know anything what he will do in his life of course the parents they worry about that but one day he comes to his parents telling them I decided to do something with my life I decided to go and to study at that University oh boy the parents are excited but at the same time they are sad because they that the sun is flying to very distant place two three hours by airplane he's going to study there at the Andrews University they will miss him but they're happy that he decided to do something in his life one more time I invented this illustration that's not something real the long they waited Day Has Come everything is packed they are ready to take all those languages to put in the car and the father is ready to take his son to the airport surprisingly the father looks into his son and he said Son and he pulls the chairs and puts their two chairs he said Son please would you sit here on the chair you and me we have for us to talk and you know what happened with kids they can stay in the bed until 10 in the morning as soon as you want to talk to them suddenly they're in rush to go somewhere and and the boy said that we have to run to the airport but the father is very serious son please sit there I want to talk to you that's okay Dad and the father looks into his face he said Son let me just ask you one question have you ever thought foreign about the life that you will have their debt City and the debt University you know the boy Dad no no the father is very serious son this is very serious question and the father said my son let me explain to you how your life will look there at that City he says every morning you will get up have a quick breakfast and go to your class another class another class another class then the lunch time in the late afternoon will come you'll take that lunch and we have to run to be on time with your work because you have to work in order to survive at that University then after your work in the evening you run to your room there study and to prepare assignments tomorrow class and in the morning you will get up you know already the story you'll run to the class after the class in the afternoon work after the work back to your room to study to prepare for the next day class the next day and you know already the story and the father notices as the sun was cynical Etc that his hand is going down and he is carefully listening to what his father is telling him and that the father says and my son the exam will come you will work then you'll run back to your room to study to prepare yourself for example and you'll be starting the whole night and in the morning you will come to take the exam after that exam going to work in the evening go back to a room to study for the next exam I invented the story okay let me ask you as the father is portraying that future to his son which is very realistic what are the thoughts that they come to his son's mind I'm making a mistake I am leaving is that the purpose that the father wants to have the conversation quiz on okay you have to hear the rest of my story the father sees that his son is completely confused and he's thinking whether to go or to stay now the father makes the following statement it's just few sentences before that the conversations for about 15-20 minutes very long conversation but just few sentences I said my son this is the kind of your future that is awaiting to you there in that City but the reason why I want to have this conversation is just put on simpler reason to assure you that you will finish your studies at that University and you will graduate because your mother and your father will be walking with you to support you the time sometimes will come you will be discouraged you will not know what to do you'll give us a phone call we'll encourage you sometimes when the situation becomes so critical we will we will buy a flight ticket and come to spend some short time with you because maybe if you are many exams an overwhelming assignments that will that will be on you you will have to quit some hours of your work and you'll come into the financial crisis you just give us a phone call we will go and borrow money and to send to you son yes the life at that University will not be easy it will be challenging they just want to assure you you will graduate because we will be beside to you to say support you and to help you and you will finish your service please now you have to help me what I invented this illustration one more time to make very clear what was the purpose of that conversation that the father wanted to have with his son but did you notice something let's say that the conversation lasted for 25 minutes when the father started talking to his son he was very nervous he did not want to listen like many people who don't want to listen to the Prophecies of the Book of Revelation we don't want to know about scary things okay of those 25 minutes that the father had that conversation with his son how much of those 25 minutes were about the future okay let's be very modest let's say at least 20 minutes 80 percent of the father's talk was about the future and everything bad the things that actually provoke the concern in the mind of that of that young man creating a negative feelings in his mind and actually making him to think to change his decision not to go there how much of that talk was about the encouragement and the promise that they will be with him just maybe three four minutes but you see it's not about the content it's about the purpose okay I want to ask another question maybe some of you will think then why didn't father just spend those two three minutes and put the sun in front of himself and say son we just want to tell you when you go to that University your mother and your father will be with you to support you and to finish how seriously would the sun take that promise you know you have kids that's okay that's that's okay let's go to the airport he would not even hear that that promise but you see after about 20 minutes or maybe even longer the father was explaining all that the dark bizarre and terrifying future that was very realistic very realistic and then finally the father made that promise to the son that promise was sealed in the mind of that of that boy so let me ask you a question and son that that boy is at that University there and they he became so stressed he cannot move any longer what is the first thing that will come to his mind when he is in the financial situation what will come to you know what nobody has to teach him he will move there to the phone pick up the phone there to call his parents I just told you this is just an illustration but I know that illustration changed and change the life of many many my students and also camp meeting audience also many many pastors it helped how much of the Book of Revelation is about the future foreign but you see it's not about the content it's about the purpose of this book you see the Book of Revelation could be just 15 verses God could tell us everything he is coming on the clouds but before that he will be with us he will support us he will guide us and lead us we can always rely on him but you see Jesus Christ he knew that the full impact of his promise to be with us and the full meaning of that promise that he will lead us to help us to take the future seriously are you still with me to take that future seriously that we can prepare ourselves for the future would not be effective if he does not tell us about what the future will bring to us actually if you open your Bible is we read in the Gospel of John chapter 16 verse 4 Jesus said these things I have spoken to you so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you of them what is the purpose of the biblical prophecies of course the purpose is to move us down to our knees to take the future seriously but about all not to make us the concern afraid and terrified of that future is simply to telling us that we are not left alone on this Earth take Jesus Christ who is presented in the four Gospels has given us that promise that he will with us always until the very end of the age and the purpose of the Book of Revelation is telling us how he's fulfilling that promise so when we know that he is with us we will take our Christianity seriously we will take our spiritual life seriously it will make us to be better Christians to treat other people the way how Jesus treats treats treats people and also to make us more serious about the future we'll bring so that we know Jesus said when those things that start taking place you can lift up your heads and know that your salvation is coming on friends the correct understanding of the Book of Revelation will help us not to think too much about this life yeah we live here we have to use our life to spread the gospel message to make life people around us better to have that christ-like character to present to the people that are that are around us but this life is not all what we have we have that future but that future makes sense only if we understand that the future is intended to be the revelation of God's love for us and his strong desire to support us in our lives once we understand the message of that book change our perspective of this world changes the perspective of ourselves changes the perspective of the future so please allow me the time that is now left to challenge you with something yeah the purpose of the last book of the New Testament is to show to God's people the things that will take place in the future and praise God for that as a student of the Book of Revelation I'm so grateful to God for revealing this to us we know what the future will bring there is nothing better in this world the history of this world is going down down and one day will come to its end so keep in mind that the Book of Revelation is telling us clearly what will happen in the future are you still with me so we are not left alone not as a kind of horoscope or fortune telling book or a crystal ball no that's not that is telling us where the history is moving to so we know what will happen and according to the Book of Revelation I want just to tell the viewers what we learned from The Book of Revelation is that the time is coming as as a situation in this world is getting worse and worse and worse and worse that the secular and political leaders of this world will invite a religion and try to solve the problems in this world Unfortunately they will not be able to do it finally if they try to find a scapegoat for that and according to the Bible that there'll be Union of religion and politics and there'll be distinction between those who will be faithful to God until the very point of death and the Bible is telling us at that drastic moment a decisive moment in human history that Jesus Christ will come this is just in a nutshell what we learned from The Book of Revelation but what is the problem with regard to those things that will take place in the future the two things that we do not know okay what is that the first thing we don't know when those things will take place we don't know when and Friends this is exactly what you would like to know unfortunately many people take the Book of Revelation they try to set the dates for the second coming of Christ and so many times what they know that the text is clearly about they try to take different directions only for on purpose to establish if not the exact date but the approximate the date when Jesus Will Come unfortunately I am I have to remind you over the Bible makes very clear in Deuteronomy 29 29. the dark secrets that they belong only to God but to us belong only things that God has revealed to us and please we do not have a time maybe some other occasion here when we do 3am I can show you how New Testament is replete with the statements that human beings will never know when the end of time will come Jesus reminded Us in Matthew 24 36 about the day and hour actually nobody nobody knows in the book of Acts chapter 1 verse 7.
