The revelation - an overview

… O Gracious God, our Father, we thank Thee for Thy Word to every saint so precious and sweet as Christ the Lord. We thank Thee for Thy Spirit that moved those men of old, who in the holy record Thy truth and love unfold. For that same one we thank Thee, the earnest and the sealed, who does to Thine own children Thy minds and will reveal. As none but He who knew it, Thy truth could e'er impart, so none but those who Thee teach it, receive it in the heart. So may we, blessed Father, Thy gracious word redeem us. The hymn for Scripture. O Gracious God, our Father, we thank Thee for Thy Word to every saint so precious and sweet as Christ the Lord. We thank Thee for Thy Spirit that moved those men of old, who in the holy record Thy truth and love unfold. For that same one we thank Thee, the earnest and the sealed, who does to Thine own children Thy minds and will reveal. As none but He who knew it, Thy truth could e'er impart, so none but those who Thee teach it, receive it in the heart. So may we, blessed Father, Thy gracious word redeem, that we may find Thy Spirit that truth will not receive. For we would not be gathered to serve a faithful Father, and in this day of conflict be true to His faith and word. Dear brothers and sisters, dear friends, our purpose this evening is to try together to have a brief overview of the book of Revelation, the last book, the New Testament of our Bible. The Apostle John was specially gifted by the Holy Spirit to tell us the glory of the Son of God in his Gospel. We see in the first 19 chapters of the Gospel the beauty, the worthiness of the Lord Jesus, Son of God, the eternal life in the Son, exemplified, shown, walking on earth. Now the Lord Jesus is in heaven, but life eternal is in the saints, in those believing in the Lord Jesus as Saviour. And the life eternal is shown here now in the saints. And this is the doctrine essentially taken in the three epistles of John. The last two chapters of the Gospel, 20 and 21, have, we know, a very important prophetic bearing. And those chapters are followed, are continued in fact, in the book of Revelation. This book was written by the Apostle when he was born on the island of Patmos, near the end of the first century, probably year 94, whereas John died most probably around the year 100. The book is a book of judgment. It tells us about the glory of the Lord Jesus as Son of God, but Son of Man essentially. He is judging. He is judging the assembly as the responsible body carrying on earth God's testimony. He is judging the political world. He is judging the religious world. He is judging the living. He is judging the dead. It is a most solemn book, but the Word of God is absolutely perfectly balanced. And if we are struck by the solemnity of the scenes describing this book, love is not absent. We even find seven Beatitudes. This is the other part of the Revelation. The book comprises an introduction, first eight verses, a conclusion, the last verses of chapter 22. From verses 6 down to verse 20. And then the central part of the book comprises three very distinct portions, and we are not left to our own mind to decide. We will read together verse 19 of chapter 1. Write the things, this is the instruction John receives. Write the things which thou hast seen, the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter. There are three portions. Those things which John has seen, those things which are now, and those which shall follow thereafter. In other words, they are prophetic in a future time for us. Essentially, the things seen is the end of chapter 1. The things that are are the things described in chapters 2 and 3, the history of the Church of the Assembly on Earth. The things happening thereafter begin in chapter 4 to the middle of chapter 22. This part, that third part which is by far the largest, the most important, the most detailed, is in itself divided into two sub-portions. The first starts with chapter 4 to the last verse of chapter 11. It is a succession of God's dealings with Earth. Then the subject is started again from another point of view, essentially the religious point of view, started with the last verse of chapter 11 down to the end. One of the main difficulties of this book, which contradicts our natural tendency of the human mind, particularly the French mind at least, is that the chronological order is not respected in this book. So we cannot find a sequence of events as they will happen. Very often things come back in time, but there is obviously a moral unity which is beautiful and perfect. It's the Word of God. From the introduction, we just remembered that the book of Revelation is a book of judgment. It is the glory of the Son of Man. The salutation is given to those to whom the book is addressed. And when the very Word, the very name of the Lord Jesus is mentioned, what does the Church do? Unto whom that love does. Let's remember this. Love is not excluded by light, obviously. Light and love are the two characters of the nature itself of God, the Supreme God. The glory of the Son of Man was described in the first part, those things which the Apostle has seen. There are nine glories, nine full glories. The first three, and Brother Kelly has been very clear in this. I think I have mentioned this in the summary sheet which was distributed. You have three personal glories, you have three relative glories, and you have three official glories. What you change in the first sentence is nine full glories instead of seven full glories. The important thing is that those glories, those characters under which the Apostle has seen in glory the Lord Jesus, are those characters under which the Lord Jesus presents himself for the Church in chapters 2 and 3, essentially in chapter 2. And more personal characters are associated with the last three churches of chapter 3. To try to comprehend a little better the book of Revelation, we should remember that most scenes are symbolic. But occasionally there is a true meaning. Mountains occasionally will be the symbol for a power, and it could be the mountains in which people find their hide. You will find very often that the light is represented with the sun, the moon, the stars. The sun is the absolute authority, the Lord Jesus is the sun of righteousness. The moon is derived authority, the moon does not produce light but reflects the light of the sun. The source is in the sun, and the moon reflects it. And usually the moon is a symbol of Israel. The feast of the new moon will be the restoration of Israel in times to come. The stars are subordinate authority. The stars have the property of being seen from a long distance, millions of light years ahead. But they do not produce appreciable light, you cannot read at the light of a star. But you can see the star, the star has something to show. So the star is naturally the emblem of the angels, and the golden candlestick are those who bear God's testimony on earth. This is what the assembly is. The assembly is not here, the bride of the lamb, except in chapter 19. It's not the body of Christ, it's not essentially the building in whom God dwells at this time by the Holy Spirit. It is bearing God's light, God's testimony in this world of darkness. And this introduces us to the next portion, chapters 2 and 3. The assembly now carries God's testimony on earth. It was started by the ministry of the apostles on the only ground which is Christ and his work. Matthew 16 is as clear as possible. There are four churches mentioned, which represent the succession of the history. Here the chronological order is respected. The history of the assembly on earth, starting from the ministry of the apostles, the basis is Ephesus, then Smyrna, then Progamos, and then Thyatira. This goes to the end. Thyatira, for the first time, received the warning that the Lord Jesus is coming, which was not said in the preceding chapters. The church lost its first love. The Lord Jesus sent the tribulations to bring the soul and affections of the church back to him. The church did not listen. It went to the world and became itself a power protecting people. This is the exact opposite of what happened in Ephesus. This is the exact opposite of what it should have been, carrying God's testimony of a rejected Christ. And ultimately what happens? It turns into Thyatira, which is unfaithfulness. Loss of first love, Ephesus, will lead us gradually into conjugal unfaithfulness, spiritually speaking. This subject as a whole completes the history of the churches as constituted, as formed by the ministry of the apostles until God's return. But remember, if in Thyatira the woman Jezebel has been unfaithful, there will be those who have not known the depth of Satan, and whose works are larger, better than the first works. The history of Protestantism after the revival of Reformation is described in the last three churches in the order of Sardis. Sardis is not the Reformation, but the state of spiritual deadness after the revival of Reformation. Then Philadelphia and Laodicea. Again, constant successive decline. Those four churches, the last four, continue to the end, which is proven by the fact that the Lord Jesus' coming is mentioned to all the last four churches. What happens at the end? Laodicea. Laodicea has no more bearing God's testimony, so the Lord Jesus enters into the scene and presents himself as the faithful witness, which the assembly has ceased to be. We will not talk this deeply to our hearts and consciences. This comes to the end of the history of church on earth. Now, there is a gap at this moment, between the second part and the third part, between those things which are, and those things which come after, which are prophetic and future for us. It's the Lord's coming in grace to take his own, which is not mentioned because the point of view is different in Revelation. But remember, and I want to be as clear as possible, particularly for our young ones, the state of our soul is decided on earth once and forever. And contrary to what has been preached, and is being preached today even in certain Christian circles, there shall not be any second chance for those who refuse the call of grace during their life on earth. The state of the soul is set once and for all. At this moment, the church is seen as raptured in heaven, and that starts the third part of the book. Remember, the third part starting from chapter 4 goes up to the middle of chapter 22, and again it is subdivided into the first portion, which ends up one verse short of chapter 12. To start that portion, we start with the heavenly scene. Chapter 4 and chapter 5 go together. And there is one aspect which needs to be underlined, that very often, in the development of God's judgments, of God's dealings with earth, you see those precious to the Lord's heart set aside in safety, in surety, enjoying blessing. And this is not a unique occasion. You'll be finding this constantly in the book. The first instance is chapters 4 and 5. The first instance is chapters 4 and 5. Those two chapters go together. But they are different in character. It's a single scene, but in chapter 4, the Lord Jesus is creator. In chapter 5, the Lord Jesus is redeemer. He sits on the throne, the throne of the creator, the throne of the king, and the throne of the redeemer, the throne of the land, chapter 5. Around the throne, there are emblems relating to creation in chapter 4, and relating to the work of redemption in chapter 5. The actors of the scene are the four beasts. In order, lion, calf, man, eagle. Lion, strength. Calf, stability. Firmness. Man, intelligence. Eagle, swiftness. Quickness in judgment. And the 24 elders. And the 24 elders. The 24 elders are the emblem together of all saints. From Abel, the first to reach blessing through the first crime in humanity. To the last soul saved at the Lord's coming. The first 12 elders will be of the first company, the Old Testament saints, and the last 12 elders, the church itself. Altogether, they are not distinguished here, around the throne. In chapter 4, because Christ is creator and king, those 24 elders have gold crowns. What do they do? They remain as long as thunderings, lightnings, and all frightening things happen. But when the glory is given to the creator, what can they do? Fall on their face and give their crown to whom it belongs, Christ himself. In chapter 5, it's different. Christ is the lamb. The 24 elders are around the throne. The closest circle of fellowship. Then, the second circle of fellowship is the angels. And the third, all creatures. There is a change in dynasty between chapter 4 and chapter 5. In chapter 4, the angels are not mentioned because they are within the emblem of the animals, of the beasts. Whereas, in chapter 5, they are distinguished because the government of the world will be by Christ himself, as lamb of God, and shared with the saints. Don't you know that we shall judge the world and judge the angels? So, there is a change in dynasty. We don't have crowns anymore. They are at the feet of the Lord, as creator. But what we have, harp, is the string of my heart's affections. And we have censure, which was the emblem of priestly service in Aaron's times. Altogether, this scene introduces the following judgments. To better understand the succession of judgments, we should remember, at this moment, that the Lord Jesus, as lamb of God, as lamb, now is going to claim his rights on the entire earth. So far, he is hidden in heaven and lets, apparently, things go. Only providential government takes place at this moment. But there will be a moment where the Lord Jesus, as son of God, but son of man, and all judgment has been committed to the son, will claim his rights on the earth. Because, after all, the earth belongs to him. He is the creator. In times past, in Israel, when a transaction would take place, there were two documents written and signed. One was a sealed document, and one was an open document. Jeremiah 22 tells us what Jeremiah should do. He should sign those two rules, one open and one sealed. And the Lord Jesus does the same, prophetically here. In chapter 5, the sealed document is the book, closed. In chapter 10, the open book is the open document. Together, those two books, the sealed book of chapter 5 and the open book of chapter 10, describe, prove, God's rights over the entire earth, as given to the son. So, the Lord Jesus comes as Lamb of God in chapter 6, and then starts the judgment. Now, if you would just turn for one second onto page 3 of the little summary I have given you, that we all agree on the succession of judgment as shown by the book of Revelation. In chapter 6, we start with the judgment. There are three successive judgments. The first are the judgments of the seals. The seals which are broken open in the book of God's counsels, by the Lamb of God, by Christ, the Lamb of God. There are six seals, and then the seventh seal is a special one. The seventh seal comprises, within itself, there are these seven trumpets. Those seven trumpets are divided into the first four trumpets, much the same as the first four seals. And then, the last three trumpets are special ones, special disastrous judgments, which are the war judgments. The war trumpet, fifth, sixth, and seventh. And again, as much as in the seals, the seventh trumpet contains, within itself, the last seven judgments with the emblem of the vials, of the cups. So, in fact, there are successive judgments, the last one of which, in each portion, opens the successive judgments. Six seals, the seventh seal opens the seven trumpets, the seventh trumpet opens the seven vials. The seals describe providential judgments. Nothing so much more special than things, natural catastrophes, as you can see here. Volcanoes, earthquakes, look, in Kobe, how many thousands of people died. Simply, the intensity of those judgments would be hundredfold. But they would be providential judgments. God does not intervene directly. And he starts the judgment by his own house, the land of Israel, the fourth of the earth. The trumpets are more direct judgments, and they touch one third of the earth, which is the emblem, probably, of the Roman Empire. The vials, or the cups, touch the entire world, the entire earth. They are universal, disastrous judgments. Now, this is the general view of the judgments, seals, trumpets, and vials. In chapter six, we will just briefly review the first four seals, broken, which are in the hands of the four living creatures, the four animals. And it will be destruction of prosperity. And in particular, in the occidental view of civilization, there will be no more rich people, no business. This will be destroyed, except that God still provides for the basic food for humanity. It's not touched yet. It shall be later. The fifth seal, which is open in Revelation 6, in verse 9, is a special seal. You find for the first time martyrs, the first ones after the post-Christian dispensation. Those people will have given their life for the testimony. And they are here, their souls are seen under the altar. They claim for vengeance, which shows very clearly that they are not Christians, because now you support the evil without claiming vengeance. It's the time of grace. In this case, it will be appropriate for those saints to claim the vengeance for what has been done to them. They had to give their life for their savior, for the Lord Jesus. They have the life of God, but now they have finished their testimony, and they are waking. The instruction is given them to have some patience until their friends, their brothers, who will be put to death in later dispensations, will join them. And we'll find their share a little later in the first resurrection. The sixth seal is special. It's general earthquakes. It's going to be a shaking down of the industrial world. The seventh seal is not open immediately, and there is, as this suggestion has been for our meditation tomorrow, there will be a time elapsing, a parenthesis, which is chapter 7. Chapter 7, as we find here, let's look in the second page, 312B, interval before the seventh seal. We have two scenes. The first part is those elect. God has spared for himself, you know, people who will know him, who will be his own, a remnant, 144,000. Those are taken from Israel, the twelve tribes. However, Dan, the apostasy, is not mentioned, and the number of twelve is found again because Joseph has two places. And then there is another crowd, multitude, you cannot number it, so many there are, which have gone through the Great Tribulation. What is the Great Tribulation? Something we shall not know. Philadelphia will be spared the Great Tribulation because they have God's word, the patience. Those judgments, just mentioned in chapter 6, would correspond, certainly, to what the Lord Jesus mentioned in Matthew 24, as the beginning of sorrows. But after the beginning of sorrows, the second paragraph of Matthew 24, there will be other judgments growing in intensity, growing at the end into the nature of the Great Tribulation. There will be saints, there will be witnesses, the testimony maintained for God, and maybe at the price of their life. Those going through the Tribulation will be enjoying special blessings on earth. However, in relation to the source of blessing, which is heaven. That's the end of chapter 7. In chapter 8, we find now the succession of the seventh seal, which opens to the first trumpets. The trumpets, chapter 8, will be found in the first trumpet, verse 7, second, verse 8, third, verse 10, third, verse 12. So chapter 8 describes the first four trumpets. There is some similarity between the first four seals and the first four trumpets. However, those judgments through the trumpets are deeper in intensity. They are more direct, more damaging to humanity. And then, chapter 9 shows the first of the last three trumpets, the war of trumpets. And again, we find in chapter 10 and 11, a parenthesis, the description stops for a moment, and we see again the Lord Jesus as another angel, holding the open book, as we said before, proving his right on earth with the sealed book. Chapter 11 brings us back to Jerusalem, and here, in that place, the holy city, there are two witnesses. Are they two in number, or is it a symbol? We don't know. But those two witnesses will have the power of Elijah and Moses to call judgment from heaven, to defend themselves and fight against the enemy. After three days, a voice from heaven will be calling them up to life, and they'll be resurrected and reach the state of blessing. This takes us to chapter 12. After three days, a voice from heaven will be calling them up to life, and they'll be resurrected and reach the state of blessing. This takes us to chapter 11, verse 13. And look how simple, chapter 11, verse 14, the second war is passed, and behold, the third war comes quickly. If you come up to verse 18 of chapter 11, you will find that we have reached the end of God's dealings. No detail is given at this point on the development of the last trumpet, the last war trumpet. But what he says here is that the kingdom of the world of God has come. It is in fact, in other terms, the introduction of millennium on earth. Now details are found elsewhere. And that explains the second subdivision of our third portion. It starts with chapter 11, verse 19, and continues to chapter 22. But one thing we'll mention, it goes farther than the millennium, because it introduces to the eternal state. The aspect of that portion of the scripture, then essentially chapter 12 to 22, is different from the preceding chapters. Essentially, the religious aspect of the last days. First, it tells us about the actors of the final scene. What do we find? The moon, Israel. The seed of Israel, Christ, the male son. Christ and the church within, with Christ, hidden in Christ. The dragon, Satan. There is a conflict, a war in heaven, between Michael, the archangel, and his armies, the heavenly armies, and Satan, and those who followed Satan in the fall. That conflict is deathly. Finally, Satan is vanquished. Satan is precipitated on earth in a furious state. Now, this is a very important date, because it dates the beginning of the last half part of the week of Daniel, the 70th week. Before that date, for three and a half years, essentially, it was the beginning of sorrows. And for the last half week, it's the abomination of the desolation. It is the great tribulation. It is a time, if God had not counted those times, reduced them, no soul would have been saved. The whole humanity would have been destroyed. And we come back to earth, and we find two beasts. Chapter 13. One beast comes from the sea. The sea is the emblem of instability. This is the Roman beast. The chief of the Roman Empire, revived as seen in chapter 17. The second beast comes from the earth, the organized world. It is the Antichrist. Antichrist. In America, it's Antichrist. Antichrist. And in fact, you find the trinity of evil. Dragon, Satan, the Roman beast, the political world, and the Antichrist, the religious world. Together, they're going to ruin the world. And man is foolish enough to follow them. That's a drama. This drama of humanity. Both will help one another. Antichrist will reign, will control the apostate Jews in Jerusalem and the surrounding. And the Roman Empire, the head of the Roman Empire, will control the Roman Empire. Essentially, the common market and the surrounding states. There is a mark. You don't have the mark, you cannot buy, you cannot live. So, it's sure death. So, the way to escape is to accept the mark. And it's to be apostate to God. There will be some who will accept to refuse the mark and be put to death. This is true testimony at this time. The part of that chapter comes to the middle of verse of chapter 14. Where we find again a beautiful scene, again on earth. We come back essentially to Jerusalem. And we see on the first five verses of chapter 14. We find Mount Zion. The Lamb of God on this mount. And 144,000 elect. Those are from Judah. Which means the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin. Those who are responsible for the death, crucifixion of the Lord Jesus. Whereas in chapter 7, they were taken from the tribes of Israel. Here it's more a remnant, true remnant. Which is, who is exempt from evil. And their moral characters are beautiful. And they are for the joy of the Lamb on Mount Zion. Mount Zion is the mount of the royal grace. The succession of the seven scenes, The succession of the seven scenes in chapter 14. Will tell us some more of what's going to happen in the later time. The everlasting gospel in verse 6. The fall of Babylon in verse 9. The terrible judgment of those who accept the mark of the beast in verse 9 and following. And here, one of the blessings. One of the blessings we find here. Blessed are the dead which dine the Lord Jesus from henceforth. Yea, say to the spirit that they may rest from their labors and their works to follow them. Verse 14, we have the son of man. And verse 17, we have the fall of Babylon. In chapter 15, it's again another scene which doesn't follow chronological order. We find a company of believers. I am not sure whether they are Jews or Gentiles. Some have certainly known martyrdom. Some may have lived through the great tribulation. Their characteristics is that they sing the song of Moses. And to our knowledge, this is the last record of any song in the Bible. What was the first song? Collectively sung. The song of Moses outside of the Red Sea. The song of Deborah and Barak. Two people against two million. Singing. What Christ's glory and resurrection. While the song at the shore of the Dead Sea would celebrate only the death of Christ. And the import of the death of Christ on our salvation. And the last song. The song of Moses. There is no more the water of purification. It's solidified. It's a sea of glass. Gold, fire, sea of glass. And they sing. They are in relation with heaven. They are still on earth. Now in chapter 16. We find the details of the last trumpet. Which opens the seven vials. And remember what we said. Chapter 11. Verse 15 to 18. Has given us the general fact. Now we find the details. And as we said. There are now disastrous universal judgments. Not only on one third or one fourth of the earth. Nobody escapes. It's a disaster. You find this. In the summary. The seventh vial. Comes to chapter 16. Verse 17. The continuation. The summary of the judgments. Is just underlined by one single expression. 16 verse 17. We read it together. The seventh angel poured out the vial. Into the air. And there came a great voice. Out of the temple of heaven. From the throne saying. The judgments are finished. Is it not the same expression. As we found in chapter 21. Verse 6. He said unto me. It is done. Which is the echo. Of the Lord Jesus word. The fifth. Word spoken on the cross. It is finished. So the finished work. Of the Lord Jesus on the cross. Is the foundation of blessing. For the eternal state. It also is the justification of judgments. On the entire earth. On those who have rejected Christ as savior. Now we've come here to the. Completion. Of the seven vials. Which is the last of the. 21 judgments. There remains one important factor. What happens. To those two political powers. Uniting against God. Against the saints. Antichrist. And the Roman beast. And there is another one. What happened to Thyatira. The woman Jezebel. There are some. True saints in this company. But. Once they have been. Those two saints. Have been taken away. Raptured with the church. What is remaining. Is an empty body. Still pretentious. Being pretending. To be the woman. With the garment of. Scarlet. And strange enough. There is no. Not. Uniting. Of the Roman beast with the Antichrist. But there is a uniting. Of the Babylon. With the same Roman Empire. In fact you have the two. Religious powers. Jewish and Christian. Holding. On the political power. The woman rides on the beast. But I never could understand. It's remarkable. You know God's ways are infinitely above ours. At one moment. Nothing happens. At one moment. God turns around. And the Roman beast. And holding Jezebel. Holding Babylon. Turns around Babylon and breaks it. And this is the judgment. Chapter 17 and chapter 18. Are remarkable. The whole earth. Is absolutely in tears. Broken hearted. Everywhere on the sea. On the earth. Everybody weeps. Except the saints in heaven. And this is chapter 19. Chapter 19 opens. With the cry of joy in heaven. And with what? Marriage of the land. It is so striking. Because so far. We have never seen the spouse. The assembly of the spouse of Christ. We have been engaged. To Christ as a chaste virgin. But at this moment. The spouse. At this moment the marriage of the land. Is celebrated in heaven. We should remember. That the garment. The woman. The wife of the land. Is those. Works. By faith. During our going through. The wilderness. This takes us to chapter 19. Verse 9. The marriage supper of the land. And then we see. Chapter 19 verse 11. A heaven open. And a white horse. And then there is. Another kind of judgment. Exercised by the Lord Jesus. It is war like judgment. It is not judicial. Judgment. When the Lord Jesus sits. On the throne. It is war like judgment. And is followed by the armies in heaven. Definitely there are saints. Who will partake to those judgments. There will be. A shaking down. Of the earthly armies at this moment. Producing at the end. The introduction. Of the kingdom. Of Christ. In thousand years. For the introduction of that kingdom. There must be. Three things to happen. The head of the Roman Empire. First Babylon is broken. Destroyed. Finished. The head of the Roman Empire. And inter-Christ. Are thrown. Living. In heaven. And Satan is bound. For a thousand years. There takes place. A marvelous point. It is the last stage. The first resurrection. And this is the occasion. Of one of the Beatitudes. The. Fifth one. The fourth one being. At the time of the marriage of the lamb. The fifth one is chapter 20. Verse 6. Blessed and holy is he. That has part in the first resurrection. On such the second death. Has no power. But they shall be priests of God. And of Christ and shall reign with him. A thousand years. There is no description. In detail of the beginning. The thousand years. Of righteousness. Peace and joy on earth. Details are found. Only in prophetic books. In the Old Testament. We know it's going to be a time of blessing. For the entire earth. At the end of this period. There will be the last revolt. Of mankind. Against God. And his elect ones. Why? Because man has been loosed. And will carry away. Man, God and Magog. And they come and besiege. The holy city Jerusalem. Fire comes down from heaven. And destroys them. Now this is the end of millennium. It says in 1 Corinthians 15. That at this time. The Lord Jesus. As king of king. And lord of lords. Will return as man. Not as God. But contrary. To those people. You know we're going in France. To elect a new president in two weeks. Contrary to what man does. Give to his successors something. In horrible shape. The Lord Jesus will turn over. A kingdom in perfect order. To God. Because it's God's glory. And the Lord Jesus has been perfect. In exerting his power. His reign. Over the entire earth. The last scene. To me is the most solemn. Of the entire scripture. The judgment of the dead. The great white call. The balance of the dead. Would not live. It takes some place. They are in Hades. Waiting for the time of judgment. Believing. Unbelieving. Were judged. In the valley of Jerusalem. In Matthew 25. Before the Millennium Kingdom. Now there is a judgment of the dead. That the great white throne. Books are open. Facts. For every man. Every man has to agree. On his righteous judgment. There is no escape. Final exclusion. Of God's presence. The second death. The lake of fire. The final putting away. From God's presence. And that is forever. Then. Comes a new heaven. And a new earth. In which righteousness dwells. This is presented. In the first verses. Of chapter 21. Up to verse 7. In the French introduction. From our Bible. Which I think was written. By our beloved brother. In his year 80 probably. He says something. Which I try to translate into English. Then God will be known. God the Father. God the Son. And the Holy Spirit. Will be known by a multitude. Of blessed beings. In the knowledge. Of God himself. Time. Shall be no more. This is the end of the ends. Time does not exist anymore. But should not remember. That there will be those excluded. And it will be as much eternal. For them. As eternal blessing for us. The last part of the book. Chapter 21. Verse 9. To chapter 22. Verse 5. Is the retrospective. Chronological. It is retrospective. View. Of the church in heaven. The new heavenly Jerusalem. As in relation. To the earth. And the description is. The view from the outside. Dimensions glory. Verse 9 to 17. The character and the nature of the city. The end of chapter 21. Essentially. And the relation with others. Is the paradise of God. The paradise in Eden. Has two trees. Now there is no more. Tree of the evil. Good and evil. Responsibility has been met. By Christ on the cross. That there is a tree of life. A tree of life has two things. The leaves. Is for the. Curing of the nations. And the fruit. Spiritual food. For whom? For those. For he. Individually. Who has vanquished. In Ephesus. If thou will. Vanquish. I will shall give you. The truth of life. Which is in the paradise of God. The source of blessing. Is from the throne. There are waters of blessing. Flowing free. The Lord Jesus presents himself. Three times. As the one who cometh. Briefly. Quickly. Shortly. 1900 years. Almost 2000 years ago. Yet it's quickly. When he presents himself. He sets in himself. Myself Jesus. Have I sent thee. He presents himself as the. Offspring and root of David. For Israel's people. The bright and morning star. For the world. In millennium time. He'll be the son of righteousness. In the night. Of his absence. Waiting for his return. Waiting for the rapture of the church. Who is he? The bright and morning star. Immediately the rapture. As much as. The Lord Jesus gave his salutation. Unto him that loved us. What the answer. The spirit of the church said come. And he said. Even so. Come Lord Jesus. I think I'll stop here. 384. It's been given up. 384. The sands of time are sinking. The dawn of heaven breaks. The silence of heaven. 384. The whole hymn. The sands of time are sinking. The dawn of heaven breaks. The silence of heaven. Breaks. And the larks are wished for. Their heads we've blown away. The gullet is appealing. And its spree changes speed. And my darling Civilian Land is immanuel's land. O'er the hills and mountains, And in the streams of life, The streams of earth I've tasted, O'er me I'll drink the blood, That through the Lord's hand Gave mercy to this land. And my darling Civilian Land is immanuel's land. With mercy and with judgment, My grateful heart He took, And made the goods of sorrow, Over us and with this land. Thy prayers the Lamb hath guided, Thy prayers shall at last With love and love together Be immanuel's land. O my beloved, and my beloved's wife, He raised the poor man's chastity Into his house of piety. My shepherd of his marriage, I know no safer stand The vacant, barren land Immanuel's land. The land of my fathers, The land in which I grew straight, I will for ages and glory Let on my King of praise. Not where the crumbling hill, Where love is fierce and fair, The land is all the glory Of Immanuel's land. …