Thank you for selecting this message by Dr. James Hoffman. Dr. Hoffman preaches verse by verse through the entire book of the Bible. From all of us at Living Water of Lapine here in Central Oregon, we hope that it will encourage you and feed you spiritually. And if you would like to leave a message after the sermon, our contact information is found on the sermon page where you found this sermon. Now may God richly bless you as you listen. You know, if you are at all like me, you have very little tolerance for all of the evil that we see on our news stations and whatever media that you're getting your news from. You probably, if you're like that, you're probably not going to like this illustration that I'm going to open our brand new series with this morning. but I'm gonna ask you to trust me, that I have a reason for using this illustration as a backdrop. We all acknowledge what is happening, and as much as I don't like looking at such evil that surrounds us, I'm going to set that as the backdrop for the study that we are starting today. Now, I'm gonna make this as brief and as less graphic as possible to make that point. You probably remember, on February 24th, 2005, seeing this picture in the newspapers. Nine-year-old girl was reported missing from her home in Homosassa, Florida. And three weeks later, police discovered the most unimaginable crimes had been committed against her. She had been kidnapped. She had been brutally treated, including acts of pedophilia against her. And then she was buried alive. Little Jessica Lunsford was found tied up in a kneeling position, clutching a stuffed toy. How do you feel about the monster who committed such unspeakable cruel acts? Are you angered? I certainly hope so. I hope you are outraged. Because if you're not, that would reveal a horrible deficiency in your character. Now that was an evil that was done to one person, done on an innocent child. we know of countless other acts that have been committed down through the centuries of one ethnic group against another. Now, I'm only going to mention this next one. I'm not going to go any further than mentioning it, but thousands, thousands of such atrocities like Little Jessica's was carried out on a single day, October 7th, 2023, last year by Hamas. against the Israeli people. Do you think God is indifferent to these acts of mankind? I can say with 100% certainty that he is not. He is outraged by them. Although such evil is magnified and it seems more evident today because of television, radio, and print media, pervasive human weakness is not new to the 21st century. It's been with us since the Garden of Eden. However, It was particularly bad at the very time when the apostle John wrote the book of Revelation. When John was exiled on the island of Patmos, where he had the vision that comprised the book of Revelation, Domitian was emperor. He was emperor from the time of 81 to 96 AD. As an old man, John, the primary leader of Christians, was banished under severely harsh conditions in miserable, torturous isolation on this island by Domitian, who hated Christians. Early in his reign, Domatian imposed heavy taxes on fines on anyone throughout the Roman Empire that refused to worship Roman gods. Both Jews and Christians were affected by this because they refused such worship. His excessive taxes and fines were not enough to force the Jews and Christians into compliance. So Domitian launched a brutal campaign of torturing and cruelly executing Jews and Christians. Persecution, the likes of which had never been experienced before, even under Emperor Nero. All of this was happening when John wrote the book of Revelation. Christians and Jews were crying out to God against such evil. And you can be sure that many back then were asking just as many are today, God, Do you see? God, do you care? Now imagine with me, if you will, the hope that it would bring to know that God is aware. And imagine the hope of knowing that God is not only aware, but that he has an incredible plan for bringing an end to all suffering and wickedness that the world has ever known forever. Wouldn't it make you yearn to see God's plan take place? Wouldn't it help you to recognize some of the elements that are taking place? Wouldn't it make you want to join Him in His efforts? It is my prayer that it will have such an effect on you. These are some of the big practical reasons why we are launching this study today of prophecy. Primarily the book of Revelation. We're going to study God's big plan of putting down evil for good. Revelation is gonna be the home base for our study. but we are going to need to stomp through several other prophecies, both in the New and the Older Testaments, so that we can understand God's big plan even better. Now, along the way, we might even answer some of the questions that plague so many people about the goodness of God, like, How can a loving God send people to hell? Now, let me just say for now, the fury of God that we are about to see is strong evidence of his goodness. If he wasn't angered, he wouldn't be good. Even people like you and I, who don't even come close to the goodness of who God is, are outraged by the acts of little Jessica Lunsford's assailant. God is too. God is good. And he will punish. All evil. Now, we've got to recognize something else. God's goodness is so great, that his anger is not only confined to such evils such as rape, murder, torture, terrorism, theft, lying, abortion, adultery, fornication, pedophilia, homosexuality, and blasphemy, and gossip. He also sees our thought life. and he will judge mankind for the hidden sins of the heart. God hates just as much as these big sins, lust, hatred, rebellion, greed, unclean imaginations, ingratitude, selfishness, jealousy, pride and deceit. If you've trusted in Christ, that he has taken your punishment for any or all of these sins or any other that you're guilty of, that Jesus has taken the punishment by dying on the cross as full payment for you, then you don't need to worry about any further punishment. But as we see how he will judge the world, those who do not accept his forgiveness through Jesus, please let it impact you, how much God hates these things. and seeing how much he hates it, let it motivate you not to give in to temptation by continuing to do such things. Allow our study of this prophecy to purify you from the things God hates. So here's yet another practical outcome that I am praying for. I'd like to see it result from this study. It is that we would live more godly lives. May it purify our lives in the here and now. You may be curious about the end times. I know that I am. But my reason for preaching this series goes beyond answering our curiosities. Knowledge is not our ultimate goal. Have you ever come across a self-proclaimed expert on eschatology? Eschatology means the theology of end-time events. Those who believe that they have it all figured out and that if anyone disagrees with their insights, well, they need to be put in their place. These are some of the most arrogant and pride-filled believers I have ever met. Now that's truly ironic, since one of the reasons for God's coming judgment is because of the prideful sin of man. But on the other hand, there are many believers who are turned off by all the different interpretations of all the symbols, difficult to understand symbols, which are many throughout this apocalyptic literature. It features a beast with seven heads, 10 horns, 10 crowns, a great red dragon which has multiple heads, horns, and crowns, scorpion-like creatures, demonic locusts, a cavalry of 200 million who are mounted on lion-headed, snake-tailed, fire-breathing horses. frog-like spirits, an unholy trinity that includes Satan, the Antichrist, and the false prophet, a prostitute who rides one of these beasts, seals, trumpets, and bowls. How in the world Is anyone able to make complete sense of all of this? In addition, we have coded numbers, coded colors, allusions to Old Testament prophecies, and some strange depictions about our Lord, Jesus Christ. His feet resembled glowing bronze. He has eyes of fire. His hair is white as snow. His tongue is a double edged sword. I'm only getting started. There's more. But it shouldn't surprise anyone why there has been such a distaste, a revulsion and aversion to study this book. by many Christians over the years. I read from Dr. David Jeremiah this week that he knows of a Christian teacher who says that we need to treat prophecy like the book of Revelation, just like the priest and the Levite treated the wounded man in the parable of the Good Samaritan. Just pass by on the other side. How sad, how sad. Now there can be no doubt that we are going to be challenged to get a proper understanding of this book, which is included in Scripture. But let us not feel so overwhelmed by it. that we pretend it doesn't exist and cross the street to avoid it. There is such a wide difference of interpretation on end-time beliefs by believers. So there's something that I'm gonna be very tenacious about and insist that you and I actively pursue together. As we do this study, I will continually exhort us to humble our hearts before God's throne. And second, in importance to that, to invite him to reveal himself to us. In fact, I plan on leading us in such prayer whenever we commence each study. Lord, keep us humble through our learning about you. I've already provided you with a few practical reasons for our study of prophecy. But let me give you a few more. There are no shortage of good reasons. The teacher who said to Dr. Jeremiah that we should be like priests and the Levite and the parable of the good Samaritan was wrong. Now, after I point to a few more reasons for studying prophecy, I'm going to go over a few interpretive rules that I'm going to be using. in order to minimize, to try to minimize any misunderstanding, and so that we can maximize the benefits. First, here's some more reasons that answer this question, why study prophecy. Number one, it is our only reliable source of information about tomorrow. The former president of Dallas Theological Seminary, Dr. John F. Wolvrud, and Mark Hitchcock used this illustration. Have you ever driven down a strange dark road in a blinding rainstorm? Every minute you wish you could see beyond the edge of the headlights to see what's ahead. If only you could know what was coming next, could intuitively know what's out there or predict what you'll find at the next bend in the road. We long to see ahead, to know, perhaps to avert disaster. Can someone see what's ahead by intuition or special gift? Can a prophet know the future because the path of our lives is part of a larger drama scripted ahead of time? This is what the prophets of the Bible claim. Can we know the pattern of events foretold by the prophets written in scripture or seen in apocalyptic visions of the future? In the uncertain storm of the days in which we live, all of us yearn to see beyond the headlights. Only biblical prophecy can do that. Number two, prophecy saturates scripture. Now stop and think about this. If we tried to avoid biblical prophecy, we wouldn't have much left of the Bible to concern ourselves with. If prophecy is such, and it is, prophecy is so pervasive throughout all of Scripture, John MacArthur and Richard Mayhew have identified for us so much of what is prophetic in the Bible. Here is what they have put forth. 62 of the Bible's 66 books contain predictive information. Only four books do not. Ruth, Song of Solomon, Philemon, and third John are the only exceptions. Folks, this means that 94% of the Bible contains prophecy. Another point they make is this, in all of scripture, there are 31,124 verses. 27% of those 8,352 verses refer to prophetic matters. Now get this, 22% of all prophetic verses refer to Jesus's second coming. If you think highly of Scripture, then you must think high of it all, especially something as pervasive as prophecy. Number three, prophecy comforts us by assuring us of God's sovereignty. Seeing the accuracy of hundreds of fulfilled prophecies so far, indicates direct evidence that God knows everything. He's in charge of everything. He is never surprised by anything. And whatever He says that He will do, He will. God encourages us to lean in on the reliability of biblical prophecy. Here is what he had his prophet Isaiah write for us. Isaiah 46, nine through 11. Remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there is no other. I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, my counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose, calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. I have spoken and I will bring it to pass. I have purposed and I will do it. Take this to the bank. When we know the one who declares the beginning from the end, and fully know that he is sovereign, we can live every day with confidence. Number four, prophecy gives us more than enough reason to trust that the Bible is true. Prophecy helps us answer such questions as, is there any proof of God's existence? And that Jesus is who he says he is? Is the Bible really relevant and meaningful for our lives today? Is the Bible reliable and trustworthy? Jesus used prophecy to validate his messiahship. Here are two examples where he used it. John 13, 19. I'm telling you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place, you may believe that I am He. John 14, 29. And now that I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place, you may believe. It is amazing how accurately Jesus fulfilled Old Testament prophecy concerning the Messiah. Jesus satisfied every detail of the prophet's predictions concerning Messiah. I will just give you a brief sampling. He was the descendant of Abraham from the tribe of Judah. He came from David's family line. He was born in Bethlehem. He was born of a virgin. He based his ministry in Galilee. He spoke in parables. He performed miracles, healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, making the deaf to hear. He was betrayed by a friend for 30 pieces of silver. He was pierced for our iniquities. He was crucified between two criminals. He was buried in a rich man's tomb. He rose from the dead. Not a single person who has ever lived, and there is an estimated number of over 13 billion of us so far, can ever come close to fulfilling the 109 prophecies that were so accurately fulfilled by Jesus of Nazareth. Number five, prophecy protects us from false teaching. Now I'm going to go right to scripture to show you this one. Matthew 24, verses four and five. And Jesus answered them, see that no one leads you astray, for many will come in my name saying, I am the Christ, and they will lead many astray. And that's from Matthew 24, his Olivet Discourse, when he was telling his disciples what to expect, and us too. John 16.1, I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. Now we do live in a day when deception is everywhere. The news media rarely broadcasts news anymore. Opinions, spinning, propaganda, and indoctrination. That's all its main concern over actual facts and truth telling. But knowing what the Bible says about the future protects us from being deceived. Number six, prophecy prepares us for the last days. Hardly a day goes by that we do not hear of wars, rumors of wars, natural disasters, and lawlessness. Now, it's been with us since Christ spoke of this on the Mount of Olives with his disciples. Yes, it has, but it is increasing in both the number and the intensity. It's happening at an ever-increasing pace. And Jesus told us in that Olivet Discourse that we could experience these things. We will be experiencing them as birth pangs to his second coming. In other words, as a woman's birth pangs increase in frequency and intensity, so will these. As the time gets closer to Jesus's return, that's what we can expect. Studying prophecy of end times gives us courage to help us in our chaotic days. Evil will end soon forever. Now, I've saved the last one until now because this is particular to the Book of Revelation. It only applies to the last book. I suspect it's true of all prophecy in the Bible, but I can only say that it's true here because it's written specific here in this book. Number seven is this. The Book of Revelation itself promises a special blessing to all who study it and heed it. its message. The claim that all who study and heed its message is given twice. Once at the very beginning, and then at the very end. Boy, it's too bad Dr. David Jeremiah's acquaintance, who wrongfully said that we ought to ignore Revelation, didn't see these. Here they are, Revelation 1.3. And Revelation 22, seven. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy and blessed are those who hear and who keep what is written in it for the time is near. Revelation 22, seven. And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book. The book of Revelation is the only book of the Bible that promises a reward to anyone who doesn't ignore it, but pays attention to it. Isn't it ironic that it seems to be the most ignored book of the Bible? Well, maybe Leviticus could rival that distinction, although I'm not sure. I'm not aware of any believer saying that we ought to ignore the book of Leviticus, however. Now I want to close with some rules that we need to abide by so that we might increase the likelihood of maximizing these benefits that I just mentioned. There's a name for these rules. It's a heavy-sounding theological term, and that word is hermeneutics. Hermeneutics is defined as the art and science of interpreting literature Whatever type of literature you read, whether it is poetry, a letter from someone, a narrative, a legal document discussing the law, or a Facebook post, we must apply the proper hermeneutic, which is specific. to whatever literature you are reading. Revelation and much of the other prophecies that we're going to be dealing with is called apocalyptic literature, and it has its own principles for proper interpreting, for minimizing distortion, and to get at God's intended meaning. The reason I I just do not subscribe to so many of the interpretations that are out there concerning Revelation and its contents. It's because I don't observe within those interpretations that they are using any hermeneutic consistently or applying it consistently. It's dangerous to apply the wrong hermeneutic. or to misapply it, it's much safer when we do. Can you imagine if you interpreted the comic page of your newspaper the same way you interpreted the articles on the front page of the newspaper? You don't. You change your hermeneutic depending on what type of literature you're reading. What if you read an email from your boss at work in the same hermeneutic that you read Grimes' fairy tales. You're in a whole heap of trouble, aren't you? You see, we've got to pay attention to what hermeneutic and use it consistently to that type of literature. Okay, so here is the first hermeneutical principle that I'm going to employ, and I wanna employ it very consistently. Number one, we are gonna try to understand this book by keeping its big picture in view. What is the main message, and how do the specific details in this book fit into that message? That's gotta be in our constant sight at all times. If we're talking about these symbols, how does it fit in the big picture? Now, there are going to be five hermeneutical principles that I'm going to spell out. We are only going to have time for this one today. I'm going to have to get back into it next week and show you the others before we can even break open the book of Revelation together. Now, when Jesus was asked by his disciples to teach them how to pray, just as John taught his disciples how to pray, Jesus said to them, all right, pray like this. Now, as I go further, and as I say what Jesus told his disciples, it might not sound the way that you have memorized the Lord's Prayer. I pray it in a different manner because there's a little different nuance that's written in the original language of the New Testament, the Greek. Here's how I pray it. Our Father, who is in heaven, hallowed be your name on earth as it is in heaven. Your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Our English Bibles only place that phrase on earth as it is in heaven after the third expression, your will be done. But the grammatical construction of the way it is phrased in the original language is that on earth as it is done in heaven applies to all three. So it goes with God's name being hallowed, honored, revered, greatly esteemed. Just as much as it is in heaven. Here. This certainly is a far cry from what we experience. In heaven, God is immediately obeyed. He is esteemed and valued so highly and reverent worship is constantly given to him. We don't even come close to anything like it here on earth. But you know, when earth was created, it used to be that way. Ever since sin entered the world, It has been entirely different. Satan reigns, and God's name is not hallowed even to the slightest degree that it is in heaven. Now, Revelation shows us that by the time the world is judged through the events of the tribulation, And Jesus rules for over a thousand years through the millennium, and Satan is finally cast into the lake of fire. God's name will once again be hallowed on this earth as it is in heaven. Do you see what I'm driving at? This is the big picture. It's going to take place all of what we read in the book of Revelation. You know, from Genesis to Revelation, the Bible is one consistent message. God's name is going to be hallowed on earth as it is in heaven. God's going to bring history to its ultimate climax by reversing the effects of the fall when Adam and Eve sinned. God the Father will hand Jesus the title deed of the earth. You know, that's the scroll with the seven seals on it. That's the title deed that he has given him. And Revelation shows us the details, how Jesus is going to wrest control of the earth's throne from Satan to do away with all evil. Forever. That's the big picture that we're gonna keep in mind as we study the book of Revelation. Is God bothered by the evil that you and I recognize? You bet he is. Let that impact our hearts as we study this book. May God use our study in this book to purify our own lives as we see how much he hates sin, all sin. May God purify us, may he humble us, and may we yearn. May we yearn for the Second Coming. Amen? Let's pray together. Hi, this is Dr. Hoffman. It is our hope at Living Water that this message has encouraged and deepened your faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Our sermons are intended to be a free gift to any listener. but at the same time, I thought that I would let our need be known. Living Water, La Pine, is a church that is located in a rural area of central Oregon, ministering to a poverty-stricken community. If God has blessed you through this message, and you have already given to your own local church, if you sense that God would have you help our ministry with a financial gift, You can find out how to do that at our website. It is www.livingwateroflupine.com. Thank you for listening.