You know, I realized this week that almost to the day, one month shy, but nearly to the day, eight years ago is when I concluded my last sermon series in the book of Revelation. It's been eight years since I have preached through this fascinating book. Now, most of you were not here at that time, so I hope you don't mind me taking you through another study of Revelation. There has been a lot of developments over the course of eight years, and I've studied a little bit more in the book of Revelation, so these are not going to be the exact same messages. Now, I have two reasons for doing this study again. Even though not long ago, a study like this was very, very unpopular. During my lifetime, I noticed a major catalyst that seemed to have stirred the hearts and the imaginations of believers with regard to end-time events. Before the mid-1970s, when Hal Lindsey wrote, The Late Great Planet Earth, People who went around saying, we are living in the last days. They were thought of as candidates for a mental institution. Cartoons often depicted them with long stringy hair, wearing ragged white robes, with sandwich board signs hanging from their shoulders, which read, The end is near. No one wanted to be identified with such lunacy. So conversations about in-time prophecy, which we call eschatology, only happened in the confines of a relatively few seminaries and Bible colleges. Outside of those institutions, any prolonged discussion about the events described in apocalyptic literature, which revelation is, was simply avoided. Now, there were a few far in between sermons that were occasionally preached about in times, but preachers risked their reputations as being kooky or out of touch with reality. And they were always reminded, no man knows the day nor the hour. After a few years of the release of Hal Lindsey's book, I was being mentored by a pastor who had previously served on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ with Hal Lindsey. I was aware that my pastor knew Hal Lindsey personally. So I couldn't wait to engage him in conversation about end time prophecy. One day we were having lunch together and I asked Pastor Gene about his take on eschatology. He let me know right away that he did not want to talk about it. And when I registered surprise, Pastor Gene sternly brushed it aside saying, we have too much of the Bible that we do understand and need to concern ourselves with obeying that. instead of concerning ourselves with matters that we do not understand and argue over. Okay. As a teenager, when I started to become serious about my Christian faith, my own mother knew that I was planning to become a pastor someday. And she approached me more than once on many occasions, saying to me, Jimmy, please tell me that you will not be one of those somber, long-faced preachers who go around saying, we are living in the last days. And she would do it just like that. So I guess as long as I don't do it with a somber face and with that overdramatized scary tone, she'd be all right with it. And because she was such a Christ follower, I know that she's with Jesus right now. I know that she would understand far more than I do the great importance of what I'm doing. Furthermore, we are going to come to a verse today in our study that contradicts those common attitudes about end-time events, those attitudes that existed prior to Hal Lindsey's book, The Late Great Planet Earth, that came out in the mid-1970s. We'll see God promise us a blessing. To anyone who reads the book of Revelation and heeds its words, It's a very real promise that applies to believers even today. We'll look at what that means when we get to it in just a few minutes, but we can know for certain that God himself encourages us to study and to try to understand this book, not to ignore it in favor of less controversial scriptural passages. The second thing that has motivated me to preach through revelation again is all that we have seen happening in and around Israel this past year, and especially in the last couple of weeks. We are seeing what I believe are end time prophecies getting set up and being lived out before our very eyes, folks. What a privilege for you and I to be living in this time as believers. Another verse, in fact, it's in verse one of Revelation chapter one, and we're gonna look at it in just a moment. It declares that once the prophesied events start to occur, which I believe they are occurring right now, everything according to what this verse says will greatly accelerate. They will all rapidly occur in close time proximity to each other like falling dominoes. Once the dominoes begin to fall in rapid succession, all of the prophecies will be quickly fulfilled without much delay at all between each event. We see the same thing in Matthew chapter 24, the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus likened the fulfillment of all these prophecies to a woman in labor. Now what is that? Well, it increases in intensity and it increases in proximity, the pains and so forth of a woman in labor. So I do believe in light of what we're gonna see here in verse one, and because of that description, once they begin, they're gonna happen very fast, close to each other. Think of me as a kook if you wish, but I have to declare it. We are living in the last days. Well, on the other hand, let me rephrase that as I borrow a phrase from a friend of mine, Pastor Jim Ceci. We are not living in the last days. We are living in the last seconds. I will just say a word about recent events in the Middle East that maybe you're aware of, maybe you haven't, because it's not in mainline media. These seem to point that the process of accelerating fulfilled prophecy may have already begun. If not, we are right on the verge of it. You probably remember this was all through the media on October 7th, 2003. Israel was viciously attacked by her enemies on all sides. It was a coordinated attack. From the south, Hamas came into Israel. From the north, Hezbollah came in, in a very pre-planned, systematic, ravishing of the nation. Thousands were murdered, sexually assaulted, and taken captive and are still being held. Israel retaliated. And as they retaliated, they continued to send missile after missile after missile launched from Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran, and other Islamic nations, trying to drive Israel into the sea. Very few of those missile and drone strikes have gotten close to Israel. Some have, very few have landed. Very minimal damage has been done. Most have been shot down before reaching their targets. The good news is the enemies of Israel have vastly depleted their weapons through failure. They haven't reached their targets. They've twice launched at Israel a missile volley bigger than any other in world history and have failed with miserable results. Now in the meantime, Israel has launched her own strikes. She has gone down and completely, her first phase was to go down and completely wipe Hamas out. Today, Hamas barely, if at all, exists. Those were the enemies that were coming up from the south. At the same time, Hezbollah was coming from the north. So first they went down and they surgically took care of Hamas. After they took care of Hamas and pretty much wiped them out, They then went up into Lebanon. Lebanon had been taken over. Iran backed this. Iran came down and took over Lebanon and their government and set up Hezbollah as its government. Israel went in, surgically began to take care of Hezbollah. Iran, thinking they were safe, had provided the missiles and the weaponry and so forth to all of these enemies that were close to Israel, thinking they were safe, they were removed. Thinking with the strength of Hezbollah between Israel and Iran, they thought they were safe. After taking care of of their southern enemies. They went in, they surgically removed the leaders of Hezbollah. It was thought impossible. Eight years ago, this was all thought of impossible. They took out some of the most unreachable, untouchable leaders of Hezbollah, including people like Qasem Soleimani. I'm gonna try to pronounce these. Salah al-Rawri, Ismail Hayyana, and Yahya Sanwar, and many more. These were the top military commanders of Hezbollah, surgically removed, and now Hezbollah has been left in disarray. Nothing stands now between Israel and Iran. Many of us were wondering, what are you waiting for, Israel? This country that has vowed to drive Israel into the sea is vulnerable for the first time ever. Wide open path right there to them. Now, I don't know if you saw this. One week ago yesterday, Israel went in and took out all of their radar. All of their aerial defense system of Iran has been wiped out. They still have about 2,000 missiles, they figure. But their defense systems from coming in and taking over has been wiped out now, any day now. Any day you can read, if they will publish it in the news, we will be seeing that they went in and overtook that one country that has been stirring up the problem of all of Israel's neighbors, providing them with weapons, providing them with all of the military might, everything that has been creating non-peace in Israel. What remains? The source. What's vulnerable now for the first time ever? The source, Iran. They're in shambles. Israel now has a clear path and this has Iran shaking in their boots. So this past week they hacked, they froze the Iranian radar screens. The Israeli force last week was able to send in wave after wave of bomb-laden jets toward Tehran, taking out their military manufacturing plants and so forth and their key strategic sites. They've destroyed several of Iran's key military bases and weaponry. The strikes even wiped out their air defense capabilities, including their Russian S-300 air force defense system. Gone. You know, on October 7th, 2023, when the Iranian led vicious attacks against Israel was unleashed, they did not know what kind of giant they had poked. Will Iran's demise lead to peace finally. It seems as though there will not be any peace. This we can pretty much affirm. There will not be any peace so long as Iran remains the way it is. And here's why all of this is important, folks. One of the prophetic dominoes to fall which is part of the acceleration of speedy fulfillment of all the others depends on Israel no longer being threatened by an attack of her neighbors. Let me call your attention to Ezekiel chapter 38 verses one through six. Here is a prophecy that will occur very close to the rapture. Ezekiel 38, verses one through six. The word of the Lord came to me, son of man, set your face toward Gog, the land of Magog. Magog is Russia. Gog is the ruler. the chief prince of Meshach and Tubal, and prophesy against him. And say, thus says the Lord God, behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshach and Tubal. and I will turn you about and put hooks in your jaws, and I will bring you out in all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed in full armor, a great host, all of them with buckler and shield, wielding swords, Persia, Kush, and Put are with them, all of them with shield and helmet, Gomer and his hordes, Beth Torgamah and the uttermost parts of the North with all its hordes, many people are with you. Be ready and keep ready. You and all your hosts and all that are assembled about you, and be a guard for them. After many days, you will be mustered. In the latter years, you will go against the land that is restored from war, the land whose people were gathered from many peoples upon the mountains of Israel. And that's just happened. Of course, they came back in 1948, which had been a continual waste. The chapter before this was describing how the land of Israel was gonna suddenly become green, all of the wasteland, and that's happened in recent years, in the last 20 years. as they have been figured out how to take the ocean water, desalinate it and bring it in and have crops in the desert places. All of this has been happening. And so now it had been a continual waste. It no longer is now. Its people were brought out from the peoples, now dwell securely. That's what I wanted you to see, all of them. You will advance coming on like a storm. You will be like a cloud covering the land, you and all your hordes and many peoples with you." So when this happens, when Russia and all of her allies come into Israel, Israel will be dwelling secure in peace. If I went on, we'd read about how it describes unwalled cities. Their defenses are down. They're no longer like they are right now. they will be at peace with their neighbors when this happens. Is this what we're seeing right now for the first time ever? It is the first time ever that it is possible. So Russia and her allies will launch a surprise attack on Israel when Israel is secure or at peace in her land. The events over the last two weeks, for the first time since Israel returned to their land, have created the only opportunity they've ever had for the kind of peace that is described right here in Ezekiel 38. We don't know if the prophecy that's described for us here in Ezekiel 38 is gonna happen before the church is raptured or after the church is raptured. That's not clear. Could be before, could be after. Most scholars agree, though, that it does take place in close proximity, time-wise, to the rapture. It's most likely going to occur before the Antichrist takes full control over all the nations of the earth. Now, my point is this. Number one, we could very well be seeing the peace develop in Israel that is described here in Ezekiel 38. And number two, those events described in Ezekiel 38 will happen close to the rapture. And number three, once the end time events start to occur, they accelerate in speed in close proximity. Now I've given you three reasons why I'm excited about the study of the book Revelation with you. It may almost be like reading a newspaper. I thought it was that way eight years ago, much more so now. So much of our study through this book is gonna be based on Old Testament scripture because Revelation is based on Old Testament scripture. We're gonna be doing a lot of back and forth between Revelation and the Old Testament. The Bible is one book. From the first book to the last, Genesis is completed by the book of Revelation. The tangled threads of Bible history flow into Revelation like the Mississippi River flows into the Gulf of Mexico. The Old Testament just flows right here into Revelation. Now in Genesis, we find the entrance of sin and the curse. In Revelation, we find its end. In Genesis, we find the dawn of Satan and his activities. In Revelation, his doom. In Genesis, the tree of life is abandoned. In Revelation, it is regained. In Genesis, death makes its entrance. and Revelation, its exit. Genesis records the beginning of sorrow and Revelation, its removal. Genesis records the commencement of prophecy. Revelation records the consummation. Now, the book of Revelation does not provide a lot of new information. We gotta understand this. It takes about 500 prophecies that are scattered throughout the Older Testament. Genesis starts it off. And this book catches up and weaves it all together, all the Bible's lines of prophetic revelation. The book is the capstone of all the prophecy in the Bible. Revelation puts it in sequential order so that we can understand what we would not be able to understand of these prophecies if it wasn't for the book of Revelation. That's why in our study of Revelation, we are gonna be using the last book of the Bible here as our base. We'll be all over the Old Testament. This is going to be a study where you might get to know your Old Testament as well as the very last book of our Bible, Revelation. Now, let's get started. We're not gonna get real far today, perhaps only the first eight verses that I read earlier, but these have more than enough for us to chew on. Here's verse one. the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant, John. Now, I've already pointed out several things about this verse last week in last week's message, and so let me just say a little bit more here right now. Let me remind you that the word revelation, it actually means unveiling. It comes from actually a Latin word, re, which means back, and vellum, which means veil covering. So it means to pull back the veil. It means to uncover. And what the book of Revelation does is it pulls back the cover, it pulls back the veil, and it reveals Jesus Christ and who he is, the rightful owner of this planet, of this earth. And as he comes and he takes back full control, that's what it all is. It's that unveiling of Jesus. The Greek word is apocalupsis. That means to unveil, lay bare, expose. In Revelation, the veil is pulled back. We see what has been hidden up until now. You're gonna notice that Revelation is the revelation of Jesus Christ. in all of his glory. It's all about him. In Revelation, we will see his person, his plan, his purpose, his promise, his priorities, and his power. It's not intended that this book be mysterious or confusing to the servants of Christ. but illuminating and revealing. God wants his bondservants to understand what this book is about and what we have to look forward to and what is the destiny of unsaved men and women. It is an open book which God reveals his plans and purpose to his church. The revelation we see here in verse one is shown to a particular people. The word servants refers to believers. Referring to believers as servants gives us a lesson here on how these two things come together, revelation and submission. Listen, Those who submit to Jesus Christ will receive and understand the revelation. The message of revelation is for God's servants. We see that right up front, verse one. Unbelievers who study this book only to answer their curiosity will be disappointed. It will sound like gibberish. The unsaved cannot fully understand this book because it is revealed to his servants to show them his plan. We see this principle elsewhere in scripture. We see it in 1 Corinthians 2.14. It shouldn't be any surprise. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them, because they are spiritually discerned." Eight times in the book we find this admonition. He that has ear, let him hear. Chapter 2, verse 7. Verse 11, verse 17, verse 29. Chapter three, verse six. Verse 13, verse 22. Chapter 13, verse nine. We see it over and over and over. He who has ear, let him hear. It takes a dedicated ear of a willing bondservant of Jesus Christ to understand the truths set forth in this book. So as we go into this, we have to keep our hearts open, that we're not just studying this to answer our curiosities, but we're approaching this as servants, willing to submit, willing to obey, and become better servants of our Lord. Verse one, In the version I was reading, the ESV refers to the things which must soon take place. And I don't know if you read that and you were thinking, well, huh, John wrote this 2,000 years ago. They obviously are not things that are soon gonna take place. Why would he write concerning the things soon to take place, and here we are 2,000 years later, still waiting for all of these to come about? Well, that word, which we find translated in the version I read to you as soon, is the Greek word entaki. It sounds like an English word, which it is taken from, tachometer. What does a tachometer measure? Measures the speed, the velocity. The Greek word entaki indicates swiftness. The events in this book will come to pass swiftly when they begin to unfold. That is what's being communicated. So this is a statement not so much about when these events will occur, but how they will occur. When they occur, they're going to occur swiftly. They're gonna occur very speedily. It's a warning that divine judgment will come very, very fast. And that is why I am so interested in what is happening today in the Middle East. Verses two and three now. who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. 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. John intends the book of Revelation to produce a radical change in perspective He intends his original audience, who is being tremendously persecuted, and even us today, who are facing more and more persecution as culture and society is turning against us, as having hateful speech because we proclaim biblical truth. John is saying he intends persecuted believers to feel the reality that we are blessed. In spite of the fact that we might be at odds with our reigning culture, and in spite of the hostility that seems to be building against us even now, we are blessed. But this pronouncement of blessing means more than just that. God has promised a special blessing to those who read, who hear, and who keep its inspired truths. Now, if God promises a blessing to those who read, hear, and keep its words, could you imagine how cruel it would be if it were not understandable? It simply must be comprehensible. It's a sad thing that many of God's people know little or nothing about the book of Revelation. They don't take the time to study it and try to understand what's being said. Maybe they'll hear what some scholar says over there and won't take time to look at it themselves and dig into it and try to understand it. It's a blessing for those who will. Revelation is the only book of the Bible. I don't know if you know this, maybe you do. Revelation is the only book of the Bible that opens and closes with a blessing for those who study it and obey it. We already saw how it opened. Let me take you to the very end in chapter 22, verse seven. And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book. So we see it at the beginning, we see it at the end. And by the way, the word keep, blessed is the one who keeps the word of this prophecy. You know what that word means? It means watch. After reading and listening to the book of Revelation, the believer should have a longing for the return of the Messiah and keeping a watchful eye. Those believers who love and look for his return are promised a special blessing, which we're gonna look at a little bit later when we talk about the crown of those who are looking for his return. But for now, please notice that number one, there is a promised special blessing. Number two, it is attached to the study of the Book of Revelation. And number three, it is conditional blessing. The condition is that we allow it to develop within us a longing for Christ's return. Verse four. John, to the seven churches that are in Asia, grace to you and peace from him who is and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne. Now in the preview before we launched today our verse-by-verse study through this book, I have mentioned this verse already. and I was looking at it with you, and I just wanna say briefly what I've already spoken of at a little greater length here, but the author, the Apostle John here, and his original audience was the seven churches in Asia. The seven churches. Now, as I spoke last time, in John's day when he was writing this, there were more than seven churches in Asia. There was Colossae. You know Colossae because Paul wrote a book to the church at Colossae, the book of Colossians. That was one of the churches in Asia that we don't see a letter addressed to, one of the seven churches. You ever hear of Troas? Paul speaks of that in some of his letters. There was a church in Troas, where was that? That was in Asia. But here John is told to write to the seven churches in Asia. Interesting. Now, once we get into those letters, what we're gonna find is something else very interesting that's gonna be occurring. He's gonna conclude each of these letters that he writes, like to Sardis and to Laodicea and Philadelphia, all of these churches that he writes to, he concludes the letter to that specific church with, he who has ear, let him hear, what the Spirit says to the churches. He removes that seven. Let him hear what he says to the churches. So in other words, what he writes to Philadelphia is to be heard by all of the churches, not just the Church of Philadelphia. And what he says to the church at Sardis and Thyatira and all of the others are for all of the churches. So that's something to keep in mind here. And why does he designate these? You're gonna see why when we get to those letters. I believe they were specific churches that he was to write to because they were going through the conditions that he speaks of here. But I also believe there is symbolism. We see it twice in this verse. He mentions the number seven. Seven is the number of completion. And why he says the seven churches is because he is designating the entire church age from the time that the Holy Spirit came and the church was born at Pentecost to the time of the rapture This entire church age is being addressed in Revelation chapter two and chapter three. These letters are to the church age. That's this period of time you and I are living in right now. This is a letter for us to pay attention to. And by the way, we're gonna see each of these letters pertain to very definite segments of the periods definite church era periods of time. And we're gonna look at what was written to these that I believe were specifically happening during that time, but they also have another fulfillment of these particular church ages. And seven being the number of completion, the seventh church, you're gonna see that describes the church today. of our culture when we get there. The final era, the final period. Yeah, we're close. We're in the last seconds. So chapters two and three are about the church on earth through the ages. Revelation is intended for Christ's church here on earth until we are taken up into glory in the rapture. Number seven is very important in this book. It signifies fullness and completeness. In Revelation, you're gonna find seven seals, Revelation 5.1. You're gonna find seven trumpets, Revelation 8.6. Seven bowls, Revelation 16.1. Seven stars, we're gonna look at that one next week, Revelation 1.16. And seven lampstands, we're gonna look at that next week also. Seven is completion, it's wholeness. In this verse, we just saw in verse one, Revelation chapter one, where we saw the seven churches, well, verse four of Revelation chapter one, the seven churches, the number seven is used twice there. It's used again about the Holy Spirit. It's referred to as the seven spirits. You know, Isaiah chapter 11 verse 2 mentions seven spirits, the seven spirits. Bible interpreters say here in Isaiah 11 chapter 2, it's a reference to the seven characteristics of the Holy Spirit. And I think this is a reference back to Isaiah 11.2, the all and the fullness, the Holy Spirit. Seven is symbolic for fullness and completeness all through revelation and throughout the Older Testament is what I'm trying to show you here. All right, let's go on to verse five. Verse five says this. And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth, to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood. Now, bear in mind the timing by which John wrote this. Domitian was the Roman emperor. He was a horrible person. The churches were being persecuted. John was on the island of Patmos at this time because of the persecution that the Roman emperor was trying to stamp out Christianity. There were a lot of hurting folks. Can you imagine getting this letter, just reminding them? Jesus, who comforts us. has dominion over every ruler of the earth, including Ember, is persecuting us. John is comforting his persecuted believers with the truth that Jesus has triumphed over death, firstborn from the dead, he calls Jesus, and that he is sovereign over all earthly powers, even Caesar, since he is the ruler of kings on earth, and he has made us, what did he make us? That verse says he made us a kingdom of priests. Actually, here, let's take a look at it in verse six. And made us a kingdom. Priests to his God and Father. To him be glory and dominion forever and ever, amen. You know, after God redeemed Israel from Egypt, you know what he called Israel? a kingdom of priests. That's Exodus 19, six. And so he's indicating that all of them were holy to him. Isaiah reminded Israel of this, what their role is, what Israel was to be a kingdom of priests. Let me show that to you, Isaiah 61 verse six, it says, but you shall be called the priests of the Lord. They shall speak of you as the ministers of our God. You shall eat the wealth of the nations and in their glory you shall boast. And then look what Peter picks up on and writes as well about you and I as the people of God. but you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." Yeah, we're priests. Let me tell you, if you are saved, if you are one of God's people, you are a priest in God's eyes. Now this points to two things that Christians do. Christians serve and worship God. Second, we mediate the knowledge of God to others. We proclaim the saving good news. Are you living like a priest? Are you worshiping God? Are you helping others to know God? Does your life announce the glory that belongs to Jesus? Are you telling others Jesus is coming back and it's soon, real soon? Verse seven, behold, he is coming with the clouds and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him. and all the tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so, amen. Yes, Jesus is coming. This is the central message of Revelation. Jesus is coming. Everyone will see him in his full glory. He will be unveiled. The clouds which attend his coming are symbols of his glory and majesty, just as we've seen many times in the Older Testament when the clouds filled the temple in Isaiah chapter six, that was his glory. And the cloud that led Israel through the desert out of Egypt, that is his glory. At the second coming, the Jews and all those who inhabit the earth will realize what they did to him on the cross, and they will wail because of this knowledge. The first time the Lord arrived, his veil was in the body of a little child. When he returns, he will be unveiled and seen as who he really is, the Son of God. First time he came, a star marked his arrival. The next time he comes, the heavens will roll up like a scroll and the stars will fall out of the sky. First time he came, gifts were brought to him by wise men and shepherds. When he returns, he will bring gifts and rewards for his servants. First time he came, there was no room for him in the inn. When he returns, the whole earth will not even be able to contain his glory. First time he came, only a few attended his arrival. Next time the Lord comes, every eye will see him. First time he came, he came as a baby. Soon he will return as king of kings and lord of lords. Verse eight. I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come. Catch this last word. The Almighty. The titles given to God in Revelation 1, 8 make it clear that Jesus is divinity, and he has divine purposes in all of history. Alpha and omega, those are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, and so God is the beginning of all things, and he is the end of all things. He is the eternal God, unlimited by time, and we know what the Lord has begun to do. He will finish. He's also the Almighty. I wanted you to take a look at that word in particular. Almighty is a key name for God in Revelation. The name of God appears at least 48 times in the Older Testament. It's applied to Jesus here. He is God. It's a direct claim that Jesus is God. Don't let anyone tell you that the Bible never says Jesus is God. It most certainly does. It does. Now, this Hebrew word, Almighty, Shaddai. Shaddai. Remember the song, El Shaddai, El Shaddai? That means the sufficient one, the one who satisfies. Shaddai, many scholars believe, was derived from the Hebrew word shad. You know what shad means in Hebrew? It means the breast of a nursing mother. The picture is that the Lord is our satisfier. that he is all that we need. He is our encourager, he is our giver of strength. What a comfort to any believer who faces persecution. We have El Shaddai. He is the all-sufficient, powerful one. This is the relationship every believer can have with the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ is sufficient to meet every need that you and I have if we will let him meet our need. Now as we close this morning, I want to address every believer who understands that God has made you a priest. We all know what took place September 11th, 2001. You can probably even remember where you were when you first got news that the Twin Towers in New York had fallen. Four planes, two towers of the World Trade Center, Pentagon, open field, nearly 3,000 people died. But what if you had known with absolute certainty on September 10th, 2001, What if you had gotten information on the afternoon of September 10th, 2001 about what was gonna happen a few hours later the next morning? What if your wife or your son or your mother or your brother-in-law was gonna be on one of those planes? Would you not do absolutely everything in your power? Use the information you had. and try to help people avoid the fiery destruction that was coming. What would your life look like if you made use of what God has revealed to you about what is to come? Something is coming that's gonna be infinitely worse than 9-11. Eternally worse. A judgment of God. As we launch our study, of Revelation, let's ask the Lord to use this book to fire us up with the same urgency that we would have if we knew on September 10th, 2001. You would not rest with that information. And so may it be with this information. Perhaps you're listening to me today. And you don't know if you're a believer. You don't know if these events, you've heard about them, maybe you're familiar with them, you know they're scary events. And you might be wondering, am I gonna have to go through these? Am I gonna be on God's winning side when all of these events in Revelation are launched? Well, let me ask. Is God your Shaddai? Is He the sufficient one? The one who satisfies you? Why not ask Him into your life today? In just a moment, I'm gonna lead a prayer for anyone who would like for Him to come into your life. to save you and to become the master of your life, to be your El Shaddai. Time is short. Would you pray with me, please? God, I thank you for your entire word and how the Old Testament and all the prophecies flow into this final book. Thank you for the opportunity that you are giving us to study it, but God may it be far more than answering curiosities in us. Light a fire in us, God. Let us be your servants, be your priests. and proclaim your truth. Light of fire, God. For any who have not sure whether you're a Christian or not, and you'd like to make that decision today, right now, would you just pray with me right now? And it's the attitude. It's not the words. These words are not magic. But just pray with this attitude. Heavenly Father, forgive me of my sin. I'm a sinner. I do not deserve salvation, but I accept it from you as a free gift. Come into my life. Be the master of my life. Satisfy me as your word says you will. Thank you. In Jesus name. Amen.