Okay. Shalom, everyone. I want today to start to speak a little bit from the New Testament, the last book of the Bible, the book of the Revelation. And I tell you the reason that I thought I'm going to share with you today or begin to talk about that last book of the Bible, the book of the Revelation, or as we call it, the Chazon, the Chazon in Hebrew, the Revelation, because, you know, some of us have just spent 17 days in Turkey and in Greece and in Israel. We just came back from a tool, a Bible tool that dealt with specifically with the book of the Revelation.

Revelation. We have visited in Turkey, the seven churches that we have in Revelation, chapter 2 and chapter 3. But we also visited in Greece, in the island called Patmos. We have visited the island from which the Apostle Yohanan, the Apostle John, just received that special revelation from the Lord Yeshua, the Messiah, the glorified Messiah from heaven. And I would like to share with you, at least we can start today with dealing with the first few verses of the book of the Revelation. So please open the book of the Revelation to the first chapter. And I want to read with you the first eight verses this moment. And we'll kind of get some introduction to the book and see what lessons we can learn from that particular book.

So I'm reading, beloved brothers and sisters, the Revelation, chapter 1, verses 1 to 8. "The Revelation of Yeshua the Messiah, Jesus Christ, which God gave unto Him, to show unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass. And He sent and signified it by His angel unto His servant John, or Yohanan, who bear record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus the Messiah, and of all things that He saw. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein, for the time is at hand." John, unto the seven assemblies, seven churches, which are in Asia, "Grace be unto you, and peace from Him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven spirits which are before His throne; and from Yeshua the Messiah, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead; and the Prince of the kings of the earth, unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood; and hath made us kings and priests unto God, and His Father; to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever.

Amen." "Behold, He cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see Him; and they also which pierced Him; and all the kinders or the tribes of the earth shall wail because of Him." "Even so, Amen, I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty." Now, stopping with the reading for us today in this passage, Revelation chapter 1, verses 1 to 8. Now, beloved, it is important, when we study such a book as the book of Revelation, to realize that there is a reason why God had given the apostle John, or his Hebrew name, Yohanan, there is a reason why God, why the Lord Yeshua, the Lord Jesus, had given this book of Revelation to John, in order that you and I will benefit from this today.

There is a reason. By the way, the book of Chazon, or Chazon Yohanan, the book of the Revelation, is the last book in the New Covenant, in the Brit HaChadasha. Just the same like the last book in the Old Testament is Malachi, Malachi, or Malachi or Malachi in English. We have the last book of the Bible, is the book of the Revelation. In the New Testament, it is the finality, is the last book. But there is a reason why the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, had given to us this book. Turn to chapter 22, the last chapter in the Bible, Revelation 22. And you notice what it says in verse 10.

Here we see what the Lord is telling John what to do with that particular letter or book that he had given him to write. And here he is speaking to him that the angel was telling John, it says in verse 10, And he saith unto me, John is saying, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand. John, do not seal, as it says here, the sayings of the prophecy of this book, because the time is at hand. John, do not seal this particular book, because there is a time, the time is at hand. It's quickly, the events that are spoken by the Lord in this particular book are going to come shortly to pass.

The time is at hand. You remember we read today from the book of Daniel, we read in chapter 9. But in another passage in the book of Daniel, chapter 12, the Lord telling him, God, the God of Israel, through the angel telling Daniel, the prophet of Israel, he says, Daniel, seal the book. Daniel chapter 12 and verse 4 and 9, 8 and 9, seal the book that I have given to you, seal the writings. But to Yohanan, to John, the angel says to him, do not seal this book, because the time is at hand. There is an information, beloved brothers and sisters, that you and I have in this book of the Revelation, that is very important to understand.

You know, we live in a time where people have a lot of difficulties in understanding where is Israel in the plan of God, where is the church, the assembly in the plan of God, where is the world in the plan of God. And there is a lot of mishmash, a lot of mixing of things, even among professing believers, professing Christians, not rightly dividing the word of truth. In the book of the Revelation, we have information that God wants you and I to know. Not that we will fantasize, not that we will think about certain things and we will be occupied with all kinds of mysteries and all kinds of things.

No, but that we will learn the signs and the times in which we live in. The Lord Jesus is coming soon. He is coming soon and He is going to take the heavenly company, the church of Yeshua, the Messiah, to be with Him. And He is going to begin a time of tribulation such as has never, ever happened before in this universe, in this world. And those of us that belong to the Lord will be wise to know how we are to behave in a time in which we live here in this world. We will discern if we study the book of the Revelation. We will get discernment about the events that are happening and what is going to happen that it will teach us how do we conduct ourselves.

How do we speak a word in due season? How do we communicate the Gospel? What we tell people about the person and the work of the Lord Yeshua, the Messiah. Now, you see, this book, when you study this book, you know that this book, beloved, began and ends with the promise of blessing. By the way, that's the only book in the Bible, that when you read Revelation 1, verse 3, and when you read Revelation 22, verses 7 and 8, you will find out that this book began and end with the promise of blessings. Look, Revelation 1 and verse 3, "Blessed is he that readeth." "Blessed are they that hear the words that are written in this prophecy." You know, I'm blessed right now when I read these particular eight verses.

And you are blessed by listening to what I have to say, or what I should say, what the Bible have to say. You are blessed. This is the only book in the Bible that began and end with the promise of blessing. Look at chapter 22 and verse 7 where it says, listen, "Behold, I come quickly. Blessed is he that keepeth the things of the prophecy of this book." Verse 14 says to us, "Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life." There is a promise of blessings associated with those who read this particular book. And I hope that you recognize, I don't know how much time you spend in reading the Bible.

And I know that sometime you feel that the book of the Revelation is the kind of a book that is a little bit difficult to understand. When you read the book of the Revelation, and you read it with the right understanding, it will help you to grasp what God has for you, and it will encourage you as you walk in this world for the Lord Jesus the Messiah. Now, another thing by way of introduction about the book of the Revelation. You notice the first verse, it says the revelation of Jesus the Messiah. It doesn't say the revelation of John the Divine. That somebody put it here or there in the Bible.

Somebody wanted to make it as if it is John. It is the revelation that John gave. No. It is the revelation that God gave us about the person of the glorified Messiah. It's not the revelation of John the Divine. It's not the revelation of John. It is the revelation of Jesus the Messiah, as we call him in Hebrew, Yeshua HaMashiach. God wants to reveal him to us. You see, he wants us to be understanding who is this person. What he has done for us. How precious he is to the heart of God the Father. And God reveals him to you and I. It is the revelation of Yeshua the Messiah.

By the way, another word in the Greek is the apocalypse. The word apocalypse in the Greek means the unveiling. You see, God is unveiling before us the beauty of the person of Yeshua the Messiah. You know, we read in the prophet Isaiah, when we looked upon him, there was no beauty that we should behold. You see, Israel, when they looked upon the Messiah at his first coming, they didn't recognize who he really is, who he was. That's why he was eventually not accepted by the nation of Israel. But God wants us to understand. I want to unveil before you the beauty of the Messiah. Before we became believers in Yeshua the Messiah.

We never loved him. We never understood who he was. But when God unveiled before us his beauty. And he showed us that this is God. This is the Son of God. He came from heaven to die on the tree for your sins and mine. And God opened to us the understanding. Unveiled before us the beauty of this person. The loveliness of this person of Yeshua. The name of this book is the revelation of Jesus the Messiah. Yeshua HaMashiach. And by the way, again, by way of introduction. It doesn't use the plural here. It's not the revelations. No. It's one revelation. Which unfolds before us about the person of the Messiah.

The revelation of Yeshua. Yeshua the Messiah. God unveiled before us the beauty of the person of Yeshua the Messiah. What a precious truth for us to get a hold of. As we having this particular book set before us. Now you notice another thing by way of introduction about this book of the revelation. The book of the revelation is the book of last things. It is the last book of the Bible. We have the book of Bereshit. Genesis is the first book of the Bible. And we have the revelation as the last book of the Bible. It is the book of last things. Last things. You see in Genesis we had creation.

In Revelation we have new creation. In the last chapters of the book of Revelation. We have new heavens and new earths being made and created. In Genesis we have the loss of paradise. Sin came into this world. In the book of the Revelation we have paradise regained. The Messiah Yeshua have given us not only paradise. Beyond paradise. Beyond Gan Eden. He gave us the eternal order. The eternal state where sin will be no more. In Genesis we have the first man. And him and his wife Eve. Adam and Eve. They were ruling over the first creation. And look what happened. They failed. Sin came in.

They did not rule in a proper way. They have made a mess out of the responsibility that God had given to them. But what we have in the book of the Revelation. We have that man from heaven. Yeshua the Messiah. And the bride of Christ. The bride of the Messiah. Are together ruling over the affairs of this universe. Because of what the Messiah have done for us. In Genesis we have the first time that we have the sacrificial lamb. We have there in Genesis chapter 3 and verse 15. When the sin came into this world. God provided a garment of skin for Adam and Eve. And he had to kill the first lamb.

In the book of the Revelation. We have the lamb which was slain from the foundation of the world. We read in chapter 5. I saw a lamb as if it was freshly slain. We have the type in Genesis. But we have the anti-type in the book of the Revelation. It is the book of last things. In the book of Genesis. We have Babylon rising up. You remember Genesis chapter 11. The tower that they built. The tower of Babel. Which God had to judge. Because men did not obey him. And in the book of the Revelation. We have Babylon destroyed. Completely destroyed. God is going to set aside the human effort.

Man's way have to be set aside. And he is going to establish his own man. His own glory. Through the person of the Lord Jesus. The Messiah. In Genesis we have man who produce his own city. His own power. In the book of the Revelation. We have the city of God. Coming down from heaven. The new Jerusalem. Where God will set himself there. In Genesis. We have the beginning of sorrows. And sadness. And weeping. And crying. And death. And all that which came to this world because of sin. But in the book of the Revelation. We have a time that we hear of no more sorrow.

No more sadness. No more suffering. No more sin. No more sin. And no more death. And beloved. It is wonderful to study the book of the Revelation. And see how it is teaching us. Of things that God wants to reveal to us. Through the person of the Lord Jesus the Messiah. And so this is just some thoughts. An introduction to that book. And let me just move into the first verses here. We read the first eight verses. But I want just to mention one or two more things. Before I am going to begin to deal with this verse by verse. We are going to enable you to listen to this on a CD.

And if you are not succeeding to make notes enough. You will be able to look it over in your own leisure. In your own time. You see John was a Hebrew believer in Yeshua the Messiah. John, his name in Hebrew is Yohanan. Yohanan was that man. That young man. That Yeshua at his death. Have asked him or commanded him. To take care of his own mother. And John became the one. That had been entrusted with the responsibility. To take care of the Messiah's mother Miriam. In the Gospel of John. The same writer. We read. In verse 25. Now there stood by the cross of Jesus. His mother.

And his mother's sister. Miriam the wife of Clophas. And Miriam Magdalene. When Yeshua therefore saw his mother. And the disciples standing by whom he loved. He saith unto his mother. Woman behold thy son. Then he saith unto the disciples. This is Yohanan. This is John. Behold thy mother. And from this hour. That disciple took her into his own home. Just think. Here we have the Lord Jesus the Messiah on the cross. On the tree. Ready to live this sin. Ready to die. To give his life a ransom for many. There was one disciple. There was one disciple by the name of Yohanan. Standing by that cross.

There were the other Marys. There was Miriam his mother. And here Yeshua on the tree. On the cross. Crucified by the hand of man. The one thing that he made sure to take care. Is of his own mother. Is of his own mother. And what does he do? He is looking at his mother. And he is saying to his mother Miriam. Look at your son. Pointing to Yohanan. Or addressing Yohanan. John there. There. And then he is looking at Yohanan. And he says. Yohanan. Look. This is your mother now. You take care of her. And from that time. John took her into his own house.

And he became responsible over Miriam. The mother of Yeshua the Messiah. And Yeshua the Messiah died. And as you know. He was buried. And he rose on the third day. And he have gone to heaven. And then the spirit of God came down. And formed the body of Messiah. In Acts chapter 2. And the beginning of the. What we know today. As the assembly. As the ecclesia. The called out ones. The church of Yeshua. The Messiah. And some of those disciples. That were with the Lord Jesus. In the upper room. In the city of Jerusalem. In the city of Jerusalem. He sent them all over the world.

To preach the message of the gospel. And one of these persons. That he sent. Was a man by the name of Yohanan. John. James was his brother. And this John. Apparently. Have gone out. To preach the message of the word of God. And he settled in a place called Ephesus. Apparently. He was so faithful there. That there was the establishment. Of the local assembly. There in the city called Ephesus. And he was one of the leading brothers. In that particular. Local assembly. Being an apostle. He was the leader. Brother there. And he was there. Faithfully. Teaching the word. Of God. In some time. About 95. 96. A.D.

Quite a few years. After the Lord Jesus. The Messiah. Gone to heaven. Quite a few years. After the church. The assembly. Was born. John. Was exiled. To an island. Called Patmos. And why was he exiled? Why was John. Exiled. To the island. Called Patmos. He was exiled. By the emperor. Domitian. Because he. Was faithful. To preach. The word. Of God. And when he went. To that island. And I tell you. We have just visited. That island. Just about two weeks ago. Or so. Or more. Three weeks ago. John. While there today. It's a very interesting island. At that time. It was an island. It was like a jail.

It was like a place. Where you would. Exile somebody. You put him away. From the public. And you. Make him work. There. He became like a slave. In all kind of work. That he had. Perhaps to do. But they exile him. Put him away. Lest he. Will talk to people. About Yeshua. The Messiah. And there. On that island. The Lord Jesus. Gave him. A revelation. The whole. Book. That we have. Before us. The glorified Messiah. Gave this man. By the name of John. A revelation. A revelation. That for almost. Two thousand years. Beloved brothers. And sisters. Many like you. And I. Are blessed. To read.

Blessed. To understand. The plan. And the purposes. Of God. For mankind. Here is John. On exile. Like in jail. Like in prison. Separated. From the people. He loved. So much. He is sitting there. And he is receiving a revelation. From the glorified Messiah. And he is writing it down. And that information. That he wrote down. We have it today. In the canon. Of scripture. In the bible. What we know. The Torah. Nevi'im. Ketuvim. And the new covenant. The Brit Hadashah. You and I. Are benefiting. For what happened. About two thousand years ago. Nineteen hundred years ago. To a man. By the name. Of Yohanan. A Hebrew man.

A Jewish man. An Israeli man. Who was used. By the law. Of the preaching. Of the gospel. To the people. In the area. That he was responsible. Of. And he was faithful. He took the mother. Of Yeshua. To his own house. And he was faithful. And God. Used him. Because of his faithfulness. And they thought. That if they will take him. To the island of Patmos. They're going to get rid of him. And he will not be able. To share the word anymore. But look. What we have before us. The revelation. Of Jesus. The Messiah. And here. At about 96. 95. A.D. Yohanan. Received that special.

Revelation. From the Lord. Jesus. The Messiah. And now. I want you to follow. With me. I want you to notice. In the introduction. In the first. Three verses. Of Revelation. One. You notice. First of all. The first three verses. Notice. The subject. The subject. That the book. Is all about. It is not about. John. But it is about. Jesus. It is not about. John. It is about. Yeshua. The Messiah. Notice. It says. The revelation. Of Yeshua. The Messiah. Which God. Gave. Unto him. To show. Unto his servants. The things. Which. Must. Shortly. Come. To pass. And he. Send. And he. Signified it. By his angel.

Unto his. Servant. Yohanan. You notice. The process. Beloved. Brothers. And sisters. Notice. The process. It is. God. The Father. Giving it. To Yeshua. Jesus. The Messiah. He gives it. Unto his angel. The angel. Give it. Unto Yohanan. Unto John. And John. Give it. Unto the servants. Unto you. And I. You notice. How it is. You notice. The order. The revelation. Of Yeshua. The Messiah. Which. God. Gave. Unto him. This is. Unto Yeshua. To show. Unto his servants. Things. Which might. Shortly. Come to pass. And he. This is Yeshua. The Messiah. Signified. By his angel. Unto his servant. John. You notice. The progress. God. The Father.

Yeshua. The Messiah. The angel. To John. And to the servants. By the way. It is so precious. To see. That God. Have given. This revelation. Of Yeshua. The Messiah. To you. And I. Because he. Wanted us. To understand. What he has. In mind. And how precious. His son. Is to him. So. The revelation. One revelation. Which is unfolding. Of Jesus. The Messiah. Which God. Gave. Unto him. To show. To his servant. Things. Which. Must. Shortly. Come. To pass. Didn't. Already. Nineteen. Hundred. Years. Passed. By. How could. It be. Shortly. Come. To pass. Well. If you. Understand. The book. Of the revelation. The vast. Majority. Of the book.

Of the revelation. Deal. With the tribulation. Period. In fact. From chapter. Four. All the way. To the end. Of chapter. Nineteen. Year. Chapter. Four. To chapter. Nineteen. Deal. With seven years. Of the tribulation. Period. That deal. With what's going. To happen. In this world. The judgment. That's going to fall. Upon the face. Of this world. The restoration. Of the nation. Of Israel. After the greatest. Holocaust. That ever have been. Or ever will be. Will happen. Then. We have. The things. Will happen. Once. It's going. To start. So the things. Which must. Shortly. Come to pass. So he sent it. And he signified. By an angel.

And the angel. Gave it. To. Yohanan. Now. Let's talk for a moment. About the angels. You see. The angels. According to the Bible. And I know. You and I. Often. Don't think about it. But do you know. That the law. Was given. To Israel. Through an angel. Do you know. That angels. Even when it's come. To the law. Angels. Had. The responsibility. Of giving it. To Moses. God gave it to Moses. Through angels. Now. I know. We don't read it. In the Old Testament. But in the New Testament. We find it. Very quickly. In chapter 7. And verse 55. And 56. Where we read. By being full of the Holy Spirit.

This is Stephen. He looked steadfastly. Into heaven. And he saw the glory of God. And Jesus the Messiah. Standing at his right hand. And we find out. Him talking about the fact. That Israel received the law. Through an angel. If you just read it. In chapter 7. You will notice that. In fact. If you read. Verse 53. You have received the law. By the disposition. Of angels. And have not kept it. Angels. Always. Had. A responsibility. As servants. Of the people. Of God. So. Here. We see. God. Giving it. To Jesus. Or to Yeshua. Yeshua. Giving it. To an angel. An angel. Giving it. To John. And John.

Giving it. To the servants. Which is including. You and I. That's how. The book of the revelation. Had been brought. To our attention. To ourselves. So angels. Had a lot. As a ministering spirit. In Hebrew. We read of them. In Hebrews 2. We read of them. As a ministering. Spirits. They are responsible. To minister. To the people. Of God. So. The revelation. Of Yeshua. The Messiah. Chapter 1. And verse 1. And in verse 2. We see. That John. Is bearing record. To what he saw. It says in verse 2. Who. This is John. Yohanan. Bear record. Of the word of God. And of the testimony. Of Yeshua. The Messiah. And of all the things.

That he saw. See. Here was John. He was on the island. Of Patmos. Ha'i. We call it Patmos. And he received. The revelation. From the Lord. Through that angel. And he's bearing record. He's putting it down. He's recording. All what he received. From the glorified Messiah. He's bearing record. And the record. Is the testimony. Of Jesus. The Messiah. I know we. We sometimes. Don't realize that. Perhaps we neglect. Sometime. To mention it. Really. The Bible. The theme. Of the Bible. Is the person. Of the Lord. Jesus. The Messiah. He's the central theme. He's the one. That God. Want to present. Before. You. And before. Me.

And so here. In verse 3. By way of introduction. After we know. That the subject. Of the book. Is Yeshua. The Messiah. After we learn. That Yohanan. Is the one. That bearing. The testimony. Of Yeshua. Here we find. The promised blessing. As I've already mentioned. To you. In verse 3. Blessed is he. That readeth. Now. Let me ask you. When was the last time. You read. The book. Of the revelation. When was the last time. That you opened. The Bible. He said. I'm going to do. I'm going to do. A sitting today. And I'm going to read. The book of the revelation. You might say. Wow. Brother Gideon.

It is such a confusing book. There are so many symbols there. There are so many. Things that are very confusing here. Gideon. I have a hard time. To understand. Listen. The Bible say to us. Blessed is he. That readeth. If you read it. God is able. To explain to you. To explain to us. What he has in mind. Blessed is he. That read. That particular book. But not only read. And they. That hear. The words. Of this prophecy. You see. The words. That are mentioned here. Is a prophecy. It has to do with. Events. That are yet to come. Now. Many times. We read. The Old Testament.

Prophets. Isaiah. Jeremiah. We read. Ezekiel. We read. Daniel. We read. The major prophets. And the minor prophets. And we have a hard time. To understand. How events. Are going to come to pass. And it is difficult. It's not easy. The spirit of God. Have to help us. But when we study. The book of the Revelation. We begin. To understand. The events. The order. Of the events. In which. Old Testament. Scripture. The Tanakh. Was speaking about. But future days. The book. Of the Revelation. Help us. To put it. In order. And so. Whatever we read. In the Old Testament. Scripture. In the Tanakh. In the Hebrew Scriptures.

When we read. The book. Of the Revelation. It helps us. To understand. What God meant. What God meant. For Israel. For the world. In the prophets of Israel. And so. He says. Blessed is he that readeth. This is very personal. Then they. That. Hear the words. Of this prophecy. These are those of us. That have listened. And hear the words. Of that prophecy. In this particular book. But listen. He doesn't stop here. He says. And keep. Those sayings. Which are written. Therein. See. It's not only. To read it. It's not only. To hear it. But it's also. To keep it. To obey it. You see.

When we study. The book. Of the Revelation. We. Also. Need the help. Of the Lord. To obey. The word of God. To be obedient. To what he says. If he teaches us. Certain things. And you will see. When we're going to get. Chapter 2. And chapter 3. Concerning the church age. To seek. To obey. What he has. For you and I. In this present day. Also. When he's speaking. About Israel. And the future. Of Israel. In the rest. Of the portion. Of the book. That deal with the world. And the events. That are going to happen. In the world. And to the nation. Of Israel. We are also.

To seek. To obey. The words. That the Lord. Have given us. In the scriptures. In this prophecy. In the world. Why? Because quickly. It's going to come. And the events. That are promised. In that book. Are going to quickly. Come. To pass. And so. That is the first. Three. Verses. Of chapter one. The subject. Is Yeshua. The Messiah. John. Bear record. To the Messiahship. Of Jesus. To the Lordship. Of Jesus. To the beauty. And. He gives us. The assurance. That there is blessing. If we read. And if we hear. And if we obey. And it's very difficult for us. You know. We are. Many times.

Are hearers. Of the word. But not the doers. Of the word. And that's why. He had that word. Obey. Because obedience. Is very. Important. Unpleasure. In those. That seek. To obey. His word. Not only. To be. Hearers. Of the word. But also. To obey. The word. Of God. Now. After we finish. That introduction. The revelation. The unveiling. Of Yeshua. The Messiah. In verses. One to three. Then he gives us. The greetings. That he's writing. To the seven churches. Now. For a moment. Let's listen. What happened. When the gospel. Have been preached. When those. Apostles. From Jerusalem. Beginning from Jerusalem. Judea. Samaria. And the uttermost. Part of this earth.

As we have. In the book of Acts. There was a preaching. Of the gospel. That have gone. Throughout the world. What happened. As the gospel. Had been preached. People got saved. People became. Believers. In the Lord Jesus. They realized. That he loved them. And he died for them. On the cross. He confessed. Their sins. And accepted him. And what happened. When a person. Accepted the Lord. He become. A member. Of the body. Of Christ. The body. Of Messiah. When he. Or she. Believe. In what Yeshua. Have done. For them. They become believers. A believer. He doesn't stay only. Somewhere alone. At home. Somewhere. Without. To be connected.

With other believers. Well. Immediately. Believers. Or Christians. Or Messiah followers. Finding each other. And as they. Find each other. They say. Listen. You love the Lord. And I love the Lord. And the Lord. Want us to meet together. And to have fellowship. With each other. Well. Let's meet together. Let's gather together. Let's gather together. In this local place. If it is. Any city. In this world. Any town. Any village. Well. As the gospel. Had been preached. And people. Got saved. They found each other. And they began. To meet. In a local area. And what we have here. In verses 4 to 8. There is. Greetings. That are given.

To those. Seven. Local churches. That have been. Founded. By believers. Now. Let me mention here. Something. That is very important. A church. Is not. A building. Let me repeat. Myself. I know. People. Often times. Say. I go. To church. No. You don't. Go. To church. You can't. Go. To church. A church. It's simply. In the Greek. Mean. Ekklesia. Called. Out. Once. People. Called out. From among. The nation. Of Israel. Jewish people. Like myself. And non-Jewish. People. Like some of you. And others. In the world. Have been. Called out. From their own nation. Whatever nation. They come from. They are called out. And that's the church.

The called out. Ones. Are people. Individuals. Not buildings. Not brick. And stones. Not wood. And plywood. Not two by four. He doesn't talk at all. About building. He's talking. About. Believers. In Yeshua. The Messiah. And that's why he said. In verse four. Notice. I. John. He says. Yohanan. To the seven. Churches. He doesn't write to buildings. He doesn't write to brick. And stone. And cement. His writing. To believers. Seven. Local. Groups. Of people. Who met. In various cities. And so. We read. By the way. These cities. Were in the place. Which is called. Asia. Is. Modern day. Present day. Turkey. Asia Minor. It is in these places.

That they were formed. Local. Assemblies. Now. There were more. Than seven. Local. Assemblies. In those. Seven. Cities. But. He's writing. Specifically. To those. Seven. Cities. Why? Because. He wanted. To convey. Seven. Messages. To those. Seven. Local. Assemblies. Who had. Seven. Different. Conditions. Seven. Different. Period. Of time. In the history. Of the church. Age. And so. He's writing. To those. Churches. But. By the way. He did. Not only. Write. To them. Information. About. Their age. Or. Our age. He gave. Them. All. The book. This world. This world. After the church. Is going. To be taken. Out of here. He's writing. To them. How. Israel. Is going.

To be restored. Today. He gives them. Information. About. All. The events. That are going. To happen. In a future day. So. He's writing. To them. And you notice. John. Verse. Four. And five. Eight. Notice. The letter. Is addressed. To those. Seven churches. Verses. Four. And verse. Five. Eight. To the seven. Assemblies. Which are in Asia. Grace. Be unto you. And peace. From him. Which is. And which was. And which is. To come. And from the seven. Spirits. Which are before. His throne. And from Yeshua. The Messiah. Who is. The faithful. Witness. And the first. Begotten. Of the dead. The prince. Of the kings. Of the earth.

I'm going to pause here. With this part. Of verse five. Notice. John. Is writing. Greetings. To those. Seven. Assemblies. But the greetings. Actually. Coming. From the triune. God. From all. The three. Persons. Of the. Godhead. Now. A lot of us. Have a problem. With it. I should not say. Us. Here. But a lot of people. Have a problem. With the triunity. Of God. Our own. Jewish people. Have a problem. With the triunity. Of God. Our own. Families. Have a problem. With it. As far as our. People are concerned. Israel. We have only one God. And we do. Have only one God. But he exists. And consists.

In three persons. Abba. Ben. Ruach HaKodesh. The Father. The Son. And the Holy Spirit. And so you notice. How John said. That please follow up. With me. In verse four. Again. Please. John. Or Yohanan. To the servant assembly. The seven churches. Which are in Asia. Grace be unto you. And peace. And notice. Three times. The word from. Notice. Three times. Number one. From him. Which is. And which was. And which is to come. This is God. The Father. I'm repeating that. From him. Which is. And which was. And which is to come. This is God. The Father. Number two. And from the seven spirits. Which are.

Before his throne. This is God. The Holy Spirit. Revealed in the fullness. Of the Spirit of God. Seven fold. Spirit of God. That we have. Very clearly. Given to us. In the. Prophet. Isaiah. Chapter 11. I'm going to read. The verses. In Isaiah 11. The seven fold. Spirit of God. Isaiah 11. And verse 1 and 2. And there shall come forth. A rod out of the stem of Jesse. And a branch shall grow out of his roots. And notice that. And the Spirit of God. Or the Spirit of the Lord. Shall rest upon him. The Spirit of wisdom. Wisdom. And understanding. The Spirit of counsel. And might. The Spirit of knowledge.

And of the fear of the Lord. You notice the seven fold. The Spirit of the Lord. The Spirit of wisdom. The Spirit of understanding. The Spirit of counsel. The Spirit of might. The Spirit of knowledge. And the Spirit of the fear of the Lord. Lord. This is the seven fold. Spirit of God. The fullness. Of the Holy Spirit of God. And so what we have here. We have these greetings. The John passing. To the seven churches. Which comes from. Number one. From him. This is God the Father. Who was. And is. And who is to come. That's number one. Number two. Is from the seven fold.

Spirit of God. For his throne. This is the Holy Spirit of God. And number three. In verse five. And from. Yeshua. The Messiah. Who is the faithful witness. The first begotten of the dead. And the prince. Of the kings. Of the earth. You notice how precious. Beloved. The greetings. That those. Seven local assemblies. Receive. It comes from. God the Father. God the Son. And God the Holy Spirit. All the three. Persons. Of the Godhead. Give greetings. To those seven. Local assemblies. And you know what. I tell you. It is so important. To understand. Because. Every. One of us. Or every local assembly. Whenever we meet together.

As believers. The Lord Jesus. Promised to be. In the midst. Of his own people. But not only. That he is. In our midst. Also. The Holy Spirit. Of God. Is indwelling. Each and every one. Of the believers. But he is also. The one. Who lead the meeting. He is the one. Who is in assembly. Leading the worship. And the songs. To the Son of God. To the Messiah. But also. God the Father. Who is issuing. The blessing. Upon his own people. He never. He never. Left us alone. And what we really have. The whole. Three persons. Of the Godhead. Involved. Here. In the greeting. To those seven.

Local. Assembly. Very precious. To understand it. So. Here we have. In verse four. And verse five. A. The greeting. Or the letter. Is being addressed. To those seven churches. And it comes. From all. The three persons. Of the Godhead. The triune. God. The father. The son. And the spirit. Now look. What he talks. About the son. The Messiah. Jesus. He talks. About his humanity. It says. And from. Jesus. You notice. As it says. In verse five. And from Yeshua. The Messiah. Now. Who is Yeshua. The Messiah. He is not only. The eternal. Son of God. But he became. A man. And it says. About him.

In verse five. A. Who is. The faithful. Witness. You know. What beloved. Brothers and sisters. You know. The one. That truly. To the full measure. Of the truth. Revealed. The father. Revealed. God. Is the Lord. Jesus. The Messiah. If you want. To see the father. Look at the son. He that has seen the son. Has seen the father. Yeshua. We see all the fullness. Of the God. And we see the beauty. Of God. But we gotta look. At the Lord. Jesus. The Messiah. He is the faithful. Witness. He is the faithful. Witness. You know. You and I. Are also called. To be witnesses. But Oha said.

How many times. We haven't been faithful. Witnesses. To the person. Of the Lord. And to God. The father. We haven't been faithful. Sometimes we are faithful. Thank God. For that. But there was one. That had been. A faithful. Witness. All along. From the time. That he was born. In Bethlehem. Till the time. That he died. Outside. Of the city. Of Jerusalem. He had been. A faithful. Witness. To who God. Is. That's the one. That God. Want to reveal. Before us. But he's not only. The faithful witness. In verse 5a. He's also. The first. Begotten. Of the dead. You know. A lot of people. Have a problem with.

What does that mean. The first begotten. Is the one. That was rose first. Well. A lot of people. Have a problem. They say. How could it be. About 1900 years ago. Or 2000 years ago. But the people. That rose. From among the dead. Before. The Messiah rose. Like. Eliezer. Lazarus. Like. Talitha. Where he raised her. From the dead. Like. Even in old testament. You remember. In the time. Of Elijah. And Elisha. And so on. How people. That have been resurrected. From among the death. But you see. Beloved. All the one. That have been resurrected. Endowed to go back. But there was only one. That have been resurrected.

The first begotten. Resurrected from the dead. Never. To die. Anymore. But not only that. When it says. First begotten. It's not. At all. Has to do. With the order. In which it happened. No. Because he was not. The first one. Who rose from the dead. But when it's come. To rank. When it's come. To position. He's first. He's before anyone. And everyone. And so when he rose. God placed him. As the first. Above everything. And everyone else. He's the first. Begotten. He's the first one. In rank. He's the first one. In position. He's the first one. In everything. In everything. In the order. In which God presents things.

Yeshua. The Messiah. Is number. One. He is first. If the Queen of England. Will come to visit. Canada today. They're going to roll for her. The red carpet. And she become. The first. Person. She become. Number one. The first one. From all those. In the Commonwealth. She is the first one. She is the Queen. What? She was not born first. There are people. There are people. Who are older than her. There are people. Who were in England. Long before. She was born. But she. Take the first. Place. Well. That's what happened. When it's come. To our blessed Lord. Yeshua. The Messiah. He is the first one.

The first one. In rank. The first one. In order. The first one. In position. I should say. He is the one. That God. Had placed him. As number one. And that's why. So precious. To be occupied with him. So he is not only. The faithful witness. He is not only. The one who. The first begotten. Of the dead. The one. Who have been placed. As number one. In rank. And the one. In position. But you notice. It's also said. That he is the prince. Of the kings. Of the earth. That speaks about. His rulership. Do you know. That Jesus. The Messiah. Though rejected today. Though despised today.

He is the one. Who is the ruler. Of all things. Do you know. Beloved. Brothers and sisters. That God said. To him. Sit down. On my right hand. He placed him. In the pinnacle. Of the universe. And he said to him. I will make. Everyone. Bow their knees. Before you. That's what God did. He is the ruler. Over this world. He is the one. One that is going. To be in full control. Over everything. People despise him. People reject him. And yet. He is. As it says here. He is the prince. Of all kings. Of this world. Of this earth. He is the prince of kings.

He is the king. Of kings. When he was born. The wise men came. To Bethlehem. And they said. Or to Jerusalem. And they said. Where is he. That was born. The king. Of the Jews. When he died. They put upon. The sign. Upon his cross. Was. This is Yeshua. Jesus. The king. Of the Jews. He is the ruler. He is the one. That the bible. Teaches us. That he is going. To judge. Everything. In accordance. With. His. Will. Look. What just come. To my mind. As I am thinking. About these verses. In the book of Psalm. We read. Ask of me. Psalm 2. Verse 8. Ask of me.

And I shall give thee. The heathen. For thine inheritance. And the uttermost parts. Of the earth. For thy possession. This is verse 8. Thou shalt break them. With a rod of iron. Thou shalt dash them. In pieces. Like. A potter's. Vessels. I will declare a decree. God said. The Lord has said. Or Jesus said. The Lord said unto me. Thou art my son. This day. Have I. Begotten. Thee. God have given him. The place. In this universe. As the one. That is. The prince. Of the kings. Of this earth. Is the one. Is the one. That writing. To the seven local assemblies. To understand. Who is the one.

That we are involved with. The father. The son. And the spirit of God. But the son. Became a man. His name is Jesus. His name is Yeshua. And he is. The faithful witness. The first begotten of the dead. In rank. And position. Of the kings. Of the universe. But now. Quickly. In verse 5b. Look at this. It says. About him. In verse 5b. It says. Unto him. That loved us. Now. Brothers and sisters. Listen to this. You know. There is somebody. That love you. And I. Like no one. Ever loved you. Before. When he writes. To the churches. About the Lord. About the father. The spirit.

And the son. He pauses here. And he is offering. Kind of. A words of worship. And adoration. Unto him. That loved us. You know. He is saying. To those churches. You see. The one. That write to you. The one. That the revelation. Is all about. Is the one. That loved you. That loved us. John. Including himself. How did he love us? How did he love us? How did he love us? You know what? He didn't only. Say it in words. I love you. Like we sometimes say. But you see. Love. Must be a sacrificial love. It's not enough. To say. I love you. It's important.

To say it. But it's not a love. We read here. We read here. Unto him. That loved us. And washed us. From. Our sins. In his own blood. You see. What John is saying. You see. Local assemblies. This particular. Letter. That I'm writing. Have been dictated. It is for you. From the father. From the spirit. And from. Jesus. The Messiah. Who loved us. And how did he love us? He washed our sins away. How did he wash. Our sins away. It cost him. His precious blood. He end up. Came to this world. And he went to the cross. And God judged him. On that cross.

On that tree. For my sins. And for yours. And he washed them away. And he gave us. Raymond. The garment. White. The snow. And God. Look at us. Look at John. Look at you. Look at me. Look at those. Seven churches. Of true. Bible believers. And you know. He made a white. The snow. Cleanse us. And washed our sins away. Give us a standing. Before God. How precious. John is kind of. Pausing here. Unto him. That loved us. And some say. It's not only loved. Past tense. But his ongoing. Loved us. He didn't only. Loved us. Before. When he died. Two thousand years ago. For our sins.

To be washed away. But he loves us. Right now. He loves us. Right this moment. As we read. These first few verses. Of Revelation. Chapter one. To him. To him. That loved us. And washed. Our sins. Away. With his. Precious blood. You see. The blood of Jesus. The blood of Yeshua. The blood of the Lamb of God. Had to be shed. On the cross. On the tree. To me. And when he shed. This blood of his. And we read it. In the scripture. He says. Father. Unto thee. I commit. My spirit. You remember. We read. In Matthew 27. My God. My God. Why. Have thou. Forsaken me.

He was. Forsaken. That you and I. Will never need. To be forsaken. That's what we read here. He washed. Our sins. Away. Completely. Removed them. As far as the east. Is from the west. When we belong. To him. When we trusted him. And that's what happened. When he died. For us. John. And giving us. This climax. Or this. I should say. This expression. Of praise. Unto him. Unto him. That loved us. And washed us. From our sins. With his own. Or in his own blood. And not only that. In verse 6. Notice. Jesus made us. Kings and priests. Unto God. Verse 6 said. And he has made us.

Kings. And priests. Unto God. His father. To him. Glory. And dominion. Forever. And ever. Amen. You notice. Beloved. He made you. And I. Kings. And priests. Now we learn. Something new. Here. That. Now. In this. Present. Day. Every one of us. Is a king. And a priest. Now. You and I. Don't have crowns. On our hands. We might not. Look like. Kings. According to the Bible. We are kings. And we are priests. Unto God. We are servants of God. We are to represent. The Lord. And to represent people. Before the Father. Before God. We are kings. And we are priests. Because of what the Lord Jesus.

Have done for those. Of us. Who accepted him. And accepted him. As our Lord and Savior. And now. Quickly. In verse 7. Yeshua. Is coming. Back. Very quickly. It says here. And by the way. This is the theme. Of the book. Is the coming. Of the Lord. The book of the Revelation. Is the theme. Of the coming. Of the Lord. It says. Behold. He cometh. With clouds. And every eye. Shall see him. And they also. Which pierced him. And all the kinders. Of the earth. Shall wail. Because of him. I am alpha. And omega. The beginning. And the ending. Says the Lord. Which is. And which was.

And which is to come. The almighty. Now. There's a few things. That need to be said. About those verses. These verses. 7 and 8. And I'm not going to say it now. Because I've gone over time. But beloved. Listen. How precious it is. For us to understand. That the Lord Jesus. The Messiah. The one that wrote the book. The father. The spirit. The Messiah himself. And it is because. He wants us to understand. What God has in mind. For us. For believers. But he washed. Our sins. Away. With his own blood. That had been shed. When he died. For us. On the cross. And so. By way of.

Introduction. This is. As it were. Just a fresh. Start. On that particular. Book. The book of the revelation. And I trust. That as the Lord. Give us. The grace. We'll be able. To kind of move on. And get. At least some. Of the first chapters. Of this. Particular book. So. May the Lord. Bless those thoughts. To all of us. And I hope. And trust. That you will be encouraged. To continue. To read that book. On your own. Amen to them.