======================================================================== RON BAILEY - PART 3 by Ron Bailey ======================================================================== Summary: This sermon delves into the book of Revelation, focusing on John's vision of the throne in heaven amidst his challenging circumstances. It emphasizes the central theme that 'God is still on the throne,' highlighting the power and knowledge of the one who reigns. The significance of the seven horns and seven eyes symbolizing complete power and wisdom is explored, pointing to the assurance that God is in control despite earthly chaos. The imagery of the throne as the point of reference throughout the book of Revelation underscores the eternal reign of God. Duration: 13:37 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DESCRIPTION ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This sermon delves into the book of Revelation, focusing on John's vision of the throne in heaven amidst his challenging circumstances. It emphasizes the central theme that 'God is still on the throne,' highlighting the power and knowledge of the one who reigns. The significance of the seven horns and seven eyes symbolizing complete power and wisdom is explored, pointing to the assurance that God is in control despite earthly chaos. The imagery of the throne as the point of reference throughout the book of Revelation underscores the eternal reign of God. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CONTENT ------------------------------------------------------------------------ And if you turn to chapter four, you'll see that there's another instance here, when John says that he's in the spirit of chapter four this time. I'm not going to go into detail. After these things I looked and behold, the doors standing open in heaven, and the voice, the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, come up again, and I will show you things which must take place afterwards. Immediately I was in the spirit, and behold, a throne set in heaven. I don't know whether you have ever read these things, but this is really sort of quite unusual. If you heard a voice behind you turn round, what was the first thing that you saw being the first word spoken to you? But that is what happened. John, when he turned round, the first thing that he saw was seven lamps. Here in chapter four, when he sees heaven open, surely the first thing you'll see is God in all his glory. No, the first thing you see is a throne. Because these are set in the book of Revelation. These are ways in which God is preparing his heart to see certain things. I said I wouldn't go into detail in the book of Revelation, but there's a very easy, simple summary of the book of Revelation, which you've probably learned at Sunday school if you're holding up. The whole book of Revelation can be summed up in this little phrase, God is still on the throne. That's what it's all about. God is still on the throne. John, the man that God trusted this to, had lost everything. He had lost the city that he was familiar with. Jerusalem had been destroyed by the Roman Emperor. He'd lost the temple that he seemed to have had some kind of link to. John was nowhere closer than John was to the family of the high priest, some people have survived. Possibly he was from another biblical family, we really don't know, but there's some kind of connection. He'd lost so much. He'd lost all the familiar places of his youth. He'd lost his nation effectively, the priesthood was gone, the temple was gone, all the other possibles were gone, his plan was the last to swallow the sun. He's in probably his nineties when he writes this. Now I've looked from his position as though even the amazing victories of the church are beginning to go. John and Peter and Paul all predict a time when, and you see it in the last letters of Paul, you see it in the letters of John, and it is beginning. And if you see the things that Jesus sent to the churches of the Revelation, you'll see how seriously things have already begun to take place. It's deep for John to know everything that he had known, all the safe places, all the reference points, all the scenes in which he'd seen the revelation of the character of Jesus Christ, all the places that were familiar to him, which would have reminded him of God's power and God's goodness, they're all gone, all gone. And in fact, as you know now, the Romans apparently put him under some kind of house of sin, as though the whole world had just in a massive slide, where his life had been but nothing, and all the things he'd spent his life doing seemed to have come from nothing, and here he is on the island of Patmos, under someone's sin, under all this sin. And it doesn't matter what circumstances are taking place on earth, always in the heavens there's a throne under one's sin. He needs this. We need this. We need this. We need that revelation, we need that insight to our God- conscious spirits, that God sits upon the throne. That whatever our heart longs for, or longs for, and however we may view the affairs of the nations around us, and see the massive slide that things have got into, we need this revelation, brothers and sisters, in the heavens there is a throne, and someone sits on it. And whatever happens down here, that does not change. It's amazing that John sees this revelation, to begin with, he sees the one who sits upon the throne, and there isn't a particular description given off, you know, but when you look at a chapter five, you get this amazing thing, you see that the person who sits upon the throne has in his hand a scroll, that is written on both sides, absolutely packed full with information, but it's all locked up, because it's sealed with seven seals, and there's no one's word opening it, and he moves, and he moves as much, he's broken-hearted, and he almost seems as though all the plans of the person have gone to every different side. It's all locked up in this scroll. And as he reads, one of the elders says, come and see, come and see the lion, the kind of human. And I don't know what he was expecting, but he comes and he looks and he sees, in the midst of the throne, a man standing, as though he was being slain. And I looked and behold, in the midst of the throne, and with four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders stood a man, as though he had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out in all the earth. Then he came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Jehovah. But what is this signifying? Well, Jehovah needed to see that there was a throne, that things would have a control, that things had a certain regard for God, that things were not descending into some kind of endless chaos. He needed to see that there was someone on the throne, and he needed to see that the one who sat on the throne was his own dear land. That's to say, that isn't a kind of a mushy, sentimental statement. It just signifies that this land is familiar to Jehovah. He knows, in a sense. This is a land which has passed through death and is now standing in the throne. And in the vision, he sees that the land has seven horns and seven eyes. And there's a big significance in all this, because you probably know that in Hebrew symbolism, horns are a picture of power. Seven is the number of completeness. So he sees someone on the throne who has complete power. He has seven horns in there. He has all power. But not only does he have seven horns, he has seven eyes. And seven eyes are symbolic of knowledge and wisdom and understanding. The one who sits upon the throne not only has all power, he knows all things. There's nothing that preempts passing. And if you think about it, this is really a wonderful composite picture. Simply because of this. I hope you can follow this, and my English accent isn't confusing you folks from America and Scotland. If you could see this, if the land upon the throne had only six horns and seven eyes, you might say, well yes, he knows all things, but he doesn't have all power. He may know everything, but there's some things he can't do. He may know I need, but he can't possibly, this is in the area where he doesn't have the power to do anything about that. So he won't do to have six horns and seven eyes. And if you turn it around, it doesn't work the other way either. If we say he has seven horns, that would say he has all power, but he only has six eyes, then it may be that although he has all power, there are things he doesn't know about. So he must have had seven horns and seven eyes. In other words, he has all power and all knowledge. There's a wonderful old lesson in him that has a line in it which says, and all may act for him. In other words, the one who reigns is the one who has our names. He's the one who has passed the death throes. He's the one who has all power, who has all knowledge, and he reigns. And John Euclid, the sinner, and the rest of the book of the Revelation, and I'm told, with that constant thing, everything is relative to the throne. We go through the book of the Revelation. Things are around the throne, or they're over the throne, or they're under the throne, or they're in the throne. The throne is the point of reference because God is on the throne. But that's actually the first revelation of John C. The first revelation of John C., you'll find in chapter 1, back to verse 12. And then I turn and say, in the spirit of the dead Lord, that I turned to see the voice that spake of me, and having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands. And in the midst of the seven lampstands, one like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment, down to the feet. That tells you that I'm a king. Only kings and priests have garments like that in the Kingdom of Israel. A garment, clothed, down to the feet, and good about the chest, with a golden banner. His head and his hair were white like wool and white as snow, and his eyes like a flame of fire. His feet were like fine brass, as if behind a furnace, and his voice as the sound of many orbs. And in his right hand were seven stars. And it was a man who had a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in the sky. And when I saw him, I felt this beautiful. But he laid his right hand on me, saying to me, do not be afraid. I am the first and the last. I am he who lives and is dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I am the key that leads to the dead. Write the things which you have seen. Perhaps we haven't seen them. But you write the things which you have seen, because what you have just seen is going to be of very great significance for my colleagues. Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after that. The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden banners. The seven stars are the messengers of the seven churches. And the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches. With all this thought. And when I've come, for the last thirty years or so, I've been a part of the house church movement. So, I do not think in terms of pulpits, pews and pastors. And the thing that I say, your particular hierarchy of the donation you're part of. I want to talk very briefly about these messengers. Some people call them angels, they're kind of like ruling spirits in particular areas. I just prefer to think of them in terms of messengers. They're the messengers of the churches, and God is going to give to these messengers, messages that they are responsible for getting to the churches. And this is really very significant. This is kind of part of my theology in this sense of revival, and I don't want to bore you. Sometimes you'll hear, often you'll hear people talk, and they'll use the terminology of the church. And they'll say, the trouble with the church in America is this. Or the church of the 21st century is like this. Or the church in Vietnam is like this. ======================================================================== Video: https://sermonindex2.b-cdn.net/XAmfLEq0Mps.mp4 Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/ron-bailey/ron-bailey-part-3/ ========================================================================