Sermon Tone Analysis

Intro:

David Jeremiah Video 1- Intro to study

Tonight we will begin a series that will get us through much of the summer.

This series it titled, [Questions about the Future].

The question we will ask, [Do You Want To Know a Secret?].

Everyone I know loves a good secret.

From an early age, when people tell another person a secret, it makes them feel special and privilaged.

If we have been one to tell secrets and one who have been told a secret, early on we will learn something fundamental,

You should only tell secrets to people you can TRUST!

We share our secrets with our spouse or close personal friends.

Though Jesus did not have a spouse, He did have friends on earth.

John 15:145

While on earth, Jesus had twelve disciples, of the twelve, three were His close friends.

These three were, Peter, James, and John.

Of the three that were His close friends, I want to focus on John this evening.

As John neared the end of his life, he was sentenced to a life of hard labor on the Island of Patmos.

David Jeremiah Video 2- About John

By the time John had this encounter with Jesus, he was nearly ninety years old.

He was the final of the original twelve disciples left alive.

John was banished to the Island of Patmos.

The reason?

He refused to deny Jesus as his Savior.

The Roman Emperor wanted John to call him his lord and his god.

John refused.

The Emperor commanded he be boiled in hot oil, but God supernaturally protected him.

After that history states he was sentenced to eighteen months of hard labor.

The Island of Patmos was about forty miles from John’s home in Ephesus.

It is seven miles long and goes from five miles to a hundred yards wide in certain places.

Unlike what I have always had in my mind, the Island of Patmos was not an uninhabited place.

Instead, it had a city center and even a temple to a false god.

Remember, at this point, John was nearly 90 years old.

If anyone had an excuse to try and relax during his eighteen month sentence, it was John.

Instead, he did something a true friend of Jesus would do.

Revelation 1:9-

He took time to pray in the Spirit, and suddenly he heard a familiar voice.

He looked and saw his friend Jesus.

It had been sixty years since they last met.

But this time, Jesus did not look like He did when He walked the streets of Galilee, rode in a donkey into Jerusalem, or stood on the Mount of Olives preparing to ascend to heaven.

Instead, He looked like, Jesus Christ, the Son of God in all His glory and splendor.

John doesn’t say Jesus asked it this way, but this is how I see it in my mind.

John falls out in front of Jesus, and He lifted John and began to speak to Him.

It is as though Jesu asked, John, do you want to know a secret?

I have so much to accomplish through my church.

I have defeated Satan on the cross, but I am not quite finished with him.

John, you are my friend, I will let you in on the secret.

I will give you a glimpse into the future.

Tonight, as we ask [Questions about the Future], I want to answer three questions, [What is Bible Prophecy?],

[Where are we in Bible Prophecy?], and [What will happen before Jesus returns?].

Let’s begin

1.

What is Bible Prophecy?

Revelation 1:

Pastor Tucker used to tell our church, Prophecy is foretelling and forthtelling.

Those two words always kinda confused me.

Another way of saying this is, Prophecy is declaring what God has done and what God will do.

Let me give an example, when I preach on the life of Christ, I will declare with authority, here is what Jesus did.

We preach prophetic messages, inspired by the Holy Spirit, to explain all that Jesus did while He was here on earth.

The second aspect of prophecy is foretelling, or declaring what God will do.

There are a few guidelines to declaring what God will do.

First, it will always align with scripture.

Second, it will confirm what the Holy Spirit has spoke.

Third, it will edify, exhort, and comfort.

Let’s look at these rules in light of Revelation.

Because Revelation is the inspired word of God, we know everything John had to say was and is true.

We may not understand every aspect and every minute detail, but we trust its truth because it is the revelation of Christ to John.

Second, some of what we read in the book of the Revelation has come to pass.

The Holy Spirit inspired John to write this book, now we see it unfolding before our eyes.

Third, Revelation will edify, exhort, and comfort.

Here is where it can be somewhat confusing.

How are we edified, exhorted, and comforted when we find out when very soon:

Food will be scarce

1/4 of the earth will be killed

The sun will turn black and the moon will turn into blood

1/3 of the vegetation will die

1/3 of the seas will turn to blood

1/3 of the waters will become bitter

1/3 of the sun, stars, and moon will not shine

Locusts from the bottomless pit will come

And this is just a little bit of what will happen on earth during the last days.

How in the world can we be comforted reading that.

This is one of the problems in studying end-time events.

I remember the first time I became aware of the “LAST DAYS.”

It started when the Left Behind books became popular.

The authors wrote a kids series of Left Behind and my brother loved to read them.

As a six or seven year old, I couldn’t comprehend how it would work.

I always thought there was one way to heaven, and you had to die to get there.

Then I found out, Jesus will come and get us ONLY If we are ready.

I did everything in my power to be ready, but I was always afraid of missing the rapture.

I dreaded it when Pastor Tucker or evangelists would preach on the end times.

We had one evangelist come named Brother Henagar.

My friends and I always sat on the front row and Brother Henagar would preach on Jesus’ coming.

He would look at us ornery boys and declare, “Should Jesus tarry, and I don’t believe He will...” Needless to say, I always answered his altar calls.

I now have a different perspective on His coming.

Instead of fear, I am excited.

Instead of dread, I have great delight.

Why should we study bible prophecy?

One author explains, “Knowing what the bible teaches about the future communicates the full character of God, balancing our theology, gives us hope for today and alleviates unnecessary fears about the future, compels us to live Godly lives in view of future rewards, and moves us to worship God, who will ultimately triumph over evil.”

(Swindoll, p. 11, Revelation).

In summary, “the purpose of revelation is to change us, not simply to inform us.”

2.

Where are we in Bible Prophecy?

When Jesus spoke to John, He gave Him a three part outline of the book.