The Rider and the final end

[0:00] It's the totality of all the people that will be saved in the New and Old Testament. So, 12 being the apostles, and then the 12 tribes of Judah representing the Old Testament people! to be saved, and then the 12 apostles, so 12 plus 12, and then the thousand to say that it's a lot.

[0:19] That's the way I think that's what he's saying. Yeah, I agree with that. Symbols are theological, including theological time. That becomes more crucial next Sunday evening, but theological time, for example, he uses three and a half years as a theological symbol, and he expresses it in months, 42 months, or in days. I think it's 1260 days, and my thesis is that he uses different ways of saying the same thing depending on the perspective. So, one of them is from the perspective of believing people keeping going, and one of them is from the perspective of Satan's activity, and he uses the numbers with that theological coloration to them. I won't stop on that.

[1:10] He is quite prepared to use apparent contradictions, and in one particular way, he has things that you see and things that you hear, and they contradict one another. In a sense, they contradict one another.

[1:25] Anybody like to suggest an example of that? There's a very prime example of that. Where's the microphone? Did Corinne want to have a go at that?

[1:38] Is it that he can see a lion, and then here's the lion and the lamb thing?

[1:53] Yeah, the lion and the lamb. I can't remember which way round it is, but he hears that the lion of Judah has prevailed, and he turns and sees a lamb looking as if it had been slain. So, it's the same person, but the hearing apparently contradicts the seeing, and you get at least one other example of that. He uses a sort of collage method where he will go over the same thing from different perspectives, rather like a collage where you have something here, something here, something here, something here, and it's all, you just sort of take it in all at once.

[2:33] So that, just to sort of set us, remind us of the type of approach. So far, we've seen the seven churches, the lamb upon the throne, the seven seals of world history, the seven trumpets for repentance, the war between the dragon and the woman and her seed, and the agents that are used in this war, the beast, the false prophet, the image of the beast, and we saw the other, I mean, it's quite a while ago now, wasn't it? We were looking in chapters 18, where were we? 17, 18, 19, which focus on Babylon, and the fall of Babylon. And I think we also saw the final judgment. There was examples of the final judgment. What have I missed out? I think I missed out of seven plagues. Anyway, that's, there's Babylon falling. She's a city and a prostitute. So there's the fall. Right, so that sort of will be up to speed generally where we've got to.

[3:46] So we're now looking at chapters 19, 20, 21, 22. We'll look at those in the next six weeks, all being well, God helping us. And let's do a very super quick look at what is contained here. I will do a little picture.

[4:03] So I think what we have here is, ooh, interesting colour, up to the final end. There's something about a lake of fire.

[4:19] And then I think that's done again with a lake of fire. And then the focus changes. These are all negative. These are things you want to avoid.

[4:32] And the focus changes to the bride. I don't know if I can draw a bride. There she is. The bride, which is also the city of Zion. And the last chapters, as I think you probably know, paint a glorious picture of this.

[4:55] So this is what you'd regret. And this is what you'd be glad about. And that's really where it's going. That makes sense? That's in these next chapters.

[5:06] So. I think what we've seen and what we read was 19, 1 to 10, there's a transition from the discussion of Babylon, 19 first few verses, into the, there's something about the wedding of the lamb, the wedding supper of the lamb, and then there's something about worship in verses, verse 10, where John worships wrongly. Moving it on. Then in verses 11 to 21, we have the rider on the white horse horse and his defeat of the beast. So I've got a nice drawing of a white horse there. Does that show up?

[6:04] Yeah. Yeah. And his interaction with the dragon and the beast. And there's a mention of a wine press, defeat in battle, a lake of fire, and killing by the sword.

[6:16] And there's this gruesome feast for birds. So that, and that, we'll come and look at that in detail in a moment. In the next chapter, I think it's the same thing again. This time, it's got something about the dragon being bound and martyrs living and reigning. So there's some martyrs. Again, it talks about defeat in battle. Again, it talks about the lake of fire. And then when we get to chapter 21, we have a new heaven and a new earth and the bride and the city. So I did that really quickly because I want us to do it more slowly now. Oh, I did do a nice picture of a bride there. It's much better than the other one.

[6:57] Much better. Right. So looking now at verses 1 to 10 of chapter 19, this is, it says in 19, 19, after this I heard, there is a movement from the things he hears, 19, 1, I heard, 19, 6, then I heard, to things that he sees in 19, 11, then I saw, and 19, 17, then I saw, and 20, verse 1, and I saw, 20, verse 4, and 20, verse 4, I saw. So he's moving from things that he hears to things that he sees.

[7:42] Now, going back into chapter 19, there's a great multitude, chapter 19, verse 1, then I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting, hallelujah, salvation and glory and power belong to our God. So it's a huge declaration of, well, I think you'd say it's worship or praise.

[8:11] And so I'm going to ask you, I'll give you a moment to think about this. Who is praised and who is not praised? Who does the praising? How is the person praised? What methods are used to do the praising?

[8:27] and what reasoning? What is this person praised for? So, have a think about it. You can discuss it with your next door neighbour if you want to. I'll give you some references. So, two or three minutes.

[8:46] Have a look at those verses and see what you think. Four times a day.

[9:07] Four times a day. Four times a day. Four times a day. Thank you.

[9:39] Thank you.

[10:09] What methods are used in this praise? Their voices. They shout. It's very insistent, isn't it? And emphatic. They shout.

[10:20] And it uses the verse 3. Again, they shouted. So there's something very heartfelt and strong about this praise. Any other method of praise used?

[10:33] What about verse 4? They fall down and worship.

[10:44] So there's something sort of physical about the respect they give to the Lord. And yes. Can I just ask, in verse 5, it says a voice came from the throne.

[10:59] Yeah. Yes. Yeah. There's other places where a voice comes from the throne. I don't know. It might be from the four living creatures that surround the throne.

[11:14] I think the voices generally give correct advice. Yes. I don't think it's from the person seated on the throne. I think it's from the vicinity of the throne.

[11:26] Yeah. Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, both great and small. Yeah. Is it possible? Microphone. Is it possible that it's perhaps one of the four living creatures, but from the vicinity of the throne, sort of, if you like, encouraging the multitude?

[11:51] Yes. As if they're saying, come on, praise our God, all you his servants. Yes. You who fear him, both great and small. Yeah. I think that makes a lot of sense. That's a good thing, isn't it?

[12:04] Because our worship is not only vertical, but horizontal. So we say, how does the vanity go? Come, let us sing unto the Lord.

[12:19] Let us heartily rejoice in the God of our salvation. And that's addressed to one another, isn't it? Come, let us sing to the Lord. Let us heartily rejoice in the God of our salvation. That's the vanity, isn't it?

[12:32] I'm looking at you because you used to be in an Anglican church, so... You used to be in the rough jazz. I've heard of the ladies. Ah, right, yes. It was actually Latin, but so...

[12:43] Yes, okay. Right, right, right, right, right. Yeah. Okay. And what he's praised for? So we actually got onto this before.

[12:55] So, Valerie, now is your time because you said this earlier on. For judging. Yes. And specifically condemning the great prostitute.

[13:09] Yes. Thus avenging the blood of his servants. So the martyred saints probably. Yeah. Yeah. This is quite sobering, isn't it?

[13:20] That God is praised for judging. I guess we're quite cautious about that.

[13:31] I hope we're not embarrassed about it. But it is to God's glory that he deals with evil as evil deserves.

[13:43] That's to his glory. He would be less glorious if he didn't do that. So true and just judgments are an occasion for praising God.

[13:56] Salvation belongs to God. But true and just are his judgments. And again, in verse 3, Hallelujah, the smoke from her goes up forever and ever.

[14:07] So we praise God because of the justice and immensity of his condemnation of evil.

[14:18] It's a bit of a sobering thought, isn't it? But that's what's going on in these verses. I will now move on. I think I have done everything I wanted to do there.

[14:29] Now, let's look at the next bit, which is verses 11 to 21. The rider on the white horse and his dealings with the dragon and the beast.

[14:44] So questions for you to have a look at. What are the descriptions and attributes of the rider and why are these chosen? Who do you think the rider is? Who does he have with him?

[14:58] Because he's not on his own. And I've got some references, but I will put them there and perhaps we'll come to them later. So have a little think.

[15:11] What are the descriptions and attributes of this rider and why do you think those are chosen? Well, let's go. Thank you.

[15:46] Thank you.

[16:16] Thank you.

[16:46] Thank you.

[17:16] I think we said that he was true and faithful. Okay, he's called faithful and true. One of the things he asks his followers is to be faithful unto death.

[17:37] And he's faithful and true. Thank you. Anything? Next thing? Oh, he has many crowns? Yes, he has many crowns. I didn't even dare try drawing a rider on the white horse.

[17:52] Many crowns. Why would that be said, do you think? The king of kings? Yeah, king of kings. I mean, the crowns depict that, don't they?

[18:02] He's the king of kings. In the early part, it says he is king of the rulers of the earth, which is a fascinating description, doesn't it? Because the rulers of the earth think they're the boss.

[18:14] But the Bible says that he is the ruler of the kings of the earth. He's the king of kings. Yeah. Anything else? Anything else? He seems to have a number of names.

[18:33] Yeah. He's called faithful and true. Yeah. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. Then in verse 13, his name is the word of God.

[18:48] Thank you. And then in verse 16, he has the name king of kings and lord of lords written on his thigh. Does it say name in each case?

[19:02] He has a name? Yes. It says name four times. It uses the word. No, I never noticed that. Yeah. Well, it's called. It's called faithful.

[19:12] Yeah, I'm going to look that up when we get home, see whether it actually uses name all those times. Yes. Okay. Okay. That's super. King of kings is to do with his superior rule and power, isn't it?

[19:29] The name that no one knows but himself. Can anybody think of, I think there's something in Matthew's gospel that says something like that, isn't there? Isn't there the bit that says no one knows the father except the son?

[19:44] No one knows the son except the father. No one knows the father except the son and those to whom the son chooses to reveal him.

[19:59] There's something so great about father and son. That they are unknowable to us. No one knows. Did I get it the right way around?

[20:10] No one knows the son except the son. No one knows the son except the father. He is so great that only the father truly comprehends his greatness because it needs a great mind, great wisdom to understand all the wonders of the son.

[20:26] and in the end, only the father is great enough to know who the son is. I think that would be a sort of echo of this, wouldn't it?

[20:39] That no one knows but himself. Does that make sense? Are you convinced by that or not? Word of God. Any other place where it's said this?

[20:51] Yes? In the beginning was the word. Yeah, thank you very much. That's like the beginning of John's Gospel. Yeah, totally good. Okay, thank you very much.

[21:02] So these are words that are ascribed to the rider. There's some other things that are ascribed to the rider as well. Steve?

[21:15] His robe is dipped in blood. Yes. Whereas the followers have clean white robes. Well, that's interesting, isn't it? Yeah, there are followers. So he's not on his own. It's the armies of heaven, it says, doesn't it?

[21:27] So I think this is the 144,000. This is the redeemed people. His robe is dipped in blood. Why do you think it says that?

[21:37] It says it's Jesus. It says at the end of verse 11, with justice he judges and wages war.

[21:48] So do you think the blood is to do with the war then? Well, it's possible. Yeah, okay. I was thinking.

[22:00] Yeah. My mind went towards the cross. Yeah. The blood of his cross. I think there's probably a reference to redemption there. Now, what was the other thing you said?

[22:13] You said? His followers have clean white linen. Thank you. Yeah. I was looking up white. There's several things that are white in this passage and the adjoining passage.

[22:25] And they all seem to have something in common. Is there anything else that's white? The horse is white. What about verse 14?

[22:41] There's more white horses, isn't there? White horses dressed in fine linen, white and clean. And in 2011, there is a great white throne.

[22:53] So I wonder whether the white is a way of referring to holiness or something like that. Purity, yes? Incidentally, in verse 8, where it says, fine linen, bright and clean.

[23:07] It doesn't say white, does it? It says, bright and clean, we're given her to wear. Fine linen. So what does your translation say? Fine linen? Sorry, I have to say a bit louder.

[23:19] Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God's holy people. Yes, fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God's people. I did look this up. It says, fine linen is the righteousnesses of God's holy people.

[23:34] So it doesn't say stands for, it says is. I mean, maybe it means stands for. It's not the righteousness of God's people. It's God's people. Yeah. I'm just going to leave that as something to think about.

[23:50] I don't have to answer all the questions. We don't have to get to the bottom of everything. But there's something about whiteness. And as Steve says, this white, does it say white robe?

[24:01] But there is blood there as well. A robe does it. Okay.

[24:13] Anything else about this rider? His eyes are like blazing fire. Thank you. Yes. His eyes are like blazing fire. Have we seen that anywhere else before?

[24:28] Yes. Where have we seen that before? At the beginning. At the beginning. Yes. I think in Revelation 1.14. Yes.

[24:49] He is. Yeah, it is. The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow.

[25:00] And his eyes were blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace. And his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. Which is a partial, at least, quote from Daniel chapter 10, verse 6.

[25:14] This is the vision that Daniel has. And the vision that he has in journal 10, verse 6.

[25:26] His body was like topaz. His face like lightning. His eyes like flaming torches. His arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bonds. His voice like the sound of a multitude. So, the eyes like fire is not something that John's made up.

[25:41] It's something he's picked up from, in this case, from Daniel. And, as I put, he judges justly.

[25:52] Does it say that about the rider? Thank you. Verse 11. With justice he judges and he makes war. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which he will rule the nations.

[26:11] I looked that up. It actually says he will shepherd the nations with an iron scepter. Where does that come from? Because I've got it wrong. I've got it wrong. Where does it come from? It comes from Psalm 2.

[26:23] And I put Psalm 1. Yeah. And what else have I got? He's King of Kings. That's actually a reference picked up in 1 Timothy 6.15. And who do you think this person is?

[26:35] Jesus. I think so. Did anybody say something different? The Lord Jesus. Yes. In his glory, isn't it? He's depicted as faithful and true, waging war, judging justly.

[26:54] You know, he's a figure in action. And my question, how would you or I relate to this person? What would be a good way to relate to somebody like this?

[27:10] Without God and worship. Yeah, I think worship definitely would be. And I think perhaps also to follow, because the armies were following him.

[27:22] You know, I want to be on the Lord's side. There's a song like that, isn't there? Who will? Who is on the Lord's side? Who will serve the king? Perhaps we could sing that in a minute.

[27:36] I'd want to be on his side. I don't want him fighting against me. I don't want to be like the kings of the earth and the rulers, what's it say, conspired against the Lord and his anointed.

[27:47] I don't want to be on that side. I want to be on his side. Okay. Well, as you can see, I've got far too much material because we haven't got to the next bit.

[28:02] Let's just do one bit of this and that will set us up for next week. If you follow on now in verse 17 to 21, there are multiple incompatible images for the final end.

[28:21] I say incompatible because they don't fit together. It's like a collage of different things that they're all true, but you'd have trouble fitting them together. Do you want a couple of minutes just to ask your friend, ask a friend?

[28:34]