Living On The Edge Of Eternity | Part 1

Guest (Male): Listen closely as Adrian Rogers explains why we live with hope on the edge of eternity.
Adrian Rogers: Now some people have the idea that there's certain prophecies that have to be fulfilled before Jesus can come. That is not so. His coming is always imminent. From the time that Jesus came the first time till he comes again, we are on the edge of eternity. We are living on the edge. The time is at hand anytime Jesus may come.
Guest (Male): Welcome to Love Worth Finding featuring the dynamic lessons and teachings of pastor and author Adrian Rogers. The book of Revelation was divinely written to inspire us and inform us of the events surrounding the second coming of Jesus Christ. In Revelation 1, we're given a formal introduction to the contents of the whole book. This passage reveals the person and the purpose of the book as well as the promises and prophecies we cling to in these last days. If you have your Bible, turn there now as Adrian Rogers begins part one of Living on the Edge of Eternity.
Adrian Rogers: Find the last book in the Bible, the book of the Revelation. Turn to the end of that book and open it up to chapter one. And the reason I'm asking you to do that is I want you to be blessed. This book is the blessing book. Do you want a blessing? Here is a formula for a blessing. Begin in chapter one, verse one. The Revelation of 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, who bear record of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ and of all things that he saw. Now look in verse three. 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. Now look at the first part of verse three again. Blessed, blessed, blessed is he that readeth and they that hear the words of this prophecy. Do you want a blessing? God says here is a book that has a blessing. The book of the Revelation is often ignored, sometimes debated, sometimes discounted, but God says this is the blessing book. If you want a blessing, God says here it is. Read it and heed it and you're going to have a blessing. And I want you to see first of all what I'm going to call the central person of the book. Look if you will in verse one. The Revelation of Jesus Christ. Now you want to know what this book is about. It is about Jesus Christ. Friend, put it down big and plain and straight. Jesus is the hero of the Bible.
Guest (Male): Amen.
Adrian Rogers: Jesus is the hero of the Bible. If you read the Bible and you don't find Jesus, go back and re-read it. It is a hymn book. It is about him. This is the Revelation of Jesus Christ. So many people want to study prophecy and they're more concerned about things that are going to happen than the one who is going to come. Now the word Revelation actually is the word we get our word apocalypse from. It's the Greek word apokalypsis. That's a blessing, wasn't it? It's the Greek word apokalypsis. It's the word we get our word apocalypse from and it literally means an unveiling. I guess the best way I could describe this to you is think of a statue in the park. The sculptor has done it. The mayor and all of the city council and everybody is there and they're going to unveil uh the statue. It's covered with canvas. The artist pulls the string and the canvas falls away and there's the statue. What has been veiled is now unveiled. The book of the Revelation is the unveiling of Jesus Christ. We're going to see Jesus Christ in a different way than we've seen Jesus Christ before. When he came the first time born into this world through the portals of a virgin's womb laid in a feeding trough in a stable with flies buzzing cow manure on the floor the son of a carpenter according to the flesh actually was the son of God, but his earthly stepfather was a carpenter. His mother a Jewish peasant. All of that glory was veiled. But in the book of the Revelation the veil is drawn back. The first time he came to redeem. When he comes again, he's coming to reign. He came to a crucifixion the first time. He's coming to a coronation the second time. He came to a tree the first time. Friend, he's coming to a throne the second time. The first time he came he stood before old Pilate. When he comes again, Pilate is going to stand before the Lord Jesus Christ. He came the first time as a servant. The book of the Revelation shows him coming as the sovereign, as the king of kings and the Lord of lords. It is the Revelation of Jesus Christ. He is the central person of the book. Later on in the book of the Revelation, we're going to learn that the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Now he's the central person. What is the clear purpose of the book? Look if you will in verse one again. To show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass. Look at the word servant. Do you see it? Actually it's the Greek word doulos which means bond slave. Bond slave. A bond slave was somebody who had been a slave, who had been set free, who willingly went back to his master and said I don't want to be free. I want to be a slave. I want to stay with you. I love my master. That's who we are, friends. We are bond slaves of the Lord Jesus Christ. We say we love our master. Question. Are you a slave to Jesus Christ? Be careful how you answer that. Because if you say no, I am not a slave to Jesus Christ, I can promise you you will not understand the book of the Revelation. It is a book written to the bond slaves of Jesus Christ. And if you're not a bond slave of Jesus Christ, you have no right to expect to understand this book uh because it will be a mystery to you. It is a Revelation of Jesus to his servants. But if you are a bond slave to Jesus, you won't be stumbling in the dark. Now I want you to notice not only the clear purpose of it, but I want you to notice the comforting promise of it. Look again in verses two and three. It speaks of John who bear record of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ and of all things that he saw. Blessed is he that readeth and they that hear the words of this prophecy. Uh what is the comforting promise of the book? You're going to be blessed. You are going to be blessed not only if you read it, but if you heed it. Notice he that readeth and they that hear the words of this prophecy. It doesn't mean to heed it with your ear. We ever spoken to your child and said now do this and this and this and say come here honey. Do you hear me? Do you hear me? Hear it, read it and hear it. Get it into your heart and God says you are going to be blessed. Why are you going to be blessed? Well number one, you're going to understand the mystery of history. Friend, this world does not make sense apart from the book of the Revelation and what God reveals here because in the book of the Revelation we learn what is the mystery of history. What is God doing? God is moving all things to a purpose and that purpose put it down Revelation chapter 11 and verse 15. Don't turn to it. Write it in the margin and it says the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and his Christ. That is what it is all about. One of these days, this old war torn world, this old sin saturated, sin soaked, bumbling, stumbling society is going to see Jesus upon the throne and the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our Lord and his Christ. And when you read that in the book of the Revelation, friend, that gives you a blessing. Let me tell you something wonderful. Take your Bible and don't do it right now, but read the first two chapters of the Bible and you won't find any devil there. Read the last two chapters of the Bible and you won't find any devil there. Isn't that right? That's such a blessing. The kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our Lord and his Christ and the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as waters that cover the sea. Now the reason that everything's such a mess today, things are out of place. Think about it. The church is the bride, but the bride belongs with the groom. We're not yet with him. Uh Jesus is the king. The king belongs on the throne. He's not yet ruling. The devil is a criminal. He belongs in prison. He's not yet there. But friend, one of these days uh the bride's going to be with the groom. One of these days the king's going to be on the throne and one of these days that old devil's going to be in prison. What a day that will be. What a day that will be. You see that's the reason we get a blessing out of this. We understand the mystery of history. We can make sense to our suffering. We live in a world that is cursed with sin and suffering and pain and moan and groan and death and destruction and tears and tribulation. What do you say to a father who's standing beside the grave of his young wife holding the hands of his children looking down into that hole in the ground. What do you say to a child of God, a saint whose body is being consumed by some greedy malady and he is suffering unbearable pain. What do you say? What do you say to a mother whose baby has been torn by death from her bosom? What do you say? I'll tell you what you say, friend. It's not over yet. This is not God's final plan. That's the reason it's such a blessing when you read the book of the Revelation. Friend, it will give you stability. You know James said in James chapter five, verse eight, be patient. Establish your hearts for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. The only way that you can be stable in this age is to know, friend, that there is a blessed hope. Jesus Christ, the son of God is coming again. And then I want you to notice not only the comforting purpose, but the certain prophecy of the book. Look again in verse three. Blessed is he that readeth and they that hear the words of the prophecy of this prophecy and keep those things which are are written therein for the time is at hand. Now that's the reason I'm calling this series The Edge of Eternity. The Edge of Eternity. The time is at hand. Now that was 2,000 years ago and John says hey it's right at hand. What was John wrong? No, he was right. Now if you don't learn anything else in this series of of sermons on Bible prophecy, I want you to learn this. The time is always at hand. It may not be immediate, but it is always imminent. Now don't miss that. Don't miss that. It may not be immediate. It may be immediate. But it is always imminent. People are saying are these the last days, pastor? Friends, the last days began when Jesus ascended. They've always been the last days. We are living in the last days. Put these scriptures in your margin. First Peter four, verse seven. But the end of all things is at hand. First Corinthians 10:11. Now all these things are written unto them for examples and they are written for our admonition. Notice in Paul's day upon whom the ends of the world are come. Paul said the ends of the world have come in our day. Philippians four, verse five. Let your moderation be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. That is the Lord is near. James five, verse eight b. Ye also patient. Establish your heart for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. First John chapter two, verse 18. The apostle John said little children, it is the last time. Now that was 2,000 years ago. And all of these verses are saying Jesus is very near. His coming is very near. Now some people have the idea that there's certain prophecies that have to be fulfilled before Jesus can come. That is not so. His coming is always imminent. Suppose you'd never seen the ocean or you wanted to go to the ocean, the Atlantic or the Pacific. Let's say you live 1,000 miles from the ocean and you're driving to the ocean, driving to the ocean, driving to the ocean, driving to the ocean, driving, driving, driving. All right, there you are. You're driving. The ocean is not near. The ocean is not near. The ocean is not near. The ocean is not near. And finally you're at the ocean. Now some people have the idea that that's what the second coming of Jesus is like. We're way over here and the second coming of Jesus is off over there somewhere and we're just maybe trying to get to it. Oh no, no, no. We're right on the edge. We're just walking along the seashore just like this. We are living on the edge of eternity. From the time that Jesus came the first time till he comes again, we are on the edge of eternity. We are living on the edge. The time is at hand anytime. Jesus may come. 2,000 years ago the apostle John wrote in verse three The time is at hand. Now how are we going to understand the book of the Revelation? Well thank God there's a golden key that opens this book to us. And it's verse 19. Here is the commission that God gave to John. Here was John's assignment. It's so clear. Write the things which thou has seen and the things which are and the things which shall be hereafter. Like a homiletician, three points. That's the commission to write the book. That is the golden key that unlocks the whole book of the Revelation. And it's very plain. That's what he was told to write. Write the things which thou has seen, the things which are and the things which shall be hereafter. Now John had just seen a vision of Jesus. As I've said, he saw a vision of the glorified Christ, the conquering Christ. In the book of the Revelation, Jesus Christ is not pictured as savior, but as judge. We're now dealing with a crucified, risen, ascended, glorified and coming Lord and the vision that John had of one his countenance is like the sun, his eyes are like fire, his voice is like the sound of many waters. You read that in verses 12 through 18. I'll tell you John was the one described in the Bible who laid his head upon Jesus' bosom. He didn't lay his head upon this Jesus' bosom. He fell at his feet like a dead man. When he saw the risen glorified, ascended son of God, his face like the shining sun his eyes like flaming fire, his voice like many waters. Now a lot of people want to come to church on Sunday morning and they want to sit with folded hands and hear discourse about the humble Christ walking the shores of Galilee. Friend, there's another Jesus. There's the king. There is the Lord. There's the sovereign. There's the one who's right it is to redeem and rule and that Jesus is coming again. John, write what you've seen. Pull back the veil. Unveil the glorified Christ. That's the first section. Then he said write the things which are. Deal with the present time. Not only what you've seen, but the things which are. That's the church age. The church age began with Pentecost. It will end with the coming of Jesus for his church. We are living in the time of the things which are. And in chapters two and in chapters three of the book of Revelation, he deals with the things that are. There's seven churches that are mentioned in chapters two and three. And we're not going to try to delineate the messages to those seven churches, but there's one refrain that keeps coming through and through and through seven times. In Revelation two verse 11 he mentions this and the six other times he that hath an ear let him hear what the spirit saith unto the churches. Listen he's saying put your ears on. Are you hearing? He that hath an ear let him hear what the spirit is saying to the churches. Now the Holy Spirit is speaking. The question is do we have ears to hear? You know some people will come here this morning and they won't hear. It will not be because the spirit is not speaking. They just won't hear. He that hath ears let him hear what the spirit is saying to the churches. Seven times he repeats that. That's the church age. That's the age we're living in now. John write the things which you've seen. What did he see? The glorified Christ. John write the things which are. What did he see? Seven churches. Seven is the perfect number. These churches represent all churches of all times. And I want to get to the third and final thing he said and write the things which shall be, not maybe shall be hereafter. It's very certain. No ifs, ands and butts. No maybe, no perhaps, no happenstance. Things that shall be. Now what I'm going to do in the next section of this message, I'm going to mention those things in chronological order. But what I want to do now is to give you the big picture. I want to give you what I understand to be a panorama of prophecy. The mountain peaks of prophecy. Are you ready? Let's go. Number one. First event that's going to happen to the things that shall be hereafter is the rapture and the translation of the saints. The rapture and the translation of the saints. Look in chapter four now and verse one. And after this I looked and behold I love it. And behold a door was opened in heaven and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me which said come up hither and I will show thee things which must be hereafter. Isn't it obvious we're into the third part. He said write the things that shall be hereafter. Here we begin the third part. And so uh John in a vision is caught up into heaven. He hears a voice. He hears a trumpet. He is caught up into glory. Now this is the rapture of the church being typified. The word rapture is the Greek word harpazo. Now rapture is Latin English caught away Greek harpazo. It it they all refer to the same thing and it just simply means to snatch away. At any moment at any moment, folks, the trumpet is going to sound and we're going to be leaving here. Uh you say, pastor, that sounds so supernatural. You've got it. First Thessalonians chapter four verses 16 through 18. Put it in your margin. For the Lord himself shall ascend from heaven with a shout and with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God and the dead in Christ shall rise first, then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so shall we ever be with the Lord wherefore comfort one another with these words. Now remember we're on the edge of eternity. That could happen today. My advice for you get right or get left. He's coming. If you're heaven born, you'll be heaven bound. When he comes, that's the rapture. All right, that's number one. Number two. The second great event is the tribulation and the regimentation of this world. When the saints are taken out the antichrist will come and he's going to turn this world into a vast concentration camp. Now the Bible calls this time the day of God's wrath. Now I'm only going to dip in and try to give you a sampling of some verses, but look in chapter six beginning in verse 12. And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal and lo there was a great earthquake and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair. And the moon became as blood and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth. Now he's talking here about asteroids and and even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together and every mountain and island were moved out of their places and the kings of the earth and the great men and the rich men and the chief captains and the mighty men and every bond man and every free man that is the high, the low, the high muckety mucks, the big shots, the little shots, everyone, look at it, every free man hit themselves in the dens and the rocks of the mountains and said to the mountains and the rocks fall on us and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne. Now here's one of the most pregnant statements in all of the Bible and from the wrath of the Lamb. Friend, don't miss that. The wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of his wrath is come. And who is able to stand? Now he is the Lamb of God full of mercy, but he's also the God of wrath and judgment and justice. And there seems to be a battle between uh God's mercy and God's wrath and the raging waters of God's wrath are furiously pounding against the dam of his mercy. One of these days that dam will burst and the great day of his wrath will come. Who shall be able to stand? The book of the Revelation says in that day men will desire to die. They'll seek death and cannot find it. What we call death today would be a welcome release, but you cannot crawl up into the grave and pull the dirt over your face and hide from God. They go into the dens and the rocks. The songwriter wrote about it. Oh what a weeping and wailing when the lost are told of their fate. They cry for the rocks and the mountains. They pray, but their prayers are too late.
Guest (Male): And coming up tomorrow we'll hear part two of this important lesson. Maybe today you have questions regarding your faith in Jesus. If so, we'd love to offer an insightful resource on our website, the Find Answers page. You'll find resources and materials that will answer questions you may have about how to begin a relationship with God. We also invite you to check out our Grow Your Faith page where you can get grounded and dig deeper in your faith. So go to lwf.org/radio and click the tab at the top that says Find Answers or Grow Your Faith. Let us hear from you today.
Carrie Vaughn: Hi, this is Carrie Vaughn and this program has been brought to you by Love Worth Finding, a non-profit ministry showcasing the powerful preaching and teaching of pastor Adrian Rogers. We operate solely through the generous gifts of individual supporters just like you. To give a gift today, call 1877 Love God. That's 1877 Love God or write to us at Love Worth Finding, box 38-600, Memphis, Tennessee 38183. You can also connect with us online by going to lwf.org/radio. There we offer helpful resources inspired by the timeless teachings of pastor Adrian Rogers. Additionally, you can sign up for daily emails, donate to the ministry and learn more about how to become an ambassador of the word. Thank you so much for listening today. Be sure to join us next time for more profound truths simply stated right here on Love Worth Finding.
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