The Revelation 1:7 | Episode # 1008

August 20, 2025

Hope Alive: Applying God’s Word to Your Daily Life

The Revelation 1:7 

I am Chad Harrison, and I am the teaching pastor of Lake Community Church and had been serving as a pastor for 25 years. I'm also a practicing attorney. This podcast is designed to help you study God's word and find God's will for your life. The purpose of studying scripture is that you might know the character of Jesus Christ, and that you might see the world from the Father's perspective. That you gain wisdom that changes your life. I pray in the name of Jesus right now that God would open His word to you and allow you to see Him and to know Him. To know His will, that you might glorify Him and that you might walk in faith and power each day, especially today. In Jesus name.

If you would like to revisit today’s Bible study, please visit our website at https://hopealive.buzzsprout.com/ to download the transcript. 

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Transcript

This is Chad Harrison and you're listening to Hope Applying God's word to your daily life.

Hi, this is Chad Harrison and I am the teaching pastor of Lake Community Church and have been serving as a pastor for 25 years.

I'm also a practicing attorney. This podcast is designed to help you study God's word and find God's will for your life.

I pray in the name of Jesus right now that God would open up.

His word to you and allow you.

To see him and to know him and to know his will, that you might glorify him and that you might walk in faith and power each and every day, especially today in Jesus name.

Understanding that John is writing this book,

and when he is writing this book,

he is. He is presenting himself as having seen Jesus go to the right hand of the Father.

And now he is presenting Jesus having been a teenager,

having been a young man,

and I said earlier,

a young man that was likely as young as 14 or 15 when Jesus ascended to the Father,

was no older than 20 or 21 years old when he ascended to the Father. Having preached the good news of Jesus Christ,

having discipled others, having, having written the gospel of John,

having written epistles to the church, first, second and third, John having done all these things that he did in his life,

he now is going to announce a revelation that God has given him.

He's going to announce an understanding that God has shown him.

And when he announces that revelation, he begins it with this passage that we're starting with tonight.

And that passage is,

behold,

he comes in the clouds, which means he went to the Father and then he came back. He's coming back from the Father. And we talked about just a moment ago that he was.

He did that because he. He had limited himself when he came as a man. In fact,

Philippians chapter two tells us that our attitude should be that of Christ Jesus,

who being in very nature,

now you need to hear this in very nature,

God,

which means all the attributes of God,

all the things that you would say that it would define God, whether you would say them from a theological perspective or whether you would say them from a scientific perspective, you say, well, science doesn't believe in God, and that's not true.

Science would define God in an important way. Science would say that in order for some being to be Godlike, that that being would have to be all knowing,

all powerful,

omnipresent,

and in his essence, because what he made actually works.

And this is not to speak to his moral goodness, but this speaks to his actual goodness in that what he's made is good,

okay? Which means it works.

Okay?

It actually works.

And so when John knew Jesus, he knew Jesus as God. In fact, he said. He said in him was life and that light was light to men.

He said. He said. He said,

we beheld his glory, the glory of the only begotten Son of God, full of grace and truth. He said these things about Jesus. But Jesus had limited himself in that he was not omnipresent anymore.

He took on the form of a man. He humbled himself and became a servant,

and even humbled himself further to death on a cross. That's what Philippians 2 says to us, teaches us.

So he knew Jesus as a limited in the sense that he's not omnipresent anymore, human being as limited in that he had to learn from his Father. And we're going to actually study this the next few weeks on Sunday mornings in that he.

He says, I only do what I see my Father doing.

I learned from him.

I knew him. In fact, the Bible says he grew in wisdom and stature and favor with God man in Luke chapter two. Which means that he's. The Bible's telling us that he had to become.

Grow up in his understanding of God, in his knowledge of God, which means he was truly a human child when he was born,

and yet still divine and God at the same time.

All right? And so he said, it's necessary that I go so that the Holy Spirit come, because the Holy Spirit retains all the attributes that we would call, both theologically and scientifically God.

He's omnipresent. He's omni. He's omnipotent. He's all powerful. He's all these good things. And he said it's necessary that he come so that we. And I'm going through this for important reason, because John's gonna say something in a minute.

It's necessary that he come so that. And that I go so that you can be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Does that make sense?

All right. And so he says, behold, he comes in the clouds.

And when he says that, what he's saying is he's coming back,

just like he left.

He's coming back to fulfill all of the prophecies,

all of everything that was ever said that would be, could be, or shall be in Scripture. He is the fulfillment of all the covenants. And he's coming to make sure that he does all that scripture says he would do.

Okay? And so that has to take place. And what takes place,

that is. That is spelled out in the book of the Revelation,

he says, not only behold, he comes with the clouds and every eye will see him.

Now this is the first time where we can actually kind of take the book of the Revelation and do a real big fast Forward into the 20th century.

Am I right?

And how can we do a fast forward in the 20th century? Well, remember, Jesus still to this day is limited in that he is not omnipresent.

And I know some of you don't believe that.

Some. There are some that don't believe that the earth is round,

okay?

But I can assure you it is. I've done the math. It is.

All right?

Everybody can't see Jesus when he comes in the clouds unless there's something that allows people to see Jesus come in the clouds.

Man, I think every one of y' all got one of those things in your pocket,

Am I right?

Every one of y' all got something where you can tune into YouTube or Facebook or Snap Book or you know what I'm talking about,

Or. Or any of those social media networks. And if you don't think that Jesus is coming back and that it's going to be on. On.

On social media and all over the Internet, you've lost your mind. It is not only that we're going to get to see that. That not only is Jesus said to be seen by the whole world, you're going to see that later on.

The two prophets that prophesy at the gates of Jerusalem, The Bible says that the. Who is them.

Well, how does the whole world watch them? You know, up until.

Up until the middle part of. Last of the last century,

that seemed like that was just hyperbole,

but now we know it's not hyperbole.

Well, now we know you. We can see anything live anywhere in the world at a moment's notice.

And so the ability for this to take place has been fulfilled in the last 75 years.

It says everybody will see him.

Even those who pierced him will see him.

And all the tribes or all the nations of the earth will mourn because of him.

Even so. Amen.

Now what we're going to do is, as we spend this time going through the book of the Revelation, you're going to have to understand that there's some things that take place that are political and economic that go on around the world that you do not totally understand.

When Brother Dean and I discussed the idea that somebody would know Jesus and understand the Gospel and reject that, Dean goes,

it's an anathema to him. Do you know what I'm Talking about just doesn't seem like that's possible. And for those of us who trust Jesus, it really doesn't seem like that's possible that God could reveal himself to you and that you would just reject him, that you.

That, that, that, that, that anybody would ever do that. But I'm going to tell you that they have and they will.

And everyone who is on the earth,

when Jesus makes his next return,

most of them,

most of them are going to be against him.

And many of them are going to know what this book says.

And many of them are going to realize that Jesus is coming,

that Jesus is coming,

and they have rejected him.

And so it says that many of them,

everyone sees him. And though even those who have pierced him and all the tribes of the earth mourn or wail. The word literally means to wail.

Okay.

It doesn't mean to just be upset that somebody's passed away or something like that.

Have you ever heard somebody wail because of their grief?

Well, this says that they wail because he's coming.

Great fear of his return.

The Bible says that how terrible it is to fall in the hands of an angry God.

And the book of the Revelation is about that. And we're going to talk about that a little bit later on.

Jesus fulfills an important role that's found in the Old Testament, and it's the role of Goel,

and we'll talk about that.

The kinsman Redeemer and the avenger of blood,

it says, he says, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of him. Even so. Amen.

Now notice these are the words of Jesus. He says, I am the Alpha and the Omega,

the beginning and the end.

I was with a couple of folks last week, and we got to go to a church that's nearby that has kind of collapsed in its membership. And there's now more that have started coming back to meet there.

And so not far from here, it's within 20 miles. It's got the most beautiful stained glass windows that I've ever seen.

Huge stained glass windows. And on it, it's got the Bible and it's got Alpha and Omega there. And there's.

There's crosses in the middle of these stained glass windows. And.

And I think about the majesty of it. And then I also think about.

I think about the church that was there and how that church was doomed to die.

Okay.

And you say, well, why was the church doomed to die? Well, because they rejected a, a theological idea that's quite clear in Scripture. And that means they rejected. They rejected hell.

They rejected the idea of God's judgment on humanity.

And that group of people back then were, in my opinion, Christians,

meaning they believed in a resurrected Christ. They may believe that Jesus came and died for our sins, they believed in those things, but they rejected aspects of Scripture. And, you know, that's.

That's a. That's a path that slowly leads down a trail that eventually when you reject parts of Scripture,

you reject more of Scripture and more scripture leads to you rejecting more of scripture.

Finally, you get to the place where you reject all of Scripture except for the parts that you really like,

which means that you've gone from seeing God as God and seeing God in your own image,

which means what you've done is you've taken God and made God yourself because he is who you want him to be,

and he's not that.

God is not who you want him to be.

God is who he is.

And so when it says, when God says, I am the Alpha and the Omega, what he's saying is, I am the start and the end.

Now, is it. Does that mean he has a start and an end?

No, he's talking about creation.

I'm the start of things,

and I'm the end of things. Oftentimes when you hear somebody talk about the first verse in the Bible, you hear them say, in the beginning.

Actually, that's not a correct translation of that.

The correct translation of that is in beginning.

Why? Well, why isn't the article the there. Why isn't that there? Because the article the leads you to believe that there was a. The beginning for everything.

And there's not.

In beginning means that there was a beginning to the things we know, but there was not a beginning to God.

And so even though for you, you might not see it that way,

Scripture's very clear.

End. Beginning. What beginning? The beginning of the heavens and the earth.

Okay. In beginning of that, not in beginning, because I don't have a beginning.

And so when he says, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and end, he's telling you there's a beginning to creation and there is an end to this creation,

but I remain the same throughout.

He says I'm the Alpha, the Omega, the beginning, end. He says, I am. I notice. Notice what he says,

says the Lord, who is and who was and who is to come?

The Almighty,

which means to him,

which. Which shows you.

It reveals to you that he's all powerful.

This is the second time.

The second time that he's taken us back to the mountain.

Okay,

remember Whenever you read, ever you read, I was,

I am,

I ever shall be.

That is the English translation of the Hebrew idea.

On the mountain, when he said, whom shall I say sent me?

And he says,

I am.

That I am.

Tell them that I am sent you.

When Jesus was in the garden and the guards, the guards from the temple came to arrest him and they said, are you Jesus of Nazareth?

And he said, what?

I am? And when he did, the Bible says, it knocked them off their feet and they fell to the ground.

Why?

Because it is the description.

It is the description of God in his act of deliverance,

saying that his plan and his work have been,

are, and ever shall be, and they cannot be changed. Because God is at that work all the time.

Are you following me?

So for the second time, he's taken us back to the mountain.

Notice that mountain's where he revealed himself to Moses. That's the mountain where he gave the Ten Commandments.

That's also the mountain where humanity,

in the form of the Jewish people,

refused to go up and meet with him.

Always remember that they refused to go up and meet with him. The Ten Commandments does a poor job with that. The movie to the Ten Commandments. It does a poor job with that.

It doesn't explain to you why Moses had to go up on the mountain.

He had to go up on the mountain by himself because the people would not go.

And that is the first sign to us,

an understanding that it's natural, it is sinful in your heart to not want to go up,

to not want to meet with God yourself,

to not want to deal with God on your own as you go today, I pray.

That the Lord will bless you and keep you, that he'll make his face to shine upon you, and that he will give you hope and peace today in Jesus name.