So she's running around trying to make coffee and there are people already here. That was fun. That was a fun day yesterday. If you didn't get to have a chance to come, that was a lot of fun. We had about 60 people here. All four churches are represented. I know there was, Pastor Schaaf said there was 10 from Soplake. I don't know what the breakdown on the other two, three churches were, but it was a good time. Well, we're going to start since everybody's here. So let's have a word of prayer and then we'll begin. Father, we do thank you for the time to be together today. Thank you for the encouragement from your word. We just pray that you would be with us today as we study this passage, that you might convict us, encourage us, and strengthen us in our faith. We pray in Christ's name, amen. We're gonna finish chapter 11 this morning of Revelation. It's funny to me how when we, when I anyway, read a passage to prepare a lesson and since I haven't been using any kind of curriculum, it's, I don't know how to explain it. It just intrigues me I guess what catches my attention and then I follow that track in my study. And I read this, there's just five verses here that we're going to look at today. And there's like three major themes or topics that I could have hit upon, but I picked the last one and that's what I studied. So that's what you're going to get. If you want to look at the rest of these topics, you could sure do that. There's much in God's word that we could study every day. I want to start in verse 15. of Revelation 11. Then the seventh angel sounded and there were loud voices in heaven saying, the kingdom of this world have become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ and he shall reign forever and ever. And the 24 elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God saying, We give you thanks, O Lord God Almighty, the one who is, who was, and who is to come, because you have taken your great power and reigned. The nations were angry and your wrath has come, and the time of the dead that they should be judged, and that you should reward your servants, the prophets and the saints, and those who fear your name, small and great, and should destroy those who destroy the earth. Then the temple of God was opened in heaven and the ark of his covenant was seen in his temple. And there were lightnings and noises and thunderings and earthquake and great hail. Now one of the topics I saw here, and maybe you didn't notice it, but maybe you did. I could have done a study on the word great. The word great is used eight times in this chapter, which is interesting. A lot of them are just descriptive of things but it's an interesting repeated phrase or repeated word. The other thing I could have talked about is the judgments. It talks about that there in verse 18 and the time of the dead and they should be judged and later on as we do study this we will look at the judgments in eschatology but not today. Or I could have talked about the eternal state because in the very first verse it talks about kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of the Lord and his Christ and he shall reign forever and ever. But I read all through all that and as I'm thinking through it I landed on the last verse because it's something I've never really delved into before and so it intrigued me and so that is where we're going to look at our study this morning. That is the heavenly temple. You do realize that there are groups that basically have built their theology around the temple in heaven. In 1831, well he was a farmer initially and then he went, he was in the army and fought in the Battle of 1812 or the War of 1812. And after coming back and seeing the death and the shortness of life, he began to delve into the study of prophecy. And he became a Baptist minister. William Miller was his name. He wasn't the only one because during that time period, there was a lot going on spiritually both in the United States and in the world. And, you know, the French Revolution had a huge impact on the world itself. People began to question and wanted to know if the end of the world was coming because, I mean, it was a major upset, the French Revolution was. I mean, the slaves in Haiti revolted. There's all kinds of things and different events took place as a result of the French Revolution. One of those things that affected the United States was what's called the Great Awakening or the Second Great Awakening. And William Miller was right in the middle of that. He began studying prophecy and specifically prophecies in Daniel chapter 8 and 9. And he began to pick out and count numbers and dates and try to figure out the time period of the return of Christ. And between 1831 and 1844, he started a huge revival, really, just his teaching. Now, he wasn't necessarily I don't know, you might call him interdenominational in his teaching and preaching. He went to wherever called him, mainly Methodist and Baptist churches he preached in and in groups of them. I was reading one letter article that he'd written to his, or not him, but one of the Methodist gentlemen who was writing back to his diocese saying, we had 246 converts and new members join our church in one year as a result of Miller's ministry and his teaching on eschatology just because of what was going on in the world and people's thinking at the time it just rejuvenated people and so they began to think about in times and Miller he taught an eschatology where he took Daniel chapter 8 where it talks about in two hundred two thousand three hundred days and then the temple will be cleansed and he used that and he combined it with Daniel chapter 9 and in verse 27 where it talks about the weeks and so forth. And he put all that theology together and he began to figure out the timeline and he determined that Christ would return sometime between 1843 and 1844. That's when it was going to happen. Well, as the time grew closer, you know, members and people that he was involved with, you know, started pressuring him to pick an actual date. And so he did. October 22nd, 1844 was the date. And they were so convinced. I mean, there was this huge movement. They called them the Millerites at the time. There was a huge conviction of these people that Christ was coming back October 22nd. And so they had such a faith and such a belief. They sold their farms. They gave their money away. They gave their possessions away. They gathered in churches and in houses and they waited. And October 22nd, midnight came and went. And now, historically, it's called the Day of Great Disappointment. Christ didn't return. So, I mean, many of those Millerites, you know, faded away. They were destitute for the most part. There was huge, you know, upset because they'd given all their possessions away. They had nothing. And so a group of them, a group of them called Adventists, they gathered together and some of their leaders and they began to study and refigure the numbers and, you know, they came to the conclusion that they were mistaken in the fact that Christ wasn't coming to earth. Instead, what he was doing was he was going to be at that date leaving the holy place in heaven and going into the Holy of Holies. And that's what happened on that date. And then began what they call, even today, the investigative judgment. And they teach that now, today, and since 1844, Christ has been investigating the lives of professing Christians to see whether or not their faith is genuine. And if it is not, and if they fall away, then they will lose their salvation. Now, you're familiar with some of that. The fallacy in that comes to the question, what did Christ do to atone for our sin? What really did he do? Is he still in the process of atoning for our sin today, which is what they teach and they continue to teach? And that is what we're going to look at this morning because this topic deals with a subject which they claim that there is a temple with two compartments like they had in the tabernacle and in the temples of, you know, in the Old Testament, like that in heaven. Is that the case? Well, the book of Revelation gives us 20 different references. I'm going to just skim through it because they're all in Revelation. We don't have to jump all over the Bible that refer to a temple in heaven. So I guess today what I want to do is clarify what the book of Revelation truly says about that. So the first question, did John truly see a temple in heaven? If you would turn with me to chapter five, and we're just going to go through these verses quickly. just so you can see the basis for it. Many of these verses are used by the Adventists today to back up their theology, most of which is unique to them only, just so you know that. No other denomination or affiliation holds to some of these beliefs. Revelation 5.8. Now, when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures, the 24 elders, fell down before the lamb, each having a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. Now, I brought that verse in because in the tabernacle and in the temple, there was all these utensils that were used in the sacrifices. Many of them were made out of gold, some were made out of brass, depending on what they were used for. There were bowls and there were cups and there were There were tongs and there were things, hooks and all kinds of things that were used in the sacrifice and in the presenting of, there were things that they held incense in and carried those things in. All those were articles. In fact, if you remember the story of Daniel or Beltshazzar was, I think that was his name, you know, he was drinking out of those cups that he'd taken from the nation of Israel after he'd captured them and that's when God wrote on the wall, you know, their time was up. And so some of those utensils were what was being used by the Persians at that time. And this particular verse just tells us that Daniel sees some of those instruments that were used, or some of those bowls, that's what he's referring to, the golden bowls full of incense that they used to take and carry into the golden altar and they would burn incense and the smoke of that incense would then fill the Holy of Holies. And so that's why I brought that one in. It's an inference that these are bulls from the temple. The rest of these are more direct. Chapter six, verse nine. It says, when he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. Now we've already looked at this passage and we see that these martyrs are depicted as being under the altar, so there's apparently an altar in heaven. Now I believe that there is no reference to the brazen altar in the book of Revelation, just the golden altar, the altar of incense. You know, to understand the picture of the tabernacle in the book of Revelation, you kind of need to have a mental picture of the layout of the furnishings in the tabernacle. There wasn't that many furnishings in it. So what they were, they had initially, when you came into the gate of the tabernacle courtyard, which was a large, ornate fence, basically, made out of skin or cloth, that had one gate, and as you enter the gate, you first came upon the brazen altar. The brazen altar was made out of shidom wood and covered with brass. It was raised up. In fact, there was a ramp or stairs even in Daniel and Solomon's temple, I mean David and Solomon's temple that was elevated. It was huge, big. It's where all the sacrifices, it's where the blood was shed. The blood was poured on the base of it and the animals were killed and they were burnt there. And there was hooks and tongs and all kinds of things that were used in the brazen altar. You could not enter the temple without passing the brazen altar. Picture-wise, you cannot enter heaven without passing the cross, the place of sacrifice. But the brazen altar was the first thing, the first thing that we encountered when entering the courtyard. Herod's temple was said, the courtyard encompassed 35 acres of ground. Even in the initial tabernacle was a larger area around the actual temple. You then came to the temple, which was made up of two compartments. The larger part was called the Holy Place. The smaller part was cube-shaped. The width, the length, and the height were exactly the same. Interestingly enough, the New Jerusalem has the same type of dimensions. The width, height, and length, it's a cube. The dimensions are the same. I have no idea if there's a significance to that, but it's unique in that it's a cube and it's shaped. So you entered the holy place, and in it you had either two, whoops, I missed one. Outside the holy place was also the golden laver, which basically was a big bathtub where the priest ceremoniously washed the blood off them. It's symbolic of our sins being washed away by the blood of Christ. Then you entered the holy place, and it had two or three, depending on your interpretation, pieces of furniture in it. On one side was a table. It was called the table of showbread, in which 12 loaves of bread were put and replaced every week. And on the other side was the menorah, or the candle stand, in which the lamp was burned nonstop, perpetually, kind of like the Olympic torch. So it was constantly burning. Symbolic, if you would, as Christ even interpreted it himself, where he said, I am the bread of life and I am the light of the world. At the far end of the holy place, either just in front of the veil or just on the other side, was the golden altar. The golden altar was right in front of the Ark of the Covenant. And so when you entered through the veil, which was a heavy multiplied fabric that was woven with threads of actual gold through it and colors and cherubim embroidered into it and painted on the walls and everything else. There was cherubim everywhere you looked. You entered the veil, which was torn at the death of Christ, and inside was the Holy of Holies, which contained probably only the Ark of the Covenant at the far side. The Ark of the Covenant is unique in the fact that it was a chest, kind of like a hope chest, if you know what a hope chest is. I built three hope chests for my daughters, one out of oak, one out of walnut, and one out of birch. But it was like a chest, and inside that chest were three things. It was a bowl of manna, Aaron's rod that budded, and the tablets that Moses got from Mount Sinai. But the unique thing about the Ark of the Covenant was its lid. The lid was made out of solid gold, And then part of the lid was two golden angels, or cherubim, that were all molded part of the lid itself. They formed this alcove, if you would, on the lid, where one angel's right wing was intersected with the other angel's left wing. They were on opposite ends. They hovered over. And there was this alcove underneath these two angels. It was as if the cherubim were overlooking this spot on the lid. And that spot was called the mercy seat. It is where the high priest would come once a year to make atonement for the people and drip blood on that mercy seat. It is the place where God would meet and his presence was seen. In fact, it was such that when the high priest came in, they had to put enough incense on the golden altar that it filled the entire room with smoke so that he could not see it. It was all in fog and in the dark. Now I share all that with you because as we look at these things that John sees, it makes sense of what he's describing. He's describing something really similar. And this first thing we see here is we see this altar. And as I said, I don't believe the brazen altar John sees in heaven. In fact, twice he calls it the golden altar, and the other two times he just calls it the altar. You see, the brazen altar was the entrance into the temple. And the cross is the entrance into the temple. And John, in his vision, he sees the temple of God. The brazen altar is not in it. It's outside in the courtyard. And so I believe that each time it talks about the altar here in Revelation, he's referring to that golden altar. And repeatedly, there is a connection between the golden altar and the incense as being related to the prayers of God's people. The prayers of God's people are that sweet aroma, he's implying, that goes up before God. In a couple passages, it seems to indicate that this incense that's being placed on this golden altar by these angels are the prayers of people on earth. And as a result of that, judgment takes place. There's a connection between the two, between the prayers and God's judgment at that particular point. So this one, chapter six, that was a long explanation. Let's go on to chapter seven, verse 15. Therefore, they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple. He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. Go to chapter nine, verse 13. And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar, which is before God. Now, the altars, both the brazen altar and the golden altar, had horns. Now, that's not like, you know, that kind of horns. It's just like, it's not a flat table on top. It's kind of concaved slightly, but at the corner, the sides kind of come up like this. I don't know how to explain it otherwise, they just kind of come up on the corner, those are called the horns of the altar. They actually would sprinkle the incense on the horns and the coals from the brazen altar were placed in the center. The blood was sprinkled on the horns of the altars. That was mentioned many times in scripture. But here he says, in this particular passage, that he hears a voice from the four horns speaking. But he calls it the horns of the golden altar that he hears it from. Chapter 11, the one we just read, says this, verse 19, then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of his covenant was seen in his temple. Hmm. I guess they didn't find it in Raiders of the Lost Ark, right? Now whether or not that's the same ark, I have no idea. Nonetheless, we go to chapter 15, verse 5. After these things I looked, and behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened." Sounds real similar to verse 19 we just read. And out of the temple came the seven angels having the seven plagues, clothed in pure, bright linen. Verse 8, chapter 15. The temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power. and no one was able to enter the temple till the seven plagues of the seven angels was completed. You notice the similarity between that incense filling the temple and in here the smoke filling the temple. I definitely believe there is some symbolic input into this vision that he's seeing, what he is witnessing. There's some significance to it and that is it relates to the Old Testament. Now the second thing I want to show you is The angel's interaction with this heavenly temple, chapter eight and verse three, just more verses that talk about the heavenly temple. Then another angel having a golden censer came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar, which was before the throne. So see what I am gathering as I was studying this this week. If I keep in mind the layout of the furnishings of the altar, that verse tells me that this golden altar that John sees, he's relating it to the incense and the prayers of the saints. And where's it located? Before the throne. I can't help but wonder if the Ark of the Covenant that was pictured in the Old Testament symbolism is the same as the throne of God because you have the golden altar before the Ark and here you have the golden altar before the throne. Both the throne and the Ark of the Covenant contained or had the presence of God there. John started out in chapter 4 talking about what he saw, the very first thing he saw was the throne of God. and tried to describe the imagery, and the colors, and the appearance of it. So I think there's definitely a picture, if you would, of what Moses saw initially, that he made the tabernacle out of, that is same thing now that John is seeing here in the book of Revelation. So we go on with these angels as they interact with this, chapter five, verse five of chapter eight, Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth. And there were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake. Go to chapter 14, verse 15 and 17. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, thrust in your sickle and reaped. for the time has come for you to reap, for the harvest of the earth is riped. Verse 17, then another angel came out of the temple, which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And chapter 15, verse six, and out of the temple came the seven angels having the seven plagues, clothed in pure bright linen and having their chests girded with golden bands. In chapter 16, verse one, And I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, go and pour out your bowls of the wrath of God on the earth. And then verse seven is the last one. And I heard another angel from the altar saying, even so Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are your judgments. Now, I want to stop there. Notice John is referring to what he has seen repeatedly as the temple of God. He is making reference to the throne of God. He's made reference to the sea of glass. He's made reference to, multiple times, the golden altar. So the question is, is there a temple in heaven? Well, I don't believe there's a building, per se. I believe that what John sees is actually the holy of holies, that heaven itself is the temple of God, filled with things that were symbolized in the tabernacle, and it's full of worshipers. If you remember the earlier chapters, and it's all centered around the place where God sits, his throne. Many, many references to the throne in this book, because it is the central focus point, it's God's presence there. So we find this here, we see that, well, I'm gonna show you a couple of references in Hebrews, let's turn to Hebrews 9, or excuse me, Hebrews 8, first of all. When Moses was given instructions to build the tabernacle, it tells us in Exodus, and your references are there, we're not gonna turn there, but I wanna look at these two verses in Hebrews, Hebrews 8, 5, actually 1 through 5 to start with. He was told and he was given a pattern. Now, Nick and I are familiar with patterns. We call them prints. I wonder if Moses was actually given something in writing, you know, on a tablet or a paper, or if he just was given a vision. Because in Exodus, and even it's inferred to here in Hebrews, that he saw this pattern. on Mount Sinai. That's interesting to me that he actually got some sort of a design through sight. Look at Hebrews 1 through 5. Now this is the main point of the things we are saying. We have such a high priest who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the heavens, a minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected and not man. For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore it is necessary that this one also have something to offer. For if he were on earth, he would not be a priest, since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law, who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things. As Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle, for he said, See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain. And if you look up those two Exodus passages, those are the exact quotes that the author of Hebrews is giving us. He was instructed to build the tabernacle according to the pattern he was shown on the mountain. So it intrigues me. You know, I mean, if you go to my office right now, you'll find various states to my wife's chagrin of prints lying all over the place. They're on the floor, on the table, they're at my desk. I mean, we constantly have prints laid out. So that intrigues me personally, that Moses would have been given some sort of pattern. But did he see it? Did he actually see it just like John has seen it? Did he see this scene in heaven with the throne of God, the golden altar, the sea of glass? Did he see all that? And that was the pattern he was to use to make out the tabernacle and earthly form, a building that would kind of symbolize what he witnessed? I believe so. I believe that what Moses saw or was shown is what is the basis and the print for the tabernacle in the temple. As God being the focus, his throne being the focus, and I can't get away because Revelation uses it so many times. I think there's six incidences where the prayers of the saints are related to the incense burnt on the golden altar. There's some huge impact on that. It kind of makes us wonder how much emphasis really we need to be putting on prayer if it's used so much as the actual place of worship in heaven, that the prayers of the saints is so significant that it's repeated so many times. Nonetheless, we'll get on with what else I discovered here. I found a number of things that were interesting, You know, as we've looked already in chapter four, as John first enters this throne scene, it's called in my Bible a heading. I almost wonder if it shouldn't be called the holy place in heaven, the holy of holies. It says, after these things, I looked and behold a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet saying, come up here. and I will show you things which must take place after this. Immediately I was in the spirit and behold a throne set in heaven and one set on the throne. And he was like a Jasper and a Sardis stone in appearance. And there was a rainbow around the throne in appearance like an emerald. You know, John is trying to describe something that is indescribable in his vocabulary and probably in ours as well. He sees light, he hears sounds, he sees color. He just says it's like, and he repeats that over and over in the book. It's like this, it's like that, but I don't know how else to explain it. It's just bright and it's amazing. It's just, it's what it's like. Makes you wonder if he's trying to describe what heaven's like, what it looks like. I believe it is. But it's centered around this throne and God's seated there. You know, we always, especially as a child, we would think about, you know, I wonder what heaven's going to be like? What are we going to do forever? You know, what's going to happen? What's, you know, are we going to get our own planet or what? What are we going to do? You know, look at Revelation 3 verse 12. It says, he who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of God. and he shall go out no more. You wanna spend eternity as a post? That seems kind of boring. Apparently that means something other than that. I think it has the idea of being stable, put, secure, I don't know. But you know, as we think about that, You know, it does intrigue us. We are interested in what, you know, is going to be our lot in the future. You know, the question comes back to that initial story I was telling you about the Millerites and their teachings. You know, they saved face by concocting a doctrine. that has no biblical basis. It's like most cults and their support where they cherry pick verses here and there to prove a preconceived concept. And their preconceived concept is if Christ didn't come to earth on October 22nd, then he must have done something else. And so they came up with this whole investigative judgment idea where believers, professing believers are judged continually since the time Christ returned to heaven. You know, the atonement of Christ, Hebrews gives us a lot of verses that deal with what Christ did after he died and rose again. The atonement that was brought to us as a result of Christ's sacrifice. I want to look at just a few verses. In fact, if you're on page two, You'll find these references because I think they're significant in understanding really the theology of atonement because it's important to us. Hebrews 7 verse 27 says this, kind of in the middle of a thought, we can go to verse 26. For such a high priest was fitting for us who is holy harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens, who does not now need daily as those high priests to offer up sacrifices, first for his own sins and then for the people's. For this he did once for all when he offered up himself." Look at chapter 9. Across the page, starting with verse 24. Let's go to verse 23. Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in heaven should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself now to appear in the presence of God for us. Not that he should offer himself often as the high priest enters the holy place every year with blood of another, he then would have had to offer often since the foundation of the world. But now, once at the end of the ages, he has appeared to put away sins by the sacrifice of himself. And as it is appointed for men once to die, after this the judgment. So Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many to those who eagerly await for him. He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation. Look down in chapter 10 verse 10, but that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Christ once for all. Chapter 10 verse 12, but this man after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever sat down at the right hand of God. Verse 14, for by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. How many times or what is Christ doing in regards to our atonement today? Nothing. He's already done it. He was the propitiation for our sins. That means he's the complete payment. When Christ entered heaven, It tells us in 924, for Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are a copy of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us. I believe when Christ returned to heaven, I believe it was after his resurrection and before his disciples seen him, he presented the blood to God. This is payment for sin. once for all. It doesn't have to be an ongoing atoning and judging and evaluating of people. I mean, that is such a discouraging, guilt-ridden life for a Christian. Romans says, there is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Why? Because the blood has been presented once. Atonement has been made once, not year to year. I mean, it's clear in this passage. It's not a repeated ongoing thing for the last 1800 years. It's not a repeated thing that happens every time mass is given. Christ is not sacrificed again and again and again. One sacrifice was made and it was sufficient forever for us, for all. So what is Christ doing? He tells us, I love this verse 24. Look at that last phrase. now to appear in the presence of God for us. He could have a whole message on Christ for us. What is Christ doing for us? Well, we're told he's at the right hand of God. We're told that he is our mediator. In 1 Timothy, there's one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. We're told that he's our advocate. In 1 John 2.1, And if you sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. We're told he's our intercessor. You know, in Hebrews 7, 25, it tells us this, it says, therefore, he is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. So what's he doing? He's doing a lot. He intercedes for us. He's our advocate. He's our mediator. Yes, he is having a service in the temple of God. But what is the temple of God? Well, the temple of God, I believe, is heaven itself. It's the place where God is, where the worshipers that John sees are. And he tries to explain what it's like and what he can see, and, you know, it just, it's beside him. And we wonder, and we question, and it doesn't give us any answers, but you know what? There is a passage that I ran across this week, and I was listening to somebody on the radio. I thought, this is really good, I like this. I want you to do something for me. I want you to look at, put your finger in two references. James chapter one, verse 17, and in Ephesians chapter two. I'm going to close with these two passages. If you look at both of these, James 1.17 says this, every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. You know, God has given grace to all men. saved and unsaved. There is so much of God's grace that we can see in his creation. Everything around us, the fact that this planet exists, that we can breathe air, that we have light, that we have food, everything, it's God's grace, every good thing comes down from the Father of lights. Now look with me at Ephesians chapter two, starting with verse four. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, he's made us alive together with Christ, by grace you have been saved, and raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Now here's the verse, that in the ages to come, that's eternity, the ages, not the years, but the ages to come, He might show us the exceeding riches of His grace and His kindness towards us in Christ Jesus. You know, we just know a little bit of God's grace today. We look at our creation and we're just amazed sometimes. You know, if any of you have ever had any issues with the doctors and you go and they'll say, well, this is what's going wrong in your body, but we don't know why. You know, I've heard that so many times over the years. The older I get, I hear it more. We don't know why this is happening. And all these guys have gone to all these years of schooling and experience and they don't know nothing, not really. They know what's wrong, but they don't know why it's wrong. The human body is so amazing from the very enzymes and the molecules to all the processes, it's just beyond human comprehension. And that's just the human body. All of creation, it's beyond our comprehension. God created it. Here it tells us in Ephesians that for the ages to come, God is going to teach us about his amazing grace. I'm excited about that. I like to learn things new. Can you imagine it's going to take eternity to even begin to comprehend all that God is and does and has done? That's exciting. That's a whole lot better than being a post in a temple, right? I'm excited about that. If I think about that, that for the ages to come, he will teach us of his great grace. Let's close in prayer this morning. Father, we do thank you for this passage. We thank you for the things that you taught me this week, and we just pray that you would encourage us as we fellowship here together today. In Christ's name we pray, amen.