Amen. Please have your Bibles open to the book of Revelation and stand with me for the reading of God's Word. Our passage for this morning is Revelation chapter 1, verses 7 to 8. Only two verses, but you'll see that these two verses are very important because it is the thesis and the theme of the entire book of the book of Revelation. We saw the introduction, now we're going to see the thesis and the theme. Revelation 1, verses 7 and 8. This is the reading of God's Word. Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over him. Yes, amen. I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty. Amen. Please be seated. Now, as you know, if you read this context, this is the first vision that John saw. How do we know it's a vision? Because he says in verse 7, Behold, that's that attention-grabbing word in Hebrew, Hineh. Something suddenly is happening, and this is the suddenness of verse 7. And there is no speech. There is no direct speech in verse seven. Verse eight, there is. Verse seven, there is not. So it's a pure description. And so John is seeing something and he's describing it. But it is an interesting kind of description. It is an interesting description that's based on Old Testament passages. And if you have your Bible, you'll notice it's in all caps. Now follow the lettering of the all caps. All caps means it's an Old Testament quotation. And so if you have a good translation of the Bible into English, like the NASB or LSB version, which is based on the NASB here, this is the kind of detail that the translators will insert for us for our modern day English speakers. This means that John's vision of the coming of the Lord is based on direct Old Testament fulfillment of Old Testament scriptures. And if you're a student, John is quoting from two prophetic books in the Old Testament, particularly one from Daniel and the other from Zechariah. So without any continuation of our introduction, let's go to those two passages and refresh our memory because without knowing those passages, we will probably not get much out of this passage. So let's go to Daniel chapter 7 first. Daniel 7. In the Old Testament, Daniel 7 is that passage with the great vision that Daniel was given. And this is the vision of the Messiah receiving his kingdom from God the Father. Now beginning with verse seven, let's read it in context so we get a good idea of what Daniel's seeing. Daniel chapter seven, verse seven. After this, I kept looking in the night visions and behold, a fourth beast, fearsome and terrifying and extraordinary strong, and it had large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed and trampled down the remainder with his feet. And it was different from all the beasts that were before it. And it had 10 horns. Look at all these details, 10 horns. Horns, of course, are symbols of power and authority. But this is a vision of a beast with 10 horns. And you'll find the same beast with the same number of horns in the book of Revelation. So it's directly related. Let's look at verse 8. While I was contemplating the horns, behold, another horn, a little one, came up among them. Three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it. And behold, this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great boasts." All right, that's the context. And now let's take a look at the quotation of the passage that we're about to study. Verse 9, I kept looking until thrones were set up, and the Ancient of Days was seated. Notice who is seated. He's called Ancient of Days. His clothing was white, like white snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool. You're gonna see these descriptions in the description of the glorified Christ in chapter one of Revelation, so keep this in mind. His throne was ablaze with fire. Its wheels were burning fire. A river of fire was flowing and coming out before him. Thousands upon thousands were attending him, and myriads upon myriads were standing before him. And the court sat, and the books were opened." Notice this is a royal throne room, but it's also a courtroom. So this is the great judge judging. in the courtroom of his heavenly throne. Verse 11, then I kept looking because of the sound of the great boastful words which the horn was speaking. I kept looking until the beast was killed. Does that sound familiar, beast? The number of the beast and the beast. These are all familiar language, vocabulary, and concepts in the book of Revelation. Let's continue. Until the beast was killed and its body was destroyed and given to burning fire. As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but an extension of life was given to them for an appointed season of time. Verse 13, here we come to the climax. I kept looking. Notice verse nine, he says, I kept looking. Verse six says, I kept looking. Verse seven says, after this, I kept looking. What is God showing Daniel? Series of visions. Sequential, one after the other. I kept looking in the night visions and behold what the clouds of heaven. Here's the quotation that we just read in Revelation 1. One like a son of man was coming and he came up to the Ancient of Days. Ancient of Days was just mentioned sitting on the throne and judging. Here is the Ancient of Days. And came near before him. Verse 14, and to him was given dominion, glory, and a kingdom, and all the peoples, nations, and men of every tongue, that's everybody in the world, might serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which will not be taken away, and his kingdom is one which will not be destroyed. Alright, that is a fantastic series of visions culminating in the final vision where one like the Son of Man was coming and receiving this great eternal throne and kingship and dominion from the Ancient of Days. So there's two figures clearly laid out here and the figure that is seated on the throne who's called the Ancient of Days is clearly what the Jews would understand as God. Now there scratching their head and say, who is this one like the son of man? Of course, the Jewish rabbis recognize this as this must be the Mashiach, the promised Mashiach. He must be more than just mere man. He must be also supernatural. That's why he's described as one like a son of man. Remember, Jesus' favorite title to call himself was the son of man. And that doesn't mean just mere human. Jesus was pointing to Daniel 7, one like the Son of Man. He called himself Son of Man. So really, it is a highlighting of his divinity. The phrase Son of Man, please don't always think it as just mere human. Without the understanding of the historic incarnation, all of this would be mysterious and not understandable. But by God's grace, Through the scriptures and through the Holy Spirit, we understand that it was God the Son, the second person of the Holy Trinity, the Holy Godhead became man without stopping God. Of course, God cannot be non-God or stop being God. So the divine took upon himself the human and he now becomes the infinite God-man. This makes only sense when we understand the doctrine of the Incarnation. Keep that in mind as we understand the central theme of Revelation. Most people will think this is all cryptic, this is difficult, this is mysterious. No, it's familiar. It's a repeat, but it is a fulfillment. What was promised in the Old Testament is now being fulfilled. That is a central theme of the book of Revelation. What we're about to study in the book of Revelation is actually a fulfillment of all the promises and all the things that God had purposed and planned in the Old Testament and what Jesus had taught in the New Testament. So the final culmination of all biblical prophecies regarding the end times with the Mashiach and of course his arrival from heaven to earth. Now we say he's returning because he had already come once, he had ascended into heaven, now he's returning. But far as the world is concerned, far as the nation of Israel is concerned, this will be a supernatural event that they were not preparing, that they had not expected. Now just as Jesus' incarnation, his life, his perfect life, his sinless life, both of his birth both of its place, his virgin birth, his supernatural birth, his death, his crucified death, a cruel Roman death, a piercing death on the cross, his resurrection and ascension are all detailed out in Scripture. So you would expect his glorious return to be detailed out in the Scripture, already previewed. And this is just one of those two passages. John, the apostle, was meditating on these things. And the Lord showed him that vision of him returning. So what we have here is basically verse seven, the scriptural fulfillment of the Lord's arrival. And then in verse eight, we have a very peculiar verse, a difficult verse. Now, if you have your Bibles with you in Revelation 1a, and if you have a modern translation or red-letter version, you would see that verse 8 is mostly red. Now, what red-letter means, it's a direct speech from Jesus in the New Testament. So what did the Bible translators agree? Oh, this person who is speaking, who says, I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty, that's the Lord Jesus. Now several theologians also agree with this. And here we have a major difficulty. Why do we have this major difficulty? Because look at the title. Who is, who was, who is to come. Now take a look at verse four. John to the seven churches that are in Asia, grace to you and peace from the one who is, who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before the throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead. You see, we have already studied this, verses four and five. The three from phrases, the apa phrases, the prepositional phrases, from. the one who is, who was, and who is to come. We have concluded that that is talking about God the Father. The sevenfold spirit, of course, is the Holy Spirit. And in an unusual order, we find that Jesus Christ is placed in the third order, the last, because he would now also take on three supernatural titles that we have also studied. And when we study verse four, we recognize, oh, this is talking about God the Father, because from, from, from, it is organized to depict the triune Godhead. So then in verse eight, when we find, I am the Alpha and Omega, who is and who was and who is to come, that phrase in the immediate context tells us, well, wait a minute, this sounds more like God the Father, and yet, The New Testament translators put this in red letters, saying that we believe this is to be direct speech from Jesus Christ. So there's our first major interpretive hurdle. Who is speaking here? That's verse eight. And we'll get to that. But it's important for us to have an overview. Now I said that Revelation 1, verses 7 and 8, is the thesis and the theme of the entire book. The thesis and the theme. The thesis is that God, who is in control over all of history, will enter back into history and will stop what we call history. That he will expunge all traces of the past. Do you know anything about the Assyrian Empire? How about the Neo-Babylonian Empire? Any experts in the Medo-Persian Empire here? They lasted longer than the Chinese Empire, the American Empire, the British Empire, the Dutch Empire, the Spanish Empire. Whatever empire you have studied in modern history, these were powerful empires. that shook the entire Western world and yet they are usually in the dustbins of history and most people who have a little penchant and a desire to study these things are usually in the ancient categories of scholarship that is in the very minority of human culture. So however we think our culture and the superpowers of our generation are so important in our lives and the course of history is so certain and that it will impact each one of us and all of us may tend to think this way, the scripture says they will be absolutely forgotten. They'll be gone. So God wants you and I to focus on the eternal kingdom that is to come. And as Christians, we pray that his will be done on earth as it is in heaven, his kingdom come. And it will. So let's take a look at the scriptural fulfillment of the arrival, since this is a major theme and the thesis of the entire book. Finally, is coming to pass. Finally, all of promises of God are being fulfilled. Here it is. Behold, he is coming. The vivid attention-grabbing word, behold, grabbed the attention of the hearers. And John uses the word, erkemi, the coming, in this book 36 times. One question may arise in the mind of the reader who believes in the rapture of the church, because that's the coming that we're interested in. Rapture, is he coming for the church? Is this the coming of Christ at the rapture? And the answer is no. This is not the vision. This is not the central theme of the book. Rapture is mentioned. But it is a minor point in the book of Revelation. What is mentioned is God's judgment, his wiping clean of the entire world system, and then establishing, building his millennial kingdom and reigning. So the demolition project is what we're going to be studying in the book of Revelation. Chapter six through 18, the bulk of the book is the demolition project. So this is the return of Christ with the church after the seven-year tribulation period. That is the vision that John is seeing here. All three synoptic gospels quote this phrase. only varying slightly. Let me read that passage for you. Matthew 24, verse 30. And the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. Mark 13, 26. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. Luke 21, 27. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Very slight minor Differences, why? Because they're independent reports, that's why. Each one, each gospel writer is reporting in his own way, quoting from the Old Testament, all from Daniel chapter seven, the passage that we just read. Each writer shows a level of independence, and the LSB translators, the translators of the Bible that we're reading, follow the pattern of the NASB in all caps, That shows, this is, okay, we know where the cloud term appears. This is in Daniel 7, verse 13. And behold, there's the Hine, with the clouds of heaven, one like a son of man was coming. There's that verb. So the presence of God in the Old Testament was accompanied by a display of the mysterious, the ephemeral, and the glorious cloud. Clouds, or the setting of the presence and the appearance of God in the Old Testament. Exodus 19.9 says this, Yahweh said to Moses, Behold, I will come to you in a thick cloud. Isn't that interesting? I will come to you in a thick cloud. Why doesn't God just appear? Remember the Mount of Transfiguration? When the three disciples of Jesus, Peter, James, and John, and the Lord Jesus, went up, but there was a thick cloud that enveloped them, and Jesus was transfigured before them, the presence of God, the cloud, and the pillar, and the presence of God, the thick Shekinah, Shekinah glory, inside the temple, the thick cloud of God, all pointing to, oh, God's here. His presence is here. That's what the clouds represent. Behold, he is coming with the clouds. Well, that's very important. Now, it says with the clouds, with the clouds, with the clouds, and not, and when you look at the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew or the Aramaic, it says upon the clouds. That's really interesting because all the gospel writers in the Synoptic Gospels, Matthew, on the clouds, Mark, in clouds, Luke, in a cloud. Very interesting how they translate that. John, with the clouds. So I go, I'm not interested in prepositional work. Can you just move on, please? No, this is very important, is because John says with the clouds and that matches exactly with the biblical Aramaic of Daniel 7 and not the Greek translation of the Septuagint, upon the clouds. Why is that important? Let's take a look at Acts 1-9. Acts 1-9. Acts 1-9 is when Jesus is ascending into heaven with the cloud. Acts 1-9 says, and after he said these things, he was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received him out of their sight. And a cloud received him out of their sight. So we know exactly where he's going. He's going to heaven, but why is he going like this? This is a dramatic preview for the disciples that the heavenly ascension was simply a preview of the future arrival that's why and it was foretold by two angelic beings in the next verses So let's take a look at Acts 1 verse 10. And as they were gazing intently into the sky while he was going, and behold, there's that suddenness, all of a sudden two men appeared. Two men in white clothing stood beside them. They also said, men of Galilee, why do you stand looking toward heaven? This Jesus, this Jesus means this very same person, this same Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will come in just the same way as you have watched him go into heaven. That's why, just the same way. God's very presence and his introduction from heaven to earth is signified for us human perception because we can't directly behold God, God uses this glorious presentation of the clouds to indicate I am in your midst. I am in your midst. These little linguistic details informs us, therefore, that John is not a Greek reader who reads and meditates upon the Septuagint, but he is meditating in Aramaic in Daniel 7 verse 13. And so what is he doing? He's paraphrasing in his own words from Aramaic, not directly quoting from Matthew or Mark or Luke or the Septuagint. These little linguistic details tells us about what John was meditating upon and how the Lord communicated through John by allowing him to write scripture, rewrite what was prophesied in Daniel 7 as being fulfilled in the future as God shows him this vision. So this is just a future fulfillment of the scriptures. future fulfillment of the scriptures. That's why you and I must be diligent student of the scriptures if we want to grow in confidence and faith and joy of our future. Not fear, not with cowardice, not with anxiety, but with confidence and faith and joy. And look at this quotation, the second quotation. Zechariah 12, verse 10. So before we go, let's take a look at Zechariah 12, 10 and see what that says. Thankfully, we've studied Zechariah not too long ago. So we've studied this passage, so it will be a review for us. So it says, every eye will see him, even those who pierced him. Now take a look at that phrasing, it's on all caps. At first glance, the reader may be led to think, oh, the very individual Jews and Romans who are responsible for crucifying Jesus will be around to see Jesus descending out of heaven? Will they be resurrected so that they can see what's going on here? That's misguided thinking, because when we read Zechariah 12 10, it says this, And I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on me whom they have pierced. And that's the passage that John is quoting here. And they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over him, like the bitter weeping over a firstborn. Now New Testament scholar Robert Thomas mentions that both Jews and Romans who were involved in the crucifixion, as he says, obviously that earlier generation of Jews and Romans is dead and will not be alive to witness the Lord's return. But notice what he says, but a class of people closely akin to them in opposing Christ will be among those future witnesses. A class of people closely akin to them opposing Christ will be among those future witnesses. Yes, there will be both Jews and Gentiles. Notice how John quotes Zechariah 12.10 and attributes the very act of the crucifixion to the Romans. John quotes Zechariah 12.10 in the Gospel of John, not just here in Revelation. So we study the Gospel of John. So this is also a review. Let's go to John 19, verse 37. When describing the crucifixion, John says, that the scripture is fulfilled. John 19, verse 37. It says, and again, another scripture says, they shall look on him whom they pierced. Well, who are the ones around Jesus' crucifixion looking upon him? Some are Jews, some were antagonists, but some are Romans. They're both there, and the focus is on the Romans whom check Jesus, whether he was dead or not, and pierced his side. And immediately John says, and the scripture is fulfilled in this. This is what the Bible means. And so here, in the context of Zechariah 12, 10, the Jewish nation is specifically emphasized. The house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem are the Jewish people. While in the Apocalypse, in the book of Revelation, John also emphasizes the non-Jews. That's why it simply says, and they, and they, and they, every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over him. So these are non-Jews, all the tribes, non-Jews. So why is he quoting this and talking about all the tribes? And then how does this apply to what we find in Zechariah 12, 10, where it says the spirit of grace and supplication? And it says here, and every eye shall see him, even those who pierced him, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over him. Mourn over him. The great weeping, the great crying, and the anguish is mentioned here. not just among the Jews, but among the Gentiles. So it is unmistakable that the scriptural testimony is that there are two groups of both Jews and Gentiles who are antagonistic and those who are also repentant. Let's take a look at this phrase, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over him. You will notice that this is what was referred by the Lord Jesus, an almost verbatim quotation. So we find that Jesus also taught this passage. So let's take a look at Matthew 24, verse 30. Matthew 24, verse 30. This is exactly after the seven-year tribulation period when the Lord descends from heaven, and it says, and the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. So before he is presented to the world, there will be cosmic signs. Right? Stellar signs in the heavens. And it says, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn. Jesus said that. And they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. That's the passage quoted from Daniel 7. Notice the Lord Jesus both quoted Zechariah 12 and Daniel 7. He was meditating on these two scriptures. Notice what John is meditating on. John is meditating on the very scriptures that he heard from his master, the Lord Jesus Christ. And God is showing him this vision. That's the thesis and the theme of Revelation. But here's the great Theme, repentance. Repentance. Yes, there's rebellion in the book of Revelation. Yes, there's a hardened rejection of the truth of the Messiah. Yes, there's great punishment upon those who are unrepentant, but there is also amazing repentance. A great cloud of people who are reaped from the harvest of souls during the tribulation period. And here the phrase, the mourning of all the tribes matches up with God's gracious outpouring of his spirit and of repentance in the tribulation period. That's the spirit of grace and supplication that we read in Zechariah 12, 10. That is the Holy Spirit just outpouring and convicting people of their sin. So much so that they will mourn in repentance. So the two witnesses, described in the Book of Revelation, and the 144,000 young evangelists, all Jewish young men, virgin, who have not been defiled with women, they're sexually pure, they're set apart for that, 144,000, the two witnesses mentor these 144,000, and their global impact is so powerful that many people will turn. to God during the tribulation period. Not only the nation of Israel, the entire nation will be purged and prepared, the entire nation of Israel. But globally, there'll be a great harvest of souls. And when the nation of Israel sees the Lord Jesus descending from heaven in a slow, visible descent, they will begin to mourn like they've never mourned before. Because they'll realize what they have done. They've crucified their Messiah, they've rejected him for 2,000 years, they've persecuted the followers of Jesus, and they have rejected the word of God. This is in stark contrast to many who will not repent during the tribulation period. Remember I said there are two groups. There's Jews and Gentiles who will repent and will mourn over their sin, but there's both Jews and Gentiles who will stubbornly not repent, who will follow the Antichrist, the beast, who will bear the mark of the beast, who will blaspheme God, who will reject God to the very end. And they will survive the tribulation period. Here it is, in Revelation 16, 9. Go there with me, please, and take a look at three verses in chapter 16. Revelation 16, 9. And the men were scorched with fierce heat, and they blasphemed the name of God, who has the authority over these plagues. Do they know who is causing all this? Yep, yep, they do. And they did not repent so as to give him glory. When sinners repent, it means that they are confessing, God, you are right, I am wrong. You are right in judging me for my sins, and I am a sinner. That's acknowledgement of the truthfulness of God. That's repentance. Look at verse 11, and they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and they did not repent of their deeds. They're just doubling down. They're saying, I don't care what you do to me. Look at verse 21, and huge hailstones about one talent each, whew, that's like 70 pounds. came down from heaven upon men, and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, because its plague was extremely severe. Isn't that interesting that the same situation brings some to repentance, while many harden their hearts in rejection. The same sun softens the wax, melts it, but it hardens the clay. It's really interesting how these things are happening. So while on the one hand, there is a remnant who finally repent and turn to the Lord during the tribulation, but the majority of humanity do not repent. They receive the full penalty of their rebellion against God. So when John quotes these two passages being fulfilled in the vision that he's given, he joyfully says, yes, amen. to this tremendous reality of global repentance, preparation of the return of the King of Kings, John bursts forth in excitement and he agrees. Yes, and amen, or amen means truly. Yes, indeed. Let it be so. Truly, it is so. That is John's expression. That's his personal expression of agreement. And with John, we can all agree. Yes, Lord. You are so gracious to even save those people who are ignorant, who have rejected you, and yet through these plagues, through the tribulation, you have melted their hearts. You have poured out your grace, even upon the undeserving, just like us. We got saved because we were undeserving, and yet you had mercy on us. And you are so gracious and so merciful that even during the tribulation period, you will save. Yes, Lord, truly, you are good. And you will judge those who blaspheme, who reject you, who harden their hearts against you. Yes, Lord, you are a righteous judge. Amen. You have every right to judge all sinners and condemn them So both His grace and His justice, His mercy and His righteousness is upheld. This is God's character. This is God's unfolding of His purposes. And John understands this. This is what the book of Revelation is about. It's a fulfillment of the Old Testament promises of God and the consistent manifestation of God's character and His will in the Bible. And he says, yes, amen. Now after citing the prophetic scripture of fulfillment of the arrival of the Mashiach, let's take a look at and solve this mystery of verse eight. And I will say this is the sovereign forename of the arriver, the sovereign forename. Now notice the I am saying, this is one of Jesus' favorite sayings, the seven I am saying, Ego, Emi, in the Gospel of John, I am. Here, here's the alpha and the omega, which is really interesting because John is writing to mostly Greek-speaking audience, the seven churches in Asia Minor. And so the first letter of the Greek language is alpha, and the last letter of the Greek alphabet is omega. So this is the first and the last. But you'll notice that that's not new either. That's a very old concept. And so when we read this right away in verse eight, it's difficult to tell at first glance whether God the Father is speaking or God the Son is speaking here. Well, the translators put in red letters, so they said, oh, we believe this is God the Son. But as we saw in the context, it's difficult because who is and who was and who is to come in verse 4 was already identified as the Father. So which is it? That's the difficulty. And proper interpretation is very important to proper understanding and application. So we need to understand this. And so how do biblical scholars deal with this difficulty? Well, John Wolvert, who taught at Dallas Theological Seminary, thinks that A rapid switch like this to God the Father from verse 7, clearly the one who's coming in the clouds and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, that's clearly the Son. Only the second person of the Holy Trinity, only the God the Son incarnate, only he's the one who had a body and so it was pierced, so he's talking about the Son, that's clear. And so a rapid change from God the Son in verse seven to God the Father in verse eight is improbable because it is too abrupt. So that's one scholar's opinion. Another scholar by the name of Smith asserts that similar title as Lord God and Almighty are also applied to Jesus. And he's right. So as a matter of fact, If you have the red-letter version of the Bible, you would automatically think, oh, this is Jesus talking. But here are two passages within the book of Revelation that steers us into a different direction. Let's take a look at those two passages. Revelation 21, verses 5, 6, 7, and 8. Let's read it in context. Revelation 21. And he who sits on the throne said, behold, another attention-grabbing word, I am making all things new. And he said, write, for these words are faithful and true. Now notice the two things, the one who sits on the throne. Both Jesus and the Father sit on thrones. So we're still confused, okay, who is this? I'm making all things new, that's a promise. Right for these words are faithfulness, that's a command. Who's giving the command? Then he said to me, verse six, they are done. I am the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end. That's the familiar language that we just saw in chapter one. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of water of life without cost. Verse seven, he who overcomes will inherit these things. Now read very carefully. And I will be his God, and he will be my son. What is that the doctrine of? That's the doctrine of the sonship through adoption in the Bible. And we're all adopted into the family of God, and we have the spirit of sonship whereby we cry, Abba, Father. To whom our Lord Jesus Christ also said, My Father. I go to my Father, my God, your Father, your God. Our Father, who art in heaven. The Father of God in the Doctrine of Adoption makes this character, the speaker, God the Father. This clarifies some things. Now take a look at chapter 21, verse 22. Here's the defining verse that helps us to distinguish between God the Father and God the Son. Because only God the Son is described as the Lamb in the book of Revelation. Revelation 21, verse 22. And I saw no sanctuary in it, for, here's the full title, Lord God, Akurios and Theos in Greek, the Almighty, Pantokrator, Pantokrator Almighty and the Lamb are its sanctuary. Notice the distinction of the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. So full name and title, Lord God Almighty is distinguished from the Lamb who is the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, when we look at Pauline theology, this is not just John, but also Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians, please go there, chapter six, verse 18, you'll see also this language of adoption sonship language. 2 Corinthians chapter six, verse 18. Of course, Paul is quoting Old Testament again. from the Davidic Covenant, but he also uses that great name and title. 2 Corinthians 6.18, it says, And I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty. There's kurios pantokrator. That adoption language of God being the father of those who overcome and inherit his inheritance is the language that identifies the speaker as the Father God. So in addition to three prepositional phrases in verse four, introduced with the Greek preposition apa, that we studied before, had already outlined the divine title, who is, who was, and who is to come as God the Father. So the immediate context supports the speaker of verse eight as God the Father. And the larger context of chapter 21 and 22 describes God the Father clearly distinguished from God the Son. So now let's get back to verse eight. Then, this is striking. Soon as the description of the return of the Lord Jesus Christ with the clouds of heaven is described in verse seven, immediately, someone speaks. And at this point, because of what we just studied, we have to ignore the red letters. And in our mind, turn them all into black. And in our mind, Picture God the Father speaking. That's quite remarkable. I am the Alpha and Omega, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. I am the Alpha and Omega, says the Lord God, who is and who was, who is to come. What is God the Father doing? He's placing his stamp of His Divine Signature pointing to the absolute fulfillment of all the Scriptures and all the events that describe regarding His Son, regarding all the events in the Book of Revelation and He's saying, this is I, the One, the Creator, Maker, Sustainer, the Giver of the Word So both God the Father and God the Son are intimately involved here in the book of Revelation. So the other reference in the Bible of a direct speech from God the Father makes this, in the beginning, an open parenthesis, a bracketing effect, and the end of Revelation, a closed parenthesis, is what we call an inclusio. That's why we say, ah, this is the theme and the thesis of the entire book, because it's structured this way. When the scripture says, I am, that's very important because this is the Lord Jesus' self-designation, but also the Father says, I am. Therefore, we see already a close connection, theologically, lexically, of the oneness between God the Father and God the Son. And that a sharp distinction is not necessary. We see this close association with God the Father and God the Son in Pauline theology. Colossians 2 verse 9 says, for in him all the fullness of deity dwells bodily. All the fullness of deity dwells bodily. Try to wrap your mind around that concept. The fullness of Godhead, fullness of the deity, Godhood, Godness, dwells bodily. That's just an amazing passage. And in the book of Hebrews, Hebrews 1.3, who is the radiance of his glory and the exact representation of his nature. The radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his nature. Nowhere in the Old Testament has anyone seen God directly. All the manifestation of God was through the second person of the Holy Trinity, but yet behind that revelation is God the Father, always. It's hard to separate, but because of Jesus, we see this awesome description of the infinite God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ, and his close fellowship and association with God the Father. In Exodus 3, 14, God said to Moses, I am who I am. And he said, thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, I am has sent me to you. Isaiah 48, verse 12, he says, hear me, O Yaakov, even Israel, whom I have called, I am he, I am first, I am also the last. And that's this phrase, alpha and the omega. addressing Greek-speaking audience, talking about the totality of God, first and last, the eternality of God, Alpha and the Omega, the infinity of God. Isaiah 41, verse four, who has worked and done it, calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, Yahweh, am the first, and with the last, I am he. There's the first and the last language. Isaiah 43, 10, you are my witnesses, declares Yahweh, and my servant whom I have chosen so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me there was no God formed and there will be none after me. Isaiah 44, six, thus says Yahweh, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, Yahweh of hosts, I am first and I am the last, and there is no God beside me. Isaiah 48, verse 12, hear me, O Yaakov, even Israel, whom I called, I am he, I am the first, and I am also the last. So what we just read in Revelation chapter one is a familiar phrase and language and concept to the Bible reader. He's not saying anything new. God is saying what he has always said about his completeness, his perfection, his eternality, and his everlasting presence, the totality and the infinity. All the things that it's hard for us finite minds to fathom, this is God, first to last. No human being can ever say that. Again, these words, phrases, and concepts are not new at all. They're very old phrases and concepts. So the eternal, infinite God is the one who is speaking. And the last title, the Almighty. That's very important because it takes a lot of power to predict what's going to happen to control what will happen and then to make it to pass exactly what was predicted so that it would happen. And so that when all of this is over, we'll look back and look at what God said and what he did and we will be in awe. That will automatically provoke a heart of worship. And that's why it's important to understand the Bible in order for us to worship properly. You cannot worship God without understanding. How will you be enthralled in the awesomeness of God when you hardly even know who He is and what He has done? Well, the very description who is and who was and who is to come can apply to both God the Son and God the Father. As a matter of fact, God the Holy Spirit too. When accompanied by the title, The Almighty, Pantokrator, which appears nine times in the book, The designation points to the Father. Seven out of the nine times where Almighty appears, Lord God, kurios deos, that's mentioned along with the Almighty. So seven out of nine times, it's Lord, God, and Almighty. The remaining two is just God, Almighty. And the last time the word appears, was in Revelation 21, verse 22. And I saw no sanctuary in it for the Lord God, the Almighty, and the Lamb are its sanctuary. And the Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ, glorified Son of God, appears with the Father. So this title is attributed both to the Father and to the Son. So we are not surprised that we are confused. Who is speaking here? Isaiah 9, 6, for a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us, and the government will rest on his shoulders, and his name will be called Wonderful Counselor. Did you know that in the Septuagint, in the Greek translation, the Greek translator saw this and they said, okay, let's just end it there. They just put Wonderful Counselor. And they didn't write Mighty God and Eternal Father. Because they knew, how in the world can a child be born and hold the title, Mighty God and Eternal Father? They were having all kinds of theological discussions, as you can tell. All kinds of problems with this idea. A child will be born who has a title, Mighty God. Here he's called Almighty God, the Lord God Almighty. So in Hebrew, El Gibor and Avi Ad are unusual titles because they, They're titles given only to God. There's absolutely no way a human being can hold these titles. So they just put down their pen and say, I'm done. Can't write this. I know that's what it says in Hebrew. I can't translate this into Greek. This is the kind of dissonance that the Greek translators had. but not the New Testament writers, right? So let's take a look at Colossians chapter one. Why don't we have any problems with this? And why is this a powerful apologetic and witnessing tool to both Jews and Muslims, all Unitarians? Because they will all get caught up with this. That's why they're not going to repent, they're not going to accept the Lord Jesus Christ, because they're stuck in their own narrow view of the monistic view of God, not the scriptural self-revelation of God. Colossians 1.16, it says, for in Him all things were created, well that's the Creator, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, Not just the physical things, but also spiritual things. All things have been created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Now, if that passage were read out of context, then you would say, well, that's clearly talking about God. Well, if you read on, it says, he's also the head of the church. Oh, it's talking about Jesus. How can these lofty titles, these amazing descriptions be attributed to a human? That's exactly why we read Daniel 7. That's exactly why we understand the heart that is necessary to receive this truth in Zechariah 12. See, only those who understand that it is the one like the Son of Man who received this eternal kingdom from the Father of Eternity, from the Ancient of Days, and only those whose heart has been transformed by the outpouring of the Spirit of Grace and Supplication can come to the realization, oh, my goodness, my Creator, my Maker, He's the one who came down in a tiny baby's body in the manger through a woman's womb and he was born on earth, he walked and he ate and he slept. He was fatigued and tired and thirsty like me. He experienced all of the human experiences yet without sin lived a perfect life and he died on a cruel cross of no sins of his own but to bear our sins to be the suffering servant? This is the Lord God Almighty? This is the Eternal One who was and who is and who is to come? This is God the Son? Yes, and God the Father is saying, I am placing my divine signature telling you that all I have told you in the scriptures will come to pass. That's why Jesus said, heaven and earth will pass away, but not the least stroke of a pen will pass away until it is fulfilled. Because he is the highlight. He's the central person. He is the great fulfillment of the Lord. Now we have a big problem. We have a big problem with religion and religionists. We have a big problem because we, even in the Evangelical Church, have been lulled into a sense of complacency to believe that there are good people out there among religions and religionists. There are good Buddhists, good Hindus, good Muslims, good Jews, and yet we do not understand that they're all the same in active rebellion and rejecting God and his Messiah. So instead of sensing a deep pangs of compassion and urgency to witness to them, we live among them, but we don't have that sense of urgency. And so our prayer is weakened. It's sporadic. And we don't understand that they're part with the same secular humanity that will be preserved for judgment. So let's take a look as Apostle Paul writes regarding this unbelief. How is this unbelief? How are these religionists? How are all this diverse groups of people, tribes, nation, and tongue, and religions, how are they going to come to the realization? 2 Corinthians chapter 3. Let's go there, please, as we close, as we meditate on these things and as we think about a proper application of them. John saw a vision of the scriptural fulfillment. He heard the very voice of God the Father affirming all these things and his great might and power who's going to accomplish these things. And the answer is in Christ. 2 Corinthians 3 verse 14. He's talking about the unbelief of the Jews in 2nd Corinthians 3.14, but their minds were hardened. For until this very day at the reading of the old covenant, see that? These are religious people, they're gathered in the synagogue, they're hearing the reading of the scriptures, reading of the old covenant, the same veil remains unlifted because it is brought to an end in Christ. No amount of religious information will bring them to the saving knowledge of Jesus until they acknowledge who Jesus is. And the scripture is very clear. And what does it take? Zechariah 12, it takes the spirit of God's grace and the spirit of supplication, a repentant heart, And how are they going to repent if they don't hear the Word of God from someone who is born again? Not only do they need a message, they need a messenger to carry that message to them and witness to them. This is why the Church is called to stand firm and continue to witness to the world until the day comes when our work is done, when God's agenda for the final seven-year period of the world simultaneously will be poured out upon the world and He will bring great tribulation and through it He will humble the masses and He will punish the masses. That's what the book of Revelation details, and there's a lot of details here. The details are given for a purpose, because everything will come to pass. This is the theme and the thesis of the book of Revelation. His word is true. It will come to pass, every detail of it. God has placed his signature on it. It is good as done. You and I can find confidence and joy as well as assurance and faith as we recognize this because everything that he has said has come to pass. And so what is now left to be fulfilled will come to pass. You and I can pray effectively, witness effectively, live our lives for the Lord in these remaining days before the rapture, before the seven-year tribulation period. We can live soberly. And I pray that you would live soberly. In all the plans that you make, I pray that you would commit them to prayer and say, Lord, if it is your will, according to your purpose and for your glory, let these things come to pass. If not, then take it away. I don't even need them. Let your will be done. In all your relationships, Lord, if this is the way that you would bless me, let it be so. If not, then take it away. I have no problems. I give you the full veto right to overwrite whatever my desires are, whatever my plans are, because those aren't important. Your will and your glory is what I seek. May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And this must be our attitude, sober-minded living, as we await for the blessed appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ. May the scriptural fulfillment and the amazing signature of our God the Father give you the sense of assurance that you need in these uncertain times and tumultuous age where human opinions and speculations cloud our thinking and judgment. No, we need to meditate on the Word of God and anchor our soul on what is certain, not on what is transient. So let's look to the Lord in prayer as we give thanks together. Father, we thank you that the very Son that you so love the only begotten. You have given him up for us all that we might be saved through him. We thank you for his perfect life that we couldn't live. We thank you, Lord, for his perfect atoning death and sacrifice for our sins and our place. And we thank you for his glorious resurrection from the dead, giving us hope and eternal life and righteousness imputed. Thank you, Lord, that you give us confidence and joy to live lives soberly here until all these things that you have proclaimed in your holy scriptures will come to pass. Give us sobriety, give us discernment, but most of all, most of all, give us, Lord, a humble heart to live for your great name and glory. Help us to maximize every opportunity for the gospel witness while we have it, for the people around us, and be busy about the Master's business until that great day when the Lord Jesus returns to receive us unto himself. We give you thanks and praise, for you are good, and your word is true. And as John say, so we say, yes, Lord. Amen.