Sermon Tone Analysis

intro:

I want to ask the kids in the room a question, actually I can ask you all, but for the adults present you have to think back to when you were a kid.

Do, or did your parents ever have a final warning for you?

You know that thing parents do to get you to stop doing what you were doing that was bad, or maybe it was something they would do to get you to go to bed on time.

For me the most effective final warning, was the countdown.

I’m going to count down from 5 and if you aren’t in your bed, I am going to (could be take away a privilege, time out wasn’t usually threatened at bed time, or the much feared wooden spoon or paddle, reserved for more disrespectful behaviors) 5, 4, 3, 2,....she never needed to get to 1.

I was the youngest of 3, I already knew what happened when Mom got to 1, and I wanted no part.

Why couldn’t those countdowns be something like, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Here is an extra desert for finishing your vegetables!! (not “no desert, because you didn’t eat your broccoli!”)

As humans we need warnings!

I’m thankful for warnings on the road, (traffic ahead, or construction ahead, gives me a chance to see if there is an alternate route to my destination, or atleast mentally prepares me for the long wait that will be coming on the road.

The Bible is filled with warnings!

The prophets, often ignored in the Old Testament gave warning after warning to God’s people to repent.

Often they would heed those warnings right at the last second.

Kind of like 5, 4, 3, 2, “Okay Lord, have mercy, forgive us!”

Other times they didn’t heed those warnings, this would lead to invasions and eventually being taken into captivity.

Warnings also came in the form of reminders, reminding the people of God’s faithfulness and bringing the people out of Egypt, and God’s protection to his people during famine and attacks of other nations.

My friends, there is last message in scripture that gives both warning and reminder to God’s people…some would take this message as a warning to shape up or else....I choose to see the love of God permeated as a reminder for God’s people of His faithfulness.

Today we are going to explain this final message for the world, but before we begin, lets take time to pray.

Today we are going to be bouncing around .

These are chapters, I know some of you longtime Adventists are quite familiar with, and for some of you who haven’t spent much time in Revelation at all, don’t feel bad, I resisted the better part of my life avoiding Revelation.

Like any passage we read in scripture, it is my desire for each of us to understand the context in which it is written in.

If you look at the title of the sermon, and I’ve already said, were going to explore in , some of you may guess that the last message would be found in other wise known as the “Three angels message” You would be correct, and that is what many Adventists affectionately call it.

Today, I am going to call those verses, “the last message for this world.”

I’ll come back to that later.

portrays the final conflict of Earth’s history.

The book doesn’t read like an American novel, it doesn’t read completely left to right where the climax takes place at the end.

Now for those of you who have read revelation knows, the end of the book has a great conclusion.

Jesus wins, in the battle of Armageddon and the great controversy!

If your the type of reader who likes to cheat and skip to the end, you will find great things at the end of Revelation and the end of Bible for that matter.

But in the center, some might call the heart of the book is chapters 12-14.

from onward, the last moments of this drama are revealed: God’s intervention in favor of His saints in the form of 7 plagues.

Plagues 6 and 7 depict the collapse of Babylon in the battle of armageddon.

chapters 17-18 describe the fall of babylon in further detail, and then chapter 19 pictures the intervention of Jesus with His army as the rider on the white horse rescuing humanity, looking every bit the king and so much more, that the disciples pictured when Jesus came the first time.

This depiction is followed by millenium in Heaven, in chapter 20, and then the new Heaven and New Earth depicted in the final 2 chapters of the book.

So before these final events and maybe I should say, before the new beginning for God’s people, there is warning.

It is a warning for not just God’s people, but all of humanity a universal message to everyone for the last time of Earth’s history.

Let’s get into the context of chapters 12-14.

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Chapter 12 narrates in symbolic form:

The birth (coming forth) of the Messiah (the male child) from the true people of God (the woman) and the attempt of Satan (the dragon/serpent) to kill Him.

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-----------Much of the Bible can be summarized in verse 1-5 of .

Since Lucifer became Satan, he has been our saviors greatest enemy who relentlessly has tried to destroy this world and would like nothing more than to see our Lord suffer, by terrorizing what is most precious to Him, us.

Verses 6, 13-16 depicts symbolically Satan’s war against the church throughout the centuries (1260 days interpreted as 1260 literal years) after the ascension of the messiah to God in order to destroy it.

Verses 7-12 depict as a prequel to the narrative, the heavenly battle between (Jesus/Michael) and Satan, which ended in Satan’s defeat but not destruction.

Satan’s battle at the end time is with the remnant of the woman, the true offspring of the church, who are known as keepers of the commandments of God, whom hold the true testimony of Christ.

Everything Jesus created, everything He has built, everything and everyone he has saved, the devil is opposed to.

There is a reason, Satan is referred to as a dragon and serpent and destroyer.

He seeks the destruction of all things Holy.

He desires to see Jesus lose everything precious to Him.

Thus the great controversy is real.

From the world’s genesis, until the destruction of Sin, the devil does not rest in his slander, traps, and ultimately plots to destroy God.

God’s plan is sure, though, His plan has ben enacted.

Jesus life, death, and resurrection.

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Chapter 13 in two parts:

Chapter 13 in two parts:

develops how Satan attempts to achieve his goal of destruction of God’s people.

He uses a beast coming out of the sea to wage war against those who are true to God and to enforce universal worship of the dragon and the beast.

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In addition, he uses a beast coming out of the Earth to erect an image of the first beast, forcing the world population to worship the sea beast and to accept the mark of beast.

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Adventist scholars have interpreted the first half of to have taken place during the 1260 days taking place largely in the middle ages and the persecution of the early protestant reformation.

The second half is interpreted as a a great world power (later in revelation to be called symbolically Babylon) declaring allegiance to the sea beast WHICH is doing the bidding of the dragon.

No wonder, so many who have preached Revelation have relied on scary beastly images.

While hollywood draws millions into the movies for scary monsters and horror flicks, Revelation is a book of hope.

I don’t believe the inspired word uses fear as its main draw.

The message is not Fear the devil…run to Jesus!

The message of Revelation is, Jesus loves us so much and HAS defeated the devil.

Jesus does not terrify us into being followers of Him.

He wins our heart with his faithfulness and love.

He doesn’t threaten, He reminds us of his unrelenting love.

The imagery of Revelation is to be taken seriously, for what it represents are literal events in the past, present, and future.

But it is our faith in Jesus, that allows us to live in peace and without fear, not out of naivety, but out of faithfulness.

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Chapter 14

Chapter 14

This chapter, not only presents the divine counter message to the evil propaganda of wickedness, but demonstrates the final outcome of the great controversy.

First this chapter portrays those who have withstood the counterfeit trinity otherwise known as the satanic trinity.

(the dragon, the sea beast, and earth beast known as Babylon).

Those who withstand are with Jesus Christ, described as the symbolic 144,000, the remnant.

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Then comes THE LAST MESSAGE TO THIS WORLD, the message of three angels which is proclaimed----BY THE REMNANT ()

Next occurs Christ’s 2nd coming, which is described symbolically as the harvest of the earth with 2 groups involved, the saved and the lost.

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Church be comforted to know there is no trap, no plan, no beast, the devil can concoct that be able to expel God’s plan of salvation and the redemption of mankind.

We must also recognize our great to need to respond to Christ’s calling.

We must first accept Jesus as our savior personally, and understand by accepting Jesus, we are also accepting his calling to be ministers of the gospel to others in our lives.

Lets examine for ourselves God’s last message!

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This message comes in 3 parts proclaimed by the 3 angels.

But this message, although sounding like judgment, is nevertheless the great eternal gospel!

This message comes in 3 parts proclaimed by the 3 angels.

But this message, although sounding like judgment, is nevertheless the great eternal gospel!

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Those of you with your Bibles this morning, please turn to:

Those of you with your Bibles this morning, please turn to:(Change slide)

Revelation 14:

This was the first part of the message.

I hope you didn’t miss this:

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a. the universal proclamation of the eternal gospel!

a.

a. the universal proclamation of the eternal gospel!

Revelation shares with the rest of the New testament the conviction that the gospel must be preached to all nations before the end comes (; ).