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What the World Is Coming to a Commentary on the Book of Revelation by Chuck Smith Preface Forewarning 1.The Revelation 2.Four Me

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What The World Is Coming To A Commentary on the Book of Revelation by Chuck Smith Preface Forewarning 1.The Revelation 2.Four Messages 3.Three Messages 4.The Rapture 5.Who Owns the Earth? 6.Bad News 7.Two Special Groups 8.Calamities 9.Misery, Woe, and Suffering 10.Foreshadowing of the King 11.Two Special Agents 12.People and Places 13.The Antichrist 14.Final Warning 15.The Plagues Are Coming! 16.A World of Despair 17.Counterfeit Church 18.Bankruptcy 19.Jesus Comes Again 20.The Perfect Government 21.Our New Address 22.Peace Like a River Preface Many people say, "Stay out of the book of Revelation. That's a sealed book and you really can't understand it." It's true that, by attempting to interpret Revelation, people have done many weird things with it. But, in reality, it's a book that was not intended to be sealed. It was intended to be read and understood. In this commentary on the book of Revelation we have sought to express concepts and conclusions drawn after years of study. We do not ask you just to accept them because we have stated them, but we urge you to search the Scriptures to see if these things be so. The Bible says, These [people of Berea] were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so (Acts 17:11). Also, the Scriptures tell us to "prove all things" and to "hold fast that which is good" (I Thessalonians 5:21). Forewarning "THE END OF THE WORLD IS NEAR." That statement used to be associated with old, gray bearded men walking barefooted in long robes with sandwich boards over their shoulders. The front of the board read "Repent" and the back read "The end of the world is near." We used to pass them off as crackpots and laugh at such a thought or idea. But lately I've been reading not the wild fanatical statements of some old, so- called prophet but, rather, the statements of men of science, men with a Ph.D. who are highly respected for their knowledge. These men have studied the environmental conditions of the earth. Do you know what they're saying? They're saying, "The end of the world is near." In fact, these experts are saying that man has anywhere from fourteen to forty years left upon this planet until we have so totally raped our natural resources that we can no longer survive. These men with their doctorates, who are carefully studying the balances of nature, are saying that the end of the world is near. Is this possible? Can we really believe these ecologists? Are we really destroying nature's balances? Are we really wiping out hundreds of species, are we depleting our energy resources, and destroying the environment around us? Is it true that certain birds cannot hatch their eggs because of the DDT deposits in the eggshells? Is it true that the earth's ozone blanket is steadily disappearing? Are such things really happening? Maybe they're just trying to scare us. However, they aren't the only ones warning us. Our militarists are telling us that the end of the world is near. They're warning us that if man engages in a full- scale atomic war, we'll exterminate ourselves from the face of the earth and it will be the end of civilization. In the face of these warnings, the United States continues to maintain its atomic arsenal and the systems to deliver atomic bombs upon our enemies. By the same token, our enemies are maintaining their atomic arsenals and the means of delivering them upon the United States. The real danger is the widespread proliferation of nations now possessing atomic weapons. We're in this mad war of building these huge atomic arsenals. And already there are enough atomic weapons stockpiled to obliterate mankind from the face of the earth. Not only are the ecologists and militarists warning us, but so are the diplomats. Those analysts who study world conditions tell us that the world is sitting on a powder keg - and the fuse is being lit in the Middle East. At any time the situation can explode into a full-scale conflagration of the great world powers. The end of the world is near. Is it possible that man could come to the end of an era? Don't we just go on forever, one society replacing another, one generation following another, on and on and on? Hasn't man cried this before? What do they mean, "The end of the world is near"? The Answer When Christians talk about the end of the world, they mean something different than the scientists. The scientists are talking about the end of mankind. Christians are talking about the end of the cosmos. This Greek word for world means "the set order." Christians are talking about the end of the present world order which is governed by Satan and in rebellion against God. Man has had his day, and the day of man's attempt to govern himself is about to close. For a long time we've sought to govern ourselves and to live independently from God. We've tried about every conceivable form of government. We've sought for equality and justice. We've replaced one system of government with another. But we've proven, by the variety of governmental forms tried, that it's impossible for man to govern himself without falling into corruption. Even communism, the newest form, has already slipped into an irrevocable form of corruption from which there is no recovery. What's the answer? What's the answer to the world's cries for peace, and the world's cries for love, and the world's cries for dwelling together in harmony? There is no answer except Jesus Christ. We who are of the church look for a new form of government - a monarchy that embraces the entire world. We're waiting for our King to come and set up that monarchy. We're waiting for righteousness to cover the earth as the waters cover the seas. This glorious coming Kingdom and the momentous events surrounding its establishment are described to us in the prophetic book of Revelation. 1. The Revelation The Bible is unique and different from any other book in the world. It is a book that still stands today after years and years of criticism. It has been hammered on by all kinds of people for thousands of years. The hammers have worn out but the book still remains. The Bible took over two thousand years to write and includes more than forty different authors. Yet, it is one, beautiful, continuous story of God's love and God's plan for sinning man. The book of Revelation, written by the apostle John, is the last book of the Bible. It is divided into three sections or divisions. In Revelation 1:19 John was told by the angel to "write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be after these things." In chapter one, John wrote the things which he had seen - the vision of Jesus Christ. This is the first section of the book. In chapters two and three, John wrote the things which are the letters of Jesus to the seven churches of Asia dealing with - things concerning the church, the ministry of the church, and the witness of the church in the world. These letters are the second section of the book and they describe the various periods of church history. From Revelation 4 onward, the third section of Revelation, John prophesied those things which are to take place after the church has been taken out of the world - the future which is about to unfold before us. REVELATION 1:1-2 The head of your King James Bible says "The Revelation of St. John the Divine." That is not accurate. That is man's heading. The book of Revelation does not reveal St. John the Divine. It reveals Jesus Christ. We get the truth in verse one: "The Revelation of Jesus Christ." The word revelation is a translation of the Greek word "apokalypsis" which literally means "unveiling." Picture, if you will, a draped statue that is about to be dedicated in front of city hall. The band is playing, the mayor gives a speech, and the artist who carved the statue tells about designing it. Then, the dramatic moment comes and the canvas is lifted. Everybody sees this statue that will now adorn city hall for the next century. That lifting-off of the canvas in the Greek is the word apokalypsis. It is taking off the wraps so you can see. The book of Revelation is the unveiling of Jesus Christ. So rather than being a sealed book, as some claim, it is taking the wrap off so that we might see Jesus in His future glory. It is extremely important for you to know what God is and who Jesus Christ is. Some of you are totally ignorant concerning God. Your hearts are darkened. You have no knowledge of Him. Some of you have a veil over your eyes and heart, and you really don't want any knowledge of God. The Bible states, "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God" (Psalm 141). The man is a fool who doesn't seek to know God.
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