The Book of Revelation - Chapter 1 - The Revelation of Yeshua the Messiah (Part 1)

The day is coming and drawing so near.

The prophet's words are being fulfilled.

The times and seasons are at hand

For the glorious arrival of the Son of Man.

His lightning flashes the east and the west.

The earth will endure the Lord's test.

Be saved by his name while he can be found.

Seek his face before the trumpet sounds.

The day of the Lord comes as a thief in the night.

Before that day, keep your lamp trimmed.

The day of the Lord is full of dread.

In that day, who can endure?

Peace and safety — then sudden destruction, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. The powers of heaven will shake the earth, shaking everything under the Lord's judgment. The day is gloomy and full of darkness. The sun and moon will lose their brightness. Nations, prepare for the Lord's sacrifice. His sickle is coming. The harvest is ripe.

The day of the Lord comes as a thief in the night.

Before that day, keep your lamp trimmed.

The day of the Lord is full of wrath.

In that day, who can endure?

It is the day of vengeance and redemption's story. The Lord is arriving with power and glory. The fig tree is blooming and has started to bud for the King of Kings to pierce the heavens above. Sons of the light and sons of the day — be sober and watchful, walk in his way. The Lord is zealous and will roar like a lion. He will sit on David's throne, dwelling in Zion.

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Hide me in your secret place.

Shelter me under the shadow of your wings.

Call me in the day of trouble.

Shield me in your holy arms.

Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved — from fire, from the sword.

To the end, shine like the stars of heaven.

Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Shine so bright.

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We will be going through the Book of Revelation in sections. We will begin with an introduction to Revelation 1, then go through the seven churches, and then break it down according to the seals, the trumpets, the bowls, and all the subchapters as we make our way to the end of the book.

Thank you for joining us. We hope everyone is enjoying the counting of the Omer. We will be going through the blessing of that as well today. We will also be celebrating the Shabbat, going through a couple of scriptures, getting into that mode of the Shabbat, and then getting into the Book of Revelation.

Revelation 1 is really outstanding once we understand where Yeshua is coming from. It is a Torah and prophets dialogue — a discourse of the Torah and the prophets — just as he said he was coming to fulfill the Torah, the prophets, and the Psalms. When we read Revelation 1, it is an absolute discourse of the Torah and the prophets. It is a teaching right there in Revelation 1 about the coming King, the returning King. So we truly appreciate everyone joining us on this beautiful Shabbat.

Let us dive into the scriptures. First and foremost, let us look at what is known as the Shema. This is recited in most Messianic and Orthodox synagogues every Shabbat. We like to say it as well. It is the creed, the heart posture, that we carry as we enter into worship on the Shabbat.

In Deuteronomy 6:4–9, it says: "Hear, O Israel, Yah is our God. Yah is Echad. You shall love Yahweh your God with all of your heart, with all of your soul, and with all of your might. These words which I am commanding you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons, and shall speak of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as signs between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorpost of your house and on your gates."

This is a beautiful creed for the Shabbat. It is sung or said in Orthodox and Messianic congregations every week. We like to start there because God wants all of us to hear him — not just on the Shabbat but throughout life. "Hear, O Israel" — he is one and only one. We shall love the Lord with all of our heart, soul, and might. These words shall be on our hearts, taught diligently to our children, spoken of throughout the day, bound on our hands as witnesses, written between our eyes, and inscribed on the doorposts of our homes and our gates.

In Genesis 2:1–3, it says: "Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all of their hosts. And on the seventh day, Elohim completed his work which he had done. And he rested on the seventh day from all of his work which he had done. Then Elohim blessed the seventh day and sanctified it — set it apart — because on it he rested from all of his work which Elohim had created in making it."

Verse 3 tells us very plainly that he made only one day holy, and that is the seventh day — Saturday. The rest of the days are common. We all know that man changed the Sabbath to Sunday. In AD 325, at the Council of Nicaea, Emperor Constantine changed the Sabbath to Sunday. But God never changes, so it has never truly changed.

In Exodus 20:8–11, it says: "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all of your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of Yahweh your God. In it, you shall do no work — you, your sons, your daughters, your male or female servants, your cattle, or your sojourner who is within your gates." Then Moses gives homage back to the Creator, reverting to Genesis 2 within the Ten Commandments: "For in six days, Yahweh created the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore, Yahweh blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy."

What is remarkable is that toward sundown on Friday, if you go out near a pond or into the woods, everything begins to quiet down — the animals, everything. Even creation acknowledges the Sabbath. We are to rest in him and keep it holy.

In Hebrews 4:1–7, the writer of Hebrews says: "Let us fear, therefore, lest perhaps any one of you should seem to have come short of the promise of entering into his rest. For indeed, we have had good news preached to us, even as they also did, but the word did not profit them because it was not mixed with faith by those who heard it. For we who have believed do enter into that rest, even as he has said, 'As I have sworn in my wrath, they will not enter into my rest' — although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. For he has said somewhere about the seventh day, 'God rested on the seventh day from all of his works.' And in this place again, 'They will not enter into my rest.' Seeing therefore it still remains that some should enter into it, and they to whom the good news was preached before failed to enter in because of disobedience. He again defines a certain day, saying through David, so long a time afterward, 'Today, if you will hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.'"

The writer continues in Hebrews 4:9: "So there remains a Sabbath-keeping for God's people. For the one who has entered God's rest has also rested from his own works, just as God did from his. Therefore, let us do our best to enter into that rest, so that no one will fall short because of the same kind of disobedience. For the word of God is alive, it is at work, and it is sharper than any double-edged sword. It cuts right through to where the soul meets the spirit and the joints meet the marrow. And it is quick to judge the inner reflections and the attitudes of the heart. Before God, nothing created is hidden, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account."

This is extremely important. The writer is saying that there still remains a Sabbath-keeping for God's people — whether Jew or Gentile, for all who want to be part of the commonwealth of Israel in Yeshua. The Sabbath is a covenant. The one who has entered God's rest has also rested from his own works, just as God did. We must do our best to enter into that Sabbath so that no one falls into the same kind of disobedience as those who came before. That means being on the right Sabbath — today, Saturday — because to be otherwise would be disobedience.

The word of God is alive. It cuts right through to where the soul meets the spirit. And we must have the right heart posture, as the Shema in Deuteronomy 6 reminds us. Before God, nothing is hidden. All things are open to him to whom we must give account.

The writer of Hebrews — whether Paul or another — is placing great importance in the New Testament on the Sabbath, reverting back to Genesis 2 and the creation account where God rested on the seventh day, which Moses then confirms in Exodus 20. And God told Moses in Exodus 19 that the people who are saved are going to believe him forever. We must believe Moses. As Yeshua himself says in John 5, if you will not believe Moses, you would not even believe someone who rose from the dead. If people will not believe Moses, they will not believe the Son of Man, Yeshua the Messiah. It is very important to identify with what he is truly saying in these beautiful passages.