Introduction: These transcripts of Kay Arthur's lectures on Revelation (Parts 2-4) are provided as a service to the body of Christ with the written permission of Precept Ministries International. This material is the property of Precept Ministries International and all rights are reserved. The transcripts are for the most part verbatim with deletions identified by the characters (… ). The utilization of italics, bolding, hyperlinks and pop up notes represent editorial additions. Any written additions are identified by the designation "Ed note". Note that all text in blue identifies a link or popup. All reference are the NASB unless otherwise indicated. Please note that these lectures by Kay Arthur supplement the excellent Precept Upon Precept inductive Bible study on the Revelation. Click the following links to view each division of this encouraging study and note that you can also download the first lesson of each of the 4 parts: Revelation - Pt 1 - Revelation 1-3, 10 lessons Revelation - Pt 2- Revelation 4-22, 12 lessons Revelation - Pt 3- Revelation 4-22, 11 lessons Revelation - Pt 4 - Revelation 4-22, 14 lessons If you can find a local Precept class studying Revelation, I would strongly encourage you to join the class, as I know of no other study available anywhere in the world that will equip you so thoroughly to discern the signs of the times and cause you to live expectantly as you look for Christ's Return! Literal chart summaries |
YOUR KINSMAN REDEEMER: PART 1 |
Revelation 5
Who are the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse? We will look at Revelation 5, which is a scene in heaven. What is so special about the SCROLL? The Lamb takes the seven sealed scroll (NASB = ''book'', Greek biblion, - Rev. 1:11; 5:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9; 6:14; 10:8; 13:8; 17:8; 20:12; 21:27; 22:7, 9, 10, 18, 19) from the One seated on the throne. (Ed: Click well written conservative comment on the scroll in Revelation 5) Why was he weeping? Because no one was found worthy to open the scroll. Why did John want the scroll opened? Because as we have seen the opening of that scroll unleashed all manner of cataclysmic events.
Revelation 6 describes the beginning of cataclysmic events in the heavens, as all men on earth (great and small, bond and free) seek to hide in caves and among rocks, crying out because of the WRATH OF THE LAMB and OF GOD HAS COME TO THE EARTH.
Why is the scroll written on the FRONT & BACK? There is no room left to add anything else, so no can tamper with it. When the seals are broken, we see the "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" ride onto the world scene. When the Seventh Seal is broken, (Rev 8:1-note) Seven Trumpets are sounded in succession and when the Seventh Trumpet sounds John records that
The Seventh trumpet inaugurates the beginning of the kingdom of this world becoming the kingdom of our Christ. Proceeding out of the Seventh Trumpet are Seven Bowls of Judgment which are poured out upon the earth. The pouring out of the first bowl produces a
This bowl is poured out on all those who have worshiped the Beast and taken the mark of the beast (described in Rev 13:16, 17-note) After the Seventh and final bowl John records these words
That is, the wrath of God is finished. Then follows an earthquake like none other. And "the great city" (Rev 16:19) was split into three parts. And Babylon is given the cup of the wrath of God and the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom of our Christ. GIVEN THE SUCCESSION OF EVENTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE OPENING OF THE SEVEN SEALED SCROLL, WE CAN BEGIN TO SEE WHY THE OPENING OF THE SCROLL IS SO SIGNIFICANT. You may be saying ''But this is judgment… Why are they weeping when no one could open the scroll? And why do they rejoice over the breaking of the seals if the result is only judgment?'' EXPLANATION OF THE REJOICING OVER BREAKING OF THE SEALS: Revelation 4 = begins with "after these things", that is after the things John had seen and described in Revelation 1-3 - the glorified Christ in Revelation 1, "the things that are" in Revelation 2-3 (the 7 letters to seven churches) and
THE 24 ELDERS CAST THEIR CROWNS AND PROCLAIM
They are extolling Him because He has created all things. Genesis 1 gives the account of the Creation in 6 days, and Kay believes these are 6 literal days because that is what God the Father and Jesus both said. GOD'S DESIRE FOR MAN WAS FOR ''THEM'' TO RULE THE EARTH
So God's original intention was that MAN (''them'' = male & female) would rule.
IN GENESIS 2 GOD PLACED MAN IN A PERFECT ENVIRONMENT with TWO TREES: the tree of life & tree of knowledge of good & evil.
In Genesis 3, we see that the Serpent deceived Eve, telling her she would not die, but instead that she would be like God, knowing good and evil, in the sense that she could then look at something and say ''This is good'' or ''This is evil''. Man didn't want God to tell him what was good and evil because man wanted to be his own god, choosing for himself what was good and evil. Eve listened to the Serpent of old, the devil, Satan (as identified in Rev 12:9-note, cp Lk 10:18), the result being that Adam and Eve were seduced by the enemy, believing THE LIE. They ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. What happened? Go to Romans 5:12 (note) where Paul writes
So in Genesis 5 we see that Adam who was created in the likeness of God (cf Ge 1:26, 5:1, Jas 3:9) then brought forth children who were not in the image of God, but who were now in the image of Adam or in the image of man and so they were ''little sinners''. And so, the sin that "infected" Adam was spread throughout the earth. SINNERS NEED A KINSMAN REDEEMER WHAT HAPPENED TO MAN'S RIGHT TO RULE OVER THE EARTH? Paul, writing to the Ephesian church, records that
In Colossians Paul adds that God
So Adam and Eve who were created to rule over the earth LOST THEIR CROWNS when they sinned. Instead of rulers, they became "sons of disobedience", "slaves to sin" (cf Ro 6:6-note, Ro 6:16-note, Pr 5:22-note, 2Pe 2:19-note, Jn 8:34), now ruled over by Satan, "the prince of the power of the air", the ruler of the world system which is hostile toward God. Go to John 12, where Jesus was talking about His coming crucifixion and that His hour had come: Jesus declared
When Jesus died on the Cross, the prince of the power of the air was "cast out" in regard to his dominion over men who were saved by faith. The man who now looks to the Cross of Jesus Christ is set free from the domain of darkness (and the rule of Satan) and is transferred to the kingdom of light ruled by God's beloved Son, Jesus Christ. This man experiences the forgiveness of sins because Jesus our KINSMAN REDEEMER has paid the PRICE FOR OUR REDEMPTION ("in [Jesus] we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins" - Col 1:14-note). (Ed: see Heb 2:14, 15-notes) So MAN starts out RULING over creation, then LOSING HIS RIGHT to rule over creation because of SIN. When MAN loses his right to DOMINION over the face of the earth WHO gets the right of DOMINION? From the previous Scriptures, it is clear that Satan gets that right, becoming the PRINCE not only of the air, but also becoming the PRINCE of this world, and now fallen, unredeemed man lives in the Kingdom of the EVIL ONE and under his power. Unredeemed men stay in the Evil One's kingdom until they come to know the Lord Jesus Christ (their Redeemer). When a man comes to know the Lord Jesus Christ, he passes out of death into life, out of the kingdom of darkness, the kingdom of Satan and into the kingdom of God, ruled by His Son. This entire transaction is made possible because of one act, the act of the KINSMAN REDEEMER, the Lord Jesus Christ, redeeming enslaved sinners by paying the price of redemption, which is the
At this present time, although we have our redemption individually, since many have not believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, Satan is still ruling this world as the prince of the power of the air, the PRINCE OF THIS WORLD. Therefore CREATION is groaning and travailing, because when Adam & Eve sinned (see Ge 3:17) all CREATION was subjected to FUTILITY
So God
When God cast Adam out of the garden, all creation became subjected to futility. In Romans 8 Paul writes
So during this present time when the church is existing (Rev 2-3), all creation is groaning and travailing but this agony will come to an end when the Seven Seals are broken, bringing forth the Seven Trumpets, in turn bringing forth the Seven Bowls. Then it will come to an end and we shall see the New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven as a bride prepared and adorned for her Husband and God Himself will wipe away every tear and there will be no tears and no more pain and no more sorrow and no more death, because the former things will have passed away. The Lamb will be in the midst of the throne and we will live with Him forever and ever and we will walk in the paradise of God and we will eat of the fruit of the TREE OF LIFE. And there will be a river flowing through it and nothing that defiles will enter that temple. (Rev 21-22) So why did the apostle John want the SCROLL OPENED? Because it would bring THE MYSTERY OF GOD TO A FINISH (Rev 10:7-note) and we would understand and see that "the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever." (Rev 11:15-note) What or Who could bring this about? In Rev 5 we see One sitting on the throne holding the scroll and the angel asking who is worthy to take the scroll and to break its seals?
THE FATHER'S PLAN So why didn't God the Father do it? Because He couldn't. Because He had ordained a PLAN, the PLAN OF REDEMPTION. God the Father initially gave the right to rule this earth to man but man lost that right to rule to an angel, a created being, who was beautiful, who was magnificent, and who decided one day that he would ascend into heaven, that he would set his thrown above the thrown of God, that he would be like God, and that he would rule. (Is 14:12, 13, 14, 15, Ezek 28:12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 are both passages that many interpret as descriptive of Satan and his fall) And when the highest angel rebelled against God, God cast him out and the highest cherub became the Devil, Lucifer (this beautiful one of light) who walked into the Garden of Eden as a Serpent, but who slithered out on his belly. In between WALKING IN and SLITHERING OUT, man became a SLAVE TO SIN and a SLAVE TO SATAN (cp 1Jn 3:7, 8, 9, 10). No one is found in heaven (not any of the 24 elders, etc. or any created being in heaven or on earth or in the bowels of hell) who can open the SCROLL and John weeps because this SCROLL is what is going to bring all creation out of FUTILITY (Ed: Greek word means empty, profitless, not possessing the ability to reach it's goal or intended purpose) into what God intended it to be. And yet there is no one worthy to open the book… so he weeps. He writes
WHAT HAS THE LION OF THE TRIBE OF JUDAH OVERCOME? He has OVERCOME (conquered) SIN, DEATH, THE GRAVE, THE DEVIL. He has overcome so as to open the book and its Seven Seals. Who is this Lion, the Root of David? John records
According to these passages, once again MAN will Rule and "Reign upon the earth". What man lost in the garden of Eden is going to be restored to them WHEN the four riders of the Apocalypse come forth as the seven seals are broken, followed by the blowing of the seven trumpets and culminating in the pouring out of the seven bowl judgments upon the earth. THEN the kingdom of this world will become the kingdom of our Christ and we who know Him shall rule forever and ever! (Hallelujah!) That's why he was weeping. John wanted the seals on the scroll to be broken. Yes, this scroll initially brings judgment on the earth, but it also brings the triumph of Christ and the triumph of the sons of God. WHY IS JESUS CALLED THE LION OF THE TRIBE OF JUDAH, THE ROOT OF DAVID? Because the One who could open up the seals had to be a MAN, a human being (He 2:15-note, Ro 1:3-note). It was MAN who lost his right to RULE because he submitted to Satan, so now the One that is going to rule has to be a Man. What MAN could this be? There is no one in heaven, on earth or under the earth that is worthy. There is no angel that is worthy because it was man that lost in sin not the angels. So we have the GOD-MAN, Jesus born from the TRIBE OF JUDAH, born from the ROOT OF DAVID, born but WITHOUT SIN. Why? Because He was born the SON OF GOD, born of a VIRGIN, a virgin from the tribe of Judah, a virgin, from the house of David. But His earthly father was non-existent because He is the Son of God. So He was SON OF GOD and SON OF MAN. And so "every created thing which is in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea and all things in them" begin to rejoice and to shout WORTHY IS THE LAMB BECAUSE HE IS STANDING BETWEEN THE THRONE AND THE ELDERS AS OUR KINSMAN REDEEMER. JUBILEE, JUBILEE, JUBILEE: IT'S THE TIME FOR THE LAND & THE SLAVE TO BE SET FREE. Every 50th year in the land of Israel was designated THE YEAR OF JUBILEE. (Jubilee Year) (Play Michael Card's great song "Jubilee" - Hallelujah!) Go to Leviticus where we see God laying down the ordinances, the statutes, the offerings, the feast of Israel and all that she is to obey before God. In Leviticus 25 through Moses God tells His people about THE YEAR OF JUBILEE:
WHAT IS GOD TALKING ABOUT? Sometimes the Jews would get into financial trouble and they would be forced to sell their property. But that property had been GIVEN TO THEM BY GOD. God had ordained exactly where Dan and Napthali and Benjamin and all the tribes of the sons of Israel would live. God gave them specific land and property. But sometimes they would sell the property because of a debt. But because God had given them that land, every JUBILEE that land had to be returned to the family that owned it originally. NOW THINK ABOUT WHAT JUBILEE IS FORESHADOWING. There's a ''JUBILEE'' coming. WE LOST THE LAND! We were created to rule over this earth but we lost it! When the year of JUBILEE occurred, it was not only a JUBILEE because the land was returned and set free from its ''bondage'' so to speak but slaves were also set free. In the land of Israel, when a man could not not pay a debt, he would sell himself in slavery to another person and he would be a slave all the years until JUBILEE. When JUBILEE came he would be released from his servitude. EVERY 50TH YEAR. THE LAW OF THE GOEL or KINSMAN REDEEMER But suppose that from the time of your birth you had been sold into slavery. Fifty years is a long time! Especially when man only has threescore and ten to live! So there was another way out of slavery, THE LAW OF THE GOEL or the KINSMAN REDEEMER (Goel; see also Kinsman-Redeemer Goel). In the same chapter that talks about the YEAR OF JUBILEE, he talks about the KINSMAN REDEEMER. And Kay believes that Jesus Christ is our Kinsman Redeemer and the role that Jesus is fulfilling in Revelation 5 (Re 5:5, 6-note) when he walks into the midst of the throne and takes the scroll from the One who is sitting on the throne (Re 5:7-note), He is saying
When Adam & Eve sinned in that garden they became SLAVES TO SIN. (Ro 6:16) WHAT ELSE HAPPENED IN THE GARDEN? THEY WERE ''MURDERED''! How? They were ALIVE but when they sinned the died and from that time on they were DEAD in their trespasses and sins (Ge 2:17, Ro 5:12-note, Eph 2:1-note). In John 8:43 Jesus turns to the religious leaders and says
WHY CAN'T THEY HEAR JESUS' WORD? He answers by saying…
So when Adam and Eve sinned, they lost their crown, they lost the right to rule the earth that had belonged to them (cp Ge 3:17, 18, 19; He 2:8-note), and Satan became the prince over this world (Eph 2:2-note, Lk 4:6, 1Jn 5:19, Acts 26:18). The result was that all creation was subjected to futility and all creation is groaning (Ro 8:20, 21-note, Ro 8:22-note) and suffering right now, waiting until the redemption of man (Ro 8:23-note), until man receives back his crown and his right to rule! SO WHAT 3 THINGS DID MAN LOSE WHEN ADAM SINNED?
So in the wonderful awesome mystery of His plan in the books of Leviticus (and Numbers) God gives us the principles of THE KINSMAN REDEEMER. A REDEEMER is a one who BUYS BACK. A REDEEMER is a person that goes into the market place and PURCHASES SOMETHING. So JESUS becomes OUR REDEEMER. John records that Jesus
HOW DID JESUS DO THIS? By becoming our KINSMAN, by becoming flesh and blood, by becoming a MAN. So He became a Man and as our KINSMAN-REDEEMER He redeemed us out of slavery, He redeemed us from death and gave us life ,and He redeemed the land (the earth). And this is what we see Jesus doing beginning in Revelation 6 as He breaks the seal, beginning the cataclysmic events that continue UNTIL the kingdom of this world becomes the kingdom of our Christ. THE BLOOD AVENGER The KINSMAN-REDEEMER was also called the BLOOD AVENGER (see Nu 35:19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27). If I put another person to death, the slain person's KINSMAN would come and have THE RIGHT to put me to death. WHO MURDERED YOU and ME? Satan. So what does our KINSMAN REDEEMER do when He opens the scroll and breaks the seals? What happens to the Devil? The devil is eventually cast into the lake of fire, where the worm dies not and the fire is not quenched. This LAKE OF FIRE by the way was never prepared for man but was prepared originally for the devil and his angels (Mt 25:41), the third of the stars that followed the dragon when he defected from God. So Jesus our KINSMAN-REDEEMER also became our BLOOD AVENGER. REDEMPTION OF THE LAND Jesus also becomes the REDEEMER OF THE LAND that has been sold to another. To be sure, the Jews were excited in the YEAR OF JUBILEE. But we have a JUBILEE coming like no one has ever seen because we have a KINSMAN REDEEMER that is going to take the scroll out of the hand of Him Who sits on the throne and He is going to break the seals which culminate in the Kingdom of this world become the Kingdom of His Christ. We will have a new heaven and a new earth. REDEMPTION OF SLAVES Finally, as alluded to earlier, Jesus our KINSMAN REDEEMER also REDEEMS US and SETS US FREE, by buying us out of slavery to sin and to Satan. This story of the Kinsman-Redeemer is beautifully portrayed in the book of Ruth (Ed: Click for notes on this website covering the book of Ruth) in which we see Boaz take the role of the kinsman-redeemer and marry the Ruth the Moabitess. When Boaz redeemed Ruth, they brought forth a SEED that would be in the line of the MESSIAH because their son OBED fathered a son named JESSE and Jesse had several sons, one of whom was named DAVID. And all of this transpired because kinsman redeemed his Ruth. What a wonderful story! WORTHY IS THE LAMB! THEN… THE KINGDOM OF THIS WORLD IF YOU KNOW JESUS CHRIST, YOU ARE AN OVERCOMER (1Jn 5:4,5) AND ARE ON THE WINNING SIDE! BUT IF YOU DON'T KNOW HIM, the reason that He has not come yet is because He is not willing that you should perish but that you should come to REPENTANCE and FAITH in the Lord Jesus Christ so that you might come to know Him as your BLOOD AVENGER and your KINSMAN REDEEMER. AND IF THE SON SHALL SET YOU FREE |
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Prayer: WORTHY IS THE LAMB BECAUSE THOU hast purchased us from every tribe, every nation, every people on the face of this earth. Thank You Lord for the blood of the Lamb and thank You for the Lion of Judah Who is yet to come. Amen. Related Resources: Go to Kinsman-Redeemer, Part 2 Click Notes on Ruth & Kinsman Redeemer Michael Card's great song "Jubilee" Click for discussion of Jubilee in commentary on Colossians 3:13 |
Credits: These transcripts of Kay Arthur's lectures on Revelation (Parts 2-4) are provided as a service to the body of Christ with the written permission of Precept Ministries International. This material is the property of Precept Ministries International and all rights are reserved. The transcripts are for the most part verbatim with deletions identified by the characters (… ). The utilization of italics, bolding, hyperlinks and pop up notes represent editorial additions. Any written additions are identified by the designation "Ed note". Please note that these lectures by Kay Arthur supplement the excellent Precept Upon Precept inductive Bible study on the Revelation. Click the following links to view each division of this encouraging study and note that you can also download the first lesson of each of the 4 parts: If you can find a local Precept class studying Revelation, I would strongly encourage you to join the class, as I know of no other study available anywhere in the world that will equip you so thoroughly to discern the signs of the times and cause you to live expectantly as you look for Christ's Return! |