Join us for a profound journey through biblical prophecy, as David Hawking brings to life the magnificent vision in Revelation 11. With compelling insights, he articulates the significance of the divine Ark of the Covenant, a symbol of God’s eternal promise and faithfulness. Witness the swift judgments upon nations and find solace in the prophecy of a rewarding future for the faithful. This episode is a stirring reminder of the incredible hope and assurance found in God’s Word, urging listeners to embrace their future inheritance.
He deserves all the glory. He deserves all the praise. We need to get our eyes off of ourselves and the difficulties that we go through. And we need to focus on him. To praise the Lord. Every day I will bless thee. His praise shall continually be in my mouth. The Bible says from the rising of the sun till it’s going down, let the name of the Lord be praised. Just constantly thanking the Lord for all that he’s doing. Even that which we don’t understand. Even that which we can’t seem to cope with. God is working his wonderful plan out. And we can thank him and we can praise him.
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Thank you.
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This is Hope for Today with Bible teacher David Hawking. Today we’re bringing you day three of David’s message, The Kingdom of Our Lord, from Revelation 11. In this passage, the seventh trumpet echoes through heaven, and suddenly the voices of angels proclaim that the kingdoms of this world belong to Jesus Christ. The elders leave their thrones and fall on their faces in worship. The nations, well, they’re not so happy about it. They’re responding with fury. And the earth itself, it trembles with thunder, lightning, earthquake, and hail. It’s a scene of glory and judgment, of rebellion and reverence, of the earth-shaking power of God. Today, David takes us back into this passage, verses 15 through 19, to show again the unstoppable reign of Jesus Christ. First, Matt, I hear something your dad teaches. I want to remember that point. How do I preserve what your dad is teaching? Sermon notes. The sermon notes. Sermon notes. Okay, sermon notes in Revelation. These are your dad’s original sermon notes. One set of notes for each message in the series. The whole collection is just $10.
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And I tell you, Jim, you’ve never seen sermon notes like my dad’s sermon notes. Oh, yeah. It’s crazy. His references. It always comes back to the Bible. So you’re listening to the broadcast.
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David just said something you want to remember. You didn’t quite catch it. Pull out the sermon notes. Good chance. It’s right there. Yeah, you’re never going to be able to write it down as fast as he does. No, you can’t. And then again, if you want to save the whole series and be able to pull up those messages again in the years ahead.
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We have the MP3 audio and you can play that at home and you can share it with your friends. It’s a great reference to use anytime. That with the sermon notes, you can share the gospel with anybody.
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All 48 messages on MP3 audio in a package and the cost is just $30.
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$30.
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And Matt, what if I’d like to watch the Revelation series? That’s just for $50. On DVD. Yes, it is. Give us a call at 1-800-75-BIBLE in the U.S. and in Canada, 1-888-75-BIBLE. And of course, you can see these resources on our website and make the purchase there at davidhawking.org. We’ll now turn to Revelation chapter 11, verses 15 through 19. And here’s David with day three of his message, The Kingdom of Our Lord.
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And the seventh angel sounded, and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever. And the four and twenty elders who sat before God in their seats or thrones fell upon their faces and worshipped God, saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, who art and wast and art to come, because thou hast taken to thee thy great power and hast reigned. And the nations were angry, and thy wrath has come in the time of the dead, that they should be judged. And that thou shouldst give reward unto thy servants, the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great, and shouldst destroy them who destroy the earth. And the temple of God was open in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament or covenant. And there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, or thunderclaps, and an earthquake, and great hail.” There are four basic reasons listed here for praise. And I know sometimes we’re not motivated to praise the Lord. The first reason for praise is God’s power. God’s power is being proclaimed. God is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we could ask or think. His power is not limited, and we need to trust him. God’s power is a reason for praise. Number two is God’s plan. His plan is being accomplished. The third thing they praise God for is his promise that’s going to be fulfilled to the believer. God’s wonderful promises are yea and nay, the Bible says. You can depend on his word. They’re going to come to pass. The Lord is faithful. Faithful is he who has called us who will also perform it and do it. We can trust the Lord. Look at what it says in the middle of verse 18. And that thou shouldst give reward unto thy servants, the prophets and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great. See, God’s not a respecter of persons. He doesn’t look at you and say, well, John, you’re not really as faithful as Tom is. You know, he’s done a thousand things compared to your ten. No, God’s going to judge you on the basis of your opportunities, your abilities, your talents, and your service for him. He is not going to judge you in relationship to anybody else. And to me, that’s kind of amusing as well as encouraging, but it’s amusing to me because that’s usually how we evaluate each other. Another interesting thing is that God, according to the Bible, is going to judge according to the truth what actually was done. Who knows that all those things we think were so great were not anything but wood, hay, and stubble. God knows whether what you have done is real. God uses the most interesting illustrations. He says about being faithful in a few things. He talks about every cup of cold water given in his name will receive a reward. He said, the Lord is righteous who will never forget your work and your labor of love. You know, no one else may have seen it. No one else may have appreciated it. But you did it as unto the Lord. And it meant something to you. And maybe it wasn’t significant in the eyes of others, but it sure was to you. And your heart was toward the Lord in it. Well, let me tell you, dear friends, God saw it and he will never forget. God’s going to reward you. Aren’t you glad of that? And one person said to me recently, well, they’re just going to be crowns and we’re going to throw them at his feet. So what good is that? And I can appreciate that. I know sometimes this gets a little confusing. But let me remind you that Jesus even said that during the reign of the Messiah on earth, his kingdom, that actually we’re going to be busy serving the Lord and having positions over lots of people that are going to be born during the millennium. Yes, there are going to be unbelievers during the thousand year reign of Christ. And we believers are going to be in resurrected bodies and are going to be ruling and reigning. And some of us, according to the Bible, will be reigning over several cities at once. Incredible. Turn to Matthew 25. Matthew 25. If there ever was a reason for all of us just to shout praise to the Lord and say, Lord, I thank you. He is a righteous judge. He’s no respecter of persons. He doesn’t lay a heavy trip on us. He counts every little thing, no matter what it is. He’ll never forget your labor of love. He’ll reward you. He even says in Revelation 22, I come quickly and my reward is with me. He wants to reward you. He wants to honor you. Can you believe it? Our blessed Lord who’s done so much for us. Hey, the reward will just be in glory. Just being there and being with the Lord. But to think that he then wants to reward you for all that you’ve done in his name here. Really exciting. In Matthew 25, we read in verse 21. His Lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Thou hast been faithful over a few things. I will make thee ruler over many things. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. Same thing in verse 23. Well done, good and faithful servant. Even though they had different opportunities and abilities and expressions of that. One, five talents. One, two. Yet it says the same thing. Well done, good and faithful servant. Thou hast been faithful over a few things. I will make thee a ruler over many things. It just struck me that God did not say, be faithful over many things, and I’ll make thee a ruler over a few. Now, frankly, that’s what I would think we would deserve. And even then, I’m not sure we deserve any reward. But I can understand that. But imagine the Lord would reverse that and say, you just be faithful in a few little things, and I’m going to make you a ruler over many. You will not believe what I’m going to do for you. You know, folks, I sometimes need to hear that more than anything else when life is such a bummer. How about you? I need to understand the glorious future that awaits us. In 1 Corinthians, we read, I has not seen nor ear heard, neither has entered into the heart of man the things that the Lord has prepared for those who love him. Can you believe it? What we’re going to be blessed with As God says, I have loved you, I’ve delighted in you, I will honor you, I will reward you. Imagine the Lord doing that for us when he has done so much for us. In other words, his kindness to us in Christ at salvation is not going to end. According to the Bible in Ephesians 2, his kindness is going to continually be outpoured upon us in all the ages to come. What a blessing that’s going to be. Look at Mark chapter 10. Mark chapter 10. Verse 29 and 30. You talk about blessing. Oh, Peter, always putting his foot in his mouth, but he came to him and said, Lo, we’ve left all and have followed thee. Don’t you love it? And there are people just like Peter around right now. You cannot believe what I gave up to serve the Lord. We’ve left all and followed thee. Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, there is no man that hath left house or brethren or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands for my sake and the gospels, but he shall receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brethren and sisters and mothers and children and lands with persecutions. And in the age to come, what? Eternal life. Many that are first should be last, the last first. Hey, God’s system of reckoning is different, but God definitely is going to bless us far more than we deserve. So the Bible says it’s going to be a hundredfold, not just equal distribution, but he’s going to bless you far more than you will be able to contain it. I like to say that God blesses in spite of us and not because of us. But God does bless abundantly and even rewarding what we have done in his name. Turn back to Revelation 11. We said there are four reasons for this outburst of praise. One is that God’s power is being proclaimed. Two is that God’s plan is being accomplished. Three is that God’s promise is being fulfilled. And number four, they praise him for an interesting fact, and that’s God’s punishment of the wicked. God’s punishment is declared here. Look at the end of that verse 18. And should destroy them… who destroy the earth. Turn over to 2 Thessalonians chapter 1. 2 Thessalonians chapter 1. To the believer that endures the wickedness of this generation and the terrible factors of political and civil corruption and control, to the believers who have endured persecution, torture, suffering in the name of the Lord, There is a flicker of hope. I know it sounds strange. But there is a promise from God that he is going to avenge all of those who have suffered for him. He’s going to destroy those who have destroyed. In 2 Thessalonians 1, we read in verse 8, Inflaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power, when he shall come to be glorified in his saints and to be admired in all them that believe, because our testimony among you was believed in that day. How interesting. When is he going to do it? When he comes to be glorified in us and admired among all who believe, that’s when he’s going to punish also with everlasting destruction those who have not obeyed the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. I hope and pray that none of you here will be a part of that, that you all come to know the Lord. Turn to Revelation chapter 11 again in verse 19. We have noticed a few things about the exaltation of his majesty in coming kingdom. We noticed the immediate reaction of the 24 elders as they fell upon their faces and worshiped God. We noticed their continual response in heaven to constantly give thanks to God. We saw the basic reasons for that outburst of praise to the Lord God Almighty, his power and plan and promise and punishment. But one final thing. Look at the glorious revelation in heaven that is given to us in verse 19. What a blessed thing. And the temple of God was opened in heaven. And there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament or covenant. And there were lightnings and voices and thunderings and an earthquake and great hail. A very dramatic response. In fact, flip back to chapter 4 and look at verse 5. Remember the scene in heaven at the throne of God? It says, There’s a dramatic scene when you look at the presence of the Lord. In chapter 8, verse 5. The scene also in heaven from the altar, prayers of the saints ascending to God and God’s answer coming. And it says in verse 5 that when they cast this to the earth, there were voices and thunderings and lightnings and an earthquake. Again, the dramatic response to what God is doing. Chapter 16, verse 18. looking at the seven last plagues. When the seventh one is done, it says there are voices and thunders and lightnings and a great earthquake, such as would not since men were on the earth, so mighty an earthquake and so great. So God literally shakes the place and thunders forth with his voice and lightnings shoot out and it’s an amazing display of the glory and majesty of God. And God is literally proclaiming his glory and showing how insignificant planet earth really is. The revelation in heaven has a special blessing to all believers. I hope you didn’t miss it. God’s temple in heaven, the dwelling place of the Lord, and the third heaven is opened, and what do we see but the Ark of the Covenant? I like what one rabbi said. He’s kind of messianic. It was quoted in the paper when they were talking about when they brought the Ethiopian Jews up on Operation Solomon. many people believe that the ark was down there, hidden by them. And he said, I don’t care. He said, I’m not looking for the box. I’m looking for the one who told us to make the box. I like that, don’t you? Isn’t that good? What do we see in heaven? We see the ark of the covenant. Now, why was that shown here right now? It’s the Ark of the what? The Covenant. You see, God has made a promise, and he’s never going to go back on it. God is going to fulfill his word. And out of the loins of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and King David and Solomon, is going to come he who shall rule my people, the King of kings and the Lord of lords. And he’s going to take over. And the Ark of the Covenant is a reminder of to them of God’s promise, he’s going to fulfill his word. He’s going to do what he said. And you can trust him. Many people in speaking of this say that this is a great testimony to the faithfulness of God. That Ark of the Covenant represented the faithfulness of God to his people. You can count on God to do what he said. And when heaven is open after this brilliant testimony, spectacular display of the kingdoms of this world becoming the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah. At that moment, God opens heaven. And there it is, the Ark of the Covenant. He’s a faithful God. Turn to Psalm 89 and we’re through. Psalm 89. God is a faithful God. You can trust him to do what he said. Psalm 89. Verse 1 and 2, I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever. With my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations. For I have said, mercy shall be built up forever. Thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens. Verse 8, O Lord God of hosts, who is a strong Lord like unto thee, or do thy faithfulness round about thee? Verse 24, But my faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him, and in my name shall his horn be exalted. Verse 33, nevertheless, my loving kindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer or allow my faithfulness to fail. My covenant will I not break, nor will I alter the thing that has gone out of my lips. Once I have sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David, his seed shall endure forever in his throne as the sun before me. It shall be established forever like the moon and as a faithful witness in heaven. Yes, God Let them see the Ark of the Covenant to remind them of his faithfulness. It will never fail. His loving kindness will never be taken from them. God will keep his word. And that’s what Revelation is all about. Be faithful weary pilgrims. One day the Lord’s going to come. And we shall see him. And we will rejoice as we have never rejoiced before. With joy unspeakable and full of glory.
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That’s David Hawking, and this is Hope for Today. David will return shortly to wrap up our time in Revelation chapter 11, so stay right there. First, David’s son Matt’s here, and together we’re going to tell you about a powerful resource for your home Bible study library.
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When we talk about Old Testament prophecy, we have to include Zechariah. This book is packed with exciting and powerful prophetic details about the first and second comings of our Lord, God’s mercy, judgment and restoration of Israel, judgment on Israel’s enemies, end times events and more.
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Matt, Zechariah 9.9 predicts, Rejoice greatly, daughter Zion. Shout, daughter of Jerusalem. See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. This verse says, As you know, it’s a powerful prophecy of the Messiah’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem fulfilled in Jesus’s earthly ministry.
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Yeah. Look at Zechariah 14.4. That’s a good one. On that day, his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley called so that one half of the mount shall move northward and the other half southward. This verse describes the future setting of the Mount of Olives during the millennial reign of Christ. Yes, and Visions of the Future was written to help believers study Zechariah for wisdom, confidence in prophecy, hope and repentance, and the future for believers.
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Well, this month we’re again featuring Visions of the Future by David Hawking. This is your dad’s study of Zechariah for $15. When you purchase, preferably consider adding a donation. Your donation will help us continue the work of Hope for Today. Or perhaps send a contribution by itself. And consider becoming a regular monthly giver. And as always, please faithfully pray for Hope for Today. Amen. And we’ll give you our contact info again in just a few moments. Just before David returns to close out our time in the Word today, think about this. Someone tonight is sitting in a prison cell with nothing but static on the radio. Someone in a village across the world needs to hear the gospel for the first time. Perhaps someone in North America is sitting in a dark room searching, wondering if God has forgotten them. And into that silence, your gift helps the Word of God break through. This is not just about keeping a program on the air. It’s about lives. It’s about hope. Truth in a world that has drowned it out with noise and confusion. Boy, we see that today, don’t we? Your gift of $5, $10, or $30 can stream the message, the Bible teaching of hope for today, to hundreds. A gift of $50 can help put Bible teaching into the hands of new believers. a gift of maybe $100, can open up another door, keeping this program on your station, or perhaps, in God’s grace and timing, taking Hope for Today to a new city, another opportunity to get out the message of hope in Jesus Christ. Well, if you’d like to stand with us, the ministry of Hope for Today, call us at 1-800-75-BIBLE, that’s in the U.S., or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. And Bible, by the numbers 24253. Or go right now to davidhawking.org, and you can make a donation online. Or if you’d like to send your gift by mail, write to Hope for Today, Box 3927, Tustin, California, 92781. That’s in the U.S. Or in Canada, write to Hope for Today, Box 15011, RPO, Seven Oaks, Abbotsford, B.C., V2SHP1. Your support is a voice that doesn’t fade. It’s light in the darkness, truth in a world of lies, and seed that God multiplies for His glory. So thank you for your prayerful consideration of joining with us in ministry. We need the help. Let’s get back to David.
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Thanks, friends, for listening to our broadcast today. And we’re finishing up chapter 11 today, a great chapter. The temple of God is opened in heaven. There is seen the Ark of the Covenant. There were lightnings, voices, thunderings, and an earthquake. Lots of them. And great hail. Whoa. Yes, it’s quite a day. And it’s coming, friends. And we need to be ready. Are you ready? Have you been born again of the Spirit of God? Because if you haven’t, you will not be entering the kingdom of heaven. It’s so important that every one of us understands it isn’t just going to church. It isn’t just listening to certain religious programs or messages. My friends, we need to read God’s Word and find the truth there. The truth is the gospel of our Lord, Yeshua HaMashiach, Jesus Christ. Have you opened your heart to Him? Have you? Have you confessed your sin and repented of it and expressed by your confession your faith and belief in the finished work of our Messiah who died for your sin and rose again from the dead? And it’s promised eternal life to all who put their trust in Him. God bless you.
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Well, thank you, David. And dear friend, if you’d like to know more about what it means to be a Christian according to the Bible, or if you’ve recently put your faith in the Lord to save you, we’d love to send you a booklet by David called What Is Christianity? As well as a Bible study by mail. These resources are absolutely free if you don’t know Jesus, if you’re not yet a Christian, or if you’re new to the Christian faith. Get yours by calling 800-75-BIBLE, that’s in the U.S., or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. Bible is 242-53. Next time, David continues verse by verse through the book of Revelation and invite a friend to listen along with you. And we’ll see you then, right here on Hope for Today.
