Matthew Blewett - Class 5: Pictures: Merchants of Babylon

Automatically transcribed. Accuracy is good but not perfect, and words are sometimes wrong. Trust the audio over the text.

1. 0:02

   You are listening to a Bible, talk recorded at the 2018 Western christadelphians Bible school, at Minooka. This is the fifth class in a series given by brother, Matthew blew it on the subject. Meditations in Revelation. This class is titled pictures. Merchants of Babylon.

2. 0:27

   Morning, everyone. Great to be with you here. This lost Tom just wanted to stop by saying a big. Thank you all the way from South Africa. Just in case. You don’t know how to get there, that’s how easy it is. In fact, they have got Boston and haven’t updated that. You just, you can go the other way around as well, if you want to come, but it’s very easy.

3. 0:47

   Come and visit us in in South Africa, but we really had a great time. You want to thank everybody for the love and the hospitality, and for the amazing, some friendships with rekindled and others. That we’ve been able to make it’s an absolute blessing to enjoy a relationship, especially in our Lord. So thank you from Pete and myself and we’d love to see you and extend Hospital. Hospitality back in South Africa. Oh, by the way, this few pictures to encourage you to come just in case we’re not good enough. I was told that the one thing that encourages people come to Erica’s, baby elephants.

4. 1:27

   So there’s a couple of these And maybe one more little guy. So if not for us, then for them, it’s worth the trip. So, maybe that’s a good intro because in our final session, we want to talk about just to meditations that focus on some of the imagery and the beautiful pictures that are drawn of the visions and the different symbols that are used in The Book of Revelation. So, we’ve, we’ve talked about how yesterday we the some Often make use of numbers and I can see yesterday. There were a number of accountants who were very interested in want to have discussions about various calculations afterwards on the third session, we try to show the use of words and, and relationships and names, and places, and they’re lots of those in the Book of Revelation. But I guess probably the most prominent kind of a symbol is that of the use of imagery and visuals. So if you have visual kind of person in the book of Revelation is a really exciting book and I know that there are many good visual people.

5. 2:36

   Yeah. Because I can see some of your paintings in the back there. So hopefully, this is something a language that works for you. So as you know, in the Book of Revelation, there’s all sorts of of imagery and visualization used, lots of colors are, mentioned in the Book of Revelation will actually focus on on some colors.

6. 2:55

   And in this particular session together, there are images and respect of objects. And of different animals and even made fantasy top animals dragons and beasts. So a lot of visualization techniques used in Jesus communicating spiritual truths to us. So the one that I wanted to start off with is this lovely visual image, we get of a marriage and just one verse there are some other verses we going to take in that succinctly describes this incredible event that most of us are waiting for with expectation. And that is this idea.

7. 3:33

   Let us be glad and rejoice and give him glory for the marriage of the Lamb has come. And his wife has made herself ready. And as we meditate on those words and try and draw that picture of that, incredible wedding day. There’s a lot just in those few words that talks to the kind of weddings and marriages, we’ve been to and and certainly the ones that I’ve been to lots of preparation, has to take place. So the idea of getting ready and everybody preparing the day of Waiting to be.

8. 4:02

   Absolutely perfect. And of course, the broad especially makes herself ready. She’s got to have the most beautiful dress. She’s got to be ready and hopefully not like my Brad, come on Tom and be there for, you know, when it gets Beyond, 10 minutes, of course, one starts to feel that the one might be left at the altar, but there’s a lot of excitement as you wait for the bride and she prepares herself. And so there’s this beautiful image for me that I was meditating.

9. 4:32

   Rotating on. And then suddenly just in that, that picture that I created of suddenly the bridegroom coming, something just didn’t seem right because the bridegroom was a lamb. Now, I know what you’re thinking, but of course it’s the marriage supper of the lamb. But I want you to just think about how strange that picture is because in the picture of the Bride, the last thing we expect to see is in the visual image, the hero coming as a lamb to walk down the aisle, to take her bra door, his breath and and that’s what caught my attention. What caught my attention is.

10. 5:08

    This idea of of Jesus, as a lamb the the Greek word for lamb actually has the connotation of Lamken. We don’t actually really use that in English because a pretty small in the first place, a baby sheep in Afrikaans. The language that is my second language in South Africa. They talk about Alum, icky and everything that has a key on the end means it’s very small. So a Lamkin, a small little lamb is this description that’s used of the Lord Jesus Christ.

11. 5:38

    As the hero coming to take his bride and and that really got me thinking about this symbol of the lamb and the and the imagery that has been portrayed to us through the lamb. You know, when I was in Sunday school, I really love the idea. This this idea that that Jesus came in his first coming to the Earth. His first Advent, he came as the lamb, the lamb, that was slain, and meek and Mild Jesus.

12. 6:10

    But the idea was that when he comes again, he will come as the lion, that Roars and butts and deals with all these terrible people that upset me every day, but but in reality, Actually how Revelation chooses to describe our lord Jesus? Is that how Jesus in his love later chooses to describe himself? And, yes, the interesting thing.

13. 6:35

    In the Book of Revelation and we said, we like to use a various techniques when we think about these passages deeply and the one is patent. So, I think patents are important. And patents are often discovered by looking at the occurrence of words and, and their concentrations in the Book of Revelation, the word lamb appears, 25 times always, in reference to the Lord Jesus Christ, the most time of any book, certainly in the New Testament. I think it’s of the whole Bible, but I’ve forgotten with, that’s correct.

14. 7:01

    But certainly an incredible number of occurrences of The word lamb in reference to the Lord. Jesus Christ. The word lion only appears for tops of which only one of those occasions is in reference to the Lord Jesus Christ. So just like yesterday we said there was this profound just by the, the pattern of the number of sevens overcoming sixes, there was a message for us immediately, there’s something that we’ve been asked to look at that. The Lord Jesus Christ is actually being revealed to us in the Book of Revelation, the book that is about the Juggle for power.

15. 7:37

    As more of a lamb than a lion and in fact, the one occurrence where he is referred to as a lion, is up on the screen here. But one of the elders said to me, do not weep, Behold The Lion of the tribe of Judah. The root of David has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose the Seven Seals.

16. 7:56

    That’s the one occasion, where lion as an image is used to describe the Lord Jesus Christ in the Book of Revelation. But look at what happens and I looked and behold in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures. And in the midst of the Go to stood a lamb as though it had been slain. So when he looked, he who was of the Lion of the tribe of Judah, who had come through this Royal powerful Dynasty, he sees still am What a powerful message has been given to us and and, and if we were with with a bit of Doubt, as to why that symbol was important, what gets attached to it is, is demonstrating us to us.

17. 8:35

    Clearly what God and the Lord Jesus Christ are trying to communicate. This is the lamb as though it had been slain. And so on a number of occasions, when we read about the lamb in the Book of Revelation, it comes with that phrase, the lamb slain so not only are we talking about a lamb but the lamb that has been sacrificed What a powerful message being shared to us in these passages?

18. 9:04

    Then I looked and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures, the elders. The number of them was Ten Thousand Times. Ten Thousand and thousands of thousands saying with a loud voice. Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength, and honor and glory and blessing. This is a part of the song of the lamb. And to me, it’s the great blessing of the Lamb. It’s the Sevenfold blessing, seven items and notice the dominance in those items of power. Rich’s strength honor glory, why? Because this is what the Book of Revelation is about. It’s about the struggle for power and the winner of that struggle for power is described as a lamb, slain. You see the natural mind in the spiritual manner. So different.

19. 9:55

    Don’t they? We’re our view of power. Our view of strength is so different to the way God operates, the whole message of the Lord. Jesus Christ is a new kind of power. It’s a power that is found in love through sacrifice a power to change things. When I am willing to be hurt, When I’m willing to suffer loss for the benefit of others, this is the true battle and it hasn’t changed.

20. 10:25

    It was the power that redeemed us, 2,000 years ago, it’s the same power that will redeem the world and that’s what the Book of Revelation is all about. Credible lesson for us to learn just in the patterns of the power of the lamb. And when we look to applying it to ourselves You know, sometimes we go out into the world and we are confronted with these different forms of power. These liens that are around in our own lives and it sees our natural response to one to respond with the Roar of the lion to use whatever money and strength that we have to attack in return.

21. 11:00

    But ultimately the lesson that’s crying out to us is the most powerful form of response you have is love and that is love through sacrifice and restraint and I think that’s a beautiful for way to We think of the the most incredible image of the Book of Revelation, this Lamb, slain, the power of the Lamb is indeed one of the great themes of the Book of Revelation.

22. 11:24

    So I want to change a bit of slant, but not really that much as we will see, as we move forward. In our next meditation, I want us to think about this passage here in Revelation chapter 18, it’s a passage. When you at first read it, you might think. Well, it’s pretty boring and What can we get out of it and I purposely chose it for that reason.

23. 11:45

    Because, you know, I know that people might be sitting in the audience thinking, well, he’s giving these talks, he’s encouraging us to meditate on the Book of Revelation but he’s choosing all the easy ones. And then when we get home we’re going to read about the Beast with eight wings and 26 crowns.

24. 11:59

    And you know, it’s not going to seem the same. So I think this message is a bit more obscure and let’s see if we can find something here. It’s a passage about the merchants of Babylon and it’s at the time when they’ve obviously not very. Happy because the city we talked about it yesterday. One hour Babylon is gone and they feeling it but a bit miserable and they say in Revelation, 18, the merchants of the earth, weep and mourn over her that’s Babylon for No One buys their merchandise anymore, merchandise of gold and silver, precious stones and pearls and fine, linen purple silk, and Scarlet.

25. 12:35

    Every kind of Citron would every kind of object of ivory, every kind of object of most precious wood bronze, iron and marble. Bubble and cinnamon, and incense, fragrant oil, then frankincense one and all fine flour, and wheat, cattle and sheep horses, and chariots and bodies and Souls of men. The fruit that your soul long for has gone from you and all the things which are rich and Splendid of gone from you and you shall find them no more at all.

26. 13:01

    So, now try this in our meditation technique. You’ve just read that, passage you. Close your eyes, you may read it two or three times, but we’re not going to do that. So it’s a bit tougher and you close your As you think of the scene and you see these merchants and you see them howling and weeping because they can’t trade anymore and you think well most of the passage that I’ve just read is about all the things they were trading and what was it? Was gold and silver and there was frankincense there and Citron would wow.

27. 13:31

    It sure is a long list here and that’s what grabbed my attention. And this is the beauty of meditation because I dread the specially so many times before and I hadn’t even thought about that. Why does John and why does Jesus in revealing this to John choose to include such an incredibly long list?

28. 13:48

    I mean, the Book of Revelation is not a very long Book. 22, chapters. We’ve seen intense, things are happening all the time, lots of energy and suddenly all of this space to mention the inventory list of the Merchants of Babylon. So that is exactly what happened when I took this passage off the page, I thought, what a list and there they are. I didn’t think I’d miss counted that might have 27 items in the list.

29. 14:15

    Gold, silver, Ivory oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle sheep horses. And what do we notice straightaway? It covers almost every single fence. He you, and I my hair, there may be some people in this room that enjoy a good meal. Well, that’s covered there somewhere. Are some wine is their oil. Fine flour wheat if you more of a farmer top we’ve got your cattle and sheep covered.

30. 14:37

    If you prefer the horses and horse racing, you got horses. If you prefer nice Vehicles, we’ve got chariots for you there. If you like, if you like jewelry, we’ve got a precious wood. If you’re into fashion we’ve got soaked Scarlet, purple. All right. If you just prefer the hard coins, gold and silver is also covered.

31. 14:54

    We’ve got you covered The merchants of Babylon have everything in their inventory list. You know, when you look at the word of God, well it’s actually quite amazing. Is there are a number of long lists or I’ve been teaching the young people to remember some lists today. Good ones the most I’ve got to was the fruit of the spirit non and some of your kids, have you get home, you can check them. They may even get to the non through the spirit, which is amazing.

32. 15:16

    But look at this, pause works of the flesh are captured them. 17 or I, thankfully, I don’t necessarily encourage remembering those. Maybe it’s not a bad thing, but not Good to meditate on them and then Jesus gives a list of evils from the heart. Remember, when he says those things are in the heart that defile us 13 and netlist.

33. 15:36

    Yeah but I haven’t found a list as long as the merchants 27 in their list. So I want us to think about what what’s being taught to us here. Well, I think it’s this, God looked upon the Earth and indeed, it was corrupt for All Flesh, had corrupted their way upon the Earth come now you rich says James and Bob weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you, your riches are corrupted and your garments are moth-eaten. I think, what we’ve been taught is that these Merchants have taken everything we can imagine, and they’ve corrupted them. I think boo was referring to this idea that anything no matter what it is, anything.

34. 16:16

    And many of those items are really good items. There’s nothing wrong with him. So can gold and silver of the own, but anything that eventually places takes the place of God is an idol. That’s essentially what an idol is it replaces God, and what? The merchants have done. They’ve managed to corrupt all of it. and in fact, there’s this, there’s this idea that the way that they have done that is through trade, Ultimately anything that has a price on it, eventually can be corrupted because the value is determined by the transaction and bull again was talking about.

35. 16:53

    The fact that ultimately True Value is found in relationship not in transaction and that’s exactly what we’ve been taught by these Traders. All these fun things, these things that will see. Just now were actually meant to be associated with God and our relationship have been corrupted. And so when you look at this list again, what you notice is that many of the items on this list actually with a very items that God had reserved for his worship. Because when you look at that list not all of them but many of them were associated with the Tabernacle and the temple. In fact I’ve counted these 20 of them that have direct links to the Tabernacle and the temple.

36. 17:32

    So there’s another message being another Echo coming out that these items that once had been reserved for the very worship and relationship with God, have become corrupted in the hands of the merchants who are trading with them and of course we hearing an echo. Here, aren’t we? And Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out.

37. 17:52

    All those who bought and sold in the temple and overturned, the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. He said to them, it is written. My house shall be called a House of Prayer, but you have made it a den of Thieves interesting that he, you know, the the Lord’s House was a house of worship, but he picks up on the idea of House of Prayer because prayer is communication.

38. 18:15

    And communication is the foundation of relationship and you have made it a place of trading. That’s what you’ve done. You’ve taken all these holy things that were meant to lead us into relationship into prey into communication with our God. And you’ve made it a place to trade just like the merchants had done.

39. 18:33

    So 20 of the 27 items that are in their lists are directly linked to the Tabernacle or the temple and they had been able to corrupt all of these items. You know, if we think about that application to ourselves, we we don’t necessarily have that many physical items that we still keep that are meant to to bring us to worship. But we, we have in our own practice developed in a way items, you might call them trappings of our own worship. Whether it be in fact, just the things that we do that of themselves should be good.

40. 19:10

    Our Bible readings coming to barber school. The works, we do of compassion, helping preaching, whatever it is that we do that supporting our religious activity, is similar in a sense to all the items that they had. In the Tabernacle Temple that were meant to bring them to only one place a relationship with the father and the Lord Jesus Christ. And so the warning is that, that all of these things we do this, there’s a mazing Bible school.

41. 19:38

    We at this conference are Bible readings and our Bible study. All of the that the activities as it were the trappings of our discipleship. If they do not move us closer into relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and his father innocent, they’ve lost their value. If they are an end in themselves we can easily be caught in it and end in itself. Studying the Bible.

42. 20:04

    Reading it carefully, making all the Echoes and the links getting excited about the mere academic process. Didn’t Jesus, make that accusation of all the The great biblical Scholars of his thumb. He said you search the scriptures. They knew the Old Testament backwards, but you don’t realize that they were to speak about me. They were intended to bring you to me and to relationship with the father through me.

43. 20:30

    But rather you were caught in, in this, you see, this is where they were, do not trust in these lying words, the Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord. I’ve these some versions say these things that we see, this is what matters. They were saying the actual trappings of this religion, this building, and, and the gold, and the silver that’s in it, and the purple and Scarlet and all the elements of it. That’s what it is all about.

44. 20:56

    But no, Jesus said in three, diodes will destroy that. That’s not where the relationship lies. And so I think there’s a message clearly being demonstrated to us that everything can be corrupted by the merchants of Babylon.

45. 21:15

    But wait. There’s something more. There’s something missing from that list now, you might say, well, of course, is its 27. That’s a long list, but there’s thousands of other things that could have been put on that list as extensive and as diverse as it is, well, I want to propose that there’s something that probably should have been on that list that I think that the spirit is actually left out, and I think there’s a good reason for that and I hope you’ll be with me for a moment. Over here, we have a artist rendition of a Look of the curtains in the Tabernacle and what you can see from this is the four colors that came together in the curtains of the Tabernacle, the veil and and the two main curtains that were joined.

46. 22:02

    The, that was the, the inner layer of the Tabernacle. I’m sorry, it’s not that clear, but it says moreover you shall make a tabernacle with ten curtains of fine, linen and blue and purple and Scarlet with Caribbeans, of cunning work, shall you? Make them. So we don’t have the Caribbeans there but you can see essentially, What would have come out in the colors of the curtains is four colors. Assuming, the linen would have been white and then, as you see mentioned, they’re purple scarlet and blue. Now, here’s the interesting thing. I mean to bring for ideas or four colors together in one verse is what that’s doing and that happens in 24, verses primarily in the book of Exodus that those four items, linen purple, scarlet and blue come together. So, here’s the interesting thing. In Revelation, 18, three of those items are there. You can go back in the list, they traded in fine linen, they traded and purple, and they traded in scarlet. And when it says a later on that, that we didn’t have that verse up there that they were upset because it was no longer available.

47. 23:10

    It says that they whipped and they wept, because the fine linen purple and Scarlet was no longer available. Again, the blue is must out. So 26 times, linen. Purple and Scarlet appears together, 24 times, it appears with blue, the only two times it never appears with blue is in the list of the merchants of Babylon.

48. 23:35

    Now, maybe that’s a coincidence or maybe we’re being asked to practice that idea of what’s missing here. What may we have expected to find? It would seem to me that maybe we should pay some attention to this color blue. So, I want to look perhaps at a bit at this, this interesting color blue.

49. 23:54

    It’s go for a little bit of a journey through the Echoes of the Bible or the color blue and maybe there’s something in this color that may teach us about. The one thing that the merchants of Babylon. Cannot corrupt. So I’m sure many of you have thought about that the color blue and what it represents I want to present to you what I think is quite a compelling argument about what the color blue actually represents spiritually and symbolically to us. And a lot of people would would perhaps a trike. The, you know, think that would say that the color blue represents I’ve heard God’s color, others will say, it represents Rochester’s, some will say, it represents faithfulness and there’s an element of truth to all all of those answers, I want to suggest to you. That there’s an answer that perhaps incorporates those answers but has a very interesting element to it that I think is very relevant in concluding a medications today and in reflecting back on Revelation, 18 and the trading items of the merchants of Babylon. So bear with me for a while while I try and demonstrate this Nuance to what I think the color blue is representing to us today in our discipleship.

50. 25:02

    So let’s do what we’ve done before and let’s go Jenna. Since and see if we can find the DNA for the color blue bad news. It doesn’t appear in Genesis. So we’ll go to the next best. The first reference to the color blue as far as I understand. I before we do that, let’s take one back or we’re going to do what I said we were going to do. Before we go into the references for the color blue, we’re going to stop at nature.

51. 25:25

    Remember I said yesterday, I was very concerned because I had some scientists telling me about the carbon atom. I’m going to get Brave again and I want us to start thinking. First of all about what nature teaches, Us about the color blue and then we’ll go and see whether they’re spiritual alignment to that idea. So I started off by saying, you know what color is God’s color. If we think about it, there are many arguments, what God’s kind of could be, people would suggest, maybe his color is what.

52. 25:52

    And, and that’s actually not a bad suggestion because in the third verse of Genesis, it says God said, let there be light and there was light. So in a sense if latch is represented by the color white, which is all the colors together in, Rainbow then God’s color is what we know he dwells and a lot and approachable and and it’s then revealed in more nuanced ways in the seven colors of the rainbow.

53. 26:15

    So so I think there’s some strength in the argument that God if we want you to choose a color for God, it would be what others of course have suggested that God’s color is yellow because he often has chosen the color of the gold as a representation for his immortality and his eternity, especially in the in the cabin and the Tabernacle and the A so you could argue its goal and then as I said some say that it’s blue. So we’re going to focus on the color blue for a while. So what does nature teaches about the calibrate? Well I was hoping I would wake up this morning and I’m checking out there.

54. 26:50

    He teaches us that the sky is blue and for the first few days of our conference it certainly was we work out into a day when the sun is shining and I like his out, we see a blue sky now. Why is it? This is we get to the scientific pot. Why is it that the the sky that we see on a beautiful? Clear day is blue.

55. 27:10

    And let’s have a listen to somebody for more educated than me. Describing that for us. You don’t need to hear, it’s going to be red.

56. 28:38

    There you go. So if you learn nothing more from our discussion today, if you didn’t know why before you now know why the sky is blue and the are two interesting observations. Hopefully, you made out of that. One of the the observations is that it is blue because it is the frequency the color with the short wavelength that’s scattered. The most lovely idea.

57. 28:56

    So we’re seeing blue because it is the wavelength that scattered the most in a way, reflected the most so that we pick it up on a clear day when the sun is shining, but there was another little nuance. If it was only the scattering in other words the short wavelengths and the scattering of those shortwave leaves that determined the color of the sky, then it would not be blue. What color would it be?

58. 29:19

    Absolutely. But it isn’t. And you see the point was made there that there’s something also in our eyes and how we receive the light that makes the sensitive to seeing the color blue. So I’m putting it out there to you that in your DNA. You are created in a way. Way to see the light as a blue color coming to you. Just just be a little idea in mind now as a natural simple. Think about this idea when you walk out again on a clear day, Yeah, I don’t think you got to go to probably in Nevada or New Mexico to see a picture like that, not Oregon, but what you will notice on a clear day is the amazing way in which we actually walk around.

59. 30:03

    And everything that we see around us on Earth is greens and Browns, and oranges and yellows. In fact, it’s very, very difficult and you can check this out. I say difficult was I saying, never. Someone will give me one example and say I’m wrong, but it’s very, very difficult and very, very seldom that if you look around on the Earth, That the place that man has been given that you’ll see the color blue. And that’s often why road signs road signs are made in the color blue because it’s unlikely, that there will be some other natural thing.

60. 30:32

    That’s the same color of that. In fact, the very, very few plants that are blue. They are violent. They are people but not blue. And when we go out, we noticed that the arroz on the age of the Earth is touched by the blue. Can you see that? It’s a beautiful metaphor and what I’m starting to suggest to you is that the blue is not just God but it’s it’s God’s communication to us.

61. 30:54

    It is the way that we are seeing God. It’s the way that he is connecting to us. It’s his color of connection, that’s the thought I want to put out there for you. So at the edge at the point, in which we are ending when we go out every day and we see that beautiful Horizon we see him reaching out to connect with us.

62. 31:12

    And what I love, which is true of South Africa and I know that in the city’s it sometimes isn’t so true but if you go to Big Sky country in Montana, just that picture. Is the way we often perceive it. There’s far more sky reaching down to earth, than Earth, reaching up to scar.

63. 31:27

    And again, this is I think nature teaching us God is reaching, he’s reaching as far as he can. As we saw in the book of Hosea to make that connection. So that’s nature you may agree or disagree but let’s see if that’s follow through, then when we take the Echoes and scripture. So this is the first reference that I could find to Blue. It’s an Exodus chapter 24 verse 9. If you have the King James version you won’t have the color blue there.

64. 31:51

    But if Have most modern versions, you’ll have the color blue there. Moses are on Nate ever by you and the 70 elders of Israel. Climbed up the mountain, it was that time when they were at sauna there they saw the god of Israel under his feet. There seemed to be a surface of brilliant blue, lapis lazuli as clear as the sky itself and though these Nobles of Israel gazed upon God, he did not destroy them. In fact, they ate a covenant meal eating and drinking in his presence.

65. 32:20

    So what an incredible first. Passage teach us about this kind of blew the the reference there to lapis. Lazuli actually comes from the Latin Vulgate. That’s why some of the modern versions of picked it up. And Lapis Lazuli is where we get the word as your from if that we were playing a game that was called that comes from that that a zoo which is the idea of an incredible blue that they got from the stone. Lapis lazuli, infect some reading. I’ve done about this.

66. 32:44

    Blue was the most difficult color for early civilizations to produce. That’s why when you look at the Egyptian mummies what is one of the dominant? Aunt colors. It’s the color blue because that was very difficult for them to reproduce. So this beautiful lapis lazuli is a, is this incredible blue color. And and it would seem in the description of when these Elders went up.

67. 33:04

    And they saw God, that, that that he was sitting upon this, this color blue. It was almost that that there was God and then there was blue and then there was them again, this idea of God, the blue and the people. And in that space, what I love about this passage, I know it’s a bit of a transliteration yet but Captures it so beautifully.

68. 33:22

    The way says that in that place they ate and had a covenant meal with them in his presence, a place where they could connect with a very very creator of Heaven and Earth in this color blue. So with that idea, let’s have a look at how blue is then picked up specifically, as we would have guessed in the Tabernacle, So we’ve already made one reference to wear blue appears in the Tabernacle.

69. 33:47

    And there it appears with the other colors purple scarlet and white in the curtain. So the meet at the, anybody coming into the Tabernacle coming to do what when they came into, the Tabernacle to connect with God, to worship him to the house of prayer. They would immediately once they went in the inside, not the outside.

70. 34:05

    Being seen the color blue, as a dominant color together. In this case with the purple and Scarlet and the white but blue was one of the key colors. The curtains and of course on the veil, but blue went a little bit further than the other colors. And this is where the nuances come and that you may not have noticed before.

71. 34:23

    For example, when the the two major curtains were joined together, they were made into pieces father and each side and they were joined together. It specifically says in Exodus 26 verse 4, put Loops of blue yarn along the edge of the last curtain in each set, the offer? No. Little ideas. Yeah that that I haven’t got time to work with but you will notice a repetitive use of the word age. You see understanding the metaphor of edges is something that I’ve only realized more recently but it’s the idea that as humans everything has an edge I made reference earlier on and we had some discussions about this. Why is it that the Tabernacle that we see on the earth is square and yet when the original seems to be presented to us it’s around Well the idea is something that’s squid is it has inches.

72. 35:16

    Some of that circular doesn’t necessarily have an edge in that sense. In fact, where the edges occurred in the Tabernacle, they are joined by Rings Loops circles. Everywhere, you read about any joining of Ages loops and circles, I’m going to leave that one there because we could go a long way with that.

73. 35:35

    And in this case that point of joining is a loop of blue. So again, this idea at the point at which the two are made one at that point, At which the joining takes place, we have a loop of blue. It’s continue. We come to the breastplate, you remember the breast place? That’s terrible, spelling breastplate that, the high priest wore it says there and you shall bomb the breastplate by the Rings. They’re off under the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it may be above the Curious girdle of the ephod. And that the breast Place may be not loosed from the ephod. So, here was this, this breastplate. That had the 12 Stones that arguably represented the tribes of Israel and hopefully the new Israel in its glory in its Splendor.

74. 36:21

    The precious stones going to to Micah and there’s the glory and it’s attached. It’s joined to the heart priest who represents perhaps the Lord Jesus Christ or even God himself that which was Holiness to them. And it’s joined Again by how a lace of blue and then he wore a crown we are told and that cron had on at Holiness to the Lord. And how was that Crown joined to him? Well in Exodus 39 it says and they tied unto the crown, a lace of blue to forcing it on high upon the Martyr as the Lord commanded Moses.

75. 36:58

    And then finally, if you were looking at the high priest, in addition to these very nuanced little laces of connection that you may not have noticed, he clearly wore a blue robe. You shall make the robe of the ephod, all of blue. So this high priest. This high priest who was in fact their connection to God on the day of atonement, he was the one who went through the veil. He has a dominance of blue and he has blue connecting the crown and the breastplate and not too sure. How good that picture is coming up, but I think so you use this picture will but let’s see if I can go back there and use my little highlighter.

76. 37:40

    There we go, some art, I did try this be dish. To show you my highlighter. Oh, all right, so they owe. You have to have good. Ask to see the blue lights there, but it is there and over there. There is a blue nice, but it’s wasted. All right. So these blue lights, believe me in that picture. So they continue this idea of the connection that has been taught in the color blue.

77. 38:02

    Now, when they broke up the Kemp and they went off on their Journey blue appeared again. So for example, when they were moving the Ark of the Covenant, I mean this was the most special Arkham that represented God In His glory. We know that they were not able or not not allowed to look directly on that off. And so, what did they do?

78. 38:22

    Well we read your in Numbers Chapter 4 when the camp was to move Aaron and his sons are to go and take down the shielding of the curtain, put it over the Ark of the Covenant. So that was the That the shielding that they had, they are then to cover the curtain with a durable leather and then spread a cloth of solid blue over that in many ways.

79. 38:43

    That doesn’t make sense. I mean, you’ll see the next items, they did use the cloth of blue, but then they put the liver over it, but in the case of the Ark of the Covenant, they put the leather perhaps to protect it and then the blue cloth. So that when anybody looked upon that, very representation of the Eternal God and His glory, they knew they couldn’t look straight.

80. 39:02

    That it. So what did they see? That color blue. The way in which God reveals himself to us the connection color. So I think this this idea this Nuance to Blue not just being God’s color but he’s connective color is too man. He’s quite powerful. And if we had a doubt about this, perhaps this final Eternal commandment is one of the strongest numbers, 15 verse 38, speak to the people of Israel, and tell them to make tassels on the All their garments throughout their generations and to put a coat of blue on the tassel of each corner and it shall be a tesl for you to look at and remember all the Commandments of the law to do them, not to follow after your own heart, and your own eyes, which you are inclined to do to whore after.

81. 39:50

    So you shall remember and do all my Commandments and be holy to your God. Wow. So we’ve seen some some Orthodox Jews who walk around and on the edges of their garments. They have these tassels, these colors of blue. And of course for them, this is a symbol to remind them that they are to keep the Commandments the law. But we who read all things through the eyes of the Lord, Jesus Christ and read those words and start to say, wow, what’s going on here on the edges, on the edges on the corners of their garments.

82. 40:26

    And again, when you read, when you when you’re wearing a garment you know I’m writing some jeans here but it’s much better demonstrated with a garment as an address or those this is yeah this end of my Gene, the endure, the edge of a garment is the end of me. Symbolically, that’s where I end, I’m a physical body, that’s the end of me and I think what God is saying is put these blue cords on to show that you don’t have to end there. There doesn’t have to be an edge of all of you. That doesn’t have to be a border because if you connect to me, I am the Eternal you’re able to connect to that which is holy just like the Horizon comes down to connect with you. Surely that’s what they were being taught this edge of their garment and what’s so amazing?

83. 41:13

    I’m sure some of you have seen this that the very place they were to put it the corner of the Garment, as its described their that word, their corner is the same word as we find here. But unto you shall the sun of righteousness, arise with healing in his wings, in the corners, in the edges.

84. 41:35

    Jesus coming to bring their healing in the edges in the very corners of your garment. And so, I think by now, hopefully, if you’re with me store and having fallen asleep, the color blue is moving us to only one place that it can move us to he who is the Commandments May true, he who was home.

85. 41:55

    He is the connection between us and the father. There’s only one who could ever have claimed that and of course, It is the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus, the blue lace. John says, in verse 14 of chapter one and the word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory, the glory, as of the only begotten of the father full of grace and truth, the father chose to shine upon us In the blue light of his son, Jesus Christ, the cord that connects that, which is more to that, which is Immortal the cord that makes that which has an end no longer have an end, He Who Came From not cereth, he who was on the edge, who brings us to connection with our father, and no doubt some who followed him around, had worked that out.

86. 42:44

    And we read in, Mark chapter 6, wherever he went into the villages or towns and Countryside, they placed the sick in the marketplace, They begged him to let Touch, even the edge of his cloak and you ever touched. It were healed, the healing in his edges. Surely, they were thinking of Malachi chapter 4 and when that woman with the issue of blood reached out to church, just the tassel, just the edge of His Garment, just the color blue, that connection to God, that was found in Jesus Christ.

87. 43:14

    I think that the metaphor and the imagery is quite strong indeed. The son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being sustaining. All Things by, his powerful work after he had provided purification for sins. He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in high, God communicates it to us. In the life, the work that the death, the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

88. 43:43

    He was alive today and forever more. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Jesus Christ. For he himself is our peace who has made the two groups. One, remember the two parts of the curtain and has destroyed the barrier? The dividing wall of hostility without through him we both have access to the father by one spirit in him. The whole building is joined together and Rises to become a holy Temple in the Lord and the language is the language of the temple and the color blue.

89. 44:17

    Is the only one in the list of the merchants of Babylon that is not mentioned. Why might that be? Why is it missing? Well, I think it’s the only thing they cannot corrupt. You know, they try to trade him, they tried to put a price on him, they went to Judas and said, let’s put a price on him and they did a trade.

90. 44:38

    And it’s not by coincidence that their trade went wrong, that Judas comes, and that’s recorded for us. And the money is thrown back at them because here is a price, that’s man. There is no value. You cannot be corrupted. He is the only one x 13 says, but he whom God raised, so no corruption.

91. 44:56

    Psalm says, you will not leave my soul and she all know. Will you allow your Holy One to see corruption? Is it not this message brothers, sisters? That ultimately, if you have built your faith in your relationship with the Lord, Jesus Christ, is he if he is at the center of what you have formed in your Worship, in everything that we have done this week and all the weeks that have gone before that, alone cannot be corrupted.

92. 45:23

    If we base our faith on anything else, it can be corrupted. It may be helpful. It may be incredibly helpful to develop the relationship, but if it does not lead us to the feet of our master, Her relationship with him. It has the possibility of being corrupted. Our Traditions are good habits. Our church activities.

93. 45:44

    A good works. Or is this the center of a discipleship? The blue lace. The lace that connects us truly to our father. So these are the spiritual truths, perhaps coming out of an ordinary passage in Revelation, chapter 18 of some Merchants. The enemy can corrupt almost everything even the best that the temple has to offer but not Jesus.

94. 46:11

    The blue is God burning himself to us in Jesus Christ. Make sure your relationship with Jesus is your foundation. So thank you for spending this time with us on the Book of Revelation. As I said at the beginning, what we’ve really been trying to do is to share an approach, something that has helped me dramatically in learning more from The Book of Revelation gaining spiritual and start seeing it as a love letter. I’ve tried to go through those steps of focus. Understand, remembering Echoes worshiping, and applying, and we’ve looked at at phrases and ideas and pictures that maybe before, didn’t have that much meaning to you. Certainly for me.

95. 46:49

    Helpful. Because now, when I hear about many crowns, their whole bunch of thoughts that come through my mind, seven lamps, the spirit of Dan Babylon is Fallen, is fallen, and you name, one hour 666, the power of the lamb and The Incorruptible blue, and you can add so much more to that list. If you just spend a bit of time every day with this incredible, love letter, and that’s my encouragement to all of you and if you’re able to do that and just some small way, then this verse that we read at the beginning of our series, We’re going to read it again.

96. 47:20

    I think we’ll even have more power for you as you get to read it yourself. It is He who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep those things which are written in it for the time is near.