Welcome to EBible Fellowship's Bible study in the Book of Revelation. This will be study #32 of Revelation, chapter 1, and we are presently looking at Revelation 1:9:

I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.

We saw in our last study, as we began to look at this verse, that John is addressing the true believers. He is speaking to his "brothers." Of course, he is speaking under the inspiration of God, and God is moving him to say these things, but he is telling us that he is our "brother, and companion in tribulation."

And we saw that the word *companion* can also be translated as *partaker*. He partook in tribulation, and so do we partake in tribulation. As Jesus said, "in the world ye will have tribulation." It is unavoidable for the child of God because we identify with the word of God. We identify with Christ Himself and, therefore, we become a target of this world and of spiritual forces that hate the Lord Jesus Christ, and are antagonistic toward Him and toward any that would identify with Him. And it is the truth of the word of God that identifies with Christ, primarily, so we can expect that if we are sharing truth, and we are attempting to be faithful to what the Bible says, there will be tribulation.

And, yes, there is tribulation in the world, always. That is normative. That is to be expected in the life of each child of God, but the Bible also refers to "great tribulation," and we are witnesses of that, and we have actually gone through that period of time, which lasted twenty three years, from May 21, 1988 through May 21, 2011. That was the great tribulation period, *megas thlipsis*, and that was a time when there was much tribulation for the word's sake, because God opened up a great and wide-open door to the world to send forth the Gospel like never before. And since the Gospel went forth in an unparalleled way, and tribulation comes because of the word, and the word was multiplying and prospering all over the earth, there was "great tribulation," as those who shared these things became a target - of individuals in the churches, individuals in the world - because many were now hearing the Gospel, and the light was shining in the darkness, and, naturally, there was a response of criticism and reviling, and so forth. The tribulation intensified and became great.

So that time has passed, and we have now entered into the Day of Judgment, but we are not to think that tribulation is over for us, because we are still living in this world and, therefore, there is still tribulation, continuing for the very same reason, for the word's sake, as believers continue to adhere to, and to uphold, and to testify of, the word of God, and there can be expected tribulation as a result.

Well, we have come to the point in this verse where John is being moved to say he is our "companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ." So there is the word *and*, a conjunction, joining the previous statement with this statement. That means that John is saying that he is not only our companion in tribulation, but he is a companion, or partaker, in the "kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ."

You know, the word *kingdom* is a very commonly found word in the New Testament. It is found in the Old Testament, too, but it is a word that is especially used in many of the parables of Jesus, as He explained that the "kingdom of heaven is like," and then He gave various parables that were all designed to explain the kingdom of heaven. It says in Matthew 5:10:

Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake...

That would involve tribulation, and righteousness is the Lord Jesus, and you cannot separate Him from His word, and so "for righteousness' sake," or for "Christ's sake," or "for the word's sake," are all synonymous statements. Let us continue to the last part of this verse in Matthew 5:10:

...for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Here, God is saying, "Alright, you are going to be persecuted. I am not going to hide it from you. I am not going to lie." (Of course, God would not lie; He always tells us the truth.) But He is not going to try to cover it up, or to hide it in any way, or to have us deceived about it in any kind of way at all. He tells us very directly and straight-forwardly.

God tells us, on the one hand, "Here is my gift of salvation. It is the most glorious, wonderful, and absolutely incredible gift that anyone could receive. It is an eternal life, in an eternal kingdom, an eternal new heaven and new earth, dwelling in my presence and you will live forever, without pain or sorrow." And on and on it goes...and, you know, we really could (if we were of a mind to) go on quite a while about the great benefits and blessings of the kingdom of heaven. God tells us that directly, also, but He does not tell us that exclusively. He does not always hold that up in front of our eyes. No, He explains this is in the future: the kingdom of heaven begins when you become saved; it is within you, because that is when we receive the new spirit, and that is when we are made citizens of that glorious kingdom, and we are seated in heavenly places in Christ in that kingdom. We belong to that kingdom, and it is ours. It is our possession, our great inheritance and, yet, that is a future thing. From our perspective, we do not know how long it will be until that glorious future is ushered in.

That is, you could die. I could die. Any of us could die tomorrow, or next week, or next month. We do not know, but (then) we would begin to enjoy some of the fruits of the kingdom of heaven, because in our soul existence we would go to be with the Lord. And we think there is a good possibility that the Day of Judgment will be 1,600 days, but, regardless, we do not know, individually, when we will be brought into that kingdom.

And even if it were a whole lifetime, even if it were 50 years, or 20 years, or three more years, or two years; however long it may be, God holds up that wonderful, beautiful kingdom of heaven: "This is your inheritance. This is your possession. It is of the greatest value possible. It dwarfs everything else in value, and there is nothing like it. But, on the other hand, you must live from the point of your salvation, and you must continue to live in this world---a world that is hostile towards me, and towards my kingdom, and towards my word, and towards everything that relates to me, to the Light of God. You now have been translated out of the kingdom of darkness."

Remember what it says in Colossians? (And I am going to read it.) In Colossians 1:13:

Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:

That happens at the moment of salvation. You and each child of God are now translated into "the kingdom of his dear Son," the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. So, you are in that kingdom and, therefore, there is enmity between you and the kingdom of Satan that you have come out of. You are viewed as a traitor. You are viewed as someone who is now an enemy of the world, and the world will make this known. You can be sure of it. Now, in the world, ye will have tribulation. You will suffer affliction. It is through much tribulation that you will enter into the kingdom of God.

This tribulation can be pretty intense. It can be very severe at times, and we do not know what is in store for us as we live in this world. It can be oppression, persecution, depending on where we live in the world, what country we are in, what the laws allow towards Christians, and so on. Yet God says, "These are the facts. I am laying them out for you, and there will be suffering involved. You are going to suffer for my sake."

This is really what "taking up the cross" of Christ pictures, is it not? We are not taking up a flowery bed of ease, we are taking up a cross, and a cross is a place of suffering. You know, it says in Philippians 1:28-30:

And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God. For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;

Christ suffered for our sakes, and He took upon Him our sins, and He paid the penalty. He died the death that the Law required, and made payment in full for your sin and my sin, if we are one of His elect, and He satisfied the Law's demands, and freed us from the penalty of the Law, which is death, and now we may live for ever. He suffered for us, and now God sets up a program in this life where we identify with Him, and now suffer for His sake. It is given to us for this cause.

You know, God gives faith. God gives repentance. God gives spiritual blessings, and spiritual things that we normally recognize as "good things," but when it comes to suffering, we normally do not think of that as a gift. Yet, that is exactly what God says: "For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe;" yes, faith is a gift; you are given the faith of Christ which saves you, and also your own belief which follows, but not only that, but also to "suffer." And, again, God tells us directly. He does not hide it from us; there is suffering involved.

This is a very worthwhile thing, a worthwhile endeavor which the child of God is involved with. This is not something minor. This is not something of little value. This is the eternal kingdom of an incredible future that God has granted to each one of us and, so, He says (as we read this verse in our last study), in 2Thessalonians 2:4:

So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure: Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer: Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:

And, here, the Lord says, "Look, I am going to repay the tribulation. I will recompense tribulation to them that trouble to you. Do not be concerned about that. Do not respond in kind; if reviled, revile not again. If someone is persecuting you, do not fight back. Do not take up your own weapons and battle them. No. You continue to pray for them, and forgive them, and be kind to them, and do not seek to return hostility to them in any way. Vengeance is mine. I will repay."

And here we are living in the Day of Judgment, which is the day of *vengeance*, and so we know that God is recompensing Babylon, the kingdom of Satan; the unsaved inhabitants of the earth are now experiencing the wrath of God, as He has shut the door upon them. It is a very grievous judgment of God, and it is a horrible thing to think that there is no more salvation for the people of the world, so we need to keep these things in mind, and we need to continue waiting on the Lord, patiently waiting upon Him, for Him to bring the completion of His kingdom, the fulfillment of His kingdom to us. The kingdom of God is within us, but one day we will be brought into that new heaven and new earth, and all that we see, all that exists will belong to the kingdom of heaven.

Let us also go to Matthew 13. We are looking at this phrase, "the kingdom of God." (It says "the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ," but Christ is God, so the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God or the kingdom of Christ, are all saying the same thing.) It says in Matthew 13:37:

He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man...

Now this is an explanation of the parable of the wheat and the tares. In Matthew 13:38:

The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;

Did you catch that? The "good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one." The tares are not the children of the kingdom of God, and this reveals to us that it is only God's true believers, only those whose names have been recorded by God before the world began (His elect), and those predestinated to obtain this salvation, the ones that Christ died for (and He only died for their sins and none other), and it is to them the kingdom belongs, and not to others.

It goes on to say in Matthew 13:39:

The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;

Notice, again, "they shall gather out of his kingdom," and then in Matthew 13:42:

And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

There are some that try to identify with the kingdom of God; and the church world of hundreds upon hundreds of millions of professed Christians attempt to do this. If you ask them, they would say they are a Christian, a child of God, and they belong to the kingdom of heaven. And, yet, God made a distinction in separating the wheat from the tares and taking them (the tares) out of His kingdom, in order that the righteous (who the kingdom truly belongs to) would shine forth. Now it says in John 3:3:

Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Then it says in John 3:5:

Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

The kingdom of God requires salvation, to be born again. There is no way that anyone else can enter in. "Flesh and blood" cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven. The unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God. It is only the one that God has saved that becomes a citizen of that kingdom, someone that has entered into the kingdom of heaven, and they do so by the means of the "new birth." They have citizenship, but there will come a time when God will enlarge that, and the kingdom of heaven will include the new heaven and the new earth, and all in the existence of God's realm will be a part of that kingdom.

And so the Bible also speaks of "entering in." It is through much tribulation that you enter into the kingdom of heaven or kingdom of God. So we can be in the kingdom of heaven through salvation (the new birth), but we have not yet entered into the kingdom of heaven in the sense of leaving this world and going to the next.

Well, let us just look at one more verse regarding the kingdom. It says in Hebrews 12:26-29:

Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire.

This is the tremendous nature of the kingdom of God that the child of God is a part of; it is a kingdom that cannot be shaken or removed, which we cannot say of this world. The people of the world, the unsaved inhabitants of the earth, are part of Satan's kingdom, and it will be shaken, and it will be moved and destroyed, and the world will pass away, and so will their kingdom. Satan's kingdom will be gone for ever.

But God's kingdom, the kingdom of His dear son, the Lord Jesus Christ, is an eternal kingdom, and it is really a wonderful picture that God gives. We think of the few good earthly kings (some of the kings of Judah, like Josiah or king David), and we think, "Would it not have been wonderful to have been part of that kingdom, to have lived in the days of David when a good man, a righteous man (made good and righteous by the Lord Jesus Christ and His work), was ruling over the people? Would it not have been wonderful to have been a citizen of the nation of Israel in those days, to serve a good king (like David) or a good king (like Josiah), and know that this man is someone who seeks to do the Lord's will? We find joy in service to someone who is faithfully serving God, and we would feel privileged to be a part of that kingdom, to serve a king who is like that.

But, can you imagine (and that is all we can do is to think about it from this side of heaven, from this side of living in this world), and can you just consider and contemplate, for a little while, what it would be like to be in such a glorious kingdom ruled over by the King of all kings, by the great and mighty all-powerful God, who is perfectly good and just and right, and so every decree that the King makes is a good decree, and a right decree. Every commandment is proper and just, and we will be privileged to be inhabitants, and citizens, and servants to that King, and we will serve Him for ever and ever in the kingdom. The kingdom of heaven will continue on, without an end, and we are the ones who will be there to see these things, and to serve our King, God Himself, who will dwell amongst us.

And if it was a privilege and an honor to serve someone like David, a good man, or Josiah, a good man, how much infinitely more will we be privileged and honored to serve God Himself (who makes men like that to be good), and we can serve goodness in its very essence. It really is a tremendous future that is in store for each child of God, in the kingdom of heaven.