Romans 1:16-22  For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

• The knowledge of God's glory is referred to as Light.


2 Corinthians 4:6  For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

• Your heart is what believes.
• And God knows the thoughts and intents of your heart.
• And when a person comes to the place where they definitely know that God is real and they know that its in Jesus alone that salvation is to be found,...
• ...God looks for the reaction.

• One of two different sides of God are revealed to you.
• God is a God of righteousness and a God of wrath.
• And we read that the righteousness of God is revealed to one kind of person.

Romans 1:16-17  For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

• When you believe, you incite God to reveal, or unveil, His righteousness to you.


Romans 1:18  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

• To hold the truth is to know the truth.
• Its when the truth has been given to you and you are aware of it.
• You hold it in your hands.
• You see it.
• But you decide to not change nor give your life to God to live righteously, and you hold the truth in such unrighteousness.


Romans 1:21  Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

• Know about God and how you must change your life around and serve Him.
• But decide not to, for whatever reason.
• And please understand that the reason does not really matter.
• Whatever reason a person has to not serve God is really insane.
• We are talking about the One who created everything that exists -- Almighty God.
• And of all things we might choose to disregard, God cannot ever be one of them.

• Something is unveiled before you according to your response to receiving the knowledge of the glory of God.

Speaking of UNVEILING, Deep inside the temple of God during the days of the Old Testament, after God brought Israel out of Egypt, was a veiled room.

• The inner sanctum was where God's presence was manifested and made real in this world.
• (Today, circumstances and God's dealings with the world have changed since the cross of Jesus Christ, and the cross moved God to not limit His presence in such a room, but He is wherever you will worship and praise Him.)
• And it was a very secret place.
• Not just anyone could go into that room.
• Only a man carefully prepared and called of God could do so -- THE HIGH PRIEST.
• ...and even with him, only once a year.

• It was a chest that contained the tablets of the ten commandments that Moses had, among other things.
• And the lid of the chest or ark was gold shaped like a seat with cherubims molded into the gold, rising up with wings like a canopy covering the area where one would sit.
• And God said this:


Exodus 25:22  And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.

THE MERCYSEAT.

God's throne, so to speak.

This was all a model, you see, of the reality of God in Heaven on a throne.

Exodus 25:9  According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.

The prophet Isaiah was granted a vision of the real throneroom in heaven in the sixth chapter of his book..

Isaiah 6:1-4  In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. {the whole...: Heb. his glory is the fulness of the whole earth} And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.

• His train, or the skirts of His robes, filled the temple.
• And just like the little model of the ark of the covenant, there were seraphims whose were situated above and over the throne where God sat.
• When Moses was told to make the ark, he was instructed to form the cherubims so that their eyes looked at each other.
• But here we find out that they are not only looking to each other.
• THEY ARE TALKING TO EACH OTHER.
• And they are saying, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts.  The whole earth is full of his glory."
• And the margin reads that "the whole earth   is full of his glory" actually means, "HIS GLORY IS THE FULLNESS OF THE EARTH."
• Its sort of saying, His glory is what the earth needs.

• Almost as though that glory was coming out to fill the world that was created to receive it.

• The glory of God is compared to LIGHT being given in the form of knowledge.
• Light of the glory of the knowledge of God.
• And its found in the face of Jesus Christ.
• Nowhere else.

As God's train or skirts of His robe filled the temple, God wanted His glory to fill the earth.

• His glory filled Heaven.
• His will was done in Heaven.
• But we are urged to pray, THY WILL BE DONE IN EARTH, AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.
• It must come out of HEAVEN and OUT INTO THE EARTH.

Isaiah 6:8  Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.

And God tells him to go and preach, but for a strange purpose.

Isaiah 6:9-10  And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.

Isaiah asks for how long he should preach.

Isaiah 6:11-12  Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate, And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.

Until the people are taken far away.

But God said not all would be destroyed.

• A remnant, like the seed of a tree that's been torn apart and stripped of branches and fruit, that can grow back and see the tree restored.


Isaiah 6:13  But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.

• And He is constantly speaking about His messages as though they were LIGHT.
• He says some will receive this LIGHT, and believe, while others will not believe and be judged by the very words He spoke.


John 12:44-50   Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me. And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me. I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness. And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.

John 12:35-40  Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them. But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him: That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again, He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.

John 12:41  These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him.

• We read that the ones who rejected Him fulfilled the scripture of Isaiah, when God told him top preach words so that the people would become blinded and deafened to the message.
• It was as though God looked ahead to the most important era of all eras...
• And saw how that many would reject Jesus, and a remnant would accept Him.
• So God told Isaiah to preach and make them blinded to it all, because that is what is going to happen, anyway when they see the light.
• And God said preach like that until the cities are destroyed and the people removed far away, because Jesus cursed Jerusalem for rejecting Him and said the stones of the temple would all come down and THAT generation would see it happen.
• 70 AD saw the Romans march in and smash the city, and remove the people far away.
• But a remnant would be left who would accept Him (the elect of Matthew 24).

John 12:41  These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him.

Isaiah spoke of Jesus!

So when He saw God on the throne, and His robe's skirts filling the temple, and cherubims saying "HOLY HOLY HOLY, God's Glory is what the world needs,"...

• Isaiah SPOKE OF JESUS!
• Isaiah saw God's Glory.
• He saw a room, that was normally VEILED from view, unveiled and opened up wide to gaze into...
• And saw GOD'S GLORY.

When Jesus preached, His words informed the people that God is on the throne.

• Jesus gave knowledge of God's glory.
• Sinners were faced with the reality of DIVINE THINGS and THINGS OF GOD.
• He explained what they ought to do in repenting and serving God and living for Him.
• He showed them that God is ruler and their lives must be obedient to His word.
• As Isaiah saw God on a throne.
• He informed them of God's glory, and his preaching was like LIGHT of GLORY that filled the people.
• He taught them how holy God is.

They definitely saw God's glory.

And look what happened.

John 12:37  But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him:

• They came face to face with the reality of GOD!
• They saw His glory in the preaching and wonders of Jesus.
• But they would not budge!


John 12:42-43  Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.

• But the world has a power also.
• It can smother convictions that you get when you know you should serve God now.
• You can be pulled to desire more praises of men than the praises of God.
• To not lose your status in the world.
• Some people do this by thinking they'd rather not have problems with their friends, than serve God and watch them mock them and persecute them.
• Others think they'd rather not have problems with their families, than serve God.

He's going to judge our eternities one day!

And the book of Revelation opens up with an explanation that the book is indeed a REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST.

• And just as Jesus said He's the LIGHT giving people the KNOWLEDGE OF THE GLORY OF GOD, we see Jesus in the vision in the midst of a seven-branched candlestick, THAT STOOD IN THE TABERNACLE JUST BESIDE THE VEIL LEADING TO THE HOLIEST OF HOLIES.
• THAT LIGHT WAS SPECIFICALLY THERE TO HELP YOU SEE WHERE THE VEIL WAS SO THAT YOU COULD FIND THE ENTRANCE TO THE INNER SANCTUM OF GOD'S PRESENCE.

• AN UNVEILING OF JESUS.
• And similar to Isaiah's experience, you are going to read about the glory of God in Jesus as you delve into this last book of the Bible.

• So if this book is entitled the REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST (Forget the title your bible printer called it.  Read the first verse of the book), THE UNVEILING OF JESUS CHRIST, then JESUS CHRIST IS THE GLORY OF GOD!

• Heaven and hell.
• The New Jerusalem and the Lake of Fire.
• Why?
• Because when God's glory is revealed to you, like Paul said in the book of Romans, your reaction to Him will determine whether you are blessed by God or cursed in His wrath.

How do you react with this knowledge of God's glory?

• Are you believing in Him and accepting it?
• Or are you choosing to not believe, and are rejecting it?

Many are called, and few are chosen, Isaiah.

PEOPLE, I AM GLAD THAT I CAN SAY I'M ONE OF THEM.

Can you?