Would you take out your Bible please and turn to the book of Revelation. The book of Revelation, I know that to be the last book in the New Testament. So Revelation chapter 19, Revelation chapter 19, and we will begin reading in verse 11 here in just a moment. Revelation chapter 19 beginning in verse 11.

Now verse 12 contains the thought that was the beginning of this lesson. So Revelation chapter 19 beginning in verse 11. Just a little bit of background before we get started this morning. This evening, there are two Greek words for crown in the New Testament, two different Greek words that are used.

One is diadema or diadema, which means the royal crown and gives us the archaic English word diadem. This is a coin of the Greek King Antiochus from 200 years or so before Christ. And if you look here at this picture. I'm going to have to get a new clicker that has a pointer. But you see that strip of cloth or metal that's around his head right there?

That's, that's a diadema. That's a diadem. It started as a ribbon with, with strips that came out the back and down the shoulders. And going way back into ancient times, this was, symbolic of the ruler of a tribe and then a city state, a king over a country had this strip to, to recognize them and their power.

Eventually, a ribbon became a band of gold and through the centuries, this band of gold became more and more ornate. Especially in Europe, but also throughout the Near East and India. And so we now have these crowns that you see you know, the King of England and so forth and official paintings.

They've got this crown. That's a diadem. It's a royal crown for those who have the throne. The other word in Greek for a crown is a stephanos. And that is the victor's crown. And these crowns, made of different kinds of branches, laurel or olive or oak branches, that are then woven together into a wreath, were especially common in the Greco Roman world.

They were awarded to the famous games of this time period, most famously, the Olympic Games. If you won one of the competitions, Then you've got a victor's crown, this laurel or oak wreath that would go around your head. Paul refers to this type of crown in its original sort of usage in 1 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 5.

Similarly, similarly, I'm gonna get there tonight, I promise. Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor's crown, the Stephanos, except by competing according to the rules. So you win the race, you get this crown. You get this victor's crown. And although it originally began by giving it to the victors of these races in these games, the Roman emperors, the Caesars, adopted this kind of crown because of its association with victory.

And this is a piece of carved jewelry from the first century that depicts Tiberius. And Tiberius was the Roman emperor during the second half of Christ's life. He was the Roman emperor when Christ actually was crucified. And you see him wearing this laurel stephanos, this victor's crown on his head. In the carving, we can't really tell if that's actually made of laurel or if it's gold.

Likely it was a golden Stephanos. But you see he's got this image of the victor's crown. So two kinds of crown. The royal crown, your royalty, you're the king. and then the victor's crown on the other side. The Stephanos is where we get the popular English names Stephen for a boy and Stephanie for a girl.

Where's Bethesda of this, of these two crowns? You could inherit a diadema, but the only way to get a Stephanos is to earn it. Now, I know what you're thinking. Does Reagan's competitiveness run so deep that he had to marry Stephanie to say that he earned a victor's crown? No, but I do enjoy the fact that I did.

And what's interesting is that while we see these words for crown used in several different contexts about several different people, the diadem is only used of satanic forces, the dragon and the beast in Revelation and of Christ himself. So these royal crowns are just used to see these two rulers, these two realms of authority and power and reign.

And in John's vision in the book of Revelation, Jesus is pictured wearing this kind of crown, the diadem, many of them actually in Revelation chapter 19. And that serves as the jumping point to the times that we see Jesus wearing crowns in the Bible. So tonight I want to consider for a few minutes the three crowns of Jesus.

And we're going to start there in Revelation chapter 19, beginning in verse 11. Now, if you've heard me preach any period of time, you know how much I enjoy the book of Revelation. I think much of that is because I'm such a visual person. I love the imagery of Revelation. And Revelation is not intended, as so many do today, to just be dissected into a billion different pieces.

It's intended to give us a vision, just like John had a vision. It's intended to give us this powerful image. that we can see and comprehend. So here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to read verses 11 down through verse 21. There's great benefit in the book of revelation of reading straight through. And what I'm asking you to do is do what this book was originally intended to do, to give you these images flashing through your mind of what's happening in the spiritual realm.

So let's begin reading there in verse 11. As we think about Jesus, his crowns and his authority. Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And he who sat on him was called fateful and true, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on his head were many diadems.

He had a name written that no one knew except himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean,

Now, out of his mouth goes a sharp sword that with it he should strike the nations, and he himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he has on his robe and on his thigh a name written, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Then I saw an angel standing before me.

And He cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather together for the supper of the great God, that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great.

And I saw the beast. The kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against him who sat on the horse and against his army. Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshipped his image.

These two were cast alive into the lake of fire, burning with brimstone. The rest were killed with the sword which proceeds from the mouth of him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled. Here's the image. The enemy is wicked. The warrior king is totally righteous. All powerful. And his cause is just.

His victory is certain. And the battle is over before it even begins in the text. We have a phrase. I think it originated in Texas. All hat, no cattle. What does that mean if somebody's all hat, no cattle? Well, it means It's all about the show, it's not about any substance. And yet, we, we see this idea of the Battle of Armageddon, and everybody wants to talk about the Battle of Armageddon, and, and books have been written, and, and doctrines have been formed around this idea of the Battle of Armageddon.

May I suggest that the Battle of Armageddon is all hat, no cattle. It's the forces of Satan against Christ, and it's all hype, no battle. People do battle today in a certain degree, and in the different sports that people have, boxing and MMA and so forth, and it's always funny to me, MMA is primarily a pay per view sport, which means you have to buy the ability to watch a fight, and, and I've never done that.

MMA has very little attraction to me personally, I know other people are into it, that's fine if you are. But it's always funny to me when I see on ESPN the next day, you know, there's all this hype for months leading up to it. And, you know, they've got the, I've got the video of the two guys who are two girls sometimes who are there before the fight, you know, and they're doing their way in and they're getting in one another's face.

And usually they have to be separated and all this stuff goes on. And finally the battle actually comes and people pay 50, 60, a hundred dollars to watch this great fight. And then you read about it the next day and it was over in 20 seconds. I mean, what a, what a letdown that is in some ways. This battle, the Battle of Armageddon, with all of this hype, it's over before it even begins.

Because that's how powerful our King is. The Battle of Armageddon. Ooh. The most overhyped battle of all time. It is a complete and total victory for Christ. No contest. And how is this victorious King pictured there in verse 12? Oof. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns, many diadem.

Jesus wears many crowns, and we could describe Jesus's royalty in any number of ways. Each crown could represent another way that he rules. and deserves to rule. And, and really that would be a neat study to go through and think about all of the different ways that Jesus deserves to wear a crown. All of the different ways that Jesus has power and authority.

It'd take a lot more than what we have time for this evening to be able to do that. So let's narrow it down to this. Jesus is described as wearing many crowns here in Revelation chapter 19. But if we take the rest of the New Testament, Jesus is only described as wearing three other crowns. And that's what I want us to consider for a few minutes.

Reading Revelation chapter 19 verse is kind of like jumping ahead to the end of the story. Jesus has the diadem with all authority here. But he has those diadem, those many crowns, because he earned three Stephanos, three victor's crowns, the three crowns of Jesus. What are they? Are you interested? I hope.

Number one. The first crown that we see Jesus wearing is the crown of thorns as the suffering sacrificial servant. Would you turn to John chapter 19 with me please, John chapter 19.

John chapter 19.

gives us perhaps the most complete account of Jesus wearing this crown as the suffering, sacrificial servant. And in John chapter 19, beginning in verse 1, he's already been to trial with the Jews, been to trial with Pilate the first time, Herod as well, and now he's back to Pilate. And in verse 19, this is what the text says.

So then Pilate, after they asked for Barabbas instead of Jesus, then Pilate took Jesus and scourged him. Roman surging meant they beat you within an inch of your life, and so you're a bloodied mess. And the soldiers verse two, twisted a crown of thorns or any number of thorny bushes in that area that they could have taken and, and wrapped into this crown of thorns.

And they put it on his head. The English said, do you, do you think they put it on his head gently or did they smash it down upon his head and they put on him a, a purple robe. And they said to him, Hail, King of the Jews. And they struck him with their hands. Then Pilate went out again and said to them, Behold, I am bringing him out to you, that you may know that I find no fault in him.

So Jesus is given this scarlet robe. He's given a crown of thorns. He's given a reed scepter, we're told in Matthew's Gospel. All of these are imitations of royal attire to mock and ridicule his title of royalty. And while in this garb, he's taken to the governor's headquarters, where the whole garrison, we're told, about 400 to 600 men gather around and mock him and beat him after he has already been scourged.

And then Pilate takes him out, and he takes him out to show him to the crowd. And John gives us this little detail that Jesus is still dressed in this attire when he appears before the crowd of the Jews. Then Jesus came out, verse 5, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, Behold the man.

Therefore, when the chief priests and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him! Crucify him! Pilate said to them, You take him and crucify him, for I find no fault in him. The Jews answered, We have a law, and according to our law, he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God. Therefore, when Pilate heard that saying, he was the more afraid.

And he went again into the praetorium, and said to Jesus, Where are you from? But Jesus gave him no answer. Then Pilate said to him, Are you not speaking to me? Do you not know that I have the power to crucify you, and the power to release you? Jesus answered, You could have no power at all against me.

Unless it had been given you from above, therefore the one who delivered me to you has the greater sin. From then on Pilate sought to release him. But the Jews cried out, saying, If you let this man go, you are not Caesar's friend. Whoever makes himself a king speaks against Caesar. Do you see all this image of who's the king, what's the king like?

He makes himself the son of God. Now we've got Caesar brought into the equation, and it is the Jews who are actually arguing for Caesar on this occasion. The Jews who are waiting for a Messiah, a Lord, a King, to lead them against Caesar. When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus out and said, sat him down in the judgment seat in a place that is called the Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gavatha.

And it was the preparation day of the Passover, and about the sixth hour he said to the Jews, he's already said, Behold the man, they've said he made himself the son of God, now he says, Behold your king, with this crown of thorns upon his head. But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him.

Pilate said to him, Shall I crucify your king? Woo! The chief priest answered, this is the chief priest of the Jews, he answers, we have no king.

That is unbelievable. If you know anything about Jewish history, if you know anything about the attitude of the Jews in regard to the Romans, if you know anything about the pride they had that they were slaves to no one, that they weren't under the boot of the Romans, and that there was a king coming who was going to defeat the Romans on their behalf, for the chief priest of all people to say, we have no king but Caesar, sin makes us say and do the unthinkable.

Then he delivered him to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus and led him away. And he, bearing his cross, went out to a place called the Skull, which is in Hebrew Golgotha, where they crucified him. And two others with him, one on either side, and Jesus in the center. And Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross, and the writing was, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.

Then many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. Therefore the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, Do not write the King of the Jews, but he said, I am the King of the Jews. Pilate answered, What I have written, I have written.

We see this theme of Jesus as king. And he is a king crowned with a Stephanos of thorns. There are 21 references to the Stephanos, the victor's crown in the New Testament in either the verb or noun form. And thinking about the order of the New Testament, what are the first four references to a victor's crown in our New Testament?

The gospel accounts of the crown of thorns on the head of Jesus. What was this crown? It was a king's crown, but it was a crown of victory. And no one else, seemingly, there knew it. To them, it was a crown of mocking. To them, it was a crown of defeat. Even the Jews said, don't say that he's our king. Say that he said he was the king of the Jews.

But Jesus knew. Jesus knew that this crown represented the victory that he had been given. Not of laurel, or oak, or olive branches, of thorns, of suffering, of pain. of blood and of sacrifice. And in John chapter 19 in verse 30, I think that context of all of this kingly language, is he the king? Is he not the king?

Is he king of the Jews? Is he the son of God? In verse 30, when Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, it is finished. And bowing his head, he gave up his spirit. It is finished. That is a statement, not of defeat. A victory. The sacrifice had been made, the blood had been shed. The fruition of all scripture to this point came to a head, and Jesus was found the victor and this victory, though obscured now through the death of God's son, would be proven three days later when early on the first day of the week, Jesus would rise again.

Jesus sacrifice here is finished. It is completed, which means sin is finished. Separation is finished. The veil separating God from man was torn from top to bottom. Satan is finished. His schemes to conquer Christ and cause Him to sin have failed. Slavery is finished. To sin and Satan and all who, For all who submit to Christ and suffering is finished, or at the very least it will be when we finish the race looking unto Jesus.

This is the first crown of Jesus because this is the crown that makes all others possible, both for Him and for us. And so we look to Jesus, who finished the race before us and received His crown. So that we might run the race in anticipation of ours. Turn to Hebrews chapter 12, if you would. Hebrews chapter 12.

If you go ahead and turn to Hebrews chapter 12, in our next point we're going to look at a few more verses from Hebrews, but Hebrews chapter 12,

beginning in verse 1. Hebrews chapter 12, beginning in verse 1. I mean, listen carefully to this. Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.

Our faith begins with Him, and He is the one who brings that faith to completion. who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. The, the crown of thorns leads where? It leads to the right hand of the throne of God. It leads to this place of all authority in heaven and on earth.

And Jesus says he despised the shame, the shame of the cross to, as we sung about here just a moment ago, as all who passed by looked upon his naked beaten, bloody form, the shame of that cross, which was supposed to show the greatness of the Roman empire to defeat the king of the Jews, shows the greatness of God's plan.

And Jesus looked at the shame involved in that and says, looks down on it. He says it's worth it. It's worth it to Him and it's worth it to Him for us. That this crown of suffering and sacrifice and service becomes the crown of glory and honor as Jesus is creator and king. Go back to the beginning of Hebrews if you would.

Hebrews chapter 1. Hebrews chapter 1 beginning in verse 1. Hebrews chapter 1, beginning in verse 1. God, who at various times, in various ways, spoken times past to the fathers through the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds.

Who, being the brightness of His glory, and the expressed image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, And He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

So, so what, what allowed Jesus to be thrown on high in this way? To, to see Him as He is, as, as Creator of all things with all glory and all, all power. Purging us from all sins. Well, He gives a number of reasons for that, the Hebrew writer does. But I want us to skip to the end of, of, or the middle of chapter 2 if you would.

Chapter 2, beginning in verse 6. He quotes from Psalm 8. And he says this, But one testified in a certain place saying, What is man that you are mindful of him, or the son of man that you take care of him? You have made him a little lower than the angels. You have, listen, crowned him, Stephanost him, with glory and honor, and have set him over the works of your hands.

You have put all things in subjection, subjection. How and why was Jesus crowned, Stephanost, with this glory and honor? For in him, that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him, but we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor, that he, by the grace of God, was death for everyone.

It is the crown of thorns. It's the suffering and sacrifice that leads then to this crowning, this victorious Stephanos of glory and honor

We see the same idea expressed by the Apostle Paul in the book of Philippians, if you turn over there. Philippians chapter 2, beginning in verse 5. The theme of our songs tonight was Jesus name of all names, and that goes perfectly with our lesson this evening. Again, the point is being made that it is through the humility of suffering and sacrifice, this willingness to serve others and put others before yourself, that glory and honor ultimately come from God.

And in verse 5 of Philippians chapter 2, Paul says, let this mind, what he's talked about, the mind of humility, Be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God. He's already in heaven. He already has the diadem of royalty of God of heaven and earth.

But he said, I'm willing to give up that throne to come, to come to earth. And being made, but made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man. He humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

Therefore, God also has highly exalted him, and given him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the Father.

When does that happen? When does every knee bow? When does every tongue confess? Well that takes place at the judgment. And because Jesus received this crown of thorns, in his suffering and sacrifice, he was given the crown of glory and honor as creator and king, which ultimately gives him this crown of conquering.

as victor and judge. Turn now back to the book of Revelation. And we'll spend the rest of our lesson in the book of Revelation. Turn to Revelation chapter six, if you would. Revelation chapter six. The Stephanos, especially for the Romans, is often associated with this idea of conquering. So, in the Olympics you win a race, you get a crown.

Among the Roman emperors and generals, if you have a successful military campaign, you're given a Stephanos. You're given this, this crown that you conquered, that you won the battle, you won the war. And so, as these seals are opened in the book of Revelation, we see that idea in verses 1 and 2 of Revelation chapter 6.

Now, I saw the lamb, when the lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a loud voice like thunder, Come and see. That wasn't like thunder. You get the idea. And I looked, and behold, a white horse. And he who sat on it had a bow, and a Stephanos was given to him.

And he went out conquering and to conquer. Now it's interesting, it's a little backwards, isn't it? When was he given the victor's crown before he went out conquering and to conquer? Why? Because that's how certain victory is. He's already got the crown of victory because he's going to conquer. And this isn't, I don't believe, Jesus himself.

Instead, this is just an angel sent on Jesus behalf. The one who opens the seals and sees this conquering. So, this crown is associated with this conquering, this victory. And along with it, the ability and authority to judge. So turn then to Revelation chapter 14, and we see this same thing with Jesus himself.

In Revelation chapter 14, There's the famous 144, 000. We don't have time again to try and nitpick every bit of Revelation. But what I want you to see is there in verse 4 of Revelation chapter 14. These are the ones who are not defiled with women. They're also Jewish men. For they are virgins, and then notice, these are the ones who follow the lamb wherever he goes.

Do lambs normally lead? Is that what, you know, that's what I see all the time, right? The lambs leading the dogs, right? The lambs leading the shepherds, no, that's backwards, lambs, lambs aren't even full grown sheep, they're little sheep. They follow sheep, which follow other sheep, which follow dogs, which follow shepherds.

But here it is the lamb that is leading. And that shows how upside down this entire thing is. And I think it relates well to what we were talking about here. It is not the crown of conquering and working our way from the top to the bottom. Instead, we're working our way from the bottom to the top. to the top, that it begins with the suffering and service, which leads to the glory and honor, which gives us the authority to conquer and to judge, gives Christ that authority.

And so they're following after the lamb wherever he goes. These were redeemed from among men, being first fruits of God and to the lamb. And so we drop down to verse 14 then, and we see this is a king who has the authority to conquer. Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat one like the Son of Man.

The Old Testament designation for the Messiah, for Jesus. Having on his head a golden Stephanos, and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, saying with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, Thrust in your sickle and reap, for the time has come for you to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.

So he who sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth, and the earth was ripe. Is reaping in the sense of judgment a good thing or a bad thing? Well, if you're bearing fruit, it's a good thing. If you're reaping and tearing down things that have not borne fruit, it's a bad thing. Verse 17, Then another angel came out of the temple, which is in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle.

And another angel came out from the altar, who had power over fire, and he cried out with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe. So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.

And the winepress was trampled outside the city. Listen to this. And blood came out of the winepress up to the horse's bridles for one thousand six hundred furlongs. About a hundred and eighty four miles in every direction. There is blood of judgment. I mean, that is, that is quite a conquering, isn't it?

And Jesus was given this crown with the authority to judge like that.

How can we not

fall on our faces before this kind of victorious King? And yet we find great comfort in knowing what God's judgment is like. Going back to Revelation chapter 19. That chapter, the chapter that sees Jesus on His horse with the mini diadem on His head, starts in verses 1 and 2. After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven saying, Alleluia, praise God.

Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God. For true, Alleluia. Righteous are his judgments because he has judged the great harlett who corrupted the earth with her fornication, and he has avenged on her, the blood of his servants shed by her. Why is God righteous in his judgment?

The point being made here in Revelation 19 is not to question or stand in judgment on the actions of God, but only to explore the truth of God's judgment. That He is all knowing of the deeds and the hearts. That He is not bound by time. He knows the perfect time to judge. He is long suffering and patient and merciful.

He gives many opportunities to repent. And those He judges in the book of Revelation are totally wicked and evil. But God is conquering and God will conquer. And the choice that stands before each one of us is to be on the side of the victor or to be on the side of the one who wears diadems, the dragon and the beast, who will be thrown into the lake of fire.

Will we be victorious? The question stands before us only in this. Will we be on Christ's side or not? Because He is the King who conquers, who was given all glory and honor because He came and suffered and died on a cross, so that ultimately we might have the hope to be saved in Him. And what a source of comfort it is that the one who conquers is the one who saves, and the one who judges does so perfectly.

What should our reaction be to all of this, to these three crowns of Jesus? Well, six times in the New Testament, we are promised a victor's crown if we are in Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 2 and verse 19, For what is our hope, our joy, our crown, Stephanos, in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes?

2 Timothy 4 and verse 8, Now, there is in store for me the crown, the stephanos of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award me on that day, and not to me only, but to all who have loved his appearing. James chapter 1 and verse 12, blessed is the one who preserves under trial, because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown, the stephanos of life.

And when the chief shepherd appears, 1 Peter 5 and verse 4, you will receive the crown, the stephanos of glory. This is what we are promised. And we're promised that in the book of Revelation as well. In Revelation chapter 2, if you go back there in writing to these churches of Asia. In Revelation chapter 2 and verse 10.

To the church in Smyrna who was going to be persecuted. In verse 10 Jesus says, Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed the devil is about to throw some of you into prison. Amen. That you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be fateful unto death, and I will give you the Stephanos of life.

Chapter 3 and verse 11,

Behold, I am coming quickly. Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. We are promised this victor's crown, but only if we follow after. the same pattern as Jesus. If we too are willing to sacrifice and submit ourselves, if we're willing to endure whatever we must endure as Christians, and I think we're given that final glimpse into that in many ways in chapter four with this great throne scene in heaven.

Here's the king, and though he is not described as wearing a stephanos or a diadem, there are some who are described in that way. Revelation chapter 4, beginning in verse 1. After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, Come up here, and I will show you the things which must take place after this.

Immediately I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne set in heaven. And one sat on the throne, and he who sat there was like a jasper, and a sardis stone in appearance. And there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald. Around the throne were twenty four thrones. And on the thrones I saw twenty four elders, sitting clothed in white robes, and they had Stephanos of gold on their heads.

So these 24 elders we know 12 is the number for organized religion in the Bible. And so in the Old Testament, you had the 12 tribes of Israel the 12 sons of Jacob. We've studied that here recently. He's going to talk about that more in chapter 7. And in the New Testament, what 12 do you have?

You have the twelve apostles who begin the church. And so the twenty four elders, I think, represent God's people, both Old Testament and New. And what is on their heads? Victor's cramps. Stephani's. As God's redeemed people. And what are they going to do with them? Well, let's keep reading. Verse five. And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices.

Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God. Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and all around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes, in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had the face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle.

And the four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within, and they did not rest day or night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come. And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne who lives forever and ever.

The twenty four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns, their stephanos, before the throne, saying, You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and by Your will they exist. And are created.

These elders have crowns. They sit on thrones. But they aren't kings. And they don't want to be kings. They are victors. Conquerors. Overcomers. But they realize, as we all must, that that is only possible through the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. They want to be His servants. And so what do they do? They take off those crowns and they cast, they throw those crowns before Him.

Because they realize that He is the Creator and they are the created. And they give up their authority and glory and honor to give it back to him.

I tried to give a picture tonight. I don't know if I did. There's a picture in my mind. I wish I could just kind of like telekinetically just give it to you. The picture that I have of these thrones of Jesus, of these, these crowns of Jesus. But when the rubber meets the road, who we really are supposed to be like are, are these 24 elders.

Do we have this same attitude of desiring you. To fall before our king in the same way to serve him in the same way Do we cast our crowns before him knowing that he is the only king? Wearing many diadems. Yes, but also His stephanos that he earned By the things that he suffered behold our god seated on his throne Behold our god upon the cross behold our god in the seat of judgment You

And when we stand before him,

I want only to hear, Well done, enter in, because I have made him my king, and I have become a citizen of his kingdom. And he is the one who wears the crown, not me. If you're here this evening, that's what stands before all of us. This great cosmic struggle, that really is no struggle at all, for Jesus will be victorious.

Are you willing to submit to that king? If you're willing, He can give you that victor's crown of life, both now and eternally. And if we can help you with that, even tonight, come, while together we stand and while we sing.