[0:00] the book of the Revelation and chapter 10. And we may read from verse 5. And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven and swayed by him that liveth for ever and ever who created heaven and the things that therein are and the earth and the things that therein are and the sea and the things which are therein that there should be time no longer.
[0:37] And especially the words at the end of this verse that there should be time no longer. Now this book of the Revelation given to John we perhaps know that the word in the Greek means the unveiling as though God is unveiling things to the church.
[1:00] That this book in its form, in its symbolism, in its purpose and meaning is an exceptionally beautiful book.
[1:11] It's beyond description. Because where in all literature can we find anything that excels the majestic descriptions of Christ in this book?
[1:24] Where can we find it? Where can we find anything in literature that excels that description of Christ walking in the midst of the golden lampstand?
[1:35] Where can we find in any other literature things like the throne of God in heaven or Christ coming out as a true and faithful witness riding upon that white horse to conquer?
[1:50] It doesn't matter what literature we would go to I don't think we could find anything as beautiful and as majestic as this book this book of the Revelation.
[2:05] And what a contrast it makes between the doom of Babylon and the joy of Jerusalem above. It's a book which unveils these things to the church and this great vision was given to John on the Isle of Patmos.
[2:24] He was given the last book in the Bible and it was to be the last book till the end of time. And this last book speaks of the triumph of the church of Christ.
[2:37] It tells us that at the end of it all through all these great upheavals at the end of it all that Christ is a conqueror. Christ conquers.
[2:49] And this book has a wealth of comfort for all the children of God. It was comforting to John on the island of Patmos even in his dark days.
[3:02] And this book gives us a great insight into the future. But above all I think that this book unveils the wondrous love of God for the church for his own church in this world.
[3:18] That through it all he's going to preserve his people. is going to bring the church safely through every difficulty every trial every danger they're going to all every one of them the whole church of Christ will be brought eventually into glory and they'll all be safe and glorious.
[3:38] Now in this chapter we read of an angel coming and the description we have of this angel reveals to us one who's glorious and most commentators believe that this angel refers to the mediator himself our Lord Jesus Christ.
[4:00] Most commentators believe this and this is their opinion that he is the angel of the covenant of grace the great messenger of the covenant of grace and that because of the description we have here that he came down from heaven clothed with a cloud clothed with a cloud in the psalm we were singing we read of clouds of darkness being round about him he's symbolising his judgement and his providence we read of his face was as the sun that speaks of the excellency of his glory we read of his feet being like pillars of brass speaking of the steadfastness and the sureness and the holiness of all that he does that his scepter is a scepter of righteousness in everything that he does and we see that a rainbow on his head like a diadem and that speaks of the covenant faithfulness of Christ remember the rainbow which God tells us he put in the sky as a covenant after the flood well the rainbow signifies God's mercy and his faithfulness and we have this rainbow on the head of this person like a diadem like a crown and the description certainly seems to speak of Christ in this picture but we see he appears to be the angel of God's presence to whom in whom is the name of God now we read that this angel was come down from heaven and whenever God is going to say something great or do some great thing we so often read as though
[5:52] God came down God came down and the book that we had in his hand that came down from heaven this angel came down from heaven Christ came from God and he came as the mediator of the covenant but we see that he appears to be like a giant with one fruit firmly planted on the earth and the other fruit far out in the ocean like a huge giant he could take a stride right across the ocean why is he represented as standing with one fruit on the earth one fruit in the ocean why do we read that he spoke and that his voice was like the roaring of a lion it's because what he was saying concerns the whole universe what he was saying concerns the whole universe and what he says must be heard by all it will be heard by all one day whatever he has said but we see then that he had this book in his hand and he tells us that there'll be no more that time shall be no longer well this little book with no doubt when we read the book of psalms we see in psalm 119 we read that what the psalmist said how sweet are thy words unto my taste nay sweeter than honey to my mouth it seems to refer to the word of
[7:28] God to the scriptures and we should be thankful tonight that it's a little book God has given to us the bible people may complain about it but in reality it isn't a huge book it's a book that can be read by anyone we should be thankful tonight that it doesn't require us to read huge volumes of books a library of books that he has put all this into one book all his plan of salvation his way of salvation and the work that Christ has done that he has given it to us in a little book in a little book and this book came from heaven the word of God isn't just the work of men God used men the Holy Spirit used men but all that's in this book which we have here tonight in our hands it's from God himself it's from heaven the book came from above it's from heaven and we see that in another part of this chapter that John was required to eat the book digest this book and then in his mouth it was sweet but in his belly it was bitter that's the way the word of
[8:47] God is to his people in their experience sometimes when they read it they get the sweetness out of the book it's sweet to them when they read of the love of Christ it's sweet but there are other things there in their experience if they digested and it is bitter to them it tells them that they are guilty sinners it brings conviction of sin and that bitter in their belly but that's the kind of book it is it is bittersweet and it's bittersweet in this way that it tells us of the glorious saviour it tells us that if we follow him we must take up the cross and follow him that if we believe in Christ we will follow him and that will mean in a certain sense perhaps loss perhaps persecution or many other things in this world but the book is bittersweet to his people and it's certainly sweet it brings home to us our guilt and our sin and that's bitter to us but the book is sweet when we see what
[9:55] Christ has done when we read of the love of God when we read of the great atoning sacrifice of Christ this little book is to be open it's an open book not just an ornament I remember meeting someone in the mainland there and I think he still does it who carries a Bible about in his car he thinks that if he carries the Bible in his car he won't crash that God will be with him he doesn't read his Bible very much but he thinks just having a book there will be like a charm to him but that isn't the way we must use the word of God not like an ornament in our homes it must be an open book a book that we read a book not which we just like a morsel put in our mouths and roll about for a little while then spit it out it's a book that we must digest take into our heart into our soul it will be bitter but the book will be sweet to those who digested the word of God that little book which has given to us the world despises it the world thinks little of the Bible today the world mocks the
[11:08] Bible it's certainly a little book in the eyes of the world today but what authority is in this book it is the word of God the word of God and we should be grateful to God tonight that he has given this little book to us we should be grateful to the great mediator of the covenant that in his providence we have this little book in our hands tonight before us telling us of God and of the covenant of grace telling us of our own guilt and our sins and telling us of the love of Christ telling us of all these things this little book which has given to us well we see that the book was given to the people and then the mediator of a covenant among other things gives these words he swears that time shall be no longer now some commentators believe that this means there will be no more delay the word chronos in the
[12:21] Greek it means time it can also mean a little space of time but some people use it that way they say there will be no more delay till the last judgment comes till the seventh trumpet will be sounded well we've no doubt whatever way we use it it comes to the same thing time shall be no longer time shall be no longer well there's one sense in which time shall be no longer it may refer to the end of the world it may refer to the end of all history when this world all the glories of this world are going to be wrapped up all the glories and all the business of the world will be finished and the sentence will go out time shall be no longer time is finished and now it's only eternity it's eternity we see that some people have tried to judge when the end of the world would be it's an unprofitable searching this because the word of
[13:36] God tells us that no man knows that time the word certainly tells us that we can sort of judge or discern when the world is nearing that time our Lord tells us that but he tells us of the actual time the year the day the moment when this world will come to an end no man in this world knows it but this is sure time is coming to an end the world is going to come to an end it has been fixed the world is coming to an end there was one monk a benedictine monk Bede in the 7th and 8th century and he calculated that the world would come to an end about 1834 I don't know how he calculated that but that's the date he gave when the world would come to an end but we see that it didn't come to an end then the Jehovah witnesses they predicted that the world was coming to an end that Christ was coming in 1940 they even prepared a house for him they did many other things for him and when he didn't appear they said it was an invisible appearance and that he was in this world from 1914 to 1918 but what does the word of
[14:57] God say the word of God tells us when Christ comes every eye shall see him every eye shall see him it won't be an invisible coming again the Jehovah witnesses more recently they predicted that the end of the world would come in 1975 1975 and we're here now at the end of 1989 no one can tell when the end will come but this we do know that time shall be no longer that it's coming the end of the world the end of things as we know it in this world it will come but we needn't even think of the end of the world these words may be applied to each one of us personally because when our day comes when we are going to leave this world the moment we leave this world as far as we are concerned time is no longer it's no longer time for us it's eternity time shall be no longer and eternity will come upon each one of us all at once it will come very suddenly in a moment it will be no longer time but eternity now I know that this is a solemn matter and at the end of another year people rejoice in things like at a new year but
[16:31] I think we should think of what it means coming to the end of another year in our lives it should remind us that just as surely as this year is coming to an end just as surely as when midnight comes if it comes and 1989 has gone and we enter another year just as surely as that in your experience and in my experience time shall be no longer time shall be no longer you can look at the clock but remember this time shall be no longer it's coming for each one of us we may close our eyes on this matter we may forget about it we may be careless about it but we're going to open our eyes we're going to have to face it and it's better to face it now that time will be no longer for each one of us we're on the way to eternity on the way to eternity time is a difficult thing to describe
[17:43] I don't know if anyone can really describe it there are so many people who have tried to describe what time is I think Hodge says that it's a part of our existence that part of our existence which we pass in this world that's what he calls time other people call it a process it isn't just the clock going round the clock only measures time it only measures time but we know this it is our existence in this world and it's passing it will pass very swiftly now time doesn't change in its speed or vary in any way time goes on ceaselessly it's irrevocable it carries on in our experience in our consciousness time may vary we may feel it at some part of it long we may feel another part short but time it doesn't grow shorter or longer time just carries on
[18:51] I don't know if anyone has ever been in a ship going down a river and there you stand there and see the things going past on the banks of the river and you stand in a ship going down with the current and you feel as though you are stationary and everything else is passing it's an illusion an illusion but that's the way we are in this world we feel as though we're standing still and it's other things that are passing by us but all the time we are on this river being born on the way to that great ocean on the way to eternity on the way to eternity time doesn't stand still time is going to carry each one of us until we reach this point where it be said about us time shall be no longer time shall be no longer and some people feel time long but like the artist an old artist he made a painting of what he thought of time and in that painting it was the sun shining and darkness on the other side of the painting and a chari there with a person in it and four wild horses pulling him relentlessly towards the darkness towards the night even while the sun was shining that's the way he saw time and that's the way it is time is what God has given to us in this world a part of our existence which has given to us in this world and it goes past very quickly the word of
[20:37] God tells us it gives a description of it it says that time is short the time is short and compared to a weaver's shuttle going back and forward like a vapour that appears for a moment uncertain and then vanishes away compared to a hand bridge swifter than the eagle time will pass very quickly and a great portion of our time has passed already a great portion of our time has already passed now the time for this world is running out the shadows are lengthening it's almost 2000 years since Christ died and rose again from the dead we don't know when the end of the world will be but we know this that time is running out for this old world and not only is it running out for the world my friend here tonight at the end of another year time is running out for you and for me time is running out and the sentence will come soon for each one of us time shall be no longer time shall be no longer and we see then at the end of another year it should remind us of this and I feel that every believer every child of
[22:11] God at the end of their days if we're given time to think about it that at the end of our days we'll have a certain sorrow it will be this how little we have done for Christ and our great joy at that time will be this how much he has done for us how much he has done for us that's the way we would feel if we came to our last moments thinking upon our past life how little we have done in serving our Lord and our Master how short we have come in every way how unfaithful we have been how many things we could have done and we didn't do it and the opportunities are all past they're past to serve him in a way that we cannot serve him in eternity to serve him in this world in time well we see that the sands of time they're sinking that hourglass given to us the sand is flowing all the time the sand is flowing and flowing and the last grain will fall in the hourglass and time shall be no longer that will be the experience of each one of us your experience and my experience and you cannot escape it and my friend open your eyes if you're still out of christ open your eyes and face eternity don't put it out of your mind but face it tonight the believer has faced eternity every believer has faced it the great eternity that is before us but people out of christ they don't want to see it they don't want to think about it they don't want to they don't want it to mar and to spoil their enjoyment but the wisest thing for each one of us is this to pray to god to open your eyes so that you will face the great eternity that is ahead of us now we can't stop time queen elizabeth in england at one time she was one of the great fashion leaders in europe during her day and she was proud of it and yet when it came to her death bed and she realised she was dying she had tried to get some scientist to find an elixir of life but of course they couldn't find that but then she was crying out a parent on her death bed half my kingdom for a little more time but it couldn't be given to her her time had run out her time had run out time shall be no longer time shall be no longer and when this point comes the greatest doctor in the world cannot help us when this moment comes the greatest physician can't stop us from going our friends can't prevent us our loved ones can't prevent us they can't hold us back when this moment comes when time shall be no longer no one can prevent it and whether we are ready or not
[25:33] God won't ask us that time death won't ask us that it will be time shall be no longer ready or not ready the sentence will come the moment will come when time shall be no longer and if God said this night thy soul shall be required of thee we could go to our bed as healthy as we ever were we could go to our bed and sleep as sound as we ever slept but if God said that about us tonight tonight that your soul shall be required of you we would never see the light of the morning we'll never see the light of the morning and my friend here tonight God hasn't promised any one of us another year he hasn't promised you a year and he hasn't promised me a year not even a day he hasn't even promised you that you will see the beginning of another year he hasn't promised it to any of us time shall be no longer it will be an end of all the present things and all our earthly conventions will be dissolved all our plans will be broken and all our opportunities for spiritual improvement will be gone forever now some people tell us that we're on probation in this world but we're not on probation that's the idea many people have that if we are good
[27:09] God will take us to heaven so our probation has gone we were on probation in Adam Adam fell man's probation is past we're lost sinners we're guilty sinners we're by nature on a way to a lost eternity by nature we're on a way to hell that's our position in this world we're no longer on probation we're lost and guilty sinners but the good news of the gospel is this in this little book the sweetness of this book is this that Christ came into the world to save sinners that he came into the world the just to suffer in the room and place of the unjust he came into the world to make himself a propitiation for our sin and our guilt and that if we believe in him if we receive him and embrace him as our saviour that we'll be saved and when the day comes when time shall be no longer that will be a glorious day for a believer a glorious day we read that the day of their death will be better than the day of their life the day of their birth but remember that not only do believers enter into eternity not only are believers going to exchange worlds but the unbeliever will also exchange worlds the word of
[28:44] God says our God is a consuming fire it means at the moment a soul leaves this world unforgiven out of Christ they're going to meet with the flaming purity of God's presence the character of God they're going to meet it when time shall be no longer we may have different feelings about time how it's passing when we were young we felt it a little longer as we're getting older time passes we feel it passing more quickly it's not that time changes but our consciousness of time alters it varies that's what it is and I read a little poem today about time and I think I'll just read it out here when I was a child I laughed and wept time crept when as I youth I dreamt and talked time walked when I became a still grown man time ran when older still I daily grew time flew soon I shall find in travelling on time gone and face eternity begun time done that's the way we'll find it in all these various stages of our lives but yet when this sentence is passed it means now eternity eternity begun now eternity is there all the time some people compare time to a little island in the ocean it's surrounded by the ocean that's the way time is it's surrounded by eternity there was eternity there before there was such a thing as time time had a beginning time will have an end eternity was there before time eternity is still there tonight eternity will be there when time is gone eternity will be there always but remember what the word of God teaches us that when this sentence is passed time shall be no longer when God when this sentence is passed against each one of us it means that our moral character is fixed for all eternity the way the tree falls where it falls that's where it shall lie that's where the tree is going to lie we read in the scriptures he that is unjust let him be unjust still he that is filthy let him be filthy still he that is righteous let him be righteous still he that is holy let him be holy still the way it finds us when that sentence is passed against us that's going to be our position forever and ever and ever when this sentence is passed now we know that the word of God doesn't give us any reason to believe that there's any second chance for anyone once we've gone beyond this point all possibility of change has gone all possibility of any opportunity has gone when we pass this point time shall be no longer time shall be no longer we read in the word of God there is no work nor device nor knowledge nor wisdom in the grave whither thou goest in other words there's no other opportunity our opportunity is in this world and what must be done for eternity must be in this world the great issues of eternity are in time in this world now God has given to each one of us a great gift he has given to each one of us time but along with time he has given to us the gospel the invitation of the gospel our time is going and if we don't embrace
[33:03] Christ in the gospel in our time then once time has gone the gospel will be gone also and young people here tonight I know that you're promising yourselves more time you're thinking oh what's ahead in the future it's good to be optimistic we're not against that in young people at all but remember this that Satan will try to cheat you of your soul Satan will say oh look at what's ahead of you in the world giving you all these promises that you're going to get this and that and all that happiness and joy in the world he's dangling this before you trying to cheat your soul try to cheat your soul cheat you out of Christ cheat you out of heaven so that you'll lose your soul and how many of us listen to him for a while but pray that God will open your eyes and that you'll see that Satan is a cheat that this world will pass away with the lust thereof all the glitter and brightness of the world will fade away and these are the things that are real the things that belong to eternity the
[34:22] Duncan Matheson the evangelist who was going around with the troops at one time went to the dying bed of a soldier and he spoke to him once or twice but then he heard that the man had died and he went to his body there on the bed and he found a book beside the bed a trashy book and just the title was from dreamland into eternity and that's the way it will be for many people from dreamland into eternity oh eternity is a dream tonight but when your sentence is past time shall be no longer this world will be the dream then not eternity eternity will be real it will either be heaven in the bliss and joy of being with Christ forever or else it will be the unutterable misery of being in hell forever and ever that's what's going to be real very soon for each one of us when time shall be no longer and we're going to exchange worlds now the
[35:34] Christian in this world says that now he knows in part but then he's going to know him even as he is knowing then he's going to see Christ face to face the one in who he put his hope in this world the one though he had never seen him yet they believe in him and in believing they rejoice with joy unspeakable but the day is coming when they're going to actually meet with Christ face to face they're going to meet him face to face and in eternity when this moment comes there'll be no no cheating or pretending all that will be gone forever when the sentence is passed time shall be no longer time shall be no longer Voltaire that atheist he wasn't an atheist for very long Voltaire knows now whether there's a sin-hating
[36:36] God or not David Hume he knows now whether there's a hell or not these people who said these things in the world once they enter into eternity they meet with their God and there's no pretending no illusion no mistakes about it when they go into eternity and my friends open your eyes open your eyes because time is going past a great portion of your time is already going past another year of our lives have gone past and if that year if it has been a year in which we have begun to seek Christ it has been the greatest year in our lives if in that year we have gone through it Christless still unforgiven still without Christ it means it's another year full of sin full of iniquity added to what's to meet us in eternity that's what it means another year of our lives gone past well we see that it tells us that the believer his time will end also in this world and our time the believer's time of trouble anxiety the times of groaning because of his sin and these things that time will be no more all that will be gone for the believer but my friends out of
[38:03] Christ tonight the time to repent will be no more the time to turn to Christ will be no more the time to seek the Lord Jesus will be no more when this sentence is passed your day of opportunity your day of grace will be passed and tonight on the last day of another year in your life a great portion of your life gone past past forever irrevocably lost you can't bring it back again it's gone now and tonight the Lord Jesus Christ he stands at the door of your heart and he knocks and he says behold I stand at the door and knock and if any man hear my voice and open the door I will come in and sup with him and he with me while the Lord is knocking at the door of your heart on the last evening on the last evening of another year of your life a great portion of your life which has gone past he has knocked before and he is knocking tonight oh may
[39:13] God grant that when if we're spared to midnight tonight if you're spared to see the beginning of another year that these words may ring in your heart and in your conscience in your mind that time shall be no longer that eternity is looming before each one of us time shall be no longer but what a glorious moment it will be for the believer Paul said for me to live is Christ and to die is gain it's sadness in this side of the world to leave an empty place to leave sore hearts to leave broken hearts behind but for the believer that moment is going to be the beginning of the glorious eternity that is ahead of them forever and ever and ever with Christ may God grant that when this sentence is passed against each one of us that we may be found in Christ let us pray ever gracious one we pray that thou grant us wisdom from above for we know that we are so apt to be deluded concerning the time which thou has given to us we pray for grace not to procrastinate but that thou hast blessed each one of us now and forgive our sins and forgive anything which was said which was contrary to thy word or to thy will and remember us now we pray as a congregation and go before us in all that is ahead we ask it all for Christ's sake amen