[0:00] Good morning. A beautiful day we have to worship as the Lord has brought us some spring weather.
[0:21] We are blessed and privileged to be able to fellowship as God's family. And this morning I was thinking how our circumstances affect our emotions.
[0:40] And when God brings about this kind of weather, everybody is upbeat and so on. And yet we have to walk on truth, right? But it does affect us.
[0:52] As maybe following up on what Ben was sharing, these days as we ponder what's happening in the world and along with the series that we're doing on the end times, do we ask ourselves, like Pilate did, what is truth?
[1:14] What is truth? And there are so many voices out there.
[1:29] How do we know what is truth? Jesus is truth. And we always go back to this book.
[1:44] And so what people say, if it does not line up with Scriptures, it's not truth. And they may say what they want.
[1:59] Today's world situation with Israel. And there's so many voices about Israel's future in God's economy.
[2:11] There's believers that are openly preaching that God is done with Israel. But what is truth? This book.
[2:26] And this book says God is not done with Israel. There are people He has chosen to fill out His purposes for the end.
[2:38] And so we need to focus on the truth. So I would encourage, whether young or older, we learn to discern the voices out there and to sift through them.
[2:56] Because if we pay heed to all the voices, whether it's news or different individuals, you know what happens if we pay attention to it? We become disoriented.
[3:08] We no longer know what's going on. We become confused. And so we need to be careful to always line it back up to God's Word.
[3:25] And that's the bottom line. So take heart. In my estimation, we live in exciting and fascinating times as we're seeing prophecy being fulfilled.
[3:40] And so we're privileged in that way as well. So this morning, we want to continue where I left off on the last message covering the last of the seal judgments.
[3:53] I had titled the message The Judgment of God Revealed. And so we're going to finish that, part two. And looking at what God has in store for the world.
[4:09] So as we begin that, all of us are guaranteed one of two deadlines, dates that are important in your life.
[4:24] All of us will either meet death or the rapture.
[4:43] Mr. Tychrope has often said he's waiting for the rapture. But time will tell, right? But all of us, there's no exemptions.
[4:55] We're going to meet one or the other. We're going to meet one or the other. And that is our spiritual journey preparing for eternity has then been closed off.
[5:12] This is our time to prepare. And so I look at the book of Revelations not as a book to fear, but to encourage, to prepare.
[5:28] To make sure that I am, by the righteousness of Christ, able to meet either one, whichever comes first. And this is to His glory.
[5:44] We need to make peace with our God. There are some that have said, well, if I miss the rapture, then I can repent during the seven years.
[6:02] Don't bank on it. Thessalonians speaks of a great delusion that people will be deceived and believe the lies of Satan and will fall for it.
[6:22] And yet we do know that many, through the evangelism of the 144,000, excuse me, many will come to the Lord, but don't bank on it.
[6:37] And as we're going to see in the next seal, there are many that have come to the Lord who have been martyred for their faith. And so those that do go through the rapture and live to accept Jesus will be killed for their faith.
[7:03] It's not going to be a pretty time for them. And so it's not something to look forward to. But today is the day of salvation for each and every one of us.
[7:15] Today is the day to ensure that you are covered by the blood of the Lamb that He shed for us. So looking at Revelation 6, just a brief recap from the last message.
[7:34] As John sees the seals being opened, remember, the Lamb took the scroll out of the Father's hand on the throne.
[7:44] the scroll with the seven seals. And we saw Him remove the seals. And each time a seal was removed, there was a revelation of further judgment.
[8:00] And the first seal removed was the white horse that He saw with a bow and without arrows, conquering.
[8:14] And we viewed that as the Antichrist making peace here on earth, a false peace that He's going to bring about, including the nation of Israel, is going to bring to a head the animosity that's there today.
[8:36] And we look at the picture today as the Arab world is screaming, Israel has to be wiped out. And God has said in His book, it won't happen.
[8:50] And we think, how can those two sides be brought together to live together humanly? It's not going to happen.
[9:03] And yet, I don't know if it's going to be as a result of the rapture or what the circumstances, the Antichrist is going to be empowered to be able to do that.
[9:15] He's going to bring it together. And they will live in this false harmony for a little bit. So that was the first seal.
[9:26] The second one, representing a fiery red horse with a rider. And here we're told that this rider has the authority to take peace from the earth.
[9:38] And that means war. That means war. And He was given a great sword in that people should kill one another. And then we, last message, we read Ezekiel 37, or 38, sorry, and 39, parts of it looking at is that part of that war where Russia and Iran and Turkey and some of those countries will band together come against Israel as God puts hooks in their jaw to do that.
[10:16] The second seal. So all of this happening in this seven-year window. The third seal. John sees a black horse and a rider with a pair of scales in his hands and he sees a quart of wheat being sold for a denarii a day's wage.
[10:38] and a quart of wheat is that four cups of wheat enough to sustain perhaps one person for a day to keep him alive. It's going to be a time of famine and poverty in this following the war.
[10:55] So peace, war, and then hunger, famine. and then the fourth seal. A pale horse with a rider named Death and Hades that followed him and power was given to him to kill a fourth of the earth.
[11:15] The time that follows war, famine, and death coming upon the earth. And one quarter of the earth's population is going to be killed during this time.
[11:34] And today's numbers of eight billion, that means two billion. Two billion. If you want to put that in perspective, that's six United States.
[11:50] Today's numbers. Wiped out in this. They're going to die across the world. That's the fourth seal.
[12:06] And that brings us to the fifth one. And so let's begin in verse nine and just look at that closer. When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held.
[12:26] And they cried with a loud voice saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, until you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwelt on the earth?
[12:38] And then a white robe was given to each of them and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who would be killed as they were was completed.
[12:56] So John now sees as this fifth seal is opened souls under the altar slain for the word of God.
[13:08] They've been martyred. They've lost their life because of their faith. And as we maybe, okay, who are these people?
[13:18] Where do they come from and so on? Well, in the progression of teaching, the church has been raptured and the souls of the church have all been united with Christ and are with the Lord.
[13:41] And so, from that, we know that these souls are not from the church age but after. And so, these are people that came to faith during perhaps the ministry of the 144,000 but during this tribulation period and their souls, they've been martyred, their souls are in heaven before God's throne by the altar and they're crying out, how long, O Lord, how long till you will avenge?
[14:24] How long, God, till you will repay for the evil that befell us? the answer, each was given a white robe and they were told they should rest a little while longer till the completion of the number of those that were to be slain.
[14:56] So there's more to come is the answer. There's going to be more martyrdom on earth during the seven years.
[15:10] And with that they were asked to be patient. Now there, it says there before the altar, if we look at the temple of God as portrayed in the Old Testament, we had in the outer court, we had the altar of sacrifice where the sacrifices were made, where blood was shed, and then entering the first part of the temple, the holy place, just before the curtain there was the altar of incense and then after that the holy of holies.
[15:51] well, these souls have given their life, they've shed their blood for Jesus Christ.
[16:05] And so I believe the altar in view here is the second one, the altar of incense as it comes before God. And there cries to the Lord how long as the bloodshed is passed and there before the Lord waiting for release, waiting for justice to be done.
[16:35] So that is the fifth seal. And with that, let's just skip ahead to Revelations 13. Grab a few verses there.
[16:49] Now chapter 13 describes the Antichrist gaining full control of the world in government and it's a picture of the mid-trib period, mid-tribulation, three and a half years in.
[17:11] And verse 7 it says it was granted to him, that's to the Antichrist, to make war with the saints and to overcome them.
[17:24] And authority was given to him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. All who dwell on the earth will worship him whose names have not been written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
[17:41] And so we have a in this time period a sharp division. As the Antichrist demands worship, all those whose names aren't written in the book of life will give in and will worship Satan, the Antichrist.
[18:06] and all those that don't worship are slated for martyrdom. As the Antichrist pursues, and not only pursues, it says here, it was granted to him, God is going to allow these new believers to give their life for him.
[18:33] And we may not understand, as we read this, why would God do that? As they lived through this time, but God says here he's going to give Satan that authority.
[18:54] And it's going to be Satan indwelling the Antichrist. So it is, in that sense, a dark time. where there will be much bloodshed.
[19:07] And not only of the wars that we read about, that are brought about between countries, and so on, but here, here it's believers being martyred directly by the world government.
[19:21] And so we have the fifth seal, the souls of these people, before the altar, asking how long. Okay, and then we move on, back to chapter six.
[19:36] We have the sixth seal, in verse twelve, to the end, and I looked, I looked when he opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood.
[20:03] And the stars of heaven fell to the earth as a fig tree drops its late figs when it's shaken by a mighty wind. Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place.
[20:23] And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains and said to the mountains, rocks, fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb.
[20:53] For the great day of his wrath has come, and who is able to stand? And the sixth seal reveals the wrath of God as judgment comes down supernaturally affecting the earth.
[21:16] And it will bring great fear upon the inhabitants of the earth at that time. Great fear as they see the creator God, Jesus Christ, pouring out judgment on and ungodly world.
[21:37] And their response is even to creation, the mountains and rocks fall on us and hide us. Let us not face this God.
[21:56] The response of man, still not owning up to our wickedness, but rather let me not meet him.
[22:07] I'd rather die by the rocks falling on me. But not realizing that after that, the judgment, where they will stand before God.
[22:21] So it's going to be a time where the whole world, without exception, and the list, you know, of all the different categories of people, everyone will be there, and they will realize this is from God Almighty.
[22:38] As we see cosmic disturbances, earthquakes, the sun becoming black, the moon becoming like blood, stars of heaven falling, the sky receding as a scroll when it's rolled up, I can't picture that.
[23:06] I don't know what this means. When it says the sky will recede. In Germany, we would say that the dead off trying, receding, pulling back, kind of, and it's going to leave everybody without a doubt that God Almighty has spoken.
[23:41] And so it's, these six seal judgments seem to cover the entirety of the seven years, for we know at the end, the cosmic disturbances will come and it will usher in the return of Christ.
[24:03] And let's turn to Matthew 24, just to line that up. Matthew 24, verses 29 and 30.
[24:14] Matthew 24, verse 29.
[24:34] And immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from heaven and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
[24:50] And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven and all the tribes of the earth will mourn and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
[25:07] And there will be fear on earth as they have rejected God. So Matthew, the words of Jesus and Matthew line up with revelations that this is the kind of the last fragment of the tribulation period.
[25:28] It's ushering in the return of Christ. Now how do we fit in the other judgments?
[25:39] silence. We've only covered six seals. If we turn to Revelations 8, verse 1, verse 1, when he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour, and I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets.
[26:11] And so we see that Scripture portrays that the seventh seal reveals the seven trumpet judgments.
[26:23] And if we go further, we would see that the seventh trumpet opens the way for the last seven judgments. And it appears that as we go through it, we'll see it, the seven trumpet judgments and the bowl judgments are all going to be in the last section of that seven years, as God's wrath is poured out.
[26:48] And so the seal judgments seem to be the big picture, and the trumpet judgments are zooming in, and the bowl judgments even more towards the end.
[26:59] And that's one way of perhaps explaining how these fit together. So chapter seven, which we skipped here, is an interlude, and we're going to get to it in the next message.
[27:15] of the ceiling of the 144,000. But as we look at this, I thought it would be good for us to go into Old Testament and just tie in a passage there.
[27:35] So let's turn to Isaiah chapter two. So let's turn to Isaiah chapter two. I'm going to read the entire chapter.
[27:52] Isaiah chapter two. Isaiah started prophesying 740 years before Jesus Christ was born.
[28:14] Okay? So he is speaking of things to come that are way ahead and that are even ahead of us today, which would be 2,000 and close to 800 years later already.
[28:35] so the chapter is broken down into a couple of sections and the first section speaks of the coming kingdom, the thousand year reign, verses 1 to 4, and then verses 5 through 9 speak to Israel to repent and prepare for this kingdom.
[29:01] And then verses 10 and onward speak of the end when God will bring all this about. So just keeping that in mind, the first four verses. The word that Isaiah, the son of Amos, saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
[29:18] Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established on top of the mountains and shall be exalted above the hills and all the nations shall flow to it.
[29:34] Many people shall come and say, Come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways and we shall walk in his paths.
[29:49] For out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations and rebuke many people and they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.
[30:08] Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. who would like to see that day?
[30:20] Amen. This is the kingdom that the Jews have so long waited for. It's a brief description when the Lord will rule on Mount Zion on the city on top of the mountains, which is Jerusalem.
[30:39] and all the nations shall flow to it. You know what? Today, all the nations are screaming for the death of Israel and only a short while, or I'm thinking it's not too far, they will all be flowing to it.
[30:59] For the Lord will reign there. As I understand Scripture, we as his sons and daughters will be reigning with him.
[31:13] We'll be there. So praise the Lord for that. This is a passage of hope. It's a passage of God's intention, of his purpose for mankind.
[31:29] But let's read on in verses 5 to 9. O house of Jacob, come and let us walk in the light of the Lord, for you have forsaken your people, the house of Jacob, because they are filled with eastern ways.
[31:46] They are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they are pleased with the children of foreigners. Their land is also full of silver and gold, and there is no end to their treasures.
[32:01] Their land is also full of horses, and there is no end to their chariots. Their land is also full of idols. They worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made.
[32:15] People bow down, and each man humbles himself. Therefore, do not forgive them. A reminder to Israel, to Judah, do not follow the countries around you.
[32:31] they are leading you astray. They are worshiping false gods. Do not do as they do.
[32:46] Repent. So, Isaiah has a message in between reminding them that yes, the kingdom is coming, but if you're worshiping idols, you won't be there.
[33:06] You're not going to enter the kingdom. Jesus has much to say of this as we work through the gospels, the rejection of the kingdom as they don't accept it by faith.
[33:25] Verses 10 to the end speak of judgment, where God will grab our attention, the attention of the world, and especially of the Jews.
[33:39] He says in verse 10, enter into the rock and hide in the dust from the terror of the Lord and the glory of his majesty. Remember the description of the revelations of the heavens, the earthquakes, the sun being blackened, the moon red, and the stars falling, and the sky receding.
[34:05] Enter into the rock and hide in the dust from the terror of the Lord and the glory of his majesty.
[34:16] The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.
[34:27] for the day of the Lord of hosts shall come upon everything proud and lofty, upon everything lifted up, and it shall be brought low.
[34:41] Upon all the cedars of Lebanon that are high and lifted up, upon all the oaks of Bashan, upon all the high mountains, and upon the hills that are lifted up, upon every high tower, upon every fortified wall, upon all the ships of Targis, and upon all the beautiful sloops, the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be brought low.
[35:16] The Lord alone will be exalted in that day, but the idols he shall utterly abolish. they shall go into the holes of the rocks and to the caves of the earth from the terror of the Lord and the glory of his majesty when he arises to shake the earth mightily.
[35:42] In that day a man will cast away his idols of silver and his idols of gold which they have made each for himself to worship to the moles and bats to go into the clefts of the rocks and to the crags of the rugged rocks from the terror of the Lord and the glory of his majesty when he arises to shake the earth mightily.
[36:11] Sever yourselves from such a man whose breath is in his nostrils for of what account is he? that is so powerful as the Lord reveals to Isaiah what's coming and that as man becomes proud and refuses to bow to the Savior they will bow as the Lord brings upon judgment.
[36:47] the resemblances what Isaiah writes to what Matthew wrote to what Revelation writes it's unmistakable they're the same we're talking about the same the tribulation period and so the Lord again warning not only Israel but us to repent and to be ready to enter the kingdom and praise the Lord as sons and daughters that the Lord his grace is upon us and that we can walk in righteousness so as we look I'm going to close with that as we look at God's judgment program again it is not to cause the believer to fear but to rejoice and to look forward to what
[37:50] God has for us we're almost home hallelujah yeah we're almost home and and we are not to lose heart but to look forward to these times these events as the Lord has promised them so again what is truth this is truth our eternal future that is truth and let no one tell you otherwise for the word of God says it right let's pray father thank you for reminding us this morning of numerous things first of all Lord that you are sovereign that your plan is complete it's been thought through and established before you created us and revealed in different times through the prophets in the scriptures
[39:01] Lord that we may understand what's ahead and that we can look forward to it as your children we praise you for that father thank you for salvation thank you for the righteousness of your son that covers us and that without the confidence that we have in that righteousness to go forward to the day when we will meet you hallelujah we thank you Lord may you may you lead us onward as we wait for that day in Jesus name amen