Hello everyone. Welcome to our show today, featuring another insightful study in the Bible Prophecy
Masterclass, Part 3. As alluded to earlier, these will be random studies taken from the
Book of the Revelation, in so far as, although the presentation is divided up into a sequential
series of episodes, we will conduct the lessons in the upcoming podcasts by arbitrarily selecting
themes in no set order. Thus, on this fourth show, episode number 17 in the series, we will begin
with chapter 7 of the Book of the Revelation covering God's plan for reaping a second bountiful
harvest of precious souls in the days leading up to the Battle of Armageddon and the physical
return of Jesus Christ. The text which is the basis for this study is Judgment Day,
Volume 3, Armageddon, Acts of God vs. Gods of Earth, written by Mr. Alvin Mitchell.
I, Liam, will be your affable narrator and host. For a more systematic approach to the study of
the Revelation, may we suggest that you plan to purchase a copy of the text on Amazon.com,
when it becomes available. Please join me in a word of prayer and praise to God the Almighty
for granting us this opportunity to delve into His Word, and for giving us these awe-inspiring
warnings and powerful insights into His awesome plans for the future of mankind and of the world
as we know it. Let us pray also for blessing upon the study and upon all who make time to join in
and to listen. Revelation Chapter 7
Tribulation Evangelism
At this point, still early in the unfolding of God's choreographed End Times drama,
hundreds of millions of souls, maybe more, are missing, vanished without a trace, blood-stained
trails mar the paths to mass graves housing billions more, saints murdered, and sinners
slaughtered during World War III. By virtue of their witness of this human carnage, some having
first-hand knowledge, if they did not participate in the aforementioned bloodletting their stomachs
turned will have experienced a change of heart. Coupled with all the evidences that remind of the
snatch, in the midst of bombed-out, burning buildings, bodies and body parts lining streets
of all the major cities around the world, smoke will ascend up into the upper atmosphere from
forest fires and oil fields set ablaze further complicating life and making lives miserable by
blocking the sun, thereby contributing to a throwing off of the growing seasons.
In the face of these and other horrifying sights, hard, heretofore, otherwise impenetrable hearts,
impervious to the Gospel message preached, will have softened tremendously.
Traumatized minds will be flooded with streams of endless questions that will not suffer silence.
Desperate searches and frantic quests for rational solutions will only be appeased by one unlikely
source, namely, the Bible. Chains of doubt, shackled to lost souls that locked God out, by whatever
means, for whatever reason, will have been loosened, leaving fertile minds exposed to a faith
oft-spurned, and now at last ready for a harvest long held at bay. In full awareness of this, the
Lord God will have already graciously, mercifully prepared a troop that will fish for their souls,
well in advance of the rivers of blood in which their corpses will float during the rain, and the
terror, of the dreaded beast, revelation. 13.1-18
War Moratorium
God's Choice, New Direction Short Stick
Barring traditional Judaism, all practical knowledge of God will have been eliminated
from the earth. Without benefit of a more direct involvement and input, Satan will appear to have
won the battle, the telling, chilling cameo appearance of an angry lamb of God at the end
of chapter 6, notwithstanding. Every Christian left behind will then be completely useless,
if Christ came for His Church today, January 4, 2013, the left behind could easily include perhaps
90-95% of all professing Christians. All denominations and churches will be under
the devil's direct control and supervision, a definite impediment to anything that is
God's will, and every soul that God will save, from here on out. Left behind, Christians,
being false saints, false prophets, and false preachers, in addition to unproductive, true
saints given to compromise, or who simply refuse to grow, will doubtless have been instrumental
in the roundup and slaughter of the first wave of new converts, specifically, those true Christians
introduced to us, under the altar, in chapter 6. This being so, as is customary, the vision of
the Lamb having dissipated, God will quietly shift gears here, changing course slightly, so as to lay
the foundation for the next phase of His salvation program and process. His preference, like always,
is to start in obscurity, in the least likely of places, in a corner where Satan is least likely to
anticipate resistance, in a manner that is tantamount to always choosing, intentionally,
the, short end of the stick. That then begs the question, if the Old Testament is right,
if the Old Testament Israeli slash Jewish saints and the pre-tribulation churches are in heaven,
and, the first wave of tribulation saints are in the graves, how then will the work of evangelizing
the second wave of lost souls be facilitated? Restless winds restrained.
Verse 1 And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth,
holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth,
nor on the sea, nor on any tree. Verse 2 And I saw another angel ascending from the east,
having the seal of the living God, and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels,
to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea. Verse 3 Saying, Hurt not the earth,
neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.
The break in the action begun at seal number 5, in the previous chapter, continues here in chapter
7, it should be noted, perhaps, that contrary to the thinking and teaching of some, like Pastor
Skeving of the Fargo Baptist Church in Fargo, North Dakota, this passage does not represent
the midpoint of the last seven years before the return of Christ. That midpoint, which is yet to
come, is the point at which the beast's global reign will begin and it will last for only 3.5 years.
There will be no Christian saved after this midpoint, which is the only time the beast
will have global authority and at which time he will kill all Christians when they refuse
his system of worship-based commerce, per Revelation. 13-15-18, 14-9-13, 15-2-4, 20-4.
For angels have been positioned at the four corners of the earth, restraining the four
winds of the earth, so that the winds cannot blow so as to disturb anything on the earth,
or the sea, not even a tree. After this sight, John was shown an angel coming in from the east
carrying the seal of the living God, who issued a stern directive intended for the four angels.
It will be their responsibility to restrain the winds, conversely, theirs will be the authority
and the ability to release those same four winds so as to hurt the earth and the sea,
at the appropriate time. They were to continue their restraint of the four winds until the
sealing of the servants of God upon their foreheads had been completed. The language of this passage
is reminiscent of Daniel chapter 7. Thus, there is perhaps the best place from which to launch,
as one strives for an accurate interpretation of this passage. The four corners of the earth
simply signifies the farthest points due north, east, south, and west of the nation of Israel
and conveys in general the idea, all around the world, as we would say today, or, global.
The four winds suggest, unrest and turmoil, amongst the nations globally, including all of their
anti-God, anti-Christ activities, or around the world, the nations and people of our planet being
symbolized here by, the sea, which is generally viewed as a symbol of perpetual restlessness,
that worsens with agitation from the wind, the earth and the trees, may be representative of the
peaceful elements of our world, as they are normally in a state of calm, moved only when acted upon by
some outside force, in which case, they may be symbolic of more tribulation saints, over whom the
moratorium has been declared as well, so that the killing of saints as for a time, for the duration
thereof, been stopped. This would give them time to grow in spirit, as well as in numbers.
In this way, they can contribute to the work of evangelism led by the 144,000.
Hence, the sense of this passage in which the angel is restraining the four winds is such that
the global agitation and fighting amongst the nations and peoples of the earth, the never-ending
striving for supremacy begun by the advent of the crown rider on the white horse in 6 colon 2 has
for a time ceased, or has been brought to a standstill. Precisely where in time this cessation
will start, and how long it will last is difficult to pinpoint. It seems that one can say with some
assurance that it will begin after the cameo appearance of the Lord Jesus, after World War
III and the deaths of the first wave of tribulation saints, i.e., after the events of Chapter 6,
the seal judgments, for sure. Except for the acts of God, those apocalyptic, calamitous events and
happenings that can only occur as He instigates and directs, and the incredible hostilities,
dangers and hardships new converts will face, the locust attack, and, the work of His two witnesses,
it appears that, when the cessation does start, all will be relatively quiet where the nations
and international conflict are concerned, until the Battle of Armageddon.
Jewish Evangelism, the 144,000.
The Sealing
Verse 4a. And I heard the number of them which were sealed.
In the interim, 144,000 servants of God will receive seals or marks in their foreheads,
in Ephesians 1 verse 13 and 4 30 Paul speaks of the Christians being
sealed with the Holy Spirit or Holy Spirit of promise, until the day of redemption.
Ultimately, this may be what is envisioned here, though later the
mark in the forehead is called the name of God.
As shown earlier, the Holy Spirit will have been recalled to Heaven from the earth, along with the
Snatch, or, Rapture, of the Church. He will only reappear when dispatched for some special purpose,
much like His Old Testament and Early New Testament appearances with the Apostles.
The Jewish Evangelists will need special assistance and special enablement for enlightenment,
insights, guidance that can only come via God's Spirit just as would any saint, in order to carry
out the monumental task of global evangelism. There will be no teaching ministries to prepare
them, once that last saint under the altar has been killed. This empowerment will give them the
boost they need to fend against what may otherwise be insurmountable odds, and, to face daunting
dangers and risks that will only intensify as the day of the beast draws nearer, in the short
period of time they will have in which to work. Who are they?
Verse 4B And there were sealed a hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes
of the children of Israel. Verse 5 Of the tribe of Judah were sealed twelve thousand.
Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gat were sealed twelve thousand.
Verse 6 Of the tribe of campaigners Platнойakos were sealed twelve thousand.
Of the tribe of blurry clear downtown Areным were sealed twelve thousand.
the tribe of Nephthalim were sealed 12,000.
Of the tribe of Manasseh were sealed 12,000.
Verse 7, Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed 12,000.
of the tribe of Levi were sealed 12,000.
of the tribe of Issacharra were sealed 12,000.
Verse 8, of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed 12,000.
of the tribe of Joseph were sealed 12,000.
the tribe of Benjamin were sealed 12,000. Although these servants will be Christians,
they will not be Gentiles. Rather, each of the 144,000 preachers will be Jewish. None
will be Jehovah's Witness. They will all be selective men, chosen only from the 12
tribes of Israel. Here in chapter 7, John tells us nothing else
about these evangelists. Everything else we know comes from chapter 14.
Thus, from the first few verses of chapter 14, we know that the 144,000 will be fervent,
dedicated followers of the Lamb, which means their mission and life's goal from this
moment forward will be to preach the everlasting gospel of the Lord and Savior they, and all
Jews will have spurned theretofore. They will in all likelihood not come to a
saving faith in the Christ until after World War III, the globally devastating war begun
in chapter 6, otherwise they should be killed along with all of those whose souls appear
under the altar, per chapter 6 colon 9 dash 11.
If all this is so, how will God preserve them blameless until their hour of service?
Devout, devoted, godly unbelievers. Evidently, these men will be Orthodox, maybe
even ultra-Orthodox, Jews, more or less, who have striven up to this point to serve God
according to their understanding of the law and their traditions, that is, traditional
or biblical Judaism, as the term applies to OT law.
In God's eyes, for sure, their lives are exemplary, they are, by most accounts and
measures, well prepared psychologically, spiritually, emotionally, they are not hormingers, they
are not liars or deceivers. They are like first fruits to the Lamb and to God, having
been redeemed from the earth, from among mankind, apparently from another phase, maybe the beginning
phases, of the tribulation period. Like everyone else, except the reject churches,
they will have come over the threshold of the tribulation doorway, as unbelievers in
their Christ. Being devout men already by Leviticus' law
standards, the tremendous events and occurrences of this time may be all that is necessary
to change their minds, making them instantly vessels meet for the Master's service.
How Saved? No indication is given as to how they will
be driven to their knees, in a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. We may safely presume
that had this faith existed prior to the Snatch, they would in all likelihood have been taken
with the Church. Had they been saved in the interim, following
the fall of the United States or between the rise of the Jews and the end of World War
III, Chapter 6, they might have been killed with that first tribulation wave of new converts,
whose souls, crying out for justice, were comforted by the Lord, under the altar.
In the midst of all that is mystery surrounding them, one thing we can ascertain, at some
point God will turn on a light. Having observed them and kept them safe for
such a time as this, recall Esther and Mordecai, as with the Gentiles Cornelius, Lydia, the
Ethiopian eunuch and Apollos the Jew converted by Achela and his wife Priscilla, God will
not allow them to continue to serve in the error of their ways.
Thus, that light will illumine for them a path that says, This is the way, walk ye in
it. The signs of the times as they exist then
will confirm that directive, whereupon, in humble contrition they will bow the knee in
saving faith to the Lamb they in all likelihood will not have known, heretofore.
In verse 1 of chapter 14, this group of 144,000 Jewish evangelists are shown standing with
the Lamb, upon Mount Zion, having the Father's name written upon their foreheads, this observation
is in all probability meant to be illustrative of the presence of the Holy Spirit of God
and his residence within them by virtue of their faith in Christ Jesus as their Lord
and Saviour, Son of the Living God. This name is symbolic of the mark that associates
them with and identifies them as belonging to the Son.
That they, as Jews, are willing followers of the Lamb wherever he goes, is very much
indicative of their embrace of the Gospel message, and their enthusiasm for the proclamation
and propagation of that message which historically the Jews have previously rejected, for two
thousand years. Having been fully converted, then led to a
saving knowledge of the Lamb, they will be totally committed and sold out to the cause
and things of Christ, there is no biblical rationale for interpreting 7 to 4 and 14 to
1 as two different groups, or, as people other than the Jews they will be.
One should like to re-emphasize, and stress that these people will not be Jehovah's Witnesses.
The 144,000, Chapter 14. Introduction
Chapter 14, Verse 1, And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the Mount Zion and with him
a hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.
This point in the Revelation narrative will likely mark the beginning of the ministry
of the 144,000. Whereas it is currently impossible to ascertain
with any kind of accuracy, it is certain that the Devil's ouster from heaven will have
been cemented within a few years afterwards, at which time also his access thereto will
be permanently blocked, details of this booting is outlined briefly in Chapter 12, Col. 3,
7 to 9, 12 to 13. We may be assured also that the 144,000 will
have to work fast, for they will not have much time.
The Devil's kingdom on earth via the reign of the beast will be above board, plain for
all to see it clearly for what it is, bringing all gospel outreach to a screeching halt and
spelling doom for all that the Jewish evangelists will have accomplished, in so far as none
will take his mark or bow to him as, God not even to save their own lives.
Having been established firmly under his control, he will truly be the God of this world, via
the indwelling, or the bestowal of all his power upon the one God calls the Beast, Chapters
11, 12 and 13, 17. Leading into this time of the rise and reign
of the beast then, heaven must then proceed to implement plans and preparations by means
of which to rescue as many as will heed what will be the last call for salvation during
this exceedingly dangerous and deadly time. This will involve a massive evangelistic campaign
manned by this Jewish team consisting of a hand-picked, specially trained group of men
and one angel. The make-up, ethnicity, or racial identity
of this group of specially chosen, ones, was established in the opening verses of Chapter
7. There, we saw that their selection involved
an angel dispatched from heaven bearing the seal of the living God, with whom each of
the 144,000, all Jews, all chosen from among the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel, was
to be marked and identified by an inscription placed upon their foreheads, without question,
this mark is meant to symbolize the return and presence of God's Holy Spirit to indwell,
instruct, guide and empower these holy, set-apart, workers, who will otherwise lack the training
and the power they will need to complete their mission stand-alone.
Up to this point the Holy Spirit will have been removed from the earth, along with the
saints at the rapture. Like Noah's boat, the Lamb's blood during
the Exodus, and Lot's deliverance or a rapture, so likewise this mark will serve as an identifying
feature that will indicate divine ownership and protection of all so inscribed, during
the latter days of the Apocalypse. Here, in verse 1, of Chapter 14, as they are
pictured standing upon the mountain of Zion with the Lamb, their Saviour and leader, that
seal that they received is identified as the name of the Lamb's father, i.e., in a world
that will then be dominated almost entirely by Satanic influences, these men will have
been singled out, and marked so as to stand out, in stark contrast, as men belonging to
God the Almighty. They will have been kept under wraps, preserved
in a cloak of tradition, devoutly dedicated to Levitical law, until the hour of their
debut. In a world heretofore dominated entirely
in the spirit realm by the demonic, they will be recognized as such in much the same way
as Jesus, otherwise, incognito for thirty years, from his birth, was recognized by Satan
and his demons, when the Holy Spirit lighted upon and indwelt him, symbolized by a shape
like that of a dove, over 3.5 years. This kind of spirit assist will be absolutely
essential and crucial to the work of these end-times Jewish preachers, as there will
be no time for the training and fellowship sessions afforded the twelve, two thousand
years earlier. There will be no time for direct interaction
with the Father, like that made available to the Master in secret over the thirty years
leading up to the first day of his 3.5 year ministry.
Rather, in a manner similar, somewhat, to that of Paul the Apostle, when the moment
of truth arrives, they must be singled out, called aside, informed of their mission and
duties, informed and instructed to whatever degree that may be relative to details, outfitted
with the mark that will identify, empower, guide, protect and preserve them throughout
their journeys, then put to work. Verse 2 And I heard a voice from heaven, as
the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder, and I heard the voice
of harpers harping with their harps. Verse 3 And they sung as it were a new song
before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders, and no man could learn that
song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.
Here, John heard a multitude of voices singing in unison. The sound was as if all were only
one voice. In addition, upon hearing them, John was reminded of the flow of a powerful
rush of waters, having a volume level and clarity that resounded like thunder.
The heavenly choir had for accompaniment an orchestra of harpists, playing as they sang
the lyrics to a new song which none, other than these men, could sing.
Their audience included the father seated upon his throne, the four living creatures
and the twenty-four elders, i.e., the churches and O.T. saints.
Alright, my friends, here is where we will end this edition of the podcast in the Bible
Prophecy Master Class. We sincerely hope that you have been blessed
by this and all of the lessons in this series of studies.
Plan to join us next time for the continuation of our look at End Times Evangelism as it
will be conducted during the awful days of the Apocalypse.
Until our next meeting, may the Good Lord bless each and every one of you.