1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:15,740 I want to thank those who were involved in preparing the lobby area for the reception 2 00:00:15,740 --> 00:00:16,740 this afternoon. 3 00:00:16,740 --> 00:00:22,320 It looks like some kind of a high school event out there, doesn't it, with all the streamers 4 00:00:22,320 --> 00:00:23,320 and the balloons? 5 00:00:23,320 --> 00:00:24,880 Well, there's a reason for that. 6 00:00:24,880 --> 00:00:29,100 It was the high schoolers, basically, who did the decorating. 7 00:00:29,100 --> 00:00:32,360 And so we want to say thank you to them. 8 00:00:32,360 --> 00:00:39,000 And it was a great opportunity to say thanks to all the many volunteers who are part of 9 00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:43,720 the ministry here at Grace Church. 10 00:00:43,720 --> 00:00:49,440 Tonight in our study of the book of Revelation, we come to the sixth chapter of the book. 11 00:00:49,440 --> 00:01:00,480 It might be helpful just to briefly look back where we've been as we have studied. 12 00:01:00,480 --> 00:01:02,800 We've covered chapters one through five. 13 00:01:02,800 --> 00:01:10,520 You will notice that chapter one was a vision on the Isle of Patmos, followed by chapters 14 00:01:10,520 --> 00:01:14,200 two and three, letters to the seven churches. 15 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:20,480 We saw Jesus Christ in the midst of the churches, the seven golden lampstands. 16 00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:27,680 And then John was told, come up here at the beginning of chapter four, and the scene changes, 17 00:01:27,680 --> 00:01:35,920 and we enter into the meat, the heart of the book, as we think about things that must yet 18 00:01:35,920 --> 00:01:38,120 come to pass. 19 00:01:38,120 --> 00:01:45,520 And we begin in heaven with a scene before the throne of God, and in the hand of him 20 00:01:45,520 --> 00:01:48,960 who sits on the throne, there is a scroll. 21 00:01:48,960 --> 00:01:55,560 A search is made for someone to take that scroll, which we call the title Deed to the 22 00:01:55,560 --> 00:02:02,240 Earth, and to reclaim the earth for its rightful owners. 23 00:02:02,240 --> 00:02:08,200 And none was found worthy except one, and that's the Lamb of God, who is standing before 24 00:02:08,200 --> 00:02:12,400 the throne and reaches up to take that scroll. 25 00:02:12,400 --> 00:02:20,760 And there is let loose in heaven hymns of praise and doxology, praising God for the 26 00:02:20,760 --> 00:02:24,200 Lamb and for his victory. 27 00:02:24,200 --> 00:02:30,480 That brings us then to the next section of the book, as it begins with chapter six. 28 00:02:30,480 --> 00:02:40,320 You remember the scroll was marked, was distinct, because it had seven seals on it. 29 00:02:40,320 --> 00:02:45,760 These seals need to be broken in order for the scroll to be opened, and that is what 30 00:02:45,760 --> 00:02:49,600 we come to in this section. 31 00:02:49,600 --> 00:02:53,240 How far back can you see the overheads? 32 00:02:53,240 --> 00:02:55,600 I can see it very well where I am. 33 00:02:55,600 --> 00:02:58,840 John, can you see it? 34 00:02:58,840 --> 00:03:01,120 Not overhead, yeah, okay. 35 00:03:01,120 --> 00:03:04,840 Here you go. 36 00:03:04,840 --> 00:03:05,840 Is it that bad? 37 00:03:05,840 --> 00:03:08,360 Kind of blurry, huh? 38 00:03:08,360 --> 00:03:09,360 Okay. 39 00:03:09,360 --> 00:03:13,840 We'll not use this a great deal except to point out that chapter six deals with the 40 00:03:13,840 --> 00:03:17,080 opening of six seals. 41 00:03:17,080 --> 00:03:19,520 Chapter six, six seals. 42 00:03:19,520 --> 00:03:25,120 And we'll see in a moment what takes place because of the opening of those seals. 43 00:03:25,120 --> 00:03:31,480 Then chapter seven is a view of something in heaven that's very wonderful. 44 00:03:31,480 --> 00:03:37,600 And then as we get into chapters eight and nine, we come to the next series of judgments 45 00:03:37,600 --> 00:03:46,360 in the book of the Revelation called the judgments of the trumpets. 46 00:03:46,360 --> 00:03:51,200 This may be a little tough to see too, but I think it may be helpful to some to be able 47 00:03:51,200 --> 00:04:00,760 to get an overview of the period of time that we call the tribulation. 48 00:04:00,760 --> 00:04:09,920 Because as we come to chapter six, the scene shifts basically from a focus on heaven to 49 00:04:09,920 --> 00:04:17,380 earth, because now the stage has been set in heaven for the pouring out upon the earth 50 00:04:17,380 --> 00:04:19,280 of judgment. 51 00:04:19,280 --> 00:04:31,640 That initiates and brings in a time of tribulation or trial or judgment upon the earth. 52 00:04:31,640 --> 00:04:38,080 The tribulation period is a specified time prophesied in the Bible. 53 00:04:38,080 --> 00:04:46,540 It is said to be a time that will end this age in which we are currently living. 54 00:04:46,540 --> 00:04:52,520 It will be a time of unprecedented trouble upon the earth. 55 00:04:52,520 --> 00:04:56,880 Jeremiah 30 and verse seven says it will be a time of Jacob's trouble. 56 00:04:56,880 --> 00:05:05,920 Jacob, of course, referring to the grandson of Abraham and the father of the tribes of 57 00:05:05,920 --> 00:05:07,240 Israel. 58 00:05:07,240 --> 00:05:12,560 And so it will be a time of great trouble for the people of Israel. 59 00:05:12,560 --> 00:05:17,120 We don't like to think of it in those terms because we love the Jewish people. 60 00:05:17,120 --> 00:05:26,160 But the tribulation will be a time that will even surpass their tribulation, their hardship, 61 00:05:26,160 --> 00:05:33,280 their heartbreak during the reign of Hitler and the Nazis in Germany. 62 00:05:33,280 --> 00:05:38,240 It will be an awful time for the Jewish people because of persecution. 63 00:05:38,240 --> 00:05:42,960 It will be a time of unparalleled trouble, Daniel 12.1. 64 00:05:42,960 --> 00:05:49,000 Never has there been a time of trouble like this before, nor will there ever be again. 65 00:05:49,000 --> 00:05:56,840 It is a period that is seven years in its total length. 66 00:05:56,840 --> 00:06:02,640 We get this from a passage in Daniel chapter nine, verses 24 to 27. 67 00:06:02,640 --> 00:06:06,200 We're not going to take time to turn back there and read it because we want to get to 68 00:06:06,200 --> 00:06:07,660 Revelation. 69 00:06:07,660 --> 00:06:14,960 But in Daniel 9, 24, we are told that there is laid out for the people of Israel a future 70 00:06:14,960 --> 00:06:22,920 history that has a certain point of commencement and a certain point of termination. 71 00:06:22,920 --> 00:06:29,240 And that which terminates this period that's prophesied is the anointing of the Most High, 72 00:06:29,240 --> 00:06:34,020 the coming of the Messiah to reign upon the earth. 73 00:06:34,020 --> 00:06:46,240 This period is said to be 490 weeks, seven times 70, a total of 490 weeks, excuse me, 74 00:06:46,240 --> 00:06:50,800 70 weeks, a total of 490 years, there we go. 75 00:06:50,800 --> 00:06:58,600 So that the total period that begins with the decree to rebuild Jerusalem until the 76 00:06:58,600 --> 00:07:05,560 time the Messiah will come to reign is said to be 490 years. 77 00:07:05,560 --> 00:07:17,760 Except that, it's not quite that simple because 483 years will pass and it says Messiah will 78 00:07:17,760 --> 00:07:20,880 be cut off. 79 00:07:20,880 --> 00:07:26,920 And then the seven years will go on, the final seven years will be completed to bring up 80 00:07:26,920 --> 00:07:29,680 to a total of 490. 81 00:07:29,680 --> 00:07:36,280 And it sounds in Daniel as though that is a continuing period, but we know now that 82 00:07:36,280 --> 00:07:43,920 the clock stopped for Israel's history when the 483 years were up. 83 00:07:43,920 --> 00:07:49,360 God set aside the nation of Israel and during this period of time is calling out from Jew 84 00:07:49,360 --> 00:07:58,080 and Gentile alike a new people, separate from the nation of Israel called the church. 85 00:07:58,080 --> 00:08:03,600 And when the church has been completed and the times of the Gentiles has been fulfilled, 86 00:08:03,600 --> 00:08:09,880 it's called in Romans 11, then God is going to bring Israel back to center stage and the 87 00:08:09,880 --> 00:08:15,040 final seven years of Israel's history will still be fulfilled for her. 88 00:08:15,040 --> 00:08:20,800 Now all of that is portrayed on a chart that I'm putting up here now. 89 00:08:20,800 --> 00:08:28,040 The command to restore and to build Jerusalem is what initiates this period of 490 years. 90 00:08:28,040 --> 00:08:36,080 It is a decree of art exerxes and it took place in about 445 BC. 91 00:08:36,080 --> 00:08:47,200 A total of 69 of these weeks is fulfilled, 483 years in total, and they end with Messiah 92 00:08:47,200 --> 00:08:54,160 being cut off just like was prophesied in the book of Daniel. 93 00:08:54,160 --> 00:08:55,560 That's about 30 AD. 94 00:08:55,560 --> 00:09:01,120 These are lunar years by the way and we don't have time to go into the calculation of them. 95 00:09:01,120 --> 00:09:07,400 But following this time of Messiah being cut off, there is what is termed here a gap. 96 00:09:07,400 --> 00:09:13,120 And we know now it's about 2,000 years at least in length. 97 00:09:13,120 --> 00:09:18,880 I believe this time is coming very close to an end. 98 00:09:18,880 --> 00:09:25,360 But Daniel says that the final week of years, the final period of seven years will be kicked 99 00:09:25,360 --> 00:09:29,040 off by a specific event. 100 00:09:29,040 --> 00:09:36,640 The prince of the people who will come, whom we identify as the antichrist, is going to 101 00:09:36,640 --> 00:09:44,080 sign a covenant or an agreement or a treaty with Israel. 102 00:09:44,080 --> 00:09:52,200 When that treaty is signed, God's great clock will begin ticking again for this period prophesied 103 00:09:52,200 --> 00:09:55,720 for the nation of Israel. 104 00:09:55,720 --> 00:09:59,380 And here is where we have the tribulation. 105 00:09:59,380 --> 00:10:08,180 It is this final week of years or final period of seven years which will bring the climax 106 00:10:08,180 --> 00:10:16,440 of Jewish history and will end with the second coming of Jesus Christ. 107 00:10:16,440 --> 00:10:22,320 You will notice on this chart this seven year period is broken up into two periods of three 108 00:10:22,320 --> 00:10:25,120 and one half years. 109 00:10:25,120 --> 00:10:29,560 It's also put this way in both Daniel and Revelation. 110 00:10:29,560 --> 00:10:37,060 A time, a times, and half a time, which again is a total of three and a half. 111 00:10:37,060 --> 00:10:41,420 Time being one, times being two, and a half a time being one half. 112 00:10:41,420 --> 00:10:48,360 Or it's put this way in the book of Revelation, 42 months, same one half of the tribulation 113 00:10:48,360 --> 00:10:49,880 is in view. 114 00:10:49,880 --> 00:10:59,720 Or it's put this way, 1,260 days, again which calculates out in lunar months to 42 months 115 00:10:59,720 --> 00:11:02,800 or to three and one half years. 116 00:11:02,800 --> 00:11:06,880 So this tribulation period is divided really in half. 117 00:11:06,880 --> 00:11:15,160 The first half is bad, the last half is the great tribulation, when there will be an intense 118 00:11:15,160 --> 00:11:20,120 period of suffering on the earth unlike has ever happened before. 119 00:11:20,120 --> 00:11:23,920 And what is it that causes this period to be broken in half? 120 00:11:23,920 --> 00:11:29,120 Well we would understand it most likely to be the covenant that was made with the Jews 121 00:11:29,120 --> 00:11:34,960 here is broken after three and one half years. 122 00:11:34,960 --> 00:11:41,140 And the true nature of Antichrist at that point is exposed. 123 00:11:41,140 --> 00:11:46,880 Now I think you have before you an outline of the sixth chapter of Revelation. 124 00:11:46,880 --> 00:11:51,940 You may want to pull that out. 125 00:11:51,940 --> 00:12:01,360 Chapter six through chapter 19 is a prophetic vision of what will take place during the 126 00:12:01,360 --> 00:12:05,600 seven years that we've just talked about. 127 00:12:05,600 --> 00:12:15,160 So what happens in chapter six is what begins behind the scenes, what begins the seven year 128 00:12:15,160 --> 00:12:16,160 period. 129 00:12:16,160 --> 00:12:21,020 We've already said in history it's Antichrist signing a covenant. 130 00:12:21,020 --> 00:12:26,160 But behind the scenes, invisible to the eyes of man, there are things taking place which 131 00:12:26,160 --> 00:12:30,580 John sees. 132 00:12:30,580 --> 00:12:33,840 It is the opening of the seven seals. 133 00:12:33,840 --> 00:12:37,800 I think that your chart looks something like this. 134 00:12:37,800 --> 00:12:47,640 I'm going to throw it up here on a different kind of a chart that looks like this. 135 00:12:47,640 --> 00:13:01,760 Let's talk about the first seal which is recorded in verses one and two. 136 00:13:01,760 --> 00:13:10,080 Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals and I heard one of the four living creatures, 137 00:13:10,080 --> 00:13:17,680 I remember those were those angelic beings, those very powerful specialized angelic beings 138 00:13:17,680 --> 00:13:22,640 before the throne of God crying, Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty. 139 00:13:22,640 --> 00:13:27,000 I heard one of these four living creatures saying with a loud voice or with a voice like 140 00:13:27,000 --> 00:13:31,400 thunder, come and see. 141 00:13:31,400 --> 00:13:33,360 And so John was invited to come and see. 142 00:13:33,360 --> 00:13:34,520 Now where did he come to? 143 00:13:34,520 --> 00:13:36,840 I don't know. 144 00:13:36,840 --> 00:13:40,560 Perhaps he was invited to come forward toward the throne. 145 00:13:40,560 --> 00:13:46,120 Perhaps he was invited to come to the edge of a great panorama on which he looked down 146 00:13:46,120 --> 00:13:52,760 upon this laying out of human history and what was to take place. 147 00:13:52,760 --> 00:13:57,640 Maybe it was a big video screen sort of a thing to put it in our vernacular today that 148 00:13:57,640 --> 00:14:08,640 he came and looked at but behold, he says, a white horse and he who sat on it had a bow 149 00:14:08,640 --> 00:14:14,680 and a crown was given to him and he went out conquering and to conquer. 150 00:14:14,680 --> 00:14:22,220 Now there are some people who see the rider on the white horse as being Christ. 151 00:14:22,220 --> 00:14:29,520 Probably the only similarity between Christ and this individual is the fact that they 152 00:14:29,520 --> 00:14:33,080 each are seen riding on white horses. 153 00:14:33,080 --> 00:14:36,840 Christ comes riding on a white horse in Revelation chapter 19. 154 00:14:36,840 --> 00:14:39,780 But this is not Jesus Christ. 155 00:14:39,780 --> 00:14:45,960 This is the great imposter, Satan's counterfeit, the anti-Christ. 156 00:14:45,960 --> 00:14:52,040 He is riding on a white horse. 157 00:14:52,040 --> 00:15:02,760 Christ seems to symbolize in this part of Revelation victory, authority, one who is 158 00:15:02,760 --> 00:15:06,960 supreme coming forward. 159 00:15:06,960 --> 00:15:12,140 And that will be anti-Christ's appearance. 160 00:15:12,140 --> 00:15:17,360 Revelation and Daniel picture him as a mighty conqueror. 161 00:15:17,360 --> 00:15:26,640 However, here in this context, it says a crown was given to him and the emphasis is upon 162 00:15:26,640 --> 00:15:28,600 given. 163 00:15:28,600 --> 00:15:39,300 And so it seems that at least initially his conquering is by treaty and by agreement politically, 164 00:15:39,300 --> 00:15:45,640 by maneuvering and manipulating the world situation so that he is not portrayed at this 165 00:15:45,640 --> 00:15:55,040 point as the very cruel death spot that he actually is and will later be revealed as. 166 00:15:55,040 --> 00:16:02,400 At this point, a crown is given to him and he went out conquering and to conquer, which 167 00:16:02,400 --> 00:16:03,880 is a rather curious phrase. 168 00:16:03,880 --> 00:16:10,760 And it may mean that he went out conquering in the sense that his ability to pull off 169 00:16:10,760 --> 00:16:17,080 political deals enabled him to conquer and later he will conquer in yet a different way, 170 00:16:17,080 --> 00:16:19,680 which will be in a military sense. 171 00:16:19,680 --> 00:16:23,420 It's a good guess. 172 00:16:23,420 --> 00:16:26,400 That is the first seal. 173 00:16:26,400 --> 00:16:27,400 Anti-Christ is unleashed. 174 00:16:27,400 --> 00:16:33,520 You say, well, is anti-Christ alive in the world today? 175 00:16:33,520 --> 00:16:37,640 It's very possible that he is. 176 00:16:37,640 --> 00:16:40,240 We don't know that. 177 00:16:40,240 --> 00:16:46,240 He is being restrained if he is alive today. 178 00:16:46,240 --> 00:16:57,680 Second Thessalonians chapter 2 says that he is hindered from coming as the man of lawlessness 179 00:16:57,680 --> 00:17:02,780 until that point when what is hindering him is taken out of the way. 180 00:17:02,780 --> 00:17:04,720 The question is what is hindering him? 181 00:17:04,720 --> 00:17:09,840 And it seems to me that the best answer to that is he's being hindered by the Holy Spirit 182 00:17:09,840 --> 00:17:15,920 working in the church. 183 00:17:15,920 --> 00:17:24,440 But once the Holy Spirit as he is resident in the church is removed through the rapture, 184 00:17:24,440 --> 00:17:27,720 then the hindrance is gone. 185 00:17:27,720 --> 00:17:32,920 And anti-Christ then will be unleashed. 186 00:17:32,920 --> 00:17:41,040 It will allow him then to move as he desires to move to conquer nations and peoples, as 187 00:17:41,040 --> 00:17:48,160 I say first by treaty and then later by force. 188 00:17:48,160 --> 00:17:49,360 Anti-Christ may be in the world today. 189 00:17:49,360 --> 00:17:58,520 If he is in the world, he is a man who will deceive many, including the Jewish people. 190 00:17:58,520 --> 00:18:07,720 He is a man who will arise out of a revived form of the Roman Empire. 191 00:18:07,720 --> 00:18:12,880 We thought we had all of this very neatly put together until things in Europe started 192 00:18:12,880 --> 00:18:16,600 falling apart here in the last year or so, and it ruined some theories, or at least it 193 00:18:16,600 --> 00:18:18,040 may have delayed some theories. 194 00:18:18,040 --> 00:18:22,600 I don't know whether Europe is going to pull off the common market and the common currency 195 00:18:22,600 --> 00:18:25,160 and all of that or not. 196 00:18:25,160 --> 00:18:27,600 Time will tell. 197 00:18:27,600 --> 00:18:34,680 But I'll tell you, it is very interesting to see the resurgence of power in Germany and 198 00:18:34,680 --> 00:18:40,200 the kind of power that is seething underneath the surface in that nation. 199 00:18:40,200 --> 00:18:44,360 And I'm not in any way saying that's the fault of the German people. 200 00:18:44,360 --> 00:18:48,880 I'm simply saying that it's very interesting to see that kind of hatred and that kind of 201 00:18:48,880 --> 00:18:55,320 anti-Semitism, et cetera, in the German nation. 202 00:18:55,320 --> 00:19:00,320 And it aligns with some of the same feelings that are found in Russia and that heart of 203 00:19:00,320 --> 00:19:01,480 Europe. 204 00:19:01,480 --> 00:19:09,660 And we see the heart of Europe right now being volatile, like a stick of dynamite that's 205 00:19:09,660 --> 00:19:15,940 being played with in the war in Yugoslavia and so on. 206 00:19:15,940 --> 00:19:19,460 And so a lot could happen in Europe. 207 00:19:19,460 --> 00:19:26,960 That whole situation could erupt, if not in a military sense, in a racial or ethnic sense, 208 00:19:26,960 --> 00:19:32,040 so that they will need somebody who's very powerful to deal with all of these various 209 00:19:32,040 --> 00:19:33,040 entities. 210 00:19:33,040 --> 00:19:39,960 And it would be a perfect setting for a powerful political figure to arise who could say to 211 00:19:39,960 --> 00:19:45,840 all of those nations in Europe, here's your solution. 212 00:19:45,840 --> 00:19:49,200 And I would like to present it to you. 213 00:19:49,200 --> 00:19:53,760 And it may be that in a few years, and maybe less than that, the situation throughout Europe 214 00:19:53,760 --> 00:19:59,480 will be so critical that they will immediately follow this one who has the answers. 215 00:19:59,480 --> 00:20:06,520 Well, he will be a Christ-like figure, but in fact would be the anti-Christ. 216 00:20:06,520 --> 00:20:12,620 Well then there is another seal that is opened. 217 00:20:12,620 --> 00:20:19,180 When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, come and see. 218 00:20:19,180 --> 00:20:24,640 And another horse, fiery red, went out. 219 00:20:24,640 --> 00:20:31,520 And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people 220 00:20:31,520 --> 00:20:32,880 should kill one another. 221 00:20:32,880 --> 00:20:37,760 And there was given to him a great sword. 222 00:20:37,760 --> 00:20:45,000 Nearly all Bible commentators say that if the white horse represents victory and conquering, 223 00:20:45,000 --> 00:20:51,760 then the red horse with a rider upon it represents war and bloodshed. 224 00:20:51,760 --> 00:20:55,360 That will be unleashed upon the earth. 225 00:20:55,360 --> 00:21:04,720 Notice that it says that there was given to him a great sword, and it was granted to him 226 00:21:04,720 --> 00:21:09,200 to take peace from the earth. 227 00:21:09,200 --> 00:21:16,560 Who gives him this sword, and who grants him the ability to take peace from the earth? 228 00:21:16,560 --> 00:21:24,240 The answer is that God does it in the sense that God simply takes his hands off the situation 229 00:21:24,240 --> 00:21:31,240 and lets man begin to fulfill the imaginations of his own heart. 230 00:21:31,240 --> 00:21:39,160 The war that begins here in some kind of intensified way will culminate with that final battle 231 00:21:39,160 --> 00:21:46,120 of Armageddon, which we will study about later in the book of the Revelation. 232 00:21:46,120 --> 00:21:51,040 And so there will be great talk of peace in the world, peace, peace, when there is no 233 00:21:51,040 --> 00:21:53,960 peace, and the reality will be war. 234 00:21:53,960 --> 00:21:59,320 It says they will kill one another, a very strong term meaning they will slaughter one 235 00:21:59,320 --> 00:22:00,420 another. 236 00:22:00,420 --> 00:22:03,320 They will butcher one another. 237 00:22:03,320 --> 00:22:09,040 This is not the kind of civilized war, if there is such a thing, that has been fought 238 00:22:09,040 --> 00:22:11,220 in some years past. 239 00:22:11,220 --> 00:22:17,640 But this will be a brutal, fierce war with a great deal of bloodshed that will begin 240 00:22:17,640 --> 00:22:22,520 to be unleashed upon the earth with this second seal. 241 00:22:22,520 --> 00:22:29,360 The third seal is a rider on a black horse. 242 00:22:29,360 --> 00:22:35,260 I heard the third living creature say, come and see, and I looked and behold a black horse 243 00:22:35,260 --> 00:22:42,320 and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. 244 00:22:42,320 --> 00:22:47,120 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, a quart of wheat 245 00:22:47,120 --> 00:22:54,640 for denarius and three quarts of barley for denarius, and do not harm the oil and the 246 00:22:54,640 --> 00:22:56,560 wine. 247 00:22:56,560 --> 00:23:02,560 The rider on the black horse represents famine that will arise in the world. 248 00:23:02,560 --> 00:23:09,800 Today we talk about Somalia and the terrible conditions of starvation in that nation. 249 00:23:09,800 --> 00:23:18,400 But imagine, famine not in one nation in Africa, but famine like that in many parts of the 250 00:23:18,400 --> 00:23:19,900 world. 251 00:23:19,900 --> 00:23:24,920 Of course, famine always follows war because of the disruption, not only in food production 252 00:23:24,920 --> 00:23:27,200 but in food delivery. 253 00:23:27,200 --> 00:23:31,480 And indeed that's the problem now in Somalia as you know. 254 00:23:31,480 --> 00:23:37,520 Because of the outbreak of terribly fierce war in various parts of the world, there will 255 00:23:37,520 --> 00:23:40,480 be famine that will accompany it. 256 00:23:40,480 --> 00:23:45,000 The balance here indicates the scarcity of food. 257 00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:48,000 There will be careful rationing. 258 00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:57,240 People will have to spend the equivalent of a day's wage for basic food. 259 00:23:57,240 --> 00:24:03,200 The figures here suggest that only an eighth of the normal supply of food will be available 260 00:24:03,200 --> 00:24:05,680 at least in parts of the world. 261 00:24:05,680 --> 00:24:12,840 And yet alongside of that, there will be oil and wine, which in that day were luxurious 262 00:24:12,840 --> 00:24:15,000 items. 263 00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:23,240 And it may be that along with the terrible famine, there will be luxuries available to 264 00:24:23,240 --> 00:24:26,280 those who are very wealthy. 265 00:24:26,280 --> 00:24:30,040 It may be difficult for us to conceive of that, but it's not hard at all for those who 266 00:24:30,040 --> 00:24:32,200 are in many third world countries. 267 00:24:32,200 --> 00:24:37,600 Not hard for those who lived in Moscow, where most people had very little but there were 268 00:24:37,600 --> 00:24:42,700 a few who could afford and who had luxuries that were out of reach for most of the common 269 00:24:42,700 --> 00:24:43,700 people. 270 00:24:43,700 --> 00:24:52,760 That seems to be the sense here in a broad and worldwide sense. 271 00:24:52,760 --> 00:24:59,400 The fourth seal brings on the scene a pale horse and rider. 272 00:24:59,400 --> 00:25:03,580 I heard a voice of the fourth living creature saying, come and see, and I looked and behold 273 00:25:03,580 --> 00:25:10,460 a pale horse and the name of him who sat on it was Death. 274 00:25:10,460 --> 00:25:17,400 And Hades followed with him and power was given to them over a fourth of the earth to 275 00:25:17,400 --> 00:25:24,020 kill with sword, with hunger, with death and by the beasts of the earth. 276 00:25:24,020 --> 00:25:31,840 This pale horse, the word pale literally is chloros and it is the word from which we get 277 00:25:31,840 --> 00:25:38,260 chlorox or chlorine and the color of it really is a yellowish green. 278 00:25:38,260 --> 00:25:41,020 It was the color of leprosy. 279 00:25:41,020 --> 00:25:47,920 And on this horse we see what seems to be two riders. 280 00:25:47,920 --> 00:25:53,680 Death is the main rider and piggybacking with death is Hades, the place of the dead. 281 00:25:53,680 --> 00:26:00,000 These two work together, the one claims the body, the other claims the soul. 282 00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:06,160 In the tribulation period because of the war, because of the famine, there will be unprecedented 283 00:26:06,160 --> 00:26:07,700 death. 284 00:26:07,700 --> 00:26:14,920 Death on a massive scale so much so that even here early on in the tribulation period it 285 00:26:14,920 --> 00:26:21,300 will result in one fourth of the population of the world dying. 286 00:26:21,300 --> 00:26:23,660 Think of that. 287 00:26:23,660 --> 00:26:25,340 Think of that. 288 00:26:25,340 --> 00:26:33,600 Along with the war and with the famine there will of course be disease. 289 00:26:33,600 --> 00:26:41,060 And we have on the horizon because of AIDS the potential of hundreds of thousands of 290 00:26:41,060 --> 00:26:45,080 people on a worldwide basis dying. 291 00:26:45,080 --> 00:26:49,780 Who was it recently that mentioned I think it was the nation of Uganda where more than 292 00:26:49,780 --> 00:26:55,060 half of all the military people are infected with AIDS. 293 00:26:55,060 --> 00:27:00,460 And there are terrible statistics not only in Africa, but statistics that are popping 294 00:27:00,460 --> 00:27:06,200 up in other parts of the world and not just those who are in the third world. 295 00:27:06,200 --> 00:27:11,260 We are facing a time of tremendous death as we enter the tribulation period. 296 00:27:11,260 --> 00:27:19,340 It will happen by sword, by hunger, by pestilence and epidemics and it seems that the wild beasts 297 00:27:19,340 --> 00:27:26,940 at least in places will roam as scavengers to help clean up the carnage that all of this 298 00:27:26,940 --> 00:27:30,780 death brings. 299 00:27:30,780 --> 00:27:34,660 We come now to the fifth seal that is loosened. 300 00:27:34,660 --> 00:27:39,820 Remember that it is the Lord Jesus Christ in heaven with a scroll in His hand who is 301 00:27:39,820 --> 00:27:43,240 popping these seals working His way along. 302 00:27:43,240 --> 00:27:49,380 And as He does that in heaven there are results upon the earth. 303 00:27:49,380 --> 00:27:54,980 He opened the fifth seal and I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain 304 00:27:54,980 --> 00:27:59,980 for the word of God and for the testimony which they held and they cried with a loud 305 00:27:59,980 --> 00:28:07,240 voice saying, how long O Lord, holy and true, until you judge and avenge our blood on those 306 00:28:07,240 --> 00:28:09,140 who dwell on the earth? 307 00:28:09,140 --> 00:28:15,020 And a white robe was given to each of them and it was said to them that they should rest 308 00:28:15,020 --> 00:28:20,820 a little while longer until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren 309 00:28:20,820 --> 00:28:25,380 who would be killed as they were was completed. 310 00:28:25,380 --> 00:28:31,420 So we have a scene here that's in heaven reflecting something that is taking place upon the earth 311 00:28:31,420 --> 00:28:32,420 and what is it? 312 00:28:32,420 --> 00:28:41,740 It is the persecution of the saints of God resulting in widespread martyrdom. 313 00:28:41,740 --> 00:28:46,580 Now remember these are people who come to faith in Jesus Christ after the rapture of 314 00:28:46,580 --> 00:28:52,500 the church has taken place because when Jesus comes for the church all believers will go 315 00:28:52,500 --> 00:28:54,660 up. 316 00:28:54,660 --> 00:29:01,200 But that is going to be followed by a time of unparalleled evangelism in the world. 317 00:29:01,200 --> 00:29:04,940 And chapter 7 suggests that. 318 00:29:04,940 --> 00:29:10,740 Preachers will go out especially from Jewish tribes to proclaim the gospel of Christ. 319 00:29:10,740 --> 00:29:12,040 Their eyes will be opened. 320 00:29:12,040 --> 00:29:13,040 They will go out. 321 00:29:13,040 --> 00:29:14,040 They will be sealed. 322 00:29:14,040 --> 00:29:15,420 They will preach. 323 00:29:15,420 --> 00:29:20,780 And there will be many, many people who will come to faith in Christ in the tribulation 324 00:29:20,780 --> 00:29:26,060 period and many of them will die for their faith. 325 00:29:26,060 --> 00:29:33,260 Now the scene is in heaven as I said and these people, their souls are said to be under the 326 00:29:33,260 --> 00:29:35,500 altar. 327 00:29:35,500 --> 00:29:38,520 There is an altar in heaven. 328 00:29:38,520 --> 00:29:41,660 What altar is this? 329 00:29:41,660 --> 00:29:45,220 Is it the altar of incense? 330 00:29:45,220 --> 00:29:50,500 Is it the altar of the offering? 331 00:29:50,500 --> 00:29:55,560 It does say that the Lord Jesus Christ entered into heaven with His own blood and there offered 332 00:29:55,560 --> 00:29:57,300 it before God. 333 00:29:57,300 --> 00:29:59,500 Are we to take that literally? 334 00:29:59,500 --> 00:30:02,300 Well we should think so. 335 00:30:02,300 --> 00:30:08,220 There are others who say, well no this is the incense altar, the place of worship. 336 00:30:08,220 --> 00:30:11,040 Well the point is that these people have been martyred. 337 00:30:11,040 --> 00:30:16,180 Their souls are there in heaven under the altar which seems to suggest that they are 338 00:30:16,180 --> 00:30:20,700 there in a place of protection. 339 00:30:20,700 --> 00:30:25,100 That they have been killed upon the earth and now have been taken, their souls have 340 00:30:25,100 --> 00:30:30,900 been taken to heaven and they are there in this place of protection. 341 00:30:30,900 --> 00:30:37,560 But it is also for them a place of petition. 342 00:30:37,560 --> 00:30:44,740 They have been slain for the word of God and for the testimony in Jesus Christ which they 343 00:30:44,740 --> 00:30:52,620 held and now having been killed for their faith in the presence of God they are petitioning. 344 00:30:52,620 --> 00:31:00,500 They are crying out to God and here we have a New Testament expression of the imprecatory 345 00:31:00,500 --> 00:31:09,020 Psalms, those Psalms that cry out to God for judgment upon the enemies of Israel. 346 00:31:09,020 --> 00:31:17,100 And here these people who have been martyred cry out for vengeance from God because of 347 00:31:17,100 --> 00:31:22,460 their blood shed by those who dwell on the earth. 348 00:31:22,460 --> 00:31:24,920 Notice that technical term in verse 10. 349 00:31:24,920 --> 00:31:30,300 We see that a number of times here in the book of the Revelation. 350 00:31:30,300 --> 00:31:39,580 It refers to those who have rejected heaven's rule and who choose to live for and in and 351 00:31:39,580 --> 00:31:42,340 of this world. 352 00:31:42,340 --> 00:31:44,860 They are the followers of the Antichrist. 353 00:31:44,860 --> 00:31:53,580 They are called the earth dwellers and they are the ones who have taken the lives of God's 354 00:31:53,580 --> 00:31:54,580 saints. 355 00:31:54,580 --> 00:32:01,540 And now those saints are beneath the altar in heaven crying out to God, God bring vengeance 356 00:32:01,540 --> 00:32:10,260 and bring judgment upon those who have taken our lives. 357 00:32:10,260 --> 00:32:12,820 Well you'll notice God's response. 358 00:32:12,820 --> 00:32:19,060 It says a white robe was given to each of them. 359 00:32:19,060 --> 00:32:21,660 Now this is a little difficult for us to picture isn't it? 360 00:32:21,660 --> 00:32:28,820 There's a soul that is given a white robe. 361 00:32:28,820 --> 00:32:34,500 The white robe seems to suggest again victory on their part. 362 00:32:34,500 --> 00:32:41,140 Though these saints gave their lives, they gave them in victory. 363 00:32:41,140 --> 00:32:48,620 And now they are before the Lord and God gives to them a white robe to wear, a covering. 364 00:32:48,620 --> 00:32:52,780 A covering suggesting the victory that is theirs. 365 00:32:52,780 --> 00:32:56,780 And it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer. 366 00:32:56,780 --> 00:33:03,020 In other words, the message is delivered, be patient. 367 00:33:03,020 --> 00:33:05,020 God is doing something in the world. 368 00:33:05,020 --> 00:33:06,020 What is God doing? 369 00:33:06,020 --> 00:33:13,380 Well the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who would be killed as they 370 00:33:13,380 --> 00:33:17,480 were had to be completed. 371 00:33:17,480 --> 00:33:25,500 God is waiting for a certain portion of his people to lay down their lives in martyrdom. 372 00:33:25,500 --> 00:33:28,060 Martyrdom is not accidental. 373 00:33:28,060 --> 00:33:31,100 God's hand is on the whole situation. 374 00:33:31,100 --> 00:33:33,200 And it will be then. 375 00:33:33,200 --> 00:33:35,420 There is a number that God has. 376 00:33:35,420 --> 00:33:36,420 You say why? 377 00:33:36,420 --> 00:33:38,380 I don't know. 378 00:33:38,380 --> 00:33:46,140 But as a testimony against those who dwell on the earth and to increase their judgment, 379 00:33:46,140 --> 00:33:51,860 time is allotted for them to kill the people of the Lord. 380 00:33:51,860 --> 00:33:58,820 And these people are released from their bodies in victory to go to be with Christ. 381 00:33:58,820 --> 00:34:02,980 The suggestion of course is that there is a time when that number will be reached, whatever 382 00:34:02,980 --> 00:34:05,280 it will be. 383 00:34:05,280 --> 00:34:11,200 And when God has seen his purpose fulfilled for the death of his servants, then he will 384 00:34:11,200 --> 00:34:16,340 deal with the earth dwellers very directly. 385 00:34:16,340 --> 00:34:21,020 So there is this scene in heaven, a cry of the martyrs. 386 00:34:21,020 --> 00:34:29,140 You see the day of grace in one sense will have concluded by this time. 387 00:34:29,140 --> 00:34:37,300 For we are now in Revelation 6 in the day of wrath as we're about to see. 388 00:34:37,300 --> 00:34:42,820 And so they cry out to the Lord, the ruler, a very strong term here in verse 10. 389 00:34:42,820 --> 00:34:47,020 For Lord it means a death spot. 390 00:34:47,020 --> 00:34:52,020 And we use that term usually in some kind of a negative sense. 391 00:34:52,020 --> 00:34:56,220 But here it's used in a wonderful sense of God as the absolute ruler. 392 00:34:56,220 --> 00:35:03,540 It's the only time this word is found in the book of the Revelation, this name for God. 393 00:35:03,540 --> 00:35:09,420 And God assures them that his purpose will be fulfilled, that he's in control. 394 00:35:09,420 --> 00:35:18,420 And then we come to the sixth seal on the scroll that is opened. 395 00:35:18,420 --> 00:35:26,700 I looked and when he opened the sixth seal, and behold there was a great earthquake, and 396 00:35:26,700 --> 00:35:33,420 the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. 397 00:35:33,420 --> 00:35:39,660 And the stars of heaven fell to the earth as a fig tree drops its late figs when it 398 00:35:39,660 --> 00:35:42,380 is shaken by a mighty wind. 399 00:35:42,380 --> 00:35:49,080 Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was 400 00:35:49,080 --> 00:35:52,300 moved out of its place. 401 00:35:52,300 --> 00:35:56,700 The kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, 402 00:35:56,700 --> 00:36:02,820 every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains 403 00:36:02,820 --> 00:36:09,500 and said to the mountains and rocks, fall on us and hide us from the face of him who 404 00:36:09,500 --> 00:36:17,780 sits on the throne and from the wrath of the lamb, for the great day of his wrath has come 405 00:36:17,780 --> 00:36:21,820 and who is able to stand. 406 00:36:21,820 --> 00:36:28,540 And so we have a sixth seal that is opened that immediately results in calamity in nature. 407 00:36:28,540 --> 00:36:35,540 Now I take these things literally, although there are some who say that this is all symbolic, 408 00:36:35,540 --> 00:36:48,060 and it represents some sort of great upheaval in the order on earth that the governments 409 00:36:48,060 --> 00:36:54,820 and other institutions that hold humanity together will experience disruption and there 410 00:36:54,820 --> 00:36:57,700 will be anarchy. 411 00:36:57,700 --> 00:37:05,100 But I think that what he describes here are literal things, a great earthquake. 412 00:37:05,100 --> 00:37:10,860 The word earthquake here in the Greek is the word seismos. 413 00:37:10,860 --> 00:37:16,000 Of course you see where we get our word for the scale. 414 00:37:16,000 --> 00:37:18,740 It means a shaking. 415 00:37:18,740 --> 00:37:28,340 It's the same word as found in verse 13 about shaking of the fig tree. 416 00:37:28,340 --> 00:37:35,140 This time in the tribulation period will be marked by a great earthquake. 417 00:37:35,140 --> 00:37:41,960 Now there are people who say that earthquakes are increasing and that may well be true. 418 00:37:41,960 --> 00:37:48,900 It's also true that we're able to measure more earthquakes than ever before. 419 00:37:48,900 --> 00:37:55,500 There are earthquakes around the globe now we measure, at least one every 30 seconds, 420 00:37:55,500 --> 00:38:00,060 although many of those cannot be felt. 421 00:38:00,060 --> 00:38:06,860 These earthquakes that are taking place around the globe seem to be leading up to one great 422 00:38:06,860 --> 00:38:14,780 earthquake that will take place at this point toward the beginning of the first three and 423 00:38:14,780 --> 00:38:19,700 a half years of the tribulation period. 424 00:38:19,700 --> 00:38:23,260 Where will this earthquake take place? 425 00:38:23,260 --> 00:38:29,640 Well it suggests here that this earthquake will be of such magnitude that it will not 426 00:38:29,640 --> 00:38:37,140 be localized in Southern California or in Turkey, but there may be a number of fault 427 00:38:37,140 --> 00:38:45,740 lines that will all give at one time so that this earthquake will literally be felt in 428 00:38:45,740 --> 00:38:47,820 every continent of the world. 429 00:38:47,820 --> 00:38:50,300 They will all give at once. 430 00:38:50,300 --> 00:38:56,760 You can only imagine the kind of destruction that that would bring. 431 00:38:56,760 --> 00:38:59,820 And then the sun is blackened. 432 00:38:59,820 --> 00:39:00,820 What does that mean? 433 00:39:00,820 --> 00:39:01,820 I'm not sure what that means. 434 00:39:01,820 --> 00:39:10,940 The moon turns red like blood and stars fall out of the heaven, perhaps a meteor shower 435 00:39:10,940 --> 00:39:13,180 of some sort. 436 00:39:13,180 --> 00:39:15,260 But what is the result of all of this? 437 00:39:15,260 --> 00:39:22,020 Well there's a terrifying darkness that comes upon the earth. 438 00:39:22,020 --> 00:39:27,820 Everyone will be in fear because of this supernatural darkness that has come. 439 00:39:27,820 --> 00:39:31,460 We talk about a nuclear winter. 440 00:39:31,460 --> 00:39:36,260 I suppose it's not impossible that God could use a nuclear weapon to accomplish some of 441 00:39:36,260 --> 00:39:39,340 this stuff. 442 00:39:39,340 --> 00:39:42,940 If it's not a nuclear weapon, perhaps the earthquakes that we've talked about will 443 00:39:42,940 --> 00:39:51,820 unleash volcanoes throughout the world that will throw up dust into the atmosphere. 444 00:39:51,820 --> 00:39:57,580 The result of that being that the sun will be darkened and the chemicals that are thrown 445 00:39:57,580 --> 00:40:04,300 up into the air and the dust will cause the moon to appear to be red. 446 00:40:04,300 --> 00:40:08,860 It doesn't really account for the stars falling out of the heavens. 447 00:40:08,860 --> 00:40:12,320 But again the result of all of this is that light is diminished. 448 00:40:12,320 --> 00:40:15,260 It is reduced. 449 00:40:15,260 --> 00:40:20,620 There seems to be some kind of a disruption of all of the atmospheric heavens. 450 00:40:20,620 --> 00:40:24,980 It says the sky receded as a scroll. 451 00:40:24,980 --> 00:40:30,220 It was rolled up as a scroll. 452 00:40:30,220 --> 00:40:35,780 Every island, every mountain was moved out of its place. 453 00:40:35,780 --> 00:40:42,660 Again, this is why some people suggest that this is some sort of atomic war. 454 00:40:42,660 --> 00:40:48,300 Now of course we all realize that we're well past any kind of atomic war today, aren't 455 00:40:48,300 --> 00:40:49,300 we? 456 00:40:49,300 --> 00:40:53,380 I mean there's no possibility anymore of that sort of thing. 457 00:40:53,380 --> 00:40:56,740 I say that with tongue in cheek. 458 00:40:56,740 --> 00:41:06,180 Rush Limbaugh will fill you in on the details on that if you want to tune him in. 459 00:41:06,180 --> 00:41:11,300 Now we're not past nuclear war. 460 00:41:11,300 --> 00:41:17,620 And for those people who believe that we are, I wish they were right, but it is entirely 461 00:41:17,620 --> 00:41:21,060 possible that something is going to happen in Russia. 462 00:41:21,060 --> 00:41:27,540 That there could still be a turning back toward some sort of dictatorship, if not communism, 463 00:41:27,540 --> 00:41:35,540 and that those nuclear weapons which have not been destroyed in Russia could be used. 464 00:41:35,540 --> 00:41:39,380 But there are other nations developing these weapons. 465 00:41:39,380 --> 00:41:46,540 Pakistan, India, Israel, South Africa. 466 00:41:46,540 --> 00:41:48,660 Iraq was very close. 467 00:41:48,660 --> 00:41:54,740 Iran is about four years away, so we are told publicly. 468 00:41:54,740 --> 00:41:58,260 There are nations all over the world developing these kinds of weapons. 469 00:41:58,260 --> 00:42:02,740 It is not impossible that they could be used, and the result of that would be the kind of 470 00:42:02,740 --> 00:42:06,060 disruption that is pictured here. 471 00:42:06,060 --> 00:42:11,280 Now remember John didn't know how to describe a nuclear bomb. 472 00:42:11,280 --> 00:42:18,100 And so he sees the sky just fleeing backwards. 473 00:42:18,100 --> 00:42:21,620 And the topography of the earth undergoes tremendous change. 474 00:42:21,620 --> 00:42:25,580 Whole mountains just crumble. 475 00:42:25,580 --> 00:42:33,580 And islands of the sea disappear. 476 00:42:33,580 --> 00:42:37,900 And all of this of course produces tremendous consternation among men. 477 00:42:37,900 --> 00:42:44,180 There is calamity in nature, there is confusion in the population of men because of all that 478 00:42:44,180 --> 00:42:46,580 is taking place. 479 00:42:46,580 --> 00:42:53,780 And it seems that the confusion, at least as John sees it here and describes it, is 480 00:42:53,780 --> 00:43:00,820 not caused so much by the earthquakes and the sun and the moon and the islands and the 481 00:43:00,820 --> 00:43:06,900 mountains and all of that, as by something else that they've seen. 482 00:43:06,900 --> 00:43:10,900 And how they see it we are not really told. 483 00:43:10,900 --> 00:43:21,980 Maybe as the sky is opened up as described here, it opens up to reveal the dimension 484 00:43:21,980 --> 00:43:24,860 of the heavenlies. 485 00:43:24,860 --> 00:43:30,020 I was talking to somebody just a couple of days ago, in fact who was that, about the 486 00:43:30,020 --> 00:43:36,020 possibility that heaven is not way out there beyond the Milky Way somewhere, but heaven 487 00:43:36,020 --> 00:43:39,620 is really a dimension that is up above the earth. 488 00:43:39,620 --> 00:43:44,080 And if we could but see into that dimension we could actually see heaven. 489 00:43:44,080 --> 00:43:49,120 After all, John looks up, he sees a door opened in the sky into that dimension. 490 00:43:49,120 --> 00:43:52,360 He said, come up here. 491 00:43:52,360 --> 00:43:59,300 And so as the sky is said to be rolled back like a scroll, perhaps God in some way just 492 00:43:59,300 --> 00:44:01,820 opens up heaven. 493 00:44:01,820 --> 00:44:04,620 Maybe that's what's described here. 494 00:44:04,620 --> 00:44:08,900 As people are able to look into heaven and what do they see? 495 00:44:08,900 --> 00:44:13,220 They see the throne of God. 496 00:44:13,220 --> 00:44:17,780 And they see the lamb of God. 497 00:44:17,780 --> 00:44:23,500 And the result of that is that all classes of people, whether they're rulers and mighty 498 00:44:23,500 --> 00:44:33,500 people or slaves or entrepreneurs, they all seek to hide themselves in caves and in rocks 499 00:44:33,500 --> 00:44:37,980 trying that the earth would just cover them up and swallow them to hide them from the 500 00:44:37,980 --> 00:44:41,860 face of the one who sits on the throne. 501 00:44:41,860 --> 00:44:52,220 And they say, for the great day of his wrath has come and who is able to stand? 502 00:44:52,220 --> 00:44:54,500 This is a paradoxical expression, isn't it? 503 00:44:54,500 --> 00:44:56,580 The wrath of the lamb. 504 00:44:56,580 --> 00:45:01,740 A lamb is a meek and gentle creature. 505 00:45:01,740 --> 00:45:04,300 A lamb is a pet. 506 00:45:04,300 --> 00:45:13,460 But here the lamb is filled with wrath and with indignation upon his enemies. 507 00:45:13,460 --> 00:45:16,500 We do not see the lamb here acting in grace. 508 00:45:16,500 --> 00:45:18,980 He is acting in judgment. 509 00:45:18,980 --> 00:45:25,820 It is worthy of note that there is no repentance on the part of the earth dwellers. 510 00:45:25,820 --> 00:45:28,300 It doesn't say, oh, we repent of our wickedness. 511 00:45:28,300 --> 00:45:31,900 No, they say just hide us from him. 512 00:45:31,900 --> 00:45:35,860 They don't want to give up their sin. 513 00:45:35,860 --> 00:45:38,860 Notice they don't pray to Christ on the throne. 514 00:45:38,860 --> 00:45:43,300 They pray to the rocks and to the mountains. 515 00:45:43,300 --> 00:45:50,540 They would rather have death than to have to face the lamb. 516 00:45:50,540 --> 00:45:55,380 They would rather die than prolong life. 517 00:45:55,380 --> 00:45:57,460 Why? 518 00:45:57,460 --> 00:46:03,300 Because judgment time has come. 519 00:46:03,300 --> 00:46:08,680 Well the rocks cannot save them. 520 00:46:08,680 --> 00:46:12,180 Only the lamb can save. 521 00:46:12,180 --> 00:46:20,300 We are living in a time when the lamb extends his hand, inviting people to come and to be 522 00:46:20,300 --> 00:46:21,580 saved. 523 00:46:21,580 --> 00:46:28,340 But there is a time when he will extend his judgment upon those who reject him. 524 00:46:28,340 --> 00:46:36,380 We'll go on to chapter 7 in January as we resume our study in the book of the Revelation. 525 00:46:36,380 --> 00:46:42,740 And we'll come eventually to the seventh seal and see what lies beyond that because 526 00:46:42,740 --> 00:46:46,780 it really opens up to the rest of the book. 527 00:46:46,780 --> 00:46:51,860 But this evening as we think about the Lord Jesus, the Lamb of God, I'd like for us 528 00:46:51,860 --> 00:46:56,380 to sing a song. 529 00:46:56,380 --> 00:47:03,540 These people cry out and ask the rocks to hide them, but we can sing that there is a 530 00:47:03,540 --> 00:47:11,860 Redeemer, a Redeemer who is Jesus, God's own Son. 531 00:47:11,860 --> 00:47:20,940 The Lamb of God, Messiah, Holy One, 206 is the number in your hymnal. 532 00:47:20,940 --> 00:47:24,700 Let's sing about our Redeemer and realize tonight that there are people who need to 533 00:47:24,700 --> 00:47:30,900 hear what we're singing about, lest they come to that awful day of judgment that may 534 00:47:30,900 --> 00:47:36,300 be indeed very close for those who dwell on the earth. 535 00:47:36,300 --> 00:47:51,580 Let's stand together and sing about the Redeemer, the Lamb of God. 536 00:47:51,580 --> 00:48:13,740 There is a Redeemer, Jesus, God's own Son, Precious Lamb of God, Messiah, Holy One. 537 00:48:13,740 --> 00:48:32,940 Thank you, O my Father, for giving us your Son, and leaving your spirit till the work 538 00:48:32,940 --> 00:48:38,700 on earth is done. 539 00:48:38,700 --> 00:48:57,180 Jesus, my Redeemer, name above all names, Precious Lamb of God, Messiah, Lord, sinner, 540 00:48:57,180 --> 00:49:12,140 saint. 541 00:49:12,140 --> 00:49:31,940 God's Spirit is here, His work is still being done. 542 00:49:31,940 --> 00:49:38,380 It's being done in your life and in mine and through us in the world. 543 00:49:38,380 --> 00:49:45,300 The first writer that we studied about tonight cannot come until that work that God's doing 544 00:49:45,300 --> 00:49:48,780 now in the church is finished. 545 00:49:48,780 --> 00:49:50,300 The Spirit is working today. 546 00:49:50,300 --> 00:49:52,900 We want to be where He's working. 547 00:49:52,900 --> 00:49:55,740 We want to be a part of His work. 548 00:49:55,740 --> 00:50:00,660 But there is a time when His work will cease as He's doing it now through the church, and 549 00:50:00,660 --> 00:50:06,340 we will stand in glory, caught up to be with our Lord. 550 00:50:06,340 --> 00:50:10,780 That's where John was as he viewed these things that we read about tonight. 551 00:50:10,780 --> 00:50:17,460 Let's sing that third verse about when we stand in glory and see His face together. 552 00:50:17,460 --> 00:50:29,220 When I stand in glory, I will see His face. 553 00:50:29,220 --> 00:50:40,100 There I'll serve my King forever in the holy place. 554 00:50:40,100 --> 00:50:58,100 I call my Father, forgiving us your Son, And leaving our spirit till the world ends. 555 00:50:58,100 --> 00:51:06,260 Our work on earth is done. 556 00:51:06,260 --> 00:51:07,620 Let's pray together. 557 00:51:07,620 --> 00:51:15,980 Father, we thank you that we can look upon the face of the Lamb and not be afraid, because 558 00:51:15,980 --> 00:51:21,060 this precious Lamb is our Redeemer. 559 00:51:21,060 --> 00:51:32,540 Thank you that each day, each hour, we may look to the Lamb and find in Him all that 560 00:51:32,540 --> 00:51:36,820 we need for our life and our service in this world. 561 00:51:36,820 --> 00:51:43,060 Thank you for the presence of the Holy Spirit working in us, that which is well pleasing 562 00:51:43,060 --> 00:51:49,260 in your sight, working through us to advance the gospel. 563 00:51:49,260 --> 00:51:59,380 We live in a world, Lord, that is moving toward the scene that we've looked at here in Revelation 564 00:51:59,380 --> 00:52:01,380 6. 565 00:52:01,380 --> 00:52:09,220 Father, I pray that you will fill us with great courage in these days to be the faithful 566 00:52:09,220 --> 00:52:12,820 people of God. 567 00:52:12,820 --> 00:52:20,740 In our faithfulness, we pray that you will make us fruitful as well. 568 00:52:20,740 --> 00:52:26,360 We may see others come to faith in the Lord Jesus. 569 00:52:26,360 --> 00:52:34,220 Even next Saturday night, next Sunday night, through these holidays, as we witness and 570 00:52:34,220 --> 00:52:38,700 share our faith with others, as we invite them to come here, we pray that there will 571 00:52:38,700 --> 00:52:45,340 be fruit, that you will call out to those whom you've given to the Son, for whom Jesus 572 00:52:45,340 --> 00:52:47,340 died. 573 00:52:47,340 --> 00:52:53,380 And Lord, we pray for that day. 574 00:52:53,380 --> 00:52:57,060 We pray for that day when Jesus will come. 575 00:52:57,060 --> 00:53:00,420 May it be soon. 576 00:53:00,420 --> 00:53:03,420 In His name we pray, amen. 577 00:53:03,420 --> 00:53:10,420 Good night.