WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.640 Tonight we continue on the theme of the end of 00:00:02.640 --> 00:00:07.559 the age, talking about those events which the 00:00:07.559 --> 00:00:11.939 Word of God predicts will occur at the end of 00:00:11.939 --> 00:00:16.320 the age in which we are now living. Tonight our 00:00:16.320 --> 00:00:22.440 theme is the great day of God's wrath. That phrase 00:00:22.440 --> 00:00:25.480 is taken from the book of the Revelation and 00:00:25.480 --> 00:00:27.260 the sixth chapter. I'd like you to turn there 00:00:27.260 --> 00:00:30.100 quickly with me. And then we'll turn to another 00:00:30.100 --> 00:00:34.240 more lengthy text. You'll notice at the beginning 00:00:34.240 --> 00:00:37.420 of chapter 6 we have the pouring out of the seal 00:00:37.420 --> 00:00:44.060 judgments. This is the beginning of the suffering 00:00:44.060 --> 00:00:48.579 that will come upon the earth as a result of 00:00:48.579 --> 00:00:51.939 the pouring out of God's judgment upon the world. 00:00:54.439 --> 00:00:58.159 It is such a severe experience of suffering and 00:00:58.159 --> 00:01:03.439 pain that in verse 16 those in the world said 00:01:03.439 --> 00:01:06.939 to the mountains and to the rocks fall on us 00:01:06.939 --> 00:01:10.540 and hide us from the presence of Him who sits 00:01:10.540 --> 00:01:13.799 on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb 00:01:13.799 --> 00:01:19.060 for the great day of their wrath has come and 00:01:19.060 --> 00:01:25.010 who is able to stand. Let's pray together. Father, 00:01:25.209 --> 00:01:27.969 in heaven, we pray tonight that the Holy Spirit 00:01:27.969 --> 00:01:32.069 would be our teacher of these things revealed 00:01:32.069 --> 00:01:36.810 to us in the Word, that we might know them. I 00:01:36.810 --> 00:01:39.329 pray that you will give us spiritual ears to 00:01:39.329 --> 00:01:42.390 hear not only the truth of what is said, but 00:01:42.390 --> 00:01:45.689 how those things should impact our lives as well 00:01:45.689 --> 00:01:49.310 as we look toward the end of the age. In Jesus' 00:01:49.769 --> 00:01:54.469 name, amen. The tribulation period may be called 00:01:54.469 --> 00:01:56.969 the great day of God's wrath, for that's what 00:01:56.969 --> 00:02:00.769 it is. It is a time when God officially will 00:02:00.769 --> 00:02:05.569 pour out upon the unbelieving world of men His 00:02:05.569 --> 00:02:11.949 wrath. Our Lord Jesus describes this period of 00:02:11.949 --> 00:02:16.550 time in the sermon which He gave on Mount Olivet 00:02:16.550 --> 00:02:19.490 to His disciples and recorded for us in Matthew 00:02:19.490 --> 00:02:23.639 24. I'd like you to turn there with me as we 00:02:23.639 --> 00:02:29.080 read down through a number of verses. Now the 00:02:29.080 --> 00:02:33.020 disciples were not asking about the tribulation, 00:02:34.939 --> 00:02:38.560 but they were asking about the end of the age 00:02:38.560 --> 00:02:42.860 and when the things that Jesus had talked about 00:02:42.860 --> 00:02:46.479 would occur and what the sign of His coming would 00:02:46.479 --> 00:02:51.360 be. Jesus answered two out of three of the questions. 00:02:51.639 --> 00:02:57.639 In verse four of Matthew 24, it says, And Jesus 00:02:57.639 --> 00:03:00.060 answered and said to them, See to it that no 00:03:00.060 --> 00:03:02.639 one misleads you, for many will come in my name, 00:03:02.879 --> 00:03:05.539 saying, I am the Christ and will mislead many. 00:03:06.439 --> 00:03:09.259 And you will be hearing of wars and rumors of 00:03:09.259 --> 00:03:13.520 wars. See that you are not frightened, for those 00:03:13.520 --> 00:03:16.479 things must take place, but that is not yet the 00:03:16.479 --> 00:03:21.530 end. For nation will rise against nation, and 00:03:21.530 --> 00:03:24.889 kingdom against kingdom, and in various places 00:03:24.889 --> 00:03:28.550 there will be famines and earthquakes. But all 00:03:28.550 --> 00:03:31.270 these things are merely the beginning of birth 00:03:31.270 --> 00:03:34.449 pangs." In other words, labor has just begun, 00:03:34.530 --> 00:03:38.590 but the judgment has not fully arrived. He says, 00:03:38.789 --> 00:03:42.389 then they will deliver you to tribulation. Now 00:03:42.389 --> 00:03:45.580 it would be important for us to notice Yet this 00:03:45.580 --> 00:03:48.360 word tribulation is used in a generic sense in 00:03:48.360 --> 00:03:52.379 the New Testament of the suffering, affliction, 00:03:52.659 --> 00:03:56.199 and pressure which God's people face in every 00:03:56.199 --> 00:03:59.439 age. That is the sense in which our Lord uses 00:03:59.439 --> 00:04:02.539 the term in verse 9. It says they will deliver 00:04:02.539 --> 00:04:06.819 you to suffering, to persecution, to affliction, 00:04:07.080 --> 00:04:10.219 to tribulation that is. But the word is also 00:04:10.219 --> 00:04:14.639 used as we shall see. of a period of time which 00:04:14.639 --> 00:04:20.319 is called the tribulation. Now let's go on. They 00:04:20.319 --> 00:04:23.180 will kill you and you will be hated by all nations 00:04:23.180 --> 00:04:26.379 on account of my name. And at that time many 00:04:26.379 --> 00:04:29.560 will fall away and will deliver up one another 00:04:29.560 --> 00:04:31.639 and hate one another and many false prophets 00:04:31.639 --> 00:04:34.879 will arise and will mislead many. And because 00:04:34.879 --> 00:04:37.519 lawlessness is increased, and if you want to 00:04:37.519 --> 00:04:42.019 know why, read 2 Thessalonians 2. Most people's 00:04:42.019 --> 00:04:45.480 love will grow cold, but the one who endures 00:04:45.480 --> 00:04:49.939 to the end, he shall be saved. I do not understand 00:04:49.939 --> 00:04:53.639 that to mean saved spiritually, but the Lord 00:04:53.639 --> 00:04:56.360 is simply saying that the one who endures through 00:04:56.360 --> 00:04:59.259 the sufferings of that period of time that we 00:04:59.259 --> 00:05:03.120 call the tribulation, the one who endures physically 00:05:03.120 --> 00:05:05.420 through that period of time will be saved alive 00:05:05.420 --> 00:05:08.779 and physically to enter into the kingdom. the 00:05:08.779 --> 00:05:13.420 millennial reign of Jesus Christ. And this gospel 00:05:13.420 --> 00:05:15.720 of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole 00:05:15.720 --> 00:05:18.779 world for a witness to all the nations and then 00:05:18.779 --> 00:05:22.560 the end shall come. Please understand the context 00:05:22.560 --> 00:05:25.800 of this verse. This is not something said to 00:05:25.800 --> 00:05:29.420 us today in this part of the age. We do not have 00:05:29.420 --> 00:05:32.560 to wait for the gospel to go into every nation 00:05:32.560 --> 00:05:35.199 in the world before Jesus can come back for his 00:05:35.199 --> 00:05:38.699 bride, the church. Indeed, the message that is 00:05:38.699 --> 00:05:41.620 said here, the gospel of the kingdom, is slightly 00:05:41.620 --> 00:05:44.439 different than the gospel of grace which we declare 00:05:44.439 --> 00:05:47.939 today. They will in that day be talking about 00:05:47.939 --> 00:05:50.199 the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord 00:05:50.199 --> 00:05:53.319 Jesus Christ and salvation through Him. But the 00:05:53.319 --> 00:05:55.540 emphasis of the message will be on the coming 00:05:55.540 --> 00:05:58.779 of our Lord to establish His kingdom. That is 00:05:58.779 --> 00:06:02.000 why it is called here by that specific name the 00:06:02.000 --> 00:06:04.759 gospel of the kingdom. Now, there are some people 00:06:04.759 --> 00:06:06.980 today who like to go to verse 14 and make this 00:06:06.980 --> 00:06:10.720 a great missionary verse. It is not that. It 00:06:10.720 --> 00:06:15.620 is not that. If we believe that verse 14 had 00:06:15.620 --> 00:06:19.560 to be fulfilled before our Lord could come, then 00:06:19.560 --> 00:06:22.399 His coming is not imminent. It could not happen 00:06:22.399 --> 00:06:25.600 at any moment. In fact, His coming would be further 00:06:25.600 --> 00:06:28.759 delayed now than before this time because there 00:06:28.759 --> 00:06:30.860 are more and more people who have not yet heard. 00:06:32.329 --> 00:06:35.110 And so this is a verse regarding the missionary 00:06:35.110 --> 00:06:39.209 thrust in the tribulation period. Now he says, 00:06:39.550 --> 00:06:42.430 therefore when you see the abomination of desolation, 00:06:42.449 --> 00:06:45.490 which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, 00:06:45.769 --> 00:06:48.870 standing in the holy place, let the reader understand. 00:06:49.250 --> 00:06:52.110 I hope you understand better in a minute. Then 00:06:52.110 --> 00:06:55.110 let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 00:06:55.230 --> 00:06:58.170 Let him who is on the housetop. not go down to 00:06:58.170 --> 00:07:00.310 get things out that are in his house, and let 00:07:00.310 --> 00:07:02.430 him who is in the field not turn back to get 00:07:02.430 --> 00:07:05.689 his cloak. And woe to those who are with child, 00:07:05.769 --> 00:07:08.170 and to those who nurse babes in those days, and 00:07:08.170 --> 00:07:10.250 pray that your flight may not be in winter on 00:07:10.250 --> 00:07:13.430 a Sabbath." That is when travel would not be 00:07:13.430 --> 00:07:19.389 as easy. The point is here that the time following 00:07:19.389 --> 00:07:23.310 the abomination of desolation will be a time 00:07:23.310 --> 00:07:26.410 of great suffering and persecution, especially 00:07:26.860 --> 00:07:30.980 for the Jews. All believers of God, yes, but 00:07:30.980 --> 00:07:33.519 especially for the Jews. And those, remember, 00:07:33.680 --> 00:07:36.180 are the ones to whom directly our Lord is speaking 00:07:36.180 --> 00:07:40.319 in Matthew 24. And he says the suffering will 00:07:40.319 --> 00:07:43.500 be so intense he is warning them to flee, to 00:07:43.500 --> 00:07:47.399 leave everything behind and escape from the pressures 00:07:47.399 --> 00:07:50.660 that will follow the abomination of desolations. 00:07:50.720 --> 00:07:53.120 Now we'll look in Daniel in a moment and see 00:07:53.120 --> 00:07:56.980 what that entails. He says, for then there will 00:07:56.980 --> 00:08:00.360 be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred 00:08:00.360 --> 00:08:03.480 since the beginning of the world until now, nor 00:08:03.480 --> 00:08:07.100 ever shall. And unless those days had been cut 00:08:07.100 --> 00:08:11.379 short, no life would have been saved. Verse 22 00:08:11.379 --> 00:08:13.300 does not mean that the days are going to have 00:08:13.300 --> 00:08:16.100 less daylight, as some people seem to think. 00:08:16.560 --> 00:08:18.259 But it's simply saying that that period of time 00:08:18.259 --> 00:08:24.259 is going to be cut short, ended, so that there 00:08:24.259 --> 00:08:26.120 will be those who will live through it physically. 00:08:26.360 --> 00:08:29.959 Otherwise, the period is so filled with judgment 00:08:29.959 --> 00:08:33.279 and pressures and warfare and death that no one 00:08:33.279 --> 00:08:35.980 will be left alive on the earth. He says, for 00:08:35.980 --> 00:08:39.480 the sake of the elect, those days shall be cut 00:08:39.480 --> 00:08:42.279 short. Then if anyone says to you, behold, here 00:08:42.279 --> 00:08:44.759 is Christ, or there he is, do not believe him. 00:08:45.200 --> 00:08:47.700 For false Christs and false prophets will arise 00:08:47.700 --> 00:08:50.879 and will show great signs and wonders, so as 00:08:50.879 --> 00:08:54.389 to mislead, if possible, even the elect. Behold, 00:08:54.490 --> 00:08:56.429 I have told you in advance, if therefore they 00:08:56.429 --> 00:08:58.309 say to you, Behold, he is in the wilderness, 00:08:58.409 --> 00:09:01.690 do not go forth, or behold, he that is the Messiah 00:09:01.690 --> 00:09:04.509 is in the inner rooms, do not believe them. For 00:09:04.509 --> 00:09:06.950 just as the lightning comes from the east and 00:09:06.950 --> 00:09:09.370 flashes even to the west, so shall the coming 00:09:09.370 --> 00:09:13.169 of the Son of Man be." Then Jesus closes this 00:09:13.169 --> 00:09:16.049 part by saying, wherever the corpse is, there 00:09:16.049 --> 00:09:19.690 the vultures will gather. A rather obscure statement. 00:09:20.120 --> 00:09:23.399 But, of course, a corpse involves the corruption 00:09:23.399 --> 00:09:26.779 of flesh. And he says, where there is corruption, 00:09:27.000 --> 00:09:31.179 then God sends in His clean -up crew, which are 00:09:31.179 --> 00:09:35.679 the vultures. Now, this is a proverb, apparently, 00:09:35.899 --> 00:09:38.080 that was common in that day, or at least in use 00:09:38.080 --> 00:09:40.279 in that day, and what the meaning seems to be 00:09:40.279 --> 00:09:43.860 that where there is the kind of awful moral corruption, 00:09:43.879 --> 00:09:47.110 as has been suggested, here previously in these 00:09:47.110 --> 00:09:49.509 verses, God is going to bring judgment and clean 00:09:49.509 --> 00:09:53.929 it up. That seems to be the import of it. Now 00:09:53.929 --> 00:09:56.269 let's ask the question, because Jesus mentions 00:09:56.269 --> 00:10:01.370 here the great tribulation. What is the tribulation? 00:10:02.830 --> 00:10:05.029 Our understanding of the Scriptures is that the 00:10:05.029 --> 00:10:09.350 tribulation is a seven -year period of judgment 00:10:09.350 --> 00:10:12.330 that will come upon the world. I'll explain why 00:10:12.330 --> 00:10:15.970 we say seven years in a moment. The tribulation 00:10:15.970 --> 00:10:20.330 is a period that will conclude this age, just 00:10:20.330 --> 00:10:24.429 as every age through the history of the world 00:10:24.429 --> 00:10:28.230 has concluded with a judgment, so this age will 00:10:28.230 --> 00:10:31.889 conclude with a judgment. During that period 00:10:31.889 --> 00:10:35.850 of time, the Lord is going to once again resume 00:10:35.850 --> 00:10:39.070 His dealings directly with the nation of Israel. 00:10:40.130 --> 00:10:42.690 Israel in this period of time, as Paul explains 00:10:42.690 --> 00:10:47.450 in Romans chapter 11, has been set aside so that 00:10:47.450 --> 00:10:51.230 the times of the Gentiles might be fulfilled. 00:10:53.070 --> 00:10:55.809 Now when that period of time described that way 00:10:55.809 --> 00:10:58.389 is fulfilled, and we understand that to mean 00:10:58.389 --> 00:11:01.549 the calling out of the church, which is primarily 00:11:01.549 --> 00:11:05.450 Gentile in its composition, then our Lord is 00:11:05.450 --> 00:11:08.529 going to once again take up Israel and deal with 00:11:08.529 --> 00:11:12.389 that nation. and through a period of purging 00:11:12.389 --> 00:11:15.970 will bring the nation to faith and then to millennial 00:11:15.970 --> 00:11:20.450 blessing. The tribulation period will follow 00:11:20.450 --> 00:11:23.470 the rapture of the church. Why do I say that? 00:11:23.529 --> 00:11:27.590 Because it is a period of wrath which will come 00:11:27.590 --> 00:11:31.529 upon the world and as we saw, I think it was 00:11:31.529 --> 00:11:34.590 last week, wasn't it? Last Sunday night. The 00:11:34.590 --> 00:11:38.000 church is not appointed to wrath. but rather 00:11:38.000 --> 00:11:42.399 to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:11:43.000 --> 00:11:44.980 And so we believe that the Church is going to 00:11:44.980 --> 00:11:49.899 be caught out of the world before the tribulation 00:11:49.899 --> 00:11:53.259 period comes upon the earth. It will depart for 00:11:53.259 --> 00:11:58.480 that place prepared for us by the Savior. Now 00:11:58.480 --> 00:12:00.419 I'd like for you to turn with me to the book 00:12:00.419 --> 00:12:03.580 of Daniel where we will gain some insight, I 00:12:03.580 --> 00:12:06.299 trust, as to why we're talking about a seven 00:12:06.299 --> 00:12:11.570 year period of time. When we talk about the tribulation 00:12:11.570 --> 00:12:14.190 we must remember that we're not talking about 00:12:14.190 --> 00:12:17.230 a subject that is only revealed in the New Testament. 00:12:18.509 --> 00:12:20.629 We're talking about something that was spoken 00:12:20.629 --> 00:12:24.230 of in the prophets of the Old Testament as well. 00:12:25.529 --> 00:12:28.909 We're going to look in Daniel at the ninth chapter. 00:12:31.250 --> 00:12:34.590 Where Daniel is given after a lengthy time of 00:12:34.590 --> 00:12:39.059 prayer some understanding regarding the future 00:12:39.059 --> 00:12:43.799 of his people, Israel. Now remember that Daniel 00:12:43.799 --> 00:12:47.860 was a Jew. He had been taken away into Babylonian 00:12:47.860 --> 00:12:50.940 captivity in the first excursion into the land 00:12:50.940 --> 00:12:55.240 by Nebuchadnezzar. He was taken as a young man, 00:12:55.440 --> 00:12:58.600 made a eunuch, and there was given assignment 00:12:58.600 --> 00:13:03.720 within the palace of the great king, Nebuchadnezzar. 00:13:04.620 --> 00:13:09.259 He was not only a statesman of that pagan and 00:13:09.259 --> 00:13:14.259 Gentile country, as time went on, but preeminently 00:13:14.259 --> 00:13:18.120 Daniel was a man of God, a prophet of God, to 00:13:18.120 --> 00:13:23.440 whom God was pleased to reveal insights and understanding 00:13:23.440 --> 00:13:27.820 regarding things to come, not only in his day, 00:13:28.220 --> 00:13:34.639 but throughout this whole age. Now, Daniel 9, 00:13:34.639 --> 00:13:40.600 24, the heavenly being says to Daniel, Daniel 00:13:40.600 --> 00:13:47.179 9, 24, 70 weeks have been decreed for your people 00:13:47.179 --> 00:13:51.259 and your holy city. Now, let's notice immediately 00:13:51.259 --> 00:13:54.379 that he is speaking here about the Jews and the 00:13:54.379 --> 00:14:00.440 city of Jerusalem. God, it says here, has decreed. 00:14:00.440 --> 00:14:09.259 That is, has set aside 70 weeks to culminate 00:14:09.259 --> 00:14:15.860 his purposes for the Jewish nation. The word 00:14:15.860 --> 00:14:20.019 weeks here literally is sevens in the Hebrew. 00:14:21.519 --> 00:14:24.139 Therefore, Bible commentators take this not to 00:14:24.139 --> 00:14:32.039 mean 70 weeks of seven days, but 70 periods of 00:14:32.039 --> 00:14:40.299 sevens. Each seven is a year of time, not a day. 00:14:40.679 --> 00:14:43.460 It's not a day of a week, but it's a seven, it's 00:14:43.460 --> 00:14:46.379 a period of seven years. And he says that there 00:14:46.379 --> 00:14:52.899 are 70 periods of seven years which God has decreed 00:14:52.899 --> 00:14:56.639 for the nation of Israel. Now he goes on to say 00:14:56.639 --> 00:15:00.179 as those weeks transpire, this is what will happen, 00:15:00.279 --> 00:15:04.419 to finish the transgression. That seems to be 00:15:04.419 --> 00:15:06.899 a reference to the apostasy of the nation of 00:15:06.899 --> 00:15:09.700 Israel, the reason that they were at the very 00:15:09.700 --> 00:15:16.039 time that Daniel heard this, in captivity. And 00:15:16.039 --> 00:15:20.120 he says to make an end of sin, that is to seal 00:15:20.120 --> 00:15:25.759 up sin, the idea seemingly by judging it. To 00:15:25.759 --> 00:15:29.580 make an atonement for iniquity, believed to be 00:15:29.580 --> 00:15:32.539 a reference to the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:15:33.399 --> 00:15:36.759 To bring in everlasting righteousness, which 00:15:36.759 --> 00:15:40.240 may well refer to the kingdom. In other words, 00:15:40.519 --> 00:15:42.620 these seventy weeks will lead right up to that 00:15:42.620 --> 00:15:45.500 point, the bringing in of a righteous kingdom. 00:15:46.120 --> 00:15:49.080 And then he says, to seal up visions and prophecies 00:15:49.080 --> 00:15:54.049 and to anoint the most holy place. Now we don't 00:15:54.049 --> 00:15:56.409 have time to look at every phrase here tonight 00:15:56.409 --> 00:15:59.190 or we're going to be here a long time. So let's 00:15:59.190 --> 00:16:02.269 move ahead. Verse 25. So you are to know and 00:16:02.269 --> 00:16:07.350 discern that from the issuing of a decree to 00:16:07.350 --> 00:16:15.190 restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the 00:16:15.190 --> 00:16:21.090 Prince there shall be seven weeks and sixty -two 00:16:21.090 --> 00:16:24.940 weeks. Now, we're not fully understanding as 00:16:24.940 --> 00:16:28.000 to why he broke those down just the way he did, 00:16:28.000 --> 00:16:32.799 but notice that the total is 69 periods of seven 00:16:32.799 --> 00:16:38.799 years, or 483 years. So here is the specific 00:16:38.799 --> 00:16:42.720 prophecy given to Daniel. From the time the decree 00:16:42.720 --> 00:16:45.980 would go out to rebuild Jerusalem until the time 00:16:45.980 --> 00:16:49.759 of Messiah the Prince, there would be 483 years. 00:16:50.539 --> 00:16:53.799 There is a clock. that God puts up on the shelf 00:16:53.799 --> 00:17:00.320 in this verse. It begins to tick when the decree 00:17:00.320 --> 00:17:02.580 goes out to rebuild Jerusalem. Now, when did 00:17:02.580 --> 00:17:06.960 that happen? Well, again, Bible commentators 00:17:06.960 --> 00:17:10.779 differ on this slightly, but only slightly. However, 00:17:11.200 --> 00:17:15.440 most believe that the clock began to move when 00:17:15.440 --> 00:17:24.519 the decree went out in 4 445 B .C. in the days 00:17:24.519 --> 00:17:29.180 of Nehemiah for the rebuilding of the city and 00:17:29.180 --> 00:17:32.680 its walls. You can read about that in Nehemiah 00:17:32.680 --> 00:17:36.779 chapter 2. And so the clock began to move in 00:17:36.779 --> 00:17:44.619 445 or 444 B .C. And it began to move for 483 00:17:44.619 --> 00:17:49.049 years. Now, if you're interested in trying to 00:17:49.049 --> 00:17:51.950 figure this out to the very year, there are some 00:17:51.950 --> 00:17:54.369 complications in doing that, including this, 00:17:54.829 --> 00:17:57.809 that these years are not solar years, but lunar 00:17:57.809 --> 00:18:02.690 years of 360 days exactly. And so our calendar 00:18:02.690 --> 00:18:07.250 is based upon a solar year of 365 or 66 days, 00:18:07.549 --> 00:18:10.349 and you have to compensate for that in your calculations. 00:18:10.940 --> 00:18:13.039 And if you're interested in reading about that, 00:18:13.220 --> 00:18:15.420 there are a number of commentaries that go into 00:18:15.420 --> 00:18:19.279 detail about it. But the point I want you to 00:18:19.279 --> 00:18:22.799 notice is that in 445 BC, the clock began to 00:18:22.799 --> 00:18:29.000 move until Messiah the Prince. It would seem 00:18:29.000 --> 00:18:31.680 as though this is when Messiah was officially 00:18:31.680 --> 00:18:35.400 presented to the Jewish nation. It does not seem 00:18:35.400 --> 00:18:38.400 to refer to his coming to the earth at Bethlehem. 00:18:38.509 --> 00:18:41.930 But some years later, during his public ministry, 00:18:42.509 --> 00:18:45.529 when he officially presented himself to the Jewish 00:18:45.529 --> 00:18:50.309 people as their Messiah and King, and at which 00:18:50.309 --> 00:18:54.170 time, by the way, they rejected him as a nation. 00:18:56.869 --> 00:19:00.150 483 years to that point. Now it goes on to say 00:19:00.150 --> 00:19:02.190 in the verse, it will be built again, that is 00:19:02.190 --> 00:19:04.829 the city, with plaza and moat, even in times 00:19:04.829 --> 00:19:08.900 of distress. You can read Nehemiah. and Ezra 00:19:08.900 --> 00:19:12.519 and understand what those words mean. And then 00:19:12.519 --> 00:19:17.559 in verse 26 it says, then after the 62 weeks, 00:19:19.200 --> 00:19:21.819 now that's the 62 weeks that follows the original 00:19:21.819 --> 00:19:24.720 seven weeks that he mentions in verse 25 where 00:19:24.720 --> 00:19:29.640 he told of 69 weeks, after that, after the 483 00:19:29.640 --> 00:19:35.220 years, the Messiah will be cut off. Notice that. 00:19:35.529 --> 00:19:39.609 because that is a reference to Calvary. It does 00:19:39.609 --> 00:19:44.150 not seem to be included in the last or the 69th 00:19:44.150 --> 00:19:48.190 week, but rather after that period has been fulfilled. 00:19:48.230 --> 00:19:50.789 It would seem to be after he is rejected by the 00:19:50.789 --> 00:19:54.529 nation. Then some time later he is cut off, referring 00:19:54.529 --> 00:19:57.410 to the cross, and he will have nothing, that 00:19:57.410 --> 00:20:00.809 is nothing of the rights, the royal rights that 00:20:00.809 --> 00:20:04.589 are his as the king of that people. And the people 00:20:05.099 --> 00:20:09.240 of the prince who is to come. You have to go 00:20:09.240 --> 00:20:12.420 back to Daniel 7 to understand that. It's a reference 00:20:12.420 --> 00:20:16.720 to the Antichrist. The people of the prince who 00:20:16.720 --> 00:20:20.759 is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. 00:20:22.799 --> 00:20:27.839 That occurred after Calvary, about 40 years later, 00:20:28.559 --> 00:20:32.619 in 70 AD, when the Roman armies, under General 00:20:32.619 --> 00:20:36.559 Titus, destroyed the city of Jerusalem and the 00:20:36.559 --> 00:20:40.039 Jewish temple, completely leveling it and taking 00:20:40.039 --> 00:20:43.880 away Jews, dispersing them throughout the Roman 00:20:43.880 --> 00:20:48.400 Empire. And so every word here that is given 00:20:48.400 --> 00:20:52.920 to Daniel is one that is fulfilled in history, 00:20:53.019 --> 00:20:55.680 either already fulfilled or shall be fulfilled. 00:20:57.180 --> 00:20:59.740 Now it says it will come with a flood even to 00:20:59.740 --> 00:21:02.839 the end, there will be war, desolations are determined. 00:21:03.390 --> 00:21:07.150 And he will make a firm covenant. Now the question 00:21:07.150 --> 00:21:11.549 is, who is he? Well, you have to back up to find 00:21:11.549 --> 00:21:17.029 out. The closest antecedent is the prince who 00:21:17.029 --> 00:21:23.250 will come in verse 26. And so verse 27 refers 00:21:23.250 --> 00:21:27.670 to Antichrist. And he, Antichrist, will make 00:21:27.670 --> 00:21:33.329 a firm covenant with the many for one week. the 00:21:33.329 --> 00:21:36.450 many here referring to the Jewish people in that 00:21:36.450 --> 00:21:40.910 day, a yet future day. And notice how long the 00:21:40.910 --> 00:21:45.150 covenant will be for, one week. So here is the 00:21:45.150 --> 00:21:50.150 70th week, 69 weeks ticked off on God's clock 00:21:50.150 --> 00:21:54.069 until the time Messiah was rejected, leaving 00:21:54.069 --> 00:21:58.150 one week, the 70th week, yet to be fulfilled. 00:21:59.650 --> 00:22:02.250 Now we know from the perspective where we live 00:22:02.250 --> 00:22:06.769 today that between the 69th week and that final 00:22:06.769 --> 00:22:12.230 week of years, of seven years, there is a whole 00:22:12.230 --> 00:22:16.970 age of time. Daniel was not given to see that. 00:22:17.769 --> 00:22:20.130 It is a mystery that is revealed to us in the 00:22:20.130 --> 00:22:23.170 New Testament. Paul calls it a mystery in Ephesians 00:22:23.170 --> 00:22:27.279 3, as we studied a few weeks ago. It was not 00:22:27.279 --> 00:22:30.200 revealed then, but when the clock stopped on 00:22:30.200 --> 00:22:33.759 the nation of Israel, God had a whole other purpose, 00:22:33.900 --> 00:22:37.240 and that is the purpose of the church, calling 00:22:37.240 --> 00:22:40.940 out in this age a people to belong to Jesus Christ 00:22:40.940 --> 00:22:44.720 as his bride, as his body. But the clock has 00:22:44.720 --> 00:22:47.859 yet to strike for that 70th final week. Here 00:22:47.859 --> 00:22:52.480 it is. Now when that week comes, Antichrist is 00:22:52.480 --> 00:22:56.400 going to make a covenant with the Jews. It seems 00:22:56.400 --> 00:23:00.380 as though that covenant will be to provide peace 00:23:00.380 --> 00:23:03.480 for Israel. I want you to know tonight there 00:23:03.480 --> 00:23:06.440 is nothing that the Jewish people long for more 00:23:06.440 --> 00:23:11.680 in Israel than peace. Because they have been 00:23:11.680 --> 00:23:14.220 a persecuted people down through the centuries. 00:23:15.240 --> 00:23:19.160 And today they bristle with armaments that they 00:23:19.160 --> 00:23:22.420 might protect themselves against those who would 00:23:22.420 --> 00:23:26.440 destroy them. They want peace in their borders, 00:23:27.220 --> 00:23:33.160 and Antichrist will guarantee them peace for 00:23:33.160 --> 00:23:36.539 that covenant period of seven years. However, 00:23:37.200 --> 00:23:41.960 Daniel is told, in the middle of the week, that 00:23:41.960 --> 00:23:47.779 is after three and one half years, he, Antichrist, 00:23:48.200 --> 00:23:51.380 will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering. 00:23:52.839 --> 00:23:55.619 Now this introduces another thought to us, and 00:23:55.619 --> 00:24:00.539 that is that in that time the Jews will reconstruct 00:24:00.539 --> 00:24:05.599 a temple in Jerusalem. There are those who say 00:24:05.599 --> 00:24:08.119 that the materials are all stored already in 00:24:08.119 --> 00:24:11.660 the city of Jerusalem, that the plans have all 00:24:11.660 --> 00:24:15.680 been drawn up, but there is a terrible geographical 00:24:15.680 --> 00:24:19.420 and even more political problem, and that is 00:24:19.420 --> 00:24:23.650 that the place where the temple belongs The place 00:24:23.650 --> 00:24:26.230 where they will build the temple is now occupied 00:24:26.230 --> 00:24:33.089 by Muslim holy sites, by two mosques. And of 00:24:33.089 --> 00:24:36.109 course, were the Jews to destroy the mosques 00:24:36.109 --> 00:24:39.009 in order to build their temple, we would have 00:24:39.009 --> 00:24:41.869 World War III up through World War 100 in one 00:24:41.869 --> 00:24:45.890 minute. And so they have a terrific problem today. 00:24:45.950 --> 00:24:48.109 We believe they are ready to build that temple. 00:24:48.190 --> 00:24:51.319 There is indication of that. But they are on 00:24:51.319 --> 00:24:54.480 hold waiting for the right moment for it to happen 00:24:54.480 --> 00:24:57.740 and so they will offer again their sacrifices 00:24:57.740 --> 00:25:00.940 and that will be a part of their life as a nation 00:25:00.940 --> 00:25:03.599 at the beginning of the tribulation and a Christ 00:25:03.599 --> 00:25:05.640 will approve that until the middle of the week 00:25:05.640 --> 00:25:09.539 and then he will say that's enough and It says 00:25:09.539 --> 00:25:14.299 on the wing of abominations Will come one who 00:25:14.299 --> 00:25:17.769 makes desolate? So you see, here's where Jesus 00:25:17.769 --> 00:25:21.009 gets that phrase, the abomination of desolations. 00:25:21.589 --> 00:25:25.210 Even until a complete destruction, one that is 00:25:25.210 --> 00:25:27.990 decreed is poured out on the one who makes desolate. 00:25:30.569 --> 00:25:33.390 Our time does not allow us to look at other passages, 00:25:33.490 --> 00:25:35.549 but let me summarize for you that what takes 00:25:35.549 --> 00:25:39.670 place is this. At this point in that seven -year 00:25:39.670 --> 00:25:42.880 period, at the halfway point, Antichrist will 00:25:42.880 --> 00:25:46.160 insist that the Jews stop offering their offerings 00:25:46.160 --> 00:25:50.740 and that they begin to worship him as their Messiah. 00:25:53.019 --> 00:25:55.740 And to bring that to pass, he will cause the 00:25:55.740 --> 00:25:58.940 offerings to cease and will establish in that 00:25:58.940 --> 00:26:02.640 reconstructed temple in Jerusalem an image of 00:26:02.640 --> 00:26:06.720 himself. An image we are told in the book of 00:26:06.720 --> 00:26:11.200 Revelation which will speak. It will be an amazing 00:26:11.359 --> 00:26:15.539 image and we understand today with all the computer 00:26:15.539 --> 00:26:18.740 technology available as to how that might happen 00:26:18.740 --> 00:26:25.640 he will insist the Jewish people worship him 00:26:25.640 --> 00:26:28.599 at that image in their temple and that is what 00:26:28.599 --> 00:26:33.059 is called the abomination of desolations. It 00:26:33.059 --> 00:26:37.240 was prefigured in what Antiochus did in the times 00:26:37.240 --> 00:26:41.730 of the Maccabees when he slew a pig upon the 00:26:41.730 --> 00:26:44.549 altar in Jerusalem. The pig, an unclean animal 00:26:44.549 --> 00:26:48.769 to the Jews, was slain there, defiling the temple. 00:26:49.910 --> 00:26:53.329 It was an abomination of desolations of sort, 00:26:53.750 --> 00:26:56.609 but in that day, Antichrist will give the complete 00:26:56.609 --> 00:26:59.470 fulfillment of that when he commands that the 00:26:59.470 --> 00:27:02.410 Jewish people worship him. And so, in the middle 00:27:02.410 --> 00:27:05.730 of that tribulation period, he will begin to 00:27:05.730 --> 00:27:09.680 turn on the Jews. and he will begin to persecute 00:27:09.680 --> 00:27:12.920 them as a people and will show himself certainly 00:27:12.920 --> 00:27:17.180 be no friend of the Jews. Now we're going to 00:27:17.180 --> 00:27:19.940 look more in detail at the person of Antichrist 00:27:19.940 --> 00:27:23.079 on another occasion, so you'll have to come back 00:27:23.079 --> 00:27:25.359 for that. We're talking tonight about the seven 00:27:25.359 --> 00:27:28.079 -year period. I wanted to show you where we get 00:27:28.079 --> 00:27:31.099 the seven years. The seven years goes all the 00:27:31.099 --> 00:27:34.440 way back into Jewish history and to Jewish prophecy. 00:27:35.029 --> 00:27:38.150 It is a seven -year period that God is waiting 00:27:38.150 --> 00:27:42.609 to fulfill at the appropriate moment. Now what 00:27:42.609 --> 00:27:45.170 will it be like during the tribulation period? 00:27:45.789 --> 00:27:49.230 Well, let me just review with you, for many of 00:27:49.230 --> 00:27:51.490 you that is what this is, review, for others 00:27:51.490 --> 00:27:54.349 of you this may be new material, but let me just 00:27:54.349 --> 00:27:57.150 quickly review with you what the world will be 00:27:57.150 --> 00:27:59.430 like in the tribulation period. Let's think first 00:27:59.430 --> 00:28:04.000 politically and militarily. And here we're bringing 00:28:04.000 --> 00:28:07.000 together a number of passages from Revelation, 00:28:07.359 --> 00:28:11.319 from Daniel, from Ezekiel and other places. It 00:28:11.319 --> 00:28:14.579 seems as though that there will be five great 00:28:14.579 --> 00:28:19.299 power blocks in the world in that day. Today 00:28:19.299 --> 00:28:22.839 I suppose we might say that we have two superpowers 00:28:22.839 --> 00:28:26.799 with other major powers and then third world 00:28:26.799 --> 00:28:29.970 powers. But in that day it seems that there will 00:28:29.970 --> 00:28:35.589 be five power blocks that will be militarily 00:28:35.589 --> 00:28:39.309 and politically jockeying to control that key 00:28:39.309 --> 00:28:42.349 part of the Middle East occupied by the nation 00:28:42.349 --> 00:28:48.170 of Israel. We do not know exactly who these power 00:28:48.170 --> 00:28:50.130 blocks are, but they are identified in the Bible 00:28:50.130 --> 00:28:54.619 by these terms. The King of the North. And I 00:28:54.619 --> 00:28:56.759 remember as a kid when I read that phrase, I 00:28:56.759 --> 00:29:02.920 thought, well, that's Canada. We are very oriented 00:29:02.920 --> 00:29:05.920 to the United States, but remember that prophetically, 00:29:06.440 --> 00:29:09.019 the focus is not the United States, it's Israel. 00:29:09.819 --> 00:29:11.680 And so when we talk about the King of the North, 00:29:11.720 --> 00:29:14.619 you have to go north of Israel, geographically. 00:29:15.640 --> 00:29:19.039 And there today, you find Arab powers, radical 00:29:19.039 --> 00:29:24.180 Arab powers. Perhaps that will be the case in 00:29:24.180 --> 00:29:26.240 the days of the tribulation. Then there is the 00:29:26.240 --> 00:29:31.420 King of the South, which is most often referred 00:29:31.420 --> 00:29:35.279 to as Egypt, and those powers aligned with Egypt 00:29:35.279 --> 00:29:38.960 to the south of Israel. There are the Kings of 00:29:38.960 --> 00:29:45.579 the East, an Asiatic power, perhaps a conglomeration 00:29:45.579 --> 00:29:49.160 of powers, which will march on the Holy Land 00:29:49.160 --> 00:29:54.279 at a particular point. And then there is a Western 00:29:54.279 --> 00:29:58.859 power that will be a revived form of the Roman 00:29:58.859 --> 00:30:04.920 Empire. That's why Daniel speaks of the people 00:30:04.920 --> 00:30:08.539 of the prince who will come. That's the Roman 00:30:08.539 --> 00:30:13.799 Empire, which collapsed under its own immorality 00:30:13.799 --> 00:30:18.180 and corruption in that day, but which was never 00:30:18.180 --> 00:30:23.190 destroyed in a sense. which has lain dormant, 00:30:23.529 --> 00:30:27.569 but which will congeal once again. Now there 00:30:27.569 --> 00:30:30.589 are those who believe that we see, maybe the 00:30:30.589 --> 00:30:33.690 beginnings of that at least, in the common market. 00:30:34.529 --> 00:30:38.670 Economically those similar nations that comprise 00:30:38.670 --> 00:30:42.569 the old Roman Empire coming together. And so 00:30:42.569 --> 00:30:45.970 there will be the revived Roman Empire and that 00:30:45.970 --> 00:30:52.400 is the source, the origin. politically, nationally, 00:30:52.940 --> 00:30:55.339 for Antichrist. He will come out of that power 00:30:55.339 --> 00:30:59.220 block. And then there seems to be a fifth power 00:30:59.220 --> 00:31:05.140 block in Russia. Or at least a power far to the 00:31:05.140 --> 00:31:08.859 north, which is specifically mentioned in Ezekiel 00:31:08.859 --> 00:31:14.119 38 and 39. So politically and militarily there 00:31:14.119 --> 00:31:17.279 will be these power blocks. which at various 00:31:17.279 --> 00:31:22.460 times will make moves against Israel. Their final 00:31:22.460 --> 00:31:27.440 move will involve the Battle of Armageddon, which 00:31:27.440 --> 00:31:30.259 is the great military movement at the end of 00:31:30.259 --> 00:31:33.759 the seven -year period which will be culminated 00:31:33.759 --> 00:31:37.220 by Christ's return from heaven and the destruction 00:31:37.220 --> 00:31:42.059 of the world armies. Then what will this time 00:31:42.059 --> 00:31:46.130 be like morally, socially, economically? Well, 00:31:46.130 --> 00:31:48.589 we can say it will be a time of lawlessness which 00:31:48.589 --> 00:31:52.690 will abound as Jesus said a time of corruption 00:31:52.690 --> 00:31:56.950 a time of perversion It seems as though socially 00:31:56.950 --> 00:31:59.769 it will be a time when there will be a rather 00:31:59.769 --> 00:32:04.170 strict class structure Unlike what we enjoy in 00:32:04.170 --> 00:32:07.809 our Republic where the the class distinctions 00:32:07.809 --> 00:32:11.789 are rather vague It seems from Revelation 6 15 00:32:11.789 --> 00:32:16.720 that there will be rather strict classes of peoples 00:32:16.720 --> 00:32:20.440 in the society of that day. And economically, 00:32:20.720 --> 00:32:24.859 the world economy will come together. And if 00:32:24.859 --> 00:32:28.259 you read about economy, you will notice that 00:32:28.259 --> 00:32:30.819 there is pressure today for a world economy. 00:32:30.900 --> 00:32:33.299 No longer can we have national economies, we 00:32:33.299 --> 00:32:36.660 are told. We need a world economy. And that world 00:32:36.660 --> 00:32:38.880 economy eventually will come under the control 00:32:38.880 --> 00:32:42.519 of the world dictator, Antichrist. Well, it will 00:32:42.519 --> 00:32:45.279 be like spiritually. There will be two messages 00:32:45.279 --> 00:32:48.059 preached in the tribulation period. On the one 00:32:48.059 --> 00:32:50.700 hand, the truth of Jesus Christ will be preached. 00:32:51.859 --> 00:32:54.480 The gospel will be preached with that special 00:32:54.480 --> 00:32:57.759 emphasis on the coming kingdom. And therefore 00:32:57.759 --> 00:33:00.759 it's called the gospel of the kingdom. On the 00:33:00.759 --> 00:33:04.960 other hand, there is the lie of Antichrist, which 00:33:04.960 --> 00:33:14.500 will sweep many away. Some will believe. each 00:33:14.500 --> 00:33:17.720 of these messages. The majority will believe 00:33:17.720 --> 00:33:20.119 the lie, but there will be many who will believe 00:33:20.119 --> 00:33:24.140 the gospel. In the early chapters of Revelation, 00:33:24.440 --> 00:33:29.279 there are 144 ,000 Jews who are sealed by God 00:33:29.279 --> 00:33:33.539 Almighty as His special servants in that tribulation 00:33:33.539 --> 00:33:36.140 period, and it may well be that they will become 00:33:36.140 --> 00:33:40.140 evangelists to preach the gospel of the kingdom 00:33:40.140 --> 00:33:44.869 to the world. There will be great apostasy in 00:33:44.869 --> 00:33:47.710 that period of time and there will be many martyrs 00:33:47.710 --> 00:33:51.410 many martyrs many will lay down their lives for 00:33:51.410 --> 00:33:55.910 Jesus Christ in the tribulation period Nationally 00:33:55.910 --> 00:33:59.390 for Israel it is called the time of Jacob's trouble 00:33:59.390 --> 00:34:05.509 Jeremiah 30 verses 1 through 9 Two -thirds of 00:34:05.509 --> 00:34:08.090 those who live in Israel and that day will be 00:34:08.090 --> 00:34:13.659 killed Zechariah 13 8 It will be a day of grief 00:34:13.659 --> 00:34:18.980 and desperate sorrow, Isaiah 17, 11. What we 00:34:18.980 --> 00:34:25.159 see for the nation of Israel is an awful time 00:34:25.159 --> 00:34:30.039 of holocaust which will cause Hitler's years 00:34:30.039 --> 00:34:35.639 to pale by comparison. The worst days the Jewish 00:34:35.639 --> 00:34:39.340 people have ever experienced, I am sad to say, 00:34:40.199 --> 00:34:44.079 seem to be still ahead. for them as a nation. 00:34:45.460 --> 00:34:48.400 And folks, that is one reason we need to be today 00:34:48.400 --> 00:34:52.239 preaching the gospel to the Jewish people. We 00:34:52.239 --> 00:34:54.400 need to be concerned about preaching the gospel 00:34:54.400 --> 00:34:58.260 that they might be one to the Savior and be spared 00:34:58.260 --> 00:35:01.000 not only from hell to come but also from this 00:35:01.000 --> 00:35:04.340 time of national sorrow that I believe will come 00:35:04.340 --> 00:35:07.219 upon some who are alive on the earth today. I 00:35:07.219 --> 00:35:09.440 believe we are entering into this period of time. 00:35:09.780 --> 00:35:12.280 How will God judge the world in the tribulation 00:35:12.280 --> 00:35:15.000 period? Well, in about two minutes, I'm going 00:35:15.000 --> 00:35:18.400 to condense Revelation chapters 4 through 19. 00:35:19.980 --> 00:35:23.019 First of all, it is going to be the time of God's 00:35:23.019 --> 00:35:25.199 wrath being poured out upon the earth. Revelation 00:35:25.199 --> 00:35:29.679 6, 17. We read that earlier. God's wrath is going 00:35:29.679 --> 00:35:32.860 to involve the pouring out of several series 00:35:32.860 --> 00:35:36.679 of judgments. In the first three and a half year 00:35:36.679 --> 00:35:40.239 period, and may I just remind you that the Bible 00:35:40.239 --> 00:35:43.059 does divide the seven years into two periods 00:35:43.059 --> 00:35:47.559 of time. Of a time and times and a half a time, 00:35:48.019 --> 00:35:51.880 or 42 months, or 1260 days, or three and a half 00:35:51.880 --> 00:35:55.159 years, all those phrases are used. In the first 00:35:55.159 --> 00:35:58.360 half of the tribulation period, there will be 00:35:58.360 --> 00:36:04.679 seals, seven seals, and seven judgments. of judgment 00:36:04.679 --> 00:36:08.400 poured out upon the earth. Seven seals and seven 00:36:08.400 --> 00:36:11.619 trumpets of judgment poured out upon the earth. 00:36:12.119 --> 00:36:14.980 And as a result of that, the population will 00:36:14.980 --> 00:36:19.699 be given to follow Antichrist as a rule. There 00:36:19.699 --> 00:36:22.639 will be unprecedented warfare upon the earth. 00:36:23.780 --> 00:36:27.760 Famine will become worldwide. There will be unparalleled 00:36:27.760 --> 00:36:32.489 death by war, famine, and interestingly by the 00:36:32.489 --> 00:36:36.969 ravaging of beasts. There will be anarchy and 00:36:36.969 --> 00:36:40.429 lawlessness upon the earth and great natural 00:36:40.429 --> 00:36:44.409 disasters which will be of supernatural origin. 00:36:44.690 --> 00:36:48.849 They will include one -third of all of the trees 00:36:48.849 --> 00:36:52.429 and grass of the earth being burned, one -third 00:36:52.429 --> 00:36:56.070 of the oceans of the world turned to blood, one 00:36:56.070 --> 00:36:58.710 -third of the sea creatures and ships destroyed 00:36:58.710 --> 00:37:02.280 in a disaster. One third of the fresh water in 00:37:02.280 --> 00:37:05.760 the world made undrinkable. One third of sunlight, 00:37:06.019 --> 00:37:09.039 moonlight, and stars quenched so that there will 00:37:09.039 --> 00:37:13.739 be a supernatural dusk that will come upon the 00:37:13.739 --> 00:37:17.360 world even in the daytime. There will be five 00:37:17.360 --> 00:37:21.760 months of torment by a stinging, hideous -looking 00:37:21.760 --> 00:37:24.719 locust described in the book of the Revelation. 00:37:25.300 --> 00:37:28.559 Locusts which seem to have some kind of demonic 00:37:28.559 --> 00:37:33.869 attachment. As a result of these judgments, first 00:37:33.869 --> 00:37:37.769 one -fourth and then one -third of the world 00:37:37.769 --> 00:37:42.010 population will die. Now you figure that out 00:37:42.010 --> 00:37:47.010 and over one -half of the world population will 00:37:47.010 --> 00:37:50.429 in the three and a half years of the first three 00:37:50.429 --> 00:37:52.670 and a half years of the tribulation be killed 00:37:52.670 --> 00:37:56.210 as a result of this judgment poured out upon 00:37:56.210 --> 00:37:59.590 the earth, seven -twelfths. of the world population 00:37:59.590 --> 00:38:03.190 which is said to be five billion by the year 00:38:03.190 --> 00:38:07.769 2000. In the midst of the tribulation period 00:38:07.769 --> 00:38:11.289 Satan will be cast out upon the earth to direct 00:38:11.289 --> 00:38:14.230 his warfare against God and men and especially 00:38:14.230 --> 00:38:16.869 against believers and Jewish believers at that. 00:38:18.090 --> 00:38:20.809 And then in the last seven, excuse me, the last 00:38:20.809 --> 00:38:24.150 three and a half years seven judgments will be 00:38:24.150 --> 00:38:28.150 poured out upon the earth. Beginning in Revelation 00:38:28.150 --> 00:38:33.550 chapter 16, they are described to us judgments 00:38:33.550 --> 00:38:37.570 of great intensity, so great that this is called 00:38:37.570 --> 00:38:42.710 the Great Tribulation. These judgments will involve 00:38:42.710 --> 00:38:49.829 a foul, painful sore and boil which will be upon 00:38:49.829 --> 00:38:55.190 men. The entire sea will be turned as blood of 00:38:55.190 --> 00:38:58.989 dead men. so that every sea creature will die. 00:39:00.429 --> 00:39:03.750 All fresh water in that last period of time will 00:39:03.750 --> 00:39:06.590 become as blood. As it says in Revelation 16 00:39:06.590 --> 00:39:09.769 6, they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, 00:39:10.349 --> 00:39:13.429 and thou hast given them blood to drink, for 00:39:13.429 --> 00:39:17.710 they are worthy. The sun will have power in that 00:39:17.710 --> 00:39:20.929 period of time, it says, to scorch men with fire. 00:39:21.640 --> 00:39:24.559 And yet, Antichrist's kingdom will be filled 00:39:24.559 --> 00:39:27.239 with a supernatural darkness that will come upon 00:39:27.239 --> 00:39:30.699 it. Once again, great natural disasters will 00:39:30.699 --> 00:39:34.679 take place. Earthquakes, which will cause whole 00:39:34.679 --> 00:39:38.840 islands to disappear beneath the waves, mountains 00:39:38.840 --> 00:39:41.980 to crumble and fall, and entire metropolitan 00:39:41.980 --> 00:39:45.599 areas to be destroyed. Earthquakes, as it says 00:39:45.599 --> 00:39:49.619 in Revelation 16, 18, such as was not since men 00:39:49.619 --> 00:39:53.130 were upon the earth. And it says that there will 00:39:53.130 --> 00:39:57.449 be storms in that day involving hailstones of 00:39:57.449 --> 00:40:02.309 the weight of 100 pounds. And it says the plague 00:40:02.309 --> 00:40:06.550 was exceedingly great. And so during the first 00:40:06.550 --> 00:40:08.610 three and a half years of the tribulation there 00:40:08.610 --> 00:40:12.750 are the judgments of the seals and the bowls 00:40:12.750 --> 00:40:15.440 of wrath. I think I misstated that earlier. In 00:40:15.440 --> 00:40:18.019 the first three and a half years, it's the judgments 00:40:18.019 --> 00:40:21.000 of the seals that are open and the bowls of wrath 00:40:21.000 --> 00:40:24.340 and the last part of the tribulation, the seal, 00:40:24.619 --> 00:40:28.780 the judgments of the trumpets. Now you say in 00:40:28.780 --> 00:40:30.880 light of all of that, my goodness, I think I'm 00:40:30.880 --> 00:40:34.960 going to go out and just give up. No, don't do 00:40:34.960 --> 00:40:38.659 that. Don't do that. Why does God give us this 00:40:38.659 --> 00:40:42.039 kind of information? Does He give us this information 00:40:42.039 --> 00:40:45.980 so that we just... decide to wait on the housetops 00:40:45.980 --> 00:40:49.280 for the Lord to come? Is it so that we can just 00:40:49.280 --> 00:40:51.300 sell everything we've got and just forget trying 00:40:51.300 --> 00:40:53.679 to do something in this world for Jesus Christ? 00:40:54.699 --> 00:40:59.440 Shall we stop having children? Shall we give 00:40:59.440 --> 00:41:03.360 up life as we know it? None of that. Our Lord 00:41:03.360 --> 00:41:06.380 gives us this information so that we might understand 00:41:06.380 --> 00:41:08.940 that there is an end to the wickedness of man. 00:41:10.820 --> 00:41:13.710 Things are not going to go on. as they always 00:41:13.710 --> 00:41:19.530 have. They shall not. God is going to bring an 00:41:19.530 --> 00:41:23.150 end. He is going to bring judgment to this world. 00:41:24.690 --> 00:41:27.690 We are not today looking for the 70th week of 00:41:27.690 --> 00:41:32.489 Daniel. We are looking for His coming. That's 00:41:32.489 --> 00:41:35.829 important to keep in mind. And our Lord has said 00:41:35.829 --> 00:41:39.150 that we are to occupy. We are to be busy. We 00:41:39.150 --> 00:41:43.059 are to be faithful. until he comes. We are not 00:41:43.059 --> 00:41:45.500 looking for the Antichrist. We are looking for 00:41:45.500 --> 00:41:49.340 the real Christ, and he is going to come for 00:41:49.340 --> 00:41:52.860 his own. Our Lord has not left us in the dark 00:41:52.860 --> 00:41:56.199 as to those things that will be involved at the 00:41:56.199 --> 00:41:59.280 end of this age. Beloved, God does not want us 00:41:59.280 --> 00:42:02.440 to focus on those things, nor does he want us 00:42:02.440 --> 00:42:05.420 to become anxious about those things or depressed 00:42:05.420 --> 00:42:08.920 by them. He wants us to be aware that judgment 00:42:08.920 --> 00:42:12.679 is coming upon the world, but God has appointed 00:42:12.679 --> 00:42:16.719 us to salvation and not to wrath. And we are 00:42:16.719 --> 00:42:20.000 expecting His return, and He wants us to be involved 00:42:20.000 --> 00:42:23.500 in winning this world to Jesus Christ until that 00:42:23.500 --> 00:42:26.340 time that we are caught up to be with our Lord. 00:42:27.360 --> 00:42:30.300 I think that Peter has some good words for us, 00:42:30.300 --> 00:42:39.940 and with these we close. He does not speak directly 00:42:39.940 --> 00:42:45.000 regarding the judgment that we've been looking 00:42:45.000 --> 00:42:47.960 at, but he is talking about a judgment that will 00:42:47.960 --> 00:42:50.639 come after that, but his words are instructive 00:42:50.639 --> 00:42:54.420 for us. I want to go back and review this because 00:42:54.420 --> 00:42:56.480 in my mind I got confused when I reviewed it 00:42:56.480 --> 00:42:58.940 the second time. So here's the third review. 00:42:59.239 --> 00:43:03.300 The first three and a half years will be the 00:43:03.309 --> 00:43:05.909 judgment of the seals and the trumpets in the 00:43:05.909 --> 00:43:08.010 last three and a half years, the bowls of wrath. 00:43:08.150 --> 00:43:10.369 So there it is. That's the way it is. That's 00:43:10.369 --> 00:43:12.590 the real review. How many of you caught that 00:43:12.590 --> 00:43:16.369 mistake? Good. I'm proud of you. That's good. 00:43:17.090 --> 00:43:19.760 All right, so you got that straight? If you want 00:43:19.760 --> 00:43:21.800 that detail, the first three and a half years, 00:43:21.940 --> 00:43:24.460 the series of judgments will involve what are 00:43:24.460 --> 00:43:27.179 called the seal judgments and the trumpet judgments, 00:43:27.219 --> 00:43:29.760 and the last three and a half years, the bowls 00:43:29.760 --> 00:43:32.599 of God's wrath poured out upon the earth. Now 00:43:32.599 --> 00:43:34.860 let's look here at what Peter says in verse 14. 00:43:35.059 --> 00:43:38.500 Therefore, beloved, since you look for these 00:43:38.500 --> 00:43:43.139 things, be diligent to be found by him in peace. 00:43:43.440 --> 00:43:45.659 Notice that. He doesn't say that we are to be 00:43:45.659 --> 00:43:49.940 found by him in anxiety and worry. We're to be 00:43:49.940 --> 00:43:53.980 found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless. 00:43:54.500 --> 00:43:56.920 Despite the fact our world is going down the 00:43:56.920 --> 00:44:01.639 tubes morally and spiritually, we the Lord's 00:44:01.639 --> 00:44:03.980 people are to live, as was illustrated tonight 00:44:03.980 --> 00:44:07.940 earlier, separately from that. We are to be spotless 00:44:07.940 --> 00:44:10.460 and blameless in the midst of a crooked and perverse 00:44:10.460 --> 00:44:13.599 generation. And he says, regard the patience 00:44:13.599 --> 00:44:17.579 of our Lord to be salvation. And then we'll go 00:44:17.579 --> 00:44:20.699 on to verse 17. You therefore, beloved, knowing 00:44:20.699 --> 00:44:26.219 this beforehand, be on your guard, lest being 00:44:26.219 --> 00:44:29.179 carried away by the error of unprincipled men, 00:44:29.320 --> 00:44:32.119 you fall from your own steadfastness. So we are 00:44:32.119 --> 00:44:34.679 exhorted to be on guard in these days in which 00:44:34.679 --> 00:44:39.559 we live. And also, in verse 18, grow in the grace 00:44:39.559 --> 00:44:43.260 and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 00:44:43.340 --> 00:44:46.579 Those are good words for us. And so as you think 00:44:46.579 --> 00:44:48.880 about the end of the age, remember what we are 00:44:48.880 --> 00:44:53.340 told here. Be at peace and live a life that is 00:44:53.340 --> 00:44:57.119 morally spotless and blameless. And regard the 00:44:57.119 --> 00:44:59.320 fact that our Lord is delaying His coming as 00:44:59.320 --> 00:45:02.780 an opportunity to win others to Jesus Christ. 00:45:03.519 --> 00:45:06.739 And be on guard against the pressures and false 00:45:06.739 --> 00:45:11.300 doctrines that will be coming even more intensely 00:45:11.300 --> 00:45:15.050 in the end days and could keep growing. in the 00:45:15.050 --> 00:45:18.289 grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:45:19.449 --> 00:45:21.969 We're not looking for the Antichrist, we're looking 00:45:21.969 --> 00:45:25.969 for the Real Christ. We're not anticipating the 00:45:25.969 --> 00:45:29.210 tribulation, but we are anticipating the blessed 00:45:29.210 --> 00:45:34.869 hope of His return. Let's be faithful to be found 00:45:34.869 --> 00:45:38.710 of Him in that day as He would have us to be 00:45:38.710 --> 00:45:42.230 found. And now our Heavenly Father, as we have 00:45:42.230 --> 00:45:42.989 looked at this