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All right, well this morning we are gonna be looking

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at what is the shortest chapter in Revelation.

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Eight whole verses.

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But nonetheless, it's no less important

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than any other chapter.

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Chapter 15 of Revelation is an introduction

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to the main event, the grand finale, the final act,

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everything that this time of judgment

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has been leading up to, which is the final outpouring

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of God's wrath to be recorded in chapter 16

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known as the seven bold judgments.

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Although this chapter is filled with dread,

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it is also mingled with hope and worship.

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You know, after everything that we've seen so far

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in Revelation, the seven seal judgments,

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the seven trumpet judgments, the worst in this picture

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of Revelation is still yet to come.

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That these seven final bold judgments are terrible

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and make the previous judgments pale in comparison

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as God comes to the place of finally pouring out

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all of his wrath on sin and the sin of mankind.

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So as I said, chapter 16, we will get into

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those bold judgments and look at what they are specifically,

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but chapter 15, what we're studying this morning

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is the setup, it's the introduction,

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it's the pregame, if you will, before this final act.

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And on one side of the story we're looking at tonight,

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we have angels that are getting ready,

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they are getting in position to carry out

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the judgments of God because they are the executors

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of God's judgment as we will study in chapter 16.

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So we'll be looking at these angels in verse one

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of chapter 15 and verses five through eight.

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But what we also see in this chapter,

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this setup to the final judgment,

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is a multitude standing before God's throne,

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singing, praying, worshiping God for his holiness

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and his justice and those are people

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that we're gonna look at in verses two through four.

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But before we get to that, we also wanna spend time

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praising God.

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We know that God's ways are just

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even when we don't understand them.

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We know that God's judgments are pure and true

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even when we don't understand them.

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And as we've been studying through Revelation,

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we know that there is a judgment coming upon this earth.

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There is a time coming upon this earth

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where God's patience will be over.

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And we are called to be people today

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that would understand what is to come,

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that we would be ready and equipped to warn those

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who don't yet know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

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I pray as we see what's going on in the world today

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that we would be encouraged that God is still in control.

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God is still almighty.

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God is still righteous and just.

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God is still God.

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Let's pray.

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Father, we love you so much.

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And God, we thank you for who you are.

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Lord, as believers, we thank you, God,

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for the salvation you have brought into our life, Lord.

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We're so grateful, God, that you came to this earth

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2,000 years ago, Lord, that you lived a life as a man.

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Fully God and fully man at the same time,

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but Lord, you lived without sin, perfect.

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And yet you went to the cross to die for our sin,

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for our breaking of your law.

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And God, it is through that that we have salvation.

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It is through that that we are able to receive

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the mercy and the grace that comes from you, God.

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That through the blood of Christ,

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our sin would be washed away completely.

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And Lord, we're still in an age here on this earth

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where you are still patient.

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You are still long-suffering.

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You are still waiting for those to come to you

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that you know are gonna come to you, Lord.

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And so God, as we study this book here,

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as we see what's going on in our world today, Lord,

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remind us that you are just, you are true, you are pure.

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You are holy, you are righteous, you are almighty.

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And God, regardless of what happens beginning to end,

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we can trust you completely because you are perfect.

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But Lord, we wanna open this morning

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by worshiping your holy name and praising you

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because you are worth all of it, God.

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We love you, we thank you.

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It's in Jesus' name we pray, amen.

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Let's get into this morning's study, chapter 15 of Revelation.

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As I mentioned, chapter 15 is really a description

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of the players on the field.

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It's the setup before the final judgments of God

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that take place at the tail end of the tribulation period.

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And what we're gonna see in the chapter this morning

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is two groups pictured, two groups that are described for us.

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One group is an angel or angels with a proclamation of wrath

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from God, the other group is a multitude

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with a proclamation of worship to God.

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And so again, as we have seen in the book of Revelation

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before, we see God worshiped because he judges.

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And that's difficult for some people.

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They think, oh, a God of love would never judge anybody.

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Well, then you need to read the book of Revelation, okay.

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Because God is love, but he is also holy and just.

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And although God in his love provided a way for salvation,

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for forgiveness from sin, those that reject that

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will face his wrath and his judgment.

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And so what we see here in this chapter

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is God being again worshiped because he judges.

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Which is right and correct, because even the terrible,

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terrible judgments that we're about to see in chapter 16,

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we have to understand that as these pour out upon earth

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and the people upon earth, they are just.

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They are true, they are right, because God is just

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and true and right.

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And they come after an extensive period of long suffering.

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An extended period of patience on behalf of God

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and multiple opportunities for sinners to be saved.

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So we can't look at the judgments that are about to pour out

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at the end of tribulation and go, wow, that's harsh.

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That's difficult.

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That's unfair because it's not.

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God is perfectly just.

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And so let's get into it, Revelation 15 verse one.

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It says, then I saw another great

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and awe-inspiring sign in heaven.

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Seven angels with the seven last plagues,

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for with them God's wrath will be completed.

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And so we have seen many, many signs

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in this revelation of Jesus Christ

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that this book of revelation is.

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And in a number of those places,

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we've pointed out that that word sign that we see,

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the word we see here in verse one of chapter 15

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and in other places, what it means

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is a great symbolic display, a sign.

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More specifically, it means a supernatural display

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intended to communicate a message.

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Sometimes this word is rendered as a miracle, right?

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You see a miracle, you see some type of sign

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that is intended to communicate something.

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And the message here is dire, very dire.

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The message being communicated by this sign in heaven,

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this picture that John has seen

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is that final judgment is about to fall.

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And you know, during this time in history

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that is detailed for us in the book of Revelation,

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this time that we call the tribulation period,

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the seven year tribulate, the final seven years

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of this era of history is called the tribulation.

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The last three and a half years

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is referred to as the great tribulation.

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This time is a terrible, terrible time.

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But it is long deserved, and it is a long deserved judgment

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from God on sin and sinners

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and the wickedness of mankind.

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We've mentioned through our study of Revelation

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and we've seen how there are three sets

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of consecutive, progressively worse judgments

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that God is pouring out upon the earth.

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And these have been illustrated as the seven seals,

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the seven trumpets, and now we're gonna be getting into

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in chapter 16, the seven bowl judgments.

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Now, I do state that there are some different interpretations

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of these seven judgments.

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Some see these seven judgments,

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the seven trumpets or seals, trumpets, and bowls

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as a retelling of the same seven events

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throughout tribulation.

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So what they see there is that these seven seals

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and the seven trumpets and the seven bowls

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are the same seven things.

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Some people look at that and see that

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in an interpretation here.

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And so they say that the trumpets and the bowls

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and the seals, they all describe the same seven events.

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That is one interpretation of these events.

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And as you read through the seven seals

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and the trumpets and the bowls,

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there are similarities between them.

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However, I see them as 21 different,

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consecutive, progressive judgments

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that fall from God upon the earth during this time.

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I see them as 21 different movements,

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seven seals followed by seven trumpets,

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followed by seven bowls that start with the first seal

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where the Antichrist is introduced to the world scene,

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the counterfeit rider on the counterfeit white horse

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as this man introduces this time,

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and then it all ends with him, the Antichrist,

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being cast into the lake of fire

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after his defeat at the Battle of Armageddon,

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which is what the seventh bowl is all about.

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And so that whole judgment there,

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that Battle of Armageddon is where we see

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the final destruction of the Antichrist

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and the government he leads, the world system he leads,

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and the city Babylon that he leads it from,

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and all of that will be detailed

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in chapters 17 and 18 of Revelation.

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But there's a couple reasons why I believe

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these seven seals and trumpets and bowls

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are 21 consecutive things.

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One, as you read through them,

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you'll notice that the seventh seal

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and the seventh trumpet both introduce

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the next set of judgments.

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And so what you see there is that the seventh trumpet,

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or seventh seal, introduces the seven trumpets,

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and then we go through the trumpets,

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and the seventh trumpet introduces the seven bowls,

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and so there is appearance there

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that it's a consecutive thing.

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But the second reason here we find in Revelation 15.1.

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You'll notice there it says that

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they are the seven last plagues.

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And with them, God's wrath will be completed.

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Now that word plagues there,

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it's an interesting word in the Greek.

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It doesn't mean disease like we think of,

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you know, bubonic plague or something like that.

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The word actually means to strike or to hit something.

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So these seven bowls, these seven last plagues,

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they're God's final seven strikes

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upon the earth.

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His final seven strikes against sin in his judgment.

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But that word last there is very interesting.

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When it says seven last plagues in Revelation 15.1,

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that word last means last in a series of events.

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I don't know, maybe like the last seven out of 21

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is how that word reads.

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And the reason I see it that way

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is because if these seven bowl judgments

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were representative of the only seven judgments

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that took place during the tribulation period,

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then what are they the seven last of

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in the context of the book?

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That doesn't make any sense to me.

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So I do see the seals and the trumpets and the bowls

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as 21 consecutive movements of judgment

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throughout Revelation.

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But additionally, I do see a refutation

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of a pre-wrath, rapture interpretation here.

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I do know that many people have different interpretations

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of the timing of the rapture, right?

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There's pre-tribulation, there's mid-tribulation,

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there's pre-wrath, there's post-tribulation.

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And people like to argue about all those.

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I've stated many times in our study of Revelation,

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we'll know when we get there.

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So let's not divide over these things.

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Let's discuss, but let's not divide.

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Myself in here at Hosanna,

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we do believe in a pre-tribulational rapture

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and I've endeavored to support that

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as we've been studying through Revelation.

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But if you disagree, I still love you

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and I hope you still love me too, okay?

261
00:12:13,200 --> 00:12:15,760
But here in Revelation 51,

262
00:12:15,760 --> 00:12:19,760
I see a refutation of a pre-wrath, rapture interpretation.

263
00:12:19,760 --> 00:12:21,800
Pre-wrath, for those of you who don't know,

264
00:12:21,800 --> 00:12:24,340
say that the church, us, the church,

265
00:12:24,340 --> 00:12:26,440
we remain on the earth

266
00:12:26,440 --> 00:12:29,240
through the first two-thirds of tribulation.

267
00:12:29,240 --> 00:12:32,460
So it's a little different than mid-tribulation rapture.

268
00:12:32,460 --> 00:12:34,000
We're on the earth through two-thirds

269
00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:35,660
and then at the two-third point,

270
00:12:35,660 --> 00:12:38,280
the church is taken up out of the earth in the rapture

271
00:12:38,280 --> 00:12:41,440
and then they say that happens before these seven bowls

272
00:12:41,440 --> 00:12:43,000
pour out upon the earth.

273
00:12:43,000 --> 00:12:45,720
And one of the reasons that that pre-wrath people see that

274
00:12:45,720 --> 00:12:48,400
is they say, because only the bowl judgments

275
00:12:48,400 --> 00:12:50,320
are considered the wrath of God.

276
00:12:51,320 --> 00:12:53,720
So elsewhere in scripture, when it says the church,

277
00:12:53,720 --> 00:12:56,800
Christians, we are not appointed to wrath,

278
00:12:56,800 --> 00:12:58,060
they go, well yeah, of course not,

279
00:12:58,060 --> 00:13:00,240
because only the bowls are wrath

280
00:13:00,240 --> 00:13:01,680
and were taken out before that.

281
00:13:01,680 --> 00:13:05,240
Now, the reason I see there's a refutation

282
00:13:05,240 --> 00:13:07,380
to that interpretation here

283
00:13:07,380 --> 00:13:11,520
is because these seven last judgments

284
00:13:11,520 --> 00:13:16,080
are the last of a larger complete series of 21,

285
00:13:16,080 --> 00:13:19,600
which it says here, complete God's wrath.

286
00:13:20,920 --> 00:13:23,300
These last seven complete God's wrath,

287
00:13:23,300 --> 00:13:24,880
something that has already begun.

288
00:13:24,880 --> 00:13:27,440
They're the completion of something that has already begun

289
00:13:27,440 --> 00:13:29,740
and we actually see that in Revelation chapter six

290
00:13:29,740 --> 00:13:34,120
verses 16 and 17, which is during the sixth seal, right?

291
00:13:34,120 --> 00:13:37,220
The sixth seal prior to the trumpets, prior to the bowls,

292
00:13:37,220 --> 00:13:41,360
it says this, and they said to the mountains and to the rocks,

293
00:13:41,360 --> 00:13:43,560
fall on us and hide us from the face of the one

294
00:13:43,560 --> 00:13:47,040
seated on the throne and from the wrath of the lamb,

295
00:13:47,040 --> 00:13:50,840
because the great day of their wrath has come.

296
00:13:50,840 --> 00:13:51,840
Who is able to stand?

297
00:13:51,840 --> 00:13:53,840
So way back during the sixth seal,

298
00:13:53,840 --> 00:13:55,180
the people on earth were already going,

299
00:13:55,180 --> 00:13:56,400
this is the wrath of God.

300
00:13:56,400 --> 00:14:00,200
So we can't say that only the bowls are the wrath of God.

301
00:14:01,080 --> 00:14:03,720
So anyways, the whole tribulation period,

302
00:14:03,720 --> 00:14:06,040
the whole seven years in my interpretation

303
00:14:06,040 --> 00:14:08,280
are God's wrath falling upon the earth,

304
00:14:08,280 --> 00:14:10,620
not just the final bowl judgments,

305
00:14:10,620 --> 00:14:14,640
but what is for sure, or what is not disputed by most

306
00:14:14,640 --> 00:14:18,440
or many at all, is that after the seven bowls take place

307
00:14:18,440 --> 00:14:22,680
in chapter 16, God's wrath will be completed.

308
00:14:22,680 --> 00:14:25,620
That isn't disputed by many, okay?

309
00:14:25,620 --> 00:14:27,600
God's wrath will be done.

310
00:14:27,600 --> 00:14:30,240
It'll be complete, it's done, it's over.

311
00:14:30,240 --> 00:14:32,520
And after that, we will see the destruction

312
00:14:32,520 --> 00:14:34,920
of Satan's ruling and reigning upon this earth.

313
00:14:34,920 --> 00:14:37,520
We will see the destruction of his kingdom.

314
00:14:37,520 --> 00:14:39,840
We will then see the millennial thousand year reign

315
00:14:39,840 --> 00:14:42,040
of Christ established upon the earth.

316
00:14:42,040 --> 00:14:45,760
And so regardless of your interpretational bent

317
00:14:45,760 --> 00:14:49,120
on rapture and all that, this period of history,

318
00:14:49,120 --> 00:14:51,640
specifically the tail end of the seven year

319
00:14:51,640 --> 00:14:53,840
tribulation period, will be the worst

320
00:14:53,840 --> 00:14:55,800
that the world has ever known.

321
00:14:56,720 --> 00:14:58,880
It'll be worse than any period

322
00:14:58,880 --> 00:15:01,280
that has ever existed in history.

323
00:15:01,280 --> 00:15:03,800
It'll be worse than the dark ages,

324
00:15:03,800 --> 00:15:07,280
worse than World War I and World War II,

325
00:15:07,280 --> 00:15:09,020
worse than any war you could think of,

326
00:15:09,020 --> 00:15:10,960
worse than the Great Depression,

327
00:15:10,960 --> 00:15:13,920
worse than any recession.

328
00:15:13,920 --> 00:15:16,980
It'll be terrible, a terrible, terrible time.

329
00:15:17,880 --> 00:15:20,560
Now, if this time is so terrible,

330
00:15:21,480 --> 00:15:23,460
you might ask, why does John describe it

331
00:15:23,460 --> 00:15:27,080
as great and awe-inspiring, right?

332
00:15:27,080 --> 00:15:29,200
What John is seeing is these angels getting ready

333
00:15:29,200 --> 00:15:31,280
to pour out these last final seven judgments

334
00:15:31,280 --> 00:15:34,920
upon the earth and he goes, it's great and awe-inspiring.

335
00:15:34,920 --> 00:15:36,960
If it's so terrible, if it's so difficult,

336
00:15:36,960 --> 00:15:39,100
if there's gonna be so much destruction and death,

337
00:15:39,100 --> 00:15:39,940
why does he say that?

338
00:15:39,940 --> 00:15:42,080
It's a very strange way to describe judgment.

339
00:15:43,080 --> 00:15:44,720
Specifically, it's a very strange way

340
00:15:44,720 --> 00:15:47,760
to describe the worst, most cataclysmic period

341
00:15:47,760 --> 00:15:50,820
of judgment in the history of mankind.

342
00:15:50,820 --> 00:15:53,280
Wow, great, exciting.

343
00:15:53,280 --> 00:15:55,000
Why does John say that?

344
00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:57,100
Well, I believe it's because what he is seeing

345
00:15:57,100 --> 00:16:00,640
is the beginning of the end, that after all of this,

346
00:16:00,640 --> 00:16:03,800
after this judgment, this final judgment pours out

347
00:16:03,800 --> 00:16:08,000
that he is seeing the angels get ready to do, it's done.

348
00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:10,000
It's all over.

349
00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:12,240
All that wrath that has been escalating

350
00:16:12,240 --> 00:16:13,580
through this seven-year period,

351
00:16:13,580 --> 00:16:15,340
all these judgments that have been getting worse

352
00:16:15,340 --> 00:16:18,540
and worse and worse are gonna be done.

353
00:16:18,540 --> 00:16:20,880
And then the end comes and sin is dealt with

354
00:16:20,880 --> 00:16:23,520
and Jesus reigns forever and that's why John is like,

355
00:16:23,520 --> 00:16:26,580
oh, wow, we're almost there.

356
00:16:26,580 --> 00:16:28,400
We're almost there.

357
00:16:28,400 --> 00:16:30,340
You know, as wonderful a blessing as revelation

358
00:16:30,340 --> 00:16:33,920
has been and it is a blessing, right,

359
00:16:33,920 --> 00:16:36,600
it tells us in chapter one, you're blessed if you read it.

360
00:16:36,600 --> 00:16:38,320
It's heavy.

361
00:16:38,320 --> 00:16:40,200
It's heavy, it's difficult.

362
00:16:40,200 --> 00:16:43,400
As a pastor, it's tough to study through these things

363
00:16:43,400 --> 00:16:46,040
and we spent like, what, four or five weeks

364
00:16:46,040 --> 00:16:49,280
in Revelation 13 and 14 and that's all about the devil

365
00:16:49,280 --> 00:16:50,440
and his ugliness, right?

366
00:16:50,440 --> 00:16:52,960
It's just like, I don't wanna study this, right?

367
00:16:52,960 --> 00:16:54,780
I don't wanna focus on the devil and his ugliness,

368
00:16:54,780 --> 00:16:56,200
I wanna focus on Jesus, right?

369
00:16:56,200 --> 00:16:59,680
It's been a heavy book and as we've been going through it,

370
00:16:59,680 --> 00:17:01,280
I don't know if you've been experiencing it

371
00:17:01,280 --> 00:17:04,360
but we often experience these things as a church together.

372
00:17:04,360 --> 00:17:06,360
That spiritual warfare seems to be heightened

373
00:17:06,360 --> 00:17:08,440
and people are just dealing with things left and right

374
00:17:08,440 --> 00:17:10,560
and there's problems and challenges all over the place

375
00:17:10,560 --> 00:17:15,360
and the devil is just going bonkers.

376
00:17:15,360 --> 00:17:18,320
And so I'm ready to get past all of this judgment.

377
00:17:19,180 --> 00:17:22,000
I'm excited to get to the second coming, right?

378
00:17:22,000 --> 00:17:26,520
I'm excited to get to the kingdom age and teach on that

379
00:17:26,520 --> 00:17:28,460
and we're gonna get there.

380
00:17:28,460 --> 00:17:30,960
We'll get there but man, isn't that a microcosm

381
00:17:30,960 --> 00:17:32,200
of this life, right?

382
00:17:33,680 --> 00:17:36,400
I'm tired of this life and the difficulties

383
00:17:36,400 --> 00:17:37,880
and these horrible things we read about.

384
00:17:37,880 --> 00:17:40,720
I wanna get to that second coming.

385
00:17:40,720 --> 00:17:43,900
I wanna be face to face with Jesus and it's coming.

386
00:17:43,900 --> 00:17:46,320
We'll get there but not yet.

387
00:17:47,180 --> 00:17:50,840
And so John says it's a wonderful, marvelous thing.

388
00:17:50,840 --> 00:17:53,240
It's great and awe inspiring that God is fulfilling

389
00:17:53,240 --> 00:17:54,840
his plan and bringing it to a close

390
00:17:54,840 --> 00:17:56,000
and the final is almost here.

391
00:17:56,000 --> 00:17:58,640
We're almost there.

392
00:17:58,640 --> 00:18:00,280
He's been recording all of these judgments

393
00:18:00,280 --> 00:18:02,840
starting all the way back in chapter six of Revelation.

394
00:18:02,840 --> 00:18:05,520
All this destruction and devastation upon the earth

395
00:18:05,520 --> 00:18:08,240
and we've seen the seas and the waters and the grass

396
00:18:08,240 --> 00:18:11,640
and the trees and the sky and the celestial bodies

397
00:18:11,640 --> 00:18:12,960
judged and destroyed.

398
00:18:12,960 --> 00:18:16,740
We've seen hordes of demonic activity and pain and death

399
00:18:16,740 --> 00:18:18,920
and all of this and John has been recording all of this

400
00:18:18,920 --> 00:18:22,720
as he's observing it but then it's almost over.

401
00:18:22,720 --> 00:18:23,920
We're almost at the end.

402
00:18:23,920 --> 00:18:27,280
He's glad to see it coming and he's in awe.

403
00:18:27,280 --> 00:18:29,600
That word awe means excited, wonder and marvel

404
00:18:29,600 --> 00:18:31,760
to see the last of these judgments fall

405
00:18:31,760 --> 00:18:33,200
and it to finally be finished.

406
00:18:33,200 --> 00:18:34,960
So that's verse one.

407
00:18:34,960 --> 00:18:37,920
Let's skip down to verse five because as I mentioned

408
00:18:37,920 --> 00:18:40,520
in the intro, we have verse one which introduces

409
00:18:40,520 --> 00:18:42,440
these angels and then verses two through four

410
00:18:42,440 --> 00:18:44,400
introduces this worshiping multitude

411
00:18:44,400 --> 00:18:46,640
and then verse five, he goes back to the angels.

412
00:18:46,640 --> 00:18:49,040
So I just kinda wanna finish the angel thought.

413
00:18:49,040 --> 00:18:52,160
So jump forward with me to verse five.

414
00:18:52,160 --> 00:18:54,560
We saw these seven angels with the seven last plagues

415
00:18:54,560 --> 00:18:57,200
and then verse five, John says, after this I looked

416
00:18:57,200 --> 00:18:59,480
and the heavenly temple, the tabernacle of testimony

417
00:18:59,480 --> 00:19:00,960
was opened.

418
00:19:00,960 --> 00:19:02,640
Out of the temple came the seven angels

419
00:19:02,640 --> 00:19:05,920
with the seven plagues dressed in pure bright linen

420
00:19:05,920 --> 00:19:09,660
with golden sashes wrapped around their chests.

421
00:19:09,660 --> 00:19:12,080
One of the four living creatures gave the seven angels

422
00:19:12,080 --> 00:19:14,720
seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God

423
00:19:14,720 --> 00:19:16,340
who lives forever and ever.

424
00:19:16,340 --> 00:19:19,160
Then the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God

425
00:19:19,160 --> 00:19:22,280
and from his power and no one can enter the temple

426
00:19:22,280 --> 00:19:26,520
until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.

427
00:19:26,520 --> 00:19:29,600
Now if any of the imagery here that's being described

428
00:19:29,600 --> 00:19:33,920
seems foreign to you, it's because it's got a very specific

429
00:19:33,920 --> 00:19:35,600
cultural context.

430
00:19:35,600 --> 00:19:39,460
We have these angels, it says they're in linen clothing,

431
00:19:39,460 --> 00:19:41,360
they have these gold sashes around their chest

432
00:19:41,360 --> 00:19:43,760
carrying these particular bowls and there's smoke

433
00:19:43,760 --> 00:19:46,660
and this temple called the tabernacle of testimony.

434
00:19:46,660 --> 00:19:49,240
It's all language that would be very familiar

435
00:19:49,240 --> 00:19:51,880
to a Jewish reader in the first century

436
00:19:51,880 --> 00:19:53,280
when they got this letter.

437
00:19:53,280 --> 00:19:56,240
It's all language and descriptors that are very, very

438
00:19:56,240 --> 00:20:00,880
common to temple worship and so it's all temple imagery.

439
00:20:00,880 --> 00:20:03,600
So we kind of have to take a step back to understand

440
00:20:03,600 --> 00:20:04,560
what he's talking about here.

441
00:20:04,560 --> 00:20:08,480
So this pure bright linen and the golden sashes

442
00:20:08,480 --> 00:20:11,040
across the chest that these angels are wearing,

443
00:20:11,040 --> 00:20:13,760
it's speaking of the type of clothing that priests

444
00:20:13,760 --> 00:20:16,160
would wear, that priests would wear in the temple.

445
00:20:16,160 --> 00:20:18,480
The priest's garb and the high priest's garb,

446
00:20:18,480 --> 00:20:23,280
it had gold threading throughout the chest here, right?

447
00:20:23,280 --> 00:20:25,360
And it was a symbol of their service to God

448
00:20:25,360 --> 00:20:28,120
and so these angels are seen and pictured as serving

449
00:20:28,120 --> 00:20:31,560
as priests in God's temple.

450
00:20:31,560 --> 00:20:33,600
As a matter of fact, back in Revelation chapter one

451
00:20:33,600 --> 00:20:37,220
verse 13, Jesus is pictured as the high priest

452
00:20:37,220 --> 00:20:39,920
where we see the exalted Jesus, our high priest,

453
00:20:39,920 --> 00:20:42,640
and it says that he has a robe with a golden sash

454
00:20:42,640 --> 00:20:43,640
wrapped around his chest.

455
00:20:43,640 --> 00:20:45,400
So it's a very similar image there.

456
00:20:45,400 --> 00:20:48,400
And so that golden sash, it's a picture and a reminder

457
00:20:48,400 --> 00:20:52,880
that God's judgment here in the context of Revelation 15,

458
00:20:52,880 --> 00:20:57,880
God's judgment is always pure and holy and righteous

459
00:20:57,920 --> 00:20:59,680
and it's always meted out appropriately.

460
00:20:59,680 --> 00:21:02,640
That's this picture of this pure gold coming across

461
00:21:02,640 --> 00:21:04,400
the chest of the high priest here.

462
00:21:04,400 --> 00:21:07,640
But these angels, dressed similarly, it says they came out

463
00:21:07,640 --> 00:21:12,160
of the heavenly temple called the Tabernacle of Testimony.

464
00:21:12,160 --> 00:21:13,280
Now what is that?

465
00:21:13,280 --> 00:21:14,160
What does that mean?

466
00:21:14,160 --> 00:21:19,000
Well, this Tabernacle of Testimony is referring

467
00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:22,180
to the place that held the Holy of Holies.

468
00:21:23,240 --> 00:21:25,660
And the Holy of Holies was where the Ark of the Covenant

469
00:21:25,660 --> 00:21:26,840
rested.

470
00:21:26,840 --> 00:21:30,460
Initially, in the beginning, when Israel was told

471
00:21:30,460 --> 00:21:32,480
to create the Tabernacle and Moses was given

472
00:21:32,480 --> 00:21:35,880
all the instructions, the Tabernacle was a space

473
00:21:35,880 --> 00:21:38,440
that was made out of cloth.

474
00:21:38,440 --> 00:21:42,360
It was a mobile cloth compound that Israel would set up

475
00:21:42,360 --> 00:21:45,180
and take down as they wandered the wilderness for 40 years

476
00:21:45,180 --> 00:21:48,580
and then eventually this space called the Holy of Holies

477
00:21:48,580 --> 00:21:50,920
resided within the temple as well in Jerusalem.

478
00:21:50,920 --> 00:21:54,480
And so in both of these places, both the Tabernacle

479
00:21:54,480 --> 00:21:56,420
and the temple, there was a courtyard.

480
00:21:57,460 --> 00:22:00,880
There was a courtyard with a building that was in the center

481
00:22:00,880 --> 00:22:04,960
or towards one end of this area and the reason this courtyard

482
00:22:04,960 --> 00:22:08,120
was there was because it was creating a separation

483
00:22:08,120 --> 00:22:10,080
between some of the elements of this area.

484
00:22:10,080 --> 00:22:12,200
But the courtyard was then enclosed by a fence

485
00:22:12,200 --> 00:22:14,080
that surrounded with it and you'll notice that fence

486
00:22:14,080 --> 00:22:14,980
had one gate.

487
00:22:14,980 --> 00:22:18,200
There was only one entrance way into this place,

488
00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:21,420
this Tabernacle or in the temple you had one entrance way

489
00:22:21,420 --> 00:22:24,680
to it and the reason was because there was only one way

490
00:22:24,680 --> 00:22:26,240
to approach God.

491
00:22:27,120 --> 00:22:28,920
There's not multiple ways to approach God.

492
00:22:28,920 --> 00:22:30,520
There's only one way.

493
00:22:30,520 --> 00:22:32,360
So as the priests would enter into this,

494
00:22:32,360 --> 00:22:34,560
they were the representatives of the people.

495
00:22:34,560 --> 00:22:37,200
And so as a priest would enter in, one of the first things

496
00:22:37,200 --> 00:22:38,680
they would see when they entered through the gate

497
00:22:38,680 --> 00:22:40,280
was an altar.

498
00:22:40,280 --> 00:22:42,640
There's that altar right towards the front area

499
00:22:42,640 --> 00:22:44,520
after the entrance to the gate there.

500
00:22:44,520 --> 00:22:47,440
This is called the Bronze Altar or the Brazen Altar

501
00:22:47,440 --> 00:22:50,460
and this is where the animals were brought in and killed.

502
00:22:50,460 --> 00:22:53,320
Where the animals were sacrificed and their blood shed

503
00:22:53,320 --> 00:22:55,040
as a sacrifice to God.

504
00:22:55,040 --> 00:22:56,040
Why?

505
00:22:56,040 --> 00:22:58,780
Because there was only one way to approach God

506
00:22:58,780 --> 00:23:00,680
and that was through the shed blood.

507
00:23:00,680 --> 00:23:03,080
That was through the sacrifice of these animals.

508
00:23:04,680 --> 00:23:08,240
Past that, you would then see this larger structure

509
00:23:08,240 --> 00:23:11,360
which had two rooms inside of it and the front first room

510
00:23:11,360 --> 00:23:14,280
of the structure was called the Holy Place.

511
00:23:14,280 --> 00:23:17,280
Inside the Holy Place, on your left,

512
00:23:17,280 --> 00:23:19,520
you would see a seven branched candlestick

513
00:23:19,520 --> 00:23:21,640
which was called the Golden Lampstand.

514
00:23:21,640 --> 00:23:25,220
On your right, you would see a table with showbread,

515
00:23:25,220 --> 00:23:27,600
also called the Bread of the Presence.

516
00:23:27,600 --> 00:23:29,320
On it had 12 loaves.

517
00:23:29,320 --> 00:23:33,240
And then in front of you, you would see a very thick veil

518
00:23:33,240 --> 00:23:35,600
that spanned the entire width of the thing

519
00:23:35,600 --> 00:23:38,380
that had a golden altar sitting right in front of it

520
00:23:38,380 --> 00:23:39,740
where the incense was burned.

521
00:23:39,740 --> 00:23:41,720
So this was the Holy Place.

522
00:23:41,720 --> 00:23:44,880
Now, that big veil separated this front room,

523
00:23:44,880 --> 00:23:48,600
the Holy Place, from the most holy place behind it,

524
00:23:48,600 --> 00:23:50,680
the place called the Holy of Holies.

525
00:23:50,680 --> 00:23:54,440
And so beyond that veil, there was only one single piece

526
00:23:54,440 --> 00:23:56,820
of furniture, the Ark of the Covenant.

527
00:23:56,820 --> 00:23:59,580
That's what existed right behind that veil.

528
00:23:59,580 --> 00:24:04,580
Now, the Ark was a wooden box overlaid with gold.

529
00:24:05,540 --> 00:24:08,740
And on top of it, there was a lid called the Mercy Seat.

530
00:24:08,740 --> 00:24:10,940
And on top of that lid, there was these two angels

531
00:24:10,940 --> 00:24:13,740
that had their wings folded out touching each other.

532
00:24:13,740 --> 00:24:16,660
Now, this Ark, this Ark of the Covenant,

533
00:24:16,660 --> 00:24:20,140
was also called the Ark of the Testimony.

534
00:24:20,140 --> 00:24:21,940
That was another name for it.

535
00:24:21,940 --> 00:24:25,900
And so thus, the room that this Ark resided in

536
00:24:25,900 --> 00:24:29,860
was referred to as the Tabernacle of Testimony

537
00:24:29,860 --> 00:24:32,860
because that's where the Ark of the Testimony resided.

538
00:24:34,020 --> 00:24:36,900
This place in the heavenly temple

539
00:24:36,900 --> 00:24:39,660
is where these angels came out from.

540
00:24:39,660 --> 00:24:40,900
Make sense?

541
00:24:40,900 --> 00:24:41,740
All right, so.

542
00:24:43,060 --> 00:24:44,220
But why was the Ark of the Covenant

543
00:24:44,220 --> 00:24:45,540
called the Ark of the Testimony?

544
00:24:45,540 --> 00:24:46,980
What was the point of that?

545
00:24:46,980 --> 00:24:49,980
The reason was is because of what was inside that Ark.

546
00:24:49,980 --> 00:24:52,100
You see, inside the Ark, there were three things.

547
00:24:52,100 --> 00:24:55,020
The first thing was a copy of the Ten Commandments.

548
00:24:55,020 --> 00:24:57,660
Now, it wasn't the original Ten Commandments

549
00:24:57,660 --> 00:24:59,420
because we know the story that Moses,

550
00:24:59,420 --> 00:25:00,580
when he came down from the mountain

551
00:25:00,580 --> 00:25:02,660
and he saw the people engaging in idolatry,

552
00:25:02,660 --> 00:25:04,740
he got mad and he smashed the original ones.

553
00:25:04,740 --> 00:25:07,180
And God said, well, you're gonna have to make another set.

554
00:25:07,180 --> 00:25:08,860
So Moses made another set,

555
00:25:08,860 --> 00:25:12,660
and those were then placed inside the Ark of the Testimony.

556
00:25:12,660 --> 00:25:13,780
Why?

557
00:25:13,780 --> 00:25:15,580
Because it was a testimony

558
00:25:15,580 --> 00:25:18,980
to how Israel had broken God's law.

559
00:25:18,980 --> 00:25:21,020
The second thing that was in the Ark of the Testimony

560
00:25:21,020 --> 00:25:22,900
was a pot of manna.

561
00:25:22,900 --> 00:25:24,860
If you remember, while Israel was wandering

562
00:25:24,860 --> 00:25:27,820
in the wilderness, God was providing this manna,

563
00:25:27,820 --> 00:25:31,060
this bread, this substance for them to eat every day,

564
00:25:31,060 --> 00:25:32,300
and he sustained them.

565
00:25:32,300 --> 00:25:34,820
He provided for them every single day,

566
00:25:34,820 --> 00:25:36,100
and then twice on Saturday

567
00:25:36,100 --> 00:25:37,700
so that they didn't have to go out and gather,

568
00:25:37,700 --> 00:25:39,140
or twice at the end of the week

569
00:25:39,140 --> 00:25:42,420
so they didn't have to go out and gather on the Sabbath day.

570
00:25:42,420 --> 00:25:45,380
And so this pot of manna was put in there

571
00:25:45,380 --> 00:25:48,460
to represent that God provided for them,

572
00:25:48,460 --> 00:25:49,780
but they didn't like it.

573
00:25:49,780 --> 00:25:50,940
And you go back in the Old Testament,

574
00:25:50,940 --> 00:25:52,540
you read that Israel, the children of Israel,

575
00:25:52,540 --> 00:25:54,900
all they did was complain about this food

576
00:25:54,900 --> 00:25:57,900
God provided from heaven, right?

577
00:25:57,900 --> 00:26:00,900
It didn't taste right, it wasn't spiced right,

578
00:26:00,900 --> 00:26:03,100
it was too chewy, it was too tough,

579
00:26:03,100 --> 00:26:04,020
whatever it was, right?

580
00:26:04,020 --> 00:26:05,940
They just complained incessantly

581
00:26:05,940 --> 00:26:07,820
about what God had provided for them.

582
00:26:07,820 --> 00:26:09,600
And so a pot of this stuff was kept

583
00:26:09,600 --> 00:26:13,020
in the Ark of the Testimony because it was a testimony

584
00:26:13,020 --> 00:26:16,540
against Israel's grumbling about God's provision for them.

585
00:26:17,620 --> 00:26:20,100
And the third thing that was in the Ark was Aaron's rod.

586
00:26:20,100 --> 00:26:21,700
Aaron was one of the high priests,

587
00:26:21,700 --> 00:26:25,020
and that rod that he carried was a symbol of his leadership.

588
00:26:25,020 --> 00:26:26,980
And if you remember back in the Old Testament,

589
00:26:26,980 --> 00:26:28,820
the people were arguing and grumbling

590
00:26:28,820 --> 00:26:30,580
against Aaron and Moses.

591
00:26:30,580 --> 00:26:32,260
They didn't like that they were the leaders,

592
00:26:32,260 --> 00:26:34,960
and so they were questioning their leadership

593
00:26:34,960 --> 00:26:36,500
and arguing against them, and God said,

594
00:26:36,500 --> 00:26:39,140
"'Fine, you don't like Aaron?

595
00:26:39,140 --> 00:26:41,220
"'Fine, we're gonna have a contest.

596
00:26:41,220 --> 00:26:43,340
"'You bring whoever you want.

597
00:26:43,340 --> 00:26:44,760
"'I'll have Aaron.'

598
00:26:44,760 --> 00:26:48,440
"'And whoever's staff grows fruit and flowers,

599
00:26:48,440 --> 00:26:50,700
"'whoever's staff's budded,

600
00:26:50,700 --> 00:26:52,900
"'that's the one God's chosen to be the leadership.'"

601
00:26:52,900 --> 00:26:54,860
And so the people said, okay, and they brought their people,

602
00:26:54,860 --> 00:26:57,180
and they put out the rods, and guess whose rod?

603
00:26:57,180 --> 00:26:58,380
Budded.

604
00:26:58,380 --> 00:26:59,440
Aaron's.

605
00:27:00,780 --> 00:27:01,660
And so they said,

606
00:27:01,660 --> 00:27:03,480
"'We're gonna put that in the Ark of the Testimony.'

607
00:27:03,480 --> 00:27:04,320
"'Why?'

608
00:27:04,320 --> 00:27:06,240
"'Because it was a testimony against Israel

609
00:27:06,240 --> 00:27:08,200
"'for going against the leadership

610
00:27:08,200 --> 00:27:11,700
"'that God had raised up in his house.'"

611
00:27:12,620 --> 00:27:15,800
So here you have this box that's at the center

612
00:27:15,800 --> 00:27:19,540
of the tabernacle, in the center of the camp of Israel,

613
00:27:19,540 --> 00:27:22,380
when then was eventually in the most holy place,

614
00:27:22,380 --> 00:27:23,340
in the temple as well,

615
00:27:23,340 --> 00:27:25,780
in the very center of the life in the temple,

616
00:27:25,780 --> 00:27:30,340
and this box was a testimony to the failure of the people.

617
00:27:30,340 --> 00:27:32,380
It was a testimony to the sin of the people,

618
00:27:32,380 --> 00:27:34,060
that they had broken God's law,

619
00:27:34,060 --> 00:27:36,120
that they had grumbled against his provision,

620
00:27:36,120 --> 00:27:38,000
that they had questioned his leadership.

621
00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:39,820
It was a testimony of all of that.

622
00:27:41,020 --> 00:27:43,160
But then once a year, the high priest

623
00:27:43,160 --> 00:27:45,400
got to go into that room,

624
00:27:45,400 --> 00:27:48,580
and he got to sprinkle blood over that lid.

625
00:27:48,580 --> 00:27:51,780
That lid was called the mercy seat,

626
00:27:51,780 --> 00:27:54,900
because God's mercy covered the sins of the people,

627
00:27:54,900 --> 00:27:56,820
and when that blood was sprinkled,

628
00:27:56,820 --> 00:27:59,260
because blood had to have been shed, right?

629
00:27:59,260 --> 00:28:01,500
Without the shedding of blood, there's no remission of sin.

630
00:28:01,500 --> 00:28:04,020
So the blood was sprinkled on that mercy seat,

631
00:28:04,020 --> 00:28:07,460
and then because of that, because that blood was shed,

632
00:28:07,460 --> 00:28:10,140
mercy was then extended to them,

633
00:28:10,140 --> 00:28:12,620
that their failures, their sins were covered,

634
00:28:12,620 --> 00:28:14,320
mercy was granted, and so,

635
00:28:14,320 --> 00:28:17,920
thus the Ark of the Testimony against the people

636
00:28:17,920 --> 00:28:21,480
became the place of mercy extended to them.

637
00:28:22,980 --> 00:28:26,000
This is what God, or John, is seeing

638
00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:28,100
in his vision of Revelation 15.

639
00:28:28,100 --> 00:28:29,540
Not all of it, though.

640
00:28:29,540 --> 00:28:31,280
But as he sees these angels coming out

641
00:28:31,280 --> 00:28:33,300
of the tabernacle of testimony,

642
00:28:33,300 --> 00:28:35,180
and given the bowls of judgment,

643
00:28:35,180 --> 00:28:37,560
John is understanding the implication

644
00:28:37,560 --> 00:28:39,720
of what is being said here.

645
00:28:39,720 --> 00:28:42,620
Because what John is seeing is this temple in heaven,

646
00:28:42,620 --> 00:28:44,140
and if you remember in the book of Hebrews,

647
00:28:44,140 --> 00:28:45,900
it tells us that the tabernacle on earth

648
00:28:45,900 --> 00:28:47,740
was a model of the temple in heaven,

649
00:28:47,740 --> 00:28:50,060
so what we had on earth was a reflection

650
00:28:50,060 --> 00:28:51,380
of the temple in heaven.

651
00:28:51,380 --> 00:28:53,820
So John is seeing this temple in heaven,

652
00:28:53,820 --> 00:28:55,200
and he's seeing that that place,

653
00:28:55,200 --> 00:28:57,980
that seat of mercy, that place of salvation,

654
00:28:59,160 --> 00:29:00,540
right here at the end of tribulation,

655
00:29:00,540 --> 00:29:03,800
is now being turned into a throne of judgment.

656
00:29:05,500 --> 00:29:10,160
All of the right and proper judgment against mankind,

657
00:29:11,000 --> 00:29:13,820
for the testimony of mankind sinned against God,

658
00:29:13,820 --> 00:29:16,500
all that judgment is now coming out.

659
00:29:16,500 --> 00:29:19,860
That in this moment, there was no more mercy.

660
00:29:21,140 --> 00:29:23,040
Now prior to this moment, right,

661
00:29:23,040 --> 00:29:25,620
it had been covered by the blood of Jesus Christ.

662
00:29:25,620 --> 00:29:27,960
Jesus Christ died, he shed his blood.

663
00:29:27,960 --> 00:29:29,500
That that blood would be offered,

664
00:29:29,500 --> 00:29:31,620
and the mercy of God would be granted

665
00:29:31,620 --> 00:29:34,300
to whoever would call in the name of Jesus Christ.

666
00:29:34,300 --> 00:29:36,700
And those who called out for that and received that,

667
00:29:36,700 --> 00:29:39,180
they had been forgiven, they had been granted mercy,

668
00:29:39,180 --> 00:29:42,060
but those who refused that blood,

669
00:29:42,060 --> 00:29:45,000
those who refused Jesus Christ,

670
00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:46,360
and this is what's been taking place

671
00:29:46,360 --> 00:29:47,980
through the tribulation period,

672
00:29:49,220 --> 00:29:51,620
those who had said no to all of that,

673
00:29:52,960 --> 00:29:54,060
there's no more mercy.

674
00:29:55,660 --> 00:29:58,660
There's no more mercy, not here at the end of tribulation.

675
00:30:00,220 --> 00:30:03,100
Now the testimony of against the sin of mankind

676
00:30:03,100 --> 00:30:04,980
is being judged and judged fully.

677
00:30:06,100 --> 00:30:07,860
Verse seven there, it said that one of the four

678
00:30:07,860 --> 00:30:10,500
living creatures gave the seven angels seven golden bowls

679
00:30:10,500 --> 00:30:13,300
filled with the wrath of God who lives forever and ever.

680
00:30:14,560 --> 00:30:16,000
We might have different images on our head

681
00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:18,800
when we think of bowl, right, a cereal bowl,

682
00:30:20,500 --> 00:30:23,180
popcorn bowl that some of us use as a cereal bowl, right,

683
00:30:23,180 --> 00:30:24,220
let's be honest.

684
00:30:25,660 --> 00:30:27,300
I've done that, right, okay, so.

685
00:30:27,300 --> 00:30:29,180
But no, the word for bowl here,

686
00:30:29,180 --> 00:30:31,080
it's more like a saucer.

687
00:30:31,080 --> 00:30:36,020
It's a very shallow bowl made for making an offering,

688
00:30:36,020 --> 00:30:38,640
made for making a liquid offering.

689
00:30:38,640 --> 00:30:40,700
The fancy word for that is libation, right.

690
00:30:40,700 --> 00:30:43,080
If you poured out a liquid as an offering,

691
00:30:43,080 --> 00:30:45,080
as an act of worship, it's called a libation.

692
00:30:45,080 --> 00:30:47,700
And so these bowls are shallow.

693
00:30:47,700 --> 00:30:48,800
And that's an interesting word

694
00:30:48,800 --> 00:30:50,460
because there are other Greek words for bowl,

695
00:30:50,460 --> 00:30:53,660
but this particular word used here is a very shallow bowl

696
00:30:53,660 --> 00:30:55,140
because the picture is it's shallow

697
00:30:55,140 --> 00:30:58,140
so the contents could be poured out quickly.

698
00:30:58,140 --> 00:31:01,180
So the contents could be poured out real fast.

699
00:31:01,180 --> 00:31:02,620
And that's incidentally what we're gonna see

700
00:31:02,620 --> 00:31:04,740
in the final bowl judgments is that these judgments

701
00:31:04,740 --> 00:31:07,400
fall on the earth in a very rapid succession,

702
00:31:07,400 --> 00:31:09,300
so much so that there are some interpreters

703
00:31:09,300 --> 00:31:11,340
that believe that the final seven bowl judgments

704
00:31:11,340 --> 00:31:14,260
all fall upon earth within the last 30 day period

705
00:31:14,260 --> 00:31:16,380
of the tribulation time.

706
00:31:16,380 --> 00:31:17,380
So verse eight, it says,

707
00:31:17,380 --> 00:31:18,900
then the temple was filled with smoke

708
00:31:18,900 --> 00:31:20,820
from the glory of God and from his power,

709
00:31:20,820 --> 00:31:22,700
and no one could enter the temple

710
00:31:22,700 --> 00:31:25,620
until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.

711
00:31:25,620 --> 00:31:27,300
So no one could enter the temple.

712
00:31:27,300 --> 00:31:29,020
Think about that.

713
00:31:29,020 --> 00:31:30,220
No one means no one.

714
00:31:31,340 --> 00:31:33,980
During this moment, not even the redeemed

715
00:31:33,980 --> 00:31:36,560
could enter the temple of God.

716
00:31:36,560 --> 00:31:38,700
Not even the saved that we're gonna see

717
00:31:38,700 --> 00:31:41,140
in verses two through four are there in heaven.

718
00:31:41,140 --> 00:31:42,380
Why?

719
00:31:42,380 --> 00:31:44,580
Well, it's very reminiscent of pictures we've seen

720
00:31:44,580 --> 00:31:45,640
in the Old Testament.

721
00:31:45,640 --> 00:31:47,600
Specifically, there were times in the Old Testament

722
00:31:47,600 --> 00:31:50,660
with Moses where he was not allowed to enter in

723
00:31:50,660 --> 00:31:53,840
to the Holy of Holies because God's smoke filled it.

724
00:31:53,840 --> 00:31:55,860
And he was prevented from going in there.

725
00:31:55,860 --> 00:31:58,160
He was prevented from going into that presence

726
00:31:58,160 --> 00:32:00,740
of God's holiness, which that smoke

727
00:32:00,740 --> 00:32:03,180
and that glory all represented.

728
00:32:03,180 --> 00:32:04,900
And in those times in the Old Testament

729
00:32:04,900 --> 00:32:07,500
where Moses couldn't enter the Holy of Holies

730
00:32:07,500 --> 00:32:09,500
because God's smoke filled it,

731
00:32:09,500 --> 00:32:11,340
the picture was that the glory of God,

732
00:32:11,340 --> 00:32:13,780
his holiness, his perfection,

733
00:32:13,780 --> 00:32:17,540
is so majestic, so pure, so radiant

734
00:32:17,540 --> 00:32:20,060
that no human can enter into the presence of God

735
00:32:20,060 --> 00:32:21,140
unless invited.

736
00:32:22,620 --> 00:32:23,860
We remember the story, right?

737
00:32:23,860 --> 00:32:25,180
Moses is like, God, I wanna see you.

738
00:32:25,180 --> 00:32:26,980
And he's like, he'll burn up, dude.

739
00:32:27,940 --> 00:32:29,340
It's like, tell you what, I'm gonna hide you in the rock,

740
00:32:29,340 --> 00:32:31,500
I'll pass by, you'll see my afterglow.

741
00:32:31,500 --> 00:32:33,720
Moses peeked and was like, ah, aged.

742
00:32:35,380 --> 00:32:38,260
It's like, and that was just the afterglow, right?

743
00:32:38,260 --> 00:32:39,940
God's holiness is so majestic.

744
00:32:39,940 --> 00:32:42,340
It's like, when my presence is here

745
00:32:42,340 --> 00:32:44,420
and I haven't invited you,

746
00:32:44,420 --> 00:32:46,400
you will not come into my presence.

747
00:32:47,820 --> 00:32:49,780
And in this moment of judgment,

748
00:32:50,940 --> 00:32:52,900
in this moment where the fires of judgment

749
00:32:52,900 --> 00:32:54,580
are burning hot, the invitation is

750
00:32:54,580 --> 00:32:57,260
for this moment rescinded.

751
00:32:58,820 --> 00:33:00,540
Then on top of that, the temple was typically

752
00:33:00,540 --> 00:33:03,500
the place where people would go to commune with God, right?

753
00:33:03,500 --> 00:33:05,540
The temple is where they would go to offer their sacrifice.

754
00:33:05,540 --> 00:33:07,800
The temple is where they'd go to talk to God,

755
00:33:07,800 --> 00:33:09,820
but it tells us here that nobody was allowed

756
00:33:09,820 --> 00:33:13,060
in the temple until judgment was completed.

757
00:33:13,060 --> 00:33:15,820
The picture, the picture is that in this moment

758
00:33:15,820 --> 00:33:18,460
at the end of tribulation, there is no more discussion.

759
00:33:19,420 --> 00:33:21,500
There is no more pleading.

760
00:33:21,500 --> 00:33:23,300
There's no more prayer, there's no more waiting.

761
00:33:23,300 --> 00:33:26,500
There is no more mercy in this moment.

762
00:33:26,500 --> 00:33:29,580
The temple is closed for God's judgment

763
00:33:29,580 --> 00:33:33,220
is proceeding forth on the sin of mankind.

764
00:33:33,220 --> 00:33:34,500
A dire picture, right?

765
00:33:34,500 --> 00:33:35,740
A very dire picture.

766
00:33:37,380 --> 00:33:39,340
At this point in Revelation, there are still many

767
00:33:39,340 --> 00:33:40,980
on the earth that have not responded

768
00:33:40,980 --> 00:33:43,420
to the lesser judgments that had come upon the earth.

769
00:33:43,420 --> 00:33:45,220
We've read about it.

770
00:33:45,220 --> 00:33:46,720
There are people on the earth who didn't respond

771
00:33:46,720 --> 00:33:48,940
to the evangelism of the 144,000.

772
00:33:48,940 --> 00:33:50,500
There's people on earth who didn't respond

773
00:33:50,500 --> 00:33:52,180
to the two witnesses in Jerusalem.

774
00:33:52,180 --> 00:33:53,820
There's people on earth who didn't even respond

775
00:33:53,820 --> 00:33:57,420
to the angel flying through the sky preaching the gospel.

776
00:33:57,420 --> 00:33:58,980
Come on, an angel flying through the sky

777
00:33:58,980 --> 00:34:00,220
preaching the gospel.

778
00:34:01,180 --> 00:34:02,020
Nah.

779
00:34:04,200 --> 00:34:05,180
Why?

780
00:34:05,180 --> 00:34:08,180
That wasn't an angel, that was a UFO

781
00:34:08,180 --> 00:34:11,460
or whatever the weird explanation's gonna be.

782
00:34:11,460 --> 00:34:13,020
So instead of responding to the gospel,

783
00:34:13,020 --> 00:34:14,740
though people's hearts get harder and harder

784
00:34:14,740 --> 00:34:17,380
and they don't turn, the offer of grace and mercy

785
00:34:17,380 --> 00:34:18,740
doesn't turn them.

786
00:34:18,740 --> 00:34:20,980
The judgments falling upon the earth doesn't turn them

787
00:34:20,980 --> 00:34:24,180
and so here at the end, it's destruction.

788
00:34:24,180 --> 00:34:25,860
It's the final sentence.

789
00:34:25,860 --> 00:34:28,460
These last seven judgments are pronounced.

790
00:34:30,780 --> 00:34:32,200
And it's gruesome.

791
00:34:32,200 --> 00:34:37,200
I read, somebody wrote this prayer of a humanistic world

792
00:34:37,200 --> 00:34:40,080
and I think this is gonna be the creed

793
00:34:40,080 --> 00:34:41,560
of people on earth at that time

794
00:34:41,560 --> 00:34:43,680
and we even see it a lot now, but this is the prayer

795
00:34:43,680 --> 00:34:45,360
of a humanistic world.

796
00:34:45,360 --> 00:34:48,320
Our brethren who art on earth, hallowed be our name.

797
00:34:48,320 --> 00:34:49,680
Our kingdom come.

798
00:34:49,680 --> 00:34:52,320
Our will will be done on earth for there is no heaven.

799
00:34:52,320 --> 00:34:54,320
We must get this day our daily bread.

800
00:34:54,320 --> 00:34:56,280
We neither forgive nor are forgiven.

801
00:34:56,280 --> 00:34:58,280
We fear not temptation for there is no wrong

802
00:34:58,280 --> 00:35:01,280
and we deliver ourselves from evil if there is such a thing.

803
00:35:01,280 --> 00:35:03,520
For ours is the kingdom and the power

804
00:35:03,520 --> 00:35:06,120
and there is no glory and there is no forever, amen.

805
00:35:08,280 --> 00:35:10,800
Well, God has a response for that

806
00:35:10,800 --> 00:35:12,800
and that's what we're gonna see in chapter 16.

807
00:35:12,800 --> 00:35:14,800
So let's jump back to verse two.

808
00:35:14,800 --> 00:35:15,640
That was the angels.

809
00:35:15,640 --> 00:35:16,480
Let's go back to verse two

810
00:35:16,480 --> 00:35:19,080
and look at the second group here real quick.

811
00:35:19,080 --> 00:35:21,760
We have the angels that have gotten ready for judgment

812
00:35:21,760 --> 00:35:23,200
and as they're getting ready for judgment,

813
00:35:23,200 --> 00:35:25,200
at the same time, worship is happening.

814
00:35:25,200 --> 00:35:27,440
John says, I also saw something like a sea of glass

815
00:35:27,440 --> 00:35:29,840
mixed with fire and those who had won the victory

816
00:35:29,840 --> 00:35:32,680
over the beast, its image and the number of its name

817
00:35:32,680 --> 00:35:36,040
were standing on the sea of glass with harps from God.

818
00:35:36,040 --> 00:35:38,200
They sang the song of God's servant Moses

819
00:35:38,200 --> 00:35:39,680
and the song of the lamb.

820
00:35:40,840 --> 00:35:42,280
So who is this group of people?

821
00:35:42,280 --> 00:35:45,960
Standing before the throne of God, singing, worshiping.

822
00:35:45,960 --> 00:35:49,640
It tells us these are people who have victory over the beast,

823
00:35:49,640 --> 00:35:52,040
over its image and over its mark.

824
00:35:53,480 --> 00:35:56,120
Now, there's clues here that we can kind of look through.

825
00:35:56,120 --> 00:35:58,160
It says they're standing on a sea of glass, right?

826
00:35:58,160 --> 00:36:01,080
And the last time we saw that was in chapter four

827
00:36:01,080 --> 00:36:03,960
of Revelation that before the throne of God,

828
00:36:03,960 --> 00:36:07,000
it was this sea of glass and what we saw there

829
00:36:07,000 --> 00:36:09,640
before the throne of God on this sea of glass

830
00:36:09,640 --> 00:36:12,960
was these 24 elders who were sitting on 24 thrones.

831
00:36:14,080 --> 00:36:17,080
I believe those 24 elders represent the church

832
00:36:17,080 --> 00:36:19,600
that is in heaven before tribulation starts.

833
00:36:19,600 --> 00:36:20,840
That's part of the reason why I believe

834
00:36:20,840 --> 00:36:22,200
in a pre-tribulation rapture.

835
00:36:23,560 --> 00:36:26,000
But the church, being raptured out of the earth

836
00:36:26,000 --> 00:36:28,320
prior to tribulation, guess what?

837
00:36:28,320 --> 00:36:31,160
The church, this entity we call the church today,

838
00:36:31,160 --> 00:36:33,720
the body of Christ, if they are raptured out

839
00:36:33,720 --> 00:36:36,760
prior to the tribulation, then they didn't experience

840
00:36:36,760 --> 00:36:40,080
the beast and they didn't experience its mark

841
00:36:40,080 --> 00:36:42,000
and they didn't experience its image

842
00:36:42,000 --> 00:36:43,760
because they weren't there for it.

843
00:36:44,920 --> 00:36:46,920
But we do know that there are still people on earth

844
00:36:46,920 --> 00:36:50,920
who get saved during the tribulation period.

845
00:36:50,920 --> 00:36:52,840
And we see a picture of that because it says

846
00:36:52,840 --> 00:36:55,200
this group that's standing here are standing

847
00:36:55,200 --> 00:36:58,480
on the sea of glass mixed with fire.

848
00:36:59,680 --> 00:37:00,800
Mixed with fire.

849
00:37:00,800 --> 00:37:04,120
Fire is often something symbolic in scripture

850
00:37:04,120 --> 00:37:07,960
to refer to judgment, to refer to persecution,

851
00:37:07,960 --> 00:37:09,320
to refer to those types of things.

852
00:37:09,320 --> 00:37:12,400
And so we see that this group standing on the sea of glass

853
00:37:12,400 --> 00:37:14,960
mixed with fire, there's something different about them

854
00:37:14,960 --> 00:37:18,400
than the elders or the church that we saw in chapter four.

855
00:37:19,800 --> 00:37:20,640
Who are these people?

856
00:37:20,640 --> 00:37:22,440
I believe they're representative of what we saw

857
00:37:22,440 --> 00:37:26,440
in Revelation chapter six during the fifth seal

858
00:37:26,440 --> 00:37:28,640
where we saw a group of believers

859
00:37:28,640 --> 00:37:30,560
who had been slaughtered for their faith.

860
00:37:30,560 --> 00:37:32,520
I believe these are specifically believers

861
00:37:32,520 --> 00:37:35,240
that had gotten saved during the tribulation period

862
00:37:35,240 --> 00:37:38,280
and then were killed for their confession.

863
00:37:38,280 --> 00:37:39,520
When it says they were slaughtered,

864
00:37:39,520 --> 00:37:42,120
it says they were violently and mercilessly killed

865
00:37:42,120 --> 00:37:43,560
for their faith.

866
00:37:43,560 --> 00:37:45,280
And we know during the tribulation period,

867
00:37:45,280 --> 00:37:48,280
it's gonna become outright illegal to be a Christian.

868
00:37:49,560 --> 00:37:51,160
We know that there's gonna be persecution

869
00:37:51,160 --> 00:37:54,120
to the degree where if you don't take the mark of the beast,

870
00:37:54,120 --> 00:37:55,520
you can't even buy and sell.

871
00:37:55,520 --> 00:37:57,040
You can't go to the store to get food.

872
00:37:57,040 --> 00:37:58,520
You can't put gas in your car.

873
00:37:58,520 --> 00:37:59,600
You can't buy insurance.

874
00:37:59,600 --> 00:38:01,800
Oh, well, you have to have insurance, right?

875
00:38:01,800 --> 00:38:03,680
We see how the persecution's gonna get thick

876
00:38:03,680 --> 00:38:05,400
and then people are just gonna be killed.

877
00:38:05,400 --> 00:38:07,000
And we're gonna see later that there are even some

878
00:38:07,000 --> 00:38:08,760
that have their heads chopped off.

879
00:38:10,360 --> 00:38:13,040
We refer to these as tribulation saints,

880
00:38:13,900 --> 00:38:16,580
a group of people who were killed for turning away

881
00:38:16,580 --> 00:38:19,900
from the system of the Antichrist during tribulation.

882
00:38:19,900 --> 00:38:21,580
The group there in Revelation six

883
00:38:21,580 --> 00:38:22,640
as they're under the altar saying,

884
00:38:22,640 --> 00:38:25,040
God, when are you gonna avenge our blood?

885
00:38:25,040 --> 00:38:26,120
When are you gonna avenge us?

886
00:38:26,120 --> 00:38:27,560
When are you gonna stop being patient?

887
00:38:27,560 --> 00:38:28,660
When are you gonna stop waiting?

888
00:38:28,660 --> 00:38:31,280
And God says, we're almost there, but hold on.

889
00:38:32,340 --> 00:38:35,880
Well, now we see them standing before the throne of God,

890
00:38:35,880 --> 00:38:37,960
which is where the sea of glass is.

891
00:38:37,960 --> 00:38:40,520
But then it says it's mixed with fire

892
00:38:40,520 --> 00:38:43,460
because fire is often symbolic of persecution

893
00:38:43,460 --> 00:38:44,360
or that type of thing.

894
00:38:44,360 --> 00:38:45,760
What we see is this group of people

895
00:38:45,760 --> 00:38:48,480
are standing before God on the sea of glass.

896
00:38:48,480 --> 00:38:50,800
But this representation of fire is that they had gone

897
00:38:50,800 --> 00:38:52,200
through this intense persecution.

898
00:38:52,200 --> 00:38:54,400
They had gone through the fires of persecution

899
00:38:54,400 --> 00:38:56,360
through tribulation and were killed for it.

900
00:38:56,360 --> 00:38:58,040
That they had confessed Jesus Christ

901
00:38:58,040 --> 00:39:01,080
during the most anti-God period of history.

902
00:39:02,160 --> 00:39:04,040
These are the ones that chapter 12 tells us

903
00:39:04,040 --> 00:39:05,920
that are part of the group that's accused

904
00:39:05,920 --> 00:39:09,120
by the great dragon, Satan, day and night.

905
00:39:09,120 --> 00:39:11,280
It said of these people, they did not love their lives

906
00:39:11,280 --> 00:39:13,720
to the point of death, but instead there in chapter 12,

907
00:39:13,720 --> 00:39:16,420
they had conquered by the blood of the lamb.

908
00:39:16,420 --> 00:39:18,640
That blood shed onto the mercy seat

909
00:39:18,640 --> 00:39:20,880
and the word of their testimony.

910
00:39:20,880 --> 00:39:23,280
But for these ones, it wasn't a testimony of failure.

911
00:39:23,280 --> 00:39:26,160
It wasn't a testimony of grumbling against God's provision.

912
00:39:26,160 --> 00:39:28,800
It was a testimony that they had been washed clean

913
00:39:28,800 --> 00:39:30,580
by the blood of Jesus Christ.

914
00:39:33,080 --> 00:39:35,080
And so after all their torture and pain

915
00:39:35,080 --> 00:39:37,000
and suffering and persecution,

916
00:39:38,240 --> 00:39:40,380
we finally see them here standing in heaven,

917
00:39:40,380 --> 00:39:43,000
victorious over the beast.

918
00:39:43,000 --> 00:39:44,680
God is pouring out that judgment

919
00:39:44,680 --> 00:39:46,800
that they had been asking for.

920
00:39:46,800 --> 00:39:49,440
And they're worshiping him from heaven saying,

921
00:39:49,440 --> 00:39:50,960
yes, we are victors.

922
00:39:52,080 --> 00:39:54,120
From an earthly perspective, people probably thought,

923
00:39:54,120 --> 00:39:55,720
oh, you're those poor loser Christians,

924
00:39:55,720 --> 00:39:57,600
but in heaven, they win.

925
00:39:57,600 --> 00:39:58,480
And they're singing here.

926
00:39:58,480 --> 00:40:01,480
It says they're singing the song of Moses

927
00:40:01,480 --> 00:40:02,720
and the song of the lamb.

928
00:40:03,680 --> 00:40:06,280
What they're not singing is, woe is me.

929
00:40:07,400 --> 00:40:09,540
God, my life was so hard.

930
00:40:09,540 --> 00:40:13,940
Lord, it was so unfair what you let me go through.

931
00:40:13,940 --> 00:40:16,220
God, I can't believe it.

932
00:40:16,220 --> 00:40:17,060
I mean, consider it.

933
00:40:17,060 --> 00:40:17,900
They were tortured.

934
00:40:17,900 --> 00:40:20,060
These are the ones that were tortured and beaten

935
00:40:20,060 --> 00:40:21,740
and they couldn't buy and sell and starved

936
00:40:21,740 --> 00:40:24,100
and no justice during this time.

937
00:40:24,100 --> 00:40:26,300
And yet they're singing the song filled with praise,

938
00:40:26,300 --> 00:40:29,940
trust, hope, and anticipation.

939
00:40:29,940 --> 00:40:32,380
And we all have two options

940
00:40:32,380 --> 00:40:33,940
when we're going through difficult times

941
00:40:33,940 --> 00:40:36,300
and we're experiencing episodes of pain,

942
00:40:36,300 --> 00:40:38,940
episodes of trial and discouragement.

943
00:40:38,940 --> 00:40:41,500
One option is to get bitter, get angry,

944
00:40:41,500 --> 00:40:42,660
shake your fist at God.

945
00:40:42,660 --> 00:40:44,260
God, why do you allow this?

946
00:40:45,380 --> 00:40:48,580
The other option is to be driven closer to God

947
00:40:48,580 --> 00:40:50,780
in greater trust and greater dependence.

948
00:40:52,340 --> 00:40:53,340
I read a quote that said,

949
00:40:53,340 --> 00:40:55,180
with some, pain will break the back.

950
00:40:55,180 --> 00:40:58,180
With others, it will bow the knee in humble submission.

951
00:40:58,180 --> 00:41:02,220
And the choice is really yours in those moments.

952
00:41:02,220 --> 00:41:05,220
But this group here, they chose to bow and worship.

953
00:41:05,220 --> 00:41:07,060
They believed Romans 8 28, which says,

954
00:41:07,060 --> 00:41:09,300
we know that all things work together for good

955
00:41:09,300 --> 00:41:11,020
of those who love God

956
00:41:11,020 --> 00:41:13,500
and who are called according to his purpose.

957
00:41:13,500 --> 00:41:14,860
What are they singing?

958
00:41:14,860 --> 00:41:18,140
The song of God's servant Moses and the song of the lamb.

959
00:41:18,140 --> 00:41:21,060
Now, there's a couple different interpretations here

960
00:41:21,060 --> 00:41:21,900
on what these songs are.

961
00:41:21,900 --> 00:41:23,740
Some go look at this and they go,

962
00:41:23,740 --> 00:41:24,860
they're two different songs, right?

963
00:41:24,860 --> 00:41:25,940
They're two separate songs.

964
00:41:25,940 --> 00:41:27,180
There's a song of Moses

965
00:41:27,180 --> 00:41:28,660
and then there's the song of the lamb,

966
00:41:28,660 --> 00:41:31,340
which then we have recorded in verses three and four.

967
00:41:31,340 --> 00:41:33,860
And the reason some will look at it that way

968
00:41:33,860 --> 00:41:35,460
is because if you go to the Old Testament,

969
00:41:35,460 --> 00:41:37,140
there's actually three different songs

970
00:41:37,140 --> 00:41:38,980
that are attributed to Moses

971
00:41:38,980 --> 00:41:40,660
that are considered to be written by Moses.

972
00:41:40,660 --> 00:41:44,180
One of them is in Exodus 15 after they crossed the Red Sea.

973
00:41:44,180 --> 00:41:45,500
One of them's in Psalm 90

974
00:41:45,500 --> 00:41:48,060
and one of them's in Deuteronomy 32,

975
00:41:48,060 --> 00:41:50,060
which is probably titled in your Bible,

976
00:41:50,060 --> 00:41:51,740
the song of Moses, okay?

977
00:41:51,740 --> 00:41:53,780
I mean, it could be one of these songs that he's singing

978
00:41:53,780 --> 00:41:56,340
and there's parallels,

979
00:41:56,340 --> 00:41:58,740
especially if you look at the song in Exodus 15,

980
00:41:58,740 --> 00:42:02,100
it's a song about God's deliverance of Israel

981
00:42:02,100 --> 00:42:03,940
from the bondage of Pharaoh.

982
00:42:03,940 --> 00:42:06,740
And this song we're about to look at in Revelation

983
00:42:06,740 --> 00:42:08,620
is a song of God's deliverance of this group

984
00:42:08,620 --> 00:42:10,180
from the bondage of the Antichrist, right?

985
00:42:10,180 --> 00:42:11,700
So there's parallels there.

986
00:42:11,700 --> 00:42:14,220
Another interpretation is that it's just two titles

987
00:42:14,220 --> 00:42:16,820
for this one song we read in verse 15.

988
00:42:16,820 --> 00:42:17,940
And some people look at it that

989
00:42:17,940 --> 00:42:20,260
because it's a picture of the perfect union

990
00:42:20,260 --> 00:42:24,220
between the law and love, right?

991
00:42:24,220 --> 00:42:26,060
The law which Moses represents

992
00:42:26,060 --> 00:42:30,140
and then the love covenant that the lamb represents,

993
00:42:30,140 --> 00:42:32,100
the whole idea of the union

994
00:42:32,100 --> 00:42:33,620
between the old and new covenants.

995
00:42:33,620 --> 00:42:36,180
And so there's references found in the song.

996
00:42:36,180 --> 00:42:37,500
I'm not sure which one it is

997
00:42:37,500 --> 00:42:40,180
because what we have recorded here in verses three and four

998
00:42:40,180 --> 00:42:41,380
is the song we're gonna look at.

999
00:42:41,380 --> 00:42:43,380
So let's look at it real quick.

1000
00:42:43,380 --> 00:42:45,580
It says, great and awe-inspiring are your works,

1001
00:42:45,580 --> 00:42:47,820
Lord God, the Almighty.

1002
00:42:47,820 --> 00:42:50,020
So the first thing this multitude sings

1003
00:42:50,020 --> 00:42:52,500
and praises God for is his works.

1004
00:42:54,460 --> 00:42:56,060
And if they are tribulation saints,

1005
00:42:56,060 --> 00:43:00,100
which I believe they are, they've seen his works.

1006
00:43:00,100 --> 00:43:02,700
They've seen God's judgment falling upon the earth

1007
00:43:02,700 --> 00:43:04,780
over the last seven years of tribulation.

1008
00:43:04,780 --> 00:43:06,940
They've seen the miracles that God

1009
00:43:06,940 --> 00:43:09,540
wrought through his two witnesses there in Jerusalem.

1010
00:43:09,540 --> 00:43:11,900
They've seen God's miraculous preservation

1011
00:43:11,900 --> 00:43:14,340
of these 144,000 Jewish evangelists

1012
00:43:14,340 --> 00:43:15,940
that I'm sure people tried to kill,

1013
00:43:15,940 --> 00:43:18,620
but they were saved as we read about earlier.

1014
00:43:18,620 --> 00:43:19,980
They've seen his works.

1015
00:43:21,020 --> 00:43:23,300
And they say they're great and awe-inspiring.

1016
00:43:24,420 --> 00:43:26,380
And then they say, just and true

1017
00:43:26,380 --> 00:43:28,700
are your ways, King of nations.

1018
00:43:28,700 --> 00:43:30,900
So the second thing they praise God for,

1019
00:43:30,900 --> 00:43:31,860
first thing is his works,

1020
00:43:31,860 --> 00:43:33,820
second thing is his ways.

1021
00:43:33,820 --> 00:43:34,700
His ways, right?

1022
00:43:34,700 --> 00:43:37,660
They're not blaming God for what happened to them.

1023
00:43:37,660 --> 00:43:38,500
They're not saying, God,

1024
00:43:38,500 --> 00:43:40,700
it's unfair what we had to go through.

1025
00:43:41,780 --> 00:43:44,740
They're saying, just and true are your ways, oh God.

1026
00:43:45,980 --> 00:43:47,580
We lived through this terrible time

1027
00:43:47,580 --> 00:43:50,300
where your judgments were falling upon the earth.

1028
00:43:50,300 --> 00:43:52,580
We lived through it, and then we died,

1029
00:43:52,580 --> 00:43:54,620
and we died horrible deaths.

1030
00:43:55,700 --> 00:43:57,340
But you're still just.

1031
00:43:57,340 --> 00:44:01,980
Your ways are still just because you are just.

1032
00:44:01,980 --> 00:44:03,500
And the judgment you're about to pour out

1033
00:44:03,500 --> 00:44:06,540
on the earth for sin, it's also just.

1034
00:44:06,540 --> 00:44:08,060
It's right.

1035
00:44:08,060 --> 00:44:09,180
And then that word true there,

1036
00:44:09,180 --> 00:44:12,480
it means not arbitrary, but based on good reason.

1037
00:44:13,540 --> 00:44:16,500
Your ways, God, are just and true.

1038
00:44:17,340 --> 00:44:21,540
What you allow in our lives, God, has good reason.

1039
00:44:21,540 --> 00:44:23,140
I may not understand the reason,

1040
00:44:23,140 --> 00:44:27,020
but it has good reason because your ways are just and true.

1041
00:44:27,020 --> 00:44:29,620
And so is the judgment that you're about to pour out.

1042
00:44:29,620 --> 00:44:32,980
It is an honest evaluation on the condition of the world.

1043
00:44:32,980 --> 00:44:35,340
And then as King of nations, that's just a nod to the fact

1044
00:44:35,340 --> 00:44:39,020
that he has the authority to make those distinctions.

1045
00:44:39,020 --> 00:44:41,680
Verse four, Lord, who will not fear and glorify your name

1046
00:44:41,680 --> 00:44:43,740
for you alone are holy?

1047
00:44:43,740 --> 00:44:46,620
Third thing they worship him for is God's worthiness.

1048
00:44:47,760 --> 00:44:50,260
It's almost as if they're just in awe and amazement

1049
00:44:50,260 --> 00:44:52,760
that anybody would deny him, right?

1050
00:44:52,760 --> 00:44:54,720
Like, how could anybody deny God?

1051
00:44:54,720 --> 00:44:56,920
But that's exactly what the world does.

1052
00:44:56,920 --> 00:44:59,120
That's exactly what the world is doing and will do.

1053
00:45:00,320 --> 00:45:01,320
They're in amazement.

1054
00:45:01,320 --> 00:45:03,080
Like, who will not fear you?

1055
00:45:03,080 --> 00:45:06,120
That word fear, it's reverence and great respect

1056
00:45:06,120 --> 00:45:07,960
resulting in humble submission.

1057
00:45:09,040 --> 00:45:10,640
It's having that great respect for him

1058
00:45:10,640 --> 00:45:12,000
and who he is in the world.

1059
00:45:12,000 --> 00:45:14,760
Well, they have the opposite of that in regards to Jesus.

1060
00:45:16,240 --> 00:45:17,880
The world doesn't live in a way that says,

1061
00:45:17,880 --> 00:45:20,720
God, you're first, what you want is important.

1062
00:45:20,720 --> 00:45:22,040
I mean, I wanna talk about pandemics.

1063
00:45:22,040 --> 00:45:24,640
Our world is living in a pandemic of narcosyphosis.

1064
00:45:24,640 --> 00:45:25,840
Narcissism today.

1065
00:45:27,040 --> 00:45:28,960
A pandemic of narcissism.

1066
00:45:28,960 --> 00:45:30,320
There's so many people in our world,

1067
00:45:30,320 --> 00:45:32,900
they think the world revolves around them.

1068
00:45:34,000 --> 00:45:36,280
It's them, their feelings, their thing.

1069
00:45:36,280 --> 00:45:37,440
It's what their life is all about.

1070
00:45:37,440 --> 00:45:38,280
It's what they want.

1071
00:45:38,280 --> 00:45:41,360
And then they think, thus so should God.

1072
00:45:41,360 --> 00:45:43,800
God should revolve around my wants.

1073
00:45:45,200 --> 00:45:47,840
Instead of what it says in Revelation four

1074
00:45:47,840 --> 00:45:49,560
where the people said, you've created all things

1075
00:45:49,560 --> 00:45:52,520
and by your will they exist and were created.

1076
00:45:52,520 --> 00:45:55,160
The problem in the world today is I exist for my will

1077
00:45:55,160 --> 00:45:56,800
because I was not created.

1078
00:45:56,800 --> 00:45:58,780
I'm just an accident of evolution.

1079
00:45:58,780 --> 00:46:02,420
Or whatever cult teaching they've latched onto

1080
00:46:02,420 --> 00:46:04,280
that exults man.

1081
00:46:04,280 --> 00:46:05,880
That's why I'm here.

1082
00:46:05,880 --> 00:46:07,960
Too many today evaluate God on the basis

1083
00:46:07,960 --> 00:46:10,220
of how much he will give me what I want.

1084
00:46:12,200 --> 00:46:14,060
You know, I'll fellowship with his people at church

1085
00:46:14,060 --> 00:46:15,580
if it's comfortable enough.

1086
00:46:16,520 --> 00:46:19,260
I'll go to church if I'm not too tired.

1087
00:46:19,260 --> 00:46:24,260
I'll worship if the music is my preferred genre.

1088
00:46:27,460 --> 00:46:29,860
I'll evangelize as long as it doesn't scare me.

1089
00:46:31,780 --> 00:46:34,220
I'll give as long as it doesn't cost me anything.

1090
00:46:35,220 --> 00:46:38,120
I'll serve as long as it's according to my time preferences.

1091
00:46:39,740 --> 00:46:41,780
It's a pandemic of narcissism.

1092
00:46:41,780 --> 00:46:43,740
What we see this group worshiping God for here

1093
00:46:43,740 --> 00:46:46,120
is they say, God, you alone are holy.

1094
00:46:46,120 --> 00:46:49,520
You alone are holy.

1095
00:46:51,160 --> 00:46:52,380
This group in heaven is just saying,

1096
00:46:52,380 --> 00:46:53,920
I can't believe the world hasn't figured out

1097
00:46:53,920 --> 00:46:54,760
that God is holy.

1098
00:46:54,760 --> 00:46:55,600
It's all about him.

1099
00:46:57,080 --> 00:46:58,640
And then finally they say all the nations

1100
00:46:58,640 --> 00:46:59,860
will come and worship before you

1101
00:46:59,860 --> 00:47:02,680
because your righteous acts have been revealed.

1102
00:47:02,680 --> 00:47:04,520
So the fourth thing they worship God for,

1103
00:47:04,520 --> 00:47:06,800
first it's his works, it's his ways,

1104
00:47:06,800 --> 00:47:09,320
it's his worthiness and now it's just the worship.

1105
00:47:09,320 --> 00:47:11,440
They just worship him for the sake of his due,

1106
00:47:11,440 --> 00:47:12,520
all the worship.

1107
00:47:12,520 --> 00:47:15,680
And they recognize that that is what's gonna come to pass.

1108
00:47:15,680 --> 00:47:17,160
Right, this is their anticipation

1109
00:47:17,160 --> 00:47:19,360
of when the whole world will gather together

1110
00:47:19,360 --> 00:47:23,100
by force or by choice and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

1111
00:47:24,200 --> 00:47:25,600
That's what Philippians two tells us.

1112
00:47:25,600 --> 00:47:27,960
For this reason, God highly exalted him

1113
00:47:27,960 --> 00:47:29,800
and gave him the name that is above every name

1114
00:47:29,800 --> 00:47:31,060
so that at the name of Jesus,

1115
00:47:31,060 --> 00:47:33,400
every knee will bow in heaven and on earth

1116
00:47:33,400 --> 00:47:35,680
and under the earth and every tongue will confess

1117
00:47:35,680 --> 00:47:39,160
that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the Father.

1118
00:47:39,160 --> 00:47:40,000
Hallelujah.

1119
00:47:41,840 --> 00:47:44,080
So here at the end, as in all of history,

1120
00:47:44,080 --> 00:47:46,080
there exist two groups of people.

1121
00:47:46,080 --> 00:47:49,980
Those who revere and respect and fear God

1122
00:47:49,980 --> 00:47:50,980
and those who don't.

1123
00:47:52,320 --> 00:47:53,840
Those who don't, we're seeing here,

1124
00:47:53,840 --> 00:47:56,120
will face the full wrath of God.

1125
00:47:57,040 --> 00:47:58,800
Those who do fear God,

1126
00:47:58,800 --> 00:48:00,600
those who do respect and reverence him

1127
00:48:00,600 --> 00:48:02,500
and have him as their Lord and Savior,

1128
00:48:02,500 --> 00:48:04,840
they will escape the wrath.

1129
00:48:04,840 --> 00:48:07,240
They will exist in a joyous worship

1130
00:48:07,240 --> 00:48:08,800
with their creator forever.

1131
00:48:09,960 --> 00:48:12,920
It's clear, it's cut and dry in that regard.

1132
00:48:12,920 --> 00:48:14,320
Judgment is coming.

1133
00:48:15,520 --> 00:48:17,480
And that's not a popular thing to say.

1134
00:48:18,520 --> 00:48:20,080
It's coming.

1135
00:48:20,080 --> 00:48:24,580
In you and me, nobody can stop it.

1136
00:48:24,580 --> 00:48:25,960
Nobody can stop it.

1137
00:48:28,260 --> 00:48:31,160
But you don't have to walk right into judgment.

1138
00:48:31,160 --> 00:48:33,620
You don't have to walk into the full expression

1139
00:48:33,620 --> 00:48:34,800
of God's wrath on sin.

1140
00:48:34,800 --> 00:48:36,920
For Jesus said in John 5 24,

1141
00:48:36,920 --> 00:48:39,680
truly I tell you, anyone who hears my word

1142
00:48:39,680 --> 00:48:42,640
and believes him who sent me has eternal life

1143
00:48:42,640 --> 00:48:44,240
and will not come under judgment,

1144
00:48:44,240 --> 00:48:46,680
but has passed from death to life.

1145
00:48:49,160 --> 00:48:50,880
I wanna close with this quick story.

1146
00:48:50,880 --> 00:48:54,000
It's about a dad who is walking with his little girl

1147
00:48:54,000 --> 00:48:56,600
out in a big, vast open prairie,

1148
00:48:56,600 --> 00:48:58,000
kind of like a grassland.

1149
00:48:59,040 --> 00:49:01,800
There was just miles and miles of this grass

1150
00:49:01,800 --> 00:49:03,040
kinda area around them.

1151
00:49:03,040 --> 00:49:04,400
And they were walking for a long time.

1152
00:49:04,400 --> 00:49:06,440
And after some time of walking,

1153
00:49:06,440 --> 00:49:09,400
the dad looked up and he noticed that off in the distance,

1154
00:49:09,400 --> 00:49:11,580
there was a prairie fire that was burning

1155
00:49:11,580 --> 00:49:13,600
and coming towards them.

1156
00:49:13,600 --> 00:49:15,800
This dad knew that there was only one chance to escape

1157
00:49:15,800 --> 00:49:17,800
because the fire was moving way too fast.

1158
00:49:17,800 --> 00:49:21,600
And they had been walking far too far away

1159
00:49:21,600 --> 00:49:22,420
from where they were.

1160
00:49:22,420 --> 00:49:24,680
So there was no way they could outrun the fire.

1161
00:49:25,760 --> 00:49:28,040
He knew that if he burned the ground around them,

1162
00:49:28,040 --> 00:49:29,720
all the grass immediately around them,

1163
00:49:29,720 --> 00:49:31,680
there would be nothing for this fire to consume.

1164
00:49:31,680 --> 00:49:33,160
And thus the fire would probably hit

1165
00:49:33,160 --> 00:49:35,560
and burn around them and keep going.

1166
00:49:35,560 --> 00:49:37,720
So fortunately, this dad, he had a match.

1167
00:49:37,720 --> 00:49:40,120
He strikes up the match, catches the grass,

1168
00:49:40,120 --> 00:49:41,600
you know, as quickly as he can.

1169
00:49:41,600 --> 00:49:43,560
It was really dry, so it caught fire real quick.

1170
00:49:43,560 --> 00:49:44,960
And he let it burn out to an area

1171
00:49:44,960 --> 00:49:47,800
and then he stomped it out as fast as he could.

1172
00:49:47,800 --> 00:49:48,880
Then he picked up his daughter

1173
00:49:48,880 --> 00:49:52,400
and he stood in the very center of that burnt section.

1174
00:49:52,400 --> 00:49:55,040
And the fire was raging and coming closer and closer.

1175
00:49:55,040 --> 00:49:57,760
And as the fire got closer, his little girl was scared.

1176
00:49:57,760 --> 00:49:59,960
And she was crying out and crying,

1177
00:49:59,960 --> 00:50:02,540
Daddy, Daddy, I'm scared.

1178
00:50:04,240 --> 00:50:07,120
Finally, the flames were just raging all around them.

1179
00:50:07,120 --> 00:50:10,520
But he said to his daughter, don't worry.

1180
00:50:10,520 --> 00:50:13,000
The flames can't get to us because we're standing

1181
00:50:13,000 --> 00:50:14,400
where they have already been.

1182
00:50:15,320 --> 00:50:17,940
And sure enough, the flames just burned right around them

1183
00:50:17,940 --> 00:50:19,440
and continued down through the field,

1184
00:50:19,440 --> 00:50:21,440
leaving the dad and his daughter unharmed.

1185
00:50:23,080 --> 00:50:26,280
You know, 2,000 years ago, Jesus Christ came to this earth,

1186
00:50:26,280 --> 00:50:30,920
the Son of God, and he hung on the cross

1187
00:50:30,920 --> 00:50:33,400
where the Father poured out all of the wrath

1188
00:50:33,400 --> 00:50:35,780
of his judgment on sin on him.

1189
00:50:35,780 --> 00:50:38,460
The full wrath of God fell upon Jesus

1190
00:50:38,460 --> 00:50:40,340
that according to John 3, 16,

1191
00:50:40,340 --> 00:50:43,260
everyone who would believe in him would not perish

1192
00:50:43,260 --> 00:50:47,180
but have eternal life because he paid the price for our sin.

1193
00:50:48,180 --> 00:50:50,500
The reality is is that when you're in Christ,

1194
00:50:50,500 --> 00:50:53,300
you are standing where the fire has already been.

1195
00:50:54,780 --> 00:50:56,380
You are standing where it has already been.

1196
00:50:56,380 --> 00:50:59,180
You have nothing to fear at all, ever.

1197
00:51:00,020 --> 00:51:01,500
You have nothing to fear.

1198
00:51:01,500 --> 00:51:06,500
You have no wrath of God, the judgment of his on sin.

1199
00:51:06,500 --> 00:51:09,940
You have no reason to fear that at all, ever.

1200
00:51:11,460 --> 00:51:13,940
Every pain we might experience in our life,

1201
00:51:13,940 --> 00:51:16,140
we know that the Bible says that God uses these things

1202
00:51:16,140 --> 00:51:18,580
to refine us, to purify us,

1203
00:51:18,580 --> 00:51:21,020
and all of that is about drawing us closer to him.

1204
00:51:21,020 --> 00:51:22,820
But in the context of judgment

1205
00:51:22,820 --> 00:51:26,020
and the wrath of God on judgment is concerned,

1206
00:51:26,020 --> 00:51:31,580
you and I in Christ stand where the fire has already burned.

1207
00:51:32,900 --> 00:51:34,420
Jesus took it all on himself

1208
00:51:35,820 --> 00:51:39,060
so that you and I would not have to face God's wrath on sin.

1209
00:51:40,380 --> 00:51:42,980
That's the truth that we have today to share with people.

1210
00:51:44,020 --> 00:51:45,580
That's the truth many reject.

1211
00:51:46,820 --> 00:51:48,420
And there are many in this world today that says,

1212
00:51:48,420 --> 00:51:51,420
if God hated sin so much, why doesn't he judge it?

1213
00:51:51,420 --> 00:51:56,100
And they misunderstand his longsuffering and his patience

1214
00:51:56,100 --> 00:51:56,940
for neglect.

1215
00:51:58,860 --> 00:51:59,780
Judgment is coming.

1216
00:51:59,780 --> 00:52:02,580
And if you don't know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior,

1217
00:52:04,500 --> 00:52:06,860
I pray today you've heard the Holy Spirit speaking to you

1218
00:52:06,860 --> 00:52:08,900
about your desperate need for him,

1219
00:52:08,900 --> 00:52:11,660
because without him there is no salvation.

1220
00:52:11,660 --> 00:52:16,540
Without him, you're a sinner who's broken God's law.

1221
00:52:16,540 --> 00:52:17,900
And there is no payment applied.

1222
00:52:17,900 --> 00:52:21,540
There is no work you can do to atone for that.

1223
00:52:22,380 --> 00:52:24,740
It is only the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

1224
00:52:26,060 --> 00:52:29,260
So if you don't know him today, come to know him today.

1225
00:52:30,140 --> 00:52:31,260
Let me pray with you.

1226
00:52:32,100 --> 00:52:33,340
Let's pray right now.

1227
00:52:33,340 --> 00:52:37,140
Father God, we trust you in your word, God,

1228
00:52:37,140 --> 00:52:39,540
and we thank you, Lord, for the warnings you give us.

1229
00:52:41,420 --> 00:52:43,660
Lord, your word is full of these warnings, God.

1230
00:52:43,660 --> 00:52:46,460
Lord, you, like a loving father, regularly will warn

1231
00:52:46,460 --> 00:52:48,620
your people about the consequences of sin.

1232
00:52:50,100 --> 00:52:53,260
But Lord, the greatest consequence is you not being our father

1233
00:52:53,260 --> 00:52:56,180
and the judgment that will come upon our sin because of that.

1234
00:52:58,180 --> 00:53:00,020
Lord, maybe there are some in this room this morning

1235
00:53:00,020 --> 00:53:02,300
or some even watching online that have never accepted you

1236
00:53:02,300 --> 00:53:03,660
as their Lord and Savior.

1237
00:53:03,660 --> 00:53:06,300
God, they have never come to that place of saying,

1238
00:53:06,300 --> 00:53:08,580
Jesus, I believe you are God.

1239
00:53:08,580 --> 00:53:09,980
I believe you died on the cross.

1240
00:53:09,980 --> 00:53:11,380
I believe you rose again.

1241
00:53:11,380 --> 00:53:13,780
I believe you died from my sin.

1242
00:53:15,860 --> 00:53:17,700
And Lord, if there are those that have never said

1243
00:53:17,700 --> 00:53:19,620
that I pray God even in this moment

1244
00:53:19,620 --> 00:53:20,820
as you're speaking to their heart

1245
00:53:20,820 --> 00:53:22,420
that they would pray with me.

1246
00:53:23,620 --> 00:53:25,260
And if God is speaking to you and you know you need

1247
00:53:25,260 --> 00:53:27,900
to receive Christ this morning, pray this prayer with me.

1248
00:53:27,900 --> 00:53:32,300
Say, Lord Jesus, I believe you are God.

1249
00:53:33,860 --> 00:53:35,660
I believe you came to this earth.

1250
00:53:37,340 --> 00:53:39,180
I believe you lived a perfect life.

1251
00:53:39,180 --> 00:53:42,540
I believe you lived a perfect life.

1252
00:53:44,140 --> 00:53:45,340
A life without sin.

1253
00:53:48,460 --> 00:53:50,380
And I believe you died on the cross

1254
00:53:51,980 --> 00:53:55,260
as the only pure sacrifice.

1255
00:53:57,260 --> 00:54:01,220
And you shed your blood for me.

1256
00:54:01,220 --> 00:54:06,220
That blood being sprinkled on the mercy seat

1257
00:54:09,180 --> 00:54:10,620
to atone for my sin.

1258
00:54:12,700 --> 00:54:14,100
That I would find mercy.

1259
00:54:15,020 --> 00:54:16,660
That I would find forgiveness.

1260
00:54:18,100 --> 00:54:19,380
I believe in you today.

1261
00:54:20,700 --> 00:54:22,380
I believe in what you did today.

1262
00:54:23,820 --> 00:54:25,660
I believe it saves me today.

1263
00:54:27,260 --> 00:54:28,940
Thank you for loving me so much.

1264
00:54:28,940 --> 00:54:30,260
That you would do that.

1265
00:54:31,780 --> 00:54:33,780
Thank you for loving me so much

1266
00:54:33,780 --> 00:54:37,180
that you would provide a way for me

1267
00:54:37,180 --> 00:54:40,220
to escape the wrath to come.

1268
00:54:42,060 --> 00:54:44,860
Help me share this hope with others.

1269
00:54:46,460 --> 00:54:49,420
Help me warn others of the judgment to come.

1270
00:54:51,260 --> 00:54:56,260
In a loving and kind way, but with boldness and confidence.

1271
00:54:56,260 --> 00:54:58,340
In Jesus' name I pray, amen.

1272
00:55:01,220 --> 00:55:02,860
Well you received Jesus Christ this morning

1273
00:55:02,860 --> 00:55:05,580
whether you're here in our room or watching online.

1274
00:55:05,580 --> 00:55:07,300
We wanna help you on this walk,

1275
00:55:07,300 --> 00:55:09,100
this relationship you've just started with God.

1276
00:55:09,100 --> 00:55:12,300
And so before you leave today, we have a little packet,

1277
00:55:12,300 --> 00:55:13,860
we call it New Believers Packet.

1278
00:55:13,860 --> 00:55:14,900
Please make sure you grab one.

1279
00:55:14,900 --> 00:55:16,740
It has all kinds of resources in you

1280
00:55:16,740 --> 00:55:18,860
to help you get plugged into the word of God,

1281
00:55:18,860 --> 00:55:20,860
to get plugged into the worship of God,

1282
00:55:20,860 --> 00:55:22,980
to get plugged into all the different community groups

1283
00:55:22,980 --> 00:55:24,860
we have here at Hosanna, to get plugged into

1284
00:55:24,860 --> 00:55:26,260
all the community groups we have here at Hosanna

1285
00:55:26,260 --> 00:55:27,900
to be involved.

1286
00:55:27,900 --> 00:55:29,060
If you're interested in learning

1287
00:55:29,060 --> 00:55:30,500
how to share your faith more,

1288
00:55:30,500 --> 00:55:33,020
we have an evangelism ministry that meets every Thursday

1289
00:55:33,020 --> 00:55:34,780
to teach and train the skills

1290
00:55:34,780 --> 00:55:37,300
and then goes out all the time.

1291
00:55:37,300 --> 00:55:39,620
We have people in our body that are going out all the time

1292
00:55:39,620 --> 00:55:42,660
to share their faith, to learn how to pass out

1293
00:55:42,660 --> 00:55:43,660
these gospel tracts.

1294
00:55:43,660 --> 00:55:45,580
And if God is calling you to that

1295
00:55:45,580 --> 00:55:47,760
and you wanna learn how to do that, get plugged in.

1296
00:55:47,760 --> 00:55:49,860
But get this packet from us so that we can help you

1297
00:55:49,860 --> 00:55:52,980
on this journey that you've started with your creator.

1298
00:55:52,980 --> 00:55:55,660
For the rest of us, we know Jesus Christ

1299
00:55:55,660 --> 00:55:56,980
and we know the end is coming.

1300
00:55:56,980 --> 00:55:59,940
We say we believe the word of God, right?

1301
00:55:59,940 --> 00:56:03,060
We say it's God's word, it's holy and it's true.

1302
00:56:03,060 --> 00:56:05,460
Well, he said judgment is coming.

1303
00:56:05,460 --> 00:56:06,940
And he said those that don't know him

1304
00:56:06,940 --> 00:56:10,100
are gonna suffer the eternal judgment of hell.

1305
00:56:10,100 --> 00:56:14,220
Let that be a motivator to hand out a tract.

1306
00:56:15,260 --> 00:56:17,800
Let that be a motivator to have a conversation

1307
00:56:17,800 --> 00:56:19,660
if God would open up that door.

1308
00:56:19,660 --> 00:56:20,980
I know it's scary.

1309
00:56:20,980 --> 00:56:23,060
For a lot of us, it's like, ooh, it's scary

1310
00:56:23,060 --> 00:56:24,400
to talk to people about my faith.

1311
00:56:24,400 --> 00:56:26,660
But God saved your soul.

1312
00:56:28,200 --> 00:56:30,620
God saved you from his wrath to come, hallelujah.

1313
00:56:30,620 --> 00:56:32,500
How glorious is that?

1314
00:56:32,500 --> 00:56:33,940
He wants to do that for whoever

1315
00:56:33,940 --> 00:56:35,820
you're thinking about right now.

1316
00:56:35,820 --> 00:56:38,580
So I pray God would fill you with his Holy Spirit.

1317
00:56:38,580 --> 00:56:41,460
That we would be a church and a people that go out.

1318
00:56:41,460 --> 00:56:42,860
Pray for God's will to be done,

1319
00:56:42,860 --> 00:56:44,940
but be that light on the hill to shine the gospel

1320
00:56:44,940 --> 00:56:47,880
with people in all the different ways we do it.

1321
00:56:47,880 --> 00:56:50,020
You may go out with teams, you may do it on your own.

1322
00:56:50,020 --> 00:56:53,500
It doesn't matter, just do it in obedience to the Lord.

1323
00:56:53,500 --> 00:56:56,260
And watch God work through you to save others

1324
00:56:56,260 --> 00:56:58,740
from the wrath that is to come, amen?

1325
00:56:58,740 --> 00:57:20,540
Let's worship, guys.