Latest / Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago / The Return of Death (The Seven Trumpets) | Revelation 9:12-21 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Revelation Bible Study Series)

Transcript

The Return of Death (The Seven Trumpets) | Revelation 9:12-21 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Revelation Bible Study Series) · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

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  It is said that 1.8 to two people die every second
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  worldwide, 106 people every minute, 6392 every hour, and
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  just over 150,000 people every single day.
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  The Bible, however, predicts something remarkable.
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  It predicts a period in the future when these predictable
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  statistics will come to a mysterious halt.
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  The Scripture foretells a moment in history that is
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  unprecedented. Death will be withheld from the
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  world as the globe will be tormented by demonic spirits for
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  a total of five months, and this will be by divine sanction.
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  This will be permitted by God as a way to jolt the wicked in
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  order to repent before it is too late.
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  And this is what John saw when he had a vision of an Angel
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  blowing the fifth of seven trumpets which have been
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  appointed by God to declare the escalating acts of his wrath
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  just before the return of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
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  But that is not the only thing that John witnessed as an
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  unusual phenomenon in this Tribulation era.
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  There is something else that will happen.
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  And after John finished explaining the events under the
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  5th trumpet, he says the following.
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  In Revelation 9 verse 12, the first woe has passed.
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  Behold 2 woes are still to come. As if to say, as bad as this
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  was, it's only going to get worse.
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  Now what can be more terrifying than the release of innumerable
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  amount of demons who have been chained in the abyss for
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  thousands of years to inflict unspeakable pain upon every
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  person who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads?
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  What we're about to be told, we're about to see exactly what
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  will transpire because we still have 3 trumpets, one that we
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  covered last week, 2 left, and each of them have been ascribed
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  A woe. And we will look at now the 6th
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  trumpet as we read Revelation 9, verse 13 down to verse 15.
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  Let's turn there together. Then the 6th Angel blew his
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  trumpet, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the
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  golden altar before God, saying to the 6th Angel who had the
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  trumpet release the four angels who were bound at the great
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  river Euphrates. So the four angels who had been
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  prepared for the hour, the day, the month and the year were
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  released to kill 1/3 of mankind. Let's pray, Lord, we ask, as we
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  always do, humbly with Your word before us, that You would lead
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  us through it, that we would hear Your voice, that it would
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  swallow up any other voices that contradict Your will, Your
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  wisdom, Your mind, Your heart. We, we want to be engulfed by
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  the revelation of who You are and so Lord apprehend us and
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  take us deeper and draw us closer into your bosom that we
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  may leave here knowing you more. This is our desire as a church.
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  In Jesus name we pray, Amen and Amen.
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  So the 5th trumpet was blown, and what happened there was the
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  unleashing of demons who were given authority to torment but
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  not to kill. Now we come to the 6th trumpet,
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  and there was also demons who were released, but this time
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  they've been called to execute in a staggering way.
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  John tells us that after five months of no death, no matter
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  how many attempts to commit suicide, no matter how many
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  attempts to try to kill somebody else, at the end of almost half
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  a year, there will be the unleashing of mass casualties,
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  1/3 of mankind in that future generation.
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  Here's we have to remember when we looked at the seal judgments,
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  the first set of judgments, we're now in the second with the
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  trumpet, we have the bulls to come.
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  In that first set with the seals, we learned that 1/4 of
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  mankind had already died through wars and famines and all these
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  different issues, and now we learn 1/3 on top of it.
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  So we have at least 1/2 of the world's population that have
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  already perished. This is unthinkable.
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  This is hard to imagine. But this is the reality of that
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  future tribulation period. And this is essentially the
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  summary of the 6th trumpet, that 1/3 of mankind will be dead.
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  But is that all the Lord intended to teach us through it?
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  Most definitely not. We just read the first few
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  verses about the six trumpet. We still have the rest of the
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  chapter. And if you look at the the
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  entirety of this section, you'll actually notice three groups of
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  persons, three groups, and each of them have something to offer
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  us in terms of our spiritual maturity.
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  And so this is just a helpful way to organize our thoughts.
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  But we read the first few verses and that actually shows us the
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  first group in focus under the 6th trumpet.
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  What's highlighted immediately are the Saints.
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  The Saints. How do believers fit in this
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  picture? Look back at verse one.
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  Excuse me, verse 13. Then the 6th Angel blew his
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  trumpet, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the
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  golden altar before God. So this trumpet blast, it's
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  sounded, it's alarmed. And right after John hears a
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  voice. But we're not given the identity
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  of the commander. Is this voice Christ?
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  Is this voice an Angel? It's unclear, but what is made
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  known to us is the location of the voice.
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  This command came from the four horns of the golden altar before
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  God, and this is an object that you and I have seen before in
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  Revelation not too far back. Look back at Revelation 8 very
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  quickly and look at verse 3. John says here in Revelation 8,
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  verse 3. And another Angel came and stood
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  at the altar with a golden censor, and he was given much
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  incense to offer with the prayers of all the Saints on the
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  golden altar before the throne. And the smoke of the incense
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  with the prayers of the Saints rose before God from the hand of
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  the Angel. This golden altar that was
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  placed before the throne of God in heaven is intimately
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  connected with the intercessions and the prayers of God's people.
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  And this instrument reflects the very same altar that was located
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  right before the veil in the temple.
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  And this is a symbol of God treasuring and honoring our
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  prayers. And it wasn't just true in that
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  temple. It's true to this day because he
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  has his own heavenly altar that holds our cries and our
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  requests. So we can't say this, though,
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  that the voice that John heard from the four corners of that
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  altar are the combined voices of believers telling an Angel what
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  to do. That's not what's happening
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  here. What is happening here is that
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  the Holy Spirit wants us to see how the intercessions and the
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  supplications of the Saints throughout the ages plays a
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  major role in the unfolding of these events in the last days.
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  That's the heart of the matter. Or else why mention the golden
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  altar, right? It's as though the Lord wants to
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  tell us through this vision that all the cries in the longings of
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  his people over the centuries for true justice for the return
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  of His Son are now being answered.
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  And we've been given this vision ahead of time to realize that
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  God will indeed answer those prayers one day.
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  But let's think about this more deeply.
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  Isn't it profound to witness in our Bibles how there is a
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  connection between the prayers of God's people and events that
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  can affect the world, that can make history, that can transform
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  nations? This is remarkable that the
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  children of God's prayers being given to him are taken into
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  consideration to actually intervene in our world in ways
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  that we've never seen before. Prayer is a mystery for many
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  reasons, yet Scripture makes this thing unclear that it has
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  the ability to Pierce into the spiritual realm and influence
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  things. And I can't think of a stronger
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  example than this and of this then with Daniel and Daniel,
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  chapter 10, you remember Daniel, a man of great prayer.
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  Now, for those who come here every single week on Friday
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  nights, we're studying Ezra. Do you remember what year it was
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  under Cyrus King of Persia that he released the Jews to return
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  back to their homeland? It was the first year in the
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  first year of Cyrus King of Persia.
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  But in the beginning of Daniel 10, we're given another ten time
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  stamp. In the third year of Cyrus King
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  of Persia. Daniel made this decision.
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  I'm going to mourn and I'm going to pray for three weeks now.
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  The question is why? Why did Daniel decide to
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  consecrate himself in this manner?
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  What took place for him to make this decision?
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  We're not told in Daniel Chapter 10, but we can speculate.
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  Daniel was a high official in the government, was he not?
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  And the people had already been released a few years prior.
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  His own people. He chose to remain back.
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  We're going to study some of the reasons why on our Friday
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  nights. Why did Daniel stay back when
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  there was an open door for all the remnant to return?
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  Is that interesting? Well, he chose to remain, and as
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  a high official, it's very likely that he received updates
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  of what took place in Jerusalem in the attempt of the people of
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  God to rebuild the temple. You have to remember that there
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  were great obstacles, a lot of opposition, a lot of
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  persecution, to the point where the project was put on pause.
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  And it could be that Daniel learn about this update and it
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  troubled him deeply because he read in the Scriptures that the
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  people of God would be recovered, restored, and that
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  they would move on. 70 years had passed, the Exiles finished.
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  Why are things not moving ahead? And I'm persuaded that this
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  disturbed Daniel so much that he chose to fast and he began to
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  pray and inquire of God. Lord, what is happening here?
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  What's going on? And as he decided to set apart
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  that time and his energy, something astounding took place.
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  A heavenly messenger appears before Daniel a few days after
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  that three-week time of consecrated prayer.
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  And he gives him one of the most profound and detailed prophecies
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  in all of Scripture. We can't get into into detail
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  now, but what I want to bring to your attention is what this
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  heavenly messenger said to Daniel initially.
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  So go to Daniel 10 and look here with me in verse 11, Daniel 10,
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  verse 11. And he said to me, Oh Daniel,
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  man greatly loved, understand the words that I speak to you,
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  and stand upright, for now I've been sent to you.
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  And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling.
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  Then he said to me, Fear not Daniel, for from the first day
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  that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself
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  before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come
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  because of your words. Now, many who teach on prayer
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  love to come to this passage, yet they tend to rush past the
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  opening words of it. Before Daniel was given any kind
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  of explanation of what was going to take place with the people of
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  Israel, what was he told? Oh, Daniel man greatly loved the
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  Lord, saw it necessary that Daniel would be reminded of the
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  great affection that he had for him.
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  Why? I think there's a clue in the
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  context right before this Daniel fainted at the sight of this
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  heavenly being. He collapsed.
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  And it could be that the Lord right away wanted to reassure
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  the prophet, wanted to strengthen him by doing what?
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  Setting before his eyes the great love that this great God
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  had for him. And I think even in that we have
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  a lesson for each of us, all the people that I've met over the
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  years before ministry and especially in ministry, who
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  doubt God's love for them, who whose hearts race at the thought
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  of one day standing before them, even though they proclaim him to
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  be, to, to be their Savior and, and, and they're delivering the
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  Redeemer. How do I know if I'm doing
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  enough to please him? Is my status truly set?
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  Is it sealed that I'm forgiven? I am his own.
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  The the troubles and the weakness that brings.
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  Ioffer this truth to you in the same way that it was prescribed
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  to Daniel. You must set before your heart
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  the love of God until you're able to be confident in your
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  stance. And this truth even applies to
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  those who are weak in their faith, who are weary in this
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  journey. Do you see the remedy here?
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  Understand and meditate on the strong, consistent, steadfast
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  love that God has for you and I. On a personal level, this is
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  what this man heard and what's so remarkable to me.
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  It's not the first time Daniel heard it.
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  In Daniel 9, when another heavenly being appeared before
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  him, he was also told the same thing.
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  Man greatly love, beloved of God.
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  And at this point in the section of Daniel, he's quite old.
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  He's an elderly man. And even as an elderly man, a
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  seasoned St. He needed to be reminded of
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  God's love. This mighty prophet, this holy
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  man, this individual who's who's impacted an entire empire, more
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  than one empire, needed to rehearse God's love, not just
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  for Israel, not just for his house, not just for his own
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  name, but for Daniel. And that is a resounding
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  exhortation in your New Testament of mine.
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  Do you remember what John wrote in first John 31?
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  See what kind of love the Father has given us.
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  That's the first part of that verse.
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  See what kind of love the Father has given us.
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  Other translations say behold what manner of love the Father
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  has given. That first word is so important.
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  See it, behold it. Pay close attention to it.
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  Don't just let it skip over you. God loves me, OK?
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  No, no, no, sit there. What do you mean this God loves
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  me? Does he actually have feelings?
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  Did he actually have emotions? Or is it this stoic, loyal,
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  covenantal love? I made a promise and I'm going
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  to love you. Or is actually heart behind it?
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  What do you know about this love?
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  And understand this? It will be your fuel.
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  It will be your source of energy.
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  In this walk, Daniel needed to stand upright.
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  You're going to need it as well. And so does the preacher.
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  Look at this love. This is the first thing that
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  Daniel learned about or was reminded of at least.
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  But it's not the only thing. Look at the end of verse 12.
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  This heavenly messenger tells Daniel that his powerful arrival
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  was what? Because of his words?
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  I have now come because of your words, Daniel.
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  Implying what? Implying this?
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  That if Daniel had never opened his mouth, this heavenly
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  messenger would never have arrived and open his mouth.
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  And so Daniel prays for three weeks and it was delayed for
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  longer. The answer did not come until
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  after a few days beyond that time.
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  But what does this Angel teach him and teach us?
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  The moment you set your heart to see God about this matter, God
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  heard you. God heard you, And not only did
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  He hear you, there is a delay because there is this invisible
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  war taking place, but your prayers.
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  Look at this. Put angels to work.
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  I wonder how many angels are not working because we're not
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  praying. And we see the same thing in
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  Revelation 9, do we? Not that it was something about
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  that golden altar, though. The voice we can't mark out.
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  We can't say clearly what that voice was.
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  That altar that symbolizes our prayers made that Angel do
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  something on the earth. And Daniel didn't just receive
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  an answer to his prayers. He received insight that there
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  was an all out scrimmage. There was an all out fierce
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  battle among angelic beings in the heavenlies.
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  And we may not have the detailed explanation of how prayer
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  intersects with the spiritual realm or how invisible
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  dimensions intervene in our material world.
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  But you know what? The Bible does make clear that
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  prayer is not merely A psychological exercise or some
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  form of self help therapy. Prayer has power.
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  Prayer has the ability to change things.
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  Prayer can move principalities. Prayer can push back the forces
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  of evil. Prayer invites God's grace into
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  our homes, into our churches, into the streets of our
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  neighborhoods, into our nation. Prayer has power, and Daniel was
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  told this and it's been left in our Bibles for us to see it.
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  And this is a consistent testimony throughout Scripture
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  of how much God honors the prayers of His people, even the
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  weakest in the church, even some of the most inconsistent in the
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  church, if they have the faith to pray, oh, the things that God
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  will do with those prayers. You know, with all that's going
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  on in our own nation, one of the scriptures that keep coming to
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  mind is what Jeremiah. We've learned this on Fridays
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  not too long ago, what Jeremiah told the Exiles while they were
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  in Babylon. Can I remind you what he said in
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  Jeremiah 29, verse 7? But seek the welfare of the city
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  where I've sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its
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  behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.
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  What a profound verse. Imagine this.
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  Jeremiah is calling the Exiles in Babylon to do what?
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  Pray. They're at their lowest in terms
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  of their spiritual stature. They are at their lowest in
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  terms of their testimony. They have been removed from the
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  Promised Land. How much more of a rejection do
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  you want than that? And yet God says, if you choose
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  to pray, I'll still listen to you.
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  Paul asked the Corinthians to pray for him.
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  The Corinthians, if I had a choice of which church in the
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  New Testament letters, I would have pray for me.
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  The Corinthians would be near the last.
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  And yet Paul says, if you pray, I believe that God will hear
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  you. What kind of grace is that?
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  Pray. And when you pray for the city,
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  the city that is holding you captive, the city that's
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  oppressing you, it's going to benefit you.
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  So pray. So the first thing that we see
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  with the Saints in Revelation 9 is that God takes our, our
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  prayers seriously. And the question we have to ask
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  is this, do we? Do we?
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  Oh, there's so much more to say, but we have two groups left to
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  look at. We looked at the Saints in this
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  vision of the 6th trumpet. But now let's look again at the
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  demons. Come back to Revelation 9 and
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  we'll read down from verse 15 to verse 19.
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  So the four angels who had been prepared for the hour, the day,
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  the month, and the year were released to kill 1/3 of mankind.
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  Pause. I have to just say this for
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  those who don't believe in the futurist interpretation.
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  How do you spiritualize this one 1/3 of mankind?
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  Did they die in 70 AD? How do you prove that
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  historically? Just have to get that out there.
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  Verse 16. The number of mounted troops was
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  twice 10,000 * 10,000. I heard their number, and this
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  is how I saw the horses in my vision and those who rode them.
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  They wore breastplates the color fire and of sapphire and of
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  sulphur, and the heads of the horses were like lion's heads,
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  and fire and smoke and sulphur came out of their mouths.
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  By these 3 plagues 1/3 of mankind was killed by the fire
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  and smoke and sulfur coming out of their mouths.
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  For the power of the horses in was in their mouths and in their
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  tails, For their tails are like serpents with heads, and by
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  means of them they wound. So like the 5th trumpet, the 6th
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  calls for the liberation of demonic beings, 4 of them to be
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  exact, and they seem to be like 4 high-ranking fallen angels.
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  And we know that these are fallen angels because verse 14
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  tells us that they are bound. You don't bind holy angels.
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  These are vicious evil spirits. And unlike the angels that we
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  looked at last week, these shackled spirits are not bound
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  in what the abyss that that's what we would anticipate.
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  We looked at the bottomless pit and how that is something that
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  we find throughout the scriptures, the the holding
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  place of the worst of the worst demons.
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  But now when we come to the 6th trumpet, unlike the 5th, these
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  demons are not found in the abyss.
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  They're actually located and confined at the great river
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  Euphrates. Huh.
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  Now, the Euphrates River is, is one of the most important rivers
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  in the Middle East historically and even agriculturally.
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  It begins there near the eastern mountains of Turkey, and it
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  flows through Syria and it touches Iraq and it comes and
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  joins the Tigris River before emptying into the Persian Gulf.
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  And this is a 1700 mile kind of body of water.
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  And it's been crucial to the rise and development of many
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  civilizations throughout history.
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  But we have to ask this question, what relevance does it
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  have in our biblical worldview? What, what does what does it
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  have to offer us in terms especially of understanding
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  prophecy? Because the the the river
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  Euphrates appears a different different amount of times in the
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  Old Testament, but only twice in the new and both times.
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  Guess which book? Revelation.
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  Well, I want to give you a few reasons why I believe
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  understanding the great river Euphrates is important #1 The
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  Euphrates River marked the eastern boundary of the land
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  that was promised to Abraham and his descendants.
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  So if you read Genesis 1518 more carefully, you'll realize that
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  the eastern boundary is marked by the Euphrates River.
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  And throughout the Old Testament, what you find is that
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  some of Israel's most fiercest enemies had to cross the
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  Euphrates River in order to conquer the people of God.
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  So there is a consistent testimony of the Euphrates River
• 25:40
  in the Old Testament being a symbol of enemy invasion, and
• 25:45
  that's what John seems to be doing here.
• 25:48
  By the help obviously, and inspiration of the Spirit,
• 25:50
  there's this anticipation of an enemy invasion.
• 25:55
  We find it here in Revelation 9. But look at Revelation 1612, the
• 25:59
  only other time Euphrates is mentioned in the New Testament.
• 26:03
  Look at this, in Revelation 16 verse 12, the 6th Angel poured
• 26:09
  out his bowl on the great river Euphrates and it's water was
• 26:14
  dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the east.
• 26:20
  So again, remember the Book of Revelation is dripping with Old
• 26:24
  Testament allusions and references.
• 26:27
  So we've been looking at the Old Testament, Euphrates, Euphrates,
• 26:30
  Euphrates and now we come to the new and we realize, uh oh, there
• 26:33
  must be an enemy evasion coming and there is.
• 26:36
  And it's going to be one of the greatest ones against the people
• 26:38
  of Israel, which will set the stage for the intervention of
• 26:41
  Christ to defend them and establishes millennial reign.
• 26:45
  This is one of the reasons. But we have a second reason why
• 26:48
  I understand the Euphrates River is helpful.
• 26:52
  It reminds us that biblical prophecy centers around a
• 26:55
  particular part of the world, namely the Middle East.
• 26:59
  There are many prophecy enthusiasts who try to
• 27:05
  forcefully place current regimes and politicians and governments
• 27:10
  and movements into biblical prophecy, failing to realize
• 27:16
  that the Scriptures and the author of the Scriptures is not
• 27:19
  interested in trying to place or code things about modern
• 27:24
  realities. Prophecy in the Bible centers
• 27:28
  around Israel and her neighboring nations.
• 27:31
  So be careful of prophecy teachers who say, I found the
• 27:35
  United States in the Book of Revelation, and this is the role
• 27:40
  that the United States, a symbol of the eagle, and this is what's
• 27:43
  going to happen. And this is how they're going to
• 27:44
  integrate with the Bible. Doesn't go there.
• 27:48
  The Holy Spirit doesn't go there, and we shouldn't go there
• 27:50
  either. But with that understanding,
• 27:54
  there's another warning. And it is this to become overly
• 27:58
  sensational and fixated on current events in the Middle
• 28:00
  East. And there are other people who
• 28:04
  are in that camp, pastors in fact, who consistently and
• 28:09
  constantly interrupt their sermon series because of the
• 28:12
  newest headline of what's happening over there in the
• 28:15
  Middle East, who constantly put things together at pieces to try
• 28:20
  to say here's a fulfillment instead of putting that energy
• 28:24
  and that focus on what Christ has revealed clearly and what he
• 28:28
  demands from us now. So beware, although Israel is
• 28:32
  much in focus, especially in prophecy, don't become overly
• 28:37
  fanatic with what's happening in current day events.
• 28:42
  Here's the last thought to consider about the Euphrates
• 28:44
  River. It reminds us also that there
• 28:49
  are fallen angels and there are principalities who assign and
• 28:56
  are occupied by operating in certain regions of the world.
• 29:01
  We didn't explore this in Daniel 10, but when we continue from
• 29:05
  this heavenly messenger appearing before Daniel, he goes
• 29:09
  on to explain that his message to the prophet was resisted by
• 29:15
  one of the leaders. That the Prince of the Kingdom
• 29:18
  of Persia and that even Michael the Archangel had to now
• 29:22
  intervene and help overcome this king in order for this prophecy
• 29:26
  to be brought be brought forth before this man of God.
• 29:29
  Now, there is no way that you can interpret this as actual
• 29:33
  kings of our own realm fighting against each other.
• 29:37
  It's clear that we're talking about spiritual rulers.
• 29:41
  And you find this in Ezekiel, You find this in Daniel.
• 29:44
  You even find it in the the Book of Revelation where you have
• 29:47
  demonic beings who actually hold different positions and ranks
• 29:52
  and even are designated different parts of the world to
• 29:55
  do certain things. Do you remember when we studied
• 29:58
  the seven churches and what Jesus actually said to one of
• 30:02
  them in Revelation 2 when he said that the throne of Satan is
• 30:07
  in your midst? So at that point Satan's
• 30:12
  headquarters was in a certain city, an Asia Minor of John's
• 30:16
  day. And that's what you see here.
• 30:19
  You see that there are these 4 angels who are in a specific
• 30:22
  location on the earth. Not more is given to us, but it
• 30:26
  is a reminder of how the things that are going on in our world.
• 30:31
  Behind our entertainment, behind our politics, behind different
• 30:35
  elements, there is a very real evil presence at play.
• 30:41
  And that's important to understand so that we know what
• 30:44
  our battle is really up against. Not flesh and blood, but
• 30:48
  invisible forces who are very organized, very sophisticated,
• 30:53
  very vicious. But with this awareness, listen,
• 30:56
  you can't, you can't be too, too, too caught up with the evil
• 31:00
  that's going around. Because in the very same passage
• 31:02
  that we just read about these demonic beings, it doesn't take
• 31:06
  much time before we are reminded strongly about God's
• 31:10
  sovereignty. Look again at verse 15 of
• 31:13
  Revelation 9. So the four angels who had been
• 31:17
  prepared for the hour, the day, the month, and the year were
• 31:20
  released to kill 1/3 of mankind. Released by who?
• 31:25
  Not by Satan. God's sovereignty presides over
• 31:30
  all things, including these powerful forces.
• 31:33
  And let's not limit His incomparable knowledge and power
• 31:36
  to demons. Understand, this is what I take
• 31:38
  from this verse. You and I worship a God who is
• 31:41
  fully aware of every second, every hour, every day, every
• 31:47
  week, every month, every year that is lived by every person on
• 31:53
  every side and every corner of this planet.
• 31:56
  From this day until the end. He knows everything.
• 32:02
  And this truth is not merely meant to impress you, It's meant
• 32:06
  to inspire you. It's meant to grant you this
• 32:10
  unshakable confidence. It means that nothing that
• 32:13
  surprises me in a single hour, nothing that takes place in an
• 32:17
  ordinary day, nothing that piles up in a very busy month of the
• 32:21
  year. There's not one thing that seems
• 32:25
  to be delayed in terms of my desires that span over years
• 32:28
  that escapes the compassionate knowledge of God or His schedule
• 32:33
  for that matter. Do you see how I mean?
• 32:36
  How much more specific can this verse be?
• 32:39
  The day, the hour, the month, the year?
• 32:42
  God had that planned long ago when these four specific angels
• 32:46
  would be released to do His bidding.
• 32:51
  Does he not give you and I more careful attention?
• 32:54
  He does and he is more aware and he is more mindful of the things
• 33:00
  that you take for granted. What a comforting truth from a
• 33:05
  very unlikely place in the Bible.
• 33:07
  But there's more comforting truths from it.
• 33:10
  Look again at the detailed description of these terrifying
• 33:12
  beings, these 4 fallen angels that were released.
• 33:15
  They again seem to be high-ranking demons, but they're
• 33:19
  portrayed as soldiers riding on horses, and they're arrayed with
• 33:24
  colours and symbols that are hellish, sulfur and red, and all
• 33:31
  these things are meant to describe destruction and
• 33:34
  judgement. And we even told the way that
• 33:38
  they will eliminate 1/3 of mankind.
• 33:40
  Look again at verse 18. By these 3 plagues, 1/3 of
• 33:45
  mankind was killed. They will bring disease, it will
• 33:50
  bring viruses, they'll bring different forms of corruption
• 33:56
  that will erode the population in such a alarming rate.
• 34:00
  And you might be wondering what's encouraging about this.
• 34:03
  Here's what's encouraging. Remember the last thing that was
• 34:06
  numbered on the earth in terms of persons before this text I
• 34:11
  told you that other translations read 200,000,200 million of
• 34:17
  these demons will be let go and loosen upon the earth.
• 34:23
  And I thought I've read a big numbers before in this context.
• 34:26
  And the last time persons are numbered were the 144,000
• 34:31
  servants from the tribes of Israel.
• 34:33
  You remember them? A 144,000 who are still on the
• 34:40
  earth at this time, even under the 6th trumpet.
• 34:42
  Are they outnumbered, do you think?
• 34:45
  Yeah, they are. In fact, they don't stand a
• 34:48
  chance. That's the point they actually
• 34:54
  overcome. Even with all of hell belching
• 34:58
  out its forces, these 144 servants will still be effective
• 35:05
  in their ministry, will still be able to testify.
• 35:08
  The gospel will still be flickers of light sprinkled
• 35:11
  across the globe. And the point that you and I are
• 35:14
  supposed to take from this is that the Lord does not need much
• 35:17
  to accomplish his will, does he? He doesn't.
• 35:21
  And He always works through a remnant, and He performs His
• 35:25
  greatest works against all odds. And that was helpful to me
• 35:29
  because I don't know about you. I feel the darkness surrounding
• 35:33
  me growing, and I feel more and more, especially if you look at
• 35:37
  what's happening in churches in America and leadership and
• 35:40
  movements and agendas and all these heresies, old heresies
• 35:43
  coming back, new ideas coming back.
• 35:45
  I mean, we're losing guys here. At the same time, in the future,
• 35:54
  in the worst moments of history, when really the people of God
• 35:59
  will be the most outnumbered, they will succeed.
• 36:02
  They will be untouchable, they will perform God's will and
• 36:06
  Satan and all his army can't do anything about it.
• 36:09
  I'm encouraged by this. God will always protect and He
• 36:13
  always will use a faithful remnant to advance His purposes.
• 36:18
  This is what we learn about the demons.
• 36:19
  But we come to the last group of Revelation 9 under the 6th
• 36:23
  trumpet, and that is the wicked. We didn't read these verses from
• 36:26
  verse 20 down to verse 21. The rest of mankind who are not
• 36:32
  killed by these plagues did not repent of the work of their
• 36:36
  hands, nor give up worshipping demons and idols of gold and
• 36:41
  silver and bronze and stone and wood which cannot see or hear or
• 36:45
  walk. Nor do they repent of their
• 36:47
  murders of their sorceries, or their sexual immorality or their
• 36:53
  thefts. I argue that what we just read
• 36:57
  in those verses is scarier than the description of the demons
• 36:59
  and the devastation they will cause.
• 37:02
  What we just read to me is more terrifying.
• 37:05
  What am I referring to? The white knuckled commitment to
• 37:09
  sin, even though God is judging you for it in this way.
• 37:16
  Staggering, striking. You know what disturbed me?
• 37:23
  That the rest of mankind who weren't slain, we're still
• 37:28
  choosing to worship the very things that were killing them.
• 37:33
  Did you see it? In this list of vices are
• 37:36
  included what? The devotion to demons, idols
• 37:41
  which are impersonated by demons, and sorceries.
• 37:47
  We'll get to this at another point in Revelation.
• 37:49
  The word sorceries, by the way, is where we get the word
• 37:51
  pharmacy, pharmakeia. We'll get to that in a few
• 37:54
  weeks, but this is a vivid display of the insanity of the
• 38:00
  depraved heart, people refusing to let go of the very practices
• 38:07
  that are destined to destroy them or are already killing them
• 38:11
  slowly. And before we assume that this
• 38:16
  is a future defiance, this is one kind of kind of like the end
• 38:20
  time characteristics. Remember, it's very much a
• 38:22
  reality today that there are those, maybe even in this room
• 38:27
  listening to this message, who show a terrifying loyalty to
• 38:34
  something or some things that are killing you and you can't
• 38:40
  seem to shake free from it. And it may disturb your
• 38:45
  conscience from time to time, but it still clutches.
• 38:49
  It has a grip on you. And here's the thing that I want
• 38:54
  to say as lovingly as possible. What will it take for you to do
• 39:00
  everything in your power with the truths that are at your
• 39:03
  disposal in the Word of God, to put to death the thing that is
• 39:08
  trying to strangle your soul? It's searing your conscience.
• 39:18
  Do you realize that it's ruining your marriage?
• 39:23
  It may have generational consequences.
• 39:26
  You think it's just affecting you and not knowing that there
• 39:29
  is a spiritual law in your home. You are the head of your house
• 39:33
  and your children are watching you and they need you more than
• 39:36
  ever. And you're willing to let that
• 39:38
  thing eat up your life, not ever taking into consideration that
• 39:43
  it will come perhaps for those that you love the most.
• 39:51
  It's robbing you of testimonies. It's it's taking away your joy.
• 39:59
  It's displacing you from the rightful dew of God from
• 40:01
  actually being able to use you the way He's called you to be
• 40:05
  used. And yet here you are, sitting in
• 40:12
  another service, under another message, knowing full well that
• 40:16
  you're going to go out these doors and go back to the very
• 40:18
  same things. That are eating up your soul
• 40:23
  like a cancer. How senseless and my question is
• 40:32
  what will it take how much erosion needs to take place
• 40:36
  become you've become fully invested to eliminate that
• 40:40
  thing. Let him who has an ear hear what
• 40:45
  the Spirit says through his word.
• 40:50
  I got to admit, though, looking at this is disturbing, right?
• 40:52
  I mean, you have these, these people, these men and women who
• 40:55
  will not repent. I mean, there's going to be no
• 40:58
  denying that. What what happened in these
• 41:01
  series of events, five months of no death and then 1/3 of mankind
• 41:04
  being slain. This is spiritual.
• 41:06
  This is not normal. And they'll go right back to
• 41:09
  their demons, and they'll go right back to their witchcraft,
• 41:14
  and they'll go right back to their sexual sin, and they'll go
• 41:16
  right back to killing people and stealing from people.
• 41:19
  How, how, how, how it's disturbing.
• 41:22
  And we can apply it spiritually to our own war against sin.
• 41:26
  But I'm impressed. I got to admit.
• 41:29
  I'm impressed. This is impressive because
• 41:35
  again, you're being afflicted, you're being tormented, you're
• 41:40
  being threatened, and you still choose to worship the very
• 41:47
  things that are doing this to you.
• 41:49
  You know what came to my mind? How dare we then, if God, in His
• 41:57
  perfect wisdom and love should afflict us, ever entertain the
• 42:02
  thought that we will walk away from Him for whatever pain that
• 42:06
  He is allowed in our lives? This is Satan tormenting his own
• 42:16
  followers, and they don't walk away from Him.
• 42:22
  But then where's when there's some tribulation, when there's a
• 42:25
  delay to months, maybe years of prayer, when there's something
• 42:29
  that doesn't make sense to you because you've been serving God
• 42:32
  and the thought comes to mind? Just give it all up, it's not
• 42:35
  really worth it. How dare we even think for a
• 42:38
  moment maybe that is the best option.
• 42:41
  In my response to what God has permitted in my life, I remember
• 42:49
  Job when everything happened to him in a matter of minutes.
• 42:56
  Satan had the right to take everything away from Job.
• 42:59
  Everything. But you know what's so striking?
• 43:03
  Satan left his wife and this woman, he lost all his kids, he
• 43:09
  lost his business, but Satan left his wife.
• 43:13
  And you realize early on in the book of Job, why?
• 43:16
  Because she looks at Job and says, are you still holding fast
• 43:18
  to your integrity? Curse God and die some helpmate.
• 43:26
  And Job says this in chapter 2, verse 10.
• 43:28
  You speak as one of the foolish women would speak.
• 43:32
  Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?
• 43:37
  Now this man, Job has been given to us, according to James, as an
• 43:42
  example of how to patiently endure suffering.
• 43:45
  Read that in James 5. But you know who really does not
• 43:49
  like Job? Prosperity preachers because
• 43:54
  they can't really reconcile Job's story and what they claim
• 43:57
  to be the will of God for every single Christian.
• 43:59
  If you confess enough and say enough, you'll be healthy
• 44:02
  continually. You'll be rich continually.
• 44:04
  In fact, you'll grow, grow, grow, grow, grow in these areas.
• 44:07
  And if you don't, it's because you have the lack of faith.
• 44:10
  So how do you deal with Job? Well, they say the reason why
• 44:13
  Job this is real. I've heard it with my own ears
• 44:15
  with my jaw dropped. The reason why Job experienced
• 44:19
  all of this is because Job made negative confessions and he
• 44:25
  wrongfully blamed God for the atrocities that he experienced.
• 44:30
  To which I respond did you finish Job 210?
• 44:33
  Because after he said to his wife shall we receive only good
• 44:36
  from God and not receive evil. The Holy Spirit leaves this
• 44:39
  commentary. And all this Job did not send
• 44:43
  with his lips. He wasn't wrong in his
• 44:47
  assessment. He didn't send.
• 44:50
  This is a negative confession. This is faithful understanding
• 44:57
  that sometimes God does allow adversity and he does allow
• 45:02
  things to happen that don't make sense to us.
• 45:06
  All the Puritans, they're good friends of mine, John Flavel
• 45:12
  said. This affliction is a pill, being
• 45:16
  wrapped up in patience and quiet.
• 45:19
  Submission may be easily swallowed, but discontent choose
• 45:28
  the pill, and so embitters the soul.
• 45:32
  Profound. When God places the pill of
• 45:36
  affliction in our mouths, what you do with it will determine
• 45:40
  your experience. Here's what I want to say in
• 45:44
  light of that. One of the secrets of enduring
• 45:46
  suffering is not focusing so much on the why of the pain, but
• 45:53
  on The Who who permits it. It was a psalmist who said in
• 45:59
  Psalm 119, verse 75, I know, O Lord, that your rules are
• 46:03
  righteous. So what is he addressing?
• 46:05
  The the character of God. Your rules, O Lord, are
• 46:08
  righteous. And then he finishes the thought
• 46:10
  in the following way, and that in faithfulness you have
• 46:14
  afflicted me. So how is he translating the
• 46:20
  affliction, the righteousness of God?
• 46:24
  He's good. He it's impossible for him to do
• 46:28
  wrong. It's impossible for him to
• 46:31
  perform evil. It's impossible for him to do
• 46:33
  anything and allow anything in my life for my hurt, for my
• 46:39
  pain. There's always something
• 46:42
  redemptive that God has in mind, even in this.
• 46:44
  And so David could say if he wrote Psalm 119, in
• 46:47
  faithfulness, you afflicted me. So let me tell you how I
• 46:52
  finished studying the 6th trumpet.
• 46:54
  When I looked at what the rest of mankind did, I said, if this
• 46:57
  is how sinners will be devoted to their sin, God by Your grace
• 47:00
  make me devoted to you in all things, no matter what comes my
• 47:06
  way. And though you slay me, I will
• 47:09
  hope in you, as Job said. And that's the thought that I
• 47:13
  want to leave with you. Remember, what we're doing here
• 47:15
  in Revelation is not just looking at future events.
• 47:17
  All Scriptures breathe out by God, and it is profitable for
• 47:19
  our development now. So when we look at the Saints,
• 47:23
  what do we learn? Oh, prayer has power.
• 47:25
  When we look at demons, what do we realize?
• 47:27
  Well, all of them can line up against 144,000 and God's
• 47:32
  purposes will still prevail. So what does it matter whoever
• 47:36
  is elected mayor of this city or this president?
• 47:38
  OK, one with God is majority. And lastly with the wicked.
• 47:48
  I refuse by the grace of God to allow the wicked to outperform
• 47:51
  and out serve and out love their sin in comparison to my Savior.
• 47:55
  By His grace, I want to cling to Him and stay close to Him no
• 47:59
  matter what, because in faithfulness He afflicts us.
• 48:03
  Maybe that's a word for some here who who walked into this
• 48:05
  place bruised and wounded, not knowing what to make of it.
• 48:09
  Here's what you make of it. You were greatly loved, as
• 48:13
  Daniel was, and there's not one thing God permits outside of His
• 48:17
  compassionate knowledge and schedule for the purposes He has
• 48:21
  for our lives. Lord, we thank You for Your
• 48:23
  word, and we ask that You would help us write these truths on
• 48:28
  the tablet of our hearts and as the book of Proverbs says,
• 48:32
  treasure up my commandments. Lord, help us to take these
• 48:37
  jewels and to put them in the depths of who we are and to lock
• 48:41
  it in that treasure chest and to never fail to revisit them when
• 48:46
  we need to. We bless you, Lord, for the
• 48:51
  service. We thank you how you have
• 48:54
  graciously LED us all the way to this point in Revelation.
• 48:57
  We trust you have so much more in store for us.
• 49:00
  For now, Lord, we meditate and we rejoice and we give you glory
• 49:05
  and response in song. In Jesus name we pray.
• 49:07
  Amen. Why don't we stand and worship
• 49:09
  the Lord together?