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The Battle at Armageddon (The 6th Bowl) | Revelation 16:10-16 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Bible Study Series) · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

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  If you asked the average person to imagine what the end of the
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  world would look like, they may most likely point to
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  catastrophes and natural disasters like tsunamis,
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  earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, meteor strikes, famines,
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  droughts, and other things. And that perspective is not
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  entirely mistaken, because the scriptures themselves tell us
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  that events like these will in fact unfold in the last hour.
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  However, humanity's last chapter will go beyond these things, and
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  that is precisely what John is going to remind us as he
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  continues to explain to us the seven bowls of God's wrath.
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  You see, what we're prepared to see is that God's judgement in
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  the final days will also reveal itself in and through the
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  political realm as structures of leadership will give way and
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  governments will unravel. You see, last time we were
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  together, we looked at the first four bowls and they focused on
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  God's wrath through the creative order, the natural world.
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  And we saw these instruments in our universe that God originally
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  designed to be for our good suddenly become means of
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  punishment. Things like springs and rivers
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  and the sun itself began to punished evil doers.
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  And as unsettling such predictions are, there are still
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  3 bowls left. And we are now going to see a
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  transition from the natural world into the arena of power
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  structures and kingdoms and rulers and governments.
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  And we're going to read about it first together in Revelation 16,
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  beginning in verse 10 down through verse 16.
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  And we are seeking to better understand how God will carry
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  out His justice against evil before He ultimately claims all
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  things for himself. Revelation 16 verse 10.
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  The 5th Angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast,
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  and its Kingdom was plunged Into Darkness.
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  People nod their tongues and anguish and curse the God of
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  heaven for their pain and sores. They did not repent of their
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  deeds. The 6th Angel poured out his
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  bowl on the great river Euphrates, and it's water was
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  dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the east.
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  And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of
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  the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false
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  prophet 3 unclean spirits like frogs.
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  For they are demonic spirits performing signs, who go abroad
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  to the kings of the whole world to assemble them for the battle
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  on the great day of God the Almighty.
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  Behold, I'm coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays
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  away, keeping the garments on, that he may not go about naked
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  and be seen exposed. And they assemble them at the
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  place that in Hebrews called Armageddon.
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  Father, we ask, please help us with these words.
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  Help us with these prophecies. Help us with these details.
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  We are asking in prayer. We are aiming, Lord, by Your
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  grace to receive clarity. Oh there is so much rewarding
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  clarity. We need clarity, Lord, so that
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  we can better understand You, Your ways and what You ask of
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  us, provided by the work of the Holy Spirit through the inspired
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  Word of God. In Jesus name we pray.
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  Amen. You know this very well and I
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  never get tired of saying it. The Bible teaches that one day
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  the Lord Jesus Christ will bodily return to this world, and
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  he will rule and reign from a throne in Jerusalem.
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  And when he does that, he will influence the globe in
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  righteousness, peace, and justice in an unprecedented,
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  unparalleled, comprehensive way. This is what we look forward to.
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  This is what we long for. And yet the Bible is also clear
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  enough to tell us and prepare us that there's going to be another
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  unique global reign in the days to come, enforced by not Christ
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  but the not a but the Antichrist.
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  And he will spread a satanic deception that will permeate the
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  nations and subjugate them with such severity and evil.
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  But you and I just read it. Hopefully we paid attention and
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  saw it that the Holy Spirit shows us that this future
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  dystopian regime will one day very swiftly come to an end and
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  the beginning of the termination of the reign of the Antichrist
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  will happen when the 5th bowl is poured.
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  Outlook again at verse 10 and notice how this bowl will be
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  poured out on the throne of the beast, telling us that this
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  judgement will be laser focused upon the headquarters of the
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  Antichrist. And the result of this divine
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  intervention is that it will plunge the Kingdom of the
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  Antichrist Into Darkness. And because we know up to this
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  point that the Kingdom of the Antichrist will be
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  international, it will be universal.
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  Then we can safely conclude that this darkness will also engulf
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  the entire world, at least those who serve and follow the beast.
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  Now this is something so important to understand this
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  darkness. It isn't metaphorical.
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  It isn't moral. If we honor the parallels that
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  John is making, drawing from the events from the Exodus, then we
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  have to understand that this is indeed a literal darkness, in
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  the same way that there was a literal darkness that plagued
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  Egypt for three days. We can't believe that there was
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  literal darkness then and not in the future.
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  So this in no way is an allegory.
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  This is actual, and beyond the terror and the misery caused by
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  a complete blackout of both natural and artificial light,
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  there's a clear message being conveyed here with this
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  judgement. The Antichrist, who could not
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  save his followers from the wrath of God, remember when God
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  afflicted them with sores, also shows us here that he could not
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  defend his own throne. Think about it.
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  The power of presidents, prime ministers, dictators, kings,
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  from our perspective is great. But from heaven's point of view,
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  whenever God wishes, he can turn off the lights of their
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  kingdoms. He can turn off the lights in
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  the minds of these rulers like Nebuchadnezzar, who became like
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  an animal in a second, and he can in fact veil the moon and
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  shut down the power grid as he will do here.
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  It's no wonder that the psalmist says in Psalm 2 when he
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  addresses kings and verse 10. Now therefore, O kings, be wise,
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  be warned. O rulers of the earth, serve the
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  Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling.
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  Unfortunately, the Antichrist nor his subjects will take heed
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  to this ancient call. Instead of fearing, instead of
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  trembling with joy, instead of kissing the sun like Psalm 2
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  verse 12 says, they will gnaw on their tongues and curse God.
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  You know what the word gnaw means?
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  Chew. They will chew on their tongues
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  and with their lips they will blasphemy God.
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  I'm not sure if you noticed this, but did you catch how the
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  descriptions of the 5th bold judgement resemble Jesus's
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  description of hell on more than one occasion?
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  Christ Jesus said of those who will not enter the Kingdom of
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  heaven, that they will be cast out into what outer darkness?
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  And in that place of darkness there will be weeping and
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  gnashing of teeth. And then you come here and
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  realize that these people, the masses at this time of the
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  tribulation period, are essentially being brought to the
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  brink of hell. They are so close to the eternal
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  reality. They're just getting a sample
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  and a measure of it on earth. And here's the most astonishing
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  part. They don't repent.
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  They don't repent. You know, there's some people
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  who come up with some clever arguments or express some
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  disturbances with the ways of God, especially with hell.
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  And some things that people say are like, well, isn't it a
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  little extreme that hell is eternal?
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  Wouldn't God want to give another chance of those who
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  experienced his full fury and realize the mistake of their
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  ways, that if they cried out for mercy in that place, why
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  wouldn't He rescue them? Why wouldn't He deliver them
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  from that place? And here's how I respond.
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  Who says everybody in hell will cry out for mercy?
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  Where did you get that idea from?
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  Because here you have the world experiencing hell on earth, and
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  instead of crying out for forgiveness, they're cursing
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  God. You think everybody in hell is
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  going to ask God to deliver them?
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  Some will weep and some will nurse their teeth.
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  You brought me here. I curse you.
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  And they will do so forever and ever and ever.
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  Did you know that the last time the word repent appears in the
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  Bible is in the verses that we just read?
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  The last time the word repent appears in the Bible is in this
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  text, verse 11, and it's not presented to us in a positive
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  sense, rather as a refusal to do so.
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  They did not repent of their deeds.
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  Something interesting happens after this point because twice
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  already in the section about the bold judgments, John tells us
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  that the people curse God twice already and refused to repent.
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  But look what happens at the 7th bowl, the last one in verse 21,
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  Revelation 16, and great hailstones, about 100 lbs each
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  fell from heaven on people, and they cursed God for the plague
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  of the hail because the plague was so severe.
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  So the people's cursing continues.
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  But did you notice that there is no mention of repentance, even a
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  refusal to do so? This suggests that after one
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  bowl following the next, by the time you get to the 7th, the
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  hearts of the people have become irreversibly hardened.
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  So much so that the Holy Spirit even doesn't even tell us that
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  they rejected. Repentance wasn't even a
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  thought. And the severity of the hardened
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  hearts of these people will reveal itself further in the
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  sixth bowl, not only through their words against God and his
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  Christ, but now in their willingness to wage war against
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  Him. That's what the 6th bowl is
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  about, preparation for battle with God.
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  And that preparation will take in a take place in an area
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  called Armageddon. Look again here, verse 12.
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  The six Angel poured out his bowl on the great river
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  Euphrates and it's water was dried up to prepare the way for
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  the kings from the east. Now we we saw that a lot of
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  rivers have been contaminated already have been damaged having
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  cut off as sources of water. But now one of the rivers out of
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  The Who knows how many in the world are in focus, the great
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  River Euphrates. Why?
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  What's so important about this? And, well, it's one of the
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  longest and most important rivers in the Middle East, even
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  to this day. And besides the fact that this
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  river has been used for the rise and development of many empires
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  and civilizations over history, it is also something that the
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  Bible shows us regarding important past events and
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  clearly future ones. And how we make sense of this is
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  when we recall what God told Abraham in Genesis 1518, that
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  the great river Euphrates will serve as the eastern boundary
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  point of the land promised to Abraham and his descendants.
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  And what you find following that throughout Israel's history is
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  that many of Israel's fiercest enemies cross the Euphrates
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  River in order to seek to besiege them and conquer them.
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  And so this river, biblically speaking, has become a symbol of
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  enemy invasion. And that is precisely what's
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  being presented here. That association from the Old
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  Testament continues into the new.
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  Though it is only mentioned twice, Euphrates is only brought
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  up twice in the entire New Testament, both times in
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  Revelation. And so with this background in
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  mind, when you read about this, you have to understand that God
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  himself is setting the stage for a war.
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  God is he is preparing the platform for the kings from the
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  east and the world to make their way toward the land of Israel
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  for battle. That is confirmed in verse 16.
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  And they assemble them at the place that in Hebrew is called
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  Armageddon. It's the only place in all the
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  Bible where Armageddon is mentioned.
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  It translates to Mount Megiddo, and what troubles some
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  interpreters is that there is no mountain identified in such a
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  way. There is no Mount Megiddo, and
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  so what's likely being described here is the hillside surrounding
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  the plain of Megiddo. Because there is a plain called
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  Megiddo, and Megiddo biblically speaking and even in history,
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  has been a region that determined decisive battles.
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  It was Deborah and Barack who overcame Sisera in Judges
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  chapter 5 near Megiddo. It was Pharaoh Nico who
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  destroyed and killed King Josiah in the same plane.
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  And these are just two of many examples.
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  So then the question that we were left with when facing this
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  truth of the Euphrates and also this place called Armageddon is
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  what exact battle is going to take place here?
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  And the answer is multi layered, but it definitely includes a
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  global confederacy, an attempt, a desperate final attempt to
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  eradicate what remains of the Jewish people in the land of
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  Israel. Have we seen this before in the
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  Book of Revelation? You remember the dragon in
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  Revelation 12? After being evicted from heaven,
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  one of his first things that he does is find the woman who
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  symbolizes Israel, who flees into the wilderness and out of
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  his mouth comes a flood of water to try to sweep her away.
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  And as we progress in the timeline of the last days and
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  the judgments of God, we find here that near the end of
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  everything, there is yet another effort to try to do what Satan
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  has been trying to do all along, delete Israel from the world.
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  But at its core, it's driving force behind all that we're
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  going to see here is actually found in Revelation 17.
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  The core reason for this is what we find in the very next
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  chapter. It's clarified.
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  Look at Revelation 17, verse 12. And the 10 horns that you saw
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  are 10 kings who have not yet received royal power, but they
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  are to receive authority as kings for one hour together with
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  the beast. These are of one mind, and they
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  hand over their power and authority to the beast.
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  You see what's happening here? There's this confederacy,
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  there's this alliance. These kingdoms give all their
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  authority to one man, the beast, the Antichrist.
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  For what reason? Look at verse 14.
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  They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them,
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  for He is Lord of Lords and King of kings, and those with him are
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  called and chosen and faithful. It's clear, isn't it?
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  The nations will gather in the land of Israel to ultimately
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  face off against the Lord Jesus Christ Himself in order to stop
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  Him from doing what He promised. And that was to save the Jewish
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  people and reign from the Holy City and rain from Mount Zion
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  and establish his government, fulfill the promise that God
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  made to David that one of his sons would rule eternally.
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  This is what they are trying to stop.
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  And maybe you're like me and wondering at this point.
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  Hold on, so you're telling me that the world population has
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  been afflicted with oozing sores, can't find drinking water
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  no matter where they look, are enduring a heat wave, are
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  plunged Into Darkness, and the top priority of the world
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  leaders is to take whatever energy and resources they have
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  left to go to war with God? This is absurd.
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  This is irrational. This is crazy.
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  How can this be? And fortunately, we're not left
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  in the dark, because the Holy Spirit tells us how it is that
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  such a thing will actually take place.
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  Look again at Revelation 16, verse 13.
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  And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of
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  the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false
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  prophet, 3 unclean spirits like frogs, for they are demonic
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  spirits performing signs who go abroad to the kings of the whole
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  world to assemble them for battle on the great day of God
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  the Almighty. Here's one of the clearest
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  references to the unholy Trinity.
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  You have the dragon who represents Satan.
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  You have the beast who is the Antichrist, and you have the
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  false prophet who is the right hand man of the beast.
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  And notice here that John sees demonic spirits proceeding from
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  each of them, these vile beings sent out across the world to do
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  what? Seduce world leaders to work
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  together to meet in the plain of Megiddo at the face off against
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  Jesus Christ, the Messiah of the world and the Messiah of the
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  Jewish people? But how is this actually going
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  to work you may ask? Notice how the word mouth is
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  repeated 3 times in verse 13. The mouth of the dragon, the
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  mouth of the beast, the mouth of the false prophet.
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  So this repetition is obviously intentional, and it's an
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  emphasis. It's to suggest that the primary
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  means of recruiting the world to come against Jerusalem and her
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  king. You ready for this is through
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  demonically inspired propaganda. And notice that John describes
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  these spirits as resembling frogs.
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  I don't know how you feel about frogs, but frogs appear more
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  than once in the Bible. And again, we are honoring what
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  John is doing by the spirit. He is taking from the details
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  and the events of the Exodus. And we know that one of the
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  plagues that the Egyptians faced was the littering of frogs
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  across their land. And so John by the spirits
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  borrows that specific plague, brings it into this moment in
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  order to, in symbolic terms, to let us know that in the final of
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  the final days leading up to the return of Christ, there is going
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  to be a plague. What kind of plague?
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  1 of indoctrination and disinformation, one that will
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  convince the world to rise up against Israel and the God of
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  Israel. And guess what?
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  It's going to work and they will indeed give themselves to the
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  wishes of the Antichrist. And what will make this message
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  rooted in demonic thoughts will be authenticated because we read
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  that they don't only come from the mouths of the participants
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  of the unholy Trinity, but that they will also perform signs.
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  It makes you wonder if these world leaders are feeling a
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  little hesitant to follow the lead of the Antichrist after all
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  these disappointments. And yet, there will be this
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  final effort on his part to win their allegiance afresh.
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  They'll say, OK, let's do it. Who knows what will be said, but
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  it will succeed. Now, I want us to pause here for
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  a moment and reflect. When people think about demonic
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  activity, they often limit it to visible manifestations like
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  convulsions or unfiltered vulgarity and perversion.
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  Well, the Bible presents something a little bit more
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  complex when it comes to how demons work.
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  I want to remind you today through God's Word that demons
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  use words, that there is demonic activity not just in the future,
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  but even now in the realm of government, in the political
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  arena. And more than that, demons very
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  much capitalize on those who use their mouths to shape the
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  opinions of the public. And that is going to be
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  something very prevalent in the last days.
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  So here's what this means for you.
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  And I be careful what you listen to.
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  Oh, they might have wonderful personalities.
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  They may be witty, they may receive the wider applause, and
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  yet their arguments, their theories, their messages, their
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  podcasts can very well be rooted in demonic deception.
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  And people are eating it up. I didn't.
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  I didn't come to Christ until 20, the age of 20.
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  But even before that, I can recollect what the world was
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  like, and I can't think of any time in my lifetime where
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  theology is being discussed on this level in the secular world.
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  All of a sudden, people are becoming experts in eschatology.
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  Be careful what you're listening to and how it may be influencing
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  you, because demons use people's mouths, and the only way you and
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  I can discern what's true and false is by soaking your mind in
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  the Bible. That sounds cliche, doesn't it?
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  Well, cliches are important sometimes because even though we
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  know this, we don't practice it, and we have footholds in our
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  minds and we don't guard these ears and we don't compare what's
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  being said to what's been said by God.
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  And then we begin to sway and shift and doubt.
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  You know, I was reflecting on this on my way here.
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  Actually, Paul said something astounding in Romans 11 verse
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  25. When Romans 11/25 is quoted by
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  by most, they quote the second part and they forget the first
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  part. It's in that verse where we
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  learn that a partial hardening has come upon Israel until the
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  fullness of the Gentiles come in.
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  You heard of it, right? Do you remember what Paul said
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  before in the same verse? What did he say?
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  Lest you be wise in your own sight.
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  I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery.
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  And then he says, Brothers, a partial hardening has come upon
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  Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles come in.
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  But notice what he said. Lest you be wise in your own
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  sight. What's the context of that one
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  translation says Lest you be wise in your own opinion.
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  Do you think people have opinions about Israel today?
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  Yeah, even in the church. And guess what?
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  A lot of those opinions are not based on the clarity that we
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  have about God's plan for this people.
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  They are unaware of the mystery. They're speaking from the place
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  of ignorance. Have you done your due diligence
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  to study the Bible from cover to cover to come to your
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  conclusion, your conviction, your doctrine of the people of
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  Israel? Are you being informed by the
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  podcast that you're listening to on your way to work?
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  Is that where you're getting your source of information from?
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  Why do you believe what you believe?
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  Have you gone to the Old Testament?
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  Have you gone to the New? Have you seen how they
• 26:57
  harmonize? Have you seen where things
• 26:58
  contradict? What do you know about it from
• 27:01
  the Bible? You know what the Holy Spirit
• 27:04
  says to Paul, to Christians, I don't want you to be unaware.
• 27:07
  In other words, we can't settle with, well, I just don't know.
• 27:10
  No, the Bible says, I don't want you to be unaware.
• 27:13
  The Bible doesn't want you to just say, I don't know.
• 27:18
  So clearly, based on Paul's words, as difficult as some of
• 27:21
  his teachings are to grasp right away, there is clarity.
• 27:26
  There are answers, clear enough answers that when somebody
• 27:30
  speaks about what we should believe in the Bible concerning
• 27:34
  the certain doctrine, we can say hold on, hold on, hold on.
• 27:36
  That's not right. It may be popular today, but
• 27:41
  it's not right. So don't settle remaining in the
• 27:46
  dark or confused, Paul says. I don't want you to be unaware.
• 27:54
  Now here's where this becomes even more comforting for us.
• 27:58
  Like many parts of the Book of Revelation, the brewing battle
• 28:01
  that John is describing here is nothing new.
• 28:07
  John is completely aligned with the prophets of old, the
• 28:11
  prophets of old who have told us throughout the centuries that
• 28:16
  there is a battle of battles, that there is a final face off
• 28:19
  between God and the forces of evil, and it will take place in
• 28:24
  the Holy Land. You know, some people say the
• 28:29
  land there, that small section that's no bigger than New
• 28:33
  Jersey, it's not so important. Well, clearly it's important to
• 28:35
  God because things are going to happen there.
• 28:40
  I usually don't do this, but I'm just going to read to you verse
• 28:44
  after verse after verse. Put it in your pocket.
• 28:50
  And if you're wrestling with these verses, know that God can
• 28:55
  give you clarity and answers about them.
• 28:59
  And we will look at these Old Testament prophecies in the
• 29:01
  weeks to come, especially next week.
• 29:03
  But just listen. Just take it in.
• 29:04
  Don't allow yourself to go into autopilot mode and get
• 29:07
  distracted. Lean in and listen to what this
• 29:10
  is, ancient prophecy I'm reading.
• 29:12
  I'm not reading the newspaper to you.
• 29:14
  Ancient prophecy that's been preserved by God for our
• 29:17
  instruction and our inspiration. Listen to what the prophet Joel
• 29:22
  says in Joel chapter 3, verse one to three.
• 29:25
  For behold, in those days and at that time when I restore the
• 29:28
  fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all the nations
• 29:31
  and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat.
• 29:34
  Jehoshaphat means the Lord judges, and I will enter into
• 29:38
  judgment with them there on behalf of my people and
• 29:41
  MyHeritage. Israel, because they have
• 29:44
  scattered them among the nations and have divided up my land.
• 29:48
  Whose lands? It it's God's everybody's.
• 29:52
  Oh, it's belongs to them. No, it belongs to them.
• 29:54
  Oh, that's what happened at this point.
• 29:55
  OK, figure it out. Well, my Bible says it's all
• 29:58
  gods, and he gets to do what he wants with it.
• 30:03
  They have divided up my land, so I'm going to enter into judgment
• 30:07
  with them. We think.
• 30:11
  Well, you're talking about land in the Old Testament.
• 30:13
  We're in the New Testament. Land shows up in the New
• 30:15
  Testament too. We just looked at Euphrates and
• 30:19
  we looked at Armageddon. So clearly land is still
• 30:21
  relevant unless you want to make this all symbolic.
• 30:24
  Armageddon means this and it happened in 19.
• 30:26
  This. Is it past or is it future?
• 30:31
  Hopefully you've been here long enough to know there's a case
• 30:34
  for the future. View Zechariah 12 verse 2.
• 30:41
  Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to
• 30:45
  all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also
• 30:50
  be against Judah on that day. Pause.
• 30:54
  Zechariah loves to use that phrase on that day, and when he
• 30:57
  uses it, especially from chapter 12 down to chapter 14, it speaks
• 31:00
  about the final day. On that day verse 3 says I will
• 31:04
  make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples.
• 31:09
  All who lift it will surely hurt themselves and all the nations
• 31:13
  of the earth will gather against it.
• 31:15
  Do you think when God says all, he means all?
• 31:21
  On that day? Verse 4 declares the Lord.
• 31:23
  I will strike every horse with panic, and it's rider with
• 31:27
  madness, but for the sake of the House of Judah I will keep my
• 31:31
  eyes open when I strike every horse of the peoples with
• 31:34
  blindness. Zechariah 14 Verse one.
• 31:39
  Behold, the day is coming for the Lord, when the spoil taken
• 31:42
  from you will be divided in your midst.
• 31:44
  For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to
• 31:47
  battle, and the city shall be taken, and the houses plundered,
• 31:51
  and woman raped. Half of the city shall go out
• 31:53
  into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from
• 31:57
  the city. Then the Lord will go out and
• 31:59
  fight against those nations as when He fights on a day of
• 32:02
  battle over and over and over again.
• 32:07
  The prophets predicted a face off between God and the rest of
• 32:12
  the world. Who will come up against the
• 32:14
  holy city to try to eradicate God's promises through the
• 32:20
  Jewish people and to try to stop the Son of God from entering
• 32:24
  into the world to fulfill what He said to David and to us?
• 32:30
  And if there's any take away, there's a lot that was said.
• 32:32
  We'll hopefully explore these more in detail next week.
• 32:34
  But if there's any key take away from what you just heard now, it
• 32:38
  is that God himself is going to orchestrate these events.
• 32:42
  How many times do we read? I will, I will, I will, I will.
• 32:47
  He's going to lay it all out. He's going to move the pieces at
• 32:51
  the right time. It will be fulfilled.
• 32:53
  And that should comfort you. You're saying how?
• 32:56
  Because in Revelation 16, we see demons at work, we see unclean
• 33:01
  spirits persuading and drawing the nations in.
• 33:06
  But in the background, according to the Old Testament and even in
• 33:09
  the New, we see that it is God who ultimately manages it all.
• 33:14
  He is sovereign even over demons.
• 33:18
  He is sovereign over kings. And he will allow them to do
• 33:21
  what they want to do, thinking that they're actually going to
• 33:23
  be victorious, when in fact, it's going to be a trap.
• 33:27
  So you can imagine how they're going to think, oh, there's the
• 33:29
  the river Euphrates drying up. This is our chance.
• 33:33
  Let's make our way. Not realizing that they're
• 33:36
  walking through their own judgement.
• 33:40
  Have you ever thought this? I've thought it.
• 33:42
  Doesn't the devil read the Bible?
• 33:45
  He does. He knows more than most
• 33:47
  Christians, actually. I'm sure he read Revelation 16.
• 33:53
  Has that ever dawned on him like this is going to happen?
• 33:56
  This is my faith. Even though I possess a man
• 33:58
  known as Antichrist and convince the world to come against
• 34:00
  Christ, it's not going to work. Pride is a powerful thing.
• 34:07
  Pride is very powerful. And Satan is so filled with
• 34:10
  arrogance that he actually thinks, even though this has
• 34:12
  been inscribed from eternity past, that he can change it and
• 34:18
  he can convince those kings. If we work together, we can
• 34:21
  actually do this. We can win the world back to us.
• 34:27
  We can stop the anointed one from coming.
• 34:30
  They've already acknowledged that God was the one who's
• 34:32
  behind all these plagues. It's not like they're a bunch of
• 34:34
  atheists going to Jerusalem. They know that God is behind us,
• 34:39
  and Satan's going to convince them we can actually win.
• 34:43
  Pride is scary. Lord, keep us humble.
• 34:51
  And what this battle is actually going to look like is described
• 34:54
  for us in Revelation 19. Revelation 16 is just a
• 34:59
  preparation. Revelation 19 is when Christ
• 35:02
  actually comes. And what we're going to learn
• 35:04
  there is that this isn't really going to be much of A battle.
• 35:09
  It's going to be over in a moment.
• 35:14
  And I won't go to that chapter just yet.
• 35:17
  It'll surely be the climax of our study of this book.
• 35:20
  But here's how we're going to end.
• 35:22
  You know, we're approaching the the completion of the bold
• 35:25
  judgments. And there's a pattern in the
• 35:28
  series of judgments that we've seen before in the former ones,
• 35:31
  you remember the seal judgments that were broken, the trumpet
• 35:34
  judgments that were blasted in each set.
• 35:38
  Whenever we come to the 6th item on the list, there is an
• 35:42
  interlude. There is a pause, there is a
• 35:46
  break, and the purpose of that break is to offer inspiration
• 35:50
  and encouragement and hope as we are reading about this gloom and
• 35:54
  doom. And we come now to this last set
• 35:58
  of judgment. And what do we find?
• 36:00
  Yet another interval in verse 15.
• 36:02
  And if you have a red letter edition, then you will know that
• 36:05
  these are the words of Jesus. And even if you don't, you know
• 36:07
  it's Jesus based on the content. Behold, I am coming like a
• 36:11
  thief. Blessed is the one who stays
• 36:14
  away, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked
• 36:18
  and be seen exposed. So consistent with the former
• 36:24
  judgments, but a lot more brief. Did you notice when we looked at
• 36:30
  the seal and the trumpet judgments at point number six
• 36:33
  for each of them, those bricks were much longer, sometimes
• 36:36
  chapters long. Why is this reduced to a
• 36:40
  sentence? Because these judgements are
• 36:45
  moving quite rapidly. Everything is happening in such
• 36:49
  quick succession, One after one after one.
• 36:53
  They overlap, and so the encouragement must be short.
• 36:57
  Do you know why? Because Christ is coming back
• 36:59
  soon anyway. And here's what this means for
• 37:05
  you and I. The summary of this beatitude is
• 37:11
  simple. Be ready.
• 37:17
  Jesus says, I've told you in advance in detail of how I'm
• 37:20
  going to return and what's going to happen.
• 37:23
  And your response is to be ready.
• 37:28
  One of the practical benefits of studying prophecy is that it is
• 37:32
  designed to position us to remain in a continual state of
• 37:37
  preparedness. And yes, this, this call in
• 37:43
  verse 15 in great part is for those who are living at the time
• 37:47
  of the great judgments of God through the bowl judgments,
• 37:51
  however they apply to us. It's as though Christ interrupts
• 37:58
  and he speaks to the reader, his children, his disciples, his
• 38:01
  service, and he says be ready, stay clothed.
• 38:06
  Clothing here speaks of righteousness, it speaks of
• 38:08
  deeds, it speaks of character. Be mindful of my return.
• 38:13
  Don't lose sight of it. Is it possible to not think
• 38:18
  about Jesus returning? Absolutely.
• 38:21
  There's so much going on in this world and I'm fully aware that
• 38:24
  there's so much going on in your world.
• 38:26
  And perhaps you're there thinking, preacher, if you only
• 38:29
  knew what my house looks like. I have so much work to do.
• 38:32
  If you only knew what my mornings look like.
• 38:34
  I love my children, but it's a workout every morning.
• 38:37
  If you only know what it's like to go to the store.
• 38:39
  If you only what it's like. I have so much going on and here
• 38:41
  you are telling me to think about Jesus coming back.
• 38:45
  Yes, you go to a church called Maranatha.
• 38:52
  And may I suggest something that you meditating on the return of
• 38:57
  Christ has greater implications of how you think about this
• 39:00
  world than you think that thinking about being ready for
• 39:06
  Christ will actually help you filter how you perceive all the
• 39:10
  things that you think are so overbearing and troubling and
• 39:15
  distracting. This isn't me.
• 39:19
  This is Jesus saying be ready. Blessed is the one who stays
• 39:27
  awake. Meaning what?
• 39:28
  You're aware, you're constantly aware Christ is coming back.
• 39:34
  That's what it means to be awake if you're not thinking about
• 39:37
  that. I'm not saying it has to be
• 39:38
  uninterrupted thoughts. I'm saying though it has to be
• 39:41
  regular. If it's not, may I say this in
• 39:45
  love? Wake up, You're asleep, you're
• 39:50
  asleep, you're a child of God, yes, but you're taking a very
• 39:53
  long nap, spiritually speaking. And because of that, you are so
• 40:00
  consumed with this life. I'm not saying that we have to
• 40:04
  be so heavily minded that we don't do anything practical in
• 40:06
  this life or enjoy anything in this life.
• 40:07
  You know this very well. At the same time, you are called
• 40:11
  to be heavily minded and it will change absolutely everything
• 40:16
  about who you are the more you ingrain that in your meditation
• 40:20
  and your thinking. Think about it.
• 40:25
  Remind yourself of it when you turn on the news, which I
• 40:29
  suggest you don't, to be honest. But if you do, how much do you
• 40:36
  think about prophecy? I'm not saying take headlines
• 40:40
  and make them and force them into the Bible.
• 40:42
  I'm saying the simple thought, Lord, I thank you that you're
• 40:44
  coming back. You're going to clean up all
• 40:46
  this mess. Is that a hope in you or is your
• 40:53
  hope in a candidate? God help you if it is.
• 40:59
  Well, if I'm not careful, I can keep going on here.
• 41:06
  Here's my question Now for the person who's in this place who
• 41:08
  may not be a Christian, do you have the absolute assurance that
• 41:13
  when Jesus Christ comes back, you'll be ready to face him?
• 41:16
  You know, if there's any kind of preaching that we need in these
• 41:20
  days, is this kind of preaching taking advantage of every church
• 41:25
  service to remind people that Christ is coming back.
• 41:28
  The world itself is acknowledging that everything is
• 41:30
  falling apart. Why aren't preachers taking
• 41:32
  advantage of it and telling the people who are coming in with
• 41:37
  all their troubles and all their worries and more than that,
• 41:39
  maybe with a dead spirit. Hey, listen, there's a bigger
• 41:43
  picture going on here. Do you realize that what's
• 41:47
  happening on the news, on the media, there are spiritual
• 41:50
  forces behind it. Propaganda is real and it's
• 41:55
  powerful. It is not just something that
• 41:57
  people in power do, it's something that belches out of
• 42:00
  hell and your soul hangs in the balance.
• 42:08
  All of what's going on, if we really think about it, boils
• 42:11
  down to this. To ensure that your soul doesn't
• 42:15
  get saved, that Satan can deceive you and distract you and
• 42:23
  disorient you enough where you don't think about the most
• 42:26
  important decision in your life. And it is this.
• 42:29
  What will I do with Jesus? What will I do with the Son of
• 42:33
  God who died for me? What will I do when all of this
• 42:39
  comes to an end? And it is my great privilege,
• 42:44
  and I do it in fear and trembling, to let you know that
• 42:48
  the best thing you can do, the only thing you can do if you
• 42:50
  want to save your soul, is give it to Jesus.
• 42:56
  You're a Sinner, and so am I. But you can be saved today if
• 43:08
  you understand what Christ has done for you.
• 43:09
  He died for you. We're reading Revelation, but
• 43:11
  you have to understand that Christ did something before He
• 43:16
  does all of this, and that's die on the cross.
• 43:19
  He died a real death. He hung up, Tortured, yes,
• 43:24
  beaten, yes, But more than that, taking on your sin, your sin,
• 43:29
  everything that you've done, He took it upon himself.
• 43:31
  And God dropped his wrath on him instead of you, and He absorbed
• 43:39
  every ounce of punishment that you and I deserve.
• 43:42
  Every single thing that you've done.
• 43:45
  He is received on your behalf in terms of retribution and divine
• 43:49
  justice. And He wants you to believe
• 43:54
  that. And not just believe that as a
• 43:58
  historical truth, but to accept it as a gift from Him that
• 44:02
  liberates you and makes you a child of God.
• 44:08
  You see, believing what Christ has done will turn you from an
• 44:11
  enemy into a child of God, a rebel into a redeemed, a
• 44:20
  follower of the Antichrist spirit to a lover of the true
• 44:25
  Christ. So my invitation is simple
• 44:28
  today, and I mean it with all of my heart, receive Jesus Christ
• 44:33
  today. Give your heart to Him in this
• 44:36
  moment while the songs are being sung, bow yourself before him
• 44:40
  and say, Oh God, please save me. I came into this place and I
• 44:44
  realized that this book is much more relevant than I imagined.
• 44:47
  It gives commentary and all the chaos in the world.
• 44:50
  I understand that this is true. And if these prophecies are
• 44:53
  true, then surely what you did for me is true.
• 44:56
  You're the truth. And so I give myself to the
• 45:00
  truth. If you really give yourself to
• 45:04
  Jesus Christ today, you will know that you are saved.
• 45:07
  You will know saying, how will I know?
• 45:09
  The Spirit of God bears witness with our spirit that we are
• 45:11
  children of God. Hallelujah.
• 45:15
  And it is my hope, especially as we go through this series, that
• 45:19
  there will be not one person who would leave one message in
• 45:21
  Revelation unsaved. May Christ be glorified though.
• 45:29
  We thank you for the service. Thank you that your word is so
• 45:44
  relevant. It's so applicable.
• 45:48
  It has answers for every age and Lord, we find ourselves in a
• 45:54
  culture where people are saying a lot of things.
• 46:00
  More than ever. We have platforms in every
• 46:05
  direction that we look. So many ideas and proposals and
• 46:11
  documentaries and debates and interviews.
• 46:18
  We need your help to discern at all.
• 46:22
  Not to despair, but to be ready. So, Lord, we pray that leaving
• 46:28
  this place, there will be this aggressive hunger for the word
• 46:34
  of God to coat our minds, to protect our hearts.
• 46:42
  Lord, if we're going to be knowledgeable and anything, may
• 46:44
  it not be in politics, may not be in socioeconomic ideas, may
• 46:50
  be in the Scriptures, the word of God, Only you can, only you
• 46:59
  can create that desire in our hearts and we pray that you
• 47:02
  would use this service to do just that.
• 47:07
  We magnify your name today in Jesus name, Amen, Amen.
• 47:11
  Let's stand church. Let's worship the Lord.