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God's Great Day of Wrath (Revelation 69–11) John MacArthur · THE BELIEVER'S CHURCH | Let’s Build Our Faith Together

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  Speaker 1: We have the great privilege again tonight of looking into
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  Speaker 1: the future. And I want you to take your Bible
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  Speaker 1: or one that is nearby, perhaps you don't have one,
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  Speaker 1: there's one in the pew there, and turn to the
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  Speaker 1: sixth chapter of the last book in the Bible, the
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  Speaker 1: book of Revelation, the sixth chapter. Tonight we're going to
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  Speaker 1: look at verses 9, 10, and 11 in our ongoing.
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  Speaker 2: Study of this great chapter.
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  Speaker 1: Let me read these three verses, Revelation chapter 6, beginning
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  Speaker 1: at verse 9. And when He broke the fifth seal,
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  Speaker 1: I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who
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  Speaker 1: had been slain because of the Word of God and
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  Speaker 1: because of the testimony which they had maintained. And they
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  Speaker 1: cried out with a loud voice, saying,' How long, O Lord,
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  Speaker 1: holy and true, wilt Thou refrain from judging and avenging
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  Speaker 1: our blood on those who dwell on the earth?' And
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  Speaker 1: there was given to each of them a white robe,
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  Speaker 1: and they were told that they should rest for a
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  Speaker 1: little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants
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  Speaker 1: and their brethren, who were to be killed even as
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  Speaker 1: they had been, should be completed also. As we begin
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  Speaker 1: an examination of this fifth seal and this most significant passage,
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  Speaker 1: it suits us to examine the thought of vengeance for
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  Speaker 1: a moment.
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  Speaker 2: Because what this seal is all about is vengeance.
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  Speaker 1: It is a cry on the part of these souls
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  Speaker 1: identified here for the Lord to avenge our blood, to
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  Speaker 1: bring about judgment. It is not inconsistent with God to
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  Speaker 1: make such a plea, although you would imagine in the
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  Speaker 1: world today that such a God does not exist.
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  Speaker 2: People have recast God.
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  Speaker 1: In the form that pleases them and, of course, have
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  Speaker 1: eliminated any thought of His being a vengeful God. But
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  Speaker 1: the God of Scripture is a God of vengeance. He
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  Speaker 1: Himself says in Deuteronomy 32, 35, vengeance is mine and retribution.
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  Speaker 1: Twice more in that same chapter, verses 41 and 43,
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  Speaker 1: He says, I will render vengeance on my adversaries.
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  Speaker 2: The psalmist affirmed the same truth in about God when
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  Speaker 2: He wrote,' O.
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  Speaker 1: Lord, God of vengeance, God of vengeance, shine forth. Rise up,
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  Speaker 1: O judge of the earth. Render recompense to the proud.'
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  Speaker 1: That's from Psalm 94. And the psalm ends this way,'
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  Speaker 1: The Lord our God will destroy.' There are a number
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  Speaker 1: of what are called imprecatory Psalms where the inspired writer
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  Speaker 1: of the Psalm is calling for God to destroy the wicked.
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  Speaker 1: He's calling for God to bring about vengeance. The longest
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  Speaker 1: of those imprecations are found in Psalm 35, in Psalm 69,
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  Speaker 1: and in Psalm 109. And there are other portions of
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  Speaker 1: the Psalms with similar prayers for God to bring vengeance
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  Speaker 1: on the wicked. In Psalm 79, for example, in verse 10,
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  Speaker 1: we read, Let there be known among the nations in
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  Speaker 1: our sight vengeance for the blood of thy servants which
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  Speaker 1: has been shed.
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  Speaker 2: God is a God of vengeance.
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  Speaker 1: The prophet Micah said for God, speaking in his behalf,
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  Speaker 1: chapter 5, verse 15, I will execute vengeance in anger
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  Speaker 1: and wrath on the nations which have not obeyed. In
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  Speaker 1: Isaiah chapter 59 and verse 17, we see God putting
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  Speaker 1: on what Isaiah calls garments of vengeance for clothing. Verse
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  Speaker 1: 18 says in Isaiah 59, He will repay wrath to
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  Speaker 1: His adversaries and recompense to His enemies. In Isaiah 63, 4,
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  Speaker 1: we read, God says He has a day of vengeance
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  Speaker 1: in His heart.
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  Speaker 2: In His heart. In Psalm 64, and maybe we'll.
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  Speaker 1: Just look at this one and leave the rest for
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  Speaker 1: your own perusal, but in Psalm 64, I would just
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  Speaker 1: read three.
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  Speaker 2: Verses to you, verses 7, 8, and 9.
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  Speaker 1: But God will shoot at them with an arrow, speaking
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  Speaker 1: of the wicked. Suddenly they will be wounded, so they
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  Speaker 1: will make Him stumble. Their own tongue is against them.
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  Speaker 1: All who see them will shake the head. Then all
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  Speaker 1: men will fear and will declare the work of God.
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  Speaker 1: and will consider what He has done. And then, interestingly enough,
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  Speaker 1: verse 10 says,' The righteous man will be glad in
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  Speaker 1: the Lord.' It's a frightening thought in one sense, isn't it?
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  Speaker 1: That the righteous could see the destruction of the wicked
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  Speaker 1: and be glad.
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  Speaker 2: And be happy of that. But there is that element.
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  Speaker 1: God is a God of vengeance, and vengeance displays God's glory,
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  Speaker 1: and vengeance displays God's justice, and vengeance displays God's holiness,
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  Speaker 1: and vengeance displays God's righteousness. And when all of that
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  Speaker 1: is put on display and God is fully vindicated, the
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  Speaker 1: righteous will be glad. Proverbs 25, 21 says, If your
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  Speaker 1: enemy is hungry, give him food to eat, and if
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  Speaker 1: he's thirsty, give him water to drink.
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  Speaker 2: That's the other side of it. We're to be compassionate.
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  Speaker 1: We're to demonstrate the love of God toward sinners just
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  Speaker 1: as the love of God was demonstrated toward us while
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  Speaker 1: we were yet sinners. There is a balance that we
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  Speaker 1: are to seek mercy and compassion for those who are
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  Speaker 1: under the judgment of God as well as seeking and
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  Speaker 1: longing for vengeance which puts God on display and vindicates
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  Speaker 1: His holiness and His righteousness. In Romans 12, I think
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  Speaker 1: you see the same balance. It says, never take your
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  Speaker 1: own revenge, beloved, but leave, verse 19, room for the
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  Speaker 1: wrath of God, for it is written, vengeance is mine,
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  Speaker 1: I will repay. And then the next verse says, verse 20,
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  Speaker 1: but if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if
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  Speaker 1: he is thirsty, give him a drink. There is a
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  Speaker 1: day of vengeance coming, but that doesn't mean we treat
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  Speaker 1: sinners with revenge or vengeful spirits.
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  Speaker 2: Or retributive attitudes.
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  Speaker 1: Yes, we long for the day when God's holiness and
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  Speaker 1: justice and righteousness is vindicated, but at the same time
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  Speaker 1: we know it's a fearful day for the ungodly, and
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  Speaker 1: in the meantime we reach out in love and compassion
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  Speaker 1: and mercy to them. Now as we look at Revelation
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  Speaker 1: chapter 6 tonight, we are going to come face to
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  Speaker 1: face with God's vengeance. The time of grace is really
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  Speaker 1: coming to its end. We are now in a seven-year
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  Speaker 1: period that we have called the time of tribulation. It
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  Speaker 1: is also called the time of Jacob's trouble with reference
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  Speaker 1: to Israel's role in it. This seven-year period identified in
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  Speaker 1: the book of Daniel as seven years and identified again
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  Speaker 1: in the book of Revelation as to half of it
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  Speaker 1: being three and a half years or 42 months or
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  Speaker 1: 1260 days. This brief period of time is the time
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  Speaker 1: when God unleashes His vengeance, when God unleashes His judgment
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  Speaker 1: and His wrath on the earth like never before. Now,
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  Speaker 1: there have been past times when God's vengeance has been manifest,
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  Speaker 1: when God's wrath has been manifest when God's anger has
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  Speaker 1: been revealed. And some of those times have even been
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  Speaker 1: called days of the Lord. But this final time is
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  Speaker 1: greater than any other time to precede it. This is
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  Speaker 1: the seven-year period when Jesus Christ not only judges the ungodly,
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  Speaker 1: but takes back the.
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  Speaker 2: Earth and the universe for His own possession.
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  Speaker 1: Now you'll remember that in Matthew's gospel, Jesus is recorded
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  Speaker 1: to have preached a sermon, we call it the Olivet
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  Speaker 1: Discourse or the Sermon on the Mount of Olives, in
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  Speaker 1: which He discussed this period of time. And He said
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  Speaker 1: the seven years will be divided into two halves. The
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  Speaker 1: first half He called the beginning of birth pain.
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  Speaker 2: It's a very vivid term.
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  Speaker 1: When a child is to be born prior to the birth,
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  Speaker 1: there are a series of birth pains that get increasingly
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  Speaker 1: more intense and closer together as you get nearer to
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  Speaker 1: the great event of birth itself. And what our Lord
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  Speaker 1: is saying is there's a great event, namely the arrival,
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  Speaker 1: not of a child, but the arrival of the King,
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  Speaker 1: the Son of God. But as you get within seven
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  Speaker 1: years of that arrival, the birth pains are going to
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  Speaker 1: start to come.
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  Speaker 2: The earth is going to feel the pain.
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  Speaker 1: It will start out somewhat slowly, and it will rapidly increase.
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  Speaker 2: The beginning of those.
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  Speaker 1: Birth pains will occur in the first three and a
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  Speaker 1: half years, and the furious pain will come in the
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  Speaker 1: second half, and that, our Lord designated as a time
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  Speaker 1: called the Great Tribulation. So the first half in Matthew 24,
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  Speaker 1: 8 is called the beginning of birth pains, The second
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  Speaker 1: half in Matthew 24, 21 is called the great tribulation
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  Speaker 1: or the great time of trouble, pressure, and pain. Now
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  Speaker 1: interestingly enough, and this is something just to keep in
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  Speaker 1: mind for the chronology of all of this, as Luke
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  Speaker 1: looked at the same period of time in the twenty-first
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  Speaker 1: chapter of his gospel, as Luke looked at the same
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  Speaker 1: period of time and recorded.
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  Speaker 2: Our Lord's words in the same sermon Luke added the.
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  Speaker 1: Fact that Jesus called that great tribulation time, that second half,
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  Speaker 1: days of vengeance, according to chapter 21, verse 22. After
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  Speaker 1: the abomination of desolations, which is identified as the midpoint
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  Speaker 1: by Daniel in which is not mentioned in Luke 20, 21,
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  Speaker 1: but the succeeding events are mentioned. So when he calls
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  Speaker 1: this particular time the day of vengeance, he's talking about
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  Speaker 1: the time after the abomination, after the midpoint, namely the
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  Speaker 1: second half. The fury of God's vengeance really hits following
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  Speaker 1: the midpoint. Luke calls those days, those days in the
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  Speaker 1: second half, days of vengeance. Now that is very important
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  Speaker 1: because that's consistent with what we're going to see here
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  Speaker 1: in the fifth seal.
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  Speaker 2: The chronology is very clear.
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  Speaker 1: The first four seals occur in the front part, the
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  Speaker 1: first three and a half, and they're the ones Jesus
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  Speaker 1: called the beginning of the birth pains.
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  Speaker 2: They happen in the first part.
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  Speaker 1: This fifth seal begins in the first part, stretches across
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  Speaker 1: the midpoint, is accelerated in the second part, and is
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  Speaker 1: followed by the vengeance.
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  Speaker 2: The vengeance.
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  Speaker 1: Paul saw this vengeance of God coming in 1 Thessalonians chapter,
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  Speaker 1: 2 Thessalonians rather, chapter 1. He says in verse 5,
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  Speaker 1: this is a plain indication of God's righteous judgment, so
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  Speaker 1: that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of
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  Speaker 1: God for which you're suffering. For after all, it is
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  Speaker 1: only just for God to repay with affliction those who
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  Speaker 1: afflict you, and to give relief to you who are afflicted,
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  Speaker 1: and to us as well, when the Lord Jesus shall
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  Speaker 1: be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire.
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  Speaker 1: Here it is, dealing out retribution, or dealing out vengeance
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  Speaker 1: on those who do not know God. and those who
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  Speaker 1: do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus, and
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  Speaker 1: they will pay the penalty of eternal destruction away from
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  Speaker 1: the presence of the Lord and from the.
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  Speaker 2: Glory of His power. So Paul noted there was coming
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  Speaker 2: a day of retribution or a day of vengeance. Peter
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  Speaker 2: saw the same thing.
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  Speaker 1: The same kind of vengeance, 2 Peter chapter 3 verse 10,
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  Speaker 1: the day of the Lord will come like a thief
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  Speaker 1: in which the heavens will pass away with a roar.
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  Speaker 1: The elements will be destroyed with intense heat. The earth
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  Speaker 1: and the works in it will be burned up since
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  Speaker 1: all these things are to be destroyed in this way.
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  Speaker 2: Then he goes on from there.
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  Speaker 1: There's coming a great day of God's vengeance which will
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  Speaker 1: bring about holocausts of destruction like the world before. has
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  Speaker 1: never known, a day when the just God and the
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  Speaker 1: righteous God and the holy God brings His long-awaited justice
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  Speaker 1: on sinful men and women. And it is true that
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  Speaker 1: believers rejoice in that day because it does put God's
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  Speaker 1: glory on display. It does bring an end to iniquity,
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  Speaker 1: which we despise. It does vindicate the Lord who has
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  Speaker 1: been so mocked and abused. It does take back the
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  Speaker 1: universe from that usurper, Satan. It does bring in everlasting
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  Speaker 1: righteousness and end the reign of sin.
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  Speaker 2: So we do rejoice.
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  Speaker 1: We understand the gladness that was expressed by the psalmist.
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  Speaker 1: We understand the joy and the hope that was in
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  Speaker 1: the heart of the apostles as they anticipated this event,
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  Speaker 1: even though it meant the destruction of the ungodly to
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  Speaker 1: whom they were sent for purposes of evangelism. Again, this
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  Speaker 1: dual feeling of joy and sadness is indicated in Revelation
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  Speaker 1: chapter 10.
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  Speaker 2: Turn over there for a moment. In one of the really.
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  Speaker 1: Rich chapters in this book, to which we will give
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  Speaker 1: great attention in the future. Down in verse 9, John
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  Speaker 1: is told to take the book, which is opened in
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  Speaker 1: the hand of the angel in verse 8, and he's told,
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  Speaker 1: take it and eat it. It's the book that describes
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  Speaker 1: the final judgment.
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  Speaker 2: Take it and eat it.
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  Speaker 1: It'll make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it'll
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  Speaker 1: be sweet as honey. And I took the little book
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  Speaker 1: out of the angel's hand and ate it, and it
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  Speaker 1: was in my mouth sweet as honey. And when I
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  Speaker 1: had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter.
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  Speaker 2: This is the.
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  Speaker 1: Bittersweet attitude of judgment. There is a sweetness in it
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  Speaker 1: because it is vindication for God. There is a sweetness
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  Speaker 1: in it because it brings in everlasting righteousness. There's a
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  Speaker 1: sweetness in it because it destroys sin, and there's a
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  Speaker 1: bitterness in it because it devastates the ungodly. We don't
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  Speaker 1: carry around a message of vengeance. Certainly Jesus hanging on
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  Speaker 1: the cross said, Father, forgive them for they know not
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  Speaker 1: what they do. Certainly Stephen, when he was being stoned
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  Speaker 1: by the ungodly, said, Lay not this into their charge,
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  Speaker 1: which is another way of saying forgive them. Certainly Paul said,
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  Speaker 1: I could wish myself accursed for the salvation of my kinsmen,
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  Speaker 1: the Jews. And Paul also said, knowing the terror of
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  Speaker 1: the Lord, we persuade men. And he went on to say,
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  Speaker 1: it has been given to us by God, the ministry
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  Speaker 1: of reconciliation, and we beg you be reconciled to God
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  Speaker 1: before this retribution falls. The Bible even says God has
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  Speaker 1: no pleasure in the death of the wicked. It says
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  Speaker 1: God is not willing that any should perish, but.
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  Speaker 2: That all should come to repentance.
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  Speaker 1: I suppose it is illustrated by the very same psalmist
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  Speaker 1: who wrote the imprecatory psalms in which he called down
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  Speaker 1: the fire of God on his enemies is the very
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  Speaker 1: same psalmist who when he had the opportunity as recorded
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  Speaker 1: in 1 Samuel 24 and 26 could have taken the
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  Speaker 1: life of his enemy Saul and spared his life because
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  Speaker 1: he had compassion and he had mercy and he cared
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  Speaker 1: about the man's soul. But God's Spirit will not always
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  Speaker 1: strive with man. And there will come an end to
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  Speaker 1: the time of grace. In Acts 17, the apostle Paul
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  Speaker 1: preached that. He said, God has been somewhat tolerant in
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  Speaker 1: times past, but there is coming a day, he says,
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  Speaker 1: in verse 30 of Acts 17, a day in which
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  Speaker 1: he will judge the world in righteousness through a man
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  Speaker 1: that is Christ whom he has appointed. There is coming
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  Speaker 1: a day when grace is over with. And judgment falls.
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  Speaker 1: It is that very anticipation that is in view in
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  Speaker 1: the fifth seal. It is this seal which indicates to
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  Speaker 1: us this anticipation. Now, you have noted in each case
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  Speaker 1: there is a force working. Seal number one, the force
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  Speaker 1: was what?
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  Speaker 2: You remember? Peace.
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  Speaker 1: Seal number two, the force was war. Seal number three,
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  Speaker 1: the force war. Inundating the earth was famine and seal
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  Speaker 1: number four the ashen horse the force was pestilence resulting
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  Speaker 1: in widespread death There's another force in This fifth seal
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  Speaker 1: and it's rarely ever discussed by commentators. I could find
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  Speaker 1: one commentator who really got a grip on this force
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  Speaker 1: Out of say a dozen that I read the force
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  Speaker 1: here the force here is vengeance But behind it is prayer.
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  Speaker 1: We can almost say that the force is the prayer
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  Speaker 1: for vengeance. The vengeance doesn't come in the fifth seal.
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  Speaker 2: The prayer does.
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  Speaker 1: And if we remember the promise of James that the
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  Speaker 1: effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much, then
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  Speaker 1: these have to be powerful prayers because they're being offered
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  Speaker 1: by people who are already in heaven and they have
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  Speaker 1: no taint of sin left in them. So here are
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  Speaker 1: the prayers of the perfectly righteous. And those kinds of
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  Speaker 1: prayers are a force. and their prayers for vengeance, and
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  Speaker 1: those prayers will be answered. Now remember, the final seven
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  Speaker 1: years of judgment began to be anticipated in chapter 4
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  Speaker 1: as the throne began to move with thunder and lightning.
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  Speaker 1: The actual judgment starts here in chapter 6 and runs
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  Speaker 1: all the way through chapter 19, and it all begins
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  Speaker 1: with opening the seven-sealed book or scroll. First four angels
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  Speaker 1: we've already seen, they came on the scene in response
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  Speaker 1: to the opening of the first four seals, and there
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  Speaker 1: will be false peace and war and famine and pestilence
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  Speaker 1: bringing widespread death that will kill one-fourth of all humanity.
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  Speaker 1: So we already know the world is facing a period
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  Speaker 1: of unimaginable trouble. The dream of the optimist for a
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  Speaker 1: better world doesn't fit God's Word. The ultimate triumph of
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  Speaker 1: Jesus Christ, the worthy Lamb, is assured and As the
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  Speaker 1: book of Revelation makes plain, He will bring over the
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  Speaker 1: earth His reign at the expense of Satan, demons, and
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  Speaker 1: ungodly men. He will bring in a kingdom of righteousness
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  Speaker 1: that will follow the pouring out of the wrath of
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  Speaker 1: God on all the ungodly. So we're looking at the
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  Speaker 1: beginning of this judgment, this time of wrath. It is delineated,
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  Speaker 1: as I said, through these seven seals of It includes,
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  Speaker 1: as we shall see, seven trumpets which come in a
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  Speaker 1: very brief time and seven bowls which come in an
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  Speaker 1: even briefer time in rapid fire succession. We're still in
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  Speaker 1: the first half of the seven-year period as we come
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  Speaker 1: to seal number five. The second half, the days of vengeance,
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  Speaker 1: haven't been unleashed yet. But this is the prayer for vengeance.
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  Speaker 1: Now as we look at these three verses, I want
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  Speaker 1: you to notice three features just to break it down
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  Speaker 1: so you can sort of follow along. We're going to
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  Speaker 1: look at the persons involved, the petitions they have, and
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  Speaker 1: the promises they receive. The persons involved, verse 9, the
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  Speaker 1: petitions they have, in verse 10, and the promises they
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  Speaker 1: receive in verse 11. This is absolutely fascinating, and there's
• 19:55
  Speaker 1: much to learn, and we have to put it together
• 19:59
  Speaker 1: with the record of prophetic literature to bring it into
• 20:04
  Speaker 1: clear focus, and we'll endeavor to do that Let's look
• 20:07
  Speaker 1: first of all at the persons involved. Verse 9, And
• 20:10
  Speaker 1: when he broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the
• 20:12
  Speaker 1: altar the souls of those who had been slain because
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: of the word of God and because of the testimony
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: which they had maintained. Now you'll notice that he sees
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: some souls there, and they are the persons involved. Now
• 20:25
  Speaker 1: we'll get to them specifically, but let's start at the
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: beginning of the verse. And when he broke the fifth seal,
• 20:30
  Speaker 1: remember now the seven-sealed scroll is the title deed to
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: the earth, he is unrolling it. And every time he
• 20:35
  Speaker 1: unrolls it and breaks another seal, which was put on
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: ancient documents to keep the information in there hidden from
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: public view, every time he unrolls the next section, the
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: seals being on the edge of the scroll, one would
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: be broken and it could be unrolled to the point
• 20:49
  Speaker 1: where the next seal was. Every time he unrolls one,
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: another sequence of judgment action is made visible.
• 21:00
  Speaker 2: This seal reveals these souls under the altar.
• 21:06
  Speaker 1: How did they get there? Verse 9 says they were killed.
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: So it's safe to say these are martyrs. So after
• 21:15
  Speaker 1: you have false peace and war and famine and natural
• 21:21
  Speaker 1: pestilence that results in widespread death of a quarter of
• 21:24
  Speaker 1: the population of the world, you have persecution resulting in martyrdom.
• 21:30
  Speaker 1: Now again, this fits perfectly the teaching of our Lord
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: in Matthew 24.
• 21:33
  Speaker 2: We want to go.
• 21:34
  Speaker 1: Back to that because I want you to have this
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: whole picture in mind. Go back to Matthew 24 and
• 21:39
  Speaker 1: you'll see the flow is the same there. In Matthew 24,
• 21:45
  Speaker 1: verse 3, they ask the question, when is the sign
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: of your coming and the end of the age? I mean,
• 21:50
  Speaker 1: when does all this stuff end? When is the wrap-up?
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: When is everlasting righteousness coming? When is sin going to
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: be destroyed? And Jesus says, see to it that no
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: one misleads you. Many will come in my name, saying,
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: I am the Christ, and mislead many. And that's an
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: allusion to the opening false peace with all the false
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: messiahs who set up a fabricated, concocted world of peace
• 22:10
  Speaker 1: and prosperity that doesn't last very long. And then in
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: verse 6, you'll be hearing following that immediately about the wars.
• 22:16
  Speaker 1: The red horse comes right after the white one. Rumors
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: of wars. Nation, verse 7, rising against nation. Kingdom against kingdom.
• 22:23
  Speaker 1: Various places following there will be famines. And then he
• 22:26
  Speaker 1: adds the earthquake, which could include the natural disasters referred
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: to as pestilences in the book of Revelation. And he
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: says all of these are the beginning of the birth pangs.
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: Then come to verse 9. Then they'll deliver you to
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: tribulation and kill you. See how that parallels in Revelation
• 22:42
  Speaker 1: chapter 6? The souls under the altar in the fifth
• 22:45
  Speaker 1: seal are there because they were killed. That's precisely what follows.
• 22:49
  Speaker 1: What follows the natural disasters and the pestilences that end
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: life for a fourth of the earth is persecution. It
• 22:57
  Speaker 1: says you will be hated by all nations on account
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: of my name. So immediately following the fourth seal is
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: coming the fifth one, which is widespread persecution. By the way,
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: you can read the same thing in Mark chapter 13,
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: verses 9 to 13, and in Luke chapter 21, verses
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: 12 to 19. The persecution begins, and I think it's
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: important to note this, and it's hard. You're not going
• 23:22
  Speaker 1: to feel the difficulty of it because I hope it's
• 23:25
  Speaker 1: clear by the time it gets to you. But it's
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: very hard to study all the passages and pull out
• 23:29
  Speaker 1: the chronology of all of this.
• 23:31
  Speaker 2: I hope I can make it clear to you.
• 23:33
  Speaker 1: This persecution begins in the first three and a half years.
• 23:36
  Speaker 2: How do we know that?
• 23:37
  Speaker 1: Because we've already got it started in verse 9, and
• 23:40
  Speaker 1: the abomination of desolation doesn't come until verse 15, and
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: Daniel 9, 27 says that happens at the midpoint. So
• 23:47
  Speaker 1: we're still in the first half, the beginning of the
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: birth pains. Why is that important? Because Jesus says, this
• 23:55
  Speaker 1: is only the beginning of the pain. The real pain
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: comes later. And you say, if that's the only beginning,
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: if that's only the beginning and it takes a fourth
• 24:03
  Speaker 1: of the population of the world, boy, what is the
• 24:06
  Speaker 1: rest going to be like?
• 24:07
  Speaker 2: That's right. That's the question. And we'll answer that. During
• 24:12
  Speaker 2: the beginning of the birth pains, there will be initiated persecution.
• 24:17
  Speaker 2: It is not going to be a wholesale massacre.
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: It will be a beginning persecution, and they will deliver
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: you to tribulation, verse 9, and they will kill you,
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: and you'll be hated by all.
• 24:27
  Speaker 2: Nations on account of My name.
• 24:28
  Speaker 1: Here's where it starts. There is a certain inevitability that
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: will happen at that time. Persecution will be official. It'll
• 24:37
  Speaker 1: be government-led. You'll be hated by all nations. On account
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: of my name, all over the world, I believe there
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: will be government-led and religiously inspired persecution. I think the
• 24:50
  Speaker 1: courts will get involved in it. The governors will get
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: involved in it. The synagogues and the churches will get
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: involved in it. It will be the kind of persecution
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: that is handled officially. The whole worldwide ecumenical religious system
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: will get involved in it and religion will become the
• 25:10
  Speaker 1: persecutor of the true believers.
• 25:12
  Speaker 2: Read Revelation 17, 6.
• 25:14
  Speaker 1: The false harlot church will become drunk with the blood
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: of martyrs. The persecution reflects worldwide hatred for God and Christ.
• 25:26
  Speaker 2: It starts, as I said, even before the Antichrist is revealed.
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: He doesn't get revealed until the midpoint when He desecrates
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: the temple in Jerusalem.
• 25:32
  Speaker 2: Up to that point, He's the world's Savior. He's the
• 25:34
  Speaker 2: world's deliverer. He's a very important world power who.
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: Is involved first in the peace and then in the war,
• 25:40
  Speaker 1: trying to consolidate His world power. He really isn't revealed
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: until the midpoint. But even before the revelation of Antichrist
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: to the world, this persecution will begin. And remember now,
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: the restrainer, according to 2 Thessalonians 2, verse 7, who
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: is the Holy Spirit, has been restraining sin.
• 26:00
  Speaker 2: He's doing it now, holding it back.
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: But during this period of time, the restrainer lets go,
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: and sin runs amok. The Holy Spirit pulls back His
• 26:09
  Speaker 1: restraint and lets anti-God, anti-Christ attitudes go unchecked. And as
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: this begins, some will die. Then comes the inevitability in
• 26:19
  Speaker 1: verse 10. At that time, many will fall away and
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: deliver up one another and hate one another. Many false
• 26:25
  Speaker 1: prophets will arise and mislead many. And because lawlessness has increased,
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: most people's love will grow cold. Up to that point,
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: I believe there will be certain people who will attach
• 26:35
  Speaker 1: themselves to Christianity. There will be people saved early in
• 26:39
  Speaker 1: this period. Remember now, the church has been raptured out
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: before this begins. There will be conversions occurring early on
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: in this period of time, and we'll mention that in
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: a moment. People will be saved, and people will attach themselves,
• 26:52
  Speaker 1: as they always have, to the church.
• 26:54
  Speaker 2: They won't be the true wheat. They'll be tares. But
• 26:56
  Speaker 2: once the persecution starts, they're going to fall away.
• 26:59
  Speaker 1: They're going to follow false prophets. They're going to become
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: cold in their love toward the Lord. They're going to
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: show themselves to be false. They will defect false believers.
• 27:13
  Speaker 1: Then in verse 13, he says, the ones who endure
• 27:17
  Speaker 1: to the end will be saved. Genuine Christians always persevere
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: through any kind of trials, even persecution and martyrdom. Then
• 27:26
  Speaker 1: in verse 14, he says, in spite of all of
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: this hostility, and this is wonderful, in spite of this
• 27:30
  Speaker 1: massacring of Christians that's causing defection everywhere, the gospel of
• 27:34
  Speaker 1: the kingdom will be preached in the whole world for
• 27:36
  Speaker 1: a witness to all the.
• 27:37
  Speaker 2: Nations, and then the end will come.
• 27:41
  Speaker 1: So while the persecution starts, the beginning of it in
• 27:43
  Speaker 1: the first three and a half years, and it goes on.
• 27:45
  Speaker 2: It'll go all the way to the end, by the way.
• 27:48
  Speaker 2: It'll go all the way to the end, and we'll
• 27:49
  Speaker 2: see that in a moment.
• 27:51
  Speaker 1: It starts early, and it begins to escalate until at
• 27:54
  Speaker 1: the end it just for all intents and purposes, as
• 27:56
  Speaker 1: an effort to massacre any believer and every believer on
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: the face of the earth. But while this is going
• 28:01
  Speaker 1: on and certain people are defecting, verse 14 says the
• 28:04
  Speaker 1: gospel will continue to be preached. That lets me know
• 28:10
  Speaker 1: that it's going to be preached through this whole period
• 28:12
  Speaker 1: of time. The gospel of how to enter the kingdom
• 28:16
  Speaker 1: by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ will
• 28:18
  Speaker 1: be preached.
• 28:19
  Speaker 2: Who's going to preach it?
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: According to Revelation 7, 1 through 8, and Revelation 14,
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: 1 through 5, there's going to be 144,000 Jews, 12,000
• 28:27
  Speaker 1: from every tribe who are going to preach. According to
• 28:30
  Speaker 1: Revelation chapter 11, there's going to be two witnesses, two
• 28:34
  Speaker 1: witnesses who are going to do miracles and are going
• 28:35
  Speaker 1: to preach the gospel. According to Revelation 14, and this
• 28:40
  Speaker 1: is really wonderful, According to Revelation chapter 14, there's going
• 28:43
  Speaker 1: to be an angel.
• 28:44
  Speaker 2: There's going to be.
• 28:45
  Speaker 1: Some kind of angel flying around in the sky preaching.
• 28:50
  Speaker 1: Revelation 14, I need to read this to you. I
• 28:53
  Speaker 1: saw another angel flying in midheaven, having an eternal gospel
• 28:56
  Speaker 1: to preach to those who live on the earth and
• 28:58
  Speaker 1: to every nation and tribe and tongue and people. And
• 29:01
  Speaker 1: he said with a loud voice, Fear God and give
• 29:03
  Speaker 1: Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come.
• 29:07
  Speaker 1: And worship Him who made the heaven and the earth
• 29:09
  Speaker 1: and sea and springs of water. There's going to be
• 29:11
  Speaker 1: an angel flying through space preaching. Now, some people have
• 29:15
  Speaker 1: said this is the TBN satellite. Don't believe it.
• 29:21
  Speaker 2: Such exegesis is faulty.
• 29:25
  Speaker 1: There will be 144,000 Jews, there will be two witnesses,
• 29:30
  Speaker 1: and there will be some kind of powerful angel making
• 29:33
  Speaker 1: a proclamation that will be infinitely beyond anybody's satellite. Right
• 29:38
  Speaker 1: to the very end there will be people preaching. There
• 29:42
  Speaker 1: will be Jewish believers and Gentile believers. We read in
• 29:45
  Speaker 1: chapter 7, there are so many people who come to
• 29:48
  Speaker 1: Christ that they can't even be counted. So the persecution starts.
• 29:54
  Speaker 1: The gospel is being preached. It keeps being preached.
• 29:56
  Speaker 2: Some defect. The true Christians.
• 29:58
  Speaker 1: Stay on either until they die or to the very
• 30:01
  Speaker 1: end when they go into the kingdom because the Lord
• 30:02
  Speaker 1: has protected them from death. Then the event, back to
• 30:07
  Speaker 1: Matthew 24, the event that hits the midpoint, that.
• 30:10
  Speaker 2: One in verse 15 comes. We're just flowing through the text.
• 30:14
  Speaker 1: The gospel is being preached and then, boom, comes the
• 30:16
  Speaker 1: abomination of desolation. That's the desecration of the temple. The
• 30:20
  Speaker 1: Antichrist goes into the temple in the holy place in Jerusalem,
• 30:24
  Speaker 1: blasphemes the true God, sets up an idol of himself,
• 30:27
  Speaker 1: demands that the whole world worship him as God. He's
• 30:31
  Speaker 1: got a false prophet who points to him and demands
• 30:33
  Speaker 1: the same thing, his henchmen, and the whole world is
• 30:36
  Speaker 1: to worship Antichrist. He takes charge. That happens at the midpoint.
• 30:41
  Speaker 1: Up to that point, he's subtle. Now his subtlety is gone.
• 30:46
  Speaker 1: In 2 Thessalonians 2, it describes him in verse 4.
• 30:51
  Speaker 1: It says, when the man of lawlessness is revealed, this
• 30:54
  Speaker 1: man called the son of destruction, he opposes and exalts
• 30:57
  Speaker 1: himself above every so-called god or object of worship. He
• 31:01
  Speaker 1: takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself
• 31:04
  Speaker 1: as being God. He's not a political leader anymore. He's
• 31:09
  Speaker 1: not a world deliverer. He's not a politician. He's not
• 31:12
  Speaker 1: a savior. He's not a great leader. He now announces
• 31:14
  Speaker 1: to the world that He is God.
• 31:19
  Speaker 2: He is God.
• 31:21
  Speaker 1: Verse 9 says, He will come in accord with the
• 31:23
  Speaker 1: activity of Satan with all power and signs and false
• 31:26
  Speaker 1: wonders and all the deception of wickedness. He'll deceive all
• 31:30
  Speaker 1: those people who perish because they didn't receive the love
• 31:33
  Speaker 1: of the truth as to be saved.
• 31:34
  Speaker 2: What happens is the world buys it. The world buys it.
• 31:40
  Speaker 1: Remember, we examined Daniel 8, which describes something about his
• 31:43
  Speaker 1: rise to power. We described last week Daniel 11, which
• 31:47
  Speaker 1: also follows up on the same thing. And we could
• 31:49
  Speaker 1: safely say at this point, Antichrist is in control. To
• 31:55
  Speaker 1: see something else about his power, look at Revelation chapter 13.
• 31:58
  Speaker 1: There's a good insight into it there that ties in
• 32:01
  Speaker 1: at this point. In Revelation chapter 13, verse 3 says, B,
• 32:07
  Speaker 1: second half of the verse. The whole earth was amazed
• 32:11
  Speaker 1: and followed after the beast, and they worshipped the dragon,
• 32:15
  Speaker 1: that is Satan, because he gave his authority to the beast,
• 32:18
  Speaker 1: so Satan gives authority to this Antichrist. And they worshipped
• 32:22
  Speaker 1: this beast. They said, who is like the beast? Who
• 32:24
  Speaker 1: is able to wage war with him? See, in this
• 32:26
  Speaker 1: whole war thing, he has been the conquering hero. He
• 32:29
  Speaker 1: has been the protector of Israel to the midpoint, then
• 32:31
  Speaker 1: he goes after them to kill them as he does
• 32:34
  Speaker 1: all other people. Christian people, the Jews and believers in
• 32:38
  Speaker 1: Christ are the ones he's after. But by that time,
• 32:41
  Speaker 1: he's established his military might as Daniel 8 and Daniel
• 32:44
  Speaker 1: 11 describe it.
• 32:45
  Speaker 2: Now he takes his place.
• 32:47
  Speaker 1: He has a mouth like no other, speaking, verse 5,
• 32:50
  Speaker 1: arrogant words and blasphemies, and he has authority to act
• 32:53
  Speaker 1: for 42 months.
• 32:54
  Speaker 2: That's three and a half years. That's the second half.
• 32:56
  Speaker 1: So he launches his career at the midpoint, and he
• 32:58
  Speaker 1: carries it through to the end of the seven-year period.
• 33:01
  Speaker 1: He opens his mouth in blasphemies against God, blasphemes God's name,
• 33:05
  Speaker 1: God's tabernacle, that is those who dwell in heaven.
• 33:08
  Speaker 2: He blasphemes believers. Now verse 7, And it was.
• 33:11
  Speaker 1: Given to him to make war with the saints and
• 33:14
  Speaker 1: to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people
• 33:17
  Speaker 1: and tongue and nation was given to him. And all
• 33:20
  Speaker 1: who dwell on the earth will worship him, every one
• 33:23
  Speaker 1: whose name has not been written from the foundation of
• 33:25
  Speaker 1: the world in the book of life of the Lamb
• 33:27
  Speaker 1: who has been slain. Now all this starts.
• 33:31
  Speaker 2: at the midpoint.
• 33:34
  Speaker 1: Now let's go back to Matthew 24, and I want
• 33:36
  Speaker 1: you to keep this flow in mind because this is
• 33:38
  Speaker 1: so crucial to understanding this time period.
• 33:42
  Speaker 2: So what happened?
• 33:42
  Speaker 1: The first four things came, seal one, seal two, seal three,
• 33:45
  Speaker 1: seal four. Then came seal five, the persecution began. People
• 33:51
  Speaker 1: were slain. We see them in our text of Revelation
• 33:54
  Speaker 1: 6 already under the altar because they've been killed.
• 33:56
  Speaker 2: They're already in heaven there.
• 33:59
  Speaker 1: The slaying begins. It's coming from all over the world.
• 34:03
  Speaker 1: You say, what is precipitating it? Well, it wouldn't be
• 34:05
  Speaker 1: too hard to figure out. Because Christians all over the
• 34:09
  Speaker 1: world are going to be saying, hey folks, do you
• 34:12
  Speaker 1: know what's happening in the world?
• 34:14
  Speaker 2: This is in the Bible. It's not going to be
• 34:17
  Speaker 2: too hard to figure out.
• 34:19
  Speaker 1: When they see peace, worldwide global peace, followed immediately by
• 34:23
  Speaker 1: worldwide war, followed immediately by worldwide famine, followed immediately by
• 34:27
  Speaker 1: a fourth of the earth perishing in terrible, tragic pestilence,
• 34:31
  Speaker 1: Christians are going to say, look, this is exactly what
• 34:34
  Speaker 1: Jesus said in Matthew 24 was going to happen. This
• 34:37
  Speaker 1: is exactly what... is recorded in the vision of John
• 34:39
  Speaker 1: in Revelation 6. We're telling you, folks, God is going
• 34:43
  Speaker 1: to judge the world, and you are seeing the beginning
• 34:46
  Speaker 1: of the birth pains, and their response is, shut those
• 34:50
  Speaker 1: people up.
• 34:52
  Speaker 2: Kill them. We don't want to hear this.
• 34:59
  Speaker 1: And once the Antichrist sets himself up as God, and
• 35:03
  Speaker 1: the whole world buys it, then whatever Christians say becomes
• 35:09
  Speaker 1: blasphemy against the only true.
• 35:11
  Speaker 2: God who is Antichrist.
• 35:15
  Speaker 1: And then Antichrist's own religious system becomes the persecutor, and
• 35:19
  Speaker 1: the persecution really escalates, and it's against Israel and against
• 35:24
  Speaker 1: the believers. To see the escalation of it, all you
• 35:28
  Speaker 1: have to do is go to the next verse. Verse 16.
• 35:31
  Speaker 1: When that thing in the midpoint happens and Antichrist sets
• 35:34
  Speaker 1: up his career, if you're in Judea, you better run
• 35:36
  Speaker 1: for the mountains. If you're on a housetop, you better
• 35:39
  Speaker 1: not go down to get anything out of your house.
• 35:42
  Speaker 2: If you're in the field, don't go back to get
• 35:44
  Speaker 2: your coat you left in your bedroom. And woe to
• 35:47
  Speaker 2: those poor folks who are with child.
• 35:50
  Speaker 1: Why?
• 35:50
  Speaker 2: Because pregnant ladies don't run very fast.
• 35:54
  Speaker 1: And woe to those poor ladies who have to nurse
• 35:56
  Speaker 1: a baby, and they're carrying it in their arms, and
• 35:59
  Speaker 1: they've got to stop and feed it. And you better
• 36:02
  Speaker 1: pray that your flight may not be in winter or
• 36:04
  Speaker 1: on a Sabbath, so you wind up not being able
• 36:07
  Speaker 1: to break some silly law, and you're stuck in one spot.
• 36:11
  Speaker 2: Why?
• 36:12
  Speaker 1: Because then there will be great tribulation, the second half,
• 36:17
  Speaker 1: such as has never occurred since the beginning of the
• 36:19
  Speaker 1: world until now. Unless those days had been short, no
• 36:24
  Speaker 1: life would have been saved. Boy, then the persecution really
• 36:31
  Speaker 1: fires up. All over the place, false Christs, false prophets,
• 36:37
  Speaker 1: showing all their false signs and wonders, trying to mislead everybody.
• 36:44
  Speaker 1: And many are going to be killed. Jews are going
• 36:48
  Speaker 1: to be killed. As many as two-thirds are Scripture says
• 36:53
  Speaker 1: God will allow to die as rebels who have been
• 36:55
  Speaker 1: purged out, unbelievers. Christians are going to be killed, and
• 37:02
  Speaker 1: we see some of them under the altar in our text.
• 37:06
  Speaker 1: In Revelation 9.21, it says later on that people didn't
• 37:12
  Speaker 1: repent of their murders, of their murders.
• 37:15
  Speaker 2: That's interesting. There's going to be murder all over the world.
• 37:18
  Speaker 1: Now what you've got in Antichrist world is not government
• 37:21
  Speaker 1: organized killings. Not like Jesus said in John 16 when
• 37:24
  Speaker 1: He said they'll take you into the synagogues and try
• 37:26
  Speaker 1: you and kill you and you'll go before courts and judges.
• 37:29
  Speaker 1: Now it's just worldwide free-for-all kill Christians, kill Jews. And
• 37:34
  Speaker 1: everybody becomes a murderer as they're all under the power
• 37:37
  Speaker 1: of Satan. Now many are going to be killed. The
• 37:42
  Speaker 1: slaughter is going to be massive. Look at chapter 7,
• 37:46
  Speaker 1: verse 9. You get a little bit of a feeling
• 37:48
  Speaker 1: of how many are going to get killed. John says,
• 37:52
  Speaker 1: After these things I looked, and what did I see?
• 37:57
  Speaker 1: I saw a great multitude, which no one could count
• 38:00
  Speaker 1: from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues,
• 38:03
  Speaker 1: standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in
• 38:06
  Speaker 1: white robes and palm branches were in their hands. They
• 38:10
  Speaker 1: cried out with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God!
• 38:13
  Speaker 2: Who sits on the throne and to the Lamb.
• 38:14
  Speaker 1: And all the angels were standing around the throne and
• 38:17
  Speaker 1: around the elders and the four living creatures, and they
• 38:19
  Speaker 1: fell on their faces before the throne, and they worshiped God.
• 38:23
  Speaker 1: And they were saying, Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom
• 38:25
  Speaker 1: and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to
• 38:27
  Speaker 1: our God forever and ever.
• 38:28
  Speaker 2: Amen. And one of the elders answered, saying to me,
• 38:30
  Speaker 2: These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they?
• 38:33
  Speaker 2: What is he talking about?
• 38:34
  Speaker 1: He's talking about that innumerable multitude you can't even count
• 38:37
  Speaker 1: from every nation.
• 38:37
  Speaker 2: Who are they? Amen. Verse 14, John said, My Lord,
• 38:42
  Speaker 2: You know who they are.
• 38:43
  Speaker 1: He said to me, These are the ones who come
• 38:46
  Speaker 1: out of the great tribulation. How did they get out
• 38:48
  Speaker 1: of the tribulation? They got killed. They washed their robes.
• 38:54
  Speaker 1: They made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
• 38:56
  Speaker 1: And now they're before the throne of God. And they'll
• 38:58
  Speaker 1: hunger no more, nor thirst any more. Neither will the
• 39:01
  Speaker 1: sun beat on them, nor any heat. Which gives you
• 39:03
  Speaker 1: some kind of an idea of the life they had
• 39:05
  Speaker 1: to live as they.
• 39:06
  Speaker 2: Were trying to escape the slaughter.
• 39:12
  Speaker 1: So the multitude that are going to come out of
• 39:15
  Speaker 1: the time of tribulation are going to be innumerable.
• 39:17
  Speaker 2: There will be a mass of humanity saved.
• 39:21
  Speaker 1: The fact that chapter 7 begins with the description of
• 39:23
  Speaker 1: the 144,000 witnesses and concludes with these who have been
• 39:27
  Speaker 1: converted is reason to believe the 144,000 are the key
• 39:29
  Speaker 1: evangelists in bringing about the presentation of the gospel which
• 39:34
  Speaker 1: elicited faith in the hearts of this innumerable multitude. So
• 39:37
  Speaker 1: here they are in heaven, which means they've been killed.
• 39:39
  Speaker 1: Now some of them may have died a natural death,
• 39:41
  Speaker 1: but the majority of them will have been a part
• 39:44
  Speaker 1: of the massacre that started before the midpoint and escalated
• 39:49
  Speaker 1: in the time called the Great Tribulation. These in heaven
• 39:54
  Speaker 1: are those who came out of the Great Tribulation.
• 40:00
  Speaker 2: So the fifth seal then.
• 40:02
  Speaker 1: Deals with the slaughter of Christians that starts with persecution
• 40:05
  Speaker 1: in the first half and becomes wholesale massacre after the midpoint,
• 40:09
  Speaker 1: and they keep killing Christians as long as they can
• 40:11
  Speaker 1: until the very end. But having said all of that,
• 40:15
  Speaker 1: the issue here is not martyrdom. Some people say this
• 40:17
  Speaker 1: seal is martyrdom.
• 40:18
  Speaker 2: Some say this seal is persecution. It is not. I
• 40:22
  Speaker 2: waffle between two things.
• 40:24
  Speaker 1: Sometimes I say that the seal is persecution, pardon me, vengeance,
• 40:28
  Speaker 1: and sometimes I think it's prayer. And so I would
• 40:31
  Speaker 1: just like to put a slash and say it's a
• 40:32
  Speaker 1: prayer for vengeance or prayer vengeance. Now let's look specifically
• 40:39
  Speaker 1: at verse 9.
• 40:41
  Speaker 2: I saw underneath the altar. What altar? I don't know
• 40:46
  Speaker 2: what altar. Why do people ask questions like that?
• 40:51
  Speaker 1: I mean, I can read 15 pages on people discussing
• 40:54
  Speaker 1: what altar it is, and when I'm done, I'm saying,
• 40:55
  Speaker 1: I don't know what altar it is.
• 40:56
  Speaker 2: If the Lord wanted you to know what altar it was,
• 40:58
  Speaker 2: He would have said what altar it was. But there's
• 41:01
  Speaker 2: an altar in heaven. This is an altar up there.
• 41:03
  Speaker 2: There's a throne up there.
• 41:06
  Speaker 1: People say, well, it has to be the altar that's
• 41:08
  Speaker 1: the equivalent of the altar in the temple of the
• 41:11
  Speaker 1: Old Testament. Why? There was no throne in the temple
• 41:14
  Speaker 1: of the Old Testament. There's a throne in the scene
• 41:16
  Speaker 1: that John sees here. So this is heaven, and it
• 41:19
  Speaker 1: has its own accoutrements and its own architecture, and certainly
• 41:22
  Speaker 1: it has its own furnishings. There's some kind of an
• 41:25
  Speaker 1: altar up there. If I were to choose, there were
• 41:27
  Speaker 1: two altars in the tabernacle and two in the temple.
• 41:29
  Speaker 1: One was the altar of burnt offering where sacrifices were made.
• 41:32
  Speaker 1: That was in the outer part. The other was the
• 41:34
  Speaker 1: altar of incense where prayers were offered, and it was
• 41:36
  Speaker 1: right next to the sanctuary or the holy place. If
• 41:40
  Speaker 1: I were to choose between the two, I would lean
• 41:42
  Speaker 1: toward choosing the altar of incense where incense pictured ascending prayer.
• 41:47
  Speaker 1: You read about that in Exodus chapter 40 and verse 5.
• 41:52
  Speaker 1: But it's an altar in heaven, and in this particular case,
• 41:55
  Speaker 1: it may well be emblematic of the altar of incense
• 41:57
  Speaker 1: in the Old Testament because that's where prayer was symbolized
• 42:01
  Speaker 1: in incense, and what you have here is people under
• 42:03
  Speaker 1: this altar praying. The altar, the burnt offering altar, people
• 42:07
  Speaker 1: weren't under it. Sacrifices didn't get under that altar. They
• 42:09
  Speaker 1: got on top of it. So it would seem to
• 42:12
  Speaker 1: be that these people were under the altar praying. Their
• 42:14
  Speaker 1: prayers could be symbolized in ancient times by the incense
• 42:17
  Speaker 1: rising from the top of the altar. It's important at
• 42:22
  Speaker 1: least to recognize this altar because it's going to show
• 42:24
  Speaker 1: up again in this particular book of Revelation as we
• 42:29
  Speaker 1: have already seen it. Do you remember that back in
• 42:32
  Speaker 1: chapter 5, verse 8, there were golden bowls full of incense,
• 42:36
  Speaker 1: which were the prayers of the saints. They may well
• 42:39
  Speaker 1: have been coming off that same altar. The incense may
• 42:42
  Speaker 1: have been there and picked up from there and put
• 42:44
  Speaker 1: into their bowls. which symbolized their prayers. Incense, as I
• 42:48
  Speaker 1: said before, symbolizing prayer. Chapter 8, verse 3, another angel
• 42:51
  Speaker 1: came and stood at the altar holding a golden censer.
• 42:54
  Speaker 1: Much incense was given to him that he might add
• 42:57
  Speaker 1: it to the prayers of all the saints. Upon the
• 43:00
  Speaker 1: golden altar, which was before the throne, and the smoke
• 43:03
  Speaker 1: of the incense with the prayers of the saints went
• 43:05
  Speaker 1: up before.
• 43:05
  Speaker 2: God out of the angel's hand. I think that's kind
• 43:07
  Speaker 2: of the clincher.
• 43:07
  Speaker 1: It probably was like the altar of incense, very near
• 43:10
  Speaker 1: the throne of God, very near the sanctuary where God dwelt.
• 43:13
  Speaker 1: The burnt offering altar was out farther away, and there
• 43:16
  Speaker 1: would be no reason for any sacrifice in heaven. But
• 43:19
  Speaker 1: this particular indication that the prayers of the saints still
• 43:22
  Speaker 1: have a place seems more reasonable to attach it to
• 43:25
  Speaker 1: the altar of incense, and that's the description in chapter
• 43:28
  Speaker 1: 8 that we have there. So here is a heavenly
• 43:31
  Speaker 1: altar close to to the altar of incense in the
• 43:34
  Speaker 1: Old Testament, but unique to heaven, near the place where
• 43:37
  Speaker 1: God has His throne.
• 43:39
  Speaker 2: The next question, now that we know where, is who?
• 43:42
  Speaker 2: Who's here at this altar? It says the souls of
• 43:45
  Speaker 2: those who had been slain.
• 43:46
  Speaker 1: I've already told you who they are, those souls who
• 43:49
  Speaker 1: were martyrs of the great tribulation. They're described for us
• 43:52
  Speaker 1: in verse 9 of chapter 7, which we read. Now
• 43:55
  Speaker 1: note that they have not yet received their bodies. They
• 43:58
  Speaker 1: have not yet received their bodies. They're just souls because
• 44:02
  Speaker 1: their bodily resurrection has not yet occurred. And it will
• 44:09
  Speaker 1: not occur until a future time, the time of the
• 44:13
  Speaker 1: coming of Jesus Christ, when Old Testament saints' bodies, along
• 44:16
  Speaker 1: with tribulation saints' bodies, will be resurrected, according to Daniel
• 44:20
  Speaker 1: chapter 12. So they are just souls there, and they're
• 44:24
  Speaker 1: under the altar.
• 44:25
  Speaker 2: And they are praying.
• 44:27
  Speaker 1: They have been slaughtered in the persecution, and the hostility
• 44:30
  Speaker 1: of a satanic, antichrist-led world attack on believers has taken
• 44:34
  Speaker 1: a toll on them in one sense. In another, it's
• 44:36
  Speaker 1: elevated them to glory. These are the first fruits then
• 44:42
  Speaker 1: of the 144,000 and the gospel preaching that will go
• 44:45
  Speaker 1: on clear to the end. And may I add, please,
• 44:47
  Speaker 1: for you that there certainly are Jews here, and probably
• 44:50
  Speaker 1: those Jews would constitute the beginning of the fulfillment of
• 44:53
  Speaker 1: Romans 11, 26 to 29, which describes the time when
• 44:57
  Speaker 1: all Israel will be saved. That really happens culminating at
• 45:01
  Speaker 1: the very end when they look on Him whom they've
• 45:03
  Speaker 1: pierced and mourn for Him as an only Son. But
• 45:05
  Speaker 1: certainly there would be some beginnings of that.
• 45:08
  Speaker 2: Even here.
• 45:08
  Speaker 1: Certainly the 144,000 are redeemed. They are not killed because
• 45:12
  Speaker 1: the Lord seals them, so they can't kill them. They
• 45:15
  Speaker 1: must have led some other Jews to Christ who would
• 45:17
  Speaker 1: be included in every nation, all tribes, peoples, and tongues.
• 45:21
  Speaker 1: So Romans 11, 26, the future salvation of Israel is
• 45:24
  Speaker 1: beginning even then to happen, which as I said, according
• 45:27
  Speaker 1: to Zechariah 12, 10, and 13, 1, culminates at the
• 45:31
  Speaker 1: end of this tribulation time. The next question, we see
• 45:35
  Speaker 1: where they were We see who they were. The next
• 45:39
  Speaker 1: question that hits us is, why were they slain? Why
• 45:41
  Speaker 1: were they killed? Because of the Word of God. And
• 45:45
  Speaker 1: I already told you what the scenario must have been like.
• 45:48
  Speaker 1: I mean, these believers would be pointing to the Bible
• 45:50
  Speaker 1: and saying, look, the Word of God explains what's going
• 45:53
  Speaker 1: on in the world. They could rightly interpret the beginning
• 45:57
  Speaker 1: of the birth pains. They could rightly interpret the judgment
• 46:00
  Speaker 1: of God that is leading to the day of the
• 46:01
  Speaker 1: Lord and the wrath and vengeance of Almighty God. And
• 46:05
  Speaker 1: the world says we want them silent. We don't want
• 46:09
  Speaker 1: to hear what they say. So the killing starts. The
• 46:13
  Speaker 1: world is not going to tolerate the preachers, not going
• 46:16
  Speaker 1: to tolerate the Christian testimony. It seems to me in
• 46:19
  Speaker 1: some parts of the world, and maybe even in our
• 46:21
  Speaker 1: own country, we're moving fairly fast in that direction, aren't we?
• 46:27
  Speaker 1: Right in the middle of all this blood and slaughter
• 46:30
  Speaker 1: that's going on, Christians are going to say it's God's judgment.
• 46:33
  Speaker 1: It's God's judgment. It's God's judgment. They're going to try
• 46:35
  Speaker 1: to kill 144,000. They can't be killed. They're going to
• 46:38
  Speaker 1: be sealed, and they can't be harmed. They're going to
• 46:41
  Speaker 1: try to kill the two witnesses. According to Revelation 11,
• 46:43
  Speaker 1: they kill them in the middle of the city of Jerusalem,
• 46:45
  Speaker 1: and they lay dead in the street, and they don't
• 46:47
  Speaker 1: move their bodies because they want the whole world to
• 46:49
  Speaker 1: see them. So they put them on TV.
• 46:50
  Speaker 2: There they are. They're dead.
• 46:51
  Speaker 1: Aren't you glad? These two witnesses that plagued the earth.
• 46:54
  Speaker 1: Then on the third day, while everybody's watching, they rise
• 46:56
  Speaker 1: from the dead. Start preaching again. And that's going to
• 47:02
  Speaker 1: be a very interesting instant replay. With the restraining of
• 47:10
  Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit gone, as I noted for you, merciless
• 47:13
  Speaker 1: men will kill those who speak God's truth. Secondly, because
• 47:19
  Speaker 1: of the Word of God and because of the testimony
• 47:21
  Speaker 1: which they had maintained, They will kill to silence their
• 47:27
  Speaker 1: intimidating proclamation of the Word of God and because of
• 47:30
  Speaker 1: the testimony which they maintain.
• 47:31
  Speaker 2: What testimony? What does that mean? Go back to chapter 1,
• 47:36
  Speaker 2: verse 2.
• 47:36
  Speaker 1: This is a common phrase in Revelation, and you can
• 47:39
  Speaker 1: see it, and it will interpret for you what he means.
• 47:43
  Speaker 1: Revelation 1, 2 says, Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God
• 47:48
  Speaker 1: gave Him to show to His bondservants, verse 1. Then
• 47:50
  Speaker 1: in verse 2, who bore witness, speaking of John, who
• 47:53
  Speaker 1: bore witness to the Word of God and to the testimony.
• 47:56
  Speaker 2: Of Jesus Christ.
• 47:59
  Speaker 1: Verse 9, I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in
• 48:01
  Speaker 1: the tribulation and kingdom perseverance, which are in Jesus.
• 48:04
  Speaker 2: I was on the island called Patmos. He was persecuted,
• 48:07
  Speaker 2: put in exile.
• 48:08
  Speaker 1: Because of the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus.
• 48:13
  Speaker 1: Now go over to chapter 6. and you now know
• 48:15
  Speaker 1: what the testimony means. The Word of God and the
• 48:18
  Speaker 1: testimony which they had maintained, namely the testimony of Jesus.
• 48:22
  Speaker 2: They were not only saying what's happening is in the Bible.
• 48:25
  Speaker 1: They were also saying Jesus is the Christ, Jesus is
• 48:29
  Speaker 1: the Deliverer, Jesus is the Redeemer, Jesus is coming. They
• 48:34
  Speaker 1: had maintained faithfully the testimony concerning Jesus Christ. They will
• 48:39
  Speaker 1: be preaching then for proclaiming God's Word and proclaiming the
• 48:42
  Speaker 1: gospel of Jesus Christ. They had maintained that as a
• 48:47
  Speaker 1: part of their uncompromising commitment.
• 48:52
  Speaker 2: And they will do it all the way to death
• 48:55
  Speaker 2: without compromising.
• 48:57
  Speaker 1: It says in Revelation chapter 12, the dragon, that is Satan,
• 49:01
  Speaker 1: was enraged with a woman, that is Israel, went off
• 49:04
  Speaker 1: to make war with the rest of her offspring, went
• 49:06
  Speaker 1: off to kill the Christians who keep the commandments of
• 49:10
  Speaker 1: God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. There's the
• 49:14
  Speaker 1: same phrase again. They're committed to the Word of God
• 49:19
  Speaker 1: and the testimony of of Jesus. Go to Revelation chapter
• 49:21
  Speaker 1: 20 and verse 4. I saw thrones, and they sat
• 49:26
  Speaker 1: on them, and judgment was given to them, and I
• 49:27
  Speaker 1: saw the souls of those who had been beheaded.
• 49:29
  Speaker 2: Why were they beheaded?
• 49:31
  Speaker 1: Because of the testimony of Jesus, and because of the
• 49:34
  Speaker 1: Word of God. And they didn't worship the beast or
• 49:38
  Speaker 1: his image, and they didn't take the mark in their
• 49:41
  Speaker 1: forehead and on their hand, and they came to life,
• 49:44
  Speaker 1: and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years. That's
• 49:46
  Speaker 1: their resurrection, when they get their bodies. All those Scriptures
• 49:50
  Speaker 1: tell us that The reason they were killed is because
• 49:53
  Speaker 1: they stuck faithfully to living and preaching the Word of
• 49:55
  Speaker 1: God and.
• 49:56
  Speaker 2: The gospel of Jesus Christ.
• 49:58
  Speaker 1: The cause of their martyrdom then is faithfulness to live
• 50:01
  Speaker 1: and speak God's Word and Christ's gospel.
• 50:05
  Speaker 2: So we meet the people. Now let's get their petition
• 50:08
  Speaker 2: in verse 10 very quickly.
• 50:11
  Speaker 1: They cried out with a loud voice, And their cry
• 50:15
  Speaker 1: is a cry for vengeance. How long, O Lord, holy
• 50:17
  Speaker 1: and true, wilt Thou refrain from judging and avenging our
• 50:20
  Speaker 1: blood on those who dwell on the earth? It's an
• 50:24
  Speaker 1: amazing thing that prayer plays a vital role in final judgment.
• 50:29
  Speaker 1: Prayer is a force. The force here is prayer for vengeance.
• 50:35
  Speaker 1: What brings about the vengeance?
• 50:36
  Speaker 2: Prayer.
• 50:37
  Speaker 1: Isn't that amazing? I think most of us assume that
• 50:40
  Speaker 1: prayer doesn't have much effect. Prayer is one of the
• 50:44
  Speaker 1: seals that brings about vengeance. Prayer is really the force
• 50:51
  Speaker 1: influencing the holocaust yet to come in the wrath of
• 50:54
  Speaker 1: God and the day of the Lord. Don't underestimate the
• 50:59
  Speaker 1: importance of prayer. Prayer moves God's judgment. In Luke 18 6,
• 51:10
  Speaker 1: Jesus said, hear what the unrighteous judge said, now shall
• 51:13
  Speaker 1: not God bring about justice for His elect who cry
• 51:17
  Speaker 1: to Him day and night. Will not God judge when
• 51:22
  Speaker 1: His elect cry out to Him? This intercession then, beloved,
• 51:27
  Speaker 1: in the fifth seal activates the tortures to come in
• 51:32
  Speaker 1: the sixth and seventh seals, which include the trumpet and
• 51:35
  Speaker 1: bowl judgments. And they cry out, it says with a
• 51:39
  Speaker 1: loud voice, kradzo. It's a word that means urgency, fervency,
• 51:43
  Speaker 1: a very strong word. They're really exercised. They're very impassioned.
• 51:48
  Speaker 1: They're crying out. Just as the glorified 24 elders and
• 51:54
  Speaker 1: the four living creatures and all the rest of the
• 51:55
  Speaker 1: angels in chapters 4 and 5 were loudly praising, these
• 51:58
  Speaker 1: are loudly petitioning. And what are they saying? How long,
• 52:03
  Speaker 1: O Lord, holy and true. How long, O despotes? The
• 52:09
  Speaker 1: word that means master and sovereign ruler. A stronger word
• 52:12
  Speaker 1: than kurios, meaning Lord. The word that holds the thought
• 52:15
  Speaker 1: of might and power and majesty and authority.
• 52:18
  Speaker 2: How long? You're holy. That means you've got to deal
• 52:21
  Speaker 2: with sin. You're true. You have to be faithful to
• 52:24
  Speaker 2: your promise.
• 52:28
  Speaker 1: You who are separate from evil, you who are faithful
• 52:31
  Speaker 1: to your word, how long before you act against.
• 52:34
  Speaker 2: Evil and keep your word?
• 52:35
  Speaker 1: By the way, Jesus in chapter 3 verse 7 is
• 52:38
  Speaker 1: called holy and true, another indication that Jesus and God
• 52:41
  Speaker 1: are the same. They know that both attributes demand that
• 52:46
  Speaker 1: God act in vengeance. He must end sin's dominance and
• 52:49
  Speaker 1: He must fulfill His promise of judgment. So it is
• 52:53
  Speaker 1: a strong and an urgent and a loud cry. And
• 52:55
  Speaker 1: the question is, how long? They know it'll come, but
• 52:58
  Speaker 1: how long do we have to wait? How long are
• 53:02
  Speaker 1: you going to refrain from judging? How long until grace
• 53:07
  Speaker 1: and mercy is exhausted and justice and punishment come? These
• 53:15
  Speaker 1: prayers are not personal vendettas. They're not thirsts for personal revenge.
• 53:19
  Speaker 1: They're holy desires for the end of iniquity. their holy
• 53:21
  Speaker 1: desires for the destruction of Satan, their holy desires for
• 53:25
  Speaker 1: the devastation of Antichrist and the.
• 53:27
  Speaker 2: False prophet and all who followed him. Iniquity has reached
• 53:32
  Speaker 2: its height in the slaughter.
• 53:35
  Speaker 1: How long until you avenge our blood on, then this phrase,
• 53:39
  Speaker 1: those who dwell on the earth? That is a technical
• 53:41
  Speaker 1: term for unregenerate pagans throughout the book of Revelation. It's
• 53:45
  Speaker 1: in 310, 813, 11, 10, 13, 8, and 12, 17, 2,
• 53:49
  Speaker 1: and 8. Wherever you see that little phrase, those who
• 53:51
  Speaker 1: dwell on the earth, it means the ungodly. How long
• 53:55
  Speaker 1: until you're going to avenge our blood? What do they
• 53:57
  Speaker 1: mean by that? How long until you're going to kill them?
• 54:00
  Speaker 1: How long until you kill the killers? The ground cries
• 54:03
  Speaker 1: out blood, as Genesis 4, 10 said about the blood
• 54:06
  Speaker 1: of Abel. Their hearts are set on consummation. Their hearts
• 54:10
  Speaker 1: are set on vindication. Grace is nearing its end. Doesn't
• 54:15
  Speaker 1: sound like Christ on the cross anymore. Doesn't sound like
• 54:18
  Speaker 1: Stephen under the stones. Doesn't sound like Paul. Doesn't sound
• 54:22
  Speaker 1: like Peter. It's time for prayers of vengeance. The third
• 54:28
  Speaker 1: component in this seal is promise. And in this promise here,
• 54:34
  Speaker 1: there are two things, a gift from God and a
• 54:37
  Speaker 1: word from God. And both indicate promise. There was given
• 54:41
  Speaker 1: to each of them a white robe. And they were
• 54:44
  Speaker 1: told that they should rest for a little while longer
• 54:46
  Speaker 1: until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren
• 54:50
  Speaker 1: who were to be killed, even as they had been,
• 54:51
  Speaker 1: should be completed also.
• 54:54
  Speaker 2: First they got a gift.
• 54:56
  Speaker 1: First God acted, then God spoke. There was given to
• 54:59
  Speaker 1: each of them a white robe. What does a white
• 55:03
  Speaker 1: robe mean? Well, you say, well, how could they put
• 55:05
  Speaker 1: on a white robe?
• 55:06
  Speaker 2: They're spirits.
• 55:07
  Speaker 1: Well, angels are spirits too, but they're seen as being
• 55:10
  Speaker 1: clothed in white.
• 55:11
  Speaker 2: It's a sign of purity.
• 55:12
  Speaker 1: It's a sign of righteousness, a sign of blessedness, a
• 55:15
  Speaker 1: sign of the beauty of holiness. The Greek term is
• 55:19
  Speaker 1: a dazzling white robe of dignity and honor. Reaches to
• 55:23
  Speaker 1: the ground, stole, from which we get the word stole.
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  Speaker 1: It's mentioned in chapter 3, verse 5. What it tells
• 55:30
  Speaker 1: us is.
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  Speaker 2: The Lord gave them honor and dignity and righteousness and
• 55:34
  Speaker 2: purity to clothe them.
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  Speaker 1: Their souls are pure and righteous. As soon as they arrived,
• 55:40
  Speaker 1: I believe they had that. By the way, they're arriving
• 55:43
  Speaker 1: all the time here. More of them are accumulating under
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  Speaker 1: the altar as more of them are being killed. And
• 55:49
  Speaker 1: when they arrive, I believe they receive this honor and
• 55:52
  Speaker 1: dignity and righteousness and purity and holiness. To each one
• 55:56
  Speaker 1: of them is given upon their arrival a white robe
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  Speaker 1: symbolizing the perfection that they have now entered into. And
• 56:07
  Speaker 1: then it says God not only gave them something, but
• 56:09
  Speaker 1: He said something. They were told they should rest for
• 56:14
  Speaker 1: a little while longer. You might say, well, they're being impatient. No,
• 56:20
  Speaker 1: they're not being impatient because they're perfect, and perfect people
• 56:22
  Speaker 1: aren't impatient.
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  Speaker 2: They're in heaven.
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  Speaker 1: Don't be concerned that they're impatient. That's not impatience. You say, well,
• 56:31
  Speaker 1: they're bugging God. No, no, they're not bugging God.
• 56:34
  Speaker 2: Perfect people don't bug God either. He's just saying, it's coming.
• 56:41
  Speaker 2: You rest a while.
• 56:43
  Speaker 1: Rest has the idea of heavenly rest, bliss. You don't
• 56:49
  Speaker 1: be concerned about it. It's not quite here yet. You
• 56:51
  Speaker 1: just enjoy the bliss of heaven. You're perfectly holy. You're
• 56:55
  Speaker 1: not out of control. You're not impatient. You're not bugging me.
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  Speaker 1: You just enjoy your rest.
• 57:02
  Speaker 2: A little time yet. A little time yet. Got to
• 57:06
  Speaker 2: wait a little while longer. That phrase, a little while longer, is.
• 57:13
  Speaker 1: Used in chapter 10, verse 6 at the seventh trumpet.
• 57:18
  Speaker 1: It's even used in chapter 12, verse 12 to speak
• 57:20
  Speaker 1: about Satan's time.
• 57:21
  Speaker 2: He's going to work a little while longer. Just a
• 57:24
  Speaker 2: little while.
• 57:24
  Speaker 1: Well, we're already moving toward that midpoint, so it's just
• 57:28
  Speaker 1: a little while longer. Well, what are we waiting for?
• 57:32
  Speaker 1: Until the number of your fellow servants and your brethren
• 57:36
  Speaker 1: who also are to be killed even as you have
• 57:38
  Speaker 1: been should be completed also. There's a predetermined prescribed number
• 57:42
  Speaker 1: that are going to be killed, and you're just going
• 57:44
  Speaker 1: to have to enjoy the bliss of heaven until that
• 57:47
  Speaker 1: predetermined number who are scheduled for death is reached. Satan,
• 57:54
  Speaker 1: the Antichrist, and the ungodly aren't through with the slaughter.
• 57:57
  Speaker 1: It won't end just right until Christ comes. So you
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  Speaker 1: just rest. Vengeance is coming. The world is headed in
• 58:11
  Speaker 1: this direction. You can't even think about this without a
• 58:15
  Speaker 1: certain frightening feeling. On the one hand we long for
• 58:21
  Speaker 1: the salvation of the ungodly. On the other hand we
• 58:24
  Speaker 1: long for the vindication of righteousness. On the one hand
• 58:27
  Speaker 1: we love sinners. On the other hand we hate their sin.
• 58:31
  Speaker 1: On the one hand we wish that all could come
• 58:34
  Speaker 1: into the bliss of heaven. On the other hand we
• 58:36
  Speaker 1: cry for the destruction of sinners who have shaken their
• 58:38
  Speaker 1: fist in the face of Jesus Christ. and spit on
• 58:41
  Speaker 1: Him and crucified Him, as it were. So our smiles
• 58:46
  Speaker 1: of anticipation are mingled with tears of sorrow. For us,
• 58:51
  Speaker 1: in this day, we can at least say today is
• 58:53
  Speaker 1: the day of salvation.
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  Speaker 2: Can't we?
• 58:56
  Speaker 1: The day of vengeance hasn't come yet. Another thought comes
• 59:01
  Speaker 1: to mind as we close. It seems to me today
• 59:04
  Speaker 1: discipleship is somewhat ignored and Christianity is fairly cheap, but
• 59:08
  Speaker 1: it may be getting more costly all the time. In
• 59:12
  Speaker 1: that day, thousands and thousands will seal their testimony with
• 59:15
  Speaker 1: their own blood. Thousands of believers are going to be
• 59:19
  Speaker 1: true to the Word of God and true to Christ,
• 59:22
  Speaker 1: and it's going to cost them their lives. Some people
• 59:27
  Speaker 1: think that that'll be the church because they don't believe
• 59:28
  Speaker 1: the church will be raptured before the tribulations. Certainly that's
• 59:31
  Speaker 1: a possibility, and those people can amass a good argument.
• 59:35
  Speaker 1: In either case, whether it's church as we know it,
• 59:38
  Speaker 1: people who are alive then, or whether it's new believers
• 59:40
  Speaker 1: who are alive then, they will pay dearly for their faith.
• 59:45
  Speaker 2: They will stand the acid test of being faithful unto death.
• 59:51
  Speaker 1: I'd like to be able to stand with them in
• 59:53
  Speaker 1: eternity and not feel embarrassed, wouldn't you? Boy, you look
• 1:00:01
  Speaker 1: at the news today and you imagine that man is
• 1:00:03
  Speaker 1: so sophisticated. He thinks that his evolution has brought him
• 1:00:07
  Speaker 1: so high. I mean, he's got to be long past
• 1:00:10
  Speaker 1: the days of massacring people, no? Man is a wicked,
• 1:00:15
  Speaker 1: wretched animal, and it's only the restraining power of the
• 1:00:17
  Speaker 1: Holy Spirit that holds him back. The world is not
• 1:00:22
  Speaker 1: too enlightened. It's not too humane. It's not too civilized.
• 1:00:25
  Speaker 1: It's not too pervaded with reason and education. to repeat
• 1:00:29
  Speaker 1: the atrocities of past history, it's going to enter into
• 1:00:32
  Speaker 1: atrocities that men haven't even conceived of, slaughter and massacre
• 1:00:36
  Speaker 1: unheard of. Why? Because it'll be turned over to Satan unrestrained,
• 1:00:43
  Speaker 1: and we will have a worldwide Manson family. So these
• 1:00:51
  Speaker 1: saints are said to be under the altar praying for
• 1:00:55
  Speaker 1: the day when righteousness is vindicated. And the Lord says,
• 1:01:00
  Speaker 1: I give you righteousness now in promise of a future
• 1:01:05
  Speaker 1: righteousness for all in the kingdom.
• 1:01:08
  Speaker 2: And in the eternal state as well, I give you.
• 1:01:13
  Speaker 1: The reminder there's a little time. Enjoy the bliss of heaven.
• 1:01:20
  Speaker 1: For us, there's still a lot of time.
• 1:01:21
  Speaker 2: Well, what is a lot? Some time.
• 1:01:24
  Speaker 1: We're still in the age of grace, aren't we? When
• 1:01:27
  Speaker 1: we have to show mercy and compassion to those around us.
• 1:01:31
  Speaker 1: and bring them the saving gospel, which alone can.
• 1:01:35
  Speaker 2: Keep them from this.
• 1:01:36
  Speaker 1: Can we be as faithful as these dear folks will
• 1:01:38
  Speaker 1: be to the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus?
• 1:01:40
  Speaker 2: I hope so.
• 1:01:45
  Speaker 1: Father, thank you for this insight. Help us to be
• 1:01:50
  Speaker 1: able to read the signs of the times and see
• 1:01:54
  Speaker 1: the way our world is headed. So much talk about peace,
• 1:01:59
  Speaker 1: so much movement about peace. We could be very near
• 1:02:05
  Speaker 1: the time when you come for your church. We thank
• 1:02:10
  Speaker 1: you that in this all we have no fear, for
• 1:02:14
  Speaker 1: our hope is not to look for Antichrist, but for
• 1:02:17
  Speaker 1: Jesus Christ Himself, who will take us to the place
• 1:02:21
  Speaker 1: prepared for us in glory. We thank you that we
• 1:02:25
  Speaker 1: live with an eternal hope of heaven, But also, knowing
• 1:02:30
  Speaker 1: what is coming, we have the responsibility to warn the world.
• 1:02:36
  Speaker 1: They're falling for a false peace. And the only one
• 1:02:41
  Speaker 1: who can give them real peace is the Prince of Peace,
• 1:02:44
  Speaker 1: even Jesus Christ. In the days that we have, may
• 1:02:51
  Speaker 1: we preach the true peace. In our Savior's name, amen.
• 1:02:58
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• 1:03:01
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• 1:03:04
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• 1:03:08
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• 1:03:14
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