Participants: Pr. Stephen Bohr
Series Code: 3AM
Program Code: 3AM000022
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00:30 Let's pray. Father in Heaven, what a wonderful privilege
00:38 and joy it is to be in Your presence. 00:40 We can't think of any better place to be 00:43 in the world than right here. 00:45 Father we ask that as we open Your Holy Word that You will 00:50 help us to be reverent in the way in which we handle it. 00:53 I ask, Lord, that You will give us clarity of thought, 00:57 that You will help us to understand the serious times 01:01 that we're living in, so that we might prepare 01:04 a character fit for heaven. 01:07 And we thank You Father for hearing our prayer, 01:10 for we ask it in the precious name of Jesus, 01:13 our beloved Savior, Amen. 01:16 A series on the three angels' messages would not be complete 01:25 without studying about a very enigmatic group 01:31 known as the 144,000. 01:35 Now the 144,000 appear in three very important contexts 01:43 in the book of Revelation. 01:45 And what I would like to do is go through, very briefly, 01:50 these three places in Revelation where the 144,000 are mentioned. 01:57 Because they are critically important places in the book. 02:03 Now we're not going to read all of the verses 02:05 because it would take us far too long. 02:08 What I'm going to do is give you an outline of where each one 02:12 of the references appears. 02:14 The first time that the 144,000 appear in Revelation 02:20 is in chapters 7, and verses 1 through 8. 02:25 Now immediately before Revelation 7:1-8, 02:29 actually in chapters 6, verses 14 through 17, 02:33 you have a description of the second coming of Jesus Christ. 02:38 That's chapter 6, verses 14 through 17. 02:42 Verse 17 ends with a question. 02:45 And the question is, for the great day of His wrath has come, 02:50 and who shall be able to stand? 02:54 The answer is in Revelation 7: 1-8. 02:58 The 144,000 were sealed so that they would be able to stand. 03:05 So Revelation 7:1-8 is actually out of chronological order 03:11 with Revelation 6:14-17. 03:14 In other words, Revelation 6: 14-17 says the great day of 03:18 His wrath is come. 03:20 Jesus has come. Who's going to be able to stand? 03:23 Revelation 7:1-8 says there was a group who were sealed 03:27 before this who will be able to stand. 03:31 The second place where the 144,000 appear 03:35 is in Revelation 14:1-5. 03:39 This is the very chapter where we have the 03:42 three angels' messages. 03:43 In fact, verse 5 is the verse that is immediately before 03:48 the beginning of the three angels' messages in verse 6. 03:52 Now in chapter 13, going back to the previous chapter, 03:57 chapter 13, verses 11 through 18, we find the description 04:02 of the final crisis that's going to overtake this world. 04:06 It's a crisis over the beast, his image, his mark, 04:12 and the number of his name. 04:13 In fact we're told there in Revelation 13:11-18, 04:18 that a death decree is going to be given against those 04:22 who are faithful to God. 04:23 That's Revelation 13:11-18. 04:27 The very next chapter, Revelation 14:1-5, describes 04:32 the group that were victorious over the beast, his image, 04:37 and his mark, and the number of his name. 04:39 They're standing on Mount Zion with the Lamb. 04:42 In other words they're victorious. 04:44 So you have a sequence. 04:46 Revelation 13:11-18 describes the end time crisis over the 04:51 beast, his image, his mark, and the number of his name. 04:54 A death decree is given against those who don't worship 04:57 the beast and his image. 04:59 But chapter 14:1-5 explains that there was a group that was 05:04 faithful to God and will stand on Mount Zion with the Lamb. 05:09 The third place that we find the 144,000 05:14 is in Revelation 15:2-4. 05:19 Once again we have to go to the previous chapter 05:23 in order to understand Revelation 15:2-4. 05:27 Because Revelation 15:2-4 is the climax of what comes before. 05:33 Now let me give you a little bit of the context. 05:36 Revelation 14:6-12 presents the three angels' messages. 05:42 Immediately after the three angels' messages in verses 05:47 6 through 12, in verse 14 we find that the whole human race 05:51 has been divided into two groups: those who have the 05:54 seal of God, and those who have the mark of the beast, 05:57 those who are spoken of as the harvest of the earth, 06:00 and those who are spoken of as the grapes. 06:04 The righteous and the wicked have been separated 06:07 by the three angels' messages. 06:09 Then, that's verses 14 through 17. 06:12 Verses 18-20 we find the wicked gathering around Jerusalem, 06:17 that is gathering around God's people with the intention 06:20 of destroying them. 06:22 But then we find that some beings that come riding horses; 06:28 they trample on the wine press. 06:30 Chapter 19 explains that those who are riding these horses 06:34 that trample upon the wicked, symbolically represent 06:39 Jesus Christ and His angels, who come to deliver His people 06:43 from the death decree. 06:44 And then in chapter 15:2-4 you have a group that were 06:50 victorious over the beast, over his image, over his mark, 06:54 and over the number of his name. 06:58 So the 144,000, there is no doubt whatsoever, are those 07:02 who will be alive during the time when the trial over 07:06 the beast, his image, his mark, and the number 07:09 of his name is in play. 07:11 They will be alive when Jesus comes in power and glory, 07:15 according to the context that we've clearly studied 07:18 from the book of Revelation. 07:20 Now we need to take a closer look at this group. 07:24 And in order to understand them, we need to study the sequence 07:31 of events that lead to the climax that we spoke about 07:35 in these three contexts. 07:37 So I'm going to go back and I'm going to begin with the three 07:42 angels' messages in Revelation 14:6-12 t give you the sequence 07:47 of events that culminate, or climax with the 144,000, 07:52 the living saints in the final crisis that will stand 07:57 on Mount Zion victorious with Jesus Christ. 08:01 The first thing that I want us to notice is that Revelation 14: 08:07 6-12, the three angels' messages speak about the sharing 08:12 of God's final message to the world in the end time. 08:16 It becomes very clear that while the three angels' messages 08:20 are being proclaimed the door of mercy is open. 08:23 What would be the use of preaching the gospel 08:26 to every nation, kindred, tongue and people, if there was no 08:30 opportunity to be saved? 08:32 It's obvious that the three angels' messages are God's 08:35 final message to planet Earth, God's final call 08:39 before probation closes. 08:42 Now Revelation 7, and I'm only mentioning the verses because 08:47 we can't read all of the verses. 08:49 We don't have the time. 08:50 But in Revelation 7:1-8 we find that while the three angels 08:55 messages are being proclaimed, while God's final message 08:59 is being given to the world, there are four angels that are 09:03 holding back the winds of strife. 09:06 Basically that means that they are holding back the winds 09:12 of the tribulation. 09:13 The tribulation has not begun while the three angels' messages 09:16 are being proclaimed. 09:18 They're holding back that final cataclysmic time of trouble. 09:22 They're holding the winds of strife while the gospel is 09:26 being preached, and while God's servants are being sealed 09:31 on their foreheads. 09:32 Now the next event that I want us to notice is that while 09:38 the winds are being held, and while the three angels' 09:41 messages are being proclaimed, God's last message is being 09:44 proclaimed to the world, the sanctuary in heaven 09:48 is open for business. 09:50 Do you know that we can approach the heavenly sanctuary where 09:54 Jesus ministers for us today? 09:56 We can enter the sanctuary by faith. 09:59 If we sin, and we repent and we confess our sin, 10:04 and we trust in the merits of Jesus, today we can come boldly 10:09 to the throne of grace and receive forgiveness, 10:13 and receive power in our lives to overcome. 10:17 In other words, while the sanctuary is open, 10:19 we can receive forgiveness of sin, and we can receive 10:23 power to overcome sin. 10:25 Because in the sanctuary is where salvation takes place. 10:30 While the sanctuary is open, the messages are being proclaimed, 10:33 the winds of strife of the tribulation are being held back. 10:37 But we're told in Revelation 14 that as soon as the 10:42 three angels' messages finish being proclaimed to the world, 10:47 the world will be divided into two groups. 10:51 You find this in Revelation 14:14, immediately after the 10:56 three angels' messages you have Jesus sitting on a cloud. 11:01 The cycle is in His hand, and He's going to harvest 11:04 the harvest of the earth because it's ripe. 11:07 And He's going to harvest the grapes of the earth 11:09 because they are ripe. 11:11 In other words, the whole world has ripened either on God's side 11:16 or on the Devil's side. 11:17 Two groups: those who have the seal of God, and those who have 11:22 the mark of the beast. 11:24 And the three angels' messages were the instrument through 11:28 which God divided the human race into two groups. 11:32 So how important are the three angels' messages? 11:35 Folks, accepting them or rejecting them 11:38 is a matter of life and death. 11:39 If you reject the three angels' messages, 11:42 you will end up as grapes. 11:44 You will end up with the mark of the beast, 11:46 and you will suffer the wrath of God. 11:49 God doesn't want anyone to suffer His wrath. 11:52 That's why He warns us. 11:53 If you receive the three angels' messages, you will receive 11:56 the seal of God, and you will be found on God's side. 12:00 And you will be shielded from the wrath of man, 12:03 who will try to destroy God's people, and you will be shielded 12:07 from the wrath of God. 12:09 Then the Bible tells us in Revelation 14 12:14 that the sanctuary will close. 12:19 In other words, there will no longer be an opportunity 12:22 of coming to Jesus Christ in the sanctuary. 12:25 His intercession will be finished. 12:27 There will be no more room for repentance and confession of 12:31 sin, and trusting in the merits of Jesus for forgiveness of sin, 12:35 and for power, because all that will have happened 12:39 when the sanctuary closes. 12:41 Revelation 22:11, 12 describes that very important moment 12:48 when the sanctuary will close. 12:50 It says there, He who is unjust, let him be unjust still. 12:55 He who is filthy, let him be filthy still. 12:58 He who is righteous, let him be righteous still. 13:01 He who is holy, let him be holy still. 13:05 See that happens before Jesus comes. 13:08 Because in the next verse Jesus says, 13:18 So you see the declaration that people are going to still be 13:22 filthy, they're still going to be righteous, they're still 13:25 going to be holy, they're still going to be unrighteous, 13:27 will be given before Jesus comes. 13:30 The door of probation will close, and then the tribulation 13:33 will begin, and then Jesus will come at the conclusion 13:37 of the tribulation, and the sanctuary in heaven will close. 13:42 Notice Revelation 15:5-8 which describes this awesome moment 13:48 in history when the sanctuary will close. 13:51 No one will be able to enter by faith anymore. 13:54 It says there, After these things I looked and behold the 13:57 temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened. 14:01 By the way, this is the most holy place of the sanctuary. 14:04 And notice, And out of the temple came the seven angels 14:08 having the seven plagues, clothed in pure bright linen, 14:13 and having their chests girded with golden bands. 14:16 Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven 14:20 angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, 14:24 who lives forever and ever. 14:26 The temple was filled with smoke. 14:29 The temple is the most holy place. 14:30 It's the temple of the tabernacle. 14:33 The tabernacle is the sanctuary. 14:35 The temple of the tabernacle is the most holy place. 14:39 And so it says in verse 8, The temple was filled with smoke 14:43 from the glory of God, and from His power. 14:46 And no one was able to enter the temple till the seven 14:51 plagues of the seven angels were completed. 14:54 Let me ask you, During the period of the seven last 14:56 plagues, the period of the tribulation, 14:58 will anybody be able to enter the sanctuary by faith 15:01 to have their sins dealt with? Absolutely not. 15:06 Once these angels open the door and come out of the temple, 15:11 or of the sanctuary, to pour out the wrath of God, 15:13 which is called the tribulation, no one will be able to 15:18 enter the sanctuary. 15:19 That's why we must accept God's message now, 15:22 while the door of mercy is open, while Jesus ministers 15:25 in the most holy place of the sanctuary. 15:27 It's important for us to send our sins there to Him now. 15:31 And then, of course, when the door to the sanctuary closes, 15:36 the tribulation, and the seven last plagues will take place. 15:41 This is going to be one of the worst periods 15:45 in the history of the world. 15:46 In fact it will be the worst period 15:49 in the history of the world. 15:51 It will be a cataclysmic period. 15:55 Imagine what the plagues will do to planet Earth. 15:58 Jeremiah saw what would happen. 16:01 He said in chapter 4 of his book, I beheld the earth, 16:06 and lo, it was without form and void. 16:09 And I looked at the heavens; there was no light. 16:12 In other words, the earth was in darkness. 16:14 He says, I didn't see any living human being. 16:18 All the birds of the air had left. 16:21 In other words, nothing on earth was alive. 16:24 If you read about the plagues, they will devastate the earth. 16:28 They will return it to the condition it was in before 16:32 the creation week. 16:33 Sores will be over the bodies of the wicked who receive 16:37 the wrath of God, because they rejected 16:40 the three angels' messages. 16:41 Their tongues will dissolve in their mouths, 16:43 is what the Bible says. 16:45 The sea will be turned into blood. 16:47 The fountains of drinking water will be turned into blood. 16:51 The sun will scorch the vegetation of the earth. 16:54 And then there will be a super natural darkness. 16:58 Human beings will be slaying one another. 17:01 There'll be a global earthquake. 17:03 Islands will disappear. 17:05 Mountain ranges will disappear. 17:07 In fact there will be a rain of hail; some pieces of hail 17:13 weighing as much as 50 pounds. 17:15 And so the plagues will totally devastate, 17:18 and decimate planet Earth. 17:20 So you'd better be sure that you will be protected from the wrath 17:25 of God by accepting the three angels' messages. 17:28 As I mentioned, the Bible says that this time of trouble 17:31 will be the worst in the history of the world. 17:34 In fact, let's read about it in Matthew 24:21, 22. It says: 17:41 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not 17:46 been since the beginning of the world, until this time. 17:50 No, nor ever shall be. 17:59 By the way, that's the 144,000. 18:04 We're being told here that unless the period of tribulation 18:07 was shortened, nobody would be left alive. 18:10 Because this period is going to be absolutely terrible. 18:15 This period is also described in Daniel 12:1, Daniel 12:1. 18:22 If you look at the previous chapter, Daniel 11, 18:25 it speaks about the King of the North and his followers, 18:29 which represents the same as the beast in Revelation 13. 18:33 It says that they will go out to try and destroy God's people, 18:38 and a time of trouble will ensue. 18:41 Notice Daniel 12:1. 18:52 Praise the Lord that there's going to be someone 18:53 watching over His people. 18:55 But notice that His people are going to go through 18:58 the time of trouble. 18:59 Their faith will be tested. 19:01 But the plagues will not touch God's people. 19:03 The wrath of God will not touch God's people. And so it says, 19:23 Notice, this is the good news. 19:26 God's people, the living saints, 19:34 Every one who was found written in God's book of life, 19:37 because they passed victoriously through the judgment. 19:41 Those who were pronounced righteous still, those who were 19:44 pronounced holy still, will be shielded and delivered 19:50 from his time of trouble. 19:53 The culmination of this time of trouble will be 19:57 the second coming of Jesus in power and glory, 20:01 at the very end of the tribulation. 20:03 Notice Revelation 6:14-17, where this great event, 20:08 the final event of the tribulation, the second coming 20:11 of Jesus is described. 20:41 Let me ask you, Did they really need to experience 20:44 the wrath of the Lamb? 20:46 No, because the Lamb was there to save them! 20:49 The Lamb experienced the wrath of God when He 20:54 came the first time. 20:56 He drank the cup of the wrath of God. 20:58 And if they had accepted Jesus Christ, and they had feared 21:02 God, and kept His commandments, and given glory to God, 21:06 and realized that they were in the hour of God's judgment, 21:09 and they had worshipped the Creator by keeping His 21:12 holy Sabbath, and had come out of Babylon, 21:14 they would have been spared. 21:16 God warned them. God told them to come out. 21:19 Now because they rejected God's mercy, the wrath of the Lamb 21:24 falls upon them, instead of the salvation of the Lamb. 21:27 And then I want you to notice how this scene of the second 21:30 coming culminates with a question in verse 17. 21:34 For the great day of His wrath has come, 21:40 and who is able to stand? 21:44 Where would you expect to find the answer to that question? 21:47 the great day of His wrath has come and who 21:50 shall be able to stand? 21:52 I think the very next chapter would be a good place to look. 21:55 Now do you know what we find in the very next chapter? 21:59 We find the 144,000. 22:01 And do you know what's happening to them? 22:04 They are being what? 22:05 They are being sealed. 22:07 The question is, Why were they sealed? 22:10 They were sealed because God wanted to say, These are Mine! 22:15 Don't touch these! 22:18 When the destruction comes spare them. 22:22 Does this bring to mind a scene in the book of Ezekiel? 22:25 Do you remember in Ezekiel 8, it spoke about a group 22:29 who had their faces towards the East, 22:32 and they were worshipping the sun, 22:34 practicing this terrible abomination? 22:37 and how there was a group in the city that was not 22:40 practicing this abomination. 22:41 They were actually sighing and crying. 22:44 They were sad because of the abominations that were being 22:47 committed in the city. 22:48 The Bible says that they were marked so that the destroying 22:52 angels would not destroy them, so that they would be protected 22:56 when God's wrath would be poured out upon the city. 22:59 You see, what happened to Jerusalem foreshadows what will 23:03 happen on a global scale at the end of time. 23:06 The Christian world will be worshipping not the sun, 23:09 they will be worshipping on the day of the sun, 23:12 which we've already discussed are very, 23:14 very similar in principle. 23:16 They will have the mark of the beast. 23:19 They will be shedding the blood of innocent people, 23:22 like was being shed in the city of Jerusalem. 23:26 But God will have a remnant people who have the seal of God 23:29 on their foreheads. 23:31 And, of course, we have identified this seal 23:32 as God's Holy Sabbath. 23:35 And God, by this seal, is going to say, These are Mine! 23:39 Do not touch them. 23:40 Protect them in the midst of the tribulation. 23:43 Let's read about it in Revelation 7:1-3. 23:47 This is immediately after the question, The great day of 23:51 His wrath has come. 23:52 Who shall be able to stand? 24:07 See, the wrath of God has not been poured out at this point. 24:10 The winds are being held. 24:11 This happens before Jesus comes. Notice verse 2. 24:38 And then you have a mention of the 144,000, 24:43 and the twelve tribes of Israel. 24:46 And so some people say, See, these are literal Israelites 24:50 over in the Middle East, because twelve tribes are mentioned 24:55 by name, and there's 12,000 from each tribe, 24:59 so it must be referring to the literal Israelites 25:02 over in the Middle East. 25:03 But you remember that in our previous lecture to this one 25:08 we spoke about Israel. 25:10 Israel is not local, Israel is global. 25:14 Israel is not literal, Israel is spiritual and worldwide. 25:20 Whoever has joined Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord is Israel. 25:26 This is not speaking about the literal tribes of Israel, 25:29 this is speaking about God's remnant people 25:32 all over the world. 25:34 Now I'd like to share with you a quotation from a very famous 25:43 expositor on prophecy. 25:45 Today he's one of the best known authors on Bible prophecy. 25:50 I disagree with practically everything that he ever wrote, 25:54 because I don't think that it's in harmony with Biblical 25:57 prophetic principles. 25:58 But I want to read two statements from his writings 26:01 to show you how inconsistent sometimes people are when they 26:07 interpret prophecy as we find it in Scripture. 26:11 This is what he says. 26:12 By the way, his name is Dave Hunt. 26:15 You might have heard of him. He says this. 26:17 Some suggest that the Vatican will move to Babylon. 26:23 Because he believes that the Roman Catholic Papacy 26:26 is the harlot of Revelation 17. 26:28 In that sense he believes the same thing 26:30 as the Adventist church. 26:32 The same that we've been studying here. 26:34 So he says, Some suggest that the Vatican will move to Babylon 26:38 in Iraq when it is rebuilt. 26:42 But why should it, he asks? 26:44 The Vatican has been fulfilling John's vision from its location 26:48 in Rome for the past fifteen centuries. 26:51 In other words the harlot seated on many waters, he says, 26:54 That's Vatican; that's the Papacy. 26:57 And the Papacy's been fulfilling this prophecy 26:59 for the last fifteen centuries. 27:01 And then he says, Moreover, we have shown the connection 27:05 to ancient Babylon, which the Vatican has maintained 27:09 down through history in the paganized Christianity 27:13 it has promulgated. 27:15 As for ancient Babylon itself, it wasn't even in existence 27:20 during the past 2,300 years, to reign over 27:23 the kings of the earth. 27:25 Babylon lay in ruins, while pagan Rome, and later Catholic 27:31 Rome, the new Babylon, was indeed reigning over kings. 27:36 Now what's interesting about this quotation is that Dave Hunt 27:39 says that Babylon is not literal Babylon, it is to be understood 27:44 symbolically of a worldwide system. 27:48 Did you catch the point? 27:49 Babylon is spiritual. 27:51 It applies to the Papacy, and it is global. 27:54 In other words, Babylon cannot be taken literally. 27:58 But he says when Revelation speaks about Israel, 28:01 Israel has to be literal. 28:03 Now you tell me, what consistency is there in that? 28:05 Babylon was the great enemy of Israel. 28:09 So if Babylon is spiritual, or symbolic and worldwide, 28:13 Israel, the enemy of Babylon, must also be 28:16 symbolic and worldwide. 28:18 Are you following me? 28:19 Now let me read you the second statement. 28:22 God is foretelling His final judgment upon a great evil 28:27 which began at the Tower of Babel, and which has only grown 28:32 as politics, religion, and science have become more 28:36 sophisticated until finally the whole world is united 28:42 in the pursuit of Satan's ancient lie. 28:46 This is Babylon revived, and headquartered in Rome, 28:51 that will be destroyed never to be inhabited again. 28:56 So once again, he says Babylon is worldwide, 28:59 and it's a symbolic system. 29:01 So why isn't Israel also symbolic and global, 29:07 or worldwide, if it's found in the same book of Revelation? 29:12 Now the Bible tells us that God's faithful living saints, 29:17 the 144,000, are going to be marked for death. 29:22 During the tribulation there will be a 29:25 death decree over their heads. 29:27 Let's read about it in Revelation 13:15, 29:31 Revelation 13:15. Speaking about this beast that 29:37 rises from the earth. 29:55 So whoever doesn't worship the beast and his image, 29:58 or receive the mark, there will be a death decree 30:02 against those people. 30:03 By the way, do you know where this whole scene comes from? 30:06 It comes from the story of ancient Babylon, Daniel 3. 30:13 Let me ask you, In Daniel 4, did Nebuchadnezzar for awhile 30:18 live like a beast? Yes he did. 30:20 Did he raise an image? 30:22 He most certainly did. 30:23 Did he command everyone to worship the image 30:25 that he had raised up? Yes. 30:27 What did he say would happen if people didn't 30:29 worship the image? 30:31 They would be what? 30:32 They would be killed. 30:33 Does that sound familiar? 30:35 It's very similar to Revelation 13. 30:37 Only in Daniel 3 this is happening in literal Babylon 30:42 with three literal Hebrews. 30:45 And this is a literal image, and Nebuchadnezzar lived for 30:49 awhile as a literal beast. 30:51 At the end time it will be a symbolic beast raising up a 30:55 symbolic image that will be global in scale, 30:58 and will command everyone to worship. Are you with me? 31:01 And Israel will not be literal Hebrews, it will be spiritual 31:06 Hebrews, or spiritual Israelites. 31:08 By the way, did the three young men go through a severe 31:12 time of trouble such as they had never seen in their life? Yes. 31:16 They were thrown into a burning fiery furnace, heated how many 31:21 times more than before? seven times more than before. 31:24 That prefigures the period of the plagues. 31:26 It's the worst period in human history. 31:30 The worst tribulation in human history. 31:32 But what happened with those three young men who stood before 31:35 the beast and his image, and refused to practice worship? 31:39 What happened with them? 31:40 Jesus Himself intervened, and He delivered His people 31:45 from certain death. 31:46 Is that what's going to happen with God's people on a global 31:49 scale at the end of time? 31:51 It's spiritual Israel who will be condemned to death 31:54 by spiritual worldwide Babylon. Absolutely. 31:58 And, of course, that group are called the 144,000. 32:05 And as I mentioned before, the culmination of the tribulation 32:10 period will be when Jesus Christ comes on the clouds of heaven 32:15 to rescue His people from certain death. 32:18 Let's read about it in Revelation 19:11-16, 32:23 Revelation 19:11-16. It says here: 32:40 He comes for the battle of Armageddon, because the wicked 32:45 want to destroy His people. 32:46 He's going to intervene to deliver His people. 32:49 By the way, this is Jesus Christ. 32:51 He is the one who is faithful and true. Verse 12. 33:07 By the way, this is not His own blood. 33:10 Symbolically He's coming to trample the winepress. 33:13 He's coming to destroy the wicked, because they wanted 33:16 to destroy His people. 33:17 So it says, He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, 33:21 and His name is called the Word of God. 33:24 These are the angels. 33:32 Jesus Christ, and His armies coming back to planet Earth 33:35 to rescue His people. Verse 15. 33:44 And now I want to show you, Biblically, that when it says 33:48 that His garments are stained in blood, 33:50 it's not His own blood, it's the blood in the 33:53 winepress of His enemies. 33:55 Notice what it says in verse 15. 34:06 Listen to this. 34:22 Do you know, one of the great problems in the Christian world 34:26 today is that there's this teaching out there that 34:31 Christians are going to be raptured out of this world 34:34 before the tribulation. 34:37 Now let me ask you this question: If there was going 34:43 to be a hurricane hitting in Florida, would you prepare 34:50 for it in Fresno? Of course not! 34:53 You'd just say, That doesn't affect me. 34:56 It's not going to hit here. 34:58 And so Christians are certain that they're going 35:02 to be whisked away. 35:04 They're going to be snatched away to heaven. 35:07 And then the Jews are going to be left behind. 35:10 They're going to suffer this horrendous time of trouble 35:13 such as the world has never seen. 35:15 But they're going to be surprised, because they will 35:20 find themselves on this earth during this period of terrible 35:25 tribulation, and they will not have the necessary faith to 35:28 pass through this period victoriously, because they were 35:32 not expecting to be here. 35:36 Are you understanding how serious this teaching 35:39 of the Rapture is? 35:41 Listen, if you think you're going to be raptured to heaven, 35:45 you would never prepare for the tribulation, would you? 35:49 Because you're thinking that you're going to 35:50 be in another place. 35:52 By the way, the Bible tells us that the 144,000 35:57 will be a special group. 35:59 They will have a special character. 36:02 They will have a character that is victorious over sin; 36:07 totally and completely in their lives. 36:10 Some people say, Ah, it's not possible 36:12 to gain the victory over sin. 36:14 Only when Jesus comes will Jesus transform us, 36:18 and He'll change us. 36:19 The Bible teaches that it is possible to overcome sin 36:23 fully and completely. 36:25 Of course people say, Well, Pastor, are you perfect? 36:28 And, of course, the answer is Pastor Bohr is not perfect. 36:31 But whether I am perfect or not is immaterial. 36:35 It makes no sense to say that one can only be perfect 36:41 if Pastor Bohr is perfect. 36:42 My perfectibility does not show whether you can 36:46 be perfected or not. 36:47 The Bible teaches that God's people will live 36:51 a life without sin. 36:53 After all, they will not be able to go into the sanctuary 36:58 to take their sins there to Jesus Christ. 37:00 They will have to have the total victory over sin. 37:04 And they won't do it themselves. 37:06 They have no power to do it. 37:07 They will do it because they follow the 37:09 Lamb wherever He goes. 37:11 They will do it because they depend on Jesus Christ 37:14 every instant of their lives. 37:16 Let's read a few passages about the 144,000. 37:22 Revelation 14:1-5 describes the sterling 37:27 character of this group. 37:29 Here John, inspired by the Holy Spirit says, 38:07 And now notice their character. 38:14 Don't worry, if you're married and you live until Jesus comes, 38:19 you can be among this group. 38:21 When it says that they are virgins, 38:23 it's speaking spiritually. 38:25 They did not actually embrace the teachings of the harlot 38:29 and her daughters. 38:30 Those are the women that are mentioned here. 38:33 Because marriage is honorable. 38:34 If a man and a woman marry in harmony with the standards 38:38 that God has established, there's nothing 38:40 defiling about that. 38:41 What this is saying is that these 144,000 were not defiled 38:46 with Babylon and her daughters. 38:48 They did not drink her wine. 38:50 They did not embrace her doctrines, or her practices. 38:53 Notice what else it says about them. 39:01 See, that's why they're victorious over sin. 39:04 They follow the Lamb wherever He goes. 39:07 They're like Enoch, who walked with God. 39:10 And the walk was so close with God that finally God said, 39:13 Enoch, you don't have anything more to do on planet Earth. 39:17 You don't belong down there. 39:19 You're not a citizen down there. 39:22 Come, come to heaven, and we'll walk the street of gold together 39:27 throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity. 39:29 That's what the 144,000 are like. 39:32 Their life is totally and completely focused on Jesus. 39:36 And so it says: These are the ones who follow the 39:39 Lamb wherever He goes. 39:46 And now notice: 39:50 The word deceit is sudo. 39:52 In their mouth was found no lie. 39:54 They spoke only the truth. 40:04 What a character! You see, they beheld Jesus 40:08 in all of His glory. 40:09 And they reflected the character of Jesus. 40:11 See, they accepted the three angels' messages folks. 40:14 The kept the commandments of God. 40:17 They had faith in Jesus. 40:20 They feared God. 40:22 They gave glory to God by revealing His 40:26 character to the world. 40:27 They left Babylon. 40:29 They did not worship the beast. 40:31 They didn't worship the image. 40:32 They did not receive the mark. 40:34 In other words, their loyalty was only with Jesus. 40:37 Now do you remember that question, 40:40 The great day of His wrath has come, 40:42 and who shall be able to stand? 40:44 Do you know that that question is asked in other places 40:47 in the Bible as well? 40:48 And immediately after the question is asked, 40:51 you have once again a description of a group 40:54 that has a sterling character. 41:00 Notice Malachi 3:2, Malachi 3:2. 41:11 See the same type of question? 41:27 Does Jesus want to cleanse us and purify us? 41:31 Does He want to make us fireproof in our characters 41:35 so that when He comes we are not destroyed by the fire, 41:39 but we are spared like the three young men in the fiery furnace. 41:43 Absolutely. Notice Isaiah 33: 14-16. 41:47 You know, many Christians think that the wicked are going to 41:50 burn in the fires of hell forever. 41:54 Do you know that the Bible teaches that it's the righteous 41:56 that are going to live in the fire? 41:58 You say, Now what? 41:59 You say the righteous are going to live with the consuming fire? 42:03 Yes, it's the righteous not the wicked. 42:05 Because the Bible, as we've studied, says that the wicked 42:08 are going to be returned to ashes. 42:10 Satan and his angels are going to be ashes, 42:13 so they're going to go out. 42:14 But the fire that consumed the Devil and his angels, 42:17 and the wicked, will continue to exist because the fire 42:21 is the glory of God. 42:23 Now notice Isaiah 33:14-16. 42:27 Notice the question again. 42:37 Notice the answer. 43:07 Is there a sterling character described here 43:10 once the question is asked, Who among us shall dwell 43:14 with the devouring fire? 43:16 Who among us shall dwell with the everlasting burnings? 43:19 Then you have the sterling character of those who will 43:23 dwell with the everlasting fire. 43:25 Notice Psalm 15:1-5. 43:29 Once again it begins with the question followed by the 43:32 sterling character of a certain group. 43:35 It says there in Psalm 15:1-5: 43:45 By the way, His holy hill is Zion, and the 144,000 43:48 are standing on Mount Zion. 43:51 Notice the answer. 44:17 That expression is the first angel's message. 44:22 In other words, when he promises he keeps his word 44:24 and does not change. 44:30 Which means excessive charge of interest. 44:40 In other words, he will be able to stand. 44:43 Once again the question is followed with what? 44:47 with the sterling character. 44:49 God's end time generation will have a sterling, spotless 44:55 character that fully reflects the image of Jesus Christ; 45:00 the 144,000 living saints. 45:03 Now I don't have time to get into the fact that the number 45:06 144,000 is a symbolic number. 45:08 It represents a much larger group than exactly 144,000. 45:14 Notice Psalm 24:3-6. 45:18 Once again the question: 45:47 You see folks, in order to stand when Jesus comes, 45:51 there's a special preparation that needs to take place. 45:55 I want you to notice several texts in the New Testament 45:59 that speak about this special preparation that should be made 46:03 now while the door of mercy is being opened. 46:05 Do you know folks, the three angels' messages have the 46:09 intention of preparing that kind of character 46:12 for the coming of Jesus. 46:13 The three angels' messages teach us the everlasting gospel. 46:18 They teach us the need to fear God, to give glory to Him, 46:22 that we're in the hour of His judgment. 46:24 We should prepare a character to pass through the judgment, 46:27 that we should worship only God, not our things. 46:29 We should worship the Creator by keeping His Sabbath. 46:32 If we're in Babylon we should get out of Babylon, 46:35 and we should beware of worshipping the beast, 46:37 his image, and receiving the mark. 46:40 Those three messages actually prepare God's people to stand 46:45 in the great day ahead. Matthew 5:8. 46:58 Who are those who will see God, who will say, 47:02 Lo this is our God. 47:03 We have waited for Him, and He will save us. 47:06 Who are the ones? those who have what? a pure heart. 47:09 By the way, if you have a pure heart you have pure actions, 47:12 because actions flow from the heart. 47:14 Jesus said, From the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 47:19 He says, Out of the heart come adulteries, and homicides, 47:23 and all of these things. 47:24 So if your heart is pure, your life will be pure. 47:27 Notice Hebrews 12:14, once again speaking about 47:31 the second coming of Jesus. 47:43 What do we need to have in order to see the Lord? 47:45 holiness, according to this. 47:48 Notice 1 John 3:1-3, 1 John 3:1-3. 48:14 When He is revealed is His coming, by the way. 48:20 And notice what we need to be doing because we're 48:23 going to see Him as He is. 48:34 So if you have this hope of the appearance of Jesus, 48:38 what do you do? you purify yourself, just as He is pure. 48:44 And do you know how that happens? 48:45 By beholding we are changed; by what we watch, by what we hear. 48:52 Folks, Christians watch what the world watches. 48:55 They listen to the same kind of music that the world listens to. 48:59 They go to the same places of entertainment 49:02 that the world goes to. 49:03 You'll never reflect the character of Jesus 49:06 if you're watching violence, and illicit sex, 49:08 and you're listening to swearing, 49:10 and to lying on television. 49:12 You'll reflect the character of what you're watching. 49:15 And no one who is in that condition will be ready 49:19 to receive Jesus in power and glory. 49:21 Because you must have a pure heart. 49:25 You must have a pure life. 49:27 That's why the 144,000 are described as having a sterling 49:31 character that they prepared before probation closed. 49:35 I want to read once again Revelation 22:11, 12, 49:41 that we read awhile ago, because there's a little nuance 49:45 in translation that is not found in the King James Version. 49:48 Revelation 22:11. He who is unjust. 49:53 The New King James says, Let him be unjust still. 49:58 Really the Greek tense of the verb says, 50:01 Let him continue to act unjustly. 50:04 In other words, it's not a state of being unjust, 50:07 it is acting unjustly. 50:09 And it's reflected in many of the modern versions. 50:13 So he who is unjust, let him continue to act unjustly. 50:17 He who is filthy, let him continue to act filthily, 50:22 is what it really says in the Greek. 50:24 It has to do with actions. 50:26 And then it continues saying, He who is righteous, 50:29 let him continue to act righteously. 50:32 And he who is holy, let him continue to 50:36 act in a holy manner. 50:37 And then, of course, when that happens it says, And behold 50:42 I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, 50:45 to give everyone according to his work. 50:48 There's one final passage that I want us to take a look at before 50:54 we bring this to a close. 50:55 It's found in the book of Joel 2, and it has the same 51:01 question that we noticed in several other passages. 51:04 By the way, we don't have time to read verses 1 51:08 through 10 of Joel 2. 51:09 It's describing the second coming of Jesus Christ; 51:13 the first ten verses. 51:14 God is coming with His army to the world. 51:17 Let's begin at verse 10. 51:24 This is speaking about Jesus coming with His angels. 51:30 Read Matthew 24. There it speaks about the heavens 51:33 and the earth trembling. 51:34 Once again Matthew 24. 51:38 This is the second coming of Jesus. And it says: 51:47 Those are the angels. 51:54 And now notice the question. 52:02 Is that the same question? 52:04 The great day of His wrath has come. 52:07 Who can endure this day when Jesus comes with His angels? 52:11 There's a special preparation that has to take place. 52:15 And that preparation is mentioned, 52:18 beginning with verse 12. 52:19 By the way, here it's speaking about the Day of Atonement. 52:22 We are now in the Day of Atonement when we should be 52:25 cleansing our lives from sin through the grace 52:27 and power of Jesus Christ, so that when the sanctuary 52:31 is closed it won't be necessary to introduce sin 52:35 into the sanctuary. 52:37 Because on the Day of Atonement sin is taken out of the 52:39 sanctuary, primarily at the end of the Day of Atonement. 52:43 Notice what it says in verse 12. 52:46 Immediately after saying, Who is able to stand in this day, 52:51 God gives the counsel. 52:53 He says, Now therefore says the Lord, Turn to Me with 52:57 all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning. 53:02 This is what happened on the Day of Atonement. 53:04 But you can read it in Leviticus 23. 53:06 It's the only day in the Hebrew calendar where fasting was 53:10 required in the Hebrew feasts. 53:12 And so it says, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning. 53:16 So rend your heart and not your garments. 53:21 Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, 53:27 slow to anger, and of great kindness, 53:29 and He relents from doing harm. 53:31 Who knows if He will turn and relent, and leave a blessing 53:35 behind Him, a grain offering, and a drink offering 53:38 for the Lord Your God? 53:40 Blow the trumpet in Zion. 53:42 By the way, the feast of the Day of Atonement 53:45 was announced by trumpets. 53:48 So this is the announcement of the Day of Atonement. 53:51 It says, once again in verse 15: Blow the trumpet in Zion, 53:55 consecrate a fast. 53:56 See, there you have it again. 53:57 Call a sacred assembly. 53:59 Everybody on the Day of Atonement had to meet together. 54:01 Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, 54:04 assemble the elders, gather the children and nursing babes. 54:08 Let the bridegroom go out from His chamber, 54:11 and the bride from her dressing room. 54:13 Let the priests... 54:14 These are the religious leaders, folks. 54:16 Let the priests who minister to the Lord weep between the 54:21 porch and the alter. 54:23 Let them say, Spare Your people O Lord, and do not give Your 54:28 heritage to reproach, that the nations should rule over them. 54:34 Why should they say among the peoples, Where is their God? 54:39 Is there a work of preparation that needs to be take place 54:44 in order for God's people to be able to stand? 54:47 Very clearly, in all of these passages we are told that God's 54:53 people will have a sterling character; not because they 54:57 developed this goodness, but because Jesus Christ dwelt 55:01 in their hearts, because their focus was only 55:06 and exclusively upon Him. 55:08 You know, some people say, You're so heavenly minded 55:13 you're no earthly good. 55:15 You know, but I turned that around and I say, You are so 55:19 earthly minded you are no heavenly good. 55:23 I would say that most Christians would fit in that category. 55:27 They're so earthly minded, that they would not even conceive 55:31 of being happy in heaven, because it's going 55:34 to be so different. 55:35 There's not going to be smokers. 55:37 There's not going to be drinkers. 55:38 There's not going to be partying. 55:39 There's not going to be dancing, in a worldly sense, 55:43 like the world dances today. 55:44 There's not going to be movie theaters. 55:46 There's not going to be profanity. 55:47 There's not going to be any of these things. 55:49 So if you become accustomed to these things, 55:51 boy are you going to feel uncomfortable in heaven. 55:55 But the fact is, you're not going t make it there. 55:58 Because God is not going to take people there 56:01 who would be unhappy there. 56:03 It's now that we have to learn to live the heavenly 56:07 lifestyle on earth. 56:09 You know the little chorus, Turn your eyes upon Jesus. 56:13 Look full in His wonderful face. 56:15 And what happens as a result? 56:18 The things on earth will grow strangely dim in the light 56:25 of His glory and grace. 56:27 The 144,000 will be totally disconnected 56:32 from everything on planet Earth; from their cars, 56:35 from their houses, from their money, 56:37 and from their expensive toys. 56:39 They will think of nothing except being with Jesus 56:42 in the heavenly kingdom, where everything is joy. 56:45 Where everything is peace. 56:47 Where everything is happiness. 56:48 That is their only desire in their lives is to be with Jesus. 56:54 And so Jesus will say, Folks, you don't have anything more 56:59 to do on planet Earth. 57:00 You're wasting your time down there. 57:03 Come, and we will walk together on the street of gold. 57:08 We will go through the gates of pearl, and forever and ever 57:12 we will live together, and we will sing together. 57:17 Won't that be a wonderful day? 57:20 I pray to the Lord that on that day none of us will be missing. |
Revised 2016-01-11