by the friends of the
Amazing Facts ministry.
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¤¤
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Doug Batchelor:
Iguanas, are they big lizards
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or small dinosaurs?
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Well, it depends
on how you look at it.
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These magnificent creatures
are found mostly in Central
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and South America, Mexico
and the Caribbean islands.
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Iguanas come in a broad spectrum
of colors: blue, brown, green,
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and they can even
camouflage their skin,
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allowing them to
hide in the jungle.
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Although they look
fierce, iguanas are vegetarians,
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and it's incredible of
how resilient they are.
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If attacked, to ensure a quick
escape, an iguana can detach
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its tail and
later grow a new one.
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If washed out to sea in a storm,
they can inflate themselves
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and swim incredible distances.
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They can hold their
breath up to 28 minutes,
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putting even a
crocodile to shame.
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And iguanas love to climb
buildings and trees, but on the
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rare occasion when they do slip,
it is incredible how hearty
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they are, surviving
the falls from heights
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of 40 to 50 feet without injury.
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Doug: While God made iguanas
to be some of the toughest
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creatures in his natural
kingdom, he can also teach
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Christians to be resilient
when faced with fiery trials.
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Sometimes, life is tough,
but through God's grace, we can
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learn to persevere in hard times
and endure faithful to the end.
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So join me now as we talk about
what the Bible has to say about
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the great tribulation.
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Doug: Have you ever
gone through a tribulation?
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Have you ever gone
through a great tribulation?
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I remember reading
once about a pilot heard
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about one of these terrible
forest fires and--I'm sorry.
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There was as newspaper writer
and the head of the newspaper
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said, "You need to go get
some photographs of this fire."
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Well, the photographer went to
try to get some photographs, and
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the fire lines were all guarded;
he couldn't get close enough.
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So he told the paper
and they said, "Look,
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well call this airport,
we'll secure a plane and pilot.
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He can take you up, and from
the air," that's before they had
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those drones, "you could get
some good shots of the fire."
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And so, they
made the arrangements;
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he raced to the small airport.
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Sure enough the plane
was already there waiting
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with the engine running.
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He jumped up, he
opened up the passenger side,
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he threw his
camera bag in the back.
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He jumped in. He
said, "Let's go, let's go."
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The pilot taxied,
took off, and he said look,
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"I want you to go make
some turns over by the fire."
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And so the pilot
went by the fire.
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He said, "No, no."
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He said, "You got
to get down close."
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And so he said, "All right,"
and he looked a little nervous.
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The pilot went down and he
said, "You got to get closer.
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I want you to skim the treetops.
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Stay away from the fire, but
I want to get some great shots."
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And he's clicking
away, and the pilot's saying,
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"Why are you
taking so many pictures?
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He said, "Well,
I'm a photographer.
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That's what I'm supposed to do."
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The pilot said, "Well, you mean
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you're not my
flight instructor?"
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He had jumped in the
plane of a student pilot waiting
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for his instructor to come out.
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Now, that causes a tribulation.
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And how do you get
out of tribulation?
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How do you survive tribulation?
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Now, you know when I talk
about the great tribulation,
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I meet Christians, and
while different Christians
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from different denominations
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have different
views on the tribulation,
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virtually all Bible reading
Christians believe there is some
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great tribulation coming that is
clearly foretold in the future.
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And people look upon
it with different degrees
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of concern or apprehension.
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I'm not sharing this message
with you to trouble anybody.
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I don't lose any
sleep at all worried about
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the tribulation or
the great tribulation.
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But why don't we begin
by reading what Jesus said,
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some of the most clear
statements on the subject.
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Please turn in your
Bibles to Matthew 24.
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Matthew 24, I'll
probably start with verse 3.
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Jesus is--the disciples wanted
to show him the buildings of the
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temple, and afterward you
shocked them with a statement
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in verse 2, "Do you
not see all these things,
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'I say to you that not
one stone will be upon another
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that will not be thrown down.'"
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That was
flabbergasting to the apostles.
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So they came to Jesus privately
and listen carefully, verse 3,
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"They ask him really two
and half or three questions.
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He commingles all of
his answers together.
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They said, "Tell us," and
they came to him and privately
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on the Mount of Olives,
"when will these things be?"
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Namely the
destruction of the temple.
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"What will be the sign of your
coming and the end of the world?
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And Jesus
answered and said to them,
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'Take heed that
no one deceives you.
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For many will come in
my name saying I am Christ
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and will deceive many.
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And you will hear of
wars and rumors of war.
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See that you are not
troubled, for these things
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must come to pass.
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For nation will
rise against nation,
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and kingdom against kingdom.
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And there will be
famines, and pestilence,
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and earthquakes
in various places.
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All these are the
beginning of sorrows.'"
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So he said the final
sorrows are labor pains.
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Before the great deliverance
at the end, it's going to be
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precipitated by some major
plagues, earthquakes, wars.
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"Then they will be deliver you
up to tribulation," there's that
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word again, "to kill you, and
you'll be hated by all nations
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for my name's sake, and many
will be offended, and betray one
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another, and many false
prophets arise and deceive many.
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And because lawlessness will
abound, the love of many will
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grow cold," and we see
that even in our country.
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How many of you remember growing
up in a society where you never
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even thought about
locking at front door?
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When I was a kid, and we lived
in what's now Universal Studios,
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Tujunga, California.
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I mean neighbors
had goats and things.
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You'd never believe it
if you went down there now.
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Grandparents never locked the
door when they left the house.
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So it's hard to imagine.
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Now everybody here got
security cameras on your door
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in case anybody rings the bell.
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"Therefore when you see the
abomination of desolation spoken
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of by Daniel the prophet,
standing in the holy place
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(whoever reads,
let them understand),
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then let those who be in
Judea flee into the mountains.
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Let him who is on the housetop
not go down and take anything
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out of his house, and
let him who is in the field
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not go back and
get his clothes."
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He's talking
about a time of urgency.
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Something was going to happen
where there was going to be
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very little
warning, and they were going
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to have to run for their lives.
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And then he says, "Pray that
your flight," fleeing for your
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life, "pray that your flight
be not in the winter or on the
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Sabbath," which is I think
a good argument to remember.
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He expected us to still
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acknowledge the
Sabbath now at the end of time.
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"For they'll be
great tribulation,"
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there's that phrase.
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Not just tribulation,
but what kind of tribulation?
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Great tribulation.
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"Such as has not been
since the beginning of the world
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until this time,
no, nor ever shall be."
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Now, that takes your
breath away right there.
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That could frighten a person.
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I mean there's been so many just
horrific things, and Jesus says,
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"Oh, that's nothing."
You can't imagine it."
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Most of the time, you
worry about things that
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when they actually
happen, they're not so bad.
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And most of the pains and
the worrying in anticipation,
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when it finally happens,
you think it wasn't anything.
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But Jesus said, "You
probably cannot over imagine
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how bad it's going to be."
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This great--when Jesus
calls it a great tribulation,
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such as not has been,
think about all that's happened.
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Think of black death
in history, bubonic plague
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such as has not
been nor ever will be.
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"And unless those
days be shortened,
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no flesh would be saved."
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He says, "It's so severe
that there'd be no flesh."
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That's not
believers or unbelievers.
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He's not even
seen human or animal.
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Said no life would survive.
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"But for the elect's sake,
those days will be shortened."
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Okay, so I think we all
agree that there's going
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to be a great tribulation.
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Can you say amen?
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Want to make sure we
got that point nailed down.
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Now what does the
word tribulation mean?
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What is a tribulation?
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Tribulation, in Greek anyway,
it's about 47 times in the
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Bible, it comes from the
word "thlipsis" or "thilibo."
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It means to crush, to press
together, to squash, the hem in,
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to compress, to
squeeze, to afflict.
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It's originally expressed,
it's talking about some sheer
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physical pressure on man.
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Now, thlipsis is a strong term.
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It doesn't refer to
a minor inconvenience.
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It's talking
about real hardship.
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Now, Jesus said there's going
to be a time of real hardship.
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Now, now this is an important
point I want you to grasp,
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because I'm going
to start unpacking it.
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I want to have you catch this.
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There are really for
different kinds of tribulation
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that are encompassed in
Matthew 24 in these verses.
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How many? Four.
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And I'll itemize
them for you very quickly.
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There's a tribulation for
Israel, a tribulation of the
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church, a global final
tribulation, and then he's also
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talking about individual
or personal tribulation.
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For instance, when Jesus said,
"There won't be one stone left
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upon another in the temple,
he was talking about the fall
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of Jerusalem, the
destruction of the temple,
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and that is the
first tribulation.
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Let's talk about that.
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Look in Matthew 23, verse
35. I'm going back one chapter.
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When he's pronouncing
the woes on the scribes,
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and the
Pharisees, and hypocrites,
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and those who had
rejected the prophets.
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He says in very striking
denunciation, "That on you may
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come all of the righteous blood
shed on the earth, from the
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righteous blood--from
the blood of righteous Abel."
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Now, he wasn't even a Jew.
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He's just saying there's
going to be pent-up judgment
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that's going to be
poured on this generation.
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"From the blood of righteous
Abel to the blood of Zechariah,
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the son of Berechiah."
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Now, that Zechariah
is not totally Zechariah,
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the son of Berechiah.
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That's another name for
Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada.
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"Who you murdered between
the temple and the altar.
00:10:26.35\00:10:29.09
Assuredly, I say to
you that all these things
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will come on this generation."
00:10:31.33\00:10:33.40
Now, Jesus in Matthew 24 also
talks about, "This generation
00:10:33.43\00:10:37.40
will not pass away till all
of these things be fulfilled."
00:10:37.43\00:10:40.50
What is a Bible generation?
00:10:40.54\00:10:42.97
It's 40 years. And
how do we know that?
00:10:43.00\00:10:45.17
When the generation that came
out of Egypt did not have faith,
00:10:45.21\00:10:48.14
he said that generation
would die in the wilderness.
00:10:48.18\00:10:50.28
They wandered 40 years.
00:10:50.31\00:10:53.11
And you look, David
reigned for a generation.
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He reigned 40 years.
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Solomon reigned 40 years.
00:10:56.58\00:10:58.59
King Saul, first king; 40 years.
00:10:58.62\00:11:01.19
Moses' life is divided in three
generations: 40 years in Egypt;
00:11:01.22\00:11:05.29
40 years in the wilderness;
40 years leading people
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from Egypt to the
borders of the Promised Land.
00:11:08.63\00:11:11.37
So 40 was a pretty
well-established number
00:11:11.40\00:11:13.44
for a biblical generation.
00:11:13.47\00:11:16.71
Now, Jesus made this prophecy
interestingly enough in 30 A.D.
00:11:16.74\00:11:21.84
What would be 40 years later?
00:11:21.88\00:11:24.45
70 A.D.
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How many of you
know that in 70 A.D.,
00:11:25.81\00:11:27.28
the Romans destroyed the temple?
00:11:27.32\00:11:29.25
So this first tribulation, he
describes a terrible ordeal that
00:11:29.28\00:11:34.99
the new Jewish nation
went through when they rebelled
00:11:35.02\00:11:37.33
against the Romans.
00:11:37.36\00:11:39.33
And you can read about
this and Flavius Josephus'
00:11:39.36\00:11:42.23
"History of the Jews."
00:11:42.26\00:11:43.57
He talks about the
Roman wars. It was awful.
00:11:43.60\00:11:46.97
When Titus, our first, that's
being in Titus, they besiege
00:11:47.00\00:11:51.71
Jerusalem, and there was
terrible starvation in the city,
00:11:51.74\00:11:55.38
and finally the city was burned,
and the temple was destroyed.
00:11:55.41\00:11:58.91
And usually you'd take
some prisoners of war, but the
00:11:58.95\00:12:01.28
soldiers were so angry that they
had been put out for three years
00:12:01.32\00:12:06.79
now by trying to squelch this
Jewish rebellion, that they went
00:12:06.82\00:12:11.89
in and indiscriminately men,
women and children, they just
00:12:11.93\00:12:14.66
butchered them, and
blood ran through the streets.
00:12:14.73\00:12:17.03
And those who survived,
the majority were crucified.
00:12:17.07\00:12:20.70
Josephus says, "You couldn't
find a tree around Jerusalem.
00:12:20.74\00:12:23.24
It had been cut down
and made into crosses."
00:12:23.27\00:12:26.54
And a few that survived that
were then taken and sent to work
00:12:26.57\00:12:29.28
in the mines in
northern Africa for the Romans,
00:12:29.31\00:12:32.35
and it was just a
terrible tribulation.
00:12:32.38\00:12:37.65
We know that they're
talking about this time.
00:12:37.69\00:12:39.69
You can read for
instance in Luke 23:29,
00:12:39.72\00:12:44.06
speaking of the same time.
00:12:44.09\00:12:45.33
He says, "For indeed the days
are coming in which they will
00:12:45.36\00:12:47.23
say, 'Blessed are the barren
wombs that never bore, and the
00:12:47.23\00:12:49.96
breasts which never nursed.'"
Christ said these words on his
00:12:50.00\00:12:52.60
way to the cross talking to the
Jewish women that were weeping.
00:12:52.63\00:12:56.77
He said, "Do not weep for me,
but weep for yourselves because
00:12:56.81\00:13:00.48
a terrible judgment
is coming to the nation.
00:13:00.51\00:13:04.01
Luke 21, verse 20,
"But when you see Jerusalem
00:13:04.05\00:13:07.55
surrounded by armies."
00:13:07.58\00:13:09.08
Now, did you
notice a difference?
00:13:09.12\00:13:11.55
The abomination of desolation in
Matthew 24, he says, "that when
00:13:11.59\00:13:16.32
you see the up abomination
of desolation stand in the holy
00:13:16.36\00:13:18.79
place, let those that be in
Judea, flee in the mountains."
00:13:18.83\00:13:21.26
Luke is more specific.
00:13:21.30\00:13:22.76
He says, "When you see
Jerusalem surrounded by armies,
00:13:22.80\00:13:26.33
let those that be in
Judea flee into the mountains."
00:13:26.37\00:13:29.70
"Let those who are in
Judea flee the mountains.
00:13:29.74\00:13:31.51
Let those who are in
the midst of her, depart.
00:13:31.54\00:13:33.64
Let those who are in
the country not enter her.
00:13:33.68\00:13:36.18
These are the days of vengeance.
00:13:36.21\00:13:37.68
Woe to those who are pregnant,
those who are nursing babies
00:13:37.71\00:13:40.02
in those days," for obvious
reasons, "for they'll be great
00:13:40.05\00:13:42.48
distress in the land
and wrath upon this people."
00:13:42.52\00:13:46.12
So again, now that's talking
about the tribulation that came
00:13:46.15\00:13:48.76
on Israel, and in Jerusalem,
in particular, during that time.
00:13:48.79\00:13:55.20
"They'll fall by
the edge of the sword.
00:13:55.23\00:13:57.13
They will be led away captive
into all nations, and Jerusalem
00:13:57.17\00:14:00.90
will be trampled by the
gentiles until the times
00:14:00.94\00:14:03.61
of the gentiles are fulfilled."
00:14:03.64\00:14:05.67
So are we in agreement that
at least part of the tribulation
00:14:05.71\00:14:08.41
that is foretold is
speaking to the Jewish nation
00:14:08.44\00:14:12.18
and what happened
with the fall of Jerusalem?
00:14:12.21\00:14:14.25
It came right on
time for 40 years later.
00:14:14.28\00:14:16.95
But it's broader and
more comprehensive than that.
00:14:16.99\00:14:20.02
There's also a tribulation
that comes historically
00:14:20.06\00:14:23.16
to the church.
00:14:23.19\00:14:24.83
¤¤
00:14:24.86\00:14:26.16
Doug: Don't go
anywhere, friends.
00:14:26.19\00:14:27.83
In just a moment, we're
going to return for the rest
00:14:27.86\00:14:29.73
of today's presentation.
00:14:29.76\00:14:31.53
The mark of the beast is
probably the most controversial
00:14:31.57\00:14:34.90
and feared subjects
from the book of Revelation.
00:14:34.94\00:14:38.11
Some say it's a number tattooed
on our foreheads or a computer
00:14:38.14\00:14:41.81
chip embedded in our hands.
00:14:41.84\00:14:44.48
Others suggest the number is
being secretly introduced in the
00:14:44.51\00:14:47.42
world now through a
super ID credit card.
00:14:47.45\00:14:50.99
But if you're confused or even
a little apprehensive about this
00:14:51.02\00:14:54.16
ominous issue, you
don't have to be anymore.
00:14:54.19\00:14:57.69
A simple, practical Bible study
will help the whole subject make
00:14:57.73\00:15:01.56
perfect sense; and that's why
amazing facts want to send you
00:15:01.60\00:15:05.07
a very special and inspiring
Bible lesson that'll help
00:15:05.10\00:15:08.47
you to do just that.
00:15:08.50\00:15:09.97
It's called, "The
Mark of the Beast."
00:15:10.01\00:15:12.37
It's a comprehensive, yet easy
to understand study that will
00:15:12.41\00:15:15.71
not only help you
avoid the devil's schemes,
00:15:15.74\00:15:18.05
it will help provide
step-by-step guidance on how you
00:15:18.08\00:15:21.08
can receive God's seal of
protection in your life today.
00:15:21.12\00:15:24.15
To get your free copy, call the
phone number on the screen and
00:15:24.19\00:15:27.49
ask for offer number
127, or visit the web address.
00:15:27.52\00:15:31.46
And after you read
this incredible resource,
00:15:31.49\00:15:33.86
be sure and
share it with a friend.
00:15:33.90\00:15:36.00
Let's return to today's
presentation and learn some more
00:15:36.03\00:15:38.90
amazing facts
from the Word of God.
00:15:38.93\00:15:41.20
Doug: It's the
church age of tribulation.
00:15:43.00\00:15:45.77
You can read for
instance in Matthew 24, verse 9,
00:15:45.81\00:15:48.04
"They'll deliver you up
to tribulation and kill you.
00:15:48.08\00:15:51.01
You will be
hated of all nations."
00:15:51.05\00:15:53.82
So this is
something that is universal.
00:15:53.85\00:15:56.89
If you read in
Revelation chapter 11,
00:15:56.92\00:15:59.65
it talks about a specific time
of tribulation when it talks
00:15:59.69\00:16:03.73
about the two witnesses.
00:16:03.76\00:16:05.49
Represents the Word of God.
00:16:05.53\00:16:07.96
It says, "Leave," and
this is Revelation 11, verse 2,
00:16:07.96\00:16:10.97
"But leave the out the court,
which is outside the temple,
00:16:11.00\00:16:13.37
and do not measure it, for it
has been given to the gentiles.
00:16:13.40\00:16:16.44
And they were tread down
the holy city 42 months."
00:16:16.47\00:16:19.64
We just read that from Luke.
00:16:19.67\00:16:21.21
Now, what is it?
Forty-two months.
00:16:21.24\00:16:23.91
A Jewish month has 30
days. 42 months is 1260 days.
00:16:23.95\00:16:32.39
"And I'll give power
to make two witnesses,
00:16:32.42\00:16:35.02
and they will prophesy
in sackcloth, 1260 days ."
00:16:35.06\00:16:41.23
Sackcloth was like a potato bag,
and if you prophesied it through
00:16:41.26\00:16:44.50
that, it's muffled.
00:16:44.53\00:16:46.30
If you put a light under a
potato bag, some light comes
00:16:46.33\00:16:48.67
through, but it's obscured.
00:16:48.70\00:16:50.74
It's diminished.
00:16:50.77\00:16:52.61
And it's basically saying
that the church during this time
00:16:52.64\00:16:55.41
period would still do a work,
but it's going to be oppressed,
00:16:55.44\00:16:58.68
it's going to be obscured.
00:16:58.71\00:17:00.15
It's going to be muffled,
and stifled and strangled.
00:17:00.18\00:17:03.49
And it says,
"These two witnesses."
00:17:03.52\00:17:05.49
The two witnesses some
say are Moses and Elijah.
00:17:05.52\00:17:08.76
Symbolically or
metaphorically that's true.
00:17:08.79\00:17:12.86
They represent Moses and Elijah,
the law and the prophets.
00:17:12.89\00:17:14.93
Another term for the Word of
God, which is dual in nature;
00:17:14.96\00:17:19.20
it's new in Old Testament.
00:17:19.23\00:17:21.34
It's a sword with two edges.
00:17:21.37\00:17:23.47
Ten Commandments
have two stones, right?
00:17:23.51\00:17:26.07
And so the law and the
prophets, commandments of God,
00:17:26.11\00:17:29.58
and the testimony of Jesus.
00:17:29.61\00:17:31.08
The Word of God was
going to be oppressed
00:17:31.11\00:17:33.25
and persecuted
during a vast age.
00:17:33.28\00:17:36.45
A day in prophecy
is how long? A year.
00:17:36.48\00:17:40.82
"I have appointed thee a day for
a year," God said to Ezekiel.
00:17:40.86\00:17:44.13
So it says, They'd be at church
age period of great persecution
00:17:44.16\00:17:47.83
for 1260 not days,
years, where the church flees
00:17:47.86\00:17:54.04
into the wilderness
but they still do a work.
00:17:54.07\00:17:56.64
So this was a time
of great tribulation.
00:17:56.67\00:17:59.84
So you've got
persecution that happens,
00:17:59.87\00:18:01.68
tribulation for
Jerusalem and Israel,
00:18:01.71\00:18:04.51
tribulation for
spiritual Israel or the church.
00:18:04.55\00:18:08.12
Now, I want to go to the
third category of tribulation,
00:18:08.15\00:18:11.39
and that's the one
that's ahead of us know.
00:18:11.42\00:18:13.49
So far, we we've looking at
great tribulation behind us.
00:18:13.52\00:18:16.49
Now, we're looking at the
great tribulation ahead of us.
00:18:16.52\00:18:19.23
Cheer up, it's
going to get worst.
00:18:19.26\00:18:22.46
But I'm not worried about it;
I'll tell you why in a minute.
00:18:22.50\00:18:25.93
Jesus says in Matthew
24:13, "Because lawlessness will
00:18:25.97\00:18:29.70
abound, the love of many will
grow cold, but he that endures
00:18:29.74\00:18:33.11
to the end, there's going to be
a great tribulation that must be
00:18:33.14\00:18:37.28
endured to the time of the end.
00:18:37.31\00:18:39.28
They will be saved."
00:18:39.31\00:18:41.18
What is the great
tribulation in the last days?
00:18:41.22\00:18:44.65
In a word or few words,
it's the seven last plagues.
00:18:44.69\00:18:49.72
When you read in
Revelation chapter 16, verse 1,
00:18:49.76\00:18:52.46
"Then I heard a
voice out of the temple
00:18:52.49\00:18:54.10
saying to the seven angels,
00:18:54.10\00:18:56.23
'Go pour out the bowls of
the wrath of God on the earth."
00:18:56.26\00:19:00.77
And as you read in Revelation
16 about the seven last plagues
00:19:00.80\00:19:05.07
that are poured out on the
earth, I mean it's pretty bad.
00:19:05.11\00:19:08.91
It's talking about men being
scorched with great heat, it's
00:19:08.94\00:19:11.75
talking about people being
afflicted with noisome sore
00:19:11.78\00:19:14.95
because they worship
the beast and his image.
00:19:14.98\00:19:17.22
Talks about the
waters being turned to blood,
00:19:17.25\00:19:19.35
both ocean and
freshwater supply.
00:19:19.39\00:19:22.36
Now, you look at those pictures
of the four horsemen of the
00:19:22.39\00:19:24.69
apocalypse, and everyone
pictures this: the plagues
00:19:24.73\00:19:28.10
and the death, and it's
going to be a terrible time
00:19:28.13\00:19:31.87
that is going to happen.
00:19:31.90\00:19:34.40
Jesus said, "A time
like there never has been."
00:19:34.44\00:19:37.74
Read, for example, in
Daniel 12--by the way,
00:19:37.77\00:19:40.48
Christ in Matthew 24 is
quoting this verse in Daniel.
00:19:40.51\00:19:43.41
Daniel 12, verse 1 and 2, "And
there will be a time of trouble
00:19:43.45\00:19:47.22
such as never been, ever
since there was a nation,
00:19:47.25\00:19:50.52
even to the same time."
00:19:50.55\00:19:52.29
Now, is he talking
about a great time of trouble
00:19:52.32\00:19:54.19
or tribulation for the Jews?
00:19:54.22\00:19:56.59
For the church?
00:19:56.62\00:19:58.29
Let's keep reading.
00:19:58.33\00:19:59.86
"And at that time, your
people shall be delivered.
00:19:59.89\00:20:02.36
Everyone who is found written
in the book," that's the book of
00:20:02.40\00:20:04.37
life, "and many of those who
sleep in the dust of the earth
00:20:04.40\00:20:07.70
shall awake," what's that?
00:20:07.74\00:20:09.74
The resurrection.
00:20:09.77\00:20:11.24
"Some to everlasting
life, and some to shame
00:20:11.27\00:20:13.44
and everlasting contempt."
00:20:13.48\00:20:15.04
So we know the great tribulation
just before the second coming
00:20:15.08\00:20:19.15
and the
resurrection is still future.
00:20:19.18\00:20:21.75
It happens when
probation closes.
00:20:21.78\00:20:23.69
Now, what do I mean by that?
00:20:23.72\00:20:25.75
There will be a period of time
just before Jesus comes back,
00:20:25.79\00:20:29.79
when the lost cannot be saved.
00:20:29.82\00:20:32.09
Life will go on, but
it's too late for everybody.
00:20:32.13\00:20:34.83
The saved are saved
and the lost are lost.
00:20:34.86\00:20:37.73
Revelation 22, Jesus
said, "He that is clean let him
00:20:37.77\00:20:40.70
be clean still.
00:20:40.74\00:20:42.04
He that is filthy,
let him be filthy still."
00:20:42.07\00:20:45.47
You know, right now,
we're just so thankful
00:20:45.51\00:20:47.14
that God is so merciful.
00:20:47.18\00:20:48.91
His mercies endure forever.
00:20:48.94\00:20:50.65
He is so patient, but you
can reach a point of no return.
00:20:50.68\00:20:55.22
In Noah's day--and
Jesus said, "It will be as it
00:20:55.25\00:20:57.49
was in Noah's day."
00:20:57.52\00:20:58.85
In Noah's day, there was a
period of time when all the
00:20:58.89\00:21:01.02
animals got on the ark, Noah
and his family got on the ark,
00:21:01.06\00:21:04.56
and the doors open, and
he made his final appeal;
00:21:04.59\00:21:06.63
made his altar call.
00:21:06.66\00:21:07.96
Nobody came, and
the door was shut.
00:21:07.96\00:21:12.23
Did it start raining right
away? No, seven days went by.
00:21:12.27\00:21:17.37
The lost outside
the ark were doomed.
00:21:17.41\00:21:20.78
Their probation had closed.
00:21:20.81\00:21:22.38
There was no hope
for their being saved.
00:21:22.41\00:21:24.05
The door was shut.
00:21:24.08\00:21:25.91
They still got up for several
days, and they enjoyed their
00:21:25.95\00:21:29.25
business, and they ate, and
they drank and they married,
00:21:29.28\00:21:31.05
and they build, and they
did whatever they normally did.
00:21:31.09\00:21:32.99
And God supplied the sunshine,
he supplied the produce
00:21:33.02\00:21:35.76
of the field, and
they all laughed at Noah
00:21:35.79\00:21:39.39
and didn't
realize it was too late.
00:21:39.43\00:21:40.93
Probation had closed.
00:21:40.96\00:21:43.03
And so, it's talking about
then, this great time of trouble
00:21:43.06\00:21:45.87
before the second coming.
00:21:45.90\00:21:47.87
And then I told you that there's
of course personal tribulation.
00:21:47.90\00:21:51.04
Let me just
touch on that quickly.
00:21:51.07\00:21:53.48
Jesus said, "These things I have
spoken to me--to you rather,
00:21:53.51\00:21:57.25
that you might have peace.
00:21:57.28\00:21:59.95
In the world,
you'll have tribulation.
00:22:00.05\00:22:01.78
Be of good cheer, I
have overcome the world."
00:22:01.82\00:22:04.25
So Jesus said, "I'm
sharing these things with you,
00:22:04.29\00:22:07.09
that in me, you may have peace.
00:22:07.12\00:22:10.53
In the world,
you'll have tribulation
00:22:10.56\00:22:12.46
but be of good cheer."
00:22:12.49\00:22:13.90
He says, "Have peace
and be of good cheer.
00:22:13.93\00:22:15.33
I've overcome the world."
00:22:15.36\00:22:16.70
So when you hear
about great tribulation,
00:22:16.73\00:22:18.30
if you are in Christ, cheer up.
00:22:18.33\00:22:23.74
The worst it gets, it
means the sooner he's coming,
00:22:23.77\00:22:27.08
so you don't need to be afraid.
00:22:27.11\00:22:30.18
2 Timothy 3:12, "Yes, all who
desire to live godly in Christ
00:22:30.21\00:22:34.58
Jesus will suffer persecution ."
00:22:34.62\00:22:36.58
"Pastor Doug, can you please, is
there a loophole here somewhere?
00:22:36.62\00:22:40.19
How can I be a Christian
and escape persecution?"
00:22:40.22\00:22:43.99
I'm sorry, friends.
00:22:44.03\00:22:45.33
That's not an option.
00:22:45.36\00:22:47.13
If you're hiding
your light under a bush,
00:22:47.20\00:22:49.30
well then,
you're not a Christian.
00:22:49.33\00:22:52.13
"Woe unto you when
all men speak well of you,
00:22:52.17\00:22:55.34
for so they did of
the false prophets."
00:22:55.37\00:22:56.94
If you're wanting an
easy life, life is tough.
00:22:56.97\00:23:01.08
But if you're going to make
someone mad, make the devil mad.
00:23:01.11\00:23:04.55
Don't make Jesus mad,
'cause the devil's going
00:23:04.58\00:23:06.41
to lose and
Jesus is going to win.
00:23:06.45\00:23:07.92
You want to be
on the winning team.
00:23:07.95\00:23:09.42
So there's going to
be problems in life.
00:23:09.45\00:23:10.85
You may as well
make up your mind
00:23:10.89\00:23:12.69
that you're going
to be on God's side.
00:23:12.72\00:23:14.19
Amen?
00:23:14.22\00:23:15.62
"We do not wrestle against flesh
and blood," Ephesians 6:12,
00:23:15.66\00:23:19.13
"but against principalities,
against powers against rulers
00:23:19.16\00:23:21.86
of the darkness of
this age, against spiritual
00:23:21.90\00:23:24.70
hosts of wickedness
in heavenly places."
00:23:24.73\00:23:28.64
Tribulation, when God allows
us to individually go through
00:23:28.67\00:23:31.97
tribulation, it might be
for a health problem facing.
00:23:32.01\00:23:35.31
Some go through family
issues that are very serious,
00:23:35.34\00:23:38.48
that represents a tribulation.
00:23:38.51\00:23:40.48
You might be in a
country that's in a war.
00:23:40.52\00:23:43.69
It might be a
terrible financial problem
00:23:43.72\00:23:46.25
that has caused a
crisis in your life.
00:23:46.29\00:23:47.69
All kinds of tribulations
happen, but you know what?
00:23:47.72\00:23:51.26
Tribulation produces character.
00:23:51.29\00:23:54.20
Romans 5:3-4,
"And not only that,
00:23:54.20\00:23:57.73
but we glory in tribulations."
00:23:57.77\00:24:00.60
How many of you look forward
to tribulation with glory?
00:24:00.64\00:24:03.87
"We glory in tribulations,
knowing that tribulation
00:24:03.91\00:24:07.68
produces
perseverance; and perseverance,
00:24:07.71\00:24:10.48
character, and character, hope."
00:24:10.51\00:24:13.18
How many of you want hope?
00:24:13.21\00:24:14.98
How many of you want character?
00:24:15.02\00:24:16.85
How many of you
want tribulations?
00:24:16.89\00:24:20.52
Well, he said we
should rejoice in it
00:24:20.56\00:24:21.89
because that's what it produces.
00:24:21.92\00:24:23.86
If you want the character,
and if you want the hope,
00:24:23.89\00:24:27.60
the trials will come.
00:24:27.66\00:24:29.33
That's what develops it.
00:24:29.36\00:24:31.23
Now, I told you that
word "thlipsis", tribulations,
00:24:31.27\00:24:35.04
it's got an underlying meaning
of something being squeezed
00:24:35.07\00:24:38.17
or placed under
pressure beneath a great weight
00:24:38.21\00:24:40.94
such as in squeezing olives.
00:24:40.98\00:24:43.65
And what do you get
when you press the olives?
00:24:43.68\00:24:46.18
Olive oil. That's a good thing.
00:24:46.21\00:24:48.05
And in Bible times
when they made grapes,
00:24:48.08\00:24:50.59
they were tribulated.
00:24:50.62\00:24:52.65
They were pressed, they were
squeezed, and you got the wine.
00:24:52.69\00:24:57.26
These are two biblical symbols,
but you get the good things.
00:24:57.29\00:24:59.69
You get the sweetness as a
result of the tribulations.
00:24:59.73\00:25:03.00
James 1, verse 2
and 3, "My brethren,
00:25:03.03\00:25:05.53
count it all joy when you
fall into various trials knowing
00:25:05.57\00:25:09.84
that the testing of your
faith produces patience."
00:25:09.87\00:25:14.51
Count it all joy.
00:25:14.54\00:25:15.84
If you're going
through trials, say,
00:25:15.88\00:25:17.18
"All right, Lord. You know what?
I'm going through a trial."
00:25:17.21\00:25:20.55
I'd say something
like this, I'd say,
00:25:20.58\00:25:22.15
"All right, Lord; thank you."
00:25:22.18\00:25:23.59
I have to choke it out sometimes
because you don't feel thankful
00:25:23.62\00:25:25.32
at the time, but you have
to trust him and you thank him.
00:25:25.35\00:25:27.22
Bible says, "Thank
the Lord in all things.
00:25:27.26\00:25:29.52
"Thank you, and Lord whatever it
is you are trying to teach me,
00:25:29.56\00:25:33.03
help me to learn
it now so I won't have
00:25:33.06\00:25:35.03
to repeat this class."
00:25:35.06\00:25:37.97
I mean it's like
you know, fifth grade
00:25:38.00\00:25:41.00
was the best
three years of my life.
00:25:41.04\00:25:45.14
You don't want to
repeat that class.
00:25:45.17\00:25:48.21
And so, don't be amazed
when you go through trials.
00:25:48.24\00:25:52.25
1 Peter 1:6, "In this you
greatly rejoice, though now
00:25:52.28\00:25:55.65
for a little while, if need be
you've been grieved by various
00:25:55.68\00:25:58.85
trials, that the genuineness
of your faith being much more
00:25:58.89\00:26:02.92
precious than gold or
diamonds that perishes,
00:26:02.96\00:26:06.46
though it be tested by fire, may
be found to praise, and honor,
00:26:06.49\00:26:11.03
and glory at the
revelation of Jesus Christ."
00:26:11.07\00:26:13.64
How many of you want to be found
pure and ready when Jesus comes?
00:26:13.67\00:26:17.67
It's through the tribulations
and the trials that we go
00:26:17.71\00:26:20.54
through, that that's prepared.
00:26:20.58\00:26:22.51
God cleanses his
people through fiery trials.
00:26:22.54\00:26:26.92
You can read in
Matthew 3, verse 10,
00:26:26.95\00:26:29.78
"Even now the axe is
laid at the root of the tree.
00:26:29.82\00:26:32.75
Every tree that does not
bear good fruit is cut down
00:26:32.79\00:26:35.76
and thrown into the fire."
00:26:35.79\00:26:37.36
He said, "I baptize you
with water," John the Baptist
00:26:37.39\00:26:39.89
speaking, "unto repentance,
but he is coming after me is
00:26:39.93\00:26:43.40
mightier than I, whose sandals
I am not worthy to carry.
00:26:43.43\00:26:46.74
He will baptize you with
the Holy Spirit and fire."
00:26:46.77\00:26:50.11
How many of you want the
baptism of the Holy Spirit?
00:26:50.14\00:26:53.54
But what if God's baptizing
you with the fire of the Spirit
00:26:53.58\00:26:56.24
means fiery trials?
00:26:56.28\00:26:57.81
Do you still
want the Holy Spirit?
00:26:57.85\00:26:59.61
Paul says, 1 Corinthians
3:12, "Now if anyone builds this
00:26:59.65\00:27:02.78
foundation with gold, silver,
precious stones, wood, hay,
00:27:02.82\00:27:05.75
straw, each one's work
will become clear for the day
00:27:05.79\00:27:08.66
will declare it, because
it will be revealed by fire.
00:27:08.69\00:27:12.86
The fire will test everyone's
work of what sort it is."
00:27:12.89\00:27:17.47
If you want to be prepared for
the great tribulation, then we
00:27:17.50\00:27:19.70
need to learn to survive the
storms that come into our lives
00:27:19.73\00:27:22.84
now, and embrace the
things that transform us.
00:27:22.87\00:27:25.87
Amen?
00:27:25.91\00:27:27.51
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