Participants: Pr. Jac Colon
Series Code: RN
Program Code: RN000023
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01:05 If you'll open your Bibles to Revelation chapter 16,
01:10 in Revelation the 16th chapter, verse 12. The sixth 01:18 angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates. 01:22 Now, I want you to get your mental cameras rolling 01:27 tonight and get an image. A good way to study 01:31 Revelation is to try to picture in your minds 01:34 exactly what it is that you're reading, so get an 01:36 image of what's unfolding here. 01:38 The sixth angel pours out his bowl on the great 01:42 river Euphrates and the water is dried up to prepare 01:47 the way for the kings that come from the East. 01:51 And, then I saw three evil spirits that looked like 01:54 frogs that came out of the mouth of the dragon, 01:56 out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth 01:59 of the false prophet. They are the spirits of 02:02 demons performing signs and miracles, as they go 02:06 out to the kings of the whole world to gather them 02:10 for battle on the great day of God Almighty. And, they 02:14 gathered them to the place that in Hebrew is called 02:19 Armageddon. In verse 16, ever since John pinned these 02:28 words on the Isle of Patmos, nearly 2000 years ago, 02:33 men have pondered the significance, the meaning 02:36 of Armageddon. Where is Armageddon? When will this 02:41 great battle on the great day of God Almighty take place. 02:45 What is Armageddon? And, once again tonight 02:49 minds are running, speculation is going at a 02:52 feverish pitch, are we now in Armageddon? Well, 02:59 I'm so thankful that we don't have to turn to 03:04 newspapers, national enquirers like we saw the 03:07 other night. Armageddon has begun or even 03:12 politicians. General Dwight, General Douglas MacArthur 03:18 standing on the deck of the USS Missouri, when he 03:21 signed the treaty bringing an end to World War II. 03:26 He made a statement, military alliance, balance 03:30 of power, league of nations, all in turn have failed, 03:35 we've had our last chance and if we do not device 03:38 some greater, more equitable system, Armageddon will 03:41 be at our door. Now, I wonder is it possible for 03:47 politicians using diplomatic finesse and negotiations 03:52 to put off the battle of the great day of God Almighty? 03:59 General Dwight D. Eisenhower, our president, Dwight D. 04:01 Eisenhower in 1961 reported in the Forth Worth Times. 04:05 He said, "looming in the background is a grim 04:10 reality, nuclear tip missiles place all of us even Chicago 04:15 within 30 minutes of Armageddon. And, again 04:20 I wonder, is it possible for some mentally deranged 04:25 lunatic to press the buttons igniting the fuse for the 04:29 battle of the great day of God Almighty or is there 04:33 something more, if they're missing and once again 04:38 at this very moment as the tanks are rumbling down 04:41 the highways and the deserts of Iraq. Speculation is 04:46 brewing at a feverish pitch, is this Armageddon? 04:52 Is this the final countdown to the final war? The best 05:00 way to answer that question is to let the Bible answer 05:02 it for us, Amen. "Amen." 05:04 And to compare scripture with scripture and line up 05:06 fence posts like we've been doing at Revelation Now 05:10 and we're gonna discover a surprising and exciting 05:13 answer. Let's look in the immediate context of the 05:17 Book of Revelation. First in the immediate context 05:20 of the chapter of the Battle of Armageddon, 05:22 then we wanna look in the whole book and finally 05:25 the whole Bible, all the way through and then 05:27 you'll see crystal clear, what is the significance, 05:30 the meaning, where is Armageddon and what does it 05:32 have to do with you? That's the most important 05:34 question. I wanna begin again, let's read that verse 05:38 that we started with in verse 12, chapter 16. 05:41 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great 05:44 river Euphrates and its water was dried up to 05:46 prepare the way for the kings from the East and 05:49 I saw evil, unclean spirits coming out of the mouth 05:52 of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet, 05:54 deceiving the whole world gathering them for 05:56 battle on the great day of God Almighty. Now, remember 06:01 the first principle for understanding Revelation 06:03 is that all prophecies must focus in and center on 06:08 Jesus Christ. Well, where is Jesus here? Three angels 06:13 coming out of the beast, mouth of the beast, 06:15 the dragon, the false prophet deceiving the whole world, 06:18 where is Jesus here? Pouring out his bowl on the 06:20 Euphrates River, drying up the water, preparing the 06:23 way for the kings from the East. Where is Jesus here? 06:26 Hold on, hold on, you're gonna see something precious 06:30 and special in this prophecy. The word Armageddon is only 06:36 found one place in the Bible and that's right here. 06:40 So the only way we can really understand it, is to 06:42 find it and look at it in its immediate context. Here it's 06:46 found as the sixth of the seven last plagues. 06:54 Otherwise, known of as the great tribulation, 06:57 as poured out on this earth. The seventh plaque, we 07:04 read in verse 17. When the seventh angel poured out 07:07 his bowl in the air and out of the temple came a loud 07:10 voice from the throne, saying, "It is done!" 07:14 it is done, what is done? It is done he said, and then 07:19 there came flashes of lightning, rumbling, peals 07:21 of thunder and a great earthquake like never has 07:24 occurred on earth since man has been here so 07:26 tremendous was the quake. Verse 19, the great 07:29 city was split into three parts and the cities of the 07:32 nations collapsed. And, God remembered Babylon the Great. 07:38 So, the ultimate final end result of the battle of 07:42 Armageddon is the destruction of Babylon 07:45 the Great. God remembered Babylon. Now, why is it 07:52 important that Babylon is destroyed, why is it 07:55 important that God remembers Babylon and brings this 07:59 final destruction on her as the sixth and the seventh 08:03 plaque, because in chapter 18 verse 20, 08:06 talking about the destruction of Babylon, "rejoice 08:09 over her, oh! Heaven! Rejoice, saints and apostles 08:12 and prophets!" God has judged her, why? For the 08:16 way she has treated you. In other words, in verse 24, 08:22 in her Babylon was found the blood of the prophets 08:25 and of the saints, and of all who have been killed 08:28 on the earth. Sometimes, it seems as though the 08:34 bad things happen to good people and the wicked get 08:37 a free pass. It seems as though God has forgotten, 08:43 but finally he says, I'm here. I remember, I know 08:50 the suffering you've been through and Babylon 08:54 is history. In order to understand Armageddon 09:00 we've got to fully understand the meaning of the 09:03 destruction of Babylon. And in order to do that, 09:06 remember our second principle was, that the 09:09 Book of Revelation quotes the Old Testament, 09:12 one more time, how many? Over 600 times and here's 09:16 another one of those places, he is referring to Daniel. 09:20 In Daniel the 5th chapter, we find the fall of Babylon 09:23 in the Old Testament. We've already talked about 09:25 that so I'm gonna go quickly and kind of review 09:28 several things tonight, but remember the background 09:30 for the Book of Daniel is in Daniel chapter 1 verse 1, 09:33 King Nebuchadnezzar send his armies into Jerusalem, 09:36 they captured the city, they captured the people, 09:38 they went into the temple, and they took those Holy 09:41 cups and they brought them back to Babylon 09:43 along with the people captive, put them in the 09:45 Babylonian temple, used them to drink to the 09:48 Babylonian Gods. Thus profaning the things, 09:51 putting to a common use that which God has 09:54 said is Holy. And, finally God sent a message 10:00 to Babylon. In chapter 5 verse 1, King Belshazzar 10:04 gave a great banquet for a thousand of his nobles and 10:07 he drank wine with them. And, while he was in the 10:09 mist of this drunken stupor, he gave the order to bring 10:12 in those gold and silver goblets that Nebuchadnezzar 10:15 had brought from the temple of God, then put them in the 10:18 Babylonian temple and he filled them with Babylonian 10:21 wine and began to drink to the Babylonian Gods. 10:24 Again trampling underfoot the thing that God had set 10:29 aside and made Holy, treating it in a common 10:32 ordinary way, so God sent him a message remember, 10:35 it was a hand, just a hand of a man and it wrote a 10:39 message on the wall, Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin 10:42 and Daniel interpreted, he translated the message, 10:46 he said to King Belshazzar, he said, you knew what 10:49 you were doing Belshazzar. You knew about the Most 10:53 High God, but you've not humbled yourself. 10:56 In verse 23, you've set yourself up against the 10:59 Lord of heaven. Now, how did Belshazzar set himself up 11:03 against the God of heaven. You brought those vessels, 11:07 you brought those goblets from the temple and you and 11:10 your nobles and your wives and your concubines drank 11:13 wine from them. You praised the Gods of silver and gold, 11:16 of bronze, iron, wood, stone, which cannot see, hear 11:18 or understand. But you did not honor the God, who holds 11:21 in his hand your life and all of your ways. 11:25 Therefore, he sent the hand that wrote the 11:27 inscription. And, this is what it says Mene, Mene, 11:30 Tekel, Upharsin. Mene: God has numbered the days of 11:34 your reign Belshazzar and brought it to an end. 11:37 Tekel: You've been weighed in the balances and found 11:40 wanting. Upharsin: Your kingdom is divided and given 11:46 to the Medes and the Persians. In other words 11:50 Babylon has fallen. Belshazzar, you knew 12:00 all of this, it wasn't as though you were ignorant, 12:05 it wasn't as though you didn't understand, it wasn't 12:08 as though you didn't realize what you were doing, 12:11 when you drank from those golden cups, you knew 12:13 that you were profaning God and trampling underfoot 12:18 the things that he had said were holy, Belshazzar 12:21 you knew. And, that's why he said, Babylon has fallen. 12:29 Now, notice that when Daniel made the proclamation 12:37 that Babylon has fallen. Babylon was still there. 12:45 It wasn't until later on that night that Babylon 12:48 actually fell. So, why did God let time elapse between 12:56 the announcement that Babylon has fallen and 12:59 the actual destruction of Babylon. Let's take a look, 13:08 in verse 30. That very night Belshazzar, king of the 13:14 Babylonians was slain, and Darius the Mede took over 13:18 the kingdom at the age of 62. Now, history tells us and 13:28 the Bible confirms it, we'll see it in a moment, how 13:32 Babylon actually fell. King Cyrus sent Darius 13:45 the Mede, he was a king from the Medo-Persian 13:51 Empire to capture Babylon. Now, I want you to get 13:58 that picture back in your minds that we had when 14:00 we read the first few verses tonight. Because you 14:04 see the Medo-Persian Empire was the kingdom 14:09 that lay to the East of Babylon. And Cyrus was 14:19 the king who came from the East to attack the City 14:26 of Babylon. And, the way he did it was that Babylon 14:33 was built on the waters of the Euphrates River. In fact 14:39 the river went under the gate on one side of the city, 14:44 through the city and out under the gate on 14:47 the other side. The Euphrates River was the lifeline of 14:53 Babylon, without the Euphrates there could have 14:57 been no city there. But the king, who, Cyrus the 15:04 king who came from the East put a dam across the 15:10 Euphrates River, drying up the water, diverting it 15:15 around the City of Babylon and his armies marched 15:19 through on a dry river bed underneath the gates into 15:23 the city just in time to catch them in the mist of 15:26 their drunken celebrations and captured Babylon without 15:30 firing a shot, so to speak. Now, put together 15:36 in your mind what you're seeing with the verse we've 15:38 read in the beginning. The sixth angel poured out 15:41 his bowl on the great river Euphrates, its water was 15:44 dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East. 15:51 You see it, see heads nodding all over the place. 15:55 You see it, but what does it mean? Well, the key to 16:00 understanding what it means is the identity 16:05 of King Cyrus. Who was Cyrus? Who was this king that came 16:15 from the East, dried up the Euphrates River, captured 16:20 Babylon? Isaiah chapter 41, verse 2, who has stirred 16:25 one up from the East, calling him in righteousness 16:30 to his service. Chapter 42, verse 1, here is my servant, 16:37 whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight. 16:42 Look, chapter 44, chapter 44, verse 27, who says of the 16:48 watery deep be dry, and I will dry up your streams, 16:54 who says of Cyrus, he is my shepherd and he will 17:03 accomplish all that I please and he will say of Jerusalem, 17:08 let it be rebuilt and of the temple, let its foundations 17:11 be laid. This is what the Lord said to his anointed 17:14 one, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of. Now, 17:24 this is a remarkable prophecy folks, why? 17:31 Because Isaiah wrote that prophecy, hundreds of years 17:36 before Cyrus was even born and identified him as the 17:45 one who would dry up the Euphrates River and capture 17:50 Babylon. Now, why is that important, I'll tell you why? 17:59 If God knew who Cyrus was by name before he was 18:07 even born then it means that God knows who you are, 18:15 by name, and he knew you even before you were born. 18:22 He knows everything about you. In fact he even 18:26 knew before you were born that you would be 18:29 sitting right here in this place tonight. Nothing 18:35 happens to you that God isn't aware of. Sometimes 18:41 it seems like it, sometimes it seems like he is long ago 18:46 and far away. Sometimes it seems like our prayers are 18:49 just bouncing off the ceiling, sometimes it 18:53 seems like life is just caving in all around us, 18:58 sometimes it seems as though the devil has nothing at all 19:00 to do on this earth expect camp at our doorstep. 19:06 What about you? You lost a loved one? Are you battling 19:13 a life threatening disease, cancer. Babies, perhaps die 19:20 before he takes his first breath. Is the devil camping 19:24 at your doorstep, is your home about to fall apart, 19:31 are the bills stacking up and the checks getting 19:33 smaller, does it feel like you're on the brink of 19:37 financial ruin. Is the devil camping on your doorstep. 19:45 Take courage, God knows what's happening. 19:51 He knows you, in fact, when Saul went out and 19:55 persecuted all the people, Christians, believers in 20:00 Christ when he persecuted them, Jesus caught him 20:04 and struck him blind he said, Saul, why are you 20:08 persecuting me? Whatever happens to you, 20:12 happens to him. He knows you, he loves you, he cares for 20:17 you, he is right next to you and he is gonna make it right 20:24 and that's what Armageddon is all about. Now, why did 20:29 God raise up Cyrus, what purpose did he have? 20:36 Verse 13 of chapter 45, chapter 45:13 tells us, 20:42 I will raise up Cyrus in my righteousness and I will make 20:47 all of his ways straight. Notice, I'll make all of his 20:52 way straight and he will rebuild my city and set 20:56 my exiles free. In fact in chapter 44, verse 25, it 21:02 says he will say of Jerusalem let it be rebuild and the 21:05 temple, let its foundations be laid. Why did God 21:09 raise up Cyrus? Because Jerusalem was in ruins 21:14 and God's people were in Babylon. And, the temple was 21:19 the focal point of Israel's worship, that's where the 21:24 Ark of the Covenant was, that's where the mercy 21:27 seat was, that's where the Shekinah glory of God 21:30 was, that's where God met with his people and 21:33 as long as that temple was in ruins then the true 21:36 worship of the true creator God was not found 21:40 on this earth. But when God said, I will raise up 21:45 Cyrus and he will set my people free and sent them 21:49 back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple then they would 21:53 restore the true worship of the true God, and that's why 21:59 he raised up Cyrus. You must always look for the purpose 22:04 behind the prophecy. God isn't just a crystal 22:08 ball gazer saying, here's what's gonna happen in 22:11 the future. God has a purpose for everything that he says 22:15 and his word contains the power to make it happen. 22:21 Now, I don't know if you caught it, but just in case 22:25 you didn't, let me make it crystal clear. Isaiah said 22:29 that Cyrus was the servant. The Cyrus was the Shepherd. 22:38 Cyrus, the anointed one. Cyrus, the chosen one. 22:43 Cyrus, the righteous one. But the New Testament says, 22:53 Jesus is the servant. Jesus is the Shepherd, 23:01 Jesus is the righteous one, Jesus is the chosen one, 23:08 Jesus is the anointed one. You see Cyrus was a type, 23:14 a shadow pointing forward to a greater king who would 23:18 come from the East, King Jesus, now you see 23:25 Jesus in Revelation 16. The angel poured out his 23:29 bowl on the Euphrates River. The water was dried up to 23:32 prepare the way for the kings from the East, that's Jesus. 23:36 It's not the Chinese or the Japanese or the Arabs, 23:42 it's Jesus? He is the center of Revelation. Now, Cyrus 23:50 was not the Messiah, he was not a Messiah, he was a 23:56 type of the King Jesus, a shadow pointing forward 24:02 to Jesus, not in what he was, but in what he did. 24:09 Because God's people were captive in Babylon, 24:12 he captured Babylon, he destroyed it, and he set 24:15 God's people free to go back to Jerusalem, rebuild the 24:18 temple and restore the true worship of the true God. 24:22 He says I'll raise up Cyrus in my righteousness and 24:25 I'll make all of his ways straight, and he'll rebuild 24:28 my city, and set my exiles free, but this prophecy was 24:32 not fully fulfilled, because all of his ways were not 24:37 straight, not Cyrus, but all of 'his ways' were straight. 24:48 You see the Old Testament as I've said before and 24:52 I want to make it clear tonight; it's like one giant 24:55 arrow that points forward to Jesus. Jesus is the King 25:02 that comes from East. Jesus even said, Jesus even 25:04 said, as lightening flashes from the East to the West, 25:09 so will the coming of the son of man be. In Revelation 25:12 chapter 7, look at it with me, in Revelation 25:14 the 7th chapter, verse 1, I saw four angels standing 25:18 at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four 25:21 winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing 25:23 on the land or the sea or on any tree. Look at the 25:26 angels, they're holding back the winds of destruction, 25:29 they're holding it back, why? Because God said 25:32 in verse 2, I saw another angel coming from the 25:34 East, having the seal of the living God. You see 25:38 God's messengers are always portrait as coming from 25:42 the East, because that's where Jesus comes, 25:47 from the East and we read about it in the 19th chapter 25:50 of Revelation. In Revelation chapter 19 verse 11, I saw 25:55 heaven standing open and there before me was a 25:57 white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. 26:05 With justice he judges and makes war. He even says 26:11 in verse 15, he treads the wine press of the fury of 26:14 the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh 26:17 he has this name written, "King of Kings 26:21 and Lord of Lords." Jesus is the king, who comes from 26:27 the East riding on a white horse, his name is Faithful 26:32 and True. You can trust Jesus, he is faithful, 26:39 you can trust God, he is true and he has promised 26:45 that one day, no matter how bad life gets on this earth, 26:49 no matter how much the devil beats up on you, one 26:53 day he is going to come and set you free, you can 26:57 trust him with your life. But, who does he come to 27:03 make war against, it tells us in verse 19. Then I saw 27:11 the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies, 27:17 all the wicked gathered together to make war 27:21 against the rider on the horse and his army. So, he 27:27 comes to make war against the beast, the kings of the 27:33 earth, cause they wanna make war against him. 27:38 It's our last chance, they don't wanna let it slip away. 27:44 Notice where they are? They're gathered together, 27:50 the beast, the kings of the earth, the army, all every 27:54 wicked person on this earth is gathered together to make 27:57 war against the rider on the horse, that's Jesus. 28:01 So, where are they gathered to? Back to 28:07 Revelation, chapter 16 in verse 12, the sixth angel 28:13 poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates and 28:15 the water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings 28:18 from the East, it's Jesus. And, then I saw three evil 28:22 spirits that looked like frogs, that came out of the 28:24 mouth of the dragon, the beast, and the false 28:26 prophet, they're the spirits of demons performing 28:29 miraculous signs and they go out to the kings of the 28:32 whole world. You see the kings of the East cannot 28:37 be China or Japan or the Arabs or any other nation 28:42 on this earth because the kings of the whole world 28:44 are gathered together by the demon spirits coming out 28:49 of the mouth of the dragon, the beast and the 28:50 false prophet. The kings in the East are Jesus and his 28:53 armies. So, they're gathering them to battle on the great 28:59 day of God Almighty. Now, remember in Revelation 19, 29:03 the rider on the white horse comes to make war with 29:05 justice to judge and make war and the kings of the 29:07 earth and the beasts are gathered together to make war 29:10 against him, and here we see the evil spirits coming out 29:13 of the mouth of the dragon, the beast, the false prophet, 29:15 gathering them together to make war, against who? 29:18 The rider on the horse. Now, where are they 29:22 gathered to. Verse 16, they gathered the kings 29:26 together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon. 29:34 Where is that? Where is Armageddon? John gives 29:48 us a clue. Notice what he says, they were gathered to 29:54 the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon. 29:59 That's an interesting. The New Testament wasn't 30:02 written in Hebrew, it was written in Greek. So, why 30:09 did he say in Hebrew. He is saying if you want to know 30:16 where Armageddon is, you need to know Hebrew, 30:22 at least one word, actually two, because Armageddon is 30:28 two Hebrew words. Ar in Hebrew means mountain. 30:36 Mageddon from the Hebrew Megado means slaughter. 30:45 The Dragon, the beast, false prophet gathered the 30:50 kings of the earth and their armies to make war against 30:55 the rider on the white horse, and they gathered them to 30:59 the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon, 31:03 the mountain of slaughter. Armageddon is no single 31:13 place on this earth. Armageddon is every place that 31:19 there is someone who is an enemy to the people of God. 31:27 Well, then where are God's people during all of this? 31:31 Revelation chapter 14 verse 1, I looked and there 31:36 before me was a lamb standing on Mount Zion and with 31:39 him the 144000 who had his name and his father's 31:43 name written on their forehead, who are they? 31:46 Verse 4, these are those who did not defile 31:48 themselves with women, they did not go after 31:51 the Babylonian harlot and the filth of her adulteries and 31:54 unfaithfulness to God. What did they do? They 31:57 followed the lamb wherever he goes. 32:00 "Amen." And so God's people are 32:03 standing on Mount Zion and practically the whole world 32:08 is gathered to the Mountain of Slaughter. 32:12 In other words, the time is coming when the whole world 32:14 would be assembled on two mountains, Mount Zion, 32:17 those who follow the lamb and worship God, the creator 32:21 of the heavens and the earth, and has his name 32:23 on the forehead and the hand and those who are 32:25 gathered to the Mountain of Slaughter, cause they 32:29 worship the beast and have his name on their 32:32 foreheads and their hands. So, which mountain are we 32:41 gonna to be gathered to? Mount Zion? Or the Mountain 32:47 of Slaughter? They gathered the kings together to the 32:52 place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon. 32:56 Now, I want you to notice something that often goes 32:59 unnoticed, because you see in our little book 33:04 series Left Behind, it sold over 50 million copies. 33:12 They tell us that church isn't here for the great 33:16 tribulation, church isn't here for the seven last 33:21 plagues. Because Jesus comes like a thief in the 33:26 night, remember, he comes like a thief in the night 33:30 and snatches the church out of the way and everybody 33:33 is wondering where did they go. Watch this, here we 33:39 are in the middle of the great tribulation, the seven 33:42 last plagues, last because with them the wrath of 33:46 God is complete, there is no more after this. 33:50 So, this is the great tribulation, here we are, 33:53 the sixth of the seven last plagues almost at the end 33:56 of the great tribulation. Chapter 16 verse 16, they 34:02 gathered the kings together to the place in Hebrew 34:04 called Armageddon, the final climax of the great 34:07 tribulation is the battle of Armageddon, where the 34:10 wicked are slaughtered on the Mountain of Slaughter. 34:12 So, where is the church, look in verse 15, just 34:16 before that in the middle of the spirits gathering 34:19 the whole world, the beast, the kings of the earth to do 34:21 battle on the great day of God Almighty to the place 34:24 called Armageddon, in the middle of that verse 15, 34:27 look its written in red if you've a red letters edition, 34:30 that's Jesus words, "behold I come like a thief." 34:36 Hey, I thought he already came like a thief 34:39 before the tirbulation. 34:44 It doesn't fit, does it, 34:47 here we are at the end of the tribulation 34:49 and he says behold I come like a thief, 34:52 blessed is he who stays awake 34:54 and keeps his clothes with him, 34:56 so that you will not go naked and be shamefully exposed. 34:59 That's exactly what he said to the church of Laodicea, 35:02 the last of the seven churches. 35:04 He says, buy from me clothes to wear 35:06 to cover your shameful nakedness, 35:08 you see those only can stand through 35:11 through the battle of Armageddon 35:12 are the ones who are clothed in their white robe 35:14 of the righteousness of Christ. 35:17 Clinging to the cross of Jesus, 35:19 holding to the Gospel and the good news 35:22 that we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus, 35:24 because those who obey the commandments of God 35:27 are the ones that are being attacked 35:29 by those who worship the beast. 35:33 There's the church, 35:35 right in the middle of the great tribulation 35:38 don't let anybody tell you that the church isn't there. 35:41 Don't let anybody tell you the church got Raptured out. 35:45 In John 4:1, when John heard a voice saying 35:48 John come up here and in the spirit he went up there, 35:51 that's not the Rapture of the church, 35:53 that's just John having a vision. 35:55 Other places he is back down here again, 35:58 did he get unraptured, 36:00 he's a yo-yo, up down, up down. 36:05 Here is the church 36:06 right in the middle of the tribulation. 36:10 Verse 14, the woman who was given the wings, 36:13 of the two, of a great eagle so she would fly 36:15 to the place prepared for in the desert 36:17 and she was there time, times and half a time, 36:19 out of the serpent's reach. 36:21 Remember, God during the time of the Dark Ages, 36:23 when the church was trying to persecute, 36:25 the Spanish Inquisitions, Saint Bartholomew Massacre, 36:28 trying to destroy God's people, 36:30 wipe those who are faithful to the word 36:32 of God off of the face of this earth. 36:33 God still had people on this earth 36:36 that were faithful to him. 36:38 Always hidden, hidden in the wilderness, 36:41 but they were faithful to God 36:43 and then out of serpent's mouth 36:45 he spewed water like a river, 36:47 waters represent multitudes, nations, people. 36:49 So here in this mass multitude, 36:52 this strive of Europe trying to devour and destroy 36:55 the people of God and overtake the woman 36:58 sweep her away with a torrent, 36:59 but the earth helped the woman, 37:01 a quite uninhabited part of the world 37:03 the pilgrims came to the United States of America 37:06 in the late 1700s, 37:08 they established a nation guaranteeing the freedom 37:11 and the right to worship God as we please. 37:14 Wow! That, isn't this good stuff? 37:23 And then the dragon is angry at the woman, 37:28 he goes to make war against the remnant 37:31 of her offspring, 37:33 those who obey God's commandments 37:35 and have the testimony of Jesus. 37:41 Do you want to be a faithful and obedient 37:43 to the commandments of God. 37:46 And hold to the faith in the testimony of Jesus, 37:49 then the dragon's at war with you here tonight. 37:55 Some of you have already begun to recognize that. 37:59 He doesn't let go without a fight. 38:02 So how does he fight that war. 38:04 I saw another beast, 38:06 a beast coming up out of the sea, 38:07 he had ten horns and seven heads; 38:09 we have already identified that beast, 38:11 he antichrist, false system of worship. 38:14 He gave his authority to the beast so that 38:16 those who worship the beast actually worship the dragon, 38:19 because he gave him his authority. 38:22 And the whole world worships the beast 38:24 and say who is like him, 38:25 who can make war against him 38:27 and I saw 144000 on Mount Zion with the lamb, 38:31 those who can stand against him. 38:34 And so the battle rages, 38:36 the whole world is worshiping the beast. 38:39 How does he get his power, after the 1260 years, 38:43 a deadly wound is inflicted, 38:45 it looked as though this counterfeit system 38:47 of worship is gone forever. 38:49 Then in verse 14, another beast comes up 38:52 out of the earth, 38:53 he had two horns like a lamb 38:55 but he spoke like a dragon, 38:57 the beast comes out of the earth, 38:58 we've identified this beast didn't we, 39:01 quite, relatively uninhabited portion of the world 39:05 and he exercised all the authority 39:06 of the first beast and he made the earth 39:08 and its inhabitants worship the first beast 39:11 whose fatal wound had been healed 39:13 sometimes after 1798, 39:15 the infliction of that deadly wounds 39:17 sometime after that we see this nation rising, 39:22 that is rising to power, it looks like a lamb. 39:26 It has two horns like a lamb 39:28 and we've already learned 39:30 that this is Protestant America, 39:33 the country that God raised up to establish 39:36 the freedom and the right to worship God, 39:38 but now she begins to speak like the dragon 39:42 and forces all who refuse to worship 39:44 the dragon to be killed. 39:48 How can that be? 39:52 Who cares about how we worship God? 39:56 Some say, well we live in a free county, 39:57 we have the right to worship, 39:58 we're pleased that could never happened here. 40:00 It will happen here, 40:02 how it happens maybe study and understanding 40:06 and we'll see more and more as we unfold, 40:08 but I'm telling you this, it will happen here, 40:10 it will happen everywhere on this earth. 40:12 Because the false prophet erects 40:14 image in honor of the beast 40:15 and he forces everyone on earth to worship 40:18 the image or they'll be threatened 40:19 with a death decree, it will happen here. 40:26 Why does anybody wanna kill somebody 40:28 over the way they worship? 40:31 Who cares if I keep the Sabbath 40:33 a Sunday or why do people worry about that? 40:37 I'll tell you why, 40:41 First John chapter 3 verse 12, 40:42 do not be like Cain who belonged to the evil one 40:47 and murdered his brother. 40:49 Why did Cain murder his brother Abel? 40:54 And why did he murder him, 40:56 he says because his own actions were evil 40:59 and his brother's actions were righteous 41:04 What did Cain do that was so evil. 41:07 He worshiped, he worshiped God, 41:13 but he didn't do it God's way, 41:14 he did it his way, 41:17 instead of a lamb he substituted vegetables, 41:22 his brother Abel sacrifice a lamb 41:27 and God accepted it, 41:28 rejected Cain and Abel, Cain became so angry 41:30 he murdered his brother, 41:32 over the issue of worship. 41:35 Don't be surprised my brothers 41:38 if the world hates you. 41:43 Folks Satan hates the Sabbath, 41:47 he hates it, 41:49 because it's a symbol of the memorial to the 41:51 creative power of God and he can't do that. 41:55 It's a reminder of memorial that the God 41:57 who made us, 41:58 is the God who fixes us when we break 42:01 and recreates us again and he can't do that. 42:04 And he hates it and he hates the Sabbath. 42:07 Some of you have discovered that 42:09 learned about the Sabbath and you ran to share it, 42:12 all the good news with people that you love 42:14 and care about and they were not that excited to hear 42:18 and its gonna get worse. 42:21 The world will hate those who do things God's way. 42:26 How was it gonna happen, 42:28 I don't know exactly how it's gonna happen, 42:30 but I read, I read something in a book, 42:33 it was written 300 years before Christ 42:35 came and it wasn't in the Bible. 42:38 Written by a pagan Greek philosopher named Plato. 42:43 Listen to this, 42:44 in the course of time the democracies become too free, 42:52 free in politics, 42:55 anything goes, 42:58 promise them whatever it takes to get in there. 43:02 Free in economics, money rules, free in morals, 43:09 have you noticed lately, 43:12 even the Washington Post says that the number 43:15 one problem in America is the moral decline. 43:20 Free in even literature and art, free, 43:27 until it lasts even the puppy dogs in our own homes 43:32 rise up on their hind legs and demand their rights. 43:37 Today we call it animal rights. 43:42 People are in prison today for such things 43:45 as plowing up their field and killing a kangaroo rat. 43:53 Now, I am all in favor of animals, 43:55 don't misunderstand. 43:59 But watch this, 44:01 disorder grows to such a point and the disorder comes 44:07 from groups demanding their rights, 44:12 does it sound familiar today. 44:16 Deny them those rights and they riot 44:22 and now watch, disorder grows 44:24 to such a point that a society will then abandon 44:27 all of its liberties to anyone who can restore order 44:33 and that's the false prophet. 44:37 And then comes the fourth form of government, 44:41 tyranny or dictatorship and the monarchy maybe restored 44:45 and the process begin over and over again, not this time. 44:50 In other words, the rebellion grows, 44:53 the riots grow and then the people in the street 44:58 begin to fight and to kill 45:00 and to bring disorder to the country, 45:03 so that now they're ready to virtually surrender 45:07 their rights to anyone 45:11 who can promise them peace 45:13 and I am looking for my note and I can't find it, 45:16 I just got it a couple of days ago. 45:18 I'll just tell you what it says, 45:20 it was an article in the Atlanta Journal, 45:25 the war is not about Iraq, 45:27 the war is not about Saddam Hussein, 45:31 the war is not about oil, 45:32 the war is not about terrorists, 45:36 the war is about establishing 45:38 the United States of America as the global peace-keeper. 45:44 I don't know if that's true or not, 45:47 I'd rather believe and have more confidence 45:49 in our leaders in our administration then that, 45:51 I don't believe that. 45:53 But folks whether we believe it or not 45:55 it's gonna happen 45:58 and the more powerful the presence 46:00 of the United States is, the more capable 46:03 we are of enforcing our ways on the world 46:08 and the time is coming when Protestant America 46:10 will be involved as the false prophet arises 46:13 performing miracles saying that God is punishing us 46:16 because we are away from the commandments of God. 46:20 The United States of America will be in the position 46:24 to launch global national decrees 46:29 demanding the worship of the state 46:35 and the whole world will honor the beast. 46:39 In Revelation chapter 16, 46:41 the three angels messages have gone 46:42 to every living person on this earth, 46:44 everyone has the opportunity to learn about God, 46:46 to know God and to trust God. 46:49 And everyone has been warned about the deceptions 46:51 and the errors of Babylon 46:52 and everyone is warned don't worship the beast 46:55 and take his mark, 46:56 worship the creator of the heavens and the earth. 46:58 Everyone is gathered on two mountains, 47:00 the Mountain of Slaughter, and the Mount Zion, 47:03 the Mountain of God. 47:04 Everyone has the mark of God 47:07 or the mark of the beast, then. 47:11 Then, in chapter 16 verse 1, 47:14 I heard a loud voice from the temple 47:15 saying to the seven angels, 47:16 go and pour out the seven bowls of God's wrath 47:19 on the earth, 47:20 the first angel went and he poured out his bowl 47:21 on the land and ugly, painful sore was broke out 47:24 on the people who had the mark of the beast 47:26 and worshiped the image, 47:27 only those who take the mark 47:29 receive the wine of the wrath of God. 47:32 The others are sealed with the seal of God, 47:35 obeying the commandments of God. 47:38 First angel poured out his bowl and ugly, 47:39 painful sore was broke out on those who had the mark, 47:42 second angel poured out his bowl on the sea 47:44 and it turned into blood 47:45 like a blood of a dead man, 47:46 every living thing in the sea died, 47:49 third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers 47:50 and springs of water and they became blood why? 47:53 Why is God pouring out these bowls on the earth 47:56 and then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say, 47:58 you are just in these judgments, 48:01 you who are and who were the holy one, why? 48:04 Because you've so judged them 48:07 for they have shed the blood of your saints 48:08 and prophets and you've given them 48:10 blood to drink as they deserve. 48:13 Now God is settling the score 48:15 and now God is answering the question, 48:18 where are you God? How are you 48:20 letting this happen to us God. 48:22 Now he is saying, here I am. 48:26 And I heard the altar respond, 48:28 "yes Lord, God Almighty, 48:29 true and just are your judgments on this earth,'' 48:33 fourth angel poured out this bowl 48:35 on the sun and the sun was given 48:36 power to scorch with fire 48:37 and they were seared by the intense heat 48:39 and they cursed the name of God, 48:41 but they refused to repent and glorify him. 48:44 Now we have the answer, because you see 48:46 these people who took the mark are persecuting 48:49 those who are sealed by God, 48:51 because they believe that they are 48:54 the people of God and that God is punishing 48:57 and destroying this earth, 48:58 because of this people who go along 49:01 with God's law and God's commandments 49:04 instead of the traditions of the state 49:05 and the religions of the state 49:07 they've been persecuting them, 49:08 thinking they are carrying out 49:10 the righteous judgments of God, 49:12 but now they begin to show their true colors. 49:17 Now they cursed the name of God. 49:20 Remember Jesus, God could have destroyed 49:22 Lucifer the moment he rebelled in heaven, 49:25 but he couldn't really, 49:26 because if he did 49:28 everyone would be worshiping him 49:29 out of fear instead of love. 49:31 So he had to let sin go, he had to let it grow, 49:34 he had to let it demonstrate to the world, 49:36 how wicked, how wild, 49:38 how evil sin is, he had to let us suffer, 49:40 he had to let us die, 49:41 he had to let us do battle with cancer, 49:44 he had to let babies die 49:45 before they were even born, 49:46 but he is remembering all of this, 49:48 he hasn't forgotten, 49:51 and he is gonna make it up to us. 49:54 Now Babylon showing it, 49:56 now the devil is showing his true colors, 49:58 now we can see what it's like 50:00 and they cursed the name of God. 50:02 Fifth angel poured out his bowl 50:04 on the throne of the beast 50:05 and the kingdom was plunged into darkness, 50:07 men gnawed their tongues in agony, 50:09 cursed the name of God of heaven, 50:11 because of their pains and their sores, 50:14 but they refused to repent of what they had done, 50:17 their hearts were hard, they rebelled against God. 50:20 They claim to be the children of God, 50:22 but now they are showing who they really are. 50:24 You see, God can't come 50:26 and put an end to sin until everyone knows 50:29 that those who are finally destroyed 50:30 are in fact the ones who have rebelled against him. 50:34 And now Babylon is showing her true colors. 50:37 And then sixth angel poured out his bowl 50:39 on the great river Euphrates 50:40 and its water was dried up to prepare 50:42 the way for the kings from the East. 50:46 What is that, kings from the East are Jesus, 50:49 so how does drying up the Euphrates prepare 50:52 the way for Jesus, 50:54 can't he get across without drying it up. 50:57 The Euphrates is a symbol, 50:59 Babylon is a symbol, Babylon is a symbol 51:02 of a corrupt church, a harlot church, 51:06 unfaithful to God. The Euphrates, 51:09 what does it mean? He explains this plague 51:12 in the 17th chapter of Revelation, 51:14 chapter 17 verse 1, one of the seven angels 51:16 who had the seven bowls came and said to me, 51:18 come and I will show you the punishment 51:21 of the great prostitute who sits on many waters. 51:23 Verse 5, says this was written on her forehead, 51:26 mystery Babylon the great, 51:28 her name is Babylon, the mother of prostitutes 51:31 and her abominations here is the super church, 51:33 Protestant and Catholic uniting together, 51:36 persecuting the people of God 51:38 because they stand on the commandments of God 51:41 alone instead of the traditions of man. 51:45 Well, what does it all mean? 51:47 Chapter 17 verse 15, the angel said to me, 51:50 the waters you saw where the prostitute sits 51:52 are people, multitudes, nations and languages. 51:56 The beast and the ten horns 51:57 you saw will hate the prostitute, 51:59 they will bring her to ruin 52:00 and they'll leave her naked, 52:01 they'll eat her flesh and burn her with fire, 52:02 for God has put it in their hearts to accomplish 52:05 his purpose by agreeing to give the beast 52:07 their power to rule until God's word are fulfilled. 52:09 The woman is the great city that rules over 52:11 the kings of the earth. They'll hate her flesh, 52:16 they'll devour her, you see Rome 52:19 and the super church has no power, 52:22 except as the people support her. 52:25 But when the waters of 52:27 the Euphrates are dried up, 52:29 she has no support anymore. 52:32 What dries them up, the sudden realization, 52:35 the darkness that comes when they realize 52:39 the people they have been persecuting 52:41 are the ones that are not receiving the plagues. 52:44 And they have been deceived, 52:46 they have been deceived by their leaders, 52:48 they have been deceived by the false prophets, 52:50 they have been deceived by the false miracles, 52:52 they have been deceived by the smooth words 52:56 and they'll turn against their leaders, 52:59 and Babylon loses her power 53:02 and the Euphrates is dried up. 53:07 And God can finally come in and remove sin 53:12 from this universe forever 53:14 and everyone will know that it's an act of love. 53:18 Don't go after the false prophets, 53:22 go after the lamb. 53:25 A man is coming to Revelation 53:27 Now, about a year ago and he believed 53:32 what the Bible said, 53:33 he believed Saturday was the Sabbath day 53:36 and he took his stand to keep the Sabbath 53:39 and he went back and told his pastor 53:42 and his pastor told him, oh! It's not important, 53:44 just love Jesus and love the people 53:46 and that's all you need to worry about, 53:47 doctrines aren't important. 53:48 You know the same thing, 53:49 we are not under the law, we're under grace, 53:51 it doesn't matter. So, he came back 53:53 and asked me and we sat down 53:55 and studied it out again 53:56 and he was convinced, I see it, 53:59 God expects us to obey the commandments. 54:01 If we really love him, we're gonna do it, 54:03 so he went back and told his pastor again 54:06 and his pastor got angry at me, 54:08 sent me a nasty letter 54:10 and I wrote him a nice letter back. 54:12 And I explained to him and the pastor said, 54:15 I agree Saturday is the Sabbath day, 54:17 but you can keep any day, 54:18 you pick the day and I said, 54:21 but wait a minute I explained how, 54:22 in Sabbath, in the Bible times 54:25 in the New Testament 54:26 the Greek word for the first day of the week 54:27 is the first day after the Sabbath. 54:30 So you can't just Pick any day 54:31 it has to be the Sabbath day 54:34 and here is what he said. 54:37 The Greek text that you refer to is man's word, 54:44 what can I say, his word is God's word 54:48 and the Bible is man's word. 54:51 And my friend listened to his pastor, 54:56 he listened to his friend 54:58 instead of listening to the word of God. 55:03 Don't follow any pastor, 55:06 Don't follow any pastor, 55:08 don't follow any Evangelist, 55:11 don't even follow Jac Colon, follow the lamb. 55:17 Because he is the one 55:18 that's gonna take you on to safety, 55:22 it's going to be a dark time, 55:24 it's going look as though 55:25 God's people are going to be wiped off 55:26 of the face of the earth 55:29 and we are going to be crying out, 55:31 Lord, how long, fifth seal, they cried out, 55:35 Lord, how long till you avenge 55:37 the blood of those who slay us, 55:39 how long? Jesus said 55:42 hold on just a little longer. 55:45 You know, one time I was, 55:48 took my boy to the doctor's office 55:51 because he was riding his little bike 55:53 and caught it under the handle 55:55 in between the bottom of our RV, 55:57 it was kind of rough, sliced through his hand. 56:01 So I took him to the doctor, 56:02 had it all wrapped up, and the doctor came, 56:06 had that big needle cabinet, 56:07 so he could sew him up. 56:09 My son's eyes got big as saucers 56:14 and the little lips started quivering, 56:16 you know, how they do 56:18 and he looked up at me, he didn't say it, 56:21 but I knew what he was saying. 56:24 Daddy, you're not gonna let him do this to me 56:27 are you? Boy, I am telling you 56:30 Everything Inside of me wanted to take that thing 56:32 and smash it on the ground, 56:33 you are not gonna stick my boy with that, 56:36 but I knew in just a little while 56:41 it would all be okay, sometimes it hurts, 56:46 it'll be okay and my heart was aching 56:51 when he stuck that needle in my boy's hand. 56:55 God hears us, just a little while, 57:00 just a little while, but God they're hurting us, 57:03 how long, how long? 57:07 God, they're killing us and we are looking up 57:11 with those big expectant eyes, 57:13 do something God. 57:16 Finally he says, that's enough, 57:22 I'm done. And God's people are delivered 57:29 at a place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon. |
Revised 2014-12-17