Announcer:
Revelation. The time of the end.
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Mysterious signs.
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Strange happenings.
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Confusing numbers.
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Are we facing a new world
order and the mark of the beast?
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Are we living on a
planet in upheaval?
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Are we on the
verge of Armageddon?
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Revelation, what do all the
signs in this mysterious book
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mean? Discover real answers.
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Revelation Speaks
Peace, with Shawn Boonstra.
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+
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>>Shwan Boonstra: Good evening.
Welcome back to "Revelation
Speaks Peace." This is our third
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night, and I have to change
glasses now because it's time
for the question box. Alright,
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"Why would God speak to
Nebuchadnezzar if he was a pagan
king and not a believer in God?"
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Oh, that's a good question. The
answer, I would put probably
this way: Why would - I've
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always wanted to take my glasses
off when I was speaking, because
doesn't that make you look like
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you're really smart? And you
know, wave them at people? One
thing I know - I know this for a
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fact - there are politicians in
our midst that have glasses that
have no prescription lenses on
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them, and they have them just so
they can take them off and wave
them at a TV camera. I know it
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for a fact. I've met the guys
who do it. I won't tell you
which ones they are. Yeah. "Why
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would God -" oh, I can't read it
now. "Why would God speak to
Nebuchadnezzar if he was a pagan
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king?" Well, here's the answer.
Why would He speak to any of us?
Why? I don't deserve a message
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from God; I know who I am. You
know what it is? It's proof that
God cares about everybody and
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He's at work in every life on
this planet. He touches base
with everybody. The story of the
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Bible is not only about Israel;
it does focus in on Israel, but
if you read the book of Isaiah
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right around Isaiah chapter 49,
God said, "I'm setting you where
I'm setting you to be a light to
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the Gentiles so they all come
into My family." The whole point
was to save the whole world. And
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if you read the book of Daniel
carefully, by the time
Nebuchadnezzar exits the picture
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at the end of Daniel chapter 4,
he is a believer in the God of
heaven, and God used him
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powerfully. The message to me is
- I mean, Nebuchadnezzar did
some horrible things to some
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horrible people. He even shoved
some people into a fiery furnace
and that kind of stuff. If God
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can take Nebuchadnezzar into His
kingdom, there's hope for you
and me too. I don't deserve it
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any more than he did. God is not
out to destroy the human race;
He is out to win it, to save it.
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Alright, Number two. "Why does
the statue focus on the western
world?" Well, it doesn't really;
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it kind of bridges the area
between the east and the west.
Most of it takes place in the
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Mediterranean basin, if you
remember. But anyway, "Why does
the statue focus on the western
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world? Doesn't God care about
the Americas or the far east?"
Well, absolutely, God cares
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about the Americas and the far
east, but there is a reason that
the dream gets as specific as it
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does. It focuses on the
Mediterranean basin, and
eventually, it focuses in on
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western Europe. There is a very
good reason for it. And I think
as we move along, you're going
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to see what that reason is.
Something else eventually
happens in the west that is very
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important to pay attention to.
But I would urge you to hang in
there. Just because a prophecy
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focuses in eventually on the
western Roman empire, doesn't
mean God doesn't care about the
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rest. The fact that most of the
Bible happens in Israel doesn't
mean that God doesn't care about
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the rest of the world; it just
means that's where the story
happened. And so we want to make
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sure we don't try and read too
much into that. Alright, next
question. "If Bible prophecy has
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locked in the future, what is
the point of trying to live and
make decisions? Isn't the future
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predetermined?" Wow. What time
is it? Okay, yes and no. Look,
I'll summarize it this way:
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there's a vast difference
between knowing the future and
predetermining the future.
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There's a vast difference.
Isaiah 46. This is verse 9:
"Remember the former things of
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old, for I am God, and there is
no other. I am God and there is
none like Me, declaring the end
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from the beginning." So God
declares the end from the
beginning. He declares the
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future. He knows what's there.
He reveals it ahead of time. So
He does see what's going to take
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place and He reveals it. God
reveals a lot. He reveals
everything we need. There's a
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verse in Amos 3:7 where God
says: "Surely, I will do nothing
except I reveal my secrets to my
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servants, the prophets." So God
reveals the future. Now, there
are some things that He
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predetermines. The verse
continues - this is Isaiah
46:10, saying: "My counsel shall
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stand, and I will do all My
pleasure." So there are things
God is going to do, whether we
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want him to or not. There are
some things in prophecy that are
absolutely going to happen. For
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example, Jesus will come again.
Nothing we do or say is going to
stop Jesus from coming again.
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He's going to come again. He's
going to set up His kingdom.
That is written in stone, and it
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was a stone in Daniel chapter 2.
You're not going to change that.
The other thing God's going to
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do - one of my favourite things
- God's going to deal with pain
and suffering and death and
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misery and sin for all time and
abolish it. That, He's going to
do. He's not going to let that
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go on forever. Revelation
chapter 7, verse, oh, 17. "The
lamb who was in the midst of the
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throne will shepherd them and
lead them to living fountains of
waters, and God will wipe away
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every tear from their eyes."
That is written in stone. But
within those parameters, I mean,
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we know - the point of the
prophecy is that the kingdom of
Christ is going to replace
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earthly kingdoms. But within
that parameter, you still can
make choices. I mean, the whole
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Bible is the long history of
people being asked to make
choices. We know the direction
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that things are headed, and
within that parameter, you have
to decide whether you're in or
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out of that direction. And so
not everything is predetermined;
some things, God foresees, and
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some things, God predetermines.
But that's a topic theologians
have debated for 2000 years and
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I just handled it in three
minutes. They should have had me
on board in the city of
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Alexandria in 300 A.D. I could
have solved it in three minutes.
But tonight, our topic is, "The
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battle of Armageddon," and I
don't need to elaborate on that
too much, because I will in just
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a few minutes. We're going to
look at some key principles,
have a little bit of classroom
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mode, and we're going to take
the principles we learn and
we're going to apply them to a
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Biblical prophecy so that you
can see how they work when we
apply them properly. Let's bow
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our heads for prayer. Father in
heaven, this evening it's with a
sense of excitement that we open
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the pages of the Bible, because,
well, it changes our hearts. We
sense that You're real. I know
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that Peter wrote that we are
born again by the Word of God.
I'm praying that by reading the
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Scriptures, we would be changed.
I'm asking that You would bless
me with a clear mind, a clear
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voice, that You would forgive my
sins so that I would be fit to
represent the thoughts that You
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put in this Book. And I want to
thank You for blessing. It's our
covenant with You that when You
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speak to our hearts, we'll
follow. And we pray it in Jesus'
name, amen. Armageddon. It's a
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word that you hear about a lot,
it seems, in all the wrong
places. You hear about it in the
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movies, you hear about it in the
news, and the word kind of
scares a lot of people, but
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nobody's really sure what the
word means or what it is. When
you go across America and talk
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to people about Armageddon, I
discover that everybody thinks
it's something else. There are a
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lot of opinions. If you go to a
bookstore and buy one hundred
books on this subject - and I've
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bought at least that many on
this subject. If you buy a
hundred books, you end up with a
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hundred different opinions. And
what frustrates a lot of people
is that none of the opinions
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seem to agree. I've even
travelled all over the globe -
I've talked to people all over
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the place - and it's the same
outside of America: different
people are saying different
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things. Talk to people about
Armageddon, and some people say
Armageddon is going to be this
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great military conflict that's
going to take place when Russia
teams up with the Arab states
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and they invade Israel and that
sparks World War III. That's a
very popular theory right now,
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especially with Putin going into
Crimea and looking like he might
be gearing up for a military
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conflict, and ISIS now in Syria,
and other troubles brewing in
the Middle East. People are
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looking at those ideas again
with brand-new eyes. Those ideas
were also very popular during
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the First Gulf War when Saddam
Hussein said he was going to
drop Scud missiles on the nation
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of Israel. And there were
rumours circulating that he was
going to try and rebuild the
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ancient city of Babylon. So that
idea is very popular, but I've
got to tell you, it is not the
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only idea on the block. There
are other people who say
Armageddon is going to be
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nuclear disaster. Now, this was
really popular at some points
during the Cold War. Now, the
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younger folks here don't
remember the Cold War, but some
of us in school were taught to
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crawl under our desks every so
often in case a nuclear missile
was ever dropped on our city.
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Now, I grew up in a remote
little village in northern
Canada - there was no way the
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Russians were going to target my
village - but we still had to
crawl underneath our desks and
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practice for the big nuclear
fallout. And those ideas that it
might be a nuclear disaster got
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new legs again recently when
rogue states - Iran and North
Korea - started to develop a
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nuclear program and we found out
about it. Some people were
worried about it again when
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Pakistan and India started to
fight over the border. And we
realized, wow, both of those
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countries are nuclear powers.
And other people have been
talking lately about groups like
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Al-Qaeda or ISIS or Al-Shabaab
or any of these groups that are
active right now may be going
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into New York City with a dirty
bomb, just nuclear material and
a regular bomb, and blowing it
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up in one of America's big
cities. And that, they say,
might just start the big
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meltdown in the Middle East.
Nuclear catastrophe, some people
say. Some people say it might
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not even be war; it might be
something like what happened at
Fukushima or Chernobyl. But
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again, nuclear disaster is not
the only idea on the block.
Other people talk about
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overpopulation and how that
might lead to a depletion of
resources and a situation where
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the world is running out of
stuff: oil and food and water.
And everybody starts fighting.
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And to bolster this idea, they
point to the fact that it took
thousands of years to reach one
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billion people on this planet;
it only took a hundred years to
get to the next billion.
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Thirty-five years to get to
three billion; fifteen years to
get to four billion; five more
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years to get to five billion;
today we're at seven point
something, and we're on our way
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very quickly, they say, maybe by
the middle of the century, to
eighteen billion people. And
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they say that might lead to
global shortages of resources
and a famine and a worldwide
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conflict. Another idea on the
block. Not the only one, though.
Some people say it's going to be
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a super disease, a disease that
we can't control, a brand-new
pandemic that starts worldwide
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pandemonium. Now, I was in the
hospital a number of years ago.
I was telling somebody that this
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evening. They want to know why I
don't wear shoes. It's because I
wrecked my back when I was 19
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and it just feels so good not to
wear shoes. It's so nice. And so
I don't wear them. But I had to
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have a back surgery because I
had an accident in eastern
Europe, oh, 2007, and they flew
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me home and I had to have back
surgery, and I was recovering. I
woke up from the operation and
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I'm laying in bed, and somebody
said, "Here's something to read
while you're recuperating." "We
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just brought you a magazine." It
was Reader's Digest. And the
cover story was, "Why you might
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die in the hospital." Thank you
very much. Alright? I read it.
It's that you might get one of
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these super bugs. Right after
having surgery, I'm reading
this, and you know, you're a
00:14:13.58\00:14:17.09
little dopey when you're coming
to, and I'm thinking, "This is
awful." And suddenly, my
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roommate, this guy by the name
of Eric, he rings his bell and
he says to the nurse, "You've
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got to come right away. My neck
is swelling and it's sore and
something is really, really
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wrong." And as he was saying
that, I thought, "You know, my
neck is kind of sore and
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swelling too. I bet you this is
the super bug. I'm going to
die." And they brought him an
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icepack and I complained too and
they brought me an icepack. And
then at 3:00 in the morning,
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suddenly I hear him moaning and
groaning and he's trying to
reach his call bell, and he
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can't reach it. So I ring my
call bell. "You've got to come.
Something's wrong with Eric."
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And they came. Something was
wrong with Eric. And they rushed
him out of the room and took him
00:14:51.69\00:14:56.22
down to the ICU. And then he
never came back. An hour later,
they came and got his stuff and
00:14:56.32\00:15:03.60
they moved it out of the room
and they turned the lights out
and left, and left me all alone.
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And I was laying there thinking,
"Who's going to ring my bell
when I need help? I'm all by
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myself here now. Super bug."
Some people say that's what - we
saw it last night. Hospital
00:15:12.24\00:15:18.91
deaths have gone up sevenfold in
the last fifteen years from
these super bugs. It's going to
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be a pandemic. They make movies
about it. The Stand, 28 Days, I
Am Legend. All the zombie
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movies. If you think about it,
that's really what they're
addressing, is our fear that
00:15:28.32\00:15:32.03
some horrible disease is going
to spread across the planet, and
we can't handle it. We're afraid
00:15:32.13\00:15:38.13
our technology is going to fail
us. And some people say that
will be the start of Armageddon.
00:15:38.23\00:15:42.47
But that is not the only idea on
the block. Some people say it's
going to be an asteroid that
00:15:42.57\00:15:46.84
hits the earth and we're going
to have nuclear winter. Going to
change the climate instantly and
00:15:46.94\00:15:51.71
there'll be a breakdown in human
civilization. Hollywood even
made a movie called Armageddon
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based on that preface - premise.
And some people have said, "Oh,
no, no, that's just fiction."
00:15:56.75\00:16:02.66
And then NASA says, "Well, have
you seen the big asteroid that's
headed our way? It's going to
00:16:02.76\00:16:07.93
scoot right past the earth in
the year 2036," and they've
named it Apophis after the Greek
00:16:08.00\00:16:13.87
god of the - or the Egyptian god
of the dead, rather. And so some
people are saying, "I wonder if
00:16:13.97\00:16:18.91
that'll be it. It'll change the
planet instantly." Some people
say it might not be an asteroid;
00:16:19.01\00:16:23.51
it might just be global climate
change. The icecaps are melting,
the coastal cities are going to
00:16:23.61\00:16:28.08
flood, and the polar bears are
going to die, and we'll have
worldwide pandemonium.
00:16:28.18\00:16:32.95
Everybody's got a different
idea. Some people thought
something big was going to
00:16:33.05\00:16:37.03
happen in the year 2012:
Nostradamus, Mayan calendar. Of
course, nothing happened. Some
00:16:37.13\00:16:41.50
people thought it was going to
be Y2K. Remember that? The power
grid was going to fail and all
00:16:41.60\00:16:45.73
our computers were going to die
and the medical equipment would
fail and we'd go right back to
00:16:45.83\00:16:50.04
the dark ages and martial law,
and that didn't happen. Global
00:16:50.14\00:16:55.41
pandemonium. Some people say
Armageddon's going to start when
aliens come. And they point to
00:16:56.24\00:17:00.95
the battle of Los Angeles. These
weird lights over the city in
1940. The military came out and
00:17:01.05\00:17:05.59
shot at the lights. Some people
say that must have been aliens.
In all truth, it was probably
00:17:05.69\00:17:09.32
the Japanese. It was World War
II and they were taking a look
over the coast. But that didn't
00:17:09.42\00:17:13.96
stop the conspiracy theories.
"Ooh, the aliens are going to
come and start a worldwide war.
00:17:14.03\00:17:18.03
We're going to have to fight
them off and that'll be
Armageddon." I actually visited
00:17:18.13\00:17:21.44
with a guy one time. He said,
"You know, I believe, Shawn,
that all the -" otherwise
00:17:21.54\00:17:25.77
perfectly normal conversation.
He leans forward, he says,
"They're everywhere." I said,
00:17:25.87\00:17:31.95
"What? Your neighbours?" He
said, "No, the reptilians.
They're everywhere. All the
00:17:32.05\00:17:37.79
politicians are aliens in
disguise." That one was actually
not that hard to believe. I
00:17:37.89\00:17:41.79
thought, "Well, that makes a lot
of sense." Everybody's got a
million different opinions. The
00:17:41.89\00:17:48.03
question is, is there a right
one? Any way to know? Does it
matter? Is it relevant? Should
00:17:48.13\00:17:55.97
you even care? Well, here's the
question: Would God put it in
the Bible and feature it if it
00:17:56.07\00:18:02.14
didn't matter? Probably not. But
some people say, "Well, we
shouldn't dwell on that stuff.
00:18:02.24\00:18:05.58
It's so doom and gloom and
negative." I was at a dinner
party once and a woman leaned
00:18:05.68\00:18:09.68
over and said, "Shawn, all that
book of Revelation stuff, that
prophecy stuff, it's all doom
00:18:09.78\00:18:14.26
and gloom. If you read that,
you're going to get depressed,
and eventually, you're going to
00:18:14.36\00:18:18.33
go off your rocker. Cheese is
going to slip right off the
cracker." Is that true? I mean,
00:18:18.43\00:18:25.57
that might be true of me, but is
that true? You read the book of
Revelation, it's just doom and
00:18:25.67\00:18:29.67
gloom? Well, God doesn't
sugar-coat the future; He just
paints it like it is. He shows
00:18:29.77\00:18:35.14
us the situation we created, but
He always holds out hope. It's
not all doom and gloom, not if
00:18:35.24\00:18:40.75
you read the whole thing. Do you
know why we have given up on
understanding Bible prophecy? Do
00:18:40.85\00:18:45.12
you know why? It's because we
have forgotten how to study
Bible prophecy. Here's what
00:18:45.22\00:18:50.16
surprises a lot of people. For
hundreds - no, for thousands of
years now, there has actually
00:18:50.26\00:18:56.90
been widespread agreement on
what Bible prophecy says. For
nearly 2000 years. 1800 years,
00:18:57.00\00:19:03.24
Christians of all stripes
virtually had unanimity, had
agreement on what Bible prophecy
00:19:03.34\00:19:09.41
means. It surprises people when
they find out. It's only in the
last 180 years or so that we
00:19:09.51\00:19:14.35
started having all these
divergent theories, and now we
have a lot of confusion. It's
00:19:14.45\00:19:19.95
only now that people say, "Well,
maybe this stuff isn't all that
important. Maybe Bible prophecy
00:19:20.06\00:19:24.69
doesn't matter." The problem
with saying prophecy doesn't
matter is that most of the Bible
00:19:24.79\00:19:32.90
is prophecy. Most of it. One out
of eight verses in the New
Testament refers to the second
00:19:33.00\00:19:36.74
coming of Christ. One out of
eight. Dwight L. Moody, the
great preacher from Chicago,
00:19:36.84\00:19:41.94
once sat down, he counted every
verse in the Bible that
mentioned the second coming of
00:19:42.04\00:19:45.88
Christ, and he came to a total
of 2,500 passages. It's not a
small deal. Biblically speaking,
00:19:45.98\00:19:53.02
prophecy is very, very
important. It is not a small
subject. "Oh, but Shawn, people
00:19:53.12\00:19:57.63
who read that stuff go a little
bit strange." Yes, sometimes
they do. It's true. Some people
00:19:57.73\00:20:06.40
are downright scary. But the
question is, did prophecy do
that to them, or were they a
00:20:06.50\00:20:10.91
little bit wackadoodle before
they read the prophecy? Were
they crazy before they read it?
00:20:11.01\00:20:18.61
Billy Graham. I don't know if
you've ever read his
autobiography, Just As I Am. It
00:20:18.71\00:20:23.65
is a phenomenal book. In there,
he tells this story about his
mother starting to read the book
00:20:23.75\00:20:28.52
of Revelation. And the pastor
hears about it and he rushes
right over to the house. "Is it
00:20:28.62\00:20:32.49
true, Mrs. Graham, that you are
reading the book of Revelation?"
"Yes, it is." "Why would you
00:20:32.59\00:20:37.97
read that?" "Because it gives me
such hope. It describes the
second coming of Christ." And
00:20:38.07\00:20:44.54
the pastor said - read the book.
It's a phenomenal story. The
pastor said, "Mrs. Graham, if
00:20:44.64\00:20:47.08
you read that book, you're going
to go crazy." Now, why would he
say that? Probably because of
00:20:47.18\00:20:54.72
experience. Probably because
there seemed to be a lot of
unstable people who read a
00:20:54.82\00:20:58.32
little bit of Bible prophecy and
then go out and do some very,
very weird things. People like
00:20:58.42\00:21:04.03
David Koresh teaching people
from the book of Revelation.
Then he announces that he's a
00:21:04.13\00:21:07.73
messiah and a lot of people get
hurt. But the question again is,
is the problem the book of
00:21:07.83\00:21:11.80
Revelation, or is the problem
David Koresh? Charlie Manson,
same thing. We talked about him
00:21:11.90\00:21:17.31
last night. He wanted to start
the battle of Armageddon in
1969. He was absolutely nuts. A
00:21:17.41\00:21:25.08
lot of people got hurt. But was
the problem the Word of God, or
was the problem Charlie Manson?
00:21:25.18\00:21:30.35
Is it possible that even if the
Bible did not exist, that the
world would still have people
00:21:30.45\00:21:35.62
like Charlie Manson? Sure it
would. The cult that put sarin
gas in Tokyo subway didn't use
00:21:35.72\00:21:41.06
the Bible to justify what they
did. Look, famous atheists like
Richard Dawkins are always
00:21:41.16\00:21:46.33
blaming religion and the Bible
for all the violence in the
world. But I'm telling you
00:21:46.43\00:21:50.84
tonight, the problem is not God
and the problem is not the Word
of God; the problem is human
00:21:50.94\00:21:54.94
beings. That's what the problem
is. The worst violence in this
world has been perpetrated by
00:21:55.04\00:22:01.18
people who do not read the Word
of God. Think about this
carefully. Stalin, Pol Pot,
00:22:01.28\00:22:06.55
Hitler, they didn't justify it
based on the Word of God, and
they killed tens of millions in
00:22:06.65\00:22:11.33
the last century. The problem is
not God or His Word; the problem
is us. That's the problem. Does
00:22:11.43\00:22:19.73
God want you to understand the
book of Revelation? Oh, yes, He
does, and I can prove it based
00:22:19.83\00:22:29.24
on something He says right in
the opening passage. Revelation
1 verse 3. The Bible says:
00:22:29.34\00:22:37.22
"Blessed -" makarios, Greek,
happy. "Blessed is he who reads
and those who hear the words of
00:22:37.32\00:22:46.46
this prophecy," and do what?
"Keep those things which are
written therein." There's a
00:22:46.56\00:22:51.63
blessing in there. A threefold
blessing. God says, "If you read
this book, you're blessed; if
00:22:51.73\00:22:55.90
you hear this book, you're
blessed; and if you keep this
book, I'll bless you for it."
00:22:56.00\00:23:00.64
Read. Actually, in the original
language, implies, read it out
loud and share it with people.
00:23:00.74\00:23:06.38
"Hear" doesn't mean just let it
bounce off of your eardrums and
fall back out on the ground;
00:23:06.48\00:23:11.05
it's more like when your mother
said, "You clean up your room,
do you hear?" Right? It means,
00:23:11.15\00:23:17.86
do you understand? Blessed are
those who read it and those who
understand it and those who keep
00:23:17.96\00:23:22.66
it and live by it. Now, let me
ask you a question. Does that
sound like God did not intend us
00:23:22.76\00:23:27.14
to understand this, yes or no?
Yes or no? No. Some of you are
not too sure. Let's ask again. I
00:23:27.24\00:23:34.18
can ask all night. I've got 'til
tomorrow. Does it sound like God
does not intend you to
00:23:34.28\00:23:40.88
understand this, yes or no? No.
He intends for you to understand
it. But still, I hear people
00:23:40.98\00:23:44.35
saying, "But the book of
Revelation, Shawn, is a sealed
book." But Revelation says
00:23:44.45\00:23:49.39
that's not true. You get down to
the end of the book, chapter 22
as John is finishing up, the
00:23:49.49\00:23:55.46
angel says to him: "Do not seal
the words of the prophecy of
this book, for the time is at
00:23:55.56\00:24:00.57
hand." Look, the very name of
the book is "Revelation." It's
"apokalupsis" in the Greek. Do
00:24:00.67\00:24:05.04
you know what the word means?
It's an unveiling, a
throwing-open of the curtains,
00:24:05.14\00:24:07.98
showing everything in the
background. It means "the
revealing." The name of the book
00:24:08.11\00:24:13.62
is not "the hiding." It's not
"the concealing." It's not "the
mysterium." It is "the
00:24:13.72\00:24:18.72
revealing." God wants you to
understand what John put in the
book. You can understand
00:24:18.82\00:24:23.26
prophecy. In fact, Jesus once
said so. Point blank. He's
speaking about the book of
00:24:23.36\00:24:29.06
Daniel, Matthew chapter 24:15:
"Therefore, when you see the
'abomination of desolation,'" -
00:24:30.13\00:24:33.97
we'll talk about that more on a
coming night - "Therefore, when
you see the 'abomination of
00:24:34.07\00:24:37.91
desolation,' spoken of by [who?]
Daniel the prophet, standing in
the holy place, [here come the
00:24:38.01\00:24:45.01
words of Jesus] whoever reads,
let him [be confused?]
understand." Jesus expected you
00:24:45.11\00:24:55.89
to understand this stuff. So
here's the question: If God
wants you to understand it, then
00:24:55.99\00:25:00.36
why do so many people have
trouble with it? I remember the
first time I sat down and opened
00:25:00.46\00:25:05.43
the book of Revelation as a kid
and I started to thumb through
it, I thought, "I don't
00:25:05.53\00:25:08.60
understand this at all. It's
weird." Candlesticks, churches,
beasts crawling out of the
00:25:08.70\00:25:14.68
ocean, a woman riding a beast.
What in the world does it all
mean? It was really tough. I
00:25:14.78\00:25:19.55
didn't get it. Why is it so
hard? It's because our
generation has forgotten the
00:25:19.65\00:25:26.39
basics. To be really blunt about
it, in some ways, it's because
we've become a consumer-based
00:25:26.49\00:25:31.53
church. We're more concerned
about entertaining ourselves
than we are about reading what's
00:25:31.63\00:25:36.50
actually in the Word of God,
studying it seriously. And that
ought to concern us as we get
00:25:36.60\00:25:40.57
closer and closer to the second
coming of Christ, because
deception, as we have seen, is
00:25:40.67\00:25:46.24
going to be a huge problem. And
if you are not grounded in what
the Word of God says, you are
00:25:46.34\00:25:52.65
going to fall for it. Over the
last decades, basically, we've
lost sight of the basic
00:25:52.75\00:25:57.02
principles. We just don't have
the approach that we used to.
People used to understand this
00:25:57.12\00:26:02.06
stuff and they all used to agree
virtually on it all. So what are
the principles that help you get
00:26:02.16\00:26:07.83
it right? It's not rocket
science, it's just that we
haven't been applying it. Let me
00:26:07.93\00:26:11.27
give you a few of them right
here. Principle number one: make
an effort to remember the
00:26:11.37\00:26:16.64
historical context. When was
this written? So John wrote it
on Patmos in the first century.
00:26:16.74\00:26:21.44
We saw a good example of this
the other day. As we looked at
Matthew 24, we found out, ooh,
00:26:21.54\00:26:25.85
it helps to know about Titus
coming and sacking the city of
Jerusalem and destroying the
00:26:25.95\00:26:30.35
temple. Remember the historical
context. Secondly, always read
every verse in its immediate
00:26:30.45\00:26:36.86
context. Read the verses before
it and read the verses after it.
Don't lift it out of the Bible
00:26:36.96\00:26:41.40
and make it stand alone or
you're going to do violence to
the text and you're going to
00:26:41.50\00:26:46.90
lose sight of what it means.
There's a famous example
preachers love, right? There's a
00:26:47.00\00:26:50.54
text in the Bible that says,
"Judas hung himself." That is
absolutely in the Bible. There's
00:26:50.64\00:26:55.04
another verse that says, "Go and
do thou likewise." That is also
absolutely in the Bible. But if
00:26:55.14\00:27:00.22
you lift those out of their
contexts and string them
together, you get some really
00:27:00.32\00:27:05.85
bad theology. Read what comes
before it and after it. We saw
this the other night, right?
00:27:05.95\00:27:09.92
People say, "Oh, well, those
aren't signs of the times," but
they don't keep reading into
00:27:10.03\00:27:13.16
verse 8 where Jesus says they're
like contractions and birth
pains. Then you have to read -
00:27:13.26\00:27:19.03
here's the one that people say,
"Well, I've got to read the
whole thing?" Yeah. You gotta
00:27:19.13\00:27:22.74
read the whole book. Read every
passage in the context of the
entire Bible. Everybody who
00:27:22.84\00:27:27.11
wrote a book of the Bible was
familiar with all the books that
had already been written, and
00:27:27.21\00:27:30.88
they referred to them all the
time. There are the three
principles. If you stick with
00:27:30.98\00:27:35.68
those simple principles, Bible
prophecy starts to make perfect
sense. I mean, really, what it
00:27:35.78\00:27:40.56
boils down to, is you have to
read the whole thing. Let me
show you why you have to read
00:27:40.66\00:27:44.79
the whole thing. Here is a love
letter that I wrote to my wife.
This is my very best effort to
00:27:44.89\00:27:51.17
woo her and win her affection.
"Dear Jean, I wanted to see you
today. I am so irritated because
00:27:52.73\00:27:58.14
my car broke down at 1:00 and
now I will not see you." That is
my best work. That is as
00:27:58.24\00:28:04.91
romantic as I have ever been. It
is a miracle that I am married
22 years now. That's a love
00:28:05.01\00:28:10.95
letter to my wife. And I give it
to a kid at the office, saying,
"Run this over to my house and
00:28:11.05\00:28:15.59
give this to my wife." "Tell her
so she knows my car is broken
down." But he trips and slips in
00:28:15.69\00:28:20.40
the mud and it gets wet and some
of the ink runs off the page. So
when my wife gets it, it says
00:28:20.50\00:28:25.23
this: "Dear Jean, I wanted to
see you today. I am so
irritated. at. you." You only
00:28:25.33\00:28:33.71
take part of it, lift stuff out,
and you make a monstrosity out
of it. That's why guys like
00:28:33.81\00:28:41.05
Richard Dawkins grow to hate
God. They don't read the whole
thing. Do you know what they do?
00:28:41.15\00:28:45.75
They read a few parts of the
Bible that deal with real life
in the real world - war and
00:28:45.85\00:28:51.09
violence and bloodshed and some
of the horrible things that have
happened - and they rip it out
00:28:51.19\00:28:55.06
of the context of the whole
story, and in doing that, they
miss the whole point. We made a
00:28:55.16\00:29:01.84
problem, God's going to fix it.
They never get to that part
because they only read half. Let
00:29:01.94\00:29:05.84
me give you an example of a
real-life example of this
happening historically. In 1910,
00:29:05.94\00:29:11.78
a preacher by the name of George
Hensley reads a text in the book
of Mark. It says: "They shall
00:29:11.88\00:29:21.22
take up serpents." "It says,
'Oh, they shall;' that's a
command. We have to do it."
00:29:21.32\00:29:23.43
"They shall take up serpents;
and if they drink any deadly
thing it shall not hurt them."
00:29:23.53\00:29:29.53
He thought, "That's a good
idea." So he got to his next
meeting and he went backstage
00:29:29.63\00:29:36.47
and he got a box full of
poisonous snakes. Now, I don't
have a whole box full; I only
00:29:36.57\00:29:49.75
have one. And he got out in
front of the audience, said,
"The Bible says, 'You shall pick
00:29:49.85\00:29:56.86
up deadly snakes.'" And he
dumped one right in the front
row. I wouldn't do that. I
00:29:56.96\00:30:09.44
almost got a rubber one, though.
I thought, "I'll just throw it
out over the whole..." He said,
00:30:09.54\00:30:17.58
"Now pick it up." He started a
whole movement, snake-handling
movement. And people picked up
00:30:17.68\00:30:22.55
the snakes, and you know what
happened? They got bit. And he
said, "Well, the reason you got
00:30:22.65\00:30:27.29
bit is you didn't have enough
faith." That's not the reason
they got bit. The reason they
00:30:27.39\00:30:30.43
got bit is because they didn't
read the whole book. They should
have read the stories of Jesus.
00:30:30.53\00:30:35.03
The devil tried to tempt Jesus.
"Throw yourself off the temple,
because if you do, the Bible
00:30:35.13\00:30:40.57
says -" notice the devil knows
how to quote the Bible too. "The
Bible says if you throw yourself
00:30:40.67\00:30:46.81
off the temple, the angels will
take care of you." Jesus makes
an important point, because of
00:30:46.91\00:30:51.65
course, He authored the book and
He knows the whole book. Jesus
said, "It is written again, 'You
00:30:51.75\00:30:56.72
shall not tempt the Lord your
God.'" He knew the difference
between faith and presumption.
00:30:56.82\00:31:02.56
The only safe place for you and
I to stand is to read the whole
book and stand on a "thus says
00:31:02.66\00:31:08.16
the Lord." The only safe place
is in "it is written." Let me
show you one more principle
00:31:08.26\00:31:15.04
found in the book of Isaiah. In
Isaiah 28, God is speaking to
Israel when they're not doing
00:31:15.14\00:31:19.47
very well. They're in a
rebellious phase. And he's
talking about how He's going to
00:31:19.57\00:31:23.55
communicate with Israel, and
here's what He says to them:
"For precept must be upon
00:31:23.65\00:31:29.25
precept, precept upon precept,
line upon line, line upon line,
here a little, there a little."
00:31:29.35\00:31:35.32
Now, there's a principle in that
verse. It's this: God doesn't
give you everything all at once.
00:31:35.42\00:31:42.16
He sometimes gives it to you in
small pieces so that you can
digest it easily. And you have
00:31:42.26\00:31:46.13
to go and get all the pieces,
here a little, there a little,
line upon line. So it's
00:31:46.23\00:31:50.04
important, if you want to know
what the Bible says on any given
topic - you know, what does it
00:31:50.14\00:31:55.21
say about the Antichrist? You
don't read three verses and come
to a conclusion; you read the
00:31:55.31\00:32:00.18
whole book, gather all the data
on the subject, and then stand
back and look at the big
00:32:00.28\00:32:04.25
picture. And the big picture is
always clear. This is the way we
used to study. Read the whole
00:32:04.35\00:32:10.06
book. It's like doing jigsaw
puzzles. I don't know what a big
jigsaw puzzle is because I don't
00:32:10.16\00:32:15.90
do jigsaw puzzles, but I imagine
20,000 pieces would be a big
jigsaw puzzle, right? Is that a
00:32:16.00\00:32:21.50
pretty big one? Yeah, that's
pretty big. Alright, 100,000
pieces. Is that big too? That's
00:32:21.60\00:32:27.34
big. So I'm going to do it. You
need tweezers for 100,000
pieces, I heard. You do. And I'm
00:32:27.44\00:32:33.21
looking at it and I say, "Oh,
this is a bicycle. This is a
picture of bicycles. Oh, wait a
00:32:33.31\00:32:37.62
minute, here's a guy with a
briefcase. It's bicycles and
briefcases. Oh, there's a dog
00:32:37.72\00:32:44.83
and a sidewalk." 100,000 pieces
later, it's Manhattan, it's
downtown, it's a big city. You
00:32:44.93\00:32:49.83
have to finish the puzzle. You
have to look at the whole thing.
There is no other way. Now let
00:32:49.93\00:32:55.74
me give you some specific keys
for the book of Revelation and
then we're going to apply them
00:32:55.84\00:33:00.54
to Revelation chapter 16. Here
are the keys. Here's the stuff
that everybody used to know:
00:33:00.64\00:33:05.15
Two-thirds of the language in
the book of Revelation is
borrowed from the rest of the
00:33:05.25\00:33:09.45
bible. Two-thirds of it. Some of
it comes from Exodus. You read
about the song of Moses and the
00:33:09.55\00:33:13.79
lamb in the book of Revelation.
Some of it comes from Jeremiah,
the collapse of Babylon. Some of
00:33:13.89\00:33:17.06
it comes from Ezekiel.
Two-thirds of the language is
borrowed from somewhere else. If
00:33:17.16\00:33:21.60
you're reading something in the
book of Revelation and you don't
understand what it means, go
00:33:21.70\00:33:25.50
find it in the rest of the
Bible. Go back to the Old
Testament and look it up, and
00:33:25.60\00:33:30.01
usually, it explains it point
blank, just spells it out. And
that is especially true of the
00:33:30.11\00:33:36.88
book of Daniel. They're
companion books. You don't
understand something in the book
00:33:36.98\00:33:40.15
of Revelation, go back and read
the book of Daniel, and it'll
usually spell it out. Same is
00:33:40.25\00:33:44.52
true with Daniel. "I don't
understand something in Daniel."
Look for it in Revelation. It
00:33:44.62\00:33:48.92
usually spells it out. You have
to read - here's the whole
principle. I hope you're getting
00:33:49.02\00:33:53.90
the sense of it. It's not compl-
you have to read the whole thing
and let the Bible explain
00:33:54.00\00:33:57.07
itself, because God is very good
at explaining Himself. He really
is. It's that simple. Now we're
00:33:57.17\00:34:03.27
going to take those principles
and we're going to put them into
practice and look at the battle
00:34:03.37\00:34:08.98
of Armageddon. Are you ready for
it, yes or no? Alright, buckle
your seatbelt. Get it ready
00:34:09.08\00:34:13.48
'cause we're going to move
pretty quick. Here we go,
Revelation chapter 16, starting
00:34:13.58\00:34:18.05
in verse 12. Pay attention to
details now. Every detail is
important. "Then the sixth angel
00:34:18.15\00:34:23.76
poured out his bowl on the great
river [what?] Euphrates, and its
water was dried up, so that the
00:34:23.86\00:34:31.13
way of the kings from the
[where?] from the east might be
prepared. And I saw three
00:34:31.23\00:34:39.27
unclean spirits like frogs
coming out of the dragon, and
out of the mouth of the beast,
00:34:39.37\00:34:44.71
and out of the mouth of the
false prophet." I want you to
remember those three characters:
00:34:44.81\00:34:49.88
the dragon, the beast, and the
false prophet, because they're
going to show up again as we
00:34:49.98\00:34:54.22
study Bible prophecy. You're
going to see them again. And so
you want to tuck that
00:34:54.32\00:34:58.99
information behind one ear. The
next verse: "They are the
spirits of demons performing
00:34:59.09\00:35:04.50
signs [remember what Jesus said:
in the last days, global
deception, false christs and
00:35:04.60\00:35:09.87
prophets performing signs]
performing signs, which go out
to the kings of the earth and
00:35:09.97\00:35:16.61
[how much of the world?] the
whole world, to gather them to
the battle of that great day of
00:35:16.71\00:35:23.79
God Almighty." "Behold,
I am coming as a thief."
00:35:23.89\00:35:25.69
Those of you who have studied
prophecy before, who comes as a
thief? Jesus does. He said that
00:35:26.09\00:35:30.09
Himself in Matthew 24. You read
about it in Peter's writing and
in Paul's writing. Jesus comes
00:35:30.19\00:35:34.60
as a thief. "Blessed is he who
watches, and keeps his garments,
lest he walk naked and they see
00:35:34.73\00:35:42.17
his shame." "And they gathered
them together to the place
called [in what language?]
00:35:42.27\00:35:46.98
Hebrew, Armageddon." There it
is. What in the world does it
mean? Well, let's take a look at
00:35:47.08\00:35:55.55
the data we already know. Speaks
about a global spiritual
deception. Talks about kings
00:35:55.65\00:36:00.42
coming from the east. It talks
about the Euphrates river drying
up. It has a reference to the
00:36:00.52\00:36:06.33
second coming. "I come as a
thief." And it has this one word
in Hebrew. I mean, the book's
00:36:06.43\00:36:10.90
written in Greek, and John
suddenly switches for one word
to Hebrew, and mentions a place
00:36:11.00\00:36:15.10
called Armageddon. That one word
is a huge, huge clue. What is
that word? It's actually a
00:36:15.20\00:36:24.91
compound word in Hebrew: har
megiddon. It literally means
"the mountain of Megiddo." That
00:36:25.01\00:36:32.15
is a very important clue. Now, a
lot of people talk about Megiddo
the valley, but the word means
00:36:32.25\00:36:36.49
"the mountain of Megiddo." Let
me show you something really
important. Megiddo is this
00:36:36.59\00:36:42.30
valley in the north of Israel,
about twenty miles or so long.
Twenty square miles, I guess.
00:36:42.40\00:36:48.90
It's framed by three prominent
mountains. You've got Carmel up
in the north, Mount Carmel in
00:36:49.00\00:36:55.41
the north, where Elijah had his
showdown with the prophets of
Baal. Then you have Mount Tabor
00:36:55.51\00:37:04.02
sort of down to the southeast a
little bit, and a lot of
scholars believe that's where
00:37:04.12\00:37:07.49
the transfiguration on the mount
took place: Jesus is revealed in
all of His glory. Then you've
00:37:07.59\00:37:12.76
got Mount Gilboa down to the
south, and that's the place
where there's a little spot
00:37:12.86\00:37:17.40
called Endor, and that's where
Saul went to visit a spirit
medium once and got into a lot
00:37:17.50\00:37:23.07
of trouble because he did
something God told him not to
do. Those are the three
00:37:23.17\00:37:27.51
mountains in a very, very - they
frame a very special valley, the
valley of Megiddo. And why is
00:37:27.61\00:37:33.98
Megiddo special or prominent?
It's because it's the crossroads
of the ancient world. From
00:37:34.08\00:37:38.95
there, you could take a road up
north into Europe, a road east
out to Persia. You could take a
00:37:39.05\00:37:43.96
road south into Africa. So a lot
of traffic came through there.
And because a lot of traffic
00:37:44.06\00:37:49.10
came through there, there were a
lot of conflicts. A lot of
people met up in the valley of
00:37:49.20\00:37:53.20
Megiddo. And historically
speaking, it has been the site
of a lot of conflict, both
00:37:53.30\00:38:00.98
physical and spiritual
conflicts. It was there that
Deborah and Barak defeat the
00:38:01.08\00:38:04.18
armies of Sisera. It was in this
valley that Joshua defeats the
kings of Canaan. It was at this
00:38:04.28\00:38:09.58
valley that Saul visits the
witch of Endor. That's not a
physical battle; that's a
00:38:09.68\00:38:13.76
spiritual struggle that takes
place. And it's also here that
Elijah confronts the priests of
00:38:13.86\00:38:18.56
Baal, at Mount Carmel. It's been
the site of a lot of conflict,
both military conflict and
00:38:18.66\00:38:24.30
spiritual conflict. It's been a
very prominent valley over the
years. So the question, of
00:38:24.40\00:38:30.04
course, is, why does God refer
to that valley Megiddo in this
prophecy? Well, when you take
00:38:30.14\00:38:35.08
all of the evidence and compile
it, it becomes really obvious.
What John is doing is pointing
00:38:35.18\00:38:41.78
to Old Testament stories to make
his point. He's going back -
remember, two-thirds of the
00:38:41.88\00:38:49.09
language comes from the rest of
the Bible. And in John's day,
the rest of the Bible was mostly
00:38:49.19\00:38:53.80
the Old Testament. And which
stories is John referring to?
Well, let's go back in time
00:38:53.90\00:38:59.93
tonight, 2,500 years, and visit
ancient Babylon one more time.
And this time, we're going back
00:39:00.10\00:39:05.37
just far enough that now
Nebuchadnezzar is dead. He is
gone. But his grandson
00:39:05.47\00:39:10.95
Belshazzar is sitting on the
throne of Babylon. And
Belshazzar did not build the
00:39:11.05\00:39:17.19
empire; he inherited it. And
sometimes when that happens, you
become a goof-off. And
00:39:17.29\00:39:22.86
Belshazzar was a goof-off. The
Bible says Nebuchadnezzar died a
believer. But his grandson, oh,
00:39:22.96\00:39:29.80
that's another story. Here's the
story from Daniel chapter 5:
"Belshazzar the king made a
00:39:29.90\00:39:36.00
great feast to a thousand of his
lords, and drank wine before the
thousand. Belshazzar commanded
00:39:36.10\00:39:41.61
to bring the golden and silver
vessels, which his father
Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of
00:39:41.71\00:39:46.68
the temple, which was in
Jerusalem; that the king, his
princes, his wives, and his
00:39:46.78\00:39:51.02
concubines that might drink
therein." Belshazzar is throwing
a big ol' party. Now, lots of
00:39:51.12\00:39:56.42
kings in the ancient world threw
big parties to impress their
friends; but there's something
00:39:56.52\00:40:00.33
very strange about this party,
because while they're inside the
city having the big party,
00:40:00.43\00:40:05.70
there's an army on the outside
waiting to attack, an army from
the east. Which army do you
00:40:05.80\00:40:13.58
think that might be? It's the
Persians. It's actually the
Medes and the Persians; it was a
00:40:13.68\00:40:19.01
coalition government. Darius in
the book of Daniel was a Mede;
Cyrus is a Persian. It's the
00:40:19.11\00:40:24.19
chest and arms of silver. It's
about time to fulfil the
prophecy. The head of gold is
00:40:24.29\00:40:30.16
going to give way to the next
kingdom. They're going to
conquer the city. The Persians
00:40:30.26\00:40:35.60
are about to take it. But
Belshazzar doesn't believe it.
"Oh, you can't conquer Babylon.
00:40:35.70\00:40:38.40
That's impossible. Our walls are
so high, no army can scale them.
Our walls are so thick, you can
00:40:38.50\00:40:44.87
drive two chariots side by side
along the top of the city wall."
"It's too thick. You can't come
00:40:44.97\00:40:49.98
through it. We have enough food
for twenty years inside the
city. We can wait you out. And
00:40:50.08\00:40:57.39
we have all the water we need
forever because the Euphrates
river comes under the city wall
00:40:57.49\00:41:03.66
right into the city. We have all
the water we need." And then,
and then to make his point, to
00:41:03.76\00:41:10.10
make his people feel good, he
throws this party. He said,
"Let's celebrate. We got nothing
00:41:10.20\00:41:13.94
to worry about." And he goes and
he gets the spoils of previous
conquests to make everybody -
00:41:14.04\00:41:19.87
"Nobody can conquer us. Look at
all the stuff we have. Our gods
are bigger than anybody else's
00:41:19.97\00:41:25.15
gods. We even have the holy
vessels from the temple in
Jerusalem. Nothing to worry
00:41:25.25\00:41:31.09
about." And then the room
suddenly falls quiet because up
against the wall, a severed,
00:41:31.19\00:41:41.90
bloodless hand suddenly appears
and begins writing on the wall.
"Mene, Mene, Tekel Upharsin."
00:41:42.00\00:41:51.14
Party's over. What does it mean?
Belshazzar calls for the
Chaldeans. He didn't learn
00:41:51.84\00:42:00.42
anything from granddad. They
can't read it. They say, "You
know what, Belshazzar, though,
00:42:00.52\00:42:06.22
your granddad had this guy by
the name of Daniel. He used to
be able to handle this kind of
00:42:06.32\00:42:10.53
stuff." "Go find him." Daniel
comes in. And now he's not 17
anymore; he's an old man.
00:42:10.63\00:42:16.60
"Daniel, I understand you used
to interpret dreams for my
granddad. Do you know what this
00:42:16.70\00:42:23.94
means?" "Yeah." "Read it for
me." And he starts to interpret
what it says. Daniel 5:26:
00:42:24.04\00:42:35.25
"Numbered, numbered, you are
weighed in the balances and
found wanting. Your kingdom is
00:42:35.35\00:42:42.02
divided and given to the Medes
and the Persians." "The statue
was right; your granddad knew
00:42:42.12\00:42:48.26
it. The time has come. It's
tonight, Belshazzar, because
nothing lasts forever. All comes
00:42:48.36\00:42:57.74
to an end. Party's finished."
It's true for all of us.
Eventually the last bar closes
00:42:57.84\00:43:05.35
for the last time. The last
investment scheme is done. Last
lie has been told. Last
00:43:05.45\00:43:13.69
political campaign has been
fought. The last dishonest deal
has been made. And it's over.
00:43:13.79\00:43:22.53
Because eventually, everything
gets weighed in the balances,
and God doesn't judge with our
00:43:22.63\00:43:27.80
perspective; He judges from the
perspective of unbridled truth,
and we don't fool Him. Daniel's
00:43:27.90\00:43:33.54
name means "my God is my Judge."
The Bible says God's eyes run to
and fro on the earth. He doesn't
00:43:33.64\00:43:41.18
miss anything. And He's looking
for people whose hearts are
aligned with Him. And when He
00:43:41.28\00:43:45.45
comes to you, let me ask you
this: What's He going to find?
You can't fool Him. You might be
00:43:45.55\00:43:53.40
able to fool your neighbours;
you might be able to fool the
people at church, the people at
00:43:53.50\00:43:57.77
work. You might even fool your
family. You might be able to
persuade other people that you
00:43:57.87\00:44:03.14
are something you are not. But
you are not fooling God.
Eventually you have to own what
00:44:03.24\00:44:11.15
you did with your life. That
night, Babylon fell. Let me tell
you how it happened. On his way
00:44:11.25\00:44:19.75
to the city of Babylon, Cyrus
learned something valuable. He
was crossing the Gyndes River on
00:44:19.85\00:44:24.39
his favourite horse, and the
current was so swift that it
washed the horse out from
00:44:24.49\00:44:29.13
underneath him, and the horse
drowned. His favourite horse.
And he got mad. And he got down
00:44:29.23\00:44:33.54
and he said, "I am going to fix
this river so that never happens
again." He stops the whole army.
00:44:33.64\00:44:38.67
He has his soldiers - you can
read about this in the writings
of Herodotus - he has his
00:44:38.77\00:44:44.81
soldiers dig 180 channels on
either side of the Gyndes River
until the water table goes so
00:44:44.91\00:44:49.42
low it's only ankle-deep. And he
goes, "There, now my grandmother
can cross the Gyndes River."
00:44:49.52\00:44:55.92
Gets to Babylon. He says, "Those
walls are pretty high. Can't go
over them, can't go through
00:44:56.02\00:45:00.06
them. What am I going to do?
Those people are secure." Then
he notices something
00:45:00.16\00:45:03.63
interesting. "Wait a minute.
That river goes right under the
wall." Goes back upstream, goes
00:45:03.73\00:45:09.07
for a walk, and he notices an
ancient channel that used to
exist. Queen Semiramis, who used
00:45:09.17\00:45:13.71
to live in Babylon way back
when, wanted a boat and wanted a
place to sail and there's not a
00:45:13.81\00:45:20.78
lot of lakes around there in the
plains of Shinar. So she built
one, diverted the Euphrates
00:45:20.88\00:45:22.98
river into a basin, and sailed
until they were done with it,
and they closed it back up. But
00:45:23.08\00:45:28.29
Cyrus found it. And so he opened
it up again and he drained the
Euphrates into there, and the
00:45:28.39\00:45:31.89
Euphrates water table went lower
and lower and lower until there
was a highway right into the
00:45:31.99\00:45:38.03
city. There's only one more
challenge when you get inside:
it's the walls along the river
00:45:38.13\00:45:42.57
and they've got iron gates that
are locked. But the problem that
night is, everybody's drunk and
00:45:42.67\00:45:48.24
they forgot to lock the gates.
They're hanging wide open. He
takes it in a night. What's
00:45:48.34\00:45:55.62
fascinating is Isaiah predicted
it more than 100 years before he
was born. "Who says to the deep,
00:45:55.72\00:46:00.39
'Be dry,' and I will dry up your
rivers, who says of Cyrus." He
names him before he's born. "He
00:46:00.49\00:46:05.56
is my shepherd. He shall perform
all my pleasures, saying to
Jerusalem, 'You shall be built,'
00:46:05.66\00:46:09.83
and to the temple, 'Your
foundation shall be laid.'" The
Persians eventually let the
00:46:09.93\00:46:13.50
Israelites go home and rebuild
the city and the temple. "Thus
says the Lord to His anointed,
00:46:13.60\00:46:19.07
to Cyrus, whose right hand I
have held, to subdue nations
before him and loose the armour
00:46:19.17\00:46:23.71
of kings, to open before him the
double doors, so the gates will
not be shut." More than 100
00:46:23.81\00:46:30.99
years before he's born. How do
you do that unless you know the
end from the beginning? Now,
00:46:31.09\00:46:36.83
let's look at that story in
Daniel chapter 5. What just
happened? Somebody dried up the
00:46:36.93\00:46:42.50
Euphrates river so that kings
from the east, the Medes and the
Persians, could march on the
00:46:42.60\00:46:46.03
city of Babylon. Cyrus is called
God's anointed. The word is
"meshiach," messiah, not
00:46:46.13\00:46:50.21
because he is messiah, but
because he is a figure, a
prefigure of Jesus the Messiah.
00:46:50.31\00:46:55.78
He points forward to something
Jesus would do. Cyrus is God's
anointed, and after Cyrus does
00:46:55.88\00:47:00.75
that, God's people are permitted
to return to the promised land.
Now, that should be ringing a
00:47:00.85\00:47:05.72
bell. Let's go back to the
prophecy of Armageddon. "Then
the sixth angel poured out his
00:47:05.82\00:47:10.83
bowl on the great river
Euphrates." There it is. "And
its water was dried up, so that
00:47:10.93\00:47:17.57
the way of the kings from the
[where?] east might be
prepared." That's the story John
00:47:17.67\00:47:25.11
is rehearsing. The Bible is a
story of two cities. All the way
from Genesis, two cities:
00:47:25.21\00:47:31.68
Jerusalem and Babylon. Salem and
Babel. Jerusalem and Babylon.
Literal cities in the Old
00:47:31.78\00:47:38.32
Testament. Then Babylon is
destroyed and Jeremiah said in
Jeremiah 50, thereabout, that it
00:47:38.42\00:47:47.00
would never, ever again be
inhabited. It would never be
rebuilt. I wish Saddam Hussein -
00:47:47.10\00:47:51.67
I wonder - he was rebuilding it.
I knew he couldn't complete it
because the Bible said it
00:47:51.77\00:47:55.37
couldn't be rebuilt. But it
disappears. So John uses
Babylon. It can't be the literal
00:47:55.47\00:48:00.08
city of Babylon; he's using it
as a symbol of a last-day issue.
Babylon in Bible prophecy is a
00:48:00.18\00:48:06.98
symbol of confusion. It's
actually what the word means,
Babylon. What do you call a
00:48:07.08\00:48:12.19
little tiny person under two
years who can't speak the
language yet? A baby. It's the
00:48:12.29\00:48:17.39
same root word as "Babel" and
"Babylon." When somebody's drunk
and can't put together a
00:48:17.49\00:48:22.13
sentence, we say they're sitting
on the sidewalk babbling. Same
root word. It means confusion.
00:48:22.23\00:48:28.17
The inhabitants in the book of
Revelation, it says the
inhabitants of Babylon are
00:48:28.27\00:48:33.51
drunk, just like they were in
the literal Old Testament city.
They're confused. And there's a
00:48:33.61\00:48:39.41
last-day spiritual deception.
This prophecy is about our world
in its last confused, deceived
00:48:39.51\00:48:44.52
state. It's about spiritual
Babylon. Let me show you a verse
we didn't read earlier so that I
00:48:44.62\00:48:51.13
can demonstrate why it's
important to keep reading all
the way through to the end. Just
00:48:51.23\00:48:53.56
three verses later, John wraps
it up this way: "Now the great
city was divided into three
00:48:53.66\00:48:59.90
parts, and the cities of the
nations fell. And great Babylon
was remembered before God, to
00:49:00.07\00:49:07.18
give her the cup of the wine of
the fierceness of His wrath."
The prophecy's not about a
00:49:07.28\00:49:12.38
little valley. It's not. It's
about a last-day spiritual
confusion. This is about
00:49:12.48\00:49:20.29
last-day Babylon. This is the
story of God defeating last-day
spiritual Babylon so that
00:49:20.39\00:49:25.73
Messiah can come and take His
people to the heavenly promised
land. John is using the fall of
00:49:25.83\00:49:32.77
Babylon to talk about the fall
of our whole human system of
government when Jesus comes. I
00:49:32.87\00:49:38.57
mean, who is the ultimate king
who comes from the east? Jesus
said: "For as lightning comes
00:49:38.67\00:49:44.21
from the [where?] from the east
and flashes to the west, so also
will the coming of the Son of
00:49:44.31\00:49:51.42
Man be." The prophecy said right
in there, "I come as a thief."
This is about the second coming
00:49:51.52\00:49:56.49
of Christ. Jesus is the King Who
comes from the east. The reason
the Bible called Cyrus God's
00:49:56.59\00:50:02.36
anointed messiah is because he
was a symbol pointing forward to
Jesus Who would come again and
00:50:02.46\00:50:08.54
put an ultimate end to all the
confusion that we have created.
Messiah is the One Who comes
00:50:08.64\00:50:14.88
from the east. You know what
this means? This isn't about
tanks and guns. There will be a
00:50:14.98\00:50:23.55
war in the Middle East? Well,
that's not hard to believe.
Probably. But it's not about a
00:50:23.65\00:50:29.22
piece of real estate. It's not
about twenty square miles. It
says the whole world is
00:50:29.32\00:50:33.29
involved, and the whole world
doesn't fit in that valley. It's
not about the valley; it's the
00:50:33.40\00:50:37.73
mountain of Megiddo. This is not
about Russia. This is about your
heart. It's about you. It's
00:50:37.83\00:50:47.54
more personal than that. It's
too easy to say, "Oh, it's
something that happens over
00:50:47.64\00:50:50.58
there." This happens in your
heart. And why the mountain of
Megiddo? Remember, there are
00:50:50.68\00:50:56.15
three mountains there. There's
mount Tabor. Jesus transfigured
in His glory. And with Him is
00:50:56.25\00:51:01.89
someone who was caught straight
up to heaven without dying and
somebody who had to die first
00:51:01.99\00:51:06.36
before he went to heaven. It's
this picture of the second
coming of Christ. Just before
00:51:06.46\00:51:10.27
that happened, Jesus said,
"There are some here who will
not taste death 'til they see me
00:51:10.37\00:51:13.97
in my kingdom," and then He
shows them the transfiguration.
Then there's Mount Gilboa where
00:51:14.07\00:51:17.87
Saul consults the spiritual
medium against God's counsel.
Last-day spiritual deception.
00:51:17.97\00:51:24.28
We'll come back to that theme on
a coming night. But the big one,
Carmel, the mountain of
00:51:24.38\00:51:28.15
decision. It's the mountain of
Megiddo, Mount Carmel. John is
reminding us of the story of
00:51:28.25\00:51:35.09
Elijah. In Elijah's day, all of
Israel was worshipping a god by
the name of Baal because Ahab,
00:51:35.19\00:51:40.63
God's king, had married a pagan
queen by the name of Jezebel,
against God's counsel.
00:51:40.73\00:51:45.40
Forbidden. She leads the whole
nation of Israel astray and
they're doing horrible things.
00:51:45.50\00:51:50.47
And God calls Elijah to set
things right because God always
raises up a prophet or some
00:51:50.57\00:51:56.14
prophetic movement to warn the
world, always, always, always.
And exercising the height of
00:51:56.24\00:52:02.62
courage, Elijah takes his own
life in his hands and he goes
down to have a showdown on Mount
00:52:02.72\00:52:06.35
Carmel. You might know the
story. First Kings chapter 18.
He says, "Let's have a contest.
00:52:06.45\00:52:11.23
Let's each build an altar, and
you pray to Baal and see if he
lights the sacrifice himself,
00:52:11.33\00:52:15.83
and I'll pray to the God of
Israel and see if He lights the
sacrifice." And the priests of
00:52:15.93\00:52:19.63
Baal jump around cutting
themselves, screaming and
yelling all day long, nothing
00:52:19.73\00:52:22.50
happens. Elijah builds an altar
out of twelve stones, one for
each of the twelve tribes of
00:52:22.60\00:52:27.68
Israel, and has them douse it
with water three times, makes it
soaking wet. Offers a simple
00:52:27.78\00:52:32.05
prayer. Poof, fire comes down
from heaven, takes the sacrifice
and the altar. And then he asks
00:52:32.15\00:52:40.09
a question. "Elijah came to all
the people, 'How long will you
falter between two opinions? If
00:52:40.19\00:52:44.26
the Lord is God, follow Him; but
if Baal, follow Him.'" There's
the real issue. This is what
00:52:44.36\00:52:53.03
John's first-century audience
thought of immediately when they
read this prophecy. This.
00:52:53.13\00:52:58.51
Armageddon is a battle for your
heart. It's the last plea. It's
a decision that affects the
00:52:58.61\00:53:07.78
whole world, and tonight, it
affects you. It's a message from
God's heart to you. He's
00:53:07.88\00:53:16.93
worried sick you're going to go
along with the world when it
collapses. How long do you
00:53:17.03\00:53:20.86
falter between two opinions? You
know, for the life of me, I
can't think of a single reason
00:53:20.96\00:53:25.80
somebody wouldn't want Jesus.
Why wouldn't you want Him? He
heals the sick. He identifies
00:53:25.90\00:53:33.61
with the poor, the outcast, the
prostitute, the leper. The Bible
says He went around doing good,
00:53:33.71\00:53:39.21
and then He gives His life so
that one day we can beat death
itself. This is a prophecy about
00:53:39.31\00:53:46.49
the last decisions being made on
this planet, including yours.
It's about where you're going to
00:53:46.59\00:53:55.00
place your allegiance. It's a
spiritual conflict being waged
for your heart. You know how it
00:53:55.10\00:54:04.04
ends? Bible describes it. "I
come as a thief." How does the
ultimate conflict end? "I saw
00:54:04.14\00:54:10.25
heaven open and behold a white
horse. And He Who sat on him was
called Faithful and True, and in
00:54:10.35\00:54:15.88
righteousness He judges and
makes war." "His eyes were like
a flame of fire, and on His head
00:54:15.98\00:54:19.79
were many crowns. He had a name
written that no one knew except
himself. He was clothed with a
00:54:19.89\00:54:24.59
robe dipped in blood [His own
blood], and His name is called
the Word of God." It's Jesus.
00:54:24.69\00:54:31.93
"And the armies in heaven," this
is not in Russia, this is not in
Syria, this - "the armies in
00:54:32.03\00:54:37.27
heaven, clothed in fine linen,
white and clean, followed Him on
horses. Now out of His mouth
00:54:37.37\00:54:42.04
goes a sharp sword." What is
that? Hebrews 4 verse 16: "The
Word of God is a sharp,
00:54:42.14\00:54:46.68
two-edged sword." Ephesians
chapter 6 says that the sword of
the spirit is the Word of God.
00:54:46.78\00:54:51.52
That's what comes out of His
mouth. The Word of God is coming
out of His mouth when He
00:54:51.62\00:54:55.76
returns. Do you know what it
tells me? It tells me that on
that day, it will not matter
00:54:55.86\00:54:59.86
what I said and it will not
matter what you said and it will
not matter what the preachers
00:54:59.96\00:55:04.37
said and it won't matter what
your friends and family said;
the only thing that matters on
00:55:04.47\00:55:08.14
that day at that moment is what
did God say? That's it. "He
Himself will rule them with a
00:55:08.24\00:55:15.54
rod of iron. he Himself treads
the wine press of the fierceness
and wrath of Almighty God." Wait
00:55:15.64\00:55:20.05
a minute. God's angry? Yeah.
About what? Sin. He's your
Father. And He saw what this did
00:55:20.15\00:55:35.23
to you. He saw it all. "Someone
hurts My kids, makes Me mad."
Caused you so much pain. And
00:55:35.33\00:55:47.78
that pain ends when Jesus comes.
What reason could you possibly
have to say no to Jesus? How
00:55:47.88\00:56:03.96
long will you falter between two
opinions? If the Lord is God,
00:56:04.06\00:56:11.30
follow Him. God gathers the
whole world at the Mountain of
Megiddo. One last decision.
00:56:13.47\00:56:25.78
Babylon collapses and Jesus
comes. Where's your heart? What
reason could you possibly have
00:56:25.88\00:56:36.83
to say no to a Saviour like
that? Let's pray. Father in
heaven, in the quiet of this
00:56:36.93\00:56:49.10
moment, I know that Your eyes
are still running to and fro on
the earth, looking for that
00:56:49.20\00:57:00.25
heart. Tonight, there are people
in this auditorium who heard You
speak to their hearts. We want
00:57:00.35\00:57:07.32
to be ready for Jesus to come
when we see the cross of Christ
and everything You have done, to
00:57:07.42\00:57:13.40
bring us into Your kingdom.
Lord, we're tired of this world
and we want to be there. Tonight
00:57:13.50\00:57:21.50
I'm going to ask that, in this
auditorium - nobody's looking
around - but if tonight, you'd
00:57:21.60\00:57:29.01
just like to say, "Lord, I want
to choose You. I want to be on
that side," with your head bowed
00:57:29.11\00:57:37.52
and your eyes closed, I'm going
to ask that you just slip your
hand up and let the angels of
00:57:37.62\00:57:40.96
heaven see that that's where you
stand. Lord, look at the hands
that are going up here. These
00:57:41.06\00:57:46.49
are the people saying, "I want
to be with Jesus when He comes."
Our prayer is, come quickly, for
00:57:46.59\00:57:55.90
we pray it in Jesus' name, amen.
00:57:56.00\00:57:58.84
Today you have watched just one
in a series of "Revelation
Speaks Peace" presentations.
00:58:02.61\00:58:06.95
The entire series is available
on DVD. Find out how you can
order a copy at www.vop.com/rsp
00:58:07.05\00:58:15.19
Or Call.. 877-955-2525 Or if you
wish you may request the series
by writing to Voice of Prophecy
00:58:15.29\00:58:24.87
PO Box 999 Loveland, CO 80539
Order the entire Revelation
Speaks Peace series from the
00:58:24.97\00:58:33.07
Voice of Prophecy. 24 powerful
episodes on DVD. Pastor Shawn
Boonstra will clearly unlock
00:58:33.17\00:58:40.48
prophecies in Daniel and
Revelation -- using the Bible as
the key. Experience hope for
00:58:40.58\00:58:46.92
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00:58:47.02\00:58:53.13
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00:58:53.23\00:58:58.87
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00:59:04.94\00:59:15.02
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00:59:15.12\00:59:25.09
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00:59:25.13\00:59:29.76