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00:35 Hello and welcome to another edition
00:37 of the Sabbath School Study Hour 00:39 in the Granite Bay Seventh-day Adventist Church 00:41 right here in Sacramento, California. 00:43 We are just so glad that you have decided to join us. 00:46 We are always thrilled to have all of our online members 00:48 that are joining us, friends of the church 00:50 that are streaming this particular program online, 00:53 even right now. 00:54 Now, of course, we're also happy 00:55 for all those who are tuning in 00:57 to the satellite television program 00:58 that is also televising this particular program. 01:02 We know that you're gonna be blessed. 01:03 I'm excited about today's subject. 01:05 It's one that is more on the sober side, 01:07 but it's also one that is very helpful for us 01:10 to be able to understand 01:11 in all of the different prophecies 01:13 that we find in the Book of Revelation. 01:15 Not only we are happy to have everybody 01:17 that's here watching online and on television, 01:19 but also everybody that's here, 01:21 of course, locally as we come together 01:23 as the local Seventh-day Adventist Church family. 01:27 And so a special welcome, warm welcome to everybody 01:30 that is joining us here as well. 01:33 Well, we're looking at lesson number 11. 01:35 And lesson number 11 is found in the quarterly... 01:37 We've been going through, 01:38 since the beginning of this particular year 01:41 on the Book of Revelation. 01:42 And so it's entitled simply "The Book of Revelation." 01:45 Now, if you ever haven't had an opportunity 01:48 to be able to get a copy of this, 01:49 you can always go to amazingfacts.org 01:52 and on that website you can find a link 01:55 there that will allow you 01:57 to be able to download a digital copy of this. 01:59 And if you would like a physical copy, 02:01 make sure you visit your local Seventh-day Adventist Church. 02:04 And almost certainly, you'll find that 02:06 they will have a spare copy for you. 02:08 And they'd be happy to have that in your hand, 02:10 so that you can study it from week to week. 02:12 We are in lesson number 11 here today. 02:16 And again, the subject is the "Seven Last Plagues." 02:20 The seven last plagues, 02:22 we're kind of wrapping up 02:23 and looking towards 02:24 the last prophecies of Revelation 02:26 and so please stay tuned 02:28 as we continue to look at this very important subject. 02:31 But before we look at this particular subject, 02:33 I want to invite you to take advantage 02:35 of a free offer that we have here today, 02:38 which is one of my favorites. 02:39 It's a DVD presentation 02:42 and it's entitled "The Final Events." 02:44 Now that's free offer number 864. 02:47 And so if you have a pen, if your memory doesn't work 02:50 as well as you'd like such as mine, 02:53 then make sure that you get a pen 02:54 and write down 864, 02:56 which is the free offer number for today 02:58 and you can dial into 1-866-788-3966. 03:04 That's 1-866-Study-More. 03:07 Now, there's also an opportunity for you 03:09 to be able to get that on your phone 03:12 with a digital copy. 03:13 And so today, we're just so blessed 03:15 to be able to have that privilege and advantage 03:18 to be able to get a digital copy. 03:20 So you can text the code "SH121" 03:24 to the number 40544. 03:27 So again, that's text code S as in Sam H121, 03:32 and you text that to the number 40544. 03:36 And you'll be happy to get a copy 03:37 of that particular video presentation. 03:39 So please take advantage of that offer. 03:42 Before we get into our study, 03:43 we always like to ask the Holy Spirit to teach us 03:46 and so, I want to invite you to pray with me even right now. 03:50 Father in heaven, 03:51 we are thankful to be able to come together, 03:53 to be able to study Your Bible, 03:55 to be able to look at these important prophecies, God, 03:58 You have given these to us 03:59 to be able to understand the future. 04:01 And Father in heaven, we want to pray 04:03 that You will help us to understand it correctly 04:05 as You work through Your messenger 04:07 and through Pastor Doug here today. 04:09 Want to pray, God, 04:10 that You will bless each and every person 04:11 that is studying with us here in our church, 04:14 as well as those who are watching online 04:15 or through television, Lord. 04:17 Please teach us all, fulfill Your promise, 04:20 give us the Holy Spirit as we ask, 04:22 in Jesus' name we pray God. 04:24 Amen. 04:26 Well, we are privileged again to have Pastor Doug, 04:28 our lead pastor here 04:29 in the Granite Bay Seventh-day Adventist Church 04:31 to teach our lesson. 04:33 And Pastor Doug, God bless you as you teach. 04:38 Thank you, Pastor Shawn. 04:40 And I think I kind of liked it that they've switched over 04:43 from senior pastor to lead pastor. 04:45 I was getting tired being called senior. 04:48 I never could understand, when I first joined the church 04:50 and I was like 22 years old and they started calling me... 04:53 They said, "We're going to make you elder, 04:56 Elder Batchelor." 05:00 But anyway, welcome, friends. 05:03 We're so glad that you're here to study with us. 05:05 We've got a big lesson today, 05:07 dealing with the subject of "The Seven Last Plagues." 05:09 And we're gonna... 05:10 We're not doing our regular program 05:12 where, you know, we kind of pass out scriptures 05:15 and that, this is a little more like an evangelistic series 05:18 because Amazing Facts 05:20 has a special interest in Revelation. 05:22 We teach prophecy all the time. 05:23 And so we'd like to do our best to take what we have here 05:26 and go through these studies, 05:29 dealing with this Book of Revelation. 05:31 We do have our memory verse. I invite you to say with me. 05:34 And that's Revelation 15:4. 05:37 You have it there on your screen, you ready? 05:40 "Who shall not fear You, O Lord, 05:43 and glorify Your name? 05:45 For You alone are holy. 05:48 For all nations shall come and worship before You, 05:52 for Your judgments have been manifest." 05:56 And then what happens with the seven last plagues, 05:59 the judgments of God are definitely manifest. 06:02 Now, you know, what I thought would be a good idea, 06:04 is if you have your Bibles and I trust you did. 06:08 If anyone brings their Bibles, 06:09 it's usually a crowded Sabbath school, right? 06:12 Turn to Revelation Chapter 15. 06:15 I want to just read through Chapter 15, 06:18 and then we'll go 06:19 and start getting into the actual seven plagues 06:22 in Chapter 16. 06:24 It won't take long. It's a fairly short chapter. 06:27 Revelation 15:1, 06:30 "Then I saw another sign in heaven," 06:33 and the different segments or great visions 06:36 often begin this way, 06:38 "great and marvelous, seven angels 06:41 having the seven last plagues, 06:44 for in them is filled up the wrath of God, 06:46 the wrath of God is complete. 06:49 And I saw something like a sea of glass 06:52 mingled with fire, 06:54 and those who have gotten the victory over the beast, 06:56 and over his image and over the mark 06:58 and over the number of his name, 07:00 standing on the sea of glass having harps of God. 07:04 And they sing songs of Moses, the servant of God, 07:07 and the song of the Lamb..." 07:09 I want to pause before we read all this. 07:13 It talks about seven plagues, number four, 07:15 it dumps out the seven plagues. 07:18 It takes us beyond the seven plagues, 07:21 to the redeemed in glory. 07:23 They've gotten the victory. They are in heaven. 07:24 They are on the sea of glass that describes. 07:27 And the reason I think he's been given this glimpse, 07:30 it's basically to encourage him 07:32 before the dreadful scenes of the plagues 07:36 are given to him. 07:37 He said, here's what the final picture is gonna be. 07:39 It's like in the story in the life of Jesus, 07:42 the gospels. 07:43 Christ took the disciples up the Mount of Transfiguration, 07:46 gave them a picture of Him in glory. 07:48 Moses on the right, Elijah on the left, 07:51 I don't know who was on which side, 07:53 to encourage them because soon Jesus would be on the mountain 07:56 with a thief on the right and the left, 07:59 and so they're given a glorious picture 08:00 to encourage them before the real ugly picture. 08:04 And so now they're being transported 08:06 beyond the plagues to the ultimate victory, 08:09 and they all proclaim, 08:11 "Great and marvelous are Your works, 08:13 Lord God Almighty! 08:15 Just and true are Your ways, O King of saints! 08:18 Who shall not fear you, O Lord, and glorify Your name? 08:21 For You alone are holy. 08:23 For all nations shall come and worship before You, 08:26 for Your judgments have been manifest." 08:28 And so seeing the judgments of God 08:30 or declare their manifest. 08:32 "After these things I looked, and behold, 08:36 the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven 08:39 was opened. 08:40 And out of the temple..." 08:41 You know, once it says it's open, 08:42 you see the ark, this is different. 08:44 Now it says, the temple is open, 08:47 "And out of the temple came seven angels, 08:49 having the seven plagues, clothed in pure bright linen, 08:54 and having their chest girded with golden bands. 08:59 Then one of the four living creatures," 09:01 that keep appearing from Chapter 4, 09:04 "gave to the seven angels, seven golden bowls," 09:08 that's because everything the gold is love, 09:10 everything done that God does, 09:12 even His wrath springs from love, 09:15 "full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever. 09:18 And the temple was filled with smoke 09:21 from the glory of God and His power and none," 09:24 no man, no man or woman, it actually says there, 09:28 "was able to enter the temple 09:30 till the seven plagues of the seven angels 09:33 were completed." 09:34 So here, it's giving us a picture of the time. 09:35 Now we'll review some of these in just a minute. 09:38 But when the seven plagues are poured out, 09:41 the temple in heaven is closed. 09:42 Now, what's the temple represent? 09:45 Isn't it where the daily sacrifice takes place, 09:47 and the blood of the lamb is pled 09:49 and salvation is experienced, 09:51 people have their sins forgiven. 09:53 It's telling us that 09:54 when the plagues finally begin to fall 09:56 or time will come 09:58 where probation is closed on planet earth. 10:02 No man can enter. 10:05 Either we have entered already and our sins are forgiven 10:09 or it's too late. 10:11 Was there a time 10:13 before the flood came in Moses' day, 10:16 when probation closed? 10:18 And for seven days life went on outside the ark, 10:20 but the door of the ark was shut. 10:23 The saved were saved, the lost were lost. 10:26 Probation had closed for the people on the outside. 10:28 Those in the inside were sealed and saved. 10:31 We don't know exactly when that's gonna happen, 10:33 so we want to be ready all the time. 10:35 Someone asked the Jewish Rabbi, 10:37 what's the best day of your life to repent? 10:39 He said, "The last day." 10:41 He said, "What if you don't know 10:42 what the last day is?" 10:44 He said, "Exactly." 10:45 So you don't want to be ready. 10:47 But when the plagues begin to fall, 10:49 at that point probation has closed, okay? 10:51 The Laundromat is not washing anymore. 10:55 So, and it says that none was able to enter 11:00 the temple till the seven plagues 11:01 of the seven angels were complete. 11:05 Now then it goes into Chapter 16. 11:08 And I'll read through this as quickly as I can. 11:10 And then we're gonna go to the screen 11:11 and review it all. 11:12 I think, we'll learn the most that way. 11:14 "Then I heard a loud voice from the temple 11:16 saying to the seven angels, 11:17 'Go and pour out the bowls or vials of the wrath 11:20 of God on the earth.' 11:23 So the first went and poured out his bowl 11:24 upon the earth, 11:25 and a foul and loathsome soar came upon the men 11:29 who had the mark of the beast, 11:30 and those who worship his image. 11:33 And then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, 11:35 and it became blood as of a dead man, 11:38 and every living creature in the sea died. 11:41 Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers 11:44 and the springs of water, and they became blood. 11:46 And I heard the angel of the water saying, 11:49 'You are righteous, O Lord, 11:50 the one who is and who was and who is to be, 11:53 because you have judged these things, 11:55 for they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, 11:57 and you have given them blood to drink. 11:59 For it is their just due.' 12:02 And I heard another 12:03 from the altar, saying, 'Even so, 12:05 Lord God Almighty, 12:06 true and righteous are Your judgments.' 12:08 Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, 12:11 and power was given him," 12:13 meaning the sun, 12:14 "to scorch men with great fire. 12:16 And men were scorched with great heat, 12:18 and they blasphemed the name of God who had power 12:21 over these plagues, 12:22 and they did not repent and give him glory. 12:25 Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl," 12:27 and this is the longest one, 12:30 "on the throne of the beast and his kingdom 12:32 became full of darkness, 12:34 and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain. 12:36 They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pain 12:39 and their sores, 12:40 and they did not repent of their deeds.'" 12:42 Let me just pause here 12:43 because I may not remember this later. 12:44 Some people think that these seven plagues 12:46 are things that have happened over the course of history. 12:48 No, it's telling us that when you get 12:50 to the fifth plague, 12:51 they're still experiencing the boils 12:53 from the first plague. 12:54 And so this is something 12:55 that's happening in short order. 13:00 "'Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl 13:02 on the great river Euphrates, and the water was dried up, 13:06 so the way of the kings of the east 13:08 might be prepared. 13:10 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs 13:12 coming out of the mouth of the dragon, 13:14 out of the mouth of the beast, 13:16 and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 13:18 For they are the spirits of demons, performing signs, 13:21 which go out to the kings of the earth, 13:23 and the whole world to gather them to the battle, 13:25 that great day of God Almighty. 13:28 'Behold, I'm coming as a thief.'" 13:30 If you got a red letter Bible, 13:31 how many have a red letter Bible? 13:33 You'll notice the only red letters 13:35 that appear 13:37 for several chapters is this verse, 13:39 where Jesus speaks. 13:41 And after the six plague, He's making an announcement, 13:44 "'Behold, I'm coming as a thief. 13:47 Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, 13:50 less they walk naked, and see a shame.' 13:53 And they gather them together 13:55 to a place in the Hebrew, tongue 13:56 called, Armageddon. 13:59 And then the seventh angel poured his bowl into the air, 14:03 and a loud voice came out of the temple in heaven 14:05 from the throne saying, 'It is done.' 14:07 And there were noises, 14:08 and thunderings, and lightnings. 14:09 And there was a great earthquake, 14:11 such a mighty earthquake, 14:12 and great as not had occurred since men were on the earth. 14:15 Now, the great city was divided into three parts, 14:18 and the cities of the nations fell. 14:20 And great Babylon was remembered 14:22 before God to give her the cup of the wine 14:24 of the fierceness of His wrath. 14:26 And every island fled away, 14:28 and the mountains were not found. 14:30 And a great hail from heaven fell upon men, 14:33 each hailstone about the weight of a talent." 14:36 We had some hail here 14:37 in Northern California this last week. 14:40 "And men blasphemed God because of the plague of hail, 14:43 since the plague was exceedingly great.'" 14:45 Okay, we've read our passages, we're going to consider today. 14:49 I know that's heavy stuff. So let's go back now. 14:51 We're gonna look at it piece by piece, okay? 14:54 So, and I'm going to use the question-answer format, 14:57 we often do in our evangelism teaching. 15:00 What are the seven last plagues called in the Bible? 15:03 It says, having the seven last plagues 15:05 for in them, it's filled up the what? 15:08 The wrath of God. 15:10 Now, we don't like to think about 15:12 the wrath of God. 15:13 But the Bible tells us that it is something 15:16 God is long suffering to us-ward, 15:18 not willing that any should perish, 15:20 but ultimately His wrath does happen. 15:23 You can read for instance, 15:24 when Jesus was on His way to the cross, 15:26 He spoke to the woman along the way, and he said, 15:29 "Woe, to those who are pregnant 15:30 and those who are nursing babies 15:32 in those days!" 15:33 Speaking of the destruction of Jerusalem, 15:35 "For there will be great distress in the land 15:37 and wrath upon this people." 15:40 You remember when Jesus was on the Mount of Olives, 15:43 He wept over Jerusalem. 15:45 And He pronounced the judgment. 15:46 He said, "There would not be one stone left upon another. 15:49 The day is coming 15:50 when you'd be surrounded by armies." 15:52 And he said that on this generation, 15:56 and this is Matthew 23:35, 15:58 "That on you may come 16:00 all the righteous blood shed on the earth, 16:02 from the righteous blood of Abel 16:05 to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, 16:08 who you murdered between the temple 16:10 and the altar. 16:11 Assuredly, I say, all these things 16:12 will come on this generation." 16:14 Now, the reason I'm reading that, 16:16 is because there's a teaching in the Bible, 16:18 it's helpful for us to know 16:19 that wrath like bank interest can be compounded. 16:24 Because we have good days, 16:28 doesn't mean the judgment isn't coming 16:29 for the bad things we may be doing. 16:31 God has a record, 16:33 and there's a day of reckoning for that record. 16:36 And like He told the Jews back in Jerusalem, He said, 16:39 on this generation, 16:41 all the blood that has been compounding 16:43 for the prophets that were slain 16:45 is going to be visited. 16:47 And the Bible tells us in Ecclesiastes, 16:50 because sentence against an evil work 16:52 is not executed speedily, 16:54 therefore the hearts of the sons of men 16:55 are fully set in them to do evil, meaning, 16:58 because every time you sin, 16:59 you don't get electrocuted by God. 17:02 We think, "Oh, I guess I got over. 17:03 I got by with that one. Nothing's gonna happen." 17:06 God said, "No, I made a note." 17:09 And there, you're building up wrath. 17:11 That's why we need mercy, right? 17:14 But if our sins are not under the blood, 17:16 everything that we have done, Jesus said, 17:18 even to the idle words that we speak, 17:20 we will give an account thereof 17:21 and there is a day of punishment. 17:23 It's not just the penalty of death, 17:25 there is punishment and death. 17:26 And so the seven last plagues are the pent-up punishment 17:30 on a rebellious planet. 17:32 It's like, finally, 17:34 the Bible talks about the whole creation, 17:35 groans and travails. 17:36 I'll get to that in a minute. 17:37 Let me read you one more verse, 17:38 and we'll get back to the slides. 17:40 Romans 2:5, talking about wrath, 17:43 isn't that exciting? 17:44 Romans 2:5, 17:45 "But in accordance with the hardness 17:47 of your impenitent heart, 17:48 you are treasuring up for yourself 17:51 wrath in the day of wrath 17:53 and the revelation of the righteous 17:55 judgment of God." 17:56 Paul is saying that people who live in continual known sin 18:00 are treasuring up a day of judgment. 18:03 And so this principle can be seen... 18:05 Yeah, you read in Psalm 78:49, 18:07 "He casts on them the fierceness of His anger, 18:10 wrath, indignation, and trouble, 18:11 by sending His angels of destruction among them." 18:13 Talking about what happened 18:15 to Egypt during those ten plagues. 18:18 So He sent His angels of destruction. 18:21 So when you get to Revelation, 18:23 it talks about these angels of wrath, 18:24 I've been saying all along, 18:25 everything in Revelation can be found 18:27 somewhere in the Old Testament. 18:29 Now, do we find a nation 18:30 going through a series of plagues 18:32 in the Old Testament? 18:35 Where plague came after plague in quick succession? 18:37 What nation was it? 18:38 Egypt. Egypt. 18:41 What happened at the end of those plagues? 18:44 God's people were freed. 18:46 What happens at the end of the seven plagues? 18:49 Jesus comes and we are liberated. 18:52 So the plagues come before it gets... 18:55 Someone said, we're flying, takeoff is optional, 18:58 landing is mandatory. 19:03 In life, sinning is optional, judgment is mandatory. 19:06 And there is a day, 19:08 when the whole creation is gonna basically face 19:10 what's happened with Egypt. 19:12 Severe judgments came on Egypt. 19:15 How many plagues on Egypt? 19:16 Ten. Ten. 19:18 How many plagues in the last days? 19:19 Seven. 19:20 Why is there a difference? 19:22 Here's the good news. 19:27 The children of Israel actually suffered 19:29 with the Egyptians for the first three plagues. 19:32 It wasn't until you got to the last seven plagues, 19:35 they were protected. 19:36 Are we protected during the last seven plagues? 19:39 Yes. 19:40 And so, I think that's one reason 19:42 that you'll see there's a distinction being made here. 19:44 All right. 19:45 Let me get back to the slides, we've a lot to cover. 19:48 Wrath of God and, 19:50 you know, there's just a lot of global problems 19:52 that are coming soon. 19:54 Revelation 11:18, "The nations were angry, 19:58 and Your wrath has come, and the time of the dead, 20:01 that they should be judged, 20:03 and you should destroy those who destroy the earth." 20:05 There's several verses it seemed to say, 20:08 that something is going to happen to the earth. 20:11 Romans 8:22, 20:12 "For we know that the whole creation groans 20:15 and labors with the birth pangs together until now." 20:17 What's happening to our planet? 20:20 Groaning and labor pangs. 20:24 Isaiah 51, "For the heavens will vanish like smoke, 20:26 and the earth will grow old like a garment." 20:28 Is our old world struggling under just the weight of sin, 20:33 and all that's happening? 20:36 What warning is included in this, 20:38 in the last three angels' messages 20:41 that are given to the world 20:43 is found in Revelation 14:6-12? 20:45 What two punishments are mentioned for the wicked? 20:48 You remember, when we talked 20:49 about the three angels' messages 20:51 in a prior study, says to Babylon, 20:54 come out of her my people that you receive 20:56 not of her plagues. 20:57 Actually, that's in Revelation 18. 21:00 Revelation 14 also says, Babylon is fallen, come out, 21:03 that you receive not of her plagues, 21:04 because the plagues are gonna fall on Babylon, 21:06 so that's mentioned through the book. 21:09 It also says, "They will drink the wine of the wrath of God 21:13 and they're tormented with fire and brimstone". 21:16 So you've got some pretty serious warnings 21:19 that are given in advance in the three angels' message. 21:22 So what I'm saying is, 21:23 who is supposed to give the three angels' message 21:25 in the last days? 21:27 God's people. The remnant. 21:29 And what is part of that? 21:31 A warning about the impending wrath of God, 21:35 that there is a day of judgment. 21:37 Matter of fact, first angel's message, 21:38 the hour of His what? 21:40 His judgment. His judgment has come. 21:41 People need to know, there's a problem 21:43 and then they'll really appreciate the answer. 21:46 This problem is sin and His judgment for sin, 21:49 the penalty for sin is death. 21:50 And Jesus is offering us life that we may not perish, 21:54 but have everlasting life. 21:56 Amen? 21:57 I conclude, of course, in Revelation 14. 21:59 It contrasts those who struggle under the plagues. 22:03 It says, "Here is the patience of the saints, 22:05 here are those who keep the commandments of God 22:08 and the faith of Jesus." 22:11 Says, "Then I saw in heaven, another sign in heaven, 22:14 great and marvelous, 22:16 seven angels having the seven last plagues." 22:19 Now, did Jesus say there's going to be plagues 22:21 between His first coming and the second coming? 22:24 Are those the seven last plagues? 22:26 He says, now nation will rise against nation. 22:28 They'll be kingdom against kingdom. 22:30 They'll be wars and pestilence in diverse places. 22:33 Have we had past plagues? 22:35 The bubonic plague in the 1918, flu, took they say, 22:39 like 35 to 50 million people, 22:42 is as many as World War II in one plague, 22:44 a flu of all things. 22:46 But these are the last plagues, meaning, 22:48 it's something that happens in quick succession 22:50 near the end of time. 22:53 Then we read, "No one is able to enter the temple 22:55 until the seven last plagues are completed." 22:58 Now I know, we've all been shaken by a statement 23:02 that says, 23:03 there will be a period of time near the end 23:05 where we will stand in the sight of a Holy God 23:07 without a mediator. 23:09 Because the temple is close, Michael has stood up. 23:14 What happens in Daniel Chapter 12 23:15 when Michael stands up? 23:17 There'll be a time of trouble, such as there never has been 23:19 ever since there was a nation, even under the same time, 23:21 and people are thinking, "You mean, 23:23 I'll actually have to live holy without a mediator? 23:27 How is that possible? Nobody can do that." 23:29 That's not true. 23:31 What about Enoch? Did Enoch walked with God? 23:35 And did God take him to heaven? 23:37 So did he live a life that where God felt good? 23:40 Take him to heaven, directly from earth 23:41 without passing go. 23:43 What about Elijah? 23:45 Now you say, I can never make it. 23:46 But the Bible says, Elijah was a man, 23:48 subject to alike passions as you and I. 23:51 Did Elijah get discouraged? Yeah. 23:53 He prayed, he might die under a broom bush, 23:56 out in the desert. 23:58 And Elijah even practice a little bit of sarcasm, 24:01 mocking the prophets of Baal. 24:02 And you wonder, if he was supposed to do that. 24:05 Elijah was a human, the Bible says that, 24:07 that's what James tells us. 24:09 But he walked with God. 24:11 So he was sanctified and God took him to heaven 24:15 in a fiery chariot. 24:17 So can God have people 24:18 that are prepared for translation? 24:21 Yes, of course, and don't let folk say, 24:22 it's impossible. 24:24 We constantly must have a mediator. 24:26 Christ is going to seal His people 24:28 and with the Holy Spirit, 24:29 and we will be living in a consistent state of faith. 24:33 We need to be praying that God will help us practice that now. 24:37 "I heard a loud voice from the temple 24:39 saying to the seven angels, 24:41 'Go and pour out the bowls of the wrath 24:43 or the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.'" 24:47 So something is happened before the seven last plagues 24:51 are poured out. 24:52 So you've got the world-wide preaching of the gospel. 24:56 All humanity makes a final eternal choice 24:59 either for or against Christ. 25:01 And the mark of the beast, 25:03 that whole issue really forces things. 25:05 People are gonna have to decide, 25:06 "Am I going to worship God? 25:08 Make that supreme in my life and have the seal of God, 25:12 or am I going to compromise for convenience." 25:14 You know, can't buy or sell if you don't have the mark 25:15 of the beast, 25:17 and then as a result of that, you get the mark of the beast. 25:19 So something that's going to happen in the world 25:21 that is going to shake things. 25:23 And in that shaking, everybody is polarized 25:26 into one or two groups. 25:27 And so that's happening during the preaching. 25:29 The mark of the beast is enforced in a final conflict 25:33 over worship. 25:34 God's loyal people lovingly obey Him. 25:38 The seven last plagues are poured out. 25:40 And then Christ comes to deliver His people. 25:43 So God's wrath is not His anger at sinners, 25:46 it is His judgment upon sin. 25:49 People think, "Oh, He really is mad at these people now. 25:52 God just hates sin. 25:53 Sin cannot abide His presence 25:54 and His justice requires judgment. 25:57 He never stops being a loving patient God." 25:59 God does not flip out and lose His temper. 26:02 He doesn't, you know, go postal at the end of time 26:07 and just take it out on humanity. 26:09 What God is doing is, He is finally dealing with sin 26:13 because He wants to purify the planet. 26:16 So the seven last plagues are the awesome result 26:19 of a world separated from God and a planet in rebellion. 26:23 Now, who escapes the seven last plagues 26:26 in the last days? 26:28 "Them that have gotten the victory over the beast, 26:31 and over his image, and over his mark, 26:33 and over the number of his name." 26:34 Now, we've studied what these things are 26:36 in particular, 26:38 but if you were to summarize it, friends, 26:40 it's those who have gotten the victory over the devil. 26:44 And they have surrendered to the will of God, 26:47 are filled with the Spirit of God. 26:48 Doesn't that sum it up? 26:49 Everybody who has the Spirit of God 26:51 has the seal of God. 26:54 Now, do you have to worry? 26:56 You read in Psalm 91, 26:57 "A thousand may fall at your side, 26:59 ten thousand at your right hand, 27:01 but it will not come near to you. 27:03 Only with your eyes will you look, 27:05 see and behold the reward, 27:08 the judgment of the wicked." 27:09 So the wicked may be falling all around us. 27:11 I like the story of Rahab 27:13 where they shout and the walls of Jericho fall. 27:16 You know, when Jesus comes, there'll be a shout? 27:19 When Jesus comes, there'll be a triumph, 27:22 says, the Lord will descend from heaven with a shout, 27:24 with a triumph of the archangel, 27:26 voice of the archangel. 27:28 And the walls fell... 27:30 And where did Rahab live, in the wall? 27:33 And it fell all around her, 27:35 but it must have stood where she was, 27:36 because she and everybody in her house lived. 27:38 It's what the context tells us. 27:40 Joshua is coming. 27:41 The trumpets going to blow, there's going to be a shout, 27:44 the cities will be broken down 27:46 at the fierceness of the Lord's anger, 27:48 by the presence of the Lord. 27:49 That's the last seventh plague. Remember, we read that? 27:52 But we don't have to be afraid. 27:54 Everything may be totally imploding around us, 27:57 but He promises to protect us. 27:59 That was a good cue for amen, right there. 28:01 Amen. 28:03 Whom do the saved praise for their deliverance? 28:07 "Great and marvelous are thy works, 28:09 Lord God Almighty." 28:11 So when will the plagues begin to fall? 28:13 Now, you want to get out your timer 28:14 and mark this down, right? 28:17 It tells us, "The temple is filled with smoke. 28:19 And no man was able to enter into the temple 28:22 till the seven last plagues were fulfilled." 28:25 So again, you don't know when that is, 28:29 but a time we're living right now 28:30 and a time of what you would call 28:32 the pre-Advent judgment, now follow my logic. 28:35 It's a very simple biblical principle. 28:37 The Bible says, "Judgment must begin 28:39 at the house of God." 28:40 Peter tells us that 28:41 and he's quoting from Ezekiel 9, 28:43 says, "Begin at my sanctuary." 28:46 There is some evaluation 28:48 that takes place before Jesus comes 28:50 because the Bible's really clear, 28:52 "Behold, he comes and my reward is with me." 28:54 So when the Lord comes, does He need to then figure out 28:56 who is saved and lost? 28:58 Or is that determined before He comes? 29:00 We're living in that determining time now. 29:03 It's sometimes called the pre-Advent judgment, 29:06 there's different words for it, the investigative judgment, 29:08 but it's the last phase of church's history. 29:10 It's the church history called Laodicea. 29:12 The very phrase Laodicea, it means, 29:14 a judging of the people. 29:16 And when that time of judgment is done 29:19 and Michael stands out, 29:20 that means, you ever been in court 29:21 and when the judge stands up after hearing evidence, 29:24 he pounds his gavel and then he stands up. 29:26 You know what that means? I'm not listening anymore. 29:29 I've spoken. 29:33 And as it says in the Ten Commandments, 29:34 so let it be written. 29:35 So let it be done. It's like, it's over with now. 29:38 No more judgment. 29:40 What announcement will Jesus make 29:41 that indicates the heavenly judgment has ceased? 29:44 He, and this is Revelation 22:11, 29:46 "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still, 29:50 he who is filthy, let him be filthy still, 29:53 he who is righteous, let him be righteous still, 29:56 he who is holy, let him be holy still." 29:59 There'll come a time where the saved are saved 30:01 and the lost are lost. 30:02 Right now, probation is open and people can change teams. 30:06 People in the church can say, "I'm tired of this, 30:08 I'm going to go to the world." 30:10 And people in the world can say, "I'm tired of this, 30:11 I'm going to go to Christ." 30:13 And you're going to see a shaking 30:15 and some changing of signs along the way. 30:18 But once probation closes, 30:21 people are sealed 30:22 in their eternal destinies at that point. 30:25 Sometimes illness or disaster clarifies a person's thinking 30:29 and causes him to repent. 30:30 Sometimes trials bring us back to God. 30:33 But in the case of the seven last plagues, 30:36 nobody's going to be converted. 30:38 What purpose does God have in sending the plagues, 30:40 if no one's going to be converted? 30:43 You read, it says in Revelation 16:9, 30:45 "They blasphemed the God of heaven 30:48 and they repented not." 30:50 So it says, they blasphemed God. 30:55 You know what God is doing? 30:56 He's demonstrating that when the plagues come, 30:58 instead of them turning to God, 30:59 and repent it like the people of Nineveh. 31:02 They're showing there are no more 31:03 redeemable qualities instead of being changed, 31:06 there's nothing that would ever happen, 31:08 that would change their hearts at this point. 31:10 Can the devil ever repent? 31:12 He's grieved away the Holy Spirit. 31:13 He's reached that point of no return. 31:15 When the seven plagues fall, the saved are saved, 31:18 the lost are lost, 31:19 they've reached the point of no return. 31:22 There's no more redeemable qualities left 31:24 in their natures. 31:26 So how long will the plagues last? 31:28 Now, this is a question that's much discussed. 31:32 It says there in the prophecy, 31:33 "Therefore her plagues will come in one day." 31:36 What does the day equal in prophecy? 31:37 A year. A year. 31:38 But that doesn't mean, it's gonna be 365 or 360 31:42 as in a Jewish year days. 31:45 It means within a year's time, it's all going to happen. 31:49 So to understand, how long it's gonna be, 31:51 just use some past biblical examples. 31:55 The plagues that came on Job. 31:58 How long did that take? 32:00 They were extremely intense, very severe, 32:04 and comparatively happened in a short time. 32:06 Now if you would ask Job, how's it feeling? 32:09 Is it feels like an eternity? 32:11 But when you read the context of how it happened, 32:13 he lost everything in one blitzkrieg of attacks 32:18 from the devil. 32:19 And then it seems like a few weeks later, 32:21 when he wouldn't curse God, 32:22 he lost his health in another blitzkrieg. 32:26 And then his friends sat with him for seven days. 32:28 And the whole thing seems to happen 32:29 within a couple of months. 32:31 The ten plagues that fell on Egypt, 32:33 how long did that take? 32:35 Well, when you read the context, 32:36 it seems like they're back to back. 32:38 As soon as one plague's gone, the Pharaoh says, 32:40 "Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." 32:41 Plague goes away. 32:42 But he doesn't let the people go 32:43 or took a few days to find out, 32:45 he wasn't gonna do anything. 32:46 God says, "Send another plague." 32:48 And then he repents and another plague. 32:50 And it seems like, 32:51 it's happening in a matter of weeks 32:53 or at the most months, right? 32:55 And I remember, reading the statement 32:56 in the Spirit of Prophecy, where she says, 32:58 "You know, the plagues cannot last very long, 33:00 you look at the nature of them." 33:02 Jesus said, "Except those days be shortened, 33:05 no flesh would be saved." 33:07 So it's all happening within a year's time, 33:10 maybe a matter of months. 33:12 I did this one study, it's pretty weak, 33:14 but I'll share it with you. 33:16 In Revelation, you know, 33:17 if a day is a year and hour is about 15 days. 33:20 Three times in Revelation, 33:21 talking about the fall of Babylon, the plagues, 33:23 it says, in one hour falls economically, 33:25 in one hour it falls socially, politically. 33:27 It says, one hour, one hour, one hour, that's 45 days. 33:32 It's about the time of Job suffering 33:33 or Moses suffering. 33:34 So it's just a matter of a few months. 33:38 I think, less than a year. 33:41 So what are God's acts of punishment and judgment 33:43 called in Isaiah 28:21? 33:46 He does not enjoy this. 33:48 The Bible says, "It is His strange work, 33:50 His strange act." 33:52 God wants to give life. 33:53 He wants to bless. 33:54 So the plagues... 33:56 He's not rejoicing when this is happening. 33:58 It's breaking His heart. 34:00 So some people think now, 34:04 are we gonna be raptured before the plagues? 34:07 The plagues, by the way, 34:08 the seven last plagues are the Great Tribulation. 34:11 You hear about the Great Tribulation. 34:13 There's a small time of trouble before prohibition closes. 34:16 Then there's the great time of trouble, 34:18 such as there never has been, 34:20 that's a time when nobody's changing teams anymore. 34:24 Many lovely evangelical Christians 34:26 insist that that's when the secret rapture 34:28 takes place and we're caught up. 34:31 God loves the church too much 34:32 to allow us to go through trials. 34:34 And so the church is gone at this point. 34:37 But, does the Bible say that? 34:40 It says, "Only with your eyes will you see 34:42 and behold the punishment of the wicked." 34:43 You're there, 1000 may fall at your side, 34:46 10,000 at your right hand. 34:48 Were the children of Israel 34:49 in Egypt during the ten plagues? 34:52 Yes. 34:53 But they were protected during, 34:54 especially, the last seven plagues. 34:58 Did God save Noah 34:59 from the storm in the flood or through it? 35:02 Through it. 35:03 Did he save Shadrach, Meshach, 35:05 and Abednego from the furnace or through the furnace? 35:07 Through the furnace. 35:08 Did He save Daniel from the lions' den 35:10 or through it? 35:11 Through it. 35:12 Did He save Joseph from his trials 35:13 or through his trials and Job? 35:16 So the principle in the Bible is, 35:18 God does not save us from tribulation, Paul says, 35:21 "It is through much tribulation, 35:24 we enter the kingdom of God, but He saves us through it." 35:29 What's that spiritual saying, some through the water, 35:31 some through the flood, some through the fire, 35:34 all through the blood. 35:37 We all gonna go through tribulation. 35:38 All who live godly 35:40 will suffer through tribulation. 35:42 I sort of covered that slide. 35:44 So what is the first plague? 35:45 Here we get into the grieve stuff, okay? 35:48 Revelation 16:2, talks about, "A noisome and grievous sore." 35:52 Now, has that happened before? 35:55 You can read in Job, I'm sorry, 35:58 you can read that in Deuteronomy, 36:01 "The Lord will strike you in the knees and on the legs 36:04 with severe boils that cannot be healed, 36:07 from the sole of your foot to the top of your head." 36:09 Did that happen to Job? Yes. 36:11 Yeah and so when it says a sore, 36:13 it doesn't mean everybody gets one. 36:15 It means a plague of sores. 36:18 It's really a singular plague, 36:20 but the person may have several sores. 36:21 And so they're struggling 36:22 with the same kind of sores they had, 36:24 that was one of the Egyptian plagues. 36:27 It's a pain, a painful sore. 36:32 I'll not show you the scar, 36:33 but I got bit by a spider 36:35 when I was living in the Florida Keys 36:38 during a summer camp. 36:39 And started small and it just swelled up 36:42 my whole calf of my leg. 36:45 It got a boil. 36:46 I never had a boil before. 36:49 And it got so bad and it got infected. 36:52 And I was rolling back and forth in a fever 36:54 and all I could say, 36:55 my other cabin mates were teasing me, 36:56 I wanted to kill them, as I kept saying, 36:59 "The pain, the pain, the pain." 37:00 I never felt pain like that before. 37:03 And that was one boil, 37:06 so when it says they've got this noisome, 37:08 and then the phrase are also. 37:09 I know this is not pretty. 37:11 It basically means something that doesn't smell good. 37:15 So it says, "Then it took ashes from the furnace 37:17 before Pharaoh, 37:18 he scattered them towards the heaven 37:20 and boils broke out in sores on man and beast. 37:25 A foul and loathsome sore." 37:27 It's called in Revelation Chapter 16. 37:30 What happens during the second plague? 37:32 "Then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, 37:35 and it became as the blood of a dead man." 37:37 Notices this, as the blood of a dead man in that verse. 37:39 "And every living creature in the sea died. 37:43 And the sea became as the blood of a dead man." 37:47 Now, I don't think this is a plague, 37:49 but how many of you heard of Florida's red tide? 37:51 It's an algae. 37:52 And the water turns red. 37:54 And they were having this in Florida 37:56 and they showed a map, where they said, 37:58 it completely surrounded Southern Florida, 38:00 it was killing all the fishes. 38:01 You can see here. 38:02 Now the water is not red here because it's washed, 38:04 the dead fish have washed into the bay. 38:06 But just out in the water, 38:07 you could see this red plankton. 38:09 And this is not one of the plagues. 38:11 You think, "Pastor Doug, 38:12 do you think a plague has come?" 38:13 No, 38:15 this has happened through history 38:16 on a small scale. 38:17 They've been plagues, 38:18 people had boils at different times in history. 38:20 The bubonic plague caused a boil. 38:22 But I'm just showing you... 38:23 But it just seems like some of these things are mounting. 38:26 So what is the third plague? 38:27 Now first is the rivers, I'm sorry the sea. 38:32 Now it's the rivers and the fountains of water. 38:35 First, it's a salt water. 38:37 What do you think that will do to international shipping, 38:39 when every living thing in the sea dies? 38:42 Most of the cities of the world by far, probably, 38:45 90% of the cities of the world are located either at a seaport 38:48 or a major river. 38:50 And so this is especially striking 38:53 the bulk of the population of the world. 38:55 "The rivers and fountains became blood." 38:58 Now you notice before it says, as the blood of a dead man. 39:02 You know, you can look at the red plankton 39:04 and say it's as blood, it looks like blood, 39:06 but now its fountains of water. 39:09 "And the third angel poured out his bowl 39:10 on the rivers and springs of water," 39:12 and they have nothing to drink, 39:13 "and they became blood." 39:15 Now, this is a photograph of China's river. 39:18 They had a special problem in 2012, 39:21 and you can see the separation of the Yangtze River 39:24 turn red blood, blood red. 39:27 People are saying, is this it? 39:29 But no, I don't think that's it. 39:30 But these are some of the things 39:32 you're gonna hear. 39:33 But just to show you, 39:35 it can happen on a global scale. 39:39 "'And I heard an angel of the water saying, 39:41 'You are righteous, O Lord, 39:42 the one who is and who was and who is to be, 39:45 because You have judged these things.' 39:47 For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets 39:50 and You have given them blood to drink. 39:52 For it is their just due.'" 39:54 So what takes place then during the fourth plague? 39:57 "And the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, 40:00 and power was given to scorch men with fire 40:03 or with great heat. 40:05 And they were scorched with great heat, 40:06 and they blasphemed the name of God." 40:09 They don't repent because of their sins 40:12 and they've still got their boils, 40:14 they have nothing to drink and now there's the heat, 40:16 seems like one plague almost leads to another. 40:18 By the way, I do believe in global warming, 40:22 it's coming. 40:26 This is gonna be the ultimate global warming. 40:28 This is gonna be the ultimate climate change 40:31 is during the seven last plagues. 40:34 When the fifth angel pours out his plague 40:35 upon the seat of the beast, what happens next? 40:39 It says, "The throne of the beast and his kingdom 40:40 became full of darkness and they gnawed their tongues 40:44 because of pain. 40:45 And they blasphemed God in heaven 40:47 because of their pains and their sores..." 40:49 And now it's telling us the sores 40:51 haven't gone away yet. 40:52 So this is something that is happening 40:53 in quick succession. 40:56 "And they did not repent of their deeds." 40:58 They're not being called to repentance. 41:00 "His kingdom was full of darkness." 41:02 Was one of the plagues on Egypt, darkness? 41:05 Egypt said, they were the spiritual leaders 41:06 of the world. 41:07 But God was showing that they were the blind 41:09 leading the blind. 41:10 So the darkness on the seat of the beast. 41:12 The beast has been saying, "We have great light." 41:15 He's showing, "No, they're blind. 41:16 They're in darkness." 41:18 The Bible says, "Darkness will cover the land 41:21 and gross darkness the people." 41:23 It's Christ that is the light of the world. 41:25 When you reject the light of the world, 41:26 when you reject the Word is a lamp to your feet, 41:30 you reject the light, what's left? 41:32 Darkness. 41:33 Is probably be there in the seat of the beast 41:36 and all of its ancillary headquarters 41:40 around the world. 41:41 What happens under the sixth plague 41:43 when the angel pours out his vial 41:45 on the great river Euphrates? 41:48 "And then the sixth angel poured out his bowl 41:50 on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up. 41:55 So the way for the kings of the east might be prepared." 41:58 Now this plague, 42:00 we believe is more spiritual in nature, 42:03 where some of the others were very literal. 42:05 The Euphrates River drying up is a reference to something 42:08 that happened in Jewish history. 42:10 God's people were captive in Babylon, 42:12 Revelation saying, come out of Babylon. 42:15 A king from the east named Cyrus, 42:17 with Darius the Mede, the median king. 42:19 They came, 42:21 they diverted the water of the Euphrates 42:23 where it ran under the walls of Babylon. 42:26 The drying up of the waters allowed them to go 42:29 under the walls of the city, 42:30 you read about this in Daniel Chapter 5, 42:33 where Babylon fell, handwriting on the wall, 42:36 God's people were set free and it all happened 42:38 in quick succession. 42:40 So it's really saying, Christ is about to come. 42:43 All the resources of Babylon have dried up. 42:45 A river going into a kingdom is what gives its life. 42:49 But having said that, "The waters dried up, 42:53 he gathered them together into a place called Armageddon, 42:55 called in Hebrew tongue, Armageddon. 42:58 I just thought you might be interested, 43:00 can we play the audio for this? 43:01 What's happening now, Iraqis fleeing three towns 43:03 on the banks of the Euphrates River. 43:05 There are new concerns that the river's water level 43:07 is so low that ISIS fighters 43:09 can just walk across and launch attacks. 43:12 That's after ISIS militants, 43:13 they shut off the gates of the Ramadi Dam. 43:16 This new strategy presenting a major security 43:18 and humanitarian threat. 43:20 There is this belief of, if you control the water, 43:23 you can control your enemy, 43:25 which in that part of the world is basically true. 43:27 ISIS terrorists are doing the unthinkable. 43:30 They're closing the gate to the Ramadi Dam. 43:32 Downstream the water level on the Euphrates has dropped, 43:36 and this is allowing ISIS fighters 43:38 to move more freely. 43:39 Iraqi officials are releasing some water 43:41 from the Habbaniyah Lake 43:44 downstream so that seven provinces 43:47 will have some flow still coming through. 43:49 But they said this is a temporary solution only, 43:52 it will only last for a few days. 43:54 Clearly a bit by ISIS to say to those people 43:57 caught up in the fighting there. 43:58 Look, we have the one thing you need, 44:00 the agriculture, the basic daily life this, 44:02 water crisis unfolding around Ramadi... 44:04 They finally might find that interesting. 44:06 Here, it's saying Euphrates River's drying up, 44:09 it was in the news two years ago. 44:11 You noticed, I grabbed clips from CNN and Fox, 44:14 so I could be equal for everybody. 44:17 They both reported, Euphrates River is drying up. 44:19 Well, ISIS were shutting off the dam, 44:21 which dried it up downstream. 44:23 But so, if a person ever says, 44:24 "Well, it could never happen literally." 44:25 It already has happened literally 44:27 a couple times in history. 44:29 Anyway, but something else to think about, 44:30 what happens during the... 44:34 Is it the fifth plague or fourth plague, 44:35 when it says men's scorch with great heat? 44:38 What happens to rivers when there's great heat? 44:41 What happened in the days of Elijah during that famine? 44:44 "Cyrus the king from the east, 44:45 delivered God's people 44:47 from the tyranny of ancient Babylon. 44:49 Jesus, the King of the east, 44:51 will deliver God's people from the end of time." 44:54 And so when the walls of Babylon were breached, 44:57 because Euphrates River dried up, 44:59 its signaled deliverance for God's people. 45:03 "Behold, Christ said, I come as a thief. 45:04 Blessed is he that watches and keeps his garments, 45:07 lest he walked naked and they see his shame." 45:11 What sense would it make to say that Christ delivers His people 45:14 before the tribulation, 45:15 when the Bible says He's coming as a thief 45:17 after the tribulation? 45:19 So people who believe the secret rapture happens 45:20 before the plagues, 45:22 it doesn't match with the rest of the passage. 45:24 He's coming to deliver them 45:26 at the end of the seven plagues. 45:27 But you know how to answer that. 45:29 Well, the church, 45:30 the gentiles are raptured before the seven last plagues, 45:33 the Jews are raptured after the seven last plagues. 45:36 I don't see God dividing salvation that way, 45:38 because Christ... 45:40 Paul says that after Jesus, there is neither Jew nor Greek. 45:43 We are all one in Christ. 45:44 Everyone who believes is a child of Abraham. 45:46 Amen? 45:47 So they're making a separation that the Bible stops making. 45:51 The second coming of Jesus 45:52 takes place under the seventh plague. 45:55 What two devastating upheavals of nature take place 45:58 at the time of the seventh plague? 46:01 "The seventh angel pours out his bowl in the air, 46:04 and a loud voice came out of the temple in heaven 46:06 from the throne saying, 'It is done!'" 46:09 It's over. 46:12 "And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings, 46:14 and there was a great earthquake, 46:16 such a mighty and a great earthquake 46:18 has not occurred since men were on the earth," says, 46:20 "every mountain and island is taken away." 46:24 And it says, "There was great earthquake 46:26 and there fell on man a great hail out of heavens." 46:29 You got a great earthquake and a great hail 46:32 in the seventh plague. 46:33 But what about God's people, are we protected? 46:36 God is our refuge. 46:38 Were the children of Israel in Egypt 46:40 during the plague of hail? 46:41 Yes, but it didn't hit them. 46:44 "God is our refuge and strength, 46:46 a very present help in trouble. 46:48 Therefore we will not fear, 46:49 even though the earth be removed, 46:52 and though the mountains be carried 46:53 into the midst of the sea." 46:54 There gonna be earthquakes all around us, 46:56 we don't need to fear. 46:57 Amen? Amen. 46:58 Next thing that happens then, it is, of course, Christ comes, 47:03 we are caught up to meet Him in the air, 47:05 the devastation is left behind us 47:08 as the final destruction of the earth. 47:10 So quick review of the seven plagues. 47:12 You've got the sores, 47:15 the sea turning into blood and the freshwater, 47:17 the rivers and the springs turning to blood, 47:20 men being scorched 47:21 with great heat is plague number four. 47:24 Darkness on the headquarters of the beast, 47:27 the battle of Armageddon, I didn't talk about that, 47:29 the battle of Armageddon. 47:30 What is Armageddon mean? 47:33 Armageddon is the hill of Megiddo. 47:35 It was a key place in Israel, 47:38 in the very center of Israel where a number of battles 47:40 were fought, including a battle, 47:42 where Gideon defeated the Amalekites 47:46 and the Midianites and the people of the east, 47:48 with a trumpet, and a light, 47:51 and a sword, mentions those three things. 47:55 They're not sure, 47:56 the word Armageddon doesn't appear anywhere else 47:59 in Greek literature. 48:01 And it says in the Hebrew tongue, 48:02 this is what it's called, 48:04 Its Har-megiddon or Har-magideon, 48:07 which works either way 48:09 because the Battle of Gideon was in the Valley of Megiddo. 48:12 And so it's basically pointing us back to a time, 48:14 when it looked like things were hopeless for God's people. 48:18 But at the crucial moment, the trumpet blew, 48:21 the enemy self destructed, 48:23 and God's people were delivered. 48:25 There's a lot of stories, 48:26 like that where God's people were delivered 48:28 in the Valley of Megiddo. 48:29 And so it's pointing us back to that victorious battle. 48:31 Now, the battle of Armageddon begins 48:34 with Christ coming to fight for us. 48:36 He's riding on a white horse. 48:38 That's the beginning of the battle of Armageddon. 48:40 The last phase is at the end of the 1000 years, 48:44 when Satan launches his attack with Gog and Magog, 48:48 lost against the city. 48:50 Fire comes down out of God and devours them 48:52 after they are judged, 48:53 after the Great White Throne Judgment. 48:55 So just like any war, you might have a few battles. 48:59 The Battle of Armageddon begins with the first coming 49:02 or with the second coming of Christ 49:04 and ends with, what you would call, 49:05 the third coming after the millennium. 49:07 All right, well, I think, we've covered it, 49:09 during the sixth plague, 49:11 what happens to Babylon's three-fold alliance? 49:15 It tells us, "The great city was divided into three parts." 49:19 In Moses' day God sent ten plagues 49:21 on the Egyptians. 49:22 How were God's people protected from the tenth plague? 49:25 "They will take of the blood, 49:27 and strike it on the two side posts. 49:29 And when I see the blood, I will pass over." 49:33 So how are we protected during the plagues? 49:37 Bible tells us we're going to be protected by, 49:40 "They overcame by," what? 49:42 "The blood of the lamb, 49:44 and the word of our testimony." 49:46 It's only the blood of Christ, 49:47 and faith in Him that will save us. 49:49 Do we need to be frightened about the last plagues? 49:52 No. I'm jumping ahead here. 49:54 He said, "Neither shall evil, any evil befall you 49:58 or any plague come nigh your dwelling. 50:01 For He'll give His angels charge over you 50:03 to keep you in all your ways." 50:04 We don't need to fear the plagues, friends. 50:06 A good news is that, it's gonna get really good, 50:10 but before it gets really good, it's gonna get really bad. 50:13 That's the message of the plagues. 50:14 But after the plagues, it's gonna be really good. 50:17 He's gonna make a new heaven and a new earth. 50:19 But before it gets better than it ever has been, 50:21 it's going to be worse than it ever has been. 50:23 Isn't that exciting? 50:27 So you want to make sure that you're under the blood. Amen? 50:30 We want to remind our friends that 50:31 maybe missed the announcement at the beginning. 50:34 We do have a free gift. 50:35 It talks about this scenario of the seven last plagues. 50:39 It's called "The Final Events of Bible Prophecy." 50:41 We will send it to you simply for asking. 50:43 Ask for offer number 864, when you do. 50:46 And just call 866-788-3966. 50:50 You can even download this for watching, if you want. 50:53 You can text this, watch it on your phone 50:55 or your computer, 50:56 "SH121" to 40544. 51:02 And we hope that you are blessed by that. 51:04 God bless you, until we study His Word together 51:06 again next week. 51:12 Amazing Facts changed lives. 51:20 I was born into a family of criminals. 51:23 When I got older and I started breaking the rules, 51:26 no one ever taught me about, Thou shalt not steal. 51:28 Thou shalt not lie. 51:30 Thou shalt not commit adultery, anything like that. 51:33 When I became a runaway at 14, 51:36 I was just a wild and lost child. 51:39 I had somebody tell me, "Hey, you wanna earn some money 51:42 cleaning this guy's kitchen." 51:44 So I went to this house on a different side of town 51:46 than I was used to. 51:47 Someone kept giving me alcoholic drinks 51:51 and being 115 pounds and 14 years old, 51:54 it really didn't take much time 51:55 before I was so inebriated that I had no control over, 51:59 what was going on around me. 52:01 He took me to another location, another town. 52:05 And I was put in isolation. 52:07 I would come out to be abused 52:08 between three and eight times a day. 52:10 I was degraded. 52:11 I was humiliated, 52:13 that had no value as a human being. 52:15 And I learned very quickly 52:17 that what I felt and what I thought, 52:19 and how this made me feel did not matter to him at all. 52:23 If I even thought about 52:26 not doing what he wanted me to do, 52:28 I would have a gun to my head and knife to my throat. 52:34 There was one time in particular 52:36 where he had been tormenting me psychologically. 52:41 And one day he said, "Oh, you'll never kill yourself. 52:44 You'll never do it." 52:46 And almost defiantly, I was like, "Yes, I will." 52:50 And he handed me a handful of pills 52:52 and I took them. 52:53 While I was overdosing, 52:54 and I had been overdosing all night, 52:57 I cried out to a God that I didn't even believe in. 53:00 And at that very moment in the most powerful way, 53:03 God shown His light on me. 53:05 And He gave me peace of mind, like I never had. 53:09 And He let me know right then and there 53:11 while I was on that bathroom floor, 53:12 that He was real and then He was love. 53:15 And that I did not know how at that time, 53:17 but He was going to help me. 53:19 A little less than a year later, 53:21 I became pregnant at 15. 53:23 I loved my son with my whole heart. 53:25 He also became something 53:27 that my abuser could use against me 53:29 in order to pump more fear and coercion. 53:34 I had finally got away from my abuser. 53:37 And I'd finally built up a support system 53:39 to help me stay on the move and stay on the run. 53:42 And I was at my grandmother's house 53:44 and on my son's third birthday, 53:46 he took my son 53:52 and when I called the police and said, 53:53 "My son's just been kidnapped." 53:55 They said, "He's the father. 53:56 We can't do anything about it." 53:58 After my son was gone, I lost my mind. 54:02 I started doing drugs. 54:03 And within a month and a half, I robbed a convenience store. 54:07 So I was sentenced to 70 months, 54:10 5 years, 10 months in prison. 54:12 And it was the best thing that ever happened to me. 54:17 I started attending the church services in prison, 54:20 seven days a week, it blew my mind. 54:23 I was hooked. 54:25 And then we went through, 54:26 it was Millennium of Prophecy and NET '99 54:30 that just solidified my faith in such a powerful way. 54:35 And I knew God, that God was leading me. 54:38 Even the guards there commented on how much I had changed 54:42 since I started doing the studies on Amazing Facts. 54:46 I was so excited about what I was learning 54:48 that I was coming back from there 54:51 and trying to convert my heart into criminal friends 54:54 with the Storacles of Prophecy. 54:56 Every question I ever had, every worry, 54:59 everything that I ever wondered about, 55:02 the Bible answered everything, 55:04 and it was so clear and so easy to understand. 55:08 It's been 11 years, since I've been out of prison. 55:10 I am married to an amazing wonderful man, 55:14 my first non-abusive relationship 55:15 in my whole entire life. 55:17 Before we got married, 55:18 we watched the Millennium of Prophecy series together. 55:22 And it was just such a blessing 55:25 to be able to see him learn and see him grow. 55:29 And I felt like my life now is just a gift 55:32 that every single thing that happened to me 55:34 bad in the past 55:35 is nothing compared to the joy, and the happiness, 55:39 and the stability that I have now. 55:42 My name is Christine VanOrder, 55:43 and my life has been changed by Jesus Christ 55:47 and Amazing Facts. 56:06 Friends, we're out here in the Pacific Ocean, 56:08 not too far from the Island of Fiji. 56:10 And we're getting ready to look at some wonders in the deep. 56:14 The Bible says, "God made the heaven, 56:16 the earth, and the sea." 56:17 And there are things under the sea 56:19 that are beautiful that many people have never seen. 56:21 Some folks might just skim along 56:23 snorkel on the surface. 56:24 But if you want to see the real majesty of the ocean, 56:27 you got to go deeper. 56:42 Because people don't have gills like fish, 56:45 we have to do something extraordinary 56:47 to be able to breathe below the surface. 56:49 And because you have to breathe all the time, 56:51 we need this special equipment. 56:56 In the same way the Bible says, 56:57 "A Christian needs to pray without ceasing. 57:00 We need to always be breathing the atmosphere of heaven 57:03 if we're going to live a Christian life 57:04 in this world below. 57:33 Wow. What a wonderful world. 57:47 Did you know Amazing Facts 57:48 has a free Bible school that you can do 57:50 from the comfort of your own home? 57:52 It includes 27 beautifully illustrated study lessons 57:56 to aid in your study of God's Word. 57:58 Sign up today for this free Bible Study course 58:00 by calling 1-844-215-7000. 58:04 That's 1-844-215-7000. |
Revised 2019-03-13