All right, we are in 1 Peter chapter 3, and we're continuing our series on false philosophies.
And the false philosophy we're looking at in this sermon is world peace, world peace.
Now what I've tried to do is apply all of these sermons to a specific religion, even
though many religions have this sort of idea, this false philosophy of pushing peace a little
bit too far.
But I also want to try to keep it interesting, kind of apply it to certain things.
So I'm going to look at the religion here and talk about a little bit of Jainism or
Jainism, which is a religion in India.
And this is a religion that is in the top 20 worldwide of religions.
It's got about 6 million followers, and it's probably the most bizarre religion in the
world.
Far more bizarre than Hinduism.
It's pretty crazy compared to other ones.
But they are known as the world's most peaceful religion.
So what better religion to focus on than the religion known as the world's most peaceful
religion.
Now, before I get into showing what's wrong with them and getting into the points, let
me just say this, that I understand the appeal of wanting world peace because I think we
would all love to have peace.
Wouldn't that be a good thing?
I would love to have peace.
That would be great.
And here's what it says in 1 Peter 3 verse 10, for he that will love life and see good
days, let him refrain his tongue from evil and his lips that they speak no guile.
Let him eschew evil and do good.
Let him seek peace and ensue it.
So seeking after peace is a good thing.
However, with all of these false philosophies, there is some truth to it, but they go a little
bit too far.
Because here's the thing, I want to have peace in my life, but that is not the number one
thing that I'm searching after.
There are other things that are more important than searching after peace.
We should strive to have peace, but it's not the number one thing God tells us to search
after.
This religion of Jainism, let me just read you quickly from this article.
It says, there are currently some six million followers worldwide.
Jainism has long been respected as the world's most peace-loving religion because of its
strict doctrine of nonviolence, Ahimsa.
Mahatma Gandhi, born a Hindu, was an admirer of Jainism's teachings and adopted the doctrine
of nonviolence in his movement for Indian independence.
Now Gandhi and the Jains ended up coming in to having a big argument over this issue of
a calf, and basically Gandhi said there's a calf that is suffering, it's going to die,
just put the calf out of its misery, and then Jainism considered that a really evil sin
because they say that calf is dealing with karma from sins of a past life, so you have
to allow that calf to just suffer until its dying day.
That's their idea.
They take karma to an extreme, and it's a big philosophical discussion on how they apply
karma with all these religions in India.
They get really technical.
It's pretty confusing, but they said, well, he's suffering from past misdeeds, so whatever
bad things happen in your life, you just have to deal with it because you're dealing with
karma is what they say.
Some of the other teachings are this.
They believe that this earth has abided forever, that this earth was never created, but it's
always been here, always been here, but they don't believe in a creator God.
So the earth has abided forever, but God, they'll say, well, we don't really believe
in God.
Talk about worshipping the creature more than the creator, right?
It's like this earth has lasted forever, but not God, they say, right?
And they also say the earth is flat.
That's part of their teaching.
Some people actually left their religion because in the modern days they say, well, I can't
get on board with this flat earth thing, right?
And so they'll say that they don't believe in God, but then when you listen to them,
they talk about karma and past lives.
Well, obviously you believe in something out there because otherwise it doesn't make
any logical sense, right?
But they'll say, well, we don't believe in God, but the earth has always been here.
Some of the other teachings, I gave this trivia question recently to members at church here
in Manila.
I said, can you name to me the only religion in the world that always has worn masks even
before this pandemic?
And you know, and I said, what is the reason why?
And see, they've always worn masks and the reason why is they're so peaceful.
They're afraid they might swallow a bug while they're walking and accidentally kill it.
So they've been wearing masks since, you know, the beginning because they're afraid they
might accidentally swallow a bug.
Now I will just say, honestly, I remember a few times in my life I accidentally killed
a bug when I was, you know, my, my mouth was open because I was playing soccer two times.
I remember I was running and then all of a sudden I felt this dry thing at the back of
my throat and I had accidentally swallowed a bug.
So I guess I understand what they're saying, right, but here's the thing, that's more peaceful
than me.
I'm not worried.
I'm worried about myself breathing, right?
I'm not worried about, oh no, I might accidentally kill a bug.
And then they also will oftentimes, the ones that are very strict, they're supposed to
bring like a small broom to sweep the ground in front of them while they walk so they don't
accidentally step on a bug or an organism.
Hey, you know what?
They're more peaceful than me, right?
I mean, I'll admit it, they're more peaceful than me.
So these are some of the strange things.
Another strange thing is this, they're against brushing your teeth and they're against brushing
your teeth because of the fact they say, well, you know, there's bacteria and microorganisms
in your mouth.
So if you brush your teeth, you're going to kill those microorganisms.
Yes, they are more peaceful than me.
I'm not that peaceful.
I brush my teeth every single day.
It's important to me.
I'm not worried about killing microorganisms as I'm brushing my teeth.
Another thing that is just as bizarre but pretty disgusting is they're against using
toilets and showers.
And so they will, and not all of the Janes follow this strictly, but they're supposed
to.
Everyone's laughing.
This isn't like a comedy, right?
I'm preaching a serious sermon, right?
But basically they'll use the bathroom just out in public.
They'll try to go to more abandoned places, but also they say, well, in a toilet, when
you flush it, you've got bacteria and microorganisms that are going to get destroyed.
And then you've got to use acidic cleaners that will kill them, you know, to keep it
clean and everything.
So basically they use the bathroom outside.
And honestly, this is part of the filth that's in India because, well, they're just using
the bathroom in the streets.
I mean, it's disgusting, right?
But they do it because they're so peaceful.
They don't want to kill the bacteria that's in toilets.
And so they either don't shower or try to shower very little because they don't want
to harm that water, right?
Another thing, the last one I'll mention, I mean, this is the most bizarre religion
I've ever heard.
And honestly, this is sort of an offshoot of Hinduism, but they were kind of like the
extreme.
It kind of became its own religion.
I'm not shocked that people said, you know what, this is just too far, right?
And so another thing is this, they're vegans, but they're not only vegans, but there's certain
vegetables and fruits that they're against eating because of the harm it causes.
That includes potatoes, onions, roots, and tubers.
And what's considered is they're root vegetables.
So when you pull them out of the ground, it causes destruction.
And they get really technical and philosophical.
It's confusing.
I'm just kind of giving you an overview of some of the stuff, but it's all because they're
so peaceful.
That is the reason why they do it.
They're just so peaceful.
They can't harm certain vegetables by tearing them out of the ground.
Now go to Luke chapter 12, Luke 12, Luke 12, Luke chapter 12.
So look, some people that say, well, we're after world peace, they get pretty extreme.
I mean, the Jains are the most extreme that I've heard.
I mean, it's the most bizarre religion I've ever heard of.
And I've learned at least a little bit about a lot of religions.
More and more extreme than Hinduism.
It's pretty crazy in terms of just being out there.
But point number one, why do we reject this idea of world peace?
Number one, because Jesus did not bring peace, right?
Jesus Christ was here.
And when he came, he didn't bring peace.
And what it says in Luke 12 verse 51 is this, suppose ye that I am come to give peace on
earth, I tell you nay, but rather division.
I mean, isn't that just very clear in Luke 12 verse 51?
Does it sound like Jesus Christ was trying to bring about world peace?
I mean, if Jesus was around today here on earth, do you think this would be him?
Right?
We've got the Pope here on the front of this bulletin, shaking hands with Muslims and Hindus
and all these other religions.
Is this the Jesus Christ of the Bible?
Just I'm here to bring peace, set aside differences.
No, he said, I'm not here to bring peace, I came to bring division.
And that's exactly what Jesus Christ did.
So from henceforth, there should be five in one house divided, three against two and
two against three.
The father shall be divided against the son and the son against the father, the mother
against the daughter and the daughter against the mother, the mother-in-law against her
daughter-in-law and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
And what Jesus is saying is the Word of God has a way of dividing people.
Now, the Bible says we should seek after peace, but what you're seeing is the Word of God
is above peace.
And what the Bible says goes no matter what, no matter what anybody thinks.
Right?
I mean, if Jesus Christ was just trying to bring peace, why did he tell people they were
on their way to hell?
It's not a very peaceful message.
He said, I am the way, the truth and the life.
Now truly, when we go soul winning, we're spreading the gospel of peace and if people
receive it, it's a very peaceful and happy and great message for them, but not everyone
receives it.
Some people get mad at us.
And what we're saying when we go soul winning is not the most nicest thing to them.
We're telling them they're on their way to hell, that their works won't get them to heaven.
And look, Jesus Christ, if he was just peace, peace, peace, love, love, love, why would
anyone have killed him?
You don't get killed by just being nice to everybody.
Obviously what he said caused problems.
People got mad.
You say, why?
He didn't come to bring peace.
He came to bring division because the Word of God has a way to divide people.
And look, when you read the Bible, show me the great person of God whose words didn't
cause division.
I mean, you read Jeremiah, even saved people wanted to kill Jeremiah.
You read about all these prophets, they wanted to stone them, they wanted to kill them.
They got mad at the message of what was being said.
You say, why?
Because they didn't act like Joel Osteen and just say, your best life now, you're just
great.
No, Jesus Christ came to bring division.
That's what the Bible says.
Go to Matthew 5, Matthew chapter 5, Matthew 5.
Now look, obviously it's true that we can take this too far of this idea of division.
I mean, we should not seek to just get in fights with people.
We should seek for peace if possible.
If it be possible, the Bible says, live at peaceably with all men.
But what the Bible is saying is it's not always possible.
So there's this balance between world peace, just get along with everybody, no matter what,
and division.
Now we should not strive to just get in fights with people.
We should try to get along with people.
However, it's not possible always.
And you say, why is that?
Well, point number one, Jesus did not bring peace, but point number two, what you're going
to find in the Bible is that truth, purity, holiness, and righteousness comes before peace
comes above peace.
Peace is secondary to truth.
Peace is secondary to righteousness.
Peace is secondary to purity.
Peace is secondary to holiness.
You say, well, why do you think that?
Well, let me prove it to you from the Bible.
Matthew 5 verse 8, blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God.
Let me ask you a question.
Here in Matthew 5, what do we see coming first, purity or peace, in the order of these verses?
Because I don't believe anything in the Bible is accidental or coincidental.
There's other places as well.
We'll look at another place here today.
We're not going to spend all of our time on this point.
But what you see is this, purity comes before peace.
Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God.
I mean, peace is a great thing.
However, purity comes before peace.
That's what we see in the Bible.
Verse 10, blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Now the idea when you tie these things together,
you can look at each of these verses individually,
but they also tie together in a whole,
where basically when you put purity before peace,
it can cause you to be persecuted.
Let me give you an example.
Let's say you have a Christmas party at your office,
and you're having a Christmas party,
because I've worked at an office,
they have Christmas parties,
and you have Christmas parties, you have alcohol, right?
Now the Bible teaches we shouldn't drink alcohol.
But at Christmas parties,
people really try to push you to drink alcohol,
and if you go to the party and don't drink alcohol,
they'll sometimes get mad at you,
or if you choose not to go,
they're like, why won't you do this to have fun?
Well, here's the thing.
The easy thing to do at a Christmas party
where everyone's getting drunk is to drink a little bit
in order to have peace.
Is that not true?
They try to push you in to drink,
oh, just drink one beer.
Well, it'd be very easy to just drink one beer
to get along with everybody,
but here's the problem with that.
Purity is above peace in the eyes of God.
You don't set aside holiness and righteousness and purity
and what's right in order to have peace.
Now look, I wanna have peace with people.
However, the Bible tells us we cannot set aside
what is right in order to have peace.
So look, if we're able to stand for what we stand for
and have peace, then great.
But if we gotta make a choice, purity comes before peace.
Now look, I do believe that we should be respectful
as much as is possible.
If somebody at your office basically offers you
beer or wine or something like that,
of course we speak the truth in love.
We try to be as nice as possible,
especially if they're just trying to do a nice thing
and they just don't really understand your beliefs
or whatever, but you cannot sacrifice your purity
and what's right in order to have peace.
And here's the thing, when you stand up for purity,
oftentimes it causes you to be persecuted
because of what you believe.
And they shall say all manner of evil against you falsely
for my namesake.
Rejoice and be exceeding glad,
for great is your reward in heaven,
for so persecuted they the prophets were before you.
Year the salt of the earth,
but if the salt of lust is savor,
wherewith shall it be salted?
It is thenceforth good for nothing but to be cast out
and to be trodden underfoot of men.
Go to James chapter three, James chapter three.
James three.
I mean, here's the thing, when I preach sermons,
a lot of what I say is not that peaceful.
A lot of what I say is not that nice.
And here's the thing, if peace was my number one thing
I was pushing for, I would never preach a sermon like this.
I'd never preach a sermon with the name false in it,
false philosophies, like a sermon series,
because I don't want to say anything's false,
because that's going to offend people, right?
I mean, if all I was trying to do was just have peace,
I would just stand up here and say, you know what?
You know, we need to have love in our lives and joy.
And look, those things are good.
Those things get preached,
but that's not the only thing that gets preached.
And sometimes you have to preach messages
that can offend people.
You say, why is that?
Because purity is more important than peace
in the eyes of God.
Jesus said, I didn't come to bring peace.
And yet the one word you'd use to describe God
more than any other word is what?
Holy.
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty.
That's what the Bible says, right?
This is what you see throughout the Bible,
that God is holy, God is righteous,
God is pure, God is perfect.
But he didn't come to bring peace.
James 3.
James 3, verse 13.
Who is a wise man and then do with knowledge among you?
Let him show out of a good conversation
his works with meekness of wisdom.
But if you have bitter envying and strife in your hearts,
glory not, lie not against the truth.
So the Bible says here in verse 14,
don't have envy, don't have strife,
try to get along with people.
But notice this, verse 15.
This wisdom descendeth not from above,
but is earthly, sensual, devilish.
For where envying and strife is,
there is confusion in every evil work.
But the wisdom that is from above is first pure,
then peaceable.
I mean, isn't that just very clear from the Bible?
First pure, then peaceable.
So what comes first?
Purity, righteousness, holiness, godliness,
obeying God's commandments, the truth, then peaceable.
Now look, we should strive to preach the truth in love.
We don't have to be a jerk to people
if we're right and they're wrong.
However, the Bible's very clear in James 3.17.
First pure, then peaceable.
So look, if you've got to make a choice in your life
between purity and peace,
according to the Bible, what should you choose?
Purity, holiness, righteousness.
And you know what?
When you put purity above other things,
it will cause you sometimes to have people mad at you.
It will cause you to be persecuted.
It will cause you sometimes to have people angry with you
because they want you to set aside.
Why can't you just get along with everybody?
Because there are certain things
that we cannot just set aside.
Certain things are too important to just set aside.
First pure, then peaceable,
gentle and easy to be entreated,
full of mercy and good fruits,
without partiality and without hypocrisy.
And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace
of them that make peace.
Turn to 2 Kings 9, 2 Kings 9.
2 Kings 9.
Now, I do believe when it talks about first pure,
it's referring to like spiritually morally pure
is the main thing it's referring to.
But let me just say this.
I have said before that, you know,
physical uncleanness does go along with spiritual uncleanness
and when you look at countries that are physically filthy,
they're spiritually filthy as well.
Those things go hand in hand.
And so I do think this is mainly referring
to spiritual purity, but let me just say something
that's not that peaceful about this Jainism religion.
Let me tell you something.
Using the bathroom and the streets,
can you think of anything that's less pure,
that's more filthy than that?
I mean, how disgusting is that, right?
It's like, oh, how can you say that you have to get along?
Because you know what, if I lived over there,
I wouldn't want to accidentally step in their excrement.
It's like use a toilet, right?
What is wrong with you, right?
Well, how can you say that it's not a very peaceful message?
They're so nice, right?
Well, certain things you can't just set aside.
And look, that causes diseases.
It's not just that it's disgusting.
It causes a lot of diseases.
It's like, what are you doing, right?
This is why you need the Bible to guide you.
And look, here's the thing, we don't think of this
because we all grew up, you know,
indoor plumbing is modern day, it's not a big thing.
But you look at the book of Leviticus,
there's really specific rules for stuff
just for purity and cleanliness sake.
I mean, what a filthy, disgusting thing to do.
And it's just like, there's certain things
that you can't just set aside, right?
I wouldn't be willing over there to say,
well, we can just agree to disagree with this.
No, because what they're doing would affect us,
just going about our lives, right?
And let me just say this, that this idea of world peace,
it's just a stupid idea.
It's obvious it would never happen, right?
Now, look, when you're young,
I understand being naive about how the world works.
You're young and look, when you're five or six years old,
if you don't grow up in a church like this,
you'll probably have that idea in your mind,
why can't we just all get along?
Why does everyone have so much hate?
But then as you get older, you realize
that's just a stupid idea, it would never happen
because there are just certain things we disagree on,
certain things that are just too big of an issue.
And yet you look at people that are adults
and they're like, world peace.
I'm just like, are you still a five-year-old?
Because when I was five, I was Bobo and naive,
but it's like, as a grown person,
realize we're not gonna have world peace.
You say, why aren't we gonna have world peace?
Jesus said he was the only way to heaven.
Talk about a divisive topic.
Muslims say they're the only way to heaven.
Talk about a divisive topic, right?
I mean, when you say things like that,
and that's half the world is Christian or Muslim,
right, underneath those umbrellas,
there's not gonna be world peace.
Can't you just accept all the religions?
No, because they're on their way to hell, right?
And they might not believe that, but we know that's true.
And the fact that hell and heaven are realities,
there will never be world peace.
Because it's too important for us
that people get saved and go to heaven.
Anyway, honestly, we're willing to risk our own lives
and our own safety and things that could get us in trouble
for the fact that we don't wanna see people go to hell.
And if we had no love in our hearts,
we'd just say, ah, whatever, doesn't affect us.
We don't have to talk to people about this,
but you know what, it's too important.
We don't want them to go to hell.
And here's the thing, when you have topics like this,
these are gonna be things that divide people, right?
There are issues that are just gonna divide people.
The Bible says, I am for peace,
but when I speak, they're for war.
And look, we do believe in peace.
We want peace, but here's the thing,
purity is above peace.
And when we speak and proclaim what the Bible says,
it offends people.
And look, even if we don't say anything,
people get offended that we're Christians.
You say, what do you mean?
I mean, the LGBT hates the message of the Bible.
They'll get mad at you.
Well, I mean, you support a book that says
all these evil things about homos.
Well, in order to have peace, we could just say,
well, you know, and just back down.
But here's the thing, purity is above peace.
It's more important in the eyes of God.
Second Kings 9, verse 16.
And we have this character Jehu in the Bible
who's a great character.
And you know, he's a good man.
I mean, he wasn't perfect.
He had a lot of mistakes we'll see later on,
but he's a good guy.
And basically he's being proclaimed king.
And notice what it says in verse 16.
So Jehu wrote in a chariot and went to Jezreel
for Joram lay there.
And Ahaziah, king of Judah, was come down to see Joram.
And there stood a watchman on the tower in Jezreel,
and he spied the company of Jehu as he came,
and said, I see a company.
And Joram said, take in horsemen and sin to meet them
and let them say, is it peace?
So there went one on horseback to meet him and said,
thus saith the king, is it peace?
And Jehu said, of course, right?
I don't want to have any problems, right, peace.
Of course, peace, I want to get along with everybody.
Now this is what Jehu says.
What hast thou to do with peace?
Turn thee behind me, and the watchman told, saying,
the messenger came to them, but he cometh not again.
And then it says here,
then he sent out a second on horseback,
which came to them and said,
thus saith the king, is it peace?
And Jehu answered, what hast thou to do with peace?
Turn thee behind me.
And the watchman told, saying,
he came even on to them and cometh not again.
And the driving is like the driving of Jehu,
the son of Nimshi, for he driveth furiously.
And Joram said, make ready, and his chariot was made ready.
And Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah
went out, each in his chariot,
and then went out against Jehu
and met him in the portion of Naboth the Jezreelite.
And it came to pass when Joram saw Jehu that he said,
is it peace, Jehu?
And he answered, what peace,
so long as the hoardings of thy mother Jezebel
and her witchcrafts are so many?
And he's saying, you know what,
hey, it would be great to have peace,
but how can we have peace
when the hoardings of your mom Jezebel
and her witchcrafts and the sorcery
and all this evil is taking place?
There's not gonna be any peace.
There's gonna be judgment.
You say, why?
Righteousness is above peace.
And when there's wickedness, God has to judge that land.
There's not gonna be any peace
when all this wickedness is taking place.
Look, we live in a wicked world in 2022.
What peace are we gonna have?
I'm for peace.
I wanna have peace, but how can we have peace
with a world that is so wicked and has so many problems?
And Joram turned his hands and fled and said to Ahaziah,
there is treachery, O Ahaziah.
And Jehu drew a bow with his full strength
and smote your horn between his arms.
And the arrow went out at his heart
and he sunk down in his chariots.
You say, why is it that there's this death that takes place?
Why is it he's not willing to have peace?
Because truth and purity come above or before peace,
according to the word of God.
I mean, when you see people that become leaders
in countries in the Bible that are good leaders,
what do they do?
Well, they remove the idolatry.
That's pretty much number one.
And then they remove the homos, right?
You say, Brother Stuckey, what would you do
if you became the president of this country?
Are you running?
I would love to run.
You know what I'm gonna do?
Remove the idolatry and remove the homos.
And you know what?
You say that, people's reaction, oh, that's terrible.
This is the most hateful leader we've ever had.
How could you do something so terrible?
And you know what?
I'm sure that was the reaction in these societies
when these people became leaders.
A lot of people are like, that's so hateful.
I mean, he's tearing down the idolatry.
There's a lot of people that love those idols.
How could he do that?
I mean, removing all the homos.
I mean, I'm not a fan of them.
I know they're very sinful, but it's just so harsh.
And yet you see, that's what they do.
What are they doing?
They're removing the wickedness.
They're removing the filth.
They're removing what would cause judgment upon the society
from the land.
Go to First Timothy one.
First Timothy chapter one.
On a side note, this is exactly why none of us
would ever become the president or leader of a country.
Because our message would not be popular.
It's not gonna get you a lot of votes.
Now, I will say this.
I bet you would get a lot more votes than you think though.
I mean, there are definitely a lot of people
that look at this world and say, this is a mess.
But there's no way they would let you actually get elected.
They'd rig the election or whatever they have to
in whatever country.
This is not gonna happen in 2022.
Let me just say from a biblical standpoint,
removing the sin, removing the false religion,
removing the homos, that would be the right thing to do
according to the word of God.
Point number one, why is it that world peace
is a false philosophy?
Jesus did not bring peace.
I mean, he's kind of our model guide
of how we should live our lives and what we should do.
And he didn't bring peace.
He never told us to have peace, right?
He never told us put peace above anything else.
Point number two, because truth and purity are above peace.
Point number three, why world peace is a false philosophy?
Evil people will not be peaceful.
Notice what it says in 1 Timothy 1, verse eight.
But we know that the law is good if a man use it lawfully.
Now, the law of God is good if you obey it,
if you do what's right.
See, what are you saying, Brother Stuckey?
Thou shalt not kill.
I love that commandment.
I think it's great.
The death penalty if you break that commandment, right?
Now, obviously, we know self-defense is something different.
But what I'm saying is if you and cold blood murder someone,
you should be put to death according to the word of God.
That's a great law.
That's a great commandment, right?
But here's the thing, bad people,
they're gonna break the law.
They're gonna do what's wrong.
They're gonna murder, right?
Pedophiles are gonna molest little kids, right?
Evil people are not gonna be peaceful.
So here's the thing, if they do these evil things,
there's gotta be judgment for it.
But we're not the ones committing murder.
We're not the ones being pedophiles.
The evil people are the ones that are doing that,
but we're not gonna say, well, you know what?
Let's just give them some therapy, right?
Maybe their mom didn't hug them enough as a kid, right?
Maybe their dad was too mean as a kid.
Like, he got spanked one too many times.
That's why he ended up,
I mean, it's madness.
No, there's judgment because of what they've done,
but here's the thing,
they're the ones that are not peaceful.
We are the ones that are peaceful, right?
I mean, I'm for peace, but when I speak,
they are for war.
Why is it people are mad at what we say
because they don't like what God says?
But this is the correct judgment
and the correct laws right in this book.
But see, here's the thing,
evil people are never gonna be peaceful,
so we're never gonna have world peace.
It's dumb, it's illogical,
it's never gonna happen, right?
I'm all for world peace if people quit committing murder,
right, quit worshiping idols,
quit using the Lord's name in vain,
but here's the thing, as they do that,
there's never gonna be world peace.
But the Bible says this in verse nine,
knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man.
See, someone who's following what God says,
we don't need these laws to condemn us
in terms of thou shalt not kill
and thou shalt not have any graven image
because we're not doing that, right?
Those laws are in place for people
that are breaking the laws.
They'll say we're not peaceful,
and yet we are the ones that are peaceful.
The same people proclaiming world peace,
they're the ones that are not peaceful.
You say, what, because they're breaking laws
that are found in God's Word.
You say, what are you saying, Brother Sukkie?
I'm saying there's laws not to use the bathroom
in the middle of the street in God's Word.
Quit doing that, I can have peace with you.
Right?
I mean, if they quit committing murder, then guess what?
We can have peace.
But you commit murder, yeah, you gotta be judged.
Oh, that's not peaceful to judge them.
Well, then quit committing murder,
you won't have to be judged.
They claim we're the ones that are evil and hateful.
We're not the ones that are breaking the law.
Now, obviously, we're not perfect.
We understand that, but in general,
soul-winners and Bible-believing Christians
are not the ones committing criminal capital offenses
that deserve real punishment, right?
The law is not made for righteous men,
but for the lawless and disobedient,
for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane.
And notice this next one.
This one just, when you read it, it just shocks you.
For murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, right?
Who would kill their own mom or their own dad?
And perhaps the murderer's not referring
to necessarily their own father or mother,
but still someone who just in cold blood
kills someone who's a mom that has kids to raise
or kill a father who has kids to raise.
How wicked would you have to be?
Murder's bad enough, but I can't even imagine.
You're taking the life of someone
who has a responsibility to care for kids
and you just kill them in cold blood.
It's like, what a wicked thing to do, right?
And you know what?
It could be referring, maybe it's a dual application,
to murdering your own father or mother.
I mean, how wicked would that be
to murder your own mom or your own dad, right?
And yet this takes place in the world.
There are people that kill their mom or kill their dad.
I'm just thinking, how is that even possible, right?
Now, I've said this as a joke, and this is merely a joke
because according to the Bible,
reprobates have no conscience,
but I've made the joke before.
You would think even a reprobate would feel guilty
about killing their own mom, right?
Like, who would kill their own mom, right?
Like, what a wicked thing to do,
or even to kill somebody else's mom.
Like, how could you do that when they have young kids
to raise and just to kill them in cold blood
for whatever reason, for money or for envy
or hatred or whatever?
I mean, we need laws against those sins
because people are doing them.
Here's the thing, if people actually were obeying the law,
though, then God wouldn't have to have a law against it.
I mean, there wouldn't need to be a punishment for murder
if nobody committed murder.
But evil people are not gonna be peaceful,
and therefore, we need laws against those sins, right?
And then it says, for manslayers,
which is basically murdering someone as well,
for whoremongers, for them that defile themselves
with mankind, for men-stealers, for liars,
for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing
that is contrary to sound doctrine.
So a couple things mentioned here,
for liars, for perjured persons, for men-stealers,
and people that would steal and kidnap,
this is gonna take place.
People are going to be kidnappers in 2022.
And look, I'm not gonna be kidnapping anyone,
but because there's evil people that kidnap,
there have to be laws against them.
Just world peace, just get along with everybody.
Well, quit murdering people, quit harming little kids,
quit kidnapping people,
there won't have to be laws against it.
But as evil people are doing that,
there have to be laws against them.
Go to Genesis 19, Genesis 19, Genesis 19.
Genesis 19.
I mean, I feel like most people
just wanna live in ignorance.
They just don't wanna know the truth.
They just wanna basically close their eyes
and just assume everything's nice in the world,
everything's great, just get along, everything's great.
Everyone in the bottom of their heart is a good person.
Everybody's good, even if they do something terrible,
they're really a good person though,
down deep within them.
Just give them a chance and you know what,
then they'll come around and be a nice person.
I mean, that's naive and that's stupid.
Like when people murder someone,
they deserve to be punished.
You say, well, you know, we should go soft on them.
You know, just give them like five years,
give them a program to recover.
They killed a human being,
a life that is never gonna come back.
What punishment could be too harsh for a person like that?
And these are not just my opinion.
Look, the Bible says an eye for an eye
and look, God's law still applies.
So look, for murder, yeah, they deserve to be put to death.
That's what the Bible says.
Look, they're destroying a human life
and not just that life.
You murder someone who's a mom, you destroyed those kids,
you destroyed the husband, you destroyed that family.
You didn't just destroy one person's life,
you destroyed many people's lives, right?
And here's the thing, if you don't have tough laws
against things like this, what's gonna take place?
Evil's gonna take place.
Look, if somebody commits murder
and the law says, well, we can't do anything about it,
right, you know what, they're gonna do it again
and again and again.
It's stupid to say we shouldn't have any laws against them.
It's so naive, it's so bobo for someone who's an adult
to think that just everyone's always gonna get along
and put aside all differences.
It's naive.
There are things that are just too big, number one.
And number two, evil people are gonna do evil things.
And as long as they do evil things, guess what?
There have to be laws against them.
Genesis 19, verse four, here's a great example.
"'But before they lay down the men of the city,
"'even the men of Sodom, compass the house round
"'both old and young, all the people from every quarter.'
"'And they called on the lot and said unto them,
"'Where are the men which came into thee this night?
"'Bring them out unto us that we may know them.'"
Now, this is the famous story of Sodom and Gomorrah
in Genesis 19, where you got these homosexuals
that surround these men and wanna rape them, right?
That's what Genesis 19's about.
People get offended by the word of God,
but that is what Genesis 19 says.
And you know what?
They wanna force them and rape these people,
and you say, why would they do something so evil?
Well, the reason why they're so bold to do that
is because there's no laws against it in Sodom and Gomorrah.
In Sodom and Gomorrah, anything goes.
What's the result?
You got evil people doing something really wicked.
You say, why?
Because there's no punishment against them.
And they say, why?
You know what, there's no crime against it.
We can harm these men and rape them,
and nothing's gonna happen, so you know what?
That's what they try to do,
because there's no laws against it.
I'm sure this is not the first time
that they've actually done this, right?
I mean, you're naive if you think
this is the first time it's ever happened in Genesis 19.
It's obviously happened before,
and you say, well, why is that?
Because there's no laws against it.
So they're gonna do whatever they want.
Look, if tomorrow they made murder legal,
you know what you'd find?
A lot of murders would take place tomorrow.
It's common sense, right?
I mean, this is such basic two plus three logic.
Like, how do people not get this?
If you just make everything say,
well, there shouldn't be a punishment against it.
As of now, we've made a new law
because we're so peaceful and so loving
that stealing is not punishable.
You are allowed legally to steal from 7-Eleven.
What do you think's gonna happen to 7-Eleven?
Right?
People are gonna walk in there
and take everything from there and not pay for it.
Now, I'm not gonna do that
because I would think it's wrong.
But evil people will if there's no laws against it.
It's not us because we would still say,
well, stealing's wrong because thus saith the Lord.
Thou shalt not steal.
But evil people, people that are breaking,
the law was not given for righteous men,
but for the lawless and disobedient, the Bible says.
Turn to Daniel 8, Daniel chapter 8, Daniel 8.
Look, I would love it if nobody would ever steal,
but because people steal, you have to have a law against it.
I would love it if people never committed murder,
but because people murder,
you have to have a law against it, right?
Now, you're turning to Daniel 8.
Let me just quote you from Adolf Hitler,
and this is what Adolf Hitler said on March 23rd, 1933.
The German nation wishes to live in peace
with the rest of the world.
Now, he said that before World War II.
Well, you kind of failed at that one, Mr. Adolf Hitler, right?
I mean, we wish to live, we wanna, world peace.
World peace, we are all about world peace here in Germany.
We're all about world peace.
In 1933, that's what he said.
Well, you kind of failed a few years later
when you went to war and tried to take over the world.
Look, the people that are saying world peace,
they're liars.
The people that are promoting this, they're liars.
They're frauds, they're phonies.
They're doing it to take advantage of people.
And you know, the problem is,
there's just a bunch of dumb people
that believe everything they hear.
And the Bible says, the simple believeth every word.
And you know what?
The simple in the Bible translation means Bobo.
That's what it's saying, the dumb, the ignorant,
without knowledge.
The simple believeth every word.
If every single thing you ever hear, you just believe,
the Bible says you're dumb.
That's what it says, right?
Daniel 8, verse 25.
And this is in reference to the Antichrist here.
Notice what it says in Daniel 8, verse 25.
And through his policy also,
he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand,
and he shall magnify himself in his heart.
And notice this, and by peace shall destroy many.
He shall also stand up against the prince of princes,
but he shall be broken without hand.
By peace will destroy many.
What is that saying?
It means he's gonna stand up and say world peace.
That's what the Antichrist is gonna do, my friend.
There's gonna be all this war in the world,
Daniel 70th week, first seal, second seal,
third seal, fourth seal, abomination of desolation.
And it's like, why can't we all just get along
and then boom.
It's like, okay, they're gonna say we can all get along.
Worship this image, and then we can just all get along.
Now we say worship God and we can all get along.
They're saying worship the mark of the beast.
And you know what, a lot of people are gonna do that.
And how is he gonna do this?
He's gonna do it by this world peace mentality.
And look, this is the mentality in 2022.
This is what we're pushing towards.
Because here's the thing,
these religions would not have done this
hundreds of years ago.
The Catholic church used to say,
we are the only way everyone else is wrong.
Not anymore, my friend.
Now the Pope is shaking hands with Muslims and Hindus
and all these other false religions saying,
let's just get along, right?
You say, what's the problem with that?
The problem is Jesus is the only way to heaven.
We're not gonna get along, right?
Now look, we should be trying to be nice to people
that are Muslims and other religions
when we meet them in public at the grocery store,
coworkers or whatever.
But look, I'm not separating my purity
in order to have peace with them.
Well, I mean, do you really believe
Jesus is the only way to heaven?
Yes.
Jesus is the only way to heaven, right?
It's that simple.
You say, well, how could you say that?
Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and the life.
No man cometh unto the Father but by me.
And guess what?
Jesus said he didn't come to bring peace, but division.
Those aren't my words.
That's Luke chapter 12 for you.
Turn in your Bible to Matthew 24, Matthew 24, Matthew 24.
You say, Brother Stuckey, this is a hateful message.
This is not a hateful message.
This is a realistic message preached with force.
World peace is a dumb idea because it will never happen.
There are things that are too important
that we disagree on.
Why is it a dumb philosophy?
Why is it a false philosophy?
Number one, the Bible is very clear,
Jesus did not come to bring peace.
He was crucified because of the words that he said.
You say, Brother Stuckey, everybody loved Jesus.
Then why did they kill him?
You say, Brother Stuckey, that was just a few people.
Look, his first sermon, they tried to throw him off a cliff.
I mean, have you read the New Testament?
Yes, there's a lot of people that liked Jesus.
And you know what?
There's a lot of people that hated him.
You say, why?
Because Jesus brought division.
It caused people to be against each other.
And he said, I've come to bring father against son,
mother-in-law against daughter-in-law, all these things.
Even those of your family will be your enemies,
the Bible says.
Now, of course, we don't want that to be the case.
We want to get along with our family and other people.
I want to have peace if possible,
but the Word of God divides people.
And there are certain things that, you know what?
We can't basically turn the other cheek to.
Certain things are too important.
Number one, Jesus did not come to bring peace.
Number two, truth and purity and righteousness and holiness
are above peace, according to the Word of God.
Being righteous and godly are more important than peace.
Number three, evil people are not going to be peaceful.
How can we have peace when people are breaking the law?
But see, number four, believe it or not,
there is going to be a time when we do have world peace.
You say, Brother Stuckey,
you've said this is a false philosophy.
We're going to have world peace when Jesus reigns.
That's what the Bible teaches.
Now, Jesus did not come to bring peace
when he came the first time.
However, when he sets up the millennial kingdom,
it's actually going to be a time of great peace.
It's going to be a great time for a believer to be around
during the days of Jesus Christ ruling and reigning,
because what's going to take place is his laws are going to go.
And you know what's going to happen?
Believe it or not, God's laws work.
I mean, can you believe that?
Who would think that God's laws from thousands of years ago
could work in 2022, but yet they do work.
And people criticize God's laws,
and yet when God's laws are ruling and reigning
and he's the one and they are putting these things in action,
what's going to take place?
It's going to be a very peaceful and wonderful place to live.
But see, before that comes the millennial reign,
we're going to have the end times.
Notice what it says in Matthew 24, verse three.
Matthew 24, verse three.
And as they sat upon the Mount of Olives,
the disciples came onto him privately saying,
tell us, when shall these things be
and what shall be the sign of thy coming
and of the end of the world?
Now, in verse three, there's only one indication,
there's only an indication of one coming.
Thy coming is singular.
Where they're basically saying,
you're going to be coming again one day, right?
One time you're going to come, right?
So look, there's no indication of multiple comings
or multiple returns of the Lord Jesus.
Thy coming, okay?
What's going to take place before the coming?
What's going to be the sign?
What can we see that's going to tell us that, you know what?
Jesus is going to be coming soon, right?
Well, notice what it says in verse four.
And Jesus answered and said unto them,
take heed that no man deceive you.
For many shall come in my name saying,
I am Christ and shall deceive many.
Now, of course, this is taking place today,
but it's always taken place.
There's always been false prophets.
It's going to be heightened as we get to the end times.
And you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars.
Guess what?
There's always been wars.
There's always been rumors of wars,
but they're going to be heightened.
See that ye be not troubled,
for all these things must come to pass,
but the end is not yet.
For nations shall rise against nation
and kingdom against kingdom,
and there should be famines and pestilences
and earthquakes in diverse places.
All these are the beginning of sorrows.
Now people would say, well, we see these things today,
but yet we've always seen these things.
We've always seen famines.
We've always had pestilences.
Believe it or not, people got sick before 2021
or 2020 or whatever, right?
It's like people got sick in 2019.
People got sick in 2018.
I mean, sickness has existed since the beginning of time.
And then it says this, and earthquakes in diverse places,
all these are the beginning of sorrows.
Then shall they deliver you up,
be afflicted and shall kill you,
and ye shall be hated of all nations for my namesake.
And then shall many be offended
and shall betray one another and shall hate one another.
Now, let me say this,
that we have seen these things take place before.
I don't think these things have started yet though,
what the Bible's referring to in Matthew 24.
Now people see these things and I don't know,
people get very confused in the end times, right?
It's not that complicated, the basic outline of it,
because most people believe
in what's called a pre-tribulational rapture
and what that teaches and means is Jesus is gonna come back
before tribulation.
But notice that these things are taking place
and Jesus has not come back yet.
He's saying these are gonna be signs
before I actually come back, right?
So if people think these things
are already starting to take place,
it's just like then you're missing this idea
of what it means to be pre-tribulational
because you're saying these things
are already gonna start to take place
and these things are gonna take place first, okay?
Now go to Revelation chapter six,
Revelation six, Revelation six.
I don't have time to go all through the end times
during this sermon, but let me just say this,
that the sign that we're gonna know for sure,
as Christians, as believers in the word of God,
we're gonna know for sure we're in the end times
beyond a shadow of a doubt
when the abomination of desolation takes place.
And the Bible says that is the telltale sign
that's gonna be right in the midst of Daniel's 70th week
where basically the antichrist in the temple of God
is gonna declare himself to be God.
And that's gonna be something that's unmistakable
because here's the thing,
there have been times in history
where there was wars and pestilences
and people might have thought the end times have started.
Let me give you a great example, right?
What about World War I with the Spanish flu
right at the same time?
The Spanish flu, and actually,
when the Spanish flu took place,
the Philippines had one of the highest percentages of deaths
of anywhere in the world.
I think it was like number four or five in the world
in terms of percentage of people that died
is very high for whatever reason.
We actually have someone at our church in Manila
and they had relatives from 100 years ago,
there was like a,
because a lot of times back then people had large families
and there was seven in that family that died from it.
Very severe, right?
Now I'm not saying it was like that for every family,
but for that specific family, a lot of people died, right?
Well, during World War I,
they probably looked at Revelation 6 and Matthew 24
and they're thinking, you know what?
It looks like things have started.
And I'll be honest, if I lived during World War I,
I would have thought that.
I would have thought Daniel's 70th week has started,
but what did not take place
was the abomination of desolation, right?
That didn't take place a couple years later
after all these things were taking place,
so you know what, it turns out it wasn't the end times.
There have been times in history
where people really thought we're in the end times
or it's about to happen,
and I know that's the way people feel now
and you know what, it could be taking place soon,
I don't know,
but the way we know for sure
is when the abomination of desolation takes place,
because we're not going to be in darkness
if that day's going to overtake you as a thief.
After the abomination of desolation,
we realize we've got a short window to serve God
and forget about your 401k plan,
forget about your retirement,
just go all out serving God for a couple months
till you get killed or you make it to the rapture.
It's the end, right?
Now, I personally would say this,
because I know people really are confident
the end is going to take place in their lives
so they don't prepare for the future.
I think that's a foolish attitude
because we really don't know,
because many people have thought
they're near the end times or whatever
and it hasn't taken place.
I'm planning to live to be an old man.
Whether that happens or not, I don't know,
but I think it would be foolish not to prepare for that
because we don't know what's going to take place, right?
Notice what it says though in Revelation 6 verse 12.
And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal,
and lo, there was a great earthquake,
and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair,
and the moon became his blood.
And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth,
even as a fig tree casteth her in timely figs,
when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
And the heaven departed as the scroll
when it was rolled together,
and every mountain and island
were moved out of their places.
Now, let me just quickly ask you this,
has this taken place yet?
I mean, have you seen this great earthquake
and the sun becomes black and the moon becomes his blood
and every mountain and every island
are moved out of their places?
Because this is before the return of Jesus.
And last I checked, there's still mountains and islands
that haven't been moved out of their places, right?
Verse 15, and the kings of the earth,
and the great men, and the rich men,
and the chief captains, and the mighty men,
and every bondman, and every free man
hid themselves in the dens,
and in the rocks and the mountains,
and said to the mountains and rocks,
fall on us, and hide us from the face of him
that sitteth on the throne,
and from the wrath of the Lamb.
For their great day this wrath is come,
and who shall be able to stand?
I mean, what the Bible says is when they shall say peace,
then comes sudden destruction.
That's what we're seeing in Revelation 6.
So look, you have these evil people saying peace
and everything's going great in our lives.
We won.
We're gonna defeat what the Bible says.
We're right.
We're on the winning side.
And then all of a sudden it's like, oh, whoops.
We chose very poorly, right?
We're on the wrong side.
Then they're like, fall on us, hide us,
because they're afraid, right?
Revelation 7, notice what it says in verse 9.
Let me just prove to you the rapture's not taking place yet.
Revelation 7, verse 9.
After this, after this, in Revelation 7, verse 9,
which is indicating, obviously we know the word after.
I don't even know how to give a definition.
We all know that word, right?
After, after this I beheld in low a great multitude
which no man could number.
Now let me just tell you this.
There are numbers that are counted in the Bible
that are pretty big.
And this is a multitude that no one can number, right?
Look, it's actually not that hard to count big numbers.
There's many methods you could use.
You could basically have various people gather together,
a thousand people, and you can add up those numbers
where you got 50 groups of a thousand.
Or you could simply have people line up,
right, one right after another,
and then just line them to the side.
And you know what?
If you've got 500 this way, 500 this way,
it's like you've got 250,000, right?
You can number big numbers if you know basic math
or use basic logic.
I mean, it's not actually that hard.
If you get a thousand people going this direction
and a thousand people going this direction
and just have this big square, it's a million people, right?
There's actually ways to count big numbers.
But this is a multitude that no man can number.
What does that indicate to you?
It indicates to you it's a lot of people, right?
Because you could get a group of people
and get it organized enough to count a big number.
However, if you get too big of a number,
it's just impossible.
It's like, I don't even know, just 100 million or whatever.
And this is a multitude that no one can number, right?
But then it says this,
of all nations and kindreds and people and tongues
stood before the throne and before the lamb,
clothed with white robes and palms in their hands.
Well, here's the thing about this.
Not all nations exist anymore.
All kindreds and people and tongues,
not all tongues exist anymore.
Tongues is referring to languages.
Some languages don't exist anymore
and yet there's gonna be people in heaven from every tongue.
Every tongue that's out there, every tongue there's been
are gonna be up there in heaven.
You say, why?
Because as I've always said,
there's people saved everywhere in this world.
Even in the darkest places of this world,
there are people saved and all tongues
are gonna stand before.
There's gonna be people that came
from every part of the world in all times of the world.
Now, there are countries with very few saved people,
but I promise you,
there's some saved people in those countries.
And this is what the Bible teaches here.
And it says, and it stood before the throne
and before the lamb,
clothed with white robes and palms in their hands.
You say, Brother Stuckey,
well, how do you know these are people that got raptured?
Go to verse 14.
And you know what?
I'm not preaching a sermon on the end times.
I don't have time to explain all these verses,
but the context is still here in verse 14.
Revelation 7, verse 14.
And I said unto him, so thou knowest.
And he said to me,
these are they which came out of great tribulation
and have washed the robes
and made them white in the blood of the lamb.
So out of nowhere, there's this great multitude of heaven.
Where did they come from?
Out of great tribulation.
What's that say?
That means they were going through the great tribulation
and then they were raptured up to heaven.
There's a great multitude which no man can number.
I mean, it's not that complicated.
The tribulation start,
Daniel's 70th week starts,
abomination of desolation midway through
in the midst of Daniel's 70th week.
Then there's great tribulation for a short time.
And if those days continued, no flesh would be saved.
Everybody would be killed.
Because we're going to be on the run, right?
We're going to be on the run preaching the gospel.
Basically just preaching everywhere
and trying to escape the police, you know?
Get somebody saved.
You hear the police.
You run away.
Get somebody else saved.
And we're just relying on God for food, for provision.
It's going to be like the craziest
and most exciting time ever live.
Now, I'll be honest.
It's exciting, but I'm also realistic.
I hope this doesn't happen in my life.
I'd rather just live to be an old man
and spend time with my grandkids and great grandkids.
But it's going to be pretty amazing, right?
Living during that time,
if you see God basically perform miracles to let you live
and just keep preaching the gospel, right?
And then there's this great abomination of desolation.
Then basically 75 days, rapture takes place.
And then all of a sudden they're like,
oh no, we're on the wrong side.
The people that said we've got this peace
and everything's great,
then sudden destruction is going to come to them.
But see what's going to take place
is Jesus is going to clean house.
And then as he gets rid of all the wickedness
and the bad people and his laws get promoted,
you know what we're going to find?
We're going to have a world with peace.
We're going to have world peace.
Go to Revelation 20, we'll close up here.
Revelation 20.
See, I'm all for world peace.
I'm all for Jesus Christ ruling and reigning.
And look, God's laws being instilled in this world
would be the best thing for all of us.
And here's the thing, as a saved person,
it's actually good for us that there's tough crime on laws
because if we ever get tempted
to do something really wrong,
fear will prevent us from actually doing it.
Right?
On a small scale, just think of your kids.
You know, sometimes your kids want to act makulit,
but they're afraid of that spanking.
What ends up taking place?
They don't do whatever they were going to do.
Right?
Well, it's the same thing when people grow up
except people can do some real crimes and really bad things.
But you know, what stops them is
I'm afraid of the punishment.
And because the world is trying to go soft on crime,
what ends up taking place?
Well, it ends up causing evil people to rule and reign.
Right?
You know what's amazing about this
is things that are actually right in society
are what people often criticize.
For example, people will often criticize the Muslims.
And the number one thing they say is
they're putting people to death for all these things.
It's like, that's the one thing they're right on.
It's like the one thing you're actually right on.
It's like, and that's what you're criticizing for them.
It's like, we're more loving than that.
We're more peaceful.
We would never put anyone to death for anything.
It's just like, have you ever read the Bible?
And these are Christians that say this.
And it's like, have you ever read the Bible?
That's what they're right about.
And then people want to criticize them.
Right?
I mean, the number one thing they criticize the Philippines
out with President Duterte is something I agree with.
The fact that he puts drug dealers to death.
Yeah, I mean, those are sorcerers.
They're promoting sorcery and getting people
to like lose their minds.
It's like, I'm not against that.
Right?
People get so mad, like, oh, that's so hateful.
We need to be more loving, more peaceful.
But see the people that are like, love, love, love,
peace, peace, peace.
They do it because they have ulterior motives.
By peace, they're going to destroy many.
Right?
And they're part of this one world system
that wants to do that.
Revelation 20.
Now let me just say this real briefly.
I think most people are aware of this, but if you're not,
Revelation is 22 chapters.
And basically you got 11 chapters and 11 chapters.
And basically the first 11 go through
and we kind of get towards the end.
Then the rewind button is set.
And the 11 basically go through the same information,
but kind of in a different way.
Certain things are highlighted.
And it makes sense because the book of Daniel,
which I mentioned, we're going to be starting next week.
Well, Daniel is divided into six and six, right?
The first six chapters, easy to understand.
Daniel and the Lion's Den, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.
Then you get to chapter seven and you're like,
what is going on?
It's so confusing, right?
Because you get to the end times prophetical stuff, right?
So it makes sense that God has the same system that he does.
But Revelation 20, we're getting toward the very end here.
Revelation 20 verse one.
And I saw an angel come down from heaven,
having the key of the bottomless pit
and a great chain in his hand.
And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent,
which is the devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years
and cast him into the bottomless pit and shut him up
and set a seal upon him that he should deceive the nations
no more till the thousand years should be fulfilled.
And after that, he must be loosed to little season.
And I saw thrones and they sat upon them
and judgment was given on to them.
And I saw the souls of them that were beheaded
for the witness of Jesus and for the word of God,
which had not worshiped the beast, neither his image,
neither had received his mark upon their foreheads
or in their hands.
And they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
So we see here in verse four,
the godly people are getting their heads cut off
because they're serving God.
There is no peace.
I mean, let us freely serve God as much as we want.
And you know what?
We'll be the most peaceful people, right?
I mean, just let us serve God and don't prevent us.
I mean, absolutely, we're not gonna be the ones
robbing 7-Eleven or murdering people, right?
Verse five, but the rest of the dead live not again
until the thousand years were finished.
This is the first resurrection.
Blessed and holy is he that hath part
in the first resurrection.
On such the second death hath no power,
but they shall be priests of God and of Christ
and shall reign with him a thousand years.
And when the thousand years are expired,
Satan shall be loosed out of his prison
and shall go out to deceive the nations
which are in the four quarters of the earth,
Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle,
the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
So let me ask you a question.
Who's the one who's not peaceful here in Revelation 20?
The devil?
The devil's bound up for a thousand years
and when he comes back, he immediately goes to war, right?
Those thousand years before the devil deceives people
and gathers people together,
it's gonna be a peaceful time.
And you say, why is it gonna be peaceful?
It's gonna be peaceful because God's laws
are gonna be instituted.
And when God's laws are instituted,
it's gonna be a great place to live
if you keep the law, right?
The Bible says the law is good for you if,
if you keep it, right?
I mean, we don't have to be offended by any laws
of the Bible if we're not guilty, right?
I mean, if somebody says, you know,
how dare the Bible say the death penalty for murderers?
Have you killed somebody, right?
Because that doesn't bother me.
I mean, I'm okay with that.
I mean, I'm not a murderer, right?
I mean, it's like, how dare the Bible say
the death penalty for kidnapping?
I mean, I'm gonna make sure my kids
are staying pretty close to me.
I mean, do you kidnap people, right?
Like, there's no reason to be offended
if you're not breaking the rules and laws of the Bible.
So look, the laws are good.
It's gonna be a very peaceful time.
It's gonna be great.
So look, there is gonna be world peace,
but this world wants to have world peace
by setting aside all religion and beliefs,
and that is illogical and it's stupid.
And yet we will have world peace
when Jesus rules and reigns and his laws are instituted
because it's gonna protect us from bad people, right?
And so our points, point number one is this,
Jesus did not come to bring peace.
That alone gets rid of this idea of world peace.
Point number two, truth and purity come before peace.
Point three, evil people are not gonna be peaceful.
And point four, world peace will come when Jesus reigns.
Now, the appeal of this idea of world peace
is the fact that we would all love to have peace.
I would love to have peace.
I'd love to just be able to go about my life,
not have problems, not have fights with people,
not have wars, right?
All of us would love to have peace,
but what's the benefit of rejecting this idea of world peace?
Well, because you can look at this world today
and you're like, oh wow, the Bible really makes sense.
The word of God, revelation, it all really ties together
if you basically are just using your brain
and reading the Bible and seeing what's happening.
But if you just get caught up in this idea,
we gotta just get peace
and get along with all these religions,
you're not gonna understand anything
that's taking place in the world.
You're certainly not gonna understand anything in the Bible
because we're seeing everything unfold, right?
As I've said before, I don't think it's gonna come
in the next few years personally,
but at the same time, we'd be naive to say
we don't see things unfolding
to get us very close to these days, right?
Like I think it was in Sweden
where they basically are requiring them
to put a chip in their hand.
No, that's not the mark of the beast,
but it certainly is like,
yeah, we're seeing things get to that point, right?
Look, world peace, it's a false philosophy, it's illogical,
it doesn't make sense, and here's the thing.
The bottom line is there are just things
that are too important to just agree to disagree.
We should strive to have peace if we can,
but it's not always possible.
Let's go to the word of prayer.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing us
to be here today and getting to see your word on this topic
and I ask you to help us just to understand your word
and understand what's going on in this world,
and we ask you to help us to have peace if possible,
help us to get along with people,
we ask you to help us, give us a chance to freely serve you
and proclaim your word and do right, God.
We pray these things in Jesus' name, amen.
Amen.