I mean, it's great to be back tonight.
I hope you all got a little bit of rest
in between the services.
I just wanted to thank Pastor Anderson
and the whole church here for allowing me to come
and preach to you.
It's a great honor and a blessing
to be behind this pulpit.
And hope you're ready to go through the Bible tonight.
And if you get sleepy, just stand up and turn around,
slap yourself in the face and sit down.
But tonight I'm preaching about
mysteries in the end times.
And I've been preaching a series at my church
just about the mysteries in the Bible.
Now, let's just look down at our Bibles
at verse number 6.
It says, "And now you know what withholdeth,
that he might be revealed in his time.
For the mystery of iniquity doth already work,
only he who now letteth will let
until he be taken out of the way."
So you've got that word "mystery of iniquity" right there.
And so basically I've been just going through
all the term "mystery" in the Bible.
And your pastor reminded me of a sermon that he preached
where he said that mysteries are things in the Bible
that we can know,
that God's going to let us know these mysteries.
I don't remember every specific aspect about that sermon,
but most mysteries in the Bible
are things that God's going to reveal in His time.
In the Old Testament,
a lot of things were kept secret to us
and shut up until the time that Jesus would come.
And of course, the book of Revelation
is the revelation of Jesus Christ
and where He's going to tell us the things
that are going to shortly come to pass.
But there are many different things that are kept secret,
like people would ask, well, what is your name?
And He's like, why are you asking my name?
Seeing it is about a secret.
And so secret and mystery mean the same thing,
essentially in the Bible.
And so some things are kept secret
until the time is at hand.
So now, let's go back and just kind of keep your finger here
because we're going to come back to this passage.
But let's go to Mark chapter 4, verse number 10.
And so the New Testament does shine a light
on the things that are kept secret to us
in the Old Testament.
It's like a commentary even in a lot of places for us
to shine a light on what those cryptic Old Testament passages
mean.
But even in the New Testament, there's still
some cryptic passages.
And we're not going to know a lot of the things
until the time of the very end.
Because of course, the end times started when Jesus Christ came
upon the scene.
And it tells us that in the book of Hebrews.
But it's been a long time since we've been in the end times.
So the end of the end times, of course,
is when that final seven years kind of comes in.
And then even there's 1,000 years after that.
And then there's, of course, eternity to all live with God.
So Mark 4:10 says, "And when he was alone,
"they that were about him with the twelve
"asked him the parable.
"And he said unto them, unto you it is given
"to know the mystery of the kingdom of God,
"but unto them that are without,
"all these things are done in parables.
"That seeing you may see and not perceive and hearing,
"they may hear and not understand,
"less at any time they should be converted
"and their sins should be forgiven them."
So Jesus is telling his disciples,
he's like, "Hey, you know, these things are hidden to them
"that don't, you know, he doesn't want them
"to necessarily know, he wants his people to understand."
And a lot of times the disciples didn't understand
what he was talking about, so that's why they would say,
"What did you mean by this?"
And then he'd be like, "Are you without understanding also?"
But a lot of the things that he was saying
are things that are only understood
by the power of the Holy Spirit.
And so the Holy Spirit would reveal things.
And with us in our daily lives,
there's a lot of things that we're not going to know
about the Bible unless we actually read it.
So as we read the Bible year by year,
and hopefully you've read the Bible once,
and if you haven't read the Bible,
cover to cover even one time,
you're not going to get a lot of the mysteries of the Bible.
I mean, just the surface level stuff,
you're not going to get because you haven't read the Bible.
So with the more you read the Bible,
the more layers you're going to uncover,
the more solid truths you're going to come up with,
and mysteries that aren't necessarily supposed to be secret,
but God doesn't just download everything in the Bible
to our brain the first time.
You know, when we get saved, it'd be nice,
it feels like it'd be nice to just know the Bible instantly
as soon as you get saved, like, you know, just,
hey, we know the Bible.
But God doesn't want to give it to us like that.
He doesn't give it to us like that.
And a lot of times we have to be a workman,
so that God wants us to work at it and to learn things,
as he reveals that knowledge to us.
A lot of us don't, we don't, you know,
we're not gonna understand some of the deeper things
and knowledge and mysteries and secrets of the Bible
without actually getting into it.
So a mystery is like a divine truth
that cannot be fully understood by human reason alone
in this case.
So in a religious belief based on divine revelation,
especially one regarded as beyond human understanding.
But obviously, humans can understand it
if God allows them to understand it.
And it can be a truth or plan of God that was once hidden,
but has now been revealed through divine revelation,
which is what I'm planning on showing you tonight.
So in a secret is something that is kept hidden
or unexplained, which can refer to confidential information
or a mystery or a hidden method.
So the parables that Jesus spoke,
he had a specific reason why he spoke like that,
so that only the people that were supposed
to understand it understood it.
And even when he's preaching against the Pharisees,
they only perceive things when he allowed them
to perceive things.
I mean, he was just specifically saying,
"Hey, you know, the kingdom of God's gonna be taken
"from you and given to a nation bringing forth
"the fruits thereof."
And it's like, at the very end, he's like,
they're like, "I think he was talking about us right there."
And it's like, "Yeah, I think he was, dummy."
So anyway, let's go back to 2 Thessalonians,
chapter number two, and so, like I said,
I've already preached a couple sermons about this,
so I'm not gonna, obviously, this is kind of a vast topic,
so I've already preached about the mystery of the gospel
and things like that, so I'm not gonna go
into the whole thing, obviously tonight,
but I just wanted to kind of focus
on the things of the end times.
But what I've preached about so far are the parables,
the times of the Gentiles, obviously the Bible tells us
when the times of the Gentiles will be fulfilled,
and how husbands and wives can be one flesh,
and the mystery of the rapture.
We should not all see death,
but we will be all changed in the moment
in the twinkling of an eye.
'Cause all the times that a mystery is revealed
in the New Testament is what I've gone through.
And basically how the gospel was kept hidden,
how the plan of Christ coming and being our Redeemer
was very cryptic in the Old Testament.
And they knew, like even when Herod was asking
where was Jesus supposed to be born,
they knew it was Bethlehem,
but they didn't know about Galilee,
they didn't know about Nazareth,
they didn't know that he was gonna have to flee to Egypt.
And obviously it's good that he didn't know
because he would've went looking for him in Egypt, right?
So Herod was trying to kill all the children
that were to and under.
But, so let's go back again to,
like I said, to 2nd Thessalonians chapter two.
So in verse number one, the Bible says,
"Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and by our gathering together unto Him,
that ye be not soon shaken in mind or be troubled,
neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter,
as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
Let no man deceive you by any means,
for that day shall not come,
except there come a falling away first,
and the man of sin be revealed, the Son of Perdition."
So I talked a little bit about the Son of Perdition
this morning in my sermon and this man of sin.
So, I mean, I started off,
I just had in my notes, just 2 Thessalonians 2, 6,
but I thought it's kind of important to establish who this "he" is.
The "he" that it's talking about in verse 6
is this man of sin.
This is the Antichrist.
And notice how it calls him the Son of Perdition,
which is exactly what it calls Judas.
And why is it key in us to that?
Because Judas was possessed by Satan himself.
The man of sin is going to be possessed
and taken over by Satan himself.
Remember, the Antichrist is going to die.
And he's going to come back to life
in whichever way that life is.
Because the Bible talks that he's going to rise up
from the bottomless pit, right?
And he's going to kill the two witnesses.
And when that happens,
there are dead bodies in your line of street.
And I don't want to get too far ahead
because I'm actually going to go to those verses.
But let's just move on in the passage here, verse 4.
This man here is the son of perdition.
It says, "Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all
that is called God, or that is worshiped,
so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God,
showing himself that he is God."
And so a lot of people are just coming up with all kinds
of weird end time scenarios and stuff.
But let me just tell you this.
There is going to be a temple that's going to be built.
It's not us.
Yeah, we are the temple of the Lord.
But this isn't talking about that Satan is going to somehow,
you know, he's going to come and be inside of our temple.
I mean, I thought that I just this morning,
you know, established that greater is he that is in you
than he that is in the world.
Satan cannot possess believers.
He cannot establish himself in our temple.
So this is talking about, you know,
people will go, well, the temple of God is done away with.
Yes, but there's people out there that still believe
that that would be God's temple.
So it's just trying to help us to understand
that this is what it's talking about.
That it's talking about the temple
that some would say is the temple of God.
But just because it's called the temple of God here,
it's just, Paul's just trying to help us identify
what temple it's talking about.
Does that make sense?
Hopefully that makes sense.
So, and Jesus says, when you see the abomination of desolation,
you know, stand in the holy place.
Where's the holy place?
It's in Jerusalem, right?
Temple on Temple Mount, period, right?
So, there's like a place that's carved out where the Ark of the Covenant once sat.
It's inside that, you know, abomination that's built on top of that place right now
that people have been fighting over ever since Jesus left.
Does that place have any significance to anything of our worship?
We don't have to kill things and bring those.
It means nothing to us, really, because, yes, the Temple of God is inside of us.
When we gather together as a church, all of us together are the congregation of the Lord.
And this building is not the church, it's the people inside the building that are filled with the Holy Spirit.
I understand all that, but why is Jesus pointing that out in Matthew chapter 24?
He's pointing it out so we know exactly what he's talking about, so we know exactly where he's talking about.
He's pinpointing where it's at. It's like when you say, "Hey, I'm going to send you a pin," right?
When you say, "Hey, I'm going to send you a pin so you know my location."
Jesus is telling us, he's pinning the location of where the abomination of desolation is going to take place.
And when Paul is telling us here in 2 Thessalonians, chapter 2, that he's going to come into the temple,
and it says, let's see, he's, where was I at, what verse, oh yeah, in verse 4.
It says, "So that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God."
And look, the Jews are going to freak out just like they would freak out if,
when Jesus said that he was God, basically saying I, you know, before Abraham was I Am,
they freaked out and tried to kill him because they don't want to admit that Jesus Christ is God,
they don't want to believe that, but they're going to do the same thing with the Antichrist.
They're going to freak out, and then that's when the great tribulation kicks off at that midpoint,
that is the midpoint of what I call the final seven years.
It's hard to break the habit of saying the seven years of tribulation,
because I was in an old IP church for so long, but I've never believed that.
I read my Bible before I ever got taught the pre-trib rapture stuff,
but still you hear it so much that it's hard to not repeat things that you've heard so many times.
I would just say the final seven years. The final seven years of human history as we know it.
That midpoint is what this is talking about here.
And so there is going to be a temple built. This man is going to come.
And he is the man of sin. He is the antichrist.
And at this point he's going to be in the temple of God.
And it says in verse 5, "Remember ye not that when I was yet with you I told you these things?"
And now you know, so get back to verse 6, "Now you know that withholdeth, that he might be revealed in his time."
So the "he" is talking about who?
There's only one person being talked about in this passage right now.
The "he" is the antichrist. Would you agree with that?
So now here's the, this is the tricky verse right here.
"For the mystery of iniquity doth already work."
That part isn't necessarily a complete hard verse, part of the verse.
It's the second half that people have a struggle with.
Because what do the pre-tribbers say?
"The Holy Spirit will be taken away from the earth."
That's what they say, but has the Holy Spirit been mentioned in this passage yet?
Does the Holy Spirit get mentioned in this passage?
It does not, so I don't think that's what it's talking about.
It's cryptic on purpose, I believe.
It's definitely cryptic, isn't it?
I'm not saying I understand it. If you're waiting for me to reveal that part of the mystery,
I'm not going to be able to do that for you today.
But, I mean, I can give you what my solution, I think, that it could be.
And I think that it's probably talking about the fact that, you know,
there's been this move towards this one-world government, this one-world religion.
And it kind of, the clue is above it.
The mystery of iniquity does already work.
There's already this movement that's been going along since time, you know, basically since Cain and Abel, even.
This mystery of iniquity, this mystery of wickedness that's existed for so long.
And these different kingdoms that have risen and fallen, going back to Egypt, going back to Assyria, going back to Babylon, and so on.
And the Medes and the Persians and the Greeks and the Romans.
And obviously that transfer of wickedness and power, there's a power in government.
And you can even see it happening in America, where now we're just completely controlled by Zionists in our Senate and in our House of Representatives.
We're bought and paid for by Israel. I mean, I hope you realize that.
If you don't realize that, I mean, whatever, it's just a fact, okay?
They're the only foreign nation that's able to lobby us the way that they do, okay?
And that's why people don't like that, because a lot of people just want to worship Israel or whatever.
But, you know, they're allowed to just genocide people at will, and there's nothing that's done about it.
I don't want to get into the whole thing about the Jews necessarily, but I'm just telling you,
America is the most powerful nation on the planet, and we basically impose our will upon whoever we want,
whenever we want, and if you don't think that's true, you're crazy.
No country could come at us. We're not going to be able to be defeated.
But I believe that this is where that wickedness is rested.
But I don't think that Egypt was always necessarily a completely wicked place.
I mean, think about Joseph. He was given the second in command by Pharaoh.
He was basically the law as it was at that time.
Think about Daniel. I mean, Nebuchadnezzar made him second in command basically.
And then the Medes and the Persians.
Darius was, you know, Daniel was his friend.
Daniel, you know, fed those other guys to the lions.
Not Daniel. I mean, he put him in there and he was like up all night worried about Daniel.
This is the ruler of the most powerful nation on the planet.
And then he opened it up and Daniel is still alive.
He's like, oh man, that's great. Throw them to the lions.
And then under the Roman Empire, and look, I'm not saying they're all great either,
but under the Roman Empire, Christians were allowed to thrive and do fine.
But then there came a point when the Romans did start persecuting Christians.
And then the Roman Empire, you know, got split into two or whatever.
Look, I'm not trying to get a whole history lesson here either.
But there's just been this wickedness that transfers from nation to nation.
And this whole mystery of iniquity.
And it's not just government, it's also religion.
Because there's a one world religion that's coming.
So all this has been just culminating and it's going to all apex at this time period when this man is revealed.
And, you know, him and his kings are going to rule for 42 months while God's smoking them with all these plagues.
So it's not going to be a very fun reign for them I don't think.
But anyway, let's move on to verse 8. It says, "And then shall that wicked be revealed."
So who's restraining that? I mean, it kind of seems like, you know, these people that are...
It's almost like it's like man already has an agenda to rule the world.
And so, but whatever is restraining that or holding that back, you know,
God is only going to allow that when he allows it.
And maybe Satan was priming these places that, "Hey, maybe Egypt, maybe at this time is going to be the time.
Maybe in Babylon, this is going to be the time that's going to be Nebuchadnezzar.
Maybe, you know, the Medes and the Persians at this time."
And so, like, you have all these wicked rulers that kind of, you know, the nations don't start out too bad,
but then they get so bad that they get destroyed, right?
And could it be Nero? Is Nero the Antichrist? People thought he was, but he wasn't.
What about Adolf Hitler? People thought that he was going to be the Antichrist, but he wasn't.
You know, but all these places have these, and people have these opportunities to be that, and then they're not.
So, it's like history just keeps repeating itself over and over again, until it's like, ding, ding, ding, this is the one.
This is actually going to be the Antichrist.
So, that's kind of what I think, it's like, he only, let's see, he who now letteth will let until he be taken out of the way.
And who's the one that's going to be taken out of the way?
Well, it's the Antichrist, he's going to get killed, right?
And it says, "And then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming."
So, once Satan energizes him and brings him back to life, he's going to be completely controlled by the devil himself.
It says, "Even him who's coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders."
See, when Judas betrayed Jesus Christ, remember he goes out and he says, "What thou doest, do quickly."
So, Jesus knew what he was talking about, but nobody else knew what he was talking about.
But he was completely possessed by Satan when he went and sold Jesus out to the chief priest.
But was Judas sorry that he did that? He was. He was sorry.
But, you know, being sorry is not good enough. He already did what he did, and the reason why...
I mean, think about being around Jesus and seeing all the things that he did.
I mean, it's so much that it couldn't even be written. All the volumes couldn't contain all the things that he did.
And yet Judas was there with him the whole time, and just doesn't get saved, doesn't get saved, doesn't get saved.
And then Satan, here comes Satan, and just takes him over, and then betrays him like that.
Well, I mean, this is what the Antichrist is going to be like also.
Rejecting God, rejecting God, and just, now he's just, "I am God."
This is what most megalomaniacs become like.
This is what Adolf Hitler became. This is what, you know, Nero became like.
This is what, you know, just any of these, these end, these weirdo Caesars and stuff, they were debauched.
They were psychos. And like you can just think about all kinds of different nations that were like that.
And then you have all these world religions, you know, the Hindu religion with all their statues.
And they're like, oh, we don't, we don't worship Buddha.
Well, then explain to me the graven image with all the food offerings in front of it.
But, you know, and it's graven from something that's obviously made out of metal.
So something had to be melted in order to make that.
And then you have the food offering underneath it and the drink offering underneath it.
Well, what's that for? Who's drinking that? Who's eating that rotten food?
It's like, they always, like, leave it to get rotten.
It's like, well, it apparently wasn't hungry again.
And the fat one, he seems to want to eat a lot.
So, I don't know that you got fat Buddha and skinny Buddha, right?
Anyway, but, like, you have the Catholic religion.
You know, one of these religions is going to be the end time one world religion.
And we just see, look at ours, look at our country.
It's just being overridden by Muslims and Hindus and Catholics,
and the Baptists are dying down.
The Baptists are dying down, the truth is dying down,
and obviously we can be a light in a dark place,
but everything's culminating towards this truth of the one world government, one world religion.
So, the mystery of iniquity doth already work.
In Paul's time, it was already working.
It was already working before Paul's time,
and it's definitely working even more 2,000 years later, right?
So, it says in verse 10,
"And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness,
and them that perish because they receive not the love of the truth,
that they might be saved."
You see, this is the problem.
People are deceived, and it says with all deceivableness of unrighteousness,
and them that perish because they receive not the love of the truth.
See, they have a chance to get saved, but they won't.
Why are people going to take the mark of the beast?
Because they refuse to get saved.
And look, just putting the computer chip into your hand is not going to make you be the mark of the beast, alright?
Christian's been freaking out about this for years, and even just putting your hand to scan into work or something,
I actually worked for a Japanese company one time, and I was a little bit freaked out, I gotta admit.
But I had to scan, I had to put my hand on this thing to clock in, and I didn't like it.
I was like, "Can I opt out of this?" But I was just thinking about it, it's like,
"Well, I'm not worshiping anything in order to put my hand on here, so obviously this can't be it."
So obviously we can get conditioned to these things, I think those things are, it's just like during COVID,
when they said, "Here, you gotta get lasered to walk in," they pointed the thermometer thing at your forehead.
I mean, those are conditioning tools to get you to accept it, and just like putting the chips in our debit cards,
those things weren't in for years, and all of a sudden they just got mailed to, and you're like,
"Surprise, you have a chip in your card now." Who remembers that?
I mean, it wasn't that long ago. Now it's just fully accepted. We just, I don't even think we consented.
Do you consent? I don't know. I mean, I have it now.
But I'm just saying that, so you see how it's just kind of the nets kind of just being dragged for all this stuff to happen.
But it's stating with his lying wonders, is going to have this power in these signs, his lying wonders,
and it says, "For this cause, God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie,
that they all might be damned who believe not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness."
So it's not like they didn't have a chance.
People think that God is just this mean bad guy or whatever, but they had a chance.
They had chances. It's not like people don't know who Jesus is.
They just don't love Him. They just don't want to know Him.
Obviously we go to the remnant to try to get them saved.
But let's turn to Zechariah chapter 5.
Now this is kind of a cryptic passage, and it's kind of a weird passage actually,
but it does kind of explain this wickedness that it's talking about.
It's the spirit of wickedness.
Zechariah 5.5, it says, "Then the angel that talked with me went forth," verse 5,
"and said unto me, 'Lift up now thine eyes and see what is this that goeth forth.'
And I said, 'What is it?' And he said, 'This is an ephah that goeth forth.'
He said, 'Moreover, this is their resemblance through all the earth.
And behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead, and this is a woman that sitteth in the midst of the ephah.'"
Notice it says it's a woman.
And he said, "This is wickedness, and he cast it into the midst of the ephah, and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof.
Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and behold, there came out two women.
And the wind was in their wings, for they had wings like the wings of a stork.
And they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heaven.
Then said I to the angel that talked with me, 'Whither do these bear the ephah?'
And he said unto me, 'To build it in house in the land of Shinar, and it shall be established and set there upon its own base.'"
So you see this being transferred to where? Shinar, right? What is that the land of?
The land of Babylon. So where is it being transferred from?
Well, the place where it was empowered before, Assyria.
Assyria is also near that area. So what's being transferred? Wickedness.
What is it? A woman. And what does that make you instantly think about?
The whore of Babylon, right? So it kind of helps us to see what this mystery is,
this mystery of wickedness that culminates in the end times.
I mean, obviously Babylon is judged in the end times.
So let's look at, go to Ephesians chapter 2, Ephesians chapter 2, verse number 1.
I hope this was my water. Ephesians chapter 2, verse number 1.
The Bible says, "And you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins,
wherein in time past you walked according to the course of this world,
according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience."
See, Satan is able to control whoever he wants, whenever he wants, if you're of that old, you know, nature.
Isn't that what it says? And it says, "Among whom also we all had our conversation or lifestyle in time past,
in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind,
and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others."
So, in time past, we were part of this group. And I'm not saying that we were some
reprobates or something, but it doesn't matter. It's kind of like, Satan can use
whoever he wants, whenever he wants, and he can use them for their ends.
But now that we're saved, we're woken up from that and can't be used in that manner.
But now, let's also look at 1 Corinthians chapter 2.
I mean, and this is just a fact also, that the mystery of the fact that Jesus,
God had a plan, and the reason why he kept it cryptic in the Old Testament
is so Satan couldn't completely figure out that plan.
The Bible actually says this flat out.
It says, in verse 7, it says, "But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery,
even the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the world unto our glory,
which none of the princes of the world knew, for had they known it,
they would not have crucified the Lord of glory."
So, I mean, so there's been a plan.
Satan has his army, he has his generals, he has his people,
he has full access to do his plan and put his nation nations in to the things of our world.
But God also has his plan too, his plan of redemption.
And the reason why that was all kept secret is because if Satan had known what the actual plan of Calvary was,
they would have never killed him, they would have never allowed that crucifixion to happen.
So when they start beating him and punching him and spitting in his face and all the things that they did,
all that was fulfilling scripture and they thought that they won.
You can just, in every page of the parts where Jesus is being crucified and going through his passion,
you can just see they're just so happy to be just destroying Jesus Christ.
But what they didn't realize is that they're actually fulfilling God's will in his plan.
And they were stupid to have killed him because that's exactly what he wanted them to do.
And obviously it was gruesome and it was horrific, but that was the plan.
God has his plan and obviously we know, we've read the Bible, we know exactly who wins in the end.
We win and we get to dominate and be the actual winners because God is the one that's going to allow us to win.
And we get to inherit with him. We get to have all the same privileges as him, as the Lord Jesus Christ.
And I don't know why he would ever share his glory with us like that, but he does. He's going to.
I remember Luke chapter 22 verse 53. I just have that as a chicken scratch on here.
Hopefully it makes sense with the sermon.
Oh, yeah. It kind of just goes along with the theme, I guess.
So when he is arrested in the garden, he says these words to them, and it's kind of a powerful statement that Jesus makes.
It says, "When I was daily with you in the temple, you stretched forth no hands against me.
But this is your hour and the power of darkness."
So he's admitting that the devil has his time, he has his power, and that power is the power of darkness.
He's not just talking about the fact that it's dark outside.
He's talking about the fact that there is a power of darkness that's at work in this world, and that was their time.
He's kind of conceiving that fact that there's this power, there's this wickedness in the world, and Satan is the one that's behind it.
Now let's turn to Zechariah chapter 4.
What's really interesting though is that Zechariah talks about this woman, this wickedness that's put in this container with the lid on it.
It's wickedness, it's a woman, and then it's going to Shinar.
But the chapter before, the two witnesses are brought up.
And the two witnesses are brought up in the Old Testament and never talked about again until you get to the book of Revelation.
And the conversation that takes place here, to me, is really funny.
Look at verse number two in Zechariah chapter four, it says, "And said unto me, What seest thou?
And I said, I have looked and behold a candlestick, all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it,
and with seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof.
And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof.
So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord?
So, Zechariah asked this question, What are these things and what do they mean?
Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be?
And I said, No, my lord.
Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying,
Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.
Who art thou, O great mountain, before Zerubbabel? Thou shalt become a plain.
And he shall bring forth the headstone thereof, with shouting, crying, grace, grace unto it.
Moreover, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of the house.
His hands shall also finish it, and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts has sent me unto you.
For who shall despise the day of small things?
For they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven.
They are the eyes of the Lord, which run to and fro through the whole earth.
So, I mean, he's not really answering the question.
He just goes off and says things about, you know, about Zerubbabel and these other prophecies.
Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof?
So he goes back to the original question, right?
He's like, I want to know what the answer to this question is.
What are these candlesticks on the left side and right?
And I answered again and said unto him, what be these two, all wrenches which through the two golden pipes emptied the gold, golden oil out themselves.
And he answered me and said, knowest thou not what these be?
And I said, no, my Lord.
Then he, then said he, these are the two anointed ones that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.
So that's kind of the cryptic part that we're left with in Zechariah 14 and then we go all through the rest of the Old Testament.
And obviously this is the time when the second temple is rebuilt, then you have the time of silence, you have the New Testament.
And then you don't get to who these guys are until the book of Revelation.
So we'll just table that for now. Now let's go to Revelation 17, Revelation chapter number 17, Revelation 17.
It says, "And there came out one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither,
I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication,
and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
So he carried me away in a spirit into the wilderness, and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet-colored beast full of the names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication.
And upon her forehead was a name written, "Mystery, Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth."
So you have this woman, and I would submit to you that this is talking about the same woman that's in the Ifa that's transferred that power over to Babylon or Shinar.
And it's also this mystery that is talking about in 2 Thessalonians, this spirit that's revealed through the Antichrist.
Verse number 6, "And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.
And when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration."
So when I mentioned that, I thought that this spirit has been around since Cain and Abel.
Well, who was the first martyr that was killed? It was Abel, right?
He was the first prophet, and he was killed by the first false prophet, who was Cain, right?
And it says, "And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel?
I will tell thee the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carryeth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.
The beast which thou sawest was, and is not, and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit and go into perdition.
And they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life,
from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is."
So what's the mystery? The mystery is being told to us right here.
It is what? The one who was, and it's the one that's talking about the beast, right?
The one who is killed and comes back again.
And it says, "And here is the mind that hath wisdom, the seven heads, or seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.
And there are seven kings, five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come.
And when he cometh, he must continue a short space, and the beast that was, and is not, even he, is the eighth, and is of the seventh, and goeth then to perdition.
And the ten horns, which thou sawest, are ten kings, which have received not no kingdom as yet, but received power as kings one hour with the beast.
So his kingdom doesn't last for very long, but this is the Antichrist, and it's telling us, it's giving us, you know, he's, you know, he comes out of, you know, telling us how he comes about.
But it's not giving us specific details. I think that these things are going to be revealed to whoever is here when this actually happens.
You know, we'll understand these things as they happen, I guess. If we're here, if we're not, you know, then we won't be the generation that knows or whatever.
But it says, "These have one mind and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and they that are with him are called and chosen and faithful."
And he sayeth unto me, "The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh and burn her with fire."
Talking about the whore being destroyed.
"For God hath put it in their hearts to fulfill his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.
The only woman which thou sawest is that great city which reigneth over the kings of the earth."
So this is again the culmination of this plan that's been around since Satan basically deceived Eve in the garden.
And basically mankind has fallen.
And Satan was given over power as the god of this world.
And this plan has been in place for a long time.
Satan is very organized.
Satan is very intelligent.
But he's also wicked.
He's also evil.
He's also prideful.
I mean that is the whole reason why he fell in the first place is pride.
And a lot of times we'll see in reprobates, we'll see that pride is their undoing.
They think that they're not going to get caught.
They think that they can just get over on everybody.
They think that they're smarter than everybody.
And that usually is their undoing.
They have delusions of grandeur.
Satan's delusion of grandeur is that he's going to be like the most high.
He's going to be god.
And so all the people that think that they're going to be the ruler of the world or whatever,
and all these different empires that have existed, they all want that.
They all want this ultimate power.
And then ultimately, they fall in some crazy way.
They try to go invade Russia in the wintertime or something stupid like that, right?
"Oh, I think I'll just go invade Russia right when the winter starts."
How many people have failed in that attempt?
Think of Napoleon, you know, he had a little man syndrome.
Anyway, Revelation 18, Revelation 18, verse 23.
He's like, "Ha ha ha, I will invade Russia."
Anyway, Revelation 18, 23.
It says, "In the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in me,
and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be no more at all in me.
For thy merchants were the great men of the earth,
for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived,
and in her was found the blood of the prophets,
and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth."
So, I mean, they're just showing that this is the plan.
You know, Satan does hate all humanity, but he especially hates us.
And I'll tell you what, he especially hates Christians
that are out doing things that are negative to his plan.
He would love if nobody went soul winning.
He'd love if there was no hell, fire, and damnation preaching churches in America,
so he could just completely take it over.
So, I mean, you wonder why there's so much heat on churches like ours all the time.
Well, and it's like, why is there always so much drama?
Well, because there's always an attack.
There's just, you know, any great thing that gets done,
there's always some kind of, you know, thing that happens that's negative afterwards, it seems like.
But you see that in the Bible.
I mean, Elijah has a high day, and the next day he's running for his life
and depressed and wants God to kill him.
You know, Moses, same type of thing.
He's like, you know, one day everything's great, the next day he's like, "Just kill me. Kill me, God."
You know, it's just the way it is, you know?
But Satan is the God of this world, and he takes people captive at his will.
Those that are the children of disobedience, anyway.
And so the mystery that's working in this world is something that we can't necessarily always see.
We can kind of see some of the things, we can see it in world powers,
we can see it in nations of the past, we can see it in world religions.
And look how our religion is the one that it's okay to make fun of,
it's okay to malign publicly and joke about in any kind of Saturday Night Live,
or any kind of, you know, any religion is fair game, any Christian religion is fair game by a comedian.
Here I'm talking about necessarily Muslims or any other kind of religion that's not Christian.
And people can just bash Christianity.
In Oregon, I forget what that homo that's the governor of Oregon,
I forget what she called it, but it's declared now a seasonal festivity or something, Christmas.
It's no longer going to be called Christmas in Oregon.
It's like a seasonal festivity or something stupid like that.
As she has this picture with her and her homo wife or whatever.
It's disgusting.
That's the state I was born in and it just makes me sick to see.
It's never been a great state as far as it's always been some kind of Democrat stronghold.
They shouldn't allow mail-in ballots.
That's part of the problem, but I don't know.
Do they have mail-in ballots here?
That's why everything's changing here.
Okay, that makes sense.
All right, turn to Revelation 11.
So the point of showing you Zechariah chapter 4 is to show you that the two witnesses do have a part to play when the Antichrist rises from the dead.
Because what does he instantly come back to do?
He comes back to fight against those two witnesses who are there just prophesying and preaching.
It's like they're the thorn in the side of the Antichrist.
They're the ones that are standing against them and preaching the hellfire damnation preaching.
And the whole world hates their guts.
We'll see that right here in Revelation 11 verse 3.
It says, "And I will give power unto my two witnesses,
and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and three score days clothed in sackcloth."
These are the two olive trees and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.
So here's where the mystery is solved from the Old Testament.
He kept saying, "What are these two candlesticks?"
He still never really answers the questions.
He just said they're the two anointed ones.
That's it. The chapter ends, right?
So he never really answers Zechariah's questions.
He's like, "Do you know who they are?"
And he's like, "No, Lord, I don't. No, I don't."
And then he just kind of leaves it as a mystery.
I mean, even Daniel in all the great chapters that are in the Bible and Daniel,
he's just like, "Just shut the book up, Daniel, and just shut up, okay?
Don't worry about it. Just chill.
All this is going to be revealed in the end."
I mean, imagine being Daniel and just being shown all this stuff,
and it's like, "You know, I love you, Daniel,
but really this is for times later on."
I mean, Daniel's just praying that his prayers are going to get to God.
Daniel went through a lot of stuff,
but his purpose was fulfilled in that time.
But obviously the things he was preaching about were going to happen way later.
So anyway, look at what it says in verse 5,
"And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth,
and devour their enemies; and if any man will hurt them,
he must in this manner be killed."
So, I mean, if they could kill them, they would kill them.
Imagine having the power, like if someone comes up
at your apartment complex, and you're preaching the gospel
to somebody, and all of a sudden you're just like...
Back off, faggot.
You know, you just torch them right there.
The police come to try to...
You know, get out of here.
Not that I would want to kill the police, I'm not saying that.
I'm just saying.
It would be kind of a nice little tool in the bag there.
You know, I got my Bible, I got my invites,
and the fire that comes out of my mouth.
Anyway, but it says if any man will hurt them,
he must be killed, in this manner be killed.
So anything that they try to do,
these guys can do back to them.
But it actually kills them, not the prophets.
These have power to shut heaven,
that it reign not in the days of their prophecy,
and have power over waters to turn them to blood,
and smite the earth with all plagues,
as often as they will.
So they have the complete power of the prophets,
and the powers that the prophets had in the Old Testament.
And guys like Elijah and Moses,
They had these same abilities that God gave them in the Old Testament.
So, and when people don't have anything to drink, they get pretty upset.
And this is why they hate them.
I mean, why did King Ahab want to kill Elijah?
Because he prayed that it wouldn't rain.
So for all that time that it didn't rain, you know, they don't have anything to drink,
you can't feed and water your crops, you can't eat.
If you don't have water, you can't eat because you can't grow crops.
You can't, you know, you can't survive without water.
So it got pretty scarce.
Anyway, so it says, "And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth
out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them and kill them.
And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called
Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified."
So obviously that's Jerusalem, because that's where Jesus was crucified, right?
And so spiritually it's called Sodom, spiritually it's called Egypt, and it pretty much is like
that spiritually even under this day.
"And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three
days and a half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves."
No one's allowed to touch them, no one's allowed to bury them, and everybody's pretty
happy that these guys are dead it seems like.
"And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry."
It's Christmas time, Merry Christmas, the prophets are dead or whatever, "and shall
send gifts one to another."
Because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.
I mean, it seems like they're tormenting them because they're wicked, they're tormenting
them because it seems like people are trying to kill them for what they're preaching.
"And after three days and a half, the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they
stood upon their feet, and great fear fell upon them, which saw them, and they heard
a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither, and they ascended up to heaven
in a cloud, and their enemies beheld them.
"And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and a tenth part of the city fell, and in
the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand, and the remnant were affrided, and gave glory
to the God of heaven. And the second woe was passed, and behold the third woe cometh quickly.
And the seventh angel sounded, and there were great voices in heaven saying, the kingdoms
of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ, and he shall reign
forever and ever."
So when is this taking place? This is at the end of the seven years, right? So then the
destruction of Babylon comes after this. So the Antichrist raises from the bed, he comes
up, he kills them, and then they're taken up to heaven. And then verse 16 says, "And
the four and twenty olders, which sat before God in their seats, fell upon their faces
and worshiped God, saying, 'We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and was, and
art to come, because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. And the
nations are angry, and thy wrath has come, and the time of the dead, that they should
be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the
saints. And then that fear thy name, small and great, and shouldest destroy them which
destroy the earth." So then now you have of course chapter 12 comes, and then of course
you flip over and read the second half of Revelation. So the book of Revelation is kind
of to be read, you know, in one half, and then read the other half, and you're going
to get different details in different segments. So now let's go to Revelation. Let's see,
I've got to hurry up and be done here. I feel like. Revelation chapter number one though,
real quick. So here's another end time scenario though. Jesus just kind of tells us in the
first chapter. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, verse 10, and I heard behind me
a great voice as of a trumpet, saying, "I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last,
and what thou seest, write in a book and send it unto the seven churches which are
in Asia, and unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and
unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea." And I turned to see the voice that
spake with me, and being turned I saw seven golden candlesticks. In the midst of the seven
candlesticks, one like unto the Son of Man, pulled with the garment down to the foot and
girt about the paps with the golden girdle. So at the beginning of the book of Revelation,
John sees his vision, and it's the Lord Jesus Christ appearing to him, saying he's the
Alpha and Omega, and then he has his vision of these candlesticks, and he's not really
sure what he's necessarily looking at. But then in verse 17 it says, "And when I saw
him, I fell at his feet as dead, and he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, 'Fear
not, I am the first and the last. I am he that liveth, and was dead, and behold, I am
alive forevermore. Amen. And have the keys of hell and of death. Write these things which
thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter. The
mystery of the seven stars, which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks.
The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven candlesticks which
thou sawest, are the seven churches. So I mean, mysteries are meant to be solved a lot
of times, and God just solves the mystery for us right here in the first chapter of
Revelation. You know, and obviously I just went through this whole end time scenario
with you, but you know, God wants us to know things. He wants us, He wants to reveal His
secrets to us, and a lot of people get intimidated by the book of Revelation. There's even a
book called the book of Revelation for dummies. You know that how they have that whole series,
the four dummies series? They actually have that for the book of Revelation. And let me tell you,
the person that wrote that is a dummy because they don't understand the book of Revelation.
But you know, I mean, you obviously have to have the Spirit of God, first of all, to understand it.
But even people that are saved, they do get things wrong in the book of Revelation. I'm not sitting
here saying I know everything. You know, we could be wrong about some things, I'm sure. Look at
Revelation 10 verse 1. Revelation 10 verse 1. I'm almost done. I'll be done here in just a second.
Let me know in a second, okay. Really soon. All right, verse 1. "And I saw another mighty angel
come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud, and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was,
as it were, the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire. And he had in his hand a little book
open, and he was, and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth,
and cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth, and when he had cried, seven thunders
uttered their voices. And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write,
and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, seal up those things which the seven thunders
uttered, and write them not." So there are some things that God just doesn't want us to know.
So that is one of them. People are like, this is a foolish question, but if someone asks this
question, it's like, why ask it? Because we're never going to know. He said, seal it up. You know,
maybe God will tell us when we're in heaven. I don't know why he said, I don't know why he
doesn't want us to know what the seven thunders utter, but he just doesn't. So verse seven, look
at verse seven in the same passage here, it says, "But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel,
when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished as he hath declared to his
servants the prophets." I kind of was thinking about this verse, and I was like, well, what does
this mean? Well, I mean, I would say that everything that he has been saying to the prophets,
since there has been prophets, including the end, including the gospel, including all these
mysteries, which is about to close, all this stuff is about to be explained in the book of
Revelation. And everything is happening to this point. These things are about to be finished.
You know, the book of Revelation, there's a reason why there's only 22 chapters,
and then that's the end. There's a reason why we don't accept the book of Mormon,
because there's nothing past that except for eternity future. And he's told us everything
that we need to know. You know, we don't need to know what's in the book of Enoch. First of all,
it's heresy. It's not true. Who cares about the things that are not in here? It's the things that
are in here that we need to know. So the mystery that should be finished, I think that it's just
talking about, you know, basically the whole plan of God. It's, you know, that's what I believe that
it's talking about there. I mean, if you have a different theory, I'd like to hear it, but it kind
of seems like that's what it what it means. But, you know, maybe we're hoping to get some different
mysteries solved in the Bible in, you know, the end times. Obviously, it's a vast topic, but I was
just trying to kind of hit things that were just called mysteries in the end times here. But
but there's nothing secret that shall not be uncovered. And God doesn't want to keep us in
the dark. But if there is things that he wants us to not know, you know, it's just like you're
learning in the Bible. There are things he doesn't want you to know until you're ready to know them.
And he'll reveal those things to you as he wants you to know them. And so, you know, if you're a
babe in Christ, you should learn the things that you need to know first. The foundational truths of
the Bible are the things that you should, you know, learn those things first. You know, learn the
simple doctrines, learn the milk of the word first, and then move on to the meat. I'm not saying you
can't understand more complicated topics, but you should really get the fundamentals of the faith
down and kind of really focus in on those things. Baptism, you know, eternal security, soul winning,
just all these foundational things that we should know as a Christian. Why do we need to read the
Bible? Why do we need to pray? You know, all these different things, you know, the ministry of the
Holy Spirit, you know, the Trinity, these things are important. And God is going to reveal the
deeper things of God as He wants us to. The Bible says, you know, that we should have the Word of
God as a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. And we should trust in the Lord with all our heart
and lean not to our own understanding. And in all of our ways, we should acknowledge Him and He'll
direct our paths. And the Bible says the saints will not be able to be deceived by these things
that are coming upon us. The whole world's going to be deceived. Satan can deceive the whole world,
but guess what? He cannot deceive us with the mark of the beast. So really we shouldn't worry
about that because you're not going to be able to be deceived. If it were possible, he could
deceive the very elect, but it's not possible. So don't, I mean, obviously if you have loved ones
that you want to get saved, get them saved so that it's not possible for them. Because if people are
unsaved, they can believe the dumbest things ever. I'm sure you noticed that. Even people that claim
to be saved that aren't, they believe some of the weirdest and wildest doctrines. I mean, the Kirk
Cameron thing. "I don't really know if I believe in hell because it seems like annihilation is
probably the..." I mean, okay, Jehovah's Witness. He's basically become a Jehovah's Witness because
that's what they believe. That's what Seventh-day Adventists believe. So I didn't realize that,
I mean, they all kind of come from the same cloth, you know. Even Mormons don't even believe
really in hell. They kind of believe that everybody has another chance. I mean, that's
what Catholics believe too. The Catholics believe in purgatory, that you're going to make the right
choice in the end and no one's really going to go to hell. So, I mean, I don't know if Catholics
have believed that for all time. It doesn't seem like they do. If you're William Tyndale,
you're going to hell for sure, I guess. And Baptist in general. But, you know, the Saints
will not be able to be deceived like this. And, you know, there's just some things that God
will not reveal like the seven thunders that were uttered. We're not going to, you know,
we don't know that. We're not going to get to know that. Don't let it bother you, though.
Obviously, we're on a need-to-know basis, and apparently we don't need to know. So,
last verse and we'll be done, okay? Deuteronomy chapter 29, verse 29. Revelation 29, I mean,
excuse me. Deuteronomy 29, verse 29. And this is, you know, some people use this verse as an excuse
to not answer questions, but the truth of this verse is just the truth. The secret things belong
unto the Lord our God. What does secret mean? Mystery, right? But those things which are revealed
belong unto us and to our children forever. That we may do all the words of this law. So, I mean,
God reveals unto us the things that he wants us to know. But there are secret things that do
belong unto him. And I don't even know what all those secret things are. You know what? I don't
care. I just know that he gave us everything we need to know in this book for this life. And I'm
sure that he's going to share a whole bunch of things with us. You know, I think that's probably
going to be one of the cool parts about heaven, because I like to ask questions. And many of your
kids like to ask a lot of questions. Who has kids who like to ask questions? Like, what about this?
What about that one? It's like, and after a while you're like, okay, that's enough questions. You
only have so many questions today. You're on the last one. But I was like that. I was a very
inquisitive kid. I like to ask questions about everything. But God might get sick of me. He's
like, okay, your time is done Pastor Thompson. It's somebody else's turn to ask your questions.
I have a lot of questions, but you know, like people are like, where did God come from? I don't
know. I want to know though, you know, how He's been and exists forever. I just know that I believe
it though because the Bible says that He's from old, He's from everlasting. So anyway, let's close
an order of prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you Lord so much for the Bible and for the mysteries
that you do share with us because we are your children and that you love us and you don't want
to keep us in the dark. I praise you Lord that you're a God that you don't keep us in the dark
about everything and Lord even though in the Old Testament there was things that you didn't reveal
and make super clear but there was always a purpose for that. Thank you for the New Testament
and that we're born in these times. Lord I pray that you help us to be prepared for the things
that are coming upon this earth. Lord help us to see the truth for what it is and the things that
are going on around us, that we would be awake and not be asleep and that we would be focused
on the things of your kingdom and furthering it. In Jesus name we pray, amen.