I'm not sure what I'm doing here, but I'm not sure what I'm doing here.
I'm not sure what I'm doing here, but I'm not sure what I'm doing here, but I'm not sure what I'm doing here.
I actually took a break from this just for about a week or so, just because my wife had the baby, and so we're in a bit of a transition there.
But obviously today is an off day, and I typically don't do a live stream teaching through Revelation on Tuesdays.
But I want to teach through Chapter 5 today, because I want to get to Chapter 6 on Friday.
Friday is when I typically go live on Instagram teaching through the book of Revelation.
So I want to cover the beginning of Sorrows and Great Tribulation in Chapter 6, and kind of delve in a little deep with the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the Persecution, the Antichrist, and all those things, all those elements that we see there in Chapter 6.
So Chapter 5 is a shorter chapter, so I want to cover that today, and we'll take about an hour or so, however long it takes to get that going.
And so thank you so much for tuning in. We've got a couple people coming on the stream here.
I know I didn't give anybody a heads up, and so sorry about that. I didn't post anything on my stories letting anybody know that I was going to be going live.
It's kind of a last-minute thing. We're just trying to get some details figured out with the live.
Last time we went live, the audio sounded kind of robotic. I felt like I was on Auto-Tune or something like that.
I'm teaching through Chapter 4, and it just sounded kind of funky. It sounded a little robotic.
And so we wanted to make sure that that audio was fine for the next time we went live.
And so it seems to be fine, Brother Ulysses, right? Do I get a thumbs up or what? Good to go. Okay, cool.
So again, I'm going to be teaching through Chapter 5 today, and Chapter 5 is a really short chapter.
It's about 14 verses long and really goes hand in hand with Chapter 4 regarding the introduction of the vision that the Apostle John is receiving.
He's caught up into heaven in spirit to see these things which must shortly come to pass.
And of course, chapters 1, 2, and 3 are basically covering the first century AD.
You have the seven churches that are being addressed in chapters 2 and 3.
We see that they have biblical significance, prophetic significance to them, which each of the churches that we see there.
And really, the significance that they have is the fact that each of these churches are experiencing some form of tribulation.
And that tribulation is expressed through persecution. They're being persecuted by the Jews.
They're being persecuted by false prophets, by the Nicolaitans, as Chapter 2 puts it.
And each and every one of them experience some form of persecution and tribulation, and we see basically how they responded to that.
And the reason that's being placed in the book of Revelation is because it kind of operates somewhat as a primer to help us to understand that Christians,
all that will live godly in Christ Jesus, shall suffer persecution.
Paul the Apostle said that we must, through much tribulation, enter into the kingdom of God.
And it's basically preparing us for the fact that in the end times, nothing's going to change as far as persecution is concerned.
The only difference is that it's going to be a persecution as no Christian has ever seen before from the history of mankind.
And so it's going to be the worst persecution, the worst type of tribulation there is. Christians are going to be put to death.
They're going to be imprisoned. They're going to be killed for being Christians. They're going to be killed for professing Christ.
And we see that in Revelation Chapter 6, where the Bible says that John sees under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held.
And so they're not being persecuted for their political stance. They're being persecuted because of their faith in Christ.
And of course, that's because this Antichrist is making war with the saints. He's seeking to overcome them. The Bible says he prevails against them.
He kills many of them. And that carries out for about 75 days of great tribulation. And then the rapture takes place.
But before I get into that, I want to get into Chapter 5 first and just kind of explain what's going on here in Chapter 5.
Let me see here. I'm trying to put the scriptures on here. We'll see if it works.
I don't know how it's going to look on Instagram. It may not look that good, but we'll figure it out. Good to see everyone on the live.
Where is Henoch? I have no idea who that is. All right. Chapter number five. Let's get into it.
And by the way, we're also at this point. Also, it's a little big. It's a little... Let me shorten it a little bit.
Let me see if we can get it to fit the screen here. We're also live on YouTube on Wild Olive Tree, which is my secondary channel.
Because we're experimenting with the layout. Typically, we go portrait on live because of Instagram.
But because we're doing both, we're doing landscape. And so I think everyone's able to see. All right. It's still a little too big.
Let me see. Let me shorten it a little bit. Again, folks, sorry about the... I didn't get a chance to tell anybody that I was going to go live.
It's kind of a last minute thing. But don't worry. This is being recorded and it'll be posted on my Instagram IGTV.
So you can reference later if you'd like to. Oh, man. This is still too big. Good night. All right. Here we go. Maybe this will do right here.
My face is being covered right here, but it's all right. Yes, my wife gave birth. She actually gave birth last Tuesday at 1244 a.m. in the morning.
And the scriptures look blurry. All right. We'll just take the scriptures off then if it looks blurry.
Just going to have to have your Bible with you folks. Yeah, she gave birth last week on Tuesday at 1244 a.m.
Baby Helen, Helen Nadia Mejia is her name. And so she's home now and my wife is resting. Everything's going well. Thank you so much for asking.
It's not centered on IG. Yeah, sorry about that. You're going to have to have your Bibles in front of you.
Thank you so much on the congrats for the baby. Thank you. I appreciate that. All right, let's get started here. Revelation chapter number five.
And verse number one, it says, And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne, a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.
So what this is referring to is the fact that, of course, the apostle John at this point, he's in heaven in spirit.
We see that taking place in Revelation chapter four, verse number one, where God,
he basically is caught up in spirit to heaven to basically see the things which must shortly come to pass.
And a lot of the things that he's looking at, a lot of the imagery is very symbolic.
And, you know, I mentioned this in the chapter four video that chapter four is obviously not referring to the rapture.
And you have a lot of those, those who believe in a pre-tribulation rapture,
they will put the rapture in chapter number four because of the fact that, you know, they don't want to see Christians throughout the tribulation.
They think we're going to be gone before the tribulation begins, before we even have a run in with the Antichrist.
You know, we're not going to suffer that persecution. We're not going to suffer the tribulation.
And so what they'll do is they'll place the rapture in chapter number four, and they're basically trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.
Because when you look at the elements of the rapture, what the Bible teaches about the rapture,
and you compare them to what's taking place in chapter four, verse number one, you know, they're not the same at all.
You know, the rapture is the resurrection of the just. And so it's a bodily resurrection.
It's those of all nations being resurrected from the beginning of time up until the timing of the rapture.
And it's a bodily resurrection. Jesus Christ is seen in the clouds. He's coming in the clouds.
Every eye shall see him. And that's not what we see in Revelation chapter four.
What we see is one man known as John, and he's being caught up in spirit.
When we're caught up, we're not being caught up in spirit. Our bodies are being resurrected from the grave.
This corruptible body shall put on incorruption. This mortal shall put on immortality, the Bible says.
And our spirit shall meet our bodies in the air, and we will receive our transfigured, resurrected bodies at that point.
And so, you know, it's a bit of a stretch to say that chapter four is the rapture.
But that's what these people are forced to do in order to place the rapture prior to the tribulation.
Whereas, you know, if you believe in a post-trib pre-wrath rapture like myself, it makes total sense.
You see that the rapture takes place in chapter number seven after the tribulation.
You know, after the four horsemen of the apocalypse, after the abomination of desolation,
after the Antichrist comes on the scene and is putting Christians to death.
At the latter end of chapter number six, you see the day of the Lord taking place, which is synonymous with the rapture.
And in chapter number seven, we see John in verse number nine of chapter seven.
It says in this, after this, I beheld a great multitude which no man could number, which sounds like the rapture.
You know, John is someone who can be numbered. That's just one guy.
Whereas the actual rapture that takes place, you know, all the people that have been saved from the beginning of time up until the second coming of Christ.
You know, that's a great multitude, which no man can number. And from what I can remember, you know, John is of Israel.
Right. Whereas the rapture is not going to be just Israelites.
It's going to be everyone who's ever been saved from every nation.
And in fact, it says a great multitude, which no man can number of all nations,
kindreds and people in tongues stood before the throne and before the lamb clothed with white robes and palms in their hands.
And so I'll get more into that later on.
But I just want to let you know that that's what's taking place in chapter number four is the vision is being revealed unto John.
And what he sees first and foremost is a book written within on the backside, sealed with seven seals.
And obviously that should ring somewhat of a bell.
We know that the Book of Revelation talks about the seven seals, seven trumpets and seven vials.
But what we understand when we read the Book of Revelation is that the seven trumpets and seven vials are described as being the wrath of God.
It's God pouring out his wrath upon this world.
It's his day of vengeance is the days of restitution, as the Bible puts it.
Whereas the seals are not God's wrath.
The seals are being explained in Revelation chapter number six, and it's dealing with the Antichrist imposing tribulation and persecution upon people, upon Christians.
OK, so what he's given here is a book and the book, I believe, is to be the Book of Wrath, so to speak,
because of the fact that once the seals are open, the contents that are written in the book are referring to the vials and the trumpets,
which is the wrath of God. You say, well, that's kind of weird, you know, that, you know, he would seal it with seven seals.
Well, the only reason he's sealing it with seven seals, it basically shows that the tribulation or the seven seals precede the wrath of God.
You know, in order to see the contents of the book, you have to open up the seals first.
OK, so this is proving what we believe as far as a post-trib pre-wrath rapture is the fact that the tribulation,
which is known as the seals that we see in Revelation chapter six, precedes the wrath of God.
Once all the seals are open, at that point, you can read the contents of the book and the contents of the book is the wrath of God.
So that's basically what this chapter is referring to here.
Verse number two. Let's see here. Verse number two says,
And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book and to loose the seals thereof?
And no man in heaven nor on earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon.
And I wept much because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.
So what's the problem here?
Well, the problem is, you know, John is trying to look at the contents that are found in the book, but there's no one who's worthy to open it.
And the reason for that is because of the fact that no one is worthy to pour out their wrath upon mankind or upon the world.
You know, the Bible says, Vengeance belongeth unto me. I will repay, saith the Lord.
And the Bible says that the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
And so no one is really designated or has that responsibility or that privilege, so to speak, to pour out their wrath upon a wicked world.
None of us are righteous enough to do so. Not even Christians.
You know, it's for that reason that the Bible tells us that vengeance belongs unto God.
And so there's only one person who's worthy to punish the world for their evil doings, and that's Jesus Christ, which is what we look here, what we see here.
And what we see is that everyone is weeping because no one is able to open up the book.
And you think about that. Why are they weeping? Well, you know, it could be for the fact that they know the contents of the book.
They know that it's referring to maybe the wrath of God.
And they want vengeance, you know, for the the the iniquity of the world, the haters of God that are out there,
the workers of iniquity who have perverted the ways of the Lord, they persecuted the righteous.
And, you know, they they want vengeance upon this world.
And so Jesus Christ obviously is the only one who is worthy to do so.
Let me fix some things here real quick.
And so he says in verse number five, And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not, behold, the line of the tribe of Judah,
the root of David, has prevailed to open the book and to loose the seven seals thereof.
And so, you know, this could be a text verse that pre-Tribbers would try to use to say, yeah, see, it's God is doing this because Jesus is the one who's opening the seals.
And therefore it's God who's imposing the tribulation upon Christians. But that's wrong.
And the reason we know that's wrong is because of the fact that the Bible says that we're not appointed unto wrath.
You see, the pre-Tribbers believe that the wrath of God and the tribulation are synonymous. They're one in the same. They're the same exact thing.
Whereas the Bible explicitly says that they're separate things that take place. They're separate things that take place upon people.
You know, the Bible says that we're not appointed unto wrath, but we are appointed to tribulation. Over and over again, we see that.
Jesus Christ said in John chapter 16 that, you know, these things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I've overcome the world.
And so he's saying you're going to have tribulation. You're going to experience these things.
But the wrath of God is obviously something different that takes place upon an unsaved world that has rejected God.
You say, well, how do you explain this, the fact that Jesus Christ is the one who's worthy to open up the seals?
Well, it's just referring to the fact that he's the one who's worthy to show John this vision, okay?
It's not saying that he's imposing the tribulation upon anybody. It's just saying he's worthy to open the seals.
The seals that are revealed in Revelation chapter 6 is not God doing these things.
Because at that point, you would have to say that it's, you know, it's the beasts who are proclaiming these things who are also responsible for the tribulation.
We know that's not true, because after every seal is opened, the Bible tells us that there's a beast, the beast that we see in chapter number four, explaining to John what's taking place.
You know, it says in verse three, when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, come and see.
So it's the beast is now responsible for the tribulation that's being poured upon the world.
You know, he's simply observing. He's simply explaining what's taking place.
So unlike man or Jesus Christ opening up the seals doesn't mean he's imposing this tribulation upon the world.
He's simply worthy to he's simply the one worthy enough to open up the seals to reveal the contents they're in.
Okay. But I want you to notice here in verse number five of chapter five, it calls Jesus the Lion of the tribe of Judah.
And then it says in verse six, and I beheld and lo in the midst of the throne of the four beasts and in the midst of the elders stood a lamb as it had been slain, having seven head seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.
Now, we obviously understand that when it talks about the Lamb of God, this is referring to Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ is known as the Lion of the tribe of Judah, but he's also known as the Lamb of God.
And in this particular chapter, he's referred to as a lion, but he's also referred to as a lamb.
Now, why is that? Well, a lion is a predator that tears its opponents apart.
Whereas when we think of a lamb, for example, we think of, you know, an animal that's gentle, an animal, of course, that's being sacrificed for the sins of the world.
John the Baptist, when proclaiming that to his disciples, said, Behold, the Lamb of God who should take away the sins of the world.
And when we view Jesus Christ, we view him as the Lamb of God. He's the one who took away our sins.
He's the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
The Bible says that he himself bore our own sins on his own body, on the tree.
The Bible tells us that if we believe on him, on the Lamb of God, then, you know, we can have the forgiveness of sins past, present and future.
He's our redemption. He's our savior. We view him as our lamb.
Whereas the world views him as a lion, because the lion obviously is a ravening type of an animal that will destroy.
It'll eat the call. The Bible says he'll tear out the call in the book of Hosea. He uses that type of language.
So to the world, he's like a lion. To us, he's like a lamb. And so that's what's being stated here.
He's talking about the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David. But he also explains that he's the lamb who has been slain.
Now, this is pretty interesting here when it says in verse six that in the midst of the elders stood a lamb as it had been slain.
And we obviously understand that the Bible also says that Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God who was slain before the foundation of the world.
And the foundation of the world is referring to the beginning of time. You know, Genesis 1, 1.
And the reason it says that he was slain before the foundation of the world is because of the fact that Jesus Christ,
God the Father and God the Holy Spirit, the Trinity, they dwell. Oh, are you changing that? Sorry.
Throwing me off here, man. All right, here we go.
Jesus Christ, the Trinity, God the Father and God the Holy Spirit, you know, they dwell in the vastness of eternity.
So they existed before time began. You know, the Bible says that, you know, that his beginning is before everything was ever even created.
And in fact, the Bible tells us in John 1, 1, in the beginning was the word, the word was with God and the word was God.
The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him and without him was not anything made that was made.
So obviously, in order for God to create things, in order for Jesus Christ, the word of God to create things, he has to be outside of that creation.
He has to be outside, you know, in the vastness of eternity in order to create time, space and matter, etc.
So what I'm getting at here is the fact that the Bible actually says that he was slain before the foundation of the world.
Prior to even the fall of man, the Bible tells us that Jesus Christ was slain.
Why? Because God in his foreknowledge and the perfection of his omniscience and his understanding knew that man was going to fall.
And he had already predetermined that he was going to die for the sins of the whole world.
OK, and so, you know, Adam and Eve falling didn't catch God off guard.
It's like, oh, man, we didn't know they were going to do that. Now we got to come up with a plan.
No, he already knew that because he's God. He's omniscient. He knows all things.
Nothing catches him off guard. It's not like that was plan A and this is plan B.
He already knew that that was going to take place. OK, he knows the beginning from the end. He's the Alpha and the Omega.
And so that's why it says that he's the lamb as it had been slain. OK.
And, you know, one of the proofs of that, of the fact that, you know, he already knew these things that, for example, in the Gospels,
Jesus Christ, when talking to his disciples, said, if any man will come after me, let him take up his cross and follow me.
Well, obviously, that's prior to the crucifixion. But yet Jesus Christ, because he's God,
already knew that he was going to not only be not only die for the sins of the whole world,
but he even knew the manner of execution, which is the crucifix. That's why he told them, take up your cross and follow me.
And so that's what that's referring to there. And I already covered what the seven spirits of God are referring to.
This is not referring to, you know, something that, you know, it's not in addition to the Trinity.
OK, when it talks about the seven spirits, it's simply referring to the seven characteristics of God.
And we covered that last time when we went over chapter number four.
Spirit of knowledge, the spirit of wisdom, that's what that's referring to.
Verse number seven says, And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.
And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and the four and twenty elders fell down before the lamb,
having every one of them harps and golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers of the saints.
So this should come as a this should, you know, basically we should see this as comforting,
as a comforting statement here because of the fact that it says that he has golden vials filled or excuse me,
full of odors, which are the prayers of the saints. So that means that every time believers pray,
he's collecting those prayers and he's collecting them in a vial and he considers them to be an odor.
Now, if you think of it, you know, a vial, it's like a little it's like a little bottle that contains perfume,
for example, some sort of scent. And what that means there is the fact that God enjoys our prayers.
You know, he finds pleasure in his children, praying unto him when you ask him for things,
when you pray and you praise him, when you worship him, when you adore him,
when you spend time thanking God for your salvation, thanking God for his provision and his protection,
when you spend time just worshipping God and talking about how great and almighty he is,
or when you just spend time asking for things. You know, the Bible says that he collects those prayers
and he puts them in a vial and they're well pleasing in his sight. OK, they're like a sweet smelling savor unto him.
And that should admonish us, encourage us to continue to pray. You know, sometimes people don't endure in prayer.
They often are going through a difficult time. They're going through some sort of tribulation.
They're going through a health crisis, a financial crisis. And, you know, they pray.
But then they stop praying because they lose faith that God will change their situation, God will change their circumstance.
But what God wants us to do is to be persistent in prayer. The Bible calls it being importune in our prayers.
It's asking God continuously and persistently and enduring in prayer, knowing full well that he will answer our prayers if we ask in faith.
OK, now, obviously, we have to pray according to his will. We can't pray that, you know, hey, God, help me win the lottery or something.
You know, that's not according to his will. The Bible actually says in First John Chapter five in verse number 14.
And this is the confidence that we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us.
And if we know that he hear us, what's over we ask. We know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
So the Bible tells us, look, if we pray, we have the confidence to know that he's hearing us.
And if we know that he hears us, we know that we're going to we're going to receive that which we're asking for.
The Bible says pray without ceasing. The Bible says men are always to pray and not to faint.
The Bible constantly commands us to pray and to petition for needs.
The Bible says, be careful for nothing but in all things by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving.
Let your requests be made known unto God and the peace of God that passeth understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ our Lord.
So over and over again, we see that that instruction, that admonishment to pray, to ask God for things, to supplicate, to intercede,
that we may boldly come before the throne of grace to obtain mercy, to help in a time of need.
And here in Revelation Chapter five, we see that he pays attention to those prayers.
He he places them in a vial full of odors, and they're the prayers of the saints.
Now, later on, we're actually going to see that one of the prayers that God actually really collects quite a bit.
Our prayers that God would strike vengeance upon the enemies of God, and we actually see that in Chapter six and in Chapter number eight as well.
OK, because the vials that are being poured out in Chapter number eight, the wrath of God, are the prayers of the saints.
And I'll prove that to you beyond a shadow of a doubt. And in fact, Jesus Christ spoke about this in the Gospels.
I believe it's in Luke Chapter 18. And we'll get into that the closer we get to Chapter eight.
So I thought I'd mention that there. Hope you pray. And I think I need to make a little reel.
I hope you guys are keeping up with the reels. I've been making a lot of reels lately and I'm trying to get a lot of information out there.
But maybe I should make a reel on prayer, on how to pray. Just a simple way how to pray.
But the problem is they only give you like 30 seconds to make a video.
You know, people, when I expose false prophets, they're like, why don't you put his whole sermon on there?
I'm like, because they only give me 30 seconds. Like, I can't. Can you find me a pastor who preaches for 30 seconds?
Then maybe I'll do that. Verse number nine, chasing a rabbit there.
And they sung a new song, the Bible says. Saying thou are worthy to take the book and to open the seals thereof, for thou was slain and has redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation.
And look what it says in verse 10 and has made us unto our God, kings and priests, and we shall reign on the earth.
Folks, did you know that if you're a believer, if you are saved, if you believed on Jesus Christ for your salvation, the Bible considers you to be royalty?
My friend, you are a king in the eyes of God. OK, we're kings and priests.
And so you say, why does God consider us to be royalty? Well, because we're children of the king, you know, the king of kings and Lord of lords.
We got a problem over here or what? And in fact, the Bible says in First Peter, chapter two.
Well, before I get into that, he says he has made us unto our God, kings and priests.
Now, if you think about it, you know, the Old Testament, the only people that were designated to be priests in the Bible, they had to be from the tribe of Levi and from the house of Aaron.
And even above that, you know, you had to fit certain qualifications that you see in the Old Testament.
And, you know, that was basically the stipulation. You had to be of the tribe of Levi, the house of Aaron.
You had to fit the qualifications to be a priest, to be part of the priesthood. But in the New Testament, that's no longer the case.
You know, the priesthood has been changed. Aaron is no longer the high priest. Now we have Jesus Christ as our high priest.
And the Bible tells us that in First Peter, chapter two, verse number five, it says he also has lively stones are built up a spiritual house.
So instead of being of the house of Aaron, we're just of the spiritual house.
It says in holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
Excuse me. It says in verse number nine, but ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood and holy nation, a peculiar people, that ye should show forth the praises of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
So now we're actually part of the priesthood of the believers. In times past, you had to go to the high priest and his sons in order to communicate with God.
You had to go to Aaron to communicate with God. Now we don't have to go to a earthly priest to go to God.
We can talk to him ourselves. And the reason why is because of the fact that we're part of the priesthood.
And as the priesthood, we have the high priest, Jesus Christ, who is interceding on our behalf.
The Bible says no man can come to me except God the Father. Draw him first. We go to God through Jesus Christ.
He's interceding on our behalf. He's our advocate. He's the propitiation. You know, we have access to the Father by one Spirit, the Bible says.
So now we're part of that royal priesthood. That's why we're kings and priests, because we're spiritual royalty in the eyes of God.
So, you know, we're part of his kingdom. All right. The Bible tells us in Ephesians, chapter number two, it says in verse number 19,
it says, Now, therefore, ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God, and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets,
Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone, and whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto a holy temple in the Lord,
and whom ye are also builded together for inhabitation of God through the Spirit. So we can now come to God.
We don't have to go, you know, do a sacrifice. We don't have to partake of the meads, drinks and divers washings and cardinal ordinances.
You know, those things are done away with. The Old Testament has been done away with the old covenant.
And when we talk about the old covenants, referring to the meads, drinks and divers washings is not referring to God's moral law.
For those of you, for you Hebrew, you know, Hebrew observers, Sabbath observers out there, God's moral law has never changed.
And let me just give you, let me just school you on something. The moral law, God's moral law actually existed prior to Moses.
Prior to Moses giving the law from Mount Sinai, you know, murder was wrong already.
And in fact, the Bible says that the law of God is written in our hearts.
And that's interesting, isn't it? Because if the law of God is only referring to the Sabbath, you know,
no one in this world knows naturally that they have to keep the Sabbath. But you know what?
They do know naturally that murder is wrong. They know that adultery is wrong. They know that stealing is wrong.
They know that lying is wrong. Why? Because the law of God, God's moral law is written in our hearts, according to Romans chapter number two.
But the Bible says that we're kings and priests and he made us kings and priests through Jesus Christ.
This is what it says in Revelation chapter number one. It tells us in Revelation chapter number one, verse number five.
Oh, excuse me. Let me look at the verse here.
It says in verse number six, and God and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his father.
To him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. So take advantage of the fact that you're a priest of God.
You know, we're not talking about Catholic priests with the Band-Aid on their neck.
We're talking about the royal priesthood. Those who have become the priests of God because they believed on Jesus Christ for their salvation.
You're part of that priesthood. He says in verse number 11 of chapter number five.
And I beheld and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne of the beast and the elders.
And the number of them was ten thousand times, ten thousand and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice,
worthy is the lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.
You know what this tells me? What this tells me is that it's all about Jesus.
It's not about me. It's not about you. It's not about a political leader. It's not about the president.
It's not about a specific, you know, famous person or specific pastor.
It's all about Jesus. And although in this world, it's not all about Jesus in the world's eyes.
It doesn't matter, because the Bible says that there's going to come a time when every knee shall bow before Jesus Christ.
It says in Philippians chapter number two.
It says in Philippians chapter number two, verse number nine.
Wherefore, God also had highly exalted him and given him a given him a name which is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow and of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth,
and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
So it's all about Jesus Christ. The Bible says in Colossians chapter number one, that he is the preeminent one.
You know, the Bible tells us that Jesus Christ is the most important thing. He's the preeminent one.
He's the head. And so, you know, instead of focusing so much on yourself, focusing so much on an earthly leader,
on a president, on a governor, on a mayor, on a, you know, a person,
the main focus should always be on Jesus Christ, because he's the preeminent one.
He's the most important one, regardless of what the world says.
And let me just tell you this. You know, Jesus cared less what the world thinks about him.
He knows that the world hates him, but they're going to have to bow one day anyways.
You know, the Bible says that when he comes to rule, he's going to rule with a rod of iron.
And what that means is that he's going to rule with zero tolerance and every knee will bow before him one day.
Why? Because he's worthy of that.
Verse 13 says,
Even the animals are praising God.
You know, it says that the creatures that are in the sea, all the whales and the sharks and the fishes,
and, you know, every single creature, crustacean, everything that's on land,
every elephant, every giraffe, every animal, he opens their mouth to give honor and glory and power,
to state honor, glory and power be unto him that sitteth upon the throne.
And this isn't impossible, folks. You know, in the Old Testament, we have a story of Balaam,
the son of Bozor, who was riding upon an ass.
And, of course, we know that an ass, a donkey, just like every other animal, is dumb.
It's not able to speak. But he was miraculously given the ability to speak.
God opened its mouth so it could speak unto Balaam, the son of Bozor.
You know, it's the time in the Bible when animals, you know, where God gave an animal the ability to speak.
Well, folks, you know, that's how wonderful God is, is the fact that even animals who are not even able to speak a human language,
when they see Jesus Christ, they can't help but speak.
I mean, when the Pharisees, when the children were saying Hosanna, when they're praising Jesus Christ as he was coming into Jerusalem,
you know, the Pharisees told Jesus, you know, he was trying to get him to stop the kids from praising God.
And he said, if I stop them, the stones would immediately cry out.
He says, if I stop the children from praising me, the stones would cry out. Why? Because that's how awesome God is.
That's how powerful he is. That's how almighty he is. That's how wonderful he is.
That even an inanimate object such as a stone can't even help itself.
It can't even help but praise God when it's in its presence, when they are in his presence.
It's pretty awesome to think about. It kind of shows you, you know, how wonderful God is, how wonderful Jesus Christ is,
how glorious he is, how powerful he is, how almighty he is.
Then even animals who don't speak a language or inanimate objects,
objects such as a stone or a rock are compelled to praise God when they're in the presence of the lamb.
It says, blessing and honor and glory and power be unto him that sitteth upon the throne and unto the lamb forever and ever.
And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and 20 elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth forever and ever.
So basically, chapter number five is a chapter that is focused on the Lamb of God who was slain before the foundation of the world,
the Lion of the tribe of Judah, and explaining why he's worthy to open up the seals and to reveal the contents of this book.
And keep in mind that John is viewing all these things. He's seeing all these visions and these images,
these prophetic things that are going to take place. He's in heaven viewing these things.
Now, as soon as Jesus begins to open up the seals, then we're going to begin to see what's taking place during the tribulation,
which is in chapter number six. All right. And so that's pretty much it there.
Is there anybody who asked the question in the comments section? Yes.
Do you want to shoot that over to me or what?
And just to let you know, folks, God has a sense of humor. I just want to throw that out there.
You know, a lot of people want to mock God today, but the Bible says that, you know, God is not mocked.
For whatsoever man, so with that shall he also reap. And the Bible actually records God laughing.
OK, go read Proverbs chapter number one in the Book of Psalms. You'll see when God actually laughs.
And, you know, you know, some people, they look at my memes and they look at some of the things that I say and that some of the things I laugh at.
And they're just like, that's inappropriate. You shouldn't laugh about those things.
You know, God actually has a crazier sense of humor than I do, because the Bible actually says in Proverbs chapter one that he's going to laugh at a good joke.
No, he's going to laugh at their calamity. He's referring to the calamity of the wicked.
He says when they fall, when they're destroyed, when evil comes upon them, when they split hell wide open, the Bible literally says that God's going to laugh at that.
He says, I shall laugh at your calamity. And I remember there's an Instagram one time and in their profile, a little biography, they said this.
You know, I can't wait to hear God laugh. And I agree with that.
Someone asked, isn't the day of the Lord when the sun and moon are darkened?
Yes. The day of the Lord is when the sun and moon are darkened.
The stars are not giving their light. And that is synonymous with the rapture, because when you read Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21, those are all the same elements that you see taking place there.
You see the sun and moon being darkened. And in chapter number six, we see that taking place.
And that is synonymous with Matthew chapter 24.
And it says, let me read it to you in Matthew chapter 24.
It says, immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened and the moon shall not give her light and the star shall fall from heaven and the powers of the heaven shall be shaken and then shall appear the sign of the son of man in heaven.
And then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn and they shall see the son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
And he shall send his angels with the great sound of a trumpet and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other.
So the rapture is synonymous with the day of the Lord. They're actually the same exact thing.
Okay, one takes place simultaneously with the other. So it's the day of the Lord and we're being raptured because of the fact that it's leading into the seventh seal, which is going into the first trumpet, which is the wrath of God.
Okay, so yes, they're both the same thing there.
Could you explain Second Thessalonians 2-3? Let's look at it.
Second Thessalonians 2-3.
Does anybody know where Second Thessalonians is? Just kidding.
Second Thessalonians 2-3 says, let's read from verse number one.
It says, Now we beseech you brethren by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and by our gathering together into him.
That you 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 the crisis at hand.
Let no man deceive you by any means for that day shall not come except to come a falling away first and the man of sin be revealed the son of perdition.
Now, here's the thing. Yeah, of course Christians can be deceived.
I mean, the proof of that is the fact that you have an entire group of Christians today that believe in what's called the pre-tribulation rapture.
And they're being deceived thinking that all believers are going to be raptured before the tribulation takes place, which is obviously false.
And that's why he says, Let no man deceive you by any means for that day shall not come.
And that day is referring to is referring to the gathering together unto him, which is referring to the rapture.
OK, he says that day shall not come except to come a falling away first and a man of sin be revealed.
So people can definitely be deceived into believing a false doctrine such as the pre-tribulation rapture.
And why are they being deceived? Well, because the Bible says that maybe they're unlearned and unstable.
They don't really know what the word of God says.
You know, they have these preconceived ideas that have been embedded in them through dispensationalism and Bible college.
And, you know, C.I. Schofield and John Nelson Darby, Peter Ruckman, all of these architects of dispensationalism,
that really introduced the pre-tribulation rapture with Zionism.
And so, yeah, people can definitely be deceived into believing false doctrines.
That's what the Bible says in First Timothy, Chapter four,
Take heed unto thyself and unto the doctrine, for in doing so thou shalt both save thyself and them that hear thee.
It's not referring to saving yourself as far as like from hell.
It's referring to the fact that, you know, you want to save yourself from seducing spirits and doctrines of devils.
You want to save yourself from being deceived.
Someone asked, what language will we be speaking in heaven?
I don't know.
I haven't gone there yet, so I'm not sure.
I just know this, that in Revelation seven, when it talks about the rapture, it talks about there's going to be people of different tongues.
So obviously there's different languages there.
We don't really know.
You know, maybe everyone will speak a different language, but every man will hear the word of God in their own tongue.
Just like we see in Acts chapter two.
I'm not quite sure.
Have you heard of the phrase divine feminine and does it have anything to do with the end times?
Sounds like a Jewish fable to me.
Divine feminine.
No, but I will say this is that one time there's a guy who came to my doorstep and he knocked on my door and he basically said, hey, can I talk to you about how the fact that God is a woman?
And I beat the snot out of him, spiritually speaking.
I wanted to beat the snot out of him physically, but I'm a pastor.
I can't do that.
So I just rebuke the fire out of him and, you know, I just screamed my head off and just rebuke them sharply because he was claiming that God is a woman.
You know, that kind of goes into the these Jewish fables where they talk about the Shekinah glory and how God has a feminine aspect to him, which is blasphemy.
But I haven't heard anything of that, but I'm sure that's going to be a doctrine that's going to be propagated and promoted in the end times via feminism and all this nonsense.
Do you believe the two witnesses are Moses and Elijah?
Yes, I do.
I definitely believe that the two witnesses, the two olive trees are Moses and Elijah because of the miracles that they're performing are the same miracles that Moses and Elijah performed.
But I'm going to give you some strong proof as to why Elijah for sure is one of the two witnesses.
At the end of the Old Testament, the Book of Malachi, the last chapter, it says in chapter four, verse number five,
it says, Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, the heart of the children to their fathers, lest they come and smite the earth with a curse.
So obviously, we know that this there's a dual fulfillment in this because John the Baptist came in the spirit of Elijah when he began his ministry as the forerunner of Jesus Christ.
But we can't ignore the fact that it says in verse number five that he's going to send Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
And although there are many days of the Lord that are stated throughout the Old Testament, ultimately, there are foreshadowing of the ultimate day of the Lord, which is Revelation chapter six, the latter end of Revelation chapter six.
And when you look at the prophetic timetable, the two witnesses actually show up before the rapture takes place.
So, you know, if we make it to that point, if the tribulation and the rapture happens in our lifetime, we're going to be able to see the two witnesses, Moses and Elijah, who I believe to be Moses and Elijah.
And it says here the Elijah will come before that dreadful day of the great and dreadful day of the Lord, which is at the latter end of chapter number six.
Good question. We'll cover more of that when we draw near to, I believe it's Revelation chapter 11.
All right, folks, that's pretty much it. So thank you so much for tuning in. Sorry for the late, what am I trying to say here?
The the the the fact that I notice, yeah, the late notice here of the fact that we're going to go live on Instagram.
But we wanted to make sure that we tested everything out, that the audio was good. So I wasn't auto tuned. I wasn't sounding like a robot.
But stay tuned on Friday. I'm going to teach the Revelation chapter number six, and I'm actually going to go live on Instagram, but I'm also going to go live on my YouTube channel, First Works Baptist Church.
And someone asked, when is Landmarks dropping? It's actually coming towards the end of July.
And so we have about 10 episodes right now. We're trying to make 13, and it's going to be on End Times Bible Prophecy.
So stay tuned for that. You're going to love it. It's going to be great. We had a great time filming that.
I'm under the, Blake, once saved, always saved says, I'm under the impression after the rapture people could be getting saved by the witnesses. Is that true? Yes, I believe that to be true.
All right, folks. Well, thank you so much for tuning in to the All of Crown podcast, striving for the incorruptible crown, teaching through the Book of Revelation.
And of course, once we're done with Revelation, we're going to go through another book. I might be going live some other times throughout the week, but for sure on Friday,
I'm going to be going live teaching to Revelation chapter number six. Hope you stay tuned for that.