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Right, well we're there in Revelation chapter number 6, and I want you to keep your finger there in Revelation chapter 6, but go with me just real quickly to the book of 1 Thessalonians. I just want you to look at one verse in the book of 1 Thessalonians chapter number 5, 1 Thessalonians chapter number 5. Of course, this week the emphasis is on prophecy, and I know that Pastor Berzins preached a great sermon last night on the subject of prophecy and specifically. Because today so many churches believe and teach this idea of the pre-tribulation rapture. And basically that they believe and they teach that we're going to be raptured, believers are going to be raptured out of the world before the tribulation time frame. And usually the verse, whenever you talk to someone about the fact that that's not correct, that's not exactly what the Bible says. And if that's new to you, if you've never heard that before, I'm going to give you something to think about tonight, but I would encourage you to check out Pastor Berzins' sermon from last night on their website. Or maybe they've got CDs here that they can give you, because I know he went through and thoroughly explained that from the Bible. But usually people will take us to this verse here in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, if you look at verse number 9, you may be familiar with it. 1 Thessalonians 5, 9 says, For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ. And often times people will say to us and they'll say, well no, you know, we can't go through the tribulation because God had not appointed us to wrath. And tonight I don't really want to preach about this subject a lot. I want to answer a question tonight that you might have never really thought about or maybe you haven't given much thought to. But I want to answer this question. Why have a tribulation? Why is it that God would decide and God would ordain that there would be a tribulation period or a great tribulation period? But before we can answer that question, I just have to lay a little bit of groundwork. If you go back to Revelation chapter number 6, in Revelation chapter number 6, you basically have God outlining for us the tribulation period. And I want you to just very quickly notice a few things. And we read the entire chapter so we won't take the time to read through it all again. But if you notice in verse 1, the Bible says this, And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals. Now the way that God outlines this for us in Revelation chapter 6 is He gives us six seals. And these six seals basically are the outline of the tribulation time. Now in Matthew 24, in the passage that's called the Olivet Discourse, also found in the other gospels, Mark chapter 13, Luke chapter 21, the outline that the Lord Jesus Christ gives, and I'm not going to have you turn there, we're going to turn there in a little bit. But the outline that the Lord Jesus Christ gives basically follows that same outline. Now in verse number 1 of chapter 6, we're told that the first seal is opened. And it says He opened one of the seals. Now if you notice verse 2, notice what it says, And I saw and behold a white horse. Now I want you to make note of the fact that there's a white horse, and he that sat on him at a bow and a crown was given unto him, and he went forth conquering and to conquer. So when the first seal is opened, you have a man show up and he's on a white horse. Now that white horse is important, alright? Keep your finger there in Revelation 6, and go just real quickly to Revelation chapter number 19. Revelation chapter number 19, look at verse number 11. Some of this may be very familiar to some of you, but some of this may be new to some of you, so let me just lay a little bit of groundwork. Revelation chapter number 19, and look at verse number 11. Here's why it's important that this man shows up on a white horse. Because this man that shows up in that first seal, Revelation 6 1 and 2, is an imposter. Now notice who he's impersonating. Revelation chapter number 19, if you look at verse number 11, the Bible says this. Revelation chapter 19 and verse 11, And I saw heaven open, and behold a white horse. You see that? And he that sat upon him was called faithful and true, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns, and he had a name written that no man knew but he himself, and he was clothed with a vesture dipped with blood, and his name is called the word of God. Now we know that's the Lord Jesus Christ coming back on a white horse. But in Revelation chapter number 6, you have another man that shows up on a white horse, and he's going forth, conquering and to conquer. And I want you to understand, the first thing that we're told is that an anti-Christ shows up. Now Jesus taught this, and again, I'm not going to turn back and forth through Matthew 24 and Revelation 6, although we could do that tonight. But if you'd like, and if you'd like to take notes, if you don't mind writing in your Bible, right there next to verse number 2 of chapter number 6, I would write down Matthew 24 and verse 5. Alright, just so you can have kind of that, those notes for yourself, because in Matthew 24 and verse 5, Jesus tells us that many shall come in my name. Now that's the first step that Jesus gives when he's asked, you know, about the occurrences of the end times. Now notice the second thing in the outline, verse number 3. And when he had opened the second seal. So what happens when the second seal is opened? Notice there's another horse. Look at verse 4. And there went out another horse that was red. Now we've got a red horse. What happens here? And power was given unto him that sat thereon. Notice what he does to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another. So the red horse shows up, and his job is to remove peace. His job is to cause people to kill one another. Right next to verse number 3, if you want to take notes, you don't mind writing in your Bible, I'd write down this reference. Matthew 24 verses 5 through 7. Or maybe 5 through 7a, because it kind of goes through just the first part of that verse there. And there Jesus tells us that nations shall rise against nations, kingdoms against kingdoms. So you notice that the outline in Revelation 6 is following the same outline that Jesus gives us in Matthew chapter 24. He talks about many shall come in my name. The book of Revelation, we have a man show up in a white horse, just like Jesus will one day show up in a white horse. The second seal, we have a red horse that removes peace, that they might kill one another. And of course in Matthew 24, Jesus says nations shall rise against nations, kingdoms against kingdoms. He says there will be wars and rumors of wars. Notice the next step. Look at verse number 5. And when he had opened the third seal, so you've got a third seal, notice what happens. I heard the third beast say, come and see. And I beheld in law a black horse. Now I want you to make notice of these horses, okay? Because the first four seals have these corresponding horsemen. You know, often people will talk about the four horsemen of the book of Revelation. And here it's talking about these horsemen. Now here we have a black horse, notice verse 5, and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hands. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, a measure of wheat for a penny and three measures of barley for a penny. And see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. So you've got this third horse show up. It's a black horse. He's got a balance in his hand, which of course you use a balance to figure out, you know, how much something weighs. To figure out, you know, maybe what's the cost of that or how much it costs to purchase it. And here we're told that there's a measure of wheat for a penny. Now we know that a pence in the Bible is a large amount of money. And here what he's saying is that the prices of the food is skyrocketing. Now of course that corresponds with Jesus' teaching in Matthew 24, 7. And you might want to put B right next to that verse. You know, next to Revelation 6, 5. If you want to write down a cross reference, Matthew 24, 7, B. Because the next thing Jesus says is this. He says, there shall be famines. Alright? So we're following the exact same outline. Alright? Now in verse number 7, notice you've got the fourth seal. And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, come and see. And I looked and behold, a pale horse. So there you've got your fourth horse. Alright? And it's a pale horse. His name that sat on him was Death and hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth to kill with sword and with hunger and with death and with the beast of the earth. So you've got the fourth seal opens and you've got this pale horse and he has power over the fourth part of the earth and his job is just to kill. Notice, with the sword, with hunger, with death, with the beast of the earth, his job is just to kill people. Now again, that corresponds with the teaching of Christ. If you want to write right next to verse number 8 there, Revelation 6, 8. If you want a cross reference, you can write Matthew 24, 7. And I don't know if this is proper Bible, you know, the way you're supposed to do it. I never, I didn't graduate from Bible college so I don't know if this is the right way to do it. But I'd put a C next to that, alright? Because it's all covered in there where Jesus says, pestilence and earthquakes in diverse places, alright? So Jesus says there's going to be pestilences, there's going to be earthquakes. Basically he's talking about the fact that there's going to be massive death. Many people are going to be dying, alright? That's what's covered there in those first four seals. Now in the fifth seal, we kind of are done with the horses, alright? And there's a reason for that. The first four seals are identified together with these horses because those are kind of grouped together. Now in verse number 9, and just kind of keep that in mind and we're going to go back to that here in a minute. But look at verse number 9, Revelation chapter 6. And then when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held, alright? So as soon as the fifth seal is opened, all of a sudden up in heaven there's all these souls of them that were slain. Now why were they slain? They were slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. Now if you want to write a cross reference next to that one. So you can study this out because here's the thing. Some of these things you're not going to figure it out, you know, or learn it all or grasp it all in one sermon. So it might be good to write down some notes so you can go back and study it on your own. But right there next to verse number 9, you can write down this reference. Matthew 24 verses 9 through 28. Now I want you to notice something, alright? When Jesus explains the events of the end times, he basically covers the first four seals. Which are identified by four horsemen with verses 5, 6 and 7. But when he explains the fifth seal, it takes him in Matthew 24 verses 9 through 28 to explain. And there's a reason for that. And we're going to go back to that in a second. But look at verse 10. And they cried with a loud voice. Revelation chapter 6 verse 10. And they cried with a loud voice saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, does thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? Alright, so we know that there are people in heaven who say, are you going to avenge us on the earth? We were slain. And here's why. Jesus teaches in Matthew 24 verses 9 through 28, then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted. And he teaches that there's going to come a great time of persecution where many people are going to die. Now I want you to notice all these things are connected. Go down to verse number 12 of Revelation chapter 6. Notice the sixth and final seal. He says, And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and lo, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sack-lock of hair, and the moon became as blood, and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heavens departed as a scroll when it is rolled together, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places, and the kings of the earth and the great men and the rich men and the chief captains and the mighty men and every bondman and every free man hid themselves in the dens and the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us and hide us. Notice what they say. Hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne and from the wrath of the left. Now here's what happens. The sixth seal is opened, the sun turns dark, the moon turns to blood, corresponds exactly with what Jesus taught in Matthew 24. We're going to look at that here in a minute. And people get afraid because they see the face. The Bible says there, they said, fall on us and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne. So the Lord Jesus Christ is coming back, and they see it, and they're scared. All of this corresponds together. And people will say, well that's the wrath of God. But I want you to understand, the book of Revelation, see, today there are people and there are pastors out there who want to lie to you and they want you to not feel like you can go to the Word of God yourself and read it and study it and learn it for yourself. They want you to feel like, you know, they want to get up and say, I've got all these Bible college degrees and I've got all this education and you can't understand it on your own and you need me. Alright? But here's what you've got to understand. The Bible is written in a way that any believer can read it, any believer can understand it. And not only that, but God outlined for us the event and made it clear what was happening. He even gave us an outline with six different seals to show us. Now here's what you've got to understand. This is what's referred to as the tribulation time. Look at Revelation chapter 7 and verse 14. Notice verse 14 says, And I said unto him, Sirs, thou knowest, and he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation. So he's referring to the events in chapter 6. He refers to that as the great tribulation. But I want you to notice in verse number 17 of chapter number 6. I know I'm kind of showing you a lot of verses, but I've got to lay this foundation just so you can understand it. Notice what they said in verse number 17. Because chapter 6, here's what I want you to understand. Revelation 7, 14 defines chapter 6 as those who came out of great tribulation. In Revelation chapter 6 and verse 17, the Bible says this, For the great day of his wrath is come. Now here's what you've got to understand. What that tells us is that the day of his wrath hadn't came yet. In fact it wasn't until the sun turned dark, the moon turned to blood, and then they said we see the Lamb and the great day of his wrath is come. So the Bible's telling us these seals that we've seen, especially the first five seals, God does not define those as his wrath. Now if you go to Revelation chapter 8 very quickly, because I don't want to spend a lot of time on this, but I want you to see it. God, in the same way that he gives us an outline of the tribulation time, he gives us an outline of the wrath. Notice what he says in verse number 7 of chapter number 8. And the first angel sounded. Now here he's outlining the tribulation through seals, he's going to outline the wrath through trumpets. Now notice what he says in verse 7. The first angel sounded and there followed, notice, hail and fire mingled with blood. Now here's what I want you to understand. The tribulation time frame can basically be put under this category of events that are natural events. They're things that are happening now. Because see today, right now, there are wars and rumors of war. Today, right now, there are famines and pestilences. Today, right now, we see all the same things that we'll see during the tribulation time. Now during the tribulation time, they'll be intensified. During the tribulation time, like a woman in labor, the contractions are going to get harder. But they're basically natural things. But the wrath of God being poured out can be categorized under this word, supernatural. Because notice what the Bible says, look at verse 7. The first angel sounded and there followed, hail and fire mingled with blood. And they were cast upon the earth and the third part of the trees was burnt up and all green grass was burnt up. So the first trumpet sounds and what do you have? You have hail and fire mingled with blood. Now I've seen hail and I've seen fire and I've seen blood. But I've never seen hail, you know, and with fire mingled with blood, right? That would be supernatural. That would be out of this world. That would be something we've, I mean I've never seen, you know, especially blood. I mean where did the blood come from? You know what I mean? Like you've got this hail falling down from the sky with blood and fire. Notice the second trumpet, verse number 8. And the second angel sounded and as it were, notice, a great mountain burning with fire. Now I don't know what this is, some sort of a meteor or something. But a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea, notice, and the third part of the sea became blood. Now is that normal? For just the sea to become blood? That would be supernatural. Notice the third trumpet, verse number 10. And the third angel sounded and there fell a great star from heaven burning as it were a lamp. And it fell upon the third part of the rivers and upon the fountains of the waters and the name of the star is called wormwood. And the third part of the waters became wormwood and many men died of the waters because they were made bitter, alright? So the Bible says there, verse 11 there, it says that the star falls on the third part of the rivers and of the fountains of the waters and it makes the waters bitter. Now again, this is not a normal event. This would be categorized under supernatural and it gets worse. Look at verse 12. And the fourth angel sounded and the third part of the sun was smitten and the third part of the moon and the third part of the stars and the third part of them was darkened and the day shone not for a third part of it and the night likewise. Now we've seen, you know, eclipses before, right? Who's ever seen like a solar eclipse or a lunar eclipse? But for a third part of the day the Bible says there's no sun. The moon's not shining. The stars aren't shining. These are not normal things. Look at chapter 9, verse 1. The fifth angel sounded. You got the fifth trumpet. Here's where it gets really crazy. And I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth and to him that was given the key of the bottomless pit and he opened the bottomless pit and there arose smoke out of the pit as the smoke of a great furnace. And the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit and there came out of the smoke, notice, locusts upon the earth and unto them was given power as the scorpions of the earth have power. I don't want to read all of this just for sake of time but skip down to verse number 7. Notice what it says in verse 7. And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses. You ever seen locusts that were shaped like horses? Their heads were as it were crowns like gold and their faces were as the faces of men and they had hair as the hair of women and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. And they had breastplate as it were breastplates of iron and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. And they had tails like unto scorpions and there were stings in their tails and their power was, notice these words, these are the key words, to hurt men. Do you see that? To hurt men, five months. So you got these scorpions, they got hair like women, they've got teeth like lions, they've got power to hurt men, they've got tails like a scorpion. This is supernatural. Notice the sixth angel, verse 13, sounded and I heard the voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, lose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates and the four angels were loose which were prepared for an hour and a day and a month and a year and to slay the third part of men. And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand and I heard the number of them and thus I saw the horses in the vision and then that sat on them having breastplate of fire and jacents and brimstone. Notice, notice, and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone by these three was the third part of men killed. You've got horses with heads like lions and they open their mouth and fire and smoke comes out and they're killing people, okay? What would you say that is? That's supernatural. That's not natural. That's not something we see on earth. Look at verse 19. And their power was in their mouth and in their tails for their tails were like unto serpents and their heads and with them they do, notice this word, hurt. You see that? Now go to chapter number 11 just real quickly. Look at verse number 15. Chapter number 11. You've got the seventh trumpet. Chapter number 11 and look at the seventh trumpet. And the seventh angel sounded and there was a great voice in heaven saying the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ and he shall reign forever and ever. Basically it ends, you know, it's all over. God basically takes over and the world becomes his. Now here's what I want you to understand, okay? Because today people will say, oh God's not going to pour out his wrath on believers. That's why we're not going to go through the tribulation. But listen to me, okay? You're right. God will not pour out his wrath on believers. God is not going to allow his children to be tormented by scorpions that have teeth like lions and hair like women and these huge scorpion tails and they're just hurting me. He's not going to allow these horses to come out that have heads like lions and their tails are serpents and they're issuing out fire and smoke from their mouth. He's not going to allow those things to happen to believers. But even now, even now there's wars and rumors of wars. Even now there's famines. Even now there's pestilences. Even now there's persecutions and you've got to understand, the tribulation period and the wrath of God are two different things. So when they say to us, no we won't go through the tribulation because God won't pour out his wrath on his people, the answer is they haven't read the book of Revelation or they haven't really studied it out because you're right, God will not pour out his wrath. But the tribulation period is not the wrath of God. The tribulation period is a time in which this world is preparing itself to bring in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now go just real quickly with me to Matthew chapter number 24. Now in Matthew 24 you find the passage of scripture that's referred to as the Olivet Discourse and it's where the Lord Jesus Christ basically teaches this idea. Let me give you just one more thing. That was kind of all introduction. My introduction is real long and my sermon is real short. So that was all introduction. Just kind of laying a foundation just to remind you of some things you might already know or maybe some things you didn't know before. But let me just deal with a couple more things. Often times people will say to us, no you're all messed up because see Matthew 24 is for the Jews. It's not for believers. It's not for New Testament, Gentile believers today. Matthew 24 is for the Jews. Now usually, here's what they'll say. Are you there in Matthew 24? Look at verse 31. We're just going to do this quickly just to kind of answer some questions before we get into the sermon. Verse number 31. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet and they shall gather together his elect. You see that word elect? From the four winds from one end of heaven to the other. So they'll say to us, no, no, no, see the elect, those are the Jews. The elect, that's God's chosen people. But listen to me. You've got to allow the Bible to define itself. We cannot go to the Bible with some preconceived idea of a commentary that someone read or a Bible college class that they took or some false preacher that they listened to on the internet. We've got to allow, the Bible talks about comparing spiritual things with spiritual. So let's compare just real quickly spiritual things with spiritual. You're there in Matthew 24. Keep your finger there. Go to Romans chapter number 11. Romans chapter number 11 just real quickly. Romans chapter number 11. We'll do it quickly. Just kind of lay some foundation because they say the elect, the elect, those are the Jews. Alright, well let's see if the Bible agrees with that. Romans chapter number 11. Look at verse number 7. Romans chapter number 11 and verse number 7. Notice what the Bible says. What then? Israel, notice Israel. Now Israel, that's the Jews. He says Israel has not obtained that which he seeketh for but, notice the contrast, but the election. Okay, the elections talk about the elect. It's talking about, you know, people that are chosen because when you elect, you know, you elect a president, you basically choose a president. He says but the elect have obtained it and the rest are blinded. So here the Apostle Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost is telling us that Israel did not obtain something that the election did obtain showing us that there's a difference between Israel and the elect according to the Apostle Paul. Because the Jews rejected Christ. The Bible says he came unto his own and his own received him not. You're there in Romans. Go to Romans chapter number 8. Look at verse 33. Romans chapter 8. I've never met a Christian who would not say that Romans chapter 8 and verse number 33 doesn't apply to them. But notice what it says. Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies it. And Christians will claim that verse and they should. And they'll say, who shall lay anything at the charge of God's? But notice what we are. We're God's elect. Go to Colossians chapter number 3. Just real quickly. Colossians. You're there in Romans? First and second Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians. Colossians chapter number 3. Look at verse number 10. Colossians chapter number 3. Look at verse number 10. Colossians 3 verse 10. Notice what the Bible says. And I put on the new man which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him. Where there is neither, notice what he's saying. There is neither Greek nor Jew. Circumcision nor uncircumcision. Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free. But Christ is all and in all. He says put on therefore as the elect of God. Holy and beloved. Boughs of mercy, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering. Now he's talking about walking in the Spirit. And he's basically saying you ought not walk in the flesh, you ought to walk in the Spirit. You ought not walk in the old man. He says you ought to put on the new man. And he says you ought to put on boughs of mercy. You ought to put on kindness. You ought to put on humbleness of mind. You ought to put on meekness and longsuffering, forbearing one another and forgiving one another. He says you ought to do all these things. But here's why he says you ought to do it. Verse 12. He says put on therefore as the elect of God. He says because you are the elect of God, you ought to walk in the new man. Because you are the elect of God, you ought to put on these things and walk in the Spirit. And again he's telling Gentile believers in Colossae that they were the elect of God. So does the Bible teach that the elect are the Jews? As we studied out in Scripture we're seeing hey the elect are just believers. Because here's the thing, the one who truly is elect is the Lord Jesus Christ. And see you say well how do I become elect? Is it some sort of Calvinist doctrine? I was chosen by God. No, no, no. Jesus was chosen but when I got saved I got put in Christ. And because he's elect, when I was put in Christ, guess what? I became elect too. Not because of my good deeds, not because of my good works. I'm elect in Christ because I belong to Jesus Christ. And he's the elect, not the Jews. Now here's what's interesting though. Because we saw the comparisons. Matthew 24 is definitely talking about the tribulation. In fact go back to Matthew 24 just real quickly. Matthew 24 and look at verse number, let's see where do I want you? Matthew 24, look at verse number 21 okay. Because I want you to see it okay. Matthew 24 verse 21. For then shall be great tribulation. Do you see that? For then shall be great tribulation. Now go to Romans, no actually just real quickly. Let me show you something real quick. So in Matthew 24 verse 21 he calls the events of Matthew 24 the great tribulation. Now just look at verse 31 again just real quickly. 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 he's gathering the elect out of what the Bible calls in Matthew 24 the great tribulation. Go to Revelation, go back to Revelation chapter number 7. Revelation chapter number 7. Look at verse number 14. Revelation chapter number 7 verse number 14. Because Matthew 24 tells us it was a great tribulation and Jesus sent his angels and basically brought out the elect. Okay. Revelation chapter 7 verse 14 says this, And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest, and he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation. So we're talking about the same thing right. Now notice in Matthew chapter 7 you've got a great group of people come out and a question is asked. Now just to get the context a little bit look at verse number 13. He says, And one of the elders answered saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? And whence came they? That word whence means from where? What place? What source? Where did they come from? And the answer is, And I said unto him, verse 14, Sir, thou knowest, and he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation. Okay. So the group that's being talked about is the same group that Matthew 24 called the elect because Matthew 24 said they were in the great tribulation and Jesus sent out his angels and brought the elect out. Here in Revelation chapter 7 there's a great group that shows up in heaven and the question is asked, Whence came they? And the answer is they came out of great tribulation. But notice what the Bible tells us these people are. Look at verse 9, Revelation chapter 7. After this I beheld and lo, a great multitude which no man could number out of Israel. Is that what it says? Out of Judea, is that what it says? He says, Of all nations and kindreds and peoples and tongues stood before the throne and before the lamb, clothed in white robes and palms in their hands. And later when the question was asked, Where did these people come from? He said they came out of the great tribulation. Because see the dispensationalist today, here's what they'll teach. They'll say, Oh no, no, no. The tribulation period is for the Jew. Only the Jew will go through the great tribulation. That's why it's the elect. But listen to me, Revelation 7 tells us that the people that come out of the great tribulation are from every nation and every kindred and every tongue. They're from everywhere because it's not just the Jews, it's all believers. Okay, so here's what I want you to understand, okay? Number one, the tribulation period is different than the wrath of God. Number two, believers go through the tribulation period and it's not God pouring out his wrath because believers have always gone through tribulation. They've always gone through times of persecution, through times of famine, through times of pestilence, through times of earthquakes and things of that nature. And it's not God pouring down his wrath on believers, alright? Go back to Matthew 24. Matthew 24. Oftentimes people will also say this. If you go back to Matthew 24, if you look at verse number one, it says, And Jesus went out and departed from the temple and his disciples came to him for to show him the building of the temples. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? Verily I say unto you, there shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down. And as he sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately saying, Tell us when shall these things be and what shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world. And sometimes they'll say, Oh see, no, no, here's why it's for the Jews. It's because the disciples came to Jesus and the disciples asked Jesus about this time period and they were all Jews. Well, there's where you're wrong again. Go to Matthew chapter 10. Just real quickly. Matthew chapter 10. Look at verse number two. Matthew chapter 10. They say the disciples were all Jews. So therefore, this message is only for the Jews. The problem with that and the problem that these people often have with their little commentaries and their little Bible college classes is the word of God. And the attitude they have is this. Don't confuse me with facts. I've already taken the class. Kirk Cameron told me, you know, Nicolas Cage told me that it's the rapture and then the tribulation but they don't care what the Bible says. Look, there's lots of movies, there's lots of books, there's lots of man written articles out there but you've got to go with what the Bible says. Look at verse two. Notice what the Bible says about the twelve apostles. Now the name of the twelve apostles are these. The first Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew's brother, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother. Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the publican, James the son of Alphaeus, and Labaus, whose surname was Thaddeus. Now in verse number four, you find probably the least famous of the apostles. But when it comes to this argument, it's probably the most important apostle because it says this in verse number four, Simon the Canaanite. One of the disciples was not a Jew. So to say, oh no, this is only for the Jews, well guess what, there was Simon the Canaanite which is a Gentile there. And not only that, but they'll say, oh no, this message was given to the disciples so it's only for the Jews. Well guess what, the Great Commission was given to the disciples. Does that mean that's only for the Jews? You know what, here's the thing, the disciples were believers. The disciples were saved. You can't say, go ye therefore into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. It's for all believers. But Matthew 24 is just for the Jews. It was given to the same people. So the foundation is this, and here's what we've got to understand. The tribulation period is something that all believers will go through. Not all believers, good night. That believers will go through. But it's different than the wrath of God. But here's the question, all of that, all of that was introduction. Here's the sermon. Why? Have you ever stopped to just kind of ask that question? Why? I understand why there's a wrath of God because God has to purge this earth and God, you know, you reap what you sow and God has to punish these people. But why have a tribulation period? Now, you know, God does a very good way of outlining things for us throughout the Bible. We saw that in Revelation chapter 6 with the six seals. We saw that in Revelation chapter 8 with the trumpets. And here in Matthew 24, even Jesus gives us an outline. I want you to notice what the Bible says, alright? Let's do it quickly. Look at verse number 5, alright? For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ, and shall deceive many. That was seal number one, right? And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars. That was, see that ye be not troubled, for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not. For nations shall rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. That was seal number two. And there shall be famines. That was seal number three. And palestilence and earthquakes and diverse places. That was seal number four. Now these four seals have four things in common. They are characterized by four horses. A white horse, a red horse, a pale horse and a black horse. Now notice what Jesus does, because he kind of takes a break from explaining what he's doing. And then in verse 8, he says this, all these are the beginnings of sorrow. Do you see that? All these are the beginning of sorrow. Now you've got to think of this kind of like a newspaper. You know how a newspaper gives you a headline? So you have a headline that kind of tells you what the article is going to be about? Jesus does this, but he does it in reverse order. He gives us the four seals and then he gives us a headline at the end and he says here's what these four seals are. He says they are the beginning of sorrow. So God calls the four seals, Jesus calls it the beginning of sorrows. And really if you think about it, they're kind of the most mundane part of the tribulation. Because yeah it's wars and yeah it's famines and yeah it's pestilences and yeah it's all these things, but we kind of already have those things. It'll be more intense, but we're already kind of going through that. So he says that's just the beginning. Then he gives us seal number 5 and we're going to skip that for a second. And then he gives us seal number 6. Now go down to verse number 29. Here's where seal number 6 corresponds to the book of Revelation. Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened and the moon shall not give her light and the stars 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 a great sound of a trumpet and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds of heaven from one end of heaven to the other. Now learn the parable of victory wherein his branch is yet tender and put it forth leaves. Ye know that summer is nigh so likewise ye when ye see these things ye know that it is near even at the doors. Because here's what he's saying. Once that seal opens you're basically done. Go with me just real quickly. Keep your finger on Matthew 24. Go to Luke 21. Just real quickly. Luke 21. Keep your finger there on Matthew 24. You're Matthew, Mark, Luke. Luke 21. Luke chapter 21. I apologize if I'm speaking quickly. I just want to make sure I get all this in. Luke 21. Luke 21 and look at verse number 28. Luke 21. Look at verse 28. Luke 21 and verse 28. He says, and when these things begin to come to pass, basically talking about the sun and the moon and the stars, he says lift up your heads for your redemption draweth nigh. God says when that seal is open and those things begin, those wonders in heaven, he said you're basically done. He said just look up because you're done. He's ready. He's coming. But here's what I want you to say. The part of the tribulation that kind of pertains to us the most is that fifth seal. And not only that, but that fifth seal is given the most description in the Bible. Let's look at it. Go back to Matthew 24. Look at verse number 8. Matthew 24 verse number 8 says all these are the beginning of sorrows. Right? That covers the first four seals. Look at verse 9. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted and shall kill you and you shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended and shall betray one another and shall hate one another and many false prophets shall rise and shall deceive many and because iniquity shall abound the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure until the end the same shall be saved and this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations. Notice and then, and then shall the end come. See the question is this. Why? Why have a great tribulation? Why have a tribulation that climaxes with the great tribulation? Why have believers be persecuted? Why have the mark of the beast? Why have all these things? And the answer to that question is found in the headline of verse number 14 when it says this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world. See I believe the reason for the tribulation period is because God wants the gospel to get out to all the world. Now you may be asking yourself, well what does the tribulation have to do with the gospel being preached? Go to Acts chapter number 1. Let me just show you a principle found in scripture and we'll make a few applications and we'll finish up. Acts chapter 1. Look at verse number 8. Now in Acts 1 you've got Jesus, you know the time frame is right after his resurrection. He's getting ready to ascend and you know basically we're beginning, it's the beginnings of the church kind of taking off and different churches being started and missions going out. But in Acts 1.8 the Bible says this, but ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and in Samaria and unto the uttermost parts of the earth. Now Jesus said to the disciples and to the church in Jerusalem there, he said you're going to receive power and we know that happened on the day of Pentecost and he said and when that happens I want you to be my witnesses, he says in Jerusalem and in Judea and in Samaria and unto the uttermost parts of the earth. Now here's what I want you to understand. If you read the book of Acts, they stayed in Jerusalem. They didn't go. Chapter 2, chapter 3, chapter 4, chapter 5, chapter 6, chapter 7, they stayed. They were comfortable. They were having a lot of success. Attendances were high, offerings were good, things were going great. They were very comfy. Acts 1.8, God says I want you to go to the uttermost part of the earth. They didn't go. They did a good job there, but they stayed there where they were comfortable. And I think it's interesting that in Acts 8.1 the Bible says this, go to Acts chapter 8 and verse 1, and Saul was consenting unto his death. Remember Stephen was put to death, the first martyr there? And at that time there was a great tribulation. There was a great, no it's not the great tribulation, but there was a great persecution, there was a great affliction against the church which was at Jerusalem and they were noticed all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria except the apostles. And you know what happens after Acts 8? They go out and they preach the gospel. They have great revivals in Samaria. They go. The apostle Paul eventually gets converted and goes out into, even Peter goes out and preaches to different Gentiles and here's what happens. Acts 1.8, he says go for chapter 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. They stayed, they were comfortable, they were happy, they were in their church, everything was good. Acts 8.1, God allows persecution to come and they go. And you got to understand, whenever persecution comes, the gospel is preached. I don't know, I don't know why. I can't explain it. But it's a, I mean think about the children of Israel. Remember God told Abraham, I'm going to give you a seed that will be like the sands of the sea and like the stars in heaven and for years and years and years and years and years. Now decades later, you get down to Jacob and his twelve sons, they go to Egypt and what do they have? Seventy souls. But then they get put into slavery. Then they get persecuted. Then they get put into bondage. And then you got millions, they're multiplying. And there's a principle in the Bible that whenever persecution comes, whenever affliction comes, whenever the pressure, see the problem with the church in Jerusalem, I believe is the same problem with the Christians today. We're a little too comfortable. Our tendencies are high. Offerings are good. I've got a good job. I get two weeks of vacation. I get to go soul winning. You know, sometimes if it's nice weather, and like is it ever not nice weather, you know, in Arizona, I mean good night. I know Phoenix is hot, but Prescott, it's nice up here, you know. And you know, if it's nice weather, I'll do it. But here's the problem, we get lazy. And here's the problem, the vast majority of believers are not preaching the gospel. The vast majority of believers are not going soul winning. So God says, you know what, right before the end comes, right before I wrap this whole thing up, right before I, you know, I have the curtain call and I finish all this up, I want to have just one last soul winning blitz. I want to have just one. You know how Pastor Anderson has these soul winning marathons? You know what I mean? Soul winning marathon in Portland, Oregon. Soul winning marathon in Washington, D.C. Soul winning marathon in Dearborn, Michigan. And those are great. Praise the Lord for it. You ought to try to go if you can go. But this is God's soul winning marathon for the entire world. I mean, he says, I'm going to send a persecution that's going to make my people get on the move, get out, soul winning. And here's what he's going to say. And what's interesting is this, the dispensationalists today who fight against us, you know, and say, no, the preacher rapture, that's for the Jews. The preacher, you know, the tribulation is for the Jews. The Christians are going to be raptured out. Those same people want to tell us that in different dispensations, people got saved differently and we're going to be doing different things. Let me tell you something. It's the same thing that it's always been about. Jesus showed up on this earth and he said he came to seek and to save that which was lost. That's what he did while he was on this earth. That's what the church in Jerusalem did during the book of Acts. That's what you and I should be doing. And guess what we'll be doing during the tribulation period? We'll be going soul winning. We'll be preaching the gospel. We'll be getting the gospel out to the world. And it's God motivating us. The purpose of the tribulation, you say, well why would God allow this to happen? It's to light a fire under you. Now today we've got people who say, man, I like that. I like learning about prophecy. I like learning about the Antichrist. I like learning about the New World Order. I like learning about those things. And here's what they say, you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to go get me a gun. Now look, I'm all for, I'm all for, listen to me clearly, I'm all for you having a gun. I think you ought to have a gun. I got a couple of them. And they say, I'm going to go get me, you know what, I'm going to go get me some food and I'm going to store it up for the tribulation. I'm going to go buy me some land out there in the desert and I'm going to go dig a hole in it so I can go hide during the tribulation. Now listen, I'm not against that. You do what you got to do and I understand. You know, you got these preppers and I love them. We got them in our church. I'm not against you doing that. But listen to me, to prepare for the tribulation, don't worry about the gun. Don't worry about the food story. Don't worry about the water. Don't worry about the shelter. Worry about preaching the gospel. The best thing you could do to prepare for the tribulation is show up to the soul winning marathon. The best thing you could do to prepare for the tribulation is to go soul winning and learn soul winning. Listen to me, the tribulation time is not the time you want to start trying to figure out. So what exactly is the Romans Road? What was that verse? Romans 3 what? What do you go to? Look, you want to get ready now. You say, well what do I do? How do I get ready? Here's how you get ready. Go soul winning. Go soul winning. Go soul winning. Go soul winning. Because guess what you're going to be doing during the tribulation? Soul winning, soul winning, soul winning. You say, well no, we're going to run to the hill. Hey, you run to the hills when you see the abomination, desolation, it's basically done. But there will be a time that we will be going through and it's called the tribulation period. You say, well what's the point? Here's the point that the gospel will be preached to all the world. Let me show you one more verse and we'll be done. Go to Daniel, Daniel chapter number 11. In Daniel chapter number 11 in the Old Testament you've got those big books, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel. Then you've got Daniel. Daniel chapter number 11. Daniel chapter number 11. And look at verse number 32. Daniel chapter 11 and verse 32 has an interesting word in it. The Bible says this, Daniel chapter 11 verse 32. And such as do wickedly against the covenants shall be corrupt by flatteries, but the people that do know their God shall be strong and do, see this word, exploits. You know what an exploit is? That's doing a great feat. That's accomplishing a big task. That's doing something big for God. Listen to me. Don't fear the tribulation period. Don't be afraid. The Bible says we ought not be afraid of those that can kill the body. All they can do is kill the body. The tribulation period, you can go hunker down somewhere. You can go get your little shelter somewhere. You can go hide. You say, I've got enough food. It'll last me three and a half years. You know, I've got enough food. Some people say, I've got enough food. It'll last me seven years just in case the pre-trippers were right. I'll be able to hunker down. I've got enough ammo. Listen to me. You can go in and do that. You know what I'm looking forward to? If the Lord will allow me to live through the tribulation, it's doing great exploits. It's getting out and doing great things, bigger things, greater things for God. But you're not going to do it during the tribulation if you're not doing it now. You're not going to show up for soul winning when it's illegal if you're not showing up when it's legal. You're not going to read your Bible and memorize the Bible and show up for church when you live in a land of freedom. You're not going to do it then if you're not doing it now. So that's the best thing I could do. And by the way, realizing what the purpose of the tribulation period kind of makes the preacher of rapture silly. Because what would be the point of God orchestrating this huge persecution of believers to motivate them to preach the gospel to the whole world and then remove all the Christians right before it happens? It'd be weird to be dumb, you know. It's dumb to think that we're going to be taken out. We will be taken out before the wrath of God gets poured out. But the best thing you could do, the best thing you could do is go to a church like this church. Go to a church, be under the ministry of a Pastor Burzins or a Pastor Anderson or a Pastor Romero. Learn the Bible and learn what the Bible says and get spiritually strong for that tribulation. Because here's the whole point. It's the same thing that's always been throughout the entire Bible. It's all about reaching people with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Getting them baptized and helping them grow in grace, knowledge of our Lord and Savior. That's what it's all about. That's what it's always been about. And that's what it's about now and that's what it's about, what it will be about during the tribulation time. Let's bow our heads in the number with a prayer. Heavenly Father, Lord I pray that you would use this sermon in the lives of these dear people. Lord I pray that you would help us to get excited about the times that we live in now and the times that we may live in in the future. And Lord help us to prepare. Help us to realize that it's always been about getting the gospel out there. That's why we do what we do. That's why we preach the sermons and we put them on the internet and we start churches and we give our lives to these things. Because it's the heart of God and it's the purpose of Christ to reach people. Father I pray you would help us to get a fire for that now so that we might be ready for it during the tribulation. We love you Lord. In your precious name I pray. Amen.