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Now tonight I want to preach to you about the book of Revelation, and there are so many people who shy away from the book of Revelation because they think it's hard to understand, they think it's a sealed book that's cryptic or very difficult, and I've known so many people who kind of skip over it in their Bible reading, or if they do read it, they don't really endeavor to understand it, they think it's too complicated. I even heard a pastor say recently, he said, well I'm just not smart enough to understand the book of Revelation, is what he said. And I don't believe that's true at all, I really don't think that it's that difficult to understand the book of Revelation. I think that God has given us this book, and the Bible says that all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. We need this book in the Bible. If we did not need the book of Revelation, then God would not have given it to us. And he's given it to us, and he says, blessed, verse number 3 there that we just read, blessed is he that readeth, and he's talking here directly about the book of Revelation. And they that hear the words of the book of this prophecy and keep those things which are written therein, why? For the time is at hand. We don't know when these events are going to begin to take place. We're living today in 2009, perhaps this is a far off. But we can be sure that we very well could be living in the last days. This could be something that's going to happen at any time. We don't know. And so he's saying, look, the time is at hand. No one knows when this is going to happen, and so we need to be ready for this. We need to read these things and understand what they mean, and if they were not intended for us to be reading them and understanding them, then God wouldn't have given us this book. And so let's endeavor tonight, and I can't preach it all in one sermon, but I want to help you understand. I want to give you the tools to understand the book of Revelation, because it really is easy to understand. If you take away the preconceived ideas that you have in your mind, that's the biggest thing. So many people have been taught a lot of false doctrine. They've seen all kinds of charts and all kinds of books and commentaries and systems, and they get confused when in reality if we just stop and read it and take it for what it says, we could really understand it. Now we're going to quickly, we're not going to spend too much time there, but we're going to turn to the book of Matthew chapter 24, and we're going to start there. We could just as well turn to Mark 13 or Luke 21, because those are the same sermon that Jesus preached. It's known as the Olivet Discourse, where He preached this to His disciples about the Second Coming, but we're going to choose to go to Matthew 24. We could just as easily go to Mark 13, or we could go to Luke 21 and see the same things. But in Matthew 24, here's what I want you to understand. Every major teaching in the Bible, and this is just my opinion, but I think that the four Gospels where Jesus Christ was on this earth, that's where I'd start to understand what the truth is, because I believe that that's the meat and potatoes of the Bible. I believe that's the heart and soul of the Bible. Everything in the Old Testament is just pointing toward Jesus Christ coming to this earth and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It seems as if the Epistles are explaining Jesus' work on this earth, His death, His burial, His resurrection. I believe that that's really the central, if you were to find just the center point of the Bible, I believe it would be Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. So many teachings, whether it be salvation, whether it be the Second Coming, going to what Jesus preached while He was on this earth is where you're going to find the core of that doctrine, I think. And so here it is in the book of Matthew, and really, Jesus talked a lot about the Second Coming, but this is where He went into it in the greatest detail. Let's look at Matthew 24, and verse number 3, the Bible says, 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 Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you, for many shall come in My name, saying, and watch these next three words, I am Christ, and shall deceive many. Now keep your finger here, and look if you will flip over to Revelation chapter 6. Now we're trying to understand the book of Revelation tonight. First of all, we read Revelation chapter 1 before the preaching began, and we saw that this was an introduction, showing us that John was on the Isle of Patmos. He said, I'm your companion in tribulation. He said, I'm being persecuted, I'm consigned to the Isle of Patmos, basically it was like a prison cell for him, he was exiled to the Isle of Patmos because of preaching the Gospel, preaching the Bible, and he gets this revelation, you know, basically Jesus Christ Himself comes and stands before him, and He describes that vision of what Jesus Christ was like. When He sees him, He falls on His feet as dead, He is terrified by this vision, and of course Jesus comes and lays His right hand upon Him and says, Fear not, I am the first and the last, I am He that liveth and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen, and at the keys of hell and of death, write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter, and He's going to explain and show unto Him what's going to happen in the end of the world, in the end times. Now in chapters 2 and 3, if you're in Revelation, these are the letters to the seven churches. He writes to these seven churches, which are located in modern day Turkey, back then it was known as Asia, Asia Minor, Peninsula, He writes to them talking about some of the things that they're doing right, some of the things that they're doing wrong. Then in chapter 4, John is caught up into heaven, and he sees the throne of God, he sees all the glory of the angels, he sees the elders, the four beasts, and so on. In chapter 5, there's a book that's brought out, and it's a book that's sealed with seven seals. No man's able to open them to read the book, neither the look there are. And of course, Jesus Christ comes, and Jesus begins to open the seals of the book in chapter 5. Now, in chapter 6 is where the events of Revelation really start to play out. Chapters 1 through 5 are really just introductory, getting us to this point. But in chapter 6, we see when these seals begin to be opened, okay? So here we are in Revelation 6, 1, let's look at this, it says, And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts sang, Come and see. And I saw, and behold, a white horse, and he that sat on him had a bow, and a crown was given unto him, and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. Okay? Now your fingers there in Revelation 6, go back to Matthew 24. He says in verse 5, For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ, and shall deceive many. Here in Revelation 6, when the first seal is opened, we have a man coming to conquer the world on a white horse. Of course, Jesus Christ will one day come back on a white horse. That's later on in the book, though. This is an imposter. This is the antichrist coming forth to conquer, and he's saying, What? I am Christ. Look at verse number 3 of Revelation 6. And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red, and power was given unto him that sat there on, to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another, and there was given unto him a great sword. So what was the first seal? A man comes on a white horse to conquer. The second seal, we have wars. Peace taken from the earth, and that people are killing each other, right? Look back at Matthew 24. He said in verse 5, Many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ, and shall deceive many. Verse 6, And ye shall hear of wars, and rumors of wars. See that ye be not troubled, for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And that is exactly what we saw when the second seal was opened, nations killing one another in warfare. Look back at Revelation 6. Let's look at the third seal. It says in verse 5, When he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo, a black horse. And he that sat on him had a pair of valances in his hand. 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 wine. You say, what does that mean? Well, a penny in the Bible is not the same as our modern day penny. For example, in the book of Matthew, chapter 22, men went out and worked a 12 hour day. And at the end of that day, they were paid for their work a penny. So a penny would be equivalent. We don't know the exact dollar amount that that would be today, but we know it's a day's wages. I mean, going out as a laborer, an unskilled laborer, like for example, you know these places today where they have the labor ready places where you can go and be a day laborer and you're hired on a daily basis. Well, these guys, they go, they're not exactly making a huge paycheck. It's more like minimum wage or maybe $10 an hour or somewhere like that. And to go out and work a 12 hour day and receive a penny, that was the payment that Jesus said was fair for them in Matthew 22. Well, what would that be today? You know, 100 bucks, 150 bucks, right? A day's labor for an unskilled laborer, maybe 100 bucks a day, something like that, maybe less for a 12 hour work day, right? 100 bucks. Now, imagine this. It says in Revelation 6, a measure of wheat for a penny. Imagine going to the store and spending $100 to get a measure of wheat, or three measures of wheat. That's pretty expensive, right? I mean, can you imagine buying flour? Okay, that would be $100. Now, what would cause flour to cost a whole day's wages? Work a 12 hour day and buy flour for what you earn? What would cause that? Scarcity of food. I mean, if people are without food and there's no food supply, then the price is going to go up, supply and demand. And when people are starving, when there's a famine, people will spend whatever price to get that food. And that's what causes prices to go up, scarcity. We'll look back at Matthew 24. So the first seal was what? The Antichrist, saying, I'm Christ, coming on a white horse to conquer. The second seal was what wars, nation rising up against nation. Look at Matthew 24, verse number 7, nation shall rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom. That was the second seal. And there shall be famines, right? Isn't that exactly what we saw when the third seal was open? A measure of wheat for a penny, a day's wages just to buy flour? I mean, how much does a bag of, ladies, how much does a bag of flour cost today? Probably about four something. Four bucks or something for a bag of flour? Okay. Not a hundred bucks. Not a hundred and fifty bucks. Okay. Big difference. So let's look at the fourth seal, back to Revelation 6. It says in verse number 7, when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, come and see. And I looked at the old, a pale horse, and 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, with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth. So what are the things that are causing people to die here? There's a lot of people dying from what? It says, with the sword, they're being killed with the sword, with hunger, with death, and with the beasts of the earth, okay, let's look back at Matthew 24. There shall be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in diverse places. All these are the beginning of sorrows, okay? So again, people are dying from famine, from pestilence. What's pestilence? Disease. War. Okay? Death, on a major scale. Now the Bible does not say that a fourth part of the people on this earth will die. It says that power is given unto them over one fourth part of the earth, to kill with the sword, with hunger, and with the beasts of the earth, okay? Now let's look at the fifth seal, verse 9 of Revelation 6. And 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. These are people dying for the cause of Christ, right, when the fifth seal is opened. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, does not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them, and it was said to them that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren that should be killed as they were should be fulfilled. Now the key word here is in verse 9. I saw under the altar, looking at the beginning of verse 9, the souls, okay? The souls, not their bodies. The rapture has not yet taken place. The rapture is not found in chapter 1. The rapture is not found in chapter 2. No mention of the rapture in chapter 3 of Revelation. No mention of the rapture in chapter 4. You say, oh, people will say, oh, Revelation 4.1 says, After this I looked, and behold, a door was opened in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me, which said, Come up hither, and I will show thee things which must be hereafter. That's John being caught up to heaven. Now are we going to take the Bible literally here or not? The Bible says that John was caught up to heaven in Revelation 4. He didn't hear a trumpet sound. He heard a voice that was as loud as a trumpet, which said, Come up hither, and I will show thee things which must be hereafter. So he was taking John up to show him things. Okay, that's not the rapture. Okay, we'll see the rapture later on in Revelation. Chapter 5, no mention of the rapture. Chapter 6, we haven't seen any mention of the rapture whatsoever. And so he did not see their bodies. He just sees their souls. Because when you pass on, let's say you were to breathe your last breath right now. Let's say you were to die, quote unquote, you know, your body would die. Well Jesus said, Whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Paul said, Having a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better, to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. And so if you were to breathe your last breath right now, you wouldn't be dead. Oh no, your body would be dead, but your soul would immediately be in heaven with Christ. Paul said, I'd rather depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Hey, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. And so you'll be in heaven immediately following your last breath, but it will only be your soul that's in heaven, because your body will still be here on this earth. We'll bury it in the ground. We'll bury it in the ground, which is a symbol of like planting a seed, that one day that body will be resurrected, a spiritual body. But your soul immediately, when you breathe your last breath, will be in heaven with Jesus Christ. You won't be dead for even one moment, because Jesus said, Whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Your life is eternal. Your life will go from being on this earth, in the body, to being in the soul, in heaven. And that's why he said, I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, for the word of God. So when the fifth seal was open, what did we see? People being martyred, people being killed for the cause of Christ on a great scale. Let's look back at Matthew 24. Let's see if that's the next thing that follows here. We saw all the things that we, you know, the wars, the, you know, the Antichrist, the wars, the famines, death on a mass scale from pestilence, from famine. But look at this, verse nine. What's next? Same thing. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted and shall kill you. Who is he speaking to? The disciples, Christians. You say, oh, wait a minute, he's talking to the Jews. This is what people will try to say. Oh, he's talking to the Jews. The disciples there represent the Jews. Okay, well, wait a minute. In Matthew chapter 28, because people, they say, oh, the book of Matthew is written to the Jews. What about this verse? Matthew 28, 17. Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, amen. Who was that commission given to? The 11 disciples, right? Okay. Was that great commission given to the local church or to the Jews? Local church, right? Okay, what about the Lord's Supper? What about communion? Is that something that's practiced by the local church? Right, is it communion? I mean, don't all Baptists believe that there are two ordinances, baptism and the Lord's Supper? Baptism and communion? Okay, where did Jesus Christ institute communion? The Lord's Supper. With his 12 disciples at the Last Supper, right? That was given to the church, wasn't it? But this is supposedly not speaking to Christians, not speaking to believers. It's speaking to Israel? No, he's speaking to his disciples here. He's speaking to people that are, and then of course in Mark 13, you don't have to turn there, but at the end of Mark 13, the Bible says this. You don't have to turn there, but it's a parallel passage, same exact sermon that Jesus preached. He said in Mark 13, 37, and what I say unto you, I say unto all, watch. The Bible's written to everybody. It's not just written to all. This one's for Israel. This one's just to Titus. This one's just for the Philippians. That's a pretty narrow book then, right? If it was only for the, no, it's for us also, the Bible says in Romans chapter four. The Bible's written for us who believe on Christ. We believe on Christ. Hey, every promise in the book is mine, every chapter, every verse, every line. And so here I am in Matthew 24, and we're seeing the same thing. They shall deliver you up to be afflicted and shall kill you. These are the martyrs that we saw on the fifth seal, right? You shall be hated of all men for my name's sake, nations of my name's sake. Verse 10, and then shall many be offended and shall betray one another and shall hate one another. Many false prophets shall write and shall deceive many. Okay? So what have we seen here? You could really even just write in your Bible if you want to, if you have a pen. You could write next to verse number five, you know, seal number one. You could write next to verse six, seal number two. You could write next to verse seven where it says famines, seal number three, the famines. The pestilence is earthquakes and diverse places. You could write seal number four. And then by the part about them killing people for the cause of Christ, verse nine, that's seal number five, okay? And he goes down the list here and he says, because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. On and on, I'm gonna skip some of this just for sake of time but he goes on and on, verse 21. He says, for then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved. But for the elect's sake, those days shall be shortened. But what days? The days of this great tribulation that's gonna be going on. Then if any man shall say unto you, lo, here's Christ, or there, believe it not, for there shall rise false Christs and false prophets and shall show great signs and wonders insomuch that if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. So is it possible for the elect to be deceived by these false Christs and false prophets? No. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore, if they shall say unto you, behold, he is in the desert, go not forth. Behold, he's in the secret chambers, believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east and shineth even unto the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. For soever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together. Immediately, verse 29, 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 heavens shall be shaken. Flip over to Revelation chapter six. Let's see if this corresponds with the sixth seal. Let's look at verse 12. Revelation 6, 12. And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and lo, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth the pear, and the moon became as blood, and the stars of heaven fell onto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it was rolled together, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. So we saw the same thing. The sun and moon darkened. Right after that great tribulation of people being killed for the cause of Christ, the sun and moon are darkened. The stars fall from heaven, right? Look back at Matthew 24, verse 30. 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. So after the sun and moon are darkened with the opening of a sixth seal, then all of a sudden they see the son of man, Jesus Christ, coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, okay? Look at verse number 31. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other. Now learn a parable of the fig tree. And he goes on and explains the parable of the fig tree, which we saw the same thing. Look at Revelation 6. He said that even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, in verse 13, when she is shaken of a mighty wind, and the heaven departed as a scroll when it was 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 in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, fall on us and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne and from the wrath of the lamb, for the great day of his wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand? So everybody got this so far? We got first, the Antichrist comes on a white horse. Second, you have wars. Third, famines. Fourth, death. Fifth, you have these martyrs dying from the cause of Christ. Sixth, seal is open. The sun and moon are darkened. The stars fall from the sky. This is both in Matthew 24 and Revelation 6, the same order. All of a sudden, they see Jesus Christ coming in the clouds with power and great glory. These men in Revelation 6 are hiding themselves. They're scared, they say, hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne and from the wrath of the lamb. Who's the lamb? Jesus Christ, the lamb. They're scared to death when they see the lamb of God, Jesus Christ, coming in the clouds, when they see God on his throne, because the heavens are rolled back as a scroll, okay? Look at Matthew 24 again. He says, of course, that the trumpet's gonna sound and God's gonna gather his elect from the four winds, from the one end of heaven to the other. Look at this, verse number 36. But of that day and hour knoweth no man. Of what day and hour? The day that Jesus Christ was coming in the clouds and sounding that trumpet. He said, but of that day and hour knoweth no man, know not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of knowing were, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. For as the days of the flood, they were, before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered in the ark, and knew not until the flood came and took them all away. So shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. So are they gonna see this coming? They're gonna be eating, drinking, marrying, giving in marriage, and then all of a sudden, wham, Jesus Christ is gonna come in the clouds, there's gonna be a sun and moon darkened, and they're gonna be scared to death that they're not gonna know what's coming until it comes. Now it says in verse number 40, then shall two be in the field. Tell me this is not the rapture. Then shall two be in the field, the one shall be taken and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill, the one shall be taken and the other left. Watch therefore, for ye know not what hour your Lord hath come. Now do we know the day of Jesus Christ coming? Today, do we know? No. Do we know the hour? No man knoweth the day nor the hour. What does that mean that it could happen at any moment? It does not mean that it could happen at any moment because we do know that first, the anti-Christ is gonna come. We do know that first, the wars are gonna come that he talked about. We do know that first, the famines will come that he talked about. We know that first, people will be beheaded for the cause of Christ on a mass scale. We do know that first, the sun and moon will be darkened. And then after that, Jesus Christ will come in the clouds, okay? Just because we don't know the day nor the hour, he said of that day and hour, which day or hour? Look at verse 29. Immediately after the tribulation of those days, shall the sun be darkened and the moon shall... This is the day we're talking about that we don't know is coming. Now we know it's not today because we don't see people being beheaded for the cause of Christ. We don't see the sun and moon being darkened. Do you understand what I'm saying? These things have to come first. Quickly turn to 1 Thessalonians 4 and then we'll get out of this passage and we'll spend the rest of our time in the book of Revelation. But look at 1 Thessalonians 4. It's the most famous passage in the Bible, the clearest passage on the rapture, where also known as in the Bible actually called the first resurrection, being caught up in the clouds of them. Look at verse number 13 of chapter 4. But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that you sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with them. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord. And by the way, he's bringing them with him from where? From heaven, okay? For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. We're not gonna go before them, he's saying. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the what? Clouds to meet the Lord in the air and so shall we ever be with the Lord, wherefore comfort one another with these words. So basically what happens? He's saying Jesus Christ is gonna come in the clouds, trump is gonna sound, we're gonna be caught up together. First the dead in Christ will rise first, then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds. But look at verse number one of chapter five. But of the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that what? The day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. So that's what his day is called, the day of the Lord. Remember this verse from Acts chapter two? The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and notable day of the Lord come. Okay, same thing. He says, for when they shall say peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them as travail upon a woman with child and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of life and children of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore, let us not sleep as do others, but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love and for an helmet the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ. So, we are not appointed to go through God's pouring out of his wrath on this earth, okay? We will see this day coming, the day of the Lord, where Jesus Christ will come in the clouds, the trumpet's gonna sound. It will not come upon us unawares as it comes upon the world. When we see the sun and moon darken, we'll know exactly what's happening. When we see the antichrist come, we'll know exactly what's, we'll be able to see these things and see and understand them. And when the rapture happens, after that is when God's gonna pour out his wrath on this earth. So, we're gonna leave this now. We've seen that from Matthew 24, from 1 Thessalonians. Now, we're gonna go to the book of Revelation. So, so far we've covered the first six chapters of Revelation. Go to Revelation 6, we're gonna look at the end of it. The Bible says in Revelation 6, and these people are scared to death when they see Jesus Christ come in the clouds and said to the mountains and rocks, Follow on us and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, this is verse 16, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of His wrath is coming, who shall be able to stand? Verse seven, verse one in chapter seven, After these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the winds should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. And I saw another angel sending from the east, having the seal of the living God, and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God, and therefore, and so let me ask you something, up to this point, has the earth been hurt by God? The trees, the sea, has He poured out His wrath and started destroying nature? No, not yet, He says, Wait a minute, hold it. Do not destroy them yet until we've sealed the servants of our God and forth. The 144,000 are sealed, verse four, heard the number of them which were sealed, and they were sealed in 144,000 of all the tribes of the children of Israel. He lists 12 tribes, gives 12,000 a piece, but look at verse nine. After this, I beheld and lo, a great multitude which no man could number, of all nations and kindreds and people and tongues, stood before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes and palm green. So after this happens, after the sun and moon are darkened, they're scared to death, Jesus is coming in the clouds, they're saying, His wrath is coming before God pours out His wrath, before He damages the sea, the water, the trees. He says, Wait a minute, He seals 144,000 Jews. And then all of a sudden, after this, there's this great multitude before God's throne in heaven. Look at verse 10. And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sith upon the throne and under the Lamb. And all the angels stood round about the throne and about the elders and the four beasts and fell before the throne on their faces and worshiped God, saying, Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be unto our God forever and ever, Amen. Look at verse 13. And one of the elders answered, saying to thee, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? And watch this, this is a key word. And whence came they? Who knows what the word whence means? It's an old word. From where is what it means. Where did they come from? Whence came from? Hence means to hear. Thence to there, okay? Whence, from where? Where did they come from? Okay? I'm sorry, I just said that wrong. Whence means from where? Hence means from here. Thence means from there. Does everybody understand that? There's another word, wither, thither, hither. You know these words, right? During the King James Bible? They mean to there, to here, to where, okay? So he says, in our modern vernacular, basically what he's saying is this. Where did these people come from? Whence came they? Where did they come from? So they just got there. And this man is saying, where did these people come from? And this is a great multitude that no man can number. Now how big of a multitude does the Bible number? Well there was an army in the Old Testament of Ethiopians that came against the children of Judah. One million people that God numbers there. That man numbered, okay? There are numbers in the Bible that are very big numbers. Millions. Hundreds of millions. But this is a multitude that no man could number. That's a pretty good multitude. Since the Bible has multitudes as many as 100 million, okay? When he talks about the angels, he counts the angels and says 10,000 times 10,000, okay? Which is what? Come on, what's 10,000 times 10,000? Didn't you learn your multiplication tables? 100 million, okay? And so he says here, and I said unto him, sir, thou knows, verse 14. And he said to me, these are they which came out of great tribulation. So they were in the great tribulation, they came out of great tribulation and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple. And he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more, neither shall the sun light on them nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. Okay, this is the rapture here, a great multitude appearing in heaven. He said, oh, that's just certain people who got saved during the tribulation. Wait a minute, did they get their own special rapture? And wait a minute, if it's just certain people that got saved during the tribulation, how could it be so many that no man could number? And how could it be from every nation, people, kindred, tongue? I'll tell you why. Many languages don't even exist anymore because this is every believer who's ever lived. The dead in Christ and also those who are alive and remain under the coming of the Lord have all suddenly appeared before the throne. I mean, a multitude which no man could number is a pretty big multitude. Be impossible to count. You see, it's impossible for a person to count up to a billion in their lifetime. Let me tell you why. I mean, it'd be possible, I guess, barely. But listen, if you were to count, let me just help you with these numbers. Let's say you wanted to count to a billion right now. And let's say you counted one number per second. One, two, three, four, five, six. Do you know how long it would take you to count up to a billion? If you did it 24 hours a day, which is obviously impossible, you have to sleep, you have to eat, you have to do other things. 24 hours a day, nonstop, one number per second, it would take you 35 years to count to a billion. So there's no way that any man could number a multitude of hundreds of millions or a billion people, right? That's a pretty big number. Now, the Bible does count physically. People looked at a group of a million people and counted that group right there, okay? You take that side, I'll take this side, I'll count it out and figure out how many people. But this is too great of a number to be people that God saved or doesn't really say, it doesn't really say that anywhere, okay? Look at chapter eight, verse one. And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. And I saw the seven angels which stood before God, and to them were given seven trumpets. And another angel came and stood at the altar having a golden censer. And there was given unto him much incense that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar, which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand. And the angel took the censer, watch verse five, and filled it with fire of the altar and cast it into the earth. And there were voices and thunderings and lightnings in an earthquake. So what is he doing? Raining fire and brimstone down upon the earth when the seventh seal is opened. And then it says, verse six, and the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. The first angel sounded and there followed. Hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth. And it says, and the third part of trees was burnt up and all green grass was burnt up. So are they hurting the trees now? Oh yeah, are they hurting the earth now? Definitely. Look at verse eight. The second angel sounded as it were a great mountain. Burning with fire was cast into the sea, and the third part of the sea became blood. Are they hurting the sea now? Oh yeah, they've turned a third of it into blood here, these angels. And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea and had life died. And the third part of the ships were destroyed. And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven. Burning as it were a lamp, it fell upon the third part of the rivers and the thousands of 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. So here, the waters flies being poisoned by all the rivers being poisoned with Wormwood. Look at verse number 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, so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it in the night likewise. Okay. And then he gives a woe there in verse 13. Woe unto the earth for the other three angels which are yet to sign. The first angel did what? Hail and fire be able to blood burnt up a third of the trees. The second angel did what? When he sounded his trumpet, God turned a third part of the seas into blood, killed all the fish, all the sea life. The ships are destroyed. The third angel sounded, third part of the rivers and lakes and fresh water of this world is turned into poison, bitterness, so that men are dying from drinking poisonous water. They're having trouble finding good water to drink. When the fourth angel sounded, one third of the day, so a 24-hour day for example, because it's talking about the moon and stars also not shining, he said one third of the time is pitch black darkness, eight hours out of 24. Look at verse one of chapter nine. We see the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven under the earth, and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit, and he opened the bottomless pit, it's talking about hell, and there arose a smoke out of the pit, because 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 locusts upon the earth, and none of them was given power as the scorpions of the earth have power. And now look at verse five. And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months, and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion when he striked at the man. So when the fifth angel sounds, hell is opened up by this angel, a polyon, a baton, which is the death angel of Exodus chapter 12, God's death angel, the angel of hell, and this angel comes and lets all these locusts, these monsters out of hell, and these little grasshoppers, these locusts, they don't eat grass, they don't eat trees, they don't eat leaves, they basically are just, they have stings like scorpions, like poisonous insects, and they're biting people, and people are being tormented with the pain of being attacked by all these locusts. Remember in the Old Testament, in the land of Egypt, remember the plagues that God sent on the Egyptians, where he turned water into blood, where he made darkness come upon the land, where he sent frogs and locusts and flies and lice, it's just like this except worse. This is gonna be even worse than that. Look at verse number seven where he describes these locusts. And the shapes of the locusts were like and the horses prepared them to battle. And on their head were as it were crowns like. Oh, did they really have crowns on their head? No, it was as it were, as if they had crowns on their head. And their faces were as the faces of men. They looked like a human face. And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. And they had breastplates as it were breastplates of iron. So we're not talking about a literal lion. God's not being literal, he tells us. He says, look, it was as if they had like a clown and a breastplate. He's basically talking about like an exoskeleton of an insect that's extremely strong, hard as a rock on their heads and on their breasts, and their faces are going to be like the face of a man. And they're going to have hair like the hair of women because women are supposed to have what, according to the Bible, long hair, okay? Long hair, and they're going to be these little monsters that are going to be tormenting people. Well, let's look at the sixth seal, verse 13. Verse number 14, saying to the sixth angel which had the trouble to loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. Remember this going back to the garden of Eden? Remember the four angels that were placed outside the garden? And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour and a day and a month and a year for it to slay the third part of men. And the number of the army of the horsemen were 200,000,000. Now what is that number? 200,000,000? 200 million. So these 200 million, when the sixth seal, these locusts have already punished people for five months to form it. Well, when the sixth seal is open, you have this army from hell, basically 200,000,000 horsemen. It says, and thus I saw the horses in the vision, and then that sat on them, having breastplates of fire and adjacent than a brimstone, 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, by the fire and by the smoke and by the brimstone which issued out of their mouths, for their power was in their mouth and in their tails, for their tails were like unto serpents and had heads, and with them they do hurt. And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues, yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils and idols of gold and silver and brass and stone and wood, and on and on he lists off they didn't repent of their murders or sorceries and foreign gates. He's just saying the world is just still getting more and more wicked during this time. Remember, all the Christians are gone. They've all been caught up to the throne of God in chapter seven, and they're before God's throne. So you have all the unbelievers left on this earth, and all hell is breaking loose, literally. I mean, poison, just earthquakes, fire and brimstone, these locusts are tormenting people, then these horsemen, these warriors riding on horses that have heads like lions that are breathing fire, tails like serpents where the tail can bite someone. These horrible demonic hordes, basically, is what they seem like, but they're being sent by God to punish, okay? He says, and in addition to that, the people are murdering each other. They're stealing, they're fornicating, they're committing witchcraft, all these different things. They're still worshiping the devil. They're still worshiping all idols, okay? Now, in chapter 10, the seven thunders utter their voices. John's about to write what they said, and God says, shield it up, go write it. So we don't know what they said. That's a mystery today. Someday, I'm sure that we'll know, or hopefully, I don't know. And then, he's talking about how the seventh angel is preparing to sound, in chapter 10. God tells John to go to this angel, and he has a little book in his hand, and he's told to take the book and eat it, and remember, he eats the book, and God tells him to prophesy again, the four many peoples and nations and times. So really, chapter 10 is almost like a little pause, where we just stop and talk about this angel and John gets a book and eats it and so on. Now, in chapter 11, it starts out by him saying, you know, he's gonna measure the temple of God, the altar, and then which worship they're in. He talks about the holy city being tread underfoot 40 in two months. He's gonna give power to his two witnesses. They shall prophesy 1,200 and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. So that's, what, about three and a half years? And then, he talks about how these men, look at verse six. These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy, and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues as often as they will. Now, people say that the book of Revelation is not in chronological order, but look, here we see these men for 42 months turning water into blood. Is that happening before the rapture? No, before the rapture, the earth was not heard. None of these plagues came. None of this wrath was poured out. And think about the word plagues like in Exodus. God's wrath, God's plagues of locusts and fire and water into blood. He's saying, look, these two men can also augment these plagues. They can turn water into blood. They can stop rain from coming out of the sky. They can cause it to rain. They can cause people to die by fire that proceeds out of their mouth. And these two men are gonna preach and prophesy for 1,200 and threescore days, three and a half years. It says in verse seven, and when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that has senteth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them and shall overcome them and kill them. And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of that great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. What city is that? Jerusalem is where Jesus was crucified. And people are gonna rejoice and be happy that these men are killed because they were sick of listening to them preach. They were sick of them turning water into blood and calling down all this wrath and plagues upon them. Now, here's what's interesting. Look at verse 15. And when the seventh angel sounded, and there were great voices in heaven saying, the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever. This is talking about the millennial kingdom, the millennial reign of Christ, where Jesus Christ comes and sets up his literal kingdom on this earth, where he rules and reigns for 1,000 years and then for all eternity. It says, on and on, and the four and 20 elders, which sat before God on their seats, verse 16, fell upon their faces and worshiped God, saying, we give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art in the West and art to come, because thou hast taken to thee thy great power and its reign, and the nations were angry, and thy wrath has come at the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldst give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and that the saints and them that fear thy name small and great, and shouldst destroy them, which destroy the earth, and the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament, and there were lightnings and voices and thunderings and an earthquake and great death. So on the seventh, that's what it's gonna sound like, folks. When the seventh angel sounds his trumpet, they say, hey, the kingdoms of this world are become the kings of our Lord and of his Christ. He shall reign forever and ever. They, all of a sudden, there's lightnings and thunderings and voices, a great earthquake, and this is just a finality here. Look back at chapter 10. Remember chapter 10 was all about that seventh angel, and we didn't really go into it? Watch what he says in verse number, let me find the verse that I was looking for. Verse number seven, chapter 10, verse seven. But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he had declared to his servants the prophet. So you see here, when this seventh trumpet sounds in chapter 11, he said, the mystery of God's finished, as he had declared. So there's kind of a finality here. Hey, here we are, the millennium, right? Jesus Christ, the kingdoms of this world have become the kings of our Lord and of his Christ. You know, time shall be no longer, but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he had declared to his servants the prophet. You say, well, wait a minute. How can we already be to that point when we're only in chapter 11? Here's what you have to understand. Chapters one through 11 form the chronology. All the way through the tribulation, the rapture in chapter seven, God pours out his wrath and goes through the whole thing. But in chapter 12, we go back in time. We go way back and start over. And we're gonna go through all the same events again in order. Watch how clear this is. It says in verse one of chapter 12, and it's really obvious. See, God wanted us to understand the Bible. He's not trying to make it hard to understand it. It's obvious that in chapter 12, we're gonna take a big jump backward. It cannot be disputed. Look at verse one. And there appeared a great wonder in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown with 12 stars. And she, being with child, cried, travailing in birth and pain to be delivered. And there appeared another wonder in heaven, and behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and 10 horns, and seven crowns upon his head. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and it did cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman, which was ready to be delivered. So here's a woman who's pregnant, right? She's about to give birth. For to devour her child as soon as it was born. And she's brought forth a man-child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. Who is that child? Jesus Christ, right? She brings forth this child who's to rule all nations with a rod of iron. That's spoken of Jesus Christ in Psalm 2. The Son of God. He's actually called the Son in Psalm 2. They don't rule all nations. Thou are my Son. This day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thy inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron. Thou shalt dash through pieces with a potter's vessel. Jesus Christ is born in chapter 12. So we've gone back in time, haven't we? To the birth of Christ. The dragon wanted to devour the child as soon as it was born. Do you remember King Herod? Soon as that child was born, baby Jesus, he set forth and slew all the children which were in Bethlehem from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. You remember? He wanted to devour and wanted to kill them as soon as he was born. Let's keep reading. It says, and her child was caught up unto God and to his throne. When did that happen? When Jesus, after he had died and was buried, rose again, he ascended up to heaven. He went up in the clouds in Acts chapter one. And they were told, this same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as you've seen him go into heaven. So he was caught up into heaven, into his throne, and the woman fled into the wilderness where she had to place prepared of God that they should feed her there 1,203 score days. Now what is the 1,203 score days? 1,260 days or three and a half years, okay? And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and the dragon fought in his angels and prevailed not. Neither was there placed on anymore in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out. That old serpent called the devil and Satan was deceived with the whole world. He was cast out into the earth and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, now has come salvation and strength in the kingdom of our God and the power of his Christ for the accuser of our brethren is cast down which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony and they loved not their lives under the death. Therefore rejoice ye heavens and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and of the sea for the devil has come down unto you having great wrath, why? Because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. And when the dragon saw that he was cast out of the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child. And on and on it goes on, but look at the verse 17. And the dragon was wroth with the woman, he was angry with her, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed which keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. So he's basically going to make war with God's people. So Jesus caught up to heaven. We jumped forward, didn't we? First he's born, he's caught up to heaven. Next thing you know, 1260 days, we've got a war in heaven and the devil's cast out. Did you know that the devil is not in hell right now? He's not. He walketh about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. In fact, in the book of Job, he was up in heaven talking to God about Job. And in fact, today he's up there, he's accusing the brethren before our God day and night. One day, when the first seal is open, he'll be cast down into the earth. And he knows he only has a short time. Now he does, he goes to and fro in the earth, walking up and down in it. Look at Job chapter one and two. But he goes back and forth, he goes all over the place. But he's going to be cast out of heaven. No more place for him in heaven. He's going to be in this earth, he's going to know he has a short time, so he's going to say, I'm going to go make war against the remnant of the woman, which keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. Chapter 13, we're going to see how he's going to do that. He uses a human instrument, known as the antichrist, to do that. The Bible here talks about the antichrist, the beast is what he's called. Look at the end of verse two. The dragon gave him his power and seeking great authority. And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world wondered after the beast, and they worshiped the dragon, who's the dragon of the devil, which gave power unto the beast. And they worshiped the beast, saying, who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him? And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies. What blasphemies? I am Christ, I am Jesus, I am God, are the type of things he'd be saying, according to 2 Thessalonians two and Matthew 24. And he opened his mouth and blasphemed against God, to blaspheme his name and his tabernacle and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints. What did it say in chapter 12, verse 17? The dragon was wrought with woman and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, right? Chapter 13, what's the antichrist doing? Who gave the antichrist his power and his seed and great authority? The dragon, the devil. So the devil is using this man to make war against the saints, the antichrist, who receives a deadly wound in his head. He's basically resurrected, okay? Died and he was sending out of the bomb's pit. He's the antichrist. And he claims that he's God in the flesh, okay? It says, it was given unto him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And power was given unto him over all kindreds and tongues and nations. So he's ruling over the entire world. A worldwide kingdom, much like Nebuchadnezzar in the Old Testament had a worldwide kingdom. And then look at verse number 11. And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth. And he had two horns like a lamb and spake as a dragon. And he exercised with all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein. To worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. So this other false prophet is gonna stand up and say, hey, worship this man. Worship the antichrist. Worship the man of sin who died and rose again. You know, this is God, this is Jesus. And he's really not, he's the antichrist, right? And look, it says, and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth, verse 14, by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the earth. Saying to them that dwell on the earth that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword and did live. And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause that as many as would not worship, the image of the beast should be killed. And he causeth all, verse 16, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand or in their foreheads. And that no man might by himself say he that had the mark or the name of the beast or the number of his name, hear his wisdom, let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast. For it is the number of a man, and his number is six hundred threescore and six. Six, six, six, right? So here we have the beast, the antichrist, saying everyone in the world must worship me. He's got some preacher that's saying the same thing, pointing to him saying, worship him. And if you don't worship him, you'll be killed. And if you don't receive his mark in your right hand or your forehead, you will not be able to buy it yourself. Now only in the King James Bible, which I believe is the word of God, does it say this, to receive a mark in their right hand or in their foreheads. Now the modern Bibles, the NIV, the New King James, New America set, will change this to say receive a mark on their right hand or on their forehead. But see, the Bible says in their right hand or in their forehead. Now you can think about how easily it would be that you could not buy or sell without this mark. For example, imagine something like a barcode or a microchip or something that's placed in your hand and you go to the grocery store. I almost never use cash. Somebody pulled out a quarter the other day, I didn't even recognize it. You know, they have these new quarters that have states on the back of them and everything. Honestly, you know, I'm young, in my generation, we don't even use cash at the time. I just have cards because I have to keep track of all my business expenses and I do that all on a computer. And so I don't use cash because then I'd have to save the receipts and everything. I don't like saving all the receipts and going through it. So I do every transaction with a card. And so I saw a quarter, I was like, what is it? I thought it was foreign money. Like, no, this is an American quarter. I looked at it, oh wow, they changed the quarters. You know what, years ago, I don't know. You know, I don't use, because I swipe the card. Well one day, instead of swiping your card, it's just gonna be, you know, you put all the groceries through, just put your hand, put your hand on the checkout, it's gonna come up, hello Mr. Anderson, you know, and they'll just deduct it from my account. And you're not gonna be able, they won't take cash. And this is probably how they'll pitch it to you. Part of it will be like, well hey, you know, because we're getting away from cash in our world. They're gonna say, well look, all crime is done with cash. Drug deals, all this stuff, you know, let's do away with cash. And pretty soon it's gonna be all done electronically or somehow, you know, I'm basically speculating here. But in order to receive the mark of the beast, you're gonna have to worship the beast. That's what you gotta understand. You don't just say, oh okay, well yeah, give me the barcode, you know, go ahead and plant me. Set me up. Now, you will have to worship the beast. You're gonna have to bow down and proclaim that he is God, that he's Jesus. Now, will any of the elect, elect means what? Chosen, saved. Look at Romans 11 where he says, you know, the election, and it's synonymous with being saved, Romans 11, seven. And Romans eight, you know, who shall aid in the charge of God's elect? It's God to justify. If you're justified by God, you're the elect. You're God's people, okay? Think about it. Are any of the elect gonna be deceived by the Antichrist, according to Matthew 24? He said he's gonna be so believable that he would deceive some of the elect, if it were possible, but it's not. No one who's saved will be deceived. Only those who are unsaved will have this delusion thinking that the Antichrist is really God in the flesh, you know, Jesus. That he's great. And then bow down and worship him. And only those who bow down and worship him and acknowledge him as being Jesus come back, the second coming, God, okay, they will be able to receive this mark. And those who refuse to worship the beast will be killed. Or they'll have to run to the hills and into the mountains and be in hiding, and they're not gonna be able to buy or sell food, so this is gonna be a terrible time of persecution for believers. Now, you can see how this is all happening right now around us. I mean, chapter 13, you can see the world going to a one-world nation, one-world government, one-world currency, unbelievable. In Europe now, Europe is filled with all these tiny little countries, right? 10 years ago, they all had their own money. In Germany, what did you use? A Deutsche Mark. What did you use in France? Franks. What do you use in England? Pals. What do you use in Spain? You know, pesos. What do you use in Hungary? Foreigns. What do you use in Romania? Les. What do you use in all these different places? Italy, all these different places. Now, today, England is still on the pound, but Germany is on the euro, France is on the euro, Spain is on the euro, Belgium is on the euro, Luxembourg is on the euro, all these countries, Czech and Slovakia are going to the euro, Romania is not on it yet, but Italy is on the euro. One by one, every year, another country does away with their currency and switches to using the euro. And now, right now, half of Europe is on the euro right now and all the other countries in Europe are part of the European Union and they have dates set. On this date is what we're working toward switching over to the euro. When I was in Germany, they were switching over right then. When I was in Germany, what, nine years ago, that is, when they were switching over right then and they used to have the price in both, Deutsche Mark and euro. Now, there's no such thing as a mark anymore. It's only the euro. And we're seeing the world get smaller and smaller and we're seeing the United Nations and we're seeing these world organizations bring about a one world government, one world economic system. Did you know that right now, as we're suffering from financial recession in the United States, do you realize that the entire world is suffering the exact same thing? Did you know that the housing crisis that we have in America is worldwide? Because it's all linked, the whole economy is linked. Gordon from Scotland said in Scotland, same thing, what's going on? Unemployment, all the same things, all over the world. Why, because we're going toward a one world system of money, finance, stocks, bonds, government, it's all one. Hillary Clinton, the Secretary of State, has said in her speech where she was being confirmed by the Congress, she said that her goal as Secretary of State was to get us more involved in the United Nations, work with other nations, become more active in the global community, okay? This is the way things are going and you can easily see how this could happen. We're seeing it around us, my friend. These things are happening. The religions of this world are coming together. Did you know that the Jews are looking for a Messiah to come? They do not believe that Jesus is the Christ. The Bible says, who is a liar but he that denied that Jesus is the Christ? He is Antichrist that denied the Father himself. So the Jews are an Antichrist religion. They don't believe Jesus is the Christ. One day their Messiah that they're looking for is gonna come is gonna be the Antichrist. Did you know that Islam is looking forward to a Messiah that will come one day? Did you know that President Ahmadinejad of Iran said he's looking for a Messiah that's gonna come one day? And listen to me now, the Buddhists, the Muslims, the Hindus, the Catholics, the Jews, the Charismatics, they are all going to receive the Antichrist as their Lord and Savior. The Charismatics will say, oh, this is the second coming of Christ. The Jews will say, this is the Messiah. The Muslims will say, this is our, whatever they're, I don't know what they call, I don't know. I'm not an expert on Islam. But the point is that all religions of the world will receive him as, hey, this is him. This is the anointed one. This is our Christ, okay? Except those who are saved are gonna be the ones who don't. They're gonna be killed. They're gonna be persecuted for it, okay? They won't receive the mark of the beast. Look at chapter 14. So remember how we started over in chapter 12? What happened? The devil came down to the earth and there was a war started on this earth, right? The Antichrist went forth to conquer. He conquered the entire world. Then he began to persecute and kill those who would not worship him, okay? That's the same pattern that we saw earlier in the book. A man coming on a white horse to conquer, people fighting each other, killing each other, people not being able to buy or sell food without the mark of this beast, people having their heads cut off for not worshiping the beast. This is what we saw with the fifth seal, people being killed for not bowing down or worshiping. Look at chapter 14. And I looked and lo, a lamb stood on the Mount Zion and with him 144,000. That's what we saw in chapter seven, remember? We're revisiting the 144,000. Go down, I gotta hurry because I'm running out of time, but go down and look at verse number 14. It says in verse 14, and I looked and behold a white cloud. Tell me what this sounds like. And upon the cloud once sat like unto the Son of Man. Who's that? Jesus in the cloud. Having on his head a golden crown and in his hand a sharp sickle, and another angel, this is the voice of the archangel in 1 Thessalonians 4, cried with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, thrust in thy sickle and reaped, for the time has come for thee to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth and the earth was reaped. That's the rapture right there. Jesus comes in the cloud, the voice of the archangel, the trump of God, and he gathers, he reaps, right? Those who've been saved, okay? And then basically he says the time comes for thee to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe. The earth is reaped by Jesus in the clouds, okay? Look at verse 17. And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar which had power over fire. Remember after the rapture in Revelation 7, what happened? Fire and grip cell was rained out in the opening of the seventh seal. He said, thrust in thy sharp sickle and gathered the cluster of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe, and the angel thrust in his sickle on the earth, this is after the rapture, and gathered the vine of the earth and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. So after the rapture comes what? The wrath of God. And he says, and the winepress was trodden without the city and blood came out of the winepress even under the horse bridles by the space of 1,600 furlongs. And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them is filled up the wrath of God. Now remember before we had seven angels with seven trumpets? Here we have again, seven angels of the wrath of God. They have seven vials in their hands, okay? Now, I gotta hurry for sake of time, but there's a great multitude in heaven again. In chapter two, chapter three, I'm sorry, verse two, three, and four of chapter 15, where these people who've gotten the victory over the beast and over his image and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass and in the hearts of God, they're praising God and singing and so on, okay? Chapter 16, we have the seven vials of God's wrath. Now this is the last thing we're gonna do, but keep your finger in chapter 16 and turn back to chapter eight. I'm gonna show you that these events are also the same. The seven trumpets and the seven vials represent the same things. Look at chapter 16. It says in verse two, and the first went and poured out his vial upon the what? Upon the earth. And there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast and upon them which had worshiped his image, okay? Turn back, keep your finger there, but turn back to chapter eight. Look at the first angel sounded. And in verse seven of chapter eight, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood and they were cast upon what? Upon the earth. And the third part of trees was burned up and all the green grass was burned up. Look at chapter 16, verse number three. And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea and it became as the blood of a dead man and every living soul died in the sea. Go back to chapter eight. Look at the second angel, verse eight. Sound as it were, a great mountain was burning with fire, was cast into the sea and the third part of the sea became what? Blood. So what happened when the seventh trumpet was sounded? Sea turned into blood. What happened when the second vial was poured out? The sea turned into blood. The first vial was poured upon the earth. The first trumpet was blown and fire was poured out upon the earth. Okay, you've seen the parallel here? Look at the third vial. It said in verse four of chapter 16, and the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters and they became blood. And I heard the angel of the waters say, thou art righteous, O Lord, that which art and wast and shall be, because thou has judged us, for they have shed the blood of saints and prophets and thou has given them blood to drink, for they are worthy. Okay? The third trumpet sounded in what? The fountains of waters, the rivers and lakes are turned into poison because of wormwood. Look at the fourth vial in chapter 16, verse number, here's number eight. It said the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire and men were scorched with great heat. That's the same, what happened to the fourth trumpet? Darkness for the fourth part of the day. Still having to do with the shining moon and the stars. Okay? Look at the fifth vial in verse number 10 of chapter 16. And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast and his kingdom was full of darkness. Right? With the fifth vial. Go back to the fifth trumpet, chapter nine. It says in verse two, and he opened the bottomless pit, this is the fifth angel sounded, and there arose a 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. Do you see that? And what did it say in the fifth vial? Chapter 16, verse 10, his kingdom was full of darkness. Okay? Look at the sixth vial, verse 12 of chapter 16. And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates and the water thereof was dried up that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. Go back to chapter nine and look at the sixth angel, verse 13. It says in verse 14, saying to the sixth angel, which hath the trumpet, loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates, right? So when the sixth vial is poured out, the river of Euphrates is dried up. The sixth trumpet is blown, the four angels are loose from Euphrates. These events, what I'm trying to show you is that they're happening at the same time. Okay, do you see that? Look back to chapter 16, we'll see the seventh vial, verse 17, into the, he poured out the seventh vial into the air and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven from the throne saying, it is done. And there were voices and thunderings and lightning and there was a great earthquake. Look at Revelation 11, where we see the seventh trumpet being blown. We're gonna see the exact same thing. And in verse 19, and the temple of God was open in heaven and there were seen in his temple, the ark of his testament and there were lightnings and voices and thunderings and earthquake and great hail. What did it say over Revelation 16? He said, lightening thunders, lightnings and a great earthquake, voices, the exact same list is given with the seventh trumpet and the seventh vial. Chapter 16, it is done. Chapter 11, the kingdoms of this world have become the kings of our Lord and of his Christ. Now look, you say, wait a minute, the vials and the trumpets are different. Yes, they are different, but they are happening at the same time, is what I'm showing you. At the same time as the waters of your phrase are being dried up, the angels are being loosed out of your phrase. At the same time, the bottomless pit is opened up and smoke comes out, the earth is filled with darkness because it said that it was darkened by reason of the smoke, they gnawed their tongues with pain. At the same time, he's turning the sea into blood, the angel is pouring out his vial and turning the sea into blood. At the same time, waters are being turned into wormwood, waters elsewhere are also being turned into blood and people are drinking blood because they have no water to drink and they're dying of thirst, okay? So we see that these things are happening at the same time. Okay, they're concurrent events, okay? Then in chapter 17 and 18, we stop and talk about Babylon and he goes into this dissertation on Babylon. I don't have time to go into that. But in chapter 19, we have Jesus Christ comes on a white horse, right? And he has the final face-off with the anti-Christ and with his army. He devours him with the sword that comes out of his mouth. He sets up his throne on the surf just like he does in Matthew 25, okay? He sets up his throne on the surf, he sets up his millennial kingdom and in chapter 20, it says that all those believers who were resurrected in the first resurrection will rule and reign with Christ for a thousand years. In chapter 11, it said when the kingdom was come, he said that he would reward his servants and that's what happens in chapter 20. They get to rule and reign with them. He's gonna say, well done, now good and faithful servant, be thou over 10 cities, be thou over five cities, be thou over two cities. This is the parable in Matthew 25 in the book of Luke. Then in chapter 20, of course, after the thousand years are finished, the devil's loosed out of hell. He's cast in at the beginning. He deceives the nations. They come and finally revolt against God. Fire comes down. They're devoured, the great white throne judgment where the books are open, death and hell are cast in the lake of fire. Chapter 21, 22, new heaven and new earth. Now look, I know that's a lot to digest in one sermon, okay? But what I'm trying to show you that you can understand this book, right? It's not that hard. If you just sit down and read it, you'll see the persecutions of the Antichrist. You'll see wars, famines, pestilence. There's nothing shocking about a famine. There have been famines in this world, wars, pestilence. It's just gonna be unlike ever before. But only when the sun and moon are darkened will people realize that this is an act of God. Then the rapture, then God pours out his wrath with the seven trumpets. Then we start over in chapter 12, the birth of Christ, the tribulation again, people being beheaded because they will not worship the beast. Then the rapture in chapter 14, right? Caught in clouds, Jesus Christ in the clouds, trumpet, reaping, okay? Then his wrath poured out seven vials that line up with the seven trumpets, the same events going on at the same time, okay? Then Jesus Christ coming on a white horse. Just as the Antichrist said before, as an imposter coming on a white horse, the real Jesus comes on a white horse, defeats the Antichrist, sets up his kingdom on this earth. And so really, it's understandable. Just with what I preached to you tonight, if you sit down and read this book, and I couldn't read the whole book to you tonight, you'll understand it. If you're saved, the Holy Spirit's inside you, read this book and understand it. Let's bow our heads in that board of prayer. Father, I pray that tonight the teaching, I had to go fast because it's such a long book, but Father, I pray that you please just help those that are here to have their appetites wedded to wanna dig into your word and study it your God. Yes, we love to win souls at this church. Yes, we go out and preach the gospel. Yes, we love soul winning. But Father, help us also to know the Bible. Help us to take time to read and understand your word. Help us not to be ignorant concerning these things. Help us not to think we're not smart enough. If we have the Holy Spirit, dear God, I know that you can lead us into all truth. Help us to sit down and read the Bible, to read the book of Revelation, to understand it, to learn it, dear God, and help us be ready that when these things come to pass, we will understand what is happening, we'll know what's happening, we'll be able to watch as you command us to do for these signs to come upon us. We love you and in Jesus' name we pray, amen. All right, let's go ahead and sing one song before we go. Let's.