(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

We love you, in Jesus' name we pray, amen. Amen. All right, well, we're there in Ezekiel chapter number nine. And we've been working our way through the book of Ezekiel on Wednesday nights, chapter by chapter every week, studying it and seeing what we can learn from it. And if you remember last week in chapter eight, we started a new section in the book of Ezekiel. If you remember, we saw that Ezekiel had one vision. It goes from Ezekiel 1 to Ezekiel 7. And then in chapter eight began a second vision that was a year later. And I'm not going to re-preach last week's sermon, but you need to understand that chapter nine is a continuation of chapter eight and a continuation of that vision. And if you remember, Ezekiel was caught up, the Bible says, by the lock of his hair. And he was taken to Jerusalem, and he saw the vision that God gave him. And God took him on a tour of the abominations that were being done in his sanctuary in Jerusalem. If you remember, on the first stop of that tour, he saw the image of jealousy. And on the second stop of that tour, he saw the wickedness portrayed upon the walls. And on the third stop of that tour, he saw the women weeping for Tammuz. And on the fourth stop of that tour, he saw the men worshipping the sun. And last week, we talked about how all of those things were a foreshadowing of end times false religion. Of course, the image of jealousy set up in the temple was a foreshadowing of the abomination of desolation that the Antichrist is going to set up in the temple. The women weeping for Tammuz, if you remember, he is the false god of death and resurrection. And these women were weeping for him because they were doing a religious ceremony, acting as if they were in a funeral. And this god, of course, is a representation of the Antichrist, who will also die and resurrect as a type of evil Christ, or as an anti-type of Christ. And then, of course, we saw the worshipping of the sun and the replacement of the Lord Jesus Christ, who's represented throughout scripture as the S-U-N sun. And we went through all that. And what we're going to look at in chapter 9 is that that end times foreshadowing continues even into chapter 9. And what we see in this chapter, the primary thing I want to show you, and then I'm going to show you this from the word of God. And then I'm going to end tonight with just some quick five statements of application. But I want you to notice in verse 1, we see the vision, which is, again, the vision that Ezekiel sees of Jerusalem. But these all have foreshadows of end times prophecy. We see that in the vision now Ezekiel sees a mark that is placed upon a forehead. Look at verse 1. The Bible says this. And he cried also in my ear, with a loud voice, saying, cause them that have charge over the city. Now, the word charge there is talking about those who have oversight or custody, those who are in charge over the city, to draw near even every man with his destroying weapon in his hand. And behold, six men came from the way of the higher gate, which lieth toward the north, and every man a slaughter weapon in his hand. And one man among them was clothed with linen with a writer's ink horse. Now, I want you to notice that he calls for these men that have charge over the city. Now, who these men are, we're not sure. Because if you remember from chapter 8, the ancient men, who were supposed to be the political, spiritual leaders of the city, they're all the ones that are in the temple with the image of jealousy. They're the ones that are going into the inner courts of the temple and looking at all the abominations upon the walls. We also saw the 25 men who were worshipping the sun. So who these men are, we're not sure. And where they came from, or even if they came from heaven, if they're angels or whatever, we don't know. But these are men that are bringing a slaughter weapon. They're bringing a destroying weapon to bring judgment upon Jerusalem. Notice what it says there in verse 2. And behold, six men came from the way of the higher gate that lie toward the north, and every man a slaughter weapon in his hand. And one man among them was clothed in linen with a writer's ink horse. So notice one of them has a writer's ink horn by his side. And they went in and stood beside the brace and altar. And the glory of God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writer's ink horn by his side, verse 4. And the Lord said unto him, go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, notice what it says, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all of the abominations that be done in the midst thereof. And I want you to notice that the mark on the forehead is not being placed on the bad guys. It's being placed on the good guys. It's being placed upon the men that sigh and cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof. So while Jerusalem was under all of this idolatry, and if you remember from last week, we talked about the fact that it was normal for them to have idolatry on high hills and in groves. But when the idolatry makes it into the sanctuary of God, God says, I've had enough. I'm bringing judgment upon these people. But I want you to notice that even with all that, the Bible says that there were men who would sigh and that cried for all of the abominations. There was people there whose hearts were broken for the idolatry and for the false religion that had been brought in to the nation of Israel. Look at verse 5. And to the others, he said in mine hearing, go ye after him through the city, notice what it says, and smite. Let not your eyes spare, neither have pity. Look at verse 6. Slay utterly, old and young, both maid and little children and women. But come not near to any man upon whom is the mark, and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house. So the man with the ink horn is told to mark those who sigh and cry for the abominations. And then the other men who have the slaughter weapon, who have the destroying weapon, are to go through the city, and they are to slay utterly, old and young, both maid and little children and women. And the only people that are spared are the ones who have the mark. Now remember, in chapter 8, all of this had a foreshadowing of end times. And a mark upon your forehead is, of course, a huge foreshadowing of the end times. Now usually, when we think about a mark upon the forehead, we think about the mark of the beast. And let's go there in the book of Revelation. Keep your place in Ezekiel 9. That's our text for tonight. But go to Revelation, chapter number 13. And we saw Ezekiel's mark upon the forehead there in Ezekiel, chapter 9. But let's look at the mark upon the forehead of the Antichrist in Revelation, chapter 13. Should be fairly easy to find. It's the last book in the New Testament, Revelation 13. Look at verse number 11. The Bible says this, and I beheld another beast. Now the other beast here is the false prophet, of course. It says another beast because there was a beast before him. That's the Antichrist. But this is now the false prophet coming up out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb. And we talked about this last week, I believe. But I want you to notice there again. He looked. He had a look of Christianity. And this reminds me of Matthew 7.15. The Bible says, Jesus said to beware of wolves in sheep's clothing. They looked like sheep. He had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. First Timothy 4.1 talks about that in the latter days, there's going to be the doctrines of devils. And that's exactly what's happening here where the false prophet shows up. And he has two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. Verse 12, and he exercises all the power of the first beast. Because you remember, the beast received his power from the dragon, Revelation 13.2, who is Satan. And before him, notice, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast whose deadly wound was healed. And we talked about that last week, and of course, how the antichrist is going to show up and create a political system, a one world government. He's going to show up as a political leader. But then he's going to receive a wound to his head, and he's going to have that wound healed. And then the false prophet is going to show up and say, this is not just a man. This is God, and we should worship him. And that's what we're reading there in verse 12. And he doeth great wonders, talking about the false prophet, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth and the sight of man. Verse 14, and deceiveth them. Why don't you remember that phrase there? Deceiveth them that dwell on the earth. Now, when the Bible says that he deceiveth them that dwell on the earth, I believe that to be the great falling away that is spoken about in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. In fact, let's just go there real quickly. Keep your finger there in Revelation 13, and go with me to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. If you can find all the T-books, they're all clustered together. 1 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, and Titus. Go to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, and look at verse number 3. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, in Revelation 13, 14, we're told that the false prophet deceiveth them that dwell on the earth. Now, he does that by the means of those miracles, which he had power to do on the side of the beast, saying to them that dwell on the earth that they should make an image to the beast. And if you remember, the image is the abomination of desolation, and we'll run some verses in regards to that also. But look at 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 and verse 3. The Bible says this, let no man deceive you by any means. And today, many people are being deceived. This verse is talking about the days we live in, because he says, look, let no man deceive you by any means, for that day, talking about the day of Christ, talking about the day of our gathering together, talking about the day of the rapture, for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition. The Bible says that that day will not come till there comes a falling away first, and the man of sin be revealed. Now, when will the man of sin be revealed? He'll be revealed when the abomination that maketh desolate is revealed. And before that happens, the false prophet, in order to set up the abomination, the Bible says that he deceiveth them that dwell on the earth. And that's the great falling, when I realize people talk about today weren't a falling away, and I'm not saying that we're not in the beginning of that, or that there's not a falling away, or an apostasy today, but that great falling away right before the revealing of the antichrist is a deception that I want you to understand God brings to the world. Look, you're there in 2 Thessalonians 2. Look down at verse number 11. I don't have time to develop the entire chapter, but just look at verse 11. The Bible says this, and for this cause, notice what it says. God, and for this cause, God shall send them strong delusion. And today you have people, they'll fight with us and argue with us about the reprobate doctrine, and they'll say, God doesn't give up on anybody, and God is always available. God always wants to see people saved. But here again, we find another example where he's not interested in seeing these people saved, because it is God that shall send them strong delusion. Why does God do that? That they should believe a lie. That they all might be damned to believe not the truth, but at pleasure in unrighteousness. And today people say, well, I can't believe in a God that would give up on somebody, even to the point where he would confuse them, and he would put a strong delusion on them that they should believe a lie. I can't believe in that God. Look, you are exactly what Ezekiel's talking about. If you're that person, because you've made an idol of a God that doesn't exist, a God that's not true. Today, especially in America, Christians have made this idol of this God, and they don't know the Bible, they don't read the Bible, they go to churches where nobody's preaching the word of God to them, they don't go home and read the Bible for themselves, and they've made up this God, and the God they're actually worshiping, it's a God that was introduced to them when they were a child, and his real name is Santa Claus, because it's not the God of the Bible. Their God is just this happy old guy who's always positive, who's never angry, but you know, the God of the Bible, yes, he is love, but he's also holy, and he's just, and you know, with God, you do cross a line, and God says that there comes a time, even in this world, where he's gonna say in a strong delusion that they should believe a lie, that they all might be damned who believe not the truth, but at pleasure in unrighteousness, and when the false prophet shows up, everyone's gonna believe him, why? Because of the great miracles, because of the great wonders, but also because God will send a strong delusion. And remember, it's gonna be so good, Matthew 24 tells us, that even the elect, you know, if it were possible, the elect would believe it. Now, it's not possible, you know, you're not gonna take the mark of the beast if you are saved, but God says the delusion's gonna be so strong that if it were possible even to save people would buy into it. Now, go back to Revelation 13. Notice what it says in verse 14. And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth, by the means of those miracles which he had power to do at the sight of the beast, saying to them that dwell on the earth that they should make an image to the beast, all right? Now, last week we talked about the abomination of desolation, but I just wanted to give you a couple more verses just as cross references for you to maybe write down there on the margins of your Bible so you can have it for your Bible study. But go to Daniel just real quickly. If you kept your place in Ezekiel, the very next book is Daniel, Daniel chapter number 11. Because today, a lot of people, when they see the abomination of desolation, they think that's talking about the Antichrist himself. And they don't realize that the abomination of desolation is actually the image that is set up to worship the Antichrist. Because it says that they should make an image to the beast which had the wound by a sword and did live. And in Daniel chapter 11 is where we learn about this image first. Because if you remember in the Olivet Discourse, Jesus said the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet. So it was Daniel who first talked to, taught about this and wrote about this. And let's look at those references just real quickly. Daniel chapter 11, look at verse 31. In Daniel chapter 11 and verse 31, the Bible says this, an arm shall stand on his part and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength and shall take away the daily sacrifice. And I just want you to notice the wording here. And they, notice these two words, shall place the abomination that make it desolate. And again, I just want you to notice, it's an idol, it's an image, it's something that's being placed in the sanctuary. Because it says that they're going to pollute the sanctuary of strength. And they shall place the abomination that make it desolate. You're there in Daniel 11, flip one page over to Daniel chapter 12 and look at verse number 11. Daniel chapter 12 and verse number 11. Daniel 12, 11 says this, and from the time of the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, notice what it says, and the abomination that make it desolate, notice these words, set up. So again, this is an image, it's an idol that is set up. It's something that they shall place in the temple and there shall be 1,290 days. Go back to Revelation 13. Revelation 13, look at verse 15. Revelation 13, verse 15, the last part of verse 14 says that they should make an image to the beast which had a wound by a sword and did live. Verse 15, and he had power to give life unto the image of the beast. So this idol, now they give life to it, 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 I don't have time to go through all the cross-references. We talked about it last week, but again, when the abomination of desolation is set up, they're gonna make it a law that everybody has to worship that image and those who do not worship the image will be put to death. This is the beginning of what Jesus referred to as the great tribulation. That's why he said when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet standing in the holy place, he says, get out of town. He says, leave, things are gonna get bad. Look at verse 16, Revelation 13, 16. And he causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond. Notice here, and again, remember, where in Ezekiel 9 we saw the mark of the beast on the forehead and it foreshadows end times events. Notice what it says, to receive a mark in their right hand or in their forehead and that no man might buy or sell save he that had the mark or the name of the beast or the number of his name. Here is wisdom, let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast, for it is a number of a man and his number is six hundred threescore and six, all right? So now I want you to understand something because in the book of Ezekiel, we actually have the good guys being marked, right? It's the guys who sighed and cried about the abominations being done. They get marked and they get spared. In Revelation 13, what we usually think of when we think about the mark of the beast, what's most popular, you know, when you look, if you're gonna watch a film, which I would not recommend you watch a film about end times prophecy or whatever, and they're gonna talk about the being marked on the forehead, we're always gonna talk about the mark of the beast, the 666, you know, that mark. But I just want you to understand, so in Ezekiel, we have the good guys being marked and they're being spared. In Revelation 13 with the antichrist, we have the bad guys being marked and those who are not marked are not spared. Those who are not marked are killed. Now you say, well, why is that? And it comes down to this, and I said this to you before, and keep your place there in Revelation 13. Keep your finger there because I want you to flip back and forth. But go to the book of 1 Kings chapter number 10. 1 Kings chapter number 10. In the Old Testament, you find all the one and two books, they're all clustered together. You got 1 Samuel, 1 Kings, 1 Chronicles. Go to 1 Kings chapter 10. Get to 1 Kings chapter 10 and then flip back to Revelation 13 and let me say this. Satan is a copycat. Satan does not produce anything on his own. Everything he does is a copycat. God gives us his perfect word, the King James Bible. So what does Satan do? He gives us his copycat word, the NIV or the ESV or the whatever, you know, the New King James, right? God develops a system for evangelizing the world called soul winning and he tells us how to do that by going out in the community two by two, knocking doors, you know, preaching the gospel. So Satan has his demonic version of that with his latter day Satanists out there knocking doors, you know, preaching a false gospel or the Jehovah's false witnesses out there knocking doors, preaching a false gospel. Satan always copies, you know, of course, God has a son. His name is Jesus. He dies on the cross, he's buried, he resurrects from the grave to show his mighty and that he's mighty and he's powerful and that he's God in the flesh. So the Antichrist is gonna show up as a copycat and he's also going to die and resurrect to try to copy what Jesus did. Satan always copies what God does. So in Ezekiel, we have a mark on the forehead that is given to the good guys and they are spared and then we have the Antichrist putting a mark on the forehead to the bad guys and they are spared and it's the good guys that get slain. And I just want you to notice, Satan's always copying and this is just something interesting but if you go to Revelation 13, even that number 666, which we always hear about, right, even that number may possibly be a copycat of scripture. Now, I'm gonna show you this and I don't have a lot of details. I don't know what it all means but I just think it's kind of interesting so I want you to look at it. But in Revelation 13, 18, right, we're talking about the mark of the beast. The Bible says this, here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast, for it is a number of a man and his number is 600, three score, right, so score is 20, three score would be 60 and six. So the mark of the beast or the number of the beast is 666. Now, here's what's interesting. If you remember from last week, they're gonna rebuild the temple and the Antichrist is gonna set the abomination that make it desolate in the temple and he's going to sit in the temple of God and declare himself God. Here's what's interesting. In 1 Kings 10, during the reign of Solomon, who was the man who built the temple for God, the Bible says this. Now, what I'm about to show you, it may just be a coincidence but I tend to think there aren't any coincidences in scripture and I think this is interesting. 1 Kings 10, verse 14. Now, the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was, and this is going, again, talking about the man who built the temple, talking about the man who God blessed, the weight of gold, and this is found in a couple of different places in scripture, I'm just showing you one of them, the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was 600, threescore, and six talents of gold. And it's just kind of interesting that that number appears in scripture, once about Solomon who built the temple and then once about the Antichrist who will also rebuild the temple. You say, Pastor, what's the connection there? I don't know. You figure it out and I'll write a book and then we'll sell it or something. I just think it's interesting. You have the mark of the beast that's a copycat of Ezekiel's mark on the forehead and then you've got the 600, threescore, and six and it seems to be a copycat of this verse and there's another place in Chronicles that mentions it as well. So go back to the book of Revelation. You should have your place in Revelation 13. Go to Revelation 14 and let me just show you something real quickly because if you remember Ezekiel saw a vision where six men with slaughter weapons and destroying weapons came. They were gonna bring judgment upon the city and they were told to mark on the forehead those who sighed and cried, those who were the good guys, those who were, their hearts were broken over the idolatry that was happening in Jerusalem. They marked those men in order to spare those men. Now, that was a foreshadowing of future events. I showed you the mark of the beast where the beast basically puts a mark on people's forehead or their right hand if they worship the image of the beast. That wasn't the foreshadowing. That was the copycat. That was the copy, you know, where he's trying to be like God. The foreshadowing of the mark of the beast that we see in Ezekiel nine where the good guys get marked is actually in Revelation 14 because in Revelation 14 we have another story of the good guys getting marked on the forehead. Let's look at it real quickly. Revelation 14, look at verse one. And I looked and lo, a lamb. Now, who's the lamb? The lamb is the Lord Jesus Christ, right? Unless you're a oneness heretic, everybody agrees and understands that the lamb is Jesus, right? John said when he saw Jesus, behold, the lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world. And I looked and lo, a lamb stood on Mount Sion. Now, Mount Sion is on planet earth, okay? So I just want you to understand what's happening here. You've got the lamb, Jesus Christ, standing on planet earth. He's on earth. He's not in heaven. He's on Mount Sion and with him, okay? So where is Jesus? Jesus is on Mount Sion and with him and 144,000, all right? Now, this is the infamous 144,000 that the JWs have made so famous, but I want you to notice that the 144,000 are with the lamb on earth on Mount Sion. They're not up in heaven. Notice what it says, having his father's name written in their foreheads, verse two. And I heard a voice from heaven. Now, again, they're not in heaven. He heard a voice from heaven. So the voice is coming from the direction of heaven as the voice of many waters and as the voice of a great thunder and I heard the voice of harpers harping their harps and they sung, as it were, a new song before the throne and before the four beasts and the elders had, and no man could learn that song but the 144,000 which were redeemed from the earth. Okay, now, let's just take a quick break from this sermon and let's just talk for just a second about who are these 144,000? Because the Jehovah's Witnesses have this false teaching about the 144,000 and the Jehovah's Witnesses basically teach that what they believe is this and what they teach is this. They believe that if you're a good Jehovah's Witness, you get to be part of the 144,000, all right? Now, they've kind of gone away from that because there's way more than 144,000. That worked back when there was like 100 Jehovah's Witnesses but now there's way more than 144,000 so now they say that it's figurative but when it first came out, they were like, look, a good Jehovah's Witness, the good Jehovah's Witnesses, they're gonna be the 144,000 and here's what the Jehovah's Witnesses teach. If you've ever gone soul-winding and talked to them, you know this is true. They'll teach the 144,000 go to heaven, they're the only ones that go to heaven and everybody else stays here on earth, right? That's why when you ask the Jehovah's Witness, do you know for sure if you died today or you're on your way to heaven, they always wanna argue with you about, well, you know, the meek shall inherit the earth and blah, blah, blah, you know, and they don't believe that they're going to heaven, they don't believe in hell, they don't believe Jesus is God, they don't believe a lot of things. They're really messed up on all sorts of doctrines. But it's always funny to me, and I've mentioned this to you before, but it's always funny to me, it seems like Satan on purpose just to mock, I don't know if it's to mock those who follow him or just to mock God, it seems like every false religion will take something from the Bible and then just do the exact opposite of what the Bible says. And I've shared this illustration with you before, but you know, Jesus, right? He tells, the disciples ask him, Lord, teach us to pray. And he says, I'm gonna teach you to pray so that you don't pray vain and repetitious prayers like the heathen do. And he says, I'm gonna give you an example of a prayer so that you don't pray vain and repetitious prayers so that you will learn how to pray. And then he gives them that great example known as the Lord's Prayer. Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come. He goes through all that. So then the false religion of Catholicism takes that prayer and says, hey, let's chant this vain and repetitiously. And it's like, what? That's exactly what he told you not to do. I mean, the verse right before the prayer says, you know, the heathen vain. And you say, where does that come from? Here's what it comes from. Satan just mocking at the word of God or just to show us how false religions, they just miss it. And here's what the Jehovah's Witnesses say. They say the 144,000 go to heaven and everybody else stays on earth. Here's what's funny about that. That's the exact opposite. That's the exact opposite of what the Bible teaches. The Bible teaches that everybody goes to heaven. It's called the rapture. But 144,000 come down to earth with the lamb on Mount Zion. That's what we're reading about. Now, let's just talk about for a second, who are these 144,000? First of all, they are human. They are human beings. These are not angels. These are not cherubims. They're not angelic beings. Look at the last part of verse 3. Which were redeemed from the earth, meaning they were humans that were saved. They were redeemed from the earth. Look at verse 4. These are they which were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. We're going to come back to that. These are they which follow the lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men. So the first thing we learn in scripture about the 144,000 is that these are human beings. But there's a second thing that we're told about these 144,000, and it's that they're all males. Look at verse 4. These are they which were not defiled with women. Now, they weren't defiled with women because they're not women, because they're male. So we've got 144,000 humans, and they're male. And not only that, they're virgins. Look at verse 4. These are they which were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. So look, when a guy shows up to your house, knocks on your door, and he's got his little briefcase, and he's out there, and he's got his wife with him, and his kids with him, and he's telling you about how we're Jehovah's Witnesses, and maybe one day we get to be 144,000. Look at that guy and say, you're not it. I mean, you're married, and you've got kids. You don't meet the qualification, because the 144,000 are male human beings that are virgins. They were never defiled with women. They've never been with a woman in a physical way. But there's a fourth qualification for these 144,000. Go to Revelation chapter 7. Revelation chapter 7, because in Revelation 7 and Revelation 14, we have parallel chapters. And we read about the 144,000 in both, and we read about the rapture in both. And I'll show that to you here in a second. Revelation chapter 7, look at verse number 1. Revelation 7, verse 1 says this. And after these things, I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having, notice what it says, the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was given, I just want you to notice this, to hurt the earth and the sea. These angels have a mission, which is to pour out the wrath of God, to hurt the earth and the sea. But before they do that, verse 3, saying, so this is what's going to be said to those angels who are supposed 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 in their forehand. And I heard the number of them which were sealed, and they were sealed in 140 and 4,000. I just want you to notice this, of all the tribes of the children of Israel. So not only are they human, not only are they male, not only are they virgin, they're also Jews. The 144,000, look, there's no way that the Caucasian guy or the Hispanic guy at your door, who's a Jehovah's Witness with his wife and his kids, is going to be one of the 144,000. Because the Bible says they're male, they're virgins, and they're Jewish. And you say, well, that's figurative speech, right? Because we're all of the tribes of Israel. Look, I'm all for that. Father Abraham had many sons, many sons had Father Abraham. I am one of them, and so are you, right? When we were brought into Christ, we were brought into the province. But this is not a metaphor. And just to be clear, in verses 4 through 8, he goes through and tells us exactly how many of them came from which of the 12 tribes? Look at verse 5. He says, of the tribe of Judah were sealed 12,000. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed 12,000. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed 12,000. Of the tribe of Asher were sealed 12,000. Of the tribe of Nephilim were sealed 12,000. Of the tribe of Manasseh were sealed 12,000. Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed 12,000. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed 12,000. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed 12,000. Of the tribe of Zebulon were sealed 12,000. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed 12,000. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed 12,000. So he's telling you exactly what tribe they came from. Because these are literally Jewish 144,000 male virgins. Now, let me say this. They come from heaven with God. These are not, look, you say, look, you're not going to be able to find 144,000 Jews that are saved today, OK? I'll just tell you that right now. And you're not going to be able to find 12,000 from the tribe of Gad or from the tribe of Reuben. Because you remember when the Assyrians came in and destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel, they spread those tribes all throughout the world. These tribes do not exist today. What does that tell us? What that tells us is that these are 144,000 that were back from the days when they had the tribe of Gad and they had the tribe of Gad. You say, well, who are these 144,000? You know, I don't know. I mean, just during the story of Moses, remember a bunch of Jewish boys were thrown into the river and killed. I mean, there's been Jews, you know, male Jewish babies that have died. You know, we don't know exactly who they are, but we know this. They were human beings who were redeemed from the earth. They were males. They were virgins. They were Jews. They are not the Jehovah's Witnesses, all right? So that's 144,000. So the Jehovah's Witnesses are way off on all sorts of things. But again, why? Why were they sealed? Notice verse 2 again. And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having to seal 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 in their foreheads. Why were they sealed? Here's why they're sealed. Because God is about to bring judgment upon the earth. And he's got 144,000 male virgin Jews who have been sighing and crying in heaven about the idolatry that's happening on earth. And he's going to seal them on their forehead so that they will be spared and protected during the wrath of God. Isn't that exactly what we saw in Ezekiel 9, where we have the angel or the six men show up with the slaughter weapon and destroying weapons? And the man with the ink horn seals the men who sighed and cried so that they would be spared during the judgment? See, these 144,000 are going to be on earth during the wrath of God. And look, the Bible says that God has not appointed us to wrath. If you're a believer, he's never going to put his wrath upon you. So this sealing marks them so that they'll be spared during the wrath. Now you say, well, what happens to all of the other believers? Well, look at verse 9. After this, remember, the angels are getting ready to hurt the earth. A voice says, don't hurt the earth till we've sealed the 144,000, because we want to make sure that you do not hurt the 144,000 believers. You say, what about all the other believers? Well, verse 9, after this, I beheld and lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations and kindreds and people and tons, stood before the throne and before the lamb, clothed with white robes and palms in their hands. You say, what is that? That's the rapture. The rapture happens. Why? Because God is getting ready to pour out his wrath. And he removes the believers, because he's not going to pour out his wrath upon his own children. And the 144,000 that stay by, those 144,000 are sealed so that they will not be punished or receive the wrath during the wrath of God. Now today, people say, oh, well, you guys believe that God's going to pour out his wrath, because you believe in a post-tribulation rapture. You believe that believers are going to go through the tribulation, and God's going to pour out his wrath on believers. And people who tell you that have not read the Bible, and they don't understand that the tribulation is not the wrath of God. The tribulation is the time when the antichrist is pouring out his wrath upon believers, because he is persecuting those who will not worship the image that is set up. They are not worshipping the abomination of desolation. And look, here before God begins to pour out his wrath, he gets his people out of there. He seals the 144,000. And you say, well, how do you know that this rapture happened after the tribulation? Well, look at Revelation 7 and verse 13. And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, what are these which are rayed and white robes? And whence came they? Talking about the group that we just saw, the great multitude, which no man can number of all nations and kindreds and nations and people. And now he's being asked, what are these? And from whence came they? The word whence means from where did they come, verse 14. And I said unto him, sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, these are they which came out of. Look, it doesn't matter what C.I. Schofield says. It doesn't matter what Nelson Darby says. It doesn't matter what Bible colleges say. It doesn't matter what commentaries say. This is what the word of God says. These are they which came out of great tribulation and have washed the robes and made them white in the blood of the land. You say, why do you believe in a pre-tribulation and a post tribulation, excuse me, rapture? We don't believe in a pre-tribulation. Why do you believe that believers go through a tribulation? Because that's what the Bible says. Because it says that they came out of great tribulation. But I want you to know, this is a great chapter to prove that, yes, they came out of great tribulation, but they came out before the wrath of God was poured out. Because remember, the angels are getting ready to hurt the earth, but they're told to stop because we've got to bring the believers out. And the 144,000 that are coming down that are going to stay, so remember, the Jehovah's Witnesses have it all flipped around. They say the 144,000 go up. Everybody else stays down. And it's the exact opposite. Everybody that goes up in the rapture, 144,000 go down. That's why they're sealed so that they're not hurt during the wrath of God. Go to Revelation 14. Let me show you just another. Because remember, Revelation 7 and Revelation 14 are parallel passages, right? So in Revelation 7, we have the 144,000 being mentioned because they're sealed. Then we have the rapture. In Revelation 14, we have the 144,000 mentioned because they're sealed. And then, do we have the rapture? Well, let's look at it. Verse 14, Revelation 14, 14. And I looked, and behold, a white cloud. And upon the cloud, one sat like unto the Son of Man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud. Thrust in thy sickle and reap, 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. So isn't it interesting that you have the 144,000 being sealed, and then you have the rapture in chapter 7 and in chapter 14? Why? Because it's exactly what Ezekiel foreshadowed. When he said that they would place a mark on their forehead, that they might be spared during the judgment of God, what Ezekiel saw in Ezekiel chapter 9 was a foreshadowing of the 144,000 who will be marked so that they'll be spared during the wrath of God. You say, what happens to the rest of us that aren't marked on our foreheads? We don't have to worry about it, because we get raptured up. After the tribulation, before the wrath of God, before God pours out his wrath. Look at Revelation 14, verse 9, just real quickly. Revelation 14, verse 9, and the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, if any man worship the beast in his image and receive his mark in his forehead or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture in the cup of his indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascended up forever and ever, and they have no rest day nor night who worship the beast in his image and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. So those who receive the mark of the beast are going to get the wrath of God upon their lives. Go back to Ezekiel chapter 9, Ezekiel chapter 9. So we saw everything in the Bible. I've showed you everything in the Bible that I could find about a mark on your forehead. We saw Ezekiel's foreshadowing of end times mark, where he sees six men show up with a slaughter weapon. And they seal the good guys that cry and sigh so that they'll be spared from the judgment coming to the city of Jerusalem. We saw the Antichrist copycat that. And puts a mark on the foreheads of the bad guys and those who don't have. And they're the ones that are sealed, that are going to be protected from his wrath. And those who don't take the mark of the beast, his wrath is poured out on them. And then we saw the mark that God gives, 144,000. He raptures all believers, but the 144,000 that come down with him, they receive a mark so that they will be protected during wrath. Now in Ezekiel 9, we learn about the judgment of God. And just real quickly, let me give you five quick thoughts. And I've got about 10 minutes to do this. So let me give you five quick thoughts in regards to judgment and what we can learn about judgment from this chapter. Number one, Ezekiel 9, look at verse 4. And the Lord said unto him, go through the midst of the city and through the midst of Jerusalem. And set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof. The first thing we can learn from this chapter in regards to judgment is this, that in judgment, God gives mercy to those who sigh and cry for all of the abominations. See, these people were not able to change their culture. I mean, their culture was too far gone. I mean, it was one thing when the idols were up in the groves and when they were up in the hills and when they were up in the mountains, but now the idols are actually in the temple and sanctuary of God. I mean, they've gone too far. These people are not going to be able to stand up and change it and in some ways, you and I aren't going to be able to change the Babylon you and I live in today. Now we can get people saved, but look, we're not turning this thing around. It's too far gone. It's too satanic. You say, well, should we just throw our hands in the air and just forget about, why even preach against sin? Why even preach against idolatry? Why even preach against the abomination? You know what? Because God still wants to see his people sigh and cry for all the abominations, and I would submit to you that those who have broken hearts over the sins of their city will actually receive mercy when judgment comes. Because these people, they didn't go along and they weren't able to change it, but their hearts were broken. And when judgment came, he said, the men that sigh and cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof, he said, let's spare them. So we learn, number one, that in judgment, God gives mercy to those who sigh and cry for all the abominations. But secondly tonight, and we're doing this fast, in judgment, in judgment, God does not spare for anyone but those who have his mark. Ezekiel 9, look at verse 6. Slay utterly, old and young, both maids and little children and women, but come not near any man upon whom is the mark and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men, which were before the house. If you remember, the ancient men were the ones that were in the temple and looking at the portrayal of beasts and different things on the walls. And I want you to notice that nobody was spared. The only people that were spared were the ones that had the mark. Everybody else was destroyed, old and young, maids and little children, women, everybody. You say, well, that's not fair of God, but that's just how the world is. Because I want you to say, what Ezekiel is seeing is a vision not only that foreshadows the end time, but it's a vision of what's actually going to happen to Jerusalem when Babylon and Nebuchadnezzar comes in to destroy the city. And you know what Nebuchadnezzar does when he destroys the city? Well, let's look at it just real quickly. Go to 2 Chronicles 36. 2 Chronicles 36, look at verse 17. 2 Chronicles 36 and verse 17. Notice what the Bible says. 2 Chronicles 36, verse 17 says this. Therefore, he brought upon them the king of the Chaldees. That's Nebuchadnezzar. That's the Babylonians. Notice what the king of the Chaldees does when he takes over Jerusalem. Notice what it says. Who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man or him that stooped for age. He gave them all into his hand. Isn't that exactly what Ezekiel said was going to happen? You say, oh, it was God. Well, it was Babylon who brought the judgment. Let me just say this. There's a picture here of salvation. Because we don't receive the mark on the forehead like the 144,000. But we do receive a mark or a seal of God. I mean, doesn't that also say, in whom ye also trusted? After that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. In whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. And you know, here we see an illustration where both young and old, maids and little children, women, everyone receives the judgment who was not sealed. And you know what? That's just an illustration of salvation. Because on the day of judgment, on the day of the great white throne, both young and old, both male and female, both rich and poor, it doesn't matter who you are. If you don't have the seal of the Holy Spirit, you will be cast into the wrath of God, the lake of fire. And that's what we see pictured here. You see, what do we do about that? Well, we try to get as many people sealed as possible with the Holy Spirit. That's what we do about it. We try to preach the gospel to as many people as possible, try to get as many people as possible to acknowledge the idolatry and the abominations of this world that they might sigh and cry and turn to the God of the Bible. Go back to Ezekiel 9. Let me give you a third application. Not only do we see that in judgment God gives mercy to those who sigh and cry for all the abominations, not only do we see that in judgment God does not spare for anyone, but only those who have his mark and with salvation. It's the same way. It doesn't matter how good you are. It doesn't matter how sincere you are. It doesn't matter how religious you were. If you don't have the sealing of the Holy Spirit, you will receive his judgment. But number three tonight, in judgment, God begins with his people. Notice what it says in verse 6. Slay utterly old and young, both maids and little children and women, but come not near any man upon whom is the mark. Notice what it says. And begin at my sanctuary. And begin at my sanctuary. You don't have to turn there. But in 1 Peter chapter 4 and verse 17, I'll read this for you if you want to write this as a cross reference there in your Bible. 1 Peter 4.17 says this. For the time has come that judgment must begin at the house of God. See, the judgment of God always begins with his people. See, we get all mad and upset about the state that our country is in. And listen to me, all right? I get mad and upset about it too. I preach against the homos, and I preach against the abortions, and I preach against the drunkenness, and I preach against all of that too. But you know the Bible says that judgment must begin at the house of God? You know that it was God who said, if my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked way, then I will hear from heaven. Then I will forgive their sin. Then I will heal their land. See, we want to get all caught up and say, it's the sodomites' fault. It's the abortionists' fault. It's the whoremongers, and the whores is there. But God says, if my people got right, I would heal their land. If my people got humble themselves and turned to me and got sin out of their life, I might be able to use them. So look, I'm all for preaching against. We need to sigh and cry for the abominations of this nation we live in. And I'm all for preaching those sermons. But you know, more than preaching those sermons, we need to preach the sermons about the sins of God's people, the critical spirit, the pride, the covetousness, the laziness. Why? Because the judgment of God must begin at the house of God. He says, begin at my sanctuary, number four. Not only do we see that judgment begins with his people, but in judgment, God always preserves the remnant. Look at verse seven. And he said unto them, defile the house, and fill the courts with the slate. Go ye forth. And they went forth and slew in the city. They're going through, and they're killing everybody, everybody except for the ones that have the mark. And look, and you see that illustrated. Remember Rahab the harlot, the children of Israel go into Jericho, and everybody is destroyed except who? Those that are in the tower with the scarlet red. Look, it's all a picture of Jesus. You want to be spared from the wrath of God? Remember the angel of death came on the night of Passover to bring judgment upon the Egyptians, and he passed over everyone who had what? The blood marked on their doorposts. Why? It's all a picture of salvation. How do I keep from having to receive the wrath of God? Be in Christ. Have the blood upon the doorposts of your heart. Have the seal of the Holy Spirit in your heart. Whatever illustration you want to use, it's all the same illustration. Salvation only comes through Jesus Christ. But I want you to notice here verse 7. Verse 8, and it came to pass while they were slaying them, and I was left. And I fell upon my face and cried and said. I mean, imagine this. This is Ezekiel standing there with God, watching these men walk through the city, and they're killing and destroying man, woman, and child. Anyone who doesn't have the mark. And Ezekiel, kind of like Abraham who pleaded for Sodom, says, will thou destroy all the residue of Israel in thy pouring out of thy fury upon Jerusalem? And of course, when you get to the end there, notice verse 11, and behold a man clothed with linen, which had the ink horn by his side, reported the matter, saying, I have done as thou has commanded me. God always keeps a remnant. We're learning about Elijah on Sunday nights, but remember Elijah's going to get to the place in his life where he said, there is nobody else. It's just me. Nobody else is standing for God. Nobody else believes truth. I'm just the only one. And God has to remind him that there are 7,000 who have not bowed their knee to bear. And you know, in my life and in your life, sometimes we can kind of feel like we're the only ones. But we must always remember that there's always a remnant, and that God always preserves a remnant. There's always a people of God. And we may be outnumbered, but you know what? We've always been outnumbered. Broad is the way that leadeth to destruction. And many there be which go there. So we see that God in judgment always preserves a remnant. Number five tonight, we're done. In judgment, God has two main reasons to judge a nation. Ezekiel chapter 9 and verse 9 is interesting, because we learn something interesting about God. Because we know that God judges people or individuals for their sins. People die and go to hell because they've not been forgiven for their sins. But God also judges nations. And nations cannot be judged in the next world. They must be judged in this world. And God tells us why he judges nations. It's in verse 9. Notice what he says. Then said he unto me, the iniquity of the house of Israel in Judah is exceeding great. That's what he says. And the land is full of blood and the city full of perverseness. God says, I bring my judgment upon a nation for two main reasons. When innocent people are being killed and when perverseness is running wild. And I would just ask you tonight, do you think that we live in a godly nation that will not receive the judgment? Do you honestly believe that we live in a nation that will not receive the judgment of God? Well, let me ask you this, do we live in a nation that the land is full of blood, where innocent people are being killed every day? You say, I don't know. I don't know about that. Or really, because there's 3,000 unborn children that were killed today, and 3,000 yesterday, and 3,000 before that, and 3,000 the day before that. We live in a nation that is full of blood. And we live in a nation that is full of perverseness. When you see the big transgender LGBTQ filthy movement, and this is why God judges the nation. I mean, why did God destroy Sodom and Gomorrah and not destroy other cities by sending his judgment? Why? Because they were full of blood and they were full of perverseness. These are the triggers that bring the judgment of God upon a nation, full of blood and full of perverseness. So why preach against the abortions and the perverts and why try to kind of fight against that and stop that and get people to cry and sigh against that? Why? You know, maybe because maybe we can just rescue this nation just one more generation. Why? Why would we do that? So we can get more people saved? I don't want to sit there and watch at the great white throne women and children and people who could have been saved if you and I would have gone and got them sealed. So you say, you know, the judgment of God, you know, is it all lost? No, let's keep fighting. Let's keep preaching. Let's keep standing. Let's keep being the remnant, and let's do what we can to reach people with the gospel. You say, till when? Till Jesus comes. Till when? Till the rapture. We'll just keep at it. We'll just stay at it. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, Lord, we love you. We thank you for these chapters in scripture, these.