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So we are continuing off obviously Revelation and we are up to chapter 7 and look at verse number 9 it begins by saying after this I beheld and lo a great multitude. The title for the sermon this morning is a great multitude in heaven, a great multitude in heaven alright. Now just to bring you up to speed very quickly we went through Revelation chapter 6 last week and we saw at the, we saw the great tribulation, we saw the persecution of the saints of God and Jesus Christ opens the sixth seal and the sun and moon are darkened alright and then you've got the people on the earth wailing and mourning and afraid of the face of him that sinner from the throne and from the wrath of the lamb and of course I showed you that that's, that lines up with Matthew 24 and the coming of Jesus Christ the rapture and then they spoke about the great day of his wrath is come alright. So just following those events we then start in Revelation chapter 7 verse number 1 there's notice the first few words and after these things. So should Revelation chapter 7 come after Revelation chapter 6 after these things what things well what you just read in Revelation chapter 6 and the reason I want to point that out just like anybody should understand that right the reason I want to point that out is because there are so many preachers that will say Revelation chapter 7 is a parenthesis it's a, it's an event that doesn't take place at this time and they want to try to fit it where they want and I'm trying to show you look if you just follow God's direction God's lead after these things it's straight after the opening of the sixth seal the seventh seal has not yet been opened okay and what we're reading about here in Revelation chapter 7 is still that one day where the rapture takes place and then we see what takes place in heaven because it says in verse number 1 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 okay so some direction is given to these four angels and God has given these four angels authority over the four winds of the earth now keep your finger then come with me to Isaiah chapter 11 come with me to Isaiah chapter 11 please Isaiah chapter 11 now these angels are standing on the four corners of the earth what could that be referring to do you think you know could that be referring to the earth being flat and so there are you know like in a in a square or rectangle you've got four 90 degree angles in their corners is that what God is speaking about well let me just show you another reference where God speaks of the four corners of the earth in Isaiah chapter 11 verse 11 Isaiah chapter 11 verse 11 and it says here and it shall come to pass in that day that the Lord set his shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnants of his people now this is speaking about the Babylonian captivity where the people of Judah are going to be taken away and they're going to be dispersed okay and yes the majority were taken into captivity into Babylon but before the takeover there are many Jews that fled into other nations and so God is saying at the end of the captivity that they're going to come back and you know the story they rebuild the temple etc but notice what it says here the remnant of his people which shall be left from from what areas from Assyria so that would be kind of the north and from Egypt that would be the east sorry the west and from Paphros and from Cush and that Cush is kind of south of Egypt so we're talking about southern nation from Elam from China and from Hamath and some of these locations are look if you look them up you'll find that you've got basically nations and surrounding areas from north south east and west okay and from Hamath and from the islands of the sea and he shall set up an ensign for the nations and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel so where are these outcasts of Israel and gather them together to disperse of Judah look at this from the four corners of the earth and so if we've got those that are from Israel dispersed from the and they're coming together from the four corners of the earth we saw that the locations of the of the nations that surround them are from north south east and west okay so the four corners of the earth represent you know the four directions north south east and west all right what else did we say come back with me to Revelation of the seven verse number one I'm just going to show you just another reference where four corners can be understood quite simply as what we understand as four corners right the north south east and west directions that we we common refer to but not only are they located in these four different regions of the earth it says they're holding the four winds of the earth now I just did a bit of just some basic research I was really kind of aware of this because um you know I when I was a kid my dad worked for Qantas and I used to do a lot of traveling we travel almost every single year and we go to South America we go to Chile okay where my parents were from and I was aware that you can look this up yourself that on the earth there are four primary jet streams four primary jet streams okay and those jet streams travel from west to east and so when you're traveling on a plane from west to east and brother Martin you'd be aware of this coming from WA on a regular basis traveling from west to east is faster than traveling from east to west okay because you've got these winds these jet streams that you know can assist planes flying in that direction but basically you've got four primary of them two of them are on our polar regions so the you know the north and the south poles and then you've got two others that are closer to the equator and they're called subtropical jet streams and the idea behind this is this is where cold air meets warm air okay so obviously from the poles then you get to the equator you got warmer weather but when the cold air meets the hot air you know generates these these movements of winds and so it might very well be that these four angels have power over these four jet streams that are on the earth okay but God is telling these angels these angels being told look don't affect the weather just yet don't touch the weather all right don't move the winds all right and not only that we saw in verse number one back in Revelation chapter seven that the wind should not blow on the earth and on the sea nor on any tree okay so these are different elements that God just wants to be telling the angels look don't touch these elements just yet now let's start there let's continue there in verse number two and I saw another angel ascending 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 so these four angels have the power to what hurt the earth and the sea in what way would they hurt the earth and the sea by the winds okay but by the power that they have over those winds and what are they told in verse number three saying hurt not the earth neither the sea nor the trees okay so has God begun to hurt the earth the sea and the trees just yet no the angels have been told don't do it not yet this is here till so don't do it until okay we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads so there are going to be certain people now we know that the great day of the wrath has come okay God's going to pour out his wrath and that some of that is going to be you know environmental effects all right but God at this moment this one day this day where the rapture is taking place the angel said look don't hurt the earth the trees and the sea just yet till the servants are sealed with the foreheads of our God are sealed in their foreheads now who are these servants that have been referred to now actually before I touch on those servants let's look at the earth the tree and the earth the tree and the sea is being hurt if you can like so we're in revelation chapter seven okay now come to the next chapter come to chapter eight please come to revelation chapter eight and verse number six revelation chapter eight verse number six what we have in revelation chapter eight is the blowing of the seven trumpets okay these seven trumpets are the wrath of God God begins to hurt the earth and just to prove it to you in revelation chapter eight verse number six it says and the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound and the first angel sounded and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood look at this and they cut and they were cast upon the earth and the third part of trees were burnt up and all the green grass was burnt up so is the earth getting hurt are the trees getting burnt are they getting hurt yeah at this point they are right verse number eight and the second angel sounded and it were and sorry and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea and the third part of the sea became blood is a sea being hurt now okay so you've got the earth the trees and the sea being hurts in revelation chapter eight but in revelation chapter seven they're told don't do it till the servants of God are sealed in the foreheads okay so I just want you to follow I mean isn't the chronology just perfect ah it doesn't belong here I mean well you're gonna really mess up messing things up you start moving around right I mean God's chronology of events is perfect it doesn't need to be messed around with is what I'm just going to show you that it's it's you know God's word is just man messes things up it's what I'm just saying the wisdom of man you know the the the the thoughts of man can really mess up the scriptures but if you just take it as it is it's perfectly perfectly consistent okay now back to revelation of the seven who are these servants of our God okay that need to be sealed well verse number four it says and I heard the number of them that were sealed and there was sealed and a hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel so these are Israelites okay a hundred forty four thousand Israelites are being sealed okay and the reason they've been sealed in their foreheads is because they're going to be protected from God's wrath okay well I'll show you that in a moment let's keep going to verse number four and I heard the number sorry this number five and of the tribe of Judah was sealed 12 000 and of the tribe of Reuben was sealed 12 000 and of the tribe of Gad was sealed 12 000 and of the tribe of Asa was sealed 12 000 of the tribe of Nephilim was sealed 12 000 of the tribe of Manasseh was sealed 12 000 of the tribe of Simeon was sealed 12 000 Of the tribe of Levi was sealed 12,000, of the tribe of Issachar was sealed 12,000, of the tribe of Zebulon was sealed 12,000, of the tribe of Joseph was sealed 12,000, of the tribe of Benjamin was sealed 12,000. And so it's very clear that these are 12,000 people from each tribe of the nation of Israel. Isn't that clear? What about the Jehovah Witnesses? What do they teach on this topic? They say the very first Jehovah Witnesses, the first 144,000 Jehovah Witnesses are these people that have gone to heaven and every other Jehovah Witness is going to live on the earth. The first 144,000 in heaven, it's like, yeah, but what tribe do you belong to exactly? I'm like, I've never had a clear answer of that. You know, I've asked them when they've come to the door, what, are you an Israelite? Because it's very clear, which tribe? You know, they don't have an answer. It's just, it's the things people, some cults believe it doesn't make any sense. Okay. Look, I believe the fact that God would go through this much detail about these, you know, these tribes and by name and by number to me, I just take this literally. These are definitely 12,000 from each tribe of the nation of Israel. Now, when we get to Revelation 14, I'm going to expound on this a lot more. Okay. Like a lot more. And the reason I'm going to do that, and look, you know, please wait to Revelation 14 to get the full answer because I just don't have the time to cover it all right now. But these 144,000 are not on the earth just yet. They're not on the earth. Okay. And let me explain to you why. So some people teach that these 144,000 are Israelites that are on the earth. Yes, they will be on the earth. Don't get me wrong because God's about to hurt the earth. So he wants to make sure they're not going to get hurt when the earth gets hurt. Okay. But they don't start out on the earth. Okay. They don't start out on the earth. They start out in heaven. And that can be proved in Revelation 14 when we get there. Okay. Now, just a few things for you to understand about the history of Israel. There's a reason why the northern, remember when God obviously had one nation, nation of Israel. But after Solomon, that kingdom was divided into two. The northern kingdom were 10 tribes. Okay. And that became Israel. Later on, Samaria became the capital city when they were taken over by Syria. And then they were known as the Samaritans, when they were intermingled with a whole bunch of other people. Okay. But it's common for people to refer to those 10 tribes as the lost 10 tribes of Israel. Because nobody knows where they are. Or they're so intermingled with everybody else that those tribes no longer exist. Then you've got the southern kingdom, which was Judah, with the capital city of Jerusalem. And that was basically Judea as Christ would walk the earth. I mean obviously there were geographic changes over time and things like that. But the southern kingdom was the main two tribes was of course Judah and Benjamin. All right. And they were known as the Jews. Okay. The Jews. All right. So what I'm trying to say is, and look, and some people believe they can trace their lineage to the Jews. Okay. But nobody, nobody today can trace the lineage to the 10 tribes of Israel. Okay. So those tribes are lost. Okay. So to take the view that they're on the earth today, it just doesn't match with reality. Okay. But there was a time when these tribes did exist. Okay. And if there were believers, of course, from the 12 tribes and there would have been, that have gone up to heaven, it would make sense that in heaven, there are most definitely these 12 tribes and people that are there. Okay. Another thing that I wanted to mention is, obviously I'm not a, I don't believe in the pre-tribulation rapture. Okay. And look, I'm not trying to have a go at this missionary, because I believe this missionary is a saved man doing the best he can. But I remember he once came, and I can't even name him, because if you're a missionary in Israel, and you get named, you'll get targeted. And so these, these missionaries in Israel, I know several of them, they operate under the radar. Okay. They don't even want their information made public or anything like that because they'll be chased out because essentially preaching the gospel in Israel is illegal. I don't know if you know that or not. Okay. It's essentially legal. Okay. But anyway, he once came down to the Baptist church that I was part of in Australia. He gave his presentation. And then he spoke about a certain region. He said there are certain Jews that are very zealous for the, for the scriptures, for the Old Testament scriptures. And he made this conclusion. Remember, he's a pre-tribber. He believes the rapture is going to take place before the seven years to come. Okay. But he made this claim, which I just couldn't understand as a church member. He said, I believe from this group of zealous Jewish people, we're going to have the 144,000. Like this is, I'm, I'm, I'm dealing with the 144,000 here, literally in my midst. Now, what I struggle with, and I think you'll understand what I mean by this when I explain it to you in a moment, is that if they believe the rapture takes place before that seven-year period and these 144,000 operate during that seven-year period, well, then they can't get saved until, because if they get, if they got saved, like if this missionary, the missionary did his job and got them saved, they'd be part of the church. They'd be raptured. They'd be part of, they'd be in Christ Jesus and they'd be taken up in the rapture. So therefore they can't be the 144,000, if that makes sense. Because they've got to operate on the earth during that period of time, when God is pouring out his wrath. But in his, in his desire to, well, this, you know, I believe this is 144,000. Well, then if you want it to be 144,000, then you can't preach them to the gospel. You've got to leave them in an unsafe state. So they miss the pre-tribulation rapture and then they can operate during God's wrath. Does that make sense? Like, can you see my confusion? And I went to my pastor afterwards, just pastor, I'm so confused. Like, I know we send money overseas and I'm all for that. I'm all for sending money to missionaries. But if a missionary is purposely withholding the gospel, because he believes that's the 144,000, he's not doing his job. And I can't remember my pastor's response, but I think he couldn't really, I think when I asked him the question, he got confused. Like he didn't like, oh yeah, you're right. It's like, it's like, it's a conflict of interest. I mean, if we get them saved, they're not the 144,000. But if they are the 145,000, let's not give them the gospel so they miss the rapture. Yeah, but what if they die? They go to hell without believing on Jesus Christ. And you know, that's the kind of, to me, that's the kind of confusion. And what's the word I'm looking for? Jumping through hoops that pre-tribulation rapture creates. Like as you go through the scriptures, it just doesn't fit. It doesn't make sense. All right. But anyway, look, when we get to Revelation 14, I'm going to prove to you later on that they start on, these 144,000 start in heaven. These are Old Testament saints that have already passed away. They're in the presence of the Lord. They get sealed and then they come back to the earth. Okay. And they protect, they operate during God's wrath, but they're protected during God's wrath. Okay. Now, come with me to, back to Revelation chapter seven, please. Revelation chapter seven, Revelation chapter seven. And actually, Revelation chapter nine, come with me to Revelation chapter nine. I'm not going to move away from the 144,000 just yet. Revelation chapter nine, verse number three, Revelation chapter nine, verse number three. So now we have another trumpet being blown, God's wrath falling upon the earth once again. And in verse number three, it says, and there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth and unto them was given power as the scorpions of the earth have power. And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree, but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. So as God is pouring out his wrath, we've got these locusts coming out. Okay. And they're essentially stinging and, you know, being a complete nuisance with people on the earth, but they're not to, they're not to hurt the tree. They're not to hurt, what else? Any green thing. Okay. And they're not to hurt, obviously those that have been, have received the seal of God in their foreheads. So if they, if essentially what I'm trying to show you there is that, that 144,000 in practice is most definitely being protected from the wrath of God. Okay. Anyway, back to Revelation chapter seven, Revelation chapter seven and verse number nine. Revelation chapter seven, verse number nine. After this, I beheld and lo, a great multitude. Now again, verse number nine. After this, after what? After the 144,000 are sealed in the foreheads. Yeah. Okay. After this, so just follow the chronology. Okay. You don't, oh, where does this belong? Let's chop and change and put it over here and put it over there. No, no, no. After this, I beheld and lo, a great multitude, which no man could number of all nations. Let me stop there for a moment. Of all nations. Yes, we've seen 144 Israelites, but if it says all nation, would that also include Israelites? Of course, of course it includes the Jews, Australians, whatever, people of all nations, right? And kindreds and people and tongues. So every language is represented with this great multitude, Stood before the throne and before the lamb, clothed with white robes, white robes where they're saved. That should tell you, right? And palms in their hands, verse number 10. And cried with a loud voice saying, salvation to our God, which sitteth upon the throne and unto the lamb. So again, the fact that they've got these white robes, just come quickly with me to Revelation chapter three, Revelation chapter three, verse number five. Revelation chapter three and verse number five. Revelation three, verse number five, when Christ was speaking to the churches, it says, he that over cometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment. And I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my father and before his angels. All right. So he's speaking again to the believers. Okay. Those that are in Christ Jesus are now gathered of every nation, of every kindred, of every tribe, of every tongue, of all people, standing for the throne of God. They're praising God. Okay. And we see that they're wearing the white raiment or the white robes. Again, if you have the question, who is he that overcome of just very quickly, I'll read it to you from first John five, five, who is he that overcome of the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the son of God. So if you believe Jesus Christ is the son of God, your faith is upon him. You are an overcomer and you, you received all the white raiment or the white robes. It's brethren. This, this great multitude in heaven includes you and I. Like, think about that for a moment. Like, cause these are future events and you got the apostle John writing the book of revelation. He sees this great multitude. We're there. Like he probably saw you and me. I don't know. I mean, there's a multitude. He probably didn't see us, but he could have. I mean, amongst all the people who were definitely there for those that are saved. This is you brethren. This is you. You're in the Bible now. Oh, it would be good to be living those days where they could write about me. Yeah, you're here. Don't worry. The great multitude of all nations, of all people, of all tongues, you're included in this midst. Verse number 11, 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. And think about that. Just every believer now, you know, with all the angels, with the four beasts and the 12 elders, sorry, the 24 elders, round about the throne of God, you know, and just worshiping God all together in unison, all together as one body worshiping God. Verse number 12, saying, Amen. Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and might be unto our God forever and ever. Amen. Brother, if you can figure out some music for these words, I think that'd be wonderful. Wonderful song, wonderful singing all together. And look at verse number 13. This is really interesting. And one of the elders answered. So one of the elders, that's one of the 24 elders. Around the throne of God. One of the elders answered, saying, answer me. What are these which are arrayed in white robes? And whence came they? So were they there before? Oh, from whence came they? Well, first of all, it said, the question is, what are these which are arrayed in white robes? We already answered that. Believers, believers of all nations. And whence came they? Whence is from where? Okay, from where? Hence, from here, thence, from there. Whence, from whence are they from where? Where did they come from? Is the question. Okay. And then verse number 14. And I said unto him, so John responds to the elder. And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. So the elder knows. Like he's asking John, John's a bit like perplexed a little bit, I suppose. He's like, well, you know. Like, if anybody knows, it's you. Like, I'm trying to pen these words. All right, I'm going through the process. But if anybody knows who they are, it's you. Sir, thou knowest. And he said unto me, and there's the next words. This is why, this is why they want to take Revelation chapter seven and say to parenthesis, doesn't belong here. This is why. Okay. And he said to me, these are they which came out of great tribulation. Isn't that what we saw last week? Great tribulation, the rapture, great multitude. Where do they come from? They came out of great tribulation. Isn't the Bible just consistent? Bang, bang, bang. Oh, we can't have it here. We can't have saints going for the great tribulation. Because God won't beat up on his church. God won't beat up. Jesus won't beat up on his bride. All these stupid statements they make silly nonsense. Just can't you just take God's word. The tribulation was God wasn't hurting the earth, the tree or the seas. The tribulation was the Antichrist and the forces, then the wickedness of the earth, persecuting God's people, which has always happened throughout history. Of course, God's not beating up on his people. They say stupid things because they want it. Oh, it can't belong here. But I want you to see, when they say things like that, it's not because they're just following the Bible logically, what God says. They've got a interpretation. They've got a theology. They've got a doctrine fixed in their mind. And if it doesn't fit, if the Bible doesn't fit my preconceived thoughts, then I need to change the Bible to fit my preconceived thoughts. Instead of going, oh, I need to change what I think to line up with scriptures. Now let's change the scriptures. Chapter seven doesn't belong there, parenthesis. And before you know it, the average person just can't understand the Bible anymore. You need the prophecy expert. The one that's taken here and that one there, that belongs here, that belongs there. Put it over there, put it over there. And before you know it, look again, I've gone to church my whole life. It's very few. And I feel like almost saying almost nobody. All my church members really understood the end times. Like if you ask them just a question, it's a random question about the book of Revelation. They have no idea where that fits because they've been so bamboozled. They've been so confused. Put it over here, put it over there. Follow this chart. But why can't we just follow the Bible? Like it's not complicated. It's the book of Revelation. God is revealing the truth to us. It's called the revelation for a reason. It's been revealed. The truth has been revealed about the end times to us. But these are they which came out of great tribulation, verse number 14, and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Look, the only way to be saved is by the blood of the Lamb. Salvation in Jesus Christ alone. 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. Verse number 16, and they shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more. So this tells us to tell me about our new resurrected bodies. Now we are going to eat, I believe, because we eat of the tree of knowledge, not knowledge of good, the tree of, of, um, tree of life, okay? But the Bible is saying here, you don't have to eat. You don't have to eat. Like it's not like eating is a necessity to live. If you stop eating, your body's eventually going to die, okay? But yeah, there is no death because it's a resurrected body that cannot die. And so they shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more, neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. It's not like we even need the heat of the sun, because again, if the sun wasn't there, we'd all die, okay? No, we don't like where the bodies are immortal. They cannot die. They cannot perish. Verse number 17, 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. Now keep your finger there and come with me to Isaiah 49. Come with me to Isaiah 49, please. Isaiah 49, Isaiah 49. Now what we just read there, they shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more, nor shall the sun light on them, nor any heat, for the lamb, which is in the midst of the throne, shall feed them, right? And shall lead them unto living fountains of water. This is a passage found in Isaiah 49. So Isaiah prophesied of this event is what I'm trying to tell you, okay? So in Isaiah 49, verse number six. Now we're going to read this slowly, okay? See, a lot of what I'm teaching, people will say, no, you're not separating Israel from the Gentiles, okay? They'll say, no, the tribulation is not for Gentiles. It's for the Jews. They'll say, okay? Now we just read a passage that explained that this multitude are of all peoples, including Jews, obviously, including Israelites, all right? Of all nations, of all tongues. Look at Isaiah 49, verse number six. Because again, what I'm trying to show you is God's consistency. Isaiah 49, verse six. And he said, now I believe the context of this, I've read a few times, I believe the context is the Father, God the Father is speaking to Jesus Christ his son, okay? And he said, it is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved of Israel. So is he speaking about Israelites here, the tribes? Yeah, he is, okay. But then it says this, I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth. So again, I believe God the Father is speaking to the other son, okay? And I'll show you in a minute why that is. But is Jesus Christ the saviour of the Gentiles? Yes, is he the saviour of Israel? Yes, he's the saviour of all people, okay? And then look at verse number, if you drop down to verse number 10. It's all about this group of those that are of Israel and those that are Gentiles. In verse number 10, they shall not hunger nor thirst, neither shall the heat nor sun smite them, for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them. Isn't that Revelation chapter 7? For everything's there, right? It's exactly the same thing. Again, why are you showing that, Pastor? Because the Gentiles, I've got to keep teaching this, the Gentiles were never plan B. Even in Isaiah, the Gentiles are still plan A. With Israel, with those, right? And you know, I just, I don't know, I just can't understand. When the Bible makes it so clear, there is neither Jew nor Greek. There is neither Jew nor Gentile. We're all one in Christ Jesus if you're saved. If you've washed your robe to the blood of the lamb, you're saved, you're his people. This is not about being antisemitic or whatever other phrases people throw at you or whatever it is. Oh, they'll say, well, you're saying God not keep his promises to Israel. Of course, God kept his promises for those that are in Christ Jesus. The promises are to Christ, to Abraham and to his seed. And the seed is Christ according to Galatians 3. And if you're in Christ Jesus, you are the seed of Abraham. And it is according to the promise. It's separation. Jews over here, Gentiles over there. And then tribulations for the Jews. And this is for the Gentiles. And the earth is for the Jews and the heaven, that's for the Gentiles. And the kingdom of God, that's for the Gentiles. And the kingdom of heaven, that's for the Jews. Like over and over the Bible makes it so clear, we're one fold, we're one people. Salvation is only by the washing of the blood of the lamb. If a Jew does not wash his robes in the blood of the lamb, he's going to die and go to hell. That's not a person of God. That's not a holy people. It's a sinner who should have got saved just like anybody else in the world. You know, Jesus Christ also says in John 6 35, And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. And so we have the spiritual application there. You know, the moment you trust in Christ Jesus, you never thirst again. Right? Like normally when you drink water, you get thirsty after a while. Jesus Christ is a water, a spiritual water where you never thirst. I'm not wondering if I'm going to heaven anymore. I drank of that water, Christ died for me. My trust is on him. He paid for my sins. He paid my way to heaven. Done. I'm no longer hungry. I'm no longer thirsty. That's been settled. It's done. And anybody that has that, you know, that belief and that hope and that trust on Christ will always be satisfied. You know when you lose satisfaction? When you start judging your salvation on your works, how well am I doing? Had a good day. I'm saved. Had a bad day. I don't know if I'm saved. Yeah, you're constantly thirsting. You're constantly hungry. You don't know if you're saved. It's ridiculous. Your trust is on the wrong things. When your trust is solely on Jesus Christ, you'll never thirst ever again. You'll never hunger again. You'll have no doubts. You're full. You're satisfied. You know, you're hydrated, spiritually speaking. And of course, this multitude that appears in heaven, they also have that luxury that we have because we are, that's us. The multitude that were raptured, right? Those that which came out of great tribulation. Now come with me to 1 Corinthians, actually, no. Come back with me to Revelation chapter 7, verse 17. Revelation chapter 7, verse 17. Now, I hope you're awake. Like I want you to, I know I'm getting toward the end of my sermon now, but I really want you to pay attention now. I need you to like, really, we're going to go into the deep dive. Okay. A deep dive into scriptures. And so I just want you to be alert. Okay. Stop thinking about lunch. Stop thinking about the next service. Stop thinking about your bank account, whatever it is. Just forget everything else right now. Like to accept what we're about to read. All right. Revelation chapter 7 and verse 17 again. For the lamb, which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them and shall lead them unto living fountains of water. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. Okay. That's important. I mean, first of all, it's a beautiful thing to think that God's going to comfort everybody that's gone for great tribulation. Everybody. And he's going to every tear, wipe. Done. Every tear. And like, God's not just going to give us, he's going to wipe it for us. He's not going to, there are tissues over there, guys. Now he's going to come and wipe away all our tears off our faces. You know, what a beautiful, what a beautiful God that we serve that loves us so much to come and touch us on our face and wipe away those tears. Hey, and we'll be rejoicing forevermore. Okay. But this is not just some isolated text. This is a really important text that we just read. Okay. Now, uh, brother Matthew, if you can put the first slide up for me, please. Please be ready for a deep dive. Okay. Now I know it's a bit small, but please do your best. So what we've seen from this week and last week, uh, is the following. Okay. So we had the great tribulation that was in revelation of the six versus nine to 11. Remember the saints that would be headed or the, I'm sorry, that was slain and they were under the altar of God, right? And then you've got the rapture that took place in Revelation chapter six, verse number 12 to 17 with the opening of the sixth seal. Okay. Now this week we've gone to chapter seven and we've seen that it's the raptured saints at a great tribulation. I mean, that would make sense. It makes logical sense, right? Revelation 7 14 is the, the, the, the great multitude that appears. Chapter verse 17 is where God shall wipe away all tears. Okay. So, so far, I believe everybody's been able to follow that logic. Okay. But now we're going to go deep. Okay. Are you ready? Okay. So some will say, no, this can't be the rapture. Okay. Because you saw they came out of great tribulation. And if you believe in a pre-tribulation rapture, well, obviously those that go for a pre-trib, they say, we're not going to go for any great tribulation. All right. But I want to show to you, prove to you 100% that we just experienced the rapture in revelation of the seven. Okay. Just another way. Okay. So if you can go to the next slide for me, brother. Now, again, I know it's hard to read. Now look, I've got, by the way, if you're taking notes, don't get distracted even with notes. If you can, I've got, I've got it all here for you later on. Okay. If you want to take one, grab one later, just pay attention, pay attention and use your Bibles as well. All right. But we're going to turn to first Corinthians 15, please. First Corinthians 15, 51. First Corinthians 15, 51. No one debates that this is not the rapture. Everyone agrees this is the rapture. In fact, it's the second most famous passage on the Bible about the rapture. Okay. First Corinthians 15, 51. First Corinthians 15, 51. The Bible reads, behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. Because that's what the rapture, right? We're changed at the rapture, we get new bodies. It says in a moment, the change is going to take place this, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trump, for the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible and we shall be changed. Everyone agrees, doesn't matter what your position on rapture is, the timing, everyone agrees this is the rapture, right? Verse number 53. For this corruptible must put on incorruption and this mortal must put on immortality. So you can see now we're putting on immortal bodies, bodies that cannot die, right? At the rapture. Now verse number 54 is the key one here. Oh, actually, before I read verse 54, I just wanted to show you, yes. First Corinthians 15, 51 to 53 is clearly the rapture, right? Everyone agrees, right? I shouldn't have to prove that. Look at verse 54 though. So when our bodies are changed at the rapture, it says this, verse number 54. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory, okay? Death is swallowed up in victory. So when our bodies are changed and we have immortal bodies, then this scripture which is written has come to pass. Does that make sense? Death is swallowed up in victory, all right? We're victorious over death. Our bodies will never die because we've got immortal bodies. All right, brother, if you can go to the next slide. All right, so this was the part where it's got the raptured saints out of great tribulation. So you see Revelation 7, 17, God shall wipe away all tears. And then First Corinthians 15, 54, death is swallowed up in victory. All right, now, where has this been quoted from? First Corinthians 15, where is that phrase, death is swallowed up in victory, coming from? It's something that was written in the scriptures. So come with me to Isaiah. Again, Isaiah 40, sorry, Isaiah 25. Come with me to Isaiah 25, verse number 8. Isaiah 25 and verse number 8. This is a really deep dive. We're going to keep going deeper. So I'm just praying that I can explain this clearly to all of you, okay? But Isaiah 25, verse number 8. Isaiah 25, verse number 8. I'll give you a moment to turn there. I really want you to see this. Isaiah 25, verse number 8. What does it say? He will swallow up death in victory. That's where First Corinthians 15 comes from. Like that's what's been fulfilled. And what's happening? And the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces. And the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth. For the Lord have spoken it. So when this phrase comes to pass at the rapture, First Corinthians 15, which everyone agrees is the rapture, when you go back to it in Isaiah, it speaks about God wiping away tears from off all faces. Which is what we read about in Revelation chapter 7. Isn't that confirmation that First Corinthians 15 is Revelation chapter 7? By using Isaiah 25 just to connect, just to confirm that. Can you go to the next slide, brother? Yeah, so I'm from Isaiah 25 there for you. I'm going to give you a handout of all this, okay? So you can see, God shall wipe away all tears, Revelation 7, 17. Isaiah 25, God will wipe away tears, all right? Swallow up a death in victory, Isaiah 25. Death is swallowed up in victory in First Corinthians 15, 54. What I'm trying to show you here, brethren, is the consistency of the Bible. And any pre-tribble that agrees that First Corinthians 15 is the rapture, if they just go, oh, where's that found? Oh, Isaiah, let's go to Isaiah. Oh, that's like Revelation chapter 7. Just being honest with the scriptures, you're going to end up with a position where the rapture takes place after the great tribulation, but before God pours out his wrath, before he starts to hurt the earth, the trees, and the sea. Okay, I mean, that's just three passages. Anybody can put them together and come to that conclusion, okay? Now we're going to dive a little bit deeper. Let's keep reading there in Isaiah 25. Look at the next verse, verse number nine. And look how it confirms that this is the rapture. And it shall be said in that day, in the day of the rapture, okay? Lo, this is our God. We have waited for him. This is our God. We have waited for him and he will save us. This is the Lord. We have waited for him. We will be glad and rejoice in his salvation. Does that sound like something believers are going to say that have gone through great tribulation, great persecution? Oh, the sun has been darkened. The moon has turned to blood. The stars are falling from heaven, right? You're like, yes, right? We've waited for him. Right? This is the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. All right, brother, next slide for me. All right, so let's go back to the rapture, okay? Isaiah 25, nine. We have waited for him. We have waited for him, all right? Now come with me to another book of the Bible. Come with me to the book of Daniel. Daniel chapter 12. Daniel chapter 12 in verse number 12. Daniel chapter 12 in verse number 12. What I'm trying to show you here, brethren, is that the book of Revelation truly is a book that reveals the end times. It connects all the pieces. Have you ever tried to put a puzzle together and you're missing a piece and like just missing that piece just messes it up? I'm saying Revelation, book of Revelation, but specifically Revelation chapter seven for the study that we're going through is that piece. You put that piece in place and everything else starts to form around it, okay? Daniel chapter 12 in verse number 12. Remember the believers are saying, we have waited for him. We'll look at Daniel chapter 12, verse number 12. Daniel chapter 12, verse number 12. Blessed is he that waiteth and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days. Let me just put that into our English. That's one thousand, one, sorry, I didn't know. Okay, one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days. Just keep that in mind. One thousand three hundred and thirty-five days. Okay, blessed is he that waits to that time. One thousand three hundred and thirty-five days. All right, let's get a bit of context of what we're reading about there in Daniel chapter 12. Come with me to Daniel chapter 12, verse number one. Same chapter, just start at the beginning. And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people. So this revelation has been told to Daniel about his people. And you go, well, his people are the Jews. Well, let's keep going there. And there shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time. So what we're seeing here is the great tribulation. Okay, tribulation means trouble. That's what it means, right? A time of trouble such as never was. This is the greatest trouble that's ever going to come upon your people, Daniel. And then it says this. And at that time thy people shall be delivered. Well, we know that deliverance is the rapture. Now, who are the people of Daniel? The next phrase explains it. Everyone that shall be found written in the book. So are Daniel's people the Jews? No, because not all Jews are saved. But everyone that is found written in the book are those that are saved, which of all people, of all tribes, of all nations, of all times. I'm trying to show you a few things there. So you see Daniel 12 begins with the great tribulation. Now, let me just... Actually, brother, if you can go to the next slide as well. You can, please. Okay, so I'm just going to show you that Isaiah speaks about, we have waited for him. Daniel 12, blessed is he that waiteth. I'm just trying to show you how it's all connected. Okay, and we've gone to verse number one. Yeah, it's about the great tribulation. Okay, so let's speak about the great tribulation. If you go to the next slide, brother, for me. Go to the next slide again. Okay, so what we see in Daniel 12 verse one, it's a time of trouble such as never was, right? That's what's said there in Daniel chapter 12 verse number one. Now, keep a finger in Daniel chapter 12. We are going to come back to this. We're going everywhere. It's a deep dive. Okay, now come with me to Matthew 24. Come with me to Matthew 24. Matthew 24, I know we've seen these verses recently, but let's just remind ourselves in Matthew 24 verse number 21. Matthew 24 and verse number 21. It says here, for then shall be great tribulation such as was not since the beginning of the world through this time no, nor ever shall be. All right, so Daniel 12 had it as a time of trouble such as never was. Matthew 24, 21 has great tribulation such as was not. Okay, it's a great tribulation that's ever come upon the earth. So brother, go to the next slide for me. Well, I hope you can see how it's all connected. See how Revelation 7, Revelation is connected to Isaiah, which is connected to 1 Corinthians, and then Isaiah is also connected to Daniel, and then Daniel is connected to Matthew. These are all different authors. John wrote Revelation, Matthew wrote Matthew, Daniel wrote Daniel, that's easy. What's the other book that I'm talking about? Isaiah, Isaiah wrote Isaiah, and they all lived at different periods of time. They're all speaking of the same thing. Now, can you come with me back to Daniel chapter 12, please? Daniel chapter 12, let me connect another passage with you. Okay, Daniel chapter 12, verse number two. Next one, so just following what we just read. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt. So what do we see? People that are sleeping in the dust of the earth being made awake, a resurrection. Do you see that? So after the tribulation in Daniel 12, we now have the resurrection in verse number two. Now, I know in verse number two, it speaks of some to shame and everlasting contempt. Now, because I've been challenged on this online with someone on YouTube, say, well, it can't be Revelation chapter seven because that takes place in Revelation chapter 20. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, true. But do we use the book of Revelation to understand the book of Daniel? Or do we use Daniel to interpret the book of Revelation? This is the whole point that I've been making from the beginning. It's the revelation for a reason. Daniel is right. There are going to be those that are going to be resurrected to shame and contempt. Those are the unsaved. But the book of Revelation gives us the timing of when that takes place, which is in Revelation chapter 20 at the end of the millennial reign of Christ. But I don't want to go on that sidetrack just right now. But I want to show you there's a resurrection that takes place. And Daniel uses these words, them that sleep. Okay, them that sleep. But what is that connected to? Paul uses the same language in 1 Thessalonians chapter four. Keep a finger in Daniel. Come with me now to 1 Thessalonians, another book of the Bible. 1 Thessalonians chapter four, please. 1 Thessalonians chapter four. 1 Thessalonians chapter four and verse number 13. And what we're about to read is the most famous passage on the rapture. The most famous passage. Everyone agrees again. This is the rapture. This is the resurrection. Okay, 1 Thessalonians chapter four, verse number 13. 2 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. 3 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 4 So when the Bible speaks of those that sleep, some believers in Jesus that have passed away. Do you see how the most famous passage on the rapture, Paul is using the same language as Daniel, connecting those passages for us. Okay, and then verse number 15. 1 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. Okay, there's the term again, asleep. 2 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. 3 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the 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 we shall ever be with the Lord. You know Revelation 7 spoke that we're going to be serving him day and night. We're forever going to be with the Lord from this day forward, from the time that we're caught up in the rapture. All right, so I'm trying to show you the connection to the most famous rapture passage, which when you go back to Daniel 12, again is after the great tribulation. Like it just requires some honesty. It just requires some, let's compare scripture with scripture. Let's see the language, the phrases, the references that they use one to another. Let's connect it all like a puzzle, and it all just fits. Like it fits amazingly. God's word, right? All these books, all these authors written at different times, all aligned with the timing of the rapture after the great tribulation. Come back with me to Daniel 12, Daniel 12 please. And sorry brother, if you can go to the next slide. I've been, I've forgotten to tell you guys to turn to the slide. So yeah, go to the next one again. All right, so I was trying to show you that, you know, you've got Isaiah. We have waited for him, Daniel 12, blessed is he that waiter. Then you're told them, them that sleep. First Thessalonians 4, them which are asleep, them also which sleep in Jesus. Okay, so once I give you the handout, you'll be able to see it probably clearer even. Okay, all right, let's keep going there. Daniel 12 and verse number 11. Daniel 12, verse number 11. And from that time, well look at verse number 12 quickly. Daniel 12, 12 again, blessed is he that waiter, if we read that part. Let's just read the previous verse, verse number 11. And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, the next phrase is important, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up. I hope you guys remember that phrase from last week. Okay, so and the abomination that maketh desolate set up. So this is some image, some idol that the Antichrist is going to set up to be worshiped. Okay, it says there shall be 1,290 days. Okay, 1,209 days from the time that idol is set up to be worshiped. And that takes place in the midst of the week, remember that? You got for the first three and a half years, then the midst of the week, the abomination of desolation, then you've got another three and a half years. All right, now we know that the rapture will take place after the great tribulation. So after the first three and a half years. Okay, now last week I told you guys that I believe the great tribulation is going to be 75 days or less. Let me explain to you why that is now. Okay, by putting all these passages together. Verse number 12, blessed is he that waiteth and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days. All right, so can you go to the next slide for me brother? Yeah, so Daniel 12 11 spoke of the abomination that maketh desolate. Next one again. And then Matthew 24 when Jesus Christ says when you shall see the abomination of desolation. Okay, we know that begins the great tribulation against God's people. Next slide again for me brother. Okay, so in Daniel 12 12 we have this period one thousand three hundred and thirty five days that was referenced there. Okay, now last week we spoke about the first three and a half years. Remember how we, Bible mentioned about it being 42 months. Okay, and explain to you that there are 30 days in the Jewish calendar for each month. Okay, so 42 months equals three and a half years. If you were to take 42 months and times it by 30 days you get how many days there are in the first three and a half years. Which ends up being 1260 days for the first three and a half years. Now very quickly I feel like this is, I want to explain it because I feel like someone's going to have a question. In the previous verse in verse number 11 it says there shall be 1290 days. So 30 days more 1290 days for the second three and a half years. You say how can that be it's not exactly three and a half years. But you just need to remember that like on our calendar you know we need to every so often have a leap year. We add an extra day to our calendar because if we just if we didn't change it our seasons will not match up with our months. Well if the Jewish calendar has 30 days only okay they don't have 31 days like we do to make up some difference. Obviously as the years go on their seasons are going to match less with the months. Does it make sense? So you can look this up this is what they do on the Jewish calendar every now and again they add an extra month. They have like a leap year like us but instead of adding a day they add an entire month. Okay which is 30 days. So the second half is 1290 days yeah because during that seven year period at some point they would need to add an extra month to make their calendar match up. Okay now don't worry about it if that doesn't make sense you forget about it that's not the main thing okay. But I just feel like someone's going to ask that question so anyway there's the answer. But if the one that is blessed the one that waits to the 1335 days and we know that the first 42 months is 1206 days all you need to do is remove the equation 1335 take away 1260 and you're left with 75 days. Okay 75 days so from the midst of the week blessed is he that wait off to the 1335 days 75 days so the maximum time of the great tribulation is 75 days. Now someone's going to say well the bible says no man know of the day and the hour pastor it sounds like you're saying you know the day and the hour of course I don't know the day of the hour okay I'm just trying to show you what the scriptures say but there's something else that Jesus Christ says if I'll just read it to you Matthew 24 41 uh Matthew 24 21 he says for then shall be great tribulation such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time nor no nor ever shall be and except those days should be shortened. What days Jesus we just said for then shall be great tribulation the days of the great tribulation okay verse number 22 and except those days should be shortened there should no flesh be saved but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. So it seems to me that the prophecy was for 75 days but then Jesus Christ says you know what I'm going to shorten those days for the elect's sake and that's why I believe it's 75 days or less it could be 74 days it could be 30 days I don't know the day of the hour okay and of course you say well that doesn't sound what we got told that the tribulation is seven years you're saying it's a maximum of 75 days yeah the day shall be shortened and what God said in Revelation chapter 6 it's a little season seven years of great tribulation doesn't sound like a little season to me you're like I was prepping for seven years are you prepping for 75 days not that you need to prep God will take care of us in that day all right are you still in Daniel 12 okay let's go to the next verse we haven't finished this deep dive I'm sorry actually brother if you go to the next go to the next slide for me yes I've got the reference those they should be shorter next slide a little season just trying to demonstrate 75 days or less all right now you're in Daniel 12 let's keep going there verse number 13 but go thou thy way till the end be for thou shalt rest and stand in thy lot at the end of the days so I want you to notice that the believers here that are going for that period is being told thou shall rest because you've waited and now it's time for you to rest okay so that you know we're going for the persecution great tribulation all right now it's time to rest does that make sense makes sense right you've been running around now you can rest because Christ is coming back now come back with me to Revelation you can turn away from Daniel Revelation chapter 14 Revelation chapter 14 and brother you can turn to the next slide if you can so I've just got there Daniel 12 13 thou shall rest okay Revelation 14 now of course we're going to spend more we you know when we get to Revelation 14 I'll explain that in depth but I want you to notice remember I explained to you that Revelation 12 is a retelling it starts a retelling of all these events so you're going to see the beginning of sorrows again you're going to see the great tribulation again okay you're going to see the rapture again and we get to Revelation 14 verse number 13 Revelation 14 13 and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me right blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth why is it saying that because there's great tribulation great persecution happening upon God's people many people are dying yea save the spirit that they may rest from their labors and their works do follow them okay so now in Revelation 14 it's a time for rest so what then what happens verse number 14 and I looked and behold a white cloud and upon the cloud once sat like unto the Son of Man having on his head a golden crown and on 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 is come for thee to reap for the harvest of the earth is ripe and here that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth and the earth was reaped so what do we have there Jesus coming in the clouds reaping it's a time of rest for God's people so brother Matt go to the next slide all right Daniel 12 thou shalt rest Revelation 14 that they may rest okay sorry next slide verse 14 in Revelation 14 14 white cloud the Son of Man sitting on the cloud right next slide Matthew 24 30 the Son of Man come in the clouds next slide verse 17 it's getting hard to read in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air okay to meet the Lord in the clouds the most famous rapture passage okay and then last slide you can't even read it now okay so I've put all these references together for you okay I've got I've got handouts so later on I'll just put them I'll put it on the table so if you want one of these I knew there's going to be a lot of references you weren't you weren't going to have time to take them all down but this list that I've made is all on there I encourage you go back and read all these passages don't you love the consistency of God's word though tribulation then rapture Revelation 7 tribulation the rapture Revelation 14 tribulation then rapture Matthew 24 tribulation then rapture Daniel 12 tribulation then rapture okay doesn't matter who wrote it doesn't matter it's God's word and God's word is so consistent it's amazing it blows my mind I was worried if I wouldn't be able to explain it properly even this morning but it needs your own diligent study I strongly encourage you please take those references read those chapters compare scripture to scripture don't take my word for it take God's word for it total for the sermon was a great multitude in heaven and you and I we're going to be part of that what an exciting day to come let's pray