back to indexWed Bible Study - Revelation Lesson 8
00:00:00.000 |
Heavenly Father, we thank you for the privilege that we have to come and study your Word. 00:00:09.480 |
We pray that you will give us insight, that your Word would truly judge the thoughts and 00:00:15.520 |
Help us, Lord God, to seek you, to know you, and that we may profess our love to you with 00:00:23.280 |
We ask, Lord God, that you would give us soberness as we study your Word. 00:00:28.440 |
All right, so we're in Revelations chapter 6. 00:00:32.000 |
We're getting into the obscure part of Revelation. 00:00:37.600 |
And I think I mentioned this before, but let me reiterate. 00:00:40.600 |
I didn't want to give you a box and say, "Hey, we're looking at a pre-tribulation, you know, 00:00:47.160 |
pre-millennial view, so every passage that we look at, and I'm going to tell you exactly 00:00:51.480 |
when this is going to happen and how this is going to happen." 00:00:55.440 |
Because if I did that, you would end up coming out of the Bible with whatever view I give 00:01:03.080 |
And I don't want you to be studying the book of Revelation like that, so I want you to 00:01:07.120 |
be questioning and asking yourself the same questions that I'm asking. 00:01:17.520 |
So I want you guys to be asking those critical questions as we're studying, instead of me 00:01:21.600 |
telling you, "Hey, this didn't take place," or, "This has already taken place." 00:01:26.760 |
It doesn't mean that I'm not going to mention it at all. 00:01:28.760 |
I am going to mention it, but I'm not going to have every single passage that we're looking 00:01:37.120 |
So I can't help but to influence you a certain way because I'm the one teaching, and I'm 00:01:42.640 |
going to have certain views that I lean toward. 00:01:45.440 |
But again, as you're studying it, I want you guys to be asking the same question. 00:01:58.280 |
So that if some part of it doesn't make sense, that you don't just hear what I say and say, 00:02:02.800 |
"Oh, okay, that's what he said, so that's what it must be." 00:02:04.800 |
So I don't want you to be studying it that way. 00:02:07.360 |
For chapter six all the way to chapter 16, there's three different judgments, three sets 00:02:39.160 |
Every single one of them aren't judgments, but overall, the Archie theme is judgment, 00:02:44.520 |
Now, I'm going to throw this question out there, and we're going to probably deal with 00:02:50.100 |
The question is, if you read from chapter six through 16, you'll see that by the time 00:02:56.240 |
they get to the seventh seal, it kind of transitions into the first trumpet, right? 00:03:03.580 |
And then there's kind of a chapter break between the sixth seal and the seventh seal. 00:03:08.400 |
And then seventh seal is mentioned, and then the trumpets begin. 00:03:12.640 |
At the end of the sixth seal, there is a break, right? 00:03:16.960 |
It doesn't immediately go into the seventh trumpet, and there's all these things that 00:03:22.560 |
And then by the time it gets to the seventh trumpet, it opens up the bowl, okay? 00:03:27.120 |
So the question that I want you to be wrestling with and just have in your mind, that are 00:03:31.760 |
these seven, seven, seven judgments, are they consecutively seven, seven, seven, meaning 00:03:38.960 |
total of 21, or are they seven judgments on the seventh one opens up the seven trumpets, 00:03:47.960 |
and then on the seventh trumpet, it opens up the seventh bowl. 00:03:56.480 |
It's just that the seventh one opens up the seventh trumpet, the seventh trumpet opens 00:04:00.260 |
up the seventh bowl, meaning the last part of the seventh year is very, very intense. 00:04:06.640 |
Okay, I'm trying to see how many of you are engaging what I'm saying. 00:04:14.040 |
So I want you guys to ask that question or think through that as you're reading and 00:04:18.240 |
studying through the next, what, 10 chapters, right? 00:04:22.300 |
Are these seven, seven, seven, or are they meant to be seven? 00:04:26.560 |
Seventh one opening up the seven, and then the seventh of that opening up the seven, 00:04:32.800 |
So just kind of mull over that as we're studying it. 00:04:36.040 |
I may mention it, you know, may not mention it, but again, that's one of the debates that 00:04:41.600 |
they have of the interpretation of this, so just keep that in mind. 00:04:52.440 |
What we see in chapter six is not the opening of the scroll, right? 00:04:57.720 |
So they are not necessarily a scroll judgment, they're seventh seals. 00:05:00.920 |
So we're talking about each one of these seals, as it gets broken, it unleashes the four horsemen 00:05:11.520 |
So what we're seeing is not the scroll itself, but the breaking of the seals that would eventually 00:05:18.400 |
Again, so that's our question, is that the seventh seal, when it gets broken, the scroll 00:05:23.440 |
opens up, it doesn't, and that leads into the trumpet. 00:05:31.320 |
I'm not saying that that's what's taking place, I'm asking you, okay? 00:05:34.340 |
So what we're looking at now is not the scroll, but the seals that are being broken. 00:05:41.160 |
As each seal is removed, it triggers preliminary judgment that will eventually lead to the 00:05:51.400 |
So at the beginning of chapter eight, we'll see that the scroll, the seventh seal is broken 00:05:55.080 |
and the scroll gets opened, but prior to that, there's all these things that take place and 00:06:00.560 |
all of God's judgment begins to take place one by one. 00:06:06.360 |
And then again, ultimately that will lead to the opening of the scroll. 00:06:12.880 |
So the first four seals unleashed, it unleashed the first four horsemen and their judgment 00:06:22.480 |
You probably heard of the four horsemen of the apocalypse, right? 00:06:51.000 |
Anyway, there was a movie and they use these four horsemen to describe the four men who 00:07:13.660 |
So it unleashes the four horsemen and the judgments. 00:07:19.560 |
These four horsemen are mentioned in also in Zachariah, but there are slight bit of 00:07:26.240 |
So we're not going to jump back and forth because it's not, it's not an exact parallel, 00:07:31.840 |
One of the things is the colors differ a little bit, right? 00:07:38.860 |
And then even the purpose of these horsemen, these horses were in Zachariah, they are sent 00:07:44.360 |
out to patrol the earth, but these horses are out and bringing devastation upon the 00:07:52.320 |
So not to say that they are not the same horse, they're not the same judgment, but again, 00:07:56.680 |
seems like the purpose of it is very different. 00:08:01.320 |
And then the actions of these four horsemen carry out the related to what Jesus says in 00:08:06.400 |
the various passages, Luke, Mark, Matthew, but particularly Mark chapter 13, seven and 00:08:11.720 |
eight, it says that these judgments will come, right? 00:08:16.800 |
When you seize wars and rumors of wars, it says it is the beginning of birth pains, meaning 00:08:24.920 |
So one of the things that God warns us about, about the coming in times is that there's 00:08:31.520 |
going to be increase in persecution, increase in hostility, increase in wars and rumors 00:08:38.560 |
And so all the things that we're seeing, that this is not in and of itself is not the 00:08:42.560 |
end, that those are only what's going to trigger the end. 00:08:48.000 |
Now, again, like I told you, I'm not going to give you like, oh, here's their view and 00:08:52.200 |
here's the other people's view, but I do want to just broadly speaking, if you read some 00:08:58.280 |
of your commentaries, they'll tell you that this all took place in the first century. 00:09:02.960 |
There's about three or four different approaches to interpretation of revelation. 00:09:06.840 |
And one of them, one of the broad ones are that it took place in the first century. 00:09:11.440 |
So we're just looking at history and they'll say, you know, the white horseman is this 00:09:15.440 |
person or the antichrist is Nero and the destruction is the destruction of the temple and that's 00:09:21.720 |
And so therefore the only thing for us to gain in revelation are principles. 00:09:27.960 |
And I think there's, again, in my opinion, there's enough that we'll see in revelation 00:09:33.880 |
that it's pointing to a future reference, right? 00:09:37.360 |
Now the idea of, is it going to be before tribulation, after tribulation, is it going 00:09:41.600 |
to be literal seven years, literal thousand years? 00:09:44.240 |
You know, that's something that I'm going to ask you guys to wrestle with as we're studying, 00:09:48.600 |
but we're not studying as like this all happened. 00:09:52.520 |
Just to kind of give you at least some direction. 00:09:54.040 |
I don't want to like say you need to believe in this, but to give you some direction. 00:09:59.160 |
So all of these things that are taking place are preliminaries. 00:10:03.840 |
So think about what you've already read in these four horsemen, that even if it was just 00:10:11.680 |
Obviously there's seven of them, even this, just four of these horsemen carried out exactly 00:10:20.760 |
But the scripture says that's just the beginning of birth pains. 00:10:24.320 |
The actual tribulation is about to come when that happens. 00:10:34.520 |
Each of these seals, with the exception of the fifth seal, seems to be escalating. 00:10:39.040 |
So it's not one or like each one is different. 00:10:42.640 |
So there are some differences, but if you've noticed that each one of these triggers the 00:10:48.180 |
other one and then it escalates one above the other and it continues to get worse until 00:10:55.380 |
So it's not a tribulation where it's kind of steady and then boom, all of a sudden something 00:11:03.600 |
So if we are to, whether we're in it or we're going to see the beginning of it and it'd 00:11:07.980 |
be raptured, whatever view you may have, that we're supposed to watch for this, right? 00:11:14.060 |
So when you see turmoil in the world and some of these things that are happening, that it 00:11:22.280 |
In fact, again, I'm sure everybody at some point taught teaching revelations may have 00:11:27.540 |
looked at what's going on in the world and say, "Hey, this must be it." 00:11:34.660 |
And people thought, "Well, the world, the whole world, it wasn't just one country or 00:11:40.720 |
And then if that wasn't bad enough, it triggered the Second World War, you know? 00:11:44.980 |
And then when that stopped and that was finished, it's like, "Man, how can it get any worse 00:11:49.900 |
But then at the tail end of the Second World War, they developed a nuclear bomb. 00:11:54.560 |
So imagine, again, I'm not saying that that's the case, but imagine when the scripture says 00:11:58.440 |
a fourth of the earth will be wiped out, you know, that's, that's would have been unimaginable. 00:12:08.040 |
In fact, that's what we're afraid of, that something's going to trigger a nuclear war 00:12:12.560 |
and easily a fourth, maybe even more than that could be wiped out in an instant, right? 00:12:17.360 |
So a lot of these things that are mentioned here, I'm not saying that that is the case, 00:12:21.760 |
but the possibility of these things happening has become much more real today than it has 00:12:27.480 |
And so you see, every single one of these judgments is an escalation. 00:12:32.840 |
So before we get into this, now, I mean, there's obviously, there's a lot of it, but in particular 00:12:38.960 |
in between chapter 6 and 16, right, where we're trying to figure out what is this trumpet, 00:12:44.520 |
what is this judgment, and what is the white horse, and what is the red horse, before we 00:12:48.760 |
get into that, I don't think the first generation of Christians who received this letter had 00:12:56.720 |
any more clarity, at least that we know of, that would have said, "Oh, okay, the red horse 00:13:05.080 |
And I don't think the readers of the Revelation in the first century, you know, like immediately 00:13:10.320 |
they read it and they knew exactly where this application was, right? 00:13:14.580 |
So the question is, why did God give us something this important? 00:13:19.520 |
And that's actually one of the discussion questions that I have for you at the end. 00:13:23.360 |
Why did God give us something this important when he told us to not to be like the Gentiles 00:13:29.440 |
or the world, who's caught off guard in his second coming, is like, is not going to be 00:13:35.520 |
Where you're going to be caught off guard, and it's going to be negative because you 00:13:41.120 |
And so he told us to watch and be careful and be ready and recognize the sign of the 00:13:46.960 |
So why did he give something so important, so ambiguous, right? 00:13:53.840 |
So maybe, you know, maybe later on when we figure it out or when Christ comes, it's like, 00:14:00.480 |
But as of now, after 2,000 years, they're still debating, we're still trying to figure 00:14:04.760 |
out what it means, you know, and everybody has different opinions. 00:14:09.300 |
But I think before we jump into all of this, because there's going to be a lot of discussion 00:14:12.540 |
in the next 10 chapters about what does this mean, what does that mean? 00:14:16.500 |
And the end conclusion is not going to be crystal clear, right? 00:14:20.840 |
But I think we need to make sure that we receive it like the first generation people when they 00:14:26.860 |
read this, what they would have heard, right? 00:14:29.620 |
If you were the first recipients of this letter, what would have been your response? 00:14:46.940 |
If you were the first recipients of this letter, what would have been your response? 00:15:07.780 |
So if you knew that that was going to happen soon or you thought it was going to happen 00:15:10.700 |
soon, how would you have received this letter? 00:15:20.540 |
So if you thought that this was going to happen next week, I mean, forget going to work. 00:15:26.420 |
Forget YOLO, you know, because if he comes tomorrow, I mean, all this plan of traveling, 00:15:32.820 |
all this stuff is going to be nonsense, right? 00:15:35.700 |
So the initial recipients of this letter, whether that was going to happen during their 00:15:39.380 |
lifetime or soon or whenever it was, whether you understood exactly what it was going to 00:15:46.220 |
So basically, God gave them a glimpse of his judgment, what it's going to look like. 00:15:51.460 |
And this judgment is going to be more devastating than anything they have probably ever imagined, 00:15:58.340 |
Because if you look at it, like, we're in the beginning birth pains. 00:16:02.220 |
As we get closer, as we proceed, you'll see it's going to get much more intense than anything 00:16:10.920 |
So I think it's important for us, as we are wrestling with the meaning and the application 00:16:15.340 |
of all of this, the intent of this letter is to sober the church, right? 00:16:20.820 |
The intent of this letter is so that we would not be caught off guard in making sure that 00:16:24.980 |
this earth is passing away, that God's going to bring judgment upon this earth, and that 00:16:29.940 |
whatever we invest here is going to be burned up because he's going to come and bring judgment. 00:16:34.500 |
So the intent of the letter is to, one, encourage the church. 00:16:38.820 |
Remember, John himself was probably in physical agony, and he says that judgment, retribution 00:16:47.240 |
So in one sense, it's a comfort for Christians who are being beaten up and are being persecuted, 00:16:52.560 |
but it's also a warning to the world, you know, to give a sense of soberness of the 00:16:57.920 |
time that we have, that whether we live 70 years or 10 years or 20 years, that this is 00:17:05.480 |
We're standing in a place where judgment's going to come and go, and there's going to 00:17:11.140 |
So as we're getting into and trying to wrestle with what the meaning is, let's not miss the 00:17:16.000 |
larger point of this letter, which is to keep us sober and give us a paradigm and a view 00:17:22.120 |
of our life in the world and end times through his perspective. 00:17:34.140 |
So the distinctness of the first seal, it obviously says it's the white horse, and what 00:18:15.120 |
It holds a bow symbolizing conflict and battle. 00:18:22.280 |
There are some discussion, some opinions as to who the identity of the white horse, the 00:18:29.640 |
Now again, this is not a for sure thing, but there is in Revelation chapter 1911, if you 00:18:35.440 |
can turn your Bible to Revelation chapter 1911, the white horse is mentioned again, 00:18:40.120 |
and we're not sure if it is the exact same horse or same person, but in Revelation 1911, 00:18:48.400 |
"Then I saw heaven opened and behold a white horse, the one sitting on it called faithful 00:18:54.280 |
and true, and in righteousness he judges and makes war." 00:18:59.280 |
So kind of sounds like it because the first white horse has a bow. 00:19:06.440 |
"His eyes are like flame of fire and on the head are many diadems and he has name written 00:19:13.000 |
He is clothed in robe, dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is the word 00:19:18.000 |
And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him 00:19:25.120 |
Again, all of this is a description that we've seen about Christ in chapter 1, verse 16, 00:19:30.520 |
"On his robe and on his thigh he has the name written, 'King of kings and Lord of 00:19:36.360 |
So clearly, the white horse, horseman, in Revelation chapter 9, that has to be Christ. 00:19:44.600 |
The only question is, is that white horse, horseman, the same white horseman of Revelation 00:19:57.080 |
Again, so as we continue to study, there are people who don't think it is, but it seems 00:20:01.680 |
like, at least in the description, the fact that it is declaring war and that the white 00:20:06.640 |
horse is shooting the bow, and that it is the first one, right? 00:20:12.280 |
That him coming out triggers all the other things that take place. 00:20:16.220 |
So it seems like, again, it doesn't change theology one way or another, but just kind 00:20:25.040 |
And as I mentioned, "On him has the phrase, 'King of kings and Lord of lords.'" 00:20:35.640 |
White signifies righteousness, and the writer seems to have the task of conquering and to 00:20:40.000 |
conquer, which is interesting because the phrase conquering and to conquer, right? 00:20:46.080 |
It seems like they're saying the same thing, but what is the purpose of saying conquering 00:20:52.640 |
That it's happening now, and it will keep happening. 00:20:59.300 |
So what the horse is doing, what the horseman is doing, declaring battle, there's some 00:21:03.120 |
sort of conflict, and that he is conquering presently, that he didn't just come to conquer, 00:21:09.040 |
but this act is taking place as of John writing this letter. 00:21:13.620 |
He is conquering, and he will continue to conquer, right? 00:21:20.680 |
And again, this is another reason why it seems like to me that it may be in reference to 00:21:24.880 |
Christ himself, that he triggers all of this because maybe that the idea of conquering, 00:21:30.800 |
and you notice that the white horseman has a bow, but something's missing? 00:21:38.120 |
Now, we could be reading into it, but the idea of conflict and yet without any kind 00:21:46.660 |
So it may be an allusion to what Christ says in Matthew 24, right? 00:21:53.940 |
When the gospel reaches the remotest part of the world, he said he will come, then the 00:21:58.020 |
So possibly if this is Christ, that his work is to conquer, is conquering, and will continue 00:22:03.420 |
to conquer, meaning that the gospel will continue to be spread, right? 00:22:08.580 |
So the spreading of the gospel is the very first thing that takes place, and eventually 00:22:12.780 |
when the full number has come, he said that's going to trigger the second horse, right? 00:22:19.420 |
So you and I, he is conquering and will continue to conquer. 00:22:32.200 |
So the first horse triggers the second horse, which is the red horse, right? 00:22:38.660 |
And the red horse, obviously the picture has a sword on him. 00:22:44.660 |
The red symbolizing slaughter and bloodshed, obviously it's the devastation, like the first 00:22:51.040 |
one just says he's conquering and is continuing to conquer. 00:22:54.020 |
The second one says he's going to come and he's going to remove peace, which is an interesting 00:23:01.120 |
He doesn't come to bring the disaster itself, it's that which restrains war. 00:23:09.180 |
And then as a result of that, he said they're going to be, what? 00:23:17.620 |
As a result of that, "Behold a white horse," and "out came another horse, bright red, its 00:23:26.460 |
rider was permitted to take peace from the earth." 00:23:36.500 |
He's not declaring war, he's taking peace so that the men should slay one another. 00:23:42.300 |
So in other words, the restraining power that's restraining the nations and individuals to 00:23:47.260 |
go to battle and to bring peace, he said he's going to take away that presence, that peace. 00:23:53.100 |
And when that happens, he said basically men are free to do whatever they want, right? 00:24:02.780 |
In 2 Thessalonians 2, 3 to 8, remember Paul says to this church, he said, "Don't be alarmed 00:24:09.220 |
that the man of lawlessness has come, the end has come, the crisis has come, that has 00:24:13.260 |
He says, "Before the man of lawlessness has come, that which restrains him, right, will 00:24:18.660 |
no longer restrain, and when he's not restrained, he will come. 00:24:21.780 |
And when he comes, he's going to do his job, right, to bring lawlessness." 00:24:26.620 |
And so that's what it seems like it's describing. 00:24:28.340 |
The second seal is describing the restraining power that's keeping at least some level of 00:24:34.100 |
peace, common grace, right, is going to be released. 00:24:37.860 |
And so man's sinfulness is going to be unleashed upon each other without restraint. 00:24:55.060 |
And he's holding a, what is he holding in his hand? 00:24:59.620 |
So when you think of scales, what do you think of? 00:25:11.980 |
He's come to dispense justice, and the way that he's going to dispense justice, meaning 00:25:16.900 |
God's judgment, is that there's going to be a famine, right? 00:25:21.940 |
A quart of wheat for Daenerys and three quarts of barley for Daenerys and do not harm the 00:25:28.780 |
So basically this is a description of the judgment that's coming upon them. 00:25:50.020 |
And it says that his name is Death and Hades follows. 00:26:04.900 |
Yeah, I know, but that's not the name of the movie. 00:26:14.420 |
I don't think we're thinking about the same one. 00:26:28.140 |
And this is the exact phrase that they use, that Wyatt Earp comes to basically get rid 00:26:33.620 |
of the bad guys and he said, "Tell them I'm coming." 00:26:40.860 |
Did you know it all this time and then not tell me? 00:26:46.940 |
And remember the other guys that they described? 00:26:54.380 |
So he said, "His name is Death and Hades will follow him." 00:26:59.140 |
In other words, the judgment that he's going to bring is going to devastate the earth. 00:27:06.420 |
He was given authority to kill a fourth of the earth with a sword. 00:27:13.140 |
And then he said it's going to happen through sword, famine, pestilence, and wild beast. 00:27:21.380 |
So if you think about it like wild beast, you know, they got the sword, you got the 00:27:27.740 |
famine, you got pestilence and wild beast kind of, if you think about it, it's like 00:27:32.300 |
if devastation comes, you know, like where mankind doesn't have a border and we're basically 00:27:43.660 |
Again, you know, if you interpret it literally, but basically, you know, the meaning behind 00:27:48.460 |
this obviously is that it's going to be devastating when that day comes. 00:27:55.580 |
You're first generation Christian listening to this, hearing this and thinking, "Wow, 00:28:02.180 |
Whether it happens during their lifetime or some other time, basically it's saying the 00:28:08.700 |
So would you be that excited if you knew this was happening? 00:28:11.500 |
Would you be that excited about, you know, building a big house or, you know, making 00:28:18.940 |
I think it would have an effect if you read this and you don't know exactly when it's 00:28:25.620 |
It would definitely cause you to have a different paradigm of investment. 00:28:31.260 |
So not only is Jesus saying invest in things that aren't going to, you know, rot and spoil, 00:28:36.740 |
he said it's, you know, it's not even going to rot and spoil, it's going to be destroyed. 00:28:41.460 |
So why would you put your energy and money into that? 00:28:47.020 |
The fifth soil, the horsemen that are done are a description of the martyrs. 00:28:55.380 |
So when he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls. 00:28:58.860 |
So one of the things that I think I asked is why are they under the altar? 00:29:04.500 |
The souls of those who had been slain by the word of God. 00:29:14.660 |
They were, they weren't just martyred because they were Christian, they were martyred because 00:29:19.740 |
So people like Apostle Paul, all the apostles, right? 00:29:23.020 |
And so these people were martyred for the purpose of the gospel. 00:29:27.860 |
And he says the fact that they were under the altar, the altar was a place where they 00:29:32.300 |
came to worship and sacrifice, signifying that these, each one of these men and women 00:29:38.060 |
who were martyred was serving a purpose of offering and worship to God. 00:29:48.580 |
Paul also, if you remember in Philippians and 2 Timothy, when he's sitting in prison 00:29:52.940 |
and he's writing this letter, especially in 2 Timothy, where he says, "I am being poured 00:29:59.660 |
He described his martyrdom, his execution as a drink offering. 00:30:05.780 |
And the reason why he describes it as a drink offering was in the Old Testament, drink offering 00:30:09.780 |
was the last thing that you did before the end of the sacrifice. 00:30:14.420 |
So after you've given the sacrifice, you pour the drink out, meaning that that was 00:30:19.340 |
So Paul was saying that his life was a living sacrifice, but now his death is going to be 00:30:25.220 |
another drink offering that is being poured out. 00:30:27.380 |
So Paul uses that imagery, and it seems like that's the imagery here to describe these 00:30:31.740 |
men and women who were martyred for the sake of the gospel. 00:30:36.500 |
And they cry out, "How long before the judgment comes? 00:30:38.900 |
When will they be vindicated for what has happened?" 00:30:44.020 |
He said, "Oh, sovereign Lord," verse 10, "holy and true, how long before you will 00:30:51.940 |
judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" 00:30:55.620 |
Then they were each given a white robe, symbolizing righteousness, and told to rest. 00:31:03.940 |
Rest a little longer until the number of the fellow servants and their brothers should 00:31:11.100 |
So who are the number of their fellow servants and their brothers? 00:31:21.460 |
The set number of people who are going to be numbered, who are going to be martyred 00:31:25.820 |
He says when that number is complete and your brothers and sisters join you, he says then 00:31:30.740 |
those who will be killed, then he says the end will come. 00:31:37.740 |
So there's a set number of ordained people who will be martyred for his name. 00:31:43.780 |
So if you think about it, like all those people who are being martyred in the Middle East 00:31:46.820 |
and North Korea and various parts, every single one of them, in a sense, is bringing out the 00:31:55.940 |
closure of the end because they have all been ordained. 00:31:59.340 |
When that number gets full, he said this is all going to be triggered and Christ is going 00:32:05.140 |
So it kind of gives us a different perspective of martyrs when you think of it that way, 00:32:10.660 |
that God is absolutely sovereignly in control, even of all of this. 00:32:18.020 |
And then the sixth seal begins with a great earthquake. 00:32:28.060 |
So this great earthquake will be accompanied by the sun turning black like sackcloth made 00:32:36.240 |
of goat hair and the whole moon turning blood to red and again it's a very devastating scene. 00:32:44.640 |
It's mentioned in the book of Mark and in Matthew 24 where it talks about how the devastation 00:32:49.980 |
is going to come and that is going to trigger the coming of Christ. 00:32:56.380 |
And what's interesting is when this judgment comes and the Lamb of God comes, we typically 00:33:01.500 |
when we think of the Lamb of God, we think of it from our perspective that this poor 00:33:07.260 |
lamb that's been slain is going to come and he's going to rescue us and we're going to 00:33:13.940 |
But when the world sees the Lamb of God, what is their response? 00:33:26.540 |
They say that they're going to see the wrath of the Lamb of God. 00:33:30.900 |
And when they see the wrath of the Lamb of God, it says, "Then the kings of the earth," 00:33:36.980 |
verse 15, "and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful and everyone 00:33:42.060 |
slave and free hid themselves in the caves among the rocks among the mountains, calling 00:33:46.680 |
to the mountains and rocks, 'Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated 00:33:50.860 |
on the throne and from the wrath of the coming Lamb.'" 00:34:06.660 |
In Malachi 3, 2-3, "They call to the mountains and rock, 'Fall on us and hide us from the 00:34:15.500 |
face of him who is seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great 00:34:19.280 |
day of the wrath has come, and who can stand?'" 00:34:24.060 |
And this shouldn't really surprise us because we see the same scene in, remember, the book 00:34:27.460 |
of Genesis when Adam and Eve, what was their first thing that they do when they recognize 00:34:38.960 |
When they heard his footsteps, this very God that they had fellowship, intimate fellowship 00:34:42.700 |
with, all of a sudden when sin enters, they hear his footsteps and they hide in terror 00:34:51.260 |
So everyone whose sin has not been covered by the blood of Christ will see a wrathful 00:34:57.580 |
The Lamb of God is going to come and it's going to be a terrifying scene. 00:35:03.140 |
So again, when we think about the end times, and again, the question that we have to keep 00:35:09.460 |
asking ourselves is, if this is true, and if I truly believe this, how would it affect 00:35:23.420 |
How would it affect you to know that this is coming? 00:35:27.660 |
And this is just the beginning of the birth pains. 00:35:29.780 |
I mean, you talk about devastation, you wait until we get into the trumpet and we get into 00:35:38.060 |
This is what's going to spark and trigger all of that. 00:35:41.860 |
So as we have time to take some time to discuss some of these questions or some of the things 00:35:48.420 |
that we have, and again, I'm going to finish a little bit early and give you time to take 00:35:56.180 |
You know, we become so desensitized because you grow up in a church, you hear the gospel, 00:36:01.740 |
and then you kind of assume that because we're in the church and we're doing church things, 00:36:08.260 |
But the most important question that we should be asking, as I mentioned on Sunday, is everything 00:36:13.660 |
that I'm reading, is this true and do you believe it? 00:36:19.060 |
That's one thing to say, I know Jesus loves me, that when I die I'm going to go to heaven. 00:36:23.460 |
It's one thing to say that and I believe that, but other than you receiving that, right? 00:36:29.700 |
It doesn't really, other than like, I really want to worship him, which is great, that's 00:36:35.460 |
But when we hear about the judgment coming upon mankind and it doesn't move us at all, 00:36:41.500 |
it doesn't move us at all, that this devastation is going to come, you know, some of these 00:36:44.900 |
people that we love and care about, when he comes, they're not going to have the same 00:36:48.020 |
response that we're going to give, you know, yes, he's coming. 00:36:51.500 |
He said they're going to be so terrified by the wrath that's coming that they're going 00:36:57.300 |
to be going up and trying to run from as far as they can and hoping that the rocks and 00:37:01.300 |
the mountains would follow, just to hide them from his glory. 00:37:05.580 |
And again, to think about that and then to just say, yeah, I believe it, and then to 00:37:13.060 |
have it not affect you, we have to ask ourselves, like, do you really believe that? 00:37:19.020 |
So I think that's the most important question that we need to keep asking ourselves. 00:37:23.620 |
We read about these things, we're not just reading mythology. 00:37:48.340 |
So the discussion question for you, do you think most people who claim to know the gospel 00:37:54.220 |
know that the judgment is coming upon all men? 00:37:57.300 |
How can you convey God's wrath just as clear as God's mercy when sharing the gospel? 00:38:03.560 |
If you share the gospel or explain about the love of God without explaining why it's the 00:38:08.940 |
love of God to save us from his wrath, right, then we haven't given the clear or the whole 00:38:17.580 |
Because before the gospel gives us invitation of salvation, they have to understand why 00:38:24.220 |
they need salvation, for what they need salvation. 00:38:26.820 |
And if they aren't saved, what is coming, right? 00:38:35.200 |
How do we balance between sharing about the love of God and yet being clear about the 00:38:41.580 |
Because I think we need to be motivated by both, right? 00:38:45.740 |
We're not just motivated by love, we're also motivated by the coming judgment too. 00:38:50.660 |
Number two, if we won't fully know the meaning behind these vision, what is the point of 00:38:57.100 |
Why do you think God gave us something so important in seemingly obscure vision? 00:39:00.580 |
So I asked them in the very beginning, so if you guys can take some time, right, to 00:39:06.180 |
So in God's wisdom, he gave us these visions in this manner for a reason. 00:39:13.260 |
Number three, how does the study of the end times affect the way you walk with God? 00:39:16.660 |
Do you think it is possible to genuinely believe that God's wrath is coming to mankind and 00:39:24.800 |
Is it possible to say, "I have genuine faith," and yet be so complacent about the judgment 00:39:36.520 |
Can we say confidently that I have faith if that's the case? 00:39:39.560 |
So again, take some time to discuss that in your group. 00:39:41.640 |
So let me pray for us and then I'll let you guys go. 00:39:49.120 |
Lord, there are so many things around us, Lord, that entangle us and cause us to constantly 00:39:55.080 |
forget that this is not our home, that we are just sojourners, strangers passing through. 00:40:03.360 |
We pray, Father God, that your word would continue to sober us, that our reality, the 00:40:08.840 |
things that we hope for, things that we invest in, would be directly affected, Father God, 00:40:14.800 |
by your word that we study, especially this book. 00:40:18.200 |
I pray that it would have the effect on us that you've intended, that you would not just 00:40:23.200 |
fulfill and satisfy our curiosity, but you would mold us, that you would shake us, challenge 00:40:30.040 |
us, rebuke us, that we may live a life truly worthy of the gospel that you've given. 00:40:36.880 |
We pray, Lord God, that our discussion time would be fruitful, that we would be open and 00:40:41.500 |
honest with each other, and that as iron sharpening iron, that we may be sharpened as a result.