Three
Interesting Points
As we
close this section, three interesting points
should be noticed:
- The number of people
killed by the first four trumpets is
twenty-five percent. When the fourth seal
is opened, a fourth of Earth’s
population will be killed. (Revelation
6:8) This means 1.75 billion people will
die (assuming there is a global
population of seven billion people when
the Great tribulation begins). The number
killed by Lucifer’s forces will be
the same! Look at the math:
Fourth Seal Sixth
Trumpet
7.00 billion
population
5.25 billion population
-1.75 – 25%
killed
- 1.75 billion – (33%) killed
5.25 billion
survivors
3.50 billion survivors
It is interesting to notice that
Jesus and Lucifer kill the same number of people
and together; they reduce the population of Earth
by fifty percent during the Great Tribulation. It
is ironic that Jesus justifiably kills
twenty-five percent of the people on Earth in an
effort to save as many survivors as possible,
whereas Lucifer kills thirty-three percent of the
world’s population in order to rule over
Earth.
- When the sixth trumpet
war is over, the devil will rule the
world. The seven religions of the world
will be abolished and ten kings will
serve the devil as taskmasters. The
Antichrist will establish a one-world
religion and a one-world government, and
no ordinary man could possibly accomplish
this!
- The bible predicts
slavery will be implemented during the
Great Tribulation. Consider these three
texts (italics mine):
a .“Then the
kings of the earth, the princes, the
generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave
and every free man hid in caves and among the
rocks of the mountains.” (Revelation
6:15)
b “He also
forced everyone, small and great, rich and
poor, free and slave, to
receive a mark on his right hand or on his
forehead. (Revelation 13:16)
c. “And I
saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried
in a loud voice to all the birds flying in
midair, ‘Come, gather together for the
great supper of God so that you may eat the
flesh of kings, generals, and mighty men, of
horses and their riders, and the flesh of all
people, free and slave,
small and great.’” (Revelation
19:17, 18)
Indentured
slavery will be practiced during the Great
Tribulation. People will ether 9a) fall into
slavery because they cannot pay their bills, or
(b) sell themselves into slavery in order to
survive. This practice is as old as mankind. In
fact, this is how the children of Israel became
enslaved to Pharaoh. (See Genesis 41 and 42.) The
devil will convince the world that he has come to
establish 1,000 years of peace on Earth, and
Earth must be rebuilt and repaired. People will
have to work for food. Of course, the devil knows
there will be no recovery from the destruction of
the first four trumpets and he also knows there
will not be 1,000 years of peace. (The 1,000
years mentioned in Revelation 20 occur in Heaven
after the Second Coming.) These are lies that he
will use to overwork the people of Earth until
the seven bowls bring the devil’s rule to a
grinding halt.
God’s
Sabbath Rest
As the
Great tribulation unfolds, resting and refraining
from work on God’s holy day will become
increasingly impossible without suffering a harsh
or deadly penalty. Thus, conflict over God’s
holy day will boil down to a question of
survival, just as it did at the Exodus. Before
ancient Israel could leave Egypt, God commanded
that they rest on His holy day. Resting on the
Sabbath made Pharaoh furious, and his punishment
was so harsh that Israel’s foremen were
willing to abandon the Sabbath and remain in
Egyptian slavery. “The Israelite foreman
realized they were in trouble when they were
told, ‘You are not to reduce the number of
bricks required of you each day.’ When they
left Pharaoh, they found Moses and Aaron waiting
to meet them, and they said, ‘May the Lord
look upon you and judge you! You have made us a
stench to Pharaoh and his officials and have put
a sword in their hand to kill us.’”
(Exodus
5:19-21)
This
scenario will be repeated. Before spiritual
Israel can exit this world of slavery to sin, we
are going to be tested to see if we will rest
from work on God’s holy day. Those who
worship God will obey His laws. Those who worship
Lucifer will obey his laws. When the laws of two
kingdoms are in direct conflict, the allegiance
of every citizen will be revealed. Those serving
the devil will submit to his authority and
receive his tattoo. Those serving Jesus will not
be able to buy or sell. Millions will perish, but
the saints will live by faith. “For in
the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed,
a righteousness that is by faith from first to
last, just as it is written: To everyone born of
God overcomes the world. This is the victory that
has overcome the world, even our faith.” (1
John 5:4)
Homecoming for
the 144,000
We
have come to the last segment in this lengthy
prophecy. Just in case you have forgotten, we are
studying Prophecy II, Revelation 12:7-14:5. Since
we have examined Revelation 14:1-5 and the
144,000 in a chapter dedicated to them, a few
closing words about the 144,000 are needed.
For
good reason, the end of this prophecy recognizes
the incredible service and victory of the 144,000
over Babylon and Lucifer. Even though most, if
not all, of the 144,000 will be killed, they will
accomplish everything that Jesus wants them to
do. They will faithfully say everything Jesus
wants them to say and they will go wherever Jesus
sends them – not only during the Great
Tribulation, but also throughout eternity!
Whenever I meditate on the work and ministry of
the 144,000, I am always fascinated with their
worthlessness and yet, their exceeding great
value – worthless in the eyes of the wicked,
but having the highest value in the eyes of our
Creator.
Taken to
Heaven
Consider
the glorious scene that takes place on the 1,265th
day of the Great Tribulation. On that Sunday
morning, Jesus will resurrect the 144,000 and
take them to Heaven, and the wicked of Earth will
witness this phenomenon. Notice how these two
passages parallel each other.
“Then
I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing
on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000
who had his name and his Father’s name written
on their foreheads. And I heard a sound from
heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a
loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like
that of harpists playing their harps. And they
sang a new song before the throne and before the
four living creatures and the elders. No
one could learn the song except the 144,000 who
had been redeemed from the earth.” (Revelation
14:1-3, italics mine)
“And
I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with
fire and, standing beside the sea, those [the
144,000] who had been victorious over the
beast and his image and over the number of his
name. They held harps given them by God and sang
the song of Moses the servant to God and the song
of the Lamb: ‘Great and marvelous are your
deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your
ways, King of the Ages. Who will not fear you, O
Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone
are holy. All nations will come and worship
before you, for your righteous acts have been
revealed.’” (Revelation 15:2-4,
insertion mine)
The
144,000 will sing the song of Moses and the Lamb,
and no one else can learn their song because no
one but Moses, Jesus, and the 144,000 have
endured such horrible experiences!
“These
[the 144,000] are those who did not defile
themselves with women, for they kept themselves
pure. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes
[because they belong to Him]. They were
purchased from among men and offered as
firstfruits to God and the Lamb. No lie was found
in their mouths; they are blameless.”
(Revelation
14:4,5, insertion mine)
Jesus
selected and sealed these ordinary people first
and He will take them to Heaven first because
they are samples of the harvest that will come
from every nation, kindred, tribe, and people.
They faithfully spoke the testimony of Jesus
– without regard for their life.
Summary
Prophecy
I and Prophecy II are inspiring because they tell
us that Lucifer will ultimately fail. This may
not sound very important right now, but it will
be very encouraging in days to come. There will
be an end to Lucifer’s torment. “Blessed
is the one who waits for and reaches the end of
the 1,335 days.” (Daniel 12:12) We have
read about Lucifer’s failures in this study
because Jesus wants us to know that evil may
prosper for a season, but it will not endure.
Once
again, review his failures:
1.
Lucifer tried to kill Jesus at birth.
2.
Lucifer tried to ruin the plan of salvation by
tempting Jesus (at His weakest moment) to worship
him.
3.
Lucifer tried to keep Jesus in the tomb by
sealing it with a huge stone.
4.
Lucifer tried to prevent Jesus from taking his
position in Heaven’s government.
5.
Lucifer tried to keep the truth about Christ’s
resurrection a secret.
6.
Lucifer persecuted the woman for 1,260 years, but
he could not destroy her.
7.
Lucifer will make war on the remnant of the woman
for forty-two months, but he cannot destroy her.
He will kill most, if not all, of the 144,000,
but Jesus resurrects them.
(Note: To make this story complete, I must
mention Lucifer’s next two failures.)
8. Lucifer will lead
the world into war against Jesus as He appears in
the clouds, but he will be soundly defeated and
returned to the Abyss for 1,000 years.
9. At the end of the
1,000 years, Lucifer will lead the wicked again
against the Holy City, but God will strike Earth
with blazing fire from Heaven, and the wicked,
including Lucifer and his demons, will be
annihilated.
An Invitation to Join the
Winning Team!
Anyone who reads this book can
join the winning team right now, this very
minute, by giving your life to Jesus Christ. Here
is the process:
First, tell Jesus you realize
that you are a sinner and that you cannot save
yourself from the penalty of sin. Then, tell the
Lord “thank you” for dying on the cross
in your place. Tell Him that you accept His
offer: A life for a life. You are giving Him your
sinful life and you believe that He will give you
His perfect life, which brings the assurance of
eternal life to you. Tell Him that you love Him
for what He has done for you and that you are
willing to do whatever He commands. Tell Him you
are willing to become all that He wants you to
be. Ask Him to show you where He wants you to go
so that you may best serve His interests today.
Tell Him that you want to bring honor to His holy
name through humble behavior, and Jesus will
warmly embrace you through the ministry of the
Holy Spirit. It does not matter how messed up
your present situation may be or how disgusting
your past might have been. He will joyfully
become your God and you will become His child.
Because we have the privilege of
owning a Bible, we have the opportunity to see
into the future. We know who the winners and the
losers are going to be during the Great
Tribulation. Many of the winners will be tortured
and killed, but Jesus will not reward the winners
until the dead in Christ is resurrected! Jesus
does not see the first death as the end of life
“Do not be afraid. I am the First and the
Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold
I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys
of death and [the grave] Hades.” (Revelation
1:17,18, insertion mine) If Jesus was willing to
give up His eternal life in order to save us from
eternal death, surely we can give up our temporal
lives (prompted by our love for Christ and the
indwelling strength of the Holy Spirit) as a
testimony for our love for Him. In fact, the most
telling evidence of a born-again Christian is
this:
“Father, forgive them,
for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke
23:34) The angel said, “They overcame him
[Lucifer] by the blood of the Lamb and by
the word of their testimony; they did not love
their lives so much as to shrink from death.”
(Revelation 12:11)
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