Revelation
14:6 – Revelation 15:6
The Close of Mercy and the Seven
Last Plagues
Begin Text:
This
is our third and final segment on the seventh
prophecy in Revelation. Today, we are going to
begin our study with Revelation 14:14.
This verse introduces the close of mercy.
Before we read from
Scripture please consider the following three
points:
1. Many
Christians do not know (a) that the judgment of
the living occurs during the Great Tribulation
and (b) that the judgment of the living will be completed
just before the seven last plagues begin.
In other words, everyone on
Earth will have been judged when the Two
Witnesses complete their work. At the end of the
1,260 days granted to the Two witnesses, Jesus
will pronounce this benediction upon the world:
Revelation
22:11 “Let
him who does wrong continue to do wrong; let him
who is vile continue to be vile; let him who does
right continue to be right; and let him who is
holy continue to be holy.”
The end of the gospel
invitation can be compared to the closing of the
door on the ark in Noah’s day. When the door
closed, everyone inside the ark was sealed inside
and everyone outside the door of the ark was
sealed outside. Once the door of the ark
was closed, the judgment of the living was
finished. Seven days later the rain began to
fall.
For 120 years, Noah preached
about the coming flood. And then one day, it was
over. The huge door of the ark was closed. It
could not be closed or opened by Noah! So it will
be. God’s offer for salvation will be
preached for 1,260 days and then the door to
salvation will close.
2. Here are two
points that you need to know about the close of
mercy.
First, during the 1,260 days
of the seven trumpets, Jesus is willing to save
any repentant soul until the Two Witnesses have
finished their testimony. In other words, the
close of mercy will not spring on sincere
and honest hearted people as a trap snaps shut.
However, it will spring like a trap on the
foolish.
A lot of Christians are
confused by this text:
Matthew 24:37 As
it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the
coming of the Son of Man.
Matthew 24:38 For
in the days before the flood, people were eating
and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up
to the day Noah entered the ark;
Matthew 24:39 and
they knew nothing about what would happen until
the flood came and took them all away. This is
how it will be at the coming of the Son of
Man.”
This text offers two things
that you need to know:
1. In
Noah’s day, the wicked were caught by
surprise. Why? They failed to pay attention
to what Noah was saying and it cost them their
lives. However, Noah and his family were not
caught by surprise.
2.
When most people read this text, they read,
“…That is how it will be at the coming
of the Son of Man.” And they apply these
words to the physical appearing of Jesus at the
Second Coming.
But, this is not the case.
This text should be applied to the
commencement of the Great Tribulation.
The coming of Jesus is a process that takes 1,335
days. A parade of events will transpire and at
the end of the parade, Jesus, sitting at the
right hand of the Father, will physically appear
on a huge float!
The
point here is that in Noah’s day the wicked
were caught by surprise. When the door of the ark
closed they could have cared less. But, when the
rain began to fall, it was too late.
So it will be. The judgment
of the living will begin with the casting down of
the censer and it will last for 1,260 days.
During this time, everyone will be forced by
circumstances to make his or her decision and
then the door to salvation will close.
There’s no surprise at the end. The
surprising part is at the beginning of the
Great Tribulation.
In fact, you may recall from
a previous seminar that in the Old Testament, Day
of Atonement (the 10th day
of the 7th month) did not come as a
surprise to anyone in Israel. The feast of trumpets
gave everyone notice for nine days that mercy was
coming to an end.
Furthermore, everyone in the
camp knew that mercy ended as the ninth day of
the seventh month came to a close. Everyone in
the camp knew that his sins had to be confessed
and made right before the Day of Atonement
arrived. In other words, the close of mercy on
the 10th day of the 7th
month in ancient Israel was not a surprise.
Here’s a second issue
that confuses a lot of people:
Before the 1,260th
day is reached, everyone will have made their
decision about the gospel of Christ. Listen
carefully: The door of mercy does not close while
people remain in the valley of decision. No!
Every decision will have been made before the
door of mercy closes. The mark of the beast
test will be implemented several months before
the door of mercy is closed. Therefore,
everyone will have made their decision before the
1,260 days allotted to salvations offer ends.
3. This brings
us to the third and last point: The judgment of
the living is a topic that most Christians do not
understand. Consider this:
The judgment of the dead
began in 1844 and the judgment of the dead is
based on the recorded history of each dead
person.
Daniel 7:10 “….The
court was seated, and the books were open.”
Yes, the judgment of the
dead continues after the Great Tribulation begins
because millions of people will die before
they can hear the testimony of Jesus that
will be spoken by the 144,000.
But, the judgment of the
living is different than the judgment of the dead
in one major respect. The judgment of the living is
not based on books of record. The judgment of
the living will be based on our actions! Jesus
will judge the living by putting the living
through a test of faith and our actions will
reveal our faith.
When God’s wrath
begins, the composite beast in Revelation 13 will
arise. It will persecute those who obey the three
angel’s messages. The result is that the
faith of every living person will be tested and
our actions will reveal our choice. Faith in
God or lack of faith in God is a matter of choice.
Look
at this verse. Paul says that the essence of the
gospel of Jesus Christ is to call people to
obedience through faith in Christ!
Romans 1:5 Through
him and for his name’s sake, we received
grace and apostleship to call people from among
all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes
from faith.
Romans 1:6 And
you [those Jews living in Rome] also are
among those who are called to belong to Jesus
Christ.”
Think about this: If
salvation comes by faith, isn’t a no-brainer
that the faith of the living has to be tested?
The judgment of the living
is a four-step process:
1. Every person
has to hear the gospel.
2. Every person
has to make a decision for or against the gospel.
3. Every person
has to be tested with persecution to see if they
have embraced the gospel through faith in Christ.
4.
Every person has to be
sealed in his or her decision.
We know the first people to
be sealed are the 144,000.
Revelation 7:3 “Do
not harm the land or the sea or the trees
until we put a seal on the foreheads of the
servants of our God.
Revelation 7:4 Then
I heard the number of those who were sealed:
144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.”
The Bible does not tell us
how the 144,000 will be tested, but we know they
will be tested before the Great
Tribulation begins – before the four
angels release their judgments.
However,
we can be sure that their testing will be
difficult and thorough because they will be
tested as everyone will be tested during the
Great Tribulation.
In
summary, the judgment of the living will begin
when the censer is cast down and the first
angel’s message begins. The testing of
mankind will last 1,260 days.
I am guessing, but I believe
that –66% of the saints will be tested and
sealed prior to the fifth trumpet!
Remember, when the devil arrives, he will not be
able to torment those who have the seal of God:
Revelation 9:4 They
[the locusts – demons] were told not
to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or
tree, but only those people who did not have
the seal of God on their foreheads.
Revelation 9:5 They
were not given power to kill them, but only to
torture them for five months. And
the agony they suffered was like that of a sting
of a scorpion when it strikes a man.”
In other words, I suspect
that Jesus will “squeeze” out the last
third of the redeemed after the fifth
trumpet sounds.
To make this point clear,
consider this:
There is a fourth
angel’s message that will be proclaimed
during the sixth trumpet. Remember, the third
angel’s message is given when the fifth
trumpet sounds because the lamb-like beast rises
from the abyss.
We know from Scripture that
the devil will be on Earth for 5 months before
the sixth trumpet sounds, and when the sixth
trumpet sounds, the devil and his angels will kill
a third of mankind in order to set up the
image to the beast – the devil’s
one-world church/state. At that time, the mark of
the beast will be tattooed on the survivors of
the sixth trumpet (two-thirds of 1,000 equals
666).
This is the final call that
Jesus sends throughout the Earth after the third
angel’s message. This message will be
proclaimed during the sixth trumpet. The beauty
of knowing this now is that we can see how Jesus
does everything possible to save one human being.
Look at this message:
Revelation
18:1 After
this I saw another angel coming down from heaven.
He had great authority, and the earth was
illuminated by his splendor.
Revelation 18:2 With
a mighty voice he shouted: “Fallen! Fallen
is Babylon the Great! She has become a home for
demons and a haunt for every evil spirit, a haunt
for every unclean and detestable bird.
Revelation 18:3 For
all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of
her adulteries. The kings of the earth committed
adultery with her, and her merchants of the earth
grew rich from her excessive luxuries.”
Revelation 18:4 Then
I heard another voice from heaven say: “Come
out of her, my people, so that you will
not share in her sins, so that you will not
receive any of her plagues;
Revelation
18:5 for
her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has
remembered her crimes.”
The Holy Spirit will really
torment the wicked with this message. There will
be no rest, day or night for those who rebel
against the Holy Spirit. (The cessation of this
torment at the end of the 1,260 days explains why
the wicked are so happy when the Two Witnesses
are finally killed. Remember how the wicked
celebrate and send gifts to one another in
Revelation 11?)
The fourth angel’s
message plainly declares that Jesus still has
sheep in Babylon:
“Come out of her, my
people, so that you will not share in her
sins…. “
For mathematical reasons,
the 6th trumpet lasts for –222
days (a little more than 7 months). I believe the
devil will be on Earth, masquerading as God for a
total of 445 days (this is the last third of the
1,335 days allotted to the Great Tribulation. So,
the last 445 days looks like this:
5
months – 5th trumpet (148 days)
- 7 months
- 6th trumpet (222 days)
-2.5 months – 7th
trumpet and the seven bowls = (75 days)
Ok, now that we have briefly
looked into the judgment of the living…
Now that we have
briefly looked into the first four angel’s
messages….
Now
that we have studied the seven trumpets, the
144,000 and the Two Witnesses….
Now that we have studied
the rise of the composite beast and the physical
appearing of the lamblike beast….
You are ready to hear this!
Revelation 14:14
I looked, and before me was a white cloud, and
seated on the cloud was one “like a son of
man” with a crown of gold [stephanos]
on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.
Revelation 14:15
Then another angel came out of the temple
and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting
on the cloud, “Take your sickle and reap,
because the time to reap has come, for the
harvest of the earth is ripe.”
Revelation
14:16 So
he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle
over the earth, and the earth was harvested.
Revelation
14:17 Another
angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he
too had a sharp sickle.
Revelation 14:18
Still another angel, who had charge of the fire,
came from the altar and called in a loud voice to
him who had the sharp sickle, “Take your
sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes
from the earth’s vine, because its grapes
are ripe.”
Revelation 14:19
The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered
its grapes and threw them into the great
winepress of God’s wrath.
Revelation 14:20
They were trampled in the winepress outside
the city,” and blood [of the
grapes] flowed out of the press, rising as
high as the horses’ bridles [about 4 feet]
for a distance of 1,600 stadia [the length of
the Jordan river in John’s day. 625 feet x
1600 = 1,000,000 feet or 200 Roman miles].
Trampled outside the city:
(Notice the significance of location)
Number
35:26 “’But
if the accused ever goes outside the limits of
the city of refuge to which he has fled
Numbers 35:27 and
the avenger of blood finds him outside the city,
the avenger of blood may kill the accused without
being guilty of murder.”
The language and imagery
used for the cities of refuge represents Jesus.
As long as the sinner is in Christ, he is not
under the condemnation of the law. If a sinner
ventures outside the city (Jesus), he can be
killed by the next of kin without guilt because
of his sin.
>>Dying in our
place as a sinner, Jesus was crucified outside
the city.
>>The wicked will
die outside the holy city (8th
city of refuge) at the end of the 1,000 years.
>>Thus,
the wicked will be trampled “outside the
city” after the door of mercy has been
closed.
Look at this text:
Revelation 14:15
Then another angel came out of the temple and
called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on
the cloud, “Take your sickle and reap,
because the time to reap has come, for the
harvest of the earth is ripe.”
What does this mean?
Do you remember how
“Plan A” would have been implemented
upon the nations if Israel had been faithful and
kept the covenant? (We examined this concept at
length in my studies on Ezekiel and the audiotape
series, “Shadows of God.”)
Notice the use of
language in Plan A:
Joel
3:12 ‘Let the nations be roused;
let them advance into the Valley of Jehoshephat,
for there I will sit to judge all the nations on
every side.
Joel 3:13 Swing
the sickle, for the harvest is ripe, come
trample the grapes. For the winepress is full and
the vats overflow – so great is their
wickedness!’
Joel 3:14 Multitudes,
multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day
of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.
Joel 3:15 The
sun and moon will be darkened, and the stars no
longer shine.
Joel 3:16 The
Lord will roar from Zion and thunder from
Jerusalem; the earth and the sky will tremble.
But the Lord will be a refuge for his people, a
stronghold for the people of Israel.”
Look again at verse 13:
Joel 3:13
Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come,
trample the grapes, for the winepress is full and
the vats overflow – so great is their
wickedness!’
Here’s
the end-time scenario:
At the
end of the 1,260 days, one of the seven
angels’ will come out of the temple and he
will relay this command to Jesus to swing His
sickle over the Earth because the harvest is ripe
(ready).
The
Father sends this command to Jesus through an
angel because the Father is totally satisfied
that everything that could be done to save
mankind has been done.
Because the Father gives
the command “swing the sickle,” there
is no conflict of interest for Jesus who
still mediates on behalf of sinners. In other
words, our Mediator does not terminate
salvation’s offer. The Father does this.
Consider this:
I have wondered if this
event could explain where the days of tribulation
is “cut short?” In other words, it is
possible that during the Great Tribulation the
Father could search out the hearts of every
person on Earth and He finds that everyone has
made a firm decision, so He sends the message to
Jesus telling Him to swing the sickle and close
the door of mercy before the 1,260th
day is reached? Yes, this is possible.
If
this did occur, the martyrdom under the fifth
seal would be cut short and the seven bowls could
be poured out and this transaction would shorten
the Great Tribulation by several days.
Of
course, I can’t say it will happen this way.
We will have to wait and see just how this plays
out. The point though is that Jesus swings the
sickle when He is instructed to do so and the
door of mercy closes.
Then,
one of the seven angel’s that stands before
God is told to gather a sickle and gather up
all the grapes and put them in the winepress
of God’s wrath. This language is rather easy
to understand.
The
grapes represent the wicked. The winepress
represents God’s wrath in the seven last
plagues. The amount of grapes gathered up will be
so great that the blood of the grapes will flow
about 4 feet deep – for 200 miles – a
river almost identical in size to the
Jordan river.
The
seven last plagues are called seven bowls or
seven vials (cups) because the wicked will be forced
to drink and swallow the wrath of God.
Now we
will come to the last verses of this prophecy:
Revelation
15:1 I saw in heaven another great
and marvelous sign: seven angels with the seven
last plagues – last, because with them
God’s wrath is completed.
Revelation
15:2 And I saw what looked like a sea
of glass mixed with fire [sparkling
like diamonds] and, standing beside the sea,
those who had been victorious over the beast and
his image and over the number of his name. [the
144,000 are in Heaven at this time] They held
harps given them by God.
Revelation
15:3 and
sang the song of Moses the servant of 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.
Revelation
15:4 Who will not fear you, O Lord,
and bring glory to your name? For you alone are
holy. All the nations will come and worship
before you, for your righteous acts have been
revealed.” [The 144,000
resurrected martyrs sing this song at the time of
the 7th trumpet. They know the seven bowls
are about to be poured out and they sing this
song of Moses that declares the wrath of God is
justifiable.]
Revelation 15:5 After
this I looked and in Heaven the temple, that is,
the tabernacle [ark] of the Testimony [the
ark of the covenant], was opened [see
Revelation 11:19]
Revelation 15:6 Out
of the temple came the seven angels with the
seven plagues. They were dressed in clean,
shining linen and wore golden sashes around their
chests.” [Dressed according to their
exceeding high rank for this royal occasion.]
These seven angels’
will now torture the wicked who have been
righteously judged and eternally sealed. Time has
come for God’s justice to be served.
There is nothing dark,
sinister, dubious or unfair about the seven last
plagues. We will examine the seven last plagues
in coming seminar segments.
For now, this brings our
verse-by-verse examination on the 7th
prophecy to a close. Before we go any further, I
would like to go back through the whole prophecy
and summarize several salient points in the time
remaining.
If you read my September
2006, Wake Up Report, you know that I anticipate
the outbreak of a war that will escalate to the
point of a nuclear exchange.
I
cannot say with certainty, but this war could
begin in the Middle East and it could easily
involve Israel. Because much of the world’s
oil comes from the Middle East, such a war could
drastically affect many nations.
Here’s the problem:
Many of the larger nations on Earth have
strategic alliances with the smaller nations of
the Middle East, therefore, a nuclear exchange
involving Israel could pull the world into
World War III vortex within a matter of hours.
If this scenario happened, a
World War III could only be stopped by divine
intervention. At this very hour, hatred and
tensions are building in the Middle East.
Preparations for nuclear war are being made.
Will Israel attack Iran?
Will Iran attack Israel? I don’t think
it’s a matter of “if,” I think
it’s a matter of “when.”
But wait! There’s more
to this than killing man.
While nations on Earth are
preparing for atomic war, the Bible declares the
devil is preparing to make war on the remnant.
(Revelation 12:17) And while the devil is
preparing to make war on the remnant, Jesus is
about to release the wrath of God and destroy 25%
of humanity.
Wow! War is brewing on all
sides!
Our planet is destined for a
great deal of destruction in the near future! All
the ingredients necessary for a “perfect
storm” are present. (A “perfect
storm” occurs when several elements in
nature come together to produce a storm having
the greatest destructive force possible.)
Whether or not a nuclear
exchange will occur remains to be seen. However,
the Bible clearly indicates the selection and
sealing of the 144,000 will occur shortly before
the Great Tribulation begins. (I am guessing, but
I think the selection and sealing of the 144,000
will occur a few days, maybe a couple weeks,
before the censer is actually thrown down.)
The, when things on earth
are in a great uproar (war), Jesus will shout
above the noise: “There will be no more
delay” (Revelation 10:6) and the censer in
Revelation 8:5 will be thrown down and the first
of three global earthquakes will occur.
Peals of heavy thunder,
brilliant flashes of lightning, and deep
rumblings within the Earth will be seen and heard
all over the world. These awesome and magnificent
manifestations will probably last for several
hours, even days.
Then, as they cease, the
whole world will begin to shake and this
earthquake will be so powerful that it will stop
the world in its tracks. This earthquake will
break up the world into 144,000 cells.
By collapsing bridges and
overpasses, by cracking dams, and pulling voltage
lines apart, felling tall buildings and buckling
highways and runways, the first global earthquake
will effectively put the whole world in a
position of “lock down.”
One prophet (that is, one of
the 144,000) will be located in each cell. This
prophet will be empowered by the Holy Spirit to
speak the words that Jesus will put in his or her
mouth.
The testimony of Jesus will
be clearly heard. Jesus will speak through the
144,000 to the whole world through the mouths of
the 144,000 in a context of divine wrath. Then,
one of the four angels’ who have been
patiently waiting to sound their trumpets since
1994 will be released to hurt the Earth.
Within 60 days of the global
earthquake, 1.75 billion people will perish. Not
from the nuclear exchange, but from the wrath of
Jesus. Suddenly, the whole world will awaken and
discover that our greatest threat isn’t
atomic bombs --- no, man’s greatest threat
is an angry God.
Unfortunately, this
awakening and the first angel’s message is
only meaningful within a global context of
overwhelming death and destruction
Once the survivors have been
traumatized to the point of their religious
paradigms are somewhat dysfunctional, may honest
hearted people will then give consideration to a
gospel that is unlike anything they have ever
heard.
The first message will come
as an outright demand:
“Fear
God, for the hour of His judgment has come.
Worship Jesus Christ the Creator as His law (the
fourth commandment) demands.”
This message will suddenly
and abruptly thrust the sovereignty of Jesus
Christ to the forefront of human thinking all
over the world! Moslems, Jews, Hindus, pagans and
atheists (75% of the world’s population)
will either be confused or highly irritated by
the first message because, at the present time,
Jesus Christ is either unknown or He is the last
person in Heaven they would ever consider
worshiping.
Catholics and Protestants
will not fair much better. As you know, Catholics
and Protestants claim to honor and worship Jesus
Christ, but fact is, most Catholics and
Protestants know very little about Jesus Christ
as well!
How does one make an idol
out of his religion or Jesus Christ?
Simple: Worship the form
and ignore the substance.
In other words, when a
Christian’s religion is more about ritual
and form than embracing the life-changing
teachings of Jesus and carrying His cross,
religion becomes an idol and Jesus Christ becomes
an icon.
2 Timothy 3:1 But
mark this: There will be terrible times in the
last days.
2 Timothy 3:2 People
will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money,
boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their
parent’s ungrateful, unholy…
2 Timothy 3:5 having
a form of godliness but denying its power. Have
nothing to do with them.”
So:
The global crisis created by
the first four trumpets and the “bunker
busting” words delivered by the 144,000
to “worship Jesus Christ on Saturday, His
holy day” will irritate most everyone. The
144,000 will irritate Moslems, Jews, Hindus,
pagan and atheists because (a) they don’t
know about Jesus or (b) they don’t like
Jesus Christ. These words will also irritate most
Christians because for the most part, Christians
don’t know that Jesus Christ is the Creator,
they don’t know about His coming wrath, and
they don’t believe that His fourth
commandment is obligatory.
The point here is that the
global earthquake and the first four trumpets
will catch the whole world by surprise and the
first angel’s message will badly irritate
most everyone. Even the few Christian
denominations that presently observe the seventh
day of the week don’t understand these
things.
They too will be caught off
guard and highly irritated because their
prophetic authorities and schematics will prove
to be worthless.
Most Christians don’t
expect to experience the wrath of Jesus, the
global earthquake nor the first four trumpets.
Therefore, Catholics and Protestants will be
overwhelmed just like the Moslems, Jews, pagans
and atheists.
Keep this though in mind:
The first angel’s
message will irritate people for 1,260 days.
For this reason, the first
angel’s message will eventually make many
people very angry. (I’ll say more
about this in a moment.)
As you can see, the first
angel’s message will not only a “a
shocking introduction to the sovereignty of Jesus
Christ,’ for many people it will become a
very serious irritant.
The world needs a strong
dose of reality: Jesus Christ overrules
the universe and the 144,000 will be asking,
“Will you let Him rule over you?”
You have heard me say in
earlier segment of this seminar that I believe
persecution for the saints starts about 60
days after the global earthquake.
The timing is determined by
two things. First, the 42 months of persecution
in Revelation 13:5 can’t be moved around
very much within the 1,335 days of the Great
Tribulation.
Second, the crisis has to
produce enough destruction and enough time has to
transpire before Babylon can form and begin to
make laws.
Look at the Chart Book page
19…
Ok, so Protestants,
Catholics, Moslems, Hindus, Jews, Pagans and
atheists will be offended when they hear the
demand to worship Jesus Christ because the
hour of His judgment has come.
This confrontation is
exactly what Jesus wants.
Matthew 10:34 “Do
not suppose that I have come to bring peace to
the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a
sword.
Matthew 10:35 For
I have come to turn “’a man against his
father, a daughter against her mother, a
daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—
Matthew 10:36 a
man’s enemies will be members of his own
household.’
Matthew 10:37 “Anyone
who loves hid father or mother more than me is
not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or
daughter more than me is not worthy of me;
Matthew 10:38 and
anyone who does not take his cross and follow me
is not worthy of me.
John 8:31 To the
Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, If you
hold to my teaching, you are my disciples.
John 8:32 Then
you will know the truth, and the truth will set
you free [of your friends, family, job and
church].
Billions of people will
complain to God’s prophets, “But this
isn’t what my church teaches!”
The 144,000 will reply:
“Is that your final answer?” : -)
A host of
“sin-less” laws will be implemented and
enforced by Babylon and everyone who violates
Babylon’s laws will be punished. Those
refusing to comply with Babylon’s laws will
be punished because the leaders of Babylon will
fear that God’s wrath will break out
once again and if it does, more people will die
if sinful behavior continue!
When Babylon exerts global
authority to appease God, a second message from
Jesus will be heard around the world. The second
message will be very simple. The 144,000 will
utter three provocative words: “Babylon is
fallen.”
This means: Babylon is
false, blasphemous, arrogant and in opposition to
laws and the will of God. Once you understand the
context of the first angle’s message and the
test of faith that it represents, you can see
that it will take a lot of courage and faith to
receive the first angel’s message and act
accordingly. Then, everyone who accepts the
second angel’s message will find himself in
a difficult situation called persecution.
Rebellion against the laws
of Babylon will bring down harsh punishment.
Listen carefully to the
following scenario. Here’s something I want
you to carefully consider:
At first, the laws mandated
by Babylon will have moral objectives that
conservative people in all religions can
accept. For example:
Homosexuality
will be soundly condemned and those participating
in homosexual behaviors will be harshly punished.
Sexual promiscuity,
prostitution and the use or production of
pornography will be condemned and those
participating in sexual immorality will be
harshly punished.
Gambling, stealing,
dishonesty, the use of illegal drugs and violent
behavior will be harshly punished.
And to insure that
God’s wrath is appeased, the religious
leaders of all nations will require their
respective legislators to set aside a day of rest
each week for the worship of God.
Businesses will be closed on
a day set aside for God, sporting events will be
canceled, and cathedrals, churches, mosques,
temples, synagogues and kingdom halls will be
filled with worshipers.
As you can see, the laws of
Babylon will not dramatically impact people
already living godly lives – at first.
However, there will be
“a fly in the ointment” an irritant
that just won’t go away. The 144,000 will be
proclaiming the first angel’s message with
great power and authority and their presence and
sharp condemnation of Babylon will create an
enormous problem for them and everyone who
embraces their message!
The 144,000 will be nagging
everyone to receive the gospel of Jesus Christ
and worship our Creator on His holy day,
Saturday, the seventh day of the week. Were it
not for 144,000 “pests” the
issue of worship would not become so hotly
controverted during the Great Tribulation.
But, the powerful and
persistent preaching of the 144,000 will gain
attention of Babylon’s leaders and the
144,000 will awaken their wrath. As the number of
people resting on God’s seventh day Sabbath
begins to grow, a controversy over God’s
day of worship will erupt.
This controversy will grow
in intensity and animosity because the testimony
of the 144,000 will undermine Babylon’s
authority and its blasphemous claims. Eventually,
the 144,000 will become targets marked for death.
Remember the word of Calaphas concerning the
ministry and teachings of Jesus?
John
11:50 “You do not realize that
it is better for you that one man die for the
people than that the whole nation perish.”
After
a year or so, Babylon’s leaders will make
laws mandating that all other days of the week
are workdays. Ironically, support for this
foolish law is found in the fourth commandment:
Exodus
20:9 “Six days you shall labor
and do all your work . . .. “
So, in
Moslem countries, Friday will be declared THE
holy day. All other days will be designated as
workdays
In
Catholic and Protestant countries, Sunday will be
designated as THE day for worship. All other days
will be designated as workdays.
In
Israel, (If there is an Israel after a possible
nuclear exchange), Saturday will be designated as
THE day for worship and all other days will be
designated as work days.
Why is
it important that six days be declared workdays?
The devil will work through Babylon’s
religious leaders to eliminate as much religious
diversity as possible.
This
move will bring much confusion. People will ask,
how can ONE angry God, whoever He is, have three
different days for worship and six different days
for work?
Then,
the fifth trumpet will occur and the devil
himself will appear.
He
will do four things:
1.
Torment non-religious wicked for five months.
(His opposition)
2.
Travel the world with a razzle-dazzle show of
miracle working power – even calling fire to
come down from Heaven to convince the world
leaders that he is Almighty God.
3.
Order the leaders of Babylon to dissolve all
religions and set up pa one-world church/state.
(The image of the beast).
4.
Kill one-third of mankind and impose his mark on
the remaining 2/3’s (666 is 2/3 of 1,000).
Revelation
13:2 “…The
dragon gave the [composite] beast his power and
his throne and great authority.
Revelation 13:5 The
[composite] beast was given a mouth to
utter proud words and blasphemies [During the
Great tribulation, Babylon will respond to the
three angel’s message with boasting and
lies. Babylon will declare the three angel’s
messages to be heresy] and to [the
composite beast will] exercise his authority
for forty-two months.
Revelation 13:6 He
[the composite beast] opened his mouth to
blaspheme God [specifically, Babylon will
denounce the demands of Jesus Christ], and [Babylon’s
leaders will] to slander [misrepresent,
speak evil of] his name [the sovereignty
of Jesus Christ proclaimed by the 144,000 will be
ridiculed] and [the composite beast will
slander] his dwelling place
[Babylon’s leaders will scoff at the idea
that Jesus is sitting in judgment on Earth] and
[after the fifth trumpet occurs, the composite
beast will even slander the angel’s in
Heaven] those who live in heaven [because
the leaders of Babylon will think that heaven is
empty! God Himself has come to Earth with His
angels].
Revelation 13:7 He
[the composite beast] was given power to
make war against the saints and to conquer them.
And he was given authority over every tribe,
people, language and nation.
Revelation 13:8 All
inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast
– all whose names have not been written in
the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was
slain from the creation of the world.”
Revelation 13:9 He
who has an ear, let him hear [what Jesus has
to say to the saints:].
Revelation 13:10 [Don’t
worry about saving your life for you can’t.]
If anyone is to go into captivity [because
of his faith in me], into captivity he will
go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword [because
of his faith in me], with the sword he will
be killed. This [submission to my will]
calls for patient endurance and faithfulness
on the part of the saints.”
Matthew 5:11 “Blessed
are you when people insult you, persecute you and
falsely say all kinds of evil against you because
of me.
Matthew 16:25 For
whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but
whoever loses his life for me will find it.
Matthew 16:26 What
good will it be for a man if he gains the whole
world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man
give in exchange for his soul?
Matthew 16:27 For
the Son of Man is going to come in His
Father’s glory with his angels. And then he
will reward each person according to what he has
done.”
During the Great
Tribulation, we will be tested to see if we love
Jesus and His truth more than we love life.
For Christ’s sake, are
you willing to forsake your family?
For Christ’s sake, are
you willing to forsake your church?
For Christ’s sake, are
you willing to go to prison?
For Christ’s sake, are
you willing to die?
Matthew 10:37 “Anyone
who loves his father or mother more than me is
not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or
daughter more than me is not worthy of me;
Matthew 10:38 and
anyone who does not take his cross and follow me
is not worthy of me.
Matthew 10:39 Whoever
finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses
his life for my sake will find it.”
May God give each of us the
faith to surrender our will into His hands and
leave the consequences to Him!
Possible Use:
“Eternal
truth is not what I believe. Truth is greater
than me. Truth is not even what I know for truth
is larger than anything I know. Truth is fact. I
may not believe it. I may not know it. But, that
does not change it. It is there nevertheless,
waiting to be discovered and believed. Truth does
not depend upon the unsettled and changing
opinions of men. It was there before it was
believed and it remains truth whether it is
believed or not. Truth is true. Reason does not
originate it or create it, it merely discovers
it. Consequently, reason is not its source. Truth
goes back beyond the beginning of reason. Some
would have us believe that the church is the
source of truth, particularly in matters of
theology. They are wrong. The church is a product
of truth. It does not originate it. The church
came into being by accepting divine revelation.
The church is not the source of that revelation.
Truth goes beyond the church it is antecedent to
it. Truth eternal truth.”
(Written by Carlyle B.
Haynes (1882-1958), my reference for this quote
has been lost.)
End Text:
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