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Be Not Deceived is a podcast dedicated to looking at Biblical truth and comparing it to the lies the world and the devil is telling to cause deception in the church and in our society at large in the present day. The devil is trying to deceive as many as possible, but God always wins!
[Speaker 1]
Welcome back to Be Not Deceived. This is our podcast that is diving into the truth of the Bible compared to the lies that have been put out there by our society and our culture and some of the churches that might be out there teaching things that are not quite true. So, today I'm here again with part two of the deep dive into prophecy.
So and I have Pastor Rick Beaudry back with us again.
[Speaker 2]
Thanks for having me.
[Speaker 1]
You're welcome. I'm so glad you're here. We are going to dive into the book of Revelation for the second part of this prophecy talk and I'm so excited because the book of Revelation is so amazing.
One, it has a promise given to us that if you read it that you will be blessed. So it's very exciting to be able to read through it and then gain understanding, gain the what is it saying to us as we go along and we read it over and over again as we have in the past. So we're going to dive into this pretty deeply to see what prophecy hasn't been fulfilled, what is coming up and what the book of Revelation is about.
And it applies to our life today and I'm pretty excited to ask you lots of wonderful questions so that you can help us learn and grow.
[Speaker 2]
God help us.
[Speaker 1]
Yes. He will.
[Speaker 2]
He is very good.
[Speaker 1]
The Holy Spirit is with us. So one of the first things I really have heavy on my heart is to start out with who is the Apostle John? Who is the one who wrote this that God gave this revelation to?
[Speaker 2]
That's a great question.
[Speaker 1]
So I was going to read a little bit about who the John the Apostle is. And it says here, St. John the Beloved was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament, generally listed as the youngest apostle. He was the son of Zebedee and Salome.
His brother James was another of the twelve apostles. And the Church Fathers identify him as John the Evangelist, John of Patmos, John the Elder and the Beloved Disciple and testify that he outlived the remaining apostles and was the only one to die of natural causes. So on top of all of that, he is the one that wrote the book of Revelation, of course, inspired by the Holy Spirit.
And not just inspired by the Holy Spirit, but wow, what a revelation. You know, that is an amazing, amazing gift that God gave him to be able to give us this future picture.
[Speaker 2]
Amen.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah.
[Speaker 2]
Taken up like in a time machine.
[Speaker 1]
Right?
[Speaker 2]
And he could see the future. The Lord showed him the future. Come up hither, chapter four there, and show you things which shall be hereafter.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah.
[Speaker 2]
So the Lord, he's the Alpha, the Omega, the beginning and the end.
[Speaker 1]
Yes.
[Speaker 2]
So he's a God. He proves he's God by knowing the future and telling us what's going to happen in the future. He's outside of time.
Yes.
[Speaker 1]
He lives outside of time.
[Speaker 2]
That's how you know he's God. That's how you know this is his word. Nobody else can do that.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah. That's amazing.
[Speaker 2]
The devil doesn't know. No. The devil cannot predict the future.
The devil can be a student of God's word and know what God's word is saying is going to happen.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah.
[Speaker 2]
But the devil can't ahead of time say, thus saith the devil, and watch it come to pass.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah. He is not equal to God.
[Speaker 2]
No. He's a fallen angel.
[Speaker 1]
He's a fallen angel. He is written about quite a bit in here.
[Speaker 2]
Yeah.
[Speaker 1]
And if I was him, I would be just a little bit nervous.
[Speaker 2]
So the three Omnis, right? He's not what? He's Omni.
He's not Omni.
[Speaker 1]
He's not Omnipresent.
[Speaker 2]
He's not.
[Speaker 1]
He's not Omni.
[Speaker 2]
Omnipotent.
[Speaker 1]
Omnipotent.
[Speaker 2]
And not omniscient.
[Speaker 1]
Omniscient.
[Speaker 2]
That's right. He doesn't know all things.
[Speaker 1]
No. No.
[Speaker 2]
He learns.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah.
[Speaker 2]
And he's a created being. Yes. Right?
[Speaker 1]
Yeah.
[Speaker 2]
Our God is omnipotent.
[Speaker 1]
He's omniscient. Disciplined by his creator.
[Speaker 2]
Right. Yeah.
[Speaker 1]
So he's on a leash.
[Speaker 2]
He's flown out of heaven. Yeah. He's on a leash now.
We see that with Job. Yeah. Yeah.
[Speaker 1]
So this is quite fascinating. So I want to see what the Bible says here about what the future is. And I think I want to start in one of the churches, the Laodicean Church, is what I think we should look at.
[Speaker 2]
Did you want to read that blessing first?
[Speaker 1]
I do.
[Speaker 2]
Go ahead and read that verse three.
[Speaker 1]
Verse three.
[Speaker 2]
Read the first three verses. Okay.
[Speaker 1]
The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testifies to everything he saw. That is the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Blessed is he is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.
[Speaker 2]
Isn't that great? That's awesome. Isn't that great?
There's a blessing.
[Speaker 1]
And I just read that aloud.
[Speaker 2]
It's so exciting. Isn't that exciting?
[Speaker 1]
Yes. That God has given me a promise of a blessing, and I'm so thankful for that.
[Speaker 2]
So let's take the title, The Revelation of Jesus Christ. One of the ways that we know somebody has not studied the book of Revelation or gone through a study of the book of Revelation is they call it revelations.
[Speaker 1]
Shuns. With an S.
[Speaker 2]
And then we're like, okay, well, all right. Now the word revelation is a Greek word, apocalupsis, which speaks of an unveiling. So it's the revealing, revelation, revealing Jesus Christ.
It's unveiling Jesus. He's coming again. The volume of the book is written of Jesus.
He's the star. He's the celebrity.
[Speaker 1]
He's the star. Yeah.
[Speaker 2]
It's all about Jesus.
[Speaker 1]
From Genesis to Revelation.
[Speaker 2]
Right.
[Speaker 1]
So, okay, let's talk about that for a second. So if we're saying it's an unveiling, but so many people might look at it and say, it's confusing.
[Speaker 2]
It's a hidden book.
[Speaker 1]
It's hidden. It's hidden. It's something that's so mysterious and so, so many different word pictures of, of the creatures and the different, different things that are in here that it's, it's something we can't understand, but that's not true because we have the book of Daniel, Ezekiel.
We have other books too, that help us put these together, put the, the, the pieces together.
[Speaker 2]
Right.
[Speaker 1]
Um, and it's not confusing as you learn and grow and you are taught well about how to connect the dots of what the Bible is saying.
[Speaker 2]
Remember Ralphie in, in, uh, shoot your eye out kid. Remember he was eating, drinking Ovaltine and he had a decoder.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah.
[Speaker 2]
Yeah. Yeah. And when he finally decoded the message, it's kind of like, you know, drink your Ovaltine.
He's so angry. Well, we, to understand the book of Revelation, we need a decoder, right? We need help.
We need the help of the Holy Spirit. We also need the rest of the Bible. It's the Bible that the Old Testament particularly that reveals the book of Revelation.
If we go back to Daniel, we go back to Zechariah, these Old Testament prophets, you know, they're, they're helping us to understand as we connect the dots of the book of Revelation, oh, this is what this means. This is what Daniel meant about the 70th week. Yeah.
Or the midpoint in chapter 11.
[Speaker 1]
You see what I mean?
[Speaker 2]
So when guys say, Hey, I can't understand this. It's, it's a mystery. It's allegorical.
It's symbolism. All that. It's, they're telling you, they don't study the Old Testament.
[Speaker 1]
Right.
[Speaker 2]
They're not reading it. They're telling you they haven't read the prophets because you need an understanding of the prophets and the gospels because Jesus spoke in Matthew 24 and you know, and he spoke in the gospels. The apostle Paul gives light also.
So the study of the book of Revelation is a study of the entire Bible.
[Speaker 1]
Yes.
[Speaker 2]
So you need to be familiar with the Bible or use this and then reach back to where in the Bible does it say that?
[Speaker 1]
Yeah.
[Speaker 2]
You see what I mean? So if you study the book of Revelation, we're going to study the whole Bible by studying the book of Revelation.
[Speaker 1]
Right.
[Speaker 2]
Isn't that amazing?
[Speaker 1]
Yeah. It's awesome.
[Speaker 2]
Yeah.
[Speaker 1]
And you know, I never understood in the past, uh, the minor prophets, you know, how are they teaching us anything or, or, or the prophets of the Old Testament. I didn't realize that they are truly talking as they go along about the current state of Israel often. Then they would telescope to Revelation or, you know, or the New Testament in, as they speak prophetically of what's going to happen.
It was fascinating to me as you had, had brought us to the, the, um, the study of all the minor prophets and then as we're currently in Jeremiah on our Monday night Bible study, um, that you're what you're, you're seeing revelation through this, you know, through the Old Testament prophets. So, so as we now are looking at revelation, we can, uh, we can refer back and say, Oh yes, I remember Daniel said this, Jeremiah said this, and that this is God's word speaking to, uh, to lead us and guide us.
[Speaker 2]
That's a good point. When we're like in Jeremiah or Isaiah or any of them, sometimes the prophet will be speaking, you know, to Nebuchadnezzar coming pretty soon. And so there's immediate context and, and you know, prophecy of a soon fulfillment and then it can telescope to his first coming, you know, when he's going to come, uh, you know, uh, to Jerusalem and his first coming and all and be crucified and all that.
And then a lot of times when we're studying, it'll also talk about the millennium. It'll talk about, you know, his second coming, you know, so let's say we're in, uh, Isaiah 11, it's talking about the millennium. We're studying 11 and now all of a sudden we're in chapter 20 of the book of Revelation where Jesus is going to rule and reign for a thousand years.
[Speaker 1]
And they match. They, they, they line up. They say the same thing.
[Speaker 2]
Right. And chapter 20 doesn't tell us a whole lot of what that climate is like or what it's like, but Revelation, I mean, Isaiah 11 does, and it's showing us the reverse of the curse and you know, the, the children and the animals and, and the, his rule and reign with a rod of righteousness. It's, it's a, brings a color to it, you know, and, um, uh, same, same with like, uh, Ezekiel 40 through 48 is describing the millennial temple.
So the first coming of Christ was during the second temple period when he comes in a second coming. It's the Antichrist temple.
[Speaker 1]
Exactly.
[Speaker 2]
Right. It's the third temple, but God didn't instruct them to build that temple. Judaism is dead.
[Speaker 1]
Right.
[Speaker 2]
But there's a resurgence of Judaism. You know, the red ashes of the red heifer and the abomination of desolation spoken by Daniel the prophet at the midpoint of the tribulation. He's coming into a temple that the Antichrist is going to help him rebuild.
[Speaker 1]
Real temple.
[Speaker 2]
Right. And then when we get to Ezekiel chapter 40 through 48 is a picture of the temple that's going to be built during the millennium that Jesus is going to rule and reign from.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah.
[Speaker 2]
So these Old Testament prophets, they might, you know, they're going to his first coming, they're going to the millennium, to his second coming millennium, you know, you know, they're touching it all. Right. And so when we look at Revelation 21 and 22, we see the eternal state beyond the millennium, but there's a, there's a timeline here.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah.
[Speaker 2]
There's a timeline that God is giving us.
[Speaker 1]
Exactly.
[Speaker 2]
And that's exciting because I'm in the church age right now. And the event I'm most excited about is the blessed hope and glorious appearing of my great God and Savior.
[Speaker 1]
Right.
[Speaker 2]
And nobody's going to take that hope from me.
[Speaker 1]
Right.
[Speaker 2]
Right.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah. We're waiting in anticipation.
[Speaker 2]
All right.
[Speaker 1]
Should we read the part where it says that John is asked to write the things that were and then the things that are now and the things that are going to take place later.
[Speaker 2]
If you're wanting to help people understand the book of Revelation from a standpoint of outline, that's a very important passage of scripture to help them. It gives them a map, a roadmap of how to interpret the book of Revelation.
[Speaker 1]
What is he writing?
[Speaker 2]
Why? So go ahead and tell me what you're a student of book of Revelation, verse 19 to chapter one.
[Speaker 1]
Yes. Um, so revelation one 19, um, he is told to write, therefore what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later.
[Speaker 2]
Okay. So write the things which you have in the past tense, which you have seen. What did he see?
So in chapter one, the risen Lord, chapter one, he had a vision of the risen Jesus. Right?
[Speaker 1]
Yeah.
[Speaker 2]
We read that here and then write the things which are present tense, the church age, church age, which is what?
[Speaker 1]
So is this us?
[Speaker 2]
The church is the church born again throughout history, 2000 years and various churches, seven churches. And he gives them a, uh, you know, a, uh, what do you call it? A progress report.
And he's, uh, counseling them, telling them what they need to do. Um, and it also telescopes many feel of historical periods. So the church of Laodicea, for instance, is viewed as the last days church, but it's a literal church that he's evaluating Turkey and there's some, uh, uh, they have difficulty getting water.
So you have to have this water come on a canal and that by the time it gets to the city, it's lukewarm.
[Speaker 1]
Yes.
[Speaker 2]
So he uses that as a picture of, you know, I'd rather you hot or cold because you're lukewarm. You see what I mean?
[Speaker 1]
Yeah. I spit you out of my mouth.
[Speaker 2]
Yeah.
[Speaker 1]
And so it's not, it's not, it's not cold and, and, and satisfying.
[Speaker 2]
Yeah. I want hot coffee. I drink milk.
I want it cold.
[Speaker 1]
You know?
[Speaker 2]
So, um, but he's with a historical background, you see there's an immediate context, but then there's also, uh, a revelation of what the last day's church is going to be like, right? It's going to be lukewarm.
[Speaker 1]
We can apply it to what we see today. Um, I love that.
[Speaker 2]
There's the church of Philadelphia, which is a persecuted church in revelation three, 10. The Lord said that I'll, I'll deliver you, keep you from the tribulation to come, right? You know that the suffering to come, which is the tribulation period because they've been faithful.
So anytime in history, we could be a church at Calvary Bremerton that has the characteristics of the church of Philadelphia. We have little strength, it's, we go through hard times, but we're watching and looking and aware of his soon return, or we're staying true to his word, you know, so we could take on characteristics of the Philadelphia church, um, or we could take on characteristics of the Laodicean church that we think we're rich and increased with goods in need of nothing, right? Church incorporated.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah.
[Speaker 2]
Jesus out of the church. We got this Jesus.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah. He's knocking on the outside of the door.
[Speaker 2]
Yeah.
[Speaker 1]
We, we didn't even let him in.
[Speaker 2]
Right.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah. Cause we got it.
[Speaker 2]
But he still wants fellowship.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah. Yeah. Exactly.
He still, he has hope for us. That's what that evaluation, that, that report card that he's looking at.
[Speaker 2]
That's a report card.
[Speaker 1]
He's showing us for, and so, so from here on, from what I just read, um, into chapter two, it's, it then begins the report card of each chapter two and three would be the churches.
[Speaker 2]
The seven churches. Yeah. So that would be what we call the church age.
We're presently in the church age and it's gone on for 2000 years. Right. We're still in church age.
So excuse me, when does the church age people that are watching, when does the church age end?
[Speaker 1]
The signing of the peace treaty.
[Speaker 2]
No, no.
[Speaker 1]
What am I saying?
[Speaker 2]
Nope.
[Speaker 1]
No, what am I saying?
[Speaker 2]
No, you know it. You got it. I do.
It's Sunday afternoon.
[Speaker 1]
She's a little tired. Exactly.
[Speaker 2]
She knows this one.
[Speaker 1]
Give her a second.
[Speaker 2]
Give her a second. She knows this. Now I'm going to ask it a different way.
[Speaker 1]
Okay.
[Speaker 2]
When does the tribulation start? The signing of the peace treaty. There you go.
Yeah.
[Speaker 1]
So many times.
[Speaker 2]
When does the church age end and the rapture begin?
[Speaker 1]
When the last Gentile comes in. Romans 11, 25.
[Speaker 2]
The last one is. When the fullness of the Gentiles become in.
[Speaker 1]
The last Gentile.
[Speaker 2]
This in part has happened unto Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles become in.
[Speaker 1]
Yep. The fullness of the Gentiles.
[Speaker 2]
The fullness of the Gentiles would be the rapture ends the church age. Yes. This has come up here.
[Speaker 1]
So the last one. Gives their heart to the Lord.
[Speaker 2]
Right.
[Speaker 1]
And then.
[Speaker 2]
And we don't know when that is.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah. Only God knows.
[Speaker 2]
But if we, if you're around when the peace treaty is signed, that's the start of the tribulation period. And the church won't be here to see that, nor the Antichrist, according to the second Thessalonians chapter two, the work of the Holy Spirit in us restrains the Antichrist from being revealed. Although the beast system can presently be putting into place.
And when we see those things, we're looking up, knowing our redemption draws nigh because we know we're going to be raptured before the 77th of Daniel, right? So in light of Israel entering war, the world on the brink of world war, we're looking up knowing Jesus said there's wars, rumors of wars. There's going to be a peace treaty that starts the tribulation period.
The Antichrist is going to be, you know, a false peace in first Thessalonians chapter five, when they say peace and safety, then sudden destruction comes, right?
[Speaker 1]
And this is, we're talking about peace for Israel.
[Speaker 2]
Well, peace, the world, the world goes through wars. They try to destroy Israel and they lose. God intervenes.
[Speaker 1]
Yes.
[Speaker 2]
Now they need to make a peace treaty.
[Speaker 1]
And that's Ezekiel, the intervention.
[Speaker 2]
Ezekiel 38, 39.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah.
[Speaker 2]
And that's a coalition of nations that tried to completely wipe them out and God wipes five out of every six of them, right?
[Speaker 1]
So God intervenes.
[Speaker 2]
God intervenes.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah. And that hasn't happened yet.
[Speaker 2]
That hasn't happened yet. That has not happened. And it's a, um, that's future prophecy.
[Speaker 1]
That's right. That's what we're talking about. Prophecy.
[Speaker 2]
Ezekiel 36 and 37 has happened, which is the rebirth of the nation of Israel.
[Speaker 1]
There's a, there's a prophecy fulfilled.
[Speaker 2]
May 14th, 1948.
[Speaker 1]
That's amazing.
[Speaker 2]
It's a miracle. Unprecedented history. Yeah.
It's a miracle.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah. Amazing.
[Speaker 2]
Yeah.
[Speaker 1]
That they are in the land. It's real.
[Speaker 2]
Yeah. It's reality. It is real.
Now they've been regathered in unbelief by and large. Few believe, but blindness in part has happened unto Israel until the fullness of Gentiles come in. So, um, some believe, some don't, but the nation as a whole doesn't recognize Jesus as their Messiah as a nation.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah. And then only when that one third remnant.
[Speaker 2]
That one third remnant is going to be purified. Through the fire.
[Speaker 1]
Through the pressure, which is, the pressure is the antichrist going after Israel, um, because he hates them and they realize when he walks into the temple and declares himself to be God and demands to be worshiped as God, um, the Jews, the Israel Israelites realized that they have been duped and they have been deceived, um, where they thought he was a good guy and he was deceptive. And then they went, they go, and they reject him. Blasphemy.
[Speaker 2]
Do that again.
[Speaker 1]
Blasphemy.
[Speaker 2]
Yeah.
[Speaker 1]
And then they, and then the antichrist realizes that they, they, they're not on his side anymore. They're not with him. They're not going to worship him.
[Speaker 2]
No, no way.
[Speaker 1]
They're not going. So he's going to attack them and he will attack them.
[Speaker 2]
Absolutely.
[Speaker 1]
And, uh, two thirds are going to be destroyed. And one third will make it to the protection of Petra to Basra, same name, same place, same thing. And God will be there to protect them.
[Speaker 2]
Another prophecy, Zechariah 13, eight, nine, two thirds are going to die. One third remnant is going to be preserved through the tribulation period. And then like you're saying, Isaiah 63, they're going to be at Basra and that's where Jesus is going to make a second coming, right?
[Speaker 1]
Exactly. He's going to come back.
[Speaker 2]
To rescue them. Because why?
[Speaker 1]
Because if those days not be shortened, no flesh will be saved, but for the elect's sake.
[Speaker 2]
And the elect is who?
[Speaker 1]
The one third remnant of the Jews. Amen. You're a student of prophecy, aren't you?
Yeah. I've been trying. I've been learning and growing.
[Speaker 2]
I love it.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah. I'm not in an arrested state of development anymore. Oh, you're awesome.
[Speaker 2]
I love that. You're awesome.
[Speaker 1]
So that is a prophecy that has not been fulfilled yet. So we are looking, the reason why we want to look at Revelation is because we want to look at all the things that are yet to come.
[Speaker 2]
Right.
[Speaker 1]
Yet to come.
[Speaker 2]
Right.
[Speaker 1]
And we can look at some of the things that are because we can evaluate ourselves through the churches by what he describes in that report card.
[Speaker 2]
Right.
[Speaker 1]
But I hope that helps people understand what they're looking at in the churches and why he describes them in the way that he does. Because we can evaluate ourselves, he's evaluating the actual church, and evaluate how the church has been throughout history, too. So and I love that.
[Speaker 2]
We can personalize it.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah.
[Speaker 2]
We can say, what kind of Christian do I want to be? What kind of church do I want to be a part of? Right.
We can learn from the progress report, the report card of the seven churches, see their characteristics and say, you know what, I don't I don't want to be like that. Yeah. Or that's how I want to be.
I want to be faithful.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah. Because he'll tell you. I love it.
I love it. You know, I always wanted to. God, how do you think?
What do you think about this? What is what is your point of view about everything? I want to know what God's point of view is about everything.
And he tells us, of course, I cried out for that to God a long time ago, and he brought me to Second Chronicles. And I thought, Second Chronicles, what? I didn't even I don't think I've ever read Second Chronicles.
That was a long time ago. But man, if you want to know how God feels about things, about about false worship and idols and sacrificing of babies and and how God feels about those things, you can find out exactly how God feels about those things in Second Chronicles. So I was so thankful he brought me there, led me there to read that a long time ago.
And then now, of course, learning and growing in his word through Revelation and Daniel and Ezekiel and Jeremiah and all the different ways.
[Speaker 2]
I like how you say that rather than looking at opinion polls and what's popular and Facebook for likes, your frame of reference is I'm going to go see what God likes. I'm going to search the scriptures to see what God likes and God dislikes.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah. Yeah. It's awesome.
[Speaker 2]
I want to know what he likes.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah, I do.
[Speaker 2]
I do.
[Speaker 1]
I want to know how he feels about things. And I love it. I love one of the scriptures.
I think it was in Second Chronicles that he says, you cut down a tree, you grab that piece of wood and you whittle it into a image and you put it on the stump and it doesn't talk to you. It doesn't do anything. It can't do anything.
It's just a stump whittled into some image. And you want to worship that and God is saying this through the prophet and it just blows God's mind. You know, he's just like, what are you doing?
Why would you do that? Why would you think that's beneficial to you? When I'm alive, I speak to you.
I made you, I formed you, I rescued you, I feed you, I do everything for you. And you reject me and you prefer the whittled piece of wood?
[Speaker 2]
With some of the wood you warm yourself, with other parts of the wood you cook from it, and another part of the wood you make a god and you worship it. Eyes it has but it can't see, ears it has but it can't hear, it's got a mouth but it can't speak. At least I made you and it made you in my image and you have the power of choice.
[Speaker 1]
Why are you rejecting me? Yeah, so that was a big, and Manasseh, that blew my mind when I read that in 2 Chronicles. The most wicked king, the most wicked of all kings, and there was a lot of wicked kings.
They came and went, good ones, bad ones, good ones, bad ones. But then they, that he, it just blew my mind that he was so wicked and he sacrificed his own child unto idols that's not God, God doesn't ask us to do that at all, but he forgave Manasseh. I said, wait a second, he forgave him because he repented.
So that blew my mind, that he described his wickedness, but that shows the grace of God, the love that God has for us and he knows where he formed us out of dirt, that we were made from dirt, he knows that. And at the same time, he has compassion on us because of that, because he knows that we are so desperately able to be wicked, but if we only repent, if we only turn from our wicked ways, he's there to, I mean what an example, Manasseh is an amazing example of God's grace, his grace and his correction, you know, whom the Lord loves, he chastens and scourges every son or daughter.
[Speaker 2]
Psalm 119, the psalmist said, before I was afflicted, I went astray. And so you remember with Manasseh, the Lord allowed the Assyrians to come in and they tried to conquer Judah, but they didn't make it, but they were able to grab hold of Manasseh and the Assyrians would use, excuse me, excuse me, fish hooks and put them in people and then lead them back, you know, God allowed pain in Manasseh's life and in that pain, he cried out to God and he received forgiveness.
[Speaker 1]
So pain is not a bad thing.
[Speaker 2]
It can be used to God, whom the Lord loves, he chastens in Hebrews 12, he spanks you and he spanks you to get your attention, get you back on track. And he only spanks his children, his Elak, he doesn't spank somebody else's kids. And Hebrews 12 illustrates that if you don't receive chastening, you're not, you're illegitimate, you're not a child of God.
So whom the Lord loves, he chastens and he scourges every son or daughter. So God, before the foundation of the earth had purpose to save Manasseh. And the saving of Manasseh is like the saving of the Apostle Paul, a trophy of God's grace, chiefest of sinners, a blasphemer.
So where sin does abound, grace does much more abound, right? And so we're able to say, hey, there's nobody that's gone too far.
[Speaker 1]
We all have sinned.
[Speaker 2]
That the blood of Jesus can't wash away their sin.
[Speaker 1]
Amen, amen. He's not, he's not gone too far. Even though as you're reading Manasseh's things, you just think, if you didn't read the end, you just think he's gone too far.
[Speaker 2]
Yeah.
[Speaker 1]
He's gone too far. So, but it's not true. God is gracious and full of mercy.
[Speaker 2]
He pushed his mom and dad and his grandparents too far though. It's terrible to be a parent of a prodigal that you got to wait 55 years until they finally come to their senses.
[Speaker 1]
Come around.
[Speaker 2]
Yeah, it's true.
[Speaker 1]
I mean, a lot, a lot of people, you know, wait till their deathbed to cry out to the Lord or, but there is, there is a amazing, you know, when something tragic happens, you know, to our health or something like that, that is when we have, we have the ear to hear what God has to say. We have before when we're fat and happy and riding the fun roller coaster and nothing is bad happening. Not often do we cry out to the Lord.
[Speaker 2]
I think C.S. Lewis, do you remember the C.S. Lewis quote? God whispers. He whispers in our triumphs or whispers in our time of pleasure, shouts in the time of our affliction.
[Speaker 1]
Right?
[Speaker 2]
It's our ears.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah, it's our ears who attune to those things.
[Speaker 2]
I can hear him. He's, it's loud. It's clear when I'm in affliction and Jonah in affliction.
[Speaker 1]
Right?
[Speaker 2]
The word of the Lord comes to Jonah a second time.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah. I'm going to give you another chance. You can do it.
[Speaker 2]
Yeah.
[Speaker 1]
You can do it. Now be obedient. So, so as we, as we look at Laodicea, I love, I love reading this one because it just seems like it's, uh, applies to us in this, in this day and age that we live in.
Um, I'm sure some of the other traits do too, but this one, man, where, uh, we're in the prosperity of, especially in America, we're turning a little bit, that prosperity might end, um, where, uh, where it says to the church, to the angel of the church in Laodicea, these are the words of, of the amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. I know your deeds that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other.
So because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say I am rich. I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.
I don't need a thing. But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire so you can become rich and white clothes to wear.
So not naked anymore. You don't even know I'm naked. White clothes to wear so you can cover your shameful nakedness and slay and, um, solve to put, oh, slat, uh, what is that word?
[Speaker 2]
Shame of the nakedness and do not appear and anoint the eyes with eye salve.
[Speaker 1]
Sorry, salve to put in your eyes so you can see. Yeah, those whom I love, I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent.
Here I am. I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person and they with me.
So here there's that restoration again through repentance. I love that. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne.
Just as I was victorious and sat down with my father on his throne, whoever has ears, let them hear what the spirit says to the churches.
[Speaker 2]
Amen.
[Speaker 1]
Wow.
[Speaker 2]
So Laodicea means people rule and it's the last days apostate church. The word apostasy, uh, speaks of rebellion against God or a departure from the truth. So it's the feel good churches that we see today.
It's people rule. We were not under the authority of God's word. It's what I feel.
It's what I think.
[Speaker 1]
What message do I want?
[Speaker 2]
So we do polls and we poll people and say, what do you want in a church? You know, so it's, it's this lukewarm, neither hot or cold. And it's a self-satisfied church.
It's a wealthy, prosperous church. You know, I'm rich, increased with goods, need nothing, right?
[Speaker 1]
I don't need a thing.
[Speaker 2]
And spiritually speaking, they're bankrupt.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah. Yeah. You don't even know.
[Speaker 2]
Right.
[Speaker 1]
You're so blind. You're blind.
[Speaker 2]
Yeah.
[Speaker 1]
You're wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. Wow.
[Speaker 2]
That's it. And so in Laodicea, they had a problem with water. They had a conduit that would bring them water.
And by the time we get there, it would be lukewarm. And they also had a business of some ointment, medicinal ointment for eye problems. So he says, I counsel you to buy some ointment for me.
I said, right. So that you can really see.
[Speaker 1]
So you can really see.
[Speaker 2]
So they would understand what he's saying. Because it was an off the mallea problem that they had some medicinal qualities for. So he's speaking their language.
They speak into what they should be able to understand.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah. And they can relate to that.
[Speaker 2]
Right. And so where's the location of Jesus in relationship to this church?
[Speaker 1]
Outside of the church.
[Speaker 2]
Outside the church.
[Speaker 1]
Knocking on the door saying, let me in.
[Speaker 2]
Whose church is it?
[Speaker 1]
Yeah. At that point, it was the people's church.
[Speaker 2]
Right. Except the Lord builds the house. They labor in vain that build it, right?
[Speaker 1]
Yeah.
[Speaker 2]
Jesus said, upon this rock, I'll build my church. Why would I go door to door and ask people what kind of church they want? It's not a people rule.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah.
[Speaker 2]
He says, I'll build my church. This is my church. What does God want?
This is what a church is.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah.
[Speaker 2]
Yeah. So Acts 2 42, we see the early church. They were in the apostles doctrine.
[Speaker 1]
Right.
[Speaker 2]
So church should be in the apostles doctrine. They should be, as Jesus said, go make disciples.
[Speaker 1]
Right.
[Speaker 2]
Teach them to observe what sort of things I commanded you along with you. Even the end of the age. So the first priority of the pastor is to feed the sheep.
Healthy sheep reproduce. Then we preach to the unbeliever.
[Speaker 1]
Right.
[Speaker 2]
We share the glorious gospel.
[Speaker 1]
Salvation.
[Speaker 2]
Right. And so the content is the word of God. So Acts 2 42, they're in the apostles doctrine.
They were in the breaking of bread and fellowship and prayer. So there's four aspects of his church. Four things that we do at your house on Mondays.
We're in the apostles doctrine. We're in God's words. Not my book or my doctrine.
We're in fellowship. We break bread. We have a meal together.
And there's the worship and prayer. And so those four things, along with evangelism, sharing the gospel at work and school and all.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah.
[Speaker 2]
That's what makes up a church.
[Speaker 1]
Right.
[Speaker 2]
You don't need a program.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah.
[Speaker 2]
This is the program. This is what he ordained for us to be doing. Right.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah.
[Speaker 2]
And so.
[Speaker 1]
We don't have to bring that little CD with us and then put it in and say, OK, let's follow what that CD is teaching us.
[Speaker 2]
This is my agenda. Yeah. This is my vision.
[Speaker 1]
Otherwise, we're going to go astray. We're going to go astray. But we can't go astray if we're reading his word.
[Speaker 2]
Can you imagine if you kick Jesus out of the church? It's pretty dry. Pretty location, location, location, right?
[Speaker 1]
Yeah.
[Speaker 2]
So important.
[Speaker 1]
Blind.
[Speaker 2]
Yeah. They don't have ears to hear.
[Speaker 1]
Deaf.
[Speaker 2]
Can't hear God's word. No wonder they need counselors. No wonder.
Now, here's the key. You build your house on the rock. When the hard times come, your house remains standing.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah.
[Speaker 2]
You're going to make it through those trials.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah.
[Speaker 2]
You build your house on sand in a time of prosperity. I'm rich, increased with goods, in need of nothing. I really don't know what your Christianity is like until you face some trials.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah. Putting hot water.
[Speaker 2]
And if you're facing trials and now you're melting down, you're all like mental health child of the year.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah.
[Speaker 2]
You didn't grow spiritually.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah.
[Speaker 2]
Right?
[Speaker 1]
I think one of the first things that a Christian who's not prepared, who's built on the sand, first thing they would say is, I'm not supposed to have any trials. Why? I'm supposed to be blessed.
I'm supposed to be... What did I do wrong? What's the formula?
Should be keeping me from hot water, trials, anything that should go wrong.
[Speaker 2]
So it's positive thoughts?
[Speaker 1]
Yeah, positive thinking, positive confession. I didn't see this in my prayer room coming. I've heard a lot of that.
Have you not heard that?
[Speaker 2]
I don't run in those circles. I've heard a lot of those. It blows my mind, the stuff that's going on.
I feel so sad because my pastor never fell into any of the trends. It was always old school, old boundaries. You know, stay with the word of God.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah, that's what's so refreshing. I love God's word and I love learning it and growing and developing a working knowledge of those scriptures, which is so amazing. Okay, so where do we go from here?
What do we look at? So how does Revelation... So that's the church age.
[Speaker 2]
Now, if we look at chapter four, remember the key word in verse 19 of chapter one, write the things which you have seen. That's chapter one, vision of Christ. Write the things which are, which is the church age, chapter two and three, which encompasses, you know, 2000 years so far.
And write the things which shall be here after, after the church. It's meant to tell after these things. So what's going to happen after the church age?
When's the church age ends? With the rapture, right? So now we see John in chapter four.
After this, I looked and behold, a door was open in heaven. So remember John and the time machine, right?
[Speaker 1]
Yeah.
[Speaker 2]
Opened in heaven. And the first voice that I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me, which said, come up here and I will show the things which must be again here after. So write the things which you have seen, past.
Write the things which are, church age. Write the things which shall be here after, future. Now we get a glimpse of the future.
So prophecy, what's it going to be like? The book of Revelation begins to describe for us what it's going to be like.
[Speaker 1]
What's coming.
[Speaker 2]
Right?
[Speaker 1]
Yeah.
[Speaker 2]
And so chapter four, we're going to see that the church is in heaven. Come up here. We see the four and 20 elders in chapter four.
And we see John in chapter five. Jesus holds the title deed to the earth and who's worthy to open scroll and loose the seal.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah.
[Speaker 2]
So location, location, location. Jesus, the church is in heaven.
[Speaker 1]
In heaven.
[Speaker 2]
Four and five.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah.
[Speaker 2]
So it's a picture of the church in heaven. So the church has been raptured after these things, after the church age come up here.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah.
[Speaker 2]
Right.
[Speaker 1]
And the four and 20 elders is the church.
[Speaker 2]
Represents the church. Yeah.
[Speaker 1]
Just in case people don't understand that. I didn't know that for a long time. Now I understand that.
[Speaker 2]
And then chapter five, there's a scroll and who's worthy to open the scroll and loose the seals. Right. Nobody's worthy.
But don't.
[Speaker 1]
John is crying. He's crying, crying, crying.
[Speaker 2]
Right. And then what's, what's the solution? What's the.
[Speaker 1]
The lion of the tribe of Judah.
[Speaker 2]
There you go.
[Speaker 1]
The root of David has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and it's seven seals.
[Speaker 2]
So if we're, if we're reading that, we'd not behold the lion of the tribe of Judah. Now we're reminded of Genesis 39. We're reminded that the kingly tribe is the tribe of Judah.
So way back in Genesis, God prophesied that king of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the Messiah would come forth from Judah.
[Speaker 1]
From Judah.
[Speaker 2]
And then it says, what's the say next? The root of David.
[Speaker 1]
Yep. The root of David.
[Speaker 2]
So the root of David, the root and the offspring of David. Again, second Samuel chapter seven, the Davidic covenant.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah.
[Speaker 2]
That the Messiah would come through the house of David. David's line. So the root of David before David.
So David comes out of him, right? David, because he's a creator. And so you have Ruth the Moabitess from Moab, one of the daughters of a lot that he had an incestuous relationship with.
How sordid that is. Talking about Manasseh, right?
[Speaker 1]
Yeah.
[Speaker 2]
And so you got Ruth the Moabitess and she meets a kinsman and redeemer, a type of Christ in Boaz. And then they have a relationship and they have a son named Obed. Obed begots Jesse.
Jesse begots David. Jesus is the root and the offspring of David. So now we got tons of prophecies there, right?
We got tons of things happening. And he's prevailed to open the scroll and to loose the seven seals. And and so now now read that next one.
We see him still bearing the scars from the cross.
[Speaker 1]
Exactly right. So we know who that lamb is right there. We know he's Jesus.
[Speaker 2]
And so he's taking the scroll and they're worshiping him. And and now when we get over to chapter six, this is the beginning of the tribulation period. The tribulation period.
Remember how when we were Matthew 24 and he talked about false Christ and false messiahs? Watch this. And I saw when the lamb opened one of the seals and I heard as it were the noise of thunder and one of the four living creatures saying, come.
And I saw and behold, a white horse and he that sat on him had a bow and a crown was given unto him. And he went forth conquering and to conquer. So this ties in with Matthew 24 when Jesus spoke about false Christ, false messiahs that would come.
And this is in first Thessalonians five, peace, peace, for there is no peace. He's he's on a horse, a white horse. Yeah, with no arrows, right?
[Speaker 1]
Yeah, he's got a he's got a bow, but no arrow.
[Speaker 2]
Yeah, so he's a he's a he's a messiah for peace. He's the one that's going to sign that peace treaty that starts the tribulation period, right?
[Speaker 1]
He's going to charm everybody.
[Speaker 2]
Daniel 9, 27. He's the one that signs the 77 of Daniel that starts the tribulation. So these seals that are open starts the tribulation period.
And that's in Revelation six, six that goes on to 19. And from six to 19, there's no mention of the church until the second coming in chapter 19 when he's coming back with his bride. Yeah, we're right behind him.
So when you're looking at the book of Revelation, you want to divide it up and have an outline. The outline, verse 19, right? The things which you have seen chapter one or vision of the Lord, right?
The things which are the church age, 2000 years, right? So far, right? The things which shall be hereafter.
So the church is in heaven four and five, and then chapter six starts the tribulation period. So now you're looking at the seven year tribulation period, the events thereof that culminate with Armageddon, second coming of Christ chapter 19, right?
[Speaker 1]
That's what happens at the end. Yeah. Yeah.
[Speaker 2]
And then chapter 20 is what?
[Speaker 1]
The millennium.
[Speaker 2]
Chapter 21 and 22. The eternal state. There you go.
You got an outline.
[Speaker 1]
Yep.
[Speaker 2]
And a person should be able to look at that and say, all right, I see the chronological order. Now, very important thing here. We alluded to it last week.
There are false doctrine that's circling, and we talked about last week, about the rapture that a pre-wrath rapture, that somehow we, the church, are going to be here in chapter six, and we're going to be experiencing the rider of the four horsemen, pestilence, famine, war, right? One fourth of the world destroyed. And they're trying to say that, you know, it's peace, peace, peace of the first half of the tribulation period is being good.
We're going to be in there. We're going to be in the tribulation period. Some say till the midpoint.
Some say till right here. For the great day of the wrath has come, and who shall be able to stand? Verse 16 and 17.
And said to the mountains and the rocks, follow us and hide us from the face of him that sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. So they differentiate. And they say, hey, this first part's just the wrath of men.
Bill Gates and the guys are causing a famine. Bill Gates and the guys are starting a war. You know, all these guys are going to try and destroy us.
[Speaker 1]
Causing hunger, causing all these things. Distress.
[Speaker 2]
Chapter five, who's worthy to open the scroll? Who's to see it?
[Speaker 1]
Yeah, yeah.
[Speaker 2]
You can't, these men can't open those seals. There's nobody worthy. So when Jesus opens those seals, that's the start of the tribulation period.
That's his wrath being poured out upon a Christ-rejecting world.
[Speaker 1]
So the wrath can't be man's wrath because in chapter five, the beginning of wrath of trouble is the opening of the seals. And that's Jesus. And we just described that.
The lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has triumphed. He is the one to begin the seals that start then in six. So we've established it's Jesus, seals, the Lamb opened the first seal.
First of the seven seals. And then it starts describing this false Christ.
[Speaker 2]
The famine of the third seal.
[Speaker 1]
Yep.
[Speaker 2]
The death of the fourth seal.
[Speaker 1]
Yep, yep.
[Speaker 2]
And that's not men. Men are doing this. They're caught in this.
But it's God pouring out his wrath by opening these seal judgments, right?
[Speaker 1]
And the wrath, this is the wrath of God. And the wrath of God was taken on his son for the church so that we don't have to have that wrath on us. Otherwise, why did he take the wrath?
So the wrath of the unbelievers, the earth that is left. We've gone. We're gone.
What's left is the unbelievers, right? Until unless the ones who don't get the mark, don't get that they are still experiencing because they haven't become believers yet.
[Speaker 2]
And 1 Thessalonians 5 verse 10, verse 9, verse 10 says that he saved us from the wrath to come to come. So the wrath that we're saved from that we talked about last week, the salvation wrath was dealt with at the cross. So in 1 Thessalonians 5 verse 10, when he says he whom saved us from the wrath to come, that's eschatological wrath.
The last day's wrath of the tribulation period. We're saved from that. Yeah, that's why Revelation 3 10 there.
You know, I'll deliver you from the wrath in Revelation, the church there. And then 1 Thessalonians 5 verse 9, we're not appointed under wrath.
[Speaker 1]
Exactly.
[Speaker 2]
So that's the that's the difference there. So we're not in the church. There's no mention of the church here.
Chapter six and seven, you see innumerable multitude of people beneath the throne of God. These are the tribulation saints, not the church. So remember last week by way of review, we got four types of saints mentioned.
You have to distinguish between who the writer is talking to. So you have Old Testament saints, John the Baptist, Abraham, Abraham, that when Jesus spoke of the rich man of Lazarus that died, that they went into Hades and Sheol and there's a double compartment, Luke 16, Abraham's wisdom. The Old Testament patriarch, Old Testament saints were awaiting the crucifixion, the burial, the resurrection of Jesus.
[Speaker 1]
Right.
[Speaker 2]
They were in a place called paradise.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah.
[Speaker 2]
But they couldn't be present with the Lord yet.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah.
[Speaker 2]
And then you have the wicked dead that were there who are still being held in Hades, Sheol in a place of torment until until the wicked dead are bodily erased from the dead in Revelation chapter 20 for the great white throne judgment. So then you have what's called the tribulation saints. And these are the ones that go through the tribulation period.
According to Revelation 20, verse four, they lose their heads. They're executed by beheading because they refuse the mark of the beast.
[Speaker 1]
Right. Yeah.
[Speaker 2]
And so that's an innumerable. The greatest revival in the history of the world is in the book of Revelation. And their lives narrowed down to one decision.
[Speaker 1]
Exactly.
[Speaker 2]
Do I receive the mark or not the mark? Do I choose heaven or hell?
[Speaker 1]
Or God? Jesus or the mark.
[Speaker 2]
That's it.
[Speaker 1]
Narrowed down.
[Speaker 2]
And people are dying.
[Speaker 1]
And I, you know, I always think when I think about the innumerable multitude.
[Speaker 2]
Yeah.
[Speaker 1]
How that makes the devil mad. Oh, yeah. Love that.
[Speaker 2]
I love. God wins.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah.
[Speaker 2]
Yeah.
[Speaker 1]
He, he can't touch him. He can't, even though we're the church is gone. He can't have them all.
I love that.
[Speaker 2]
He wants to break the heart of God.
[Speaker 1]
And I, and I love it too. As we, as we go along and seven, the 144,000, the ones who are out there, who, who, who Satan can't touch the Antichrist. Can't touch.
They're sealed. They are proclaiming the gospel. It's a good news.
Right? So they are, God's got them sealed. They've got, they've got.
So basically the, our job now is to proclaim the gospel. God's given us that job when we're gone. Now he's given it to the 144,000 and the angels flying overhead.
Right?
[Speaker 2]
Yeah.
[Speaker 1]
Proclaiming the good news of the gospel. And I think I read, um, I was reading revelation during that's good. That's good.
I think I read that the angels flying overhead proclaiming don't take the mark.
[Speaker 2]
Didn't they say that?
[Speaker 1]
Don't take the mark.
[Speaker 2]
Don't take the mark.
[Speaker 1]
Don't do it.
[Speaker 2]
So proclaiming the everlasting gospel.
[Speaker 1]
They are proclaiming the everlasting gospel. But, but, um, I thought I read that it said don't take the mark, but I'll have to look that one up. But basically it's the same thing.
Yeah. It's the idea. Do not give in to the devil because he's a liar.
And if you take that mark, that's it.
[Speaker 2]
Right.
[Speaker 1]
Your time is up.
[Speaker 2]
Right.
[Speaker 1]
You don't get to go back. You've been, you've been changed. There is no, no, um, do overs.
[Speaker 2]
No do overs.
[Speaker 1]
So please, as you hear this word today, when we're gone, what we're doing these broadcasts, these, these truth revealing talks, because we want the people who are left behind those ones that are gonna, gonna get their heads cut off and not take the mark. I plead with you. Do not take the mark of the beast.
Don't give in. Don't allow the, the Antichrist to trick you into getting that mark on your right hand or your forehead. Um, it's, it's, it's the wrong decision.
Just don't do it. Don't do it.
[Speaker 2]
Don't do it. Receive Christ.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah. Receive Christ. Listen to those 144,000 and the angels flying overhead, proclaiming the good news of the gospel.
They're telling the truth.
[Speaker 2]
Amen.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah.
[Speaker 2]
That's a good exhortation.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah.
[Speaker 2]
Encouragement to those listening.
[Speaker 1]
Okay. So as we continue, we have the seals.
[Speaker 2]
You'd mentioned the 144,000 chapter seven.
[Speaker 1]
Yep.
[Speaker 2]
And these are 12,000 from each tribe, tribes of Israel. And, um, they are going to be sealed in that the devil, the Antichrist can't touch them.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah.
[Speaker 2]
And, uh, they're going to be going forth with, uh, sharing the gospel. And, um, uh, and then we come to chapter eight and, uh, the seventh seal. And, um, and then there's silence in heaven for a space of half an hour.
And then the first trumpet is verse seven of chapter eight. And we're coming on through here to the sixth trumpet. And then there's a parenthetical, uh, announcement that's made in chapter 10.
Chapter 11 is the midpoint of the tribulation period. You have the two witnesses, the ministry of the two witnesses. So they've been ministering for, uh, 42 months.
It says here, and I'll give unto them the two witnesses and they shall prophesy 1,203 score days. So 1260 days is, uh, the midpoint of the tribulation period. It's 42 months or three and a half years.
Yeah. And, um, uh, we know who the two witnesses are, but we can't tell you right now. We're writing a book about it.
[Speaker 1]
Right. And that will be revealed later.
[Speaker 2]
Be not deceived.
[Speaker 1]
Okay. Maybe not.
[Speaker 2]
And everybody speculates, right?
[Speaker 1]
I was reading this, uh, earlier and how, what, what was, what were the, what were the two witnesses doing during this time? Wow. They were not, they were not liked.
Let's just say by the, by the, the world in general, they were terminated from Facebook and Twitter and Instagram. They were saying all the wrong keywords.
[Speaker 2]
You two called them up and said, you're terminated. You're got count is terminated.
[Speaker 1]
You're terminated. We don't like you.
[Speaker 2]
Yeah.
[Speaker 1]
Um, they are the two olive trees and the two lamp stands and they stand before the Lord on the earth. If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths. And I'm reading chapter 11, verse four, um, starting at verse four.
And the, and if anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to ha this is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. They have power to shut up the heavens so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying.
And they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want. Right now, when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the abyss will attack them, overpower them and kill them. Their bodies will lie in the public square of the great city, which is, uh, figuratively called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was sacrificed or crucified.
I'm sorry. Crucified for three and a half days. Some from every people, tribe, language, and nation will gaze at their bodies and refuse them a burial.
The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth.
[Speaker 2]
Amen.
[Speaker 1]
Oh man, there wasn't, they weren't even nice. They tormented them. But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered them and they stood on their feet and terror struck those who saw them.
Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, come up here. And they won. And they went up to heaven in a cloud while their enemies looked on.
[Speaker 2]
How can they do that? Technologically, how are they going to do that? John wrote this 2000 years ago.
How's everyone going to see that happen?
[Speaker 1]
Cell phones.
[Speaker 2]
Satellites and cell phones.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah, yeah. Everyone's going to see it.
[Speaker 2]
Yeah. Everybody on October 4th got a ring, a ping on their phone, right?
[Speaker 1]
Yeah. Yeah, that's true.
[Speaker 2]
Yeah.
[Speaker 1]
I love it. At that very hour, there was a severe earthquake and a 10th of the city collapsed. 7,000 people were killed in the earthquake and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.
[Speaker 2]
How about that? What? Yeah, give God some glory, huh?
A little whole lot of shaking going on.
[Speaker 1]
Now, wait a minute. Prophecy, as we're talking about, God's prophecy is very specific. Very specific.
Now, wait a second. It says 7,000 people were killed.
[Speaker 2]
Yeah.
[Speaker 1]
He's just calling it out.
[Speaker 2]
Yeah.
[Speaker 1]
Not 7,001. Right. Not 7,050 or 7,000 some.
He's saying 7,000 people were killed. So guess what's going to happen? 7,000 people are going to die that day.
[Speaker 2]
So if there's 7,001 or 6,999.
[Speaker 1]
But we know it's not.
[Speaker 2]
Oh, absolutely.
[Speaker 1]
We can trust.
[Speaker 2]
To the nth degree.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah, we're going to trust. The second woe has passed and the third woe is coming soon.
[Speaker 2]
It's coming. Seventh trumpet, yeah.
[Speaker 1]
Wow. Wow. It's amazing.
Amazing. Wouldn't that be a great movie right there?
[Speaker 2]
Yeah. Yeah, we could. It's funny how the world has a hard time getting themes.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[Speaker 2]
Am I doing something wrong?
[Speaker 1]
Nope, nope, not at all. So, okay. So let's keep going.
So now that part is done. What's the 12th chapter? We've got the seventh trumpet.
[Speaker 2]
The 12th chapter is Satan cast out of heaven, right? The accuser of the brethren. And then the Antichrist is livid.
He's angry and he's going to chase after the woman who's the nation of Israel. They're going to start to flee now. They're going to have to flee Jerusalem because the Antichrist armies have come against them and prevailed.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah.
[Speaker 2]
And according to Zechariah 12, you know, it's a cup of trembling, a rock of offense. And they're fighting a good fight, Israel, but God allows them to be thrust out and that remnant flees to Basra.
[Speaker 1]
Like what we were talking about.
[Speaker 2]
Yeah, to Petra, rock city of Petra.
[Speaker 1]
This time, this is where the devil, I mean, the Antichrist walks into the temple, declares himself to be God, demands to be worshiped as God, correct? Like in Matthew.
[Speaker 2]
Well, that happened in chapter 11.
[Speaker 1]
Oh, 11.
[Speaker 2]
Yeah, the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet. He declares himself to be God.
[Speaker 1]
And now, so now the devil is angry. He's thrust out, no longer has access to heaven anymore, right? Because right now he can still access, accusing us, right?
Doesn't he accuse?
[Speaker 2]
Yeah, he's able to come for a throne of God and accuse us before God day and night. And he's the prosecuting attorney and Jesus ever lives to make intercession for us. And notice it says in verse 11, how did they overcome the Antichrist?
[Speaker 1]
By the blood of the lamb and the, I'm not reading it. I'm just saying it from memory. Word of their testimony.
[Speaker 2]
And love not their lives unto death. Right.
[Speaker 1]
Got the heads cut off.
[Speaker 2]
Yeah. And so they love God more than their own lives, right?
[Speaker 1]
Yep.
[Speaker 2]
Devil knows it's a short time. So the dragon that was cast under the earth, dragon being the devil, persecuted the woman, which is the nation of Israel, who brought forth the male child, brought forth Jesus to whom we're given two wings of a great Eagle. So on Eagle's wings, they fly and they're going to flee very quickly to Moab or Southern Jordan to Petra.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah.
[Speaker 2]
And time, times and a half times, Daniel seven, 25. So for three and a half years. And so then the serpent.
So he's described as a dragon. Now, a different word, serpent cast out of his mouth, water like a flood after the woman. So his army, the Antichrist armies are going to flee.
They're going to pursue. So Jesus is setting the trap, isn't he? At Armageddon, all these armies of the world.
Now, simultaneously, if we look ahead, Revelation 17 and 18 is happening where the Babylon is destroyed.
[Speaker 1]
Yes.
[Speaker 2]
Babylon is blown up and the merchants, everybody looking from afar. So they're so sad. Yeah.
And so the anger of the wicked one is to pursue the Jews and to pursue the nation of Israel. And this is going to be the end of what's called the times of the Gentiles, of where the rebirth Roman Empire with the AC, the Antichrist leading them, where they're dominant over the nation of Israel. That's going to end because Jesus is going to destroy these armies with the sword of his mouth and the brightness of his coming to establish his kingdom upon earth.
And Israel is going to be in land ruling and reigning with Jesus during the millennium. We, the church, are going to rule and reign as kings and priests also.
[Speaker 1]
Yes. That's good. Amen.
And that's, you know, there's a lot of details in here, and I encourage anybody to read the book of Revelation. So amazing. It gives you basically what's coming, what's coming.
And in a lot of detail, you know, talking about the Babylon destroyed and how the earth, the earth, people who do not believe in Jesus are so mournful because that's where their prosperity, their ships and their merchants and all the good stuff, you know, comes from and is completely destroyed, blows their mind, you know, and they're so, so. Earth's loving their stuff that they're really upset. But, you know, God doesn't care because that's against God.
And so Babylon has fallen, Babylon has fallen as we keep going. And then we go to 19 and the battle of Armageddon is 1911. Defeats the beast.
Let me make sure I go. I see here. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood and his name is the word of God.
The armies of heaven were following him, riding on the white horse and dressed in fine linen, white and clean coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. Here's the battle of Armageddon right here. This is 19.
I started in 11. He will rule them with an iron sepulcher. He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty on his robe and on his thigh.
He has this name written King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And I saw an angel sitting, I mean, standing in the sun who cried in a loud voice to all of the birds flying in midair. Come gather together for great supper of God so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals and the mighty and the horses and horses and their riders and the flesh of all people, free and slave, great and small.
For I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to wage war against the rider on the horse and his army. And the rider on the horse is Jesus. And the army is us behind them, even though we don't have to do anything.
[Speaker 2]
It comes with ten thousand thousands of the saints with angels and with the saints with us.
[Speaker 1]
But the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed the signs on its behalf. With these signs, he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshipped its image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, and the rest were killed with the sword coming out of the mouth of the rider of the horse.
And all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh. So then the dragon, the slaughter, and then the dragon and the ancient serpent who is the devil, Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. So he was put into the abyss, locked away, sealed.
That's in chapter 20. And we are moving right along to the millennium, millennium, thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.
This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has now no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.
We're going to reign with him for a thousand years. And that's not happening right now.
[Speaker 2]
That's just getting started. That hasn't happened yet.
[Speaker 1]
No, it hasn't happened yet. A lot of people are deceived and they think that it's happening right now.
[Speaker 2]
No, we're not in the millennium.
[Speaker 1]
I didn't see any of those things happening up to this point.
[Speaker 2]
We're not in the millennium. We're in the church age. We're in the church age.
[Speaker 1]
So then it goes into the release of Satan.
[Speaker 2]
After a thousand years.
[Speaker 1]
After a thousand years.
[Speaker 2]
And the word millennium's not there, but it's a thousand years.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah.
[Speaker 2]
Latin, it means millennium.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah. Then a thousand years was over. Satan was released from the prison.
And just to refer back to what I was reading before, it was in 20. I started, I believe, in verse five. And then I'm continuing now into seven.
A thousand years are over. Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for a battle in number. They are like the sand of the seashore.
They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. See, these are the ones who did not give their heart to the Lord, did not serve him.
And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
[Speaker 2]
So when Jesus returns to Basra, Petra, he destroys, according to the second Thessalonians chapter two, the beast who is the Antichrist and the false prophet with the brightness of his coming sword of his mouth. They're immediately taken by the angels and put into the lake of fire. But the devil is grabbed hold of and put in the abyss.
And he's held there for a thousand years. And then after that thousand years here, he appears to tempt, to test those who have their human bodies, the Gentiles that repopulate the planet in their human bodies during that thousand years. And they have a choice that's given.
Do they want to follow Jesus who's demonstrated his love and rule and reign with a routed righteousness? But that old adamant nature chooses to rebel against God, a demonstration of man's will. And the devil fire comes down from heaven quickly and devours them all.
[Speaker 1]
And if people don't understand the millennium, the during that thousand years, Jesus is on the earth, king of kings, lord of lords, ruling and reigning from Jerusalem.
[Speaker 2]
Yeah, this new glorified body.
[Speaker 1]
And the Jews who were the remnant that was left will rule with him on the earth. Yes. And so no longer.
So we've transitioned from the Gentile rule to the Jew, Jewish. Yeah, the Israel rule with Jesus. And we in our glorified bodies will be help ruling and reigning on the earth.
Which is amazing. That's where my heart is set. My heart is set on the millennium and the job that he has set before us to do.
And I always tell Rob, my husband, I always tell him, you know, that this work that we do here on earth right now is boot camp is basically.
[Speaker 2]
Getting ready.
[Speaker 1]
Preparing us for whatever job he has.
[Speaker 2]
And one of the things I love is as you as you study through Isaiah and Ezekiel, Jeremiah, you'll see where the Lord says he's going to save Egypt, where he's going to save the Gentile nations. So presently, as we're going to war, and Israel is going to go to war with all these nations. And historically, there's been a lot of these nations that are anti-Semitic and hate Israel.
And God is going to, he loves Gentiles. You know, he loves these Gentile nations. And he's going to bring many of those nations into the millennium.
And they're going to live in peace with the nation of Israel.
[Speaker 1]
Because they didn't get the mark.
[Speaker 2]
Well, they didn't get the mark. And yeah, they didn't get the mark. They fought.
They fought against it all. But, you know, there's Gentile nations that he's going to save, that he's going to bring into the millennium. So we want to be cautious of in our great love for Israel and the apple of God's eye and the favor of Genesis 12.
I bless those that bless you, curse those that curse you. We need to be reminded as the devil tries to get us ethnic group against ethnic group, kingdom against kingdom and wars and rumors of wars. We're called to love our enemies.
So the folks that are anti-Semitic or that hate Israel, so to speak, a lot of it is, you know, stimulated. We fight not against flesh and blood, but against spirits and principalities of the air. So we don't want to fall in the trap of hating Iran, for instance.
The leadership of Iran might be evil, but the fastest growing church in the world right now is in Iran, we're told. So there's a whole lot of Christians there.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah, God loves them.
[Speaker 2]
And our media would want us to hate China, to go to war with China. But there's a whole lot of Christians in China.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah.
[Speaker 2]
And our government would want us with the media to hate Russia, blame Russia for everything. And there's a lot of Christians in Russia, right?
[Speaker 1]
And in Ukraine.
[Speaker 2]
So it's for God's soul, love the world, right? And Israel, obviously, God chose not because of the greatest, but the smallest. And he wanted to bring forth the Messiah through them.
The devil hates the nation of Israel. The devil hates Christians. But Jesus loves the entire world.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah.
[Speaker 2]
So we've got to be careful that we don't fall into this trap of hating and demonizing people groups, like somehow Israel is super special and everybody else is to be hated.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah, exactly.
[Speaker 2]
That's not God's heart. He's come to save.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah.
[Speaker 2]
God didn't send the Son of the world to condemn the world. The world through him might be saved, right?
[Speaker 1]
And the mystery, once hid, now revealed, is that the Gentiles get to be a part.
[Speaker 2]
I'm excited about people in Iran and the mosques being empty and the church underground. Imagine how dangerous it is to be a Christian in Iran.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah, it's dangerous no matter what.
[Speaker 2]
And in China.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah.
[Speaker 2]
So I'm just so excited. He's King of kings and Lord of lords, and he's ruling over the entire world. And he's chosen people, every tribe, tongue, people, and nation, right?
[Speaker 1]
Yeah.
[Speaker 2]
Every ethnic group.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah.
[Speaker 2]
He loves them all.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah.
[Speaker 2]
Right?
[Speaker 1]
Yeah. That's the heart of God right there.
[Speaker 2]
Right there.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah. That's amazing. Okay.
Well, I think we did a really good job going through the book of Revelation. And so then the next one is really quick, just to wrap it up, is new heaven and new earth, the eternal state, and...
[Speaker 2]
New Jerusalem.
[Speaker 1]
New Jerusalem. And...
[Speaker 2]
Chapter 21 and 22.
[Speaker 1]
And us living with God through eternity forever.
[Speaker 2]
Right.
[Speaker 1]
So...
[Speaker 2]
Ephesians 2, verse 7, in the ages to come.
[Speaker 1]
Ages to come.
[Speaker 2]
What age are we in?
[Speaker 1]
The church age.
[Speaker 2]
What's the age after that?
[Speaker 1]
The tribulations.
[Speaker 2]
Epoch of time. Period of time. Seven-year tribulation period.
Time of Jacob's trouble. The age after that.
[Speaker 1]
Millennium.
[Speaker 2]
The age after that.
[Speaker 1]
The eternal state.
[Speaker 2]
Eternal state on into eternity.
[Speaker 1]
And who knows? Who knows after that? But we are learning and growing, trusting God.
He's got it. He's got it under control. He's the one who has all the answers, and we just need to submit ourselves and our hearts into Him.
[Speaker 2]
It's important for us to know what age we're in. Yeah. We're in the church age.
We're not in the kingdom age, as you keep saying today.
[Speaker 1]
So many people believe that.
[Speaker 2]
We're not in the kingdom age. They think we're in there already.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah.
[Speaker 2]
We're not there.
[Speaker 1]
They don't see this as literal things that are going to happen.
[Speaker 2]
The church age.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah. But the... But it is literal.
It is going to happen. These things are to come.
[Speaker 2]
Yeah. It's not allegorical. He's literally going to return.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah.
[Speaker 2]
He's going to set up His kingdom.
[Speaker 1]
Exactly. Okay. Well, thank you so much.
I think we really got what we wanted to get accomplished today in the prophecy, prophecy, and why it's so important. And Revelation has so much prophecy yet to come. So thank you so much for joining us today.
Be Not Deceived is going to continue and Lord willing, and we will continue with the many topics that are to come. So keep your eyes open. Keep looking for the different podcasts that are going to be uploaded and for your listening and watching enjoyment.
[Speaker 2]
And keep looking up.
[Speaker 1]
Yeah. Look up for Redemption Drawth Night.
[Speaker 2]
Amen.
[Speaker 1]
Thank you so much.
[Speaker 2]
Thank you.