Events of the 7th Trump

In the 70s and 80s, I spent a lot of time studying prophecy and sort of put it on the shelf for quite a while. And then, in recent days and recent times, have come back to it. We gave a sermon on Feast of Trumpets leading up to the opening of the 7th Seal, a lot of the events that will occur there. And then, we talked about the opening of the seals. Jesus Christ was the only one worthy to open the seals. And so, in view of the world conditions that we live in, I have returned once again to study of it. There are many things that have happened on the prophetic scene, on the world scene, the geopolitical scene, the economic scene, even in the last decade, for that matter, in the past year. We never dreamed that Islam would do what it's doing. I don't think we did. And we never dreamed of the flood of refugees going from the Middle East into Europe and virtually taking over some of the countries. France is in desperate straits, and everywhere the Islamic people migrate into, they are generally determined to set up Sharia law in those areas and live under that, instead of the Constitution and the values and traditions of the U.S.

Today, we're continuing somewhat with what we did on Feast of Trumpetants, the opening of the sixth seal. Remember, according to Revelation 5, Jesus Christ is the only one counted worthy to open the seals. And in Revelation 6, verse 12, if you'll turn there, we see that the sixth seal introduces the day of the Lord. The day of the Lord is when God directly intervenes, and from that point on, He is calling the shots on the world scene. That's not to say that free will is taken away from people and all kinds of evil and all kinds of things are happening in addition to what is described in the book of Revelation, because surely that is the case. But the major outline, the major stream of events are recorded in the book of Revelation. Of course, there's a lot of support material, which we'll be covering some of that today as well, from the Old Testament as well.

In Revelation 6, verse 12, And I beheld when he had opened, Jesus Christ opened the sixth seal, and lo, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood. The sun black and the moon became as blood. Now, you compare that with Joel, chapter 2, verse 30. The sun black and the moon blood, here in Revelation 6. So go to Joel, chapter 2. Hosea Joel. In Joel, chapter 2, this phenomenon of the heavenly signs is also addressed by Joel. Joel, chapter 2, verse 29.

Well, we'll need to read 28 as well. And I'm having trouble with these glasses. Now Peter quoted these two verses here, verses 28 and 29, in Acts 2, in his inspired sermon on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was sent. Notice that before the great and terrible day of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit was sent to the glory of the Lord. So one of the ways that one of the great signs before the great and terrible day of the Lord, the sun darkened and the moon turned into blood. Of course, you've read about, heard about the Shemitah and the great furore that was raised. And a lot of people made a lot of money about telling people that all these big things were going to happen in 2015 with regard to the blood, moons, and all of that.

Now, the blood moons have happened before, and they are part of natural phenomena that have happened, and there will be blood moons in the future if time goes on long enough. But this is the direct intervention of God. He is the one who darkens the sun and the moon turned to blood. He is directly intervening in the affairs of humankind and also the environment.

Verse 32, and it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call in the name of the Lord shall be delivered, for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call. During the day of the Lord, the sun and the moon are darkened. You also look at Joel 3 and verse 9. Joel 3 and verse 9. Proclaim you among the Gentiles, the nations, prepare war. And that's what the world is doing at the present time.

All the nations that can possibly get their hands on armaments or getting their hands on armaments, you can look back there in different places in Joel 3.

In Joel 3 and verse 9, we'll come back there where we're reading, Proclaim you this among the Gentiles, prepare war. Wake up the mighty men. Let all the men of war draw near. Let them come up. Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hook into spears.

Let the weak say, I am strong. So all the nations are trying to gather all the armaments that they possibly can at the present time. Assemble yourselves and come all you heathen nations. Gather yourselves together round about there because your mighty ones cause your mighty ones to come down. Let the nations be awakened. Let the nations be awakened and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat. The valley of Jehoshaphat, the blood flows up to the bridles of the horses.

The valley of Jehoshaphat is somewhat similar to the plains of Megiddo, where a lot of battles have been historically fought. For there will I sit to judge all the heathen, or the nations, round about. Put you in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, get you down, for the press is full. The fats overflow, for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes, and the valley of decision, for the day of the Lord is near, in the valley of decision.

The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth shall shake. God is going to intervene.

He is going to shake the nations. He is going to judge the nations. Now look in Matthew, also similar in the New Testament, in Matthew 24, beginning in verse 29, with regard to these end time events. Matthew 24, and we'll begin in verse 29.

Matthew 24, verse 29. Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light. After the tribulation of those days. This time, the day of the Lord, God is calling the shots. He is the one who is orchestrating events. The Great Tribulation is basically the time of Satan's wrath, where he goes about trying to destroy Israel and the church. And the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, like you read in Revelation 6.

And the powers of heaven shall be shaken. See, the stars are also symbolic of angels. You have the good angels and you have the demons. And God is going to cast Satan and his demons down to the earth, and they go about knowing that they have but a short time.

And we'll read that probably later on. And the powers of the heavens shall be shaken, and then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with the great sound of a trumpet. And they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the end of heaven to the other.

The day of the Lord at the time in which the wrath of God and the Lamb are poured out as God brings the world into judgment. It is the time of God's vengeance, like it talks about in Isaiah 61. I mean, yeah, 61 in the first few verses there, the time of God's vengeance. God is going to bring to judgment Satan, the beast, the false prophet, and those who are in league with them, and the whole world, for that matter. Let's look at Jeremiah 25.31. Jeremiah confirms what I've just said. Hopefully we're writing these scriptures down, and we will pursue them and study them. We'll have a lot of scriptures today and cover a lot of ground.

In Jeremiah 25, verse 31, God lets time go on for a long period of time. Long-suffering, merciful, not willing that any should perish, but there does come a time when He says, I have had it. I have had enough.

That's what happened in the pre-flood world. When the thoughts and the intents and the heart of men were continually upon evil, God said, I've got to do something. And He even says that He was sorry that He had even created humans in the first place. He had created them for the great purpose of becoming His sons and daughters in His family. So, all the nations go forth. He is going to judge them. I had the controversy with the nations.

He will plead with all flesh. He will give them that are wicked to the sword, says the eternal less, as the Lord of hosts, behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coast of the earth.

And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth, even into the other end of the earth. They shall not be lamented, neither gathered nor buried. They shall be done upon the ground. What a time this will be of decaying carcasses of human beings, scattered from one end of the earth to the other. These scriptures are quite sobering. We spent quite a lot of time in the church in the 50s and 60s proclaiming a lot of these prophecies.

And then, after 1975, it didn't come to pass, I guess. Then some moved the date to 1982. That didn't come to pass. And here we are in 2016, and seeing the geopolitical landscape as we see it, it's like, unbelievably, at a time like this, it is prophesied that the church will go to sleep, and it will be scattered. So we need to do whatever we can do to be ready and to also be as unified as we possibly can be.

Look at Isaiah 66, verse 16, similar. Isaiah 66 and verse 16. Isaiah is one of the least understood books. It has 66 chapters. Unless you have taken a course at Ambassador ABC, you probably never had every verse of Isaiah expounded.

It is quite the book. So many prophecies. In Isaiah 66 and verse 15, So it's similar to what we just read from Jeremiah 25, 31. So let's review, once again, the seventh trump. In Revelation chapter 10, verse 7, we read this scripture on trumpets, but we'll read it again here today. There is so much in the Bible. It is such a gold mine. And if you don't just spend a lot of time with it and meditate and dig, a lot of these things will pass right by. And it seems like people sort of get a broad outline of the way things are going to be as they think in their mind what they've heard traditionally and so on.

And they just sort of go to sleep and coast along and live sort of one Sabbath to the other and not really focusing on the Word of God as we should. In Revelation 10, verse 7, according to 1 Corinthians 15, the resurrection occurs at the last trump. The Apostle Paul writes in Revelation 15, verses 51-52, Behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep. Sleep is like and unto death or death like and unto sleep.

Better way to phrase it. But we shall all be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last trump, for the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption and this mortal put on immortality. So here the great mystery. Paul says, I show you a mystery. What is a mystery?

The mystery is a resurrection, how that flesh is made incorruptible and immortal. And you'll be raised as a glorious, radiant spirit being, as a member of the family of God, son and daughter, glorious in the kingdom of God. Now let's turn to Revelation 11 and verse 14. Revelation 11 verse 14 is a benchmark, as it were. The second woe is passed. So you had the first four trumpets, which consist of plagues poured out basically on the environment.

Then you had the first woe described in the first part of Revelation 9. Then you had the second woe being described, which is the last part of Revelation 9. Chapter 10 is somewhat of an inset chapter. And then the first part of Revelation 11 deals with the city of Jerusalem being divided, given over to the Gentiles. They shall tread it down for three and a half years. And during that time, the two witnesses will give their testimony.

And after they are killed and they are resurrected and caught up into the heavens, that completes the second woe and fulfills the first six trumpets. So Revelation 11.14. The second woe is passed, and behold, the third woe comes quickly, and the seventh angel sounded. So here is the sounding of the seventh trump. And we read 1 Corinthians 15 that says, The last trump, the dead and Christ, shall be raised incorruptible and immortal.

So we have now the beginning of this seventh trumpet. And let's read here the rest of verse 15. And the seventh angel sounded, and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become, and it's really present progressive, becoming the kingdoms of our Lord and his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever. Now, it's very difficult to put all these events in chronological order. The seals and the trumpets and the bowls of wrath do that to some degree, but there are a lot of other things that are happening simultaneously with all of this as well.

John writes a brief summary of what he sees and hears in the visions that he experiences. But there are a lot of other things happening that he's not seeing that takes place at that time. His descriptions of what he is seeing does not include other events that are taking place on the earth and in the heavens. And we've not focused on this as we should have, probably in the past.

So Revelation 11.15 that we just read, the kingdoms of this world, begin to become the kingdoms of God and his Christ. Read it again. The seventh angel sounded, there were great voices in heaven saying, the kingdoms of this world are become.

And you have to look at the tenths of that. It just doesn't happen as if you wave a magic wand. I think some people have the idea that Christ will come and everything is set in order. And that's all there is to it. It's going to be a suffering time. It's going to be a bloody time. There will be much death as we've already read. Bodies strewn from east to west all across the face of the earth.

So we need to note that it does not all happen at once in some kind of waving of a magic wand. And Satan and the beast and the false prophet and the world leaders who are in league with them suddenly surrender and everything is peaceful. That's not the way it's going to happen. Once again, it's going to be a bloody affair and much suffering and death. Some read Zechariah 14.4 out of context, which says, in that day his foot shall stand on the Mount of Olives.

And they draw the curtain down. It's as if it's all over. They don't read the whole context that begins much earlier in the book of Zechariah. And they don't continue reading the rest of the chapter. So as I stated earlier, God does not wave a magic wand.

And all these things are set in order. All kingdoms are not automatically subdued and all peoples are not instantly converted. In fact, many people will never be converted. The judgment of the nation, subduing them, bringing about order, will be a most painful ordeal with much bloodshed, suffering and death. The sounding of the seventh trumpet is one of the most momentous events in all of human history. The leaders of the beast system are shaken and they are angered, as we'll read in just a moment, by these events to the point that they set out to fight against God and Christ and the saints.

And the beast at the bottomless pit is unleashed with the sounding of the fifth trumpet plague or first war, and he wreaks havoc on the peoples of the world. We'll come back here to Revelation 11, verse 15, in just a moment. But look at Revelation 9. Let's spend just a moment here, parenthetically, with the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit. In Revelation 9, verse 1, the fifth angel sounded, this is the first woe we've already mentioned, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth, and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. He opened the bottomless pit, and there rose smoke out of the pit as the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.

And there came out of the smoke locus upon the earth, and unto them were given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power, and they torment humankind for five months. People seek death. They can't find it. They want to die. They are so tormented. Then you look at verse 11. They had a king over them, which is the angel, and the word is angelos.

It can refer to a spirit being or a human being. It can refer to a good angel or a bad angel, which is a demon, or the devil. An angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue his name is Apollyon. And in both languages it means destroyer. Now you look at Revelation 11. Who kills the two witnesses? Who kills the two witnesses? Revelation 11.7, after they have finished their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them and shall consume them and kill them.

So that's a part of that sixth trumpet in the second woe. Now you look at Revelation 20, the ultimate fate of this one, back into the bottomless pit in Revelation 20. And I saw an angel come down from heaven having the key of the bottomless pit. See, after the flood, God placed a lot of restraint on the devil and the demons. Now the devil still had access to the throne of God, but there was some restraint placed on them. They were not as free to move about and do their thing as they were in the pre-flood world.

Can I prove that? Hold your place here. Look at 1 Peter 3. 1 Peter 3. We'll look at verse 17. 1 Peter 3.

1 Peter 3.

We'll start in 15. Oh, that's 2 Peter. Let me get back there. 1 Peter 3.

Verse 18.

1 Peter 3. 18. For Christ also has once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive by the Spirit. The Father raised Him from the dead. 19 By which, that is, by the Spirit, He also went and preached unto the spirits in prison, which sometimes were disobedient, when, once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah. Remember, Noah preached for 120 years, and there was tremendous evil. The thoughts and intents of the heart of men were continually on evil during that period of time when the ark was preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. Now, you look back at 1 Peter 2, and you'll see clearly this restraint in 1 Peter 2. No, I'm sorry, I don't have this in my notes, but I've got it in my mind, but I'm sometimes dyslexic. In 2 Peter 2, you'll see this restraint. In verse 4, 2 Peter 2.4, For God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to... And the great word here is tartarut, a condition of restraint, and deliver them into the chains of darkness to be reserved unto judgment. Of course, one of the things that we're going to do in resurrection is judge the angels according to 1 Corinthians 6. And I assume this means also the fallen angels. So, the devil had restraint, and the demons especially had some restraint. Basically, the demons can only express themselves through human beings at the present time. That is not to say, of course, the devil can influence and all kinds of things can happen if you open yourself up to it. But basically, they are not as free as they were in the pre-flood world. But then they're cast down, we'll read about later, at this end times and have a lot of the restraint removed and go about trying to destroy humankind. I don't know how it is that we drift here or there with regard to what the Bible really says and what we've been called to, the Battle of the Ages. And as you heard in the opening prayer, once again, to warn the nations, the peoples of the world, and the Church of God with regard to what this world and this present evil age is all about. Satan is the God of this present evil age. He is walking about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

So we're back in Revelation 20. This one has the key to the bottomless pit, verse 2, And he laid hold upon the dragon, that old serpent, which is the devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, And shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled. And after that, he must be loosed a little season.

The beast of the bottomless pit, as we've already noted, is the one who kills the two witnesses. So once again, I tell you, the book of Revelation provides us with an outline of the major events that will be occurring during the day of the Lord. Many things are happening during that time. John is recording what he's seeing and hearing. Remember what it says in Matthew 24-24. This should be a scripture committed to memory. Matthew 24-24 says, If it were possible, the very elect would be deceived. That is why I must, you must, we must all develop a love affair with the truth to the point that you're so convicted and so committed that you love not your lives until the death.

That's one of the ways whereby Satan is overcome after he is cast down. The anger of Satan, the beast, and the false prophet, along with world leaders, is very great. Now let's go back to Revelation 15.

Revelation 15, the kingdoms of this world are beginning to become the kingdoms of God and His Christ.

Notice the reaction that occurs.

Revelation 11, we've read 15.

We didn't read all of it, though. We'll read the whole thing again. Revelation 11, 15, In the seventh angel sine there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign for ever and ever. And the four and twenty-four elders, which are before God, on their seats, fell upon their faces and worshipped God, saying, We give thanks, O eternal God Almighty, which are, was, is to come, because You have taken to You Your great power and have reigned. And the nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, in the time of the dead, that they should be judged, say of the last trump, that the resurrection takes place. You should give reward unto Your servants, the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear Your name, small and great, and should destroy them, which destroy the earth.

And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in His temple the ark of His covenant, and there were lightnings and voices and thunderings and earthquakes and great hail.

Now the anger of Satan, the beast, and the false prophet, along with world leaders that are in league with them, is exacerbated by the pouring out of the bowls of wrath that we'll read about in a few minutes.

The first bowl of wrath is poured out on those who are worshipping the image of the beast. And Revelation 13 explains in broad terms how the beast power develops. It seems that the beast of Revelation 13, it is a system in one sense, and yet there is a personal object of worship. We refer, we say, well, the beast system, the nations, they comprise the beast system. But then there is an object of worship as well. In Revelation 13, verse 3, And I saw one of his heads, as it were, wounded to death, and his deadly wound was healed, and all the world wandered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon that Satan realizes for a period of time, his age-old insatiable quest to be worshipped. They worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast, and they worshipped the beast, saying, who is likened to the beast, and who is able to make war with him. See, all nations join in, lead with the beast to some degree for a short period of time. Of course, they have a falling out. And there was given unto him a mouth, speaking great things, and blasphemies, and power was given unto him to continue forty-two months, three and a half years. He opened his mouth and blasted me against God to blaspheme his name. See, a system in and of itself doesn't do this. You have to have a person, an age-age spokesman, to do it. Someone who is leading it, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them, and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of the life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Now notice what this worship, how it develops.

Verse 13, He does great wonders so that He makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, deceives them to dwell on earth by the means of those miracles which He had power to do in the sight of the beast, saying to them that dwell on the earth that they should make an image. So here we have this false prophet, and deceives them to dwell on the earth by means of those miracles which He had power to do in the sight of the beast, saying to them that dwell on the earth that they should make an image to the beast which had the wound by a sword and did live. And He had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause that as many as would not worship, the image of the beast should be killed. And He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand or in their forehead, that no man might buy or sell save he that had the mark in the name of the beast and the number of his name. Of course, you read a lot today about the chip, and chips have been developed, and the world is going away from cash to plastic, and then from plastic to chips, and it's being widely touted by many. You see some of these people who sit around tables on these talk shows, telling how great it is, your whole medical history is there. It will deal away with identity theft. It's a wonderful thing. And on and on it goes. So the technology is being developed to allow that kind of system. This one, this beast, is described in Daniel 8, who comes in through peace and prosperity. Let's go to Daniel 8.

In Daniel 8, the first part of the chapter is taken up with a vision of the ram and the goat pushing at each other. We'll start in verse 20. Daniel 8, 20, The ram which you saw having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia. The rough goat is the king of Grisha, Alexander the Great.

And the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.

Now that being broken, Alexander experienced an untimely death, age of 33, having conquered much of the Mediterranean world from Greece. And it went all the way across to India. And then he met the soldiers on elephants, and they could not deal with the elephants.

He finally retreated back to Babylon, an area where he died of some kind of illness, disease.

Now that being broken, four stood up in his place. Four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power. They don't have the same power and rulership. So his kingdom was divided among his four generals. The two main ones were Seleucid, who got Palestine and Syria, and extended all the way into Afghanistan. You have Kandahar, all the way into Pakistan, all the way to India. And then the other main area of the kingdom, Ptolemy, the Ptolemaic Empire that extended from the Middle East down into Egypt.

The latter time, the kingdom, when the transgressors were come to the foal, a king of fierce countenance and understanding of dark sentences, shall stand up. So this adds other dimensions to what you find in Revelation 13. We'll go to probably two or three places here.

And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power, whose power is Satan the Devil, like in Revelation 13. He shall destroy, and that word destroy really means corrupt. He doesn't literally kill them all. And shall prosper and practice and corrupt the mighty and the holy people. They will sing his praises initially because he brings peace and prosperity for a season.

And through his policy, also he shall cause crap to prosper. That is communication. That is worshiping of devils. Craft of prosper in his hand. Of course, he'll feign to be something else. And he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many. He shall also stand up against the Prince of Prentice. Hereby you know that it is the beast's power. He shall stand up against the Prince of Prentice, but he shall be broken without hand.

Also, you go to Daniel 11, another description of this one. In Daniel 11, verse 36, he's called here the willful king.

And the king shall do according to his will, and he shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god. That's like in 2 Thessalonians 2, he sits in the temple of God, saying that he is God. And shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper to the indignation be accomplished, for that that is determined shall be done. Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers. The God of the fathers is often referred to as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob being the fathers. And of course, there God was, Yahweh. Nor the desire of women, nor regard any God. He shall magnify himself above all, but in his estate shall he honor the God of forces, and a God whom his fathers knew not, shall he honor with gold and silver precious stones and pleasant things. Then the next succeeding verses describe how he pushes and conquers the Middle East. Then you look at verse 44. But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him. Of course Russia is to the north, so is Turkey. Therefore he shall go forth with the great fury to destroy and utterly to make away many. And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain. Where does the beast eventually set up his headquarters? In Jerusalem. In Jerusalem. I remember I was giving a seminar in Sydney, Australia, and the church thereafter services in, I guess it was the year 2000, and one of the members couldn't believe that I'd said it. I said, I didn't say it. The Bible says it.

The Bible says it. And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain. Yet shall he come to his end, and none shall help him. Now you look at Revelation 11 again.

This time we read verse 8. We read verse 7 where the beast power kills the two witnesses, the beast out of the bottomless pit.

And you look at Revelation 11.8. And their dead bodies shall be in the street of the great city. And you say, well, it could be another city. No, it's identified. Which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

So there is no doubt about the identity of the great city. In 2 Thessalonians, he is also described.

There are many names given in the Bible for the beast and the beast power. In 2 Thessalonians 2. Apparently, in 1 Thessalonians, Paul and the church at Thessalonica believed that the return of Christ was imminent. It seems that virtually every generation, for the most part, would think that they had expectation that Christ would return. The apostles expected Christ to return in their lifetime. They didn't expect it to be 2,000 years. If you'd have told each generation, well, 2,000 years, where would be the sense of urgency? Where would be the expectation? Now, here we live in a time in which it looks like virtually every prophecy you want to turn to is being fulfilled before our very eyes. And yet, at the same time, according to the parable of the ten virgins, the church slumbers and sleeps. Five are wise, though. They do wake up when the bridegroom knocks on the door. Five are wise and five are foolish.

In 2 Thessalonians, Paul writes to let them know that the return of Jesus Christ is not yet. So, let's read here from 2 Thessalonians 2. Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled neither by spirit nor by sword, nor by letter as from us, that the day of Christ is at hand. How is the day of Christ and the day of the Lord are one and the same? How is the day of the Lord introduced? The sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall be his blood, and the stars from heaven fall, the powers of the heavens are shaken, Satan is cast down. There is great seismic activity, earthquakes, people fearing for their lives, throwing their money into the streets, calling for the mountains to fall on them. So don't be shaken in mind, nor troubled neither by spirit, that the day of Christ is at hand. Verse 3, Let no man deceive you by any means, for that day shall not come, except there come, in apostasia, a great false teaching. I am very convinced that the great false teaching is that this one who sits in the temple of God is God.

And that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition. See, this is a worldwide phenomenon.

There are people who speculate at times at the time and write names in the Bible and say, Well, what happened in 1995 was that it was a great false teaching, but it's not this one. It's not this one. This one is yet future. And there have been false teachers through the ages, and there will continue to be. And one of the main goals of many is to draw out followers to themselves.

That man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worship. This sounds just like Daniel 11, verses 38, 39, along in there. Or that is, so that he as God sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. I mean, this is the epitome of a false teaching, a falling away at Applesch In Revelation 13, 8 says that everyone that dwells on earth shall worship the beast, except those whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life slain from the foundation of the world.

Verse 7 says this mystery already works. Paul told him in verse 5 that I'd already told you about these things. For the mystery of iniquity, verse 7, does already work, only he who now lets will let until he be taken out of the way. And God removes the restraints. Satan is cast down. Then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming, even him whose coming is after the working of Satan, with all power and signs and lying wonders. And with deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish, because they receive not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

And a key verse here, the love of the truth, as we stated earlier. And for this cause, God shall send them strong delusion. They'll be deceived. If they don't have a love for the truth, they are going to be deceived. Once again, the Matthew 24, 24. And if it were possible, the very elect would be deceived.

And for this cause, God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe the lie. There's no indefinite in Greek. It should be the lie. What is the lie? That that one is God. That that one is God. That sits in the temple of God. That they all might be damned, who believe not the truth and had pleasure in unrighteousness. But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God has from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth.

Whereunto He called you by our Gospel to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, brethren, stand fast. Hold the traditions which you have been taught, whether by word or by epistle. Now our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God, even our Father, which has loved us and have given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts, establish you in every good work and word.

So you see that the descriptions in Daniel 8, description in Daniel 11, description in 2 Thessalonians 2, meshes with the description that is given in Revelation 13. We noted in Revelation 11.7 that Jerusalem has become Sodom and Egypt. And we read from Daniel 11.45 that the willful king, the beast, plants his tabernacle in the glorious holy mountain in Jerusalem. Now we go to Revelation 16, where the bulls of wrath are poured out. Remember that the nations are angry and they seek to unseat God Himself and destroy Israel, the church of God, and those who believe the truth.

In Revelation 16, verse 1, And I heard a great voice out of the temple, saying to the seven angels, Go your way, pour out the vials of wrath of God upon the earth. And the first went and poured out his vial upon the earth, and there fell a noisome and grievous sower upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.

And we read about the creation of that in Revelation 13. And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea, it became as blood of a dead man, and every living soul died in the sea. Now you look down to verse 10. And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast. Now where is the beast made his seat? He plants his tabernacles between the two seas in the glorious holy mountain in that great city, spiritually called Sodom and Egypt, where our Lord was crucified. And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast, and his kingdom was full of darkness, and they gnawed their tongues for pain.

I don't know if you've ever been in a situation in which you were hurting so bad that someone says, or the doctor says, bite your tongue, this is going to hurt. I've been there a few times. And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.

And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates, and the water thereof was dried up that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. So these three are still in league, even to the time of this sixth trumpet, or the sixth bowl of wrath.

For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth into the kings of the earth, and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of the great day of God Almighty. And see, God is still in control. He's orchestrating the events. He's allowing this to happen. Now, here's a verse that sets in a warning.

When you think you have everything figured out, Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watches and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. And he gathered them together into a place in the Hebrew tongue called Armageddon. The Valley of Megiddo. Armageddon. That's not the name of the battle.

That's the name of the place where they are gathered. The name of the battle is in verse 14. Gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. That great day of God Almighty. The day of the Lord and the day of God are the same event.

And the seventh angel poured out his vial upon the earth, and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven from the throne, saying, It is done. And then it talks about Babylon falling. And there are details about many details in the Old Testament and the New Testament about Babylon, which we don't have time to explore today, but hopefully we shall in the times that lie ahead.

So let's go to Matthew 24 and close it for today. With regard to how do these things develop? How do they come to pass with those who have known the truth and those who know the truth, some who attend church regularly, and yet the day comes on them unawares because they are slumbering and sleeping.

Matthew 24, of course, gives us many, many signs that we should be aware of. We'll start here in verse 32. Matthew 24, 32. Now learn a parable of the fig tree when the branch is yet tender and put forth leaves, you know that summer is nigh.

We're talking about discernment. Discerning of the times. I gave a sermon two weeks ago on discernment. So likewise, you, when you shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Barely I say unto you, this generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away. Now when it says heaven and earth shall pass away, it does not mean in the absolute literal sense there be no earth and there be no heavens.

It means the powers of heaven and earth will be shaken and the powers that will be changed as a garment is changed. It describes that in Isaiah, but I don't have time to pursue that right now. There's a scripture in Ecclesiastes that says the earth abides forever, and so I'm not pursuing that now, but there will be new heavens and a new earth. But of that day an hour knows no man, no not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. My Father only. So when this was written, some people speculate, well, I guess Christ knows the time now, but at that time he said he didn't.

He was in the flesh at that time. But as the days of Noah were, we have referred to the days of Noah many times today, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days that were before the flood, they were eating, drinking, marrying, giving in marriage until the day that Noah entered the ark. And do not until the flood came and took them away, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. Then shall two be in the field, the one shall be taken, the other left.

Two women shall be grinding at the meal, the one shall be taken, the other left. Then it gets into the big keys. Watch therefore, for you know not what hour your Lord has come, but know that if the good man of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched and would not have permitted his house to be broken into. Therefore be you also ready.

For in such an hour as you think not, the Son of Man comes. Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his Lord shall make ruler over the household to give them food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his Lord, when he comes, shall find so doing. Verily I say unto you that he shall make him ruler over all his goods.

Here is the great warning, and it's an introduction to the parable of the ten virgins. But if that servant shall say in his heart, My Lord delays his coming. He says it in his heart. He doesn't go out and say, well, Christ is not coming anytime soon. Christ is not coming anytime soon. No, it's by the way he lives. And what is in your heart is a reflection of what you speak out of the abundance of the heart when the mouth speaks. What's in your heart is a reflection of how you live, how you do anything you want to name. But, verse 48, if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My Lord delays his coming, and shall begin to smite his fellow servants to eat and drink with the drunken. See, to a large degree, that's what has happened since 1995 in the churches as they splintered, smiting one another, trying to say, I'm better than you because of X, Y, or Z.

And I hope you say something wrong so I can jump on it, so I can make a case out of it, and maybe they'll follow me and not you.

Hopefully we're not following any man. If we do, we'll be sorely disappointed, because they will all, in one way or another, let you down from time to time, including me and you, or you and me. None of us are perfect. Trust not in the Son of Man. Put the trust in God. Begin to smite his fellow servants and to eat and drink with the drunken. The Lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looks not for him and in an hour that he's not aware of, and shall cut him asunder and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, then, when that's going on, the kingdom of heaven, like in any ten virgins. And so, brethren, the words in the Bible are quite clear with regard to what lies before us. Obviously, not every last detail is given. There are many things that are not here, and we're going to pursue more to the point that, as much as lies within us, we are going to wake up. We're not going to be Laodiceans. We're going to pursue the righteousness of the saints and the white linen, which is symbolic of the righteousness of the saints, so that we will have on a wedding garment. We'll have on a wedding garment, and we will be there at the wedding supper of the Lamb.