Prophetic Indicators about Rev. 2-3

Brethren, we have been covering the 14 indicators in the book of Revelation from chapters 1-4.

And I believe it's very important to remember because it's part of our church history through time. And I want to show you how the Bible itself gives these symbols. It gives this explanation. But it's something that's not well known outside of the Church of God community. But the book of Revelation starts in Revelation 1-1. If you'll turn there. And to whom is this book addressed? Is it addressed to the world at large? No, it isn't. In Revelation 1-1, it says, the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him.

So it's actually God the Father's revelation, which he gave to Jesus Christ, to show His servants. Yes, those in the church, things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John. So John did the recording, but it's actually a message from God the Father. And Jesus Christ saw that it would be carried out by Him.

So it's a very important message because I know Satan doesn't want people to know about the history of the Church. They want to think this is just this little sect that just arose in the past century and that doesn't have any real pedigree.

That's not the case at all. It is that small persecuted Church through the centuries. And we should be very proud to be part of that original Church that we celebrated a few months ago in the Day of Pentecost, the anniversary to it. And so I went ahead and did all this investigation and research to give you 14 reasons that we have here in Revelation, which shows us this message is not just for those local churches in that area of Southern Turkey, but that it also had to do with a description of the Church through these seven periods or what they call eras of the Church.

And so people can dismiss it, but if you have the Bible interpreting and showing you that this does have to do with the history, you can be comforted by that. Because that's something that has been attacked outside of our Church, mostly.

And so this is important understanding that we need to treasure and to just have it in your mind. Now, if you want to have this written, the 14 indicators, you don't have to do this copious notes. I can give you copies of it, send it to you through email, whatever. But it's so important because it's personal. It's like your family background. This is our spiritual family background that we should treasure and honor and be proud of and to defend and to teach your children that they will be the next generation of God's Church through the centuries.

So this is part two, and I'm just going to cover briefly the first seven indicators that we have in these books in Revelation, these chapters. We go over the last seven indicators afterwards, and so you're getting actually the 14 if you weren't able to show up last week. So let's briefly rehearse the first seven indicators. Number one is what Christ says in Revelation 1, 19, and 20. Christ is instructing John to do the following. Verse 19, he says, write the things which you have seen.

So the first vision is the first part of chapter one. So that's why he wrote down what he had seen. And then he says, and the things which are, which pertain to the time of the Apostle John, and the things which will take place after this. So it's not just the local time, the present time during John's day, but it's afterwards. And so the first indicator we have is that John's going to be describing things that have to do with further than his time in the future.

The book of Revelation is, above all, a book about prophecy, about future events. The second indicator we went through is that the seven churches were chosen to be representative of the overall church. That Christ is referring to all the churches that were covered at that time, and he used seven representative churches.

That there'd be attitudes in that time that would fit more one than another, but there are seven attitudes, which he is interested in having the churches know about it. Number seven is used continually through the book of Revelation, which is a completion. It has to do with a description of the church in its fulfillment. There were not only these seven local churches, but there's a church also in that same male route, which was Colossae and Herapolis. Those are two that were in that. So you would have had nine, but no, it's seven.

It's a time of explaining things in a complete way. And so these descriptions go far beyond the local circumstances and go to a prophetic description of the church until the return of Jesus Christ.

The third, notice about the first church mentioned in Revelation 2, in verse 2, the church at Ephesus, he says, I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil, and you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars. So was this just a church at Ephesus that had an issue, a local issue, with some people trying to become apostles? Or is it something about the period of time when the apostles lived where there were false apostles? And the apostle Paul talks about that in 2 Corinthians 11, where he talks about false apostles that are in their midst. So this was going to be a condition, especially of that first period. After the apostle John dies, we have this period of church history in the next two centuries, where nobody claims to be an apostle, because they know that was a special role that was given to those who witnessed the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And so there wasn't anything going on afterwards. It was specifically to a certain church period when apostles actually lived, and there were some pretending to be some as well.

The fourth indicator, also about this first church at Ephesus, it shows the tremendous drive that they had in verse 3 of Revelation 2. It says, and you have persevered and have patience and have labored for my namesake and have not become weary. So this first period of the church is characterized by Great Zeal. These 12 apostles were able to train others, and they spread through not only the Roman world, but the rest of the world. According to the accounts of early church historians, it mentions they went all the way to India and into China. They went all the way through Spain and up in England. They actually carried out that gospel until they finally were martyred. They were killed, but that's something that is characteristic of this first church period more than any others. The fifth indicator toward the end of this age, when the apostle John was the last one to remain, one of the characteristics is that, yes, at the end, because of the death of the rest of the apostles, John was the only one left. The church had to, during that period of time that we're talking about, it had to flee to the tiny town of Pella, what used to be the church headquarters in Jerusalem, where they sent apostles out. They sent people. You saw the apostle Paul coming to Jerusalem many times for the feasts.

All that basically ended with the destruction of Jerusalem and most of Judea in 70 AD.

The church was miraculously protected, but they had to go to a small town where they had caves where people had to live.

It was called Pella.

They didn't have the same capacity to keep sending that gospel out.

Christ, they thought, was going to return during that period, had not done so.

They were disappointed, and then vicious persecutions persisted, and so the zeal slowed down. And Christ said, you're still the church that I'm using. Don't get weary.

Don't lose that first love, that first enthusiasm that you had toward God.

So again, this is all characteristic of that first church period. Then the sixth indicator with the second church at Smyrna is characterized here as being poor.

Notice it says verse 9, I know your works, tribulation, and poverty, but you are rich. And so in that second century, the church was known to be very poor. In Rome, another church, a pretender was growing more powerful at the expense of God's church at that time, which was scattered and divided. There were lack of funds to evangelize, as they had before.

And the general term that the church used at that time, which church historians have recorded, they call themselves ebonites, which means the poor in Hebrew. Very characteristic.

Christ said, I know your poverty. It was going to be a time where the church could not have the same vigor as the first church period. And then the seventh indicator that we covered last week was also with the second church at Smyrna, is that it was going to suffer for a special period of time, great persecution.

Ten days in prophetic terms means 10 years. Notice what it says, verse 10.

It says, do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer.

Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison. So there's going to be a time of great persecution that you may be tested and you will have tribulation 10 days.

And again, in the book of Revelation, days and years are interchangeable spiritually. It says, be faithful until death and I will give you the crown of life.

Well, in that second church period, from basically the first, at the end of the first century, but I'm talking about around the year 100 AD, all the way to about 325 AD, there's a period of great persecution, especially toward God's church. That was an Asia minor. And that was when the emperor Diocletian, who lived in the area of Byzantium or Constantinople at that time, he declared a war against Christians and especially an Asia minor where God's church was mainly concentrated. There was a persecution of 10 years. It was the last great persecution by the Roman emperors. It's called the Great Persecution. It was by emperor Diocletian from 303 AD to 312 AD. Those are 13 years. And now, what's left of the time, we're going to cover the final seven indicators in Revelation 1 through 4. These are the most interesting because we're coming closer and closer to our time. So the eighth indicator has to do with the following church mentioned here, Pergamos. Notice what it says in chapters 2, verse 13 through 16. It says, And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write, These things as he who has the sharp two-edged sword. So Christ does intervene in world affairs. I know your works. The church always was going to do a work. It wasn't just about being a social group. It always had to do with getting the true gospel out to the world. I know your works. And where you dwell where Satan's throne is. So now, in Pergamos, there was this throne that was Satan's throne. And actually, that's in the Pergamum Museum in Germany, where they actually took all of the ruins from this great temple at Pergamos, and they brought it and they reassembled it in Germany, right there in Berlin. Anybody seen the Pergamum Museum? Okay, Laura, Gary.

Pardon? Yeah, oh, you saw pictures. Right. Wolf, who's German. He would have seen the but, Cady and I were able to see that as well. And so, that was a case of the local church having to live right there in that area of Pergamum and suffer that. But, it also is talking about an era where Satan's throne dwells. And what changes in history is that the Roman Empire had lasted now basically a thousand years. If you start around 700 BC with the Roman Republic, sorry, yeah, the Roman Republic and then it becomes a Roman Empire under the different emperors. But basically a thousand years of Roman rule, which grew and grew until it engulfed even the Middle East and Israel and everybody else. But the interesting thing was that, you see, that was separate from a church that pretended to be true in Rome that persecuted, but they were very limited. But when they were joined, the emperor Constantine and the bishop of Rome at that time, Sylvester, that's when the state and church union took place, where Satan's throne is, and now there was going to be tremendous persecution. That's why we place this at 325 AD with the first council of Nicaea, where the emperor Constantine and all of the Catholic bishops got together and they formed a unifying government. And so notice what happens when this occurs. It says, and you hold fast, this is verse 13, to my name, that name is the church of God, and did not deny my faith, even in the days in which Antipas was my faithful martyr who was killed among you where Satan dwells. So this was all inside the Roman empire.

And then it shows here that the true persecution really takes place, verse 14, but I have a few things against you, because you have these who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel. So you have, you're tolerating people that now are from a different church, and people are tripping up, becoming confused about which church is which. Two of the characteristics is to eat things, sacrifice to idols, and to commit sexually, sexual immorality. So this occurs. Sacrifice to idols, at that time, the sacrifice of the mass was important thing in the Catholic Church. And you had to take that communion, and it was not the symbol of Christ, it was actually the body of Christ every time was being sacrificed on that altar. And you had to take the bread, and symbolic of Christ's sacrificed body, literally having to take it. Well, that is sacrifice to idols. That's not something that God has accepted. It's not something that is proper. And again, it says about sexual immorality, which is the second thing the church, the false church did, which was to say by grace, you don't have to keep God's laws.

Christ has already sacrificed, so you don't have to worry so much about morality. You don't have to worry so much. And this is a false grace gospel that we see today as well.

They even accepted the Nicolations, which were characterized in verse 15. It says, Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolations, which thing I hate. Nicolations were the two also doctrines that they had. One was the false grace that they, the term is called antinomian, which is you're against God's laws in the sense that you don't have to keep them because Christ kept them for you. And so now you're, you've got this license of sexual immorality and also the sacrifices that have to do with all the rituals that Catholic Church sacraments and all of these things.

So that takes us to the ninth indicator. Now we're going to go to the next church period, the fourth church period, Thyatira. Let's read it in chapter 2, verse 19 to 24. Again, these are periods that arise in the church. There could be a law in the church, and then here's the next period. Basically, we're talking about about the year 1100.

That period from 325 when there's a church and state union all the way to about 1100.

What happened that extinguished the previous era and a new kind of a rising takes place around 1100?

Well, in the year 1184, Pope Lucius III started what was the Inquisition.

And I'll tell you, that was a time of torture. The Catholic Church, united with the Holy Roman Empire at that time, began a vicious persecution of anybody who wasn't a Catholic. That included Jews. It included the true church. Anybody that would not take communion at least twice in a year, you were branded a heretic. The Lateran Council at the time of 1215 was when the Pope declared, you have to take communion two times during one year. And I remember being a Catholic that they told us the same thing when I was growing up. But you see, that's a way to check who was part of the church. This was obligatory. And then in 1209, Pope Innocent III, which is really an oxymoron, that's a wrong term for him. He was not innocent at all. I mean, yeah, they should call him Pope guilty instead of innocent. He started the crusade against the Alba Jensons in southern France from 1209 to 1229. That's 20 years where they just wiped out just about anybody that was not a Catholic in that area of southern France. That included the Waldensons at that time and the true church. So Satan is after them. And then more religious wars. Let me read to you about this church period that we have in Revelation. It says in chapter 2, 19 through 24.

It says, I know your works, love, service, faith, and your patience. And as for your works, the last are more than the first. Talking about basically the Waldensians, which after several other works in that period of time, they rose up and they really worked very hard. That's why the crusades took place to destroy them. It says, nevertheless, I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce my servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. So here now this other church, which is also described in Revelation 17, is very powerful. Jezebel was the queen in the House of Israel, married to Ahab. She was actually from the area of Sidon and Tyre, Phoenicia, and she was completely wicked and a pagan queen. And here now it says the church is going to have this type of persecution. She calls herself a prophetess, which means that this church believes that she represents God. And remember, this term also means to preach, to teach and seduce my servants. So she is going to indoctrinate and seduce, buy out whoever. The church at that time had to be completely Catholic during this period of time from 110 to 1585, approximately.

It is a terrible time. This is the dark ages of the church. And notice what God says he's going to do, Christ here. And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent. This is the pits of the church at this time. If you read anything about some of the popes that were in charge, the Borgias, the Morosia, the mother of a pope, basically she was the one that was named all of these which were extremely corrupt.

And she did not repent. Indeed, I will cast her into a sick bed, and those who commit adultery with her, notice it's in here spiritual adultery, those who join her in all of this persecution.

He says, I will who commit adultery with her into great tribulation unless they repent of their deeds.

I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am he who searches the minds of the and hearts.

And I will give to each one of you according to your work. So here's the church being evaluated. And it was a tough time. I'd say this is the worst time. There's only kind of like a four-year period in the previous century from, well, it starts in 1939, so it's a little longer. It's about a six-year period when Adolf Hitler started persecuting the Jews and trying to conquer the world in such a way. And it was horrible. As you know, six million Jews died during those six periods, six years. Basically, one million Jews per year died.

But the previous time is here in the Middle Ages when millions of Christians, true Christians, not all of them, of course, are true Christians, but just anybody that opposed the Catholic Church was going to have a great tribulation. And he's telling the church, don't you dare join her or you're going to suffer the consequences.

Notice what happened also. There were more religious wars from 1096 to 1300. Then the Catholics and Protestant wars, basically from 1518 to 1648. That's 130 years of war throughout all of Europe. How would you like to have lived under that situation and be a true Christian? And the last of those 130 years are called the 30 years war. How do you like to have a war that lasts 30 whole years? That's a whole generation. It was in the central area of Europe that took place, and it's described by historians as one of the longest and most brutal wars in human history between Protestants and Catholics, with around 8 million casualties resulting from military battles as well as from famine and disease caused by the conflict. Actually, the population of Europe plummeted during that period of time because of these religious wars. And those brethren in God's church who compromised and joined in these wars would also be thrown into that sickness, that sick bed that is called here with Jezebel.

And it happened with the Waldensens. They compromised. Some under the persecution returned to the Catholic Church in the 13th century. Then in 1532, in the Synod of Chamforan, Switzerland, they accepted Protestantism and got involved in the religious wars against the Catholics.

During that whole period of time, there was even what is called the 80 years war, which took place between the Dutch Protestants and the Catholic Spanish. 1568 to 1648. So let's not criticize how many have been faithful. Even if we're not being persecuted, would we start having communion and keeping Sunday to get them off our backs?

So it's a church that went through a lot. Let's continue. The fifth church, this is the ninth indicator. Now we go to the Sardis era or period. Notice in chapter three, verse one.

It says, And to the angel of the church in Sardis, right. And there are angels that protect the church and one's assigned at a different church period.

It says, These things says he who has the seven spirits of God, talking about angels that he sends out to search what's going on in the world and the seven stars, not the seven churches. I know your works, that you have a name, that you are alive, but you are dead. So here, after that horrible period of persecution, the church is basically exhausted. And the remnant cannot do too much at all. It says, I know that you have a name, that you are alive, but you are dead. Be watchful and strengthen the things which remain that are ready to die, talking about the truths. And after 1585, we have the church in England, the churches that came to the United States. They're all small little groups. They have God's truths, but they're weak. They're ready to die. It says, for I have not found your works perfect before God. He always examines what's being done. And they're basically like we have two main commissions. The one is preach the gospel of the kingdom of God to all the world as a witness.

And the second is feeding God's flock, making sure we have trained pastors, prepared, dedicated, converted pastors to take care of the churches wherever we are at, feeding God's flock.

Now for that, you need an organization. You need a centralization where everything can be administered and checks and balances. So nobody abuses either power or wealth. For instance, here, as in other churches, now we have auditors every year that look up every bit of tithe and expense. We've got to make sure everything is written down because we want to give an example of probity and of honesty.

And again, we're just one example. There are many that have the same system going on.

So it does have God's name at this time and holds many of the truths.

The problem mainly has to do with the government and administration.

Many of the churches of God at that time don't tithe, don't have offerings that go to a central place so the work can be done. And if you don't tithe, you might as well forget about really having effective work. How are you going to have all of those booklets? How are you going to have the magazines come out every month and be able to have all this? It can't be localized group.

For all the effort they make, it's just a, you know, small change in comparison. And again, this is what the Sardis church and there have been exceptions. There have been groups in the Sardis era that have organized, they've worked hard, so don't think it's all the same. But this is the characteristic of the overall thing. And I know my wife, well, she was part of the Sardis era group in Chile and she says they taught God's truth, but they were not organized. And one minister would come and contradict the other minister. There was no order, there was no system, and they didn't tithe. They just gave as they could. And also that there wasn't any organization. Every minister was kind of like the head of his own group.

So again, this is a characteristic. Let's go now to the following point. And notice in this ninth indicator is there's no more mention of Jezebel.

Why? Because Jezebel's lost influence and power from 1585 with the war against England, where the Spanish Armada was defeated, and they never had the strength to impose more of the church's monopoly on religion. So now let's go to the tenth indicator.

The sixth church, the Philadelphia church. Start in verse one. It doesn't... let's see. I'm sorry. It should be verse seven.

Chapter three, verse seven, it says, And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia. Right.

These things says, He who is holy, He who is true, He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts and shuts and no one opens. So this would characterize a church that God would open a huge door that nobody could shut. See, Jezebel was not going to have the power to shut, and it was a characteristic that was not in the previous groups. So here at this time, there is this open door. And remember that in 1 Corinthians 16 9, Paul talks about that that great door has been opened to get that gospel out. So it has to do with the works of the church that now would be multiplied. And basically, until the age of radio, there was no way to transmit to the rest of the world. That was basically in the 1920s when radio really began to spread music and messages. But from that radio age, even a small church could do a great work with that open door that was through the media of radio and later on television.

And now the internet age, where we can virtually reach every human being on this planet.

If they have any type of electronic means to it. And so this was a great door. Notice it says, verse 8, I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door and no one can shut it.

So this means that you can't have this type of a dictatorial system which you had in Europe in the medieval church. No, now there's certain religious freedom and they can't shut it.

For you have a little strength. It's not that much you can do as a small church, but he said, you have kept my word and have not denied my name.

So this is an indicator. Is this talking about that in Sardis or here in Philadelphia?

In Philadelphia, this little group that was a small, if you've ever been to Philadelphia, there in Turkey, it was a small church. Oh, so there's this great open door that time that nobody can shut. No, it's talking about a period in the future when God was going to open this up. It goes on to say in verse nine. Oh, let me go to verse 10. It says, because you have kept my command to persevere, he makes a promise to this church. Doesn't do it to any of the other ones.

I also will keep you from the hour of trial, which shall come upon the whole world. Not just a little area in Asia. It's talking about the whole world to test those who dwell on the earth.

I want to focus on this a little more, because this indicator is accepted by the great majority of conservative commentators. If you look it up, they do not say that was something that was local. That was something that is prophesied in the future to happen.

In the New Living Version, it says, I will keep you from the time of trouble.

The time to test everyone is about to come to the whole world. In other words, it's going to be a time that is going to be like never before a test. He says, I will do this because you have listened to me and have waited long and have not given up. Yeah, you listened to me. Mother world ignored me.

And you had a work that was carrying out. And by the way, God has provided us with a TV studio, we have a radio studio, we contract printing presses. So any time God wants to open more that door, we're going to go through that door because it's not just a local church getting together, having nice socials and just having nice talks and basically not doing much more. And again, I know there are a lot of dedicated people out there and they are spiritually with us.

They say, oh, I wish we could do more. They've got that same enthusiasm.

And we're just part of the Church of God community. We're not saying we're the only ones or the best ones. Let God decide that. Let's just get the work done the best we can.

Believers Bible commentary says about this, verse 10, it says, because the Philadelphians had maintained God's truth by living it before men, the Lord would keep them from the hour of trial, which is to come upon all who dwell on the earth. This is a promise of exemption from the tribulation period described in chapters 6 through 19 of Revelation.

Note they will be kept from the hour of trial, from that whole time period.

Also, they will be kept out of that period in the Greek. It's the preposition ek, which means out and not through it. It doesn't mean you're going to be going through that period. No, you're going to be left out of it. And those who dwell on the earth, this means it's a technical term for those who make this earth their home. So it means everybody. Because that's only...

Human beings are the only ones that dwell on this earth that can understand this.

The Bible knowledge commentary says this is an explicit promise that the Philadelphia Church will not endure the hour of trial, which is unfolded, beginning in Revelation 6, 1 through 17.

That's when the scrolls are open, and that's when the plagues begin to fall. Christ was saying that the Philadelphia Church would not enter the future time of trouble. He could not have stated it more explicitly. So here's one that Christ really opens up and says, I'm not talking about local church. I'm talking about an end time in that period of time that has yet to come, but will come in the future. Worsby's commentary says, quote, he would keep them from tribulation.

This is surely a reference to the time of tribulation that John described in Revelation 6 through 19, the time of Jacob's trouble. This is not speaking about some local trial, because it involves, quote, them that dwell on the earth. So that's pretty convincing in my book. Let's go to the 12th indicator, the seventh church, Laodicea. That's the next stage. It says in verse 14, and to the angel of the church of Laodicea, write these things as the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God. I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of my mouth. And why is the church so lukewarm? Why doesn't it have that fervency and that zeal? That's explained in the next verse.

It says, because you say, I am rich and have become wealthy and have need of nothing, and do not know that you are, and talking about spiritually, wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire. You need to develop that spiritual character, that you may be rich in the spiritual sense, and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed, and anoint your eyes with eyesave, that you may see, see the true condition. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten, therefore be zealous and repent. And then he says, Behold, I stand at the door and knock.

If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and dine with him, and he with me. So Christ is at the door. Can you get any closer to you going through a door than being at the door? No, you can't. So again, it's a progressive situation where Christ is now at the door. So the 12th indicator is the lukewarm church.

It enjoys material benefits, but also material temptations and distractions.

It's a time of economic prosperity, but spiritual weakness. And Christ wants to vomit because of that state, spiritual state he sees.

So this is a period affected by the downward moral spiral of the world.

People are affected. Everybody's touched by it.

And the 13th indicator, as I've mentioned about the church and Laodicea, Christ is now at the door. He can't be any more closer than that. He has to rescue the church from the worsening conditions in the world, just as Christ predicted in Luke 17, 26 through 30, that the church would be living in the midst of Sodom and Gomorrah and in the midst of the violence in Noah's day. And then the last indicator is actually in after Revelation 2 and 3.

Those are the seven churches described and their periods. What happens right afterwards in chapter 4? Are you going back to the local churches period? No. You're coming to the end time period.

It says in verse 1, After these things, I looked and behold a door standing open in heaven.

And the first voice, which I heard, was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, Come up here and I will show you things which must take place after this. So after all, we finish with the Laodicean period. And then it says, Immediately I was in the Spirit and behold, a throne set in heaven and one sat on the throne. And then it describes it's Jesus Christ, the one is given the parchment, the scroll. And then in chapter 5, verse 1, it says, And I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne, a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. And then it says, Who is worthy to open it? And it says in verse 5, Do not weep, behold the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven heads. And here, description of Jesus Christ. And then in chapter 6, verse 1, he starts opening the different seals of the end time. Verse 1, Now I saw when the Lamb, talk about Christ, opened one of the seals. And I heard one of the four living creatures saying, Come and see this is the loosening of world events that starts taking place. And notice at the end of this chapter six, it says verse 16, it says, And they said to the mountains and rocks fallen us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of his wrath has come and who is able to stand. So again, Christ begins with his churches and then goes immediately to the end time period. That's another indicator that it's not just talk about a local churches at that time. So just remember, these are 14 indicators that God has in his word. I hope you remember and memorize them when you just go through Revelation two and three and just jot down. So you have these 14 indicators to remind you of the things that are going to happen in the future. And thank God, God has called us to be part of his church and not part of what's coming in the future.