Understanding the Book of Revelation, Part 5

Thank you, Mr. Hopper. I found myself singing the older words to that song as well. If you'll notice, some of the words we sing from years gone by, but that song has been changed. It's not exactly as some of us were singing it. Anyway, it really is a wonderful opportunity to meet together as God's people. The feast was certainly a very, very inspiring opportunity to draw closer to God, to hear God's Word expounded every single day. That's a real blessing to have hours and hours and hours of preparation that went into all of those sermons that were given, and to have those one after another throughout the entire feast and the last great day. It just really does wonders in helping get our minds right. Now, we need to make sure we keep our minds right. And that's part of my job, every Sabbath. God calls us together. Of course, the annual Holy Days and God's weekly Sabbath aren't enough. We need to daily be studying the Word of God and writing God's laws in our hearts and in our minds, understanding more and more about the Word of God. Now, that's one of the reasons why we started the series on the book of Revelation, because there's a lot of deep meaning in the book of Revelation. And, you know, I'm sure we don't understand everything that's in the book of Revelation. We don't understand how it's all going to happen, how it's all going to take place. We understand a great deal, though, because God gives us understanding. God has called the wise to understand the book of Revelation. And the wise are those who are His saints. They are the children of God who humble themselves and are willing to be instructed by God's Word and believe the Word of God when they read it or have it expounded to them. So it is important that we understand the book of Revelation. So I hope you have a little bit better understanding of the book of Revelation, just simply by going through it. These are... I'm not sharing with you new truth that God has specifically revealed to me above all others. Wow! It's a good thing you said something!

I didn't really think it was going to be quite that exuberant. We might just have to sit and enjoy the music for a moment. I don't think I'm going to try to talk over them.

Alright, sounds good. So where was I? Before I was so rudely interrupted. Just kidding. Alright, let's begin our pop quiz. This is a pop quiz, remember? We're not expecting this.

Although you should have been by now. Let's go ahead and ask you some questions over what we covered last time in the sermon that we went through. Well, I won't say that because it might give the answer to the first question. Which chapter in Revelation primarily speaks of the woman who is persecuted by the dragon? Which chapter in the book of Revelation primarily speaks of the woman who is persecuted by the dragon? Got that? That would be Revelation 12. Revelation 12. The second one is also an easy one. Well, I don't know if the first one was that easy. It was probably for some of you. Second one, who is the dragon of Revelation 12? Who is the dragon of Revelation 12? I think we all realize that Satan the devil is the dragon. It says in Revelation 12.9 that Satan has deceived the whole world. I think that's Revelation 12.9. Let's go on to a third question. How long is the woman of Revelation 12 to be nourished in her place? A place of safety from the dragon who seeks to destroy her. How long is the woman of Revelation 12? I would hope you would get this right. We've covered this many times. A time, times, and half a time, which we believe means a time one year, times two more years, and half a time a half a year. So that would be three and one half years. Three and one half years. Question number four. What does the dragon do when the earth helps the woman and protects her from the dragon? What does he do? Do you remember what he does? He becomes enraged, and he goes to make war with the rest of the woman's offspring who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. So there will be some who will be protected in their place that God has prepared for them, and there will be others who will be considered also a part of the church, the rest of the woman's offspring.

And they will be ones who keep the commandments of God, they have the testimony of Christ, so they are a part of God's church, but they will not be protected in this place of safety.

Question number five. Describe the beast that comes from the sea in Revelation 13. Describe the beast that comes from the sea. Can you describe the beast?

The beast had seven heads and ten horns, with ten crowns upon the ten horns. The beast was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear, its mouth like a lion. Now that's what the scripture says, that's how Revelation describes the beast that comes from the sea. Of course, that's symbolic of a government that is going to be set up. There will be ten nations that will combine together, and they will be a very powerful conglomeration of nations. Number six. What reaction does the world have toward the beast power of Revelation 13 and to the dragon from which the beast derives its power? Let me state that again. What reaction does the world have toward the beast power of Revelation 13 and to the dragon from which the beast derives its power? What reaction does the world have toward the beast and toward the dragon? Well, it says the world marveled and they followed the beast, and they worshipped the beast, and they worshipped the dragon, and they gave power to the beast. So we're going to have a world-ruling government that is going to be devastatingly powerful, and people are going to follow the beast. They're going to marvel at the beast. They're going to worship the beast and the power behind the beast.

Question number seven. For how long was the beast power given authority? For how long was the beast power given authority?

The beast power was given authority for 42 months. Now, how much is 42 months? It's three and a half years. So the Bible uses time times and half a time. It uses 42 months. It uses 1260 days to describe the three and a half year period here. So the beast power is given power for 42 months or for three and a half years, according to Revelation 13 verse 5. Question number eight. What power will the beast have over the remnant of the saints of God? What power will the beast have over the remnant of the saints of God?

In verse seven it says that the beast will be allowed to make war with the saints and to overcome them. Now, of course, this is talking about the saints who are not protected, who are not taken to a place of safety, who are not being nourished for the same time period for three and a half years. There will be a great tribulation upon those who are not protected, that are not taken to a place of safety. So the remnant of the saints of God are going to battle with Satan the devil, and he is going to overcome them. The dragon, the beast power, is going to overcome them. Many will become martyrs, as the Scripture says. They will have to lay their lives down as they are overcome by this beast power. Question number eight. Question number nine. Who will worship the beast? Who will worship the beast?

Verse eight says, all who dwell on the earth, Revelation 13 verse eight, all who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the book of life. So those who have their names written in the book of life, they will not worship the beast.

They will not follow the beast. God will give them wisdom, God will give them strength, God will give them power and courage, and they will not worship the beast. But everyone else is going to be following after the beast.

Question number ten. Describe the second beast of Revelation 13 that comes up out of the earth. Remember, there's a second beast that's described in Revelation 13. So describe that beast and tell me what does it do. It's a tough one. Can you remember that? The second beast of Revelation that comes out of the earth, describe it and tell me what it does.

Well, this beast had two horns like a lamb. It spoke like a dragon. It caused the people of the earth to worship the first beast by performing great signs and miracles. It causes all people to receive a mark on their foreheads or on their right hands, or they would not be allowed to buy or sell. Let me give that answer again. The beast was a beast that had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. It caused the people of the earth to worship the first beast. So there's a union between the first and the second beast. They are closely tied together. The second beast performed great signs and wonders and miracles. The head of that second beast, a religious entity, a great church, will be able to perform great signs and miracles. People will be enthralled by this second beast. It will cause all people to receive a mark on their forehead or their right hand, or they will not be allowed to buy or sell. This will be another test for those who are not protected in a place of safety. They will be tested in this way.

Question number 11. What is the number of the beast? What is the number of the beast? We probably all know that, don't we? We've heard that. It's even in movies. The world has taken note of the number of the beast. Probably this Halloween season, I'm pretty sure there have been movies that have used, likely, I don't know, 666, is the number of the beast. We believe that most likely refers to a man. The Scripture says it refers to a man.

Back in Roman times, there were ways to come up with 666 by the Latin word, Latinos, or something like that. I don't know exactly how to pronounce it, but the Roman Empire is tied into this number, 666. Question number 12. Describe what John saw standing on Mount Zion at the beginning of Revelation 14. Describe what John saw standing on Mount Zion. If you were taking a test, and I was grading you on this, and you had to answer all these questions and give them in detail, I don't know how many of us would do that well. This is stuff you've got to study it.

You've got to put it in your head. If you were studying for a real test at school, and you were going to be graded on it, you would be expected to know many details, many things. I've studied for lots of tests. You have too, and you study as hard as you need to, right?

To do well! So that should be a lesson for us. If you're a good student, then prove it. Study the Bible. Try to understand it. Remember it as best you can. Describe what John saw standing on Mount Zion at the beginning of Revelation 14. I've been in the Church a long time, and if someone just dropped this pop quiz on me, I'm not too sure I would do that well. So I'm not berating any of you. I'm just saying we probably all need to try to commit this more to our memory so we'll understand, especially when these things begin to happen, that we read about it and we knew it was coming.

Okay, Revelation 14 says that John saw the Lamb, Jesus Christ, with the 144,000 on Mount Zion. And the 144,000 had the Father's name written on their foreheads. They were singing a new song that only the 144,000 were able to learn.

That was quite a choir. I mean, how would you like to direct that choir? The 144,000 are of the spiritual virgins who are the first fruits of God. They will be changed at the first resurrection. Not that they're the only ones that will be in the first resurrection, but specifically it says they will be with Christ on Mount Zion, according to Revelation 14.

The first part of that. So they are the first fruits of God, as it says in the Bible. Question number 13. What were the messages of the three angels of Revelation 14? Now, can you give me that? That's tough, too, isn't it? What were the messages of the three angels? Now, that's not any harder than some essay questions I've had in Western civilization or some other class. You know, describe this or that. Yeah, I had to do it.

I had to study it. I had to know it. So what were the three messages? They're in the Bible. It's not that hard. You just have to try to put it in your head. Okay, the first message from the first angel was that he had the everlasting gospel to preach to all peoples on earth.

And this angel said, fear God and give glory to Him. Give glory to Him for the hour of His judgment has come and worship Him who made heaven and earth the sea and the springs of water. That was the message that's given in the Bible.

That he had this everlasting gospel that he was to preach to all people on earth at this time. And then the other, what I added to that, that we are to fear God and give Him glory and so forth. That was the message of the first angel. The second angel's message was, Babylon has fallen. Babylon has fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.

In other words, they were committing spiritual adultery with her, as well as perhaps physical adultery in certain ways. The third angel said, this is the third angel message, the second angel's message was that Babylon has fallen. Babylon has fallen. The third angel said, if anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on their forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God. So the third angel's message was, if you worship the beast and you worship the beast's image, if you receive his mark on your forehead or on your hand, you shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God.

That's the message of the third angel.

Last question, number 14. What does it mean in Revelation 14, verse 6, the earth was reaped? The earth was reaped. What does that mean? Well, the third angel's message described it to some degree. He talked about the wine of the wrath of God. The wine of the wrath of God. The earth was reaped means that many on the earth will die just before Christ's return because of their sinfulness, and at Christ's return, many will die because of their sinfulness and their rebellion against God. They refuse to repent. They continue leaning to their own understanding, worshiping the beast, worshiping the false prophet, and they will be in rebellion against God. So the earth was reaped in the sense that they were dying, millions and billions of people, dying because they refused to follow God and obey Him. So the earth is going to be reaped. It's sobering to understand what the book of Revelation says. It's very, very sobering.

But it is important that we do understand, that we do know, that we know what we're up against in the days ahead. And this message isn't to frighten you because fear religion doesn't work. It just doesn't work. Some people, no doubt, came into the Church of God because they were afraid. They came into the Church because they wanted to save their skin. They heard messages about the book of Revelation and so forth. It scared them.

And so they felt like they needed religion. They needed to come to church.

Well, so many have not stuck with it, because love is what God's people need to learn. We need to learn the love of God. Yes, we need to have a proper fear of God, but a proper fear of God is wrapped up in a proper love of God. When we love God, we don't want to disappoint Him. We don't want to go against Him. We want to serve Him. We want to obey Him for the right reasons. We want to put sin out of our lives because we want to become like God and like Jesus Christ. We want to be like them. We want to be in their family. We want to be loving as they are loving. And we want to be faithful and obedient as they have taught us to be. We want to please them. So anyone who's still here out of fear isn't going to last, because that's the wrong kind of fear. That's the kind of fear that will get someone to bow down before the beast power.

That's not the kind of fear we need to have. We need to fear God in the sense of respecting Him and wanting to obey Him and follow Him. So although this message is a very sobering one, it is also very encouraging to know that God is going to protect those who are faithful and those who humble themselves, those who repent of their sins, those who learn to put Him first in their lives. That's the message of Revelation, that those who do follow God faithfully, they're going to be protected. Some, even from the Great Tribulation, from devastation upon this earth, they're going to be protected. God's going to nourish them for three and a half years. And even those who are not accounted worthy to escape everything, Scripture is Luke 21.36. Pray that you'll be accounted worthy. Some will not be accounted worthy. Those are the ones that Satan is going to go after. When he can't get to the saints of God who are being protected, he goes after the saints of God who are not protected. Those saints of God still must remain faithful. Their names are written in the Book of Life. They'll have to give up their lives. Maybe not all of them, but many of them will have to give up their lives. So it's important that we know and understand what we're up against in the days ahead. I don't know if Christ is coming in our lifetime. I don't. Maybe he is. Maybe he isn't. I don't know. But I know that if my heart is right and I have a right attitude and I'm looking to Christ's return in a proper way, then I have nothing to fear. I don't have to fear man, surely. I just have to have the right understanding of who God is and what he's doing. So that's an introduction to today's sermon. Let's go to Revelation 15, where we will cover more. If I can find my glasses. Here they are. I can read this other stuff. My notes are large enough. The font is big enough on my notes, but the Bible... I need to get a big letter Bible, don't I? That's okay. I'm used to this one. All right, chapter 15 of the book of Revelation. Then I saw another sign in heaven. John sees another sign in heaven. Great and marvelous. I'll tell you, John must have been worn out by all that he was seeing. Great and marvelous, seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is complete. So the seventh angel has seven trumpets. We've talked about the trumpets that have been blown. The seventh trumpet is blown, and that's where the seven last plagues come from. That's the part of the seven angels who have the seven last plagues. It's part of that last trumpet that's blown. Then there will be seven bold judgments or plagues. Not to be confused with the trumpet plagues. These are separate plagues. Seven last plagues.

For in them the wrath of God is complete. Now we know that Christ returns at the sounding of the seventh trumpet. So these plagues are going to happen very, very quickly. They're going to be poured out upon the earth in quick succession.

Verse 2, And I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have the victory over the beast, over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name. So there's actually four things that are listed here. They have victory over the beast. The beast power. They will not worship the beast. They will not bow down and worship this military giant that rises up, this government.

They won't worship. They won't go along with it. When it opposes the word of God, they refuse to go against it. Over his image. Now the image is actually, speaking of that second beast that we talked about. The first beast, then the second beast is the image of the first beast. And that is actually a great church. And we'll read more about that. But this image is the great church that's allied with this military power.

If we understand this correctly, this is what we have understood for many years now in the church of God. This is what it's representing. Of course, we read the Bible and we extrapolate from the Bible and interpret the Bible. And this is the understanding we have at the present time regarding what these things mean.

So the image, there's victory over the image. We don't bow down to the false prophet. We don't follow the false prophet. Victory over his mark. Now we haven't said a lot about the mark of the beast. You know, in times past we've had booklets out about the mark of the beast. Who is the beast? Here's one. A book of Revelation unveiled at last. Who or what is the prophetic beast? And then, of course, the United Church of God booklet, the book of Revelation unveiled.

This goes into more detail than I can do. I've taken enough time on the book of Revelation as it is. But as far as the mark of the beast, remember there's a mark on the forehead or on the hand. Of course, the forehead is the intellect, the hand is the doing, the action.

So it's symbolic of the mind and also of acting. And we're going to read more about Babylon the Great, that false church and her daughters. Well, there's been a system on the earth for thousands of years now, a Babylon-ish mystery religion, a system that's contrary to God, pagan ways to the hilt. In fact, Halloween comes from that system. Christmas, Easter, they come from this Babylon-ish system.

And also, as we know, Sunday has always been the day that people have worshiped. Sun worship, that's where it gets its name. Sunday, because of sun worship. The pagans worship the sun. And then, once upon a time, down through history, a church had things changed from the true Sabbath to Sunday. They were no longer keeping the true Sabbath. Christians should keep the Sabbath. Not Sunday. But that's what has happened. And most people believe that Sunday is the Lord's Day. That's not the case. But people have it drummed into their heads and into their minds that it's Sunday. And this union of a military power and a religious power that comes together will evidently put a lot of emphasis on Sunday worship, Sunday keeping.

And they will certainly look down on anyone who is a Sabbath keeper, who keeps the Sabbath. And exactly what the mark is, whether there's going to be some kind of actual mark that differentiates people that they're going to do... I don't know that that's even going to be the case, but there is going to be a mark in the sense that the true Sabbath keepers are going to be persecuted.

Those who worship Sunday, they're going to be okay with the beast and with the image of the beast. I mean, they're going to be in favor with the beast and with the image of the beast, those who observe Sunday. But those who observe the Sabbath, the true Sabbath of God, which is an identifying sign... Exodus 31 shows that the Sabbath is a sign between God and His people. It's a powerful sign between God and His people. Christ kept the Sabbath. Christ is the Lord of the Sabbath. God's church today keeps God's holy Sabbath. I remember being suspended from church once because I said, I don't care what anyone else tells you, the Sabbath is holy.

The Sabbath is holy. I mean, I was suspended from speaking in the Church of God at one point, you know, when things were going south back in 1995.

That was the direct reason why I was suspended, because I believed in the Sabbath and keeping the Sabbath. A minister called me and he said, Mark, do you believe it's a sin to work on the Sabbath? I said, yes, I believe it's a sin to work on the Sabbath. The Scripture says, six days shall you labor and do all your work. And the Sabbath is sanctified and set apart. It's holy. Now, I said, if you're talking about helping someone who's broken down along the road or their house is on fire, if it's a true ox in the ditch, then I'm willing to help someone, even if it's on the Sabbath day, in a crisis situation.

But when you're talking about being gainfully employed, working on the Sabbath, I believe it is a sin to work on the Sabbath. So that was the first time I was suspended. Then I was suspended again about two months later. I was allowed to speak again, and I said what I said to you in a sermon, and I was suspended the next day. So that's how bad it got within the Church of God regarding Sabbath keeping. It's no wonder it's going to be a problem in the world. So it is going to be a problem, and those who are faithful to the sign between them and God observing the Sabbath and God's Holy Days will be persecuted.

So the mark has to do with those who will refuse to worship the beast. They're not going to worship on Sunday or any day when it comes to worshiping the beast. They're not going to bow down to any image. They're going to be like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and they're going to look to God for deliverance. Just like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego looked to God. They said, our God will deliver us, but if not, we will not bow down, and we will not worship this image. Well, a similar thing is going to take place in the days ahead, and those who are not protected will be tested in this way, and they will have to show themselves worthy.

God may protect them. God may intervene miraculously, or He may allow them to die. Some will certainly die, as the Scripture says, but certainly God can do as He chooses to do in individual cases.

God has delivered out of captivity. God can deliver out of captivity. So, and it also says, victory over the number of His name, over 666, over that resurrected Holy Roman Empire, having victory over that, they will be standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God, as it says. Verse 3, they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are your works, Lord God Almighty, just and true are your ways, O King of the saints.

Who shall not fear you, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy, for all nations shall come and worship before you. That is what's going to happen. All nations will come and worship before God during the Millennial reign of Jesus Christ.

We just observed the Feast of Tabernacles. We observed the Last Great Day, which picture the return of Christ, or the Feast of Trumpets, and we'll see the Feast of Tabernacles again picturing the Kingdom of God, the Millennial reign of Christ, and the Last Great Day showing the new heavens and the new earth, the Great White Throne Judgment period. You know, these things we observe and we keep. One day, all nations will come and worship God and Jesus Christ. For your judgments have been manifested. God's judgments have been manifested.

God reigns supreme in the end. Verse 5, After these things I looked, and behold, the temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony in Heaven was opened. And out of the temple, out of the sanctuary, came the seven angels having the seven plagues clothed in pure bright linen, and having their chests girded with golden bands, these were messengers of God.

Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever. Remember the day of the Lord, the wrath of God. Verse 8, The temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power, and no one was able to enter the temple till the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed. Then it goes right into chapter 16. Then I heard a loud voice from the temple, saying to the seven angels, Go and pour out the bowls of the wrath of God on the earth.

Pour out the seven bowls of the wrath of God on the earth. Verse 2, So the first went and poured out his bowl upon the earth, and a foul and loathsome sore came upon the men who had the mark of the beast, and those who worshipped his image. So those who had the mark of the beast, those who were Sunday worshipers, who had the mark of the beast, and those who worshipped his image, the religious system, they will have loathsome sores upon their body in the first bowl plague.

Then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it became blood as of a dead man. And every living creature in the sea died. Now, many living creatures had already died in the sea. Now it says that the living creatures die in the sea. Now, whether it means every single living creature, I don't know if it means that completely. For sure or not, if so, God will create more living creatures that will be around later on. Verse 4, Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood.

Now, this is similar to other plagues that we've read about earlier. Plagues on the water, plagues on the seas and the waters, the oceans, the ships and the seas, and a plague earlier. Before this, one of the trumpet plagues. Again, there's a bowl plague on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. And I heard the angel of the waters saying, You are righteous, O Lord, the one who is and who was and who is to be, because you have judged these things.

For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink, for it is their just due. This is what they deserve. God is going to give people what they deserve. The wages of sin is death, and that's what God's going to deal to them in the day of the Lord. They are going to die in all of these plagues. God is sending a message that he does mean business, that his word should be taken seriously. For it is their due. Verse 7, and I heard another from the altar saying, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are your judgments.

And we have to realize that God is true and righteous. It is God's prerogative to intervene and pour his wrath upon people. God knows best. God is the Father. He is a loving Father, and this is the best way. We shouldn't second-guess what God is doing here. God knows what he is doing, and he is doing it for a reason, for a purpose.

And it is for the overall benefit of the people of God. Those who will repent of their sins and follow God, and will live forever. And even those who refuse to repent, they are better off dead in a lake of fire than living forever.

Without having the truth of God and the fullness of God, they are better off dead. Those who will not repent. Verse 8, Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and power was given to him to scorch men with fire.

So now God pours out a plague upon the sun. Now the people were worshipping the sun thousands of years ago. They superstitiously looked to the sun that brought warmth. Instead of looking to the one who created the sun, and doing what he said, they worshipped the creation rather than the creator. They worshipped the sun. Now God is going to use this as a plague upon the people who have refused to obey him. So the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and power was given to him to scorch men with fire. Fire from heaven.

The first heaven from the sun. And men were scorched with great heat. You know, it's a known fact that the sun is exactly in the right spot for us to survive. Human beings, we live because God has placed the sun in the exact proper spot. If we were any closer, we would be in deep trouble. We'd burn up. If we were any further away, we would freeze. You know, God knows what he's doing, and he's going to actually use the sun as a plague.

Men were scorched with great heat, it says in verse 9, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues. Now rather than humbling themselves before God, who has power over these plagues, instead they blasphemed God. It just shows the attitude that they have. It's a rebellious, incorrigible attitude. They don't humble themselves and repent. Instead, they lash out in blasphemy and in rebellion. And they did not repent, and they did not give him glory. Verse 10, Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom became full of darkness.

And they gnawed their tongues because of the pain. Okay, excruciating pain. It can't get comfortable at all. They gnawed their tongues because of the pain. When the fifth angel poured out, and the kingdom became full of darkness. Okay, darkness on top of loathsome sores, on top of burns that are all over your body because of the sun, and the blood, you know, no good water to drink.

I mean, it's going to be a horrible time. And still, they will not repent. They will not give God glory. Verse 11, They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and they did not repent of their deeds. They blamed God for it. Instead of accepting responsibility that we reap what we sow, they blamed God. Verse 12, Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the water of the kings from the east might be prepared.

And I saw three unclean spirits, like frogs, coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. So we have an evil spirit, an unclean spirit, coming out of each of the three mouths here, the dragon, the beast, the false prophet. They are the spirits of demons, performing signs which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world to gather them to the battle of the great day of God Almighty.

So there will be certain signs and wonders that will take place, which will motivate the people to amass against God. Verse 15, Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame. It is important that we keep our garments, that our garments are clean.

That's where repentance comes in. We can only be clean through repentance. We're all sinners. We all fall short of the glory of God. So whenever we do sin, we need to seek repentance immediately. Certainly we should strive not to sin. That's a given. We're to put sin out of our lives.

We're to live by the commandments of God. We're to keep God's commandments. We're to have victory over temptation. We're to allow Christ to live in us, that Christ may have the victory over sin in us. So that's the first thing that we need to do. We need to be faithful, righteous men and women of God.

But when we do fall short, because we're human beings and we're not yet perfect, when we do fall short, then we repent. God grants us repentance because he sees our attitude. We have a repentant heart and mind. And we're growers, we're overcomers. We're putting sin out and we're continuing to strive against sin and against Satan the devil and against all that he is behind, such as the beast's power and so forth. This world, we're to come out of the world and be different. We're not to be influenced by the world, to become like the world. We're to be separate from the world. So these are tests that we're all going through every day. We may see them as small tests, but they're important tests. Are we going to be like the world, or are we going to be separate from the world? Now is the time to make those choices, because judgment has begun on the house of God. So now is the time to humble ourselves and to obey God and to bring every thought into subjection unto the obedience of Jesus Christ. Christ did this when he was on the earth because he was close to the Father. And God gave him strength. God stirred up the spirit within him. And he was faithful. And he was loyal. He was the Son of God. And yet he was human. Tempted in every point as we are. He was without sin. And we are to follow his example. That is what we strive to become. Christ. To become like him. We let him live in us and put sin out of our lives.

So he says, I'm coming, watch, and keep your garments clean. Keep your garments clean lest he walk naked and they see his shame. And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew Armageddon, or to the Valley of Megiddo. The Valley of Megiddo is about 55 miles north of Jerusalem. It's a vast plain to the east. And when we were in Israel, we were on the top of Mount Megiddo. And we couldn't help but think about the Battle of Armageddon. And of all the armies that would be amassed in that plain, as we looked, a vast plain, as far as the eye could see, full of armies. Full of people rising up against Christ, believing that Christ is the Antichrist. Being deceived into thinking that Christ is the Antichrist. Verse 17, Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven from the throne, saying, It is done. And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings, and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake, as had not occurred since men were on the earth. Now, the great city was divided. So there's this great earthquake, unlike any other earthquake. This is far worse than any other earthquake that's ever happened. What's it going to be on the Richter scale? I don't know. It's going to be huge. A great earthquake, mighty and great, as has not occurred since men were on the earth. So much larger than any recorded earthquake. Now, the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. The great Babylon, that Babylon-ish mystery religion, that system of rebellion against God, that pagan system that has existed for thousands of years.

It was remembered before God to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. God is sick and tired of Babylon, and he's going to do away with it. He's had enough. Verse 20, Then every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And great hail from heaven fell upon men, each hellstone, about the weight of a talent. Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly great. So here, a part of the seventh bowl is hail, earthquakes, or large earthquake, a mighty earthquake, thunderings, lightnings, and so forth. The islands fleeing away because of the earthquake and so forth. It was exceedingly great. I better check my time here. Okay, that brings us to chapter 17. It's about 10 minutes till... So that's as far as we need to go today. We made it through, what, 15 and 16. Didn't get quite as far as I wanted to, but I took quite a bit of time with the quiz. Again, I hope you're finding this helpful. We are going to make it through the book of Revelation. Thankfully, there's only 22 chapters. Thankfully, there's only 22. I'm probably getting as tired of it as you are. But I do believe it's important to cover this and to cover it in detail. This is the Word of God. These are the true words of God. And the book of Revelation is the capstone. You might say it's the final chapter in the Bible. It's the last chapter, so it's an important chapter. It's one that we really do need to comprehend, to grasp, and to understand. So, brethren, I hope you will be doing some studying on your own, because I know it's hard to get all this in your heads just through a sermon. It's hard for me, and I'm giving the sermons. But it's difficult to remember it all. Our minds are forgetful. But the more we study, the more we put ourselves into it, the more effort we put into it, the better we will remember. It may be important for us to remember these things in the days ahead. Now, maybe in a general sense, if we have that, we'll be okay. I'm sure that's the most important thing, that in a general sense, we comprehend what's going to happen, and that we are close to God, we have faith in God, we trust in Him. It's not that we have to memorize the entire Bible. It's not that we have to be able to quote it all or answer every question. The most important thing is our relationship with God. But on the other hand, it's also good to know these things and to study them. So I would encourage you to study into Him further. And I hope that, again, it's being helpful for me, because it is helping me have this ingrained in my mind. What is going to happen, and the seriousness of what is going to happen, is also coming to the forefront, as far as I'm concerned. I don't know how much time we have, but I know as far as we're concerned, this is our time. Judgment has begun here in the house of God.