The World is Ripening for Judgment

Transcript

GRM 1238
05/10/2020
The World Is Ripening for Judgment
Selected Verses
Gil Rugh


As I mentioned we're going to look into the subject of biblical prophecy, particularly just how are things that are going on in the world today perhaps related to what the Bible says about future events. A number of you have asked about this subject since things have changed and some major things are going on, not only in our country but in the world. And naturally as believers in Jesus Christ and believers in the word of God we are interested. Does the Bible say anything about these matters.

So I think a good place for us to start is with our well-known chart, it's called The Seventy Weeks chart. It is the overview of biblical prophecy as set down, particularly the book of Daniel chapter 9, on seventy weeks are determined upon God's people Israel, the nation, Jerusalem and so on, to accomplish God's purposes. So that's where the seventy weeks, they are seventy weeks of years, literally 70 sevens. The first 69 have occurred, you can see, ended with the death of Christ. Shortly after the 69th week the book of Daniel tells us that Christ would be crucified. He was, He was raised from the dead. Then there is a break between the 69th and the 70th week, that last seven-year period follows the church age. We live in this period called the church age. The church age will culminate with what we call the rapture of the church. The Greek word is ‘harpidzo’ which means to snatch or catch up. We get rapture from the Latin word, means ‘to be caught up.’ We'll be caught up to meet Christ in the air, all true believers, those who have died during this period of time, their bodies will be resurrected right here and transformed into a glorified body, suitable for God's presence. Then all those who are alive and have their faith in Jesus Christ will be caught up with them to meet the Lord in the air. And you'll note, this arrow goes back up, Christ does not come to earth, He takes these to heaven. Remember John 14, “In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were no so I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am there you may be also.” That event then is followed, there will be an agreement signed between the leader of the western nations, the revived Roman Empire, and that will mark this last seven-year period which will culminate with Christ's coming to earth. And when He comes to earth He says every eye will see Him, they'll recognize that He is the One coming to take vengeance on His enemies and to establish a kingdom. And He'll establish a kingdom that begins with judgment and goes on, beginning with a thousand years and into eternity.

When we are looking at what the Bible says about prophecy the next event is the rapture of the church. There are no details on the earth that are preliminary to that. What we do is look and see what the Bible says about this seven-year period and gives us some detail. The book of Revelation from chapter 6-19 is about this seven-year period, as well as other portions of scripture. So we want to be careful not saying that the events that we are going to talk about are the exact fulfillment of biblical prophecy. What we are saying is what God has said is going to be taking place after the church is raptured to heaven. We may see events that are foreboding of that; these help us see how that could come about and come to take place. So we'll just talk about some of those things.

Important to begin with the sovereignty of God over all things. How do we know these things will happen, how can we be sure of future events, whether it is the rapture of the church or the events that follow? It's because God is sovereign over all. Turn in your Bibles to the book of Isaiah, if you would. We're just going to look at one or two verses since we have looked at this in it own study, God's sovereignty over all, both the good and the evil. And you could get that on the website if you want to go back and refresh your mind on that. Isaiah 45, for example, verse 5, “I am the Lord, there is no other. Besides Me there is no God.” He reminds them that even though you don't know Him, He is still in control and sovereignly working. Addressing Israel here in their rebellion, but the opposition of man, the rebellion of man, does not frustrate God's plan. Verse 6, “That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun that there is no one besides Me. I am the Lord, there is no other. The One forming light and creating darkness, causing well-being and creating calamity.” You'll note, doesn't matter what is going on, God is sovereignly in control of it, bringing about what He will. That doesn't mean He causes sin, but He uses even the rebellion of sinful people to accomplish His plan. “I am the Lord who does all these.” And the catastrophes, the disasters, what are known as natural events, what the world sometimes talks about as Mother Nature, which is really an expression of the denial of the sovereignty of God who rules over all. The viruses, the tornadoes, the fires, the calamities are all done as well as the things we would call good things. People like to think of God only providing good things, but what is happening in the world?

Verse 9 tells us we better recognize this fact, “Woe to the one who quarrels with his Maker -- an earthenware vessel among the vessels of earth! Will the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you doing?’ Or the thing you are making say, ‘He has no hands?’ ” We submit to God, we do not challenge God. I don't see why God would do that, I don't see the purpose in that. I don't have to. I recognize God is sovereignly working His purposes. Down in verse 12, “It is I who made the earth, and created man upon it. I stretched out the heavens with My hand and I ordained all their host.” And just multiply the passages that we have looked at on other occasions that remind us God is sovereign. That is an encouragement if you are a believer in Jesus Christ. If God is your heavenly Father, we have studied in the book of Romans, He causes all things to work together for good to those who love God. The disasters, sometimes we partake of them even if you are a child of God. We might get the virus, we get cancer, we are affected if there is a tornado. Whatever happens can impact us but God is working, caring for His children, working even the difficulties that come into their lives for His good purposes for them.

For the world it is an indication of coming judgment. There is a purpose in it all and these judgments are a reminder to the unbelieving world that God is serious about sin, there are consequences coming. Now be careful here, sometimes every time you have a large-scale disaster there are going to be some preachers who see an opportunity here to look as though they have special revelation from God. God is causing this virus because homosexuality, because… and you fill in the blank. God is pouring out His wrath on an unbelieving world and all these judgments are a reminder that He is a God of judgment. We won't take time to look at those things, we've done that on other occasions as well. But just for an example that most of us are familiar with, the plagues on Egypt, those different disasters that came. Some of them you think, the swarm of locusts, we have locust swarms today. But a reminder, in Egypt God is pouring out His wrath on a people that will not bow the knee to Him. So you have that series of disasters brought, some seeming more supernatural, some seeming more natural. But all supernatural in the sense God was bringing them to manifest His judgment and this is just a preview, if you will. So as you go through the Old Testament, particularly the prophets, you see that again and again where God reminds them. The Assyrians conquered the northern ten tribes but God reminds them, it is judgment for your rebellion against Me. So that's true for the world at large. It is a reminder.

It prepares us as believers, it reminds us that the world is moving toward judgment. Because we can get lax, get comfortable. Last year at this time we thought we were a prosperous country, things were getting better, business is good, stock market looks good, these are just good days to enjoy things. Not that everybody was happy with things, but basically things seemed to be going along. You would have never thought that in a short time everything would turn around—businesses would be lost, money would be lost, health would be lost, freedom would be lost and things change readily. A reminder to us as believers where we are ultimately going.

Come over to 2 Peter 3:10, “But the day of the Lord,” and that is talking about that seven-year period that will happen after the rapture of the church, “will come like a thief (in the night)” or like a thief here, “in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat and the earth and its works will be burned up. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God” when all these things will be destroyed. But “we're looking for new heavens and a new earth,” and ultimately it's where we get in Revelation 21 and 22 when God's fullness of salvation is realized for all believers and all believers have come under the judgment of God. So a good reminder for us as believers, when these things happen, not that we are glad when people suffer, but realize the hand of God has a purpose in it. It's a reminder, things will get worse.

Just arbitrarily picked out some things that are going to take place. Yesterday downloaded from a news site from yesterday where they mark the annual Europe Day. That's the day which would become the European Union eventually, but this was the preliminary foundation. And the President of Turkey was speaking on Saturday, marked the annual Europe Day, saying “the European Union would come out of its current pandemic-induced crisis stronger with the right and timely steps. Europe Day known as the Shuman Day is observed on May 9th each year to mark the Shuman Declaration in 1950 that proposed the formation of a European Coal and Steel Community, the predecessor to the European Union.” Now that formal union didn't happen until, I believe, about 1992, but you see going back those 70 years the foundation was laid for a European Union. And then this President of Turkey says “I believe that better days will be with us when the language of discrimination and hatred are cast aside, when the common interest of our Europe is not sacrificed for petty, political games or national interest, when we are inclusive and just,” and so on, looking for that union.

Come to the book of Daniel in the Old Testament, just a reminder, couple of things come together. The Bible talks about there will be a revived Roman Empire. We'll go to Daniel 2 and then we'll go to Daniel 7. And Daniel 2 talks about the final form of world empire is going to be a revival of the Roman Empire. And out of that will arise a man to be the dictator and the ruler who will start within that and become the ruler of that revived empire, which will ultimately develop into a world-wide empire, which is Satan's counterfeit, if you will, an attempt to replace God's prophesied kingdom over which Christ will rule. So that man is known as the Antichrist, opposing the work of God. In Daniel 2, Daniel is giving the explanation of a dream that was given to a pagan Gentile ruler, the king of Babylon, we're familiar with him, Nebuchadnezzar. And the image was of a statue of a man and each part of the man is made of different metals and each part represent another world empire. So Daniel 2:32, we're not going to go into the details, you can find those when we did more detailed study of the book of Daniel, “the head of the statue was made of fine gold,” then you see the chest and arms are of silver; the belly, thighs, the legs of iron; the feet partly of iron, partly of clay. Then a stone comes into the picture and smashes the whole image and that stone grows into an empire. It's explained by Daniel as God makes it known to him. Verse 37, “You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power and the strength,” and so on. The end of verse 38, “You are the head of gold,” so the Babylonian Empire under Nebuchadnezzar at its peak, that's the head of gold, that empire.

Then you'll come down, verse 39, “After you there will arise another kingdom inferior,” then a third kingdom of bronze which will be over all the earth. Then the fourth kingdom “as strong as iron,” and that brings us to Rome and it will ‘shatter all things,” in recognition that world empires had the power and might, and crushing victories of Rome to rule the world. And then verse 41, “saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, it will be a divided kingdom; but it will have in it the toughness of iron” and the weakness, the brittleness of clay. So verse 42, those toes, how many toes on the man's image? Ten toes, we'll see that in another passage in a moment. “In the days of those kings,” verse 44, “the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed,” no other kingdom to follow, “it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever.”

So what we see going on in the world, we don't want to lose perspective. I know they've gone through some turmoil in the European Union, if that's not what is leading the way, it will be something like that. I'm not saying the European Union is the fulfillment of this and there are 27 nations in that right now, but things adjust, I know there were 28 and England leaves, but you see how that there is a desire to revive that. And even in this statement put out yesterday in celebration of this foundational agreement in 1950 that led to an ultimate union on a much broader scale. Who knows what comes next. But the Bible indicates there will be this revived empire, ten nations.

Come over to Daniel 7, Daniel is given this vision. It was given to Nebuchadnezzar, a Gentile, because this involves world empires, not just Israel. The culminating empire will be a Jewish empire, but will encompass all nations. But Daniel now is given a vision in Daniel 7 and he sees the same information but with different pictures, now each empire is pictured as a wild beast. Verse 4, “the first was like a lion,” there are four beasts coming up, they'll parallel the four empires of Daniel 2. The first was like a lion, and then a second beast like a bear, and then a third, and then the fourth. And then you come to the fourth beast down in verse 7 to the detailed discussions of the preceding three. “Looking in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrifying.” Remember the fourth empire was like iron, smashing everything, overpowering everything. So now it is pictured as a beast but it is “dreadful and terrifying and extremely strong; and it had large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed and trampled down the remainder with its feet; and it was different from all the beasts.” And note the last statement, “It had ten horns.” Remember the ten toes? Now here you have ten horns. Now we get more detail here. “While I was contemplating the horns, behold, another horn, a little one, came up among them and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it.” So he comes up among the ten, now important to note that. We wonder where will the Antichrist come from, well, I take it he comes from the revived Roman Empire, so that would seem to put it outside our bounds. But he arises and he becomes the dominant figure, and He is the last ruler of his kind, and he is the most powerful. We'll look at another passage on that.

But you'll note, “I kept looking,” verse 9, “until thrones were set up, and the Ancient of Days took His seat,” and the picture of God the Father sitting on His throne, thousands upon thousands, myriads upon myriads standing before Him. And there is judgment. And then in verse 13, “I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man,” remember Jesus' favorite name for Himself when He was on earth was Son of Man, “was coming, and He came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion.” And you'll note it's in the line of these earthly empires. We take the Bible literally, consistently literal. That doesn't mean there are not figures of speech and so on, but we don't move from interpreting it in a normal, literal way when we come to prophecy. You see the details God gives here, and this is an empire replacing other empires, it is not just a spiritual empire that exists in the hearts of people, as some teach today. Some of you come from Roman Catholic or Lutheran kinds of backgrounds but there are other reformed backgrounds that do not take a literal interpretation of prophetic passages. It is very clear, these earthly empires, they just won't gradually disappear as God's people become stronger or whatever view. It will come with smashing power and He will take over all the other empires. Remember Daniel 2, that stone that crushed empires, that will be pictured in Revelation 19 at the battle of Armageddon when Christ descends in the clouds as you have it in Daniel 7:13. “Behold with the clouds of heaven, one like a Son of Man was coming.” That's what will happen in Revelation 19; it's talked about in Matthew 24.

So you get a picture now. We've come through the Roman Empire but remember it is going to be revived. There are elements still in existence -- we have the Roman Catholic church, we have certain things that continue -- but as an empire it will be revived and there will be ten nations ultimately solidified and put together that rule. And then one man will come out of that.

Come over to Revelation 13. The chapter opens up where John sees a beast coming out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads. And he is going back. Daniel picks up with where he is and the empire in existence when Daniel was prophesying was Babylon. And remember Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, you are the head of gold, you are this first empire we are talking about, the Babylonian Empire. John in his revelation God revealed to him, takes him back to the beginning of these empires which precede the empires that preceded Babylon. The first empire that impacts Israel as a nation is Egypt, so we'll come out from there and Assyria and so on.

Now here he has seven and you'll note here ten horns and seven heads. So he has the seven heads, the ten horns we're familiar with, we saw ten horns before. Seven heads, we saw the four empires and then the fifth which is the ten horns. You'll have Egypt, Assyria, then the four empires, then you have the ten horns. That makes six and then the seventh will be that Antichrist himself. So you have Egypt, Assyria, then you pick up with Babylon down to Rome. Then we have a break, then we pick up with the next empire, it is ten nations federated together to make a kingdom, ruling. Then out of that ten horns we saw there arises a little horn, Daniel 7. Here “I saw a beast coming out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads.” And the ten horns will be on that seventh head which was the fourth animal because Daniel did not include Egypt and Assyria. So then you have six, the seven heads, this will be the seventh -- the ten horns -- the final kingdom, and then on his horns were ten diadems. So these last ten kings become the focus here, this is what he is interested in, this last form of world empire. These ten horns have diadems. A diadem is the Greek crown of a ruler, a king; a stephanos is the crown of a victor, someone has a victory like in their athletic contests, so the diadem. These are rulers, ten horns, ten diadems. On his heads were blasphemous names because this is the kingdom of Satan in its fuller manifestation. The end of verse 2, “The dragon gave him his power and his throne and great authority,” and we're told in Revelation 12:9 that the dragon is also called the devil and Satan. So there is no doubt about the power, it is a supernatural kingdom, it comes from the spirit world but it is empowered and enabled by the devil, here pictured as the dragon.

Then “I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed.” This would seem to fit. Remember what we saw? Out from among the ten there is going to arise a little horn and he replaces three, so he becomes the dominant figure so he is in a place to become the world dictator. And one of his heads had been slain, his fatal wound healed and the whole world followed after him -- may indicate a counterfeit of the resurrection of Christ, but we can go into the details when we studied it here. “There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words, blasphemies, and authority to act for 42 months.” So for the first 3½ years, 42 months, 3½ years the ten nations are dominant. For the last 3½ years of that seven-year period this Antichrist, as we familiarly know him, is ruling. He speaks blasphemies against God, he makes war with the saints in verse 7. This is God's judgment on an unbelieving world but it also is a chastening of His people and it's a preparation. And he'll cause the world to worship him. And we're familiar often with the number 666 and that comes from the closing verses of Revelation 13, verse 16, “He causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding,” the number of the beast is six hundred and sixty-six. I don't think we have that deciphered, it doesn't say six is the number of man, incompletion, and seven is the number… But I think it will become clear in that seven-year period, the people of God will recognize in light of Revelation what is required here and the allegiance to this man and the worship of him.

How does this fit? It is interesting as I've watched what happens and unfolds in the world and you have, too, and some of you have talked about it, how quickly things could change. It used to be, how would that happen, and everybody is going to just do what this man says? But look at what has happened in the world, look what has happened in our country. You didn't think that six months ago that you would give up all your freedoms, that we would be told you cannot come to church and gather, that your business is shut down until further notice. But wait, I put my money into that business, I put blood, sweat and tears into it, I've invested everything I have. Yes, and I closed it. Who? Governing authority says it is closed. Wait, I have constitutional rights. No, you don't, those have all been absolved because we are in a panic. Now I'm not disagreeing whether this was necessary or not, that wasn't my decision, but you can see how it can happen. Things that we puzzled and wondered, people would never put up with that. The government couldn't just come in and take away my business. Well, they don't formally take it away, they just shut it down. And can you survive? And then we'll give you money to live. Well, the hand that gives can take away. And you see pretty soon you are told what you can buy and what you can't buy. You go to the store and you have a sign, you can buy one of these, you cannot buy more than one. We happened to go through and I didn't know that the sign applied to that and the computer wouldn't take it. And the person watching the registers (I was going to say guarding the registers) but watching the registers says I'm sorry, you have two of those and you can only take one. My, how things change, it wasn't that long ago we just went down and if you wanted 20 boxes of one cereal, go ahead and buy it, eat stale cereal, nobody cares. But all of a sudden, no, you can't buy, we'll tell you what you can buy, we'll tell you when you can go in the store, in fact, some stores you have to wait outside until you go in and they allow a certain number to go in, and of course you have to have your mask, you have to be checked. Well, maybe they'll be checking people that have had the vaccine and if you don't have the number you can't buy or sell. All we see is… Again, I'm not attacking what is going on because I don't have an answer.

So you see what happens in the world, God is sovereign. Will the Antichrist be able to take control? For the first 3½ years he is the savior or Israel and he has been good. I read you the article from ‘Time Magazine,’ I think is was back in the 1980s, it still is in my file, where the leaders of that union coming together said if there is a man who could pull us together in union we would follow him if he were the devil himself. Well, you will get what you want, he is coming. We look at things going on and I say, it's amazing, they tell you when you can leave your house. I'm one of those elderly, old, vulnerable people, I appreciate they are acting to protect me, but maybe I want to go out of my house. We'll tell you when you can go out of your house, we're protecting you. It reminds me of when I have been in Communist countries, they were protecting us, they watched everywhere you went, what you did, they told you who you could see and who you couldn't, where you could go and where you couldn't, the taxi driver couldn't take us where we wanted to go. When as American visitors we wanted to go to the zoo, they got approval for the taxi driver to take us there, he sat there for hours until we came out to be sure we didn't get a ride anywhere else.

So it happens and we look around and say that couldn't happen in our country, we have the constitution, we have rights, and overnight they are all gone. Again, I'm not attacking the government, I don't know what the answer is to a pandemic. In fact, there will be no answers because God's plan is unfolding, this is where we are going. I'm not saying it's going to happen tomorrow because the rapture hasn't happened yet. So we may come out of this, but we as believers at least ought to have had our eyes and ears sharpened that I can see how that could happen very quickly. Who would have thought? The churches in town, are they meeting today? Well, first they told us we could meet today, and you look around there are three or four of you sitting here and there are tapes blocking off seats all over because at first they told us how we would have to sit, where you could sit. And there could be no nursery, there could be no children, they have to stay with their parents. And only families could be close… Fine, you go through all that, you tape it all off, you do all this. But this week they decided there are more to add to that. So we could say we're going to try to do that and this, and we had to be sure that we were going to tell you that you could leave a row at a time, be sure everybody knows they cannot stop to talk to each other. Who would have thought we would come to that? Last year at this time we would have said nobody is going to tell me who I can talk to, I can talk to whom I want. If I want to go out of my house and walk down the street, I'll do it; and if we're going to meet at church, we'll meet at church. No. And now there are more. And I'm not saying they won't all loosen up and this virus will pass, but a reminder, God can shut down the world pretty quickly.

We have to move on. These are all preliminary judgments. God is a God of love, He offers His salvation, but remember the world is ripening for judgment. We're going to come back to Revelation but come back to Genesis 15. Remember God told Abraham that He was going to give the land of Canaan populated by the Canaanites to Abraham's descendants but it won't be for 400 years. Why? He tells Abraham in verse 15, “You shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age. Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.” You see what is going on in these years, the land of Canaan is ripening for judgment. The years go by, God is not doing anything, but He was, He was letting them like fruit ripen. What a picture! Until it is ready, this is what the world is doing, it is ripening for judgment.

On your way back to Revelation stop at the book of Romans which we are studying together, in chapter 2, and they are talking about the sins and you'll note God lumps them all together because at the root of all sin is rebellion against God. That's why we want to be careful, people say this is happening because of this particular sin. Well, he's a preacher, he ought to know. He doesn't know, he doesn't know any more than anybody else knows. Only what the word of God says. Sin will bring judgment because it is all a manifestation of the rejection of God, they have rejected Him. That's where the judgments begin with in chapter 1:18 so when we come into Romans 2 there is no excuse, men know these things deserve judgment. You'll note verse 32, “Although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval.” Doesn't mean everyone does every one of those, but there you see sin is characteristic of a heart and mind that is in rebellion against God. What is God going to do? They crucified Christ. Yes, and we understand that was the foundational provision for God to be able to declare us righteous through faith in Christ. But men continue in their rebellion. Down through 2000 years of time, what is happening? Well, we're building up judgment.

Verse 2, “And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things? But do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.” That's the pattern going on, it just hasn't finally ripened for judgment yet. And how patient God is. Peter answers this. People say nothing has happened, God hasn't judged us, He is patient, not willing that any should perish but all should come to the knowledge of the truth. But try to present the truth in the world today, that's something you are not allowed to do, keep it to yourself. Go down to the university, how many of the classes bring in: here is what God has to say. Well, we don't promote any religion. I understand that. But we don't allow you to do it either. I talked to a professor there and his supervisor told him he shouldn't be talking to students about his religious beliefs. Wait a minute, the non-Christian professors, they are spewing their beliefs out all the time, that God didn't create the world, it just happened, you came from an ape or something else, and all these things go on. It's all right to present those things that are contrary to what God says. The world is ripening for judgment.

It seems we go so far and then it seems maybe there is a little bit of a break and then we go and it seems there is progressive deterioration and it seems more obviously worldwide. We see China is cracking down on Christians with more arrests. When I was there many years ago some of the pastors that I talked to who had been in prison and served their twenty or twenty-five years say now they want us to register our churches and the people. One pastor said we can't do that, it seems like a simple requirement but all they are doing is making a list so they know who to go after when they are ready the next time. And now we see it, Christians are being arrested, they are disappearing, these things. Where is the world going? It is ripening for judgment. Now remember the rapture is coming. Sometimes we as Christians are going on like the worst thing that has happened in our lives is the virus. All these things are going to be burned up anyway. If the rapture is going to happen tomorrow, I hope most of my treasure is not planted here. Store up treasures for yourselves, treasures in heaven, that's lasting. It is not bad that we have houses to live in and that, but the mindset that draws me into those things is deadly, we have to be careful. What is the world doing while we are living as those who don't have much more spiritual insight? So we want to be careful and be alert and aware but don't want to get ahead of God. Remember Ecclesiastes reminded us, we cannot change the past and we cannot control the future. And believers that act like they know more than God has specifically revealed… I know the judgment is coming not because I am some kind of super-spiritual man with insight. I've read what God says, but I only know as much as He has said. That's why I say we look at these things and I could see how this could be a possible way, but I didn't see that this would happen exactly like this either, but it is consistent. So I can look at and say… the problem with getting into these matters is they become a series of sermons.

Come to Revelation 6, we'll just pick up two passages. Couldn't help think of these passages and I have some others, but you see what happens here. The judgments of that seven-year period begin in Revelation 6, and we'll go through the first 3½ years. Then we'll have the break to talk about the Antichrist and all of that, and then we'll finish out with the last 3½ years, the way the book of Revelation unfolds as we study it together. Here this series of seals on a scroll and when a seal is broken a judgment comes out. And you get to the fourth seal and then a horse comes out bringing the judgment. Verse 8, “I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death; and Hades was following,” Hades gathers in the souls of those who die, that's where they go. Remember the rich man in Luke 16 lifted up his eyes in Hades, he was tormented in that flame. And you'll note here, “Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth.” So let's just say, so I can handle it, it is 6 billion people because I can divide 4 into 6 billion and get 1½. But you get the idea of the number, over “a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts.” All kinds of things are going to come together and one-quarter of the earth. We have a long way to go compared to what is going to happen in the tribulation when a billion and a half people are going to die under judgment. We are in panic for what is going on now around the world. Countries are shut down. What if this were really deadly, then what if you added to that a variety of kinds? I see we have the hornet coming in, they are trying to stop it, it's that big Asian hornet that kills the bees and can kill humans. We see locusts going on in the world, that part of the world. What if these things multiply, coming together? We used to think, a virus, like most of us, like I thought, this virus will probably come. All these great scientific minds and doctors will get together and we'll have a solution to that here in a few weeks and we can get on with life. Some of our governing leaders were saying get out, go to a restaurant, do these things, it's not so bad, and it became worse than we expected. What if it were really bad? What if 25% of the population of Lincoln died just in this one? When you add to that, what if a tornado blew through and we were trying to deal with that? And then we had an insect infection that we didn't know about. All of a sudden how do your medical resources, which was the concern with this which ends up being minor compared to what we are talking about here, how would you handle that? All your resources would be overwhelmed. We are running out of food in our food store and it hasn't anywhere near come to a fraction measurable of what is going to happen.

This is just the beginning judgment. There is a series of 3 sevens going to follow here. Come over to Revelation 9, we're moving along. Again, we've studied Revelation so you can pick up the information. Verse 13, “The sixth angel sounded and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar,” so another judgment. We go from seals to trumpets to bowls. Every time a seal is opened you have a series of judgments, every time a trumpet sounds it brings forth judgment, every time a bowl is turned over on the earth it's like a bowl of soup or cereal, it is pouring out a judgment on the earth. Here you have a trumpet sound. Look at verse 15, “The four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year.” Do you see God's sovereignty? Down to the day. We say, boy, the chaos, the confusion going on in the world, look at our government, and everybody out for this and that and who is telling us. And you have a world going on and God has ordained down to the year, the hour, the month, the day. Not just generally, it will happen sometime between 2025 and 2030, that's not the way God plans. It will be that year, it will be that month, it will be that day, it will be that hour. This is God sovereign, that's His operation. Now that's true on this, that tells you what’s true. This virus has hit the United States that year, that month, that day, that hour. Nobody has control over that, we don't know, we don't have the measuring equipment. God doesn't need measuring equipment, He is omniscient and He has planned it all.

But you note what is going to happen, the end of verse 15, “They would kill a third of mankind.” Now wait a minute, we're getting around half the world's population, I've only read you about two of the judgments, the fourth seal and the sixth trumpet. What is the world going to be like? It has become uninhabitable. Where are you going to get food? And then we saw in Revelation 13, the only way I can understand this, and keep in mind this is my understanding it, finiteness multiplied, that there are parts of the world, particularly where the Antichrist is most powerful that are not being affected, that only strengthens his power. What do you think would happen in the United States or happen in the world if Russia collapsed and the United States went out and there was only China? Do you think they would be moaning about the loss of the United States? Mull that around. So if the United States goes under, they are protecting us older people, I appreciate that, they give us things and that's great, but we are going out, we'll leave the $50 trillion debt or whatever to the next generation and the Lord bless them. I don't know what's going to happen. Will the United States recover? Oh yes, we are a resilient people, we will recover. Maybe. Maybe this is the beginning of the end for our country, maybe we won't recover. That's a terrible, pessimistic thing to say. Well, I don't find the United States in scripture, do you? I find the revived Roman Empire. We try to fit ourselves… maybe we can be the ones that will fit in this way. Maybe we will, I don't know, but it's not so hard to see that this all of a sudden could go the other way and the virus could turn so fatal we have leaders of our country dying, then we would have our hands full. If it's not affecting China, I'm just using them since obviously they are moving for power, do you think they are going to say we have to do all we can to rescue them? I don't know. The Lord has ordained it. So these judgments, preliminary, we want to recognize it.

Come back to Matthew 24. Jesus is talking about this same time period, the tribulation, what will happen leading up to His Second Coming to earth, so that seven-year period after the rapture and before He returns to earth. He goes on to talk about there will be wars going on, we haven't even gotten into that. The question to be answered in Matthew 24 is in verse 3, “His disciples say, Tell us, when will these things happen and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” They know nothing about the church so they are talking about it as Jews looking forward to His coming to establish His kingdom. He breaks the tribulation down into two periods, the first half and the second half, which He calls the beginning of birth pangs and then the severity of the pains which will be the last half of the seven years. And the Jews will be hated by everyone. You can see that anti-Semitism constantly bubbling up and as well as any believer in Jesus Christ, a Gentile, who has become a believer after the rapture of the church which will be fewer because this is the time where Gentiles are experiencing salvation.

“You will be hated by all nations because of My name.” The Jews will have no place to go, that will be universal. And verse 15, “When you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place,” then you better get out of town. Telling the Jews because persecution is going to break out like has never happened on the face of the earth. Verse 21, “Then there will be a great tribulation such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world.” And if Christ doesn't intervene at the end of that seven-year period no one would survive because it is overwhelming and it continues to spread. Now the devil, the plan of God evidently is able to protect that revived empire in its limited form because right up until the day Christ comes, verse 36, “Of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be.” People are going to be about, they will be out in the field, they will be doing things. This is the Second Coming of Christ to earth. Wait a minute, how is anybody leading a normal life? Remember in that revived empire… You know, stop and think, we feel bad that people in Africa are starving. I remember one of my good friends who is pastoring, we were having a conversation about this years ago, he doesn't live in the area now, we were talking about it and it came up, all these people starving in the world. He says name me one. Well, just all of those people. Ok, can we go to lunch? We go on with our lives. It's too bad people are suffering in the world, even believers, I feel bad believers are being imprisoned in China. There is little or nothing I can do about that, I have to live my life today thankful for the grace that is provided. So I can see in that part of the world, because people are still going to be getting married. Marriages have been canceled because of the virus -- can't do it, can't get together, can't do it now -- but they are going to be going on because if their part of the world is doing good and prospering, it's what we always wanted. We've fought world wars for world domination. Germany, Hitler wanted to dominate the world, he'd do it by military force. If it's a combination of military and famines and pestilences, who cares how it happens. All the Antichrist cares about is power. We've seen that in our country, we're trying to go through it. You get down to it, all anybody cares about is power. If I can just win here and be ruler, be in charge. It's coming to that. Who cares about what happens in China, who cares what happens in Russia, who cares what happens in the United States. We are self-sufficient, we are overflowing in prosperity, get out and enjoy life. It is closing in. It will take the coming of Christ to crush the Antichrist. That's not saying there won't begin to be more and more, affect more and more.

But all this, what we see going on in the world, we don't want to sleep through it, even as believers. We say I'm going to be out in the rapture. Yes, but what Jesus is telling His disciples and warning Jews about who will be in the tribulation because they weren't believers, you ought to have your eyes open and be ready. I think as I look around at the world as a believer today, I think not so hard for me to believe the Lord could come tomorrow. And with that impact on the world and the Lord unleashing judgments, very quickly the world could change dramatically. Our country has changed in months. You have unbelievers sitting there saying I can't believe this, I would never have believed this could happen, I never would believe our rights would be taken and we would give them up voluntarily. You create such an atmosphere of fear people do what they are told, we stay home. If you would have asked me last year I would have said there will be riots in the street, people wouldn't put up with that kind of thing, I don't know how something like that could happen. Now they say stay home, we stay home; now they say you can buy this, we buy this; now they say you can't meet as a church. We had a cop car out on our parking lot last week, when the few of us who were in here walked out he was watching the back door. I guess he was watching to make sure we were obeying the rules of numbers and didn't congregate or hug each other. I don't know. He wasn't parked toward 84th, he was parked out just watching the back lot where we come out on the east entrance. Maybe he was having lunch. I didn't stop. But you wonder, we do it, here we are, I'm speaking to an all but empty auditorium. We could put a couple thousand people here and spread them out. Well, there are other regulations that… And everything goes on.

The good thing is we're looking for the rapture. Are we really looking for the rapture? Is my focus really not in this world and caught up with it, or is it really caught up with Christ could come tomorrow. I may be taking losses today but I haven't lost anything that is of lasting value. I'm not minimizing the pain that can come because the Lord might not come for ten years, twenty years. We don't know. But I'm saying we are to be living like it every day. Remember Paul told the Romans 2000 years ago, now is your salvation nearer than when you first believed. We don't want to become like those Peter warned about – oh where is the promise of His coming? I've heard so many sermons on prophecy, ah yes, the Lord is coming and He still hasn't come. Well, don't presume on the Lord's patience. These are days of salvation so what we are about, we want to share the truth that you can be saved from wrath to come, that's why Jesus Christ came to this earth, came to provide salvation so He could be your Savior if you but turn from your sin and place your faith in Him. God says He will give you a free gift of salvation, good for time and eternity. And we who have, we want to keep our focus on the blessed hope, the glorious appearing of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Let's pray together. Thank you, Lord, for your grace, your sovereignty, your power. You are the God who rules over all. Lord, with our finite limited minds it's hard for us to grasp such sovereignty, such greatness, such power. Down to the very hour of the day, Lord, you have it all under control, you have appointed it all and we belong to you. We are in your care and we can live confidently and with assurance, not without pain, not without trouble, but Lord we have the confidence that you will sustain us and keep us. Bless this day, bless your people we pray, and bless us as we represent you at this time as we look forward to the coming of the Lord. We pray in His name, amen.