Revelation of Jesus Christ

Seven Seals

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Pr. Kenneth Cox

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Series Code: RJC

Program Code: RJC000010


00:21 Welcome to The Revelation of Jesus Christ.
00:25 Glad that all of you are here tonight.
00:27 We want to welcome all of you that are watching by television
00:31 or listening on the radio or even on the Internet.
00:34 We're glad that you're tuning in this evening
00:36 as we take a look at this subject of the seven seals.
00:42 Now in our last presentation
00:45 we talked about the Lamb and the opening...
00:49 how He had the power to take the scroll from His Father's hand
00:54 and to open the seals.
00:56 And so tonight we're looking at these seals
01:00 that He's opening. That's what we're looking at tonight.
01:03 And so our subject tonight is
01:05 The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
01:08 because the first four of those seals are horsemen.
01:13 We're going to talk about those four horsemen.
01:16 But actually the seals that you read there
01:20 you need to understand as you read your Bible
01:22 that it covers the 6th and 7th chapter of Revelation
01:27 and the first verse of the 8th chapter.
01:30 That's what's involved in the seals.
01:33 Tonight we're just looking at the 6th chapter
01:37 and that one verse in the 8th chapter.
01:40 Tomorrow night we'll take a look at the 7th chapter.
01:44 But that all has to do with the seals.
01:47 So that's what we're looking at.
01:48 And tomorrow night our subject is entitled The 144,000.
01:53 And that's what the 7th chapter is about:
01:57 the 144,000 and the sealing of God's people.
02:02 That's what it deals with, and so that's what we're looking at
02:05 tonight and tomorrow night.
02:08 And we hope that it will help you begin to see
02:11 what is happening and what's taking place
02:14 as God reveals in His Word and to John
02:19 what is to take place on this earth with mankind.
02:23 And so tonight we'll go and take a look at the four horsemen
02:27 of the apocalypse and the other three seals that are
02:31 mentioned there. And it will help you get a view
02:36 of what God is saying and what, really, transpires
02:42 and takes place in the rest of the book of Revelation.
02:45 So we're glad each of you are here.
02:47 God bless you as we study God's Word tonight.
02:50 We're happy this evening to have with us Pam and Jimmy Rhodes.
02:54 They're guests of ours and friends of ours.
02:58 And we dearly love them and appreciate you being here, Jim.
03:02 They're going to bring the music to us this evening.
03:06 And Jim will be playing - accompanying - and Dona will be
03:10 accompanying Pam. And she's going to sing a song entitled
03:14 My Forever Friend.
03:17 And you'll be blessed by that in a very special way.
03:20 But before she does, Chuck Allgaier is going to come
03:24 and he's going to read the scripture to you
03:27 that deals with what we're talking about tonight:
03:30 the 6th chapter of the book of Revelation.
03:34 So follow in your Bible as he reads it.
03:40 Good evening.
03:42 We had an exciting night last night
03:44 and we're going to have another one tonight.
03:46 So if you have your Bible,
03:48 we're going to go straight to the book of Revelation...
03:51 Revelation chapter 6.
03:52 We're going to read Revelation chapter 6 and then
03:55 we're going to read the first verse of Revelation
03:58 chapter 8... verse 1.
04:00 So if you have your Bibles, let's read together.
07:12 May God add His blessing to His Word tonight.
07:32 Everybody needs a Savior's love and grace...
07:38 no one stands alone.
07:44 Makes no difference if you're just a child like me
07:51 or a king upon a throne.
07:55 For there are no
07:59 exceptions,
08:02 we all stand in the night.
08:08 Everybody needs a friend...
08:14 let me tell you of mine.
08:20 He's my forever friend.
08:27 My leave me never friend.
08:33 From darkest night
08:36 to rainbow's end...
08:40 He's my forever friend.
08:48 Even when I turn away He cares for me...
08:54 His love no one can shake.
09:00 Even as I walk away He's by my side
09:06 with every breath I take.
09:11 And sometimes I forget Him...
09:18 my halo fails to shine.
09:24 Sometimes I'm not His friend
09:30 but He is always mine.
09:36 He's my forever friend.
09:43 My leave me never friend.
09:49 From darkest night
09:52 to rainbow's end...
09:56 He's my forever friend.
10:04 If you still don't know the one I'm speaking of,
10:10 I think it's time you knew...
10:16 Long ago and far away upon a cross
10:22 my friend died for you.
10:28 So if you'd like to meet Him
10:34 and don't know what to do,
10:40 ask my friend into your heart
10:46 and He'll be your friend too.
10:53 He's my forever friend.
10:59 My leave me never friend.
11:05 From darkest night
11:08 to rainbow's end...
11:12 He's my forever friend.
11:18 He's my forever
11:24 friend.
11:51 Father in Heaven, tonight as we open Your Word
11:56 we pray that You would help us
12:00 to open our hearts. May the Holy Spirit be present.
12:06 May it fill our lives.
12:09 Reveal unto us Your Word.
12:14 Give us wisdom; give us understanding
12:18 that we might see and know
12:23 what You have revealed in Your Book.
12:26 We pray in Christ's name, Amen.
12:36 Well, The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
12:40 This has had a lot of discussion -
12:45 the seals have - over the years.
12:46 But I think the scripture lays it out quite clearly
12:50 and we're going to start out by reading the text here that says:
13:03 Now Christ - or the Lamb -
13:07 has... is opening the seals.
13:10 This is what He's doing.
13:11 Uh, these seals - how should I explain? -
13:15 they have some very important things that you and I
13:18 need to know about them.
13:20 One: you find the first four are four horsemen.
13:24 And those four horsemen tell about conditions on the earth.
13:29 But the last three are not horsemen,
13:32 and there is a decided change after the fourth horseman.
13:38 Then you have three seals that deal with
13:42 God's judgment upon the wicked.
13:46 And that's what we'll be looking at tonight.
13:48 But the reason I mention that is
13:50 there are four horsemen and then three seals
13:56 and there's a separation and difference.
13:58 You'll find that same scenario carried on
14:04 with the seven trumpets.
14:05 And you'll find the same scenario carried on
14:08 with the seven last plagues.
14:10 So as we get into those, watch for that because
14:13 you're going to find the Lord divides them: the first four
14:17 and then the last three.
14:18 Does that, and you'll see that taking place
14:21 as we study those different ones.
14:23 So we hope that as we continue on here...
14:26 But John's there, and one of the living creatures
14:30 which is the very first one, the lion -
14:34 has spoken with a voice like what?
14:37 Thunder... and he's told John
14:40 "Come and see. "
14:43 Now evidently with Christ opening these seals
14:47 the living creature has invited John to come and take a look
14:51 in there and John sees what is revealed in that seal.
14:56 That's what happens here.
14:58 So let's see what he sees in this seal.
15:02 It says:
15:12 So here he sees this man on a white horse.
15:18 Has on his head a crown and a bow,
15:21 and he's going out to conquer and to conquer.
15:24 Now let me start out by saying
15:27 that white is used in the scripture over and over and over
15:32 and over again.
15:33 Not only does it talk about a white horse
15:36 but it talks about all kinds of things being white.
15:39 It talks about having white robes.
15:40 It talks about white garments.
15:42 Talks about a white throne; talks about white hair.
15:45 Talks about a white stone; talks about a white cloud.
15:48 All those. White represents purity.
15:51 Represents righteousness.
15:53 Put it down, friends... there is no place,
15:57 no place anywhere in God's Word without exception...
16:01 never is there a place where God uses white
16:04 to apply to the antichrist.
16:08 Did you follow me?
16:10 And those people that take this white horse
16:13 and try to apply it to the antichrist
16:15 are totally out of place
16:17 because He never applies white to an antichrist...
16:21 just does not do that.
16:23 It represents purity; represents righteousness.
16:27 And so this rider is coming forth on a white horse
16:32 to conquer and to conquer.
16:35 He's going forth. This represents the gospel.
16:39 The gospel is pure - it's righteousness - and God has
16:44 given it to be preached to the world.
16:47 And Paul gives a little indication of what's happening
16:50 here because he talks about this. Listen:
17:00 And by the way, the crown that's on his head is a laurel wreath
17:04 which represents victory. This is what is happening there.
17:08 This is what Paul said:
17:26 Paul is saying that in his day
17:30 the gospel had been preached to everyone at that time.
17:35 Folks, the gospel went out with such tremendous victory -
17:41 and was accepted - that by the end of the 1st century
17:45 there were 5,000,000 Christians.
17:49 Now you stop and think that in 70 years
17:53 it has gone from twelve to 5,000,000.
17:59 That's how many people have accepted... So
18:01 when it talks about Him going out to conquer and to conquer
18:04 indeed it has done that. It's gone forth with great power
18:08 and many many people have accepted it and believed.
18:12 That's why this horse is white.
18:15 That's why he goes out to conquer and to conquer.
18:18 All right, let's go on.
18:25 This covers the date from about 31 AD to 100 AD.
18:30 And let me caution you about this.
18:32 The Bible gives periods of time here.
18:36 We put these dates in because they seem to
18:39 cover that period of time. But don't tie those dates down
18:44 in stone because they overlap one another,
18:47 and that's talking about a section of time...
18:51 not trying to put a date on each end of it.
18:53 Are you with me? So give room there for there to be
18:56 some overlapping... because there will be.
18:59 All right, the second one:
19:22 This horse is red,
19:25 and he's gone out and he's going to do what?
19:28 He's going to take peace from the earth and kill people.
19:34 Has a great sword. Let me just say a word about the sword.
19:38 Back in those days there were two types of swords.
19:42 There was one sword that they used that was a short sword
19:47 and that was used for hand-to-hand fighting close up.
19:51 But they also had a long sword that was about 4' long
19:55 that was used by those that rode on horses.
19:59 And when it speaks of a sword here
20:02 that's the kind of sword that it's talking about.
20:04 And he went out here to take peace from the earth;
20:07 should kill many... and he had a great sword.
20:10 Folks, any time in history
20:15 that the gospel has moved with great rapidity across the earth
20:20 and there has been a revival and people have reached out
20:23 and accepted the Lord and there's been a tremendous influx
20:27 in Christianity there has always been persecution.
20:32 I mean the devil - every time it's ever happened -
20:36 the devil has been there to persecute the church.
20:39 And here as the church grew with such rapidity
20:42 in the first century, all of a sudden Rome
20:47 turned her hatred upon the church because it looked like
20:50 Christianity was going to take over
20:53 because it had moved with such rapidity.
20:55 And so they turned their wrath upon the church
20:58 and they began to persecute the people.
21:00 If you were a Christian, you could be hauled in
21:05 before the magistrate. If you did not
21:11 offer as a sign of worship your allegiance to the Roman Empire,
21:17 then you were taken... taken to the arena.
21:21 And there in the arena were those people who had stood firm
21:27 for their belief in the Lord Jesus Christ and Christianity.
21:32 And lions that hadn't eaten in days were turned loose
21:36 upon those people... they became food for lions.
21:39 It talks about it as a terrible time.
21:44 This was the period of time from about 100 AD to 313 AD.
21:50 There was a period of time in there under Diocletian...
21:54 talks about ten years in which
21:57 he fiercely persecuted the church.
22:13 From about 310 AD...
22:17 or excuse me, 300 AD to about 310 AD,
22:22 this is the time that Diocletian persecuted the church
22:25 with such great, great hated and literally
22:31 thousands gave their life for what they believed.
22:35 And by the way, if you notice that text in Revelation
22:38 the 2nd chapter, the time - as we studied the 7 churches -
22:41 the time of Smyrna parallels this same period of time.
22:45 That's what it's talking about.
22:47 OK, this was a time of persecution.
22:50 Then we come to this next horse. It says:
23:24 Now,
23:28 you'll find almost invariably
23:31 not only when Christianity advances
23:35 and many many people reach out and accept the Lord
23:39 and it grows, that the devil has persecuted it.
23:42 But if he cannot accomplish his means
23:47 by persecution he uses something that, as far as I know,
23:52 has never failed...
23:54 and that is by compromise, flattery,
24:00 enticement, he has been able to lead people away.
24:06 That's why the Lord Jesus Christ says to each one of you:
24:10 "Be careful, watch out, for the cares of this life. "
24:16 If he can just get you... you... you remember when
24:19 the children of Israel were on their way to the Promised Land
24:24 and you remember the king there - Moab -
24:28 was afraid of them. And he went and hired this prophet
24:32 by the name of Baal... Balaam, excuse me,
24:35 Balaam and ask him to come and to curse
24:39 the children of Israel.
24:41 And you remember he went up there on the mountain
24:43 and got everything ready and tried to curse them...
24:46 but instead of cursing them he wound up blessing them.
24:49 Three times tried...
24:52 three times wound up blessing them.
24:54 And finally the king was so distraught with him
24:57 he said: "Get out of here. You're not doing... helping me
25:00 at all. You're making it worse! "
25:01 But Balaam wasn't dumb, folks.
25:05 Balaam knew what he couldn't accomplish
25:08 by blessing them - or by cursing them -
25:14 he could accomplish another way.
25:17 And listen to what happened:
25:37 Uh, he got these Moabite women
25:40 to go down and to lead these people astray.
25:45 Sexual immorality... worship of their god.
25:49 Anything he could do to get them to turn from their God
25:53 he was able to accomplish.
25:55 And so that's the reason you have this third horse
25:59 that's black.
26:02 See? Black representing just the opposite of white.
26:06 Where white was purity, black was just the opposite of that.
26:10 And so he's riding on this black horse,
26:13 and this is what he's accomplishing through it.
26:16 Woodhouse in his book on the Apocalypse
26:21 had this to say:
26:30 Let me just stop right there.
26:32 That's a danger, folks, that we face so much.
26:37 That the forefathers were believers...
26:43 staunch in their belief. And they believed it and they
26:45 held to it and they gave their life for it
26:48 and they preached it with everything they had.
26:50 But as it gets farther and farther from its foundation
26:58 we lose the sense of urgency.
27:03 It became more and more corrupt.
27:37 This is what happened to the church: it moved.
27:40 Lost all the thing that it had, and so he said:
27:54 Well, let me start out by talking about a denarius.
27:57 A denarius was a day's wage.
28:01 That was a coin... that's a denarius
28:04 and it was a day's wage. And so a day's wage
28:09 you could buy a quart of wheat.
28:14 But drought, folks,
28:18 drought definitely affects strongly grain.
28:23 And so what they couldn't buy...
28:26 and if they couldn't they could buy something that was not as
28:30 nourishing and not as good... and that was barley.
28:34 They could buy three quarts of barley for it.
28:37 What does that mean spiritually?
28:39 It means these people were being served spiritually
28:42 not very good food.
28:44 In fact, just the opposite of what they needed.
28:47 It wasn't giving them the nourishment, and that's why
28:49 he's talking about receiving a quart of wheat
28:53 or three quarts of barley for a denarius.
28:57 Hurt not the oil or the wine.
28:59 The oil represented the Holy Spirit.
29:05 The wine represented the covenant between God
29:10 and His people.
29:12 You see, a drought affects grain
29:18 very, very strongly but it doesn't hurt
29:21 as much oil and wine.
29:25 They're much stronger.
29:27 And so He said: "Don't hurt it. "
29:30 Make the Holy Spirit available to the people.
29:34 Those that want it... it should be there for them.
29:37 And this is what the oil and the wine stood for.
29:43 It was available to the people. So to you and me today
29:47 the Holy Spirit is available.
29:51 That relationship - the covenant between you and the Savior -
29:55 is available to each one of us.
29:58 This represented the period of time from 313 AD
30:02 to 538 AD.
30:05 That was the period of time that it covered.
30:08 Let's go to the fourth horse.
30:38 So this fourth rider is Death.
30:42 Hades or the grave is following him,
30:45 and he's there and he's killing a fourth of the earth.
30:49 Now when I was a boy
30:55 uh, in the fall when we harvested potatoes -
31:00 Went out and dug up the potatoes and cleaned them -
31:05 my father would have us clean them all off as best we could
31:10 and then he would have me go and crawl under the house
31:13 and he would have me lay those potatoes out
31:18 on the ground under the house so that they didn't
31:21 touch one another but all over the ground there.
31:25 And that way they would stay all winter long.
31:29 And... but they would sometimes put out sprouts
31:33 and all. And if you went in there and got one of those
31:37 potatoes that had sprouted, it was pale green
31:43 because it didn't have any light.
31:47 See? And that's the same thing here.
31:49 It says this horse was pale because it represented no light.
31:55 You see, darkness was the one before.
31:59 They had taken away the truth of God's Word.
32:01 The people couldn't get it... they couldn't lay hold of it.
32:03 Now, darkness has brought about death.
32:08 Death's riding on this horse followed by the grave and all.
32:13 This was what was taking place.
32:15 And it says that "power was given him
32:18 over a fourth of the earth. "
32:20 Let me explain what happened here.
32:24 By the time we came to 500 AD -
32:30 OK? - Christianity had exploded across the Roman Empire.
32:37 I mean millions of people had accepted it.
32:40 It had exploded so much
32:42 that the scripture... the scripture had been interpreted -
32:47 I shouldn't say interpreted - translated
32:50 into over 500 different languages.
32:56 By 500 AD it had been translated
33:00 into over 500 different languages.
33:06 By 100 years later
33:11 there was only one translation, and that was in Latin.
33:17 And if you couldn't read Latin,
33:20 you were out of luck to read the Word of God.
33:23 The scripture was taken... chained to library walls
33:27 and the people were told they were too ignorant to read it.
33:30 And all of a sudden, that which would have been lacked
33:35 the Word of God had been brought to them and they didn't
33:39 understand it or was weak in that
33:42 now all of a sudden was death.
33:44 There was NO WORD... they didn't have it.
33:47 And dear friends, you know how long that went on?
33:50 For 1,000 years.
33:54 One thousand years
33:57 the people basically were without the Word of God.
34:02 So death came to reign.
34:14 Not only did the people die -
34:18 how should I put it? -
34:20 did they die spiritually - it was taken away from them -
34:23 but this text also applies to physically.
34:26 You go back and read that period of time,
34:30 and it's during that period of time when
34:36 plagues came across the nation, particularly in Europe.
34:41 Have you ever read about the Black Death?
34:46 Came on Europe... In a matter of three years
34:52 it killed 20,000,000 people.
34:56 This was in 1508 AD.
35:01 Killed 20,000,000 people.
35:04 Died... A fourth, if you please, of the population died.
35:11 Just as the scripture said it would take place, it happened.
35:16 This was a time in which
35:20 the people didn't have the Word of God.
35:23 A time in which there was ignorance.
35:26 A time that we refer to in history as the Dark Ages
35:30 when things went backwards.
35:34 This was the fourth seal...
35:40 the fourth horse.
35:41 Period of time from 538 AD to 1517 AD.
35:46 That was the period of time that it covered.
35:50 Well, let's go to the fifth.
35:53 Now please notice, all of a sudden we no longer have
35:57 horsemen. We no longer have one of the living creatures
36:01 that we talked about last night...
36:03 we no longer have those saying: "Come and see. "
36:07 It's been a decided change here in what is happening.
36:21 I should take the time right here...
36:25 When it talks about the altar,
36:29 the altar here that's talked about is the altar of sacrifice
36:34 that was out in the court.
36:37 That's what it was talking about.
36:39 And when they brought a sacrifice and offered it
36:43 and it was slain, they took the blood
36:46 and they poured it at the base of the altar here.
36:51 Very important: they poured the blood at the base of that altar.
36:55 And so it says: "These had been slain for" what?
37:00 The Word of God and for "the testimony which they had. "
37:13 They said: "How long... how long is this going to be
37:16 until you're going to avenge our blood? "
37:37 So it said God told them: "Listen,
37:41 you've got to rest a little while longer. "
37:44 White robes were given to them.
37:48 He said: "Rest a little while longer. "
37:52 Why is it telling them that they are to rest?
37:55 Well you remember that this is the same application you find
37:59 in the book of Genesis when it says:
38:08 It's not saying that there were souls literally under the altar.
38:13 It's saying like Abel's blood was a witness
38:17 crying out against them.
38:19 They said: "The blood of these. "
38:21 These were the people, folks, that were killed
38:25 during the time of the Reformation
38:28 where they were slain by the thousands by the Inquisition.
38:34 Massacre of St. Bartholomew where 60,000
38:37 were killed in one day.
38:39 This... this is what it's talking about.
38:42 And they're crying out: "Lord, how long is this going to go on
38:45 until You judge? Avenge our blood that we died for? "
38:50 "How long is this going to take place? "
38:52 Well, there's a reason why He said to them
38:56 "You've got to rest a little while longer. "
39:13 The time of the resurrection had not come.
39:16 It was not time for the dead to be resurrected,
39:19 and so He said: "You've got to rest a little while longer. "
39:22 This... this has to take place.
39:32 They... So He said, you know, "Here's white robes.
39:35 Rest until Jesus comes back. "
39:38 How long is it going to be until they're judged?
39:41 Daniel answered that question because he said here:
39:55 Said: "How long is it going to be? "
39:57 And the angel answered here:
40:06 We're not going to go into that prophecy tonight.
40:09 But he told him a definite period of time
40:12 how long it would be. And that's the reason
40:15 it says here in Revelation 22:12:
40:24 In other words, God's saying that the judgment
40:27 had to take place first.
40:31 The judgment had to happen
40:34 before you could have the resurrection.
40:36 And so he said: "How long till this...
40:40 until You're going to judge and avenge our blood? "
40:43 And he said: "Well, it's going to be for 2,300 days;
40:46 THEN it's going to cleansed. "
40:49 And so they are asleep
40:53 and will remain so until the resurrection.
40:56 This is how long they were to be there.
40:58 This represented the period of time from 1517 AD
41:04 to 1844 AD.
41:07 This was the time that you and I refer to
41:12 as the time of the Reformation.
41:13 This is the time in which the gospel was preached
41:18 to the world and thousands of people reached out
41:22 and accepted the gospel and gave their hearts to the Lord
41:26 and followed Him.
41:27 Marvelous time of history
41:29 because the earth - or the world - was coming out
41:33 of the Dark Ages.
41:35 And they were... first time many of them had gotten a view
41:38 or a glimpse of the gospel and what it really meant.
41:42 So it was a time in which they were able to see this.
41:46 But folks, what he's saying here,
41:48 and this is why it's the fifth seal,
41:51 you see he's changed. We had those four horsemen
41:55 that said what was going to happen on the earth.
41:58 But all of a sudden when you get to that 5th seal
42:01 now he's going to tell you what's going to be the result
42:04 in the judgment of the wicked.
42:07 That's what he's dealing with here.
42:09 He's telling the wicked: "OK, here we're giving you
42:11 this period of time to repent but now, if you don't,
42:16 this is what's going to happen. "
42:18 And I hope that as we go through this tonight
42:22 you're beginning to see a timeline of where we are
42:27 and what's happening. OK.
42:30 1560 AD men like John Calvin,
42:36 Martin Luther, Zwingli...
42:40 all these great reformers stood up and preached.
42:43 And out of that, like with John Calvin, folks,
42:47 500,000 Frenchmen gave their hearts to the Lord.
42:52 500,000 through his preaching.
42:56 And many of those people paid with their lives.
43:02 They died. That's why it says here:
43:14 You see, again the gospel spread
43:17 and the devil turned his wrath
43:21 upon those who accepted the gospel
43:23 and followed Jesus Christ.
43:29 He's going to give them a white robe.
43:32 Again, white is a sign of what?
43:35 Purity... righteousness.
43:39 How wonderful this is
43:41 that the Lord Jesus Christ says: "Here... "
43:44 "To each of them was given a white robe. "
43:48 Christ says that to you...
43:51 to each of you... He will give you a white robe.
43:54 So it doesn't make any difference, folks,
43:58 it doesn't make any difference how bad you may have been.
44:02 It doesn't make any difference
44:05 how dark your sins may have been.
44:08 When the Lord Jesus Christ gives you that white robe
44:14 of His righteousness, then, dear friend,
44:17 you're clean, you're pure in the eyes of God...
44:22 no matter who you are!
44:36 See it represents righteousness.
44:38 That fine linen is given to that person. And says:
44:43 "This is the righteousness of Christ" that He's given to you
44:46 and to me.
44:57 They came out of great tribulation.
45:00 Remember that word "great tribulation"
45:02 because it's important.
45:03 "They washed their robes and made them white
45:05 in the blood of the Lamb. "
45:16 And this is out of tomorrow night's presentation.
45:19 Great multitude... look what they have.
45:31 That's all of God's people
45:33 clothed in white robes because it represents purity
45:37 and the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
45:40 Listen:
45:48 "Immediately after the tribulation. " In other words,
45:51 this was the time of persecution
45:53 during the time of the Reformation
45:55 and it fell off... fell off in the late 1700s.
46:01 And it says:
46:11 This is what Christ said.
46:13 These are His words here in Matthew 24. Watch:
46:30 In other words, we're down here now folks
46:33 to the sixth seal...
46:35 and with that is the coming of Jesus Christ.
47:04 Now He said: "Immediately after the tribulation
47:07 of those days" which were coming to an end in the late 1700s
47:12 He said: "All of a sudden, the sun's going to go dark.
47:17 The moon's going to turn to blood.
47:19 The stars are going to fall from heaven. "
47:52 This represents the period of time from 1844 AD
47:56 to the coming of Jesus Christ.
47:58 That represents the period of time in which what?
48:02 You're living in. Yeah, so you need to know where you are
48:06 in the stream of time.
48:22 Said when it came to the end of the tribulation of those days
48:27 these things would happen.
48:28 And just exactly as it said, 1755 AD
48:31 you have the Lisbon Earthquake: one of the greatest earthquakes
48:36 that's ever happened.
49:04 1755 AD the earthquake. Watch:
49:13 What happened? And by the way, there's no explanation for this.
49:26 I've read people's attempts to explain it.
49:58 Just exactly as God said.
50:01 We hit that sixth seal, and it says
50:04 this is what's going to happen. And it happened!
50:07 Said that the stars would fall from heaven.
50:51 And so the stars fell as thick as snow.
50:55 I've read accounts of this where it says that people
50:58 literally went out and laid on the ground and cried
51:02 because they thought that judgment had come.
51:05 But He said these were to be signs that were to happen
51:09 that marked... that marked the period of time
51:13 that we had moved into. Dear friend, those same signs
51:16 it says will happen at the coming of Jesus.
51:20 So we are living... what the scripture refers to
51:25 as the Time of the End.
51:27 That's what we are living... during that time
51:30 this sixth seal is being poured out.
51:42 In other words, after these signs the next momentous event
51:46 is the coming of Jesus Christ.
51:48 It says the heaven's going to split right down the middle.
51:51 Roll back like a scroll.
51:54 Islands and mountains are going to move out of their place.
52:21 Jesus Christ comes back
52:27 at the end of the sixth seal.
52:31 That's what happens.
52:34 That's the time in which you and I are living.
52:38 This is the time in which you and I can expect
52:43 the coming of the Lord.
52:44 You see, people might say: "Oh, they've been saying that
52:46 for a thousand years. " Oh I agree... they have.
52:50 But they haven't had the signs that you and I have had.
52:55 We have seen things that nobody else has seen.
53:01 We have seen things that without question, undeniable,
53:05 fulfill the Word of God.
53:07 We're living when Jesus is going to come back.
53:18 Said: "Opened the seventh seal
53:22 and there was silence in heaven for about 1/2 hour. "
53:27 Why?
53:35 How many?
53:42 In other words, all the angels and the Father and Christ
53:45 have left heaven.
53:47 They've come to gather His children home.
53:50 They're the ones there.
53:52 He's calling them to be ready, prepare.
53:55 So there's silence in heaven for about 1/2 hour.
53:59 "And when the Son of Man comes in His glory...
54:04 all the holy angels with Him. "
54:06 That's the time in which you and I are living today.
54:11 Time in which Jesus Christ is coming back.
54:15 And so those 7 seals have ful- filled one right after another.
54:21 Tomorrow night we're going to take a look at the sealing
54:25 of God's people.
54:27 Because we've talked about what's going to happen here...
54:30 what's going to happen to the wicked.
54:32 How does God's people fare during this time?
54:34 And how does the sealing take place
54:37 as we take a look at the 144,000?
54:42 Let's pray.
54:43 Father in Heaven, As we have seen Your hand
54:47 and Your leading in the history of mankind
54:53 and we can understand that we're right down at the close
54:58 when Jesus is coming back,
55:01 we pray tonight that our hearts might be surrendered.
55:05 That we'll lay everything in this old world aside
55:09 and we'll cling to Jesus Christ.
55:14 That we will walk with Him, follow Him,
55:17 reach out in faith and take hold of His hand...
55:20 follow Him into the kingdom.
55:23 For this we ask in Christ's name, Amen.
55:28 May God bless you; have a good night.
55:35 Every day thousands risk their lives to protect and serve
55:39 their fellow man.
55:41 They have a deep commitment to excellency in teamwork
55:44 and when others run from danger, they run to it...
55:48 even if it means personal sacrifice.
55:51 Even if it means making the supreme sacrifice for another.
55:55 They're always on call, ready to serve no matter what.
56:00 Friends, you and I can learn a lot from firefighters.
56:03 In the United States, the majority of them are volunteers.
56:07 That's right... volunteers.
56:09 But even for those who are paid it's more than a job...
56:12 it's a calling.
56:14 Jesus said in John 15 verses 12 and 13:
56:18 "This is My commandment:
56:20 that you love one another as I have loved you.
56:23 Greater love has no one than this:
56:26 than to lay down one's life for his friends. "
56:29 Those who follow the words of Jesus are His friends.
56:32 But Romans 5:8 says that "God demonstrated His own love
56:36 towards us in that while we were still sinners
56:39 Christ died for us. "
56:41 What an amazing thought!
56:43 Christ laid down His life for us
56:45 even though we were not His friends.
56:49 A firefighter is willing to do the same.
56:51 He's constantly preparing for his next mission
56:54 because his own life and the life of others
56:57 depends on his training and qualifications.
57:00 My friends, that's what we're doing right now
57:04 with this series: we are preparing you
57:07 for what is to come.
57:08 Our goal is to make you skilled in the Word
57:11 so that by the power of God you can bring others to safety -
57:15 the safety that can be found only
57:17 in the arms of a loving Savior.
57:20 Won't you help us to train and prepare others
57:22 to fulfill this mission?
57:24 Please consider what you can for for those who
57:27 still don't know about Jesus.
57:29 As the Holy Spirit impresses,
57:30 please send your tax-deductible gifts to:
57:46 Thank you for helping us spread the light of God's Word
57:49 through television. Your gifts bring the blessed hope
57:52 of salvation to millions around the world.


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Revised 2014-12-17