Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP190005A
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00:31 Happy Sabbath! Welcome to 3ABN Sabbath School Panel.
00:35 You know, I'm just telling you this is going to be a day, 00:37 a day that the Lord is going to give some real blessings 00:39 to each and every one of us. 00:40 I hope you're having a good Sabbath day already, 00:42 but you know what? It's going to be a better day 00:45 as we study the word of God together. 00:47 This subject that we are on is just absolutely 00:50 wonderful - I'm talking about the seven seals. 00:53 We're going to be on number 5 in our lesson and it's 00:56 talking about the seven seals and you just don't want 00:59 to miss not even a minute of this. 01:00 And I'm sure most of you have the study guide, 01:03 so we'll just bring it up quickly with you. 01:05 If you don't have a study guide, you can certainly get your 01:07 free one - I like this because it's free... people like 01:09 free things, so why don't we go ahead and get it. 01:12 We can get it by going to ABSG.Adventist.org 01:15 to get your free study guide or visit your local SDA 01:18 church - find a church, they've got a lot of them 01:20 there - your name is on it. 01:22 Be sure and go by and pick it up. 01:23 I need tools when I study and I know that maybe you do 01:27 too, so please go get you one and study along together 01:30 because what each one on this panel will do - is they have 01:35 so much material and they have to just choose by the grace 01:38 and power of the Holy Spirit to just condense down 01:41 as quickly as they can and move quickly as we can, 01:43 and sometimes it means you have to write some things 01:45 down because they can't look it up. 01:47 Sometimes I'll give a passage, and I'm reading it already 01:49 before anybody can even write it down. 01:50 We don't mean anything by that, but it's good to 01:52 have it, jot these things down 01:54 and God is going to bless you for it. 01:56 Again, we're glad that you've joined us and we're going to 01:58 look at our wonderful panel... 02:00 Pastor John Lomacang, always a pleasure, I love working 02:03 with you, I think you're a man of God, you love Jesus. 02:06 That's what I see on the panel, that's very important. 02:09 Amen. Amen, I'm glad. 02:10 And next to you, you have Sister Shelley Quinn. 02:13 It's always good to work with you, sister. 02:14 I know we're called brothers and sisters in Christ, 02:16 it's always good and so I've always enjoyed it 02:19 and you've been a real blessing, 02:20 I know in my life, and thank you. Thank you. 02:22 Brother Ryan Day, down here on the end, no longer 02:24 the new man on the block. Not the new guy anymore. 02:27 That's right but we'll say it a time or two more 02:28 just to kind of rub it just a little bit. Sounds great. 02:31 Yeah, it's been a real treat to get to know you 02:34 and most of all, it's always Christ that's shining through. 02:37 I mean, that's what I look at, it's not what a man looks like, 02:39 what he is, you know, it's does he love Jesus? Amen 02:42 And you have on your left right there, Jill Morikone. 02:44 Jill, it's always a pleasure, you're always upbeat 02:47 and always happy in Jesus, 02:48 and you're a blessing in my life. 02:50 Amen, it's a privilege to be here and we love you 02:53 and your precious wife. 02:54 Oh praise God! Well, you know, before we 02:56 start our study, we need to pray, don't we? 02:58 So, Sister Jill, would you pray with us? Sure. 03:00 Holy Father... We come before You in the name of Jesus, 03:03 and we just thank You for the Book of Revelation. 03:05 We thank You that it is not sealed and that we can 03:08 open it and learn the truth that You have for us 03:12 in this Book, and Lord, right now, we just ask 03:14 for the outpouring of Your Holy Spirit, the anointing 03:17 of Your Spirit that You would give us eyes to see, 03:21 and ears to hear and a heart to walk in obedience. 03:24 And we thank You, in Jesus name... Amen, praise the Lord! 03:28 Okay, if you have your book with you, I know, your study guide, 03:30 let's look at our memory verse, shall we? 03:32 To me, it's powerful, found in the Book of Revelation 5. 03:36 Revelation 5 and we're going to read verses 9 and 10. 03:40 Revelation 5:9-10, it says, (I like the way it starts out, 03:45 and someone may start humming on the panel - if they do, 03:47 it's alright) It says... "And they sung... what? 03:50 A new song, saying: "Thou art worthy to take the book, 03:54 to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, 03:57 and thou hast redeemed us to God by thy blood 03:59 out of every kindred, tongue, people and nation." 04:03 Verse 10... "And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: 04:07 and we shall reign on the earth." Amen! 04:10 Well those are just powerful, we've read them 04:13 several times before, but you know, when they sing 04:16 a new song, I'm looking forward to that. 04:18 We don't have much of that here in this life, you know, 04:20 but I know when I get to heaven, I'll make a joyful noise there, 04:23 I'm going to be able to sing that new song. Amen! 04:25 I want to learn that new song by the grace of God. 04:28 So our memory verse is very, very important, 04:30 as we read it here. 04:31 We can go back, after reading that, we can go back 04:33 as we read chapters 4 and 5 in the Book of Revelation. 04:37 You know, it identifies, it just identifies Christ as the One 04:41 who is worthy to be able to open the sealed scroll. 04:46 And, we might ask the question, "Why is He worthy?" 04:50 Well, it can be answered in a lot of many different ways, 04:52 and it will be as we go along. 04:54 But what's inside? That's one thing that starts 04:57 getting me - someone has something that's all 04:59 sealed up and you can't get to it. 05:01 Why is it sealed? Why is it so important? 05:04 Not only who can open it, but what's inside. 05:06 So I just have to do this on Saturday's lesson 05:08 just quickly, even before Sunday whether we have 05:10 time or we don't - I think it's very interesting because 05:12 #1... I believe this - it shows different phases of the 05:16 controversy between Christ and the enemy, 05:20 and also the church 05:21 So it's a history of the church. 05:23 It's showing all the battles, everything that's going on, 05:25 that's very, very important. 05:26 #2... I believe it reveals the plan of salvation and 05:30 how important that is. 05:32 So that's what's all sealed up. 05:34 #3... It talks about the spreading of the gospel. 05:37 How the gospel is going to go into all the world, 05:40 going to reach people for Jesus. 05:42 Also in that scroll, there is going to be things 05:46 written down about those who reject the gospel. 05:50 That's kind of interesting. those who reject the gospel, 05:52 darkness and death. 05:53 #5... And it seems to carry more than that from the 05:58 Christian Church. 05:59 In fact, in case you've missed it... 06:01 in case you've missed it, in "Christ's Object Lessons," 06:03 p.294, it tells us this... "The decisions of the Jewish rulers 06:10 to reject Christ was registered in the book which John saw 06:15 in the hand of Him that sat upon the throne." Wow! 06:20 So things that are in that scroll are very, very important, 06:23 only One certainly could do that. 06:25 So chapter 6 is very powerful, as has been brought out 06:27 many times and we know that and it's going to continue 06:29 to be brought out to us; it reveals the process 06:34 of how God's people are going to be overcomers... 06:38 How we're going to be victorious and, thus, 06:41 be able to sit with Him on the throne. That's right. 06:43 Are we looking forward to that? 06:44 Sunday's lesson, Revelation 6:1-2, I'll just read those 06:48 because we're talking about the seals, 06:50 very, very, very, very important. 06:51 And you notice, if you've read the seals, 06:53 it goes through them rather quickly. 06:55 There's not a whole lot information, 06:57 so you have to go back to Revelation 4 and 5, 07:00 and let it build up into Revelation 6 and onward. 07:03 Revelation 6:1-2 says... "And I saw when the Lamb 07:07 opened one of the seals and I heard, as it were, 07:11 the noise of thunder and one of the four beasts 07:14 saying, "Come and see." 07:15 2. "I saw and behold, a white horse: and he that sat 07:18 on him had a bow; and a crown was given him: 07:21 and he went forth conquering and to conquer." 07:24 I noticed, you know, we're talking about opening 07:27 of the seals... once the seals commenced to be opened, 07:30 identified Christ as the only one that can do it, 07:32 they have to be opened in order. 07:35 I've seen people try to explain sometime how they'll 07:37 try to open a seal and then they'll skip to the 07:39 third one and try... you get them out 07:41 of order that way. 07:43 They have to be opened in order because they 07:46 contain a prophecy - as simple as that, 07:49 and it goes right to the end of the world. 07:51 Remember, when John first saw... and this was brought out 07:54 in a lesson before - it almost made me cry because when 07:57 John first saw the seven sealed scroll in God's hands, 08:02 it says, "He wept much." 08:04 Because no one can... He wept, I wonder 08:07 how many of us are really so serious about 08:09 the cause of Christ, that sometimes we see things, 08:11 we sense things that makes us weep. 08:13 It makes us weep inside, we don't understand it; 08:16 we don't know how it's going to be worked out, 08:17 but it really touches our heart. 08:19 And here John begins to weep, maybe uncontrollably 08:23 at times, but why would he weep? 08:25 You say, "Why John, why are you weeping?" 08:27 It was answered there because he could find no one. 08:30 Who is going to open these seals? 08:32 Who is going to break these seals? 08:33 Revelation 4 and 5, talks about one of the 24 elders. 08:37 Praise God! Previous lesson talking about 08:40 24 elders - one of them stepped up and said... what? 08:42 Here's the one... Yeah, there's one that can 08:44 do it - there's only one that can do it. 08:47 He's the Lion, the tribe of Judah... 08:49 and how...that is.. 08:51 Why? The Bible is very clear... because He's a conqueror, 08:55 because He has been victorious. 08:57 He rides through and He conquers; He's been victorious; 08:59 He has gained the victory over the enemy. 09:01 He's the Lamb that stepped forward. 09:04 He's the Lamb that was slain 09:05 from the foundation of the world. 09:07 HE could do this!. 09:09 Now, why was the Lamb, Jesus, the only One then that 09:12 could open the Book? 09:14 Well-being very simple in Scripture, gives many 09:16 reasons, but I'd like to just bring out a couple real quick. 09:19 The Lamb has all authority. 09:21 He has all authority in heaven and in earth. 09:24 Matthew 28:18... He has all authority. 09:28 So if you have all authority, you can do that, He has that. 09:31 And then He is represented, too, by the power that He has. 09:35 You notice one of the descriptions of this Lamb... 09:36 He has seven, what was it? Seven horns? 09:39 And what are horns in the Bible? 09:41 Horns represent, according to Habakkuk, isn't it chapter 3? 09:45 Horns represent power and as you read Habakkuk 3:4, 09:50 it says there are horns that come out of His hands, 09:53 this was representing the POWER that God has! 09:58 And then, of course, we talked about the figure 10:00 before of the Lion symbolizing the strength that He has. 10:04 Jesus the Lamb of God, why can He open it? 10:06 He's our Mediator, He's our Mediator - praise God! 10:10 We need Him - He's the only channel between God and man. 10:13 He can open it... 1 Timothy 2:5, He is all 10:16 powerful, Mediator; sees everything from the beginning 10:19 right down to the very end. 10:21 He is Alpha and Omega, Revelation 22, we know that. 10:25 He is represented by the Lamb, the seven eyes. Revelation 5:6. 10:29 And again, we mentioned it because Jesus has victory. 10:33 He has conquest, He has conquered, He's rode 10:36 over the enemy and over sin, and I praise God for that. 10:39 My Bible says He's the resurrection and the Life 10:42 in John 11:25. Amen! 10:44 He's the Lamb that died on Calvary - this is what we're 10:47 talking about - He is worthy to 10:48 open these seals, absolutely is. 10:50 Hebrews 2:18... "Because He Himself has suffered, 10:53 and tempted, He is able to help those who are tempted." 10:57 I realize how much encouragement 10:59 that has given me over the years - to read that 11:02 passage of Scripture... He's been through it Kenny, 11:05 He's there before you and He's going to be there with you 11:08 when you go through that temptation, He's going 11:09 to help you to gain the victory. 11:12 And He said, the innocent then, the innocent, Jesus, 11:15 would suffer with or suffer for the guilty. 11:19 I praise God for that. 11:20 1 Corinthians 5:7, quickly, says... "Christ, our Passover, 11:24 a sacrifice for us." 11:26 So what do we need? We need the Lamb. 11:29 We need the blood of the Lamb. 11:31 It needs to be on the doorposts of our homes. 11:33 It needs to be in our houses. 11:34 It needs to be certainly in our hearts and life. 11:37 We find that the white horse, the first seal, 11:40 the first church, have very much in common... 11:43 very much in common as you study. 11:45 God wants His people to be wide awake (I believe this 11:48 with all my heart), He wants us to be wide awake 11:50 in this hour that we live because... what? 11:53 He's checking the spiritual condition. 11:55 You know, what kind of spiritual condition do we have today? 11:58 Are we faithful? Are we unfaithful? 12:01 And when we're unfaithful, God sends judgments. 12:04 You see Him, He has done that all through Scripture, 12:05 why wouldn't He do it now? To try to get our attention. 12:08 In Revelation 6:1-2, that we read a while ago... 12:12 We know it's highly symbolic, you can read it... 12:14 Revelation 19:11-16, what do we see Christ doing? 12:19 He's riding on a white horse, isn't He? 12:22 Oh, I like that He's riding on a white horse, 12:24 His army in the final battle, He's victorious! 12:28 And to think He has won that victory for me and for you. 12:31 He has a bow in His hand, He has a crown on His head! 12:35 In fact, the Apostle Paul has said - I think he said it 12:37 one time - we're talking about Pentecost; we're talking about 12:40 the gospel going to the world 12:41 when this first seal that was opened. 12:43 He said it wasn't just a little more than 30 years the gospel 12:46 had been preached to every inhabited part of the world. 12:48 I mean, you're talking about, you know, Pentecost; 12:50 you're talking about the gospel going. 12:52 It was absolutely... I mean... just going out so fast, 12:55 and getting the attention of the people. 12:57 God's Kingdom, you see, was expanding under this 13:01 first seal that we look at right here... 13:02 The first seal corresponds, we realize with the message 13:06 of the first church in Ephesus. 13:08 So as we look at these things and as we go into the 13:11 second seal and so on and so forth and the third seal, 13:15 it's going to become so clear the things that were in it, 13:19 and the history of the world, and the plan that God has for us 13:22 to save us in His Kingdom. 13:25 So what is the first seal? Put it in a nutshell. 13:27 What is the first seal all about? 13:29 It describes the spreading of the gospel... 13:31 especially at Pentecost; how powerful it was; 13:35 how it expanded to all the world; how it expanded 13:38 God's Kingdom and this is the plan that God has not only 13:41 for that time, Pastor John, He has it for us today! 13:44 He wants His Kingdom continued to be expanded until 13:47 He shall come in the clouds of glory. 13:50 I believe that's all of our job - that's your job at home; 13:52 it's our job here by the grace of God to expand His Kingdom 13:55 as we look at that first seal. Pastor John! 13:58 Well thank you Pastor Kenny. 14:00 You know we're walking through a lesson here that requires 14:03 us to have on boots! Laughter 14:06 Waders! Waders - that's the word, that's where I was going. 14:10 Waders! And you gotta make sure that the waders are tall 14:13 because the water is deep when you get into Revelation. 14:16 It's not a book that you tiptoe through, 14:18 it's a book that requires you to have on spiritual eyesight, 14:21 and the Lord gives us that when we open the book. 14:24 But we've been, time after time, as we've continued now 14:27 with lesson 5, now going through the seven seals. 14:36 Revelation 6, we're going to peek, Pastor Kenny 14:40 unfolded the foundation of the seven seals. 14:43 The seven seals - what was so wonderful about it, 14:46 if you saw our last lesson study, we couldn't have these 14:49 if Jesus wasn't worthy. Amen! 14:52 The final scenes of earth's history could not even 14:54 begin to unfold except for the worthiness of Christ 14:57 and so the battle that ensued to even get Jesus 15:01 to the point where He was worthy enough to 15:03 open the scrolls and to loose its 15:06 seals is a big part of the battle. 15:09 From that point on, I think I alluded to this maybe 15:12 in one of our prior studies... 15:13 From the time the seals were opened, you had Revelation 12, 15:18 I believe it's verse 12, where it says... 15:19 "Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and of the sea 15:22 for the devil has come down unto you having great 15:24 wrath because he knows he has a short time." 15:28 Once the seals of the scrolls began to unfold, 15:31 anybody could count chronologically 1, 2, 3, 4, 15:35 5, 6, 7... from that point on, from the victory of 15:38 Christ, Satan took his battle to the next stage. 15:42 He came, he increased his wrath. 15:44 He couldn't defeat Christ in the Old Testament; 15:46 could not keep Him out of the world; 15:48 could not keep Him OUT of the world; 15:49 couldn't keep Him IN the tomb, couldn't keep Him out of heaven. 15:54 So now he's coming after the church. That's right. 15:56 And so the seals, if I were to give it an overarching 15:59 description, it is how the church began 16:04 and what the church has to go through to get to seal #7. 16:08 And, you're going to find battles, you're going to find 16:10 a white horse, red horse, and I'm going to talk about 16:13 the two - the black horse and the red horse and then 16:17 we're going to transition over to Shelley. 16:19 I'm not going to even go into your area at all because 16:21 I know Shelley has got something prepared for us. 16:23 But, Revelation 6:3, let's look at that together because 16:29 we're now on the second seal. 16:31 Remember, the gospel is going forward conquering and 16:33 to conquer - you might look at the Book of Acts 16:35 as a perfect example of how the gospel continued to spread 16:37 without... I wouldn't say without hindrance, 16:40 it had continued resistance, but Acts 13, when the gospel 16:46 was resisted even by the Jews, that Paul and Barnabas 16:49 would preaching to in Antioch, they were seen as earlier 16:54 ignorant and unlearned, but it was obvious 16:57 they had been with Christ... when you listen 16:58 to the gospel they were proclaiming. 17:00 Then they get to Antioch on the Sabbath day, they preach a 17:02 powerful sermon, the people encouraged them, 17:04 but the next Sabbath the whole city comes together, 17:07 the Jewish leaders and the devout men and women of the city 17:10 are angry - they speak blasphemy; they deny 17:15 everything they preached the Sabbath before; 17:17 they want to reject them; put them out of the city. 17:20 Paul and Barnabas shook the dust off of their feet 17:23 and they said the gospel is now going to the Gentiles, 17:25 the Gentiles were glad and they glorified the Lord 17:28 and wherever they were, the word of God 17:30 grew and multiplied. Amen! 17:32 The devil said - Wait a minute, this is not working out 17:34 the way I think I'd like it to. 17:36 And when you study the life of Paul, you begin to see 17:39 even the vision that Peter had. 17:42 When Peter had that vision about the Lord sending him 17:44 to Cornelius, there were so many barriers that the 17:46 devil had established. 17:48 One of those barriers was exclusivity - the Jews thought 17:51 that the gospel was exclusively for them. 17:53 So anybody that wasn't a Jew, they rejected them. 17:56 The Lord had to get that out of the way by giving 17:59 Peter a vision that said the gospel is not just for those 18:02 of us who think that we have the nationality that 18:04 brings gospel exclusivity, so He had to get him past 18:08 Cornelius who was a Gentile and the gospel went to the Gentiles. 18:11 But then you have this continued battle and when we read verse 3, 18:14 we see what's happening now. 18:16 From the glory of the gospel, the devil now begins to 18:18 persecute those who are receiving the gospel. 18:21 Verse 3 of Revelation 6... "When He opened the second seal, 18:24 I heard the second living creature saying, "Come and see." 18:28 It's an introduction. 18:30 And another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted 18:37 to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth 18:41 and that people should kill one another; 18:44 and there was given to him a great sword." 18:46 Now notice... It was granted to him 18:50 to take peace from the earth. 18:51 He was allowed to take peace which opens the way for people 18:55 to kill one another - he took the peace. 18:57 Now what was taking the peace from the earth? 19:00 When Jesus made the statement in Matthew 10:34, here it is... 19:06 Matthew 10:34... "Jesus said, "Do not think that I came 19:10 to bring peace on the earth; I did not come 19:14 to bring peace, but a sword." 19:18 And so, when you look at the picture here, 19:19 peace is taken from the earth, and the Bible says, 19:22 at the end of verse 4 of Revelation 6... 19:24 "And there was given him a great sword." 19:28 Now watch this... The sword comes with the 19:32 gospel because the word of God is the sword. 19:35 Wherever the sword of the gospel is doing its work, 19:38 Satan seeks to take peace from men's hearts. 19:42 And when the gospel is rejected, the natural result 19:45 is you lose peace. 19:48 That's exactly what's happening here. 19:49 But the reason why it's also referred to as "red," 19:52 is because many were dying for their faith. 19:55 You read the chapter of Hebrews 11... 19:57 you see that those who are going through the battles; 20:00 it takes you through the Old Testament and New Testament, 20:02 and it said there were those who chose not to be 20:05 delivered because they didn't seek a better burial, 20:07 they sought a better resurrection. 20:09 So you see all those whose lives are being taken, 20:12 that's what the "red" is all about. 20:13 But then you go to the third seal and it says in verse 5-6, 20:19 "When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living 20:23 creature saying... what did he say? "Come and see." 20:27 And I looked and behold a black horse, and he who 20:29 sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. 20:32 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living 20:35 creatures saying, "A quart of wheat for a denarius, 20:39 and three quarts of barley for a denarius; 20:43 and do not harm the oil and the wine." 20:45 The symbolism here is amazing. 20:47 Now, when this talks about the cost of the gospel, 20:51 wheat is synonymous with the gospel. 20:54 But all of a sudden barley, which is not what they ate... 20:57 Barley today is used to make beer! 21:00 It was the cheaper of the grain. 21:02 Wheat was the good grain. 21:04 But what's happening now is if white is the victory 21:07 of the gospel, then black is the resistance, 21:10 the ultimate resistance against the gospel. 21:13 If white represents the victory of the gospel, 21:15 black takes us to that time when it seems like 21:19 when we talked about one of the churches, I think Sardis, 21:21 and Thyatira - when they began to lose faith; 21:25 when they began to wane. 21:26 Ephesus was the victory of the church, 21:29 then you had the continued... 21:30 But you notice, as the gospel went on - you talked about the 21:33 Emperor Diocletian, 10 years of tribulation, 303-313 A.D. 21:39 People being killed and that's what is being talked about here. 21:42 So when you look at the seven churches, some of the seven 21:45 seals are synonymous with that, 21:47 but it's talked about in a different way. 21:49 And so you have here... the gospel now under 21:52 persecution, it seems to be dying out and now, 21:56 it's becoming rare and anything that's rare becomes 21:59 more expensive. 22:01 What is being said here is, as opposition increases, 22:04 you've got to make a decision to be willing 22:08 to give your life for the gospel. 22:12 And so that's going to come again - we know that 22:15 when we get further in Revelation, we're going to see 22:17 Revelation 13- I'm not going to go there today, 22:19 but the oil and wine are basic necessities of life. 22:26 Wheat, oil - basic necessities, but all of a sudden, 22:29 you find that these things are becoming scarce and barley 22:34 is increasing in price. 22:36 And so it's saying... what goes from a wage that can 22:40 feed an entire family, now all of a sudden... 22:42 You take a week's wages to get something 22:46 that is not worth a whole lot. 22:48 The devil starts to get rid of the gospel and we know even 22:51 during the Dark Ages, we come to the time of the Dark Ages, 22:53 where the gospel was almost nonexistent, but God 22:58 did not allow the gospel to diminish. What happened? 23:01 This is exactly what happened... 23:03 The scarcity of the gospel, (and this was predicted 23:06 by the Prophet Amos) Amos 8:11-12... 23:09 "Behold the days are coming, (the Lord saw this coming) 23:12 says the Lord, "That I will send a famine on the land, 23:15 Not a famine of bread, Nor a thirst for water, 23:18 But of the hearing of the words of God. 23:20 They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; 23:24 they shall run to and fro seeking the word of God, 23:27 but shall not find it." 23:29 And that's exactly what was happening under the red horse. 23:31 They were being killed for the gospel, 23:33 now you could hardly find it! 23:35 The black horse... where's the victory? It's not there anymore. 23:38 Where's the gospel? You can't find it. 23:39 Because two reasons... 23:41 The devil was extinguishing those proclaiming it... 23:44 And secondly, people were not prizing it as highly 23:47 enough - they did not love their lives unto the death. 23:50 And so, therefore, the oil and wine was missing 23:53 and the barley cost more. 23:55 We're going to take a short break and we'll be right back. 24:02 Ever wish you could watch a 3ABN Sabbath School Panel 24:05 again or share it on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter? 24:09 Well, you can, by visiting 3ABN Sabbath School Panel.com 24:14 A clean design makes it easy to find the program 24:18 you're looking for. 24:19 There are also links to the Adult Bible Study Guides 24:22 so you can follow along. 24:24 Sharing is easy, just click "share" and choose your 24:27 favorite social media. 24:29 Share a link, save a life, for eternity! 24:35 Welcome back to the 3ABN Sabbath School Panel, 24:37 we're glad you're still with us, this is very, very important. 24:39 We're going to go to Tuesday's lesson. 24:40 Sister Shelley Quinn - this looks like a good lesson to me, 24:44 "The Scene of the Fourth Seal" 24:45 So, we're continuing as we started 24:47 and we're going to go with the fourth one. 24:48 Thank you so much. You know, what we have to 24:50 remember is that the events that occur, as each one of 24:53 these seals opens is not what the content of 24:57 the scroll is. 24:59 The content of the scroll is God's plans to solve 25:02 the sin problem and to save fallen human beings. 25:06 But all seven seals need to be broken before the 25:10 scroll can be opened. 25:11 So as we're looking at the four horsemen of Revelation 6:1-8, 25:17 what these were portraying is the progression of the gospel, 25:22 and the consequences of its rejection. 25:26 So of course this interpretation relies on looking at 25:31 Revelation 6:2... who is the rider of this white horse? 25:36 Kenny, as you have said this rider that's going out 25:39 to conquer the world is, we know from Revelation 19:11 25:47 that this is Jesus Christ. 25:49 So all of the horses but this white horse - all the other 25:58 three horses will produce afflictions. 26:02 You covered the red horse - this is the color of blood 26:08 and oppression, opposition to the gospel, 26:11 and there was a spiritual famine for those who 26:14 rejected the black horse, (black related to darkness, 26:18 portrays the famine for the word of God). 26:21 And now I'm going to cover the pale horse and that 26:26 represents the pestilence and the death that is a result 26:30 from the famine. 26:32 All of these things are drawn from the Old Testament, 26:37 and they all describe the reality of what happens 26:40 as a consequence of sin. 26:42 So let's look at Revelation 6:7-8, 26:48 and this is the fourth seal. 26:50 "When He opened the fourth seal, (who is doing the 26:53 opening? Jesus) I heard the voice of the fourth living 26:58 creature saying, "Come and see." 27:01 So I looked, and behold a pale horse; 27:06 And the name of him who sat on it was Death and Hades 27:10 followed with Him. 27:11 And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth 27:16 to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, 27:20 and by the beasts of the earth." 27:23 So this opening of this fourth seal is calling for 27:29 pestilence and death. 27:31 The pale horse in the Greek is "chloros" and it is 27:35 an ashen-gray color, like a decomposing corpse. 27:40 So the rider, Death, is accompanying Him, 27:45 and it says, Hades followed Him. 27:48 Hades is just the grave, is what it's talking about. 27:52 It's the abode of the dead. 27:54 But they are permitted to destroy by sword, hunger, 27:58 death and wild beasts. 28:00 So let's look at Ezekiel 14 because this is where it's 28:03 coming from - these are the four severe judgments of God. 28:10 Ezekiel 14:21-23, and this is what the Lord says... 28:18 "How much more it shall be when I send My four severe 28:23 judgments on Jerusalem, the sword, the famine, 28:27 the wild beasts and pestilence... 28:31 to cut off man and beast from it?" 28:34 So these are four severe judgments for their 28:36 unfaithfulness and disobedience to the covenant. 28:39 And it was intended to bring Israel to repentance. Yes. 28:44 Now let's look at verse 22. "Yet behold, there shall be 28:49 left in it a remnant who will be brought out, both sons 28:53 and daughters; surely they will come out to you and you shall 28:56 see their ways and their doings. 28:58 Then you will be comforted concerning the disaster that I 29:01 have brought upon Jerusalem, all that I have brought upon it. 29:05 And they will comfort you, when you see their ways 29:09 (the remnant's ways) and their doings; and you shall 29:12 know that I have done nothing without cause that I have 29:17 done in it," says the Lord God." 29:20 So we see that this fourth horse is a graphic portrayal 29:26 that conveys the truth that rejecting the gospel 29:30 brings about spiritual consequences, 29:33 spiritual famine, if you will; and inevitably spiritual famine 29:40 leads to spiritual death. 29:42 But the good news is that the power in death and Hades 29:47 are limited - what did it say in verse 8? 29:51 It says, Power was given to them over a fourth of the earth. 29:58 You know, Jesus assures us that He possesses the keys 30:03 of Hades and Death and the keys are the symbol of power 30:08 or jurisdiction over something. 30:10 In Revelation 1:18, He says... "I am He who lives, 30:14 was dead and behold, I am alive forevermore. 30:17 And I have the keys of Hades and Death." 30:21 And we know, Revelation tells us, Hades and Death is 30:24 going to have its end in Revelation 20:14. 30:27 It says that "Death and Hades were cast... where? 30:32 into the lake of fire... which is the second death." 30:36 So what the Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary 30:39 says is that the scenes of these four horses 30:42 revealed, when the scenes are opened, may be regarded 30:45 actually all of the seals as having both a specific 30:49 and a general application. 30:52 The scenes of the seven seals portray the future 30:55 of the church and, just like with the seven churches, 30:59 the seven seals correlate with different periods 31:03 in Christian history. 31:04 So they parallel with the message to the churches 31:08 of Ephesus, Sardis, Pergamum and Thyatira. 31:11 In Revelation 11:3-14, this indicates that the scene 31:18 of the four horsemen actually extends beyond the first 31:22 millennium and it might refer to both the first 31:26 millennium of the Christian era and the general 31:30 realities of the entire Christian Age. 31:33 But the scene of the four horsemen likely describes 31:38 the first thousand years of the Christian Era. 31:41 First, during the Apostolic times, the gospel spread 31:47 rapidly throughout the world and the first phase was 31:51 generally faithful. 31:53 The second phase was followed by a period of persecution 31:57 from the Roman Empire. 31:59 And from the end of the first to the beginning of the fourth 32:03 century, this is kind of what is being portrayed in 32:06 the second seal, followed by 32:08 the progressive spiritual decline. 32:11 The third seal points to the period of compromise 32:15 of the fourth and fifth centuries which were 32:18 characterized by the spiritual famine of the Bible. 32:21 We know this is the Dark Ages, and this led to a 32:25 famine of God's word. 32:27 And the fourth seal on this pale horse, aptly describes 32:34 the spiritual death that characterized Christianity 32:37 during the Dark ages and it resulted in a spiritual death 32:42 that was characterized throughout the 32:44 Medieval period. 32:46 I want to return to a Scripture that you just 32:48 were getting started on and that's Revelation 6:6. 32:52 Let's look at that again, He says, "And I heard a voice 32:56 in the midst of the four living creatures saying, 32:59 "A quart of wheat for a denarius, three quarts of 33:02 barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine." 33:11 Even when the word of God is scarce, the Holy Spirit 33:15 is still at work; the oil and the wine will not be affected 33:21 by the famine of the third plague. 33:27 The oil symbolizes the Holy Spirit; the wine symbolizes 33:33 the salvation in Jesus Christ. 33:36 So salvation (no matter what's going on) even during this 33:41 fourth seal, salvation is still 33:49 available for all who seek the truth. Amen! 33:54 To me, that is the most glorious and wonderful 33:59 truth to know that each one of these is being limited 34:05 to a certain portion of the earth and as these 34:09 seals are being opened though, that they're being opened 34:14 by Jesus Christ and they each one have a redemptive 34:19 purpose - that's the beauty of our Lord 34:22 and Savior and His love. Amen! Amen, Amen! 34:25 Praise the Lord! You know, as I was listening 34:28 to each one of you kind of unravel and unpack 34:31 these four horsemen as we would say or the fourth horse, 34:35 it's interesting because I have to be reminded and I would like 34:38 to remind our viewers at home the importance of 34:41 allowing the Bible to interpret itself. Amen! 34:44 Because, you know, I grew up in a church, many churches, 34:48 not just one, but most of the other denominational 34:51 churches that I grew up in, they applied a wrongful 34:57 a misguided interpretation to Bible prophecy which was 35:00 more of a futurist interpretation rather than the 35:03 one that we discussed at the beginning of this series 35:05 which is an historicist approach to a Bible 35:09 prophecy interpretation. 35:10 You know, for instance, talking about the white horse, 35:12 I remember being taught that the white horse 35:15 was the antichrist because they're seeing it from 35:17 the future, and by the way; many, not all but many 35:20 Protestant denominations today actually teach that 35:23 in their prophetic teachings that the white horse is 35:26 not Christ in the foregoing of the gospel, but the 35:30 antichrist... and once you start with that, 35:32 you've contaminated the entire thing. Right! 35:35 And so, you know, you guys set it up beautifully, 35:37 and I love what you had to say, Shelley, because 35:40 that set me up perfectly for the fifth seal. 35:43 Because actually the fifth seal is actually, 35:45 in my understanding in studies, it's actually a response 35:49 from the previous seal, especially the time period 35:52 as we see this from the historical perspective. 35:54 Not that all the Book of Revelation - I want to clarify 35:56 that - not all the Book of Revelation is "historical," 35:59 I mean there are future events, as we're going to get into that. 36:01 Much of the Book of Revelation is future, but in this 36:05 particular perspective, as I'm studying through 36:07 verses 9, 10 and 11 of this fifth seal - the cry of the 36:11 martyrs, it's a response from what is happening in the 36:14 previous church age, from the previous time. 36:17 For instance, the fourth seal would kind of parallel, 36:20 give or take a few years, the time period of the church of 36:23 Thyatira and so what we're getting in now is 36:25 where we're now extending into a time period 36:27 from about the 1500s into the 1700s. 36:31 And I'm going to jump right into the Scripture because 36:33 I've already talked a few times too long or a few 36:38 minutes too long. 36:39 But notice what it says here in Revelation 6 beginning 36:42 with verse 9 and we're just going to kind of 36:44 unpack what's happening here in the fifth seal. 36:47 I'm going through those verses 36:48 and then we're going to go back through. 36:50 "When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls 36:54 of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the 36:58 testimony which they held." 37:01 Notice how the word of God is a constant repetitive 37:04 theme - we keep seeing that all through 37:06 these passages that we're reading. 37:08 Verse 10 says... "And they cried with a loud voice 37:11 saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You 37:15 judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth. 37:20 Then a white robe was given to each of them; 37:22 and it was said to them that they should rest a little while 37:26 longer, until both the number of their fellow servants 37:30 and their brethren, who would be 37:34 killed as they were, was completed." Mercy! 37:37 So it's got a little bit of a negative tone to it... 37:40 But I just want to being to unpack these. 37:43 Notice in the opening portion of this first verse in verse 9 37:46 of the fifth seal. 37:48 It says, "When He opened the fifth seal, I saw 37:50 under the altar." 37:52 I made mention during the break as we were discussing, 37:55 it's impossible, I believe personally, it's impossible 37:57 to fully understand the Book of Revelation without 38:00 having a healthy understanding of the Hebrew sanctuary 38:03 or the sanctuary in general. 38:05 This is sanctuary language, for instance, "the altar here," 38:09 which altar? There are two different altars mentioned 38:11 within the sanctuary discussion. 38:14 And so those two altars, of course, would be the altar 38:17 of sacrifice and, of course, the altar of incense which 38:19 is found within the Holy place of the sanctuary. 38:21 Notice what I found in Leviticus 4:7 here. 38:25 This is Leviticus 4:7 and I think it answers 38:29 this question for us, especially with the context 38:32 of this passage. 38:33 It says, "And the priest shall put some of the blood 38:36 upon the horns of the altar of sweet incense 38:40 before the Lord..." (I just want to pause there) 38:41 So this particular altar that it is talking about in the 38:44 beginning portion of this verse, is no doubt the altar 38:47 of incense because if you consider the alter of incense, 38:49 it had four little horns, so the priests would go in 38:51 and they would take the blood and they would sprinkle 38:53 it about the altar, upon the veil and then they 38:55 would touch the blood on the four horns of the altar, 38:59 but then notice what the verse continues to say... 39:01 "... which is in the tabernacle of the congregation 39:05 (and then notice here) and shall pour (notice the 39:07 context clue) and shall pour all the blood of the bullock 39:11 at the bottom of the altar of the burnt offering, 39:15 which is at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation." 39:18 So in this particular verse, there is a differentiation 39:21 between the altar of incense and the altar of burnt offerings. 39:25 So the question is... When it says here that He 39:27 saw under the altar, souls of those who had been slain 39:31 for the word of God, which altar are they 39:35 crying out from? Of course, this would be the 39:37 altar of burnt sacrifices and I just made a few points here. 39:42 The blood of the sacrifice was poured out at the base 39:46 of the altar - this is the altar of sacrifice. 39:48 When you go into... in talking about the altar of incense, 39:51 no blood was altered, although it was carried inward, 39:54 it was communicated or foregone. 39:55 We know that this blood was not actually poured out 39:58 at the altar of incense, only at the altar of sacrifice. 40:02 The expression, of course, poured out is used to describe 40:06 what the wicked did with the blood of the righteous 40:09 and, of course, we see this in Revelation 16:6, as well, 40:12 which we will get to in the future. 40:14 The word "slain," notice the context clues... 40:17 is identical to the one used in Revelation 5:6, okay? 40:22 ... to describe the, notice... the sacrifice of Jesus 40:25 as the Lamb on the cross, okay? 40:28 He appeared before the throne as slain. 40:30 Notice the altar of sacrifice represents Christ sacrificed 40:34 on earth so that the souls must be crying out on 40:37 earth, not in heaven, so notice how they're 40:39 crying out on earth, not in heaven. 40:41 And so now that brings up the question "souls." 40:44 Many people have read this text and they think... 40:46 "Oh, this completely destroys my whole concept 40:48 of the state of the dead," because as the Bible teaches 40:51 very harmoniously, "When you die, you sleep in the grave, 40:54 you rest until the second coming of Jesus." 40:57 So what are these souls? 40:59 Again, I just want to reference here, Revelation 6:9-10... 41:04 "I saw under the altar, the souls of those who had been 41:06 slain for the word of God and for the testimony which 41:09 they held and they cried out with a loud voice." 41:11 So here, it's interesting that in the Old Testament, 41:13 the word "soul" and "blood" are very closely linked. 41:17 When innocent blood, that is the life because the life 41:20 is within the blood, is shed it cries out for justice... 41:23 kind of like the Bible describes of Cain and Able. 41:25 Remember when Cain slayed Able, Able's blood cried out 41:28 for all the ages... his blood told the story, okay? 41:32 That's exactly what we're seeing right here, 41:33 Leviticus 17:11 is a good reference Scripture for this. 41:37 It says, "For the life of the flesh is in the blood, 41:40 and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an 41:42 atonement for your souls; for it is the blood 41:46 that maketh an atonement for the soul." 41:48 So the blood tells the story. 41:50 There's not really dead souls, you know, 41:53 crying out from under the altar. 41:54 They're being slain during this time of Thyatira, 41:59 during this time of the fourth seal. 42:01 They were martyrs for Jesus and their blood 42:03 tells the testimony of the life that they lived for Christ 42:06 even to the point of death! 42:08 They would not allow themselves to be defeated because 42:11 they were in Christ Jesus. 42:13 Notice how they cry out... "How long, O Lord," 42:17 notice here... this is very 10, "And they cried with a loud 42:19 voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, 42:21 until You judge and avenge our blood on those 42:24 who dwell on the earth?" 42:25 The martyrs who were slain by the "Inquisition" 42:28 during the fourth seal cry out for justice in the fifth seal. 42:32 So they've given up their life, but not in vain, not in vain. 42:37 Notice God's response... I could spend a little bit of 42:39 time - I had a quote from "Great Controversy," 42:41 but I'm going to pass it, I don't have much time left. 42:44 But notice... I'm going to start with verse 11, 42:45 now notice God's response here. 42:47 "Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was 42:50 said to them that they should rest a little while longer 42:53 until both the number of their fellow servants and their 42:56 brethren, who would be killed as they were, were completed." 43:00 There are two phases in the seal; pre-1798, okay before 43:05 1798- that would be, of course, the first part of the martyrs 43:09 being slain for their faith, but we're told that this 43:13 was going to be repeated at the end of time, 43:15 before Christ comes back. 43:16 There's a second set... as a matter-of-fact, 43:17 it's implied right here in this verse. 43:19 "Until the number of their fellow servants and their 43:22 brethren, who would be killed as they were." 43:23 Notice Revelation 13... we're going to get 43:25 to Revelation 13:11,12,15, notice what it says... 43:29 "And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; 43:32 and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spoke as 43:34 a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast 43:38 whose deadly wound was healed. 43:40 And he had power to give life unto the image 43:42 of the beast, so that the image of the beast should 43:44 both speak, and cause (notice) as many as would not 43:47 worship the image of the beast should be killed." 43:51 So there were martyrs before 1798 and we're told 43:56 that it's going to happen again. That's right. 43:58 In closing... I just want to remind us that 44:01 there's a lot of bloodshed and it's not a positive thing, 44:06 but, you know, it's not in vain because notice 44:08 we are told right here at the beginning of verse 11... 44:11 "A white robe was given to each of them." Amen! 44:15 Those white robes are robes of righteousness, 44:17 and we're told that these white robes actually 44:19 are going to be obtained before 44:21 the great "Investigative Judgment." 44:23 It's for the purpose... notice Matthew 22:11-12, 44:27 Jesus told the parable, they had to have the white 44:29 robe before they came to the supper of the Lamb. Yes. 44:32 And so I want to encourage all my brethren... at home, 44:34 around the world and all of us here on the panel, 44:37 we need to prepare to receive those white robes now 44:40 while we have a chance in Christ Jesus. Amen! Amen! 44:43 What an incredible study, Ryan. 44:45 Thank you so much! Each one of you, God has 44:47 gifted you as teachers of the word of God and as I think 44:51 about the fifth seal, "The Cry of the Ages," 44:54 the cry of people who said, "How long, O Lord?" 44:57 You know, you think about Psalm 73, I believe it is, 45:00 where David says, "Why do the wicked seem to prosper, 45:03 and why are the righteous being oppressed? 45:05 Until I went into the sanctuary and I understood their end." 45:10 So from Able when his blood cried from the ground, 45:13 all the way through the ages, specifically coming out of... 45:15 as you mentioned, the Dark Ages, with the church of Thyatira, 45:18 but I love that dual application with the end time, 45:22 and that coming as well. 45:23 So right now we're moving into the sixth seal and God beings 45:29 to answer the prayer of the saints. 45:31 God begins to answer that question that says... 45:33 "How long is this going to happen? How long 45:37 until You avenge the blood of the saints?" 45:40 And the sixth seal takes us from the time period 45:43 right up to the second coming of Christ - just before 45:47 the second coming of Christ because the last verse 45:49 of Revelation 6:17 says, "The great day of His 45:53 wrath is come and who shall be able to stand?" 45:56 So we're looking at signs that take place in the heavens. 46:01 During this time period from the 1700s to the 1800s 46:05 if we're comparing churches to churches, this would probably 46:07 be the church of Philadelphia, but during 46:10 this time, we see what takes place. 46:13 So let's look at, these are some of the signs of the 46:16 second coming of Jesus Christ. 46:18 Let's look at the sixth seal, beginning in Revelation 6:12. 46:21 We're going to pick up verses 12 and 13. 46:24 "I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, 46:27 there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black 46:30 as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. 46:34 And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree 46:38 drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind." 46:42 So how many signs do we see here? 46:43 We see the great earthquake. 46:45 We see the sun become black as sackcloth. 46:49 We see the moon turning to blood. 46:51 And then we see the stars that fall from heaven. 46:55 So before we unpack that, I'm going to look up 46:57 a couple of Scriptures and if you all can help me 46:58 look up Scriptures... Ryan, can you get 47:00 Matthew 24:29-30? Absolutely. 47:02 Shelley, can you get Joel 2:30-32. 47:06 You know, this prophecy in Revelation was predicted, 47:10 not only the falling of the stars and the sun turning 47:14 to black and the moon turning to red and the 47:18 earthquake - all of these end-time events were 47:21 predicted in the Old Testament, 47:23 and also predicted in Matthew. 47:24 So Ryan, you want to read us Matthew 24:29-30. Absolutely. 47:29 It says, "Immediately after the tribulation of those days, 47:32 the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light; 47:35 the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens 47:38 will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear 47:42 in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, 47:44 and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of 47:48 heaven with power and great glory." Amen! 47:51 So we see a couple of things here. 47:52 It talks about the sun and it talks about the moon 47:54 and the stars - no mention of earthquake, but the other 47:56 three signs were specifically mentioned here. 47:58 And it says, "Immediately after what? the tribulation of these 48:02 days, then these signs begin to take place." 48:06 So we know we just came out of the Great Tribulation 48:09 with the martyrs - just came out of that tribulation 48:12 of the Dark Ages and immediately after that time, 48:17 then we're going to see these signs begin to take place. 48:20 Now there's not only a connection between coming 48:22 out of the time of tribulation and these signs of the end, 48:25 there's also a connection between the signs of 48:27 the end and the second coming of Christ because 48:30 it says, "After these signs, then you're going to see 48:33 the Son of Man come." 48:34 So, Shelley, can you read Joel 2:30-32... 48:39 "And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth; 48:42 blood and fire and pillars of smoke. 48:45 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into 48:48 blood, before the coming of the great and awesome 48:51 day of the Lord. And it shall come to pass 48:54 that whoever calls on the name of the Lord, 48:56 shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem 49:01 there shall be deliverance, as the Lord has said, 49:05 among the remnant whom the Lord calls." Amen! 49:09 So there again, we see the connection between the signs 49:11 of the end and the second coming of Christ. 49:14 There are four end-time events that took place... 49:16 this is during the 1700s leading into the 1800s. 49:20 The earthquake - the four signs listed 49:22 here is there was a great earthquake. 49:24 We know November 1, 1755, there was the "Great 49:29 Lisbon Earthquake", they called it... 49:31 One of the most extensive and severe seismological (I hope I 49:35 got that word right) disturbances ever recorded. 49:38 We'll just say an earthquake disturbance 49:40 that was ever recorded. 49:41 They say 75,000 people, some historians say 49:45 upwards of 100,000 people died 49:47 as a result of that earthquake. 49:49 November 1st was a Catholic Holy Feast Day, 49:53 it was actually, "All Saints Day," and the churches 49:55 were packed with people, and they had a 49:58 great deal of candles there and when the earthquake 50:00 occurred, the candles spilled 50:02 and fire broke out as well in the city. 50:06 The quake lasted for 3-1/2 minutes. 50:08 Now we've encountered, we should say, 50:11 an earthquake here in southern Illinois - I remember 50:13 waking up early in the morning, several years ago, 50:15 and the whole bed shaking, but it was just a few 50:18 on the Richter scale - this was 8.5 to 9 on the Richter scale. 50:22 It lasted 3-1/2 minutes and the tsunami, of course, you know 50:26 the devastation of the tsunami that occurred after that... 50:29 they said that when the water went out, that people 50:32 ran into the sea because there were like buried ships 50:36 and treasures and they wanted this treasure. 50:38 And they were trying to grab it and then the tsunami 50:41 came and it was over 9 meters 50:43 high and it killed all these people. 50:46 So a week after the quake, 90% of the buildings 50:50 had collapsed by either the quake, flooded by the tsunami 50:53 or they had been burnt by fire and the shock waves 50:56 were felt in North Africa, in the West Indies, 50:59 and in the Caribbean. 51:01 Now what about the sun being darkened? 51:03 We go a few years later to May 19, 1780, 51:07 that's what they call "The Dark Day," from eastern 51:10 New York and the darkness spread eastward across 51:14 New England and even out into the sea; 51:17 roosters crowed and frogs peeped because they thought 51:21 the night had come, and candles were required. 51:24 In fact, in Connecticut, a member of the governor's 51:26 council, his name is Abraham Davenport, he said, 51:29 "I am against adjournment; the day of judgment is 51:32 either approaching or it's not. 51:34 If it is not, there is no cause for an adjournment. 51:37 If it is approaching, I choose to be found doing my duty. 51:40 I wish, therefore, that candles may be brought." 51:43 So he thought this was the Day of the Lord, 51:45 like this was one of the signs. 51:47 Then that night, the moon turned 51:49 to blood... and I need to hurry here. 51:50 The fourth sign is the stars falling from heaven. 51:54 November 13, 1833, over 150,000 meteors fell that night; 52:03 more than 30 per second. 52:06 Here's an eyewitness account... 52:08 "Never did rain fall much thicker than the meteors 52:10 fell toward the earth; east, west, north and south, 52:13 it was the same; in a word, the whole heavens 52:15 seemed to be in motion." 52:18 Now let's look at the response to the signs and 52:23 what happens just before the second coming of Christ. 52:26 We're picking it up in Revelation 6:14. 52:28 "The sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, 52:31 and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. 52:35 And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, 52:37 the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every 52:39 free man... what did they do? hid themselves in the caves 52:43 and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the 52:45 mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him 52:48 who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 52:51 For the great day of His wrath 52:52 has come, and who is able to stand?" 52:55 So their response is fear and dread, terror at the thought of 53:01 Christ coming again. 53:02 Let's compare that with Isaiah 25... 53:06 You know where I'm going, Isaiah 25:9... 53:09 "And it will be said in that day, "Behold this is 53:12 our God, we have waited for Him and He will save us. 53:15 This is the Lord; we have waited for Him; 53:17 we will be glad and rejoice in is salvation." 53:21 So what made the difference in their responses? 53:24 Sin... Sin brings fear, sin brings guilt and separation 53:30 from the Father. 53:31 Remember Adam and Eve in the garden? 53:33 They walked every day in perfect communion 53:35 with God and then when they chose to partake of the 53:38 forbidden fruit, they hid when God came calling for them 53:43 that night because sin brings separation 53:46 and fear of the father. 53:48 Think about Revelation 21, the very end of the Book... 53:51 Once again there will be complete harmony with God. 53:54 Revelation 21:3... "Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, 53:59 and He will dwell with them." 54:02 So what is the difference between those who are 54:04 afraid of His coming and those who welcome it with joy? 54:07 The difference is sin. 54:09 It says here at the end... "The great day of His wrath 54:12 has come and who is able to stand?" 54:15 Those who are able to stand are without fault 54:18 before the throne of God. 54:22 Now, you might be thinking, "There's no way that I can 54:26 stand without fault," acknowledge your sins, 54:29 confess and repent them; accept Him into your heart; 54:33 know that He will write in your heart His law, 54:37 in your heart and in your mind, and that He will 54:40 enable you to stand in that Great Day. Amen! 54:44 Oh, wonderful job! Amen! 54:45 Praise the Lord, all the information! 54:47 So what we said at the beginning of the program, 54:50 I think comes true because the Holy Spirit was working 54:52 on each heart and each life, and mind, and things were 54:55 presented, I think that maybe somebody maybe hasn't 54:58 heard before or it just came together, you like it. 55:01 Sometimes, you know, you study a subject and all of a sudden 55:03 it's just like it comes together. Yes. 55:05 Praise God, so it's coming together and I just thank 55:07 each and every one of you, and it takes time, 55:10 and it takes a lot of study to prepare for this. 55:12 And if you're like I am, I'm always the one that's blessed. 55:14 So if you want to just take... we've got a couple 55:16 of minutes left for just some thoughts that you have 55:19 Pastor and we'll just go right down the list here. 55:21 Well you know, when the gospel began to go forth, 55:23 it was referred to us, under the second and third 55:26 seal we talked about the wheat, and then we talked 55:29 about the barley - barley is nothing compared to wheat, 55:32 but the promise is of when the gospel once again 55:36 seems to be getting scarce and is hard to find, 55:39 here's the promise... The Lord says in Psalm 37:25, 55:42 "I have been young, David said, now I am old, 55:46 yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, 55:48 nor their descendants begging bread." 55:50 But here's what you must do... 55:52 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for 55:54 righteousness, for they shall be filled." Matthew 5:6 55:58 Hunger and thirst and you won't have to settle for 56:01 barley - the Lord will provide you wheat... His living Word. 56:05 Amen! And again with Revelation 6:6, as he's saying 56:10 what's going to happen here, He says to the creature, 56:15 "Do not harm the oil or the wine." 56:17 So even when the word of God is scarce, 56:21 we know that the Holy Spirit is still active and the 56:24 salvation of Jesus is still available because 56:27 that's what the oil and the wine symbolizes." 56:30 Amen! Amen, praise the Lord! 56:32 We mentioned those white robes in reference to the 56:35 fifth seal... I love this quote here. 56:37 This comes from, "The Faith I Live By," p.51... 56:39 She says, "The resurrection and ascension of our Lord 56:42 is a sure evidence of the triumph of the saints of 56:46 God over death and the grave, and a pledge that 56:50 heaven is opened to those who wash their robes of character 56:54 and make them white in the blood of the Lamb. Amen! 56:57 Jesus ascended to the Father as a representative 57:00 of the human race and God will bring those who reflect 57:03 His image to behold and share with Him, His glory." Amen 57:07 Amen, Amen! Good. 57:09 And the sixth seal ends with that question... 57:10 "The great day of His wrath has come and who shall be 57:13 able to stand?" 57:14 And I love the next chapter which is an interlude, 57:17 as it were, between the sixth and seventh seals, 57:19 and we see that those who stand are those who are 57:22 sealed of God... and we'll study that next week! 57:25 Amen! So this is something to look forward to, isn't it? 57:28 That's right. And so those of of you who had joined 57:29 today, make sure, you know, next week, 57:32 that you join us because, to me, it's more exciting 57:35 as we go along and the Holy Spirit will continue 57:37 to work, I know, and bring light and truth 57:39 to each and every one who wants that light and truth. 57:41 I found just a couple of things here in the few seconds 57:44 we have - I thought was interesting. 57:45 Revelation just always points out Christ as the Living One. 57:50 Like you just kind of put it in a nutshell and get down... 57:52 It's all about Jesus, isn't it? 57:53 It's all about Christ. It's all about His 57:55 sacrifice that He made for us. 57:58 So we just pray that it's been a blessing to you. 58:00 You've been a blessing to us, we love you. 58:01 We pray that you'll be sure and tune in next week 58:03 because we'll see you then to give the gospel message. 58:07 Amen! Amen! Amen! |
Revised 2024-08-15