An Almighty Administrator - Revelation 16:1-7

[0:00] You guys can turn to Revelation chapter 16. You know, I had really good intentions to do this whole chapter.! And then that wasn't going to happen.

[0:11] And then I thought, well, we'll do half the chapter. Maybe we'll get past verse 7, but probably not. The Lord is, it was cool. He was just taking me on a little detour and just showing me some cool stuff and bringing things to mind.

[0:24] And so we'll look at that tonight. But we are currently just about to spill over the rim of the first of the bowl judgments or the vials.

[0:40] In the King James, it says vials or incense, kind of like a bowl or laver or whatever. So that is the last of God's judgments, of his series of judgments.

[0:55] We've looked at the seals and the trumpets and now the bowls. And we're going to see that. We are going to see that he is wrapping this up and bringing it to a close. The end of Revelation 15 said that the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power.

[1:11] And no man was able to enter into the temple till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled. And God is bringing things to a close. And then, you know, I was thinking, I was thinking of, I'm going to pull the when I was a kid card, right?

[1:28] So when I was a kid, there wasn't the internet, right? There wasn't social media. The sources of information were kind of limited.

[1:40] So like other than reading your Bible, you'd have to either wait for a publication to come in the mail. You'd have to go to a conference or, you know, go to church or get a CD or then DVDs, right?

[1:56] That was your sources of information. You know, we've been talking about boundaries. There was more boundaries to that. And you could be more circumspect and more careful about what information was coming in.

[2:09] Your parents could. The people in your lives that you were associating with in your church. I would like to think that you guys trust that whatever is spoken from the pulpit, whatever we let voice to come and speak in the pulpit has been vetted and is known and is a source of truth.

[2:31] And it's not someone that's just like, well, I heard of this person. Let's just have them come and speak. They got it. They're on a book tour. You know, wouldn't believe the emails you get once you put out there a public email for a church. It's fantastic.

[2:42] The amount of people that they are ready to come and speak at your church for you. Or come and lead worship for a small fee. But so there's so many voices now that speak into our lives.

[2:57] Everybody has a voice. I mean, the mom who just put her kid down in Minnesota goes into her kitchen and fires up her YouTube channel and boom, is speaking all kinds of whatever about different topics.

[3:10] And not that we shouldn't all have a voice, but how do you know which one to listen to? There's so much information now. So much that you can just get a snippet here and there and there and there and there.

[3:21] And you get all this information. Some of it is truth. Some of it's very good. I've listened to plenty of people that I don't know. I haven't followed over the years that, man, that's some solid stuff.

[3:33] That's some truth. And I've also listened to people that it starts out good. And then it's like, oh, here it is. And they slip in their agenda, their false doctrine, their perspective, their whatever.

[3:46] And it's like, oh. So how do you know? Well, so you stay in the word, right? We stay in the word and we stay in the truth and we let the word be in us. You think, okay, well, what if I've studied God's word for decades, right?

[3:58] And then I go and I hear a teaching or the pastor teaches and it's like, well, I've gone through that passage before a hundred times and I haven't seen that. Is he teaching something new? Should I reject this?

[4:10] Well, no, hopefully the spirit within you and what you know of the word is saying, yes, that lines up with truth. Because you've spent years handling truth that whenever truth comes into your lap, you're like, yeah, I know this is truth.

[4:24] I can tell this is truth. It might not be a truth or a part of the Bible or a depth of the scripture that I realized before, but it lines up with what I know is true. And so then I have something to vet that because I've been in the truth.

[4:36] I'm not just taking, well, I really like this guy. And so whatever he says, I'm going to take. Well, he may not even be trying to deceive or be wrong, but he may have a viewpoint of the scripture that God is like, that's not for you.

[4:51] That is because of his specific ministry. That's another thing we have today. We have guys in California and Virginia and Oregon and the other side of the world and Charlotte and New York and Florida. You can find ministries and listen to guys from all over.

[5:03] And they are called to minister where they have been called to. And we can put on each other. Well, you need to do it like I'm doing it. You know, you up there in New York need to minister in the way we do it down here in Charlotte.

[5:19] Because everything's obviously everything's better in the South. Right. Or those of us in Virginia or in D.C., everybody needs to operate like us. I mean, there are some great guys with great ministries in areas around D.C. that it's natural for them to be operating and ministering to those that are in government.

[5:38] Right. And you could put that on and say, well, it's got to be everybody that has to be like that. You could be in an area where there's a lot of just a lot of physical need.

[5:50] And God's using your ministry to meet those physical needs. Everybody needs to do it this way. Well, no, we need to do what God's called us to do to where we're at. We need to listen to the voice that's speaking to us there. And that's God's word and through his spirit.

[6:01] And then in the local body, as God puts us in a body and we're like, OK, what are the needs here and how do we meet those? But there's so many voices. And I think even as we approach the scripture and going through revelation, there are so many voices about what's happening.

[6:17] And I don't like to speculate. Like if you notice, we haven't said, well, the seals and the trumpets and the bulls, what could it be? Is God using technology? Will he use man?

[6:28] Will he use some type of natural event? What could it be like AI? Could it be? I don't know. I don't know exactly what his means are going to be. But I do know that it will take place.

[6:40] And that's what I go back to the word on. And that's what I want you to base everything that we study and talk about on. Is it in the scriptures? And does it ring true because the Bible says it?

[6:51] Not because, well, it sounds very plausible. So as we approach God's word tonight, you know, it's not just, oh, well, this is a cool slide from a guy I trust. So I grabbed that and he put it together.

[7:02] No, well, yes, someone did put that together and it's a guy I trust and it's a cool slide. But the only reason it has any value to me is because I believe God's word plainly, the plain text just spells it out for me.

[7:18] I'm going to take it at face value. If I have to come to God's word and keep in mind somebody else's system or theology or doctrine at all times that I'm reading the word, that's probably not based in God's word.

[7:36] Right? If I have to continually keep in mind, wait a minute, I need to remember the lens I'm looking at scripture through. No, no, no. I want scripture to be the lens that I look at life through. Right? That was just all free information there.

[7:50] Be careful of the voices you listen to, even if it is truth. Paul told Timothy, he said, hey, Timothy, remember, remember the scriptures that you've learned from your youth that make you wise.

[8:02] And remember who you've learned them. Remember who it is that taught you. You know, who are those people? And a lot of times the people that are most instrumental in our lives to build into our lives maturity and truth and doctrine, they're not very pizzazzy.

[8:15] Right? They're not coming out with a new thing. And it's like, oh, wow, there's something super spectacular. This stuff's fun. I like, I like, I love going down the rabbit trails of what could that be, you know, in Revelation?

[8:27] What could the bold judgments really be? It's fun. I bet I could be wrong. But I know that they are, even if I don't know what they are. And so last time as we finished Revelation 15, we saw that God here has come into the temple and the angels go out and man cannot come in at this point.

[8:47] So he's kind of like kicked his angels out. You've got a task to do. And now God is filling the temple right now. He alone is going to bear the responsibility of the judgment that has been filled up.

[8:57] This judgment of God's judgment and his wrath all the way from Revelation chapter 6 on that we've seen where they said, hide us, let the rocks fall on us. Hide us from the face of him that sits on the throne and the wrath of the lamb.

[9:10] They knew right away who this was from. And we've been journeying with the Lord through his long suffering with these people. The time for intercession had passed and the irreversible fulfillment had come.

[9:25] And we've also seen that God is dealing with the world very much through a Jewish filter. The language that he's talking about, the people he's dealing with, once again, is Israel.

[9:35] In Daniel chapter 9, verse 27, it says, And he, speaking of the man of lawlessness who will come, what we would call the antichrist or instead of Christ, or the beast or the deceiver, and he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week, one week of years, seven years.

[9:56] And in the midst of the week, three and a half years, he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease. And for the overspreading of abominations, he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, until all things are fulfilled.

[10:11] Same thing Jesus prophesied about in Matthew 24. And that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. That's what we're reading about in Revelation. That which is determined that shall be poured upon the desolate.

[10:22] We're going to see that tonight because those that have taken the mark, they are already damned. They are already the desolate. Those that take the mark and worship the beast have chosen in this life to reject any hope for the next life.

[10:36] Every drop of the cup of God's wrath was placed there by a just, gracious, good, merciful, long-suffering God. Every drop of God's wrath was placed there by a God who gave his life for these people.

[10:51] God's wrath comes only after his long-suffering. Our almighty God is able to righteously and justly administer his wrath.

[11:04] We are not. The wrath of man works not the righteousness of God, the scripture tells us. But our God is an almighty administrator. And that's what we're going to look at tonight.

[11:15] So, God's wrath. We've talked a lot about that. And it's all over the pages of Revelation. You just can't, you can't escape that. Well, you can't escape his wrath. But you can't escape the fact that it's here. But the purpose of God's wrath.

[11:26] What is the purpose of God's wrath? Well, it's to destroy. It's to destroy these people. It's to judge them. No, the purpose of God's wrath is not destruction, but deliverance. The purpose of God's wrath is deliverance.

[11:37] If God wanted to destroy a sinful man, he has no idea to speak him out of existence. And say, okay, it's done, guys. Boom. It's over. We're going to speak you out of existence. The purpose of allowing man to experience judgment in this life is so that man might avoid judgment in the next life.

[11:57] Why does God allow people to experience his wrath, his judgment? Why? Why is there pain and suffering in the world? The point is that God could, if he wanted to, if the whole point was just to judge sinful man, just, all right, speak you out of existence.

[12:11] But God's hope is that we would turn and avoid judgment in the next life. John chapter 3, we know John 3.16. Well, 3.17 is, For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.

[12:28] Well, we know that. Verse 18, He that believes on him is not condemned, but he that believes not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

[12:38] So, we're already under condemnation. The point isn't to destroy those under condemnation. The point is to deliver those that are under condemnation. Remember way back in Revelation 9.

[12:52] It wasn't that many chapters ago, but it was a whole lot of weeks ago. Revelation 9, verse 20, it said, The point of those plagues was repentance.

[13:21] Neither repented they, despite all of that God was doing. Well, God's judging the world, because God loves the world. God loves these people, and this is his last-ditch effort to reach a people that has utterly rejected his grace.

[13:35] Chapter 16, verse 1. And John says, And I heard a great voice out of the temple, saying, To the seven angels, go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.

[13:53] I like vial. The bowl judgments, the, whatever you want to call them, but they're the vials. That just sounds like some kind of, like, you know, potion you mix up, and it kind of froths, and you go, I heard a great voice out of the temple.

[14:06] Great means loud and large. He heard a voice loud and large. The voice out of the temple belongs to the one who alone can carry the responsibility of judgment.

[14:18] He alone carries that responsibility. He alone administers judgment. And that voice, that great voice, is a voice that we all long to hear. It's the voice we hope most to hear.

[14:31] That great voice calling from heaven. In Revelation 4, verse 1, where it says, After this I looked, John says, and behold, a door was opened in heaven.

[14:44] And the first voice which I heard was as it were a trumpet talking with me. What's the first voice? The one where it says he heard behind him the voice that said, I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last, he which was and is to come.

[14:56] This Jesus. He said, I heard Jesus. I heard that first voice and it was as a what? A trumpet talking with me. And it said, come up here. And I'll show you things which must be hereafter.

[15:06] I can't wait to hear that voice. Whether we hear it collectively or it's my own personal call home. God says, Jesus says, come on up here. I'm going to show you a lot of things that are coming. And all of eternity is going to be, he's just going to be showing us all these things.

[15:20] I can't wait. First Corinthians 15, verse 51. Paul writes, behold, I show you a mystery. I reveal something to you that's been secret and hidden.

[15:32] It is no longer because I'm revealing it to you. We shall not all sleep. We shall not all die, but we shall all be changed. We shall all be metamorphosized in a moment. And the twinkling of an eye at the last trump, the last trumpet for the trumpet shall sound.

[15:45] And the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. A voice shall speak, and death shall be rolled back, and the dead shall rise, and then we that are alive and remain.

[15:58] And Paul says we. Paul expected that. Paul expected, man, the next thing on my horizon is Jesus. The Bible weaves together its truth so well.

[16:09] That's a lot of lines of text. 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 and verse 15. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain, unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

[16:24] In other words, we shall not precede them. We're not going to go ahead of those that have died in Christ. It's not like, well, if we're already in this state of resurrection, what about those that have died?

[16:38] He says, no, we're not going to go without them. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God.

[16:49] And the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we, which are alive and remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so shall we ever be with the Lord.

[17:00] Wherefore, comfort one another with these words. The greatest comfort we have is this great and wonderful word of God. Comfort one another with these words.

[17:11] Comfort one another that the great voice that is speaking here in Revelation 16 for us is a voice of welcome. It's not a voice of judgment. It's not a voice of condemnation.

[17:22] It's a voice that calls us home. And I can't wait to hear that voice. Can't wait to hear that great, that loud and large voice saying, hey, Jared, let's go.

[17:33] Now, I hope it's all together. I don't want to like, I don't think it's my time to go. I don't want to say I don't want to go without, you know, my wife. But I think it's better if I stay here for her physical, emotional, spiritual well-being.

[17:46] I think God's still got a work to do. And I want us all to hear that voice together. We will get through verse seven, Lord willing, but it's very heavily front loaded.

[17:56] So if you're like, we're still in verse one and we're, you know, going on and on and on. There's a reason for that. Don't. It's very front loaded. Because when we get into the vials, again, we can speculate.

[18:07] We could spend time trying to figure out what does this mean? What could that exactly mean? I don't know. We're going to talk about what we know is and what will be, not what might be. But what pertains to us greatly is verse one, very much here.

[18:24] Jesus said that wonderful voice that we will one day hear. Jesus said when he was on earth, as he was getting ready to leave and go back to go to the resurrection and then afterwards to go back to heaven.

[18:37] He says, let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God. Believe also in me. And my father's house are many dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have told you. Of course he would have. Why? Because he says, I no longer call you servants.

[18:50] I call you friends because all things that my father has told me, I reveal to you. He says, I'm not hiding anything from you guys. This is all plain. It's all out there for you. You know, I think of the one place where he says to the Pharisees, he says, well, you err.

[19:04] Because you don't know your Bibles and you don't know the power of God. Ooh, Jesus. A little harsh there. But isn't that true? How many voices are out there and you think, well, there's something wrong.

[19:17] There's an error in what they're saying. Why? They don't know their Bibles. And they don't know the power of God. People don't study their Bibles anymore. They just get sound bites.

[19:31] Let not your heart be troubled. You see, in my father's house are many dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place, I will come again and receive you to myself.

[19:44] That where I am, there you may be also. That's the voice we're going to hear. We will not hear this voice, this great and loud voice saying, go your way, angels.

[19:55] Go and pour out wrath upon those people. We won't hear that voice. The voice we will hear will say, come. Come up here. Come up here. There's a door open that no man can shut.

[20:06] So these angels, they're sent. It says, their way. Go your way. The angel's way was directed and determined by God. By God's will and by God's word.

[20:16] They didn't just on their own decide to go and do this. You know, if anybody had authority to just go and do some really crazy things, you'd think it'd be the angels.

[20:29] They've never fallen. They've never sinned. They're in the presence of God. You think, well, God, I'm going to go down there and help those people. And I'm going to go over here and put down wickedness.

[20:39] I'm going to go. But they're directed by God, by his word and his will. And if they are, how much more should I be? How much more should I, who have a fallen nature, as well as this new nature, continually make sure that I'm being directed by God's will and God's will.

[20:57] And his word. I'm sorry. It says, go your way and do what? Pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth. That sounds vile, doesn't it? Sometimes God's plans don't seem nice in the moment.

[21:11] Kind of seem, doesn't seem very nice. I want Jesus to be nice all the time. Right? I just want him to be nice. Sometimes in the moment, it doesn't seem very nice what God is doing.

[21:23] It can seem almost counterintuitive to his nature. But it's always right and it's always good because God is always right and God is always good. And it's just as we're seeing in the book of Revelation, God has a way of bringing all things back to that place of what is right and what is good.

[21:41] It does the same thing in our lives. All things work together for good to them who love God and to them who are called according to his purpose. And we're going to see that when we get to verse 7.

[21:53] We'll hear a voice say that even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are your judgments. So God's wrath, here we're faced with it again.

[22:04] Go your way and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth. God sure seems to be upset in Revelation, doesn't he? God's judgments come from God and they are directed towards the earth.

[22:18] Right here. We see very specifically that God's judgment has an appointed time. Go your way. An appointed task. And an appointed target.

[22:30] It's not just random. It's not just arbitrary. It's not that this isn't part of God's plan of redemption. God's judgment is also part of God's plan for redemption.

[22:43] And here there's an appointed time and task and target that he's sending these angels out for. Specifically. Specifically. God is not willing that any should perish. That hasn't changed. It's not like, well, I'm willing these people perish.

[22:55] But unfortunately, there are many who are willing to perish. In spite of God's unwillingness for them to perish. There's many that are very willing to, as we read in John there, they have not believed.

[23:08] And therefore, they are under condemnation. Verse 19 of John chapter 3. And this is the condemnation. That light is come into the world and men love darkness.

[23:22] Rather than light. Because their deeds were evil. Because you bring them to the light. Not only do you have to then acknowledge them for what they are. But 1 John 1.7 says that if we walk in the light as he is in the light, the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us.

[23:36] We have fellowship with one another. And the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. When we bring our evil deeds into the light, they're exposed and washed away. We have to get rid of them.

[23:48] We have at that moment when our evil deeds are exposed to the light, there's a choice to either yield to God or turn away in denial and rebellion. It's not just that, oh no, someone's going to see that, you know, this is what I do in secret.

[24:00] No, it's that God reveals it and says, yes, I know what you're doing in secret. No, let's get rid of that. And all of a sudden I'm called to account. But God's eternal wrath, it's bound for earth.

[24:12] And it's upon those who chose to be bound to this earth. Their choice has been to bind themselves to earth instead of responding to God's invitation as John, as we read about in chapter four.

[24:25] Come on up here. The door is open. Come on. Philippians 3.20. For our citizenship is in heaven. From whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

[24:37] That's where I'm going. That's what I'm looking for. And that's where my citizenship is. You know, it's election day, right? I'll just vote it. This world's not our home. We're citizens.

[24:48] We're citizens in a nation, in a world, and we have a responsibility here. But it's not my home. It's just a place that I'm trying to most effectively exemplify Jesus to people, right?

[25:05] That may mean taking part in citizenship activities. That may mean a time saying, No, I'm sorry. I can't because my citizenship's in heaven. God's word is a comfort to those who have allowed his word to release them from the bondage of sin in this world.

[25:24] You know, where Paul said, Comfort one another with these words. Well, it's only a comfort for those who've allowed his word to release them from being bound to this world, from being bound to sin.

[25:34] Matthew 6, verse 20, Jesus says, To lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven, where neither moth nor rust does corrupt, and thieves do not break through or steal.

[25:45] In other words, it's very secure there. It gains interest, and nobody takes it away. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. We prefer the other way around.

[25:56] Well, where my heart is, I want my treasure to be. He says, no, no, no. It's where your treasure is. You must lead your heart. The heart only wants what it wants. We must determine for our hearts and tell our hearts, this is what you want.

[26:09] Right? It's appetite. Where our treasure is. Choose your treasure. You see it in relationships all the time. What? I don't love her anymore. We were never in love.

[26:19] Well, where's your treasure? Where are you placing your treasure? Because if your heart's not there, my guess is your treasure is now somewhere else. Put your treasure back there, and your heart will follow. Treasure what God's given you.

[26:31] Treasure what God's called you to. And your heart will follow. Will it be instantaneous? No, it won't. But it will follow. And this isn't scriptural. The home is where your heart is.

[26:43] Lay out for yourself treasure in heaven. Where your treasure is, there's your heart. And home is where the heart is. And that's my home. That's where my heart is. That's where my treasure is. That's where my stuff is. I don't got anything here, any stuff-wise.

[26:54] It's worth saving. And most of the stuff I do like, nobody else would value or treasure anyway. I mean, it's usually just, I'm not really sentimental, but, you know, I have certain things I like. Talk about this.

[27:08] If there was a fire and we had to get out, what do you do? Well, you make sure the family's out, and then it's a toss-up. Do you get your Bible or the cat? I don't know. The Bible's got so much time in it.

[27:23] So much written in it. All right, you grab the Bible and the cat, and out you go. But all the rest, whatever. It can be replaced. We who are heaven-bound, we are not bound for wrath.

[27:40] And wrath is not bound and determined for us, right? The wrath of God is being poured out upon those who are earth-bound, who have bound themselves to the earth. We're heaven-bound.

[27:51] We're not bound for wrath. 1 Thessalonians 5, 9-11. For God has not appointed us to wrath. There's no time, appointment, place. There's no time, task, or target of wrath for us.

[28:06] But, contrasting that, this is a contrast. These two things do not go together. There is no appointment for us for wrath. There is an appointment for salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us.

[28:18] Though whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. Wherefore, comfort yourselves together and edify one another, even as also you do.

[28:30] Be comforted. Be comforted by the word of God spoken to us. Be comforted that there is a principle here, which is very basic to Scripture, and it is of great comfort to us that God removes the righteous before he releases wrath.

[28:46] It is not appointed for us. God removes the righteous before he releases wrath. We looked at one of these Scriptures, I think this past Sunday, and then like, the Lord just took me on a rabbit trail.

[28:59] Well, I don't know. It was Old Testament. It'd be kosher. Maybe it was like a coney trail. But, anyway, turn to Genesis 18, if you would. We'll spend a little bit of time here.

[29:10] If you understand Genesis, Genesis will unlock so much of the rest of the Bible. Genesis begins most everything, but finishes nothing.

[29:24] But it is the beginning, the foundation of faith and doctrine that we see then revealed throughout Scripture. We're going to see this principle there that God removes the righteous before he releases wrath.

[29:40] Genesis 18, we're going to pick up in verse 20. And so the Lord has just visited Sarah and Abraham at their tent. He comes with two angels. Abraham realizes this.

[29:50] He says, let me cook something for you. He runs into Sarah and says, get something together. And then God promises Abraham that he's going to make of him a great nation. He says, and about this time next year, Sarah will have a child.

[30:01] Sarah was well past childbearing years and she laughs in the tent. And God says, why does Sarah laugh? And Sarah pops the door open and goes, I didn't laugh. And I'm not eavesdropping either.

[30:12] And he says, but you did laugh. And it's neat, you know, and so they call him Isaac. And so the Lord's moving on now. He's, he's, his time's up at Abraham's Airbnb.

[30:23] And in verse 20 of Genesis 18, it says, and the Lord said, because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great. And because their sin is very grievous, I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether, according to the cry of it, which has come unto me.

[30:39] And if not, I will know it. And the men, the angels turned their faces from fence and went towards Sodom. But Abraham stood yet before the Lord. So the Lord and Abraham are just standing there.

[30:49] You know, you're comfortable with someone when you can just stand there in silence with them. Right. And it's not an awkward silence. I'm not good with awkward silence. I'm from up North where communication is. Somebody talks until someone interrupts them.

[31:01] And then they talk until someone interrupts them down here. Everybody's so polite. So I just keep rambling and talking and rambling. And so I had to learn to wait and, and to learn conversation as something more thought out than just thrown out.

[31:24] But the Lord and Abraham are just kind of standing there. And Abraham draws near in verse 23. And he said, Hey, Lord, will you also destroy the righteous with the wicked?

[31:35] So Abraham's standing there and he's thinking, he's thinking about what he knows of the Lord. He's like, Hmm, Lord, Lord, you're going to destroy the righteous with the wicked. Well, per adventure, what if there is 50 righteous within the city?

[31:50] Will you also destroy and not spare the place for 50 righteous that are in the city? We know he's going to go 40, 20, 10. What he's saying here is God, not just Abraham doesn't say, remove the 50 righteous.

[32:03] He says, won't you spare the whole place for 50? Because we are the salt of the earth. We are the preserving factor in this world. But if the salt lose its savor, where would shall be salted?

[32:15] Right? We're the light of the world. There's not a lot of us. We're not super loud. Light is just there. Salt is kind of in the background. It just adds a little flavor. It preserves.

[32:25] Abraham says here in verse 25, that be far from you to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked, and that the righteous should be as the wicked.

[32:40] That be far from you. Shall not the judge of all the earth do right? I.e., it would be unjust of you and wrong of you, God, to treat the just as the wicked and to judge the just with the wicked.

[32:55] God, you are the judge of all the earth. This is not right. We who are heaven bound are not bound for wrath. Turn over to Genesis 19. These two guys, they now head down to Lot's place, down into Sodom.

[33:11] You see, Abraham knows his nephew. He says, man, I know he's a righteous man, but his soul is vexed daily. But dude, he's a compromiser. And I, I, I know he's righteous, but I don't know if there's going to be 50.

[33:24] So he gets it all the way down to 10. And there's not going to be 10. Verse 19, we're to pick up in chapter, I mean, in verse 12, in chapter 19, verse 12. And the men said unto Lot, the two angels, they come and they stay with him.

[33:38] And that whole immoral attempt of the people upon the angels, they strike him with blindness. And then they say to Lot, hey, have you anyone here besides? Son-in-laws or sons or daughters?

[33:50] Yes, he has son-in-laws and sons and daughters. And whatever you have in the city, bring them out of this place. For we will destroy this place. Because of the cry of them, it's waxing great before the face of the Lord.

[34:03] And the Lord has sent us to destroy it. The sins of Sodom and Gomorrah are the things that we, in our society today, make laws to protect and value and promote within our entertainment, in our culture, in our education.

[34:24] We are experiencing what Lot experienced, that our righteous souls are vexed daily by this. And God will, as we're reading in Revelation, he'll wrap this up.

[34:37] And, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it. For we will destroy this place because the cry of them is waxed great before the face of the Lord. And the Lord has sent us to destroy it.

[34:49] It will be destroyed. God's wrath and God's judgment will be poured out. Verse 15. And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take your wife and your two daughters, which are here, lest you be consumed in the iniquity of the city.

[35:07] So he goes to his son-in-laws and they mock him. They're like, what are you talking about? Where is the promise of his coming? For since our fathers fell asleep, all things continue. And while he lingered, in verse 16, the men laid hold upon his hand and upon the hand of his wife and upon the hand of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful unto him.

[35:27] He didn't want to leave. God says, sorry, bro. You're one of mine. You're heaven bound. You're not bound for wrath. And they brought him forth and set him without the city.

[35:38] God's mercy at a time of wrath is to remove the righteous from the place of wrath. All the way back here in Genesis. God's mercy at a time of wrath.

[35:51] Wrath is here. It is to remove the righteous from the place of wrath. Verse 19 of Genesis 19. Lot then responds, Oh, Lot.

[36:03] He had a lot to learn. I miss that. You know, all those names in Genesis. Boy, there were some good puns. We had some good times with that.

[36:16] Genesis 19, verse 19. Behold now, Lot says, your servant has found grace in your sight and you have magnified your mercy which you have showed unto me in saving my life.

[36:27] Hey, thanks for saving my life, but let's not get too carried away because he told him, flee to the mountains. Get out of here. I can't go to the mountain unless some evil take me and I die.

[36:37] Well, he's right. He's going to eventually get in the mountains and a whole lot of evil is going to happen. He's not going to die there, but a whole lot of evil, evil between him and his daughters. Behold now, this city is near to flee to and it's a little one.

[36:50] It's just a little compromise. Oh, let me escape there. Is it not a little one and my soul shall live? And he, the angel said unto him, see, I have accepted you concerning this thing also that I will not overthrow this city, the little city for you concerning this thing also.

[37:08] I'm sorry, that I will not overthrow this city for which that was spoken. Hurry, haste thee, escape thither, for I cannot do anything until you become thither.

[37:20] Until you go there, I can't do anything. Therefore, the name of the city was called Zawar. And the sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zawar. Then, then, the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven.

[37:38] And he overthrew those cities and all the plain and all the inhabitants of the city and that which grew upon the ground. I cannot do anything until I remove you from here.

[37:49] I can't because the judge of all the earth will do right. He will. He will do right. These angels understood that God removes the righteous before he releases wrath.

[38:02] Abraham understood that God could not treat the righteous as the wicked nor judge the righteous with the wicked. He can't. Why?

[38:12] Because God commends his love towards us. That while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more than being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.

[38:25] For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his son, well then so much more being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. If while I was yet an enemy of God, Jesus died to keep me from the eternal wrath of God.

[38:41] I was an enemy. I was worse than Lot. Lot's like, I don't want to go from this world. Right? Except for Jesus, I was one of those that wouldn't repent. Now granted, I was three years old when I got saved.

[38:54] So I wasn't too much rebellion. But even worse, after that, I had a whole lot of rebellion in here and a whole lot of sin that I chose knowing full well the truth.

[39:09] For while I was yet an enemy of God, Jesus died to keep me from eternal wrath, the eternal wrath of God. How much more? Now that I'm a child of God, will a living and loving Jesus keep me from temporal wrath of God?

[39:23] If Jesus died to keep me from the eternal wrath of God, how much more will a living Jesus who loves me, who's reconciled me, keep me from the temporal wrath of God? If he'll remove Lot before his wrath is poured out, how much more will he, his bride?

[39:41] The righteous have been eternally and temporarily removed from God's wrath or temporarily, not temporarily, by the cross. The cross has satisfied the wrath of God.

[39:54] For God has not appointed us. There's no time or task or target. We are not the target of wrath. There's no time for us to be under God's wrath. And that task was poured out upon Jesus.

[40:07] But to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, our appointed time, task and target is Jesus. And one day there's going to be a really great and loud voice and it's going to say, come on up here, guys.

[40:20] It's time. And then you're probably thinking, well, wait a minute. What about those who are saved in wrath and saved out of wrath?

[40:34] Does God just, what about in the middle of this judgment, the tribulation saints? Well, God's going to protect them from wrath or they're under his wrath? Which is it? Yes, many will be saved in wrath and out of wrath because the purpose of God's wrath is not destruction but deliverance.

[40:49] However, that does not negate the truth that God preserves from wrath those who are no longer under wrath. God preserves from wrath those who are no longer under wrath.

[41:02] Those under wrath, Lord willing, will be saved out of wrath and in wrath. Yes, but the two fit perfectly. There's three times in the history of this world where God's wrath will be poured out directly upon the world.

[41:18] What's the first time? The flood. Flood was the first time. Second time, Sodom, Gomorrah. And the third time here in Revelation, the 70th week of Daniel.

[41:30] The flood, the first time, right? God removes the righteous before he releases wrath. How many people were saved in the flood? No, that's from the flood.

[41:42] How many people were saved out of the flood, in the flood, during the flood? I don't know. Do you know in the fossil record there's not many people? There's a lot of animals and plants but there's not a lot of people.

[41:56] Now, foolish and unlearned men who rest the truth say, well that was evolution and billions of years. Are you kidding me? If you take a dead dog and lay it outside what happens to it?

[42:07] Does it turn into a fossil? No, it gets stinkier and stinkier and decays, right? Fossilization only happens under very specific situations, circumstances. High pressure, lack of oxygen so that all of these things, there's a worldwide flood, there's sediment and all of these things are getting trapped in.

[42:24] There's not a lot of people. Why? Because people are going to act the same way they do now in the midst of a disaster and a flood. They're going to get to high ground. They're going to do what they can to save their lives. They would be the last.

[42:36] How many days can you last? 40 days and 40 nights, right? Well, the water's going to be contaminated so you're on something floating or you're at the highest point you can of the world.

[42:48] How many people were saved? I bet there was a lot of people saved. I'm sure we're going to be in heaven and there's going to be people who will be like, you died in the flood? Yeah, I did, but I realized that Noah was right.

[43:00] And man, I cried out to God and he mercifully saved me. How many people in Sodom and Gomorrah were in a house and the fire and brimstone begins to fall and they realized Lot was right.

[43:11] God willing, his son-in-laws or maybe his daughters that were left said, God be merciful unto me, a sinner. And they were saved. How many people in Revelation, innumerable company are before the throne that are under the altar that are saved out of God's judgment and wrath?

[43:29] So yes, many will be saved in wrath and out of wrath, but that does not negate the truth that God preserves from wrath those who are no longer under wrath.

[43:41] For all of eternity, guys, we will experience this truth. For all of eternity, the only reason we are in heaven is because God is preserving us from wrath in Christ Jesus. Step outside of Christ.

[43:53] What's that? That's outer darkness and gnashing of teeth. For all of eternity, we're in Christ. It's not like, well, finally, the new heavens and new earth. I don't need Jesus anymore. I'm going to go try and try Mormonism, see if I can make my own planet.

[44:08] Now, it's Jesus who makes heaven heaven. There's no sun needed or moon because Jesus is the light there. Jesus is the source. For all of eternity, we've experienced this truth.

[44:21] That was just verse one. I don't know. I just, the Lord took me back to Genesis and reminded me of that and showed me of all that and I was like, wow, Lord. And sometimes he just gives you phrases that stick.

[44:35] God removes the righteous before he releases wrath and it's just, I love God's word because it just plainly speaks what's there. I don't have to have other voices and then when I listen to other voices, I have, I have a standard and it's God's word.

[44:49] So don't listen to my voice. Listen to the word and if, if listening to the word, like that makes sense, great. If it doesn't, let's talk.

[45:00] I don't ever want to be like that. I got the corner on God's word. I hope God's words got the corner on me. It's got me. So, the seven bowls, the seven bowl judgments, God's judgment is, we're going to see it's ordered, it's fitting, it's prophetic, it's righteous and it's reasonable.

[45:19] All of those things. It's ordered, it's, he has a specific order. It's very fitting to the situation. It's prophetic, it's fulfilling prophecy, it's righteous and it is reasonable.

[45:30] And let's just quickly go through a few of these. Verse two, and the first angel went and poured out his vial upon the earth and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast and upon them which worshipped his image.

[45:47] And so we're going to have the first bowl is that sores afflict those that have accepted the mark. And the second bowl, the seas turn to blood or actually it's as blood. The third is the fountains of water or the rivers of water are actually turned to blood.

[46:02] The fourth one is mankind is scorched by the sun and they blaspheme God. The fifth one, the beast's seat of government is afflicted with darkness. The sixth bowl dries up the river Euphrates to prepare the way for the kings of the east to come to the valley of Armageddon.

[46:20] And the seventh, the earth is utterly shaken like never before. And we'll look at a few of these. Again, all of these are from heaven's perspective is what we're looking at them. We will see some of the effect upon earth but we will not see all of how that will affect earth.

[46:36] So grievous sores, those with the mark, we see that they're sore at God. They shake their fist at God. They get this grievous sore upon them. There's a few words here that are interesting.

[46:48] Noisome in the Hebrew is base nature, of a base nature. And there fell something of a base nature, something really kind of like gross is the way I think of it.

[47:00] Grievous, full of labor and hardship upon those which took the mark, the stamp, the imprint, those who would take the imprint or stamp of the beast and those who worship to him which means to kiss towards.

[47:15] The men of the earth would not acknowledge heaven but heaven has taken note of them. Psalm 53 verses 2 through 4, God looked down from heaven upon the children of men to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God.

[47:31] Every one of them has gone back. They are all together become filthy. There's none that does good, no not one. Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge who eat up my people as they eat bread?

[47:42] They have not called upon God. It describes very well these people right now. God is abiding by man's decision. They have rejected the imprint of heaven and so they have received the imprint of hell.

[47:58] The judgment upon those with the mark, it's a judgment as we said upon the damned. These are already those that have removed themselves from God's mercy.

[48:08] So why is God judging them? Because he just, again, wants to destroy, wants to get them. They're already lost. They're not going to repent and we're going to see that here. They're going to blaspheme and they're not going to repent. I think his purpose is to warn those that have not yet taken the mark.

[48:23] Don't take it! You know, when you see the guy who did and he's like, everything's working out for me. I got the imprint of the beast, you know, wherever and everything's great. My 401k is amazing and all of a sudden it's like, what has happened to you?

[48:39] Your life is falling apart physically and don't take the mark. It's to warn those. You know, they are worshiping the beast. It means to kiss towards. And yet, those who bear the mark have chosen the kiss of death, haven't they?

[48:53] Because they've chosen to worship the beast. Men loved darkness so they would not come to the light. For you and I, we have an image.

[49:03] We bear the likeness of God. The likeness of God is like his son, isn't it? Colossians chapter 1 verses 13 through 17 says, Who has delivered us from the power of darkness and has translated us into the kingdom of his dear son in whom we have redemption through his blood even the forgiveness of sins who is the image of the invisible God the firstborn of every creature.

[49:30] Then 1 Corinthians 15 verse 48 says, As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy. You don't want to be earthy. And as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.

[49:44] And as we have born the image of the earth, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. We bear the image of the likeness of heaven.

[49:57] It looks a lot like the sun, right? We're going to see later that there are those that will be scorched by the sun. They can't stand the light of the sun. We won't get there tonight.

[50:09] We stand in that light because we bear his image and we reflect his light. And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea. So the second one is dumped out and it became as blood of a dead man.

[50:23] And every living soul died in the sea. So the sea is as blood but the effect is still death. Whether it's actually blood or as blood as the blood of a dead man.

[50:35] And it says that every living soul died in the sea. That would be pretty gross. That would be as the blood of a dead man festering and stinking and gross. You know, I think of in Genesis chapter 1 God created the heavens and the earth and then it says that on day 5 he created the waters.

[50:54] He created life in the waters. Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that has life. And God created whales and every living creature that moves which the waters brought forth abundantly after their kind.

[51:09] And God blessed them saying be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters and the seas. And God created this beautiful amazing ecosystem. He created this creation this water and then here every living creature in the sea dies.

[51:26] It's stinking and it's destroyed the fishing industry. And that's what sin does. The effect of sin is it corrupts. It kills.

[51:38] It stinks and it's ugly. And this is a picture of that. Have you ever seen that video of back in the day in the 70s the cameraman's there in front of that big bloated whale on the beach and like the local municipality thought the best thing to do because it was so like bloated with gas was to blow it up with dynamite.

[52:00] It's like oh it's gross. But I mean everything's gonna be like that. No one's gonna be going to the beach. And that's what sin does.

[52:11] Sin takes something wonderful and beautiful and alive and it just makes it stinky and ugly and gross. And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters and they became blood.

[52:24] In Revelation chapter 8 a third of the waters when Wormwood Falls a third of the waters are destroyed. A third of the ocean is turned to blood. Here now is the fulfillment of this.

[52:35] The whole thing. This is the end of rebellion. The bitter end of rebellion is blood and wrath. Think though how much blood has been poured into this earth.

[52:47] How much innocent blood. How much blood of the saints. I was reading in Nigeria is an average of 17 Christians killed a day right now. In Syria they're slaughtering people.

[53:00] In Mozambique was it? They're slaughtering Christians. An average of 17 Christians in Nigeria being put to death. They're going and destroying villages. So much blood. How many babies have been put to death?

[53:14] How many babies a day across the world in and out of the womb? So the earth is giving back what's been given into it. Out comes blood.

[53:25] The earth is bleeding. The earth is giving back its blood. And I heard the angel of the waters say, thou art righteous, O Lord, which art and was and shall be because you have judged us.

[53:38] The one who transcends time, the one who is and was and shall be, he is able to justly administer his righteousness at every moment of time.

[53:49] He alone is able to justly administer. There will be a day where the earth will, it says, scripture says that the earth is groaning, waiting for the redemption of the adoption of the sons of the sons of God.

[54:03] It will be a day where the earth will give forth the blood that has been poured into it. And God is the one who is able to administer that justly.

[54:16] For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets and thou has given them blood to drink for they are worthy. You see, all people are worthy of God's judgment.

[54:27] All of us, none of us escape that. It only waits to be seen what type of worth someone places in God's judgment. We're all worthy of God's judgment, but what type of worth do we place in God's judgment?

[54:42] What type of worth do we place in the God who judges? That determines where we fall in God's judgment. You are under God's judgment, but if you come under the judgment of the cross, you are not under his wrath.

[54:55] If you do not receive God's judgment of the cross, well, then all that's left is just a drink full of the judgment upon those who have rejected him. See, those who deem God worthy will also deem his people and his judgments worthy.

[55:10] They've killed the blood of the prophets and the saints. They've not deemed you worthy, God, they've not deemed your people worthy, and they've not deemed your judgments worthy. We live in a day where God's people are not deemed worthy.

[55:22] New York City just elected a mayor who is anti-Israel, anti-God, anti-people. people. We live in a day where God's people are not deemed worthy, where they are attacked without cause or provocation, and if they dare to respond in defense, they're maligned and hated and all kinds of things said about them.

[55:52] Genesis 17, the Lord said to Abraham, I will establish my covenant between me and you and your seat after you and their generations for an everlasting covenant. To be a God unto you and to your seat after you, and I will give it unto you and to your seat after you, the land wherein you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession.

[56:13] I will be their God. How long is everlasting? I sure hope it's still going because I'm trusting an everlasting life, and if God cuts his everlasting covenant with Israel short, well, what if he cuts his covenant of everlasting life?

[56:28] It's interesting scripture tucked away in Ezekiel, and it's a lot of text, but I'm going to put it up there just so you can read along with it. Ezekiel 36, therefore, say unto the house of Israel, thus saith the Lord God, I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for my holy namesake, which you have profaned among the heathen where you've went.

[56:48] And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which you have profaned in the midst of them, and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, saith the Lord God, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.

[57:02] He says, I didn't do this for you, Israel. I did it for my namesake. I will take you from among the heathen, and I will gather you out of all countries, and I will bring you into your own land. Has God done that?

[57:12] He has. He has. God deems his promises, his covenant, and his people worthy, and so should we. Praise God.

[57:23] He does it for his namesake. You know why we are held in Christ so securely? It's for his namesake. It's for his glory. Our last verse for tonight. And I heard another out of the altar say, even so, Lord God Almighty, even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are your judgments.

[57:45] Another one from out of the altar. Remember, that's the altar of incense, and under the altar in Revelation 6, it says that I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God and the testimony which they held.

[57:57] And they cried with a loud voice saying, how long, O Lord, holy and true, does thou not judge and avenge our blood on them which dwell on the earth? Those 17 Christians killed a day in Nigeria, how long, O Lord, till you avenge our blood?

[58:15] Those, the people that were the tribulation saints there under the altar, and here a voice comes out. It says, I heard another. I think it means another angel speaking, or it could be another voice. Either way, coming out from this place, where the people are, who are saying to the Lord, O Lord, how long, O Lord?

[58:33] And then they say, even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are your judgments. Almighty means one who holds sway or authority over all. The one who holds authority over all, he does so in truth and in righteousness.

[58:49] Holy and true, O God. True and righteous are your judgments. He is the one who holds authority over all, and he holds that authority in truth and in righteousness.

[59:05] The purpose of God's wrath is not destruction, but deliverance. Many will be saved in wrath and out of wrath, but that does not negate the truth that God preserves from wrath those who are no longer under wrath.

[59:23] For you and I, we've been eternally and temporally saved by the cross, what Jesus did. That is a comfort to us. Those words are comforts, and they are a comfort we can take into the world, and we can declare to them, and they say, aren't you afraid?

[59:39] I mean, look what's going on in the economy, look what's going on in the world, look what's happening, what if they start putting people to death, what if they, I have such a comfort, such a comfort, because what, you know, what does Paul say?

[59:52] None of these things move me, neither count I life my life, dear, that may have finished my course with joy. Guys, I've been removed from God's wrath, okay? What else could you threaten me with? I've got heaven in front of me, and the Almighty God always administers rightly, for God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, and that is of great comfort.

[60:16] comforted. I hope you are comforted tonight by the love that God has for you, and by the truth of his word. All the way back in Genesis, Abraham's like, wait, God, I know you. You're either going to have to preserve this place because the righteous are there, or you're going to have to remove the righteous.

[60:33] Right now, we live in a place that God, because of our presence, and because of what he's doing in this world, is preserving this world. There will come a time where God will say, the time for my preservation has passed, and I'll bring my judgment, and I'll wrap this up, and we will see the culmination of that through these next couple chapters, and then we get to be in chapter 19, where we see the Lord comes and sets up his righteous kingdom, and then after that, an everlasting kingdom.

[61:00] Right? Let's pray. God, we thank you, Lord. We thank you, Lord, that there is no time that you've appointed for us for wrath, Lord.

[61:11] We are not a target of your wrath, Lord. Lord, thank you so much, Lord, that we have the comfort of knowing that Jesus, Jesus is the one for all of eternity that will preserve us, that will preserve us in the life, and the resurrection, and the power, and the hope, and the victory, and the joy of all that you did on our behalf, Lord.

[61:40] We thank you for that. Lord, I pray that you would send us out into this world, Lord, to be light, to be salt, Lord, to do it from a place of rest and a place of comfort, Lord.

[61:50] There's a door open in heaven for us, which no man can shut, and one day you will call us up there, Lord. One day, Lord, in perfect peace and comfort and rest you will call us. Lord, maybe there are many believers, and there are right now, Lord, who are being called to go through that door, and it seems like they're enduring such wrath, and such anger, and such hatred from this world, and from the enemy, and yet, Lord, we have the testimony through history from Stephen on down of those who at the point of death, when they should be suffering the most pain and the most suffering, were with joy in their hearts, and an expression of hope in their eyes, and their faces glowing.

[62:31] They look up because they realize all there is in front of them, and the love that is in front of them is comfort. Thank you, Lord. We pray for our brothers and sisters tonight, Lord. We pray that you would comfort them.

[62:42] We pray for their protection, Lord. Lord, we pray that you would keep them, Lord, from the wickedness of this world, Lord. But, Lord, if you have called them, Lord, if you have called them to wear that crown of the martyr, Lord, if you said, I've got something really special for you, then, God, give them grace.

[62:59] Give them grace, give them boldness, and let them be like Stephen, that though they're persecutors, Lord, come against them, they would see that his face shown, that their faces shine like an angel, Lord.

[63:14] Lord, we love you, and we trust you. In Jesus' name, amen.