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[0:00] Alright, so where are we? Revelation 14, last time we did chapter 13, we finished that up with the beast and the false prophet. The creature, the beast in the Greek, the creatures, but the beast that came out of the sea, and then the false prophet, so the one that came out of the sea, he had the heads and the horns and all of that.

[0:19] And then the false prophet came out of the earth and he looked like a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon. And that's where we ended last time. And now we are in Revelation 14, and we will not get to the harvest.

[0:33] Hopefully we'll get through verse 13 is the goal tonight, and we'll see what happens. As we're continuing to look at heaven's perspective of what's happening during this period of God's judgment on the earth.

[0:46] And God's judgment is an interesting theme that is all through tonight, and it's like all over Sunday as well, where like Moses is talking with the Lord, and the Lord's like, bam, I'm going to pour out my wrath, get out of my way.

[0:59] So those of you that come Sunday, you get the bonus for seeing the continuity and flow of that. So heaven, if you remember, looks at things differently than we do. As we say every time we look at things linearly, we look at things chronologically.

[1:18] Heaven sees things event-based. It sees our lives that way. God sees our lives as one continuous event. He sees us. He knows who we are. We go through periods where it's like, oh, it's a fruitful period, and oh, it's not so fruitful, or that's a great time. It's not a great time.

[1:34] The Lord sees the whole thing. He sees the whole thing, and He's got the whole thing in His mind, and He knows how it's going to turn out. And He's working with us through our whole lives, because from His perspective, He just says, yeah, this is mine. This is my son, my daughter.

[1:52] You know, we may look at the fact that we're very barren right now, maybe, and the Lord looks at the whole and says, yeah, but I see all of the fruit in the end, and I see it all come together. Last time in Revelation 13, we looked at the mark very specifically.

[2:10] In verse 18, here is wisdom. Let him that has understanding count the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is 600, three score and six, 666. And I don't know what that is, and neither do you.

[2:22] And neither does anyone, because understanding will be given when understanding is needed. Here is wisdom. Let him that understands. Well, at that time, understanding will be given. It will need to be given, and there will be wisdom.

[2:35] Right now, we don't know what it is, and you can try and do all kinds of stuff. And if you want to spend a lot of time some afternoon doing something, look at what everybody thinks about the number 666.

[2:46] Either way, this number will be upon those that at that time choose to not only just follow the Antichrist, just follow his system, but it's a sign of worship.

[3:00] It's to take it upon themselves. This globally mandated, it'll be a visible identification, but it's attached to worship. The whole idea behind this is it has to do with worship. This decision that man will make at that time will hinge, their eternal destiny will hinge upon it.

[3:16] You know, we don't think about that. We don't think of the decisions we make and how it affects our eternity. And though hopefully we've all made the decision that our eternal destiny hinges upon to put our faith in Christ, the decisions we make daily are part of that whole, are part of that whole picture, that whole event of our life and who we are.

[3:34] That will bear fruit into eternity. So tonight we're going to look at where last time we looked at some creatures. Tonight we're going to focus on a cup, a couple different cups, and they're going to be overflowing cups.

[3:49] As we get into the text here in Revelation 14. Revelation 14 is somewhat chronological and somewhat event based. And that's what we find with a lot of Revelation.

[3:59] It's not that it's like we can pick and choose and rearrange things that, well, I think chapter 17 should come before chapter 3 or whatever. But the Lord, a lot of times, like he did with the Antichrist, with the beast in Revelation 13, he gave us the whole overview, which brought us up to speed to what he's talking about at the time.

[4:17] And it's kind of a little bit what happens in Revelation 14. If you want to turn to Obadiah, you can. I'll put it on the screen because if you're like me, you're going to be like, it's somewhere between Matthew and those bigger prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah.

[4:33] But in Obadiah, chapter 1, beginning in verse 15, Obadiah is kind of speaking to what we're reading about in Revelation. The minor prophets are very much heavily laden with prophecy regarding this time period of Revelation, regarding the seven-year period of Jacob's trouble, regarding the period when God will focus upon fulfilling his promises to Israel.

[4:57] And to do that, he has to first bring Israel in repentance to him so that he can set up his kingdom. But in Obadiah, chapter 1, verse 15, it says, For the day of the Lord is near upon all the heathen, and as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee.

[5:12] Thy reward shall return upon thine own head. And there's that phrase, the day of the Lord, the day of the Lord. And that is the day of the Lord, his judgment and his return when he sets up his kingdom.

[5:23] For as you have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the heathen drink continually. Yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been.

[5:35] But upon Mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness, and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. In light of that scripture, let's read Revelation 14, verse 1.

[5:49] And I looked, and lo, a lamb, John says, stood on the Mount Zion, and with him 144,000, having his father's name written in their foreheads. But upon Mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness.

[6:01] So here we have these 144,000, which we originally saw in Revelation chapter 7, if you remember. In the midst of the seal judgments, before these four angels at the four corners of the earth could go out to harm the earth.

[6:16] He says, first, seal those. Hurt not the earth, nor the sea, nor the trees, till ye have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. And John says, I heard the number of them which were sealed.

[6:27] And they were 144,000 of the tribes of the children of Israel. So these are specifically 144,000 Jews that God had sealed. Again, we're getting more information about them now.

[6:39] We're getting a further picture of this event that heaven sees the whole, every piece of. So John says, I looked, and lo, a lamb stood on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000.

[6:50] So is that currently in the midst of this seven years he's seeing that? Or is he saying, man, I looked, and I saw that even though there was a beast that came out of the sea, and even though there was a beast that came out of the earth, and even though there was these men that were marked, what I saw was, in the end, there was just a lamb.

[7:07] No beast could overcome the lamb. And in the end, I saw men marked in their forehead, but it was 144,000 whom God had marked. And in the end, there's only one group of followers that remain, and it's those that have followed the lamb.

[7:22] Luke 21, 36. Luke is the parallel passage, Luke 21 to Matthew 24, when the disciples and the people are asking, well, what shall be the sign of the end? And of your coming.

[7:34] And Jesus says, Watch you, therefore, and pray always, that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.

[7:45] Now, if we just read that, and think, oh, yes, to be counted worthy, and think, well, wait a minute. Is he talking to me? Is he talking to believers? To be counted worthy? Well, Titus chapter 3, verse 5 through 7 says, This is not my worth.

[8:09] It's not my works of righteousness, which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior. That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

[8:20] My worth, my worthiness in and of myself has no bearing upon my eternal inheritance that's based in grace. As Paul writes to Titus, we shouldn't be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life because we've been justified by grace.

[8:34] So what is he talking about here? Well, if you read it in context of the people we've just been reading about, he's saying, hey, you who are alive during the seven-year period, watch and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things, to escape out of all these things that shall come to pass and stand before the Son of Man.

[8:53] In other words, believer, during the time of the seven-year troubles, man, you want to be one who makes it to the end. Now, if you die, then you will be raised at the end of the seven years.

[9:04] It says that those who have been put to death during that period will be raised. But Jesus is saying here, hey, watch and pray always that you may be counted worthy. And again, it's not like a worth having to do with a moral worth.

[9:16] It's saying that the ability to maintain during this time period will be watching in prayer. That you may be stand before the Son of Man. And there will be those at the end of that period of God's judgment who will stand before the Son of Man.

[9:31] And I think they're going to be exhausted. And like, I can't believe we made it. We made it. And Jesus has come to judge this world.

[9:42] So in the end, only one beast, and it's a lamb, only one creature, only one mark. And it's the mark of, it doesn't even say the mark of Jesus, it's the mark of his father.

[9:54] And only one group of followers will remain. And John says, after all of these creatures I've seen, and after all of this, I looked and there's the lamb. With those 144,000.

[10:04] And he says, and he heard something, he heard a voice from heaven. John's always hearing things. And I've heard a voice from heaven as the voice of many waters and as the voice of a great thunder.

[10:15] And I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps. I like King James. You know, I heard the voice, I heard guitarists guitaring with their guitars, right? But I think, I like that.

[10:26] Because when God gives us something, he equips us to use it. You know, when I get my harp in heaven, like, I wonder how you use. He equips us to use it. You're not going to be the one guy standing there, like, out of tune and like, I don't know how to use this thing.

[10:40] No, he'll equip us. What God gives us, he equips us to use. So John, right on the heels of probably the worst news in the midst of all this, seeing this beast and understanding who he is and what he will do to the world and the dragon which has been cast down to the earth and how he'll make war with the saints at the time and overcome them.

[11:02] Then in chapter 14, it's like the Lord says, hey, but don't get discouraged. Let me tell you how it's going to end. Don't listen to those voices.

[11:13] Listen to the one here from heaven. And we've heard this voice before in Revelation. A voice from heaven with the voice of, as the voice of many waters and as the voice of great thunder. So we have one voice.

[11:24] I heard a voice as many waters and as great thunder. So that's what it sounded like, but it's a single voice. The harpers are multiple. I heard the voice of harpers, multiple, harping with their harps.

[11:37] But this first voice in Revelation 115, as John turns and sees Jesus walking in the midst of the church, the seven candlesticks, lampstands representing the seven churches, says in his feet were like undefined brass as if they burned in a furnace and his voice as the sound of many waters.

[11:55] And so we've heard this voice before. This voice now is coming from heaven. Interesting. The voice that was Revelation one through three was where?

[12:06] In the midst of the candlesticks on the earth. Now this voice is where? It's in heaven. No longer dwelling in the way that it was upon the earth. Revelation four, verse five, John saw that out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices.

[12:22] And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God. So he hears this voice, but we don't get told what it says. What is it saying? What is this voice from heaven that John hears saying?

[12:34] Is it speaking to this 144,000? I assume. What is it saying? I don't know. But I like to think maybe, maybe it's saying something like this. Well done. Good and faithful servant.

[12:46] You've been faithful over a few things. You made it guys. Good job. I'll make you rule over many things. Enter into the joy of the Lord. I'd like to think maybe that was the voice. I'd like to think that I'm going to hear that voice.

[12:58] I know one part of that voice. I'm going to hear. Enter into the joy of the Lord. I'm like, Lord, I made it. And he's like, well, yeah, I expect a little more.

[13:08] But anyway, enter into the joy of the Lord. It's all good. And then the harpers. So who are the harpers? We've seen harps before, too.

[13:19] And those with these harps. Again, back in Revelation 5, it says John in the beginning of chapter 4, it says that he was taken up to heaven. It's the same word that Paul uses in Thessalonians, harpazo.

[13:32] It is to snatch away. The same word for harpoon, to quickly and suddenly motion. So John is harpazo'd to heaven. And it says in Revelation 5, verse 8, and when he had, speaking of Jesus, when he takes the scroll, he says he took the book.

[13:47] And the four creatures and the four and twenty elders fell down before the lamb. And those four and twenty elders, this is referring to, have every one of them a harp. And a golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers of the saints.

[14:00] And they sang a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, to open the seals thereof, for thou was slain and has redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation, and made us unto our God kings and priests, and we shall reign on the earth.

[14:18] So we've already seen these harpers, and that's the ones it's referring to, that are harping. Well, who are these? Who are these people? We've talked about it before. There's only one group of people that can sing that song.

[14:31] That was slain and has redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred, tongue and people and nation. The only people that can sing that song are those who've been redeemed, who've put their faith in Christ. But the second part of that song that can only be sung by the church.

[14:45] Old Testament saints can't sing it. The saints that will be, that will be reading, have been reading about that are during the seven years, they can't sing it. And has made us unto our God kings and priests, and we shall reign on the earth.

[14:57] There's only two people in history that were kings and priests. First one was Melchizedek. He was the king of Salem, priest of the most high God. Jesus comes along, and we're told in Hebrews that he was made a priest after the order of Melchizedek, as a king and a priest.

[15:13] I think it was Asa in, um, one of the kings of Israel. He was one who did that which is right in the eyes of the Lord. But toward the end of his reign, he decided he was going to go as king, and he was going to go and offer incense in the temple.

[15:26] He was going to go and take up the role of the priest. And they tried to stop him. They said, no, don't do this. You can't do this. And he went in, and it said his body was covered in leprosy. He was like, no, that's not for you.

[15:37] There's only one, two people. And then there's this group of people which are attached to one of those people, right? Because we are his body. We are his body. We are one with him.

[15:48] Revelation chapter one, we read that. As John is introducing himself and Jesus as the author of Revelation, he says, John, to the seven churches which are in Asia, grace be unto you and peace from him which is and was and is to come, and from the seven spirits which are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth.

[16:12] Unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and has made us kings and priests unto God and his father. It's almost the same wording that we read about there in Revelation 5.

[16:24] He's washed us in his blood and made us kings and priests. To him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. So you have these voices in heaven. You have the voice from the throne.

[16:35] You have the believers that are there, the church. And these heavenly voices, they're going to join with the earthly voices. Because it says in verse three that the 144,000, they sang as it were a new song before the throne and before the four beasts and the elders.

[16:52] And no man could learn that song but the 144,000, which were redeemed from the earth. So it's a special song that they get to sing, you know. Their feet are upon earth.

[17:07] John sees them standing upon Mount Zion. He sees them with the lamb. But it says here that their song was sung before the throne. You know, as we just did worship, right? Our feet are on the earth.

[17:18] But man, as you worship the Lord, that praise to the Lord, it transports us to heaven in a sense. It puts us in the presence of God. It allows us to come into his presence in a way that very few other things can.

[17:29] Right? You can have a moment where the Lord just, he comes on you by spirit or you're reading and it moves you and, or in prayer. But worship does something and praise is just different. And how it just brings you, you just feel that you're before God, that he loves you.

[17:43] And you can just tell it back to him. And he receives that. Zephaniah 317, another one of those that's somewhere between Isaiah, Jeremiah, Zephaniah, Malachi, somewhere in there.

[17:56] The Lord, thy God in the midst of thee is mighty and he will save. He will rejoice over you with joy. He will rest in his love and he will joy over you with singing. Man, as awesome as it is to praise the Lord and as awesome as it's going to be someday to be standing there and singing that song to the lamb, worthy is the lamb that was slain.

[18:15] And then we're all going to go quiet because God's going to sing because Jesus is going to sing. I don't know what that's going to sound like, but it's not going to be off key. And it's not going to be some style.

[18:27] Nobody likes. It's going to be the most amazing, beautiful sound ever. He will joy over you with singing. I hope you take joy in worshiping the Lord.

[18:39] And they sang as it were a new song and only those that were redeemed from the earth, 144,000 at this time were able to sing this song. So the songs of the saints are sung in heaven, but they're learned on earth, right?

[18:55] We will sing these songs in heaven, but they're learned here. So it says there'll be a new song. Yes, but the songs we sing are based on what God has done for us here. If God hasn't done anything for us here, we're not going to have anything to sing about up there.

[19:09] It's like what Jesus said to the Pharisee. When the woman who came in and washed his feet, like if they, if he knew what this woman was, she's a sinner and he's letting her touch him.

[19:20] And he said, he was forgiven much loves much, loves much. Man, do you have anything to give back to him? We have to have received something first before you have anything to give back.

[19:31] And it's the same. If we have nothing, God has done for us. We have nothing to worship him for. We've used this word a few times now, saint. You know, we said the saints, there's saints in the old Testament.

[19:44] There's saints of the church. There's saints here in this, this period in revelation. What is a saint? Is it a, just a statue or a picture that someone has it somewhere, you know?

[19:55] What is it? Is it someone who's dead? Well, saint literally just means set apart for God, exclusively his. So it says the saints. It just means someone who has, who is God's belongs to God.

[20:07] Paul would tell us we are bought with a price. We are not our own. So these 144,000, they are not part of the church. They are not part of the elders. As we've seen that we're in heaven, but like the church, they are identified with heaven.

[20:23] In the same way as the church, which is in heaven, these men are also identified with heaven. And we have some more description about them in verse four. These are they, which were not defiled with women for they are virgins.

[20:38] These are they, which follow the lamb with or so ever he goes. And third thing is these were redeemed from among men being the first fruits under God into the lamb. Interesting description here.

[20:51] We have about them that, that we're being told here. Okay. They, they weren't married, right? They, they were just saints in the sense that they were truly set apart exclusively for God.

[21:02] Why weren't they married? Well, I think Jesus kind of alludes to this in Matthew 24. Speaking of these days, specifically of the abomination of death, desolation.

[21:14] Woe unto them that are with child and then that give suck in those days, but pray you that your flight be not in winter, neither on the Sabbath day for then shall be great tribulation. Such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

[21:29] Do you suffer tribulation today? Man, I do. It's not usually that someone's going to hunt me down and kill me. It's usually, man, I feel hunted in here. Right? But specifically, Jesus says, this is a period of tribulation that is nothing like the world has ever experienced.

[21:45] And at that time he says, Hey man, it's going to be hard for those with kids. Paul would say in first Corinthians chapter seven, towards the end, he says in verse 29, this, I say, brethren, the time is short.

[21:59] If it was short back then, Paul, it must be real short. Now it remains that both they that have wives be as though they had none. Well, we just did Ephesians five for men's discipleship this past Sunday about, you know, cherishing our wives.

[22:12] But now we know we don't even have to worry about them. It says to be not because if we don't have them and they that weep as though they weep not and they that rejoice as though they rejoice not. And they that buy as though they possess not.

[22:23] And they that use this world as not abusing it for the fashion of this world passes away. But I would have you without carefulness, or I would have you not be anxious about these things.

[22:34] He that is unmarried, well, he cares for the things that belong to the Lord. He can be fully dedicated to the Lord, how he may please the Lord. But he that is married cares, that same word, for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife.

[22:49] That's not a bad thing. Paul is just simply declaring there is a time where God can use your life in a state of being unmarried and single that, you know, guys, you just can't say, well, honey, I don't really care.

[23:04] I'm going out. What's he saying here? That wives men should live as though they had no wives as if they weren't married. What he's saying is that there is a greater focus and a greater priority to our lives than just what we're doing right here.

[23:15] And in this world. So for these men, it was not a time for them to be seeking to establish their own life. It was not a time for them to be building families or putting down roots here.

[23:27] He said, Paul says the time is short. And you know, whether Jesus comes tomorrow or 40 years from now, I'm not going to be here. I hope I'm not here 40 years from now.

[23:37] I'd like to go before that. I'm not going to be here a hundred years from now. Right? I'm not. So my time is short in that there is a limited period of time. Now I may have 40 years left.

[23:50] Henry may have a whole lot longer, but it is still a limited amount of time. So no matter how much it is, it is limited. So it is short. It will be shortened. There will be an end to that.

[24:02] So these men, they're to live in such a way where they are fully dedicated to God. But I also think consider the time that they're living in. Consider the day and age that they would be living in.

[24:13] Paul writes to Timothy. And first Timothy four. And he says, the spirit speaks expressly that in the latter times, some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils.

[24:26] So what follows is doctrines of devils that are seeking to seduce people away from the truth, forbidding to marry, commanding to abstain from meats, thinking that somehow through what we take into our bodies, we can make ourselves holy or, or acceptable to God, which God has created to be received with thanksgiving of them, which believe and know the truth.

[24:49] It's forbidding to marry. So these men, they're going to be living in a world that has defiled marriage. Has it made marriage something that's defiling? I, I wonder if marriage will be outlawed, you know?

[25:02] Oh no, no, nobody's going to get married. You know, there's going to be no public ceremonies of marriage anymore or whatever it is. I mean, what have they done with marriage today? A man can marry a man. I mean, marriage become defiled.

[25:13] It's something that unfortunately was not what God intended it to be. And during this time where the dragons cast to earth, the Antichrist is ruling with his system. I have no idea what it's going to look like.

[25:25] And so for these men, they are to be fully dedicated to God. I think there's some characteristics here. We can look of God's marked men. They have the, they have God's sign upon them. I think we imply them to ourselves.

[25:36] I think they are universal. God's marked men. They're undefiled. They've kept themselves pure. They've kept themselves for the Lord. They've not let the world defile them. They're unattached.

[25:48] There's nothing that is more important to them than their service to the Lord and what he's called them to do. They're immovable. I love that. They are standing with the lamb on Mount Zion and they're not moving.

[26:00] They cannot be bought. They didn't take the mark. No matter what the cost, no matter what price may need to be paid. And we will get to the harvest next time.

[26:12] They're ready for harvest. But it says here that these are the first fruits unto God and the lamb. What does that mean? The first fruits. You know, the scripture says Jesus is the first fruits of the resurrection from the dead.

[26:24] It tells us, it says that we are first fruits unto God. So what does this respond? Is this, is this the church? I mean, Jared, you've been making this case that this isn't the church.

[26:35] So who is it? Well, it's the first fruits of who? Israel. First fruits of Israel. The first fruits of the 144,000 that are going to say, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. And at the time of Jesus's return, all of Israel at that time, believing Israel will say, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

[26:51] And so here are the first fruits that God has called out of Israel. And in their mouth was found no guile, there's no deceit for they are without fault before the throne of God. Back in Zephaniah, that book tucked away there in the, in the prophets.

[27:06] Zephaniah 3, 13 says the remnant of Israel shall do no iniquity nor speak lies. Neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth for they shall feed and lie down and none shall make them afraid.

[27:18] Prophesying of this period of these people, the remnant of Israel. They shall do no iniquity nor speak lies as the remnant of Israel today doing no iniquity.

[27:29] No, there is rebellion to God still. Neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth. Revelation 14, 5 In their mouth was found no guile, for they shall feed and lie down and none shall make them afraid.

[27:42] They are sealed and kept by God. Their fruit matches their root and their speech matches their standing. Jesus says in, or not Jesus, John writes in 1 John 2, 21.

[27:58] He says, I've not written unto you because you don't know the truth, but because you know it and that no lie is of the truth. No lie is of the truth. There are those who are of the truth who speak lies.

[28:14] Sadly, there are those who claim the name of Christ who say that they're of the truth and may genuinely be so. But they speak lies. But no lie is of the truth.

[28:26] So how do you know? How do you know? I mean, this guy, he's, he's, I love him. I trust him. He seems so genuine. He's got a big ministry. And I, how do I know? Well, what is he saying? What is he saying? Does it line up with the truth?

[28:38] Because no lie is of the truth. God's throne is a throne of truth. And so ought to be his people. And Jude verses 24 and 25, Jude says now unto him that is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.

[28:58] To the only wise God, our savior be glory and majesty, dominion and power both now and forever. Amen. God is able to present us faultless. God is able to do that. They were without fault before the throne of God.

[29:11] And if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. And we stand without fault before the throne as well. Verse six. I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven.

[29:22] So we've had a whole slew of angels. And now we're gonna have these three angels. And he sees the first one. I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach and to preach to them that dwell on the earth. And to every nation and kindred and tongue and people.

[29:34] This is a direct fulfillment of Matthew 24, 14, where Jesus speaking of these times says, and this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations.

[29:46] And then shall the end come. You know, I grew up in the church and I had heard that, well, like every person has to hear the gospel. And as soon as every person in the world does, Jesus comes.

[29:57] It's like, man, I wish we could find that last guy who hasn't heard. Right? This, that's not what it means. Yes. Every person will hear the gospel. Yes. God desires all to be saved. And we need to get the gospel out there.

[30:08] But this is directly talking about here in Revelation verse six, that yeah, the everlasting gospel will be preached unto them that dwell on the earth to every nation and kindred tongue and people.

[30:19] And then shall the end come the end when Jesus returns to set up his kingdom. So even in a time of God's judgment and wrath, God is still not willing that any should perish.

[30:31] Second Peter three, nine, the Lord is not slack concerning his promise. Singular as some men count slackness, but is long suffering to us word, not willing that any should perish, but all should come to repentance.

[30:44] He's specifically talking about, he's not slack concerning his promise to return, but Hey, do not know the long suffering of the Lord is salvation. And again, here we are because of that 2000 plus year long suffering of the Lord.

[30:56] So this is good news. It's an unchanging and everlasting gospel, but it's only good news to who? Those who receive it. It's not very good news to those who don't receive it.

[31:11] Even in judgment, God always acts according to his nature and according to his character. James two 13, for he shall have judgment without mercy that has showed no mercy and mercy rejoices against judgment.

[31:26] God doesn't show judgment without mercy. God loves mercy. Judgment establishes the reality and the ability of God to have mercy. In Exodus 34, we will get there soon is when the Lord passes by before Moses.

[31:43] And he says, this is my name, Moses, the Lord God, merciful, gracious, long suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. And that will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, upon the children's children, under the third and fourth generation.

[32:02] Oh, wait a minute. He just said he forgave our sins, but it will not clear the guilty. No, he won't clear the guilty. He cannot just clear it and say, yeah, yeah. Okay. Okay. Okay. But he will forgive the guilty. And this is who the Lord is.

[32:15] Even in, even in judgment, his nature and character does not change. Verse seven saying with a loud voice, fear God and give glory to him for the hour of his judgment has come and worship him.

[32:26] And that made heaven and earth and the sea and the fountains of water. There's no escaping this. There's no plugging your ears. And I don't want to hear this. And God will make sure that all are with men or without excuse.

[32:39] The hour of his judgment has come. The truth must be faced and the truth must be acknowledged. The timing of that fact determines one's eternity, right?

[32:51] Everyone will face, face the truth and everyone will acknowledge the truth. But the timing of that 100% depends on someone's where their eternity will be spent. Philippians two, verse nine, God has highly exalted him and given him a name, which is above every name that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow of things in heaven, things in earth, things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God, the father, every tongue is going to confess, but the timing of that one's eternity hinges upon.

[33:25] God is the one here in control of all that's taking place. You know, we've seen a lot of what appears to be natural phenomena happening throughout this book with the earthquakes and the seas turning to blood and the trees being burnt up and whatever man may think at that time.

[33:46] There will be an angel that will fly through heaven and say, Oh no, this isn't natural phenomena. This is God. This is God. This is your creator. The one that has done this to the earth, the sea, and the fountains of water.

[34:01] Romans 1 20 says, for the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power in Godhead.

[34:13] So they are without excuse. God's creation declares God's power and Godhead. He is the authority. There is a creator. This is creation declares. Now, creation does not declare the gospel, but it declares a God who has created that we are accountable to.

[34:31] At this time, this is where it says here, the angel will say, it is the hour of his judgment. There are those who will only be saved out of a time of judgment.

[34:41] At this time, they will be saved out of that time of judgment. We are not living in a time of judgment. We are living in the age of grace. And how wonderful to have been saved from judgment during a time of grace.

[34:55] How wonderful to not have to come under a time of God's judgment. Yes, they will be saved by grace out of judgment. We have been saved by grace from judgment.

[35:06] We will not experience God's judgment. In fact, for God to put judgment upon the church, which would be to put judgment upon his body for sin would be unjust because then the cross had no effect.

[35:19] Essentially when Moses strikes the rock the second time, Lord says, I'm sorry, Moses, that, that goes across. I can't have you representing me in the land of promise because that's not how it works.

[35:31] I'm not struck a second time. It was enough. The first time. Ephesians two verses four through seven, but God who is rich in mercy for his great love, wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins has quickened us together with Christ by grace.

[35:47] You are saved. And has raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. That in the ages to come, he might show the exceeding riches of his grace and his kindness towards us through Jesus Christ.

[36:02] Man, what a great promise. What a wonderful truth that this is God's heart for those who would receive him now. Romans five, eight, and nine, but God commends his love towards us.

[36:16] And that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. While we were yet sinners, he died for us. Was his payment enough? Was his sacrifice enough? It was, it was.

[36:27] Verse nine, then says something interesting in Romans five, verse eight, God commends his love towards us. And that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. If you put your faith in Jesus Christ, whosoever believes on him shall be saved.

[36:41] But then verse nine says much more than being now justified by his blood. I am now saved. We shall be saved. But I thought I'm already saved.

[36:53] We shall be saved from wrath through him. So yes, we've been saved. And yet the Lord says, I'm, I've, I've sacrificed my son.

[37:03] While you were yet sinners, I died for you. You are justified by my blood. Therefore, you will be saved from wrath, not through wrath or for wrath.

[37:15] First Thessalonians one 10. Paul says that we are to wait for his son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from wrath to come.

[37:25] Are we reading about a period of God's wrath? That is to come a specific. Yes, we are. And we're told that God has, Paul has told us that we have been saved from wrath, which is to come.

[37:37] There is a wrath to come. It would be unjust. If God tomorrow morning looked down on his church and said, I don't know, let's just pick some, I'll pick kitty.

[37:50] So, you know what? I'm going to judge her for her sins. I'm going to judge her for her sins. She is under condemnation. Would that be just? No. For God tomorrow morning to look down and say, I'm going to pour out my wrath upon her.

[38:06] Would that be just? It would not. It would be unjust. God's wrath is only reserved for sin. So either in this period of wrath, we either kept from it or kept through it.

[38:21] And from what I see with the scripture says, it seems that we are kept from wrath, specifically the wording there. Verse eight, and they followed another, and there followed another angel. So angel one goes through the barn and then the second one comes on out.

[38:34] And he says, Babylon has fallen, has fallen. That great city, because she's made all nations to drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. Babylon. I don't really heard too much about Babylon.

[38:45] Babylon is the religious and political system. And at times it's represented by a city. It is the, it represents the religious and political system that is against God.

[38:55] That was started at the tower of Babel. And at times it is also a city. There's also times where it talks about it as more of a philosophical, like a religious and political system.

[39:08] Babylon is alive and well today. Very much so. All nations to drink the wine of the wrath of her fornication. What is the cup of wine in the new cup in the, under the new covenant represent represents communion, represents oneness with something.

[39:24] And so they've been made to drink of this cup of the wrath of her fornication. They've been brought into this oneness with her. Ecumenism, ecumenicalism, ecumenism, ecumenicalism.

[39:39] It looks like unity, but it's in fact, deadly poison. It can look like unity, but it's a deadly poison that, that will eventually result in this one world. Religion.

[39:51] The false cup of religion is a cup that places man under God's wrath, or I would say keeps man under God's wrath. Ephesians chapter four, that we are told to keep the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace.

[40:07] And then he says, there's one body and one spirit, even as you called are called in one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and father of all who's above all and through all. And in you all, that's a lot of oneness.

[40:18] It's a lot of singleness though. We're to keep unity in one body and one spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and father of all, not two faiths, not multi-faith, not a faith initiative.

[40:31] And the third angel followed them saying with a loud voice, if any man worship the beast and his image and receive his mark in his forehand or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God.

[40:43] So man, you want to drink from the world's cup? You'll be drinking from the, the wrath, uh, the cup of God's wrath. So this third angel follows, you know, Paul would write in second Corinthians 13 one, he says, this is the third time I'm coming to you and the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.

[41:03] I picture this like, you know, when you're driving and you're a kid and your parents driving, if I have to turn around one more time, you know, I think this is Paul like, this is the third time I'm coming to you. And in the mouth of two or three witnesses, shall every word be established.

[41:16] It's like, guys, this, you need to get this down, but what is a faithful messenger? A faithful messenger, like the, these angels simply magnifies the message. They're taking a message that is not their own.

[41:29] And they're magnifying it for others to hear. That's what these faithful angels, angels are doing. The weight of a message is not determined by the messenger, right? It's a big messenger.

[41:39] Wow. This angel. Holy cow. Well, you know what? That same message can be in the voice of a child, right? It can be the same message that we have. The message, the size of the message and the weight of the message isn't determined by the messenger, but by the message's source.

[41:56] What is the source of the message? So whether angel or man or book, we should heed the message that is coming from the throne. And so he says here, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation.

[42:11] Indignation just means his settled disposition. God has a settled disposition towards what? Well, towards sin. Yes. But what is God's settled disposition towards sin today?

[42:25] That that cup, that cup was taken by someone. Matthew 26, 39. And he went a little further and fell on his face and prayed saying, Oh, my father, if it'd be possible, let this cup pass from me.

[42:38] What cup was that? Well, it was the cup of God's settled disposition towards sin. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt. And did Jesus fully drink that cup? He did. So God's settled disposition today is indignation is not towards sinners.

[42:55] I'm a sinner. Are you a sinner? Yeah. No, it's for rejecters. It's those who would reject his grace. Those who reject the message. Yes. They shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God because they've chosen what?

[43:08] They've chosen the Antichrist system. They've chosen Satan system. Those who rejected the cup offered by Christ and chose instead the cup offered by the world.

[43:19] They will then drink the cup of God's wrath, but it's not because they're sinners anymore than it is because we're sinners. It's because they have rejected the cup that Jesus hands them in communion. And because of that, then they will then be under the cup of God's wrath.

[43:34] Jeremiah 29, Jeremiah 29, 15 says, For thus saith the Lord God of Israel unto me, take the wine cup of this fury at my hand and cause all nations to my send thee to drink it.

[43:47] All nations who reject. Jesus drank the cup of God's wrath towards sin on the church's behalf, hasn't he? Today, you and I don't have to partake of that cup of God's judgment of sin against us because that was taken by Jesus.

[44:04] So wrath is reserved for those who reject the cup of communion offered by the Lord. And they take the cup of communion offered by the world, essentially. Romans 2, 3 to 5.

[44:16] And thinkest thou this, O man, that judges them which do such things and does the same that you shall escape the judgment of God? You're not going to escape God's judgment. O despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering?

[44:30] Revelation is just all about God's longsuffering. Not knowing the goodness of God leads you to repentance. But if man will not be led by God's goodness, then God in his grace and his mercy will seek to reach them through his judgment.

[44:45] But after your hardness and impenitent heart, you treasure up unto yourself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God. Put that in context of what we're reading today.

[44:56] You treasure up unto yourself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God. In the seven years of Jacob's trouble, the age of grace has come to an end and the age of judgment has begun.

[45:11] Wrath is being poured out upon the sinner who has rejected. And while men are still saved by grace, they are done so out of the midst of judgment. They're saved out of judgment, by grace, but out of judgment.

[45:24] And then this horrible phrase. I mean, it's horrible what the reality of it is. Those that take the mark, those that drink the cup of the world, and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the lamb.

[45:46] And the smoke of their torment ascends up forever and ever. And they have no rest day nor night who worship the beast in his image and who works and whosoever receives the mark of his name.

[45:57] Man, that's hard. That's how it seems harsh. Look who's it. Look what it says here. In the presence of his holy angels, in the presence of the lamb.

[46:09] What does that mean? That I always think of like, hell's really far away from heaven. There's hell over there. And then there's heaven. Notice what it doesn't say.

[46:19] It's in the presence of, um, we have to try it. The lamb and his angels, but not the elders, not the 24 elders. Man, thank God we don't have to see the end result of people who reject God's mercy and instead choose a cup of wrath.

[46:39] But the idea here is that God's presence cannot be escaped. In Psalm 139, where shall I go from your spirit? Where shall I flee from your presence? If I send into heaven, you are there. If I make my bed in hell, behold, you're there. You see, we will all come into God's presence, but how we appear before God is determined by which cup we choose to drink.

[46:55] Cup of communion of Christ or the where we reject. And it's the cup of God's wrath. And the smoke of their torment, torment ascends up forever and ever. And they have no rest day or night.

[47:06] So the decisions of this life, they have eternal consequences. Paul would say in, um, first Corinthians or Colossians chapter three, verse one through four, he says, if you be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God.

[47:24] Set your affection on things above, not on things of the earth, for you are dead and your life is hid with Christ and God. And when Christ, who is our life shall appear, then shall you also appear with him in glory.

[47:37] What is the whole focus of that verse? Where's our affections? Our affections should be set above. They're not to be set on things of the earth. And then when he appears, where will we be? We will be with him in the place.

[47:48] We set our affections. Here's the patience of the saints. Here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. What is he talking about? What's the patience of the same?

[47:59] Is it what comes before this verse? What comes afterwards? What comes afterwards says, I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, right, blessed are the dead, which die in the Lord from henceforth.

[48:10] Yea, saith the spirit that they may rest from their labors and their works do follow. Is that the patience of the saints? I think it is for sure. But I also think it's what comes before, which is God will judge.

[48:23] God will righteously judge those. That deserve his judgment. And it's not because in a sense that they are sinners without a savior, but that they've rejected the savior.

[48:34] But God will judge. He is righteous. It is not for us to determine the time of his judgment. Here is the patience of the saints. Patience means endurance to bear up under.

[48:44] Jeremiah 12, five. If you run with the footmen and they've wearied you, how can you run with the horses? And if in the land of peace, wherein you trusted, they wearied you, and how will you do in the swelling of the Jordan?

[48:59] Patience, endurance. Guys, if we can't, if we can't endure the trials now, what about if it gets worse? What about when this world begins to reject Christ in a way that pushes into our very lives?

[49:13] It says, don't do this and do this. You see, one day God will make all things new as he promised. Revelation 21, five. And he that sat upon the throne said, behold, I make all things new.

[49:25] And he said unto me, right for these words are true and faithful. I love that. He didn't have to put that. He could have said, I make all things new. He said, John, write that. Don't, don't skip this. These words are true and faithful that if any man be in Christ, he's a new creation.

[49:39] Old things have passed away and all things are become new. And I heard a voice from heaven saying, right again, John, this needs to be written down. Blessed are the dead, which die in the Lord from henceforth.

[49:52] Psalm 116, 15, precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. What is he talking about? Why is it? Blessed are the dead, which die in the Lord from henceforth. Yea, say that the spirit, they shall rest from their labors and their works do follow.

[50:05] I think two things. One, he just told us that those who take the mark, they'll have no rest forever. But he says, Hey, you will have rest. You will have rest. Those who have patiently endured, put their faith in Christ.

[50:17] But I think also, if you remember in Thessalonians, they were worried because they're like, Hey Paul, the church has come, been birthed. We're really excited about that. You've been telling us about all these great things God is going to do, but we got people who've died.

[50:31] And you're telling us in Corinthians, you tell us in Corinthians 15. And in Thessalonians, you tell us about this resurrection is going to happen. What about the dead? Do they just get left behind when God resurrects? Do they get bodies?

[50:42] And Paul then goes on to say, uh, in first Thessalonians 4, 13, I would not have you to be ignorant brethren concerning them, which are asleep or who have passed away. We would say, these sorrow, not even others as others, which have no hope.

[50:56] For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also, which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. Now, if they were worried during a time of persecution, the early church, man, I think there's going to be some people really, really concerned during the seven years that, Oh no, so-and-so was put to death.

[51:14] What's going to happen to them? What, what now? And he says, Hey, blessed are the dead, which die in the Lord from henceforth. It's a blessing. If the Thessalonians thought the world around them indicated that those who died would miss the boat and how much more disquieting will it be for those who come to Christ who already did miss the boat when Christ returned for the church.

[51:40] Hebrews chapter 10, verse 36. The writer of Hebrews says, for you have need of patience, that after you've done the will of God, you might receive the promise. That's one of my favorite scriptures.

[51:52] There's a principle there of doing God's will and then the promise. I want the promise and then I'll do God's will. I want to receive the promise, God. And he says, no, the promise will come. Do my will.

[52:04] But specifically, what is he talking about? For yet a little while, he that shall come will come and will not tarry. He's talking about the promise that Jesus made. If I go and prepare a place, I'll come again, receive you. You have need of patience that after you've done the will of God, you might receive the promise.

[52:19] For yet a little while. And he that shall come will come and will not tarry. So as we close, we have these two group of people, two groups of people. We have the earth dwellers, and then we've got the saints of God at this time.

[52:35] Two groups of people, the earth dwellers, they will drink of God's wrath. They will drink a cup of God's wrath of their own choice. The saints of God, they drink of God's communion.

[52:46] They take of that cup that was offered to them by Christ, because he took the wrath of God for sin upon himself. The earth dwellers seek fulfillment in this life. The saints of God seek fulfillment in life to come.

[52:59] The earth dwellers are marked for wrath. The mark that they take will lead them to a place of unrest and wrath. The saints of God are marked for rest. Blessed of those that die in the Lord, that they may rest from their labors.

[53:13] The earth dwellers, for the earth dwellers, death is their end. That's it. But for the saints of God, rest is their end, that they may rest in the Lord. For the earth dwellers, death is a terror, an eternal terror.

[53:27] But for the saints of God, death is a blessing, because it presents us before the Lord. In John chapter seven, Jesus speaking of an overflowing cup, not a cup of wrath, but a cup of blessing.

[53:42] In John 7, 37, in the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, if any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believes on me, as the scripture is said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water, an overflowing source.

[53:59] But this spake he of the spirit, which they that believe on him should receive. For the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because that Jesus was not yet glorified. Has Jesus been glorified? Yes.

[54:10] The Holy Spirit's been given. Yes. We can drink of a cup that never, ever runs dry, where the Lord continually fills us to overflowing. And we can live not as earth dwellers, but as saints of God, in communion with God, seeking fulfillment in a life to come, marked for rest, knowing that our end is not destruction or death, but rest and blessing.

[54:31] Amen. Amen. Father, thank you so much, Lord, for getting us. Whew. That was a big chunk, Lord. There's a lot in there. But Father, you're so good, Lord. We don't have to, oh Lord, we don't have to search outside of this book, Lord.

[54:44] And we don't have to, but we don't have to make it say more than it says, or say less than it says. We can just come, Lord, not simply, but plainly. We can take the plain text and the plain meaning.

[54:57] And Lord, we can just receive that as a child. And so Lord, I pray that Lord, your word has blessed your people tonight. Lord, I pray that we would look to a God who has saved us, Lord, from wrath and that Lord, we are not destined for wrath and that Jesus took all of our wrath.

[55:14] What a wonderful promise, Lord, that our end is rest and blessing. Lord, we do not fear because perfect love casts out all fear. Come quickly, Lord Jesus, do what you've got to do, Lord, so that we can be with you forever and ever and ever in rest.

[55:32]  And in Jesus name we pray. Amen.