The Jewish Final Solution to the World's Problem - Revelation - Demonic Hordes Are Released, Part 2

[0:00] Before Gary comes to read for us, I want to preface the scripture with a few comments, and that is, as he reads from the Old Testament prophecy of Joel, I want you to bear in mind the fact that Joel is speaking from two different standpoints.

[0:18] One is from a natural kind of invasion of locusts with which he was personally familiar because there have been periodic invasions of locusts the world over whereby they just swarm in out of nowhere and they devour absolutely everything that is green within sight.

[0:41] And it is something to behold. We have pictures of that and footage of some of the devastation that literally millions of these locusts have left behind, and they just devastate everything wherever they've been.

[0:56] They are not a threat to humanity, but they are to all green vegetation of any kind. And then there is yet another kind of locusts, and Joel is going to be describing that as well as will the portion that we will be looking at in the book of the Revelation chapter 9.

[1:18] These locusts are going to involve supernatural beings. They are demonic hordes, and as I have repeatedly warned you when we began the Revelation, there's going to be surfacing throughout the book the undeniable presence of the supernatural with which you and I have never been familiar at all.

[1:47] This is going to be that which takes place once the body of Christ is removed, and Israel is once again on the front burner. God is going to return to the modus operandi of the supernatural, and it is going to be something to behold.

[2:04] The church, the body of Christ, will have been raptured and out of here, but those who are left on earth, and they will number in the billions, possibly as many as 6 billion.

[2:14] We don't know how much this world's population is going to continue growing. Right now I understand we are approaching 7 billion, and even though we may think we do because we hear Congress toss these numbers around all the time, none of us here, myself included, really has any idea of how much a billion actually is.

[2:37] Whatever you think is more than that. So we will be looking at that because there will be 200 million of these demonic-inspired beasts loosed on earth that will come from this place called the abyss.

[2:59] So we will get to that shortly. Right now I want you to direct your attention, if you would, to the scripture insert that we have, and Gary is going to begin reading, and we'll ask you to follow along.

[3:12] He's going to start with verse 15, and here's the phrase that we need to be aware of. The day of the Lord. The day of the Lord is in excess of 7 years.

[3:28] It isn't 24 hours. It is an extended period of time, also referred to as the Great Tribulation, also referred to as the time of Jacob's trouble.

[3:42] because Jacob, the nation of Israel, will be the bullseye that the Antichrist will be gunning for during this time of Tribulation.

[3:54] This is stunning material. Absolutely stunning. And the best evidence that we have that it is going to be fulfilled precisely as the Revelation prophesied it is because of what has already been fulfilled precisely as the Old Testament prophesied it.

[4:18] Good morning.

[4:30] Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. Alas for the day, for the day of the Lord is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come.

[4:52] Is not the meat cut off before our eyes? Yea, joy and gladness from the house of our God. The seed is rotten under their clods. The garners are laid desolate. The barns are broken down, for the corn is withered.

[5:14] How do the beasts groan? The herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture. Yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate.

[5:28] O Lord, to Thee will I cry, for the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field.

[5:42] The beasts of the field cry also unto Thee, for the rivers of waters are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness.

[5:56] Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain. Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord cometh.

[6:13] For it is nigh at hand, a day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness.

[6:23] As the morning spread upon the mountains, a great people and a strong, there hath not been ever the like.

[6:35] Neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations. A fire devoureth before them, and behind them a flame burneth.

[6:50] The land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness. Yea, and nothing shall escape them.

[7:04] The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses, and as horsemen. So shall they run. Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap.

[7:18] Like the noise of a flame of a fire that devoureth the stubble. As a strong people set in battle array.

[7:30] Before their face the people shall be much pained. All the faces shall gather blackness. They shall run like mighty men.

[7:44] They shall climb the wall like men of war. And they shall march every one on his ways. And they shall not break their ranks.

[7:57] Neither shall one thrust another. They shall walk every one in his path. And when they fall upon the sword. They shall not be wounded.

[8:10] They shall run to and fro in the city. They shall run upon the wall. They shall climb up upon the houses.

[8:21] They shall enter in at the windows like a thief. The earth shall quake before them. The heavens shall tremble.

[8:33] The sun and the moon shall be dark. And the stars shall withdraw their shining. And the Lord shall utter his voice before his army.

[8:47] For his camp is very great. For he is strong that executeth his word. For the day of the Lord is great.

[8:58] And very terrible. And who can abide it? The rhetorical question is asked in connection with the severity of the day of the Lord, which is near.

[9:15] Who can abide it? In other words, who can resist it? Who can stand up against it? And the idea, of course, is no one.

[9:26] Nothing. Nothing. This represents the wrath of God poured out upon this world. And as we read these things in Joel, we'll see them surface again in Revelation 9.

[9:42] And the question may well be asked, what on earth are these? These are demonic beings.

[9:53] And they are going to inhabit some kind of a beastly creature, the likes of which we cannot begin to identify. John, who is given this revelation while on the Isle of Patmos 2,000 years ago, is obviously at a loss for words to describe what he is seeing.

[10:15] Because he's never seen anything like this before. It does not fit the picture that he is used to. So he is limited to using terms such as like and as.

[10:33] In literature, this is a figure of speech that is called simile. S-I-M-I-L-E. Those of you who have been engaged in the hermeneutics class we've been teaching with the CDs back there will recognize that simile is a figure of speech.

[10:50] And it's related to the word with which we're all familiar, which means similar. So when John says they are as or they are like horses, they have the head like the face of a lion.

[11:04] He isn't saying it's a horse and he isn't saying the face is that of a lion. But he's saying that's what it looks like more than anything else. And he doesn't have a frame of reference to more accurately describe it.

[11:18] Now, if we see a horse, we've got a frame of reference for a horse. We can talk about its mane, its tail, its hooves, its forelegs, and all the rest.

[11:29] Because we've got a frame of reference for it. And we can give a very accurate description. But when you are looking at some kind of a creature that you have never seen before, all you can do is say, well, it reminds me, well, it looks kind of like, it seems as though, but that's as far as you can go.

[11:49] And that's what John does. He uses what he has available to him from his own experience and his own reference. What I referred to earlier that I would ask you to turn to, if you would, is Ezekiel 20 and Daniel 12.

[12:06] And we won't be there immediately, but we will be shortly. So if you can find that place in your Bible, that would be helpful. Ezekiel 20 and Daniel 12. As we go through the Bible and look at these prophetic themes, I am struck over and over again by the interconnectedness of Scripture.

[12:27] And as I have often told you in time past, everything in the Bible is connected to everything in the Bible. And that's why the Bible itself is its only adequate interpreter.

[12:43] When men get involved and offer their interpretations of Scripture, they come up with all kinds of conclusions, very few of which agree one with another.

[12:54] And this is why we are committed here at Grace Bible Church, as much as lieth within us, to allow one portion of Scripture to shed light on another portion of Scripture.

[13:06] Because the Bible is its own best commentary. What we are talking about now is catastrophe, calamity, conflagration.

[13:21] In fact, none of those three terms that I have just used do justice to what Joel and the book of the Revelation, given through John, is calling the day of the Lord.

[13:37] What we are living in now and experiencing on a day-by-day basis is the day of humanity. This is man, if you will, in the driver's seat.

[13:51] Man is calling the shots. Heads of states over the nations set the course of action and the decision and they plan the agenda and so on. Not taking anything away from the God of heaven who is absolutely sovereign, has all things under his control.

[14:10] Nonetheless, he has allowed man to use his volition and the freedom of his will to bring the earth to the place where it is now.

[14:20] And it is continuing on this way. Why is all this coming?

[14:36] Some, for lack of understanding or of a better term, refer to this as the end of the world. And from a layperson's standpoint, that's probably pretty much what it's going to seem like.

[14:51] However, do not despair because the globe, planet earth, is not going to cease to exist. And when John says, I saw a new heavens and a new earth for the former were passed away, he's not talking about the planet having passed away, being replaced with another planet.

[15:09] No, no. This is the planet, earth, on which Jesus Christ is going to rule and reign. How do we know that? We know that because this is the one he redeemed.

[15:20] This is the one he came to save. And he is going to refurbish it and cleanse it and make it fit for the habitation of the saints throughout eternity.

[15:32] What has humanity done to deserve such a fate as is being described here in Joel and in the Revelation?

[15:42] And make no mistake about it. While it is a fate, it is a fate not only deserved, but richly so.

[15:56] As I began the study of Revelation, and the first time we went through the book, probably 25 years ago when we were all a lot younger, I well remember having feelings for these people who were going to be here on earth and subjected to this.

[16:19] And it's kind of like my heart went out to them and I thought, oh, these poor people. My sympathy is with them. I can't believe that they're going to have to experience this kind of carnage and devastation.

[16:34] I really feel badly for them. I don't anymore. I'll let that sink in a little. You may be wondering, well, Marv, where has your compassion gone?

[16:54] Have you no feeling for your fellow man? Well, I do, but only to the same extent that God does.

[17:06] And what I want you to understand, bitter pill as it is for us to swallow, is that these things that are going to be coming upon humanity, when this scene unfolds, will be totally, completely, deserved, and earned.

[17:29] And we need not shed tears for that. But this is going to be the absolute, perfect justice of God on display.

[17:42] And God's justice does not punish one shred more than what is accurately deserved. What is going to be repeated time and again through this revelation, tribulation part, is the fact that mankind, fallen in his stubbornness, his ignorance, his arrogance, and his rebellion, is going to dig in his heels and shake his fist at the Almighty.

[18:14] And Satan himself, energizing the Antichrist, is going to be leading the pack. It is very difficult to contemplate a scene like this.

[18:29] It really is. But sympathy is really not in order. God has a way of escape. He always has.

[18:40] But it has its limitations. And God's way of escape is through repentance, which means you acknowledge your sin and your wrong.

[18:52] And contrition, a contrite heart, that is, one that has regrets and sorrow over personal sin and behavior. And when one comes to a position like that, God is all ears.

[19:07] He is open-armed and welcoming. That is the avenue that he has made available to every generation. It is repentance and faith.

[19:18] And where these are not forthcoming, or where they are refused, then God is saying, look, if you will not have my mercy and my grace extended to you, for which all you need do is repent of your sin, acknowledge and own your sin, take responsibility for it, and place yourself in the hands of the one who died in your place to take your sin upon him.

[19:46] If you will not do that, I have no recourse remaining but to dispense justice. And justice means you get exactly what you deserve.

[20:01] Now let me ask you a question. Is there something wrong with that? Is there something wrong with people receiving exactly what they deserve?

[20:13] No more, no less? No. Isn't that what we expect out of earthly judges? Don't we expect the judge on the bench in our common police court or superior court or wherever to render a just and a righteous verdict so that the guilty are punished and that the innocent go free.

[20:34] That's justice. And that is what God is going to dispense during this time. And it is going to be very, very severe. And the reason it is going to be severe is because man is going to refuse to repent.

[20:52] And God will tighten the screws a little more. And do you know what the effect of that will be? For some, for some, they will finally get it.

[21:05] And they will repent. And they will be saved. And they will be rescued. But the majority that is going to number in the hundreds of millions will not.

[21:19] They will align themselves with the Antichrist. And they will defy the God of heaven. And I know I'm going to make a statement now that's going to be hard for you to believe.

[21:30] But I'm convinced that it is true. They are going to knowingly, intelligently defy the God of heaven.

[21:44] It will not be as though they don't know what they're doing. They will know exactly what they're doing. And they will know against whom they are doing it. And they are still going to do it.

[21:55] That is stunning. That will begin to show us the depths of depravity of fallen humanity. And it's not a pretty thing.

[22:07] It will be intensified. This time of tribulation is going to bring out the most supreme kind of human ugliness that there will be.

[22:20] And upon that, God will dispense his justice. It is hard, if not impossible, for man in his fallenness and rebellion against God to see justice in all of this.

[22:41] And I well remember, as I mentioned earlier, having gone through this the first time, all I could think of, oh, those poor people. Those poor people. Don't waste your sympathy. That may sound cruel and heartless, but I am convinced that I am coming from the same position that God is coming from.

[23:00] And if I have to choose sides, well, guess which side we're going to be on. Reason it is difficult for man to see justice in all of this is for two principal reasons.

[23:16] Number one, mankind, in his ignorance and arrogance, has, generation by generation, continually, overestimated his own goodness and us underestimated his evil.

[23:35] The flesh has always liked to think it is better than it is. Much better. This is an illusion. And all scripture here is testimony to its being illusory throughout.

[23:50] And reason number two, mankind, and I'm talking about humanity in general, mankind, in his ignorance and arrogance, has, generation by generation, continually underestimated God's righteousness and holiness.

[24:10] you'd be surprised how many people there are who walk among us who think of God as nothing more than the guy upstairs. He's a good guy.

[24:21] He, he will smile on me. He knows that I've blown it a few times, but he's a good guy and he will open those pearlies and let me in and so on and so on.

[24:31] And they see God as just a little more righteous than they and stronger than they and wiser than they, but basically he understands me. He'll cut me some slack. And that's the way many people view the God of heaven, but that's not the way the scriptures review it.

[24:49] The only corrective to a right understanding and knowledge of both man's sinfulness and God's holiness is found exclusively in this book, the Bible, and it has graciously been given by God so that we might know the truth about both of these realities, God and us.

[25:10] So, as stated repeatedly during the many years that we have taught here, the bottom line issue always comes back to the same thing.

[25:22] The issue is authority. Who or what will you accept as your final authority? So, what is mankind's general response to the truth that God has given?

[25:37] Mankind's general response to the truth God has given largely its rejection and derision. Man, to his own hurt, dismisses the very singular God-given device that is provided for his enlightenment and salvation.

[25:59] And I want you to keep this in mind because it's very, very important and I hope you will allow yourself to be confronted mentally with this from your memory for as long as you live. There are just three possible sources of information.

[26:16] Data. Information can only come from one of three sources. The first source is that with which we are all very, very familiar.

[26:29] That's the mind of man. And the mind of man as a source for information has accomplished some absolutely incredible, stunning things.

[26:42] Our technology and inventions and all the rest of it by people like the Leonardo da Vinci's and the Einsteins and people of that caliber with the high IQs have cranked out information that has blessed and benefited mankind for many, many years.

[27:03] The mind of man has a lot of good things that it has offered. It also has a lot of ugly things. Secondly, information comes from the mind of Satan.

[27:18] He is the adversary. He is the deceiver. He is the one who is a liar from the beginning and abode not in the truth. He is a murderer. So you can guess how tainted any information is that you will get from him.

[27:36] But it is out there in great abundance. And I've always taken the position that error is far more available in great abundance than what truth is.

[27:47] Always has been. The easiest way to illustrate that is 2 plus 2 is 4. That is the correct answer. Every other answer is an error.

[28:01] Every other answer is a lie. It's an untruth. So how many other answers are there to 2 plus 2? When you're talking about how many wrong answers are there, you can't begin to count them.

[28:17] But there's just one, just one right answer. Error is much more available and abundant than truth is.

[28:29] That is why you as a believer desperately need to develop a sense of discernment where you are able to distinguish truth from error.

[28:47] And it doesn't come easily and it doesn't come quickly. It is a learning process. Frankly, this to a large degree is what church is supposed to be about.

[28:58] It is equipping people so that when they are confronted with the vicissitudes of life, whatever they are, they will be able to make good decisions because they understand the information and where it comes from.

[29:13] They know how to process it. They know what is a scam and they know what is true and they are not suckered and taken in by it. This is what Paul wrote to the Ephesians when he said that you be built up in the most holy faith, that you no longer be as children, which means gullible, believe anything.

[29:33] And there are people like that. I mean, they are running around out there. Some of them make a couple hundred thousand dollars a year, believe it or not. And they're gullible.

[29:44] They'll believe anything. And Paul says that we be no longer children blown about by every wind of doctrine that comes along.

[29:55] They are a sucker, a pushover, or con game, or whatever. We are to have a spirit of discernment. And this is the only way we can get it.

[30:07] The third is, of course, from the mind of God. And that's our source of information. We submit ourselves to the authority of Scripture because we know human authority is seriously flawed.

[30:22] And not only that, but human authority, wherever you go, and whomever you consult, you'll find nothing but major disagreements between them all. So how in the world are you supposed to pick out the one that's right?

[30:37] And that's why we keep coming back to this blessed book. Fallen man, of which we are all a part, thinks, reasons, and acts from a fallen, damaged intellect.

[30:57] this, plus his contamination with the flesh of the old Adamic nature, causes man to think wrong things and act upon those wrong things to his own destruction and often to the destruction of others.

[31:16] We don't have to look far in our culture to find people whose lives have been absolutely devastated and ruined, wiped out. all because they made some bad decisions.

[31:31] And invariably, they never take just themselves down. There are others who care about them that they take down with them. There are children of these people who are unwilling innocents, who are captive in that situation, and they bear the brunt of bad decisions made by their parents as well.

[31:54] Here in the Revelation, there are three basic objectives to be accomplished that God has programmed regarding this unprecedented time called the Great Tribulation.

[32:10] Number one, and we've already been over these, I'm just going to go quickly and review. The first reason is to make an end of evil and evil ones. We saw that in Isaiah 13, 9.

[32:22] We'll not take time to turn to it, but the text says, Behold, the day of the Lord cometh cruel with wrath and fierce anger to make the land a desolation and to destroy the sinners thereof out of it.

[32:42] That's Isaiah 13, 9. The second reason, to bring about a worldwide revival as described in Revelation 7, verses 1 through 17, that we've already considered, this will be due to the efforts of the hundred and forty four thousand, because God in his wrath will remember mercy.

[33:05] And although all of this calamity is coming upon a richly deserved world, God is going to make a way of escape available through the hundred forty four thousand who are going to preach this gospel of the kingdom and offer salvation to all who will repent of their sin and embrace this God of heaven.

[33:29] And for them, there will be deliverance, even if it costs them their life. And for many, it will. Because persecution is going to be rampant.

[33:43] This will be a time when anyone who is considering coming to Jesus Christ is going to have to give it very serious thought because it may very well cost them their life.

[33:57] It's going to cost thousands their lives who will be beheaded during this time of persecution. These are they of whom John spoke when he said he saw the souls of those under the altar that had been beheaded for the witness and the testimony of Jesus Christ.

[34:14] And there will be many more added to it. And then, to break the power and the will of the holy people in Daniel chapter 12 and verses 5 through 7.

[34:27] And if you have that reference, if you'll excuse me because I don't, Daniel chapter 12. this is a very important key because at this time, the church which is the body of Christ is going to be removed and the age and dispensation of Israel and the kingdom is going to return.

[34:51] And what we find here in Daniel chapter 12 is an expression that relates to that. And if you'll look at verse 5, Daniel chapter 12, Then I, Daniel, looked, and behold, two others were standing, one on this bank of the river and the other on that bank of the river.

[35:16] And one said to the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, How long will it be until the end of these wonders?

[35:26] And I heard the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, as he raised his right hand and his left toward heaven, and swore by him who lives forever, that it would be for a time, one, times, plus two is three, and half a time is three and a half.

[35:50] And as soon as they finish shattering the power of the holy people, who are the holy people? They are the original chosen people of God.

[36:01] This is the Jewish nation. The church, which is the body of Christ, will be gone at this point. We will have been raptured, but it will be the nation of Israel that will remain here. And they are going to have their wills, their stubborn anti-Christ will broken.

[36:21] they, nationally, they will become repentant and contrite.

[36:35] And they, the Jew, will look upon him. Zechariah tells us in chapter 12, I think it's maybe verse 10, that they will look upon him, Christ, whom they pierced, whom they crucified.

[36:54] And they will mourn for him. That's contrition. That's we crucified our Messiah.

[37:06] There will be an abrupt about-face on a national scale for Israel. Israel. And so, all Israel will be saved, because all Israel will come to repentance.

[37:20] That's what this is talking about, and that's one of the principal purposes for this tribulation period, to break the will of the holy people. And when he describes that as shattering the power of the holy people, all these events will be completed.

[37:39] And then in Ezekiel, if you'll come back, just one book, because it's right before Daniel, if you haven't already found it. Ezekiel chapter 20, and verse 34.

[37:57] And I shall bring you out from the peoples. He's talking to the Jewish people. Of course, Ezekiel is the Jewish prophet. He says, I shall bring you out.

[38:08] Well, let's look at verse 33. As I live, declares the Lord God, surely with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out. Look at that. With wrath poured out, dumped on the earth, calamity, disaster.

[38:24] With wrath poured out, and with an outstretched arm, I shall be king over you, and I shall bring you out from the peoples, and gather you from the lands where you are scattered with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out.

[38:48] And I shall bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I shall enter into judgment with you, face to face. And as I entered into judgment with your fathers, your ancestors in the wilderness and the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you, declares the Lord God.

[39:08] And I shall make you pass under the rod, and I shall bring you into the bond of the covenant. We might add here, kicking and screaming, but they're coming.

[39:21] And I shall purge from you the rebels and those who transgress against me. I shall bring them out of the land where they sojourn, but they will not enter the land of Israel.

[39:31] Thus you will know that I am the Lord. Wow. This is really, really something. Now, let us quickly go to Revelation chapter nine and look at these supernatural descriptions that are given.

[39:52] We've already covered the first twelve verses. I'm not going to belabor the point and go on with those, except to say that if you are interested, you may obtain the CDs.

[40:03] They are back there on the table in the rear and you will find them in accordance with the date that is printed on the face when we dealt with these first several verses of chapter nine.

[40:15] And in verse thirteen, well, verse twelve says the first woe is passed. There are three woes pronounced and the second woe is coming after these things.

[40:27] We noted the sixth trumpet. We've already talked about the seals, the trumpets, and the bowls, and we'll reserve that again for later. And verse thirteen says, and the sixth angel.

[40:38] Be reminded, we told you there is going to be an enormous upsurge of angelic activity during this seven year period. And it's going to be almost like a reversion to the Old Testament and to the time of the Gospels for supernatural aspects.

[40:53] And we don't see much of that today. I've never seen an angel, at least that I knew was an angel. I've never seen what I would consider to be a bona fide miracle.

[41:05] That is, where a law of nature is suspended and overridden in some dramatic way. I'm not saying that they cannot and do not happen. I'm just saying they are not the modus operandi for today.

[41:18] But there was a time when they were during the earthly time of Christ and of the apostles. And what we're saying is that time is coming back. that's what's going to characterize this seven-year period of tribulation.

[41:34] It's going to be one incredible manifestation of the supernatural after another. So, may we begin then with verse 13. The sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar, which is before God.

[41:51] Remember, John is seeing this in a vision now. One saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.

[42:09] Well, what in the world is that about? Angels that are bound, incarcerated, chained, tied up, whatever?

[42:21] And by the way, how would you go about binding an angel? These are immaterial beings. They are not flesh and blood like you and I who could have chains affixed to us or handcuffs or whatever.

[42:36] These are spirit beings, and the only thing I can suggest is that they are bound at or in the river Euphrates as spirit beings by the same authority and the same power of the one who once said, let there be light, and there was light.

[42:55] This is the same one who will incarcerate Satan in the bottomless pit for a thousand years, and he'll not be able to go out and deceive the nations until those thousand years are over, and then begins another story.

[43:10] But you must bear in mind that their incarceration is not a problem for God. He simply puts them where he wants them to be, and they stay put. Does this mean then that these angelic beings have been here in this place, in this abyss for thousands of years?

[43:30] I can't imagine that. Can you? What are they doing? But bear in mind, they don't need food. They don't need drink. They don't need clothing. These are spirit beings.

[43:44] They are immaterial. They do not have physicality, although it appears that some assume physicality and are mistaken as men, and we see numerous instances of that in the scriptures.

[43:56] But these demonic beings, these hordes, are going to utilize some kind of a beastly contraption and commandeer it.

[44:10] Let's read on. release the four angels. And the four angels who had been prepared for the hour, the day, the month, the year, were released.

[44:24] All that means is these were pre-programmed to make their appearance at a precise time. much in the same way that our Lord arrived on earth when Paul tells us in Galatians that when the fullness of time came, God sent forth his son.

[44:49] Jesus wasn't born one day early or one day late. That was all in the plan and program of God. And this has been likewise. so they are prepared for this precise day, month, year, hour.

[45:06] They were released so that they, they, these four angels might kill a third of mankind.

[45:22] Do you realize how many people we're talking about here? And of course, it's some just read this text and say, oh, well, that's just, that's just symbolic.

[45:34] I beg to differ with you. It is very, very literal. To say that there are right now existing on this planet, six billion people is not symbolic.

[45:50] It's real. Numbers crunchers can tell you that. There are approximately six billion people. us with a B on this globe, and the number continues to increase.

[46:03] These four angels are going to dispense however they do it with one third of the world's population.

[46:21] Surely, that can't be literal. Surely, it is. It is.

[46:38] Number of the armies of the horsemen. Horsemen? That's two hundred million. I heard the number of them.

[46:49] Two hundred million. million. And these two hundred million are going to be responsible, each one, for the deaths of about ten people, ten humans during this time.

[47:09] We're not told how long this is going to last. It will be very severe, and each of these beings, each of these beasts, demonically indwelt, is going to account for the deaths of ten human beings.

[47:27] And these people are going to be scurrying, running, fleeing in every direction they can. Because you see, in the passage before, with the locusts that had the deadly stings, they were going to inject some kind of toxin or serum in people whom they sting, much like snakes do today, that affects the nervous system, that causes a person to convulse and shut down, the breathing apparatus to stop and all the rest of it.

[47:57] And men are going to seek death in the earlier passage in chapter 9, and not be able to die. And it may well be because they will be in some state of paralysis and will not even be able to take their own life.

[48:12] They can just lie there and writhe in agony and pain. We can't imagine a scene like this. They will pursue death and death will flee from them.

[48:24] But in this, with these four angels, 200 million are going to find death at their hands. These angels are fallen angels.

[48:37] They have an intense hatred of humanity. For one reason, they have been bound in this Euphrates river all this time.

[48:49] And we look at that and we say, I can't believe that. Why wouldn't they drown? I told you, they're not physical. They're not subject to drowning. They don't have lungs like you and I do. They don't have stomachs that have to have food, energy, a bloodstream that provides nourishment throughout the body.

[49:06] No, no, these are supernatural beings. They're not humans. And whereas those earlier sought death, these are going to flee from death and these death angels are going to pursue them.

[49:25] In this monstrosity, the number of the armies of the horsemen was 200 million. I heard the number of them.

[49:35] Now, that's a lot of people. But 200 million doesn't begin to compare with 6 billion. And as I've said, very few of us have any idea what a billion is really like.

[49:50] I've crunched some numbers here and some of the other scholars have done likewise. And just let me run this by you quickly. Okay. There's 3,600 seconds in one hour.

[50:05] There's 84,400 seconds in one day. There's 31,536,000 seconds in one year.

[50:19] And if you were going to count to 1 billion, like this, 1, 2, 3, 4, if you counted a new number every second, every second, don't take time out to eat or drink or anything, 24, 7, you are counting one every second.

[50:43] You will have counted to 1 billion. It will only take you 30 years. 30 years.

[50:55] That's a billion. Now, do you get a little bit of a perspective? I mean, we're talking about astronomical numbers here.

[51:07] The text goes on. And this is verse 17. And this is how I saw in the vision the horses and those who sat on them.

[51:18] The riders had breastplates of color, of fire, and hyacinth, and of brimstone, and the heads of the horses are like the heads of lions.

[51:29] He doesn't say they're lions. He says, looks more like lions than anything I've ever seen, but actually, I've never seen anything like this. Closest I can come to describing it is it looks like a lion's head.

[51:41] And out of their mouths proceed fire, smoke, and brimstone. This sounds almost like fairy tale stuff with the dragons, doesn't it? Fire-breathing dragons. These are going to be some kind of supernatural creature, never before introduced into the world scene.

[52:00] And they are going to be active here. They are going to breathe some kind of toxin, some kind of flame that can obliterate.

[52:11] We're all familiar with World War II, and we've all seen footage of GIs going into Iwo Jima with flamethrowers to try to route the Japanese who were embedded there, and what devastation those flamethrowers could provide, could just torch and incinerate an individual in seconds.

[52:32] These are going to have that coming out of their mouth. What kind of a being is this? I'm telling you, this is strictly supernatural.

[52:43] supernatural. By the fire and the smoke of the brimstone which proceeded out of their mouths, it will be suffocating. If the flame doesn't kill you, the brimstone and the smoke will engulf you and prevent your breathing.

[53:03] For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails. Now, wait a minute. They got a tail, too? They not only have a tail, they have a serpent's head at the end of the tail.

[53:17] And nobody has ever seen the likes of this. And nobody ever will again. And their tails are like serpents and have heads and with them they do harm.

[53:30] And the rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues did not repent of the works of their hands so as not to worship demons and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk.

[53:56] And they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorceries. And the sorcery I pointed out to you before is the word from which we get the word pharmacy.

[54:07] And it means this will be a drug enculturated induced society. It will be a world on drugs when this happens.

[54:21] And hey, we're making progress there, aren't we? Yeah. Nor of their immorality nor of their deaths.

[54:31] when they are worshipping these things, silver, brass, stone, this is what they worship.

[54:43] And you know what these things are? This is your gold cash that you bought from whoever it was advertising it on TV.

[54:54] And you've stored away this gold and silver. And that's what you have put your hopes on. That's your God. That's your idol.

[55:06] Do you understand the word worship what it means? Worship means worth. W-O-R-T-H Worth ship.

[55:18] What is it that you assign worth to? What do you give more worth to than you do anything else?

[55:28] If it's money, that's your God. That's your God. You may not bow down on your knees, but you worship that. That's where you put your confidence and your hope and your trust.

[55:41] And it can be gold, silver, it can be precious stones, it can be paintings, it can be anything that the world assigns value to that you assign worth to. That's what you worship.

[55:52] And we've got a world worshiping all kinds of things. Some people worship, some people worship their drugs.

[56:06] They put more worth in their next fix than they do anything else. They put more worth in the next big deal they're going to close than they do anything else.

[56:19] They put more worth in the their meat than they do anything else. There's only one person who is indispensable.

[56:33] And that's the God who made us. He's the only one who is worthy of our worship. And I want to close with this thought because as horrendous as all this is, and I wouldn't for the world, I'm not, listen, I think those of you who've been here with me for, what, 45 years, you know that I deplore sensationalism.

[56:58] I don't want anything to do with it. I mean, I know there are preachers who can preach on themes and got a big crowd, controversial and all the rest. I deplore sensationalism.

[57:08] I've never gone in for that, an extremism. And I have no, I have no flair or interest in being melodramatic or intimidating or threatening, and I'm not interested in scaring people.

[57:22] But my only interest is in taking the Word of God and revealing what it means. And I am convinced to the principle that the Word of God says what it means and it means what it says.

[57:35] If you want to pursue this further, I would be the first to agree. Of course, the Bible uses a lot of figurative language and we've explored some of that in the CDs that are back there in hermeneutics and the study and science of interpreting the Bible.

[57:49] But this is really, really serious stuff, folks. And I am convinced that one of the saddest, one of the saddest statements that will ever be made, will be made at the great white throne judgment when someone stands before God Almighty and the only thing they're going to be able to think is so.

[58:16] The Bible was true after all. Yeah. It was true after all. But the way of escape that God has made for those in the tribulation period, as horrible as it is, is the same way of escape that He has made for us today.

[58:37] And that is, will you admit your sin? will you own up to it?

[58:48] Will you take responsibility for it? Will you not try to blame somebody else for it? Will you not compare yourself with someone else who makes you look good? Are you able to say, it's not my brother, not my sister, but it's me, oh Lord, standing in the need of prayer?

[59:07] Are you willing to do that? Take full responsibility? Willing to say to God, I've blown it. I've blown it a lot. I've thought thoughts I shouldn't think.

[59:17] I've done things I shouldn't do. And I want to acknowledge that. And it's because of my sin that Jesus Christ came to this earth.

[59:30] He loved me and He gave Himself for me knowing full well what I was. And He still loved me and died in my place. that is repentance.

[59:42] That is contrition. And oh God, I want to acknowledge my sin before You and I want to place myself under Your Lordship and Your salvation because that's my only hope and I'm so glad You provided.

[60:00] Would you pray with me please? Father, we know these are really solemn things we've been talking about and we know that all of us, myself included, have a gross ignorance about a lot of it.

[60:14] It's difficult for us to even imagine these things that are described here. But we are committed to the principle that this book is a book that is designed to reveal, not to conceal.

[60:29] reveal and it comes to us with great clarity and we are to embrace it as such. And although there's much about it we don't understand, we know You understand it fully, all of it, and we rest in that.

[60:43] And for anyone here this morning who might be willing to say it's about time that I do business with the Almighty, I want to acknowledge my sin to God right where I am.

[60:57] Listen, I'm not asking you to walk an aisle, I'm not asking you to do anything other than talk to God right where you are in the privacy of your own seat.

[61:10] And would you be willing to say, Lord God, I know as a member of the human race I'm just like everyone else. I'm a sinner and I acknowledge my sin.

[61:23] I'm not trying to excuse it or justify it. I admit it. And I know I've done a lot of things and said a lot of things that really displease you. And I want to change my mind about those things.

[61:37] I want to repent. And I want to come to you for the salvation that only you can give. And dear God, there's a whole lot about this I don't understand.

[61:49] But I do know that you're there and I'm here. and I want to do business with you. Here's my heart, my life, my mind, my everything. I surrender them to you and I want your salvation applied to my life.

[62:05] Thank you for dying on that cross for me. I trust you as my Savior. Dear friend, if you make that your prayer, you tell somebody else so that they can be of encouragement to you.

[62:19] I'd be glad to talk with you after the service is over and I have some literature if you'd like. I'd be glad to provide it to you. Thank you Father for this time that we've shared together.

[62:30] We know that much of this is over our heads. Much of this is beyond our ability to even comprehend. But we believe the record has been provided that we might know it for what it is.

[62:41] And we thank you for it. Ask you to dismiss us now with your blessing in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.