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[0:00] Please turn in your Bible to Matthew chapter 24. Of course, this morning we'll be having two readings.

[0:13] The first will be in Matthew 24, and the second will be in Revelation. But let's take a look at Matthew 24, verses 29 through 31.

[0:30] But immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

[0:51] And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. And then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.

[1:10] And he will send forth his angels with a great trumpet, and they will gather together his elect from the four winds and from one end of the sky to the other.

[1:25] And in Revelation chapter 19, we'll be looking at verses 11 through 16.

[1:48] And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And he who sat on it is called Faithful and True.

[2:03] And in righteousness he judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire. And on his head are many diadems.

[2:16] And he has a name written on him which no one knows except himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood.

[2:29] And his name is called the Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following him on white horses.

[2:46] From his mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it he may strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron.

[3:00] And he treads the winepress of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on his robe, and on his right thigh, he has a name written, King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

[3:30] For 2,000 years, the world has known and often referred to this event called the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

[3:45] It is a saying that has been an international watchword. Some years ago, I read an article that explained the meaning of Second Coming type, term I had never heard of before.

[4:00] But the story went on to tell of a printing type that was larger than any currently used. Stories of great significance always command extra large type for its front page headlines.

[4:17] We can well appreciate that if you are able to recall when World War II ended. Large print, bold headlines were on that front page.

[4:33] And it was something like, Japan surrenders, victory is ours. Very large print. And JFK, dead in Dallas, or similar things like that.

[4:49] And the story went on to tell, and I don't know that it exists anymore. I don't know that those who would be in charge of it even have the same sentiments. But apparently, this was something that existed in the 1800s.

[5:02] And we were told then that there was a special printing press in the building of the New York Times in New York City, where the Second Coming type had already been set.

[5:24] And it was simply, Jesus Christ returns. Now, that would not have been too much of a stretch for people living in the late 1800s, because everyone was pretty much committed to the idea that, yes, he was here once, and he said he was coming back again.

[5:44] And indeed, he is going to come back again, and we have no reason to doubt that. But today, we are living in a far more skeptical society. And my guess is, a room like that probably doesn't even exist in the New York Times facility any longer.

[6:03] If it ever did, in reality, it's probably been turned into a break room, where they go and have coffee and donuts or whatever. But nonetheless, the greatest evidence we have for the return of Jesus Christ for the second time has to do with all of the prophecies that were uttered in connection with and in promise of his coming the first time.

[6:33] That is always the best evidence of future unfulfilled prophecy is those that have been fulfilled. And yet, students of Scripture, I think, have learned that the Bible has far more to say about the second coming of Christ than it does the first.

[6:56] And this is something that has confounded many of the Jewish sages for years and years. And I suspect that at least this, in part, has contributed to their thinking that this supposed Messiah who came was born, reared, born in Bethlehem, reared in Nazareth, although most of them didn't know that he was born in Bethlehem.

[7:25] They just thought he was from Nazareth. And, of course, he was, but his birth began in Bethlehem, and he was reared in Nazareth.

[7:37] And when the Jewish sages read their Old Testament prophecies, they see far, far more contained in them about the second coming than they do the first coming.

[7:50] And the second coming pictures a Messiah with pomp and great glory and honor and power and dominion and everything that accompanies that.

[8:07] And their thinking was, yes, that's our Messiah. That's the one we want. But this guy? From Nazareth?

[8:20] You've got to be kidding. And, of course, they flatly rejected him as being the Messiah. And when, after the resurrection, Peter stood forth and boldly proclaimed that God had raised him from the dead, they still refused to get with the program.

[8:41] And Peter preaches that message ever so clearly. And he reminds them of the prophecy in the Psalms where David the psalmist had written that thou wilt not allow thine Holy One to see corruption.

[9:01] And they were puzzled by that. And Peter made the point, well, what are you going to do with that? Because if David was speaking of himself, his body did see corruption.

[9:15] We know where he's buried. We can take it to the site. And then Peter went on to say that the passage that David was writing about was speaking of his greater son who would not be allowed to see corruption.

[9:29] And it was referring to the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. And rather than embrace that truth, although we are grateful that at least 3,000 did, and they later were baptized with John's baptism to cement their belief, the vast majority of the nation of Israel, especially beginning with the Jewish leadership establishment, rejected the whole concept.

[10:04] Yes, there were a couple of exceptions, like Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, but they were the exceptions. And insofar as the official position of Israel was concerned, Jesus could not be the Messiah.

[10:21] And then, when they saw him hanging on a cross, that convinced them even more that he could not possibly be one sent from God, because God would never allow that to happen to his chosen servant.

[10:40] So, with the crucified Jesus of Nazareth, that closes the case. That is proof positive he could not possibly have been the Messiah. And all of these kind of confusions and wranglings went on for a long time, despite the fact that Peter was preaching this message so clearly.

[10:58] And Paul, after him, that I delivered unto you that which I received, how that Christ died for our sins, that he was buried, raised again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, to the twelve, and to five hundred brethren at one time, and most of them are still alive.

[11:23] You can go check with them. And then Paul says, and last of all, he appeared unto me as one born out of due time. Still, that was not sufficient, because unbelief and its roots can run very, very deep.

[11:41] So, what we are looking at now, in connection with and preparation for the second coming, has to do with the final wrap-up of the seven-year period of tribulation that consisted of the eight stages of the campaign of Armageddon.

[11:58] And we are entering stage six. This material is available on previous CDs that have been provided for your consideration, and they are on the table in the back.

[12:12] And I want to give you a rapid run-through event-wise as to here is what will ensue. We have noticed stage one, which had to do with the gathering of the armies of the Antichrist on the plains of Esdralen.

[12:28] This is in Armageddon. And this is going to be the staging area. There will be no battle fought there, although it is commonly referred to as the campaign of Armageddon. There will not be any fighting take place there.

[12:41] It will be south of that. The Antichrist will have established himself as the undisputed world ruler. However, he achieves status by being resurrected from the dead, which will, of course, be very impressive.

[12:57] Now, it is quite significant, and I think quite ironic to note that. Even though many of the Jewish establishment rejected the idea that Jesus of Nazareth was resurrected from the dead, there are those who are going to be ready to sign on to the idea that the Antichrist has been raised from the dead.

[13:19] And he will have been raised from the dead. He will have earlier received that mortal wound, and he will be supernaturally brought back to life again.

[13:29] As a result, he will have achieved amazing status via his resurrection.

[13:40] And as a result, he alone then will be successful in killing the two witnesses of Revelation chapter 12. And these two men were previously indestructible.

[13:54] We considered this in some detail when we went through Revelation and we dealt with chapter 12, and we find all kinds of supernatural things surfacing there. And may I just stop here now and inject a concept that I want you to keep in mind.

[14:09] It is so absolutely critical as you study anything to do with future events or prophecy that is to come. And that is what we call normal, everyday kind of living, cause and effect realities, not going to exist during this time of tribulation.

[14:35] There is going to be an injection of supernatural phenomena, the likes of which have not been seen since the earthly life of Christ and the miracles he performed and the miracles that God performed in the Old Testament in connection with Israel.

[14:57] We are not living today in a similar age. This is the age of grace. And although it is true that God can perform any miracle he wants, any time he wants, and any age he wants, nobody is disputing that.

[15:13] But we are saying that that is not his modus operandi. It is not to be working in the miraculous today. There are all kinds of things that we call miracles that pass off a miracle and really aren't miracles at all.

[15:25] But when this time comes, what we consider normal is going to be done away with and there will be, if you please, a new normal.

[15:37] And it will be the supernatural. It will involve demonic activity, angelic activity. There will be all kinds of phenomena taking place in the heavens that we have no point of reference for in history.

[15:55] It's going to be an entirely different paradigm altogether. One the likes of which we just can't imagine because we can't compare with it.

[16:06] But that's what's coming. And it is peculiar to me that in connection with Israel being the people who require a sign, God's going to give them signs.

[16:20] And the word simeon, sign, has to do with signs and wonders or miracles, miraculous manifestations. And that is peculiar to the nation of Israel.

[16:32] Many Christians don't realize that, but it is a Jewish phenomenon. And this is what Paul meant. And he, by the way, being a Jew, could lend some additional credibility to it.

[16:44] He said, for the Jews require a sign. What does that mean? It means that the Jews, as a nation, were accustomed to were used to God revealing himself to them through all kinds of miraculous manifestations.

[17:06] And probably this all began way back in Egypt with the ten plagues and when God led them out of Egypt and when he miraculously cared for them in the wilderness, undertook for them, pillar of cloud by day, pillar of fire by night, water from the rock, manna from heaven, all of these things.

[17:25] were designed to condition and educate the people of Israel that Jehovah was their God and that he was their protector and their provider.

[17:37] And they got accustomed to that. They, in fact, required signs. They demanded signs. Remember when Jesus was here on a couple of occasions, the Pharisees and some of his detractors came to him.

[17:50] What sign showest thou? Well, Jesus gave them all kinds of signs and they, for the most part, were ignored because the problem with unbelief, unbelief.

[18:07] The problem with unbelief is not due to a lack of evidence. It is due to an unwillingness to believe, usually because you know what that's going to require of you and you don't want to go there.

[18:24] And Jesus rebuked some of the cities and he said, Woe unto you, Chorazin and Bethsaida, for if the mighty miracles that have been done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have believed.

[18:41] But do you? No. No, not at all. Well, what is this Tyre and Sidon say? Tyre and Sidon wasn't even Jewish. Tyre and Sidon were Gentiles.

[18:55] Jesus is saying, They didn't have any reason to expect those things, but you did. And I provided them for you and still it was not enough. And then finally, the last time, the last straw that broke the camel's back, as it were, they said, Okay, well now, what sign will you give us now?

[19:13] Give us some razzle-dazzle. Put on a show. Do something real. And Jesus said, No. No. There shall no more signs be given to this adulterous and evil generation except the sign of the prophet Jonah.

[19:33] For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, even so must the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. And of course, it went right over their head.

[19:44] They didn't get that at all. But he's saying there will be just one more sign. And that will be his resurrection from the dead. So, we find these two witnesses in Revelation 12 that I referred to partaking of supernatural qualities in that these people are indestructible.

[20:07] Now, we just cannot imagine two human beings standing and delivering messages day after day, week after week, messages that the world at large absolutely despises.

[20:27] So, what do you do when you get messages that you absolutely despise? Well, if you can't refute the message, then you kill the messenger.

[20:39] Simple as that. Age-old ploy. So, they tried to kill these guys in Revelation 12 and they were indestructible. You couldn't kill them.

[20:49] They probably tried to shoot them, probably tried to blow them up, probably tried to poison them, probably tried to do everything. And they couldn't kill them. The Antichrist now has come back to life and guess what?

[21:05] He succeeds. He succeeds. We don't know what he did or how he did it, but he killed them. And the world just goes berserk with gratitude.

[21:17] And they sent all kinds of congratulatory cards. And they even sent gifts and presents to each other celebrating the death of these two individuals who gave them so much grief, no doubt because they were simply proclaiming truth, which they found incompatible with their lifestyle, etc.

[21:37] And we are told in Revelation 12 that these two men who still remain unidentified, some think they are Moses and Elijah resurrected. I do not know who they are.

[21:49] They just appear to be two Jewish men. And upon their death, they lie out in the Jerusalem sun for three days with their bodies exposed and decomposing.

[22:12] and all the world is looking on and rejoicing over the fact and not even wanting or allowing them to be buried because they want to enjoy to the max their demise.

[22:28] And then the unthinkable happens. Those two bodies come back to life. life. Now you see what I mean when I tell you about the supernatural.

[22:43] Is there anything ordinary about this stuff? No. This seven year period of time, commonly referred to as the time of Jacob's trouble, the tribulation period has nothing to do with what we would call normal.

[22:56] This is all seven years of abnormalities and one kind after another. And it's just going to be absolutely mind boggling what's going to take place. So, the Antichrist in being successful after his being resurrected in killing the two witnesses is going to be eagerly installed as the world leader.

[23:24] And it will be a role that he will relish. Then the armies that will gather under his leadership represents a coalition of nations from the world.

[23:38] Each will send a mighty contingent to the aid of the Antichrist to whom they earlier swore allegiance. We are not told exactly how many.

[23:52] We saw this kind of thing on a much smaller scale when George H.W. Bush assembled many nations as allies to invade Iraq in 1990 when Saddam Hussein was in power.

[24:09] And you all remember that. There were multiple nations involved. France was involved in Italy and Germany and all these nations. They all sent troops to participate in that invasion.

[24:21] Well that's what's going to take place in connection with the Antichrist and his beckoning all of these nations to send their troops. We are not told how many but it will be a sizable number and their staging area will be there in that massive area known as Armageddon.

[24:40] That's where they're all going to pour into and there will be there under the leadership of the Antichrist. Then stage two, while these things are happening and while this buildup is taking place, it's going to involve nations pouring in with troops and armament equipment, etc.

[25:03] And the area is going to expand and grow. And while that is taking place, then we are told that Babylon, the capital of the world in economic and political might, will be totally destroyed.

[25:24] Now that does not now exist. It just doesn't. geographical area, of course, is there. But the scriptures make it quite clear, and we saw this in Revelation 17 and 18 when we went through it some months ago, that Babylon is going to be reborn.

[25:45] And Babylon is referred to in the Revelation as the mother of harlots. Not a very nice term. she's the mother of whores.

[25:59] And the whoredom has nothing to do with sex, although it probably involved that too. But it has to do more with idolatry, spiritual idolatry, that Israel often fell into, and for which they were judged on one occasion, with the Babylonian captivity.

[26:20] and when Babylon is referred to as the mother of harlotry, that is talking about Babylon, ancient Babylon, which is modern day southern Iraq, was the very origin of rebellion against God.

[26:44] This is where the Tower of Babel was built, and evil as it is going to permeate the world had it start there.

[26:58] And it is quite interesting to note that that's where it's going to end also. Very fitting. I have no idea how this piece of real estate today is going to morph into a world power that will be the very center of economic and political and military might.

[27:30] I have no idea how that's going to happen, but the scriptures make it quite clear that that's the way it's going to be. And you know, this, of course, presents some difficulty for interpreters, because when we read of things like this, there is a natural tendency to say, well, that doesn't mean, it doesn't actually mean Babylon.

[27:56] It doesn't mean that Babylon, that original Babylon. It's something else that is given the name Babylon, and some have even suggested it as New York City or something like that.

[28:08] But you can't take it literally. And I think that is where a great many make their mistake when they come to the interpretation of the Revelation, because we see so many really, really bizarre things happening during this period of time.

[28:25] The tendency is to say, well, that shouldn't be taken literally. You should just realize that that is just figurative language, and it doesn't actually mean what it says.

[28:40] And why would you have a problem with that? that it does mean what it says. Well, the problem is quite obvious. That's just so far removed from reality.

[28:52] You just can't buy that. That's just too, that's just too hocus pocus, too, too, too bizarre. So what we tend to do is tone it down by spiritualizing it, or make it figurative and say it doesn't actually mean what it says.

[29:14] And then here comes the next problem. Okay, then, it doesn't mean what it says. What does it mean? And you get four people together and you get six different opinions.

[29:30] and there isn't any way in the world that you can arrive at any kind of an answer. And it is for this principal reason that many, many in our pulpits today of evangelical churches completely shy away from revelation, want nothing to do with it.

[29:54] And the reason is because you have no idea what those things mean. Well, let me suggest what they mean is what they say.

[30:07] Oh, no, that can't be. That can't be. Well, it is. It is because the Bible is a book that is provided for us and it is intended to communicate with understanding that can be appreciated.

[30:26] And we take these things at face value because that's exactly the way they are intended to be taken. And I think it is very, very significant that as you open the book of the Revelation and we saw it is the only book in the whole Bible, Revelation, only book in the whole Bible that promises a special blessing for those who read this book.

[30:53] book. And I cannot believe that John would have even considered writing in the white spaces between those lines. There is a special blessing for those who read the prophecies of this book.

[31:07] Now, you're not going to understand any of it because it is so bizarre and so wild that you can't take it literally and if you can't take it literally nobody knows how to take it figuratively or what those symbols mean.

[31:20] But read it anyway. Nonsense. We are to read it with understanding. And I would be the first to admit that there are some real eye popping things in it that do not comport with our understanding of reality at all.

[31:37] But that's the point I'm trying to make. When the world gets into this area, it's all bets are off. Everything is different. Nothing is going to be the same. The supernatural is going to be the new norm.

[31:53] And those living at that time are going to have difficulty getting used to it too because they're going to come out of what we consider ordinary everyday business.

[32:05] And they're going to get the shock of their lives when this stuff starts happening. But I must move on. Babylon, the capital of the world in its economic and political might, will be totally destroyed.

[32:25] I wish I knew who the destroyer is going to be. We aren't told. I don't know if it's going to be some kind of supernatural act from heaven where God is going to see to it personally or whether he's going to use some earthly enemy.

[32:43] And the Antichrist is going to have earthly enemies. Not everybody is going to be online with him. And it could be that there is another coalition of forces that will be raised up against him.

[32:56] But however it is, Babylon is completely destroyed and the Antichrist is not going to be there when it happens because he's going to be in Armageddon with those troops that are massing there.

[33:10] And we are told that he will receive word by messenger earth. That Babylon is completely obliterated.

[33:22] What's he going to do? Well, there's no point in going to Babylon. There's nothing there for him. That was his kingdom and that was his headquarters, but it's gone. So what he does is he masses that army and he starts marching southward to Jerusalem.

[33:49] This is also referred to in Matthew 24 and following a valiant defense, Jerusalem will fall and the people will undergo a great slaughter and women are going to be abused and torture is going to be the order of the day and there will be mass executions even though the Jews will have held out under siege for a long period of time.

[34:22] They eventually will give way much like they did in 70 AD when Titus the Roman general enacted a siege against Jerusalem and finally wore him down and then took the city.

[34:37] The Antichrist then upon taking Jerusalem will proceed to the Jewish temple and he will defile the most holy place by his very presence.

[34:52] This is what Jesus was talking about when he said in Matthew 25, 24, I'm sorry, that when you see the abomination of desolation stand in the holy place, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, then you head for the hills.

[35:13] Get out of there now, fast, because your lives are going to be on the line. And these are going to flee, and many of them are going to flee to the mountains, as the text says, and that will include Mount Seir, S-E-I-R, and this is the native territory of the Edomites.

[35:39] Remind you, if I may, that the Edomites were originally fathered by Esau. The Edomites are descendants of Esau, brother of Jacob.

[35:53] And he will then declare himself to be God, which will seem very reasonable, given his list of accomplishments.

[36:05] And recall, what he's accomplished, he's come back from the dead, hey, that's pretty impressive. And in addition, he succeeded in the death of the two witnesses that nobody else could kill, but he did.

[36:20] So that's going to add more to his credibility, and then when he stands in there and proclaims himself to be God, and demands that people worship him, for most of them, it will not be much of a stretch, because they will be looking at his track record, and they will say, this guy is pretty impressive, yeah, he probably is God, we probably really ought to worship him.

[36:42] And that's exactly what's going to happen, at least on behalf of many of them. Stage four then consists of the Antichrist then leading his coalition forces to the remaining stronghold of Basra, which appears to be Petra.

[36:59] Petra is a huge area surrounded by high mountains all around, kind of like a pocket in the earth. The only access by foot is via a narrow opening no more than can accommodate a couple of horses and writers at one time.

[37:22] And then stage five, during this time, Israel, the remnant of Israel that exists, and be reminded, when this takes place, two, two-thirds of the world's population of Jews will have been eliminated.

[37:45] going to be a much higher death toll than what Adolf Hitler was able to accomplish in World War II. And what's going to be left is this little remnant.

[37:57] And I say little because it's little in comparison to the total number. And we still don't know exactly how many, but I would suggest that the number would probably be in the millions, low millions, and yes, they could be accommodated there in this huge, huge expanse.

[38:21] If you've ever been there, and I haven't, but I've talked to a number of people who have. The trips that I made to Israel, Petrov was off limits because of being a hot spot at the particular time with the Arabs getting frisky and so on.

[38:38] But some of you have seen pictures of it and you know that it is an absolutely mammoth, mammoth area. And it is spoken of in the tiny little book of Obadiah in the Old Testament.

[38:49] It is a place with sheer cliffs all the way around it, very high. And down here in this pocket, on this ground, is a huge open space where Israel is going to bivouac.

[39:09] And they're going to be living in tents, just like they lived in when they came out of Egypt, out in the wilderness. They'll be living in tents and God is going to supernaturally protect them and provide for them during this time.

[39:25] And the Antichrist is not going to be able to get at them. But I must hasten on it. Israel is sequestered there and while undergoing great reflection, and there are going to be some very lengthy, serious Bible classes held by the Jews for the Jews at this time.

[39:58] and they are going to be searching the scriptures and they are going to come to the truth that Yeshua HaMashiach, Jesus, really was the Messiah and our ancestors through it.

[40:15] and they are going to engage in a time of sober reflection and mourning and wailing and repentance and weeping.

[40:31] It will be a national breakthrough for Israel. And this is what the verse in Romans means when it talks about and so all Israel shall be saved.

[40:45] that's this little remnant that we're talking about. It's not the whole nation of Israel, but at this time this remnant will be the whole nation of Israel and they will be saved during that time.

[41:02] Zechariah 12.10 tells us that they will look unto me whom they pierced and they will mourn mourn as one mourns for his only son.

[41:20] Israel and this remnant is just going to emotionally and spiritually and psychologically suffer a huge meltdown of repentance and contrition.

[41:35] and they are going to begin crying out crying out for Yeshua to come back again and save them.

[41:52] Wow! Talk about a breakthrough. breakthrough. This is going to be something. They will plead for him to return and save them from destruction at the hands of the Antichrist and he will and that will bring us to today's stage six.

[42:18] Now let's go please to Isaiah chapter 63.

[42:34] I'm going to separate the coming of Christ from what he is going to do when he comes because these are really two different things although they're both connected with the same coming.

[42:48] Isaiah chapter 63 verses 1-6 Bear in mind if you will please Isaiah was written approximately 700 years before Jesus was born in Bethlehem and here's what the prophet said Who is this?

[43:11] It comes from Edom with garments of glowing colors from Basra this is all the same geography the one who is majestic in his apparel marching in the greatness of his strength it is I who speak in righteousness mighty to save this is a kind of quiz that's taking place this is a question and answer thing and Isaiah is asking the questions of this person that he sees in this vision and his questions are quite pertinent and so are the answers and Isaiah begins by asking the question who is this?

[43:54] comes from Edom garments of glowing colors from Basra the one who is majestic in his apparel marching in the greatness of his strength and the answer is it is I who speak in righteousness mighty to save this means mighty to rescue mighty to deliver why is your apparel red and your garments like the one who treads in the wine press and the answer I have trodden the wine trough alone and from the peoples there was no man with me I also trod them in my anger and trampled them in my wrath and their lifeblood is sprinkled on my garments and I stained all my raiment for the day of vengeance was in my heart and my year of redemption has come

[44:56] I looked and there was none to help I was astonished and there was no one to uphold so mine own arm brought salvation to me and my wrath upheld me and I trod down the peoples in my anger and made them drunk in my wrath and I poured out their lifeblood on the earth there isn't anything in human history that even remotely comes close to this description but it certainly is going to in the future and this of course is in reference to that coming and what is going to happen and why he is going to come and do as he does a couple of other quick references and one is in Habakkuk chapter 3 book of

[45:59] Habakkuk you know these minor prophets for that matter some of the major ones too people just don't take all that seriously because they think that it's just so much poetry but there's a lot of very literal truth here Habakkuk chapter 3 and verse 3 God comes from Teman where is Teman same place Petra Basra right there in that neighborhood God comes from Teman and the Holy One from Mount Paran his splendor covers the heavens and the earth is full of his praise his radiance is like the sunlight he has rays flashing from his hand and there is the hiding of his power before him goes pestilence and plague comes after him he stood and surveyed the earth he looked and startled the nations yet the perpetual mountains were shattered the ancient hills collapsed his ways are everlasting marvelous marvelous stuff and then one more in the minor prophets and that is

[47:06] Micah chapter 2 Micah Micah chapter 2 and verse 12 I will surely assemble all of you Jacob I will surely gather the remnant of Israel I will put them together like sheep in the fold by the way I don't know if you know what what the Hebrew word is for sheep fold is Basra and this huge area where God is going to sequester his people where he will providentially protect them and care for them it's going to be a sheep fold and they will be the sheep he will be the shepherd and he will be protecting them

[48:07] I will put them together like sheep in the fold like a flock in the midst of the pasture they will be noisy with men the breaker goes up before them who's the breaker guess guess who the breaker is what does the breaker mean anyway what does that signify these people are going to be under siege the antichrist is going to be breathing down their neck and he will be laying a siege against all of these people and Jesus is going to break the siege and lead his people out my that's going to be something he will be the breaker pass through the gate and go out by it so their king goes on before them and the Lord at their head then in Zechariah chapter 12 and verse 7

[49:08] I've referred to that earlier but even back in the book of Judges a place where I would not expect to find this but there it is in the book of Judges chapter 5 and beginning with verse 4 Lord when thou didst go out from Seir when thou didst march from the field of Edom the earth quaked the heavens also dripped by the way when you read these things it sounds very much like past history doesn't it but you've got to consider that very often when God is speaking of himself and his activities and the prophets are writing about them they are often housed in terms that make it look as if it's already happened it's a done deal and that is because anything that

[50:12] God has prophesied is just as good as already having happened this is the meaning of Jesus Christ the Lamb of God slain before the foundation of the world well how can that be he wasn't slain before the foundation of the world he was slain 2,000 years ago on the cross of Calvary that's not exactly as far as God is concerned it was a done deal way back when and that's the meaning that is given here connection with all of prophecy when thou didst go out from Syria when thou didst march from the field of Edom this is all the same geography the earth quaked the heavens also dripped even the clouds dripped water the mountains quaked at the presence of the Lord now this is a beautiful poetic thing and we don't take that literally because we ordinarily don't think of mountains as having emotions and quaking but when you are writing also from the standpoint of poetry it's like the trees clapping their hands have you ever seen in the first place trees don't have hands do they no but the poetic expression is what it's saying is if the trees had hands they would be clapping that's what it's saying and the writer engages in poetry to say that and it happens that way in much of other passages as well so this is stage six of the eight stages when he is coming and stage seven

[51:45] I'm sorry stage six we're going to take in two parts and next week will be part two and that will be what he does when he comes and as you already know it is not going to be pretty and who are these people these people who are going to be arrayed against him that are going to feel the wrath of his judgment they are going to be the casualties of that sharp sword that goes out of his mouth which is going to be nothing more than his spoken word that is what he is going to use to utterly defeat the enemy and the carnage that is going to take place in connection with that is absolutely overwhelming it is mind-boggling it's something we just can't get our brains around but it's the way that it's going to be and you've got to keep in mind that this is after all the great wrap up this is the end of this is the end of the world as we know it now the globe is not going to cease to exist and there's going to be a millennial rain established upon the earth that will be utterly purified and cleansed but it will be the same earth and it will be in place having been cleansed of the antichrist and all of his cohorts at that time so this is really really going to be something that's what's in store for this old world and those who are arrayed against him will be those who are unabashed followers and supporters of the antichrist and you've got to remember the antichrist is the chief henchman of satan himself this is the god this is the god what shall i say the counterfeit satan is the counterfeit father and the antichrist is the counterfeit christ and the false prophet is the counterfeit holy spirit so they have all three of these evil enemies activated at one and the same time and we've covered a great deal of material and i know that it's difficult to take all of this in it's difficult for me as i study it more than once i just have to get up and walk around my chair a couple of times and sit down and dig in again but it's going to really be something have you a quick question or comment anyone before we dismiss well it is time to dismiss and once again i'll tell you what i'll make you a deal okay such a deal we will do part two next week of this particular stage of what it is that christ does when he comes we'll separate that from the coming and then the following week that'll be two weeks from today we will have an extended q a so if you have questions we will devote the whole session to q a and that should be very enlightening as well at least i trust it will be so if you have questions formulate them if you will if you want to write out your questions or drop them in the offering box you would get a better answer than an

[55:45]  answer that i have to give you off the top of my head because a lot of times that's what the answers sound like come off the top of my head so if you want to do that feel free to do so and two weeks from the day i know there will be time for a q a because i'm going to open with it okay so we'll do that would you stand please father we do not know exactly how to respond to these things which we see because it is a fearful time that is coming upon the world and it is a planet that is going to be subjected to the long abated wrath of a holy righteous god something that this world has not answered to since the days of noah and yet at the same time we are a privileged people because you have not kept from your people that which you intend to accomplish you have provided us with the information that is needed and as peter would say seeing then that these things are coming upon the earth what manner of people we ought to be in all holy conversation and living we trust that you will use these things to instill in us a new sense of seriousness of purpose and sobriety and a real desire to get out with urgency this wonderful gospel that we have come to find so precious and so valuable we're looking for ways to extend our ministry of sharing this good news with those before it is too late thank you for each one here who enters into that effort we ask your blessing upon us now as we dismiss and go our separate ways in Christ's name amen