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[0:00] Our ongoing study of the book of the Revelation, we have arrived at Revelation chapter 14, and I would invite you to turn to that portion now, if you would, please, if you have not already done so, and we'll look to the Lord in a word of prayer.

[0:16] Father, we are gathered here this morning that we might learn of Thee. Our time and efforts are too valuable to come and simply listen to what any man has to say.

[0:27] So, we appeal to you, the author and the finisher of our faith, the one who has inspired the scriptures that we will be examining. We are so grateful that you've been pleased to provide this revelation.

[0:40] We certainly are not deserving of it, but in your graciousness, you have given us your insight and your view regarding man, yourself, eternity, and all that it involves.

[0:51] Thank you for each and every line of scripture that you have inspired, and we look to you now for the wisdom that you alone possess, for the understanding and appreciation of it.

[1:03] Thank you for the gathering this morning, for each one who is present, for the truth that is before us. Help us to sort it all out and to be able to determine anything that may be of the flesh, which we trust will pass away and come to naught.

[1:17] And that which is from your spirit, may it be sanctified to our hearts and minds. We pray in Christ's name, for his sake alone. Amen. All right, let us read, if we may, the first seven verses of Revelation chapter 14.

[1:39] And I looked, and behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having his name and the name of his Father written on their foreheads.

[1:56] And I heard a voice from heaven like the sound of many waters, and like the sound of loud thunder. And the voice which I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps.

[2:09] And they sang a new song before the throne, and before the four living creatures, and the elders, and no one could learn the song, except the one hundred and forty-four thousand who had been purchased from the earth.

[2:25] These are the ones who have not defiled, who have not been defiled with women, for they have kept themselves chaste. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes.

[2:39] These have been purchased from among men as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. And no lie was found in their mouth.

[2:50] They are blameless. They are blameless. They are blameless. And I saw another angel flying in heaven, having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation, and tribe, and tongue, and people.

[3:05] And he said with a loud voice, Fear God, and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters.

[3:23] For this morning, we're going to conclude our reading and probably our examination with verse 7, because what remains is to involve, to try and incorporate it into one session.

[3:34] But I do want to point out in this particular passage the presence and activity of six different angels. And if you will note in verse 6, I saw another angel.

[3:49] And in verse 8, and another angel. And in verse 9, the third another angel. And then, as you continue on, in verse 14, I'm sorry, verse 15, another angel.

[4:10] At the beginning of verse 15. And then in chapter 17, another angel. And chapter 18, another. So we've got six angels.

[4:20] And may I remind you that as regards the revelation, one of the most dramatic and intriguing groups to appear in the revelation is found in this chapter, the presence of these six angels, and the 144,000 that, of course, have been the object of much controversy and examination for literally centuries.

[4:47] 144,000 surface for the first time in chapter 7. And they appear again in chapter 14. However, they are active all throughout the tribulation period of seven years.

[5:05] And it is important to keep in mind that these are going to be active during that entire period. They are going to be engaged in evangelistic endeavor. However, the only thing that is going to keep them from being martyred is that they will have a supernatural seal of God upon them.

[5:23] They will be virtually indestructible. Otherwise, all of them would be candidates for martyrdom. And the question automatically surfaces, I think, at least it did in my own mind, is these 144,000, 12,000 of each from the 12 tribes of Israel are unmistakably all Jews.

[5:49] They are all males. And they all appear to be youthful. They are virgins.

[6:03] This is going to be one of the most extraordinary things ever to come upon the earth. But that is completely in keeping with the general tenor of the book of the Revelation.

[6:16] This is not a natural book at all. It is a supernatural book. Well, we recognize that all the books of the Bible are supernatural. But this is supernatural in a different kind of way.

[6:30] And if you haven't already discovered that, you certainly will if you are with us as we go through the remainder of it. This is a period of time that is coming upon the earth that is referred to as the tribulation period.

[6:44] It is also designated as, it is called, the time of Jacob's trouble, which again associates it with Judaism.

[6:55] That is referenced in Jeremiah chapter 30 and verse 7. This does not mean that it isn't a time of trouble for everybody else. This is going to be a time of trouble for the whole world.

[7:08] But it is especially going to be a time of trouble and difficulty for the Jewish people. And they are, by the way, going to be made into an international scapegoat by the Antichrist.

[7:23] In much the same way that Adolf Hitler made the Jewish people a scapegoat for all of Europe and its ills in the 1920s and 1930s.

[7:36] And that resulted, of course, in painting a gigantic bullseye on the back of virtually every Jewish people, all the Jewish people. And six million of them were done away with in Hitler's gas ovens and concentration camps.

[7:49] This time is also referred to as the day of vengeance of our God, referred to in Isaiah 34 and verse 8. We're not going to take time to go to these references because we'll just be flipping pages if we do.

[8:05] But I want them here for the record in case you want to obtain the CD. Then you can have these references readily available. And the day of vengeance of our God is in Isaiah 34, 8.

[8:16] Also in 35 and verse 4. And in chapter 61 and verse 12. In the ninth chapter of Daniel and verse 27. It is called the 70th week of Daniel.

[8:30] One of the most significant periods of time ever to come upon the earth. But do not make the mistake of thinking that it is seven days. It is seven years.

[8:41] And the word in the original Hebrew is a period of seven. It doesn't say seven what. It just says seven. And in the context, if you examine the context and look at other attending references, it becomes very obvious.

[8:57] It's not talking about seven weeks, which would be a little short of two months. It's talking about a period of seven years. And Daniel chapter 9 helps to explain that.

[9:09] Reiterating the three purposes of this period of time that are yet future. Number one, it is to make an end of wickedness. This is related in Isaiah 13 and verse 9.

[9:24] Also in chapter 24, verses 19 and 20. This is going to be the ultimate showdown between good and evil.

[9:36] This is where everything is headed. This is going to be the culmination of it. This is going to be evil's last hurrah. This is going to be the time of, well, the valley of decision is what Isaiah calls it.

[9:53] This is going to be the time of decision for multitudes of people. And the second reason will be to bring about worldwide revival. Because even though it is going to be a period of seven years of great tribulation, conflagration, confusion, anxiety, men's hearts failing them for fear and everything that goes with it, it is also going to be a time wherein multitudes will come to faith in the one true God.

[10:23] And many of them will pay for their decision with their life. And then the last reason, this is something that we studied in our last nine o'clock session when we dealt with this prophetic issue on the monthly level.

[10:43] And that is to break the power of the holy people. We gave you numerous scripture references on Tuesday about the incredible stubbornness, the stiff-necked aspect of the Jewish people, where they are described all throughout the Bible, Old and New Testament, by God himself.

[11:04] It says, surely I have stretched forth my hand all the day long to a stiff-necked and gainsaying people. And they have been that. From the time God brought them out of the land of Egypt, the Jewish people have developed a penchant for absolute stubbornness.

[11:22] They are in a negative mode when it comes to the issue of authority and submission to it. Israel insisted on making their own gods.

[11:35] And they often fell into idolatry, along with some of the heathen that surrounded them. So this is going to be a time when the Jewish people, as a whole, a corporate body of Judaism, is going to experience a real wake-up call to the one true God of Israel.

[11:54] This one whom they have abandoned. And they are going to recognize him for who he is. And they will return en masse.

[12:05] But two-thirds, two-thirds of the Jewish people existing in the world are going to be killed during this time of tribulation.

[12:20] Two-thirds of them. We're talking about millions of people. And in the Holocaust of World War II, Hitler succeeded in killing one-third of the world's Jewish population.

[12:32] The Antichrist will kill two-thirds. And those who are remaining will be referred to as the remnant. They will be supernaturally provided for and protected by the God whom they have come to recognize.

[12:48] And we believe that will take place in the ancient city of Petra. And we'll be talking about that later. So this will break the power of the holy people. Shortly before our Lord went to the cross of Calvary, he delivered this word to the nation of Israel.

[13:05] And he said, as he visited the temple for the last time, he said, Your house is left unto you desolate.

[13:18] In other words, empty, worthless, of no value. He's talking about the temple. He says, Your house is left to you empty, worthless, desolate. And then he made this very, very significant statement.

[13:32] And he said to the Jewish people, And you will not see me again until you say, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

[13:47] And that will be in connection with the second coming, a time that is incredibly dramatic. So those are the three purposes of the tribulation period.

[13:59] To make an end of wickedness, to bring about worldwide revival, and to break the power of the holy people. Not much about this seven-year period will be natural.

[14:11] But it will be chiefly supernatural. Both in its good and in its evil. Satan is going to pull out all the stops for all of his activities, which will consist primarily of two things.

[14:32] One is deception. The second is destruction. He is a master at both of these. He is a liar from the beginning. There is no truth in him.

[14:43] He is going to succeed in deceiving the world. And, in one respect, that will not be all that difficult. Because people of the world, apart from being armed with the truth of Scripture, they think with a warped intellect.

[15:03] This will not enable them to reach truthful conclusions. They do not have thinking powers that are intact due to their fallenness.

[15:15] And all of us, all of us are victims of the fallenness of our original parents. And that passed on to each generation means that every generation thinks with a warped intellect.

[15:30] How else do you think we've got in the mess that we're in now? Think about it. The world's really messed up. The nation's really messed up.

[15:41] It has been messed up. And the mess gets bigger and messier as the years go by. And the reason is simple. Our best brains, our best intellects, are people who think with a warped mind.

[15:57] They do not have the capacity or the ability to assess situations and reach accurate conclusions. So, they reach wrong conclusions.

[16:08] And then, they act on those conclusions. That's what we do with our conclusions. We act on them. And then, that creates the conflicts and the messes that we're in now. So, God graciously has provided us with information that is designed to counter our fallen intellect and our warped thinking.

[16:30] That's what the Bible is all about. The Bible is that document that gives us the straight scoop. If you want to know why things are the way they are, how they got that way, and where it's going, you will not find those answers anywhere other than in the Bible.

[16:51] And the accuracy is absolutely stunning. So, this is going to be a time of great supernatural input, both in good and in evil.

[17:02] These forces, good and evil, have always been in place. But they will be manifested during this time as never before. Angelic and demonic spirits will be playing a major role during this time.

[17:19] We've already seen in earlier chapters the surfacing of some absolutely weird creatures that the world has never seen before that are going to be loosed in huge numbers and are going to take a tremendous toll on the population of the earth.

[17:36] Also, as we move through the Revelation, it is important that you keep in mind there is a shifting of scenes that John describes sometimes from heaven to earth and then back to earth and then back to heaven.

[17:49] And so on. And you simply need to read the context of each of the events that's transpiring because sometimes John is describing a vision he sees in heaven. Sometimes he's describing the vision of something that is taking place on the earth.

[18:04] And very often the text is quite clear as to which he is describing at the time. And suffice it to say, and I know that this is a big problem that many people have with the Revelation.

[18:18] They have great difficulty in taking these events and the numbers that accompany them literally. And I suspect that in the main, the most difficult aspect of their taking this literally is that the numbers are just too huge.

[18:43] It just can't mean that. It just, it has to be symbolic. It can't be literal. You can't be talking about one third of the world's population.

[18:54] Are you kidding me? Do you know how many people that would be? We aren't talking millions. We're talking billions. That's a lot of people.

[19:04] I mean, that's an uncountable number, really. If you want to do the math sometimes, I challenge you to just sit down and allow yourself to count one number per second.

[19:19] One, two, three. And do the math and figure out how long it would take you to count to the number one million.

[19:32] Just one million. And when you get through doing that, then you have to multiply it by a thousand in order to get a billion.

[19:44] We're talking about human beings. Population being decimated in a way that it never has before.

[19:55] We're talking about massive input from the elements such as earthquakes, tornadoes, and all of these things that nature brings in a negative way.

[20:05] Plus the machinations of the Antichrist and evil forces that are going to be about. It's going to be horrendous. Absolutely horrendous. Unlike anything that the world has ever seen or even ever imagined.

[20:19] And it is because of this supernatural element found throughout that many conclude this just cannot be literal.

[20:31] But I am confident that it is literal. We are accustomed to what we have always called normal. Normal. This will be anything but.

[20:45] This will show itself to be the new norm. Normal today is absent from the supernatural.

[20:58] We have become quite accustomed to what we call the natural. Even the natural forces of nature and men's behavior and so on. This is going to be supernatural.

[21:11] This is going to be what you might call a new norm. Miraculous events will be the order of the day. They will leave people without excuse because seeing will be obvious that God himself is intervening in the affairs of men in an unmistakable fashion.

[21:32] Men are going to conclude as they look at this and already have. And I don't know how many. I don't know how many commentaries I have consulted on the revelation.

[21:44] I probably have in excess of 75 in my library. And it is amazing the disagreement that occurs among these scholars. All of whom are good people and know and love the Lord and fully accept the authority of scripture.

[22:00] Yet they reach wildly different conclusions. And you have to take into consideration what they say because they are great minds that have gone before and we stand on their shoulders.

[22:12] But I am committed to taking the scriptures at face value quite literally unless the context makes it abundantly clear that it is not to be taken literally.

[22:28] That there is figurative language involved. And this is the way most of these people interpret the rest of the Bible. But there is that tendency when you come to the revelation to make an exception.

[22:40] Because we can't take that literal because that's too bad. The numbers are too great. The things are too weird and too different. So we've got to make those symbols mean something other than literal.

[22:53] But they are literal. And the word of God, I am satisfied, is consistent because the revelation, as is true with all the rest of the Bible, was never given to mystify anybody.

[23:06] Was never given to confound anybody. Was never given to puzzle anybody. The word of God is given for our enlightenment that we might understand.

[23:17] And it has to be communicable. It has to be intelligible. And I am confident that it is. And I would be in the same camp as everybody else when you look at these numbers and look at what's happening in the supernatural.

[23:30] And say, ah, it can't mean that. Well, I'm satisfied that it does mean that. And we know there's a lot of symbolism in the revelation.

[23:41] But where the symbols are used, they are consistent. And they tie in with the symbols that are used also in the Old Testament. Some of which we've seen. Others will see later on. So, there is an amazing coherence and cohesiveness all throughout Scripture.

[23:56] And it is all based upon a literal understanding of what is set forth. And with this statement, I'm going to move on and we'll leave the subject of interpretation.

[24:08] But beware. If you do not take the passage, not only in Revelation, but in other places as well. If you do not take it literally in its straightforward sense, then you open it up to human imagination.

[24:27] And the sky's the limit. I mean, they come up with everything and anything that you can imagine. And there is no check on human imagination if you do not take it at face value.

[24:39] So, the Word of God means what it says, and it says what it means. Miraculous events will be the order of the day.

[24:50] And they will leave people without excuse, because seeing will be obvious that God himself is intervening in the affairs of men in an unmistakable fashion.

[25:00] And this is one of the things that I find so striking about this book. And that is that the world population is going to be convinced that this is the God of heaven who is in charge of these events and is bringing these calamities upon the earth.

[25:24] This is what the Lord meant when he said, Vengeance is mine. I will repay, saith the Lord.

[25:36] And one of the designations of this time of tribulation is the day of vengeance of our God. That is retribution.

[25:47] God is bringing a time of justice upon the earth. And when he invokes us to not be judgmental and to not be vengeful one to another, but to leave that with the Lord, it is because he is the only one who is able to exact vengeance in an entirely appropriate, righteous way.

[26:14] God's vengeance will be just. Man's vengeance tends to be unjust. We just usually want to get even with somebody about something.

[26:26] And it usually involves in some kind of overkill. But when God brings judgment upon the earth, men are going to know. And this is what I find so stunning.

[26:37] This will show you the depths of the human heart and human depravity. Men are going to know, not suspect. They are going to know that it is the God of heaven who is bringing this upon them.

[26:54] And the text tells us in so many places, and still they will not repent. They will dig in their heels.

[27:05] They will clench their fist. And they will curse the God of heaven. Fortunately, that will not be true of all of them, because some are going to accept gracious invitation for salvation, even though it may well not involve deliverance from death or persecution.

[27:31] Yet, they are going to embrace the truth. And there will be that element that will shake their fist at God, knowing full well who it is they're shaking their fist at.

[27:43] And these will have been empowered and energized by the Antichrist, encouraged by the Antichrist. They're going to line up behind him and pledge their loyalty to him.

[27:55] This is partly what the mark of the beast is all about. This mark of the beast, this 666 mark, is a mark of loyalty and ownership to the beast, to the Antichrist.

[28:09] And they will be signing on to support him. Unbelief will then be less and less justified and excusable. More will be getting, the man will be getting the evidence he always said was inadequate.

[28:26] But yet, he will continue to disbelieve, that is, disbelieve in the grace that God is offering. The hardness of men's hearts will be shown for what it truly is.

[28:39] One of the statements that I've included in one of the segments on connecting with God, a new CD that I'm producing, is a quote from Bertrand Russell.

[28:50] And I don't know how many of you, especially younger people, probably not familiar with Bertrand Russell, but he was considered one of the most brilliant individuals of the 20th century.

[29:00] He was a philosopher, a mathematician, very brilliant man, probably had an IQ that could buy and sell mine two or three times with change left over. And one time Bertrand Russell was being interviewed, and the interviewer asked him, just suppose, Dr. Russell, just suppose you are wrong in your atheism.

[29:23] And one day, you stand before your maker. And God looks at you and says, Bertrand Russell, why did you not believe?

[29:34] What would you tell him? He said, I would tell him, you did not give me enough evidence. Well, that would be Bertrand Russell's answer.

[29:46] However, if you read the first chapter of Paul's letter to the Romans, we are told that the evidence that is given there in the things that God has made, creation itself, bear witness and testimony to the fact that there is a God in heaven, who has brought all these things into existence, so that man is without excuse.

[30:11] So, believe whether, you can choose whom to believe, whether God or Bertrand Russell, you can take your choice. For most of us, that would not be too difficult a choice.

[30:25] So, let us look at these 144,000 here in chapter 14. And the first question that we want to ask, and give you at least a tentative answer, is, what in the world could possibly be responsible for 144,000 young Jewish men who are virgins to sign on to a cause like this of evangelizing the world when these, to begin with, are Jews?

[31:04] And Jews do not accept the Messiahship of Jesus. Do not believe that this one who was crucified 2,000 years ago was really the Messiah of Israel.

[31:20] and the true Messiah has yet to come. But these 144,000 are not going to buy that. They are going to be on board.

[31:32] What is going to put them on board? I do not know this for sure, and I'm not trying to be a prophet of any kind because I'm far from that. But I would say that it is going to take something of enormous significance and demonstration to cause these 144,000.

[31:54] I mean, I don't believe God is somehow going to override their individual volition and say to these individuals, I don't care what you believe or what you want to do.

[32:07] I am enlisting you in my army. I'm drafting you whether you want to do this or not. This is something. Now, I am confident that they are going to do this with complete agreement and complete conviction.

[32:20] And the only thing that I can see, at least to this point in time, as was revealed in Scripture, that could possibly convince them of that and make them sign on to this cause is that invasion of Russia in Ezekiel 38 and 39, which many believe, and I happen to be one of them, that that is something that is going to occur before the 70th week of Daniel begins.

[32:49] And it is going to result in the absolute devastation, destruction, on an unbelievable scale, of the entire Russian army and all of the allies that it will bring with it.

[33:03] they are going to suffer virtual extermination upon the mountains of Israel. And it will not be, it will not be principally through the activities of the Israeli army that will be defending the nation.

[33:20] It will be a supernatural thing. And we've seen that. It will not take time to go to it now, but we've examined it before in Ezekiel 38 and 39, that these nations that sign on with Russia and invade Israel are going to be literally obliterated.

[33:40] And this is, in some respect, going to carry itself all the way back to the homeland of Russia, and there is going to be enormous devastation there. And it will all be by the hand of God, mainly through what we would call natural means.

[33:58] We're talking earthquakes and devastation like that. These are going to be brought upon them by the God of heaven. And we are told, Ezekiel passage, in that Ezekiel passage, that it is going to take the nation of Israel seven months to bury the corpses of this Russian army.

[34:24] And the Jewish people are going to realize that this is the doing of the God upon whose back they have turned.

[34:39] And they are going to come, many of them are going to come to a renewed faith in the God of Israel. And among them will be 144,000 young men, prime time life, ready for enlisting in this army.

[34:58] 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes. I have no idea how the tribal distinctions are going to be understood or gone, if we may, in the text. The Lamb was standing on Mount Zion.

[35:08] The Lamb, of course, is a picture of the symbol of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God slain before the foundation of the world. Mount Zion is the place where the temple is located, where it will be located then, and 144,000 with them, having his name and the name of his father written on their foreheads.

[35:26] I don't know exactly what that's going to be other than just what the text says. And John says, I heard a voice from heaven like the sound of many waters. He didn't say it's the sound of many waters, but he says, that's the closest thing that I can think of to describe it.

[35:43] And if you've ever been to a place like Niagara Falls, you know what the sound is like. It's roaring, it's deafening, and it is definitely attention-getting.

[35:55] Nobody can ignore it. This is a voice like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. And the lightning is missing here, but we've seen that present in other places as well.

[36:10] And I suggested to you that one of the reasons that these tremendous sounds are heard and sights are seen is for the simple reason they are attention-getters.

[36:23] And we know that here on Earth we've got just plain old ordinary everyday thunder and lightning, but it always seems to get your attention, doesn't it? It flashes across the sky, it's like, wow, look at that, you know, and this big thunderbolt and a big boom of thunder and everything gets everybody's attention.

[36:40] And it works that way, too, especially when it's supernatural here in these elements. And he says, and then there is the sound of harpists playing on their harps.

[36:52] What an enormous contrast. How in the world do you correlate playing on harps in numbers, playing on harps with thunder and all of this noise is extraordinary.

[37:06] And John says, and they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures, and we saw those in an earlier chapter, which we'll not go back to, and the elders.

[37:18] This is the 24 elders again. And no one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been purchased from the Earth.

[37:30] This is going to be their song and their special song, and nobody else is going to sing it. It's going to be a kind of victory song.

[37:42] It's going to be a song that is going to announce the gospel. It's going to be in connection with that because that's what these men are going to be preaching. They're going to be preaching this good news, and it's going to be believed by huge numbers, and it's going to be rejected by huge numbers.

[38:01] I have no idea what this song is going to consist of. These are the ones who have not been defiled with women. Now, I know that there are some who look upon this, and they interpret it in such a way as to constitute a put-down with women.

[38:19] But I don't know, honestly, speaking now as a man, I don't know of a man anywhere who would probably consider sexual relations with a woman to be defilement.

[38:33] we don't ordinarily think of it in those terms as defilement. And what is it that John is saying here? He is simply saying that these are virgin young men who have never had physical relations with a woman.

[38:51] And all that is saying is the defilement, if we can call it such a thing. And I think it's an accurate description. It means a defilement, it means a contamination, is that which occurs when fornication is involved.

[39:12] And fornication is sexual activity without the benefit of marriage. These young men will not have been engaged in sexual relations as a single young man.

[39:27] That would constitute defilement. And by the way, it's a defilement for the woman too. When a couple without the benefit of marriage enter into sexual relations as so often happens today, they are defiling each other even though they don't have a clue.

[39:50] Don't understand it at all. Don't think of it in those terms at all. Fornication is moral, spiritual defilement. And these young men are going to be devoid of that.

[40:03] We would call them chaste young men. They are pure young men. And what makes them pure is that they have not been contaminated through fornication.

[40:15] This, of course, indicates that they are they've got a bigger agenda. They have bigger fish to fry than chasing after women, which is the usual thing that young men enjoy most.

[40:33] But these have a higher calling. And we are told these are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes.

[40:43] these have been purchased from among men as first fruits to God and to the Lamb. Whenever the scriptures use the term first fruits, it is always talking about a leading element with the implication that there is more, much more, to follow.

[41:04] And the term is taken from from the agricultural scene. And when the planters go out and plant their crops, sow their seed, et cetera, and they wait for the time of harvest, there are always certain segments of the field that ripen earlier.

[41:30] And we don't know if it's because they have more nutrients in the soil there, if they have better advantage of the sun or what it is, a combination of things. But there are always first fruits that show up.

[41:43] And they are ripe and ready for harvest before all the rest of it is. But it's always a minority. And here, the 144,000 are the minority.

[41:57] And the implication is the major harvest is going to come later. And it will be much, much greater than 144,000 It will consist of approximately one-third of the Jewish population existing at that time.

[42:18] Two-thirds are going to be killed. And of the one-third who constitute this greater harvest that is to come on the heels of the 144,000, many of them will be martyred as well.

[42:32] But those who survive will constitute the remnant, and we saw they will be providentially protected and cared for, hidden away from the Antichrist so he cannot get to them.

[42:43] And they will be, we believe, in Petra in that area and we'll be looking at that later. So, these men are the firstfruits.

[42:56] In the same way, Jesus Christ is referred to as the firstfruits of them that slept. And that means that he is the very first one who was resurrected from the dead.

[43:09] And his resurrection is the guarantee that because he lives, we too shall live. And we are going to constitute the harvest, the greater harvest of which he is the firstfruits of them that slept.

[43:23] So, they are those who have been purchased from among men as firstfruits to God and to the lamb. And no lie was found in their mouth. They are blameless.

[43:34] These are going to be extraordinary young men. They are going to be young Jewish men of high caliber, high integrity, great commitment, great loyalty, and they are going to stand with the lamb having his name and therefore they are going to be virtually indestructible.

[43:56] If they were not indestructible, the antichrist and evil forces would do away with them in a heartbeat. They would be off the scene. So, once again, this is another aspect of something supernatural taking place in that these are virtually indestructible.

[44:12] Otherwise, they would be killed. And then, in verse 6, I saw another angel flying in midheaven, having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people.

[44:26] This is going to be an operation on the part of God that is going to leave no one unnotified, no one unaware, no one left out except those who choose to be left out.

[44:50] This is going to be a presentation of the gospel that is going to be heard and understood by virtually everybody. I cannot conceive of anything like this.

[45:04] This is probably the ultimate in supernatural. This angel in verse 6, he is preaching this eternal gospel to those who live on the earth and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people.

[45:20] this is a saturation message. This is in addition to the efforts of the 144,000. This is nothing more than God leaving no stone unturned to proclaim this gospel to make sure that every individual, wherever they are in the world, in the far flung recesses of the world, will get this message.

[45:49] And this angel is going to deliver it in a supernatural way. This eternal gospel, of course, has to do with the eternal good news.

[46:00] And the good news is simply this. Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures. He was buried and raised again the third day, according to the scriptures. The angel is going to make this message crystal clear to everyone.

[46:14] And he says in verse 7, with a loud voice, fear God, God. And when you fear God, what it means to be God fearing doesn't mean necessarily that you cower in fear of God like that, although that may well be involved too under these circumstances.

[46:32] But when someone is said to be God fearing, what that means is God has the proper place in their life. It means you give God his proper due in your life.

[46:47] That's what it means to be God fearing. And Cornelius did that. He was called a God fearer back in Acts chapter 10. And one who was not a Jew, but a Gentile.

[47:01] Yet he was a God fearer. He was one who recognized the true God of Israel was the only true God and that he worshipped him and accepted him. And this fearing God here is going to be the message that is simply going to be an appeal.

[47:14] Hey, wake up and give God the glory, give God the credit, give God the recognition, as opposed to the false Christ set up, the antichrist, and all of the rest of it that people are going to be turning to in great droves.

[47:29] So this is going, can you imagine the cataclysmic events that are going to be taking place, the discussions that people are going to be having, the phenomena that they're going to be exposed to, the conclusions that people are going to be reaching, the differences that will exist, it's going to be, it's going to be maddening and thrilling.

[47:50] It's going to be a conflagration the likes of which the world has never seen. Give Him glory because the hour of His judgment has come.

[48:03] This is it. Worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and the springs of waters and when you worship someone you simply are ascribing worth to them.

[48:23] That's what the word worship means. It means to recognize the worth of someone to acknowledge that and pay them the honor that is due them.

[48:36] This is what is going to be transpiring during this time. There isn't anything that is remotely normal or usual about this.

[48:51] It is all supernatural from beginning to end and it is presented and provided in such a way that man will have absolutely no excuse for not having the proper response.

[49:07] It's going to be a time the likes of which we cannot imagine. We will have to reserve the remainder of this chapter for our next session together but I will entertain a couple of questions or comments.

[49:18] It's just about time to dismiss now and I don't want to keep you any longer. It's necessary but if you are itching with a question or comment this is your opportunity. Is there one or two? Anybody?

[49:30] Okay. Up here. Yes, Edward. I wanted to comment on what you said earlier in the message about taking the Bible literally.

[49:41] Not only is that helpful to understand the Bible because it allows you as the reader to interact directly rather than having to go through someone else's ideas that you may not think of.

[49:52] If you approach the Bible figuratively you have to think of the figure. So that's helpful but it's also helpful as a parent to explain what the scripture means to your children because if you take if you approach the Bible literally and I say it that way because obviously not all the Bible is meant to be taken literally but it is all meant to be literally true.

[50:16] It literally means something. Yeah. Absolutely. So when we teach our children what the Bible means we can explain to them what the Bible is saying in plain terms.

[50:29] And when we started seeing the Bible this way I started using a saying we'll use the 10 year old hermeneutic. The 10 year old hermeneutic is if you're not sure what the Bible means by something ask a 10 year old most of the time they'll get it right.

[50:46] And when I did that when I started saying that Celia was 10 at the time. So right now we don't have a 10 year old but she says she's a 10 year old with five years of experience. But I appreciate what you said and I completely agree that we should approach the Bible.

[51:04] God wrote the Bible for us to understand it. And for much of my childhood and even adult life I was convinced that I really couldn't understand the Bible unless somebody smarter than me explained it.

[51:17] And that really sucks the joy out of studying the Bible for yourself. It's true. Very true. And so I appreciate that. Thank you. Thank you, George. And I couldn't agree more that the Bible this does not mean as I've tried to make clear in the past this does not mean that you take everything in the Bible literally but it means that you approach it from a literal standpoint because even when it is to be taken figuratively even the figurative understanding of it is based upon the literal understanding that you have to have in place before otherwise you can't even get the figure so thank you very much.

[51:55] I appreciate that. Someone else with a comment or question? One correction I want to make and then I'll dismiss you with this.

[52:10]  I mentioned that we would continue chapter 14 next week but I'd forgotten temporarily that next weekend will be Independence Day weekend and I'll be bringing a different kind of message one that is more in keeping with Independence Day and we will reserve then the balance of chapter 14 for the following week at least that is our intention all right would you stand please let's pray together father we wouldn't have any idea what the future holds except that you have been pleased to reveal it and we recognize fully that there are some really tremendously difficult things here to consider some concepts and events that are totally beyond our thinking or our appreciation because we've never seen anything like this and we recognize that the tendency among humanity is to look at these items and say well these things cannot be this way simply because they never have been this way but we know that this is an entirely different time that is coming this is the great assize this is the ultimate showdown between good and evil and this is the antichrist and the true christ squaring off one to the other we are grateful because we know who the victor will be we ask that you will use this time to speak to the hearts and minds of each of us and if there is anyone here boy or girl man or woman who has never seen the reality of christ dying as their substitute for their sin we pray that they may come to an understanding and appreciation of that because there is nothing that transcends this glorious gospel of christ and the sins forgiven that you provide for us through our lord jesus our prayer is that they might know and fully understand and appreciate what it means to be in christ because they have put their faith and their trust in him thank you for the time that we share together for the truth that is here we look forward to an unveiling of more which is to come in christ's name amen