well let's go turn with me to Revelation chapter 7 for tonight's study Rev says two priests made it to the pearly gates and Simon Peter looked a little disheveled a little frustrated and they said no what's up and they said well we would let you guys in we think but our computers are down and we don't know really our database we can't really confirm anything we can heed to send you back for a week and and and and then we'll bring you back once our computers are back online well the two priests they said well man will we be able to come back you know no problem and yeah in fact tell you what since for your trouble we'll let you go back as anything you want to be you can go back as anything you want to be and we'll one priest kind of Wow I'd love to be a soaring eagle that could fly over you know and just see the beauty and just map your being suddenly he's soaring and things are great well the other guy the other priests is why I've been kind of a nerd my whole life and I'm just sort of a geek really and I just just for a week I'd like to be a real stud man and I'm and Peter said ok ding well a week later the computers were back online and Peter goes to find the two priests and no problem finding the the Eagle priest so he pops up into the gates and priests wow that was great where's the other guy and the Peter Peter said well he wanted to be a stud and all we know he's on some tire in North Dakota get it for you guys it's studded tires you know second wave of anyway you know it's funny because some of the jokes you hear about heaven and the pearly gates which really are all kind of nonsense really but at the same time it sort of sets us up will there be any disappointments in heaven well the computers be down well well heaven not be what we expected I believe heavens going to be more glorious than we can ever imagine or even think Paul the Apostle who was taken up into the third heaven as he calls it which is you know celestial art Terrestrial Telestial that's a makeup thing of Joseph Smith and and those guys but the idea is the third heaven speaks of the heavens that was we think about it heaven where God is where God dwells the throne and when we get there there's going to be no disappointment that's something that the Bible is clear in fact Paul said I saw things that were unlawful for me to even speak about it's so great Oh would heaven be so it's just too much for us to even fathom or think now the reason I bring up heaven is because we are in Chapter seven gonna find ourselves in heaven again we were in heaven in chapters what four and five remember that as we're studying through the the book of Revelation don't forget it's chronologically laid out perfectly easy to understand if you take it chronologically if you start juggling chapters around and mixing up orders and stuff it does become rather tedious and really hard to understand and explain but if you just take it John was told by the Lord write the things which thou has seen the things that are and the things that shall be Hereafter and he wrote the things which he had seen in chapter one chapter one he wrote of Jesus the vision of Jesus Christ and then at the end of chapter when he says write the things which thou has seen chapter one Jesus then write the things which are and that is that church age the present day that John was living in even to the present right now we are living in a church age the Church of Jesus Christ was not in existence before Jesus came but it was the Old Testament days it was the time of really God's chosen people the Jews but then Jesus came to save not just the Jews but all the world from its sins and that's the church age began so John wrote about the church age chapters 2 & 3 then chapter 1 verse 19 write some things it you've seen right the things which are church age then write the things which shall be Hereafter Greek word is mehnat outta which means after all those things what well after the church age the age were presently living in from the time of John the Apostle even to today until the rapture of the church that's when the church age ends by the way is that the rapture the church will be taken up to be with Lord and then comes that metates outta the after all those things comes meted out soso chapter 4 the first word in chapter 4 is meted out to in the Greek after these things after the church age then chapter 4 we see a heavenly scene where there are those who were redeemed by the blood of the Lamb and that's us in heaven with the Lord in chapter 4 and 5 we see the drama unfold in heaven who is worthy to open up the scroll the title deed to planet earth and John would be told by the elder behold the Lion of the tribe of Judah and John turned around and saw the Lamb of God Jesus Christ and we've been studying that for quite a while but last week we went into the tribulation we did yeah in the book of Revelation we did and we saw those seals start to open up Jesus who's the only one worthy to take the scroll the seal title deed if you would to planet earth and start opening those seals and we saw in chapter 6 the first six seals cracked open of that title deed that scroll and with each of those six seals that were broken came a judgment we saw the first one where there was a white horse and one who was coming riding on it and you say who was that well some people say it was Jesus but that's really wrong we learned that last week he's only a poser he's a fake a fraud that's one of the things Satan does all the time is tries to duplicate imitate and falsify the truth all through the book of Revelation all through Bible prophecy one of the things you need to be aware of there are sort of pseudo fulfillments of what we might think our Bible prophecy but they're actually just sort of fake attempts to be like the true and living God that's what Satan does all along he's a duplicator he's an imitator and one of those things is a white horse coming well we read in chapter 19 that's when the true Prince of Peace the true king of kings comes riding on a white horse and it's very different we compared those two white horses Revelation chapter 6 verse 1 versus Revelation chapter 19 s account of the white horse with Jesus coming to and reign on this earth so the first of those seals was that coming world leader Antichrist himself that we will be looking at further as we get into the book of Revelation 2nd seal we saw was the the Red Horse or that is the horse of war and we saw that the third seal was the seal broken as a black horse came and represented famine and and perhaps economical catastrophe there that would induce famine and what-have-you then we saw the fourth seal in verse 7 which was death that that pale horse that came death and hell followed with them brutal stuff and then we saw the fifth seal there in verse nine which spoke of the persecution of the tribulation Saints that is those people who had become believers of Jesus Christ during the Tribulation Period the church has already been raptured the Tribulation Period is started and thus you've got these tribulation Saints will be persecuted for their faith and that's the way we saw that on last week and then the the 6th of the seals verse 12 there was cataclysmic events earthquakes and the Sun being darkened and perhaps even meteorites hitting the earth and all kinds of crazy stuff will go down that's what the Bible says now I got a got to say something what's interesting remember how I told you Satan is a duplicator and an imitator well one of the things he also does is try to make a joke of end times type stuff and I got to tell you it's interesting maybe you've heard about this rapture Palooza movie that's out now and and it's funny because somebody studied their Bible there's locusts that are like little demons and there's earthquakes and meteorites hitting the ground and it's a total comedy and it's a joke and it's a spoof and it makes really the whole rapture thing look like a joke and before you're too discouraged as you come to a Wednesday night Bible study studying something that the rest of the world singing wacko Christians talk about raptures and earthquakes and famine and pestilence and well we'll keep in mind during the days of Noah they kind of laughed too No and also couldn't it be that that's a fulfillment of prophecy in and of itself because it says in the last days there will come scoffers mocking saying where is the promise of his coming you guys been talking about this for years but the Lord says it's right then when people start really scoffing and mocking that's what I'm gonna come you know even ten years ago or whenever with the last the Left Behind series or the best-selling series of books in the history of the world interestingly enough it was really popular it was a huge theme and everybody was talking about the rapture in the end times just ten years ago as a popular thing to talk about but then because there's so much hype with the Left Behind series and the great sales of the books and then the goofy movie that came out that was embarrassing Christian movies uh-huh aw Tozer said Christians shouldn't even do it don't even join the fray man don't even try and I used to think oh but somebody's gonna make a great movie it's gonna be awesome but I'm with aw Tozer now it's embarrassing the movies largely there's some great themed movies but still the acting and all that it's just it's a bummer but anyway I don't come up say old Brett you need to see fireproof that's gonna really make ya don't talk about that one I'm sorry it was embarrassing acting and all this is embarrassing is it's hardly Lord of the Rings I'll say but but the world looks at stuff like oh we as Christians are encouraged by those little things and stuff but the world kind of looks at it goes man that's poor acting and cheap production and it's embarrassing and stuff whenever we try to do this if it starts to become sort of a mockery and that's what happened the Left Behind series became sort of a joke so we went from the height of popularity where books were selling and everything's all excited about the end times and then well then it became sort of a joke and it's more of a joke today now this is this is encouraging to me some of you say breath test should be really a bummer because you're a Bible teacher you teach about the rapture of the church and the world is pretty much laughing at you guys now but see to me when 2nd Peter talks about that in chapter 3 says there will be scoffers in the last day and know this that's that's when the end is near and what's also interesting is the Bible says an hour when you think not at an hour when you think not Jesus talked about this in other words it's gonna be when the world's least thinking about it maybe even when the church is least thinking about it so 10 years ago when Left Behind series was kind of I don't know was it ten years ago I forget when it first came out but it was a while back the church was buzzing about the Lord's return but now we're seeing a trend in churches to bail on end times prophecy they're bailing on teaching the book of Revelation they think it's to decide you know what sort I'm thinking of divisive thank you and and it's just it's a little bit of an embarrassment to the church for some reason so they're not teaching it but again I'm encouraged because it's an hour when we think not and I think largely many Christians around the world today think not about the end times at all could it be that we are nearing the last days it's possible and I think it's very probable actually let alone all the other prophetic events that are unfolding before eyes man I had one of these nights I'm just gonna pause I think and talk about what's going on there's too many things taught to talk about that's going on around the world that is very much puzzle pieces being fitted together to perfectly paint the picture of a lot of things the GOG Magog war talked about in Ezekiel 38 and we could get into that we could talk about all the nations aiming their guns at Israel we could talk about the elections in Iran I mean there's all kinds of interesting things to talk about but we are going verse by verse through the Bible so we're gonna stick to it so just stick to it now I'm all that to say we ended really where the tribulation now is well underway at the end of chapter 6 in fact the kings of the earth the princes of the earth are rich men the poor men they're hiding themselves in dens in the rocks in the mountains and they're crying out to the rocks fall on us kill us rocks because they're so miserable the idea is they that want to die but they'll be unable to it seems kill us it says and and and hide us from him that sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb and then verse 17 is where we ended for the great day of his wrath is come and who shall be able to stand now would you mark that last question it's like the people that are in the tribulation are rhetorically asking who could make it through this alive who's gonna be able to be living who's who's gonna successfully make it through the Tribulation Period that's what they're asking now what we're gonna do is see in Chapter 7 the Lord is going to answer that question and this is something you need to see it's like if you have a phone conversation and you're telling somebody about a trip to Southern California where you went to Disneyland and you're telling chronologically your buddy about your trip but somewhere along the way there's a little aside you know like you know you're telling me about the Pirates ride and the Pirates look at you loved it yo ho yo ho the pirate's life for me and I say you know what and we pause from your narrative of your vacation and I say you know my dad helped build the pirate so that my grandfather and my dad we're both part of the construction crew my grandfather was a superintendent on that job when they built the Pirates look at me and I could tell you about that some of the tunnel ways and some of the things that they told me about and you know they even met Walt Disney and all this stuff and you know as a kid I used to think I'm so awesome that my dad had something to do with the Pirates ride that was awesome and you oh wow that's great anyway next we went to Splash Mountain and then you start continue with your narrative now the reason I go throw that that's what happens here we started talking about the Tribulation Period ends as it unfolds there's going to be several chapters in the six through 19 chapters 6 through 19 narrative of the tribulation where we're gonna take a pause and talk about some theme that might include the whole tribulation and some nature of the tribulation of some part of it or something that's gonna happen in it and chapter 7 does that we sort of take a little pause from the narrative and talk about something that's sort of more all the tribulation topically you understand what I'm saying that's what it's gonna be and it's gonna answer the question that was posed by those who are hiding in the dens in rock who's gonna be able to stand who's gonna be successful and in Chapter 7 the Lord answers that question there's two groups of people that will be successful if you're taking notes who will be able to stand number one seal the servants number two saved servants now there's a couple others they'll be able to stand - we will we'll be able to see on however we'll be standing in heaven I believe because we are not appointed as a wrath will be raptured before the tribulation as I see it again don't be too frustrated with me if you're a post tripper you can believe that if you want to and I love you as a Christian and we can disagree that's one of those in-house debates that's kind of fun and it's interesting and if you want to be wrong you can be a post trimmer every kind of nervously laughs why is it so divisive it shouldn't be I mean I think it's great if you want to be a post trimmer or a mid trimmer even amillennialist and you don't even believe in a literal tribulation at all I still love you and that's great it's a non-essential doctrine it's not something that you know breaks us from the pail of Orthodoxy that's something to remember so don't get all fired up when you talk to people about endtime stuff that's that's important some people say well Brett you're only teaching the pre-trib view and I always say yeah why would I teach something I don't believe in fact the more I've taught through the book of Revelation a lot quite a few times in my years of being a pastor probably eight or ten times I've taught through this book over the years and I'd like to tell you the more I the more I'm firmly convinced I have entertained mid-trib pre-wrath I've even studied at length on millennial and preterist views and I have to say of all the views I really believe that the pre-trib rapture view of the end times is the simplest it makes the easiest sense if you're stranded on a desert island you don't have to have a commentary to try to explain it all to you if you just read your Bible as its laid out it just comes together quite nicely and by the way you knows what group of people are the most pre-tribbers out of anybody other group in all of evangelical Christianity it's the people who go verse by verse chapter by chapter book by book through the Bible the reason that's important for you to know is because if you're an amillennialist or a preterists usually they're very smart people by the way I'm not disrespecting them in any way shape or form my are male friends are usually very smart people but the problem is you have to be really smart really smart to figure out this this whole system of eschatology and how everything's a rhetorical or allegorical it's not to be taken literally man it's just too difficult to figure to understand but when you just take it read the book of Revelation as it lays out it makes a perfect sense so all that to say I believe in a pre-trib rapture of the church premillennial that's that's what I believe and and I teach it that way because I hope to convince all of you now now I got to say there's people in this room from pre-wrath lers and post tripperz and even preterists in this room I know who you are you kind of glow in a sort of a funny way no I'm just kidding but there are some of you that I know for sure are different that's cool that's cool but I do hope to convince in my kind of goofy way but all that to say pre-trib rapture says we stand during the tribulation only we won't be standing on earth we'll be standing in heaven I believe so so we'll stand and also there's angel standing look at verse verse 1 of chapter 7 after these things I saw four angels standing so we know the angels will stand in fact the angels will be do all kinds of things during the tribulation period we're gonna see angels flying back and forth in the air declaring God and the gospel do you ever wonder how people are going to be saved during the tribulation one of those things it's angels flying back and forth saying be saved that's a good little sorry that should maybe convince a few people like wow those angels are pretty cool I don't know what it's gonna look like but I do know that we're gonna read about that as we get further into this so we'll stand angels will stand but those who are people on the earth during the tribulation who will be able to stand that's the question really that these people are asking in Chapter six so the answer to that is in Chapter seven the sealed servants and the same service now the sealed servants are verses one through eight and then the saved servants are chapter seven verses nine through 17 so one through eight is the sealed servants nine through seventeen would be the same servants and these people will be able to stand but what does it mean to stand well we'll see that as we get into this after these things verse one I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth holding the four winds of the earth that the wind should not blow on the earth nor on the sea nor on any tree and I saw another angel ascending from the east having the seal of the Living God and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea saying hurt not the earth neither the sea nor the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads now there's a few things we need to kind of touch on because some of the Bible critics like to jump on these kinds of things this the cynic or the skeptic your college professors this is one of those scriptures they like to bring up haha ever in the Bible error where is that well it says the four corners of the earth we know that there's no such thing as the four corners of the earth and you know what I always like to say that is the dumbest thing in the world to say I mean do you call up your weatherman every day on the TV when he says the sunrise is going to be at 7:30 this morning it's not a sunrise you idiot the Sun doesn't rise we know that the earth is actually in a rotation and we think well it's not the Sun rising the Sun is set we are going around the Sun and yet what's interesting it's an idiom that we use to say that the Sun is rising in the morning and why do we say it that way because from our perspective it looks like the Sun is rising in the east and it's heading in the west so we call it the sunrise and the sunset and we're perfectly happy doing that and I'm glad we still do the word sunset is just a beautiful I love the sunsets but but that's wrong you are an idiot because you're calling on a sunset see that's that's really what the the idiom is here are the four corners of the earth by the way is still an idiom that we use in our world it's just talking about from from every inch of the globe all over the earth is the idea that's the idiom that we use so don't get too upset about this now what's interesting by the way is the Bible is not and does not claim to be a book of science I need to make that really stressed but here's the awesome thing when it does deal with science it's incredible that's the beauty of the Bible because see you'd think after you know a 1500 year period that's how long it took to write this book 1,500 years 40 different authors over three different continents three different languages Hebrew Greek Aramaic and yet nobody made a mistake when it comes to things regarding science in fact it was lightyears ahead of even what I would say science today it definitely was lightyears ahead of science question when did we really discover that the earth was a sphere a round ball some of you might say 1492 men Columbus proved it well that that's what she learned in elementary school and and by the way there were some sailors and people during those times in 1492 this still weren't fully convinced that the earth was round but I got to tell you those who really studied science the idea that the earth was round had been around a long long time in fact if you're interested I was studying this just a little bit today a guy named Eratosthenes Eratosthenes in 200 BC he actually not only it was convinced the earth was round but he actually accurately measured how big it was in circumference and so yet understand the idea of the earth being around was long before Columbus sailed the ocean blue and yes there were some Christian people who didn't study their Bibles very well who were flat earthers and they believed in stuff like that and by the way there were I remember as a kid there were some people going around saying well that we know that there were no dinosaurs on the earth no no dinosaurs and they said that because they thought the bible didn't speak of dinosaurs which it does there's actually quite a few mentions of dinosaurs in the bible and and there's all kinds of things like that but but did you know that long before any of those guys thought the earth was a round ball did you know that the oldest book in the Bible the book of Job which was written hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years before any of these you know guys that were measuring the earth or thought it was flat or any of those things job chapter 26 verse seven says this he the Lord stretches out the north over the empty place and hangeth the earth upon nothing the Bible says anciently it says the earth is hung upon nothing and that's accurate scientifically that centric in fact there's some interesting things about the stretching forth of the cosmos over and over the Bible talks about stretching forth stretching out the Lord stretches out like even the analogies used of a scroll and now I'm gonna tell you I'm gonna expose myself as a non mathematician and all this because I'd really don't know any of this stuff but I I do like to read about some of these guys that are brainiacs and and stuff and and it was I believe it was some form of tensor calculus I don't even know really what that is honestly but where they started to compute that the the cosmos is literally growing that the actual universe is expanding believe that but what's really interesting about the mathematical the formula of it it's not that it's just stretching out and expanding but the idea of it unrolling is actually more scientifically accurate than the idea of just stretching it's literally being unfurled unrolled mathematically the Bible uses that nine times it talks about in the Bible how the earth is being rolled out like a scroll or stretched out like a scroll and that's mathematically accurate by the way Isaiah chapter 40 verse 22 is where long before any of those guys knew the earth was in fact round or a sphere circle it says there in Isaiah 40 verse 22 it is he that sitteth upon the circle or literally the sphere of the earth and the inhabitants there are like grasshoppers that stretches out the heavens as a curtain and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in that's that's the idea that's where mathematicians who know about these things kind of marveled that the Bible uses the language that it does in talking about the stretching out of the universe the point that I'm making is you know while your college professor could say see they said the four corners of the earth and that's their biggest argument man you can slap back pretty hard with the idea that the Bible long before Columbus sailed the ocean blue and long before you know science understood even 200 BC where arete FASTA knees or whatever his name was really knew what he was talking about the Bible was correct and accurate and it's amazing it goes on and on when the Bible talks about the actual not only space but we start going under the microscope and looking at the atom the Bible talks about how all things are held together by some mysterious power that people try to say it's the god particle or whatever and they've claimed they've found that and all that but really science still wonders how really does this all fit together and the Bible says that God holds all things together literally by him all things consist and what's interesting about that is when you look at the atom the amount of space that is in the structure of the atom is huge when you look at the nuclear the proton the electrons the the the rapid spinning of those little pieces make stuff solid because it's spinning so fast it seems like a solid mass but actually it's by and large mostly space which means that even things that we look at like this stool we think that's a solid but it's actually more space than it is matter that's what's weird about science now what's interesting about that Jesus made comments about how the kingdom of God is among you and it starts to get into some interesting physics and some of the studies that people talk about about how there are more than just four dimensions there's actually some say 12 or 14 or whatever they're saying now but some of the dimensionality of space and time and all that stuff the Bible seems to match up with science as it goes as we learn more and more it's incredible really for you scientists which I am NOT but for you guys that really are into science there's some great scientific brains that have shown where the Bible really is incredible and if people like Isaac Newton who used the Bible as a starting point to get some of his theories and actually eventually prove some great science Isaac Newton was a believer in God and read his Bible and Discover Magazine called him the Nugget number one scientist of all time because he was a Bible believing guy that's interesting to me so all that to say when when you come to these little phrases like four corners of the earth don't be derailed by some college professor saying see the Bible is wrong there's no corners of the earth that's just dumb really dumb don't don't don't follow that stuff so it says the four corners of the earth now the idea is these angels as it says what are standing on the four corners of but what are they doing that's the most important thing they're holding back winds of the earth now we end in the Bible oftentimes speaks of the Holy Spirit but contextually here we know that it's probably not the Holy Spirit the wind here but the wind here is kind of clearly speaking of judgment because it says the wind that should not blow on the earth nor the sea or any tree because it says that the Lord doesn't want them to release the wind to give hurt to the earth and to the sea saying hurt not the earth neither see nor the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God with in their foreheads one of the things that the Tribulation Period will bring is this unleashing of a of a wind or a judgment that's going to hurt the the trees and the mountains and the sea that's the idea but before that kind of tragedy comes on the earth there's going to be something that needs to happen and that is this idea of sealing the servants of our God in their foreheads so there are some people are gonna get a seal now there's some interesting things about this during the tribulation all this bad stuff is gonna come down one of the bad things is this mark that's going to be put up on people's foreheads and my question for you is is the mark on a person's forehead in fact it's not on the greek word is in your your preposition here is kind of important in their foreheads there's gonna be a mark is that a good thing or a bad thing anybody some people are saying bad other people are saying good how could somebody say that's going to be a good thing well here's the great thing you can trick your friends with this question is the mark on a person in a person's forehead is that gonna be a good thing or bad thing and you could say it's a really good thing and you can be correct because in Revelation chapter 7 that's exactly what's going on here the problem is the word here is seal but you have to understand the seal if you look it up in the Greek text the definition is mark it's the same thing so this angels got a seal that's a marker of some kind that's gonna be put on these people's heads and these people will be marked on their in their forehead same language in verse 3 and it says till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads and the reason I point this out is not just to be goofy and trick your friends but this is what Satan tries to do remember Satan is a duplicator he's an imitator you know the mark of the beast gets all the press does anybody talks about who's gonna be a market 666 and all this stuff and I remember as a kid seeing pictures of barcode scans on people's foreheads and stuff and maybe like oh yeah but I think it's gonna be much more technologically savvy than any of that but it's going to be some kind of acceptance of what this coming anti-crisis world leader that's gonna come will deceive the nation's and they will take his mark in their foreheads or in their wrists is the idea and they'll not be able to buy or sell unless they have the mark of this coming world leader it's something we're going to talk about later in this chapter six or 19 but the reason I point that out is there's actually a good mark that I think it's just Satan duplicating and the good mark is when here the Lord allows his servants to be marked or sealed as your King James puts it in their foreheads if your Bible says on they tried to help the translation but I don't believe that's the idea I believe it is in fact in in their forehead which implies something to do with your mind is the idea kind of interesting do we know what this seals gonna be we don't people speculate there's all kinds of interesting articles written and things about the seal or this mark whether you talk about the mark of the beast or the mark of the Lord on these people that we're about to read about but we're gonna call these the sealed servants and who are they well this says in verse 4 and I heard the number of them which are sealed or were sealed and there were sealed 144,000 of all the tribes of the children of Israel now this is for anybody who even is a nominal student of Bible prophecy the 144,000 number starts to come you oh yeah I've heard that number I know about that number hundred for those who are they you say the job is witness because it's funny how they they got all the they they took this as their own from in fact in the 1800's jovis witness ISM started to well was was born and it was a cult it is a cult because they deny Jesus they don't say Jesus is God they don't believe he was deity they believe you're saved by your good works and there's all kinds of crazy cult-like beliefs that job is witness have I'm sorry if you're if you're offended by that I don't claim to be the only person's right I'm just saying the Bible is right and jovis witness the faith goes against what the Bible teaches in many places but what's almost comical to me is how they claimed that they would be the hundred forty-four thousand now here's the problem if you read their old literature they believed that the first 144,000 people to accept that you know their belief in jehovah's witness ism then then those would be the four the first four in 44,000 that would be saved that would be this group the problem was when there was one hundred forty five thousand jobs witness and they had to change their doctrine which by the way the jovis witness have had to change their their doctrines those boys in Brooklyn you know the watchtower society when you get those people knocking on your door and they want to hand you the Watchtower magazine or watchtower society it's just people in Brooklyn who are making stuff up and they write their articles about it and it's just really quite erroneous when you really start to look at it I remember not even thinking about ever wanting to be a jokes witness when I was a little kid because I had friends that were JW's and then they couldn't do birthdays they didn't celebrate Christmas I was like I don't want anything to do that religion man that's that's just you know that's a showstopper for me later when I realized what they really believed it was even more of a showstopper but all that to say they claim to be the hundred forty-four thousand now here's what's sad about so joe was with us when I was in high school I had some good friends Mormons and Jehovah's Witness and we I'd hang out with these guys one family was jovis with his family and I'd go over to their house and we'd hang out and I would talk their dad was one of the leaders in the jovis Witness church and we we would just hang out with my buddies and at the dinner table we start talking and they would try to convince me about jehovah's witness ism and i would just say well here's what the Bible says and we talked about it but what was really sad is I would ask them do you think you're gonna be 144,000 and my buddy James he'd say no no way why not well it's only the the real primo Java's with us you know the people who really do enough they're the ones who get and and then what was interesting about that is that wasn't my friend James and I knew him and I understood why he knew he wasn't going to be because we were buddies and we did lots of dastardly deeds when we were in high school but I'd look to his father was one of the leaders in the jovis Witness cult and I said do you think you're gonna be one of them 44,000 thinking well he's one of the leaders so he surely he believes he but he looked at me as I said no I don't believe I am either and and so I said well then why should i if you guys are not gonna be going to heaven cuz that's kind of what they believe it's nine or four or four thousand to go to they haven't go to heaven then why should I become a jobs witness and they really didn't have an answer there's no good answer it's like why don't I just be not a Jones with us and kind of do what happens to you guys because that's kind of what they believe but see here's the tragedy of it all the Lord wants to seek and save the Lost he came and died on the cross for the sins of the world for sinners like my buddy James and his dad now there's good news my buddies James became a Christian just like three years ago finally and he's saved he's a Christian now praise the Lord and I pray for his family there's some sad stories around that that to me I've known people who've excommunicated their sons and daughters because they you know didn't follow the cult any longer by the way that's a mark of a cult as if a person walks away from the faith then you become disfellowship tour or you become excommunicated where you're not spoken to and you're banned forever that's not the way of Christianity Jesus goes after the lost sheep he leaves the 99 who goes after the lost sheep just like we should love on and care for those that reject Christianity if you have a family member who says I reject Christianity I want to do my own thing you don't just diss on them or disfellowship them or any of that stuff you love on them and you hopefully work toward bringing them back in no there's a case 1st Corinthians chapter 5 talks about where there's a point where sometimes you do have to let them go and then the language is strong delivering one to Satan for the destruction of less but the point is so that they might be saved again but that's a whole nother conversation so these JW's claim to be the hundred and forty-four thousand the problem is quite simple these are Jews and it says that right here I know that it seems almost too good to be true to says it but it says these hundred forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel and let's keep reading verse five of the tribe of juda were sealed 12,000 of the tribe of Reuben were sealed 12,000 of the tribe of GAD were sealed 12,000 of the tribe of Asher were sealed 12,000 of the tribe of Naphtali were sealed 12,000 I'm driving an Aston were sealed 12,000 of the tribe of Simeon were sealed 12,000 of the tribe of Levi were still two other of the tribe of Issachar were sealed 12,000 of the tribe of Zebulun were sealed 12,000 of the tribe of Joseph were sealed 12,000 of the tribe Benjamin they were still 12,000 you're saying Bret why'd you mean like that well I think the Lord is making a huge point here giant this is like an exclamation point I want you to read it read it and read it and hear it I love that whenever you see the Lord repeat himself in his word like this like you could have said of the 12 tribes there were 12,000 of each and it could have save some paper cut not cut less trees down I left a smaller carbon footprint what yeah but why does God choose to say this over and over again because there are literally 12,000 from each tribe and Lord wants us to get that now the job is witness if you ask them by the way they say well that part's figurative because we we know that there's the Lost Tribes of Israel now I say that jokingly the Lost Tribes because that's something that a lot of the weirdos will quote we are the Lost Tribes of Israel and they like to say different groups are the Lost Tribes of Israel you know the Mormons believe that the Lost Tribes of Israel do you know who they believe there they're the American Indians now here's a real embarrassing thing with DNA now we know that they are not Jews and never have been not even closely related and and yet Mormonism still claims this is amazing to me now what do they believe they got boat and floated from Israel down around the South America and came up and int into South America and into Central America and then came up from there and those those Indians of Central America and even North America ultimately were Jews of the Lost Tribes of Israel and you'll hear books that are written about the Lost Tribes of Israel in fact some of the crazy stuff like the vinci code and some of that stuff that was written by a guy who has no clue about anything here's what I do before you read the vinci code just go into his bibliography this is this is my challenge to you before you read it go into the bibliography of da vinci code and look at the references and the titles of the books that he used for reference the titles alone will make you laugh out loud and you'll roll around laughing why because it's hilarious this guy acts like he's he was writing a story and then when people started to take it seriously as I guess my references are from scientific evidences of Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and all this stuff and it's just this crazy thing and it's linked to by the way some of the people who believe in Lost Tribes now the reason I I joke around about that is first of all you gotta know I want to tell you I'm gonna save you all kinds of trouble there were no Lost Tribes on several levels the simplest level is God didn't lose anybody God knows exactly where they were and who they are now if you are a Jew god knows which tribe you're from and so you can just totally chill out if you're a Jew god knows who you are that's the first thing that brings me great peace and comfort but the second thing is what's interesting yes the fact is we lost the records of the Jewish names associated with the tribes there is a there is a truth there that we lost some of the connections of who the tribes were but here's the argument that when when the Jews there during the time of Jeroboam and Rehoboam do you guys remember that whole thing we if you were with us in the Old Testament we went through this at length and I don't want to belabor this point but in 930 BC Jeroboam was ruling the northern ten tribes from his capital which was in Samaria that's first Kings chapter 11 talks about that but when when Jeroboam he started to worry that his ten northern tribes we're gonna go down to Jerusalem which was the southern tribes of Judah as it were they were worried that they were gonna sort of defect to the southern so Jeroboam wanting to keep his people up north he decided to create sort of little mini places of worship you see the Jews were supposed to go down to Jerusalem we call it down on a map because that's us they would call it up to Jerusalem because it was up in elevation and Jerusalem was their highest city but they would go to Jerusalem and and worship the Lord on Mount Zion where the temple would be and that was the practice but Jeroboam being jealous of his people going down he said hey you guys don't have to do that so he created these little Mook places of worship what do you mean well instead of going to the big fancy place of worship the supermarket if you would he built little 7-eleven places of worship in Bethel and in a place called dan and he said we'll just worship here you guys don't need to go to Jerusalem so you can worship afeared are little tiny places so he built these he thought what can we do let's I got an idea let's make a golden calf does that ring a bell man that son of Israel if there one thing they didn't learn from history was history itself they didn't learn anything they so Jeroboam builds a calf and Bethel builds a calf calf in Dan and by the way we're gonna go there in November where this calf was sitting where Jezebel worshipped Bale we're gonna go right there and see this place but but Jeroboam says you guys don't need to go down so some of the people said cool we can just do our little worship up here of idolatry Jeroboam introduced a radical wave of idolatry during the time of of the division of the kingdoms now the thing that's important to know even after pardon me before the Assyrians came and took the ten northern times away that's why they say they're the Lost Tribes because the Assyrians came down and took those northern tribes and they took them off so don't know where those tribes went but the fact is we absolutely do know now here's the thing that you got it this is where you got to read your Bible go verse by verse chapter by chapter book by book what happened was is there were people during the time of Jeroboam that said we will not worship idols and this is wrong and so the Scriptures tell us that a bunch of people did in fact defect from the northern ten tribes from every tribe of the north and they moved back down to Jerusalem it was a small group of people but from every tribe people moved down to the southern tribe or the southern area of Judea the point that I'm making is Levites gadites Manasseh heights and all those guys they all and the parts of those tribes came down and settled in the south with Raya Bowen the King down there not Jeroboam and thus they kept those tribes pure and those tribes kept going and there's references to that all throughout the scriptures they knew it was the only place acceptable to worship God was there in the temple in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah or Mount Zion Deuteronomy 12 5 through 7 Deuteronomy 16 verses 2 through 6 Isaiah 18 7 all talk about this those who favored the idolatry migrated north to Jeroboam but those who favored the true and living God migrated south and so by the way later when ASA another King reigned in the south another great company of Jews came down from the north and settled there in the south so all that to say after years of deportation by the Assyrians king hezekiah of judah issued a call to all the israelites to come and worship at Jerusalem to celebrate Passover that's in second chronicles 30 verses 5 through 21 80 years later King Josiah called of Judah also called everybody to come in worship and he said from Manasseh and Ephraim and from all the remnant of Israel second chronicles 34 9 in other words there was a remnant left they had all their tribes intact long after the Assyrians came and took those other people to the north so while those people were killed or those people were assimilated into Syria and those who were the people that were assimilated in this area what people did they become the Samaritans and the Jews hated the Samaritans originated usually talked about that on Sunday but all that to say there were no Lost Tribes they were thinned out but they continued and all through the Scriptures eventually the twelve tribes were resemble represented in the South God addresses the twelve tribes in the south in fact in second chronicles 11 3 it says speak to rheya Boehm the son of solomon king of judah and all of Israel Judah and Benjamin he names those tribes specifically acknowledging that those tribes did come back down to the south now the tribe of Judah is idiomatically referring to the southern two tribes so you'll hear that from time to time and you have to be careful when you're studying the Bible when when you come into contact with the tribes and their designations it's important to distinguish between the land and the actual people so like if you say from Dan to Beersheba he said why did Dan come up well it's because that's a that's a region the region of the Danites so sometimes people get confused in their Bible study of locations by name of a tribe speaking of a land place but don't be confused that many times it's speaking of the actual tribe itself the reason I go into all this in the New Testament Jesus Christ Himself is said to have offered himself to the nation and he says to the lost sheep of the house of Israel Jesus talked about Matthew chapter 10 verses five and six chapter 15 verse 24 the New Testament speaks of all of Israel not just junuh but Israel 75 times and uses the term Jew 174 times by the time of Christ the 12 tribes of Israel were alive and well during the time of Jesus acts 26 7 in fact even I like James chapter 1 verse 1 it says James a servant of God and the Lord Jesus to the 12 tribes which are scattered abroad greeting so even James in modern I say modern first century times of the early church he speaks to all the twelve tribes they weren't lost they were never lost nobody had to find them it's not the jovis witness it's not the lost Mormons it's not you know the what's those space-alien people that claim they're the Lost Tribes there's all kinds of people claim to be the Lost Tribes of Israel some people say they're the British they're lost but they're not the tribes no I'm just kidding it's just a little British humor I'm sorry yeah father I what do you know no the Lost Tribes are not the British I don't believe that at all but all that to say man make sure you don't get let people pull that one over the Lost Tribes that's just a goofy bit of well lack of real study and just reading your Bible frankly now you say okay Bret what's the point the point is the Lord says there's going to be people sealed 144,000 Jews that's Jews it's important to know that and what are these Jews gonna do well we know that they're gonna believe now one of the things you need to know about this is the Jews are going to at the fullness of the Gentiles the Jews are going to believe in fact flip over to Roman's with me in in Romans chapter nine 10 and 11 there's all kinds of things said about the Jews and the nation but check out like for example Romans chapter 10 this is great stuff Romans chapter 10 verse 18 it says but I say have they not heard yes verily their sound went into all the earth and their words to the ends of the world but I say did not Israel no first Moses saith I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people and by a foolish nation I will anger you but Isaiah is very bold and saith I was found of them that sought me not I was made manifest to them that asked not after me but Israel he says all day long have I stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people now if you're all prideful and we're we're Gentiles but we're saved notice this it says a foolish nation will bring these Jews to to provoked to be provoked to jealousy and other words God's chosen people who are chosen and directed by the Lord will look at Gentiles and go home how can God save people like that and the Lord chooses to save the foolish people now before we get too arrogant so what does it say go to chapter 11 verse 1 it says in Romans chapter 11 verse 1 I say then hath God cast away his people the Jews God forbid for I am also an Israelite of the seed of Abraham of the tribe of Benjamin see here Paul knew what tribe he was part of verse 2 God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew ye not that what the scripture says of Elijah that were per mile is for how he maketh intercession to God against Israel saying Lord they have killed thy prophets dig down thine altars and I am left alone and they seek my remember when Elijah thought he was the only prophet left on the face lore says actually or not there's a lot more people that love God but move on it says in verse 7 what then Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for but the election hath obtained it and the rest were blinded according as it is written God hath given them a spirit of slumber eyes that they should not see ears the things you should not hear unto this day and we could go on but the idea is the Jews have blinded eyes right now while the church age the Gentile age is alive and well so this says in look at verse verse 16 for if the first-fruit be holy the lump is also holy and if the root be holy so are the branches and if some of the branches be broken off and thou being a wild olive tree where it grafted in among them that's speaking of the Gentiles being grafted in did anybody ever see that in school when they graft a branch onto another tree and it start to grow that's the analogy the Gentiles would be grafted into the the branch of Israel grafted in and it says in verse 18 boast not against the branches but if thou boast thou bear'st not the root but the root the root theme lets us say I know this sounds crazy no us but but just stick with me if we're the branch that's been grafted into the true branch the Jewish people we've been grafted into the vine of the Jews we're we're God's chosen people too because we've been grafted in but then it says if you're the grafted branch you don't boast against the branch that's actually bringing to life we're better than you no we're not because if if it weren't for that one branch that is tapped into the the ground where the nutrition and the water is the feeding that the grafted in branch you're gonna die without that that's why I always remind us we have a lot to be thankful for for the Jews that's why we're thankful for Jews because Jesus is the vine and we're the branch and if you boast against the Jews you're just saying you're boasting it's the thing that brings you life it's Jesus coming from the Jews that make sense so he's saying don't boast against the branch and and there's a scary thing here this is why I speak so often against replacement theology where people that say God has done with the Jews they're not God's chosen people anymore we alone are the chosen and the Jews are not the reason that's so dangerous is because listen it says boasts not against the branches but if you boast thou barest not the root but the root thee in other words you're not really even linked to the real root if you're boasting against that there's just there's a scary application there if you just follow it through verse 19 thou will say then the branches were broken off that I might be grafted in well because of unbelief they were broken off and thou standest by faith be not high-minded but fear for if God spared not the natural branches take heed lest he also spare not thee behold therefore the goodness and the 70 of God in other words don't be boasting you know God can judges people don't be high minded or prideful against that and then verse 25 I would not brethren that you should be ignorant of this mystery lest you should be wise in your own conceits that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in and so all Israel shall be saved as it is written there shall come out of Zion a deliverer and shall turn away the ungodliness from Jacob for this is my covenant unto them which I shall take away their sins as concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake but as touching the election they are beloved of the father's sake well all that to say is this this this spells it out pretty clearly God is not done with the Jews but when the fullness of the Gentiles come in I believe that's when God's Duns pulling up all of us the Gentiles and saving the last Gentile on the planet that's going to be saved whenever that is we don't know but I believe that's when the rapture of the church happens and then what happens all of Israel's going to be saved but Brad I thought it was 144,000 no 144,000 seemed to be as we get through this we're gonna see what this means but this 144 as part of the Israel that's going to be saved after the fullness of the Gentiles but they're gonna be the ones that are like 144,000 evangelists that is that they will go over the earth spreading the gospel of Jesus to the unsaved during the Tribulation Period I've heard it said that 144,000 Jewish Billy Graham's is what they say I'm just going around preaching the gospel and that's another reason why I believe perhaps even millions of people will be saved during the Tribulation Period we call them the tribulation Saints so all that to say I believe during the tribulation all of Israel will be saved that is their eyes will be open they'll realize they'd missed the Messiah and they will turn to the Lord Jesus Christ during the Tribulation Period that's what's spoken up there in Romans and that's what's gonna happen and I believe this 144,000 group of people are gonna be part of that saving all of Israel and even Gentiles during the tribulation are you with me on that okay now we could get into a lot more about that but we're running out of time you know the dry bone vision that we read about in Ezekiel 37 declares that Judah and Israel which is the Jews of the north and the southern tribes by the way will be joined regathered and life will be brought into them and we can get into some of those prophecies but all that to say 144,000 now there's there's something else I want to cover here because people get all freaked out about something that they shouldn't and that is did you notice that we are missing a tribe or two out of the list you say bread there's 12 right we read 12 and if you count them up there are twelve tribes listed here you got Judah Reuben GAD Asher Naphtali Manasseh Simeon Levi Issachar Zebulun Joseph and Benjamin but if you'll notice the tribe of Ephraim is not there and the tribe of Dan is not there bread is that a baker's dozen that you're talking about there you know the baker's dozen is its 13 and where that term came from is there was a time that if you ordered a you know a dozen donuts and if you were shorted why you got you know got eleven instead of twelve back in a day that was considered thievery and the baker would have his hand cut off because he was a thief and he didn't give you your twelve doughnuts I can understand why people would be mad if they didn't get there you know what I'm saying but but so so a baker's dozen became 13 just to make sure that they didn't miss count and they put an extra doughnut in there just for good measure I like that practice but here we've got a kind of a baker's dozen of 12 tries but it's actually we're missing a couple and the question would be why now more than that when you come into these lists of the 12 tribes of Israel and you bump into this in the Bible quite a bit where the 12 tribes are listed however they will sometimes include Dan and Ephraim and other times they will not include Joseph did you notice that Joseph was one of the tribes listed here and many of the listings of the tribes Joseph is not listed but Ephraim and Manasseh are and the reason those two are listed is Joseph had two sons named Ephraim and Manasseh who were often substituted in for two tribes that are taken out so he said well what's the point of all that well here's the thing Dan's the easy one Dan's the easiest one the reason why I often time Dan is left out of the list of the 12 tribes is because Dan was sort of cursed he was the cursed tribe in fact it goes all the way back to when you remember Genesis 49 remember when we read about that even recently where Jacob was handing out the blessings to his son but when Jacob said to Danny said den you're a serpent that's what he called him he called Joseph do you remember what he called Joseph a fruitful vine Joseph you shall be a fruitful vine dan you're a snake and you're gonna bite the horse's ankles that's what he said and he cursed down there and it's kind of an interesting thing because he even implies that Dan you will not have an inheritance and you're going down is kind of the loser of all my sons that's pretty much what he says and so you think I'll pour down well you have to understand there's a reason in fact there were prophecies concerning Dan where going to be a serpent Genesis 49:17 but also that he would he was called the leap from bation Deuteronomy 33 22 which was a bad thing he also Dan was given an allotted territory just like all the other tribes but he didn't like his territory so he left the territory God had given him and he moved up into the north to lay --is-- which later became dan or Tel Dan as we're gonna go visit that part and you'll see why Dan moved to Tel Dan when we go there in November it's the prettiest spot in all of Israel if you ask me and they wipe out the people of lash and lash and move there and Dan sort of relocated without God's blessing also Deborah talks about Dan and judges 5:17 didn't leave his ships he was omitted from genealogies and first Chronicles chapters 1 through 8 and he's not one of the ones sealed here in Revelation chapter 7 by the way Dan was the main tribe under which idolatry entered under the reign of Jeroboam idolatry mostly as like Dan was the window the tribe of Dan where all that idolatry flooded into the northern 12 tribes or ten tribes I should say that's the Leviticus 24 10 through 16 judges 18 verses well the whole chapter judges 18 and so he was called the voice of calamity Dan was in Jeremiah for 14 and he was cursed in Jeremiah chapter 8 verse 16 in fact in Deuteronomy 29 verses 18 through 21 there's a scripture there that the reason I give you that one is it says the the the children of Israel those who are idolaters their names would be blotted out Dan brought in idolatry more than any other tribe of all the nation of Israel and so I believe it's for that reason you see Dan often blotted out in the names of these lists now the other name that's not theirs Ephraim we don't have as much evidence against Ephraim but we see in Hosea 4:17 that Ephraim was also associated with the idolatry that was brought in in jerem Boehm's rebellion there and so some say that's why they were omitted so you got these these tribes now that so if you're reading the tribes what you look for is Dan Ephraim Joseph Manasseh those are the names that are sort of plugged in and out and you shouldn't be too freaked out about Ephraim is referred only elliptically Joseph equals Ephraim and Manasseh because those are his sons so if you get Joseph - Manasseh you get Ephraim does that make sense that that's what you'll see in these lists of the tribes it's nothing to freak out about it's it's all just part of the curses of the tribes now let's let's finish this up real quick verse 9 after this I beheld and lo a great multitude which no man could number of all nations and Kindred's and people and tongues stood before the throne and before the lamb clothed with right white robes and palms in their hands and cried with a loud voice saying salvation to our God which sits upon the throne and unto the lamb and all the Angels stood round about the throne and about the elders and the four beasts and fell before the throne on their faces and worshipped God saying amen blessing and glory and wisdom and Thanksgiving and honor and power and might be unto our God for ever and ever amen wow this beautiful little praise and worship service breaks out into heaven again we see this from time to time we're in heaven also it never just falls down and says blessing glory wisdom and things honor power and might be given to our God there's worshiping the Lord here now who are these people well if you were here on Sunday we saw a sneak preview I believe this is not the church and some people try to make that point see in the middle of the tribulation people will start coming into heaven wearing their white robes and they'll be saved sayin blessing and lor that's a church but here's why it's not the church the description given to us here yes these people are saved yes they are in heaven standing before the throne but there's some different things about them that I'd like to point out in fact verse 13 says and one of the elders answered saying unto me what are these which are arrayed in white robes and whence came they and I said I'm Sir thou knowest and he said to me these are they which came out of Great Tribulation and I've washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb therefore they are are they before the throne and serve Him day and night in his temple and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them they shall hunger no more neither thirst any more neither shall the Sun light on them nor any heat for the lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them and shall lead them unto living fountains of water and God shall wipe away all the tears from their eyes now before we back it up I got some more I know big shock I've got lots more no I don't try not to keep you too much longer but why are these not the church why is this not the church or us there's some different delineations first of all this company verse 9 where are they standing it says I a great multitude which no man could number of all nations Kenner's people tonnes stood before the throne and before the lamb that's that's where they're standing they're standing by the throne but guess what we do you know where we the church get to sit anybody in the throne that's the weirdest part of it all check out Revelation chapter 3 back up remember in chapter 3 the churches there are described in Revelation 3:21 it says remember this is to the Church of the church in revenue says to him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne even as I also overcame and I'm set down with my father in his throne somehow someway we get to sit with him in his throne that's the church these people however will be standing before the throne or near the throne or even some of your translations put it by the throat I see that as a different relationship that's not the only thing this company serves the Lord and we see that in verse 15 therefore they are before the throne of God and will serve Him day and night in his temple now let me just make a point there that's not a bad thing by the way serving the Lord it's a great thing and that's what they will do the tribulation Saints will be before the throne and they will serve the Lord seated in his throne but does anybody know what we'll be doing what's interesting is Luke chapter 12 tells us in fact you can jot it down or I'll just read it to you but Luke chapter 12 verse 37 it says this I can get there it says let me back up says in Luke 12 36 and you yourselves like unto men that will wait for their Lord when he will return from the wedding that when he cometh and knocketh if they may open unto him immediately blessed are those servants whom the Lord when he cometh shall find watching who would that be that would be people like us watching and waiting for who the Lord the rapture the church were watching for that and what do those people get to do verily I send you that he shall gird himself and make them to sit down to meet and will come forth and serve them what's that the raptured Church gets to have the blessing of Christ serving us that's that's radical now let me make a real important point here it's just like when Jesus served his stupid disciples we're not better than Christ and don't ever make that mistake the disciples had stinky feet and there was dirty in this and Jesus and stripped himself and he served the disciples in a beautiful way in the same way that's how it's gonna be it's not that were greater than Jesus or anything like that but what does it say blessed are those whose when the Lord comes shall find watching and what's gonna happen he will make them to sit down to me just like he did his disciples to dinner and will come forth and serve them and if he shall come in the second watch or in the third watch and find them so blessed are those servants the point that I'm making is the tribulation Saints they'll be saved they'll be taken up into heaven after they're killed during the tribulation period according to this and they'll have a different role that won't be sitting seated with the Lord in his throne but those will be standing before the throne they won't be serving the Lord the raptured Saints but we will be served by the Lord which is radical and humbling but these people will serve the Lord it's all good if you make it to heaven it's all good but I see these roles as very different are you with me on that it's important to see that delineation so these are the tribulation Saints listed here and again I would rather be a person who's the faithful servant watching and waiting for the Lord's return and have that different role and different relationship and even position in eternity with the Lord in heaven I'd rather be a raptured Saint wouldn't you that I would well let's let's pray and we'll pack it up for the night Lord we see this passage as sort of a refreshing breather from the tribulation where calamity is gonna hit this earth like no other time your word says but but there will be those who believe and will be saved out of tribulation I pray father that even those that might plant seeds with family members and talk about the gospel even today if people reject that gospel may they at least be people that turn to you during these times and and might be saved out of tribulation but better yet to be saved and follow you and be those who are the faithful servants watching waiting for these end times for your return lord I pray that we'd find us to be faithful serving you right now here today Lord we we see how the world is headed seemingly spiraling for for destruction and while our hearts break we know ultimately you will come and right the wrongs and rule and reign but lord I pray that until then we'd be found faithful just walking with you serving you being busy about your work and and what you've called us to do and be as a church I pray that we wouldn't just sit around thinking about end times but that we'd be busy preparing those who we love and caring for Lord just to share the good news so bless the church I pray that tonight as we go our way that you bring forth good fruit in our lives even from this study Lord that we'd see good things come of it we thank you for meeting us tonight in Jesus name
