THE BOOK OF REVELATION // Session 22: The Future Age-Ending Persecution of Jews and Christians

[Music] hey guys welcome back to the maranatha global bible study on the book of revelation in our session today we're jumping back in to revelation chapter 7 the title of this session is the future age-ending persecution of jews and christians heavy heavy title before we jump into it i want to make you aware of something that you can be praying for as some of you guys know who track with the study last week we had to delay this session because of war in gaza and because of a campaign that we've uh kicked off when the rockets started flying we have been sponsoring families from the gaza border area from moshavs and the kibbutz is down there to bring them up here to the north of israel to the golan heights in the upper galil we've rented out all the hotel rooms in all the hotels in the area about five minutes from where i am now there's a kibbutz on the syrian border we rented out 30 rooms there over on the lebanon border there's another hotel we rented about 20 rooms over there down on the galilee we rented out about 30 rooms there today we have a number of buses we've rented out buses to transport families from the gaza border area up here so that they can get some peace and quiet from the bombardment the rocket bombardment from hamas and islamic jihad there's talks of ceasefire there is mounting pressure like always for israel to bring the ceasefire bring the campaign to a close and uh initiate a ceasefire um we're not sure how when that will take effect if it will how long it's going to be going but we'll keep you posted on that if you would like to invest into this initiative and help finance the sponsoring of these families you can donate now we're going to put a link below this a little bit goes a long way we the impact of this campaign has just been really amazing to see uh you know i mean think about living on the border if you've if you've never been to the gaza border you don't realize just how chaotic it is you know the rockets are being fired in at mostly places like ashdod ashkelon bersheva in the south center of israel which means everything that goes over both ways goes over the villages the communities on the border so imagine trying to raise children and have a family and live a normal life while this is going on volleyball's missile volleyball's going on all day long the unique thing about these places is they don't just have the missiles and the rockets from hamas they also have mortars they have small arms fire these communities become the first to be impacted and then they also become the first responders when something happens i'll spare you a lot of the the stories but it's it's pretty it's pretty heavy the stuff that these communities go through so it's been a huge blessing for us to be able to watch just the impact of this for the families who've been coming up and being able to sleep with no bombing with no sirens going off every 30 seconds so it's it's a very simple campaign but a very very powerful one to be able to show our support and solidarity with israelis who are going through another round of jihadi madness so if you want to invest into this project we've just committed to it we're footing the whole bill for it as an organization and then anything that comes in right now we have we don't have enough resources to meet the need i think just today there's two buses coming up with 30 more families now most of these families are are religious families not orthodox but religious families which means they have big families so 30 families is you know they all have you know four five six seven children so it's it's it's a large um there's a lot of people coming up here and so we're covering their transportation we're covering their accommodation we're covering their food as well while they're here all expenses paid just to say we love you and we're with you so if you would like to give to that that would be amazing which actually this subject of of what's happening the subject that we're going to be looking at today in revelation chapter 7 actually has a pretty um heavy intersection with what's taking place right now in gaza and what's as kind of a microcosm of what's going to be happening in the years ahead before the end of the age as i said before the title of this session is the future age-ending persecution of jews and christians we're looking at chapter 7 in the book of revelation it's a very very critical passage i'm going to give some introductory thoughts and then we're going to go through it now joel richardson uh last week or the week before actually did the background already on the 144 000 and gave an introduction to revelation chapter seven i'm gonna mow over the grass uh from a different way same grasp but from maybe not a different perspective in the sense that joel and i don't agree we agree on on the the message of this chapter but i think it's one of those chapters that we don't want to just move on from quickly it's one that we need to really kind of marinate in and kind of you know [Music] sit on it and make sure that that we're understanding um the the main implications of this chapter because what happens so often is that people get bogged down in the curiosity of like what does 144 000 mean and then you miss the whole message of the chapter you know there's lots of passages like that in the book of revelation that you know it it you know like 666 what 666 means like okay guys the rest of that chapter in revelation 13 is massive it's so important don't get lost in just the curiosity of that one verse that's mysterious when the rest of the chapter is not mysterious at all let's deal with the mysterious verses but let's deal with them in context to what's plain what's clear what's out in the open and what's being emphasized by the lord in the scripture and in the old testament which is something we'll get to here in a moment so introductory introductory remarks revelation chapter 7 is a absolutely critical chapter in the book it's it comes at a very significant moment it breaks between the seals and the trumpets and it contains information that is reiterated in the book of revelation but it's very unique for these for this particular chapter both the content the way it's explained the language the grammar the emphasis it's it's you know every chapter in the book is massively significant but chapter seven is one of those that's like you know you really want to build your house on this foundation kind of a thing because some of the stuff that is in revelation 7 is not in the rest of the book and it is in the old testament which is something that we're going to talk a lot about today that revelation chapter 7 really relies heavy heavy heavy on the old testament this is an old testament bible study chapter through and through so there's nothing being new introduced in revelation 7 everything in this is old it's already been established in the old testament but it's putting it into an apocalyptic framework that is that is unique but the content is not unique but it's how it's communicated and how it's juxtaposed with other themes within the chapter itself next introductory remark i already mentioned it but revelation chapter 7 relies very heavy on the eschatology or the teaching of the old testament or sorry the study of the end of the age it relies very heavily on the old testament namely the book of exodus the book of jeremiah the book of isaiah the book of ezekiel the book of joel there's language and terminology in here that is that is straight from the book of isaiah that's straight from the book of zechariah that's leaning on it's basically pointing us to go back to the book of daniel and study these passages where these terms and concepts and themes were first introduced and this is something that you know joel and i have mentioned it multiple times as we've been going through this study but it's something that bears repeating i think almost in every session is that the book of revelation really is an old testament bible study it's taking the old testament the eschatology of the old testament the mysteology of the old testament the christology of the old testament and presenting it in a very very poignant way you know it's drawn every every verse is drawing from another old testament passage another old testament prophecy so one verse is from isaiah the next verse is from daniel the next verse is from ezekiel there's not new information in the book of revelation there's not new information what's new the added value of the book of revelation is the way that it compiles the information and it helps us and instructs us on how to understand the information that's already been given the intertextuality is what it's called intertextuality of the book the books of the bible with the book of revelation is just absolutely stunning so the main theme let's talk the main theme for a moment the main theme of revelation chapter 7 is the preservation of the people of god during the final persecution against the jewish people and against christians those who follow the testimony of jesus the land that's the language from the text it's both an attack on the jewish people and the gentiles who are yoked to the jewish people by their love for the jewish messiah the jewish as prophesied through the jewish prophets and apostles and a massive part of this whole issue of the persecution is because of the persecution against the jewish people it's we'll get into it more as we go here but the main reason the main motivation for persecution at the end of the age against believers against those who follow the testimony of jesus the main reason is because of our identification with the jewish people with the jewish people they say well i thought it was with jesus i thought the persecution is going to come because of our identification with jesus those two things are going to become very blurry as we get closer to the end of the age meaning the reason we love the jewish people is because of our beloved jewish messiah who demonstrated and commanded us to love his brethren his people so it's because of our love and identification for jesus that we love and identify with the jewish people so it's both but the issue is the nations of the earth by and large they're not really going to care that you follow jesus yes there's going to be persecution because of that but i know this might be a new information for some of you you might be thinking whoa whoa dalton what's what's the issue here i don't want to get persecuted for you know loving israel i'm i'm down for getting persecuted for loving jesus but what's the issue what's going on here i'll show you once we get into some of these passages today that the way that the scriptures present the final persecution is not just because of the gospel of the kingdom because we're proclaiming that jesus loves you and died for your sins and was resurrected and he's returning that's not the reason why we're going to be butchered at the end of the age the reason why we're going to be butchered at the end of the age is because the crosshairs of the nations are going to be upon the jewish people and the only people who are going to stand and identify with them when that crazy storm begins to show on the horizon is going to be the people of the covenant the people who love the jewish people because if it weren't for them we would have we wouldn't have any of this we wouldn't have you know you read romans 9 you go wow if it wasn't for the jewish people we would we would we have nothing you read ephesians chapter 2 we are we are nothing we are we are we have nothing we have no hope in this world if it were not because of the divine wisdom of what the lord did through the election of israel as a national ethnic territorial people and then grafting us into covenants that he made with them so we'll we'll get more into this later but this i'm just introducing this at the beginning the main theme of revelation 7 is the preservation of the jewish people and followers of jesus during the great tribulation next point which dovetails with my last point preservation does not mean escape meaning there is no pre-tribulation rapture as we'll also see from revelation chapter 7 they're not coming out up coming up before the great tribulation it says in revelation chapter 7 it says they're coming up out of the great tribulation and martyrdom we'll get to that in a moment and it also does not mean protection from suffering it does not mean protection from suffering the the mark the pres the mark of preservation that's going to be put upon the heads of the 144 000 and not just 144 000 many many more and those who follow the testimony of jesus the preservation the mark of preservation that's being put on us is not one where we are going to be exempt from suffering on the contrary he's marking us to preserve us through suffering it's the same paradoxical statement where jesus said to the disciples he said guys don't worry no one can harm a hair on your head even when they're killing you they can't harm you you go hold on jesus [Music] you just said they're not going to harm a hair hair on our head and then you said even when they're they're killing us wait hold on what's that mean you know we see in revelation chapter 12 it says that the saints they overcome the evil one and we go yeah we overcome we're gonna overcome we're gonna be protected we're going to be victorious he said through not loving your lives unto death wait i thought we were going to overcome the antichrist in in the great enemy of our souls because you are through suffering it's like romans chapter 8 we all love romans 8 right nothing can separate us there's no condemnation for those who are in jesus nothing can separate us nor height nor depth nor any created thing nothing we are more than conquerors when we are like sheep being led to the slaughter we're being killed all day long you know romans 8 the promise is everyone loves to do that you know everything works together for the good of those who who are called according to his purpose brother everything works for good yeah the next verse says we're led all day long to death like sheep being slaughtered this is a different frame we need to take off our western american beer goggles that equate preservation and protection with exemption from suffering that's not a biblical paradigm whatsoever protection from suffering is not promised in the bible it's not promised in the bible and it's an unbiblical teaching to say that that he's gonna he's going to preserve or protect you from suffering what he's doing is he's protecting you and preserving you through suffering it's something much more powerful much more important having said that and we'll end the introductory remarks with this and we'll jump right into it there is a dynamic just like in the book of exodus just like in the book of exodus where the people of god were are going to be preserved from being touched by the judgment events and the wrath of god that are being poured out upon predominantly the antichrist's empire and his coalition of nations meaning this and with that let's just jump right into this revelation chapter 7 verse 1 after i saw this four angels standing at the four corners of the earth holding back the four winds of the earth that no wind might blow on the earth or sea or against any tree then i saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun with the seal of the living god and he called with a loud voice the four angels who had been given power to harm the earth okay there's four angels who've been given power to harm the earth in the sea angels are given power to harm the earth and the sea saying do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the servants of our god on their foreheads and i heard the number of the sealed 144 000 sealed every from every tribe of the sons of israel and then he mentions 12 000 from each of the tribes then verse 9 it says after this i looked and behold a great multitude and then he shifts his attention from the 12 tribes of israel he shifts his attention to the gentiles to those from the nations coming up out of every tribe tongue in nation during this great time of trouble so let's talk before we get to the gentile part let's talk about the remnant of israel that's being preserved amidst a global jihad and that's being preserved amidst global judgments of god on the earth and on the sea now if you the grammar in this is very important do not harm let's start with verse one actually after this this gives us some structural interpretation for the book of revelation here now as we said in our introductory sessions before there's different ways to look at the seals trumpets and bulls either it's the seals the trumpets and then the bowls chronologically consecutively or maybe it's the seals the trumpets and the bowls and that they overlap the whole time or maybe it's the seals the trumpets and the bowls meaning they dovetail a little bit in in but not completely dovetail so everyone has their different graphs you know some of my closest friends and favorite bible teachers we all disagree on this you know i'll give you an example one of my my absolute heroes of the faith and a man that i just absolutely adore is reggie kelly and reggie and i have gone back and forth over this over the years and reggie's adamant he's like dalton you are so wrong it's not consecutive because i i see i see consecutive chronology in passages because of chapter seven and reggie's saying no no no no it's seals trumpets and bowls the final uh the sixth seal here in chapter six is is the eschaton it's the day of the lord it's the end which coincides with the sixth and seventh trumpet and the sixth and seventh bull that they culminate together and while i think there's definitely value to that and and what i've said to reggie over the years is no i i can see there is profound finality in uh and joel uh leans this way as well joel leans towards the sixth seal being the day of the lord in some capacity and the rest of the judgment events being poured out in some fashion but that being kind of the the finality of that's the day of wrath and reggie's point is to say look you can't have you know multiple days of wrath there's one day of wrath which i agree with so i don't know necessarily how to work out problems as joel said very well in one of the earlier earlier sessions there are just problems in here and to make them we don't need to make the problems go away let's continue to study them continue to be kind with one another as we wrestle through things that we see in these passages and i say that because i look at this passages after this verse one i saw these four angels now the four angels are going to be the angels that sound the first four trumpets that released the trumpet judgment events in revelation chapter 9 which we'll look at in future sessions but then he says wait before you do that seal the 144 000 before you release the trumpets before the earth is harmed so in other words there does appear to be some some chronology that i just can't shake off when i look at this meaning if if grammar means anything he's saying i saw the first seal torn the second seal third seal fourth steal fifth still sixth seal and then weight before i saw the seven seal torn which is the sounding of the seven trumpets which means there is chronology there the seventh one initiates the seven trumpet events but before the seventh trumpet sorry before the seventh seal is torn he's the angel saying wait wait wait wait wait wait wait wait not yet we need to seal the 144 000 before the earth is harmed now this is a very very strong exodus motif before the plagues are poured out mark the people it's like what happened in goshen you know moses make sure the people know how to posture and carry themselves when these events are going down excuse me pardon my my cough that i just cannot get rid of so let's joel already touched on 144 000. we're not going to go too deep into that what i want to talk about is this framework of the preservation of a remnant of israel amidst both this global jihad that will be focused on targeting the jewish people in the land of israel for their annihilation the scriptures are emphatic about this that the final beast little horn antichrist gog magog scenario this whole scenario revolves around a focused concerted effort to destroy the jewish people in the land of israel and in the city of jerusalem now as that jihad is going on the judgments of god are being poured out upon the empire that is executing that jihad so if you can see the dynamic interplay here between the raging of the enemies of israel on the earth and the pouring out of the judgments of god upon the empire that's doing the persecuting that's the interplay the dynamics here that's taking place between the jewish people the enemies of the jewish people and the lord who is releasing judgments upon the earth and upon the sea to target and to shake the empire that's persecuting the jewish people just like the book of exodus this is why i said it leans heavily on old testament motifs and frameworks here you have a tyrannical leader a pharaoh-like leader who is persecuting the jewish people and the lord in order to confront that dictator that leader that little horn that pharaoh he pours out judgment events on the earth and protects the people of the covenant as the judgment events are being poured out it's the same thing so in goshen the people of israel were spared as the plagues were being poured out so you know they're they're doing laundry and everything's all the water's blood you know they're drinking uh drinking water it's turning to blood they're bathing their children and everything's turning to blood meanwhile in goshen the water's fine darkness descends upon the empire descends upon the citadel depends descends upon egypt but in goshen there's light there's no darkness because there's protection there's preservation so as i said at the beginning preservation protection doesn't mean exemption from suffering which we'll get to this in a minute once we hit the issue of martyrdom in the next part of the chapter it doesn't guarantee exemption from suffering but it does guarantee an exemption from being targeted by the judgment events now that doesn't mean that just because you're not targeted by them they're not going to affect you meaning for example there's going to be believers living in and around territories that are under the military and government or mental control of the beast the antichrist at the end and as these judgment events are being poured out upon them they are going to affect the people of god they're going to affect us because you can't harm the earth and harm the seas and then and harm vegetation and not have it affect us meaning the food shortage that's going to hit and the starvation that's going to grip the earth during this time it's going to touch the people of the covenant it's going to touch us so don't take you know don't take the idea of preservation and push it too far because the preservation here is meaning look it's you're not the target of harming the earth but it is going to affect you in the same way that in goshen it wasn't targeting them but it was affecting them now for the jewish people that couldn't get back to goshen if you're in the midst of the city you're going to be affected by it now because of the global nature of the final tribulation it's not going to be like it was where in egypt you had the jewish people were here in this little pocket in goshen and then you have the the egyptians over here so there's you know clear separation at the end of the age there's going to be believers all over the world and there's going to be jewish people in the land of israel and out of the land of israel and so there's not going to be this easy partition where it's like oh we're completely exempt from it it's going to be a lot more muddy and a lot more gray with a lot more human dynamics in the process but nonetheless the preservation of the people is going to happen during that time now a key passage i think joel referenced it in revelation chapter 14 it defines the 144 000 as the first fruits of the redeemed so one of the things that's important to understand about this is that the ceiling the 144 000 is not necessarily so that they don't they don't suffer they don't go through judgment events it's that during the judgment events they would be marked with the power and the anointing of god revelation chapter 14 unpacks this with a lot of clarity and adds a lot of mystery too but it adds a lot to the discussion of the 145 000 because it declares emphatically that they are a remnant who are a first fruits remnant a first fruit is a harvest agricultural term meaning it's the first fruits that you pick they are redeemed the term redeemed is used in chapter 14 which means this it's not just jewish people being physically preserved and protected it's redeemed first fruit jewish people who are redeemed by god who are marked and who are marked for purposes and function during the great tribulation revelation chapter 14 describes what their function is in this prophetic capacity during the end of the age scenario to declare and to demonstrate the gospel of the kingdom as the jihad is raging and the judgments are being poured out now what's interesting about the symmetry between chapter 7 and chapter 14 is that the same two themes are mirrored in these two chapters in chapter seven we have the preservation of the 144 thousand and then we have this massive gentile in gathering of a great harvest of amidst great mass martyrdom now in revelation chapter 14 we see the exact same thing we see the 144 000 on mount zion preserved amidst a great harvest we have that there's this imagery of the sickle now we'll get into chapter 14 later when we actually get to the chapter now the the uh the context of this preservation is very very important it's the pouring out of the judgments on the empire that's persecuting the jewish people a number of passages that you need to go study jeremiah 30-33 in jeremiah 30 we read about a time of great trouble for jacob a time of tribulation during this tribulation the nations with a laser-like focus target and persecute the jewish people that brings about this global catastrophic crisis that's what we're dealing with here the preservation of the 144 000 is in context to the time of jacob's trouble zechariah 14 tells us that all nations will gather around jerusalem in an attempt to destroy it that's the context of the 144 000 isaiah 4 tells us that all who are left all who survive on mount zion will be made holy in that day which means there's a remnant zechariah 14 and 13 tell us that there's a remnant in the land jeremiah 30-33 says those who are left the survivors the remnant who survives zechariah 12 tells us this that tribe by tribe there will be mourning in the land of israel at the end of the time of jacob's trouble when they look upon the messiah when he returns they're going to mourn it says tribe by tribe family by family and i mentioned chapter 12 to make the point that the 144 thousand is not so much about because i don't believe that 145 000 is limited to just 144 000. meaning i don't think the lord's like okay no more 144 thousand that's enough everyone else you're out no why because chapter 14 tells us that they are the first fruits which means this behind them is a massive harvest a massive harvest so this first fruit preservation gives way to a massive ingathering and a massive harvest so what what's the point then if there's a massive harvest what's the point of even mentioning 144 000 then there's a number of reasons and i i reference zechariah 12 to emphasize a number of them one this is a statement of israel's national identity this is a statement of israel's ethnic identity and number three this is a statement of israel territorial identity and the preservation of all three national ethnic and territorial when we have a statement that says 144 000 from every tribe from the 12 tribes of israel what it's telling you there is that the nation is intact the 12 tribes it's telling you that the ethnicity is intact meaning this is the jewish people this is the people who come from jacob now the term jewish and jew comes from judah okay so it's actually not a technically correct thing to say all are jews it's because they all come from israel all are israel so we'll use the term israel here instead of jews i'm using jewish people jews in more of a modern colloquial way but they are all of israel of the 12 tribes of israel and then the fact that there's a tribal dynamic to the emphasis of 144 000 means that the lord is wanting the audience of the book of revelation to understand that the territorial tribal identity of israel will be preserved and maintained into the millennium a very very critical point see this whole mystery of the 144 thousand is not trying to figure out who's who and what's what it's a statement about the preservation of the national ethnic and territorial identity of israel as a people as a nation as a family a covenantal family who bear promises that were given to them not just as a nation but as a tribe as a tribe family by family ezekiel 38 and 39 the war of gog and magog the culmination of this thing it says every tribe every family will be present and none will be left out meaning there's going to be a comprehensive in gathering and a representation from every tribe in israel now what's interesting is this is mirrored in revelation chapter 7 verses 9 through 14 with the in gathering of a massive harvest of gentiles so we have a massive harvest of equal representation from every tribe of israel and then we have a massive representation from every tribe tongue and nation so this representation from every tribe and every tribe is a israel and a gentile club climax and crescendo at the end of the age where first fruits gives way to massive massive harvest another key uh reference point here for the 144 000 is daniel 7 8 9 11 and 12. this describes the rising up of the little horn the final aggressor who targets and seeks to destroy the nation of israel this is why there is preservation on an ethnic a national a territorial a tribal level because there is a target upon them from the antichrist the little horn to eradicate every single tribe and to eradicate their national ethnic and territorial identity and the lord says no it will be preserved which is something you and i are gonna find lots of comfort and uh confidence in when the events begin to unfold and and uh buckle down on the nations we're gonna be going oh my gosh we're gonna see so much turmoil and bloodshed and death and catastrophe we're going to be going is anyone going to make it out of this it's going to be so bad that we're going to be going this is horrific everyone's it's going to look like everyone's going to die and the lord goes no no no no no no it's very bad but i have a plan and a purpose and revelation 7 describes that plan and that purpose okay let's talk about the second half of the chapter here which details what's called the fullness of the gentiles amidst jacob's trouble now in romans chapter 11 paul says look at the end of the age there's going to be at the time of the fullness of israel the provocation of israel and the fullness of the gentiles are going to rise together once the fullness of the gentiles has come in then the fullness of israel will come in and so there's a dynamic interplay between the harvest and the nations and the harvest among the nation of israel and the preservation of both and the intertwining of their destinies during the final jacob's time of jacob's trouble now the fullness of the gentiles is a very very incredibly important statement that comes from the book of ezekiel in the book of ezekiel the term the fullness of the gentiles is introduced now jesus uses the term in luke 21 paul uses the term in romans 11. but the fullness of the gentiles refers to two things quality and quantity on a quantity standpoint it's numerical in gathering massive massive in gathering why do i say numerical because look in verse nine after this i left and behold a great multitude that no one could number that's quantitative quantitative you can't count them from every nation from every tribe from every people from every language standing before the throne and before the lamb clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands and crying out with a loud voice salvation belongs to our god who sits on the throne into the lamb and all the angels are standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures and they fell on their faces before the throne worship and they worshiped god saying amen blessing and glory wisdom thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our god forever then one of the elders addressed me saying who are these john who are these clothed in white robes and where have they come from now when an angel asks you two questions who are they and where did they come from you know that the angel knows the answer the angel's asking it because he wants us to know that this is a point of emphasis that we need to hear see understand i said to him sir you know and he said to me these are the ones coming out of the great tribulation they've washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb therefore there before the throne of god he describes those who are before the throne of god this is quantity sorry yeah quantitative qualitative sorry i'm getting mixed up quant at the beginning in verse 9 is quantitative there's a multitude that no one could number but by the time we get to 13 and 14 it's qualitative the quality of those who are coming in to this great multitude the quality of these people this is not just people who are like hmm you know yeah maybe i'll be a cultural christian because of benefits that it could bring me within my society here in the bible belt you know no this is people are saying this is going to cost me my life this is going to cost me my life to identify with jesus and with the nation of israel during the time of their final trouble this is going to cost me everything i have and what's crazy is they count the cost and then they pay it and they don't just pay it from a couple nations they pay it in every tribe every tongue every language every nation there is a remnant coming up out of the great tribulation now this is why we've mentioned it in too many sessions to get into it now but suffice it to just say this is one of those passages that makes the pre-tribulation teaching just looks so absurd not just absurd but it just takes the whole story of the book of revelation and just sends it down the toilet the the whole point of revelation chapter 7 is to give us confidence that in the midst of the trouble and the tribulation there's going to be a romans 8 28 dynamic of all things working together for good in that there's going to be a harvest and a representation from every tribe within israel and a harvest and representation from every tribe among the nations this is our matthew 24 14 ironclad promise that at the end of the age there's going to be a massive harvest among the nations now you know we see on the two sides of the spectrum there's within the body of christ today there's two two angles one is that everything sucks everything is going to be horrible and we're the only ones and there is nobody else and there's you know six people in the world who are holy and it's me and my four buddies and the rest of the world screw the rest of the world everyone else is evil a super negative pessimistic view of things the hell in a hand basket view the other one is very very naively optimistic it's that hey there's going to be revival there's going to be everything's going you know we're going to take our nations back for god and there's going to be this and that and there's going to be revival and awakening and there's this very optimistic thing that says it's like you know one day one day this elusive day we're going to get to this one day where this this massive revival and everyone's going to go oh you know what yeah let's enter the we want to follow jesus too and oh yeah don't worry about the jewish people we love them now too now both of those extremes are completely unbiblical the optimism and the pessimism there's a biblical realism that we're called to here that says amidst this final jihad that's going to target the jewish people and the people who identify with them amidst the outpouring of the judgments of god on that empire upon the nations of the earth amidst all that there's going to be a massive ingathering and a massive harvest and really good glorious wondrous things happening in the midst of it you know the idea that there's going to be like this revival that's gonna be fun is not a biblical idea you know we have this idea of like people who've been you know born and bred in like the revival culture it's like you imagine like oh revival means you know oh we're gonna go sit in the church auditorium for like long extended services multiple nights in a row and that equals revival and awakening i mean that could and that's you know sometimes how revival and awakening has manifested in the past but the end of the age scenario is going to look very different than that it's going to be look a whole lot more like the book of exodus meaning plagues in judgments in turmoil and catastrophe and the earth shaking and death count mounting in the midst of all of that we're going to see a massive in-gathering of people who are going to be observing the signs of the times and hearing the proclamation of those among the nations interpreting describing deciphering what's taking place and explaining it in the context of the gospel of the kingdom which will be profoundly confirming meaning think about this after this first and the second trumpet you know what comes next right the third trumpet you know that the fourth trumpet comes next so when we see the events played out we're going to be able to say with confidence hey neighbor family member community people that around me workplace guys look yes this is happening right now but i can tell you what's going to happen next because it's written already and i know what's going to happen and i know what the lord's doing and i can explain it to you i can show you take heart don't be afraid there is a prescription from the lord of how we're supposed to walk in these days let me show you do you want to know there's going to be this apocalyptic instruction at the end of the age both in israel and out of israel and 144 000 are going to be marked to give the direction on the ground when all of these things are unfolding now the language here is very very important the white robes are given to those who come out of the great tribulation this is a direct quotation of the book of jeremiah in the book of daniel out of the tribulation out of jacob's trouble is coming people saints clothed in white robes this is daniel chapter 7. this is daniel chapter 11. this is jeremiah 30-33 this is not a new idea in revelation chapter 7. this is firmly established in the book of daniel and in the book of jeremiah and in the book of isaiah this white-robed multitude who are coming up who have been crushed by the little horn broken down it says in daniel 7. they've been worn down and broken down or in daniel chapter 12 says they've been completely shattered daniel chapter 11 says that they're those who are given white robes because they've been purified they've fallen by the sword by captivity and by plunder but they are instructing many in turning many to righteousness the 144 thousand the preservation of this white robed remnant is going to be a jew and a gentile fabric of witness of mercy of testimony that both is the actual ethnic tribal territorial identity of israel and a representation from every tribe tongue in language among the nations of the earth this is a critical missiological chapter and so often in the missions conferences and in the you know christian circles we just pull this verse out at the worship service and it says yeah they're all worshiping and they're waving palm branches and we reduce this to yeah there's going to be like lots of asians and africans in the worship service it's going to be very multi-ethnic that's not what this is about this is about the final agenting persecution during the tribulation during the tribulation the fact that the term out of the tribulation is used in revelation chapter 7 13-14 the fact that term is used demands that we interpret it through the book of daniel in the book of jeremiah in the book of isaiah the book of ezekiel the book of zechariah the book of joel these themes were already presented there now i want to turn to we're going to wrap this up i want to turn real quick to revelation chapter 12 verse 17 and i want to show you something we're running out of time here i wanted to spend more time on this but i don't want to i don't want to go over too much time here right now you're witnessing because of this gaza incursion you're witnessing riots and protests break out in capital cities all over the world of people protesting anti-zionism the awkward thing about it is whenever people take to the streets to protest anti-zionism or the occupation or israel's targeting of civilians in gaza it always turns into if the jews kill the jews kaibar khaibar army of muhammad is rising slaughter the jews butcher the jews hitler should have finished the jews and you go guys this doesn't really seem like you're interested in the palestinians it actually just seems like the palestinians are an excuse so that you can be an anti-semitic bigot with a genocidal uh program on your mind because when i hear someone say kaibar khaibar the army of muhammad is rising when i hear people say hitler should have finished the job when i hear people say killed the jews or f the jews on the streets you know in berlin or brussels or new york city or buenos aires or wherever sydney australia you know it's kind of hard to believe that people here are really caring about the palestinians and the reality is they don't what they care about is the jewish people they hate the jewish people now in light of that i want to read revelation chapter 12 verse 17 this is talking about the when the dragon is thrown down look at uh chapter 12 verse 11. it's a it's a passage we all know it's a very important passage in in the fai family but as passage you know they've conquered him verse 11 the saints have conquered satan the dragon and the antichrist by the blood of the lamb the word of their testimony and they love not their lives even unto death so we conquer him by the blood of the lamb the word of our testimony and not loving our lives unto death giving our lives away and martyrdom at the end when we're being targeted now why are we being targeted look at verse 17 then the dragon became furious with the woman now the woman will get into this in great detail when we get into chapter 12 an amazing chapter the woman is the nation of israel this is the nation of israel the woman is being targeted by satan by the dragon he became furious with the woman and he went to make war on the rest of her offspring and on those who keep the commandments of god and hold to the testimony of jesus and then we see the antichrist rise in the next two verses the devil at the end of the age is going to have great fury and great wrath which actually is a direct quotation from daniel chapter 8 with great fury he goes out to devour and to destroy many who is he trying to destroy he's trying to destroy the woman the nation of israel and her offspring those who follow the testimony of jesus now look what it says in verse 11 we're going to be we're going to overcome the devil by the blood of the lamb the word of our testimony and not living our lives unto death right the word of our testimony well in verse 17 we're being targeted by the devil because he's targeting the jewish people and we are the offspring of the jewish people the offspring of the jewish people the nation of israel and we follow the testimony of jesus and that's how we overcome the structure the grammar the intertextuality of roman revelation chapter 12 pushes us towards an apocalyptic understanding that at the end of the age the jewish people are going to be hated by all nations and that's going to be a massive reason why you as a follower of jesus are going to be hated by all nations because when the nations get together and attack israel we are going to be among the nations saying this is wrong we're against it and they're going to go oh you're against it then you're with them it's no different than world war ii if you're having trouble imagining it just imagine the world war ii imagine the christian community in germany standing up and saying adolf hitler we we refused to stand idle and silent or to participate or to support the annihilation of the jewish people what would he do you'd end up in auschwitz doc out your blinker with them and beloved this is what the church at the end of the age is called to do we are called to stand with the jewish people we are called to stand with the jewish people you say well dalton we're also called to love the love our enemies beloved we are we're called to do both in the days of choosing one or the other are over okay no more of this this silly shallow thinking that if you stand with the jewish people it means that you hate the nations or that if you love the nations that you're against the jewish people no what revelation 7 teaches us on a missiological in a mythological way is that every tribe of the nation of israel and every tribe tongue and nation there's a plan for them during the great tribulation and we as believers are called to engage and this is the thing guys one of the reasons the nations are going to know and who are going to come into the kingdom during the great tribulation is because they're going to watch us pour our lives out like water on the ground as the nations of the earth vomit hatred and violent rage against the jewish people this is going to be one of the most powerful testimonies not only to israel but to the nations of the earth in the days ahead we are called to stand with the nation of israel when they are the center at the crosshairs of the final persecution at the end of the age now i i i'll close with this i'm aware that some of you may be like uncomfortable with the idea that uh we're not going to be targeted for the gospel you know some of you are going to be saying no you know it says in matthew 24 that it's it's our testimony they'll hate us because of the gospel of the kingdom and for the name for jesus's namesake it says in matthew 24. beloved the gospel of the kingdom and jesus's namesake is inextricably inseparably connected to the nation of israel and god's purposes with the nation of israel as a nation as an ethnicity as a territorial reality when we proclaim the gospel of the kingdom what are we proclaiming we're proclaiming that jesus is coming back to jerusalem and that the 12 tribes of israel are going to play the central role in the restoration of all things in matthew chapter 19 jesus says in the regeneration in the new age in the millennial kingdom you guys are going to sit on thrones and judge the 12 tribes of israel you're going to govern them you're going to lead the tribes of israel which means the tribal identity of israel is going to be established in the millennial kingdom when jesus the jewish messiah returns to jerusalem so it's not an issue that you can you know they're not getting they're not going to be butchering christians at the end of the age because we were doing skits on the street and passing out tracks explaining that jesus died for you this you know ethnically uh blurry guy messianic figure uh with no connection to israel anymore because now he's all about the church that's just basic shallow replacement theology in it it's not going to fly in these days what the lord is calling the church too in these days and in the days ahead what he's calling us to what he's requiring of us is to lay our lives down for the jewish people his brethren who are going to be hungry who are going to be thirsty who are going to be naked who are going to be in prison and in those days those that stand with them he will reward them and those who don't will be led away into the same judgment that the wicked nations will be led into at the end when he separates the sheeps and the goats and this is not about israel and a separation between israel and jesus jesus is telling us this is how you love me in the days ahead love my people it's an expression of love because guys what is love but obedience love is obedience is the language of love for the lord you can't say jesus i love you and he goes okay do this and you go no i don't want to do that. he goes you don't love me if you love me keep my commandments if you love me obey me obedience is the love language of jesus without obedience our love for him is nothing but a sham without obedience our love for him is nothing and jesus is going to measure and weigh and test the authenticity of our love before him in the days before his return in the crucible of the suffering of the jewish people by us identifying with them and pouring our lives out with them you know one of the the accusations the mockery that's come towards those who take the end of the age series seriously is oh you guys are just you're just trying to hasten you know the end of the world when all the jews are going to suffer and you're going to be you know you just want to see the jews suffer go guys that is such a gross misrepresentation of what the bible teaches the bible teaches that the jewish people will be the target of international hatred and that we are called to throw our lives in with them shoulder to shoulder and walk into this thing together because we know the end of the story and we know that it will be worth it now some people some people will say well how can you believe that the the jewish people are going to go through something they've already been through so much they've already been through the holocaust they've already been through the pogroms how dare you dalton say there's going to be more two things and we'll end with this one the bible says so the bible says that before the end of this age the city of jerusalem the nation of israel will be the central focal point of an international assault called the time of jacob's trouble that if the lord did not cut that time short there would be nothing left it will be the most unequaled unprecedented time of trouble the earth has ever known and the second reason is this guys you can watch it being played out right now on news channels all around the world the nations of the earth already hate the jewish people who hate the nation of israel i'm not saying something that's new and presenting an outlandish idea that that you know i mean i can understand if there was no such thing as anti-semitism and anti-zionism and anti-judaism today and that there was no massive deep-seated hatred for the nation of israel i could maybe understand some blowbacks and kick back and people being like well that's a bit too extreme man but guys open your eyes and look what's taking place we're at the beginning of these days now we're at the beginning of these days now there's great trouble coming for the nation of israel and those who claim to follow jesus that claim is going to be put to the test at the end of the age when all of this goes down and you and i are called to stand with them in the midst of their greatest trouble jacob's trouble is not just jacob's problem it's going to be our problem as well because the devil comes after her the nation of israel and her offspring us those who hold to the testimony of jesus guys thank you for watching this session and if you would like again if you would like to throw in on the campaign for families down in gaza to bring them up here to the north for a few days to get them some respite some relief you can click on the link below if you're watching this on youtube or in the app you can just go to the tab for the gaza campaign you'll see it guys thank you for watching maranatha

Channel: FAI STUDIOS

Views: 64,798

Keywords: Dalton Thomas, FAI, FAI Studios, end-times, end times, eschatology, Turkish antichrist, antichrist, Middle East beast, Joel Richardson, islamic antichrist, pretribulation rapture, rapture, Amir Tsarfati, Behold Israel ministries, frontier alliance international, sheep among wolves, return of Jesus, beast empire, revelation 13, harlot babylon, great tribulation, bible study, maranatha global bible study, Donald trump, make America great again, covid19, christian, mark of the beast

Id: ST9fU35JW40

Length: 59min 56sec (3596 seconds)

Published: Thu May 20 2021