It's nice to hear brothers sing together their voices match so well. I thought that was Phil singing at first that was. Jonathan so thank you for that Jesus. I come that is certainly our hearts desire that. Wherever he goes. We would come along with him. In fact take your Bibles this morning turn to the book of Revelation chapter fourteen. Phil I have one other request of you Phil Regner. Phil? He's busy talking to his wife in the back there. If you could pick out an invitation song for the end, too, that'd be a help. OK. Revelation chapter 14. I know I've often told this illustration, particularly when I'm speaking with teenagers. But I think this kind of illustration helps to bring to focus the difference between that which is temporal and that which is eternal. You know how it is when you're working with children. And maybe you get them all excited. In fact, I noticed the other day, candy sale here in the school. And you go out and sell a million dollars worth of candy bars, and we'll give you this $5 bill. And all the kids are so excited. They'll be so rich with what you can buy $5 with. But sometimes, even with a child, you could say something like, you know what? If you're good all day long. We'll go out and get an ice cream cone. Oh, boy, that child's eyes just light up. An ice cream cone. Oh, goody, goody, goody. And they tell all their friends at the park, if I'm good all day, I get an ice cream cone. And he's the envy of every child there in the playground. And they can't hardly have a conversation with anybody without that ice cream cone coming up as part of the conversation. And with a small child, we think, oh, that's really, really cute. But can you imagine if when you came to church today, a deacon met you at the door, and that deacon, with hardly contained excitement, said to you, the pastor said, if I was good all day, I would get an ice cream cone. Can you believe that? You'd be a little concerned. Yeah. An ice cream cone? And they're really not even that good for you. They make you die faster, I guess. And so we understand that as we get older, we begin to see the value of things and ice cream cones, though we still get kind of excited about those. We don't wrap our lives around that. It's not the focus of who we are and why we do what we do. It's just something nice maybe along the way, but certainly it's not what we are living for. But I'm afraid that so often today in our culture, it may not be an ice cream cone, but it may be a house. Or a position at work. Or a car. or a comfortable bank account, or success, or fame, or whatever it might be, and we get so excited and our lives are so wrapped up. Hey, did you hear? I just got a promotion! Of course, I wasn't able to come to church for the last three years because I was working on Sundays to try and get that promotion, but boy, I got a promotion! And unfortunately, so often we are investing our time, our focus on that which really doesn't matter. Let's put things in perspective for a moment. A billion years from now, I'm not talking 1,000 or a million or a trillion. Well, let's say a trillion years from now. Let's go trillion years from now. You say, I have no concept of a trillion. Don't worry, our government doesn't either. All right? So a trillion years from now, trillion years, where will that house be that you've spent so much time in, working for, fixing up, You know, who cares what car you drove or how much money you had a trillion years from now. Where are you going to be one trillion years from now? Dr. Bob Jones, Sr. said that the one thought that really changed his life I believe he is a fourteen year old boy was standing in a country lane leaning up against the fence in the thought struck him. That's so everybody will live somewhere forever. Everyone is going to live somewhere forever. There's only two options. Heaven. With the Lord Jesus Christ or the lake of fire, apart from Jesus Christ. So a trillion years from now, Maybe you're in heaven with the Lord Jesus Christ, and you're sitting there on that maybe mossy bank, dangling your feet in the crystal river that flows from the throne of God. And you're sitting there a trillion years from now, thinking back to that distant memory called planet Earth, when you couldn't pay your bills that one time, and the car broke down, or you ended up losing the house in foreclosure a trillion years before. Who cares? Who cares? Now, I will say what will make a big difference a trillion years from now is if somebody that you led to the Lord, or that you prayed for, or that you were an encouragement to, and they came up to you and said, ah, Brother so-and-so, I remember. Remember a trillion years ago? when I was so discouraged one Sunday and you came up to me after the service and you said, hey, let's go grab a bite to eat. And you just encouraged me. I was ready to throw in the towel on Christianity and your words of encouragement and the word of God that you used encouraged me. And you know what? I ended up giving my life to the Lord and getting my marriage back to where it was. And you know, my son actually went to be a missionary. Or maybe somebody will come up to say, you know, I'm so thankful you share the the gospel of Jesus Christ with me. I gave my heart to Jesus Christ that day. And you know I was kind of a problem child in your class. Remember I was the one and a trillion years later you still remember that one that was in your Sunday school class. Or your good news club. Oh you would never forget that one. But you know you spent time ministering to me and you were patient with me and I accepted Jesus Christ and and you never knew this but I ended up actually going off and becoming a missionary. In fact you see all of those people over there. Oh what a blessing the Lord have gave me the opportunity to lead those people to Christ. Thank you so much. And I really believe when you invest your life in the service of Jesus Christ. These kinds of stories I'm telling you right here. We'll go on and on and on. If you would imagine the kinds of stories that Edward Kimball will hear. You say, who's Edward Kimball? Oh, he was the Sunday school teacher who led one of his pupils to Christ. That pupil, by the way, was D.L. Moody. and the people that he was able to evangelize and see come to know Christ, who then went out and evangelized others, and the impact is unbelievable. What if that Sunday school teacher hadn't been faithful? You see, there was a Sunday school teacher that was more wrapped up in the gospel, things that were eternal, than he was about making a living. and accumulating stuff. And what we're going to see in this passage here in Revelation chapter 14, if you've been with us, you know that we are working our way through this very challenging but interesting book as we see the culmination really of all of the theological truths and really the culmination of human history colliding. And we see the grand finality of God's plan for mankind. we saw the hundred forty four thousand. As they stand up to the beast and the false prophet that was introduced to us in chapter thirteen. And now we're moving on to verses six through thirteen of chapter fourteen. And this one phrase really gripped my attention and this is really the focus of the message on this passage today. Look at Revelation chapter 14 and verse 6. And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven having the everlasting gospel. to preach unto them that dwell on the earth and to every nation and kindred and tongue and people saying with a loud voice fear God and give glory to him for the hour of his judgment is come and worship him that made heaven and earth and the sea and the fountains of waters and there followed another angel saying Babylon is fallen is fallen that great city because she made all the nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast in his image and receive his mark in his forehead or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation. And he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascended up forever and ever. and they have no rest, day nor night, who worship the beast in his image and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints. Here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, right, blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth. Yea, said the spirit, that they may rest from their labors and their works do follow them. This morning I want to focus on this concept of that which is everlasting. The everlasting gospel and its impact that it has. You see, everybody is going to live somewhere forever. And in this passage we see that the dividing line really has to do with the gospel. your response to this gospel of Jesus Christ. You'll either be in torments, in a place of fire forever, or you will be blessed, resting from your labors with your works following you forever. And it comes down to, what do you think of Jesus? As we even heard this morning, who is he? Well, we'll talk about who he is and the ramifications of that this morning. Let's pray. Father, in the time we have left this morning, help me to be judicious in the words chosen and the themes presented that I might clearly and accurately and with your spirit powerfully present these truths. That our lives, in fact, might be changed. That our focus would be not on things on the earth, but on things above. That we would invest our lives in that which is eternal, not in that which is temporal. Lord, that a trillion years from now our works would still be following us. And so Lord, may our hearts be open to the words of truth from your word today. For it's in Christ's name we pray. Amen. So I submit to you this morning that the gospel is for all men for all time. the gospel this everlasting gospel is for all men for all time. First of all this gospel conveys a clear invitation. Look again at verses six and seven and let's look at this invitation. And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven. Having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth to every nation and kindred and tongue and people By the way, I did not plan this out this morning, Brother Combs. Just so happens that this is our passage that we're working through. Works well with this advance initiative that we've been looking at and heard a little bit about this morning. You'll hear more about it tonight. But notice that this gospel message is for everybody. Now it says here, another angel. So this angel is distinct from angels that we've been introduced to earlier in the book of Revelation. There's been a lot of angels we've been introduced that have a lot of different responsibilities. This is not Michael, the archangel, who's doing that. We saw him in chapter 12. This is another one of the same kind of angels. But very interesting, he is flying in the midst of heaven. And the Greek word here is really calling like middle heaven. So it's not in some supernatural angelic realm. It's not right here on the earth. It's in that between era. And apparently from this verse, before the last final series of devastating judgments that will come on the earth, at the time when the beast is really ratcheting up the pressure and trying to force people to deny God, to deny Jesus Christ, to worship Him or die. You see, God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. And God, in his wisdom at this point, gives an unmistakably clear gospel presentation. Some people say, well, you know, if I saw it written in the heavens, maybe I'd believe it. Well, OK, God's going to write it in the heavens, so to speak. And the gospel will be clearly heard and understood to the furthest corners of the globe. There will be no obstacles. No language barriers. Gone is the question, well, what about the heathen in Africa? We've never heard. No, they will hear. It will be for everybody. The invitation is universal. And by the way, there's no difference today. This invitation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not just for the Western world. It's not for just non-Muslim countries. This gospel presentation, this work of Jesus Christ, this forgiveness of sin, this hope of heaven is for everybody, regardless of their race, color, creed, sexual orientation, or gender identity. It's for all of us, no matter how moral or how wicked we may be. The invitation is universal. But the invitation is unequivocable. It's not that all religion leads to God. It's not just do the best you can. Your good works will outweigh your bad. No, what does this gospel involve? Look at verse 7. Saying with a loud voice, fear God. Give glory to him. For the hour of his judgment has come and worship him that made heaven and earth and sea and the fountains of waters. We see here, by the way, the loudness of the voice communicates urgency as well as concern. Everybody can hear what's being said to them at this point. But what are they being told? Fear God. How do you fear God? By giving him glory. Why should I fear God? Because he's the judge of all the earth. In other words, you're not accountable ultimately to your employer. You're not accountable. And this is good, because when that employer asks you to do something that's wrong, you're not accountable to them. You're accountable, ultimately, to God. He is the judge. Fear him. You're not accountable to any human being, ultimately. Ultimately, you're accountable to God, who is the judge of all the earth. In fact, this expression, to fear God, to give him glory, often is tied in with this concept of repenting. Seeing God for what He's saying, seeing you for what you're doing, and asking His forgiveness, repenting of your sins, turning from your life, giving your life to Him. Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, said, Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. When it's all said and done, what really is life boiled down to? Fear God and keep His commandments. This is the whole duty of man. But not only to fear God, notice also to worship Him. It says here, and worship Him. Why should we worship Him? Because He's the Creator. Why should we fear Him? He's our judge. Why should we worship Him? He is the Creator. He made us. He owns us, if you will. You didn't make yourself. You don't belong to yourself. You belong to the one who, first of all, created you. Second of all, you belong to the one who bought you. That's why Jesus Christ came. He recognized that his creation was so tainted by sin, sinful choices, that that sin was so damning because it consigns every person to be separated from a holy God forever. How in the world could man have a relationship with God, their Creator? As judge, man had to be condemned by Him. And so Jesus Christ came to die on a cross to pay for our sins. He bought us. Well, to fear God and to worship Him, that requires self-surrender. That requires humility. But is it worth it? We're talking about having a relationship with the eternal God, with the Creator, with the Redeemer. We're talking about this everlasting gospel that has repercussions well beyond the 85 years you may live on this earth. And so that brings us to the second point. This gospel has a clear invitation. He's conveying it to everybody. This gospel has relevance for you, for me, in the 21st century. In Frederick, Maryland. It's universal. For whosoever, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. But this gospel also contains a certain judgment. A certain judgment. When you think about it, this makes sense. When Jesus came, his name was called Jesus. God saves now if there's a great deal of emphasis on the fact that God saves the implication is that we must be saved from something right Why would it be a big deal that God saves if there was no salvation needed. But there is salvation needed. We just talked about that because of our sin. We deserve to be separated from him forever. There is a judgment coming. That is certain. Look at verse eight. And there followed another angel. So this is distinct from the one we just were introduced to in verse 6. There followed another angel saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all the nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. In fact, this event, though future, is so certain that John uses the past tense to describe it. Though it has not yet happened, it is so certain that you might as well say it has happened. That's how certain this event. There's a certain judgment for the world system, if you want to put it that way. Now, much more will be said about this city, Babylon, because Revelation talks more about this in the latter chapters. We'll get to that. I believe this is probably a reference to the actual city talk to that we learn about in the on the Old Testament an actual city of Babylon on the Euphrates River if you go way back to Genesis you actually see this city referenced there was a man by the name Nimrod who built a couple of major cities one was the city of Babel and they built a tower there the Tower of Babel And so it is that Babylon goes all the way back and then as you go through the New Old Testament you actually have reference to Babylon all throughout. You see even in Isaiah. Twenty one in verse nine and behold there come with the chariot of men with a couple of horsemen. And he answered and said Babylon is fallen is fallen all the graven images of our gods he has broken onto the ground. Well that sounds a lot very similar here to revelation. So Babylon's history and culture and religious adultery has had significant impact upon the children of God since the book of Genesis. But you know what? This is why we're not supposed to love the world. In 1 John 2, verses 15 through 17, Love not the world. Why? Because in verse 17, John describes it as, and the world is passing away. And the lust thereof. But he that doeth the will of God abideth forever. The everlasting gospel. And so it is to drink the wine of her fornication is to drink the wine of God's wrath rebellion never incapacitates God's power. It rather activates God's judgment. So certain judgment for the world the world system if you will all of that which is in contradiction to what God teaches and who God is all of that it's going to pass away. Even this sin-cursed earth with all of its thorns and diseases, all of that is going to burn up someday. It's passing away. Why are we focusing so much attention on that which will not last? Certain judgment is coming also for those who reject God. Look at verse 9. and the third angel following them saying with a loud voice again the urgency here to get their attention if any man worship the beast in his image and receive his mark in his forehead or in his hand and then the verses continue but let me pause pause here for a moment the judgment that is pronounced on men who reject God is avoidable I love how it's written here If any man worship the beast, you see, it's not certain. You don't have to. You can stop. You don't have to enter into that. If you do, but you don't have to. It's avoidable. One commentator put it this way. It's almost as though God is saying, waverer, those that are, ah, should I serve God or should I serve the beast? If I serve God, I'm going to get killed. Waiver or beware the suffering you may avoid under the rule of the beast is Immeasurably smaller than the eternal punishment you will otherwise incur Jesus himself says in Matthew chapter 10 verse 28 and fear not them which kill the body But are not able to kill the soul but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. You see, God is not willing that any, any should perish. And so this angel's voice is added to the proclamation of the two witnesses and the 144,000. Everyone has heard. And this judgment is avoidable. You see, nobody has to go to hell. Nobody does. But, if you reject the gospel of Jesus Christ, if you reject God, then the judgment is horrible. Look at verse 10. So, if you decide to worship the beast, you turn your back on God, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence the holy angels and in the presence of the land all this is a horrible judgment it uses the imagery of the wine of the wrath of God it's talking about the heat of his fury We talked about last week in fact about what the Bible says about alcoholic beverages. Last Sunday night. Talked about in the Bible times they would they would never drink their wine undiluted they would always at least two to one some most in the Jews would do it three to one three parts water one part wine, wine being the grape juice that was just naturally fermenting, far different from the table wines that we see today, certainly far different from any of the distillation that we see today. And they did that in the ancient world because of the alcohol killing off the bacteria in their water, which was not pure. But in this case, this wine which God is going to make them drink is mixed without mixture, literally is what it's saying there. Mixed from the standpoint is he's added in to make it a much stronger drink and he hasn't diluted it. It's going to have serious implications and ramifications on those that must drink this cup of his indignation. The result of it is fire and brimstone, or sulfur, in the presence of the holy angels. This reminds us of Sodom and Gomorrah. It was judged with fire and brimstone. Sulfur burns with intense heat and gives off a very noxious odor. And so it was that Abraham from afar off could smell the burning of the sulfur of Sodom and Gomorrah. They could see the smoke rising. They knew that God's judgment had come. But even in Sodom and Gomorrah's case, that smoke eventually would go out. It would be over. Maybe trees would grow back one day. Maybe it would be hard to see. But that's not what's going to happen here. And notice also by the way this. They're subjected to fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the lamb. Wow how's that going to work. Well remember Jesus had warned people in Matthew chapter seven that there will be many who will stand before the Lord their day of accountability the day of judgment and they will say Lord Lord have we not prophesied in your name and in your name cast out devils and in your name done many wonderful works. And the Lord's going to say unto them. Depart from me I never. You. See it's never been about wonderful works that you've done. or religious activity. You see, you cannot wipe out the stain of your sin by your own works. Your sin separates you from God forever unless you are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ. That's why Jesus Christ came to die on a cross. to pay for all your sins to have all of your sins charged to his account and for all of his righteousness charged to my account. And so it is that their judgment is horrible but this perhaps is the most sobering of all. Their judgment is continual. Verse 11, and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever. Now how long is that forever and ever? That same expression is used to describe the existence of God. The existence of Jesus Christ. God's reign lasts forever and ever the glory of the lamb the reign of the believers of Christ the doom of the devil all of these are described as being forever and ever and so the judgment. Of men and women who do not. submit to God that do not accept Jesus Christ as their Savior their judgment will last that same amount of time forever and ever the present tense of their smoke ascending in fact every verb in verse eleven is in the present tense meaning continual ongoing So the smoke ascending. Having no rest. This will go on forever and ever. Their lack of rest day or night is the same expression used to describe the praise that was given to God by the four living beasts that they were praising him day and night. It was an ongoing thing. They have, if you will, a creeping sense of time. As I was thinking about it, I remember back to some of those times in my life when I've been in a lot of pain. I remember one time being treated for warts all over my hands and feet. And the doctor decided to use the acid treatment. Have you ever had that happen? Oh, I do not recommend that. They put this acid. I still have scars. I can see right here. Put acid, and all of those warts bubbled up. It's like having these big blisters all over. I had a lot. And I remember lying in bed, and I felt like my body was on fire, and there was nothing I could do to quench that. I couldn't even put creams on it, really. They gave me some pain medication, but it was doing nothing. But I remember how long that night was. You ever had those situations where you keep looking at the clock, and you're like, what, 10 minutes? Only 10 minutes? And you look forward to the day because at least there will be maybe some distractions. Keep your mind off of what you're suffering. But for a man who's confined in this place of judgment, it will be interminable. It will be forever. Now, I don't know about you, but my sense of compassion and Love for people kind of recoils against this, right? I mean, I would say, wow, you know, am I reading this right? Am I really interpreting this properly? One commentator said, the strongest support of the doctrine of endless punishment is the teaching of Christ, the Redeemer of man. Let me just read to you two verses from the Gospels. Matthew chapter 18 and verse 9. Jesus says, And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye rather than having two eyes and be cast into hell fire. Mark chapter 9 verse 43. It says, And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off. It's better for thee to enter into life maimed than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched." In fact, of the 12 times that the word hell or Gehenna is used in the New Testament, Jesus uses it 11 times of the 12 times it's mentioned. He also makes 12 out of 19 references to hellfire and uses similar expressions more than any other person in the New Testament. In fact, Jesus talks more about hell than he does heaven. And I think that's significant because there is somebody who knows specifically what hell is like. Jesus. Why would he come and suffer like he did? Because he knew the alternative. And because he's so loving, he's warning. Forever. And ever. And ever. And ever. This gospel conveys a clear invitation and also certain judgment, but this gospel also contains precious promises. Precious promises. Look at verse 12. Here is the patience of the saints. The recipients of these promises are the saints. Those who have kept the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. It's important for us to recognize that this faith is not just faith in religion or faith in good works or it's specifically faith in Jesus believing Jesus. And it's that belief in Jesus that results in good works. Good works doesn't bring about the faith in Jesus. The faith in Jesus brings about the obedience to God. It's important for us to remember, it's not about your good works! But if you've believed in Jesus Christ, it will result in good works, in obedience to Him. So here's an admonition to the weak to persevere. In other words, it's almost like saying it's almost like John is saying here, OK. You can. You can live now by submitting to the beast and not being killed. And die forever. Suffer forever or you can suffer under the beast for a short time and live with God forever. You can suffer with God now and reign with him forever reign with the beast now and suffer with him forever. And this is why we count it all joy when we suffer persecutions, when we endure diverse trials, because the trying of our faith works patience, endurance. This is what's so comforting when we look around in the world today and we say, ah, they don't even love God and look, they're prospering. Oh, man, this is not fair. Wait a second. Let's put things in perspective. OK, do you want a billion dollars right now and suffer eternity in the lake of fire forever? Would you rather live in a cardboard box under a bridge for 75 years and then enjoy the presence of God in that eternal kingdom with those streets of gold forever? Boy, it doesn't seem like it's really much of a choice, is it? And you know, the rewards of these promises, they're eternal. They're eternal! Have you ever seen one of these game shows where the person, they have a chance to win a brand new car? Maybe the price is right or something, you know, let's make a deal. And they're so excited and I think to be a member of those shows you have to be like high on sugar or something. You know, they're so, oh yeah, they're so excited. And I'm thinking to myself, you know how much the taxes on that are? Do you realize that car is only gonna last a few years? There's a lot of a lot of maintenance and you know you begin to think of as a dad you can think of all these other things you know that go along with having a car. But that not so with these precious promises look at verse thirteen and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me right. Last are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth. all those that are going to be slaughtered and slain during these last three-and-a-half years of the tribulation here's the precious promise yes if the spirit they may rest from their labors and their works doesn't that sound pretty good from their leaders. This is the direct opposite by the way that said verse eleven they have no rest day or night. But for the same those that have put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ. What a grand eternity. A glorious eternity rest from their labors. But I love this last expression here. And their works do follow them. Their works do. You know, any service done out of a heart of love for Christ and others, do you realize there's eternal gain? This is why I'm so passionate about our young people considering Christian ministry, full-time ministry. Well, the salary is not that great. Yeah, but a trillion years from now, who cares, right? You know, I'll probably die in obscurity. No, no, no, no, no. No, God sees. God knows. All those times at work that you gave a witness there and then you got slammed for it, God knows. God sees. Hebrews chapter 6 and verse 10, for God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love, which you have showed toward his name, in that you have ministered to the saints and do minister. And this is why Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15, 58, Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. God sees. You may never be the employee of the month, but your works will follow you forever. Very interesting conversation with Sharon Hayes this past week. We were at a teacher convention up in Pennsylvania, and she went to a session on history, particularly in that part of Pennsylvania, dealing with the ironworks. In fact, I think they were celebrating the 300th anniversary of the ironworks there in Pennsylvania. The focus was on one individual in particular, Rebecca Grace. She lived from 1718 to 1800. And her grandfather was the first Iron Master, friend of William Penn, first Iron Master in Pennsylvania. Rebecca actually married at the age of 16. She was a born-again believer, devout Methodist, back in the days when all the Methodists believed the Bible, you know. And so she got married at age 16, and her husband died when she was 21, and left her with an infant. She wasn't without struggles and trials, but she believed in Jesus Christ. A few years later, she ended up marrying Robert Grace, I believe his name was, and then they lived I think probably 25, 30 years or they were married and he took on the business and she was pretty well off and they actually became very good friends with a man by the name of Benjamin Franklin. And actually she witnessed to him through the years along with Benjamin Franklin's other good friend, a guy by the name of George Whitfield. George Whitfield actually witnessed to Ben Franklin often and Ben Franklin kept putting him off, kept putting him off. Well, in I think it was 1766, Rebecca's husband passed away. In 1774, Benjamin Franklin's wife passed away. And Benjamin Franklin proposed marriage to Rebecca Grace. And she said, I'm sorry. You're not a believer. You're too worldly. This is guy, poor Richard, you know, the guy that sounds pretty Christian today, comparatively, you know. No, I'm sorry, you're not a believer, Benjamin. This is the part I never knew. Sharon shared this with me. And in fact, let me read to you. I went to the website. I was very intrigued by this Rebecca Grace person. She actually has a website, somebody, the Historical Society or whatever. It says here on her website, their friendship continued. And when Franklin realized that he was close to death, he asked to see Rebecca one last time. In March of 1790, at the age of 72, Rebecca made the trip from countryville Coventryville to Philadelphia to be one of the last people to see mr. Franklin alive But what the website does not tell you is That there is historical evidence. In fact, there's a footnote and some documents that has been uncovered Where Rebecca Grace gives the testimony that on his deathbed? She led Benjamin Franklin to the Lord and he bowed his heart and he accepted Christ as his personal Lord and Savior that was an answer to George Whitfield's prayers for many many many years how many of you knew of Rebecca Grace before today OK except for Sharon of course OK yes you never knew her but God knows her. And I can guarantee you Benjamin Franklin knows her. And that witnessing opportunity will have repercussions for eternity. Because it's an everlasting gospel. Let's bow our heads in prayer.