Please have your Bibles open and stand with me for the reading of God's word in the book of Revelation chapter 6. Revelation chapter 6 we're going to look at just three verses this morning because it pertains to the fifth seal. It's a very short segment but you will see that it is just packed full of rich theological truths that we can clearly be blessed by. So Revelation chapter 6 verses 9 to 11, this is the reading of God's Word. And when he opened the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and because of the witness which they had maintained. And they cried out with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Master, holy and true? Will you not judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth? And a white robe was given to each of them, and it was told to them that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow slaves and their brothers, who were to be killed, even as they had been, would be completed also. Amen. Please be seated. Right away we see a scene that is different than the four horsemen of the apocalypse. The regularity of the pattern of the horse and the horsemen in different colors and each one of the four living creatures saying come and their summons and the voice coming from the midst of them. All those things have now ceased. So this is a brand new vision, brand new prophetic scene. It is the opening of the fifth seal. And yet what we find is quite surprising. There's a complete shift from the progress and the escalation and the exacerbation of judgment, and all of a sudden there's a scene in heaven. Not just in heaven, under the altar. Not just under the altar, the souls of those who have been slain. and they're praying. And their prayer is one of request, a plea. In the Old Testament, we would call this a complaint prayer, complaint prayer. Our God is so gracious, He has allowed His people to complain to Him what is wrong in the situations and the people around them, to voice their complaint to Him so that He would hear their complaints and to answer them. to allay their fears, to comfort their anxieties, and to reassure them that He has the solution. Over and over again, the saints of Old Testament, and even in the New Testament, their cry was, How long? How long? How long must we wait? How long will you not act? And so sometimes from a human vantage point, that is we're impatient. We want God to act now according to our desires. But the word of God is showing us that he is perfect. He has a perfect way, and he has perfect timing, and he will do all things perfectly. But he doesn't rebuke these souls. He comforts them. You know what's interesting? I entitled this message, The Vengeance of Wrath, and of course I mean The Vengeance of the Wrath of God, Part One. The reason why it's Part One, because the next seal, the sixth seal, when it's open, that is Part Two. That's when God answers their prayer and begins to act. He acts quickly. So when we study this passage, yes, it's regarding the tribulation times. Yes, it's regarding God's judgment, but it's also regarding God's character. And His character is brought out by the people, the very people who love the Lord, who trust in the Lord, and who pay the cost for their faith and their relationship to the Lord. God's character is brought out by the prayers of His people. This is the only prayer of such petition, such request in the entire book of Revelation. It's a very important prayer of the saints. And this is why God had allowed this very particular scene in the opening of the seals by the exalted Christ, the Lamb of God, so that John could look at this and see a direct correlation And so we need to understand, well, who are these people who had died? It's very nondescript. It's very general. It says souls. It's okay in the Greek and is a direct correlation to nefesh, soul. It's equivalent to our understanding of life or being. It's a very generic word. But who are they? And why did they die? And why do they pray what they pray? Well, this is our study for this morning. And when we understand what the fifth seal and the opening of the fifth seal indicates, then we understand that God is a God of holy vengeance and holy wrath and holy retribution. This is not a popular doctrine for the modern religious person. When you talk about the holy vengeance, holy wrath, and the holy retribution of God, it is not something that the soft, almost effeminate, kind of emotional-driven religious person would gravitate toward. Oftentimes they would be offended at such teaching. Instead of even looking at the scriptures and studying what it actually says, the modern religious person simply believes that he or she has the right understanding about God, when the truth of the matter is, that's just rank idolatry of making an image of God or some deity in their mind, holding on to that image and worshiping it. It's no different than the crass idolatry that we find in the Old Testament. This is what's going on in many religious circles. They just have a wrong view of who God is. And so how do we know this is the God of the scriptures? We know this because when we look at the Lord Jesus Christ, he was just like this, incredibly loving, compassionate. He touched the lepers when nobody would touch them. He spoke and comforted people when nobody would talk to them. It would shun them, but he would invite them. It would chew off the children, but he would say, do not prevent the children from coming to me. He would embrace them and allow them to sit on his lap. and to love them and teach the people how to love even the least of them. And yet, have you seen some of the things that Jesus said and spoke in judgment against the Pharisees? In Matthew 23, seven woes, you will not find any harsher words. The disciples asked Jesus for some sort of a teaching of comfort. regarding those poor people who were sacrificing. And then Pilate sent his soldiers to just brutally stab them where the blood of the sacrificial animals and their blood were mixed together. Why did they die such a way? Were they terrible sinners? What about those 18 who died in the pool of Siloam when it just as a horrible accident? Were they innocent? You know what Jesus said? He didn't comfort them and say, yeah, those poor people, God understands. They're in a good place now. No, he didn't say that. He said, you too will perish if you do not repent. Did you expect that from the Lord Jesus? No. Religious people don't expect answers like that. Answers of truth that teaches, wow, you're in a greater predicament than you think. And this is exactly what we find. These people on earth, or they're in great predicament. They're in great trouble. Why? Because God hears the prayers of His persecuted saints. They have no chance except to repent and turn to the only Savior who is also their judge. They have no chance because God answers the prayers. You know, those people who cry out to God because they have been molested, battered, betrayed, sold into slavery, they have no chance. The wicked evildoers of the earth, they have no chance. Why? God hears the prayers and the plight of the weak. But here, more than that, these are his beloved children. These are the people who love God. They were killed for their testimony and their witness and their obedient life. This is what we're going to study. We're going to study the character of God and his relationship to his people as we look at what this passage teaches us. Three things that this passage teaches us today that we must not forget. And that is that there are persecuted saints both now, but more specifically in the biblical context in the future, tribulation. And they will pray unto God, how long O Lord? And God does comfort and answer them. And that's what leads to the sixth seal being open. So let's cheat a little bit and read what happens afterwards. Verse 12, Then I looked, and when he opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake. We just had some earthquake scares, didn't we, in California? Well, this is what's coming. Great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth. You want to know cosmological Disasters that will come? Here it is. A maid of hair and a whole moon became like blood. What kind of conditions in our Earth's atmosphere has to change so dramatically? What kind of disasters must happen for all these things? Supernatural or natural or otherwise? Regardless, these are frightening circumstances. And the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. And the sky was split apart like a scroll when it was rolled up and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. Then the kings of the earth and the great men and their commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks and the mountains. You won't be able to live. on the surface because of these disasters. And they said to the mountains and to the rocks, fall on us and hide us from the presence of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb for the great day of their wrath has come and who is able to stand? That's the answer to the prayer. That's why this is only part one of the vengeance of the wrath of God. That's why we need to understand what the scripture says about who God is, how he feels about what's going on in the world, and what he intends to do about it. And in Deuteronomy chapter 32, verse 35, as early as the Torah, in the Pentateuch, God said, vengeance is mine, and retribution. In due time, their foot will stumble, for the day of their disaster is near, and the impending things are hastening upon them. This doctrine is taught throughout scripture as we see in Isaiah 59 verse 18, according to what they deserve, so he will pay in full wrath to his adversaries, what is deserved to his enemies. What do people deserve? They deserve wrath and his judgment. That's what they deserve. Look at all the criminals who claim innocence. I mean, you go to most prisons and you talk to them, how'd you get here? More than half of them will say well, I'm innocent. I was wrongfully indicted Yeah, tell me about Your record your criminal record before you got here. Oh Theft robbery assault Never mind whole bunch of other crimes It sounds like you got away with a lot of crimes before they caught you indicted you and you still think you're a good person and This is how most people think. It's not just criminals in jail. It's how most people think about themselves. What do they deserve? Well, what's really known about them will indict them. What they deserve. We get what we deserve. But our Lord Jesus received all that, what we deserve in our place. That's why we're so thankful. That's why we love him so. Micah 5 15 says, and I will execute vengeance in anger and wrath on the nations which because they have not listened. See God doesn't just willy nilly pour out his wrath, he warns them first, he calls them to repentance first. They're so stubborn, blinded in their pride, so willful, they reject and reject. So they get what they deserve in due time after much warning. As we see in the Old Testament saints praying to Yahweh, calling for vengeance against the Gentiles who persecuted the Jewish saints, believers. Why? There's no rational answer. Pure hatred. Try to reason with me that hatred is justifiable for no other reason than you just hate the people because they live, they exist. There's an irrational hatred in the heart of man. This is that hatred because the righteousness of the other brings forth their evil. Why did Cain kill his brother Abel? Because Abel was righteous. Abel's righteous relationship with God highlighted his evil, sinful. being. Psalm 79 verse 10 says, Why should the nation say, Where is their God? Let it be known among the nations before our eyes. Vengeance for the blood of your slaves which has been poured out. Vengeance for the blood of your slaves. The pagan idolatrous and the unbelieving world hate people who have a right relationship with God. and who are slaves of the Lord and who are stewards of truth. There's a hatred for righteousness and truth because of their sin and immorality and falsehood that they love. Soon as you bring in righteousness, judgment, and truth, there's an automatic hostility. We saw the imprecatory prayers of the saints in the Old Testament. Imprecatory prayers meaning the prayers asking God to judge their enemies. Now we see the vengeance of the wrath of God is the result of the prayers of the tribulational martyrs. We see that God loves his people and he will avenge their death. And he comforts them while they have to wait in heaven. This is the doctrine that is taught not just in the Old Testament, it's not just a wrathful God of the Old Testament as some claim, those who are ignorant of the scriptures, but this is also the teaching of the New Testament. So let's take a look at 2 Thessalonians chapter one, and I want you to read with me what the scripture actually says. This comes from so-called Saint Paul, the apostle of love to the Gentiles, right? 2 Thessalonians 1, he's a Jew, he's writing to mostly Gentiles who are mistreated by their own fellow countrymen. 2 Thessalonians 1, verse 6, he says, And since it is right for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, Look at that. That is the justice of God. It is right. It is just. That's the same word. The word for right is the word for just. It is just for God to repay with affliction those who afflicted you. That's the retributive justice of God. to give rest to you who are afflicted and to us as well at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with his mighty angels in the flaming fire, executing vengeance on those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. Notice those who do not know God is because they don't want to know God. It's not because they have no capacity to comprehend. It's because they reject the truth and say, I don't want to hear it. I don't want to know that. Don't tell me about your religion. Don't tell me about Jesus. I hate Jesus. This is the attitude of the sinful man and this is what the scripture is saying. How did this retributive justice, to whom does it come? To those who do not know God and those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. Why would they obey when they hate the Lord. Verse 9, these will pay the penalty of eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His might. The penalty of eternal destruction is not just temporal death. It's the penalty of eternal destruction because the sin is against the holy and eternal being. It is fitting. It is retributive justice of God. And all this can be forgiven. when they repent of their sins and come to Christ. If they humble themselves and listen to the truth, look at the presentation, observe what God has done in history. Josephus tells of the stoning of James, the Lord's brother, half-brother, about AD 65 in his book Antiquities. Apostle Peter was also martyred, and the tradition was that he was crucified upside down under Nero. That's what Josephus says. Well, they killed the first leaders of the church? Both Jews and Gentiles? Yes, they did. A Roman historian, Tacitus, who wrote early in the second century, AD 115-120 tells of hundreds of Christians fed to animals, crucified and buried alive in the Neronian persecution. It's describing events that just happened in the first century. From the very beginning Christians were persecuted for their faith. Both Jews and Gentiles who believe in the Lord. This is what secular historians record. And, you know, secular historians don't doubt this. If they treated Christians this way, where does this come from? Well, take a look at how they treated the Savior of the world. Since Revelation chapter 6 and onward describes the events that will happen in our future, What John was shown was the purposes of God for the judgment of the world, which includes His holy, vengeful wrath upon the evil earth dwellers. Now we're going to see how God's holy, vengeful wrath manifests as a result of the persecuted saints and the prayers of the saints and the wonderful peace of God, His comfort, from the sovereign. First, we see that the holy vengeance of God upon the earth dwellers in the end times centers around the evil that they perpetrate against God's beloved people. God's beloved people. The persecuted saints. Verse 9. We must take the opening of the seals as consecutive. because it's the fifth because there was four others before it. So it's consecutive. Since the first four leads to this fifth one, taking the account of Revelation six in a chronological manner, we're still studying the judgments of God during the first half of the tribulation period. The beginning of birth pangs is now escalating toward the middle of the seven year period, but we're still in the first half. So, where do these saints and their death occur? They occur in the first half. This is not even the second half, which is called the Great Tribulation. This is the first half, the beginning of the birth pang period. In the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ, who had given this sequence, let's go to Matthew 24 and see. Matthew 24, I want to highlight a particular verse, verse nine for you. so that you will see what Jesus says here. You'll see the chronological sequence of Matthew 24. And why do we keep going back to Matthew 24? Because Jesus taught about this time period, the seven year tribulation period. And who is revealing this revelation to John while he's on island of Patmos? This is the revelation of Jesus Christ. He's the author and the revealer of both revelation. One, as an incarnate God, the son on earth to his disciples. And secondly, as the exalted Christ in heaven to his disciple. So John is actually receiving this revelation Twice, and this time with greater specificity and detail. So in verse nine, it says, then they will deliver to your tribulation. Look at verse eight. It says, but all these things are merely the beginning of birth pains. And then Jesus says, then they will deliver you. So it appears chronologically, the first four waves of the horsemen of apocalypse, which the book of Revelation says that one fourth of the earth's population will die from these four plagues, four waves of God's judgment. Then they will deliver you. It seems that there is a chronological connection as well as maybe a time gap. after the quarter of mankind of the earth is destroyed, then something's going to happen to the disciples. When Jesus says, then they will deliver you to tribulation, and in the Greek you can make this very clear whether it's singular. Jesus is not talking to any particular individual. He's talking to the group of his disciples. So this is plural. So in this context, Jesus is talking to all Jewish disciples, all Jewish disciples. But these disciples who believe in Jesus as the Messiah. So who would this apply to? This would apply to all the Jews who believe in Jesus as their Messiah. Because the Jews see themselves in a complete solidarity. They're only parts of the whole. They belong to each other as the people of God, Am Yahweh. So Jesus can refer to his 12 disciples And we know that they represent the righteous, the faithful of Israel. They are the remnant of Israel. So this would apply to the righteous and the faithful remnant of Israel in the end times. Because the chronology fits the end time scenario. Then they will deliver you to tribulation. There's that word, ellipsis, and will kill you and will be hated by all nations because of my name. Look at the three verses. Then they will deliver you. So some people will betray one another. And then they will kill you. There will be victims who will die from this terrible sin against their own. And you will be hated. There's going to be an emotional, a visceral reaction against this group of people. not only by the Jews, it says, by all the nations. And why? Because, because of my name. Because their allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ, because their profession of their faith. I'm a Christian. I'm a disciple of Jesus. I follow the Lord. He is my Savior. He died for my sins. I believe in Him. I trust in Him. I will not bend my knee to your false beliefs. I only worship the one true God and my Lord Jesus. That's why. Now you understand that in the future there's going to be the faithful remnant of Jewish believers who believe in the Messiah. That's clear. Just as it is clear that Jesus says there's going to be a temple and that the Antichrist will set up his satanic world religion through this worship system in Jerusalem. That's not there right now. It will be. Just as certain. So just as the Lord sees the future as just as real as the present or a time that has elapsed in the past. He is the same and he orchestrates all of history. Only he can tell us with such precision what's going to happen in the future. Now the critical event, the historical event of the abomination of desolation mentioned three times in the book of Daniel. which the Lord Jesus refers to, which means it has a historical precedent because this happened in the intertestamental period in the 2nd century BC, right? 2nd century BC before Christ through a Seleucid Greek king by the name of Antiochus Epiphanes IV. You are well familiar with that event. That's mentioned. And so what's going to come in the future will basically rhyme and mimic that historical event. It is not that same event. It'll be a different leader. What did Apostle John say? There are many antichrists. There are many who mimic and who are precedents toward the ultimate, the final antichrist. And so the exalted Christ He will open the fifth seal, launches a prophetic scene for John to see, and the entire context is based on a pre-mid period of the Great Tribulation period. And so this time, as we calculate chronologically, we see it's a different time. Some time has elapsed, and it matches perfectly with what Jesus said in Matthew 24, verse nine. The scene is completely different, no summons as I said, no voice from the throne and all it goes to, there's not even a behold, there's not even a surprise scene, it's just simply a reporting, I saw beneath the altar. Take a look at the location, it's underneath, beneath. Not on top of, if this were sacrificial souls, maybe this is symbolic of those who had died like a sacrifice, like in replacing a burnt offering altar. The word altar can mean both the altar of the sacrifice or the altar of the incense. Same word, just as in the Old Testament, and same thing in the New Testament, is used to describe both objects. One was for sacrifice and the other one was for burning incense. And the burning of incense was associated with prayers. So as the priest went in and burned incense, people outside prayed. So as the smoke from the incense that's burning in hot coals went up, so they prayed, And the symbolism is that the prayers of the saints go up to heaven and God listens to those prayers. And the language of that sacrifice is that it is soothing aroma in the nostrils of God. This is anthropomorphic accommodation so that mere finite people can understand what's happening here. That God listens? Does he have ears like we do? Well, he's spirit. but He understands and hears. He even knows what's going on in our heart, but He wants His children to come and lift up prayers unto Him. He hears the prayers of His people. So that's what's going on here. That's what the people are doing here. In Revelation chapter 8, verse 3, also Revelation 8, 5, and Revelation 14, 17 to 18, it all talks about the altar, and the altar is always the golden altar and is associated with prayer of the saints. So we know this is the incense altar and not the burning, the burnt offering altar, the altar of the sacrifice. So Revelation 8, 3 says, another angel came and stood at the altar. having a golden censer and much incense was given to him so that he might add to it all the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar which was before the throne this is the imagery and so again and again and again there's only one altar and it's the altar of burnt offering I'm sorry, altar of incense which is before the Lord. So it's associated with prayer. Since the word temple appears 13 times in the book of Revelation, and the foremost temple is not the tribulational temple, even though the tribulational temple is mentioned in the book of Revelation, it's not even the millennial temple. Even though the millennial temple is referred in the book of Revelation, but the foremost, most of the references point to the heavenly temple. And the throne room introduced in chapters four and five now includes an altar. Soon as you include an altar, the language changes to a temple because altars just don't stand around laying around. It is in the inner sanctum. In the great tabernacle, it was right before you go in through the tunnel into the Holy of Holies, so the curtain of the Holy of the Holies. So it's right there. So it's associated with the Holy of Holies. So let's take a look at Isaiah chapter six, verse one. We see this imagery, the temple throne room imagery in heaven. Isaiah six, verse one says, in the year of King Uzziah's death, King Uzziah's death, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne. That's the language of a palace. high and lifted up with the train of his rope filling the temple. Well that's the language of religion. So it's a political religio context here. Both the throne and the temple are mentioned. In Psalm 11 verse 4 is similar. Yahweh is in his holy temple. Yahweh's throne is in heaven. So there you have it. Both the temple imagery, the place of worship and religion, and Yahweh's throne, the imagery of power and reign and rule, is mixed in together in the Old Testament. So it's not surprising, therefore, an altar would be present here in the heavenly scene, heavenly throne room. And so what does John see? Underneath that altar, the altar of incense, if you will, or is associated with prayer, there are souls who are praying. And here they are, the souls of those who had been slain. Souls of those who had been slain. And so who are they? And why were they slain? Well, the answer is given why they were slain but it's not very clear or specific in the book of Revelation who they are. But it is clear in the Lord's teaching in Matthew 24 because he said it. He said in Matthew 24 verse nine, then they will deliver you to tribulation and will kill you and will be hated by all the nations because of my name. And there you have it. Jesus told his disciples and who are they? They're the disciples of Jesus Christ. So let's identify who these people are, what this time period is, for what reason they died, why they are now in a state, it says souls, under the incense altar before God's throne, and what they pray for. And so, First of all, since Jesus said, they will deliver you to tribulation, will kill you and you will be hated, he's speaking to a Jewish audience, Jewish disciples, most likely, and in my opinion, most assuredly, these are Jewish believers in the Messiah during the first half of the tribulation period. The fact that all nations will hate these followers of Jesus indicate that both political and religious powers are united under the Antichrist and they will persecute them. Whoever they are, even if they are not Jewish, if they stand for the Messiah, they are already automatically in solidarity with those brethren who are being persecuted in Israel. Are they not? Are there just Jews only in Israel? No, they're scattered all over the world. Well, yeah. If they come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, they're gonna be hated. What will be the political and religious situation like at this time of the world history where people will just hate you for what you believe? Well, you can imagine there won't be strong proponents of Christianity or biblical Christianity or Jesus Christ. It will be rather the opposite, opposite end. Sometimes in current events, we read of these skirmishes of these religious zealots, Buddhists, you know, who burn down Christian church buildings, who kill Christians, or Hindus who rise up against their Christians out of antagonistic hatred for them, and just then mob violence just do a lot of harm. Of course, I mean, we don't even have to mention the Muslim community. I mean, they, they're just number one religious persecutors of Christians. We know what's happening in Syria. The oldest identified Christian communities worship there and they are being persecuted. We need to pray for our brothers and our sisters who are being persecuted for their faith. But this is the worst situation. This is the end times. This is the tribulation period. What is emphasized is the reason for their martyrdom. How did they die? How did they end up as souls praying to God underneath the altar of incense? They were witnesses to two things, which John explains. Because of the word of God, there's two dia clauses in the Greek that explains because, because. These two reasons are actually combined. They're like two halves of one thing. So we've already seen this phrase. because of the Word of God and the witness of Jesus. We saw this already, and so let's review in Revelation chapter one. Revelation chapter one, look at verse two. Now John is referring to himself as he describes, this is the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ, and I, a slave of the Lord Jesus Christ. And then he introduces himself in Revelation one, two, who bore witness, that's the verb, to the Word of God and to the witness of Jesus Christ. That's the noun. It's the same root word, martyr, martirao, that's the verb. And here, the witness of Jesus Christ, martire, that's the noun. So here we have the Word of God and the witness of Jesus Christ. the Logos of God, and the Martyre, the martyr of Jesus Christ. Now look at verse nine of chapter one. I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because, there it is, of the, here it is, the word of God and the witness of Jesus. There we have it. So this is John's vocabulary. This is a review of how John identifies himself as the doulos to Christou, as the slave of Jesus Christ. And because he's there, an island of Patmos, persecuted by the Roman government, he's in a penal colony, and he's saying, because of the word of God, logos to Theou, and because of his martyrau, because of his witness. Now we see the outcome of the word and the witness. So we know what happened to John. Now we need to figure out, well, what happened to them? Well, the Bible says that they were there because of the word and their witness. Well, let's take a look at Revelation 12, verse 17. And here we see the outcome. We see who is persecuting and we see the conditions under which they were killed. Revelation chapter 12, this is what we call a prophetic recapitulation, a symbolic recapitulation, wrapping the entire historical view of persecution of God's people by Satan. So here, the imagery is he's the dragon, he's identified as the dragon, was enraged with the woman. This woman is Israel, personified. because she wears a crown of 12 stars, and went off to make war with the rest of her seed. She gives birth to a male child, that is Christ. Jesus came as the promised Messiah of Israel. Who keep the commandments of God, here is the Logos to Theo, and have the witness of Jesus. Again, even though identical word, the commandment of God is used here, Antele, instead of Logos, it means the same thing. And so the verb that's used here, back to Revelation 6, it says maintained. Well, that's over translation of just a simple verb to have, but it's in the imperfect tense. If you keep having it, And if you keep having the Word and keep having the witness, we have another term to describe that. If you keep maintaining the Word that you were taught, you heard, and you believe it, that's your faith, and you keep having it, you keep having a witness, that's your testimony, that means that you are an obedient Christian. You obey the Word and you submit to the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ who gave you the Word. So we can say you're a man or a woman of faith, and you work out your faith in fear and trembling, you're a person of obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ. Not to some religious creed, not a member of some religious group, but to the Lord. That's why true Christians love the Lord Jesus, and they desire to continue to obey, continue to maintain their relationship of obedience as a slave to one's master. Listen to what one commentator, Dr. Robert Thomas says, a badge of allegiance to Christ, one that was visible to others, their loyalty to Christ was conspicuous and preaching, it was only one way it showed their faith, right? The ultimate cause of their martyrdom was their possession of this testimony. That's the ultimate cost of all believers. Why do people hate Christians for what they believe? It's because what they stand for. Right? There's a group of men who are using foul language and they know that you have clean vocabulary and you walk into their conversation either they will immediately stop what they're doing or because they're intimidated by you and they will stop. or they will hate you and will pour out their insults against you. That's what it is. When the light comes into the darkness, it either dispels the darkness or the darkness tries to overwhelm the light, right? But it can't. So what do they do? Tries to quench the light. And that's why they persecute believers. So it's very important for us to have a good testimony. Jesus said in Matthew 5 verse 14 to 16, You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven. There are many, many good works. We need to do much of them, but the greatest work, it is your work that you do for eternal things. that you love your neighbor and the unbelieving friend so much so that you pray for him or her and you try your best to witness, tell him or her the truth about God's salvation. It's the best work that you could ever do. And you do all things, whether you practically serve them, whether you speak kind words to them, whatever you do, all the good works, right? should be oriented toward the best that you can do, because that's what God did. He loved us so He sent His only begotten Son that we might be saved through Him. So this is the greatest work that you and I can be involved in. Currently, there can be stealthy religious people who can get away with calling themselves Christians, but in the end times, this will be very, very difficult. because the end times will be a hostile environment, therefore only true believers who will hold fast to the Word of God and their unyielding commitment to Christ and they have a testimony, not secret, but a testimony that truly stands out while all others will compromise and will fall away. The condition will not allow for a middle ground. Now that we've seeing the persecuted martyred saints. Secondly, let's take a look at their prayers. The prayers of the martyred saints. Verse 10, And they cry out with a loud voice, saying, The loud voice indicates their fervency and earnestness. How long, O Master, holy and true? How long? That's the cry of petition of godly saints throughout the Bible. Psalm 35, 17 says, Lord, how long will you look on? It is an earnest prayer asking God to act and act quickly. We saw that John referred to himself as a slave, a doulos of Jesus Christ. And the martyr saints refer to, here, God as Old Master. That's not the typical term kurios, this is the stronger term despotes. We get the English word despot from that. It has a negative connotation in English, but it really means someone who is very powerful, absolutely authoritative, like the power and authority that you exercise over your slaves. That's a despotis. So this is what all slaves call the master. So there's a solidarity among genuine believers. John says that he is a slave, doulos, to Jesus. Here are the martyred saints crying out, how long will master? Well, they all belong to the same master. And so the solidarity among genuine believers who were willing to suffer. John suffered. He was in a penal colony. And here we see the suffering, those who suffered death because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. There's also a solidarity among false believers and all the followers of Satan and his evil system that turns and persecutes all genuine believers. One of the worst possible group of people are those who profess to be Christians, but they're not, and they ultimately turn on the real ones. And the Jewish history, the history of the Bible in Israel is filled with them, turncoats. I mean, David, as a mighty warrior, he spent a lot of his earlier years fleeing from the one who turned on him, his own father-in-law. And there were plenty of turncoats who would turn on him to turn him in, so they can get a reward, and they didn't like David, so they can make a profit off of turning in David. That's just one man's experience, but there are many Jewish experiences like that throughout history. I mean, it was very clear that Elisha was a man who was marked as public enemy number one for death, and the king of Israel sent whole bunch of troops to arrest him, to kill him, to silence him. It is very clear that Eliyahu, Elijah, the prophet felt all alone. His life was threatened. These are the common experiences of those who spoke truth in the Bible. We'll take a look at some of this in history. But listen to what Jesus says immediately after he prophesies of the persecution that will come upon his followers in the end times. We read verse nine of Matthew 24. Now let's read verses 10 to 12. And look at what Jesus prophesies. He predicts that this is gonna happen in Israel in the end times. Verse 10, and at that time, See that? What did he just describe in verse 9? He said that many will be killed, put to death, and they will be hated. In that time, a hostile environment, at that time, many will fall away. Who are these many? Those who say, I follow the Messiah. Many will fall away and will betray one another. Why do they betray? Sometimes there's pressure, just like the Nazis pressure some Jews to turn in their friends and their neighbors and some family members. So actually it's a very shocking and sad part of history is that Jews were involved in persecuting other Jews. When? When the environment was hostile against the Jews. And here it is, Jesus is describing such an environment. Verse 11 says, many false prophets will arise and will deceive many. false prophets point, these will be Jewish false teachers who will lead those people in anxiety and panic to follow after their false teaching. Everybody's looking for some hope and some idea, some bright future and there are plenty of hucksters ready to capitalize on that. Verse 12, and because of lawlessness is multiplied. Look at this, lawlessness. Nobody is holding the law together. Nobody is enforcing the law to push back the progress of evil. And it's multiplied. Every man is doing what is right in his own eyes during this time. Most people's love will grow cold. This is why people don't care about each other. Just like people are lawless. They're a law unto themselves. They do what they feel. They do what is good for them. And they say, ah, I only care about me, nobody else. This is the atmosphere. This is a terrible time indeed. The book of the Maccabees, during the intertestamental period of the history, as well as Josephus' writing in the first century, chronicle the persecutions of the secular Jews who became pro-Greek and pro-Selucid, and who turned against their fellow Jews, betraying and hating them. Why? Because they decided to join the secular course of life, secular lifestyle. secular language, they lost their culture, they lost their religion, they lost their faith, and now they're no different than the secular Greeks who rule them. So it was easy for them to turn on. Because why? As soon as they look to their fellow Jews, their fellow Jews say, hey, you're compromised. Why do you not circumcise your children? Why do you eat what is unholy against the law? Why do you break the Sabbath? They say, well, I hate you for pointing these things out about my background and my religion. And when the opportunity came to turn on them, they did. During World War II, same thing happened. When a few Jews under the pressure from the Nazis and for their own self-preservation, now we can always justify self-preservation. Well, I had to do it. If I didn't, they would have killed me and my family. Well, I think it's really good to die in honor than to betray other people so they would be persecuted. Don't you agree? I think most people with morals or some sort of a standard would agree with that. It's better to die in honor than to live with this kind of betrayal. But this is what some of the Jews did. for control and for power, too. Self-preservation is one thing, but it's complex because human beings are complex, their motives are complex. Sometimes they say, well, you know what, I was a peon all my life, now I'll show you my boss. I'll show you who's boss now. We get these Nazis to arrest you, put you in jail, and I'm going to make them make me the jailkeeper, and I'm going to persecute you. That's what happened. Some of those people who assisted the guards and the horrendous things that happened in these concentration camps were Jews. And their motivation wasn't always very pure. Control and power was mixed in with self-preservation. The end result was that many Jews were persecuted and exterminated with the help of other Jews. This is not just particular to the Jewish people, it's just because it's well documented. This happens everywhere. And this happened throughout the Christian church as well. So self-preservation is not a justifiable reason, I think you would agree with me, for betraying your fellow believer. I don't think it is. That would not be honorable, and honorable death would be much preferred. by men and women with faith and with certain conviction. So to die is to be with the Lord, to be present with the Lord. That's a glorious way to go. And all these martyrs have that in common. They chose to die instead of doing what Jesus said, many will betray one another. They refuse to do that. Well, as Apostle John reminds us in 1 John 2.19, they went out from us, but they were not really of us. For if they were of us, they would have remained with us, but they went out so that it would be manifested that they all are not of us. This would be so clear. It'll be so difficult to maintain one's faith in Jesus Christ during this hostile environment in the end times, in the tribulation period, that people would at mass compromise. And this is what the Bible teaches, Jesus predicted it. And here, the martyred saints who pray and cry out, they mentioned two things about the character of God, holy and true. This is the two qualities which the divine judge possesses, which Christ also possesses. God is absolutely holy. As a judge, he is completely removed from any sin. He's never tainted by any sin. And he is absolutely true. Everything he does and says is true. He's the author of truth. There's nothing that is a falsehood or distortion of his truth. So the appeal of the outcry for God's judgment is based on God's holiness and his truthful character. Both Jesus and Stephen prayed for forgiving mercies of God as they suffered. In Luke 23, verse 34, but Jesus was saying, Father, forgive them for they do not know what they're doing. In Acts 7, 16, and falling on his knees, he, that is Stephen, cried out with a loud voice, Lord, do not hold this sin against them. And having said this, he fell asleep. But here, the tribulational saints appear to be asking God for vindication. Now I know it's translated avenge, but the root word is righteousness. So the better term, better translation into English is vindication. Vindication, which has the root righteous or just. Because when you retributively punish the evildoer and you vindicate the righteous, you are doing a just act. You are not taking a selfish vengeance. So we need to remove this idea of selfish vengeance far away. Why? These souls are in heaven. They cannot be affected by sin. They're not asking in a selfish sinful way, go get them. This is not what they're asking. So what are they asking? They're asking God to manifest his holiness and his true characteristics in his action that he should not withhold in permanent delay, but to act quickly and justly and manifest it in a public justice for all to see upon the earth, the dwellers. And notice what they ask, will you not judge and avenge, that's vindicate, our blood for our unrighteous murder? They're not complaining about their death, they're complaining about the unrighteous moral evil that had been perpetrated upon them for their faith. So their request is just, it's legit. This seems to be in accordance with Jesus' patient trust in God's divine justice. This is the perseverance of the saints. All true believers must follow the Lord's example and patiently await, not to take vengeance upon our own hands because we're not holy and we're not true. We may think we are, but we're blinded by our own pride. We are not this way. Only God is this way. In the book of Revelation, the verb for judgment, krino verb, occurs nine times. And the two cognate nouns, judge and judgment, occur seven times. So like Jesus Christ, these tribulational saints have endured much persecution and suffering. They didn't just die a swift and quick death. It appears that they've been persecuted much, and then they die. But they continue to trust in the Lord. Their prayers indicate that. We see the Apostle Peter describing the long suffering of the Lord Jesus in 1 Peter 2, verse 23, who being reviled, remember when you go and read the crucifixion accounts, they didn't just put Jesus and put a spear through him. No, they put Jesus through incredible ordeal of not only physical, but mental and psychological torment. And part of that was reviling, slandering, say all manner of false things against him. That was untrue. And yet nobody does anything about it, and a lot of people hear, yeah, yeah, that's right, that's right. You hear the crowds. And all of it is a lie about him. While being reviled, he didn't revile in return, scripture says, 1 Peter 2.23. While suffering, he uttered no threats. He had all the power of the universe. He uttered no threats. Wait till I rise again from the dead. You are toast. He said nothing like that. Why? He had all the power. He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting himself to him who judges righteously. There you have it. That's the perseverance of the righteous. Kept entrusting. See how strong your faith is? See how? You cling to the object of your faith, the one who is almighty. You know that he will bring about holy and perfect justice. You and I can't because we're sinful. We'll take vengeance to its sinful end and that is for our own sinful satisfaction. We'll do whatever and we'll justify whatever. That's how we are. We're so unholy and untrue, but God is holy and true. So, We can trust the Lord. They have. This is why we know that they are the righteous who suffer. And notice what they say, on those who dwell on the earth. That's why I shorten this and say earth dwellers. Earth dwellers. What does that tell you? They're still living. While these saints are crying out to God, they're still living. What do you think they're doing while they're still living? They're still perpetrating evil. These martyr saints are calling God to stop them. And the answer is very surprising. And you definitely need to have faith in the justice and the righteousness and the holiness of God in order to embrace and recognize His perfect purposes and plan. We already saw this phrase, those who dwell on the earth. The first time it appeared in the book It's in Revelation chapter 3 verse 10. And you can go there. And it is the Lord's promise and assurance to the Church of Philadelphia. And he says, because you have kept my word of my perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, which is about to come upon the whole world to test those who dwell on the earth. There you have it. This phrase, those who dwell on the earth, appears 13 times in the book of Revelation. It's quite frequently recurring actually. And it points to the rebellious world of unbelievers who live on this planet perpetrating their evil and part of this evil system. Not only are the leaders of nations part of that system, not only the rich and the powerful part of that system, but the peoples who follow them. They're the persecutors of God's people. These persecutors are living on earth, which means that they cannot be past persecutors or dead persecutors, for they would have been judged already. But the fact that the martyr saints are pleading for God's justice upon the earth dwellers indicates they're still living. This is in the parable of the unjust judge in Luke 18, and the Lord Jesus teaches an unforgettable lesson on God's certain and swift judgment. This is what Jesus says as he gives the parable of the unjust judge who is just pestered and pestered by this widow. I mean, the widow in that society is the weakest and the most powerless individual, a woman with no male supporters, judge, very powerful, very connected, with all the authority, and yet he does what she wants because she pesters him. He just so loves his own comfort that he just wants her to just stop. Doesn't even want to see her. Don't want to be bothered by her. Luke 18, 7, Jesus says, Now will God not bring about justice for his elect, people whom he loves, right? His elect who cry to him day and night, and will he delay long over them? rhetorical question. What do you think if an unjust judge for his own personal comfort will do this? It's like, yeah, yeah, yeah, I grant you whatever you want. Just get out of my courtroom. Get out of my face. Don't ever come back. If an unjust judge would do that, what do you think about the just and perfect judge who loves his children? Verse 8, I tell you that he will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find that faith on the earth? What an amazing Teaching an amazing question, thought-provoking. The Lord always leaves questions. Gets us thinking, what will God do? Why does he wait so long? Does he answer? Well, you saw what happened when the sixth seal was opened when we cheated and read forward. The earth dwellers, they're in massive trouble. They're already marked out. for incredible judgment because God loves his people who are persecuted and murdered. That's why God's people will find comfort even when they are being persecuted. Even those believers throughout time and places where just because of their faith they were persecuted, they can find comfort in this. And it's better, much better. And what a glorious thing it is to die an honorable death, testifying of the word of God and the witness of Jesus Christ in obedient life and entering into his presence. So what do you think about the earth dwellers? What do you think about the bright future that people are talking about for this nation and this world? A golden age. Thousand years of peace and prosperity. Do you think all that would materialize? Think very clearly and deeply about what Jesus says. They will not escape God's vengeance of wrath. This is what is in store. If you're just even an amateur student of history, and if you're a Christian, you would be interested in how Christians were persecuted for their faith. God is not idle. He's not silent. He's not asleep. He's angry. He's wrathful. And he promises vengeance. And the persecuted people of God can find comfort in that. Finally, we've seen the persecuted saints in their prayer. Here's the pledge of the sovereign, verse 11. And white robes were given to each of them. Already, we've studied this before, the color white refers to righteousness, honor, and glory. And so God has honored their faith with this perfect reward for their witness, their obedient life, and their sacrificial death. Later, John is shown the vision of the tribulational martyrs worshiping God, clothed in white, signifying their righteousness and honor and glory. In the next chapter, Revelation 7 verse 9, after these things I looked and behold a great multitude which no one could count from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes and palm branches were in their hands. Revelation 7, 14 it says, and I said to them, my Lord, Because John was asked, do you know who they are? My Lord, you know. And he said to me, these are the ones who came out of the great tribulation and they washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb. Think about that. The great revival during the tribulation? Yeah. Yeah. Right now, I mean, it seems like people are not responding to the gospel. Look at our culture. Look how it is resistant in the Muslim world. Look at the over billion people in Hindu India. Look how weak Christian witness seems to be. Well, brothers and sisters, God is sowing the seed for the future harvest. When's the harvest? We just read it in the tribulation. He will humble man so much that they will be open to his truth and God will pour out his spirit. He would save them. Praise the Lord. Don't become pessimistic. Look at what the Lord will do. Much discussion and disagreement among evangelical scholars can be found regarding these souls. Do they have bodies? Do they have not? They're called souls. Are they disembodied spirits? No, the word spirit is not used. The word soul is used. Well, in Revelation chapter 20 verse 4 says, Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their witness of Jesus and because of the word of God. A lot of people take a look at this and say, huh, I wonder if the head chopping machine that the French developed and invented, the guillotine, will be brought back or something like this, because they've been beheaded. Or this is just a figure of language of a violent, brutal death. because of their witness of Jesus and because of the word of God and who also had not worshipped the beast or his image and had not received the mark on their forehead. This seems to be describing the people during the tribulation and on their hand and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. So it seems to indicate that they will receive a resurrection body after Jesus comes. So the phrase, they came to life, should be understood as resurrected life with glorified bodies. And so I think it's most exegetically consistent to interpret these individuals as disembodied spirits in a soul state. Soul means that they're fully human being, they're conscious, but they don't have a glorified body. That's why they can all fit in under this altar. Spatially, I don't know how that works. They're in a spirit-like state. Well, how important all that discussion is, we're not certain, but we do know who they were. They were faithful, and God knows who they were, and he listens to their prayers. And notice what God does. He answers them, and it was told to them. See, that's his answer, and that's his comfort, and that they should rest for a little while longer. They can rest now because they're in his presence. little while longer. It's not indefinite delay. So this is greatly assuring. Now when you take a look at Revelation 10 verse 6 if you go there and you see right away Revelation chapter 10 verse 6 shows that from this point on there's not going to be this kind of delay anymore. It's going to be in rapid succession. Something about this chapter and the events that occur from this point on will happen much more quickly. So even in the seven year period of the tribulation, the latter half will be intense and as you get closer and closer to the end of that latter half, things that's described here will become much more fervent and rapid. So here in verse six it says, and he swore by him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things in it, verse six or Revelation 10, and the earth and the things in it and the sea and the things in it, look at that's all creation, right? That they will be delayed no longer. There's that phrase that tell you, delay no longer. Things will happen much more rapidly. Not only in its intensity and ferocity, but in its rapidity. All right, so this is what the Bible teaches us. So, God comforts them, told them they should rest a little while longer, until, here's the word, there's the plural word, until the fullness, the word fullness here, points to something that is not complete. So it's incomplete. So it has to be filled until it is complete. So imagine a vessel that is only halfway full. In order to be fully full or dripping over full, it has to be completely full, right? This is the idea. Until the fullness or completeness also of their fellow slaves and their brothers. So this passage says that there is a purposeful plan and the sovereign decree of God that there is a perfect number of all the martyred saints. Perfect number. So the idea of due loss is particularly significant, the word for slave here, because it's closely connected to the slaves of our God of Revelation 7, verse three, because it says, until the fullness also of their fellow slaves and their brothers. Fellow slaves, they're in the same position, as slaves, equal slaves before the master and their brothers. Brothers pointing to the kinship that share. And so when we take a look at Revelation chapter 7 verse 3, it says, saying, do not harm the earth or the seed of the trees until we have sealed the slaves of our God on their foreheads. And what's listed there? The 144,000. And when we get to that chapter, we're going to study this in depth. and determine the identity of the 144,000. We've heard so much bad prophecy and bad theology over the years that sometimes we need to strip all that off and repaint the whole surface with biblical data of the truth. And hopefully it'll make much more sense to us when we go through that. But it's important for now for us to connect these two, these chapters, their fellow slaves who are sealed namely the 144,000. And it says, what is their lot? What is God's sovereign purpose for them? Who were to be killed even as they had been? What does that tell you? That to die as a martyr, as a witness for the word of God, this is a great privilege and honor that's not given to everybody. So if you've ever wondered, oh, I wonder if I'm gonna die this way, Well, examine your faith and your life. Do you consider an honor or privilege or something to fear and shun? There you go, you have your answer. Now, we can all fear of the potentiality of the thought of dying, but what a glorious way to go. We're gonna die anyways, right? You wanna die old, slow age in a nursing home or you wanna die giving honor and glory to Christ? Here it is. These have been chosen and they're young. They're vibrant. They're not even married. They have their entire life to look forward to and they die for their faith for Christ. That's an honor. That's a privilege. That's given to the select few. That's not everybody. And so God has sovereignly purposed that the godly saints would be brutally murdered by the Antichrist during the latter half of the seven year period, known as the Great Tribulation. So the first fruits that we already saw under the altar praying, these are the first fruit of the harvest of souls. This is a Jewish idea if you read the Old Testament, you know the full harvest would come. So this is the feast of the first fruits as you know, this is the idea. Here's the full harvest of souls who come out of the tribulation in chapter seven as John is told who they are. These are the ones who were persecuted and put to death by earth dwellers who reject them and murder them for their witness. Throughout Israel's history, the godless had always persecuted the true speakers, the prophets, and the true believers of God. Evil, tyrannical leaders, political leaders like Ahab and his evil wife Jezebel, had put to death many of God's prophets, persecuted many genuine believers, set up a system of false religion that would persecute those who speak the truth and live for God. In the end times, the beast, the Antichrist, the global dictator will set up his government and will do likewise. But it will be the culmination of history. History is going somewhere. It's going toward the way that God had purposed it. And even in his sovereign plan, he has determined that certain people have been given the privilege of dying as martyrs and witnesses for the truth of his word, the gospel, and for the witness of Jesus Christ, testifying to an unbelieving hostile world that God is real and he is going to repay with a holy vengeance and retribution and wrath that they will not escape of how they treated his beloved people. That's the message that can comfort people who have been mistreated by the world. John MacArthur comments, the world is not too enlightened, not too humane, civilized, educated, or sophisticated to avoid repeating the atrocities of the past. In fact, the atrocities of the tribulation will far exceed any that have gone before. With God's supernatural restraint on sin removed and the forces of hell running rampant, the slaughter of that time will be without precedent in human history. But out of those dark and evil days will come thousands who seal their testimony for the Word of God and the Lordship of Jesus Christ with their own blood. Amen. and there will be millions, too numerous to count, that will believe in the testimony of these faithful martyrs. And they will also suffer. They will also come out of the tribulation as believers. What an amazing, gracious, and awesome God we serve and worship. Like the tribulational saints, today's believers must endure hardship. Let's apply this. What should be our attitude? Fear? try to avoid as much as we can, not to associate with those people who are out there in the front lines, identifying with Christ? I hope not. I hope that's not your disposition. But like the tribulational saints, we must be ready to endure hardship. Remember what Apostle Paul said to the early believers in the first century, strengthening the souls of the disciples in Acts 14.22, encouraging them to continue in the faith and saying, through many afflictions, we must enter the kingdom of God. It's not going to be easy, but nothing easy is worth living for. What glorious way to live, live for the truth, live for the Lord, live for eternity, live for his glory and honor. Life as a true believer will be difficult in a hostile world. But what we have in this side of the tribulation is easy compared to what believers must face in the tribulation. And certainly the earth dwellers, oh my goodness, it's the most horrendous thing. So take heart. God is a God of vengeful wrath. And that's a doctrine that should comfort God's people. God will bring about swift justice. He's not slow. He's patient, not wishing that all perish, but they would come to repentance. And so He has a plan and purpose to bring about the greatest number of souls to be saved. In His perfect timing, according to His perfect purposes, All evildoers will be exposed and summarily punished. Vengeance is truly His. Have you been wronged? Well, take comfort. God will make everything right. Did you wrong anybody? You must fear, because God is God of vengeful wrath. We need to pray for those who are being persecuted for Christ. Come to their aid. Support the saints through prayer, intercessory prayer. through comfort and through deed. And finally, we need to think about discipling and educating the young. Are we too busy just filling their minds with data and facts that they may use some skills in the world to get a job and have a career? What difference does that make for them? What they really need is a foundation of truth and conviction that would strengthen their faith. And how do we do that as parents, as teachers? We need to disciple them and demonstrate for them, reminding them that it's infinitely better to suffer for Christ's sake. It's infinitely better to suffer for Christ's sake. So we need to teach them to wait, to be patient, to persevere and show them the value of suffering for Christ's sake and for righteousness and not to take the quick and easy way out. Hebrews chapter 11 verse 24 says this, By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin regarding the reproaches of Christ's greater riches than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. That's what faith does. And you need to demonstrate your faith to your children. Tell them. about what you really believe and what you really desire. And then perhaps they will read the scriptures and the Lord will work through the Holy Spirit and through your life and experience, and then they will say, you know what, I want what you have. I would like to walk on the path that you have paved. I want to be like Moses, not like the compromisers who choose the easy, comfortable path, but choose to suffer rather than enjoy the passing pleasures of sin. Consider the reproaches of Christ greater riches than all that the world has to afford. I want that for me. And then watch them pray and God would honor their prayer and give them what they desire. This is what we need to prepare our next generation for. And so let's go before the Lord in prayer. Father, thank you for reminding us that you are a holy and righteous God who will judge, but more than that, you are a loving God who love your children. Thank you for the comfort that we receive, that no amount of hardship or difficulty, persecution, and even death compares to the surpassing greatness and the riches that's in Christ Jesus. and to be known by him, to have been forgiven by him, and to have an eternal destiny with him. Lord, we thank you that you have given us a living faith and to persevere and continue to be faithful. And we ask that you would give us the wisdom to carry out this mission, both locally here and internationally to the very ends of the earth, and that we would honor you with our lives. We thank you, Lord, for your grace and your mercy. We look forward to the glorious age of the kingdom to come. Until then, would you find your people faithful? In Jesus' name, amen.