We're gonna take our Bibles and turn to the book of Revelation chapter seven. Revelation chapter seven, we're gonna be looking this evening at the theme turning to the truth in the tribulation. Revelation chapter seven, follow along please as we read beginning in verse one. And after these things, I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God, and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying, hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. And I heard the number of them which were sealed, and there were sealed 144,000 of all the tribes of the children of Israel. We continue in verse 9. And after this I beheld, and lo a great multitude, which no man could number of all the nations and kindreds and people and tongues, stood before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes and palms in their hands, and cried with a loud voice saying, salvation to our God which sits upon the throne and under the lamb. We continue in verse 13. One of the elders answered saying to me, what are these which are arrayed in white robes? And whence came they? I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. He said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple. He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more, neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb, which is in the midst of the throne, shall feed them and shall lead them unto living waters or fountains of waters, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." Notice in verse 9, those described as having the tears wiped away from their eyes, a great multitude, which no one could number. I'm always mindful when we read the book of the Revelation. It's the only book in the Bible that comes with a promise. of blessing to those who read and those who hear. The book of the Revelation in the first chapter begins with that blessing. And so we claim that blessing tonight even as we read this portion of the seventh chapter of the book of the Revelation. There are those students of demographics who this evening will tell us the world is going through a tremendous time of population explosion. There are places, even in America, where they are describing those places as potential places for megalopolises. For instance, I've been told from Atlanta, Georgia, all the way up to Charlotte, one day it appears as the thing continues to grow that that will be a megalopolis. If you've traveled around the world, you know that there are some huge cities. The biggest city in the world today is Tokyo, Japan, San Paolo down in Brazil, huge Mexico City, New York City, megalopolises fed by rapid expansion of the human population. There were 300 million people, they say, on the earth in the times of Christ. That number increased to some 500 million by the year 1650. Half a billion people on the planet in 1650, just 30 years after the pilgrims had come to America. 800 million 100 years later by 1750. Between 1850 and 1950, the number went from 1.2 billion to 2.4 billion. So back in 1950, those of you who can remember that far back, 2.4 billion people on the planet. By 1995, that number was up to 5.7 billion. As of yesterday, I think I ran the number yesterday, actually. It was 7.9 billion people. 7.9 billion people on the planet. And you'll notice, of course, immediately that's 2.2 billion more since 1995. And studies say we're adding about a billion every 12 or 13 years. So the population expansion has caused some people to be really, really concerned. Having had the privilege of traveling with my children to some really exotic and strange places, I always ask them to look out the plane window, the airplane window, wherever we are. You look out the airplane window in India, which is the most highly populated subcontinent in the world, and you'll see vast expanses of uninhabited land, huge areas. That's India, been there five times, and I always look out the window, and they haven't filled it up at all. You fly over Cambodia, there are some huge cities. I've been to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and you fly over Cambodia. Hey, you fly over the Appalachian region of the United States of America, up and down the East Coast, which is a very populated area, and you look at places like Pennsylvania and rural Virginia and rural New York, and you're gonna say, there's still places for us to expand. So let's pray for more babies in our church, all right? I'm for it, I told you that. The students of Bible prophecy know that there will be many that turn to the truth in tribulation. That's reflected upon here. I beheld and lo a great multitude which no one could number, verse 9, of all the kindreds and peoples and tongues stood before the throne and before the Lamb. And who are these? Verse 14 identifies them. These are they which came out of the great tribulation. Bob Shelton, who spoke here at Colonial Hills Baptist Church many times and is a very dear friend of Pastor Taylor, has a book under the title, God's Prophetic Blueprint. And in his book on prophecy, he makes this statement, it's safe to say that more people will turn to Christ during the 70th week of Daniel, that's the tribulation, than during any comparable period of time in human history. Could it be, we ask tonight, that God is allowing the population of the world to grow exponentially in order to, from this world, reap a harvest of souls such as would be unimaginable? I heard the story of A seminary student who was walking through the gymnasium at the seminary that he attended and he saw that the janitor was taking a break and the janitor was reading his Bible sitting in the bleachers and the precocious seminary student seeing the humble janitor there said, what are you reading? The janitor said, I'm reading my Bible. No, no, no. Where are you reading in your Bible? And the janitor said, I'm reading the book of the Revelation, thinking about how difficult the book of the Revelation is. The seminary student said to the humble janitor, so you getting anything out of it? What are you learning? And the janitor looked at the young seminarian and he said, God wins. And that is a great message. And that's the truth of the book of the Revelation. God wins. There are times that we wonder, Will there be more in hell than there will be in heaven? Has that thought ever crossed your mind? It's crossed mine. And while our thoughts are not God's thoughts, there is great comfort to be realized in this thought. of all the little ones who, whether in childbirth or in infancy or without healthcare, as little ones in that time of innocence have been called away from the loving arms of their parents and into the loving arms of the Lord, didn't he say, suffer the children to come unto me for such is the kingdom of heaven? And then I come here to the book of the Revelation and I see this population explosion of the world that everybody's so afraid of. And I think this is so wonderful, to be living in the time when God may be preparing the world for the greatest evangelistic effort that the world has ever known. And the Bible even tells us how that evangelistic effort is going to happen. The Bible has much to say about the souls that'll be saved during the tribulation. We begin this evening by focusing on the messengers of salvation, the messengers of salvation. 1 Thessalonians chapter four reminds us that the trumpet is going to sound, the dead in Christ are gonna rise first, and we which are alive and remain should be caught up to meet them in the clouds. That's the rapture. Again, 1 Thessalonians 5 says, of the times and seasons, you have no need that I run into you, brethren, for that time is going to come upon them as upon a thief in the night, and they shall not escape. There's a key difference in 1 Thessalonians 5 between those who are enduring the tribulation and those who have been caught up in the chapter before, in the fourth chapter of the rapture, the fifth chapter of the tribulation. Well, how will those who are left behind when the church is gloriously raptured, how will they be saved? After all, you won't be there to witness to a neighbor, to a colleague, to a friend. Well, the Bible gives us the answer. We turn over in our Bibles to the 11th chapter of the book of Revelation, Revelation chapter 11, and we read of two supernatural evangelists, Revelation chapter 11. During the first three and a half years of the tribulation period, God is going to send two witnesses. We read about them. The third verse says, I will give power unto my two witnesses. They shall prophesy. The word prophesy, biblically, can either mean to foretell, as in to speak prophetically about the future, to foretell or to forth tell, to preach. I think in this situation, he's speaking about their preaching ministry. I'll give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand, two hundred, and three scored days, and they will be clothed in sackcloth. These are the first 3 1⁄2 years of the Tribulation period. The Tribulation period is divided into two sections of 3 1⁄2 years, two sections of 1,260 days. It's seven years in total. But of course, the middle of the Tribulation is marked, according to Daniel 9, by the putting up of the abomination that makes desolate. so the temple will be desecrated. During the first three and a half years of the tribulation, there are two witnesses, and the identification of these witnesses is given to us here in this passage. We read in verse four, these are the two olive trees and two candlesticks. Now that's imagery that takes us back to the Old Testament, the imagery of the olive tree and the flowing of that oil into the candlesticks, but these two candlesticks stand as lights, before the God of the earth. And if any man will hurt them, fire proceeds out of their mouth and devours their enemies. If any man will hurt them, he must in such a manner be killed. These have power to shut up heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy. They have power over waters to turn them to blood." Okay, who does that remind us of? Who was the prophet in the Old Testament who called down fire from heaven? Elijah. And who was the prophet in the Old Testament who was able to turn water into blood? Moses, okay, so most people will look at this passage and say Moses is here representing the law and Elijah is here representing the prophets. And so the entirety of the Old Testament is here emphasized. I was in a conference call today with a group of pastors and I heard a man who is helping with the printing of some of the materials that these pastors are putting out and he said, I just wish that people could be more clear I've got to tell you, I've gone to a Bible teaching church for almost 40 years, and recently I was on a cruise off the Middle East, and there was a pastor there who said, God has a separate purpose for Israel than for the church. He said, I'd never heard that before. I thought, well, he hasn't been at Wednesday nights at Colonial Hills Baptist Church. There's a separate purpose, but this is interesting, isn't it? I've said this before and here's another proof of it. When you get to the tribulation and you're studying the book of the Revelation, you won't find the church there, but you will find the law and the prophets. Isn't that interesting? Why? Because the last seven years are seven years according to Daniel 9 and verse 25 that are upon Daniel's people. And upon Daniel's city, that's the Jews in Jerusalem. So in Daniel chapter nine, 77, 490 years were determined. At year 483, Messiah was cut off. Daniel 9.27 says, but not for himself. His was a substitutionary sacrifice for our sins. That happened in year 483. We're living in a great pause, and I'm so grateful for this pause. The book of Ephesians says this is a time that we live in that was a mystery to the people in the Old Testament. What's the mystery? That the Jew and the Gentile could both be part of one body, the church. Thank the Lord for the pause that the Gentile harvest might come in. But the calendar of Israel is going to be reestablished. And when it's reestablished, there are two witnesses that every Israelite will want to hear. Moses and Elijah are spoken of in this passage, the prophet of fire. and the prophet of blood. These two are paired together not only here, but you'll remember that they appear on the Mount of Transfiguration when the disciples, the three of the disciples, are on the Mount with the Lord. Moses and Elijah appear, and Peter says, hey, let's make some tents and hang out here. This is way too cool. I don't want to leave this place. And the father says from heaven, this is my beloved son, hear him. They're also spoken of in the last book of the Old Testament, the book of Malachi, In fact, at the Seder or the Passover, Jewish families always have an empty chair at the table. And if you inquire what's the empty chair for, that's for Elijah to come and sit in. Because in Malachi chapter four, it says that Elijah the prophet will come. And so we have a very Jewish-focused passage right here. And that becomes really interesting when we ask the question, where did this multitude that has harvested these souls that come out of the tribulation, how did that happen? Well, we begin by saying it happens because God commissions these two messengers. And so we read about their identification. And then we also, in Revelation 11, read about their assassination. Beginning in verse seven, we read, And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascended out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them and shall overcome them and kill them. And their dead bodies shall lie on the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified." All right, Sodom and Egypt, this is what the great city is now called spiritually. What city is he talking about? Verse eight, identify the city in which the bodies of these two prophets are laid out so publicly. The end of verse eight, not a trick question. What city is it? How do we know it's Jerusalem? It's where the Lord was crucified, all right? Their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where our Lord also was crucified. So what was the epicenter of their ministry? Where was the place from which they were preaching? Jerusalem. Jerusalem. Moses and Elijah are in Jerusalem preaching during that first three and a half years. Do I know that they're always there? Do they go other places? I don't know, but I know this, that they're going to be assassinated and their bodies are going to lie in the street. I was a weird kid. I know that surprises people. One of my favorite shows when I was a kid was Biography. Remember that show? Some of you are as old as me and older. I still remember watching the Life Story of Mussolini. I was probably seven or eight. It was a Saturday morning black and white show, Biography. I was there, man, riveting. And I still remember Mussolini hanging by a meat hook, basically, in Italy at the end of World War II. And we think, who could ever do such a thing? Humanity is able to do so many desperately evil things. And here, these two light messengers have been killed. Their bodies are lying in the street. And the Bible tells us how people respond. Verse 9. They of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and a half. They shall not allow their dead bodies to be put in graves. They that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them and make merry and shall send gifts to one another. Happy holiday. That's bizarre. That's sick. Men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. You ever given witness to somebody and had somebody really get upset with you, turn you off? Yeah. That doesn't change throughout the generations. Here in the end times, during the tribulational times, these two faithful witnesses, their bodies are in the streets, people are sending gifts because the two prophets tormented them that dwelt upon the earth. Their message tormented them. Then something wonderful happens, verse 11. After three days and a half, the spirit of life from God entered them. They stood up upon their feet. Great fear fell upon them which saw them. They heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, come up hither. They ascended up to heaven in a cloud. Their enemies beheld them. The same hour was a great earthquake and a 10th part of the city fell. What city? That's Jerusalem. And in the earthquake were slain of men 7,000. The remnant was affrighted and gave glory to the God of heaven. It seems that somehow through that terrible circumstance, some are going to come to a realization that these men had the right message. And so the harvest of souls continues even in the time of adversity. The resurrection of these reminds us that God sometimes brings adversity in our lives in order for the gospel to shine more brightly. There are times we know that God says he'll protect us, he'll preserve us, and yet there are times like this where you say, God, this is Moses and Elijah. This is the law and the prophets. These are your witnesses commissioned to your city, and yet they've been treated like this. And the Lord reminds us that they treated his son, the vineyard owner's son, was crucified. But God, through the adversity, lets light shine. If you're going through a time of adversity right now, it may be because God wants a greater light to shine through you. That's God's plan throughout the generations. The Bible also tells us back here in the book of Revelation, the seventh chapter, that there are not only these two supernatural witnesses, but the Bible also speaks of 144,000 national witnesses. It has long been God's purpose to bring spiritual blessing to the world through the faithful witness of the Jews. Remember what God said to Abraham when he inaugurated the nation of Israel? He said, and you will all, can you finish it? The nations of the earth be blessed. And we'd say, well, that's happening right now through Jesus Christ, the Messiah, and that's true. But God's purpose for Israel is a unique purpose. Through the people of Abraham, God wants the light to shine in the world. Has it happened yet? Only through Christ. It's happened dimly, but it's gonna happen brilliantly. As we open our Bibles to Revelation chapter seven, we see these 144,000 that are marked off. Verse four, I heard the number of them which were sealed, and they were sealed, 144,000 of all the tribes of the children of Israel. Now there's something interesting about their opportunity to be witnesses that is alluded to in a passing statement of the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 8. The Apostle Paul, you'll recall, was a rabbi of the rabbis, a Pharisee of the Pharisees, proud of his Jewish heritage. Then he was struck blind on the Damascus Road and came to be a servant of Jesus. The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 15 about the appearing of the Lord, that he was seen of Cephas, then of the 12, and then 500. Verse 7 of 1 Corinthians 15, and after that he was seen of James, that would be the half-brother of Jesus, then all the apostles. Then Paul says this, and last of all, he was seen of me also as one born out of due time. Well, is he referring to the fact that he is an apostle who came to Christ after the crucifixion, so he wasn't in a timely fashion one? Or, no, I think what he's referring to, he was born out of due time for his commission specifically. Paul was the ambassador, the apostle to the Gentiles. I think when he says, I'm an apostle born out of due time or one born out of due time, I think he's referring to what we're reading about here in Revelation chapter seven. 144,000 Jewish witnesses, 12,000 from each tribe. The apostle Paul was early on one of those witnesses. And if we can imagine the impact Paul's one life had, now compound that by 144,000. Paul was born out of due time, but God has 144,000 sealed. Let's go back to Revelation chapter seven, if you're not there already. You know, there's controversy about this, comes up often. There are those who have had very strong opinions about these 144,000. Can anybody tell me some of the opinions that have been offered? Who are these 144,000? Jehovah's Witnesses, all right? So the Jehovah's Witness religion, heresy, began with a thought that the coming of the Lord could be dated and timed out and people would be gathered up. Well, it didn't happen on the date expected. Now what are we going to do? Well, we're just going to say that it happened kind of spiritually. And then, well, Am I part of that spiritual group? Well, you might be, but it's only 144,000. So the Jehovah's Witnesses fixate a lot on this 144,000. The other thing that happens is many people will say, well, we don't know who the tribes of Israel are. I mean, they've all been, I mean, they've been all dispersed. Now, when you meet a Jewish person by the name of Cohen, the name Cohen means priest in Hebrew. And so even the Jewish people believe that a Kohen is of the tribe of Levi. Other than that, the Jewish people will admit we don't know our tribal heritage. They know the geological areas that they ought to live, the tribal portions, but they don't know in bloodlines. But we ask the question, of course, does that mean God doesn't know? No, for with God all things are possible. But this is clear when you come to Revelation 7. He's talking about Jews. He says 144,000, verse four, of all the tribes of the children of Israel, the tribe of Judah, 12,000, of the tribe of Reuben, 12,000, the tribe of Gad, 12,000, and so it goes, and there are even some replacement tribes that are going on here to make sure that God makes it evident to us that he's actually talking about 144,000 Jewish evangelists. Why? And the answer, the Old Testament promised a Jewish witness, and that promise has not yet been fulfilled. So let's go back to the book of Joel, the book of Joel chapter two, and let's put a mark in our minds on God's purpose for the people of Israel. The book of Joel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah. I used to give children a dollar in junior church if they could say them faster than The minor prophets, I won't do that on a Wednesday night. Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Namah, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi. And I gave out a lot of dollars because if a kid's challenged for a dollar, they can learn those minor prophets. And we're in Joel chapter two. And in Joel chapter two, you're going to hear the words and say, that sounds familiar. Joel chapter two, verse 27, you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, that I am the Lord your God and none else, and my people shall never be ashamed. And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my Spirit, and I will show wonders." Wait a minute, up to that point, you've heard that passage before, right? Where was it applied? Pentecost. Remember when they were saying, these are drunk? And Peter stands forward and says, whoa, whoa, whoa, time out. It's too early in the day for them to be drunk. This is that which is spoken of by the prophets. Your young men shall prophesy. And he goes right to this passage. But he doesn't finish it. And so we have in the book of Acts a partial fulfillment, if you will. And who was it on the day of Pentecost who was assembled in the upper room? Gentiles, right? No. Who was it? Yeah, it was the Jews. And suddenly they were prophesying and sharing in all the tongues so all the world could hear. Well, that's gonna happen again because this passage has not yet completely been fulfilled. He says, it will come to pass afterward I'll pour out my spirit on all flesh. Your sons, your daughters shall prophesy. Your old men shall dream dreams. Your young men shall see visions. And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood. What does that sound like? That's right, it sounds like the Revelation, it sounds like the Olivet Discourse, it sounds like the Tribulation. So, he's speaking about the Tribulation and about a great host of sons and daughters of Israel who are suddenly prophesying the sun will be turned to darkness, the moon into blood before the great and terrible day of the Lord. It shall come to pass that whoever will call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and the remnant whom the Lord shall call." The remnant whom the Lord shall call. The remnant whom the Lord shall call. 144,000 of them. How do we get this great number saved in the tribulation? It starts with two witnesses. And through the law and the prophets, those two witnesses have 144,000, the remnant, that's gonna go out to minister. Now, there are all kinds of theories about Israel today. Anybody ever hear of Herbert W. Armstrong? You remember this? British Israeliteism, okay? The Lost Tribes, you know, 10 tribes were taken by the Assyrians, and then the other two tribes taken by the Babylonians, and what happened to those 10 tribes? And Herbert W. Armstrong theorized that anybody from Great Britain, they're actually Israelites. Well, I've had my DNA done. I had to pray about it a long time and think about my criminal record before I did it. And my kids bought it for me at Christmas. It's one of those gifts you think, I don't know, if I come up, you know, on some police hot list. No, I'm just kidding. All right. I had it done. Phelps is an English name. And there were no surprises. It would have been kind of cool to get something from someplace you don't expect, you know. And nothing Jewish in it. So I guess that proves Herbert W. Armstrong wrong. That's not all that proves him wrong, okay? So when we come to this 144,000, as we've noted, God has a purpose for Israel, and the purpose for Israel is to inspire their sons and daughters, that remnant, to go out with a gospel message. Why? Because the Lord promised a Jewish witness. He promised a Jewish witness. Come to Matthew 24. Here's a verse that's often put into the church age inappropriately. Matthew chapter 24, the Lord is talking about the end times, it's the Olivet Discourse, it's the longest section of the Lord talking prophetically in the gospels. And you'll remember that he says in verse 11, many false prophets shall arise, Matthew 24 in verse 11, and shall deceive many because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold, but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all the nations. Wow, there's the word nations again. Then shall the end come. When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, and so readeth, let them understand. Then let them which be in Judea," now that's in Israel, flee to the mountains. He's talking to Jewish people. And as he talks to these Jewish people, he says in verse 14, this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness. Now, sometimes we hear that today and people apply it. We ought to all be inspired to preach the gospel in the church age. But that passage is not talking about the church age. That passage is talking about the gospel being preached in the time that we're focused on this evening when a great multitude is saved during the tribulation. How does it happen? God chooses 144,000, the remnant, He fills that remnant with His Spirit, He inspires them to go out, and finally the nation of Israel is doing what God has desired for them to do a long time ago, which means there are no lost tribes, there are no lost tribes, and I won't take the time to go to Ezra chapter two this evening, but in Ezra chapter two, Ezra speaks of all the people of Israel being present. Now, putting it in context, Ezra has come back from Babylonian captivity, so the Assyrians have already dispersed the ten tribes. The Babylonians have already dispersed the two tribes, and yet in Ezra chapter 7, something amazing happens. They're able to re-identify all the tribes. During the time of Christ, they knew what tribe they were from. Today, we'd say, well, they don't, but they can be reunited, and those tribes can be re-identified by God. I think he probably has a better DNA record than those who are out there tracing their family records today. And there's a national restoration of Israel that's promised. We go to the book of Romans, the 11th chapter, Romans chapter 11, and you recall the imagery of the olive tree. And in Romans chapter 11, the Bible tells us in verse 25, For I would not, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own conceits, that blindness is in part or in part has happened to Israel. In part? Yes. There are still some, thank the Lord, Jews who are saved. I was in correspondence this week. With our friend Craig Hartman, we team up with Craig to take trips to the Holy Land. I thank the Lord that there's no blindness in Craig Hartman. As people often have said, he's a complete Jew. He's come to know the Messiah. But today, there's a tremendous blindness that's happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles come in. That's the time in which we're now living. When God is uniquely reaching out to the Gentiles and building the bride of Christ. And so all Israel will be saved. Does that mean every individual Israelite will come to Christ? I think he's speaking here of the nation of Israel. As it is written, there shall come out of Zion the deliverer, shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. Concerning the gospel, they're enemies right now. That's exactly where they are. They're enemies for your sakes. But as touching the election, they're beloved for the Father's sakes. For the gifts and the calling of God are without repentance. God's not gonna change his mind about Israel, for as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief, even so have these also now not believed that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy, for God hath concluded that all in unbelief that he might have mercy upon all. So right now, God's focus on the church, but there's coming a time God's focus will be upon Israel. So we're back to the book of the Revelation, and we'll just fill this in quickly. If you go to Romans chapter, Romans. If you go to Revelation chapter seven, Revelation chapter seven, you'll recall by now that there's a numerable host, a numerable host that are gonna come out of the, out of the tribulation, and we'll end by just highlighting this. Revelation 7, verse 9, and after this, I beheld, and lo, a great multitude, which no one could number. Of all nations, kindreds, people, tongues stood before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, palms in their hands. Notice that verse 9 follows right after the prophecy of the 144,000. And of course, we discover that God is going to allow the persecution of Israel. Over in Revelation 6 and verse 11, white robes were given unto every one of them. It was said unto them that they should yet rest a little season until their fellow servants also and their brethren that should be killed as they were should be fulfilled. Much as the two, Moses and Elijah, were killed, so shall many others be killed. A great time of persecution. Revelation 12 says the dragon has been set loose. He knows his time is short and he's going after Israel. God acknowledges the persecution of Israel. God is aware of it. He knows who they are. And so we read in chapter 7 and verse 12, amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be unto our God. One of the elders answered saying, What are these? Who are these that are arrayed in robes? And whence do they come? And we find they're coming out of the great tribulation with the robes that are washed, and we find God is willing to avenge. God is willing to avenge the children of Israel for their sufferings. And I'm going to end with this tonight, or I'll be in trouble with the people down the hall. Revelation 13 and verse 10. He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity, and he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword." Here's the patience and the faith of the saints. God always avenges His people. And because my wife is here, and I'll be in trouble if I don't give you the last two blanks, I'll give you these this evening, and you can look them up on your own. There's going to be a multitude purified through the tribulation period. and the means for their purification are already in place. You know, you think about just 80 years ago, there was no nation of Israel. Just 80 years ago, no one could have imagined a worldwide web. Just 80 years ago, no one could have imagined turn on a television anywhere in the world and see everything that's happening simultaneously. But that's not unimaginable any longer. God's put in place all the means necessary for a great global revival. So if you go away with this thought this evening, the next time you hear somebody say, oh, overpopulation of the planet, you need to say, praise the Lord, we love babies. Why? Because God's preparing the greatest harvest of souls the world has ever known. Father, bless us as we go, and we'll thank you for it in Christ's name, amen.