Please open your Bibles to the Gospel according to Matthew. Matthew chapter 24. Surprise, surprise. Still in Matthew 24. Matthew 24 verse 21. In the past few weeks we've seen why the final tribulation period came into being. It came into being because the Gospel of Grace must be preached into all the world before the wickedness of man is able to snuff it out. Since man voluntarily submitted himself to the authority of the devil ever since the Garden of Eden, the devil and all his host of demons with the help of many men fought against this gospel and the spread of the gospel of grace and generated the abomination of desolation now standing in the holy place, which are the pulpits of most churches throughout the world. And the abomination of desolation is the charismatic gospel that features signs and wonders and tongues and dreams and visions and the free will gospel. By this we know that the final tribulation has begun. So let's read about the final tribulation period in Matthew 24. We'll read verses 21 through 29. For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved. But for the elect's sake, those days shall be shortened. Then, if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there, believe it not, For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore, if they shall say unto you, Behold, he's in the desert, go not forth. Behold, he's in the secret chambers, believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east and shineth even unto the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. For wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together. Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. The statement of verse 21, tells us that it will be a time of tribulation that will be different from all the sufferings that were on the earth since the beginning of the world. In other words, it will be different in character, and it will not be a suffering in the body, but in the soul. It will not be a physical suffering, but a spiritual suffering, because to be cut off from God is a far greater evil than any temporary pain in this life. For a person to be cut off from God means that he will have to endure an eternity in hell. And that's far worse than any temporary pain in this life. Therefore, verse 22 cannot refer to physical flesh, but refers to persons. The entire context of verse 22 concerns spiritual matters and not physical. And thus, verse 22 tells us that if the Lord, Terry, and the time of spiritual troubles lasts long, it will have the result that there could be no saved people on this earth. Why not? Because the Lord says in verse 24, that false Christs and false prophets shall arise and shall show great signs and wonders, not just little signs and wonders, but great signs and wonders to prove that they were sent from God. But they're lying. For the Lord says in Revelation 20 verse 7, that near the end of time, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison of darkness. You see that in Jude 6. And that he will be as powerful as he was over all the earth before Christ came. So convincing are their signs that even the elect would be deceived if that were possible. Therefore, this is the environment that we bring our children into. And so since there are so few faithful parents left, our children, in their rebellious years, will choose to be unequally yoked to those who are not true believers. And in this way, the gospel could, may, be snuffed out. This was the same reason why God destroyed the first world at the time of Noah. For we read in Genesis 6, verse 2, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair, and they took them wives of all which they chose. Then in Genesis 3, God says that this was the reason why he destroyed that world by water. When the measure of iniquity was full, God sent his judgment on all mankind after rapturing his elect. in the ark, obviously. Quite similarly, in the final tribulation period, when the measure of iniquity is full, God will send his final judgment on all the earth after rapturing his elect. Therefore, the final tribulation period is the last event before the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. As a matter of fact, the final tribulation period is the last battle. Right now, the Lord Jesus is the sovereign ruler over all creation, whether it be heaven or earth or anywhere in this universe. We know this from the Bible. For after his resurrection, we read in Matthew 28 verse 18, And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All authority is given me in heaven and in earth. But his absolute authority is not undisputed. for the devil and his angels and all unsaved mankind are disputing his authority over them. In this, they commit terrible blasphemy for their bearing and taking the name of the Lord in vain. And so there's a spiritual battle going on between Christ and Satan, or between all those who are on the side of Christ and those who are on the side of Satan. From all that we're seeing in the world, it appears that Satan is winning. But from all that we're reading in the Bible, we know that Christ is winning. The final tribulation period is just such a spiritual battle. So in Matthew 24 verse 29, we read, immediately after the tribulation of those days, shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. In other words, this is the end of time, when Christ shall come the second time to rapture his saints and to judge all the unsaved for their ungodly works. But the Lord says in Matthew 24-29 that this occurs immediately after the tribulation of those days. In other words, the final tribulation period is that spiritual battle, that last battle between the armies of Christ and the armies of Satan. Presently, we're living in this fearful time period when the forces of Satan seem to be winning. However, in the midst of these fearful statements, the Lord gives us words of comfort. In verse 24, the Lord says, in so much that if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Or more literally, from the Greek text, he said, so as to cause to err if possible, even the elect. Hereby, he implied that it is not possible to deceive the elect, for God will watch over us to prevent those thoughts from entering the minds of his elect. Now, this is of great comfort to all his saints. Let me give an application of this great comforting principle. If the pastor of a church is one of the elect, and by the mathematics of probability, this must be a true condition in many churches yet throughout the world, If he's elect, he will be preaching the true gospel in that church, which will be a faithful church. And it is absolutely impossible that this would be a church that has fallen away to the devil. And so as long as these elect pastors preach faithfully the true gospel in their churches, this preaching will continue to draw unsaved people to Christ until the last of the elect will be saved. Let us now focus on an intriguing concept the Lord Jesus states here in Matthew 24 verse 28. For where so ever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together. Who is represented by the carcass? And who do the eagles represent? Certainly the Lord Jesus is not talking about literal carcasses and literal eagles, for there are not enough eagles to peck away at seven billion people who've been struck dead. And besides, on the last day, God's going to destroy the world by fire, and so there could not be any eagles left. And so we want to have a good look at this concept of the eagles. We must keep in mind that Matthew 24 verse 28 speaks of a point in time when the last battle between the armies of Christ and the armies of Satan is finished. All the unsaved of mankind have been killed and are ready to be resurrected in their repulsive bodies and to stand before the judgment throne of Christ. Put some marker here in Matthew 24, we'll be back a lot. And please turn to the gospel according to Luke. Luke chapter 17 verse 34. Luke 17 verse 34. We're going to compare Matthew 24-28 with this passage in the Gospel of Luke. In the Gospel of Luke we find the chronological sequence when the eagles shall be gathered together. It will be after the rapture of the saints when we shall be with the Lord forever. We read in Luke 17, verse 34 through 37. I tell you, in that night there shall be two in one bed. The one shall be taken, the other shall be left. Two shall be grinding together. The one shall be taken and the other left. Two shall be in the field. The one shall be taken and the other left. And they answered and said unto him, where, Lord? And he said unto them, wheresoever the body is, thither or there will the eagles be gathered together. We can see clearly that this refers to a point in time after the rapture, when the last battle will be finished. The enemy is defeated and dead. Let's now compare Luke 17, verse 37 with Matthew 24, verse 28. For these two verses must be harmonized. for they both speak about the same thing. In Luke 17 verse 37, the body is the Greek word soma, number 4883, which is a whole body, whether living or dead, and can refer to the body of beasts or of a man or even of the church. In Matthew 24 verse 28, the carcass, is the Greek word Toma, number 4430, which refers to that which is fallen, a corpse or a carcass. And so by harmonizing, the body in Luke 17 verse 37 must refer to a dead body, not a live body. Can this body refer to the church, the spiritual body of Christ, or the bodies of the saints, No, it's impossible. For the saints are alive and Christ is alive and the church on the last day may be small, but it's still alive. The only body this can refer to is the defeated and dead body of all the unsaved who are awaiting their physical resurrection. It cannot refer to Satan and all his fallen angels for they do not have bodies. We need to keep this in mind in all other passages in the Bible referring to that last battle. Now who do the eagles represent? Both in Matthew 24 verse 28 and in Luke 17 verse 37 the word for eagles is the same Greek word. The word for eagle in the Bible has been used primarily in two ways. In some places an eagle pictures how fiercely God is protecting his children. Like in Deuteronomy 32 verses 11 and 12 where we read, As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings, so the Lord alone did lead him, and there was no strange God with him. But in most places the eagles represent the enemies of God and the enemies of the children of God. When we look at Matthew 24 verse 28 and Luke 17 verse 37, could the eagles here represent God? No way, for God is never represented by a multitude of eagles. Could the eagles here represent the saints who are coming down with Christ to judge all the unsaved? That is also an impossibility, for eagles are unclean animals. And after the rapture, the saints are translated into a kingdom where only righteousness dwells. The same can be said of the elect angels who are keeping themselves unspotted in this world of sin. Who else are the enemies of unsaved mankind? How many groups of created beings are there after the rapture has occurred and all the unsaved have died in the fire that destroyed this whole entire world? The only ones remaining after this fireball are the elect angels. the saints, the unsaved of mankind who lie dead, and the fallen angels who are now called demons. Let us now carefully consider Luke 1737. And they answered and said unto him, where, Lord? And he said unto them, wheresoever the body is, there thither will the eagles be gathered together. What did they ask the Lord Jesus? It can be understood as, where are they who are raptured taken to, Lord? Or it can also be understood as, where are those who are left, Lord? We already know the answer to the first question. They who are raptured are taken to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Therefore, it's the second question that is at hand here in Luke 17.37. If I may paraphrase, the Lord Jesus answered them, wheresoever the dead conglomerate body of all the unsaved is gathered, there will also the demons be gathered together. This also is the meaning of Matthew 24, 28. Exactly the same meaning. And why will the demons also be gathered there? The answer is that they too shall be cast into hell, and go to the same place where all unsaved mankind will spend eternity, but there is a more sinister aspect of this togetherness. You see in several places in the Bible, God invites the fowls of the air to feast on the defeated bodies of God's enemies, who formerly shouted, we will not have this man to reign over us, like in Luke 19 verse 14. What is in view when God extends this invitation to the demons? Is he not inviting them to be the executors of his wrath upon the unsaved in hell? And this is indeed the case. Please turn in your Bibles to the prophecy of Ezekiel. Ezekiel chapter 38, verse one. Ezekiel 38, verse one. And here we'll look at the last battle of Gog. In Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39, we have another picture of the last battle between Christ and Satan. God is addressing here a person by the name of Gog, who is also identified as the land of Magog. In other words, all the people in the land of Magog are addressed together as Gog. This is how we can understand Revelation 20 verse 8, where Gog and Magog are defined as the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth. And thus Gog and Magog are representing all the unsaved on the earth who are together ganging up on the tiny camp of the saints. Can Gog represent Satan? No, for Satan does not have a body like is described in Ezekiel 38. But Satan and his demons use people to indwell them. So let's read Ezekiel 38 verses one through four. And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshach and Tubal, and prophesy against him. And say, Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshach and Tubal, and I will turn thee back and put hooks into thy jaws. And I will bring thee forth and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armor, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords. God says that he will put hooks in the jaws, plural, of Gog. Therefore, Gog cannot represent Satan, but must represent the Antichrist, the embodiment of Satan in human form. But since Satan is not omnipresent, he has delegated his demons to occupy a multitude of pastors and Bible teachers throughout the world. But since this story in Ezekiel 38 and 39 has a climactic end, like the end of the world, we realize that this story must be understood as a spiritual battle. It is the last battle between Christ and Satan. The entire army in these chapters represents an army of demons ready to attack the church in the world who spiritually are dwelling safely in the mountains of Israel. But which Israel does God have in view? No, it's not the physical children of Jacob, but it is the Israel of God, the spiritual Israel who are spiritually living in peace on the mountains where God is found. When God says in Romans 9 verse 6, for they are not all Israel, which are of born of Israel. He means that they who are blood descendants of Jacob are not all part of the Israel of God. There is a remnant chosen by grace out of all the nations of the world. Those are the Israel of God. Please drop down to Ezekiel 39 verse one. Ezekiel 39 verse 1. Here God describes the spiritual battle in a rather physical way. 39 verse 1 of Ezekiel. Therefore thou son of man prophesy against Gog and say thus saith the Lord God behold I am against thee O Gog the chief prince of Meshach and Tubal and I will turn thee back and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel, and I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand. Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee. I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. So verse 4 says that Antichrist and all his bands shall be defeated upon the mountains of Israel. Who shall defeat them? God will do this, for it is too difficult a job to leave to mankind. Only God can take on Satan, and God promised that the birds will feed on them. Please drop down to verse 17, Ezekiel 39, verse 17. and thou son of man, thus saith the Lord God. Speak unto every feathered fowl and to every beast of the field. Assemble yourselves and come. Gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you. Even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel that ye may eat flesh and drink blood. Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan. And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you. Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord God. and I will set my glory among the heathen. And all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed and my hand that I have laid upon them. So the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day and forward." This is the last battle of Antichrist and his armies against the Lord Jesus Christ and his armies. And again, the human beings are the ones who are defeated and killed and the demons are invited to feast on them. Now watch the words of verses 21 and 22. What does God mean when he said, I will set my glory among the heathen? Does it not mean that he will also save a remnant from the Gentile nations? And what does God mean when he said, so the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God? In other words, it is in this way, so, in this way, by saving a remnant from the heathen, that the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God. For it is in this way that the fullness of all Israel shall come in. Now this last battle of Christ against Antichrist is also portrayed in Revelation 19. Please turn in your Bibles to the Revelation of Jesus Christ, chapter 19, verse 11. Revelation 19 verse 11. Again we read about a very physical battle that's fought here on earth. But remember that this is again a picture of the last battle which is a spiritual battle. And we know that all these last battles in the Bible must be harmonized with the spiritual battles we find in Matthew 24 and in Luke 17 and in Luke 21. Externally the world appears to be at peace but within the church a battle is raging. And it will seem as if Satan has won this battle. So let's read in Revelation 19 verses 11 through 21. Revelation 19 and 11. And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse. And he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True. and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns, and he had a name written that no man knew but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. and out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations. And he shall rule them with a rod of iron, and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. And I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God, that ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sat on them, and the flesh of all men, both free in bond, both small and great.' And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse and against his army. And the beast was taken. and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and then that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire, burning with brimstone, and the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth. And all the fowls were filled with their flesh. But what are we seeing here? Christ is coming out of heaven, riding on a white horse. Are there horses in heaven? Of course not. For flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, as we know from 1 Corinthians 15 verse 50. This is the surest indication that we must interpret this passage spiritually. Moreover, Christ is not riding on a horse. with a sharp two-edged sword proceeding out of his mouth, and at the same time betreading the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. Surely we know that we must understand this passage spiritually. Therefore, this is a picture of the last battle here on earth. And Christ is going to win this battle, for He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And now all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven are invited to feast on the dead bodies of Antichrist and all his enemies, all of his armies, which are actually all the unsaved on this earth. And then we read in verse 21, and the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which means that those who were not leaders of the rebellious movement against Christ were slain by Christ. by using the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, to judge them, as he has promised in John 12, verse 48. And then we read in verse 21, these ominous words, and all the fowls were filled with their flesh. Throughout the New Testament, always the fowls are representing the devil and his demons. And so it's very clear that God is inviting the demons to be the executioners of the penalties that the unsaved must pay during their stay in hell for an eternity. There are several passages in this prophecy of revelation that picture the last battle. But one that causes much confusion among the true believers is the battle of Armageddon. Let's be clear that this is also picturing the last battle. And thus it must harmonize with Matthew 24, 28, And with Luke 17 verse 37. So please turn a few pages back to Revelation 16 verse 12. Revelation 16 verse 12. Many people regard Revelation 16 as a description of hell since it comes after the blowing of the seventh trumpet. But just like the seventh seal is expanded into seven trumpets so that the seventh trumpet is expanded into the seven vials of wrath and thus only after the seventh vial of wrath of God is poured out is the blowing of the seventh trumpet completed. You run through again. December is the last month of the year. The week of Christmas is the last, if you want to call it that, is the last week of the year. But December 31st at midnight is the last hour of the year. The end of the year doesn't come in December. Well, it does, but not till the very end. So also, when we get to the seventh trumpet, then you've got the seal, and then the trummet, and then the vials. So it's all continuous. So think of it that way. Not trumpet, therefore it's the end. It's got to have that last vial opened. So let's consider the pouring out of the sixth vial of wrath. not the seventh, this is the sixth. For this should coincide with the final tribulation period and with the last battle between Christ and Satan. So when the seventh happens, it's Christ's return. We read in Revelation 16 verse 12 through 16. And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates and the water thereof was dried up that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits, like frogs, come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophets. Prophet, for they are the spirits of devils, working miracles which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame. And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue, Armageddon. What's the symbolism here? The river Euphrates supplied water to the city of Babylon. By drying up that river, God tells us two things. Number one, the water of the gospel was dried up. So that in the church, pictured as Babylon in Revelation 17 and 18, the gospel was totally taken away. And the second meaning, the way old Babylon was conquered historically, was by diverting the riverbed of the Euphrates River. So all the water flowed a different direction. Then the Medes and the Persians walked through the dry riverbed into Babylon. And so, when the sixth vial was poured, it spelled the end for modern-day Babylon, the apostate church. But Satan does not give up that easily. That's why the spirits of the infernal trio went forth through the whole world together, almost all the world together, into the battle of that great day of Lord Almighty. That last battle. The only ones who could not be gathered with them were the elect, who were saved by grace, for God shall prevent them from joining hands with all those who are deceived by the beast and by the false prophet. And he gathered them together in a place called Armageddon, which actually means the Mount of Megiddo, referring to the place where Sisera and his armies were defeated by the children of Israel. Please turn in your Bibles to the prophecy of Judges. Judges 5, verse 19. Judges 5, verse 19. In Judges, chapter 4 and 5, the children of Israel were delivered by Barak and his armies, and Deborah, she was certainly there, which was a picture of the last battle between Christ and Antichrist. So again, the Israelites had sinned, and God had given them into the hands of the captain of hosts called Sisera, the king, the captain of the hosts of another king. The Sisera is the general there. During this battle, the chariots of Sisera were made useless by a mighty rainfall so that the chariots were stuck in the mud. Sisera ended up running away and went to a place of refuge, he thought, but there he met Jael, J-A-E-L. And she said, welcome, come on in, here's some water, here's some milk, have some dinner, lie down, go to sleep, and I'll go get my tent stake and drive that through your head. And then she went back to Barak and Deborah and said, I've killed Sisera for you. So there's your story, okay? And now we get the aftermath of that, and that is Deborah and Barak singing their song of victory of what God has done. Then in chapter 5, Barak and Deborah sang their song of victory. We read in Judges 5, verses 19 through 23, the kings came and fought. Then fought the king of Canaan in Tanakh by the waters of Megiddo. They took no gain of money. They fought from heaven. The stars in their courses fought against Sisera. The river of Kishan swept them away, that ancient river, the river of Kishan. Oh, my soul, thou hast trodden down strength. Then were the horses' hooves broken by the means of the prancings, the prancings of their mighty ones, trying to pull their iron chariots out of the mud. Kershi meiraz, says the angel of the Lord. Kershi bitterly the inhabitants thereof, because they came not to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty. Then we read in Judges 4 verse 16, to go back a little bit, these important words. This is prior to, remember the song of celebration afterwards, but this is the events that are happening in Judges 4. Verse 16, and all the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword, and there was not a man left. This gives us a clue that this battle was a picture of the last battle between Christ and Antichrist. The River Kishon was a tool in God's hand to give the victory to the children of Israel. God speaks of the River Kishon as the waters of Megiddo, And the mountain from which Barak and his army descended was Mount Tabor, also known as Mount Megiddo. By the way, the Hebrew word for Mount is Har. And thus we can see that combining Har with Megiddo, Har-Megiddo, produces the name Armageddon. For in the Greek, the H is dropped. Armageddon, Armageddon. At the Mount of Megiddo, at Armageddon, is where Cicero was defeated by Beric and his army. Likewise, at Armageddon is where Antichrist and his army are defeated by Christ and his army. But we must keep in mind that there is only one last battle, which means that the Battle of Armageddon in Revelation 19 is the same battle which will be fought in Revelation 19, which we have seen already. is a spiritual battle, which is the same spiritual battle between Christ and Antichrist that is called the final tribulation period. An interesting note is this, the Hebrew word har, H-A-R, occurs 546 times in the Old Testament. In all 546 times, the Septuagint translates this word as Armageddon, instead of just har. Today, the logic behind this translation is clearer from the New Testament perspective. Har, the mountain of God, is indeed Armageddon, which is the place where the saints rally behind the banner of Christ to fight against all those who have chosen to be on the side of Antichrist. Did they choose to be on that side? Yes, indeed, all men sin voluntarily. Even unsaved man sins voluntarily and it is for this reason that God can justly cast them into hell. How many times have you testified of the scriptures explicitly? And people who call themselves Christians have either ignored it or twisted it. How many times have you heard, that's just your interpretation. The fact is that many are ignoring God or are ignoring what God said because they have no fear of God. And where there is no fear of God, there's no conscience. That is why they can reject and even deny God's words. So when they hear the testimony of the word of God, they ignore it or change it or pretend it's not there. This is why we say they choose to be on the side of Antichrist. But let us now consider the last battle within. The last battle within. Consider the last verse that we read in Judges 5 verse 23. Judges 5 verse 23. Curse ye Merez, said the angel of the Lord. Curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof, because they came not to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty. Did you notice who said this? It was the angel of the Lord. It was the Lord Jesus Christ who said this. Curse ye Merez. It's immaterial where Merez was and how large a city that was and for what reason they wanted to stay neutral. The principle that God laid down is this. What have we done to assist in the fight against the deception from Antichrist? Please turn to the Gospel according to Matthew. Matthew 12, verse 29. Matthew 12 verse 29, What have we done for the furtherance of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, so that God will be glorified? The Lord will take it as a serious offense if we remain on the sidelines and refuse to be involved. The sweet, compassionate, loving Lord Jesus Christ says here, Curse ye Merez. Does Christ need our assistance? No. He does not, but we need it. We need it to show our love and affection for our Redeemer, our Savior, who is willing to spend the equivalent of an eternity in hell for us, because we liked our sins so much. And within ourselves, the battle within, within ourselves, we need to come to terms with whose servants we are. This is our last battle within, for we must be ready to come into His presence tomorrow. The Lord Jesus was speaking about the cross when he said in Matthew 12, verses 29 and 30, or else, the cross, how can one enter into a strong man's house and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? And then he will spoil his house. In an ominous verse, he that is not with me is against me. And he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad. The Lord was speaking about Him binding the strong man, Satan, when Christ was crucified and died in our place. He spoke about spoiling Satan's goods, Himself doing that. How? Well, He was talking about us. We were those goods. About taking us out of the kingdom of Satan, past the gates of hell, which shall not prevail against us, and into the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. where we will be immediately drafted into his army. For there is a continual war going on between the kingdom of Christ and the kingdom of Satan. And how is the Lord continually spoiling the house of Satan? He said in Matthew 12 verse 30, he that is not with me is against me. And he that gathereth not with me scattereth. Words that are similar to his early statement in Judges 5, verse 23, kurshi merez, kurshi bitterly the inhabitants thereof, because they came not out to the help of the Lord. Let us remember this last battle and who we are fighting with. Who we are fighting with, as well as who we are fighting against. Let's turn to the Lord in prayer. Father in heaven, we thank you for your word. Lord, we thank you for the complexity of it and yet the clarity when we compare scripture with scripture and see how the various portions of the Bible come together and support each other. Lord, we pray that that battle within as we each day have a chance to witness for you to battle on your side against the forces of Satan, which is all those who are not elect. Lord, we don't know those. We need to continually witness and bring out the truth of your word and pray that your will will be done in the lives of those that we have a chance to speak to. Lord, we thank you again for this opportunity to join together to study your word and we pray that it will go forth powerfully. We pray this all in Jesus' name, Amen.