Revelation chapter 5 and we're about to get out of heaven here and get into the tribulation. Now Revelation 5, Luke verse 13, I told you I wanted to hit on this for a few minutes. Revelation, we're up in heaven and Jesus Christ has been given the books and He's the only one worthy to unseal the thing and now everyone's glorifying and praising God. That's a good picture of heaven and a good picture of what you and I are going to do one day. And then verse 13 says, And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb forever and ever." Now, this isn't a Disney movie, but it does say every creature. You ever notice how the world just gets right up next to the Lord and doesn't quite come all the way? Like they get real close. There was a movie in the 90s where they took a lion cub and they raised it up like this, and all the animals bowed to him. You guys see that? That wicked movie? I'm just kidding. Yeah, you see how close that is? They got the Lion King, right? And the Lion of the tribe of Judah. And here you got all the animals. That's what it says. It says every creature. Now I don't know about you, I try to take that Bible literally as often as possible. Now you say, well, the Bible talks about your new creature in Christ. I get that. That's the Lord calling you a creature. He's just lining you up with an animal, and you're a new creature. That's okay. All the new versions, by the way, they change that to creation. That's a real feminine thing. They don't want you to, well, I don't want to be a creature. You're a creature. And you're, because you have a creator. But it says there it's all of them, every creature. And it's talking about the ones in the ocean as well. I've seen some of those things. See that thing with the nasty little thing out front and the big old teeth at the bottom and he's going to open his mouth and he's going to praise God. You say literally? Yeah, I think so. I think it really means that thing and not only that, I think it's more than that. I think all creation gets a voice. Look at Romans chapter 8, let's look at some scripture. Now, you get back to Genesis chapter 3 and you got a curse that shows up. And it's sin. And that sin, man, it corrupts everything. It literally, it's connected to the dirt. Think about all the things that grow wrong now. You got things like thorns that come up and thistles. That wasn't in the original creation. There was no time there where Adam had to lean down before the curse and pick a rose and worry about a thorn. He could just pick a rose and give it to Eve. There was nothing wrong with it. And they weren't eating meat. I know that's sad. I don't know if there'll be any barbecues in heaven because there's no death, so you can't kill anything. But maybe the Lord makes something that tastes like it, you know what I mean? But there's no bloodshed. And you think about it, it wasn't until after the flood that those animals had that fear of man. You know that verse? Was it Revelation 8 or Revelation 9? Or, I mean, Genesis 8 or Genesis 9 where it says that they're going to fear you? That they're going to have terror when they see man? That's how those animals are. That's why that bear doesn't hunt you down and they easily could. They just come and just eat you up and it goes, oh man, there's a man. I don't want anything to do with him. There was a time where they weren't eating each other. You know what that means? There was a time where a tick wasn't a tick. That's a crazy thought. Thank God. So you guys from Colorado are like, what's a tick? Go to Tennessee, man. You ever see a seed tick? I remember as a kid, I'd go out there with shorts on. That big mistake, man. And I'd go out there in the woods, and I'd pass by a bush, and I had like a sixth sense for those ticks, and I'd go. And I remember looking down, and there was a patch about that big. It was black, maybe that big. I might be exaggerating a little. I'm trying not to exaggerate too much. about that big and that thing goes and spreads. It was seed ticks. Those things are itty-bitty and I sprinted back to the house and jumped in the tub and I started spraying them off and only about 50 of them had bit me, thank the Lord. Remember having to pick them off me? I'd take my shirt off and mom would just sit there and just pick those little suckers off me. There was a time where a tick didn't even drink blood. It ate a fruit or something. That's a crazy thought, that's real. There was a time where it wasn't corrupted. Look at Romans 8, 18. For I reckon that the suffering of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God." Now you and I, we're the creature, and we're waiting for the new body. That's the manifestation of the sons of God there. "...For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. Now watch, verse 22. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. Now you could pick that verse apart, but that word together always stands out to me. If you're watching any of these nature documentaries, I get a real kick out of some of that stuff. Watching some animal get hunted down by another animal and it's just screaming there, dying. The whole creation is just groaning. And you think the lion has a good life? You ever seen how most of those lions die? They don't die, they die just about as bad as they give it out. Because they get old and the young lions come and they start, from another tribe will come in and they'll kill them. And what they do is they surround that lion, you and I are thinking the same documentary man, it's hard to watch. And they'll sit there and three or four of those male, those younger male lions will surround that old lion and they'll come after the legs and then pretty soon one of them will get ahold of that back spine and that thing is trying to get back to him screaming and he'll go. Just pop that backbone like that, break that back. And that thing, the legs will kick out like this, the bottom legs. And then it's sitting there like this, trying to stay. And then they'll just wait for him to just die, wait for him to go hungry, sneaking in, trying to get. That's the whole creation. It didn't used to be that way. That's why the millennium looks so beautiful. Those verses in Isaiah, man, that big ol' lion comes up and you can just pet that mane and it's not even a second thought. That's how the thing was set up. Sin corrupts, and it corrupts anything it touches, anything it's even close to. But one of these days, the whole thing gets cleaned up. That whole thing is just, it's grown and it's travailing. It's waiting for its creator to come back and set it straight. Look at Psalms 148. Now, man thinks they're going to fix it up, get the United Nations, and as long as we have peace and acceptance and tolerance and all that baloney, and we can fix it. No, no, no. It's much deeper than any of that surface stuff. It's down in the heart of a man. That's where the problem really is. It's way down deep in the heart. And the Lord's got to clean that thing up, and He's going to have to come back to get everything all straightened out. Psalms 148.7. Praise the Lord from the earth, ye dragons in all deeps. I know the devil's a dragon, but it could just be talking about some of those crocodiles and talking about those things down in the deep waters. Look at verse 8. Fire and hail. Now this is talking about praising the Lord. Fire and hail, snow and vapor, stormy wind, fulfilling His word. Okay, so when a big storm comes in, it's not just a weather pattern. You think about that for a little while. That hurricane comes through and Katrina comes and tears up New Orleans. I don't know of a city that needed a bath more than New Orleans. And the Lord comes through. His Word's doing that. The old verse that comes to mind is, the curse causeless shall not come. I'm sure Brother Tyler and Brother Isaac remember Brother Donovan quoting that verse. Down there, they used to be able to street preach on Pensacola Beach. And they'd go down there and street preach and getting beer cans and beer bottles thrown at them. And the cops came and sided with the drunks on the beach and not with the street preachers and got them kicked off the beach. Well, the next hurricane that came through came in and buried Pensacola Beach. buried the McDonald's and buried all the things. You know why? The curse causeless shall not come. I'm just, I am going to definitely run out of time here because I'm just talking here. Look at verse 9. Now it's talking about, watch it, praise the Lord from the earth, ye dragons in all deeps. That's verse 7. Verse 9, mountains and hills, fruitful trees and all cedars. They're supposed to be praising the Lord. Okay. Beasts and all cattle, creeping things and flying fowl. Well, how are they praising the Lord? Well, over there, over there and where we're reading in Revelation 5, it's from their own mouths, they're praising Him. It's almost like the Lord loosens a tongue or something. And they're literally, they're praising Him with their mouths. It's interesting to look at that thing. Beasts, that's the lion. Cattle, there's the domesticated animals. Creeping things, what's that? Well, fowls of the air you can see, and then men are mentioned earlier in the passage. Oh, and the next verse is kings of the earth. You know how we've talked about those cherubims and how they have four faces and all four, but the only thing that's not represented is the serpents and the reptiles. That's what Satan is. Yeah, but you've got dragons there and creeping things. So even when the Lord finally comes back, he starts getting the praise he deserves. Now we don't have to turn there, but in Genesis chapter 3, the way that Moses writes that thing down is it's a serpent that's coming up and talking to her. Now there's plenty of room for that thing, and I'm not saying that this is wrong. I could probably teach it different another time. Obviously it looks like Moses is riding serpent because it's the devil, but then over there in, what is it, 1 Corinthians 11 or 2 Corinthians 11, maybe 2 Corinthians 11, where it talks about Satan transforms into an angel of light. So it could just be that Eve literally looked up and it wasn't just some snakes slithering up there like all the coloring books have, but it was literally an angel of light and Moses goes, I know who that angel of light is. It's the serpent. See that? It could have gone just like that. But it also could have been a serpent because it says a serpent talked to her. And it says it was more subtle than any beast of the field. And it says that it's cursed and it doesn't have legs anymore. So it could have just been a serpent. He transforms and looks like a serpent. And the only reason I'm making all that emphasis is a serpent comes up and talks to a woman and she doesn't go, quick, kill it with a garden hoe. Right? What is that? Well, it might be that the animals were talking. that there wasn't a curse on them, that the curse didn't shut them up. You see what I'm saying? Or the curse does shut them up, excuse me. Look at Numbers chapter 22 and you'll look at a very famous story in the Bible. Numbers 22 and verse 21. You got Balaam and his ass here. Numbers 22, 21. And Balaam rose up in the morning and saddled his ass and went with the princes of Moab." Now, I don't know if I need to say this, but that's not a curse word if you're not saying it like a curse word. All right? The world is taking stuff and they mess it all up. I still, some of you, I don't say it from the pulpit because I try not to. Every once in a while it does come out, I'll say, that guy's a jackass. I say that in normal talk and some of you still go, That's a Bible word. I'm saying the guy's a donkey. I'm not saying, I'm not cussing. All right, I don't know, anyway, 22. And God's anger was kindled because he went and the angel of the Lord stood in the way for an adversary against him. Now he was riding upon his ass and his two servants were with him and the ass saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way. Sometimes a jackass has better spiritual vision than men do. And the ass turned aside out of the way and went into the field, and Balaam smote the ass to turn her into the way. But the angel Lord stood in a path of the vineyards, a wall being on this side and a wall on that side. And when the ass saw the angel Lord, she thrust herself under the wall and crushed Balaam's foot against the wall. It's a very funny sight if you're picturing the thing. And he smote her again, and the angel Lord went further and stood in a narrow place where was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left. And when the ass saw the angel of the Lord, she fell down under Balaam, and Balaam's anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with a staff, and the Lord opened the mouth of the ass." So who's to say he couldn't do it for all the animals? Who's to say that he couldn't open up their tongues later, and they all can just say, worthy is the Lamb? See that thing? He opens the, I can't, I gotta read the rest or it's too good. And yeah, verse 28, And the Lord opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee that thou hast smitten me these three times? And Balaam said unto the ass, Because thou hast mocked me, I would there were a sword in mine hand, for now would I kill thee. It is a little weird. I always think it's weird how comfortable he is to just be like, well, because. Maybe he was used to talking to jackasses. I don't know. And Balaam, and verse 30 is one of my favorite verses in the whole Bible, and some of you know why, but we'll get in a minute. Verse 29. And Balaam said unto the ass, Because thou hast mocked me, I would there were a sword in mine hand, for now would I kill thee. And the ass said unto Balaam, Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this day? Was I ever wont to do so unto thee? And he said, Nay. Now if that isn't just revelation in a King James Bible, man, I don't know. That's funny, man. Alright, now turn to Isaiah 55. Now who's to say the Lord doesn't have, who's to say they weren't talking like that before? I don't know. Looks like though when He comes back, that right there you just saw that jackass, that's a creature there. But the whole rest of it, think about this, think about the whole rest of creation groaning right now. And they can't say anything yet. They're grown and they wish they could. But they can't. The Lord says, shhh. Keep it until later. Watch this. Isaiah 55.8. For my thoughts, the Lord speaking, For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, maketh it bring forth in bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater. So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth. It shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace. It's all right. Led forth with peace. Now watch. The Lord had that little interruption, so you all listen for a second. The mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Now some of you go, well that's not literal. All right, you spiritualize it if you can. I don't know how to. I don't know how to spiritualize it. I think you take it literally. What if the creation's out there waiting? waiting for the Creator, waiting for Him to come back and redeem this place. It's His, and right now there's another guy in charge. The Bible said, the God of this world, talking about the devil, and right now the Lord isn't the God of this world. You guys ever heard that hymn, This is My Father's World? Every time that song comes on, I'm like, I don't know if I should sing this song. My father's not of this world. He had to come down. Now, I don't know, but I wonder what that looks like. Those trees clap their hands. That's a crazy thought. Imagine the Lord walking through one of his forests, and as he goes by, they go. That's a crazy thought, isn't it? I don't know if that's right, but I think so. And the Lord's coming back, and they get excited about it. Look at Psalms 96. Psalms 96.9 Verse 9, O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. Fear before Him all the earth. Say among the heathen that the Lord reigneth. Okay, well, He's not reigning right now, not here. So the passage is all 2nd Advent. It's all His second coming here. Say among the heathen that the Lord reigneth, the world also shall be established that it shall not be moved. He shall judge the people righteously. Let the heavens rejoice and let the earth be glad. Let the sea roar and the fullness thereof. Let the field be joyful and all that is therein. And then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice. before the Lord, for he cometh. For he cometh to judge the earth, he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth." That's a crazy thought man. Next time you're chopping down a tree, sorry buddy. I don't know what that is, but that's what it looks like. It looks like they're talking to them. Isn't it funny all these fantasy movies they make the trees talk? Oh, Wizard of Oz, they got the trees throwing apples and all that stuff. What is that? Isn't it weird how close they get? They get right up to it. All these Disney movies, man, they got all the animals talking. You don't even think about it. You're watching a dog talk to a cat, you don't even think about it. Well, that book says they're going to do it. They're going to talk, but it's all about Him. It's all about giving Him praise and giving Him glory there. I know you have that little kitty cat there and that dog and they treat you like you're the king and all this stuff. No, one day they're going to worship the king. Go back to Revelation 6. All the kids are going to go home and sit down in front of spot and be like, What are you hiding? Revelation 6. Alright, here we go. Revelation 6. Now, we'll just read the first verses here. Revelation 6, verse 1. And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were, the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. Now, in chapter 6, You're about to get into what we call the first account of the tribulation period. Now, I know I've mentioned this before, but it's been a while. We've got some newer folks here, so I want to make sure that everyone kind of gets a glimpse of this thing here. The book of Revelation has four accounts of the tribulation, not one. Now, the vast majority of people that teach on this thing, the vast majority will try to teach from about Revelation 6 to 19 that it's all chronological. Now, I'm about to show you that there's no way it can be, and it's very simple to see it, but what you actually have are four different, between Revelation 4 and Revelation 19, you have four different accounts of the Tribulation. Interesting that it's the exact same with four different Gospels. You've got Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, four different accounts, four different perspectives of the life and the ministry and the death of Christ. Now, here's what you got. All four of those have different stories. Some of them have different stories, different accounts. Oh, this happened this way, but there was a different character you didn't see, all that stuff. But they all end with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Now, what you have is in the book of Revelation, you've got four accounts of the tribulation. Different perspectives, different characters are involved, but they all end the same way. With the Lord Jesus Christ coming back and taking over. And that's, there's just a similarity there. Now what you have, I've got them written down here and we'll look at them real quick. But what you have is, I think that was me. Revelation chapter 6 is the first account. And what's interesting is it's almost an overview of the whole thing. It happens all in one chapter and you'll see by the end Jesus Christ comes back. And then you have in Revelation 7-11 there, that's the trumpet judgments there, first was the seal judgments. Revelation 12-14, you'll have Israel and the Antichrist revealed there and what they're doing and what's going on with them. And then Revelation 15-19 are the vile judgments. And what you'll see is that each of these has a beginning, a middle and an end. A beginning of the tribulation with everything kicking off, Antichrist and the devil and all that they're doing and plagues and all this stuff. and then closing the thing out with Jesus Christ coming back. So let's just quickly look at the first account. We just read the verses there. Verse 2, And I saw, behold, a white horse, and he that sat on him had a bow, and a crown was given unto him, and he went forth conquering to conquer. And that's not Jesus Christ. We'll talk about that later. That's the Antichrist. And then you see the plagues that follow, and the death, and destruction, and all this stuff. And then look at verse 14, And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together. That sounds like a wrap-up to me. And every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens, and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. Verse 17, For the great day of his wrath has come, and who shall be able to stand? It's closing out. How can it be chronological and closing out in 19 if he's coming back in chapter 6? The great day of his wrath has come. Alright, so what you have is that is technically the close out. Chapter 6 is an overview of the whole thing and then let's look at the second account. Look at Revelation 8. You have the sealing of the 144,000 in chapter 7. Chapter 8, verse 2, watch this. And I saw the seven angels which stood before God, and to them were given seven trumpets. Okay, so you've got the seven seals in chapter 6, so those are the seal judgments. The Lord says, these things are going to take place. But then when you get to there, He goes, now watch this, here's the seven trumpets here. So you've got the thing kicking off again, look at Revelation 11. And you'll see the close out. Revelation 11, 15. And the seventh angel sounded. Okay, so we've gone through seven trumpets leading up to this point. Here's the close out of those judgments. And there were great voices in heaven saying, the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ and He shall reign forever and ever. And the next few verses talk about the nations being angry, and the wrath has come, that's in verse 18. Yeah, but I thought the wrath came back in Revelation 6. That's a retelling. Now how can that be chronological? Does His wrath come and then He leaves, and His wrath comes and He leaves, and His wrath comes and He leaves? That doesn't make any sense. It's not chronological there. Let me check the third account here. Yeah, 12.1, and you can just see the Jews mentioned here. 12.1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars, and she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and paying to be delivered." Once we get to this verse here in the study, I'll go to a bunch of verses and show you that the travail is the tribulation starting. And somebody was saying the other day, oh, well, we have these signs. We have signs that the tribulation's about to start. And I said, we're feeling Braxton Hicks. If any of you know what I'm, you mothers know exactly what I'm talking about. Those are false signs that it's coming, but it's a good idea. Hey, by the way, this is up ahead. They're not real labor pains yet. We're not going to feel the labor pains. That's the Jews right there. They're feeling the labor pains. Keep that verse in mind because you'll see it here in a few minutes. I'll get to another verse in the Old Testament there. Okay, so you've got the Jews here. Chapter 13 has a bunch of details about the Antichrist and his rule, the number 666. Then look at 1413. And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die, and the Lord from henceforth. Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors and their works to follow them. And I looked, and behold, a white cloud. And upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. Another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap, for the time is come. for thee to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe." Verse 19, and the angel thrust in a sickle in the earth and gathered the vine of the earth and cast it into the winepress of the what? wrath of God. Okay, so that's the third account of Him coming. And then the final account, the fourth account, is chapter 15, verse 6. You see the seven angels came out of the temple having the seven plagues, verse 7. And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God. And there's seven more things that are going to pour out. And of course, you guys know the verses well, so we won't read them all, but Revelation 19, 11. And I saw heaven open, and behold, a white horse. And he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True. Verse 14, he comes with armies from heaven. He's the king of king. He comes and fights. Look at verse 15. 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. See how they all end exactly the same way? With the lamb, the king, the king of kings, the lion of the tribe of Judah coming with wrath. and fierceness and a sword. So I'm saying all that because some people will just, they just teach that thing straight through and that's not how it's, that's not how it is. There's four different accounts and if you compare those things you'll see that they're all very similar to each other. There's a lot of similarities and you can cross-reference it and all that. Now back in Revelation 6, this is the first account of the Tribulation and it's an overview of the whole thing. And I'd like to make a point here because I don't know, I'm just not sure if everyone's been taught this. I'm going to give you a few minutes of information here on the Tribulation itself. What is it? What's the Tribulation? We say it so often, we cut it down and we just call it the Trib. And that's because we teach on it, we talk about it here and there. But let me just take a few minutes and go over what this Tribulation actually is. The word Tribulation itself... Is it just too close to me? Is that what's going on? It's not me? You sure? I think so. It's the devil. Maybe it's alright. I don't think it takes two of you. I didn't care who turned around, I just didn't think they were going to take it. Alright, Revelation. Yeah, okay, so here, tribulation. What's the word tribulation mean? It comes from a Latin word that means to thrash or to beat. I learned that today. I was like... That makes sense once you get into the Tribulation. You realize that it's a beating that the Jews are going to take. I'll show you that in a minute. Now it can just mean trouble, but the context is the Great Tribulation. The context is the last days and it's time of severe affliction. Now let's look at Deuteronomy chapter 4. And brother if you just got to turn it off and take the sound from out of there that's fine too. We've been testing the thing trying to turn the sound on in there so it's a little louder but I can just be louder if I need to be. Deuteronomy chapter 4 and let me give you Let me give you the first time it shows up. I taught on Sunday just a little bit on the law of first mention. That is the first time that something shows up, the first time you find a word. The Lord normally uses that as a way to define the word for the rest of the time you see it. As a general rule, that sets the tone and the meaning of the word. So Deuteronomy 4, and you're going to see the word in verse 30, but let's build the context by going back to 25. Thanks, Matt. Verse 25, When thou shalt beget children, and children's children, and ye shall have remained long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image, or the likeness of anything, and shall do evil in the sight of the Lord thy God, to provoke them to anger, I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land, whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it. Ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed, now watch, and the Lord shall scatter you among the nations. Does that ring a bell for anybody? Over there in James, he says to the 12 tribes, scattered abroad. And they're getting different information than we get. Talking to a bunch of Jews that have been scattered. You guys know exactly. That's history. They've been scattered abroad. And the Lord shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the Lord shall lead you. And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men's hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. when thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice, for the Lord thy God is a merciful God, he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers, which he sware unto them. The first time tribulation shows up, it's directly in connection to the last days and the Jews. See, you and I don't have to worry about it. I'm not a Jew. I'm not a Gentile either. I'm of the Church of God, the Bible says. Anybody in here, my wife's Jewish. No, she isn't. Maybe by flesh, but according to the soul, which is obviously more important, she's of the Church of God. Now, that's tribulation. Look at Daniel 12.1. Daniel 12 verse 1 and if you know your Bible Daniel chapter 11 had a bunch of prophecies about the end times and specifically about the Antichrist and then chapter 12 verse 1 says this, and at that time shall Michael stand up the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people and there shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time. Never a time of trouble like that? Well, you can cross-reference that with Matthew 24-21 and there it says there's never been a tribulation like this. We'll look at that verse here in just a minute. Now here's the kicker. Look at Jeremiah 30 and this is one of the most important verses on the topic. Jeremiah 30. By the way, Daniel means God is my judge. So you've got all these prophecies about the end time when the tribulation is God's judgment on Israel. Jeremiah 30 and let's just read a couple verses here for context. Verse 1. the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord God of Israel, saying, Write thee all the words that I have spoken unto thee in a book. For, lo, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel, and Judah, saith the Lord, and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to the Palestinians." No. See, it's all about the covenant with the fathers. God is not a man that He should lie. He keeps his promises. I gave their fathers and they shall possess it. And these are the words that the Lord spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah. For thus saith the Lord, we have heard a voice of trembling and fear and not of peace. Ask ye now and see whether a man doth travail with child. See the cross reference there? See that thing? That it's referencing this time of the tribulation start. They start feeling like, you know what? That's the whole thing of the reason that picture is so perfect is a woman says, OK, I know it's coming. I know it's close. And all of a sudden, it's like, I'm in labor right now. And they can catch you. And that's what's going to happen. They're going to be going along, and they're going, oh, I feel some Braxton Hicks, and all of a sudden, bam. It's going to catch them off guard. Wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness? Alas, for that day is great, so that none is like it. Just like we read over in Daniel 12. It is even the time of Jacob's trouble, but he shall be saved out of it. Now what an interesting thing and what a good thing for the Lord to just stick it into two verses there. It's the time of Jacob's trouble, so the church is not going through the tribulation, but they shall be saved out of it, so the Lord hasn't replaced Israel. You see all the jokers that teach the church is going through the tribulation also teach that the church has replaced Israel. Replacement theology. So the Lord just kicks it all out in one verse. You're not going through it and the ones going through it are going to be saved from it. They're not replaced. Let's look at Matthew 24. This will be by no means an in-depth view of this passage. I've actually been looking forward to when Brother Matt gets here because I'm sure he'll be able to dig in it and wring it out and find some good material here. But Matthew 24 verse 15. We were just reading about Daniel. Look at verse 15 there. When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place. That's an Antichrist. standing as God, saying that He is God. Whoso readeth, let him understand. Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains. Well, how does that apply to anybody in Divide, Colorado? Or anywhere in America? Or any Christian in Africa? Or South America? Or China? It's got to be that it's written to Jewish disciples. There's a bunch of witnesses over there that get saved and receive the Lord and accept Him finally as their Messiah and they're about to look up and see an Antichrist and go, you're not the real thing. So what's his message for them? Let the Him which be in Judea flee into the mountains. Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house, neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, another good cross reference there, and to them that give suck in those days. But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day. Now, here's what you call a little revelation from a King James Bible there. Now, that word is flight. Now, we think about that word flight and we say, oh, well, it means like fleeing. Yeah. It has another meaning right now, doesn't it? If I said I had a flight tomorrow, you'd say, are you running from somebody? You'd go, oh, you're going to get on a plane and fly. Did you know it's illegal for those Jews to fly on the Sabbath day right now? They're not allowed to get on a flight. Isn't that interesting? See how that doesn't apply to you at all, but it could apply to them potentially. He says, "...not to have flight in those days, not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day. For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no nor ever shall be." That's the tribulation. So if you ever hear me preaching and I'll say it's way worse than the Holocaust, that is not an exaggeration because the Bible itself, that's three different times I've shown you. Daniel 12.1, Jeremiah 30.7 and Matthew 24.21 where they all say, there's never been a time as bad as this and it's going to be awful. It's worse than the Holocaust, I mean obviously from the passage. Now what you have is the majority of Old Testament prophecy, the majority, It's not about the first coming of Christ. The majority is not about the Jesus dying for your sins and all that. It's in there. There's a handful of them and they're good, but the majority of Old Testament prophecy is either about this time of trouble here or about the Lord coming back and saving them from that trouble. That's the majority of the Old Testament is about the day of the Lord and it can encompass both those things. Now the account of the tribulation in Revelation 6, it shows the seal judgments and like I've said it's a summary of the... blankety blank, I'm trying to keep the... I got so many pages left here. I'm not going to make you all endure to the end and all that but I'll give you a summary here. Let me just give it to you in a summary. This passage here is going to give you an overview of what takes place during that time of tribulation. And that tribulation is never called seven years. It's called three and a half. And I've talked about this here and there, but I want to make sure that this is understood. of why I even teach this, where are you getting that from, it didn't left behind tell us it was seven years and all that stuff. I know most people will teach a seven-year period and that does not come from any place in the book of Revelation. You will not find seven years there one time. Now here's the thing though, the number seven shows up a bunch. And not one time does John go, by the way, it's seven years. Not one time. Think about it. Put yourself in John's shoes. You are up there. You are in Revelation chapter four. He's caught up into heaven and now he's going to look over the tribulation four times. And he sees seven vials, seven plagues, seven trumpets, seven thunders, right? All these sevens, I've given you more than that. Seven, seven, seven, seven, seven. Not one time Lord goes, by the way, it's seven years. Not one time? Now he's not hiding it from you because he's overviewing the thing four times and his number is three and a half every time. Just look at them real quick. Revelation 11.2. Obviously when we get to these passages I'll give it more time than just a quick flyby. But 7 is the dominant number. in Revelation, except when it comes to years. 7 kings, 7 spirits, 7, 7, 7, but then he doesn't say 7 years. But watch, Revelation 11 verse 2, "...but the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not. For it is given unto the Gentiles, and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months." If you do the math, that's three and a half years. Verse 3, And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and three score days, clothed in sackcloth. Now I know some people have done this, they say, well then that's three and a half, and then three and a half, and that's not what's happening. If you study the passage, and we'll study other places, it's never splitting the thing in half, it's just saying, hey, this was going on for three and a half years, and while that three and a half years thing was going on, these guys were doing this for three and a half years. I'll show it to you, watch. Look at Revelation 12.6. 1,203 score days is three and a half years, by the way. Look at 12.6. Watch, "...and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days." Three and a half years. Now look at verse 14. Watch it all sound exactly the same. "...And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished, for a time one and times that's two and half a time three-and-a-half years and for those taking notes thirteen fives another one you can throw down but that's just three-and-a-half like I said I've told you this there's no reason to split over this thing it's no reason it's not a big doctrinal issue or anything like that I just don't I can't teach seven with a clear conscience I don't see it I have put some time into it and studied it out alright back to Revelation 6 look at verse 2 I'm definitely not going to be able to get to all this tonight, but that's alright. I'm not going to rush it. Revelation 6-2, And I saw, and behold, a white horse, and he that sat on him had a bow, and a crown was given unto him, and he went forth conquering the conqueror. It's a white horse. It's got to be Jesus Christ. No, it's not. That's what people say though. It is not Jesus Christ. This is before the Tribulation. He comes after. Now what you got to do is carefully compare the two writers. Now keep one hand in Revelation 6 and grab Revelation 19. It's not the same guy. And what happens is, if somebody misses that right there, they foul up all their doctrine. I'm going to read some stuff here in a minute and show it to you. Let's just look at the verses first. What I'd like to show you is that the writer over there that's starting out in the Tribulation, Revelation 6, is a counterfeit. He's got to be a perfect counterfeit. He's got to line up just about right. He tricked somebody in the case they looked real closely. Revelation 19, verse 11. I saw heaven open, and behold, a white horse. He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness doth he judge and make war." Now this is Jesus Christ here, and He comes out of heaven, and the other fellow doesn't. That's the first one. Number two, verse 12. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns. The counterfeit back in chapter 6 has one crown. Jesus Christ has many crowns. Verse 15. Out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword. The other guy has a bow and no arrows. and he has a sword. And then verse 14 it says, "...and the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses." Jesus is followed by armies in heaven and in chapter 6 the counterfeit writer is followed by death and hell. Couldn't be more different. Okay, now what you have back in chapter 6 is what we call a satanic counterfeit. And it turns out it's the Antichrist himself. And I'm going to show you that here in a bit. Maybe even next week if we run out of time. But what I found, and I checked them, most of the commentaries say that it's Jesus Christ. from the Roman Catholic commentaries clear over to the Southern Baptist commentaries and everything in between. Presbyterian and Lutheran, I've checked a bunch of them. And they say that this is the writer is Jesus Christ. Now here's a couple of their quotes. Here's a couple from the commentaries. The first sign joined with the declaration is that because of the sins and horrible rebellion of the world, God will invade the world. And first of all, will suddenly, mightily, and gloriously, as if with arrows of pestilence from a distance, beat down the same as judge and triumph over it as a conqueror." Some of that's true later, but not now. Now think about this. Jesus Christ is the one that's taking the seal and opening it. He's not the one that's riding. He's literally unsealing the thing. And then a rider goes out, and then the close of the chapter is the Lamb coming down with wrath. Here's another. This is evidently Christ, whether in person or by His angel, preparatory to His coming as appears in Revelation 19. So He comes and prepares and then there's pestilence and death and hell and He leaves and comes back. You can't find it anywhere else in the Bible. What you can find all through Scripture is that before Revelation 19, an Antichrist shows up. Listen, what I find really interesting when studying the Antichrist is that there's more in the Bible about Jesus Christ than any other man. But did you know there's more about the Antichrist than any other man besides Jesus Christ? That's a wild thing. So he has to show up. Here's another one. A white horse comes forth with a mounted cavalier, wearing a crown and bearing a bow with arrows. He goes forth conquering and to conquer. Here we see the divine ideal of a gospel preacher. He is sanctified, a circuit rider, emblematized by the white horse. Thank God I could read that. Riding on horseback, inhaling the pure atmosphere, is not only a first class gymnasium for muscular development, but a most excellent sanitarium. That's what I said. And I was like, I'm reading this to everybody because it's ridiculous. OK, anyway. Here's a good one. The Lord Jesus appears riding on a white horse. Now watch how nice this sounds. White horses are generally refused in war because they make the rider a mark for the enemy. But our Lord Redeemer was sure of the victory and a glorious triumph, and He rides on the white horse of a pure but despised gospel. See how they're trying to line it up with the gospel? I read a few accounts, I didn't keep them down for time's sake, but where they say that the white horse is the apostles bringing in the gospel. So they're trying to spread the thing out over 2,000 years instead of putting it past the rapture of the church the way it's set up. That book of Revelation is set up pre-millennially, where we go out before the thing kicks off, and they're trying to spread the thing out, where the world is just supposed to be getting better and better and better and better. That's what the Roman Catholics teach. That's what the Southern Baptists teach. That's what the Pentecostals teach. I've talked to them, where they'll sit there and say, hey, the thing is going to just keep getting better. We're just bringing in the kingdom until the Lord comes back. And no, we're not. The thing crashes and burns. He had a bow in his hand. The convictions impressed by the word of God are sharp arrows. No, someone else has got some sharp arrows, but those are fiery darts of the wicked. So this is not the Lord Jesus Christ. He's an antichrist. He's a fraud. He's a trickster. And the fact that they miss it shows how tricky it is. You see that? I probably would never have found it if it was just me on my own with a Bible. Some much wiser men than me picked up a book and studied it, and I've been able to follow in their footsteps. Thank the Lord. But Jesus Christ is holding the book, and He's revealing these guys. So the rider here has a bow, no arrows are mentioned. Do you know why? Because the Bible says he comes in peaceably. So I've got the strength of a bow, but I'm not going to use any arrows on you. He comes in peaceably. Back in Daniel that's what he says, I'll look at those in a minute, but what you have here is a brilliant and an irresistible conqueror. He has to be. Absalom. We'll look at some verses about him probably next week. Absalom is one of the greatest pictures and types of the Antichrist in the whole Bible. Remember how Absalom goes in there and he takes over the kingdom with kisses? Not a drop of blood dropped. Doesn't have to. He comes in peaceably. Oh, that you guys would just bring this stuff to me. And he conquers with peace. Look at Daniel 8. Daniel 8.23. Daniel 8.23, and in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance and understanding, dark sentences shall stand up, and his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power." Well you learn that in 2 Thessalonians 2. It's not his own power, it's the devil's power. and shall prosper, and practice, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. So he's going after the Jews that turned back to Christ. And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand, and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many. He shall also stand up against the prince of princes, but he shall be broken without hand. I wonder where his hand went. Alright, now I'm getting easy now. Daniel 11, look at Daniel 11. Another thing about the Antichrist here, verse 21. Daniel 11, 21. And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, talking about the Antichrist, to whom they shall not give the honor of the kingdom, but he shall come in peaceably. He doesn't need any arrows. That's Kentucky. Arrows. Not arrows. Arrows. And obtain the kingdom by flatteries. Look at verse 24. And he shall enter peaceably. even upon the fattest places of the province, and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, or his father's fathers, he shall scatter among them the prey and spoil and riches, yea, and he shall forecast his devices against the strongholds even for a time." Now this is an old Dr. Ruckman thing so I can't take credit for this but I do like it I think it's good. That guy's got a bow with no arrows so what does that look like? It's just like that. That's how you pull that thing back with the fingers like that. And isn't this what they're always doing about peace? Peace, peace, but there is no peace. That or you got the Roman Catholic Church and others, Church of Scotland would do the same thing. They go like that. What is that Father, Son, Holy Spirit they're saying? They got their hands up. What is that thing? Isn't that weird? Isn't there something subconscious to that thing? I think so. I think they don't even realize what they're doing. They're making a gesture. It's funny, I do that to some of you when I leave. I say, peace out. I'm making a joke. What do you want me to do, war? I don't know what you want from me, alright? I will, I'll change it. But isn't that interesting? There's something to that thing. Now, what you can learn from Revelation 6 is that the white horse rider He comes in looking like Jesus Christ. He doesn't come in looking like death and hell. And that should teach you something about the devil. I'm almost done. I'm gonna go a few minutes over if that's okay. Just bear with me. Everybody just take a big old sip of coffee and give me a minute. I rarely go over. But I want you to just take this in and think about this for a minute. I thought about putting this off till next week, but here's the deal. The devil rarely comes in as some bullhorn devil demonic being. He comes in just as close to the real thing as possible. You see, if he wanted to trick Bible believers, he'd put on a suit and tie. He might even stick a King James Bible under his arm. And he could trick you. And they do. I'm thinking of some people I'm not going to say. You don't know them. It's not from here. But the key is that he looks almost identical. I got a white horse. I got a crown I'm conquering. That's how the devil works. That's how he'll deceive you. Now here's a couple things to think about. Jesus has a city who is a bride, Revelation 21. So Satan has a city who is a bride, Revelation 17. Which is right up next to him. Jesus says, I'm the light of the world. Satan calls himself an angel of light in 2 Corinthians. Jesus Christ is called the King of Kings. Satan is a king over all the children of pride. Jesus is called the Prince of Peace, Satan is called the Prince of this world, John 14. Jesus Christ is called my Lord and my God, Satan is called the God of this world. Jesus Christ said it is written, so Satan quotes scripture right back to him and says it is written. Just as close to the real thing without being the real thing. Now, in plainer words, as Dr. Rupp would say, the most perfect imitator of the Lord Jesus Christ is Satan himself. And that's why it's so dangerous. I've said this before, the most dangerous lie is not the big lie, it's the little one that gets away. The little one that you don't catch. And that's why you've got to be careful with the counterfeit Bibles. It says Holy Bible on it. It's got a black cover. Yeah, it's sneaky though, isn't it? just slips right through the cracks. Now let me show you a couple things and I'll be done. Look at Job chapter 41. I mentioned this on Sunday and I'd like to show you the verses so you have them. Job chapter 41. It's just before Psalms. Now this whole chapter is about the devil himself, Leviathan. Job 41, look at verse 12. God is speaking. I will not conceal His parts nor His power nor His comely proportion. That's God promising not to conceal them, not to hide them. Now what I found in my own, this is just my own studies on this thing, I've just been looking into it a little bit, is that the new versions, they hide, they misplace, they take away the cross references. Do you see Satan and the Antichrist being a counterfeit to Jesus Christ and God? I learned this at Bible school. The Lord showed me maybe a year or two ago. I started digging into this thing. But in a strange turn of events, a lot of the new versions will take out these cross-references. I just went to all those places. He's this and he's this. He's this and he's this. He's a lion in the tribe of Judah. He's the roaring lion. Right? All those things going back and forth. So I started checking the new versions, and they take it out. Let's turn to a few places, maybe three places, and I'll be done. Well, it's six places, but two at a time. So Isaiah chapter 9 and Ephesians chapter 2. If you just turn fast, I can get done fast, okay? This is on you at this point. Isaiah 9, Ephesians 2. This new Bible, man. I should have brought it out here. Yeah, Ephesians 2. Alright, Isaiah 9 and Ephesians 2. Let's just look at a good counterfeit right here. Isaiah 9, look at verse 6. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. Who's that? Jesus Christ. And the government shall be upon his shoulder, his name shall be called Wonderful, counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Alright, you guys get the cross-reference, you understand it? Ephesians 2 verse 2, where in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the Prince of the power of the air. See the counterfeit? See how Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace, so He shows up as a Prince of the power of the air? Well, unless you have an NIV. Because then it changes it to the ruler of the kingdom of the air. And you take Prince out and you ruin the cross-reference. And someone has concealed him. Here's the NLT, commander of the powers in the unseen world. He's a prince. This is the CSB, Christian Standard Bible, the ruler of the power of the air. Now see what I'm saying? Now you say, well that's a small thing. It's subtle. That's the whole point. If he came in and just ripped the whole verse out, you might catch him, but he doesn't do that. He just changes a little word. Ruler and Prince are close enough, but you can't cross-reference them. You can be a ruler without being a prince. You can be a commander without being a prince. He's a prince. Alright, keep your hands still there in Isaiah 9. See, it's five verses. It's not even... I don't know why I'm apologizing. You guys all seem very cool about this. Isaiah 9, 6 it says, His name shall be called Wonderful and Counselor. Alright, look at Nahum. Did you find it? Oh, you looked it up. You cheated though. I know you did. I'm telling you it's this new Bible dadgummit. I found it. Nahum 1.11. Nahum 1.11. Here's a prophecy about the coming Antichrist. Nahum 1.11. There is one come out of thee, so he's Jewish, that imageth evil against the Lord, a wicked counselor. Alright, so that's his That's what the Lord calls them there. Alright, here's the NIV. From you, Nineveh, has one come forth who plots evil against the Lord and devises wicked plans. He's not a counselor. You lose the cross reference. Here's the Douay Rheims. Out of thee shall come forth one that imagineth evil against the Lord, contriving treachery in his mind. Here's the good news translation from you Nineveh, there came someone full of wicked schemes who plotted against the Lord. Alright, now one more. Look at Matthew 3 and in your other hand grab 2 Thessalonians 2. All I'm trying to convey is that the Lord said I'm not going to hide them. I won't conceal them. So if I find a place that does conceal them, It makes me second-guess the motive behind the spirit of the thing. 2 Thessalonians 2, Matthew 3 and 2 Thessalonians 2. Matthew 3, 17, And lo, a voice from heaven sang, This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Well, then Jesus Christ is the Son of God and in 2 Thessalonians 2 talking about an Antichrist, verse 3 says, Let no man deceive you by any means, for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition. Well, if God has a son, Satan wants a son. So the Antichrist is called the son of perdition, unless you have an NIV. And their NIV says the man doomed to destruction. Just a man, eh? Not a son? The NLT, the one who brings destruction. And you just lose the cross-reference. Now listen to me. Listen. How does a man learn doctrine? comparing spiritual things with spiritual? How the blankety-blank are you going to compare anything if the Word is not there? How do you cross-reference it? It's just concealed. Now you see how careful you've got to be? I'm going to close with this thought. The devil will get you all messed up and he does not have to show up like some big old demon. If he was going to... Listen, I'm not even talking about new versions. I'm talking to you where you sit right now. If he was gonna trick you, a Bible believer, he'd have to look a lot different than that. He might even have to show up and say it is written. He could quote a King James Bible to you. If you would just misapply it or get it out of context, just twist that thing up and you mess yourself all up. And that's why you have to be as wise as a serpent. Because you're fighting the old serpent. And the old serpent is subtle and he knows how to mess you up and just wreck your life, leave you as good as dead. That's how sneaky he is. And you need to pay attention to that thing. You need to look in your own life and say, all right, Lord, where's the chink in my armor? I said that over in Scotland, and chink just means a Chinese person. I said, the chink in my armor. And the guy goes, what? Brother Campbell? I was like, what are you, imagine a little Chinese dude in my armor? What are you talking about, man? I said, you got a weakness in your armor. You know what I'm saying. He laughed at me. You got a weakness there. And the devil doesn't have to show up like a dragon. He wouldn't dare. He wouldn't show up that way. He'd show up as just a nice, kind person and he'd trick you. And he'd sneak a little Bible in and deceive you. So the Lord says you better be circumspect and keeping your eyes all around you because you don't know when he's going to get you. Alright, any questions about that? Yes, sir. Who is the son of perdition? The father of the children of pride or the king of the children of pride? He has pride, oh, a bride. Yeah, who's the bride? The Roman Catholic Church. Mystery Babylon, she's called. Good question. Anybody else? Nahum 111, I think. Anybody else? Thanks for letting me go over.