Let's take a moment and pray together. Father, we're grateful for the opportunity to be together as your people. Thank you for worship, celebrating communion, singing together, praying together. And we ask that your Holy Spirit would now enable me to make your word clear and useful to the hearts of your people. In Jesus' name, amen. I invite you to turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 24. In the Pew Bibles, you'll find that section of scripture on page 911. Every time I think of that, I think to myself, how amazing that 911 would be the page for texts that would refer to end times and the catastrophes that we'll be studying about. I'd like to read for you as an introduction this passage of scripture that runs in Matthew chapter 24 verse 15 to 22 because it sets the context of what I'd like to speak to you this morning about. So here is Jesus, and this is not unfamiliar to you because we have worked on this passage in a previous message, but to again give you a sense of context for where we'll be going this morning, I read this as a background. Jesus said, so when you see the abomination that causes desolation, spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place, let the reader understand. Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains. A man on the housetop must not come down to get things out of his house, and a man in the field must not go back to get his clothes. Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days. Pray that your escape may not be in winter or on Sabbath, for at that time there will be great tribulation, the kind that hasn't taken place from the beginning of the world until now and never will again. Unless those days were limited, no one would survive. But those days will be limited because of the elect. The final seven years leading up to or preceding Jesus' return have traditionally been called the Tribulation Period by students of biblical prophecy. The seven-year time period was revealed to the ancient prophet of the Jews, Daniel, as a matter of fact, by the angel Gabriel, and Gabriel foretold to Daniel the consummation of God's plan for his people Israel, who were the covenant people from early times under the promises made to their father Abraham. And to Daniel, very near to the end of Israel's exile in Babylon after almost 70 years of discipline by God on the nation for their apostasy against his covenant and against his law. Toward the end of that 70 years of exile in Babylon, Daniel was praying, having looked at the prophecies of Jeremiah and realizing that 70 years of exile Coming to a close meant the possibility that his people could be going home to Palestine. And he prayed, and he sought the Lord to understand, and then the angel Gabriel came to Daniel to give Daniel an immense foretelling of what God's plan was for the nation Israel. And I read just one verse from Daniel chapter 9 where we find Gabriel's words recorded by Daniel, as Daniel writes, 70 weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city to bring the rebellion to an end, to put a stop to sin, to wipe away iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy place. And we have seen this in past studies, the amazing promises for Daniel's people, Israel, that were to take place sometime in the future. The designation in this prophecy of a week was, as we have said, shorthand for a period of seven years. And by the end of what Gabriel told Daniel would be a period of 69 periods of seven years, the Messiah was going to come to Israel, the promised Redeemer, foretold all the way from the beginning in the Garden of Eden after the fall of Adam and Eve. But he would come. And this was going to come at a time that was very precisely stated in this prophecy, and it would be a clue to the rabbis that the Messiah was actually going to return, but his return would be in two stages. That was a confusion to them because when Jesus came and then he was arrested, tried, put to death, They thought that he could not be the Messiah, because the Messiah was certainly going to usher in a time of glorious leadership by the nation of Israel over all the rest of the world. This could not be because this one who presented himself as the Messiah was now dead. But of course, we know the end of the story. He rose three days later, and then he was exalted into heaven. And just as the prophecy of Daniel chapter 9 had predicted, after the Messiah, the prince comes, he will then depart and he will have nothing. In other words, he will not have a kingdom, but he actually will have everything because he will have purchased for himself a people by his death and by his resurrection. And I showed you on Palm Sunday in our message then how Daniel's prophecy of the 69 periods of seven years, when calculated according to the Jewish calendar, come out to precisely the day that Jesus introduced himself in his triumphal entry into Jerusalem as Israel's Messiah. How marvelous. And it was that exact day that he came, just leading up to his Passion Week. Now the beginning of the 70th week. Jesus came and was cut off at the end of the 69th, but there is a gap between the 69th and the 70th, length of which we are not told. But the beginning of the 70th week, which would mark the final seven years leading up to the return of Christ as the Messiah, would be identified, according to Daniel chapter 9, by the formation of a treaty between what will then be the world's great political governmental leader and the leadership of Israel. So seeing Israel in current events today elevates for me a sense of very great interest in watching because we do not know when the 70th week will start until we see this treaty consummated between Israel and what will be the world's most powerful governmental leader at that time. The name tribulation comes from Jesus' description of the extraordinary events that are going to begin the day that this peace treaty with Israel between this world leader and Israel is revoked or is abandoned by this world leader who apparently at that time will have full control enough to get rid of its relationship with Israel and still maintain itself. So it will betray Israel. Scripture says, and we'll be seeing this in coming weeks, he will desecrate the temple. He will put an end to the Jewish practices of ritual sacrifice that will take place in that rebuilt temple. Yes, keep your eyes on the horizon of Jerusalem. Because a time is going to come in which even though the Arabs have influence on what happens on the Temple Mount, this world leader is going to permit the reconstruction of Israel's sacred sanctuary, the Temple. And it will be amazing, because you know the Islamic hordes will not be happy. But that day that The one who is the world leader at that time, identified in other scriptures as the beast or the antichrist, desecrates the temple. That's when everything breaks loose. There are only three and a half years left before Christ's return at that point. And that's where, as I read in Daniel 9, verse 27, the ruler will make a treaty with the people for a period of one set of sevens, That's the seven years. But after half this time, he will put an end to the sacrifices and offerings, and as a climax to all his terrible deeds, he will set up a sacrilegious object that causes desecration. And that will be the signal. And that's when Jesus says in Matthew 24, any of you believers in Jerusalem? Any of you believers in Israel, run for your lives. And we reviewed that last week. This will be the signal for those believers that the government authorities are coming to get you. And as I said last week, it'll be like the Gestapo sent out by the Nazis to get all of the Jews who have tried to flee from Germany and bring them back to the concentration camps. It will launch the 3.5 years of great tribulation for believers and for everyone living on the earth, because as we will see in future messages, the earth is not going to be a pleasant place to live. As the seals and the trumpets and the bold judgments, the natural calamities and catastrophes are issued out by God's powerful angels. In fact, Jesus explained in our passage in Matthew 24 that if God didn't limit the period of time called the Great Tribulation, Nobody would survive. That's how brutal the time is going to be. But God will limit it. And the reason that God must limit it is because there will be believers living in the tribulation. They must survive in order that when Jesus returns, they can enter into and repopulate the kingdom. Because Jesus, when he returns, is going to destroy every single one who has opposed him. Everyone who has taken the mark of the beast or has worshipped the beast, the Antichrist, will be cut down by the return of Christ with his angels. So, the only ones that will then be alive are those who have believed in Christ during this extraordinary time to then go into the kingdom and repopulate it. And I'll be talking later about why I think it is so important to get the rapture right, because if you don't, you have nobody to repopulate the kingdom of Lord Jesus. Now, in particular, we read about the multitude of Christ-believing martyrs pictured in heaven. We read about that. John said that he saw this multitude and he wrote about it. He described it in Revelation 7, verse 9. He said, it was a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language, which no one could number, standing before the throne of the Lamb. And we saw that last week. This was a heavenly vision. And we also saw that These are people identified as those who have died as martyrs during this seven-year period, and primarily in the last three and a half years before Jesus returns, during that time after the Antichrist has dropped his treaty with Israel. We also looked at John's vision of many believing Jews escaping persecution from Satan, who is portrayed as a great dragon, They're going to escape into the wilderness, and this is why Jesus says in Matthew 24, run for your lives, and they will run. They will run to the caves, they will run to the mountains like Israelites have done for years in history when they were invaded by foreign armies, the Egyptians, the Assyrians, the Babylonians. They ran to the caves and to the mountains, and they will escape. There is a place that Revelation 12, 6 says that has been prepared by God for 1260 days, which, according to a Jewish calendar, would be exactly three and a half years. So, God is going to preserve them in that place of security. And though many escape, there will be others who are pursued by Satan, and they will be martyred. They will not escape. We also saw how the one-world dictator portrayed as the beast in Revelation 13 is going to wage war against the believers. He will order that anyone who does not worship him, because understand he's going to set himself up in the temple in Jerusalem and proclaim himself as God. Imagine the arrogance. But that's the twisted thinking of this great world leader to come. He will order anyone who doesn't worship him to be killed. And so during the final three and a half years, the times are going to be times of great suffering and martyrdom for those who have embraced Jesus in that time as their Savior and Lord. Now, since Christ is going to make a preliminary return, which we call the rapture, which will be, as I say, preliminary because he will come partway into the clouds And then at that time, he will resurrect all who have died in Christ since the time of the inauguration of the church, and he will also snatch up into heaven, into his presence in the clouds, all those who believe and are alive at that time. And since he's going to make that preliminary return, and all the believers who are alive at that time will Disappear. They will be gone from the earth. Then the question is, and a good question, a legitimate question, how then, where then do the believers who populate this period of time called the tribulation, where did they come from? Who's going to be witnessing? And that's the burden I have for this morning to address. In future messages, as I said, I want to explain why I believe firmly that Jesus will make his second coming in two approaches. One will be in the clouds, and the other will be when his feet touch down on the Mount of Olives, and he makes his physical return. Prophecy explains where the new generation of believers will come from after the church is raptured out. And it tells us that there is going to be an amazing time of awakening during the tribulation period. And so though it will be a time of anguish and suffering and martyrdom, for many, it's going to be a time of triumph. because they will finally have their minds opened by the power of the Holy Spirit and by the mercy of God to see Christ as their Messiah and as their Savior, and they will embrace him for eternal life. Let's take a look at how this will happen. To begin with, would you first turn with me to Revelation chapter 11? I'd like to begin with verse three. Revelation chapter 11. What we see here depicted is the fact that God is going to send, and I think the starting point will be in the city of Jerusalem, at the center of power in the world at that time, He's gonna send two witnesses. And chapter 11 gives a fairly detailed description of these two witnesses. Verse three, and this is page 1132 in the Pew Bible. Revelation 13, starting with verse three. I will empower my two witnesses and they will prophesy for 1260 days dressed in sackcloth. There's that number again. And that's why I'm so comfortable with taking it as a literal number. 1260 days, again, calculates into three and a half years. And I believe that this is the first three and a half years of the seven years leading up to Christ's return. So these two witnesses are going to possess power to perform genuine miracles, and these miracles will be used to protect themselves against those who hate their message, and also to confirm themselves as authentic messengers of the gospel. Look at verse 5. If anyone wants to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and consumes their enemies. If anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this way. These men have the power to close up the sky so that it does not rain during the days of their prophecy. They also have the power over the waters to turn them into blood, to strike the earth with every plague wherever they want. Does it sound familiar? Doesn't it sound like the time of Moses? and the retrieval of the nation of Israel out of captivity in Egypt. But they will be powerful. And I also point your attention to the fact that these prophets are not going to be necessarily the prophets of mercy toward the enemies of Christ. There will not be a second chance for those who try to kill them. They are going to be instantly exterminated. And I believe the time, as I said, of their ministry will be the first half of the Tribulation, and they are going to be powerful instruments in the proclamation of sin and repentance and the liberation from sin that comes through acceptance of Jesus as your Messiah and as your sin-bearer and your Savior. Their mission is going to be to preach the gospel to the Jews, but this message in a time like today where things can get broadcast around the world within seconds, I think much of what they say is going to be captured by the news media. It will probably be twisted, but at the same time it will go out and people with ears to hear will get the message. They will hear what is being proclaimed in Jerusalem. and they will understand, and they will repent. So the two witnesses will be like, you could compare them to a combination of For us today, if you take a sports metaphor, they are like combining the Super Bowl champions with the World Series champions, with the World Cup champions, with the National Basketball Association champions, the World Cup champions. These are going to be like the world looks at these sports champions. These are going to be their spiritual champions. As they watch them preach the gospel in the midst of the hell of Jerusalem, and the opponents who are trying to get rid of them. I think it's going to be an amazing spectacle because it's going to go on for three and a half years. I just wonder what it would look like. Glad I won't be there to see it, but it's going to be amazing. And they will need to do their work because they will need to be in the world to counteract the massive amount of deception that is going to be going out through false prophets that are going to be there at that time. But these witnesses are eventually going to suffer martyrdom. Look at verse 7 of Revelation 11. When they finish their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss, this is another name, another description for the Antichrist. He's being depicted as a wild beast because that is his character, and that is the way he works in the world. The beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, conquer them, and kill them. Their dead bodies will lie in the public square of the great city, which prophetically is called Sodom in Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified." So there you see the cryptic description of Jerusalem. Verse 9, and representatives from the peoples, tribes, languages, and nations will view their bodies for three and a half days and not permit their bodies to be put into a tomb. It will be a desecration of their bodies. And notice who these people are. These are people from all over the world. who are seeing this. Those who live on the earth will gloat over them and celebrate and send gifts to one another because these two prophets brought judgment to those who live on the earth. But that will not be the end. Continuing, verse 11. But after three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered them and they stood on their feet so great fear fell on those who saw them. Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, come up here. They went up to heaven in a cloud while their enemies watched them. Almost like a reprise of the rapture. Although most believers won't get to witness that because it will be instantaneous, like a twinkling of an eye. Went up to heaven. At that moment, a violent earthquake took place. A tenth of the city fell and 7,000 people were killed in the earthquake. The survivors were terrified and gave glory to God in heaven. And I give you notice right now, this is the last time in Revelation when a catastrophe happens and people give glory to God. From this point on, Every time there is a disaster or a catastrophe, the people harden themselves and will not repent. It is frightening to see that. So there will be two extraordinary witnesses proclaiming the gospel during the first three and a half years of the seven-year period of the tribulation. Secondly, we see that God is going to save 144,000 Jews. Look with me at Revelation chapter 7, verses 1 to 4, page 1130. Among the thousands who are going to be led to Christ by the two witnesses are going to be a specifically designated number of 12,000 from each of the tribes of Israel, making 144,000 Jews. This is going to be a special company that's going to be preserved from martyrdom because they are going to receive a special sealing from God. And the seal I take to be a special protective a special kind of protection for this company, this large company of believing Jews. Look with me at Revelation 7 verse 1. I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth restraining the four winds of the earth so that no wind could blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree. Then I saw another angel who had the seal of the living God rise up from the east. He cried out in a loud voice to the four angels who were empowered to harm the earth and the sea. Verse three, don't harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we seal the slaves of our God on their foreheads. And I heard the number of those who were sealed, 144,000 sealed from every tribe of the Israelites. So the seal is a mark of ownership by God as his newly adopted children in this tribulation period, and the seal of preservation. I don't know what it exactly will be like, some kind of supernatural protection. I don't know if it means that they will be ones who have gone out to a place of refuge and security where they can be hidden and God will protect them. We see a picture of something like that in Revelation chapter 12. Or it could be some kind of protective measure, like you see if you go back to the days of Daniel in Babylon, where, remember, his three friends would not bow down to the statue of Nebuchadnezzar and worship? And so he said, hey boys, fire up the furnace. And they stoked it up seven times, and his army guys tossed Daniel's three friends into the fire. They died in the process of doing that. But the three friends were seen by Nebuchadnezzar walking around with a fourth personage. in the fiery furnace. And Nebuchadnezzar was so amazed that he said, bring them out. And what's interesting is, remember, when they were brought out, nothing touched them. You couldn't even smell smoke on their clothing. How is that possible? The seal of Almighty God. That's what we're talking about. So they're going to be part of this great harvest of new believers during the tribulation. And this crowd of 144,000 are also seen in a vision by John as accompanying Christ after he has touched down on the Mount of Olives and then he has moved into Jerusalem. And these are seen with him on what is described as Mount Zion. So they will ultimately be preserved, and they will go into the kingdom as part of those who will re-inhabit the land, the world, after the carnage and death of so many people. Now look with me at Romans chapter 11, because the salvation of this company of 144,000 Jews is significant in prophecy written by the apostle Paul. Now in the chapters 9, 10, and 11 of the Book of Romans, I encourage you to turn to Romans 11, that's page 1045, Paul, in Romans 9, 10, and 11, is wrestling with the question, since the Gentiles appear to have become the favored people of God, and the Jews appear to have lost the favor of God, What about the promises of God for the people of Israel? And Paul works through chapters 9, 10, and 11 to prove from the Old Testament that God's eye is still on Israel. It's just that Israel has been set apart because of their sinful rebellion. And he is using that time of discipline on Israel in order to save many, many Gentiles. But then the time of the Gentiles is going to come to an end. And then God is going to move with compassion and mercy and salvation on his people. And this is what I read in Romans 11, verse 25, as we come to the climax of Paul's address to the solution to this question of what about Israel and all the prophecies and all the promises for them? Romans 11, 25, I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited. Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. It's a mystery because it was not seen specifically and clearly in the Old Testament's portrayal of future times. And so, Paul says in verse 26, all Israel will be saved, as it is written, the deliverer will come from Zion, he will turn godlessness away from Jacob, and this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins. It's as though Paul has been reflecting on Daniel chapter 9, but he has a revelation also of what's going to happen. But understand, Paul did not have John's book of revelation at this time. He's writing prior to that. But then the revelation of the salvation of the 144,000 Jews is a confirmation of Paul's prediction that the believing remnant of Israel in the land at the return of Christ will all be saved. This points out that believing Israel is very much in the eye of God in his plan for Messiah's kingdom. Now, there's a third means that God is going to use to bring many to Christ during the tribulation, and that's going to be the testimony of a myriad of many, many, many believers who will accept death, the death of martyrdom, rather than abandon their faith in Christ. We touched on this last week. Look with me at Revelation 12, verses 7 through 11. That's page 1133. And this is a bittersweet testimony, because here we have a mass of very young believers. Beloved, most of these people will be under six years old in Christ. Many of them may be brand new believers. The time is going to come in the tribulation when Satan's access to heaven is going to be cut off God is going to cut him off and remand him down to the earth. He will have no longer access to the heavenly court where Scripture says, and we'll read in a moment, he constantly accuses you and I before the throne of God. Can you imagine that God would have let somebody into his heavenly court who is accusing you and I of being unworthy of our salvation, unworthy of eternal life. That is what is being described here. And that access is going to be cut off. Let's read in verse 7. Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels also fought, but could not prevail, and there was no place for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was thrown out, the ancient serpent who is called the devil and Satan, the one who deceives the whole world. He was thrown to the earth. and his angels with him." So that's Satan and the demons no longer having access in the heavenlies to the throne room of God. Then I heard a loud voice. I'm in verse 10. Loud voice in heaven say, the salvation and power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Messiah have now come because the accuser of our brothers has been thrown out. The one who accuses them before our God day and night, they conquered him. Now we're talking about the ones who are on the earth who have been martyred. They conquered him by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they did not love their lives in the face of death. It's marvelous. Believers in the tribulation are going to be captured, and they're going to be martyred. But they're going to give powerful testimony to Christ. They're going to get powerful testimony to how His love, seen in sacrifice for them, has completely transformed their hearts, so that they love Him more than they love their very lives. And they will keep on testifying and testifying until the executioners come and cut off their life so they can testify no more. This is just amazing. God's going to give them supernatural boldness even as new believers to testify to this love for Christ. And I believe that they will probably televise many of these in order to intimidate, the beast will televise these to intimidate people, but it won't work because there will be many, many others who will be martyred as the seven years rolls through. who will take courage from them and be emboldened to keep proclaiming Jesus is Lord, Jesus is Lord, until they're cut off. You cannot proclaim him any longer. And you remember, around the throne room that John gives us a vision of was what was described as a multitude that no one can number. And later, these are described as wearing white robes, and they are the ones martyred during this period of time. It's a mass number. They are from all kinds of peoples and tribes and nations, so they are Jews and Gentiles. But they will not give up. Christ is Lord. And then finally, God is going to use a supernatural tool for the worldwide proclamation of the gospel. And that I read about in Revelation 14 verses 6 and 7. Would you look with me at page 1135 again? So in the midst of all this chaos, and this blood, and this massacre, God is going to communicate through these people, escape from judgment, eternal life, Give up your temporal life and win eternal life. Oh beloved, that message is contemporary. That's for today. Do not hold on to your temporal life to save yourself. Jesus said whoever tries to save himself will lose. But whoever gives up himself or herself will win eternal life. We need not wait until then for this message to be real and contemporary. But finally, God's going to use an angel. We'll read this in Revelation 14, 6-7. There's going to be this angel who's going to proclaim salvation throughout the inhabited world. This is a spectacle in my imagination. It's difficult to see, but Verse six says, then I saw another angel flying high overhead, having the eternal gospel to announce to the inhabitants of the earth, to every nation, tribe, language, and people. He spoke with a loud voice, fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship the maker of heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water. So in some position in mid-air, where the beast cannot stop him from proclaiming, where he can't be interfered in any way, and where all of Earth's population can hear the message, this angel is going to call out to humanity, repent of your sins, embrace Christ now before it's too late. Judgment is coming. So humanity has called on to fear God and to give him glory, called on to worship God who is the creator. And this is going to be one last gesture of mercy from Almighty God who's in control of all of the chaos going on. And humanity will be left with no excuse for their resistance to God's salvation plan because the message will go out, as John says, to every nation, tribe, language, and people. And although this message doesn't say specifically it's a message about Christ's death and resurrection, it is still a message of good news. It is calling on people to fear God, to take God seriously. The real true living God, not the false God of the Antichrist. Fear God means accepting that he has the power and the moral authority to judge sin, and he can also give new life. He can give eternal life. And giving glory to God requires broken pride. It requires death to self. It means doing the right thing in the small things of your life, even though it's not convenient, even though it's not pleasant. That's giving glory to God. And it says not only fear God, give glory to God, but also worship God. This means submission to his purposes. Worshiping God means trusting that his declarations are right and they are true, even when we doubt. And there will be much reason for doubting. No one in the last days is going to be coerced to worship God, though. They will be called. Their hearts will be touched with the changing power of the Holy Spirit. and they will want Christ. But the Antichrist, he will use deception, he will use force, he will use intimidation to coerce all of his followers to bow and worship at his shrine. So let me summarize. Four passages from Revelation confirm that during the tribulation there is going to be a tremendous awakening because there's going to be a tremendous witness that's going to go out during this seven-year period of time. Four passages confirm that. People are going to be testifying to the love of God and the mercy of God. An angel is going to proclaim it as well. It's going to be awesome. The last three and a half years of this tribulation that Jesus calls Great Tribulation is certainly going to be a time of intensity. It's going to be politically intense, geologically intense, meteorologically intense, astronomically intense, and bloody intense. unlike any other time in history or any other time in the future. Jesus warned us to expect that, but there will be opportunity to the very end for people to repent. Bow the knee to the coming Redeemer. He welcomes and loves repentance. Do not worry about your sin. Only worry about confessing it and being honest to God about it and saying, oh Jesus, only you can cleanse me. I cannot help myself. You must save me. You must change me. And God loves to hear that. Most of Earth's people will be deceived and refuse to believe. But I think scripture is clear that during that time, there is going to be a large multitude marvelously delivered from sin and death and hell. Wonderful time of grace, awakening, and eternal salvation. But beloved, you do not need to wait for that period of time to be right with God. You did not want to wait for that period of time to be right with God. Now is the day of salvation. And if you have not embraced Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, why would you wait? What have you got to gain? Why would you say to the one who made you and read your very thoughts, you don't know what to do for me? You don't know how to run my life to make me happy. Oh friend, you have no idea what happiness is if you are exchanging your happiness and resisting the joy of God and the hope of eternal life. Oh, do not resist. Welcome the salvation that God offers to you as a free gift by saying, oh God, thank you. Thank you. I cannot help myself. Thank you for Jesus who can do all that I need. Let's pray. Father, hear our prayer, we pray. Oh, that we would all be crystal clear about the wonder of the gift of salvation and that for us we would have a tribulation boldness today about the wonder of salvation and the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ. And we pray this in his name. Amen.