Mark chapter 13, if you would please. Verse number 1, the Bible said, And as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples saith unto him, Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here. And so they're pointing out the temple complex there in Jerusalem. It's about three days before the Lord's going to go to the cross. Verse 2, And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? There shall not be left one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down. And what he was telling them is that that the Romans were going to come in 70 AD, that they would fulfill this prophecy, they would destroy the temple, they would scatter the Jewish people that have rejected their Messiah, verse 3. And as He sat upon the Mount of Olives, it brought about a question about end-time events and the coming of the Lord. And notice they're going to ask that question. And as He sat upon the Mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately, tell us, when shall these things be and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled? And he was talking about, they're talking about his coming, his second coming. They know he's come the first time. The Lord, when are you coming again? And that's the question. What are the signs surrounding that? And the Lord's going to give what we know as the Olivet Discourse. And He's going to tell us about end time events. Here's the end times according to the Lord Jesus. It's the master plan, the master blueprint for the end times. And He's going to reveal what the days will be like prior to His second coming to the earth. Now, Christian, right now we're living in the end days of what we know of the last days of this age of grace, alright? And right now we're listening for the shout. We're looking and longing for our Savior's appearing because the next event on God's prophetic calendar, now I'm going to come to verse 5 in a moment, is what we know as the rapture of God's saints. It's when the Lord is going to step out on a cloud and in a moment, the twinkling of an eye, He's going to snatch out of this earth every believer, every Christian, every person who belongs to Him. In a sudden moment of time, they'll be taken from earth to heaven. They'll be taken to glory just prior to before the judgments that Jesus talks about in this passage takes place. And that's going to happen. It could happen at any moment. It's imminent. It's a signless event. There's no signs. There's no prophecy. There's nothing that has to happen before the Lord to come for His saints. And He'll not come to the earth. He's just going to come in the air and we'll go to meet Him and we're going to forever be with the Lord, the Bible says. The Bible calls it our blessed Hope. Aren't you glad that we're going to escape all of this? Isn't that a blessing? And we're going to find that it's going to open the door to a terrible time on this earth known as the day of the Lord or the tribulation period. Seven years of wrath like this world has never known before. And Jesus is getting ready to tell us about it. Look at verse 5. And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed, pay close attention, lest any man deceive you. He didn't want them to be led astray, and he doesn't want you to be led astray. Verse 6, For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ, I am the Messiah, I am Jesus the Messiah, and shall deceive many. And when ye shall hear of wars, and rumors of wars, be ye not troubled, for such things much needs be, but the end shall not be yet. For nations shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles. These are the beginnings of sorrows. Jesus said this is just getting started, verse 9. But take heed, there it is again, there's our two words, to yourselves, for they shall deliver you up to councils, and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten, and ye shall be brought before rulers, Kings, for my sake, for a testimony against them. And the gospel must first be published among all nations. But when they shall lead you and deliver you up, take no thought, when they hinge you over, take no thought beforehand what you shall speak, neither do you premeditate. But whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye, for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost. Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father, the son, and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved." Here the Lord is giving the signs of the second coming. Not the rapture, but the second coming. And we want to look at the second part of the message we began last week on the signs of the second coming. Let's pray. and dive into this passage. Father, we love you today. We thank you for your goodness in our lives. We thank you for truth today. And Lord, especially, God, as you told the disciples before and are making it known to us today through the Scriptures, Lord, what lay on the horizon for our world. We know where we're going. We know how it's going to end up. We know, Lord, that you're in charge. And that brings great peace to our hearts. Lord, help us to love Your appearing today, to know that before this ever breaks loose, every saved person whose sins have been washed away will be taken to heaven. Thank You, Lord. Now Lord, there may be someone here today, their sins haven't been washed away. Their sins aren't gone. And Lord, You want to wash them away. I pray they'll let You today. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Well, the signs of the second coming. We began last week by seeing sign number one, deception by many. Let's go back to verse number five. And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed, pay close attention. I don't want you to miss it. God doesn't want us to miss it. Lest any man deceive you, lead you astray, for many, many, not some, not a few, but many shall come in My name saying, I am Christ. And so there's going to be those that during this time will seek to offer ways of escape, but they're false ways. They lead to destruction, and they're going to claim to be the Messiah, the Lord who has come. And he said, listen, if they cry in the desert, Matthew says, or they're in the wilderness, desolate places, and they say, come to me. Don't go. Don't go. They're not the real Messiah. They're not the truth. They're lying. They're deceiving you. And it's going to be an unparalleled time of deception that will give way to the master deceiver, the Antichrist. The Bible said in 2 Thessalonians 2, 3, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders. Can I tell you, there's going to be a man, a superman, arise on the horizon. He will. He's going to be the key person on earth during the tribulation period. The Bible describes him in a number of ways. We know him as the Antichrist. He's opposed to the Lord Jesus Christ. Just as God has His Son, the devil has his, so to speak. And He's going to arise and He's going to deceive and claim to be the Messiah, the Savior of the world. And His charm is going to be so persuasive, His deception so powerful, that if it were even possible, the saved would follow Him. And the Lord said that's not possible. Thank God. Thank God for that. But boy, the power of alive Satan. Listen, when you or I or anybody rejects the truth, the only thing left is a lie to believe. Did you know that? And so it's going to be a time of great deception. But notice, secondly, there's going to be dissension among the nations. Look, if you would, please, in verse number 7. And you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars. And he said, don't let that trouble you. Nations going to rise against nations. That's one nation against another. Kingdom against kingdom. This is regions of nations. Like a world will be engulfed in war. Armies will be on the march. And all of these nations and turmoil and conflict and the wars of the tribulation are going to take place. It's going to be bloodshed on an unprecedented scale and like nothing the world has ever seen that will culminate and climax in the battle of all battles, Armageddon. Then we saw devastation of the world, Psalm number 3. Look if you would in verse number 8 again. He said, There shall be earthquakes in divers places, famines, troubles, These are the beginning of sorrows. There's going to come a time when God's going to reach out of heaven and God's going to shake the world. Friend, listen, natural earthquakes are one thing, but friend, can I tell you when God shakes the heaven and God shakes the earth, that's a whole different thing. It's going to change the topography of our planet. The Bible says islands will flee out of their place, mountains will be removed. It's going to be a time of unprecedented upheaval in our world on a global scale. Famine. starvation that results out of these supernatural judgments as well as war. And there's going to be global hunger and starvation and troubles. That's the word pestilence or the idea of disease and death on a global scale. Pandemics. You think what we've been through is something. You think the Spanish flu is something. You think the bubonic plague was something. It is nothing compared to what will be unleashed by man on this earth during that day. Isn't that amazing? And it's not going to be hundreds of thousands. It will be multiplied hundreds of millions that will die from diseases. But Jesus said that's just the beginning. Those are just the birth pains. That's just the beginning of the labor pains. And that's what beginning of sorrows means. By the time you get to this point and the tribulation, the first three and a half years, one-fourth of the earth's population will have been killed. Nearly two billion people based on today's population statistics. The beginning of Psars describes the labor pains that a woman endures as she gives birth to a baby. You see, as many of you know, as parents, that when the pains begin, you know that an arrival is imminent. It's on the horizon. And the same is true of the events of the tribulation period. That's why the Lord uses that, that the judgments of the tribulation are like labor pains. They're announcing the arrival just as the labor pains of a woman, the birth pains of a woman are announcing the arrival of a baby. So this time in the earth's history, this time of trouble, as the Bible calls it, these pains, so to speak, will give birth or give way to the second coming of the Lord Jesus to the earth to set up His kingdom. And if you know anything about labor pains, they just intensify as they go on. Matter of fact, as the delivery in years, you're going to find the pain grows, the intensity grows, the frequency grows, and then suddenly, life changes. Friend, can I tell you that's exactly what the Lord is describing in the Olivet Discourse. These events are only going to intensify. Thank God it's going to culminate in the coming of Jesus Christ. And aren't you glad then things are going to change on planet Earth. Isn't that a blessing? But now we're up to Psalm number 4 where we're picking up today. Descent into chaos. I want you to look at verse number 9. But take heed. There's our words again. Pay close attention to yourselves. Now he's talking to the disciples. At this moment, now watch, the disciples become a figure, a prototype of the believer, the Jewish believer during the tribulation period. There's going to be believers during that time. We're going to understand that. We're going to see it here in just a moment. And while the disciples would face and all of them but John would die a martyr's death. And they would experience some of these. That's not the fulfillment of this passage because they lived in the age of grace. We're still waiting on these events. But they're a picture and what happened to them is a picture on a small scale to what's going to happen to believers on earth during the tribulation on a global scale. Right? But before that happens, it's going to come out of something. Notice He says, take heed of yourselves for they. Who is the they? If the disciples are believers, now we're talking about non-believers. If the believers during that day reject the Antichrist, here is the Antichrist and his followers, earth dwellers. Alright? And they're going to do something, but before they do it, let's look at what kind of characterization of the climate is going on in our world. Would you hold your place here? Go back to the Gospel of Matthew, one book, to his, he gives the fullest account of the Lord's message, and he's going to give us some insight into the climate, and I'm not talking about the weather, I'm talking about life on planet earth during the tribulation period, and He's going to tell us something. Look at verse 10, Matthew 24. And then shall many be offended. That has to do with a defection from the truth. It has to do with an apostasy. They're offended at God. Boy, I tell you, there are a whole lot of folks offended at God today, aren't they? Look down at verse 12. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold." Now he's talking about a descent into chaos here. That word iniquity is an interesting word. It comes from a word which means anti-law or no law or lawlessness. You seen the evening news lately? Now we're not there yet. This means that on planet earth, there will be absolutely no regard for law. I believe it deals with the laws of men in general. There's going to be a lawlessness. You have to understand, when the rapture takes place, there's not going to be one saved person left at that moment on planet earth. They're everyone gone. And at that moment, the restraining ministry of the Holy Spirit, the influence of believers, the influence of local churches, all of that's going to be gone. And men on planet earth at that moment, I'm using that term generically, are going to give vent to their sinful, wicked nature. It's going to be unleashed on this planet like it's never unleashed before. And there's going to be absolutely no restraint to the wicked, sinful nature of man. And it's going to result in a chaotic lawlessness. But it's going to give rise to somebody called the Antichrist whom the Bible describes as the man of sin. Same word. No law. The man of lawlessness. But here's where it gets real particular. It deals with the law of God. You know what we're living in today? We're living in a world when the world around us wants to throw off the restraints of God. I'm going to live as I please and you better accept it. It doesn't matter what God says. It doesn't matter what the Bible says. It doesn't matter. I'm going to do it my way, the world says. Lawlessness. Restraint. Casting off the restraints of God. Governments casting off the restraints of God. In that day it will be on a global scale like we've never seen before. Let me give you some verses. We don't have time to turn there. 2 Thessalonians 2 verse 3, Let no man deceive you by any means, for that day, talking about the day of the Lord, the tribulation, shall not come, except there come a falling away first, a defection from truth. and that man of sin lawlessness be revealed, the son of perdition." Now listen to verse 4, "...who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped, so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God, when this world will be in chaos." And this man is going to step on the scene in a political way. And he's going to be hailed as the answer to the world's ills. He's going to be the one who can make everything wrong right. He's going to be seen as a messiah, but he's a false messiah. Can I tell us, guard yourself of putting your hope in a man. He'll let you down. They're not always what they claim to be. And that's what you see here. They're going to follow a man. And he's going to seem like he's got all the answers, and he's going to bring some order to the chaos, he's going to bring some peace to the conflict, and he's going to consolidate the governments of the world into one, a one world government. But he's not going to stop there. He's going to consolidate the religions of the world into one. But can I tell you, it's going to end up not in the worship of God, not the religion of God, but the religion of the Antichrist, and all the world is going to worship him. They're going to believe the lie. You see, if you live during that time, if you've rejected the truth now, you'll believe the lie then. Because you've rejected truth. And out of that chaos, because He demands the world to worship Him, there's going to be some that refuse to do that. And out of that's going to come the distress of persecution. Look at verse 9 of Mark 13. Let's go back. But take heed to yourselves, for they shall deliver thee, the followers of the Antichrist. shall deliver you up to councils, and in the synagogues you shall be beaten, and you shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them." Now I'm going to talk about how they become believers in the next part of the message. Let's talk about the persecution of believers here because this is the next sign that Jesus gives us. The tribulation will be a time of distress for the people of God. You see, not everybody's going to bow to the man of sin. Not everybody's going to bow to the man of lawlessness. There's going to be people who come to know the Lord. They're going to be followers of Jesus during the tribulation periods. Can I help us to understand something? In every age, no matter how dark, no matter how difficult, no matter how blended, God always has His remnant. There's always a group of people who believe Him and know Him and love Him and follow Him regardless of what the world around them says. There's always a remnant. I want to be in that remnant, don't you? And during that day, there's going to be a remnant who know Him. You see, the tribulation is going to see a great harvest, but somebody will say, well, you know what, I'm not sure about all this stuff, Preacher, you're preaching, so I'm just going to hold out. I'm going to see if that rapture thing is really true, and if everybody, my wife vanishes, or that person vanishes that I know is saved, then I'm going to realize something's up, and then I'm going to get saved then, and all of that. And there's question over whether or not that person who's heard the gospel can even be saved. I don't have the answer to that. There's question about that and good men on both sides of that issue. But here's what I do know. Even if you could be saved, even if you could believe, there's no guarantee you would live long enough to believe because of the death and the devastation and the war during that time. Secondly, in that time of one world government, There's going to be a lockdown like this world's never known before. You can't buy and you can't sell if you don't have His mark. The Antichrist. You say, I just won't receive the mark. When your baby's stomach is swollen and crying for food and your wife's starving, people will do about anything to feed their family. And if you do believe on the Lord, you'll seal your testimony in your own blood. You'll be martyred more than likely. You think there's cost today in following Jesus? It's nothing like then. Nothing. There will be those who are followers of the Lord Jesus during this awful time and will refuse to bow to the Antichrist. And He will be bent on their destruction. He will hunt them to the ends of the earth. He'll bring about a dreadful time of persecution of believers unlike this world has ever known. Just go back in history and look at the communist revolutions and Nazism under Hitler. I do want to finish the message. But I'm amazed at how you watch the news and everybody... You're a Nazi. Nobody has an idea when they throw that word out on the evening news what a true Nazi was all about. The idiocy of our day is unbelievable. The ignorance of history is unbelievable. The depth of the atrocities of Stalin and Hitler and Mao in China and Castro in Cuba are unlike anything you've ever known. And if you think it couldn't happen in America, then you just go keep sticking your head in the sand. Because it's already coming. And half of America voted it in. So that shows you the climate of where we are. Is it going to be a reverse preacher? I have no idea, but here's what I do know. That just like there was persecution in that day, there may be persecution coming in our day. But it's not this persecution. There's going to be a dreadful time of persecution of believers like the world has ever seen. The Antichrist will hunt them. First of all, there's the persecution of believing Jews in verse 9. The Jews that will come to know Christ as their Messiah. Those who during the tribulation period will realize that Jesus is truly their Messiah and they will bow before Him and they will receive Him. It's the remnant that He will come back to at the end of the tribulation period. You see, you have to differentiate between the believing Jew and the unbelieving Jew. And the believing Jew is at the forefront of the passage in the latter verses. You'll have the unbelieving Jew that will turn their fellow brethren over to the Antichrist. You already see an increasing rise of antisemitism or hatred of the Jewish people in our world today. Even our own nation as news agencies and even government officials will side with terrorist nations against Israel. There's a lack of love for the Jewish people who gave us the Bible, who gave us the Messiah. Even though they're unbelievers, God still used them to give us a Savior. Thank God! When we come to this section of the Olivet Discourse, Jesus is going to emphasize this dreadful persecution against those Jews who believe in Him by their fellow Jews. Look at verse 9. He said, They shall deliver you up to councils, that are going to hand you over to arrest and imprisonment. They're going to beat you. You shall be beaten. That's anguish and torture. You're going to be brought before rulers and kings. There's no place to hide for a testimony against them. You're going to be a testimony against them. Thank God we can be a testimony today for Him and to them. Isn't that a blessing? We don't have to be a part of this. And in the latter part in verse 12, the last few words, to be put to death, martyred. They're going to flee from a persecution much like they did from the Nazi Holocaust. But this time there'll be no refuge. And they'll be killed for their faith and they'll experience martyrdom. It'll make the Nazi Holocaust seem like a walk in the park. But it doesn't stop there. There's the persecution of believing Gentiles. I want you to hold your place here, if you would, please, and let's go to Revelation 6. Revelation 6. You say, Preacher, are you mad at people that... are misguided in how they do things and give rise to a climate America that we don't... I'm angry at what America's become in a righteous way, but I'm not angry at them. They're just blinded. I need to love them to Jesus is what I need to do. That's what we want to do. Don't get a bad spirit. Have a right spirit. And try to win people to Jesus Christ. Just remember, this world's not your ultimate home. I have a dual citizenship. I love my nation, but thank God heaven's my home. Amen? Look at Revelation chapter 6 and verse number 9. Here's the seven seal judgments that parallels the beginning of sorrows in Mark 13, Luke 21, and Matthew 24 and 25. And I want you to notice, we've come through the four horses up through verse 8. The white horse peace, the red horse war, the black horse famine, and the pale horse death. Now we come to verse 9. You have martyred them. And when He had opened the fifth seal, here's the Lord opening the seals of judgment, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the Word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood upon that dwelleth on the earth? Lord, how long before You pay back those that have treated You so and have took our lives? Verse 11. God, when are You going to act in justice? Verse 11. and white robes were given unto every one of them. And it was said unto them that they should rest for a little season unto their fellow servants also and their brethren that should be killed. There's more to come. More persecution and martyrdom to come as they were should be fulfilled. Do you know what? Throughout church history, there's this slogan, the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. Do you know how Christianity overwhelmed the Roman Empire that was pagan. The death of Christians. Because they watched them die. And they wanted what they had. That's powerful, isn't it? And that's what's going to happen here. I'm going to give you a little sideline. I don't want to run out of time, but I want to give you a little sideline. Can I give you a little sideline real quickly? You ever heard somebody say there's no time in heaven? It's not true. There's going to come a day when there is no time, but that's eternity. Right now there's time, and there's the passage of time, and the people in heaven are aware of it. How do you know that? Because the Bible just told me so. Verse 10, they said, Lord, we're waiting. How long? When are you going to act in judgment? And God says, I want you to rest for a season. I need you to rest for a little bit. Because I am going to act in judgment, but it's not time yet. Well, that's enlightening, isn't it? And so here's these martyrs. More believers were martyred in the last two centuries than all the centuries before. Did you know that? That's 20th century and now the first quarter of the 21st century. Persecution is an ever-present reality. Did you know that ISIS actually crucified Christians in the Middle East? And you never heard about it because our government never told you. People coming out of it shared pictures. and truth as they fled it. There's martyrdom right now taking place in China. Right now our fellow brethren in Cuba are under oppression. Church is there. We can't get to them. It's unbelievable. There's persecution in America. Persecution in Canada. It's all around us. It's present in every age. Let me give you a verse. And you say, Pritchard, don't discourage me. No one will encourage you. 2 Timothy 3.12, the Bible said, Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. When you determine to be a bold Christian, you will face opposition in your life. Sometimes it will be your family. Sometimes it will be co-workers. Sometimes it will be friends. Now there's a difference between bringing it on yourself And then there's a different sense in which it comes to us because of a true godly testimony where we boldly stand for Jesus Christ in the workplace or in our homes, in our family, out in the world. But Jesus said it will come. It's mild most of the time in America. While there have been some pastors jailed in our history as a nation, no one that I know of has been martyred or tortured in the last 100 years or 150 years in America. Before we became a nation and we had the Bill of Rights, There were Bible believers martyred in America. Thank God for the Bill of Rights. Thank God for the Constitution. By the way, that's Caesar in America. It's not the President and the Congress and the Supreme Court. The Caesar of America is what we all pledge allegiance to, which is the Constitution of the United States that grants us our inalienable rights that are God-given. That's what inalienable means. They're God-given rights to worship Him. to know Him, to freely. And our forefathers understood that. We don't have that today. And I'm afraid many Christians don't understand that even during this pandemic. And people say, how in the world can you remain open? Because God tells me to remain open. That's why. No human has a right to stop the worship of God. They don't. And you need to understand that because if you'll give up your right to worship now, they'll take it later. You just remember that. And I'm not doing anything different than our ancient Baptist forefathers hadn't done to win our rights today in America. Now, what happens when this persecution comes, preacher? I want to give you some encouragement. Go back to Mark chapter 13. We're going to come back to Revelation 7, okay? I want to give you a word of caution. Look at Mark chapter 13, verse 11. This has been an enlightening message, hasn't it? I've added a few things in there that weren't in my notes, but we'll all be okay, right? But when they shall lead you, when they get ready to hand you over and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what you shall speak, neither do you premeditate. I want you to underline three words. Take no thought. You know what God said right there? Don't worry about future persecution. Don't worry about how you're going to handle it. Have you ever sat down and wondered that if it were you, that if you were to be called on before magistrates and government officials, and they were bringing you before them, and you were facing imprisonment and death, how you'd handle it? Will I stand? Will I say the right thing? What would I do? God, will I honor you? Or will I displease you in that moment and fall away? God said, don't you be worrying about that right now. I want you to concentrate on living for Me today. Live for me today, I'll take care of tomorrow. Look what he says, because here's the word of confidence. Oh, I'm in Revelation 7. Sorry. I've been holding my place and I flipped the Bible the wrong way. Look at verse 11. But whatsoever shall be given you in that hour that speak... You know what God says? Don't think about what you're going to say because I'm going to tell you what to say. I'm going to give it to you. Ain't that good? I had to figure it out. God said when that time comes and you stand in that place, I'm going to give you a mouth and you're going to speak what I want you to speak. I'm going to enable you to stand, God says. And watch this. For it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost, the Holy Spirit in us, when that hour comes. Listen, Christian, if you confidently and committingly live for Jesus today, and stay true today, He said, I'll enable you to stand in that day. And you have to figure out what you're going to say, because I'm going to give it to you, and you're going to be a testimony for me. Isn't that encouraging? And that can happen for Christians even today. Let's give the last sign and we'll be done with this part of the Olivet Discourse, okay? Let's go back to sign number 6. Now, you're holding your place, right? Because we're going to go back to Revelation 7 here in a minute, Revelation 6 here in a minute. Look, if you would, sign number 5. There's the declaration of the gospel. Because I've got a question that came up. Here's a question. Where did these believers come from? How did they hear the gospel? How did they get saved? That's a valid question. Because if all the saved are taken out at the rapture, where did these believers come from? Let's find the answer. Because during the tribulation there's going to be the greatest in-gathering of souls in the shortest amount of time in the history of the world. There's going to be a tribulation harvest. Verse number 10. All nations doesn't just mean geographical nations. There's nations within nations. That word has the idea of people groups, ethnic groups, cultural groups. and their nations within nations. You know what he's saying? Everybody's going to hear the gospel before Jesus comes back to the earth. That's what he just said. Now we're not talking about the rapture. Everybody doesn't have to hear the gospel before the rapture, but they will hear it before the second coming to the earth during that seven years' tribulation. They're going to hear the gospel and people's going to get saved. Do you know Mark 13.10 is one of the most misused and misunderstood and misguided verses in the Bible, in the New Testament? Because there's a lot of well-meaning teachers and preachers. I read one this week and actually heard one this week that made this statement. Okay? And use it as a motivation. This verse is a motivation world evangelism. They claim and they preach and teach if we could just get the gospel to everybody in the world, then Jesus can come back. It's not what that verse teaches. Now there's all kinds of verses to motivate us to get the gospel of the world. But this is not one of them. This is a tribulation verse. Okay? And God's going to do it. This is a sign of the second coming, not the rapture. Well, how's God going to do it? Turn back to Revelation chapter 7. We've been in chapter 6. Move over to chapter 7. You see how it flows together. There's going to be some witnesses during the tribulation period. Revelation 7 is a parenthesis. It's like God's going to tell you in chapter 6 what's getting ready to happen, but He doesn't let it happen yet because He's going to do something. What's He going to do? Well, in chapter 7 He's going to seal 144,000 Jewish men who will become His witnesses. These are going to be 144,000 men that will receive Jesus Christ as their Messiah. They're going to believe on Him and God's going to seal them. You see them again at the end of Revelation, the book of the Revelation, and every one of this 144,000 is going to survive the tribulation period. They are. Not every believer will, but this 144,000 will. And they're going to be God's special witnesses during the tribulation period, not just to the Jewish people, but to the world. Jews are going to get saved because of their witness. Gentiles are going to get saved because of their witness. He said in Matthew 24, 14, And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness to all nations. and then shall the end come. And so they're going to preach the gospel of the kingdom. You see, that's the message Jesus preached when He came to the earth the first time. It's the message of John the Baptist. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. What is that gospel? It's the good news that the King has come. And if you receive the King, you can have His kingdom. It's near. It's at hand. And guess what? During the tribulation period, that kingdom's going to be at hand again. And the King's going to come and there's nothing this world's going to do to stop it. And there's going to be a message go out. to repent, to believe the Gospel, to receive the King, because the Kingdom's coming. That's what He's preaching. And that's their message. And in that's the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We don't preach the Kingdom today. Why? It's not at hand. We're just preaching the Gospel. But that'll be the Gospel of the Kingdom, the Good News of the Kingdom. I'm not going to sideline. You hear this stuff all the time. We're building the kingdom. We're building the kingdom. No, you're not. The kingdom's not here yet. Jesus is building His churches. And this kingdom work, I hear this all the time out in the world. Our Southern Baptist brethren are eat up with it. Kingdom this and kingdom that. And some preachers are building their own kingdom. We're not in kingdom ministry right now. Jesus said, upon this rock I'll build my church. We're to be working in His local churches and building His local church. That's the work of God today. In that day it's kingdom. The churches won't be here in that day. They're going to be gone. Believers are going to be gone. And then when you come to verse 9, you have the saving of the Gentiles. Look at verse 9. After this, after the sealing of these 144,000 witnesses, I beheld and lo a great multitude which no man could number. Now these aren't Jews. How do you know that? Because they're of all nations and kindreds and people. If you're not a Jew, you're a Gentile. And if you're a Gentile, you're not a Jew. These are Gentiles. and tongues, that means all kinds of languages, stood before the throne and before the Lamb. That means they're in heaven. These people over in chapter 6 that we met, these souls that we met, they're clothed with white robes, palms, symbols of victory in their hand. Verse 10, And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God, which sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb. They're praising God that they're saved. Yeah, preacher, but they were martyred, I know, but they're saved. See, there's nothing like having your sins gone no matter what happens. Verse 11, And all the angels stood round about the throne, about the elders and the four beasts, the living creatures, and fell down before the throne and worshipped. And notice, he's going to ask about who they are. Look at verse 13. Alright, look at verse number 13, alright? And he says, And one of the elders answered, saying to me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? And whence came they? Where did they come from? That's the same question we were asking. And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. These are those that said no to the antichrist, and said yes to the Lord's Christ. And they died martyrs' deaths. Great persecution. But God's not done. God's going to do something else. Can I tell you before we get to where I'm getting ready to go, that there's something else that's on the earth that's witnessing. You say, preacher, what is it? It's called a silent witness. It's called the Bible. Do you know when you go to heaven, your Bible's going to be left here? It is. I wonder if somebody hungry here in King, who's never heard the gospel, runs into your house looking for food, and they find your Bible. and they read it and they get saved. What about the millions of scriptures we put together as a church and sent around the world? They're going to be here. When you're in heaven, you're still bearing fruit for the Savior as a church because we've been getting the Word of God around the world to all kinds of people, all kinds of languages. What about your missions giving that's left gospel tracks and gospel witness? Isn't that amazing? That's why we ought to be busy about the Lord's work. Amen? Stay with me. But God's going to make sure everybody hears. Look at Revelation 14 and verse 6. I know it's getting late. I'm about ready to bring it to an end. You ever notice how preaching time flies by? Look at verse 6. Do you know this is the first instance of an angel preaching the gospel? First time. Never happened before. Look at verse 6. And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven. When he's talking about the midst of heaven, he's talking about through the atmosphere, the sky, what we see on a blue sky day. He's going to fly through the heaven, around the earth, having the everlasting gospel. Aren't you glad the gospel is eternal? to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment is come. And worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. Men have been worshiping everything but God. There's a man that stood up claiming to be God. The Antichrist. And he's going to send an angel to witness to the world and say, listen, fear God the Creator, the Maker of heaven and earth. Don't be worshiping false gods. Give glory to the God of heaven. Come to know Him. That's what he's going to preach. Everybody's going to hear. Through the Scriptures, through the witnesses, through the angel. Isn't that good? Every man, every woman, every boy, every girl will hear. Listen, you know what? We have a responsibility in our day to do everything we can so that everybody can hear and be saved. We don't want nobody to come into this time. I want everybody to come to Jesus. So the Gospel is going to be preached throughout the entire world before the Lord Jesus comes back to the earth during the tribulation period. Alright, let's look at one more thing and I'm done. Look at verse 13 of Mark 13. And ye, He's talking to believers here, shall be hated of all men for My name's sake. And here's an interesting statement. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. Boy, if I hold on, I'm going to make it. That's not what that verse is saying. Do you know that's another misused verse in the Bible? There are those that believe that you have to hold on. You see, really, Calvinists and Arminians are two sides of the same coin. They wouldn't admit it, but both of them believe you can lose your salvation. The Calvinists just say you never had it because you didn't persevere, so you didn't really believe. I'm glad God doesn't teach the perseverance of the saints. He preaches the preservation of the saints. God preserves those who believe. We don't have to endure to the end. No, if you're saved and your sins are gone, you're going to make it to heaven. But this is tribulation period. Armenians, those denominations that teach that they can lose their salvation, and therefore if you make it to the end, you endure it to the end, you won't lose it. Calvinists would say, if you don't endure it to the end, you stop believing, then you never had it. That verse doesn't have anything to do with being saved spiritually. It doesn't. The word saved in the Bible is a very general word. It just simply means to deliver. That's what it means. There's times it means spiritual salvation, deliverance from sin and hell and a person spiritually saved. That happened for me when I was 17 and my sins were gone on a Sunday night in 1984. Other times it refers to being delivered from trials and hardship and maybe persecution or distress and difficulty. Other times it just means being saved from danger, some kind of physical danger. You say, how do you know the difference? Well, the context. The context is the key. In Mark 13, 13 the context is the Olivet Discourse and the judgments of the Tribulation period. The endures to the end here means they survive the tribulation period. They make it all the way through the end and they're not killed. They're going to be delivered out of it. Here, I believe he's talking to saved Jews and Gentiles who will live through the tribulation period. They're going to make it. They're not going to be martyred. They're not going to die a martyr's death. And they're going to come all the way to the end of it and they're going to survive it and go into the kingdom in their natural bodies. I believe that's exactly what he's saying here. How do you know that? Is there another verse that can tell us that? Well, actually, I'm glad you asked that because there is. It's seven verses down in verse number 20. and except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh, that's no living person, should be saved. That means they don't survive, they don't live, they're going to die. But for the elect's sake, the saved, whom He hath chosen, those that belong to Him, He hath shortened the days. Now, that doesn't mean He's going to shorten the seven years. What that means, he's going to bring it to a swift close. What he's saying is if this was left to go on, these judgments were not brought to an end, not a living person would survive it. But there will be those who survive. And he's going to talk to them about a fig tree in Mark 13. And here's what he says. He says, when you see the fig tree begins to blossom and bloom. Now here's what's interesting. Did you know a fig tree doesn't have flowers? It just leaves and fruit. The fruit is the bloom. Okay, little figs. Tiny little figs. He said, when you see the leaves and the tiny little figs, you know what you know? You know summer's right around the corner and you're going to be harvesting mature figs off that tree. It's a sign. He's saying to those living during the tribulation period, when you begin to see these events begin to start taking place, you can know that my coming is on the horizon. Now be ready. Be ready. Guess what His message to you and me today is? Be ready. Because there's not any signs. He could come in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. That means at any moment the Lord could step out on the clouds and call all the saved to heaven. And if you're not saved, you're not going to go. You'll be left. And you'll face this. And that's why everybody ought to be ready and everybody ought to know their sins are gone. And if you're not sure your sins are gone, then today, why don't you make sure your sins are gone? Why don't you receive the Lord? Why don't you believe on Him? And guess what? You'll escape this terrible time, number one, and you'll be ready. And then number two, you'll have a burden to help others escape this time. That's important, isn't it? God wants you to be ready. Let me ask you a question. Are you ready? Christian, are you ready? If He were to come today, is your life what it ought to be when you meet the Lord. And friend, without the Lord today, your sins need to be washed away. And He wants to do it. He died for you so He could wash them away. He wants to save you today. He does. All you have to do is believe on Him and receive Him and say yes to Him. You don't have to give a speech. You don't have to pass a test. You don't have to do anything. You just receive the one who died for you, who loves you. That's it. I want to invite you to do that today.