Transcript from show #299 Part 4.
(Please note that the transcripts are written pretty well as they were delivered on air).
Radio Show...
This program continues on various series of different topics on theology such as end times, prophecies, daily living, etc. as the subject matter comes up.
The e-book on end times and Revelation, answering the questions “where are we in the events of the end times?” and “Are we now in the tribulation?” is available on this web site, which you can find throughout the pages.
Opening Narrative
So I continue from the last program on the current series of the Book of Revelation, based on the e-book Timing Revelation available on my web site.
In part 1 of the series, I gave an overview of the whole book of Revelation. In part 2, I covered chapter 1, and skipped chapters 2 & 3 for now which is about the comment from the Lord on the 7 churches...
Last week, in part 3, we looked at chapters 5 and 6 and ran out of time at the end of chapter 6 where the 6th seal comes up next – so today, I pick up from there....
I did mention in one of the previous programs about the 8 parts of the events of the book of revelation that I charted based on the vision the Lord gave me which I included in the e-book Timing Revelation...
and I need to re-iterate that again here as a reminder to us and perhaps a new detail of the outline of the events taking place for those who missed that program, because it is very important and helpful in understanding the events of the end times.
So as mentioned then it is very interesting because the number 7 is significant in the divisions of divine historical things and events, taking place, etc... but here, the 8th part is the New heaven and the new earth and the new Jerusalem that begins the new eternal time line of God the Creator.
In other words, the whole of the book of Revelation is divided into 7 parts from chapter 1 to chapter 20 which includes the millennium. After that, the 8th part is about the the whole new universe that creation is so eagerly waiting for. The number 8 in the Bible speaks of New Beginning.
It is fascinating to come across these elements of the written Word of God given us throughout the whole history – His Story which shows and reiterate the awesome accuracy of His Holy Book.
So we'll get right into all that we have for today, right after this opening music, prayer and worship...
We'll
get into all that, but first let's listen to this opening music...
(Opening Music interlude on the live radio show)
Let us pray...
The Lord's Prayer...
Praise God Doxology...
Worship Music...)
Narrative 1
So, just before we get into the 6th seal of chapter 6, I want to restate again the scriptures quoted in the last programs on the the whole renewal of the universe as we know it which will happen in the very end, for which the whole creation groans and awaits, according to the Word of God:
(Romans 8:22)
“For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.”
(Romans 8:23)
and, verse 23, ”And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even (or that is) we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.”
And Isaiah 34:4, “And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree.”
And Revelation 6:14, “And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.” (Revelation 6:14)
So, let's get back to our reading of the book of revelation series... now at the 6th Seal of Chapter 6:
So in the last program we ended with the 5th seal which showed those slain for the Word of God, whom John saw under the altar... verses 9, 10, 11....
9.And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:
10. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, do you not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
11. And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.
And we looked at the explanation of all this – which you can still hear on the radio re-plays if you need to.
The sixth seal
Upheaval in nature.
v.12.And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
In this verse, we hear of great things taking place in the heavens and the earth that are very frightful and which the prophet Joel prophesied in Joel 2:31 around 835 B.C. and also Jesus told us in Matthew 24:29 in around 30 A.D. Both of them referring to the very end days of the Tribulation period.
13.And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casts her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
14.And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
15.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;
16.And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
17.For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand.
At this point the sixth seal is a flash forward of things to come from this point on. This is made evident by the intermission between the end of the sixth seal and the beginning of the seventh seal yet to continue in chapter 8.
For now John is telling us of the vision of increased terrible things yet to come.
Note that instead of turning to God, acknowledging the reason for His wrath (v.16 & 17), the people speak to the rocks and the mountains to fall on them to hide them from God. God must intensify His propulsion to deliver more people to the redemptive arms of Christ in heaven.
What does He do? We'll see that next in chapter 7
Please note that at some point in this chapter, the discourse of things to come transitions from the first 3-1/2 years to the second 3-1/2 years. This is obviously at the 6th seal because of the enormous things happening in the heavens, particularly verse 14, where John sees the heaven depart as a scroll.
This is a vision of a future event. This is also made evident by the intermission between the end of the sixth seal and the beginning of the seventh seal yet to continue in chapter 8.
The next chapter is where the 2nd (last) 3-1/2 years of the Tribulation begins...
(Station ID)
Narrative 2
So let's get back to the book of Revelation, and we are
Chapter 7
The Sealed Remnants of Israel
Please note that this chapter is the beginning of the Second (last) 3-1/2 years of the 7-years Tribulation
Verses 1 to 8
The 144,000 servants of God
1.And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.
2.And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,
3.Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.
4.And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed a hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.
5.Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand.
6.Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nephthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand.
7.Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand.
8.Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand.
Now, here, we are taken to a different scene that is being shown to John, and that is to do with the 144,000 servants of God who need to be sealed in their foreheads before they are to begin their mission for which they are sent.
Because the church was raptured, there is no one preaching the gospel. God had already prepared another group, this time a fully Jewish group as we are just about to see.
First we are told that God intervenes to restrain an imminent judgment going on or lined up to happen. Four angels or messengers are sent to stop the winds from
blowing destruction on the earth, the sea and the trees.
The Word of God says that fire and hail, snow and vapor, stormy winds, all fulfill His Word. (Psalm 148:8)
Obviously some kind of destructive storm, was happening when another divine plan was inserted, in order to further attempt to save more sinners into God's redemptive design.
That plan was 144,000 Jewish evangelists to preach to the current Jewish population, and also Gentiles on the earth -- the whole reason for the intensified action of the tribulation until all Israel be saved. (Romans 11:26). ('All' meaning all those still left at that time.)
The seal is that of the Spirit of God in some prominence across their forehead – being in contrast to the mark of the Beast we will read about in a later chapter, so that no one can kill them.
We then are given the list of the 144,000 named after the 12 tribes of the covenant.
And I will not get into an explanation of each of the tribes mentioned here because there are many theories about two or three of them and it would take a whole study of it. Suffice it to say for now that these represent all of the tribes of Israel.
But I'll get into that in the next level of study...
So let's continue with
Verses 9 to 17
The great multitude that no man could number
9.After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
10. And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sits upon the
throne, and unto the Lamb.
11. And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God
12. Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.
13. And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and from where do they come?
14. And I said unto him, Sir, you know. 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.
15. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sits on the throne shall dwell among them.
16. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.
17. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.
These verses are quite self-explanatory.
The great multitude is made up of all nations and ethnic groups, Jews and non-Jews alike, who came out of the great tribulation.
All, along with the angels, the four beasts and the elders, joined their voices in a
spontaneous symphony of praises and worship to the God who sits on the Throne
and to the Lamb who saved them by His blood.
Narrative 3
Alright, so let's get back to the book of Revelation, and we are now getting into
Chapter 8
with The 7th Seal and The Trumpets
Now we return to the Seals, picking up again from chapter 6 verse 9 where there was an intermission to show John some things to come in the future.
Verses 1 to 6
The 7th seal and the trumpets
1.And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.
2.And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.
3.And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.
4.And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand.
5.And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.
6.And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.
The 7th seal opens up the 7 trumpets.
There are no events recorded here except for a ominous silence of about half an hour we are told prevails over heaven.
This is not a heavenly counting of time but, rather, an intense brief moment of solemn expectation of the things that are about to come next... sort of a calm before the storm.
Another angel, (separate from the seven angels waiting to blow the seven trumpets of judgments) came to the altar to administer the incense representing the prayers of all the saints.
The golden altar, incense and the golden censer speak of the old Testament worship.
This is another indication that this time period is centered around Israel and not the Church that was raptured at the beginning of the great tribulation around the time of chapter 4.
The filling of the censor indicates events of catastrophic universal proportion coming.
And the seven angels with the trumpets prepared themselves to begin
announcements of the next coming judgments.
Verses 7 to 13
The trumpets
7.The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood,
and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
8.And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;
9.And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.
7-9.Again the scripture is self-explanatory. We see the first and second trumpets initiate the first judgment that cause increasing havoc upon the earth.
10.And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;
11.And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters
became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.
12.And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.
13. And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!
It helps to understand further the events taking place: hail speaks of sudden judgment and blood of death. “Cast” indicates powerful thrusting.
Trees and grass speak of decimation of natural elements so necessary for life. The
mountain burning with fire sounds to me as a volcano.
The waters are affected and become bitter and unusable. A 1/3 part of each of the elements of the earth are being destroyed. In the midst of all this horror, an angel is sent to warn the people of the earth of the next three trumpets to sound.
These are so terrifying that they are given the term of woefulness which indicates great suffering. The word “woe” used in these verses is ouai in the Greek (pronounced ooah'-ee), which depicts an exclamation of grief.
Many people don't like to read about these terrible things to come upon the earth, and are greatly perplexed about this coming from a God who is supposed to be loving.
However we must remember that God is dealing with the wicked who have refused His redemptive sacrifice and has given multiple warnings throughout history about God's judgments. His patience has to come to an end because of all the others who have heard and heeded His warnings.
Again we have to remember that this book of the end time events was not given to us to scare us, but to prepare us... because the time is coming.... scripture tells us that many have scoff at it all saying “where is the promise of His coming”, but to the heavenly realm, 2000 years is only 2 days... we are now at the end of the 2 days and it is up to us to tell the good news of Jesus Christ who came to take away the sin of the world... for indeed “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever – whosoever – believes on Him shall not perish but have eternal life”, it is our responsibility now to tell others what we know and what we have...
(Music Interlude)
Closing Narrative…
And again, I have run out of time...
Before I dismiss the service today, I want to read to you the Blessing that was read to the people of God in Numbers 6:24-26 which is the benediction from God to you today:
“The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace."
I hope and pray that you will come back next Sunday at SpiritFM.ca, 7 am and 7 pm pacific time. And if you want to hear the service again at any time, you can go to my website at TimingRevelation.com, and click on the Radio Shows navigational tab along the left side. The replays are available there for five weeks, then they are transcribed into articles as new radio shows are put up.
I encourage you to go to your Bible and read further on the scriptures that were given throughout the program today. And if you like these programs and you've been blessed, call or write the station and let them know... if you said the prayer and have accepted the Lord or you've been healed or touched in some way by the Holy Spirit, write to me on the contact form of this web site...
...and this web site is also where you will find the Free Offer of the “Christian Growth and Maturity Chart” that I talked to you about in the last weeks... you will see the graphic on any page called “Get your free CGM Chart”, click on it and it will take you to a page that will tell you about it and how you can subscribe to my newsletter to get your free copy of the Chart sent to you.
Until next week, Maranatha, the Lord is coming, very soon. Goodbye and Blessing.
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