Revelation: Part 42

When anyone anywhere, responds to this knowledge by having a desire to know this God, God will move heaven and earth to get the message to them.

Turn to Revelation 14. And this is truly one of those amazing chapters where it’s another one of the parenthetical chapters because just like the chapter 13, it talked about two of the great movers and shakers of that seven-year Tribulation period. And there are a number of these parenthetical chapters that just keep explaining the main movements, the main people that are going to be dominant during that period. Well, this chapter focuses on the evangelists of that period and talks about them.

And it also talks about some great miracles that are gonna take place. You know, Jesus said in Matthew 24, and this Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached into all the world and then the end shall come. Now most people think that before the Church can leave, we’ve got to do that. He wasn’t addressing the Church in Matthew 24.

He was addressing the believing Israelites of the Tribulation. Now the Church has basically preached the Gospel to all the world through history several times. And now we are doing a more complete job than ever been possible because of radio. Even television, find that out in the bush, a little satellite.

But during the Tribulation, the world is going to be evangelized three times in seven years. The first ones that will do it are the two witnesses of Revelation 11, Moses and Elijah. And they’re gonna preach from the streets of Jerusalem. They’re gonna have full coverage of cnn.

And they will be broadcast. Bbc will be there. They’ll be broadcast to the whole world. Now the second evangelization of God’s tools will be 144,000 Israelites.

12,000 from each of the tribes except for the tribe of dan. He’s left out. And I believe that’s because the false prophet comes from the tribe of dan. The one that’s a cohort of the Antichrist.

Now the 144,000, remember from chapter 7, are sealed with the seal of God before anything can happen to the world. In other words, it says before you do it, before any harm comes to the trees or the grass or the sea or anything else, God seals this 144,000 Israelites. You see, that shows me that it’s in that little parenthesis between when the Church is snatched out, and the Antichrist gains control of the revived Roman Empire. I believe we have some form of the western eu.

And from that base, he will sign a covenant with Israel guaranteeing their security. These 144,000 Israelites will be tremendous evangelists. And one of the great thrills to me about chapter 14 is that it shows every one of them will survive the whole period. You talk about a miracle.

And I’ll show you as we go through here, why it’s a great miracle. But these are people -these are men not only with a price on their head, but with the name of God on their forehead. And what a contrast to the rest of the world that’s taken the mark of the beast by swearing allegiance to the Antichrist as God. What a contrast.

All right, let’s look at it. Look at verse 1. Then I looked, and behold, the Lamb was standing on mount Zion. Where is that?

Jerusalem. It’s not heaven, is it? He’s standing on mount Zion and with him 144,000, having his name and the name of his father written on their foreheads. You see, he comes and joins them on earth.

They’ve gone through this whole period preaching. And you talk about preaching, wow. These guys are going to demonstrate things that the world’s never seen. They’re gonna demonstrate courage and faith, the like of which mankind has never seen.

Now and they will go through the earth, and they are going to evangelize the world. Though they are men with price on their head, they’re gonna be greatly persecuted. The only way they can survive is by their converts hiding and feeding them. That’s the only way they’ll be able to survive.

Now, does that bring a Scripture to mind? Let me show you one of the most misinterpreted passages of Scripture, well, except for the Sermon on the Mount. This is next. The most mistranslated Scripture in the Bible.

Look at Matthew 25. This is one of, you know, there are people in the Church that I call guilt trippers. Their favorite thing is to put everybody under guilt. The fact is, it’s hard for me to listen to a radio and hear a preacher, or a television, and hear a preacher preaching without detecting this main theme in his message.

He motivates by fear, guilt, and obligation. That is not the Gospel. The Gospel is the good news that Jesus Christ paid for every sin you’ll ever commit and purchased you a pardon. And you could never earn it.

You can only receive it as a gift. By grace through faith you’re saved and not of yourselves. And a gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. But there are passages in the Bible that are chirped out of context.

And, boy, they beat people over the head with this to make them — and it’s usually to motivate them to work for the Church. Listen, if people really get ahold of what Jesus has done for them, and how much God loves them, then you’ll have to tie them down, not try to prod them out. Because love motivates more than any fear or guilt or obligation. Now, let’s look at it.

Verse 31. But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. All right, now, when is this? Context, when is it?

Second Coming. Not the Rapture. When he comes back to the earth. When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all his angels with him, he comes to the earth.

Now, what’s he gonna do? The first thing he’s going to do is, and you have to go to Ezekiel 20 to see this. Do it later. Ezekiel 20 says he’s gonna take all of the Israelites out by mount Sinai and he’s gonna divide the believer from the unbeliever.

The believers will go into the kingdom and unbelievers will be cast off the earth into judgment. But he also does this. Now look, verse 32. And all the nations will be gathered before him.

Ta ethne, from which we get ethnic. In Greek, ethne, can be translated one of two ways. It depends on the context. It can be translated nations, plural, or Gentiles.

Now since this is a judgment for eternal life or eternal condemnation, it has to be which? Gentiles. You can’t judge a nation for eternal life. You can only judge individuals for that.

So it should be translated Gentiles, and to an Israelite that’s what they understand plural of nations anyway. That means Gentiles. It means we’re the nation, they’re the nations. All right, so it’s Gentiles he’ll gather.

All Gentiles will be gathered before him, and he will then separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will put the sheep on his right, and the goats on his left. Right away we know, in Scripture, that if you get put on the left hand, what does that mean? You’ve had it.

And goats, unbelievers. And I want you to notice something else. The judgment that happens immediately after Christ returns to the earth is segregated. Because Israelites are not judged here.

It’s the Gentiles. The Israelites you have to go back in the Old Testament in Ezekiel 20 to find out where he judges them at that time. The fact that they’re segregated again shows that the law of Moses is back in effect and the Church has been gone. Verse 33, and he will put the sheep on his right, and the goats on his left.

Then the king will say to those on his right, come, you who are blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty, and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you invited me in, naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you visited me.

I was in prison, and you came to me. Then the righteous will answer him, saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry, and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger, and invite you in, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you sick, or in prison and come to you?

And the king will answer and say to them, truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of mine, even the least of them, you did it to me. Who are these brothers? 144,000 at the top. And it includes the rest of the believing Israelites, too.

But the main focus is on the 144,000, and I think that’s why we see, that you see, chapter 14 pictures the end of the Tribulation and what’s happening there at the end. Now, I believe the reason that Jesus has gathered all of the 144,000 to mount Zion, is because just in that valley there he is -it says in jehoshaphat, which is the valley around the hill of Jerusalem, he’s going to gather all Gentiles and he will gather them there. And he will have 144,000 there as case in point and illustration. And as much as you did it to them, you did it to me.

And so when he talks about the unbelievers, he said, and as much as you didn’t do that for me, if you didn’t do it for them, you didn’t do it for me. And he says, depart in the judgment, you cursed, for I never knew you. So what’s going to be the chief sign that someone’s a believer in the Tribulation? How they treat Israelites.

You see, it isn’t -that isn’t something that saves you. It is, rather, a picture of the fact that you are a believer or you wouldn’t do that. Only a believer would have the courage and the motivation to turn down the number by which you can buy, sell, and hold a job. But the believers will also stand up for those that brought them the Gospel.

So here it is. And I believe that’s why these 144,000 are gathered on mount Zion, because they are going to be there and he’ll point to these brothers of mine. All right, now let’s read on. In verse 2, I heard a voice from heaven like the sound of many waters, and like the sound of loud thunder.

And the voice which I heard, was like the sound of the harpists playing on their harps. Verse 3 of Revelation 14, and they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. And no one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been purchased from the earth. It’s interesting how much God makes of singing.

I admit I’ve got to learn a little bit about that. Probably have to learn to sing better in heaven. But God considers it very important. But here he says there’s going to be this tremendously loud singing.

Because it is like many waters and like thunders and all of that. It’s going to be loud. And, yet, it’s beautiful, like harps. And he hears the 144,000 singing this unique song that’s unique to them.

No one can learn it but them. You know how I see the importance of that is this. If someone who is a christian suffers greatly in their life, and they trust the Lord through this suffering, then they are able to understand suffering in a way no one else can, right? And I think that that is, this is the ode of those who have suffered more than anyone.

And through it, they’ve learned a song of praise that no one but them could really understand. And God will keep it as a continual reminder in heaven of the greatness of their sacrifice. Now, verse 4, these are the ones, number one, who have not been defiled with a woman, for they have kept themselves chaste. Number two, these are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes.

In other words, absolutely devoted to Jesus as Messiah. Three, these have been purchased from among men as the first fruits to God and to the Lamb. So they are the first fruits of all those who are gonna be saved in this period, Tribulation. Seven-period Tribulation.

And they are the first fruits. And it says, verse 5, and 4, no lie was found in their mouth; and 5, they are blameless. So it describes them in a beautiful way and they are going to be very, very unique. God has them singled out.

There is a question in my mind of whether it says that they are chaste and they’ve never been sexually active or whatever. There’s a question in my mind as to whether being a virgin here is referring to not so much a literal woman, but the committing adultery with false religion. Because that is something that is going to be very important to God, and he calls being involved with false religion as adultery. Especially, if they’re committing adultery with the whore of Babylon and it brings that out that the world is going to do that.

So I don’t know for sure. It could be that they are truly virgins. I don’t know. But whatever it is, we know that these are very carefully developed men that God has set aside for himself.

They are alive somewhere right now. And they are waiting for the Holy Spirit to supernaturally come to them and bring them to faith in Jesus as their Messiah, when we’re gone. Immediately, after we’re gone. Now, I’m gonna read from the new international version here in verse 6.

And then I saw another angel flying in midair. Another angel. This is the first angel that’s brought, that’s in this chapter brought out. Another, it’s the word in Greek, for another of the same kind of angels that have been seen before in the book of Revelation.

So it’s -then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal Gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth. Now, remember in chapter 13 I said in certain contexts there is the word tes ges and it’s translated usually earth. But it really means the land, the land of Israel. So he says, the Bible says, that this one, this angel is flying in midair and he had the eternal Gospel to proclaim first to those who live in the land, literally.

Meaning the land of Israel. And, see, then he’s bringing an addition to. And to every nation, tribe, language, and people. Here is the third evangelization of the earth.

First it was Moses and Elijah, then the 144,000. The last offer of salvation is going to be preached by who? An angel, directly. That’s what it says.

It’s an angel flying in the midheaven, midair. And this angel is going to preach the eternal Gospel. And the original Greek doesn’t have a definite article before eternal, because it’s emphasizing the basic nature or characteristic of eternal, meaning, it’s a Gospel that is your eternal destiny at stake. It emphasizes that.

And he is going to preach this because this is just before it’s too late. Just before Christ returns and the door is shut. So in God’s final act of grace, he lets the angels into the act that have been wanting to get into it for a long time. How do I know that?

Hold your place here and turn to 1 Peter 1:8. 1 Peter 1 beginning with the 8th verse. Now that’s not far back from the book of Revelation. Though you have not seen him, you love him.

Jesus. Even though you do not see him now, you believe in him, and are filled with an inexpressible glorious joy. For you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. You know, when you really get a grip on the fact that when you accepted Jesus Christ, in that moment, you changed your eternal destiny.

As it says in John 5:24, where Jesus said he that hears my word, and believes him that sent me, has, in the Greek, present tense, you already have eternal life. And shall not come into judgment, but have already past from death to life. John 5:24. You know, even when you’re a believer, and I put myself in this, many times we just don’t really calculate what that means.

But when you really get a grip on the fact that Jesus so saves you, when you simply admit your sins and receive the gift of pardon, that you are already in heaven, as far as he’s concerned. And nothing is gonna keep you from there. And all of heaven’s glory is already assured. The more that gets a grip on you you start having inexpressible joy.

That you look and see what this old world is, and where it’s going, the miseries that you can experience here, and it’s been some fun, too, sure. But nothing can compare it with what you’ve been given. When you get a grip on that, your heart will fill with joy.

If you have the guts to be a real revolutionary, come forward right now and accept Jesus Christ as your real revolutionary and he’ll make a revolutionary that will change lives.

As I prepared for I was again struck with which events are this week’s program, by the speed moving into the scenario the prophets predicted for the end times. I believe we’re there. People on the street are talking about what all of these things mean. Folks that wouldn’t darken the door of a Church, or pick up a Bible, are now very curious.

This may be our greatest opportunity, maybe even our last opportunity, to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ before we’re silenced by political correctness. The message that God has given me is more important now than it’s ever been for the Church and for the nation.