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When it comes to studying the Bible, the first thing that you have to understand is that the Bible is always consistent. The Bible is the Word of God, not by the will of man, not by the will of the flesh, it wasn't written by all different people. This book was written by God, and the Bible even says that the Word was in the beginning with God, and the Word was God. And so God's Word is consistent, start to finish. Every Word of God is pure. He's a shield unto them that put their trust in Him. Add that not unto his words, lest he reprove me, and thou be found a liar. And all throughout the Bible, you'll find the same things taught over and over again. Whatever the subject you want to pick. Let's say you want to pick the subject of hell. You'll find many references in the Old Testament to hell, if you're reading the King James Bible. Now if you have the NIV, the word hell does not even exist in the Old Testament. Now that's a pretty inconsistent Bible. If you have the New International Version, and you're reading it, and that's the most popular Bible in America today, the NIV, from what came out in 1973 New Testament, 1980 Old Testament, and it doesn't even contain the word hell in the Old Testament, how can you have consistency in a book as if hell did not exist in the Old Testament? Whether it be heaven, whether it be the second coming of Jesus Christ, whether it be salvation, you'll find the Old Testament teaches that salvation by grace or faith. To Him give all the prophets witness, that through His name, whosoever believe in them, shall receive remission of sins. Okay, Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Abraham believed God and was imputed on him for righteousness. The Bible is consistent and teaches the same thing. Now listen, today we are living in a time unlike any other time that has ever existed. The Bible talks about the book of Daniel, then the last days knowledge shall increase. And today we have more knowledge at our fingertips than any human beings who have ever walked on the face of the earth. I mean, think about the internet. At our fingertips, all the libraries of the whole world, all the books, all the science, all the learning, all the different languages, are right there at our fingertips with the internet. Today we should be believing in God and the Bible more than any other generation because we have the proof, I mean, we have the evidence. We can look down into the smallest cell with a microscope and we can see God's workings. I mean, this creation of God is more intricate than people hundreds of years ago could have imagined. We can look down to its smallest parts and see the complexity of the cell and the microbiology. We, in 2009, are seeing the fulfillment of God's prophecies all around us, more than any other generation. We can see all these things coming to pass. And let me tell you something, we are living in the last days. The Bible is real. God's Word is true. We're living in the last days. We can see it more than anyone else has ever been able to see it. We have the whole Bible, all 66 books available to us, unlike previous generations that were living in the Old Testament and other times. We have all the science, all the knowledge, all the wisdom today, and we ought to understand more than others that have come before us. Hey, why is it that today people still reject God, they still reject the Bible, they still reject the truth of God's Word? And yet, whether they reject it or not, whether they believe it or not, Jesus Christ will come soon. He's coming soon. He's going to be soon. Now, it's not going to be tomorrow, but it's going to be very soon, my friend. Now, we don't know. Maybe five years, maybe 20 years, but I'll tell you something. Unlike anyone that was before us, we can say He is coming soon. We can see it all around us. It's going to happen. Now, in the book of Job, where we were, we see some great verses on basically the resurrection of the dead in Job 14, Job 19, and basically what I want to preach about tonight is I want to show you Old Testament scriptures regarding the second coming of Jesus Christ. Because usually when we preach on the second coming, it's usually the New Testament. We're in the book of Revelation, we're in 1 and 2 Thessalonians, we're in Matthew 24, but today I want to show you Old Testament. Let me tell you something. The Old Testament is replete with teaching and preaching on the second coming of Jesus Christ and on the rapture and on the second coming. Now, today people have a hard time accepting who God is. That's why I'm on CNN all the time. That's why they are all attacking me and I'm in the news, and that's why it's a big story. Oh wow, news flash. Somebody actually preaches what the Bible actually says instead of people they want to hear. Oh, let's run a news. Why is that news? This book's been around for thousands of years and yet it's news. And here's what they're saying. God loves everybody. Jesus only talked love and peace and good things. But wait a minute now. If that's really true, then why is it that literally beneath my feet right now, if you were to go down far enough, literally there are hundreds of millions of people burning in hell right now? Now let me ask you something. If God just loves and forgives everyone, stop and think about this. If God loves and forgives everyone, then why are there hundreds of millions of people burning in hell beneath my feet right now? Is that loving? People are being tormented. You know what torment means? Torture. They're being tormented in a furnace of fire where there's weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth and yet people still persist in believing in a Santa Claus that they want to call God. And they say, oh, it's just all love, love, good, good, peace, peace. And yet hundreds of millions would disagree, who right now are in the presence of God's wrath. I mean, right now they are burning in his wrath. In the presence of the holy angels, in the presence of the lamb, they are burning in hell right now. And yet today we have a Christianity without hell. But new modern Bible translations without hell. A mentality that says there is no hell. But let me tell you something, there is hell. And not only that, one day God is going to bring hell on earth and pour out his wrath upon this world. But I don't want to get into that just yet. Later on in the sermon we're going to see some of that. But the sermon tonight is Old Testament scriptures on the second coming, on Jesus Christ's return to this earth, on the resurrection. Now, the reason we're starting in the book of Job is because, did you know this? Job is the oldest book in the Bible. Many people don't know that. But the book of Job is the oldest book in the Bible. You say, well Pastor Anson, how do you know that? Well, if you look at the places and the names and things that are dealt with, it's clear when you read the book that it came before Moses. Now obviously the events in Genesis are the earliest events. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. But the book of Genesis was written by Moses. So it was not revealed in its totality until the time of Moses. And the book of Job comes before the time of Moses. So the book of Job is the oldest book in the Bible. Now look what Job says here. Let's turn to chapter 19. We'll get back to chapter 14. Job 19, verse 23. And again, this is the first book in the Bible as far as when it was written down. Look at Job 19, 23. Oh, that my words were now written. Oh, that they were printed in a book. And certainly they are printed in a book. That they were graven with an iron pin and led in the rock forever. For I know that my Redeemer liveth. What does Redeemer mean? My Savior is basically what that means. He's saying, I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God. Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another, though my reigns be consumed within me. So we see that Job, although he didn't know everything that we know today with the whole Bible in our hands, Job knew that this Redeemer lived, and that one day his Redeemer would come to this earth, stand upon the earth, and that his physical dead body will be resurrected. Because he said, I know that, you know, I'm going to die. He said, worms will destroy my body. He's talking about being buried in the earth, worms consuming his flesh. But he said, wait a minute, in my flesh I shall see God. So he basically knew that he was going to be resurrected with a new body. He's talking about the resurrection right there. Go back to Job 14, and look how consistent this is. Job 14, 12. The Bible reads, so man, and he was talking about people dying in the first 11 verses, he was describing death and so forth. He says, so man lieth down and riseth not till the heavens be no more. They shall not awake nor be raised out of their sleep. Look at verse 14. If a man die, shall he live again? All the days of my appointed time will I wait till my change come. Now, let's think about these two verses. These are profound verses. First of all, the first thing we see in verse 12 is that, look, when people die, when man lieth down, he says they shall not awake nor be raised from sleep until when? Till the heavens be no more. Okay? Now, we know that the Bible uses the term sleep to refer to Christians who die. Because the Christian never really truly dies, because the Bible says whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. So basically the body dies, and the soul and the spirit go to be with the Lord in heaven. The Bible says to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Paul set out a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better. But the body is referred to as being asleep. Okay? The body is asleep. The soul and spirit are awake, alive in heaven. And here's the thing. He's saying here that that resurrection, which is talking about the rapture, it's talking about when the believers are raised from sleep. You know, the dead in Christ shall rise first. He said, I would not have you be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that you sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with them. For I say, the trump shall sound, the dead in Christ shall rise first, then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. So shall we ever be with the Lord. So what is this saying? When is that going to happen? When is it going to happen that the dead in Christ, those who sleep in Jesus, will rise again? What does it say in Job 14, 12? In the first book of the Bible that was ever written. It says, Man lieth down and rises not till the heavens be no more. They shall not awake nor be raised out of their sleep. So let me ask something. Are believers going to be resurrected before the heavens are no more? According to this verse. It's clear. The heavens will be no more, then they'll be resurrected. Okay, look at Revelation 6 and we'll see these fulfilled. We're going to look at Old Testament passages, then we're going to see their fulfillment in the New Testament. And a lot of people discount the book of Job. And they throw it out. And they throw out all kinds of stuff. But I'll show you in a minute why what Job said is God's word. But look at Revelation chapter 6. And look at verse number 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. And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree cast with her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together. What does it say there? The heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together. Now what's that talking about? The sky, the heavens, okay? Departed as a scroll when it is rolled together. And every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens of the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains of the rocks, fall on us and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of his wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand? And then in chapter 7 we see the great multitude appear in heaven. Look at chapter 7, verse number 13. And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? And whence came they? Where did they come from, he said? This great multitude that appears in heaven. And I said unto them, Sir, thou knowest, and said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and servant day and night in his temple, and sitteth on the throne, and shall dwell among them. Who are these people? It says in verse 9, and we'll go back and see who they were. After this I beholded, though 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 palmgown. So basically, when does the rapture take place? When does the first resurrection take place? After the heavens are rolled back, after the heavens depart as a scroll when it's rolled together. That's when that trumpet sounds. That's when that great multitude appears into heaven. Look at Luke, chapter number 23. Luke 23, this is Jesus on his way to the cross. He's on his way to the cross. Simon of Cyrene is carrying the cross for him. Because he was so beaten and so abused that he could not even carry the cross. They had to compel a man from Cyrene to carry the cross, which is a place in Africa. They compelled this guy to carry the cross for Jesus. And it says in verse 27, and there followed him, Luke 23, 27, a great company of people and of women, which also bewelt and lamented them. But Jesus turning unto them said, God was of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days are coming in the which they shall say, blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bear, and the patch which never gave sun. Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, remember this from Revelation 6, fall on us and to the hills cover us. For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry. Put back to Matthew 24 quickly. Matthew chapter 24. So we see here that Job said, hey, believers in Christ, those who are asleep in Jesus, will not rise again until the heavens are departed, until the heavens are no more. That happens in Revelation 6. Next thing you know, people are crying out to the mountains to fall, and the next thing you know, a great multitude appears in heaven. Look at Matthew 24. Let's see the fulfillment of what Jesus said in Luke 23. It says in, I thought I had it underlined. Oh, there it is. Matthew 24. Did I have it on the line? Let's see here. Oh yeah, verse 19. Remember this is what Jesus said in Luke 23. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days. Remember Jesus said, hey, weep for your children. He said, but pray that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day, for then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world, to this time none are ever shall be, and except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved, but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. And he says in verse 29, immediately after the tribulation of those days, shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken, and then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn. That's where they're crying out for the rocks to fall on them. And it says, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory, and he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. Look down at verse 36, but of that day and hour knoweth no man, nor not the angels of heaven, but by Father only. Verse 40, then shall two be in the field, the one shall be taken in the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill, the one shall be taken in the other left. Watch therefore, for you know not what hour your Lord shall come. So when is this going to happen? After the tribulation, that's what it says in Matthew 24. Then the sun and moon are going to be darkened, heaven departs, then the rapture. Isn't that exactly what Job said would happen? It's exactly what he said. Isn't it amazing how the Bible is so consistent? You go back thousands and thousands of years to Job, and he understood the basics of what we're talking about here, of the second coming of Jesus Christ, he preached it. And he said, well, I don't know if Job, you know, that's just Job. You know what I mean? And I've had people say that. You try to show them scriptures like this, and you try to say it with the Lord. Look, no one will rise again until the heavens are no more. That's what it says in Job 42. Ah, it's just Job. What did he know? He didn't know that much back then. Well, we'll look at Job 42, the last chapter of the book of Job. And this is people's answer for everything. Oh, Psalms? That's just David. Galatians, oh, that was when Paul was immature in the early part of his ministry. Hold on a second. No prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in the old time by the will of man. He said, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. It's God's work. Now, is the book of Job God's work? Well, if it were not, then why is it in my Bible? Should I remove it from my Bible? Now, Job is a conversation between Job and his three friends and another man named Eliad. Now, look what God says at the end of the book of Job. Look at verse 7 of chapter 42. And it was so that after the Lord had spoken these words unto Job, the Lord said to Eliphas the demonite, my wrath is kindled against thee and against thy two friends. For ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right as my servant Job. So God tells us Job's friends were wrong. Job's friends were teaching false darkness. That's why Job is arguing with them throughout the book. Job's words are God's words. His friends' words are wrong. But notice what he says. For ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right as my servant Job. So basically God comes and says, hey, what Job said is right. It's my word. It was God's word coming out of his mouth as a prophet. Whereas these other guys were wrong. Look at verse 8. Therefore take unto you now seven bullets and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering. And my servant Job shall pray for you. For him will I accept, lest I deal with you after your folly, in that ye have not spoken of me the thing which is right like my servant Job. The book of Job is in the Bible because Job was speaking God's words. And so when he talks about the second coming, when he talks about his flesh being decayed in the grave and then rising again and standing in the flesh before God in the flesh, when we talk about him saying, hey, you will sleep in the earth. No one will rise again until the heavens be no more. That's authoritative, my friend. That's God's word. Let's look at another Old Testament passage about the second coming. Look at Daniel chapter 7. This is a great passage. Really we can read Daniel 7 through 12. Because the first half of the book of Daniel is all the Bible stories that you know from Daniel. Daniel chapter 1 is the part where he would not drink the wine or eat the meat sacrificed on the idols and that God blesses him. Daniel 2 is the one where he interprets the dream for Nebuchadnezzar about the image with the head of gold, the shoulders of silver, the abdomen of bronze, and so forth. I mean, Daniel 3 is about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the lion's den. Daniel 4 is about where Nebuchadnezzar was given the heart of a beast and was out in the field like an animal for seven years. His hair grew like eagle feathers and his fingernails grew to be like bird claws because he was an insane person eating grass out in the field. Daniel chapter 5 is about Belshazzar having his drunken party with the vessels of God's house and he sees the handwriting upon the wall of the fingers of a man's hand. Daniel 6 is the story about Daniel being thrown into the lion's den against the will of King Darius and being preserved. Great stories! But Daniel 7 through 12 is basically the prophecies of Daniel. So in chapters 1 through 6 we have the stories about Daniel. Chapter 7 through 12 we have the prophecies of Daniel. And let me tell you something. Very heavily does it talk about the second coming of Jesus Christ. And we're not going to go through the whole thing. We're not going to see the whole thing just for sake of time. Before I get into that let me just read you one quick verse from the book of Joel. Joel 2.31. And you don't have to turn there. But Joel 2.31 says, The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and the terrible day of the Lord comes. Another consistent scripture with what we saw earlier about the sun and moon be darkened before the day of the Lord. The day of the Lord in reference to the rapture all you have to do is read 1 Thessalonians 4 and 5. He calls the rapture the day of the Lord. Okay? Same day. But look where I had you turn in Daniel 7. Now this is again the first chapter of what would be kind of the prophecies of Daniel after we get to know Daniel through all the stories. We're going to skip the first part just for sake of time. We're just going to start reading verse number 8. It says, I considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots, and behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth speaking great thanks. Okay? Now I'm going to help interpret this to you with the New Testament. We're not going to jump around our Bible. It's because Daniel said, I'm going to quote for you some scriptures from the New Testament. So we see in Daniel 7 here this little horn. And in this little horn, it says that he has the eyes of a man and he's speaking great things. Now the Bible talks about Revelation 13, the beast, the anti-Christ. And it says that he was speaking great things and blasphemies. They use that exact term. Speaking great things and blasphemies. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, against heaven, against his angels. Okay? So that right there, we can put that together and see who this little horn is. We're going to see more proof that he's the anti-Christ a little later. It says in verse 9, I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of its head was like pure wool. His throne was like the fiery flame and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him. Thousand thousands. Can somebody help me out? What is that? Millions, right? Thousand thousands ministered unto him and ten thousand times ten thousand. What's ten thousand times ten thousand? Hundred million. It says stood before him and the judgment was said and the books were opened. I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horns spake. I beheld even till the beast was slain and his body, so now he's called the beast, was slain and his body destroyed and given to the burning flame. As concerning the rest of the beast, they had their dominion taken away yet their lives were prolonged for a season at a time. Now let's stop here. This is so dense with references from the book of Revelation. First of all, we see the ancient of days. Now who is the ancient of days? Well, according to this scripture, it's God the Father. Let me prove that to you. Look at verse 13. I saw in one of the night visions of the old one like the Son of Man. Who's the Son of Man? Jesus Christ. Came with the clouds of heaven. Who does that sound like? Jesus Christ. Coming in the clouds of heaven, right? And it says, and came to the ancient of days and brought him near before. So basically the ancient of days is God the Father. The Son of Man is talking about God the Son, Jesus Christ. And you say, why is that important? Well, notice how the description of God the Father is the same as the description of God the Son. Because in Revelation chapter 1, John sees the Son of Man and what does he have? Hair, white like wool, eyes like a flame of fire. Exact description. The same thing. Because Jesus is God. It's the Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. But he basically describes the same thing. The 10,000 times 10,000. That exact number is used in the book of Revelation in reference to the angels around his throne. The 10,000 times 10,000 that ministered him and thousands of thousands. That exact number is used in the book of Revelation. He says in verse number 10 at the end there, the books were opened. Same thing as in the New Testament. He said the little horn, the beast was slain and his body was destroyed and given to the burning flame. You say, where do I find that in the Bible? The Bible says in Revelation 19 that the beast and the false prophet were cast into the lake of fire. And in Revelation chapter 20 it says, and the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire where the beast and false prophet are and shall be tormented day and night, forever and ever. You say, how long does hell last? It goes on day and night, forever and ever. That's what the Bible says. It's a terrible thought, but that's what it says. Look at verse number 12. So we see that talking about the Antichrist being cast into hell in verse 11 there, that's found in Revelation 19 and 20. As concerning the rest of the beast, they have their dominion taken away, yet their lives will prolong for a season and time. And I saw in one of the visions and behold, one like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven and came to the ancient days and they brought him here before. And there was given him, given to Jesus Christ, the Son of Man, dominion and glory and a kingdom. He's talking about the millennial reign of Jesus Christ and that all people, nations and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away and his kingdom, that which shall not be destroyed. Now you say, wait a minute, Pastor Anderson, I thought that the reign of Jesus Christ was only lasting for a thousand years. I thought it was the millennial reign. Why does it say it goes on forever? Well, turn to Revelation 22 and I'll show you the last book in the Bible, Revelation 22, the last chapter in the Bible. Revelation chapter 22 Now, in Revelation chapter 20, keep your finger in 22, look at chapter 20. It says in verse 20 and verse number 4, And I saw thrones and they sat upon them and judgment was given unto them. And I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the word of God and which had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads or in their hands. And they lived and reign with Christ a thousand years, right? That's the millennial reign of Christ. And by the way, notice they weren't just beheaded for the witness of Jesus. Someone was just beheaded for the word of God. You know what I mean? Just preaching other things in the Bible that people don't like, that also got some beheaded. It says in verse 5, But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Now let me ask you this, the rest of the dead that are later going to live again, are we talking about people that are saved or unsaved? If they're going to live again, they're saved. Because guess what? Those who are dead in hell, they're dead for good. I mean, they're damned forever. I mean, when they stand before God, it says the dead stood before God and were judged and cast into the lake of fire. So they're still dead. Let's talk about believers. The first resurrection is at the rapture when Jesus Christ comes and they're dead and Christ rises. Then there will be another resurrection at the end of the millennium for everybody who is saved later. You know, after the rapture, after the first resurrection, those who are born after that or saved after that are going to be resurrected at the end. And that's in 1 Corinthians 15. We don't have time to go into that, but it says in verse number 6, Blessed and holy is he to that part of the first resurrection. On such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and again, and shall reign with him a thousand years. Then it talks, flip over to chapter 22, and it talks about how the devil is going to be loosed from his prison and deceive the nations, and they're going to circle Jerusalem where Jesus is reigning. Fire is going to come down from heaven and destroy them. And then the Bible talks about in chapter 21 verse 1, And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away, and there was no more sea. That's where God destroys the heaven and the earth. The Bible says, heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away. That's what Jesus said. And then there's going to be a new heaven and a new earth. Tell the Jehovah's Witnesses that we're not going to be on this earth forever. We're going to be on a new heaven and a new earth. We'll live on the new earth, but this earth is going to be destroyed. But look at, here's what I want to show you in chapter 22 verse 5. It says, And there shall be no night there, and they need no candle. This is the new earth. He says, Neither lighteth the sun, for the Lord God giveth them light, and watch this next phrase, and they shall reign for how long? Forever and ever. So those who serve Christ, those who win many took over to righteousness, those who receive the great rewards when they stand before the judgment seat of Christ, and he says to the one who took his one talent and multiplied it into ten talents, be thou over ten cities. And he says to the one who took his talent and multiplied it into five talents, be thou over five cities. When God is basically rewarding his servants and giving them authority, giving them power, basically saying, you've been faithful in the little things, you were faithful to my word, you were faithful out solely, you were faithful to church, you did that which was right, now I'm going to make you a ruler over many things, he says at the judgment seat of Christ. Yes, you'll reign with Christ for a thousand years, but then the Bible says you'll reign forever and ever. Even in the new heaven and the new earth, there will still be a king. See, God is not one of these that says, well, everybody's on the same, everybody's equal. Everybody, you know, we're all on the same note. God rewards his servants based upon their works. That's what the Bible says. Now look, you're saved by faith, you're saved by grace, you're saved by believing, but the rewards that you get in heaven are based upon your works. God is going to come back and you're going to give an account to him and he's going to say, hey, be thou over ten cities, you know, be thou over five cities. Some people it's going to be like, be thou over this block. You know what I mean? Like, it's some messed up block, you know what I mean? You're going to be rewarded, you know, what do you want God to say to you? Well, be thou over the cleaning river, I don't know. But anyway, he basically is saying here that we're going to reign forever and ever. God's kingdom, the kingdom of Jesus Christ, goes on forever. Even after the millennium, it's a new heaven and a new earth. It goes on forever. Back in Daniel where we were, chapter seven. So he said here that his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, talk about the kingdom of Jesus Christ, that shall not pass away and his kingdom, that which shall not be destroyed. Now look at verse 15. I, Daniel, was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body and the visions of my head troubled me. I came near unto one of them that stood by and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me. It made me know the interpretation of the things. These four beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. And you say, what's the four beasts? This was a prophecy that Daniel had. It was the same as what Nebuchadnezzar saw, basically, where he saw the head of gold and silver. It's four kingdoms, four world kingdoms, you know, started out with Nebuchadnezzar, and you have the Medo-Persian empire, then you have the Greek empire, then you have the Roman empire, and then you have, basically, the Antichrist, who's going to be the next time that there's a one world kingdom. Okay. And, uh, basically, it's kind of a revival of the Roman empire, because it's, you know, a lot of that has to do with the Roman Catholic Church and so forth, and that's another sermon in and of itself. But he says here, the four beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. But the saints of the most high shall take the kingdom. Who are the saints of the most high? Those who are saved, those who are believers, those who've been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all, Hebrews 10. The saints of the most high shall take the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever. And then, he just has to clarify, even forever and ever, okay, so it's talking about forever. And he says, Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the other, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron and his nails of brass, which devoured, break in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet. And of the ten horns that were on his head. Now notice, this beast has ten horns on his head. Does that ring a bell? Revelation 13 again. Remember, the beast, first of all, there was the dragon, which represents the devil, that had seven heads and ten horns. Then there was the antichrist, who had seven heads, ten horns. These same ten horns are here. Of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up before moon three fell, even of that horn that had eyes and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows. I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints and prevailed against them. Flip over to Revelation 13. Keep your finger in Daniel 7 here. You say, what are you trying to say to them? Look, the Old Testament is profitable for doctrine. That's what I'm trying to show you. All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine. Hey, you want to learn about the second coming of Jesus Christ? Open the book of Job and read about it. You want to read about the second coming? Open the book of Psalms and read about it. Open the book of Daniel and read about it. Open the book of Ezekiel and read about it. I'm not even going to go to Isaiah. We spent 66 Wednesday nights in the book of Isaiah, and how many times do you talk about the day of the Lord, talk about the tribulation, talk about the second coming? Hey, you want to know about salvation? You can see it from Genesis to Revelation. The message of the Bible is consistent. The Bible is written by God, and it's all profitable for doctrine. You want to understand the book of Revelation? Read Daniel, read Job, read Psalms, read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. You see, we need to understand these things because we're living in the last days. The fulfillment of all these things is at hand. I'm telling you. Now, where did I decide to turn? Somebody tell me. Revelation 13. Right. Revelation 13. Okay. Again, we see the beast. It says in verse 1, And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns. Just like we saw in the Old Testament there. Scroll down where it says in verse number 7, or verse 6, and he opened his mouth and blasphemied against God to blaspheme his name and his tabernacle, and let them dwell in heaven. Look at verse 7. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them. And power was given over all kindreds and tons of nations. Now keep your finger in Revelation 13. Back to Daniel 7. What does it say in verse 21? I beheld in the same horn, made war with the saints, and prevailed against them. What does it say in chapter 13? It says it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them. So what is the antichrist going to do when he comes on this earth? After he receives the deadly wound that's healed? After the whole world is worshipping him, and marveling at him? He is going to make a war on Christianity. That's what it says. He's going to make a war on the saints. And guess what? He's going to win. He will defeat them, he'll destroy them, he'll trample them under his feet, and set up his one world gun, and you say, well that's depressing. Well you know, we're on the winning side because he's going to be destroyed eventually, and if you can survive that, you know, then you'll look up and see Jesus Christ come into the clouds, and your flesh will be saved. Some people will be cast into prison, some people will be beheaded. Okay? But, we'll get into that, but look back at Daniel 7. I beheld and the same horn made war with the saints and prevailed against them. Until the ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most high, and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. Thus he said, the fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down and break it in pieces. And the ten horns, out of this kingdom, are ten kings that shall arise, and another shall rise after them, and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. Okay? That's fulfilled in Revelation 17. Look over to Revelation 17 real quick. Your fingers in Revelation 13, it should be. So you should be right there in Revelation 17. Look what it says. Let me grab my notes here. Look what it says in verse number 12. It says, actually look at verse 10. And there are seven kings, five are fallen, one is, and the other is not yet come, and when he cometh he must continue a short space. And the beast that was and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven and both in the perdition. And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet, but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. Now verse 13 is the key. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. These shall make war with the lamb, and the lamb shall overcome it. Okay. So back in Daniel 7, he's saying here that these ten horns are ten kings, and it says there shall rise another after them that's going to subdue them. You see, these ten kings are basically ten world leaders, ten rulers. They're going to be ruling over their parts of the world. They're going to give their power unto the antichrist. They're basically going to relinquish the sovereignty of their country or their reign or their realm or their kingdom, whatever you want to call it. They're going to all have one mind. And can you imagine ten, the ten rulers of the world having one mind? Why? Because the devil is behind all of it. Oh, God put these people into power. No, the devil put these ten people into power. The devil, listen carefully, this is important. The devil is going to put these ten leaders in place in the world, right? For the purpose of then turning over their kingdom to the antichrist. It's all the devil's duty. Now today people say, oh, you know, God is the one who appoints all these leaders. You know, God appointed Obama and anointed him and he's our master and all this stuff. Wait a minute now. What about when the antichrist comes? Was he put in power by God? The Bible says the dragon gave him his power and his seat and great authority. Who's the dragon? The devil, Satan. Okay, well the dragon is not only putting the antichrist in power, the dragon, according to what we just saw in Daniel 7 and Revelation 17, the dragon is going to put ten kings in power all over the world. Think about this. Remember the ten horns on the dragon? Represent the ten puppets that he's going to put in place all over the world that are then going to say, oh, we don't need to rule. We're going to give our power to this one man, the antichrist. Now look, who knows? This could be happening in 10 years from now. 15 years, 20 years, could be having a fight. We don't know when it's going to happen. But there will be some ruler of the United States someday that'll be some puppet of Satan. You know, it could be Barack Obama. It could be some future evil president. And then there will be some leader in the European Union, some leader of China, some leader in Iran, you know, these different kingdoms that are basically going to be puppets of Satan. And these people are already probably being put in place right now. We don't know the day or the hour. And then these people are all going to turn over their kingdom to the antichrist so that he can make war on the saints, behead them in prison. This is what's happening. This is what we're going to see. Look at Daniel 7. You see how much insight you can get from studying the Old Testament, though? Because Daniel almost puts it together, I mean, very clearly, you know, right just one after the other. But look at Daniel in verse number 25. It says, And he shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws. And they shall be given into his hand until a time and times of the dividing of time. This is the three and a half years talked about in Revelation 13 in regard to the antichrist reign. A time, a times, and a half. A time is one, times is two, half a time that makes, what, three and a half? Okay. He says in verse 26, But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion to consume and to destroy it under the end. And the kingdom and dominion and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him. Hitherto is the end of the matter, as for me, Daniel, my cogitation. What does cogitation mean? Thinking, my thoughts. My cogitations much troubled me, and my accountants changed in me, but I kept the matter in my heart. Now again, we're just going to kind of blow through a few of these because you can't go through the whole book and angle, but just look at chapter eight real quick. Verse number nine. It says, And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great toward the south and toward the east and toward the pleasant land. And it waxed great even to the host of heaven, and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground and stamped upon the earth. This is found in Revelation 12, where the dragon with his tail takes hold of one third of the stars that have been cast into the earth. Talking about the demons of hell that are following him. Verse four. Yea, he magnified himself to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. And again, all throughout chapter eight, chapter nine, chapter 10, chapter 11, you find all this talk about the antichrist and all these different things about an ancient war on the same time. Here's an interesting thing though. Look at chapter 11. We're just blowing through this for the sake of time. Giving you the highlights, but you know, you ought to go back and study these passages. Daniel 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. Look at verse 36 of Daniel 11. And the king, this is talking about the antichrist if you get the context. Oh, by the way, look at verse 32 though. Here's an encouraging verse. And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flattery, but the people that do know their God shall be strong and do exploits. That's talking about in our day or in the latter days at the time of the second covenant. There will be people who know God, who will be strong in the Lord and the power of his might. I believe that some of the strongest Christians are going to be living in this generation and in the next generation or however long we have until the end. I believe that God is going to be glorified by many people who will give themselves to be martyrs for the cause of Christ, that will stand up and be strong, that will do great exploits for God, that will preach God's word in a powerful way. Hey, we see it in the Bible that it's not going to be a time where all of God's people are backing down. There will be some that will turn away from the faith, but there are going to be many that will be strong in the Lord. That's what we ought to be doing, building up ourselves so that we can be one of the strong. We can be one of the ones who is faithful on the death. We can be one of the ones that will never deny Christ, that will never back down, that will stand up and stand strong for what's right. Jesus said, Be thou faithful unto death, and I'll give thee a crown of life. But he says here that they'll be strong and do exploits and they'll know God. And they that understand among the people shall instruct many. Did you hear that? They'll be preaching the truth to many, many people. And he says, Yet they shall fall by the sword and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil many days. Now when they shall fall, they shall be hoping with little help. But many shall plead to them with flatteries, and some of them of understanding shall fall to try them. Look at this. This is profound stuff. To try them and to purge and to make them white even to the time of the end because it is yet for a time appointment. The Bible says this in Revelation 2, Behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that you may be tried. He says you're going to be tried. You're going to be purged. And you say, This is horrible. This is depressing. You know, We're going to be persecuted. People here, what does it say? Are going to be slain with the sword. He said, And by flame, and by captivity. I mean, these are persecutions that are going to be coming in the tribulation. But wait a minute. It would be a glorious thing to die for Jesus Christ. Realize it. That doesn't sound very pleasant. But you know what? When the apostles in the New Testament were beaten in Acts chapter 4 and 5, they praise God that they were counted worthy to suffer for Christ. That's what they said. They said, You know what? Thank God that we were counted worthy to suffer for him. Now, nobody enjoys being beaten. And I mean, this was a real beating. I mean, they beat him with a whip. I mean, it was bad. And they praise God and said, You know what? If we suffer, we're going to be... Great is your reward in heaven. Blessed are you when men shall revile you and persecute you and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely from my state. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. You see, if you signed on to Christianity and serving God because you thought it was going to be an easy life, you're wrong. The Bible says unto you to begin in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake. So you need to realize this. You need to understand this. That, you know, dying for Jesus Christ is something that could happen. And he says, be faithful to death. God does not say, back down if it comes to that. He said, no, be faithful. You know, push it as hard as you can, and you know, but if your life is in danger, whoa there, tiger. He said, no, be thou faithful unto death, and I'll give thee a crown of light. You know, Peter had to give his life for Jesus Christ. And he was told by Jesus, you will die for me. Other of the apostles, James, was slain with the sword by Herod. And then you know what happened to Herod? He was given a great speech, this King Herod, in the book of Acts, after he asked James, I'm talking about the apostle James, not the brother of Jesus, but the one that was, you know, James and John were in the ship with Zebedee, and Peter, James, and John were the three major disciples. They were the three that were the closest with Jesus all the time. Well, James was slain by the sword with Herod. Well, Herod gave this great big speech one day, and he gave this powerful speech, you know, like these politicians love to do, and everybody stood up and started to applaud him, and they said, it's the voice of a God, and not of a man. I mean, they started to worship this guy, and you know what happened? God struck him with worms in his body, and the worms ate the flesh of his body while he was giving this speech, and he fell over dead right there, eating the worms, okay, because he didn't give God the glory. That's what happened in the book of Acts, okay, that's the New Testament. I don't know what that had to do with the sermon, but it just, it's a, I mean, a lot of people don't know that, you know, it's a great story in the book of Acts. Oh yeah, I was talking about people dying for Jesus Christ, okay. Well, let's go back to the passage here. We saw that, we saw that warning, you know, what's going to happen? But he says, man, they're going to be strong, they're going to do exploits, you know, a lot of them are going to be killed, a lot of them are going to suffer. They're going to instruct many though. He says in verse 36, talking about the Antichrist, and the king shall do according to his will, and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god. That's where the Antichrist is claiming to be God. You'll find this in 2 Thessalonians 2. And magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods. He's talking about the true God. And shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished, and that is determined shall be done. Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire, so who, the God of his fathers, basically, somehow this guy is going to have some people in his ancestry that worship the true God apparently. And says he's not going to regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god, for he shall magnify himself above all. Now what does that mean? He's not going to regard the desire of women. Some people have said that this could mean, and they could be right, that he will be a homosexual. Now we don't know, I don't know if that's what that means. But whoever the Antichrist is, it says he's not going to regard the desire of women. Now I don't know if that means he doesn't desire women, or if he doesn't care about what women want. You know, to me, I think that's, you know, when people say he's a homosexual, because of that verse, I mean, I think they probably have a pretty good point. Because, you know, when people become a reprobate, rejected by God, think about this now, in Romans chapter one, okay, it says that the man will lust after other men, whenever they've been rejected by God. You know, whenever God gives him over to a reprobate man. And obviously the Antichrist is about as reprobate as you get. He's not getting saved. I mean, he's done. You know what I mean? And so to say, well, he's not perverted. Of course, he's perverted because he's the most evil, wicked human being that's going to be on this earth. And he's totally reprobate. And so this verse could be, I think it's probably a pretty good interpretation. You know, I don't know. I mean, I'm open to other interpretation, but that's, that's what it seems like it's saying. I don't know. Nor regard any God, for he shall magnify himself above all. But in his estate, he shall honor the God of forces. This is the God of Luke Skywalker. And you think I'm kidding, but I'm not. This is the God of Star Wars. The God of forces. You know, the force be with you. You know what I'm talking about? May the force be with you, and the dark side, and the force, and all that stuff. Because let me tell you something. George Lucas, the man who wrote Star Wars, was into New Age religion. And that's what he based his movie upon. Okay. New Age religion. And today we have this New Age religion of the, you know, basically the forces of good and evil, like basically the white magic and the black magic. You know. And we have basically the dark side and the, and the, I don't know, what was the good side of the force? Just the force? Just the force in general, you know, and then there's the dark side. Okay. So I guess it'd be the light side, or I don't know, you know, the happy side, whatever it is. Okay. But I'm telling you, it's this god of forces. You know, this is what the Jehovah's Witnesses teach, that the Holy Spirit is a force. That's what they teach. He's not a person, he's a force. Okay. Now I don't know anywhere that the Bible teaches anything about God being the force, or the force being with you, or anything like that, in the Bible. Now it's in Star Wars, but it's not in the Bible. And so the god of forces, I don't want to have anything to do with something that's talking about the force, personally. Because to me, the only time I see in the Bible, the Antichrist is worshiping a god of forces. You know, so I'm not going to go watch Star Wars with you after the service. And a god whom his fathers do not, shall he honor with gold and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things. Thus shall he do in the most strongholds, with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge, and increase with glory, and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain. And at the end of the time, shall the king of the... And I don't have time to read the whole thing. Let's skip down to chapter 12, verse 1. And again, you ought to read this in your own time and get all this. Fascinating stuff though, from Daniel. But he says in verse 1, And at that time shall Michael... Stand up. Michael is who? The archangel. Talked about throughout the Bible. The great prince, which standeth for the children of thy people, and there shall be a time of trouble, such as what never was since there was a nation, even to that same time. That's the same thing where he talked about, there shall be great tribulations, was not since the beginning of that time, nor there ever shall be. Now, a lot of people, this is where they miss the boat when they're interpreting these prophecies. Here's what they say. Well, see, it keeps talking about in the book of Daniel, thy people, your people, it's all about the Jews. Now, people say this all the time. And they'll quote Daniel, all throughout Daniel 11, and it's 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. And they'll say, Oh, see, he's talking to Daniel about his people. And I had a preacher bring this up to me like a month ago. And he said, see, where he's talking to Daniel, he said, thy people, that's the Jews. Well, let's keep reading the verse and see if it really is the Jews. It says, for the children of, which standeth up for the children of thy people. So who is Michael standing for? The children of thy people, whoever thy people are, he's talking to Daniel. There shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that same time. And at that time, thy people shall be delivered, everyone that shall be found written in the book. Did it say everyone who is a born Jew? Everyone who is a descendant of Abraham? No. Everyone whose name is in the book of life. That's God's people. You want to know who God's chosen people are? It's believers of all races, of all nations, of all ethnicities, of all languages, of all kindreds. That's God's people. All that are written in the book. And that's straight out of the book of Daniel, my friend. So when you're reading Daniel, why don't you just interpret it when it says thy people, that he's not talking about physical Israelites, he's talking about those that are written in the book. That's what it says. Let the Bible tell you. Don't let some dispensationalist tell you what it means. Don't let some Zionist, Baptist, pre-tribulationist tell you what it means. It says right there, it's the ones that are written in the book, are going to be delivered from what? From the time of trouble. What's the time of trouble? The tribulation. That means you're not going to be gone before the tribulation. You're going to be delivered after the tribulation if your name is in the book. You're going to go up in the rapture. That's what the Bible says. That's why it says in Revelation chapter 13 that all those who are there shall worship him whose names are not written in the book of life. So that means there are going to be some people that whose name is in the book of life and they're the ones who are growing up in the rapture because they're the ones who are saved. The rest who worship him, their names are blotted out in the book of life because they worship the Antichrist, those who are unbelievers, who seal their fate when they take the mark of the beast, they lose all chance to ever get saved again, the Bible says. Once you receive that mark, you're done. I'm talking about unbelievers now, not believers. Christians will not be worshiping the Antichrist. No believer will be deceived by the Antichrist according to Matthew 24. It will not be possible. And I've had other sermons on that. But isn't that clear? I mean, Daniel 12 one makes it very clear who the tribulation is about. Daniel's people, God's people, those who are in the book, not the Jews, but rather Christians are going to be the ones persecuted. God's angel Michael will be standing up for them. There will be war in heaven between Michael and the devil and all that. That's in Revelation 12. Look at verse two. Let's read the end of verse one again so that it can lead us into verse two. Okay, so we get this. It says, And at that time, so that's what time? There's the time of trouble, such as never was more. That's the time of tribulation. The word tribulation and trouble are used interchangeably in Matthew 24 and Mark 13. It says, At that time, thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written the book, and many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever. So what's that saying? That's saying, look, of those who are resurrected, those who turn many to righteousness are going to shine as bright as the stars forever and ever. What does that mean? What does it mean? They that be wise and then he defines those that are wise as they that turn many to righteousness. Well, think about this first. The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life and he that win at souls is what? Those who turn many to righteousness, those that turn people from darkness to light, those who go out and preach the gospel and get people saved and then not only get them saved, bring them to church and get them baptized, and not only get them saved and bring them to church and get them baptized, but teach them to observe all things whatsoever. Christ has commanded us. Those who turn many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever. What does that mean? Look at 1 Corinthians 15, and I'm almost done, this is the last place we're going to turn, but 1 Corinthians 15 says this. Now you see how much the Old Testament has to offer in Bible study? Even with the second coming of Christ, even an event that was thousands and thousands of years off for them, it's covered in the Old Testament heavily. And we're not even, by praying, we're not even scratching the surface. I mean we're not even close. We're just touching some of the highlights in Job and Daniel and Joel and these different scriptures, just barely scratching the surface. It says in verse 35, but some man will say, we have 1 Corinthians 15, 35, how are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come, thou fool, thou which thou sowest is not quick and excepted die, and thou which thou sowest thou sowest not that body that shall be but bare ground, it may chance of weed or of some other grave, but God giveth it a body as it has pleased him and to ever see his own body. I'm sorry about the resurrection, he's comparing it to a seed being sown in the ground and then bringing forth plant. He says here, all flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of men, another kind of beast. So look, my flesh is not the same flesh of a monkey, okay? It's a different kind of flesh, I'm not a mammal, I am a man, and I'm created in the image of God. My flesh is not the same as the flesh of a beast, and then the flesh of a beast is not the same as the flesh of fishes, and then the flesh of birds is different still. Look at verse 40, there are also celestial bodies. What does a celestial mean? Sorry, by heaven, is basically what that means. He says there are celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial, but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. Terrestrial means earthly. Who was in the Spanish class this morning? You know this, right? We were in John 3 12, cosas terrenas, you know, tierra is earth, terrestrial, we talked about that. Heavenly, earthly, are the two words we're dealing with. There is one glory, read this carefully, verse 41, there is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars. What is glory? Brightness is what it's talking about. The sun has a certain degree of brightness, the moon has a certain degree of brightness, and then the stars vary in brightness. Some stars are brighter than others. The moon is brighter than any of the stars, the sun is brighter than the moon. Everybody understand? There's a difference in glory. It says, for one star differth from another star in glory. And again, glory is not talking about like, oh man, we won the basketball game, we get all the glory, you know. Glory means brightness here. It talks about the glory of the sun, the glory of the moon. How bright does it shine? He says, one star differth from another star in glory, so also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption. It is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor. It is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness. It is raised in power. It is sown a natural body. It's talking about your physical body dying. That's why we bury people, by the way, no cremator. We sow their body into the ground because we believe that one day it will rise again. He says it is sown a natural body, verse 44, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body and there is a spiritual body and so it is written. The first man, Adam, was made a living soul. The last Adam, we're talking about Jesus Christ, was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit thou wast not first which is spiritual, but thou which is natural, and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth earthy, the second man is the Lord from heaven. Right? The second Adam is Jesus Christ. As is the earthy, such are they that are earthy, and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly, and as to be born the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Neither does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, for the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible and we shall be changed. That goes all the way back to the first scripture I read you in Job. You probably don't remember, but he said, if a man dies, shall he live again? Job 14, 14. All the days of my appointed time will I wait till my change come. Talking about a man dying and living again, he calls it his change. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. So what's the moral of the story? We could go on and on. Great chapter, great Bible, great stuff, but what's the point of it all? The point is this. One day you will die, no matter what. Unless you happen to live through the whole tribulation, just happen to be alive when Jesus returns. And most people throughout history were obviously not alive. Most people die of physical death. Maybe if you make it through the whole thing and it happens in your lifetime, maybe you'll just go up in the clouds and you will not sleep and you'll just be changed. But look, let's just say for argument that that's not going to happen in our lifetime, just for now. Or let's, you know, some of you are older too. Now I'm young. I mean, for it to happen in my lifetime, it could happen like 50 years from now, right? Some of you never happen sooner than later. No, I'm kidding. Now think about this. Everybody's going to die. Just, you know, outside of, you know, Jesus coming back while you're alive and stuff. You know, let's just talk in terms of just the physical process, right? Everybody dies. Now do you think it's ever pleasant when somebody dies? Stop and think about this. Think about all the different ways that you can die. You could die in a car accident. I'm sorry, this is morbid. You could die in an airplane crash. You could die in a car accident. Okay, you could get cancer and die of slow, painful death. You could get worms like King Herod and be eaten up by worms if you make political speeches that are self-florified and persecute God's people. Okay, it's true. Okay, you can die of, you know, you could be shot. You could be murdered. You could be stabbed. There's all these different ways you're going to die. None of them is pleasant. I mean, how many people go to bed and just peacefully go to sleep with a smile on their face and then grandma's gone? You know, I mean, that's great. That's wonderful. But you know what? Most people die in some kind of pain. Now who's ever been present while someone died? I've never, I've never been, I've never been present while someone died. I don't know what it's like. But you know what? Death is something that happens to everybody, right? And usually it's not pleasant. So wait a minute. If you're going to die anyway and your life is like a vapor that appeared for a little time and vanishes away, what better way to go than dying for Jesus Christ? I mean, stop and think about it. So don't live in fear. The Bible says, fear none of those things, which I'll say. You know, I'll sit there, oh man, I'm going to have to die for Jesus. You're going to die anyway. So what? Just, I mean, do you understand what I'm saying? People who aren't even saved, they're all going to die. I mean, everybody's going to die. So what? You know, what's the worst thing that could happen? What do I, look, what does it say in 1 Corinthians 15? Oh death, where is thy sting? Oh grave, where is thy victory? Paul said, for me to live is Christ and to die is gain. Whether you live to be 50, 60, 70, 80, you know what? You're going to die anyway. Why not go out with a bag? That's what I'm saying. Now look, not everybody's going to die for Christ as a mark. But you know what? Those who do are going to be rejoicing in heaven. That they were counted worthy to die for Jesus Christ. I mean, that's a privilege. Okay? That's what the Bible says. It's a privilege. No, it may not happen to any of us. It may happen to some. I don't know. But the bottom line is, there's nothing to fear about it. It's coming. God's going to protect you. His angels will encamp around you, the Bible says. Whatever happens to you, it's because God allowed it to happen. You know? And you know, if you lose your head, you know, that might be faster than some painful death somewhere, in some hospital somewhere. I mean, man, I'd rather have that than, you know, all these machines hooked up to me, and all these tubes coming out of me, and all these needles, and you know what I mean? Just good night. Get it over with. For real. So what I'm saying is, why don't you, and you know, I'm being kind of facetious, but at the same time, wait a minute. Why don't you just let God's will be done? Amen. Because God knows what is the right path for you. Maybe God's path is for you to be in that hospital someday, or be in that car crash, okay? But you know, I'm sorry to be so negative, but you know, if it's God's plan for you to die for him, why don't you just, why don't you just live the life that God has had for you? You know what I mean? And just do it. Just be faithful. Unto death. Why not? You're gonna die anyway. You know? Unless you made it to the rapture, and that'd be great. That'd be cool too. But you're gonna be in the rapture, even if you die, you still get the cool going up in the clouds. You're gonna get to do all that. It's like, oh man, it was cool because I was martyred, but it would have been cool to be in the rapture. You get both. That's like the best of both worlds right there. You're like, man, that's a weird song. But listen to this. What did it say in 1 Corinthians 15? In the resurrection, 1 is gonna differ in glory from the other. And he says, they that turn many to righteousness are gonna shine like the stars forever. But there's gonna be a difference in brightness, a difference in glory, between one and another. So basically, you know, let's say you got like one person saved in your whole life. And you know, praise God if you got somebody, even if you just got one person saved. Praise God, you got somebody saved. You did a great thing. You changed the whole course of eternity for someone by bringing them the gospel and showing them the savior, Jesus Christ. Praise God. You know, you're gonna have a little bit of a glow. You know what I mean? You're gonna be shining a little bit. Let's say you got 10 people saved. You know, now it's like 10 watts of glory. You know what I'm saying? Let's say you got 30 people saved. Now you're like a 30 watt. You know what I mean? And you know, you don't walk up to some people and it's like, oh, you know. Brother Dave, is that you? I didn't realize you got so many people saved. I can't even, you know, I can't even, whoa. But wait, who's gonna be the brightest one of all? Who's the one who's bright shining like the sun? Jesus Christ. Think about it now. Jesus Christ, the Bible says, he, his countenance was as bright as the sun for glory. And he could, you know, they couldn't even look upon him. You know, whoa. Because he is the ultimate soul winner. Because he's responsible for everybody who goes to heaven. I mean, he, he is basically the savior who died on the cross and shed his blood and paid and is a salvation. But you know what? That person that you had a part in, you'll get, you'll, you'll basically have a little bit of that brightness. Now do you want to shine like the stars forever and ever? You want to be bright, or do you want to walk around and be like, so dull, oh, I didn't, I hardly didn't see you there. Now I'm kind of being silly, but that's what the Bible says. They that turn many to righteousness shall shine as the stars are. They that instruct many, they that do know their God in the last days, and are strong and do exploits, they're the ones who are going to shine for all eternity. So do you want to shine today and be Mr. Popular and shine on the silver screen and shine on the magazine cover and shine on all the billboards for a temporary time? Or do you want to have the real glory of being a servant of Jesus Christ and ruling and reigning with Christ forever and ever? Hey, yes, we are losing the battle in this country. Yes, we're losing the battle in this world. Yes, the Antichrist one day will defeat us, but then Jesus comes into peace. And then we rule and reign with Christ for a thousand years and then forever. Now you say, oh, it all sounds like a fairy tale. So it's real. My friend, we can see it happening all around us more than anybody else today. Those of us living in September of 2009 can truly say, even so come Lord Jesus. We know that these things are at hand. How soon? We don't know, but the mystery of iniquity does already work. And so keep your eyes open and make yourself strong in spirit. Get close to the Lord. Get close to God's word. Be in church. Be in season out of season. Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night. Be here learning, growing, being strong so that when the day comes, you'll be one of the ones that Daniel prophesied about that would be strong and do exploits. Father, thank you so much for your word, dear God. Help every person here to be strengthened by your word, dear God. Not to be a weakling. Not to be one of these weak, fearful Christians, dear God, that just has their tail between their legs and flees when no man pursues. Help us, dear God, to be as bold as a lion in these last days. And if we have to suffer, then so be it. If we have to give our lives, then praise God for it. We love you in Jesus' name. We pray these things in Jesus' name.