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You Alright, now in Revelation chapter 6, we're just getting into the opening of the seals of the book that the Lamb had in chapter number 5, and this is where we really start getting into the meat and potatoes of Revelation, into the actual events of the end times. Everything up to this point has pretty much been introductory. And in verse number 1, the Bible reads, And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts sang, Come and see. And whenever you see the word, as it were, it means that it wasn't really thunder, it was just as if it were thunder. His voice was so powerful that it sounded like thunder. And he said, And I saw, and behold, a white horse. And he that sat on him had a bow, and a crown was given unto him, and he went forth conquering and to conquer. Now, I believe that this rider on the white horse is the antichrist, and the reason that I believe that, you say, well, you know, where do you get that, just from looking at a few words there. Well, the reason that I believe that is because if we compare Revelation 6 with Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21, it is amazing how the events line up exactly. And very clearly we can see that the events that are described in Revelation chapter 6 are the same exact events of Matthew 24. That's why they both culminate, Matthew 24 and Revelation 6, with the sun and moon being darkened and the stars falling. Because it's the same chronology of events. And when we compare with Matthew 24, it becomes very obvious that this is the antichrist because everything else matches up. That should match up also. But if you look at the verse, it says in verse 2, I saw, and behold, a white horse. Well, first of all, if we remember when Jesus Christ rides in on a white horse in Revelation 19, it would make sense that if the antichrist is someone who is a false Christ, someone who is saying, I am Christ, it would make sense that he would impersonate Jesus Christ in that way by coming on a white horse. And it says that he had a bow. A bow is a weapon of warfare. And it says a crown was given unto him and he went forth conquering and to conquer. Well, if you remember when Revelation 13 talks about the antichrist, it says that the dragon gave him his power and his seat and great authority. And here we see that a crown is given unto him. He's being given authority by someone else. So that all matches up perfectly. Now what I want you to do is put your finger in Revelation 6 and then go to Matthew 24. We could really do this with Matthew 24 or Mark 13 or Luke 21 because they're all going to line up perfectly. But we might as well just do Matthew 24 since it's the more famous passage and it's just easy to flip back and forth between two things. So let's start at the beginning of Matthew 24. And if you would look at verse 3, the Bible reads, and as he sat upon the Mount of Olives the disciples came unto him privately saying, tell us when shall these things be and what shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name saying, I am Christ and shall deceive many. So right away, the first thing that Jesus begins to talk about is many people coming and saying, I am Christ and deceiving many. You say, well, that's many that are claiming to be Christ. Well, but in 1 John chapter 2, the Bible says, little children, it is the last time and as you have heard that antichrist, singular, as you've heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists whereby we know that it is the last time. So here in Matthew 24, the first thing we see is that he says, many shall come in my name saying, I am Christ and shall deceive many. He says in verse 6, and he shall hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you be not troubled, for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. So in Matthew 24, first he brought up false Christs, then the next thing he brought up was wars and rumors of wars. We'll flip back to Revelation 6. The first seal was the antichrist, riding on a white horse, a crown was given unto him, he went forth conquering to conquer. Look at the second seal, verse 3, and when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, come and see. And there went out another horse that was red, and power was given to him that sat there on to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another. And there was given unto him a great sword. So that matches up perfectly with what Matthew 24 said about nation rising against nation and wars and rumors of wars. So let's look at the third seal. It says in verse number 5, and when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, come and see, and I beheld and lo, a black horse, and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, a measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny, and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. So when the third seal is opened, what we see is prices of food are brought out, a measure of wheat for a penny. You say, well, how much is a penny? Well, if you study your Bible, in the book of Matthew, there was a parable about day laborers who worked all day, a 12-hour day, and they agreed with the master of the house that they would each be paid a penny for their work. That shows that a penny is equivalent to a day's work for an unskilled laborer. Well, if we were to think about that in terms of the economy of the United States here, if somebody goes to the day laborer, labor ready, if they were to work a 12-hour day, they're going to walk away with probably about $100, maybe $150. But let's just say $100. Now, can you imagine going to the store and buying a measure of wheat for $100? That's a very steep price for food, and what this shows is that there's famine going on, because when you're paying really high prices for food, the laws of supply and demand mean that obviously the demand is much higher than the supply. Obviously there's a shortage of food, which is why the food is so expensive. So the first seal was the Antichrist going forth to conquer. He's not totally in power yet, oh no. He's just going out to conquer. He's going out to take power. Next thing we see, warfare. We see nation rising against nation. That's the second seal. The third seal, we see these really high food prices. Well go back to Matthew 24, keep your finger on Revelation 6. And of course he talked about false Christs. Verse 6, he said, you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you be not troubled, for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nations shall rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. That's the second seal. And there shall be what? Famines. There's your third seal. Do you see how it's just following an exact sequence? It says there shall be famines, and then look what comes after the famines. And pestilences and earthquakes in diverse places, all these are the beginning of sorrows. Flip back if you would to Revelation 6 now. And in Revelation 6, with the opening of the fourth seal, it says in verse 7, when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, come and see. And I looked and behold a pale horse, and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth to kill with sword and with hunger and with death and with the beasts of the earth. So first seal, Antichrist. Second seal, wars. Third seal, famine. The fourth seal is basically death. Power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth to kill with what? Sword and with hunger. That's the wars and famines that we've already seen. And with death and with the beasts of the earth. That fits in perfectly with what the Bible's talking about in Matthew 24 when it says famines and pestilences and earthquakes and divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. It's talking about a lot of people dying through disease and through these earthquakes. And so every time there's an earthquake that's major, people die in large numbers. And so all of it's matching up perfectly. Well, let's look what's next in Revelation 6 verse 9. We see the fifth seal open. 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. So these are people that are being killed for the cause of Christ. Look back at Matthew 24. Let's see if that comes next. Right after the things we just looked at, it says in verse 9, then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted and shall kill you. See how it matches up perfectly with the fifth seal? And ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended and shall betray one another and shall hate one another. Now look if you would at Revelation chapter 5 again. It says 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. And they cried with a loud voice saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? 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. Now I've already made this point but I just want to drive it in one more time quickly is that here these martyrs are saying that their blood has not yet been avenged and that God is not yet judging the earth. So that shows that the events of the first four seals are not the wrath of God. And obviously the fifth seal is not the wrath of God. It's Christians being killed for the cause of Christ. That's not God doing that. That's the devil. That's the antichrist. And so it's very clear when you look at what they're saying at the fifth seal there, they're anxious for God to begin to start pouring out his wrath. He hasn't done it yet. He's about to. They said just a very little season they need to rest and then it will be fulfilled. And then right after that, what do we have? The opening of the sixth seal. And it says in verse 12, And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and though there was a great earthquake and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair and the moon became as blood, this is the sun and moon being darkened, which is a very key event, the day of the Lord. And we're going to cover that in a moment, more about that. But go back to Matthew 24 if you would. Now if you know a little bit about the chronology of end times prophecy, you know that in the beginning of the Daniel 70th week, whatever you want to call it, we have first of all the antichrist comes in to conquer. Then we have wars. Then we have famines. Then we have death on a large scale due to pestilence, beasts of the earth, earthquakes, just all type of disasters that are causing people to die. Not the wrath of God though. Then when we get to the fifth seal, he says they're going to deliver you up to be afflicted and kill you. We have these people being martyred. Now look down if you would at Matthew 24 and look what comes next. It says in verse number 10, And then shall many be offended and shall betray one another and shall hate one another. Talking about the persecutions and martyrs. And then it says, And many false prophets shall rise and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations and then shall the end come. When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet, and in the holy place, who so readeth, let him understand. Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains. Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house, neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child and to them that give suck in those days. But pray ye 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, no nor 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 so here we see that after what the Bible calls the beginning of sorrows, he talks about, you know, the anti-Christ going out conquering and to conquer, the false Christ. Then we see wars and really the whole world at war, peace taken from the entire world, nations rising against each other in world warfare. Then we see terrible famines. Then we see just death on a mass scale from pestilence, disease, earthquakes. The Bible calls all that the beginning of sorrows. Okay, so have we got that? Then after that he says, then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted and shall kill you. So they're not really afflicting Christians or delivering them up to be killed during that first part, okay? Then it becomes a thing of persecuting Christians, persecuting God's people. Then he says when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet, he said then shall be great tribulation, okay? Now we could definitely characterize the events leading up to that as tribulation. It is a time of trouble. It is a time of great affliction. But when the abomination of desolation takes place, that's when we enter the phase of what is called great tribulation, okay? And at that time, the persecution of God's people will intensify. Christians will begin to be persecuted leading up to the abomination of desolation. But when the abomination of desolation takes place, and the Bible tells that that will be in the midst of the week, according to Daniel 9.27, that that will take place in the midst of the week, and if we were to be exact about it, it's 1260 days into the seven-year period that we're covering with most of the book of Revelation. 1260 days in, you have the abomination of desolation. Then there's great tribulation. But for the elect's sake, the time period of the great tribulation shall be shortened. And he said except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved. But for the elect's sake, they shall be shortened. The reason why is because if you study Revelation chapter 13, which covers in great detail the events of the tribulation, the great tribulation that is, and the persecution upon God's people, you'll see that you're not going to be able to buy or sell during this time unless you will worship the antichrist, unless you'll receive the mark of the beast. And anyone who will not worship him will be killed. That's where you're getting these mass numbers of martyrs and this mass number of Christians being killed for the cause of Christ that we see with the fifth seal and what we see in Matthew 24 because of the fact that you can't buy or sell and you have a death warrant on you. And so that's going to be great, great tribulation. That's going to be a very difficult time. And look, if this were allowed to run its course, let's say we're allowed to go, since this happens in the exact middle of the week, the abomination of desolation, let's say we're allowed to go for the full 42 months that the antichrist is in power because the antichrist is going to remain in power. He's going to fully take power in the middle of the week and he's going to remain in power for 42 months or three and a half years. If this were allowed to run its course for that whole time, every Christian is going to be killed. I mean, how are you going to live for three and a half years with all the technology that's out there, all the satellites and all the control and the infrastructure that's being put in place of checkpoints and surveillance cameras and satellites? You wouldn't be able to survive. No flesh should be saved. So he's saying for the elect's sake, those days shall be shortened. So not all believers will be killed. Many, many believers will survive this time and make it unto the end. Now the Bible says, whosoever shall endure to the end shall be saved. Now some people have misrepresented that to mean that in order to be saved, meaning in order for us to make it to heaven, in order for us to have eternal life, we have to somehow endure to the end in our Christian life, meaning we have to stay in church and we have to keep on serving God. Now go to Acts chapter 2 quickly, I just want to clarify this. Acts chapter number 2, they'll say, you know, you've got to endure to the end or you're not really saved. But what we need to realize is that in Matthew 24, right after he says, he that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved, he says, except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved. But for the elect's sake, those days shall be shortened. So the elect are already saved or they wouldn't be the elect because the elect are those that are justified by the Lord Jesus Christ, according to Romans 8. The elect are those who are in Christ and so for the elect's sake, the days are shortened that their flesh might be saved because otherwise their flesh is going to be killed. Their flesh is going to be executed, okay? And let me show you why it uses the word saved, okay? Look if you would at Acts chapter 2, verse number 19, and I will show wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath, blood and fire and vapor of smoke, the sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, sound familiar? It says before that great and notable day of the Lord come and it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. So that's a verse that's used in Romans 10 just to talk about salvation in general, that anyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. And that's tied in with the concept that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. But what it's actually specifically saying in Acts chapter 2 and specifically saying in Joel chapter 2 where this comes from, because if you go to Joel 2 it says whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be delivered. And what that's saying is that anyone who has called upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, anyone who is saved as it were, is going to be delivered at the time that the sun and moon are darkened. Because when the sun and moon are darkened that's when Jesus Christ comes in the clouds and those of us that are alive and remain will be rescued from the great tribulation at that time. You know we're going to be in the midst of going through great tribulation but thank God those days will be shortened. Jesus Christ will come in the clouds and cut the tribulation short and he will rescue us. And if he didn't there'd no flesh be saved. I mean because nobody could survive for three and a half years of that kind of intense persecution and so forth. So back to Matthew 24 if you would and the Bible says in verse number 26, wherefore if they shall say unto you behold he is in the desert go not forth behold he is in the secret chambers believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east and shineth even under the west so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be for wheresoever the carcass is thither will the eagles be gathered together. So this is a very clear scripture that's telling us that when Jesus Christ comes we won't have to wonder if he's really here because every eye shall see him. The Bible says in Revelation 1.7 Behold he cometh with clouds and every eye shall see him and they also which pierced him and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him even so Amen. So here he says you know don't believe anybody who tells you he's here he's there he's in the secret chambers it's a secret he says no no when he comes he will come as the lightning that shines from one end of heaven to the other you'll know that it's him. That's why the doctrine of a secret rapture is such a false doctrine because what they're saying is Jesus Christ came secretly everybody didn't see it he says no you'll know why would Jesus be warning us don't believe anybody that tells you it's secret and then it's really going to be secret and then a lot of it you know and then and then people are supposedly you know leaving behind a cassette tape that says you know if I'm gone you know and you're listening this tape that means I've been raptured and you know you need it you know you didn't get saved or whatever. Basically that person should look at this and say well no that's not true because when Jesus came he'll light up the whole sky from one end of heaven to the other. That's what the Bible really says and then he says this where so ever the carcasses there will the eagles be gathered together. Now what is that verse referring to when he says for where so ever the carcasses there will the eagles be gathered together? Well he just finished talking about Christ coming in the clouds then he uses the conjunction for connecting it to what he just said for where so ever the carcasses there will the eagles be gathered together. Now why is he using that illustration? Well keep your finger there and go to Luke 17 and I'm coming back to Revelation 6 but I just want to lay this groundwork and it's all going to fit together in a moment I promise. But it says in Luke chapter 17 it says in verse number 34, I tell you in that night there shall be two men in one bed. The one shall be taken and the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding together. The one shall be taken and the other left. Two men shall be in the field. The one shall be taken and the other left. And they answered and said unto him where Lord and he said unto them where so ever the body is thither will the eagles be gathered together. Now if we were to look at that scripture right there it's talking about obviously I believe the rapture you know you got people being taken other people being left behind it's pretty clear when you compare it with Matthew 24. And if we look at Matthew 24, are you in Matthew 24? If we look at it in verse 27 we're looking at Jesus Christ coming in the clouds, the coming of the Son of Man, then the next verse says the carcass is thither will the eagles be gathered together. Well the carcass is singular. Carcass means body right? And then we've got the eagles that would be what? Singular or plural? I mean that's plural. Why would eagles gather together at a carcass? To eat it right? Because eagles are birds of prey and eagles are some of the animals that it was told unto the children of Israel that they should not eat this animal. Because it is a predator, it is something that eats the carcass of a corpse or a cadaver. And so when he says where the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered. I heard people say this, well that's a negative gathering. A dead body? A carcass? Yeah but not when you're an eagle. I mean when you're an eagle a carcass is a good thing. That's a buffet right there. So they said oh this is a negative gathering, it's a bad gathering. And they tried to say that people are being gathered for a bad reason or to be punished. But he says that the Son of Man comes in the clouds and he talks about one being taken the other left and they say where Lord, like where are they being taken? And he says whithersoever the carcass is, thither shall the eagles be gathered together. And if we look up the word eagle in the Bible there's a scripture in Exodus when they're leaving the land of Egypt and he says that I bear you up on eagle's wings and brought you unto myself. You know it's very similar to the wording and the language that he uses when he talks about the rapture where he says you know I'll come again and receive you unto myself. So for some reason he chooses to use this kind of odd illustration about eagles feasting on a carcass. But basically he's saying that you know the eagles will be gathered together to the carcass is a parable or symbolic of the fact that we will be gathered together unto Jesus Christ in the clouds. When you read it in Matthew 24 there's really no other way to interpret it when he talks about Christ coming in the clouds and then follows it up with because wheresoever the carcass is there will the eagles be gathered together. And then he begins to talk about that gathering because look what he says next. Immediately after the tribulation of those days verse 29 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 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 what? Gather together his elect from the four winds from the one end of heaven to the other. So when we look at it we've got Christ in the clouds in verse 27 as the lightning shining from one end of heaven to the other. That's in verse 27. In verse 30 we have the son of man again in the clouds in heaven. And then in verse 31 we have the elect being gathered together unto him. So right in the middle of that, in the middle of talking about Christ coming in the clouds And in the midst of talking about gathering the elect is a parable that says whithersoever the carcass is, then there shall the eagles be gathered together. It's pretty hard to look at this and not interpret it as the elect or the eagles and Jesus represented by the carcass. And the Bible makes it clear of course that the lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters. He shall wipe away all tears from the house. You say no, Pastor Aaron, that's a bizarre interpretation to say. You know we're not going to eat Jesus. Oh really? I thought the Bible said that except you eat the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood you have no life in you. So why would he not use an illustration about eagles that are eating at a carcass when the Bible talks about us eating the flesh and drinking the blood of the son of man. There's a whole chapter about it, or not a whole chapter, but a great part of John chapter 6 deals with that subject. And I'm making such a big point about this because you know those that believe in a pre-tribulation rapture in direct contradiction of chapter 24 verses 29 through 31, which clearly spells out that Christ comes in the clouds and the trumpet sounds and the elect are gathered after the tribulation, you know they will take these verses that say in verse 40, then shall two be in the field, the one shall be taken and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill, the one shall be taken and the other left. They try to say oh that's not the rapture. You know those people are being taken to a bad place. They're being taken for judgment. They're being taken, you know, whatever that's supposed to mean, okay. But that's what they say, okay. But if you look at Luke 17, remember, he said two in the field, one taken, one left. Two women at the mill, one taken, one left. Where? With us whoever the carcass is, thither shall the eagles be gathered again. You know what that does? That proves, are you listening to me? That proves that verses 40 and 41 of Matthew 24 tie in with verses 29 through 31. You know those that are pre-trib will try to separate the two because then another pre-trib interpretation, because one pre-trib interpretation will say oh 40 and 41 aren't about the rapture, they're being taken for judgment. But then another pre-trib interpretation will say well, you know, when he says after the tribulation that's not the rapture, but by the time we get down to verses 40 and 41, we're on the subject of the rapture now. And the reason they want to be back on the subject of the rapture is because they really like verse 36, but of that day and hour knoweth no man, no not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. That's where they derive their doctrine of imminence, saying Jesus Christ come at any moment because no man knoweth the day or the hour. So those that are pre-trib, when we're reading immediately after the tribulation, all of a sudden it's not the rapture Christ coming in the clouds, but when we get to verse 36 it suddenly becomes the rapture again, and then when we're down to 40 and 41 it's not the rapture anymore. Or if it is the rapture, then you better realize that the rapture in verse 40 and 41 is described the same way at the end of Luke 17, and when they ask where, it said whithersoever the carcass is, thither shall the eagles be gathered together. So basically in order to wrap your mind around this pre-trib rapture paradigm, it's like verse 27 is the rapture, verse 29 is not the rapture, you know verse 36 is the rapture, and then verse 40 is not the rapture, even though it's all talking about the same day. It's bizarre. I hope you understand what I'm saying. I'm trying to make this as clear and understandable as possible. Just two chapters, just Matthew 24, Luke 17, put them side by side. It's so clear. Now I've got to get into the day of the Lord though, we've got to get into the rest of Revelation 6, and of course people will try to say that this whole chapter is talking to the Jews. Let me ask you something. Have you ever thought that the whole world was at war? Can somebody help me out with this? Didn't it say, you know, oh Matthew 24, that's all about the Jews. This is all talking about the Jews. Okay, well then why did he say that he should take peace from the earth, that they should kill one another? He didn't say I'm going to take peace from the Middle East so that they'll kill one another. That's already, that's just another day at the office, you know, for the Middle East. He said he's going to take peace from the earth, that they'll kill one another. All of these things are worldwide. Just because he gives a specific instruction, are you listening? He gives a specific instruction that says, then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains. That just highlights the fact that the rest of the chapter is talking to other people that are not in Judea. For him to even bring up the fact specifically, here's a certain instruction for those that are in Judea, as opposed to everything else I've been saying, which is just for everybody. And that's why at the end of the passage in Mark 13, which is a parallel passage, he says what I say unto you I say unto all, watch. And so it's pretty clear, others will say well you mentioned the Sabbath day, verse 20, but pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day. That there proves that the whole thing is to the Jews. Now to me this is silly because what they're saying is that I guess they think he means that Jews have to still keep the Sabbath today. I guess that's what they think. Just if you're a Jew you're supposed to keep the Sabbath, if you're not a Jew you don't keep the Sabbath. I thought God's commandments were the same for everybody. I mean if you believe in keeping the Sabbath, wouldn't it make sense that that's something that everybody should be keeping in 2013? And if you don't believe that we need to observe the Sabbath day, wouldn't it make sense that nobody needs to observe the Sabbath day or do we need a genealogy to figure out who is Jewish and who is of an Israelite ethnicity so we'll figure out whether we need to keep the Sabbath or not? I mean what kind of a bizarre doctrine is that? You say well what does it mean then? Here's what it means. It's the same reason why you pray that your flight's not in the winter. The same reason you pray that it's not on the Sabbath. Why? Because it's more difficult to travel in the winter. I mean if you're fleeing, if you're trying to take a trip, what's easier? Winter or summer? If you're heading for the hills, if you're out in the woods, where would you rather be? Summer or winter? Basically if you're fleeing in the winter, there's difficulty about traveling, okay? Well now think about on the Sabbath day. And again, if you're in that part of the world that observes the Sabbath day, which would basically be the nation of Israel or even could be a place like Europe because in Europe today they still shut everything down one day in seven. Now if you're in the United States, man, everything's open seven days a week. But if you're in Germany, it shuts down on Sunday. I mean it shuts down completely. And if you're in Israel, I've never been to Israel, but I'm assuming things shut down on the Sabbath day, okay? And you say, wow, but Sunday's not the seventh day. Well apparently you've never been to Germany because in Germany every calendar starts on a Monday and ends on a Sunday, which makes Sunday the seventh day, right? I mean that's every calendar I've ever seen in Germany. But anyway, if you're in a place where that affects you, especially a place like Israel, okay, because he's given special instructions to those in Judea, that's going to make your flight more difficult because of the Sabbath day. That's why in Mark 13, which is a book that's a little bit less geared toward the nation of Israel, it just says pray that your flight be not in the winter, period. You know, it doesn't take the time to give that detail about the Sabbath day. But if it's applicable, it's applicable. You know, it just depends on where you live. If you're in an area. So what he's not saying is, you know, pray that your flight, and I think this is funny, pray that your flight be not on the Sabbath day because when people are trying to kill you and the Sabbath day rolls around, yup, stop everything, it's the Sabbath. Can't travel and then I'm just a sitting duck, they're going to kill me. I mean do you really think if somebody's trying to kill you, I mean I don't care what you believe about the Sabbath. You think if somebody's hunting you to kill you, God expects you to stop and observe the Sabbath, you know, when you're running for your life. I mean that's just a, you don't understand the Sabbath. I mean study the Bible on the Sabbath. Remember what David did when he was a hundred, I mean give me a break. But obviously he's referring to other people's observance of the Sabbath around you that's going to hinder you because the stores are closed, the shops are closed, the trains aren't moving, you know, or whatever that's slowing you down in your travels, okay. But anyway, let's get into the day of the Lord. Matthew 24, 29 says, 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 the heaven and the powers of the heaven shall be shaken and then shall appear the sign of the son of man in heaven and on and on the trumpet sounds the elect are gathered. Go to Revelation 6 and let's look at this in Revelation chapter 6 where we see the day of the Lord. It says in verse 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 casteth her untimely figs when she is shaken of a mighty wind and the heaven 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 man and the rich man and the chief captains and the mighty man and every bond man and every free man hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains and said to the mountains and 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. The sun and moon being darkened is what initiates the day of the Lord. The Bible says the sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and terrible day of the Lord come. And so when the sun and moon are darkened that's what brings us into the day of the Lord. Now I believe that the day of the Lord is a literal day. I'm not saying that it's a 24 hour period, I'm saying that it is a day on the calendar as it were. I mean it's an actual day. I don't think it represents a longer period of time. I believe that the day of the Lord is a specific day. It's a certain day and that day is characterized by total darkness of the sun, moon and stars. It's also characterized by God's wrath being poured out. It's the beginning of God's wrath being poured out because we proved when we looked at the events of the fifth seal that God's wrath had not begun to be poured out yet. But then when we get to the sixth seal they say the great day of his wrath is come. Another reason why it's important to have a King James Bible because these modern Bible versions say the great day of his wrath has come and then someone could misconstrue that and say oh it happened a while back. It already happened. No he said it is come meaning it has just now arrived at this time. So the great day of his wrath. Now according to Matthew 24 when the sun and moon are darkened Christ comes in the clouds and we are gathered together unto him. So is this a good day for us or a bad day for us? It's a great day but if you're not saved is this a good day when you're left behind to face the wrath of almighty God? It's a terrible day. It's a horrible day. Now look it says in verse 16 they said to the mountains and 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 has come and who shall be able to stand? So they're afraid. They're fearing the wrath of God and they're fearing the wrath of the lamb, the wrath of Jesus Christ and they're wanting to be hidden from the face of him that sitteth on the throne. Just trying to get you the picture here. Now Jesus Christ said that at this time is when the trumpet is going to sound and the elect are gathered. That's why there's a great multitude of all nations and kindreds that appears in chapter 7. It's coming out of nowhere and it says they've come out of great tribulation. Makes perfect sense. Now let's just quickly go back and look at a few day of the Lord passages in the Old Testament. Go back to Isaiah chapter number 13. And again if you haven't already done so I very strongly encourage you to read Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21, and Revelation 6 and just put them all side by side. And I've found that anybody who does that gains a profound understanding of end times Bible prophecy. And what would really be a good idea is if you would basically put it in columns. And on a computer this is really easy to do. You can set up a page with maybe three columns or four columns depending on which passages and just put them side by side and line up the different subjects and you'll see it lines up perfectly. And by comparing the little differences in wording between Mark 13 and Matthew 24 and then comparing that with Revelation 6, boy it all just comes clear. I mean it all just fits. It all just makes sense. And then once you figure it out it's frustrating when people don't see it. When they don't understand it and you try to explain them just basic truths and they don't get it. I mean I think it would just be cured if they would just do that. If they would just lay it out, look at it side by side, compare scripture with scripture. Put away the prophecy book and the commentary and just compare these things. It's so obvious. But look at Isaiah 13. Here's a great passage on the day of the Lord. Now remember in the New Testament the day of the Lord was characterized by sun and moon being darkened, stars falling, wrath of God. Let's read it and see what we see here in Isaiah 13. 6. Howl ye. Now doesn't that sound like the mourning and wailing and so forth that we saw in the New Testament about the day of the Lord? Howl ye. The day of the Lord is at hand. It shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. Therefore shall all hands be faint and every man's heart shall melt and they shall be afraid. Pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them. They shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth. They shall be amazed one another. Their faces shall be as flames. So so far in the day of the Lord we're seeing that men are fearful, they're scared to death, they're howling, they're wailing, and it's comparing them to a woman that's in labor. That's the exact comparison he uses when talking about the day of the Lord in 1 Thessalonians 5. He says, when they shall say peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them as travail upon a woman with child and they shall not escape. But ye brethren are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief. Did he say, you're not even going to be here. You just got raptured in chapter 4. You're not even going to be around. No. He said, ye brethren are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light and the children of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep as do others but let us watch and be sober. He didn't say you're not going to be there. He didn't say that day is not going to overtake you at all. You're going to be up in heaven. No. He said that that day will not overtake you as a thief because you'll be watching. And because you're watching, you won't be overtaken as a thief. But it will overtake you. I mean, you're going to be there. What else are you watching for? But he says here, let's keep reading, behold the day the Lord cometh, verse 9, cruel. I mean God is really mad and he's going to punish people severely. He's going to be cruel, the Bible says, both with wrath and fierce anger to lay the land desolate and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light. The sun shall be darkened in his going forth and the moon shall not cause her light to shine and I will punish the world for their evil and the wicked for their iniquity and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. This is like the mighty man and the rich man and the chief captains where they're just whining and wailing and oh, hide us from the face of the land, I'm so scared. They're not going to be so tough at that time, they're not going to be so proud at that point. And it says in verse 12, I will make a man more precious than fine gold, even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir, therefore I will shake the heavens and the earth shall remove out of her place in the wrath of the Lord of hosts in the day of his fierce anger. So what did we see in that passage? God's wrath, God's anger, destruction of the wicked, sun, moon and stars are darkened, heaven and earth shaken and it was likened unto a woman being in labor. And what did we see in Revelation 6? An earthquake, sun and moon darkened, stars falling from heaven. And again, I've explained it before, but when the Bible talks about the stars falling from heaven, we're not talking about the gigantic balls of gas that are larger than the earth. Because here, the Bible clarifies in Isaiah 13 by explaining that the stars shall not give their light and that the constellations shall not give their light. We know that those stars still exist when the fourth trumpet judgment happens. The stars are darkened for a third part of the day. Those stars are still there. And if just one of those type of stars were to actually hit the earth, obviously that would be enough to demolish it. But when the Bible refers to the stars falling from heaven as a fig tree cast to their untimely face, we're talking about shooting stars or a meteor shower. Okay. And there's a lot of biblical evidence for that. I'm not going to spend a lot of time on that right now. But it says in, go to Joel. Let's look at Joel. Joel talks a lot about the day of the Lord toward the end of the Old Testament. And there are many other passages that talk about the day of the Lord. I'm just hitting a few highlights here. Just showing you how if a person doesn't understand what the day of the Lord is, they are ignorant of a lot of scriptures. Because the Bible really reinforces this idea of the day of the Lord all throughout the Old Testament and the New Testament. And it's always characterized by the same things. I mean, wasn't Isaiah 13 really consistent with both 1 Thessalonians 5 and Revelation 6? And it fits in perfectly with Matthew 24. Look at Joel 1, 15. Alas for the day, for the day of the Lord is at hand and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come. Look at chapter 2, verse 9. They shall run to and fro in the city. They shall run upon the wall. They shall climb up upon the houses. They shall enter in at the windows like a thief. The earth shall quake before them. The heavens shall tremble. The sun and the moon shall be dark. Sound familiar? And the stars shall withdraw their shining. Again, reinforcing what we saw in Isaiah 13. And the Lord shall utter his voice before his army for his camp is very great. For he is strong that executed his word for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible and who can abide it? Look at verse 30. And I will show wonders in the heaven and in the earth. Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and terrible day of the Lord come. So what do we see? God's wrath. The wicked being destroyed. A destruction from the Almighty. Sun and moon and stars darkened. Heaven and earth shaken. He mentions a thief again. He says clouds and darkness. He talks about fire. You know, all the same elements keep coming up over and over and over again. A thief, a woman in travail, sun and moon darkened. I mean, it's very consistent. Look at Amos. Look at verse 18. Woe unto you that desire the day of the Lord. To what end is it to you? Now a lot of people will use this and say, you know, if you think that the rapture is on the day of the Lord, then woe unto you because the Bible says woe unto you that desire the day of the Lord. But look what he's saying. He's specifically speaking to a group of people that are not saved because he says woe unto you that desire the day of the Lord. To what end is it for you? He doesn't just say to what end is it, period. He says to what end is it for you? The day of the Lord is darkness and not light to you, he's saying. He's saying to you because you're not saved. There's no reason for you to look forward to this day. He says it's darkness and not light. Whereas when the Bible discusses the day of the Lord, what does he say? We are not of the night nor of darkness. He says we're all the children of the light and the children of the day. We are not in darkness. They are in darkness. This passage just reinforces that. He says if a man did flee from a lion and a bear met him or went into the house and leaned his hand on the wall and a serpent bit him, verse 20, shall not the day of the Lord be darkness and not light, even very dark and no brightness in it. So what do we see? The wicked are being destroyed and we're seeing total darkness. Again ties in perfectly. Go to Zephaniah, just a few pages to the right in your Bible, Zephaniah chapter 1. The Bible reads in verse 14, the great day of the Lord is near. It is near and hasteth greatly. In the voice of the day of the Lord, the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities and against the high towers and I will bring distress upon men. They shall walk like blind men because they have sinned against the Lord and their blood shall be poured out as dust and their flesh as the dung, neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord's wrath. Remember the rich men, the chief men, they were fleeing but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all of them that dwell in the land. So in this passage from Zephaniah again, God's wrath, wicked being destroyed, clouds, darkness, you know, sun and moon darkened, mighty men crying bitterly, weeping, scared, right? And then we see a trumpet, you know, that fits in perfectly with Matthew 24's description of the day of the Lord and a fire because of course the same day Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone. The same day that we are caught up together to be with Christ in the air, the Lord will rain fire and brimstone upon this earth. Sudden destruction come up, shall come upon them as travail upon a woman with child and they shall not escape. Go to Revelation 6, let's finish up, Revelation chapter 6, just wanted to show you some day of the Lord passages. We've got Acts 2, we've got 1 Thessalonians 5, we've got 2 Peter chapter 3, we've got Zephaniah, we saw Joel, we saw Amos, we saw Isaiah, I mean over and over again this subject keeps coming up and it's always sun and moon darkened, sun and moon darkened. Would you say that the sun and moon being darkened is a pretty key event if it's coming up this often? I mean is there any doubt that this is a very major event in Bible prophecy? Okay what about this, is it one of the most talked about events in all of end times Bible prophecy? If we were to define the quantity of scriptures, I mean are there that many scriptures about the trumpet judgments as there are about sun and moon being darkened? I mean sun and moon being darkened is the key event, I mean it's the pivotal event. It is the quintessential event, why? Because it's associated with the second coming of Jesus Christ, why? Because it is the day that initiates his wrath, it's a very, very significant event. Now don't you think it'd be silly to say oh Revelation doesn't cover that event? I mean an event that's talked about this much in the Bible, wouldn't it be silly to say oh Revelation doesn't cover it? Or it just glosses it over, it just kind of insinuates that maybe the sun gets a little dark at one point? So wouldn't you say it'd be ridiculous to say that Revelation 6 is not the day of the Lord? When it's the only time in Revelation that the sun, moon are darkened and the stars fall and it has all the elements that we saw in all these places? So wouldn't it be ridiculous to say that the event in Revelation 6 of the sun, moon and stars being darkened is a different event than the sun, moon and stars being darkened in Matthew 24? It'd be foolish, wouldn't it? Well then the conclusion that we draw from that, go if you would to Revelation 6, the conclusion that we draw from that is that anything that comes after the sixth seal is not the tribulation. Because the Bible says immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon shall not give her light. Now look, if the sun and moon are not darkened until after the tribulation, and the Bible says the sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and terrible day of the Lord come, that tells me that the great and terrible day of the Lord does not come until after the tribulation. I mean how much simpler can this be? When they say the great day of his wrath has come, and Isaiah 13 said it, Zephaniah 1 said it, I mean all these passages said this is the day of the Lord's wrath. This is when he's coming to punish the earth. He has not punished the earth up to this point, folks. He punishes it on the day of the Lord. That's when he comes to bring his wrath, to bring his judgment, and it's after the tribulation. So why is it that when we say, you know, the rapture happens after the tribulation, they say well God wouldn't pour out his wrath on his own people. How can you believe that the wrath of the Lamb is part of the tribulation when Matthew 24 said that the sun and moon are darkened after the tribulation and the sun and moon are darkened before the great and terrible day of the Lord come? And people will try to say oh Matthew 24 is talking to the Jews. Okay let's pretend for a minute that Matthew 24 is only talking to the Jews. In fact let's just pretend it's just for Jerry Seinfeld and Adam Sandler and Steven Spielberg. Let's just pretend for a second it's not to Christians, it's not for the church saints, it's for the Jews. Okay let's pretend it's all to the Jews. Does that change the fact that it says that the sun and moon are darkened after the tribulation? Hey Adam Sandler, the sun and moon are darkened after the tribulation, okay? Does that change the meaning at all? No. The sun and moon are darkened after the tribulation. Will the day of the Lord's great wrath happen before the sun and moon are darkened? How many times did he tell us the sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and terrible day of the Lord come? So the day of the Lord happens after the tribulation. The day of his great wrath happens after the tribulation. He comes to judge the earth after the tribulation. He comes to pour out his wrath after the tribulation. That's why as soon as we see this ending of the sun and moon being darkened in chapter 6, he says in verse 17, for the great day of his wrath has come and you shall be able to stand. Next verse, and after these things, we're still in chronological order here, 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 and I saw another angel sending 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 saying, hurt not the earth, neither the sea nor the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God and the forest. So have the earth and the trees been hurt yet? No. He has not poured out his wrath. He has not rained fire and brimstone yet. But what does he do in chapter 8? He opens the seventh seal. Look at verse 1. And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour and I saw the seven angels which stood before God and to them were given seven trumpets and of course in verse 5, the angel took the censer and filled it with fire of the altar and cast it into the earth. And then by the time we get to verse 7, all the green grass is burned up and a third of the trees are burned up. So God's wrath and God's fire and brimstone and punishment and damnation, it all comes after the tribulation. Look, the trumpets come after the tribulation. The vials come after the tribulation. The tribulation is not God's wrath. It is not God judging and avenging the blood of his saints upon them that dwell on the earth. That happens after the tribulation. And so this chapter is key. I mean this chapter is probably one of the most important chapters in the whole book of Revelation, chapter 6. And the reason I say that is because this is the subject that Jesus took the time to spend a whole chapter discussing. The exact events of Revelation 6 are the exact events he spent Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21 telling us about. Very important. And it was so important, Isaiah covered it. Zephaniah covered it. Joel covered it. Even in the Old Testament, God was already laying down these principles and foundations. And isn't it sad that he laid it down for thousands of years, line upon line, precept upon precept, drove it in, drove it in, drove it in, and then preachers today that don't get it. They don't get it. They don't even know what the day of the Lord is. It's a sad day that we live in when people are not reading these scriptures and seeing the clear teaching of the day of the Lord. And you know, I just, I just wish that people will wake up, you know, because we've, we've believed so many lies for so long. It's time for God's people to study to show themselves a proven God and this is a great place to start. Look up every mention of the day of the Lord. Look up all the times the sun and moon are darkened, you know, and that that's mentioned. But this chapter is key and next time we're going to talk about in chapter 7, we're going to get into the sealing of the 144,000 and we're going to see also the great multitude appear in heaven. But let's bow our heads in that word of prayer. Father, we thank you so much for your word and for this, this powerful passage and I am looking forward to the day of the Lord because for me as one of the children of light, this is going to be a glorious day. It's going to be an awesome day. I just pray that you would allow me to be counted worthy to endure unto the end and that my flesh would be saved. I would like to make it to this day alive and see you come in the clouds if that is if it happens in our lifetime, but not my will but thine be done. Please help all that are here to understand these words and in Jesus' name we pray, amen. Hallelujah. Amen. Amen.