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You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You Good evening and welcome to verity baptist church Can I please have everyone find their seats and grab their songbooks and we're going to turn to page number 180 We're going to start the service off with isn't the love of jesus something wonderful Please find your seats and grab your songbooks and turn to page number 180 Isn't the love of jesus something wonderful page 180 And let's sing it out on the first There will never be a sweeter story Story of the saviors love divine Love that brought him from the realms of glory Just to save a sinful soul like mine Isn't the love of jesus something wonderful wonderful wonderful? Oh, is it the love of jesus something wonderful wonderful it is to me page 180 on the second Boundless as the universe around me reaching to the farthest soul away Saving keeping blood for what's to Be found me That is why my heart can truly say Isn't the love of jesus something wonderful wonderful wonderful? Oh, isn't the love of jesus something wonderful wonderful it is to me Love beyond our human comprehending Love of god and christ, how can it be? This will be my theme and never ending Great redeeming love of calvary Isn't the love of jesus something wonderful wonderful wonderful Oh, isn't the love of jesus something wonderful wonderful it is to me Great singing welcome to verity baptist church. Let's open up on word of prayer Father god, thank you so much for this church lord. Thank you for these people coming out here on a wednesday evening to Serve you. I pray that you would bless the service to come I pray that our singing would glorify you and that you'd bless the preaching to come in jesus name. I pray amen Please turn your song books page number 420 Page number 420 we're going to be singing. There's a song in the air Page 420 Four two zero and let's sing that out on the first There's a song in the air. There's a star in the sky There's a mother's deep prayer and a baby's low cry And the star reigns its fire while the beautiful sing for the manger of bethlehem A king page 420 on the second There's a tumult of joy for the wonderful birth For the virgin sweet boy is the lord of the earth By the star reigns its fire while the beautiful sing for the manger of bethlehem A king in the light of that star by the ages Impearled in that song from afar as swept over the world Every earth is a flame and the beautiful sing in the homes of the nations that Jesus is king Page 420. Let's sing it out on the last We rejoice in the light and we echo the song That comes down through the night from the heaven we've drawn High we shout to the love we Keep and show they bring and we greet in his great. Oh Amen Amen all right. Well, let's take our bulletins tonight We'll look at some announcements if you do not have a bulletin raise your hand and one of our ushers can get ones for you If you need a bulletin just put your hand up and we will get one for you the verse this week proverbs 12 20 Deceit is is in the heart of them that imagine evil but to the counselors of peace is joy And that's a good verse there You open up your bullets and you'll see our service time sunday morning service 10 30 Am and of course we do invite you to be with us on sunday morning on the lord's day And this sunday morning will be a special service We'll have the children's choir singing in the morning service and the adult choir singing in the evening service So we hope that you'll be with us for both of those services Of course we have our sunday evening service at 6 p.m And we're glad you're here for the wednesday night bible study If you look at our soul winning times our main soul winning times on saturday mornings at 10 a.m And then we have additional sewing times on thursdays and fridays and sundays at 2 p.m So if you'd like to go soul winning We'll have a time for you to be able to do that if you're a first-time guest. We're glad you're here We have a gift we'd like to give you as you walk out of the church building tonight as you go through the foyer You'll see a little table set up and on that table. You'll see these little gift bags Please grab one on your way out as a gift from us to you for being our guest tonight And if you are a guest we ask that you please take a moment and fill out the communication card Which is inserted in your bulletin And we would like to send you a little gift, but we need your info to do that So, please take a moment to fill the card out If you look at the announcements and upcoming events there, of course, we are a family integrated church What that means is that children and infantoids welcome in the service. We do not separate children from their parents for any reason However, we do have mother baby rooms and daddy rooms available for your convenience So if you have a child that's been distracting during the service So if you need some privacy, we would encourage you to use those rooms as needed if you need to be baptized Please let us know you can let us know on your communication card and we will follow up with you regarding Baptism and we have a baptism lined up tonight for after the service after the preaching. So praise the lord for that If you look at the announcements and upcoming events, we are going through a series called the christmas spirit We're going to continue that on sunday and then we want to invite you For our christmas cookies and a hot chocolate fellowship, that's not tonight, obviously But it's next wednesday night or this coming wednesday night on December 21st So after the midweek service after the wednesday evening service in our fellowship hall We'll have christmas cookies and desserts and hot chocolate So we encourage you to be here, of course for that and then we want to remind you that there is a sign-up sheet In the foyer if you'd like to sign up to bring cookies or desserts, uh, we would appreciate that Also, we want you to know about the new year's eve service on saturday december 31st at 7 p.m And we'll be having a potluck that night and it's not a preaching service. Not a church service So just be a time of fellowship. We'll have a potluck. We'll have a popcorn machine We'll watch a film and then if you stay till midnight, we'll pray in the new year Together nine chapters at eight challenge. I hope you are excited about taking the challenge You should have one of these charts in your bulletin and you can decide how you'd like to read nine chapters You can split up the reading or you can go straight read it straight through but we ask that you Take the challenge and we want you to read nine chapters a day in the month of january in the new testament in the month of january Of course, if you do that, you'll read the entire new testament in the month of january and if you accomplish the task, we have a uh Plaque that we put your name on there in the foyer and you can see all the previous year's plaques there So please get excited about that And if you're going to take the challenge we want to know So you can let us know on your communication card that you're going to take the nine chapters a day challenge. We appreciate that Choir, uh, they have practice on sunday Holiday schedule we just want you to be aware That's not this sunday, but next sunday next sunday december 25th The service is going to start at 11 am and we're going to have a short afternoon service instead of an evening service at 1 15 Between the two services we'll be providing lunch if you're staying for the second service And we want you to be aware of that Upcoming cleaning crew you can check for your name there There's other things there for you to look at please Don't forget to turn your cell phones off replace them on a silent during the service Of course, we have the christmas gifts for jesus if you'd like to pick something up to give to the church for christmas That would be great. We've got a drop-off location there in the foyer If you look at the back of the bulletin birthdays and anniversaries for the month of december on december 11th Was miss victoria nel tescu's birthday on december 12th was brother victor zaniga's birthday on december 13th It was brother. Aldo's birthday. December 17th Is a miss kimborello's birthday checho pompa's birthday Levi taylor's birthday and also brother scott. Miss lisa sweeten have an anniversary on the 17th phrase report money matters All those things are there for you to look at and I think that's it for all of the announcements So let's go ahead and take our song books and we're going to go to page number 424 Four two four. Oh, come all ye faithful as we prepare to receive the offering this evening 424 We'll sing oh come all ye faithful And we'll go ahead and sing it out on the first Oh, come all ye faithful Joyful and triumphant Oh Come and behold him warn the king of angels Oh, come let us adore him Oh come let us adore him Give him 424 sing it out on the second sing Sing an exultation Oh sing all ye pride host of heaven Glory to god All glory in the highest Oh, come let us Oh, come let us adore him Jesus to thee be all glory Word of the father now in flesh Oh come let us Him Amen good singing we'll have the guys come up and help us with the offering at this time And let's go ahead and bow our heads and have a word of prayer Heavenly father lord, we come to you tonight asking that you bless the offering we pray that you bless the gift and the giver and we ask of course that you would meet with us as we take time to Pray and as we take time to study your word together in jesus name we pray. Amen So So So So So Amen, all right Well, let's take our prayer sheets tonight If you did not get a prayer sheet on your way in just raise your hand and one of our astras can get one for you You need a prayer sheet just put your hand up and we will get one for you And of course the way that you add a request to the prayer sheet is through your communication card On the back of the card of this place for you to write down Uh request make sure you mark whether it's private or public if it's private only I will see it if it's public We'll put it on the prayer sheet If you don't mark it, we'll do our best to figure it out But we usually don't put those on there And they are added in the order that they're received and they are removed after a couple of weeks So just keep your hand up if you need a prayer sheet And let's go and take these requests to lord. I'll pray out loud and I ask that you would pray in your mind And in your hearts Let's pray together. Heavenly father lord. We come to you tonight asking for these requests from our church family and lord we begin with these Requests dealing with health we pray for brother. Aldo praying for his mother and his grandmother's health And also for miss denise anderson praying for her surgery On december 27th that it would go well and for a speedy recovery. We pray for miss. Laura beth praying for her sister Makayla's health for her to have a quick recovery So that she and her newborn can be discharged from the hospital soon We pray for brother joe maples praying for joe junior's health and for healing of his stomach issues and pain And we pray for miss christine ortiz for her health for the salvador for his health his dogma for her pain and then we pray for little urezi that she would continue to be healthy and She's actually in the hospital right now, but asking lord that you would help her to be able to Do well and be well and and and get out of there soon Or we ask for all these individuals We pray that you would put your healing hands over them. We pray that you would guide them you would give wisdom to the doctors nurses dealing with them And then lord we pray for the ladies in our church that are expecting for miss katie and miss may miss ajana Miss guyler and miss karen asking that you give them all healthy pregnancies with no issues and no complications and lord, we also pray for these that are asking for Salvation of friends and family for amira praying for her mom Her mom's salvation and miss natalie praying for her the salvation of her husband and family And also for miss christine ortiz praying for her children or grandchildren salvation and also for the salvation of her sister judy Miss dogma praying for her daughter and his family salvation lord. We ask for all these individuals. We pray that you would Be with them lord. We ask that your holy spirit would Work in their lives and work in their hearts and bring them to the place where they'd be willing to hear the gospel lord And that I so wonder would be able to communicate the gospel clearly to them. I also pray for these that have financial Uh requests amira praying for her work situation and miss christine ortiz praying for her finances for the salvador praying for his finances and work Asking lord that you would help them and bless them in regards to that. We thank you for the praise report from miss. Amy cortez Thank you for answered prayer And we pray for these that are asking for their families and family issues for brother matt taylor as we pray for his family as they're grieving After the passing of his brother-in-law and lord, we pray that you'd put your healing hand Just your hand over The entire family and that you'd help them lord during this time also pray for brother salvador for his Family that you would bless them and I know they're traveling right now that you'd keep them safe But we also pray for uh, brother salvador for his walk with you and for miss christine for her Faith and lord we ask for these that have unspoken requests as well. Miss natalie and miss denise. Miss kimmy and Miss laura beth all having unspoken requests for the salvador miss dachma having unspoken requests You know what their petitions are, you know what they're asking for? Lord, we pray that you'd answer according to your will and lord We pray for our church and that you'd continue to bless the the prison ministry and the mailings we thank you for all the individuals that have been showing up and helping assemble the mailers and Lord, we pray that you would continue to Give us increase in that area as we reach inmates through sending them sermons every month and helping them to be Discipled and get saved and lord. We ask that you'd continue to bless that ministry We pray for our church here, of course in sacramento. We pray for our Church plants on the mission field and manila and pampanga and beak hole or that you would keep all these locations safe and strong And growing and lord We ask that you would meet with us tonight as we take another portion of scripture and study the bible together In jesus name we pray. Amen Please open mouths to luke 21 Luke chapter number 21 If you need about to put your hand up and i'm not sure you might bring your bible Luke chapter number 21 if you need about to keep your head up i'm not sure you'll come by Luke 21 we'll read verses 20 through 24 luke 21 verses 20 through 24 Luke 21 begin verse number 20 When you shall see jerusalem compassed with armies then know that the desolation thereof is nigh There of is nigh Now let them which are in judaea flee to the mountains And let them which are in the midst of it depart out And let not them that are in the countries enter there into For these be the days of vengeance That all things which are written may be fulfilled But willing to them to them that are with child and to them to give suck in those days For there shall be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people And they shall fall by the edge of the sword and shall be led away captive into all nations And jerusalem shall be trodden down of the gentiles Until the times of the gentiles be fulfilled. Let's pray heavenly father. Thank you for this evening God, I thank you for your word and for our church for when it's here I ask that you please give us all tender hearts in the message and I say please be there pastor to strengthen them And from your spirit, we love you in jesus name pray. Amen Amen All right, we're there in luke chapter 21 and of course we've been going through the gospel of luke verse by verse chapter by chapter for quite some time now and uh tonight we find ourselves here in luke 21 and we're actually gonna we started luke 21 a couple of services ago sermons ago and we're gonna be in luke 21 for a little bit because we're kind of in the A little mini series here in luke 21 on the subject of end times prophecy. And of course luke 21 is A passage in which the lord jesus christ describes end times prophecy In detail, it's one of the passages in which he goes into this detail a lot and we're studying through it and we could just kind of go through it quickly and and and just make comments and be done with it, but I know that oftentimes when it comes to end times people are really interested and they have a lot of questions and It's some some of the things in these subjects are a little deep So I like to maybe slow down a little bit and help you see it for some of you who? Know a lot about these things. Maybe it'll just be reviewing for some of you. It might might be some newer things If you notice there in luke 21, this is not a passage that we're gonna cover tonight but I just want you to look at verse 7 just to Remind you the context the context of luke 21 is in verse 7 when the bible says and they asked him saying master But when shall these things be and what sign will there be When these things shall come to pass and of course, that's the context That's the questions the two questions that are asked of the lord jesus christ, which leads into this teaching And of course luke 21 we know is a parallel passage with matthew 24 and mark 13 And if you were here on sunday night, you remember that we went through And looked at what is commonly known as the tribulation period and we saw the parallels between the teaching of the lord jesus christ and the book of revelation And we really walked through the first four seals seal number one of the anti-christ Seal number two of world war seal number three of famines seal number four of great death and we saw how that was the period that is Off that commonly referred to in the bible as the tribulation period And of course, we know that those are not the only seals. In fact, we're gonna cover seal number five tonight And then we'll cover seal number six at another time But we learn from the anti-christ seal number one that the anti-christ steps onto the world stage as a political and military leader We of course saw seal number two world war and we saw that as a result of the anti-christ going forth conquering and to conquer A world war begins we saw that as a result of the world wars seal number three There's massive famines throughout the world As a result of the military conflicts There's food shortages and inflation and then we saw that there would be great death and that would be because of war because of famine and because of natural disasters because of Pestilence and and we looked at all of that now. I want you to remember That we talked about the fact that even though This the first three and a half years of the seven year period remember the the pre-tribulation rapture teachers Will falsely refer to this as the seven year tribulation period but that is an incorrect statement nowhere in the bible Does the bible ever say that there's a seven year tribulation period there is a seven year period? Of the end times known as daniel's 70th week But that seven year period is divided into two sections the first three and a half years are What is known as a tribulation period in revelation? We saw that that was outlined by the six different seals and then of course the last three and a half Years of that seven week period is known as god's wrath or the pouring out of god's wrath And we saw how in revelation that's outlined by the seven trumpets and also the seven of vials and then right in the middle Of that seven year period is of course the day of the lord and the rapture. We're going to cover that next time We are in the gospel of luke The first four seals and i'm giving a lot of review just because we're going to get into a lot of things tonight And I just want to catch you up and and refresh your memory. The first four seals are separated From the rest of the seals in the sense that they are characterized by the four Horsemen of the apocalypse if you remember we saw the four horsemen of the apocalypse the white horse The red horse the black horse the pale horse and those four horsemen are there to show us that these four seals They go together and the point that i'm making is this there is a shift between the fourth seal and the fifth seal Because the first four seals is a part of the six seals But they are separate in the sense that they are set apart by the connection of the four horsemen The fifth seal has no horsemen associated Nor does the sixth seal because there's a shift and a difference happens here And here's what I want you to understand and then we'll we're going to jump into the material up to this point The four horsemen have pretty much made the entire world miserable What we've seen happening what will happen in the end times and what we've seen in these four seals has been Really an attack on all of mankind the antichrist showing up and going forth conquering to conquer a world war That engages the entire war and world obviously is going to bring misery to the entire world The famines the earthquakes the natural disasters the pestilence the great death all of that is Really just a time of trouble for the entire world So I want you to understand that during that period of the first four seals The bible refers that period as a tribulation period and that is a time when everyone's miserable All right. No one's going to be having a good time. Really. It's just going to be a hard difficult time for all of humanity That's characterized by the four horsemen of the apocalypse Then when the fifth seal is open This is what's now known as the great tribulation. So we go from the tribulation period to the great tribulation period This is where the abomination Of desolation is set up and this is where a shift happens where the focus goes from satan Bringing misery upon all mankind to focusing in on christians and the persecution of believers So hopefully that makes sense And hopefully you remember all of that from the last time we were together and we can jump in now At seal number five and of course in in luke They're not outlined by seals, but we'll see how that goes parallel with the teaching and uh revelation in luke 21 in verse 12 Jesus says this and this is where we left off on sunday night But before all these they shall lay their hands on you and this is jesus, of course teaching the disciples about the coming Persecution of believers and I want you to notice here that jesus is he he's been talking about the wars and And kingdoms to rise against kingdom and the pestilence and the famines he's been talking about those things and now he says But before all these they shall lay their hands on you and I I want you to notice and i'm not Gonna make a big deal about it right now But it's going to be important for you to remember this later on in the sermon I want you to notice how jesus is speaking here and he says they shall lay their hands on you Now I want you to notice that word you is is what we would refer to as jesus speaking in the second person And of course when somebody is speaking and they say things like I or we that is the first person They're speaking to something that's going to happen to them This will happen to us or this is going to happen to me or i'm going to go through this That's the first person because you are the one speaking You're the first person when you're speaking to somebody else you'll say things like you or in the bible ye And that would be the second person meaning the person you're speaking to And you're making a reference of something that may happen to That individual so he says they shall they lay their hands on you And then when jesus is speaking and he says the words they or them I want you to understand that's the third person That is not the person that he's speaking to but he is speaking to The second person about the third person. I just want you to understand that you should remember that probably from high school or whatever But I want you to be aware of that because that's actually very important in this passage here in luke 21 We're going to look at something That is actually very different in the gospel of luke than in matthew and in mark when you're looking at the oliver discourse in matthew and mark There is a different emphasis here in luke 21 though. It's following the same outline There's something else that is emphasized and that's what we're going to look at tonight So jesus says but before all these they shall lay their hands on you jesus speaking to the disciples second person And persecute you again jesus speaking disciples second person delivering you up to the synagogues and into prisons Being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake and remember when we are studying bible prophecy We always need to remember that always with bible prophecy other than like the book of revelation Usually in bible prophecy, there are dual fulfillments. There's usually something that will be fulfilled In the actual context in which it is being spoken and then something in the future and here in luke 21 One of the reasons that luke 21 can be a little difficult for people to understand when it comes to bible prophecy Is that unlike matthew 24 and unlike mark 13? Jesus is actually giving a prophecy here that has dual fulfillment some of these things are going to happen in 70 a.d And we saw the context there of luke 21 Jesus begins this chapter by predicting the destruction of the temple which actually happened in 70 a.d Of course, jesus is living in like 33 a.d 30 to 33 a.d. So it happened just a few decades later The reason that luke Emphasizes something a little different than matthew 24 and mark 13 is because of this dual fulfillment Some of it has to do with jerusalem in the next 20 to 30 years and some of it has to do with jerusalem In the end times, so that's why he says they're going to deliver you up to the synagogues And into prisons being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake now we will be Persecuted in the end times, but we're probably not going to be brought before kings and rulers And we're probably not going to be taken before synagogues. This might have been more of actually People that were going to be persecuted in the next 30 years That jesus was speaking to notice there in verse 13 And it shall turn to you. And again, I just want you to notice the second person Wording there turn to you for a testimony Settle it therefore in your heart Now this is something that's interesting and I just want you to notice this And I don't really have anything to say about it Other than the fact that it's just a very interesting piece of instruction here. Jesus is telling his followers What they should do when they're being arrested and being brought before Some sort of a judgment hall before a judge before some sort of a court He says settle it therefore in your hearts not to meditate before what you shall answer for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay Nor resist the word gainsay means to deny or contradict the word resist means to withstand and here's what jesus was promising He's promising that when you are brought before a hostile court in in in a sense of persecution That you don't have to worry about what you're going to say And to make sure that you've got your story straight because you've got the holy spirit of god And at that moment the bible says that god is going to give you the words to say He says I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay Shall not be able to deny shall not be able to contradict nor resist so he tells his disciples there don't worry About what you're going to say When you're being brought before these wicked people because god is going to give you the words to say And the things that you will say at those times are going to be amazing things that were really given to you By god and and there are things that that he wanted you to say at that moment So, of course this is about persecution But there is an application here for those of you that want to be uh preachers or like to preach And the idea is this that you know, we should be prepared obviously when I stand up to preach I've taken time to prepare and write sermons and write ideas But you know, you also want to be careful when you preach of not just being this robotic You know just reading every word from a page Because there is this thing called the holy spirit And obviously you don't want to take people can take this to another extreme where they're you know Some preachers are like I never study. I just get up and I let the holy spirit lead me and you know Whenever i've met a preacher like that, you know, what i've noticed is every every sermon sounds pretty much the same Because there is to an extent you got to study and read look the holy ghost is not going to give you a new Revelation he's only going to speak of that which you already have read from the word of god So if all you've ever read is john 316 you're not given a much to work with So you've got to read the bible study the bible know what the bible says But then there also is this to this extent is you don't want to be so robotic in your preaching or gospel presentation out soul winning Where you want to give the holy spirit freedom to speak through you? Not that he would give you new revelation but speak through you the word of god that's already in your heart And if you've never experienced it, it's an amazing thing I mean sometimes i've been out soul winning and somebody asks me a question and I just quote this verse to them and I think myself Where did that come i've never even memorized that verse Like I I mean, I know that verse but that's crazy and I try to quote it again. I'm like I can't even do it And it's just like the holy spirit at that moment just gave me the words to say and that's what jesus is telling these individuals That will happen When you're being brought before these judges and before these things but I believe it's more than that I I just think that as christians We should be sensitive to the holy spirit of god And allow the holy spirit to move us and allow the holy spirit to to help us and oftentimes I found in preaching oftentimes When people will come to me after a sermon and they'll say man this part of the sermon was and those though They'll say something that I said and they're like that's exactly what I needed to hear and I think to myself That wasn't even in my notes Like that's just something I said, I don't even know why I said that, you know But the holy spirit knows why I said it because you needed it right and it's the holy spirit of god I've always thought about this. It's a mira. It really is a miracle every sunday morning sunday night wednesday night For example tonight, we've got 177 people here It's it's a miracle That one preacher could get up Say words and 177 different people Potentially Receive it and learn something and be comforted and be encouraged and be exhorted in their individual way only god could do that And it's just this amazing thing. So that's what we kind of see jesus talking about here He says I will give you a mouth and wisdom with all your adversaries shall not be able to gain say nor resist notice verse 16 He says and ye again second person shall be betrayed Notice he says you're going to be betrayed by both parents and brethren and kinsfolk and friend And look, this is the society that we're living in. We live in a society today where the government Is teaching and and the government school system is teaching children to turn on their parents To be more loyal to the government. This is what jesus was referring to We're being trained by our society to be more loyal to the government than to our own family and friends and neighbors And some of you already have seen that even in your lives now Because when you became a christian and started living for god all of a sudden your parents and your brother and your kinsfolk And your friends, uh turned on you But let me tell you something the bible says that there is a friend that's to get closer than a brother And you you've got that friend in the lord jesus christ and you've got that friend in other believers But he says then ye shall be betrayed there verse 16 both by parents and brethren and kinsfolk and friends And of some of you shall they cause to be put to death and ye notice again the second person Ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake but there shall not in hair of your hair of your head perish In your patience possess ye your souls now keep your place there in luke 21 That's obviously our text for tonight, but go with me if you would to the book of revelation just real quickly revelation chapter six And let's look how this Compares or is parallel to the sixth the fifth seal, excuse me the fifth seal, which is the seal we're going to study tonight in this uh end times outline revelation chapter six and verse nine So luke 21 jesus just got done explaining to the disciples you're going to be persecuted You're going to be brought before kings and rulers and they're going to Take you to prison and and I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries shall not be able to gain say nor resist He says they're going to persecute you They're going to betray you and some of you shall they cause to be put to death is what jesus just got done Telling his disciples now notice how that is parallel to the fifth seal Revelation 6 and verse 9 and when he had opened the fifth seal Notice what the bible says I saw under the altar This is john, of course on the isle of patmos seeing a vision of the end times He says 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 oh lord holy and true Does 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 So I just want you to understand the first seal is open He says I saw a white horse. The second seal is open. He says I saw a red horse The third seal is open. He says I saw a black horse The fourth seal is open. He says I saw a pale horse and he saw the antichrist going forth conquering into conqueror He saw the red the the the rider of the red horse with a sword and he took peace from the earth He saw the rider of the black horse with a pair of balances in his hand and he brought famine upon the world He saw the rider of the pale horse and he said that he that rode on him was death and hell followed with him and that they went out and they Brought death upon the earth But then when the fifth seal is open He says I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of god So the fifth seal is open and all of a sudden all these people are in heaven Who just got slain for the word of god and for the testimony which they held why because at the fifth seal there is persecution And they cried with a loud voice saying how long oh lord holy and true Does 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 notice notice this phrase that should be killed as they were Should be fulfilled so there's going to be a time of persecution Now when it comes to the fifth seal I want you to understand that the fifth seal is divided into two different sections both have to do With persecution, but first we have the first section of the fifth seal, which is persecution, which is what we've already seen And then at the fifth seal there's also the abomination That make a desolate And at the abomination that make a desolate now there's going to be great persecution And there's going to be a major difference between the persecution before the abomination of desolation And the persecution after the abomination desolation now here's what I want you to understand there will be persecution on both sides of the abomination desolation When the fifth seal is open Christians are already dying At that point we're actually if you're following along in our end times outline We're still under the period known as the tribulation period Right at the end of the tribulation period christians are going to be dying but that does not mean that we're in the great tribulation yet because what takes us from the tribulation period into the great tribulation is the abomination of desolation Go back to luke 21 keep your place there in revelation. We're going to come back to it luke 21 look at verse 20 So in this fifth seal category, there's two sections You could call section a persecution And section b the abomination that make it desolate Now I want you to notice in luke 21 in verse 20 And let me just give you five statements regarding this abomination of desolation if you want to jot these down you can jot them down if you'd like Number one the abomination of desolation causes people to flee In luke 21 and verse 20 the bible says and when you shall see jerusalem compass with armies Then know that then know, uh, excuse me, then know that the I want you to notice this word Desolation thereof is nigh When ye second person shall see jerusalem compass with armies then know that the desolation The desolation thereof is nigh then let them which are in judia notice these words flee to the mountains And let them which are in the midst of it depart out and let not them that are in the countries enter there into now Here's where I want you to just pay attention. Okay, you're there in luke 21 Keep your finger there in luke 21 go to matthew chapter 24. Remember matthew 24 is a parallel passage Matthew 24 is the olivot discourse and jesus follows the same outline In both passages now up to this point It's been pretty much the exact same things word for word when we get to this point the abomination of desolation There's a little bit of a difference And the reason for that is because luke 21 emphasizes And has a different emphasis than the olivot discourse in matthew 24 and mark 13 But we're talking about the same the same time, how do we know we're talking about the same time? Well, if you remember I know you just got to matthew 24, but if you remember luke 21, we saw the word Desolation and when ye shall see jerusalem compass with armies then know that the desolation thereof is nigh Also verse 21 then let them which are in judia flee to the mountains And let them which are in the midst of it depart out and let not them that are in the countries enter therein So in luke 21 20, we're told about the desolation in luke 21 21 We're told about people fleeing to the mountains now compare that to matthew 24 in verse 15 notice what the bible says when ye therefore shall see The abomination of notice the word desolation. All right, just like we saw in luke 21 20 spoken of by daniel the prophet Stand in the holy place who so readeth let him understand notice verse 16 then let them which be in judia Flee into the mountains. I'm, sorry. I feel like i'm hearing an echo if you could help me with that brother. David Let me turn that down a sec a little bit Then let them which be in judia Notice the words flee into the mountains. That's what we saw in luke 21 21 then let them which are in judia Flee to the mountains. So I want you to compare that to understand that we're talking about the same Time frame the tame the same section We saw in luke 21 that the desolation thereof is nigh flee to the mountains let them which are in the midst of it depart Out in matthew 24 15 we saw when he therefore shall see the abomination of desolation Then let them which be in judia flee to the mountains So here's number one the abomination of desolation causes people to flee and we can see That luke 21 and matthew 24 are referring to the same time go to mark 13 Let's look at the same thing in mark 13 Mark 13 is again another parallel passage This is the olivit discourse And it's parallel to matthew 24 and it's also parallel to luke 21, even though luke 21 is a different teaching With a different emphasis they are parallel because of the fact that they're covering the same time frame the same outline mark 13 14 but when ye shall see the Combination of notice again desolations spoken of by daniel the prophet so we know we're talking about the same time frame the same step in end times prophecy And I want you to notice That in mark 13, this is why the bible says that we should compare spiritual things with spiritual We should compare the word of god with the word of god because as we compare the word of god with the word of god The word of god is its own Commentary and it helps us to understand in mark and mark 13 and verse 14. We're given a different wording that helps us See something about this abomination of desolation Mark 13 14, but when ye shall see the abomination of desolation spoken of by daniel the prophet Why don't you notice this little phrase stand where it? ought not Now the reason that this is important is because When it comes to bible prophecy and to the most of the bible prophecy teaching out there A lot of people are going to teach you that the abomination of desolation is the antichrist And that is not necessarily the case And the reason you need to know that it's important Because it makes a difference in regards to how you understand this passage People think the abomination of desolation because most of the time people are looking at matthew 24 and in matthew 24 It says when you see the abomination of desolation standing In in the holy place and people assume that that's the antichrist in the temple But I want you to notice that here in mark 13 14 the bible says but when you shall see the abomination of desolation spoken of by daniel the prophet standing where notice it doesn't say he Ought not if it was the antichrist, that's what it would say, but it says standing where it ought not It ought not why does it use the word why does mark use the word it and the reason for that is this The abomination of desolation is not a person but an object It is an inanimate object. It is referred to here in mark 13 14 as It let me give you some further evidence for that go to daniel chapter 11 Daniel chapter 11 towards the end of the old testament. You've got the big books of the major prophets isaiah, jeremiah Lamentations ezekiel daniel daniel chapter 11. Remember we saw in both matthew 24 and mark 13 Where it said this the abomination of desolation spoken of by daniel the prophet both mark and matthew told us that Daniel the prophet taught us about the abomination of desolation So let's go to the book of daniel and see what it is that daniel the prophet said daniel chapter 11 verse 31 daniel chapter 11 verse 31 And daniel 11 31 notice the bible says an arm shall stand on his part and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength And shall take away the daily sacrifice and they shall notice this word place They shall place the abomination that make a desolate So why don't you notice here? We have further proof that the abomination that make a desolate is an object because daniel tells us they're going to place it Where it ought not stand it is standing where it should not stand but it's not a person standing It's an object that's placed there. They shall place the abomination that make it desolate Let me give you another proof go to daniel chapter 12. You're there in daniel 11 flip over to chapter 12. Look at verse 11 Daniel chapter 12 and verse 11 and from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away The abomination that make a desolate notice the words set up Again, this is not a man. There's not a person. This is something that is being set up It's something that is being placed. It's something that is standing where it ought not it shall be It says there in verse 11 The abomination that make a desolate set up there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. So based off daniel 12 11 We know that the abomination that make a desolate is set up Based off daniel 11 31. We know that they shall place it or it'll be placed based on mark 13 14 We know that it's referred to as an it So here's what we know the abomination of desolation is an object an inanimate object It's not a person that's standing. It's something that is placed go to revelation 13 revelation 13 So we saw that the abomination of desolation causes people to flee right When the abomination of desolation is set up Jesus says Fleet of the mountains if you live in Judea fleet of the mountains We saw that the abomination of desolation is an inanimate object. It is placed it is set up It is referred to as an it Here's statement number three The abomination of desolation is not the Antichrist the abomination of desolation is the image of the Antichrist Revelation chapter 13 is the last book in the bible should be fairly easy to find revelation 13 like verse 11 notice What the book of revelation says and I beheld another beast now in revelation 13 And I don't have time to go through the entire chapter. I've done that in the past But you know that the Antichrist is represented as a beast And of course we understand that he is a beast in the sense that he has the spirit of babylon And daniel told us about the different empires that represented the the one world entity at those times the Obviously the kingdom of babylon itself then the medo-persian empire then the greek empire then the roman empire All of these had the spirit of babylon which babylon the spirit of babylon is the spirit of a one world government Why because all the way back in the book of genesis when the entire world got together? And united together god had to separate them by languages and into nations at the tower of of babel And that's where that phrase comes from babylon is from the tower of babel because from the tower of babel Mankind has been bent on this idea of uniting the whole world together and god says no. I don't want you united I want you separated by languages and nations. I want you divided into different groups and that spirit of babel Has carried on and since human Really just civilization. There's always been empires that are trying to unite the world together The first empire was the empire of egypt Really the first world empire that tried to cover the civilized world then you had the a Syrian Empire then of course the babylonian empire then the medo-persian Empire then alexander the great with the greek empire then the roman empire and from then on The spirit of babylon has continued after the roman empire and I don't have time to go into all these details This is a sermon or a class for another day after the roman empire the spirit of babylon continued on into the roman catholic church And for a thousand years the popes ruled the world in a time of the of the world known as the dark ages And that that empire that spirit of babylon has continued and continued onto the nation of england for a while when it was said that the sun never sets on The nation of england and then of course today the spirit of babylon is alive and well in a place called babylon usa Because it is the united states of america today Which is the world empire that is trying to unite the entire world that polices the entire world There's a reason why the united nations is in the united states of america we are the babylon of our day Those different beasts All are going to culminate Into the one beast that is represented as a beast. It's a man in a government system the anti-christ Okay I don't know why I got off on that. I was explaining to you that here in revelation 13 11 The bible says and I beheld another beast. Okay. So the first piece is the one that we all know about the anti-christ Here's a second piece and I beheld another beast coming up The bible says out of the earth and he had two horns like a lamb. So notice this other beast or the second beast He has two horns like a lamb So what does that remind you of? Of course we john the baptist said about the lord jesus christ behold the lamb of god Which take away the sins of the world? so this guy tries to look christ-like He tries to look like a lamb like the lord jesus christ. The bible says he had two horns like a lamb Notice what it says and he spake as a dragon So it looks like a lamb, but he speaks like a dragon He looks like a lamb but the things that come out of him out of his mouth sound like a dragon Who's the dragon? We know the dragon is a satan. The bible's very clear about that in revelation chapter 12 So what is this guy? This guy's a preacher. He looks like a lamb, but he's got the doctrines of devils first timothy 4 1 And here in verse 12 the bible says and he the second beast Exercises all the power of the first beast. So the first beast is the antichrist the second beast Exercises all the power of the first beast again. I don't have time to go through all the details revelation 13 2 Tells us that the dragon gave him his power The bible says that he exercises all the power of the first beast before him and causes the earth and them which dwell therein To worship the first beast whose deadly wound was healed. So I want you to get this the second beast Verse 12 causes the earth And then that dwell therein to worship the first beast Why because the second beast is the character known as the false prophet He's the religious leader that is going to cause everyone to worship the antichrist Why is that going to happen? Well, if you remember the antichrist remember from sunday night the antichrist is an imposter We saw that he came on a white horse Trying to impersonate the lord jesus christ who will come on a white horse at the battle of armageddon Here the bible tells us verse 12 and he exercises all the power of the first beast Before him and causes the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast When do they begin to worship the first beast notice whose deadly wound was healed? So the antichrist is going to come on the scene seal number one as a political military leader going forth conquering into conquer creating this world war Going through these four seals known as the tribulation period he's going to rise politically And as a result of that world war a one world government known as the new world order is going to be established With the antichrist as the head he is going to be the political Leader of the one world government at that time, but that's not the only concern with the antichrist, it's not just usually The conservatives They focus on the new world order and and the political aspect of it and that's definitely a thing But remember there's a political and a religious aspect. What is coming is a one world government and a one world religious system When do we transition into the religious system or remember he's an imposter So the bible says that he caused the earth and them that dwell therein to worship the first beast whose deadly wound was healed He's going to receive a wound it's going to seem as though he died or he's going to die and then he's going to resurrect Who's who's that? Who does that sound like? Sounds like the lord jesus christ because he's imposter. He's an imposter. He's trying to be like christ notice verse 13 and he The false prophet doeth great wonders so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of them And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles Which he had power to do in the sight of the beast saying to them that dwell on the earth that they should Notice these words make an image to the beast They're going to make an image They're going to make an idol They're going to make a statue Of the beast of the antichrist. He's going to cause them to make an image to the beast which had the wound by the sword And did live and he had power notice to give life unto the image of the beast That the image of the beast should both speak and cause it as many as would not worship the image of the beast Should be killed. What is the image of the beast? It is the abomination of desolation It is that it it is that thing that is placed It is that thing that is put that that is put into that is set up It is the image of the antichrist in revelation 13 is what jesus is referring to When he's referring and daniel and matthew and mark and luke when they're referring to the abomination of desolation Because they said that it's going to be placed. They said that it's going to be set up. What are they referring to? They're referring to this image revelation 13 15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast that the image of the beast should both speak And cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed So notice the image is going to be set up The false prophet is going to declare the antichrist god And then they're going to cause that everyone should worship the image. Why do christians start dying? Here's why because as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed and no true christians going to worship that image You say what if somebody worships the image then they weren't christians. They weren't saved And in fact the moment you worship the image you instantly become a reprobate because you receive the mark of the beast Verse 16 and he calls it all both small and great rich and poor free and bond to receive a mark In their right hand or in their forehead and that no man Here's the political government aspect that no man might buy or sell save he that had the mark So notice how in the new world order There's going to be a connection between the religious side and the political side because you got to worship the image Or you can't buy and sell You got to worship the image or you can't be a partaker of our economy And that no man might buy or sell save he that had the mark or the name of the beast Or the number of his name notice verse 18 here is wisdom Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast for it is the number of a man and his number is 600 three score and six or at what is famously referred to as six six six So the abomination of desolation is the image of The beast go back to luke 21 here's the reality is that I hope you're Finding all of this interesting, but I really am only teaching you all of this So that you can understand what jesus is talking about in luke 21 luke 21 in verse 20 Is really I said all that The abomination desolation causes people to flee the abomination desolation is an inanimate object The abomination desolation is the image of the beast that people have to worship And when they worship it, they receive the mark of the beast if they don't worship it. They cannot buy or sell They're put to death without the mark of the beast and they're put to death if they don't worship I said all that so you can understand what jesus is talking about in luke 21 And verse 20 look at it again And when ye notice the second person Jesus is speaking to his disciples when ye shall see Jerusalem compass with armies the word compass means surrounded come past Meaning that you are surrounded that you are they are about you When ye shall see jerusalem compass with armies then know that the desolation thereof is nigh Now what is being made desolate? Why is it called the abomination of desolation? Why is it called the abomination that maketh desolate? That's how daniel said it Why is it called that is it just because it sounds like really evil and creepy? It's called the abomination of desolation for a reason the word Desolation means a state of complete emptiness or destruction The reason that it's called the abomination That make a desolate is because when this image is set up something is going to be made desolate What is going to be made desolate verse 20 and when ye? Jesus talking to his disciples shall see Jerusalem compass with armies then know that the desolation thereof you see the word thereof the word thereof means Referring to the thing just mentioned When you see the word thereof you say what does that word mean it means that it is referring to the thing that was just Mentioned what was just mentioned when you see Jerusalem compass with armies when you see the city of Jerusalem compass about with armies then know that the desolation thereof the desolation of Jerusalem is nigh What nigh means near when you see Jerusalem comes about know that the desolation of Jerusalem is near look at verse 21 then I want you to notice then let Ye, is that what he says? Then let you is that what he says Now as we've been going through this passage. I've been almost Obnoxiously pointing out to you that Jesus has been talking in the second person to his listeners They're going to bring you before kings and rulers. They're going to betray you they're going to persecute you They're going to do these things to you Don't you worry about what you're going to say the Holy Spirit is going to tell you what he's been speaking in the second person now in verse 20 he tells us about the Desolation of Jerusalem and then in verse 21. He says then let them them is the third person He's now not speaking to his disciples he's speaking to his disciples about a third group then let them Which are in Judea Flee They say well, why does he tell the disciples? I was you you you you you and then he starts talking about people in Judea and he refers to them as them Why because I don't even know this there's not a lot of Christians in Judea There's not a lot of Christians in Jerusalem Then let them third person which are in Judea notice the words flee into the mountains and let notice again them third person which are in the midst of it in the midst of what Jerusalem in the midst of what Judea Which are in the midst of it depart out and let not them third person that are in the countries Enter there into enter there into where into Jerusalem He says look when you see Jerusalem comes about know that the desolation the destruction of Jerusalem is night and any one of them Would be smart to flee Then let them which are in Judea flee let them which are in the midst of her of it depart Let not them which are in the countries enter therein Verse 22 for these are the days of vengeance that all things which are written may be fulfilled But woe unto them verse 23 that are with child and to them that give suck in those days For there shall be great distress in the land and wrath upon You is that what it says? No wrath upon this people What people the people living in Jerusalem? The people living in Judea You say well pastor wise is important It's important for a couple of reasons and I'm gonna make an application at the end But let me just give you some some just practical things. Okay? We are of the position that the rapture happens After the tribulation before God's wrath, we are not pre-trib rapture believers. We are post tribulation pre-wrapped Now The tendency with people who We reach Who we teach we show them how to understand the book of Revelation how to understand Matthew 24 Mark 13 Luke 21 And when people get this realization that we're not gonna Leave before the tribulation We're gonna live through the trip if we live to the end We're gonna live through the four seals the four horsemen. We're gonna live through the fifth seal We're gonna live through this persecution The tendency that people get is to come to verses like this where it says flee into the mountains And then everybody wants to get this idea. Oh during the tribulation period I'm gonna go live in a cave Let me help you understand something that command is only given to the people who live in Jerusalem That is not something that God commands every Christian every believer to go hide in a cave somewhere during the tribulation Let me remind you I don't have time to go through this you can study this on your own The tribulation period is three and a half years The majority of the time is the first four seals. There's no running from that. That's gonna happen to the entire world The entire world is going to be facing a world war the entire world is going to be facing famines and pestilence You're not gonna run from that It's gonna affect you in Idaho or Oklahoma or Texas or wherever you think you're gonna go bunker down. It's gonna affect everything or Mexico or Belize or whatever it's gonna affect the whole world The only part that is going to affect us Individually as Christians is that great tribulation period after the abomination of desolation and the Bible is clear that that Time is only gonna last 75 days So people get this idea like I'll just go buy 75 MREs and I'll just go bunker down the Sierra Nevadas But that is not what the Bible says The Bible says that look if you happen to live in Tel Aviv, which I don't recommend Then yeah run to the hills why because the city of Jerusalem is going to be made desolate When the abomination of desolation or the abomination that make it desolate is set up look at verse 24 and they third person shall fall by the edge of the sword and shall be led away captive into the all nations and Jerusalem shall be notice notice the words and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles. What is trodden down mean? It means that it's going to be Stepped on the word trod or to tread means to walk upon. What does it mean? It means that during this time There's a time called the times of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled when Jerusalem is going to be occupied by Gentiles Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles Go to Joel Joel chapter 2 in the Old Testament if you have your place in Daniel remember Daniel Isaiah Jeremiah Lamentations Ezekiel Daniel after Daniel you have Hosea and the book of Joel a few months ago I don't remember a year ago. Maybe I preached through the entire book of Joel on Sunday nights so some of this might Be familiar to some of you if you remember But here's what I want you to understand When the Antichrist is declared God in the abomination desolation two things happen first the abomination that they make a desolate set up the whole world is Commanded to worship the beast to receive the mark Without the mark you cannot buy or sell and if you refuse to worship the beast you'll be put to death That is the persecution on believers The Second thing that's going to happen is that the Antichrist is going to make Jerusalem desolate now remember the abomination desolation is gonna be set up in Jerusalem in the temple He's going to set up the abomination desolation the false prophets going to he's going to make Jerusalem desolate at that time Now here's what I want you to send okay tonight. We're talking about the fifth seal on Sunday night We talked about the first four seals or the four horsemen tonight We're talking about the fifth seal which is the abomination of desolation or the abomination that make it desolate Next time we're in in in Luke We're going to talk about the sixth seal the sixth seal is what's known as the day of the Lord it's when the Sun Goes Dark the Moon Goes Dark the Stars fall and The Bible teaches and I'll prove it to you next time we're together in this passage that the rapture happens It happens at the sixth seal okay. I want you to get this The fifth seal is the abomination of desolation the sixth seal is the day of the Lord and the rapture Okay Luke teaches that when the fifth seal is open the abomination of desolation is set up and Jerusalem is made desolate. Why do we need to know that? Why do we need to understand that? Partly because you need to not have this mindset you're going to run away during the tribulation Okay, now. I'm not against you having food or whatever I mean, you know we we live in California We might have an earthquake and it's good to have stuff like that, but look you say past few minutes What do you think we should be what are we going to be doing during the tribulation? Period and during the well look during the tribulation period you're going to be living your life. Just like anybody else During the fourth four seals we're just going to be living like normal Just with a lot of bad stuff happening to everyone and then during those 75 days You know the Bible says that Those of us that have our faith in God that we will be doing and I'm including myself Lord willing I'm accounted worthy if I'm alive at that time that we'll be doing great exploits This is not going to be a time to be hiding somewhere bunker down scared and afraid You say well, but but isn't but if you're just out there preaching the gospel Taking a stand for God isn't that going to bring attention to yourself? You know what's interesting is that the Bible tells us about the armor of God And the Bible tells us about the armor of God the helmet of salvation the sword of the Spirit the shield of faith the gospel Of peace put upon your shoes It tells about the armor of God and usually when we think of the armor of God We think of the armor of God from Ephesians 6 and that's the most famous passage of the armor of God but the armor of God is also Taught in the book of Isaiah and in Isaiah there is another Piece to the armor of God that is not mentioned in Ephesians and it is the cloak of zeal and you say what is a cloak a cloak is something you put on to hide yourself a Cloak is something you put on to disguise yourself so that people don't see you Isaiah tells us that there's a cloak of zeal You say what does that mean? I believe what that means is that during the Great Tribulation? Any Christian that has great zeal for God is going to be miraculously cloaked by God I mean, why would God let and look I'm not obviously I'm not God I'm not gonna tell you who's gonna live or who's gonna die, but why would God let a soul winner? Who's getting people saved right at the end being faithful right then? Why would he let them die? And even if he does let them die, wouldn't you rather go to heaven as a martyr? You stood up for God. Well, I don't want to go to heaven and we're telling our stories what you do during the Great Tribulation Man, I preach these great sermons. I got people saved. God miraculously saved me. I made it to the end What did you do in the Great Tribulation? I stood up for God I got arrested the Holy Spirit gave me the words to say that the adversaries could not gainsay or Withstand and then they cut my head off and I've got the martyrs crown. What did you do during the Great Tribulation? I hid in Idaho I ate beans and cup of noodles Like a coward. Is that what you want to say? No, I Want look do something for God have great exploits for God So we see that so look the the the command to flee The command to flee is for the P. It's for them. It's not for us It's for them in Jerusalem that are going to be destroyed when Jerusalem make it desolate now, here's what's interesting The fifth seal is the abomination of desolation The sixth seal is a day of the Lord in Joel chapter 2 in verse 10. We have one of the most famous passages about the day of the Lord We're probably gonna look at it next time we are going through this passage But let me just show it to you right now Joel chapter 2 verse 10 The Bible says the earth shall quake before them the heavens shall tremble The sun and the moon shall be dark and the stars shall withdraw their shining The Lord shall utter his voice before his army and for his camp is very great for he is strong and executed this word For the day of the Lord is great and very terrible and who can abide it? Notice this is the day of the Lord the earth shall quake before them the heavens shall tremble the sun and the moon shall be dark and The stars shall withdraw their shining. This is the day of the Lord, right? Joel chapter 2 verses 10 and 11. Here's what's interesting It's right before this in Joel because remember the day of the Lord is what the sixth seal What happens right before the sixth seal the fifth seal the abomination of desolation? Usually when we think of the abomination of desolation we focus on ourselves The image of the beast the mark of the beast the persecution of believers, but there's something else that's going to happen during the abomination of desolation Jerusalem is going to be made desolate Notice what Joel mentions Right before the day of the Lord Joel chapter 2 verses 10 and 11 are the day of the Lord, right? Notice the verses that perceived it look at verse 1 Joel 2 verse 1 blow you the trumpet in Zion and sound an alarm in My holy mountain let all the in heaven to the land tremble for the day of the Lord cometh for it is nigh at Now in Joel 2 one has the day of the Lord came No, it's coming It's near for it is nigh at hand notice was described verse 7 They shall run like mighty men They shall climb the wall like men of war and they shall march everyone on his ways and they shall not break the ranks neither Shall one thrust another they shall walk everyone in his past and when they fall upon the sword they shall not be wounded They shall run to and fro in the city. They shall run upon the walls They shall climb up upon the houses and they shall enter in at the windows like a thief That's verse 9 verse 10 the earth shall quake before them and the heavens shall tremble and the sun and the moon shall be dark and the Lord and the Stars that shall withdraw their shining 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 Here's what I want you to stand in verses 7 8 & 9. We saw a description of an army Encompassing a city and destroying it Now the pre-tribbers want to take you to Joel chapter 2 and say that's the Battle of Armageddon That's the Battle of Armageddon and right after the Battle of Armageddon is the day of the Lord now they do that That's their that's that's their proof text Joel chapter 2 The battle described there. They say that's the Battle of Armageddon. It happens right before the day of the Lord Why do they say that? Why do they have to say that? Here's why because if they can make the Battle of Armageddon happen right before the day of the Lord Then they can they then they can change the timeline Because the Battle of Armageddon happens at the end of Daniel's 70th week Happens at the end of the seven-year period so they'll say see it's not till the Battle of Armageddon Which is at the end of the seven years that you have the day of the Lord So it can't be in the midst of the week That's what they say and we say no no There is so much Bible to prove that it happens in the middle of the week that it happens in the three and a half Years it cannot be but then they'll say to us. Well, what about this battle? What battle is this? It has to be the Battle of Armageddon well, here's the problem with that when you read the Battle of Armageddon in Revelation 19 when we're coming with Jesus on white horses and We're coming with him Thousands and ten thousands are with him. We don't do any fighting He beats them with the sword of his mouth He speaks and devours them We you and I are not gonna be climbing through windows and climbing through walls killing people during the Battle of Armageddon We're just the cheerleaders He's gonna defeat them with the word of his mouth and we're gonna cheer So this is not the Battle of Armageddon We're not gonna be breaking the ranks like mighty men neither shall one thrust another. We're not gonna be Climbing walls run upon the wall. They shall climb up on the houses and turn at the windows. We're not gonna be doing that So then people say well if this is not the Battle of Armageddon Then what could it be because it's right before the sixth seal the day of the Lord Well, here's the thing the fifth seal Happens right before the sixth seal and the fifth seal a city is encompassed about and destroyed called Jerusalem That's what Joel is referring to Joel is telling you this battle in Joel 2 1 through 9. That's not the Battle of Armageddon. It's the Abomination that maketh Jerusalem desolate These are not this is the Antichrist and his army going against Jerusalem So the army described here is destroying Jerusalem notice It happens right before the day of the Lord which goes perfectly with Matthew 24 Mark 13 Luke 21 Revelation 6 it all goes hand in hand But You don't get that if you focus on Matthew 24 and Mark 13 nothing wrong with focusing on that But if you focus on that then the focus is on the abomination of desolation the image of the Beast the mark of the Beast The reason that Luke 21 focuses on Jerusalem being destroyed is because God wanted us to know What Joel already told us which is there's something else that's also happening when the abomination of desolation is set up And that is that Jerusalem gets destroyed and go back to Luke 21. Let's finish this thing up Because when you teach this then people ask the question right and it's a valid question Well, wait a minute, I thought the Jews and the Antichrist were friends Why does the about why does the the Antichrist turn on the Jews and destroys Jerusalem Well, the answer is in Luke 21 22 For these be the days of vengeance Notice that word vengeance vengeance like the word revenge Now revenge is bad when you and I do it Vengeance is just when God does it For these be the days of vengeance that all things which are written may be fulfilled But woe unto them that are with child and to them that give suck in those days for there shall be great distress In the land and wrath upon not God doesn't say my people not you The disciples he says about this people what people the people living in Jerusalem, so let me just explain this to you and This is just my opinion. And I think probably most people's opinion that believe these things And it is this that the Jews definitely the Bible is clear about the fact that the Jews helped the Antichrist into power Because Think about it What is the first thing the Antichrist does there's two things he does. Here's a test. All right, let's see if you pass Two things he does he first sets up a one world government Then he sets up a one world religion First the government first four seals then the religion the fifth seal Okay, now think about the people in this world who are all about a new world order Who are they? It's the Jews It is the Jews that are setting up the new world order. It is the Jews that run the banking systems that will bring about the Buy or sell economy of the one world government It is the Jews that run the social media that connects all of us It is the Jews that run the normal media that is used for Propaganda it is the Jews that have their hands in everything Politically, they are all about a one world government So when a guy shows up and says let's make a one world government. Let me put my my my capital city in Jerusalem Let me build you a temple. They're gonna be all about that. They're gonna be happy great. Praise God good This is our Antichrist, right? This is our Christ our Messiah, but here's what you need to say the Jews are all about Money and politics, but they're not very religious Even the religious ones aren't very religious Even like the Orthodox Jews are a bunch of abortion LGBTQ promoting liberals So though they're they're all about government systems and creating one world government They're not really about worshipping anything, but the almighty dollar So when the Antichrist crosses the line and becomes all religious on them He's wounded and he resurrects and the false prophet shows up and puts up an image and says worship the image The Jews are me like we're not about that Because look if you talked if you'd research even now when the Jews talk about their Messiah They are talking about a political leader that is going to bring them to political greatness They're not looking for the Son of God They're not looking for deity So when the abomination that may get desolate set up They're not gonna be for that and you know what the Antichrist is gonna do He's gonna turn on them and he's gonna destroy them for these be the days of vengeance At that point the Antichrist turns on them to stress if you say well, why is that? Okay couple things. Let me finish up Romans 12 19 you have to turn there. I'll just read this for you dearly beloved avenge not yourselves But rather give place unto wrath for it is written Vengeance is mine. I Will repay saith the Lord Let me give you another verse verse be not deceived God is not mocked For whatsoever man soweth that shall they also reap you say but I thought the Antichrist is bad though. The Jews are bad They're all bad why look all throughout the Bible You can't read the Bible without realizing that God will use bad heathen nations to bring judgment upon bad heathen nations He used the Medo-Persians to bring judgment upon the Babylonians and then he used the Greek to bring judgment upon the Medo-Persians God is constantly using the sword of the heathens upon themselves To bring judgment and here's a point nations cannot be judged and people cannot be judged in the next world So they have to be judged in this world and the Jews are not gonna get away with being a bunch of military war pushing Just everything that's wicked and and and and Disgusting in this world pushing all of that Upon the world and not have God bring vengeance upon them Because these be Jesus says the days of vengeance now, let me just end with this as you might think I don't know anti-semitic Look we we want people that are the ethnicity of Jews we want them saved But we're not just gonna say look the the Jews as a people are wicked people You say well, that's anti-semitic. Okay. How about this one Americans as a people are a wicked people? You say well, yeah, well aren't you loyal to any I'm loyal to Jesus I'm a Christian I'm not a Republican God Is going to bring vengeance and look you say well God's gonna bring vengeance upon the Jews because all their wickedness Let me let you know a little secret. He's gonna destroy Babylon, too He's gonna destroy America too in the end times. That's a sermon for another day Why cuz he's not gonna let us get away with a lot of crap, either All the wickedness that America has pushed for all these years is not something all the abortions It's not something God is gonna let this nation get away with You say isn't very encouraging. Here's the encouraging part God is just God will bring justice. So dearly beloved Avenge not yourselves But rather give place unto wrath For it is written vengeance is mine. I will repay sayeth the Lord and Remember the context please understand the context. I know we've been in the Gospel of Luke for a long time So maybe it's hard for you to to remember the context We are in the Gospel of Luke days away From the Jews killing Jesus We're just a couple of days from Jesus coming into Jerusalem on an ass declaring himself king and They're gonna reject him They're gonna say let his blood be upon our hands and our and our children's Jesus is teaching about their coming destruction because he says you're not gonna get away with this wickedness In 70 AD this temple is gonna get destroyed Jesus says but that's not the worst of it in The end times this entire city is gonna be laid waste For these be the days of vengeance that all things which are written May be fulfilled Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Heavenly Father Thank you Lord for your word Thank you for this portion of Scripture And I realize that this stuff can be kind of heavy sometimes and I get that But help us to be mature Christians Help us to understand these things learn these things Comprehend these things and Lord help us to takes comfort in knowing that You will bring vengeance upon our enemies Sometimes in this world it can be pretty discouraging sometimes When you consider all the wicked people that are attacking us and hurting us and trying to destroy us and it just seems like Everything goes well for them But help us to remember that you are just Vengeance is mine. I will repay saith the Lord and Lord we thank you for that We love you in the matchless name of Christ. We pray Amen, we're gonna have brother Moses come up and lead us in a final song as we prepare for baptism tonight We have a baptism after the song Please send your song books page number 415 Page 415 We're gonna sing victory through grace Page 415 Victory through grace and let's sing it out on the first Conquering now and still to conquer Right at the king in his might leading the hosts of all the faithful into the midst of the flight See them with courage Advancing glad in their brilliant array shouting the name of their leader Hear them exultingly Say not to the strong Not to the swift Yet to the true Victory is promised Grace page 415. Let's sing it out on the second conquering now and still to conquer Who is this wonder? walking When saw the armies which he leadeth while of his glories They sing He is our Lord and Redeemer Savior and monarchy vine They are the stars that forever Right in his kingdom will shine Not to the strong is the battle not to the swift Yet to the true and the faithful Victory is promised grace conquering now and still to conquer Jesus the ruler Of all Thrones in their scepters all shall perish crowns in their splendor shall fall Yet shall the armies thou leadest faithful and true to the last but in thy mansions Eternal press when their warfare is past Not to the strong Not to the swift Yet to the true Victory is promised All right, well this evening we have Charlotte Rosenberg coming for baptism and Charlotte have you accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. All right Charlotte by your profession of faith I baptized you my sister in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost Buried in the likeness of his death raised to walk in newness of life All right, well thank you very much for being here tonight We do want to of course remind you That if you'd like to bring a gift for the Christmas gift for Jesus drop off You can do that and drop it off in the foyer. And then of course remember that this Sunday We're having a special Christmas service So we'll have the children's choir singing in the morning and the adult choir singing in the evening So this would be a great time to invite your friends. I'm not gonna be preaching about how wicked the Jews are Okay, so you just don't have to worry about that. It'll be a nice Christmas sermon or something I'm sure it'll be something nice, but we encourage you to be here for that If there's anything we do, please let us know and brother Moses. Would you mind dismissing us with a word of prayer? Father God, thank you so much for this sermon Lord. Thank you for revealing the truth through your word I pray that you'd bless us. I pray that keep us safe until we meet again and your holy and precious name. I pray. Amen You You