(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.) Inflation remains near a record high and it shows no signs of slowing the consumer price index for September was an 8.2% compared to a year ago. So here has made landfall as a category 4 winds of 155 miles per hour. Here in the heightened tensions between the West and Russia, Russian nuclear capable warplanes have opted toward a secure reserve agreement. Students say a lot of that according to the Russian door is staying locked. If you don't have your wallet, there's no problem. Just scan your palm to pay. Amazon One is a payment system that has been tested at several countries. And keep your place there in Revelation 7. We'll be going back to Revelation chapter 7 throughout the sermon this evening. So we're going to do a clues, continue the clues and milestones sermon series this evening. And tonight we're going to talk about, I'm kind of building on what we talked about on Wednesday night. So there was a method to the madness there. We talked about the first resurrection and the mechanics of your resurrection. But tonight we're going to talk about a topic that is misunderstood and misrepresented amongst many religions, especially the Jehovah's Witness cult this evening. We're going to talk about the 144,000 in Revelation chapter 7 this evening. So look down at Revelation chapter 7. We're going to find out what this is all about, how it fits into our end times chronology that the Bible is teaching us and what we've been learning about. And it really builds upon this concept of the first resurrection that we talked about on Wednesday night. So now that we have that basis, let's go ahead and look at what the Bible says in Revelation chapter 7. Look at verse number 1. The Bible says in Revelation chapter 7 verse 1, And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea. That's an important phrase right there that these angels are given this power that they are going to do hurt. They're going to do damage to 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 in their foreheads. This, of course, I've talked to you about. God is going to seal these people in their foreheads. This is why I believe that the mark of the beast, what Satan will use, the beast, the antichrist will use to seal. He'll seal. The mark of the beast goes in your forehead or in your right hand because Satan always copies what God does. He never comes up with his own ideas himself. He always takes what God does and twists it slightly so he looks like he has that same authority of God. And I heard the number of them which were sealed. And they were sealed in 144,000 of all the tribes of the children of Israel. Then we go into the list of the tribes. I'm going through the 12 tribes. There's one tribe missing and one tribe added. I'm not going to get into the detail on why that might be tonight. But basically it goes through and it lists 12 tribes of Israel. And it's going to take 12,000 people sealed from each of those tribes. Turn to Joshua chapter 11. So it basically says that he's going to take these 12 tribes that it lists in Revelation chapter 7 and 12,000 people from every one of these tribes will be sealed in their foreheads. So 12 times 12 is 144,000. That's how we get to that number. So basically let's talk about genealogies for a few minutes because the Bible tells us that genealogy should not be important to us. But genealogies have been important in the Bible in the past. There's two points in the Bible where genealogies were really important. The first place in the Bible was in the book of Joshua where they actually took possession of the Promised Land. The tribe that you came from was super important at that point in time. When the children of Israel, the nation of Israel crossed over the Jordan River and they conquered the Canaanites and all the lands that God told them to go and possess, God divided the land according to the tribes that they came from. Look at Joshua chapter 11. So genealogies may not be important today, the Bible tells us, but they were important back then. Look at Joshua chapter 11 in verse number 23. So Joshua took the whole land. This is the Promised Land that they conquered according to all that the Lord said unto Moses and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel. Remember, when we say Israel here, we're talking about the entire nation of Israel. There's been no split at this point. This is the Joshua generation that has just come across the Jordan River and taken possession. The Lord was winning all these battles for them and conquering the Hittites and all of these different people that they went to take the land from. And it says that Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto all Israel. How? According to their divisions by their tribes. And the Bible gives great detail about the tribes and what part of the land they were to have and borders of this area to this area for this tribe. And it just goes into great detail on what land each tribe was to possess. And then the Bible says, and the land rested from war. So the first place in the Bible that we see that the actual genealogies or what tribe that you came from, according to the nation of Israel, what tribe the people came from was when they took possession of the Promised Land. That was the first time. The second time is in 2 Samuel 7. Go ahead and turn to 2 Samuel 7. So look, you needed to know what tribe you were from in order to find out which part of the Promised Land you were going to live in because that's how God defined it for dividing the Promised Land. And the second important point in the Bible where the genealogy of a tribe was super important was in the promise that God made to David. Look at 2 Samuel 7, look at verse 16. Look at 2 Samuel 7 and verse 16. So of course, David wanted to build a house for the Lord. He wanted to build the temple and Nathan told him, no, God doesn't want you to build the temple. It's actually your son, Solomon, that's going to build the temple. This is why Solomon built the temple because God told David, no. David still went and laid up the materials and got Solomon prepared to build the temple. But look at the promise that God makes to David after telling him that he's not going to be able to build the temple. Look at verse number 16 of 2 Samuel 7. The Bible says this. It says in thine house and thy kingdom shall be established forever before thee, and thy throne shall be established forever. According to all these words and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David. So this is the messianic prophecy or the messianic promise that God gave to David. He basically is telling David here that the Messiah is going to come from your line. And this is also why we see that when the kingdom split into the northern kingdom where the ten tribes went to the northern kingdom and then the lower kingdom of Judah which contained really three tribes, I guess, but it was basically Levi, Judah, and then some of Benjamin went to the lower kingdom. But really even in this promise, though, in 2 Samuel 7, only Judah is necessary. Because that's why you see in the lower kingdom of Judah it's fulfilling this promise where every single king is a son of the previous king, a son of the previous king, which wasn't the case even for a couple generations in a row with the northern kingdom of Israel. The northern kingdom of Israel was just dynasty after dynasty after dynasty. Now turn to Titus chapter 3. So it's not that genealogies have never been important in the Bible. They were important for two specific reasons here. One, for the promised land to be divided up according to the Bible right after they conquered the promised land. And then two, specifically for the tribe of Judah, for the line of Christ. And that's why we see the genealogy of Christ in the New Testament listed twice, both Mary's genealogy and in Matthew and then in Joseph's genealogy also in Luke chapter 3. So we see those genealogies just showing God's promise that He fulfilled 2 Samuel 7 to David. And of course, how is David's throne going into eternity established forever? Because once we hit Jesus, there's your path to eternity right there. Jesus is always on the throne. Look at Titus chapter 3. Titus chapter 3, look at verse number 9. But let's say this about genealogies. Even though it was important in the Old Testament in those cases, that importance is specifically done away with. That importance we are told that we are not to pay attention to genealogies. Look at Titus chapter 3 and verse number 9. The Bible says, But avoid foolish questions and genealogies and contentions and strivings about the law, for they are unprofitable and vain. The key here tonight is that word unprofitable. So what the Bible here is saying is that genealogies have no profit. There is no value to genealogies is what the Bible is telling us here. It's not that they didn't have profit back when the children of Israel crossed into the promised land. You know, God used that at that time to divide up the land. But the Bible is telling us in the New Testament that pay no attention to genealogies, they are not important. They are unprofitable. They are unprofitable. It doesn't matter who your parents and your grandparents and your great grandparents were. It's not profitable. It means nothing. So you say, well, in Revelation chapter 7 where we just read this, it sure sounds like it means something. It sure sounds like it means something, but here's the thing you have to understand. Here's the thing you have to understand. We literally cannot be talking about someone that is alive today in Revelation chapter 7. Because even if somebody could say that they were from a certain tribe, the Bible tells us that there's no profit to it. So even if my family knows that they're of the tribe of Asher, which is impossible and I'll show you that in just a few minutes as well, the Bible literally tells me that there's no profit to my genealogy. There's no profit to it. So if I could sit here and claim that I was from some tribe and that my family was one of these rare families that kept track of their genealogy for thousands of years, you know, but the Bible says there's no profit to it. So that would be a contradiction right there. And the fact is, though, I even went and looked up some Jewish websites on this, nobody knows what tribe they're really from. And Jews will tell you that today. You know, go ahead and watch the documentary Marching to Zion. You will find some that might say that they're from the tribe of Levi because that's the tribes of the priests. But even them, they can't really say that with any type of accuracy. And here's the thing. Ten of the tribes were from the northern kingdom of Israel. So how could you possibly know? Turn to 2 Kings 17. The ten tribes that were in the northern kingdom of Israel were literally wiped out by the Assyrian Empire. They weren't taken into captivity. It was a different situation than the southern kingdom of Judah when Babylon came in and took them into captivity for what? For 70 years. Right? This was not a captivity situation. This was God cleaning house. And how do I know that the ten tribes are not there anymore is because God literally said that he took them out. He wiped them out. And he did this on purpose. Look at verse number 17. No, I'm sorry. Verse number 23 of 2 Kings chapter 17. This is where the northern kingdom, the Assyrian Empire, is sent in to take care of the northern kingdom. To pass judgment upon the northern kingdom. The northern kingdom turned on God literally right away. Like they went against God, that first generation, with Jeroboam. But look at verse number 23. Look at verse 22 for context. For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam. Notice how this is, you know, over 150 years later or hundreds of years later, I'm sorry, hundreds of years later. After the northern kingdom was established. After, you know, king after king after king, you know, turned against the Lord. Dynasty after dynasty turned against the Lord. Notice how God brings it all the way back to Jeroboam, the first king of the northern kingdom of Israel. It says the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam, which he did, they departed not from them. So even from the very start, there wasn't a single king that got right. That got the nation back to worshiping the Lord. Look at verse number 23. Until the Lord removed Israel out of his sight. That's talking about the northern kingdom of Israel. And you know how I know that those tribes are gone? Because God says he removed them. He's like, I removed Israel out of his sight. And he had said by all the servants of the prophets, as he said, by all the servants of the prophets. It's not like God didn't send prophets to the northern kingdom of Israel. He sent prophets there too. Look at verse, the last part of the verse. So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day. There's no 70-year captivity here. It's like they were just carried away by the Assyrian empire. And on top of that, in the next verse, we see why the Jews, when we say the Jews, by the way, in the Bible, we're talking about people that came from the lower kingdom of Judah. It's not referring to the northern kingdom of Israel. So when we say the Jews, we're talking about people that came from the southern kingdom of Judah. So the Jews, they had disdain for the people in Jesus' time. They had disdain for the people that lived in the north in a place called Samaria. They were called Samaritans. You say, why did they have disdain? They had disdain for them because they're racist, basically. When it comes down to it, they're racist, even though that's a stupid term in itself. And I've preached on that before. But the reason that they had disdain for the Samaritans was verse 24. This is why. So Israel was removed to Assyria. But on top of that, the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon and from Cutha and from Avah and from Hamath and from Safarvayim and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel. And they possessed Samaria and dwelt in the cities thereof. So he brought men to these cities and they intermarried with all the women that were there. And look, their genealogy is just gone at that point. I don't want to have to spell it out for you, but basically, they were bred out of existence from the Assyrian empire. They were taken away and then the Assyrians were brought in. And this is why the Jews had disdain for the Samaritans. Because what is a Samaritan? Basically, you take the ten tribes, whatever was left, you added the Assyrians and you get the Samaritans. That's what the Samaritans were and why they were frowned upon, they were looked down on by the Jews. The Jews were like, you're not Jews like us. They just didn't think they were God's people anymore. So look, really all you need to understand about these genealogies and how foolish it is for us to pay attention to genealogies, really all you really need to understand is math when it comes down to it. You know, if you look at, you know, everybody has two parents, four grandparents, and eight great-grandparents. If you keep going back in each generation, it just keeps doubling and doubling and doubling. It goes 16, 32, 64, 128, just on and on and on and on. If you go five, six hundred years back in your genealogy, you literally have millions of ancestors. Think about this for a second. If you go eight hundred plus years back, if you go eight hundred years back in your family tree, you have billions of ancestors. If you go beyond, if you go beyond a thousand years, like Jesus was two thousand years ago. If you go beyond a thousand years, you have trillions of ancestors. You say, what do you mean? There wasn't even, you know, there wasn't even trillions of people in the world back then. How does that even work? I mean, there wasn't trillions of people in the world during Jesus' time. I mean, I don't know how many people were in the world, but it was millions, not even billions at that point. You say, how could you have trillions of ancestors? And the reason that you can have trillions of ancestors is because at that point, when you go so far back in your family tree, each person is sharing ancestors in their family tree. Somebody shows up in your family tree, they're also in my family tree, in, you know, brother Garrett's, well, brother Garrett's already in my family tree. That was a bad example. But the point is, we share all these ancestors. So if you just take, you know, if there was 20 million people in the world back then, but my family tree shows a trillion, that shows you that people repeat throughout everyone's family tree, you know, hundreds of times. So the point is, and look, even genealogists, even like DNA specialists will tell you today that when you get several generations back, 10 generations back, 12 generations back, everybody's related to everybody. I hate to break it to you if you thought you were like a pureblood of something, but everybody's related to everybody. Every Palestinian has a Jewish ancestor in his genealogy somewhere. Every Muslim has a Shiite Muslim in their genealogy somewhere. All these people that are so upset that, you know, they don't want to be part of whatever. This is how stupid it is to be racist, by the way. It's just like really dumb. Because like everybody is everything. I mean everybody back in their family tree, if you could trace it back far enough, has ancestors of every shade and of every color. That's how valuable genealogies are. There's no profit. There's no profit. So look, even if it was, and look, here's another thing. Even if it was God, like let's say that, so we're talking about these 12,000 in each tribe. Where did they come from, right? Even if it was just God that knew. Even if it was just God that knew like, okay, you have to be, they have to be 11% or .001% of Asher in order to be part of this list. Here's the thing. It makes no sense because that would mean that it is profitable for me to keep track of a genealogy or what my genealogy was even if only God needed to know. But here's the thing. Is there saved Jews today? 144,000 saved Jews today of tribes that they don't even know where they're from? Look, it makes no sense on any level. So the question becomes, if these genealogies aren't profitable, if nobody really, even Jews themselves today don't know what tribe they're from, they'll openly say like there's no way we can know. Even though we could all go take DNA tests and I guarantee you some sort of Jew will come up. Some sort of tribe will come up in your DNA. Some sort of, you know, ancestors of every kind will come up in your DNA. So you say, who are these people? Who are these people? Turn to Revelation chapter 14. Turn to Revelation chapter 14. So who are they? That's the question. Turn to Revelation chapter 14. There's two places in the Bible that talks about the 144,000. The first one, the first one is in Revelation chapter 7 and the second one is in Revelation chapter 14. Let's read the first few verses of Revelation chapter 14. Revelation chapter 14. The Bible says, And I looked and a little lamb stood on Mount Zion and with him, and 144,000 having his father's name written in their foreheads. Of course this matches perfectly against Revelation chapter 7. Remember the book of Revelation repeats itself. It tells the same story. It goes from Revelation 1 all the way up to chapter number 11 and then it starts over and goes from 12 to 22. So here we're seeing kind of the mirror chapter in Revelation 14 over Revelation chapter 7. Look at verse number 2. And I heard a voice from heaven as the voice of many waters and as the voice of great thunder. And I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps. And they sung as if it were a new song before the throne, before the four beasts and the elders and that no man could learn that song but the 144,000 which were redeemed from the earth. And these, now we get some more detail here. These are they which were not defiled with women for they are virgins. And these which follow the Lamb, these are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among them being the first fruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile for they are without fault before the throne of God. So we see in these first few verses that these 144,000 are not only from the 12 tribes of Israel listed in Revelation chapter 7 but these are males and they are virgins and they have no guile in their mouth. So the only conclusion that we can come to here is that these are Old Testament saints. These are people that were from the tribes of Israel when we knew who the tribes of Israel were. Now in my opinion, turn to Judges chapter 2. In my opinion the best guess, and this is just an opinion, the best guess that I would have is where these 12,000 from all these different tribes came from is from the Joshua generation of the children of Israel. Meaning the children, the generation of Israelites that crossed over the Jordan River. Notice the wording that Revelation chapter 14, you're going to Judges chapter 2, but the wording of Revelation chapter 14 talking about these men, it says they're not defiled with women, they are virgins, they are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever they goeth. But look at verse number 5 where it says and in their mouth was found no guile for they are without fault before the throne of God. So these were people that had a pure heart towards the Lord. And there was only one generation that you could have said about that of the nation of Israel. Look at Judges chapter 2 and verse number 7. Judges chapter 2 and verse number 7. Look what the Bible says about the nation of Israel. This is after they have taken possession of the promised land. Look at verse 7. It says and the people, this is the nation of Israel here, the 12 tribes right here, the people serve the Lord all the days of every generation. Is that what it says? It says notice that the people serve the Lord all the days of what? All the days of Joshua. And all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua who had seen the great works of the Lord that he did for Israel. So here's what the Bible is saying. The Bible is saying is that the nation of Israel, these 12 tribes that came over and took possession of the promised land, they were good. They served the Lord, they were without fault before God as long as Joshua was alive. And look, here is the real key. This is what you really need to think about with your kids as kind of a side note here. Is the people that saw the great works that God did are the ones that stayed pure with God. As soon as that next generation was born, well let's just read it before I explain it. It says and Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, verse 8, died being 110 years old. And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timathrenes and in the Mount Ephraim on the north side of the hill Gash. And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers. This is the Joshua generation, they all died. And there arose another generation after them which what? Knew not the Lord. Nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. This is how important it is that, this is why a mother is the most important vocation right here. Because it is so important to pass on that godliness to the next generation. This is the trick that no one can figure out. This is the key that no one can figure out. Even the nation of Israel couldn't figure it out. Because as soon as all the children that saw, the generation that saw the battles, it doesn't even say they fought the battles. Joshua and the elders that came across fought the battles and took possession of the promised land. The children that saw those battles fought, that saw the Lord winning those battles, they were fine. It was the generation after that did not see the great works of the Lord. That they knew not the Lord. So, is that a failure of the Lord? No, that was a failure of their parents to not pass that on to them. This is why God is just like, Deuteronomy chapter 6, he's like you must teach them all day, every day. When? From the time they rise up to the time they lay down. Because God is trying to prevent this from happening. Look, it's just the same story over and over again. And it's the same with us. So look, don't think you have to fight every battle for your child. Don't think, that's why your children need to be out soul winning with you. They can see that battle being fought, even if they're not saying a word. They're going to see that spiritual battle happening before their eyes and you know what? They'll know the Lord. They'll know the Lord. Because as soon as they don't see the Lord fighting that's when it says that generation, they knew not the Lord. So some child is being raised by a parent that isn't a soul winner, they're not going to see God fighting any battles in their lives. Some child being raised by a parent that just has no spiritual life at all, they're not going to see God fighting any battles. You know what? They'll know not the Lord. It's the same thing that happened here. So I believe, this is just my opinion, I believe that these people that had, they were just pure towards the Lord. That's what those verses are explaining to us in Revelation chapter 14. They had perfect hearts toward the Lord. They were pure towards the Lord. I believe that most, if not all, probably are coming from this Joshua generation. That they saw the Lord. They saw the Lord fight and they had pure hearts towards the Lord. So that's, I mean, that's who the 144,000 are. Now, what's the purpose of the 144,000? What's the purpose? Go back to Revelation chapter 7. The Bible calls them in Revelation chapter 7, the servants of God. So we see that we have Old Testament saints here that, you know, I think they're probably from this Joshua generation. You say, but what's the purpose? So here we have these males that have a perfect heart towards God and, you know, the Bible says, hey, hurt not the earth before we seal the what? The servants of God in their forehead. Look at verse number nine. After this behold, you gotta ask yourself, what's about to happen? What's about to happen? Look at Revelation chapter 7, verse number nine. After this, remember our trick to reading Bible prophecy? We pay attention to these chronological statements like after this I beheld and lo, a great multitude which no man could number of all nations and kindreds and people and tongues stood before the throne and before the lamb, clothed in white robes and palms in their hands. Now, people that think that these 144,000 are going to heaven are like, see, there's the 144,000. They just appeared in heaven right there. But wait a minute. What does it say? A great multitude which no man can number. Didn't we just number them? I mean, what in the world? We just literally counted them. Let me just say the number again. It's 144,000. That's a number. Okay, that's not like some, is it impossible for people to count to 144,000? I mean, just look at verse number 10. So all of a sudden in heaven, this multitude that no man could number, just millions upon millions of people just shows up in heaven just like that. What could this be? What could this be? Look at Revelation 7, verse number 10. White robes and palms in their hands and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb. And the angels stood round about the throne and about the elders and the four beasts and fell before the throne on their faces, worshiping God. So all of this great multitude is worshiping God, saying, Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be unto our God forever and ever, Amen. And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these? Now we're gonna get the answer to our question. This is so crazy that people don't understand who these people are. This person will literally ask, What are these which are red and white robes? And whence came they? You know what that means? He's like, Who are these people and where did they come from? Is what he just said. Look at verse number 14. And you should have a little note in your Bible next to verse 14 if you write in your Bible that says Matthew 24. It says, And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said unto me, These are they which came out of great tribulation and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Turn to Matthew chapter 24. These are the people that came out of the rapture. This is the rapture in Revelation chapter 7 right here. Look at Matthew chapter 24 and verse number 21. So look what he says. He said, These are the which came out of great tribulation. Look at Matthew 24 and verse number 21, talking about the last moments of the Antichrist persecuting the saints on earth. The thing about the rapture that is so crazy that people don't understand like where it is in the Bible is you literally get a view of the rapture from heaven in Revelation chapter 7, and you get a view of the rapture from earth in the Bible. You get like both perspectives in the Bible. Look at Matthew 24 verse 21. For then shall be what? Great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the worlds of this time, no, nor ever shall be. Where did these people come from? They came out of great tribulation. Except those days should be shortened, there should be no flesh be saved. This is talking about like literally physically dying here. It's not talking about salvation. It's talking about the persecution is so bad that if the rapture didn't happen here, everyone would be killed. Look, they would still go to heaven, but it's like there's so much persecution in this tribulation, this great tribulation, that, that's why it says flesh should be saved. Okay, it's saying, but for the elect's sake, those days shall be shortened. Shortened, elect meaning the saved. I don't have time to preach that, but the elect, whenever you see it throughout the Bible, is talking about people that are saved. Then if any man shall say unto you, lo, here is Christ, or there, believe it not, for there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders, in so much that if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect, even the saved people. Deceive the elect, meaning the people that believe on Christ. Behold, I've told you before, wherefore if they'll say unto you, behold, he is here in the desert, go not forth. Behold, he is in secret chambers, believe it not. Talking about people that are gonna claim to be Jesus, all right? And then he says, here's how you'll know it's Jesus, in verse 27. How will we know that it's really Jesus? Because here's something that nobody else will be able to do. It's gonna be an entrance like no one has ever done, or ever will do. Again, for as lightning come out of the east, and shineth even unto the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. There's so much for your secret rapture right there. So much for, all of a sudden, pop. Brother George is gonna be just a, it's just gonna be his suit. Just like laying in his chair, right? It's just gonna be like a tie, and a shirt, and his suit, and his, you know, well, his wife will be gone too. So, it doesn't make any sense, but hopefully she wouldn't still be here. No, I'm just kidding, I'm sorry. Anyway. But, you know, isn't that what Hollywood did, you know, like the Hollywood movies is like, every rapture movie is just like, all of a sudden, just poof, it's just a pile of clothes. You know, and everyone's gone. You know, it's just like, what? And all the airplanes are like, crashing, and all this, and it's this big dramatic thing. But no, everyone's gonna see it. It's gonna be like the lightning from the east to the west. It's gonna be like lightning across the entire sky, and everyone will see it. Look at verse 29. It 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 heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. Turn to Revelation chapter six, and verse number 12. So, we see another great sign that's gonna happen here, like the sun is gonna be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven. Is anyone, I mean, are we gonna miss this? Is this gonna be like an act, you know, something that people don't notice? Look at Revelation chapter six, verse number 12. So, we see that the rapture, the rapture, let me turn there myself, the rapture is Revelation chapter seven. Revelation chapter seven, but look at Revelation chapter six, and verse number 12. Right before this happens, it says, and I beheld, when he had opened the sixth seal, there was a great earthquake, and what? The sun became black as the sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood. So, we see the same thing happen, Revelation chapter six, just preceding the rapture. It all matches perfectly, folks. Go back to Matthew 24. I should have told you to keep your place there, but it gets even better, because look at verse 31. It says, and he shall, now this, remember the Wednesday sermon. Remember your resurrection that happens here, where the first resurrection, everyone, you know, the dead in Christ shall rise first. That's those Old Testament saints that we're talking about, that, you know, the 144,000 are gonna be part of that group, but look what it says. He shall send his angels, and with the great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other. If you remember 1 Thessalonians four, verse 16, I'll just read it to you. It says, with the trump of God. 1 Corinthians chapter 15, I'll read for you again. It says, in the twinkle of an eye, in a moment in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. This is talking about the rapture. So we're seeing the rapture here, the first resurrection, the sealing of the 144,000 in that first resurrection, and then what do we see? The white robes in heaven. It fits perfectly, and it all matches up together. And then look, in Revelation chapter eight, Revelation chapter eight, remember, what's the purpose of sealing 144,000? You know, right at the beginning of Revelation chapter seven, the angel says, hurt not the earth until we have sealed God's servants. So where are we going to see these servants? Where are these servants going to be? They're going to be in the earth. They're going to be here on earth. God is sealing his servant because he's getting ready to unleash some serious hurt on the earth. In Revelation chapter eight, you say, when is it? It's right after this. When I say right after, like within the hour. Look at verse number one. It says, when he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. And then we're about to start opening up the vials and the trumpets, and God's going to start unleashing on the earth. But his servants will not be hurt because they will be sealed. In their foreheads. And look, God is just simply identifying his servants so he doesn't hurt them. Because he's going to hurt the earth. I mean, you go and we'll talk about the wrath of God, that three and a half year wrath of God, you know, in another sermon, but he's going to do some serious damage. He's going to kill billions of people in that wrath. So look, he raptures the saints, he unleashes his wrath upon the earth, turned back to Revelation chapter 14. So that's who they are, okay? That's who they are, and that's where they're going to be. They're going to be on earth during the wrath of God. You say, why? What's their purpose? What's their purpose? Well, guess what? The Bible tells us that too. Look at Revelation chapter 14. Look at verse number, well, let's recap verse number four. It says, these are they which are not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb, whithersoever he goeth. That's quite a word, whithersoever. Say that 10 times fast. These are redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. Now look, whether, the Bible doesn't tell us whether they come up in the first resurrection at the same time as us, go to heaven, get sealed in their forehead, then come back to earth, or if they stay on earth. It doesn't give us that detail, but it's that same time, okay? It's that same time during the rapture. The saints are raptured. They either stay on earth or come to the earth before that wrath starts within half an hour, okay? But look at verse number six. You say, why? What's the purpose of them? Why have them down there? Why have these servants of God, these Old Testament saved, pure-hearted people towards the Lord, why have them on the earth during God's wrath? Look at verse number six. It says, I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having what? Having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, kindred, and tongue, and people. Somebody's gotta preach the gospel. Somebody's gotta preach the gospel. Isn't that interesting? That God, even during his wrath, sends people down to preach. Always fear God and give glory unto him. This is what they're gonna be saying. For the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him that made heaven and earth and sea in the fountains of waters. Look, they stay here on earth to preach, to give the gospel to people. That's the purpose. So we see who they are, we see where they're gonna be, at what time they're gonna be, and we see the purpose that were there. Now let's look at like, just let me read you a couple things. Now that you know, like that wasn't like, there's some complicated Bible prophecy, that was not super complicated. We see that it matches up Revelation 7, Revelation 14, Matthew 24, 1 Thessalonians 4, 1 Corinthians 15, it all just lays together perfectly. And we see that, you know, we'll talk about God's purpose for them a little bit more in a little bit, but now let me just read you from the Jehovah's Witness website on the 144,000, you can see how silly this really is. It says, here's the Bible's answer from jw.org. This is who the 144,000 is according to them. It says, God selects a limited number of faithful Christians who after their death will be resurrected to life in heaven. Once they have been chosen, they must continue to maintain a Christian standard of faith and conduct in order to not be disqualified from receiving their heavenly inheritance. So number one is just straight up works-based salvation and on top of that you can literally lose your opportunity to be part of this 144,000. Here's a question that's answered from the same website. What will those who go to heaven do there? So it's talking about these 144,000, what will they do in heaven? They even have the place that they're at wrong. So they teach literally that only 144,000 go to heaven. So much for a great multitude that no man could number. You're just like, what? What will they do in heaven? They will serve alongside Jesus as kings and priests for a thousand years. So apparently the millennial reign of Christ when Christ rules and reigns on earth very clearly in Revelation chapter 20 is in heaven. How many will be resurrected to heaven? The Bible indicates that 144,000 people will be resurrected to heavenly life. So it's a complete misunderstanding. The battle of Gog and Magog where the Bible literally says in Revelation chapter 20 that this battle's gonna happen on earth and it just keeps saying on earth, on earth. They completely misunderstand. How could they possibly misunderstand this? It's because the natural man receiveth not the things of God. That's why. But for their foolishness unto him. Neither can he know them, the Bible says. They're not saved. They're not saved. They have no idea what they're talking about. And look, it's just, I hate to say it, but here's another thing from their website. It says misconception from the JW.org website. All good people go to heaven. Fact, they're gonna correct that statement. God promises everlasting life on earth for most good people. You're just like, first of all, first of all, if you're gonna join a cult, because that's what this is, okay? If you're gonna join a cult, what a depressing cult. I mean, what a depressing cult to be in. Here's my definition of a cult, okay? And that's why I told you this morning. I preached that whole sermon this morning talking about, hey, here's what I do. I'm supposed to be an example, here's what I do. I'm not following you home. Go to do a check on your home. Because a cult, a cult is a religion that holds your salvation where some man or some leader holds your salvation over his head. You have to come here. You have to come listen to my preaching to go to heaven. You have to come listen to my teaching to go to heaven. That's the Catholic church. You have to come get baptized at our organization in order to go to heaven. Look, these are cults. These things where men teach, these things, it's the teachings of man, because you'll find it nowhere in the Bible, where it's man holding your salvation over your head. If you don't listen to me do what I say, they use the words of the Bible for people, and look, it's easy because nobody has any idea what the Bible says. That's why in this church, you're supposed to read your Bible. You're supposed to understand the Bible. I've misspoken and twisted up a couple things a couple times, and people are like, hey, did you really mean it that way? And I'm like, oh, no, I said that wrong. You preach 150 sermons a year, you're gonna say stuff wrong every now and then. But you know what that tells me? That tells me that people are reading their Bible here. And that's what we need to know. That's what I want. I want you. When we go to verses, hey, be looking up those verses. Be reading that. See, I mean, are these things I'm telling you true? But a cult is some man's teaching where he's saying, you know what, your salvation is in my hands. No, your salvation is in Jesus' hands. It's in God the Father's hands. It's sealed. There's nothing I can do that could make you not be saved. Not like I would ever do that. But the point is, like, you should want to do these things in the Bible. Yes, you should. That's why Romans just kept saying should. You should do these things. You should not grieve the Holy Spirit. You should follow the law. All these things. But look, this is just the Jehovah's Witnesses. Look, Pentecostalism is the same thing. It may not be as weird, but maybe that makes it more dangerous because it's not weird. I mean, this Jehovah's Witness stuff, it's out there. It's weird stuff. It's literally funny if you know even just a little bit about the Bible. Like, how could they possibly misunderstand it? It's because they're not saved and they're wicked false prophets. That's why. That's the answer. But the point is, Pentecostalism, Catholicism, is the same thing, where if you don't do these things, you'll lose your salvation. You know, Pentecostals, they may look like us. They may talk like us in many ways. But to follow some religion where the preacher or the pastor or the leader is telling you, look, if you don't do these works, oh, you're saved. You're saved by grace through faith. It's even more dangerous. You're saved by grace through faith. But if you don't listen to me and the things that I preach, you will not be saved. That's a cult, folks. That's a cult. That's what a cult is. It's just something that, like, where some man is telling you what it takes to be saved and that he controls that salvation. All right, so look, it's a clear misunderstanding of some pretty clear scriptures here on the 144,000. So we've got Old Testament saints. My opinion is it's Joshua generation people, just because I think that matches the description in Revelation chapter 14. But here, they're to stay on earth to what? To preach, to spread the gospel. Turn to Psalm chapter 136. Psalm chapter 136, and we'll wrap it up here. Now look, Psalm chapter 136. Go to Psalm chapter 136, and you'll notice a pattern in Psalm chapter 136. It's the verse of the week, but you should turn there in your Bible so you see this pattern that I'm talking about. Tell me if something stands out. Just read a couple verses here. You say, why in the world would God pour out his wrath on the earth and send these 144,000 people to preach the gospel, you know, during his wrath? I mean, look, you know, don't they deserve it? Don't they deserve what they're getting at that point? They've rejected the Lord. The rapture has happened. They're still not saved. It's like, but here's the thing you need to understand. Look at verse number one of Psalm chapter 136, or look at the front of your bulletin. It's the verse of the week. It says, give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endureth forever. It says God's mercy, God has mercy even in his wrath. You're like, I don't understand that. You don't have to understand it. You just have to know that God's mercy endureth forever. You see a pattern? Oh, give thanks unto the Lord our God, the God of gods, for his mercy endureth forever. Oh, give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his mercy endureth forever. To him alone doeth great wonders, for his mercy endureth forever. To him that by wisdom made the heavens, for his mercy endureth forever. To him that stretched out the earth above the waters, for his mercy endureth forever. To him that made the great lights, we're talking about the creation. We're talking about he had mercy back at the beginning. It's talking about in Psalm chapter 136. To the sun, to the moon and stars. Now look what it says, to him that smote Egypt and their firstborn, for his mercy endureth forever. When he took the children of Israel out of Pharaoh's hands, his mercy endureth then too. And he brought Israel from among them, divided the Red Sea, talks about Pharaoh. Look at verse 18, he slew famous kings. Talking about the Amorites, verse 19. He hath redeemed us from our enemies, verse 24. You know what, when Jesus came, he had mercy then too. His mercy endureth forever. Oh, give thanks unto the God of heaven, for his mercy endureth forever. Look folks, from creation, to the promised land, to Christ, to the literal wrath of God, God has mercy. That's what the 144,000 is about. Even through his wrath, his mercy endureth forever. And look, think about this number, 144,000. This is just the last thought that I'll let you have tonight. Think about the, how many soul winners do you think are on the earth right now? There's probably not that many. Think about how many soul winners are in the, how many soul winners are going to door to door in the United States right now? I don't know, hundreds? Hundreds? Maybe if you're super optimistic, maybe Brother Stuckey would say thousands. He's an optimist. But it's not millions. You think, well, you know, if you maybe bunch in, if you maybe bunch in people that are able to preach the gospel, maybe people that don't go door knocking, but people that are able to preach the gospel, a saved believer that's actually able to give the gospel to someone that asks about them, yeah, maybe we could be talking about 100 or 200,000 in the world. Wasn't that interesting? How 144,000, you know what God is sending them to do? He's sending them, because who's gone now? He's sending them to replace you. He's sending them to replace the soul winners. He's sending them, he just took all the soul winners, whatever number that is, he just took everybody that, look, most Christians, those millions and millions and millions of Christians that appear in white robes in heaven, most of them aren't preaching the gospel to anybody. But the fraction of people, of the saved believers, that are on the earth at the time of the rapture that are preaching the gospel, God's gonna replace them with 144,000. Look, praise God for his mercy. It makes perfect sense. It's clear in the Bible, it makes perfect sense. But also notice that they're not coming down to the earth. In Revelation chapter 14, it says the gospel there. It says to preach the gospel. Look, they're not coming down to the earth to hand out diapers. They're not coming down to the earth to go out and give some Tylenol to people. They're not going down to the earth to go build a hut for somebody or hand out hot meals. They're coming to preach the gospel, and that's how important the gospel being preached is. And that's how we need, look, that's us now, though. We're the 144,000 now. We're the ones that can do it and should be doing it. Look, there's not enough of us doing it already. I mean, I saw the look on some Solar Winter's faces here when I said, you think there's 144,000 people knocking doors in the world, and they're kind of like, ah, that's a stretch. Unfortunately, you're probably right. But that's how important we are. God shows His mercy now, even though it's not the wrath of God, but God shows His mercy to this earth now through us. That's how important we are. We're literally instruments of God's mercy on this earth, and it will endure forever. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer.