1 00:00:02,120 --> 00:00:04,720 What a fitting song for what we're about to discover today in 2 00:00:04,720 --> 00:00:06,920 God's Word. And with that being said, I 3 00:00:07,640 --> 00:00:10,600 gladly invite you to take God's Word and meet me in the Book of 4 00:00:10,600 --> 00:00:15,280 Revelation chapter 14. By God's help, we're going to 5 00:00:15,480 --> 00:00:19,120 accomplish and complete this chapter together as we look at 6 00:00:19,120 --> 00:00:23,920 the final verses of it, beginning in verse 14 of chapter 7 00:00:23,920 --> 00:00:30,600 14. Now we have to remember that 8 00:00:30,600 --> 00:00:34,840 although the Book of Revelation is generally chronological, what 9 00:00:34,840 --> 00:00:40,200 chapter 14 does is pauses that sequence and offers us a few 10 00:00:40,200 --> 00:00:43,760 previews of coming events that have not yet been realized. 11 00:00:45,280 --> 00:00:49,120 And so the play button to the general storyline of Revelation 12 00:00:49,120 --> 00:00:51,640 is going to be pressed again in chapter 15. 13 00:00:51,640 --> 00:00:55,200 But for now, what we find in this text, in this chapter in 14 00:00:55,200 --> 00:01:00,080 particular, is a Lord providing encouragement to his people, 15 00:01:00,680 --> 00:01:03,960 especially after encountering the very bleak prophecy of the 16 00:01:03,960 --> 00:01:06,800 Antichrist in Revelation chapter 13. 17 00:01:07,560 --> 00:01:10,800 That's why when you come to chapter 14, you get the series 18 00:01:10,800 --> 00:01:14,200 of forward-looking predictions and prophecies of what's yet to 19 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:18,720 come, like Christ standing on Mount Zion, victorious and 20 00:01:18,720 --> 00:01:23,120 reigning the destruction of the Babylonian system that was 21 00:01:23,160 --> 00:01:25,400 exporting all the filth and the sin. 22 00:01:25,400 --> 00:01:28,960 Of the world. The eternal doom of the unsaved, 23 00:01:28,960 --> 00:01:33,320 and with that, the eternal rest of those who die in the Lord. 24 00:01:33,840 --> 00:01:37,920 This is the Lord by the Holy Spirit, reminding the believer 25 00:01:37,920 --> 00:01:41,240 who's reading this that we will be victorious in the end. 26 00:01:41,640 --> 00:01:47,840 Do not lose hope. And yet John receives a final 27 00:01:47,880 --> 00:01:52,720 vision before the natural. Flow of the text of this book 28 00:01:52,720 --> 00:01:59,080 continues and it deals with. The final judgement that Christ 29 00:01:59,160 --> 00:02:05,640 will bring to the wicked, not in eternity, but upon the earth. 30 00:02:07,080 --> 00:02:09,360 Another way of understanding what we're about to read is that 31 00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:13,280 John is describing to us in summary, what we are going to 32 00:02:13,280 --> 00:02:18,360 find out in greater detail from chapters 15 through chapters 19. 33 00:02:20,520 --> 00:02:24,720 And what we're going to see here is essentially a summation of 34 00:02:25,440 --> 00:02:30,920 the final, of the final acts of God's holy wrath toward those 35 00:02:30,920 --> 00:02:35,280 who have denied him just before the return of the Son of God. 36 00:02:36,680 --> 00:02:41,240 Remember, we learned that there are a total of three major sets 37 00:02:41,240 --> 00:02:43,440 of judgments that will be unleashed upon the earth, each 38 00:02:43,440 --> 00:02:46,560 consisting of seven acts. And we already completed the 39 00:02:46,560 --> 00:02:49,880 first two series. We looked at the seven seal 40 00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:52,400 judgments. We consider the seven trumpet 41 00:02:52,400 --> 00:02:56,280 judgments. But there is one more, the seven 42 00:02:56,280 --> 00:03:00,360 bowls of God's wrath, the most intense succession of God's 43 00:03:00,360 --> 00:03:03,400 judgments. Again just before Christ 44 00:03:03,400 --> 00:03:05,880 returns. They will serve to put the last 45 00:03:05,880 --> 00:03:08,480 things in order before He establishes His. 46 00:03:08,480 --> 00:03:14,080 Reign in this world and these verses that we're about to look 47 00:03:14,080 --> 00:03:20,960 at are a trailer to those judgments, A prelude for us to 48 00:03:20,960 --> 00:03:24,000 consider. Let's read from verse 14 down to 49 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:29,040 verse 20. Then I looked, and behold the 50 00:03:29,040 --> 00:03:32,400 white cloud. And seated on the cloud, like a 51 00:03:32,400 --> 00:03:36,760 son of man with a golden crown on his head and a sharp sickle 52 00:03:36,760 --> 00:03:39,760 in his hand. And another Angel came out of 53 00:03:39,760 --> 00:03:42,360 the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the 54 00:03:42,360 --> 00:03:46,000 cloud. Put in your sickle and reap, for 55 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:49,680 the hour to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is 56 00:03:49,680 --> 00:03:52,960 fully ripe. So he who sat on the clouds 57 00:03:52,960 --> 00:03:56,600 swung his sickle across the earth, and the earth was reaped. 58 00:03:57,480 --> 00:04:01,320 Then another Angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too 59 00:04:01,320 --> 00:04:04,560 had a sharp sickle. And another Angel came out from 60 00:04:04,560 --> 00:04:07,760 the altar, the Angel who has authority over the fire. 61 00:04:08,280 --> 00:04:10,760 And he called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp 62 00:04:10,760 --> 00:04:13,520 sickle. Put in your sickle and gather 63 00:04:13,520 --> 00:04:16,360 the clusters from the vine of the earth, for its grapes are 64 00:04:16,360 --> 00:04:18,399 ripe. So the Angel. 65 00:04:18,399 --> 00:04:21,000 Swung his sickle across the earth and gathered the great 66 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:24,160 harvest of the earth and threw it into the great wine Press of 67 00:04:24,160 --> 00:04:28,160 the wrath of God. And the wine press was trodden 68 00:04:28,160 --> 00:04:32,680 outside the city, and blood flowed from the wine press as 69 00:04:32,680 --> 00:04:38,720 high as a horse's bridle. For 1600 Stadium Lord, we ask 70 00:04:39,120 --> 00:04:42,920 oh, how we need your help with this text, how we need your 71 00:04:42,920 --> 00:04:44,760 wisdom, how we need your protection. 72 00:04:46,360 --> 00:04:48,000 Lead us to the right conclusions. 73 00:04:48,240 --> 00:04:50,480 Guide us to the right interpretation. 74 00:04:51,240 --> 00:04:55,120 And Lord, we pray that even if we do come to the clarity of 75 00:04:55,120 --> 00:04:58,040 these verses that it would not just sit in our minds where we 76 00:04:58,040 --> 00:05:00,720 pray that they would move our hearts to worship. 77 00:05:01,400 --> 00:05:03,600 You can only do this by the power of the Holy Spirit. 78 00:05:03,600 --> 00:05:07,240 And we pray that his power would be known in this message. 79 00:05:07,440 --> 00:05:13,400 In Jesus name we pray, Amen. Isn't it interesting that the 80 00:05:13,400 --> 00:05:16,120 way that the holy. Spirit wants to describe the 81 00:05:16,120 --> 00:05:18,640 concluding acts of God's judgement upon the earth before 82 00:05:18,640 --> 00:05:24,920 his Son returns is by depicting a harvest, the reaping of a 83 00:05:24,920 --> 00:05:28,560 harvest. Now most of us in here are 84 00:05:28,560 --> 00:05:31,240 familiar enough with the Word of God to understand that the 85 00:05:31,240 --> 00:05:35,960 harvest or a harvest is regularly recognized as a 86 00:05:35,960 --> 00:05:40,080 positive thing, the in gathering of souls saved by the gospel. 87 00:05:40,320 --> 00:05:41,600 And we just sang about it, right? 88 00:05:41,600 --> 00:05:45,640 The harvest is white, it's ready, and that is true in many 89 00:05:45,640 --> 00:05:48,080 cases. A harvest does speak about a 90 00:05:48,080 --> 00:05:53,320 move of God, the salvation of souls, the gathering in of more 91 00:05:53,320 --> 00:05:56,480 into his Kingdom. At the same time, there are many 92 00:05:56,480 --> 00:05:59,680 places in the Bible that depict a harvest and the reaping of a 93 00:05:59,680 --> 00:06:03,720 harvest as an act of judgment. You find this throughout the Old 94 00:06:03,720 --> 00:06:05,680 Testament. You even find in some some of 95 00:06:05,720 --> 00:06:10,680 Jesus parables. And the diligence student of the 96 00:06:10,680 --> 00:06:13,720 Scripture, then, should not be so surprised to consider how 97 00:06:13,720 --> 00:06:16,960 God's. Outpouring of wrath is 98 00:06:16,960 --> 00:06:20,760 illustrated here through this act of harvesting. 99 00:06:22,240 --> 00:06:24,400 But there is another challenge with this text, however. 100 00:06:25,240 --> 00:06:27,640 And the challenge lies in the fact that it seems as though 101 00:06:27,640 --> 00:06:31,200 there are two harvests being explained here. 102 00:06:31,800 --> 00:06:34,400 Did you notice that? Look again at verse 16. 103 00:06:35,760 --> 00:06:38,960 So he was sat on the clouds, swung his sickle across the 104 00:06:38,960 --> 00:06:42,640 earth, and the earth was reaped. OK, that's one. 105 00:06:43,080 --> 00:06:47,440 That's one reaping, and it's across the whole earth, so there 106 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:49,920 should be nothing left. And then you keep reading and 107 00:06:49,920 --> 00:06:52,400 what do you stumble upon? Look at verse 19. 108 00:06:52,800 --> 00:06:56,400 So the Angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered 109 00:06:56,400 --> 00:06:59,600 the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great 110 00:06:59,600 --> 00:07:05,320 winepress of the wrath of God, just in case nobody sees it. 111 00:07:05,320 --> 00:07:07,560 There is a clear distinction here. 112 00:07:08,640 --> 00:07:11,920 What you have with verse 16 is 1 like a son of man sitting on a 113 00:07:11,920 --> 00:07:15,480 cloud, and he swings his sickle and he reaps from the earth, 114 00:07:15,680 --> 00:07:18,400 which strongly suggests that this is speaking about a grain 115 00:07:18,400 --> 00:07:20,920 harvest. It's from the earth. 116 00:07:21,360 --> 00:07:24,520 No added details. Then you go on and you realize 117 00:07:24,520 --> 00:07:28,280 that there is another Reaper, but it's not one like a son of 118 00:07:28,280 --> 00:07:31,720 man, it's an Angel. And he does have a sharp sickle 119 00:07:31,720 --> 00:07:34,600 himself, but when he swings it across the earth, he doesn't 120 00:07:34,600 --> 00:07:38,640 gather in grain. He gathers in what grapes. 121 00:07:40,840 --> 00:07:43,880 So a lot of people interpret it in this way. 122 00:07:44,480 --> 00:07:47,240 This is speaking about two different kinds of harvest. 123 00:07:47,240 --> 00:07:51,000 The first one with the grain, the one that the Son of Man is 124 00:07:51,000 --> 00:07:55,000 orchestrating, refers to a harvest of righteousness. 125 00:07:55,640 --> 00:07:59,200 This is the Lord sweeping in the remaining of the redeemed just 126 00:07:59,200 --> 00:08:04,160 before he pours out his wrath. Meanwhile, the grape harvest 127 00:08:04,160 --> 00:08:09,200 speaks about a harvesting of the final of the wicked before the 128 00:08:09,200 --> 00:08:12,160 Son of God comes and establishes his government. 129 00:08:13,400 --> 00:08:18,040 And while that may seem plausible, there is evidence in 130 00:08:18,040 --> 00:08:20,880 this text that would suggest a different conclusion. 131 00:08:22,520 --> 00:08:25,560 And there are two main important observations that we have to 132 00:08:25,560 --> 00:08:29,200 acknowledge in order for us to be open to something else. 133 00:08:29,960 --> 00:08:33,240 Number one, what John is doing here is something that he does 134 00:08:33,520 --> 00:08:35,760 so regularly throughout his writings in this book. 135 00:08:36,159 --> 00:08:40,200 He's alluding to an Old Testament prophecy, and the Old 136 00:08:40,200 --> 00:08:44,240 Testament prophecy that he seeks to connect is that of what Joel 137 00:08:44,240 --> 00:08:47,840 said in Joel chapter 3. Turn with me to Joel chapter 3 138 00:08:48,440 --> 00:08:51,280 and look here with me beginning at verse 12 of Joel chapter 3, 139 00:08:53,080 --> 00:08:55,000 because when we turn there, we're going to get more clarity 140 00:08:55,000 --> 00:08:57,480 of what John seems to be communicating here in this 141 00:08:57,480 --> 00:09:01,640 vision in Revelation chapter 14, Joel chapter 3. 142 00:09:01,640 --> 00:09:06,320 Look at verse 12. It's not a common book, so it 143 00:09:06,320 --> 00:09:07,520 may take you some time to get there. 144 00:09:07,520 --> 00:09:15,020 That's OK. Joel chapter 3 verse 12. 145 00:09:16,580 --> 00:09:21,140 Let the nation's stir themselves up and come up to the Valley of 146 00:09:21,140 --> 00:09:26,220 Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding 147 00:09:26,220 --> 00:09:29,420 nations. Put in the sickle, for the 148 00:09:29,420 --> 00:09:33,740 harvest is ripe. Go in tread for the winepress is 149 00:09:33,740 --> 00:09:38,060 full. The vats overflow for their evil 150 00:09:38,560 --> 00:09:41,520 is great. Did you notice how verse 13 is 151 00:09:41,520 --> 00:09:45,760 almost a perfect summary of what John seems to be elaborating on 152 00:09:45,760 --> 00:09:48,520 in his vision? Here you have a sickle. 153 00:09:48,840 --> 00:09:50,280 A sickle. For a ripe harvest. 154 00:09:50,440 --> 00:09:52,520 More than that, it's followed by the description of an 155 00:09:52,520 --> 00:09:57,400 overflowing winepress, just like the two types of reapings that 156 00:09:57,400 --> 00:10:01,240 we saw in our main text. And if you're willing to accept 157 00:10:01,240 --> 00:10:04,320 that, then you also have to understand that what Joel is 158 00:10:04,320 --> 00:10:06,360 speaking about here is judgement. 159 00:10:07,480 --> 00:10:10,000 Everything surrounding this picture is judgment. 160 00:10:10,640 --> 00:10:13,360 There is no hint here of a righteous harvesting or 161 00:10:13,360 --> 00:10:15,880 salvation. Everything surrounding this 162 00:10:15,880 --> 00:10:20,600 imagery speaks of wrath. And it could be that what John, 163 00:10:20,840 --> 00:10:24,200 John is doing is taking and borrowing from this prophecy and 164 00:10:24,200 --> 00:10:28,720 expanding it by the Spirit to convey that the fulfillment of 165 00:10:28,720 --> 00:10:32,480 this prophecy of a comprehensive judgment of all nations is at 166 00:10:32,480 --> 00:10:36,040 hand. Here's a second important 167 00:10:36,040 --> 00:10:38,200 observation. That may lead to a different 168 00:10:38,200 --> 00:10:41,000 conclusion of the two types of harvest in Revelation 14. 169 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:44,360 It's found in a word in Revelation 14. 170 00:10:44,480 --> 00:10:48,680 So go back to that text and look again at verse 15 and consider 171 00:10:48,680 --> 00:10:50,600 something with me that is so important to unpack. 172 00:10:51,400 --> 00:10:55,360 Revelation 14, verse 15. John sees and writes and another 173 00:10:55,360 --> 00:10:57,720 Angel. Came out of the temple calling 174 00:10:57,720 --> 00:10:59,800 with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud. 175 00:11:00,120 --> 00:11:04,200 Put in your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come. 176 00:11:04,480 --> 00:11:08,040 For the harvest of the earth is fully ripe. 177 00:11:09,320 --> 00:11:13,160 Underline that word ripe. Do you know what that word 178 00:11:13,160 --> 00:11:15,040 means? Well, at face value, seems like 179 00:11:15,040 --> 00:11:17,640 a good thing that the harvest has reached its full maturation, 180 00:11:18,200 --> 00:11:20,840 that it's ready. It's ready to be plucked. 181 00:11:21,400 --> 00:11:25,120 It's ready to be gathered in. It's fulfilled its purpose. 182 00:11:26,880 --> 00:11:28,320 But here's where word studies help. 183 00:11:28,960 --> 00:11:31,880 When you actually look at the original word for ripe here, it 184 00:11:31,880 --> 00:11:35,280 does not mean ready. It actually means. 185 00:11:35,320 --> 00:11:39,000 Over ripe. In other words, it means that it 186 00:11:39,040 --> 00:11:43,360 it's past it's due. More specifically, it says 187 00:11:43,360 --> 00:11:47,320 something that is dry. It speaks of something that is 188 00:11:47,640 --> 00:11:50,640 withered. This is not a good description. 189 00:11:51,760 --> 00:11:55,760 So whatever this harvest is, it's not being gathered in with 190 00:11:55,760 --> 00:11:57,120 joy. It's not being gathered in 191 00:11:57,120 --> 00:11:59,360 because there's good use. It's being gathered in to be 192 00:11:59,360 --> 00:12:03,320 discarded. Here's what's amazing that word 193 00:12:03,320 --> 00:12:06,840 right? In verse 15 is only used in one 194 00:12:06,840 --> 00:12:09,840 other place in all of the Book of Revelation. 195 00:12:10,240 --> 00:12:11,320 Would you like to know where it is? 196 00:12:11,840 --> 00:12:18,400 Go to chapter 16. Look at verse 12, Revelation 197 00:12:18,400 --> 00:12:21,520 1612. Another vision of another 198 00:12:21,520 --> 00:12:24,280 prophecy, but it has a word that's important for us to 199 00:12:24,280 --> 00:12:26,160 understand. The 6th Angel. 200 00:12:26,160 --> 00:12:30,080 Poured out his bull on the great river Euphrates and its water 201 00:12:30,080 --> 00:12:34,360 was dried up. That's the word dried. 202 00:12:34,760 --> 00:12:39,200 It's the same word used for ripe in Revelation 1415, dried up to 203 00:12:39,200 --> 00:12:41,440 prepare the way for the kings from the East. 204 00:12:41,640 --> 00:12:44,520 So when we take all this in consideration, it's very 205 00:12:44,640 --> 00:12:49,000 difficult to arrive at the place and thinking that this first 206 00:12:49,000 --> 00:12:54,360 harvest in this vision is a good one when the ripeness is more 207 00:12:54,640 --> 00:12:57,480 accurately to be understood as rottenness. 208 00:12:59,720 --> 00:13:02,880 How can you think that this is the Lord Jesus gathering in the 209 00:13:02,880 --> 00:13:05,520 redeemed when they are described in such a way? 210 00:13:05,520 --> 00:13:11,320 Does this make sense? So then if John is borrowing 211 00:13:11,320 --> 00:13:15,760 from Joel a prophecy about wide scale universal judgement, 212 00:13:16,240 --> 00:13:20,440 sickle, harvest, grape overflowing, and if this word 213 00:13:20,440 --> 00:13:23,480 ripe actually means something that is dried and withered. 214 00:13:24,080 --> 00:13:27,960 No longer of good use. Then what do these two harvests 215 00:13:27,960 --> 00:13:31,040 mean? If it's not about the righteous 216 00:13:31,040 --> 00:13:34,040 and the wicked, it's not about gathering in the good and 217 00:13:34,040 --> 00:13:37,200 judging the evil, what do we have before us? 218 00:13:38,920 --> 00:13:42,960 What we have before us is a. Description of judgment in two 219 00:13:42,960 --> 00:13:45,720 major phases. That's what we have. 220 00:13:46,840 --> 00:13:50,240 What we have here is God's final judgment against the wicked. 221 00:13:50,720 --> 00:13:55,440 Occurring just before Christ's return in two massive segments. 222 00:13:55,480 --> 00:13:57,960 And that makes more sense when you think about it a little 223 00:13:58,200 --> 00:14:01,200 further. Remember how he said Revelation 224 00:14:01,200 --> 00:14:04,240 14, especially these verses previews what we're going to 225 00:14:04,240 --> 00:14:07,440 find, chapters 15 down through chapters 19. 226 00:14:07,800 --> 00:14:11,960 What's in chapters 1516? Primarily the seven bowls of 227 00:14:11,960 --> 00:14:15,240 God's wrath. And those bowls will be poured 228 00:14:15,240 --> 00:14:18,760 out until Christ himself comes and directly deals with his 229 00:14:18,760 --> 00:14:22,760 enemies on the earth. And it seems as though these two 230 00:14:22,760 --> 00:14:27,000 harvests are indicating those two major manifestations of 231 00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:29,760 God's wrath. In other words, the first 232 00:14:29,760 --> 00:14:32,280 harvest could be pointing to the seven bowls. 233 00:14:32,720 --> 00:14:36,760 And then the grape harvest right after seems to be paving the way 234 00:14:36,880 --> 00:14:42,800 and describing Christ personal confrontation with his foes. 235 00:14:44,360 --> 00:14:46,800 This is what seems to be making the most sense here. 236 00:14:48,560 --> 00:14:50,080 But that's not where we want to end. 237 00:14:51,360 --> 00:14:53,840 What we want to consider, and the rest of this time here 238 00:14:53,840 --> 00:14:57,640 together is these two types of harvest in more detail. 239 00:14:57,720 --> 00:14:59,520 What do we learn about God through them? 240 00:15:00,040 --> 00:15:03,760 How do they speak to our hearts? What message do they convey for 241 00:15:03,760 --> 00:15:06,120 our day-to-day lives? And that's how we're going to 242 00:15:06,120 --> 00:15:09,240 split our thoughts today. I want us to look at the first 243 00:15:09,280 --> 00:15:11,240 harvest reaping and then the second one. 244 00:15:11,560 --> 00:15:14,320 The first one again is a preview of the seven bowls that are 245 00:15:14,320 --> 00:15:16,640 going to be poured out. And then the second one, which 246 00:15:16,640 --> 00:15:20,920 is much more graphic, is it not? Did you notice the imagery here? 247 00:15:21,160 --> 00:15:25,480 The grapes being trodden, blood being splattered, a river of 248 00:15:25,480 --> 00:15:27,680 blood it seems to be gushing forth. 249 00:15:28,560 --> 00:15:30,880 Why is the second one more graphic than the first one? 250 00:15:31,040 --> 00:15:33,480 Because as severe as the bold judgments will. 251 00:15:33,480 --> 00:15:37,120 Be what Christ is going to do directly is going to be much 252 00:15:37,120 --> 00:15:42,160 more intense. Let's reel back here. 253 00:15:43,240 --> 00:15:48,600 What can we learn? From the first harvest there are 254 00:15:48,600 --> 00:15:52,360 two descriptions here that are interesting. 255 00:15:53,200 --> 00:15:56,680 We see one like a Son of Man who is seated on a cloud, and he has 256 00:15:56,680 --> 00:16:01,320 a golden crown. Now one, like a Son of Man, only 257 00:16:01,320 --> 00:16:04,680 appears in one other place in the Book of Revelation, in the 258 00:16:04,680 --> 00:16:08,200 very first chapter, where Jesus is described in his glorified 259 00:16:08,200 --> 00:16:10,360 state. And one of the characteristics 260 00:16:10,360 --> 00:16:14,320 that he emulates is that he has this golden sash around them and 261 00:16:14,320 --> 00:16:17,440 he has this robe and it speaks about His Majesty. 262 00:16:17,560 --> 00:16:20,400 And it's in that place in Revelation 113 where we read 263 00:16:20,400 --> 00:16:24,600 that one like a son of man is carrying these these garbs. 264 00:16:25,520 --> 00:16:27,880 So John is making it very plain here. 265 00:16:28,160 --> 00:16:31,120 I I'm referring to to Christ in this vision, the one who is 266 00:16:31,120 --> 00:16:33,120 seated 1 like a son of man. That's Jesus. 267 00:16:33,480 --> 00:16:35,920 Not just because of Revelation chapter 1, but because of Daniel 268 00:16:35,920 --> 00:16:39,400 Chapter 7, where he too saw one like a Son of Man descending 269 00:16:39,400 --> 00:16:42,240 with the clouds, approaching the Ancient of Days. 270 00:16:43,560 --> 00:16:46,280 Which tells us that John and his prophecies are in total 271 00:16:46,280 --> 00:16:47,640 alignment with the old. Prophecies. 272 00:16:48,040 --> 00:16:51,680 He is not writing anything new. He's in total alignment with the 273 00:16:51,680 --> 00:16:59,320 prophets of old. And more than that, however, it 274 00:16:59,320 --> 00:17:02,960 tells us something about Jesus that we often neglect. 275 00:17:04,079 --> 00:17:09,520 He is a judge. He is a coming judge. 276 00:17:10,319 --> 00:17:12,720 The Lord doesn't want us to skim over this so quickly because He 277 00:17:12,720 --> 00:17:16,440 provides these descriptions around Christ's judgement that 278 00:17:16,440 --> 00:17:19,599 we have to meditate on. There are three things about 279 00:17:19,599 --> 00:17:25,160 Christ being judge and how he judges that we have to face that 280 00:17:25,160 --> 00:17:28,560 we have to come to terms with. And the first thing is this. 281 00:17:28,840 --> 00:17:33,480 Christ Jesus judges with divine authority that golden crown. 282 00:17:33,880 --> 00:17:37,200 Him sitting on that cloud speaks of his divine origin, and it 283 00:17:37,200 --> 00:17:39,880 speaks about the divine authority that he possesses now 284 00:17:40,720 --> 00:17:42,400 and that he will manifest in the days to come. 285 00:17:43,840 --> 00:17:46,000 This is Christ, the one who died. 286 00:17:46,040 --> 00:17:49,600 Yes, this is Christ, the one who created the world and the One 287 00:17:49,600 --> 00:17:52,680 who upholds the universe with the power of his Word. 288 00:17:53,040 --> 00:17:55,920 But this is also Christ who will come and deal with the wicked 289 00:17:56,160 --> 00:17:59,000 once and for all. Here's why that's important. 290 00:18:00,320 --> 00:18:02,400 You and I are making a very serious mistake. 291 00:18:02,400 --> 00:18:04,680 If we're willing to believe in a God who has created the world 292 00:18:04,680 --> 00:18:08,640 and save the world, but not judge the world, our God is a 293 00:18:08,640 --> 00:18:10,960 judge. He will hold this world 294 00:18:10,960 --> 00:18:14,560 accountable. And though in a very broken way, 295 00:18:14,560 --> 00:18:17,480 this world is set up where we have mutual accountability. 296 00:18:17,560 --> 00:18:21,600 We have judicial systems. What the Bible teaches is all 297 00:18:21,600 --> 00:18:25,120 systems in this world are ultimately answerable to God 298 00:18:25,120 --> 00:18:28,240 himself. And there's a day coming of 299 00:18:28,240 --> 00:18:30,720 reckoning. Now some take issue of this 300 00:18:30,720 --> 00:18:33,600 being Jesus because he seems to be taking orders from an Angel. 301 00:18:34,320 --> 00:18:37,440 Did you notice that in verse 15? And another Angel came out of 302 00:18:37,440 --> 00:18:40,160 the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the 303 00:18:40,160 --> 00:18:42,040 cloud. And so. 304 00:18:42,120 --> 00:18:45,160 They do all these gymnastics with who this one like a Son of 305 00:18:45,160 --> 00:18:47,120 man is. There's no way that Christ can 306 00:18:47,120 --> 00:18:49,840 be taking orders from a created being, even if it's an angelic 307 00:18:49,840 --> 00:18:52,840 being. But read your bibles carefully. 308 00:18:53,320 --> 00:18:56,520 This is not an Angel speaking from his own authority. 309 00:18:56,720 --> 00:19:00,080 Where did the Angel come from? And another Angel came out of 310 00:19:00,080 --> 00:19:02,840 the temple. This is the temple in heaven 311 00:19:02,840 --> 00:19:05,960 according to the context. So what is this Angel doing? 312 00:19:05,960 --> 00:19:08,400 Well, he's coming out of the very place where God's presence 313 00:19:08,400 --> 00:19:11,200 dwells. So it seems to suggest that this 314 00:19:11,240 --> 00:19:14,440 Angel is relaying a message from God the Father. 315 00:19:15,800 --> 00:19:17,840 And we know that throughout the Bible, angels are messengers in 316 00:19:17,840 --> 00:19:20,040 many ways. They, they participate in God's 317 00:19:20,040 --> 00:19:22,760 Word, even in delivering a message or two. 318 00:19:23,320 --> 00:19:26,640 So this Angel is delivering a message from the temple, and the 319 00:19:26,640 --> 00:19:30,280 Father is signaling to the Son that the hour of judgement has 320 00:19:30,280 --> 00:19:32,360 come. And here's all you need to know 321 00:19:32,880 --> 00:19:35,440 at this point. Jesus will judge the world 322 00:19:35,440 --> 00:19:38,040 because he has divine authority to do so. 323 00:19:40,320 --> 00:19:43,440 But the second way that he judges is with perfect 324 00:19:43,440 --> 00:19:46,640 precision. You know, when we look at Christ 325 00:19:46,640 --> 00:19:48,360 in the Book of Revelation, there are a lot of things that he 326 00:19:48,360 --> 00:19:52,800 holds in his hand symbolically. And now we have something new, 327 00:19:52,800 --> 00:19:54,280 something that perhaps we've never thought about. 328 00:19:54,760 --> 00:19:58,000 In this vision, Jesus holds a sickle. 329 00:19:58,720 --> 00:20:02,080 Have you heard of a sickle? It's a single handed 330 00:20:02,320 --> 00:20:04,920 agricultural tool. It has kind of a swoosh. 331 00:20:04,920 --> 00:20:08,800 It's like a hook and it's used to harvest or to cut. 332 00:20:10,920 --> 00:20:14,560 What moves me though, is that Jesus with this sickle, as 333 00:20:14,560 --> 00:20:20,560 strange as that might be, furthermore, is holding a sharp 334 00:20:20,560 --> 00:20:23,040 sickle. Why do I need to know it's 335 00:20:23,040 --> 00:20:25,800 sharp? In fact, that appears more than 336 00:20:25,800 --> 00:20:27,240 once in this vision. Sharp sickle. 337 00:20:27,240 --> 00:20:31,880 Sharp sickle because the sharpness indicates something 338 00:20:31,880 --> 00:20:34,640 about the effectiveness and the precision of his judgement. 339 00:20:36,440 --> 00:20:39,040 Jesus Christ is not dull in his discernment. 340 00:20:40,440 --> 00:20:44,920 He's not dull in his perception. He's not dull with his verdicts. 341 00:20:45,640 --> 00:20:48,480 Jesus Christ is error free with his justice. 342 00:20:49,720 --> 00:20:54,840 He's razor sharp. He's always accurate. 343 00:20:55,440 --> 00:20:58,160 He never exaggerates, he never goes overboard. 344 00:20:59,480 --> 00:21:02,880 It is surgically precise and how he. 345 00:21:02,880 --> 00:21:06,600 Evaluates men's hearts and what he determines concerning their 346 00:21:06,600 --> 00:21:10,720 fates, and this is shown throughout the scriptures in so 347 00:21:10,720 --> 00:21:12,080 many different ways. One of the. 348 00:21:12,080 --> 00:21:14,760 Ways that has ministered me the most as a follower of Jesus 349 00:21:14,760 --> 00:21:19,680 Christ is seeing how Christ handles a particular case in the 350 00:21:19,680 --> 00:21:24,720 Old Testament. How the Lord appears to Abraham 351 00:21:24,720 --> 00:21:29,200 with two angels, and before he judges Sodom and Gomorrah, he 352 00:21:29,200 --> 00:21:32,760 decided to actually tell Abraham what he was going to do to. 353 00:21:32,760 --> 00:21:36,760 Sodom and Gomorrah and when he explains it to Abraham, he says 354 00:21:36,760 --> 00:21:41,840 something that is so insightful about his character as a judge. 355 00:21:43,120 --> 00:21:48,120 Genesis 18. Look at this with me in verse 356 00:21:48,120 --> 00:21:59,360 20. It says here in Genesis 18, 357 00:21:59,360 --> 00:22:03,200 verse 20. Then the Lord said, because the 358 00:22:03,240 --> 00:22:08,000 outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin 359 00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:13,040 is very grave, I will go down to see whether they have done 360 00:22:13,040 --> 00:22:17,080 altogether according to the outcry that has come to me, and 361 00:22:17,080 --> 00:22:22,440 if not I will know. You know, when I first read 362 00:22:22,440 --> 00:22:25,440 this, it surprised me because this is clearly the Lord 363 00:22:25,440 --> 00:22:32,280 speaking to Abraham and he's telling Abraham, hey, I've come 364 00:22:32,280 --> 00:22:33,920 down. I've descended upon the earth to 365 00:22:33,920 --> 00:22:38,920 actually examine what's going on in these cities to see if they 366 00:22:38,920 --> 00:22:41,600 match the outcry that has arisen because of them. 367 00:22:43,320 --> 00:22:47,280 I have heard, and I have read of some people who use this text to 368 00:22:47,280 --> 00:22:49,640 teach that God can't be all knowing. 369 00:22:51,840 --> 00:22:53,720 Why? Because it seems as though he 370 00:22:53,720 --> 00:22:58,720 needs to descend into creation and verify the facts at a closer 371 00:22:58,760 --> 00:23:01,320 look. Is that what's happening here? 372 00:23:01,320 --> 00:23:02,840 Is that what the Bible teaches about God? 373 00:23:03,720 --> 00:23:08,240 No, what you have here instead is the Lord graciously revealing 374 00:23:08,240 --> 00:23:10,840 something about His character in a way that we would understand, 375 00:23:13,440 --> 00:23:17,040 going out of His way to exemplify something so crucial 376 00:23:17,040 --> 00:23:19,360 about His nature. And here's what that means. 377 00:23:19,680 --> 00:23:22,600 Before executing judgement, he takes great care to gather all 378 00:23:22,600 --> 00:23:27,320 the evidence before rendering A verdict. 379 00:23:27,320 --> 00:23:29,640 He takes time to investigate in way every matter. 380 00:23:30,520 --> 00:23:34,400 That's what he is showing here. It's not that he needs to do it, 381 00:23:34,840 --> 00:23:38,400 but he wants to show us what he's willing to do, the length 382 00:23:38,400 --> 00:23:42,720 that he's willing to go to, what he is willing to provide in 383 00:23:42,720 --> 00:23:46,680 terms of his patients and his his care and his fairness. 384 00:23:47,080 --> 00:23:51,400 It's meant to show that he is never cruel or impulsive and how 385 00:23:51,400 --> 00:23:56,600 he deals with the wicked. He is precise, He is perceptive, 386 00:23:56,720 --> 00:24:00,520 and he is perfectly just the sharp sickle. 387 00:24:02,680 --> 00:24:05,120 So we learned that Jesus, according to this vision, judges 388 00:24:05,120 --> 00:24:07,920 with divine authority. He judges with perfect 389 00:24:07,920 --> 00:24:11,440 precision. And lastly, he does so with 390 00:24:11,440 --> 00:24:17,680 incredible patience. Remember that word ripe in 391 00:24:17,680 --> 00:24:21,160 Revelation 1415? That's the true condition of the 392 00:24:21,160 --> 00:24:23,120 harvest. It's overdue. 393 00:24:25,520 --> 00:24:29,160 And though that says something about the wickedness of the 394 00:24:29,160 --> 00:24:32,160 generation that Christ will deal with, it also says something 395 00:24:32,160 --> 00:24:38,360 about His heart. God waited for the harvest to 396 00:24:38,360 --> 00:24:41,480 get to that point. He didn't even wait for it to 397 00:24:41,480 --> 00:24:44,680 get ripe. He waited till it became over 398 00:24:44,680 --> 00:24:47,320 ripe. What does that tell you about 399 00:24:47,320 --> 00:24:49,040 God? That he's not hasty in 400 00:24:49,040 --> 00:24:53,160 judgement. He's not quick, He's very slow. 401 00:24:53,880 --> 00:24:57,400 He is steadfast. He waits and he waits and he 402 00:24:57,400 --> 00:25:00,000 waits, and he convicts and he convicts, and he provides 403 00:25:01,360 --> 00:25:03,880 presentation of the gospel after presentation of the gospel. 404 00:25:07,480 --> 00:25:10,160 And when you deny, deny, deny, ignore, ignore, ignore, 405 00:25:10,160 --> 00:25:15,040 suppress, suppress, suppress, then God. 406 00:25:15,640 --> 00:25:18,640 Sees your unwillingness and is willing to act accordingly. 407 00:25:19,440 --> 00:25:23,040 And this is true about God for nations, and this is true for 408 00:25:23,040 --> 00:25:26,400 God with individuals. Do you remember the seven 409 00:25:26,400 --> 00:25:28,120 letters to the churches earlier in this book? 410 00:25:28,920 --> 00:25:33,160 One of them was being plagued by a false prophetess whose name 411 00:25:33,160 --> 00:25:36,760 was Jezebel, and she was leading the congregation, at least most 412 00:25:36,760 --> 00:25:41,440 of them, into sexual immorality. She was teaching them strange 413 00:25:41,440 --> 00:25:43,840 things, contrary things to the truth. 414 00:25:45,520 --> 00:25:48,040 And God has John write this letter to this church in 415 00:25:48,040 --> 00:25:53,920 Thyatira, and he says something so staggering about her in a 416 00:25:53,920 --> 00:25:58,520 single verse in Revelation 221. Listen to these words. 417 00:25:58,880 --> 00:26:00,760 This is what Jesus says about this woman. 418 00:26:02,760 --> 00:26:08,520 I gave her time to repent. I gave her time to repent. 419 00:26:08,520 --> 00:26:13,880 Now be honest with yourself. If you were in charge of a 420 00:26:13,880 --> 00:26:17,720 church and there was somebody who took control of the 421 00:26:17,720 --> 00:26:22,000 leadership, that was false, that was in blatant disobedience to 422 00:26:22,080 --> 00:26:24,880 what God designed for the local church, what God wants to be 423 00:26:24,880 --> 00:26:29,680 said in the local church, how swift would you be in dealing 424 00:26:29,680 --> 00:26:36,840 with the matter? And yet Christ, in his perfect 425 00:26:36,840 --> 00:26:41,280 wisdom, in this specific case, I gave her time. 426 00:26:44,800 --> 00:26:47,480 We don't know what He did in that time, but this seems to 427 00:26:47,480 --> 00:26:53,960 suggest that in that time he warned her, He convicted her, He 428 00:26:53,960 --> 00:26:56,360 revealed Himself to her and what happens in the rest of hers. 429 00:26:56,520 --> 00:26:59,040 But she refuses to repent of her sexual morality. 430 00:27:00,520 --> 00:27:05,480 She refuses. The fact that these seven bulls 431 00:27:05,480 --> 00:27:10,480 are going to be poured out is because this final generation of 432 00:27:10,480 --> 00:27:14,280 the Tribulation period refused, refused, refused, refused. 433 00:27:16,040 --> 00:27:17,720 Can I ask you something today before we move on? 434 00:27:19,240 --> 00:27:23,000 Are you rejecting Christ today? How many times have you heard 435 00:27:23,000 --> 00:27:24,960 the gospel presentation from this pulpit alone? 436 00:27:27,240 --> 00:27:30,040 How many times down deep inside you know, you know that your 437 00:27:30,040 --> 00:27:33,320 conscience is ringing because what you're doing, how you're 438 00:27:33,320 --> 00:27:38,800 living, is wrong? You haven't surrendered. 439 00:27:38,800 --> 00:27:40,640 You haven't. You haven't given up that sin 440 00:27:40,640 --> 00:27:42,400 yet. You haven't given your heart to 441 00:27:42,400 --> 00:27:46,800 Christ yet. Don't test his patience. 442 00:27:51,720 --> 00:27:55,000 Translate. His patience as His great love 443 00:27:55,000 --> 00:27:58,360 to you and give yourself to Him. Don't waste any more time 444 00:28:00,560 --> 00:28:03,240 because you and I can never determine exactly when Christ 445 00:28:03,240 --> 00:28:05,440 will change His mind of how He deals with us in our sin. 446 00:28:07,680 --> 00:28:09,920 He judges, judges with incredible patience. 447 00:28:11,520 --> 00:28:16,760 So this order of reapings show us that this is how the Lord is 448 00:28:16,760 --> 00:28:20,680 actually going to deal with the last group of people on the 449 00:28:20,680 --> 00:28:24,400 earth before the 2nd harvesting will take place. 450 00:28:24,440 --> 00:28:27,880 And that is going to show Christ's judgement at His 451 00:28:27,880 --> 00:28:30,000 coming. You're saying? 452 00:28:30,280 --> 00:28:32,920 Is that really what's about to be said in this next harvest? 453 00:28:33,080 --> 00:28:34,360 Yes. Let me give you a clue. 454 00:28:34,360 --> 00:28:35,720 Can you look at something with me here? 455 00:28:36,240 --> 00:28:38,760 Consider this verse in Revelation 14, verse 19. 456 00:28:40,120 --> 00:28:42,840 So the Angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered 457 00:28:42,840 --> 00:28:46,440 the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great 458 00:28:46,440 --> 00:28:50,400 winepress of the wrath of God, and the winepress was trodden 459 00:28:50,400 --> 00:28:54,960 outside the city. Fast forward to Revelation 19. 460 00:28:54,960 --> 00:28:58,400 Now this is the chapter, at least half of it, that shows us 461 00:28:58,400 --> 00:29:02,760 the actual coming of Christ. And notice a similarity between 462 00:29:02,760 --> 00:29:06,480 the preview in chapter 14 and the realization in chapter 19. 463 00:29:06,680 --> 00:29:12,560 Look at verse 15 of chapter 19. From his mouth comes a sharp 464 00:29:12,560 --> 00:29:16,160 sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule 465 00:29:16,160 --> 00:29:19,360 them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of 466 00:29:19,360 --> 00:29:21,800 the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 467 00:29:21,800 --> 00:29:25,040 Do you see it? Do you see how the first harvest 468 00:29:25,040 --> 00:29:26,680 is speaking about the seven bowls? 469 00:29:27,480 --> 00:29:29,080 And then this next one that we're about to look at in 470 00:29:29,080 --> 00:29:31,440 greater detail speaks about what's going to happen when 471 00:29:31,440 --> 00:29:39,000 Christ comes himself. There are so many details from 472 00:29:39,000 --> 00:29:42,280 verses 17 down to verse 20. We don't have enough time to 473 00:29:42,280 --> 00:29:45,320 look at all of them. So I have a feeling that some 474 00:29:45,320 --> 00:29:47,560 may approach me after this and say what about this and what 475 00:29:47,560 --> 00:29:49,600 about that? Unless you want to stay here 476 00:29:49,600 --> 00:29:50,880 longer. We can look at them. 477 00:29:50,880 --> 00:29:55,880 But let's carve out a few key things just with the time that 478 00:29:55,880 --> 00:30:00,120 we have left. So the Son of Man who is going 479 00:30:00,120 --> 00:30:05,200 to do this reaping is now eclipsed by another Angel in 480 00:30:05,200 --> 00:30:06,440 verse 17. Look at this. 481 00:30:06,720 --> 00:30:09,400 Then another Angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he. 482 00:30:09,400 --> 00:30:12,840 Too had a sharp sickle and another Angel came out from the 483 00:30:12,920 --> 00:30:15,600 altar. The Angel has authority over the 484 00:30:15,600 --> 00:30:18,200 fire and he called it a loud voice to the one who had the 485 00:30:18,200 --> 00:30:20,080 sharp sickle. So you have now 2 angels 486 00:30:20,080 --> 00:30:22,800 interacting with one another. Beforehand you had an Angel 487 00:30:23,320 --> 00:30:25,280 relaying a message from the Father to the Son. 488 00:30:26,520 --> 00:30:28,920 Now you have another Angel who comes out of the temple, and 489 00:30:28,920 --> 00:30:31,040 another Angel is coming out of the altar in heaven. 490 00:30:31,040 --> 00:30:33,520 Now, what's that all about? Well, we've learned at this 491 00:30:33,520 --> 00:30:37,040 point that the altar in Revelation in Heaven signifies 492 00:30:37,040 --> 00:30:42,680 the intercession of the Saints. So in one way, what we're about 493 00:30:42,680 --> 00:30:44,640 to see with this preview of a judgment. 494 00:30:45,320 --> 00:30:48,800 Is God fulfilling the answers to those prayers of the martyrs who 495 00:30:48,800 --> 00:30:55,080 said vindicate us, do something with our murders? 496 00:30:55,680 --> 00:30:59,560 Who shed all this blood? And this, this little subtle 497 00:30:59,560 --> 00:31:01,600 hint is, is a sign for us to see. 498 00:31:02,840 --> 00:31:05,960 Jesus is about to answer that. God is about to answer that. 499 00:31:06,960 --> 00:31:10,560 But notice that these angels are interacting and saying, listen, 500 00:31:10,560 --> 00:31:13,320 put it, put in your sickle and gather the clusters from the 501 00:31:13,320 --> 00:31:16,080 vine of the earth for its grapes are ripe. 502 00:31:16,840 --> 00:31:19,520 Now the grapes are ripe. The harvest was ripe. 503 00:31:19,680 --> 00:31:20,880 And we looked at that original word. 504 00:31:20,880 --> 00:31:22,760 It's over ripe, it's dry, it's withered. 505 00:31:22,920 --> 00:31:27,280 There's nothing good about it, and the grapes now are ripe. 506 00:31:27,440 --> 00:31:30,960 Here's the thing. The word ripe here is not the 507 00:31:30,960 --> 00:31:35,520 same as the first one. This word for ripe concerning 508 00:31:35,520 --> 00:31:38,600 the grapes actually speaks about ready. 509 00:31:41,040 --> 00:31:45,440 They're full. They have reached a point of 510 00:31:45,440 --> 00:31:48,760 completion. The normal sense of ripe is 511 00:31:48,760 --> 00:31:52,520 what's in view here. Why the difference? 512 00:31:53,160 --> 00:31:55,520 Well, obviously to convey a different message. 513 00:31:56,720 --> 00:31:59,080 So when it comes to this grape harvest, which speaks about what 514 00:31:59,080 --> 00:32:02,000 Christ is going to do with the wicked, it means here that 515 00:32:02,000 --> 00:32:06,800 because of humanity in this time has reached the bursting point 516 00:32:06,800 --> 00:32:10,960 of wickedness, Christ is going to meet them in that state. 517 00:32:11,840 --> 00:32:13,800 Which is an amazing thing to consider. 518 00:32:14,560 --> 00:32:17,560 After all the seal judgments, after all the trumpet judgments, 519 00:32:17,560 --> 00:32:22,400 after the witnesses and the miracles and the obvious crying 520 00:32:22,400 --> 00:32:26,480 out to the loss to be saved, what does this grape harvest 521 00:32:26,480 --> 00:32:29,720 teach us? That humanity, experiencing all 522 00:32:29,720 --> 00:32:32,800 of that, will only become more and more evil. 523 00:32:35,560 --> 00:32:39,760 They're going to grow more and more in the rebellion, that 524 00:32:39,760 --> 00:32:45,000 they're becoming more and more vicious and vile and despicable. 525 00:32:47,440 --> 00:32:49,600 And what this word right means according to? 526 00:32:50,280 --> 00:32:53,760 The judgement it signifies as Jesus is going to say enough is 527 00:32:53,760 --> 00:32:57,160 enough. I've given them enough chances, 528 00:32:57,840 --> 00:33:02,200 they don't seem to be changing, and so I'm going to harvest them 529 00:33:02,200 --> 00:33:04,240 in and discard them from the earth. 530 00:33:06,120 --> 00:33:08,440 And this presents a very difficult challenge for those 531 00:33:08,440 --> 00:33:10,360 who believe that the world is only going to get better and 532 00:33:10,360 --> 00:33:12,440 better before Jesus returns. There are people who believe 533 00:33:12,440 --> 00:33:14,480 that. You know, how do you reconcile 534 00:33:14,480 --> 00:33:20,720 that notion with this vision? Humanity is only going to swell 535 00:33:20,720 --> 00:33:27,000 up more and more in their sin, to the point where it reaches a 536 00:33:27,000 --> 00:33:31,360 peak that invites the swift and sudden judgement of Christ 537 00:33:31,360 --> 00:33:36,320 Himself. And notice where the grapes came 538 00:33:36,320 --> 00:33:41,480 from in verse 18, the second part where the Angel actually 539 00:33:41,480 --> 00:33:44,600 speaks. Put in your sickle and gather 540 00:33:44,600 --> 00:33:49,200 the clusters from the vine of the earth, for its grapes are 541 00:33:49,200 --> 00:33:55,280 ripe vine of the earth. What an interesting way to 542 00:33:55,280 --> 00:33:59,160 describe the systems and the philosophies of this world. 543 00:34:01,960 --> 00:34:05,480 What is this trying to teach? Well, it shows here that these 544 00:34:05,480 --> 00:34:09,920 grapes who speak about the wicked derive their sustenance 545 00:34:09,920 --> 00:34:15,600 and life flow from the world as their source. 546 00:34:17,080 --> 00:34:19,719 They have attached themselves to the ideologies of this world. 547 00:34:20,159 --> 00:34:22,440 They have connected themselves to the ambitions of this 548 00:34:22,440 --> 00:34:28,360 unbelieving realm, and they are producing the fruit according to 549 00:34:28,360 --> 00:34:32,400 its influence, the vine of the earth. 550 00:34:33,719 --> 00:34:35,719 The Lord wants us to make a connection here. 551 00:34:37,760 --> 00:34:39,199 There are different vines in the Bible. 552 00:34:39,199 --> 00:34:42,480 Did you know? Do you remember what Jesus said 553 00:34:42,480 --> 00:34:48,199 of himself in John 15 verse one? I am the true vine and the 554 00:34:48,199 --> 00:34:52,480 Father is the vine dresser. I love that because Jesus didn't 555 00:34:52,480 --> 00:34:55,920 just say I am a vine, He says I'm the true vine. 556 00:34:58,760 --> 00:35:01,440 I am the. True source of life, of 557 00:35:01,440 --> 00:35:04,800 sustenance, of the fruit that your soul yearns for. 558 00:35:06,040 --> 00:35:08,840 I am the true vine that you must abide in. 559 00:35:09,520 --> 00:35:12,480 I'm the true vine that can offer the satisfaction and the joy and 560 00:35:12,480 --> 00:35:17,080 the peace and the love and the wholeness that you're craving. 561 00:35:18,440 --> 00:35:20,520 Don't link yourself to the vine of the earth. 562 00:35:21,560 --> 00:35:26,160 Link yourself to the heavenly one for Christ to to speak in 563 00:35:26,160 --> 00:35:27,680 this way. And, and John was the one who 564 00:35:27,680 --> 00:35:29,480 wrote it. He wrote John obviously, and 565 00:35:29,480 --> 00:35:30,800 he's writing the Book of Revelation. 566 00:35:35,520 --> 00:35:38,440 And you and I are the branches. According to John 15 verse five, 567 00:35:38,680 --> 00:35:42,600 I'm the vine, you are the branches, and the only way that 568 00:35:42,600 --> 00:35:46,960 you can draw out the glories of this vine who is Jesus, is if 569 00:35:46,960 --> 00:35:51,040 you abide in him, you allow Him to dwell in your heart, you live 570 00:35:51,040 --> 00:35:53,760 for Him, you walk. With him. 571 00:35:53,760 --> 00:35:56,680 And here's the question I want to ask in light of this truth in 572 00:35:56,680 --> 00:36:01,440 Revelation 14. Which vine are you attached to? 573 00:36:02,720 --> 00:36:05,200 Every single one of us in this place and the sound of my voice 574 00:36:05,200 --> 00:36:10,240 is attached to 1 Vine. You are drawing out life from 575 00:36:10,240 --> 00:36:14,520 one thing or another, and if you're drawing it from Christ, 576 00:36:15,800 --> 00:36:19,120 it will show. The way to verify which vine am 577 00:36:19,120 --> 00:36:23,840 I linked to is not by verbal confession, it's by the evidence 578 00:36:23,840 --> 00:36:28,880 of the fruit in your. Life, it's observable and it's 579 00:36:28,880 --> 00:36:31,240 no different if you are attached to the vine of this earth, 580 00:36:31,440 --> 00:36:33,320 whether you intend to or not, it's going to show. 581 00:36:34,520 --> 00:36:38,280 There's no way around it. But Jesus, never forget this 582 00:36:38,280 --> 00:36:42,240 says I'm the true one. I'm the true vine, so the choice 583 00:36:42,240 --> 00:36:44,080 is yours. Will I go to the vine of the 584 00:36:44,080 --> 00:36:49,960 earth, or like, disconnect from that false cheap substitute and 585 00:36:49,960 --> 00:36:55,680 link myself to the true vine? And to reject the true vine is a 586 00:36:55,680 --> 00:36:58,360 very foolish choice, because there's a day coming when all 587 00:36:58,360 --> 00:37:01,080 who have done the opposite will be gathered into the great 588 00:37:01,080 --> 00:37:05,080 winepress of God's wrath. For those who have replaced 589 00:37:05,080 --> 00:37:10,320 Christ with something else will be held accountable for it 590 00:37:11,200 --> 00:37:15,520 because you are denying God, you're rejecting His will, you 591 00:37:15,520 --> 00:37:19,600 are despising His provision, and you are claiming there's 592 00:37:19,600 --> 00:37:24,120 something else that can give me what only God himself can grant 593 00:37:24,120 --> 00:37:30,280 me. Notice what's going to happen 594 00:37:30,280 --> 00:37:34,680 with these grapes that are going to be removed from the vine of 595 00:37:34,680 --> 00:37:38,280 the earth. It says here in verse 19. 596 00:37:38,280 --> 00:37:41,080 So the Angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered 597 00:37:41,080 --> 00:37:44,000 the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great 598 00:37:44,000 --> 00:37:47,840 winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden. 599 00:37:50,240 --> 00:37:52,560 Trodden. What does that mean? 600 00:37:52,680 --> 00:37:58,600 Means to step on means to walk on the way. 601 00:37:58,600 --> 00:38:01,520 In many places in the world today, grape juice and wine is 602 00:38:01,520 --> 00:38:04,840 made where you have these vast you have these. 603 00:38:05,240 --> 00:38:08,040 Hewn out stones and you would step on it and it would create 604 00:38:08,040 --> 00:38:11,520 the juice. And this is very vivid imagery 605 00:38:11,520 --> 00:38:15,200 here. It's actually very graphic that 606 00:38:15,200 --> 00:38:17,520 this preview of the judgement that will come when Christ 607 00:38:17,520 --> 00:38:21,000 arrives on the scene. Will be like one who is stepping 608 00:38:21,000 --> 00:38:26,360 on grapes. The question is who's doing the 609 00:38:26,360 --> 00:38:30,920 treading here? And the answer is actually in 610 00:38:30,920 --> 00:38:33,880 Isaiah. You know, one of the most famous 611 00:38:33,880 --> 00:38:40,360 prophecies of Jesus Christ in Isaiah, Isaiah what, 53 But you 612 00:38:40,360 --> 00:38:41,960 know what doesn't get as much attention? 613 00:38:43,280 --> 00:38:48,120 Isaiah 63. Isaiah 63 holds the answer of 614 00:38:48,120 --> 00:38:51,160 who's doing the treading here in Revelation 14. 615 00:38:51,960 --> 00:39:06,080 Look at Isaiah 63. Isaiah gets this astounding 616 00:39:06,080 --> 00:39:12,280 glimpse of Messiah in a way that makes a lot of people 617 00:39:12,280 --> 00:39:16,240 uncomfortable. Notice what he says in Isaiah 63 618 00:39:16,240 --> 00:39:18,800 verse one. Who is this? 619 00:39:18,800 --> 00:39:23,600 Who comes from Edom in Crimson garments from Basra. 620 00:39:23,800 --> 00:39:26,600 Basra is believed to be the capital of Edom. 621 00:39:26,600 --> 00:39:30,280 Edom is located in modern day Jordan, the southern part. 622 00:39:31,240 --> 00:39:34,120 But let's read it again. Who is this who comes from Edom 623 00:39:34,480 --> 00:39:38,600 in Crimson garments from Basra? He who is splendid in his 624 00:39:38,600 --> 00:39:41,720 apparel, marching in the greatness of his strength. 625 00:39:42,400 --> 00:39:46,960 It is I speaking in righteousness mighty to save 626 00:39:48,960 --> 00:39:53,720 that exclusive language. This is no ordinary man. 627 00:39:55,560 --> 00:39:59,000 And Isaiah now has more questions. 628 00:39:59,680 --> 00:40:04,760 Verse 2. Why is your apparel red and your 629 00:40:04,760 --> 00:40:08,040 garments like his? Who treads in the wine press? 630 00:40:09,600 --> 00:40:14,000 Verse three I have trodden the wine press alone and from the 631 00:40:14,000 --> 00:40:15,920 people's. No one was with me. 632 00:40:16,360 --> 00:40:21,160 I trod them in my anger. I trampled them in my wrath. 633 00:40:21,440 --> 00:40:26,840 Their lifeblood spattered on my garments and stained all my 634 00:40:26,840 --> 00:40:30,920 apparel. And you look at the context of 635 00:40:30,920 --> 00:40:33,160 speaking about the judgment of many peoples. 636 00:40:34,680 --> 00:40:38,000 You see what John is doing here Now by the Spirit, he's taking 637 00:40:38,000 --> 00:40:43,800 the same kind of description and he applies it to the Lord Jesus. 638 00:40:45,080 --> 00:40:46,760 You don't see that clearly in chapter 14. 639 00:40:46,760 --> 00:40:49,440 It's in chapter 19 when when Christ actually comes, his 640 00:40:49,440 --> 00:40:55,600 garments are stained with blood. Here's what's the most 641 00:40:55,600 --> 00:40:57,840 interesting part. Look at verse 4 of Isaiah 63. 642 00:40:59,760 --> 00:41:02,400 The Lord is continuing to speak and he says for the day of 643 00:41:02,400 --> 00:41:09,040 vengeance was in my heart and my year of redemption had come. 644 00:41:10,040 --> 00:41:13,440 Does that bother you? This is Jesus. 645 00:41:13,440 --> 00:41:19,280 Do you know what Jesus says? The day of vengeance is in my 646 00:41:19,280 --> 00:41:24,680 heart. He's saying wait. 647 00:41:25,480 --> 00:41:28,080 I understood Christ's heart way differently than this. 648 00:41:28,880 --> 00:41:31,320 You're saying it's in his heart to actually judge? 649 00:41:32,400 --> 00:41:34,440 Yes. Why? 650 00:41:34,720 --> 00:41:36,320 Because of the second part of verse 4. 651 00:41:36,760 --> 00:41:41,000 And my year of redemption had come because by way of 652 00:41:41,000 --> 00:41:44,000 judgement, there will be a greater redemption for those 653 00:41:44,200 --> 00:41:45,040 that. Belong to Him. 654 00:41:46,040 --> 00:41:50,280 The judgement will lead to a greater salvation, will lead to 655 00:41:50,280 --> 00:41:54,520 a greater rescue, will bring to completion the salvation that He 656 00:41:54,520 --> 00:41:56,960 began at his first coming. And Speaking of his first 657 00:41:56,960 --> 00:42:03,400 coming, do you remember which passage Jesus quoted early on in 658 00:42:03,400 --> 00:42:06,480 his ministry to authenticate his Messiahship? 659 00:42:07,720 --> 00:42:09,680 Well, since you're in Isaiah, just scroll back a couple of 660 00:42:09,680 --> 00:42:12,920 chapters in Isaiah 61. You remember this right? 661 00:42:14,640 --> 00:42:18,600 And Isaiah 61 verse one. Jesus quoted these verses. 662 00:42:19,600 --> 00:42:22,400 What does it say? The Spirit of the Lord God is 663 00:42:22,400 --> 00:42:25,200 upon me because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news 664 00:42:25,200 --> 00:42:27,280 to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the 665 00:42:27,280 --> 00:42:30,440 broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and the 666 00:42:30,480 --> 00:42:32,680 opening of the prison to those who are bound. 667 00:42:32,680 --> 00:42:35,960 Look at verse 2, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the 668 00:42:35,960 --> 00:42:39,000 day of vengeance of our God to comfort all who mourn. 669 00:42:39,200 --> 00:42:42,040 Now when you look at when Jesus quotes it in the book of Luke, 670 00:42:42,160 --> 00:42:47,920 he stops it at a certain point. He stops it after to proclaim 671 00:42:47,920 --> 00:42:49,760 the year of the Lord's favor. Why? 672 00:42:49,960 --> 00:42:53,120 Because at his first coming, the day Avengers of our God was not 673 00:42:53,120 --> 00:42:56,680 supposed to happen, He closed the book. 674 00:42:56,680 --> 00:43:01,320 He closed the scrolls after that first part in chapter 61 verse 675 00:43:01,320 --> 00:43:03,320 2. Because he's not coming in his 676 00:43:03,320 --> 00:43:06,840 first coming to judge. He came to bring salvation. 677 00:43:08,480 --> 00:43:12,360 But did you notice something between Isaiah 61 and Isaiah 63? 678 00:43:14,000 --> 00:43:17,080 Oh, just look at it again. Look at Isaiah 63, verse four. 679 00:43:17,360 --> 00:43:20,160 What does the Lord say there? For the day of vengeance was in 680 00:43:20,160 --> 00:43:22,880 my heart, and my year of redemption had come. 681 00:43:24,320 --> 00:43:25,880 Did you notice the order difference? 682 00:43:27,440 --> 00:43:30,960 Go back to Isaiah 61, verse 2 to proclaim the year of the Lord's 683 00:43:30,960 --> 00:43:33,040 favor and the day of vengeance of our God. 684 00:43:33,040 --> 00:43:37,640 It switched. So in Isaiah 61, what is 685 00:43:37,640 --> 00:43:40,560 presented first? The year of the Lord's favor. 686 00:43:41,400 --> 00:43:44,840 But in Isaiah 63, what's presented first? 687 00:43:46,000 --> 00:43:50,680 The day of vengeance. Isaiah 61 speaks of Christ's 688 00:43:50,680 --> 00:43:52,960 first coming. Isaiah 63 speaks of Christ's 689 00:43:52,960 --> 00:43:57,720 second coming. When he comes again, it's with 690 00:43:57,720 --> 00:44:01,240 vengeance. When he comes again, it's going 691 00:44:01,240 --> 00:44:05,840 to be to judge, not to save, not to die for sin again, but to 692 00:44:05,840 --> 00:44:07,280 deal with sinners once and for all. 693 00:44:09,880 --> 00:44:12,240 And through the day of vengeance, the year of 694 00:44:12,240 --> 00:44:16,240 redemption will come. But notice again, yes, the day 695 00:44:16,240 --> 00:44:18,160 Avengers is in his heart, but look how? 696 00:44:18,160 --> 00:44:22,680 Look how precise the Holy Spirit is in both cases, Isaiah 61 and 697 00:44:22,680 --> 00:44:26,400 Isaiah 63. When it comes to the vengeance, 698 00:44:26,400 --> 00:44:28,960 it's a day. When it comes to redemption and 699 00:44:28,960 --> 00:44:35,000 salvation, it's a year. Did you notice that He's much 700 00:44:35,000 --> 00:44:38,280 more excited and much more longing to save than to judge? 701 00:44:38,920 --> 00:44:41,320 Yes, it's in his heart, but the reason why it's in his heart is 702 00:44:41,320 --> 00:44:44,000 because that day needs to come for the year of redemption to be 703 00:44:44,000 --> 00:44:49,000 experienced. So Christ ultimately wants to 704 00:44:49,000 --> 00:44:53,120 save. He he wants none to perish, none 705 00:44:53,120 --> 00:44:59,600 to experience his holy wrath but his holy love, his embrace, his 706 00:44:59,600 --> 00:45:01,320 compassion, his salvation. But. 707 00:45:05,400 --> 00:45:06,720 There will be many who will refuse. 708 00:45:09,520 --> 00:45:11,440 Now, everything that we've seen up to this point in Revelation 709 00:45:11,440 --> 00:45:15,600 14 is highly symbolic, right? I mean, it's almost a mix. 710 00:45:16,520 --> 00:45:19,160 But I don't think we need to understand Christ sitting in 711 00:45:19,160 --> 00:45:23,400 heaven with an actual sickle. It's something that we need to 712 00:45:23,400 --> 00:45:28,120 fight for to be totally literal. It's it's symbolic imagery. 713 00:45:28,840 --> 00:45:33,800 And yet, with all the symbolism, there's something quite literal 714 00:45:33,800 --> 00:45:35,920 about the last part of Revelation 14. 715 00:45:36,360 --> 00:45:37,960 Let's go there and end our time together. 716 00:45:38,960 --> 00:45:43,240 Look at verse 20. And the winepress was trodden 717 00:45:43,240 --> 00:45:46,680 outside the city. What city? 718 00:45:48,720 --> 00:45:51,960 Jerusalem. Why? 719 00:45:52,680 --> 00:45:55,040 Because there's Old Testament prophecies and New Testament 720 00:45:55,040 --> 00:46:00,520 clues that show that Christ is coming specifically to Israel. 721 00:46:04,760 --> 00:46:06,680 And more than that, look at this description. 722 00:46:06,840 --> 00:46:10,760 And blood flowed from the winepress as high as a horse's 723 00:46:10,760 --> 00:46:16,640 bridle for 1600 stadia, a horse's bridle talking about 724 00:46:16,640 --> 00:46:19,880 that instrument by the horse's mouth, you're, you're looking at 725 00:46:19,880 --> 00:46:22,520 something about four to five feet from the ground. 726 00:46:25,720 --> 00:46:30,040 So when this judgement is actually realized, whom we know 727 00:46:30,040 --> 00:46:37,520 to be Christ issuing it, the result of it will be from just 728 00:46:37,520 --> 00:46:42,960 the face value, a river of blood 4 feet deep for how long and how 729 00:46:42,960 --> 00:46:44,880 wide? According to 1600 Stadium, if 730 00:46:44,880 --> 00:46:47,400 you translate that in miles, you're looking at 180 something 731 00:46:47,400 --> 00:46:51,800 miles. Now this is this is really 732 00:46:51,800 --> 00:46:54,480 confounded people. It seems incomprehensible. 733 00:46:54,840 --> 00:46:57,200 You're telling me that there's going to be so much bloodshed 734 00:46:57,640 --> 00:47:03,440 that you can essentially swim in that blood for miles upon miles? 735 00:47:05,840 --> 00:47:10,480 One, that suggests that whenever Christ does come, there's going 736 00:47:10,480 --> 00:47:13,360 to be a lot of people there who are going to try to face him. 737 00:47:15,400 --> 00:47:18,440 And we're preparing for that in Revelation 16, where all the 738 00:47:18,440 --> 00:47:21,280 nations are going to be led by demonic spirits to come to 739 00:47:21,280 --> 00:47:27,880 Armageddon, north of Jerusalem. But when you consider these 740 00:47:27,880 --> 00:47:31,080 other prophecies, like Isaiah 63, it seems as though the 741 00:47:31,080 --> 00:47:35,560 masses of the allies against Christ will be so grand that it 742 00:47:35,560 --> 00:47:41,120 might even reach down to Basra. It might even spill over into 743 00:47:41,120 --> 00:47:49,280 Jordan and they will surround this holy city to one try to 744 00:47:49,280 --> 00:47:53,280 Vanquish the Jewish people. And more than that, the Jewish 745 00:47:53,280 --> 00:47:58,840 Messiah. So is this actually going to be 746 00:47:59,120 --> 00:48:02,640 a deep, long river of blood? We don't know. 747 00:48:03,120 --> 00:48:05,960 It could be that he's speaking about the blood splattering up 748 00:48:05,960 --> 00:48:08,960 to the bridles of horses. It could even be speaking about 749 00:48:08,960 --> 00:48:16,200 the bodies piled up that high. But one thing is for certain, 750 00:48:17,000 --> 00:48:21,720 when Christ came the first time, he actually came into this world 751 00:48:21,920 --> 00:48:23,760 to die and to raise from the grave. 752 00:48:24,600 --> 00:48:27,520 And when Christ comes the second time, we're not talking about 753 00:48:27,520 --> 00:48:30,760 some invisible return. We're not talking about some 754 00:48:31,000 --> 00:48:34,240 spiritual advent. We're talking about a real 755 00:48:34,320 --> 00:48:37,600 bodily return of Christ. Who's going to deal with real 756 00:48:37,600 --> 00:48:45,720 people with real judgment? Do you know Jesus Christ today? 757 00:48:48,120 --> 00:48:53,920 I know this isn't a popular message, but I am tethered to 758 00:48:53,920 --> 00:49:00,240 this word. I will be held accountable and 759 00:49:00,240 --> 00:49:03,440 every preacher too, who dares to get up on a pulpit and say, Thus 760 00:49:03,440 --> 00:49:07,800 says the Lord, and here's what I'm bound to say. 761 00:49:07,800 --> 00:49:10,840 According to the scriptures, judgement is coming. 762 00:49:12,240 --> 00:49:15,440 Sinners will be judged, and those who have not placed their 763 00:49:15,440 --> 00:49:21,000 faith in Christ will be harvested in to be trampled upon 764 00:49:21,040 --> 00:49:25,240 by the Holy Son of God. But here's what I want to tell 765 00:49:25,240 --> 00:49:27,720 you also. The same one who has a sickle on 766 00:49:27,720 --> 00:49:33,120 his hand, with those same hands were pierced, And the same one 767 00:49:33,120 --> 00:49:36,720 who will use his feet to trample on his enemies, were put 768 00:49:36,720 --> 00:49:40,120 together and nailed to a cross. And the same one who has a 769 00:49:40,120 --> 00:49:45,000 golden crown in this vision took upon himself a crown of thorns. 770 00:49:45,400 --> 00:49:49,760 He suffered under God's wrath. He took and absorbed the fury of 771 00:49:49,760 --> 00:49:55,240 the Holy One for you, for you, for every single one of us here 772 00:49:55,240 --> 00:49:58,360 in this place, no matter how gross and disgusting your sin 773 00:49:58,360 --> 00:50:03,800 may be, no matter how hideous your past looks like Jesus 774 00:50:03,800 --> 00:50:07,320 Christ knows it all. And because of His Holiness, 775 00:50:07,320 --> 00:50:09,720 there is a day of vengeance. But I want to let you know what 776 00:50:09,720 --> 00:50:13,480 makes his heart really beat. And that is your salvation, your 777 00:50:13,480 --> 00:50:18,640 redemption, your renewal. And listen, this is the hour of 778 00:50:18,640 --> 00:50:21,400 salvation. Today is the day, now is the 779 00:50:21,400 --> 00:50:24,280 time we're looking at what's ultimately going to come. 780 00:50:24,440 --> 00:50:28,280 But we have this window of grace and I make this appeal to you on 781 00:50:28,280 --> 00:50:32,680 the Sunday afternoon, Come to Christ, come to Jesus. 782 00:50:33,080 --> 00:50:35,920 Listen, I'm talking about a real Savior here. 783 00:50:37,200 --> 00:50:40,680 What what are we doing here? What do you do? 784 00:50:40,680 --> 00:50:42,920 You think we just, let's just look at another lesson today. 785 00:50:42,920 --> 00:50:48,640 And this isn't tradition, This is God's word telling us about a 786 00:50:48,640 --> 00:50:51,720 real God who's going to do real things in this world. 787 00:50:53,920 --> 00:50:55,640 So I want to let you know that this isn't a game. 788 00:50:56,000 --> 00:50:58,680 This isn't a social club with a little bit of religion sprinkled 789 00:50:58,680 --> 00:51:00,080 on it. This is a matter of life and 790 00:51:00,080 --> 00:51:02,640 death. This is a matter of eternity. 791 00:51:04,000 --> 00:51:07,240 I believe with all my heart. Because I believe this book that 792 00:51:07,240 --> 00:51:12,080 there's a real judgement coming. I don't want you to experience 793 00:51:12,080 --> 00:51:14,800 it. You can be delivered from it. 794 00:51:16,320 --> 00:51:18,040 Oh, I pray that you would take this seriously. 795 00:51:18,040 --> 00:51:21,240 I pray that you would realize that this is indeed true. 796 00:51:21,480 --> 00:51:23,600 And if it is true, what are you going to do about it? 797 00:51:25,200 --> 00:51:26,800 Just sit there and think about lunch. 798 00:51:31,840 --> 00:51:33,720 Come to Christ today before it's too late. 799 00:51:35,080 --> 00:51:38,520 Bend your knee, receive Him. And I can give you the absolute 800 00:51:38,520 --> 00:51:40,200 assurance, based on the authority of this word, that if 801 00:51:40,200 --> 00:51:41,760 you are sincere in your repentance. 802 00:51:42,760 --> 00:51:46,560 You will know not a flow of judgement, a flow of love that 803 00:51:46,560 --> 00:51:50,720 you've never experienced before, that this holy, brilliant, pure 804 00:51:50,720 --> 00:51:57,480 being is more amazing in His love than you've ever 805 00:51:57,480 --> 00:52:01,400 experienced in this life. And that's what He wants to 806 00:52:01,400 --> 00:52:06,400 offer you today. His heart and love come to 807 00:52:06,400 --> 00:52:07,880 Christ. Let's pray. 808 00:52:16,120 --> 00:52:25,390 Lord, we thank you that your word is true. 809 00:52:28,870 --> 00:52:31,110 And Lord, in your presence we declare that we are not 810 00:52:31,110 --> 00:52:35,350 embarrassed about your word. We're not ashamed of it. 811 00:52:37,070 --> 00:52:43,790 In a world so filled with lies and confusion and deception, 812 00:52:44,390 --> 00:52:47,270 make us more bold about the truth than ever. 813 00:52:47,790 --> 00:52:52,320 Your word has never failed. And Lord, at this moment, you've 814 00:52:52,320 --> 00:52:56,480 given us a text about judgement. We will not downplay it. 815 00:52:57,080 --> 00:53:00,280 We will not ignore it. We will not skip over it. 816 00:53:00,880 --> 00:53:04,800 We will come to terms with it. And Lord number one, we want to 817 00:53:04,800 --> 00:53:06,880 thank you that you've saved us from our sin. 818 00:53:07,520 --> 00:53:10,640 Thank You that because of Christ we are no longer objects of your 819 00:53:10,640 --> 00:53:13,520 wrath, but we are adopted as children forever. 820 00:53:14,440 --> 00:53:17,120 But Lord, that is not true for 1,000,000 today. 821 00:53:17,800 --> 00:53:20,960 And we ask, Lord, that in this place that if there's anybody 822 00:53:20,960 --> 00:53:24,280 who does not have the absolute confidence that they are saved, 823 00:53:24,640 --> 00:53:27,920 that they would not be so foolish or stubborn to deny the 824 00:53:27,920 --> 00:53:31,960 free gift of salvation. That they would realize that 825 00:53:31,960 --> 00:53:34,960 you've died for them and that they would give themselves to 826 00:53:34,960 --> 00:53:38,280 this truth, that they would receive your love. 827 00:53:38,920 --> 00:53:42,600 So Lord, we pray as we've done what we can in the service. 828 00:53:42,600 --> 00:53:45,560 We've sung the songs and we've preached the message, and we've 829 00:53:45,560 --> 00:53:48,800 given Scripture quotation after Scripture quotation. 830 00:53:48,800 --> 00:53:52,480 But only you can convict. Only you can touch the heart, 831 00:53:52,480 --> 00:53:56,480 Lord, and we admit that gladly. So, Lord, move freely in this 832 00:53:56,480 --> 00:54:00,040 place and bring more into the harvest of righteousness. 833 00:54:00,680 --> 00:54:04,040 Bring more into the fold of God through your love. 834 00:54:04,600 --> 00:54:08,360 We give you thanks Lord, and help us be ambitious to be 835 00:54:08,360 --> 00:54:13,120 ambassadors to those who only have judgment to look forward to 836 00:54:13,120 --> 00:54:14,760 if they don't give their lives to Christ. 837 00:54:15,360 --> 00:54:18,040 We ask these things in Jesus name, Amen. 838 00:54:18,520 --> 00:54:19,840 Amen. Let's stand together. 839 00:54:27,600 --> 00:54:31,040 God is so real that at any point in this service moving forward, 840 00:54:31,040 --> 00:54:37,560 if you, if you were to just speak to him, he hears you, even 841 00:54:37,560 --> 00:54:39,760 if you don't sing these songs right now and you sit in your 842 00:54:39,760 --> 00:54:42,600 seat, you sit in that Pew and you say, Lord, I just, I need to 843 00:54:42,600 --> 00:54:44,040 be saved. Forgive me. 844 00:54:44,040 --> 00:54:48,240 God will hear that prayer. And believer, I hope your song 845 00:54:48,240 --> 00:54:52,560 will be strong at this point because you were reminded today 846 00:54:52,560 --> 00:54:57,160 of what you were saved from. You have heaven, you have 847 00:54:57,200 --> 00:55:00,280 eternal life because of Christ. Let's sing about it together.