Please open your Bibles to the Book of Revelation chapter 8
chapter 8. 13 verses that tell quite a story.
Revelation 4 John Revelation 1 John is on the Isle of Patmos.
He's exiled there by the Roman government.
He's alone, he's in his late 90s and he has a vision, and the
vision is the Book of Revelation.
And he sees Jesus. He sees Jesus in all his glory.
Chapter 1 Chapters 2 and 3 John writes down the Church age and
he discovers and there's 7 letters that Jesus gives to
seven churches which cover the history of the church even up
till today. Chapter 4 John has taken up,
caught up into heaven, sees the throne of God like the rapture
of the church. Chapter 5 John sees the Father
on the throne holding a scroll which is the title deed of earth
sealed with 7 seals. John begins to weep because no
one is worthy who is worthy to take the scroll until an elder
touches him on the shoulder and says look John, there's a lamb,
Lamb as it had been slain, Lamb as it has been.
Remember butchered, slaughtered is the term Jesus takes the
scroll and he begins to break the seals.
And from the chapter 6 on to 19, we see these events come to
pass. The church has been wrapped in
it's in heaven and now we see a heavenly vantage point of all
the events that are happening upon the earth.
So we pick it up Now in chapter 8, it says in verse one when he
opened the 7th seal, there was silence in heaven for about half
an hour. Now heaven is out of time when
eternity has no time. There's no like a day here and a
day there. The Bible speaks of time, it
speaks of hours and in this passage here it speaks of 1/2 an
hour. John, however, still has time.
So he's he's measuring this period himself in some way.
The fact of the matter is we're not concerned about the time
half hour. What does it mean?
What we really need to look at is that there was silence in
heaven for a period. In our journey through the
previous chapters of Revelation, we have learnt that heaven is
not a silent place. In chapter 4, as John saw the
throne of God, what came from the throne of God?
We read there. Lightning and Thunder resonated
from the throne of God. Also around the throne of God
were four living creatures, cherubim angels, who did not
rest day or night to cry out Holy, holy, holy Lord God
Almighty, who was and is and is to come.
That was perpetual. And each time they did that,
there was something else, a chain reaction We saw then #24
elders representing the Old Testament, 12 tribes of Israel
government, 12 is the number of government, and then 12.
The apostles representing the church, the Old Testament, the
New Testament, gathered around the throne.
And as the four cherubim cried out, holy, holy, holy, it says
the elders fell to the ground and cast their crowns before the
Lord. And they cried out, You're
worthy of Lord to receive glory and honour and power and and on
and on. And they went.
And then in chapter 5, with all these events happening, we see
the greatest choir, the greatest worship service ever recorded.
We're part of it. The angels are to a side, So
many angels you can't number them.
And there the choir begins singing, and we've sing a song,
a new song. You are worthy to take the
scroll. And then we're joined by the
voices of the angels saying, and the living creatures, and then
and the elders and a number of others.
Impossible to calculate in chapter 4, sorry in verse 14 of
chapter 5, but then it says, and every creature joined in every
creature saying blessing and honour.
So heaven's not a quiet place. If you don't like noise, there's
going to be an adjustment. Singing, praising is going to be
perpetual. But now, Revelation 8, this
catches our attention. John tells us there is absolute
silence, a complete hush for half an hour.
What a seismic shift in events. Why?
Because as John writes this, the events that are happening,
there's this silence because it catches our complete attention.
It's going, oh, there's a there's a shift.
Something's about to change. We're not told specifically why
silence, but what is about to unfold with the seven trumpets
on a fallen world, things that are going to fall from heaven,
is so startling, so impactful in nature, so powerful in their
effects, so dramatic. It is, though, one that this
dramatic moment has finally arrived in the part of God's
plan. It's kind of like we said, and
when I was working with the police, we had what's called a
running sheep. The events that occurred, this
was to happen, this to happen, and then this was to happen a
certain time. And so at this time in God's
plan, on God's running sheet, it says half an hour silence.
Eric, why? We're ready for the next phase.
Are you ready? And everyone knows what's going
on. The angels are ready.
They know it's the it's the silence.
This is what's happening next. They're aware.
And all of heaven held its breath for this moment, for what
is about to unfold. 7 trumpets are about to sound.
And yet at this moment you could hear a pin drop.
Verse 2 And I saw the seven angels.
Now the word the, and I'm emphasising it is emphatic in
the Greek. It means that these, the seven
angels, they're a select 7 angels.
It's not like we saw the saw 7 angels.
It doesn't say we saw 7 angels. It says the seven angels.
These are specific angels of a specific rank who have a
specific responsibility. We're about to see and I saw the
seven angels who stand before God.
So we get the picture. There's God on the throne.
The angels, these 7 angels now stand.
They take this position during this silent period.
They come, they take the position and to them, so they
don't have the trumpets already. Notice it says and to them were
given 7 trumpets. OK guys, you're here, here you
are. It's time they're given each a
trumpet, then another Angel, so another specific Angel rank,
this one has a golden sensor, came and stood at the altar.
Now when we read about the altar, we have the menorah here.
We don't have the table of showbread or anything else.
But when you study the Old Testament and you look at the
temple, the Temple that was built, designed by Moses first
of all, the tent of meeting and then Solomon and then Herod
later on. And in the temple there are
specific items of furniture and they are the temple is a copy of
the actual temple that exists in heaven.
So in heaven there is this altar that is before the throne of God
as it was before the vile and the holy of Holies in the temple
Tabernacle. So another Angel having a
golden, since it came and stood at the altar, he was given much
incense, a lot that he should offer it.
Now here's the key part. It says with the prayers of all
the Saints, that's you, that's me or every believer, save
during time upon the golden altar which was before the
throne, and the smoke of the incense mixed with your prayers,
our prayers, the prayers of the Saints.
It then ascended. The smoke ascended from God,
from the angels hand. Then the Angel grabs this
sensor, filled it with fire. So he goes to the older, grabs
his holy fire, puts it in the sensor which contains the
prayers of the Saints and hurls it to the earth.
And there were noises. So now the silence is broken.
There were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake.
Earthquake can only be on earth. So at this time an earthquake
hits the earth. So the seven angels who had the
seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound and they
were going to sound in order, specific events, what each one
was to do as they blow the trumpet, what significant events
were to occur from heaven to go to earth?
So that's the pause. And now we come to the prayers
because I, as we're going through revelation, I'm
staggered that our prayers are mentioned during the time of
tribulation. Prayers are mentioned.
Yet we, the church taken up into heaven Chapter 4, we're singing
in Chapter 5. And yet our prayers that you and
I are, are praying now we'll be praying again on Wednesday.
We'll be loading up that, that sensor again with more prayers.
When you go home tonight and you pray and you're praying and,
and, and praying tomorrow morning, praying during the day.
All that's loading up the sensor.
We're connected to this somehow. I find that fascinating.
This group of angels are a distinct group with a special
mission. Who are they?
They are of a high rank, possibly most Bible commentators
say archangels, which would include Gabriel and and Michael.
So verse 3, we read about him taking the sensor and casting it
to the earth. And so this Angel steps into a
position, there's the seven angels, and this other Angel
comes in, hurls this golden sensor, and the scene now takes
on epic proportions. It's building and building to a
crescendo, especially as he cast this sensor, which contains
incense and our prayers to the earth.
Your prayers are involved in what is about to happen for the
rest of Chapter 8 on In the Old Testament, the priests and the
burning of the incense in the temple was carried out by the
priests every morning and evening, morning and evening.
It's interesting as I read this because as we read about the
sensor, it's connected to prayer.
It's a shadow, it's a type, it shows, it's a picture of our
prayers. When you pray, your prayers
don't go up and just disappear into the ether.
They rise. And if you're praying according
to God's will and you're praying with the right heart and right
attitude in Jesus name, your prayers are ascending up and God
is receiving them and they're being filled.
He's hearing them and they're filling up the sensor morning
and evening. What does that tell us?
If the sensor was lit morning and evening, it's a good sign
for you and I to here's an example of how to get a good
habit of prayer. You should pray before you start
the day and when you finish your day, that's a good thing to do.
You start the day and say, God guide me, lead me, give me
wisdom, protect me, cover me. And at the end of the day, you
say the Lord thank you for watching over me and helping me.
Forgive me for the things that I did do and I should have done, I
didn't do. And so in Daniel chapter 6,
Daniel is this awesome guy. He's one of my mentors.
I love reading his his book Daniel has a prayer clock.
Many of you have a clock of some sort you operate by, oh, I need
coffee at such such a time. Oh, I've got to have my coffee
or I've got to go for a run or I've got to have a shower or
I've got to do this. I've got I've got to have the
dishes done. I've got to have the meal prep.
I've got to have the kids lunches prepared.
And you have all these clocks. You don't know about them, but
you do. We're going for a surf.
So we've got to have that ready, that ready, this done, that
ready. Got to get there by this time
playing golf, got to have that all that.
So and we, we operate very much by clockwork.
Well, Daniel is someone that men, especially you and I, men
we need to follow. We need to learn from Daniel
chapter 6, prayer to God was outlawed, specifically made
outlawed because they knew Daniel, who all the other guys
and in the government at the time in Babylon hated Daniel.
So they said the only way we can get Daniel is to have a law
that's against the law of his God.
And Daniel chapter 6, verse 10, Daniel hears about the law.
He didn't go protest, doesn't protest.
This is unfair. This is unfair.
What does he do? Something for us to learn about
too. We're not into politics.
We are into pray. So Daniel, he hears the law, he
knows what's going to happen to it.
It's by death. So when Daniel knew that the
writing was signed, he went home in his upper room at his bedroom
with his windows open. He faced always and prayed
towards Jerusalem. He knelt down on his knees three
times a day. So Daniel adds another thing for
you and I to do three times a day at least, and prayed.
How did he pray? He prayed and gave thanks before
his God. And there it says this, as was
his custom since early days, he prayed.
And you know, the guys who made the law in the Medo Persian
government, it's written out. They knew he was going to do
this. So where are they?
They're outside Daniel's bedroom, windows open.
There he goes. We knew this is what he does.
And they book him. You want to build a good godly
habit in your life, just follow Daniel.
You don't have to be Einstein to learn how to have good habits.
You develop bad habits very easily.
How do you develop good habits? Look at someone that has good
habits and follow them and your life then will start to be like
Daniel. We read about Daniel and go, oh,
how wonderful it would he's just an ordinary person like you and
I. But Daniel lived in Babylon away
from Jerusalem, away from all the help in an ungodly
environment. Daniel lived a godly life.
The purpose of the burning of the incense in the temple I was
it was an offering to the Lord, be it symbolise the prayers of
God's people. That's what it represented in
Psalm 141. King David wrote, I Lord, cry
out to you, make haste to me, give ear to my voice.
When I cry out to you, let my prayer be set before you as
incense and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
I want to touch on this with some of you guys and I'm going
to put you on the spot because I know the Australian culture is
not this. It's it's not, it's not this,
it's, it's this. Well, I'm not putting my hands
up so well, I'm doing that. Come on.
And I want to ask you, I want your, your children, if your
children are with you, ask your dad, why don't you lift your
hands up when we worship award. And then I want you to come up
with a good and godly answer why you don't?
Because there is not one. I'll just park that.
And so David gives us instructions on what a godly man
looks like. We see here the incense is mixed
and infused with the prayers of the Saints in the temple.
The altar of incense was always positioned before the throne of
God. As the smoke rose, it had as its
backdrop the picture of the prayers of the people.
And what has Jesus told us to pray?
Pray. In this manner He gave us the
moral what to follow Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be
thy name. What do we say?
Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in
heaven. We used to pray that, didn't we?
In Australia every Friday at the school assembly and we used to
sing God Save the Queen. Raise the flag.
What a nation we were. Yes, we'll leave it for another
time. We learn from this passage of
scripture that we are to one. Never, never underestimate the
power of your prayers when prayed in the will of God and
with the heart of worship and faith, believing in Him,
answering them. It says in James, when you pray,
we're not to be people of doubt, you know, tossed to or fro, that
when you pray, you believe that what I'm asking God's going to
deliver When you pray, do you do that?
I can tell you if you're not praying, it's because you don't
believe God can answer prayer. Because if you believe that God
will answer prayer, you're a praying person.
It's as simple as that. Notice our prayers are brought
before the very throne of God. Not yet.
When you're praying, we think, oh is anybody listening?
Hey God is he hears every prayer prayed in Jesus name.
The purpose of your prayers is something again is to get our
will in line with God's will. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be
done on earth as it is in heaven when Jesus prayed in the garden.
Father, you will be done, not mine.
Is that how you are praying today?
Are you praying again? Well, I've been praying man.
He hasn't changed my husband. He's still there.
I've been praying for my wife. She's not interested in the
things of God. Been praying for our kids man
and man. What's going on with our kids?
Purpose of your prayer is to get you to pray according to God's
will and for you to come to him and say, Lord, I bring my wife,
I bring my husband, my son. I'm desperate.
Lord, have your way with him. Have your way with her.
Don't go telling God what to do. You don't even know what you're
doing anyway. I don't have your way, Lord,
Your will be done to my son, God.
I bring my marriage to you. Lord, have your way in our
marriage. And as you do that, God's going,
OK, You're not telling me and directing me because you don't
know what you're doing anyway. I, I can answer that prayer.
You're asking God, Lord, you do what you want to do.
So each time you pray with your heart to God, your life and it's
direction is pulled toward God. Well, I've been praying to God
and he hasn't answered the man. No, no, no.
James says you pray usually and not asking, getting your prayers
answered because you ask a miss that is you're, you're throwing
it all over the way. You're telling God what to do.
And usually James also says your prayers aren't being answered
because you're selfish. You're just praying about
yourself. You see, as you become a person
of prayer, you'll find that your prayers are less about what you
want because you shift. You shift and your world changes
and you move to your God. Lord, I really, I just want you
to direct me all over these plans and things.
But God, I need your word to speak to me.
You guide me, You, you direct me.
It's like an anchor. When you pray in God's will,
throw the anchor out of the boat.
The boat, the anchor hits on the ground and the boat swings and
it always faces God's direction. If you pull on that rope, God's
the anchor. Your will moves towards where
the anchor is. Many of us are just drifting
because we're not praying in God's will.
Hannah is an example. One Samuel chapter one, verse 9.
You know the story about Hannah. She's barren.
She has a marriage or two, Elkanar I think it is, and her
Allah, he has another wife. She's mocking Hannah because
she's barren. Being barren in those days was
seen to be cursed by God. So what does Hannah do?
She that says got up and went to pray.
Ladies, problem. When you have a problem, you
should be in church praying. That's where you go.
Eli the priest was sitting at his customary place beside the
entrance of the Tabernacle. Chapter verse 9, Chapter one,
verse 9. And it says, and here's here,
here. How old this woman prays.
Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to
the Lord, and she made this vow. O Lord of Heaven's armies, if
you will look upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a
son, I will give him back to you.
He will be yours for his entire lifetime.
Parents, that's, that's our prayer for all of our all of our
kids. They're gods for their entire
lifetime. And as a sign that he has been
dedicated to the Lord, his hair will never be cut.
God couldn't get hold of a man in Israel at that time.
So he got hold of a woman and he got hold of the woman who would
then pray according to his will so he can get hold of his man.
And he got a Samuel, Samuel the prophet.
When Peter was locked up in prison awaiting execution by
Herod in Acts chapter 12, you remember the church gathered to
pray for Peter. Well, Lord, we got to get Peter
out of gaol. Herod's going to kill him.
Acts chapter 12, verse 5. But while Peter was in prison,
the church prayed very earnest for him.
They were king, praying for him. Well, you know the story.
An Angel came to the prison. Peter's asleep.
The angel's got to kick him to wake him up because he just
thinks he's dreaming. Kicks him again, wakes him up.
All the doors open. Peter just walks, outcomes out
to the house where the church is praying, knocks on the door.
Hello. Young cool girl called Rhoda
comes to open the door. Oh, shoot.
Peter rushes off. Hey, Peter's here, everybody.
Peter's here. We're praying.
Go away. You haven't seen a vision.
Lord, we pray for Peter to be released.
Oh, God, I believe he's. You've seen.
Lord, we're deep. Oh, royal release.
Peter continues to pray. They said to her, you're out of
your mind. When she insisted, they decided,
well, it must be his Angel. Meanwhile, Peter continued
knocking. When they finally opened the
door and saw him, They're amazed.
That tells us something. I love this.
How often have you been praying? They got to got to answer that
prayer. That's us.
It's so it shows you how how bad we are.
We think we have to be, you know, just absolutely solid and
everything. No, God knows.
I'll, I'll answer this. You don't got to believe it.
How often, how often has that happened?
I know I said that to Helen. Helen would say something about,
you know, you need to pray. Well, let's just pray about it.
And I go, look, you don't understand.
Because men, men we understand mechanics of things that this
doesn't work that way. It doesn't work that way, Helen.
Well, we pray. So we pray.
Next minute, let's happen. Yeah, you're right.
It says they're amazed. Never underestimate the power of
your praying before Almighty God.
In Ephesians chapter 3, verse 20, it says now to him Speaking
of the Lord, who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above
here all those adverbs or adjectives, whichever they are,
all that we ask or think beyond according to the power that
works in US. What is that power?
The power in Ephesians tells us it's the very power that rose
Jesus from the dead. It's the power of God.
So we can never underestimate the power of prayer.
Secondly, God's timing is not always our timing.
I'm so thankful that God did not answer so many of my prayers and
my time as I look back, oh man, I was an idiot.
Oh God, I need this job, I need this job.
I need that. I need this God.
You're going to answer this prayer doesn't happen because
God knows better. Back in Revelation 6, the martyr
believers who died for their faith in the tribulation period
and who did not take the mark of the beast cried out to God for
vengeance in those for those who had killed them, murdered them.
Verse 10 And they cried with a loud voice saying, How long, O
Lord, holy and true, until you judge and avenge our blood on
those who dwell on the earth. There's that phrase.
God's response was in verse 11. Then a white robe was given to
each of them and it was said to them that they should rest a
little while longer until both the number of their fellow
servants and their brethren who would be killed not hadn't died
yet as they were was completed. God's response was not a no, but
a wait. Gee, Campbell Morgan says our
prayer requests are often times in line with God's will, but we
must wait on his timing. So never underestimate the power
of prayer. God's timing is not always our
timing. And thirdly, God's will shall be
done no matter what in chapter 20, God's Kingdom has come.
His will has been done during the thousand year reign, the
millennial reign here on earth. So for your prayers to be
powerful, it requires patience, wait, and secondly,
perseverance. Don't stop.
A wonderful gift is given to every believer who prays in
faith this way, trusting in God's will, waiting on God's
timing to answer their prayers. That is, after you have prayed,
what happens to you? You receive the peace of God and
it will settle in your heart. How's that?
How's that happen? Easy, because you prayed.
You believe God, you pray in faith, you prayed in Jesus name.
You know that God can answer your prayer.
You've persevered. You now believe as you get up
from prayer that God will answer.
He has heard and you've cast all your cares on him, so you walk
away from him. Now from that time of prayer
going, it's with the Lord, and God gives you peace.
If you pray and get up. Still worried about the same
thing. You haven't given it to me.
Yeah. Lord, I pray for my husband.
Oh, man, if I get him, man, I get him.
No, no. Have you given?
Is there a peace after you've prayed?
Have you actually really given it to the Lord?
Peter says cast all your cares on him.
Why? For he cares for you.
You know by reading of God's Word that God's will will be
done. Psalm 24714 says wait on the
Lord be of good courage and he shall strengthen your heart.
Wait, I say on the Lord, Wait here means patience and eager
expectation and also expect God to answer your prayer.
Expect God to answer your prayer.
Verse 6 So the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared
themselves to sound the first trumpet.
Sounds sounded. Hail and fire followed, mingle
with blood, and they were thrown to the earth.
And the third of the trees were burned up.
A third of the trees and all green grass was burned up the
second trumpet. Then the second Angel sounded in
something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown
into the ocean, and a third of the sea became blood, and a
third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the
ships were destroyed. Then the Angel, third Angel
sounded, and a great star fell from heaven, burning like a
torch, and it fell on 1/3 of the rivers and on the springs of
water. The name of that star is
Wormwood, and a third of the waters became Wormwood, and many
men died from the water because it was made bitter or poisonous.
The 4th Angel sounded and a third of the sun was struck, 1/3
of the moon and a third of the stars so that a third of them
were darkened. 1/3 of the day did not shine and likewise the
night. So now judgement begins, the
first trumpet has sounded and an unnatural storm is unleashed
upon the planet. The 1st 4 trumpet judgments are
directed by God at the environment and I feel feel
really sorry for the climate change people at this time
destroying the earth's ecology, just like the plagues that
struck Egypt. The next three trumpets fall
more directly on humanity. And the 7th trumpet introduces
the final seven bowl judgments and the outpouring of God's
wrath. God's wrath.
Let's quickly go at these trumpets and the judgments.
The first one, desolation on earth, hail, fire, mingle with
blood. It reminds us exactly of the 7th
plague that God sent against the Egyptians.
Exodus Chapter 9, also predicted by Joel the prophet Joel chapter
2 verse 30, that there would be blood and fire in the last days.
1/3 of the trees are burned up, all green grass scorched.
So what's happening here? We take a step back, impact.
Some of you are farmers. The world's food supply is
upset. No pasture from meat, no milk,
nothing can be produced. The second trumpet, the
desolation of the Seas reminds us of the first plague God sent
to Egypt. Exodus 7.
Something like a great mountain plunges into the sea. 1/3 of the
sea became blood. A third of all living sea
creatures destroyed, a third of all shipping sunken.
Now as of today, between 50 to 70,000 commercial licences are
available for ships around the world.
So from 50 to 70,000. That means roughly 20,000 ships
sink at this moment. Don't book a cruise. 3rd Trumpet
Desolation of the world's freshwater supply.
A great star like a meteorite or an asteroid falls and as it hits
the Earth's atmosphere it explodes and goes into millions
of pieces and hurdles to the earth, and as a result a third
of all the rivers and springs are poisoned.
Many people perish from the poisoned water because it is
made bitter. Wormwood is mentioned, meaning
undrinkable. Wormwood is where we get it's
it's absent. I think it's how you pronounce
it absent A liqueur. It's made from the oil of
Wormwood and it is banned in many countries.
Proverbs 5 Three the writer says, for the lips of a strange
woman drop as a honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil,
but her end is as bitter as Wormwood, sharp as A2 edged
sword. So we get this many people
dying, the waters are poisoned, the 4th trumpet desolation in
the heavens. This judgement affects the
entire world, this one, because it gets to the very source of
Earth's life. What is that light, life and
energy? It parallels the 9th plague that
fell upon Egypt when darkness fell upon the land for three
days. A third of the sun is darkened,
1/3 of the moon is darkened, 1/3 of the stars are darkened, and
the world became like night. Imagine you're living, pray you
aren't on the planet at this time, Earth dwellers, and these
events are happening. There's nowhere to run, nowhere
to hide, and you must say you must be singing.
Why, why, why aren't people turning to the Lord?
Verse 13 and I looked and heard an Angel, now another Angel
separate, not the trumpets, not the other Angel with the
incense. This is a different one, an
Angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud
voice going around the world, woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants
of the earth. Why?
Because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three
angels who are yet to sound. That's God's warning.
What's coming is far worse already.
Think of the damage and the fright and the deaths and horror
that's on the earth at this moment.
Now, at this point, as I said, a remarkable messenger appears in
the sky proclaiming to the inhabitants of the earth with a
dire warning. It is, though, the messenger
cried. If you think this has been
terrible, just wait. Way worse is yet to come.
But everyone hears that. Why would God do that?
Why would God send that out? The phrase inhabitants of the
earth is found 12 times in the Book of Revelation, and it means
more than simply people living on the earth at this time.
It refers to a kind of people, those who live for the earth and
the things of the earth. Just the opposite to the citizen
of heavens. These are those who, no matter
what God sends, no matter what happens around them.
No matter what the warning that is coming, I don't want anything
to do with God because this is going to occur all the way
through and you can give your heart to Christ throughout
Revelation as we see we've read many millions have already done.
They are earth dwellers. They are non believers who don't
want God. God always gives a warning
before He brings judgement. In Genesis chapter 2 verse 16,
God said to Adam and Eve, Adam and Eve, beautiful garden here,
it's all for you. Of every tree in the garden, you
can eat. Oh, no problems.
But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not
eat. Here's the warning.
If you eat of it, you'll die. That's the warning.
I went ahead against it in Genesis chapter 6.
The world is so violent. God says I've got to, I've got
to judge the world. And God says to Noah, the end of
all flesh has come before me, for the earth is filled with
violence through them. And behold, I will destroy them
with the earth. Here's what you're going to do
now. Build yourself an ark of goat
wood, making it rooms. Cover it inside and outside with
pitch. What did Noah do when he heard
God's warning? Gotcha boys.
Building an ark lot in Sodom and Gomorrah.
The angels turn up and the judgement doesn't happen
immediately, does it? They turn up and they say block.
Well, you know, we're going to we're going to sleep in the
village square and lots is all. You can't sleep in the village
square because it's such a simple no, no, you got to come.
So people had the opportunity when the angels of the Lord and
the Lord came to Sodom and Gomorrah to say, yeah, we've
we've been living terribly immorally.
No, no. What did they try to do?
They but tried to bust down the door of Lot's house that night
to get to the angels of the Lord.
God warned Nebuchadnezzar through the prophet Daniel.
Nebuchadnezzar was mouthing off about man, his Kingdom.
Oh man, look at this Kingdom. But I built.
Daniel says, don't say that. There's a warning.
And he gave him a vision. And then Nebuchadnezzar didn't
worry about the warning. So he's walking around the
temple. Look at this great empire that
I've built. Next minute he's down on all
fours. His fingernails are growing the
hairs, the body hair has grown, and he lives for seven seasons
as an animal eating grass. Didn't heed the warning.
Jonah goes to the Ninevites. God could have just wiped out
the Ninevites. No, he sends Jonah.
What does Jonah say yet? 40 days and Nineveh shall be
overthrown. What do the Ninevites do?
Get lost? No, they repented.
They even put sackcloth upon all their animals and they repented
as a entire people. They heeded the warning, God
gave the warning and God gives you an eye a warning today.
In Galatians chapter 6 verse 7, Paul writes, do not be deceived.
God is not mocked for whatever a man sows that he will also reap.
How you live will direct your eternal eternity, both in
judgement and life. For he who sews to his flesh,
earth dwellers will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sews
to the Spirit, you live. For God will of the Spirit reap
everlasting life. That's the warning.
You're here today. You think you just come to
church for a sunny church. I just come to church.
No, we're living in the last days.
The events of the water are happening.
And God says to you, because he doesn't want any of you, any of
you to experience the seven trumpets, the seven bowls, the
judgement, the four horsemen, He doesn't want you to see the
Antichrist, to know the Antichrist.
He wants to call you up and take you and rapture you the moment
he comes for his own. And so this morning, God gives
you time to repent and turn to him and be saved.
This morning as we study the Book of Revelation, the
magnitude of destruction and mayhem that will come upon this
world is a warning. Jesus said this world has never
experienced it. It's a warning to some of you
today, this morning, either here or online for today, you need to
repent. You're living immorally.
You're living outside the will of God, you're playing church,
you're playing a religious game, you're pretending and your your
life is just like your next door neighbour, a person across the
street are the kids in the school.
You're no different. And God says I don't want that.
You can't live that way because if you do, you will go into the
tribulation period. God as will as that none should
perish. It doesn't matter how you might
feel about hearing of these terrifying judgments of
Revelation 8. You might say, well, I don't
accept all this. That you're telling me I don't
agree with what happens here doesn't seem right to me that
God of love could do this. Hang on, hang on.
Check the cross. He is a God of love, for God so
loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believes in Him shall not perish.
You have a choice. You can reject His love, or you
can dismiss Him. It doesn't matter how you might
feel about hearing of these terrifying judgments.
These things will happen. When Jesus died on the cross, he
told them. Three days later, I'll be back.
None of them believed. 3 days later that same Jesus, the only
man. That's the sign, the only man
who died and rose from the dead. That is the sign for you and I
today to know that what is written in this last passage
that we've been reading is definitely going to happen.
They're going to happen whether you like it or not, whether you
agree or not. The other thing is too, besides
this and I dealt with a in my work time with police, I dealt
with a lot of death. I was at the morgue all the
time. Anytime I the police, you get
called a chaplain. If someone's dead.
My job was to go to the house, knock on the door.
As soon as they saw me, they knew whoever wasn't home isn't
coming home. They would begin screaming as I
walked towards the door. They knew the chaplain's coming.
He's not going to wish me happy birthday.
And The thing is, each and every one of us, we know this.
We are all going to perish. We're all going to die.
So what happens? Where do you go when you die?
And I've spoken to so many in their Hospice bed in their last
moments. And some people, the real
they're terrified because they're dying.
Where do you go when you die? What happens when you die?
You see, I can be sure of what's going to happen because someone
died and came back. He conquered death for those
that would believe in him. So it's not only about the
rapture, it's not only about the tribulation, it's about your
very life. There are 40 people living in WA
today who tomorrow will be in the morgue. 40 Some they know
they're dying in hospital, others they haven't got a clue.
But 40 are going to be there. And God's message for you and I
today is that death wasn't in the original plan.
Adam and Eve were to live forever and they dissipate.
So God had to send his son to re gear the whole thing.
A second Adam, it's called, he's going to change and bring a new
heaven and a new earth. And you can be involved in that
or you can dismiss it. And if you dismiss it, the
people who dismiss it. So I don't want anything to do
with him. God says OK, and you'll be
alone. The Bible says alone with
yourself in darkness, because God is light.
No love, wailing and gnashing of teeth for eternity, Because when
you die, you're not annihilated. You live on.
Because each and every one of us, when we go to a funeral,
where do we go? We don't go.
Well, old Jack, he's just, he just disappeared, gone.
This. What do we all, what do we all
do? Even though we're not
Christians? They're up there and we say
they're with so and so and so and so.
Who's all died before? Funny that you don't go to
heaven by default. You go to heaven by the cross of
Christ, the death of resurrection.
Otherwise, why did he die this morning?
I pray for you to heed God's warning, to turn to him now and
to be saved to repent for the time is at hand.
The Bible says today is the day of salvation and never says
tomorrow is the day of salvation.
You know why? Because we don't live in a
tomorrow. We live always in the moment.
Today, turn from your ways where you're walking away from God and
turn to God. Repent.