Turn with me to the book of Revelation,
chapter six. We'd like to deal with a little
bit of the sixth seal. The sixth seal. I was just thinking
in my study this afternoon, what would it have been like if we'd
have never heard of premillennialism? if it had never been brought
to our doorstep, if we never had anybody ever say a word about
it, you know what that would have led us to do? It would have
led us to study the Bible about it. We wouldn't have, and I'm
convinced that most of what premillennialism is, is you cannot find it in
scripture. You're gonna have to read a book.
You just have to read a book. Someone's going to have to tell
you what that passage of scripture means because you can't get it
out of there. So, writers on prophetic themes
are under constant temptation to indulge in surmises. Nathan and I, and maybe Tim was
too, we were watching a film the other day on the History
Channel, and they just discovered the remains of a great sea creature
that, they told us how old it was, but it didn't tell it right
there in the dirt, so I'm convinced it's not quite that old. But
they told us how, and you know before it was over with, from
a few bones, they told us How many ticks were on that thing? I mean, they just go from here
to here. They get this bone and they go
to here. They've got flesh on it. And they tell what kind of
critters were in the sea with it. And they tell what it ate
and how it died. And the favorite term is, it
may have been this way. And I don't know how many times
they said in that 30 minutes that we watched it, maybe, may,
all these surmises. Well, they're not the only ones
that use that. Most prophetic writers use this
type of terminology. And they are so susceptible,
and the temptation is to indulge in surmises and speculations.
And even in flights of imagination, they become creative writers.
And I had to say that because I substituted for Nancy a couple
of days and a couple of her classes were creative writing. You just
wish these kids would have a creative thought. But they're creative writers. And the guiding principle, I
think it should be, guiding principle, whatever information is essential
for the interpretation of any and every passage of scripture
is to be found somewhere in the Bible itself. Somewhere. there's the interpretation
for that passage of scripture. And I try to make it a goal. Now, I don't always succeed,
but I try to make it a goal to find other verses of scripture
that coincide with this verse of scripture, so it kind of gives
us some insight of what is there. And not to get too speculative,
because then we're really on unfirm ground. We are on thin
ice. And when we come to these seven
seals, what is being said, and even by some good writers, I
just had to close the book and put it back on the shelf because
they had no scripture whatsoever to verify what they were saying.
They were going on speculation. Now our scripture tonight here
in the book of Revelation chapter 6 is a part, we would like to
look at a part of the sixth seal. Now the sixth seal covers more
of the scriptures than we have been common to here in our study. First, second, third, fourth,
and fifth seals are relatively short. in this chapter, but the
sixth seal starts with verse 12 of the sixth chapter and goes
through the seventh chapter. And if you'll notice, the first
verse of the eighth chapter is the opening of the seventh seal.
So it's a little longer in there, but it has some really grand
information and shares with us a lot about the revelation of
Jesus Christ. It is our goal to see what this
revelation is, what the church is shown as the mysteries of
the kingdom. Now, I'm going to jump ahead
just a little bit, and I want you to notice verse 4 of chapter
7, because much ado is said about the 12 tribes of Israel, and
12,000 from each tribe, and their religions that are based on this
passage of scripture. And if you notice in verse 4,
I heard the number of them that were sealed. And then it goes
on and tells about 12,000 from these various tribes. And then
if you'll look at verse 9, after this, I beheld, what did he beheld? He beheld the number that he
had just heard about. And he says, and lo, a great
multitude that no man could number. Now he heard 144,000, but when
he saw them, there was a great number that no man could number.
And he goes on to say of all people or nations and kindreds
and people and tongues stood before the throne before the
lamb clothed with white robes and palms in their hands. So
the 144,000 is a symbolic number for a great number that no man
can number. They are talking about the same
group of people. And we really have problems when
we try to look at the book of Revelation in particular and
the rest of the Bible in general, if we're looking at it from a
literal standpoint and try to interpret it literally and don't
look at it spiritually. One of my favorite verses is
the amount that the Lord was given out of a lamb, jawbone
and a leg, or a piece of skin and a leg. Now, if we just look
at that and say, my goodness, that's not much, but if we look
at that as the church as they're not much until God gets a hold
of them, There's just not very much value in them until God
gets a hold of them. He's talking about the church there in that
passage of scripture. We look at it, I like to spiritualize
the Bible, and that's what the Lord did. He talked about bread. It wasn't a loaf of bread that
we buy down here at the store. He's talking about himself. He
talked about a door. He's not talking about a door
like you and I walked through tonight. It's a spiritual door. He talks about water. The woman
at the well wanted literal water so she wouldn't have to come
up here all the time and draw water. And he said, I am that
water. So we want to spiritualize things
and find the spiritual meaning of things. And Lord only knows,
we're not going to come to the full and complete conclusion
about any of the things, because throughout eternity, the Lord
is going to reveal His grace and His glory. So He's going
to spend that eternity revealing what we don't glean here, not
have been revealed here. All right, look at verse 12,
if you would. and I beheld when he had opened
the sixth seal. Now in this, whatever seal is
opened, he is sharing with us, he is making known to his church
the mysteries of his kingdom. He's opening up. It's a revelation. The revelation of Jesus Christ.
Says, when he opened the sixth seal, here we have, one more
time, the mysteries of the kingdom revealed. The mysteries of the
kingdom. And he says, lo, there was a
great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth of
hair, and moon became as blood. I remember when I was about 14
years old, there was a phenomena, there happened to be a great
deal of clouds, just as the moon came up, and it put a red cast
on that moon, and you know, oh, We got the moon is blood. I'm
sorry. Let's not interpret this literally and we'll be correct
Now we may not know what it means, but we know what it doesn't mean
We know it doesn't mean this in a literal context. I think
tonight we will go through some verses of scripture that have
to do with this same subject and come to a conclusion that
is at least from a scriptural standpoint and not from speculation. I wanted to find out a little
bit more about where is these terms used in the Bible and they
are used. In fact, they are used to the
point they say this is what it is. All right, let's look at
verse 13. The stars of heaven fell unto
the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs when
she is shaken of mighty wind. The heaven departed as a scroll
when it is rolled together, and every mountain and island were
moved out of their places. Now, did you know that this is
a quote from an Old Testament place? It's a quote from the
Old Testament. They're not talking about the
islands out in the sea being moved by some catastrophic event. We're not looking here at the
sun being extinguished and the moon becoming blood. We're looking
at a spiritual application here, and I believe we can find what
this has something to say about at least, even though we may
not come to the complete conclusion. But the Bible is filled with
terms like this that give us some insight. Would you turn
with me to the book of Acts chapter 2? Acts chapter 2. There is a
statement made here in Acts chapter 2 on the day of Pentecost and
the Apostle Peter, one more time, is used to share with us what
an Old Testament passage means. He brings up an Old Testament
passage from the book of Joel. And he says, this is what is
happening. Now he and his friends, he and
his apostle friends, he and his brethren have been accused of
being drunk. And that's why this is going
on like this. And he shares with us in the
second chapter of the book of Acts, verse 14, it says, but
Peter standing up with the 11 lifted up his voice and said
unto them, ye men of Judea, And all ye that dwell at Jerusalem,
be this known unto you, and hearken to my words. For these are not
drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the
day." They haven't had dinner yet. They haven't had lunch. They haven't had a meal. So they
haven't had drink. And therefore they are not drunken.
And they have come to the wrong conclusion. Now they've surmised
They have had speculation and they have had a vivid imagination
about what's going on there that day until the Apostle Peter stands
up and says this. And then he says, but this is
that which was spoken by the prophet Joel. All right, now
I don't know about you, but I absolutely appreciate and love when the
apostle or Paul is used by the Holy Spirit to say, this passage
way over here in the Old Testament, written some 400 years ago, is
being fulfilled right here in front of your eyes. Now we mentioned
that on Sunday about that passage of scripture that the Lord Jesus
Christ found in the Old Testament, the book of Isaiah, and read
there and he says, this day is this passage fulfilled in your
hearing. And he went over there to the
book of Isaiah. Now here he said, this is what it is. It shall
come to pass, now he begins to quote it and we're gonna go over
there in just a moment. It shall come to pass in the last days. Now to them and to the interpretation
by the Holy Spirit, these apostles this day on the day of Pentecost
were in the last days. God's people have believed that
they've been in the last days. They have never, ever given over
and said, well, the Lord is going to come in 4,000 years. They've
always agreed that they are living in the last days. Now, if Peter
said this and believed he's in the last days, I can assume that
he's probably 40 years old. And for Peter, he had 40 years
left, 50 years, 60 years max. And he's in his last days. Now,
if the Lord should come, we're in the last days. But for any
of us, 60, 80 years, 100 years, we're in our last days. We're
in our last days. And it says here in the last
days, and at this time, right after the resurrection, the ascension
of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Jews were called to Jerusalem
because the law was written that they must meet for this feast
of Pentecost. They must meet for this Feast
of Pentecost. And there were Jews from all
over the known world at that time, and it gives us a list
of them that were here, the languages that were represented. He says,
your sons and your daughters, oh, excuse me, I'm gonna back
up. I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh. Now that word
all means something there. Not to the Jew only. And I'm
going to pour out my spirit on the Gentiles. I shall pour out
my spirit on all flesh. Now, not all without exception,
but all Jews and Gentiles, every nation, kindred, people, and
tongue. And that's exactly what we're going to find in the book
of Revelation. He shall call his people out of every kindred,
nation, people, and tongue. He shall have a people made up
of every nation, kindred, people, and tongue. And here he is declaring
to the prophet Joel some 400 years prior to this event taking
place, I'll pour out my spirit upon all flesh. I am going to
pour out my spirit upon Jews, yes, and Gentiles, out of every
kindred, nation, people, and tongue. And your sons and your
daughters shall prophesy, not just the priests, God's people
are going to understand the word of God. They're going to see
things out of God's word. Now he has always done this,
but it's going to be so demonstrated here on the day of Pentecost
what God does. He is going to open up the hearts
of what, 4,000 people this day? I'm going to pour out my spirit
upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall
dream dreams. Now, this is not just to the
young. It's not to the old. It's not to the male. It's not
to the female. What do we read in the book of
Galatians with regard to the church? In the church, there
shall be bond and free, male and female. they're all equal
in the church. It's not just to the priest,
it's not just to a prophet, it's not to just upon the sons only, but to the
daughters. is not only to the young men
and maidens, but to the children and the old men. God's grace
is going out to every kindred, nation, people, and tongue, and
every age strata. God is going to work a work of
grace. And on my servants and on my handmaidens, I'll pour
out in those days my spirit and they shall prophesy. And I will
show wonders. Now read with me here. This is
just what we read in the book of Revelation. I will show wonders
in heaven above and signs in earth beneath, blood and fire
and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into
darkness, the moon into blood before that great and notable
day of the Lord come. Now what does that mean? If this
is happening on the day of Pentecost, what is this? Peter said it's
happening right here in front of us. These are the events that
are taking place, this is the signs that are taking place,
and it shall be known by these things, the sun shall be turned
into darkness, the moon into blood, and the great and notable
day shall come. of the Lord shall come, and it
shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on the name of the
Lord shall be saved." I don't know how many times I heard that
verse of scripture when I was growing up, and never anything
about the previous verses of scripture. Whosoever shall call
on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Well, it comes by revelation,
and it comes by revelation upon male and female, bond and free,
Jews and Gentiles. This is what God said, but it's
going to be demonstrated by the fall of something. The sun shall
be darkened and the moon shall not give its light. Or what's
it say there? The moon into blood before that great and notable
day. Let's turn now back to the book of Joel, chapter two. Joel,
chapter two, verse 28. Book of Joel, chapter two. Now
this is gonna happen. It happened. What happened? How
do we know what happened? These are a sign. They're not
a physical sign. They're not a astronomical sign. We're not gonna see the sun give
up its brightness. What does the Bible say in the
book of Genesis? Until the Lord comes back, there's
gonna be seasons. Springtime and harvest. Seasons. And if the real sun was put out,
and the real moon was turned to blood, our seasons would not
be there. This has to be more than just
that. It's different than that. This is different than the physical
sun and the physical moon. Now, here in the book of Joel,
chapter 2, verse 28. Joel chapter 2, verse 28. And it came to pass afterward,
thou pour out my spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and
your daughters shall prophesy. They're going to know the good
tidings, not just to the men, but to the women. God's going
to open hearts, male and female, bond and free, Jews and Gentiles.
Your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see
visions. They're going to see the glory of God. What did John
see? Well, it doesn't take us very
far to go over there to the book of Revelation and say, John saw
a vision, and I want to see more of it. This is not foolishness. This is not people over in a
corner having a dream, a bad dream, or a good dream. This
is seeing Christ. John saw Christ. John saw the
glory of Christ. John saw the glory of the kingdom
of Christ. He saw a vision. And also upon
the servants, upon the handmaids in those days, I'll pour out
my spirit. What? Bond and free? People in prison
out of prison? Those who are indentured servants?
Those who are slaves? We find one of the grandest stories
of redemption in the scripture about a slave. He ran away from
his master. He got to Rome. Who did he run
smack doodly dab into? Paul. Paul's preaching, Paul's
preaching the gospel, and God looked favorably upon him and
saved him. He says, okay, go home. You go
back home, and you take this letter, and you tell your master,
I brought him the gospel. Now, if you owe him anything,
I'll pay it, but just remind him, I brought him the gospel.
Jews and Gentiles, bond and free, male and female. That's what
the church is made up on an equal basis. I have a book in my library. It was fascinating to read that
there was a man that had a plantation in the South and his pastor was
one of his slaves. Until people got so excited about
it. He went to hear his slave preach
the gospel. Jews and Gentiles, male and female,
bond and free, equality, equality, spiritual. We may not have the
same amount of money, we may not have the same amount of property,
we may not have the same fame, but when it comes to Christ,
we are equal. There are no big I's and little
u's. We are equal. The ground is equal at the cross.
It is equal. There's nobody that's above us
and nobody below us. That's why it's not necessary,
and we say that with emphasis, to give out rewards because the
Lord Jesus told Abraham, I am thy exceeding great reward. He's our reward. We're not looking
for anything else. When you got all the riches of
glory and you have all the person of Christ, then what else could
be given? Nothing. Some rag? My goodness. Some pin? What? What could be given when you
have it all? All right. It goes on here to say, Joel
chapter 2, Verses 30, and I'll show wonders in heaven and in
the earth, blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall
be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great
and terrible day of the Lord come. Now, what's that mean? Well, I went to my computer and
I says, I wanna know the first time in the Bible where the word
moon is used. That might give me some inside
information. It's not mentioned in the book
of Genesis. Chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. You have to get to chapter 37
before you run into the word moon in the Bible. And in chapter
37, the word moon is used figuratively. It is figuratively of a woman. A mother. a wife of Jacob. Now turn with me to Genesis
37. Joseph had a dream. He had two
dreams. And the first dream he dreamed,
and whether he knows it or not, he is really bugging his brothers. He's having a dream. Genesis
37, he had a dream, and in the first dream, talks about shocks
of corn, shocks of grain. Notice here, Genesis chapter
37, I want to begin with verse five. Here's the first time the
word moon is used, and it has to do with a woman. Now I think
by the time we look at this, we're gonna find out that the
sun has some meaning too. Significance, spiritual significance. We're not looking for this sun
in our sky to be darkened. We're not looking for the moon
to be turned to blood. What took place in Joel chapter
two and in Acts chapter two has already happened. Notice here,
I gotta read this. I gotta read this. This is so
good. Joseph had two dreams. He brings
up the first one, Genesis 37, verse 5. Joseph dreamed a dream,
and he told his brethren, and they hated him yet the more.
And he said unto them, here I pray you this dream before which I
have dreamed. For behold, we were binding sheaves
in the field, and lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright. And behold, your sheaves stood
round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf. Guys, you're going to bow to
me. Now, wouldn't it be foolish to
literally interpret those sheaves? Joseph didn't, and his brothers
knew who those 11 were. They knew exactly what he was
talking about because they got upset. Now, let's go on here. And his brethren said unto him,
Shalt thou indeed reign over us? They knew what this was. They didn't have to go to a chart.
They didn't have to have some book. They knew exactly what
Joseph was talking about. Shalt thou indeed reign over
us? Or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated
him yet the more for his dreams and for his words. And not enough. And he dreamed yet another dream
and brought it up. And told it his brethren and
said, behold, I have dreamed a dream more. And behold, the
sun and the moon and 11 stars made obeisance to me. First time
in the Bible the word moon is used. Now notice what happens
here. He told it to his father. And
to his brethren, and his father rebuked him and said unto him,
I have read in a book. I have a chart. No! What is this dream that thou
hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy
brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?
And his brethren envied him, but his father observed the same. Now what is this? What does the
sun, the moon, and the 11 stars represent? Israel! What is happening on this day?
On the day of Pentecost, Joel chapter 2 is fulfilled. Joel
chapter 2 says this is gonna happen. Peter said this has happened
right here in front of us. Israel has lost their place. The church is the most important. We're not gonna go to the Israel
anymore. The son of Israel has been darkened. The moon of Israel, the mother,
Has been turned to blood. Do you know what she his mother
is dead at this time? She has passed away when this
is brought up Jacob looks at that dream and
says Are you telling me that me and your mother and your 11
brothers are gonna bow down to you? Now if we follow this and
it speaks several times, turn with me if you would over to
the book of Matthew chapter 24. The Lord Jesus before the day
of Pentecost, the Lord Jesus before his crucifixion brings
this up. They are saying Israel will no
longer hold the position that they have held in the purposes
of God. before that great and notable
day of the Lord. They will lose their position. You know what
the Jews said in the street on the day of the crucifixion? We
have no king but Caesar. You know what the Jews also said?
Let his blood be upon us and our children. That's what they
said. Now, What did Paul say about
Jews? A Jew is not one outward, but
one inward, regenerated. That's a true Jew. No longer
will the nation of Israel have the position that they have had.
They will pass away. Now they passed away in a fury.
AD 70, when Titus Caesar came in and destroyed Jerusalem and
Israel, it was terrible. Terrible. But the prophecy is
the gospel has always superseded the position. It was the gospel
to Abel. What did Paul write in the book
of Hebrews? It wasn't that they were in a
country. It wasn't because they were in
a nation. By faith, by faith, that's what he wrote consistently,
what Paul wrote consistently about what the other apostles,
by faith, the just shall live by faith. All right, notice here
in Matthew chapter 24, Matthew chapter 24. Verse 29. Immediately, after the tribulation
of those days, shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall
not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the
powers of the heaven shall be shaken, and then shall appear
the sign of the Son of Man in heaven, and then shall all the
tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man
coming in clouds of heaven with power and great glory. He came
in power and great glory on that day when the gospel was preached,
and those thousands of people from every kindred, nation, people,
and tongue. Now, it doesn't mean that He's
not going to come in power and great glory when He comes. Jesus
Christ comes the second time. But He has demonstrated that
the sun will be darkened, Israel Jacob, his 12 children, his wife,
they will not be the bright stars. They will not be. Israel, the nation, is not going
to hold the position that it did from the time of Moses, Abraham,
down to the last verses of Malachi. And they thought in the New Testament
area, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, that they still were in
that power position, even though, what did they say? We've never
had anybody rule over us. And you got Rome ruling over
them. And the Lord said, the sun will be darkened. The moon
will be turned to blood. And the stars will fall from
heaven. And Jacob interpreted it for us. It says, Israel, Israel. They have the power position.
They no longer have it. It's the church. The church has
the position with God. Now, Israelites that God regenerates,
they're in the church. It isn't Jews and Gentiles. It's the church. Now, he's broken
down the middle wall of perdition. He has caused all that come unto
God must come by Jesus Christ. The law never brought anybody
to the Lord. All right. Now, over there in
the book of Revelation, it talks about a great earthquake. Chapter
6, and there in verse 12, it says, and beheld, when I opened
the sixth seal, lo, there was a great earthquake. I says, I
want to know, is there any other place in the Bible that talks
about a great earthquake? One. One place talks about a great
earthquake. And that's when the tomb was opened. And there's another earthquake
mentioned. I want to read both of them.
One's found in Matthew 27 and the other in Matthew 28. Great
earthquake. I like earthquakes when they're
like this. They are symbolic of the freedom that God has granted
to his people in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We are no longer
bound to this world. We have been raised in newness
of life. The earth was cast open twice
by an earthquake at the very crucifixion and just after the
crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ. The book of Matthew,
book of Matthew chapter 27, And there in verse 50, Matthew chapter
27 and verse 50, the scriptures share this about an earthquake.
And then we'll read about the great earthquake in the next
chapter. On Matthew 27, verse 50, the
Bible shares this. Jesus, when he had cried again
with a loud voice, yielded up the ghosts, and behold, the veil
of the temple was rent entwined from the top to the bottom, and
the earth did quake, and the rocks rent. Now look at the results. Oh, my goodness. Hallelujah. What does it say? The graves
were opened and many bodies of the saints which slept arose
and came out of the graves after his resurrection and went into
the holy city and appeared unto many. Look, here comes Aunt Matilda. She's been dead for 40 years.
My goodness, the symbolism here in this earthquake that opened
up those tombs. And after the resurrection of
Jesus Christ, for three days and three nights, they were locked
in the ground. But on that resurrection morning,
there were many of the saints came out of their graves and
went into Jerusalem and were seen of many." Great earthquake. Now, the next earthquake, and
this is called the Great Earthquake, Matthew 28 and verse 2. Great earthquake. This is so
good. Wouldn't you love to have this
kind of earthquake happening on all the time? Oh my, if God
would just, and he does every time he saves one of his people. A great earthquake takes the
door away. They are released from prison. That's what he said there in
the book of Isaiah 61. release the prisoner, release
the prisoner. Takes a great earthquake. That's
why men can't do this. They could take all the dynamite. I had a great visit today. Brother
Dwayne, was your grandmother Went down to Portland on the
train. Great grandmother. Went to Portland on the train
and bought boxes of dynamite to come and clear the ground
up here. Brought it for her husband. Brought
it on the train. Where would she be today if she
was carrying it? Great earthquake. Well, we can't
make this kind of earthquake. We can't produce it. It's not
producible. It's in the hands of God, a great
earthquake. Now, notice here, chapter 28,
verse 2, and behold, there was a great earthquake where the
angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back
the stone from the door and sat upon it. Now, he didn't release
the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus is going to show
us he can go through walls. He didn't have to have that tomb
door open. It was a testimony. This is a
testimony of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. He
is not there. He's not knocking on the inside
waiting for the angel to show up. But with a great earthquake,
that rolls back. What symbolism is here about
what Christ does for every one of his children? I'll roll the
stone away. I'm gonna shake you up. Great
earthquake. Now, going back to the book of
Revelation, it says there, behold, he opened the sixth seal, and
lo, there's a great earthquake. The sun became black and sat
cloth of hair, and the moon began to become as blood, and the stars
of heaven fell upon the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her
untimely figs. I don't know how many times Israel
is referred to as a fig tree. Old Testament and New Testament,
and here they are. They have lost their place as
a nation. What did that do for the church? Jews and Gentiles, bond and free,
male and female, equal. They've always been. Now this
symbol is for us. It's a symbol that God is not
dealing with the law any longer. He's not dealing with Jerusalem
that now is. He's not dealing with the sacrifices. He's not dealing with the Levitical
priesthood. He's not dealing with all the
Old Testament types and shadows and pictures that he showed there,
and the sacrifices, the thousands of sacrifices. What is he saying?
I'm dealing with me. It's me or no one. It's Christ
and Christ alone. These have fallen. They have
fallen. And great was the fall thereof.
Now, I'd like you to turn with me back to the book of Isaiah
chapter 13. Isaiah 13. Isaiah 13 verse 9. He's talking, Isaiah was a prophet
to Israel, and he's telling Israel, you're gonna lose your position.
And he uses the same symbolic language that we found in Joel,
we found in Acts, we found in Revelation. Isaiah chapter 13,
verse nine, behold, the day of the Lord cometh. Cruel, both
with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate, and
he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars
of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their
light. The sun shall be darkened, and in its going forth, and the
moon shall cease, excuse me, and the moon shall not cause,
now I thought this was interesting that the, feminine pronoun, her,
used here. The moon shall not cause her
light to shine. And I'll punish the world with
their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity, and I will cause
the arrogance of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness
of the terrible, and I'll make a man more precious than fine
gold, even a man than the gold wedge of Ophir. Therefore I will
shake the heavens and the earth shall remove out of her place
and the wrath of the Lord of hosts in the day of his fierce
anger. What's it say? The earth shall
move out of her place. What does it say in Revelation?
The isle shall be moved. What's going to happen? out of
every kindred, nation, people, and tongue. He's going to call
his people. He's going to move them from
where they are to where he is. If not physically, now spiritually,
he's going to move them. They're going to be moved. Those
in New Guinea have been moved off their island. They may live
there physically, but spiritually, they're in heaven. Those that
are in China, those in Russia, those in the far islands, Philippines,
wherever, God's calling them out. They may be physically there,
but they're spiritually in heaven. They have been moved. Now this
is the victory of God. That great earthquake, that's
the victory of God. The sun, the moon, and the stars
fall, that's a victory of God. This is the church now. Oh, Moses, a Jew in the church. Joshua, a Jew in the church.
Samson, oh, a Jew in the church. And then all those Gentiles in
the church, this great body, this great nation, this that
the New Testament, the Apostle Paul used the same words that
God used towards Israel, says, I'll make you a royal priesthood,
a holy nation, a peculiar people. Same words that he used over
there. And then Paul said, you know, it's not a Jew that's went
outward. Not a Jew that's went outward.
It's a Jew that's inward, regenerated. That's the necessary part. Regenerate
it. Well, we can ask ourselves again,
what if we'd never heard of pre-millennialism? We'd have stopped by Acts and
Joel and Genesis and Isaiah and said, oh, that's what it's all
about. Israel is not important anymore
as a nation. The church is important. Unto
him be glory in the church. And then 144,000 said, yes and
amen. Isn't that interesting? Then he goes ahead and uses the
symbolism of the 12 tribes of Israel and 144,000 out of their
12,000 of each tribe and then concludes by saying, it's a number
that no man can number out of every kindred nation, people
and tongue. He interprets it for us. We don't have to go to
a book or to a chart, the long ones. I think it's important
that we have this guiding principle, whatever information is essential
for the interpretation of any and every passage of scripture,
it is found somewhere in the Bible itself.