{"id":18982,"date":"2019-03-31T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-03-31T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sugar-land-bible-church.local\/sermon\/revelation-034-under-new-management\/"},"modified":"2019-03-31T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-03-31T05:00:00","slug":"revelation-034-under-new-management","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/slbc.org\/es\/sermon\/revelation-034-under-new-management\/","title":{"rendered":"Revelation 034 – Under New Management"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","book":[111],"series_event":[490],"sermon_service_type":[472],"speaker":[6],"class_list":["post-18982","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","hentry","book-revelation","series_event-revelation","sermon_service_type-main-service","speaker-dr-andy-woods","no-post-thumbnail"],"acf":{"sermon_title":"Revelation 034 - Under New Management","sermon_date":"20190331","sermon_month":"3","sermon_year":"2019","sermon_notes":6531,"sermon_slides":6532,"sermon_mp3":6534,"sermon_id":"33119129503138","series_or_event":490,"service_type":[472],"speaker":6,"books_of_the_bible":111,"chapter_and_verse":"11:14-19","sermon_transcript":"Andy Woods\n\nUnder New Management\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 3-31-19\n\nRevelation 11:14-19\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Lesson 34\n\nGood morning everybody.\u00a0 Let\u2019s take our Bibles and open them to the Book of Revelation, chapter 11 and verse 14, as the Lord allows it trying to cover verses 14-19 this morning.\u00a0 The title or our message this morning is Under New Management.\u00a0 And as you know we\u2019ve been continuing on through the Book of Revelation.\u00a0 We have studied the first six trumpet judgments and we indicated that in between a six and a seven there\u2019s a break in the action.\u00a0 So in between the fifth trumpet leading to the sixth trumpet but before the seventh trumpet is sounded these judgments are coming to the earth so we\u2019ve a break in the action where something is inserted to kind of explain a little more of what\u2019s happening in the chronology.\n\nAnd so just like there is a break in the action between seal six and seal seven there\u2019s a similar break in the action between trumpet six and trumpet seven and we\u2019ve already worked our way through that insertion.\u00a0 The announcement of no more delay; chapter 10, .\u00a0 The end of the times of the Gentiles, chapter 11:1-2.\u00a0 And then the last couple of Sundays having spent our time in verses 3-13, the ministry of the two witnesses.\u00a0 And now that this chronological insertion is over what happens is you just get back on the beaten path and the chronology starts to march again, which takes us to trumpet judgment number seven which we\u2019re going to be studying this morning.\n\nWe can kind of\u00a0 divide these verses, verses 14-19 into three parts.\u00a0 Number one, there\u2019s a transfer that\u2019s happening, something completely is happening to transfer ownership.\u00a0 We see that in verses 14-15.\u00a0 In heaven once this happens they can\u2019t help themselves but to praise the Lord, verses 16-18 we see that praise and worship.\u00a0 And that will lead to verse 19 where we have an anticipation of things to come, the coming bowl judgments.\u00a0 But notice, if you will, this legal transference and you see it there beginning in verse 14 of chapter 11.\u00a0 Notice what it says: \u201cThe second woe is past; behold, the third woe is coming quickly.\u201d\n\nNow when you go back to Revelation 8:13 you might recall we read these words.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201c\u2026Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound.\u201d\u00a0 And then you go over to chapter 9, verse 12 and it says, \u201cThe first woe is past; behold, two woes are still coming after these things.\u201d\u00a0 And what we discover is woe number one is the fifth trumpet where demons were released for five months to torture humanity.\u00a0\u00a0 And then the second woe is the sixth trumpet which involved the destruction of one-third of humanity.\n\nAnd now we have the third woe which is about to take place with the sounding of trumpet judgment number seven.\u00a0 Now what\u2019s interesting is when we get into verses 14-19 there is no judgment described, there is a celebration.\u00a0 And so we might ask ourselves, well how in the world could\u00a0 trumpet seven be woe number three when trumpet seven really doesn\u2019t bring a specific judgment to the earth?\u00a0 Well that\u2019s where understanding these judgments as pulling out like a telescope is very helpful.\u00a0 As we\u2019ve tried to explain the seventh seal will unleash the trumpets; the seventh trumpet will unleash the bowls, so the whole thing sort of pulls out like a telescope.\n\nAnd so if trumpet seven releases the bowl judgments, the worst of the worst of the judgments, we can understand why trumpet seven is actually the worst judgment of all of them, because in trumpet seven is contained the various bowl judgments.\u00a0 That\u2019s why the Book of Revelation, chapter 10 and verse 7 says, \u201cbut in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then the mystery of God is finished, as He preached to His servants the prophets.\u201d\u00a0 How could the mystery of God be completed?\u00a0 How could the judgments of God be completed with the seventh angel and the seventh trumpet?\u00a0 I mean, how could the whole thing wrap\u00a0 up with the seventh angel and the seventh trumpet?\n\nThe answer to that is the seventh trumpet unleashes the bowl judgments.\u00a0 And when we understand it that way suddenly Revelation 10:7 starts to make an awful lot of sense.\u00a0 [Revelation 10:7, \u201cbut in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then the mystery of God is finished, as He preached to His servants the prophets.\u201d]\n\nBut notice what happens as this trumpet is sounded with trumpet number seven.\u00a0 It says in verse 15, \u201cThe seventh angel sounded\u201d so now we\u2019re back on our chronology, and look at what this says here, and I am beginning to believe that these may be, or this may be the most important verse in understanding the whole Bible. I think I say that every week with every verse.\u00a0 But it says here \u201cThen the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying,\u201d look at this, [16] \u201cThe kingdom of the world has become the kingdom<\/em> of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.\u201d\n\nAs this seventh angel sounds this seventh trumpet a voice, or voices from heaven talk about how the kingdom of this world is becoming the kingdom of our God and it is Christ, and He will reign forever and ever.\u00a0 And it\u2019s difficult to understand the significance of this verse and why there\u2019s a celebration in heaven unless we understand the current condition of the earth.\n\nGoing back to the very beginning God vested our forbearers, Adam and Eve, with authority over the earth.\u00a0 He said, \u201c\u2026.Let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.\u201d God told our forbearers, Adam and Eve, to \u201csubdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.\u201d\u00a0 [Genesis 1:28]\n\nGod\u2019s original design was to rule the world through a man, the first Adam, along with his wife.\u00a0 And how that arrangement was perverted in Genesis 3, as Satan, taking the form of a serpent came into Eden and enticed them with a lie and how they stopped ruling the animal kingdom for God but listening to the animal kingdom, in this case a talking snake, to rebel against God.\u00a0 And the moment that happened, Genesis 3 being the pivotal chapter, is the moment that Satan became the ruler of this present world.\u00a0 As you go through the Bible you see this stated\u00a0 matter of factly; Satan is running the current world system.\u00a0 God asks Satan where he came from in the Book of Job, the oldest book of the Bible, and Satan says, \u201cFrom going back over the earth, to and fro over it.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Job 1, verse 7, Job 2 verse 2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 [Job 1:7 The LORD said to Satan, \u2018From where do you come?\u2019 Then Satan answered the LORD and said, \u2018From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.\u201d Job 2:2, The LORD said to Satan, \u2018From where do you come?\u2019 Then Satan answered the LORD and said, \u2018From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.\u2019\u201d\n\nIn fact, the whole earth, the kingdoms of this world was presented by Satan to Jesus in the middle temptation there in Luke 4:5-7.\u00a0 [Luke 4:5, \u201cAnd he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.\u00a0 [6] And the devil said to Him, \u2018I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.\u00a0 [7] Therefore if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours.\u2019]\n\nAll the kingdoms of this world Satan says to Jesus have been given to me.\u00a0 Given to you by who?\u00a0 By Adam, and I can give them to whomever I want, so just worship me and we\u2019ll all be Yours.\u00a0 And you\u2019ll notice that Jesus never second guessed whether Satan had that authority but very clearly he had it.\u00a0 We know that the whole world lies in the lap of the wicked one., 1 John 5:19.\u00a0 [1 John 5:19, \u201cWe know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.\u201d]\n\nAnd consequently as you move through the Bible you see Satan is described as running this world system.\u00a0 I\u2019m not saying that God isn\u2019t sovereign and God doesn\u2019t intervene when He wants but when you look at the course of the present age, ever since Genesis 3, you learn that it is under hostile authority to God, hostile management.\u00a0 Satan is called the prince of this world, I have the Scriptures all there on the screen if you\u2019re interested in looking these up on your own.\n\n[Satan as the ruler of this world: Job 1:7; 2:2, Job 1:7, \u201cThe LORD said to Satan, \u2018From where do you come?\u2019 Then Satan answered the LORD and said, \u2018From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Job 2:2, \u201cThe LORD said to Satan, \"Where have you come from?\" Then Satan answered the LORD and said, \"From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.\"\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Luke 4:5-7, \u201cAnd he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. [6] And the devil said to Him, \u201cI will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. [7] \u201cTherefore if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 John 12:31, \u201cNow judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 John 14:30, \u201cI will not speak much more with you, for the ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in Me;\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 John 16:11, \u201cand concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 2 Corinthians 4:4, \u201cin whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Ephesians 2:2, \u201cin which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 1 John 4:4; \u201cYou are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 1 John 5:19, \u201cWe know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.\u201d]\n\nHe\u2019s called the God of this age or the God of this world. (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11).\u00a0 [John 12:31, \u201cNow judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 John 14:30, \u201cI will not speak much more with you, for the ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in Me;\u201d John 16:11, \u201cand concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.\u201d]\n\nHe\u2019s called the prince and power of the air;\u00a0 if that wasn\u2019t true then why are we told to put on the full armor of God?\u00a0 Because we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities, and powers and rulers of this dark world.\u00a0 [Ephesians 6:12, \u201cFor we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places<\/em>.]\u00a0\u00a0 In fact the devil roams about like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour as the whole world lies in his lap.\u00a0 [1 Peter 5:8, \u201cBe of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.\u201d]\n\nAnd consequently the world is in a state of travail.\u00a0 Read Romans 8:9-23, 24 sometime and you\u2019ll see it.\u00a0 You\u2019ll see that the whole creation is in a state of groaning as it\u2019s being personified here.\u00a0 And a lot of the songs that we sing, sometimes within modern day Christendom, can border on the very unbiblical.\u00a0 Like the song many children sing in churches, \u201cThis is my Father\u2019s world.\u201d\u00a0 I understand what they\u2019re saying in the song that God is ultimately the creator of all things but beloved, if you think that this is the Father\u2019s world you\u2019re not understanding the scope of the Bible.\u00a0 This world is under hostile rulership. The world is being governed in a way that God never designed it.\u00a0 And that\u2019s why the creation itself is in the mess that it\u2019s in.\u00a0 It\u2019s in a state of travail.\n\nAnd the world is sort of in bondage today.\u00a0 And isn\u2019t it interesting how everything begins to change here with this sounding of the seventh trumpet where we learn that \u201cThe kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ and He will reign forever and ever.\u201d\u00a0 [Revelation 11:15]\n\nWhat is happening here is authority is being transferred.\u00a0 A lot of people, I think, are very mistaken when they teach that we are in the kingdom now.\u00a0 Christianity all over since the fourth century, even into the modern day, teaches this doctrine.\u00a0 That\u2019s not what the Bible says.\u00a0 We\u2019re not in the kingdom now; we\u2019re living on enemy territory.\u00a0 We\u2019re playing offense, we\u2019re largely playing defense and we\u2019re awaiting that time in history where Jesus will return and set up His kingdom.\u00a0 And this is the precursor of it, trumpet seven, as the kingdom of this world is becoming the kingdom of our Lord and His Christ.\n\nThat\u2019s why when we go through the Book of Revelation, particularly the sections we\u2019re entering now, with the bowl judgments coming, etc. so many of the judgments sound an awful like the Book of Exodus.\u00a0 Have you noticed that?\u00a0 Sores-- plague six, Exodus first bowl judgment, the Book of Revelation.\u00a0\u00a0 Rivers to blood\u2014first plague of the Book of Exodus, third bowl judgment, the Book of Revelation.\u00a0 Darkness, ninth plague, Exodus, fifth bowl judgment, the Book of Revelation.\u00a0 There\u2019s even frogs, they\u2019re involved in a plague in the Book of Exodus, Exodus 7 and 8, and they\u2019re also involved in the sixth bowl judgment, Revelation 16:13.\u00a0 [Revelation 16:13, \u201cAnd I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs;\u201d]\u00a0 Hail, seventh plague, Exodus 9, seventh bowl judgment Revelation 16:17-21.\n\n[Revelation 16:17-21, \u201cThen the seventh angel<\/em> poured out his bowl upon the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying, \u201cIt is done.\u201d [18] And there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder; and there was a great earthquake, such as there had not been since man came to be upon the earth, so great an earthquake was it, and<\/em> so mighty. [19] The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. Babylon the great was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath. [20] And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. [21] And huge hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, came down from heaven upon men; and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, because its plague was extremely severe.\u201d]\n\nWhy the parallels?\u00a0 Well I think one of the reasons for the parallels is to show us, number one, these are literal judgments that are going to happen. \u00a0Just like the Book of Exodus records literal things that happened in Egypt.\u00a0 And these judgments in Egypt led to the liberation of God\u2019s people.\u00a0 They had been under Pharaoh in a state of incarceration for 400\u00a0 years.\u00a0 And God, through Moses and these various plagues led the nation out of bondage and what is happening in the Book of Revelation is not just God leading a group out of Egyptian bondage, He\u2019s leading the whole earth out of the bondage that it has been in ever since the fall in Genesis chapter 3.\u00a0 That is the significance of the Book of Revelation.\u00a0 What is happening now will not always be.\u00a0 It hasn\u2019t always been, going back to Genesis 1 and 2, and it will not always be because we will come under, as in\u00a0 Ur, new management and that\u2019s what\u2019s being celebrated here in Revelation 11:15. [Revelation 11:15, \u201cThen the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, \u2018The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.\u2019]\n\nNotice the future tense of this verb, \u201cHe will reign forever and ever.\u201d\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t say the reigning is happening now, it\u2019s saying the reigning of Christ over the earth is coming, where God the Father restores essentially what was lost in Eden.\u00a0 God the Father rules over a man, in this case not the first Adam but the last Adam, and He will govern all of creation for God for a thousand years.\u00a0 This is where human history is headed.\n\nWell, then you say well why does it say \u201cthe King of this world has become the kingdom of our God.\u201d\u00a0 It looks like it\u2019s happening right here.\u00a0 That\u2019s what you would call a proleptic statement.\u00a0 There are things in the Bible that are absolutely so certain that you can speak of them as if they\u2019re present realities.\u00a0 Don\u2019t we sing the song, Crown Him with Many Crowns<\/em>?\u00a0 My father-in-law is a retired dentist and that\u2019s his favorite song.\u00a0 Why do we say that, \u201cCrown Him with many Crowns\u201d when the coronation of Christ hasn\u2019t happened yet?\u00a0 The answer is we are so certain it\u2019s going to happen because it\u2019s a biblical reality that we can speak of a future reality in the present tense.\n\nIn fact, our glorification is spoken of in the present tense, did you know that?\u00a0 Read Romans 8:29 and following, you\u2019ll see that we have already been glorified.\u00a0 [Romans 8:29, \u201cFor those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become<\/em> conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; [30] and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.\u201d]\n\nNow I\u2019m looking out here at you all, you guys don\u2019t look very glorified to me; I don\u2019t know if I look all that glorified to you but the reality is it\u2019s a done deal because this hasn\u2019t happened yet but it\u2019s a certainty.\u00a0 And you see, this is what is being celebrated here with trumpet number seven. We have to understand this as Christians, yes, life is difficult, yes, we\u2019re living on hostile territory, but we are on the winning side of history.\n\nHow long is the reign of Christ going to last?\u00a0 Verse 15 says \u201cforever and ever.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 [\u201cThe kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ and He will reign forever and ever.\u201d]\u00a0 That\u2019s a long time.\u00a0 You say well wait a minute pastor, I thought you taught us it\u2019s going to last a thousand years. It is, but read the last two chapters also.\u00a0 The thousand years will give way to the eternal state, which will know no end!\u00a0 No political coup is going to be able to uproot Jesus once this earth and the earth to\u00a0 come is established under new management.\n\nDaniel 7:14 says, \u201c\u2026 His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Daniel 7:27 says, \u201c\u2026His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey Him.\u2019\u201d\u00a0 This is what we\u2019re praying about; this is why the Lord when He was teaching us to pray said that we should pray \u201cThy kingdom\u201d what?\u00a0 Thy kingdom come.\u201d\u00a0 And so there is a legal transfer that is spoken of with trumpet seven because that\u2019s the direction that the bowl judgments will take us in.\n\nBut a truth should not just stay a truth once it\u2019s grasped; it ought to resolve in praise to God Himself. And what begins to happen in verses 16-18 is heaven itself, in particular the twenty-four elders, begins to explode into praise unto God as a result of this reality that the earth will one day very quickly come under new management.\u00a0 We have the worshippers described, verse 16, and then the worship itself, the content of the worship is described in verses 17-18.\n\nNotice, if you will, Revelation 11:16, what is the result of this truth?\u00a0 \u201cAnd the twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God,\u201d who are the worshippers?\u00a0 The worshippers are the twenty-four elders.\u00a0 And go back into our study of Revelation 4 and Revelation 5 which follows Revelation 2 and 3, and\u00a0 you\u2019ll see that the twenty-four elders, and we developed this very carefully, are described exactly like Jesus and what He says to the seven churches in Asia Minor.\u00a0\u00a0 Remember those seven churches in Asia Minor that we went through very carefully, Revelation 2 and 3?\u00a0 Remember the description of the twenty-four elders, as crowned, clothed in white, redeemed, enthroned, governed by elders, kingdom of priests, twenty-four in number. It bears a striking resemblance to the seven churches of Asia Minor.\n\nWho are these twenty-four elders.\u00a0 The twenty-four elders represent the church.\u00a0 And where is the church here, Revelation 11:16?\u00a0 Are they on the earth?\u00a0 No, it\u2019s very clear that they are before God. Where is God?\u00a0 God is in heaven.\u00a0 Well how in the world could that church get into heaven?\u00a0 There\u2019s a simple answer to that; it had been taken into heaven via the rapture before the tribulation period even starts.\n\nIt\u2019s sort of interesting that when you study the heavenly scene, whether it\u2019s in the Old Testament, primarily Isaiah, Ezekiel, etc., what\u2019s happening around the throne room of God, it mentions all kinds of angels, the cherubim, the seraphim, etc. but it never mentions the twenty-four elders until you get past Revelation 3 and into Revelation 4 and following, suddenly this group that we never even read about before, twenty-four elders in heaven, who are they?\u00a0 That\u2019s the church that has been raptured into heaven.\n\nAnd you\u2019ll notice that they, verse 16, are sitting on thrones.\u00a0 The twenty-four elders who sit on thrones before God.\u00a0 That is a great description of what Jesus said to the seven churches back in Revelation 3:21, \u201cHe who overcomes,\u201d all believers, \u201cI will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.\u201d\u00a0 These twenty-four elders are described exactly like the church has described, Revelation 2 and 3, right down to their enthronement.\u00a0 And the reason I am bringing this up is this is your destiny in God.\u00a0 Your destiny I God is to be taken to heaven and to worship and praise God in heaven as this legal transfer is happening, as the earth is coming into new management as described with this seventh trumpet judgment.\n\nDavid Hocking, in his commentary on the Book of Revelation says this: \u201cThe number one priority of every believer should be the worship and praise of Almighty God.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 [David Hocking, The Book of Revelation: Understanding the Future <\/em>(Tustin, CA: Hope For Today Publications, 2014), 390.]\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Do you understand that\u2019s your number one priority?\u00a0 It\u2019s not to make money although praise the Lord God allows us to earn our daily bread.\u00a0 That\u2019s not your number one priority.\u00a0 It\u2019s not to be a great husband or a great wife or a great father or a submissive child although praise the Lord those things are important too, they\u2019re just no your number one priority.\n\nYour number one priority should be worship and praise to God.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 We were created to worship the God who made us.\u00a0 The actions of falling down on their faces, did\u00a0 you notice that? They\u2019re not in a place of comfort, they\u2019re in a place of authority and when they begin to praise the Lord they fall down onto their faces and they begin to praise God on account of this legal transfer that is happening.\u00a0 The acting of falling down on your face demonstrates a clear understanding of God\u2019s greatness and the believer\u2019s humility before God.\u00a0 Have we got this figured out yet?\u00a0 That it\u2019s not all about us?\u00a0 Life is not all about me, it\u2019s about God and my abject humiliation before a holy God.\u00a0 That\u2019s worship.\u00a0 That\u2019s you were created.\u00a0 That is your destiny unto God.\n\nAnd one of the things that you begin to learn in the Bible is that worship is expensive.\u00a0 The gospel is free but if you\u2019re a worshipper of God that\u2019s expensive.\u00a0 That\u2019s going to cost something.\u00a0 I\u2019m reminded of the wise men from the East that came to worship the Christ-child, Matthew 2, and they came bearing gifts.\u00a0 Do you recall that?\u00a0 I would think that those gifts of an expensive nature cost them something.\u00a0 And so God requires this of us because it\u2019s not all about us, it\u2019s about Him.\u00a0 It\u2019s not about me and my comfort and my leisure and my needs although, of course, there\u2019s always a place unto God where human needs are met.\u00a0 But that\u2019s not what the point is\u2014the point IS GOD and not us.\u00a0 And these twenty-four elders, which I think [can't understand words] are literally falling on their faces worshipping the Lord as this legal transfer is transpiring.\n\nAnd what are they saying exactly?\u00a0 They\u2019re praising God for two things. (A) His coming reign, verse 17, and number two coming justice associated with His reign, verse 18.\u00a0 Notice, if you will, verse 17, what they\u2019re doing, \u201csaying, we give You thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who are and who were, because You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign.\u201d\u00a0 Here it gives you the specifics of what they\u2019re praising the Lord for.\u00a0 You\u2019ll notice right at the beginning of verse 17 \u201cWe give you\u201d what? \u201cWe give You thinks.\u201d\u00a0 What is worship? Part of worship is to be people of thanksgiving.\u00a0 In fact, the Book of Hebrews, chapter 13 and verse 15 says, \u201cThrough Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.\u201d\n\nGod says I want thanksgiving not to just be coming out of your heart, I want it to be\u00a0 coming out of your mouth.\u00a0 And yet so many times what comes out of our mouth?\u00a0 Anything and everything other than what the mouth is designed to do, to give praise unto God.\u00a0 These twenty-four elders are falling on their faces as this legal transfer is taking place and out of their mouths is coming thanksgiving unto God.\u00a0 And they begin to praise the Lord for His attributes.\u00a0 You know most Christians today probably have never studied the attributes of God.\u00a0 And yet we\u2019re told to study God, who He is, what are His attributes?\u00a0 One of His attributes is that He is THE, not \u201ca\u201d\u00a0 \u201cTHE almighty God.\u00a0 He is all powerful.\u00a0 Well, if He\u2019s all powerful then He deserves my praise, doesn\u2019t He.\u00a0 And by the way, what\u2019s He going to do with that power?\n\nYou continue on here into verse 17 and it tells you exactly what He\u2019s going to do, \u201cO Lord God, The Almighty, who are and who were, because You have taken your great power and \u201c what have You done with it?\u00a0 \u201cYou have taken Your great power and have begun to reign.\u201d\u00a0 The reigning process is started because Satan is being evicted from the earth and the kingdom of God is evident.\u00a0 And even though we\u2019ve got at least three and a half years to go in terms of the chronology of the book they\u2019re proleptically so certain this is going to happen that they\u2019re praising God for a reign that hasn\u2019t even started yet.\n\nAnd then you move down to verse 18 and they praise God for something else, not just His coming reign, but the justice that this reign will usher in.\u00a0 Isn\u2019t that a hungering of the heart, for justice, as you see so much injustice on the earth.\u00a0 As you yourself, no doubt, having gone through life in a fallen world, have you been treated unjustly in certain cases. Isn\u2019t it the cry of our hearts to\u00a0 have heart to have some resemblance or remembrance of justice, equity, fairness, which is so absent from Satan\u2019s ruling over the world?\u00a0 And on account of this justice they begin to praise God for various things.\u00a0 By my count there\u2019s at least five things that will happen in terms of justice once the full reign of God, through the millennial kingdom, is ushered in.\n\nNotice if you will verse 18, \u201cAnd the nations were enraged, and Your wrath came, and the time came<\/em> for the dead to be judged, and the time<\/em> to reward Your bond-servants the prophets and the saints and those who fear Your name, the small and the great,\u201d and look at the end of verse 18, \u201cand to destroy those who destroy the earth.\u201d\n\nWhen we pray \u201cThy kingdom come\u201d what are we praying for?\u00a0 Essentially we\u2019re praying for these five things:\u00a0 Number one, the rage of the nation; the nations are in a state of rage at the coming justice of God.\u00a0 This should conjure up in your mind, or bring to your mind, Psalm 2:1-6 because I think that\u2019s the background for that statement, \u201cthe nations rage.\u201d\u00a0 Psalm 2 says, \u201cWhy are the nations in an uproar and the peoples devising a vain thing?\u00a0 [2] The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers take counsel together against the LORD and against His Anointed,\u201d what are the nations upset about?\u00a0 They\u2019re foolishly in vanity plotting among themselves to create a world that God has no place in at all.\u00a0 I would call that the New World Order that\u2019s coming.\u00a0 I think it was an experiment that was started by Nimrod that God disrupted there in Genesis 11 at the tower of Babel.\n\nThis world doesn\u2019t want God.\u00a0 Why is that?\u00a0 Because Satan is the orchestrater of this current age, the keys being handed over to him by Adam himself.\u00a0 And the nations are in a rage against God as this justice and reign is coming and as the wrath of God, number two, expresses itself upon the earth.\u00a0 Notice if you will verse 18, \u201cAnd the nations were enraged, and Your wrath has come,\u201d an interesting word, this word \u201cwrath,\u201d it\u2019s the word orge<\/em>, where we get many sexual terms from that word orge<\/em>, it\u2019s speaking of passion without limits.\u00a0 In this case it\u2019s not speaking of the sexual sins, it\u2019s speaking of the uninterrupted kindled wrath of Almighty God.\u00a0 In fact that word, orge<\/em>, is used many times in the Book of Revelation to describe what is happening here.\u00a0 Revelation 6:16-17, Revelation 11:18, Revelation 15:1, 15:7, Revelation 16:19.\n\n[Revelation 6:16-17, \u201cand they said to the mountains and to the rocks, \u201cFall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; [17] for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?\u201d\n\nRevelation 11:18, \u201c\u201cAnd the nations were enraged, and Your wrath came, and the time came<\/em> for the dead to be judged, and the time<\/em> to reward Your bond-servants the prophets and the saints and those who fear Your name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.\u201d\n\nRevelation 15:1, \u201cThen I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels who had seven plagues, which are<\/em> the last, because in them the wrath of God is finished.\n\nRevelation 15:7, \u201cThen one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever.\u201d\n\nRevelation 16:19, \u201cThe great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. Babylon the great was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath.\u201d]\n\nAnd isn\u2019t it interesting that the church, that\u2019s us,\u00a0 is promised an exemption from divine wrath. 1 Thessalonians 1:10, 1 Thessalonians 5:9, Romans 5:9, Revelation 3:10.\n\n[1 Thessalonians 1:10, \u201cand to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.\u201d\n\n1 Thessalonians 5:9, \u201cFor God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,\u201d\n\nRomans 5:9, Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.\n\nRevelation 3:10, \u201cMuch more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.\u201d]\n\nAnd how foolish it is to devise a system of eschatology that puts the church in the middle of this.\u00a0 This is why the church is conspicuously absent in all of these passages other than the twenty-four elders which are where?\u00a0 In heaven.\n\nNo, beloved, you\u2019re not appointed unto wrath!\u00a0 I don\u2019t care what You Tube tells you! I don\u2019t care what the internet tells you! I don\u2019t care what Facebook tells you! I don\u2019t care what the silver-tongued theologian tells you! I don\u2019t care what the pastor down the street tells you!\u00a0 You will not be here during this time period; you will be removed from the earth before this time period even begins.\n\nThe nations are enraged because\u2026 they aren\u2019t the only ones raging, God is raging.\u00a0 Who would you rather fall under, the rage of man or the rage of God?\u00a0 God\u2019s rage has come, His reign is coming, Satan is being evicted from the earth, the kingdom of God is about to be established, we\u2019re about to move into new management.\u00a0 And what\u2019s going to happen, number three, the dead are going to be judged.\u00a0\u00a0 I think that\u2019s a reference to Revelation 20:12-13 which says, \u201cAnd I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 going down to verse 13, \u201cevery one of them <\/em>was judged \u00a0according to their deeds.\u201d\u00a0 That is speaking of the great white throne judgment, Revelation 20:11-15 which will follow the thousand year kingdom.\n\nRevelation 20:11-15, \u201cThen I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. [12] And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book<\/em> of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. [13] And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them<\/em> according to their deeds. [14] Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. [15] And if anyone\u2019s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.\u201d]\n\nEvil will be judged, and the dead themselves will be brought back up, unto life via resurrection and judged as well.\u00a0 And you say well where are the dead now?\u00a0 They\u2019re in a place of probation; they\u2019re in a place of incarceration and let me tell you something, it\u2019s not a fun place to be.\u00a0 According to Luke 16:23-24 it\u2019s where the rich man went.\u00a0 Remember that story?\u00a0 \u201cIn Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom.\u00a0 [24] \u201cAnd he cried out and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.\u2019\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s where the dead are that die without Christ.\u00a0 It\u2019s a place of horror but it\u2019s not even the final judgment.\u00a0 They are summoned from that place, placed in what we would call resurrected bodies, given their final sentence and hurled into the Lake of Fire\u00a0 Revelation 10:11-15.\n\nYou see, the dead without Christ are under the wrath of God now, but the final sentence hasn\u2019t even been rendered.\u00a0 Jude 7 describes them as \u201cundergoing\u201d present tense, \u201cthe punishment of eternal fire.\u201d\u00a0 [Jude 7, \u201cJust as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.\u201d]\n\nAnd we have to understand something, that when this world is under new management this justice is going to be the norm, it\u2019s going to be the reality.\u00a0 And so praise the Lord for the age we\u2019re in now which is the age of grace.\u00a0 But we can trust in the Savior and be made right with God before this transfer of management, new management happens.\n\nAnd what else is going to happen? Also verse 18, the saints are going to be rewarded.\u00a0 There in verse 18 it says, \u201cAnd the time to reward your bond-servants, the prophets and the saints and those who fear Your name, the small and the great\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 [Revelation 11:18, \u201cAnd the nations were enraged, and Your wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to reward Your bond-servants the prophets and the saints and those who fear Your name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.\u201d]\n\nRemember what happened with the fifth seal judgment, the martyrs and what they began to say as they are portrayed as under the altar in heaven?\u00a0 Revelation 6:10-11,\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThey cried out with a loud voice, saying, \u201cHow long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?\u201d [11] And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of<\/em> their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed also.\u201d\u00a0 What\u2019s happening here is God is answering their prayer.\u00a0 The wicked are being judged and the righteous are being exalted and rewarded.\n\nNotice how these righteous people rewarded in the kingdom age are described?\u00a0 They\u2019re described as bondservants of the Lord.\u00a0 That\u2019s the Greek word doulos<\/em>, where we get the word slave.\u00a0 This is how the apostles, when they wrote letters, described themselves.\u00a0 They didn\u2019t tout their credentials, they explained themselves as being a mere bondservant or a slave, a doulos<\/em>, unto God.\u00a0 And this is who the Book of Revelation is written to, did you know that?\u00a0 Revelation 1:1 says, \u201cThe Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants,\u201d doulos<\/em>\u00a0 \u201cthe things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it<\/em> by His angel to His bond-servant\u201d that\u2019s a repetition of doulos<\/em> again, \u201cto his bond-servant John.\u201d\u00a0 I hope that\u2019s how you look at\u00a0 your life.\u00a0 Your life is not your own,\u00a0 you\u2019re redeemed with a price and the expectation of God is that He would glorify Himself through your life as you become His bondservant.\n\nAnd you say well, I don\u2019t want to be a bondservant, it doesn\u2019t pay anything.\u00a0 I never can get ahead being a bondservant.\u00a0 People are always making fun of me because I\u2019m a bondservant.\u00a0 I lose jobs because I\u2019m a bondservant.\u00a0 Well, that\u2019s why we need to be reminded that payday someday.\u00a0 Yes, the unrighteous are judged, the unbelievers are judged, the righteous, according to Revelation 11 and verse 18 are rewarded, they\u2019re called prophets, they\u2019re called saints, they\u2019re called people who fear God\u2019s name.\u00a0 [Revelation 11:18, \u201cAnd the nations were enraged, and Your wrath came, and the time came<\/em> for the dead to be judged, and the time<\/em> to reward Your bond-servants the prophets and the saints and those who fear Your name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.\u201d]\n\nYou know, this world that is coming into judgment has no respect for God at all.\u00a0 And yet God\u2019s people are to be characterized by fearing His name.\u00a0\u00a0 And God is going to reward every single bondservant, the small and the great.\u00a0 And you say will look at Christian So and So, look at how fruitful they are, look at how effective they are and look at me, I just have a little menial role, a menial task, I mean, God certainly in the day of rewards is going to overlook me, right?\u00a0 That\u2019s not what the Bible says; it says He rewards \u201cthe small and the great.\u201d\u00a0 Anybody that\u2019s a doulos<\/em>, anybody faithfully serving the Lord is rewarded unto God.\n\nAnd don\u2019t let the end of verse 18 escape your notice because when the kingdom comes God is going to destroy the one who has destroyed the earth.\u00a0 He\u2019s going to destroy the destroyers.\u00a0 Now I happen to believe that that\u2019s most likely a reference to Satan himself because Jesus says of Satan, John 10:10, \u201cThe thief comes only to steal and kill and\u201d what? \u201cdestroy\u2026.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Did you know, for example, as we talked about earlier, that this world was in travail.\u00a0 The creation itself has been marred; the creation itself has been destroyed.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Because of Satan.\u00a0 And when the kingdom comes not only is God going to liberate the planet but He\u2019s going to destroy the one who destroyed the planet.\n\nYou know, it\u2019s interesting, everybody today is talking about ecology, the environment.\u00a0 Do you know where the greatest environmental disaster ever occurred in human history.\u00a0 Everybody wants to blame it on capitalism, they want to blame it on the oil companies, they want to blame it on the BP oil spill, or whatever the issue may be.\u00a0 But the greatest ecological catastrophe that has ever happened took place in Genesis 3.\u00a0 Genesis 3 not only had implications for people spiritually, but it put the whole creation in a state of travail.\u00a0 In fact, you remember what God said to our forbearers, Adam and Eve, in Genesis 3:17-19?\n\nGenesis 3:17-19, \u201cThen to Adam He said, \u201cBecause you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, \u2018You shall not eat from it\u2019; Cursed is the ground\u201d that\u2019s the environment, isn\u2019t it?\u00a0 \u201cCursed is the ground because of you; in toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.\u00a0 [18] \u201cBoth thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; and you will eat the plants of the field;\u00a0 [19] By the sweat of your face you will eat bread, [till you return to the ground, because from it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.[\u201d\u00a0 You\u2019ve got to toil just to survive.\u00a0 Why is that?\u00a0 Because the ground itself got wrecked because of the fall of man in Genesis 3.\n\nAnd isn\u2019t it interesting, when you bring up this facet of ecology nobody wants to talk about this, blame capitalism, blame the oil companies, blame this, blame that, everybody gets into the conversation and then you put up your hand and you say I can see where the greatest ecological disaster ever occurred in human history.\u00a0 And they say where?\u00a0 And you say Genesis 3, and they don\u2019t want to talk about it anymore, because it doesn\u2019t fit some preset agenda.\u00a0\u00a0 You want to talk about the environment, let\u2019s talk about it, I think we\u2019ve got the most comprehensive explanation of environmental problems anywhere, amongst any worldview.\n\nAnd what is God going to do to the one who has destroyed the earth and put it into this place of bondage?\u00a0 He\u2019s going to be evicted from the earth and he\u2019s going to be bound in a place called the bottomless pit for a thousand years and after that brief period of time he\u2019s going to be thrown into the Lake of fire forever and ever.\u00a0 We pray \u201cThy kingdom come,\u201d what are we praying for exactly?\u00a0 We\u2019re praying for the nations to be in a state of rage because their power is being taken away.\u00a0 We pray for divine wrath.\u00a0 We pray for the time in history where the dead are judged and the saints are rewarded and the destroyer of the earth is destroyed.\n\nAnd then we finally move into verse 19 where we have the anticipation of things to come.\u00a0 Look at verse 19.\u00a0 \u201cAnd the temple of God which is in heaven was opened; and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple, and there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder and an earthquake and a great hailstorm.\u201d\u00a0 A heavenly temple, now isn\u2019t that interesting?\u00a0 Remember how Revelation 11 began?\u00a0 With man\u2019s temple, a temple built out of nationalistic pride that the Jews are going to rebuild that the antichrist will desecrate.\u00a0 Revelation 11:1-2.\u00a0 [Revelation 11:1-2, \u201cThen there was given me a measuring rod like a staff; and someone said, \"Get up and measure the temple of God and the altar, and those who worship in it.\u00a0 [2] Leave out the court which is outside the temple and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations; and they will tread under foot the holy city for forty-two months.\u201d]\n\nHow does the chapter end?\u00a0 With God\u2019s temple.\u00a0 God\u2019s temple in heaven, and what else is up there in heaven?\u00a0 My goodness, what does it say, \u201cthe ark of His covenant,\u201d isn\u2019t everybody looking for the ark?\u00a0 [Revelation 11:19, \u201cAnd the temple of God which is in heaven was opened; and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple, and there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder and an earthquake and a great hailstorm.\u201d]\n\nI mean, isn\u2019t there a movie called Raiders of the Lost Ark?\u00a0 I know where it is!\u00a0 I read my Bible, it\u2019s in heaven.\u00a0 And there\u2019s an earthly temple and a heavenly temple, an earthly ark, heavenly ark.\u00a0 And isn\u2019t that why God said to Moses, who constructed the earthly tabernacle, Hebrews 8:5, who served as a copy and a shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses was warned by God, Hebrews 8:5, when he is about to erect the tabernacle.\u00a0 Hebrews 8:5, \u2026\u201cfor, \u2018SEE,\u2019 He says, \u2018THAT YOU MAKE all things ACCORDING TO THE PATTERN WHICH WAS SHOWN YOU ON THE MOUNTAIN.\u2019\u201d\u00a0 Why is God so uptight about every little detail in the tabernacle?\u00a0 Well, number one, it points to Jesus and number two, it\u2019s patterned after something in heaven.\n\nWhy is it two guys in the Old Testament mishandled it and they were struck dead on the spot?\u00a0 Because we\u2019re dealing with, we\u2019re tampering with heaven when you tamper with the design of God.\u00a0 And so the anticipation comes in verse 19, with a heavenly temple and a heavenly ark reminding us of heaven itself.\u00a0 And let me tell you something about God\u2019s authority in heaven.\u00a0 God doesn\u2019t get outvoted; there are so many decision that are made in modern day Christianity by boards that have nothing to do with God.\u00a0 May I just say that\u2019s the board not the Lord.\u00a0 The reality of the situation is God is going to bring His authority to the earth which is never second guessed in heaven.\u00a0 Majority rule cannot out vote God in heaven.\n\nAnd so when God takes heavenly realities and brings them to the earth what it\u2019s saying is the unchallenged authority of God, which already exists in heaven, is coming to planet earth in the form of a kingdom.\u00a0 \u201cThy kingdom come, Thy will be done,\u201d what\u2019s the next phrase, \u201con earth as it is done in heaven.\u201d\u00a0 Heaven represents the perfect rule of God and that reality does not exist on the earth because the earth has been usurped by the devil himself, but that\u2019s going to change.\n\nOnce the kingdom comes Jesus will rule with a rod of iron; no second-guessing God.\u00a0 The unquestioned will of God which always exists in heave when the kingdom comes will come to planet earth.\u00a0 I think that\u2019s why Ezekiel 40-48 describes an earthly temple.\u00a0 What is happening in heaven comes to the earth in the kingdom age.\u00a0 This is the very kingdom that was offered to Israel on a silver platter in Matthew 4:17 where Jesus said, \u201cRepent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.\u201d\u00a0 What\u2019s happening in heaven in terms of the authority of God can come to the earth right now if the nation of Israel submits to the authority of God.\n\nThat offer, sadly, was rejected by first century Israel and according to this seventh trumpet judgment that offer is reextended in the tribulation period and this time it\u2019s going to happen.\u00a0 There\u2019s not going to be a board of missions, there\u2019s going to be the authority of God as real as it is in heaven manifested on planet earth.\u00a0 That\u2019s what this seventh trumpet judgment is announcing and that\u2019s why the twenty-four elders are falling on their faces praising God for what is about to transpire, \u201cThy kingdom come.\u201d\n\nAnd how does verse 19 end?\u00a0 An earthquake and a great hailstone.\u00a0 Now back in Revelation 8:5 when the trumpet judgments were being anticipated, here we\u2019re not anticipating the trumpet judgments in Revelation 11, we\u2019re anticipating the bowl judgments, but back when the trumpet judgments were anticipated Revelation 8:5 says, \u201cThen the angel took the censer and filled it with the fire of the altar, and threw it to the earth; and there followed peals of thunder and sounds and flashes of lightning and an earthquake.\u201d\u00a0 Back in Revelation 8:5 we had thunder, we had lightning, and an earthquake.\n\nWhat do we have here as we\u2019re anticipating the golden bowls of wrath judgments.\u00a0 We\u2019ve got lightning, we\u2019ve got thunder, we\u2019ve got an earthquake, and we\u2019ve got something else, it\u2019s not mentioned in Revelation 8, a hailstorm.\u00a0 Three things in Revelation 8:5, four things in Revelation 11:19.\u00a0 Why the addition?\u00a0 It\u2019s showing a pattern, that as humanity continues in its rebellion against God, what does God do with the thermostat?\u00a0 He just keeps cranking it up; the judgments get more and more intent.\u00a0 They repeat largely but they get more and more intense.\u00a0 Now we don\u2019t just have a third of the ocean becoming blood red, now the whole ocean becomes blood red.\u00a0 You don\u2019t just have a third of the luminaries darkened, all of them are darkened.\u00a0 This is what happened with Pharaoh in the Book of Exodus.\u00a0 \u201cLet my people go\u201d and Pharaoh \u201chardened his heart\u201d over and over again, at least six times, maybe seven depending on your count.\n\nAnd what happened to those various judgments that we call the ten plagues.\u00a0 They keep getting more severe, more severe, more severe, more severe until Pharaoh finally capitulated and the people of God were released.\u00a0 That\u2019s what\u2019s happening to the devil, the judgments are getting worse and worse and worse until finally the devil, Pharaoh being a type of Satan will just let go.\u00a0 And this time it won\u2019t be God\u2019s people that [can't understand word] it will be the whole planet that explodes into the kingdom for, the rule of God which is perfect that God always intended from the beginning.\n\nNow what do you think Satan is going to do while this announcement is being made?\u00a0 What does Satan always do?\u00a0 Satan works in history to stop the plan of God.\u00a0 He did that all the way through the Old Testament related to the Messianic line and what is happening here as these bowl judgments begin to manifest themselves as we get closer and closer to the time period when in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed.\u00a0 Do you think will want that to materialize?\u00a0 Obviously not because once it materializes he\u2019s over, he\u2019s finished, he\u2019s bound a thousand years and then he\u2019s thrown into the Lake of Fire.\u00a0 He\u2019s working in history to try to stop this kingdom from coming.\u00a0 In fact, I believe Satan is working right now within modern day Christendom to prevent preachers, for whatever reason, from talking about what we\u2019re talking about right here.\u00a0 Do you think Satan wants to hear this?\u00a0 Do you think Satan wants this taught?\n\nAnd once you understand how Satan is going to make a counter move you start to understand what Revelation 12-14 are about.\u00a0 Chapters 12-14 is a description of the counter move of Satan trying to stop the seventh trumpet judgment in Revelation 11:14-19 that we\u2019ve been studying.\u00a0 God makes a move, Satan makes a move.\u00a0 It\u2019s part of the angelic conflict.\u00a0 In fact, if you\u2019re savvy and aware of this you can see it happening all of the time in the world we\u2019re living in.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 World War I prepared the land for the Jews; World War II prepared the Jews for the land.\u00a0\u00a0 Study World War I, and how Israel was given a legal right under the Balfour Declaration and other things to return to the land of Israel.\u00a0 World War I, Satan makes his move now, which is World War II, the holocaust. Satan says I\u2019m going to prevent this from happening, I\u2019m going to raise up a man like Adolf Hitler, and he\u2019s going to kill every single Jew in sight, every single Jew on planet earth to what is called the final solution so there won\u2019t be any Jews left to go back into the land that was created for them.\n\nDo you see that?\u00a0 Move\/countermove.\u00a0 The angelic conflict.\u00a0 It\u2019s happening all around us all of the time.\u00a0 God is making an announcement that His kingdom is coming. What do we have in chapters 12-14, Satan\u2019s countermove.\u00a0 Through what?\u00a0 The desire to gobble up Israel in the second half of the tribulation, Revelation 12, through the two instruments Satan is going to use, the two beasts, Revelation 13, and you get beyond Revelation 13 and\u00a0 you say this is very depressing because these last two chapters are just about Satan, Satan, Satan and his counter move.\n\nWell, there\u2019s a nice counterbalance in Revelation 14, God\u2019s still in control.\u00a0 How do we know that?\u00a0 Because there\u2019s five, maybe six scenes of optimism in Revelation 14.\u00a0 In fact, when it says, \u201cAnother angel said\u201d it\u2019s a different scene.\u00a0 And when\u00a0 you understand that you understand why Revelation 12-14 follows Revelation 11.\u00a0 Are you guys in agreement with me on that, Revelation 11 comes first, and Revelation 12-14 follows.\u00a0 Revelation 11 is the announcement of God of the coming kingdom.\u00a0 Revelation 12-14 is a description of Satan not sitting there and letting it happen but engaging in spiritual warfare to try to stop God.\u00a0 How can you stop God?\u00a0 You can\u2019t, but you think you can if you\u2019re mind is deluded through pride.\n\n\u201cThe fear of the Lord is the beginning of\u201d what? \u201cwisdom.\u201d\u00a0 What makes a person wise is submission to God. If you won\u2019t submit to God the mind doesn\u2019t work right.\u00a0 Study Ezekiel 28 and you\u2019ll see Satan in his splendor was created with a tremendous intellect and his intellect was darkened.\u00a0 Until he is incarcerated, better\u00a0 yet thrown into the Lake of Fire, he works in history trying to stop the plan and the program of God.\u00a0 The program of God is clearly articulated here with trumpet judgment number seven, Satan is not going to take it lying down and that\u2019s why Revelation 12-14 is going to follow.\n\nSo that\u2019s sort of a vantage point, a scope of direction if you will, of where we\u2019re going in this particular study in the Book of Revelation as now we\u2019re leaving chapter 11 and moving next week into chapter 12.\n\nThe fact of the matter, beloved, is you\u2019re caught in angelic conflict.\u00a0 Most people, even most Christians I would say, are somewhat unaware of this.\u00a0 And in this conflict there\u2019s only two sides, there\u2019s God\u2019s side and Satan\u2019s side.\u00a0 There\u2019s winners ultimately and there are losers; it\u2019s just like a battle, just like a war, to the victor go the what?\u00a0 The spoils.\u00a0 What\u2019s the spoils?\u00a0 It\u2019s the planet that\u2019s being contested here and the number one thing you\u2019ve got to figure out is which side of the ledger do you want to be on, because you\u2019re on one side or the other.\u00a0 Neutrality is not even a possibility.\u00a0 In fact, neutrality is a myth.\u00a0 People that think they\u2019re neutral about God, having never made a decision for God, in fact are taking a position counter to God whether they realize it or not.\n\nAnd how do you get on the right side of this inevitable conflict. You get on the right side of it through what we call the gospel.\u00a0 The gospel means good news.\u00a0 It\u2019s good news because Jesus did everything possible for humans, dead in their trespasses and sins, to get on the right side of the ledger.\u00a0 And you get on the right side of the ledger by receiving of what Jesus has done for you as a free gift.\u00a0 It\u2019s a gift, it\u2019s not something you can earn, it\u2019s not something you can work for, it\u2019s something freely bestowed by God unto you that you can receive only one way, by way of faith.\u00a0 If you won\u2019t receive it by faith you can\u2019t receive it and you\u2019ll go to your grave on the wrong side of the angelic conflict and you\u2019ll suffer for all eternity because of that choice.\n\nAnd how wise it is for a person to hear a proclamation of the gospel under the Spirit\u2019s convicting influence and respond to it.\u00a0 And\u00a0 you can respond to it right now as I\u2019m speaking, where you\u2019re seated.\u00a0 Those that may be listening online, watching online can respond to it right now as the Spirit, as only He can do, persuades or convicts us of our need to trust in Christ.\u00a0 The Spirit will only take you so far, He will take you to the point of crisis to help you recognize the need but because you are manufactured in the image of God and because part of being manufactured in the image of God means you possess something awesome called will or volition.\n\nGod is not going to override that will; I realize that what I\u2019m saying right now cause a great many theologians to recoil in disgust, because I believe that they\u2019ve put too much emphasis on one part of the Bible without paying attention to the whole Bible.\u00a0 God is not going to override your free will; if He were to override your free will He would not be respecting how He has manufactured you or designed\u00a0 you.\u00a0 But I\u2019ll tell you this much, He will convict, He will anoint, He will bother you until your dying day because He doesn\u2019t want you to experience the eternal consequences of a bad choice.\n\nSo what are we saying here?\u00a0 We\u2019re saying make the right choice. As the Spirit convicts you, the best you know how, in the privacy of your own mind, the quietness of your own heart, trust in Christ and Christ alone for salvation.\u00a0 And if it\u2019s something that you need further explanation on I\u2019m available after the service to talk.\n\nShall we pray.\u00a0 Father, we\u2019re grateful for the Book of Revelation, we\u2019re grateful for the things that are\u00a0 yet to come. We\u2019re grateful for the fact that\u00a0 You have revealed Your plan of history and we\u2019re even more grateful for the fact that we can get on the right side of the ledger via the gospel.\u00a0 Help us to walk these things out by faith\u00a0 this week.\u00a0 We\u2019ll be careful to give you all the praise and the glory.\u00a0 We asks these things in Jesus\u2019 name, and God\u2019s people said \u2026 Amen.","series_sermon_number":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t