extract qoutes and verses: Develop a 5 day devotional guide: develop a study guide: develop sermon blog post: All right. Good afternoon, everybody. Uh, it’s been a beautiful day. Yes.
0:1111 secondsI want to say thank you to whoever made that delicious lunch for us today. It was wonderful. It was a beautiful meal
0:1919 secondsand um those either like like chopped up like false meat things in some kind of hot sauce, hot sweet sauce. It was
0:2626 secondsabsolutely delicious. So, whoever made that stuff, thank you very much. It was a nutritious meal. The fellowship was sweet. And I say praise the Lord for all of his blessings in each of our lives.
0:3838 secondsAnd so, uh, today, this afternoon, we’re going to come to the last of our, um,
0:4343 secondsthree messages on the three angels messages. Uh, last night we spoke about preparing for persecution. And, uh,
0:4949 secondstoday we so far covered the first and the second angel’s messages. And now we’re going to come to the last of those uh of those messages uh that we find in in the scriptures, Revelation 14 9-12.
1:011 minute, 1 secondSo, let me just make sure I’ve got the PowerPoint up on the screen there. Um I just want to say to you that when you study these things for yourselves is an
1:091 minute, 9 secondsabsolute blessing for you. And if you’re ever asked to speak somewhere on a topic, count it a blessing from the
1:161 minute, 16 secondsLord. Because when you are asked to speak on a topic and you know nothing about it, you’re forced to study it for yourself. And what gives you joy in
1:251 minute, 25 secondspreaching is not the preaching or being a Sabbath school teacher being a is the joy is not as much in the teaching but it’s in your voyage of discovery and
1:331 minute, 33 secondsspiritual growth and growth towards maturity in the process of preparing for that event. And so I want to encourage you here today. You know, if you are
1:411 minute, 41 secondsasked to preach or be a Sabbath school teacher or lead out in some event somewhere, count it an immense blessing from the Lord, it’s an invitation to
1:491 minute, 49 secondsspiritual growth. And so, one of the joys I find uh with preaching is I get to sit at my kitchen table with my Bible
1:561 minute, 56 secondsand my laptop and off I go. And you never quite know at the start of a sermon where it’s going to be at the end of the sermon. Uh so God sometimes takes
2:042 minutes, 4 secondsyou down some strange paths in the writing of sermons. But uh today uh this afternoon, this evening now, we’re going to speak about the third angel’s message
2:122 minutes, 12 secondsof Revelation 14:es 9-12. And as we said, um earlier on in our second service today, um that the first angel’s
2:202 minutes, 20 secondsmessage is essentially God revealed as redeemer and creator. The second angel’s message is Satan exposed for a liar,
2:282 minutes, 28 secondsdeceiver, and a murderer and a and so forth. And the third angel’s message is essentially this. We need to make a choice. Do we choose for God or do we
2:372 minutes, 37 secondschoose for Satan? And that’s the essence of the third angel’s message. We need to make a choice. We don’t hear these messages for merely intellectual
2:452 minutes, 45 secondsstimulation. We hear these messages because God wants us to make a choice.
2:502 minutes, 50 secondsAnd he wants us to choose life and not choose death. And so as we begin this afternoon, I’d like to invite you to bow
2:582 minutes, 58 secondsyour heads with me and we’ll invite the presence of the Holy Spirit. So shall we pray? Our heavenly father, we thank you
3:053 minutes, 5 secondsonce again for the privilege of meeting in your house during these Sabbath hours. Father, I pray your blessing upon us now as we share these moments
3:143 minutes, 14 secondstogether. Lord, you’re in control of this world. We know, Lord, that Satan claims to be the prince of this world.
3:213 minutes, 21 secondsBut the sparrow does not fall to the ground, but you know about it. And your angels are promised to watch round about those who fear you. And your angels are
3:283 minutes, 28 secondspromised to deliver us. So now I ask Lord that as we share these moments together that your spirit will take command and control of this time that
3:363 minutes, 36 secondsyou’ll speak through me and for me as I’ve said before and that my words will be accompanied by the convicting and the converting power of your Holy Spirit.
3:453 minutes, 45 secondsLord, these messages are not given to condemn people, but to win people into your kingdom. To warn people of the seriousness of the times in which we
3:523 minutes, 52 secondslive, to invite people to lift their eyes above the froth of popular culture and to ask questions such as, “Where did I come from and where am I going? And do
4:014 minutes, 1 secondI have any assurance of anything in my life?” So Lord, as we share these moments together, may Jesus be glorified in all that is said and done. or for
4:094 minutes, 9 secondsthose who are watching online, I pray that your Holy Spirit will draw close to them. If they’re watching on their tablets or in their phones, uh in their
4:164 minutes, 16 secondscars or in their homes, I ask Lord that your spirit will be with them. You will speak to them. You’ll bring them conviction and conversion and guidance
4:244 minutes, 24 secondsin the way that they should live. In the name of Jesus, we humbly ask. Amen.
4:304 minutes, 30 secondsAll right. So, what does the third angel’s message actually say? And if you have your Bibles, um some people prefer reading in their Bibles. I invite you to
4:384 minutes, 38 secondsturn to uh Revelation 14 and uh the third angel’s message is from verses 9-
4:464 minutes, 46 seconds11 and then there’s a summary of all the three angels messages in verse 12 and we will come to that message together. So
4:534 minutes, 53 secondsum this is our journey on the screen um as you can see there. Let me just see if this thing works. There it is. We’re going to start out with the third
5:015 minutes, 1 secondangel’s message. Um we’ll see what it is. We look at the warning given by God.
5:055 minutes, 5 secondsthen a description of the faithful saints before we come to our conclusion.
5:115 minutes, 11 secondsSo what does the third angel’s message actually state and you’ll see that on the screen there and I’m going to read it out you can follow me on the screen
5:185 minutes, 18 secondsand or in the Bibles as you please. It says there, “Then another angel, a third, followed them, crying with a loud
5:255 minutes, 25 secondsvoice. Those who worship the beast in its image and receive a mark on their foreheads or on their hands. They will also drink of the wine of God’s wrath,
5:345 minutes, 34 secondspoured unmixed into the cup of his anger. And they’ll be torment of the fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the
5:425 minutes, 42 secondslamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever. There is no rest day and night for those who worship
5:505 minutes, 50 secondsthe beast and its image and for anyone who receives the mark of its name. Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments
5:585 minutes, 58 secondsof God and hold fast to the faith of Jesus.
6:036 minutes, 3 secondsSo we saw this morning that the first angel’s message found its fulfillment in the Millerite movement, the announcement of the coming of Jesus 1840 through
6:126 minutes, 12 seconds1844. The second angel’s message found its initial fulfillment after the summer of 1844 when the mainline Protestant
6:206 minutes, 20 secondsdenominations pushed out and rejected and dysfellowshipped those who were faithful to the call to prepare for the coming of Christ. And then the third
6:296 minutes, 29 secondsangel’s message found its fulfillment as in the late 1840s the significance of the Sabbath and of the sanctuary came
6:366 minutes, 36 secondsinto clearer and clearer view and the early Adventist pioneers understood that um that the law of God exists in
6:446 minutes, 44 secondsperpetuity and it has an ongoing validity all the way down to the end of time. Sister White writes about this in the book Great Controversy. She says
6:536 minutes, 53 secondsthere she says those who had accepted the light concerning the mediation of Christ that is his heavenly high priestly ministry and the perpetual
7:017 minutes, 1 secondperpetuity perpetuity of the law of God found that these were truths presented in revelation 14. The messages of this
7:097 minutes, 9 secondschapter constitute a three-fold warning which is to prepare the inhabitants of the earth for the Lord’s second coming.
7:167 minutes, 16 secondsAnd so the purpose of these three angels messages is to prepare people. And to go a bit further than that, the the purpose of these messages is to win as many people as possible for Christ.
7:277 minutes, 27 secondsAnd so these messages are not given to push people down or to criticize people.
7:327 minutes, 32 secondsThey are to warn people of the seriousness of the times in which we are living today and to invite people into God’s kingdom of grace that one day they’ll be in God’s kingdom of glory.
7:427 minutes, 42 secondsAnd so what is the actual warning itself? So we come to look in a bit more detail now at the third angel’s message
7:497 minutes, 49 secondsitself. And uh you see on the screen um I’ve just highlighted in in red the bit we’re looking at here. This says then
7:567 minutes, 56 secondsanother angel a third followed them crying with a loud voice. So the first angel’s message went to all of humanity
8:048 minutes, 4 secondsin a loud voice. We saw this morning the first angel goes to every nation, every tribe, every language and every people.
8:128 minutes, 12 secondsThe second angel’s message does not say it goes out with a loud voice. But the the parallel to the second angel’s message is the revelation 18 message
8:218 minutes, 21 secondswhere the the whole earth is lit by the glory of his splendor and there is a loud cry given to the nations of the earth. So the fourth angel that is
8:298 minutes, 29 secondsrevelation 18 and the second angel which both talk about the fall of Babylon, they actually go out with a loud voice.
8:368 minutes, 36 secondsIt’s just not mentioned in the second angel’s message. It’s just mentioned as such in the message of Revelation 18. Uh the angel who got called out with a
8:458 minutes, 45 secondsmighty voice. And then the third angel’s message kind of combines and unites and brings to a conclusion the messages of
8:528 minutes, 52 secondsthe first and the second angels. The first angel’s message is a call to worship God as creator with an emphasis on the fourth commandment. The second
9:019 minutes, 1 secondangel’s message is a warning that Babylon is fallen and is under the judgment of God. And the third angel’s message is a warning not to worship the
9:099 minutes, 9 secondsbeast or receive his mark on your head or in your forehead. And the everlasting gospel runs through all these three
9:169 minutes, 16 secondsfinal messages of mercy. I want us to reflect on this for a minute. The gospel proclamation and in particular the
9:259 minutes, 25 secondswarning not to receive the mark of the beast is given in opposition to all powers of the world that are united in imposing the mark of the beast.
9:359 minutes, 35 secondsIt’s not just a theoretical concept we’re talking about here. If we’re going to preach the third angel’s message
9:429 minutes, 42 secondswhen the mark of the beast is issued because it’s a warning not to receive the mark of the beast. And with that mark of the beast comes economic
9:509 minutes, 50 secondscoercion and no buy no sell rules and social exclusion and cancel culture and loss of professional license and loss of
9:599 minutes, 59 secondsjob and loss of mortgage and loss of rent and loss of home and ultimately the death penalty for those who are going to preach the third angel’s message when
10:0710 minutes, 7 secondsthe mark of the beast is out there is going to take nothing short of raw courage because this is a message that’s going
10:1410 minutes, 14 secondsto be given in the teeth of opposition from every government on earth, all the multinational organizations, all the social media corporations, all the
10:2310 minutes, 23 secondsmainstream media corporations, they’re all going to be pushing this one message that the whole earth is to receive this mark. And those who who preach against
10:3210 minutes, 32 secondsit, those who speak against it, I it’s like you’re standing in the face of a gale.
10:3910 minutes, 39 secondsSo to preach the third angel’s message today, I mean, you don’t hear many sermons on it anyway, but when the mark of the beast comes out, to preach the
10:4710 minutes, 47 secondsthird angel’s message is going to require raw courage.
10:5110 minutes, 51 secondsBut courage is not a fruit of the spirit. It’s not a fruit of the spirit.
10:5810 minutes, 58 secondsWe know that in Revelation, those on the outside of the walls of Jerusalem, the number the first group that John mentions are the cowardly.
11:0711 minutes, 7 secondsBy that he means those who knew the truth but were not were afraid to stand up for the truth in the final crisis.
11:1511 minutes, 15 secondsBut the fruit of the spirit does not include courage.
11:1911 minutes, 19 secondsThe first of the fruit of the spirit is love.
11:2211 minutes, 22 secondsNow if you have um love and courage are kind of intermixed.
11:2711 minutes, 27 secondsI’ll describe how. If you’re standing in front of your house tomorrow morning at 6:00 in the morning, your house is on
11:3411 minutes, 34 secondsfire and you have a three-year-old daughter in the house and there’s a crowd of bystanders waiting for the fire trucks to arrive. You know your
11:4211 minutes, 42 secondsdaughter’s in that building. You’re going to run in to save your daughter because you love your daughter.
11:4811 minutes, 48 secondsThe bystanders who don’t know that you are the father of that child, they just see an act of courage.
11:5511 minutes, 55 secondsThat’s from the outside. But from the inside of that act, this is an act of love and of loving sacrifice to save
12:0112 minutes, 1 secondsomebody else. And thus it is that John 3:16 does not say, “For God wanted to demonstrate his courage to the world.”
12:0812 minutes, 8 secondsIt says, “For God so so loved the world that he sent his only begotten son.”
12:1312 minutes, 13 secondsThat is when you’re motivated by love for the lost, you will do things and engage in ministries that those who are outside of the kingdom will look on from
12:2112 minutes, 21 secondsthe from the outside in and say, “That was a courageous thing for that person to do.” And you’re not thinking of it,
12:2612 minutes, 26 secondsyou’re not thinking of it as being a courageous thing. All you’re concerned about is saving as many people as possible. You’re motivated by love for the lost.
12:3512 minutes, 35 secondsAnd so if you want to engage in activities that that that appear to be courageous from the outside, um my my counsel is ask God to give you renewed
12:4412 minutes, 44 secondslove today for the lost, a boldness for the lost, a willingness to step out and step into inconvenient paths for the
12:5212 minutes, 52 secondsbenefits of the lost. As you step out for the lost, other people may be inspired and say that’s courageous. But from the inside the battle, all you know
13:0013 minutesis there’s a soul that needs saving and you love that soul. You care about that soul and you want that soul to be redeemed by the blood of the lamb. And
13:0813 minutes, 8 secondsso courage is something looked at from the outside. People don’t stand up and say generally I want to demonstrate my courage to the world. They act because they are motivated by love for somebody.
13:2013 minutes, 20 secondsAnd so the proclamation of the third angel’s message is going to require courage, raw courage.
13:2813 minutes, 28 secondsBut really, those on the inside who are proclaiming the third angel’s message, I believe, will be motivated, as was Jesus, by love for the lost.
13:3713 minutes, 37 secondsNow, Sister Dwight comments on this one passage. She says in manuscript 51, she says there, “These last day witnesses,”
13:4513 minutes, 45 secondsshe’s speaking here about those who proclaim the third angel’s message, are are bold soldiers of Jesus Christ. They have tasted of the powers of the world
13:5313 minutes, 53 secondsto come. Their feet are not on sliding sand, but on solid rock. They are not easily moved away from the faith once delivered to the saints. These will be
14:0214 minutes, 2 secondsstrengthened by their leader to cope with difficulties. They are messengers of righteousness, representatives of Christ, revealing the triumphs of grace.
14:1014 minutes, 10 secondsAmen. And amen. The people who proclaim the third angel’s message, when the mark of the beast is imposed, you’re standing in the in the opposition to every power on planet Earth, human and satanic,
14:2314 minutes, 23 secondsand they’re still going to proclaim that message. That could be any of us here today.
14:3014 minutes, 30 secondsGod is looking for people who will know what this message is and are willing to stand up for that message in spite of opposition from every power on planet
14:3814 minutes, 38 secondsearth. And the only way this is going to be possible is if we are compelled by the love of Christ for the lost. If we
14:4614 minutes, 46 secondsare constrained by the love of God to reach out to his dying and lost children. And so ask God today not for courage but love for your neighbor. And
14:5514 minutes, 55 secondsthen love for your neighbor will be tried will translate naturally into loving and courageous actions on their behalf. So to come back to the text, it
15:0315 minutes, 3 secondssays those who worship the beast, this is the bit in red on the screen and its image and receive a mark on their foreheads or on their hands. Now this
15:1115 minutes, 11 secondsthis bit here is referring back to the uh the first piece of revelation 13 that is the papacy through which um Satan disseminates false doctrines. We
15:2015 minutes, 20 secondsmentioned them this morning to deceive the inhabitants of the world. The image in this passage refers to the image of the beast established by the second beast, this land beast of Revelation 13.
15:3115 minutes, 31 secondsThat is the United States combining with fallen Protestantism, which commands false worship of the first beast, the
15:3715 minutes, 37 secondspapacy, and its teachings. And so, the first angel’s message invites the world to the true worship of God as creator,
15:4515 minutes, 45 secondsemphasizing the Sabbath in the fourth commandment as the visible expression of loyalty to and love for God. The second
15:5115 minutes, 51 secondsbeast of revelation 13 commands and coerces false worship of the beast expressed in a rejection of the fourth
15:5815 minutes, 58 secondscommandment in favor of Sunday worship as the first be first beast the papacy has claimed the right to change the law
16:0616 minutes, 6 secondsof God and transfer the semnity from Sabbath to Sunday. Great controversy describes it thus. We read in both the
16:1316 minutes, 13 secondsold and the new world, the papy will receive homage in the honor paid to the Sunday institution that rests solely upon the authority of the Roman church.
16:2616 minutes, 26 secondsSo when you look in this text, those who worship the beast and its image and receive a mark on their foreheads, the the the conjunction and the word and is
16:3416 minutes, 34 secondsa conjunction is used three times in that sentence. They worship the beast and its image and receive a mark on
16:4216 minutes, 42 secondstheir foreheads on their hands. So it’s mentioned twice there. And so what this means is that the worshippers, the one who worshiped the beast also worships
16:4916 minutes, 49 secondsthe image and is thus a mark a bearer of the mark itself. And what is the description of God’s judgment upon such individuals? The text goes on to say
16:5816 minutes, 58 secondsthis and it’s in red. Um they will drink the wine of God’s wrath. Well, that doesn’t sound too pleasant,
17:0717 minutes, 7 secondsdoes it? They’ll drink of the wine of God’s wrath. Now, the second angel’s message says that fall and fallen is
17:1417 minutes, 14 secondsBabylon the great. Why? She made all the nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. She is driven by
17:2217 minutes, 22 secondshatred of Christ and therefore she is a persecuting power of those who bear the name of Christ. And so in response, God
17:3017 minutes, 30 secondssays that if you do worship the beast and its image and receive your mark on the forehead or on the hand that you will drink the wine of God’s wrath. So what is this wine of God’s wrath? Well,
17:4117 minutes, 41 secondsum the uh just put this here. Um Revelation 14:9-12 says um this is the third angel’s
17:5017 minutes, 50 secondsmessage in red. They will drink of the wine of God’s wrath. And Revelation 14:8, the second’s angel’s message has a very similar expression. She made all
17:5917 minutes, 59 secondsthe nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. So there’s there’s this phrase, drinking of the wine of the wrath, which is paralleled
18:0618 minutes, 6 secondsin the second angel’s message and the third angel’s message, but they refer to different things. The wine of the wrath of her fornication refers to the false
18:1618 minutes, 16 secondsdoctrines um inspired by Satan, promoted by Rome, and enforced by the United States worldwide. The wrath of Babylon
18:2418 minutes, 24 secondsis a deep-seated hatred of Christ and in turn of the saints of God.
18:2918 minutes, 29 secondsBut this warning is if you receive the mark of the beast, you’re going to drink of the wine of the wrath of God. So what is John talking about here? Well, the warning itself,
18:4118 minutes, 41 secondsthe word angry or anger, the word is oray in Greek. Um it says, “Then the dragon was Revelation 12:17, angry with the woman.”
18:5018 minutes, 50 secondsAnd that anger in Revelation 12:17 is manifest in persecution of the saints of God. And you see on the right hand side of the screen there, Revelation 14:18,
19:0119 minutes, 1 seconduh the second angel’s message about Babylon made all the nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. That word wrath is the same
19:0919 minutes, 9 secondsin Revelation 14 as is in Revelation 12 and verse 17. And so all who drink the wine of the wrath of Babylon, that is
19:1819 minutes, 18 secondsthose who willingly accept the satanically inspired false doctrines of Rome, will in turn receive the wine of God’s wrath. But what is this worried
19:2719 minutes, 27 secondswine of God’s wrath that we keep reading about? Well, in verse 14 and 10, chapter 14 and verse 10, it says, “They will
19:3419 minutes, 34 secondsalso drink the wine of God’s wrath.” And I’ve put there, there’s the actual expression in Greek. Um there um out of
19:4219 minutes, 42 secondsthe wine of God, out of the wine of the wrath of God. That’s what that expression literally means there. And in Revelation 14:8, she made the nations
19:5019 minutes, 50 secondsdrink of the wine of the wrath um of her fornication. So you got the two passages side by side here. But what is this wrath of God? Well, the wrath of God,
20:0020 minutesthis expression, the wrath of God here is found in Revelation 15 and verse one.
20:0620 minutes, 6 secondsuh which comes just after the three angels messages and it says there then I saw another portant in heaven great and
20:1420 minutes, 14 secondsamazing seven angels with seven plagues which are the last for with them the wrath of God is ended so the wrath of
20:2220 minutes, 22 secondsGod is the seven final plagues the seven final plagues those who receive the mark of the beast in order
20:2920 minutes, 29 secondsto receive economic prosperity and temporal security will find themselves on the receiving receiving end of God’s
20:3620 minutes, 36 secondsseven final plagues. And there is no escape from those seven final plagues from God. They are poured out by God not
20:4420 minutes, 44 secondsin vindictiveness, but in judgment upon those who promote, enforce, or receive the mark of the beast. And that wrath of
20:5320 minutes, 53 secondsGod, says the text, is poured unmixed into the cup of his anger.
21:0021 minutesThat sounds pretty brutal.
21:0321 minutes, 3 secondspoured unmixed into the cup of his anger. This is an image of God’s judgment. Now, how do we understand this? Well,
21:1121 minutes, 11 secondsJob chapter 21 and verse 20 says this,
21:1621 minutes, 16 seconds”Let their own eyes see their destruction and let them drink of the wrath of the Almighty.”
21:2321 minutes, 23 secondsAnd Psalm 75:8 says this, “For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup with foaming wine well mixed. He will pour a
21:3121 minutes, 31 secondsdraft from it and all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs.
21:3621 minutes, 36 secondsSo drinking of the cup is an Old Testament image of receiving God’s judgment. And in Luke chapter 22 in the
21:4321 minutes, 43 secondsgarden of Eden, the garden of Gethsemane, sorry, Luke 22:42, Jesus had the same expression. Says,
21:5021 minutes, 50 seconds”Father, if you’re willing, remove this cup from me. Yet not my will, but yours be done.”
21:5621 minutes, 56 secondsSo in ancient times when people drank wine they had three options. They could drink it um diluted with water to um
22:0522 minutes, 5 secondslessen the alcoholic impact if it was alcoholic and stretch out the wine. This was more like sweet water rather than grape juice. Uh or they would mix in
22:1422 minutes, 14 secondsherbs and spices with it to magnify the alcoholic impact of that wine. So it was like like supercharging the wine. So you
22:2222 minutes, 22 secondscould dilute the wine or you could supercharge the wine like a cocktail.
22:2722 minutes, 27 secondsBut what what the the the punishments that God promises is one that is undiluted and unmixed. That is it’s not
22:3422 minutes, 34 secondswatered down justice and it’s not supercharged justice. The justice that God’s given is portrayed as neither
22:4122 minutes, 41 secondsvengeful nor diluted with mercy. That is the punishment fits the crime.
22:4822 minutes, 48 secondsIt’s proportionate. is commensurate with the sins. When Christ comes again, he promises to give to every man according
22:5522 minutes, 55 secondsas his work has been which means that Adolf Hitler will receive a greater punishment than you regular Joe in Atlanta.
23:0523 minutes, 5 secondsThat every punish every man who faces God’s judgment will receive according as his work has been. So God’s judgment,
23:1323 minutes, 13 secondsGod’s justice is proportionate to the crime. Um I grew up with a twin brother. We used to fight quite a lot together.
23:1923 minutes, 19 secondsWe were best of friends, but we fought a lot. Um, if I accidentally pushed him,
23:2423 minutes, 24 secondshe would push me back, but twice as hard. Then I’d push him back twice as hard.
23:2923 minutes, 29 secondsAnd then he’d punch me. Then I’d kick him. And it just went downhill from there. And my mom would say, “Boys, how did this start?” And I would say, “Mom,
23:3823 minutes, 38 secondsit all started when he hit me back.” And of course, that didn’t do the the defense any good whatsoever. Uh once my mother was she decided to give me six of
23:4623 minutes, 46 secondsthe best on my hand with a wooden spoon and um no there’s a spatula actually and after three smacks on my hand the
23:5323 minutes, 53 secondsspatula broke and I thought oh good the punishment will stop but my delightful beloved brother ran to the kitchen and picked up
24:0224 minutes, 2 secondsa wooden spoon and brought it back and say mother here’s a wooden spoon finish him off with the wooden spoons I received three more smacks on my hand
24:1024 minutes, 10 secondswith a wooden spoon and Um, I guess I might love my brother still, but it was a painful moment in it was painful in
24:1824 minutes, 18 secondsthe moment there. But the point about this is is that when God pours out his judgment, there is no joy or glee in God when he does it. And he’s not mix He’s
24:2724 minutes, 27 secondsnot watering it down with mercy. God is not pouring out judgment that is vengeful and seeking vengeance and revenge. And I’m going to teach you guys
24:3524 minutes, 35 secondsa lesson. I’m going to repay you back twice what you’ve done to the innocent on planet Earth. But neither is God’s judgment going to be watered down with mercy. Okay, we’ll let this one slide
24:4324 minutes, 43 secondsfor a bit. That God’s judgment is going to fit the crime. That’s what justice is.
24:5024 minutes, 50 secondsNeither too much, neither too little.
24:5424 minutes, 54 secondsGod’s judgment is pure, undiluted. It is neither vengeful nor diluted with mercy.
25:0125 minutes, 1 secondAnd that judgment, drinking the wine of the wrath of God’s anger, the text goes on to say, “And they will they will be
25:0825 minutes, 8 secondstormented in the red there. I hope you can see that this bit here. And they’ll be tormented with fire and sulfur in the
25:1525 minutes, 15 secondspresence of the holy angels and in the presence of the lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever.”
25:2325 minutes, 23 secondsHas any of you ever smelt sulfur?
25:2725 minutes, 27 secondsYeah. Sulfur is another word for um brimstone. Fire and brimstone, fire and sulfur.
25:3125 minutes, 31 secondsIt’s the same thing. I was preaching in a church in Jasper, Tennessee a couple of years ago. A gentleman came up to me.
25:3725 minutes, 37 secondsHe says, “Um, I’m the brother of um a famous Adventist archaeologist.”
25:4125 minutes, 41 secondsAnd he said, “Um, my brother dug up Sodom and Gomorrah.” I said, “Oh, that’s interesting.” He said, and he dug up all these sulfur balls. I said, “Well,
25:4925 minutes, 49 secondsthat’s interesting.” He said, “This is little glass jar with sulfur balls from Sodom and Gomorrah in it.” And he gave me this glass jar and he says, “Now,
25:5625 minutes, 56 secondswhatever you do, don’t smell it.” So what do you think I did in front of him?
26:0126 minutes, 1 secondI unscrewed him. I said it’s like that your head just gets blown off. I mean it was terrible. I had to preach. Had to sit down for a few minutes. It was like
26:0826 minutes, 8 secondshaving smelling salts on steroids. It was it was a terrible experience. I said, “What’s so special about these sulfur balls?” Cuz I know nothing about
26:1526 minutes, 15 secondssulfur. And he said, “Well, normally uh sulfur occurs naturally only at 50%
26:2026 minutes, 20 secondspurity levels. The sulfur balls in Sodom Gomorrah are all 90% or above, which means they’re not from PL. They’re not
26:2826 minutes, 28 secondsnaturally occurring. You don’t find this anywhere else on planet Earth. These sulfur balls were designed to burn at an incredibly high temperature. And so I
26:3626 minutes, 36 secondskeep those sulfur balls by my um by my desk. And sometimes I want to wake up in the morning, a whiff of sulfur goes a
26:4326 minutes, 43 secondslong way. I can tell you. But I think this is Sodom and Gomorrah here. Oh, okay. I’m awake now.
26:5126 minutes, 51 secondsBut the it says they will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels in the presence of the
26:5826 minutes, 58 secondslamb. It’s a picture of the final destruction that is actually portrayed later in revelation 19 through20. See,
27:0627 minutes, 6 secondsthe end of the millennium, we read that the new Jerusalem will descend containing the redeemed saints of God together with the Lamb and his angels.
27:1427 minutes, 14 secondsAnd Satan is going to ride the wicked in one final assault on the on the saints of God in the city in the new Jerusalem,
27:2127 minutes, 21 secondsbut they’re going to be destroyed as God defends his saints and defends his city.
27:2627 minutes, 26 secondsRevelation 20:10 describes that. It says there, “And the devil who had been deceived them was thrown into the lake
27:3327 minutes, 33 secondsof fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were. They’ll be tormented day and night forever and
27:4027 minutes, 40 secondsever.” And then later on in Revelation 20:14-15,
27:4427 minutes, 44 secondswe read there that then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.
27:5127 minutes, 51 secondsAnd anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire. And so you have this imagery that the final destruction
27:5927 minutes, 59 secondsof Satan and of the the the persecuting powers on planet Earth in the final crisis and of the wicked is going to be
28:0628 minutes, 6 secondsin a lake of fire which will represent the second death. And it’s interesting that the text says it is the second death. It doesn’t say it’s the second
28:1528 minutes, 15 secondsway of living. It’s not going to be your suffering for eternity. It is called the second death.
28:2228 minutes, 22 secondsNow uh are those outside the walls of New Jerusalem? Revelation 21:8. I referenced this text already. It says, “As for the cowardly, the faithless, the polluted,
28:3328 minutes, 33 secondsthe murderers, the fornicators, the sorcerers, the idolatrous, and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which
28:4228 minutes, 42 secondsis the second death. So is this an everlasting life of torment, or is this everlasting destruction?” Because the
28:5028 minutes, 50 secondslanguage kind of you could possibly read it both ways here. Well, the language here echoes the Old Testament destruction of Sodom, of Gomorrah, and
28:5828 minutes, 58 secondsof Edom. Genesis 19:24 says this, “Then the Lord rained on Sodom, sulfur and fire from the Lord out of heaven, and
29:0729 minutes, 7 secondsSodom and Gomorrah are now completely destroyed.” Uh Isaiah 34:8-10 says this, “For the Lord has a day of vengeance,
29:1729 minutes, 17 secondsum a year of vindication by Zion’s cause, and the streams of Edom shall be turned into pitch, and her soil into
29:2429 minutes, 24 secondssulfur. Her land shall become burning pitch. Night and day it shall not be quenched. Its smoke shall go up forever.
29:3129 minutes, 31 secondsFrom generation to generation it shall lie waste. No one shall pass through it forever and ever.” Let me ask you the question. are Sodom and Gomorrah and
29:4029 minutes, 40 secondsEdom that is modern day Jordan. Do we see smoke rising from those parts of the world today? No, we do not. What we what
29:4829 minutes, 48 secondsso what these texts are talking about is the the the final absolute and complete destruction and final judgment on Satan
29:5729 minutes, 57 secondson the first beast that is the papacy and the second beast that is the USA and all the persing persecuting powers on planet earth upon all the fallen angels
30:0630 minutes, 6 secondsand demons and those who are not in the lamb’s book of life. It’s an end to their existence not just of physical
30:1330 minutes, 13 secondsfires that burn for eternity. So these passages are talking about God finally eradicate eradicating sin and suffering
30:2130 minutes, 21 secondsand their source that is Satan forever and ever and ever. And I say burn baby burn.
30:3030 minutes, 30 secondsReally,
30:3230 minutes, 32 secondsif you’ve ministered to somebody with cancer,
30:3630 minutes, 36 secondsif you don’t have a sense of righteous indignation at that evil angel that brought these diseases to planet Earth,
30:4330 minutes, 43 secondsthen something’s wrong. Maybe we become so immune to the reality of human suffering, we’re so desensitized to it,
30:5030 minutes, 50 secondswe’ve lost a sense of what God intended for life to be.
30:5430 minutes, 54 secondsBut there’s all around us we we we live in this in this um this world of suffering of death and depression and
31:0231 minutes, 2 secondsdivorce and despair and drugs and and um all all manner of problems. It seems that behind every front door there is a
31:1031 minutes, 10 secondsstory to tell and it’s normally not a good story. And whether you drive a Ford or a Ferrari, people are still crying behind those front doors.
31:1931 minutes, 19 secondsThe material wealth does not equal spiritual wealth. a material wealth doesn’t necessarily bring peace in your
31:2631 minutes, 26 secondsheart and joy uh to your mind. And so what these passages are talking that they will receive the wrath of God’s the
31:3431 minutes, 34 secondswine of the rock up the wine the cup of the wrath the cup they’ll receive the cup of God’s wrath poured out unmixed upon them means that there is going to
31:4231 minutes, 42 secondsbe complete and utter destruction of the wicked it will never more raise its ugly head. I say praise God for that. There
31:5031 minutes, 50 secondsis coming a day when divorce will never happen again. when cancer will never be again. When drugs and and depression
31:5731 minutes, 57 secondswill never curse the human existence ever again. There’s coming a day when all that is evil and makes for tearing down will be gone once and for all
32:0532 minutes, 5 secondsforever more. And that is a beautiful promise we find in scripture in this passage here. The passage goes on to say
32:1232 minutes, 12 secondsin red there it says, “And there is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image and for anyone
32:2032 minutes, 20 secondswho receives the mark of its name.” Now the saints of God in scripture are promised an eternal rest. Revelation 14:13.
32:3032 minutes, 30 secondsAnd Psalm 95:11 kind of discusses this concept. We’ll read that passage here.
32:3532 minutes, 35 secondsIt says there, “Therefore, I swore in my anger, they shall not enter my rest.”
32:4032 minutes, 40 secondsAnd this passage here, God speaks of rebellious Israel in the wilderness,
32:4532 minutes, 45 secondswandering in the wilderness for those 40 years, going after false gods. And God promises that they would not enter the
32:5232 minutes, 52 secondspromised land. And so in this final message, the third angel’s message, the warning is that those who worship the beast in his image, those who receive
33:0033 minutesthe mark of the beast in any which way possible are promised that they will not enter into eternity into the heavens and the earth made new. Rather, their destruction is going to be complete.
33:1033 minutes, 10 secondsTheir destruction is going to be absolute and their destruction is going to be forever.
33:1733 minutes, 17 secondsSo whereas the second beast of Revelation 13 uses fear to coersse the inhabitants of the world into receiving
33:2433 minutes, 24 secondsthe mark of the beast, now God responds with an even stronger message. The beast says this, “Receive the mark of the beast or you’ll use lose your career,
33:3433 minutes, 34 secondsyour income, and possibly your life.”
33:3733 minutes, 37 secondsAnd God responds as if you receive the mark of the beast, you’ll you’ll lose eternal life. So the choice is ours today.
33:4633 minutes, 46 secondsDo we what will we give up for eternity?
33:5033 minutes, 50 secondsWill we give up eternity for a nice house in the Atlanta suburbs? To get a new car every 3 or 5 years?
33:5833 minutes, 58 secondsLife is really short. You’re only going to enjoy that new house for a few short years, if at all. So God says, make a
34:0634 minutes, 6 secondschoice. You either receive the mark of the beast and you receive eternal destruction or you can reject the mark of the beast and have the promise of
34:1334 minutes, 13 secondseternal life. To me, it’s a no-brainer that kind of offer. Eternal life or a house in Atlanta, I’ll take the eternal
34:2034 minutes, 20 secondslife forever more. No disrespect to Atlanta. It seems a nice city to me. But if I have a choice between eternal life
34:2734 minutes, 27 secondsin heaven above or 10 or 20 good years in Atlanta, that’s I’m willing to opt for eternal life. No matter what it
34:3634 minutes, 36 secondscosts today, I’m willing to go for the eternal life option. So, how are the faithful saints going to respond when
34:4434 minutes, 44 secondsthis message goes out? How are the faithful saints portrayed in this passage as responding? Well, the first thing we see about the saints is this.
34:5134 minutes, 51 secondsIt says um here is a call for the endurance of the saints.
34:5834 minutes, 58 secondsNow the saints are described in Revelation 12:17 as those who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus. And uh so if you if
35:0735 minutes, 7 secondsyou put those three passages side by side, Revelation 12:17 says describes the saints of God. It says those who
35:1435 minutes, 14 secondskeep the commandments of God and hold the testimony of Jesus. Revelation 13:10 says, “Here’s a call for the endurance
35:2135 minutes, 21 secondsand faith of the saints.” And Revelation 14:12 says, “Here’s a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep
35:2835 minutes, 28 secondsthe commandments of God and hold fast to the faith of Jesus.”
35:3335 minutes, 33 secondsNow, in Revelation 12, you got this overview of Satan going after God’s people. And despite all that Satan can do, there’s a group of people called the
35:4235 minutes, 42 secondssaints. They keep the commandments of God and they have the testimony of Jesus. And in Revelation 13, which describes in more detail Satan coming
35:4935 minutes, 49 secondsafter God’s people, we once again read of a people who show endurance and faith that is they survive the worst this
35:5735 minutes, 57 secondsworld can throw at them. And Revelation 14, which describes God’s response to these satanic attacks coming upon him
36:0436 minutes, 4 secondsand upon his saints, we read once again about a group of people who show endurance, who once again keep the commandments of God and hold fast to the
36:1336 minutes, 13 secondsfaith of Jesus. That is in every single chapter of of these three chapters which describe this cosmic conflict that’s now
36:2036 minutes, 20 secondsspilled over into planet Earth. In every single chapter, in every single era, God has a faithful generation.
36:2836 minutes, 28 secondsThey’re always there.
36:3136 minutes, 31 secondsYou know, I had a friend once and I came back from Africa and I didn’t clean out my suitcase properly. I was in a my my
36:3836 minutes, 38 secondslast night in this country in West Africa. I was staying with a friend,
36:4136 minutes, 41 secondsfellow missionary, and we got to this this cheap guest house by an airport about $10 a night. And at that price,
36:4936 minutes, 49 secondsyou’re not going to get very much. You know, at least the cockroaches will be clean at $10 a night. That’s what you’re praying for. Well, I was lying on the
36:5636 minutes, 56 secondsbed next to my friend. We were both in our underwear cuz it was like baking hot and high humidity and all around us were
37:0337 minutes, 3 secondscockroaches on the bed. It was uh the bed is the kind of thing there stains everywhere, you know.
37:1037 minutes, 10 secondsevery human liquid possib on the bed around us. We’re lying there like this and nobody wants to turn over and um the
37:1837 minutes, 18 secondscockroaches are kind of line around you on the bed and they’re kind of feasting on the sweat coming from you. And so when you want to go to the restroom, you
37:2537 minutes, 25 secondskind of like sap your hand and the cockroaches scatter and you stand up and you swivel sideways. You kind of scoot across the bed. And I went to middle
37:3337 minutes, 33 secondsnight and I opened up the the the toilet and there was a huge spider like the size of a small plate looking up at me like like what do you want here?
37:4137 minutes, 41 secondsAnd um so I put the toilet back again and thought I can’t wait until I get to the airport. So I went back to the bed and where my body had been on the bed
37:4837 minutes, 48 secondswhich was like a white stain a wet stain on the bed all the sweat from my body it was now covered with cockroaches feasting whatever they could find there.
37:5637 minutes, 56 secondsIt was absolutely disgusting. And when I got home, I visited a friend in Laurel,
37:5937 minutes, 59 secondsMaryland, and I I didn’t spray my bag with anything.
38:0438 minutes, 4 secondsMy wife always makes me spray my luggage when I come back from some parts of the world. She doesn’t want cockroaches in the home.
38:1138 minutes, 11 secondsAnd anyway, for um I brought my luggage absent- mindedly into their base room, into their basement, the spare bedroom,
38:1738 minutes, 17 secondsand they had cockroaches for a long time afterwards.
38:2138 minutes, 21 secondsI brought them home with me. And cockroaches are disgusting animals. There is no good side to cockroaches.
38:2838 minutes, 28 secondsMaybe the left side with garlic, but there’s no good side to cockroaches.
38:3238 minutes, 32 secondsThat was a joke. None of you got it, but never mind. There is no good side to cockroaches.
38:4138 minutes, 41 secondsAnd you can’t get rid of them. You almost have to like nuke your house to get rid of the cockroaches.
38:4938 minutes, 49 secondsAnd I’m not comparing the Christians to cockroaches, but in this passage here, in this passage here,
38:5738 minutes, 57 secondsdespite all that Satan can do, despite all that his demons do, despite all that his satanically inspired earthly powers
39:0439 minutes, 4 secondscan do, despite all that the Antichrist can do, he can’t get rid of those faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. Uh
39:1239 minutes, 12 secondsthey are always in the story. They’re in Revelation 12. They’re in Revelation 13. And there is they’re in Revelation 14.
39:1939 minutes, 19 secondsThat is no matter what Satan does, the gospel is going to survive. You could go to communist China. You could go to the former Soich Union, go to Chowoescu’s
39:2839 minutes, 28 secondsRomania, and despite the the the worst efforts of earthly governments to wipe out Christianity and the Christian
39:3639 minutes, 36 secondsfaith, the Christian faith has always survived.
39:4039 minutes, 40 secondsIt can’t be wiped out because it is the power of God to save Jews first and then the Gentiles. It’s the power of God
39:4739 minutes, 47 secondsunder salvation. And every sane right-thinking person knows that something is wrong and there must be a better way of living. And so this
39:5539 minutes, 55 secondspassage here, this this third angel’s message describes the the saints here describe as those who live through the final crisis of faith when the first
40:0340 minutes, 3 secondsbeast and the second beast of Revelation 12 13 are satanically inspired to attack those who are faithful to God. And they they are described as showing endurance.
40:1540 minutes, 15 secondsWell, the book the word endurance Romans 5 3-5 describes endurance. It
40:2240 minutes, 22 secondssays there, “And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,
40:2940 minutes, 29 secondsand endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us because God’s love has
40:3740 minutes, 37 secondsbeen poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. That is, suffering produces endurance.
40:4640 minutes, 46 secondsEndurance comes when our faith is purified.
40:5040 minutes, 50 secondsThis engenders hope that one day things will be better. This prepares us to receive a fuller outpouring of the Holy
40:5840 minutes, 58 secondsSpirit. You know how you can tell when silver is 100% pure?
41:0441 minutes, 4 secondsAs you can see your image in the reflection.
41:0841 minutes, 8 secondsAnd so if we’re to reflect the image of God like silver per pass through the furnace seven times,
41:1541 minutes, 15 secondsGod sometimes puts us through a furnace seven times in order that he might see his reflection when he sees us. Going
41:2341 minutes, 23 secondsthrough hard times, going through persecution is not necessarily a sign that God has abandoned us. It may be a
41:3041 minutes, 30 secondssign that God is working a deep work of transformation in our characters and in our lives. When you when people start their new year with their resolutions,
41:3941 minutes, 39 secondsnobody says, “I want to lose my job. I want to go bankrupt. I want my home to be repossessed. Give me a cancer diagnosis and a divorce for good
41:4641 minutes, 46 secondsmeasure.” Nobody says that on January the 1st. Everybody says, “I want to lose weight. I want to make more money. And I want a bigger home.” That’s that kind of
41:5641 minutes, 56 secondssummarizes most people’s New Year’s resolutions.
42:0142 minutes, 1 secondBut the times when you grow spiritually the most in life are not when you’re losing weight, gaining money, or
42:0842 minutes, 8 secondsbuilding a bigger home. The time when you grow most spiritually and you grow closer to the Lord is when you’re going
42:1542 minutes, 15 secondsthrough that business repossession. When you’ve been you lost your job in lost your place in college. When you’re struggling to keep your professional
42:2342 minutes, 23 secondslicense. When there’s a for a change being forced upon you that you don’t want to go through. It’s in the tough moments in life. It’s in the valley of
42:3142 minutes, 31 secondsthe shadow of death that we experience the rod and the staff of God that comfort us. It is in the hard moments of life. So when God saints goes through
42:3942 minutes, 39 secondspersecution at the end of time, it’s not a sign that God has abandoned you. It’s a sign that God has a special work yet to do in our lives.
42:4742 minutes, 47 secondsAnd what we went through in the last 5 years, I’m hoping for most of us was the realization that a glittering career in
42:5442 minutes, 54 secondscorporate America is going to be very hard to sustain when the mark of the beast comes out. that corporate America will be just too quick to fall in line
43:0343 minutes, 3 secondswith the mandates, the next set of mandates as and when they come out,
43:0643 minutes, 6 secondswhether it be for medications or whether it be for worship.
43:1143 minutes, 11 secondsAnd this these last five years taught us that this world is really not our home.
43:1643 minutes, 16 secondsThe things that we thought we had that were secure, our job, our license, our profession, our mortgage, you know, our toys in the in the garage and so forth,
43:2543 minutes, 25 secondsall that can be snatched away just like this. And therefore, this world is not our home. And we’re not trying to build roots here. We’re trying to build roots in the kingdom of God.
43:3543 minutes, 35 secondsAnd so suffering produces endurance. And endurance produces character. And character produces hope. And hope does not disappoint us. In the final crisis,
43:4543 minutes, 45 secondsthe saints of God are going to be attacked from multiple sides. On the one side, you’ve got the papacy promoting false doctrines and claims to change the
43:5243 minutes, 52 secondslaw of God. On the other side, you’d have the United States of America that’s going to create a persecuting union of church and state to coers the world’s inhabitants into following the papacy.
44:0344 minutes, 3 secondsAnd those who resist will face economic sanctions, economic shutdowns, cancel culture, persecution, and demonization
44:1044 minutes, 10 secondson social media and mainstream media before you get to the death penalty itself. Meanwhile, just to add insult to injury, Satan will be deciding and will
44:1944 minutes, 19 secondsappear will be appearing as Christ himself to deceive, if possible, the very elect of God, claiming that the world needs to worship on Sunday to
44:2744 minutes, 27 secondsassuage the anger of God and worship on Sunday rather than on the commanded Sabbath. That is why we need endurance in the final crisis. This this requires
44:3644 minutes, 36 secondsmoral courage if we are to endure to the end, knowing that the one who endures to the end will be saved. That is why we preach about these things. As I said
44:4544 minutes, 45 secondslast night, when my girl gets on a roller coaster as a teenager and I’m sitting there with her, I ain’t getting onto that roller coaster unless I know it’s 90 seconds long.
44:5644 minutes, 56 secondsI hate roller coasters, but my teenage girl loves to roller coasters for some crazy reason. And I’m only getting on that roller coaster with her cuz she
45:0445 minutes, 4 secondswants dad to go with her if I’ve measured it multiple times and it’s exactly 90 seconds this ride. If I thought that roller coaster would never
45:1245 minutes, 12 secondsend, I’m going nowhere near that that roller coaster.
45:1545 minutes, 15 secondsBut the knowledge that there is an end to this means I could get through this.
45:2045 minutes, 20 secondsAnd we preach these things because beyond the mark of the beast and beyond the economic coercion and beyond the death penalty is undescribable glory.
45:3045 minutes, 30 secondsAnd as long as we keep our eyes on the glory that is set before us and the crown of eternal life given to those who overcome all the challenges of this
45:3945 minutes, 39 secondsworld, we can get through what this world is about to throw at us.
45:4445 minutes, 44 secondsWe can get through if we keep our eyes on the prize which is eternal life with Jesus Christ. So who are those those saints who show endurance to the end?
45:5445 minutes, 54 secondsThe text goes on to describe says those who keep the commandments of God. The question of the commandments of God has
46:0146 minutes, 1 secondcome up repeatedly. We’ve discussed this last night and so far today. Uh the literally it says the ones who are keeping the commandments of God. This is
46:1046 minutes, 10 secondsa present participle. The ones who are keeping this means uh don’t just keep the commandments of God on Sabbath.
46:1846 minutes, 18 secondsBut keeping the commandments of God is just your regular way of life. when nobody is watching, when it’s just you and your and your own thoughts,
46:2646 minutes, 26 secondsyou are keeping the commandments of God.
46:2946 minutes, 29 secondsYou’re not envying in your mind, you’re not lusting in your mind, you’re not coveting in your mind, you’re not lying to yourself in your mind, you’re not um
46:3846 minutes, 38 secondscommitting adultery in your mind, um you’re not disrespecting your parents in your mind. No, the is the it describes this with a present participle. So those
46:4746 minutes, 47 secondswho are faithful to God, their their habitual way of life is simply to keep the commandments in all aspects of their of their of their daily life.
46:5746 minutes, 57 secondsThat this is how I live. If you want to know about the ten commandments, look at how I live. Like Paul could say to
47:0447 minutes, 4 secondsTimothy, be an imitator of me as I am of Christ.
47:0947 minutes, 9 secondsThat that if we could see the apostle Paul saying, see how he lived. If we to copy how he lived, then by extension, we would also be keeping the commandments of God.
47:1847 minutes, 18 secondsCan we say to other people, “Be an imitator of me as I am of Christ.”
47:2447 minutes, 24 secondsWhen people see our lives, do they see an expression of the character of Christ? Do they see the obedience and submission of Christ to his heavenly
47:3247 minutes, 32 secondsfather? Do they see the Christ who looked on crowds with nothing other than compassion? Do people see that in us as well?
47:4047 minutes, 40 secondsAnd so those who keep the commandments of God, they don’t bow to the coercion except the false Sabbath, that is Sunday worship. The time is not far distant,
47:5147 minutes, 51 secondspatriarchs and pro prophets and kings,
47:5347 minutes, 53 secondspage 188. The time is not far distant when a test will come to every soul. The observance of the Sabbath, the false Sabbath will be urged upon us. The
48:0248 minutes, 2 secondscontest will be between the commandments of God and the commandments of men.
48:0648 minutes, 6 secondsThose who have yielded step by step to worldly demands and conform to worldly customs then will yield to the powers
48:1348 minutes, 13 secondsthat be rather than subject themselves to derision, insult, threatened imprisonment and death. At that time the gold will be separated from the dross.
48:2248 minutes, 22 secondsTrue godliness will be clearly distinguished from the appearance and tinsel of it. Many a star that we have admired for its brilliance will then go out in darkness.
48:3248 minutes, 32 secondsAnd so in this passage here, we see those who’ve yielded step by step to worldly demands and conformed to worldly
48:4048 minutes, 40 secondscustoms. That’s the sure path to yielding to the mark of the beast. People say it doesn’t matter.
48:4848 minutes, 48 secondsYou are faced with a moral choice. It’s not that big a deal. Just go alone to get alone.
48:5548 minutes, 55 secondsand living a life of moral compromise on small issues today prepares your character to yield when the bigger moral issues come our way.
49:0549 minutes, 5 secondsCharacter is revealed in times of crisis is not formed in times of crisis.
49:0949 minutes, 9 secondsChoosing on moral grounds today in the decisions we make on a daily basis.
49:1449 minutes, 14 secondsChoosing for God rather than for our carnal selves, our fallen desires. best is the best preparation we have to
49:2249 minutes, 22 secondsprepare and shape our character that if we’re willing to make sacrifices on a daily basis over small things. We’re going to choose truth over falsehood,
49:3049 minutes, 30 secondspurity over um impurity and and light over darkness on a daily basis in the decisions we make from day to day as we
49:3749 minutes, 37 secondsdo that. So our characters are shaped and and formed um and conformed to the will of God rather than to my carnal and fallen desires. Therefore, when the mark
49:4649 minutes, 46 secondsof the beast comes along, I am best prepared to say no.
49:5149 minutes, 51 secondsYou follow me on this? Those who yield step by step to worldly demands are the ones who will yield to the mark of the beast.
50:0250 minutes, 2 secondsSo don’t say, “I’ll stand tall for God when the mark of the beast comes.” Say,
50:0650 minutes, 6 seconds”We’re going to stand tall for God this week in Atlanta, and we’re going to make decisions this week that are honoring of God and his revealed will.” And if
50:1450 minutes, 14 secondsthat’s to my own hurt, so be it. But I’m shaping and preparing my character for that final crisis. The text says, “Those
50:2150 minutes, 21 secondswho keep the commandments and hold to the faith or have the faith of Jesus.”
50:2850 minutes, 28 secondsSister White discusses this as she says there in Gospel Worker. She says, “The proclamation of the third angel’s message calls for the presentation of
50:3750 minutes, 37 secondsthe Sabbath truth. This truth with others included in the message is to be proclaimed. But the great center of of
50:4450 minutes, 44 secondsattraction, Jesus Christ, must not be left out. It is at the cross of Christ that mercy and truth meet together and righteousness and peace kiss each other.
50:5450 minutes, 54 secondsThe sinner must be led to look to Calvary with the simple faith of a little child. He must trust in the merits of the Savior, accepting his
51:0151 minutes, 1 secondrighteousness and believing in his mercy.
51:0551 minutes, 5 secondsNow, we could talk all day about the third angel’s message and the health message this afternoon. We could do that. I haven’t mentioned the health
51:1351 minutes, 13 secondsmessage once, but the health message is an integral part of the third angel’s message.
51:1951 minutes, 19 secondsOkay? So, I just at least I just want to recognize that. I’m not going to talk about that today because we don’t have time for that.
51:2651 minutes, 26 secondsBut those who keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus,
51:3051 minutes, 30 secondsthey talk about Jesus in their daily lives. Right? People know that you’re a Christian.
51:3751 minutes, 37 secondsThey know you’re a Christian by your behavior, by your values, by your entertainment options, and by the fact that you talk about Jesus as your
51:4451 minutes, 44 secondslonglost friend. And he’s coming back for us. And he’s coming back for us. The faith of Jesus, manuscript 24, says why it says this, the faith of Jesus,
51:5551 minutes, 55 secondsRevelation 14:12, is talked of but not understood. I read this quote this morning. What constitutes the faith of Jesus? that belongs to the third angel’s
52:0452 minutes, 4 secondsmessage. Jesus becoming our sin bearer that he might become our sin pardoning savior. He was treated as we deserve. He
52:1252 minutes, 12 secondscame to our worlds and took our sins that we might take his righteousness.
52:1552 minutes, 15 secondsFaith in the ability of Christ to save us amply and fully and entirely is the faith of Jesus. When I used to take my
52:2352 minutes, 23 secondslittle boy on planes in the former Soviet Union, one of those airlines, um I won’t mention the name, but the planes were so bad and they came down so often.
52:3252 minutes, 32 secondsWe joked that the theme tune for that airline was nearer my god to thee because it was a deeply spiritual
52:4052 minutes, 40 secondsexperience to fly on those old triples and spells and illusions. And um I would get on those planes and sometimes there’s Russian expression like pian
52:4852 minutes, 48 secondsmeans drunk and there the dry the pilots billip pan they were drunk and they get on the plane like like staggering up and
52:5652 minutes, 56 secondsand saying these guys are drunk and you say well why are you driving flying? He says oh it’s my birthday I want to get home and see my family. Oh really?
53:0353 minutes, 3 secondsYou’re drunk? Um and sometimes they couldn’t speak English. I would be sitting in the in the pilot with them.
53:0953 minutes, 9 secondsWe be flying into the capital city listening to um British Airways and Lufansera and a few other western airlines and the pilots don’t understand
53:1753 minutes, 17 secondsa word of what the air traffic control is saying because they don’t speak English. Not good. Not good.
53:2353 minutes, 23 secondsWell, I used to carry my little boy onto those planes. He was 3 or 4 months old.
53:2953 minutes, 29 secondsAnd I would be praying really hard on those flights. Oh Lord, help us land.
53:3553 minutes, 35 secondsOne time we came in to land and the landing gear wouldn’t come down.
53:3953 minutes, 39 secondsSo the mechanic walked out, dropped down through a hole in the passageway between the in between the rows of seats. We heard him cranking the wheel down slowly
53:4753 minutes, 47 secondsand he couldn’t get it down. It jammed and he pushed it bit hard and eventually the wheels all came down just in time.
53:5353 minutes, 53 secondsAnd another time they the cabin depressurized and that wheel basically got knocked out when that happened. We all came to we were much lower think oh
54:0054 minutesgood we’re still alive. Uh so these were life-changing experiences and as we were flying my little boy would fly with me
54:0754 minutes, 7 secondsand he would always be peacefully asleep in his car seat next to me in the plane.
54:1254 minutes, 12 secondsHe wasn’t worried, he wasn’t upset, he wasn’t scared. Why? He was with his daddy.
54:2254 minutes, 22 secondsAnd when you know you’re with your daddy, you can smile at the storm.
54:3054 minutes, 30 secondsAnd of those who get through the final crisis, they have a faith in the ability of Christ to save them amply and fully
54:3754 minutes, 37 secondsand entirely. They don’t doubt that they’re sinners. What’s more important is they have a sin bearing savior who in
54:4554 minutes, 45 secondsChrist Jesus’s grace was given us in Christ Jesus. 2 Timothy 1:9 before the foundation of the world. That is God had made full provision for your full
54:5354 minutes, 53 secondsforgiveness before this world was created. He knew every sin we would ever commit. And he’d already made forgiveness for provision for your
55:0155 minutes, 1 secondforgiveness and for mine. So we beat ourselves up today, not because what the gospel tells us, but because Satan puts these lies into our minds. God could never forgive somebody like you. Oh no.
55:1255 minutes, 12 secondsThis grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the foundation of the world. It’s a grace sufficient for all of our sins if we would receive it by faith. Sister
55:2255 minutes, 22 secondsWhite comments on this and I’m not going to read this because I read it this morning. So,
55:3155 minutes, 31 secondscome to our conclusions here.
55:3555 minutes, 35 secondsWe can either stand before God in our own merits asking for grace to make up for the shortfall of our sins. Many Adventists do this.
55:4655 minutes, 46 secondsIt leads to a life of spiritual struggle and the lack of assurance of salvation because we’re continually aware of our own sinfulness.
55:5655 minutes, 56 secondsOr we can receive Christ in his righteousness by faith. And therefore,
56:0056 minuteswe stand before God in the righteousness, the merits of Christ, and his perfect obedience is counted as if it were our own.
56:0856 minutes, 8 secondsIf we daily look to him in faith,
56:1156 minutes, 11 secondsbelieving in his promises, partnering with him in the process of sanctification, he writes his law in our hearts, and we do experience ongoing
56:1956 minutes, 19 secondssanctification through the infilling of the Holy Spirit. And thus, God gives us victory over sin. So, we do end up
56:2656 minutes, 26 secondskeeping the commandments of God. The choice is ours today. We can look at ourselves in the mirror and be discouraged every morning. Or we can
56:3456 minutes, 34 secondschoose to look to Jesus and claim his promises and believe his promises. And then God does a wonderful work in each of our lives. I know which group I want
56:4356 minutes, 43 secondsto be a part of. So this these three chapters we’ve looked at briefly today. Revelation 12, as we said before,
56:5056 minutes, 50 secondsprovides a panoramic overview. There is a struggle between good and evil. And on planet Earth, it’s played out between God’s faithful remnant and the
56:5856 minutes, 58 secondsoppressive powers that Satan has inspired to attack the saints of God.
57:0257 minutes, 2 secondsRevelation 13 is a detailed breakdown of how Satan attacks God’s people. And Revelation 14 is God’s response to
57:1057 minutes, 10 secondsSatan, his response to his attacks on his saints. And it’s a call to us today to faithfulness to resist Satan and his
57:1757 minutes, 17 secondsearthly representatives. And those who survive the final crisis that is coming upon our world have two characteristics.
57:2457 minutes, 24 secondsAnd it has nothing to do with education,
57:2657 minutes, 26 secondsnothing to do with ethnicity, nothing to do with nationality, nothing to do with how wealthy or poor or educated or illiterate we may be. Those two
57:3457 minutes, 34 secondscharacteristics are these. They keep the commandments of God and they have the faith of Jesus.
57:4057 minutes, 40 secondsThose are the characteristics that will carry us through the final crisis. Their eyes are not focused on the beasts of this world, on the geopolitical giants who deceive and dictate to billions.
57:5157 minutes, 51 secondsTheir eyes are fixed by faith on Jesus,
57:5457 minutes, 54 secondstheir soon cominging savior. So the first angel’s message is God revealed.
58:0058 minutesThe second angel’s message is Satan exposed. The third angel’s messages make a choice. A choice for eternity and
58:0858 minutes, 8 secondsstart living that choice today. Start living out that choice today. So I invite you today to bow down in
58:1658 minutes, 16 secondsrepentance and confession before our loving heavenly father. to look up in praise and adoration to the one who loved us, who loves us, and died for us,
58:2558 minutes, 25 secondsand is coming again for us, than to step out in faith, and shine for Jesus in Earth’s darkest hour here in the Atlanta
58:3358 minutes, 33 secondsmetro area. It’s my prayer that when Jesus comes, he will find each one of us with our names in the Lamb’s Book of Life. And you will find that this group
58:4158 minutes, 41 secondsof people, every single one of us here today gathered will be those who are keeping the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus. And there’s
58:4958 minutes, 49 secondsabsolutely nothing this world can do about it because they are secure in the rock. I love that song that we sang as opening for our opening song uh this
58:5758 minutes, 57 secondsafternoon. Um uh the rock divine uh that song we sang.
59:0459 minutes, 4 secondsYeah, the brain’s getting tired. I remember we sang a song that I like. It was a very good song and I remember we sang a nice song. Um but I that that
59:1459 minutes, 14 secondssong rock divine um I think of that a lot. a refuge in a time of storm. Our refuge is found in Jesus Christ. He has
59:2259 minutes, 22 secondsnever lost a battle with Satan. He never fired a a disciple when he was on earth.
59:2859 minutes, 28 secondsAnd he is the good shepherd who goes looking for his lost sheep today. And if you’re a lost sheep today, you can ask Jesus to come look for you tonight. And
59:3759 minutes, 37 secondsif you’re secure in the fold, you can ask him to fight those battles for you that you cannot see. And if you’re worried about your future,
59:4459 minutes, 44 secondsyou can ask him to guide you with his shepherd’s rod. That yay, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. For thou art
59:5159 minutes, 51 secondswith me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. We serve the good shepherd.
59:5759 minutes, 57 secondsHe’s coming for his own. His own hear his voice, and they are obedient to him,
1:00:021 hour, 2 secondsand they follow him. And it’s my prayer that we will be found in that glorious group when Jesus comes again. Don’t accept the mark of the beasts. receive
1:00:111 hour, 11 secondswhat else is where elsewhere is called the seal of God. That those who receive the mark of the beast, it’s on their foreheads. Means they they’ve they’ve
1:00:181 hour, 18 secondsreceived the character of Satan. Those who receive the seal of God, it says the name of their father is in their foreheads. Revelation 14 and verse two.
1:00:271 hour, 27 secondsThat is at the end of time there’s a group of people whose characters perfectly and completely reflect the character of their heavenly father.
1:00:351 hour, 35 secondsThere’s going to be a group of people whose characters reflect that of Satan. That means we’re in for a rough ride.
1:00:421 hour, 42 secondsExtreme violence.
1:00:441 hour, 44 secondsStuff like the school killings just going to get worse and worse and worse.
1:00:491 hour, 49 secondsBut we can either have the seal and the character of our father in our foreheads or the character of Satan in our foreheads. You’ve got the wheat and
1:00:571 hour, 57 secondsyou’ve got the tears. You have to choose.
1:01:011 hour, 1 minute, 1 secondThe first angel’s message is God is revealed. Creator and demer. Second angel’s message, Satan is exposed. a deceiver and and a liar and a murderer from the beginning. And the third
1:01:101 hour, 1 minute, 10 secondsangel’s message is choose today who you will serve. As for me in my house, we will serve the Lord. My prayer that will
1:01:181 hour, 1 minute, 18 secondsbe your your statement of faith as well for the n for the glory of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. So invite you to bow your heads with me and we’ll
1:01:261 hour, 1 minute, 26 secondsclose with a word of prayer. Heavenly Father,
1:01:301 hour, 1 minute, 30 secondswe thank you for the time we shared here today. Lord, I thank you that you don’t leave us in the dark to wander around as lost sheep, wondering what is going to
1:01:391 hour, 1 minute, 39 secondshappen with all these earthly beasts doing all they can to these innocent lands. Father, I thank you that you are the good shepherd, that you always go
1:01:471 hour, 1 minute, 47 secondslooking for those lost lands. I thank you that you’ve given a message of mercy to a dying world, appealing to as many
1:01:541 hour, 1 minute, 54 secondsas possible to turn and live. To turn and live. I ask you, Father, that in our own lives, in our own hearts, in our own
1:02:021 hour, 2 minutes, 2 secondshomes, within our own marriages, with our children, in our daily activities,
1:02:071 hour, 2 minutes, 7 secondswhether it be school or work or retirement or whatever it may be, I’m asking, Lord, that people will see Jesus
1:02:141 hour, 2 minutes, 14 secondsin each one of us. Lord, if the Sanhedrin could take note that Peter and John have been with Jesus, may the people of America take note that we have
1:02:231 hour, 2 minutes, 23 secondsalso spent time with the man from Nazareth. I pray Lord that in through our lives, through our witness,
1:02:291 hour, 2 minutes, 29 secondsmultitudes will be saved and one for your everlasting kingdom. This is our prayer in Jesus’ holy name. Amen.