Final Warning (Hebrews 12:25-29, Jeff Kliewer)

I want to say good morning to everybody here. Welcome to Cornerstone. We gather together. We come before the throne of God. The world has a lot of opportunities for you to do on a Sunday morning. I know that as we were raising our kids there was opportunities for this and that and everything on Sunday morning, but I can't think of anything more fulfilling than to be with my brothers and sisters in the Lord and sitting in worship and right in front of the throne room of God.

God’s Throne, His Righteous Rule, and the Call to Worship

I want to open us this morning in Psalm 89 verse 14. Psalm 89 is one of the great Psalms. If you wanted to spend time reading a psalm, it takes you through so many truths of God, but I wanted to read verse 14.

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne. Steadfast love and faithfulness go before you. Now the things I observe about that, first of all, is that it's God who sits on the throne. All creation is under his authority and his rule.

God allows, at this point in time, Satan is called the prince of the power of the air, and that's under God's sovereign will. But we do know that above all and overall is our God who actually sits on the throne.

And I also see from this verse that what he does is out of righteousness and justice. There is no compromise and there's nothing that can be critiqued. It's righteous. It's just. And how he rules is with love and faithfulness.

We are children of God. When you have accepted and repented and asked him into your life, you are a child of God. And he is faithful and he is loving. My goodness, he loved us so much. He sent his only begotten son to die for our sins.

That's where we are. We're coming together this morning to worship, to praise, to learn about him. Let's take a moment in quiet prayer and push the things aside and turn ourselves to the very throne of God.

Let's just pray. Lord God, this morning we are actually in front of the very throne of God. Your son sitting at his right hand, begging our cause in front of him. We don't come because we're worthy. We're worthy.

We come because of his blood that has washed us clean. We come because he calls. We come because of the grace even that draws us here. Open our hearts to you this morning we pray in Jesus name. Amen. Some announcements to be aware of.

Tomorrow evening at seven o 'clock, Monday evening, seven o 'clock is our quarterly business meeting. This is one of the important ones. We are going to be voting on some members. We are going to be establishing the nominating committee.

That's the individuals that will work with you as the congregation under the authority of God to identify our next board elders and deacons. Other topics that we'll be talking about. I encourage you to come tomorrow at seven o 'clock.

If you cannot physically make it, there will be a Zoom option. Michael's going to be putting out an email later today with the link to the Zoom option. So please be part of it. Next Sunday, next Sunday we're going to celebrate with some individuals their baptism.

We're talking about individuals who are now children of God and who have a testimony and who want to proclaim that testimony and who want to stand out publicly and identify themselves as children of God in the obedient act of baptism.

It will be after second service so stick around with us as we as we celebrate with these individuals. And information for those of you who like to come Wednesday afternoons for our Isaiah study. We're not going to have it this week.

Both Pastor Jeff and myself will be away at our Eastern District EFCA conference all day Tuesday and Wednesday so the study will not be this week. So if you're looking for it on the link that puts out in his Thursday Pastogram, but you can study Isaiah on your own and God will help you through that.

So anyway, don't come here Wednesday expecting the study. God has given us opportunities to witness, to share, to be within the lives of those around us. And we as a church are going to partake in one of those amazing opportunities to be a blessing to young children in the world.

Operation Christmas Child and Sharing the Gospel Through Shoeboxes

It's called Operation Christmas Child. We're going to hear about that. It's going to start.

With a video. Seeing a child open the boxes for the first time is just, it's incredible.

We are so excited. Many of the children received a shoebox for the first time in their life.

We pray that these boxes will be used to bring a lot of happiness and joy, but more importantly, the gospel to each heart. All these little children around the world. No greater need and no greater time than right now for us to go out and serve boldly.

This is what these shoeboxes are all about to go out and bring a hope of Jesus Christ around the world. I'm just so amazed at what God does each and every year. This is an opportunity to impact the lives of millions of children, just like you've seen, but we need more boxes for next year.

Every box is an opportunity for us to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. So thank you and God bless each and every one.

Good morning. I'm Cornelia Maneri, the project leader of Operation Christmas Child, and this is my very enthusiastic co-leader, Kristen Haynes. What's wrong with you this morning?

Nervous? Well, Cornelia, I am in a box, but I would do nearly anything for a good cause.

And Operation Christmas Child is a great cause. So tell us more. Okay. So you just saw a short refresher video about Operation Christmas Child, but just in case you are new to this amazing ministry, you can go to samaritanspurse .org to find out more, or you can just ask one of us.

This year, we set a goal of filling 300 shoeboxes. However, we know that with God's help, our church has the potential of filling many more. So we have a little homework for you. First, we encourage each of you to participate.

Pray and ask God to multiply your boxes. Next, write a list of 5 to 10 people that you will ask within a week or so also to fill a shoebox. You will be surprised how many of your neighbors and co-workers and friends are willing to participate.

And who knows, maybe you'll even get to share the gospel with them. Our hope is that all 300 boxes will be taken by next Sunday, and we will need to order more. Kristen has more.

Cornelia shared this story with me. As you listen, I ask you, what can a small church do? And as you hear the word box, think that each will be held in the precious hands of one child. Here are shoeboxes in my story.

Think children. In Wild Peach, Texas, home to one convenience store in Grace Baptist Church is a congregation of 25. In 2013, their pastor was ecstatic when they more than doubled their usual Operation Christmas Child contribution and packed 43 boxes.

And I'm losing the ball. Sorry, that wasn't in the script, was it? The next year, though, he sensed God wanted them to pack 500. The congregation initially thought he was crazy. But guess what? They packed 532 shoeboxes.

Still, the congregation was surprised again when Pastor Mark believed God wanted them to pack 2 ,000 shoeboxes. They report, since Grace Baptist Church has participated in Operation Christmas Child, they have seen the Lord's provision.

Each year, God has provided more than enough money to cover the $9 shipping cost for each box they pack, including all 2 ,118 boxes they packed that year. Wow, a congregation of just 25. Yeah, there's more than 25 here.

Now another short video, Operation Christmas Child comes full circle.

Gift in Romania when I was 13 years old. My shoebox allowed me to understand God's unconditional love for me. And I understand firsthand the impact of a shoebox as it started me on a lifelong journey of discipleship and multiplication.

Today, I want to pack a shoebox with prayer so another child can understand God's unconditional love for them. But I am not packing alone. I have some friends here to help. Addable item. And maybe put something.

Like a slinky. Remember to pack school supplies. Add a special toy. A few hygiene items. Everybody needs a new toothbrush. Maybe add a flashlight. Always make sure to include a letter.

And a photo. Wow, look at this shoebox. Beautifully and intentionally packed with a lot of care. I love seeing how every single item means so much to those who packed it. And now it's time to finish off our shoebox with a label and a donation.

And of course, we can't send off any shoebox without prayer. So let's pray. And now it's your turn to go and pack a shoebox.

Matthew 5 .16 says, let your light so shine before men that they will see your good works and glorify your father in heaven. The mission never changed. Children receive boxes. Children hear the gospel.

Children accept Jesus. And children take the gospel to the ends of the earth. Thank you. Don't forget your homework.

I want to say thank you to Cornelia and Kristen. And let the Lord work in your heart. Draw you out. Blessing these children around the world. As each one of those individuals, if you read it, they were individuals who had received the shoebox.

And now they're walking with the Lord. Let's pray. Lord, as we come to you, we're coming with hearts that are filled with gratitude, not because of who we are, but because of your love, because of Christ who died for our sins, because of your grace.

We come with hearts that are filled with gratitude. We come to your throne. We come under your rule. We come because of your grace. Thank you, Lord Jesus. Pray, Father, that you would be with those in our midst, those in our fellowship that are are in need.

I think of Bob Zellum, the good news that he has been able to transfer from a hospital to a rehab unit. Pray, Father, for his full recovery and that he would soon be home and back with us. Pray for others in our midst who are in need, whether it's medical, whether it's issues.

We pray for them and also, Lord, for those in our midst who have recently lost. We are with them in their bereavement. We offer our prayers. Pray, Father, that you would be with them. Father, for our missionaries around the world proclaiming Christ, we ask, Lord, that you would give them your wisdom, your strength, the word through them that the lamp would shine light through them.

And we pray for Terri Kamlin, who continues through the process of her treatments for her cancer. We pray for her recovery. Lord, for our country, those in office, we think of our president, our vice president, those in elected office.

We pray, Lord, for their salvation. We pray, Lord, that they would submit to you who sits on the throne. For our country in division, then we pray, Lord, that division would be replaced by hearts that are united with love and your grace.

Father, thank you for the lampstand that's lit here at Cornerstone. As your word is sent out without compromise, with truth, we pray for our pastor, Jeff, that you would continue to support him, to uphold him, and to encourage him.

And now, Lord, as he brings to us your word, we pray that it would come with the power of the Holy Spirit and that you would prepare our hearts to be open to hear. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

The Call to Sing, Follow Christ, and Hear the Warning of Hebrews

Let's magnify the Lord together. Exalt his name high above the heavens. Come together because of the hope we have in Jesus Christ. Nothing better than his righteousness and his redemption in our lives.

Let's sing that. My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness.

Lord, we have decided to follow you and we are resolute in that desire to never turn back.

But we also confess, Lord, were it up to us, each of us would stumble and fall off the straight and narrow, wander off to our own destruction. It is you keeping us. And so, Lord, we pray that you would keep us now through the preaching of your word.

Open our eyes that we may behold wondrous things from your law. We pray even in the warnings that these would be a mechanism, an instrument that you use to keep us on the straight and narrow. We pray for your word to us this morning to come forth to us with power.

Give us ears to hear, a heart to believe, eyes to see marvelous things in your word. In Jesus' name. Amen. There was a discovery made not long ago just outside of Jerusalem, 14 miles to the northwest of the Dead Sea.

If you could put up the slide for me. Guys, take a look up here. This is the Dead Sea. And just adjacent and to the southwest of the Dead Sea is Jerusalem. Up here is an area that was once known as the city of Sodom.

It was the largest city in the region almost 4 ,000 years ago. Next slide. They have begun to excavate this area and the project is called Tal el-Haman excavation project. So they're digging things out.

They're beginning to unearth it. This is 10 times larger than the city of Jericho being discovered. Next slide. So you see that they're unearthing houses and a temple and a number of things at this project called el-Tahep or Tal el-Haman.

This excavation project begun long ago and the more they discover things, the more it points to the truth of the Bible. However, those doing the excavation, not all of them are believers. And I came across an article in nature .com, which is a peer peer-reviewed journal with over 20 PhD scientists trying to explain what destroyed that city.

Now some of you have read in Genesis 19. You already know the answer before I go there. But for those of you who don't, let's go along with nature .com for a moment. They made some fascinating discoveries.

Let me begin by reading something from the journal. An early crucial clue in this investigation was the discovery of highly vesicular potsherds in the debris matrix that appeared to have melted at high temperatures, but with no clear evidence for a formation mechanism.

This first discovery led to some general observations about the uniqueness of the destruction layer debris. Example, it's unusual high temperature characteristics and it's consistent southwest to northeast orientation.

The site excavators speculated that the cause of the destruction may have been a cosmic air burst. Now this theory is that a meteor entered the atmosphere and prior to hitting Sodom, it exploded. It was an air burst about six miles above the earth, which is the reason why there's no crater.

But this explanation may actually have some merit, so let's look in a little deeper. They needed to explain three things. One, very high wind velocity that leveled the city from the southwest to the northeast.

In other words, from the direction of Jerusalem through the city, laying everything flat. Secondly, extreme high temperatures. And thirdly, extreme high pressure. So to the line of evidence regarding the temperatures, they discovered that mud brick and roofing clay had melted at over 1400 degrees Celsius.

The vesicular pottery melted at greater than 1500 degrees Celsius. There were also diamond-like carbon, diaminoids that formed at high pressure and temperature. The soot, charcoal, and ash indicated high temperature fires.

Fe and Se rich sephirols, I'm not a scientist, so forgive me if I mispronounce these things, some of which melted at greater than 1590 degrees Celsius. Platinum melted at 1768 degrees Celsius, and iridium, they discovered there, had melted at greater than 2466 degrees Celsius.

How do you explain this kind of temperature? Well, they had different theories that they tested and ruled them all out. Volcanism, lightning, crater-forming cosmic impact, earthquakes, midden fires, normal city fires, warfare, all of these things were tested against the evidence and found wanting.

The only explanation they could come up with was what they called a cosmic airburst, a meteor that entered and then exploded over the Earth's surface from about six miles and rained down fire and sulfur from above.

The cosmic airburst theory may be true. Providentially, God may have timed the sending of a meteor to explode in the air and rain down fire and sulfur on this city. Whether it was providentially that or just some supernatural manifestation of fire and sulfur doesn't matter because what we understand from Genesis 19 -24 is the Lord rained down on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the Lord out of heaven.

Point being, our God is a consuming fire. If he sees fit to judge a city, he can rain down fire from heaven for he himself is a consuming fire. I find that terrifying because I stand here as a preacher today to tell you I deserve that fire as much as any Sodomite.

For different reasons, all of us deserve the fire that rained down on Sodom. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. None of us could have escaped it by any merit of our own. But here's some good news about our God being a consuming fire.

2 ,000 years ago, he sent a fireball from heaven and it did not destroy the earth. Instead, it entered a room where 120 believers in Christ were gathered and it separated out over the heads of these believers like tongues of fire.

And then those tongues of fire entered into the believers and they began to speak languages they did not know, proclaiming the glory of Jesus Christ. And that fire went from one generation to another and for 2 ,000 years has been passed on to crowds of rooms just like this.

Some gathered in little huts in India, others in great big churches in Dallas. And all over the earth, tongues of fire are blazing this morning, preaching that Jesus Christ is Lord. He has risen and all who believe that message are indwelt with fire from above.

You begin to burn with passion. You want to hear the words of God. Your heart burns for him and you will spend all eternity like a ball of fire, like the seraphim and the cherubim, the burning ones in heaven who worship day and night and never tire of singing, holy, holy, holy.

That's how we will be for all eternity because we're touched by fire. It's a merciful fire that burns away all the dross and purifies us to be a people for his own possession. We've been touched by fire.

This morning, turn with me to Hebrews 12, 25 to 29, and we're going to memorize a verse. We'll do it right now. For our God is a consuming fire. Some of you have memorized John 11, 35. Jesus wept. Shortest verse in the Bible.

You got that one, right? Can we get verse 29 right here? For our God is a consuming fire. Memorize it, learn it, remember and visualize God as a consuming fire. So this morning, we're going to see the final warning in the book of Hebrews.

Final warning, which implies that he's been warning us all along, right? For those of you who have studied with me as we've studied and preached through the book of Hebrews, there have so far been four warnings.

Remember them? Jesus presented as the king of kings greater than angels. Right into chapter two, the author says, I want you to pay more careful attention to what you have heard so that you do not drift away.

For if the message spoken through angels was binding and every violation received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? That's the first warning. Pay attention so you don't drift.

Then in chapter three, the example is given of the Israelites who came across the Red Sea, headed for the promised land, and yet that whole generation died in the wilderness. And we're told, therefore, let us be careful lest we fall away.

Hebrews 3, 12. Then we move into chapter six and we're told that there are some who have tasted the heavenly gift and the powers of the coming age, the goodness of the word of God, and yet fall away. They're crucifying the son of God all over again and exposing him to public disgrace.

So to fall away is the great danger. It would be like land that constantly drank in the rain, but never produced any harvest. To hear the word of God, to sit in the assembly, to hear the preaching of Jesus Christ and him crucified, and yet ultimately to not believe and to depart, to fall away.

This is the great danger. The fourth warning is chapter 10, verses 26 to 31. The person who goes on deliberately sinning after receiving the knowledge of the truth is trampling underfoot the son of God and the blood of the eternal covenant, and it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

So we come now to the fifth warning in the book. Things are very serious at this point. It is a good warning because it is one of the instruments that God uses to keep us on the straight and narrow. Let's read it.

Hebrews 12, 25 to 29. See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven.

At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens. This phrase yet once more indicates the removal of things that are shaken, that is things that have been made, in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain.

Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship with reverence and awe for our God is a consuming fire. So the big idea here is that God is a consuming fire, and we therefore should be warned not to fall away.

It is a warning against apostasy. The early Hebrews, the Christians who had come out of Judaism, were tempted to go back to Judaism because that was a much easier life. It was a state-approved religion.

They weren't being persecuted the way Christians were, thrown to the lions, lit up as torches in Rome. And so it'd be easier just to go back to Judaism, do the temple rituals, and blend in. And many people chose that.

They departed from the faith. They fell away. But the warning here is unto those Hebrew Christians to hold on to Christ, to not depart, because there's no salvation apart from Christ. The same is true for all of us.

Maybe you've come from a different religion, or from the world, and the appeal of the secular world, and all that it has to offer, at times draws you back. The warning to you is the same as that given to the Hebrew Christians.

You must not depart. So it says, first of all, verse 25, see that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven.

That first word, see, is in the present imperative, which means it's an ongoing action. You're not just to once and for all have seen something, but to see, to continue to behold, to continue to listen.

See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. Well, who is the him in that verse? The context begins in Hebrews 1 .1. In the past, God spoke through the prophets at various times and in various ways, but in these last days, he has spoken to us through his son.

That's him who's speaking. When God sent his son into the world, he definitively spoke to the world and said, this is my son in whom I am well pleased. He presented Christ to the world and Jesus is the speech of God.

In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. God has spoken from heaven by sending his son once and for all definitively, but the nearer context of verse 25 is the preceding one.

Verse 24, look at that. We've come to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. Cain killed Abel and Abel's blood was spilled to the ground and it called to God, vengeance, justice, vindicate me.

The blood of Abel cried out from the ground, but the blood of Jesus spilled forth from the cross and it speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. It says, mercy, father, forgive them for they know not what they do.

His blood was given willingly as a sacrifice for our sins and it speaks a word. In other words, the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.

God has spoken in his son who lived a perfect life, died on the cross and rose from the dead and that blood that was spilled is speaking to you this morning, appealing to you to hear what God has to say.

The gospel is in view here. See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. That is Christ and his message of the cross. For if they did not escape when they refused him, who didn't listen? That first generation of Israelites, they received the law on Mount Sinai and it shook the mountain when God spoke.

They were terrified, but they went on in disobedience, making golden calves right away. Remember how Moses had to smash the 10 commandments and get a new set of tablets? Israel never obeyed the law of God.

They kept departing and finally God sent judgment in the form of Babylon, who came and crushed Jerusalem and took them into captivity for 70 years. Again and again, they refused him who spoke. Much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven.

This communicates the seriousness of the gospel. Very often we as Christians think that the gospel is just some suggestion that we have for the world. It's so much more than that. It is a command from almighty God.

When we speak the message of Christ in his blood, we do so with authority. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given unto me, says the Lord. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.

These are words of authority from a king, and when you go out as an ambassador of the king, you go in his authority, with his signet ring stamped on the words that you speak. That's why in Matthew 16, Peter was given the keys of the kingdom.

Because when he went to the Jews, he unlocked the gospel to them. And when he went to the Samaritans, confirming Philip's testimony in Acts 8, he unlocked the gospel to the Samaritans. And then to the Gentiles in Cornelius's home in Acts chapter 12.

The keys of the kingdom were unlocking, but in Matthew 18, we learn the whole church has this binding and loosing authority. When we preach Christ, we unlock the kingdom to those who are lost, that they may enter in to the unshakeable kingdom.

We go forth in authority, the very authority of God himself when we speak the gospel. Is that how you preach the gospel? You know, I've stopped saying to people at the outset, Christ died for your sins.

Well, why wouldn't I lead with that? Because very often people will hear that, which is not a biblical articulation of the gospel, by the way, to tell them Christ died for your sins. You don't find that in the apostolic preaching because people will hear that and say, well, okay, fine.

You go your way. I go mine. I guess I'm forgiven. But the scripture does say in first Corinthians 15, three and four, Christ died for our sins, according to the scripture that he was buried, that he rose on the third day, according to the scripture.

And those who belong to the hour, our sins for whom Christ died are the church, those who have come to saving faith. And according to first Corinthians 15, two, it's those who continue to believe until the end.

And so what we do as gospel preachers is we go with the command of God, repent and believe the good news. That's a tougher pill to swallow, isn't it? To go and call people to repentance from sin and to belief in the son of God with the good news that if you believe, you will find him to be a perfect savior.

If you beat your chest and say, Lord, have mercy on me, the sinner, and you believe that Jesus died for your sin and rose on the third day, then you will be saved. You must be repentant to believe. It's two sides of the same coin, repentance and faith.

The genuine gospel call carries this authority and the seriousness. Do you see it there in verse 25? The listener is told, see to it that you do not refuse him who is speaking. Christ is speaking through the preacher, through you, Christian, the priesthood of all believers.

When you bring the gospel to people, the spirit working through you, giving you the words to say as you speak the word of God, it's invested with the authority of God, great seriousness. And so the warning is you need to pay attention lest you drift away.

Listen to him who speaks from heaven. Next verse 26. At that time, his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised yet once more, I will shake not only the earth, but also the heavens. We have here a time marker, which is meant to indicate how imminent is the second coming of Christ.

The quote is from Haggai 2 .6, right? You guys knew that, right? Haggai 2 .6. It's where Haggai has called the people to rebuild the temple. They've come out of captivity back into the promised land. And as they begin to rebuild, they're commended.

God is with you. But Haggai tells them yet once more, in a little while, I will shake not only the earth, but the heavens. Haggai. And then he'll repeat it later in the second chapter of Haggai. But notice in our text, what part of that expression is missing.

Hebrews 12 .26. Yet once more, I will shake not only the earth, but also the heavens. Haggai said, yet once more, in a little while, or still a little while, in the Hebrew, I will shake not only the earth, but the heavens.

The expression that is missing is in a little while. In Haggai's day, in the Old Testament, there were still things yet to be accomplished. Christ was still yet to come. There would be the 400 silent years.

Then Christ would come at his first coming. Then rise from the dead, send the spirit, and the church age would bring the gospel to all the ends of the earth. And so Haggai said, in a little while. But the author here, quoting the substance without using that term, does not say in a little while.

The idea of time here, at that time, but now, in the text, is indicating that the return of the king is imminent. Any moment. There's nothing left to be fulfilled. No little while. It's any day now. Open your eyes, church.

Israel is back in the land since 1948. The Messiah is soon to come and plant his foot on the Mount of Olives. Look at the world in which we live. Jesus said there would be a great apostasy. And Paul added that this apostasy would be just before the lawless one.

Look at Europe. Once a continent that professed faith in Christ, now in deep darkness. Look around us. There's a believing remnant. Praise the Lord. But look at the broader culture. How America is departing, apostatizing from the faith.

The signs of the times are everywhere. Look at the vaccine mandates that this government is issuing. Because of not just this government, but worldwide governments. That unless you take this vaccine, you lose your job.

In other words, you cannot buy or sell and provide for your family without taking that mark. So is it the mark of the beast? No, it's not. It's a precursor to it. It shows the totalitarian worldwide government rising, which claims authority over individual Christians whose lives are made in the image of God.

Each one of us has authority over our bodies because we're made in the image of God. That individualism which Americans celebrate is actually because America found those principles in the word of God.

But the world doesn't accept that. And so you see this totalitarian precursor to the mark of the beast. Do you see the signs of the times? The rumblings are everywhere. They say that now seismologists are registering 55 earthquakes every day.

20 ,000 per year. Part of that is increases in technological ability to sensitively detect even the smallest rumblings. But what it tells us is that the earth is rumbling. The earth is shaking. Los Angeles in 1989 was leveled by an earthquake.

And still to this day, people in San Francisco and all across California are waiting for the big one. Right? The big one? Little do they know what Revelation 6 describes of the coming big one. The sixth seal after the horsemen of the apocalypse ride out will be so devastating it will shake the entire earth.

And those who live through it will be hiding in the clefts of the rocks calling on those rocks to fall on them to hide them from the wrath of God and of the lamb who sits on the throne. A coming shaking as we see here in verse 26.

Yet once more, it's soon I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens. It's real. Verse 27. This phrase yet once more indicates the removal of things that are shaken. That is things that have been made in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain.

The real, the spiritual that we can't see with our eyes. Faith is seeing invisible things that God has promised with the eyes that he gives. Think of the kingdoms of this earth. The Aztecs in Mexico. Their grand pyramids and all the gold of the continent.

The splendor of Montezuma. Hernan Cortes came there and climbed the steps of that temple and there he saw 50 hearts warm from sacrifice to the gods of the Aztecs. And this great kingdom was shaken when the conquistador laid it waste.

Justly because of the horror of sacrifice, human sacrifice. But they thought they were unshakable. So did Nebuchadnezzar when he built Babylon which even crushed Jerusalem. And he paraded on the wall saying, is this not Babylon that I have built?

And then Nebuchadnezzar because of the pride of his heart was reduced to the state of an animal and crawled around grazing on the grass outside of his kingdom. Herod standing on the wall shining in bright clothes reflecting the sun.