Revelation, Part 4 — Stanley Wells

And we're continuing in the study here in the book of Revelation. There are things about it that everybody doesn't agree, but we're going to make a few suggestions tonight and go over in a summary fashion an overview of what's ahead for this old world.

So we're delighted to see you. Remember, as we continue through Thursday night at 7 .30, and if you have some questions, by all means, talk to us. We'll be happy to help in whatever way we can. And those who know the subject better than I do, we'll be happy to listen to what you have to say.

Now let's have a little word of prayer before we open this Bible. Thank you. Our Father, we pause in thy presence tonight before the night hours slip away. We thank thee for the goodness and kindness of God today for each one of us.

And here we are preserved and kept and in some little measure desiring to honor our Lord Jesus Christ. So we thank thee as we anticipate the awful difficulties and devastation and destruction and suffering and persecution and anguish and distress that this old world will yet witness.

People don't realize what's ahead, but we thank thee as thy people, every soul here saved by the grace of God, we can rest in our Lord Jesus Christ. And we thank thee for a place of refuge before the judgments of God fall on this Christless world.

And so we have peace within tonight. It's the blood of Jesus Christ whispers peace within. It all started and finished on the cross. The Lord Jesus Christ, having made peace through the blood of his cross, he can offer peace through faith in him.

And so tonight we ask for help as we seek to appreciate and study and ponder and wonder at divine revelation what an awful day is ahead for this old world. And if the Lord comes tonight, we believe that very soon these awful times will commence.

So we ask for help tonight to be simple and clear and plain in this most interesting subject. The world all around us are interested in their own things, pleasure and sin and all that goes with it. And yet, Father, here we are tonight to learn a little more from my holy book.

Bless this great country tonight. We're getting nearer now another day to the election. We don't know who will be in the chair when we believe that God is in control and we desire that peace will prevail and that we'll have the opportunity to preach the gospel of the grace of God.

Bless every servant tonight who has left loved ones to go forth and we commend them each to thyself. Remember us then in the minutes that lie before. We need thy help another time. Receive unfailing thanks for thy goodness to this point and commend us each to thee in his worthy name.

Amen. Right, folks, we want to talk tonight about the most important part of this chart. We can't take time to go over what we have already gone over, but we have already talked about the revelation of Jesus Christ, the unfailing, the unveiling of his person.

We have already talked about chapter 1. We have already talked about chapter 2 and 3. And this is, of course, the book of Revelation. And last night we talked about chapters 4 and 5. And tonight we're moving forward from this scroll here.

Daniel's Seventieth Week and the Sevenfold Judgments

That's what we're going to talk about tonight. Moving forward to where I'm pointing to now, these seven seals, seven trumpets, and seven vials. Now, we should say one or two things here. You see, it says here, Daniel's 70th week or Heptad of years.

Now, that word Heptad is the idea of years. It's seven years, a week of seven years. It's not a week of seven days. And 69 weeks of years have already passed as far as the nation of Israel is concerned.

And this 70th week is called the great tribulation. And that's what the Lord Jesus Christ talks about. And that's what we're going to talk about tonight. Now, if you want to know more about these weeks, we'll be happy to talk about it later at your convenience.

But I want to tell you in a statement that you and I are living between the 69th year of Daniel and the 70th. And so we look at the chart tonight, and this yellow point here tells us the first great event that this world is going to witness, and maybe sooner than we realize.

People ask all the time on this chart, where are we tonight? Well, we're in this area here. These are the seven churches in Asia Minor, and there they are, and their lamp stands as they move forward. Now, we don't know when this will take place.

This says the first resurrection and translation of the saints, the coming again of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, let's suppose nobody knows the date, only God knows. He comes, say, before the weekend. Now, the chart shows us that this space where I'm pointing to now, nobody really knows how long it will be.

But we believe that when the Holy Spirit of God leaves the world in the mode that he's in tonight, and the saints of God leave in a very short time, the great tribulation will commence. And it will commence as we have seen last night in chapter five of Revelation, when the Lord Jesus Christ, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the little lamb, goes forward to the throne sitter, the father, and takes the book of the title deeds of earth, and unfolds these seals, this awful time will commence.

Now, I pointed out already, I want to point it out again. You see, somebody has wisely asked, we're talking about seven seals. Now, you count those there, there's only six. And then somebody says, there are seven trumpets, and yet there are only six here.

How come? Now, I'm going to show you, I'm going to read you the verse that it's based on. Remember what I told you? You know what a telescope is. And whenever you bring the telescope out of its case, it might be about that size.

And then if you open it up, from the base section comes another section, and another section, and so on. Now, the word we use is telescopic in its view. And so, out of these six seals here, the next one is the seventh.

And out of the seventh seal come the seven trumpets. Now, I'm going to read you the verse to prove it. Moving over then, out of this, these are six trumpets that follow. And out of this last one here comes these seven vials of the wrath of God.

Now, this tribulation that we're talking about, Daniel's 70th week, we don't know when it will start. But when it starts, it will go for seven years. And of course, on here, the last half of the week, 42 months, 1260 days.

And then the Lord Jesus Christ will come from heaven, and all the things that follow after. Now, let me point another thing out to you. And these are at least suggestions. It might not be the interpretation, but they make sense.

And so, where I'm pointing to now, these seals cover the first half of the week. That is a week of years, three and a half years. These trumpets are in the middle of the week. And then of course, the seven vials are at the end of the week.

Now, we're going to read tonight to show you that the destruction and the suffering will intensify. So, whenever we come to this particular part, at the end of the great tribulation, millions, I'm going to suggest billions, will have lost their lives, as we'll see in the nights to come.

So, if you don't agree, well, here's what I'm going to suggest to you. Seals, one word will describe their compass in the first part of the week. You see, the Lord Jesus Christ is announcing to men what's going to happen.

The Six Seals in Revelation 6

Now, take your Bible, please, Revelation chapter six. I'm going to point out to you the headline of each one, and we'll read them consecutively together. Revelation chapter six and verse number one. We're now beyond the courtroom of heaven.

And I saw when the, this is the eye as John himself, the lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were, the noise of thunder. One of the four living creatures saying, come and see. There's the first seal.

I just go down this chapter a little, please. Verse number three, and when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, come and see. Verse number five, and when he had opened the third seal, see, this is the throne setter that gave the book, the scroll to the Lord Jesus.

I heard the third living creature say, come and see. Notice verse seven, and when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, come and see. Verse nine, and when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar, the souls of them that were slain for the word of God and for the testimony which he held, and so on.

Now watch the sequence. Verse 12, and I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and lo, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood, and so on.

Now notice at the end of the chapter, here's what they'll say. Verse 16, and said to the mountains and rocks, fall on us, hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of his wrath has come, and who shall be able to stand?

Look at verse one of chapter eight, please. Now we're talking about seals. I have read you six seals. Listen to what verse one says, and when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.

Now there's nothing said under the seventh seal, but I want to pause there, and then I'm going to go back and read to you a little more from this particular chapter. All right, here's where we're at. Let me just point out to you again.

You see, in the courtroom of heaven, the immediate presence of God, Revelation 4 and 5, this scroll is opened. Remember, no one was found that was able to open that scroll, but the Lord Jesus could do it.

It's the title deeds of earth, and he's going to announce to these dear people what's going to happen in tribulation days. Now let me explain. Tonight, we're in the age of grace. Here's where we are. The world is right in here.

The Lord Jesus Christ hasn't come. Seven plus billion people on planet earth tonight. There's atrocities happening that we can't understand why. The suffering of humanity and men against this fellow is absolutely astounding, and people ask all the time, why does God not intervene?

Because we're in the age of grace. God is dealing in grace with humanity tonight, but you see when the Lord Jesus Christ comes, going to be a big change. I want to ask you tonight, do you think that the world that we live in, the society that we form part of, and the generation that we're living in, do you think that conditions will continue the way they are?

It was pretty obvious it won't. Now what will trigger God moving from grace to governmental dealings? This is the great point here. The Lord Jesus Christ will come, and it's very likely that the people that are living on planet earth tonight will continue to live after the Lord has come without their sins forgiven.

And then the great tribulation commences. Now remember what I've told you? I'm giving you the overview. I'm not going to go into the details tonight. It's impossible, but I want to show you that as these seals are open, and every time one was opened, heaven bows as one man and gives the authority and the place of honor and worth to our Lord Jesus Christ.

And so there's horses in view here. Chapter six of Revelation, they're on the chart. So here's number one seal open, the white horse, the red horse, the black horse, the pale horse, and so on. Now let me point out to you then that in many sevens in the Bible, they're divided in two, four and three.

And these three sevens that we're going to look at tonight, every one of them are divided into two. And so that's why there's a pale horse here and all that they represent. Now you see the next one then is the martyred souls of believers who will die for their faith in this particular part after the rapture has come.

Now it's nothing to do with us. You and I are home in heaven. We've already pointed that out. Here we are, the elders in heaven, judgment seat of Christ and all the rest of it. Now we can't go into in our minds perceive what it will be like in those awful days.

I can't describe to you, but let me point this out to you that on this sixth seal here, the great earthquake, men are going to be absolutely startled. Now I didn't read you the details, but let me say this to you.

There's an increase in earthquakes these days. Now I was in Japan this year in January and I flew over the area called Sendai where the largest earthquake, and it was nine, 10 point something on the Richter scale.

The devastation in that area was absolutely astounding. And then the mighty tsunami after it, nine minutes after it, and the devastation was beyond our understanding. Now that's only a very small part of planet earth tonight, but when the great earthquake comes, it will likely be global.

Men's heart will fail them for fear. And the passage says they'll call on the mountains and the hills to fall on them and to hide them from the wrath of the lamb. For the great day of his wrath has come on who shall be able to stand.

I'm going to suggest to you that conditions will be so dreadful in the first part of this week here, where I'm looking at now, that men will think they're up here and that finally they'll be going to the lake of fire.

But there's more severe judgment beyond that, that they have ever seen before. God help us tonight to appreciate that we're saved by the grace of God and our eyes will never see it. Now, John is absolutely enthralled of what he has seen up here in the courtroom of heaven.

The Seven Trumpets and Their Woes

And now he gets a look at the devastation on humanity in the first part of the week. Now, I read you in chapter eight of the book of Revelation, that there was silence in heaven for the space of half an hour, whenever the seventh seal was opened.

Now, please notice the seventh seal is moving into the seven trumpets. I take it that even heaven is so disturbed when they see the devastation that is happening on earth. There's total silence. I take that to be literal.

The harmony in the new song will cease for 30 minutes and then the alarms will be sounded. The trumpets, the book of Revelation. Now, we're going to read about them. Let's go now please to chapter eight of the book of Revelation.

I've already read to you verse number one. I'll read verse number two of Revelation chapter eight. And I saw the seven angels which stood before God and to them were given seven trumpets. Now, watch. Verse seven, the first angel sounded.

Notice verse eight, the second angel sounded. Notice verse 10, the third angel sounded. Notice verse 12, the fourth angel sounded. Now, remember I told you there's a distinction, there's a gap between four and five.

Now, here I'll read it to you as an example. You see these seven trumpets are divided into two parts. I have read you verse seven, number one. Verse eight, number two. Verse 10, number three. Verse 12, number four.

Now, read verse 13 of this chapter. And I beheld and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven saying with a loud voice, woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels which are yet to sound.

Now, there's it right there. Four plus three, seven. Chapter nine, verse one. And the fifth angel sounded. Notice verse 12, one woe is past and behold there are two woes more hereafter. Here's the second woe, verse 13.

And the sixth angel sounded and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates and all the rest of it.

We're in there to the details. Now, follow through here into chapter 11, please. Notice what it says in verse 14. The second woe is past and behold the third woe cometh quickly. Now, notice the next verse, please.

And the seventh angel sounded, but there's no judgment falling now because the vials are coming out of this. See the next statement, there were great voices in heaven saying the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ and he shall reign forever and ever.

Now, please notice verse 15 of chapter Revelation chapter 11, you can't go any further in divine purpose than this last statement of verse 15, the Lord Jesus Christ, he shall reign forever and ever. And yet there are 11 chapters to go.

Revelation's Recapitulating Structure

So you have to understand that the book of Revelation, it goes forward for a bit. Then there's a pause, comes up to a crisis and then it goes back. And then it goes forward again a little further and it comes to a crisis and it stops.

Now you have to understand that. You see the truth and I've already told you in the book of Revelation is not a straight line that you start here A and go to B like a string can't do that. If you don't see what I'm telling you, the Bible and revelation won't make sense.

Now let's just follow through on that. When, uh, let me read it to you again. So you understand what we're talking about. You see the verse 15 of chapter 11, the seventh angel sounded and these voices in heaven, the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ.

And he shall reign forever and ever. Now come now please to verse one of chapter 16. Here's the sequence. Verse one, chapter 16. And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, go your ways, pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.

Now if English means anything and you look at chapter eight and chapter 11 and chapter 16, you have to conclude that out of the seventh seal comes the seven trumpets on out of the seven trumpets come the seven vials.

And I will read about that in a minute, but let me point out to you. You see, Dr. Ironside was very intelligent. He understood scripture, right? You notice here in his chart, there are seven of these vials full of the wrath of God.

And somebody says, well, how come there's seven on the chart? Well, notice whenever we're here, we're almost at the end of the great tribulation and there's no more sevens as far as pouring out the wrath of God is concerned.

Now just keep in mind then what we have talked about. Now let me just summarize. I didn't read it, but it's in chapter eight for your consideration. And in chapter nine, the alarm that will happen in the middle of the week, people want to know what's going to happen about this old world.

The Escalation of the Trumpet Judgments

Well, we have read some of the things. Let me just go over them quickly to you. You see when alarm number one, the trumpet is sounded, the earth is smitten and one third of population is affected. Now you just calculate that, do the mathematics tonight.

Seven plus billion people on planet earth tonight and one third wiped out in a short time. You see trumpet number two, the sea is smitten. One third is affected. Trumpet number three, the rivers are smitten.

One third is affected. Trumpet number four, the cosmos as we call it, the earth, the sun, the moon, and the stars are smitten. One third are affected. My brother and I am suggesting to you tonight that that's literal.

Can we just pause a minute to think of the world and we think of so much electronics that we have and so many intelligent people across the world and they know more seemingly than any other generation in their view.

And all of a sudden a third of the whole thing is wiped out. We can't really conceive. And somebody asked, where's the believers going to be? Well, they're going to be home in heaven and we'll be looking down on a troubled earth and that's what's going to happen to millions who have said no to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Then of course there is the break. I have called it an intermission between trumpet number four and trumpet number five. All the details are in chapter eight and chapter nine. I haven't read them to you, but I'll just summarize it.

See trumpet number five, locusts like scorpions, they will bite men and they will be around for five months. Read the details, do you see? Under trumpet number six, the horsemen cause devastation and again one third of men will be killed.

We think of the numbers right now. You think of Iraq, for example, and the number of people from this country that lost their lives and even from the allies with the U .S. and if the numbers are correct, over 5 ,000 lost their lives.

Look at Afghanistan tonight. Over 2 ,000 have lost their lives on the battlefield. Now, there's a sense in which it's absolutely nothing. In comparison to what will happen here, billions will lose their lives.

You know why? Because they left God out of life and somebody says, well, why is there a great tribulation anyways? Well, I'll tell you because the nation of Israel crucified the Lord Jesus Christ, and even though they were fulfilling scripture and doing it, God thinks so much of his beloved son that he won't allow the nation of Israel to get away with it.

The nations of earth are against them tonight, but in the tribulation days, it will be dreadful for that nation, and yet God has a great future for them, and they will have to pay the price for what they have done.

And so we learn very solemn lessons in all of these matters. Now, I want to go and read you the next seven. I have pointed out the verses to you, and you can read them for yourself. Let's go again to chapter 16 of Revelation.

The Seven Bowls of God's Wrath

This is the third seven that we're talking about tonight. Let me just point them simply out to you. You see verse number two, we're talking now in verse number one of the seven angels who are going their ways to pour out the vials, the bowls of the wrath of God upon the earth.

Here's the first one, verse two. The first went and poured out his vial upon the earth. See verse three, and the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea. Verse four, the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters, and they became blood.

I mean, that's very like the historical part in the land of Egypt in the early chapters of the book of Exodus. Look at verse number eight, the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun. Look at verse 10, the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast, and so on.

See verse 12, and the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates. And by the way, that's in Iraq tonight, geographically speaking. And the water thereof was dried up, and the way of the kings of the east, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.

Now, more about that tomorrow night in the will of God. Notice verse 16, he gathered them together in a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. You've heard that word. It means mountain of slaughter.

Verse 17, the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air, and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven from the throne saying, it is done. And let me just read a verse or two under this one.

Notice verse 19, for example, or maybe I should read verse 18, so you know what we're talking about. There were voices and thunderings and lightnings. There was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake and so great.

And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nation fell. And great Babylon came in remembrance before God to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.

And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven. Every stone about the weight of a talent, men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

Now, let me point out to you that when we're in this part of the chart, the destruction and devastation from the God of heaven upon men has intensified to a dreadful degree. And there's only one thing can happen, men will perish.

Now, let me just quickly go down these here so that you know what I'm talking about. You see, out of the seventh trumpet, as I pointed out to you, are the seven vials. You see vial number one poured out upon men.

Men receive grievous sores in their bodies who worship the men of sin. I have thought about this, brethren. Like, let me just give you a simple example. There are into hundreds of thousands tonight across the globe that are affected by the HIV virus.

I've had an opportunity to be in close on people and given them the gospel of the grace of God. And this came their way, generally speaking, because of their lifestyle. Now, I know there are other ways, but I'm talking about the main thrust.

And you want to see what those people are feeling like. Dreadful. It's nothing in comparison with this first one here, vial number one. Whenever that bowl is poured out on men, they will be absolutely devastated in their bodies, apart from their souls.

You see vial number two, and this is all in chapter 16. It's poured out on the sea and there's total contamination caused and causing things to die. We think of contamination with food that is set aside and has gone off and all that sort of stuff.

It's nothing in comparing to this. You think of thousands that will eat fish and will take their lives and be poisoned. See vial number four, poured out on the rivers, total corruption, water turned to blood that men had to drink.

Why is he trying to drink blood? These are all literal things, brother. On the history book of the Bible shows, in the book of Exodus, it happened in Egypt, but it was only on one country. This is global.

I hope I'm getting the point across to you tonight. See vial number four, poured out on the cosmos, the atmospheric heavens, sun, given power to scorch men with intense heat. You ever see people and they weren't prepared to endure the heat of deserts in this world of ours?

It's shriveled up. It's only a faint picture of what will happen. Then of course, there's the intermission. See vial number five, poured out on the kingdom of the men of sin that we'll talk about tomorrow night and the will of God.

Great darkness and pain came upon this kingdom. See vial number six, poured out in the great river Euphrates to make the way of the kings of the East and their armies. Now, let me say that I am not a racist.

Every culture in the world tonight is loved of the Lord Jesus Christ and the God of heaven, John 3 and 16. Yellow, the yellow races, the black races, the red races, and the white races, every one of them have got a soul that will live forever.

But here's a passage that will tell us that when the time comes, there will be an infantry from the East, the Far East we're talking about. And the experts tell us they will march an infantry right through Northern India, Tibet, and right into across into the bottom southern part of Europe, north of the land of Israel.

And they'll come into the mountain of slaughter, Megiddo, the valley of Megiddo, where Armageddon will take place. And more about that in another night. But we're absolutely overwhelmed when we think of what this world is going to go through.

So, you have the East, the king of the East, the king of the North, the king of the South, and the Western Confederacy, and they will all meet in Armageddon and millions, likely billions, will be destroyed.

Israel, Judgment, and the Coming Millennium

If you got the picture tonight, whenever I think on this, I'm really amazed how people can live without the Lord Jesus in this life. And I think of those that are raised in our homes and in our family circles, and they're prepared to leave God and Christ out of their experience.

And this is an awful day that's coming. Coming events in our world tonight are casting their shadows. There are more people tonight that are dying from starvation than those that are overfed. Just a faint picture of what's ahead.

If I was sitting in this meeting tonight without the Lord Jesus Christ, do you know what I would do? I would seek the Lord while he may be found, and I would call upon him while he is near. That's what Isaiah 55 says, let the wicked, the sinner forsake his ways and let him return unto our God, for he will multiply pardon, and he will forgive your sins based on what Christ has done.

I have heard mothers recently that have sons and daughters that are unbelievers and they were raised in the gospel. And they were saying, oh, I could just give that son of ours a shake. Does he understand what's ahead?

And if he dies without Christ, what will happen? And if he's left after the rapture of the church, the awful devastation, and he knows it. Oh dear soul tonight, I want you to pause, all of us, and think of what's ahead for this old world.

The great tribulation. Now, I could have read you in other scriptures. Let me quote one or two. You see, the Lord Jesus Christ said, Matthew 24, there's a time of tribulation coming on this world. It has never been witnessed before, and it will never be witnessed after.

Unique, one-off. Why? Well, for the nation of Israel, first of all, that's what the church says. You see, they're regathered tonight in the land of Israel in unbelief. Some of them are apostate. If you don't know what that means, they have turned away from God.

Any light that they had has become darkness. That's a sad thing. And whenever this tribulation is over, a remnant will be saved, and they will come here to where I'm pointing now, and will go into the great millennium reign of Christ for a thousand years.

The Cross, Salvation, and the Final Appeal

Here you are tonight. I would like to challenge you, friend, whoever you may be, that whatever else you miss in life, make absolutely sure you won't miss heaven. You see, this chart, I like this. Here's the cross.

The hymn writer was right when he said, the way of the cross leads home. And if ever you want to be in heaven, you and I need to visit Calvary, and to think of the one that suffered, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God.

Fifty-five years ago, as a young fellow in the old country, I got to the cross right there, bowed before the God of heaven, told God, oh God, I'm a guilty sinner. I deserve to be down here. Hades, hell, the unseen world.

But I want to take the Lord Jesus as my Savior here and now, and understand for the first time that after I repented of my sin, he took my place and died as my substitute on the cross for a lonely, wretched sinner like me.

And in an instant of time, I trusted the Lord Jesus. I accepted him as Savior, and I went on my way rejoicing. Fifty-five years have come and gone. It's a good test for any of us. Since I first commenced my journey, many said, you'll turn again.