Book of Revelation - Ch. 6, Vs 12-17 (07/29/2018)

Okay. Is that good? You want more noise?

Okay. This morning we're going to look at the opening of the sixth seal.

But before we do that, let's take a moment. Most gracious Heavenly Father, thank you for bringing us together once again to study your

Holy Word. Thank you again for your provision for us of the Holy Spirit to help guide us in our studies and to help guide us in our understanding.

Bless us and keep us and teach us those things that you want us to understand.

Go through the services today. Bless us and keep us and protect us. In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen. Okay. What we're going to do first of all today is look at where we've been so far.

We have looked at the opening of the first five seals. And I'm going to lay out a timeline as best

I understand it. And the timelines are very difficult for me to put together.

And so if I've got something put together wrong, help me out. The first seal is opened.

And that reveals a white horse and his rider. The first seal brings the illusion of peace.

And that illusion of peace is initiated by what I'm going to, for right now, identify as the prince that shall come.

That's probably the rider of the white horse. One thing we know for certain.

This prince that shall come confirms a peace. Confirms a covenant of peace.

Doesn't necessarily confirm a peace, just a covenant of the peace.

We get that from Daniel chapter 9 if you want to go there. Verse 27. Daniel is talking about his vision.

And he has a vision involving seven years or one week of years.

And as he's describing that, he says, and he, that is the prince that shall come, referred to earlier in this passage, and he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week.

So he creates a covenant and he confirms it for a week or for seven years.

But in the midst of the week, he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease.

One of the conditions of that covenant is a temple for the Jewish people to worship at and they can do their sacrifices and their oblations, and he allows that until the middle of the week and he causes it to cease.

He is maybe at the very beginning of this opening of the seal.

He may be revealed as the Antichrist. In fact, the revelation of the

Antichrist, or the revealing, I shouldn't have used the word revelation, it makes you think of the book. The revealing of the

Antichrist is given by supporters as one of the primary reasons for a pre -tribulation rapture point of view.

The reasoning being this. The Holy Spirit, as it indwells the believer, prevents the

Antichrist from being revealed. And thus the church, along with the believers, must be removed in order for that to happen.

And they base that on this, 2 Thessalonians 2 verse 3.

Let no man deceive you by any means, for that day shall not come, except there be a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called

God, or that is worshipped, so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is

God. Remember ye not when I was yet with you, I told you these things?

And now ye know that what withholdeth, that he might be revealed in his time.

For the mystery of iniquity doth already work, only he who now letteth will let, until he is taken out of the way.

And then that wicked shall be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.

A couple of words there. Let doesn't mean let like we mean let, which means to allow.

It means let like the old English meant let, which is to prevent. It is a kind of a weird use of a word.

But that's what is said. Now, one thing that I highlighted here for the very first time ever as I read that, it says two or three times he.

Until he be taken out of the way, whoever it is that's letting. I don't ever remember or know of the church being referred to as a he anywhere.

But I don't know that. On the other hand, I would like to add that has there ever been a time when

Satan has been unrestrained? That is to say his behavior has not been constrained by the presence of the

Holy Spirit. And the fact that he wishes to allow something or not allow something has always and will always be in the total purvey of God, not the purvey of Satan.

It is not Satan that decides when and who and how he will act.

It is God that allows it. Okay. That's just I just laid that out there for you to know that that's one of the primary keys for a pre -tribulation rapture point of view.

Now, on the other hand, I've already said that. In any case, the

Antichrist is empowered by Satan. He's allowed or better he is caused by God to display

God's wrath during the duration of this illusion of peace.

The three and a half years or the first half of the seven -year period of Daniel, which a lot of people refer to as the tribulation.

And I'll call it the tribulation, but understand it's not the great tribulation.

It's only a seven -year tribulation period. And during that time, most people would say that we are at peace.

And we talked about being a false peace last week in terms of even though it is at peace, it is in that peace many are destroyed.

Many are destroyed by that peace. And then we came to the second seal. The second seal is opened.

The red horse and his rider are revealed. The red horse is the reality of war.

It's a war initiated by the Antichrist, who is probably the rider of all four of these horses.

There are going to be four horses that are the four horses of the apocalypse. And it is my belief that every one of those four horses is ridden by the

Antichrist. Now, I've heard a lot of people say the first horse is ridden by the Antichrist and not say anything at all about the other three.

I think all three are ridden by the Antichrist, and I think all four of these horses spell out the period of time of the tribulation, both the first three -and -a -half years and the last three -and -a -half years, or the great tribulation part.

So here we are, the opening of the second seal, the reality of war, a war initiated by the

Antichrist, the probable rider of all four horses. If Antichrist was not revealed or made known to the general population at the very beginning, he will certainly be known now when he is sitting in the temple of God proclaiming himself to be

God. Then he would be revealed. Using the previous reasoning, that would imply that the rapture would come at the mid -trib point.

Let's look a little bit at Alos, My Place. I am still in 2

Thessalonians 2 and verse 5.

Would I read verse 1 of 2 Thessalonians?

I can do it this way. 2

Thessalonians, I'm in first. You're right.

I did not read that verse, but I see what you're talking about. Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our

Lord Jesus Christ and by our gathering together unto him. That would infer the rapture, right?

And by our gathering unto him. I'm going to get to that later on, but I didn't see it earlier on.

That's why I was as quick as I was to pick up what you're saying. Well, that is correct.

I've got another thing out of place. This is in Matthew. I believe it's Matthew 24.

Matthew 24, would that be right? And I just put this in.

When you therefore shall see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet stand in the holy place whosoever readeth let him understand.

So, when you see the man of the abomination of desolation the man revealing himself to be

God in the holy temple spoken of by Daniel in the prophet you see him standing in the holy place then you understand where we are in the tribulation period.

And this is at the opening of the second seal. The red horse, the second seal when it is opened the antichrist is in the holy temple proclaiming himself to be

God he initiates an open war and it's that open war that is talked about in the second seal.

Closely following the opening of the second seal the third and fourth seals are opened.

The third revealing a black horse the reality of famine probably triggered by the war that was initiated so it would be a little bit after the war began but not too much.

And then followed by the opening of the fourth seal revealing the pale horse the reality of death and hell.

And his rider, the antichrist all concluding three and a half years later.

Go to Matthew 24 verse 21.

Matthew 24 verse 21. But before we go to verse 21 probably

I need to pick up a little bit earlier than that because I erased it by accident. Let me just start at the beginning.

Well, I'll start at the beginning. And Jesus went out and departed from the temple and his disciples came to him to show him the building of the temple.

And Jesus said unto them See ye not all these things? Verily I say unto you there shall not be one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down.

And as he sat upon the Mount of Olives his disciples came unto him privately saying tell us when shall these things be and what shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world.

And Jesus said unto them Take heed that no man deceive you for many shall come in my name saying

I am Christ and shall deceive many. And you shall hear wars and rumors of wars.

See that you not be troubled for these things must come to pass. But the end is not yet for nations shall rise against nations and kingdom against kingdom.

There shall be famine and pestilence earthquakes in diverse places. All of these are the beginning of sorrows.

Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted and shall kill you and you shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.

That's occurring in a lot of the world right now but not necessarily right here. And then shall many be offended and shall betray one another and shall hate one another.

That's happening here. And because iniquity shall abound the love of many shall wax cold.

That's happening now. But he that shall endure to the end the same shall be saved.

For this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness to all nations.

And then shall the end come. When therefore you shall see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet stand in the holy place whosoever readeth let him understand.

That's the passage I just read. Now we have a timeline for it.

We have the point when the abomination of desolation is standing in the holy place now the last half begins.

Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains. Let him which is on the outstop not come down to take anything out of his house.

Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe to them that are with child and to them they give suck in those days.

But pray ye that your flight be not in winter neither on the Sabbath. For then shall be a great tribulation such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time nor shall ever be.

This is a different tribulation now. This is the great tribulation. And except those days be shortened there should be no flesh saved.

But for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. Then if any man shall say unto you lo here is

Christ or there believe it not for there shall be false Christ and false prophets and shall show great signs and wonders insomuch if it were possible they should deceive the very elect.

But I have told you before wherefore if they say unto you behold he is in the desert go not forth behold he is in a secret chamber even unto the west

I'm sorry believe it not for as the lightning cometh out of the east and shineth even unto the west so shall the coming of the

Son of Man be. For wheresoever the carcass is there the eagles will be gathered.

Now that is an allusion to something that is not often used in a positive sense.

The gathering of birds to a carcass that could be used to infer the gathering together of the saints to the body of Christ.

And immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened and the moon shall not give her light and the stars shall fall from heavens and the power of the heavens be shaken.

Then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn and they shall see the

Son of Man coming in the clouds with in the clouds of heaven with power and glory and he shall send his angels with the sound of the great trumpet and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other.

Now that's where I wanted to get to. Back to chapter 24, verse 21.

For then shall be a great tribulation such as was not since the beginning of this world since the beginning of the world to this time no, nor shall ever be.

And except those days be shortened there should be no flesh be saved. But for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.

Now I ask you a question. How will the days be shortened? What will shorten the days? I'm sorry?

The end of the tribulation. Maybe with the appearance of the final white horse and its rider.

Let's go to the final white horse the real white horse and its rider. You'll find that in chapter 19 of Revelation, verse 11.

And I saw the heavens open and behold a white horse.

If you ever wonder why that first horse was white and why this one is white

Satan always copies. But it's never a good copy. It's never the real white horse and the real rider.

It's always another white horse and another rider. The first white horse was the illusion of peace.

The second white horse was the reality of peace. The first rider was a false

Christ, antichrist. The second rider was the real Christ.

Always an illusion of what is real and that's what makes it so difficult.

Satan casts all of his deceptive ways in the pattern of something that is true.

And if you allow it, you will be trapped into accepting right for wrong, good for evil, and evil for good.

And you'll say, how can a good God do such a thing? With the appearance of the final white horse and I saw heavens open and behold a white horse and he that sat on him was called fateful and true.

And in righteousness does he judge and make war. Who judges and makes war? Christ.

His eyes were as a flame of fire and on his head were many crowns. And he had a name written that no man knew but himself.

And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood and his name is called the

Word of God. Remember, this is John writing. How did John describe

Jesus in the gospel of John? In the beginning was the

Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. So his name,

I don't know what this means to say he had a name written that no man knew but himself.

But I know what we call him. We call him Jesus. We call him the Word of God. We call him

Christ. Maybe there will be a name later on which we know.

We don't know it yet. With the appearance of this horse and this rider the tribulation is over and the millennial kingdom is about to begin.

Now we're going to go back to the Antichrist. We don't want to get to chapter 19 for a long time.

We're going to go back to the Antichrist who will continue to be a human agent for trouble during these remaining three and a half years.

We've got the timeline locked in now. It starts at the revealing of the first white horse, the opening of the first seal and it ends with the coming of the last white horse three and a half years later.

The Antichrist will continue to be a human agent for trouble during the remaining three and a half years.

But there will be far greater trouble than he can bring. Trouble so great that it's referred to as the time of Jacob's trouble.

It's sometimes called the Great Tribulation. So bad that it can only be at the hand of God himself.

Not at the hand of a surrogate. Not even one as powerful as the Antichrist. So now we are to chapter 6 of Revelation verse 12 and I'm going to read a passage.

And I beheld, and when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake.

Had there been earthquakes before? And the sun became black.

Had the sun been black before? Well, the sun's black every night.

The sun is black during a total eclipse. The sun could be black with a heavy enough overcast.

Only been black once? Okay, I'm not going to argue with you about that.

And the sun became black as sackcloth of hair. And the moon became as blood.

I, uh, sackcloth of hair.

I don't know, but it's going to be black. I think it's going to be black as a sackcloth of hair.

Like it's been covered with a black bag. Bag. Sackcloth made of hair.

Scratchy and itchy. And the moon became as blood. Now, I'm going to tell you some things that people say and give you a quick science lesson.

I can't help it, it's in my nature. Some attribute the darkening of the sun and the moon turning red to solar and lunar eclipses.

The sun is blackened out at the time of a total eclipse and the moon does turn red during a lunar eclipse.

But if the darkening of the sun and the moon turning red occur at the same time, as is demanded here and in parallel accounts, even though there might be physical explanations, there are no physical explanations that I am aware of.

That doesn't mean there's not any. It just means I don't know of any. But this I do know. Eclipses is not the answer.

A solar eclipse requires the moon to be between the sun and the earth. So that the sun's...

I wrote it down so I wouldn't say it wrong. So that the moon's shadow strikes parts of the earth.

And by the way, the moon's shadow will not cover the entire earth. So there'll be portions that can see the sun even when there's an eclipse.

They may see part of an eclipse. They may not see any at all. But there'll be parts of the earth that are completely obscured by the sun if it is a total eclipse.

But to do that, the moon has to be between the sun and the earth so the sun's light can be blocked by the moon and not reach the earth.

Now, a lunar eclipse requires the earth to be between the sun and the moon so that the moon lies totally or partially in the earth's shadow.

So one, we have the sun, the earth, and the moon. The other, we have the sun, the moon, and the earth.

You can't have both of those at the same time. You can have one. You can have the other. God can cause the sun to darken and the moon to turn red at the same time.

But an eclipse can't. It's either one or the other. How many of you noticed something odd about the moon

Friday night? What did you notice odd about it? It was blue!

No, it wasn't. We call it a blue moon. How many of you have heard the phrase, once in a blue moon?

What does that mean? Two full moons in a calendar month.

The 29th, the 28th, and the 1st.

Full moon, full moon. Two full moons in the month.

Well, what color was it? Somebody said red. I'm sorry?

Supposed to be called a strawberry moon. What would that be? Okay. Some people called it a strawberry moon.

Some people called it a blood moon. Did you see that? You know why?

It was on the wrong side of the earth. Europe, Australia, they all saw a total lunar eclipse.

The longest total lunar eclipse in hundreds of years.

We didn't see it. It had gone away before the moon rose. Before the moon came up here, it had already gone away.

If you checked the video, you could see a video of it. It would have been really good in Australia.

That's where the video was done. And if you did, if you saw the video, you'd have actually seen the faint red color from which the name the blood moon arises.

What you actually saw was a total lunar eclipse. That would explain the moon becoming as blood.

But the sun couldn't be black at the same time. And by the way, the next solar eclipse won't happen until the next total solar eclipse will occur on July the 2nd, 2019.

A couple of more years. Solar eclipses are more rare than lunar eclipses. Lunar eclipses occur almost every month, but in different places.

Okay, I've done that already. I'm just going to scroll down.

I've got Matthew 24 out of order, and I've got it now in my notes. Oh, let me add one more thing.

Pick up Matthew 24, starting at verse 29. Matthew 24, 29. He just talked about the

Great Tribulation. And then he says, Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.

That's Matthew. That's similar to what it says in Revelation 6. Would you read

Revelation 6, 12 again for me? You don't have it. That's okay.

I'm sorry. You always do. That's why I picked on you. Revelation 6, 12.

Do you want to read it? Yeah, please. All right.

Now, what did that do? What happened on the opening of that seal?

Earthquakes and the blood of the moon turning red and the earth going black.

Those things happened, and what happened is followed by a

Great Tribulation. This is similar, but not the same, as in Matthew 24.

What's similar are the signs. What's different is Revelation 6 initiates the

Great Tribulation. Matthew 24 ends it. I think so.

I think there's a set of signs and wonders that initiate or that mark the beginning of the

Great Tribulation and another sign that marks the end. And the signs are very much the same.

The sun shall be darkened. The moon shall not give her light. It said in the other passage the moon would turn red, right?

The stars shall fall from heaven. I don't think it mentioned that in Revelation.

It does mention the stars shall fall from heaven further down.

And the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. I think it has to do with the angel, the angelic beings that are in heaven, and I don't necessarily think it's shaken.

I don't think it's necessarily shaken in terms of shaken bad, but stirred into action because there's going to be activity that is coming from heavens directly to earth during this event and after.

And as a matter of fact, after 24, which is what we're reading here, 24 -29, and the powers of the heavens be shaken, there will be a new order established.

Demonic entities will no longer have access to anything heavenly. Remember Job, Satan going up and talking with the angels in heaven?

There are other instances of demonic presence in the heavens, demonic angels.

Okay. Well, when you see that, you might want to read this.

Revelation 6 initiates the Great Tribulation. Matthew 24 ends it. Psalms 118 verse 24.

I'm just going to read it. Don't go there. This is the day which the Lord hath made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.

We will rejoice and be glad in it, but not everyone, not even most.

For most, this is not a day of rejoicing. This is a day of judgment and wrath.

One is an ending of the wrath and the punishment and the judgment for their behavior.

Verse 30, And then there shall be a sign, the sign of the

Son of Man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the

Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and with great glory, and I added, maybe riding the other white horse.

And he shall send his angels with a great sound of the trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

And that is a key proof text for a rapture happening at the end of the tribulation.

But before the millennial kingdom. So, there are passages that you can take and you can prove almost any position provided all of your presumptions are lined up as they need to be.

Okay, as to me, I don't know. And now for the parable of the fig trees.

When its branches yet tender and put forth leaves, you shall know that summer is nigh. So likewise ye, when you see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.

There is another account of the Olivet Discourse in Luke 21.

I'm not going to read it all. I'm just going to read a couple of passages from it. He emphasizes, as Matthew does, take heed that ye be not deceived, for many shall come in my name saying,

I am Christ and the time doth nigh, but go not ye after them.

And verse 25, And there shall be signs in the sun and in the moon and in the stars and upon the earth, distressing nations with perplexities of the sea and waves roaring, men's heart failing them for fear and looking after those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

And they shall see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and with glory.

That's why I thought it was the thinking, it was angelic beings in heaven that were stirred into action.

And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up and lift your head for your redemption doth nigh.

And when he spake to them a parable, behold, the fig tree and all the trees, when they shoot forth, you see, and you know your own selves, that summer is nigh at hand.

So likewise, when you see these things come to pass, you know that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.

We're going to go back to Revelation, verse 13. And you're right, I didn't read one verse far enough, did

I? And the stars of heaven fell upon the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs when she is shaken of a mighty wind.

Those would be like meteors, meteorites, like a shooting star. We would view them as the stars that came down.

We might not even see them before they begin to fall. This is most likely what it is, an asteroid or a meteor shower.

There's been much speculation among scientists recently about the effect of a large asteroid striking the earth.

Modern experts believe that the impact of asteroids, comets, and meteors striking the earth would be devastating and would cause unprecedented destruction.

That could be a naturally occurring event. But what we're seeing here in this event is nothing natural.

It's all supernatural. One of the unexpected findings of NASA when it was doing its space exploration of the surface of the far side of the moon, they expected the far side to look like this side.

When they looked at it, this side was full of pockmarks. We could see it from earth. The back side, relatively speaking, was as smooth as silk.

What does that mean? It means that the craters were caused by one or two major events, not by continuous bombardment.

If it were continuous bombardment over time, it would, as the moon spun on its axis, every side would be exposed to the incoming asteroids, and so it would be pockmarked all the way around.

But if they all came at once, then one side would be pockmarked and the other one sheltered.

So they think it was one or two major events that caused the, I think, one.

But certainly not continuous. Verse 13. And the heavens departed as a scroll when it is rolled together, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

The more he adds... This is Revelation 6, verse 14.

The more he adds, the more unlikely it is that any of this happened by natural means.

The moon can't turn red and the sun can't get black at the same time by an eclipse.

A swarm of asteroids could cause major damage. But the heavens depart as a scroll when it is rolled together, and every mountain and every island moved out of their places.

More and more unnatural. Isaiah talks about that as well.

Isaiah 34, verse 1. Come near ye nations to hear and hearken ye people.

Let the earth hear and all that is therein, the world and all things that come forth of it. For the indignation of the

Lord is upon all nations and His fury upon their armies. And He hath utterly destroyed them and delivered them to the slaughter.

And their slain shall be cast out and their stench shall come up out of their carcass and the mountains shall be melted with their blood.

And all of that could be natural. And the host of the heavens shall be dissolved.

What in the world is the host of the heavens? The stars.

The stars shall be dissolved and the heaven itself shall be rolled up like a scroll.

And all their hosts shall fall down as the leaf falleth off the vine, as the falling fig from the fig tree.

We can have natural, dramatic natural occurrences. And these are certainly dramatic.

But they're not natural. Everything is affected. Heaven and earth are all affected by these events.

Nothing natural can do that, if this is supernatural. And the great kings of the earth, and the kings of the earth and all the great men, the rich men and the chief captains and the mighty men and every bondman and every free man hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains.

Everybody. All classes of men. None will be exempt. And what did they say?

Fall on us. Hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne and from the wrath of God.

The wrath of the Lamb. Thank you. The wrath of the Lamb. Like the demons of whom

James wrote, Thou believeth that thou is one God, and thou doeth well, the devils also believe and tremble.

Like the demons, they will believe and fear, but they will not repent. They will follow

Satan, they'll believe his lies, they'll embrace his messenger, the Antichrist.

As a result, God will abandon them. Turn to 2

Thessalonians 2. We're going to pick up on verse 7. If we haven't already read that, we will.

We've read part of it, I know. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work, only he that now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way, and then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the

Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.

Even him whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish, because they receive not the love of the truth that they might be saved.

And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie, that they might all be damned to believe not the truth, but have pleasure in their unrighteousness.

Those who have repeatedly hardened their hearts will have their hearts hardened by God so that they will be unable to repent and unable to believe.

God will send them a strong delusion that they shall believe the lie.

Don't think that you'll be able to make up your mind at that point after having not believed to suddenly believe, because you'll believe the lie.

For the day of his wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand?

And you might ponder that until next time.

The day of God's wrath is come, or the day of the wrath of the

Lamb is come, and who shall be able to stand? That's it for me.

I'm going to... Do any of you have any comments or anything to add?

Yeah, there'll be no question about who is in control, but they will not believe.

They will not believe because it will not be allowed for them to believe. He will give them a delusion so that they believe the lie.

I understand what you're teaching.

Verse 15 is marking the beginning of the last half of the 3 1⁄2 years.

What is this? Is that the... Therefore shall see the abominable place...

Yeah, that's at the 3 1⁄2 year mark. That's 3 1⁄2 year plus. 3 1⁄2 years from there...

See, it's 7 years altogether. 3 1⁄2 years down to that point when he's revealed after the middle of the week.

3 1⁄2 years. Then there'll be 3 1⁄2 more years, and in this 3 1⁄2 years that are left will be the opening of the 6th seal, the opening of the 7th seal, which includes all the trumpet judgments and all the vial judgments and all of those.

Everything that happens will... Cumulate.

That's not exactly what I wanted. Culminate. That's the one I wanted. Culminate in the return of the

Lord on the white horse to end the tribulation and to begin the millennium. I don't know how long that'll last.

It won't be a long war. When the final white horse comes, it will not be a long time from that until he casts them into the...

then across into the sea of fire and change Satan for a thousand years to delay to the last judgment.

Okay? Okay, so verse 21 of that same chapter when it says, "...for then shall be the great tribulation," that's referring back to verse 15.

That's the beginning of the great tribulation. Yes. Okay, so it says, that is starting the same 3 1⁄2 years?

No, that's ending that 3 1⁄2 years. Yeah, but I mean that's 3 1⁄2 years into it.

That's 3 1⁄2 years from the beginning. Right. So you still have 3 1⁄2 years left.

You have 3 1⁄2 years left, and after that 3 1⁄2 years left is another set of signs which indicate the return of Christ on his white horse.

I think that's right.

I think the first seal starts the first 3 1⁄2 years. The second seal ends the 3 1⁄2 years.

Now, the war, the famine, the pestilence, the gathering of the fifth seal, all of that goes all the way to the end.

All the way to the end. All the way to the end. The sixth seal announces when that second 3 1⁄2 -year period began.

And with that second 1⁄2 -year period, you have the red horse and the black horse and the pale horse and the fifth seal.

And after that, we have the seventh seal.

I think I've got you confused. I've certainly got myself confused by now. What I'm trying to say is this.

Seal 1, 3 1⁄2 years. False peace, illusion. After 3 1⁄2 years, a bunch of things happen.

The red horse, war, famine, death and hell.

And all of those extend from the end of the first 3 1⁄2 years all the way to the end of the return of Christ for the full seven years.

Everything that happened, happened in two sections.

The illusion of peace and the reality of war. Now, for the announcement, for the announcement of the sixth seal, the signs in heaven, when did that happen?

Early on in the 3 1⁄2 years. When did it happen again?

At the end of the 3 1⁄2 years. I'm not exactly sure. Maybe I've got it totally confused.

In my mind's eye, I had everything nice and clear and laid out. I had 3 1⁄2 years of false peace and 3 1⁄2 years of real war.

An announcement at the beginning with signs and wonders indicating that now the second half, the bad stuff is about to begin.

And another announcement at the end indicating that it's over.

Now, at this point, I'm confused enough to think that maybe all of these signs and wonders are at the same time announcing only the end and maybe only the breaking out of war announces the beginning.

But I'm confused about that now. I think so.

I am convinced of that half. I am convinced of the announcement in Matthew being the end, because it says,

I mean, even I can understand that, after the tribulation, this happens. We know that that's after the 3 1⁄2 years.

And whatever indicators there were that indicated the beginning, the least of which is not the

Antichrist displaying himself in the temple to be God. That's the key indicator right there.

That starts it. And that's how we know the time. He is enabled to enforce a covenant at the beginning of the...

But he came in peace and he appeared to be a peaceful man. And whether or not he was revealed at the

Antichrist yet or not, I don't know. He will be revealed at the Antichrist at the 3 1⁄2 year mark.

So by then, for sure, everybody knows he's the Antichrist, because he's standing in the temple proclaiming himself to be

God. We know that. The Bible tells us that. Those are things that we know.

Anything else we're kind of speculating about. Speculation gets you in trouble, as I've gotten in trouble today.

Many will believe he is... Most will believe he's Christ for the first 3 1⁄2 years.

Everybody will be happy then. Most everybody. At the 3 1⁄2 year mark, suddenly there will become reasons not to believe.

And they'll mount up and be more and more and more and more and more, and you still won't believe because you'll be given an illusion, a delusion to believe the lie.

The only way you can not believe is for it to be a supernatural unbelief. And I am way over.

But I did get through chapter 6, and we'll start with chapter 7 next time. Most gracious Heavenly Father, thank

You for this day, and thank You for all our many blessings. Bless us and keep us. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.