The Feast of Trumpets, Pt. 2 (09/16/2001)

Turn with me if you would to Luke chapter 21 this morning most people in our church don't believe things happen by coincidence and This Monday evening and Tuesday September the 16th and through I'm sorry, the 17th or the 18th is the

Feast of Trumpets In Israel And So last

Sunday the Lord led me to begin a message or two on the Feast of Trumpets and I had really planned to start that today and It's like as if the

Lord let me know where you'll need more time than one Sunday for it. So start this Sunday, which was last

Sunday, so we did and I don't know how many of you thought about that or not during the week but the

Feast of Trumpets is a picture of the tribulation period and It's just very interesting how what happened on Tuesday Could cause us to really have a better ear for hearing for the remainder of this message today so While you're turning to Luke 21, let me read

Leviticus 23 24 where this feast was instituted Speaking to the children of Israel saying in the seventh month in the first day of the month shall you have a

Sabbath a memorial of blowing of trumpets and Holy Convocation we began a message on this last time and Pointed out how the ancient rabbis believed that the

Lord created the world on the first day of the week of the month of Tishri, which is this this month roughly their calendar is different than ours, but it's this time of the year and So we spoke about some of those things then we went into Nehemiah chapter 7 and we showed a time when the nation of Israel came out of captivity and actually

Celebrated this Feast of Trumpets and we studied a little bit about how that looked if you remember

What happened was that Ezra Opened the book in the sight of all the people

And began to read from the book the people stood as he opened the book in Reverence to God's Word and Ezra blessed the

Lord and they praised God with uplifted hands and then they fell on their faces and worshiped in silence

And we pointed out how there's a parallel passage to this this was happening on the earth

And there's a parallel passage that shows what happens in the heavenlies in the book of Revelation chapter 5 in verse 3 and no man in heaven nor in earth neither under the earth was able to Open the book

Neither to look thereon and I wept much because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book neither to look thereon and And so we talked about how the book was open they praise

God they worshiped God and And we looked at some of the other things that occurred and we'll finish with that this morning

Let's have a word of prayer and we'll begin father. We Thank you for your sovereign hand your strong right arm

But the fact that you say that we your children are engraven in the palm of your hand and Lord we know that our nation has

Thumbed its nose at you for many years now during much of my lifetime and Lord we know that that will not go on Forever That there must be a correction and even a punishment and So father we

Realize that the scriptures tell us and the prophecies of things to come that these types of things will take place

But you also give us a glimpse of the glory That will be that awaits for us your children both in this life, but in the life to come as well and So father you comfort our hearts

You give us passages of scripture where you even exhorted us to read these to one another and comfort one another with these words

So as we study these words today, we ask that you would comfort our hearts But also reveal to us your perfect will for our lives in the immediate days to come

That we might be your servants in our generation and we ask these things in Jesus name.

Amen I Keep your hand in Luke chapter 21 turn to Revelation 5

Verse 5 Follow along with me for a moment The few of you were not here last time.

So I want to complete a little short review That's the passage where it gives this heavenly view

And Let's continue on there and one of the elders saith unto me weep not behold the lion of the tribe of Judah the root of David hath prevailed to open the book and to loose the seven seals thereof

And as we get into a study of the seven seals, which you must study to get to the seven trumpets

Which is what the Feast of Trumpets is all about. I Could have been magnified more than by what's happened this week because you

I believe this if you go back a hundred years ago The book of Revelation was pretty much a closed book

The Bible scholars weren't studying it that you couldn't find a commentary that said anything about what they thought was happening the nation of Israel didn't even exist yet that they were still dispersed into all the world and yet as time goes by the nation is brought back into existence in the 1940s and and all the different things as Russ said every other week

There's a car bomb explosion killing their little school children, and they just live with that day in and day out

They're surrounded on all sides if they're not if you're not going off into the

Mediterranean, then you're surrounded by enemies on all sides and We see that the focal point of the entire world is on this little piece of real estate

That really makes no sense from a human viewpoint except for the fact that God said it would be so and I Believe that as time moves forward we will understand that those who are students of the word will understand more and more about the book of Revelation and about the end times and our study of eschatology we will

See it more clearly than we ever have before But this one who is about to open these books is none other or this book is none other than the root of David and He hath prevailed to open the book and to loose the seven seals thereof verse 6 says and I beheld and low in the midst of the throne and the four beasts in the midst of the elders stood a

Lamb as it had been slain Having seven horns and seven eyes which are the seven spirits of God sent forth into all the earth and he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne and When he had taken the book the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the

Lamb having Every one of them harps and golden vials full of odors Which are the prayers of the

Saints and they sung a new song saying thou are worthy to take the book and to open the seals thereof

For thou was slain and has redeemed us to God by the blood by thy blood out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation

And has made us unto our God kings and priests and we shall reign on earth and I beheld and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne of the beasts and the elders and the

Number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand thousands of thousands saying with a loud voice

Worthy is the Lamb and we pointed out last week while they in Ezra's day when they were began to lift their hands and praise

God it was an earthly view of what happens in the heavenlies and here it is magnified by tens of thousands and thousands and thousands of thousands of praises going on and saying with a loud voice worthy is the

Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing and every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea and all that are in them heard

I saying blessing and Honor and glory and power be unto him that sitteth upon the throne and unto the

Lamb forever and ever And the four beasts said Amen They were

Baptist weren't they? I don't know the way Baptists used to be and The four and twenty elders fell down and worshiped him that liveth forever and ever

Sad to be used to be Baptist It's better to be that than to be present modern

Baptists, I Don't know. I'm debating taking it off the side. I don't even know what we are

Let's just put the word Bible out there and Or do like Johnny Pope did he's an independent

Baptist pastor Just changed the name of his church recently to Christ Church. I like that Christ Church but They said amen and the four and twenty elders fell down and worshiped him that liveth forever and ever and I saw when the

Lamb opened one of the seals and I heard as it were the noise of thunder one of the four beasts saying come and See and the curtain was drawn back and John was allowed to see

What was going to happen in these last days? well We talked about that a little bit last time and then we went on into this passage

Where they were teaching God's people the Word of God And it says that they taught them

Distinctly which means how to separate or rightly divide the word of truth and they taught them to understand which means to separate it mentally

But they gave the sense and caused the people to understand the reading and As they began to teach

God's Word, which is an art that's almost been lost in the pulpits today There's so much just preaching and there's nothing wrong with preaching preaching means to proclaim but the modern idea of preaching means that to shout and holler maybe give one verse and then shout and holler for 40 minutes and Entertain the people or to tell the people how to be successful or to tell the people

How how God wants them to be wealthy or all the different things that are preached today But in the

Bible what happened when they preached was they taught the people the Word of God? distinctly and gave the sense of it what

God meant by it and caused the people to understand and The result of that was found in verse 9 of this passage where it says in Nehemiah, which is

Where it says and all the people wept when they heard the words of the law

People wept because they didn't just hear it. They heard it with understanding Down through the years the

Jews have believed that the blowing of trumpets at during the Feast of Trumpets has a threefold purpose

The first purpose in their view and I'm not saying this is biblical There's one you won't blow it

You would have scared everybody to death if you just pick that thing up and blown it the bit he has

He has one back here The trumpet You were probably tempted to do that too, weren't you?

Yes One of their views is that the trumpet sound is a call to repentance now, this is what the what the

Jews believe Are you ready? Are you ready that wasn't the right one

There's two. Let's see if there's seven of them That's interesting

And the blowing of the trumpets The trumpet sound first was a call to repentance

It was a call to the dead Among them to rise and live again spiritually

It was a call to those who were of the nation of Israel Who did not know the Lord and could care less and never gave him a thought.

It was a call to them to rise and to repent That regeneration through repentance might take place and that they might wake up So that's the first thing they thought that this trumpet was for now as you go into revelation chapter 6 and You begin to see the seals and then the last of the seals that leads into the trumpets

You can vividly see God giving a wake -up call But he doesn't just Predominantly this wake -up call is for the

Jew and for the nation of Israel But it'll also be a wake -up call for the entire world

And certainly right now America got a wake -up call on Tuesday And I believe in many cases

People are thinking about it But let me go into Luke chapter 21 now you're there already took you a while to find it

But I'm sure you've found it by now Luke chapter 21 And let's look at this passage

We're primarily going to be studying in the book of Revelation about these things, but I want you to see what the

Lord Jesus taught his apostles Shortly before he left this world

Physically and They asked him a question. They said tell us what the signs of the times will be

Tell us what the signs at the end of this age will be And it's interesting as they ask this question

You find it in verse 7 and they ask him saying master But when shall these things be and what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass and in other?

parallel passages in Matthew 24 And mark 13 in some cases they said and what will be the sign at the end of the age?

so you find in these passages a mix of Near prophecy and far prophecy at least that's my opinion you see the near prophecy of Which was prophetic at the time it was written that in the year 70

AD Titus and the Roman legions would come through and destroy Jerusalem and Israel and scatter the

Jews into all the world It speaks of that as prophecy because that was about seven seven.

Well, not quite 70 40 years out from the time This was given But there's also a far or distant prophecy that goes out into what we call the tribulation period and you see very obviously that there

Are a few verses and even in the passage in Luke which many scholars say it's it's totally speaking of the 70

AD event I don't believe that because there are a few verses that don't make any sense if that's all it's talking about So my opinion is your pastor is that even the passage in Luke?

Deals with a near view and a far view of prophecy But I want you to look at what our

Lord Jesus said about these things as he answered their question and I picked this passage I just I love the one in Matthew 24.

We read from it some last Sunday, but I Love this passage So vivid look at verse 8 and Jesus said

Take heed that ye be not deceived For many shall come in my name saying I am

Christ and the time draweth near Go ye not therefore after them

Now don't you think it's interesting that one of the first warnings he gave is that during these end times?

There'll be a lot of false prophecy But one of the greatest false prophecies that will be is those that are saying the time is now

The time is now now how many groups have we seen in our own history modern history they've come up and said

The event is going to take place on this day Do you remember a few years been the early 80s a guy sent a little book out to every preacher got one

I'm sure a lot of people got one where he said the end was going to come At the Feast of the

Trumpets in September of that year. How many of you got that book? I got one. Did you get one brother Russ? I guess

I only sent it to preachers. Well, I'm glad you didn't get it It was a waste of time Besides that three days after that date.

He wasn't anywhere found. Nobody could interview him because he missed the date And then it goes on though and it says in verse 9 but when ye shall hear of wars and Commotions, I like that word commotions.

It's an interesting word Be not terrified Now this is

Jesus talking to his children And to us to our little ones who are in this room this morning.

He said don't be terrified by these things and He goes on and says there will be wars and commotions be not terrified for these things must first come to pass

But the end is not by and by in other words. The end is not yet. There's some things that have to happen first Now later, he's gonna give a little parable where he's gonna teach us that we don't have to be in the dark concerning these things

We don't have to be caught surprised by surprise By these things and so therefore there are some things we are going to see

With our eyes around us and experience in that going on in this world That will allow us to know that the fig tree is budding and that we are in the season and That summer is nigh now

You won't be able to pick the date the exact day or the hour but you can know when you're in the season

In fact, Jesus is giving us some of these Indications that can end up being the little buds that we look for.

He says Verse nine

He says but when ye shall hear of wars and commotions be not terrified verse 10 says then said he into them

Nation that means race by the way, it doesn't mean nation. It means ray. It does mean nation if it's a nation like Japan Or China where it's a race of people, but the literal rendering is race

So he says race shall rise against race This is what's been happening over in Bosnia and all over the world

So what always been the case, but if we see it happening still today Race shall rise against race and kingdom against kingdom.

Now, that's more like a country that's like America could be considered a kingdom and even though we're a mix of races and Great earthquakes shall be in diverse places and famines and pestilences and fearful sites and great signs

Shall there be from heaven? but before all these They shall lay their hands on you and persecute you delivering you up to the synagogues now you can see a near view here because this is exactly what they did with the

Apostles and Into prisons we can see the Apostle Paul here

Suspended on the wall in the prison Being brought before Kings and rulers for not my name's sake we can certainly see

Paul who went to the highest ruler of his day and was able to preach the gospel and It shall turn to you for a testimony

Settle it therefore in your hearts not to meditate before what you shall answer for I will give you a mouth and wisdom

Which all your adversaries shall not be able to gain say nor resist and as you read

Fox's book of martyrs And you see the words that came out of the mouths of some of God's Saints as they were being burned by a cool fire

They wouldn't get the fire hot. They left it a cold fire so they could sizzle all day and Some of the words that came from the mouths of those people you think how did they ever think that up?

What a perfect thing to say in this situation. Well, they didn't think it up Jesus said very clearly that the truth is the

Holy Spirit will speak You don't even have to met premeditate what you'll say. Now.

Is there a far view here perhaps? Could some of this happen to our generation?

And ye well you say no then just go to red China right now it's already happening

There are places all over the world today where this happens right now and it's happened the last ten years twenty years twenty -five fifty hundred years all the way back to the time of Jesus and Ye shall be betrayed both by parents and brethren and kin folks and friends and some of you shall they cause to be put to Death and ye shall be hated of all men.

I noticed that doesn't say Jesus didn't say all of you shall be put to death. That's what's taught in our our books about the tribulation

That we read, you know that all every Christian will be killed. Jesus said some of you will be put to death well, that's been the case through every generation since Jesus went to be with in heaven and You shall be hated of all men for my name's sake, but there shall not a hair of your head perish in that an interesting verse in your patience possess you your souls and Now pay strict attention to this starting with verse 20

When you shall see Jerusalem compassed about with armies

Then know that the desolation thereof is nigh Now there's certainly a near view and a far view in that one because in 70

AD this happened, but it's going to happen again the Bible teaches then let them which are in Judea flee to the mountains and let them which are in the midst of It depart out and let not them that are in the countries enter there into For these be the days of vengeance

That all things which are written may be fulfilled now that certainly didn't happen in 70

AD Did it you think all things all the prophecies of the Bible were fulfilled in that event? No, they were not

So this gives us a far view of this prophecy But woe unto them that are with child and to them that give suck in those days for there shall be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people and They shall fall by the edge of the sword and shall be led away captive into all nations.

There's a near view and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the

Gentiles be fulfilled and that certainly didn't happen in 70 AD it just began actually and There should be signs in the

Sun and in the moon and in the stars and upon the earth distress of nations Now we begin to see distress of nations and look at this little phrase with perplexity.

Don't you think it's interesting that? How many people did you hear on television this week? They would ask them the question

Maybe to the head of the fire department I heard last night an interview with the top police official in New York City and they asked the question

Were you prepared for this? you know it's easy to ask questions, but but but the

The news people today are so stupid. They don't even ask very good questions I'm amazed at these people even answer them.

Were you prepared for this? Great question great question. Oh, yes, we were prepared

In fact, we almost kept it from happening But we decided to go ahead and let it happen so we could practice our skills on getting 10 ,000 people out from under Six billion tons of rubble buried in a hole.

What a ridiculous question But you know what they all answered. No, we've never even conceived of anything like this

We don't know how to handle this. We don't know how to rescue the people that are under the rubble

In fact, it's almost been too many days and we don't know how and we're just taking each day at a time

You know what that is ladies and gentlemen, that's perplexity The governments of this world are going to be perplexed and already are perplexed

At how to take care of the needs of a people who have been taught for the last 25 years That it's the government's responsibility to take care of the needs of the people

The sea and the waves roaring that's a picture of the waves in the sea of humanity men's hearts failing them for fear and Look at this and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth

How many things like what happened Tuesday would it take in this country to make it very difficult for our government to handle it at all?

and For looking after those things which are happening. Their hearts are failing. It's too much for them for the powers of heaven shall be shaken and Look at verse 27.

Remember who's talking now? This is Jesus He's saying now beware they're gonna be people to say lo he's in the desert lo he's in a secret

Chamber over here in New York City Yeah they they're a group of Jews that said that about ten years ago that their

Messiah was in a secret chamber and they built a Duplicate building that was in New York City.

They actually built it over in Israel For this rabbi that they thought was the Messiah. I'm sure he's dead now, but they thought he was the

Messiah Jesus said don't listen to them He says here's how you'll know when it's really me in verse 27

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

And look at this interesting exhortation When these things what things all these things we just read about begin to take come to pass

When they begin to come to pass Then look up and lift up your heads

Or your redemption draweth nigh now this afternoon in this afternoon's Bible study we'll discuss that verse a little bit and what the word redemption means in this context

But I'll tell you what it means. It means the rapture That's what it means and Look at the context of where Jesus put the rapture in this

List of things that happened. It's maybe a little different than some of the books you've read on when the rapture occurs

But I can see what our Lord says I don't have any preconceived notions about it myself.

I had for my mentor was dr Rocky Freeman who held four earned doctorate degrees and he told me the rapture happens at the first tribulation

So I believed it never studied it in my life Other than just reading the scriptures. That's man. That's too intricate

I it takes a mind like that to get into those things and I'm talking about as a young preacher

I didn't worry about it. I said well, it must be the way it is Everybody's written books about it.

Dwight Pentecost wrote the great book things to come where he Put it all out there and uh

Brother Bill and brother Clarence and I went out to dr MacArthur's Church for a conference this year and the head of his seminary taught a class on the pre -tribulation

Rapture and he said to all of us. He said well, I'm gonna give you about six points

He said I have to confess to you that no one of these points can prove that that's when the rapture takes place

He said in fact, it's I'm hard put to prove that that's when the rack rapture takes place But he said if you take the weight of each point consecutively piled upon the other

It makes one lean in that direction. Now, that's the best proof the man had Now I take that as proof of my point earlier that our understanding of this book is an ongoing learning process

It's a process of revelation where God reveals to his people when they need to know it

How many times have you heard people say? Well, you know if the worst comes to our family God will give us grace to get through it when we need it

We don't feel like we have that grace now, but he gives that grace in time of need You've you've said that You look at a family who's grieving over the loss of a loved one and you say it's amazing the peace that they have in that family

And you feel like you couldn't have it don't you but you know what you would have it when the time comes when you need

It and I believe that this is what's happening with this book is as God sees that we need it

He reveals and opens our eyes through circumstances that we see around that help us To interpret these passages and we are living in the day when we need to know more about what this means and You can be sure your pastor for the last month has been studying these things because we're taught we're teaching through Systematic theology, we're going to get to eschatology and I've already been studying for months but when this happened

Tuesday my study accelerated and I'm not going to give you hashed over things that people have said

I won't teach anything like that It'll be something straight from the Word of God and you need to be studying as well

But I'll tell you this that when these things begin to come to pass Look up and lift up your head for the

Rapture draws near And we'll talk about that a little bit more this afternoon now

Want you to think a little bit about what the Jew is looking at go into Revelation chapter 6 with me now

The Feast of the Trumpets with which the Jew kept this time of year all through their history up to this present day

And the Bible tells us in the New Testament that all these things were given as types and In -samples for those of us who live in the end of time that we might look at what they did and learn spiritual truths from them

And certainly this Feast of the Trumpets has some truths in it that we can learn and we need to learn of all times

Right now we need to get in high gear and study Everything that God has to say about the end times because we're there

We're living in the end times Paul felt he was living in the end times and if he thought that we certainly are living in the end times and so As we look at this they study these they talk about the trumpets the blowing of the trumpets

Which takes place beginning in Revelation chapter 6 it leads up to the blowing of the trumpets and The Bible says in a passage in the book of Corinthians that at the last

Trump It describes the Rapture very vividly

And so we we see that the Jew had a picture he couldn't see the details

But he had a picture of this blowing of the trumpets what's so fascinating about the

Jew even today He doesn't see clearly Because he doesn't believe the New Testament Unless he's a born -again

Jew and they see very clearly my mentor. Dr. Freeman was a born -again Jew. I thank

God for that He's in heaven now So he knows the answers to when the Rapture is coming and all these questions that he spent his whole life studying

He knows exactly I'm sure well, maybe he doesn't maybe only the father knows But as We look at what they did see they saw

Pentecost the feast of and I'm sorry the feast of Passover Which we've studied recently so vividly shows the sacrificial death of our

Lord Jesus Christ and then they go to Pentecost which was both the birthday of the

Nation of Israel and the birthday of the church and Then you have from that feast a long season of no feasts

Until the fall feasts begin with the blowing of the trumpets and To them that picture now what's interesting is after the blowing of the trumpets you have a ten -day period which they call the ten awesome or awful days and It is it is for repentance for those who are in that second book

Remember, they think there are three books and I'm not saying this is biblical that they're that the three books They think exist are biblical

But this is what the Jew thinks the first book is for those who are perfectly righteous their names are in that book and At the first of the blowing of the trumpets this feast those people already get their blessings

But they also believe there aren't hardly any people in that book and they believe nearly everybody's in the second book which is a book that has people that are neither thoroughly wicked nor are they thoroughly perfect and in the third book is for those who are thoroughly evil and and they they're gonna have no part in anything but hell and and so they focus on this second book and they feel that most of them are in this book and so during the ten days between the blowing of the trumpets and Yom Kippur which pictures the second coming we have hindsight and foresight to know that with our

New Testament Pictures the second coming there is a period of time in between the blowing of the trumpets and the second coming

Which is a time that's given in their mind to repentance and Getting right with God And they feel in fact if you watch in Israel in that time period starting,

I think I'm right. Isn't it Monday and Tuesday? It's Tuesday is is the blowing of the trumpets starting at that time for the next ten days

If you ever want to see it you do a good deed for you cross his path Is he gonna do something for you?

Because he is working his way back into a right standing with God he thinks and so they do many good deeds

They give much money to the needy they do a lot of things during these ten days because this these ten days picture a an awful time of Getting right with God and then the judgment day comes

Yom Kippur pictures that time period Which we know is the second coming so what we see so clearly is that this feast of trumpets is a feast that typifies the entire what we call the tribulation period and It is a time when

God is using tribulation to get his people the Jews to the place Where by the end of that time?

100 % of them that are left will receive Jesus Christ as their personal Messiah and Lord and Savior 100 % of them

All Israel shall be saved the Apostle Paul said as he had a foreview of this time but I'm telling you that there were many many many days of Horrible tribulation even to the point where the

Lord said worse than has ever occurred in the history of the world nor ever Shall occur and if the

Lord didn't cut the day short, no life would be left But for the elect's sake he cuts the day short that's how bad it is and That is what it will take to bring the

Jew to a place of receiving The one whom they crucified but they will they will be brought to him through this time of the trumpet

They celebrated this year in and year out the blowing of the trumpets and it started a time of getting right with God it pictures this tribulation period

So the first trumpet they believed was a sign for the those who are not ready to get ready

Get ready The judgment is coming you have ten days to get ready and Then they come into this.

It's interesting as we looked at kind of a heavenly view As you come into chapter 6

You come into the first seal And I'd like to read this. We're out of time this morning.

I'm starting to remind myself of our dear missionary brother Sam Shamoon who Have you ever heard missionaries preach?

Usually they don't do real great job They don't get that a lot of chance to preach a lot brother Sam, I love him to death, but he

He didn't know how to preach but he preached one Wednesday night. He preached for two hours About the time we were so worn out man.

We were worn out sitting there He's in he's going through all these seals and he finished them all and we go

Close the Bible so you could hear the Bible closing. He said now for the first trumpet We knew there were seven but we were in trouble

And so now for the first seal open your Bibles, come on I Want to just read the first one we'll save the rest for next time

And I saw when the lamb opened one of the seals and I heard as it were the noise of thunder one of the four beasts saying come and see

And the curtain was drawn back and the Apostle John was allowed to see the following and this is in our future it says and I saw and behold a white horse and he that sat on him had a bow and A crown was given and I want you to underline the word given because I just want to have some fun with this word

I'm gonna Well make a prediction here. No, I'm not really but I want to have some fun with this word

It'd give you some food to thought it says the crown was given and to him. He didn't earn it

It was given to him and It says and he went forth conquering and to conquer now, there's the white horse

Now if you read books about what all this means Or if you have a Scofield Bible, you're gonna be told that that's the

Antichrist And yet in my Bible the Antichrist appears in chapter 13 Which is quite a few chapters from here

But this I don't see in this text anywhere where it indicates this is I mean

Here's the information you have to decide. This is the Antichrist. Here's all the information you have a Crap, you have a white horse and he that sat on it had a bow and a crown was given to him and he went forth conquering and to conquer and White usually typifies goodness

The good guy rides the white horse usually That's supposed to be John Wayne, isn't it?

Did you know that? that been lobbed bin Laden Calls the president

Bush the cowboy Maybe he's riding a white horse. That's what Russ told me.

He thought Not really. He said could be I said, yeah Could be

I mean Think about it. I mean it does it gives you this information and it says that there is a

White horse. There's one sitting on this horse who was given A crown you ever seen anybody get an election like Bush was given the election.

I mean Gore won it Everybody knows Gore won the election but God made it where all those votes didn't get counted because they were illegal and God placed this man in control of the most powerful force on the earth for some purpose and He's a great guy, and I'm sure he rides a white horse

Told you I was gonna have fun with it I'm not telling you that I think this is America or that this is Bush But I'm saying that is a thought one could have among many other thoughts

If I tell you you could derive that just as easily as to say this is the Antichrist You have just as much information to deduce one as the other

So But he goes conquering and to conquer now whether this is

Bush and whether this is now I Cannot say but I'll tell you he's about to do this

You how many of you have seen that in his eye? How many of you think Bush is a decent saber -rattler?

Man, I'm tell he looks like to me like he means it And being a Texan he grew up with guns he's not afraid of them

That he says You know whoever knocked down these buildings We're gonna get him

Well, I believe he means it but he's going to go forth into a campaign of conquering and to conquer

Well, we don't know but it is interesting. Isn't it you go in and you see the next horse is the red horse

Well, if the white horse is the Antichrist and who's the red horse that has to be something that is that the false prophet?

And who's the who's the black horse? And who who is the pale horse? Do we have four Antichrists?

I just don't see that it fits very well, but I do see the Antichrist coming forth in chapter 12 as you get into chapter 13 very clearly

But I see here That as we read what's happening there is going to be a force that goes out to conquer and Conquering and then you're going to see the red horse, which is

Picturing destruction and so forth And you're gonna see the black horse which pictures famine

You'll have to do a whole a pennies was a day's wages and Bible terminology You have to do a whole day's wages just to get a little bit of wheat at this time

Economic disaster famine and so forth and the pale horse Death and hell

You know, we can conjecture what all these horses or are But the point is

Jesus said when you see these things begin to take place look up for your redemption your rapture

Draws near the time is at hand Doesn't say the rapture happens. He said it draws near it's getting closer and And you read these passages of Scripture and you see something happen like what we saw

On Tuesday And you start to think maybe We had better Be studying these in time things.

Maybe we better put that in front of some of the other doctrines we were just about to study and Let's see what the

Lord has for us As you go in and you have to go through all these seals before you get to the last one

Which is at that point the trumpets begin and that's what the Feast of Trumpets is all about a great preparation a great time of repentance in the world and yet we see that many most

Of the multitudes will just get more angry at God. They won't come to him at this time, which is sad to think about They just say have the rocks and the mountains fall on us because we don't want the land

We don't want that and they get angrier and angrier as this time period goes on Russell why don't you check that out?

Yeah, so I Would say this the thing that I know that the

Lord Jesus exhorts us to do is to watch To watch and pray see

June I didn't send you out I could have That's a family inside joke

She's my mother -in -law He says to watch and be ready watch and be ready and Your redemption draweth nigh

I can't think of anything that should change our frame of mind More than these passages of Scripture and you know we could have read them a month ago, and we would have just gone through had been an academic study and Now it's something that we look at and we say well, you know, we've seen some tribulation hit our country in a major major way

More than any other thing ever happened in war times of war as far as how a war could begin greater than Pearl Harbor Maybe ten times greater

And it causes us to think well when you really do need to be ready. We need to have our priorities our priorities, right?

We need to be watchful so that we know what to do with wisdom with ourselves and our families and our children and We you know,

I don't I don't know how you define the tribulation period I Don't know whether you would define what happened

Tuesday is the beginning of it or part of it or the foothills leading up to it Doesn't matter how you define it

But I'll tell you that it's it is a wake -up call and is it is exactly what the

Bible says is going to be happening And there will be things vaporized just like those buildings were it is precisely what the prophecy foretold

Through the years and it's never been possible to have been fulfilled until this day and Either part of it or a foretaste of it was fulfilled in front of your eyes a thousand times on TV as they watch that plane go through and then

Goes through again, and they just they've got a little loop and they just keep playing that loop and putting that vision in your eyes

Designed to terrorize people but for us we just say we knew it was coming But still we have to gather our thoughts and determine what

God's will is for our lives In this time and in this day What are we supposed to be about doing?

And what will our children see and what can we do about that?

Those are questions. We need to be answering as we study God's Word and we pray So I ask you to join me in a study of the last things

What does the Bible say about the last times What does it say that our duty is in the last days?

What is our purpose in these last days? and What shall we do?

Can we have peace through them? Did not our Savior say fear not? These things have to come the end is not yet.

These things have to come He says they're like the beginning of sorrows in Matthew 24 the birth pangs

What you and I will be looking for that was a pretty hard one Tuesday if you ladies wouldn't you agree that that was like if that had been a birth pang that you would

You would have to go. Whoo. Well, it's time to get in the car. Let's go But they will get harder and closer together and that's the great key that we have to know the timeline that we're on So be watchful be in prayer be somber and be in the word

And we'll go through this thing together. Let's stand and have prayer together Father we thank you for your word.

We thank you that your Holy Spirit is our teacher and We thank you that he will reveal to us what we need to know in our days in our time period

We thank you've given us the everlasting word of God as our lamp to our feet and the light to our paths and the light of understanding for us and Father we thank you that you have given us a strong undergirding peace that you are in complete

Absolute control and we're your children and we're in your hand and no man and nothing can pluck us from your hand so help us to be strong help us to realize if a day came when we had to give answer for why we

Believe what we do and if we do receive the Lord Jesus that your Holy Spirit Would give us the exact proper words to say to that person whether he be an infidel or whoever he might be

And so we rely more and more upon your Holy Spirit in these kinds of days and that's good for us

May we be one may our spirit be one with your spirit That we might be filled with the

Spirit of God that we might work in the spirit walk in the spirit and not in the flesh and Father we know that you use circumstances you bring

Circumstances like this to cause us to walk in the spirit And to see the uselessness of the flesh and the total

Vapor that this world around us really is that we might not covet these things And so be with us in our time of fellowship bless the meal