(Revelation) the Sorrows in Earth — Willie Mullan

823 please. 823. Come, give up, love the Lord, and let your joys be known. Join in a song with sweet accord, and thus for round the throne. 823 please. Without the book of the revelations after 6 please.

The Fifth Seal and the Sorrows on Earth

And we're going through from verse 9 this evening to the end of the chapter. From verse 9 to the end of verse 17. And let me recap this little bit for you. That last Tuesday we saw the scene with Seth in heaven.

We saw Lord Jesus Christ as a man opening the seals of the book that he had taken out of the hand of God. And then the scene switched to earth because as he opened the seals in heaven then great sorrows came to earth.

And we looked carefully at the first four seals of this great book being opened. He became the executor of God's will as God had about to readjust this earth. And as the executor opened the book then things happened on the earth.

And we looked at the four horsemen last week and we found that the first one was just God pending delusion on this earth. There was a man going forth conquering and to conquer but it was the Antichrist simply because the Christ was in heaven opening the books.

And then we noticed that the second horse it was God sending desolation on this earth. And the third one God sending starvation on earth. And the fourth one God sending destruction on earth. Now there's a change as the Lord opens the fifth seal.

I think you must have noticed this. Look at verse one again. And I saw, that is John saw, when the man opened one of the seals. The man in heaven opening the seals on the book. And I heard of it where the voice of thunder, one of the four beasts, pray, of these great beasts that we looked into the other evening, these seraphims who are messengers of God's throne with regard to the readjustment of this earth.

You know as each horse is introduced, each beast speaks. But not so when it comes to the fifth seal. See verse nine where we're commencing this evening, 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 they have.

And they cry. It is not the Christ now. You see the beasts are messengers of the throne with regard to the Jewish nation and to the readjustment of this earth. But we're going to look now at God not so much sending delusion or desolation or starvation or destruction.

This is God allowing persecution, persecution to come through his own witnesses. Because you can find out that these people who are slain, it says in verse nine, the souls of them that were slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they have.

Some of the translations have it, and for the witness which they gave. So I think that you would have a right to ask me a question just there. You see as we came through the book of the revelation, in the first three chapters we saw the church, all the believers, and we saw the Lord in the midst of the church.

And then when we came to chapter four, we saw John being taken in a moment of time right up to heaven. It was fine what will happen to the church in a day to come. Even it could happen tonight. If the Lord came tonight, then the believers on earth would rise to meet the Lord in the air, and the church of Jesus Christ would be gone.

Now we saw the church seated in heaven. That's why I'm so sure the twenty-four elders with the crowns singing, thou art worthy, for thou hast redeemed us out of every kindred and tongue and people the nation, and they were in heaven then.

So we're quite sure that we saw the church on earth, and then we saw the church in heaven. Now you should ask me this question. If the Lord came and took the church home, and the unsaved were left behind, and the Antichrist appeared as he did in chapter six, who are these witnesses and where do they come from?

Tribulation Witnesses After the Church Is Taken

That's a logical question. The church is home. And if all the believers have gone home, who's going to preach to these people? How are we going to get witnesses down here after the church is gone? I have no problem at all.

You see, sometimes we seem to get the idea that the saints of this dispensation, the body of Christ, the church, are all the people that God is going to have, and that is not so. We will find as we go through this book that there will be tribulation saints, and then there will be millennial saints, just as there was all-Testament saints.

But we want to get down to just exactly how this happens. Let me teach you about the first Corinthians, chapter 15, please. First Corinthians, chapter 15. Paul's the writer here, and he's talking about the resurrection of Christ.

Firstly, we'll begin with, For I delivered unto you, first of all, that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.

Now, he's beginning to prove the bodily resurrection, and here's how he does it. And that he was seen of Cephas, that is, he was seen of Peter after he rose again. Then, he was seen of the Twelve, the Twelve Apostles.

He's counting Matthias in there, you can see that. Judas Iscariot is gone, there was another man who took his place, Matthias, and there's some talk, you know, that some people thought that Paul was the 12th one, but he doesn't count himself, he says he was seen of the Twelve.

He counts Matthias as one of the Apostles. After that, he said, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once. That must have been a great moment for that five hundred, of whom the group of pop remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep, some have died.

After that, he was seen of James, then of all the Apostles. And last of all, he was seen of me also, he puts this phrase in, as of one born out of Jewish heart. If you've got a good Bible, there should be a little number up of unborn there.

And if you look at the margin, I think you'll find the words, anabot. He's talking about one born out of due time, born before he should be born. That's what he's talking, that's how Paul was born. You see, when you come to examine the born again mess of the Apostle Paul, remember he wasn't just exactly born again as you were.

You say, Mr. Mullin, all right, just sit still now. Let me ask you this, did the heavens open the day you were born? Was there a light shone from heaven? Did the Lord Jesus speak directly from heaven to you?

You just answer me, because I can tell you it didn't happen like that at all. Oh, I know you were born again already. You see, when the church goes, and the Holy Ghost goes, then will come the time when God will deal with man on this earth the way he dealt with Paul.

Only he was born out of due time. He was born far too soon. God will get his witnesses. Don't you worry yourself about God getting his witnesses. When we get to the Sabbath next week, there'll be 144 ,000 Jews that he'll get directly from heaven.

So, but when the church goes, and the Holy Ghost goes, then God will pick out a few witnesses, deal directly from heaven and save them. Paul will not be in the church, but there'll be tribulation witnesses.

God will not leave this planet without a witness on it, you know. And if every one of these Jews, 144 ,000, if everyone becomes a flaming evangelist like Paul, the Antichrist will have a job when he comes.

If we had a lot of men like Paul, we would soon cover the globe. Now, the Antichrist will see this quite clearly, that God is getting men on his side. So he's going to kill them. I want you to get this bit now.

Hold tight while I say this. God is going to allow him to kill them. That's what this deal is all about. That's why the beasts keep out of it. There's nothing to do with them. It's not to do with the earth at all, nor the Jews.

It's, this is the killing of, of witnesses. If God allows his people to be killed sometimes. You know, we had a little man here on Saturday at the convention, and I spied on him, brought him up here, and asked him to pray.

He'd do right. 72 years of age. And about 40 years ago, his brother went away into the jungles of Africa, where no white man had ever been. Two other men with him. They were called the Three Freds. Fred Wright and two other Freds.

And they were, the three of them were slain. Actually, they were eaten by cannibals. And Jew Wright said to his mother, I'm taking Fred's place. She said, I can't give it to you. She said, don't go, Joe.

He said, I'm going. And Jew Wright went to the very place where his brother lost his life. And he won hundreds of those men for Christ. But you see, sometimes God allows good men to be killed, you know.

Somebody says, you know, why does God do that? Why did God allow a table to be turned? Why? To win power. God has his own ideas. He may allow you to be killed, one of these nights. The kings are in his hand, you know.

And he knows what it's worth. He can glorify you through your death. And then he's going to allow a lot more to be killed. Let's go back to Revelation, chapter 6. We want to have a look at this, because this is God allowing persecution.

Souls Under the Heavenly Altar

The persecution, of course, of his witnesses on the earth. Now, I want you to watch this, because of great teaching here. Verse 9, we're only commencing now. And when he, the Lord Jesus, had opened the fifth seal that was on this book, John said, I saw under the altar.

I wonder where you think it was. Well, I can tell you that this book was written in A .D. 96. And in A .D. 70, Titus came along and destroyed the temple in Jerusalem, and there wasn't a stone left one upon another.

There was no altar left down here. But I shall prove to you in a moment, very simply, that the altar was in heaven. And I want you to watch exactly what it says. John says, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain.

And I've put a lot of questions down to make it easy for you. What did John say? The answer is souls. Where did he say them? Under the altar. Who were these souls? The souls of them that were slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held.

Now, let me ask the question now. Where were their bodies if they were slain? You know, they weren't slain in heaven. There's no death in heaven. You see, the Antichrist was allowed to slay them down on the earth.

They were witnesses for God. He wasn't having it. That's the actual problem here. The bodies were slain on earth. The souls are in heaven. They cannot differentiate between bodies and souls. They say there's no such thing.

I'm telling you, these souls are in heaven. I'm talking. There's no soul sleep here. These are souls. You know, a Russellite came to the door once and argued with me about soul. And I let them go on for a moment or two just to hear what crap he would get on with.

I've got to listen to learn, haven't I? So, I'm trying to impress me there was no such thing as soul. I said, listen, Weiner. Show me the Bible. It's under your arm. Open this Matthew, chapter 11. Lord Jesus is talking.

Says in his response, Fear not them which are able to kill the body, but cannot kill the soul. With the differentiation between body and soul. Now, if you couldn't see that, you should go home and watch this a lot.

You wouldn't be fit for 11 plus at all. Fear not them which are able to kill the body. Have you got that? The worst the enemy can do is kill the body, but cannot kill the soul. When a believer dies, it matters not how he dies.

You know, the real man is absent from the body, present with the Lord. He moves out. And these bodies were done on earth slain. These souls are in heaven under the altar. Oh, I would think you should be able to see that.

But let's have a look at this. You can see they were souls. You can see they were under the altar. You can see who they were. They were the witnesses of God. They were slain on earth. Who were they slain by?

See verse 10. These souls, and they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge your blood on them that dwell on the earth? Who killed them? Them that dwell on the earth.

You know they were killed on the earth now. Watch this. You'll notice they're not asleep. There's no such thing as soul sleep. They're crying. And you'll notice that they're crying with a loud voice. Soul sleep about that is not at all.

Now, the very fact that they cry this. Here's what they cry. How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge your blood? They're crying for vengeance. Now, this would teach any man who wants to be taught anything in this reading that they're not saints and souls of this disposition.

You see, when Stephen was being stoned to death, he didn't cry for vengeance. He belonged to the age of grace. He said, I'm not this thing to the judge. When our Lord Jesus was being staked to the cross, he didn't cry for vengeance.

He said, Father, forgive them. You'll notice far too many of the believers of this age just now getting away from grace. They're ready to murder everybody around those three days. Now, that's not Christianity in this age at all.

They're taught clearly and plainly and simply in this book, never surrender evil for evil unto any man. Oh, I know if your brother was shot at the street corner, I know you're ready for action. But I'm sure if my two sons were shot, I would be ready for action, but I would get back to grace and not surrender evil for evil unto any.

I must obey God. God says this, render not evil for evil unto any man. He says, vengeance is mine. I will repay. You've got to leave it in God's hands. Oh, I know it's not the world's way. Never mind if the Christian way.

It was Christ's way, wasn't it? Father, forgive them. Don't pray for me. I pray every night. Father, forgive me. I know not what I have to pray in this age. Now, the very fact that these ones are crying for vengeance can tell you that they were not brought up in a church age.

They are the witnesses out of the tribulation. And in the tribulation, they were crying for vengeance to come upon men that dwell on the earth. You know, somebody tried to twist this once and said to me, maybe this altar is not in heaven at all.

Maybe these souls are not in heaven. I said, well, I want you to notice what's in heaven. White robes were given unto every one of them. Is that the language of heaven? Is this the clothing of heaven?

I think that a man who wanted to be talked upon would see this quite clearly. Oh, they were slain on the earth because they were God's witnesses, and God allowed the Antichrist to slay them. The souls are in heaven.

They're not asleep. They're robed with white robes. And I want you to notice this little thing. You know, God spoke to them. White robes were given unto every one of them, and it was said unto them that they should rest yet for a little season, just a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren that should be killed.

Because, you know, God was going to allow a few more to be killed. You know, when the Lord Jesus spoke to Peter, you remember, he said, when thou wast young, he just went where he wanted to go. When thou wast of the old, and you're an old man, others will put you in prison.

This is the Lord Jesus signifying by what death Peter should glorify God. A long back there, he knew exactly how Peter would die. And if you're going to die in no time, you're going to die too. And the great, wonderful, thrilling, comforting fact of the book of the Revelation is this, that the key of death that hangs at the girdle of the Lord Jesus, he said to John, I have the keys of hell and of death.

And if I go down the corridor of time tonight, away down there somewhere, there is the door of death. I may never reach it because Jesus might come. But if I'm going to reach it, I can't go through it to return the key.

And he also laughed, what death I'll die. Oh, he may allow me to be killed, it'll be all right, but it'll suit him or suit me. I may die groaning with cancer, if that's the way he chooses, it'll have to be all right for me.

I may work hard and drop dead, I hope it happens like that. But I'll have to wait on him, he's got the keys. Now he had elected here, this is the bit, he had elected that other people, the devil's people, they're going to escape after that isn't it, they're going to be killed.

The Sixth Seal and the Great Earthquake

God allows things to happen like that. Yes, I think that's why the beasts kept quiet, because this was God allowing the persecution and the murder of some of his martyrs on the earth. Now he comes with his sixth seal, and it's a very important one, verse 12.

And I beheld John still looking, when he, the Lord Jesus, had opened the sixth seal of this book, and lo, there was a great earthquake. Just at that moment, the moment we tore the seal apart, there's an earthquake on earth.

You know that I go to the universities, here and there, and John goes to preach, and I was preaching at the university in Kennedoth at Guelph, our sister way back there knows all about it. And a very learned gentleman came to me afterwards, and I must have said something about earthquakes, I can't remember it correctly, but I remember his argument.

He said, you know, God has nothing to do with these earthquakes. Scientists can prove by a great majority of ways that there are certain parts of the world just ready for earthquaking, and they've got to know when it's coming and when it won't come.

So I said, you know, I don't want to argue about with your scientific ideas, because I'm sure you have them, and I'm sure you could prove a lot of things. But I want to argue from my side and show you that God has a lot to do with it too.

And maybe far more than you think, but you'll have to listen to my side now. And this is what I did with them. Now, I want you to remember this, I'm doing it for your good. Back to the Acts of the Apostles, and we're at chapter 16.

The Acts of the Apostles, chapter 16. And you remember that Paul and Silas were arrested here, and they were put in prison, and you remember the keeper was charged to keep them safely. It says, verse 23, At sixteen, twenty-three, and twenty-eight, the magistrates had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely.

Having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, laid their feet fast in the stocks, and at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God, and the prisoners heard them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake at that psychological moment.

I said to them, you don't think God has anything to do with this? He's taken back the weeping out, taken back the restriped. You think that this rattle of wrath and all the signs had just worked up for the psychological moment at midnight, do you?

Haunt the answer. So when I had cooled them down a little bit, I went on with the job. I would think that you could see from where you were sitting that God had a lot to do with that. Let's go back to Matthew's Gospel, chapter 27.

Matthew's Gospel, chapter 27. And the Lord Jesus is on the cross here, and he's just about to cry that great triumphant cry to finish. What's there to say? Matthew 27. Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghosts, and behold the veil of the temple was rent in flame from the top to the bottom, and the earth did quake, and the rocks went, and the graves were opened, and many bodies of the saints which left the rosary came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.

And when the centurion and they that were with him watching Jesus saw the earth quake, I said to the old fellow, you think God had nothing to do with it? Just at the psychological moment, the cripes cried quake, and the veil of the temple rented quake, and the earth quaked.

You think God had nothing to do with it? You're much too stupid. They would say the little God asked them. They would, you know. So when I had gotten quaking, you know, I had an anomaly, because that's the way you fight battles, just blow after blow without any mercy if he's looking for trouble.

And I took him into Matthew 28, verse 1. In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to the sepulcher, and behold, there was a great earthquake, just at that psychological moment, yes.

For the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door and sat upon it, and said, do you think it just happened according to your scientific ideas? So just when Paul prayed, just when Jesus died, just when he rose again, he says, you know, Mickey, that's a lot of scriptures to go with it.

I get sick listening to that. They would dare to explain God away. I have no notion of laughing. Anyhow, when I would have changed them, I would have come to Revelation 6, when the Lord opened the book, there was an earthquake, and the two connected.

Go ahead, you scientists. Well, you know a lot, you know nothing. You're so clever, you know. The minute the Lord opened the book, there was an earthquake on there. Are they not connected? Oh, I think you can see they're connected.

Cosmic Signs and the Great Tribulation

You know, there's going to be a terrible earthquake when this happens. Let's get back there. Has the Lord gone to readjust this on earth, you know? Now watch this very carefully, verse 12, And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and lo!

John could see the connection anyway. That's why he put in, and lo! There was a great earthquake, but there was more than that. The sun became black as thick cloth of hair, and the moon became as black, and the stars of heaven fell on the rear.

I want you to watch three words, the sun, the moon, the stars, because I'm positively sure that this is the great sign of the great tribulation. This is the sign. You remember our Lord talked about the great tribulation in Matthew 24.

Let's go there just for a moment. Matthew 24, and I think it's always good to start at the commencement of this chapter, I don't know why it would take me all night to do it, but I'll show you why you should start at the commencement.

Verse 1, Jesus went up and departed from the temple, the Jewish temple, don't forget. And his disciples came to him, for to show him the buildings of the temple. Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things?

Verily I say unto you, there shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down. What a mighty statement to gather a lot of Jews around you and look at the beautiful temple and to say, not one stone left upon another.

And as he set upon the Mount of Olives, he had gone from the city down the valley of Jehoshaphat, crossed the Tiber River, and had gone over onto the Mount of Olives. His disciples came unto him privately.

Now they're all Jews, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? That's just the first question we ask. What shall be the sign of thy coming? And as Jews, they were not thinking about his coming to the earth.

They were thinking about his coming to the nation. What's the sign of your coming to the nation? Under the end of the age. There were three questions, and the three questions are answered. In the first part of the book, he tells them how soon these things will come to pass, or the stones.

And then he comes to this sign of his coming, verse 21. He says, For them shall be great tribulation. Telling them about great tribulation. Such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

He's talking to them about a time of tribulation that will be upon this earth. There was nothing before ever like it, and there'll never be anything again like it. It's a tremendous thing. It pinpoints this tribulation to a one particular period.

And he even said this, and except those days of tribulation should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved. So if God came in and shortened those days, there would be nobody left. Nobody at all could be so severe.

But for the elect's sake, and he's not talking about the witnesses that we were looking at. There's a lot of them, of course, chilled, a lot more to be chilled. They'll not be all chilled. But for the elect's sake, those days shall be shortened.

Then he said this, verse 29. Immediately, or it can be translated as it is before me here, at the end of the tribulation of those days, immediately after, or at the end of the tribulation of those days, shall the sun be gone, and the moon shall not give a light, and the stars rest with it.

Then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man. This is the sign of his coming back to take over the Jewish nation. It would take me another hour to go through all the scriptures where you get the sun and the moon and the stars all together.

The moon and the stars all together. I'll show you a couple of them and you find the rest. Because they're all relating to the one period, there never was anything before, I said never anything again, all for that period.

The period when he shall open that fixed seal after the church has gone. What terrible thing is going to happen on the face of this earth. Unless he would shorten it, in fact, there would be nobody left.

Joel's Prophecy of the Day of the Lord

Let's go back to the book of Jewel. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Jewel. Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Jewel. And it's chapter two. Chapter two. Now, this has been a long time before Christ comes.

I think if I'm right, about 500 years before Christ even appeared. But God did speak through these prophets, you know, that's why we know the whole book's inspired. Have you got Jewel, chapter two, verse one?

Jewel says, blow ye the trumpet in Zion. Sound an alarm in my holy mountain. Let all the inhabitants of the land, should be capital T, capital L, because it's Palestine he's thinking about. He was a Jewish prophet.

Let all the inhabitants of the land of Palestine tremble. For the day of the Lord cometh, it is nigh at hand. A day of darkness and of gloominess. A day of clouds and of thick darkness. As the morning spread upon the mountain, a great people in the strong.

There hath not been ever the night, neither shall be any more after. Is that the same thing? And you can't have two periods without thought of pain across them. That's the same, let's tell us, looking up the same period that Christ was looking up.

Same period as John saw. And as you go down the chapter, you'll find that terrible things will happen. But look at verse ten. The earth shall quake before them, the heavens shall tremble, the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars.

Is it the same sign? I'm the same saying. Because it's the same Lord that's inspiring it. Yes, you know, the land of Palestine is going to come under the readjustment touch of God. But let me show you this, and this to me is very interesting.

Egypt and the Darkening of the Heavens

Go back a page or two to Ezekiel 32. Prophecy of Ezekiel chapter 32. Ezekiel 32 and verse one. Now let's read this carefully. This hasn't to do with Palestine or the Jews. And it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, in the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came unto me, unto Ezekiel, saying, God always called Ezekiel, son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh, king of Egypt.

This has got to do with Egypt. And stay on to him. Thou art like a young lion of the nations, thou art as a whale in the seas, and thou camest forth with thy rivers, and troublest the waters with thy feet, and foulest thy rivers.

Not saith the Lord God, I will therefore spread out my neck over thee with the company of many people, and they shall bring thee up in my neck. Then I will leave thee upon the land. I will cast these tools upon the open field, and will cause all the trials of the heaven to remain upon me.

And I will fill the beasts of the whole earth with thee, and I will lay thy flesh upon the mountains, and fill the valleys with thy height, with thy folders, is one of the translations. I will also water with thy blood the land wherein thou swimmest, even to the mountains, and the rivers shall be full of thee.

And when I shall put thee out, all they margin is, when I shall extinguish thee, when I shall block thee out, I will cover the heavens, make the stars thereof dark, I will cover the sun, and the moon shall not give her like theirs will some next moon of stars again.

It's a whole lot of times through the scriptures. You see, there's a day coming not very far distant when the Lord will take the church away, and he'll open the heavens, and he'll deal with men directly from heaven, and he'll make them his witnesses, and many of them will be killed.

But God is going to deal with Israel. Every knee in the land will tremble, and God is going to deal with Egypt. They have boasted long and so on. Nasser said just some short time ago, you know, that he would go down and blot them out, he may well be in hell now.

He'd blotted nothing out. And they've got somebody else who's doing a lot of talking. I can tell you this right now, that God has it in for Egypt, and God will blot them out. But let us get back to our portion until we see how he's talking now.

The Collapse of the Earth and the Judgment of the Nations

Let's take it just as it is. Verse 12,. And I beheld, and I beheld, when he had opened the thick seal and blow, there was a great earthquake. You know, the old scholars used to spiritualize all this. They just couldn't believe that there would be an earthquake at the psychological moment.

I don't know for why. And they used to try to spiritualize the sun, and the moon, and the stars. Every little kid going to school now knows that through atomic energy, the whole heavens can be brought down upon our heads.

And it says here, verse 14,. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together. And every mountain, and every island, every mountain and island, removed out of their places. You know, we fight about this little island of ours.

Mr. Lynch is going to have his election, and we're going to have ours. And you know, it's a little piece of concrete. I had a friend who used to say there's two fields on that side of the border and two on this side, and I don't know what we're arguing about.

It's a very small piece remember. And there's coming a day when the Lord takes the church away and the Antichrist gets abroad, that God is going to deal with this world of ours in such a way that we'll move the islands and the mountains.

And the mountains of more may well be over Newcastle on that day. And I don't know how far he'll move this island out into the Atlantic, but he'll move it. And I tell you that if this island moves to that, and the mountains began to fall around us, there wouldn't be a whole lot left there occurring.