Easter Service: History's Greatest Event Matthew 28

The Hope of Life After Death and the Resurrection of the Body

Three weeks ago, I preached on what happens to people when they die. What we saw is that the blessed enter the presence of God immediately in heaven. On the other hand, those who reject Christ in this life are forever separated from God's goodness and sent to hell.

What we know about death from what scripture says in our own experience is that at death, the soul departs from the body. When you go to a funeral, we see the body, but we do not see the soul. And that is why the body lies lifeless in the casket.

But what the Bible teaches is that there will be a reunion between body and soul when Jesus Christ returns in the future. The Old Testament predicted this far off event in Daniel 12, 3. That passage says,.

What this verse and others tell us is that the righteous receive a glorified body that will never experience pain, never decay, and will be much stronger than anything our bodies in this life have experienced.

The Bible teaches that unbelievers, on the other hand, will receive the opposite. A body that won't die, but one that will experience pain forever. This morning is Easter Sunday. This is the one day a year where we pause and take a special focus upon the resurrection of Christ.

The only reason that Christians have the real hope that their body will be raised in the future is because Jesus was raised 2000 years ago. This is what the Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15 verses 20 through 23.

Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.

But each in his own. Christ the firstfruits, then it is coming those who belong to Christ. The Bible makes clear the claim that Jesus was raised bodily from the dead and those who belong to him will one day have a body like his.

Many of you watching or listening to the sermon right now believe this. You believe that Jesus died for you and that he was raised victoriously from the dead. And you know that one day you will have a body like his glorious body.

However, there are some of you listening to this who are skeptical. You have a hard time believing that Jesus truly was raised bodily from the dead. This morning is for both groups, those who believe and those who are skeptical.

For the believer, my goal is to show you the validity of your faith and to encourage you to get this news out. If you're skeptical this morning and you do not believe in Christ yet, my prayer is that this morning you would see that this really did happen and it's meant to change your life forever.

We are going to do this by looking at an account from one of Jesus' disciples, the apostle Matthew. In chapter 28, he gave a detailed account of the resurrection of Christ. So if you have a Bible, I encourage you to turn there with me.

Otherwise, you can just listen to what we're going to see and hear. This sermon is titled, History's Greatest Event. History's Greatest Event. And here's our big idea. The apostle Matthew gives his account of the most impactful event in human history.

And we're going to see three different acts. So this is kind of like a play this morning. We're going to see three acts. The first act is this. After his resurrection, Jesus appears first to several women.

And we'll see this in verses 1 through 10. Two days ago, on Good Friday, we looked at and remembered the death of Jesus Christ. The death of Jesus would not have significance without a resurrection. If Jesus had stayed dead, it would have shown that he was an imposter, since he predicted that the Jews and Romans were going to put him to death.

And then three days later, he would rise. But Jesus did rise from the dead. And we gather together here through video or through audio to remember this most important of all days in human history. This event changed the world forever.

The resurrection of Jesus is the reason there is hope. He is the only hope. Christians believe in a risen Savior, that even though we die physically, we live forever with Christ. And one day when Christ returns, he will raise believers from the dead.

The text we are going to be looking at today is Matthew 28. As I already mentioned, and I'm going to take it verse by verse. There's 20 verses in this chapter. And my prayer is that this account of Christ's resurrection comes alive to you.

I want each of us to put ourselves in the shoes of these witnesses who witness this glorious event on this day. So let's begin by reading verse 1. Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.

So let's pause right there. After Jesus' body was taken down from the tomb on Friday, two men took his body to the tomb. Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea. These were two high class Jewish men. Joseph of Arimathea was a wealthy man who owned a tomb not too far from the place where Jesus was crucified in a garden.

Jesus being buried in this tomb, this tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, is a fulfillment of prophecy. Isaiah 53 9 says, they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death. After Jesus' death, Joseph of Arimathea asked the Roman governor Pontius Pilate, the one who sentenced Jesus to death, if he could take his body and bury it.

Pilate gave him permission. Mary Magdalene and another woman named Mary were the first to go to the tomb where he was buried. In verse 1, these women go to the tomb with the purpose of anointing Jesus with oils.

They couldn't go the day before because it was the Sabbath. The Jewish Sabbath was Saturday and the first day of the week was Sunday. So this is early Sunday morning. And what we must understand is that these women go to the tomb, not expecting to see anything.

They are doing this to honor their friend. And then the incredible happened. Verse 2, And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it.

So what we see is this earthquake and the angel from heaven moving the stone happened before the women arrived at the tomb. We know this because the accounts in Mark, Luke and John say that these women found the stone rolled away and the tomb empty.

This stone that was over the tomb was tightly secured. The Roman soldiers did this to make it so that it would be impossible for anybody to take the body and create a lie that he had risen from the dead when, in fact, the body was stolen.

It is interesting that the chief priests and Pharisees, the very ones who delivered Jesus to the Romans to be crucified, were concerned that Jesus' disciples would take the body and do this very thing and say that he was risen from the dead.

In fact, this passage in chapter 27, verses 63 and 64, this is what they said. Sir, we remember how that imposter said while he was still alive. After three days, I will rise. Therefore, order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people.

He has risen from the dead and the last fraud will be worse than the first. End quote. Then Pilate said, use your own guards and secure it. So this is what they did. No mere man would have been able to overtake the guards and unseal this tightly secured tomb.

It would take a miracle for this stone to be rolled away. And this is precisely what happened. A miracle. An angel from heaven rolled it away. Verse three describes the description of this angel. His appearance was like lightning and his clothing white as snow.

The brightest light that we experience is the sun. And we are told never to look at the sun because it is so bright. The brightness can blind you. In fact, Brianna and I had this experience a couple years ago when we had that solar eclipse.

If you can remember back then, we were told, do not look at the sun unless you have those protective glasses on. We didn't have the protective glasses on and we thought, well, we could just glance up at it for just a little bit.

We'll be okay. And I'm not kidding you when I tell you that for a few days, our eyesight was a little bit off. The light was so bright. So you can imagine what it would have been like for these guards who saw these angels, how bright it must have been.

And these men and these soldiers were guarding the tomb when this happened. And this is their reaction to this bright light and these angels in verse four. And for fear of him, the guards trembled and became like dead men.

Throughout scripture, the first words the angels utter when they make an appearance to a human is do not be afraid. They say this because they are so powerful compared to humans. The guards were terrified at seeing this angel.

All of this happened before the women arrived at the tomb. So the women go to the tomb and notice that the tomb is empty. All the women see is an empty tomb. And then they see an angel at the tomb. And this is what the angel says to them in verse five.

Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. Of course, four gospels in the New Testament, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. And the gospels Luke and John say that there were actually two angels present.

The gospel of Luke also says there were several women who were with the two Marys. This is why it is helpful to read each gospel because each one adds more information than the other. And so you get a full picture once you're done reading all four.

And as the women see the angels, they say to the women, do not be afraid. These angels know that they have come to anoint Jesus' body. Then they deliver the incredible words in verse six. He is not here.

He has risen. As he said, come see the place where he lay. So these angels explain to him why he's not here. There's only one reason. He has risen. Just as he said throughout his ministry, he told them, I am going to rise from the dead.

In fact, in the gospel of Matthew, Jesus told his disciples five times that he would rise. Jesus said it and it happened. And these women hear this amazing news from this angel. The angel then gives them the task to tell the disciples that Jesus has risen from the dead.

Verse seven. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead and behold, he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him. See, I have told you. So the angel tells the women to tell the disciples that they will see Jesus in Galilee.

Now the region of Galilee was the location where Jesus spent his ministry. It was located 60 miles north of Jerusalem. Jesus is going to meet his disciples in this place at a time in the near future. At this time, there would have been 11 disciples because Judas was no longer with them.

He had already betrayed Jesus and committed suicide. What we will see in a little bit is that there are more than just the 11 disciples who will go to Galilee to see Jesus. Now the women obey the command of the angels as verse eight states.

Let's read that. Verse eight. So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy and ran to tell his disciples. They go to tell the disciples the incredible news that Jesus has risen from the dead and imagine what this would have been like.

They just saw an angel sent from heaven and they were told that Jesus, their dear friend who was once dead is now alive. And as they are running to tell the disciples what the text says is they were filled with fear and great joy.

Having these emotions, these emotions of excitement simultaneously and also fear because they had just seen an angel. They are shaking realizing this heavenly being has come and they are overjoyed because their loved one Jesus who was brutally murdered.

He's now alive. He has risen from the dead. And this promise of receiving eternal life that he promised during his time on earth is true. Everything he said is true. As these women are en route to tell the disciples that Jesus has risen, they are met by the man himself as the resurrected Christ appears to them in verse nine.

And behold, Jesus met them and said, Greetings and they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. You can imagine the joy that they would have overflowed with when they saw Jesus. Many of you watching or listening to this right now have had a loved one who has passed away or multiple loved ones who have passed away.

I know I have in my life. Imagine seeing your loved one again. One morning where they just appeared to you. Think of how overjoyed you would be at seeing that loved one. So we can imagine this putting ourselves in their shoes.

How overjoyed they would have been to see their dear friend, the resurrected Christ. And note here, too, that they did not see a ghost. They saw Jesus with a body, a physical body. It says they took hold of his feet.

Spirits do not have feet. This is a body, a new glorified body that Jesus had. And you also notice that they are bowing to him. They are worshiping and you only worship God. These women knew that he was so much more than a man.

He is God. Throughout his ministry, Jesus claimed to be God's son. And they give him the worship that he is due. And Jesus receives it because he is God. Before these women met Jesus, they were afraid to tell the disciples because they knew the hostility of the Jews who had just put Jesus to death.

Everyone would have feared because of my association with Jesus, I might be in trouble. I might die. So to embolden them, this is what Jesus says in verse 10. Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee and there they will see me.

Earlier, the angels told these women to tell the disciples that Jesus had risen. Jesus expanded even more. He tells them to tell his brothers. Throughout Jesus' ministry, he had many people who followed him.

The word was to spread that Jesus was going to Galilee. Many would go there to see for themselves that Jesus truly was alive. In fact, in 1 Corinthians 15, 6, Jesus explains that more than 500 brothers would be there to see him risen from the dead.

These are the witnesses who saw him. Jesus made many appearances after his resurrection. The gospel account that we're looking at, the gospel of Matthew, is focusing on this grand appearance that Jesus is going to make in Galilee in the near future.

The Cover-Up Attempt by the Jewish Leaders

So what we have seen in this first point, Act 1 of the Apostle Matthew's account of the most impactful event in human history is this. After his resurrection, Jesus appears first to several women. Act 2, the ones who killed Jesus tried to cover up the reality of his resurrection.

Verses 11 through 15. We just saw the perspective of people who were overjoyed to see Jesus at his resurrection. Now we are going to see the side of those who unjustly murdered Jesus. We're going to see the evil side.

The people who delivered Jesus up to be crucified were the Jewish leaders. In this passage specifically mentions the chief priests. Let's look at verse 11. While they were going, the women, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place.

So while the women were on their way to tell the disciples that Jesus had risen, word got out about what happened at the tomb. Certain guards went to tell the chief priests. The chief priests met with other leaders known as the elders and they come up with a plan.

A very devious, wicked plan. And before I explain what that plan was, as we are going to read here, think about how sinful this is. How evil this is, what they did. What they should have done is said, there is irrefutable evidence that Jesus is who he said he is.

He indeed has risen from the dead. He really is from God. And we are the phony ones, not him. We are the imposters, not him. Is that what they do? Of course not. These are wicked men. They already murdered Jesus by delivering him up to be crucified.

And now they want to cover up the reality that Jesus rose from the dead as he said he would. They show their darkness, the depth of their darkness, in a cover up attempt in verses 12 through 15. And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers and said, tell people his disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.

And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble. So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.

So what we see here is that they decided to come up with a lie that the disciples stole the body. In order to prevent the truth of what really happened, they paid the soldiers who were on guard when the earthquake happened and the angel appeared and the stone rolled away.

What they do is they pay off the guards to tell the lie that the disciples stole the body. And if somehow the Roman governor Pilate hears about this, the Jewish leaders are going to cover for the soldiers to keep them out of trouble and to keep this lie going that Jesus, that the body was stolen by his disciples.

They don't want the governor to find out that something else happened. It's interesting that the day before they suspected the disciples may attempt to steal the body, this is why in the first place they put the guards there.

So think about this. They go from believing the disciples stole the body to telling the lie that the disciples did steal the body when they knew full well that a miracle from heaven happened. These are very evil people.

And there are people who believe this lie to this day that the disciples stole the body. My dad, who is a believer, he once sent an email to one of my relatives who is a big skeptic of the Christian faith.

And of course what Christians do on Easter is they say the words, he has risen. And then the one who is spoken to responds by saying, he has risen indeed. So my dad sent this relative the words, he has risen to get a response from him that said, no, the disciples stole the body.

There were people in Matthew's day who believed this fable. And there are still people today who believe it. There's a Christian apologist by the name of William Lane Craig. And what he has said is that almost all scholars, Christian and secular, agree on four facts regarding the resurrection.

Let me give you these four facts. And what we're going to see is how credible the claim is that Jesus indeed was raised bodily from the dead. Number one is this, Joseph of Arimathea buried Jesus in his tomb.

Number two, several women found the tomb empty on Sunday morning. Number three, many people claim to see Jesus after the tomb was found empty. And number four, the Christian movement started from these events as witnesses sincerely reported that they saw him alive.

So those are the four facts. The disagreement among scholars is on the explanation of all these events. I'm here to tell you that the only explanation that makes any sense is that Jesus really rose from the dead.

You might say, well, of course, you're going to say that you're a pastor. Well, yes, I am a pastor, but an impartial person who examines the evidence must conclude the bodily resurrection of Christ is true.

Given the evidence, it makes sense while the other views do not. And what I tell you is that I would not be a pastor if I didn't believe firmly that I would be a shepherd of God's people if I didn't believe this was true.

So let me give you an example of how ridiculous the other views are. One scholar said Jesus had a twin brother. Others have said Jesus really didn't die, but he survived the crucifixion. Another view says that people had hallucinations.

Now, when we think about hallucinations, you can think maybe one or two after Jesus died would have a hallucination because their dear friend had passed away. But what we've already seen is that over 500 witnessed the death or witnessed the resurrection of Christ.

Jesus would appear to these men and women when he went to Galilee. And the twin brother one is just ridiculous. And that he didn't really die is also very silly. Do you think the disciples would boldly call people to believe in an almost dead man and say his resurrected life will change you forever?

Of course not. How do you explain the Christian movement? There are at least over a billion people in the world who say that they are followers of Jesus Christ. The Christian movement would not have exploded if the resurrection were not true.

And we see in our text, the other ridiculous view, the lie that was told that the disciples stole the body. So as we see here, the only logical explanation to the evidence is that Jesus indeed was raised.

That the events described in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John really happened. What this shows is that the truth claims of Christianity can stand against any attack, since the truth always stands against falsehood.

So we see here in Act 2, our second point is this. The most impactful event in human history describes the lie that the ones who killed Jesus tried to cover up the reality of his resurrection. That's Act 2.

The Grand Appearance of Jesus in Galilee

Now our third and final act from Matthew's account is this. The grand appearance of Jesus is highlighted. Verses 16 and 17. So we transition to this grand appearance that Jesus would have with his disciples as Jesus told the women to tell the disciples to go to Galilee to see him risen from the dead.

I once looked at a source that placed each of the appearances of Christ in chronological order. This source listed 10 documented appearances that Jesus made after his resurrection during the 40 days he was on the earth before he ascended to heaven.

We have already seen Matthew highlight the first appearance, Jesus appearing to the women. And let me say this too. Jesus appearing to women is remarkable when you think about it. The reliability of female witnesses back in these days, it was not seen as a reliable witness.

And so it's incredible that in God's plan, he had multiple women see him first and then the men see him after. And it's such a credible account because of all the witnesses who were seeing him, but he was first seen by women.

And so the argument is that if the Bible were trying to fabricate the story, it wouldn't say that women saw him first. It would say that the most famous people saw him first. The people who would have been looked up to most by society, but that's not what it says.

It gives the events as they happened. And what happened is that the women saw Jesus first. The eighth appearance, Matthew highlights. So Matthew highlights two appearances of the ten. The first when he goes to the women, and the eighth when he goes to Galilee to appear before all of these people.

Let's see this in verses 16 and 17. Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him, they worshiped him. But some doubted. The eleven disciples and many other people took the 60-mile journey to Galilee.

As verse 10 says, the women were to tell not only the eleven disciples, but also other followers of Jesus that he was going to meet many in Galilee. They went to the mountain that Jesus told them to go to.

At this point, Jesus had already appeared to the eleven on several occasions. But this meeting was an opportunity for not only his immediate circle, the eleven disciples to see him, but for all these other people.

As we have seen in 1 Corinthians 15, 6, Paul once again said, he appeared to more than 500 brothers at one time. And the word brothers is a general term used for followers of Christ. And this could be both men and women.

It can be young and old. What verse 17 says is that they saw him and they worshipped him. We already saw the women worship him earlier on in this passage. And now we see all of these people are worshipping him.

Once again, we see the clear teaching of scripture that Jesus is not just a man. He is God. And what the Bible teaches, what the New Testament teaches, is that he's fully God and he is fully man. You only worship God.

He is worthy of our worship. If you worship anyone else or anything else, that is adultery. It is sinful. But Jesus is God and therefore he is worshipped. That's what these people are doing on this mountain in Galilee.

And what is incredible about this is that Jesus once again receives the worship. In the Bible, there are a few places where creatures who are not God are worshipped. And it's interesting to see what happened.

In the book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible, in chapter 2 verses 8 and 9, the apostle John fell down to worship the angel who revealed the whole prophecy of the book to him. And the angel said to him, you must not do that.

I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers, the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God. So the angel says, only worship God. There is a place in the Bible where someone receives worship who should not.

And something horrible happened to him. King Herod Antipas, who was a wicked king in Israel during the time of Christ, he gave a public speech according to the book of Acts. And when he gave that speech, the people shouted, the voice of a God and not of a man.

Then the account says that an angel of the Lord struck him dead. It's interesting that the Jewish historian Josephus records this event as well. And what he records is that he was eaten by worms. It was a disease that killed him.

So receiving worship as one who is not God is very dangerous. But Jesus here receives it and nothing happens to him. He rightly receives worship because he is God. He is fully God and fully man. And the earlier followers of Jesus knew this.

Now, the end of verse 17 says that some doubted. So not everyone here was worshiping him full blown. Some people had some doubts still, which is pretty remarkable. These are people who saw him crucified and now they see him alive.

And they're still doubting. It shows the power of the human heart to doubt even in the face of certainty. And when you first look at this, you might think that this is referring to the 11 disciples. Probably not.

As we've already seen, there's lots of people there. So some in the crowd would have had some doubts still, which again is remarkable that they would even have doubts. But that's what the text says. And what you can see in this appearance at Galilee is how God planned that the news of the resurrection would get out.

He didn't have one person see it and report it, but he had many. The Old Testament talks about the value of more than one witness in the court of law. And the Lord planned that there would be many witnesses here to spread the truth of the bodily resurrection to the world.

They would tell everyone this news that Jesus had risen from the dead. A small number of these people who were mostly apostles, these would be the ones who would write down that Jesus had risen. And they would not only write that, but they would also write his whole life.

And they would write about the meaning of his crucifixion and the details surrounding his life. And the impact, the enormous impact it's supposed to have on everyone who lives on planet earth. This was God's plan.

And these documents are known as the New Testament. The 27 books of the New Testament. The first book is Matthew. The last book is Revelation. And what's packed in these books, these 27 books, will change your life.

If you believe it, it's meant to persuade you and it will change your life. What's interesting is that Paul wrote 1 Corinthians about 20 years after the resurrection. In 53 AD, there would have been a lot of people, of course, who did not witness the resurrection, who could approach someone who did and ask him or her, were you there?

Were you there on that mountain in Galilee to see the resurrected Christ before he ascended to his father in heaven? And there would have been people there to say, yes, I was there. I remember when I was younger, we took a trip to Dallas to visit my family.

And one of the days we went down to see the location where President John Kennedy was assassinated. It was quite a sight to see. It was like we were going back in history. And in 2020, there are still people here today who remember that event from November 22, 1963, when our president was shot and killed.

People still remember that. People are alive who were there. And people can ask them, what was it like? And you can tell by the sincerity, you can tell by the details that this event really happened, that they really were there, that they're telling the truth.

And let me ask you this, when you read the New Testament, and if you haven't read the New Testament, I encourage you, read it. Do you get the impression that these eyewitnesses are trustworthy? I know that when I read it, they come across as very trustworthy.

These are the type of people who tell the truth. There are lots of liars in the world, but these are not those people. These are truth tellers. These are trustworthy witnesses. And what they say, you can count on, and it will change your life.

In Acts 3, this is the end of our third point, in Acts 3 of Matthew's account of the most impactful event in history, he describes the grand appearance of Jesus in Galilee. So to summarize what we have seen, I'm going to read these three acts to you again.

Number one, after his resurrection, Jesus appears first to several women. Act two is the ones who killed Jesus tried to cover up the reality of his resurrection. Act three, the grand appearance of Jesus is highlighted.

If this is true, and I think we can all say, if you're honest, if you're honest, we can all say that this is not a fairy tale. This is real history. If this is true, then the question is, what are you going to do about it?

This is meant to change your life forever. The Gospels are not just history recorded. This is meant to impact everyone. The Bible tells real history. What it tells us is God created this world that we live in.

He created you. Every one of us has sinned before him. God is holy, and we are not. And this is why he sent Jesus into the world. He sent him to die for our sins. He sent him to bear the punishment that you and I deserve.

Before Jesus ascended to heaven, after 40 days of appearances, he gave the commission to his disciples to spread this news that people would respond. And this is what Jesus told them in verses 18 through 20.

He said, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.

And behold, I am with you always to the end of the age. The disciples were given the command to make disciples. They were commanded to share the good news of what Jesus had done, that he died for sinners, that he was raised gloriously from the dead.

And if you believe in him, you will have eternal life. You will be reconciled to God. You won't face the punishment that you deserve for your sins. You will experience the abundance, grace of God that is shown in Jesus Christ going to the cross.

So my question to you is, do you know Jesus? You can't be indifferent toward this news that Jesus died and rose again. You will either spend forever in eternal glory with God, or forever separated from God in hell.

Right now, if you're alive, you experience the goodness of God. You experience his grace all the time living in this world. But if you die in your sins, if you die without believing, without sincerely believing in Jesus Christ, you will be cut off from the goodness of God, only to face his wrath, his holy wrath.

These are the two choices before you, and the choice is yours. So I ask you, do you have a relationship with Jesus? And if you have any questions, I'm the pastor of Eureka Baptist Church. If you have any questions, you can reach out to us.

We have a Facebook page, Eureka Baptist Church Facebook page. We have a website. It's EurekaBapChurch .com. We have a phone number, 751 -483 -9464. You can reach out to us if you're wondering, how do I enter into a relationship with Jesus?

And the second question is for those of you who do have a relationship with Christ. You are following him and you love him. And my question to you is, what are you going to do to get this news out? Are you sharing this with those who have yet to believe in Christ as Lord, Savior and treasure?

This is the commission that the Lord has given us, and we must listen to it and get the most important news in the world out to our community in Eureka and the St. Croix Falls area and all over northwestern Wisconsin and to the whole world.

This is news that we need to get out. And so on this Easter Sunday, how glorious it is that Jesus indeed is risen. He has risen. Now next Sunday, we will resume our look at the end times. We will look at the two evil world rulers who will rise to power during the tribulation.

And that, of course, is the Antichrist and the false prophet. And we'll see that in Revelation 13. At this time, I encourage you, wherever you are, to bow your heads with me. Father in heaven, I love you.

And I know that many listening to you love you. And my prayer is that everybody listening to you would bow their knee to you before it's too late. That they would believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved.