Participants: Ivor Myers (Host), James Rafferty (Host), Yvonne Lewis, Jason Bradley
Series Code: SISS
Program Code: SISS000064A
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00:30 So we are now in Revelation 15, we're just moving right along.
00:35 We just left one of the most amazing chapters 00:39 of the Book of Revelation, Revelation 14, 00:42 the 144,000... 00:44 that follow the Lamb wherever He goes... 00:46 the everlasting gospel that summarizes with those 00:49 who keep the gift of the commandments of God 00:52 and the faith of Jesus, 00:53 beautiful stuff and then harvest of the earth 00:56 so now in Revelation chapter 15 00:58 and we're going to be looking here 01:00 at some... I think some thoughts that are going to tie us 01:03 or take us right into Revelation 16 01:05 so 15 and 16 are kind of going to... kind of go together, 01:07 Ivor: 15 is the introductory vision of chapter 16, 01:12 yeah, basically. 01:13 James: Yes, and then there's a song of Moses and the Lamb. 01:15 it's kind of an aside but we still need to... 01:17 it's... the song of Moses the Lamb 01:19 is going to be kind of a summary 01:20 of the everlasting gospel 01:22 you'll see that connection real quick 01:23 so, Jason, pray for us and we'll jump right in... 01:26 Jason: Sure, "Dear Heavenly Father, 01:27 we ask that you would please send your Holy Spirit 01:30 to be with us... to lead and guide us into all truth, 01:33 be with our Viewers as well 01:34 as we partake in this wonderful study of your Word, 01:37 in Jesus' name we pray, amen. " 01:39 All: "Amen. " 01:40 So, Yvonne, can you read for us Revelation 15 01:43 verses 1 through... I'm going to say, verses 1 through 4. 01:49 Yvonne: Okay, "Then I saw another sign in heaven, 01:52 great and marvelous, 01:54 seven angels having the seven last plagues; 01:57 for in them the wrath of God is complete. 02:00 And I saw something like the sea of glass mingled with fire: 02:05 and those who have the victory over the beast, 02:07 over his image, and over his mark, 02:09 and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, 02:13 having harps of God. 02:14 They sing the song of Moses the servant of God, 02:17 and the song of the Lamb, 02:19 saying, Great and marvelous are your works, Lord God Almighty; 02:23 just and true are your ways, O King of the saints. 02:26 Who shall not fear you, O Lord, 02:28 and glorify your name? 02:30 for you alone are holy: 02:31 for all nations shall come and worship before you; 02:34 for your judgments have been manifested. " 02:37 James: Okay, so, 02:38 first verse introduces the seven last plagues, 02:41 the wrath of God... the plagues of God... 02:43 which is going to be the subject of chapter 16, 02:45 but then there's an aside, there's a pause, if you will, 02:48 and then in verses 2, 3 and 4, John goes back now 02:53 and kind of summarizes this everlasting gospel 02:57 in the context of the song of Moses and the Lamb, 03:00 and the song of Moses and the Lamb is very specific 03:03 in relation to Revelation 14 verse 7, 03:06 now remember, Revelation 14 verse 7... 03:08 the message of the everlasting gospel is: 03:10 Fear God, give glory to Him, 03:13 the hour of His judgment is come and worship Him. 03:15 Now notice, those four things, 03:17 now notice those four things here in verse 4, 03:20 pause... 03:22 verse 3 says, "Who shall not... " 03:24 that they sing a song of Moses and the Lamb 03:26 and then in verse 4 it says, "Who shall not fear thee, 03:28 and glorify thy name? 03:30 for all nations shall come and worship you; 03:33 for your judgments are made manifest. " 03:36 Fear God... give glory to Him... 03:37 the hour of His judgment is come... and worship Him. 03:39 See that? 03:41 Ivor: And notice, back in verse 2 03:43 you have a few things. 03:45 James: Okay, bring that up, bring that up. 03:47 Ivor: You have those who got the victory over the beast, 03:49 his image, the mark... and the number of his name. 03:54 The four things that we related to the first four commandments. 03:57 James: Yes! Yvonne: Hmmm... 03:58 Ivor: It's like it's... it's just poetic, as it were, 04:02 picture... of those who are... 04:07 remember the last six commandments dealing with man... 04:11 but the first four... dealing with God, 04:13 you have these... these sets of four, 04:15 right, and this is what Moses... 04:18 and this is what John the Revelator is bringing out here 04:21 as he connects four... four... 04:26 those who overcome these four things 04:28 by doing these four things. 04:29 James: And just for our Viewers' sake, for those who... 04:32 who may not see the "four connection... " 04:34 in a previous program 04:35 we connected those four aspects of overcoming 04:38 to the first four commandments, 04:39 that was beautiful, powerful stuff. 04:41 Yvonne: So the song of Moses would be a song of deliverance 04:44 from bondage, is that...? 04:46 Ivor: Exactly, so when you think about the... 04:48 when did they sing the song of Moses 04:50 back in the Old Testament? 04:51 James: After they came through... 04:53 Ivor: After they came... after they were delivered 04:55 by the blood of the Lamb, 04:58 they crossed the Red Sea, 05:00 and when they get on the other side, 05:02 it's the song of Moses. 05:04 James: "I will sing unto the Lord, 05:05 for He has triumphed gloriously: 05:06 the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. " 05:08 Yvonne: Hmmm... 05:10 Ivor: Yes, yeah, so, those who sing the song of Moses... 05:13 is really simple... are the ones that cross over. 05:17 When Jesus comes again, the skies part 05:21 just like the Red Sea parted and the "Divine Moses" 05:25 the Moses of Heaven... Jesus... the deliverer... 05:28 comes and He leads us through the skies, 05:32 we get to the other side, and we sing the song of Moses. 05:36 James: And He comes as the White Horse Rider... 05:39 and the three other horses of Revelation 6, 05:40 the black horse... the red horse of persecution... 05:43 the black horse of compromise 05:44 and the pale horse of death... destroying our faith 05:46 are all conquered by Christ. 05:47 Ivor: That's right... James: The white horse rider, 05:50 we're connected with the white horse so the rider... 05:52 the horse and its rider has been thrown into the sea 05:54 the multitudes and peoples and nations of this earth... 05:56 the seas that the whore sits on 05:58 and we'll talk about that a little bit more... 05:59 have been conquered by Christ. 06:01 Ivor: Yes. Yvonne: Amen. 06:02 James: So the picture is all there... 06:03 the song of Moses is all there... 06:05 the symbolism of that all comes down to our time 06:07 delivered by the blood of the Lamb. 06:08 Ivor: That's right. 06:10 James: It's a beautiful picture. Yvonne: Hmmm... hmmm... 06:11 James: And so, as we get through now to Revelation chapter 15 06:15 and verses 5 through 8, 06:16 there's something that's taking place here, 06:18 Jason, can you read those verses for us? 06:19 Jason: Sure, "And after that I looked, and behold, 06:22 the temple of the tabernacle 06:23 of the testimony in heaven was opened: 06:25 And the seven angels came out of the temple, 06:28 having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, 06:31 and having their breasts girded with golden girdles. 06:35 And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels 06:38 seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, 06:41 who liveth for ever and ever. " 06:43 And you said to eight? James: Yes. 06:45 Jason: Okay, "And the temple was filled with smoke 06:48 from the glory of God, and from his power; 06:50 and no man was able to enter into the temple, 06:53 till the seen plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled. " 06:56 James: All right, so here is a more detailed picture 06:59 of the wrath of God 07:01 being prepared to be poured out on to the earth 07:04 and one of the key points here in relation to this 07:07 is that the temple is filled with smoke 07:09 and no man can enter into the temple, 07:12 Jesus Christ is in the heavenly temple right now, 07:15 He's in the Most Holy Place of the heavenly Sanctuary, 07:17 and He is mediating for us there 07:20 so, right now, according to Hebrews 4, 07:22 we can come with boldness to the throne of grace 07:26 where we can find grace and mercy in this time 07:29 and help in our time of need. 07:31 We can enter into the temple by faith 07:34 but when probation closes, 07:36 when the plagues begin to be poured out, 07:38 when there is no more mediation, when the gospel's gone, 07:42 everyone's made a decision and the earth is being harvested, 07:45 in that time, no man can enter into the temple 07:48 that's what this is referring to, 07:50 it's referring to a time when we no longer have an intercessor, 07:52 when we no longer can enter into that temple, 07:54 the High Priest has exited the temple 07:56 and He's returning for His people. 07:58 Ivor: Some good point-out, I want to add something to that 08:03 in a... this is a good verse that actually lets us know that 08:07 you know... 08:11 people don't die and go to heaven right now, 08:16 right, it is not until the plagues are poured out, 08:22 Jesus comes again to redeem His people 08:25 that, as a whole, humanity enters the temple, 08:27 we know that there are exceptions of course, 08:30 Jesus... the 24 Elders... 08:32 but as a whole, we're talking about humanity 08:35 and we will be able to enter that temple 08:38 when Jesus comes again to deliver us from our sins, 08:42 okay, or deliver us from... 08:43 He's already delivered us from our sins 08:45 but to deliver us from our enemies 08:47 so, that's number one, 08:48 number two, these angels that come out of the tabernacle, 08:55 the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony, 08:58 meaning, they come out of the Most Holy Place. 09:01 Now that's significant... the seven plagues... 09:04 are... the angels of the seven plagues 09:07 are seen coming out of the Most Holy Place. 09:10 Why? well, it is because those people who receive the plagues, 09:19 are the ones that rejected the contents 09:22 of the Ark of the Covenant. 09:24 James: Okay, Gotcha... 09:25 Ivor: There's the Mercy Seat... there's the Law... 09:29 they rejected God's Law, they rejected God's mercy 09:32 and as a result of that 09:33 the curse is being poured out on them 09:36 written in the book... 09:37 and that's how it was in the Old Testament, you know, 09:39 God said, "Hey, if you don't follow these laws... 09:42 the curse that is written... 09:43 the curse that's written in the book 09:45 will be poured out upon you. " Yvonne: Hmmm... 09:46 Ivor: When we look at Revelation chapter 15, 09:48 where it's located... remember what we have covered 09:52 from Revelation 1 onward, 09:54 in Revelation chapters 1 through 11, 09:58 we have the seven churches, the seven seals, 10:00 the seven trumpets, where are they unfolding? 10:02 They're all unfolding in the Holy Place, 10:04 the Seven-branched Candlestick, 10:06 Table of Shewbread, Altar of Incense, 10:08 we get to Revelation 11:19, 10:10 we're brought into the Most Holy Place, 10:12 the temple is opened... 10:13 the temple being opened reflects the entering in, as it were, 10:21 the opening up of the Most Holy Place 10:23 now, the Most Holy Place was opened twice 10:25 on the Day of Atonement, two major times, 10:27 once when the High Priest entered 10:30 and once when he was exiting, right, 10:34 in other words, the exiting symbolized 10:37 the closing of his ministry on the Day of Atonement, 10:39 the entering signified the opening 10:41 so in Revelation 11:19, you have the opening, 10:45 in Revelation 15, He sees it opened one more time 10:48 this time, He's coming out okay, 10:52 and at the end of the Day of Atonement, 10:54 those who did not participate in the work... 10:56 in the Old Testament, those who did not participate 10:59 were cut off from the people, this is what's happening, 11:01 in other words, the entire book of Revelation 11:03 is following the pattern of the, 11:06 "Keep the Sanctuary service throughout the year... " 11:09 so towards the end of the year... Day of Atonement, 11:11 at the end of that day, the wicked were cut off, 11:14 this was happening in Revelation chapter 15 11:16 the angel comes out, 11:18 the angels come out of the Most Holy Place 11:20 having the plagues 11:21 and this is about to be the judgment 11:24 from 15 on... chapter 16... 17... 18... 19... 11:28 all you're seeing is judgment upon the wicked. 11:33 Yvonne: Hmmm... so at this point 11:35 everyone will have had an opportunity 11:39 to choose which side they're on 11:41 when probation closes, 11:44 that means that everyone has chosen, 11:47 is that correct? Ivor: Absolutely. 11:49 James: Yeah, in fact, let's look at a couple of verses on that 11:51 toward the end of the book because 11:52 what Ivor's just explaining is that really these chapters... 11:56 these next chapters that we're going to be reading 11:58 are all basically one message 11:59 and the one message that they're giving us 12:01 from different angles is justice... judgment... 12:04 plagues... wrath... and we need to define wrath... 12:08 we need to define justice because justice and judgment are 12:11 just as verily a manifestation of God's love 12:13 as is His mercy and His forgiveness, 12:16 so, if we look at this from the perspective of the 12:19 close of the book and I just want to... 12:21 us to fast forward here to Revelation 22 12:23 and look at a couple of verses 12:25 in relation to the question you asked, 12:28 "Has everyone had an opportunity, everyone had...?" 12:32 so Revelation chapter 22, Yvonne, read for us verse 11. 12:35 Yvonne: Okay... 12:38 James: 11 and 12... 12:40 Yvonne: Okay, ooops... 12:42 Jason: And by then... 12:46 by not making a decision, you've made your decision. 12:48 Ivor: Right. Yvonne: Right... right... 12:50 "He who is unjust, let him be unjust still: 12:53 he who is filthy, let him be filthy still: 12:56 he who is righteous, let him be righteous still: 12:58 he who is holy, let him be holy still. 13:01 And, behold, I'm coming quickly; 13:03 and my reward is with me, to give every man 13:06 according... to give every one 13:07 according to his work. " 13:09 James: Okay, now these are really key verses 13:11 to help us to understand what we're going to go back now 13:13 and look at... in Revelation 15, 16, 17, 18, 19... 13:17 so there are two things here that we need to grab ahold of 13:20 as this book closes out, 13:22 number one is, when Jesus looks out on the whole world, 13:25 in relation to the close of probation, 13:27 He says, "You know what? 13:29 It wouldn't matter if we continued 13:32 this message of mercy and love 13:35 for another year or another month or another week 13:37 or another day, or another hour, 13:39 he that is just... is going to be just still... 13:42 he's already made his decision, he's not switching, 13:45 he that is holy is going to be holy still... 13:46 he's already made his decision, he's not going to sway, 13:48 and those that are unjust are going to remain unjust still 13:51 they're not turning either, they're settled in their... 13:53 and those that are filthy are going to remain filthy still... 13:55 this is not a proclamation that Christ is making 13:58 in relation to His determination, 14:00 it is a proclamation He's making 14:02 in relation to our determination. 14:03 Yvonne: Hmmm... 14:05 James: A message has gone to the world 14:06 and it's lightened the whole world with its glory, 14:08 Revelation 18, 14:09 and we're going to look at that some more too 14:11 because that also boys up this idea, 14:13 that's why, in the middle of all these judgments, 14:15 God reminds us, 14:16 "Hey, remember, I lighten the whole earth with my glory, 14:19 I called everyone out of Babylon, 14:20 even my people were called out of Babylon, 14:23 everyone is making a decision for or against, 14:26 so "he that is holy still... " if I continue to... 14:29 and God will only close probation 14:30 when He can actually say this. 14:32 "It doesn't matter if I kept it open for another day, 14:35 another hour, another minute, another second, 14:36 these guys have made all their decisions, 14:38 these guys have made all their decisions, 14:39 nothing's going to change, might as well close it up. " 14:42 Yvonne: I never looked at it like that, 14:44 I thought that the Lord was saying, 14:47 "wherever you are... that's where... " 14:49 but what He's saying is, 14:51 "That's where you're going to be by your determination. " 14:54 James: Yes "and nothing's going to change, 14:55 so I'm going to come quickly now I'm coming quickly. " 14:57 And here's another way of looking at that, 14:59 God will not say this 15:00 until everyone has come to the place 15:02 where they've made a decision... that is irrevocable 15:05 but God is not going to say this see... 15:06 if there's one soul that has the opportunity to repent, 15:10 and this is 2nd Peter, which, by-the-way, 15:12 2nd Peter chapter 3 is a prophetic chapter, 15:15 it's an end-time chapter, 15:17 and in 2nd Peter, the question is asked, 15:19 "Where's the promise of your fathers?" 15:21 Or the promise of our fathers from the beginning... yeah, 15:24 how come it's taking so long? What... what...? 15:27 And the answer is given, 15:28 "The Lord is longsuffering toward us, 15:30 not willing that any would perish 15:32 but that all would come to repentance. " 15:34 So, a day with the Lord is like a year 15:36 and a thousand years is like a day 15:37 and a day is like a thousand years, 15:39 with the Lord... time is not an issue with the Lord, 15:41 so, "I come quickly... " 15:43 we say, "Oh, Christ has been gone for 2,000 years. " 15:46 Well, in heaven... in heavenly time, 15:47 He's been gone for two days... 15:49 just a couple of days because for Him, 15:51 time is not the issue, souls are the issue. 15:54 But when He can come to this place, where He can say, 15:57 "There's no one that's going to change... 15:58 then I'm coming, I'm just... 16:00 I'm not even holding back now, 16:02 I am out of here... I'm down there... 16:03 there's no reason for me to wait. " 16:05 Ivor: And what's interesting, James, is that, 16:06 in Daniel 12:2... 12:1... 16:09 it talks about Michael standing up, 16:11 like, okay, He's getting ready to come, 16:13 okay, but what is it that leads so many people 16:17 to make that irrevocable decision? 16:19 It's an over-mastering delusion, 16:22 it's something that totally convinces them 16:24 "yeah, this is it," you see what I'm saying? 16:27 and so that decision, in other words, 16:30 when we get put into that time 16:32 that is going to be like no other time, 16:34 the decision... the deception will be so great 16:38 that the whole world has made up their mind. 16:41 Those that are for it and those that are against it 16:44 and so, that's the reason why even in Daniel 2, 16:48 the stone that is cut out without hands... 16:50 it smites the image on the feet, that's why... 16:52 it doesn't smite it on the head, 16:54 it doesn't smite... 16:55 it's something that occurs 16:57 within the feet of Daniel chapter 2, 17:00 that says, "Okay, stone, it's time that you are... 17:03 you are sent... " 17:05 we'll go more through that when we get into the book of Daniel 17:08 but, you kind of begin to pull all... and begin to see... 17:11 "Hmmm... that's why the stone is cut out, 17:14 aaah, that's why Michael stands up... " 17:16 because of what happens just before... 17:19 the counterfeit comes before the genuine. 17:22 James: And as we were talking about this 17:24 in the program that we thought should have been taped 17:26 in our conversation here, 17:28 we were talking about how even though that's the case, 17:31 it's our little decisions today that lead up to that 17:34 so, in 2nd Thessalonians, another prophetic chapter, 17:37 it says that the reason why we're going to be deceived 17:40 is because we don't receive the love of the truth 17:41 that we might be saved, 17:43 therefore, strong delusion comes and when it says... 17:45 it says, "God sends strong delusions," 17:47 it's not talking about God being the One... 17:48 it's talking about God allowing... 17:50 because Satan has a certain space 17:53 that he's allowed to operate in, God allows that 17:55 and the only reason we're deceived by this deception 17:57 is because we receive not the love of the truth 17:59 that we might be saved 18:01 so, that's where in our personal lives, 18:03 day by day, when the truth comes to us, 18:06 when light comes to us, 18:07 in fact, that takes us right into Revelation 16. 18:10 In Revelation 16, there's one of the plagues... 18:12 I'm going to jump forward to this plague 18:14 and I'm going to back up, 18:15 but there's one of the plagues here... that is darkness... 18:17 now I want us to read, Jason, can you read for us 18:19 Revelation chapter 16 and look at... 18:23 read verses... verse 10. 18:26 Jason: Verse 10, "And the fifth angel poured out 18:29 his vial upon the seat of the beast; 18:31 and his kingdom was full of darkness; 18:34 and they gnawed their tongues for pain... " 18:36 James: Now, quickly, the wrath of God is not necessarily 18:40 God arbitrarily inflicting but He's pulling back... 18:44 and He's allowing us to reap the consequences 18:46 it looks like God is doing it 18:48 but that's because God's angels are holding back the four winds 18:51 in Revelation 7, so we see this... 18:54 as we understand what's happening right here... 18:57 for example, 18:58 the kingdom of the beast is immersed in darkness 19:02 and it's so dark that they gnaw their tongues for pain, 19:05 well, what's this darkness all about? 19:07 Well, go back to John chapter 3 and verse 16 19:10 and this is the most precious verse of the Bible, 19:14 John 3:16, and people are familiar with it 19:17 but we want to read a little bit further on from John 3:16, 19:21 we want to read verses 17 and go all the way down 19:26 in John 3 to verse... let's see... verse 20... 19:31 so let's read verse 17 onward. 19:34 Yvonne, can you read those for us? 19:36 "For God did not send his Son into the world 19:39 to condemn the world; 19:40 but that the world through him might be saved. 19:41 He who believes in him is not condemned: 19:44 but he who does not believe is condemned already, 19:48 because he has not believed 19:49 in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19:51 And this is the condemnation, 19:54 that light has come into the world, 19:56 and men loved darkness rather than light, 19:58 because their deeds were evil. 20:00 For every one practicing evil hates the light, 20:03 and doesn't come to the light, 20:05 lest his deeds should be exposed. " 20:08 James: And verse 21. 20:10 Yvonne: "But he who does the truth comes to the light, 20:13 that his deeds may be clearly seen, 20:15 that they have been done in God. " 20:17 James: Okay, so there's this picture 20:19 that Jesus is giving to us... 20:21 the condemnation is the rejection of light 20:23 and the embracing of darkness 20:25 so when the wrath of God is manifest, 20:28 Romans 1 says, "God... " three times it says, 20:30 God gives us up, God gives us up... 20:32 God gives us over... 20:34 so God gives us over to the things that we've chosen, 20:37 God is honoring our choice in the end, 20:39 right now He's unwilling to do that, 20:41 He's not willing that any would perish 20:43 and so He's... He's... He's pleading with us 20:45 kind of like we do with our kids, 20:47 like, oh we're praying and pleading 20:49 and pleading and praying because we want them to come... 20:52 you know what I'm saying? You can relate to that? 20:53 Parents... grandparents... 20:55 and so, but eventually when my kids get to a certain age, 20:59 I have to honor them, they're adults, 21:01 "Dad, I'm an adult... and I can make my own decisions" 21:04 and... and so I have to... 21:07 and God comes to the place where He honors our decision 21:09 He can't force us into heaven 21:11 and so, they've embraced darkness. 21:13 They didn't want the light, and so... when they back... 21:15 Ivor: They get darkness... James: They get darkness... 21:17 okay... 21:19 Ivor: In Revelation 16:2... the first plague 21:22 it actually speaks of... it says, 21:26 "The first angel went out 21:29 and poured out his vial upon the earth; 21:30 and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men 21:33 which had the mark of the beast, 21:34 and upon them which worshipped the image. " 21:36 So, they're receiving this plague in their flesh 21:40 all right, it's almost as if God is saying, 21:42 "All right, you desire the flesh... 21:44 pause... 21:46 you desire the flesh... 21:47 this is the consequence of trusting in the flesh, 21:50 right, so, fifth plague... 21:53 "You wanted darkness... okay, here's darkness... " 21:56 first plague, "You wanted flesh... 21:58 you trusted in the flesh... 21:59 this is the result of trusting in the flesh 22:02 each of these plagues we see go through... 22:05 in fact... one of them... I think is plague number 3, 22:10 let's read it, yeah. 22:12 James: All right Jason, read verses... verse 8... 8 and 9... 22:18 "And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; 22:21 and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. 22:25 And men were scorched with great heat, 22:27 and blasphemed the name of God, 22:29 which hath power over these plagues: 22:31 and they repented not to give him glory. " 22:34 James: All right, what does that what is that telling you? 22:35 The sun... 22:37 Ivor: The sun... 22:38 James: What did men want? Yvonne: Hmmm... 22:40 Ivor: What were they worshipping? 22:41 Yvonne: The sun... 22:43 Ivor: They were worshipping the sun... 22:44 James: Sun worship... Sunday. 22:45 Ivor: Yeah, "Here's the sun... " All: Hmmm... 22:47 James: So we're given as... God's giving you over... 22:49 you got the plague on the waters 22:51 and on the rivers... the turning into blood... 22:54 Ivor: "You spill the blood of the prophets... " 22:56 James: God is giving them blood to drink... 22:58 Ivor: Yeah, verse 5... "I heard the angel of the waters say, 23:01 Thou art righteous, O Lord, 23:02 which art, and wast, and shall be... " 23:04 remember that term... 23:06 "because thou has judged thus. 23:10 For they have shed the blood of the saints and prophets, 23:13 and thou has given them blood to drink; for they are worthy. " 23:15 This is the plague 23:16 where the drinking waters are turned to blood. 23:18 James: It's consequential... these plagues are consequential 23:21 in other words, they're not arbitrary... 23:23 God is simply handing us over to things we've chosen, 23:25 He's honoring our choices, 23:27 "We want darkness, we want sun worship, 23:28 we want to spill other people's blood, 23:30 we want to trust in the flesh... " 23:31 here are the consequences of all of that. 23:33 Yvonne: Wow! James: Yeah... Ivor: Yeah. 23:34 James: So it's really important 23:36 for us to understand this principle 23:37 when it comes to the wrath of God 23:38 because sometimes we look at God in an arbitrary sense, 23:42 we don't look at Him as... as... 23:44 now, recognize this though this is still punishment 23:47 God could just... He could just make all of this go away, 23:51 but He doesn't... He treats us as human beings 23:53 not as animals... 23:55 He recognizes that we do have choice 23:57 that we have made choices and He honors those choices 23:59 and that's to treat us as human beings with free choice. 24:02 Ivor: Now I'll tell you, the sixth plague 24:05 is, to me, one of the best plagues ever 24:08 and let me tell you why. 24:10 James: Yeah, please do... 24:12 Yvonne: That's an oxymoron, right, that's an oxymoron. 24:15 Ivor: I love this plague... so Revelation 16:12, right, 24:18 says, "The sixth angel poured out his vial 24:23 upon the great river Euphrates; 24:24 and the water thereof was dried up, 24:26 that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. " 24:29 James: Hmmm... 24:31 Ivor: So, we have to go back to the Old Testament 24:32 to figure out what's going on here, right, 24:35 and this is the story of Cyrus, right, 24:37 who dried up the river Euphrates 24:41 and the purpose of the river's drying up, 24:46 God's purpose was to set the captives free. 24:49 James: I love it. 24:52 Ivor: Okay, so, this is so interesting... 24:54 the Bible says that Cyrus would descend into the deep 24:59 so, Isaiah 44 verse 16, I believe it is, 25:04 he would descend into the deep and he would open the gates 25:07 and the gates would not be shut, 25:10 end of Isaiah 44, beginning of Isaiah 45... 25:12 you know what Jesus did on the cross? 25:14 He descended into the deep and opened the gates of the grave 25:20 to provide a way of escape from death, 25:23 so this 6th plague is actually a plague on death. 25:27 Yvonne: Hmmm... James: Hmmm... hmmm... 25:31 Ivor: It's a plague on death, in fact, in Hosea 25:33 chapter 13, let's find that very quickly, 25:39 Hosea chapter 13 verse 14. 25:40 James: And as you're going there, 25:42 "Thus saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, 25:46 he'll perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, 25:49 Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, 25:51 Thy foundation shall be laid. " 25:52 James: Jerusalem is the heavenly Jerusalem, 25:54 it's got... it includes God's people 25:56 so Cyrus has come to deliver us to build us. 25:59 Ivor: Not only that, 26:01 but he is the one that allowed the Jews to go to Jerusalem. 26:06 Guess what Jesus is coming to do? 26:09 He's drying up the deep, 26:10 He's opening the gates of the graves, 26:13 to set His people free 26:16 so that they can go to the heavenly Jerusalem. 26:18 Look at Hosea 13 verse 14. 26:20 Jason: Okay, "I will ransom them from the power of the grave; 26:25 I will redeem them from death: 26:27 O death, I will be thy plagues; 26:29 O grave, I will be thy destruction: 26:32 repentance shall be hid from mine yes. " 26:35 Ivor: Yes, yes, yes, yes, this is... this is God 26:38 because the very next plague, the seventh plague, it is done, 26:41 right, so this plague, you know, 26:43 it's the plague on death itself. James: I love it. 26:48 Ivor: It's a plague on death itself. 26:50 Is it your favorite plague? Yes... 26:52 the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. 26:56 James: Which verse? Ivor: 1st Corinthians... 27:00 Yvonne: So each of these plagues addresses an enemy. 27:02 Ivor: That's right. 27:04 Yvonne: Huh, so, when it talks about the wrath of God 27:08 and the winepress, back in... Revelation 14:19. 27:13 Ivor: Oh, by-the-way, I'm sorry, 27:15 let me add this in here because I know we're running out of time 27:17 remember how we talked about 27:19 the three unclean spirits like frogs, 27:22 they're counterfeiting the plague... 27:24 they're counterfeiting this resurrection 27:27 so that's why it comes right after... 27:30 John says, "I saw three unclean spirits. " 27:32 They're about to counterfeit this miracle. 27:34 Yvonne: Wow! we got to pick this up in our next program. 27:36 Ivor: Yeah. 27:37 James: We are running out of time. Ivor: Yes. 27:39 James: You need to let our Viewers know 27:40 how they can get ahold of us if they have any questions. 27:43 Jason: They should send their questions to: sss@3abn. org 27:47 James: sss@3abn. org 27:49 yeah, this is... we'll pick up where we left off here 27:51 because we'll just finish this chapter 27:53 and then we'll jump into Revelation chapter 17, 27:56 it's going to be a good one. 27:57 Yvonne: Hmmm... yeah. James: Good. |
Revised 2017-07-20