A DRAMATIC RESCUE BY
JESUS CHRIST
Study 7
page 2 of 2
Here is the scenario:
After God unmasks the devil in the
fifth bowl; the devil’s empire
will begin to disintegrate. The
religious and political leaders of
Babylon will recognize they have been
duped into worshiping the devil.
Then, the cloud will appear in
the sky – the sign of
Christ’s return. “At
that time the sign
of the Son of Man will appear in the
sky, and the nations of the earth
will mourn.” (Matthew 24:30,
italics mine) When the kings of Earth
see the sign in the sky, they will
tremble. The devil preys on their
anxiety and will invite them to join
him in a two-pronged attack. He
insists they can kill the remaining
saints at the appointed hour and then
attack Jesus as He draws near to
Earth. (Once again, truth is stranger
than fiction.) To convince the kings
of Earth that it is their last chance
to save themselves from destruction,
the devil sends three powerful demons
to help persuade them. “They
are spirits of demons performing
miraculous signs, and they go out to
the kings of the whole world, to
gather them for the battle on the
great day of God Almighty.” (Revelation
16:14) When the kings of Earth see
the miracle working powers of these
three demons, the leaders will be
compelled to trust their power and
will agree to join forces with the
devil. (What chance do they really
have?) They will make plans to
destroy the people Jesus is coming to
save and ultimately to kill Jesus
Himself. If you think that is far
fetched that men would try to kill
God, remember the cross. If you think
it is far fetched that angels would
war against an omnipotent God,
consider Lucifer’s expulsion
from Heaven. When sin is allowed to
reach its vilest maturity, it will
seek to destroy God. Sinners would
attempt to kill God (if they could)
if pushed to worship Him! This is why
God has to completely eliminate sin
from His universe. Sin is a cancer
from which there is no recovery
– except through the “born
again” experience.
The battle of
Armageddon occurs at the place of
God’s choosing – the
mountain of God. It will be the last
battle of Earth’s final
generation. The wicked will see this
as their only chance to destroy God.
John describes the scene this way: “The
seventh angel poured out his bowl
into the air, and out of the temple
came a loud voice from the throne
saying, ‘It is done.’ Then
there came flashes of lightening,
rumblings, peals of thunder and a
severe earthquake. No earthquake like
it has ever occurred since man has
been on earth, so tremendous was the
quake. The great city split into
three parts, and the cities of the
nations collapsed. God remembered
Babylon the Great and gave her the
cup filled with the wine of the fury
of his wrath. Every island fled away
and the mountains could not be found.
From the sky huge hailstones of about
a hundred pounds each feel upon men.
And they cursed God on account of the
plague of hail, because the plague
was so terrible.”
(Revelation 16:17-21)
John also describes
the behavior of the wicked: “They
called…to the mountains and the
rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us
from the face of him who sits on the
throne and from the wrath of the
Lamb! For the great day of their
wrath has come, and who can
stand?’” (Revelation
6:16,17) Paul says Jesus will destroy
the physical body of the devil with a
single command: “And then the
lawless one [ the man of sin]
will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus
will overthrow with the breath of his
mouth and destroy by the splendor of
his coming.” (2
Thessalonians 2:8, insertion mine)
What a sight this will be – fire
falling from Heaven and consuming the
physical body of the devil and his
angels! Zephaniah says, “Neither
their silver nor their gold will be
able to save them on the day of the
Lord’s wrath. In the fire of his
jealously the whole world will be
consumed, for he will made a sudden
end of all who live in the
Earth.” (Zephaniah 1:18)
What a dramatic rescue! What an
amazing God! What a Savior is Jesus
our Lord! What a friend the saints
have in Jesus. It is possible that
some of Satan’s forces perish on
the plain of Megiddo. Perhaps, since
one of Satan’s thrones may be
located in Jerusalem (Daniel 11:45),
but remember, Satan will have ten
kings fighting against Jesus. These
kings will represent all of
the nations of the world.
Review
There are several
powerful stories in the book of
Revelation that have not been
addressed in this small study. This
study has briefly addressed the seven
trumpets and the seven bowls. There
is much more. Therefore, I hope you
will consider this study to be a
first step toward a better
understanding of Revelation.
Because the study of
Revelation is about the revelation of
Jesus Christ and the invitation to
worship Him. Reviewing the gospel is
necessary because it confronts us
with an all or nothing proposition.
Before the seventh trumpet sounds,
all the inhabitants of earth will
either accept or reject the gospel of
Jesus. Some people avoid difficult
decisions by putting them off into
the recesses of consciousness. They
say, “I will think about this
tomorrow.” However, postponement
is really a decision, too. Suppose
you are a young man who asked your
sweetheart to marry you. Any answer
other than “yes” is
actually a “no”, isn’t
it? The danger with postponement is
that it hides our rejection until we
are trapped by our own inaction. In
the case of the gospel, we must
listen and respond to the Holy Spirit
promptly or the Spirit may turn away
from us. We must be “born
again” today and this
transformation cannot be accomplished
on our own. Only through the ministry
of the Holy Spirit can we overcome
the rebellion of our carnal nature.
Therefore, it is important to
remember that there is a limit to the
Holy Spirit’s promptings. He
will not wrestle with rebellion
forever. (Hebrews 3:7-15; 10:26)
If the Holy Spirit has
impressed you that this message is
important, you need to restudy it
carefully for two reasons. First,
your understanding will increase 100%
the second time you read this study.
Details will become clearer and more
meaningful. Second, now that you
understand the general picture of
Revelation, you need to find an
interested friend and discus this
message. The better we understand
God’s word, the stronger our
faith will be. Jesus is coming soon.
Until the seventh trumpet sounds, the
door of mercy is open. Walk through
it! “The Spirit and the bride
say, ‘Come!’ And let him
who hears say, ‘Come!’
Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and
whoever wishes, let him take the free
gift of the water of life.”
(Revelation 22:17)
The Proclamation of
the Gospel
The gospel of Jesus
Christ will reach every person before
Jesus comes. John said, “Then
I saw another angel flying in midair,
and he had the eternal gospel to
proclaim to those who live on the
earth to every nation, tribe,
language and people.”
(Revelation 14:6) Jesus said, “And
this gospel of the kingdom will be
preached in the whole world as a
testimony to all nations, and then
the end will come.” (Matthew
24:14) What gospel will be preached
into the entire world before the end
of salvation comes? In three
sentences, the eternal gospel of
Jesus Christ is this: All people
have sinned and come short of the
glory of God (everyone has violated
God’s Ten Commandments at some
point in time); therefore, God’s
law condemns us to death (the wages
of sin is death). The good news is
that Jesus took our place on the
cross and paid the price for our
sins. If we obediently submit to
God’s commandments and put our
faith in Jesus for salvation, we will
be saved. Look at salvation from
God’s perspective. Many people
honestly live up to all they know to
be right and Jesus understands this.
In His great mercy, He accepts
everyone who is sincere in heart even
though they may not know or
understand the great truths of the
gospel. Jesus does not hold a person
responsible for truths he does not
know or cannot know. On the contrary,
James tells us that sin is held
against us when we know better and
refuse to do it! “Anyone,
then, who knows the good he ought to
do and doesn’t do it,
sins.” (James 4:17) The Lord
loves the people of Earth with a love
beyond human understanding. He died
for every one of us. People who live
up to all they know to be right
glorify God and He is pleased with
them. Peter says, “For the
eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
and his ears are attentive to their
prayer, but the face of the Lord is
against those who do evil.”
(1 Peter 3:12) Because the devil is
extremely intelligent, Satan has
cleverly obscured God’s truth
from most of the world, but Jesus
will soon remove the veil of
ignorance that covers the gospel.
People who are sincere in heart will
rejoice to learn more, and they will
embrace the gospel as it reveals more
about the will of our Creator and
Savior. Thus, a remnant from all
religious systems will be gathered
into one body under the leadership of
King Jesus. Jesus said, “”I
have other sheep that are not of this
sheep pen. I must bring them also.
They too will listen to my voice, and
there shall be one flock and one
shepherd.” (John 10:16)
Therefore, the net
effect of the gospel in the last days
will be to save and unify all people
who hear and respond to the voice of
Jesus. Jesus will accomplish this
ingathering of His sheep during the
1,260-day time period allotted for
the seven trumpets by separating the
sheep from the goats over the issue
of worship. (Matthew 25:31-46) People
will either receive the gospel and
through faith, obey the commandments
of Jesus or they will reject the
gospel and eventually choose the mark
of the beast. The controversy over
worship will remove all middle
ground. A rapid sequence of events,
coupled with rigorous laws requiring
that people disobey the law of God
will push everyone into a decision.
What Must I Do to
be Saved?
As we might expect,
Satan has a counterfeit gospel. The
devil has led many people to believe
that salvation comes either through
perfect obedience to God (as in human
performance) or by intellectual
assent to what is true. Satan’s
deceptions are very subtle. He has
led many evil people to think they
are righteous when they are far from
it! Nevertheless, the Bible is clear,
the righteousness necessary for
salvation is not found on Earth! “For
in the gospel a righteousness from
God is revealed, a righteousness that
is by faith from first to last, just
as it is written: ‘The righteous
will live by faith’….This
righteousness from god comes through
faith in Jesus Christ to all who
believe. There is no difference, for
all have sinned and fall short of the
glory of God, and are justified
freely by the grace through
redemption that came by Jesus
Christ.” (Romans 1:17;
3:22-24) Satan ever leads people
astray and away from God. The
Pharisees thought they were righteous
in God’s sight even though they
were not a part of the kingdom of
God. Jesus said, “…on
the outside you [Pharisees] appear
to people righteous but on the inside
you are full of hypocrisy and
wickedness…For I tell you unless
your righteousness surpasses that of
the Pharisees and the teachers of the
law, you will certainly not enter the
kingdom of Heaven.” (Matthew
23:28, 5:20, insertion mine) The
Pharisees were known for their love
of self-righteousness. They could not
see their own sins but they could see
sin in a sinless Jesus. (John 9:16)
Isn’t it ironic that religion
can lead a person to condemn God and
justify self! This is the human
dilemma. Religion tends to blind
people to their true condition in
God’s sight. Given enough time,
all religions eventually distort the
truth about God – history proves
this is the way of mankind.
Yes, God is pleased
when we love to do what is right, but
contrary to what the Pharisees
believed, right doing does not save
us! So, how are we saved? We are
saved through faith in Jesus. True
worship stems from a Spirit given
desire to please God. (John 4:23,24)
True worship includes doing all that
we understand God wants us to do, not
to be saved, but to please God!
The worship of Jesus Christ is the
way to salvation and this is why
God’s final test of mankind
centers on worship! (John 10:7;
14:6) People who worship God with all
their heart, mind and soul are
willing to go, to be and to do all
that God requires – no holds
barred. Jesus has designed the
events of the Great Tribulation so
that only those who love and trust
Him completely will be able to
worship Him on His holy day.
“The just shall live by
faith.” True worshipers worship
God in Spirit and in Truth. All who
worship God are given the
righteousness necessary for salvation
and the amazing aspect of this is
that salvation is free! (Ephesians
2:8,9)
Jesus said, “…every
good tree bears good fruit, a tree
cannot bear bad fruit, but a bad tree
bears bad fruit, and a bad tree
cannot bear good fruit.”
(Matthew 7:17,18) A counterfeit
gospel causes sinners to think they
are righteous. The carnal heart will
say one thing in public, but do evil
in secret. Jesus said, “Everyone
who does evil hates the light, and
will not come into the light for fear
that his deeds will be exposed. But
whoever lives by the truth comes into
the light, so that it may be seen
plainly that what he has done has
been done through God.”
(John 3:20,21) Therefore, we must
test ourselves from time to time to
see if we are in Christ! Paul wrote, “Examine
yourselves to see whether you are in
the faith; test yourselves. Do you
realize that Christ Jesus is in you
– unless of course, you fail the
test?” (2 Corinthians 13:5)
Trust and Obey
James Sammis and
Daniel Towner wrote the old gospel
hymn, “Trust and Obey.” The
words are printed below because they
summarize the essence of the gospel
of Jesus very well:
“When we
walk with the Lord
In the light
of His Word,
What a glory
He sheds on our way!
While we do
His good will,
He abides with
us still,
And with all
who will trust and obey.
Trust and
obey,
For
there’s no other way
To be happy in
Jesus,
But to trust
and obey.”
It never ceases to
amaze me that so many Christians
scoff at the suggestion that the Lord
will return soon. They see no reason
for this warning message. They say,
“All things continue as usual
– why all the fuss?”
Unfortunately, these people have
become content in their spiritual
poverty. They have put on blinders on
and inserted earplugs because they
are comfortable and do not want to
hear about God’s plan. Many
Christians follow religious
programming; the entertainment gospel
presented by talented singers and
presented speakers with clever ideas.
They do not want to hear about the
cross they will bear during the time
of God’s wrath. Before we can
wear a crown, we have to carry the
cross. Millions of people believe in
a pretribulation rapture. Satan has
convinced many Christians they are
safe from the scenes described in
Revelation. This terrible deception
is widely accepted because it is so
easy to swallow. It is time for
Christians to wake up and understand
that Revelation will be fulfilled
soon! People who truly understand
Revelation’s story are not
focused on gloom or doom. This may
seem strange, but it is true.
Instead, they are focused on the
greatest and most awesome event in
Earth’s history: The revelation
of the gospel of Jesus Christ during
the Great Tribulation and His
physical appearing at the Second
Coming. We need to know that a
testing time, a purifying time is
coming, and it precedes the Second
Coming. We need to know about the
rise of Babylon and the appearing of
Satan claiming to be God. We need to
know about World War III and
Armageddon. In addition, yes, we need
to fill our hearts and minds with
God’s Word because our faith in
God will be fully tested in days to
come. We have every reason to be
positive about our relationship with
Jesus for it is this relationship
that fills our hearts with peace and
joy. “For everyone born of
God overcomes the world. This is the
victory that has overcome the world,
even our faith. Who is it that
overcomes the world? Only he who
believes that Jesus is the Son of
God.” (1 John 5:4,5)
Believers in Christ have a wonderful
opportunity to become over comers for
Christ. We carry God’s promises
within our heart’s and listen to
His voice because we “have ears
to hear what the Spirit is saying to
us.” Believers walk by faith,
not by sight.
I am often asked how a
person should reconcile the nearness
of these events with everyday
decisions in life. For example, what
does a person do about plans for
college, marriage, building or buying
a new home, the expansion of a
business, retirement savings, career
requirements? I have found one
response for all of these questions:
Seek the Lord for wisdom about
your personal situation. He has
promised to direct us. If we
patiently seek answers from Him, God
will show us what He wants. (Proverbs
3:5,6) Therefore, learn to live by
faith now. Worship the Creator! Keep
God’s Sabbath holy. Doing so
will provide a whole day each week to
study God’s Word. Put your
confidence in God and watch what He
will do through you and for you. The
ultimate test of having a
relationship with Jesus is being able
to hear His voice. Jesus said, “My
sheep listen to my voice; I know
them, and they follow me.”
(John 10:27)
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