Three Interesting
Points
As we close this
section, three interesting points
should be noticed:
- The number of
people killed by the first
four trumpets is twenty-five
percent. When the fourth seal
is opened, a fourth of
Earth’s population will
be killed. (Revelation 6:8)
This means 1.75 billion
people will die (assuming
there is a global population
of seven billion people when
the Great tribulation
begins). The number killed by
Lucifer’s forces will be
the same! Look at the math:
Fourth Seal
Sixth
Trumpet
7.00 billion
population
5.25 billion population
-1.75 – 25%
killed
- 1.75 billion – (33%)
killed
5.25 billion
survivors
3.50 billion survivors
It is interesting to
notice that Jesus and Lucifer kill
the same number of people and
together; they reduce the population
of Earth by fifty percent during the
Great Tribulation. It is ironic that
Jesus justifiably kills twenty-five
percent of the people on Earth in an
effort to save as many survivors as
possible, whereas Lucifer kills
thirty-three percent of the
world’s population in order to
rule over Earth.
- When the sixth
trumpet war is over, the
devil will rule the world.
The seven religions of the
world will be abolished and
ten kings will serve the
devil as taskmasters. The
Antichrist will establish a
one-world religion and a
one-world government, and no
ordinary man could possibly
accomplish this!
- The bible
predicts slavery will be
implemented during the Great
Tribulation. Consider these
three texts (italics mine):
a .“Then
the kings of the earth, the
princes, the generals, the rich,
the mighty, and every slave
and every free man hid in caves
and among the rocks of the
mountains.” (Revelation
6:15)
b “He also
forced everyone, small and great,
rich and poor, free and slave,
to receive a mark on
his right hand or on his
forehead. (Revelation 13:16)
c. “And I
saw an angel standing in the sun,
who cried in a loud voice to all
the birds flying in midair,
‘Come, gather together for
the great supper of God so that
you may eat the flesh of kings,
generals, and mighty men, of
horses and their riders, and the
flesh of all people, free and slave,
small and great.’”
(Revelation 19:17, 18)
Indentured slavery
will be practiced during the Great
Tribulation. People will ether 9a)
fall into slavery because they cannot
pay their bills, or (b) sell
themselves into slavery in order to
survive. This practice is as old as
mankind. In fact, this is how the
children of Israel became enslaved to
Pharaoh. (See Genesis 41 and 42.) The
devil will convince the world that he
has come to establish 1,000 years of
peace on Earth, and Earth must be
rebuilt and repaired. People will
have to work for food. Of course, the
devil knows there will be no recovery
from the destruction of the first
four trumpets and he also knows there
will not be 1,000 years of peace.
(The 1,000 years mentioned in
Revelation 20 occur in Heaven after
the Second Coming.) These are lies
that he will use to overwork the
people of Earth until the seven bowls
bring the devil’s rule to a
grinding halt.
God’s Sabbath
Rest
As the Great
tribulation unfolds, resting and
refraining from work on God’s
holy day will become increasingly
impossible without suffering a harsh
or deadly penalty. Thus, conflict
over God’s holy day will boil
down to a question of survival, just
as it did at the Exodus. Before
ancient Israel could leave Egypt, God
commanded that they rest on His holy
day. Resting on the Sabbath made
Pharaoh furious, and his punishment
was so harsh that Israel’s
foremen were willing to abandon the
Sabbath and remain in Egyptian
slavery. “The Israelite
foreman realized they were in trouble
when they were told, ‘You are
not to reduce the number of bricks
required of you each day.’ When
they left Pharaoh, they found Moses
and Aaron waiting to meet them, and
they said, ‘May the Lord look
upon you and judge you! You have made
us a stench to Pharaoh and his
officials and have put a sword in
their hand to kill us.’”
(Exodus 5:19-21)
This scenario will be
repeated. Before spiritual Israel can
exit this world of slavery to sin, we
are going to be tested to see if we
will rest from work on God’s
holy day. Those who worship God will
obey His laws. Those who worship
Lucifer will obey his laws. When the
laws of two kingdoms are in direct
conflict, the allegiance of every
citizen will be revealed. Those
serving the devil will submit to his
authority and receive his tattoo.
Those serving Jesus will not be able
to buy or sell. Millions will perish,
but the saints will live by faith. “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: To everyone born of
God overcomes the world. This is the
victory that has overcome the world,
even our faith.” (1 John
5:4)
Homecoming for the
144,000
We have come to the
last segment in this lengthy
prophecy. Just in case you have
forgotten, we are studying Prophecy
II, Revelation 12:7-14:5. Since we
have examined Revelation 14:1-5 and
the 144,000 in a chapter dedicated to
them, a few closing words about the
144,000 are needed.
For good reason, the
end of this prophecy recognizes the
incredible service and victory of the
144,000 over Babylon and Lucifer.
Even though most, if not all, of the
144,000 will be killed, they will
accomplish everything that Jesus
wants them to do. They will
faithfully say everything Jesus wants
them to say and they will go wherever
Jesus sends them – not only
during the Great Tribulation, but
also throughout eternity! Whenever I
meditate on the work and ministry of
the 144,000, I am always fascinated
with their worthlessness and yet,
their exceeding great value –
worthless in the eyes of the wicked,
but having the highest value in the
eyes of our Creator.
Taken to Heaven
Consider the glorious
scene that takes place on the 1,265th
day of the Great Tribulation. On that
Sunday morning, Jesus will resurrect
the 144,000 and take them to Heaven,
and the wicked of Earth will witness
this phenomenon. Notice how these two
passages parallel each other.
“Then I
looked, and there before me was the
Lamb, standing on Mount
Zion, and with him 144,000
who had his name and his
Father’s name written
on their foreheads. And I heard a
sound from heaven like the roar of
rushing waters and like a loud peal
of thunder. The sound I heard was
like that of harpists playing their
harps. And they sang a new song
before the throne and before the four
living creatures and the elders.
No one could learn the song except
the 144,000 who had been redeemed
from the earth.” (Revelation
14:1-3, italics mine)
“And I saw
what looked like a sea of glass mixed
with fire and, standing beside the
sea, those [the 144,000] who
had been victorious over the beast
and his image and over the number of
his name. They held harps given them
by God and sang the song of Moses the
servant to God and the song of the
Lamb: ‘Great and marvelous are
your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just
and true are your ways, King of the
Ages. Who will not fear you, O Lord,
and bring glory to your name? For you
alone are holy. All nations will come
and worship before you, for your
righteous acts have been
revealed.’” (Revelation
15:2-4, insertion mine)
The 144,000 will sing
the song of Moses and the Lamb, and
no one else can learn their song
because no one but Moses, Jesus, and
the 144,000 have endured such
horrible experiences!
“These [the
144,000] are those who did not
defile themselves with women, for
they kept themselves pure. They
follow the Lamb wherever he goes
[because they belong to Him]. They
were purchased from among men and
offered as firstfruits to God and the
Lamb. No lie was found in their
mouths; they are blameless.”
(Revelation 14:4,5,
insertion mine)
Jesus selected and
sealed these ordinary people first
and He will take them to Heaven first
because they are samples of the
harvest that will come from every
nation, kindred, tribe, and people.
They faithfully spoke the testimony
of Jesus – without regard for
their life.
Summary
Prophecy I and
Prophecy II are inspiring because
they tell us that Lucifer will
ultimately fail. This may not sound
very important right now, but it will
be very encouraging in days to come.
There will be an end to
Lucifer’s torment. “Blessed
is the one who waits for and reaches
the end of the 1,335 days.” (Daniel
12:12) We have read about
Lucifer’s failures in this study
because Jesus wants us to know that
evil may prosper for a season, but it
will not endure.
Once again, review his
failures:
1.
Lucifer tried to kill Jesus at birth.
2.
Lucifer tried to ruin the plan of
salvation by tempting Jesus (at His
weakest moment) to worship him.
3.
Lucifer tried to keep Jesus in the
tomb by sealing it with a huge stone.
4.
Lucifer tried to prevent Jesus from
taking his position in Heaven’s
government.
5.
Lucifer tried to keep the truth about
Christ’s resurrection a secret.
6.
Lucifer persecuted the woman for
1,260 years, but he could not destroy
her.
7.
Lucifer will make war on the remnant
of the woman for forty-two months,
but he cannot destroy her. He will
kill most, if not all, of the
144,000, but Jesus resurrects them.
(Note: To make this story
complete, I must mention
Lucifer’s next two failures.)
8. Lucifer
will lead the world into war against
Jesus as He appears in the clouds,
but he will be soundly defeated and
returned to the Abyss for 1,000
years.
9. At the
end of the 1,000 years, Lucifer will
lead the wicked again against the
Holy City, but God will strike Earth
with blazing fire from Heaven, and
the wicked, including Lucifer and his
demons, will be annihilated.
An Invitation to
Join the Winning Team!
Anyone who reads this
book can join the winning team right
now, this very minute, by giving your
life to Jesus Christ. Here is the
process:
First, tell Jesus you
realize that you are a sinner and
that you cannot save yourself from
the penalty of sin. Then, tell the
Lord “thank you” for dying
on the cross in your place. Tell Him
that you accept His offer: A life for
a life. You are giving Him your
sinful life and you believe that He
will give you His perfect life, which
brings the assurance of eternal life
to you. Tell Him that you love Him
for what He has done for you and that
you are willing to do whatever He
commands. Tell Him you are willing to
become all that He wants you to be.
Ask Him to show you where He wants
you to go so that you may best serve
His interests today. Tell Him that
you want to bring honor to His holy
name through humble behavior, and
Jesus will warmly embrace you through
the ministry of the Holy Spirit. It
does not matter how messed up your
present situation may be or how
disgusting your past might have been.
He will joyfully become your God and
you will become His child.
Because we have the
privilege of owning a Bible, we have
the opportunity to see into the
future. We know who the winners and
the losers are going to be during the
Great Tribulation. Many of the
winners will be tortured and killed,
but Jesus will not reward the winners
until the dead in Christ is
resurrected! Jesus does not see the
first death as the end of life
“Do not be afraid. I am the
First and the Last. I am the Living
One; I was dead, and behold I am
alive for ever and ever! And I hold
the keys of death and [the grave]
Hades.” (Revelation
1:17,18, insertion mine) If Jesus was
willing to give up His eternal life
in order to save us from eternal
death, surely we can give up our
temporal lives (prompted by our love
for Christ and the indwelling
strength of the Holy Spirit) as a
testimony for our love for Him. In
fact, the most telling evidence of a
born-again Christian is this:
“Father,
forgive them, for they do not know
what they are doing.” (Luke
23:34) The angel said, “They
overcame him [Lucifer] by the
blood of the Lamb and by the word of
their testimony; they did not love
their lives so much as to shrink from
death.”
(Revelation 12:11)
