Judgment in Answer to Prayers

Transcript

GR 2013
09/17/2017
Judgment in Answer to Prayers
Revelation 8:1-7
Gil Rugh

I invite you to turn in your Bibles to the Book of Revelation chapter eight. We return to our study of this book. As far as understanding the prophetic plan of God, the Book of Revelation is crucial. You stop and think. It has been a number of years since God had spoken and had some of His revelation recorded. Men like the apostle Paul the apostle Peter had been dead now for almost thirty years and yet the apostle John has labored on faithfully and now God is going to give the capstone if you will to the revelation He has given. It pulls together so much of what has been revealed before going back through the Old Testament prophets and brings to completion clarifying much of what had been said, it changes nothing but it clarifies much.

The Book of Revelation is basically about what God says regarding future events beginning with chapter six and on into chapter 22. God unfolds what is going to take place in the future and it is both positive and negative. If you will, turn to chapter 1 of Revelation. Just a reminder, it’s addressed to seven specific local churches in a region of what we call Asia Minor, present day Turkey but the message goes beyond them obviously and at the end of verse five there is an ascription; “to Him who loves us, and released us from our sins by His blood.” This becomes key and foundational. Jesus Christ is the One that loved us enough to give His life to pay the penalty for our sin so by simple faith in Him we could receive cleansing and forgiveness and new life. Verse 6 says He’s “made us to be a kingdom, to be priests to His God and Father.”

That’s where the Book of Revelation is going. The ultimate realization and fulfillment of what God planned when He saved us, cleansed us from our sin, bringing us together in a kingdom over which He will rule for eternity and so verse seven gives what is the key verse of the Book of Revelation. “BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.” The Book of Revelation is carrying us toward that climatic event when Christ will return again to this earth, not to suffer and die but to rule and reign, but leading up to that event God unfolds what will be involved when He pours out His wrath in judgment on an unbelieving world. It is an awesome picture. It is a frightening picture. God is a holy God, a righteous God. He’s a loving God. We cannot play those things off against one another and because of sin, He is going to deal in wrath with this earth. So the bulk of the Book of Revelation from chapter six to 19 is about God’s wrath. In chapter 19, Christ will return to establish His kingdom but there will be judgments like the world has never seen.

We just put it in perspective again for you, the framework we’re operating from, so come back to Daniel, chapter 9. For many of you this is review but Daniel, chapter 9, verses 24 and following give you something of the backbone if you will, the framework of God’s prophetic program for the nation Israel. So you read in verse 24, “seventy weeks” or literally seventy-sevens and as we have noted in our previous studies that seventy-sevens is seventy, seven-year periods. They are weeks of years not weeks of days. A total of 490 years “have been decreed for your people” (Daniel is a Jew—for the Jews) “your holy city,” Jerusalem the holy city. Six things will be accomplished by the time those 490 years are completed for the nation Israel that will finish the transgression, make an end of sin, atonement for iniquity, bring in everlasting righteousness, seal up vision and prophecy, anoint the most holy place.

Then He tells us when it begins and we put a beginning date on the chart, 444 B.C. In Nehemiah, chapter two with the decree to go and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince will be sixty-nine weeks plus seven weeks so we have a total of 483 years that bring us to the Messiah. After the sixty-ninth week, Messiah is going to be killed. He comes then after the sixty-ninth week. You’ll note He didn’t say in the seventy week. Verse 26, “after the sixty-two weeks,” which is after seven preceding weeks the total of 69 weeks “Messiah will be cut off.” That was the crucifixion of Christ. He had nothing, no kingdom. No taking possession of what was His and His rulership.

He returned to heaven in Acts chapter 1. We have what is the church age which is something not revealed in the Old Testament. That does not mean it was not in the plan of God. It was in the plan of God from before the creation but He had chosen not to reveal it until after the rejection of the Messiah. So we have the church age in which we are living. It began in Acts chapter 2 and continues down to today. It will culminate with what we call the Rapture of the church.

Chapters 2 and 3 of the Book of Revelation addressed churches, individual local churches representative of churches down through history, down to our day. At the end of that church age, you will have the Rapture of the church. Then we have the seventieth week of Daniel. That’s what is covered in Daniel chapters 6 to 19. It began—you’re still in Daniel 9:27 when a certain individual, which we will meet and talk about in Revelation chapters 12 and 13. The man who will make a firm covenant with Israel for one seven-year period so this seven year period will begin after the church is removed when this representative of a revived western alliance signs an agreement with the nation Israel. We’ll get into the details of that as I said in Revelation chapters 12 and 13.

The period here that we have is what we have starting in Revelation chapter 6 so you can come back to the Book of Revelation if you would. There will be a series of judgments that go through this seventieth week of Daniel, this seven-year period. There are a series of judgments, seven seals, then comes seven trumpets, then seven bowls. Each time a seal is opened on this scroll a judgment comes on the earth. Each time a trumpet sounds, a judgment comes. Each time a bowl is turned over, it’s a judgment and that will bring us to the climatic return of Christ, the judgment of Armageddon and then the establishing of the kingdom in chapter 20. That’s the flow, the events will be sequential, one following another and that becomes clear in chapter 6 with the opening of the seals.

Chapter 6 opens up, the Lamb, Christ, opens the seal a judgment comes, He opens a second seal another judgment comes so it’s like a scroll rolled up and sealed and every time you break a seal, you open the scroll to the next seal there’s a judgment that comes with that. Later it will be trumpets; every time a trumpet is blown, a judgment comes and so on. That moves us through chapters 6 to 19. The first series of judgments were the seals. Six of those were in chapter 6. You come down to verse 12 of chapter 6, I looked, He broke the sixth seal then we had a pause. This is a serious period-of-time. People on the earth realize that this is a terrible time. Verses 15, 16, and 17 of chapter 6, people crying out for the rocks to fall on them and so on.

Chapter 7 is what we called an interlude a break. There’s a pause in the judgments and there a hundred and forty-four thousand from every tribe of the sons of Israel, the 12 tribes of Israel, twelve thousand from each tribe were sealed. You note verse three. Judgments, chapter 7 verse three; the judgments were withheld until we have sealed the bondservants of our God on their foreheads. This seal evidently will protect these 144,000 Jews and preserve them through these terrible judgments that are going to take place on the earth. With the sealing of those and that preparation and other information revealed in the last part of chapter 7 that we looked at, which is a reminder many are going to come to trust Christ in this seven-year period and they’re going to give their lives so there are many martyrs.

Verse 14 said, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” So they had trusted Christ but it was God’s plan that they suffer and die. Back in chapter 6 verse 11 God said that He would withhold the final judgment on the world until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been would be completed. So nothing is ever outside the ultimate sovereign control of God. Even the death, the terrible persecution and martyrdom of His children is within His plan for them. Nothing is ever out of control. Nothing is ever frustrating God’s plan. That doesn’t mean He’s the cause of sinful action but His plan is included using the sinful desires of men to ultimately accomplish His purposes.

While I’m mentioning this, there is no such thing as “Mother Nature.” I know we’ve had some storms affect our country and we hear people talk about; well Mother Nature is unloosing her power. The sovereign God is unloosing His power. Now I want to be careful. Some religious leaders like to promote themselves and say, well, this is God bringing judgment for this particular sin of our nation. All these things are a result of sin and it reflects the hand of God. We get to the tribulation and He’s going to pour out judgments, using the forces of nature, as well as more direct activity to bring more destruction on the world. By the time we get to chapter 19 over one-half of the earth’s population will have died, in these judgments, so it’s a serious time. We look around and see the terrible things that happen, and they do reflect what happens in a sinful world, and the consequences of sin in the world and it’s not just nature out-of-control, it is God doing what He has determined He will do for His purposes. People choose to remain ignorant of that.

Come to chapter 8 of the Book of Revelation. You’ll see what happens here. Chapter 8 verse one opens up, “when the Lamb broke the seventh seal.” Now just turn back again to chapter 6 verse 12. “I looked, He broke the sixth seal” and there was judgment associated with that. Then the pause of chapter 7. Now we are ready for chapter 8 and you get the idea things are moving along in a momentous way. We’ll say more about maybe some of the timing of these things as we move a little further into the Book of Revelation as far as where we are in that seven-year period but after that sixth seal and the judgment there was a holding back of the next judgment. The sealing of the 144,000, the reminder of God’s grace in judgment in bringing salvation to many people during this time.

Now chapter 8 opens up, “the Lamb broke the seventh seal.” Now important to keep in perspective and not forget—if this is new to you don’t get discouraged because as we move along some of the pieces seem just to be a pile of pieces but the more we move along the more the pieces fit. Back in chapter 5, it opened up, “I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne,” which is God the Father, “a book or a scroll written inside and on the back sealed with seven seals.” That’s the seven seals we’ve been talking about, it’s a scroll and you would write and then you would roll it up and you’d use the wax seal whatever and then you could write again and you could seal it and you could seal it and you write through. There’s seven seals. This scroll is written inside and outside on both sides.

An angel announces, “Who is worthy to open” . . . this scroll . . . “this book, to break its seals?” “No one in heaven,” verse three of chapter 5, “on earth or under the earth was able . . .” No one qualified and remember John wept greatly. He realizes this is serious but then he’s told, “Stop weeping” and the reason you stop weeping is verse five, “. . . the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals.” He’s the One worthy. This seven-sealed scroll is the authority; some call it a title deed, something like that to bring to ultimate fruition and completion God’s purpose in creation to establish a kingdom over which He will rule, devoid of sin, inhabited by people perfected by His grace.

So in verse nine of chapter 5, a new song is sung in heaven. “Worthy are You to take the book,” addressing Christ, “to break its seals.” Why? “You were slain, You purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. You made them to be a kingdom and priests . . . they will reign upon the earth.” You see the authority to bring to completion God’s plan establishing a kingdom on the earth inhabited by cleansed redeemed people. Christ has the authority to do that.

Now you note this seven-sealed scroll contains everything. There’s nothing after the seventh seal so we want to be careful here. When Christ opens the seventh seal, in chapter eight verse on, that seal includes everything through the rest of the Book of Revelation, really through chapter 22, verse six.

Then there’s some closing remarks given by Christ but the ability to bring judgment on the unbeliever culminating with the sentencing to hell of every unbeliever at the end of Revelation 20 and having a new heavens and a new earth over which God rules with His personal presence is a result of the work that Christ has accomplished.

This seventh seal does not end here. It includes everything because there’s nothing outside the scroll. I say that because you can get a misunderstanding and say, oh well, if you don’t go back to chapter five and realize this seven-sealed scroll contains everything, you think well the seven seal, now we’ve had the seals, now we move on to the trumpets, we move on to the bowls. Well this is all contained under the seventh seal, which will also include the kingdom at the end of the book. The seven seals contain everything. Not only the judgments that will take place but also the kingdom that was mentioned in chapter 5 verses nine and ten when He made those that He redeemed to be a kingdom so they will reign at a future time.

Now out of that seventh seal there will come seven trumpets. These are successive judgments but they are under the seventh seal and the seven bowls and then the kingdom all provided for in that seven sealed scroll. Also, note all seven seals are opened by the only One worthy to open the seven-sealed scroll.

Come back to chapter six. You’ll note it opens up verse one. “Then I saw when the Lamb,” referring to Christ obviously, “broke one of the seven seals.” Then verse three, “when He broke the second seal,” verse five, “when He broke the third seal,” verse seven, “when the Lamb broke the fourth seal,” verse nine, “when the Lamb broke the fifth seal,” verse 12 “when He broke the sixth seal,” then chapter 8 opens up, “when the Lamb broke the seventh seal.”

Then we will have seven angels given seven trumpets so the Lamb won’t sound the trumpets on the next judgment but it comes under the seventh seal. It will be the same with the bowls. The Lamb won’t turn the bowl judgments over, angels will, but that comes under the seventh seal as well and obviously the establishing of the kingdom when He comes in chapter 19 and establishes the kingdom in chapter 20 that will also be under the seventh seal. It includes everything to the establishing of the eternal kingdom.

All right now we’re ready for chapter eight verse one. “When the Lamb broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.” Do you get the idea now things are moving along? We stopped after the sixth seal to seal the 144,000 Jews and to be reminded that God’s grace would be operating even as many of those who come to believe in Him are martyred for their testimony for Christ. Now when finally the seventh seal is broken, silence. It’s a half hour but it can seem like a long time. If I stop talking here, don’t say amen. (Pause) Pretty soon and if you’ve been told something dramatic and serious is coming, you know a minute, three minutes, five minutes—heaven has been resounding with sounds. The loud thundering voice of angels, the sound of thunder itself, singing, now all of a sudden everything goes silent and it’s the calm before the storm. There has been judgment. It’s sort of like the eye of the storm that we’ve heard so much about with hurricanes and a certain amount comes and now it seems like dead calm, quiet but you know what’s coming and this silence just emphasizes the seriousness in this half hour.

After all that’s been going on, everybody, angels, elders, nothing and then I saw seven angels, the seven angels who stand before God. Now we don’t know who these angels are but if you read some commentaries, there will be some people who will tell you their names and there was some Jewish tradition of seven special angels and so on. We don’t know. To say they stand before God doesn’t mean these are the only angels that stand before God. You remember when the angel Gabriel came to Zacharias, who would be the father of John the Baptist who would introduce Christ to the nation, and Gabriel who told Zacharias what was going to happen and Zacharias said, “well how will I know these things are to be?” Gabriel is almost incredulous! He says, I am Gabriel who stands in the presence of God and what do you mean how will I know? I told you. “I stand in the presence of God, I come with a message from God so just to help remind you; you won’t be able to speak a word for the next nine months.”

So to stand in the presence of God, I take it, means an angel who serves in the presence of God, ready to do the bidding. That’s the picture there; they’re standing ready for whatever God tells them to do. They will be immediately ready to carry it out so they are standing before God, seven angels. A trumpet is given to each one of them but nothing happens with them yet. “Another angel came and stood at the altar holding a golden censer; and much incense was given to him so that he might add it to the prayers of the saints on the golden altar, which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up before God out of the angel’s hand. Then the angel took the censer, filled it with the fire of the altar, threw it to the earth; there followed peals of thunder, sounds, flashes of lightning and an earthquake. And the seven angels then prepared themselves to sound the trumpets.”

Now we read these things and depending on how familiar you are with the Old Testament determines how much of this begins to form the picture in your mind. Here you have an angel; another angel in addition to the seven came and stood at the altar. Now if you remember and you’re familiar with the Old Testament God revealed a pattern from heaven that Moses was to follow in having the tabernacle constructed beginning in Exodus chapter 19. Now we’re seeing the reality in heaven that was the pattern that Moses used to construct the tabernacle, and later would be the pattern that was used for the temple when Solomon built a more permanent structure. You have here an incense altar. “He stood at the altar holding a golden censer much incense was given to him.”

Come back to Exodus chapter 30. We noted there are hundreds of allusions and references, no quotes from the Old Testament in the Book of Revelation. This is part of the problem we have and part of the problem we have studying because we can’t take time to look at every allusion but in Exodus chapter 30 here, you’ll see the instruction. It opens up, “moreover, you shall make an altar as a place for burning incense, you make it with acacia wood you overlay it with gold” and so on. Verse six; “you shall put this altar in front of the veil that is near the ark of the testimony.” You remember in the inner part of the tabernacle, later the temple, there’s this inner sanctuary we call the holy place and then there’s a curtain that divides it and then behind the curtain is the holy of holies. The holy of holies contains the Ark of the Covenant and above that ark was where the presence of God was manifested on earth among His people, and only once a year could the high priest go behind that curtain. Just in front of the curtain in the holy place, before you went into the holy of holies, an altar was placed, the altar of incense. So that’s what we have now in heaven before the throne of God. You have this altar where the incense is joined with the prayers of the saints.

Come back to Revelation. Stop at chapter 5 verse eight. This is when “the Lamb had taken the book,” that scroll, the seven-sealed scroll, “the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb.” Note this, “each one was holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints” so you see this similar situation with the incense joined with the prayers, and here these are the prayers that are brought before the presence of God and the incense that is added there burned there. The Old Testaments tells us is a pleasing fragrance to God. It is something that is pleasing and it pictures for us that the prayers of God’s people brought into the presence of God are pleasing and acceptable to Him so that’s what’s going on here. We’re reminded that it’s the prayers of God’s people that are being answered in all of this, prayers that have gone on for centuries. Prayers that have come more immediately. The prayers of God’s people are heard and He invites us come with confidence before a throne of grace to receive what you need. We pray for those things that we know are His will so that’s what we have as we come over to chapter 8.

It’s the prayers of the saints on the golden altar before the throne. We’re in heaven. There’s no curtain there and remember the curtain that prohibited access was rent when Christ died on the cross. Now this altar of incense where the prayers of the saints are presented is right before the throne of God. Hebrews; “come with boldness before a throne of grace.” We’re welcome now on the basis of the finished work of Christ. God is ready to answer the prayers of His people in bringing judgment on unbelievers and ultimate deliverance to His people. That’s the picture. It’s not complicated.

Turn back to Psalm 141. I was just going to read it. If you don’t want to turn there, just hold on a minute, I’ll read it to you. Psalm 141 an example of a prayer brought before God. “O LORD, I call upon You; hasten to me! Give ear to my voice when I call to You! May my prayer be counted as incense before You, the lifting up of my hands as the evening offering. Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; watch over the door of my lips. Do not incline my heart to any evil thing, keep me from wickedness . . .” on he goes. He wants the LORD to hear and answer his prayer. It’s like incense. That’s the picture. It’s where it comes from. The picture God had established back in Exodus chapter 30 where the prayers would be like incense and so in that tangible way you see the impact of the prayers, which from a physical perspective are intangible but the incense reminds us they are ascending to God, acceptable to Him.

Now with this, come back to Revelation chapter 8. “The prayers of the saints,” verse four, “the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up before God out of the angel’s hand.” So here, the prayers of God’s people are pleasing to Him, they’re acceptable to Him but you note then verse five. “Then the angel took the censer and filled it with the fire of the altar.” He had filled it with the incense and presented it, now he fills it with the altar coals and this is outside that inner enclosure. The brazen altar where the sacrifice for sin is offered and here the coals, which bring God’s judgment, they’re thrown to the earth. Now judgment for sin on an unbelieving world is to be carried out so with that you have peals of thunder, sounds and flashes of lightening an earthquake. All those things, which are terrifying things. The judgment, so the answer to prayer and the judgment on the world, in their unbelief. Now with that clarified we’re ready for the trumpets to sound.

Come back to Deuteronomy. There are many passages but just a couple. Deuteronomy 32 and this is what is called the Song of Moses. We just pick out a portion of it. Look at verse 39. God speaks verse 34. “Is it not laid up in store with Me, sealed up in My treasures? Vengeance is Mine, and retribution.” You see that people think because judgment doesn’t happen, judgment won’t come. When nothing is happening look at how the world becomes more open, flagrant and boisterous in its sin and nothing happens. Well, something will happen. It’s being stored up. In due time their foot will slip; for the day of calamity is near, the impending things are hastening upon them. The Lord will vindicate His people. This will be done! By the end, of these judgments, God’s people will have been vindicated. He will have compassion on His servants, when He sees their strength is gone. Verse 37, and He will say, “Where are their gods, the rock in which they sought refuge?” Verse 39, “See now that I am He, there is no god besides Me; it is I who put to death, give life. I have wounded, it is I who heal, there’s none who can deliver from My hand.”

There are no catastrophes that happen that the sovereign God has not brought them about; there is no deliverance that doesn’t come from God. He is sovereign. Well I don’t know. Do you think God would do that to this? This is what I say; you don’t play the attributes of God off against one another. He is a God of infinite wrath. He’s a God of infinite love and He dispenses that according to His own purpose. He says at the end of verse 41,“I will render vengeance on My adversaries, I will repay those who hate Me.” There’s going to be a lot of bloodshed the very next verse. “Rejoice, O nations,” verse 43 “with His people; for He will avenge the blood of His servants, will render vengeance on His adversaries, will atone for His land and for His people.” Come back to Revelation. Psalms 79 read that if you get a chance this afternoon. Another prayer, the mixture, deliverance and judgment.

Back in chapter 6. Remember they prayed “how long Lord will You” . . . verses 10 and 11. “How long Lord,” those who have been martyred, “are You going to delay in avenging our blood.” Remember, judgment delayed is not judgment abandoned. God says they’re storing it up for the day of wrath. Romans 2 says people who continue to reject Jesus Christ today, reject the salvation in Christ, are storing up wrath for themselves in the day of wrath and when we ultimately get to Revelation 20 and the great white throne you’ll see there was no escape. The condemnation to an eternal hell comes. Seems like boy it went on and never came. When it comes, it comes and it comes for everyone who is not covered by the blood. So back in chapter 8 and a reminder we looked in earlier studies, I don’t want to keep going back to these but Luke 18 verses 7 and 8. Jesus assured people that God would respond to the prayers of His people in bringing judgment on those who have so mistreated them. So this is the beginning here as were having in Revelation.

Back in Revelation chapter 8. We come through verses four and five, the judgment, prayers to be answered judgment to come. Just an aside don’t get discouraged stick with prayer. You say, “well I pray and nothing happens.” What do you mean nothing happens? Maybe some of the prayers are just being stored up for God’s timing, God’s timing is not always our timing but God’s timing is always the right timing. Now you come to think about it. Some of you have prayed for a family member for years. Nothing ever happened and you finally gave up praying for them. Then some time later down the road, they got saved and you forget, I prayed for them. Perhaps that was part of the answer. God just stored it up until His time.

We quit we give up. We’d rather spend three days fussing and fretting than replace those three days with prayer. Didn’t God say, “cast all your care upon Me because I care for you?” Well I know but if I don’t worry about it who will? Well if I turn it over to God, nobody has to worry about it, right, because He has everything under control. I don’t tell God what to do but I bring my desires to Him and Lord, you know this is the burden of my heart; this is the desire I have. I want it to honor You and Lord it’s in Your hands but I don’t hesitate to tell Him what the desire of my heart is. Now if I tell Him I want a ten million dollar mansion with a Ferrari car parked outside, well it probably didn’t go above the ceiling. Obviously, the ridiculous doesn’t apply but you know think about what greater privilege do you have as a believer than coming and bringing to God your desire. Come with confidence to the throne of grace, you’ll receive what you need, it’s a promise and so that’s the last resort when things so totally overwhelm me; there’s nothing else that I can do but pray. Well if that’d be, the first thing we do we probably would—so here, we have the prayers being answered.

Verse six, “the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound them.” You know everything is right on schedule. Seven angels standing before God for this moment in time, seven trumpets given to them, but before they sound, certain things have to take place. Now they’re ready, the first sounded. What is happening? Amazing how much in turmoil we can get like the world with what’s going on in the world and what’s happening in elections and let’s see, God’s still on the throne, we’re moving on His schedule. The future of the world is bleak. Judgment upon judgment upon judgment upon judgment. We saw back under the fourth seal, verse eight of chapter 6, a fourth of the earth dies. Now we come to the trumpet judgments. The first trumpet sounds and you have a third of the earth burned up with a third of the trees, the green grass. It’s not good, we’re going to have a third, a third, a third. You know that third is mentioned 12 times in verses seven to 12 as you move through the first four trumpets. A third, a third, a third, a third and people are dying under each one of these. We’re talking billons of people. You’ll say, oh you’re such a pessimist!

Well you know when a hurricane was coming and they said you need to prepare there’s a hurricane coming and people say, oh he’s such a pessimist. No, he’s a realist. I’m not a pessimist I’m a realist. The future of this world is bleak! Peter reminded us before all is said before all is done, these things will be burned up. So here is judgment, judgment, judgment, judgment. There is mercy even in this series of judgments coming. We’re not going to be working through them; that’s next time. A third, a third, a third isn’t God gracious. You know He could have wiped everyone out with one fatal sweep of His hand. You know He’s moving through this time. Why? There are people He is saving by His grace. Part of the purpose of this is not just to bring destruction on an unbelieving world but also to bring Israel to its knees so they will be ready at the end of these seven years to say, “BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD.” Even in judgment, trial, and tribulation God’s mercy is available. The sad thing is, as we move through this, God’s mercy will be rejected even in these worst of times.

Jump down to chapter 9. Look at verses 20 and 21. Here you know, look at verse 18. You understand here a third of mankind was killed by just these three plagues and you remember we had a fourth of mankind killed under the four seals. Now you have a fourth of mankind killed, now a third of mankind killed and you know we’ve got everything else that has been going on and we haven’t got to the worst of the worst yet and yet we’re told in verse 20 the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent. It’s repeated in verse 21 “they did not repent.” Don’t underestimate the sinfulness of the human heart. You know Jesus said the greatest of miracles won’t cause them to change “even if someone is raised from the dead they won’t believe and He was raised from the dead” and they still won’t believe. They concocted lies about His resurrection. Here the worst of God’s judgments, they still won’t believe. We say, well that’s terrible God would do that. Well this is a day of mercy and grace. He offers the free gift of salvation to you, comfortable, at ease and you still say no. Well God demonstrates man is stubborn in his heart; no matter what God does, man says, “no I will not bow.”

Come over to chapter 16. We are in the bowl judgments. They are the worst of the judgment. They get progressively worse. The seals the trumpets the bowls and yet what does He say in verse nine? “The fourth angel poured out his bowl” in verse eight and verse nine, “men were scorched with fierce heat; they blasphemed the name of God who has the power over these plagues, and they did not repent so as to give Him glory.” When the fifth angel pours out his bowl, the pain inflicted will be so great—ever bite your tongue accidently, you know you’re chewing, ah I bit my tongue. The people are going to be chewing on their tongues. The pains they are suffering are so great that it’s some kind of relief you know like a rag. My tongue becomes a rag it tells you. What does it say in verse 11? “They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores; they did not repent of their deeds.” Sometimes we as believers even soften on the issue of the seriousness of mankind’s condition and the stubbornness of the heart. Well if we only did this, they would change, if we only that, I’m sure they’d be more open, as though God hadn’t done everything.

Think how He’s blessed us as a country. Think about the comfortable life we have compared too much of the rest of the world. Think about all the good things and the exposure to God’s truth and the opportunity to have a Bible and read it, study it, and think about many of your friends when you tell them, “I’d like to tell you about Christ and salvation.” Are they flocking, “oh yeah tell me, tell me more.” Now by the grace of God He does intervene and break into human hearts but apart from that, we’d all be on our way to hell. Men are stubborn in their willful rebellion. They ignore God’s mercy, they ignore His kindness, they ignore the demonstration of His power, and they ignore Him when He puts the pressure on them. I’ll blaspheme Him for making me suffer but I will not bow the knee to Him. Any wonder we are going to end up with these people being sentenced to an eternal hell.

Now be careful. Remember, Paul had to remind Titus to remind God’s people they’re not saved because they were better people, less sinful people, less stubborn people, less rebellious people. He said, “remind them they were just like those unbelievers.” All the credit goes where? It goes to God’s grace.

So we move through the Book of Revelation. We want to keep a proper perspective and you may be here and one of those stubborn ones. You may be a young person raised in this church. That doesn’t mean you’re saved. It comes to the point you either bow your knee and submit to the truth of God and trust Christ or you don’t. Many who have grown up in this church are lost to this day. Some adults who came here enjoyed the atmosphere. I’m sure, thought the preaching was wonderful and particularly liked the preacher but they may still be lost today because unless the truth has penetrated the heart and mind and they have seen themselves as God says they are they are still on the road to hell. It’s a humbling experience. Bow the knee before Him and Lord, I agree; You’re right, I am a wretched hell-deserving sinner. I can’t do anything but you did what needed to be done for me and I placed my faith in Him. Now we live for Him. We don’t have our life absorbed in the world and the things of the world because we know that’s all going to destruction. I’m living in light of a kingdom that is coming and all that God will provide for those who love Him. Let’s pray together.

Thank you Lord for Your grace in revealing Yourself, revealing Your love and kindness and mercy and grace in providing salvation for undeserving sinners and Lord for revealing clearly the seriousness of sin, the hopelessness and helplessness of those apart from Christ. Lord how stubborn we are in our sin. We continue to rebel and resist. Thank you for the grace that brought us to salvation. Pray for those who have yet to experience this grace. Lord pray that we who have experienced that grace may be patient and bold and loving in bringing that message to others as we anticipate being called into the glory of Your presence we pray in Christ’s name. Amen.

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