Love Israel

Guest (Male): Shalom, and welcome to Viahavta Yisrael, a Hebrew phrase which means you should love Israel. We hope you'll stay with us for the next 30 minutes as our teacher, Dr. Baruch, shares his expository teaching from the Bible. Dr. Baruch is the senior lecturer at the Zera Avraham Institute based in Israel. Although all courses are taught in Hebrew at the Institute, Dr. Baruch is pleased to share this weekly address in English. To find out more about our work in Israel, please visit us on the web at loveisrael.org. That's one word, loveisrael.org. Now, here's Baruch with today's lesson.

Dr. Baruch Korman: As you know, our subject is the end times. I want to begin by asking a question: what are the end times? The biblical answer is this. The end times represent a transition—a transition out of this world, which is a good thing, and into the kingdom of God. When we look at Old Testament prophecy and New Testament prophecy, we find that God is very precise in promising us certain events that must take place in order that His kingdom is established. Throughout the Scripture, what God expects from each of us is to be watching, to be ready, and to have a biblical expectation of these events for one reason: so that we can be found faithful. When we look at the book of Revelation, we find that it is written to servants—those who want to serve God and to bring honor and glory to His name.

In this first session, we're going to be talking about the Tribulation. Biblically, it's called by Daniel "Daniel's 70th week." That is those last seven years. Let me simply say that there is much confusion about this period known as the Tribulation. For example, there are those that teach that all seven years consist of God's wrath. In fact, that's probably the most common belief today among evangelical believers: all these final seven years consist of God's wrath. I'm going to share with you tonight in this first session that that is not the case. It is not true that all of God's wrath is poured out in these final seven years.

In fact, normally what people will say is this: when we look at the book of Revelation, we see that there are bowl judgments. When we look at these bowl judgments found in Revelation chapter 16, we find that they do indeed consist of God's wrath. In fact, in these seven bowls, the Bible says that the wrath of God is complete. Earlier on, beginning in chapters 8 and 9 of Revelation, we have what's known as the trumpet judgments. They, too, consist of God's wrath, but not the full outpouring of God's wrath. The number that appears over and over in these trumpet judgments is the number one-third. So, it's a partial pouring out of God's wrath.

But then we look at another portion of Scripture from the book of Revelation, that is Revelation chapter 6, and we have the seal judgments. Be careful. When we look at these seals, they are not the wrath of God. I want to say that again. It's very important that you hear this, and as we go through some of these seals, it is going to be proven that these seals are not God's wrath. There's another source. When we talk about Tribulation, the biblical word for that is the Greek word "thlipsis." Normally, when that word is used, the source of that Tribulation and that trouble is persecution.

God is not the source of persecution. We find that the world and those who belong to the world are going to persecute faithful behavior because this world does not want righteousness. Why not? Well, if you do a good study of this word "righteousness" in the Bible, especially in Hebrew poetry, Hebrew poetry is unique because it consists of parallelism. This means one thing is likened to another. When we look at the word for righteousness, we find that more often than not, it is parallel to glory—the glory of God.

So, what's the lesson? When we behave righteously, that righteous behavior manifests the glory of God. The world and the prince of this world—and of course I'm talking about Satan—he hates the glory of God because he wants that honor, and he wants that glory. When we look at the end times, we're going to see that the end times come to a completion with the destruction of that false prophet, the Antichrist, Satan, and all of evil. That's why we should be encouraged and why we should be interested in the last days, because it ends well for those who have accepted that Gospel message.

There's another thing that I want to set straight, and that is the timing of the rapture. We're going to see and we're going to read in our second session tonight that concerning the day and hour, no one knows—only the Father, Him and Him alone. But what I want you to realize is this: in talking about the timing of the rapture, many people will use the Tribulation. They will believe that the rapture will be before the Tribulation, or perhaps in the middle of it, or at the end of it. But here's the biblical truth. Again, I don't mind being wrong. If you know a Scripture that contradicts what I'm saying, I want to learn that Scripture. Everyone who stands before a congregation and speaks needs to understand that we can be wrong, and we need to be corrected at times. So, here's my challenge: do any of you know a biblical verse where the timing of the rapture, biblically speaking, is related to the Tribulation?

I know of no such verse. The Scripture that many people will offer is Revelation chapter 3 and verse 10, but it's not speaking about the Tribulation. If you do a good study of that verse, it is speaking about the pouring out of God's wrath. Here's the good news, and I'll give you a Scripture: 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 and verse 9. There's a wonderful promise in that verse. What does that verse say? We are not appointed for wrath. What does that mean? If you have accepted that Gospel, you will never, ever experience God's wrath. His judgment will never visit you or your family. Whom the Lord loves, He will discipline, but we will never be recipients of God's wrath. It's what we talked about and what we sang about in our second song. We have that blessed assurance. We know because of what Messiah has done for us—the cross—the cross tells us that God will judge sin.

That's why Jesus went to that cross—to pay the price in full. For those of us who are believers, we will never experience God's judgment. We will not know His wrath because we have not been appointed for wrath but, as the Scripture says, salvation. Again, that word "salvation" biblically is related to victory. So, this transition—the reason why I say it's a great transition—we come out of this world and we are going to experience for eternity victory forever. That's the good news.

What I want to do is invite you to take out your Bibles and look with me to Revelation chapter 6. Our objective in this first session is to lay the foundation where we learn that these seal judgments are not related to the wrath of God, but rather related to the enemy. By the way, one of the things that the Scripture tells us to do—and we'll be talking more about this in our second session—is that we are commanded to watch. That word "watch" was used by Jesus, Peter, and Paul. Also, in the book of Revelation, John uses that same word "to watch." Here's what's important: it is spoken to the church. We are commanded as disciples to be watching, but that word for watching has a unique meaning. It means to watch for the enemy. We need to acknowledge that there is indeed an enemy for the people of God. Of course, I'm speaking about the devil or Satan—that one who delights in accusing us. But we have victory. We have that wonderful counselor that has paid the price in order that we will be forever triumphant.

Look with me, as I said, to Revelation chapter 6 and let's look first at these four horsemen of the book of Revelation. Notice what it says here in Revelation chapter 6, beginning in verse 1: John is speaking, and he says, "And I looked when the Lamb opened up one of the seals." This is that book that no one is worthy to open but one, and that is the Lamb of God. It's so significant that we have this word "Lamb." Why? Because a lamb is a redemptive animal, meaning that through that Lamb, we can experience redemption. If you're a good student of the Bible and you look at Hebrews chapter 9 and verse 12, that Lamb of God's blood—see, we were not redeemed with the blood of goats and bulls and sheep, but we were redeemed with the blood of the Lamb of God. That Lamb of God's blood purchased for us, the Scripture says, eternal redemption. That gives us, as I said earlier, that blessed assurance.

We can know without any doubt where we're going to spend eternity. By the way, it's not in heaven. The Bible says there's going to be a new heaven and a new earth, so heaven is not eternal. What is eternal? The New Jerusalem. Everyone, it doesn't matter who you are, is going to spend eternity in one of two places. If you're wise, you will spend eternity in the New Jerusalem. That word "new" relates to the kingdom of God; it's the kingdom Jerusalem. If you're unwise and you reject the grace of God, His mercy, and His forgiveness, then where are you going to spend eternity? The Bible says in that lake that burns with fire and brimstone. Every person, it doesn't matter who you are, you will either be in the New Jerusalem—that's where you want to be—or you will be in that lake that burns with fire and brimstone.

Look with me to this verse where it says, "I looked, and when the Lamb opened one of the seals, I heard one of the living creatures." By the way, whenever we study the book of Revelation, we see that so much of it is from prophecy from the Old Testament. We learn from the prophet Ezekiel that before the throne of God are four creatures. They are alive, and they have one purpose: to honor and praise and worship the Lord God Almighty. So here, it says, "And I heard one of the four living creatures saying as the sound of thunder." Thunder captures attention. When we look at this verse, it's saying what we're going to be studying demands your attention. This is important stuff.

He says as the sound of thunder, and what was that first creature saying? "Come and see." Verse 2: "And I looked and behold, a white horse." Notice what it says—your Bible may say differently—but it will say, "and the one who was made to sit upon it." That's in the passive voice. It's not one who is sitting upon the horse; that's incorrect. That's not what it says literally. It says "the one who is made to sit" upon that white horse.

Why is that important? Because it shows something. It speaks about the sovereignty of God—that God is in control. Whatever happens in these last days, God is either allowing it or, as in this case, He is causing it. Why? He's in control. Nothing is going to surprise God. Nothing is going to be done that is against His will. He's allowing these things for a purpose—so that the kingdom of God is established.

Look again at verse 2: "And I looked and behold, a white horse, and the one who was made to sit upon it, meaning upon this horse, notice, this one was having a bow." A bow in this time was a weapon of war. Remember that. What is this one going to do? Keep reading: "And it was given to him a crown." This speaks to something. This one is going to use a weapon in order that he becomes a ruler, that he's going to have power in this world. What is this one going to do? Well, keep reading. It says that with this crown, he's going to "go out to conquer and in order that he should conquer." This is his objective, and he's going to have success. He wants to conquer, and he's going to be allowed to conquer.

He's on a white horse, but be very careful. When we look at these seal judgments, especially the first four, these first four horsemen, this has nothing to do—hear that carefully—nothing to do with what we read about in Revelation chapter 19. When Messiah comes the second time, make a distinction. Messiah will come again for that blessed hope, or what you might know as the rapture—a wonderful event. We're not talking about that. When we're talking about the second coming, it's a different event. It has a different sign. Why do I say that? The rapture happens before the wrath of God. We are not appointed for wrath, but to have that eternal victory.

We'll never experience wrath, and what does the Scripture tell us? Before the wrath of God begins, the rapture will happen because Christ has paid the price in full when He said, right before He gave up His spirit, "It is finished." That just doesn't mean that it's done and over. That word "tetelestai" in Greek means that it's done, but it also means it was done perfectly. It accomplished the objective. How do we know that? We know it through one glorious event: the resurrection.

Because Messiah did rise from the dead—hear it carefully—the Scripture does not say that He rose from the dead. If you look at it, it says He was made to rise from the dead. Paul tells us how: that God the Father raised His Son from the dead. We all know the verse that says Messiah speaks about His death; He says, "I have the power to lay down My life." He did. He accomplished that; He died on that cross. The Scripture also says He has the power to take it up again, right? But He didn't. When we look at Paul's writing, Paul is very specific. Whenever he talks about the resurrection, he never uses the active voice; he uses the passive voice. Why? Because he wants to tell us that it was God the Father that raised His Son from the dead. Why? That has theological implications. The fact that God raised Christ from the dead teaches us something: that God received His work, that His work accomplished the purpose of God. What was that purpose? For our redemption, that all of our sins would be redeemed, that there would be no reason for us to ever be punished by God. That's why He went to the cross. The fact that God raised Him from the dead shows us that God received that work as perfect—that He accomplished the purposes of God.

Move on and look at verse 3: "And when He opened up the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, 'Come and see.'" That's an important expression. It means come and perceive something. We could say it in a simpler way, which is come and learn. Something's going to happen. There's revelation, and we're supposed to understand what that revelation is about.

He says, "Come and see." Look at verse 4: "And went out another horse, but notice this, this horse was red." Notice what it says concerning this second horse, this red horse: "And again, and the one that was made to sit upon it, to sit upon this second horse, notice what it says: it was given to him to take peace from the earth." What happened? "In order that one another would slay, meaning that they would kill one another." How did this second horseman kill? Well, notice how verse 4 concludes: "And it was given to him a great sword."

Remember this. What I want you to understand is this: there's these four horsemen. Most of the time, we think of these four horsemen as four individual events that happen. We ought not. That is incorrect. What we're going to learn—and you'll have to make the decision whether you agree or not—but what I'm going to suggest to you strongly is this: when we look at that fourth horseman, we learn something. That fourth horseman is a composite of the first three. There are characteristics of each of these first three horsemen that we're going to find in the fourth one.

Remember the first one? He goes out, he has this weapon, and he uses this weapon for what purpose? To conquer. He's successful. Why? He is given a crown. This is not God. This is not something that's pleasing to God. The second horseman is on a fiery red horse. What does he do? He takes peace from the earth. What does he want? He wants people to kill one another. Let me ask a question: is that the will of God? Does God desire that we kill one another? No. In fact, what God says is that we are called to love our neighbor as ourselves.

So, this is not anything that's related to God by people killing one another. It says here that this one that takes peace from the earth does so by means of this great sword. Remember this. All of this information—this conquering and this warfare that leads to death—remember all of the clues. It's important.

Drop down now to verse 5: "And when the third seal was opened, I heard the third living creature saying, 'Come and see.' And I looked and behold, notice, a black horse, and the one that was made to sit upon it had scales in his hand." What are these scales or balances? They serve a unique purpose in this culture. If you wanted to know how much something cost, you would weigh it. The heavier that something was, the more expensive it would be. Notice what the Scripture is saying here. This third horseman had a pair of scales in his hand.

Notice, look at verse 6: "And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying..." We have something. Your Bible may make an interpretation. I don't think it's good to do this because your Bible says "a quart." It doesn't say quart in Greek. It says "a measurement." We know very little about that measurement. But if we keep reading there, it says "a measure of wheat, a denarius."

What do you make with wheat? The answer is bread. This measurement is enough bread for a basic family—a family of four, five, six individuals. So we're not talking about a great deal of wheat, but in order to purchase this wheat, it cost what the Scripture says: a denarius. What is that? A denarius is what a working man that worked approximately 10 hours—what he would receive at the end of the day. In this culture, the people were paid not once a week or once a month, but they were paid every day. So, if you worked for 10 hours, you would receive enough money in order to buy bread for your family. What does that tell us? It tells us that the price of food is very expensive.

That shouldn't surprise us because when you look at the teachings of Messiah—and I'm speaking about Matthew chapter 24, that great chapter that Messiah talked about the end time—He says that there's going to be famines, earthquakes, and the word for pestilence. There's going to be diseases, earthquakes, and famines. When such things happen, what takes place? There will be shortages of food. When food is scarce, when it's lacking, obviously the price of it goes up. We see something else: "and three measurements of barley also a denarius." Barley was inferior to wheat, but in both cases, both the price of wheat and barley is very, very expensive.

But we see something that's odd. Notice what the Scripture says as we conclude verse 6: "and the oil and the wine do not harm." What does that mean? The prices of oil and wine are unchanged. Does that make sense? If everything else is very expensive, why is oil and wine not expensive? Well, the Scripture gives us an indication. Oil is oftentimes, especially in the Old Testament, related to anointing. In the midst of difficult times, when you look at the end times, they are a time of great instability. The end times are going to have tremendous problems—earthquakes, famines, disease. We're going to see there's going to be wars, rumors of wars, and nations going to rise against nation. It says "ethnos"—where we get the English word an ethnic group—is going to rise up against other ethnic groups. So, there's going to be much conflict throughout the world.

When that happens, what takes place? Prices go up because of instability. If you're an investor, you'll know that the market hates instability. This is what's going to happen. But in the midst of all of that, the anointing and wine—what does wine symbolize in the Bible? Joy. In the midst of all of these difficult times of instability, what the Scripture is saying is this: the anointing of the Holy Spirit is not going to be affected, nor is the joy of your salvation. Our joy is not based upon this world. Our joy is supposed to be based upon the fact that our name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life, that we are leaving this world.

We should have an excitement for that. We should have a desire for that. If you do, you are going to be interested in the end times because the end times represent this transition out of this world. Aren't you ready to go? Haven't you spent enough time here in this world where there's crime and immorality and injustice and hardship and disease and death? Aren't you looking forward to leaving and entering into a kingdom of perfection—a kingdom where the glory of God characterizes His kingdom? That's what we should be interested in and expecting to happen. So, notice the Scripture says, "but in regard to the oil and the wine, do not harm; it's unaffected."

Look now to verse 7: "And when he opened up the fourth seal..." This fourth seal is the most important one. It is where the wisdom, it is where things are tied together, so we understand that this is not speaking about the wrath of God. It speaks about "thlipsis"—persecution. It's hardship, but the source of it is not God. When we look at two words—and let me just give them to you, they're Greek words—thlipsis (tribulation, usually spoken of as persecution) and the second one is the Greek word "orge," which is wrath. What we should expect in the last days is persecution. I would just say this very respectfully to you: open up your eyes. Don't you see that in more and more places, there's a hostility towards our faith in Jesus Christ? Don't you see that? And if you are true to the Bible, you know what you're going to be accused of: being full of hate speech because you do not approve the things of this world.

Well, we don't approve them because we have to realize something. When we become a believer, we are mandated—God expects us—to agree with Him and His standards and not the standards of the world. When you don't agree with this world, the world's not going to like you. The world is going to persecute you. Remember what Christ said: "They hated Me and they're going to hate you." And He says, "They persecuted Me," they killed Him, didn't they? And He says, "They'll persecute you." If you were to ask me, what is the prophetic message for the church as we approach the last days? This is the Scripture that I would give you. Remember when Jesus said, "Those who want to follow after Me," does that describe you? If you want to follow after Him, remember what He says: "Take up your cross and follow Me." That is, we're going to find ourselves just like He did, colliding with this world.

The world didn't love Him; they killed Him. We should understand what the Scripture is saying because oftentimes what happens is this: we want to focus on the good things. No, we need to focus on all of God's truth, not just what we like to hear, but all of it. What God says is this: the enemies of a man's house will be the members of his family. Why? Remember what else Messiah said: "Do not think that I came to bring peace, but I came to bring war." In Luke's Gospel, he says it differently: "Do not think that I came to bring peace, but I came to bring a sword." What does a sword do? Divides. That's what the Gospel does. It divides us into two groups: believers and non-believers, just that simple. Those who are believers will be hated by those who belong to the world.

The situation's going to get worse and worse and worse, but that's okay because we have a blessed assurance that when I die—we're all going to die, right?—when I die, it's not a problem. Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. So my body that I have right today, it's not important for me to inherit the kingdom of God. It can't. Why? Well, in order to come out of this world and into the kingdom of God, you have to have a new body—a glorified body, a kingdom body. That's why we're also going to talk about the rapture. Philippians chapter 1 and verse 6, what a great verse, it's an encouraging verse. It tells us that the good work that He has began in you—when did He begin that good work? The moment you believed, when you accepted that Gospel message—He says that good work that He has begun in you, He is faithful to complete it when? In the day of Christ.

Hear that term. Philippians chapter 1, verse 6. Too many people make a confusion between the day of Christ and the day of the Lord. They are not the same things at all. They are very, very different. The day of Christ has to do with the rapture. The day of the Lord isn't for the church. The day of the Lord is for those who belong to this world, those who have rejected the Gospel. The day of the Lord is the day of His wrath being poured out.

Look at what the Scripture says, look again at verse 7: "And when he opened up the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, 'Come and see.'" And I looked and behold... notice what it says here... a "pale" horse. That's not the word in the Greek language. The word here is the Greek word that is "chloros." Chloros is that ingredient that makes something like plants green. It's not a pale horse; it is a green horse. Why is that important? It's most informative. Why? Because green—and let me give you an example—if you look sometime at Jeremiah chapter 30 and verse 5, Jeremiah is being asked a question: do men give birth to children? Today much of the world is confused with that simple question, right? But men don't give birth to children. But Jeremiah is confused because he sees all of these men with their hands on their stomachs, bent over, and the Scripture says all of their faces are green. That's literally what it says. It's the Greek word "yerakon," which is green, according to Hebrew. Why green? Green symbolizes pain and suffering.

We need to understand who the enemy is. The enemy rejoices not in righteousness, not in the glory of God, not in good deeds. The enemy—and I'm speaking about Satan—he's addicted to causing pain and suffering. He loves this world because this world is a world of sorrow, it's a world of suffering, it's a world of grief. But the good news is this is not our eternal destiny. We're coming out of this world, and we are going to be placed in a kingdom of eternal perfection, where the glory of God is manifested forever and ever and ever. So, when we look here, it says that there was a green horse, and the one that was made to set—and we have a change.

It is a problem when we don't study in the original language because if you go back, we find the first three horsemen, we find a similar expression: remember that was made or caused to sit upon that horse. But here there's a different word for "upon," a very different one. Why? Well, because of the change in language, this is to show that this fourth horseman is unique. It is a way, if you understand Greek grammar, it is a way of saying pay close attention to this fourth horseman because there's something unique, something special about him. So, it's not just that he was sitting upon this horse, but he was caused to sit in a unique way on that horse. And notice something else: a name was given to him. What was that name? Death. And it says "Sheol," that is the name of the place where dead people go. We find that that could also be associated with a place of punishment.

Does that sound like God to you? God is a God of life. He gives us eternal life. What does the Scripture say? Speaking about Messiah, He says, "I come that you might have life and have it ever-increasing." We can think of it as abundance. That's our God. God wants to bless His people, and He wants to bless us abundantly. That's His nature. He is not the God of the dead. The Scripture says emphatically that Messiah is the God of the living. So this has nothing to do with God. This is what the Scripture's telling us. What we've been studying has nothing to do with God's wrath or God's activity. It has to do with one who is called Death. And then it says, "and hell or the grave or Sheol follows with him." Very important term, "with." It is to teach the reader that there's a connection between this fourth horseman who's called what? Death. And hell, meaning punishment. This fourth horseman personifies why God is going to pour out His wrath upon the world.

And notice what else it says: "And it was given to him authority." Authority to do what? Authority to kill. To kill how much? A fourth part of the earth. Now, if you were in kindergarten, you learned something—that three-quarters of the earth is water, one-quarter is land. What the Scripture is saying—and we see this supported in the book of Revelation chapter 13—is that this empire that the Antichrist is going to have is going to be over every tribe, every people, every nation, and every language. It speaks about a one-world government. That's what the Scripture is saying here when it says he has been given authority to kill upon a fourth of the earth. How?

What does it say? "With a sword." Does that sound familiar to you? Remember that second horseman that takes peace from the earth? He causes one another to slay one another with what? A great sword. There it is again. And with what else? With "hunger" or "famine." Well, what horseman was that? The third horseman. And then it says, "and by death through the beasts of the earth." Well, when there's great famines, what do the animals do? They begin to come into the city. They're hungry, they're suffering as well, and they become very dangerous. So, what I would suggest to you strongly is this: when we look at the first three horsemen and what it says, we see that their individual characteristics are expressed and repeated in that fourth horseman. And what is that fourth horseman going to do? Well, we learn this when we begin speaking about the fifth horseman.

Over and over, we are told that the seals are God's wrath. They are not. Why do I say that? Christ is not called ever Death. He died so that you might live and that you might live for eternity. Everything about Christ is good news. It's news about the kingdom of God, coming out of this world and being placed in a kingdom of holiness, of perfection, of glory, of righteousness.

But when we look now, let's go to the fifth seal that begins in verse 9: "And when he opened up the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar..." What does that signify? Sacrifice. These people are being put to death sacrificially. Why? It says "their souls or their life were slain." What brought about their life being caused to be killed? That's what it literally says—not just that they were slain, but they were made to be slain. Something caused it, and we know what it is. It says, "on account of the word of God and the testimony which they held."

When you are committed to the word of God and you have a testimony—that is, a behavior that is based upon the word of God—does God put you to death? Of course not. This has nothing to do with the wrath of God or the judgment of God. God is not connected to these seals. What's connected to them? The enemy, this one who's known as Death, this one that is connected to hell. That's what the Scripture's saying. It has nothing to do with the wrath of God; it has to do with persecution that is going to take place on believers because of their commitment to the word of God. And how do we know they're committed to the word of God? They have a testimony. Their lives reflect the word of God. And God is glorified by that, God is pleased with that. God does not slay the people for being faithful to Him. Who does that? The enemy. That's who does that.

So these seal judgments have nothing to do with the wrath of God. Now people always say, wait a second, you're forgetting something—the sixth seal. We're going to talk more about the sixth seal tomorrow when we talk about a very important biblical term called the Great Tribulation. Not just Great Tribulation, but *the* Great Tribulation. Here's the problem: we don't read carefully. If you were to ask me why is there so much confusion about the end times—and there is—it's because people pay too much attention to other books that they read about the end times or what they've heard from other people rather than just limiting their theology, their eschatology, on what the Bible says.

So this fifth seal, it speaks about persecution of believers for their faithfulness, for their commitment to the word of God. Now the sixth seal, I would agree, it announces the wrath of the Lamb. Did you hear that term? It announces the wrath of the Lamb. And we find that those who belong to the world, not the church, not believers, but those who belong to this world are very fearful of the wrath of God. What do they do? They hide in mountains, they go underneath rocks, and they are fearful.

But we need to realize something. Even though in the sixth seal there is the announcement of God's wrath, if you look at chapter 7, we find that there's an angel. By the way, in the book of Revelation, who's very active throughout this book? Angels. Not man, not the church, but angels. Angels are carrying out the will of God as angels are called to do. We see that there's one angel and he goes up to the other angels. What do these other angels have? They have the wrath of God. And this one angel says, "Don't harm any of the world. Don't harm the land, don't harm the sea, don't harm the trees until..." and he mentions two things. What two things? Well, the sealing of the 144,000.

We'll talk more about that sealing of the 144,000 tomorrow. They're only mentioned in two chapters in the Bible: chapter 7 of the Revelation and chapter 14. We're going to learn something very important about them. But the wrath of God has not happened. It is delayed. And by the way, let me give you another Scripture—just make a note of this—Matthew chapter 25 and verse 5. I love these parables that speak about the kingdom of God. And in Matthew chapter 25, it begins with this parable of the ten virgins. What we see here is that these ten virgins, they represent: five are wise and five are foolish. The five that are wise, they represent the church that God is well-pleased with, the ones that are going to be found faithful.

But as I listen—and by the way, I listen to a lot of sermons, a lot—one of the things that puzzles me is this: and I know where people come, their position on the end times, and those who I would disagree with, they always ignore Matthew 25 and verse 5. Why do they just ignore it? Because it doesn't fit their theology. We need to be mature. We need to realize that if we are teachers of the word of God, we are called to teach *all* of the word of God. And if there's something there that we don't like, we need to change our theology. Because it says in Matthew chapter 25 and verse 5, concerning the rapture—the coming of the Lord for the church—it says that He's not coming earlier than we think, but rather the Scripture says that He is delayed.

Look at that verse: Matthew 25, verse 5. He is delayed. Why? It means that we're supposed to do something that when we look at Revelation chapters 2 and 3, that Messiah through John—John wrote it down, Messiah gave him the words—that He tells the church over and over. What is that? He tells the church in the last days that we're called to be a church that perseveres, that endures, that overcomes. You know what that tells me? There's things that we're going to go through that we have to endure, that we're called to persevere through them, we're called to overcome them. And you know what else He says to the church? He speaks to the last days' church and He says—He calls the churches in Revelation chapters 2 and 3 to repent.

Why? He says over and over, "I know your works." And he says, "I have not found them to be sufficient." He's not pleased with them. But there's going to be a glorious change. What is that? Well, it says later on in the book of Revelation—I love this verse—where it says that we are going to be a glorious bride. Did you know that? We, the church, are going to be that glorious bride that has adorned herself for her groom with righteous behavior.

Now, what's going to cause this change? I'll tell you what's going to cause it: persecution, suffering. Because the world is going to rise up against the church. That's okay. Our hope is not tied to this world or this body. Our hope is based upon resurrection. You know, in the Bible, resurrection is a kingdom word. What does that mean? In order to enter into the kingdom of God, you have to go through a resurrection. You have to be changed. Why? I mentioned this earlier: because flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. And God is going to use some difficult times. He is going to use the biblical term "thlipsis," which is tribulation or persecution, in order to change us.

Because right now, when He looks at the church, He doesn't see a church that He is pleased with. He sees too much—this is my opinion—in my opinion, when He looks at the church, He sees too much of the world. And we see that. I mean today, some of the largest churches, when you go to their worship service, doesn't appear to me to be a worship service that God would be pleased with. Looks more like a nightclub. When we look at the so-called dancing, it's not dancing unto the Lord. There's smoke, it's dark—it's not the people who were called to be. Why? What does the Scripture say? We are not sons of darkness, but we are sons of light. Let's step into the light. Let's be changed. Let's be faithful. Let's be transformed. But all of that is only possible when we're committed to the word of God.

So will there be tribulation? Yes. The church will be persecuted. What Messiah said is true: they hated Him, they're going to hate us. They persecuted Him, they're going to persecute us. But He will never leave us nor forsake us. We're going to find that as we go through some difficult times, remember what Messiah said to the disciples: He says, "I have food that you don't know about." What's His food? To do the will of His Father. And when we are committed to the will of God, remember, no true believer will ever take that mark of the beast. Well, if we don't, we'll never be able to buy or sell—not a problem. Because God has shown—just read the Old Testament, study the nation of Israel—that God has proven Himself able to sustain His people in the supernatural. How? Remember that manna, and remember that water, that rock that they got water from? Who was that water? Christ.

So we don't have to worry about will there be provision. We see over and over that God knows how to provide for His people in difficult circumstances. Remember the Scripture, I'll close with this: the Bible says, "With God, all things are possible." Do you believe that? You will be tested in the last days to see if really you believe it and if your behavior reflects it. Father God, we thank You that You are God of truth. We thank You that You are God that knows how to sustain His people. We give You thanks, we glorify Your name. We are not a people that fear this world, but we are a people that fear You and give You the priority over every aspect of our life. Father, we glorify Your holy name. We count it a privilege to take up our cross and to follow You. Father, we pray that if we are called to lay down our life, we don't fret, we don't worry, because we know of this new body that we're going to inherit through faith in the crucified one, Jesus of Nazareth. It's in His name that we pray. Amen.

Guest (Male): Well, we hope you will benefit from today's message and share it with others. Please plan to join us each week at this time and on this channel for our broadcast of loveisrael.org. Again, to find out more about us, please visit our website, loveisrael.org. There you will find articles and numerous other lectures by Baruch. These teachings are in video form. May download them or watch them in streaming video. Until next week, may the Lord bless you in our Messiah Yeshua—that is, Jesus—as you walk with Him. Shalom from Israel.