Simple Faith

Guest (Male): There is power to be found in God's word. Awesome power. Here is Pastor Bill Henry.

Bill Henry: The word of God is alive; it is powerful. The word powerful there in the Greek is dunamis. It is where we get our English word dynamite from. The word of God is dynamite. For those of you who remember back in the '70s, it's dynamite!

The people of the world, Satan especially, and especially during the tribulation, do not want the word of God. Even today, that is why the word of God is so hated: because it is dynamite power. There is power in the word of God.

Guest (Male): Deception, war, famine, death—those are sober words called the beginning of sorrows. We are quickly approaching the beginning of the end, and it is not just the Christian who is saying so.

Today on Simple Faith with Pastor Bill Henry, we will consider these life and death issues in some detail. Revelation chapter six describes a horrific time. Believe it or not, these days are coming. It would be wise to prepare and to prepare others for it, wouldn't you agree? To help us do that, here is Pastor Bill Henry.

Bill Henry: We come now to the fifth seal. Jesus Christ, who is the Lamb of God, as we learned back in chapters four and five, He alone is worthy to open the scroll and to open the seals. When that first seal was opened, we saw the starting of Daniel's 70th week, Jacob's trouble, and the unleashing of the wrath of God upon a world that has rejected Him, a world that has rejected Jesus Christ and His cross.

As we are in the midst of the tribulation here in our study, I believe that the events that we are studying will be taking place for the first three and a half years of the seven-year tribulation through the sixth seal. With the opening of the seventh seal, we will see the Great Tribulation, the last half, the three and a half years as Satan defiles the temple and demands the world to worship him. It just gets worse and worse.

Even as we come here to the fifth seal, we need to remember that even though we are reading it and it just takes us a minute or two to read through the first four seals and now the fifth, there is probably at least a year or two that has gone by at this point. We don't know for sure. It could all happen very quickly or it may take longer than that. Verse nine says, "When He, Jesus, opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held."

These are some of the souls that were saved during the tribulation, as we find out in chapter seven. These are some of the souls who have been slain already. It had to be at some point during the tribulation. Since no time period is given here, we know it is about a three-and-a-half-year total for this part of the tribulation.

Several things are notable here. Notice that these are those who are martyred for their faith during the tribulation because they are part of the seals being opened. Secondly, we notice their location. Notice where they are. He said, "I saw under the altar." They were under the altar of God. It is quite interesting to note that in the Old Testament, when they would sacrifice bulls especially, that is where the blood would go: at the foot of the altar.

In Exodus 29 verse 11 and 12, it says, "Then you shall kill the bull before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting and shall take part of the blood of the bull and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger, and the rest of the blood you will pour out at the base of the altar." Then again in Leviticus chapter four verse seven, "And the priest shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant incense before the Lord that is in the tent of meeting. And all the rest of the blood of the bull he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering that is at the entrance of the tent of meeting."

Remember, we are told in the New Testament that those things even in the old are foreshadowing those things to come, but also those things that are in heaven. There is a temple in heaven. Jesus Christ and God will come down at the end of the thousand-year reign, and there will be a new Jerusalem where God will dwell with His people. But even now there is an altar in heaven, and these folks are down at the foot of the altar, under the altar.

I believe this reminds us that the shed blood of the saints is not forgotten and that it is not wasted. While those who killed them did so for nefarious and wicked reasons, God does not forget their deaths. To God, He turns them into a blessing and honor before Him.

It is also interesting for me to note that these people's souls were there at the altar of God for a period of time. We don't know how long they will be there. But for us today, as part of the church of Jesus Christ, the Bible tells us in Second Corinthians 5:8 that we are confident and well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.

During the tribulation, these saints have to go underneath the altar, but for us, there is no such thing. By the way, even being at the altar, they are still there in the presence of the Lord. For us, it is different. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.

We see the Mount of Transfiguration even looking back towards the Old Testament when Jesus met with Moses and Elijah. They were not in some sort of soul sleep as some cults falsely teach. They had been in Abraham's bosom, as Jesus would say at a different time. God is not the God of the dead; He is the God of the living.

For the believer in Jesus Christ, when we die, there is no purgatory. You do not have to pay anything to get me out of purgatory. Although, if you want to come and give me some money to help pray somebody out of purgatory—just kidding. You don't have to pay indulgences or pray for anyone because that would mean the blood of Jesus Christ was not sufficient.

When Jesus cried, "Tetelestai," meaning "it is finished" from the cross, the debt was paid in full. To say otherwise would be to say what He said was false. Jesus paid for all of our sins upon the cross for those of us who receive what He did for us. He is the propitiation. We don't have to go and make up for it. Our souls don't go to sleep somewhere. We need to take the entirety of the scripture in its proper context.

When Jesus comes and takes the church at the rapture, things will change a bit here as far as the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Some call it today the Church Age or the dispensation of the church. During this Church Age, when we die, we go to be directly with the Lord into His presence. The interesting part is that even after we are raptured, God is going to still keep on saving people. God is going to keep on bringing people to His Son Jesus Christ.

Seemingly, they are not part of the church. They are more what we call tribulation saints. How this will all work at the end, the Lord knows. These here are saints who have been killed for their faith in Jesus Christ, and in a little bit, we will see how they are now waiting.

Note one other thing in verse nine. It says the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and the testimony they held. "Slain" here in the Greek is to kill, to slaughter, or to slay. It is 'sphazo' in the Greek. It means to put to death by violence. These are those who will be put to death by violence for their faith in Jesus Christ.

From 1950 to the year 2000, they estimate that more Christians were killed than in all the history before that put together around the world. Even today, Christianity is still the number one persecuted faith in the world. This isn't simply from Christian organizations; this is documented by secular agencies as well. Today, many Christians are being slain, slaughtered, and put to death by violence for their faith.

We're told specifically here that they were slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. We are actually told why they were killed. First of all, it was for the word of God. Secondly, it was for the testimony that they held.

It wasn't because of their church membership. They weren't killed simply for calling themselves a Christian. They were killed for the word of God. They weren't killed because they attended some church or were part of some denomination, but they were killed for the word of God and for the testimony which they held.

Firstly, it was for the word of God. These are those who held fiercely to the word of God. They held so fiercely that it leads to their death. They would not compromise the word of God. These are those who held firmly, and these are those that I would call biblical Christians today.

There is becoming more and more of a differentiation between those who believe the word of God within the church and those who don't, between those who live their lives according to the word of God and those who do not.

Many profess to love Jesus. Many profess to know Jesus and yet, to be honest, they could care less what He has to say here in these 66 books that we call the Bible. They don't care. This is many within the church today.

They have no interest in reading His word, let alone walking in loving obedience to it. These are false Christians. I say that very honestly.

These are those who say they love Jesus, but Jesus clearly said Himself that if you say you love Me but do not obey My commands, you actually do not love Me. "He who loves Me is he who obeys My commands," Jesus said. He says it many times.

John the Apostle reaffirms that in his letter, and others reaffirm it all throughout the word of God. If we love the Lord, we will love His word.

When Tally and I were dating, way back in 1993 and '94, this was before texting and before really being able even to email each other or use cell phones. We actually wrote these things called notes. You would use a piece of paper and you could actually write on this piece of paper. We would leave them for each other, like on her car window. I would write notes because I wasn't going to see her for a whole day, so I would leave five notes. It wasn't that bad, but you get the idea.

I would cherish those notes. I wouldn't ignore them and say, "Ugh, here is another letter. What is this for?" No, I was like, "Whoa, awesome! I got this letter from the love of my life!" You know what I am talking about, right? It still should be that way for us, by the way.

When we read the word of God, it is like we are reading the love letters of God to us. If I love Jesus, I am going to love His word because He is the word. He is the word become flesh. If I love my God, I am going to love His word. It is just that simple.

If I don't love His word, there is something wrong with my profession for loving Jesus Christ. It is that simple. You might think I am a little hard on that one, but of course I am, because it is the truth. God says it right here. You show me in here where you can love God and not care about His word, then let's talk. But if you are going in that direction where you don't care what God says in His word, you need to take warning today.

These guys weren't killed for just saying "I love God," or "I believe." How many people say they believe? You might say you know someone who says they believe, so you believe they are going to heaven. But remember what James said: even the demons believe. Are they going to heaven? Of course not. These are those for whom the rubber for the faith hit the road. They were killed for the word of God.

We need to understand that there is power in the word of God. The Bible, God's word, is alive. It is sharper than any two-edged sword. We need to remember this because in the word of God is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

We should be loving our neighbors as Christ has commanded us to do: visiting those in prison, giving a cup of cold water to those in the name of Jesus, and visiting the ill. We do all those things in the name of Jesus.

We need to be preaching. Faith comes by hearing the word of God. That's why the word of God is being attacked, because this is where salvation comes from. It's from the word of God that contains the gospel.

Do you believe in the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ? Turn with me to First Corinthians chapter 15. This is why people hate the Bible and the word of God: because it speaks the truth.

Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which you are also saved if you hold fast to the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that, He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep.

The word and their testimony is all tied together even here. You could go talk to almost five hundred people who saw Jesus Christ risen from the dead when this was written. This is the word of God. This is the gospel of Jesus Christ, and there is power there.

Hebrews four verses 12 through 13 says, "For the word that God speaks is alive and full of power, making it active, operative, energizing, and effective. It is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life, the soul, and the immortal spirit, and of joints and marrow of the deepest parts of our nature, exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart."

Not a creature exists that is concealed from His sight, but all things are open and exposed, naked and defenseless to Him with whom we have to do.

Notice the word of God is alive; it is powerful. The word powerful there in the Greek is dunamis. It is where we get our English word dynamite from. So the word of God is dynamite! Satan especially does not want the word of God. Even today, that is why the word of God is so hated: because it is dynamite power.

Paul commanded Timothy to always preach the word in Second Timothy chapter four. He said, "I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and teaching."

When I was looking around, asking where God would have me to go after I was leaving the Catholic Church, I actually started reading my Catholic Bible and I started seeing the power in the word of God. God led me out of that church and I came to Calvary Chapel. I remember them teaching the Bible verse by verse, chapter by chapter through the word of God.

I tried other churches and there are some doing it out there, but it is hard to find. That is why many of you are here today. Not that I am some great teacher, but how do you mess up going verse by verse, chapter by chapter? There is power in the word of God.

Understanding how much power is there is essential. It is there to release you from the sin in your life. It is there to heal the unforgiveness or the hurt or the pain that you have been through in your life. It is there when you don't know what to tell somebody in the world to share the gospel. You just give them the word of God.

Give them the gospel of Jesus Christ. You are going to be hated for it, by the way. Look at our text; they were slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held.

The Greek word for testimony is 'martyria'. It is where we get our English word martyr from. It means to give record to, to testimony, a witness. That which someone witnesses or states concerning a person or a thing. When we tell people what Jesus has done in our lives and give them the word of God, it is powerful.

Guest (Male): This has been Simple Faith with Pastor Bill Henry from Simple Faith Calvary Chapel in Vancouver, Washington. Today we brought you a message from Pastor Bill's series in Revelation. It's our sincere hope and prayer that you've been blessed by the words you heard from Pastor Bill today. If you'd like to share today's message with someone, it's available at our website to either watch or listen, and you can actually download an audio MP3.

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