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Revelation #13

The book of Revelation tells the Lord’s most beloved disciple John the conclusion that all of God’s will will be done in heaven and on earth, and for the children of God, these words of Revelation will be the things that they have longed for. Because in the Old Testament, the Lord’s day, the day of wrath, and the Day of the Lord are mentioned a lot, but in the end, because of the sins Satan brought during the 6,000 years of human history, the world was stained with sin and blood. But now, when the Lord comes, everything (heaven and earth) will be restored, and all the angels who followed Satan, who were defiled with sin and death, will be destroyed. The Lord pays back with wrath those who rebelled on earth who did not confess Jesus Christ as Lord and did not believe in God, and the Lord Himself will become King on earth, so that in the end the Father’s kingdom would be established on earth, as in heaven. Apostle Peter testified, Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. 2 Peter 3:13 (KJV) And for those who were predestined to become sons of God in Christ, whom he had planned before the foundation of the world, and for the church of God, as the Lord promised his disciples in John 14,  he has prepared a place, and this is from heaven. We can see the shining New Jerusalem will come down and be fulfilled on this earth after the final judgment of the Great White Throne. Therefore, the book of Revelation is not scary, it is scary for those who have rebelled against God, but it is a very good gospel for the children of God. So far we saw the scene where the four seals were opened. Every time a seal was removed, a great curse arose on earth, didn’t it? We saw War, famine, all curses and death came to this earth. Today is the scene where the fifth seal is opened. Again, since Revelation 6-19 is what will happen on this earth after the church of God, the children of God who have truly received Jesus Christ as their Savior and whose spirit has been regenerated by the Holy Spirit are raptured and disappeared from the earth, there is absolutely no need to be afraid to see these words. These are the events that will happen on this earth after the Lord comes into the air and we are raptured. That is why, when the children of God hear these words, our dearest family members, close friends, and acquaintances, who have not yet accepted Jesus Christ, whether there are those who have not become children of God, we must pray for them and warn them. We have to convey the messages. In the old days, when Lot heard that the angel was going to judge Sodom, he was saved, but none of his other family members except his two daughters were saved. Today is just like the time of Sodom and Gomorrah. That’s why the bible says the righteous will suffer in the sinful world. Likewise, those who have received Jesus Christ and become justified today must have such pain in their hearts and souls. The heart of a believer must be broken. This is the heart that loves the soul.

          I’ll read Chapter 6:9-11. 9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: 10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? 11 And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled. Revelation 6:9-11 (KJV) This was the event following the opening of the fifth seal during the last three and a half years of the seven-year tribulation, and John saw the altar. The altar is located inside as soon as you enter the temple gate. Instead of calling these slain martyrs; martyrs, they are called slain souls. Notice how they have a voice, memory of wicked dwellers on earth, and a body that can wear long white robes. They are described as souls because they are dead, and yet they are able to speak. They remember.  These souls cry for vengeance. Then there are the bodies that can wear white clothes. That’s weird, right? If the Bible says it so, then that’s all we need to know. We should believe the Word of God as it is, and we should never question the Word of God with the scientific knowledge or philosophy we have learned in the world. The word of God was given to believe, not to question. The word wasn’t given to compare. Because God is Almighty. Most people testify God is Almighty and created the heavens and the earth, but how much do they really believe in Almighty God? If God is truly omnipotent, the reader must believe that His Word is absolute. How can we compare our thoughts to Almighty God? In the old days, people vaguely thought that the soul was like a small ball attached to our body, but in today’s sermon, we see the white clothes being given for the decapitated martyrs as they are speaking, remembering, and crying out for their revenge. Then we can understand from the Word that this soul is a form in a body that looks like a physical body. In other words, the soul means that humans have intelligence, justice, and righteousness, right? It is a place where human emotions exist. It has a physical appearance, but it is a spiritual image that cannot be seen with the naked eye.

          Therefore, Jesus Christ is the Holy Spirit in the saints. The Spirit of Christ resides in the believer. So the Apostle Paul testified in Galatians 4:19 …of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you, Galatians 4:19 (KJV)  Is Christ formed in us spiritually? So, we can see that those who believe in Jesus will be transformed into the same image as Christ when they take off their body and put on a new body at the time of the resurrection as testified in Philippians 3 and 1 John 3 by Apostle Paul and Apostle John. Especially with regards to the word soul, as you know well in Luke 16, the rich man in the scarlet robe and the beggar Lazarus are mentioned, right? Both died, and Lazarus the beggar went to Abraham’s bosom, and the rich man fell into hell and begged Abraham to command Lazarus to bring a drop of water on his tongue. That’s what the Lord said. However, they were unable to go back and forth due to a great pit between Hell and Abraham’s bosom. This is what Abraham said, and if we look at it comprehensively here, the rich man’s body would eventually go to the tomb and rot, but his soul speaks. You will notice that the soul has moving arms, legs, eyes, ears, mouth, lips, tongue, nose, throat, teeth, back, and jaw. It’s just invisible. Therefore we can realize our thoughts on the soul once again by aligning it with the Bible. That’s why the Bible says the soul takes on a physical form and leaves the body when a person dies. Especially in Genesis 35:18, when the beloved wife of Jacob, Rachel died, her soul was about to leave. We usually consider a person to be dead when the heart stops, but the Bible tells us that when the soul leaves, the heart stops then we die. It’s a bit different from medical science, isn’t it? But the word of God is truth.

          Also, the Apostle Paul said in 2 Timothy 4:6 (KJV) For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.  He’s talking about the fleshy body dying. It’s time for my soul to leave my body. The time has come for the body to die. For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: Philippians 1:23 (KJV)  Paul said it is good for you that I am still in the body. Then, what is the Apostle Paul among the spirit, soul, and body? Soul. I want the soul to leave, the body to die and be with Christ. That’s a true expression of Apostle Paul’s heart, who suffered persecution wherever he went. The same is true today. Christians who live on this earth and really only hope for the Lord to come, and those who suffer spiritually and physically without compromising with the world have only the hope of the Lord coming and resurrecting them. These days, the physical life is made so easy, and especially those living in the United States live a very comfortable life, so it is very sad to see them taking the ease of the flesh rather than waiting for the Lord.

          Christians should not seek comfort, but should have the peace of God that transcends death in the Holy Spirit. We all need God’s grace. The Apostle Paul would greet the saints with, Grace be to you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 1:2 (KJV)  You’ll notice how he always prayed at the beginning of each epistle. The Bible teaches that man has a body, soul, and spirit. There is a soul that completely fills the body. Unseen. This soul is filled with a human spirit, a dead soul that descended from Adam. It is a dead soul until the Holy Spirit breathes into it. Because in the Garden of Eden, when Adam sinned and that sin continued to spread, the Apostle Paul testified in Romans 3:23 (KJV) For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;  That is why, in the days of Genesis, the living spirit died because of sin. That’s why the spirit has to come back to life.

          Although there are several Bible verses that say man is made of spirit, soul, and body,  I will explain just two more for today. First, in the Old Testament, we see a case in which the soul leaves and returns to a man. The rain had stopped when Elijah rebuked them in the days of King Ahab of Israel and prayed that it would not rain for three and a half years. There was nothing to eat. God commanded ravens to bring Elijah food, and God sent him to the house of the widow of Zarephath in the land of Zidon. We know that there, when the widow of Zarephath honored Elijah first, her family did not go hungry and ate many days despite the famine for three and a half years. And then the widow’s only son died. Elijah prayed for him. He prayed for the child’s soul would come in and live. So when the soul came into the child’s body, he lived again. You can confirm this by reading the words around 1 Kings 17:22. Second, Through the Bible we can see how God created man, And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, Body made from dirt. and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life;  God breathed His breath into the man. This is ruach in Hebrew and pneuma in Greek. and man became a living soul. Genesis 2:7 (KJV) Several Bible translations call it “living being or living person” leaving out the soul as an individual made of body and spirit.  A man is a living soul. So, according to Genesis 2:7, man was created into three parts: body, soul, and spirit. The Bible says man was created in the image of God. Three is one. We move in unison. We live with a body, but in fact, we live a healthy life because our spirit, soul and body work together. However, there is a problem if any one of them is damaged. Likewise, in God, there are three Gods, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This is showing us that people were created in the image of God. Going back to 6:9, there are souls that have been slain. Death by beheading. Execution by beheading will be the last form of death in the future under the Roman Catholicism of Babylon the Great and under the rule of the Antichrist just as it was done under the Roman Empire in the days of the Apostle Paul. So, seeing that many people will be beheaded at the guillotine, in today’s text we can see the appeals of the souls who were beheaded at the guillotine while rebelling against the Antichrist. Also, in verse 9, the souls are under the altar. This altar literally refers to the altar of the temple. In Matthew 24:15 we see a man standing in a holy place with an actual temple. He is the self-proclaimed God. The unholy stands in the holy place claiming he is God. The Bible says the time will come when the abominable Antichrist will sit on the throne three and a half years after the temple is built again in the land of Jerusalem and say, ‘I am God and I am the Christ.’ This altar is an actual an altar in the temple. The temple is going to be built again and as the real Satan will sit there saying he is God while beheading people as sacrifices.

          The saints who were beheaded in Revelation 6 will ascend to heaven in chapter 7. Also, in chapter 7, the 144,000 on earth (12,000 from the twelve tribes of Israel) are seen ascending to heaven in chapter 14, which clearly tells us that even after the tribulation these groups will be raptured.

          Moving onto the sixth seal. Verses 12 and 13. 12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; 13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. Revelation 6:12-13 (KJV)  Here we see what will happen before the tribulation ends. This is particularly concerned with phenomena concerning the sun, moon and stars. This can be seen in the Gospels, the same thing our Lord Himself said about things that will happen in the end times and in the time of tribulation. Please refer to Matthew 24:29, Luke 21:25, Mark 13:24-26, and Acts 2. How can the stars fall like figs from the trees? Never seen such thing have you? How can the sun turn black like hair? The earth will freeze over when the sun goes black and doesn’t shine, won’t it? The moon becomes like blood. The word of God is as it is. You and I have never seen this happen. But if God speaks, everything is possible. God said let there be light, and there was light. It just happened. Therefore, the word of God has the power of creation. Even if we don’t know it and we don’t see it now, it will happen as it is.

          14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. 15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; 16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: 17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand? Revelation 6:14-17 (KJV) Wrath, this is the final judgment. For 6,000 years of human history, people have rebelled against God, sinned, and waged wars, but God ends all judgment on the day of His wrath. The day of God, the day of the Lord, and the day of wrath are various ways used to describe this day. In Acts 2, the gospel is preached to the Israelites. And about 2,000 years of the Age of Grace have passed. And the saints are raptured, and only those who do not believe in Jesus remain on this earth. Oh, what a day of wrath for those who rejected the gospel, where God became a man, shed His blood for all sins, died on the cross, and rose from the dead on the third day. God says, ‘ I died for all your sins.’ But how great of blasphemy is that sin of unbelief? For that reason, this day becomes the Judgment Day. God is love. However, when the age of grace has passed and the time is now, when the dispensation of the fulness of times has passed, then there will be no opportunity. Therefore, today, not tomorrow, is the time to receive grace, and it is the day of salvation. If there are those who have not yet fully devoted themselves to Him because they have yet to truly received Jesus Christ in their hearts and received Him as ‘my Lord and my God’, please kneel at this time and pray, I am a sinner. I Thank that Jesus Christ died for my sins. Please come into my heart, forgive me of all my sins, so that I can be born again by the Holy Spirit and enter the kingdom of God. Those who pray like this, you are born again at this very moment. Why? For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16 (KJV)  It happens the moemnt you believe according to the word and say, Amen!

          When the Lord returns, all political institutions like the UN and the Vatican that tried to bring world peace through means of human power will all be uprooted. After that there will be a new heaven and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. In 6:16, people say to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, What happens when mountains and rocks fall on us? We die. No one in this generation today would say that. But how frightening the wrath of God must be for them to ask the mountains and rocks to fall on them, in order tot avoid the wrath of God? This Lamb, when he came to this earth in the flesh, is not the same Jesus who shed all his blood, died unjustly and powerlessly, who offered salvation by believing in Him, but is now the God of wrath and glory, Jesus Christ who comes as Lord and Lords wearing many crowns. When Jesus Christ, who does not come to die, but comes as the Judge, they will see Jesus Christ seated on the throne in wrath with their own eyes. So, Revelation 6 gives a complete picture of everything from the first to the last year of the tribulation period. Again, the Holy Spirit speaks of tribulation four times in the book of Revelation. Like through the four Gospels, different aspects of Jesus Christ are portrayed from four different perspectives. The Gospel of Matthew shows Jesus Christ as King of the Jews. The Gospel of Mark shows Jesus Christ the servant. The Gospel of Luke shows the Son of Man, Jesus Christ who appeared in human form. The Gospel of John shows us the Divinity of Jesus Christ, God Himself, God the Son. Just as the Lord was described from four different perspectives, Revelation chapters 6-19 also describe the tribulation in four different times. The first is the scene where the seal is broken in chapters 5 and 6, right? The second is the judgment that takes place when the trumpet is sounded in chapters 8-12. Third, starting in chapter 12 and ending in chapter 14:20, how the antichrist comes down to earth and work. The devil is in the air now, but he will physically come down to this earth. Then, finally, the 7 vials judgment from chapters 15 to 19, and especially how Babylon the great will be destroyed in one day. Babylon the Great is here and now on earth. It’s a big city. In Rome, there is a great city that rules over the kings of the entire world. But it will be destroyed overnight. Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen… Revelation 18:2 (KJV)  Folks, the word of God will surely come true in the future. We must hold onto our hope in these words. If you have not yet believed, you must receive Jesus Christ now and be saved. Otherwise, it will eventually lead to destruction. Why? Since the sins of all people have already been blotted out by Jesus Christ on the cross, the only way to be saved is through faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ died and was resurrected on the third day. There is no other way but to believe in Jesus Christ, who is God, and His blood, His blood alone can wash away all the sins that are deeply ingrained in people’s consiences. May these blessings and hope overflow to all of you in the name of Jesus Christ.