In Your Bible Read This
Revelation chapter 14.
Here Is Your Memory Verse
Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of
his
judgement has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth,
the sea and the springs of water. Revelation 14.7.
Afterwards Talk About
This
Discuss how you see the four horsemen of the
apocalypse
riding through the earth in your lifetimes.
Something To Do Before
Next Time
Write an article sensibly warning people about
Bible prophecy
concerning
loss of investments, and submit it to your local newspapers and
radio stations.
No scare tactics or you will lose credibility.
Written Diploma Work
Write a page of suggestions concerning how we
might worship
the Lord better than we do in our church services, taking into
account the ways to bring him glory.
Meditate On These Verses
Revelation 19, 1-2
- Spend
a Minute to Change the World
- Pray
For Eritrea - 4,000,000 in nine major peoples
- 30
years of war and drought, 50% Muslim, 40% Orthodox
- Huge
challenge to rebuild the nation
- Be
sure to teach this lesson to others.
- Always
pray and prepare well adding
- your
own verses and stories to bring it to life.
Many people believe that we are in the last
days before Jesus returns as King. Certainly, there is no later
day than today. The new millennium and the turn of 1999 into the
year 2000 is of great prophetic interest to many while the
recently turned year 6000 in the Jewish calendar is very
significant for others. Scientists are alarmed about the
environment, politics are in continual crisis, and spiritually we
know that sin, crime, injustice and inequality cannot go on for
ever. Something is going to happen.
The Horsemen
Of The
Apocalypse
In Revelation 6, 1-8 we learn about four
horsemen who will ride the earth. Never have the sounds of their
hooves been clearer. The rider of the white horse is Jesus who
rides to conquer the hearts of men. Rev. 19.11.
- The red horse follows and he takes away peace
from the earth as men kill each other as in the two world wars and
lately in Bosnia, Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Eritrea and Rwanda.
- The black horse brings economic ruin to
nations until the poor cannot eat, but the rich get richer through the
crisis.
- Last is the pale horse ridden by death who
gathers men through violence, disease and catastrophe.
Thankfully the Bible says that when sin
abounds, grace abounds even more, Romans 5.21. We are going to
meet three angels with clear messages from God for the end times.
Maybe they are Christian leaders who catch the ear of the world
because in Rev. ch. 2 the word angel refers to the leaders of the
churches.
1. The First
Angel
Proclaims the eternal gospel to every
nation, tribe and language as God’s no.1 priority Rev.14.6-7.
He has three messages:
- In a fearful world - fear God alone.
- Give him glory. In a time of spectacular
advance of knowledge, medicine and science, God expects to be honoured
and thanked for such mercy.
- Worship him alone, the creator not the
created. So often worship is no more than singing in church. We can
also worship the Lord by co12, -operating with his priority to finish
the Great Commission. Romans 1-3.
2. The Second
Angel
He prophesies that, ‘Babylon is fallen.’
Revelation 14.8. Babylon is a home of demons and evil spirits
that cast magic spells to lead the nations astray and into
madness, killing many of the saints. Kings, rulers and merchants
commit adultery, with her because she gives luxury and wealth and
turns merchants into great men. Babylon satisfies men’s lust
for personal or corporate riches and splendour. It is the world
trade in luxury goods whilst millions lack food and so trade
their own and their children’s bodies and souls. See
Revelation ch. 17 and 18.
Ruined In One Hour!
In one hour she will be brought to ruin! Can
this be? The Lord has given many a warning in recent days. For example,
the Maxwell empire crashed. Japanese banks have defaulted. Internet and
technology stocks and shares rise and crash. Remember the notorious
‘Black Wednesday’ of 1992 when international speculators destroyed the
value of the pound and European currencies. Investors, including
pastors lost millions of pounds in one hour on the London Stock
Exchange. National economies like Korea and Brazil have been ruined in
days.
Come Out of Her My People
These were just warnings from heaven for God's
people to heed the command of 18.4. Either we give our lives and
possessions to God or we will lose them as the world system receives
its overdue judgement. Christians should make sure that their savings,
investments and shares are in the right hands and not in the wrong
place. Haggai 2.6-7, Jeremiah 51, 6-7. Babylon will fall.
3. The Third
Angel
The message of the third angel is to
prepare God's people not to compromise with a ‘beast's’
system or receive his mark in order to even go shopping, or you
will receive God's fury, Rev. 14.9; 13, 11-17.
Who Is The Beast?
He is a coming political leader of global
stature. A very convincing, powerful man with a compelling system that
enjoys evil supernatural backing that demands worship.
What Is This Mark?
The technology to place a mark already exists
in the West and only waits for wider acceptance. An electronic bar code
on hand or head is a brilliant idea to curb crime by withdrawing money
from circulation."
Christians need to discover faith in God for
provision, Isaiah 55, along with non-materialistic community
lifestyles, Acts 2, 42-47, so that a compromise can be avoided. This
calls for patient endurance on the part of God's people and may bring
martyrdom to some. It will at least demand a daily dying to self in the
face of ridicule and isolation.
Fanciful Speculation Or Prophecy?
What do you make of all this? Read Zechariah
1.4-6 before you answer.
4. Two
Harvests Of The
Earth
The first is by Jesus
Who commands the harvesting the earth of God’s people for eternal life
with him.
Revelation 14,14-16; Daniel 7.13.
The Second Harvest Is Eternal Death
By the angel in charge of the fire of judgement
and destruction for those who have refused to fear God, to give him
glory or to worship him, preferring to live in Satan's kingdom. It is a
harvest for the awful winepress of God's wrath. Rev. 14.11; 17-20; 2
Peter 3.12.
Now we understand the pressing urgency of
the first angels message from heaven to finish the Great
Commission. We will need each other in the times that are coming.
Meanwhile we should store our treasures in heaven by investing
our lives in God's work with the lost and the poor, using worldly
wealth to gain friends by sending the gospel of the kingdom to
every nation. Matthew 6.20; Luke 16.9.
To Close Pray For The
World's Most Unreached Peoples By Name
Taken from the
Joshua
Project Unreached Peoples List these people
have no churchand as yet no cell, church or mission has committed
themselves
to prayer, adoption or church planting among this people.
Yemen
|
People
Name
|
Language
|
Population
|
Mahra (Mehri,
Mahri)
|
Mahri
|
294,000
|
Malay
|
Malay
|
28,000
|
Persian
(Irani)
|
Farsi,
Western
|
14,000
|
|