In the late 1970s, my dad was diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer. He had regularly been going to the doctors for checkups, but this was the days before they had the PSA test and other diagnostic tools that we have today to detect prostate cancer in the earliest stages. He underwent a number of treatments to try to tame the cancer, including surgery. to try to slow down the progression of this disease. One time he spent a couple months in the hospital. At one time we thought that he would never come home, but God was gracious and prolonged his life for another three years. He had been praying that he'd live long enough to see me graduate from seminary in 1981. And he purportedly had an angelic visitor one night. It was after visiting hours. And he was in his room by himself. And suddenly, there was a man standing there in front of him who assured him that he would live to see that day of my graduation. And he did. His cancer went into remission. He regained his strength. And he and my mom were able to fly to Dallas to attend my graduation. But after I graduated, I was advised that if I had a desire to minister in a particular location within the country, that we had better move to that area. And I had a desire to minister here in the Northeast. So Susan and I, along with our firstborn Elizabeth, who was only about six weeks old at the time, we moved from Dallas to stay with my parents for six months. And so I was able to spend some quality time with my dad before he passed away. He was well enough to witness my ordination, examination, and service in September. But after I accepted the position of Bible teacher and dean of students at Walkway Vocational Bible Institute, we moved to Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, December of 1981. And after that, my dad's cancer came roaring back with a vengeance. His health quickly deteriorated. Cancer had spread to his bones and bone cancer is excruciatingly painful. And my dad suffered greatly. He lost his appetite for most foods except for chocolate. He loved Hershey, and my mom would buy him Hershey bars, you know. Doctor said, whatever he wants, buy it. So he ate a lot of Hershey bars. And his body, wracked with pain, wasted away. At the end of his life, he was a shell of a man. He was on morphine to bring some temporary relief from the pain. Someone who came to visit my dad and mom at that time, who had also lost someone to cancer, said to my mom, one day you will view death as a friend. Watching him suffer like he did, I know what that person meant. For at the end of his life, we were praying that God would take him home. He was ready. He had a relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ. and he was one of God's children. And on June the 16th, 1982, my dad stepped into the presence of Jesus. To be absent from the body for him was to be present with the Lord. His days of pain and suffering were over. Perhaps there have been times in your own life when you wished that the Lord would come and take you home. Perhaps during times of intense personal pain or physical pain and suffering, during periods of depression over loss of someone you loved, or during hard financial relational times, when life seems to be a mess and there's no relief, no way out, perhaps during these times you've longed for heaven. Death for you would be a friend. You long to be with Christ. May I say to you, you're not alone. For even the Apostle Paul, who suffered greatly for preaching the gospel, in prison, possibly facing death at the hands of an executioner, long to be with Christ. He writes in Philippians 1 about the debate that was going on in his heart and mind. His focus, though, was clear. For his earnest expectation and hope was that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body. whether by life or by death, for to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. He goes on to reveal the dilemma that he was sensing within his own spirit as he struggled with this, the feelings that he had. He says, but if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labors. Yet while I shall choose, I cannot tell. For I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ. which is far better, nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you." The choice was between the far better and the more needful. And he chose to remain and continue with you for all your progress and joy of the faith. Philippians 125. He chose to continue to live Christ in this world until Jesus decides to take him home. Paul knew that something better awaited for him in heaven, and thus he was able to endure the pain, endure the suffering, the imprisonment, the beatings, and everything he'd experienced now, because he had that hope of eternal life. And I think so it is with you and I. We have the hope of eternal life. We continue in this life knowing that God has a purpose for us to fulfill more ministry, more fruit for Him. It's more needful for those around us. But we long to be with Christ, which will be far better. So one day, death will be our friend. Either death or the rapture will usher us into the presence of our Lord. Now for unbelievers who do not have the hope of eternal life with Christ in heaven, they too during times of extreme distress, pain, suffering, also long for physical death as the means of escaping the pain, the hopelessness, the problems that they are feeling right now. In 2020, nearly 46,000 people in the United States committed suicide. It was the 12th leading cause of death in the United States. According to the World Health Organization, over 700,000 people worldwide take their lives each and every year. The vast majority of those are unbelievers. Now I do know that Christians do, and are included in that number for Christians do at times take their own lives. But the vast majority are unbelievers. You know, in 10 states including New Jersey, Physician-assisted suicide or euthanasia is mandated by the law. It's possible to do so. In these states, if a person is deemed to be terminally ill by a doctor with a prognosis of six months or less to live, a doctor can prescribe medication to hasten their death without being prosecuted. A law was passed in 2019 here and put into law here in the state of New Jersey. In New Jersey, the medication is to be self-administered but obtained through a doctor's prescription. 2021, 33 terminally ill people in New Jersey chose to end their lives by using the Aid in Dying law that was enacted in 2019. So many believe that the cure for pain and suffering is to die. To be put out of one's misery. Euthanasia. But you know there is coming a day in the future when escaping torment and suffering by death will not be an option. We looked at that the last time we were in the book of Revelation, for when the fifth angel sounds and the keys to the bottomless pit are given to Satan to release a swarm of incarcerated demons from the abyss to physically torment the unbelievers, the earth dwellers, who do not have the seal of God on their forehead. For five months in those days, it says, men will seek death and will not find it they will desire to die and death will flee from them. Death takes a vacation. It takes a hiatus because of the excruciating pain like that of a scorpion sting. They're going to try to end their lives but all attempts at suicide are going to fail. Five months Five months they will experience hell here on earth as they will be afflicted by one demonic attack after another. There's going to be no end to the suffering. Death takes a hiatus. But when the sixth angel sounds, blows his horn, death returns with a vengeance. Death returns with a vengeance. Look what happens, Revelation 9 beginning at verse 13. Revelation 9 beginning at verse 13. It says, Then the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar, which is before God, saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates. So the four angels who had been prepared for the hour, day and month and year, were released to kill a third of mankind. Now the army of the horsemen was two hundred million. I heard the number of them. And thus I saw the horses in the vision. Those who sat on them had breastplates of fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow. And the heads of the horses were like the heads of lions. And out of their mouths came fire, smoke, and brimstone. But by these three plagues, a third of mankind was killed by fire and the smoke and the brimstone which came out of their mouths. For their power is in their mouth and in their tail, for their tails are like serpents. Having heads, with them they do harm. Death returns with a vengeance. When the sixth angel sounded his trumpet, John heard one solitary voice. We're not sure who is speaking, for the voice is not identified. could be the voice of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb. For he is earlier standing near the throne of God when he takes the seven-sealed scroll from his father and when he breaks the seals unleashing the series of judgments of which the sixth trumpet judgment is a part of them. or it could be the voice of the angel whom John had earlier seen standing near the golden altar of incense who was offering up incense with the imprecatory prayers of the martyred saints for the voice was coming from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God. Now the voice coming from the four horns of the golden altar explicitly commands the sixth angel to release to release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates. Now, who are these four bound angels? Well, the fact that the four angels are bound would seem to indicate that they are not good angels, because good angels are nowhere in scripture said to be bound. Because holy angels always perfectly carry out the will of God, there's no need for them to be restrained or to be in prison or incarcerated. So these are four demons that are bound. Literally, they were bound in the past with the continued results of the bound today. It's a perfect tense. They are existing today in a state of bondage until the hour, the day, the month, and year that they will be released. See, at the precise moment in history, in the predetermined year, the month, and the very day and the exact hour called for by God's sovereign plan, the sixth angel will release these four high-ranking demons so that they can use them in his ongoing judgment of the world. We saw last week that God uses Satan and his hatred of mankind as part of his way of judging the world. It's going to use them again. Now, these four bound demons are imprisoned at the great river Euphrates, the Euphrates River. Euphrates River, the headwaters of it begins up close to Mount Ararat, is where the river begins. And it empties, it goes 1,700 miles before emptying into the Persian Gulf. It's the longest river in the Middle East. The region near the Euphrates was the central location of the three world powers that had oppressed Israel. Assyria, Babylon, and the Medo-Persian. Some have suggested that perhaps these four angels may be the demons that controlled the four major world empires of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. We know from Daniel chapter 10 that there is a cosmic warfare between the holy angels and the demons, and that individual demons do influence and control individual nations. Whoever they are, these four demons control a huge army. It's an army here that's described as 200 million. 200 million. Now that's a huge number. That's a huge number to try to envision. And at the time John received this vision, scholars believe that the population of the entire world did not even exceed that number. And so 200 million. But John is sure that that's the number because he said, I heard the number of them. I heard it. Now the million dollar question this morning is, is this army of 200 million a human army of 200 million men, or is it an army of demons? An army of demons. The late Dr. John Wolvert, and he, under whom I studied eschatology, or study of end-time events at Dallas Seminary, he believed, as do others believe, that we're to take this literally, and that these four demons will command a human army of 200 million men. He links the sixth trumpet judgment with the sixth bowl judgment of Revelation 16. Revelation 16 verse 12 says, Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. They are being gathered along with the kings of the earth and the whole world to the battle of that great day of God Almighty, which takes place at Armageddon. And he sees that this movement of this mighty army of 200 million from the east as a precursor of the sixth bowl in preparation for Armageddon. If such an army is to be raised up, it would be natural to conclude that it would come from China and from India. Because these are the two great population centers of the world that account for over 2.8 billion people today, out of the 7.98 billion people that live on the earth. So almost like one in four, a lot less than that, are from that part of the world. China today has over 314 million men between the ages of 16 and 49. who are fit for military service, along with 298 million women who also fit into that category. So they could easily have an army of 200 million. He also notes that the description of the horses with the fire, smoke, and brimstone coming out of their mouth, and with their tails like serpents that do harm, it fits the description of modern day implements of war. tanks, artillery, rocket launchers, helicopter gunships, and so on. And perhaps, as he sees it, John struggled with trying to describe what he saw. And since he'd never seen modern means of warfare, so he describes it in language he understood as horses with fire brimstone coming out of their mouths. Now, as I've studied this passage, that's what I had been taught years ago, and as I've studied this passage and I have kind of read widely on it, I come to believe, though, that this massive army is not human, but rather a massive army of demonic invaders who will assault the earth during the tribulation rather than a human army of 200 million. The fifth trumpet, the sixth trumpet, and the seventh trumpet, they're all lumped together. as under three woes, three woes. With the blowing of the fifth trumpet, Revelation 9 verse 12 reveals that one woe is passed. Behold, still two more woes are coming after these things. And so the two more woes that are coming are the sixth and the seventh trumpet judgments. The fifth and sixth trumpet judgments appear to be connected together. The fifth featured a demonic invasion from the abyss that tormented mankind. With the sixth, a great army of demons are allowed to go a step further. And that is they are allowed to kill. They're allowed to kill. Fallen angels lead the armada just like they do with the fifth trumpet judgment. And since the leaders are four demons, it makes sense that the troops that they're leading are also demons. Revelation 16 12 makes no mention of the size of the armies that are led by the kings of the east and furthermore the armies arrive on the scene during the sixth bold judgment which takes place during the seventh trumpet not the sixth trumpet. The weapons that are used fire smoke and brimstone are always supernatural weapons in the Bible and they're associated with hell in the book of Revelation. Revelation 14 verse 10 states that the worshipers of the Antichrist that he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God which is poured out full strength into the cup of his indignation he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the lamb and the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever and they have no rest day or night who worship the beast in his image and whoever receives the mark of his name. Plus, just on a very human level, an army of 200 million. It could not be conscripted, supported, and moved to the Middle East without totally disrupting the world's economies and capabilities. God has made men with certain limitations. The actual raising and transporting of an army of 200 million would completely transcend human capabilities. World War II was the largest war that the world has ever seen. World War II was the largest war we've ever experienced and all the Allied and Axis forces numbered between 50 and 70 million. And so it'd be a huge army. We've seen how the Russians have struggled with moving their army into Ukraine and remove a 200 million person army across. Now I believe that's why I'm leaning more towards demons rather than a human army. You know, during the last half of the tribulation when the sixth angel sounds the trumpet, unleashes the four demons incarcerated at the Euphrates, demons are going to overrun the earth. They're going to afflict men with great pain, ultimately slaying one third of the world's population. By the three plagues, the fire, the smoke, and the brimstone, the afflictions of the fifth trumpet are going to escalate during the sixth trumpet when the demon armada will be granted the ability to kill people. This is in addition, when you think about it, this is in addition to the human slaughter experienced during the fourth sealed judgment when to the fourth horsemen of the apocalypse power was given to them over a fourth of the earth to kill with the sword, with hunger, with death, disease, and by the beast of the earth. So with these two judgments alone, and you think of all the other people that are going to die because of the earthquakes, because of all the poisoning of the water supply, all these things, you know, when you think about it, just the fourth seal and the sixth trombe, but over one half of the world's population is going to perish. Death comes back with a vengeance. Death returns with a vengeance for the great masses of population. Man's death wish is going to be granted and billions of people will die. Death returns with a vengeance. But may I say to you this morning, with the sounding of the sixth trumpet and before the sounding of the seventh, death is not only going to return for billions of people here on earth, for the masses, but it's also going to be for the two. That is, the two witnesses who have been supernaturally protected by God until their ministry is finished. Turn over in your Bibles to Revelation chapter 11. Revelation 11. And follow along as I begin reading at verse one. Revelation 11, verse one. It says, then I was given a reed like a measuring rod. And the angel stood, saying, rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worshiped here. But leave out the court, which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for 42 months. And I will give power to my two witnesses. And they will prophesy 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth. If anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. If anyone wants to harm them he must be killed in this manner. They have power to shut heaven so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy and they have power over waters to turn them to blood and to strike the earth with all plagues as often as they desire. Now we looked at these two witnesses before when we talked about the spiritual revival that's going to take place during this time and how God's going to have witnesses. He's going to have people that are going to be sharing the gospel. But just by way of review, these two witnesses are the two olive trees that are in the two lampstands and stand before the God of the earth. It's a reference to Zechariah chapter 4 of the two spirit-filled leaders that were in charge of rebuilding the Temple and re-establishing spiritual light in Israel and the world. And as such, these two witnesses are going to be spirit-filled, a mighty force for God. Their ministry will begin prior to the middle of the Tribulation and it's going to extend for three and a half years, 42 months, or 1260 days. And during this time, they're going to be preaching the gospel, warning men and women of the judgment that's coming and urging them to repent of their sins and to call upon the name of the Lord in order to be saved. And many will come to Christ. I believe that through their ministry, the 144,000 Jewish men that are going to become Jewish evangelists are going to hear the gospel and trust in Jesus. Plus they're going to be many, many more that are going to be martyred for their faith. Revelation chapter 7. But they will also have supernatural power to perform miracles. They will have the power to shut up heaven so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy and they have power over water to turn them to blood and to strike the earth with all plagues as often as they desire. And so during this three and a half years that they're going to be ministering and prophesying, it's not going to rain. Drought. Worldwide drought. Crop failure. This is in addition to the first trumpet judgment, which destroys one third of the earth's vegetation, and the third trumpet judgment, which pollutes one third of the world's freshwater supply. So there's not going to be rain for three and a half years. And they're going to have the ability to turn water into blood and to strike the earth with plagues, that along with the second trumpet judgment, where one third of the sea will be turned to blood. And so some believe. Some believe, and the people that I've referenced, that these two witnesses are going to be like Elijah, who went before the king of Israel, and like Moses, who went into Pharaoh and announced ahead of time, this is what's going to happen. You know, this judgment's coming. These plagues are coming. You had better repent. Perhaps they will go even before the Antichrist to tell him that this is what's going to happen. And I'm sure that, I think that personally, I believe it's, I believe it, not the two will not be just like Elijah and Moses, but rather I believe there's going to be a resurrected Elijah, resurrected Moses raised up by God for such a time as this. They're going to be announcing judgments coming. These judgments are coming. And so, because of their preaching of the gospel, their miracles that they have performed, their announcement of impending judgment, they're gonna be blamed. They're gonna be blamed by the Antichrist and by the world for all the calamities that they're facing. Everything that's happening, it's your fault, their fault. And they're certainly gonna be hated. Men are gonna try to harm them, try to kill them, but they are invincible. They are invincible. No one can touch them, for if anyone wants to harm them, it says, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner. They are invincible. That is, until their work that God had given them to do, their ministry is done. For look what happens beginning at verse seven. Revelation 11 verse 7. It says when they finished their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them, and their dead bodies will lie in the streets of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom in Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. Then those from the people, tribes, kings, and nations will see their dead bodies three and a half days, and not allow their bodies to be put into the grave. And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another. Because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth." just as the hour, the day, the month, the year was determined by God for the release of these four demons, even so the day, month, hour, and year of the death of these two witnesses was also determined by God. When they had finished their testimony, when they had finished the work that God had given them to do, God lifted the band of death on them. The Antichrist who is the beast that descends out of the bottomless pit. He makes war with them. He overcomes them. And to the great joy and relief of the sinful world, the earth dwellers, he kills them. And after their death, instead of bearing their corpse, they will be left to rot on the streets of the city where they testified and where they were killed. In the ancient world, exposing an enemy's dead body was the ultimate way of dishonoring and desecrating them. If you remember when King Saul and his sons died in the battle against the Philistines, it says in 1 Samuel 31, it says that the Philistines put his armor in the temple of Astaroth, and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan. Now when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, all the valiant men rose, traveled all night, took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and they came to Jabeth and burned them there. Then they took their bones and buried them under the tamarish tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days. See the lie in the street to be fastened to the wall for everybody to see is the epitome of public humiliation. Now this happened in the great city of Jerusalem. It's called here Sodom and Egypt because of its wickedness. The city is where the Antichrist has set up his throne in the temple declaring himself to be God and demanding that men worship him. The once holy city of Jerusalem had become no better than cities and places known for their hatred of the true God. And to be sure that we understand that Jerusalem and not Babylon, the center for the anti-Christ economic and religious powers, John adds that it was the place where also our Lord was crucified. You know, I'm reminded of Jesus' lament over the city. He says, oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her. How often I wanted to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but they're not willing. A prophet has to die in Jerusalem. Jesus said that. He's got to die there. And here again, the inhabitants of Jerusalem miss an opportunity to repent of their sins, to trust in Jesus as their Messiah, for they hated the testimony of these two witnesses and were delighted when they were killed. Now the whole world watched for three and a half days as their bodies laid rotting in the streets of Jerusalem. I'm sure at that time CNN, Fox News, and other news outlets will have 24-7 coverage of the events, showing over and over again how these two troublemakers who had tormented those who dwelt on the earth for three and a half years, how they died. Their death will set off a worldwide celebration. The unrepentant sin-hardened masses are going to gloat with their leaders, the Antichrist. They're going to glorify him for getting rid of these two irritating preachers of the gospel and those responsible for all the suffering and hardship that the world had experienced. People are going to party in the streets. It will be like the anti-Christmas. For it says here people are even going to give gifts to one another. So it's like at Christmastime. May I say to you this is the only mention. This is the only mention of rejoicing in the book of Revelation. The only mention of rejoicing. Sinners are going to be happy. They're going to be happy because those who declared to them God's judgment tormented them with miraculous powers and messages condemning their sin, proclaiming God's impending judgment. They will be happy because these two witnesses are gone. But the partying and the gift giving is going to come to a sudden abrupt end. For notice what happens beginning in verse 11. Revelation 11 verse 11. Now after the three and a half days the breath of life from God entered them and they stood on their feet and great fear fell on those who saw them and they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them come up here and they ascended to heaven in a cloud and their enemies saw them. In the same hour, there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. In the earthquake, 7,000 people were killed, and the rest were afraid. It gave glory to the God of heaven. The second woe is past. That is, the sixth trumpet judgment now is past. And behold, the third woe, the seventh trumpet, is coming quickly. Now while the entire world was watching on CNN or satellite news that the bodies of the two witnesses were rotting in the streets of Jerusalem, it says here that the breaths of life from God entered them and they stood to their feet. Amazingly, there are rays from the dead for everyone to see, but not just rays from the dead, for the people in Jerusalem around the world heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, come up here. And then as they watched to the world's astonishment, they ascended to heaven in a cloud, and the enemy saw them. Now I'm sure that this two-man rapture will be played over and over and over again on the evening news and throughout the day. It kind of reminds me of Elijah being taken up to heaven in a whirlwind. They're going to be taken up to heaven. But that's not all, for after the ascension into heaven, God's going to remind them He's going to remind them, those that are left behind, that he's not finished judging the world. For in the same hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. Now perhaps the world thought that with these two witnesses out of the way, these two troublemakers, those that had tormented them and caused all of these problems they're facing, they're gone, no longer here on earth, that all their problems are solved and that life is going to get back to normal again. But I think God says an earthquake, and it says that it killed 7,000 people in Jerusalem. The ancient word for people in the Greek text literally means names of men, names of men, which would indicate that these 7,000 who were killed were prominent people. They were prominent people in Jerusalem, perhaps even leaders or administrators in the anti-Christ government. They're killed. Now the rest were afraid, and they gave glory to the God of heaven. The rest must refer to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Jews who will come to faith in Christ as their Messiah as a result of witnessing the resurrection ascension of these two witnesses and subsequent earthquake. They will give glory to God. Giving glory to God is a sign of genuine repentance in the book of Revelation. Those around the throne of God in Revelation 4 verse 9 give glory and honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and lives forever and ever. In contrast, those scorched by high heat from the fourth bowl judgment blaspheme the name of God who has power over these flags and did not repent and did not give him glory. So giving glory to God is a sign of repentance, a sign of faith. And so these unbelievers refuse to give glory to God. Genuine believers do. And so I believe as a result of the events that will take place in Jerusalem, some Jews perhaps who were on the holdout, they're on the fence, they're gonna finally realize that Jesus Christ is who he claimed to be and as the Messiah and will accept him as Savior and Lord. But what about the others who have experienced this sixth trumpet judgment, the second woe? What will be their response? Revelation 9 beginning of verse 20 records their response to everything they've experienced in the plagues. Verse 20 says this, but the rest of mankind who were not killed by the plagues did not repent of the works of their hands that they should not worship demons and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood which can neither see nor hear nor walk. and they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their deaths. After all they experienced, they refused to repent. Even after everything they've seen and experienced, they refuse to acknowledge their sin and refuse to acknowledge there's only one true God in heaven who is to be worshipped and praised, refuse to give up their sinful lifestyle and come to faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. They have hardened unbelief. Hardened unbelief. God indeed is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. And God never forces himself upon people. The invitation is open to all, to the whosoever will. But tragically, they will choose to worship the dragon, the beast, or the Antichrist, rather than worship the Lamb. And when God's work and words are persistently rejected, only judgment comes. Sobering to think that one day the Lord comes with 10,000 of His saints to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him. In light of the coming judgment, it's our responsibility all of us who know Jesus Christ the Savior to faithfully proclaim the gospel to unbelievers and thereby with fear pulling them out of the fire hating even the garments defiled by the flesh. Now what is here for us today? I struggle with this. I've talked a lot this morning the past few weeks about the impending judgment. I'm not finished as we've got to look one last round of bold judgments that come pouring out when the seventh trumpet is blown. But I want to again remind us of the patience and long-suffering of our God. Our God is really long-suffering. You know, if it'd be up to me, if I was Him, I would have a long time ago, you know, judged everybody. But God has been very, very patient with us. You know, I think the world today is ripe for judgment. Sexual sin, violence, murders are rampant in this country and around the world. Men worship themselves the creature rather than the creator. They have created all kinds of false gods and false religions. God has promised to judge the world. But I'm reminded that the Lord is not slack concerning his promises. As some count slackness, but as long-suffering towards us. Not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. See, God desires for men everywhere to repent of their sins and to put their trust in Christ. That's where his heart's at. He takes no delight in the death of the wicked, no delight at all. But there is rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents. And so I say this morning, if you're listening to my voice either here on Zoom or through the podcast, if you've never trusted in Christ for your salvation, he's waiting for you. He's not going to force himself upon you, but he lovingly and genuinely offers to you salvation, the forgiveness of your sins, if you but acknowledge your need of the Savior and trust him to save you. So will you today put your trust in him. I'm also reminded again of what I said a few weeks ago, and that is, you and I are invincible. I believe we are invincible until the hour, the day, the month, and the year on God's calendar is up. Whenever that calendar is up, when our life work is finished, then God's going to take us home. And so as I said at the beginning of this message, I think we need to adopt the mindset of the Apostle Paul, who chose to live Christ in this world. until the Lord took him home. He chose to remain and continue in his ministry for Christ, investing his life in fruitful service, in people, knowing that people are the only thing we can take with us to heaven, just people. We can't take our money, we can't take our possessions, our homes, our cars, all of that's going to be left behind. But to lay up treasures for himself in heaven, his focus was on investing his life in people. For other people are the things he can take with him to heaven. So I hope it's our desire in life that Christ will be magnified in our bodies, whether it be by life or by death. Or we can say with the Apostle Paul, for me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. And so is it our aim that whatever time we have remaining, that we're going to use that time for fruitful labor for him. So that the end of life, when we come to the end of life, we can say with the Apostle Paul, I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I've kept the faith. You know, it's the whole thing. And one of the things, themes that run through the whole book of the book of Revelation, this theme of the perseverance of saints, that we keep on, we keep on trusting, we keep on believing, we keep on working for the Lord until the Lord takes us home. One day death may be our friend. One day the rapture could be our friend, we'd be ushered into the presence of the Lord. But until then, may we be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. For we know that our labor is not in vain.