Our gracious Heavenly Father, as we have the privilege of assembling together in accordance with your word, we ask that you would take the things of the mind of Christ and open our hearts to them. Father, that we might grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And Father, that our lives might be fitting examples of this so great salvation that has been extended to us in Jesus Christ alone. So, Father, make these things real to us as we look at them, we ask in Jesus' name. Amen. We have been looking at a greater understanding of who Jesus Christ is. And we see a phrase in scripture that refers to him as the one who delivers us from the wrath to come. We know that there are at least two types of wrath mentioned in scripture. There's the wrath of Romans chapter one, which is the direct result of not doing things and being obedient to things according to the truth. Romans 1 18, so we fix this in our minds, says this for the wrath of God is revealed That's present tense. When you have the present tense in any language, but here especially in the Greek, it means is always or keeps on being revealed. It's what they call a linear action that keeps on going on. Tomorrow the wrath of God will be revealed against all ungodliness. The next day it will be revealed. It was yesterday and the day before. It's always happening. So this is not the wrath of the tribulation. This is an everyday wrath that, I'll be very honest with you, I've said this many times, that bothered me for many years. I've always had this question, where is that? How is this wrath being revealed? I'll be honest with you, I used to say, I don't see it. I don't see it. I see people sinning and I don't see God's wrath being revealed against that. They get up the next day and they go to work and they get a paycheck and their kids do well on the basketball court, you know, and I just don't see it. And come to find out that this passage so wonderfully reveals this. Let me see if I can summarize this. The very best thing any person can do is to be in perfect conformity with God's will. to walk in the light. To not do that has terrible suffering consequences that fall on the person in this life. Whether you're a believer or not, whether you confess that sin or not, you will live with those consequences. You know what I'm talking about. If you come and you lie to me and other people, then you're going to be known as a liar. And that's going to affect how we listen to you, whether we take advice from you, whether we even want to talk to you. And that's consequences. The work of Christ on the cross does not remove consequences. It removes condemnation. Romans 8, there's therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. But you can't read it this way, there's therefore now no consequences. Because Colossians says that those consequences will be poured out automatically, I say, on every sinner, believer or not, regardless of how they walk. So, we have this wrath of God that's revealed. But then we have the second kind of wrath, which is the wrath Jesus Christ delivers us from the wrath to come. And scripture from the Old Testament all the way through to the New Testament talks about the day of the Lord, which is a period of time where God is finally going to say concerning this earth, enough is enough. And he then is going to unleash on this earth his own designed aspects of wrath, which no one, it's going to be apparent to everybody. Okay? Now, as we were looking at, remember in the book of Revelation, God the Father, we have God the Father in the throne room in chapter 5, and he has this seven-sealed scroll. And really, inside that seven-sealed scroll are all of these aspects of God's wrath that are going to be poured out. And he's holding them. And he is looking for someone who is worthy to take that scroll from him and break the seals. And with the breaking of the seals, those periods or aspects of God's wrath begin to fall on the earth. And there's this period of silence and a period of, you know, John starts to cry as he's watching this. He tells us that he starts to weep because nobody comes up to take the, there isn't anybody it looks like. And then they say, don't worry. And Jesus Christ comes and takes the seven sealed scroll. And the rest, the major part of the book of Revelation is the breaking of those seals and what actually happens on earth when those seals are broken. So we come to Revelation 6, and we have this amazing thing revealed to us with the breaking of the sixth seal. So here we are in Revelation 6, verse 12, and it says this, And I looked, when he, he Jesus Christ, he broke the sixth seal, and it says this, and there was a great earthquake. And the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. And the sky, excuse me, the sky was split apart like a scroll when it's rolled up as a result of this earthquake. Look at this. Every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth. Now, here's the thing is so amazing. And the kings of the earth and the great men And the commanders, and the rich, and the strong, and every slave and free man, so everybody that's not saved, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. Is that where you think you would go after a terrible earthquake? You know, we all know about aftershocks and so forth. You go into the caves. Not unless you want to die. Notice what it says. And they said to the mountains and to the rocks, fall on us and hide us from the presence of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. To me, this is an awesome verse, because if you look at where we are now, we live in a day where if there were a great earthquake, People would not be saying, that's the wrath of him who sits on the throne and of the Lamb, Jesus Christ. They would not say that. They might say, well, that's nature doing that because we're not treating the planet right. They might say something like that. See, and they might say, who knows what they would say, but they would not attribute it to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. But here we have in the Word of God, which lives and abides forever, this clear teaching that there's coming a day when all the people of the earth who are opposed to this God acknowledge this is God doing this. And this is Jesus Christ. And you can talk to people today, and you'll have some say, I don't even believe in God. I'm an atheist, and I believe we're all here by chance. It's all by evolution. OK, that's fairly common. OK, you have people say, well, I'm a Hindu, and I believe there's many, many gods. And you can have people say, oh, I'm a Muslim, and I believe in Allah, and you have to submit to Allah. And all kinds of things will be said today. But there's a day coming. You understand this? There's a day coming. when the common, ordinary people on earth, from the top all the way down, are going to say, that's Jesus Christ. Isn't that amazing? And that made me just itch, so to speak, to know, what does God use to bring about that change? Because we've got ignorance, or willful ignorance of this today, What does God use to bring this about where everybody knows? It's got to be something stupendous, doesn't it? That all of a sudden, everybody says, oh yeah, that's Jesus Christ. There's another hint. If you go over to 2 Peter 3, that there's some big changes in men's thinking coming. And it says this, in 2 Peter 3, verse 3, notice first of all, that in the last days, mockers will come with their mocking. Here's the key to understand about mockers, following after their own lust. The issue is they want to live in their sin, and that's why they're mocking. Following after their own lust, and here's what they say, and saying, now notice, here's the word of God telling us what statement's going to be made during the end times, and saying, where's the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, died, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation. And I've mentioned this many times before, the word that most excites me and concerns me in this verse is that they're saying, these are unbelievers saying, everything's continuing the way it has since the beginning of, and they use a word that is not an evolutionist word. It's from the beginning of creation. And this is the New Testament Greek word, ktisis. I love the way the Greeks and some other languages put consonants together with no vowels. You know, that word starts off K-T. In English, we say, what do you do with K-T? You know, ktisis. It is the word for the creative act of God in bringing about the creation of the world, the planet, and stars. And when you find the word creation in the New Testament, you're going to find it's this word. So they're saying, yeah, we know there's a creation. And they're saying, but where is this coming? How come he hasn't come back? But they're admitting that this planet is here. And all I'm saying is, if you go around today, you'll find a lot of people that won't admit that. And so the question is, What brings this great change about? So let's go back to Ezekiel chapter 38 where I believe God says with astounding clarity and repetition how he is going to make himself known to all nations on this earth and how he's going to do it. So here we are in Ezekiel 38. Remembering that the chapters just before are about the dry bones of Israel. Remember that? Ezekiel, there's that song, the spiritual Ezekiel cried those dry bones. Now hear the word of the Lord. The Lord took Ezekiel out among all these Jewish bones. And he asked him, he said, Can these bones live? And Ezekiel says, you know, Lord. And then the Lord showed him a vision of all the bones that were stretched out, laid out all over the ground, all coming together in the perfect order. You know, the right bones to the right skeleton all coming and then sinews and then muscle and then flesh. But no life given to him at that point. It's a picture of God bringing Israel back to their land, OK? and then ultimately bringing them to himself. But having established that, that Israel is going to be returned to their land, that happened in our lifetime, by the way, it's going to come about even with greater, greater emphasis in the future. But Israel wasn't a nation for almost 2000 years, and now they are. And God said he would do that, said again and again, I'm going to bring them back to their own land that I gave them. OK, now. Chapter 38, verse 1, And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Son of man, set your face toward Gog of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshach, and Tubal, and prophesy against him." This is the group of people who from early times went north everything's in reference to Israel, and went to what's called the uttermost parts of the north. And this one is probably the best identified, this one in Persia, the best identified of these as being Russia and the countries north of Israel. And so they are addressed here as the leader in this event. Son of man, set your face toward God. of the land of Magog, God being the ruler, of the land of Magog, the Prince of Rosh, and so forth, and say, Thus says the Lord God, Behold, I am against you, O Gog, Prince of Rosh, Meshach, and Tubal. And notice what God says, And I will turn you about, and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, Horses and horsemen, all of them splendidly attired, a great company with bucklers, shield, all of them wielding swords. Now get this. We now go to the countries that are going to be aligned with Russia. First one listed is what? Persia. Modern day Persia is Iran. What do we have going on right now in our own day, an alliance between Russia and Persia, the selling of the nuclear weapons, the bringing of Russians in there to help them set up all of the programs that they're doing, and both of those countries possessing historically, and also in the modern world, a hatred toward Israel. Persia, Ethiopia. There's some question here about Ethiopia, because if we identify it with the African nation, as you go through here and you study carefully, it says that these companies or these peoples are coming out of the uttermost parts of the north. And if you look at Ethiopia, Ethiopia has to come would almost have to come, it would have to come all the way over and then go up north to come down. And is that really what we're dealing with? And so many think, it's interesting as I was studying this, that this Ethiopia is another nation adjacent to, was one of the statements, adjacent to Iran, which is kind of interesting because what's adjacent to them would be Iraq. But anyway, and put With them, that's another nation from this area, all of them with shield and helmet, in other words, militarily at a raid. Gomer, Gomer's commonly identified with Germany. With all his troops, Beth Togema is identified with modern day Turkey, okay, which also is Muslim and the question always in Turkey is when, if they are, are they going to go into that radical side of Islam. And many writers say, if that happens, then watch out, Israel. Okay. And so the Lord says this, many peoples with you. Now notice where he says, Gomer with all his troops, Beth Togermach, from the remote parts of the north, north of Israel, with all his troops, many peoples with you. This is more than just a nation or two. Be prepared and prepare yourself, you and all your companies that are assembled about you, and be a guard for them, directed to the Russian aspect. After many days, this isn't going to happen in the lifetime of Ezekiel, after many days, you will be summoned. In the latter years, make note of those words, in the latter years, You will come into the land that is restored from the sword, whose inhabitants have been gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel, talking about Jews and Israel, which had been a continual waste, but its people were brought out from the nations and they are living securely, all of them. And that may well relate to a covenant made with the Antichrist who promises them security. Because we couldn't say today that they're all living securely in Israel. And you will go up. You will come like a storm. Fast, furious. You will come like a storm. You will be like a cloud covering the land. You and all your troops and many peoples with you. This is the Lord God. It will come about on that day that thoughts will come into your mind. And you will devise an evil plan. You know, I absolutely believe that this, you know, there's no doubt God says here this is his sovereign plan, but I absolutely believe he has to do nothing for this to take place, because this is what they all want. You realize Ahmadinejad has said multiple times that he believes he's the president of Iran, the leader of Iran, the head, so to speak, at least the image of the head, let's say. And he has said multiple times that he believes the reason that he is the leader in Iran is to bring about the coming of Islam's Messiah. And Islamic doctrine says that it cannot happen until the The people of Persia, the people of Iran, attack into Israel. This is why he is doing everything he can to precipitate a war between himself and Israel. I don't think he cares how it happens. I'm sure he'd like to be the victor in it, but according to their doctrine, which this man absolutely believes, the 12th Imnon cannot come back until There's this war. And so you look at what he's doing, he's making nuclear weapons. And even if he isn't, he says he is, and I believe absolutely he is. OK, because he wants to be attacked and he wants to. I think he looks at it this way. There's no way he can lose because if he makes the weapons, ultimately Israel or somebody has to do something about it. OK. And if they don't do anything about it, then he's got the weapons and he can handle the battle the way he wants to. So it's a win-win situation in his mind. And you remember that when he stood before the United Nations, he said that that 12th Imnon, the spirit of the 12th Imnon came so upon him that no one in the crowd who was watching him was able to blink. That's what he said. Where was that on the news? This stuff is so important, and we think that we can send people over to talk to this guy. It's just insane. This man believes this to the very core of his being, that his whole purpose on earth is to bring about this battle. You know, I love the quotation he made. I love it because it shows how crazy he is. But when they were talking to him about his nuclear weapons, he says. Why are you so upset about this? He says it's almost the end anyway. You know, that's what he believes. You're not going to sit down with him and say, look, we'll be nice to you and you do this and stop. The whole purpose. As far as he is concerned, is to destroy Israel off the map. That's what he's living for, as are many others with him. OK, so here we go. It says it will come into. Come about on that day that thoughts will come into your mind and you will devise an evil plan and you will say, I will go up against the land of unwalled villages, which is so interesting to me because one of the things that Israel has done of late is what? Wall their villages. And the world's been upset that they've been doing that to kind of protect themselves from the terrorist attacks and so forth. But here it says unwalled villages. And to me, it relates to the fact that he's going to make a covenant with the Antichrist And that Antichrist is going to guarantee the security of Israel, supposedly. And so the walls will come down because they believe in that security. And then there will be unwalled villages. So it says, all of them living without walls and having no bars or gates. To capture spoil and to seize plunder, to turn your hand against the waste places which are now inhabited and against the people who are gathered from the nations. who have acquired cattle and goods who live at the center of the world. Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish with all its villages will say to you, in other words, as these armies come through, have you come to capture spoil? Have you assembled your company to seize plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to capture great spoil? Therefore, prophesy, son of man, and say to Thus says the Lord God, on that day when my people Israel are living securely, will you not know it? And you will come from your place out of the remote parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great assembly and a mighty army, and you will come up against my people Israel like a cloud to cover the land. Now get this, it will come about in the last days, mark that, if somebody were to say, well I think this happened in 70 A.D. Is that the last days? It will come about in the last days that I shall bring you against my land, now get this, in order that the nations may know me when I shall be sanctified or set apart through you, Russia, and all the people with you, before their eyes, O God. What did God just say He was going to do? Let's read it again. In order that the nations may know Me, when I shall be sanctified through you before their eyes, O God. Well, how's that going to happen? Verse 17, thus says the Lord God, Are you the one of whom I spoke in former days all the way back in the times of Ezekiel? Are you the one of whom I spoke in former days through my servants, the prophets of Israel who prophesied in those days for many years that I would bring you against them? And it will come about on that day when God comes against the land of Israel, declares the Lord God that my fury will mount up in my anger, and in my zeal..." Can you think of more powerful words to describe this? That's one thing if I'm angry, but it's something else when God's angry. It says, "...that my fury will mount up in my anger, grow, and in my zeal, and in my blazing wrath, I declare that on that day there will surely be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. I always wonder, is that the earthquake of Revelation 6 that we just read about? And the fish of the sea and the birds of the heavens, the beasts of the field, all the creeping things that creep on the earth, and all, now get this, all the men who are on the face of the earth will shake at my presence. The mountains will be thrown down. That's what it said in Revelation. The steep pathways will collapse and every wall will fall to the ground. That's not all. And I shall call for a sword against him. Against Gog, in other words, and the peoples with him. And I shall call for a sword against him on all my mountains, declares the Lord God. Every man's sword will be against his brother. And with pestilence and with blood I shall enter into judgment with him, and I shall rain on him and on his troops and on the many peoples who are with him a torrential rain with hailstones, fire, and brimstone." Similar things to what God did at Sodom and Gomorrah. Now, I've read people who are trying to figure this out, and they say, oh, that's nuclear war. Listen, if it's nuclear war, it does not make the declaration that God did this. I say it has to be totally apart from nuclear war. It has to be so that everyone on the face of the earth says, that is the hand of God. And it has to be the God of Israel. And out of Israel came Jesus Christ. And they put it all together and they know. God the Father and the Lamb of God. That's why they say what they say in Revelation 6. They know it's Him. But now, don't miss this. That doesn't save them. Do you understand this? This is not a matter of education. God is going to educate the entire earth on this day. We're going to bring them all to see that the true God who is the creator of all things, is God the Father, He did it through the Lord Jesus Christ. They're going to be able to say, Scripture's true. They're going to know that. But the rebellion of their heart continues. And they hate, just like they hated Him when He was in their midst, They continue to hate him. And the whole thing, I believe we're seeing in our own nation and across the world today, this transition, I've mentioned this often, from the statement, there is no God, to yes, there is. And I hate him. I reject him. I don't like him. I don't like his people. You look at our own country. Are Christians popular right now? Are they being sought after for wisdom and for scriptural advice and for the truth? No. And you know, is this thing, according to scripture, and I don't know the timetable, but is this thing continues to move? You know, it's been so many years that Christians basically, or the thinking, the Judeo-Christian thinking, held sway. And now we're looking and we're saying, that's not there. That's going away rapidly. A lot of us still hold it, but it's not working out the way it once did. And so he says in verse 23, And I shall magnify myself, sanctify myself, set myself apart and make myself known in the sight of many nations. And they will know that I am the Lord. No doubt about who this is. No doubt, none of these other names and applying them to God. This is Jehovah God. Notice, go right into chapter 39. And you, son of man, prophesy against God and say, thus says the Lord God, behold, I am against you, O God, Prince of Rosh, Meshach, and Tubal. And I shall turn you around, drive you on, take you up from the remotest parts of the north and bring you against the mountains of Israel. And I shall strike your bow from your left hand. and dash down your arrows from your right hand. You shall fall on the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the peoples who are with you, and I shall give you as food to every kind of predatory bird and the beast of the field. You will fall on the open field, for it is I who have spoken, declares the Lord God." Notice this though. And I shall send fire upon Magog, commonly identified with Moscow or Russia. And those who inhabited the coastlands, the coastlands are places where these Gentile nations reside, who sent their armies, who inhabit the coastlands in safety. I think that's so interesting. What does that mean? Well, it means that they sent their armies down there and they feel safe. Way up in those remote parts of the north, you know, send your army down to do the dirty work down there, but they're not going to they're not going to touch us. And what does the Lord say? And I shall send fire upon Magog and those who inhabit the coastlands and safety, and they will know. Got it. They will know that I am the Lord. And my holy name I shall make known in the midst of my people Israel. I shall not let my holy name be profaned anymore. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel. Behold, it is coming and it shall be done, declares the Lord God. This is the day or that is the day of which I have spoken. It's coming and it will be done. Now, how's the thing? Look at history. And tell me, has a huge army from the north ever invaded Israel, which is clearly, you just break it down to its most fundamental thing, has a huge army from the north, with many other nations with it, invaded down into Israel and been destroyed on the mountains of Israel? And you have to say it's never happened. It has to be future. Because there's nothing in history you can point to and say, this is happening. God said it's going to happen. There has to be a future. You know, people might say, well, it's the Roman armies coming in in 70 A.D. That's nonsense, because who won there? The Roman armies did. They wiped out Jerusalem, destroyed the temple, killed a million Jews. Can you say they fell? They didn't fall. This has never happened. As often as Israel has been invaded, from the time of Ezekiel, you've got to start then, that's when the prophecy was made, this has never occurred. And God said it's going to occur. And not only that, it's how I'm going to make myself known to the world, and it's how I'm going to make myself known to my people Israel. Let me take you through a few verses here. Verse 7. And my holy name, I'm in chapter 39, I shall make known in the midst of my people Israel, and I shall not let my holy name be profaned anymore. You think of all the times that Israel is under attack, blamed for all the wrong things on the earth, and God's kept quiet. And he says, that profanes, that cheapens, that dishonors my name, because those are my people and all these things are being said against them and done against them and he hasn't said anything. All right. And I shall not let my holy name be profaned anymore and the nations will know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel. Behold, it is coming and it shall be done. Go from that verse to verse 13. He talks about burying all this horde of peoples that's going to come. He says, even all the people of the land will bury them, and it will be to their renown on that day that I glorify myself, says the Lord God. Then come to verse 21, and I shall set my glory among the nations, And all the nations will see my judgment, which I have executed, and my hand which I have laid on them." You can open that door, I guess. "...and my hand which I have laid on them." And then, verse 22, "...and the house of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God from that day onward." See it? God's going to make it known. make all that known, not only to the nations, but according to, he's going to make it known also to Israel. And then go over to verse 27. When I bring them back from the peoples and gather them from the lands of their enemies, then I shall be sanctified through them in the sight of many nations. God says throughout these two chapters, his whole purpose is to make himself known on the earth clearly. And that's why when you get to the prophecies in the book of Revelation, these people say this is the wrath of him who sits on the throne and of the land, because they now know. Doesn't change. Their acceptance of Him, because we find in Revelation 19, the Antichrist and his armies poised to make war with Him who sits on the horse, Jesus Christ. But it's a matter of we deny God too. We know who God is and we hate Him. Let us cast their cords from us. Second Psalm. Father, make these things real to us, Father, and may we So be in love with our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, this magnificent one who will reign over the whole earth, who will come back and set things in order, Father. May we be excited about our relationship with Him, having trusted Him and Him alone for the salvation He died on the cross and rose again to give us. So make these things very real to us, we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.