7-30-2023 Sunday Sermon Message

Meditations of the Week: Psalm 91:1-16

Text: Revelation 6:1-17

Word title: What Happens on Earth During the Great Tribulation Following the Rapture

         The Holy Spirit prophesied through the apostle Paul about the times and seasons of the coming day of Christ, when Jesus Christ would appear in the air:

¶ Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; (2 Thessalonians 2:3 KJV)

        The Holy Spirit said He would take John to the future day of Christ and show him what would happen then and thereafter:

¶ After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. (Revelation 4:1 KJV)

        The apostle John witnessed the appearance of the Antichrist when Jesus Christ the Lamb opened one of the seven seals:

And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. (Revelation 6:2 KJV)

       After the appearance of the Antichrist, the apostle John witnessed what will follow as Christ continues to open the second through the fourth seals, as peace is removed from the earth by war, then severe famine on a global scale, followed by death and hell killing many.

¶ And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth. (Revelation 6:3-8 KJV)

          Then, when the Lamb opened the fifth seal, he saw the souls of the slain: ¶ 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: 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? 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 scene foreshadows what will happen in the last three and a half years of the Great Tribulation. At this time, the Antichrist, the beast rising out of the sea, and the false prophet coming up out of the earth kill all the saints because of the Word of God and the testimony they have, and the apostle John testified of what would happen during that time:

¶ And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. (Revelation 13:1 KJV) And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? (Revelation 13:4 KJV) And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. (Revelation 13:5 KJV) ¶ And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. (Revelation 13:11-15 KJV)

       The apostle John also testified how the ten crowned kings in the coming Great Tribulation would all surrender their authority and power to the beast, the Antichrist:

And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. (Revelation 17:12-13 KJV)

         Furthermore, the false prophet will starve everyone to death by forbidding them to buy or sell unless they receive a mark in their right hand or forehead:

And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six. (Revelation 13:16-18 KJV)

          Prophetic words spoken through Daniel that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had made a golden image and commanded that anyone who would not bow down to it be thrown into the furnace and put to death, was a foreshadowing of what the Antichrist would do in the future: Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellers, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. (Daniel 3:2 KJV) Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up: And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. (Daniel 3:4-6 KJV)

     Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar commanded that the golden image which he had set up should be sixty cubits high and six cubits wide, and that anyone who would not bow down while six musical instruments were blown should be put to death. This foreshadows the mark 666 of the Antichrist, who will not let anyone buy or sell.

       The Prophet Daniel prophesied of what would happen when the Antichrist would appear: Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. (Daniel 7:23-25 KJV) And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. (Daniel 9:27 KJV)

      God’s judgment will finally be poured out on the whole world when the sixth seal is opened after the Antichrist’s ruthless actions at the opening of the fifth seal: 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; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, w