Serious students of the Holy Bible will notice that what is written is not always in chronological order.  For this reason we must study all available information concerning a particular subject to make sure that we have our information grounded in the proper subject and time context.  I believe God did this to separate church sheep from church goats.  Sheep demand to know His Truth and are willing to change if proven to be wrong.  Goats want to hear only the information that confirms “what I’ve always been told.”  To change is not a consideration regardless of all Biblical proof provided.  To change is to admit that one is wrong and has been wrong all along.  This is a hard pill to swallow for goats, which explains why so many (99%) remain goats until death.  Pride, we are told, comes before destructi0n and a haughty spirit before the fall.  Refusal to admit being wrong is pure pride, which is in reality idolatry–exalting oneself above the Lord.  With this foundation in  mind, let us quickly review the previous posting relative to the first 2 1/2 years of the terror that is soon to come on the earth known as the Great Tribulation.  This information is found, generally speaking, in Matthew 24:1-28 where the following is prophesied to take place during that time span: the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem, the rise of false religion and false prophets, wars, betrayal, hatred, pandemics, natural disasters, the spread of God’s Gospel throughout the world, the end time destruction of the end-time Temple and Jerusalem after foreign armies have surrounding the city and a false god has been installed in the Temple, the fleeing of people from the city, the rise of false Christs accompanied by rumors that He has already arrived.  This time period is symbolized by the opening of four seals commonly referred to as the “four horsemen of the apocalypse.”  The “four horsemen” story is detailed in Revelation 6:1-8 which one should read.

In Revelation 6:9 we learn of the opening of the 5th seal which pays honor to the many precious saints who had been martyred over the centuries because of “the Word of God and the testimony which they held.”  Here we find these souls crying out to God, asking him to avenge their martyrdoms on those who had killed them.  People have died for their belief in and obedience to God since ancient times.  As I stated in a previous posting, the Catholic Church murdered some 50,000,000 people during the Spanish Inquisition.  Many, probably most of them were God’s people.  In the Revelation 9 sequence they are given White robes and are told to rest and wait for others who would be killed because of their stand for the Lord.  All of these things are prophesied to take place during the Great Tribulation.

This takes us back to Matthew 24:29 and the beginning the short time period between the end of the Great Tribulation and the beginning of the Day of the Lord.  To gain a clear view of what will take place during this period let us turn to Revelation 6 and the opening of the sixth seal.

Beginning with verse 12 we are greeted by a great earthquake followed by the sun turning black, the moon turning red, the stars of heaven falling to earth, the rolling up of heaven like a scroll and every mountain and island on earth being moved.  Beginning with verse 15 we find the world’s kings, great men, rich men, mighty men, military officers, bondmen and freemen looking for caves and rock formations to hide them from the Lamb that sits on the throne whose wrath is about to be poured out upon them.  Notice that these people want to hide”… FROM THE FACE OF THE ONE WHO IS SITTING ON THE THRONE–THE LAMB OF GOD” (vs 16).  This means that THEY CAN SEE THE FACE OF JESUS CHRIST.  They also know that the worst is yet to come and cry out, saying: “… FOR THE GREAT DAY OF HIS (CHRIST’S) WRATH HAS COME AND WHO CAN SURVIVE IT?” (vs 17).  These people know that what they have endured during the previous 2 1/2 years will seem like child’s play compared to what is about to happen to them.  Chapter 8 begins with the opening of the 7th seal, which introduces us to the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord (Joel 2:31) which is the final year of wrath being poured out upon the earth’s sinners, including those supposedly “saved by grace.”  Know this: THIS OUTPOURING OF WRATH ON SINNERS COMES DIRECTLY FROM JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF.  Why?  Sin–the rebellion of mankind against Him.  And know this: billions of them will have spent most of their lives in “the church.”

The opening of the 7th seal is followed by a period of silence.  In 8:2 we are introduced to seven angels which stand before God, each of whom is holding a trumpet.  Another angel arrives bearing a censer filled with fire from God’s alter.  He casts the fire upon the earth, causing voices, thunders, lightnings and an earthquake to come up from her (vs. 3-5).  Following this the seven angels with the seven trumpets (vs 2) prepare to blow them.  Each trumpet blast will be followed by the outpouring of the Lord’s wrath on all who live on earth.  L.J.