Amen.
We do believe that the King is coming soon, and we are thankful. As we talked about this morning already, the King has given us blessed assurance.
You know, one of the marvelous things about the Lord is when we come and accept Him as our Savior, and our sins are forgiven, we are so grateful for His forgiveness. You know, it touches our hearts: the Lord forgives us.
But there is a part of that process that is so precious. When we turn to the Lord Jesus and ask Him to be our Savior, He then turns to the Father and says, “Father, they have accepted Me on the terms of My blood. I have shed My blood for them. Will You accept them?”
The Father looks at the Son. He sees the blood, and He says, “Yes.” We find acceptance with the Father because the Son has shed His blood for us.
And in accepting us, that great assurance comes over our hearts that we are His. That is a spiritual transaction. That is not merely doctrine. I mean, it is doctrine, but more than that, the doctrine is based on a spiritual transaction that takes place when we accept the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed assurance. Amen.
Lord, we are coming to Thee this morning. We are looking into Thy Word, this book of the Apocalypse, the unveiling of the Lord Jesus Christ, and Your purpose.
Lord, we just pray this morning that You will anoint our time—anoint that we might speak and that we might hear Thy Word, Lord, in the spirit and not just in our minds. Lord, we pray that Your Word can reach even into our hearts and alter our lives to be in conformance with what we see and read in Your Word.
Now touch this time, Lord. May Your heart for this time be fulfilled in each one of us. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Well, in brief review, I would say, as I began this book of the Apocalypse—the unveiling—that the emphasis of what was on my heart was: the time is at hand. That has not changed. That is on my heart all the time: the time is at hand.
And the Lord wants to show us something. To His bondservants, to those who love Him, He gives us this book that we might see something. And when we open the book, John introduces us, and what we see is the King of glory.
The King of glory, in all of His love, all of His majesty, and all of His righteousness. He is such a One that John lost his breath totally when he saw Him, and he fell on his face as dead.
The King of glory. Brothers and sisters, I think that we need to come to the Lord Jesus and say, “Lord, show us my King. May we see this One, the majesty of who He is, that we might appreciate You, Lord, for who You are.”
Then John sees this King of glory, and he sees the Lord Jesus Christ standing in the midst of the churches, reviewing the churches. He is looking for Himself, basically. He is looking for His bride, and He is looking at the one who is to be His future bride. He sees many flaws there. She is not ready, and He wants her to be ready.
Brothers and sisters, that is our part in this: to be ready for the return of the Lord. He gives her a charge:
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
In other words, not all will hear, unfortunately. But He says, “If you will hear, really, really, you need to hear what I am saying in this book.”
As John saw the condition of the churches, and it gets to Laodicea, it had declined quite a bit. We know from the history of the church that it has declined tremendously since those early days of glory.
But John was given a new perspective. A door was opened into heaven, and he was brought up. He was able to see the throne and realize that things may look desperate, but God is in charge and in control, and He has a plan. The throne rules. The throne is in charge—of everything—and it is the Lord God who sits upon that throne.
He saw in the hand of the One on the throne a book sealed with seven seals—a scroll sealed with seven seals. It is basically the deed book to the earth, and the way in which God will recover everything back for His Son and offer it to His Son as an inheritance.
It will be a recovery of the nation of Israel. It will be a recovery of the church, and she will become a bride. It will be the inheritance of the nations. We see all of this in this book.
The call goes out: “Is there one worthy to open this book?” They searched among the living, and they searched among the dead. I have mentioned that this was a diligent search. This was not like a half-second search or a one-day search. It was a diligent search, and none was found worthy.
At that point, when the announcement was made that no one was worthy to open this book, John wept. Brothers and sisters, it broke John’s heart, because this would be the end of God’s great plan and great purpose for His Son if that book could not be opened. It held the key to the consummation of the ages and bringing God’s will fully upon this earth.
But finally, as we found out last week, an announcement was made: one has been found worthy. John’s heart leaped with rejoicing, because now God’s will could be accomplished and God’s will could be done.
He was told that it was the Lion of the tribe of Judah who was found worthy to open the book—the warrior King. But as he looked, he did not see a warrior King. He saw a Lamb newly slain. It was our Lord Jesus Christ as He ascended back to the throne. Brothers and sisters, it was a Lamb.
The Lamb was worthy. And why was He worthy? Because He was slain, and by His blood He has redeemed us. He was worthy because He was willing to go to the cross of Calvary. A perfect, sinless sacrifice on your and my behalf made Him worthy and qualified Him to open that book.
The Lamb, newly slain.
We think of a warrior king as one who is mighty, in charge, who just gives orders and overthrows everything. But no, it was as a Lamb, brothers and sisters. It is the Lamb nature.
It said that He humbled Himself and came in the form of a man, even becoming a bondservant, giving His life up unto death—even the death of a cross. That is the One who was worthy to open the book.
In other words, it is important for us to understand that it is the Lamb nature that overcomes. It is the Lamb nature that achieves God’s will. Brothers and sisters, God is working in your and my life to create that Lamb nature.
When He was looking through the churches, what He was hoping to see was the Lamb nature—the nature of the Lamb—in His church. But He did not see that to the extent that was needed.
It is a Lamb nature that overcomes. And it goes on to say that those who have this nature will become kings and priests to God.
And now we come in the book of Revelation, actually to Revelation 6, where He is about to open the seals. But before the seals are opened, a critical event occurs—a necessary event occurs.
Revelation 5:8:
And when he had taken the book, the four living creatures and the four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one a harp,
and golden bowls full of incense,
which are the prayers of the saints.
Golden bowls filled with incense are poured out. It emphasizes this and explains it to us. It is very clear; there is no guesswork here. He says, “These are the prayers of the saints.” These are poured out, and everything bursts into worship. Then the Lamb begins to open the seals.
What I want us to see this morning is how important prayer is—how important intercessory prayer is in God’s plan. We are charged to be a part of that plan and that intercessory prayer.
It is interesting that God has, in a sense, limited Himself. Because it seems, if you read the Scriptures, that when God chooses to do something, He waits. He waits until He can find a man who senses His burden, who senses His heart—a man, and of course it could be a woman, obviously—but He is looking for one who will be in agreement with Him and be willing to stand with Him.
And He waits. Until that occurs, He does not move. In other words, for what has been determined in heaven to happen on earth, God waits for intercessory prayer.
Now, He is God. He did not have to do it this way. He could do it just like He did when He created this earth and all the stars. He could just speak, and it would be done. But He has committed Himself to us. He has committed Himself to us and, in a sense, has limited His own power in the fact that He wants to wait.
Brothers and sisters, I think this should really make us open our eyes to see how important we are to the Lord, and how important prayer is in our relationship with the Lord. Prayer is basically communion with the Lord Himself, and how much He values it.
When the Lord has something on His heart, He considers it and it becomes His will to do it. But then He waits, and He works in the hearts of some to bring in intercessory prayer, to share His burden with Him.
Now, I am not talking about prayer where we are asking for things or wanting things from the Lord. I am talking about prayer where we are looking to the Lord: “Lord, what is on Your heart? What is it that is necessary to move Your will on this earth?”
“Lord, I want to stand with You for what You are doing, for the consummation of this age. It is important, Lord. What is really important is that You are coming again. I want to be a part of that and stand in intercessory prayer for that.”
Intercessory prayer, brothers and sisters, obviously is based on a close relationship with the Lord. Without a close relationship, He just will not share His heart with you. He wants to share His heart with us.
He will share His heart if you have a heart for the Lord—a heart that says, “Not my will, Lord, but Yours be done. Your will is what matters. Ultimately, Lord, all these other things are small things compared to what Your will is and what Your heart is for this earth.”
Intercessory prayer is not a method. It is a heart issue—an issue in which you are able to sense the burden of the Lord and, in a small way, carry the burden of the Lord.
I can remember, with my children when they were growing up, and now with my grandchildren, how they want to help you do things. I always enjoy that.
One day I was carrying a table, and my son said, “Well, Dad, let me help you. Let me help you.” Obviously, it would have been much easier for me to do it myself. But I said, “Okay, son.” So he grabbed hold of the leg.
Now, who was really carrying that table? It was me. But he had his part in it, and he was so excited because he had a part in that and he had helped his dad.
That is the way it is with the Lord in seeking and carrying the burden of the Lord. Brothers and sisters, He is really carrying that burden, but He wants us to share in that. We are His children.
It is not a method. It is a matter of heart. He is willing to share His heart with whoever is willing to share their heart with Him. It is a serious relationship, and it is a part of the life of those who are concerned for what the Lord wants on this earth, particularly concerning His soon return.
Before He moves, He is looking for such as this.
I was trying to think of an illustration of intercessory prayer, and I remembered the transaction God had with Abraham concerning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Could we look at Genesis 18:14, 17-19, and 23?
The Lord had come down with two angels to talk to Abraham. What was on the Lord’s heart? The primary issue on His heart was the promise that He had made to Abraham: the promised seed.
Abraham had already tried to fulfill that promise with Ishmael, which was not the promise. So the Lord had come. Both he and Sarah were so advanced in age that it was impossible for either one to have children.
In Genesis 18:14, the Lord told Abraham that Sarah would have a child:
Is anything too hard for the Lord?
At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.
Then in Genesis 18:17-19:
And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that which I do;
seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation,
and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?
For I have known him.
And Genesis 18:23:
And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou consume the righteous with the wicked?
The Lord had come to Abraham. You know, the Bible says that Abraham was a friend of God. That is quite an acknowledgment coming from the throne. He was in such close relationship that God considered Abraham to be His friend.
The main thing was the fulfillment of God’s purpose through Abraham—that the promised seed would come. God assured him of that and reassured Abraham of that, because they had given up. But the Lord had not. He said, “I am going to touch Sarah, and she will have a son,” and she did, within the year.
Then the Lord says, “There is something else on My heart. I wonder if I should share it with Abraham.” He tells Abraham, basically, that the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah had come before His ears and that He was going to exercise judgment upon that city.
Abraham was concerned because his nephew Lot was now living in Sodom and Gomorrah. He was concerned for Lot, of course. But Abraham knew God, and here he becomes an intercessor.
That is what the Lord is trying to bring out in Abraham: for him to be an intercessor for God’s will and God’s heart. God had declared, “I am going to judge it,” and He shared that.
Abraham turns to the Lord and says, “Lord, are You going to destroy the righteous with the wicked? It is better that You not judge at all if the righteous are destroyed along with the wicked. You are a righteous God. I believe that. I know You are a righteous God, and I stand on Your righteousness, Lord.”
“It is Your righteousness. You have a right to judge. You are God. But You are also a righteous God, and You will not destroy the righteous with the wicked, will You?”
Abraham says, “Lord, if You can find fifty righteous people in Sodom and Gomorrah, will You not destroy it?” The Lord said, “If I can find fifty righteous there, I will not destroy anything. I will not touch the city.”
Then Abraham said, “Well, Lord, just bear with me. How about forty-five?” The Lord said that He would spare it if He found forty-five. Abraham brought Him to forty, and then took a real leap of faith: “Lord, You have agreed to forty. I have been going in fives, but now I am going to leap. How about thirty?”
The Lord said, “I will spare it for thirty.” Abraham gets Him down to ten—ten people out of the whole cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. The Lord says, “If I find ten there, I will spare it.”
Lot and his immediate family—his two daughters, his wife, and him—were four. They only needed six more. But we know the story: they could not find ten.
The angels went into the city and could not find them. Eventually, God began to bring His judgment, and the angels grabbed Lot and said, “We have got to get out of here. Get your two daughters, your sons-in-law, your wife, and let us go.”
The future sons-in-law would not go. They laughed at them. They thought it was ridiculous. So Lot, his two daughters, and his wife left only because the angels pulled them out. He did not want to go. Knowing that God was going to judge, he just did not want to leave.
Is this our state of mind? Is this how we are so entangled with the world? Can you understand that when the Lord comes back, people may say, “No, I would rather stay here”? But that was what Lot did. That was his spiritual state.
It was unfortunate, but he was spared. God spared the righteous in judgment.
Here is intercessory prayer. The basis of intercessory prayer was God’s nature. Abraham went to God and said, “You are a righteous God. Will You destroy the righteous with the wicked?” No. God showed him who He was.
You see, this was intercessory prayer going on here for Sodom and Gomorrah and for the Lord’s righteousness.
Intercessory prayer—that is what is on my heart. We need to be intercessors. God is looking for an intercessor.
Before those seals were opened, God had the intercessory prayers poured out before the throne. That is what those twenty-four elders did: the intercessory prayers of the saints were poured out.
I have always found it quite interesting that when the Lord Jesus Christ was on this earth, and you remember when He cleansed the temple, He said, “My Father’s house shall be a house of prayer.”
He did not say, “My Father’s house shall be a house of power and might.” He said, “My Father’s house shall be a house of prayer.” That is the importance of prayer.
Brothers and sisters, as you read these Scriptures, most theologians agree that we are somewhere probably in the fifth seal. Some believe even the beginning of the sixth seal. Now, I do not know.
I think the Lord does not always make everything in the book of Revelation so specific that you can just figure it out. There is something I think the Lord wants to emphasize in this book: it is not the events. The emphasis is on being ready for His return.
It is not on knowing the exact occurrence of the event. Now, it gives us enough to know that we can be forewarned and see things coming. But, brothers and sisters, what is the next key event?
Strangely enough, you do not see what the next key event is until Revelation 12. The next key event is the hidden part of the Parousia of our Lord. The Parousia is the return of our Lord, and it is not one instant of time. It is a period of time.
It is basically in two phases. The first part is hidden—I always call it the thief in the night—and then the second part is open, where He comes like lightning and all can see.
The first part is hidden, and that begins with the rapture of the man-child. As far as I know, and as far as others who teach this Word know, there is nothing that necessarily needs to be done before this event can occur.
Some say a temple has to be rebuilt. But if you look at it, that is not really true. This event—the hidden part of the Parousia—can occur at any time.
The Lord begins His return, coming from the throne and coming to the cloud, where eventually He will judge His saints. But that event is kicked off, brothers and sisters, when all over the earth, all of a sudden, a few—and I say a few, I think—Christians will be raptured.
They will not be raptured to the cloud. They will be raptured to the throne—the throne of God. They will become the escort to bring the Lord back to the cloud.
The man-child: that is a key event that is about to occur. It will be hidden to most of the world. I do not know that it will be that noticed by the world. They may say, “Yesterday some people disappeared. We are not quite sure where they are, but we are diligently searching for them.”
I just think that, in the world’s view, it will not be that big an event. But I may be wrong. I may be wrong.
A remnant is to come. The Lord is looking for this event to occur, for the man-child to be brought forth out of the church. For this birth to take place, God is waiting for intercessory prayer. That is the point I want to make.
Intercessory prayer is needed for this event to occur—standing for the Lord, standing for His will: “Lord, have Your will.”
Now, who is the man-child? It is basically overcomers. And what did I say before? What is an overcomer? One who has the nature of the Lamb.
In Revelation 12, it adds the actions that they take: they overcome by the blood of the Lamb, the word of their testimony, and they love not their lives unto death. That is the nature of the Lamb.
This is the one to whom God will be looking. Brothers and sisters, we need to pray for ourselves. It should be our heart’s desire to be a part of the man-child. It should be something that we desire and not allow to slip through our hands.
Intercessory prayer is needed before the event occurs.
After the bowls are poured out, the Lamb begins to open the seals. Let us turn to Revelation 6:1-8.
And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals,
and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder, Come.
And I saw, and behold, a white horse,
and he that sat thereon had a bow;
and there was given unto him a crown:
and he came forth conquering, and to conquer.And when he opened the second seal,
I heard the second living creature saying, Come.
And another horse came forth, a red horse:
and to him that sat thereon it was given to take peace from the earth,
and that they should slay one another:
and there was given unto him a great sword.And when he opened the third seal,
I heard the third living creature saying, Come.
And I saw, and behold, a black horse;
and he that sat thereon had a balance in his hand.
And I heard as it were a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying,
A measure of wheat for a denarius,
and three measures of barley for a denarius;
and the oil and the wine hurt thou not.And when he opened the fourth seal,
I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, Come.
And I saw, and behold, a pale horse:
and he that sat upon him, his name was Death;
and Hades followed with him.
And there was given unto them authority over the fourth part of the earth,
to kill with sword, and with famine, and with death,
and by the wild beasts of the earth.
We will stop there for today. Four seals are opened.
With the first seal, there is a white horse. There is a bow there, but there is no arrow—speaking most likely of false prophets. Remember, in Matthew 24, the Lord said that in the last days there will be false Christs and false prophets.
The second seal is opened, and there is a red horse: war, the shedding of blood. The third seal is a black horse: famine, death by starvation, lack of food. The fourth seal is a pale-green horse: pestilence, diseases, like the Black Plague that took out a third of the world’s population many years ago.
The four horsemen of the Apocalypse are released: false prophets, war, famine, and pestilence.
Now the question has to arise, and it does: why does such a loving God allow for such things? Why does a loving God allow for these things?
Many blame God for all the evils in this world. But, brothers and sisters, the reason for these things is not God. The reason is the fall of man. Man disobeyed God. He came under the influence of Satan, and Satan now controls many of the thoughts of men.
The four horsemen are not something that God wants. The four horsemen are the consequences of man’s sin. They are the evils that have come upon mankind because of his disobedience to God, because of his daring to say that God does not exist.
The results and consequences are the four horsemen of the Apocalypse. It is the work of the enemy. You need to know that. The Word of God says that Satan is a liar, and that his whole purpose is to kill and destroy. That is what you see in the Apocalypse.
It says that a quarter of the earth’s population will be destroyed because of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse.
Now, we need to read Matthew 24:3-14.
And as he sat on the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying,
Tell us, when shall these things be?
and what shall be the sign of thy coming,
and of the end of the world?And Jesus answered and said unto them,
Take heed that no man lead you astray.
For many shall come in my name, saying, I am the Christ;
and shall lead many astray.
And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars:
see that ye be not troubled:
for these things must needs come to pass;
but the end is not yet.
For nation shall rise against nation,
and kingdom against kingdom:
and there shall be famines and earthquakes in divers places.
But all these things are the beginning of travail.
All these are the beginning of travail—the beginning of birth pains. Darby says it is the beginning of throes, and if you look at the Greek, some translations say it is the beginning of birth pains.
Brothers and sisters, false prophets, war, famine, and pestilence—we see these things even in this day. From the enemy’s side, he is out to destroy. He does not want Christ to have His inheritance. If that means destroying the whole world, he will do it.
But on the other side, if you look at it from the throne’s perspective, it is the beginning of birth pains. It is Christ who opens the seal and releases this. Christ is still in control. You need to know that.
From the throne’s perspective, it is the beginning of birth pains. The enemy is struggling against God’s will being done, against Christ having His inheritance. You see this great conflict that arises in the book of Revelation, and it is over Christ’s inheritance.
The enemy is saying, “No. I will destroy it all if I have to, but He will not have His inheritance.” And the Lord is saying, “These are the beginning of birth pains. Something is going to be birthed. Something is going to happen, and I will have My inheritance. I am in control.”
What is going to be birthed? It is the man-child.
These birth pains have been going on for centuries—the war, the famine, and the pestilence. As I mentioned, in the Black Plague a third of the world was stricken and killed through pestilence.
The thing that is happening, though, is that these have become extremely intense.
I remember the birth of my first child. I was the onlooker, of course. I remember that night when my wife had that first twinge, and they were occurring about ten or fifteen minutes apart.
Then it finally dropped, and I saw her getting obviously in more and more pain, so I took her to the hospital. I think it was about three minutes apart when I got to the hospital. It had gotten intense. I mean, she was ready to rip the seats out of the car. It was intense.
Being an engineer, I have to tell you this. My wife laughs about it now, thank God. But being an engineer, I had this all figured out. I said, “She is going to go in there, and this may be false labor. Or, if it is labor, she will probably be there another six or ten hours.” I had read too many books, frankly.
I got there, went into the little room, and the nurse said, “You can wait here.” I said, “That is okay. I am going to go ahead and get some breakfast.”
About fifteen minutes was all I was gone. When I came back, the lady said, “Mr. Amon, we have been looking for you.” I said, “Oh, what is wrong?” She said, “Well, you need to go see your wife.”
So I went in to see Ann, and she was lying there on the bed. I said, “Honey, I was really hoping this was the time the baby would be born. I see they have you back here resting.”
She looked at me and said, “What is wrong with you? Can’t you see my stomach?” I looked, and of course it was flat compared to what it used to be. Well, the child had come. But I was so sure of myself that I did not even recognize it.
Birth pains. Birth pains.
The enemy wants to destroy, and the Lord looks at it and says, “These are birth pains.”
Let me read a little more from Matthew 24, starting at Matthew 24:8:
But all these things are the beginning of travail.
Then shall they deliver you up unto tribulation,
and shall kill you:
and ye shall be hated of all the nations for my name’s sake.
And then shall many stumble,
and shall deliver up one another,
and shall hate one another.
And many false prophets shall arise,
and shall lead many astray.
And because iniquity shall be multiplied,
the love of the many shall wax cold.
But he that endureth to the end,
the same shall be saved.
He that endures to the end.
The birth pains are becoming more and more intense. We see it in the world around us. The Lord encourages His disciples, as He would encourage us today: you need to be faithful to the end. You will be hated for My name’s sake.
In years past, that Scripture seemed far from us as Christians in the United States, but that is no longer true. Christians are now hated. Obviously, in the Middle East and in Muslim nations, they are hated and killed, even as of this day, simply because they are Christians and will not deny the name of the Lord.
There is a pastor in Iran who is in jail because he was one of their own, and he believes in the Lord Jesus Christ. He would not renounce His name. They are in quite a quandary over that because the world knows about it, and they do not know quite what to do. I think he is still in jail.
I have seen and heard the rhetoric in recent years. For those considered serious Christians—serious about the Lord and serious about morality—you are now considered a bigot, and you are hated for it. You are considered ignorant if you believe in Christ and in Christian values.
We are just seeing the beginnings of this, I think. If you stand for the life of an unborn child, the fury that comes out is amazing. You are ridiculed and hated.
There was a pastor in Canada who was charged because, from the pulpit, he said that same-sex marriage was not in accordance with God’s will and that it was evil. He was given a choice because it was considered hate speech. He was stating what he believed from the Bible. He did not hate homosexuals; he was trying to convert them. But they said it was a hate crime.
They said that he was inciting hate by trying to stand for the truth and making that simple statement from the pulpit. He could either go to jail, I think, for a year, or he had to go through training where they tried to reprogram his thinking. He chose the reprogramming. I do not know what happened as a result of that.
But that is what has happened in Canada. Brothers and sisters, we have hate laws in the United States. They have not been used in this way yet, but they certainly can be.
If you are conservative, and you mention these things, eventually it may be considered inciting hate, and you may be punished under hate laws.
I have seen stories recently of a college instructor who had a child write “Jesus” on a piece of paper, put it on the floor, and had the children stomp on it. These are the things that we are beginning to encounter.
It is interesting: Vladimir Lenin, who was obviously an atheist and one of the founders of the Communist Party in Russia, made this statement when he was trying to form the Socialist Communist Party:
We can and must write in a language which sows among the masses hate, revulsion, and scorn toward those who disagree with us.
Boy, do you not see that happening today? If you disagree with what the government says, they are sowing those seeds—to be hated and scorned.
I am not trying to portray gloom and doom, because these are the beginning of birth pains. But I want us to be aware of what we are facing.
Brothers and sisters, I really believe that, more than ever, God wants to use this—and use us as Christians—to awaken us to see that we need to be children of God. We need to be strong in the Lord and faithful, because we may come to a day when we are challenged: “Are you a Christian?” And if you say yes, you may have to pay a penalty for that.
Can you imagine what is going to happen one day when somebody knocks on your door and says, “Mr. Amon, your child in class today said that homosexuality was immoral. Is that what you believe?”
“Well, yes.”
“Well, would you please come along with us down to the jail?”
I mean, that is a very real possibility.
I am not trying to be a gloom-and-doom guy, because the Lord is coming. But He wants us to be ready. He wants us to have the character and nature of the Lamb, brothers and sisters, even in persecution.
But the point I am making is this: He says, “For those who endure to the end.” Are you going to endure to the end? You do not know. You have to depend on the grace of God.
It is going to be more difficult to live as a Christian. Will you endure? Will you be able to stand up under the persecution? Only the Lord knows.
But, brothers and sisters, I think it is a real challenge for us to get serious with the Lord—particularly young people. Really be serious with the Lord. “Lord, I want to give You my whole heart. I want to be able to stand for You. I want to have that word of testimony that the overcomers have.”
“Lord, I need Your blood because I am a sinner. But I want to have a testimony before the world and before You, Lord.”
We need to get serious and really pray as intercessors for one another to be strengthened, and for our children to be strengthened. They are going to be brought into an age when daily dependence on the Lord is going to be absolutely necessary, no longer optional.
He is looking for that remnant who will stand and pray for His will to be done, and stand together.
You know, I remember the story of World War II, of the Battle of the Bulge. It occurred in December 1944 and January 1945. It was on the Western Front, mainly manned by U.S. Allied forces.
Hitler had come up with a plan. It was kind of a last-gasp effort to break through the American lines. He chose the weakest point that he knew of in the American line, and he was very secretive about it, even among his generals. Most of the troop movements occurred at night to keep it as secret as possible.
They basically succeeded. When the front opened, the Americans were taken by surprise, and they started retreating and dropping back. The line was like this, and then he hit the center of it at its weakest point, and it began to draw back.
His strategy, of course, was to break through the line and get behind the troops on either side. If he had succeeded, he may have won World War II.
But something occurred. When the Allied troops dropped back to the city of Bastogne, near the French border in Belgium, they came to a city where eleven roads ran through. It was key to the German advance because of all these roads that the tanks could run on and get behind the troops.
The Americans knew that. I think it was the 101st Airborne that was there—just a small number of men confronting almost the whole German army at that point. In fact, they surrounded the whole city and laid siege to it.
It was wintertime. The weather was snow; it was cold. They were trying to withstand this German onslaught, and they held out until they got down to where they only had ten rounds of ammunition for each man.
Then something amazing happened: the clouds cleared. They were able to airdrop supplies to those guys, and they were able to hold out long enough for Patton to get his troops there for reinforcement.
The bottom line was that they failed at Bastogne because of a few faithful troops. The entire army was saved because of a few faithful troops. I think it was the 101st Airborne.
That is the point I am making, brothers and sisters. I think the Lord is calling for faithful ones to come and stand with Him in intercessory prayer—that His church will be awakened, that we will prepare our hearts and ourselves for His soon return.
You can learn all of these events, but if we are not prepared, what good will it do? So the Lord is calling for the intercessor.
Lord, we come to You today. We are grateful that in Your Word You have made it clear that You intend to give the nations as an inheritance to Your Son. You intend to have the church be purified and become the bride of Christ.
It is Your intention that the nation of Israel reign as a prime nation during the millennium period. It is Your intention to lift the curse that is upon this earth, such that the wolf and the lamb will lie down together, and the baby can walk on the adder’s nest.
Lord, these are things that lie ahead. But for now, You have called us to be prepared, to be ready, Lord, for Your soon return.
Lord, we want to be those who can stand with You. We want to be those, Lord, who can stand together as the great intercessor in these days, standing for Your will to be done and against all the onslaughts of the adversary.
Now, Lord Jesus, I just pray that You will make what has been shared today personal to us and real. I ask in Jesus’ name.