Praise and Worship Sevices

The book of Revelation contains many prophecies that make up the entire story.  Some prophecies have been underway for hundreds of years, where as others are about to begin.  If we put together all these prophecies, a spiritual awakening is sure to take hold.  To know and understand God's ways are exciting when they are revealed.  However, some prophecies in the book of Revelation are easy to understand while others are difficult and we can say the same about God.  There are certain aspect about Him that we understand, while others are difficult as well.

In essence the book of Revelation is simply confirmation of the good news people want to hear, which is a world of eternal joy and happiness is coming.  No more tears, pain or sorrow will overcome those whose names are written in the Book of Life.  But, it will not be easy because God is going to test the inhabitants of the earth before He sets up His eternal Kingdom. (Revelation 3:10).  God will separate the sheep from the goats, before the second coming of Jesus.  The separation from the sheep and the goats is an important process in God's plan becasue He will not permit rebellious people (represented by the goats) to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.  It is reserved for poeple who love Him and exalt His righteous ways.  "Blessed are the pure at heart..for they will see God..Nothing impure will ever enter the kingdom of heaven nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life... He will wipe every tear from their eyes.  There will be no more death or morning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." (Matt 5:5,Rev.21:27,4) 

The book of Revelation reveals that God will inflict the world with a series of 14 plagues.  These events will not occur in random order nor will there be freak diasters caused by nature.  The seven plagues are called "seven trumpets" in Revelation because they serve the purpose of warning or awakening the people of the earth to the glorious arrival of Jesus Christ.  The seven last plagues are clled seven bowls because they represent seven full cups of God's vengeance that He will pour out upon His enemies.  Although the Bible completely expalins these events, they can be overwhelming and a surprise to many people.  The Lord has designed many of these coming events to fulfill His divine plan.  The judgements have been designed so that the Lord can redeem as many people as possible.  As you read this small but powerful book of the Bible, from time to time remind yourself of two things: First, that God so loved the world that He gave His only Son to die ibn our place and second, God's patience and defiance and rebellion is limited.  During the Great Tribulation, the people of the earth will see God's perfect balance between justice and mercy.

Today's lesson will cover  "How The Tribulation Begins"

The Great Tibulation will begin suddenly.  It will begin with a global earthquake that effectively disrupts the activities of the whole world. (Revelation 8:5)  God has a few things to say to the human race and He intends to arrest the attention of the world with a massive earthquake that literally stops everything and everyone in their trcks.  The sudden cessation of life as we know it will force everyone to stop and wonder what is going on.  The coming "global earthquake" was physically impossible until the early 1900's.  Now physical evidence is proving that earth's tectonic plates go much deeper into the earth's core Than previously thought.  Because of this it has caused geoscientists to change their thinking.  The book of Revelation's predicts their will be a total of four earthquakes will increasingly rip up the surface of the world and infrastructures of travel, communication and manufacturing will collapse during the Great Tribulation.  These earthquakes will have no equal in recorded history.  Each earthquake will have greater strenth than the one before it.  The final earthquake will be so violent that it will literally move all of the mountains and islands from their places.  (Revelation 8:7)

I am going to stop there until next week.  I hope that you will each meditate on this lesson and think about what it means to you.  If you are interested in saving each lesson, feel free to copy and paste it in a word document for further study or request a copy by email because they will not be archived on the website.