This transcript was generated by whisper.ai.

Hi, this is Pastor Tom and I want to welcome you to our look together at
Revelation chapter 7. This is going to be an awesome look at the wonderful power
of God together, these next chapters. Some of us, as we look at these chapters,
can scratch our heads a bit and wonder what in the world is God trying to say to
us?

Well, overall, do not forget the truth that he's saying to us that he's in
control. We can trust in him. In fact, even before we get into chapter 7, let me
just say that this whole chapter, chapter 7, this return to heaven before we
look some more at the seals that are being opened and then the trumpets that are
opened out of those, it's as if God is saying in chapter 7, let's just stop for
a minute and get our spiritual bearings.

We've seen the destruction that's come through the seven seals and he's saying
to us, let's see the overall picture of what God's doing in this world. And as
we head into this chapter, I want to give you a sense of the overall picture of
what we're seeing in these chapters. What we're seeing is signs of the second
coming of Jesus Christ.

These signs all point to something. Remember that. They're not just signs for no
purpose.

Every one of them points to something. When you drive down a freeway, you see
all kinds of signs giving you directions and distances. The Bible tells us that
God has set up clear signposts in our world to tell us that Jesus is coming
again.

There are all kinds of signs. There are signs that you can see right now, been
able to see them for 2,000 years. There are signs that are coming later.

There are signs that have come right before the end. In fact, as you look at the
three types of signs of Jesus coming again, if you have that in mind as we walk
through these chapters, it can be extremely helpful. The three types of signs
that Jesus himself taught us about are, number one, signs that point to the end.

He called those the beginning of birth pangs. Number two, the signs that
immediately precede the end time events, the end of this world. And number
three, the signs that accompany the end time events.

The signs that Jesus talked about begin with the signs that point to the end.
There are a number of things that Jesus said would happen before his second
coming that he called the beginning of birth pains. These are signs, not the
signs that you'll see only at the very end.

These are the signs that have shown believers for 2,000 years that this world is
not God's final plan. There are signs that you and I can see right now. They're
the signs of the deterioration, the inadequacy of this world.

For thousands of years, we've been able to look at these and say this world is
not as stable as it sometimes seems. Jesus could be coming again at any moment.
Here's what Jesus had to say about it in Mark 13, verses 5 to 8.

Jesus said to them, "Watch out that no one deceives you. Many will come in my
name, claiming I am he, and will deceive many. When you hear of wars and rumors
of wars, do not be alarmed.

Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against
nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places
and famines.

These are the beginning of birth pains. " Now, you notice the list that Jesus
gave here. He talked about false Christ with false signs and false miracles.

He talked about wars. He talked about earthquakes. He talked about famines.

These are signs that have been there the last 2,000 years that have shown us we
need a heaven. You can't make heaven on earth because the problem is we struggle
with sin on earth. We struggle with a fallen world.

We need a new heaven and a new earth. Now it's interesting as we walk through
Revelation, we're going to see that these signs that have pointed to the end for
2,000 years, they're going to be summed up in the end. There are going to be
wars, Jesus said, and that's going to be summed up by a great final war.

There will be false Christ with false signs. That's going to lead to a great
final antichrist with great false signs that will fool many. There will be
famine in various places.

That leads to a great worldwide famine in the end. Revelation chapter 6 talks to
us about that. What we're talking about is how you and I can see that God is up
to something different than just this world.

There are indications for the wise to see throughout history. There are signs
that no one could miss at the end of time. That's sort of the difference, I
would say, between hearing a grinding noise under the hood of your car and
realizing maybe there's something wrong that needs to be fixed and seeing the
engine fall out.

Jesus's warning about these signs is don't be deceived. Don't let someone tell
you the engine's going to fall out, but also don't be deceived that this world
is a place you can trust. You see, it's very easy for people to make predictions
about the future.

We're not there yet. Don't be deceived, Jesus said. Appeal to our pride by
telling you and I that we can know something that no one else knows.

You can know when Jesus is coming again. No one else can know. Don't be
deceived, Jesus said.

The future is a scary place for a lot of us, and we would love to have someone
tell us that they have it exactly figured out. Don't be deceived, Jesus said.
Now, maybe you think you're not susceptible to this kind of prediction, but let
me ask you, have you ever even just cast a glance at one of those predictions of
the future, the next year in the National Enquirer magazine in the checkout
stand?

Earth will be invaded by Martians who look like televangelists, one of those
strange headlines. Even though we know it's a lie, those kinds of things tend to
draw us in. Jesus said don't be deceived.

The signs are there to tell you I am coming again. That's what you focus on.
Those are the signs that lead up to the end, the beginning of birth pains.

Jesus said there's a second kind of sign to be aware of, and that is the signs
that precede the end. These signs that precede the end are signs that all true
believers will know when they see it. The end is right around the corner.

These signs, they don't tell us exactly the day that Jesus will return, but they
do tell us that the time is close. I guess I'd picture it like when you go into
a movie theater. When the light's dim, you know that the movie is about to
begin.

Now, there may be a few previews, a few ads first, you don't know how many, but
you know that the time is close, and as you look through the New Testament,
Jesus and the writers of the letters in the New Testament talk about signs like
apostasy, it's a word you need to know. Apostasy refers to those who seem to
have faith but fall away. They will turn away from their faith and deny and
betray and hate each other, Jesus said in Matthew 24, 10.

These are fair-weather so-called Christians trying to get a blessing from God
without any real commitment to Christ. The Bible also tells us about a great
increase of personal evil during these last days, that there will be many
scoffers making fun of God. There will be many false prophets.

Now, you can't help but read the Scriptures and think of our day to day. You
cannot help but think that the return of Jesus Christ must be near, because
we're seeing these kinds of signs. Now, again, with these signs, what we see
throughout history will increase at the end.

People will turn away from the faith. Evil will increase. People will make fun
of the faith.

False teachers will be very popular. Now, let me just ask you, could any of that
affect you in a personal way? Of course it will.

And you and I need to be ready for that. We need to determine now that if I face
these experiences, it will not make me, cause me to think that God has abandoned
me. It just reminds me that he's bringing this world to a close.

It's not about you. It's about God's eternal plan for the universe. Doesn't it
make sense when you think about this, that as the world draws to an end, there's
going to be a strong for or against when it comes to faith?

I can't imagine Jesus returning with even one person sitting on the fence as to
their salvation. I'm not sure. I'm doubtful.

It's clear that people are going to separate into two camps. I'm totally against
God or I'm totally for Jesus Christ. And that's going to happen as they face
these difficulties in the world.

We'll talk about that more as we walk through the book of Revelation. There are
these three signs. The signs that lead up to the end we've seen for 2,000 years.

These signs that precede the end. And then there are the signs, the third type,
the signs that accompany the end. This is the engine falling out.

By this time, everyone will know that the end is here. It's not just near. It is
here.

These are the dramatic signs. The signs in the sun, moon, and stars. Jesus
talked about it in Matthew 24, 29.

He said, "Immediately after the distress of those days, the sun will be
darkened. The moon will not give its light. The stars will fall from the sky.

The heavenly bodies will be shaken. " The Bible talks about a roaring of the
sea. The Bible talks about a great distress, a distress unparalleled since the
beginning of the world in Matthew 24, 21.

These are the signs that we're going to be seeing as we walk through the book of
Revelation of the end of this world so that God can create a new heaven and a
new earth. Now as we walk through the seven signs and the seven trumpets and the
seven bowls, which are all these signs of this world ending these next few weeks
together and drive time devotions, people do have different viewpoints on how
they fit into what I've just talked to you. There are some who say that these
seven signs that we've just talked about together are the signs that point to
the end, the signs we've seen for 2,000 years.

There are others who believe that the seven signs we've just talked about are
no, they're the ones that precede the end. They're right before the end. They're
the time of great tribulation.

Whichever way you see it, whichever way you look at it, the truth of the matter
is they are signs of the fact that Jesus Christ is coming again. They are signs
of hope. They are signs of the loss of something that has destroyed so many
lives.

And they're the signs of the fact that God has a new plan for our lives. So in
that kind of hope, let's talk to him for just a second right now. And Jesus, we
just want to say, we just want to say we want to be people of hope.

We want to be realists about this world, that this world is not all there is. In
fact, it is passing away. But we also want to be people who are of hope about
the next world, that we have an eternity to look forward to with you.

We want to be realists about the fact that these signs point to something. They
point not just to destruction. They point instead to, they point instead to you,
Jesus, and the fact that you're coming again so that we can spend eternity with
you.

Help us all to live in relationship with you and look forward to that hope with
you. In your name we ask it, amen. Join us tomorrow.

We're going to focus on a view from heaven of these events on earth.