In this sermon, the preacher discusses the concept of the great tribulation as described in the Bible. He references Ezekiel's vision of the valley of dry bones, emphasizing the lack of life in them. He connects this to the idea of carcasses and the gathering of eagles, suggesting that those who do not come out of sin will be destroyed. The preacher also quotes verses from Malachi and Zephaniah, describing the day of the Lord as a time of wrath, trouble, and darkness. He concludes by stating that the great tribulation will be the darkest and most dreaded period in human history, surpassing even past atrocities like the Holocaust.

Matthew 24, and I want to read from verse 15 to 22, and then I'm going to go over to the first epistle to the Thessalonians, the letter that the Apostle Paul wrote, Paul's letter to the Thessalonians. Matthew 24 and verse 15, When you therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, whoso readeth let him understand. Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains, let him which is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house, neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes, and woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days. But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day. For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world, to this time nor nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved, but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. Then we turn to 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 and the first four verses. But of the times and seasons, brethren, you have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them as travail upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief. For a few weeks we have been looking at this marvellous theme of the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. And tonight my subject is purposefully expressed in question form, because I have already stated in a previous message that soon and very soon the rapture of the church is going to take place. By that we mean the supernatural catching away of all the truly born-again Christian believers. And we will meet our Saviour in the heavens. In 1 Thessalonians 4 and verse 17, notice in that previous chapter, the dead in Christ shall rise first, and we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we be forever with the Lord. And there can be no doubt that that day will soon dawn. This great event will take place. And here friends is the astonishing thing. It will be a time, the first time in two millennia, that this world will be without the church. Now may I say very quickly here, there will be a pseudo church. The apostate church that's described in Revelation 17, and I read from verse 9 and 18 in that chapter, is described as the great whore, arrayed in purple and scarlet color and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls. That is, it's a very rich church that is in material things. But having, it says, a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication, and upon her head was a name-written mystery, Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth, drunken with the blood of the saints. And here friends is the fearful unveiling of this corrupt Babylonish religious system. In chapter 17, when you go into chapter 18 of Revelation, then of course we have the Babylonish city. But here it's a religious system, an identifiable religious system whose hands drip with the blood of the martyrs, and whose heart is as black as hell, residing, it says, in verse 9 and verse 18, in the city of the seven hills. And that is identified prophetically with Rome. And so we have in the last days an apostate religious system that's linked with Rome. In her final form she amalgamates all the false religious organizations on earth. And we are witnessing today, and has been for some years, the diabolical efforts to fuse liberal Protestant churches with Rome. But not just that, but to blend into this apostate concoction an admixture of Orthodox and Eastern mystical religions. And with it a generous helping of fragrant paganism. And if you want proof of that, just think back not too long ago to the World Council of Churches meeting in Canberra, and see what they were supporting and propagating. And of course the leader of this false world church will be what is described in that part of the book of Revelation, the false prophet who is the partner to the beast, that is the Antichrist. That church is truly described in chapter 18 and verse 2 as the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. How different friends from the true church, which in Ephesians 2 and verse 22 is said to be the habitation of God through the Holy Spirit. So whilst the true church is caught up to be with Christ, and an apostate, harlot church will flourish with her godless and empty, salvation-less religious ritual, at least for the first half of the specific seven-year period which we are going to talk about the great tribulation. Can't you see friends why the command in chapter 18 and verse 4 of Revelation is this, come out of her my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that you receive not of her plagues. Because you go down that chapter to verse 8, and it says her plague shall come in one day, death and mourning and famine, and she shall be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord God who judges her. I trust that through the many months that I have been preaching from this pulpit you have heard something of my heart, as I have pleaded through the Word of God for the people of this church to become more and more committed to a New Testament Christianity, such that is free from Babylonish or worldly entanglements and entertainments, where we have more than a mere religious shell, without that Holy Ghost Colonel. I pray that we will be a people like old William Booth prayed for. He says thou Christ of burning cleansing flame, send the fire, thy blood-bathed gift today we claim, send the fire. Oh see this waiting host, give us the promised Holy Ghost, we want another Pentecost, send the fire. That's the kind of church we want friends, a church that is full of God and on fire by the power of the Holy Spirit. Oh there is thus a false church that's spoken of, proclaiming a false gospel and offering up false fire, a church that's destitute of Christ's own life and nature, sufficed with a form of godliness but knowing nothing of those divine energies that are at work in those that truly know the Lord. May I say tonight friends that that morally filthy church that's spoken of in Revelation 17 and 18 will one day be on fire, but as we have read in verse 8, consumed by God's judgment fire. Just like Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, and you can read of them in Numbers chapter 3 and Leviticus chapter 10, isn't it what it says of them which were anointed, whom Aaron consecrated to minister in the priest's office. Listen, who died before the Lord when they offered strange fire before the Lord. Leviticus 10, 2 says there went out fire from the Lord and devoured them and they died before the Lord. I don't want that kind of fire. I want Holy Ghost fire. He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire. And I pray friends that when we come to God, in all the offerings that we bring, it will never be with strange fire. I want to be part of a true, sanctified and spirit-filled church that glorifies God, not man, that seeks his approval, not the world's. A church that refuses to be identified with Babylon so that she stands out pure and powerful as Christ's bride. Oh, hallelujah. Not the harlot church, the true, pure bride of Christ washed in the blood of the Lamb. Because friends, very soon Jesus is coming for his bride and through the faithful ministry of the Holy Spirit, that bride is making herself ready. And somehow I sense that that work of the Holy Spirit is nearing its completion and soon he is going to be escorting the bride of Christ out from this world to that glory meeting in the air. Oh, hallelujah. Hallelujah. And so the specific redemptive work of the Holy Spirit will be over as far as the church is concerned. Although we must remember, of course, the Holy Spirit is the omnipresent Holy Spirit. And just as he was present to fulfill certain work in the world prior to Pentecost, we know that there is going to be a purpose he will fulfill even in this world. But the church, of course, that work will have been completed. And maybe I will expound a little more on that in another message, just to help clear up some of the questions that may be raised about tribulation saints who will come to be saved on the earth if the Holy Spirit leaves when the church is raptured. How can that be, some will ask. And another interesting question was posed of me only just last week. It was concerning the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the last days. And Joel chapter 2 was mentioned. And the question really is, is there going to be a global revival before Jesus comes for this church? Well, I'll answer that, not tonight, but in another of our messages. But coming to the point then of tonight's message, the fact is that one of these days, in an hour that no one knows, and which can be at any time, this world will be without the true church. Now it's not the first time that such a question has been posed. It is recorded that a very famous Scots philosopher, Thomas Carlyle, he was summoned to an audience with Queen Victoria, because she was a little disturbed by the way things were going in her kingdom, in her realm. And she was so eager to have Carlyle's opinions as to how he saw things working out. And she said to him, you were regarded as a prophet, Carlyle. Tell me, what do you think the future will be like? And after a moment's silence, he ventured to answer. He says, I don't know, your majesty, but whatever it will be, it will be bad. And I guess there are many who would voice a like pessimism today, if they were asked the same question. Because there are such indications happening wherever we look around us. There are indications that something of mormont is about to take place. Dreadful forebodings grip people's hearts. And of course, this is precisely what Jesus predicted. In Luke's gospel, chapter 21 and verse 26, Jesus says, men's hearts would be failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth. Indeed, he had said in the previous verse, verse 25, that there shall be upon the earth distress of nations. And then he adds two little words. He says, with perplexity. Literally, distress of nations of such a degree, there is seemingly no way out. And I don't care where you look in our world tonight, friends, there are serious problems in the nations. And there is distress. With perplexity, it goes on, the sea and the waves roaring. And in the Bible, the sea always is representative in its typology, it's always representative of the people, peoples. And so this is what we see taking place all over the world. There's the tumult of nations. Prospects of better times are becoming more and more remote. There's an impending judgment that hovers menacingly over the nations. So friends tonight here in Australia, do not listen to Paul Keating's prognostications, but to Paul the Apostle's revelations. Because he says, and we have read his words in 1 Thessalonians tonight, sudden destruction cometh upon them, that is those who are left on the earth after the church is gone. Sudden destruction cometh upon them as travel upon a woman with a child, and they shall not escape. May I say tonight, it's only the Bible that accurately tells us of the things that are just ahead. You don't have to waste your time and endanger your soul too, in going to clairvoyance and tarot card readers and all the others, they don't know the future. You have to go no further friends than this marvellous mighty book of God. And here we have God speaking to us very clearly, oh for the Christian the news is good. For the Christian the news is good. Because our destiny as Christians is sealed, it's settled by a divine word. And so when I read my New Testament, before the wrath there's the rapture. Before the tribulation there's a translation. And so we have no fear of that which is going to come judgmentally upon this world. Because we will be above it all. That's why my question to you tonight friend is, are you a Christian? Are you saved? Is Jesus Christ your Lord? Are you living for him? Are you looking for him tonight? Because he's coming back very soon to take his people to be with himself as he promised. And I say tonight friends, who would want to be left behind? Who would want to be on this earth when the church is gone? I wouldn't. In this world, where all the inhabitants will go through the darkest, the most dreaded days ever to be known in all of human history. If we think back into world history and see the dark periods, that does not compare with what is going to take place in the near future. So that the holocaust and the bloody wars that have fallen one upon another are tea parties to what is going to be manifest when the church is gone. And the antichrist is reigning. And the devil has come down to the earth. And his wrath is being made manifest. That brings me to the core of the message tonight. What will take place on the earth? Simply there will be a time of great tribulation. What's the bible have to say about it? Well let me spend just a little time with you addressing this very simply tonight and very briefly too. There's so many things that we could touch upon and maybe there'll still be questions out there, aspects that we haven't dealt with. Be patient, we'll be touching others next time I share with you, not next Sunday because I'll be in Tasmania, but the following week in the morning service. I'll be expounding a little more and I wish to deal with Daniel's 70th week from Daniel chapter 9. I'm going to call it an agreement with hell. Because that's how Isaiah describes it. The 70th week. So you can be reading Daniel 9 and I pray that God will give us good understanding. Because it's a very very important passage. But tonight just notice first the doctrine of the tribulation. Our text clearly states it. For then shall there be great tribulation. Friends, there is going to be a great tribulation upon the earth in the near future. I know that the Christians of all ages, they have suffered for Christ and righteousness. As Jesus himself said, in the world you will have tribulation. John 16, 33. When Paul was at Lystra, he encouraged believers there as they encountered difficulties and trials for their Christian persuasion. This is what he said, Acts 14, 22. We must through much tribulation enter the kingdom of God. And we know, friends, in many parts of the world, we have been so favored in our land. We have been so spared. That which many of our brothers and sisters in many other nations have passed through over the centuries has gone by. Those who truly suffered much tribulation for the gospel's sake. Because if you and I are going to live righteously and fervently for Christ in this world, then I tell you, we will take up our cross. There is persecution for those who will seek to do the will of God, tribulation of some kind and degree. But this is not the predicted time of trouble that is to bear the whole world simultaneously for a specific time. It's distinguished by peculiar characteristics and prominent persons. Revelation 7 and verse 14 speaks of it as the tribulation, the great one. A promise given to the faithful believers at the church in Philadelphia, Revelation 3 and verse 10 was this, because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation which shall come upon all the world, that's the magnitude of it, all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. Matthew 24 and verse 21, this great tribulation is such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, nor ever shall be. Jeremiah 30 and verse 7 surely speaks of the same event. Alas, says Jeremiah, for that day is great so that none is like it. It is even the time of Jacob's trouble, but he shall be saved out of it. There is no question that there is a day coming of unprecedented war that will engulf the entire world. The Bible teaches it very clearly. But then note with me secondly the distress of the tribulation. Come to these words of Jesus recorded in Matthew's gospel, oh how frightful to the extreme they are, as they tell us of such ferocity that tribulation, that unless God himself calls the halt to this time of trouble. Notice what it says in verse 22, Matthew 24, there should no flesh be saved. We are not talking now, friends, of Bosnia. We are not talking of the pogroms of Russia. We are not talking about the gas chambers of Dachau. We are not talking, friends, about the skirmishes in other of the nations, as bad as many of them have been. We are talking about a time which says, unless God calls the halt, no flesh should be saved. You and I cannot take that in. But Jesus said it and I believe it. It is part of the period that is known as the day of the Lord. One of the great themes of the Old Testament prophecies and I think that even the most cursory glance through the parts that describe it shows it to be a time of severe wars upon earth, a day of wrath. And as they have already intimated, including the devil's wrath. Listen, Revelation chapter 12, war to the inhabitants of the earth and of the sea for the devil has come down unto you having great wrath because he knows he has but a short time. We'll pick something up of that in a further message. But more so, more so is it the day of God's wrath. Now let me just give you some of the scriptures. There are hosts of scriptures. But I'll give you just some of the scriptures that describe that day for you to know the distress of this tribulation period. Joel 1.15 says, Alas for the day, for the day of the Lord is at hand and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come. Jeremiah 46 and verse 2, for this is the day of the Lord of hosts, a day of vengeance. Isaiah 34 verses 1 and 2 and also verse 8, come near ye nations to hear and hearken ye people for the indignation of the Lord is upon all nations and his fury upon all their armies. He hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter. Malachi 4 and verse 1, for behold the day cometh that shall burn as an oven. And all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly shall be as stubble. And the day that cometh shall burn them up, says the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. Let me turn also to the prophecy of Zephaniah. Zephaniah chapter 1 verses 14 and 15, the great day of the Lord is near, it is near and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord, the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. I tell you friends, men may rise up now and blaspheme Almighty God and defy him so willfully, but there will come a day when the mighty man, they will cry, they will be broken, they will be crushed before the Almighty. That day, says Zephaniah, is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness. Verse 17, I'll bring distress upon men that they shall walk like blind men because they have sinned against the Lord and their blood shall be poured out as dust and their flesh as the dung. Revelation chapter 19 verses 19 to 21, and I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies, that beast friends of the antichrist and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse and against his army and the beast was taken and the remnant was slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse which sword proceeded out of his mouth and all the fowls were filled with their flesh. Can you see friends how the scriptural descriptions of that day reveal it to be a time of judgment and indignation and trouble and destruction and desolation and slaughter and wasteness and vengeance. These are words I've just read to you from the word of God. This is not speculation. You and I might consider all the plagues called down by Moses upon Egypt or consider the devastations of divine dealings with ungodly men and cities and nations in biblical history. We might even spend some time considering the vile and vicious organized massacres of human history. Let me pause there for a moment. Who but a fool would attempt to erase from history's pages as myth or exaggeration the stark fact of the holocaust. Such an infliction upon God's covenant people, the Jews. It's beyond dispute as well as beyond comprehension. But let me say tonight friends, God is keeping a most accurate account of all the evils committed in our world. He maintains those accounts in imperishable records to be opened in the appointed day of judgment and men and women are going to answer to God almighty for their evils. God will settle the score one of these days. But come back to my point. You might consider all these things that happened in biblical history and human history in their shocking severity and yet no distress will ever compare with that which will be suffered in that great tribulation, the distress of that time. Very quickly notice the duration of the tribulation. Matthew 24, 21, for then shall be great tribulation such as was not since the world begun. Then so when does this period commence? Well it goes back to verses 15 and 16 of this chapter where it talks about the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet. Well what is that? The word abomination is usually associated with idolatry. And scripture reference for those taking notes and for those who are listening to the tape, Deuteronomy 7.25. And it is Daniel who predicts the sacrilegious erection of an idol in the holy place. Daniel 9.27. We will be looking at this more closely when we look in our next message on the 70th week. But just at this point to mention it is the blasphemous act of the antichrist who of course will confirm a covenant with Israel. He will pledge to them so much that people have craved. And that covenant will be for seven years. But in the middle of the week of years, that seven years, after three and a half years, he violates the covenant. He turns on Israel and he compels all to bow in worship before the image of himself that he sets up in the temple. Because he wants to be worshipped as God. So much so that those refusing to bow they heap to themselves intense suffering and many forfeit their lives. At the end of that three and a half years of what we read in Jeremiah 30 which is Jacob's trouble, Christ will come. Oh he has come for the church. We have been with him for approximately seven years in earth's timing. But thank God that when it seems as though they are about utterly destroyed, in fact two thirds, if I read correctly the scripture, two thirds of Israel will be slain. And that's why it says as though no flesh will be saved but he will come, he will overthrow this dazzling dictator, the one who bewitches the world. They wandered after the beast, he mesmerized them. 2 Thessalonians 2.8 says whom the Lord shall consume with the breath of his mouth and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming. And so the tribulation period covers the duration of Antichrist's rise to prominence and his reign of terror. And then of course as we have just indicated his overthrow. It will be for seven years between the rapture of the church and the revelation of Jesus Christ in all his glory upon the earth when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Hallelujah. Can I just spend a few minutes on the design of the tribulation? What's it all about? What's the purpose of it? Well since the church will not be on the earth at this time but in heaven with Christ, then the purpose of such a horrendous time has to do one with Israel and two with the gentile nations. And the purpose of such a false idea friends that the tribulation is in order to bring about a purifying of the church. In fact it seems that we need reminding that the church is not just what is visible on the earth now. You hear these people saying well the church has got to be pure. As though the church is only the people living on the earth now. There are probably more believers in heaven than there are on the earth. In two thousand years a folk will put their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. And they are there. They are there present with the Lord. Mark this friends, saved not by the works of righteousness which we have done but according to his mercy. No, the tribulation, it's not to do with the church. It's not the church's trouble. And as noted the tribulation is a time of wrath from which the church has saved. 1 Thessalonians 4.9 says we have not been appointed unto wrath but to salvation. And so let's come to these two then. One, the emphasis of the tribulation is primarily Jewish. We already made the point, was it last week or maybe the week before, that the Olivet Discourse, that's Matthew 24, it focuses on Israel in God's end time program. You will get ever so confused in your understanding of end time things if you think the church is in Matthew 24. The church is not there friends. Let me just pick out some of the things from that chapter. It's referring to Daniel's people, the rise of false messiahs, the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom, those dwelling in Judea, people called upon to flee into the mountains, exhorted to pray that their flight be not in winter nor on the Sabbath and so on. Those things have got nothing to do with the church. It's Jewish. Now friends, the rebirth of Israel as a nation, without any question, is one of the greatest miracles, I wouldn't say the greatest miracles of this century. No, it's the greatest miracle of the history. The rebirth of the nation of Israel. But will you please mark this with me, that the weight of Bible prophecy has it that she is being prepared for her messiah. Her return to Jerusalem has been and still is, mark this, in blindness. Many, perhaps the majority might say, not holding to the faith of their fathers. Did I tell you some time ago about being in a barber shop in Manchester? I used to go to a Jewish barber shop. I went there just because they were Jews. Because I wanted to get into conversation with them. I wanted to talk to them about messiah, about Jesus. And oh, one day, it all opened up so marvelously. But the point of the little reference is that into the shop came a Jew, they were all Jews in there, and he sat down and the other said, we haven't seen you for a long time, where have you been? He said, well, I've been to Israel. So they said, oh, so you're home for good now. They said, no, he said, I'm going back. They said, you're going back? Yeah, he says, we are shifting over there permanently. And so I looked at him and I said, that's very interesting. I said, why are you going back to Israel? He said, well, it's a good country. I said, what, with what? And he said, well, all the bombing and the threats and the wars that have been and all that's happening around with the Arabs. He said, oh, it's a wonderful country. I said, is that the only reason you're going back? He said, yeah, well, it's a wonderful country. I said, I want to tell you, you're going back not because it's a wonderful country, but God is taking you back. And these Jews, they pricked up their ears. As from their scriptures, which we call the Old Testament, I was able to share with them about how their beloved nation, which had been scattered to the ends of the earth, the Lord was bringing them back. He was doing it. It is the miracle of the ages. But at the moment, friends, they're going back in blindness. It's Ezekiel's vision of the valley of dry bones, the bones coming together, with flesh and sinews coming upon them. And then, says Ezekiel, the skin covering them over, but no less than the skin covering life in them, no life in them. Could that be said to be but mere carcasses? Carcasses. And when I thought in those tenses, I was meditating for this message tonight, then I saw how significant the reference of Matthew 24, 28, for where so ever the carcasses, there will be eagles be gathered together. And friends, they are surrounded by eagles, who are ready to eat up their flesh and destroy them completely. The eagles are ready to pounce. And when they do it, it seems Israel will be devoured. But thank God, then Messiah comes. Listen to what it says in verse 30 of Matthew 24. The Son of Man comes in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels. Oh, Christ is coming himself for us. The Lord himself shall be sent from heaven. But in that day, he will gather, his angels will gather them. And they shall be gathered together from the extremities of the earth. But here's the point, friends. God is going to chasten Israel for her purification and for her ultimate salvation because as a nation chosen by him, she has sinned. She has sinned against the Father by rebellion. She has sinned against the Son by rejection. She has sinned against the Holy Spirit by resistance. Remember what Stephen said to them, you do always resist the Holy Ghost. They martyred him. Listen to Paul in 1 Thessalonians 2 verses 15 and 16. He says, you both killed the Lord Jesus and their own prophets and have persecuted us. And they pleased not God and are contrary to all men, forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved to fill up their sins all the way. For the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost. Ezekiel chapter 11 and verse 21. But as for them whose heart walketh after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their way upon their own heads, saith the Lord Almighty. Let me turn you to Zechariah please. Bear with me just a moment. Zechariah chapter 13 and verses 8 and 9. It shall come to pass that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die. But the third part shall be left therein and I will bring the third part through the fire and will refine them as silver is refined and will try them as gold is tried. They shall call on my name and I will hear them. I will say, it is my people. And they shall say, the Lord, that is Jehovah, is my God. Then he goes on to describe more of the day of the Lord in chapter 14. Malachi chapter 3 in the first few verses. Behold I will send my messenger and he shall prepare the way before me. The Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant whom ye delight in. Behold he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. But who may abide the day of his coming? And who shall stand when he appeareth? For he is like a refiner's fire and like fuller soap. And he shall sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver. And he shall purify the sons of Levi and purge them as gold and silver that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old and as in the former years. And I will come near to judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers and against the false swearers and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right. And fear not me, saith the Lord of hosts, for I am the Lord. I change not. Therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. One could go on. Maybe I should just read to you from Romans chapter 11 and verses 26. I'll read 25 to 27. For I would not, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own conceits, that blindness or hardness, as the word is used properly, that hardness in part is happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved, as it is written, there shall come out of Zion the deliverer and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. For this is my covenant unto them when I shall take away their sins. How will Israel become a further blessing to the world? How will they turn from their stubbornness to acknowledge their Redeemer, even our Lord Jesus Christ? It will take this time of trouble. That's why it's referred to as Jacob's trouble. And then, friends, will the nation be turned back to God, and they will mourn for his Son, whom they shall see. Revelation 1, 7. Behold, he cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see him, and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. I want it to be known tonight, friends, that the usefulness of this nation of Israel has not yet come to an end. And maybe it is even true to say that her greatest ministry is in the future. And I'll just add a little thing to a little point I said I was holding back earlier in my message about Joel and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. There is going to be a mighty outpouring. Joel's prophecy is not for the church, friends. There's reference to it, and when we explain it a bit more, we'll show you the, oftentimes in prophecy, a devil fulfillment, and Peter says this is that which was spoken of by the prophet Joel, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. But there are things in Joel that are not for the present time. They are for a time to come, for that marvelous time when Israel will turn, there's going to be a mighty outpouring of the Spirit. But I'll conclude by just mentioning there will be judgment on the Gentile nations, and I haven't the time to turn to those scriptures, Isaiah 26, 21, Jeremiah 25, verses 32 and 33, 2 Thessalonians 2, verses 11 and 12, because I have it handy, I will read those two verses. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe, King James says, shall believe a lie, but the Greek has the definite article, it's the lie. Just as Jesus is the truth, the Antichrist is the lie. And they shall believe the lie, in order that they all might be damned who believe not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. Revelation chapter 19 and verse 15, I will read that scripture. Revelation 19 and verse 15, And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations, and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God. Oh, there are other aspects of this awful period that we will perhaps bring out from time to time in our coming meditations, but my concern tonight friends is for you who have not yet come and repented of sin, who do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour, because Jesus, the one who came and died upon the cross for your sins, he is coming again, he is coming again. And if you're not saved, then I tell you if Jesus comes tonight, friends, you will be left to witness the horror that I have outlined from God's word this evening. This awful description of those days will be experienced by all who don't belong to the Lord. And that's not all, because there are other aspects of this. There's going to be the final great white throne judgment at the end of the millennium, and then all Christ rejecters will be cast into the lake of fire. That's why it behoves you to come to Jesus now and confess that you are a sinner, and you have nothing to present to him that merits his favour, his salvation, but you throw yourself just upon his grace and say, Lord, please, I trust in you who died for me that you will wash all my sins away, and through your Holy Spirit give me this new birth to become a child of God. And if you get right with God, friends, I tell you, it doesn't matter then if Jesus comes tonight or comes next week or next month or next year, the date doesn't matter, you will be ready, ready for his coming. And what about you and I as believers tonight? Shouldn't this awaken within us a desperate concern for those that don't know the Lord, that we might see people won to Christ, they might come to know him and not be left to a world that's going to be engulfed in such distress and sorrow and trouble. And more than that, they might not be found lost in that lake of fire forever and forever. May God help us to have a passion for souls. Let's stand in the presence of God, friends.