In this sermon, the preacher discusses a passage from the Bible, specifically verse one of chapter seven. The passage describes the vision of four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding back the winds. The preacher emphasizes the importance of the sealing of God's presence in the foreheads of a specific group of people, the 144,000 children of Israel. The sermon also mentions the concept of the saints rising to meet God and standing before the judgment seat of Christ. The preacher concludes by inviting believers to be baptized and encouraging prayer and generosity towards mentally handicapped children.

To our subject again this evening, and in the weeks gone by as we have looked at happenings ahead, we are absolutely convinced now, at least I am, that we are in the last of the last days. We spent several nights on looking at the last days, and we are positive now that we are in the very last of the last days. Last week we got the subject off the ground and away from things which are seen, and we were looking into the heavens at the moment of Christ's coming again, and we were relating that moment only to believers on the face of the earth. What that moment meant, and will mean for believers on the face of this earth, it will be the moment when the believers on this planet will see the Lord. We shall see him as he is. It will be the moment when the saints leave this earth, and they'll be caught up into the heavens, and the saints will go marching in. It will be that blessed moment when God shall put Satan under our feet, and under our feet forever. It will be the moment when the symbols on the table are gone. Yea, the bread and wine will be no more. It is only until he comes. It will be the moment when sickness and sin shall disappear forever. What a moment for belief. Now we're continuing tonight, and while the believers rise to meet the Lord in the air and they're translated, we want to think about the bodies of believers long since they go buried in the grave. We want to think about the resurrection of the bodies of believers. What a moment that will be. You know, maybe you have an old mother and she's gone, and you followed her mortal remains with tears in your eyes and sorrow in your heart, and you saw those mortal remains laid in the last resting place, and you stood by there trembling and weeping while they filled the grave in. You know, if she loved the Lord, really saved, my, the Lord's going to raise that body again. What a moment it will be. Maybe you had an old father, and he kept the faith and finished the course, and you saw him buried. Well, the Lord will raise that body just at the moment when he comes. My, we'll be looking tonight at the resurrection of the bodies of believers. And then I want to point out to you that not only will that moment be the moment when the saints who are alive and remain until Christ comes, not only will it be the moment when the saints go marching in, and when the bodies of saints long since they go buried will be raised again in incorruption, but it will be the moment when God will start dealing with the Jewish nation again. And he's going to take a remnant out of the nation of those, and we'll see all about it this evening. Let's go to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, please. 1 Thessalonians, and that's the fourth chapter, and Paul's writing to these saints, these believers here at Thessalonica, and in verse 13 this is what he says. 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 verse 13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, and you can see how tenderly he breathes and writes the word brethren. He's writing to believers. He says, I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep. And you'll find that he repeats this time after time here for three times, this phrase, them which are asleep. This is what he wants to talk to them about. He says in verse 14, For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep. Yes, them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we believers, which are alive and remain on this planet, unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent them which are asleep. You see, it's them which are asleep that's on his mind. And these are saints, the bodies of saints, who have been buried long ago, and of course these Thessalonians were sorrowing about them. Now he's going to reveal something to them, he says, verse 16, For the Lord himself, and I like these emphatic pronouns that's in the New Testament, it would be quite good English to say, For the Lord shall descend from heaven with a shout. But it's really emphasizing who is coming, For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout. You know when the Lord Jesus comes again, that great moment that we were thinking about last week, it will be the moment when the shout goes forth. And those bodies that lie in the grave will move. Those bodies of believers, of course. Yes, I want you to get this. This is the voice of the shepherd, and the sheep will hear his voice. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. And I want to take just a moment with that phrase, the dead in Christ. Mind you, we want to get that settled tonight. There are just two ways that men can die, if you look at it in the general sense. You either die in Christ, or you die in your sins. And if you looked at all the graves, and thought about all the bodies beneath, you would divide the whole field into two. Some have died with their faith in Christ. Others have died without Christ, and still in their sins. Well, it's only those who have died in Christ that he's talking about. Then which sleep in Jesus he's talking about. This is the crowd. Then which sleep in Jesus. This is the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise. What a moment it will be, when these bodies of these dear old saints, down through the ages, who have been laid in their last resting place on earth, when every one of them is brought forth in resurrection. Yeah, it will happen, all right. Don't make any mistakes about it. You know, some people contend that there will be a general resurrection. This is an argument that has come down through the years. And they say, you know, there will be a general resurrection under general judgment. And, of course, I agree that some scriptures, at first glance, would make you think of a general resurrection. Let's have a look at John's gospel for a moment, and we're at the fifth chapter. Gospel by John, and at the fifth chapter, please. And the Lord Jesus is speaking here, speaking about himself as the Son of Man. He says in verse 26, John 5, 26, For as the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself, and hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of Man. Marvel not at this, for the hour is coming in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth, they that have done good unto the resurrection of life, they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation. The Lord Jesus is telling us to marvel not at this, for the hour is coming in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice. And if we take all that are in the graves, then we're bound to take saved and unsaved. Yes, sometimes we call one class the unholy dead, and we call the other class the holy dead. But all that are in the graves are going to hear his voice and come forth. Now, if you looked at that and kept looking at it, you would certainly come out on the side of the general resurrection. But you mustn't just take one scripture, you know. You need all scriptures to bring you to it. Now, let me show you this. Have a look at 1 Corinthians chapter 15. 1 Corinthians chapter 15. And he's talking about the resurrection of Christ here. For some people have even questioned the resurrection of Christ. And in 1 Corinthians 15 verse 20, he says, Paul says, But now is Christ risen from the dead and become the firstfruits of them that slept. Verse 21. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. It's a very clear cut verse, isn't it? You see, it was by one man's disobedience, it was by Adam's disobedience. Yes, the first Adam. If he disobeyed God, sin entered into the world, and death by sin. So that death passed upon all men. So that Paul's reminding us of this, he says, For since by man came death. Then he's thinking about the last Adam. He's saying, By man came also the resurrection of the dead. You see, Christ rose triumphant never to die again. I know sometimes that our minds go back to Lazarus and Jairus' daughter, the widow's son. Oh, I know that they were raised from the dead, but I want to get this over to you, they died again. It was just like a restoration for a little time. But when we talk about the victory and wonder of the glorious bodily resurrection of Christ, we're thinking like this. That Christ abolished death and rose bodily triumphant over the grave in the power of an endless life, never to die no more forever, the victory is won. By man, the Lord Jesus, came the resurrection of the dead. Then he goes a bit further with this sort of argument. Verse 22, he says, For in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. And you would think that we're back to the general resurrection idea again. In Adam all die, in Christ shall all be made alive. And then he comes in with this, But, but every man in his own order. Ah yes, in the resurrection there is order, you know. Yes, there's going to be order, and we're going to find out the order too. He says, yes, there's going to be a resurrection, and all will be raised, but every man in his own order. Christ, the first truth. He goes triumphant, didn't he? Afterward, they that are Christ's, that's his coming, that's all right for him. Who? They that are Christ's. That's who it is. Those who died in Christ. The dead in Christ. They that are Christ's. We're getting into the order of the thing now. That's not general resurrection, is it? No, us, the word is said, they that are Christ's, that is coming. Yes, I want you to get the hold of this, you know. I believe, of course, that one of these days the Lord Jesus is coming back again, and if we're alive and remain when he comes, then that will be the moment when we living believers will see him, and we'll rise to meet him. Ah, but at the same second, you know, these holy dead will hear the voice of their beloved church. Ah, and they will rise. They that are Christ's. Now be a hoof-lamp boy, and make a mutter where your Presbyterian, Episcopalian bouts of, if you're Christ's, they that are Christ's. This is the order we're getting into. You know, there is one thing that settles forever for me, the general resurrection. Saints and sinners rising together couldn't be right, and I'll show you what it is. Let's have a look at Philippians, and at the third chapter, please. Paul's letter to the Philippians, chapter three. And Paul's giving his testimony again, and he goes back to remind the folks at Philippi what he was before he was saved. He says in verse five, circumcised the eighth day. Circumcised. You remember this after he got saved. You remember he got baptized. Some folks around this town tried to put it over that circumcision and baptism are one and the same. And of course, if you're circumcised, you don't need to be baptized. And if you're baptized, then you don't need to be circumcised. I'll tell you that Paul was both. I'll tell you he was circumcised the eighth day. I'll tell you he was baptized as a believer. He was circumcised as a Jew. Because they wouldn't know the difference between Jews and believers. He was circumcised the eighth day of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, and Hebrew of the Hebrews, of touching the law Pharisee. He's just telling the folks what he was. He was circumcised as a Jew. He belonged to the stock of Israel. He was of the tribe of Benjamin. He was a scholar in his own right. He was a Hebrew of the Hebrews, of touching the law. He was a Pharisee concerning zeal, persecuting the church. Most of the people that say that Israel and the church are one and the same want to have a good read of this. Because I'll tell you what Paul says. He says, I was circumcised the eighth day of the stock of Israel. Do you mean he was in the church? Because I'll tell you down a wee bit, it says he persecuted the church. I would wonder how you would work the church and Israel together just there and then. And I could get you a few more difficulties too. Yes, concerning zeal, persecuting the church, touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. Mind you, that's a big statement, isn't it? The righteousness which is in the law, blameless. That's the part of the Ten Commandments that goes manward. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not bear false witness. Paul was blameless. He was a religious character. He lived after the strictest fact of the Jews, a policy. Very careful about many things. He was rolled up in the religion of the Jews. Anti-religion. Then he says this, verse 7, But what things were given to me, those I conjured up for Christ, but to throw off the rags of empty religion to embrace Christ. And as hooks in this meeting have thrown off the rags of empty religion, we've got one or two Roman Catholics here tonight, gloriously saved, who threw off the robes of an empty, dead, former, lifeless, hopeless religion to accept Christ. And why wouldn't they? Yes, and we have some self-righteous hooks who were rolled up in churchianity. The spiritual one of our elders on my right here would stand up and tell you how he had lived a righteous pharisee in the church and had to throw it off to get Christ. This is what Paul did, and that's the whole of the other hooks have done. Yes, this is what things were given to me. That is what things were given to me as far as the Jewish religion was concerned, those I counted lost for Christ. Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but lost for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord. For whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but done that I may win Christ and be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the Lord, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God mighty, that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His suffering, being made conformable unto His death, if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. That's a tight phrase, isn't it? You note the word for resurrection there? It's a Greek word. It's ex-anastasia. Wrote it down so that I wouldn't forget it. It's only once in the New Testament so there's no argument about it. Ex-anastasia for the Greek scholars here this evening. And if you like to go to your Greek lexicon, or maybe you know now by the very sound of the word, it's a word that means the out-resurrection from among the dead. Now, Paul is saying, you know, I give up everything that I may know Him, that I may know Christ, that I may know the power of His resurrection in my life, that I may enter into the fellowship of His suffering, that I may be made conformable unto His death, if by any means I may attain unto the resurrection out from among the dead. It's a tremendous statement, isn't it? Because I would have enough scoffing to know this, that if there's just the general resurrection, you don't need to attain anything, you'll come up there all right. I would think you could work that out, wouldn't you? Or for use of talking, if you want to attain unto the out-resurrection, if there was a general one, we'd all rise together, wouldn't you? But Paul wanted to be in the first resurrection, this resurrection out from among the dead. This is the one that he was after. Ah, this is the resurrection of them that are Christ. This is the resurrection of the bodies that have fallen asleep in Jesus. Yes, this is the order of the resurrection. Now, watch this again, just to settle this general resurrection idea. Let's go over to the book of the Revelation, and we're at chapter 20. Book of the Revelation, chapter 20. And John is having this great revelation given to him. He says in verse 1, And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit, and a great sin in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, and bound him a thousand years. No trouble at all about the personality that's being bound. The Holy Ghost has been very careful. Gives us all the details. Laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the devil and Satan. No trouble about the personality, is there? And there's no trouble in my mind about the literal years. A thousand years. That's what it says. Oh, I know that there are symbolisms in the book when we talk about binding Satan with a chain and putting him in the bottomless pit. I know that we've got symbolical language, but the symbolical language is showing us the power of God to bind this strong man, Satan, the devil, the serpent, the dragon, put them in the pit for a thousand years. You know, one of these nights we're going to get along to the place, as we look at happenings ahead, where this whole world will be rid of the old devil for one thousand years. Not biggie. God's going to test the world out in that distant station without a devil to come along to tempt at all. But we'll get into the details of that when we come to it. We needn't stretch it now. Verse three, and cast him into the bottomless pit and shut him up and set a seal upon him that he should deceive the nations no more. Who was bound? The devil. Where was he bound? In the bottomless pit for how long? A thousand years. Why was he bound? Look at it and get it for yourself. That he should deceive the nations no more. Where were they now? On the face of the earth, aren't they? Yes, you know, down on this planet of ours, when the Lord takes the believers home and lifts the bodies of believers out of the grave, and takes the complete church home, you know, there's going to be folks left behind here. We'll look at them in a moment. And there's going to come a time of dreadful tribulation upon them. And of course, God will have witnesses for himself in the tribulation, and many of them will have to lose their lives. And at the end of that tribulation period, the old devil will be bound. And a whole thousand years, that's what we call millennium, because it comes from the word mille, a thousand, and annum, which is year. A thousand years. Christ will come back to this earth and reign on this very planet of ours for a thousand years. Oh, we'll come to these things and these wonderful happenings ahead. That's not what we're after in the passage this evening. "...and he set a seal upon them that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years should be fulfilled. After that he must be loosed to little feet." That's a tremendous little phrase, and it has given some of the boys who argue against me great problems. Because you know, when they talked to me about the general judgment and the general resurrection and the end of the world coming like the clap of your hands, because I want to know what period Satan's bound, and they tried to tell me that Satan is bound now. And I tried to tell them that Peter says he's going about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. And I believe Peter, you see. I believe him. But even if he were bound now, and the whole thing is going to end like the clap of your hand, the general judgment, the general resurrection, the whole thing over in a second, I want to know what they're loosing him again for. I want to know. And not one of you can answer it. Because you're off the beam altogether. You're off the beam. I'll tell you this, the Lord is coming to the earth one of these nights. And the saints on earth are rising to meet him. And they're dead in Christ. They that are Christ's are going to rise. And I'll tell you there'll be a crowd left behind, and we'll go into the tribulation, and the Antichrist will be saved. And at the end of the tribulation period, my God's going to bind the devil for a thousand years while Christ reigns. And at the end of the thousand years, he'll let them loose again. Just to prove that man's no good, he'll immediately go back to the devil. But that's not what I'm after in tonight's subject. We would need nights of these. I just can't talk to you like that. I need to prove it. I'm proving just now about the resurrection. Now, what's what I'm after? I have to read all that to get that. And John says in verse 4, And I saw thrones, and they that sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them. And I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast. The old Antichrist. Neither his image, neither had he received his mark upon his forehead, or in the hand. These are people who were martyred and beheaded and murdered in the great tribulation. And here are they being raised. And they lived and reigned with Christ right through the thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again. If you believe in the general resurrection, come round and explain to me about the rest of the dead living not again. The rest of the dead. Yes. I have no problem with that. I know that all that are in the grave will come forth. Ah, but every man in his own order. You see, they that are Christ's will be raised first. The dead in Christ. That's quite simple. Yes, I know. They're going to be raised and go away with the church. And then the tribulation period will come. God is going to have witnesses in there. And the Antichrist is going to behead some of them. And at the end of that tribulation period, when the old devil is to be bound, my these bodies will be raised too. And they'll live with Christ right through the thousand years. Ah, but the rest of the dead live not again. Surely language teaches you something. Oh, they'll get raised all right, but in their own order. See what he says about this. Verse 5. He says, but the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection. On such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. If I want you to get the hold of this, this is called the first resurrection. Now that causes quite a problem to some young folks, because they say, well now, Mr. Mullen, if the Lord comes to be here, and the saints who died in Christ, raised up to Christ, were raised first, how can you call this the first resurrection that seven years later, at least, at the end of the tribulation, these martyrs of the tribulation? Ah, let me prove just exactly that this is not a contradiction of any kind. You see, if we look across the graveyards of the world just now, and we visualize all the dead, and we divide them into their own holy dead, and the holy dead, and then we visualize these saints of the tribulation period who get martyred. If we visualize them being put in, I want you to get all the saints into your mind that has died. And I'll tell you this, when the Lord has taken all the saints out of the grave, all their bodies, and the last saint is taken out, because that whole thing, that whole exercise, the first resurrection for all of us, now, let me show you this very carefully. Let's have a look at Matthew's gospel, and it's chapter 27. Matthew's gospel, chapter 27. And the Lord Jesus is on the cross here in Matthew 27. Verse 50, Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the dust. And behold, the veil of the temple was rent in plain from the top to the bottom, and the earth had quaken, and the rocks rent, and the graves were opened, and many bodies of saints which slept arose and came out of the graves after his resurrection. I want you to notice what kind of bodies came out. The graves were opened and many bodies of the saints. It wasn't a non-saved one in that trial. These are just the bodies of the saints, you know. Christ was the first fruits, because he's risen, and immediately behind him, my, there come bodies of the saints out of the graves. You see, the Lord is going to go back to heaven, and he's going to march in through those gates, swung open wide. He's going to march in and triumph. He has triumphed over death himself. Ah, but here are bodies that he's bringing with him. That was a resurrection, wasn't it? Now, when he comes to the air one of these nights, the death in Christ reigns. See this cloud being raised at the end of the tribulation. They will be headed for the witness of Jesus. Ah, these are saints again. Now, when you get the body of every saint that was ever buried out, when you get them all out, this is the first resurrection. The rest of the dead! The rest of the dead lives not again. They'll come out later, in their own order, after Great White Throne. We'll see them before we're finished with these meetings, if the Lord does. Yes, you know, that moment when Christ will come, if we're alive and remain, my, we'll be caught up to meet him. Ah, but the bodies of those who have died in Christ, reign and are Christ, will be raised, and the Lord will take the threshold, and the bodies of those who have died in Christ, he'll take them home. Tribulation will take place, and there'll be martyrs in the tribulation, and at the end of the tribulation, they'll be raised. They're not going home with the church, they're going to live and reign with Christ a thousand years. What a wonderful testimony it will be. Yes, I want you to get the hold of this. You know, when we're translated, and the resurrection of believers' bodies has taken place, you know, there will be a lot of unbelievers left behind. When we were dealing with the dangers of the last days, we taxed on these things. You know, when the Lord shuts the door, my, there's going to be a crowd standing outside. And while tonight, the Lord is holding out His hands and saying, come unto me. If He shuts the door, tonight, tomorrow, you'll be saved. They've packed your cushions. You'll be damned. You might live down here right through the tribulation period, but you're damned. Yes, this is on believers on the earth. You know, we're looking at happenings ahead, and I have to go slow for the young folks. Let's get it. We're in the last days. Let's see that moment. That moment never was as near as now. If Jesus comes, we shall see Him. We shall rise to meet Him. The saints will go marching in. The bodies of the saints, they that are Christ, will be raised. Friend, there'll be multitudes of unsaved souls and multitudes of unsaved bodies left behind. What a horrible thing. Find some of you folks that's not saved, we'll say. They're fiddling about with things and the Lord will walk out on you and let you go to hell as it was in the days of love. They knew not till the Lord came. And the days of love, they knew not until the door was shut. You'll be truly, you'll be damned for all eternity. Yes. I don't think I need go over that bit again this evening. The rejection of the many living unbelievers. That's Mass Humanus Esto will take place and the Sodomite Saga will begin and the Noahite Nightmare will be upon the face of the earth. And that horrible Thessalonian fact that we read about about God sending confusion upon them it will take place. Have we got this up to now? We're looking at happenings ahead. In the last days Christ is coming for his own. If we're alive and remain we'll be caught up, we'll rise to meet the Lord in the air. Translated The bodies of saints will be raised and the whole complete church will be taken away. There'll be multitudes of unbelievers left on the face of the earth. For the Antichrist will appear and he'll do mighty things for the common market of Europe. And it's being formed just now. But we'll go into the common market that's when we come to it. And we'll deal with the King of the North which is Russia. And we'll deal with the King of the South which is Egypt and may well be Nazareth. And we'll deal with the Kings of the East. China and Japan will put their hands together and maybe India will fill the lot in. And if you take Russia on the North and Egypt in the South and the 10 poles out in the West and the Kings of the East from the East you've got Israel in the middle. God's determined to squeeze Israel now. Oh, they're there in the land that God gave to Abraham and the flag is flying and they're called Israel tonight. Whether the people who argue about this sensationalism like it or not they're Israel and they're different from the church. God's going to squeeze them. I want you to get this that God will begin when the church is wholly removed God will begin to select the remnants of the Israel to be His witnesses. What a moment that will be for them. Let's have a look at that. We're at the book of the Revelation again and we're at chapter 7. Sometime when we get into chapter 6 and before we go on to chapter 8 I will deal with this properly and point out to you that this chapter is a pan-emphatical chapter. If you have any doubts in your mind about it if you look at chapter 6 and read verse 12 it says, So I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal. That's chapter 6. When you go to chapter 8, verse 1 and when he had opened the seventh seal. So that this chapter is the pan-emphatical one just stuck in between. And it's there to explain something just before we go on with the details of chapter 6 or chapter 8. Pan-emphatical one. Very lovely one too. Verse 1, chapter 7. As to these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth holding the four winds of the earth that the wind should not blow on the earth nor on the sea or any tree. I saw not an angel ascending from the east having the seal of the living God cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea saying, hurt not the earth, neither the sea nor the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. And I heard the number of them which were sealed. And there were sealed a hundred and forty-four thousand of the tribes of the children of Israel. But I don't think that language can be cleaner than what all the argument's about. The hundred and forty-four thousand of the tribes of the children of Israel. I don't know why you get it mixed up. When we were back there in Genesis and we talked about the tribes, everybody understood the tribes of Israel. When we see them marching through the wilderness after Moses, everybody knows the tribes of Israel. This is funny. Somewhere along the line, and nobody can tell me where, somebody reached the authority to change the tribes of Israel into the church. I don't understand that. And if you would please come round and tell me where you got the authority, I would be obliged to you. But I know you have no authority. You're just trying to read something into it. You see, we must differentiate all the time in this book between Israel, the Jewish nation, twelve tribes, and the church of Jesus Christ. Must differentiate all the time. You know, some of my best friends come and argue with me and say, Mr. Mullen, Israel and the church are one. And then I start on an old path of mine. Now, let me start on it now, and we'll save arguments later. Have a look at Romans chapter ten. Romans, and we're at the tenth chapter, and verse one. And when he writes this word brethren, he's writing to believers, isn't he? He's writing to these believers at Rome, the saints at Rome, he says in the first chapter. Beloved of God. Here in chapter ten, in verse one, he says, brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved. So I just say to my friends, will you make Israel and the church one? Are you telling me that Paul is praying like this for the church, that she might be saved? You wouldn't like to tell me that, wouldn't you? You know, all the people that argue, they immediately switch back and say, oh, that's Israel of old. Because she couldn't say anything else. Other ways you'd have Paul praying for the church, that she might be saved. He's praying for his kinsmen according to the flesh. He's praying for Jews. He's praying for the Jewish nation. He's praying for Israel. There's no problem in it at all. Have a look at the book of Jeremiah. And it's Jeremiah 31. Jeremiah 31. And we're reading only one verse. It's verse ten. And the prophet Jeremiah speaking out loud and saying, hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, he that scattered Israel will gather him. Now, you know, if you're going to make Israel the church, some people would say this, oh, you know, Israel here, it's the old Israel. God scattered the old Israel. Of course He did. But they're trying to read it like this, he that scattered Israel will gather the church. I am not allowed to do that. That isn't even fair. He that scattered Israel will gather him. Is what the word says. Oh, no, God will gather the Jewish nation again. Neither will block them off, and the great tribulation won't block them off. I know that God will squeeze them until He squeezes every bit of unbelief out of them, and that we shall see. But God's determined to gather them again. Turn on from Jeremiah on over to Ezekiel, chapter thirty-seven. The prophecy of Ezekiel, chapter thirty-seven, and this is the valley of dry bones, and I don't want to read all this tonight because we shall come to this again, but I want to show you this bit. Verse twenty-one. Stay unto them, thus saith the Lord God. Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whether they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land. Where's that now? Well, if you're a scholar at all, you'll know right well that God gave a land to Abraham. And you remember He gave this same promise to Jacob. And He said to Jacob, Unto thy sons after thee. Oh, the land that they're fighting about over there, it really belongs to Israel. Nobody will take it off them. Yes, God is going to bring this scattered nation. He says, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whether they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land. And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel. And one king shall be king to them, and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more. I'd like anybody to come up and tell me where the church was divided into two nations. I would like to know when the church became two kingdoms. Because I can easily get you the time when Israel became two nations. There were ten tribes in the north, and they became the northern nation. There were two tribes in the south, and they became the southern confederacy. Yes, they had two kings. There was a royal city in Samaria. They had two kingdoms, two kings, two royal cities, Samaria and Jerusalem. Ah, friend, why do we not really grasp it? You know, God, who scattered the Jewish nation, God is going to recover them and bring them into their own land. And here, in Revelation chapter 7, He's going to collect 144,000, and He's going to make them His servants in the tribulation. Have a look at it again. We're back at Revelation chapter 7. Revelation 7, and it's 144,000, 12,000 out of each tribe, 12 tribes. And you remember I pointed out to you not long ago that there is one tribe left out. It's the tribe of Dan. And you know, I can remember one Sunday morning when a Jehovah's Witness came to the door. Bless her, she was just a wee girl. And I went to the door, and with my weather-ray I could see she was selling Jehovah's Witnesses literature. And I had real sympathy in my heart for her. I said, who are you, dear? She said, I'm one of the 144,000. Oh, bless us all. I said, I didn't think we were as far on as that. And then just to test her out, I said, 144,000, that's in the book of Revelation, that's 12,000 out of each tribe, is that right? Yes. What tribe are you out of? She said, Dan. Take the wrong one. I said, you're quite sure you're out of Dan? Yes, she's quite sure. Well, I said, will you get the book inside, brought the book out, and went down this very carefully with her, looked for Dan here among the tribes, but Dan wasn't there. I said, you're all muddled up somewhere, you're not 144,000 at all. Oh, no, that won't do. No, these are Israelites, these are 144,000 from the tribes of history. Can we not read? Yes, these are Jews. You see, when God takes the believers home, and raises the bodies of believers, and he takes the church completely out, you know, he has multitudes of unsaved on the face of this earth. And he's not going to leave himself without a witness down here. He's going to immediately take 144,000 Jews as his witnesses. These are in the tribulation period. Yes, he's going to make them love the Lord Jesus, and he's going to make them his witnesses. Now, here's the problem. If Christ came now, I would hope that everybody here would rise to meet him in the air. I would hope that this church would be left empty. I would know that every believer all over the earth, they that are Christ's, that is coming, all the bodies that are buried would go. Now, if we take the church away, and take the bodies of the saints out of the grave away, and the Holy Ghost goes away with the church, how are these hundred and thousand poor peasants going to be compared to God? No gospel preachers. I don't know what they'd use this for. Probably some kind of a factory for the Antichrist. They would be quite welcome to it when we're gone. They don't want it anymore. Finished with it. How are these Jews going to be brought to God with no church, and no preachers, and no gospel, and no Holy Ghost down here? Well, that's quite simple. Let's go back to 1 Corinthians, chapter 15. 1 Corinthians, chapter 15. Paul is talking to the Corinthians here about the gospel that he preached to them. He says in verse 3, For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he was seen of Cephas, seen of Peter, then of the twelve. After that he was seen of about five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that he was seen of James, then of all the apostles. And last of all, he was seen of me, as of one born out of due time. Now, Paul saw the Lord Jesus. But you remember this, don't you? You remember who he was, he was the Pharisee. And you remember that he persecuted the church, he was against the church. You remember that he was going down the Damascus road, he was going actually to the city of Damascus, and he got letters somewhere upon him from the high priest in Jerusalem, and he was going to arrest believers in Damascus, and he was going to bring them to prison and to death. He had no thought of getting saved, you know, he was a Pharisee, a religious, bitter Jew. And you know, as he went down the Damascus road, it was midday, and when he gives his testimony, he said, at midday, all changed, there came a light from heaven above the brightness of the sun. You know, the Lord just opened the heavens, and shone a beam of light, scared the life out of this Jew. And he got down on the dust of the road, and covered his face, tried to look through his fingers, I think, up through the beam. He knew this was something of God. He said, Who art thou? And then he put the word Jehovah in. Who art thou, Jehovah? And then a voice from heaven said, I am Jesus! He thought he was a malefactor, he's dead, he's not alive at all, I'll blot out the effect of it. Ah, but then the voice said, I am Jesus. He was converted, you know. He wasn't converted in a meeting, putting up your hand or anything, or writing your signature or something. And he wasn't converted the way you were converted either. He wasn't converted by hearing the gospel and the Holy Ghost coming upon the way you were. He was dealt with directly from heaven. This is what he says, I am as one born out of due time. Man, I was born again long before my time. That's the way God will deal with 144,000 of you. And let me tell you, if you get 144,000 calls on the paper reserve, it'll be a big day. The rest of the world will know all about it. My, in his own day, he covered the most of the known world on foot. Let 144,000 of them loose. Ah, God is going to take us remnants out of the Jewish nation. And he's going to make them his witnesses in the tribulation. Now, we must keep pace here, we've got two things to watch. We can see these multitudes left behind on the face of this planet. And we can see God starting to deal now with the Jewish nation, taking 144,000 witnesses out for himself to be witnesses in the tribulation. But what's the church doing? Where is it? Where are the saints? Where did they go to? What's going on? And you know, when we rise to meet them and the bodies of saints arise and we all gather together up there, you know, we are going to have to stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Because he's got a lot to say to some of us. We just haven't been all we should have been. And we have pretended to be what we were not. And our service sometimes, it hasn't been truthful at all. We have tried to appear zealous when there was somehow a moot of all together. Lord's going to deal with us. Next week, God willing, we are going to see the saints standing before the judgment seat of Christ. And I'll tell you a few things that will happen then. Yes, we're getting off the ground all right, aren't we? And I tell you, we've got a lot of things to see. Going to sing three verses of 540. 540. I'm baptizing some believers on Thursday night and if there are any others and you would like to be baptized as a believer, would you like to come and have a chat with me tonight and be included in the baptismal service? 540, we're singing the first and second and last verses. First, second, last. 540 please. You'll remember that we're out at 7 o'clock in the morning. These are the last days. You should come and pray with us. Make a bend for the morning. You'll remember that we're giving the offering to the mentally hungry children. Give generously. Remember next week. Bible class is a vital one. And I would say before we pass tonight that the election in Britain just now and in Austria will be perhaps the most vital in the history of these nations. I'm sure of that. I'm perfectly sure of that. I have a sort of dread of Mr. Wilson getting in with too many folks because I think he'll tighten up Austria. If he gets in with just a few he'll be scared to do anything. But if he has a big majority, I'm not so sure. Friend, I'm not worried either about Labour or Tory. I assure you that. I'm not worried one bit. I'm just anxious that in the last of the last days we should have an opportunity to get the gospel of Christ over to multitudes that are penitent. That's all I'm anxious about. You pray about it and vote very carefully. Last verse, please. I fear for my holy name's sake.