May 21, 2025 • 26 mins
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
If it's possible to be saved during the tribulation after
the doubters have seen the rapture for themselves, what's wrong
with letting them wait till then to receive Christ. Today
on Turning Point, doctor David Jeremiah shares what the Bible
says about whether or not people can have a second
chance to be saved during the tribulation with the conclusion
(00:27):
of his message Tribulation Harvest. Here's David.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
We're going to discuss a very interesting subject during this
particular addition of Turning Point, and so put your ears on,
make sure you listen carefully. This is vital to the
future and what's going to happen. Over the years, I've
heard many people say, well, I'm going to wait and
see if the rapture happens, and then if the tribulation comes,
I'll know it's for real and I'll become a Christian.
(00:52):
And you may well do that, but let me remind you,
if you do, you will live through the rest of
the tribulation, because there's no extra rapture for those who
get saved the tribulation, and you will get through the tribulation,
but it will be a very painful event you will
ultimately get to Heaven. You need to know the Lord.
If you accept him today, you will be taken to
heaven before the tribulation begins. And I urge you to
(01:13):
do that. I urge you to accept Christ as your
savior and let us know you've done it. We have
some things we'd like to send you that will help
you grow absolutely free from us but helpful to you,
and I hope you will do that today. Hey, we're
going to finish what we started yesterday as we talk
about the tribulation harvest, and remind ourselves again of the
(01:34):
number of people who come to Christ during that seven
years of tribulation because of the witnesses from the Jewish community,
the one hundred and forty four thousand Jewish evangelists. This
is an intriguing part of the Book of Revelations. So
without any further announcement, let's.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
Get started now.
Speaker 4 (01:55):
Those who are in heaven are celebrating the joy of
coming through the tribulation. It is a similar situation to
the time when the children of Israel returned from captivity
and made boothe of palm branches. And if you will
read about that in the Book of Nehemiah, you will
read that it was a time of great gladness Nehemiah
(02:16):
eight fifteen to seventeen. Now, in the fifteenth verse of
the seventh chapter, we read that the one sitting on
the throne dwelleth with them. It is more than it
at first appears to be. The phrase actually says this,
watch it now, he that sitteth on the throne, watch
now shall.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
Spread his tent over them.
Speaker 4 (02:39):
God's shepherding, sheltering care in their behalf is pictured in
that phrase. Do you think that means anything, my friend,
if you've been through the tribulation, you'd think it meant
a lot. Jesus and God is their protection. And the
Bible literally says that He spreads his tent over them,
(02:59):
put which is protective, arms around them, safe at last,
safe at last, Thank God Almighty, We're safe at last.
Speaker 3 (03:09):
That's the spirit in their heart. All right. Now.
Speaker 4 (03:13):
Let's notice fourthly, the singing of the multitude, the singing
of the multitude in heaven. The Bible says, and they
cried with a loud voice, saying salvation to our God
which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the lamb and
all the angels stood round about the throne and about
the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the
(03:34):
throne on their faces and worshiped God, saying, and here's
the longest declaration, here's the long doxology.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
Amen, blessing in glory and.
Speaker 4 (03:44):
Wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be
unto God forever and ever.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
Amen.
Speaker 4 (03:50):
Now the multitude is singing praise to God for his salvation.
That's obvious. They have now arrived in heaven. They have
come out of the great tribulation. They've been saved of turmoil.
They're standing around the throne now and they're just worshiping God.
And they're worshiping God because they have been delivered. They
have not just been delivered in the sense that they've
(04:12):
been taken away from it, but they've been delivered in
the sense that they've been enabled to conquer it in
the power of Christ. One writer by the name of
William Barklay, who is a great historian, explains the significance
of the kind of deliverance that these people have experienced
and helps us understand why they are rejoicing.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
Listen to what he says.
Speaker 4 (04:33):
It is not a deliverance which saves a man from trouble,
but a deliverance which brings him triumphantly through trouble. It
does not make life easy, but it makes life great.
It is not a part of the Christian hope to
look for a life in which a man is saved
from trouble and distress. The Christian hope is that a
(04:54):
man of Christ can endure any kind of trouble and
distress and remain erect through all of it and come
out to glory and onto the other side. And that's
what these people. They didn't miss anything. They went through
it all. They felt the full sting of the tribulation.
They gave their lives, they shed their blood, but they
still have been delivered, and they still conquered because in
(05:16):
Christ they now have overcome. And just as our Lord
was overcoming, they are overcoming, and they're celebrating in heaven
the things which they have overcome. Just as Our Lord
was greeted in Jerusalem by the shouting of Hosanna, so
these gentile converts are shouting salvation to the Lord in heaven.
(05:41):
And the song of the Redeemed triggers the Angelic choir
and the Sevenfold description of praise is heard in heaven
again as the worship begins. And let us notice number five,
the service of the multitude in heaven. We read therefore
are they before the throne of God, and they serve
him day and night in his temple. And he that
(06:04):
sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. I have
people ask me all the time, what are we gonna
do in heaven? Well, two things we've learned. This is
a picture of heaven, though it is not heaven as we.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
Will know it.
Speaker 4 (06:14):
First of all, we're gonna sing, We're gonna worship. Secondly,
we're gonna serve. Notice what it says they will serve
him day and night in his temple. Some of you say,
Pastor Jeremiah, gotcha. There isn't any night in heaven. And
it says here they're gonna serve day and night. What
that means is they are just gonna continue to serve
(06:34):
without regard to time. Now, here's a very interesting thing.
In the Old Testament, the privilege of serving God day
and night was reserved for two people, the levite and
the priest. They were the only ones who got to
serve day and night. And these are the singers, the
chief of the fathers of the Levites, who remaining in
the chambers, were free, for they were employed day and
(06:58):
night first Chronicles nine thirty three. When the Gentiles were
on the earth, they were never allowed to serve in
the temple at all. They couldn't even come into the temple.
In fact, no Gentile could go beyond the court of
the gentiles on pain of death. An Israelite could pass
through the court of the women, and he could go
(07:20):
no further beyond that was the court of the priest,
which was for priests alone. But in this temple in heaven,
in this temple, the way to the presence of God
is open to people of every race. And now they're
engaged in glad unceasing service, going back and forth serving
their God. There are no barriers, there are no restraints.
(07:40):
There is absolute total openness to the throne of God
in heaven. And the reference to serving day and night
simply means that in that day, listen to this.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
This really encouraged me.
Speaker 4 (07:51):
In that day, they will not need sleep or rest
in order to serve continually. They will never be tired,
they will not be subject to any longer to the
limitations that frustrate all of us. Here below, they will
be able to serve God continually. And the wonderful opportunity
of personal fellowship is referenced here too. For the Lord
(08:13):
and himself, it says, is going to dwell with them.
Can you imagine serving and having God write there, just
fellowshipping with him and serving with him and continuing to
do that odd infinitum, forever and ever, to serve the Lord.
Some of you think that's not going to be much fun.
And if you think that, it's because you've never served
(08:33):
the Lord. Right, If you serve the Lord, you discover
it's the greatest joy in all of the world. You
get rid of the earthly limitations and the problems that
are a part of us because of our flesh, and
serving God is the most wonderful thing a person can
ever experience.
Speaker 3 (08:49):
Notice number six.
Speaker 4 (08:51):
The shepherding of the multitude in heaven. They shall hunger
no more, neither thirst anymore, neither shall the sunlight on them,
nor any heat. For the Lamb, which is in the
midst of the throne, shall feed them and shall lead
them into living fountains of waters. And God shall wipe
away all tears from their eyes. I can't help but
think of a passage of scripture when I read this.
(09:14):
If you read it again, I'm sure it'll come to
your mind. This reminds me of the twenty third Psalm.
It talks about not hungering, not thirsting, being led by
the waters, the living fountains of waters.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
It talks about being shepherded.
Speaker 4 (09:31):
And this multitude when they get to Heaven, are going
to be shepherded by the Lord, the Lamb of God.
And they shall not hunger nor thirst. Neither shall the
heat nor the sun smite them. For he that hath
mercy on them shall lead them. Even by the springs
of water, shall he guide them. Isaiah forty nine to ten,
(09:52):
almost exactly what is said here by way of prophecy. Now,
think about this for a moment. Why is this so
important to this group of people? Look at that verse
and examine everything in that verse that God is going
to do for them, and then don't taken out of
the context of what we've been studying, but put it
together with what these people have been experiencing now in
(10:14):
the tribulation period. This provision by the Lord is in
stark contrast to what they've just gone through. For instance,
the Antichrist has starved these believers, and the vile judgment
has turned the river into blood. But the Shepherd shall
see to it that they never hunger or thirst again.
(10:35):
While they were down here on this earth, they didn't
have the mark of the beast on them, so they
couldn't buy any food, and they couldn't eat, and they
were literally starving to death. And then the judgment of
God came down and the rivers and the waters turned
to blood, and there wasn't any way to drink. So
what they didn't have in the tribulation, now God has
specifically provided for them. He's going to make sure they
(10:57):
never hunger again, and they never will thirst again. Now
all of the tears and all of the sorrow of
their former lives are going to be put behind them forever.
God is going to wipe away their tears from their eyes.
And it's not hard to imagine the intense suffering these
people must have experienced during the reign of the Devil's Trinity.
(11:20):
For we read that during that time there was heat,
heat that was so great that it melted everything. And
there's some changes in the atmosphere that make it no
longer possible for you to be out in the sun's rays,
because the canopy that protects us even on a hot
day will be taken away during that time of judgment,
(11:40):
and the scorching heat of the sun is going to
come down and literally burn the people in the tribulation
to a crisp But notice what it says here. This
doesn't have any meaning unless you understand that it says
they shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore, neither shall
the sun light on them, nor any heat. They'll never
have to go through that again, and God's taking care
(12:01):
of that for them.
Speaker 3 (12:02):
They're in heaven now. Those days are behind them. That's
all over.
Speaker 4 (12:06):
You see what God did was he just put in
here a few little things to remind us that when
we get to heaven, the tribulations that have plagued us
here are all going to be cared for. He is
going to meet every need we have in total perfection
in contrast to what we've experienced.
Speaker 3 (12:23):
Now.
Speaker 4 (12:23):
The phrase here in the seventh chapter is very exact.
The last phrase is maybe the one that's the most
blessing to us all and the one that will find
its way into many sermons about death and many funeral sermons,
sometimes in comforting people. For the last phrase of the
seventh chapter says, and God shall wipe away all tears
(12:47):
from their eyes. Now, the phrase is not exactly like
it looks.
Speaker 3 (12:52):
It's even stronger.
Speaker 4 (12:54):
It does not say here that the tears are just
wiped It doesn't say even that they are wiped away.
But the text says they are wiped out of their
eyes so that nothing is left. In other words, there
isn't any possibility to cry anymore. He doesn't just wipe
the tear. He doesn't just wipe it away. He takes
(13:15):
the tears out of the eyes so that they can't
ever happen again. There will be no tears when God
wipes them away. But listen to me carefully.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
Now.
Speaker 4 (13:25):
I hear people say all the time pastor no tears
in heaven. In fact, when I was in a quartet,
I used to sing a song called no Tears in Heaven.
Is one of my favorite songs, and it's sentimentally good,
but it's theologically wrong. Let me ask you this, If
there aren't any tears in heaven, what's God going to
wipe away?
Speaker 3 (13:45):
Right? There will be tears in heaven.
Speaker 4 (13:47):
In fact, there will be tears in heaven and they
won't be wiped away except on two occasions. And it's
very interesting that the two times that tears are wiped
away are related to the two judgments of God upon
this earth. And I suppose some of you may never
have heard this before, because sometimes we think that once
we make it through death and we get to heaven
(14:08):
as Christians, there's not going to be any pain for us.
And I don't want to take away the glory of
the Christian experience, but I want you to know that
the Bible says in heaven God is going to wipe
away tears from the eyes of Christians. That means that
there are going to be Christians in heaven who are
going to have tears to wipe away. It is not
(14:28):
just a blanket statement that says there won't be any
tears in heaven. There will not be any tears in eternity,
but there will be tears in heaven, and God is
going to have to wipe them away. Two times we
read that God wipes tears away in heaven. There are
two times here in this chapter and again in Chapter
twenty one. It is not exactly accurate to sing the
(14:51):
song no tears in heaven, for there will be tears
in heaven, or else there will be nothing for God
to wipe away. There are no tears in eternity, but
there are tears in heaven. Now watch carefully. It is
interesting to note that the context of the wiping away
of tears in the Book of Revelation is this. When
God wipes away tears in chapter twenty one, it is
(15:13):
just after the Great White Throne Judgment has occurred. God
does not wipe away all tears until the Great White
Throne Judgment is finished. When is that? That's at the
end and what happens at the Great White Thrown Judgment.
Don't get the judgments mixed up. The Great White Thrown
(15:33):
Judgment is the time when all of the unsaved appear
before God and he says to them, depart from me,
I never knew you, and they go out into eternity,
lost forever and ever. And it's after that that God
is going to wipe away the tears ultimately and finally
of the people who are in heaven. When God wipes
(15:57):
away tears in chapter seven, it is just after the
tribulation has been concluded. If you know your theology and
your prophecy. You know that the tribulation period on earth
coincides with the judgment seed of Christ in heaven. What's
going on down here on this earth for seven years
is tribulation. What goes on in heaven for seven years
(16:18):
is Christ is judging the people who have been raptured out,
and they're coming before him to give an account for
the works done in the flesh. So there are two
times when tears are wiped away in heaven, after the
judgment Seed of Christ and after the Great White Throne judgment.
Some people argue, well, we won't be able to cry
(16:39):
and weep because we will have the body and the
mind of Christ. We will be changed to be like Christ.
But they seem to forget that Christ wept. He wept
for sinners, and he even wept for a city that
would not embrace him as their messiah. Jesus wept. And
when we're in heaven, we're going to weep. You say, pastor,
why will we cry? I don't know all the answers,
(17:00):
but based upon the place of the wiping away of
the tears, it seems pretty evident that we're going to cry.
Speaker 3 (17:07):
For two reasons.
Speaker 4 (17:08):
First of all, at the judgment seat of Christ, we
will realize what we could have done and didn't do
for Christ. And we're going to weep, and I believe
it's going to take an act of God to wipe
those tears out of our eyes. We won't go into
eternity like that. We won't go into Heaven as we
know it like that. And I'll tell you, when you
(17:29):
look back over a life, if it's been wasted, if
it's been ruined, if it's been squandered. Every once in
a while I hear people say to me, you know
what I'm going to do, pastor, I'm not into this
religious stuff.
Speaker 3 (17:40):
I'll tell you what. I'm going to have my fling.
Speaker 4 (17:42):
I'm going to live my life and just as close
as I can before I die.
Speaker 3 (17:46):
Then I'm going to accept Christ and I'll go to heaven.
Speaker 4 (17:49):
That to me is the biggest waste of anything I
have ever heard of in my life. God didn't make
you for that. He made you to serve him. He
made you to enjoy serving And I can't believe a person.
And that's why a lot of folks who say that
will never get that chance. I mean, what an overwhelming
sense of rebellion to say to God, you know, when
I'm ready, I'll get saved. And when you know that,
(18:12):
if he wants to God and snuff your life out,
just any time he wants, you may not have that option.
But even if you could do that, can you imagine
a person with that spirit standing someday before the judgment
seat of Christ and looking back over a life totally
wasted and seeing what he could have done for Christ.
Speaker 3 (18:31):
Some of you.
Speaker 4 (18:31):
People have waited a long time to get your act
together for the Lord. Thank God you've got left what's left.
I always love what the old Southern Baptist preacher said,
Lord be the Lord of what's left. And that's important.
But what a terrible thing to waste a life. There
will be crying at the judgment seat of Christ until
God wipes away those tears. And then there will be crying,
(18:56):
I believe, at the Great White Throne. We will weep
when we see unsaved people we could have witnessed to
and didn't. We see them perish and go to hell.
For some, it will be moms and dads and brothers
and sisters and husbands and wives. There will be tears
in heaven and God is going to have to wipe
(19:17):
them away, or Heaven and eternity could never be what
it ought to be. That's an awesome thing, isn't it
a sobering thing? The great thing in this passage of scripture, however,
is this. It is not the discouragement of people missing
out on salvation so much as it is the encouragement
(19:38):
of recognizing that when we go through trouble, when we
go through tribulation.
Speaker 3 (19:43):
God understands. Do you know that? Isn't it wonderful?
Speaker 4 (19:47):
How God looked down upon the tribulation period and saw
all what these people were suffering through, and he took
them through it, And when they got out of it,
he took him to heaven and he ministered to every
single one of their personal needs. He knew they were
hungry and he fe He knew they couldn't drink, and
he gave him something to drink. He knew they'd been
scorched in the sun and there was no heat nor
sun there. He wrapped him up in white stoles of
(20:09):
righteousness and loved them with an everlasting love. You know
what I've discovered that isn't a ministry. God waits forever
to do. It's not a minister. He waits for eternity
to do. God's in that business today. Have you discovered
that God knows your trouble and your difficulty. He wants
to dry your tears right now. He won't wipe them
(20:30):
away permanently, but He's in the tear drying business. And
God often comes with his ministry to help and encourage
us because he knows what we experience. Nothing ever escapes him.
My friend, I want to encourage you. I don't know
what you're going through. Some of you are facing some
heavy things, but God knows that and he loves you,
(20:53):
and in the midst of that tribulation, he wants to
have a ministry of encouragement to your heart. One of
the people in our church she wrote me a note
and told me no, she hadn't written it. She just
found it and she wanted me to read it. Like
many of the writings that people hand to me, I
read it.
Speaker 3 (21:08):
It goes like this. It happens to all of us.
Speaker 4 (21:13):
Winter's death breaks through the door of our lives with
its blast of cold, barren reality, wrenching our hearts, stretching
our resources, forcing us to face finality. It strikes our bodies,
it attacks our souls.
Speaker 3 (21:31):
And after the.
Speaker 4 (21:32):
Storm, whether it be the death of a loved one
or the death of a dream, we are left alone
bearing death's toll. It is Saturday. Saturday is dark and
cold and silent. There's no hope, no future, no vision.
Most of the disciples gathered together behind a closed door.
(21:53):
A few stayed away and hid, and we do that.
We retreat into ourselves where others can see your question
or give advice. There are no answers on Saturday, only
the gathering together of those bared truths which we've held
yet we've never owned. Whether it lasts a day or longer,
(22:15):
our Saturdays will come. In fact, it could be that
if we die daily, they may always be moments of
a Saturday working within us. Saturday, then, is the void
between our decrease and His increase, the void between flesh
and spirit, death and life, even for the Christian. We ask,
(22:35):
especially for the Christian. But because we are Christian, we
have this word. Our Saturday is not in vain. There
will be a tomorrow when once again He will come
to us and we will see his face. Consider Saturdays,
the ones we've known, the ones we're in, the ones
(22:58):
to come. If this is our Saturday, think about the
life we long for, the life we cannot produce, but
only wait for and die for and hang on. It
is on Saturday that we best understand a bit of
the loneliness and pain of Christ's Friday. Here we find
(23:19):
our solace, for in our embrace of Saturday, we find
our arms around Him. For these who believe upon the lamb,
the tribulation is their Saturday. But the scene we have
explored in Heaven encourages us that for them and for us,
(23:41):
Saturday does not last very long.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
It's a reminder to all of us even now that
we shouldn't put off until tomorrow what the Bible says
we should do today. Today is the day of salvation.
Tomorrow may be too late. So if God is speaking
to you about your relationship with Him through his son
Jesus Christ, let me encourage you to make your decision now.
(24:08):
Simply pray and ask Jesus Christ to come and live
within your heart. Every day throughout the year we hear
from people who've made that important decision, and you can
make that decision today. When you do, you will discover
a sense of wonderful forgiveness and the loss of guilt
and the joy of heaven, and you'll be ready to
(24:29):
meet the Lord whenever that time comes.
Speaker 3 (24:32):
One of the great.
Speaker 2 (24:33):
Opportunities we have is to be preachers, not in the tribulation,
but in the day of grace, and we are seeing
a harvest to thank the Lord for that.
Speaker 3 (24:43):
Well.
Speaker 2 (24:43):
Be sure to join us tomorrow is we begin our
study at the eighth chapter of Revelation. We're finishing up
chapter seven today, moving rapidly through this incredible book.
Speaker 3 (24:54):
Have a great day, folks.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
The message you just heard originated from Shadow Mountain Community
Church and David Jeremiah, the senior pastor. Your words of
encouragement are so appreciated. Right now, please write us at
Turning Point PO box thirty eight thirty eight, San Diego, California,
nine two one sixty three, visit our website at David
Jeremiah dot org, Slash Radio, or call eight hundred ninety
(25:18):
four seven nineteen ninety three ask for your copy of
David's timely new book, Sixty Days of Prophecies, The Truth
behind Endtime Warnings. It's yours for a gift of any amount.
You can also view over twelve hundred of Doctor Jeremiah's
sermons on any screen anytime you like on our Turning
(25:38):
Point Plus streaming service. For a monthly gift of any amount,
visit turningpointplus dot org for details. This is David Michael Jeremiah.
Join us tomorrow as we continue the series Escape the
Coming Night on Turning Point with Doctor David Jeremiah
If it's possible to be saved during the tribulation after
the doubters have seen the rapture for themselves, what's wrong
with letting them wait till then to receive Christ. Today
on Turning Point, doctor David Jeremiah shares what the Bible
says about whether or not people can have a second
chance to be saved during the tribulation with the conclusion
(00:27):
of his message Tribulation Harvest. Here's David.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
We're going to discuss a very interesting subject during this
particular addition of Turning Point, and so put your ears on,
make sure you listen carefully. This is vital to the
future and what's going to happen. Over the years, I've
heard many people say, well, I'm going to wait and
see if the rapture happens, and then if the tribulation comes,
I'll know it's for real and I'll become a Christian.
(00:52):
And you may well do that, but let me remind you,
if you do, you will live through the rest of
the tribulation, because there's no extra rapture for those who
get saved the tribulation, and you will get through the tribulation,
but it will be a very painful event you will
ultimately get to Heaven. You need to know the Lord.
If you accept him today, you will be taken to
heaven before the tribulation begins. And I urge you to
(01:13):
do that. I urge you to accept Christ as your
savior and let us know you've done it. We have
some things we'd like to send you that will help
you grow absolutely free from us but helpful to you,
and I hope you will do that today. Hey, we're
going to finish what we started yesterday as we talk
about the tribulation harvest, and remind ourselves again of the
(01:34):
number of people who come to Christ during that seven
years of tribulation because of the witnesses from the Jewish community,
the one hundred and forty four thousand Jewish evangelists. This
is an intriguing part of the Book of Revelations. So
without any further announcement, let's.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
Get started now.
Speaker 4 (01:55):
Those who are in heaven are celebrating the joy of
coming through the tribulation. It is a similar situation to
the time when the children of Israel returned from captivity
and made boothe of palm branches. And if you will
read about that in the Book of Nehemiah, you will
read that it was a time of great gladness Nehemiah
(02:16):
eight fifteen to seventeen. Now, in the fifteenth verse of
the seventh chapter, we read that the one sitting on
the throne dwelleth with them. It is more than it
at first appears to be. The phrase actually says this,
watch it now, he that sitteth on the throne, watch
now shall.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
Spread his tent over them.
Speaker 4 (02:39):
God's shepherding, sheltering care in their behalf is pictured in
that phrase. Do you think that means anything, my friend,
if you've been through the tribulation, you'd think it meant
a lot. Jesus and God is their protection. And the
Bible literally says that He spreads his tent over them,
(02:59):
put which is protective, arms around them, safe at last,
safe at last, Thank God Almighty, We're safe at last.
Speaker 3 (03:09):
That's the spirit in their heart. All right. Now.
Speaker 4 (03:13):
Let's notice fourthly, the singing of the multitude, the singing
of the multitude in heaven. The Bible says, and they
cried with a loud voice, saying salvation to our God
which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the lamb and
all the angels stood round about the throne and about
the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the
(03:34):
throne on their faces and worshiped God, saying, and here's
the longest declaration, here's the long doxology.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
Amen, blessing in glory and.
Speaker 4 (03:44):
Wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be
unto God forever and ever.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
Amen.
Speaker 4 (03:50):
Now the multitude is singing praise to God for his salvation.
That's obvious. They have now arrived in heaven. They have
come out of the great tribulation. They've been saved of turmoil.
They're standing around the throne now and they're just worshiping God.
And they're worshiping God because they have been delivered. They
have not just been delivered in the sense that they've
(04:12):
been taken away from it, but they've been delivered in
the sense that they've been enabled to conquer it in
the power of Christ. One writer by the name of
William Barklay, who is a great historian, explains the significance
of the kind of deliverance that these people have experienced
and helps us understand why they are rejoicing.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
Listen to what he says.
Speaker 4 (04:33):
It is not a deliverance which saves a man from trouble,
but a deliverance which brings him triumphantly through trouble. It
does not make life easy, but it makes life great.
It is not a part of the Christian hope to
look for a life in which a man is saved
from trouble and distress. The Christian hope is that a
(04:54):
man of Christ can endure any kind of trouble and
distress and remain erect through all of it and come
out to glory and onto the other side. And that's
what these people. They didn't miss anything. They went through
it all. They felt the full sting of the tribulation.
They gave their lives, they shed their blood, but they
still have been delivered, and they still conquered because in
(05:16):
Christ they now have overcome. And just as our Lord
was overcoming, they are overcoming, and they're celebrating in heaven
the things which they have overcome. Just as Our Lord
was greeted in Jerusalem by the shouting of Hosanna, so
these gentile converts are shouting salvation to the Lord in heaven.
(05:41):
And the song of the Redeemed triggers the Angelic choir
and the Sevenfold description of praise is heard in heaven
again as the worship begins. And let us notice number five,
the service of the multitude in heaven. We read therefore
are they before the throne of God, and they serve
him day and night in his temple. And he that
(06:04):
sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. I have
people ask me all the time, what are we gonna
do in heaven? Well, two things we've learned. This is
a picture of heaven, though it is not heaven as we.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
Will know it.
Speaker 4 (06:14):
First of all, we're gonna sing, We're gonna worship. Secondly,
we're gonna serve. Notice what it says they will serve
him day and night in his temple. Some of you say,
Pastor Jeremiah, gotcha. There isn't any night in heaven. And
it says here they're gonna serve day and night. What
that means is they are just gonna continue to serve
(06:34):
without regard to time. Now, here's a very interesting thing.
In the Old Testament, the privilege of serving God day
and night was reserved for two people, the levite and
the priest. They were the only ones who got to
serve day and night. And these are the singers, the
chief of the fathers of the Levites, who remaining in
the chambers, were free, for they were employed day and
(06:58):
night first Chronicles nine thirty three. When the Gentiles were
on the earth, they were never allowed to serve in
the temple at all. They couldn't even come into the temple.
In fact, no Gentile could go beyond the court of
the gentiles on pain of death. An Israelite could pass
through the court of the women, and he could go
(07:20):
no further beyond that was the court of the priest,
which was for priests alone. But in this temple in heaven,
in this temple, the way to the presence of God
is open to people of every race. And now they're
engaged in glad unceasing service, going back and forth serving
their God. There are no barriers, there are no restraints.
(07:40):
There is absolute total openness to the throne of God
in heaven. And the reference to serving day and night
simply means that in that day, listen to this.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
This really encouraged me.
Speaker 4 (07:51):
In that day, they will not need sleep or rest
in order to serve continually. They will never be tired,
they will not be subject to any longer to the
limitations that frustrate all of us. Here below, they will
be able to serve God continually. And the wonderful opportunity
of personal fellowship is referenced here too. For the Lord
(08:13):
and himself, it says, is going to dwell with them.
Can you imagine serving and having God write there, just
fellowshipping with him and serving with him and continuing to
do that odd infinitum, forever and ever, to serve the Lord.
Some of you think that's not going to be much fun.
And if you think that, it's because you've never served
(08:33):
the Lord. Right, If you serve the Lord, you discover
it's the greatest joy in all of the world. You
get rid of the earthly limitations and the problems that
are a part of us because of our flesh, and
serving God is the most wonderful thing a person can
ever experience.
Speaker 3 (08:49):
Notice number six.
Speaker 4 (08:51):
The shepherding of the multitude in heaven. They shall hunger
no more, neither thirst anymore, neither shall the sunlight on them,
nor any heat. For the Lamb, which is in the
midst of the throne, shall feed them and shall lead
them into living fountains of waters. And God shall wipe
away all tears from their eyes. I can't help but
think of a passage of scripture when I read this.
(09:14):
If you read it again, I'm sure it'll come to
your mind. This reminds me of the twenty third Psalm.
It talks about not hungering, not thirsting, being led by
the waters, the living fountains of waters.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
It talks about being shepherded.
Speaker 4 (09:31):
And this multitude when they get to Heaven, are going
to be shepherded by the Lord, the Lamb of God.
And they shall not hunger nor thirst. Neither shall the
heat nor the sun smite them. For he that hath
mercy on them shall lead them. Even by the springs
of water, shall he guide them. Isaiah forty nine to ten,
(09:52):
almost exactly what is said here by way of prophecy. Now,
think about this for a moment. Why is this so
important to this group of people? Look at that verse
and examine everything in that verse that God is going
to do for them, and then don't taken out of
the context of what we've been studying, but put it
together with what these people have been experiencing now in
(10:14):
the tribulation period. This provision by the Lord is in
stark contrast to what they've just gone through. For instance,
the Antichrist has starved these believers, and the vile judgment
has turned the river into blood. But the Shepherd shall
see to it that they never hunger or thirst again.
(10:35):
While they were down here on this earth, they didn't
have the mark of the beast on them, so they
couldn't buy any food, and they couldn't eat, and they
were literally starving to death. And then the judgment of
God came down and the rivers and the waters turned
to blood, and there wasn't any way to drink. So
what they didn't have in the tribulation, now God has
specifically provided for them. He's going to make sure they
(10:57):
never hunger again, and they never will thirst again. Now
all of the tears and all of the sorrow of
their former lives are going to be put behind them forever.
God is going to wipe away their tears from their eyes.
And it's not hard to imagine the intense suffering these
people must have experienced during the reign of the Devil's Trinity.
(11:20):
For we read that during that time there was heat,
heat that was so great that it melted everything. And
there's some changes in the atmosphere that make it no
longer possible for you to be out in the sun's rays,
because the canopy that protects us even on a hot
day will be taken away during that time of judgment,
(11:40):
and the scorching heat of the sun is going to
come down and literally burn the people in the tribulation
to a crisp But notice what it says here. This
doesn't have any meaning unless you understand that it says
they shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore, neither shall
the sun light on them, nor any heat. They'll never
have to go through that again, and God's taking care
(12:01):
of that for them.
Speaker 3 (12:02):
They're in heaven now. Those days are behind them. That's
all over.
Speaker 4 (12:06):
You see what God did was he just put in
here a few little things to remind us that when
we get to heaven, the tribulations that have plagued us
here are all going to be cared for. He is
going to meet every need we have in total perfection
in contrast to what we've experienced.
Speaker 3 (12:23):
Now.
Speaker 4 (12:23):
The phrase here in the seventh chapter is very exact.
The last phrase is maybe the one that's the most
blessing to us all and the one that will find
its way into many sermons about death and many funeral sermons,
sometimes in comforting people. For the last phrase of the
seventh chapter says, and God shall wipe away all tears
(12:47):
from their eyes. Now, the phrase is not exactly like
it looks.
Speaker 3 (12:52):
It's even stronger.
Speaker 4 (12:54):
It does not say here that the tears are just
wiped It doesn't say even that they are wiped away.
But the text says they are wiped out of their
eyes so that nothing is left. In other words, there
isn't any possibility to cry anymore. He doesn't just wipe
the tear. He doesn't just wipe it away. He takes
(13:15):
the tears out of the eyes so that they can't
ever happen again. There will be no tears when God
wipes them away. But listen to me carefully.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
Now.
Speaker 4 (13:25):
I hear people say all the time pastor no tears
in heaven. In fact, when I was in a quartet,
I used to sing a song called no Tears in Heaven.
Is one of my favorite songs, and it's sentimentally good,
but it's theologically wrong. Let me ask you this, If
there aren't any tears in heaven, what's God going to
wipe away?
Speaker 3 (13:45):
Right? There will be tears in heaven.
Speaker 4 (13:47):
In fact, there will be tears in heaven and they
won't be wiped away except on two occasions. And it's
very interesting that the two times that tears are wiped
away are related to the two judgments of God upon
this earth. And I suppose some of you may never
have heard this before, because sometimes we think that once
we make it through death and we get to heaven
(14:08):
as Christians, there's not going to be any pain for us.
And I don't want to take away the glory of
the Christian experience, but I want you to know that
the Bible says in heaven God is going to wipe
away tears from the eyes of Christians. That means that
there are going to be Christians in heaven who are
going to have tears to wipe away. It is not
(14:28):
just a blanket statement that says there won't be any
tears in heaven. There will not be any tears in eternity,
but there will be tears in heaven, and God is
going to have to wipe them away. Two times we
read that God wipes tears away in heaven. There are
two times here in this chapter and again in Chapter
twenty one. It is not exactly accurate to sing the
(14:51):
song no tears in heaven, for there will be tears
in heaven, or else there will be nothing for God
to wipe away. There are no tears in eternity, but
there are tears in heaven. Now watch carefully. It is
interesting to note that the context of the wiping away
of tears in the Book of Revelation is this. When
God wipes away tears in chapter twenty one, it is
(15:13):
just after the Great White Throne Judgment has occurred. God
does not wipe away all tears until the Great White
Throne Judgment is finished. When is that? That's at the
end and what happens at the Great White Thrown Judgment.
Don't get the judgments mixed up. The Great White Thrown
(15:33):
Judgment is the time when all of the unsaved appear
before God and he says to them, depart from me,
I never knew you, and they go out into eternity,
lost forever and ever. And it's after that that God
is going to wipe away the tears ultimately and finally
of the people who are in heaven. When God wipes
(15:57):
away tears in chapter seven, it is just after the
tribulation has been concluded. If you know your theology and
your prophecy. You know that the tribulation period on earth
coincides with the judgment seed of Christ in heaven. What's
going on down here on this earth for seven years
is tribulation. What goes on in heaven for seven years
(16:18):
is Christ is judging the people who have been raptured out,
and they're coming before him to give an account for
the works done in the flesh. So there are two
times when tears are wiped away in heaven, after the
judgment Seed of Christ and after the Great White Throne judgment.
Some people argue, well, we won't be able to cry
(16:39):
and weep because we will have the body and the
mind of Christ. We will be changed to be like Christ.
But they seem to forget that Christ wept. He wept
for sinners, and he even wept for a city that
would not embrace him as their messiah. Jesus wept. And
when we're in heaven, we're going to weep. You say, pastor,
why will we cry? I don't know all the answers,
(17:00):
but based upon the place of the wiping away of
the tears, it seems pretty evident that we're going to cry.
Speaker 3 (17:07):
For two reasons.
Speaker 4 (17:08):
First of all, at the judgment seat of Christ, we
will realize what we could have done and didn't do
for Christ. And we're going to weep, and I believe
it's going to take an act of God to wipe
those tears out of our eyes. We won't go into
eternity like that. We won't go into Heaven as we
know it like that. And I'll tell you, when you
(17:29):
look back over a life, if it's been wasted, if
it's been ruined, if it's been squandered. Every once in
a while I hear people say to me, you know
what I'm going to do, pastor, I'm not into this
religious stuff.
Speaker 3 (17:40):
I'll tell you what. I'm going to have my fling.
Speaker 4 (17:42):
I'm going to live my life and just as close
as I can before I die.
Speaker 3 (17:46):
Then I'm going to accept Christ and I'll go to heaven.
Speaker 4 (17:49):
That to me is the biggest waste of anything I
have ever heard of in my life. God didn't make
you for that. He made you to serve him. He
made you to enjoy serving And I can't believe a person.
And that's why a lot of folks who say that
will never get that chance. I mean, what an overwhelming
sense of rebellion to say to God, you know, when
I'm ready, I'll get saved. And when you know that,
(18:12):
if he wants to God and snuff your life out,
just any time he wants, you may not have that option.
But even if you could do that, can you imagine
a person with that spirit standing someday before the judgment
seat of Christ and looking back over a life totally
wasted and seeing what he could have done for Christ.
Speaker 3 (18:31):
Some of you.
Speaker 4 (18:31):
People have waited a long time to get your act
together for the Lord. Thank God you've got left what's left.
I always love what the old Southern Baptist preacher said,
Lord be the Lord of what's left. And that's important.
But what a terrible thing to waste a life. There
will be crying at the judgment seat of Christ until
God wipes away those tears. And then there will be crying,
(18:56):
I believe, at the Great White Throne. We will weep
when we see unsaved people we could have witnessed to
and didn't. We see them perish and go to hell.
For some, it will be moms and dads and brothers
and sisters and husbands and wives. There will be tears
in heaven and God is going to have to wipe
(19:17):
them away, or Heaven and eternity could never be what
it ought to be. That's an awesome thing, isn't it
a sobering thing? The great thing in this passage of scripture, however,
is this. It is not the discouragement of people missing
out on salvation so much as it is the encouragement
(19:38):
of recognizing that when we go through trouble, when we
go through tribulation.
Speaker 3 (19:43):
God understands. Do you know that? Isn't it wonderful?
Speaker 4 (19:47):
How God looked down upon the tribulation period and saw
all what these people were suffering through, and he took
them through it, And when they got out of it,
he took him to heaven and he ministered to every
single one of their personal needs. He knew they were
hungry and he fe He knew they couldn't drink, and
he gave him something to drink. He knew they'd been
scorched in the sun and there was no heat nor
sun there. He wrapped him up in white stoles of
(20:09):
righteousness and loved them with an everlasting love. You know
what I've discovered that isn't a ministry. God waits forever
to do. It's not a minister. He waits for eternity
to do. God's in that business today. Have you discovered
that God knows your trouble and your difficulty. He wants
to dry your tears right now. He won't wipe them
(20:30):
away permanently, but He's in the tear drying business. And
God often comes with his ministry to help and encourage
us because he knows what we experience. Nothing ever escapes him.
My friend, I want to encourage you. I don't know
what you're going through. Some of you are facing some
heavy things, but God knows that and he loves you,
(20:53):
and in the midst of that tribulation, he wants to
have a ministry of encouragement to your heart. One of
the people in our church she wrote me a note
and told me no, she hadn't written it. She just
found it and she wanted me to read it. Like
many of the writings that people hand to me, I
read it.
Speaker 3 (21:08):
It goes like this. It happens to all of us.
Speaker 4 (21:13):
Winter's death breaks through the door of our lives with
its blast of cold, barren reality, wrenching our hearts, stretching
our resources, forcing us to face finality. It strikes our bodies,
it attacks our souls.
Speaker 3 (21:31):
And after the.
Speaker 4 (21:32):
Storm, whether it be the death of a loved one
or the death of a dream, we are left alone
bearing death's toll. It is Saturday. Saturday is dark and
cold and silent. There's no hope, no future, no vision.
Most of the disciples gathered together behind a closed door.
(21:53):
A few stayed away and hid, and we do that.
We retreat into ourselves where others can see your question
or give advice. There are no answers on Saturday, only
the gathering together of those bared truths which we've held
yet we've never owned. Whether it lasts a day or longer,
(22:15):
our Saturdays will come. In fact, it could be that
if we die daily, they may always be moments of
a Saturday working within us. Saturday, then, is the void
between our decrease and His increase, the void between flesh
and spirit, death and life, even for the Christian. We ask,
(22:35):
especially for the Christian. But because we are Christian, we
have this word. Our Saturday is not in vain. There
will be a tomorrow when once again He will come
to us and we will see his face. Consider Saturdays,
the ones we've known, the ones we're in, the ones
(22:58):
to come. If this is our Saturday, think about the
life we long for, the life we cannot produce, but
only wait for and die for and hang on. It
is on Saturday that we best understand a bit of
the loneliness and pain of Christ's Friday. Here we find
(23:19):
our solace, for in our embrace of Saturday, we find
our arms around Him. For these who believe upon the lamb,
the tribulation is their Saturday. But the scene we have
explored in Heaven encourages us that for them and for us,
(23:41):
Saturday does not last very long.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
It's a reminder to all of us even now that
we shouldn't put off until tomorrow what the Bible says
we should do today. Today is the day of salvation.
Tomorrow may be too late. So if God is speaking
to you about your relationship with Him through his son
Jesus Christ, let me encourage you to make your decision now.
(24:08):
Simply pray and ask Jesus Christ to come and live
within your heart. Every day throughout the year we hear
from people who've made that important decision, and you can
make that decision today. When you do, you will discover
a sense of wonderful forgiveness and the loss of guilt
and the joy of heaven, and you'll be ready to
(24:29):
meet the Lord whenever that time comes.
Speaker 3 (24:32):
One of the great.
Speaker 2 (24:33):
Opportunities we have is to be preachers, not in the tribulation,
but in the day of grace, and we are seeing
a harvest to thank the Lord for that.
Speaker 3 (24:43):
Well.
Speaker 2 (24:43):
Be sure to join us tomorrow is we begin our
study at the eighth chapter of Revelation. We're finishing up
chapter seven today, moving rapidly through this incredible book.
Speaker 3 (24:54):
Have a great day, folks.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
The message you just heard originated from Shadow Mountain Community
Church and David Jeremiah, the senior pastor. Your words of
encouragement are so appreciated. Right now, please write us at
Turning Point PO box thirty eight thirty eight, San Diego, California,
nine two one sixty three, visit our website at David
Jeremiah dot org, Slash Radio, or call eight hundred ninety
(25:18):
four seven nineteen ninety three ask for your copy of
David's timely new book, Sixty Days of Prophecies, The Truth
behind Endtime Warnings. It's yours for a gift of any amount.
You can also view over twelve hundred of Doctor Jeremiah's
sermons on any screen anytime you like on our Turning
(25:38):
Point Plus streaming service. For a monthly gift of any amount,
visit turningpointplus dot org for details. This is David Michael Jeremiah.
Join us tomorrow as we continue the series Escape the
Coming Night on Turning Point with Doctor David Jeremiah
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