How Bad Can It Get? - Part A

There's nothing worse than what is coming on the earth. It'll be worse than the Dark Ages, worse than the Black Plague of Europe that killed 25 million people. It'll be worse than the Great Depression, worse than World War I, worse than World War II, worse than the Holocaust, worse than the bombs that went off in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, worse than the 2008 recession, worse than COVID-19.

It'll be worse. Today on Connect with Skip Heitzig, Pastor Skip shares a message about the worst days that are in store for the earth. Now here's more about this special resource that will guide you through the past, present, and God-ordained future for the nation of Israel. How have conflicts and wars in the Middle East set the stage for a future apocalypse? That's the question Ron Rhodes takes head-on in his new book.

Listen to this. What do you see coming in the next five or six years that might do injury to the church? And without hesitation, I said, I really feel like we're going to see an explosion of subjectivism, experientialism, and mysticism, along with occultism and some paganism. How conflicts and wars in the Middle East have set the stage for the end times? This new book by Ron Rhodes addresses issues such as understanding Islam, rebuilding the temple, and the annihilation campaign from the Antichrist.

Here's Ron Rhodes commenting on Middle East events. Did you know that in Revelation 2 and 3, we read about the church 19 times? And then in the discussion on the tribulation in chapters 4 through 18, you don't see the church a single time.

It is gone. In 1 Thessalonians 1 verse 10, we are told that the church is to be delivered from the wrath to come. That word, delivered, literally means snatched, snatched away from.

We are to be snatched away from the wrath to come, which is a reference to the tribulation period. With your gift of $50 or more to connect with Skip Heitzig, you'll receive a copy of this new book from Ron Rhodes. Your gift will support the production and expansion of the Connect with Skip broadcast. Call 1-800-922-1888 or go online to connectwithskip.com with your donation, and we'll thank you with a copy of Ron Rhodes' new book, How Conflicts and Wars in the Middle East Have Set the Stage for the End Times. That's 1-800-922-1888 or connectwithskip.com.

Okay, now let's head to Revelation 6 as Skip gets started today. So when you make a choice in life and you weigh out the consequences of that choice, you may come to a place in your reasoning where you say, okay, well, I mean, how bad could it get? So it could be like you're going to buy a car and there's a few things wrong with it, but you're getting a killer deal on it and it has a few knocks and stuff, but how bad can it get?

Then you buy it and it gets pretty bad. Or you're going to take a job. It's not the ideal job. You don't really think that that's something you could see yourself doing for a long time, but I'll take it. I mean, how bad could it get?

Or you meet somebody and you are thinking about getting married and, oh, there's some flaws and differences and very glaring differences, but, you know, he's cute, you're cute, and you both like pasta. So, I mean, how bad could it get? Well, one bricklayer found out how bad it could get. He made a series of decisions that put him in the hospital. He filled out the accident report form and a letter to a company for an explanation, and he sent it to his insurance company.

And here's the letter he wrote from the hospital bed. I'm writing in response to your request for additional information. In block number three of the accident reporting form, I put poor planning as the cause of my accident. You said in your letter I should explain more fully.

I trust the following details will be sufficient. I am a bricklayer by trade. On the day of the accident, I was working alone on the roof of a 10-story building. When I completed my work, I discovered I had about 500 pounds of bricks left over. Rather than carry them down by hand, I decided to lower them to the ground in a barrel using a pulley, which fortunately was attached to the side of the building at the 10th floor. Securing the rope at ground level, I went to the roof, loaded the 500 pounds of bricks, then went back down to the ground and untied the rope, holding it tightly to ensure a slow descent of the 500 pounds of bricks.

You will note in block 11 of the accident reporting form that I weigh 135 pounds. Due to my surprise at being jerked off the ground so suddenly, I lost my presence of mind and I forgot to let go of the rope. Needless to say, I proceeded at a rapid rate up the side of the building. In the vicinity of the 5th floor, I met the barrel coming down. This explains the fractured skull and the broken collarbone. I continued my rapid ascent, not stopping until the fingers of my right hand were two knuckles deep into the pulley.

Fortunately, by this time, I regained my presence of mind and was able to hold tightly to the rope in spite of my pain. At approximately the same time, however, the barrel of bricks hit the ground and the bottom fell out of the barrel. In spite of the weight of the bricks, the barrel now weighed approximately 30 pounds. I refer you again to my weight in block number 11 of the accident reporting form. As you might imagine, I began a rapid descent down the side of the building. In the vicinity of the 5th floor, I met that barrel coming up again. This accounts for the two fractured ankles and lacerations of my legs and lower body. The second encounter with the barrel slowed me enough to lessen my injuries when I fell into the pile of bricks and fortunately, only three vertebrae were cracked.

Sorry to report, however, that as I lay there on the bricks in pain, unable to stand, watching the empty barrel 10 stories above me, I again lost my presence of mind and I let go of the rope. How bad can it get? Pretty bad. We now come to the third division of the book of Revelation, which is the bulk of the tribulation period. Just how bad can the tribulation be?

I've had people ask me, I mean, really, how bad can it be? I could survive that. I could live off the grid, buy a generator, get a few more guns, buy gold. I can do that. I'll live out in Madrid or Espanola or east side of the mountains or past Rio Rancho.

I can do this. How bad can it really get? Well, we're about to see how bad it can really get in a flyover view. Now, just let me remind you, the book of Revelation comes with its own outline and John, in writing the book, follows the outline. The angel said, write the things that you have seen, the things which are, and the things which will take place after this. So he writes, chapter one, the things that he has seen, the vision of Christ. He then writes, number two, the things which are, chapter two and three, that's the churches. And then after this begins in chapter four to the rest of the book, he writes about the things which will take place after the things of the church. Also, it's good to remember, John is using first century language, first century symbolic language, to describe at least 21st century technology and phenomenon. I didn't share last week, I thought I should share this week, that not everybody approaches the book of Revelation the same way, but there are four basic viewpoints or four basic ways to interpret the book of Revelation.

And I'm going to put them up on the screen for you to see if you want to write these down. First is the Preterist view. The Preterist view says that the book of Revelation has already been fulfilled. There are events that took place in the past, and by the end of the first century in the Roman Empire, all these things were fulfilled. The problem I have with that is there's obviously things in the book of Revelation that are yet future. Like, let's see, the second coming of Jesus Christ to the earth, where every eye will see him. I don't think that's happened yet. So I discard that as a viewpoint. There's a hybrid to that. Some have a partial Preterist position, that is, well, some of the things have been fulfilled, there's a few things that haven't, and they kind of divide their hermeneutical approach.

But I don't want to get into the weeds with that. Second viewpoint is the historicist view of the book of Revelation. This looks at the book of Revelation also as past tense, also as historical, but more or less as a panorama of all of church history, from the apostolic age to the present age. Some even see it as predicting the rise of Rome, the coming of the Catholic Church, the rise of Islam. Everything in it is subjective in its interpretation. There are many differing and conflicting interpretations to those who hold that view. Third is the idealist interpretation of the book. The idealist interpretation of the book of Revelation, it sees this as a timeless allegory.

It could be true of all times, any age, it's basically a struggle between good and evil. That's all the book of Revelation is, all this weird language, but essentially it's just the struggle between good and evil. Well, they ignore the fact that five times this book is called a prophecy, a prophecy. So that takes us to the fourth way of viewing the book of Revelation.

This is what I hold, this is what most of you probably hold, and this is the futurist interpretation, the futurist view. This sees the book of Revelation as being prophetic. The chapters 6 through 22 applies to the future, applies to the future. Really chapter 4 to 22 applies to the future from John's vantage point.

Emblematically, with symbolic language, it's speaking about literal future events. Events like the tribulation period, which will literally happen. A literal second coming of Christ, a literal judgment of God, a literal eternal state, etc. This view happens to harmonize with what Jesus said in Matthew 24. Remember when the disciples said, so tell us, what's the sign of your coming and of the end of the age, when will these things happen? Jesus launches into an explanation, we call Matthew 24, also Luke 21. And this viewpoint harmonizes what Jesus predicted. Now in chapter 4 of Revelation, verse 1, John says, following the outline, After these things I looked and behold a door standing open in heaven.

Remember we covered that last week. The rapture of the church has happened, the church age is over, the tribulation begins. John sees the throne room of heaven, he sees the throne of God, the 24 elders around the throne. The angel singing as the Lamb takes the scroll, the title deed of the earth, from the right hand of Him who sits on the throne.

And on that scroll, like an ancient scroll would have, were seven seals that will be broken and they bring judgment on the earth. That takes us to chapter 6. Chapter 6, there is an obvious shift that takes place. And here is the shift, we go from adoration in heaven, chapter 4 and 5, to tribulation on earth. Beginning in chapter 6 all the way to chapter 18 into chapter 19. Now once the rapture happens and the tribulation begins and judgments are poured out, they're going to happen one after another in rapid succession in a very relatively short period of time like dominoes tipping over. I don't know if you've ever played dominoes but that's actually a game, I've never played it.

The only thing I've done is tip them over when they stand up because that I always thought was fun. But all the signs that Jesus spoke about in Matthew 24 find their fulfillment in these chapters. In fact, look at it this way, Revelation chapter 6 to 18 or 19, the rest of the book basically, takes what Jesus said in Matthew 24 and expands it in great detail. So we're going to fly over it and boy are we going to fly over it. And as we fly over it and we're cruising, we're looking down at three mountain peaks. And I've called these three mountain peaks tribulation, deception, salvation. First of all, the mountain peak of tribulation. And again that is chapter 6 through 18. The tribulation is a period of seven years, it's divided into two.

The first three and a half years aren't quite as bad as the last three and a half years. That seven year period is also called the 70th week of Daniel. If you remember our study of Daniel's 70 weeks in chapter 9 of that book. So the tribulation finishes off the prophetic timetable of the book of Daniel. So in Revelation 4 verse 5, John's up in heaven, he sees the throne of God, hears the angels, it's awesome in his vision. But in Revelation 4 verse 5, And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices.

In other words, this is awesome being in heaven, but there's a storm brewing. And the storm that is brewing begins in chapter 6, as seven seals that bring in judgments are broken. That's Revelation 6 and 7, followed by seven trumpets that are blown.

Trumpets are given for announcement purposes. That's Revelation 8 through 11. And then seven bowls are poured out on the earth. Bowls of wrath are poured out on the earth. And that's Revelation chapter 16.

Now get this. One set of judgments usher in the next set of judgments, usher in the next set. So you have six, pause, one.

Six, pause, one. And then the last seven. So that's sort of how that part of the book is structured. The judgments in Revelation are progressively more intense. They start out bad, but they get much worse.

In fact, I would even say they start out good. They start out promising, but quickly they turn to bad, and then much more intense and worse. Now, let me just talk about, when I say tribulation, I mean, that's sort of a generic word, right? What do we mean when we talk about the tribulation? Because after all, Jesus said in the world, you will have tribulation.

Be of good cheer, I've overcome the world. So you may mistakenly think, well, it's just you're having a bad day, or a bad week, or a bad year. No, tribulation is not just a bad time on earth. Tribulation is the worst time in history ever.

Er, er, er. There's nothing worse than what is coming on the earth. It'll be worse than the Dark Ages, worse than the Black Plague of Europe that killed 25 million people. It'll be worse than the Great Depression, worse than World War I, worse than World War II, worse than the Holocaust, worse than the bombs that went off in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, worse than the 2008 recession, worse than COVID-19. It'll be worse. You say, well, gosh, you're like Debbie Downer.

How come you think it's so bad? Well, three reasons. Three passages of Scripture. Jeremiah chapter 30, Jeremiah said, that day is great so that there is none like it. It is a time of Jacob's trouble. Daniel chapter 12 verse 1, And there shall be a time of trouble such as never was, since there was a nation even to that time. And the third is what the Lord Jesus Himself said in Matthew 24. He said, Then there will be great tribulations such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time. No, nor ever shall be. Does that sound pretty bad?

That sounds like the worst time ever. That's what they all three predict. Now let me give you a quick overview of the tribulation period. It opens in chapter 6. It's the opening of the seals.

Picture a scroll. Seal is cracked. You open it a little bit. You read what's there.

You break the seal inside. And you read and so forth. So chapter 6 is the opening of the seals. Chapter 7 is a parenthetical chapter.

A parenthesis to give special information. Chapter 8 is the seventh seal that is broken. And that's how the book progresses. Now in chapter 6, the first four seals, the first four judgments that come on the earth are seen as horses. It's like a miniature stampede. John looks and he sees four horses. They're called the four horsemen of the apocalypse.

You probably heard that term. And they're wild in their appearance. First one is white. Second one is red. Third one is black. And the fourth one is chloros.

That's the Greek word tail green. A wild vision. It's like watching a bad western on LSD.

It's like, whoa, this is so weird. The first horse has a leader who brings peace, a short-lived peace. I'll show you that in a moment. He comes conquering and to conquer. He brings with him war, famine, and death.

That's seal number two, three, and four. The result of those judgments means that one-fourth, the Bible says this, one-fourth of the earth's population will be killed. One-fourth of the earth's population just by those plagues. And that's just the beginning. Jesus put it this way. These are the beginning of sorrows.

How bad can it get? The trumpets are followed by, or the seals are followed by trumpets. Seven trumpets are blown. With each blow of the trumpet is an announcement of judgment. The judgment comes, and they include hail and fire from the sky, rivers, springs, and grass being affected.

One-third of the vegetation, 30% of the sea life, one-third of the fresh water supply decimated. Oh, and the sky gets black. It becomes dark. Then, at that point, an angel flies through heaven saying, Whoa! Whoa!

Whoa! to the inhabitants of the earth. In other words, it's been bad so far, but the worst is yet to come. Well, you go, worst is yet to come, and you just, it's really bad.

I mean, how bad can it get after that? Well, Revelation chapter 9, the abyss is open, bottomless pit, the abysso in the Greek language. It is open, the bottomless pit is open, and a horde of what looks like bugs, but the best way to describe them is designer locus demons, demons in the shape of these odd-looking bugs that have the power to inflict pain, gnawing pain, for five months on the earth. People on the earth will, it says, beg for death. That is followed by four powerful demons being released from the area around the Euphrates River.

They are loosed, and the result of that loosing is a third of the earth's population that is left will be killed. That takes us to chapter 10 through 15, and that's a little bit of a break, a hiatus, where more information is given, this parenthetical statement. In that 6th chapter parenthesis, special information fills in the gaps. We're told about the character of the Antichrist. We're told about the character and nature of the false prophet. We're told about 144,000 Jewish people who are sealed and saved. We're told about two witnesses, two preachers that will preach the Gospel in Jerusalem.

That's Skip Heitzig. With a message from the series The End is Near, find the full message, as well as books, booklets, and full teaching series at connectwithskip.com. Now, here's Skip to tell you how you can connect others with the truth of God's Word with a gift to keep these messages you love going around the world through Connect with Skip Heitzig. Our God has unmatched wisdom and power. That knowledge should give us great peace and comfort because we are in His care. We want to help friends like you to connect even deeper with the Lord.

That's why we share these Bible teachings that you have come to love. Can you help these messages keep coming to you and many others through your support today? Here's how you can give a gift right now. Visit connectwithskip.com slash donate to give a gift. That's connectwithskip.com slash donate. Or call 800-922-1888. 800-922-1888. Thank you for your generosity and we hope you'll return tomorrow for the conclusion of Skip's message, How Bad Can It Get? Make a connection Make a connection At the foot of the crossing Cast all burdens on His Word Make a connection A connection Connect with Skip Hyten is a presentation of Connection Communications, connecting you to God's never-changing truth in ever-changing times.