God's Efforts to Reach Us

Mike Sullivan
Revelation 14:6-7

During the Great Tribulation there will be tremendous judgments poured out upon the people of the earth for refusing to repent. But there will also be, at the same time, God going to great lengths to reach people who are far from him. God will send 144,000 bondservants to proclaim the Gospel; he will send two witnesses to Jerusalem for three and a half years to appeal to people to turn back to God; he will even send Jesus to appear in person after the two witnesses are taken up into heaven. And if that wasn't enough, a mighty angel will fly around the world making one final effort to exhort the remaining people to repent and turn to God before time is up.

When God Intervenes

Mike Sullivan
Revelation 8:1-9:21

In Chapters 8 and 9, God is ready to act upon the prayers of the martyrs to unleash judgment on the rebellious world that caused their death. During the Great Tribulation, people will not repent of their evil ways but will reject God's moral leadership, thinking that they will occupy the seat of power instead of God. They are unaware that to not worship God is to worship Satan. They will bear the consequences of that decision to reject God's authority.

What Must Take Place

Mike Sullivan
Revelation 6:1-17

John, the apostle, was given a revelation from Jesus about what must take place before he returns again. In Chapter 6, Jesus is given a scroll with seven seals upon it. Jesus opens six of the seals in order. The first three seals involve false Christs , war and famine being present in the world but this is not the end. This is a period of passive judgment that humans bring upon themselves. Seals four and five indicate intensification of the previous signs and widespread martyrdom. This will be closer to the end, but still not the end. Breaking seal number six ushers in the The Great Day of Wrath. This occurs during the Great Tribulation when God brings upon sinful humanity his righteous judgment.

Who Is Worthy?

Mike Sullivan
Revelation 5:1-13

The fourth and fifth chapters of Revelation focus on a period of history when God judges sinful humanity. These chapters address the question of who is worthy to judge the whole world. Only a perfectly sinless being could stand in judgment of another being. God is holy and perfect; he has never sinned. He is qualified to judge. \r\nA morally perfect God must judge sin. His perfect justice does not allow sin to go unpunished. So, he sent his perfect, sinless Son to pay the penalty we all deserve.

Jesus and the Future

Mike Sullivan
Revelation 1:1-18

In Revelation, John the Apostle relays a message about the future that he received by direct revelation from Jesus. It is a message to the suffering first century churches in what is modern day Turkey. The question is what did the message mean to John's original readers? They recognized that John used Old Testament imagery and symbols throughout his letter. They would have known the lamb imagery was referring to the suffering savior and the glowing description of Jesus implied a sovereign king. Where the Old Testament does not identify the imagery, John explicitly reveals it.

After the Cross

Dennis McCallum
Mark 16:1-8

Here we see that after Jesus' death on the cross, he is found by his followers to be raised from the dead. The question of the reality of Jesus' actual, real, physical resurrection either establishes or destroys the Christian faith--the belief that you can have your sins forgiven and can enter into a relationship with God. It's essential for us to examine the evidence and render a verdict.

Are You Ready?

Chris Hearty
Mark 13:28-37

Jesus moves from prophecy of the end to the practical implications for us. Together we will consider how we should live in light of the end.

Signs of the End

Chris Hearty
Mark 13:1-23

Chapter 13 is devoted to one of the final teachings Jesus gave his disciples. He answers the question, "what will be the signs of the end of the age?"

Jesus' Triumphal Entry

Dennis McCallum
Daniel 9:24-25

On the day of Jesus' triumphal entry to Jerusalem, while everyone around him was cheering, Jesus wept. He knew the praise was superficial. They had failed to recognize "the time of their visitation," prophesied by Daniel.