Revelation 6:12-17, "And I beheld
when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake;
and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as
blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree
casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the
heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain
and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and
the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty
men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and
in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall
on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and
from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and
who shall be able to stand?"
Revelation 16:17-18, "And the seventh angel poured
out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple
of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. And there were voices, and
thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was
not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so
great."
What is an earthquake? It is a shaking of earthly things
by the mighty power of God. In our lesson we see when the sixth seal was
opened there was a great earthquake. The light and understanding of the
gospel in the evening time is as the morning time. God only built one
church--not one for the morning time and one for the evening time. Many
things have happened since the morning time, but there has only been one
church. She has never been destroyed! She has come all the way through.
Job 11:17,"And thine age shall be clearer than the
noonday; thou shalt shine forth, thou shalt be as the morning."
Song of Solomon 6:10, "Who is she that looketh forth
as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an
army with banners?"
That is the evening time church. Thatis the time you and I
are living in. We are living in the last days--the closing hours of time.
Isaiah 58:8, "Then shall thy light break forth as the
morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy
righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy
rereward." This evening time of the church is like it was in the
morning time. God started her out with power and purity. She had power
over all the powers of the enemy, and she is still that way.
Notice Revelation 6:2; the white horse is the symbol of
the church of God. She conquered all the way through! The church has power
today! We want to deal with the evening time of the Church. God said blow
the trumpet in Zion and to sound the alarm. There have been many people
who have gone down, but the church has not lost one bit of her power! She
has had power since her begining!
Zechariah 9:14, "And the Lord shall be seen over
them, and his arrow shall go forth as the lightning: and the Lord God
shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwinds of the south."
God will blow the trumpet through His ministry. The trumpet is sounding
loud and clear today. The ministry has better unity today than I've seen
since I've been in the church of God. I thank God for it. God gives all
the same trumpet notes!
Remember, the first earthquake was in 1880. This was the
sixth seal. Hebrews 12:25-29, "See that ye refuse not him that
speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth,
much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from
heaven: Whose voice then shook the earth:..." In 1880 Babylon was
shaken. This means earthly organizations were shaken. People who wanted
truth came to the unity of God's people. Those who did not want truth ran
to the rocks and mountains to hide them from truth. False religion was
shaken when the gospel came out. "...But now he hath promised,
saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And
this word, yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are
shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be
shaken may remain. Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved
let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and
godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire." The church of God
cannot be moved or defeated! God moves men, but the church is marching on
victoriously!
This shows that God is going to shake out everything that
can be shaken. We have received a kingdom that cannot be shaken--something
that cannot be moved! Daniel 2:44 would let us know that we are in
something that cannot be moved! It has stood down through the years. Let
us read the scripture. It tells us what would take place. It is a prophecy
of the church or the kingdom of God. The kingdom and the church are the
same thing. "And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven
set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall
not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all
these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever." This kingdom will not be
left to Babylon! It will stand forever! It will break into pieces all
other kingdoms. Who will this kingdom be left to?
Daniel 7:27, "And the kingdom and dominion, and the
greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the
people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting
kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him." This kingdom is
left to the saints. The saints' church is the church of God. Notice the
phrase "under the whole heaven"--that does not mean just one
locality it means God has one church worldwide. If you are not in it, you
are not in God's church. If you are saved, you are in God's church; and if
you are not saved, you are not in God's church.
Psalms 18:7, "Then the earth shook and trembled; the
foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was
wroth." Why did we have the first earthquake? Men began to teach for
doctrine the commandments of men. When anybody changes from any of the
word of God, they back away from the truth of God's eternal word. Mark
7:6,9 tells of people teaching for doctrine the commandments of men. This
caused the great apostasy in the morning time and the great apostasy in
the evening time.
Mens' opinions and ideas will cause an apostasy every
time. If we change from the truth of God's eternal word, we go into an
apostasy. If we take our own ideas and ways, Jesus calls us a hypocrite.
Mark 7:6-9, "He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias
prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me
with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they
worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying
aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing
of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. And he said unto
them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your
own tradition."
Habakkuk 1:4, "Therefore the law is slacked, and
judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the
righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth." If I become slack on
the law, judgment will not go forth. You cannot set judgment out if you
become slack on the law. What will happen? The hypocrites and the wicked
will take over. If the pastor becomes slack, a congregation can be torn up
in just a little while and wrong judgment will go out. This happened in
the morning and evening time and resulted in a great apostasy both times.
Hebrews 12 tells us that the things that were shaken were
man-made. Christ was going to shake it out of His kingdom. In 1880 He
brought His children back as one. This was the great earthquake. II
Corinthians 6:14-16, "Be ye not unequally yoked together with
unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?
and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ
with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what
agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the
living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and
I will be their God, and they shall be my people." In 1880 God did
not want people unequally yoked with unbelievers. He brought them out.
Thank God for the unity of God's people back then.
People became slack in the morning time and they went into
an apostasy. Religious denominations sprang up. Later, after God brought
His people back into one and they were going forth, compromise set in
because the law got slack. It brought a great apostasy. The group that
compromised is called the First Church of God with headquarters in
Anderson, Indiana. However, God's truth marched on and came through that
great earthquake. God's truth has marched right on as other groups have
come up, such as the Way of Truth in Hagerstown, and the one cleansers.
Today another great earthquake is going on. I do not have
to go to any of these groups to know what they teach, I know what God's
Word teaches and that is good enough for me! Regardless of what they
teach, I know it is false if it is not lining up with the Bible even
though they may call themselves the church of God.
Every time people become slack on God's word, that is the
beginning of compromise. All it takes is becoming slack on one point and
then it goes to two points, etc. Next comes wrong judgment. God has a
ministry that is holding to truth. If a minister is holding truth, they
are with the body. If they do not, they are not with the body of Christ.
We are in an earthquake today. It will not be long until
Jesus will come for His church. He is shaking out those who are not going
to live right. He is revealing what is in man. He is letting the church
know who is and who is not right. If you are playing around, He is going
to let the saints know that you do not have salvation. As a minister, if I
am not lined up with the body, He is going to reveal it. Why is today's
earthquake the greatest ? It is getting down to where people live. We are
part of the church that cannot be defeated. Go back and read Revelation
16:17-18 again. There will never be another earthquake like this one. God
is housecleaning today. Isaiah 6:12, "And the Lord have removed men
far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land."
When a minister or a group separates from the church, you can know that
they are not of God.
I am still dealing with the second earthquake. Haggai
2:6-9, "For thus saith the Lord of hosts; Yet once, it is a little
while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the
dry land; And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations
shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of
hosts." Hebrews says we are made to sit together in heavenly places.
When God says He is going to shake the heavens, it means He is going to
shake the church. He is getting out any teaching that has come from man's
ideas. When He says He will shake the earth, He is talking about earthly
institutions. He shook Babylon in 1880. Today He is shaking the church. In
verse 7 He says He will shake all nations. He is getting right down to
every individual. Verse 8, "The silver is mine, and the gold is mine,
saith the Lord of hosts. The glory of this latter house shall be greater
than of the former, saith the Lord of hosts: and in this place will I give
peace, saith the Lord of hosts." We are in the greatest light that
the church has ever known.
We are in the seventh seal or the full gospel age. We are
in the open Bible age. Nothing else is sealed. All the trumpets have been
blown and the seals have been opened. It is finished. Verse 9 talks about
the peace that God will give to us. It is not a peace like the world
gives. God tells us to not let your hearts be troubled and neither be
afraid. Matthew 13:41-43, "The Son of man shall send forth his
angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend,
and them which do iniquity;" The word angels means His ministry. How
does God gather out? It is by putting judgment on falseness. He burns it
by the gospel. The minister will keep right on until either the falseness
is burned out or you get out. The Holy Ghost in a true minister will burn
you up if you need to measure up. God is making a clean sweep. Verse 42,
"And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing
and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in
the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear." We
have more glory in the camp than we have ever had. It is because God is
purging His church and taking out any who are not going to live right.
Luke 21:16-18, "And ye shall be betrayed both by
parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends, and some of you shall
they cause to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my
name's sake. But there shall not an hair of your head perish." Some
of the people closest to you may stand against you. They will do all they
can do to kill your influence. If they are inBabylon and you are in the
church of God and you are putting judgment on them, they will work against
you. They will do all possible to kill your influence.
Today, God is shaking the congregations and the homes. I
once had a family in our congregation who always wanted to justify their
children regardless what their children did. They felt everyone else
treated them wrong. Now, their children are grown and are soured against
the church. The parents are now bitter towards the church. Why? They
justified their children when their children were wrong. God will shake
that.
This is an individual affair. You will not give an account
for your relatives in the day of judgment. Matthew 10:35-36, "For I
am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter
against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And
a man's foes shall be they of his own household." A variance is a
disagreement between two parts of the same legal proceeding. God will set
a variance between you and your folks that are not church of God. You will
be of the same family, but you will disagree. It is because they are in
babylon and you are in the church of God. God is shaking the homelife. He
is bringing unity in the congregation. People will line up or get out. God
is shaking the church just like he is shaking babylon. You see people
leave and run off with some little gathering. God is going to expose all
of that. He is going to clean out everything.
Psalms 27:1, "When my father and my mother forsake
me, then the Lord will take me up." If you are serving God and your
family works against you, the Lord will lift you up. God is shaking today
in the home and in the local congregation. This shaking just helps me to
get a greater grip upon God. I know of a couple with two boys 6 and 9
years old. The husband told the wife he would get a divorce if she
continued going to church. She told him that she would do everything to
keep their home together, but she said, " I will not give up going to
church". God has blessed and is working things out. You and I have to
make that kind of decision, too.
We must remember that there is a shaking going on. Why?
God wants everything out that is not right. It means something to stand
for God! Do you see the church? Thank God, I do! Deuteronomy 13:6-8,
"If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter,
or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul,
entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou
hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers; Namely, of the gods of the people
which are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the
one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; Thou shalt not
consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him,
neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him:" If your
wife or husband tries to move you with enticing words, do not give in! If
you feel that your dad or mom, husband or wife, or children could move
you, you need to get it settled that you are going with God!
The Bible says in the 8th verse "neither shalt thou
spare...." This means you are not to cover up for them. God has
nothing covered. He will bring it all out into the light. He is pulling
back the covers to get the wrinkles out of our lives and anything that is
hidden. We must come clean with God in this shaking.
Proverbs 22:28, "Remove not the ancient landmark,
which thy fathers have set." Many have moved the teachings of the
word of God. God does not want us to do that. Matthew 10:22, "And ye
shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the
end shall be saved." The church is a battlefield. There is a battle
going on. We must fight for our salvation. We must make the decision that
we are going through with God. As a pastor, I have had to make that
consecration that I am going to stand with God.
II Timothy 4:3, "For the time will come when they
will not endure sound doctrine...." There are people who will not
take sound doctrine, but we must keep the doctrine until the end of our
lives. I want to go to the end standing for this truth. I do not want to
give in. If I will work on that and keep that in my mind, God will help me
through. If I slack up in my living, I will be gone just like many others.
If you are up and down while you are young, old age will not settle you.
We need to get settled in our young years.
Before I was saved, I determined in my heart that if I
ever started out with God I wanted to live right. I did not want to be a
hypocrite, professor, or one that caused trouble. I meant to settle it to
go with God. The way we live is how we are going to die. I want to hold to
this until the very end.
II Timothy 4:3-4, "...but after their own lusts shall
they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn
away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." To
go after their own lusts means to fulfill the desire of the flesh. God has
said that He will send a strong delusion that they shall believe a lie and
be damned. This is very serious. We better listen. When people turn away
their ears, they turn from truth and will not take counsel. Then people
look for someone who will just pat them on the back and say it is all
right. When people leave truth, they go into something false.
It pays us to have it settled. Do you have it settled?
There is an earthquake going on. It is shaking the church and babylon. God
is revealing what is in man. He is revealing where we stand. He lets
people know where you stand. He lets people know where I stand. If there
is anything wrong in your heart, you need to get it right. We are all
going to the judgment. We will be judged. I will be judged for this
message. If you are not saved, God wants to save you. If you are in false
religion, God wants you to stand for truth. God wants us to come out of
anything that is not right!