Adrian Rogers - The Decisions of the Living and the Destiny of the Dead

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TOPICS: End times, Book of Revelation, Destiny, Decisions

Be finding Revelation chapter 14. And when you've found it, look up here. This chapter is a chapter of great contrast. It talks to us about the Lamb. It talks to us about the beast. It talks to us about earth. It talks to us about Heaven. It talks about the harvest of the doomed and the damned and the harvest of the saved. And the title of the message, "The Decisions of the Living and the Destiny of the Dead". Now folks, it is decision time in your heart today. May I say that God made you a living soul? Your soul will be in existence somewhere when the sun, the moon, and the stars have grown cold. There was a time when you were not. There never will be a time when you will not be.

Now the question is where will you spend eternity? It's decision that determines destiny. I was on the streets of Pensacola, Florida, witnessing. I saw two girls walking down the street. They did not know me. I did not know them. But I stopped them and said, "May I have a few moments with you"? They said, "Yes". And I shared the Gospel with them. Both were obviously under conviction.

I asked them one by one if they would pray and receive Christ. I asked the first girl, "Would you like to receive the Lord Jesus Christ"? She said, "Yes, I would". And we prayed and she gave her heart to Christ. I turned to the second young lady expecting her to make the same decision because she was obviously under conviction. I said, "Now, would you like to pray and give your heart to Jesus Christ"? She said, "Well, I need to but I don't want to do it right now". And I said, "Well, if you know what you need to do, and the Lord stands ready to save you, there's no reason why you would not do it right now, is there"? She said, "I'm just not ready". I said, "Behold, now is the accepted time. Today is the day of salvation. You can give your heart to Jesus". She said, "No, I'm not ready".

And she said it defiantly. But I said, "All right, then, I pray that you will do it, but before I go, would you shake my hand"? She said, "Obviously, yes". I said, "All right, if you'll take Christ and eternal life, would you take my right hand"? I said, "If you take the devil and eternal hell, would you take my left hand"? She said, "What"? I said, "You said you would shake hands". And I said, "If you will take Jesus and eternal life will you take my right hand? If you will take the devil and eternal hell, will you take my left hand"? She stepped back. She said, "I'm not gonna shake hands with you". I said, "Well, you said you would". And she said, "Well, I'm not going to choose the devil and eternal hell".

I said, "Well, you're either going to say YES to Jesus or NO to Jesus. And Jesus says in Matthew 12:30, 'He that is not with Me is against Me. And he that gathereth not with Me scattereth abroad.' Now, will you shake hands with me"? She backed away. She said, "I'm not going to shake hands with you mister. I just don't want to decide". But the point is, if a person decides not to decide that is a decision. That is a decision. You see we're free to choose. We're not free not to choose. And we're not free to choose the consequences of our choices. And so, what I want to talk to you about is the decisions of the living and the destiny of the dead.

Now, you're going to die. I am going to die. The only intervening factor that might keep that from happening is the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. And people die in all kinds of strange ways. Amelia Lynch was walking down the streets of New York City. Down the street, when a flowerpot fell off a ledge in a upper story building. This flowerpot fell off an eighth floor window ledge. It was struck by lightening, the flowerpot hit Amelia on the head and she died instantaneously. Can you imagine that? Walking down the streets of New York City. Struck on the head by a flowerpot. I read again about Harold Lee Duncan. Harold Lee Duncan was mowing his grass. His children and his wife were watching him. Suddenly he grabbed his side and fell to the earth and he was dead. His mower had picked up a half-inch piece of wire, no bigger than a pencil lead; it was driven into his heart and killed him instantly.

In the Philippines, Carlos Umbos was fishing. He opened his mouth to yawn and a fish jumped into his mouth. It's funny, but not if you're Carlos. They were not able to take that fish from his mouth. He strangled to death. Here's a man, yawning. The next moment, strangling. The Bible says in James chapter 1 verse 14, "What is your life but a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away". Now I said that people die in many ways and people die in strange ways but in reality there are only two ways to die. Take your Bible and look here in Revelation chapter 14 and look in verse 13. And here's what it says, "And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, 'Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them.'"

When you die, either you're going to die in the Lord or out of the Lord. Now, people die in strange ways. But really there's only two ways to die. If you died today, would you die in the Lord or would you die out of the Lord? If you die in the Lord, of course, obviously, God says, "Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord". Contrariwise, what a curse, what a sorrow, what a tragedy for you to die outside the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, if you were to die today, where would you be? Another question, if you get to where you're headed, where will you be?

Loved ones will weep o'er my silent face,
Dear ones will clasp me in sad embrace.
Shadows and darkness will fill the place five minutes after I die.
Faces that sorrow, I will not see.
Voices that murmur will not reach me.
But where, oh where will my spirit be five minutes after I die.
Naught to repair the good I lack.
Fixed to the goal of my chosen track.
No room to repent. No turning back. Five minutes after I die.
Mated forever with my chosen throng.
Long is eternity, oh so long.
Then woe is me, if my soul be wrong five minutes after I die.

Now, remember five minutes from now you may be in Heaven or you may be in hell. There is the destiny of the dead. Now there're three things I want you to notice as we look in this chapter. There's much in this chapter and I tried to boil it down very simply. First of all, I want you to see the character of those who are led by the lamb, the character of those who are led by the lamb. Now, we're going to meet here in chapter 14 again, that 144,000 of all the tribes of Israel. And these are they that follow the Lamb.

Let's begin to read here the first five verses of Revelation 14, "And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Zion, and with Him an hundred and forty four thousand, having their Father's name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from Heaven, as the voice of many waters, and the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. These are they which were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whitersoever He goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God".

Now, 144,000 who are led by the Lamb; they follow the Lamb. Now these are they who are special. They've been set aside to serve. Revelation chapter 7:15 calls them the servants of our Great God. And I want you to see their character. I want you to see how they are described, these who are led by the Lamb. Because they, in many ways, picture those of us today who believe in the Lamb of God. Although these are tribulation saints, the events that I'm talking about take place after the rapture of the church. Let me tell you five or six things about these people. Number one: they are secure in their protection. Look in Revelation 14 verse 1 and you're gonna see that they are sealed. They have the Father's name on their forehead. They have been saved and they have been sealed. Now, a seal in symbolism stands for protection. It stands for possession. It stands for preservation. These are sealed by the Lord.

Well you say, "Pastor Rogers, it would be wonderful if I were sealed that way". Well, let me give you a verse for your margin, Ephesians 1 verse 13, speaking to those of us who live in this dispensation. "In whom ye also trusted," that is Jesus, "after that ye heard the Word of truth, the Gospel of your salvation: in whom also, after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise". Now friend, whether you're a tribulation saint or whether you're a saint in this age, thank God, we have been saved and sealed. Can you say Amen?

You know there're 144,000 there on Mount Zion. I'm glad it doesn't say there were 143,999. Not a one of them is lost. Nowhere in the Bible will you ever find where a person who is truly saved ever loses his or her salvation. Why? Because they are sealed by the Spirit. And what God has sealed, the Kings' seal can no man break. You're looking at a man who is saved and sealed and will be delivered and so will you. There're some people who think, well, you know, you give your heart to God but then the devil can take you out of God's hands. Do you think he could? Well friend, if he could, why hasn't he? That'd be a strange doctrine, wouldn't it? The devil could, but he didn't. Hasn't he been nice to you? So you're going to Heaven by the goodness of the devil. No. The only reason he can't take you out or doesn't take you out is because he can't. These people are secure in their protection.

That's the first thing. Number two: they are singular in their praise. They have a very special praise. Look in Revelation 14 verses 2 and 3, "And I heard a voice from Heaven, as the voice of many waters, the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: and they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts and the elders". Now the four beasts are the creatures that represent the attributes of God. The Elders represent the saved of all of the ages. And this 144,000 is a special group apart from these. "And they sing a song that no man could learn that song but the 144,000, which were redeemed from the earth".

Now, these 144,000 saved Jews have a very special song that they sing. And by the way, why should they not sing? They're in the presence of the Lamb. And when you're in the presence of the Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ, you can't help but sing. These people are going to fill Heaven with their song. But the Bible says here, it's a new song. Now there are two words new. One word for new means new in time. The other means new in character. Now the word that's used here is a song that means new in character. They have a song because of their own special experience that nobody else can sing. But let's apply that to us. Friend, I have a song that you can't sing. And you have a song that I can't sing. To every person Jesus is extra special. Is that not right? We have our own song. Jesus means things to me that I cannot tell you about.

First Corinthians 2 verse 11, "What man knows the things of a man except the Spirit of man that is in him"? But thank God for the song. The Bible says let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. Now they're secure in their protection. They are singular in their praise. They have a special song. They are separated in their purity. Look if you will in Revelation 14 verse 4, "And these are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whitersoever He goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb".

Now what does this mean, they are not defiled? This is not against getting married. I'm glad for that. No. He's talking here in symbolism. These are people who are spiritually undefiled. Remember that Satan's false church is called a harlot. We're going to find later on in the book of the Revelation a scarlet woman who represents false religion. And so, these people are those who have not defiled themselves spiritually. I think you can understand it if you'd just fast forward to Revelation 14 verse 8 and look at it, "And there followed another angel, saying, 'Babylon is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations to drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.'"

Now he's talking here about spiritual fornication. These people are spiritually, they are virgins. They are true to the Lamb. They are true to the Lord Jesus Christ. They have not defiled themselves. That's the reason James said in James 4 verse 4, speaking in symbolic language, "Ye adulteresses, are ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God". And that he calls them spiritual adulterers. Or Second Corinthians 11 verse 2. Paul said to the church, "For I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ". That is the kind of language that we're using here. Question, are you spiritually pure? Spiritually, are you a virgin? Do you have an undefiled love for the Lord Jesus Christ? Would you disgrace the Lord Jesus? I'd rather die by torture than be unfaithful to my darling bride. But I think I'd rather die by torture than be unfaithful to my heavenly bridegroom, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now, here's the fourth thing: they are steadfast in their purpose. Notice again in Revelation 14 verse 4, "These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever He goes". They are marked by loyalty to the Lamb. No rival, no refusal, no restraint. Do you have loyalty to the Lamb? Are you steadfast in your purpose? These are.

Number five: they're symbolic in their prophecy. Look in the last part of Revelation 14 verse 4, "They are firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb". Now in Israel, there was a feast during harvest time called the feast of firstfruits. They would take the first ripening grain, bring it to the temple, have a ceremony; because the firstfruits typify the harvest that is to come. These are 144,000, but there're 144,000 Apostle Paul's who're going to be preaching the Gospel around the world. And Revelation chapter 7 verse 9, we've already dealt with it, tells us that there are millions and millions who're going to come to Christ during The Great Tribulation.

Let me read that verse, Revelation 7:9, "And after this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number," that is, friend, you couldn't count them, "of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands," palm branches, "saying, 'Hosanna to the Lord.'"

Now why? Because these who are protected, who are sealed, these who follow the Lamb wherever He goes, these who are spiritually pure are gonna have a testimony for the Lord Jesus Christ. Now millions are going to be saved in The Great Tribulation. You say, "Well, all right Pastor Rogers, then I'll wait and if the rapture takes place, then I'll get saved". No you won't. You will believe the lies of the antichrist. I've talked about that before. And I'll talk about it some more. But I can find not one shred of hope for anybody in the Bible who's willingly, knowingly, deliberately refused Jesus Christ as his or her personal Savior being saved in The Great Tribulation. However, there will be multiplied millions who will be saved, and thank God for that.

Now, number six: they are sincere in their profession. Look if you will in Revelation 14 verse 5, "And in their mouth was found no guile and they are without fault before the throne of God". What does it mean, no guile? Do you know what guile is? Guile is hypocrisy. These are people who know the truth, believe the truth, tell the truth, speak the truth, and live the truth. They will not be mouthing during The Great Tribulation the slogans of the beast. May I say also, your words are going to condemn you or they are going to justify you? And so, first of all, we find those who are led by the Lamb. Got it? Now let's move to the second thing here. Not only those who are led by the Lamb, and the character of those who are led by the Lamb, but let's think a little bit about the corruption of those who are bossed by the beast.

Now in The Great Tribulation you're either going to be led by the Lamb or bossed by the beast. The beast is the antithesis of the Lamb. The Lamb is the Christ. The beast is the antichrist; Satan's superman who's going to come on the world and may be alive and well on earth right now. And when the church is raptured and taken out, which could happen at any moment, then the beast appears on the scene to boss the world. Begin reading in Revelation 14 verses 6 through 8, "And I saw another angel fly in the midst of Heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people. Saying with a loud voice, 'Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come: and worship Him that made Heaven, and Earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.' And there followed another angel saying, 'Babylon is fallen, that great city, because she hath made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.'"

Now, there is an angel who flies in the midst of the Heaven and he preaches the everlasting Gospel. Now in this dispensation, angels do not preach the Gospel. In this dispensation, if the Gospel is preached, it'll be preached by me, by you, by others like us or it will not be preached. But in The Great Tribulation, God in mercy gives one last final call to the Gentile. And an angel himself says, "Come out of her, come out of Babylon". Now, this angel is going to be preaching the Gospel. Some people say this is a different Gospel. I know it's not a different Gospel. Why?

Well, put in your margin Galatians chapter 1 verses 6 through 9. Paul said, "I marvel that you're so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the Gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from Heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed". Paul said, "If an angel appears in the heavens and preaches any other gospel than that which I have preached unto you, the curse of God is on him".

So I know there's only one Gospel. And it is the saving Gospel. And it is the Gospel of Grace. And may I say unto every mother's child in this building, if you're saved, you'll be saved by the grace of God or you won't be saved? Ephesians 2 verses 8 and 9, "For by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God not of works lest any man should boast". But now this angel ceases his message and another angel begins to speak. Look in Revelation 14 verse 8, "And there followed another angel, saying, 'Babylon is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations to drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.'" This is the first time in the book of the Revelation that Babylon is mentioned. But, we're gonna find as we go on, especially in chapters 17 and 18, that there's a great emphasis upon Babylon.

Now what is Babylon? Well, Babylon is the cradle and the grave of all idolatry and all false worship. Back in Genesis chapter 10 there was a man name Nimrod. The very name Nimrod means rebel. And he built a city called Babel. And he was going to build a tower, a city-state with a tower whose top would be unto the heavens or reach unto the heavens. And he was going to gather a one-world government and a one-world religion. All of that you find there in Genesis chapter 10 and Genesis chapter 11. And that was the cradle of Babylon. Babylon is the fountainhead of all false religion and therefore it is the quintessential symbol of evil and sin. It is the kingdom over which the beast will rule. You have Jerusalem the Holy City. Babylon, the hellish city. You have the Lamb. You have the beast. You have the Christ. You have the antichrist. You have the true church, the bride. You have the false church, the harlot. All of these things, they are an antithesis. And now he even says, "Babylon the great is fallen".

Now here's an interesting thing. The early Christians in the first century, and we can find it in the New Testament, First Peter 5:13, began to call Rome Babylon. They said Rome symbolizes, epitomizes Babylon. And it may be that the antichrist is going to rule from Rome. Or it could be this ancient Babylon rebuilt. We will see. We will know. But Babylon is destined for destruction and it is going to fall. It is the capital city of the antichrist. And, it is Babylon that will corrupt the whole world and bring the whole world into a one-world government and a one-world religion. And for further information, consult any modern newspaper.

Now here's the third thing I want you to see. I want you to see the consequences of those destined by decision. Remember that I told you that it is decision that determines destiny. Now think of those who have been branded by the beast. Begin reading now in Revelation 14 verse 9 on through verse 12, "And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, 'If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in their forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb.'" Now watch verse 11, "And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name, here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus Christ".

Now this speaks of those who worship the beast and take his mark. As I told you in the previous messages, the antichrist is going to have a minister of propaganda who's going to cause everybody to receive a mark in his right hand or his forehead. And he's going to be a controller of commerce. You will not be able to buy or sell without the mark of the beast. However, if you do take the mark of the beast, you have committed an unpardonable sin. There will be no hope for you whatsoever. For if you receive his mark, you will be forever damned. But if you do not receive his mark, you will be persecuted by the beast and put to death. And you can anticipate torture and death. Either way, you do not want to be here during The Great Tribulation. You will either defy the beast or deify the beast. Those will be your choices. But if you do take the mark of the beast, then you're going to drink of the cup of the indignation of Almighty God.

In ancient times many times capital punishment was causing a person to drink a cup of poison. And so, that's what's going to happen to those who follow the beast. They're going to receive this punishment from Almighty God. Now we're talking the destiny of the dead. But I want you to notice verse 11. There's something we don't hear very much about anymore. Well let's begin in verse 10, and that is an eternal hell, a hell of fire and brimstone. Did you know that if you wanted to ridicule a preacher, you know why, how you would ridicule him today? You'd call him a what? A fire and brimstone preacher, wouldn't you? A fire and brimstone preacher. Well, you would be ridiculing a man who reads the Word of God and preaches the Word of God.

Look again in Revelation 14 verse 10, "The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb". Somebody says, "Well, Adrian, that's symbolic isn't it"? For your sake, I hope it is symbolic if you die and go to hell. The symbolism is always weaker than the reality. What is more beautiful, a painting of a sunset or the sunset itself? The painting is the symbol of the reality. The symbol is always weaker than the reality. Whatever it is, friend, you don't want to experience what the Bible describes in these terms, fire and brimstone. Well you say, "Pastor Rogers, if I go there, I won't stay very long". Oh, no. Look in Revelation 14 verse 11, "And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name".

Friend, there is no hope once you go to hell. The Bible says in Proverbs 11 and verse 7, "When a wicked man dieth, his expectation shall perish," no more expectation, "And the hope of unjust men perisheth". Bernard M. Barouk said, "The saddest word in the English language is the word hopeless". Now I want to remind you that the Lord Jesus Christ had more to say about hell than any other preacher in the Bible. And Jesus had more to say about hell than he had to say about Heaven. I share one verse that Jesus gave, Mark 9 verse 43, "And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off. For it is better for thee to enter into life maimed than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched". Jesus said it would be better to be a crippled saint than a healthy sinner on the way to hell. Now we see the destiny of those who are branded by the beast. But think of the destiny of those who are sealed by the Spirit.

Now I wish we had more time for this. But look if you will in Revelation 14 verse 13, "And I heard a voice from Heaven saying, 'Write, "Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors: and their works do follow them".'" What a great verse. I've used this verse so many times in the Scriptures. "Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord". The beast may put these tribulation saints to death but the Bible says in Second Corinthians 5 verse 8, "To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord". The minute a saint, the minute a child of God dies, that selfsame minute that person goes immediately into the presence of the Lord. "To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord".

Stephen was stoned. But even as he is being stoned, he looked up and he said, "I see Heaven open and Jesus standing at the right hand of the Father". That's Acts chapter 7 and verse 56. You know, Jesus is seated normally in Heaven. But He stood up for ole Stephen didn't He? Say, "Welcome home; welcome home my son". Three things that tells us about the dead who die in the Lord. Do you have a mother or father, brother or sister, a child in Heaven? Well look, blessed are the dead. That's a Greek word makarios, it means rejoicing. They are leaping and dancing and praising God. Heaven is all that the loving heart of God would desire and the omniscient mind of God can conceive and the omnipotent hand of God can perform. That's what Heaven is.

Listen, the artistry that God has put into Heaven. The God who sculpted the wings of the butterfly and blended the hues of the rainbow. The God who paints the meadows with daffodils, that's the God who made our Heaven. Blessed are the dead, they are rejoicing. I tell you something else they're doing. Not only are they rejoicing, they're resting. "That they may rest from their labors". You know, that doesn't mean we're going to sit around in Heaven on a fluffy cloud wearing a woolly robe and a rusty halo plucking a harp. It doesn't mean that we are going to listen to music all day or all eternity. The Bible says in the book of the Revelation in chapter 22 verse 3, "His servants will serve Him". We're going to rule kingdoms, universes. But there'll be no labor; there'll be no toil that they may rest from their labors. Rejoicing and resting and then rewarded. "And their works do follow them".

You know works never bring you to Heaven. If you're trying to work your way to Heaven, forget it, you'll never do it. It is like running up the down escalator. You're not going to get there friend. But let me tell you something. Works don't bring you to Heaven; they follow you to Heaven. "And their works do follow them". Jesus said in the Gospel of Matthew chapter 10 verse 42, "You can't even give a cup of cold water in the name of the disciple and lose your reward". Oh friend, there is a God to serve. There is a hell to shun. There is Heaven to gain. There is an eternity to live. There are the decisions of the living and the destiny of the dead. Whether you're in this age or the age to come.

Let's bow our heads in prayer. Heads are bowed and eyes are closed. Would you pray for those who may not know the Lord Jesus Christ? You know, the wonderful thing is this, that you can receive Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord today. Now I want you to go back with me for just a moment to the introduction of this message. I want you to imagine that you are that girl standing on the street of Pensacola, Florida, and Adrian Rogers is standing before you right now and saying, "Will you shake hands with me"? Now friend, either you today, are going to say "yes" to Jesus Christ or "no" to Jesus Christ; you cannot be neutral. Jesus Christ said, "He that is not with Me is against Me". And I ask you sincerely, which hand will you give me? Will you say, "Yes" to the Lord Jesus Christ? Would you pray a prayer like this?

Lord Jesus, I'm a sinner and I'm lost and I need to be saved and I want to be saved. Jesus, You died to save me and You promised to save me if I would trust You. I do trust You Jesus. Come into my heart now. Forgive my sin. And save me. In Your name I pray. Amen.