200 Million Ride to Destroy - Part 1

Jim Scudder, Jr. (0:04)

Now, in this epic battle between good and evil, you have the protagonist, which of course is Jesus. He's the hero, he's the winner. But the antagonist in this epic battle between good and evil is Lucifer.

SPEAKER_2 (0:21)

Welcome to InGrace with Jim Scudder, the senior pastor of Quentin Road Baptist Church in suburban Chicago. He is a strong advocate of the nation of Israel and leads annual tours to the Holy Land.

Jim Scudder, Jr. (0:36)

Hi, this is Pastor Jim Scudder. Today we are continuing our study of the Book of Revelation in our series Armageddon's Dawn. Today my message is titled, 200 million ride to destroy. We are talking about the second series of judgments we find in Revelation chapter 9 These are the trumpet judgments. And we are going to hear the sixth angel sound the trumpet. And there is going to be loosed at the sound of that trumpet four angels. These are fallen angels, demons, which are bound in the great river Euphrates. And they will prepare for a particular time, an hour, the Bible says, a day, a month, and a year, to slay a third part of men. They are going to be preparing the way for the end of time, the final battle, the Battle of Armageddon. And it does interest me that the Euphrates River of late has been very low. And so we're gonna discuss this today as we discuss, what does the Bible say about the end times? Now, right before we get into that, let me tell you a couple things real quick that I'm very excited about. Number one, InGrace is going to Israel in February. You are invited. My wife Karen and I would love to host you. We're gonna be bringing other InGrace staff. We're going to bring people that can sing and bless us. We're gonna have teaching at the sites. And more importantly than all of this, luxury motor coaches and these five-star hotels, it's going to be the fact that we are gonna be able to witness the miracle of Israel and be able to bless Israel while we're there. If you're interested in that at all, at least get the brochure. It's free at 1-800-78-GRACE, 1-800-78-GRACE, or go to our website ingraceradio.com.

We would also love to invite you to come visit us at Quinton Road Baptist Church sometime. We're in the Chicago area. We're in the Northwest suburb of Lake Zurich. So if you live in Chicago or Milwaukee, come on and see us on a Sunday at 11 o'clock. I would love to meet you. We also know many of you travel through Chicago, and you either come to the airport or you drive through, stop in on a Sunday and visit Quinton Road Baptist Church. We would love to meet you sometime soon.

The longer you live, the more real life truths you figure out. So those of us that have achieved some years, we are wiser, and we usually obtain wisdom by failing or observing others and their failures. So here are some real life truths that I've figured out so far in my life. Number one, light travels faster than sound. Now, you might already have known that, but I really understand it better because some people I've observed appear bright until you hear them speak.

So, therefore, real life has taught me that light travels faster than sound. Number two, nothing, I've learned this, nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool. You say, how can a fool be sufficiently talented? Well, they are, and that's not foolproof. And you've heard this one, if the shoe fits?

No, if the shoe fits, get another one just like it.

You've heard this one, give a man a fish, and he will eat for a day, and then he will spend the rest of his life in a boat. Do you know that a flashlight, you know what it's designed for, right? A flashlight is designed to hold dead batteries.

And then the last one may fit you, and that is, he who laughs last thinks slowest.

These are things that we find in real life. As we live, we discover real life truths. And I'm hoping that we can discover today real life spiritual truths. There are things that we cannot see, that are real. And we're going to rediscover some of those things as we study the Book of Revelation in our series, Armageddon's Dawn. In John 10, 10, Jesus says, The thief cometh not but to steal and to kill and to destroy.

And that makes sense. That's why people break in to homes, to do harm. But I am come, and this is what Jesus said, and this sets the stage for the epic battle of eternity. But I am come, Jesus said, that they might have life, and they might have it more abundantly. So the epic battle of the ages, and almost every book and movie is based on this, the fight between good and evil, the fight between right and wrong, the fight between light and darkness, the fight between life and death, that's the theme of the world, and that's the theme of the Bible, and that's what Jesus just described. The thief comes to steal, to kill, to destroy. Who is the thief? Satan.