Picturing the last year of the Great Tribulation
Fred R. Coulter—September 21, 2017
- Video | - PDF | Audio | [Up]
{noted that the sermonette is left off of this transcription}
We welcome you to Feast of Trumpets once again.
Proverbs 25:2: "The glory of God is to conceal a thing, but the honor of kings… [and we're all going to be kings] …is to search out a matter."
What does the Feast of Trumpets really, really mean? We have to start in Lev. 23. The only other day that has less spoken of it here is the Last Great Day, the eighth day. Do a little comparison and see how many verses are devoted to Pentecost. It does say that the Passover is on the 14th, but we have a lot of other instruction other places on it. But notice what it says about the Feast of Trumpets:
Leviticus 23:23: "And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 'Speak to the children of Israel saying, "In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, you shall have a Sabbath, a memorial of blowing of ram's horns, a Holy convocation."'" (vs 23-24). A ram's horn is a Shofar, a horn blown for war, as well as the silver trumpets that are blown on Trumpets.
Verse 25: "You shall do no servile work therein but you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD."
From these three verses you wouldn't have a clue as to what Trumpets is all about.
We will take up an offering with this in mind. What God is doing for us and to us, and us coming to the world, God wants the best of everything that He has given us. That's why the tithes and offerings, that's why the firstfruits and the firstborn. God's plan, God's way and God's eternal purpose is so great that He wants to reveal it to us. It comes step-by-step, but He wants the best from us, because He is going to give the best from Him. Think of it that way!
(pause for the offering)
- Would you say that the last two weeks have been Matt. 24, Luke 21 and Mark 13?
- How secure is everything?
They say that in Puerto Rico it literally wiped the whole thing away! They say they will be two months or more getting electricity back. Think about how much we are dependent upon electricity.
- How many of you have a nice big garden out in back?
- How many of you have a little storage cellar called a root cellar?
- How many have a root cellar full of potatoes, onions, carrots, canned goods of this and that?
- How many have well that you can pump the water out by hand?
- Or even a well that you can drop down a bucket and get some water?
Think how vulnerable we are!
- Why do all of these things happen? Because man has chosen to go his own way!
- How powerful is free choice? Very powerful!
God gives a condition everywhere you have IF! There's another spirit being who rules this world, and he's going to so control the world and the future that Jesus said that IF He didn't return there would be no flesh saved alive! You can see how quickly that can happen! Yes, it will happen real quickly!
Let's understand something about the Feast if Trumpets; let's begin in Rev. 14. The book of Revelation is one of the most fantastic books in the entire Bible, and it takes the entire Bible to fill in all the details of Revelation. It is very unusual especially in its writings, because the Apostle John wrote what Jesus told him to write.
On Pentecost I explained the first five verses of Rev. 14. This is going to occur right when the world is in the grips of the greatest darkness and the greatest war, probably just before.
Revelation 14:6: "And I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and language and people."
Here's what's going to come from God. He's going to warn! Why? Because God is always interested in repentance! He wants people to repent. He gives them an opportunity, and we'll see that.
Verse 7: "Saying with a loud voice, 'Fear God, and give glory to Him, because the hour of His judgment has come…'" We will see when that judgment comes. It comes in waves, and this has to be right at the beginning of the Tribulation.
Verse 8: "Then another angel followed, saying, 'The great city Babylon is fallen, is fallen, because of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, which she has given all nations to drink.' And a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, 'If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives the mark in his forehead or in his hand, he shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed undiluted in the cup of His wrath; and he shall be tormented in fire and brimstone in the sight of the Holy angels, and of the Lamb'" (vs 8-10).
Verse 12: "Here is the patience of the saints; here are the ones who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus."
They go together. It takes faith to obey God. It doesn't take any faith to live in the world and do as the world does.
- Rev. 12—the whole world is deceived
Revelation 13:4: "And they worshiped the dragon who gave his authority to the beast. And they worshiped the beast, saying, 'Who is like the beast? Who has the power to make war against him?' And a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies was given to him; and authority was given to him to continue for forty-two months" (vs 4-5). That's the length of the Great Tribulation.
Notice what's going to happen, because all of the good things that we have today are going to come to an end suddenly; just like it did in Puerto Rico.
Verse 6: "And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, and His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. And he was given power to make war against the saints, and to overcome them…" (vs 6-7). That's at the beginning of the Tribulation. That's why it says, "Here is the patience of the saints…"
"…and he was given authority over every tribe and language and nation" (v 7). How close are we to this now? We don't know! It looks like we're getting close, but there are a lot of other things that have to come into play.
Right now we don't know if we're going to be at war in Korea tomorrow, or in a week, or what's going to happen. But whatever is done, the world will probably hate us for it. So, we can expect that.
Let's put this together with Rev. 6:12. This happens just shortly the Tribulation begins, about a year or year and a half, maybe two years:
Revelation 6:12: "And when He opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake…" When you go through the book of Revelation, you find out that there are great earthquakes.
Look at poor Mexico, two in a week. This last one came within two hours of what happened in 1985. So, you go through Revelation and there are a lot of earthquakes. God says that He's going to shake the heavens and shake the earth.
"…and the sun became black as the hair of sackcloth, and the moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its untimely figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. Then the heaven departed like a scroll…" (vs 12-14)—an event that has never happened.
Think of that! Think about how the whole world is being prepared for an invasion from outer space. That's what they're going to say.
We know from Matt. 24 that when the heavens roll back as a scroll, the sign of the Son of man, as a second sun, appears in the heavens. It's there for quite a period of time, because it shines from the east to the west. Everyone is going to be astonished and saying, 'The aliens are coming! The aliens are coming!' And they're right; it's Christ and us!
Verse 15: "And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the powerful men, and every bondman, and every free man hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains; and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, 'Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him Who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, because the great day of His wrath has come, and who has the power to stand?'" (vs 15-17).
Let's see what else leads up to it. The book of Isaiah is a perfect example of how God has hidden things in the Word in plain sight. Unless you know the flow and meaning of the Holy Days, you won't understand how to apply these. He talks about His first coming, His second coming, current event, future event, past event all mixed up and completely out of sequence except for a few of the chapters.
Isa. 13 is like that, and remember that with every prophecy there may be one or more fulfillments. There's a first fulfillment of Babylon, after the children of Israel and the Jews were released from Babylon. There's the great Babylon the Great, as we find in Rev. and Dan. 2. this can come in several different fulfillments, but the crescendo will be at the return of Christ.
Isaiah 13:1: "The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw: 'Lift up a banner upon the high mountain, exalt the voice to them, wave the hand, so that they may go into the gates of the nobles. I have commanded My Holy ones, I have also called My mighty ones for My anger, even those who rejoice in My triumph.'" (vs 1-3). You could apply this several ways here.
Verse 5: "They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, the LORD and the weapons of His indignation, to destroy the whole earth."
Look at where we are with this, v 6: "Howl! For the Day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. Therefore, all hands shall be faint, and every man's heart shall melt; and they shall be afraid. Pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them. They shall be in pain like a woman who travails. They shall be amazed at one another, their faces are like blazing fire. Behold, the Day of the LORD comes, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger to make the earth a desolation; and He shall destroy the sinners out of it, for the stars of the heavens and their constellations shall not give light; the sun shall be darkened in its going forth, and the moon shall not reflect its light" (vs 6-10).
Verse 11—God says: "And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the tyrants. I will make man more scarce than gold; even man more than the fine gold of Ophir" (vs 11-12).
Quite a thing! Quite a desolation! The whole world! That's what the Feast of Trumpets pictures. We'll see that, and we'll add some other Scriptures in here. It's an amazing thing!
Isaiah 24:1: "Behold, the LORD makes the earth empty and makes it waste…" If you want to know what that's going to look like, when you watch the news and they show you what's happened in Mexico and then Puerto Rico; you'll see a perfect example of that. Only consider this on a worldwide basis!
Sidebar: Think about the mess that we're going in inherit to start the Kingdom of God! Also, lest you be overcome with grief and the pain and sorrow of all the people suffering, remember the second resurrection! That's why God has it, because all of these things must be corrected, but also there must be the judgment of God.
Verse 1: "Behold, the LORD makes the earth empty and makes it waste, and turns it upside down, and scatters its inhabitants."
Isa. 40 says that every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain made low. What do you think that's going to do to the earth?
Verse 2: "And as it is with the people, so it shall be with the priest; as with the slave, so with the master; as with the handmaid, so it is with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the creditor, so with the debtor." So much for the accumulation of wealth.
Verse 3: "The earth shall be completely laid waste, and utterly stripped; for the LORD has spoken this word." Whenever it says that the Lord has spoken, remember that it will happen to the maximum!
Verse 4: "The earth mourns and languishes; the world withers and languishes; the proud people of the earth wither. And the earth is defiled under its people; because they have transgressed the Laws, changed the ordinance…" (vs 4-5). What are ordinances? Feast days!
"…and have broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore, the curse has devoured the earth, and they who dwell in it are desolate; therefore, the people of the earth are burned, and few men are left" (vs 5-6).
The Feast of Trumpets pictures these worldwide events. What's going to happen with Korea? I don't know! The choice is up to them. But when God intervenes, here's what's going to happen:
God told Jeremiah to take a golden cup and go to all the kings of the earth—near and far, north and south, everywhere—and he names all of the nations by their Biblical names. Then God says:
Jeremiah 25:26: "And all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world, which are on the face of the earth; and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them." That has to be the beast!
Verse 27: "Therefore, you shall say to them, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, "Drink and be drunk, and vomit, and fall, and rise no more because of the sword which I will send among you. And it shall come to pass if they refuse to take the cup at your hand to drink, then you shall say to them, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, "You shall certainly drink. For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city, which is called by My name… [woe is Jerusalem] …and shall you go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished. For I will call for a sword on all the inhabitants of the earth,"' says the LORD of hosts" (vs 27-29). Connect that with all the kingdoms in v 26. How's that for a 'secret rapture.'
Verse 30: "'And prophesy against them all these words, and say to them, "The LORD shall roar from on high, and utter His voice from His Holy habitation. He shall mightily roar over His dwelling place. He shall give a shout, like those who tread out grapes, against all the people of the earth. A noise shall come to the ends of the earth; for the LORD has a controversy with the nations… [all the nations] ….He will plead with all flesh…."'" (vs 30-31). Does God mean every single individual? Yes, indeed! He says it four times!
"'…He will give those who are wicked to the sword,' says the LORD. Thus says the LORD of hosts, 'Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be stirred up from the farthest corners of the earth'" (vs 31-32). Have we seen great whirlwinds here lately?
Verse 33: "And the slain of the LORD shall be at that day from one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth; they shall not be mourned, nor gathered, nor buried. They shall be as dung on the ground. Howl, you shepherds, and cry; and wallow yourselves in the ashes, you lords of the flock! For the days of your slaughter and of your scatterings are fulfilled; and you shall fall like a choice vessel" (vs 33-34). Quite an amazing thing!
There are other Scriptures that bring this out. You can go through Daniel:
- Dan. 2 ends with the image of Great Babylon is smashed in the feet with a stone cut out without hands.
- Dan. 7, 9, 11—all end with the Kingdom of God coming
Let's see how all of this fits in with the Feast of Trumpets.
Since this has been kind of bloody and gory, let's see what God says in Ezek. 33. Even in that God wants repentance. Think of that! Even though He says that all these things are going to happen, there will also be some repentance, too.
Ezek. 33—God says to set a watchman with a ram's horn, and if war comes and he sounds, then he will save his soul and those who listen will be spared; those who don't will be destroyed.
Ezekiel 33:11: "Say to them, 'As I live'… [How sure is this?] …says the Lord GOD, "I have no delight in the death of the wicked, except that the wicked turn from his way, and live. Turn you, turn you from your evil ways; for why will you die, O house of Israel?'" And we can add all the nations of the world!
Did we not start in Rev. 14: the Gospel being preached and warn what's going to happen? God doesn't delight in the death of the wicked. Then He shows that that if the righteous sin, he won' be spared. If the wicked repent, he will be spared.
Revelation 6:17: "Because the great day of His wrath has come… [we just read how it's going to come: all nations, all people, all inhabitants, everyone] …and who has the power to stand?"
Now, right smack in the midst of all of this, we have, Revelation 7:1: "And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, so that the wind might not blow on the earth, or on the sea, or on any tree. Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God…" (vs 1-2).
- What does the seal of the living God do?
- Who are those who are sealed today? All of those who have the Holy Spirit of God!
Let's see what God does here!
- Will there be churches to go to for them to be baptized? No!
Remember, this is right in the middle of the Tribulation; all of a sudden a great calm. Just like in the eye of a hurricane right over where you are and it's like 'how did this happen?' This is what this is going to be like.
"…and he cried out with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to damage the earth and the sea, saying, 'Do not damage the earth, or the sea, or the trees until we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads'" (vs 2-3). That's receiving the Holy Spirit. These are people who become the servants of God. When? The very last year before the resurrection.
Remember the parable of the harvest of the laborers. There were those who started at sunrise, there were those who just worked the last hour of the day and they all got paid the same. Here it is the sealing for eternal life.
Verse 4: "And I heard the number of those who were sealed: one hundred forty-four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the children of Israel."
What does it say in the Gospel? The Gospel goes first to the Jews and Israel, then the Gentiles! It follows the same pattern. Apparently these are in captivity and still alive. They repent! God honors that repentance, right in the middle of the most destructive thing that's coming on the earth. Then it lists all of them, 144,000.
Verse 9: "After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude, which no one was able to number, out of every nation and tribe and people and language, was standing before the throne and before the Lamb…" That shows where they are going to go.
- When do they go there?
- Right after they're sealed? No!
Only those who are Christ's will be at His coming!
- What does it say about the resurrection? At the last trump!
Those who are alive will not precede those who have died! They will be alive; God will spare them for the last year—Pentecost to Pentecost—quite a miraculous thing!
But it shows what we're looking at here showing the love and mercy of God on one hand, and the fierceness of His judgment and wrath on the other hand; a lot of contrast.
When you receive the Spirit of God, you are a saint in God's eyes! You're still in the flesh, but you're counted as a saint. Keep that in mind and we will see evidence that, yes, when the trumpets start to be blown there are saints who are alive.
(go to the next track)
The Feast of Trumpets is a memorial of the blowing of trumpets all day long! The Shofar, the silver trumpet, all day long!
Where in the Bible do you find the sequence of trumpets blown by spirit beings? Revelation! You find it beginning in Rev. 8. Let me give you just a little clue on understanding the way the Bible works that will help you understand when you're reading.
Revelation 7:4: "And I heard the number of those who were sealed: one hundred forty-four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the children of Israel."
This is what the Bible does in many, many cases: It tells you a summary of what's going to happen, with the details to follow. Here we have first the 144,000, 12,000 out of each of the 12 tribes of Israel. Then we come to:
Verse 9: "After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude, which no one was able to number, out of every nation and tribe and people and language…" They are also sealed, but the rest of the verse is a projection forward; it doesn't happen at the time that they are sealed.
- How do we know that? Christ has not come!
This shows where they will be, but in order to be there:
- What has to happen? There has to be the resurrection!
- What does it say about the resurrection in 1-Cor. 15? Christ the Firstfruit, and those who are His at His coming!
Then we also find that it's going to be at the last trump. If you have a last trump, you've got to have a first one. The trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible!
We're first going to answer the question concerning the trumpets.
Revelation 8:1: "Now, when He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about a half hour. Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them" (vs 1-2). So, it's at a specific time that these trumpets are going to be given to them.
Verse 3: "And another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar; and much incense was given to him, so that he might offer it with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar that was before the throne." Where is this golden altar? On the Sea of Glass where the throne of God is!
This shows that the 144,000 and the great innumerable multitude were not taken to heaven immediately, because they were still on the earth praying. "…so that he might offer it with the prayers of all the saints…"—who were still alive that have the Spirit of God. Those in a place of safety—very few—the 144,000 and the innumerable multitude. They're all praying and their prayers go up to God.
Verse 4: "And the smoke of the incense went up before God from the hand of the angel, ascending with the prayers of the saints. And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire from the altar, and cast it into the earth; and there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings, and an earthquake" (vs 4-5). So, there's another earthquake!
Verse 6: "Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound their trumpets"—one at a time in sequence!
Verse 7: "And the first angel sounded his trumpet; and there was hail and fire mingled with blood, and it was cast upon the earth; and a third of the trees were burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up." We'll see something later about all the green grass.
Verse 8: "Then the second angel sounded his trumpet; and there was cast into the sea as it were a great mountain burning with fire, and a third of the sea became blood; and a third of the living creatures that were in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed. And the third angel sounded his trumpet…" (vs 8-10).
Notice that these first 4 trumpets come boom! boom! boom! boom! Just like with the seals, the first four come quickly, then the fifth seal is the martyrdom of the saints. Then later the sixth seal. Now the seventh seal and the seven trumpets.
Verse 10: "And the third angel sounded his trumpet, and there fell out of heaven a great star, burning like a lamp; and it fell on a third of the rivers, and on the fountains of waters. Now, the name of the star is Wormwood; and a third of the waters became wormwood; and many men died from drinking the waters because they were made bitter. Then the fourth angel sounded his trumpet; and a third of the sun was smitten, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars; so that a third of them were darkened; and a third part of the day did not shine, and likewise a third part of the night" (vs 10-12).
What does v 12 answer? It answers a very important question: Time is all mixed up between the shaking of the earth—the earthquakes—and these things taking place! That's why only God the Father knows when it's going to happen!
People ask, 'How can you tell by the Holy Days when it's going to be, when it says that no man knows the day or hour?' Because the Holy Days give us the outline, God keeps the day and the hour!
Just like the hurricanes that we've had, right when you think things are getting better—BOOM!—it gets worse!
Verse 13[transcriber's correction]: "And I looked; and I heard an angel flying in the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, 'Woe, woe, woe to those who are dwelling on the earth, because of the voices of the remaining trumpets of the three angels who are about to sound their trumpets.'"
Let's see what happens; things get more intense; Revelation 9:1: "And the fifth angel sounded his trumpet; and I saw a star that had fallen from heaven to the earth, and there was given to him the key to the bottomless abyss." What was this star? Had to be an angel!
Notice that it gets incredibly worse; now we have men and demons fighting against God and His angels.
Verse 2: "And he opened the bottomless abyss; and there went up smoke from the pit, like the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke from the pit." What is this? This has to be the demons who are in prison! Now they're going to be loosed on the earth.
Verse 3: "Then locusts came onto the earth from the smoke; and power was given to them, as the scorpions of the earth have power. And it was said to them that they should not damage the grass of the earth…" (vs 3-4).
What did we see about the grass in Rev. 8:7? All the grass had burned up! Now it says not to damage the grass. I thought it was all burned up. What happens to grass after it's burned and you get clouds and rain and the grass grows. Grass doesn't know that there's a war going on.
"…or any green thing, or any tree, but only the men who did not have the seal of God in their foreheads" (v 4). This means that those who were sealed are still on the earth. Why? Because they're not resurrected until the seventh trumpet! We're only at the fifth trumpet.
Let's just plug in a little speculation here: What are they going to discover with the Hadrian Collider. They say that they're trying to open the portals of the world beyond. We don't know what it's going to be. Is this describing what that may be? Don't know! Just speculation!
Verse 5: "And it was given to them that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented…" That's the rest of the men because they're not to bring it upon those who have been sealed.
"…five months; and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings a man. And in those days men will seek death but will not find it; and they will desire to die, but death will flee from them. And the appearance of the locusts was like horses prepared for war; and on their heads were crowns like those of gold; and their faces were like the faces of men" (vs 5-7). These are demons possessing men.
Verse 8: "And they had hair like women's hair; and their teeth were like those of lions. And they had breastplates like iron breastplates; and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots drawn by many horses running to war; and they had tails like scorpions, and stingers; and they were given power to injure men with their tails for five months" (vs 8-10).
Some people like to bring up that maybe these are robots. The Bible says that they are men! Since these are demons who possess men, why are they fighting other men or demons? Because the kingdom of Satan is divided and they fight back and forth against each other!
Verse 11: "And they have over them a king, the angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but the name he has in Greek is Apollyon"—Satan the devil!
Verse 12: "The first woe is past. Behold, after these things two more woes are still to come." This is what the Feast of Trumpets is picturing, this last day—one year, a leap year, 13 months—and all of this is the wrath of God and leading up to the final conclusion of the wrath of God (Rev. 16).
Verse 13: "And the sixth angel sounded his trumpet; and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar that is before God; and it said to the sixth angel, who had the trumpet, 'Loose the four angels who are bound in the great River Euphrates'" (vs 13-14).
- How long were they there? We don't know!
- When did God put them there? We don't know!
But we do know that the demons are controlled by God with command, and they're only allowed to do what God gives them permission to do. So, there they were! Hundreds of years? Thousands of years? Who knows? So, they're loosed!
Verse 15: "Then the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were loosed, so that they might kill a third of men." Now, a fourth part were killed (Rev. 6). That's just war between men.
If you say that there are 8-billion people on the earth by this time, a fourth of them would be 2-billion. So, there are 6-billion left; a third of them takes another 2-billion.
Verse 16: "And the number of the armies of the horsemen was two hundred thousand thousand; and I heard the number of them."
The way the armies are already being prepared is that from China clear to Europe and the Middle East is by bullet trains. They already have one track from China; they can load goods on a car and send it to Europe in four days. From Kazakhstan going east they're building pipelines for oil, going into China; gas lines going into Mongolia and down to Pakistan into China. Think about how much these things have to develop.
This is going to be gargantuan, these armies. Think of what it's going to take to supply them. Those armies will be strung out all the way from the Far East to the Holy Land. This is going to be a tremendous thing!
Verse 17: "And so, I saw the horses in the vision, and those sitting on them, who had fiery breastplates, even like jacinth and brimstone. And the heads of the horses were like heads of lions, and fire and smoke and brimstone shoot out of their mouths." Are these horses or machines? Probably machines! Who knows what weapons will be developed.
Sidebar: A question came up on the news one night: What can we do to stop "rocket man"—Kim Jong-un? One person said, 'I heard they have a weapon that can shut off all electricity.' Who knows? There's a report out that they're getting more and more into human DNA for more and more control. How far will this go? I don't think that North Korea is going to bring on the Tribulation. I don't think that at all! What will happen to it? I don't know! But eventually, everything is going to come out of the Far East and from the north: Russia, China, all the 'stans, India, Pakistan, Iran. China is going to be able to send ships around and come into the Persian Gulf to get up into the area of Mesopotamia. This is going to be something!
Protestants say that all the armies of the world are going to be gathered there to get rid of the Jews. NO! They're there to fight the aliens coming from outer space! Think of all that's going on on the earth! Great things happening!
Verse 18: "By these three a third of men were killed: by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone that shoot out of their mouths. For their power is in their mouths; for their tails are like serpents, and have heads, and with them they inflict wounds. But the rest of the men… [this involves human beings together] …who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent… [God is looking for repentance] …of the works of their hands that they might not worship demons, and idols of gold and silver and brass and stone and wood, which do not have the power to see, nor to hear, nor to walk. And they did not repent of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornications, nor of their thievery" (vs 18-21).
We've had six angels blow their trumpet.
- Rev. 10—there was to be no more delay. Then they had to go do some additional preaching.
- Rev. 11—about the two witnesses and they will be those selected by God personally.
- Zech. 3-4 tells us that they will be the priest at the coming temple—and there will be a temple built—and there will be a 'holy place' there. The other witness is going to be the governor of Judea. Who that will be, we don't know.
Speculation: the beast may eventually be Trump. One of the witnesses may be Netanyahu. It's not wrong to think about it, but you can't make it dogma from God. Good ideas from Delores!
The beast final kills the two witnesses and their bodies lie in the streets of Jerusalem for three and a half days. Now let's see what happens:
Revelation 11:9: "Then those of the peoples and tribes and languages and nations shall see their bodies three and a half days, for they will not allow their bodies to be put into tombs. And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them…" (vs 9-10). 'Hooray! We finally have win! Look at this!'
"'…and will make merry, and will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets had tormented those who dwell on the earth.' Then after the three and a half days, the spirit of life from God entered into them and they stood on their feet; and great fear fell upon those who were watching them" (vs 10-11). I guess so!
- What's another principle in the Bible? Three and a half days because the Jews declare a person officially dead after three days!
- Who were the two witnesses? They were the last martyrs on earth!
The principle here is that the last shall be first!
- Who are the first two resurrected? The two martyrs, the two witnesses!
- When? Just before the seventh trump!
Verse 12: "And they heard a great voice from heaven, say, 'Come up here!'…. [v 13]: And in that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell; and seven thousand men were killed in the earthquake…." I think there are about a half-dozen earthquakes in Revelation alone.
Verse 14: "The second woe is past. Behold, the third woe is coming immediately. Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet… [the last trump] …and there were great voices in heaven, saying, 'The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ, and He shall reign into the ages of eternity.' And the twenty-four elders, who sit before God on their thrones, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying, 'We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty, Who is, and Who was, and Who is to come; for You have taken to Yourself Your great power, and have reigned. For the nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, and the time for the dead to be judged, and to give reward to Your servants the prophets, and to the saints…'" (vs 14-18)—the resurrection.
When we're resurrected, the angels are going to carry us in the air to the Sea of Glass.
- How many Scriptures does it take to make something true? One!
- Where do we see Sea of Glass? Rev. 4 & 5 and Exo. 24!
This gives us three Scriptures!
Revelation 15:1: "Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and awesome: seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is filled up. And I saw a sea of glass…" (vs 1-2). What happens? The throne of God and everything comes down close to the earth!
How big is the Sea of Glass going to be? Let's tie it together this way: When the sign of the Son of man occurred, it was like another sun. We go for a space of time with two suns. Then at the resurrection Christ is coming to the earth so the sun moves toward the earth, and when it gets over the area of the Holy Land it spreads out to a great Sea of Glass! The whole world is going to see this; all the armies that are left are going to see this. They're going to say that this is really the invasion and 'we need to get everybody here, otherwise, if they come and take over the earth we'll lose everything.
Verse 2: "And I saw a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who had gotten the victory over the beast…" Where did the beast first appear? The Garden of Eden! Isn't the serpent a beast? Yes!
"…and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, standing on the Sea of Glass, having the lyres of God. And they were singing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, 'Great and awesome are Your works, Lord God Almighty; righteous and true are Your ways, King of the saints'" (vs 2-3). Now then, since this probably happens on Pentecost:
- How long do we have until Trumpets? About four and a half months!
- What's going to be happening on the Sea of Glass during that time?
- Wouldn't you like to have instructions on how to use this new body?
We're all going to speak the same language. If God confused all the languages, can He not make it all one? Yes!
The next question is, 'Lord, what are we going to do?' How are we going to do it? We've got to have instruction on that! We get to meet a lot of people that we went to their funerals with. Get to meet some going clear back to Abel. There's going to be a great ceremony. Everyone is going to get a new name, and then in another great ceremony, everyone is going to get their reward. Then the great ceremony of the marriage and the Lamb and the Bride! Then a great feast! You're not going to run out of food because the angels are going to bring it.
The earth is down here with all the people scurrying around who are still alive. 'We've got to get the armies there, the ammunition there, the planes there.
Sidebar: Have you ever watched The Fall of the Fourth Reich? Look at what they were doing in Berlin. I always wondered where they got all the ammunition. They kept fighting to the last. That's what they're going to do!
Rev. 16—the seven angels start pouring out their vials. The first four angels complete the job that are the first four trumpet plagues did.
Fifth plague —darkness on the beast and his kingdom; blasphemes God.
Sixth plague—River Euphrates dried up, so the way of the kings from te rising of the sun might be prepared.
They're going to say, 'Miracle! Look at the river, it's dry! Bring in the armies! Bring in the troops! Bring in the tanks! Bring in the planes!'
Revelation 16:13: "Then I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet; for they are spirits of demons working miracles, going forth to the kings of the earth, even of the whole world, to gather them together to the battle of that great day of the Almighty God" (vs 13-14). That's going to be quite a battle!
Verse 17: Then the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, 'IT IS FINISHED.'" Then great hail came and another earthquake.
The world has been prepared for us! Talk about a challenge, a work! So, here we come. We also have instructions on how to ride the white horses, how to direct them. Here we are all up on the Sea of Glass and the angels are going to bring our horses to us. We all get on and Christ gets His banner: King of kings and Lord of lords.
Then Christ says, 'Now you are in the Kingdom and you will fight!'
Here we are on the Sea of Glass and here on earth is the beast, the false prophet and all the armies shooting their weapons up to the Sea of Glass, trying to get the Sea of Glass out of the sky.
But here we come down! None of their bullets work! None of their laser-guns work! We keep coming down! Christ has the perfect sword, the sword of His mouth and He commands and all of the flesh falls right off all the soldiers! God always cleans up His mess, so He's got all the birds coming from everywhere in the world to this great supper of the Lord God Almighty! Two individuals escape it until an angel grabs hold of the beast and the false prophet and casts them into a lake of fire.
That is the fulfillment of the Day of Trumpets!
Between Trumpets and Atonement—because someone is surely going to ask—what's going to happen? We're probably going to go out and during that time we're going to be neutralizing any of the armies that are left! Satan is going to be jus like Hitler: 'I have to escape, I have to get away.' Well, God has an angel to take care of that! He will go them him, chain him and put him the abyss where he belongs, put the seal over him and God says, 'Now we are ready to bring the Kingdom of God to the whole earth.'
This is why we have Trumpets, Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles!
Scriptural References:
- Proverbs 25:2
- Leviticus 23:23-25
- Revelation 14:6-10, 12
- Revelation 13:4-7
- Revelation 6:12-17
- Isaiah 13:1-3, 5-12
- Isaiah 24:1-6
- Jeremiah 25:26-34
- Ezekiel 33:11
- Revelation 6:17
- Revelation 7:1-4, 9, 4, 9
- Revelation 8:1-13
- Revelation 9:1-21
- Revelation 11:9-18
- Revelation 15:1-3
- Revelation 16:13-14, 17
Scriptures referenced, not quoted:
- Matthew 24
- Luke 21
- Mark 13
- Revelation 12
- Daniel 2
- Isaiah 40
- Daniel 7; 9; 11
- 1 Corinthians 15
- Revelation 10
- Zechariah 3; 4
- Revelation 4; 5
- Exodus 24
FRC: bo
Transcribed: 10/1/17
Copyright 2017—All rights reserved. Except for brief excerpts for review purposes, no part of this publication may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means without the written permission of the copyright owner. This includes electronic and mechanical photocopying or recording, as well as the use of information storage and retrieval systems.