App
(Feast of Trumpets—2019)
Picturing some of the most fantastic events to occur
from the beginning of creation until the return of Christ
Fred R. Coulter—September 30, 2019
Greetings, brethren! Welcome to the Feast of Trumpets! Another year has come around and it's tremendous thing that God is doing! It's going to be greater and bigger and more spectacular than we have ever understood.
The great day, the great Day of the Lord! Yet, when you read the account in Lev. 23 where we're commanded to keep the Feast of Trumpets, it's a very small explanation. Why is that? Because the rest of the Bible fills in the blanks!
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. You shall do no servile work therein but you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD"'" (vs 23-25).
You know that we always take up an offering on the Holy Days, and today is a special day. So, when we take up the offering, please keep that in mind. Remember, one of the obligations that we have is to warn the world. There are many other people warning the world about different things, which is good, true and ought to be.
But what we need to do is project the Gospel, the Truth of God, and the righteousness of His return!.
(pause for offering)
Let's begin by going to Matt. 24 so we can come up to the right point and understand what's going to happen. We know that at the end-time Dan. 7 tells us that there will be a 'covenant made with the people.' And there will be a prince and that prince will be awesome and great.
When you come to Matt. 24, nearly every one of the things leading up to v 15 are in cycles. There are wars, rumors of wars, there are false prophets, and all of those things taking place. But there is one singular event… Remember when Jesus speaking to the disciples, they were looking at the temple. They were asking, 'When is Your return, and what is the sign of Your coming?'
Jesus said, 'See all of these beautiful buildings? Matthew 24:2: "…there shall not be left here even a stone upon a stone that shall not be thrown down." That literally happened!
However, when we come to v 15 we find something that is very unusual. We know that the temple was destroyed. We know that not one stone was left upon another. Yet, here we have something that involves the temple. This means that there must be an end-time temple built.
When that is built… And we know by Rev. 11 that John was told to measure the temple. John didn't quite understand when he compared that with Matt. 24. When the temple was destroyed in 70A.D. there was no abomination of desolation that stood in the Holy place.
So, when John was told to write, and to measure the temple, then shortly after that the two witnesses come on the scene.
Verse 15: "'Therefore, when you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the Holy place.'…."
There has to be the temple. It doesn't say standing on Holy ground, but "…standing in the Holy place…."—the Holy of Holies. So, not understanding when that could be when John wrote the book of Revelation, he wrote this parenthetical statement:
"…(The one who reads, let him understand.)" (v 15). Jesus did not speak those words. John put those in there under inspiration.
Verse 20: "And pray that your flight be not in the winter, nor on the Sabbath."
Sidebar: Here it shows that the Sabbath was being kept at the end-time.
Verse 21: "For then shall there be Great Tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world… [awful, horrible, 'calamitist' of a great magnitude of destruction that's coming on the world] …until this time, nor ever shall be again. And if those days were not limited…" (vs 21-22). Not 'cut short'; 3-1/2 years is the limit!
As we have seen, the Tribulation against Israel is two years, and at the beginning of the third year—which means there's about a year and a half left—He raises up Israel. Let's see what's going to happen when the temple is built.
Verse 23: "Then if anyone says to you, 'Behold, here is the Christ,' or, 'He is there,' do not believe it. For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets… [many of them; more than we have ever understood] …and they shall present great signs and wonders…" (vs 23-24).
What happens when "…great signs and wonders…" take place? People see and they then believe what they are told!
"…in order to deceive, if possible, even the elect, Behold, I have foretold it to you. Therefore, if they say to you, 'Come and see! He is in the wilderness'; do not go forth. "'Come and see! He is in the secret chambers'; do not believe it'" (vs 24-26).
What God is going to do is going to be spectacular and open and known to the whole world! There will not be one person who will not know the events that are taking place. Even the islands in the ocean are going to be removed. No place to go!
We've covered this already, the sign of the Son of man! Here is a description of it; v 27: "For as the light of day, which comes forth from the east and shines as far as the west, so also shall the coming of the Son of man be."
That's something to understand. It's going to be visible, known, and the whole world is going to understand it!
Verse 29[transcriber's correction]: "But immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming upon the clouds of heaven with power and great glory" (vs 29-30). Then He's going to send the angels out for the first resurrection!
We've seen what's going to come, let's see what takes place before that. Let's see how the whole world is deceived and goes after the beast in a tremendous and fantastic way. In bringing all the religions together, there's a lot of background work that's going on. In the past I have said that maybe when they had the second Vatican council where they agreed on ecumenism, that's when the first seal was opened. I will have to say that's not correct. But that is background work leading up to the time when all religions will agree. That's just preparing the way.
We know in Rev. 12:9 it says that Satan is deceiving the whole world. What a job he is doing! Yes, indeed! Here is the coming one-world organization of nations—Rev. 13—and the beast, the one who is going be proclaimed as 'God in the flesh' to save the world. He's going to do spectacular things. Like Jesus said, 'Signs and wonders.'
Then there's the false prophet who calls fire down from heaven, and tells everyone to make an image for the beast. Everyone is going to worship the beast. If they don't worship the beast they'll be executed, because he's 'God manifested in the flesh.' We will see what he will do!
John saw the whole development of this great end-time one-world government, one-world religion right here:
Revelation 13:1: "And I [John] stood on the sand of the sea; and I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns…" That's Babylon the Great (Rev. 17) and the great mother harlot rides the beast! And it says that God put it in their minds to fight against Christ.
"…and on his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast that I saw was like a leopard, and his feet like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion; and the dragon gave him his power, and his throne and great authority" (vs 1-2).
How is that going to come about in such a great and fantastic way? We can speculate on a lot of different things! But let's do a little analysis of what may happen.
Verse 3: "And I saw one of his heads as if it were slain to death, but his deadly wound was healed; and the whole earth was amazed and followed the beast"—having him come back to life, because the false prophet probably prayed for him and he came back to life! Everyone will say:
This is of God! This is of God! Look at this, everyone get together, and yes, this is great. We're finally going to save the world!
Verse 4: "And they worshiped the dragon, who gave his authority to the beast. And they worshiped the beast, saying, 'Who is like the beast?…. [there has never been anyone like this; it's got to be God manifested in the flesh] …Who has the power to make war against him?'"
Think about that for a minute! Speculation: they have in Cern, Switzerland, the Hadron Collider, which is dedicated to Shiva, the Indian goddess of destruction. They keep hoping that they're going to find something very secret and very powerful, never before discovered. Could it be that they will find a source of power unknown before that's going to give the beast the ability to say that no one can make war against him! Think on that!
Verse 5: "And a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies was given to him; and authority was given to him to continue for forty-two months. 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…" (vs 5-7).
The saints are the only ones who will not join this great euphoric satanic movement proclaiming that the beast is 'God manifested in the flesh.' He is bringing peace and no one can make war against him.
"…and to overcome them; and he was given authority over every tribe and language and nation. And all who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. If anyone has an ear, let him hear" (vs 7-9).
- let's see what this man is going to do
- let's see how it's going to take place
- let's see how awesome this is going to be
Remember that the temple has been built; the temple so-called of God by the Jews. When the beast first comes on the scene he makes that league with the Jews, and they get protection to finish building the temple. The temple is up and running and then there is that deadly wound that takes place. But it's healed! What does he do then?
2-Thessalonians 2:3: "Do not let anyone deceive you by any means because that day will not come unless the apostasy shall come first…" What is the great apostasy? The whole world worshipping the beast! No apostasy has ever occurred like that one is going to be.
"…and the man of sin shall be revealed—the son of perdition, the one who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God…" (vs 3-4)--great, fantastic power, chrisma and Satan-possession to deceive the whole world!
"…or that is an object of worship; so that he comes into the temple of God… [same Greek words as Rev. 11 where John was told to measure the temple] …and sits down as God, proclaiming that he himself is God" (v 4)—verified by the false prophet!
Verse 7: "For the mystery of lawlessness… [tie in with Rev. 17] …is already working; only there is One Who is restraining at the present time until it arises out of the midst"—of the Babylonian system!
- Who is that?
- Who is restraining it? Christ!
Everything is going to be done on schedule according to God's schedule, not according to any figment of the imagination of men.
Here's why we know that it's going to take place at the end, and this is why John wrote in Matt. 24 'the one who reads, let him understand.'
Verse 8: "And then the lawless one will be revealed (whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth, and will destroy with the brightness of His coming)… [a spectacular event] …even the one whose coming is according to the inner working of Satan, with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in those who are perishing because they did not receive the love of the Truth, so that they might be saved" (vs 8-10).
Sidebar: How much do we love the Truth? That's something we all need to examine ourselves!
- What are you going to do when the enforcement of the mark of the beast comes?
- What are you going to do when the worship of the beast comes?
- What are you going to do when you won't make an idol and bow down to it?
At that time the martyrdom of the saints occurs!
- Do we love the Truth?
Verse 11: "And for this cause God will send upon them a powerful deception that will cause them to believe the lie"—that the beast is 'God in the flesh, the Christ.'
Sidebar: I saw a report where Morgan Freeman—in his series The Story of God—was interviewing a Jewish religious figure and they were talking about Jerusalem and the Messiah. They're looking for the Messiah to come when they build the temple. He asked him, 'Is the Messiah going to be a man or God?' The Jew answered, 'A man! That's where the deception comes in with Dan. 9!
Let's see some of the things that God is going to do. Remember that God does nothing unless there's a warning first. So, here is a great warning from God to the whole world (Rev. 14). No one is going to miss this; no one is going to say that God never told them. This is going to happen just before we look at some of the events in Rev. 6 and then on in those things for the return of Jesus Christ and what's going to happen as pictured by this Feast of Trumpets.
Remember that not everything is in chronological sequence. Remember that God always gives a warning before the event occurs. What good does it do to give a warning after the event has already happened? That would be utterly stupid!
It's like this: If someone says that you better be careful, you're tire is low and you better get it checked out. You go get it checked out. But what if comes along and you already the flat tire, and he says, 'You better get your tire checked out before it gets flat.' But it's already flat! The warning isn't worth anything.
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… [no one is going to have an excuse] …saying with a loud voice, 'Fear God, and give glory to Him, because the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him Who made the heaven, and the earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.'" (vs 6-7).
Isn't it interesting that there are three angels. 'In the mouth of two or three witnesses everything is established.' So, this makes a complete warning.
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).
When will that event occur. This warning is given before the beast goes into the temple. It is given before the events given in Rev. 6. Let's just review that and bring us up to date as we go forward. Then we will see what is going to happen.
We know from Rev. 5, nothing in the final events of these major prophecies as described in the book of Revelation are going to transpire unless the order comes from God to Christ, to open the seal that should be clear.
Revelation 6:1: "And I looked when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures say, like the sound of thunder, 'Come and see.' And I looked, and behold, there was a white horse; and the one who was sitting on it had a bow, and a crown was given to him; and he went out conquering, and to conquer" (vs 1-2).
The final gathering of all the religions in the world—one- world religion—to worship the beast. Doesn't it say in Rev. 13 that the whole world is going to worship the beast? and the dragon? Yes, indeed!
Verse 3: "And when He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, 'Come and see.' And another horse went out that was red; and power was given to the one sitting on it to take peace from the earth…" (vs 3-4).
That's the beginning of the Tribulation. When does the Tribulation begin? When you shall see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the Prophet standing in the Holy place! The one who reads, let him understand!
That takes place here. He goes into the temple; he's proclaimed to be 'God' and the wound takes place and he is revived and comes back, and the Tribulation goes into full fury! That's the second seal.
Remember that we have covered the Tribulation against Israel is two years. The whole Tribulation against the whole world is three and a half years. We'll see how God interveners with that. Then the third seal, a black horse and a balance and the rationing of food (vs 5- 6).
Verse 7: "And when He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, 'Come and see.' And I looked, and behold, there was a pale horse; and the name of the one sitting on it was Death, and the grave followed him; and authority was given to them over one-fourth of the earth…" (vs 7-8). Which fourth that is, we don't know, but it's going to be!
"…to kill with the sword and with famine and with death, and by the beasts of the earth. And when He opened the fifth seal…" (vs 8-9). Here's the martyrdom of the saints:
- all of those who refuse to worship the beast
- all of those who refuse to make an image
- all of those who refuse the mark of the beast
What happens then? They think that they've got all of those people who will not fit into the system! They are executed, eliminated! Then they think that they will have peace after that. NO! The next thing that's going to happen is the most spectacular thing that has happened in all the sequence of these events. It's next to the most important one, which is the resurrection. Here's a prophecy of it in Isa. 64.
Remember what Jesus said concerning the sign of the Son of man; that the sign of the Son of man would be like the sun that shines from the east to the west. So, when this next seal is opened, we're going to see that it's going to expose the sign of the Son of man that looks like a second sun.
Isaiah 64:1: "Oh that You would rend the heavens and come down, that mountains might quake at Your presence, as when the melting fire burns, the fire causes water to boil, to make Your name known to Your adversaries, that the nations may tremble at Your presence! When You did awesome things which we did not look for, You came down, the mountains quaked at Your presence" (vs 1-3).
That doesn't give us a timeframe, because the sign of the Son of man appears:
Revelation 6:12: "And when He opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake; 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)—rent right open and here appears the sign of the Son of man and look what they do, this is going to be startling!
"…that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place" (v 14). That's an earthquake! We find that there four occasions of calling earthquakes. Here's an earthquake that is not called an earthquake.
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).
Amazing what this is going to be! We have some prophecies of this. Let's see what God tells us with these things and what God is going to do to this earth what has never been done before. Remember that Jesus said, 'A time of tribulation and troubles such as not has been from the beginning of the creation. So, we need to think about those things in the terms that God says.
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)—of course, that's us!
Verse 4: "The noise of a multitude in the mountains, as of a great people; a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together; the LORD of hosts gathers an army for the battle."
We'll see that in Rev. 8, and what a battle that's going to be!
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."
Brethren, we're going to have to understand that we're going to inherit an earth that we're going to have to be building it from the absolute ruins of the wars and battles of men and God. It's going to be something!
Verse 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).
God says, v 11: "'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. Therefore, I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall move out of its place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of His fierce anger" (vs 11-13).
This is going to be something! This tells us what a fantastic thing we're going face when we come back from the Sea of Glass.
Isaiah 24:1: "Behold, the LORD makes the earth empty and makes it waste, and turns it upside down, and scatters its inhabitants."
With all of this going on, you know for sure that only God knows when the Day of Pentecost will come, because everything is all out of whack! No man can know, only God! Here's why:
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. The earth shall be completely laid waste, and utterly stripped; for the LORD has spoken this word" (vs 1-3).
If you want to know what that will look like, watch a documentary sometime on after the days of Hitler. That's precisely what Germany was like.
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, and have broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore, the curse… [the result of all these sins collectively, all piled up for this day of destruction] … 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 4-6).
No one is going to escape, because God had Jeremiah take 'the cup of His wrath.' In prophecy all the nations of the world! No one is going to escape.
Jer. 25—this is against Babylon, and Babylon the Great encompasses the whole world.
Jeremiah 25:13: "'And I will bring on that land all My words which I have spoken against it, all that is written in this book which Jeremiah has prophesied against all the nations. For many nations and great kings shall make them slaves also. … [the children of Israel and the Jews] …And I will repay them according to their deeds, and according to the works of their own hands.' For thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, to me, 'Take the wine cup of this wrath at My hand, and cause all the nations to whom I shall send you to drink it. And they shall drink, and reel to and fro, and be crazed because of the sword that I will send among them.' Then I took the cup at the LORD'S hand, and made all the nations drink, to whom the LORD had sent me" (vs 13-17).
Brethren, this day of the Feast of Trumpets pictures some of the most fantastic events to occur from the beginning of creation until the return of Christ.
Verse 26—this tells us all the earth: "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… [the beast] …shall drink after them. 'Therefore, you shall say to them, "Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, 'Drink and be drunk, and vomit… ]this is probably part of the message that will be given by the two witnesses] …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… [that starts with the beast going into the temple and saying that he is 'God'] …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 26-29).
Verse 30: "'And prophesy against them all these words, and say to them, "The LORD shall roar from on high… [the return of Christ] …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."'"
Sidebar: Stop and think about how shell-shocked and how absolutely terrified that any who survived are going to be. Our first job will be to heal them.
Verse 31: "'A noise shall come to the ends of the earth; for the LORD has a controversy with the nations; He will plead with all flesh. 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. 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 31-34).
(go to the next track)
Before we get to the book of Revelation, let's cover a couple of things in the book of Joel. It talks about the army of God, and it talks about those who would be saved as it were. So, here's the army:
Joel 2:1: "'Blow the ram's horn in Zion, and sound an alarm in My Holy mountain!' Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the Day of the LORD comes, for it is near at hand—A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness. As the morning is spread across the mountains, so comes a great people and a mighty people; there has never been the like, nor shall there ever be again, even to the years of many generations. A fire devours before them, and behind them a flame burns. The land is as the Garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness—and nothing shall escape them" (vs 1-3). They just run and go and nothing can stop them!
Verse 10: "The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble. The sun and the moon shall grow dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. And the LORD shall utter His voice before His army; for His camp is exceedingly great; for powerful is He who executes His Word, for the Day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can endure it?" (vs 10-11).
We're also going to see that always in the middle of trouble and trials, there's a space of repentance.
Verse 12: "'Therefore, even now,' says the LORD, 'turn to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning. Yes, rend your heart and not your garments, and return to the LORD your God: for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and He repents of the evil. Who knows if He will return and repent and leave a blessing behind Him—a grain offering and a drink offering unto the LORD your God? Blow a ram's horn in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly. Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children and those who suck the breasts. Let the bridegroom go forth out of his chamber, and the bride out of her room. Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, "Spare Your people, O LORD, and give not Your inheritance to shame, that the nations should rule over them. Why should they say among the people, 'Where is their God?'"' Then the LORD will be jealous for His land and pity His people" (vs 12-18).
Let's see where this time of repentance is given, this space of escaping the rest of the Tribulation is offered to those who will repent. We've already covered a lot of this, so we're not going to spend a lot of time here. But notice the sign of the Son of man, the great sun—the second sun—is going to appear. That's when the heavens are rolled back as we find in Rev. 6. Then after that there's a great calm and peace. The 144,000 and great innumerable multitude are saved. That's a probably on the Day of Pentecost.
Then there's one year to the resurrection. The time between Pentecost and Trumpets all the nations are going to use to clear the way to come toward the Holy Land and to fight in that battle, because God is going to put it in their heart to come, about 115 days, then there's the Feast of Trumpets, which begins the last year from Trumpets to Trumpets.
So, you have Pentecost to Pentecost and then Trumpets to Trumpets. That begins in Rev. 8 and starts with the seven trumpet plagues. We read what's going to happen already as prophesied in the Old Testament. But let's see how it takes place here, because now everything is going to change.
- it's going to be more destructive
- it's going to be more powerful
- it's going to be involving a greater number of people
Before it was one-fourth of the earth, now here the rest of the earth is going to be devoured, or a great portion of it. As we read with the prophecy. There's no one going to escape. It's going to be:
- all people
- all nations
- all kindreds
- all languages
Revelation 8:1: "Now, when He opened the seventh seal…"
You have seven seals out of which comes the seven trumpet plagues, our of which comes the seven last plagues.
"…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. 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…" (vs 1-3).
Those in a place of safety and those who were just converted, the 144,000 and the great innumerable multitude. You can be assured that they're going to be praying mightily to God.
"…on the golden altar that was before the throne. 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… [direct power from God, right from His altar] …and cast it into the earth; and there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings, and an earthquake" (vs 3-5).
- earthquake here
- earthquake Rev. 8:2
- earthquake Rev. 6
- earthquake Rev. 11
- earthquake Rev. 16
This earth is going to be all jumbled up and in a terrible mess when we come back to start the Millennium!
Verse 6: "Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound their trumpets. 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" (vs 6-7).
Understand this, plants have no consciousness of war. If the grass is burned and then there's rain, which there probably will be, it's going to start growing back. We'll see that because in Rev. 9 it says, 'Don't hurt the trees and don't burn the grass.' So, the grass had to grow back.
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; 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" (vs 8-11).
Verse 12: "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."
There again, this shows how everything is all mixed up and only God knows the hour and the day when Pentecost is going to come for the resurrection.
Verse 13: "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.'"
Now, here's where we find the King of the North going out trying to hold off those that are in the far north and the East. He does for a while, and here he has his secret weapon. We also see that he has demons working with Him to carry it out. This is quite a thing, and the whole earth is going to be involved in this.
Revelation 9:1: "And the fifth angel sounded his trumpet; and I saw a star… [an angel] …that had fallen from heaven to the earth, and there was given to him the key to the bottomless abyss. 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" (vs 1-2). The bottomless pit has got to be where the demons are!
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… [because it had grown back] …or any green thing, or any tree… [they had recovered from the previous fire that scorched them] …but only the men who did not have the seal of God in their foreheads…. [all those that didn't have the seal] …And it was given to them that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented 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 3-7).
So, these are combined men and demons fighting, destroying. Maybe this is one of the secret weapons that comes from the Hadron Collider and the demons are let out of the abyss.
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).
Notice this description, v 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. The first woe is past. Behold, after these things two more woes are still to come" (vs 11-12).
So, this last year leading up to the time when Christ and the saints return from the Sea of Glass to the earth is going to be a horrendous time of war and destruction such as has never ever been seen in the history of the whole world.
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.' Then the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year…" (vs 13-15).
Is God's plan on time to the very hour? Yes! Think on that!
"…were loosed, so that they might kill a third of men; and the number of the armies… [plural] …of the horsemen was two hundred thousand thousand; and I heard the number of them" (vs 15-16)—200-million; army after army after army strung all the way back to the Far East! Obviously, they can't be in one place.
They're building highways, railroads, pipe lines, ports of entry from China around to Pakistan and on into the Gulf of Aqaba and coming up on into the Holy Land. So, they're going to be coming from everywhere for this great battle that's going to come.
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." Great destructive power! Just destroy everything in its way!
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" (vs 18-19). In spite of all of this:
- they're not ready to repent
- they are not ready to give in to God
Isn't this just like it was with the Egyptians when God brought the children of Israel out of Egypt. The Egyptians didn't want to quit until God killed their firstborn. Then they let them go and had second thoughts. So then, God killed the rest of the army of Pharaoh in the Red Sea.
Verse 20: "But the rest of the men who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent 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 20-21).
This is a culmination of God bringing all evil together that have been on the earth deceiving the earth, and God is going to destroy all the men that follow after these demons, and He is going to put Satan and the demons back into the great abyss for a thousand years!
Then we have the seven thunders (Rev. 11). No one knows what they are. If anyone says that they know what they are, they're deceived or they're lying, or they're totally misinformed.
The two witnesses are raised; that is the beginning of the resurrection (Rev.11). At that time the sun that is the sign of the Son of man in heaven shining is going to come streaking down over the Holy Land, because that's where all the armies are going to be gathered right there in the Holy Land. Then it's going to all of a sudden stop and transform into a great Sea of Glass, then the resurrection is going to take place. How powerful that is going to be. That's covered by Pentecost.
But just think! The world is not going to recover from that. It's going to stir up the beast and the false prophet and the armies to come and fight even more intensely as we find with the seven last plagues (Rev. 16). So powerful! We'll see it happen. These will lead up to the last Feast of Trumpets of the age of men! That's when we come back to the earth with Christ. This has been a tremendous thing that is happening!
Rev. 17-18 tell us about God's judgment against Babylon, as we have seen here. It's never going to be again, because the Kingdom of God will be established by Christ. As it says in Rev. 20 those who are in the first resurrection are blessed and Holy and will be priests of God, kings of God, rulers of God to bring peace to this earth!
While we're on the Sea of Glass great things are going to happen. We're going to see the seven last plagues. But let's see what it tells us that that's going to be the greatest time of our life up to that point. Resurrected spirit beings on the Sea of Glass with all the saints, the patriarchs, with Jesus Christ:
- being presented to the Father
- receiving our new names
- receiving our clothes
- learning what we're going to do
- receiving the horse we're going to ride on
- understanding what we're going to do as spirit beings
- having our assignments given to us
God will have it all organized and ready. Then just before we all come back to the earth the wedding supper is going to take place. The wedding and the wedding supper.
Revelation 19:1: "And after these things I heard the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven…"—where the Sea of Glass is!
That multitude is all the saints, a great multitude. How many is that going to be? The only way we can find out is be there, then you'll know for sure!
"…saying, 'Hallelujah! The salvation and the glory and the honor and the power belong to the Lord our God. For true and righteous are His judgments…'" (vs 1-2).
By that time we will know that they are, because we will know what has happened to the earth. We will know what Satan and the demons have done to the earth and to people. The great salvation of God is going to come!
"'…for He hasjudged the great whore, who corrupted the earth with her fornication, and He has avenged the blood of His servants at her hand.' And they said a second time, 'Hallelujah! And her smoke shall ascend upward into the ages of eternity'" (vs 2-3)—out into space forever!
Verse 4: "And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, Who sits on the throne, saying, 'Amen. Hallelujah!' And a voice came forth from the throne, saying, 'Praise our God, all His servants, and all who fear Him, both small and great'" (vs 4-5).
We're going to have a great praise service to God, all of us, all together as spirit beings, falling down and worshipping the Father, and getting ready for that great battle, that final battle that we are going to participate in with Christ.
Verse 6: "And I heard a voice like that of a great multitude, and like the sound of many waters, and the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, 'Hallelujah! For the Lord God Almighty has reigned.'"
He has taken to Himself the power and the reign of the Kingdom of God now to be established beginning with Trumpets.
Verse 7: "'Let us be glad and shout with joy; and let us give glory to Him; for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.'" Quite a fantastic thing that's going to take place!
Verse 8: "And it was granted to her that she should be clothed in fine linen, pure and bright; for the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints. And he said to me, 'Write… [God wanted this written down so we would know] …Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb.' And he said to me, 'These are the true words of God.' And I fell at his feet to worship him. Then he said to me, 'See that you do not do this! I am a fellow servant of yours, and of your brethren, who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy'" (vs 9-10)—and the fulfilling of prophecy!
This is what it's talking about here, all of this is prophecy yet to happen.
Verse 11: "And I saw heaven open; and behold, a white horse…" Imagine what those on earth are going to think!
Here they're coming together for the Battle of Armageddon and they don't know what's going to happen. It's going to end with the greatest catastrophe as we saw in Rev. 16 with hail stones 120 pounds. No one is going to be able to survive that.
"…and He Who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He does judge and make war. And His eyes were like a flame of fire… [Rev. 1 and the vision of Christ that John saw] …and on His head were many crowns; and He had a name written that no one knows except Him. And He was clothed with a garment dipped in blood; and His name is The Word of God…. [tie in with John 1:1-3] …And the armies in heaven were following Him on white horses; and they were clothed in fine linen, white and pure. And out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He might smite the nations; and He shall shepherd them with an iron rod; and He treads the winepress of the fury and the wrath of the Almighty God" (vs 11-15).
This was prophesied in the book of Joel. What a time! Nearly everything that's in the New Testament has been prophesied in the Old Testament. Remember, and think about this: the apostles only had the Old Testament when they started preaching. They had to write the New Testament as God inspired them to write, when they began to see that the Word of God was going to go many, many different places and people had to know::
- what to do
- who was Christ
- what were the teachings
- when is the Passover
- when are the Holy Days
All if that had to be known, especially the Passover! How do you have the new Passover?
Joel 3:2: "I will also gather all nations and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat. And I will fight with them there for My people and for My inheritance Israel…"
The battle is going to be for Israel and the physical descendants, because the first resurrection has already taken place. We have already been saved and are spirit beings.
Verse 9: "Proclaim this among the nations, 'Prepare for war!' Wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up. Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weak say, 'I am strong.' Gather yourselves and come, all you nations, and gather yourselves together all around; cause Your mighty ones to come down there, O LORD. Let the nations be awakened and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; for there I will sit to judge all the nations all around. Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe…. [last part of Rev.14] … Come, come down; for the press is full; the vats overflow—for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision; for the Day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision! The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The LORD shall also roar out of Zion and utter His voice from Jerusalem. And the heavens and the earth shall shake. But the LORD will be the hope of His people and the strength of the children of Israel" (vs 9-16).
How many times have you thought if you could just really do something. Well, the truth is, you're going to, but you have to wait until the resurrection when you have the power, authority, means, methods, and you understand what you're going to do.
Revelation 19:16: "And on His garment and on His thigh He has a name written: King of kings and Lord of lords. Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, 'Come and gather yourselves together to the supper of the great God'" (vs 16-17).
There's going to be a great slaughter so vast and fantastic that God is going to have all the birds come and clean it up.
Verse 18: "'So that you may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of chief captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all, free and bond, and small and great.' And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies, gathered together to make war with Him Who sits on the horse, and with His army. And the beast was taken… [God spared him for a very mighty surprise] …and with him the false prophet who worked miracles in his presence, by which he had deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. Those two were cast alive into the Lake of Fire, which burns with brimstone; and the rest were killed by the sword of Him Who sits on the horse, even the sword that goes out of His mouth; and all the birds were filled with their flesh" (vs 18-21).
Let's see how that's going to be. That's going to be quite a thing, a tremendous weapon that Christ has.
Zechariah 14:12: "And this shall be the plague with which the LORD will smite all the people who have fought against Jerusalem. Their flesh shall consume away while they stand on their feet…"
They're going to be standing there ready to fight and all of a sudden their flesh is going to drop off their skeleton and their skeleton is going to collapse in a heap of flesh. There are going to be tens of thousands, and their blood is going to be as high as a horse's bridle for 1,200 furlongs—200 miles! What a thing that is going to be.
"…and their eyes shall consume away in their sockets. And their tongue shall consume away in their mouth. And it shall be in that day that a great panic from the LORD shall be among them. And they shall each one lay hold of his neighbor, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbor" (vs 12-13)—and they will fight and kill one another!
Zechariah 14:2—God says: "For I will gather all nations to battle against Jerusalem…"
Verse 4: "And His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives…" From where did Christ leave to ascend to the Father? The Mount of Olives!
"…which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall split in two, from the east and to the west, and make a very great valley. And half of the mountain shall move toward the north, and half of it toward the south. 'And you shall flee to the valley of My mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal. And you shall flee as you fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah.' And the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with You" (vs 4-5).
All of us together! What a fantastic time that will be! Now then, the Kingdom of God begins, starting in Jerusalem and we're going to have to put down the armies and heal all of those who are wounded, sick and terrified! These events are going to cause the greatest trauma to human beings that has ever occurred in the history of the world.
Here we start our inheritance in the Kingdom of God under Jesus Christ. The earth is in shambles and destroyed just like it says in the book of Revelation. The cities of the nations fell! All the cities are going to collapse around the world! How is that for a job to start? But:
- we will have the strength
- we will have the power
- we will have the authority
- we will be the children of God
To bring in the 1,000-year rule of the Kingdom of God on earth, to bring salvation to all human beings.
That's the meaning of the Feast of Trumpets, bleeding on over into the Feast of Tabernacles.
Scriptural References:
- Leviticus 23:23-25
- Matthew 24:2, 15, 20-27, 29-30
- Revelation 13:1-9
- 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4, 7-11
- Revelation 14:6-10
- Revelation 6:1-4, 7-9
- Isaiah 64:1-3
- Revelation 6:12-17
- Isaiah 13:1-13
- Isaiah 24:1-6
- Jeremiah 25:13-17, 26-34
- Joel 2:1-3, 10-18
- Revelation 8:1-13
- Revelation 9:1-21
- Revelation 19:1-15
- Joel 3:2, 9-16
- Revelation 19:16-21
- Zechariah 14:12-13, 2, 4-5
Scriptures referenced, not quoted:
- Daniel 7
- Revelation 11; 12:9; 17
- Daniel 9
- Revelation 5; 6:5-6; 16; 18, 20, 1
- John 1:1-3
FRC:bo
Transcribed: 7/18/19
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