Feast of Trumpets—2011

Fred R. Coulter—September 29, 2011

- Video | - PDF | Audio | [Up]

Track 1 or Download

Greetings, brethren! Welcome to the Feast of Trumpets, 2011. The Feast of Trumpets is quite a day; this is a culmination of so many prophecies in the Bible and showing how the Kingdom of God is going to finally come on this earth. We’re also going to see that this Feast day is to be a war feast, a memorial or an extended time of the blowing of trumpets; perhaps even all day long.

This is such a momentous and tremendous day in the history and in the fulfillment of God’s plan, let’s do as we always do, let’s begin in Leviticus 23, as this is the chapter in the Bible where all the Holy Days are listed according to the calculated Hebrew calendar.

It’s something that we need to understand. We have a lot of material on it, and it may be very difficult and hard to go through, but you need to understand this concerning the calendar of God. God has given the calculated Hebrew calendar originally through the priesthood, carried on down by the Jewish community with the Levites and priests within the Jewish community, down to the time of Christ. Christ and the apostles went by the calculated Hebrew calendar.

They used to have observation, but observation was only valid when verified by calculation. In the 350s_A.D., Hillel II released the method on how to calculate the Hebrew calendar to the public, because there was so much persecution against the Jews, that he thought it was in danger of being removed and taken away so that the people and the Jews would not know the correct days for the Holy Days. He released it to the public. He didn’t invent it in 354_A.D. This is how we have our calculated Hebrew calendar today, and God has given it so that we keep all the Holy Days on the correct day that He has determined.

God knew that we would be scattered abroad—just as the Jews, only farther than the Jews—into all the world—northern and southern hemispheres, eastern and western hemispheres—there had to be way so that everyone would keep it on the correct day. That’s why God gave the calculated Hebrew calendar, which goes back accurately to the last astronomical event that happened in the Bible, the moving of the sundial back by 10 degrees in the days of Hezekiah.

In Leviticus 23:23 God gave Moses these instructions: “And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the children of Israel saying… [the Church today is spiritual Israel] …“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). Ram’s horns were the trumpets of alarm, of war! So, the Feast of Trumpets is a war feast! It pictures the tremendous cataclysmic times (as we will see through this sermon) that are coming upon this earth and the return of Jesus Christ and the saints together back to the earth from the Sea of Glass.

Turn to Deuteronomy 16:16 this is the command for taking the offerings. We will notice something there: “Three times in a year shall all your males appear before the LORD your God in the place which He shall choose: in the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and in the Feast of Weeks, and in the Feast of Tabernacles. And they shall not appear before the LORD empty, every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD your God, which He has given you” (vs 16-17).

Some people read that and say, ‘Well now, we shouldn’t bring an offering on the Feast of Trumpets because it’s not listed there.’ It is true that it’s not listed there, but does it tell us not to bring an offering on those days? No, it does not!When we come to appear before God on the Holy Days, should we not also bring an offering? Yes, indeed! They were to make the offerings on the Feast of Trumpets and we find in Num. 29 that they had many offerings that they were to bring. Every time you were to approach God, every time you would come to Jerusalem, you would bring an offering to God.

We’ve seen that in Luke 21 where Christ was looking at those coming up to prepare for the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, that they were casting in their offerings into the treasury. So, we’re living in a society that is now all mercantile, all money—although our money is really just digital accounts, because we rarely, if ever, deal in silver and gold today and that’s the only real money that there is.

We take up an offering on the Feast of Trumpets based upon the principle that we are to give and, as Paul said in 2-Cor. 9, that we are to

• give willingly
• bring an offering
• serve God
• trust God

as a matter of faith and understanding that God will bless us.

Paul wrote this concerning an offering, 2-Corinthians 9:6: “But this I say: the one who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly; and the one who sows bountifully shall also reap bountifully. Each one as he purposes in his heart, so let him give, but not grudgingly or by compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver” (vs 6-7).

Here is the thing: The best way that we express where our hearts are with our relationship with God on a daily basis, and we are looking for the true treasure that comes from God at the resurrection, then we will be spirit beings and then we will receive the true riches of God. With that in mind, that’s why we give offerings on Trumpets and also on Atonement. These are special Holy Days in which we come before God and we should take up an offering at that time.

Tithes and offerings during the rest of the time, because we are scattered, we request that they be mailed in. That’s how we’ve handled it. God has blessed it. God has shown us that this is the way that it needs to be done. Those are the things that we can do.

It’s not a matter that if it’s not listed in the Deut. 16 you don’t have to bring an offering. Generally speaking, it works out this way: Those who bring that up are the ones who don’t like to give anyway in the first place. Each one of us has to understand, to know and do what we need to do based upon God’s Spirit in us, and based upon our heart and our relationship with God.

Verse 8: “For God is able to make all grace abound toward you so that in every way you may always have sufficiency in all things, and may abound unto every good work.” That’s what God wants us to do.

To take up an offering on the Feast of Trumpets, this day, tremendous day that is happening—isn’t it? Yes! We’ll see in the prophecies the meaning of this day. It is very appropriate that we bring an offering to God.

(pause for the taking up of the offering)

Let’s continue on with the message of the Feast of Trumpets, 2011. This is quite a day! This pictures that it’s going to involve all the nations of the world—and it’s going to be something!

Let’s come back to Daniel, chapter two. Here was the first prophecy given showing what is going to happen with the return of Christ. Nebuchadnezzar, as you know, had this dream. Daniel was brought to tell the dream and give the interpretation. Nebuchadnezzar gave him the dream, told him that the image was ‘head of gold, chest of silver, thighs of brass, legs of iron and toes of iron and clay.’ Daniel gave the interpretation of it.

Daniel 2:41: “And whereas you saw the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided. But there shall be in it the strength of the iron, because you saw the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly broken. And whereas you saw iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mix themselves with the seed of men. But they shall not cling to one another, even as iron does not combine with clay. And in the days of these kings… [These are the ten kings that we find in Rev. 13 and 17.] …the God of heaven shall set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed. And the kingdom shall not be left to other people… [No, only for the saints of God.] …but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.” (vs 41-44).

We know the One Who was Christ is going to sit on the throne of David. It says in Isa. 9 that ‘of the increase of His government there shall be no end.’ This is quite a thing! We need to understand and see how it’s going to come about.

Now let’s look and see (as we covered in some sermons leading up to this) that all the nations of the world are going to be involved in this. Let’s come to Isaiah 34 and let’s see the prophecy concerning Babylon the Great. This whole system, beginning with the head of gold, comes on down. It’s the whole Babylonian system. Now it’s in the whole world, and the whole world system is called Babylon the Great.

Let’s come to Isaiah 34, and let’s see a prophecy here concerning it. We will see the reason why the Feast of Trumpets is a blowing of trumpets and an alarm of war, because it is God’s great day!

Isaiah 34:1: Come near, you nations… [all nations] …to hear… [this ties in with what Jesus said, ‘This Gospel shall be preached in all the world for a witness; then shall the end come.’] …and, you people, hearken; let the earth hear, and its fullness; the world, and its offspring, for the anger of the LORD is upon all nations… [there it is, all nations] …and His fury upon all their armies….” (vs 1-2). Doesn’t that tie in with Rev. 9, 16 and 19? Yes, indeed!

“…He has completely destroyed them, He has delivered them to the slaughter. Also their dead shall be thrown out, and their stink shall come up out of their dead bodies, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood. And all the host of the heavens shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll… [Rev. 6] …and all their host shall fall down, as a leaf falls off from the vine, and as the falling fig from the fig tree For My sword is bathed in the heavens. Behold, it shall come down upon Edom, and upon the people of My curse for judgment’” (vs 2-5). Not only for judgment, but we find of those who are against Israel and Judah there are ten nations from the Middle East. They are against them. All the nations of the world are going to end up fighting Christ. It’s going to be hard to try and contain all of the Muslims, because here they are listed in Psa. 83.

Let’s see who they are against and let’s see how that is for today—what God is doing, how He is doing it. Look at the things going on in the Middle East. All of that is preparing to bring those nations into the New World Order {see sermon: The Coming New World Order} Are you prepared for the New World Order? Because it’s coming! It’s going to be a worldwide thing!

• All nations!
• All people!
• All the Muslims!

Everybody in the world is going to know this! It’s going to be absolutely fantastic!

Psalm 83:1: “Keep not silent, O God; do not be quiet, and do not be still, O God, For lo, Your enemies are in an uproar; and those who hate You have lifted up their head. They take crafty counsel against Your people, and plot together against Your hidden ones” (vs 1-3). Isn’t it interesting how that is fulfilled today with the terrorism, the wars and the hatred against the Jews. What a time that is.

Verse 4: “They have said, ‘Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, so that the name Israel may be remembered no more.’” That’s what they want to do. They hate us! They hate the nations of Israel! They hate the Jews with an implacable hatred!

Verse 5: “For with one heart they have plotted together; they have made a covenant against You—… [I want you to notice the first one that is mentioned here]: …the tabernacles of Edom [Esau], and the Ishmaelites [Arabs]; of Moab, and the Hagrites… [those near Jordan and Syria] …Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the people of Tyre; and Assyria has joined with them; they have helped the children of Lot. Selah” (vs 5-8).

These are the nations that are ready to come against Israel. We know in the future, when the 70^th week prophecy (Dan. 9) is fulfilled, there is coming a covenant. When that covenant is made and they finally bring peace to the area of the Middle East—temporarily—there will be armies surrounding Jerusalem to guarantee its peace. That’s when I believe that the temple will be built. They’ll be able to build it very quickly.

Let’s see some of the things that we have here and let’s see how this ties in with other prophecies; how it ties in with the Word of God. Let’s come to Isaiah 21. We’re going to look at several of the prophecies in Isaiah. Let’s see what it says here concerning the world’s system: Babylon the Great

Isaiah 21:8: “And he cried out as a lion, ‘My LORD, without ceasing, I stand upon the watchtower by day, and I am stationed at my post every night. And, behold, here comes a chariot of a man, a pair of horsemen.’ And he answered and said, ‘Babylon has fallen, has fallen!…. [That’s the first fall of Babylon and then the second fall is Babylon the Great—that ties in with Rev. 18.] …And all the graven images of her gods He has smashed to the ground.’ O my threshing, and the grain of my floor! That which I have heard of the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, I have declared to you” (vs 8-10).

Let’s see what that is. Let’s see how that is going to be. Babylon is going to fall! Also, it’s going to be allthe nations of the world. Let’s read what it’s says about Babylon, and let’s see how this is talking about the end-time and what is going to happen, and ‘behold the Day of the Lord.’

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). That’s eventually going to be us when we come back and fight thebeast and thefalse prophet, when we return to the earth with Christ.

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… [That’s what it’s going to be: all the nations to fight against God!] …the LORD of hosts gathers an army for the battle. They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, the LORD and the weapons of His indignation, to destroy the whole earth” (vs 4-5).

There’s no way to save and repair this Babylonian system. Christ has to come, and it will be virtually destroyed! With all the disasters we’ve seen recently, can you imagine the work of getting that straightened around? When Christ returns it’s not going to be instantly everything comes back together. No! There’s going to be work! We have to get rid of every vestige of Babylon. The people that are left are going to do the work and the cleanup. We’re going to supervise them, but they’re going to do the work. It’s going to take some time.

Verse 6: “Howl! For the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.” That’s why the Feast of Trumpets is a war feast! A feast

• of alarm!
• of war!
• signaling the return of Christ!

Verse 7: “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” (vs 7-8). Just so wild and scared they don’t know what to do.

Verse 9: “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… [notice how this affects everything]: …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. ‘And I will punish the world…’” (vs 9-11). All nations; everyone! That’s why Jesus said, ‘This Gospel shall be proclaimed as a witness to all nations, then shall the end come.’ And everybody who has anticipated the end always tries to speed up God, and speed up His plans.

The latest one was Harold Camping, and after he got done pronouncing that May 21^st was not the correct day, then he announced it’s going to be Oct. 21^st. Lo and behold, he had a stroke and he’s hardly able to speak. I wonder how that came about?

Verse 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’” (vs 11-12). This is going to be something! This is why this Feast is a feast:

• of trumpets
• of warning!
• of war!
• of great destruction!

Verse 13: “‘Therefore, I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall move out of its place… [That’s why no one knows the day or the time; although, by the Holy Days we can know about when it’s going to happen. But exactly when those Holy Days are going to be—because of the upset within the heavens and the earth—only God knows. That’s what Jesus said. It’s in ‘His authority to know.’] …in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of His fierce anger.’”

It’s going to be quite a thing! It is going to be an absolute destruction: unheard of, unheralded, unknown. It’s going to be really something!

Let’s see in the book of Jeremiah that it also talks about how this was to come to all nations, all the world. When we come to Jeremiah 25, let’s understand that this has never happened. Even though the message was given to Jeremiah. He didn’t go into all the world to carry this message. This message in Jer. 25 is the preaching of the Gospel to all nations in the world. That’s why it’s preserved for us here. Read all the nations that it’s going to come to.

This is the Scripture we refer to every Feast of Trumpets, because it shows the vastness of this. What the Feast of Trumpets tells us is that this is going to be a worldwide event! It’s not going to be a ‘secret rapture.’ It is not going to be an event that no one will know and all of a sudden Christ is here. No way! The world is going to know it well in advance—about a year and a half—to give opportunity for everyone to repent if they would. Some will, the 144,000 and the great innumerable multitude. But this is going to be quite an event.

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…” What do you suppose that means? It means exactly that—all the kingdoms of the world! Jeremiah never got there, but the Word of God and the warning has to get there. That’s what the preaching of the Gospel is all about. We are to tell them, as this day of the Feast of Trumpets pictures, the world-system is going to end in destruction, because men—every man, woman and child—are sinners by nature to almost an unthinkable degree, when we understand it, and led by Satan the devil and his system. Incredible combination indeed!

“…all the kingdoms of the world, which are on the face of the earth… [Is that not all inclusive or not?] …and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them…. [That’s the name for the coming beast!] …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.”’” (vs 26-27). This is the sword bathed and blood, and ‘Edomia’—or the Edomites, the Esauites—are going to be the first ones to suffer the devastating consequences of the wrath of God.

“…‘“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.’”’”’” (vs 27-28). That’s why the New World Order is coming. That’s why all the prophecies in the Bible are going to be fulfilled. Not a single one is going to fail. The prophecies of men will fail, but the prophecies of God will never fail! God cannot lie, and the Word of God is true and ‘sharp as a two-edged sword.’ It’s coming! It’s absolutely amazing what people do to fight against God! What people do to sin and commit lawlessness! It’s incredible! Yet, what we have seen to date is nothing compared to what is going to be.

Verse 29: “‘For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by My name; 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.” This prophecy has to go out to the whole world! They need to know, and the two witnesses are going to follow-up from what the preaching of the Gospel of the churches is going to be. “…all the inhabitants of the whole world.”

Verse 30: “‘And prophesy against them all these words, and say to them, “The LORD shall roar from on high… [that 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.”’” We are going to see that we are living in a really desperate times.

The end is not going to come in 2012. We don’t know exactly when the end will be, but we can tell you this: It will be exactly when God determines it to be. The only way we can come to a close proximity of it is through the understanding of the prophecies and the Holy Days. That’s how we understand. That doesn’t mean we know the exact day nor do we know the exact hour.

Verse 31: “‘A noise shall come to the ends of the earth; for the LORD has a controversy with the nations…” Yes, He does! All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.’ And the way this world is going, with the New World Order and the coming amalgamation of all ‘religions’ and idolatry—

• the mystery of iniquity
• the manifestation of Satan the devil through the beast
• the worshiping of the beast
• the worshiping of Satan the devil
• the coming mark of the beast where no one is able to buy and sell
• the image of the beast which all will worship

—that’s going to take some time to develop. It will develop, and it’s going to take some time for the nations of Israel to be ‘brought low,’ but it is happening and will continue to happen. Every Word of God will be fulfilled, specifically as He has said. We have also mentioned in the past, God does not fulfill His prophecies just a little, itty bit. God does not take an eyedropper and drip a couple of drops of the prophecy and lo and behold it’s fulfilled. No! It’s going to be full and overflowing.

“…‘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… [It’s going to be quite a time when all of these things take place.] …and a great whirlwind shall be stirred up from the farthest corners of the earth’” (vs 31-32).

A whirlwind? What is that? Have you seen the destruction of tornadoes? Have you looked at some of these towns which have been destroyed by the tornadoes? by earthquakes? hurricanes? What is their condition? What needs to be done with them? A lot of work to do when we take over the world!

Here’s what it’s going to be like, v 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.” Who is responsible for this? The leaders—politically and religiously! Then all the people, like sheep, will follow them. This is why God tells us: prove all things; hold fast to that which is good; and to understand and know the Word of God is true—God cannot lie! These prophecies are going to be fulfilled.

Verse 34: “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. And the shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the lords of the flock to escape. A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and a howling of the lords of the flock shall be heard; for the LORD has spoiled their pasture” (vs 34-36). Quite a thing—isn’t it? Quite a prophecy!

Verse 37: “And the peaceful pastures are cut down because of the fierce anger of the LORD. Like the lion, He has left His den; for their land is wasted because of the fierceness of the oppressing sword, and because of His fierce anger” (vs 37-38).

There’s no way anybody can say that Jer. 25, or any of the prophecies that we have read here, have been fulfilled. No way, they have not! Absolutely not!

Let’s come to Jeremiah 51; even though this was spoken against Babylon during the days just before they were brought out of Babylon, this has prophecies for the end. Let’s understand how valid God’s Word is. Let’s understand that even though something that looks to be insignificant done thousands of years ago, some people may look at it and say, ‘This doesn’t really have any bearing for us today.’

Jeremiah 51:5_{[transcriber’s correction]} : “‘For neither Israel nor Judah has been forsaken by his God… [No! Even thought they go through tribulation, remember Rev. 7—the saving of the 144,000 and then the re-gathering of all the rest of Israel and Judah to lands that belong to them.] …by the LORD of hosts, though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel.’ Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and each man deliver his soul. Be not cut off in her iniquity, for this is the time of the LORD’S vengeance; He will give to her a just reward” (vs 5-6).

I want you notice, especially v 7, how this ties in with Rev. 17, Babylon the Great and the woman sitting on the beast with a golden cup in her hand. God is the One Who gives her that golden cup through Satan the devil to fulfill the prophecies.

Verse 7: “Babylon has been a golden cup in the LORD’S hand, which made all the earth drunk…. [Doesn’t that agree with Rev. 17? Yes, indeed!] …The nations have drunk of her wine; therefore the nations rage. Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed. Wail for her; take balm for her pain, if perhaps she may be healed. We would have healed Babylon, but she would not be healed….” (vs 7-9).

• The people refuse!
• The people reject God!
• The people reject the Word of God!

They want to live in their sins! And yet, want to have a ‘religion’ and come before God in their sins and say, ‘Oh, God, we’re so good and nice. Bless us.’ God says, Get out of here:

• you who break the law
• you who call evil good and good evil
• you who are dedicated to sodomy

you who are dedicated to idolatry

“…would not be healed. Forsake her and let us go, each one into his own country; for her judgment reaches to the heavens and is lifted up to the skies” (v 9). Doesn’t that tie in with Rev. 18? Sure enough does!

Verse 10: “The LORD has brought forth our righteousness… [that is us, the resurrected saints] …come and let us declare in Zion the work of the LORD our God.” That’s quite a thing—isn’t it? That’s what we’re going to do, and that’s where we are going to start.

Verse 53: “‘Though Babylon should mount up to the heavens, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet destroyers shall come to her from Me,’ says the LORD. A sound of a cry comes from Babylon, and great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans, for the LORD will destroy Babylon… [Remember, this is Babylon the Great—the whole world system!] …and the great voice will perish out of her. And her waves will roar like great waters; the noise of their voice is given, because the destroyer has come upon her, even upon Babylon, and her mighty men are captured. Every one of their bows is broken, for the LORD, God of vengeance, shall surely repay” (vs 53-56). Then you can read the rest of it. Babylon is broken.

Notice what God did. I want you to understand why God has preserved the Old Testament, why we are to use it, why we are to understand it does not matter at what time God gives a prophecy—it’s going to happen! It doesn’t matter how long ago it was given. It doesn’t matter how insignificant it may appear to some people. Let’s read what happened here, because this was quite a thing.

Verse 59: “The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah into Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. And Seraiah was an officer of peace.” Notice the witness that God gave from Jeremiah to give to Seraiah, and what he was to do with it when he got to Babylon. The Word of God is pure and true, and God cannot lie, and will not lie.

Verse 60—Jeremiah wrote it: “So Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come on Babylon, all these words that are written against Babylon…. [from that time forward to the end of man’s reign on the earth with Babylon the Great.] …And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, ‘When you come to Babylon, see that you read all those words aloud, then you shall say…’” (vs 60-61).

All the words concerning Babylon (Jer. 50-51)—and in the other parts of Isaiah—every bit of it was taken over there and he was to read it.

“‘…then you shall say, “O LORD, You have spoken against this place to cut it off, so that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be a desolation forever.”…. [that has happened with the first destruction of Babylon] …And it shall be, when you have made an end of reading this book, you shall tie a stone to it and throw it into the middle of the Euphrates…. [Amazing!] …And you shall say, ‘In this way shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring on her. And they shall be weary.’ Thus far are the words of Jeremiah” (vs 60-64).

Isn’t that something! The words of Truth and of Jeremiah are going to come to pass! We’ll look at Babylon the Great in the New Testament in just a minute.

Track 2 or Download

Let’s come back to the book of Revelation and let’s see the progression of things leading up to this time of the great army of God, and what a tremendous thing that is going to be.

As I gave in a sermon, the little known prophecies of the kings of the east and the building up of those nations taking place over there today. {see sermon: Many End-Time Prophecies} Everything is going to be fulfilled to its fullest. We need to keep our eyes open and watch what is happening, because that whole area is going to be something, indeed.

• Revelation 1—shows the resurrected Christ, how He’s the Head of the Church
• Revelation 2-3—the messages to the seven churches and how God shows that He does not allow the doctrines of the counterfeit ‘Christian’ church of this world to come into His Church. That He will judge! He will punish! He will not allow it!
• Revelation 4-7—preparation for opening the seals. We covered how those seals are opened and then on the next to the last Pentecost the 144,000 and the great innumerable multitude are sealed.

After that is a period of three and a half months between Pentecost and Trumpets. We will see that beginning on Trumpets, the seven trumpets begin to sound, each one sounding successively over a period of time.

Then leading up to the next Pentecost and the resurrection of the saints, as we saw on the Feast of Pentecost and the fulfillment of that prophecy and the work of God through that; then what happens when all the saints meet Christ in the air, on the Sea of Glass, and all the things that take place there. Then we will see the seven last plagues poured out, and all of that runs from Pentecost to Pentecost and from Trumpets to Trumpets.

Let’s see how these events flow. Let’s begin right here in Revelation 8:1. This is something! The seventh seal is opened. “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. 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” (vs 1-3). At this time we’re still living on the earth. We’re still praying, asking God for help and intervention; asking God to protect us. The 144,000 are praying; the great innumerable multitude are praying.

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.” That’s a spectacular scene in heaven. It’s going to be interesting when we see how all of this works, after we’re resurrected; and be able to see the very throne room of God. All the things that are talked about in Rev. 4-5 and throne of God, we’ll see it!

Verse 5: “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.” All the way through the book of Revelation there are various earthquakes. It takes time for people to recover from some of these earthquakes—wouldn’t you think? Yes, indeed!

Verse 6: “Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound their trumpets.” As with the seals, the first four seals are opened quite rapidly. Likewise, the first four trumpets are sounded successively in a very short span of time.

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.” What a spectacular thing that is going to be! That’s why no one knows the day or the hour. Look at all the events that happen in the heavens and on the earth, so that no one is going to know.

Sorry, Harold Camping, and all of the false prophets who have come before you and after you, you don’t know the Truth of God because you’re not willing to submit to God, to love Him and keep His commandments.

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” (vs 8-9). How many thousands of ships are on the ocean today, carrying goods and services? At this time they’ll be carrying troops and things like this. Imagine—think about this—how it’s going to affect everything!

Right after that, v 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).

You would think: Boy! Once people come up against this you’d think there would be mass repentance. But no! We are going to see that they refuse to repent. They refuse to yield themselves to God. Now it’s going to get worse because of that.

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 then, a great catastrophe happens here. A great, super-secret technological event comes. Men working with demons—that’s the fifth angel.

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 [that angel] the key to the bottomless abyss.” In the bottomless abyss is where all the demons who have not been let out are imprisoned. If you think this world is an evil place now, what would it have been if all the evil demons were let out? Here they come!

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. 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… [by that time the grass had grown back] …or any green thing… [they have recovered] …or any tree, but only the men who did not have the seal of God in their foreheads” (vs 2-4). So, here supernatural protection for the 144,000 and the great innumerable multitude who have been sealed.

Verse 5: “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” (vs 5-6).

Here’s what this weapon is going to look like. You’ve heard of the combination of occultism and secret weapons? Yes! That’s where they get their technology. Notice what this is going to be like:

Verse 7: “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.” This shows men and demons working together to carry out a super-secret weapon in hopes of stopping all the armies of the north and the east, because the beast was troubled by those things, and went forth ‘to make fury’ (Rev. 11)

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).

This is something! This carries right on through the winter. Starts in the fall with the Feast of Trumpets and carries right on through winter to spring.

• Let’s see who gave them this power!
• Let’s see who is behind this!

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. The first woe is past. Behold, after these things two more woes are still to come” (vs 11-12). Now we come to the great army; the great army spoken of by Joel. All the kings of the east and all the kings of the north, and they have built up their societies, they have developed their armies and it is quite a thing!

Not all 200-million of them are going to be able to come to the Middle East all at once. As we have seen, these armies will be strung out. Even after the Millennium there will still be some of those armies that are going to come and try and take over the kingdom again (Ezek. 38).

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, 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 [200-million]; and I heard the number of them” (vs 13-16).

Let’s come back to the book of Joel because this is where God talks about the army of 200-million that is coming. It’s judgment from God! It’s power that God has raised up! God is going to bring them, just like He said: ‘All the nations of the world will be involved.

Joel 1: 13: “Gird yourselves and lament, you priests; howl, you ministers of the altar. Come, lie all night in sackcloth, you ministers of my God, for the grain offering and the drink offering are held back from the house of your God. Sanctify a fast… [This is to the Jews there in the Holy Land. Remember, the two witnesses will be there, as well, and probably the last Elijah to help them with this.] …call a solemn assembly; gather the elders and all the people of the land unto the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD. Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is at hand, and it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty” (vs 13-15).

Boy! That’s going to be something! There will be the armies coming across over toward the Holy Land. The River Euphrates will be dried up for a period of time, while this takes place and they are coming.

Let’s see what else it says here, 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—… [yes, it is] …a day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness. As the morning is spread across the mountains, socomes a great people and a mighty people; there has never been the like…” (vs 1-2).

Who has ever heard of a collection of armies of 200-million? This is equivalent to two-thirds of the population of the United States. Look at how they are scattered out. That’s how these armies are going to be going all the way back to China, back to Afghanistan, to Pakistan, to India and then on over into Iran and on into Iraq and over in toward the Holy Land. They’re all going to be coming! It’s going to be quite a thing when that takes place!

“…As the morning is spread across the mountains, socomes 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” (v 2). That on down into the Millennium.

Verse 3: “A fire devours before them [Rev. 9], 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. Their appearance is as the appearance of horses; and as war horses, so they run” (vs 3-4). That’s exactly what we find in Rev. 9. That’s quite a thing!

Verse 5: “They shall leap with the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains, with the noise of a flame of fire that devours the stubble, like a mighty people set in battle array. In their presence the people shall greatly tremble; all faces shall grow pale. They shall run like mighty men. They shall climb the wall like men of war… [And they have the capability to do that. They even have soles made on shoes that you can literally run up the wall.] …and they shall march each one in his path, and they shall not break their ranks. And each one shall not crowd another; they go every one in his own path. And when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded” (vs 5-8). Again, demonic, supernatural help!

Verse 9: “They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall; they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief. 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” (vs 9-10).

Now notice what happens. God is going to make His presence known, v 11: “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?…. [Notice what God says; God always offers repentance; God always acknowledges repentance]: …‘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…?’” (vs 11-14). Yes, who knows? Quite a thing!

Verse 15: “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… [This is repentance, right there in Jerusalem; right there the Jews come to a mammoth repentance.] …‘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?”’” (vs 15-17).

Yes, God says He’s going to answer. Let’s see what else God says He’s going to do. God is going to gather all nations. We have this with the armies of 200-million, but we also have then that they come with the seven last plagues—another wave of the armies coming. Also, armies from all nations, exactly as God has said.

Joel 3:9: “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” (vs 9-12). Then comes the harvest of the wicked, which will be the seven last plagues.

Verse 13: “Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. 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 13-16).

Now, let’s come back to the book of revelation and see how these things go, and see how this army of 200-million fulfills what He is saying, and how there are other armies that are going to come after the resurrection. They’ll have a time between the resurrection at Pentecost and the Feast of Trumpets when we come back with Christ, all assembled to start taking over the world. Yes, indeed!

Let’s finish it here in Revelation 9:15: “…so that they might kill a third of men; and the number of the armies of the horsemen was two hundred thousand thousand… [200-million of the armies. Notice it says ‘horsemen’ but it refers to the type of vehicles and things that they have.] …and I heard the number of them. And so I saw the horses in the vision, and those sitting on them, who had fiery breastplates… [Notice how that ties in with what were read in Joel 2] …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” (vs 15-17). Very descriptive of what was said also in Joel, the second chapter.

Verse 18: “By these three, a third of men were killed… [So the devastation is going to be something! Just exactly like it was said in Jer. 25, that ‘in that day the dead shall be strewn from one end of the earth to the other, and no one is going to be burying them.’] …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 who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the works of their hands, that they might not worship demons…” (vs 18-20).

They have set their minds and have been so deceived by Satan the devil, they are thinking that they are coming against the aliens invading the world, and ‘we have got to stop this mess that is going on. We have got to fight for it, lest we all be destroyed’ and they don’t repent! NO!

“…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). Quite a thing! Absolutely an amazing thing that’s taking place!

Then we have the seven thunders. We don’t know what the seven thunders are, because John was told not to write them. Here is going to be a sequence of untold, unthinkable, unwritable plagues that are going to come. That’s still not the end of it.

Now then, we come down to the time of the next Pentecost when the resurrection takes place. We find that it is the third woe, Revelation 11:15: “Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet; 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.’” Then the saints are all resurrected,

• we meet Christ in the air
• we receive our rewards
• we receive our assignments
• we receive our new names
• we are given our new garments
• we are given our horses
• we’re told how we are to be
• we sing the song of the Lamb, the song of Moses

and then we are able to watch the seven last plagues poured out. The seven last plagues poured out are then going to end up being the harvest of the wicked. As we saw, the valley of decision, the valley of judgment, the valley of slaughter.

Revelation 15-16—we will see about the seven last plagues, because all of those have a part in the fulfilling of that last year from Trumpets to Trumpets. Out of the seventh trumpet comes the seven last plagues.

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.” Just like He said, He is going to destroy Babylon the Great! The judgment has come! Christ and the saints are getting ready to return.

Then it shows the saints on the Sea of Glass with Christ (vs 2-4). Verse 5: “And after these things I looked, and behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened.” Coming directly from God the Father and Jesus Christ.

Verse 6: “And the seven angels who had the seven last plagues came out of the temple; they were clothed in linen, pure and bright, and girded about the chest with golden breastplates. And one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden vials, full of the wrath of God, Who lives into the ages of eternity. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from His power; and no one was able to enter inside the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled” (vs 6-8).

It goes right on as there is no separation in the original writing. This happens between the time of the resurrection on Pentecost and the next Trumpets—a space of about three and a half months.

Revelation 16:1: “Then I heard a loud voice from the temple say to the seven angels, ‘Go and pour out the vials of the wrath of God onto the earth.’…. [That was right below where the armies are all gathered, where God said He gathered them ‘into the Valley of Decision.] …And the first angel went and poured out his vial onto the earth; and an evil and grievous sore fell upon the men who had the mark of the beast, and upon those who were worshiping his image” (vs 1-2). This one here goes out to everyone who has the mark of the beast regardless of where they are.

Verse 3: “And the second angel wentand poured out his vial into the sea; and it became blood, like that of a dead man; and every living soul in the sea died.” This earth is going to be so absolutely, utterly destroyed, that God is going to have to clean it up; and we’re going to be a part of that. Brethren, I think we need to understand there’s a tremendous amount of work for us and those pitiful survivors that survive through this, because there will be some of those who will.

Verse 4: “And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers, and into the fountains of waters; and they became blood.” God is going to finish this off in tremendous, awesome style. Notice every fulfillment is going to be vast! Not a itty-witty-bitty of it. Christ can’t return until all these things take place. All you false prophets out there, you better wake up and take notice. This is your fate, unless you repent!

Verse 4: “And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers, and into the fountains of waters; and they became blood.” Notice how the angels view what God is doing. People will say, ‘Oh, a lot of these were good people, so why would God want to kill good people?’

• Can the goodness of man save man?

or

• Is it only the goodness of God that saves man?
• Have not all sinned and come short of the glory of God?
• Have they not given themselves over to the beast?
• Have they not received the mark of the beast?
• Have they not worshipped his image?
• Have they not gathered together to fight Christ?

Yes, indeed! So, here’s how the angels look at it:

Verse 5: “Then I heard the angel of the waters say, ‘You are righteous, O Lord, Who are, and Who was, even the Holy One, in that You have executed this judgment. For they have poured out the blood of saints and of prophets, and You have given them blood to drink; for they are worthy’” (vs 5-6). That’s how the angels view it, because they’ve seen all of the things that have gone on, on the earth, with the history of man. It’s a terrible thing indeed!

Verse 7: “And I heard another voice from the altar say, ‘Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments.’ And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given to it to scorch men with fire” (vs 7-8). It says in another place—one of the prophecies in the Old Testament—that the sun got seven times more intense. Whatever that temperature is, it’s going to be a flash of the sun, and it’s going to affect men on the earth.

Verse 9: “Then men were scorched with great heat; and they blasphemed the name of God, Who has authority over these plagues, and did not repent to give Him glory.” What will it take for some people to repent—huh? What will it take?

Verse 10: “And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the throne of the beast; and his kingdom became full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain, and blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores; yet they did not repent of their works” (vs 10-11).

Look, at every turn when evil comes, there’s a chance to repent! Do you understand that? Likewise in our lives!

Here’s preparation for the final battle. After the four angels were loosed (Rev. 9) from the River Euphrates, it dried up. But now here we have it going again. It’s flowing again and the way has to be prepared for some more of the armies of the 200-million to come.

Verse 12: “And the sixth angel poured out his vial into the great river Euphrates; and its waters were dried up, so that the way of the kings from the rising of the sun might be prepared.”

We don’t know how long that’s going to stay dried up, but after all of this, Satan has his supernatural powers to go out and yet deceive the remaining men who are still alive and their armies to come together in a last minute futile attempt to repel the invasion from outer space—Jesus Christ and the resurrected saints.

Verse 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). This is going to be some battle!

Then God gives a warning; this is an inset. Just because you’re not living in those days, don’t get comfortable in your spirituality and give up on God. This is why this inset chapter is here:

Verse 15: “Behold, I come as a thief…. [shouldn’t be for us, but for the world] …Blessed is the one who is watching and is keeping his garments, so that he may not walk naked and they may not see his shame…. [A message to the Laodiceans. You’ve got to be alert! You’ve got to be careful!] …And he gathered them together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon” (vs 15-16).

So, the battle of Armageddon has got armies of the earth fighting against each other. Just like someone said just before the invasion in 1991 of repelling Sadam Hussein from Kuwait, saying that he was the ‘king of the north.’ Now today, some false prophets say that Ahmadinejad of Iran is the ‘king of the north.’ NO! That doesn’t even fit the compass. That’s to the east. That’s Persia! Ahmadinejad better read the book of Esther to find out what happens if you’re going to attempt to kill all the Jews. Yes! You read the fate there!

Verse 16: “And he gathered them together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon…. [as they are gathered there]: …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.’ And there were voices and thunders and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were on the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. And the great city was divided into three parts; and the cities of the nations fell; and Babylon the Great was remembered before God to give her the cup of the wine of the fury of His wrath. And every island disappeared, and no mountains were found” (vs 16-20). This is God’s finality against the nations of this earth.

Verse 21: “And great hail, each stone the weight of a talent [180 lbs], fell down from heaven upon men; and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, for the plague was exceedingly great.”

Now, let’s come to Revelation 19—Christ is going to return. When that happens, we are going to come off the Sea of Glass, come down with Christ, and these armies—there are still going to be some even after the hail—there are going to be those who are going to futilely fight, because they give themselves over to Satan the devil, to the beast, to the false prophet and to the demons that are energizing them.

Revelation 19:11: “And I saw heaven open; and behold, a white horse; and He Who sat on it is called Faithful and True [Christ], and in righteousness He does judge and make war. And His eyes were like a flame of fire, 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 [Jesus Christ] …And the armies in heaven were following Him on white horses; and they were clothed in fine linen, white and pure” (vs 11-14)—the righteousness of the saints.

There we are on our horses, coming down with Christ, coming down to take over this earth, coming down to horrendous destruction, coming down to an earth where the bodies are strewn from one end of the horizon to the other end.

Verse 15: “And out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He might smite the nations… [all those gathered there] …and He shall shepherd them with an iron rod… [That’s what He’s going to have to do first.] …and He treads the winepress of the fury and the wrath of the Almighty God.”

We come back here to Revelation 14:18 and we find where it talks about it here: “And out from the altar came another angel, who had authority over fire; and he called with a loud cry to the one who had the sharp sickle, saying, ‘Thrust in your sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the earth, because her grapes are fully ripe.’” And bring them ‘into the winepress of Almighty God, into the Valley of Slaughter’ (Joel 3).

Verse 19: “And the angel thrust his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast its fruit into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood spewed out from the winepress as high as the horses’ bridles, to the distance of a thousand six hundred furlongs” (vs 19-20). That refers right back here to Rev. 19:15.

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). As it is there in Zech. 14, when they fight against Christ, when the word goes out of Christ, their flesh is just going to fall right off of them! What a mighty weapon that is! What a fantastic meal for all the birds of heaven.

Verse 17: “…saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, ‘Come and gather yourselves together to the supper of the great God ‘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’”(vs 17-18). What a thing that’s going to be!

However, the beast and the false prophet are saved for a special punishment, v 19: “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, 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 19-21).

Let’s come to Zechariah 14 and let’s see how fantastic a thing this is going to be. We will see how this is going to end, and it’s going to be quite a thing. Think of all the destruction! Think of all the death! Think of everything that Satan worked for, and he’s going to be put into the bottomless pit with a seal set over him, so that he doesn’t deceive the nations anymore until the thousand years are finished. The truth is, brethren, you can never have righteousness among men as long as Satan is around. Isn’t that also true of the Churches, how Satan has worked his way in? Yes, that’s what Rev. 2-3 tells us!

Here’s the finality of it here, Zechariah 14:1: “Behold, the day of the LORD comes, and your spoil shall be divided in your midst, ‘For I will gather all nations to battle against Jerusalem; and the city shall be taken, and the houses plundered, and the women raped. And half of the city shall go into exile, and the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city.’” (vs 1-2). That’s why there’s repentance there in Jerusalem.

Verse 3: “And the LORD shall go out and fight against those nations, as when He fought in the day of battle…. [That’s what we saw in Rev. 19.] … And His feet shall stand in that day upon 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” (vs 3-4). That’s going to be a day—isn’t it?

Verse 5: “‘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.” That’s us, brethren; those who attain to the first resurrection! That’s why in this world today,

• we’re always to keep our mind on the goal
• we’re always to keep our mind on why we are called

Verse 6: “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark. And it will be one day which shall be known to the LORD, neither day nor night; but it shall come to pass that at evening time it shall be light. And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem… [to start healing the world] …half of them shall go toward the eastern sea, and half of them toward the western sea. In summer and in winter it shall be. And the LORD shall be King over all the earth; in that day there shall be one LORD, and His name shall be one” (vs 6-9). That’s going to be something, brethren!

• That’s why this Feast of Trumpets!
• That’s why the Feast of Trumpets is a war feast!

We see the only way that God is going to rebuild the world is that you have to destroy all the vestige of Babylon the Great! It must be destroyed! God is not going to patch it; He going to start from the ground up. Think about what we’re going to have to do to start to bring that about, and why we need the instructions of God as to how to rule properly.

The next Feast day that is coming up is the Day of Atonement, which is a great day of rejoicing for getting rid of Satan the devil. We’ll see you then!

Scriptural References:

• Leviticus 23:23-24
• Deuteronomy 16:16-17
• 2 Corinthians 9:6-8
• Daniel 2:41-44
• Isaiah 34:1-5
• Psalm 83:1-8
• Isaiah 21:8-10
• Isaiah 13:1-13
• Jeremiah 25:26-38
• Jeremiah 51:5-10, 53-56, 59-64
• Revelation 8:1-13
• Revelation 9:1-16
• Joel 1:13-15
• Joel 2:1-17
• Joel 3:9-16
• Revelation 9:15-21
• Revelation 11:15
• Revelation 15:1, 5-8
• Revelation 16:1-21
• Revelation 19:11-15
• Revelation 14:18-20
• Revelation 19:16-21
• Zechariah 14:1-9

Scriptures referenced, not quoted

• Numbers 29
• Luke 21
• Revelation 13; 17
• Isaiah 9
• Revelation 6
• Daniel 9
• Revelation 18, 7; 17
• Jeremiah 50
• Revelation 1-7, 11
• Ezekiel 38
• Revelation 15:2-4

Also referenced: Sermons:

• The Coming New World Order
• Many End-Time Prophecies