Feast of Trumpets—2012

Fred R. Coulter—September 17, 2012

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Greetings, brethren! Welcome to the Feast of Trumpets, 2012. We will have Trumpets, Atonements, Tabernacles and the Last Great Day—the great Feasts of God that picture the greatness of God's plan, the greatness of His love, mercy, goodness and kindness to the world. But in order to bring that to the world, He's got to send Jesus Christ back in power, strength and understanding. We're going to see that this day—the Feast of Trumpets—marks the actual return of Christ and the resurrected saints to this earth and begin to setup the Kingdom of God.

We see that in Leviticus 23 that God commands us to keep this Holy Day. It's a special Holy Day. As you know, all of the Holy Days of God are contained right here and the times that they are to be kept. We've gone over many calendar things so that we know that the Calculated Hebrew Calendar is the calendar that God has given to us so that we can have the 'appointed times' that He has given in their seasons and in the time that He wants them. And how that the Calculated Hebrew Calendar is so accurate that any other devising or any other plan by men, regardless if they use Scriptural terms or not, does not make them valid.

Let's begin in Leviticus 23:23: "And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying…" What is called the Law of Moses is the Law of God that God gave through Moses. You cannot find one thing in the first five books of the Bible where it says, 'and Moses commanded the people instead of God. Moses brought the Word of God.

Verse 24: "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… [or trumpets] …a Holy convocation'" In blowing the trumpet they were to blow the trumpets, as far as we were able to tell, all day long. This was quite a celebration indeed!

Verse 25: "You shall do no servile work therein but you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD." And yes, you are still supposed to bring an offering on the Holy Days as God has commanded.

We know that in Deut. 16 it specifically mentions the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Tabernacles, and it doesn't mention Trumpets or Atonement, nor does it mention the Last Great Day.

However, the command to bring an offering is given, so we certainly should bring an offering to God as we are able. Let's understand a principle that God has given here in Matthew 10. God operates on what you would call the principle of reciprocity, which is this: We are to freely give the Gospel, and those who receive it receive it without cost. However, once we know the laws and commandments of God we are to freely give of what we have of our increase that God has given us.

We know that God is able to make all grace abound to us in everything that we do, and see that we have sufficiency in all things. The blessings come not before our obedience and love to God, but afterward. Sometimes the trials that we go through to get there doesn't look like it's too good right at first. But remember:

• God's Word is true!
• God's Word is Holy!
• His promises are sure!
• We can claim them!

After Christ told the disciples to go out and preach the Gospel, Matthew 10:7: "And as you are going, proclaim, saying, 'The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.' Heal the sick. Cleanse the lepers. Raise the dead. Cast out demons. Freely you have received; freely give" (vs 7-8). So, if you freely give, you will freely receive of the preaching of the Gospel, of the benefits of being healed, cleansing the lepers, casting out demons, then we are to freely give.

On this particular trip that they went on, Christ wanted to prove a point: that He would provide for them on this journey. But this is not how they were to do this continuously, because Jesus said, 'after this you take a purse, you take a sword, you take extra clothing, you provide for yourself.' The principle of reciprocity is:

• You give; that makes it possible to give to others.
• They give; it makes it possible to give to others.

• We give of what?
• How does God command us to do it?

This was specifically that they were not to charge. This does not mean that you do not give anything to God. This does not mean that there is not tithing. This does not mean that we do not give offerings, but this was specific for this tour that they took to preach the Gospel. Then there are a lot of other things that are associated with it.

Let's see how God is able to make all things work together for good, regardless of the difficulties, regardless of the problems, regardless of the circumstances. This is why, in faith, we are to give our tithes and offerings, and why we use it to preach the Gospel and today, the way we're able to do it with all of the modern technology that we have, is certainly a tremendous way of doing it.

Always remember this, brethren:

• God love you!
• God has called you!
• You are under God's grace!
• He is dealing directly in your life!
• He wants us, collectively together, preach the Gospel and reach out to the world!

Romans 8:28: "And we know…" Realize in everything that we do: We know!

• you have to know God
• you know His commandments
• you know His Truth
• you know His Word
• you have proved all things and hold fast to that which is good
• you have the love of God
• you have the faith of God
• you have the hope of God
• you're standing in the grace of God

Therefore, "…we know that all things work together for good… [in the end they're all going to work together for good] …to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose" (v 28). As we give, let's keep all of this in mind.

 (pause for the offering)

The Feast of Trumpets is a great day of God, and pictures a great and fantastic thing that's going to take place. The return of Christ is not going to be secret. It's not going to be done in a corner. It is going to be a worldwide event, with a great many things that take place leading up to it.

The Feast of Trumpets is not the day of the resurrection. The Feast of Trumpets is a war feast! The Feast of Trumpets does not have the last trumpet for the resurrection blown on the Feast of Trumpets. It is a memorial of blowing of trumpets!

Remember this: Every Holy Day the trumpet was to be sounded. When we get to the book of Revelation we will see that the seventh trump is blown long before the time that Christ and the saints return to the earth. This is why Pentecost, being the harvest of the firstfruits—we are the firstfruits—pictures the day of the resurrection. We have shown from the Feast of Trumpets that the resurrection has already occurred before the event of bringing the Government of God, through Christ and the saints, to the earth. They're all resurrected and we meet Christ in the air on the Sea of Glass. We watch the seven last plagues poured out. That's quite an event to take place—all of those.

Zech. 12 talks about where God says all the nations of the world are gathered around Jerusalem. It will be a 'burdensome stone, a troublesome stone' and it's going to be a disaster for this world. We see everything is centered at Jerusalem (Matt. 24). The starting of the preaching of the Gospel is centered and begins at Jerusalem. The ending of it is also going to center in Jerusalem.

There are some keys that we're told here concerning this, concerning the day, concerning the times. Look at all the difficulties and problems that we have been going through. Look at all the fires, the drought, the tornados, earthquakes—just exactly as Jesus said. All the false prophets, as Jesus said, 'many would come in His name saying that He was the Christ and deceive many. The reason is that people do not know nor study their Bibles. It would be interesting: Ask the average Christian who goes to the average Sunday-keeping church about various parts of the Bible and they won't know anything about it. So, they use the name of Christ.

As I've covered before, Matthew 24 pictures the time of the end, and the things that will be taking place at the end. Actually, when you look at it, it gives us a clue that shows that there is rapid, modern communication. Let's read some of these things that are going to take place.

Matthew 24:6: "And you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars…." We have a good means of hearing them—don't we? Radio, television and the Internet! What's happening? Wars and rumors of wars!

"…See that you do not let these things disturb you. For it is necessary that all these things take place, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be famines and pestilences and earthquakes in different places" (vs 6-7). That's exactly what we are seeing. What we're going to see is more intensity with these things. Then we'll also see the time is coming.

Verse 9: "Then shall they deliver you up to affliction, and shall kill you; and you shall be hated by all nations for My name's sake. And then shall many be led into sin, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another; and many false prophets shall arise, and shall deceive many; and because lawlessness shall be multiplied…" (vs 9-12).

We just covered that in recent sermons; multiplied, made official law of the land, and people not understanding what is happening. People trying to do good, but it never works out right. Trying to correct the problem but only creating more problems: breakdown of the family, breakdown of things that have to do with understanding about God; breakdown of society with mobs and riots and the whole system leading to the great crisis at the end.

But here's a promise, even though "…the love of many shall grow cold… [because of this lawlessness] (this promise we need to understand): …But the one who endures to the end, that one shall be saved" (vs 12-13). What does this tell us? This is a warning that there are going to be very difficult to handle!We have to endure through them!

• God will see us through all of it!
• God will watch over us!
• God will take care of us!

When it comes time for the martyrdom, then God is going to still watch over us. Yes, we may lose our lives. If we're martyred there's no question we will lose our lives. But God is with us in it! Did not Jesus give His life so that we might have life? Yes, He did! So, those things are going to be happening.

Then He says, v 14: "And this Gospel of the Kingdom shall be proclaimed in all the world for a witness to all nations; and then shall the end come." We're going to see why toall nations, because the events that are going to transpire, the people of the world must be warned that these are coming.

We realize, as we will see on the Day of Atonement, that Satan the devil is right there to try and change these things, to try and turn these things around, to try and convince us that:

• yes, we can have peace
• yes, we'll have a world system
• yes, this is going to be great and wonderful.

Satan is going to have his rescue plan and it's going to look very awesome indeed. But remember, Satan's plan is temporary and it's all going to collapse. When there is the 'abomination of desolation that stands in the Holy Place' (v 15)—and it shows that a temple must be built—then shall there be great tribulation.

This is going to start things off and we're going to see that it will not end until the final Day of Trumpets. Some of these things during the three and a half years are going to increase in intensity. Yes, they will say 'peace and security, peace and prosperity' but then 'sudden destruction shall come upon them' (1 Thess. 5).

Let's look and see who God holds responsible for the things that are going to take place. Let's come to Ezekiel 13 and let's see how important it is, how religion fits in and how government fits in. Here we're talking about shepherds and we're talking about prophets—both.

Here are the prophets of Israel, Ezekiel 13:1: "And the Word of the LORD came to me, saying…" Doesn't this sound like God coming to Moses? Yes!

• Jesus was the Word!
• Jesus was God!
• Jesus is the Word!
• Jesus is God!

Verse 2: "Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who prophesy. And say to those who prophesy out of their own hearts, 'Hear the Word of the LORD.'" You'd better listen to God, because the Feast of Trumpets shows that God is getting down to the business of ending the reign of Satan the devil and the governments of men cutoff from God.

Verse 3: "Thus says the Lord GOD, 'Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing! O Israel, your prophets are like the foxes in the ruins…. [Yes, they are there just searching out whatever they can get.] …You have not gone up into the breach, nor built the wall for the house of Israel, that it might stand in the battle in the day of the LORD'" (vs 3-5). Totally unprepared! That's what this Feast pictures: The Day of the Lord!

When you have a day fulfilled in prophecy, we're talking about the year of the Lord. We will see how God starts it out. It's going to be quite a thing! This world is going to know that it is God! However, in the deception of Satan the devil, most of the world—except those few who repent—are going to believe that this is an alien invasion. In a sense that's true, because the world doesn't know God. The world doesn't know the angels of God. But the aliens—Satan the devil and the demons—know. So, everything is upside down and backward.

I want you to read the whole book of Jeremiah. You will see what God did over and over again to try and warn people. You will see what the false prophets did to say that 'no, these things aren't going to happen.' But they did! So, God says to them:

Verse 6: "They have seen vanity and lying divination… [Who is the father of lies? Who gives this divination? Divination is demonism!] …saying, 'The LORD says.'…." Isn't that exactly what Jesus said in Matt. 24? That many will come in My name saying 'I am the Christ' and shall deceive many! But notice what God says:

"…And the LORD has not sent them; but they hoped to confirm their word…. [Of course, they couldn't confirm God's Word, only their word.] …Did you not see a vain vision, and speak a lying divination? When you say, 'The LORD says;' although I have not spoken" (vs 6-7). What is the greatest lying divination that's going to take place for the religionists? No rapture! There will not be arapture! The Bible does not teach it! It is the figment of misinterpretation and lies that ministers have used to merchandise people, and try and increase their numbers.

Notice what God says here in v 8: "Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, 'Because you have spoken vanity and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you,' says the Lord GOD. 'And My hand shall be against the prophets who see vanity and who divine a lie. They shall not be in the assembly of My people, nor shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel… [nor in the book of Life] …nor shall they enter into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord GOD. Because, even because they have seduced My people, saying, "Peace"…'" (vs 8-10). Just like it was prophesied back there in 1-Thess. 5, there's going to come a time when they're going to say, 'peace and safety, peace and prosperity, peace and security.'

"'…and there was no peace—and when anyone builds a weak wall they cover it with whitewash" (v 10). 'Oh, we have a plan! Oh, let's work this device! Pray tell me, what man has ever withstood against God?' No one! What does the Psalms say? Unless the Lord build the house, the weary builders toil in vain! That's exactly what's happening in Christianity. It is all falling apart!

Verse 11: "Say to those who cover it with whitewash, that it shall fall; there will be a flooding rain; and you, O great hailstones, shall fall, and a stormy wind will break forth. And, behold, when the wall has fallen, shall it not be said to you, 'Where is the whitewash with which you have covered it?'" (vs 11-12). What happened? They don't understand the power of God! They don't understand what God is going to do!

Verse 13: "Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, 'I will cause a stormy wind to break forth in My fury. And there shall be a flooding rain in My anger, and hailstones in fury to destroy it. And I will break down the wall that you have covered with whitewash, and bring it down to the ground; yea, I will expose its foundation. And it shall fall, and you shall be destroyed in her midst; and you shall know that I am the LORD'" (vs 13-14).

That's one of the themes of the book of Ezekiel. When you get done reading Jeremiah, read the book of Ezekiel. That's some book! Anyone who considers himself a prophet, consider what God asked Ezekiel to do. When you read the first part of it and you see what God asked Ezekiel to do, ask yourself: Am I willing to do that?

Verse 15: "And I will fulfill My wrath on the wall and on those who covered it with whitewash. And I will say to you, 'The wall is no more;' and, "Those who whitewashed it are no more—that is, The prophets of Israel who prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and who see visions of peace for her, when there is no peace,' says the LORD" (vs 15-16). God is against them!

But God is going to let them build their world system. We see that in Rev. 13. Let's see what's going to happen in the Day of the Lord. There are a lot of things that talk about the Day of the Lord in the Old Testament. Let's see what this time is going to be, just exactly like Jesus said, 'When you see the abomination of desolation then shall great tribulation begin such as has not been from the beginning of the world.' Those are awesome times!

Brethren, let's understand something very important: All of God's prophecies are going to be fulfilled to the maximum! Not the minimum; not just a little eensy-teensy bit and someone can say, 'Oh, look over here, there is one the great prophecies of God that has been fulfilled.' NO! These are going to be worldwide! These are going be world-shaking! Let's see how it was revealed to Daniel:

Daniel 12:1: "And at that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands for the children of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even until that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered—every one who shall be found written in the book."

That can refer to two things: The book of Life, and it may have application to the 144,000, when at that time God intervenes to save them, their names will also be written in the book of Life.

Verse 2: "And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life… [at the time of the resurrection at Pentecost] …and some to shame and everlasting contempt." That has to be the fulfilling of the Last Great Day in destroying the wicked.

Notice the promise, and always remember that God always gives encouragement before the times of trouble come. He always holds before us the goal so that we know that enduring through these things is worth it. What God is going to give us is eternal life and glory and a share of the inheritance.

Verse 3: "And they who are wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they who turn many to righteousness shall shine as the stars forever and ever." That caps off the whole book of Daniel, which describes nearly all the major events to happen at the end-time.

Verse 9: "And he said, 'Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed until the time of the end. Many shall be purified, and made white, and refined. But the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand" (vs 9-10).

• God gives us understanding through His Holy Days!
• God gives us understanding combined with His Word!
• God gives us understanding combined with His Spirit!
• God gives us understanding combined with the time that it is to make those things known!
• God gives us understanding combined with our understanding of the Word of God!

What we will do is begin to see that all the prophecies concerning the Feast of Trumpets are worldwide events leading up to the return of Jesus Christ. God gives warning! Remember: 'This Gospel shall be preached in all the world as a witness.' A witness is a warning, a testimony against…

Isaiah 34:1: "Come near, you nations, to hear; 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, and His fury upon all their armies…." (vs 1-2). You need to think about this. This is talking about end-time events.

"…He has completely destroyed them, He has delivered them to the slaughter" (v 2). That could only happen with the fulfillment in Rev. 19. Something else is going to take place before that, because God is going to let His presence be known in a fantastic and a tremendous and awe-inspiring, and fearful and frightful way! Never before has this happened in this way. Nor will it happen again.

Verse 4: "And all the host of the heavens shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll…" Where do we find that? Rev. 6, when God begins to reveal Himself. When Christ shows that He's the Lord God of heaven and earth and the heavens roll back as a scroll. He's going to shake the heavens, shake the earth, shake the sea, shake all nations. This is going to be tremendous!

"…and all their host shall fall down… [that their armies] …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…. [God has prepared this battle!] …Behold, it shall come down upon Edom…'" (vs 4-5). That's another name for what we call Esau, which also applies today to the Muslim world. They're going to be fighting Christ with all the other nations. This shows geographically where Edom is going to be—the Middle East.
"'…and upon the people of My curse for judgment. The sword of the LORD is filled with blood; it is made fat with fatness, with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams; for the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Edom'" (vs 5-6). It's going to come down. It's going to be a bloody mess! We're going to see how far reaching this is going to be.

Verse 8: "For it is the day of the LORD'S vengeance, the year to repay for the fighting against Zion." That's going to be quite a thing! That day is coming!

Jeremiah 25—Jeremiah did not fulfill this prophecy. That's why it's in the Bible for us today. It applies at the end-time. God gave Jeremiah a cup and said, 'Take this cup and go to all of these nations, all of the nations that are upon the face of the earth. He lays everything out. There is not one nation that is not included in this. When you go back to Rev. 13 and you read what it says there, that this world government has power over every tribe, language, nation and peoples on earth. They will drink of that cup! It will happen as God has said!

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… [God means what He says and says what He means, and it means exactly that!] …and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them." That's another name for the coming beast power.

Verse 27: "Therefore, you shall say to them, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, "Drink and be drunk, and vomit, and fall, and rise no more because of the sword which I will send among you." And it shall come to pass if they refuse to take the cup at your hand to drink, then you shall say to them, "Thus says the LORD of hosts, 'You shall certainly drink. For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by My name…'"'" (vs 27-29). Think of the evil that's coming upon Jerusalem in the end-time.

"'…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…. [When God says something He means it.] …And prophesy against them all these words, and say to them, 'The LORD shall roar from on high, and utter His voice from His Holy habitation. He shall mightily roar over His dwelling place. He shall give a shout, like those who tread out grapes, against all the people of the earth'" (vs 29-30).

This Day of Trumpets, though it's a Holy Day, it's a day for us to understand that it represents the power of God, the return of Christ, the showing and declaring of the Kingdom of God. This happens after the resurrection has taken place at Pentecost. All those in the first resurrection will be on the Sea of Glass to watch all of these events take place.

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'" (vs 31-32).

Notice what's going to happen in that day, 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.'" That's the result of this world's system.

Isaiah 13 tells us what God is going to do. These prophecies are here for a reason.

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Let's see the prophecy, because the return of Jesus Christ is going to be an absolutely fantastic thing! Greater than anything we can imagine. Even the prophecies here that describe it cannot give us the total visualization of what it's going to be.

Isaiah 24:1: "Behold, the LORD makes the earth empty and makes it waste, and turns it upside down, and scatters its inhabitants…. [That's the way it's going to be!] …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" (vs 1-2).

That's when they're going to throw their gold and silver into the streets. They will know that there is no money, no kind of money, that can bring them safety or get them out of this mess.

Verse 3—listen to these words: "The earth shall be completely laid waste, and utterly stripped…" God is going to get rid of every vestige of this world's satanic, Babylonian, sodomite civilization. It is going to be destroyed! God is not going to build on the foundation of men, He's going to bring Christ—Who is the Rock—and the saints who are the kings and priests to reign with Him. They will establish the right civilization, the Kingdom of God!

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… [the laws of God] …changed the ordinance… [the Holy Days of God] …and have broken the everlasting covenant…. [That's amazing!] …Therefore, the curse has devoured the earth, and they who dwell in it are desolate; therefore, the people of the earth are burned, and few men are left" (vs 4-6). We don't know how many people are going to be left, but compared to the population of the world it's going to be few.

Let's see how this was promised, Haggai 2:6: "For thus says the LORD of hosts, 'Once again—it is yet a little while—I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land. And I will shake all the nations; and the desire of all nations [Christ] shall come; and I will fill this house with glory'… [the temple that He will build when He returns] …says the LORD of hosts" (vs 6-7).

By the way, that's not the temple of Ezek. 40-forward. You read that very carefully and those descriptions are from the temple in Jerusalem before it was destroyed in 586B.C.

Let's come back to the book of Zephaniah, chapter one, and let's see what God's judgment is going to be, and how severe it's going to be. This is why when we take over the Kingdom of God, brethren, we've got a lot of work to do. We've got a lot of lives to repair, those who survive through it.

Think about this in relationship to the Scriptures we have already read up to this point, Zephaniah 1:2: "'I will utterly consume all things from the face of the earth,' says the LORD." Just change the whole thing; going to make it right! He's going to bring it back, the restitution of all things, to what it should be.

Verse 3: "'I will consume man and beast; I will consume the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, and the stumbling blocks, with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the face of the earth,' says the LORD. 'I will also stretch out My hand upon Judah and upon all the people of Jerusalem. And I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, the name of the idolatrous priests, with the priests… [Isn't that something?] …and those worshiping the host of heaven upon the housetops, and those worshiping, swearing to the LORD, also swearing by Milcom; and those who have turned away from the LORD, and who have not sought the LORD, nor asked of Him.'" (vs 3-6). That's going to be a time—isn't it?

Verse 7: "Be silent before the face of the Lord GOD, for the day of the LORD is at hand, for the LORD has appointed a sacrifice; He has consecrated His guests…. [That's us!] …'And it shall be in the day of the LORD'S sacrifice, I will punish the rulers, and the king's children, and all who are clothed in strange garments. And in that day I will punish all those who leap over the threshold, who fill their masters' houses with violence and deceit'" (vs 7-9). This is something!

Let's see what this day is going to be like, v 14: "The great Day of the LORD is near; it is near and comes swiftly, the sound of the Day of the LORD. The mighty man shall cry bitterly there. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of the ram's horn and alarm against the fortified cities, and against the high towers" (vs 14-16).

This is an all out thing that's going to happen. After this, we're going back to the book of Revelation and we're going to see how that is laid out, and how the trumpets are blown. This Feast of Trumpets pictures that last year leading from Trumpets to Trumpets.

Verse 17: "'And I will bring distress on men, so that they shall walk as the blind because they have sinned against the LORD. And their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as dung.' Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole earth shall be devoured by the fire of His jealousy, for He shall make even a full end, yea, a terrible end of all who dwell upon the earth" (vs 17-18). That may even blend into the ending of the Last Great Day with the burning of the wicked, the destruction of them in the Lake of Fire.

Let's see how these things are going to unfold. In the book of Revelation we have a description of the sequence of the seven trumpets, and that's what this day pictures. The seven trumpets that will be blown from Trumpets to Trumpets in the very last year. Remember, after the heavens and earth have been shaken, there's a period of about 4 to 4-1/2 months from Pentecost until Trumpets. The world, after the earth has been shaken, is going to need that time to recoup from everything that has shaken the earth.

They'll be able to recoup, gather themselves together and then they'll continue on with their wars. But now, here in the last year from Trumpets to Trumpets begins in Rev. 8. We see the things change from what we saw with the opening of the seals. Now instead of men against men, in their wars and battles, and finally their execution of the saints in martyrdom—because they want to get everyone who will not fit in to the system—the only ones alive in the flesh of the saints are the ones in the Place of Safety, which will be few indeed.

Then there's going to be the sealing of the 144,000 from the children Israel and the great innumerable multitude, which will take place on the next to the last Pentecost. Then from Pentecost until Trumpets you have that space of time of about 4-1/2 months. Then everything changes at that point. When the seventh seal is opened, everything changes.

Revelation 8:1: "Now when He [Christ] opens 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).

The saints are those who have received the Holy Spirit. All of those who have been martyred are dead. All of those who are in the Place of Safety are the few. But before the beginning of the trumpet plagues, there's the sealing of the 144,000 and great innumerable multitude, and they are also saints at that time, which shows they're going to be praying: thanking God, asking for God's intervention.

Will this be like it was with the children of Israel in Egypt when God severed the plagues from coming upon the children of Israel? God will protect the 144,000 and the great innumerable multitude, their prayers going up to God! God's throne is active! Now then, here comes a tremendous event that is going to take place. We're going to see that the first four trumpet plagues come in rapid succession, just exactly like the first four seals.

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." You go through the book of Revelation and you go through the prophecies that explain about it, there are going to be a lot of earthquakes; there are going to be a lot of things that take place.

Verse 6: "Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound their trumpets." This is the fulfilling of the fantastic meaning of the Feast of Trumpets. It is beginning.

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."

Awesome events to take place! God is going to make sure that men understand that this is from God! But you see, because they won't repent, they think it's an alien invasion. Well, the angels are aliens to them, and Christ is an alien to them. All the resurrected saints will be aliens to them, as well.

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).

Tremendous destruction under Satan the devil and his wrath and in his fury against God, and men dedicated to evil, men trying to protect their greatest work—this great government of man on earth, a one-world system that 'we have finally gotten, and now these aliens are coming to try and take it from us.' That is something!

Verse 10: "And the third angel sounded his trumpet; and there fell out of heaven a great star, burning like a lamp; and it fell on a third of the rivers, and on the fountains of waters. Now, the name of the star is Wormwood; and a third of the waters became wormwood; and many men died from drinking the waters because they were made bitter" (vs 10-11)—poisonous water!

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." Everything is upside down! This is why no man knows the day or the hour, even though we understand that they're pictured by the Holy Days; in this case, by the Feast of Trumpets.

When this begins, at the next to the last Feast of Trumpets, when will the next one be? There's every indication to show that this last year is what is also called an intercalated or leap year, making it 13 months long.

If you think that's bad, now here's another warning, v 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.'" It's going to come!

• increasing destruction
• increasing slaughter
• increasing war

Revelation 9:1: "And the fifth angel sounded his trumpet; and I saw a star that had fallen from heaven to the earth, and there was given to him the key to the bottomless abyss…. [that's the prison where all the demon are] …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…" (vs 1-3). Demons coming out now to assist men in their wars against other men. Here is the place where the 'king of the north' hears the tidings from the north and the east. He goes away to make waste and go against them.

"…and power was given to them, as the scorpions of the earth have power. And it was said to them that they should not damage the grass of the earth…" (vs 3-4). When these other things took place, all the grass that was burned up, what happens when it burns up and then water is given to it? It grows back! There's green grass growing back.

God says, this time don't damage the grass, "…or any green thing, or any tree, but only the men who did not have the seal of God in their foreheads" (v 4). Who are the ones who have the seal of God in their foreheads? The 144,000 and the great innumerable multitude, and those who are in the Place of Safety!

Verse 5: "And it was given to them that they should not kill them… [with this scorpion plague] …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; and they had hair like women's hair; and their teeth were like those of lions" (vs 5-8).

They had all this futuristic weaponry and protection and armor, v 9: "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. 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" (vs 9-11)—none other than Satan the devil!

Verse 12: "The first woe is past…." Think about all those Scriptures we read in the Old Testament leading up to this time. What's going to happen to human beings? How many dead are there going to be? The blood just flowing like rivers! Well, the kings of the east, the armies of 200-million will be strung all the way back to the Far East. You can't get 200-million men in one place at one time. Even some of those armies will end up being those that are destroyed in Ezek. 38-39, after the Kingdom of God has been setup.

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'…. [For this purpose]: …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" (vs 13-15). The slaughter is going to be awesome indeed! Men are going to learn this:

• You never defy God and get away with it!
• You can never fight against God!
• How dare you ever again think about changing His laws or His commandments or His Sabbath and Holy Days!

That's why Christ and the saints are going to setup the Kingdom of God; not going to leave it to men! NO! To Christ and the saints!

It describes them and numbers them, v 16: "And the number of the armies of the horsemen was two hundred thousand thousand… [200-million] …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, 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. 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 16-19).

Notice the attitude of men. They are so dedicated to fighting against this alien invasion that they don't even consider that it's God!

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).

These are awesome and terrible times. That's why the Feast of Trumpets is to remind us and teach us what God is going to do. We can learn some great lessons from God in this. Yes, indeed! Then we have the seven thunders. We're not going to go through what it says in Rev. 10 except to say this: John was told do not write what the seven thunders did! Now then, very simple to understand. No one knows what the seven thunders are, because it wasn't written down.

Revelation 11—this occurs on the last Pentecost: the resurrection of the saints from the dead.

• Out of seven trumpets, which one is the last one? The seventh one!
• When are the dead raised? At the last trump!
• Does this describe a resurrection of the saints? Yes, it does!
• They will be raised, as we saw, on this Pentecost on the great Sea of Glass right over Jerusalem and the whole area of Palestine.

Revelation 11:14: "The second woe is past. Behold, the third woe is coming immediately. Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet; and there were great voices in heaven, saying… [v 16]: …And the twenty-four elders…" (vs 14-16). Proclaiming the Kingdom of God; think of this coming down to the earth; it's going to be heard in all the earth. This isn't going to be some little sound, some little tinky-tinky, little teeny-weeny thing going off.

"…'The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ, and He shall reign into the ages of eternity.'" (v 15). Does that not fulfill Isa. 9 where it says, 'of the increase of His government there shall be no end'? Yes, indeed!

Verse 16: "And the twenty-four elders who sit before God on their thrones, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying, 'We give You thanks, O Lord God almighty, Who is, and Who was, and Who is to come; for You have taken to Yourself Your great power, and have reigned. For the nations were angry… [summarizing all that has gone on] …and Your wrath has come, and the time for the dead to be judged and to give reward to Your servants the prophets, and to the saints, and to all those who fear Your name, the small and the great; and to destroy those who destroy the earth.'" (vs 16-18). That's the first resurrection.

We know that in Matt. 24 and Luke 13 it says that the angels are going to take us up to meet Christ in the air and guess what's going to be in the air, in the clouds? The Sea of Glass! There we're going to meet Christ and all the other saints. There, everything we described on Pentecost is going to take place, and then after that takes place, the seven last plagues are poured out.

It's an awesome power that's necessary to destroy the evil of men and Satan and demons, and at this point they become so desperate that they finally have their final suicide battle to fight against the 'alien' invasion—the Battle of Armageddon!

Revelation 16—the seven last plagues are poured out. We know that they're all gathered to Armageddon, toward the end of these plagues.

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.' 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. And the second angelwentand 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" (vs 1-3). God is going to have to do a complete repair of the whole earth to bring it to the restitution of what it was when He created it.

Verse 4: "And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers, and into the fountains of waters; and they became blood. Then I heard the angel of the waters say, 'You are righteous, O Lord…'" (vs 4-5). Notice how the angels of God view these things. From a human perspective—not knowing God, not knowing His plan, not understanding about the second resurrection—men don't like to see all of this blood, guts, gore and death. Notice how the angels view 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). This is blood avenging by Jesus Christ Himself of all of the blood that evil men have shed in executing the prophets and the saints.

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). There's going to be a big flash! And great heat is going to come from the sun! We don't know how long it's going to last, but notice what it is:

Verse 9: "Then men were scorched with great heat; and they blasphemed the name of God… [They don't yet die from it; they burn with it. Some may die of it, but notice what they say.] (they blaspheme God] …Who has authority over these plagues, and did not repent to give Him glory." What's it going to take for some people to repent? I tell you, this is amazing!

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). Then there's a reprieve again, and they think, 'O yes, we've got a chance to save this. We've got a chance to rescue this.' Oh yes!

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."

Then the rest of the armies of the 200-million—not all of them; some of them will carry over into the Millennium and they will be destroyed (Ezek. 38-39). But here they come again. This time they have to be convinced. There has to be supernatural signs for them to want to come up and start fighting after all they have suffered.

Verse 13: "Then I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon [Satan], and out of the mouth of the beast [the Antichrist], 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…" (vs 13-14).

Just like the priests of Pharaoh's court had power to do miracles, now these demons come out and do miracles and convince the rest of the world, 'We've got a chance to win; now let's all get together and do this.' In their own delusion God is going to trap them in their own schemes, even of the whole world

"…to gather them together to the battle of that great day of the Almighty God. Behold, I come as a thief…. [Here's the warning to the Laodiceans, because you will understand all of these things at the end-time. We need to be warned!]: …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" (vs 14-15).

That was just an interjection right there as a warning. God does that many times. You read along and he will interrupt the flow of things to give a warning to help us to come to our senses so that we don't do like these evil men here. They rely upon their own ways and their own schemes. Just like God lured Pharaoh and his armies to come after the children of Israel and to go into the Red Sea, so He uses the demons to bring them all to this battle. But it's God Who is doing it!

Verse 16: "And he gathered them together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon." They're all there ready for this battle. They're looking up at the Sea of Glass. They understand what has happened. Now they have marshaled all the best of the weapons that they have to fight against Christ, and to fight against His return, to save the world! They are going to be defeated!

Verse 17: "Then the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, 'IT IS FINISHED.' 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" (vs 17-18). It's going to level everything completely! The earth is now going to be in utter ruin!

Verse 19: "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; and great hail, each stone the weight of a talent… [about 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" (vs 19-21).

Now, just before the pouring out of the seven last plagues there's something else that takes place on the Sea of Glass. This is the final thing that is going to take place before Christ and all the saints come back to the earth. That is the marriage of the Lamb and His bride and the marriage supper of the Lamb.

• We're rejoicing!
• We have seen the judgments!
• We have seen the things that have taken place!
• We're there with God!

All the resurrected saints!

Revelation 19:1: "And after these things I heard the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, 'Hallelujah!…. [It's going to be celebration, brethren!] …The salvation and the glory and the honor and the power belong to the Lord our God. For true and righteous are His judgments; 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.'" (vs 1-2). The blood vengeance of God. Remember, God says, 'Vengeance is Mine!' Here is where He has completed it.

Verse 3: "And they said a second time, 'Hallelujah! And her smoke shall ascend upward into the ages of eternity.'" The smoke from all of this destruction will come out of the atmosphere of the earth into space, into the universe and will travel in 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… [they're all gathered around the throne of God] …and all who fear Him, both small and great.' 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'" (vs 4-6). This is the proclamation of the beginning of the Kingdom of God on earth:

• to rescue man
• to prepare the earth
• to restore it to what it should be

A great, tremendous thing this is going to be!

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.' 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" (vs 7-8). Notice, brethren, how real this is. Remember this: If God has said it, it is as good as done!

Verse 9: "And he said to me, 'Write…'" That's why we have the book of Revelation written down. There would be no way to understand the events at the end-time without the book of Revelation and then that interprets the rest of the prophecies of the Bible. All those prophecies in the Old Testament referring to the end-time must fit into the events of the things of the book of Revelation.

"'…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).

Then he saw a tremendous thing happen, v 11: "And I saw heaven open; and behold, a white horse… [this one is Christ] …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, 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." (vs 11-13). That we know, the other name we don't!

Verse 14: "And the armies in heaven were following Him on white horses…" That's all of us; we're going to come down with Christ.

• We are going to know what to do.
• We are going to know where to go.
• We are going to understand how to proceed.
• We are going to be given the power and understanding to help the human beings that live through all of this.

Some of them are going to live through it. We will have the power to heal them, to restore them, to especially help heal their minds and emotions of all the things that they went through, seeing all of these things that will have occurred on the earth.

Verse 15: "And out of His mouth goes a sharp sword…" His Word! The Word of God is like a sword and it cuts asunder! In this case He's going to order the destruction of those armies, like it says in Zech. 14, and their flesh is going to fall right off their bones. And all their weapons will drop to the ground and the whole gathering of these armies to fight against Christ is going to become one big, giant unbelievable blood bath of blood, guts, flesh and bones!

Verse 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… [God is going to have His cleanup party] …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, 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 16-21).

This is what the Day of Trumpets pictures. This is a vital day in the Holy Days of God. This is the transition day ending the rule of man! The next thing to do is to end the rule of Satan the devil. We will cover that on the next Holy Day, the Day of Atonement.

Scriptural References:

• Leviticus 23:25
• Matthew 10:7-8
• Romans 8:28
• Matthew 24:6-7. 9-14
• Ezekiel 13:1-16
• Daniel 12:1-3, 9-10
• Isaiah 34: 1-2, 4-6, 8
• Jeremiah 25:26-33
• Isaiah 24:1-6
• Haggai 2:6-7
• Zephaniah 1:2-9, 14-18
• Revelation 8:1-3, 5-13
• Revelation 9:1-21
• Revelation 11:14-16, 15-18
• Revelation 16:1-21
• Revelation 19:1-21

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:

• Deuteronomy 16

• Zechariah 12
• Matthew 24:15
• 1 Thessalonians 5
• Revelation 13; 6
• Isaiah 13
• Ezekiel 40-48; 38-39
• Revelation 10
• Isaiah 9
• Luke 13
• Zechariah 14