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And greetings, brethren. This is the Feast of Trumpets, the year 2002. And every time we observe a holy day we always go to Leviticus 23. And now that we’ve progressed through all the way through to Pentecost up to Trumpets, it’s very interesting that there is a span of time from Pentecost unto Trumpets. And that span of time really is quite interesting. And that symbolizes the time from the beginning of the church until the return of Christ. And so that’s why we have a variable time that is in there, and that’s why it is difficult to pin down exactly the year when Christ is going to return. And so let’s back here to Leviticus 23, and let’s see that the Feast of Trumpets is a very profound feast, and it is a feast that is a war feast.
Now let’s read it here, Leviticus 23, and just a short three verses. Verse 23, “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation.” And these trumpets were blown all day long. “Ye shall do no servile work therein: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD” (Lev. 23:23-25). And of course we follow the commands of God to take up an offering, so we take up an offering with each one of the holy days, as God shows us here in Leviticus 23. And God shows in every situation what we are to do.
Now God judges our heart. God judges our mind. God judges our very lives. Yes, we’re under the grace of God. Yes, we’re under the freedom that Christ has given us. And so therefore with something so important, and something so precious as eternal life and ruling in the kingdom of God, which is going to be the greatest treasure that is ever in our whole existence. Then you need to calculate that in relationship to coming before the Lord, and not coming before Him empty; and coming before Him considering the blessings that the Lord your God has given you. So with that we’ll go ahead and pause and we’ll take up the offering at this time.
(Pause)
Now let’s first of all begin by going to Psalm 81, because this is a very good Psalm. This is a Psalm concerning the Feast of Trumpets. And also concerning the Feast of Tabernacles because the first day of the seventh month is the day which is calculated for the calculated Hebrew calendar, for determining all of the holy days. And here in Psalm 81 it gives us some very interesting things that we need to consider, and we need to understand.
Verse 1, “Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob. Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery. Blow up the trumpet in the new moon,…” Now that’s the new moon for the year, the new moon of the seventh month. “…In the time appointed, on our solemn feast day” (Psa. 81:1-3). And of course the only new moon feast that we keep is the Feast of Trumpets, which is the new moon.
Now then, “For this was a statute for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob. This he ordained in Joseph for a testimony,…” So it goes clear back to the time of Joseph and comes forward to now. “…When he went out through the land of Egypt: where I heard a language that I understood not” (vs. 4-5). Now when it comes down here for “the new moon in the appointed time, on our solemn feast”. Now back in verse 3, “solemn feast”, that means the Feast of Tabernacles. We have the new moon, begins the first day of the seventh month. Then the Feast of Tabernacles, because this, in the Hebrew, is the feast day is the full moon. So there are two things that need to be coordinated with the calculated Hebrew calendar for the seventh month. That is the first day of the month, and the fifteenth day of the month. And the fifteenth day of the month must have a full moon because that is the Feast of Tabernacles. So we have right in this verse a little bit of calendar education for us, and understanding how the calculated Hebrew calendar works.
Well this feast is a war feast. And let’s go back to the book of Judges. Let’s come to Judges 7, and let’s see the account of Gideon and the 300 men that went on the battle that the LORD chose to fight. Now isn’t it interesting where this is typical of a New Testament example, isn’t it? The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. Many are called but few are chosen. Now when Gideon sent out the message for “let’s go fight the enemy”, what happened? Thirty thousand men showed up. But God only chose 300. And He chose them in very peculiar way. That is, those who lapped water as a dog.
Now then Judges 7:7, “And the LORD said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other people go every man unto his place.” So they went ahead. They went to their place. He formed the battle plan. The battle plan was this: “You’re going to go out this night, and you’re going to take a lantern. And you’re going to put a pot over that lantern. We’re going to take the 300 men and separate them out into three different approaches to the Midianites. And when I break the pot over my lamp and blow the trumpet, all of the rest of you do the same thing.”
And so, let’s come down here to verse 19. “So Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came unto the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch [that’s approximately about midnight]; and they had but newly set the watch: and they blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers that were in their hands. And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow withal: and they cried, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon. And they stood every man in his place round about the camp:…” (vs. 19-21). And then what happened? God caused the enemy to just fight against themselves and kill themselves. So you see, God’s way of destroying the enemy is quite a bit different than we would suppose. And I think God has a lot of surprises for those armies in the end-time that come to fight against Christ and how He’s going to fight them. And it’s going to be as spectacular, in it’s own way, as this was unusual and spectacular in it’s way.
Now, let’s come here to Ezekiel 33 and let’s see that there is also a spiritual responsibility when we have a watchman. Now let’s understand something. This ties in very clearly with Matthew 24. Let’s go to Ezekiel 33 please. Because Matthew 24 says, “And this gospel shall be preached as a witness in all the world, and then shall the end come.”
Now here in Ezekiel 33, this tells of the duty of the watchman. Let’s pick it up here in verse 7. “So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel;…” Now a lot of people claim that the watchman sitting on the wall, according to Ezekiel, you see, but God has to make it clear who’s He’s using, and when it’s going to be used, and in which generation it is going to be used. And God says that it will be done. But here is the duty. “…Therefore thou shalt hear the word at My mouth, and warn them from Me.” That’s why the duty of those who are the watchmen, or the duty of those who are the teachers or the shepherds is to preach the word in season, be instant in season and out of season, and also to rebuke, to correct, to warn, to give witness, and all of these things are part of it. So we have the watchman here, and here is what he is to do.
Now he is to do this whether he’s accepted or not. And sometimes there are things that have to be said that it really doesn’t matter whether anyone accepts it or not, it’s because God said so. And if God has said so, then it’s going to happen. So He says, “When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand” (vs. 8). Now we could cover that in many principles and many different ways. So you think about it.
“Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it;…” And that’s the whole purpose of what God wants. God wants there to be repentance. “…If he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul. Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of Israel; Thus ye speak, saying, If our [iniquities] transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live? Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked;…” Now you see, when we’re coming to the end-time, this end-time message and witness is going to be powerful and profound, and the two witnesses of Revelation 11 will do a great deal of this. Because God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked. But nevertheless, He still has to execute His judgment, and execute His vengeance, and the Feast of Trumpets pictures that, and that day is coming. He says, “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?” (vs. 9-11).
Now when we go back and review a little bit concerning Pentecost, what do we find? We find that there were those, the children of Israel, who were in captivity, and the great innumerable multitude who repented and came out of great tribulation, and God was merciful to them. Now we’ll see the prophecy of that a little bit later, as we go along.
Now, let’s look at this concerning what is going to happen, and how it’s going to happen, and that this pictures the events at the end-time. Now let’s look at a couple of scriptures here which show this for us. Let’s first of all come to Jeremiah 25, because what is going to happen is going to happen. Christ is going to return, and all of this is as inevitable as the rising and the setting of the sun. Now Jeremiah 25 is quite a thing. Jeremiah is to take this cup and take it to all nations, and they are all to drink of it.
Jeremiah 25:15, “For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at My hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it. And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them. Then took I the cup at the LORD’S hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the LORD had sent me:…” (Jer. 25:15-17). And it starts right out at Jerusalem. And it comes right down to verse 26, listing all the nations, all the kings, all the kingdoms of this world.
Now verse 26, “And all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world, which are upon the face of the earth:…” Now when it says “all the kingdoms of the world which are upon the face of the earth”, that is an all inclusive statement. So the Feast of Trumpets, picturing the Day of the Lord, and the return of Christ, is going to effect everything on this globe. Nothing is going to escape. We’ll see that.
“Therefore thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Drink ye, and be drunken, and spue, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you. And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ye shall certainly drink. For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by My name [Jerusalem], and should ye be utterly unpunished?” Of course not. “Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the LORD of hosts” (vs. 27-29). Now you talk about a world war. That makes this war on terrorism look just like a sandbox, really.
“Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words, and say unto them, The LORD shall roar from on high, and utter His voice from His holy habitation; He shall mightily roar upon His habitation; He shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth.” And we’ll see that, the grapes that are going to be trodden down at Armageddon. “A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the LORD hath a controversy with the nations,…” All the nations of the world. They have all gone against God. They have all broken His laws. They have all rejected Jesus Christ. They have all gone after the beast and the false prophet, and this controversy is going to be settled by God, and He’s going to win. Now notice what happens. “…He will plead with all flesh; He will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the LORD. Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth. And the slain of the LORD shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground” (vs. 30-33).
Now, Jesus also talked about this same time. He talked about it very clearly. While we’re going back to the New Testament, let’s stop off at Joel 3 for just a minute, and we will see exactly how this is coming about, even in our day. Joel 3. It comes right after Hosea. You have Daniel, then Hosea, then Joel. Joel 3:9. “Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up:…” And that’s what we’re going to see. We’re going to see a massive buildup of war in all nations. “Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause Thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD. Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there…”, God says, “…will I sit to judge all the heathen round about” (Joel 3:9-12). And we’ll come back to the rest of that in just a bit.
Let’s come to Matthew 24, and let’s see the time that we are entering into, which is going to be an awesome time indeed. And that’s why, living at the end-time, a lot of people say, “Oh, I wish Christ would return just as quickly as possible.” Well, let’s understand a couple of things. Number one, you don’t know what you are asking for, because you don’t understand the fullness and the magnitude of what’s going to happen. Number two, it’s going to be on schedule the way that God the Father has set the schedule. And so those things will happen according to God’s way and God’s plan. Now as we look out and we see prophecy and see the things happening in the world, sometimes it looks like, boy, it’s going to come real quickly. And then we look at it and it looks like, wow, it may be a whole lot longer than we’ve anticipated. But either way, in our lifetimes, we have to be prepared because we don’t know how long we are going to live, we don’t know how long it’s going to be to the end, but one thing we do know: when the end comes, then it’s going to set forth the events which are going to end in the resurrection of the saints and the return of Jesus Christ.
Now let’s come here to Matthew 24:14. “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations;…” And that has to be in this generation at the end. And I believe “this generation” is the generation of those who have been nurtured on occultism and Harry Potter, and all this sort of thing. That is the generation that’s going to worship Satan. That is the generation that is going to reject God. That is the generation that thinks that they’re going to be able to solve all of their problems. And it’s going to be a witness to come upon them. Then shall the end come. Not until that is done.
Now here is a key event. Verse 15, because this is the event that triggers the Great Tribulation. “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) …” So this tells us there will be a temple built. This tells us there will be a holy place. This tells us that the abomination as described by the apostle Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2, the man of sin, the son of perdition who exalts himself above all that is called God or worshipped as God, and sits in the temple of God, giving himself out that he is God. That’s the abomination that makes desolate. That’s why the parenthetical statement is put in here “whoso readeth, let him understand.”
Now at that time, those in Judea, they have just a few minutes to think about what they’re going to do, and run to the hills. “Then…”, Christ says, “…let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house: neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.” So it’s going to come that fast. And it’s going to happen very quickly. “And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: for then shall be great tribulation,…” Just like we read in Jeremiah 25. “The slain of the LORD shall be from one end of the earth unto the other end of the earth.” “…Be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened[limited]…” Now it says shortened here, but the Greek really means “limited”. In other words, God has set aside a limited time for the great tribulation, and that, as we understand it, is 3 ½ years. God is not going to intervene and cut the prophecy short. God is not going to intervene and cut the time short. Everything is right on schedule. And that’s why it should read “limited”. And if He hadn’t set the limitation on the time, “…there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened [limited]” (vs. 16-22). Now God is doing this for the elect. For those who have the Spirit of God now. So that’s quite a thing when you understand that this whole prophecy has been built around for the sake of the elect. And so it is going to come. It is going to be quite a time.
Let’s go back to Daniel 12 and let’s see again, what God says about the end-time and what it’s going to be like. It’s going to be an awesome time indeed. Daniel 12:1, “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of Thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.” So the main thing we need to do, you see, if your name is written in the book of life then you’re taken care of. Whether you live through all of this, whether you go to a place of safety, or whether you die and are put in your place of safety, the grave, before Christ returns, you’re taken care of . You shall be delivered. That’s what God says. So as we go through this I want you to understand that though that we are going to cover some of the most fearsome things that are going to take place in the whole history of the world, the whole history of mankind, if you have the Spirit of God, if your name is written in the book of life, you are secure. So you don’t have to worry, and fret, and stew about that.
Now, since we’re here in the Old Testament, let’s go to the book of Zephaniah. Now Zephaniah is just two back from Zechariah. So you have Zachariah, Haggai, then Zephaniah. Let’s come to the first chapter of Zephaniah, ok? Again, I want you to notice how God is going to start at Jerusalem, and it’s going to go around the world, and it’s going to end at Jerusalem. Very interesting, isn’t it?
Zephaniah 1:12, “And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The LORD will not do good, neither will He do evil.” Because God is just way off there, and God is sort of an ethereal glob, and God is not a person. And we are going to manage everything ourselves. We’re going to work it out for ourselves. Well, it isn’t going to work that way.
Verse 13, “Therefore their goods shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation: they shall also build houses, but not inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, but not drink the wine thereof. The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers. And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men,…” Now we’re going to see what happens when all of this takes place in just a bit. Here’s the reason: “…because they have sinned against the LORD: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD’S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of His jealousy: for He shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land” (vs. 13-18).
Then He gives just a little bit of respite right here in chapter 2, verse 1. “Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired; before the decree bring forth [before the decree that the end is going to be here], before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD come upon you, before the day of the LORD’S anger come upon you. Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought His judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD’S anger” (Zeph. 2:1-3). So that’s what they need to do. Now you see, God always gives a time of repentance.
Now let’s come back to Revelation 6. Now we’re going to cover a little territory. A little are that we covered with the Feast of Pentecost, but let’s see how all this ties in. Let’s see how the Day of the LORD is going to be announced to the world. Revelation 6. Let’s begin with the sixth seal, verse 12. This is how the Day of the LORD is going to be announced. It’s going to be an awesome day, indeed.
“And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll…” (Rev. 6:12-14). The heavens are going to open and it’s going to be a startling event that is going to take place. And it’s going to be an awesome thing, an unheard of thing, and the world is going to prepare to fight Christ. When the heavens are rolled back as a scroll the sign of the Son of Man appears in the heaven, and it’s like a big burst of light that lightens the whole heavens. And then looks like a sun and becomes closer, and closer, and closer, and closer to the earth. While it’s still out there in the heavens, before it gets close enough to the earth, as the earth turns and rotates on its axis, it’s going to look like a second sun that’s coming to the earth. It’s going to be a phenomenal thing for all to behold.
Now let’s come back here to verse 14. Let’s see what happens when this takes place. It is going to affect the earth. God says in Haggai 2, He’s going to shake the heavens. He’s going to shake the earth. He’s going to shake the dry land. He’s going to shake the seas. You see, God is all powerful, and God is Almighty. And this is going to happen. That’s why we keep this Feast of Trumpets because it shows and reminds us the power of God, the return of Christ, and the judgment against the wicked, and how God views this world and what God is going to do to it.
“…Every mountain and island were moved out of their places.” Now when you read the book of Revelation, there are many earthquakes that take place. Not just one or two - many. “And the kings of the earth,…” Now these are the leaders. These are the ones. This is the beast with the ten horns and the seven heads. “…And the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains [it’s like all the generals], and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of His wrath is come;…”, and that is the Day of the LORD, and that’s what this Feast pictures. “…And who shall be able to stand?” (vs. 14-17).
Ok, let’s come back here to Isaiah 2 and let’s see this. It tells us about the same thing. Here it was prophesied back here. All the security that men have will be all gone. Everything that men trusted in is going to fail, because you see, unless you trust in God, unless you trust in Jesus Christ and God the Father, everything else is going to fail. Let’s pick it up here in Isaiah 2:10. “Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust [see how this ties in with Revelation 6], for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of His majesty. The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low:…” (Isa. 2:10-12). Now when we get into Revelation 8 and 9, we’re going to see that when God brings these plagues, they don’t repent. That’s because they are exalted.
Now let’s come down here to verse 17. “And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. And the idols He shall utterly abolish. And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of His majesty, when He ariseth to shake terribly the earth. In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself…” Now what were they to do, Revelation 13? Make an image, or an idol for the beast. And make an image and an idol of the beast. These are their gods. “…Which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; to go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of His majesty, when He ariseth to shake terribly the earth” (vs. 17-21). Now I tell you, it’s going to be an awesome day when that happens. This feast is really something.
Now in the middle of all of that, just like we found in the book of Revelation, what did we find there? Chapter 6, the Day of the LORD is right there with the pulling back of the heavens as a scroll. And then God reaches down and shows mercy. The 144,000 are saved, and the great innumerable multitude are saved. Now let’s come back to Joel 2 and let’s see where that was prophesied. This ties right in with it exactly. Joel 2:28. Now isn’t it interesting how we saw that on Pentecost that’s when 144,000 and the great innumerable multitude are sealed. Notice this right here, Joel 2:28. Here is a prophecy of it. And which Peter mentioned, by the way, in Acts 2 at the giving of the Holy Spirit at the temple in Jerusalem when the church began in 30 AD.
“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: and also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out My Spirit. And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come. And it shall come to pass..” Now here’s the promise which brings us the understanding of Revelation 7, of the 144,000 and great innumerable multitude that are saved out of great tribulation, “…Shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call” (Joel 2:28-32). So the very last remnant that God calls are those back there in Revelation 7.
Now, let’s see how this develops even further. Let’s come to Isaiah 13, and let’s see why this is coming. Because this is also part of the judgment that is upon Babylon the Great. And remember, it says, “Babylon the Great is fallen, is fallen.” And that means it will never rise again. And Babylon, we know, will be the whole world at that time. The Great Babylon.
Now let’s pick it up in Isaiah 13:1. “The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz did see. Lift ye up a banner upon the high mountain, exalt the voice unto them, shake the hand, that they may go into the gates of the nobles. I have commanded My sanctified ones, I have also called My mighty ones for Mine anger, even them that rejoice in My highness. The noise of a multitude in the mountains, like as of a great people; a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together: the LORD of hosts mustereth the host of the battle.” And we’re going to see that is going to be an awesome army, indeed. “They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, even the LORD, and the weapons of His indignation, to destroy the whole land” (Isa. 13:1-5). You see, after all of this is done the whole earth is going to be in one great giant shambles.
Verse 6, “Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.” They aren’t going to be able to fight against the weapons that God has. “Therefore shall all hands 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 as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames. Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land [waste] desolate: and He shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine” (vs. 6-10).
Verse 11, and God says, “And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity;…” So you see, because God right now at this time does not come down with judgment and death against the wicked, don’t think that God is slack. It’s coming. Inevitably, it is coming. “…And I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.” Now that’s the terrible one, or the beast power of Revelation 13. “I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir. Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place,…” God is going to shake the earth so much that it says in another place that it will be like a drunken man, reeling to and fro. That’s why there are going to be a lot of earthquakes taking place. God rises to shake the heavens and the earth, it’s going to be something. “…Remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of His fierce anger” (vs. 11-13). And so this is what this day pictures. This day, the Feast of Trumpets pictures the wrath of God, the judgment of God, the warring of God against the sinners of this earth, and right in the middle of it the saving of all of those who will repent.
Now let’s come to Isaiah 34 and let’s see how this goes even further. This is quite a thing. I mean this is really quite a feast day. And this pictures…that’s why there is memorial of the blowing of trumpets. It’s not just a war, it is the war. Isaiah 34:1, “Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it. For the indignation of the LORD is upon all nations, and His fury upon all their armies:…” All of their super weapons and everything will be of no avail. He will utterly destroy them. “…He hath delivered them to the slaughter. Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcases, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood. And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree. For My sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Idumea [and that means, the land of blood], and upon the people of My curse, to judgment. The sword of the LORD is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for the LORD hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea” (Isa. 34:1-6).
Well, we’re going to go to the book of Revelation now, and we’re going to see how all of these things will transpire and come down to the time when Christ returns to the earth and all the saints with Him, to begin to set this world in order.
Part 2
Now let’s come to Revelation 8 and let’s see the fulfilling of the Feast of Trumpets as each of the seven trumpets blow. Now we saw how that God sealed the 144,000 and great innumerable multitude on the last Pentecost before the resurrection, which occurs one year later on Pentecost. Now, the events that begin here for the Feast of Trumpets undoubtedly begin on the last Feast of Trumpets before Christ and the saints put their feet on the earth on that Feast of Trumpets, which gives just about one year in length for all of these things to take place. Now we’re going to see that there’s a period of time involved as we go through this.
Now we saw what happened when the sixth seal was opened. Now let’s come to chapter 8 and let’s see the seventh seal is opened. Verse 1, “And when he had opened the seventh seal,…” Now out of the seventh seal we will see there will be seven trumpet plagues. “…When he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets. And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne” (Rev. 8:1-3). So the saints are busily praying here, asking God for protection, for His help, for His guidance, for His deliverance, and the return of Christ, and the coming kingdom.
“And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake” (vs. 5). So here’s another great earthquake. We’re going to see by the time we get done with this, there are at least three or four great earthquakes which take place, because God said He’s going to shake the heavens, He’s going to shake the earth, He’s going to shake the sea, shake the dry land.
Now verse 6, “And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.” Now the first trumpet plagues come in quite rapid succession. And there’s a reason for it. And then we will see it takes longer for the other ones, the remaining ones to take place.
Verse 7, “The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part [very important] of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.” Now remember that, because that’s important when we come to chapter 9. “And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;…” Now you see, when God begins to intervene with His wrath, it is going to be some awesome series of events that’s going to take place. This is no just human war. This is angelic war against the inhabitants of the earth, against the earth, and as we’re going to see in just a little bit, against the demons of Satan the devil. So this is an awesome battle indeed. Now when the third part of the sea became blood, “… and the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed” (vs. 7-9). Now I don’t know if you’ve seen the move “The Perfect Storm”, how you have this one big wave and it wipes everything out. Well, that’s probably what’s going to happen, and this is cast into the sea.
Verse 8 and 9, the second angel, cast it into the sea. Now verse 10, “And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; and the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter” (vs. 10-11). Now remember what happened to the Nile River when Moses and Aaron were there. Now remember the two witnesses are there doing their thing, just like Moses and Aaron were there doing their thing.
Let’s just take a little break here and turn a couple pages and come back to Revelation 11. Let’s see what the two witnesses are doing all the time this is going on. This is part of it too. Now notice verse 3. Now I’ve had people come and tell me that they know who the two witnesses are. Well, I’ve got a sermon that I gave on that, “Who Are The Two Witnesses and Elijah At The End Time”. If you don’t have that tape be sure and write for it. But I tell you what, no man is going to point himself to that position. Other men are not going to proclaim that these two are the two witnesses. God alone is going to make the choice. He is going to make it clear who they are, and He is going to empower them, not men.
As He says, “And I will give power unto My two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.” So it’s a direct connection from them to God. God gives them great power. God gives them great authority. And standing before God, they are going to be so powerful, and their ministry is going to be such a witness, and they are going to keep telling the world, “Christ is coming, the end is here, and if you don’t repent, you’re going to be destroyed.” And of course, they’re not going to repent. They’re going to try and get them. Verse 5, “And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.” That is, attempt to hurt them. “These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will” (Rev. 11:3-6).
Now then, you tie that in together with what’s happening back here in chapter 8. So at the same time the two witnesses have this power, you have the angels now bringing the wrath of God upon the earth. Now this is not really the wrath of God. This is part of the vengeance of God. The wrath of God is saved for Revelation 16. We’ll get to that in just a little bit here. Now let’s come back here to Revelation 8 and let’s see what the fourth angel does.
“And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise. And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!” (Rev. 8:12-13). So now the awesome events are going to take place, even greater than these. We’re going to see that this is so powerful and this is so profound, and men are going to be so absolutely unrepentant, and unyielding to God that it is just going to be an awesome thing to see.
Now, Revelation 9:1, “And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the [abyss] bottomless pit. And he opened the [abyss] bottomless pit;…” Now, on Atonement we’re going to see that’s where Satan is cast. So here is where all of the demons are in prison. “…And there arose a smoke out of the pit,…” All the demons are let loose. Now it is war of the angels of God against the demons of Satan, and Satan himself. Of course Satan always uses men. “…And the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth:…” Awesome weapons, whatever they are, but that’s what it looked like. “…And unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth,…” Well now over here it says it burned up all the green grass. What happens when grass is burned up? Well, over a period of time it starts growing back again. Grass grows back quite rapidly. So here now it’s such a precious thing. “And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads” (Rev. 9:1-4). And that’s why the 144,000 and great innumerable multitude were sealed.
Now then, this vengeance comes upon those who are not sealed. “And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months:…” So here we have a five month period here, don’t we, showing a period of time. So this fifth angel sounding gives us clearly here, as demonstrated, a period of five months. “…And their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man. And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron;…” (vs. 5-9), showing how strong and mighty these armies are.
It kind of reminds me of, in just reading this, and what we’re going to read here about the army of 200 million, it kind of reminds me, there was a movie that came out some time ago called the “Universal Soldier”. And we’re going to see that is really what they’re trying to do with the armies. And how they’re going to equip them and so forth. They no longer are human beings. They have been trained, their minds have been so absolutely brainwashed and steeled, so that they are going to be the universal soldier which can kill upon command. Probably have sensors in them. Probably have implanted chips in them. It’s going to be an awesome thing. These future armies… I’ll read about it here in just a minute, are going to be something else.
Let’s continue on here now. “…And the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months. And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.” None other than Satan the devil. Now when this five months is over, it says verse 12, “One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter” (vs. 9-12).
Now this is going to be an awesome thing. Verse 13, “And the sixth angel sounded,…” That is, sounded the trumpet. “…And I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.” It’s like we read earlier, the slain of the LORD shall be from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth. “And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand [or, 200 million]:…” (vs. 13-16). An awesome army. The biggest army that has ever been. So if you think we’ve seen any military buildup in proportion to that, and these armies are going to come from the east. We haven’t seen anything yet. So that day is coming. This army is going to be built. It is going to be equipped, it is going to be furnished, and it’s going to have awesome powers indeed.
Let’s read it here. “And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths. For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt” (vs. 17-19).
Now, let me read you something from Inside Magazine, May 6, 2002. “Technology - Army fatigues to get a make over. MIT, which is the military Massachusetts Institute of Technology, aims to develop a high-tech body suit for military within five years.” It starts out with a question. “What if soldiers wore uniforms that could shield them from bullets and poison gas, heal wounds, make them leap over 20 foot walls? The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), is going to try to achieve these lofty goals under a $50 million grant with the Army to develop an institute for soldier nano-technology.” Now, nano-technology is the coming thing. Nano-technology is this: you can build whatever you desire to build, one atom at a time. And mark these words - they are going to combine the implantable chip with nano-technology, and they are going to control all of those who receive the mark of the beast. No doubt about it. Just a matter of time. What we saw in the sermon I gave some months ago, “The Mark of the Beast is Here”, that’s just a start. How it’s going to finish will be an entirely different proposition.
“The university is aiming to create high-tech uniforms within the next five years.” Then it says continuing on here, it’s already begun. It began in May. “Our goal is to greatly enhance the protection and survivability of the infantry soldier.” What they’re going to focus on - six key capacities:
- Threat detection
- Threat neutralization: that is body proof clothing. And they have body proof clothing now that can stop even three bullets being shot into the same place.
- Concealment
- Enhanced human performance: Now enhanced means with computer chips in them, and training and ability just like the movie “The Universal Soldier.”
- Real time, automated medical treatment: which means right in the uniform that they are going to wear, they will have antibiotics and medicine right there so if there is a wound - bam, automatically the healing starts taking place.
- Reduced logistical footprint. They’re going to lighten the load of what they carry from 145 pounds to 45 pounds.
“If we can provide our soldiers with more resources, more protection with half the weight, that would be a huge step forward for us”, says the Army spokesman. “The new uniforms will be made out of lightweight molecular material that make the clothing as hard as metal, act as a cast when a soldier breaks a leg, and applies medicine to wounds. They would also alert the soldiers of the presence of poison gas, or biological agents, and transmit soldiers locations to the command post.” They could look on the screen and see where every soldier is. “In addition, the uniforms will change color to imitate the outward environment, making the soldiers nearly invisible to the enemy. They will feature spring-loaded combat boots that will let soldiers leap over 20 foot walls. The university will also work on a way for the uniform to recover and distill the soldiers sweat to use as drinking water. Imagine the psychological impact upon a foe when encountering squads of seemingly invincible warriors protected by armor, and endowed with super-human capacities.” And not only super-human capacities, but yea, demonic capacities which will be added to this, as we’ve just seen in Revelation 8.
Now let’s come back to the book of Joel 2 and let’s see the army. Let’s see where it talks about exactly the same thing that I read here in this article that has been prophesied in the book of Joel. Awesome thing indeed, isn’t it? Let’s pick it up here in Joel 2:1, “Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in My holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand; a day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be anymore after it, even to the years of many generations” (Joel 2:1-2). Now notice how the description of this ties in with Revelation 9 and the army of 200 million coming from the east, as the way has been prepared for them to cross the great river Euphrates.
“A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them. The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run. Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array.” Did we just read the coming battle array that they will be set in? Very possibly so. “Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness. They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks:…” (vs. 3-7). Because nothing can kill them. This will be super-human strength. Human beings in these armies with all of these things to make them almost invincible of human against human, but now possessed with the demons let out of the great abyss.
“Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded.” How about that? Isn’t that what it says right here in this article? Yes. “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 be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining:…” Awesome thing indeed. And this is coming, brethren. This is coming. “And the LORD shall utter His voice before His army: for His camp is very great: for He is strong that executeth His word: for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide [in] it?” (vs. 8-11). Awesome thing indeed, isn’t it? Quite a thing. It’s really something that we look….
Now let’s come back to Revelation 9, and let’s carry this forward. Let’s see what’s going to happen. Boy, when these armies are turned loose and they start fighting each other, I tell you what, that’s why God has to protect and seal the 144,000 and the great innumerable multitude. And for those who are in a place of safety, God has to supernaturally protect them. You see, there is no way that any human device is going to save any single individual at this time. It is either going to be by the power of God that they are saved and protected, or it is going to be utter death for about 90% of humanity on the earth.
Now let’s come back here to Revelation 9, and let’s pick it up beginning in verse 20. “And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands [no repentance], that they should not worship [demons] devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts” (Rev. 9:20-21). So hard-hearted, so mentally steeled, so demon-possessed that nothing can reach them.
Now when that happens then something else is going to take place. Chapter 10. “And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire: and he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea; and his left foot on the earth, and cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write:…”, says John, “…and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not” (Rev. 10:1-4). And no one knows what they are. No one can say what they are. Any speculation is void, because it was sealed. And who’s the only one that opens something that God seals? Only Christ.
“And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, and sware by Him that liveth for ever and ever, Who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be [delay] time no longer:…” It doesn’t mean time. It means delay. “But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound,…” When the seventh angel sounds “…the mystery of God should be finished, as He hath declared to His servants the prophets” (vs. 5-7). And that’s when the first resurrection takes place. Now we’re all the way from Trumpets, all the way down now to Pentecost, first resurrection takes place, and meet Christ in the air on the sea of glass.
Now let’s come back here to Revelation 11 and let’s pick it up here in verse 14. “The second woe is past; and, behold the third woe cometh [not just quickly, but immediately] quickly. And the seventh angel sounded;…” That’s the resurrection. That is Pentecost. “…And there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever” (Rev. 11:14-15). And then it shows here the scene with the 24 elders falling down and worshipping God, and so forth.
Now let’s come over to Revelation 14. Now let’s look at the harvest that is going to take place. This is the harvest of the wicked. And so in a sense the Feast of Trumpets is somewhat a harvest feast, but not for the first resurrection. It is a harvest feast of the wicked. Now let’s pick it up here Revelation 14:17. “And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden without the city [that’s Jerusalem], and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs” (Rev. 14:17-20).
Now hold your place here and let’s come back to the book of Joel. Let’s see where this was prophesied. Joel 3:12. This is the prophecy of Revelation 14, and the harvest of the wicked. “Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats 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 also shall 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” (Joel 3:12-16).
Now let’s come back to Revelation 15, and let’s see the seven last plagues, which is the wrath of God. All of this is building up for the final Feast of Trumpets when the saints and Christ come back to the earth. Revelation 15. All the saints are on the sea of glass. The marriage of the Lamb has taken place. The rewards have been given. Now all the saints have fulfilled for them, the promise of God that they will see the vengeance of God. And the seven last plagues are the vengeance of God and ends at the Feast of Trumpets with Christ returning, and all the saints with Him.
Now verse 5. “And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened: and the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles” (Rev. 15:5-6).
And so let’s come down here to Revelation 16:1. “And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.” So you see, you have the seven seals which Christ opens, and out of the seventh seal comes the seven trumpet plagues, and out of the seventh trumpet then we have the resurrection, and now the seven last plagues. Now notice how they are very similar to the trumpet plagues, but this time more intense, and this time directed upon all of those who have rejected God. As He said, it is multitudes, and multitudes in the valley of decision, for God is judging all nations.
“And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.” See, because those who take the mark of the beast are going to become no better than dogs on leashes. “And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.” Everything is going to die this time. “And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood” (vs. 2-4). A lot of people say, “Oh my. God is just being wicked and evil and cruel to judge this way.” But that’s not so. After all of what mankind has done to God, and said about God, and rejecting God, and rejecting Christ, and worshipping Satan, and idols, and statues, and demons. Notice what the angels say.
“And I heard the angel of the waters say, thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because Thou hast judged thus. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and Thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy. And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Thy judgments.” Yes, they are worthy of it. “And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat,…” And in all of this they don’t repent. They are so given over to Satan the devil, and given over to the beast, and given their minds over through the power of the mark of the beast that they are no longer capable of really accepting anything that God gives. So they blaspheme God. “…And they repented not to give Him glory” (vs. 5-9).
“And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness;…” Now again, this hearkens right back to what happened in Egypt when God was bringing the children of Israel out of Egypt, and pouring the plagues upon the Egyptians. “…And they gnawed their tongues for pain, and blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.” So here, all the way through they’re not repenting. “And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates;…” So here it is, it’s going to be dried up the second time. “…That the way of the kings of the east might be prepared” (vs. 10-12). Because you see, that whole army of 200 million didn’t come the first time. Part of them came. Now here come some more.
Now in order to convince them that they’re going to win this battle… and of course just like Satan the devil always does, he thinks he’s going to win in spite of all of the circumstances against him. But he is not going to win. So here’s what happens. “And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon [Satan the devil], and out of the mouth of the beast [the one who’s proclaimed to the god on earth], and out of the mouth of the false prophet [whoever the last Pope will be]. For they are the spirits of [demons] devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty” (vs. 13-14). Quite a thing. They’re going to be deluded. They’re going to think, “Yes, we can do this. Yes, we see this invasion from outer space. Now if we marshal all of the rest of our forces, and we come and do it together united against Him, we are going to triumph.” No, it isn’t going to work that way.
Now let’s come down here to verse 16. “And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon [which is where the valley of Jehoshaphat is]. And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.” You see, in order for God to start all over again in the millennium, He’s got to destroy everything that men have made that they think make them great. “And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell:…” I hope you’ve been watching some of these things on some of the buildings they are proposing to build. They are proposing to build buildings that just to way up into the atmosphere, and be able to withstand earthquakes, and be able to withstand windstorms, and all this sort of thing. But they won’t be able to withstand this coming against them as described here in Revelation 16. So cities fell. “…And great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found” (vs. 16-20). This is literally going to turn everything upside down. It’s like it says there in Isaiah 40. Every valley is going to be exalted. Every hill and mountain made low, and the crooked is going to be made straight, and the straight is going to be made crooked. It is going to be an awesome thing. In order to destroy everything that man has done and start all over again, and start right with Christ as King, the saints as kings and priests to rule with Him and bring God’s righteous, and loving, and kind, and good government to this world.
“And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, everystone about the weight of a talent [180 pounds]:…” Now no weapon, no man is going to be able to withstand that. God is going to finish it. This is what you call icing the victory, if I could put it that way. “…And men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great” (vs. 21). Boy, what a time that is.
Now then we’re all on the sea of glass, watching this take place. Now when that takes place, I’m sure the order is going to go out, “Get on your horses, get ready to go, we’re coming back to the earth.” Just like it says there in Zechariah 14. In that day His feet are going to stand on the Mount of Olives. And it’s going to split in two. And we’re coming down with Christ to war. We’re coming down to finish the battle. We’re coming down to set the world straight.
Now notice Revelation 19:11, “An I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True,…” This is Christ, returning to the earth. And all the splendor, and power, and glory of God the Father. “…And in righteousness He doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns; and He had a name written, that no man knew, but He Himself. And He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven [that’s all of us coming off the sea of glass] followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of His mouth goeth a sharp [two-edged] sword, that with it He should smite the nations: and He shall rule them with a rod of iron: and He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God” (Rev. 19:11-15). It’s going to be an undeniable thing.
“And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” And it will never be turned back. And it will never be changed. And men will never go against God again. “And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; that ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great” (vs. 16-18). There’s going to be an awesome destruction. Remember it says that the blood is going to run up to the horses bridle, which is about this deep, for 180 miles. Quite an awesome thing indeed.
Then immediate judgment takes place. “And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.” So they are the first two judged. “And the remnant were slain with the sword of Him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of His mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh” (vs. 20-21).
This Feast of Trumpets pictures an awesome thing indeed. The wrath of God. The return of Jesus Christ, and the saints to the earth. And we’ll see the next thing that has to be done before the millennial reign begins and peace on earth. But you have to come back for Atonement for that.
