Trumpets—2005

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Greetings, brethren! Welcome to the Feast Trumpets. Since this day pictures war, famine, death, destruction and every evil thing that is going to be perpetrated against God, against man, against the earth and what God has to do in bringing His vengeance and setting this world aright when Christ returns. I think it's very important that we understand a little bit about how God operates and works.

I'm going to read to you about what William Tyndale wrote concerning suffering and difficulties and things like this. He had a very good insight. All of the commentary and the appendices in The Holy Bible in Its Original Order, A Faithful Version are all important, vital reading for you to do.

William Tyndale single-handedly translated the Old and New Testament and he was martyred for doing so. He understood what he was going through and the very thing that he said before he was choked and burned at that the stake, "Lord, open the king of England's eyes!" And that happened! Within one year after Tyndale died, King Henry XIII made it possible to have the Bible in all the Churches of England in English, which was forbidden before then. So, we need to understand that out of all the death and gloom and doom there's a blessing coming, and the blessing is going to be the Kingdom of God.

Tyndall writes of the things concerning his experiences:

This is written [the things in the Old Testament] for our learning: for verily He is a true God; and is our God as well as theirs; and His promises are with us, as well as with them; and He [is] present with us, as well as He was with them. If we ask, we shall obtain; if we knock, He will open; if we seek, we shall find; if we thirst, His Truth shall fulfill our lust [desire], Christ is with us until the world's end. Let His little flock be bold therefore. If God be on our side, what matter maketh it who be against us, be they bishops, cardinals, popes, or whatsoever names they will?

We can add authorities, policemen, government officials, soldiers, mobs, whatever; because all of those things—if we live much longer—we are going see take place. We have to be fortified with:

• the Truth of God
• the Spirit of God
• the knowledge of God
• the Word of God

—and we have to be able to realize how God works. And understand this: Christ died for us and Christ also died for the whole world! We need to make up our minds and also understand that if Christ died for us, and we want His death applied to us if there comes a time that like William Tyndale we have to die for Christ, then we be most willing.

Mark this also, if God send thee to the sea, and promise to go with thee, and to bring thee safe to land, He will raise up a tempest against thee, to prove whether thou wilt abide by His Word, and that thou mayest feel thy faith, and perceive His goodness. For if it were always fair weather, and thou never brought into such jeopardy, whence His mercy only delivered thee, thy faith should be but a presumption, and thou shouldest be ever unthankful to God and merciless unto thy neighbor.

Which describes this generation.

If God promised riches, the way thereto is poverty. Whom He loveth, him He chasteneth: Whom He exalteth, He casteth down:  whom He saveth, He damneth first….If He promises life, He slayeth first;… [and that's what baptism is all about] …when He buildeth, He casteth all down first.

That's what's going to happen with the Feast of Trumpets. God is not going to come to this earth and just slightly modify and change a few things and Voila! the Kingdom of God is on earth! No!He's got to destroy it all! We need to understand that. If all of Babylon the Great—the whole world's system, which this day pictures, and the final judgment against us—is going to be awesome and all inclusive and all destructive. We need to understand that.

He is no patcher; He cannot build on another man's foundation.

Everything that is in the world is on the foundation of Satan the devil, and this end-time, occult, Satan-worshiping society is going to suffer the vengeance and judgment of God.

He will not work until all be past remedy, and be brought unto such a case, that men may see, how that His hand, His power, His goodness and truth, hath wrought altogether. He will let no man be partaker with Him of His praise and glory…. [that is any other god, any other man] …His works are wonderful, and contrary unto man's works. Whoever, saving He, delivered His own Son, His only Son, His dear Son, unto the death, and that for His love again, and of love to do likewise to other men, and to overcome them with well doing?

Of course, that's going to be our mission after we return to the earth with Jesus Christ, after the resurrection. Let's understand something as this relates to the return of Jesus Christ. We know the basic times and the basic seasons, how all the days will fall together. It's going to be actually impossible—because of all the things that will take place in the heavens—to know exactly when the day will be. Of course, that's what Jesus told His disciples was the authority of His Father.

1-Thessalonians 5:1: "Now then, concerning the times and the seasons, brethren… [they understood through the seasons] …there is no need that I write to you; for you yourselves understand perfectly that the Day of the Lord… [that's what this day pictures it is theday of the Lord] …will come exactly as a thief comes by night….. [it's going to come unexpectedly] …For when they say, 'Peace and security,' then sudden destruction will come upon them, as travail comes upon a woman who is with child; and they shall by no means escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness that the day of the Lord should overtake you as a thief" (vs 1-4).

God has given us understanding, and it's part of the blessing that was given for reading the book of Revelation. Let's overlap this, because from Pentecost down to Trumpets the two are connected; and all the time during Pentecost up to Trumpets are all the events that are laid out in the Bible that leads up to the literal return of Jesus Christ. Here is what Peter preached, and this comes from Joel 2:

Acts 2:17: "'And it shall come to pass in the last days,' says God, 'that I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh…'" We saw how that would be with the great innumerable multitude and the 144,000.

"…and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; and even upon My servants and upon My handmaids will I pour out My Spirit in those days, and they shall prophesy" (vs 17-18). God will always give us the strength. You need to understand that! God promises that He will put us through nothing that we cannot endure, and He will give us the help to do so!

Verse 19: "And I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and vapors of smoke." We're going to see all of that, because all the weapons of God are going to encompass all of the things that He's talking about here:

Verse 20: "The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord." We're going to look at that and how this comes about.

Let's review Rev. 6 just a little bit. Right in the middle of events that are taking place, we saw the sixth seal open and the heavens rolled back as a scroll. This is the first of the shaking of the earth that God is going to do. Then He intervenes and seals the 144,000 and the great innumerable multitude. This helps fulfill that 'whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.' Also, we need to understand that these things are prophesied in the Old Testament. We're going to look at a lot of those now; we're going to see how the whole Bible is put together in such a way that when we put it together the way that God wants it to be put together, it gives us understanding and knowledge, and it gives us the understanding of God's will and how it's going to be done.

There are a lot of ministers and preachers out there who preach about the Day of the Lord and, yes, we are to pray 'Your kingdom come'; it is to come and it will come and there is no doubt about it! But a lot of them use the Day of the Lord as a means to furthering their own ends. But that's not the way that God wants it to be.

Amos 5:18 "Woe to those desiring the Day of the LORD! What is this for you? The Day of the LORD is darkness and not light." If you're not under God's protection, and if you're just out here in the world, you don't know what's going on.

Here's what it's going to be like, v 19: "As if a man fled from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house and leaned his hand on the wall, and a snake bit him. Shall not the Day of the LORD be darkness and not light? Even very dark, and no brightness in it?" (vs 19-20). We don't want to use it for our own means.

Let's see what the Day of the Lord is going to be like, and let's see why it has to happen, and why it has to be so absolutely destructive. It is literally going to shake the earth to its very foundations. Let's understand what the condition of the world is going to be in. God has a controversy with all the nations. All the nations on earth are going to be involved. God is sending a warning! He's going to send more warning! And, as we saw, the two witnesses are going to be doing their witnessing and so forth.
Jeremiah 25:26: "And all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world, which are on the face of the earth…" What is depicted by the Feast of Trumpets and the return of Jesus Christ is going to involve the whole world—all nations! all people! It's not going to be done in a corner. There's no such thing as a 'secret rapture.' It just isn't going to happen.

This is what God is going to do, v 30: "And prophesy against them all these words… [this is meant for all the nations of the world] …and say unto them, 'The LORD shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from His Holy habitation…..'" That's what's going to happen when the heavens roll back as a scroll (Rev. 6:12).

"'…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'" (v 30). We'll see a little later, the harvest of the wicked is likened unto harvesting grapes that are being tread out. And all of the juice that flows from the grapes is symbolic of all of the human blood that is going to be shed by the armies that come to fight against Christ.

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). We're going to see that (Rev. 9).

Verse 33: "And the slain of the LORD shall be at that day from one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth…" This just doesn't mean land as you look at a landscape in the area of Palestine.

Verse 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…"—from one end of the earth to the other.

Verse 33: "'…they shall not be mourned, nor gathered, nor buried. They shall be as dung on the ground.'" It's going to be a time like Jesus said, when alas! God would intervene! And He says, 'those days are limited.' God set aside the limitation at the end of three and a half years. He said, 'If those days were not limited, there should be no flesh saved alive. But for the elect's sake'—that's you and I, brethren, and all of the saints that have been down through history—'those days will be shortened.' And also for our sakes, because after all the death and destruction that goes on, we're going to be given the job to bring the world back into the way that God wants it to be and to help heal all the wounds and help rebuild from all of the destruction.

Let's see what this is going to be like. Let's come to the book of Zephaniah. This time is called the Day of the Lord, which means it is the Lord's Day! This is when the Lord is going to fight! It's going to be a great day! an awesome day! and we're going to see how spectacular this is going to be.

Zephaniah 1:14: "The great Day of the LORD is near; it is near and comes swiftly… [in our day today it's nearer than it ever was] …the sound of the day of the LORD. The mighty man shall cry bitterly there. That day is a day of wrath…" (vs 14-15). When God sets His hand for a day of wrath, it is going to be that!

"…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 15-16)—against all the armies of the world.

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.'" We're going to see all of this when we get to the book of Revelation, and see that when God sets His hand to bring His wrath and His vengeance, it is going to be awesome, indeed!

Verse 18: "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."

Now then, He talks about the Church here—Zephaniah 2:1: "Gather yourselves together; yea, gather together, O nation not desired." That's talking about the resurrection; that's when we will be gathered.

Let's see that's talking about us when it comes time for the resurrection. Here's a promise from God:

Isaiah 66:5: "Hear the Word of the LORD, you who tremble at His Word, 'Your brethren who hated you, who cast you out for My name's sake, said, "Let the LORD be glorified." But He will appear to your joy and they will be ashamed.' A sound of noise from the city, a sound from the temple, the sound of the LORD repaying His enemies. 'Before she travailed, she gave birth; before her pain came, she delivered a man child. Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things like these? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? Or will a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion travailed, she also gave birth to her children…. [the resurrection] …Will I bring to the birth, and not cause to be born?' says the LORD. 'Shall I cause them to be born, and shut the womb?' says your God?'" (vs 5-9). Of course not! So, at the resurrection we become that nation which is called the Kingdom of God!

Zephaniah 2:1 "Before the decree is brought forth, and the day passes like the chaff; before the fierce anger of the LORD comes upon you, before the day of the LORD'S anger comes upon you. Seek the LORD, all you meek of the earth who have executed His judgment; seek righteousness; seek meekness. It may be that you shall be hidden in the day of the LORD'S anger" (vs 2-3). Yes, that's talking about the resurrection.

Joel 3:1—what God is going to do: "For, behold, in those days and in that time—when I will bring back the exiles of Judah and Jerusalem… [bring them out of captivity] …I will also gather all nations and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat. And I will fight with them there for My people and for My inheritance Israel…" (vs 1-2).

Not only is it going to be a resurrection for the Church, but this is also going to bring the liberty and freedom back to the children of Israel and bring them out of captivity, because He scattered them.

"…whom they have scattered among the nations, and divided My land" (v 2).

Verse 9: "Proclaim this among the nations, 'Prepare for war!' Wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up. Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weak say, 'I am strong.'" (vs 9-10). That's what we're seeing develop now. What do you think we're seeing with North Korea, Iran, India, China and all of those nations? We're going to see how they're all going to be involved at the end-time.

Verse 12: "Let the nations be awakened and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat… [the Valley of Decision] …for there I will sit to judge all the nations all around. Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, come down; for the press is full; the vats overflow—for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision; for the Day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision! The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The LORD shall also roar out of Zion and utter His voice from Jerusalem…. [heavenly Jerusalem] …And the heavens and the earth shall shake. But the LORD will be the hope of His people and the strength of the children of Israel" (vs 12-16).

This is all going to be something how this is all going to take place! I tell you, God is going to shake the heaven and shake the earth! God's judgment is coming on this earth, and it's going to be something!

Isaiah 13:6: "Howl! For the Day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty…. [It's going to be awesome, indeed!] …Therefore, all hands shall be faint, and every man's heart shall melt; and they shall be afraid. Pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them. They shall be in pain like a woman who travails. They shall be amazed at one another, their faces are like blazing fire. Behold, the Day of the LORD comes, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to make the earth a desolation; and He shall destroy the sinners out of it, For the stars of the heavens and their constellations shall not give light; the sun shall be darkened in its going forth, and the moon shall not reflect its light. 'And I will punish the world…'" (vs 6-11).

This is what we need to understand: the Feast of Trumpets pictures—and the reason it is a memorial of blowing of trumpets—God's judgment coming on this world! The whole world is going to fight against Christ!

Verse 11: "And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the tyrants. I will make man more scarce than gold; even man more than the fine gold of Ophir. Therefore, I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall move out of its place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of His fierce anger'" (vs 11-13).

It's quite a thing that's going to happen! Let's see how this is fulfilled in the book of Revelation. Rev. 7 is the next to the last Pentecost—144,000 and great innumerable multitude—you can make that one year from Pentecost to Pentecost. When we come to Trumpets, again, you can make it one year, from the next to the last Trumpets to the last Trumpets. I'm not saying there won't be any more after that. I'm saying before the Kingdom of God is set up on the earth.

When we come to Rev. 8 we find that the wars really begin to change. Here's where God, through Christ, intervenes directly; when we have the seals that are opened, Christ opens them. But here, beginning in Rev. 8, we have God's direct intervention. Instead of men fighting men it's going to be the angels of God fighting against the demons of Satan the devil and men. So, the whole thing changes and becomes far more intense! The thing that we just read we will see are being fulfilled beginning in Rev. 8. This is right after the 144,000 and the great innumerable multitude are sealed, whatever space of time is there.

Revelation 8:1: "Now when He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about a half hour." How long that is in actual fulfillment we don't know, but I suppose we could figure it out if we sat down and put our minds to it; but even at that it would just be a guess. So, after the 144,000 and the great innumerable multitude are sealed, then there is a respite.

After that is over, v 2: "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 2-3). This is before the resurrection. Remember, we have the next to the last Pentecost:

• sealing of the 144,000 and the great innumerable multitude
• then we have that space of time, the half hour
• and that brings us, probably, down to Trumpets
• then we have the trumpet plagues are ready to sound

The resurrection has not occurred, yet, at this point. So wherever we are, if we're still alive, we're praying to God for His blessing, His protection, for watching over us and so forth. Of course, at that time the 144,000 and the great innumerable multitude will also be considered the saints of God.

Verse 5: "And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire from the altar… [this is coming directly from God] …and cast it into the earth; and there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings, and an earthquake." What we see in the book of Rev. is many earthquakes because of all the things that are going on.

Now then, a spectacular sign! The beginning of God's direct intervention in the affairs on earth from heaven, v 6: "Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound their trumpets. And the first angel sounded his trumpet; and there was hail and fire mingled with blood, and it was cast upon the earth; and a third of the trees were burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up" (vs 6-7). We're going to see it talks about green grass again. When you burn up all the grass and then you have the rain, hail and fire, the grass is not going to just sit there and not grow again. So, it's going to start coming back, because these things occur over a period of time.

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." We've seen a lot of things on television where even scientists are predicting that there's going to come a time when something is going to collide with the earth. They've seen how it's happened in the past, and they understand the great, fantastic things that will take place when that happens. We don't know what kind of tsunami waves are going to be a result of the 'casting into the sea,' but it's going to be awesome.

Verse 9: "And a third of the living creatures that were in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed." There are tens of thousands of ships sailing the ocean all the time; a third of them will be destroyed.

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." If you want to discover your History Channel, you see that there was a time, just after the turn of the 19th century—I think it was 1903—that in Siberia that there was a star that exploded right over Siberia. They have records of it. It flattened vast areas of the forest. That's what this is going to be like. So it's something!

Here's what's going to happen, v 11: "Now the name of the star is Wormwood; and a third of the waters became wormwood; and many men died from drinking the waters because they were made bitter. Then the fourth angel sounded his trumpet; and a third of the sun was smitten, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars; so that a third of them were darkened; and a third part of the day did not shine, and likewise a third part of the night" (vs 11-12).

Think what that does to all calendar calculations at this point. That's why I say, you cannot know exactly and precisely when it's going to happen. Furthermore, all of that is reserved to the authority of God the Father. So, what we are reading as we go through this is how God exercises that authority to carry out what He has planned to do. He's letting men do the things that they're doing, and all of this is going to lead up to these events that are prophesied in the book of Revelation.

Just when you think it can't get any worse, you haven't seen anything, yet, because God is going to do a full job. Like William Tyndale said, 'God is no patcher!' He's not going to come back, and 'let's just rearrange everything.' No! Before anything is done, it's got to be destroyed, and that's what God is going to do.

Verse 13: "And I looked; and I heard an angel flying in the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice… [everyone on earth is going to be able to hear this]: …'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.'"

After this happens, Satan gets all his armies together now and gets going; demons held in captivity and prison are released; all hell begins to break loose on this earth. Satan knows he has but a 'short time.' The nations of the world are going to be preparing to fight against each other unto the death!

That's what we find in 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 where many of the demons are imprisoned.

Verse 2: "And he opened the bottomless abyss; and there went up smoke from the pit, like the smoke of a great furnace…" This is showing all the demons coming out of the darkness of their being imprisoned in the abyss.

"…and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke from the pit. Then locusts came onto the earth from the smoke; and power was given to them, as the scorpions of the earth have power" (vs 2-3). They are going to unite with the different soldiers that are involved here.

If we understand the prophecies correctly, they have to be the armies of the King of the North. They're going to be greatly enforced with this power. They are going to feel that they are going to be able to resolve the situation, control the world, fight against 'the aliens' from outer-space, because they're going to begin to realize, yes, there is an invasion coming from outer-space, and yes, there are aliens in outer-space. Not as the world depicts it:

• God is an alien to them!
• Christ is an alien to them!
• The angels of God are aliens to them!

When the resurrection occurs:

• We will also be alien to them!

This is going to be something when all this takes place and all these demons come out!

Verse 4: "And it was said to them that they should not damage the grass of the earth…" Before it said all the green grass was burned up; here it came back. With one-third of the trees destroyed, one-third of the waters in wormwood and so forth, they have to conserve these things.

"…or any green thing, or any tree, but only the men who did not have the seal of God in their foreheads" (v 4).

That's why the 144,000 and the great innumerable multitude were sealed when they were. The only other men—God's people—who are still alive in the flesh at that time, who have not been martyred, are those who are in a place of safety. God sends a few to a place of safety. Don't worry about going. Don't wonder where it is. If you go, you'll know where it is when you get there. If you don't go, you're going to give your life in martyrdom. So, it is really knowledge that God has to Himself, and it isn't going to do you any good one way or the other if you're not faithful to God.

Here's what's going to happen, v 5: "And it was given to them that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months…" Whatever this is, it's going to be like a nerve attack for five months! This the King of the North going against the kings of the east. He's going to stymie them for a while. For five months, it's going to look like he's going to have time to gather his armies together and be victorious.

"…and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings a man. And in those days men will seek death but will not find it; and they will desire to die, but death will flee from them" (vs 5-6). This is really quite a battle that's going on!

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Verse 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." Some people say that may sound like helicopters, but if you listen to it very carefully, it could also sound like a jet taking off.

Verse 10: "And they had tails like scorpions, and stingers; and they were given power to injure men with their tails for five months."

This is that super secret, demonic weapon. Let me just mention this. If you want some very interesting information about WWII, on the History Channel there is a section that is called The Fourth Reichand the Occult and the weapons that they were able to derive because of demonic teaching. I think you'll find that very, very interesting and profound, and you will see that God had to intervene to bring an end to WWII because it was not yet time for all of these things to be. Obviously, this tells us where they are from and what they are.

Verse 11: "And they have over them a king, the angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but the name he has in Greek is Apollyon." This is Satan the devil; this is Satan's army, and all the other demons on the other side going north and east. You can look at a map of the world and you can see from the area of Palestine going straight north and all the way east to the kings of the east. These men are going to come in an army such as the world has never seen. Again, it's going to be men and demons fighting each other.

Verse 12: "The first woe is past. Behold, after these things two more woes are still to come. 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.'…. [notice how specific the plan of God is] …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… [This is going to be an awesome, awesome battle! This is all before we get to the seven last plagues.] …and the number of the armies of the horsemen was two hundred thousand thousand; and I heard the number of them" (vs 12-16).

: That is a vast army spread over a large area. They're not all going to be there in the Holy Land. They're not all going to be there in what we call Babylon. But it's going to be the armies going all the way north and east. They will come! Just like in major battle with major armies, you cannot commit all your troops at one time in one place, so, there will be waves of these. And part of this army of 200-million is going to be part of the armies we will see in Rev. 16.

Verse 17: "And so, I saw the horses in the vision, and those sitting on them, who had fiery breastplates…" We read about how their faces were like fire. Well, here they have 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" (v 17). Exactly what kind of weapons these are going to be we don't know, but they're going to be awesome, and the weapons they are developing now are really something indeed! They are going to be able to kill and destroy like never in the history of the world.

Verse 18: "By these three, a third of men were killed…" When you go back to Rev. 6 and you take a fourth of humanity was killed and then you come to a third and you come to a third, everything is being whittled down.

"…by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone that shoot out of their mouths…. [They're just going to be ZAPPED!] …For their power is in their mouths; for their tails are like serpents, and have heads, and with them they inflict wounds" (vs 18-19). This sounds like some kind of super-tank to me.

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…" What we're dealing with here, God's last act of mercy was with the 144,000 and the great innumerable multitude; now we're dealing with those who won't repent. We are dealing with those who have totally given themselves over to the forces of Satan and the demons of this world, and all the powers and principalities that are existing in Satan's kingdom.

"…that they might not worship demons…" (v 20). That gets into witchcraft, the occult and all of the things that this world is preparing for the ushering in right now of Satan the devil; his worship and the worship of the antichrist the beast.

"…and idols of gold and silver and brass and stone and wood, which do not have the power to see, nor to hear, nor to walk. And they did not repent of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornications, nor of their thievery" (vs 20-21).

This is going to be a viciousness that's going to make Genghis Khan and his hordes, which came from the east—of course, that was an historical fore-type of what we are going to see—look like pikers, indeed! Hardly even worth considering as armies, and yet, look how much Genghis Khan was able to conquer all the way from Mongolia, China, India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Iran, the Holy Land, clear up into Budapest and on up into Russia itself, with one of the greatest empires the world has ever seen.

Now, here's going to be a repeat of that. That's why China is rising to the power that it is rising. I read a very interesting article on what's happening in Mongolia. So, we need to watch China, the whole Far East and India. They're all going to be involved in this army of 200-million. When you stop and think about how big an army that is, let's use a little comparison: During WWII the maximum number of soldiers, including all armies everywhere was 35-million! This is six times that number. This is awesome!

Then we have a little interlude here in Rev. 10 about the 'seven thunders' and what they were going to do. It's quite interesting. It's so bad what the 'seven thunders' are going to do, that God commanded John 'do not write' what the seventhunders are going to do. We don't know what they are. And I'll tell you something here, any man who says he knows what the seven thunders are doesn't know, because the Bible doesn't tell us and God didn't even tell John—the one who had the vision—so how can any man today say he knows what the seven thunders are. Whatever they are, they're going to be absolutely awesome.

Now let's come forward here in Rev. 11, because when we find in time order, the way that things flow:

• beginning with John and then the seven churches
• Rev. 4 & 5 shows the preparation in heaven for the end-time events
• Rev. 6—has the six seals
• Rev. 7—the sealing of the 144,000 and the great innumerable multitude

We covered Rev. 8, 9 & 10. Now then, we come to Rev. 11; this has to go back in time to bring us up to where we left off in Rev. 10. The end of Rev. 11 brings us up to the time that we are dealing with. From the time of Rev. 6 & 7—the sealing of the 144,000—we're dealing from Pentecost to Pentecost. Then Rev. 8 to the end, we're dealing from Trumpets to Trumpets. Rev. 11 brings us in the journey from Trumpets to Trumpets, but we have to cross the Pentecost line again. That's what we find in chapter 11.

When the two witnesses' ministry ends they are resurrected. They are the last two martyred and the first two resurrected. As they are ascending into heaven, we find:

Revelation 11:13: "And in that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell; and seven thousand men were killed in the earthquake. And the rest were filled with fear, and gave glory to the God of heaven. The second woe is past. Behold, the third woe is coming immediately" (vs 13-14). That means right after that the seventh angel sounds. So, right here in the middle of this great battle that has been taking place (Rev. 9) all of a sudden here is this great event that takes place—the seventh trumpet sounds.

Let's understand, as I've pointed out before, every Holy Day they were to blow the Trumpets. At the Feast of Trumpets, however, they were to blow all day long! Remember, the Feast of Trumpets is trumpets, not trumpet. As we saw concerning the resurrection on Pentecost, the seventh trump sounded—and that's the last trump, that's when the resurrection takes place, and that has got to be on Pentecost as we see from the flow of the rest of the chronology in the book of Rev.

Verse 15: "Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, 'The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ, and He shall reign into the ages of eternity'"—and the resurrection takes place. I don't know if those on the earth are going to be able to see the resurrection taking place, but it's very possible that they will.

If they see the resurrection taking place, remember: the angels are going to gather all those who are resurrected from all over the earth and carry them to the Sea of Glass. All the saints—New Testament/Old Testament—will all be there together on the Sea of Glass, as we've covered on Pentecost. As the world sees this taking place I wonder what they're going to think? Is it like in the alien movies that now here is a mass kidnapping of millions of human beings? We don't know, but they're surely going to think something, and it's surely going to affect what they're going to do. We'll see what happens here. So, the seventh angel sounded and it's proclaimed that the kingdoms now belong to Christ.

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…. [the beginning of the reigning of Christ] …For the nations were angry, and Your wrath has come…" (vs 16-18). The wrath of God, as depicted in the seven last plagues, is going to come; the judgment is going to 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.'…. [notice that something else happens]: …And the temple of God in heaven was opened…" (vs 18-19). All of those who are resurrected—the saints of God—are going to see this. I don't know if those on the earth are going to see this, but nevertheless…

"…and the Ark of His Covenant was seen in His temple; and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunders, and an earthquake and great hail" (v 19). What an announcement that is going to be! That's something!

• Rev. 12—tells us about the Church
• Rev. 13—the beast and the false prophet
• Rev. 14—the 144,000 of the earth who will probably constitute the bride of Christ

The last part of Rev. 14—we're sort of going to cross paths again with Pentecost, as the chronology goes. But this time we're going to concentrate on the harvesting of the wicked. It's going to be quite a thing. We already saw the prophecy of it: 'Thrust in your sickle for the harvest is ripe.'

Here's what happens after the saints are all resurrected. It's kind of a 'go back and catch up' Just like if you watch a movie. You can't understand the movie unless you go back and fill in the background and bring it up to a certain point. That's exactly how the book of Rev. does—this is what we have here.

Right after the resurrection takes place, all the saints are gathered and put on the Sea of Glass.

• Christ is there
• we'll be able to see the temple
• we'll be able to see God the Father

All the things that have to take place on the Sea of Glass requires the time from Pentecost to Trumpets to take place. Here's what's going to happen when it's time for the harvest again. The trumpet is to blow again on the Feast of Trumpets.

Revelation 14:17: "Then another angel, who also had a sharp sickle, came out of the temple that is in heaven. And out from the altar came another angel, who had authority over fire; and he called with a loud cry to the one who had the sharp sickle, saying, 'Thrust in your sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the earth, because her grapes are fully ripe'" (vs 17-18). This is gathering them to the Valley of Decision.

Verse 19: "And the angel thrust his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast its fruit into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood spewed out from the winepress as high as the horses' bridles, to the distance of a thousand six hundred furlongs" (vs 19-20). So, the armies coming to fight are going to be a tremendous thing!

Let's look at some of the prophecies which describe this in the Old Testament. Let's see what's going to happen to the earth from this time on, prophesied in:

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 because of all of the earthquakes and all of the turmoil that's going forth and shaking the heavens and shaking the earth.

Verse 2: "And as it is with the people, so it shall be with the priest; as with the slave, so with the master; as with the handmaid, so it is with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the creditor, so with the debtor. The earth shall be completely laid waste, and utterly stripped; for the LORD has spoken this word. The earth mourns and languishes; the world withers and languishes; the proud people of the earth wither" (vs 2-4)—because God is shaking the earth and all these events are going on! Awesome!

We don't know if this is describing what the seven thunders do, but I tell you what, it certainly shows what the earth is going to be like.

Verse 5: "And the earth is defiled under its people; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, and have broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore, the curse has devoured the earth, and they who dwell in it are desolate; therefore, the people of the earth are burned, and few men are left" (vs 5-6). That's exactly what we're reading in the book of Rev.—isn't it?

Now, just a little bit about mercy. We can be thankful that God has a second resurrection. Most of these people will repent at that time, but not at this time.

Verse 18: "And it shall be, he who flees from the sound of dread shall fall into the pit. And he who comes up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare, for the windows from on high are opened… [that's what we saw] …and the foundations of the earth quake. The earth is broken, yea broken down!.…" (vs 18-19). We will see that will take place in its finality with the seven last plagues.

"…the earth is crumbling, yea crumbling to pieces!.… [torn asunder] …The earth is tottering, yea tottering! Like a drunkard the earth is staggering, yea staggering!.…" (vs 19-20). We know this is going to happen because of the tsunami that took place in Indonesia. When that took place it was registered that it affected the whole earth—just that one tsunami. Think what it's going to be like with all of the war going on and all of the earthquakes taking place, and all of the things that are coming from the heavens upon men.

"…And it rocks to and fro like a tree hut! And its transgressions are heavy upon it; and it shall fall and not rise again" (v 20). So, this world's system under Satan the devil will not rise again!

Verse 21: "And it shall come to pass in that day, the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth." It's talking about punishing the demons and Satan the devil; that takes place right after the day of the Feast of Trumpets.

Verse 22: "And they shall be gathered, as prisoners are gathered in a dungeon. And they shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days they shall be punished…. [that's what we see in Rev. 20] …Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun shall be ashamed, for the LORD of hosts shall reign in Mount Zion, in Jerusalem, and gloriously before His elders" (vs 22-23). That's exactly the scene that we are going to see in Rev. 15:6. That's quite a thing that took place. This is a prophecy of those things that we read in Revelation.

What's important is that God has promised that vengeance is His; judgment is His. We are going to see that God is going to fulfill that in the presence of all of the saints, who are now resurrected on the Sea of Glass and are getting ready to come back with Christ to fight on this earth. Jesus said, when He was standing before Pilate: 'If My kingdom were of this world then would My servants fight.' And that's when we are going to fight, and we can be guaranteed a victory!

Now we're going to go beyond Pentecost and the events that take place between Pentecost and the next Trumpets. Here we have all the saints on the Sea of Glass. We see the temple of God there. We see the temple of God open and here's what we see:

Revelation 15:6: "And the seven angels who had the seven last plagues came out of the temple… [directly from God] …they were clothed in linen, pure and bright, and girded about the chest with golden breastplates. And one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden vials, full of the wrath of God, Who lives into the ages of eternity. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from His power; and no one was able to enter inside the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled" (vs 6-8).

What we're going to see is a final destruction of everything that is in this world. In spite of all the destruction there are going to be people who survive. Just like when you watch some of the documentaries and all the bombings that took place and see the fly-over of all the bombed-out cities in Germany, there were people who survived. Likewise, there will be people who will survive this. They will enter into the beginning of the government of God, through the Kingdom of God, as Christ and the saints set it up on earth. Here's what's going to happen:

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.'" It's not going to happen until God gives the command.

Verse 2: "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." They're going to get their retribution—every one! And we don't know what it's going to be like, but it's probably going to be very much like the boils that afflicted them when God brought the plagues in Egypt. These plagues that we find here, of the seven last plagues, are very much like the plagues that God brought upon Egypt—only intensified now for the whole world.

Verse 3: "And the second angel wentand poured out his vial into the sea; and it became blood… [all the oceans will become blood] …like that of a dead man; and every living soul in the sea died." You can imagine how God is going to have to recreate the oceans after everything dying—to purify it.

Verse 4: "And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers, and into the fountains of waters; and they became blood."

• they want war
• they want blood
• they want death and destruction

God is going to give it to them big time! Now, lest people think that God is not righteous; lest people think that this is overmuch that God is doing, let's understand, no this isn't! Let's see what the angels say of this:

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).

How much is your blood worth to God? God is going to bring out His judgment upon them, because the death of the martyrs of Christ who die and shed their blood is precious to God.

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). What kind of firestorm that's going to be from the sun! It's going to be like a great, sudden sunburst or explosion of solar flares. It's going to be huge and gigantic, and when it reaches the earth:

Verse 9: "Then men were scorched with great heat; and they blasphemed the name of God…" So, they survive this; many will die, but some survive it.

Notice, rather than falling on their faces and repenting; no, they blaspheme the name of God: "…Who has authority over these plagues, and did not repent to give Him glory…. [Some people just don't get it!] …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" (vs 9-10). Darkness that's so intense and so heavy that it causes pain. Neither did they repent. Just like Pharaoh hardened his heart any time these things came upon him and Egypt.

"…and blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores; yet they did not repent of their works" (vs 10-11). Amazing thing! Yet, it's not done! They still want to fight. Satan hasn't given up. Satan will not give up until he is cast into the abyss and the seal is put over him. Even then he won't give up. He's just restrained.

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." The armies are going to be able to roll toward the Holy Land to their final destruction. In order for this to occur—because of everything that's taken place—they have to think that they're going to be able to succeed. So, Satan does the last great propaganda program.

Verse 13: "Then I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet; for they are spirits of demons working miracles, going forth to the kings of the earth, even of the whole world, to gather them together to the battle of that great day of the Almighty God" (vs 13-14). This is the battle of Armageddon!

They've got to be convinced! Here's all of this powerful, high-level demonic persuasion to come and fight. 'We see this vast thing in the air over Jerusalem, and if we can get everybody together we can come and we can combine all of our weapons, all of our rockets and everything that we have and shoot the aliens out from being over Jerusalem and kill them, and we will be able to reclaim the earth!' Well, they don't know how futile it is to fight against God!

Here's a very interesting warning, v 15: "Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is the one who is watching and is keeping his garments, so that he may not walk naked and they may not see his shame." A message directly to the Laodiceans. As you're reading this, you'd better wake up.

Verse 16: "And he gathered them together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon." The battle of Armageddon is not nation against nation, but the nations of the world against God! They're going to come!

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.'" The plan of God up to that point is finished! No more plagues! No more evil! No more destruction is going to take place once these armies are taken care of.

Verse 18: "And there were voices and thunders and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were on the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. And the great city was divided into three parts; and the cities of the nations fell; and Babylon the Great was remembered before God to give her the cup of the wine of the fury of His wrath" (vs 18-19). You can read about the judgment in Rev. 18, and how that's going to be; it's going to be awesome indeed!

Verse 20: "And every island disappeared, and no mountains were found." God literally has to turn the world upside down in order

• to begin again
• to bury all of the dead
• to get rid of all of the pollution
• to get rid of all of the things that men have made and created

It's going to be awesome, indeed!

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

Now notice, through it all there are still some survivors. When we come to Rev. 19 we see what these survivors do. They never give up! Under Satan the devil they want to keep fighting against God! They want to keep trying to gain the power, and the whole force behind Satan the devil is to try and take over the throne of God that he Satan the devil can be God. That's what all this is about! It's really something.

Revelation 19:11: "And I saw heaven open; and behold, a white horse; 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" (vs 11-12). He had a special singular name from God the Father.

Verse 13: "And He was clothed with a garment dipped in blood; and His name is The Word of God." That's the name that we know, but He has a special name that God the Father knows and Christ knows.

Verse 14: "And the armies in heaven were following Him on white horses…" That's us! This is when we fight! We will all be on our white horses coming down with Christ, on His white horse, and we're going to be coming down to this earth right over the area of Jerusalem. We are going to see the armies all gathered there. We're going to see the ones who survived all these plagues—whatever their weapons will be, whatever is going to happen is going happen—God is going unleash His secret weapons; and it goes out of His mouth.

Verse 15: "And out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He might smite the nations; and He shall shepherd them with an iron rod; and He treads the winepress of the fury and the wrath of the Almighty God." You go back and tie in Joel 3; Rev. 14, and here's when it happens:

Verse 16: "And on His garment and on His thigh He has a name written: King of kings and Lord of lords…. [He has many names] …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 clean up all of this rotting flesh] …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" (vs 16-19). Here is the final battle of the ages!

Verse 20: "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… [that ends their lives; the final battle is concluded] …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 20-21).

Now let's read the prophecy of this, and it tells us exactly what's going to happen after we saw that happen in Rev. 19.

Zechariah 14:3 "And the LORD shall go out and fight against those nations, as when He fought in the day of battle. And His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives…" (vs 3-4). That's where He left when He ascended and told His disciples, 'You go to Jerusalem.' He's going to come right back to the Mt. of Olives.

"…shall split in two, from the east and to the west, and make a very great valley. And half of the mountain shall move toward the north, and half of it toward the south" (v 4). Probably another great mountain that God is raising up underneath as an earthquake hits.

Verse 9: "And the LORD shall be King over all the earth; in that day there shall be one LORD, and His name shall be one."

That fulfills the last part of v 5: "…And the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with You." That's what happens. Then we find the secret weapon. All those that are fighting against Him, when He gives the command, their flesh is just going to fall right off their bodies. No one is going to be able to stop that.

This is the meaning of the Feast of Trumpets, and this is why it sure is a tremendous day and a memorial of the blowing of trumpets all day long. All of the events and all of the wars and all of the fighting that takes place in the Day of the Lord—that very last year of the three and half years—is going to be awesome indeed! Now we're ready for the rest of the story as it continues on the Day of Atonement!

All Scriptures from The Holy Bible in Its Original Order, A Faithful Version by Fred R. Coulter

Scriptural References:

• 1 Thessalonians 5:1-4
• Acts 2:17-20
• Amos 5:18-20
• Jeremiah 25:26, 30-33, 26, 33
• Zephaniah 1:14-18
• Zephaniah 2:1
• Isaiah 66:5-9
• Zephaniah 2:2-3
• Joel 3:1-2, 9-10, 12-16
• Isaiah 13:6-13
• Revelation 8:1-3, 5-13
• Revelation 9:1-6, 9-21
• Revelation 11:13-19
• Revelation 14:17-20
• Isaiah 24:1-6, 18-23
• Revelation 15:6-8
• Revelation 16:1-21
• Revelation 19:11-21
• Zechariah 14:2-4, 9, 5

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:

• Joel 2
• Revelation 6:12; 9; 7; 10; 4; 5; 12; 13; 18; 20

FRC:bo
Transcribed: 4-19-10
Reformatted: 5/2014