Prepare Spiritually, for the Day of the LORD is Near

Greetings, brethren! Welcome to the Feast of Trumpets! We keep going down in time and things continue to happen and unfold. Yet, the greatest fulfillment of prophecies are ahead of us. The Feast of Trumpets figures into this very, very greatly. When we come to Lev. 23, we find that the Feast of Trumpets is the first day of the seventh month, and it also is the base for calculating the Calculated Hebrew Calendar.

What we are going to see is that in the Old Testament there is very little mentioned of the Feast of Trumpets, the first day of the seventh month. What we will see as we go through all of these Holy Days—Trumpets, Atonement, Tabernacles and the Last Great Day—that the understanding of these days God has reserved to be understood only through the book of Revelation. The reason is that these days apply mainly to the end-time; and that's why it's so important that we keep these days.

Here's the command given from God to Moses. As you will see in this, there is no definition or understanding of anything. It's a very simple command.

Leviticus 23:23: "And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 'Speak to the children of Israel saying, "In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, you shall have a Sabbath, a memorial of blowing of ram's horns, a Holy convocation"'" (vs 23-24).

They also blew the silver trumpets. But they had all of these ram's horns that they would blow. The ram's horns were used as time of warning and war. Other than that it doesn't tell us anything, except:

Verse 25: "You shall do no servile work therein but you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD."

Here we are going to see the same thing; Numbers 29:1: "And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a Holy convocation. You shall do no servile work. It is a day of blowing the trumpets to you. And you shall prepare a burnt offering for a sweet savor to the LORD: one young bull, one ram and seven lambs of the first year without blemish. And their grain offering shall be flour mixed with oil, three tenth parts for a bull, two tenth parts for a ram, and one-tenth part for one lamb for the seven lambs… [doesn't tell us about anything] …and one kid of the goats for a sin offering to make an atonement for you; Besides the burnt offering of the month, and its grain offering, and the daily burnt offering, and its grain offering, and their drink offerings, according to their ordinance, for a sweet savor, an offering made by fire to the LORD" (vs 1-6).

Now we know that when we come before God, just like it was here, they were to offer offerings—especially on the Holy Days. So, the Holy Day offerings become an expression of our love, trust and faith in God. We have the promises given to us in Mal. 3, that God will provide for us 'sufficiency in all things,' and we also have through the grace of God that God will provide everything that we need (2-Cor. 9). So, giving tithes and offerings are also an expression of our faith and trust in God!

(pause for offering)

Now, let's see the meaning of the Feast of Trumpets for us today. We're going to coordinate that with all the things that we did leading up to Pentecost and the events after Pentecost so that we get a full picture. It's not until we come to the prophet Isaiah, until there is any inkling of anything concerning the meaning of the day of the Feast of Trumpets.

Psa. 81—here is a Scripture that is greatly misunderstood by people, because it is not properly translated. They get all mixed up concerning new moon and full moon and all that sort of thing. This has been a source—the wrong translation—of many of the calendar problems of people coming along and devising their own calendar. What we need to do instead of getting all self-righteous about the calendar, we just need to understand this and accept the simple fact that God knew that we would be scattered around the world in the end-time!

That actually started with the Jews when they went into captivity into Babylon; they were dispersed into all the other countries. This is why we have the Calculated Hebrew Calendar and we can double-prove by history the accuracy of that calendar; it is absolutely correct! There were some great astronomical events that took place leading up to the sundial going back ten degrees during the days of Hezekiah. Those affected everything concerning the earth. We have an article on that: Heavenly Signs and the Hebrew Calendar.

God gave the Calculated Hebrew Calendar so that His people everywhere in the world would be worshipping God and assembling for the appointed Feasts of God at the appointed time, and all around the world we'd all be keeping the days on the same day. Every other calendar scheme that men have come up with, for whatever reason, is null and void. God provided the Calculated Hebrew Calendar so we would all know when we should keep the Holy Days of God.

Psalm 81:1: "Sing aloud unto God our strength; shout for joy to the God of Jacob. Take up a melody, and strike the drum, the pleasant lyre with the harp. Blow the trumpet at the new moon…" (vs 1-3).

Some people are so foolish as to think that the new moon is a full moon. Well, that's like saying night is day and day is night. It's utterly preposterously foolish. The new moon has never ever, ever, in God's scheme of things, been the full moon.

"…also at the full moon, on our solemn Feast Day…" (vs 1-3).

Now the truth is, for the Holy Days in the spring and in the fall, you must have the new moon and the full moon coordinated so that you have a full moon on the 15th of the 1st month, and a full moon on the 15th of the 7th month. The first one beginning the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the second one beginning the Feast of Tabernacles. Now other than that, we don't have any meaning of the Feast of Trumpets.

We will see a mention of the Feast of the 7th month in Ezra 3:1: "And when the seventh month had come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered themselves as one man to Jerusalem. And Jeshua the son of Jozadak stood up, and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his brethren. And they built the altar of the God of Israel in order to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the Law of Moses the man of God" (vs 1-2). After that they started work on the temple!

Verse 4: "And they kept the Feast of Tabernacles, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number, according to the ordinance, as the duty of every day required."

We also find another reference to it in the book of Nehemiah. The first instance that we read, even though it was in the book of Ezra, that was before the time that Ezra came to Jerusalem—because he came sometime later. When he got there, we find that he taught the people.

Nehemiah 8:1[transcriber's correction] "And all the people gathered themselves as one man into the street before the Water Gate. And they spoke to Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded to Israel."

Remember, Ezra set his heart! He was a priest, he was a scribe, he was the great-grandson of Hilkiah, the priest who was the priest during the days of Josiah. He had the Book of the Law, and he had all the other writings, because it was Ezra who set up 'the great synagogue' to do the canonization of the Old Testament. So, they asked him to come.

Verse 2: "And Ezra the priest brought the Law before the congregation, both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month" (v 2).

Doesn't say anything. What does it mean? Well, they found out that they were to keep the Day of Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles.

We have really nothing that tells us the meaning of this other than it is a day of blowing of trumpets all day long. Let's jump ahead to the book of Revelation, and the reason that the book of Revelation is one of the seven divisions of the Bible is because it requires almost all the rest of the Bible to comprehend the events that are going on here!

As we have been learning, these events are things that are worldwide. These are events that put into place—according to the Holy Days and the framework, which that provides—the understanding of how these events unfold at the end.

Also, when we grasp the understanding of these things, it helps us realize the seasons and the times—but we don't get carried away with setting a specific date. Every man who has set a specific date, has failed because Jesus said, 'No man knows the day, the hour or the time.' We're to know the times and the seasons, the times in relating to how things unfold in prophecy as related to the Holy Days, but we don't know the day.

Now, as we saw with the things concerning the beginning of the return of Christ, which if you look at it this way: in the last three and a half years there are four of every one of the Holy Days: four Passovers, four Unleavened Bread, four Pentecost, four Trumpets and so forth. It's in that framework of the three and a half years that everything fits. Dan. 9 says that the one who becomes the beast—'the prince of the people'—will make a covenant with the world for seven years, 'one week.' And 'in the midst of the week' he will cause the sacrifices and oblations to cease.' He cuts off the sacrifices at the temple that is to be built in Jerusalem, and it will be built!

We find that the second seal from Rev. 6 tells us when the Tribulation begins. We've seen how that approximately two years—a little over two years—into the three and a half year Tribulation, the sign of the Son of man appears in heaven, then the sealing of the 144,000 and the great innumerable multitude.

Look at this way: You have two time-lines for the last year and a half, actually a little less than a year and a half. You have from Pentecost—144,000 and great innumerable multitude sealed—to the next Pentecost, which is one year being the last Pentecost, the resurrection.

Then you also have from Trumpets to Trumpets, which is another year that extends four months further than from Pentecost to Pentecost. You have Trumpets to Trumpets—and with the sermon series: Daniel/Revelation you get a chart and you can see that all laid out.

What we have here—after whatever time it takes, probably from Pentecost until just right at Trumpets—the 144,000 are sealed; the great, innumerable multitude are sealed. Then they are protected by God from that time forward.

Beginning with Rev. 8, we have the introduction of the Trumpet plagues. The reason that these trumpets are blown is to show God's direct intervention in the world! Everything up to that point—until the opening of the heavens like the rolling back of a scroll to reveal the Son of man and the sealing of the 144,000—has been men against men. At this point beginning with the next to the last Feast of Trumpets we have something entirely different.

We need to grasp the fact that we need to understand: The return of Jesus Christ and all of the events associated with it—beginning with the opening of the sixth seal, the rolling back of the heavens as a scroll—is going to be awesome, mind-boggling, and it is going to be so utterly destructive that our minds cannot grasp it!

Rev. 8 & 9 tell us what is going to happen with these trumpet plagues. We know the last one, the third woe, has got to be the first resurrection. Here a new event happens, after the sign of the Son of man appears in heaven. The angels of God begin fighting on the earth against men and the demons of Satan. Now the whole thing shifts. This is why, in the Old Testament the blowing of the ram's horn was to signify that there was war. Now, this signifies war from heaven against rebellious men who will not yield to God! This has to be such a great and gargantuan event that right just before the last Feast of Trumpets occurs, with Christ and the saints putting their feet on the earth, that it has got to mobilize the whole world. Here is the fighting between them as described in:

Revelation 8:1: "Now when He opened the seventh seal…"

• out of the seventh seal comes the seven trumpet plagues
• out of the seventh trumpet comes the seven last plagues

"…there was silence in heaven for about a half hour. Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. And another angel…" (vs 1-3).

This is going to announce it; what an announcement! I want you to stop and think how much the world is being prepared psychologically for these events to take place.

You watch the National Geographic channel, the History Channel and what do many of these programs show? They try and show meteors coming from heaven, and the destructive powers that could come on earth! Picture how men are going to be after seeing the sign of the Son of man begin out there in outer space, looking like an asteroid coming toward the earth. Everybody is jockeying for power: the Beast Power, the kings of the east and so forth. Who is going to control? That's what we will see! God announces His direct intervention in the world, and fighting against rebellious mankind and the demons.

Verse 3: "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."

All the saints at that point includes those who are in a place of safety and all of those who have just been converted—the 144,000 and the great, innumerable multitude. They are praying, 'O God, spare us. Watch out for us.' God does!

Verse 4: "And the smoke of the incense went up before God from the hand of the angel, ascending with the prayers of the saints. And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire from the altar, and cast it into the earth…" (vs 4-5).

What an announcement! Want to fight! Let's really have a fight. You want to destroy! Let's really have some destruction. You won't believe Me. 'You won't repent,' God says. 'Well, I'm going to treat you all as Egypt.' Here come all the plagues on a mammoth scale now, that had been previously been demonstrated in the land of Egypt.

"…and there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings, and an earthquake" (v 5).

As you go through the book of Revelation you're going to see there are many earthquakes, because God said He's going 'shake the heavens, shake the earth, shake the sea, shake the dry ground.' That's going to be a lot of earthquakes.

Verse 6: "Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound their trumpets."

I believe everyone on earth is going to hear these trumpets. It's going to be a shrill blast, just like the ram's horn.

Verse 7: "And the first angel sounded his trumpet; and there was hail and fire mingled with blood, and it was cast upon the earth…"

When we're talking about the earth—in the book of Revelation—the whole world, we're talking about everything, everyone. Remember, the book of Revelation is introduced by what? 'Behold He comes with the clouds and every eye shall see Him!' This affects the whole world.

"…and a third of the trees were burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up" (v 7). Not too many fire departments going to be around to put those out!

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… [startling events are going to take place] …and a third of the sea became blood." Just look at a globe, look at all the water that is there!

Verse 9: "And a third of the living creatures that were in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed. And the third angel sounded his trumpet; and there fell out of heaven a great star, burning like a lamp; and it fell on a third of the rivers, and on the fountains of waters" (vs 9-10)—wherever that is!

Verse 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… [that's why no man knows the day or hour; how can you figure it?] …and a third part of the day did not shine, and likewise a third part of the night" (vs 11-12).

These four come relatively quickly. Just like the first four seals of Rev. 6, they come one, two, three, four, and then a space of time. Now we have here: one, two, three, four, and then a space of time again.

Let's look at some prophecies in the Old Testament, which I just imagine when they read them, they wondered: How will this be? The truth is, you can't understand it until you have the book of Revelation, and that wasn't given until way after the ministry of Jesus Christ and the apostles.

Zephaniah tells us quite a bit about the Day of the Lord and what it's like and so forth. It makes you wonder, what did these prophets think when they received these prophecies. How were they to understand them? They didn't understand them, but they wrote what God gave them to write! As we know, these Holy Days in the fall—Trumpets, Atonement, Tabernacles and Last Great Day—have their fulfillment at the end of the age of mankind.

Zephaniah 1:1: "The Word of the LORD which came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hizkiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah."

That's when they were pretty well having peace. During his reign God gave them rest, God held off the coming invasion of the Babylonians and the captivity until Hezekiah died. They could have had many more years, as you know. But Hezekiah wanted to go out a fight a battle that God told him not go fight. But he went out and fought and he died. So, they only had approximately 12 years of peace. They probably could have had another 20 if Josiah hadn't gotten carried away with his vanity.

Verse 2: "'I will utterly consume all things from the face of the earth,' says the LORD…. [the fulfillment of that could not happen until the seven last plagues] …'I will consume man and beast; I will consume the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, and the stumbling blocks, with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the face of the earth,' says the LORD" (vs 2-3). These are going to be awesome and tremendous events!

Verse 4: "I will also stretch out My hand upon Judah and upon all the people of Jerusalem. And I will cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, the name of the idolatrous priests, with the priests."

Just like they do today: the priests back then were mixing in all the pagan things. 'Oh, we do this unto the Lord because this is good.'

Verse 5: "And those worshiping the host of heaven upon the housetops, and those worshiping, swearing to the LORD, also swearing by Milcom; and those who have turned away from the LORD, and who have not sought the LORD, nor asked of Him.' Be silent before the face of the Lord GOD, for the day of the LORD is at hand… [we see a little bit of the captivity of Jerusalem woven in there with this] …for the LORD has appointed a sacrifice; He has consecrated His guests" (vs 5-7). There are two consecrations who are His guests:

• those who have been called to the first resurrection, and they will see the seven last plagues poured out while they're on the Sea of Glass
• all the armies of the world who are consecrated for destruction

Verse 8: "And it shall be in the day of the LORD'S sacrifice, I will punish the rulers, and the king's children, and all who are clothed in strange garments"—etc.

Verse 14: "The great Day of the LORD is near; it is near…" We can say that today: it is near! We also know that our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.

"…and comes swiftly, the sound of the Day of the LORD. The mighty man shall cry bitterly there. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of the ram's horn… [a little bit of Feast of Trumpets in there] …and alarm against the fortified cities, and against the high towers. 'And I will bring distress on men, so that they shall walk as the blind because they have sinned against the LORD…. [we will see this a little later when we come to Rev. 9.] …And their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as dung.' Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole earth shall be devoured by the fire of His jealousy, for He shall make even a full end, yea, a terrible end of all who dwell upon the earth" (vs 14-18).

Given in the days of Josiah, Zephaniah probably thought, 'What is this?' He didn't live to see any of it. These things were prophesied for those of us who live at the end of the age! The biggest fault and mistake people are making within the Church of God now, at the end of the age, is this: All too many are getting all carried away with worshipping and following men who have set themselves up as prophets or two witnesses or apostles or the sole representative of God on earth!

• their day of judgment is at hand
• God is going to deal with them.
• God is going to deal with all the brethren who are silly enough to follow them

We might as well all get right with God, because God is the One Who's going to do all of these things.

• no man is going to lead you to a place of safety
• no man is going to give you the protection that God can give

All of this comes from God! We need to understand that. All the brethren belong to God! They are His property; they are His sheep!

If you want to blither down the highway, following some man proclaiming great authority, you go right ahead, if that is your choice. Why don't you rather choose Christ and His way and follow Him and God the Father.

Zephaniah 2:1: "Gather yourselves together; yea, gather together, O nation not desired; 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… [there's still time, seek God] …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 1-3).

No man is going to protect you, only God! Notice the qualification. That's quite the opposite of men who make great proclamations concerning themselves.

Daniel, in The Holy Bible in Its Original Order, A Faithful Version, is not in the Prophets. The reason it's not in the Prophets is because it was written outside the land of Israel, and therefore, it's in the writings. Nevertheless, he is a Prophet. Daniel is the book just before the book of Ezra. So you have also a chronology of things here:

• Daniel who wrote in Babylon
• Ezra who came out of Babylon and canonized the Old Testament
• Nehemiah because he was there before Ezra came, and also after Ezra came.
• 1st & 2nd Chronicles written by Ezra to finalize the Old Testament

It all makes sense when you put it together!

Daniel 12:1[transcriber's correction]: "And at that time… [this is the time of the end] …Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands for the children of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation… [we have one of the first inklings that these things are going to take place at an end of time] …even until that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered—everyone who shall be found written in the Book"—of Life

Never a time like this; so we'll look at some New Testament Scriptures, which then adds to it. This is why when we read and study the Bible and put it together, we put it 'line upon line, here a little there a little, precept upon precept.' We build Scripture together and see what God is telling us, and let the Scriptures interpret the Scriptures so we have some understanding! That's how we do it!

The book of Joel tells us a lot concerning the Day of the Lord. We're going to see that when we come back to Rev. 9 it is talking about the army that God raises up to do the fighting: evil men against evil men. Evil men and the demons on one hand and evil men and the demons on the other hand, coming together in this great army. They're all coming to Jerusalem. The reason that they're all coming to Jerusalem is because God is going to bring them there. The thing that's going to attract them is that great Sea of Glass that's in the heavens above. They're going to have to come to Jerusalem to try and stop this invasion from outer space.

Joel 1:15: "Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is at hand, and it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty."

That's what the whole book of Revelation is all about. This earth is going to be absolutely devastated beyond recognition, because when Christ and the saints set their feet on the earth, they are going to start all new. They're not going to use the things of men that they have used in the past.

Joel 2:1: "'Blow the ram's horn in Zion, and sound an alarm in My Holy mountain!' Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the Day of the LORD comes, for it is near at hand."

That is the message for this Feast of Trumpets, it is near at hand! We need to ask ourselves:

• How is my spiritual house?
• How is my relationship with God?

Verse 2: "A day of darkness and of gloominess… [tie in Rev. 8] …a day of clouds and of thick darkness. As the morning is spread across the mountains, so comes a great people and a mighty people; there has never been the like… [referring to Rev. 9] …nor shall there ever be again, even to the years of many generations" (vs 1-2).

When Joel gave this, I wonder what he thought? He knew these were the words of God, but he didn't understand them!

Verse 3: "A fire devours before them, and behind them a flame burns. The land is as the Garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness—and nothing shall escape them." We'll see how Revelation brings the interpretation and fulfillment of this!

Verse 4: "Their appearance is as the appearance of horses; and as war horses, so they run. They shall leap with the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains, with the noise of a flame of fire that devours the stubble, like a mighty people set in battle array. In their presence the people shall greatly tremble; all faces shall grow pale. They shall run like mighty men. They shall climb the wall like men of war, and they shall march each one in his path, and they shall not break their ranks. And each one shall not crowd another; they go every one in his own path. And when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded" (vs 4-8)—because they are undoubtedly possessed of demons!

Verse 9: "They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall; they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief. The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble. The sun and the moon shall grow dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining" (vs 9-10)—describing the events in Revelation! Tremendous events! Worldwide events!

Verse 11: "And the LORD shall utter His voice before His army…" How does He utter His voice? Trumpets! One, two, three, four, BOOM! Then we will see the fifth and sixth trumpet.

"…for powerful is He who executes His Word, for the Day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can endure it?" (v 11).

Then it talks about repentance. This is where the 144,000 and the great, innumerable multitude come in.

Verse 12: "'Therefore, even now,' says the LORD, 'turn to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning. Yes, rend your heart and not your garments, and return to the LORD your God: for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and He repents of the evil'" (vs 12-13).

God always honors repentance, and never forget that! If your life has been that you have strayed from God, that you have left the Truth and are coming back, that you have grown lukewarm, God will forgive and He's merciful and gracious and now is the time to return to God.

(go to the next track)

I want you to see and understand how these Scriptures apply to the end-time, and can only be understood with the knowledge of the book of Revelation giving us a sequence and a basic timeframe through the Holy Days. This is why the world can never understand prophecies; because they don't keep the Sabbath and they don't keep the Holy Days. They do not understand the meaning of them.

Joel 3:1: "For, behold, in those days and in that time—when I will bring back the exiles of Judah and Jerusalem—… [which is going to follow right after the return of Christ] …I will also gather all nations… [we are going to see that is interpreted in the book of Revelation: 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). Those are two factors:

• the resurrected sons of God, which is the spiritual inheritance and the spiritual people now glorified through the resurrection
• the children of Israel and the children of Judah

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

Verse 9—let's again see how this applies to the whole world: "Proclaim this among the nations… [this means all the nations.] …'Prepare for war!'…. [that's why the Feast of Trumpets is a war Feast] …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.'… [sounds like ole Osama Bin Laden] …Gather yourselves and come, all you nations, and gather yourselves together all around; cause Your mighty ones to come down there, O LORD" (vs 9-11).

Yes, and the angels are the mighty ones of Rev. 16 with the last plagues, as well as the angels that blow the trumpet.

Verse 12: "Let the nations be awakened and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; for there I will sit to judge all the nations all around. Put in the sickle…" (vs 12-13).

So, the Feast of Trumpets is a harvest Feast only to the extent that it is the harvest and the destruction of the wicked! Whereas Pentecost is a harvest Feast to celebrate the resurrection!

Verse 13: "Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, come down; for the press is full; the vats overflow—for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision… [How about an army of 200-million?] …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…. [we read that already in Rev.] …The LORD shall also roar out of Zion and utter His voice from Jerusalem. And the heavens and the earth shall shake. But the LORD will be the hope of His people and the strength of the children of Israel" (vs 13-16). That's something!

Let's see how Isaiah describes this. Here is one of the first times that it talk about in the Bible as far as the chronology of writing the Old Testament. Here is one of the first times that it talks about shaking the heavens and the earth. It's talking about Babylon. What do we find in the book of Revelation? We have Babylon the Great! So, we have the first Babylon and we have the second Babylon. That's why Rev. 18 says: 'Babylon, Babylon the Great is fallen, is fallen.'

Isaiah 13:1: "The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw."

Go back to Isa. 6, where Isaiah saw the throne of God, and he was specially selected and was given these prophecies in a special revelation that came from God. Here's what he saw and here's what is quoted:

Verse 2: "Lift up a banner upon the high mountain, exalt the voice to them, wave the hand, so that they may go into the gates of the nobles. I have commanded My Holy ones, I have also called My mighty ones for My anger, even those who rejoice in My triumph" (vs 2-3). That includes:

• the angels
• the resurrected saints
• the 144,000
• the great innumerable multitude

Verse 4 talks about the great armies that are coming: "The noise of a multitude in the mountains, as of a great people; a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together; the LORD of hosts gathers an army for the battle"—tie in Joel 2!

Verse 5: "They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, the LORD and the weapons of His indignation, to destroy the whole earth. Howl! For the Day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. Therefore, all hands shall be faint, and every man's heart shall melt; and they shall be afraid. Pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them. They shall be in pain like a woman who travails. They shall be amazed at one another, their faces are like blazing fire" (vs 5-8)—we'll see that in Rev. 9!

Verse 9: "Behold, the Day of the LORD comes, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to make the earth a desolation; and He shall destroy the sinners out of it, 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 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 9-13). Those are some startling words!

When we put this together with Revelation. We will see that the unfolding of these events are absolutely humongous in their proportion and awesome in their destructiveness. As I read this, and as I prepared for the sermon, and we look ahead and see that these days are going to come, I ask myself:

• How do we prepare for this?
• What is that we do?
• How do we respond to God?

I don't care how gentle and tender that you are, and some of these things may effect you in kind of shocking and disturbing way. But you better buck up and you better brace up, because if you think it's bad now, 'you ain't seen nothing, yet.' It's coming. We need to be prepared spiritually!

• that we stay close to God
• yielded to God
• keeping His commandments
• loving God
• loving each other

When these desperate days come—and they're coming—we're not going to be caught unawares. We will have our safety and our hope in God.

Let's see how these things unfold. You might say these Scriptures here that Jesus gave in Matthew and Mark and different other places, are the bridge between Isaiah and the book of Revelation.

Matt. 24—the disciples began to have a little more understanding than the prophets of old. Remember Jesus said, 'Many prophets and righteous men have desired to see the things that you see, and have not seen them.' Now, let's carry that forward 2000 years from the time of Jesus and say again, 'many saints down through the ages have desired to see the things that you see and have not seen them. To understand the things that you understand and did not understand them.'

That doesn't make us any great thing of ourselves because God promised that in the end the wise would understand. The only reason that we have any wisdom is because we love God and obey Him. The only reason we have understanding is because God gives it through His Word, and through His Spirit. That's why we're going to see, as He said, many false prophets, and they're running amok even within the Church.

Matthew 24:3: "And as He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, His disciples came to Him alone, saying, 'Tell us, when shall these things be?.… [that is the destruction of Jerusalem] …And what shall be the sign of Your coming… [because there is a sign that's going to appear in heaven] …and of the completion of the age?'" The end of the age of man's rule under Satan the devil.

Verse 4: "Then Jesus answered and said to them, 'Be on guard, so that no one deceives you."

• Is the world deceived? Yes!
• How many brethren have also been deceived, who are supposed to be brethren? More than we would care to even imagine.

You need to understand how precious your relationship with God is.

Verse 5: "For many shall come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ'; and they shall deceive many. And you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars."

We hear it today. When you understand Mat. 24, what we are talking about are the events that happen in the end-time when you can know there is war and rumors of war—you hear it every day. Before there was television and mass communication like we have it today, you might not hear about a war for years after it started. Or even rumors of war. People lived way off, kind of isolated, they wouldn't know anything that's going on. They may have had some of the Word of God. They may have been the saints of God living out there all alone, like the Waldensians did in the Alps, etc., but they had no understanding of these things. Now it comes every day. Now we read it every day. I'm going to read to you about this world, especially v 7. How many nations in Africa are fighting each other, killing each other, slaughtering each other? Can't even have enough sense to even have a decent election.

Verse 7: "For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be famines and pestilences and earthquakes in different places. Now, all these things are the beginning of sorrows" (vs 7-8).

When does the beginning of sorrows begin? Did it begin with 9/11 for the United States? I don't know, but that was a signal event! It could very well have been the beginning of sorrows for us. It doesn't tell us how long, or how broad, or how deep the beginning of sorrows is going to be, until we come to the earth-shaking events that are pictured in the book of Revelation. So there again, we need to buck up and be spiritually prepared.

Now, here's something that is going to happen. It's happened in the past in certain countries in the world. It's happening now.

Verse 9: "Then shall they deliver you up to affliction, and shall kill you; and you shall be hated by all nations for My name's sake." That has to be an end-time event, because that's talking about all nations.

Verse 10: "And then shall many be led into sin… [that's exactly what is happening] …and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another" (vs 9-10).

Doesn't that sound like our country today, and the world today? Yes, indeed! Yet, at the same time, there's sort of a strange twist to it all. While they hate each other and can't stand each other, they're irrevocably drawn into a one-world system where they have to temporarily get along with each other, only so that they can advantage themselves. It's not that they love and care for each other. The reason they're coming together in a one-world government is because God prophesied that it would be.

It says there in Rev. 17 that 'He put it in their hearts to do His will.' Men have always wanted a one-world government. They think that they can solve the world's problems if they have a one-world government. Well, a one-world government is a solution, but not under men, but under Christ and the saints!

Verse 11: "And many false prophets shall arise, and shall deceive many; and because lawlessness shall be multiplied… [the headlines of the news that you watch daily] …the love of many shall grow cold. But the one who endures to the end, that one shall be saved…. [talking about us in the end-times; we have enduring to do] …And this Gospel of the Kingdom shall be proclaimed in all the world for a witness to all nations…" (vs 11-14).

That has yet to be done on the scale that it is going to be done. It's being down through the Word of God. How many Bibles are going to be printed here and distributed to the world? Over 8-billion in the next ten years! How the Gospel is going to be preached worldwide? We'll let God use whomever and whenever and as many as He desires to do that! But whoever's going to do it, they better preach the Truth and they better rely on God the Father and Jesus Christ.

Verse 15: "'Therefore, when you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the Holy place.' (The one who reads, let him understand)…"—then the Tribulation begins!

Verse 21: "For then shall there be Great Tribulation… [notice how this ties in with the book of Daniel] …such as has not been from the beginning of the world until this time, nor ever shall be again…. [that is a tremendous statement] …And if those days were not limited, there would no flesh be saved; but for the elect's sake those days shall be limited" (vs 21-22).

Let's again see how Jesus, in agreeing with all the Prophets, gave us a little more of a stage that is set, so we can look and see. We can look and see many things that are even the book of Daniel. 'Many shall go to and fro and knowledge shall increase.' Knowledge is increasing so fast now—exponentially, in such a way of multiplying—that it is going to bring us, in a few short years, everything that was done before the Flood. You think on that!

Mark 13:19: "For in those days shall be great tribulation, such as has not been the like from the beginning of the creation that God created until this time, nor ever shall be again; and unless the Lord had limited the days, no flesh would be saved; but for the sake of the elect…" (vs 19-20). All those who have the Spirit of God!

How important is our relationship with God that we have been called to serve under Christ, to save this world? Let that sink in!

• God hasn't called us to be nice, little religious people
• He hasn't called us so that we can just be successful in the world
• He's called us unto eternal life
• He's called us unto eternal work
• He's called us to rule and reign with Christ

This is one of the keys that we need to keep our mind focused on. If we keep that in the forefront of our mind, in our heart and in our prayers, we'll go through anything. Christ will see us through it! And we don't have to worry, and we don't have to be afraid.

"…but for the sake of the elect, whom He has chosen, He has limited the days" (v 20). That's saying an awful lot!

We left off with finishing Rev. 8:12; then it gets worse, and God gives warning; Revelation 8:13: John wrote: "And I looked; and I heard an angel flying in the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, 'Woe, woe, woe to those who are dwelling on the earth, because of the voices of the remaining trumpets of the three angels who are about to sound their trumpets.'"

This intensifies! Go back and you look at the seals, those are pretty devastating. Then you see the heavens roll back. Then we come to Rev. 8 and we see the things that took place. Again, more intense; all of these things come in more intensity, and in more power. There's a reason why. God is going to leave a testimony and a witness!

We have camera recording this with my speaking right now, don't you think that God is going to have all of that recorded to show mankind over and over again, the results and the fruits of going the way of man and Satan the devil? Of course!

Sidebar: I hope that Noah gives all the saints a seminar on what happened before the Flood, and tell us, how did you build that Ark? That'll be interesting!

Let's see what happens; Rev. 9 is the fifth trumpet plague. The Feast of Trumpets pictures the beginning of the last year, and to the end of the last year. A time of war and devastation that this world has never ever seen or experienced! The angels of God against Satan and men and his demons.

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."

This is an angel coming down, and he has the key to the abyss, because in the abyss—2-Peter 2 & 1-Peter 3 talks about those spirits who are in prison. So, they're all going to be let out, and here's what it looks like when they come out:

Verse 2: "And he opened the bottomless abyss; and there went up smoke from the pit, like the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke from the pit."

Men are going to think: 'Man! Look at the power we have now. Look at this. They're going to come and really stir them up!'

Verse 3: "Then locusts came onto the earth from the smoke; and power was given to them, as the scorpions of the earth have power. And it was said to them that they should not damage the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree…" (vs 3-4).

Revelation 8:7: "And the first angel sounded his trumpet; and there was hail and fire mingled with blood, and it was cast upon the earth; and a third of the trees were burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up." So we come down here and it says:

Revelation 9:4: "…should not damage the grass of the earth…" What happens when grass is burned? As soon as there's water, it grows! So, this shows a period of time!

"…or any green thing, or any tree, but only… [now notice: here is a division—the protection of the 144,000 and the great, innumerable multitude] …the men who did not have the seal of God in their foreheads" (v 4).

Rev. 7 said an angel came and sealed them in their forehead. Here is protection. Wherever they are, they're protected from this.

Verse 5: "And it was given to them that they should not kill them… [this is going to be a weapon that is going to debilitate, not kill them] …but that they should be tormented five months…"

This gives the Beast Power a space of five months, think that he's really going to be able to pull the whole thing together and rule the world.

"…and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings a man" (v 5). I can't tell you what that's like, but it probably pretty wicked and hurtful and painful! Here's how bad it will be:

Verse 6: "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."

They're going to be desperate. They won't believe God. They won't repent. So, here's what happens. Here's what they look like:

Verse 7: "And the appearance of the locusts was like horses prepared for war… [we had a pre-type of that in Joel 1] …and on their heads were crowns like those of gold; and their faces were like the faces of men; and they had hair like women's hair; and their teeth were like those of lions" (vs 7-8).

Awesome, whatever kind of weapons that these men are going to be using, this is how it's pictured, this is how they look.

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; and they had tails like scorpions, and stingers; and they were given power to injure men with their tails for five months" (vs 9-10). That's something!

Here's a period of time. If the first trumpet is blown beginning on the Feast of Trumpets, and the last trumpet is blown the next Feast of Trumpets—one year later—to announce the descending of Christ and the saints to the earth, you've got—if it's a leap year—13 months. If it's not a leap year, you have 12 months. Seven months is consumed with this fifth trumpet, which is the first plague.

Notice who's in charge of them, v 11: "And they have over them a king, the angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but the name he has in Greek is Apollyon…. [Satan the devil] …The first woe is past… [the end of five months; it's over] …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" (vs 11-13).

God and the angels are directly involved in this. This is big-time, awesome stuff! Worldwide things and events that are transpiring!

Verse 14: "And it said to the sixth angel, who had the trumpet, "Loose the four angels who are bound in the great river Euphrates.' Then the four angels, who had been prepared… [Now, God has this timed Himself] …for the hour and day and month and year, were loosed, so that they might kill a third of men" (vs 11-15).

We don't know what the population is going to grow to you until the time when Jesus returns. But we do know that sometime in the next two or three years, the population of the world will be 7-billion! Will it grow to be ten? We don't know, it doesn't tell us! We don't know how many there will be. But when you add up all that are killed…and where it says that all of these things are going to come upon the world, and all nations are going to be involved, then it's going to be: Will God spare a tenth? Like He does with Israel. Or for the rest of the world will it be less than a tenth? We don't know!

Let's read some Scriptures in Jeremiah that shows the whole nature of the tremendous things that are coming on the earth, which verifies that they are worldwide events. When you read some of these Scriptures in the Old Testament, and we know we can couple them together with the book of Revelation, you ask the question: How did the prophets think of these things when God gave it to them? God says that God gave a cup to Jeremiah and said, 'you go to all nations and make them drink and they will drink!'

Jeremiah 25:29: "'For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city, which is called by My name; and shall you go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished. For I will call for a sword on all the inhabitants of the earth,' says the LORD of hosts. 'And prophesy against them all these words, and say to them, "The LORD shall roar from on high, and utter His voice from His Holy habitation…. [as we saw on the Sea of Glass] …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. A noise shall come to the ends of the earth; for the LORD has a controversy with the nations… [all the nations] …He will plead with all flesh. He will give those who are wicked to the sword,"' says the LORD" (vs 29-31)—which we have just read in Rev. 8 & 9!

Verse 32: "Thus says the LORD of hosts, 'Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be stirred up from the farthest corners of the earth. And the slain of the LORD shall be at that day from one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth; they shall not be mourned, nor gathered, nor buried. They shall be as dung on the ground'" (vs 32-33). That describes exactly what we're seeing back here in the book of Revelation!

Let's see what this is going to do now, this new army that comes with the sixth seal, kill a third part of the men.

Revelation 9:16: "And the number of the armies of the horsemen was two hundred thousand thousand…"

The largest army ever assembled in the history of the world—200-million—and those armies are going to be strewed all the way from the Far East to the Middle East, and they will come like waves. Here's what they're going to do:
Verse 17: "And so, I saw the horses in the vision, and those sitting on them, who had fiery breastplates… [recall what we read earlier in some of the prophecies] …even like jacinth and brimstone. And the heads of the horses were like heads of lions, and fire and smoke and brimstone shoot out of their mouths. By these three a third of men were killed: by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone that shoot out of their mouths. For their power is in their mouths; for their tails are like serpents, and have heads, and with them they inflict wounds" (vs 16-19).

Notice how stubborn man is, and especially since these are all demons running these armies with the men.

Verse 20: "But the rest of the men who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the works of their hands that they might not worship demons, and idols of gold and silver and brass and stone and wood, which do not have the power to see, nor to hear, nor to walk. And they did not repent of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornications, nor of their thievery" (vs 20-21). Tremendous!

Rev. 10—inset chapter—we have the seven thunders. John was told not to write them, so we don't know what they are. There's a man recently who said, 'I know what they are.' He prophesied and said if they don't happen at a certain time, 'I'm a false prophet.' Well, they didn't happen when he said they would happen, and he didn't say, 'I'm a false prophet.' He says, 'Good news, I have another revelation from God.' Well, how do you know he has another revelation from God when the first wasn't true? Some people like to be deceived!

Rev. 11—we'll see the seventh trumpet that sounds, and here's the resurrection. We'll see there are plenty more things that happen after the resurrection. As a matter of fact, from Pentecost until Trumpets. We have from:

• Pentecost to Pentecost—sealing of the 144,000 and great, innumerable multitude until the next Pentecost, the resurrection
• then you have from Trumpets to Trumpets—the beginning of the trumpet plagues and the seventh trumpet sounds on Pentecost; saints are resurrected

Revelation 11:14: "The second woe is past. Behold, the third woe is coming immediately. Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, 'The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ, and He shall reign into the ages of eternity'" (vs 14-15).

Verse 18: "For the nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, and the time for the dead to be judged, and to give reward to Your servants the prophets, and to the saints, and to all those who fear Your name, the small and the great; and to destroy those who destroy the earth."

Rev. 14—let's see when this is going to be. We have two harvests:

• the harvest of the righteous, which we already covered on Pentecost, they're raised and placed on the Sea of Glass
• then we have another one: the harvest of the wicked, as we read in the book of Joel: the 'valley of decisions'; the 'valley of blood'

Revelation 14:19: "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).

We have the seven last plagues, which we have already covered, showing the events afterthe resurrection. We will go ahead and connect it now to the very last Feast of Trumpets.

Rev. 19—here is the last Feast of Trumpets; and this will be the day that fulfills Zech. 14, where in that day the Lord and the saints will stand on the Mt. of Olives. Here's the setting: After all of those things have been done, everything has been finished; the seven last plagues are out.

Revelation 19:1: "And after these things I heard the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, 'Hallelujah! The salvation and the glory and the honor and the power belong to the Lord our God. For true and righteous are His judgments; for He hasjudged the great whore, who corrupted the earth with her fornication, and He has avenged the blood of His servants at her hand.' And they said a second time, 'Hallelujah! And her smoke shall ascend upward into the ages of eternity.' And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, Who sits on the throne, saying, 'Amen. Hallelujah!'" (vs 1-4). There's going to be great celebration!

Verse 5: "And a voice came forth from the throne, saying, 'Praise our God, all His servants, and all who fear Him, both small and great.' And I heard a voice like that of a great multitude, and like the sound of many waters, and the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, 'Hallelujah! For the Lord God Almighty has reigned…. [He's coming!] …Let us be glad and shout with joy; and let us give glory to Him; for the marriage of the Lamb has come… [As we have seen, it's taken place already!] …and His wife has made herself ready'" (vs 5-7).

Here's what the world's going to see after this, v 11: "And I saw heaven open; and behold, a white horse [Christ]; and He Who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He does judge and make war. And His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns; and He had a name written that no one knows except Him. And He was clothed with a garment dipped in blood; and His name is The Word of God…. [Jesus Christ] …And the armies in heaven were following Him… [all the resurrected saints] …on white horses; and they were clothed in fine linen, white and pure. And out of His mouth goes a sharp sword…" (vs 11-15).

Here we are coming down from the Sea of Glass to the earth, and Christ is commanding!

"…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. And on His garment and on His thigh He has a name written: King of kings and Lord of lords. Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, 'Come and gather yourselves together to the supper of the great God'" (vs 15-17).

As Zech. 14 shows, their flesh is just going to fall right off their bones and the skeletons collapse in a heap and blood will be everywhere!

Verse 18: "So that you may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of chief captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all, free and bond, and small and great."

And here's the final confrontation—the battle to end the age, the completion of the age that Jesus talked about:

Verse 19: 'And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies, gathered together to make war with Him Who sits on the horse, and with His army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet who worked miracles in his presence, by which he had deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. Those two were cast alive into the Lake of Fire, which burns with brimstone; and the rest were killed by the sword of Him Who sits on the horse, even the sword that goes out of His mouth; and all the birds were filled with their flesh" (vs 19-21).

Thus ends the fulfillment of the Feast of Trumpets; and now the next thing to do is put away the author of sin. So, come back for the Day of Atonement.

Scriptural References:

• Leviticus 23:23-25
• Numbers 29:1-6

• Psalm 81:1-3
• Ezra 3:1-2, 4
• Nehemiah 8:1-2
• Revelation 8:1-12
• Zephaniah 1:1-8, 14-18
• Zephaniah 2:1-3
• Daniel 12:1
• Joel 1:15
• Joel 2:1-13
• Joel 3:1-2, 9-16
• Isaiah 13:1-13
• Matthew 24:3-15, 21-22
• Mark 13:19-20
• Revelation 8:13
• Revelation 9:1-4
• Revelation 8:7
• Revelation 9:4-15
• Jeremiah 25:29-33
• Revelation 9:16-21
• Revelation 11:14-15, 18
• Revelation 14:19-20
• Revelation 19:1-7, 11-21

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:

• Malachi 3
• 2-Corinthians 9

• Revelation 6; 16; 18; 8
• Isaiah 6
• Revelation 17
• 2 Peter 2
• 1 Peter 3
• Revelation 7; 10
• Zechariah 14

Also referenced:

• Article: Heavenly Signs and the Hebrew Calendar
• Sermon Series: Daniel/Revelation with Chart

FRC:bo
Transcribed: 8-17-08
Reformatted/Corrected" 11/2019