Events After Pentecost #2

Fred Coulter – July 5, 2003

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What are we going to do on the Sea of Glass?

• Does God plan things? Yes He does!

He says that He has made known to us the mystery of His plan.

• Does He prepare for things? Yes, He does!
• Did He not prepare Abraham? Yes He did!
• Did He not prepare Moses in the wilderness before leading the children of Israel out? Yes, He did!
• Did He not prepare the way for the coming of Christ with John the Baptist? Yes, He did!
• Was not Jeremiah prepared and sent to the people of Judah to warn them before the captivity took place? Yes, He did!

The greatest event that's going to take place since the creation of the world is going to occur at the first resurrection! Don't you think that it is rather, silly, dumb and ignorant if the resurrection took place on Trumpets, that we all meet Christ in the air and hurry up and come back down to the earth?

OR

• Must there be some kind of preparation before we come back to the earth? Of course there has to be!

There is preparation right now! We are preparing right now for the first resurrection! With all that preparation:

• Do you think it is going to be a hurry-scurry thing and that God is going to say, 'Let's go! Get on your horse'?
• Are you not going to have to understand how this new body works?

This is going to be the greatest invasion in the history of the world! So, therefore, we've got to be prepared and ready! We have to have instructions and understanding.

Let's see what's going to take place on the Sea of Glass. The first thing that's going to happen when we are resurrected and see the angels and they take us up to meet Christ on the Sea of Glass:

1 John 3:1: "Behold! What glorious love the Father has given to us, that we should be called the children of God! For this very reason, the world does not know us because it did not know Him." They don't know us!

I told the man that I bought the 1550 Stephens Text from—he is a dyed-in-the-wool Protestant, and I let him know that we keep the Sabbath and Holy Days—'Look you need to understand this. Every Sabbath there are millions of Christians who believe in Jesus Christ, who keep the Commandments of God, who keep the Sabbath, and a good number of them the Holy Days, and they are not looking for salvation by works. You need to understand that. But you never hear about us, do you? You don't even know that we exist, do you?' He was dumbfounded. No, the world doesn't know us!

How many people out there driving by, and say, 'Yes, we know there are Christians, true Christians that have the Spirit of God, meeting in that building'? Of course not! We walk down the street, we go in the supermarket, we don't carry a placard, 'I'm a true Christian, and all the rest of you are damned.' Try that in San Francisco today.

"…that we should be called the children of God! For this very reason, the world does not know us because it did not know Him." God knows what He is doing in selecting those that He is preparing for the first resurrection.

Verse 2: "Beloved, now we are the children of God, and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be; but we know that when He is manifested…"

We already covered how He is going to come back to the earth and where the Sea of Glass will be and so forth.

"…we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him exactly as He is" (v 2). That's one of the first things that are going to take place. We are going to see Christ!

Let's see where it talks about the Sea of Glass, and we'll read through some Scriptures, and then we'll go back and analyze them; then we'll ask some questions, and we'll see if we can fill in the blanks.

Revelation 15:1: "And I saw another sign in heaven, great and awesome…" Now he sees the seven angels, but he also sees the Sea of Glass, too. So, this is an awesome thing.

"…seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is filled up. And I saw a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, standing on the Sea of Glass, having the lyres of God" (vs 1-2).

What's one of the very first things that is going to happen? Let's read all the way through here down to verse 5 and then we'll go back and see what's going to happen.
Verse 3: "And they were singing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb saying, 'Great and awesome are Your works, Lord God Almighty; righteous and true are Your ways, King of the saints. Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You only are Holy; and all the nations shall come and worship before You, for Your judgments have been revealed.' And after these things I looked, and behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened" (vs 3-5).

That's got to be right close to the Sea of Glass. Who is in the tabernacle but God the Father on His throne? Yes, indeed!

Now then, the first thing that is going to happen is that Christ is going to receive us. Let's see how Jesus was received when He ascended to heaven to be received of God the Father after He was resurrected. Do you not think that there is going to be a reception for us? Yes, indeed! Christ is going to do the welcoming, and we will see what He will do.

I want you to picture this: Just as Christ is coming to the Sea of Glass, as we covered in part 1 (Rev. 4 and 5) to be received of the Father, and remember when we saw that Sea of Glass there were no saints there, just the Father, and Christ, and the angels. But picture this: Christ coming to walk down whatever aisle between the angels to be received of God the Father and here is what they sing.

Psalm 24:7: "Lift up your heads, O you gates; and be lifted up, O you everlasting doors; that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle" (vs 7-8).

He is going to come back in battle, and we are going to be with Him. Remember what He said, 'If My kingdom were of this world, then would My servants fight.' If you have been waiting for a good fight, you are going to get it. You'll have the tool and power to carry it out.

Verse 9: "Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift them up, you everlasting doors; that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah" (vs 9-10). When He was received, that's what the angels sang.

Christ is going to receive us! What is He going to do? Let's see what He is going to do. There has to be a reason for the Sea of Glass, because there are a lot to things that have to take place, and a lot of things have to occur for us, and these things are in the Word of God, which shows that they must take place.

Hebrews 2:5: "For it is not to the angels that He has placed in subjection the world that is to come, of which we are speaking." No! He has put it in subjection under us.

Verse 6: "But in a certain place one fully testified, saying, 'What is man, that You are mindful of him, or the son of man, that You visit him? You did make him a little lower than the angels; You did crown him with glory and honor, and You did set him over the works of Your hands" (vs 6-7). That's our ultimate destiny.

Verse 8: "You did put all things in subjection under his feet.' For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that was not subjected to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him." But the day is coming when it will be.

Verse 9: "But we see Jesus, Who was made a little lower than the angels, crowned with glory and honor on account of suffering the death, in order that by the grace of God He Himself might taste death for everyone."

So, Christ has a tremendous stake in this! All those who are resurrected are those who have had the character of God, Christ in them developed.

Verse 10: "Because it was fitting for Him, for Whom all things were created, and by Whom all things exist, in bringing many sons unto glory …[that takes place at the resurrection] …to make the Author of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both He Who is sanctifying and those who are sanctified are all of one" (vs 10-11).

The only time that is going to be with everyone, everywhere from the beginning of creation to the return of Christ is when they are all resurrected and meet Christ in the air on the Sea of Glass; "…all of one." At this present time, we're a few here and few there, there are some in this country, there are some in that country. When are they going to be all one? Now notice what happens when they are all one.

"…for which cause He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying…" (vs 11-12). Here is what Christ is going to do when we're resurrected and we're on the Sea of Glass. What is the first thing that He is going to do? Christ is going to declare us to the Father, and say:

"…'I will declare Your name to My brethren, in the midst of the Church I will sing praise to You.' And again, 'I will be trusting in Him.' And again, 'Behold, I and the children whom God has given Me'" (vs 12-13). I believe that's the first thing that Christ is going to say to all resurrected spirit beings.

Now let's see a prophecy of this. I mean, brethren, we're talking about the greatest thing since the creation of the world is going to happen. Let's get out of our minds a crippled concept of salvation because we have so been tainted by Protestantism and Catholicism and the insipidness of this stupid world, that we haven't yet gotten in our minds that we are called to the greatest, greatest thing that has been!

God is just not going to save you so you can be saved. Salvation is not escaping ever-burning hell! Salvation is being called to serve God through all eternity at the first level under Jesus Christ! The Church of the Firstborn will be at that level for all eternity! I don't know if there is any way we can shake up some these sleeping Laodiceans and Sardisites that are almost dead.

The reason people give up on things so easily is because they were never convinced in the first place, and they were never taught in the second place, and they never studied their Bibles to really know, in the third place! I don't know what can be done to wake up these people, especially those who have forsaken the Sabbath and the Holy Days and have gone back into the vomit and swill of the order of the Roman Catholic Church to keep Sunday!

The Catholic Church arrogantly says that those Protestants and those other people who keep Sunday, 'You are just following us. You are hypocrites. We determined Sunday, not the Scriptures. You are following us, not God. You don't believe your Bible, you believe us!' All you have to do is just read Rome's Challenge to the Protestants (truthofgod.org). That is a profound piece of work, and when your enemy is so confident that he will come out and deride you like that, and then people give up on God.

Let me tell you one very profound, important lesson: Because of a man who is supposed to be a servant of God turns out to be evil and corrupt because he was gotten to by Satan the devil, do not ever give up on God! I don't care who you are, where you are, where you have been, what you have experienced, salvation will overcome every bit of whatever you may have gone through! You need to understand that.

Here is what Christ is going to do. We come up on the Sea of Glass, the angels bring us up there, and we get our sea legs as it were and stand on the Sea of Glass:

• Christ proclaims us to the Father

Psalm 22:22: "I will declare Your name to My brethren…" He is going to say, 'My brethren, whom God has given Me, here is the Father!'

We'll be able to see the Father, won't we, as spirit beings if we see Christ as He is? Will we not see God the Father as He is? Yes, indeed!

"…In the midst of the congregation… ['the great congregation', all the resurrected saints] …I will praise you. You that fear the LORD, praise Him" (vs 22-23).

I just imagine after Jesus says, 'Behold the children you have given Me," and the children behold the Father. I imagine the angels—ten thousands times ten thousand—are going sing praises to God the Father. This is going to be absolutely the most electrifying and penetrating event that we will ever experience, and then we'll praise God.

Verse 23: "You who fear the LORD, praise Him; all of you, the seed of Jacob, glorify Him; and stand in awe of Him all of you, the seed of Israel." Who is the true seed of Israel? The Church! That is going to be a magnificent thing to take place!

We are going to read of the work of the apostles. God says, Isaiah 8:16: "Bind up the testimony, seal the Law among My disciples.' And I will wait upon the LORD, who hides His face from the house of Jacob; and I will trust in Him. Behold, I and the children whom the LORD has given me [Isaiah]… [referring to Heb. 2] …are for signs and for wonders… [we will be to the world] …in Israel from the LORD of hosts, Who dwells in Mount Zion" (vs 16-18).

What are we coming to? Mount Zion in heaven above!

• We sing the victory song

We're going to do a lot of singing. Remember it says there we have harps. I have never played a harp. Whatever it is that God does when we are resurrected, to give us the ability to do so, He will. All the harps have to be passed out. Now in this remember, the angels are going to be busy assisting in all of this.

Psalm 35:18—this also has to do with Christ: "I will give You thanks in the great congregation… [the resurrected saints] …I will praise You among a mighty throng."

We are going to sing some songs. We are going to sing more than just the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb. We'll get to that in just a bit.

Psalm 33:1: "Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous ones; praise is becoming for the upright. Praise the LORD with a lyre; sing unto Him with a harp of ten strings" That's what we're going to do. We have the harps of God

Verse 3: "Sing unto Him a new song… [it's going to be one we have never sung] …play skillfully with shouts of joy, for the Word of the LORD is upright; and all His works are done in faithfulness" (vs 3-4).

• Is that part of the song we are going to sing?
• What is the greatest work of His hands? Those who have been resurrected!

Psalm 144:9: "I will sing a new song to You, O God; on a harp of ten strings I will sing praises to You. It is You Who give salvation to kings" (vs 9-10). Are we going to be kings and priests? Have we not received salvation? Yes, indeed!

"…Who deliver David His servant from the hurtful sword" (v 10). Then it blends on back to a contemporary time.

Now the song of victory; let's see the song of Moses because it says we are going to sing the song of Moses, the servant of God. We will expand this beyond just destroying the Egyptians at the Red Sea.

Exodus 15:1: "Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the LORD, and spoke, saying, 'I will sing to the LORD, for He has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider He has thrown into the sea. The LORD is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation. This is my God, and I will glorify Him, my father's God, and I will exalt Him. The LORD is a Man of war; Jehovah is His name" (vs 1-3).

We are going to see a little later that Jesus returns to the earth and He makes war in righteousness! He is a man of war. And it talks about Pharaoh being cast down, and this is all likened then unto the judgment that will come against Babylon. Then we also have:

Verse 20: "And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a drum in her hand. And all the women went out after her with drums and with dances. And Miriam answered them, 'Sing to the LORD, for He has triumphed gloriously…." (vs 20-21).

Think what is going to be the triumph with all the resurrection of the saints.

"…The horse and his rider He has flung into the sea.' And Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur…." (vs 21-22). The rest of the story goes back from there.

Now let's come to Revelation the fifth chapter and see some of the songs we are going to sing. This is part of the song of the Lamb. We've often wondered, what was the song of the Lamb? This is when the Lamb came:
Revelation 5:8: "And when He took the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having harps and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying… [this is the song that we are going to sing] …'Worthy are You to take the book, and to open its seals because You were slain, and did redeem us to God by Your own blood, out of every tribe and language and people and nation, and did make us unto our God kings and priests; and we shall reign on the earth'" (vs 8-10).

That is part of the song of the Lamb, I believe. And I believe another part of the song of the Lamb is that we will sing unto Him because He was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. So, all of that will be part of the song of the Lamb.

Now let's look in the book of Psalms and see if we can see some other things which may be connected with the song of the Lamb. You've heard it said that the saints are going to shout for joy. Well, we are! I mean this is going to be a tremendous thing! This is extolling God as a fighter, as a warrior, and is Christ going to be fighting and warring this time when He comes back to the earth? Without a doubt!

Could this also be part of the song of the Lamb? Psalm 18:46: "The LORD lives; and blessed be my Rock, and let the God of my salvation be exalted. The God who avenges me and subdues the people under me" (vs 46-47).

• Isn't that what's going to happen when we come back to the earth?
• Isn't the earth going to be subdued under all the saints?
• Yes, indeed!

Verse 48: "He delivers me from my enemies; yea, You lift me up above those who rise up against me; You have delivered me from the violent man. Therefore, I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the nations, and sing praises to Your name, He gives great deliverance to His king…" (vs 48-50). Liken that unto the resurrection, that's the greatest deliverance of all, being delivered from death!

"…and shows mercy to His anointed, to David and to his seed forevermore" (v 50). We are going to be doing a lot of singing, so that will be good. Maybe this is going to be one of the songs that we'll sing. Maybe this is part of the song to the Lamb.

Psalm 47:1: "Clap your hands, all you people; shout to God with the voice of triumph." It's going to be something!

• yes, we have been overcomers
• yes, we triumph over death through Jesus Christ
• yes, we're going to triumph over all the forces of evil in this world

Verse 2: "For the LORD Most High is awesome; He is a great King over all the earth. He shall subdue the people under us and nations under our feet" (vs 2-3).

That's why we come back to the earth to fight. I don't know about you, but this makes a lot of sense to me and you know, I have never put it together this way before, but when asked the question about what's going to happen on the Sea of Glass, I guess one thing leads to another.

Verse 4: "He shall choose our inheritance for us, the excellency of Jacob whom He loved. Selah. God has gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a horn" (vs 4-5). Of course, that will occur on the Feast of Trumpet.

Verse 6: "Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises, for God is King of all the earth; sing praises with understanding. God reigns over the nations; God sits upon the throne of His Holiness. The rulers of the peoples are gathered together, the people of the God of Abraham… [that's us] …for the shields of the earth are God's; He is greatly exalted" (vs 6-9). All of this is going to help prepare us for the coming battle. That is the victory song.

• We are going to receive a new name

Each one is going to receive a new name. How many people are there that are going to be resurrected? Millions and millions! Don't you think it is going to take some time for us to receive our new names? First of all, let's see that Jesus is going to have a new name. He is going to have the greatest of the new names, but just like God has done before the resurrection, He names things for what they will be. He changed Abram's name to Abraham because he was going to be a father of many nations. Is he going to be surprised at the resurrection!

Talking about the greatness of God's power Ephesians 1:20: "Which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above every principality and authority and power and lordship, and every name that is named—not only in this age, but also in the age to come; for He has subordinated all things under His feet, and has given Him to be head over all things to the Church, which is His body—the fullness of Him Who fills all things in all" (vs 20-23). We'll accomplish the will of God.

We see two things about the name of Christ, 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."

Now we are getting into the events coming to the Feast of Trumpets, v 12: "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."

So, He is going to have one name that is above all names, but also we are going to see He has other names.

Verse 16: "And on His garment and on His thigh He has a name written: King of kings and Lord of lords.

We have to have a new name. Let's see where that promise is given, and we won't know what it is until we are given it. I imagine that Christ is already working on the names, He and God the Father are putting together the names that He has for us, getting all prepared. God is getting prepared! Jesus Christ is getting prepared! For all the preparation it is going to take for the first resurrection.

Revelation 2:17: "The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes I will give the right to eat of the hidden manna…"

We are going to eat when we are spirit beings. What is the hidden manna? I can't tell you, it's hidden, but we'll know at that time.

"…and I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written…" (v 17). I wonder if this stone is going to be something that we will hold in our hands, a symbol of authority.

"…which no one knows except the one who receives it" (v 17). So, no one will know it until you receive it, then you will know it.

Let's see that there is also another name. Not all are going to receive the same name. Each one is going to be different. After all, each one of us at the resurrection is going to be a special creation of God the Father and Jesus Christ. We're going to have:

• a new body
• a new mind
• a new name
• a new job

we're going to

• eat new food
• do new things

Revelation 3:12: "The one who overcomes will I make a pillar in the temple of My God…" That doesn't mean that you're going to be made into a pillar; because the temple of God is going to consist of the people of God. Ultimately, as we will see for the Last Great Day, in New Jerusalem there is no temple. All temple builders will be unemployed.

"…and he shall not go out anymore; and I will write upon him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God…" (v 12). This is in addition to your individual name. So these are names then, which distinguish work and authority; it would have to be.

"…the New Jerusalem, which will come down out of heaven from My God; and I will write upon him My new name" (v 12). Now exactly how all that is going to work, I can tell you exactly how you're going to find out: you make it to the resurrection, and when you see it done, you'll understand it, and until then it's speculation. We don't know, except that it says it.

Could not these names also signify titles? Could very well be! We'll find out!

(go to the next track)

This new name is going to be something. I imagine God the Father and Jesus Christ are having a great time selecting the names. Let's see the promise:

Isaiah 56:1: "Thus says the LORD, 'Keep justice and do righteousness; for My salvation is near to come, and My righteousness to be revealed. Blessed is the man who does this… [the Protestants think you are cursed] …and the son of man who lays hold on it; who keeps the Sabbath from profaning it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil.' And do not let the son of the stranger, who has joined himself to the LORD, speak, saying, 'The LORD has utterly separated me from His people.' And do not let the eunuch say, 'Behold, I am a dry tree.' For thus says the LORD, 'To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths… [plural, Holy Days] …and choose things that please Me, and take hold of My covenant; even to them will I give within My house and within My walls a place and a name…'" (vs 1-5). This is talking about at the time of the resurrection.

"…better than of sons and of daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off" (v 5). It's going to go for all eternity. Tremendous promise! Some names really need to be changed and God is going to change them.

Isaiah 62:1: "For Zion's sake I will not be silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until its righteousness goes out as brightness, and her salvation as a burning torch." That is bringing salvation to the whole world during the Millennium.

Verse 2: "And the Gentiles will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory… [we will be the kings] …and you will be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name."

It's going to come directly from God. Now that's going to be an exciting thing. What is in the name of a son or daughter of God? His or her eternal standing and position!

Verse 3: "You also will be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God." We've got lots of work to do.

Let's see that there is going to be the whole family name. So, not only are we going to have a new first name, we're going to have a new last name. Eph. 3 shows that God has purpose, and part of what we are reading is the purpose of God for us. God is busy doing and preparing for this, and I am sure the angels, as well.

Ephesians 3:11: "To His eternal purpose, which He has wrought in Christ Jesus our Lord, in Whom we have boldness and direct access with confidence through His very own faith. So then, I beseech you not to faint at my tribulations for you, which are working for your glory" (vs 11-13).

I can understand why Paul was very positive about the things that he went through. I imagine when he saw the third heavens in vision, that he was given an inkling of some of these things.

Verse 14: "For this cause I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of Whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named" (vs 14-15). We are going to be the Family of God.

Another Protestant, who, when he found out that we believe that God is a Family, said that this is heterodoxy, if not heresy. Well, what does it say? 'In whom the whole village is named'? No, it doesn't say that! It says "…family…"

• Who made and created the family? God did!
• Who said be fruitful and multiple to create a physical family? God did!

God is creating His family, there it is! So, we're going to have a family name, as well. 

• We will receive our reward

What is our reward going to be? The New Testament talks quite a bit about rewards! Let's look at some of these. We have some rewards here; we have other rewards in heaven to be brought with us. 'His reward is with Him.' He is going to bring it with Him.

Isaiah 40:9: "Go up for yourself on the high mountain; O you that bring good tidings to Zion. Lift up your voice with strength, O you who tell good tidings to Jerusalem; lift up, do not be afraid. Say to the cities of Judah, 'Behold your God!' Behold, the Lord GOD will come with a strong hand, and His arm shall rule for Him; behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him. He shall feed His flock like a shepherd; He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those with young" (vs 9-11).

Let's look at some of the rewards that we are looking forward to today. God is the One Who knows all things, He is the One Who is working up the rewards, He is the One Who is preparing them for us.

Here is an inkling of the reward, Matthew 5:11: "Blessed are you when they shall reproach you, and shall persecute you, and shall falsely say every wicked thing against you, for My sake. Rejoice and be filled with joy, for great is your reward in heaven…" (vs 11-12)—which He is going to bring with Him. What is a great reward? We're not told, but it says it's great, and if it's going to be great, guess what, it is going to be great!

You can look up the different ones, the different rewards. You can lose your reward:

Matthew 6:1: "Beware that you do not bestow your alms in the sight of men in order to be seen by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father Who is in heaven."

Your reward depends upon your conduct. In other words, don't do it for glory of men. Whatever you do don't do to be seen of men. Whatever you do, don't do it for politics. He talks about those who blow the trumpets when they give their alms, they've had their reward; they were seen of men. Likewise, you can go and read the whole chapter there it talks about the reward, but it talks about the treasures that we lay up for heaven in vs 19-20.

Here it says something very unusual. 2-John 8: "Watch out for yourselves in order that we may not lose the things we have accomplished, but that we may receive a full reward"—rather than just partial. Or you might say the fullness of your reward, either one would be all right.

1-Peter 1:3: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who, according to His abundant mercy, has begotten us again unto a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead; unto an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and unfading, reserved in heaven for us" (vs 3-4)—which He is going to bring with Him. He comes with His reward.

Part of that reward is going to be our assignments! We are going to have to receive our assignments, as well. Let's see what some of those assignments are going to be. With these assignments, we're going to have to know where to go. That's going to be all laid out in the plan, have to be. Here it talks about the reward and the assignment. This is the parable of the talents. The parable of the pounds is in Luke 19.

Matthew 25:14: "For the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man leaving the country, who called his own servants and delivered to them his property."

God has given you the Spiritual goods of His Holy Spirit, and His Word is delivered to you. Now it depends on what you do with it.

Verse 15: "Now, to one he gave five talents, and to another two, and to another one;he gave to each one according to his own ability, and immediately left the country. Then the one who had received five talents went and traded with them, and made an additional five talents" (vs 15-16).

God expects us to take the initiative. The way God does things, He doesn't do it like in a corporation where someone is there supervising you and looking after every little detail. He says, 'Here is the job, here is the goal, here is the mission; go do it.' One might ask, 'How do I do it Lord?'

• you study My Word

You do it!

• you have to use your initiative
• you have to use your choice

Verse 17: "In the same way also, the one who had received two talents also gained two others But the one who had received the single talent went and dug in the earth, and hid his lord's money. Now, after a long time, the lord of those servants came to take account with them. Then the one who had received five talents came to him and brought an additional five talents, saying, 'Lord, you delivered five talents to me; see, I have gained five other talents besides them."' And his lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! Because you were faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.' And the one who had received two talents also came to him and said, 'Lord, you delivered to me two talents; see, I have gained two other talents besides them.' His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! Because you were faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord'" (vs 17-23).

Luke 19 because this is the other half of the story. What is the reward? It's going to take some time for everybody to get their rewards! just think how many are going to be resurrected all at once. We look around us, and we are few today. Just think what it is going to be like in the resurrection with millions, and millions and millions and we say, 'O God, what have you been do down though the ages?' He is going to say, 'Look at all of this, how is that?' And Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are going to say, 'Praise God, look at what He did.' Especially Abraham because all he had was Isaac. Now look at all the physical nations on the earth and look at all now the spiritual nations that God is resurrecting. The first resurrection; that's going to be awesome.

Luke 19:15: "And it came to pass that when he returned after receiving the kingdom, he directed that those servants to whom he had given the money be called to him, in order that he might know what each one had gained by trading."

God doesn't want you to stay the same. Never be happy and satisfied with what you are today. Thank God that you are able to do what you do, that you can grow and overcome, but there is more that you can do, there is more that you can learn, there is more that you can grow into, but you've got to apply yourself. It isn't going to come by osmosis; it's not going to come by a funnel in the top of the head.

Verse 16: "And the first one came up, saying, 'Lord, your pound has produced ten pounds.' Then he said to him, 'Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities'" (vs 16-17).

When is he going to know which cities those are? It's got to be at the resurrection on the Sea of Glass before we come back to the earth. How are you going to know where to go? 'Which city, Lord? I've never been up here in the atmosphere, and looking down I can't tell.'

Verse 18: "And the second one came, saying, 'Lord, your pound has made five pounds.' Then he also said to this one, 'And you be over five cities'" (vs 18-19).

Then the one who didn't do anything with it was the Sardisite who was dead and who had defiled his garments and didn't receive the reward because he was lazy. If you're dead, you've got to be lazy. How much can a corpse do? Not very much! So, we receive our rewards.

• There is going to be a New Covenant

As compared to the Old Covenant, we're in the New Covenant today. But just like the covenant that God made with Abraham, when He expanded the covenant, what did He do? God changed his name from Abram to Abraham! So likewise, when we're spirit beings, I believe there's going to be a new covenant. Now the covenant first of all has got to start out with the marriage of the Lamb and the bride.

• Is not the marriage ceremony a covenant? Yes!
• Are not our new assignments, the new work and our new existence going to require a new covenant, a new agreement? But of course!

You might want to go ahead and expand the thing on rewards and look up in a concordance and add a little more study to it, and expand on it because it talks about the reward of a prophet, the reward of a righteous man, if you give a cup of water to one of the disciples, etc. Some of those rewards I believe will take place in the second resurrection, not necessarily the first.

Revelation 19:1: "And after these things I heard the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying…" That's not the third heaven. That is on the Sea of Glass, which is in the atmosphere where the clouds are which is the first heaven. We're getting ready to come back to the earth; this is the finale.

"…'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).

This is the finality before we come back to the earth. This is really a tremendous send-off. The thing that is going to take place, I believe, the last part of it that will take place will be the marriage of the Lamb. Then we come down to the earth just like it lays out here.

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.'" There we will be on the Sea of Glass, and we'll praise God.

Verse 6: "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…. [here comes the marriage of the Lamb]: …Let us be glad and shout with joy; and let us give glory to Him; for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready'" (vs 6-7). I believe that God the Father will perform the ceremony. Who else?

Verse 8: "And it was granted to her that she should be clothed in fine linen, pure and bright; for the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints. And he said to me, 'Write: Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb'" (vs 8-9). These are the guests.

We don't know exactly how all of that is going to work, but we know that it says there are going to be guests at the wedding. Not everyone who is resurrected in the first resurrection will be part of the bride, but there will be guests, and they eat at the marriage supper. So, the last thing we're going to do is have a great big feast! The marriage of the Lamb is going to take place, we'll have the great feast of the marriage supper of the Lamb, and then get ready for Trumpets. The angels are going to bring all the horses for us.

Let's see if we can get some hints of this covenant here; it will be an extension of a covenant already of the New Covenant. Just like the covenant that God made with Abraham in Gen.17[transcriber's correction] was an extension of the covenant He made with him in Gen. 15. So likewise with us, we will be part of the everlasting covenant.

Hebrews 13:20: "And may the God of peace, Who raised our Lord Jesus from among the dead—that great Shepherd of the sheep—through the blood of the everlasting covenant."

When we receive our new name, we receive our rewards, we receive our assignments, we will have a New Covenant, part of the everlasting covenant that started out when you were baptized. This will be a new phase of it, an extension of it because we will live forever.

Let's see part of the covenant that God made with Melchizedek, the Lord Who was Melchizedek. Being priests and kings under Christ, we then will become part of the Melchizedek priesthood directly. So, not only does this apply to Christ, but it will also have to extend to those who are going to be kings and priests under Christ. Have to be!

Psalm 110:1: "The LORD said unto my Lord, 'Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies as Your footstool.'" That's the whole prophecy of what God is doing.

Verse 2: "The LORD shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion saying, 'Rule in the midst of Your enemies.' Your people will offer themselves in the day of Your power, in the beauties of Holiness from the womb of the morning: Yours is the dew of Your youth. The LORD has sworn and will not repent, 'You are a priest forever after the order of Melchisedec'" (vs 2-4).

Now that is a covenant. So likewise, there is going to be a marriage covenant; there will be the covenant for the new priests and the new kings.

• The pouring out of the seven last plagues

All of this takes place while we are on the Sea of Glass before we return to the earth. You have to come back for Trumpets so we can continue the story, because all of the Holy Days are connected together and have meaning.

The pouring out of the seven last plagues, Revelation 15:5: "And after these things I looked, and behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened. And the seven angels who had the seven last plagues came out of the temple; they were clothed in linen, pure and bright, and girded about the chest with golden breastplates. And one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden vials, full of the wrath of God, Who lives into the ages of eternity. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from His power; and no one was able to enter inside the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled"  (vs 5-8).

Now then, God's vengeance is given. Remember God said to all of us, 'Vengeance is mine, says the Lord.' God is going to do a unique thing. He is going to show all the saints, all at the same time, the vengeance of God on this whole ungodly world-system, and fulfill His promise, that if you wait for the vengeance of God, you will see it.

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.'" Men are going to learn that they are feeble, indeed, fighting against God. God doesn't use guns, cannons, and bombs. God uses things that affect the human body in a way to debilitate it. He uses the same plagues that He used when He destroyed Egypt. This is to show that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and these weapons, the greatest weapons of mass destruction that have ever been.

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 are probably going to break out with boils, blains and carbuncles, from head to toe. Remember what happened to Job? He was so covered with boils that he just sat there in the dust and took a broken potsherd and just scraped the puss-caps off those boils that he had, and then threw ashes on it. He was sitting there and you know the flies just came all around him, that's why he said, 'The worms eat this body.' There were probably some maggots crawling around in some of these sores that he opened up. So, just picture the same thing here. That's why don't receive the mark of the beast. It may be convenient for a while, but you're going to pay the penalty, friend.

Verse 3: "And the second angel went and poured out his vial into the sea; and it became blood, like that of a dead man; and every living soul in the sea died."

When Christ comes to this earth when we come with Him to this earth, the earth is going to be nearly dead, lifeless, plagued, sick, destroyed, dead bodies everywhere. Yeah, there will be some people still alive; how many we don't know. You talk about shell shock, you talk about plague shock!

Verse 4: "And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers, and into the fountains of waters; and they became blood. Then I heard the angel of the waters say…" (vs 4-5). There is an angel in charge of the waters of the earth. So he said,

"…'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…" (vs 5-6). You need to understand the blood of the saints and the prophets is worthy that they receive this.

"…and You have given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.' And I heard another voice from the altar say, 'Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments'" (vs 6-7).

Men look at this and say God is evil, mean, nasty, hateful and terrible. What have men done to God? All those who are against God, remember, there is a day called payback time, and here it is!

Verse 8: "And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given to it to scorch men with fire." Do you think 130 degrees in Iraq is pretty tough? It doesn't say how hot this is, but it scorches them like with fire.

"Then men were scorched with great heat…" (v 9). Now apparently just a big blast for a certain period of time. Did they repent? No! How hard is the heart once it is given over to Satan the devil? Pretty hard!

"…and they blasphemed the name of God, Who has authority over these plagues, and did not repent to give Him glory" (v 9). 'We're going to make it to the end. We're going to fight these invaders from outer space.'

Verse 10: "And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the throne of the beast; and his kingdom became full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues because of the pain."

It's much like the darkness that they had in Egypt. It was so thick they could feel it. Can you imagine having such a darkness that is so totally black and so absolutely oppressive that you can reach out and feel it, and there is nothing you can do?

Verse 11: "And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores; yet, they did not repent of their works." There is going to be a little respite after that. Here comes the last desperate hoorah of mankind against God.

Verse 12: "And the sixth angel poured out his vial into the great River Euphrates… [because after Rev. 9 it began to flow again] …and its waters were dried up, so that the way of the kings from the rising of the sun might be prepared"—so that the rest of the army of 200-million could come.

They thought, 'Oh! This is fantastic! The river is dried up, now we can get our enemies over there to Jerusalem and we can fight this invasion from outer space! Now is our opportunity. We can still do it in spite of everything that has gone on.'

So, they are going to get spiritual communication, v 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."

These are going to convince them that if we all gather together, if we just come together. You talk about Pharaoh being convinced that he could run down into the Red Sea, which was open, and he could see the dry ground and he looked to his right, and the water was way down at the other end, and he looked to his left and the water was way down at that end. So likewise, they're going to be deceived into thinking, 'If we gather together, we're going to make it. This is our last chance!'

Verse 14: "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."

This is going to be an awesome battle with all the armies gathered around. They're going to be able to see the Sea of Glass. They're going to be able to get their armies there and they are going to say, 'Okay, let's all get here with all of our rockets, all of our tanks, all of our bombs, everything we can shoot up there. We are going to blast this thing out of the air and they'll come tumbling down, and we'll kill them all!'

Well, the Sea of Glass is going to be perfectly protected. All those missiles and everything are just going to bounce off. They're going to know they are in deep trouble then.

Here is a little warning to all the saints, 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."

In other words: Lest you who know the Truth, don't watch and keep your garments clean by loving and obeying God, and by repentance through the blood of Christ, you're going to be ashamed and you're going to end up the same way.

Verse 16: "And he gathered them together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon. Then the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, 'IT IS FINISHED.' And there were voices and thunders and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were on the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great" (vs 16-18).

This is the finality! Like a great and tremendous symphony that just builds and builds, and finally it comes to the end. Instead of kettledrums going and trumpets blowing it's going to be the angels who are shouting, and here it's building right to the end and the seventh angel poured out his vial. It's going to be something so great,

Verse 19: "And the great city was divided into three parts; and the cities of the nations fell…" I just imagine every skyscraper that man has ever built is going to come crumbling to the ground.

"…and Babylon the Great…" (v 19). Now we'll talk about the judgment of Babylon leading up to Trumpets.

"…was remembered before God to give her the cup of the wine of the fury of His wrath. And every island disappeared, and no mountains were found; and great hail, each stone the weight of a talent, fell down from heaven upon men; and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, for the plague was exceedingly great" (vs 19-21).

We'll see that this doesn't kill all the men! This doesn't kill all the armies, yet. They recover after this the hail comes down, and what happens after hail is down on the ground for a while? Well, sooner or later, it melts away!

Now, if you want to know the rest of the story, come for Trumpets!

All Scriptures from The Holy Bible in Its Original Order, A Faithful Version

Scriptural References:

• 1 John 3:1-2
• Revelation 15:1-5
• Psalm 24:7-10
• Hebrews 2:5-13
• Psalm 22:22-23
• Isaiah 8:16-18
• Psalm 35:18
• Psalm 33:1-4
• Psalm 144:9-10
• Exodus 15:1-3, 20-22
• Revelation 5:8-10
• Psalm 18:46-50
• Psalm 47:1-9
• Ephesians 1:20-23
• Revelation 19:11-12, 16
• Revelation 2:17
• Revelation 3:12
• Isaiah 56:1-5
• Isaiah 62:1-3
• Ephesians 3:11-15
• Isaiah 40:9-11
• Matthew 5:11-12
• Matthew 6:1
• 2 John 8
• 1 Peter 1:3-4
• Matthew 25:14-21
• Luke 19:15-19
• Revelation 19:1-9
• Hebrews 13:20
• Psalm 110:1-4
• Revelation 15:5-8
• Revelation 16:1-21

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:

• Matthew 6:19-20
• Genesis 17; 15
• Revelation 9

Also referenced: Article:
Rome's Challenge to the Protestants (truthofgod.org).

FRC/jea
Transcribed: 1/15/06
Reformatted/Corrected: bo—February/2017