Pentecost: The 50th Day Harvest—2023

Fred R. Coulter—May 28, 2023

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Greetings everyone! Welcome to the Feast of Pentecost! Here we are another Day of Pentecost!

Let's look at the Feasts of God and understand that all of the Feasts of God, starting with the Sabbath, because the Sabbath is the important key! WHEN you start keeping the Sabbath and you start keeping the other commandments of God, THEN you begin to have the Bible opened to your understanding on:

• what God is doing
• what God is saying
• our purpose in life
• where we are going
• how our lives fit into that
• how God—with the power of His Holy Spirit—fits into our lives

Look at what happened with the Passover and the children of Israel and Egypt. Then the next day beginning in the evening, when they had the pillar of light so they could see where they were going, they left Egypt.

Then the last day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread they passed through the Red Sea! Think about it, every single Feast of God pictures major events that God is involved with His people.

First of all with Abraham, and then the children of Israel. Every major Feast of God pictures the action of God and our reaction to Him!

Let's begin this Day of Pentecost in Deut. 16, and this tells us about keeping the Feast of Weeks. We'll explain this in just a little bit so that we know exactly what we're talking about. We will explain it coming from Lev. 23, as well.

Deuteronomy 16:9: "You shall count seven weeks to yourselves. Begin to count the seven weeks from the time you first began to put the sickle to the grain.:

There was that premier sheaf that was waved before the Lord on the Sabbath during Unleavened Bread. This was a type of Christ ascending to the Father as the Firstborn from the dead; on that first day of the seven-week count! That was a spectacular day! He was raised from the dead in the tomb after three days and three nights, and the only way that they found out that He wasn't there was that there was an earthquake that broke up the seal so that the stone could be rolled away. Then they could look in and see that He wasn't there.

Astonishingly, when Peter and John went into the tomb the linen cloths that Jesus was wrapped in was still in the form of His body lying there, but He wasn't there! And the napkin that covered His face was folded up and put in another location in the tomb.

Those two things prove that He was raised from the dead, and that He was alive, because cloth do not fold itself! If it did, every woman would be happy because all of her laundry would fold itself! But that doesn't happen.

Seven weeks shall be complete! Verse 10: "And you shall keep the Feast of Weeks to the LORD your God according to the sufficiency of a freewill offering from your hand, which you shall give according as the LORD your God has blessed you. And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you, and your son, and your daughter, and your male servant, and your female servant, and the Levite inside your gates, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, those among you, in the place which the LORD your God has chosen to place His name there" (vs 10-11).

We are also to realize that we are to bring forth and offering to God on every one of the Holy Days. Let's see how our offering ties in with the harvest, and how Paul pictures it. With the offering that we bring, we bring it the way that God wants us to bring it: with our whole heart and according to the blessing that He has given us, just like He says in Deut. 16.

Paul is talking about an actual crop, and of course, Pentecost—from the time of counting the seven weeks—is picturing an actual crop. You have to sow the seed first, and as covered yesterday, the seed is the Word of God, so Christ is the One Who is doing it.

Now then, we have our part! How much do we bring forth, like we saw yesterday (Day 49): 30-fold, 60-fold, 100-fold. All of that depends on how we yield to God. That which is least among everything is the one who is also important to God! We never forget that!

2-Corinthians 9:6: "But this I say: the one who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly; and the one who sows bountifully shall also reap bountifully."

So, we have this relationship with God, with His Holy Spirit, and we have to determine what we're going to bring in an offering to God, an considering everything that He has done for us and to us—opening our mind to understand His Word and Truth, Plan and everything that God is doing—is an amazing thing, indeed!

Notice the free moral agency, and this is why that God does not want the elders to 'beat' the people for money, because it's not produced by love and free will moral agency of the one giving it! It is produced by extraction through fear! God doesn't want that!

Verse 7: "Each one as he purposes in his heart, so let him give, but not grudgingly or by compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver."

God looks at everything that we do, and God's Spirit is within us, and we will see Christ in us as the Hope of Glory!

Verse 8: "For God is able to make all grace abound toward you so that in every way you may always have sufficiency in all things, and may abound unto every good work."

What is the good work? Eph. 2, the good works that God has ordained before hand that we should walk in them! As we will see with the seven churches in Rev. 2 & 3, Christ says, 'I know your works!'

So, the works that are good are produced because of faith! You cannot have good works without faith!

(pause for the offering)

Thank you, brethren, for the offering! As you know, we always put it to work to preach the Gospel, to produce Bibles, booklets—and I hope you like the newest book: The Apostle Paul's Teaching on God's Law. We have plenty of them and you can have as many as you need to pass out to whomever you want to pass them out to.

Now let's come to Lev. 23 and we're going to see something and though we've know this, I haven't emphasized it as much as I should have.

Beginning with the counting of the Wave Sheaf Offering, the command for Pentecost is the longest command for any Holy Day. Think about that! That also tells us how important it is. We will see the important events that God did on Pentecost.

Just like we all know, the Bible condemns all the holidays of this world. You can't find any of the holidays of fake Christianity in the Bible. They adamantly reject the Sabbath and all the Holy Days of God. Those are the very things that would open their minds to understanding the Word of God.

Isn't that amazing! It's just like we read yesterday, for their eyes they have closed, and in 2-Cor. 4, with the help of Satan! Their ears they have shut lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and be converted! 'But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear,' as Jesus said, 'and it's given to you to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of God!'

Leviticus 23:15: "And you shall count to you beginning with the next day after the Sabbath, beginning with the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven Sabbaths shall be complete."

Deut. 16 says seven weeks! That word, though it is based on the Sabbath, means weeks! Here it is: "…seven Sabbaths shall be complete"—meaning coming to the end of the seventh Sabbath at 'ba erev'—ending the day!

Verse 16: "Even unto the day after the seventh Sabbath you shall number fifty days…."

So, here we are! This is the 50th Day, the 28th of May, 2023. Some years it's a little earlier, some years it's a little later depending upon whether it is a leap year with 13 month or a regular year with just 12 months.

That's why even though the events that we see that are going to take place on Pentecost, it's just like Jesus said, 'No one knows the day or the hour.' The Holy Days picture what's going to happen on those days. But when you look down into the future, we don't know where it's going to fall exactly on the date of the Calendar, even though we know what the day pictures.

"…And you shall offer a new grain offering to the LORD. You shall bring out of your homes two wave loaves of two tenth parts…." (vs 16-17)—specific size of loaves!

We are going to see something that's very important here:

"…They shall be of fine flour…"  (v 17)—beaten fine!

Symbolically that means all of the trials and tests that we go through to perfect us! You can't fine flour unless it is thoroughly beaten!

 "…They shall be baked with leaven..." (v 17).

Of the sacrifices that are given, only the peace offering has leavened bread with it. That's means peace between God and you! The one who is offering the peace offering and to God, and you share in eating that offering. It's like having a meal with God with leaven!

What did we see in Matt. 13 concerning leaven. The good leaven is the action of leaven put into the dough so that the bread can be made and baked! When it's backed, it's completely different than when it's just a lump of dough, and it's permanent!

You can't take the loaf after it's baked and smash it down and let it rise again, because it won't do it. The leaven pictures the unseen work within us just like it is the unseen work in the dough to raise it.

Then God tells us what it is; "…they are the firstfruits to the LORD" (v 17).

Don't we read in James 1:18: "…that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all His created beings"—and Christ is the First of the firstfruits!

Those of us in the first resurrection are the firstfruits, as well as the Church of the Firstborn, which also tells us that:

• no one has ascended to heaven except Christ
• no one has been raised from the dead to eternal life except Jesus Christ

We know from 1-Cor. 15 that that won't happen until Christ returns! We will see the prophetic events that lead up to it and how that happens when we get to the book of Revelation.

Let's see what else Lev. 23 says, because there's more symbolism in Pentecost referring to the Church now.

Leviticus 23:18: "And you shall offer with the bread seven lambs without blemish of the first year…"

How many Churches are there Rev. 2 & 3? Seven! Each one of these lambs picture the seven churches!

"…and one young bull, and two rams. They shall be for a burnt offering to the LORD with their grain offering, and their drink offerings, even an offering made by fire, of sweet savor to the LORD" (v 18).

Since we still have sin to overcome all during our life, as long as we are in the flesh, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread teaches us the whole sum of the Feast of Unleavened Bread can be explained by this: We are to bring every thought into the captivity of the obedience of Jesus Christ! But that means:

• we must repent of our sins
• we must get rid of sin within

That's why there is the sin offering!

Verse 19: "Then you shall sacrifice one male goat for a sin offering, and two lambs of the first year for a sacrifice of peace offerings. And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits, a wave offering before the LORD, with the two lambs…." (vs 19-20).

All of those picture everything that is taking place in the Church overcoming and coming to the place of the resurrection. As we will see, the first resurrection does occur on Pentecost!

Verse 21: "And you shall proclaim on the same day that it may be a Holy convocation to you. You shall do no servile work therein. It shall be a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.

Then always remember the poor! (v 22).When they harvest the grain everything left behind they were to leave for the poor.

Now let's see that God has used Pentecost to reveal Himself:

• to Israel
• to the Church
• to the world
• to us at the resurrection

That's why it's important! God's days carry great meaning in the fulfilling of His Plan! That's why we have the real thick book: God's Plan for Mankind Revealed by His Sabbath and Holy Days! That's how you understand God:

• you obey God
• you love God
• you keep His Sabbath
• you keep His Holy Days
• you have repented
• you're baptized
• you've received the Holy Spirit
• you grow in grace and knowledge

God is working with all of us! But it all begins with understanding the commandments of God!

So, on the Day of Pentecost to the nation of Israel God revealed the Ten Commandments! They were to take them to the rest of the world to show God's Way to the rest of the world.

But they didn't do it! They got caught up with the other gods of this world. In Exo. 32 there's a prophecy that it would happen and that it would come through the priesthood, starting with Aaron when he made the golden calf!

Here's what God spoke. Remember that there were thunders and lighting and earthquake and smoke. Then God came down on Mt. Sinai and it was like the whole mountain was on fire. All the people down below the mountain were looking up there and everything was trembling and they were greatly afraid and in awe.

God spoke to them! And the first thing that He said to them—and it's the first thing that they needed always remember—here's what God said:

Exodus 20:1: "And God spoke all these words, saying… [the voice of God to the people, and that never happened like that again] …'I am the LORD your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage'" (vs 1-2).  Only God can save you!

The Ten Commandments:

First Commandment: v 3: "You shall have no other gods before Me."

That's the most important thing! Because when you have other things and other gods before the true God, you move away from God and you bring penalties upon yourself! Just witness the history of mankind and the world that is today!

Second Commandment: v 4: "You shall not make for yourselves any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters under the earth. You shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them…" (vs 4-5).

Why would people do that if they have knowledge of the true God? Stop and think about it! The Catholics are amazing! Every Catholic ought to ask themselves: Why in their Bible do they have the second commandment still there in Exo. 20, but in every catechism it's removed? Because they have all the idols! That alone ought to make every Catholic get up and walk out of whatever cathedral that they are in, and leave Catholicism! Because you stir up the anger of God:

Third Commandment: v 7: "You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain…"

That's for every person, but also for every minister and teacher!

Fourth Commandment: v 8: Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it Holy."

Then all the rest of the commandments are pertaining, first of all, to our family:

Fifth Commandment: v 12: "Honor your father and your mother…"
Sixth commandment: v 13: "You shall not murder."
Seventh Commandment: v 14: "You shall not commit adultery."
Eighth Commandment: v 15: "You shall not steal."
Ninth Commandment: v 16: "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor."
Tenth Commandment, v 17: "You shall not covet"

All the laws that if the people would follow, even in the letter of the Law, they would have decent societies and families. They would understand the family and the purpose of the family, etc.

That was all given on Pentecost. That began when God began to organize Israel into a nation. Let's see the parallel of this; this becomes very important! Acts 2—God manifested Himself in power, showing His strength and Spirit and what He was going to do. This was when the Church began!

All during the ministry of Jesus Christ He was preparing the 12 apostles to carry on the work that He started with them: to write the Gospels, to preach the Word!

For all of you Messianic Jews out there, listen up! The New Testament was not written in Hebrew! It was written in Greek! The reason is the Jews have so many traditions and things that they have that there had to be a complete separation from Judaism! God was not going allow Judaism to be within the Church. Our relationship would be directly with God the Father and Jesus Christ!

So, the Apostles wanted to know, after Christ had been with them for 40 days and 40 nights teaching them many things. We're not told all that He taught, but He was probably teaching them out of what we call today the Old Covenant, all the prophecies concerning Himself. And also what they were to do and how they were to do it! Quite an amazing thing!

Then Christ appeared to 500 brethren all at once. Then they were gathered in Jerusalem and Christ was ready to ascend to be accepted of the Father. He told them, 'Wait until you're endued with power from on high.'

They wanted to know if Christ was going to restore the Kingdom to Israel at this time? He said, 'No, it's not for you to know. But you go to Jerusalem until you're endowed with power from God, from the Holy Spirit, which is the great next thing on the Feast of Pentecost at the Temple of God! It had to be there to show that this event was from God Who placed His name in Jerusalem, Who had the Temple built in Jerusalem!

Acts 2:1: "And when the Day of Pentecost, the fiftieth day, was being fulfilled… [accomplished, completed] …they were all with one accord in the same place. And suddenly…"

Just like it was at Mt. Sinai, Boom! God came down and was speaking. Now this is spiritually! They received the Spirit of Power to preach the Word of God! He did it in a miraculous way. He did it at a time when there was a maximum amount of Jews from the Diaspora there at Jerusalem so that they could see the Power of God, hear the Truth of God and the Church began that day!

Verse 2:"And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like the rushing of a powerful wind, and filled the whole house where they were sitting."

Imagine what that was like! This time God was going to speak through the apostles. He was going to do it miraculously! Every apostle that was speaking was preaching the things of God. But every one of the Jews who came from all of the countries all around that are listed here in Acts 2, each one of them heard them speaking in the language that they grew up in. Amazing!

That means that they were not speaking in Hebrew. God intended this Word to go out to all nations, and to be in the language that the different nations could read and hear and understand!

• Has that been accomplished?
• Are there not more Bibles in the world than any other book?
• Is not the Bible available for everyone on their smart phone so they could have the Word of God right in their hand, whether they download it or not?

Amazing!

Verse 3: "And there appeared to them divided tongues as of fire, and sat upon each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit; and they began to speak with other languages, as the Spirit gave them the words to proclaim" (vs 3-4).

• Why?
• Who is the Author of all the languages? Gen. 11—He confounded the languages!

If God confounded the languages, that means God invented and gave all the languages and separated the people according to their languages. So now, this is a prophecy that the Gospel is going to go to the whole world and all the languages of the world.

You can read the rest of the account here. How do we have a relationship with God? In the beginning this is quite a thing. Never before was it that everyone who would come to God, answer the call of God, repent and be baptized and could receive the Spirit of God. The first time in the history of the whole world!

Brethren, I want you to understand that this as never before,  the calling of God is so great and the Word of God is so profound and so spiritually great and moving, teaching us, leading us, guiding us! God protecting us with His angels. Instructing us through God's Word and Spirit to prepare to be the rulers under Christ in the Kingdom of God. Amazing!

Everyone had to understand this, and everyone—when we come to the point of repentance and baptism—and continuously on through that as we grow in grace and knowledge have to understand that the sacrifice of Christ was so important… Which by the way happened on the Passover Day. There could not have been a greater event take place on that day than the death of Christ—God manifested in the flesh—so that we could have the Holy Spirit of God. That's an amazing thing! But God wants you to repent.

Let's see the conviction we are all to come to, and always remember, because:

• Christ is there to forgive us our sins
• He is there to heal our heart and mind
• He is there to heal our soul, our very being
• He is there to heal our physical body
• He is there to give us His mind, the mind of Christ

Through the Word of God and the Power and Spirit of God! We've all got to remember this always!

Verse 36: "Therefore, let all the house of Israel know with full assurance… [full conviction and understanding] …that God has made this same Jesus, Whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."

Our sins have killed Christ. Whatever part our sins had in it, it killed Christ. " …Whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." That means:

• Lord over you!
• Christ the Savior!

They understood this; the Spirit of God helped them to understand it. Notice that this was a great event to take place.

Verse 37: "Now, after hearing this, they were cut to the heart… [as we have studied recently; when we repent God wants us to rend our hearts and not our garments] …and they said to Peter and the other apostles, 'Men and brethren, what shall we do?'"

Think about it! How are we going to overcome this thing that we have been involved in killing Christ.

Verse 38: "Then Peter said to them, 'Repent and be baptized each one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you yourselves shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'" Amazing! The gift comes from God!

• can't come any other way!
• it cannot come without repentance
• it cannot come without yielding to God with all your heart, mind, soul and being

Let's see what that does to bring us into complete close fellowship with God the Father and Jesus Christ. This is an amazing thing! One of the greatest things to take place. On the Passover night Jesus told the apostles that this would happen.

God was going to send the Holy Spirit, but He also wanted them to know that there are conditions to receiving it: repentance, baptism, but also obedience!

John 14:15: "If you love Me, keep the commandments—namely, My commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that it may be with you throughout the age" (vs 15-16).

The Holy Spirit is going to continue right on down through the age. Then when the Millennium begins, there's another phase of the Holy Spirit, conversion at that time for everyone in the world.

Verse 17: "Even the Spirit of the Truth…"

That's what God wants, because our mind without the Spirit of God is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked and only the Spirit of God and the Truth of God can erase and overcome what we have in our mind.

So, this is what Pentecost pictures in receiving the Holy Spirit. The fulfilling of the words of Jesus in John 14:

Verse 17: "Even the Spirit of the Truth, which the world cannot receive… [because they don't repent] …because it perceives it not, nor knows it, but you know it because it dwells with you, and shall be within you."

This is very important; this is our relationship with God! It started with that Pentecost in Acts. 2.

Verse 21: "The one who has My commandments and is keeping them…"

Every Protestant ought to read that! That's why we have the book: The Apostle Paul's Teachings on God's Laws!

"…that is the one who loves Me, and the one who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will manifest Myself to him" (v 21).

That's the whole process of conversion! Remember:

• God loves you,
• Christ loves you
• They want you in the Kingdom
• They're going to help you
• They're going to strengthen you
• They're going to be with you in everything

Verse 23: "Jesus answered and said to him, 'If anyone loves Me, he will keep My Word… [everything that He said] …and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him."

That's quite a thing, God dwelling in us by the begettal of the Holy Spirit, which is the seed of eternal life! Only comes God's way. Notice what He says to make it clear, and this comes down to the first commandment given back in Exo. 20, 'You shall have no other god's before Me.' If you have no other gods before Him, you're going to love Him, obey Him and yield to Him! But if you don't, here's what it is:

Verse 24: "The one who does not love Me does not keep My words, and the Word that you hear is not Mine, but the Father's, Who sent Me."

Let's understand something here: It's only going to come God's way! That's what the Feast of Pentecost (Acts 2) tells us. So, all the religions of men trying to come to God are vain and futile.

We will see some other prophetic events having to do with the Feast of Pentecost, which are God's direct and powerful and dynamic intervention into the world

(break@46:57)

Let's come the John 14:1, and then we will see the prophetic events that will happen right on Pentecost, and how important that is. We don't know the day or the hour as I have explained, that is the day of the month. With Pentecost we can come pretty close. But we don't know the year.

Look at how many have predicted the return of Christ, but He didn't come, because it wasn't time! But here's what Jesus said to the apostles before He was crucified.

John 14:1: "Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were otherwise, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you" (vs 1-2).

Apply that to yourself! God has a place for every single one of us according to our faith and yieldedness to God. Notice that He gives a promise.

Verse 3: "And if I go… [which He did] …and prepare a place for you, I will come again…"

That's what everyone has been wanting to know. 'Lord, when are you coming?' So, here we are 2,023 years later, and He still hasn't come! But He says:

"…I will come again and receive you to Myself; so that where I am, you may be also" (v 3). That's quite a thing!

Now let's look at some prophecies of what Jesus said about His return.

Matt. 24—we know that a lot of the things that are there some of the things are in cycles right on down through time. Wars, rumors of wars, famine, drought and all of that. Those have happened over and over again. Every time that happens, someone comes along and says, 'Oh, Christ is going to return! But He doesn't!

He's going to come when He says He's going to come, and it's going to involved Pentecost, as we will see. Here's what Christ says, and He tells us what to look for, for the beginning of the Tribulation:

Matthew 24:15: "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.)"

That parenthetical statement was inserted there by John so that those of us going beyond his lifetime would know what to look for. Let him understand!

This tells us, along with Rev. 11 and 2-Thess. 2 that there must be a third temple. It hasn't yet been built, and that the thing that everybody is missing. There has to be a temple built so the abomination of desolation can stand in the Holy Place.

We will see the description of the abomination that makes desolate! Also realize that the times were such, even during Paul's time that they were thinking that Christ would return. But it wasn't until after John was given the book of Revelation that they understood that this is not going to happen any time soon. So, here in 2-Thess. is a description of it.

We're going to be flooded with many people saying that 'Christ is coming! Christ is coming!' that's true He is coming! But He's going to come according to His schedule and not any schedule that men have!

If we read it in the Word of God, we can get a good idea of the events that are going to take place, and also that they're connected with Pentecost. That will help us have some understanding.

2-Thessalonians 2:1: "Now, we beseech you, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him… [that's the resurrection] …that you not be quickly shaken in mind, nor be troubled—neither by spirit… [demonic spirits out there bringing false information] …nor by word… [someone preaching it] …nor by epistle, as if from us… [false epistles coming around] …saying that the day of Christ is present" (vs 1-2).

Verse 3: "Do not let anyone deceive you by any means, because that day will not come[#1]unless the apostasy shall come first…"

The great turning away from God, and we're in the beginning throws of that, perhaps as never before!

"…and the man of sin shall be revealed—the son of perdition… [notice how this describes him, and this must occur before Christ returns to the earth]: …the one who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God…" (vs 3-4).

We read in Rev. 13 that they're going to worship Satan and the beast! We know in Dan. 9 that he's going to come to Jerusalem. So, here's the details of what happens when he comes to Jerusalem.

"…or that is an object of worship; so that he comes into the Temple of God… [the temple will be build by the Jews, but it will be called the Temple of God] …and sits down as God…: (v 4).

That's a powerful statement; that has not happened, but it will happen and the false prophet will be right there to guarantee that this is 'God manifested in the flesh.' The Jews will, at first, believe it, because they're looking for a physical Messiah. But that's not how it's going to be!

"…proclaiming that he himself is God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you, I told you these things? And now you understand what is holding him back in order for him to be revealed in his own set time" (vs 5-6). Dan. 9 controls that; the last seven years!

And in the midst of seven years this is when this occurs.

Verse 7: "For the mystery of lawlessness is already working; only there is One Who is restraining at the present time until it arises out of the midst"—of the way of Satan to sit in the Temple of God!

Verse 8: "And then the lawless one will be revealed… [notice the time-setting by this next statement] …(whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth, and will destroy with the brightness of His coming)." Rev. 19! The beast and the false prophet!

Where are they going to go? By the Word of God the angels are going to take them and cast them into the Lake of Fire!

Verse 9: "Even the one whose coming is according to the inner working of Satan… [no wonder we have so many Satanic things going on today] …with all power and signs and lying wonders."

Do you think there's a lot deception going on now. Listen to this: The words of God are so true and so powerful and will be fulfilled to the maximum 100% degree! Not partially, not a little bit, not perhaps, but absolutely!

Verse 10: "And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in those who are perishing because…"

Notice why the world won't understand until it come right down on top of them, and it's going to come with the return of Christ.

"…because they did not receive the love of the Truth, so that they might be saved" (v 10).

Everybody out there listen up, and those of you who have not heard of this before, listen! Ask yourself: Do I love the Truth, which is the Word of God? Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life! So, His life and ministry is a manifestation of Truth by God manifested in the flesh! We have the recording of this now written in the New Testament.

• How many really love the Truth?
• How many love it and are willing to die for it?
• Why is the whole world going to be deceived?

Because of this very thing right here; they don't love the Truth!

Today, right now, the temple of Satan, the ones who are part of it are taking Bibles and tearing them up and burning them! So, how long will it be before they come after us personally?

Verse 11: "And for this cause…"

Here's what God does if you don't love the Truth and love God, here's what's going to happen. This is pronounced by God through the Apostle Paul:

"…God will send upon them a powerful deception that will cause them to believe the lie" (v 11)—that that man, the son of perdition, is God manifested in the flesh! But he's not!

Verse 12: "So that all may be judged who did not believe the Truth…"

• they didn't love it
• they didn't believe it

"…but who took pleasure in unrighteousness" (v 12). That's coming! That's going to be!

Let's see how Jesus also described the time in which these will take place.

Matthew 24:20: "And pray that your flight be not in the winter, nor on the Sabbath."

What does this tell us? Christ is saying that the Sabbath Day is binding at the end-time! Hello, all you Sunday-keepers:

• Do you get it?
• How long will you be deluded in your delusions?
• How long will you be deluded in your lies?
• How long will you be deluded in your false doctrines?

We just read what's going to happen to you!  So, you better repent!

Verse 21: "For then shall there be Great Tribulation… [How bad? How terrible? How difficult?] …such as has not been from the beginning of the world until this time, nor ever shall be again."

If you think we're facing troublous times now, just wait!

Verse 22: "And if those days were not limited… [God has limited it to 3-1/2 years] …there would no flesh be saved; but for the elect's sake those days shall be limited."

Then they're going to be going around false Christs, false prophets saying 'Here He is, come and look, and Jesus said don't go! He's not in a building! He's not in the wilderness! Don't go!

Here's what's going to happen first, and this is going to signal just before or perhaps even on the Day of Pentecost, as we will see when we get to Revelation.

Verse 27: "For as the light of day…"

• What is the light of day?
• Is that not the sun? Yes!

"…which comes forth from the east and shines as far as the west…" (v 27).

Isn't it interesting that Jesus points it out on something that everyone can see and know? There's no secret rapture! Those of you who believe in a secret rapture out there in Protestantville, it 'ain't a gonna happen.' When the few who are taken to a place of safety (Rev. 12) are taken then 'all hell' is going to be leached on this world and you will still be standing there and not taken away!

"…so also shall the coming of the Son of man be" (v 27). That's quite a statement!

It's going to be like the sun! Manifested itself just like the sun that shines from the east to the west. We will see that prophesied and how it will be fulfilled in just a minute.

Verse 29: "But immediately after the Tribulation of those days…:

Tie in Hos. 5:21 thru Hos. 6 where it is that Israel is in captivity and they suffer for two years, each day is a year, but in the third day they will be raised up. We will see that again in prophecy in just a bit.

"…the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven…" (vs 29-30).

What is that 'sign of the Son of man'? right here in:

Verse 27: "For as the light of day, which comes forth from the east and shines as far as the west…"

That's how Christ is going to appear, and this is an earth shaking and powerful thing that is going to happen. The whole world will see it!

Verse 30: "…and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming upon the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."

Then the next major event will be the resurrection! We will see how that fits in.

Verse 31: "And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet; and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Mal. 4 is quite an interesting thing, indeed! Malachi prophesies about the Sun of Righteousness! Think about that! It's not 'Son'; this is 'Sun'! Notice the warning:

Malachi 4:1: "'For behold, the day is coming, burning like a consuming oven; and all the proud, and every doer of wickedness, shall be stubble. And the day that comes shall burn them up,' says the LORD of hosts…" Two things:

• when He returns
• the Lake of Fire

Dual prophecy! Now notice, it's talking about the saints:

Verse 2: "But unto you who fear My name, the Sun of Righteousness… [that's the sign of the Son of man in heaven that shines from the east to the west] …shall arise, and healing will be in His wings. And you shall go out and grow up like calves of the stall. And you shall trample the wicked…" (vs 2-3).

This is carrying out the vengeance of God going against the wicked and the armies that are gathered together to fight Christ and the saints as they come down from the Sea of Glass!

Let's put this together with Rev. 6. All of this comes together in the book of Revelation: the sign of the Son of man, the Sun of Righteousness and the shaking of the heavens and the earth. It comes down to the sixth seal. This is two full years into the three and a half years of the Tribulation!

First there's going to be the false prophet, then there's going to be the Beast Power and the sword, wars and all of that going on. Then death and famine through the seals that Christ opens. Remember that nothing happens until God says so!

Let's see what we've just described be fulfilled in Rev. 6. At first, they're going to think this is the return of Christ. But then Satan is going to come along like He always does, because Christ is not going to come on the earth directly. He's just going to reveal Himself in the heavens. So, Satan comes along and He's going to say, 'That's not Christ. These are invaders from outer space.'

Do you think that the world is being setup for that kind of thing? Without a doubt!

Revelation 6:12: "And when He opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake…"

What do the prophets say? Behold, I will shake the heavens and shake the earth!  This is going to be an unheard of thing up to that point.

"…and the sun became black as the hair of sackcloth, and the moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its untimely figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind" (vs 12-13).

So, the earthquake is going to hit! BOOM! The whole world is going to feel that! Not just a little earthquake somewhere in the magnitude of 5-7 on the Richter Scale! This will probably be on the scale of about 12 or 14! Then what happens after that calms down:

Verse 14: "Then the heaven departed like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the powerful men, and every bondman, and every free man hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains; and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, 'Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him Who sits on the Throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, because the great day of His wrath has come, and who has the power to stand?'" (vs 14-17)

To show God's love and graciousness, in the middle of all of this tremendous destruction, what does He do? Rev. 7 and the sealing of the 144,000 and the great innumerable multitude!

This is God's Pentecost harvest, which may be more than what the Church has done down through all the ages, starting with the 12 tribes of Israel! Dan is not mentioned because in Gen. 49 it says, 'Dan will wait for his salvation.' But all the tribes! Then a great innumerable multitude!

God is going to minister to them directly through His angels. He's going to convert them and seal them with His Spirit and the angels are going to carry that out.  Why is that? There are no ministers around to baptize! This is God's doing!  We can't take from that the little 'song an dance' of  the Protestants to receive the Lord in your heart. NO! God is going to do this with His angels.

There's going to be weeping, crying and sighing and praising God. All kinds of things going, and there are going to be miraculous healings. Those in the slave camps and those who are oppressed by the Beast Power, and they come to repentance when they see the sign of the Son of Man in heaven, and the shaking of the earth and the heavens. God gives them His Holy Spirit.

They will have one year from that Pentecost right here in Rev. 7 until the resurrection. It appears when you read Rev. 7 that they immediately go to the Throne of God. That's not true because they have to wait for the resurrection and that doesn't come until the seventh trump, the last trump.

Since this happens at the end of two years, how much time is left out of three and a half? One and half years! Picture the earth and all the troubles and difficulties that are going on. Everything is going to be jumbled up in a mess everywhere. So, from the time of Pentecost until Trumpets the nations will use that time to re-gather themselves. Then on the Feast of Trumpets, after this Pentecost, then the trumpet plagues start! That's going to be something!

We won't go through all of them, but the start from Trumpets and one year to the next Trumpets when Christ and the Church comes down to the earth. But remember from Rev. 7 Pentecost to the next Pentecost, that's after the seventh trump, which is the last trumpet.

Like Paul writes, 'The trumpet shall sound and the dead in Christ shall be raised incorruptible and we shall be changed. And this mortal shall put on immortality and this corruption must put on incorruptibility and death will be swallowed up. O death, where is your sting?'

Rev. 8—we have the trumpets start, and then we have the first four happen quickly. Then the last three come.

Rev. 9—there are two of them there and that's a total of six. But there are seven trumpets, and there has to be the last trumpet.

All during the time we're talking about here, we find in Rev. 11 something that's important to understand. Here we find the two witnesses.

God is going to choose the two witnesses as we find in Zech. 3 & 4. They will be the ones who are the olive trees standing before the God of the earth! They will not come from the Church, they will come from the high priest at the temple and the governor of Judea. They will be dressed in sackcloth! They will be against the whole world through the power of God! Two men! There's no other why to preach the Gospel!

They will be there and right at the time that they come there there's going to be the three angels (Rev. 14) which before the Tribulation begins, there are going to be those three angels preaching to the whole world the message of repentance!

The two witnesses will be preaching the message of repentance and power against the beast and the false prophet. The whole world is going to be completely frustrated and upset. They can't control the two witnesses and they can't kill them, because fire comes out of their mouths and devours the enemies that come against them. This will go on for three and a half years. Here's what it will be.

Revelation 11:3: "And I will give power to My two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth." Nothing fancy!

Verse 4: "These are the two olive trees, and the two lampstands that stand before the God of the earth."

God is going to choose them! No man is going to appoint them! The Church is going to have nothing to do with it! God is going to do it!

Verse 5: "And if anyone attempts to harm them, fire will go out of their mouths and devour their enemies. For if anyone attempts to harm them, he must be killed in this manner…. [notice the authority that they have]: These have authority to shut heaven so that no rain may fall in the days of their prophecy; and they have authority over the waters, to turn them into blood, and to smite the earth with every plague, as often as they will. And when they have completed their testimony, the beast who ascends out of the abyss will make war against them, and will overcome them, and will kill them" (vs 5-7).

The world is going think, 'now we can come out of all of this; we finally got rid of these two men.'

Verse 8: And their bodies will lie in the street of the great city…"—Jerusalem for three and a half days! Then what happens?

Verse 8: "And their bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. Then those of the peoples and tribes and languages and nations shall see their bodies… [yes, smart phones will be working] …three and a half days, for they will not allow their bodies to be put into tombs. And those who dwell on the earth… [are going to have a great celebration] …will rejoice over them, and will make merry, and will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets had tormented those who dwell on the earth" (vs 8-10).

Verse 11: "Then after the three and a half days, the Spirit of Life from God entered into them and they stood on their feet; and great fear fell upon those who were watching them. And they heard a great voice from heaven, say, 'Come up here!' And they ascended into heaven in a cloud; and their enemies saw them rise…. [with great astonishment] …And in that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell; and seven thousand men were killed in the earthquake. And the rest were filled with fear, and gave glory to the God of heaven" (vs 11-13).

Verse 14: "The second woe is past. Behold, the third woe is coming immediately. Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet…" (vs 14-15).

Notice what happens, this is the last trumpet and this happens on Pentecost! As we will see what happens afterward. When does Christ take over power of the kingdoms of this world? When the seventh trumpet sounds!

What's the first thing that He's going to do in order to take over the world? Resurrect the saints! The small and the great all the way down through history from Abel through everyone who has ever been faithful, died and buried. Those who are alive at this time and still remain faithful—the 144,000 and the great innumerable multitude—will be changed in moment and the twinkling of an eye at the last trump! Here it is right here!

Verse 15: "Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet and there were great voices in heaven, saying, 'The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ, and He shall reign into the ages of eternity.' And the twenty-four elders, who sit before God on their thrones, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying, 'We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty, Who is, and Who was, and Who is to come; for You have taken to Yourself Your great power, and have reigned'" (vs 15-17).

That's when He takes over the whole world. But it can't be completed without the saints!

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.' And the Temple of God in heaven was opened, and the Ark of His Covenant was seen…" (vs 18-19).

What a demonstration of power, and another chance to repent if they would do it! Let's see how the resurrection is going to take place. It picks right up there where we were in Rev. 11.

Revelation 14:14: "And I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and one like the Son of man sitting on the cloud, having a golden crown on His head; and in His hand was a sharp sickle."

Remember Matt. 13, the harvest is the end of the age. This is the end of the age! The age of man ended in Rev. 11. The age of the Kingdom of God begins right there, with first the resurrection! This must take place on the Feast of Pentecost, because that is the great harvest!

• Is this not a harvest here?
• Does he not have a sickle?
• Does it not say that the harvest of the earth is ripe?
• Doesn't Pentecost picture the seven weeks of harvest?

Pentecost is the great celebration where all of them come and wave these leavened loaves, which is a type of us being resurrected. Now changed and no longer a lump of dough but a completed full loaf as it were; changed from flesh to spirit!

Verse 15: "And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him Who was sitting on the cloud, 'Thrust in your sickle and reap, because the time has come for You to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.' And He Who was sitting on the cloud thrust forth His sickle upon the earth, and the earth was reaped…." (vs 15-16).

Where do we go? It say in Matt. 24 that the angels will gather us from the four corners of the earth! As you look down at the earth they're going to be gathering the saints wherever they are!

In order to take over the world you have got to have a full-fledged government ready to go. You have to have everything that you need. We will see how that's going to be.

It says that the earth was reaped; that's the resurrection! Then also after that resurrection are the seven last plagues! Here's a prophecy of it:

Verse 17: "Then another angel, who also had a sharp sickle, came out of the Temple that is in heaven. And out from the altar came another angel, who had authority over fire; and he called with a loud cry to the one who had the sharp sickle, saying, 'Thrust in your sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the earth… [not the saints] …because her grapes are fully ripe'" (vs 17-18). We will see that fulfilled in Rev. 16.

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

The greatest blood bath of humankind in the history of the world! As we will see that all the nations of the earth will be gathered against Christ to fight Him. Why? Because of what they will see! We'll be resurrected and in Rev. 15 it tells us we'll be on the Sea of Glass! The Temple of God will be there, as well!

Revelation 15:1: "Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and awesome: seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is filled up."

The seven last plagues come after the resurrection! That's why the resurrection is on Pentecost! The four and a half months between Pentecost and Trumpets those on the earth are going to be gathered together to fight the aliens coming from outer space.

What are they going to see? Here's what they're going to see, and this will be astonishing to them!

Verse 2: "And I saw a Sea of Glass mingled with fire, and those who had gotten the victory over the beast… [that goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden. Was the serpent not a beast? Yes!] …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."

We're not going to be resurrected on Trumpets, meet Christ in the air and He will say. 'Follow Me!' You will say, 'Lord, what do I do?' NO! We're all going to be on the Sea of Glass!

Verse 2: "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. 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'" (vs 2-3).

What are we going to do on the Sea of Glass? We know that:

• we're going receive a new name
• we're going to have new garments
• we're going to be instructed in what we're going to do
• we're going to see the Father
• Christ is going to present us to the Father
• He's going to say, 'Father, here are the children that You have given Me!'

That's going to be something! Think about that! Right there on the Sea of Glass!

Then we're going to find out what we're going to do. How we're going to come to the earth. Then there has to be:

• the wedding of the Lamb
• the Bride has to make herself ready

Then we will come down to the earth on Trumpets to finish the battle! After we're there on the Sea of Glass and we're singing this song:

Verse 4: "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."

A prophecy of what's going to happen when the Millennium established!

Verse 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" (vs 5-7)

We will see that! This will fulfill the promise that God has given to all the saints: You shall see the vengeance of God! What is the vengeance of God? The seven last plagues!

We will pick it up again from here when we get to the Feast of Trumpets! This is the meaning of Pentecost, and God manifesting Himself in power on Pentecost so that:

• He establishes His Kingdom
• the resurrection of the saints
• the beginning of our eternal life to rule and reign with Jesus Christ

Brethren, have a great Feast of Pentecost!

Scriptural References:

• Deuteronomy 16:9-11
• 2 Corinthians 9:6-8

• Leviticus 23:15-17
• James 1:18
• Leviticus 23:18-21
• Exodus 20:1-5, 7-8, 12-17
• Acts 2:1-4, 36-38
• John 14:15-17, 21, 23-24, 1-3
• Matthew 24:15
• 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12
• Matthew 24:20-22, 27, 29-30, 27, 30-31
• Malachi 4:1-3
• Revelation 6:12-17
• Revelation 11:3-19
• Revelation 14-14
• Revelation 15:1-7

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:

• Ephesians 2

• 2 Corinthians 4
• Matthew 13
• 1 Corinthians 15
• Leviticus 23:22
• Exodus 32
• Genesis 11
• Revelation 13
• Daniel 9
• Revelation 19; 12
• Hosea 5:21; 6
• Revelation 7;
• Genesis 49
• Revelation 8; 9
• Zechariah 3; 4

Also referenced:

Books—{truthofGod.org}:

• The Apostle Paul's Teaching on God's Law by Fred R. Coulter & Philip Neal
• God's Plan for Mankind Revealed by His Sabbath and Holy Days! by Fred R. Coulter

FRC:bo
Transcribed: 5/11/23

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