The Parable of the Sower

Greetings, brethren! This is the last Sabbath before Pentecost, the 7th Sabbath in counting toward Pentecost. It's a very important day. It's something that really ties right in with Pentecost as one leads to the other. The thing we need to understand is that God has given the understanding of His plan through the Holy Days beginning with the Passover and then the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Now we come to the Sabbath before Pentecost.

One of the things that is happening is that even in the Church of God they are getting tired of the Holy Days, and they're neglecting the Holy Days. What's going to happen? It's going to lead too many brethren into a very desperate situation! They will be dumbed down and not be able to know or understand God's plan, because even that which they have will be taken from them!

Let's look at 2-Tim. 4. I know we looked at this the last Holy Day, but I want to go back and look at it again, because this is something that is really powerful. Something that it just really is necessary for us today to truly understand. There are two messages here: one for the ministers and one for the brethren!

2-Timothy 4:1—Paul writes to Timothy: "I charge you, therefore, in the sight of God…"

• every minister needs to listen
• every minister needs to perk up his ears and listen
• every minister needs to understand that God is going to hold you accountable for this charge

"…even the Lord Jesus Christ, Who is ready to judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His Kingdom: Preach the Word!…." (vs 1-2).

That's what needs to be preached. Not ideas about men. Not ideas about what people think about things, but actually what the Word of God teaches.

I got a call from a man who said that last year he went to the Feast of Tabernacles and he didn't hear one sermon for eight days about the Feast of Tabernacles. It's all about government. It was all about unity. It was all about those things. The truth is, unless Christ rules in your heart, government doesn't matter at all!

The truth is, IF you are not united spiritually with Christ THEN all the unity that men can work out is just so much political garbage, and it's destined to fail. The Psalm says, 'The weary builders toil in vain unless the LORD builds the house.'

• Christ is building a house
• Christ is building a people.
• Christ is preparing a place for us
  • we need to be fully prepared
  • we need to be fully taught
  • we need to fully understand God's plan

I tell you, the dark days are coming when they are going to shut down the Truth! You can rest assured that's going to happen. I'll tell you how it's going to affect the Churches of God: they don't want to be looked at as a cult! They don't want to be thought of as strange. Therefore, they're going to back down from their preaching, and you wait and see, it's going to repeat itself again ala Worldwide Church of God. No doubt about it!

"…Be urgent in season and out of season…" (v 2).

Unless you preach things in season in the time that they are to be, God is not going to inspire anyone's speaking, and they're not going to speak about the things in season in the time that it needs to be said. Then out of season is the rest of the year. I tell you what:

• the Holy Days are those things that strengthen us
• the Holy Days are those things that give us inspiration

With the dark days that are coming ahead we need inspiration brethren!

• we need the inspiration of God's Holy Spirit
• we need the inspiration of His Word

Sometimes the Truth is hard to take. But nevertheless that's what Christ wants us to be sanctified by: the Truth!

"…convict, rebuke, encourage, with all patience and doctrine" (v 2).

Those things are very powerful and mighty. Doctrine does separate and God expects it to. How else are we going to be separated from the world? We can't have one foot in the world and one foot in the Church and expect God's blessing! That's pure Laodiceanism!

Verse 3: "For there shall come a time when they will not tolerate sound doctrine…"—and that's been here for a long time!

I got a phone call from a man who asked, 'Do you believe that Eve had sex with Satan in the Garden of Eden?' I said, 'No! If you believe that this conversation is ended.' He said he believe it. I said, 'This conversation is over.'

After I hung up the phone I said to myself that that is a doctrine that is 3,000 years or more old! Why don't people get a life? Get a life in Christ instead of life in their own heresy! They won't endure sound doctrine!

"…but according to their own lusts… [that's what all these false doctrines are all about] …they shall accumulate to themselves a great number of teachers, having ears itching to hear what satisfies their cravings; and they shall turn away their own ears from the Truth; and they shall be turned aside unto myths" (vs 3-4).

That's the whole process that happens, and then people soon lose the understanding of the purpose of God, what He's working out here on the earth!

• God is a God with purpose
• God is a God Who is a Creator
• God has a plan and He's carrying it out

He's carrying it out according to the outline of the Holy Days! There's a proper time for everything.

There is a time, and now is the time that we really draw close to God. That we take advantage of this time, as I said during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, that God has given us the whole Bible and:

• we better be about learning it
• we better be about knowing it
• we better be about growing in grace and knowledge

In the way that God wants us to!

Ecclesiastes 3:1: "To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under the heavens."

You can mark God's Word and know that that is true and that it is going to happen. That's why God has His Holy Days in season. It's repeated two other times here in the book of Ecclesiastes.

Verse 16: "And again I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there…"

Isn't that true? Right in the highest judgment, the Supreme Courts, wickedness is there!

"…and in the place of righteousness, that wickedness was there…. [what a shame; that should not be] …I said in my heart, 'God shall judge the righteous and the wicked; for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work'" (vs 16-17).

If I have been called, is it my time now? Yes, it is your time!

Let's see something concerning what God has done in calling us. We really need to know, understand and apply ourselves in a way that will be proper before God.

• God has called you with a purpose
• God has called you with a calling

God has in mind for you:

• an eternal life
• a new name
• He's making a place for you in New Jerusalem

This is all about what we're coming up to with the Feast of Pentecost, because that is the day upon which it pictures the first resurrection.

Romans 8:28: "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."

• He has a time
• He has a season
• He has a purpose

His purpose is for you that you be the firstfruits in the Kingdom of God!

But God has given you choice, and you have to exercise that choice. You have to do so in such a way that it will be proper and right and beneficial, because people can make the wrong choices and go the opposite direction if they choose to.

God will let them do it, because He wants to know what's in their heart! He wants to know what is in your heart! He wants to know, because no one's going to attain to the Kingdom of God unless God knows what's in your heart! Please understand that God is the heart-knowing and the heart-judging God! He's gracious, kind, merciful and longsuffering, and all of those things are true.

WHEN we have at our fingertips everything right now in full abundance and proportion, THEN we need to work and apply ourselves as firstfruits to be as fruitful as we can in it. Here's what we need to understand in this day and age:

• they're doing everything to stifle free speech
• they're doing everything to get people to conform in a new way of thinking

That's the whole purpose of how things are coming about in education, in business, in all the media!

Sit back and you look at it. It is to mold your attitude and your thinking to conform to the coming One-World Government and One-World Religion. The Truth of God will become very unpopular. In A Harmony of the Gospels you will see right there why this third edition was published. There are forces out there that are trying to destroy all the knowledge of Christ, all the knowledge of God!

They even say there is no personal God external to us out there in the universe someplace. These are the forces that are generating the 'new religion,' because the 'new religion' is going to be just a humanistic thing to control and manipulate people. Therefore, the time is going to come when we're going to have to

• stand up for the Truth,
• acknowledge the Truth
• say the Truth
• proclaim the Truth

2-Timothy 1:8: "Therefore, you should not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner; but jointly suffer with me for the sake of the Gospel, according to the power of God."

I dare say, we've all had our afflictions in it but nothing like the Apostle Paul and Timothy and the others of the apostles who wrote the New Testament for us. But here's what Paul had in his mind when he was going through these thing and he wrote and encouraged Timothy.

Verse 9: "Who has saved us and called us with a Holy calling—not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the ages of time,"

God has His plan and His purpose and that's what He's working out. These Holy Days are so profound and so important and really so momentous as we come to each one of them. Yes, we should anticipate them, and approach them as if they're brand new, because they are! It's a new Day of Pentecost. It is a new year. It is a new harvest, if we could put it that way.

Jeremiah 51:28: "Consecrate nations against her, with the kings of the Medes, her governors and all her rulers, and all the land of his kingdom. And the land shall tremble and writhe. For every purpose of the LORD shall be done against Babylon…" (vs 28-29).

Now let's understand something. Every purpose of the Lord concerning everything in everyplace is going to be accomplished according to the will of God! Do you believe that? If you do then you really will understand what's happening here! Let's see what else God has to say about:

• His purpose
• His time
• His plan

Isaiah 46:3: "Hearken unto Me, O house of Jacob… [we are spiritual Israel] …and all the remnant of the house of Israel…"

Those brethren who are the faithful ones, though they may be scattered, are the remnant of the house of Israel

"…who are borne by Me from the belly, who are lifted from the womb; even to your old age I am He…" (vs 3-4). What God is saying here is that:

• He has called you for a purpose
• He is forming Christ in you

as we saw during the Feast of Unleavened Bread

• He is with you even to your old age.

God will never leave you if you don't leave Him!

"…and to gray hairs… [or the white hairs] …I will carry you. I have made you, and I will bear you up; even I will carry you, and will deliver you" (v 4).

• we don't need to get despondent
• we don't need to get discouraged
• we don't need to get down
• we don't need to start looking at
  • other plans
  • other means
  • other devices
  • other ways

to try and accomplish God's plan!

Verse 5: "To whom will you liken Me, and make Me equal, and compare Me, that we may be alike?"

That's what's happening in this world, brethren! Oh, yes it is! They are making Christ just like any other religious prophet or teacher. They're trying to:

• strip away His Divinity
• strip away His Godhead
• strip away His authority
• strip all the words out of the New Testament so you won't believe them

Verse 6: "They pour gold out of the bag, and weigh silver with the balance, and hire a goldsmith; and he makes it a god…"

That's what we do with all the works of our hands. We worship the works of our hands.

"…they fall down, yea, they bow down to it…. [just exactly like the Dalai Lama does] …They carry it upon the shoulder, they carry it and set it in its place, and it stands; it shall not move itself from its place.…" (vs 6-7).

Now let me tell you something; just a little something to think about:

There was once upon a time an apostle, supposedly an apostle of God, who traveled around the world. The King of Thailand was his close friend. The King of Thailand's duty every year was to go change the clothes on the Buddha, because he was the head of the Buddha religion.

• Do you think that the Apostle Paul would have said nothing about that?
• Do you think that the Apostle Paul would make friends with someone like that without telling him to repent and get rid of the idolatry?

I say Paul would call him to repentance!

The Bible says that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God! So, here the very same practices—that I'm reading about right here in the Scriptures—were never—not even one word—raised against him.

"…Yea, one shall cry unto it, yet, it cannot answer, nor save him out of his trouble. Remember this, and show yourselves men: bring it again to mind, O you transgressors. Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is none else…" (vs 7-9).

That's why God's plan is going to stand. It really doesn't matter if all of the main religious people in the world—scholars and teachers, and the most intelligent—reject the Holy Days of God. If most of the Church of God ends up rejecting the Holy Days of God, it isn't going to matter because God is God!

• He's going to judge
• He has a time
• He has a purpose
• He has a judgment

There is none else!

"…I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things, which were not yet done…" (vs 9-10).

That's what the Holy Days do. God wants us to know that He's revealed them through the Holy Days!

"…'My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure'" (v 10).

One thing that God likes to have is pleasure in His people, because they:

• love Him
• serve Him
• obey Him
• worship Him
• get to know Him

He's put His Spirit in them so that they can be born of the resurrection at the return of Jesus Christ! But remember, God's counsel is going to stand. No man is going to do anything against God.

Isaiah 48:1: "Hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel… [we are called by the name of the Father] …and have come out of the waters of Judah; who swear by the name of the LORD and make mention of the God of Israel (but not in truth nor in righteousness)."

• too many ideas of men
• too many sins allowed

Verse 2: "For they call themselves after the Holy city, and rest themselves on the God of Israel; the LORD of hosts is His name. I have foretold the former things from ages ago; and they went out of My mouth; and I proclaimed them; I acted suddenly…" (vs 2-3).

We need to understand something brethren, God, when He gets ready to do something. It's going to happen suddenly, and it will be quick. Not only that. IF we are not prepared now before the day of battle, WHEN the day of battle comes it will be too late!

"…and they came to pass, because I knew that you are obstinate, and your neck is an iron sinew and your brow bronze…" (vs 3-4).

Isn't that something? That God has to deal with such carnality and stubbornness! I've seen this in the Church of God. I've seen this with people with their own ways.

Verse 5: "And I have even declared it to you ages ago. Before it came to pass I revealed it to you; lest you should say, 'My idol has done these things, and my graven image, and my molten image, has commanded them.' You have heard, see all this; and will you not declare it? I have shown you new things from this time, even hidden things, and you did not know them" (vs 5-6).

Now let's look at the strangeness of what we have of the stubbornness today. Rev. 3 is the epitome with the Laodiceans, of the age that we are living in today. I don't think that unless we really admit we are Laodiceans that we are going to really get it. I have never yet seen anyone who proclaims himself to be a Philadelphian, to be a Philadelphian. Most of the Laodiceans like to claim that because that takes a big responsibility off of them. The claims of men, and the reality of Truth, and the judgment of God are different things.

Revelation 3:14: "And to the angel of the Church of the Laodiceans, write: These things says the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginner of the creation of God. I know your works that you are neither cold nor hot…" (vs 14-15).

That's the kind of stubbornness that we have today. Just kind of ' we won't commit ourselves, and the truth is just really prejudicial.' If someone brings out something of correction, they say, 'You know, I know that guy. He's really hard-headed.' Whatever the epitaph may be, God says:

"…I would that you be either cold or hot" (v 15).

Don't have one foot in the world and one foot in the Church! You can get all the way right with Christ and be hot, or you're going out into the world and you're going to have your own things come upon you.

Verse 16: "So then, because you are lukewarm, and are neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of My mouth. For you say, 'I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing'…" (vs 16-17).

There has never been an age in which mankind has lived that this is not more true than today. We have more goods. We've been gadgetized with everything. Even what we're doing right now in making this video is part of the goods and gadgets that we have. But we're trying to put it into a purpose that will serve God.

"…and you do not understand that you are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked" (v 17).

Isn't that the way it is with the 'ho-hum' Churches of God?

• they don't see
• they don't know
• they don't understand
• they have no love
• they have no joy
• they have not happiness

Haven't we all experienced this? God tells us to repent!

Verse 18: "I counsel you to buy from Me gold purified by fire so that you may be rich; and white garments so that you may be clothed, and the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and to anoint your eyes with eye salve, so that you may see." A little spiritual eye-salve!

It's just like a woman who recently had a cataract removed. 'Wow, I didn't know what I was missing.' Likewise, let's get those spiritual cataracts off our eyes, and let's really see the Truth.

Verse 19: "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore, be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock.… [Christ has got to come back into us] …If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me" (vs 19-20).

God wants to fellowship with His people, but that fellowship is going to be His way! What we need to do is get rid of our idols, because all the goods that the Laodiceans have out there are idols before God. No different than idols of silver, graven or molten images.

Isaiah 48:6: "You have heard, see all this; and will you not declare it?…."

In other words if we hear the Word of God and we see all these things taking place, shall we not declare it?

"…I have shown you new things from this time, even hidden things, and you did not know them" (v 6).

God has brought you into His confidence to give you the understanding of His Holy Days and His plan and purpose!

Verse 7: "They are created now, and not ages ago; even before today you did not hear them; lest you should say, 'Behold, I knew them.'"

No! That's why God closes the understanding to the Bible to people so that He can call them and open their eyes and give them understanding so they will know and realize that this has come from God, and it hasn't come from them.

Verse 8: "Yea, you did not hear; yea, you did not know; yea, from ages ago your ear was not opened; for I surely knew that you would deal very treacherously, and were called a transgressor from the womb."

Therefore, God says He defers His anger, and so forth.

Verse 12: "Hearken to Me, O Jacob and Israel, My called; I AM HE; I AM THE FIRST, I ALSO AM THE LAST." Tie in the book of Revelation; that's referring to Jesus Christ!

All the things that we learned concerning the Holy Days, beginning with Israel, and all the things that happened with them are examples for us to the intent that we do not do the same things. Let's go back and let's rehearse, and let's bring us forward from the Passover up to Pentecost.

We know that God started out His plan and purpose with Israel with the Passover, and then He led them out of the land of Egypt beginning with the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Then they took their journey, and that journey is much like our life after God calls us. Before God called us first there was the Passover Who was Christ. Then God has called us and has led us, and we are walking in the world just like the children of Israel, we're walking in the wilderness for 40 years. We have to look to God for everything because we have nothing that we didn't receive! God fought their battles for them, brought them through the Red Sea, brought them over to where they could have fresh water at the waters of Meribah.

Exo. 16 is a very important chapter, because it tells us an awful lot. It tells us about the manna. It tells us about the Sabbath Day. It shows that God desires us to keep the Sabbath Day and that He's going to specially feed us on the Sabbath Day just like He fed the children of Israel. Now you know the story. It was on the Sabbath Day that they came and complained.

Exodus 16:2: "Then the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. And the children of Israel said to them, 'O that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots, when we ate bread to the full, for you have brought us forth into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger!'" (vs 2-3). They were really accusing God!

Verse 4: "Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Behold, I will rain bread from the heavens for you…'"

God is going to take care of them His way! Key important lesson for us in everything: God will take care of us, but His way.

Then He told them that they were going to have the manna. They can go out every day before the heat of the day and you can get one omer per person, bring it back, and that will be your bread, which we see in another section of Scriptures is angel food. What the children of Israel did, they ate angel food for 40 years. When they kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the wilderness that's what the bread was made out of. You can't get any more pure unleavened bread than manna.

It was kind of sweet and tasted like coriander seed. The children of Israel went out in the morning and they got it. God had specific instructions: Only get what you need day-by-day. I want you to think about that in relationship to the daily prayer. 'Give us this day our daily bread.' The parallels carry over into the New Testament, as well.

If they got more than one omer per person, it bread worms and it stank; couldn't keep it over. They were to gather the manna six days of the week. I want you to understand that this manna continued all the way until the time that they got into the 'promised land.' It ceased on the 16th day of the 1st month. The manna was given on the 16th day of the 2nd month here, but let's understand the 16th day is the self-same day that the manna came, the manna stopped. Think on that for a while!

You know the rest of the story. God said to go out and you gather twice as much on the sixth day and you keep it over and it won't breed worms and stink. But 'I don't want you going out on the Sabbath to try and gather manna.'

Verse 25: "And Moses said, 'Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the LORD.…"

Since the manna did not breed worms and stink there was another miracle that God performed. Let's understand something concerning that spiritually for us. The Sabbath Day is for us to be miraculously fed the Word of God with God's Spirit given to us to give us understanding! That's what the Sabbath Day is for.

• it's not for our pleasure
• it's not for our business
• it's not for our politics
• it's not for command and control

It's for fellowship with God the Father and Jesus Christ! Then we are fed by the Word of God, the pure Word of God that doesn't breed worms and stink. That's what the Sabbath Day is for.

"…Today you shall not find it in the field. Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, in it there shall be none.' it came to pass that some of the people went out on the seventh day in order to gather, but they did not find any" (vs 25-27).

Think about it! God was right there. They saw the pillar of cloud by day, the fire by night. There was Moses and Aaron there. They told the people exactly what it would be, but do you think that people would really listen and get it? NO! Some of them still went out.

• Do we really get it?

or:

• Are we playing games with ourselves?
• Are we playing games with God?

Remember, there is a time and there is a purpose for everything according to God's judgment!

Verse 28: "And the LORD said to Moses, 'How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My laws?…. [the law that God gave concerning the manna, they were breaking] …See, because the LORD has given you the Sabbath…" (vs 28-29).

Brethren, the greatest thing we need to understand is that the Sabbath Day is a gift from God! Let's also understand this concerning the Sabbath Day. Not only is it a gift from God, but a gift that comes from His grace! Contrary to what Protestants accuse us of doing because we keep the Sabbath, that we are trying to earn salvation. No way! Only God can give it as a gift through His grace!

But He also gave the Sabbath as His gift through His grace so that we could learn and grow in grace and knowledge and understanding. God gave us the Sabbath for the spiritual benefit, not only the physical benefits that we have, but the spiritual benefit so that we can grow in grace and knowledge.

"…therefore, He gives you the bread of two days on the sixth day. Let each one stay in his place. Do not let any one go out of his place on the seventh day. So, the people rested on the seventh day" (vs 28-29).

'Rested' there is they sabbathized, 'sabbatiso' on the seventh day. That's how important it is. That's how important it was for them. Let's continue the journey:

The children of Israel came into the area of Mt. Sinai on the same day of the week, being a Thursday, that they left Egypt, which was beginning Wednesday night on into Thursday. Then this leads up to Pentecost. Pentecost was the day upon which God gave the Ten Commandments! There are quite a few profound and important lessons for us to know and to understand about the things that are here. The most important thing to understand is this:

Exodus 19:5: "Now, therefore, if you will obey My voice indeed…"

Are we obeying the voice of God? The voice of God is contained right here in the Scriptures! Everything here is what God has spoken and what God has inspired to be written. If you want to know what God has said, read the Bible, it will tell you.

"…and keep My covenant…" (v 5).

Let's apply this to us with the New Covenant. Will we obey the voice of Jesus Christ? Jesus said that the very words that He spoke are going to judge us.

The covenant that we have in the New Testament is the covenant with the body and the blood of Jesus Christ! We need to keep that covenant and keep that covenant:

• in faith
• with zeal
• in newness

all the time!

"'…then… [Jesus said IF you love Me, keep My commandments] …you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a Holy nation.' These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel" (vs 5-6). They said yes!

Let's understand what God has called us to, and that's our spiritual calling is going to fulfill this for the whole world when we are in the Kingdom of God as kings and priests. Let's understand that!

1-Peter 2:9: "But you are a chosen stock…"

• God has called you
• God called the children of Israel out of Egypt
• He's called us out of the world
• He gave them the Law
• He gives us His Spirit so we can keep His Law.

"…a royal priesthood, a Holy nation, a people for a possession of God…" (v 9).

We are the ones who are fulfilling what God proposed in the letter of the Law to the children of Israel. We are fulfilling that in the spirit! We are not yet that nation of priests but when Christ returns we will be.

"…that you might proclaim His excellent virtues, Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people, but now are the people of God; who had not received mercy, but now have received mercy" (vs 9-10).

See the parallel there? I want you to get that with the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. With them coming to Mt. Sinai, and then we'll see a little later with us coming to Mt. Sion in heaven above.

(break)

Let's see the things that happened leading up to the giving of the Ten Commandments, and let's understand something about the Day of Pentecost that a lot of people do not understand. Yet, here it is right here, right in the Scriptures for us to see and to know and understand.

Now, after the people said 'yes, they'll do that':

Exodus 19:14: "And Moses went down from the mountain to the people and sanctified the people. And they washed their clothes."

This took place on Friday, the preparation for the weekly Sabbath.

Verse 15: "And he said to the people, 'Be ready for the third day.…'"—which is Sunday!

You have Friday, which is the first day to wash the clothes and be sanctified. Sabbath to rest, and:

"'…Do not approach a woman'" (v 15). Then Sunday is the third day!

Notice what happened on that Sunday, which is Pentecost. Let's understand that there has never been a Monday Pentecost, really. That was based on some foolishness by one of the evangelists in trying to justify what he considered was an apostle, for choosing Monday as a Day of Pentecost. There has never been such a thing! Now the Church may have observed Monday as a Day of Pentecost by mistake for a long time, but it's just like anything else, sooner or later God led them to the Truth.

I know for a fact that this problem between the Sunday/Monday difficulty that people have with Pentecost even to this day could have been solved in 1952. That's another whole story. It could have been solved and we wouldn't have had that mistake. Because we had that mistake we didn't understand the meaning of Pentecost being that it pictures the harvest of the first resurrection!

Now here's something also that we didn't understand because we thought that the resurrection would be on Feast of Trumpets, because we'll see a little later on the resurrection and trumpets are blown, that's true. Is that the only time a trumpet is blown? Yes, you can do a concordance study and you can make a pretty good case on that, but is it true? If you do a concordance study then you better look at some words here in Exo. 19.

Verse 16. "And it came to pass on the third day in the morning that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mountain. And the sound of the trumpet…" A trumpet! On which day? Pentecost!

Wow, I don't think very many people even understood that, but there it is. It's not the tinkling of a symbol. It is the sound of a trumpet:

"…was exceedingly loud so that all the people in the camp trembled. And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God. And they stood at the base of the mountain. And Mount Sinai was smoking, all of it because the LORD came down upon it in fire. And the smoke of it went up like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. And when the sound of the trumpet sounded long, and became very strong…" (vs 16-19).

Listen, the trumpet is blown on the Feast of Pentecost, and before God gave the Ten Commandments, He blew the trumpet! Let that sink in a little bit, because yes, the trumpet. Now notice, this is not trumpets. This is the trumpet . Now we'll see a little bit of that in the New Testament here a little bit later. So then you know what happened. God came down and He spoke the Ten Commandments.

• Do you have them memorized?
• Are they part of your heart and mind?

if someone asks you to say them

• Could you say them right now?

Exodus 20:1: "And God spoke all these words, saying, 'I am the LORD your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. [#1]You shall have no other gods before Me. [#2]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, for I, the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands of those who love Me…" (vs 1-6).

Stop and think for just a minute right here. Love is right in the Ten Commandments here.

"…and keep My commandments" (v 6).

So, love and commandment keeping go together! This also tells us that idolatry brings hatred toward God. That's why He hates it.

Verse 7: [#3]"You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain."

Understand this: the worst way of taking the name of God in vain is not cursing on the golf course. That's bad enough. It is standing in a pulpit or sitting in a seat of authority or teaching people and saying that God has said, when God didn't say!

Verse 8: [#4]"Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it Holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall not do any work, you, nor your son, nor your daughter; your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your livestock, nor the stranger within your gates; for in six days the LORD made the heaven and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore, the LORD blessed the Sabbath Day and sanctified it" (vs. 8-11).

Every Sunday, Sunday-keepers use the name of the Lord on Sunday and justify what they are doing, they are taking the name of the Lord in vain and they are the nice religious people of this world. Whether it be Protestants, Catholics, or Orthodox, they are taking the name of God in vain! And the Catholics go so far in what they do, they remove the 2nd commandment and split the 10th one in two. But these are the words of God.

What did God say in Exo. 19? IF you will indeed hearken unto My voice and keep My covenant, THEN you shall be a peculiar people unto Me!" Do we get the point? Yes!

Verse 12: [#5]"Honor your father and your mother so that your days may be long upon the land, which the LORD your God gives you. [#6]You shall not murder. [#7]You shall not commit adultery. [#8]You shall not steal. [#9]You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. [#10]You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's'" (vs. 12-17).

If the 10th commandment was kept just carnally in the world, wouldn't that solve a lot of problems? God gave the Ten Commandments on the Day of Pentecost!

Exo. 24—After they heard of the voice of God, after He laid out everything for them to do, He gave them additional statutes and judgments, and those were recorded in the Book of the Law, or the covenant Book of the Law. Then Moses had young men sacrifice animals. He sprinkled them with the blood. He sprinkled the book with the blood. And all the people said, 'All the words that the LORD has said, we will do.'

We have the same thing today. All the things that God has said, or that Christ has said, we have said, 'We will do.' The problem has been that too many men come along and try and interpret it their own ways. So, the covenant was established. But the point I want to make is that on Pentecost the Ten Commandments were given and the trumpet sounded.

Let's look a little bit concerning the commands for trumpets. We will see that the trumpet was to be sounded on many, many different occasions.

Numbers 10:1: "And the LORD spoke to Moses saying, 'Make two trumpets of silver for yourself. You shall make them of beaten work. And they shall be used for the calling of the assembly…'" (vs 1-2).

Verse 5: "When you blow an alarm…" So in case of war, or there's an emergency they would blow the alarm.

Verse 6: "When you blow an alarm the second time…" Then it tells the instructions what the camp will do!

Verse 9: "And if you go to war in your land against the enemy who attacks you, then you shall blow with the silver trumpets.…"

Verse 10: "Also in the day of your gladness, and in your appointed Feasts…"

In other words every single Holy Day the trumpet was blown! We'll see later the Feast of Trumpets is a memorial of the blowing of trumpets.

"…and in the beginnings of your months, you shall blow with the silver trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings…" (v 10).

So, the trumpet was sounded many times. What was sounded in Acts 2:2 when the Day of Pentecost began? The trumpet! We should find nothing strange concerning that. We will see that God expects us to keep the Feast of Firstfruits.

Exodus 23:16: "Also, the Feast of the Harvest of the Firstfruits of your labors, which you have sown in the field.…"

That's why beginning with Christ, and we'll see in just a little bit, that's why it comes down to Pentecost. Pentecost has got to be the day of the resurrection, because that is the harvest of the firstfruits. That's what's the Day of Pentecost pictures. Let's see the instructions for it, and see:

• what was done here
• how it was done
• the way it was done
• why it was done

Lev. 23 contains all the Holy Days. This tells us the Sabbath. This tells us the Holy Days, which are to be proclaimed in their seasons, to bring us the purpose of God.

Leviticus 23:9: "And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 'Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, "When you have come into the land, which I give to you, and shall reap the harvest of it…" (vs 9-10).

Now that was the harvest even though the Canaanites planted the seeds. That didn't contaminate the seeds, because the seeds died in order for the plant to grow. Some people say that contaminated the harvest. No!

God says here that you reap the harvest thereof. He knew that they would come into the land at that time and that the harvest would be something that they would harvest; God gave it to them so it was their harvest!

"…then you shall bring the premier sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest" (v 10). We went through that: Wave Sheaf Offering Day and Joshua 5!

Verse 11: "And he shall wave the sheaf…"—it means in Hebrew to elevate it.

This sheaf was called the premiere sheaf! This was to be done on the morrow after the Sabbath, which is the first day of the week. It has to be the first day of the week during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. It cannot be outside the Feast of Unleavened Bread because Jesus Christ is our Passover Who was resurrected and accepted as the Wave Sheaf offering of God so that He is the first of the firstfruits. That was on the first day of the week during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Now this year the only first day of the week during the Feast of Unleavened Bread is the day after Passover. Let's continue on with some of the other instructions we have here.

Verse 11: "And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD to be accepted for you. On the next day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it."

And then he gives the offerings, what they were to bring there on that Wave Sheaf Offering Day.

Verse 14. "And you shall eat neither bread, nor parched grain, nor green ears until the same day, until you have brought an offering to your God.…"

This could not happen until they got into the land. That's why they had the manna the 40 years. Now then, here's what they were to do:

Verse 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. Even unto the day after the seventh Sabbath you shall number fifty days. And you shall offer a new grain offering to the LORD" (vs 15-16).

Today is the Sabbath, the 49th day. Tomorrow is the morrow after the Sabbath. If you go to Monday, it's the morrow after the morrow. So, you can't have a Monday; it is on a Sunday.

Verse 17: "You shall bring out of your homes two wave loaves of two tenth parts. They shall be of fine flour. They shall be baked with leaven…"

When I first read that I thought that was a mistake because during the Days of Unleavened Bread, leaven is a type of sin. You know leaven is in this offering, and I think in one of the peace offerings, that God allows it. But all the rest are unleavened. Why? Why, in these loaves are they leavened, what is the purpose for that? We'll see a little bit later, there's a proper purpose for leaven. This pictures something unique; that's why they are to be leavened. Notice, they are the firstfruits unto the LORD.

Here is the Day of Pentecost, the 50th day being celebrated as the firstfruits unto the LORD, and it's the firstfruits of the grain harvest.

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."

Let's look at some New Testament parallels to see the spiritual fulfillment of these things in relationship to the physical. Let's see the Wave Sheaf Offering being Christ, and then we will also see how it applies to us.

One of the reasons that people in the world with their religions do not understand about the resurrection is because they don't keep Pentecost and they don't understand the Truth of God. They may keep a Pentecost, which is their Pentecost. As a matter of fact, I think this year that their Pentecost is on the same day that we keep ours. But what have they ever learned from it. Here is the important thing.

1-Corinthians 15:12: "But if Christ is being preached, that He rose from the dead, how is it that some among you are saying that there is no resurrection of the dead?"

We have the same problem and the same difficulty in religions today when they say there's no resurrection but you go to heaven. What they are doing, they use the Bible but they deny the very words that are in here.

Verse 13: "For if there is no resurrection from the dead, neither has Christ been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, and your faith is also in vain. And we are also found to be false witnesses of God…" (vs 13-15).

This is an incongruity. How can you preach the Truth of God and be a false witness? That's why he made it incongruity! But there are a lot of false preachers who preach false things about the Truth of God.

"…because we have testified of God that He raised Christ, Whom He did not raise, if indeed the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised. But if Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain; you are still in your sins" (vs 15-17).

See how important it is to understand about the resurrection, and also the ascension day when Christ was accepted of God the Father?

Verse 18: "And those who have fallen asleep in Christ have then perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most miserable. But now Christ has been raised from the dead; He has become the Firstfruit of those who have fallen asleep" (vs. 18-20).

He is the Wave Sheaf offering on the morrow after the Sabbath during the Days of Unleavened Bread. That is exactly what Christ fulfilled when He was resurrected and ascended to the Father on that first day of the week.

Verse 21: "For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the Firstfruit… [there it is twice; Christ is the firstfruits] …then those who are Christ's at His coming. Afterwards the end comes…" (vs. 21-24).

Then it goes on in with the summary of all the rest of the plan of God.

Now let's see where we are also called firstfruits. Christ is the firstfruits, we just read that. Just like the Wave Sheaf Offering on the Wave Sheaf Offering Day was the firstfruits, the premiere of the firstfruits! Likewise all the harvest is the firstfruits. Then on the 50th day what do we have? We have these are the firstfruits!

James 1:17: "Every good act of giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with Whom there is no variation, nor shadow of turning."

Let's have that confidence in God just like it expresses here!

Verse 18: "According to His own will… [God chose you, as we read earlier] …He begat us by the Word of Truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all His created beings."

It reads creatures but it means creation, because salvation is creation, and we are to be the firstfruits.

Well then, when are we going to be resurrected? The Feast of Trumpets has nothing to do with the firstfruits! But the Feast of Pentecost has everything to do with the firstfruits! No doubt about it!
Let's see how Christ likened the whole situation of being called into His Kingdom, and so forth. What do we have here? We have a harvest. We have two descriptions of a harvest. Then also we'll see something else.

Matthew 13:18. "Therefore, hear the parable of the sower."

Verse 37: "And He answered and said to them, 'The One Who sows the good seed is the Son of man." The sower is Christ!

Verse 18. "Therefore, hear the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the Word of the Kingdom and does not understand it, the wicked one comes and snatches away that which was sown in his heart…." (vs 18-19)

Let's understand something. If you allow Satan to do it, he can take it from you. Then he can also put it into you just like he did Judas Iscariot. So that's why we have to guard what we have and not let it slip.

"…This is the one who was sown by the way. Now, the one who was sown upon the rocky places is the one who hears the Word and immediately receives it with joy; but because he has no root in himself…" (vs 19-21).

Now we are to be rooted and grounded in the love of Christ, you see. So, those who have no root in themselves, notice what happens.

"…he does not endure; for when tribulation or persecution arises because of the Word, he is quickly offended… [he leaves, and he finds good excuse to go] … And the one who was sown among the thorns is the one who hears the Word, but the cares of this life and the deceitfulness of riches choke the Word, and it becomes unfruitful…. [we need to beware today] …But the one who was sown on good ground, this is the one who hears the Word and understands…" (vs 21-23).

You understand it because you love God and keep His commandments. You understand it because of the Spirit that God has given.

"…who indeed brings forth fruit…" (v 23).

Notice not everything is going to be the same. Not everyone will produce the same.

"…and produces—one a hundredfold, another sixtyfold and another thirtyfold" (v 23). There's going to be the growth!

Let's look at the parable where the tares were sown. All of these are to explain the process of the calling and growing and overcoming, and then the harvest, which will be at the end of the age.

Verse 38: "And the field is the world; and the good seed, these are the children of the Kingdom… [that is those who receive the Spirit of God] …but the tares are the children of the wicked one."

Satan is there to try and infiltrate every Church of God. We've also seen the experience of what happens when that comes to its full. Everything is turned upside down.

Verse 39: "Now, the enemy who sowed them is the devil; and the harvest is the end of the age…"

When do the kingdoms of this world become the Kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ? At the seventh trumpet!

"…and the reapers are the angels. Therefore, as the tares are gathered and consumed in the fire, so shall it be in the end of this age. The Son of man shall send forth His angels, and they shall gather out of His Kingdom all the offenders and those who are practicing lawlessness; and they shall cast them into the furnace of fire; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (vs 39-42).

Let's look at some things here concerning this. We will also see when the end of the age comes. We're going to live to see this day:

Matthew 24:26: "Therefore, if they say to you, 'Come and see! He is in the wilderness'; do not go forth. 'Come and see! He is in the secret chambers'"; do not believe it. For as the light of day, which comes forth from the east and shines as far as the west, so also shall the coming of the Son of man be" (vs 26-27).

• What does that mean?
• What is going to happen?
• How are we going to understand this?

"For as the light of day…"—it's going to happen all of a sudden!

It will be kind of like a big blast of light, and then it will look like it condenses down into "…the light of day…" or like a sun! It will be seen to shine from the east to the west. Just like the sun today. Now what is the world going to think when they see that? They're going to think, 'Here comes the antichrist, invaders from outer space, a meteor is going to hit the earth.'

I was watching a video on Discovery where they were showing how that the earth and the planets have been hit with space debris, meteorites hitting the earth. That's what they're going to think. They're going to think, 'Boy, we've got to marshal all of our forces here to fight against this.' As a result, as it says there in Rev. 1, 'Behold He comes with the clouds and every eye shall see Him. And the tribes of the earth shall mourn,' because they know their day is coming.

Verse 29: "But immediately after the tribulation of those days, 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).

This is the sign of the Son of man in heaven. They will see it and it will come closer and closer to the earth. This is going to be a momentous event.

Verse 31: "And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet…"

When was a great sound of a trumpet heard before, but on the Day of Pentecost when they were given the Ten Commandments.

"…and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other" (v 31).

Notice when this is going to take place. This parable gives us a little understanding. Now I know it's a parable.

Verse 32: "Now, learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branches have already become tender, and it puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near."

However, when we get to midsummer and into the fall what do we have? We have ripe things! This tells us that the resurrection is not going to be in the fall. Right here this very parable tells us if we have eyes to see and ears to hear.

Let's come to and let's see the parallel that we found concerning the children of Israel when they came to Mt. Sinai. This is a lesson for us today brethren.

Hebrews 12:18: "For you have not come to the mount that could be touched and that burned with fire, nor to gloominess, and fearful darkness, and the whirlwind; and to the sound of the trumpet, and to the voice of the words, which those who heard, begged that the word not be spoken directly to them. (For they could not endure what was being commanded: 'And if even an animal touches the mountain, it shall be stoned, or shot through with an arrow'; and so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, 'I am greatly afraid and trembling')." (vs 18-21).

Now I want you to understand this. Get this scene in mind that we already covered in Exo. 20 concerning the giving of the Ten Commandments on the Day of Pentecost. See how much greater our calling is?

Verse 22: "But you have come to Mount Sion, and to the city of the living God, heavenly Jerusalem; and to an innumerable company of angels."

That's what we're going to see when we're resurrected!

Verse 23: "To the joyous festival gathering; and to the Church of the Firstborn, registered in the Book of Life in heaven; and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the just who have been perfected."

This is what we come to on a continuous basis. But this is also what we are going to be resurrected to because as that sign of the Son of man, that light which shines from east to west comes down closer and closer and closer to the earth, it's going to act right according to the laws that God has given. When it's out here the earth is going to turn. Then as it gets closer and closer to the earth it's going to come down into the clouds. Now we're into the atmosphere and then it's going to lock into position right over Jerusalem.

You'll have to come back tomorrow for the rest of the story.

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

Scriptural References:

• 2 Timothy 4:1-4
• Ecclesiastes 3:1, 16-17
• Romans 8:28
• 2 Timothy 1:8-9
• Jeremiah 51:28-29
• Isaiah 46:3-10
• Isaiah 48-1-6
• Revelation 3:14-20
• Isaiah 48:6-8, 12
• Exodus 16:2-4, 25-29
• Exodus 19:5
• 1 Peter 2:9-10
• Exodus 19:14-19
• Exodus 20:1-17
• Numbers 10:1-2, 5-6, 9-10
• Exodus 23:16
• Leviticus 23:9-17, 21
• 1 Corinthians 15:12-24
• James 1:17
• Matthew 13:18, 37, 18-23, 38-42
• Matthew 24:26-32
• Hebrews 12:18-23

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:

• Exodus 24
• Revelation 1

Also referenced:

• Book: A Harmony of the Gospels by Fred R. Coulter
• Message: Wave Sheaf Offering Day and Joshua 5

FRC:
original transcription date unknown
Reformatted: bo—1/17/2022