Pentecost — 2012

The Marriage and Marriage Supper

Fred R. Coulter—May 27, 2012

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Greetings, brethren! Welcome to the Feast of Pentecost, 2012! This is a great Feast of God, has many meanings. It has to do with the New Testament Church, as we saw yesterday. It had to do with the nation of Israel, the wedding and marriage of the Lord to ancient Israel, the wedding feast that they had there, and everything to do with the Old Testament beginning with Mt. Sinai.

Let's understand some things concerning Pentecost and how it applies. Let's come here to Leviticus 23 and let's see what the command is. We've already covered it previously and we've read about how to count to Pentecost. If you begin on the first day of the week, which was the Wave Sheaf Offering Day, with Christ ascending to heaven, and you count 50 days, you end up on the first day of the week again.

Let's look at some of the things concerning the Feast of Pentecost and what God has commanded, and let's see some of the things we will learn from it, as well. We know how to count it. On the Day of Pentecost there was a special wave loaf offering that was to come out of every home made with the new grain from the harvest. Pentecost pictures the end of the wheat and barley harvest.

Leviticus 23:17: "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…" Why were they baked with leaven? Remember, during the Days of Unleavened Bread leaven was a type of sin, a type of vanity.

• Why have it here?
• What does it mean?
• Is there a good use of leaven?

If there is a good use of leaven

• What does it picture?

If it's something that God says is good, something that is likened to the Kingdom of God, then there has to be a good use for leaven.

• Why have these two loaves baked with leaven?

Matthew 13:33—this becomes very interesting: "Another parable He spoke to them: 'The Kingdom of Heaven is compared to leaven…'"

• Is the Kingdom of Heaven sin? No!
• Is the Kingdom of Heaven against God? No!

It's actually from God and pictures righteousness—correct? Yes, indeed!

"'…which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour until all was leavened'" (v 33). This has something to do with the two leavened loaves in Lev. 23. Let's see what that's all about.

• What happens when you put leaven into the dough? It rises!
• What happens? The dough changes form!

A good use of leaven is compared to the Holy Spirit working within us in a good way, to change us! Much like the washing of the water by the Word is to change us, the leaven is to fill us with the character of God through the Holy Spirit. In this case, since the Holy Spirit is unseen, and since the action of the leaven is invisible; we don't see the actual leaven working—do we?

Just like we don't' see the actual Holy Spirit working in us, but we can see the results of it by the change of character:

• by growing in love
• by growing in knowledge
• by growing in understanding
• by being led of the Holy Spirit

When the harvest comes, the harvest is over—and the harvest is the first resurrection—and the first resurrection takes place, then there is a change. Likewise, when you put leaven in dough and you bake it, you bake in permanently the change.

These two loaves in Lev. 23 picture those from the Old Testament and those from the New Testament who will be changed and presented to God at the resurrection, which is on Pentecost. We'll see that a little later when we get into Revelation.

Here's what they picture, Leviticus 23:17: "…They are the firstfruits to the LORD." We have two parallels:

• The premiere offering, the first of the firstfruits pictured Christ: His resurrection and ascension

Then as Paul writes in 1-Cor. 15:

• 'Christ the Firstfruit, then afterwards those that are Christ's at His coming

The harvest begins with Jesus and it ends in the resurrection. That's why these are the firstfruits to the Lord. Let's look at some things that were also offered with this:

Verse 18: "And you shall offer with the bread seven lambs…" Why seven lambs? Where do we see the #7 in relationship to the Church? In the letters to the seven churches—the letters of Jesus Christ—a direct message to all the seven churches (Rev. 2-3). So, we have
"…seven lambs without blemish of the first year, and one young bull, and two rams…." (v 18). These probably are showing the strength symbolic of Christ. The two rams also would be for a burnt offering and thank offering, and would be a type of something used in the wedding supper of the Lamb.

"…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). Because we're still human beings and we're still looking forward to it, they also had to do this:

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. They shall be Holy to the LORD for the priest" (vs 19-20). These were the offerings that were to be given. We need to understand what this is. On the 50th day, on the same day, goes clear back to v 16 and through v 21 are all connected together.

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 we are told in Deut. 16 that in the Feast of Weeks—which is what this is—that we are to bring an offering to God 'as we are able.' So, like we do every Holy Day, we take up an offering. All of these offerings are not a solicitation for money. It is not merchandizing to get more from you. It is something that God wants us to do. Also, when we respond to God, God blesses us in kind. As the Apostle Paul wrote: 'He who sows sparingly shall reap sparingly; he who sows bountifully shall reap bountifully.' And God's grace is able to 'provide all sufficiency to us in all things.'

Always remember this when you bring an offering to God:

• Are you thankful to know the Truth?
• Are you thankful to understand your calling?
• Are you thankful for the Holy Spirit of God?
• Are you thankful that you understand about the Holy Days?
• Are you thankful that God is dealing in your life?

Not only thank Him in your prayers, but also, like everything else God does, He wants us to show—not only by our actions, but by our substance—

• that we love Him
• that we look to Him
• that we honor Him
• that we worship Him

(pause for the offering)

I hope that you have already received your book: The Appointed Times of Jesus the Messiah, and that you have read The Appointed Time of the Anointing of the Messiah and the beginning of His ministry.

It becomes a very interesting thing, as we have pointed out, His ministry began on the Day of Atonement 26A.D., which was the beginning of a Jubilee Year. He was tempted of the devil 40 days and 40 nights. Isn't it interesting that that Day of Atonement was on a Wednesday. Think about this for a minute, follow this through: What day of the week did Jesus end His ministry? On the Passover Day, which was Wednesday in the middle of the week, 30A.D., a three and a half year ministry. Think about that! Think about how these appointed times really apply.

The appointed time is going to apply to the resurrection. It's going to fulfill all the prophecies that we have concerning it. It's going to be a mammoth and fantastic thing that's going to take place. Brethren, this is going to be the greatest thing since the creation of the world. The reason for the creation of the world, and the reason for the creation of human beings is to expand the creation of God. The reason for the New Testament Church and those who came before us, and those who will come after us until Christ returns, is for the furtherance of the Kingdom of God and the carrying out of God's plan.

• God wants us to have our part!
• God wants us to be willing!
• God wants us to love Him and serve Him!
• God wants us to understand that what He is doing is so marvelous, tremendous and awesome!

He's going to do great things leading up to the return of Christ and the first resurrection. You and I and all the saints through all time—who are dead and buried and waiting in the grave for the first resurrection—are going to be part of that. The greatest thing that has ever come to the earth! God is going to give us eternal life! God is going to show us what we need to be doing!

We're going to be permanently changed! We are going to be partakers of the Divine nature and having escaped all the corruption of the flesh and this world. That's what the Gospel is all about! Since Jesus began His ministry with the temptation of Satan the devil, He could not announce Who He was. He had several occasions to do it. He came to the temple and cast out the moneychangers, the animals and things like that, but He didn't say, 'Hey, everyone, I'm the Messiah.' NO! He did it on the Feast of Weeks, or the Day of the Weeks, or Pentecost.

Why did He do it then? As you have read in the book The Appointed Times of Jesus the Messiah is because counting to Pentecost is a mini-Jubilee. The preaching of the Gospel is the meaning of the Jubilee.

Luke 4:16: "And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and according to His custom, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath Day and stood up to read." You will notice in The Holy Bible in its Original Order a footnote explaining that the Greek is telling us this is the Day of the Weeks or Pentecost.

Verse 17: "And there was given Him the book of the prophet Isaiah; and when He had unrolled the scroll, He found the place where it was written, 'The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me… [All knew that there were Messianic prophecies. Many of them were looking for the Messiah. Jesus was healing, raising the dead, preaching the Gospel.] …for this reason, He has anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal those who are brokenhearted, to proclaim pardon to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind… [that's both physical and spiritual] …to send forth in deliverance those who have been crushed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.'" (vs 17-19). That is the Jubilee Year of God. Isn't that something?

God used Pentecost, a mini-Jubilee, to announce the Jubilee Gospel preaching of Christ—God manifested in the flesh, who came to this earth to

• to do the will of God
• to bring a special message to all mankind
• to raise up His 12 apostles
• to begin His church
• to prepare them
• to be crucified—dead and buried—three days and three night in the earth
• to be raised from the dead.

Think on this: Jesus was born on a weekly Sabbath, and He was raised from the dead on a weekly Sabbath, meaning He was born again, the Firstborn from the dead on a weekly Sabbath. The Firstborn of God on a weekly Sabbath, the Day of Trumpets.

Listen, brethren, the appointed times of God are fantastic. God has given us wisdom, knowledge and understanding as to what these things mean. We need to understand and live them. We need to thank God for them. We need to realize how important that they really are.

After Jesus was raised from the dead, He ascended to the Father on the Wave Sheaf Offering Day, came back that same day, walked through the walls, appeared to the disciples and explained to them about the prophecies and the Law, the Prophets and the Psalms concerning His ministry; He opened their minds to understanding. Then He was seen of them 40 days and 40 nights.

Let's see the last words of Christ before He ascended into heaven and then what happened on the Day of Pentecost. It ties in with the use of Pentecost and the meaning of it. He appeared to them 40 days and 40 nights, with many infallible proofs.

Acts 1:4: "And while they were assembled with Him, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem but to 'await the promise of the Father, which,' He said, 'you have heard of Me. For John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit after not many days.' So then, when they were assembled together, they asked Him, saying, 'Lord, will You restore the kingdom to Israel at this time?'" (vs 4-6).

Not knowing the whole plan of God. And none of us really do know the whole plan of God. We may know more than they did at that time, but do we know the whole plan of God? No! They didn't know it was going to be several thousand years later and after billions and billions more people were born and lived and died, kingdoms rise and fall. They didn't know that. God did! Christ did!

Verse 7: "And He said to them, 'It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father has placed in His own authority.'" I explain that in The appointed Times of Jesus the Messiah. We can know the approximate time because of the upset in the earth, sun and moon. That day and night is going to the beginning of days, and the second visible sun, which is the sign of the Son of man in the sky for over a year. No one's going to know which day is which.

Paul told the brethren that you're not to be ignorant because you know the times and the seasons (1-Thess. 5:1). We know the Holy Days.

Verse 8: "'But you yourselves shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses, both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and unto the ends of the earth.'" That is a prophecy of all the preaching of the churches down to the return of Christ.

Have Bibles and the Gospel gone to the ends of the earth? Yes! What do they contain? The writing and teachings of the apostles—correct? We preach it! We teach it! But it is their witness—is it not? While they are long dead and gone, awaiting the resurrection, their work, words and writings are still going to the ends of the earth.

Then Jesus disappeared, went up into the clouds and an angel said, 'Quit  gazing! This Jesus Whom you saw will come in a like manner.' They went back and selected one to replace Judas who fell, and that was Mathis.

Then on the Day of Pentecost, it's very interesting—isn't it? Think about the Day of Pentecost when the children of Israel were there to receive the Law. There were the trumpets blowing. There was the wind blowing. There was the lightning, the thunder—all of this and the voice of God! This time, right at the temple, and the Holy Spirit had to be given right at the temple because that's where God put His name. God had to start there. Here's what He did, a powerful, spiritual event:

Acts 2:1: "And when the day of Pentecost, the fiftieth day, was being fulfilled… [this was in the morning] …they were all with one accord in the same place…. [That is the 120 were there in Solomon's Porch.] …And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like the rushing of a powerful wind, and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 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 1-4).

This was a tremendous thing! It lists all of those who were there: all of the devout Jews from everywhere in the Diaspora. They heard these things going on. They heard what they were preaching. It wasn't gibberish. It wasn't drunkenness. It was the preaching of the wonderful works of God! They heard them in their own language. They were amazed and perplexed. They didn't know what it was. Some said they were drunk. Well, that wasn't true.

Verse 14: "Then Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice and spoke out to them: 'Men, Jews, and all those of you who inhabit Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and pay attention to my words. For these are not drunken as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel'" (vs 14-16)—then he quotes it.

Remember when Jesus died it got dark. There were earthquakes. There were signs in heaven. Part of it was from Joel, but also part of this is for a future Pentecost when the resurrection occurs. Here we have, on this Pentecost, the receiving of the Holy Spirit, that necessary missing ingredient:

• to change the human heart
• to change the human mind
• to be begotten as the son or daughter of God
• to develop the character of God

Now the worship of God and the relationship with God was going to change. Not instantly, because the temple continued for 40 years. But it was gradually, from that time, be an individual relationship by those who were baptized and received the Holy Spirit of God.

Peter gave the prophecy and then he tells them about Christ Whom they crucified by the predetermined knowledge of God. Then he talks about David the patriarch is not the one raised from the dead. His tomb was still there. They could go to it and see it.

Verse 32: "This Jesus has God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses." How many were there at that Feast of Pentecost? Thousands!Tens of thousands! Remember, all of those who would come to the Feast from the Diaspora would go home and

• they would tell about Jesus
• they would tell about the miracles
• they would tell about the healings
• they would tell about the feeding of the 5,000 and the 4,000

People were wondering what was happening. Word went out when He was crucified and died on the day of Passover. I imagine that many people came to Jerusalem to find out what was going to happen after this man had died. Many thought that He was the Messiah. Peter is answering that question. He's telling them what happened to Jesus.

Verse 33: "Therefore, having been exalted by the right hand of God, and having received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father, He has poured out this that you are now seeing and hearing…. [that is upon all of the apostles] …For David has not ascended into the heavens, but he himself said, 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand… [quoting Scripture all of these prophecies] …until I have made Your enemies a footstool for Your feet."' Therefore, let all the house of Israel know with full assurance that God has made this same Jesus, Whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ" (vs 33-36). Of course, God's Spirit was there moving those who were really responsive to what they were being told; moving them to repentance!

Verse 37: "Now after hearing this, they were cut to the heart; and they said to Peter and the other apostles, 'Men and brethren, what shall we do?'…. [This is a desperate situation that we're looking at here.] …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. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all those who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God may call'" (vs 37-39). Then 3,000 were baptized!

Just as God began the official nation of Israel at Mt. Sinai, God began the official Church of God at Mt. Zion in Jerusalem, where the temple stood, because God placed His name there. Everything that had to do with the Gospel had to come from God, where He placed His name, and in power and demonstration of God's Spirit according to the prophecies that were given. God did this! That's quite a thing!

We know that the harvest is seven weeks—don't we? We know that He began the Church there. Let's see that just as there are seven weeks to the harvest, there are seven churches. Let's see what God is going to do here. We're not going to go through every single one of the seven churches, but I want you to understand that we have in the book of Revelation the seven churches. Those represent three different things:

• the churches that were in existence at the time John received the message to write the letters to them
• the prophecy of the churches down through history

Remember, this is the only place where there is a prophecy of the Churches of God from the time of the death of John until the return of Christ. Also at the end-time, because we have seven coming out of seven and coming out of seven. And the third seven out of these will be

• the Churches of God on earth in the end-time as God looks upon them

The corporate structure that we have today for doing business in the world does not constitute the spiritual Church of God.

• God looks to the heart!
• God looks to the preaching!
• God looks to the faithfulness!
• God looks to the problems and difficulties that need to be changed and overcome!

All of those churches that have done things that they should not do, He tells them REPENT! Then we have the harvest of the seven churches. That takes 49 days or 7 weeks.

There is another special harvest for God alone. However, since Jesus made a promise, He said that He would build His Church and that the gates of the grave would never prevail against it. We know that at the end-time there is a great martyrdom coming. They will have the means and the ability to track down everyone that does not belong to this world. They are going to martyr them and they are going to get every last single one of them. That's why we find in Rev. 12 about there are some who go to a place of safety. We find in Luke 17 that it's going to be the angels who will take them there. It's not going to be a work of men!

Just like the sending of the Holy Spirit was not a work of men, just like conversion is not a work of men, it is a work of God! Likewise, for those who going to a place of safety—we don't know who they are and no man is going to choose them, because God alone knows the heart—God is going to select them and have the angels take them to the place of safety. Everyone wants to know where is the place of safety? Well, if you go there, you'll find out when you arrive! If you think you know it now and you don't go there, your knowledge does you no good at all—does it? You must be faithful unto death!

Now then, the Great Tribulation begins. When the Tribulation is unleashed it is going to come in fury! There are many prophecies that talk about it.

Dan. 11—the king of the north and king of the south. The king of the south pushes at the king of the north, and he comes like a great whirlwind and comes down into Egypt and he comes into the Holy Land. Then the leader—the beast—goes into the temple of God—because the Jews are going to build another temple—and he stops the Passover sacrifices and he walks into the Holy of Holies and proclaims that he himself is God! Then he receives a deadly wound and the deadly wound is healed. Then the 42 months of evil—the Great Tribulation—engulfs the whole world.

Let's come to Revelation 6 and let's see how this comes—the six seals. I know that we have covered a lot of time and space in what I've already said. I'm trying to connect it together for the use of Pentecost and the resurrection and the marriage supper and the marriage of the Lamb. All of those take place right after the resurrection on the Day of Pentecost.

Revelation 6:1: "And I looked when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures say, like the sound of thunder, 'Come and see.' And I looked, and behold, there was a white horse; and the one who was sitting on it had a bow, and a crown was given to him; and he went out conquering and to conquer" (vs 1-2)—false Christ, false prophet. This is part of Rev. 13, second half, which describes the action of what takes place with this.

Here is where the Great Tribulation begins, the next seal, v 3: "And when He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, 'Come and see.' And another horse went out that was red; and power was given to the one sitting on it to take peace from the earth, and to cause them to kill one another; and a great sword was given to him. And when He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, 'Come and see.' And I looked, and behold, there was a black horse; and the one sitting on it had a balance in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures say, 'A measure of wheat for a silver coin, and three measures of barley for a silver coin: and see that you do not damage the oil and the wine'" (vs 3-6).

Look at this day and age. When war comes it's going to be great and devastating. There are going to be people out of food, out of water, homes devastated. Have you seen enough carnage going on in this world through your own television set to know how it's going to be?

• Have you seen what's happening in Syria?
• Have you seen what has happened in Iraq?
• Have you seen what has happened in Darfur?

Yes! Only this is going to be magnified so much greater than you have ever thought! This is going to be the greatest catastrophe and war to hit the earth at the hands of man and Satan the devil.

Verse 7: "And when He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, 'Come and see.' And I looked, and behold, there was a pale horse; and the name of the one sitting on it was Death… [that was his name] …and the grave followed him; and authority was given to them over one fourth of the earth, to kill with the sword and with famine and with death, and by the beasts of the earth" (vs 7-8).

That's going to happen quickly! These are going to be some tremendous events, and it's going to affect the whole world. The key in understanding the book of Revelation is that these are worldwide events! These are not some little isolated things in a little corner of a far off country in the world. These are gigantic events affecting the whole world!

Here's the fifth seal: the martyrdom of the saints at the end-time, those who were not taken to the place of safety. We have to stand up and be counted! We have to stand up and give our lives for Christ, because He gave His life for us! Remember, we promised to be faithfulunto death! That means regardless of how it comes.

Verse 9: "And when He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those… [This is in vision, this is to tell us what is going to happen and reflect upon all of those who have been martyred before us.] …who had been slain for the Word of God, and for the testimony that they held; and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, 'How long, O Lord, Holy and true, do You not judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?'" (vs 9-10). Christ is coming as the Avenger:

• the Blood Avenger!
• the King!
• the Priest!
• the Almighty God!

He's not coming like some sneak messiah in the dark of night and sneaking in with a secret rapture. He's coming with all power and with all glory!

Verse 11: "And white robes were given to each of them; and they were told that they should rest a short time yet, until it be fulfilled that both their fellow servants and their brethren also would be killed, just as they had been."

When that takes place, and when the last saint who has the Spirit of God has been killed, those in the place of safety will keep the Church perpetually alive and the grave shall not touch them. But when the last one has been killed, then just before Pentecost, a year and half before the literal return of Christ and the saints on the earth, then the heavens and the earth are going to be shaking like it has never been shaken before. This is going to be an awesome event, indeed!

Let's look at another use of Pentecost and the event that takes place just before that. Let's understand that there are many other prophecies that we can fit in that in order to get the story flow of what is taking place and to get to the marriage supper of the Lamb, we're going to have to leave the reading of those direct quotes out of this sermon, because there are just not enough time to do so.

Let's continue on in Rev. 6. We've gone through the first five seals. Get the time setting: put in Hos. 5:15 and Hos. 6:1-3. This will show you that the Tribulation against Israel is approximately 2, and not quite, 2-1/2 years. At the end of 'two days' and the 'third day He will revive us.' This gives us 1-1/2 years —if 2 years have passed—left of the 3-1/2 year Tribulation. Right at this point, just before He lifts the tribulation against the children of Israel, here's what He does to signal that now 'I am going to intervene directly in the affairs of this world.' Jesus Christ is going make Himself known! He's going to make Himself known in a very powerful way!

Revelation 6:12[transcriber's correction]: "And when He opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake; 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. Then the heaven departed like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place" (vs 12-14).

This is quite a thing! We're going to see simultaneously with this another thing happens: the sign of the Son of man in heaven! As God says, He's going to shake the earth (Hag. 2; Isa. 2)—the sea the land and the heavens. This is going to make the earth almost a desolate ruin.

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… [all the elite of the world; all of the synagogue of Satan] …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).

In Matt. 24 is the other part of that that's going to take place. We will have this shinning in the heavens simultaneously, and there's about a year and a half left. We will see shortly after this event that on the next Pentecost—which then will be the Pentecost before the resurrection—God is going to do His spiritual harvest Himself! Which may even turn out to be greater than the harvest of all the churches.

Let's see about the sign of the Son of man in heaven, because at this time the false prophet and the one who is the beast saying 'I'm Christ, I'm God manifested in the flesh.'

Matthew 24:24: "For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and they shall present great signs and wonders, in order to deceive, if possible, even the elect." You can read of that in Rev. 13.

Verse 25: "Behold, I have foretold it to you. 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 25-27). That's why when the heavens roll back as a scroll, this is when that sign of the Son of man is going to appear.

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; 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" (vs 29-30).

Then it's going to be little more than a year until the resurrection takes place. Everything settles down after the heavens depart as a scroll, and then they see a second sun in the sky. All timing of day and night—which day is what—is all messed up!

• Has the earth moved out of its orbit a bit?
• Has it slowed down?
• Has it speeded up?

All of those things are possibilities! That's why no man knows the day or the hour, only the Father in heaven above, because it's in His authority! We can understand from the Holy Days the flow of the events to take place, but will we understand exactly which day is the Holy Day after everything has been shaken out of it's usual order? No, we won't! Nevertheless, the Holy Days still tell us the events.

After that settles down, what's going to happen? Men are going to start cleaning up! They're going to start recovering from it. Between Pentecost and Trumpets is about 3-1/2 to 4 months. During that period, the world is going to be repairing and getting itself back into shape. In the meantime, God is going to seal the 144,000 and the great innumerable multitude. This will take place on the Pentecost before the last Pentecost on which the resurrection takes place.

Revelation 7—All of these of the 144,000 and the great innumerable multitude are those that will be the workers of the parable that are hired at the last hour. God is going to send an angel to do it. God is going to give them the Holy Spirit. They are going to be saved, beginning with the tribe of Judah; 12,000 out of each of the 12 tribes is 144,000, and then a great innumerable multitude after that. All of these will be in the first resurrection, as we see by the flow of the rest of Rev. 7.

Revelation 8—Next to the last Feast of Trumpets, because the last Feast of Trumpets is when we come back to the earth with Christ. Here this last year of the Tribulation is going to be all of the trumpet plagues, and all of the great wars that are listed there are going to take place. It's going to be a magnificent thing! It's going to be an awesome thing indeed! It will be the angels of God against men and demons! All of the trumpets will sound; the last three will be the three woes. When the seventh trumpet sounds—which is on the next Pentecost, the last Pentecost—let's see what happens.

• God used Pentecost to give the Law!
• God used Pentecost to start the Church!
• God used Pentecost to seal the 144,000 and the great innumerable multitude!
• God used Pentecost for the resurrection!

That is a wonder that we need to understand!

There are some other things that are going to take place with it. After the two witnesses are killed, lie in the street three days and three nights and then they're resurrected and called to heaven.

Revelation 11:14: "The second woe is past. Behold, the third woe is coming immediately. Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet… [That's the last trumpet. That's when the resurrection takes place—not on the Feast of Trumpets—because it is the great trump, the last trump.] …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. 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" (vs 14-18). What an amazing thing! That's the seventh trumpet.

Let's see the harvest trumpet defined in a little different way. We're going to see that it is likened unto a harvest, the final harvest. So, this has to be the harvest of the last Pentecost. This has to be the resurrection, because there are more things to take place.

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. 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.'" (vs 14-15). That is of the saints from Abel down to the last two witnesses. It's time for the resurrection! The last two witnesses will be first and just ahead of everybody else.

Verse 16: "And He Who was sitting on the cloud thrust forth His sickle upon the earth, and the earth was reaped. Then another angel, who also had a sharp sickle, came out of the temple that is in heaven" (vs 16-17). This is the harvest of the wicked.

We have the same sequence: the harvest of the saints and then we have the harvest of the wicked—the seven last plagues. We have these pictured:

• The resurrection of the saints
• The seven last plagues

That follows right along with Rev. 15-16. Then we'll get to Rev. 19 and the wedding supper of the Lamb. We won't talk about the harvest of the wicked (Rev. 14:18-20), but that applies to Rev. 16 and the last part of Rev. 19.

Let's see what happens to those who are resurrected. If we're going to meet Christ in the air—which it says that we are—what are we going to do?

• When we're resurrected, do we know anything about how to operate our new spiritual bodies? No!
• Do we know what we're going to do? No!
• How about all of those who have been resurrected that have been through the end-time events, how are they going to know what to do?

The Sea of Glass becomes a very important thing! Probably what's going to happen, the sign of the Son of man—which appears as a second sun—is going to suddenly come toward the earth. SWOOISH! And when it gets to just over Jerusalem, it's going to come down into the clouds—Christ in the clouds—and it becomes a great Sea of Glass right over Jerusalem. The world is going to think this is an alien invasion!

In one sense they're correct, because God the Father and Jesus Christ and the Holy angels of God are aliens to the people on earth; so are the saints that are resurrected. What's going to happen when the resurrection takes place and the people of the earth see all the saints rising in the air, the angels carrying them to the Sea of Glass?

Revelation 15:2: "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." We saw the Sea of Glass yesterday that God stood on just after Pentecost, after He had given the Law and had Moses and the elders, and Nadab and Abihu go up to have the wedding supper with God to verify that it was God. Here we have the very same thing. Here's the Sea of Glass:

• What are you going to do with all the millions that are resurrected?
• What is going to have to happen to them?
• How are they going to know what to do?
• Is God organized? Yes!
• Is He going to have a plan all ready to go? Yes!
• Is He going to tell us what we need to do? Yes!

Here they are on the Sea of Glass, v 3: "And they were singing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb… [Old Testament/New Testament] …saying, 'Great and awesome are Your works, Lord God Almighty; righteous and true are Your ways, King of the saints.'"

We're all going to be on the Sea of Glass for the meeting of Christ in the air. What's going to take place on the Sea of Glass? It's going to be quite a fantastic thing! From the Scriptures we know:

• We're going to have to learn how these bodies function.
• We're going to have to know the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb.
• We're going to have to know how to play the lyres.

What else is going to take place? We're going to see God the Father, because God the Father is going to come down and see His children. Jesus Christ is going to be there, just like Moses was, to present all the children of Israel to God.

Jesus Christ is going to present all of the resurrected saints to the Father. He is going to say, 'Father, the children that you have given Me.' And He's going to look down on us and say, 'My brethren, you are faithful.' Now then, what's going to happen?

• We all have a new name—don't we? Yes, and there's going to be a new covenant given! A spiritual covenant between all of us:
• What our jobs will be
• What our work will be
• What we will do

• We all have to receive our rewards—correct? Yes, indeed!
• The marriage supper of the Lamb and His bride will take place.
• Who is that going to involved? Some places it looks like the whole Church; other places it doesn't look like the whole Church! We know not everyone who is in the first resurrection is going to be part of the bride of Christ.
• Then the marriage supper will take place. Remember, the marriage supper is separate from the wedding.
• All the saints will see the seven last plagues, the wrath of God poured out on the earth.
• Then we're going to be gathered into the armies and know what we're going to do and come with Christ back to the earth.

Let's come to Revelation 19 and examine this very carefully. Let's see what it's telling us and what it's doing. Revelation 19:1: "And after these things I heard the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, 'Hallelujah!….'" Who are they? They have to be the resurrected saints! Where are they? On the Sea of Glass!

So, we're going to have some tremendous services. We are going to sing some great songs! Do you think you've been inspired by things on a Holy Day and music and all of that? Think what this is going to be like!

"'…'Hallelujah! The salvation and the glory and the honor and the power belong to the Lord our God. For true and righteous are His judgments; for He hasjudged the great whore, who corrupted the earth with her fornication, and He has avenged the blood of His servants at her hand.' And they said a second time, 'Hallelujah! And her smoke shall ascend upward into the ages of eternity.' And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, Who sits on the throne, saying, 'Amen. Hallelujah!' And a voice came forth from the throne, saying, 'Praise our God, all His servants, and all who fear Him, both small and great.'" (vs 1-5). There's a lot going on, on the Sea of Glass—right? Yes, indeed!

Verse 6: "And I heard a voice like that of a great multitude, and like the sound of many waters, and the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, 'Hallelujah! For the Lord God Almighty has reigned…. [He's taken to Himself the power—the King, the Righteous Judge!] …Let us be glad and shout with joy; and let us give glory to Him; for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready'" (vs 6-7). Who composes the bride?

Let's look at it this way: Do we have something in the Bible that tells us that not everyone in the first resurrection will be part of the bride, but will be invited to the wedding supper? Yes! (In just a minute)
Verse 8: "And it was granted to her that she should be clothed in fine linen, pure and bright; for the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints. And he said to me, 'Write: Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb.'…." (vs 8-9). The marriage of the Lamb takes place, then there is the supper. Here are those who are called to the supper, have eternal life, are in the Kingdom of God, but are not part of the bride. "'…And he said to me, 'These are the true words of God.'" (v 9).
Let's see where we have the parable that those who are called to the wedding supper are different than those who are part of the bride. Then we'll try and answer the question: Who are those who are part of the bride?

Matthew 22:1: "And again Jesus answered and spoke to them in parables, saying, 'The Kingdom of Heaven is compared to a man who was a king, who made a wedding feast for his son, and sent his servants to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast; but they refused to come. Afterwards he sent out other servants, saying, "Say to those who have been invited, 'Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and the fatted beasts are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding feast.'" But they paid no attention and went away, one to his farm, and another to his business. And the rest, after seizing his servants, insulted and killed them. Now when the king heard it, he became angry; and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city'" (vs 1-7). That's the destruction of Jerusalem in 70A.D.

Verse 8: "'Then he said to his servants, "The wedding feast indeed is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy; therefore, go into the well-traveledhighways, and invite all that you find to the wedding feast." And after going out into the highways, those servants brought together everyone that they found, both good and evil; and the wedding feast was filled with guests'" (vs 8-10). So, you have the wedding, the wedding feast, and the guests. Not all of those who are in the first resurrection are going to be part of the bride. Probably the majority will be the guests.

Let's see what this tells us, v 11: "'And when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not dressed in proper attire for the wedding feast.'" Remember, this is in parable, because no one is going to make it to the first resurrection unless they are already qualified and have the righteousness of the saints.

Verse 12: "'And he said to him, "Friend, how did you enter here without a garment fit for the wedding feast?" But he had no answer. Then the king said to the servants, "Bind his hands and feet, and take him away, and cast him into the outer darkness." There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen'" (vs 12-14).

This also refers to the general calling of people, but also to those who are chosen to be part of the bride. Where do we find a place in the New Testament that tells us part of the bride. We know that Paul talks about the mystery of marriage of Christ and the Church (Eph. 5). But we also see that Paul warned the Corinthians that He had espoused them as a chaste virgin to Christ (2-Cor. 11)—if they break their virginity by sinning. Five of the seven churches sinned. They were no longer spiritual virgins. They sinned after they were converted in such a way that there had to be great and deep repentance for them to be restored to God.

Let's see something else here and ask a question. I've already given a sermon on this and we'll try to have a booklet to try to more fully explain it. We can't say with dogmatism that this 144,000 of Rev. 14 are only the bride, but we can say that they are called virgins. Whereas, the 144,000 of Rev. 7 are the physical children of Israel coming out of Great Tribulation. They can't be called virgins.

Revelation 14:1: "And I looked, and I beheld the Lamb standing on Mount Sion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father's name written on their foreheads. Then I heard a voice from heaven, like the sound of many waters, and like the sound of great thunder; and I heard the sound of lyre players playing their lyres. And they were singing a new song before the throne, and before the four living creatures and the elders. And no one was able to learn the song except the hundred and forty-four thousand, who were redeemed from the earth" (vs 1-3).

Notice, the children of Israel and of the great innumerable multitude being redeemed from the earth is another thing altogether. There is no set, specific timeframe. We don't know who these 144,000 are, but notice how it describes them.

Verse 4: "These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins; they are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes…." They were faithful completely, totally, all the time!

• They didn't have the problems of losing their first love.
• They didn't have the problems of the Nicolaitans.
• They didn't have the problems of things sacrificed to idols.
• They didn't have the problems of Jezebel the prophetess.
• They didn't learn the depths of Satan. Their works were complete.
• They were not dead.
• They were not lukewarm.

There are only two churches that this covers of the seven: Smyrna and Philadelphia.

"…They were purchased from among men as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb… [not the firstfruits, but they are part of the firstfruits overall.] …And no guile wasfound in their mouths; for they are blameless before the throne of God" (vs 4-5).

• Does that describe the bride?
• Is Christ going to marry anything other than a virgin—the body of those of the 144,000?

—if they are the ones that are the bride of Christ—and everyone else in the first resurrection will be the guests. Some of the guests will be of greater dignitaries than the bride will ever be, like Moses, Enoch, Elijah, Abel, the prophets, the 12 apostles.

Let's read Rev. 19 again, and let's see there's going to be the wedding and the wedding supper. Those who are part of the bride of Christ will participate in the wedding. Those who are the invited guests will view the wedding—the witnesses—and they will eat of the wedding supper.

Revelation 19:7: "Let us be glad and shout with joy; and let us give glory to Him; for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.'…. [That's quite a thing! That's going to happen!] …the marriage of the Lamb has come and His wife has made herself ready.' And it was granted to her that she should be clothed in fine linen, pure and bright; for the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints" (vs 7-8). Remember, all the guests had to have the proper attire, as well.

Verse 9: "And he said to me, 'Write: Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb.'…." Let's understand that this does not say that all of those who participate in the wedding supper are the bride. The wedding takes place first, then the wedding supper.

"…And he said to me, 'These are the true words of God'" (v 9). All of this is going to take place on the Sea of Glass. There are a lot of activities that are going to happen after the resurrection on Pentecost. Just like everything after the giving of the Ten Commandments and the statutes and the judgments. Then the sacrifice of the animals, and then the marriage supper with Moses and the elders and the individual presence of God looking through the Sea of Glass.
They didn't see God in His full glory. They just saw enough of His image to know that it was God. This is going to be different, because we're going to see God the Father and Jesus Christ face-to-face. This is going to be a great time!

What's going to happen after this? Well, the next Holy Day is the Feast of Trumpets—is it not? Yes, indeed! That's when we come back to the earth with Christ. But all of these other events have to take place first. All of us have to learn and know what we are to do. Those who are going to be rulers with Christ, have to learn where they fit into the scale of things. Likewise, all of those who are going to be priests and spiritual teachers, they will have to understand what they are going to do.

God is going to have it all organized. He's not coming back to an earth filled with chaos and confusion and death and destruction and send Christ and the saints back here without a clue what's going to happen.

So, everyone who believes that the resurrection is on the Feast of Trumpets, they don't understand what's necessary to get everything ready; to get all the saints ready and everybody prepared to come back and rule on this earth. This is going to be a great and a glorious time! This tells us about how God is going to accomplish it; how God is going to have the marriage supper of the Lamb. But the wedding takes place first! Then all of those who are resurrected and not part of the bride will be there at the wedding supper.

Then after all that is done, we all know what we're going to do, then we're going to return with Christ and destroy the beast and the false prophet, and their armies, and we we're going take over this world and bring to it the Kingdom of God and everlasting peace!

Scriptural References:

• Leviticus 23:17
• Matthew 13:33
• Leviticus 23:17-21
• Luke 4:16-19
• Acts 1:4-8
• Acts 2:1-4, 14-16, 32-39
• Revelation 6:1-17
• Matthew 24:24-27, 29-30
• Revelation 11:14-18
• Revelation 14:14-17
• Revelation 15:2-3
• Revelation 19:1-9
• Mathew 22:1-14
• Revelation 14:1-5
• Revelation 19:7-9

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:

• 1 Corinthians 15
• Revelation 2; 3
• Deuteronomy 16
• 1 Thessalonians 5:1
• Revelation 12
• Luke 17
• Daniel 11
• Hosea 5:15; 6:1-3
• Haggai 2
• Isaiah 2
• Revelation 13; 7; 8; 16; 14:18-20
• Ephesians 5
• 2 Corinthians 11

Also Referenced: Book:

The Appointed Times of Jesus the Messiah by Fred R. Coulter

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