Pentecost Resurrection #4

More on Pentecost
End Time & First Resurrection

Fred R. Coulter—May 31, 2008

- PDF | Audio | [Up]

Track 1 or  Download

Track 2 or  Download

This is the Sabbath before Pentecost and we have "true confession" by Ron Weinland that if by Pentecost or maybe by July he hasn't been able to call down any devastating destruction upon the world—as one of the two witnesses—he's going to proclaim himself a false prophet. Well, let's see if he's going to do it! That would be a first! That only should he proclaim himself a false prophet he needs to take about six months in prayer and fasting and repentance and go hide away someplace, and ask God's forgiveness for leading so many people astray.

And what I mean by the Sabbath before Pentecost is not day 49—this is day 42, just to make everything clear in counting. So I want to cover some other things, which show and point more clearly to a Pentecost resurrection, and why it has to be that. Now, we got up to Revelation 17 before—15, 16, 17. And so what I want to do is go back and review some things in the book of Daniel and then we'll go forward to the book of Revelation. The reason I want to do that is because Daniel sets the stage for the time of the end. And the book of Revelation describes in detail all the events at the end. So let's come to the book of Daniel. Now the book of Daniel is not in the place that you normally are use to finding it, in the new Bible for those of you who have the new Bible. And by the way, for all you who are anxiously awaiting your Bible, it is in the container on the ship on its way. So it will be here pretty quick. So hang on, its coming.

Now let's come down here to Daniel, the second chapter, page 852—and I think once you get the hang of the new order it'll be very easy to work with. Now, let's come down here to v 40—and what I want to do is show the broad, general description that Daniel gives, and then we will look later at the details of it in the book of Revelation. That's why we have the series on Daniel and Revelation. And also have the chart. So if you don't have the series and you don't have the chart, then be sure and write us, e-mail us or phone us. Those are still on tapes—there are 38 tapes—we're working on getting it on CDs, so either way, get the series.

Now, Daniel 2:40: "And the fourth kingdom…"—which then is the fourth one on the earth, which is a continuous kingdom from the Roman Empire down to the end-time. And I've got a very interesting book that Roger Kendall gave me about eight or nine months ago, about Why Europe will Run the 21st Century—very interesting book. So all the parts are coming together. And also, I have an article—which I don't have with me—that just this past week twelve nations in South America formed, guess what? An economic union! So the ten regions are starting to come together. And don't be too surprised if somewhere not too far down the road America becomes "Mexi-Americana"—the North American Union. But anyway, that aside, I'm getting way ahead of myself. But here is what Daniel does. He gives the overall parameters of it, and then Revelation gives the details.

"And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, forasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and beats down all things, and as the iron that crushes all these, shall it break in pieces and crush. And whereas you saw the feet and toes, part of potters' clay and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided. But there shall be in it the strength of the iron, because you saw the iron mixed with miry clay…. [And that describes the way the world is today—partly strong, partly weak.] …And as the toes of the feet were part of iron and part of clay… [So there are the ten regions that it's going to end up being.] …so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly broken [or weak]. And whereas you saw iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mix themselves with the seed of men. But they shall not cling to one another, even as iron does not combine with clay. And in the days of these kings… [Now you see how general this is] …the God of heaven shall set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed…. [Now obviously, when we get to the book of Revelation it is in the days of these kings at the end of their reign that He's going to set up the Kingdom.] …And the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Because you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold, the great God has made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter. And the dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure" (vs 40-45).

Now that does not tell us when, does it? It's a general parameter of things from the time of Nebuchadnezzar down to the setting up of the Kingdom of God. Now this also tells us something else: That God is not going to come back and revive all these countries in the forms that they were before. It's going to be a complete new setup. And I remember, as William Tyndale said of what God does: "God is no patcher." He's not going to come and patch together the world's system. He's going to bring a whole new system.

Then we have the lesson in Daniel 12, that God sets up over the nations the basest of men. And I think if you read some of the Psalms—I've been reading them—and God's eyes are on the earth and He knows what's going on all the time. Now how detailed is His knowledge of events going on, on the earth? What did Jesus say? That if a sparrow falls, God knows it. So God knows! And He's far more involved in the things going on, the angels and the demons, than people like to give God credit for.

Now let's come to Daniel 7—now we see, again, the fourth beast. We have the fourth kingdom there in Dan. 2. Daniel 7:23, we have the fourth beast. "Thus he said, 'The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be different from all the other kingdoms…" Now, isn't that interesting in what we have seeing set up here at the end-time of the ten regions of the earth? Is that not different than all other kingdoms? And isn't it different from the point of view that they have countries within the regions aligned, and they assign a certain amount of their sovereignty to a central regional government. Now you don't have anything quite like that in the history of the world. The closest you could have to it would be vassal kings—where the powerful king would set up a vassal king. This is the other way around—the nations come together and they set up a leader over them who does not have full control. And it's very interesting when your read Rev. 17—when we get there—that they receive power one hour with the Beast as king. So this tells you it's a different system.

"…and shall devour the whole earth…" When you have a regional government, you all agree to have this man to be the regional president or counselor, whatever; and you do not surrender all of your sovereignty—that comes later in the game. When you have a powerful king; set up a vassal king; he is totally subservient to the powerful king as a vassal king and he must answer to the powerful king. So it's an entirely different setup. There's a vassal king in called 'feudal system.' And it was feudal because if you were serf, you have no hope of getting out of it—the futility of it.

Now, let's continue on: "…devour the whole earth…" So this is going to encompass the whole world. Now how we thought that it would just be Europe alone. Now let me just clarify, since I mentioned the book Why Europe will Run the 21st Century, let me just clarify: Europe will be a big player in it, but it will not be the total power in the world. And I think we're seeing that now the way the world is setup.

Now, let's go on: "…and shall trample it and break it in piece." So sooner or later it's going to get to a war footing; and how is that going to happen? So that's explained in the book of Revelation. It's not explained here. This is an overview. "And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise. And another shall arise after them. And he shall be different from the first, and he shall subdue three kings" (v 24). Now exactly how that's going to be at the end-time we don't know. We do have an historical thing on the chart of Daniel in Revelation  you can look at  and  how that apparently happened; because we also have first fulfillment, second fulfillment; we have parallelism and we have, as we covered last time, three fulfillments of the different Holy Days—in some cases even more.

And  the "little horn" Now we will see this is not understood until the New Testament comes along with 2-Thessalonians. That's the beginning of the understanding of it. So here we are, Daniel in the 500s BC giving the framework of it. Then we have the Apostle Paul in about 50 AD writing about the "man of sin, the son of perdition" who opposes and exalts himself over every thing that is called God or  worshipped as God, "stand in the Holy place." So that gives us more definition. Then we come to the book of Revelation and we have Rev. 13 & 17, which expands it out and defines it even more. So what I want us to do is to understand how these things are framed out here, and then we will get to the book of Revelation here in just a bit.

"And he shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change the set times and the laws. And they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and one-half time…. [There we have the three and a half years again. We'll look at that and the subdivision of the three and a half years in the book of Rev. a little later.] …But the judgment shall sit, and his dominion shall be taken away to be consumed and to be destroyed unto the end…. [Now, what is the judgment against this whole system? Well, we will see Rev. 16—seven last plagues. We will read Rev. 18, which is the judgment against Babylon.] …But the judgment shall sit… [that's God's judgment] …and his dominion [everything] shall be taken away to be consumed and to be destroyed unto the end" (vs 25-26). What do find in Rev. 19 that happens to the Beast and the False Prophet? Thrown into the lake of fire.

"And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, Whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. And all kingdoms shall serve and obey Him" (v 27). Then we have other Scriptures which outline this, we have: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, the Minor Prophets, the book of Revelation—which all expands all of that.

Now let's come to Daniel 8. I know we've reviewed this in the past before, but I think in the sequence that we're going through,  it's good that we review it again so we understand the overview of everything. Let's come here to Daniel 8:20: "The ram which you saw having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia…. [Now we're defining countries. We are defining empires.] …And the shaggy goat is the king of Greece…. [And I was just seeing the other night a history of Alexander the Great. And it happened just exactly as the prophecy is here. He comes whooom! Destroys the odds that are overwhelming against him. Because it's here in the Bible and that's what God has determined will be.] …And the great horn between his eyes is the first king…. [Who was Alexander the Great] …Now that being broken… [Which happened, he died, I think at age 33, 38—give him five extra years—in Babylon from a seizure in the brain. What caused it, we don't know, but it happened just exactly as it was said here.] …then four stood up in its place… [Four generals inherited the Greek Empire.] …four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not with its power. And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors have come to the full…" (vs 20-23). Now we are shifting ahead way ahead toward the end.

Now hold your place here. I want to explain something to you. Let's come back to Genesis 15, for just a minute. God gives time, He gives space, He gives warnings, He deals with the nations differently than He does with the Church. But what I want you to understand is, that God does not bring His judgment against sin until it reaches the full. Now, let's come down here to Genesis 15:13: "And He said to Abram, 'You must surely know that your seed shall be sojourners in a land that is not theirs, (and shall serve them and afflict them) four hundred years. And also I will judge that nation whom they shall serve. And afterward they shall come out with great substance. And you shall go to your fathers in peace. You shall be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall come here again, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full'" (vs 13-16).

Then, as we're turning back here to the book of Daniel, let me just remind you how Abraham dealt with God and the two angels concerning the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. That God said, even if there were ten "righteous" people that He wouldn't destroy. So God is just in His judgment of the nations, and He judges them according to the letter of the law. And He also judges them at the time that the prophecy concerning them is being fulfilled.

Now back to Daniel 8:23: "And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors have come to the full, a king, fierce of countenance and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up…. [Now that ties in directly with 2-Thess. 2] …And his power shall be mighty… [That ties in with Rev. 13.] …but not by his own power…. [Revelation tells us it's Satan's power.] …And he shall destroy marvelously, and shall prosper and do his own will, and destroy the mighty and the holy people…. [That's referring to the people of Israel—and within that mix is the martyrdom of the saints.] …And also through his cunning he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand…. [And that's what I wrote about in Occult Holidays or God's Holy Days, Which?—the occult that is sweeping the world.] …And he shall magnify himself in his heart, and in time of security shall destroy many…. [1-Thess. 5 says when they shall say 'peace and security' or peace and prosperity' then 'sudden destruction' shall come upon them. So there is going to come a time when it looks like that man is really going to be able to have peace—and everyone will say, 'Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!' And it's going to make 'Obama mania' look like children's play in kindergarten.] …He also shall stand up against the Prince of princes…. [Now it tells us what He's going to do, but notice it doesn't when it will be. That is left for Revelation.] …But he shall be broken without a human hand" (vs 23-25). Just like Dan. 2.

Now, let's come to two more: Daniel 9:26—this is talking about the Messiah, then it comes into the prince and it brings us to three and a half years again. "And after sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off but not for Himself…" Isn't it interesting? Here's a direct prophecy that He would be cut off. And yet many of the Jews did not understand it. Many of them did understand it, because, obviously, a lot of them were converted. But I think it's interesting,  one of the things that Jesus always said to the scribes and Pharisees, when they had question—what did He say to them: 'Have you never read?' So here's one here: 'Have you never read?' Now let me just say this: In America there are more Messianic Jews in America than any place on earth—and there are a lot of them. Now some are Sunday-keepers, some are Sabbath-keepers. But nevertheless, there are a lot of them in America. You can't be a Messianic Jew and live in what is called Israel today. They'll run you out. You can't even win a spelling bee without being destroyed. However, I will say this: With the exception of one or two Jews that I personally know, it is very, very, very difficult for Jews—even Messianic Jews—to give up the traditions of the fathers. They just can't get away from it.
Delores had an encounter with a clerk in a department store, and he announced to her, 'I'm a Jew'—and they struck up a conversation. She asked him, 'Do you eat pork?' Oh yeah, I fudge once in a while. And she said, 'Shame' on him. She told him to keep the Sabbath—that we keep the Sabbath and Holy Days and so forth. And I guess for him that that was a revelation that—I guess the Jews think only the Jews do that. And in the conversation that Delores had with this clerk: he worked for an Arab! So that was very interesting. After saying that she didn't eat pork and kept the Sabbath and so forth, he said, 'Well, I keep the Sabbath and light the candles and all that sort of thing. And Delores said, 'Well, I don't.' But nevertheless, here is a clear example. And if they would read this and read Isaiah 53, they would know that Jesus was and is the Messiah. That's why it's interesting that Jesus always said, 'Have you never read?' It's like Sunday-keepers today: 'Well, they changed the Sabbath.' Have you never read?

Let's go on—then it shifts gears from the Messiah to: "…the people of the prince… [or the prince of the people.] …who shall come… [This is after Messiah has been cut off. See the Messiah's cut off first. New Testament says then He was resurrected and went to the throne of God in heaven above.] …who shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. And the end of it shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall make firm a covenant with many for one week…. [And if a day is a year in prophecy, that's seven years.] …And in the midst of the week… [After 3-1/2 years] …he shall cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations shall come one who makes desolate even until the consummation. And that which is decreed shall be poured out upon the desolator" (vs 26–27).

So what do we have here? We have events described in 2-Thessalonians, the Olivet Prophecy of Matthew 24; Luke 21; Mark 13; and then we have: "…that which is decreed shall be poured out upon the desolator." And what do we have there? That takes us to the seven last plagues. So you see why, before the New Testament was finished and canonized, a lot of the Old Testament just could not be understood.

Now Daniel 11—we have one more that we'll look at; time of the end. And we will try an key this into some things in Revelation 6, here in just a little bit. Daniel 11:40—this is always the test; never forget this test. We've gone over this a lot recently, but with all the events that have happened here, I want to be sure and emphasize it again. "And at the time of the end, the king of the south shall push at him. And the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind with chariots and with horsemen and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries and shall overflow and pass over. He shall also enter into the glorious land…" (vs 40-41).

That is Palestine—and that then ties again with 2-Thess.; that ties with Rev. 13, etc., etc. Now, this is the key: When someone stands us and says "it's the time of the end, it's the time of the end." You look and see: Is there a king of the south? Is there a king of the north? So the king of the north has got to be Europe. King of the south has to be the Muslim countries today. And the king of the south, has traditionally  resided in Egypt, which is the headquarters for the Arab League today. So they already have the skeleton ready for that section to go on—as I reported in a sermon earlier.

Then we have Daniel 12, where it's "times, times, and half a time'; 1,290 days, and at the end the 'wise shall understand.'

Now, let's come back here to the book of Revelation. Since we have seen all the Scriptures where it is three and a half years. I think nearly every Church of God would agree on the last three and a half years. So we're dealing with something that everyone knows and understands. Now the question is: When does the three and a half years start? That's the question. Can we figure it out? And if in figuring it out, can we do so in a way that makes sense and that will prove the point adequately? Because those detractors against a Pentecost resurrection have said we haven't proved it and so forth. All right, let's start with what we agree we all know: three and a half years. Now we know when the three and a half years ends, don't we?

Let's come here to Revelation 19—we can all agree that the three and a half years ends Revelation 19. So we will look at the end of it and see if we can pick up the beginning of it. Sometimes if you can understand the end of it, then you can come backwards and see the beginning of it. Even those who do not understand about a Pentecost resurrection will agree that v 11 is probably talking about the Feast of Trumpets and when Christ sets His feet on the earth with the saints. Revelation 19:11: "And I saw heaven open; and behold, a white horse… [Now we'll talk about a white horse here a little bit later on. This white horse belongs to Christ. The other white horse—that we'll talk about a little later on in Rev. 6 is the false prophet] …and He Who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He does judge and make war. And His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns; and He had a name written that no one knows except Him. And He was clothed with a garment dipped in blood; and His name is The Word of God" (vs 11-13). Now where does it tell us about the Word of God? John 1:1-3, 14.

"And the armies in heaven… [Now who are the armies? What did Jesus tell Pilate when he was questioning Him? Pilate said, 'Don't You know that I have authority to let You go? Or authority to sentence You to death?' And He said, 'You have no authority unless it were given to you from heaven.' And He also said, 'My Kingdom is not of this world, if it were then would My servants fight.' So who is the army? A lot of people think this is an angelic army. No! This is when the servants of Christ who are those who are in the first resurrection are going to fight in an army--the army coming from heaven. It's in the atmosphere. It's not way out in space. We'll talk about that a little later. Christ is end up being in the clouds, correct? Yes! Did we not see last time that the two witnesses ascended into the air in the clouds? Did we not also see that when the first resurrection takes place we're going to meet Christ in the air? We'll cover a little bit more of that later on.] …the armies in heaven were following Him on white horses; and they were clothed in fine linen, white and pure" (v 14). And what is the fine linen, white and pure? 'The righteousness of the saints.' We'll see that in just a minute.

"And out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He might smite the nations; and He shall shepherd them with an iron rod; and He treads the winepress of the fury and the wrath of the Almighty God. And on His garment and on His thigh He has a name written: King of kings and Lord of lords. Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, 'Come and gather yourselves together to the supper of the great God So that you may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of chief captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all, free and bond, and small and great.' And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies, gathered together to make war with Him Who sits on the horse, and with His army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet who worked miracles in his presence, by which he had deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. Those two were cast alive into the lake of fire, which burns with brimstone…" (vs 15-20). Is that the end of the person of the Beast? Yes! That's the end of the three and a half years.

So the question is: How do we figure the beginning of the three and a half years? And is there a way that we can do it that makes sense? And once we have the end, then the beginning, can we put together the pieces of the rest of what Revelation tells us into a time-order framework that makes sense based upon the Holy Days? Everyone would agree, what I just read here is the Feast of Trumpets. I agree to that. Everyone who doesn't believe in a Pentecost resurrection would also agree to that. Now we'll see if we can agree to the beginning.

Come back here to Zechariah 14:4—hold your place here in Revelation because we'll come back—pg. 700 in the new Bible: "And His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives… [Everyone agrees this is the Feast of Trumpets. Everyone agrees this ends the three and one-half years.] …which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall split in two, from the east and to the west, and make a very great valley. And half of the mountain shall move toward the north, and half of it toward the south. 'And you shall flee to the valley of My mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal. And you shall flee as you fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah.' And the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with You" (vs 4-5).

Now if He's going to come from heaven—which Rev. 19 shows—and all the saints are with Him, that means they all have to be resurrected as we know, meet Christ in the air. They're going to meet Him in the air and that's why there's a sea of glass. We'll talk a little bit more about that later on. But if they're going to meet Him in the air, let's just ask the question:

• If they're coming as an army, are they organized?
• Does an army need to know what they're instructions are?
• Do they need to know what they are going to do?
• Can all of that be accomplished in a 24-hour period, in a flash? Whoooooo, here I am. What do I do with this new spiritual body? Don't worry about it, get on your horse and here's where we go!

Now, we're going to see a lot more has to happen. Also another thing, that we'll see a little later on, I said that the Feast of Trumpets is never a harvest feast, and I will have to hedge on that just little bit. It is the harvest of the wicked for destruction, whereas the resurrection is the harvest of the righteous to life. But if you're in the harvest feast of Trumpets for destruction, you ain't gonna be resurrected!

Let's go on: "…all the saints with You…. [So they  have to get up there with Christ somehow.] …And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark. And it will be one day which shall be known to the LORD, neither day nor night; but it shall come to pass that at evening time it shall be light. And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them shall go toward the eastern sea, and half of them toward the western sea. In summer and in winter it shall be" (vs 5-8) So it shows the establishing of the Kingdom of God; beginning of cleaning up the earth immediately.

"And the LORD shall be King over all the earth; in that day there shall be one LORD, and His name shall be one" (v 9). Now, v 12—very important, this ties in with Rev. 19: "And this shall be the plague with which the LORD will smite all the people who have fought against Jerusalem. Their flesh shall consume away while they stand on their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their sockets. And their tongue shall consume away in their mouth. And it shall be in that day that a great panic from the LORD shall be among them. And they shall each one lay hold of his neighbor, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbor" (vs 12-13).

They're going to end up like it was with Jehoshaphat, they ended up killing each other because angels were there making them do it. And all their flesh is going to fall off. You tell me what kind of defense any man can devise against that? You talk about a perfect weapon. Here comes the soldiers marching toward you and all of a sudden their flesh falls off and their skeleton falls to the ground. Fitting for all of those who think that they can fight against God.

Verse 14: "And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the nations all around shall be gathered—gold, and silver, and clothing in great abundance. And likewise shall be the plague of the horse, the mule, the camel, and the donkey, and of all the beasts which shall be in these camps—it shall be as this plague" (vs 14-15). So that tells an awful lot about Revelation, doesn't it?

So what we need to understand is this: Revelation gives us the details, Daniel gives us the overview, other Scriptures in the Old and New Testament fill in the details, and so we follow what the rules of Bible study are, that everything in the Bible—to understand it—is "here a little, there a little; line upon line; precept upon precept" and you put it together "rightly dividing the Word of God."

Now, let's come back the original question—since we have seen the end of the three and a half years—let's ask the question: When do the last three and one-half years begin? Well, we saw you've got to have the king of the north and the king of the south in order for the end-time to really be; the stage set. Now the question remains is this: How long will the king of the north be in power and how long will the king of the south be in power before the antagonism of Daniel 11 takes place? It doesn't tell us! Now, we also don't know this: Will there be a first king of the north and then he's superceded by another one; and a first king of the south and he's superceded by another one? Could there be several successions before the final one? We don't know, so we have to watch. But that's the signal that the end-times are here—when there's the king of the north and the king of the south.

Now, that doesn't begin the three and a half years yet, because the three and a half years does not begin until the king of the south pushes at the king of the north and the king of the north begins to retaliate.

(go the next track)

Now it was also brought up, something I covered earlier, that there has to be a temple, and there has to be sacrifices; because one of the things that shows when the Tribulation begins is in Matthew 24: and when you shall see the abomination of desolation stand in the Holy place, then shall be great tribulation. That is the start of it—but WHEN does it start? Well, if we come back from Trumpets, three and a half years backwards, we can get a pretty good idea when that is going to be—and that is the whole point of the chart with the Daniel/Revelation Series.

Now, let's look at another point that's important to understand and gives us a clue as to when the three and a half years begin. Let's come to Revelation 6:1—now this is the opening of the seven seals. And as we saw previously, that this is authorized in heaven above by God the Father and Jesus is the one Who opens the seals. 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'…. [Wonder what that would sound like?] …And I looked, and behold, there was a white horse…" (vs 1-2). Now this is NOT Christ. It's answered very simply: If Christ opens the seal does He then run down and jump on the horse? No! His white horse is Rev. 19. This is the false religion which is going to sweep the world. So another sign leading up to the end is the great false religion that's going to sweep the world. Now, it's gradually making headway bit-by-bit-by-bit.

"…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…. [Now, we don't know WHEN that is going to take place. This seal doesn't tell us. But let's look at the next one]: …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" (vs 2-4).

Now, hold your place here and come to Revelation 13. This will give us a clue. This will tell us that this second seal is the time of the beginning of the last three and a half years. And if you're at this point, you know exactly what's ahead. Now, we'll describe that a little later. Here is the Beast, here is the one described in Dan. 7, also described in Dan. 2. Revelation 13:1: "And I stood on the sand of the sea… [And of course, Rev. 17 shows that the 'great waters' are: peoples, multitudes, nations, languages and tongues.] …and I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy…. [So this is a satanic system. And we're going to see this is going to cover the whole earth.] …And the beast that I saw was like a leopard… [So now we find a re-definition of Dan. 7 given here in Rev. 13.] …and his feet like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion; and the dragon [Satan] gave him his power, and his throne and great authority" (vs 1-2). Because we know from Matt. 4 & Luke 4 that Satan has power over all the nations, and that Satan is the 'god of this world.'

Verse 3: "And I saw one of his heads as if it were slain to death, but his deadly wound was healed; and the whole earth… [This is a worldwide event] …was amazed and followed the beast. And they worshiped the dragon, who gave his authority to the beast. And they worshiped the beast, saying, 'Who is like the beast? Who has the power to make war against him?'" (vs 3-4). So just before the three and a half years begins we're going to see:

• we have not only the king of the north
• king of the south
• And the king of the north is going to receive a deadly wound—but be healed.
• And also we have the temple.
• We have the sacrifices that are stopped.

So all of these things are going to come very quickly once everything is set up.

Verse 5: "And a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies was given to him; and authority was given to him to continue… [after the deadly wound] …for forty-two months… [Which is three and a half years, plus or minus some days. That's why it's listed in 42 months rather than in exact number of days.]. …And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God… [2-Thess. 2; Dan. 8] …to blaspheme His name, and His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. And he was given power to make war against the saints, and to overcome them; and he was given authority over every tribe and language and nation. And all who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (vs 5-8).

So this gives us the starting of it, doesn't it? Now IF this ties in with Rev. 6 and the second seal, then we have a little more framework on which to hang this 42 months. And remember, during the 42 months we have what take place? The Holy Days take place. Even though there may not be the assembly of people that there would be, but nevertheless, when Jesus said when you flee into the mountains don't do it on the Sabbath. So someone's going to come along and give false alarm. He says, "Don't' do it on the Sabbath, nor in the winter."

So, let's come back to Revelation 6:3—notice how closely this ties in with Rev. 13. Now, Rev. 13 gives us another time-setting, gives us more details about the same thing that is going to take place. "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…" (vs 3-4). If we can tie this together with Dan. 11, this is the king of the north coming against the king of the south; if we can tie this together with 2-Thess. 2 he comes down into Egypt, goes up into the Holy lands, sits in the temple and declares himself to be God. That happens right at the beginning of the last three and a half years. If that is so, then the events that flow after that follow in the time-sequence that must fit into the three and a half years. Now let's see how that does.

Verse 5: "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 5-6). So immediately after war what do you have? Food shortage, rationing. And of course we will have starvation very quickly. Where do we get all of our food today? How many of you have gardens that you are totally independent, don't need to go to the store? And how many of you grow enough to have two or three years of food stored away? Nobody! It's like the little girl was asked: Where does milk come from? Oh, it comes from a carton. Shows you how much kids today know anything about it.

Let's go on, v 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, and the grave followed him; and authority was given to them… [those four—so they come one, two, three, four—very quickly. So as soon as the king of the north comes against the king of the south, goes and stands in the temple and says, 'I am God!' War breaks out as a result of it. How much of the world is involved in it we'll see here in just a minute.] … and authority was given to them over one fourth of the earth…" (vs 7-8). Now, it doesn't tell us which fourth; but this leaves three-fourths of the earth not yet affected by it. And we know from the other prophecies that the three-fourths of the earth that is not affected has to be to the north and to the east and to the kings of the east where the army of 300-million is coming from (as we'll see a little later).

So is this the demise of Israel in the West? Is this the demise of America and Canada and Australia and New Zealand? Could very well be. Does that make up a fourth part of the earth? I don't know but someone could take a geographical measurement and see—very possible. Now, notice what they do:

"…fourth of the earth to kill with the sword and with famine and with death, and by the beasts of the earth" (v 8). And isn't it something that we have more wild beast attacks now than ever before—all the way from pythons and lizards to bears and cougars—more than every before. So these four come one after the other.

Comment was made, which is a very good comment: May not be the big beast all together because little rats and mice and bats and insects and things like that can also bring plagues and death—another thing we'll add to it. I don't know about your town, but here in Hollister we have almost as many dogs as people. And in some households, more. Now what if there's no food for those? What happens to wild dogs? They attack and kill people. So that's another thing. So it's going to be all of the things that we have discussed because this is the beginning of the end.

Let's go on: Then there's always the scapegoat. Who's going to be the scapegoat? The Christians. Now, let's look at Revelation 13 again and come back here and we will look at the fifth seal. And we will see that both of these fall at the same time. Revelation 13:7:  "And he was given power to make war against the saints, and to overcome them; and he was given authority over every tribe and language and nation."

Now we have the same thing here, come back to Revelation 6:9: "And when He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the Word of God, and for the testimony that they held… [Now this is in vision, this is not showing that there are souls in heaven—but this is in vision.] …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?'…. [When does that take place? Beginning Rev. 16.] …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" (vs 9-10). How long does this go on? We don't know. Can we get some sort of timeframe for these events from the first seal down through the fifth seal until the sixth seal is opened? Is there some way we can do that?

All right, and can we also tie this fourth-part of the earth in with the tribulation against Israel, God's punishment against them? Let's come to Hosea, the fifth chapter. Let's take a look there and see if we can get a timeframe that is reasonable here, which will fit into the rest of the book of Revelation and make sense. Now in the new Bible the Minor Prophets are one book and it is actually smaller than the book of Isaiah, which is one book. So this is why we have it on page 661, Book of the Minor Prophets, Prophet Hosea. Each prophet we don't say 'the book of'—we say the Prophet Hosea, or the Prophet Amos or Micah.

Hosea 5:13: "'When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound, then Ephraim went to the Assyrian and sent to King Contentious…. [another name for the Beast Power.] …Yet he could not heal you nor cure you of your wound, For I will be to Ephraim as a lion, and as a strong lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear and go away. I will take away, and none shall rescue him. I will go; I will return to My place until they confess their guilt and seek My face; in their affliction they will seek Me earnestly'" (vs 13-15). Now this is God talking to Israel. And we know that at the end-time, the ten tribes of Israel are going to be in captivity by invading armies in their own land. Some will be shipped off in[to] other countries, but not all. You're not going to ship off a hundred-million here and a hundred-million there—you're just not going to do that.

But notice how it flows right to chapter 6—here's what Ephraim and Israel do, and Judah—and it happens all the time whenever America gets in trouble, or Britain gets in trouble, or the Jews get in trouble, what do they do? They cry out to God! Don't they? Yes! This time it will be real. Hosea 6:1: "Come and let us return to the LORD, for He has torn… [They understand why things happened to them that it did.] …and He will heal us; He has smitten, and He will bind us up. After two days He will revive us… [Since a day in prophecy is a year, this is after two years. Now if we're dealing [with] three and a half years at the end, how much maximum time do we have left? A year and a half, maybe a little less. Because it's 'after' two years. It doesn't say how long after, but the next sentence clarifies it a little bit.] …in the third day… [How far into the beginning of the third year we don't know. But if it's into the beginning of the third year—say if it's 30 days into the beginning of the third year, then you have eleven months and six months left. Right? For the three and a half years.] …in the third day He will raise us up, and we shall live in His sight" (vs 1-2).

Now let's come back to Revelation 6 and let's see something concerning Rev. 6 and the beginning of Revelation 7—and let's see if this makes any sense. I think you will see that it does make sense. Revelation 6:12—Now here is when God starts to intervene in the person of Christ. We will come back and look at the timing of the other events that will take place with this. What we're concerned right now is the approximate timing of it. So it's in the third year—how far into it, it doesn't tell us—after two years that God begins to raise them up. How does He raise them up? Now if there is war and their armies have been defeated, and if the saints have all been martyred, who is there to rescue them but God alone? Do we see that in Revelation? Let's look and see, I think we will.

Revelation 6:12: "And when He opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake… [Now God says He's going to rise and shake the earth mightily!—the sea, the land, the heavens, everything that there is. So here's where it begins.] …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…. [I mean, this is a gigantic intervention!] …And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the powerful men, and every bondman, and every free man hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains; And they said to the mountains and to the rocks, 'Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him Who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb Because the great day of His wrath has come, and who has the power to stand?'" (vs 12-17). Now that's something!

Let's go back and just think about what happened in Egypt. All the plagues that happened in Egypt are going to be repeated at the end-time. Was there a time when the magicians admitted to Pharaoh that this is the hand of God? Yes! Did he repent? No! Did the Egyptians repent? No! Some of them wanted to. So here God intervenes. When does this happen? This happens—if Hosea is accurate—after two years and in the third year. How do we know? Because God begins dealing with Israel. Just like the Israelites in Egypt, there came a time when the plagues did not come upon them, though they lived in Goshen. It came on all the rest of Egypt. So likewise, we are going to see that God intervenes beginning with the 144,000 and anyone else who would repent.

Now, let's come to the book of Acts, the second chapter, and many people have wondered why did Peter quote Joel? And why did he bring these things out on the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was being given? When those things had not taken place! So here we have an amazing prophecy—because what happened? The only thing that happened on the Day of Pentecost was what? The Holy Spirit came in power as a" mighty, rushing wind." Right? And they all spoke in other languages. Miracle of speaking. Miracle of hearing.

Acts 2:14: "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… [Now notice what he quotes here–v 17]: …"And it shall come to pass in the last days," says God, "that I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; And even upon My servants and upon My handmaids will I pour out My Spirit in those days, and they shall prophesy; And I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and vapors of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved"'" (vs 14-21).

That did not happen on that Day of Pentecost, there at the temple, did it? How many were saved that day? Three thousand. I think it is inspired that this is here and we know what was spoken on the Day of Pentecost and referring to the Day of Pentecost. Now can we come back to Rev. 6 and 7 and can we see where this will be fulfilled. We saw Rev. 6 where all the heavenly signs took place. Right? Yes! Now, let's put together Hosea 6: "in the third day"; Acts 2: that these things will happen "before the day of the Lord." This is not the Day of the Lord here, that takes place later.

Now come to Revelation 7:1—and let's see what happens: "And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth… [I've never been able to figure out where the four corners of the earth are. When you look at the earth on a sphere, as it is, a globe, and I've looked at it many times and I've wondered where are the four corners of the earth?] …holding back the four winds of the earth, so that the wind might not blow on the earth, or on the sea, or on any tree." Now I want you to think about the contrast of this. The heavens ripped back as a scroll, the sun is darkened, the moon turns to blood, and the stars fall from heaven and all of a sudden, after all this noise and earthquake and everything takes place, WHEW! Total quiet—still on the whole earth!

"Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God; and he cried out with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to damage the earth and the sea, Saying, 'Do not damage the earth, or the sea, or the trees until we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads'" (v 2).

Now, when you receive the Holy Spirit of God (Eph. 1) after baptism and laying on of hands, you are sealed with the Spirit of God. So the 144,000 that we are going to read of here cannot be anyone in the Church of God today; because if you're truly in the Church of God and have been baptized and have received the Holy Spirit, you have already been sealed. These are people who have not been sealed. Question: If we are two years-plus into the tribulation against Israel, beginning in the third year, and all of the saints have been martyred and killed, except the few who are in a place of safety (Rev. 12), are there any ministers around to do baptizing? Lay hands on to receive the Holy Spirit? No! There aren't any, they're all dead! So this is why God uses this method of converting these people and giving them His Spirit. So what do we have here? We have God's personal harvest! Direct intervention and salvation by Jesus Christ Himself. Now we'll talk about this in a minute and we'll see some other parallels with it.

Verse 4: "And I heard the number of those who were sealed: one hundred forty-four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the children of Israel…. [And people ask the question: I wonder who the 144,000 are? Well, it tells us]: …of the [tribes of] children of Israel."

• Do you believe the Bible is true? Yes
• Do you believe that the Word of God is accurate? Yes

If it says 'of the children of Israel' it means just that. Does this not tie in with Hosea 5 & 6, where God revives them in the third year or 'third day'? Yes. So He begins dealing in reviving Israel with the children of Israel, doesn't He? Yes!

"…one hundred forty-four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the children of Israel" Now v 5 defines it, lest some quit reading at v 4 and think there's 144,000 out of every tribe. So it defines it. Wherever the children of Israel are in captivity, there are those 12,000 out of every tribe which will be sealed—wherever they are. This represents another harvest of God, does it not? Who will be resurrected because what? There's still another year and a half left—approximately.

Now let's go on: "From the tribe of Judah…" (v 5). Put in your margin there: Zech. 12, he's going to save the tribes of Judah first. Fulfilled, right here.] …twelve thousand were sealed; from the tribe of Reuben… [the firstborn who did not get the birthright because of his sin] …twelve thousand were sealed; from the tribe of Gad, twelve thousand were sealed…"—and so forth, Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, Zebulon, Joseph and the tribe of Benjamin.

Now we have also another principle working here, too, which the Apostle Paul taught. To the Jew first, then to the Gentile. The Jew in this sense means all the children of Israel, because all 12 tribes are involved here, with the exception of Dan and it's prophesied in Genesis 49 that Dan would wait for his salvation.

Now notice v 9—now to the Gentile: "After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude, which no one was able to number, out of every nation and tribe and people and language, was standing before the throne and before the Lamb… [Now why does it phrase it this way? Because it shows that they will be resurrected to stand before the throne of God, but that does not happen until when? Until the first resurrection takes place. But this show they are going to receive salvation.] …clothed with white robes and holding palms in their hands; And they were calling out with a loud voice to Him Who sits on the throne and to the Lamb, saying, 'The salvation of our God has come.' Then all the angels stood around the throne, and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, Saying, 'Amen. Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power and strength be to our God into the ages of eternity. Amen' And one of the elders answered and said to me, 'These who are clothed with white robes, who are they, and where did they come from?' Then I said to him, 'Sir, you know.' And he said to me, 'They are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation; and they have washed their robes, and have made their robes white in the blood of the Lamb" (vs 9-14). They repented, they received salvation through the experiences they endured through the tribulation. They came out of great tribulation and the resurrection does not take place to bring them before the throne of God until the first resurrection takes place, which is at the seventh trump.

Comment was made: Well, this looks like they're going to be more Gentiles converted than Israelites. Yes, indeed!—if you can't number them. Why would God do that? Well, down through history there have been more Israelites converted than Gentiles. So God apparently is going to balance it out here. Now, also another thing that is important—couple of other things that are important:

• Since they come out of every nation and language and so forth, and they come at the very last, you could say, 'minute'—last year; there's no time for them to learn 'sacred names' is there? Just a quick clue: the sacred names of the New Testament are: The Son Jesus Christ and God the Father. Those are the sacred names for the New Covenant.

• How many have been in churches where they have been told—and this started with the Jehovah Witnesses, and they got themselves into trouble—that only 144,000 are going to be saved? All the time that men have been on earth, beginning with Abel down to the return of Christ, only a 144,000 are going to be saved. NOT SO! How can that be when there's a "great, innumerable multitude" plus you have all of those going back to Abel—how many ever they would be—and through David and some of the kings and priests and so forth. And how did the 3,000 that were converted there on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2)—now you've got to count those, right? You have to, all right. And how do you account for when there were thousands in Jerusalem who believed in Acts 5. Now the 144,000 gets to be shrinking down into a smaller and smaller number.

Well, ministers give these foolish kinds of preachings so they can have control over people. And then they say, "Now, you don't want to leave this church and not be one of the 144,000, would you? Oh, no! God is greater than the 144,000—let's put it that way.

We will pick it up here next time, because we will try and fit this into the three and one-half year timeframe and let's think on it this way: Since the prophecy given in Acts 2, and the salvation "whoever calls upon the name of the Lord" which then is 144,000 and great, innumerable multitude, why could not this happen on Pentecost? And this be the next to the last Pentecost toward the end of the three and a half years? We'll pick it up there next time.

FRC:bo
Transcribed: 6-15-08

Scriptural References:

• Daniel 2:40-45
• Daniel 7:23-27
• Daniel 8:20-23
• Genesis 15:13-16
• Daniel 8:23-25
• Daniel 9:26-27
• Daniel 11:40-41
• Revelation 19:11-20
• Zechariah 14:4-9, 12-15
• Revelation 6:1-4
• Revelation 13:1-8
• Revelation 6:3-8
• Revelation 13:7
• Revelation 6:9-10
• Hosea 5:13-15
• Hosea 6:1-2
• Revelation 6:12-17
• Acts 2:14-21
• Revelation 7:1-5, 9-14

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:

• 2-Thessalonians 2
• 1 Thessalonians 5
• Isaiah 53
• Matthew 24
• Luke 21
• Mark 13
• Daniel 12
• John 1:1-3, 14
• Revelation 17
• Matthew 4
• Luke 4
• Ephesians 1
• Revelation 12
• Zechariah 12
• Genesis 49
• Acts 5

Also referenced:

• Sermon Series: Daniel/Revelation
• Books:
• Occult Holidays or God's Holidays, Which? by Fred R. Coulter
• Why Europe Will Run the 21st Century by Mark Leonard