App
May 14, 1994
In the past I have always run out of time preaching on Pentecost, and I have run right up to the end and the tape goes off and I have to put it on a C100 and squeeze it down. So what I have decided to do is what I have done with the Feast of Tabernacles which I started what, ten years ago? Remember there is so much to preach on the eighth day that what I did, I went ahead and said, OK, let’s preach the things about the seventh day and the end of it on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles and then the things for the eighth day we will preach on the eighth day. So I have decided that I am going to do the same thing with Pentecost, which is the events leading up to Pentecost, I will now do on the Sabbath before Pentecost, and then the events of Pentecost itself, I will do on Pentecost. So what we are going to do—you could also entitle this When You Forget Pentecost, because it could be exactly the same thing. In the past I have always run out of time preaching on Pentecost, and I have run right up to the end and the tape goes off and I have to put it on a C100 and squeeze it down. So what I have decided to do is what I have done with the Feast of Tabernacles which I started what, ten years ago? Remember there is so much to preach on the eighth day that what I did, I went ahead and said, OK, let’s preach the things about the seventh day and the end of it on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles and then the things for the eighth day we will preach on the eighth day. So I have decided that I am going to do the same thing with Pentecost, which is the events leading up to Pentecost, I will now do on the Sabbath before Pentecost, and then the events of Pentecost itself, I will do on Pentecost. So what we are going to do—you could also entitle this When You Forget Pentecost, because it could be exactly the same thing.
Let’s begin in a rather unusual place because I will refer you to Exodus 19 and 20 which we will cover partly tomorrow concerning the first Pentecost and the giving of the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai, and let’s go all the way to Exodus 33, and let’s begin there because this I think points out the situation—what happens when you forget Pentecost or you forget God.
Now I think God will tolerate some people being confused on how to count Pentecost—at least they are attempting to keep it. And I can understand the various reasons for people doing it the various ways they have done it, however, in each case in thoroughly examining it, I have found that they are missing vital elements of scriptural understanding to handle it in the proper way. So what we are going to do is concentrate on the events that happened after Moses went up on the mountain, and I think we are going to see some very important things. Let’s pick it up here in Exodus 33:1: “And the LORD said unto Moses, Depart, get you down from here and unto the people which you have brought up out of the land of Egypt…” Now, here is where they start this exchange—your people, Moses, and Moses says to God, “Your people, God.” So they are kind of pushing the people back and forth as to who is responsible. You know, it’s just like when mother and father have a child that disobeys. The one who finds out that they’ve done wrong runs to the father and says, “Your son…” and then it’s the other way around, “Your, son…” So here Moses is being told, “Now look, these are your people…” Continuing verse 1: “…unto the land which I swore unto Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, Unto your seed will I give it: And I will send an angel before you; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite: Unto a land flowing with milk and honey: for I will not go up in the midst of you;” that’s a very interesting statement. Hold your place right here and let’s go back to Exodus 25 for just a minute. Exodus 25:8. The instructions that God was giving Moses says, “…let them build me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.” Now He says, “I will not go up in the midst of you.” Exodus 33:3. So what are we dealing with here? A lot of people are wondering: Where is God? Same experience, and when we go through this, I want us to relate it to the experience we are going through today, and later when we get into another section here in Jeremiah, I want you to relate it to the world and the parallel course within the Church. And I think we are going to see some astounding parallels. So He says, “…I will not go up in the midst of you; for you are a stiffnecked people: lest I consume you in the way. And when the people heard these evil tidings, they mourned: And no man did put on his ornaments.” Now remember the ornaments they received—the ornaments of gold and silver. What do you suppose these ornaments really were? They were the idols of the gods of Egypt. That’s what they were—or the crosses, or the crucifixes or, what is that cross they have—the Ankh cross that has the eggshape on top? So they took off their ornaments. What did they do with these ornaments in Chapter 32? They made a golden calf—right? Yes. Continuing in verse 4: “…no man did put on his ornaments. For the LORD had said unto Moses, ‘say unto the children of Israel, You are a stiffnecked people: I will come up into the midst of you in a moment, and consume you: Therefore now put off your ornaments from you, that I may know what to do with you.’ And the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by mount Horeb” (Exodus 33:1-6).
Now can we think of a New Testament lesson concerning idolatry? What did the apostle Paul say concerning an idol? To whom an idol is nothing, it is nothing. These people were going back to idolatry—so strip them away. “You can’t be trusted. You see this thing and it becomes a god to you. I am God in your presence,” God was virtually saying “in the pillar of cloud and fire, and yet you won’t honor Me.” I’m just sort of summarizing some of the things that we are going to come across here.
Now notice what Moses did. He “…took the tabernacle…” So they had a little tabernacle there, before they built the big one, which is called the Tent of the Meeting, where God would meet with Moses. “…And pitched it outside the camp”—that’s what without means. “…Afar off from the camp, and called it the tabernacle of the congregation. And it came to pass, that every one which sought the LORD went out unto the tabernacle of the congregation, which was without the camp” (verse 7).
Now let’s think about this: In a church and in our lives can we do actions which will cause God to exit? Yes. Maybe some people asking what’s going on in church today ought to ask the question: Did God leave because they forced Him out because of believing things which were idolatrous against God? [It is] very possible—probably absolutely true. Verse 8: “And it came to pass, when Moses went out unto the tabernacle, that all the people rose up, and stood every man at the door of his tent…” Now we’re getting a little bit of discipline here aren’t we. Now when Moses went out the whole camp—this is on a formal occasion, obviously—the whole camp had to stand up and watch Moses walk out of the camp and go to the tabernacle of the congregation. Then when he got there, then it says, verse 9: “And it came to pass, as Moses entered into the tabernacle, the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the LORD talked with Moses. And all the people saw the cloudy pillar stand at the tabernacle door: And all the people rose up and worshiped, every man in this tent.” Put off on the side. Verse 11: “And the LORD spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he turned again into the camp: But his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.” So he had Joshua out there guarding it. Verse 12: “And Moses said to the LORD, See, you say unto me…” Now here is this argument going back and forth, “…Bring up this people: and you have not let me know whom you will send with me.” So he said, “Now if you are going to leave us, now how are we going to do this?” Continuing verse 12: “…Yet you said, I know you by name and you have found grace in my sight. Now therefore, I pray you, if I have found grace in your sight, show me now your way that I may know you, that I may find grace in your sight: and consider that this nation is your people” (Exodus 33:7-13).
So you know, some church leaders may be right when they say that certain members in their congregation are their people, because they’re taking a possession that belongs to God. Because no one having the Spirit of God belongs to a minister—just a little insight as we are going along here.
Verse 14: “And he said, ‘My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’ And he said unto him, ‘If your presence go not with me, carry us not up from here. For wherein shall it be known here that I and your people have found grace in your sight? Is it not in that you go with us? So shall we be separated, I and your people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.’ And the LORD said to Moses, ‘I will do this thing that you have spoken for you have found grace in my sight, and I know you by name’ ” (Exodus 33:14-17). So God said, “All right, now I’m going to go ahead and go back there”
Let’s continue on now in Exodus 33:18 “And he said, ‘I beseech you, show me your glory.’ And he said, ‘I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before you; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy to whom I will show mercy.’ And he said, ‘You cannot see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.’ And the LORD said, ‘Behold there is a place by me… ’ ” So forth, “ …when I pass I will cover you and you will see my glory ” (Exodus 33:18-22).
Chapter 34 and verse 1, “…The LORD said to Moses, ‘Hew out two stones like the first and I will write on them ’ ” So he did that and so verse 4: “Moses took the stones like the first, rose up early in the morning, and he went up on Mount Sinai as the LORD commanded him, and he took in his hands the two tables of stone. The LORD descended and passed by proclaimed all of his glory saying, …‘The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation’ ” (verse 7). Verse 8: “And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped. And he said, ‘If now I have found grace in you sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray you, go among us; for it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.’ And he said, ‘Behold, I make a covenant:’ ” So He had to redo the whole old covenant again because they broke it with their idolatry. Continuing, verse 10: “ Behold I make a covenant: before all your people I will do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation: and all the people among which you are…” that is going to go, “…shall see the work of the LORD: for it is a terrible thing that I will do with you. Observe all that which I command you this day…” (Exodus 34:1, 4-11). Then He goes and He reiterates the things that He did with the first giving of the Ten Commandments.
Let’s come all the way down here to verse 21. It says, “Six days shall you work, but the seventh day shall be rest: in earing time and in harvest shall you rest. And you shall observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of your wheat harvest and the feast of ingathering at the year’s end” (verse 22). And then He reiterates everything that He shows all the way down, let’s come on down here to verse 28: “And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.” So He redid the whole thing again.
Verse 29: “And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses’ hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses didn’t know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him. And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid…” Verse 31: “And Moses called unto them; and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him: and Moses talked with them. And afterward all the children of Israel came near: and he gave them in commandment all that the LORD had spoken with him in mount Sinai. And till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a veil on his face” (Exodus 34:21-22, 28-33).
Now then we come down here to Exodus 35. The question was asked: He didn’t eat or drink for forty days. Does that mean that when Christ was fasting that He didn’t eat or drink for forty days? It is very possible. I’ve said before maybe Christ even drank water while He was fasting, but this may be a good indication that He didn’t need to—absolutely, yes. Thank you for bringing that up.
I missed an important part back in Exodus 32, where that when Moses came down the first time and saw all the people were naked and verse 26 of Chapter 32, “Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, ‘Who is on the LORD’S side? Let him come to me.’ And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him. And he said unto them, ‘Thus says the LORD God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor.’ ” That is all of those who were involved in the nakedness of the orgy that they were involved in and worshiping the golden calf. Verse 28: “And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men” (Exodus 32:26-28). Then he went back up on the mountain. A very interesting parallel could also be happening with the Church too.
Now let’s go to Jeremiah 5, and let’s see something that is so very important for us to realize and that is: Very seldom have the people of God stayed really faithful and true to God—the Israelites didn’t, the Judahites didn’t, and look what happened to Solomon. I mean Solomon is really a great case to study of what happens when you have everything given to you and laid out on a platter for you. And even God spoke to Solomon twice, but what did he do? He made Jerusalem the center of Baal worship! That’s what he did—built temples to every god under the sun. So here is where it degenerated to in Jeremiah 5, just before God was ready to destroy Jerusalem. And so let’s draw the parallel in the nation with what’s happening today. It’s almost incredible. Hardly anybody in the government today can tell the truth. It is unreal. When you watch the news shows on Sunday morning, if you watch them—I’ve given up watching them because they just become nothing but political propaganda gristmill anymore—what they tell you, virtually take the opposite and know that that’s the truth. So it is the same thing here. It’s throughout the whole society, and I think we’re also dealing with a situation that when the society, which applies to a church as well, comes to a certain point then God just gives it over to its own devices and He leaves. That doesn’t mean that God has given up, it just means that He has excused Himself from their presence because their behavior and their attitude is so idolatrous that God will not stay there. So that’s why Moses had to plead with God, “Please come back into the camp and take these, your people.” And so God did.
Here He wants to give mercy so He says, Jeremiah 5:1: “Run you to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if you can find a man…” A man, one single person, and that’s almost the way it is in society today. Can you find one person who will do this: “…if there be any that seeks judgment, that seeks the truth…” That’s the hardest thing in the world for people to really seek—the truth, “…and I will pardon it.” God says He was willing if they found a man, to say: “OK, I’ll pardon all the inequity of it, and I will spare the people for one man.” Verse 3: “O LORD, are not your eyes upon the truth? Have you not stricken them, but they have not grieved; you have consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return. Now we can say that in relationship with the society. We can say that in relationship with the church. Verse 4: “Therefore I said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish: for they know not the way of the LORD, nor the judgment of their God. I will get me to the great men, and will speak unto them; for they have known the way of the LORD, and the judgment of their God…” But he says after going to them, “…but these have altogether broken the yoke, and burst the bonds” (Jeremiah 5:1, 3-5).
I have a chart showing that every one of the leading persons in the current United States Government to all of the appointee offices: Secretary of State, Secretary of Treasury, Secretary of Transportation, and so forth—every single one down through three layers all belong to the Council on Foreign Relations—every single one. And if you know anything about them and the world conspiracy, guess what? And so this is what Jeremiah experienced, he went to the wise men, he went to the leaders saying, “Boy, surely they ought to have God’s judgment, surely they ought to know. “ …But these have altogether broken the yoke, and burst the bonds.” Verse 6: “Wherefore a lion shall come out of the forest and slay them, and a wolf of the evenings shall spoil them, a leopard shall watch over their cities: every one that goes out of there shall be torn in pieces…” Now again, let’s apply this spiritually and physically. Didn’t we just have a cougar attack on a woman out jogging? Ok, now I’m not saying that’s a great fulfillment of this, but I’m saying: Are we entering times when those things are going to be that way—certainly.
Now let’s apply this peoplewise. Are there people who are called wolves? Yes, they are—false prophets, right? What do they come to do—seek to kill, and destroy, and take, right? Yes—the same thing. So we can have these parallels going all the way down. Here is the reason (continuing in verse 6): “…because their transgressions are many, and their backslidings are increased” (Jeremiah 5:6). This is so true.
When I go down to the area of Southern California and have a Bible study down there, believe me: They are all so backslidden that so many of them can hardly stand to take the truth. It is incredible, but that’s what has happened.
Verse 7: “How long shall I pardon this? Your children have forsaken me and have sworn by them that are no gods” changing the truth of God into that which is a lie. And one of the leading evangelists in Worldwide just what, two months ago in Modesto, preached and said that the Worldwide Church of God never taught that there were two Elohims, never taught that Christ was the Logos, never taught any of these things. Continuing in verse 7: “…and have sworn by them that are no gods…” Is that in the society? Yes. Is it in the church? Yes. Continuing verse 7: “…and when I fed them to the full, they committed adultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots’ houses.” And we have the leading trooper as President.
Verse 8: “They were as fed horses in the morning: every one neighed after his neighbor’s wife. ‘Shall I not visit for these things?’ says the LORD: And shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?”, or church such as this? Verse 10: “Go you up on her walls, and destroy; but make not a full end: take away her battlements; for they are not the LORD’S. For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, says the LORD. They have belied the LORD, and said, It is not he; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine…” (Jeremiah 5:8-12). And that’s exactly what people are saying in the world today, people are saying in the church today.
Verse 13: “And the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done unto them.” That’s why we have to check out every doctrine. What does it say? “Don’t be carried about with every sleight of the wind of doctrine by cunning of men.” “Their prophets shall become wind.” There it is right there—a foretelling of it in the Old Testament which Paul said was fulfilled in the New Testament.
Verse 14: “Wherefore thus says the LORD God of hosts, Because you speak this word, behold, I will make my words in your mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.” And of course, they don’t like it. You don’t have to get all vain, and you don’t have to get all uppity…, you just have to speak the truth.
Verse 15: “Lo I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of Israel, says the LORD; It is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language you know not, neither understand what they say.” And isn’t it interesting what religious doctrines are being brought into the Church of God—the same religious doctrines that are coming from this nation, mainly Chaldeanism.
By the way, Carl Franklin’s got a book where he finds the exact sayings of Stavrinides which come right out of ancient Chaldean philosophy—word for word quotes which are now becoming doctrines of the church. And God says He is going to visit for this. And He goes on and shows what He is going to do. Let’s pick it up here in verse 17. After He says He is going to cause all these things to take place, that “…they are going to eat up your harvest, and your bread which your sons and daughters should eat: take your flocks and your herds, eat up your vines… they shall impoverish your fenced cities, wherein you trusted with the sword” (Jeremiah 5:3-17). All of the defenses that are put up are not going to work. And it is the same way in the church. What was the defense of the church? Don’t read anybody else’s literature—that defense is gone. Don’t talk to anyone who is not in this church—that defense is gone. I know in talking to a man who called me the other day, I said, “Well, we take the opposite philosophy. We figure that you can read anything and if you can’t understand the truth, then you better get grounded in it because denying people to read something is not going to keep them from the difficulty.” Now it is don’t study the Bible unless a minister is there.
Now verse 19: “And it shall come to pass when you say…” so they come back and they talk back to God. “ …Wherefore does the LORD our God do all these things unto us?” Now we will see when we get to Revelation here, because I am tying this into the events that lead up to the things happening in the church in the Book of Revelation: Do we have a church that talks back to God? Yes. Same thing here, right? Yes. Continuing in verse 19: “…then you shall answer them, Like as you have forsaken me and served strange gods in your land, so shall you serve strangers in a land that is not yours.” But today we are seeing strangers are coming in. And you go to your local supermarket, and it’s like going to a different nation.
Verse 20: “Declare this in the house of Jacob, and publish it in Judah, saying, Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not:” (Jeremiah 5:20-21). Is that not also in the church as well as in the world? Yes. You tell people the real old plain truths—“Well, we never said that.”
Verse 22: “Won’t you fear me?” says the LORD: will you not tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet they cannot pass over it? But this people has a revolting and a rebellious heart; they have revolted and are gone. Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear the LORD our God, that gives rain, both the former and the latter, in his season: he reserves unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest” (Jeremiah 5:22-24). So that’s why the second title I had was, When You Forget the Feast of Pentecost.
So He says, verse 25: “Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you. For among my people are found wicked men: they lay wait, as he that sets a snare; they set a trap, they catch men. As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit:” so true.
When I was reading and preparing for this sermon, I just could not get over the parallels that are in the society and in the church. It is unreal. Continuing now in verse 27: “…Therefore they are become great and waxed rich.” They have grown rich and yet there are people today who say that the gauge of a church’s spirituality is how much money they have. Be careful. “They are waxen fat, they shine; yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy they judge not. Shall I not visit for these things? says the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this? An awesome…” that’s what it means, “…wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land; The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will you do in the end thereof?” (Jeremiah 5:19-31). When God calls it to account. I was just stunned when I read that with just all the things that have been happening.
Now let’s go back to Daniel 9, and let’s see what Daniel did. Daniel was one of the ones who really repented. Daniel was one of the ones who really turned back to God. Daniel 9:1 “In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans; In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.” So he didn’t understand what Jeremiah wrote until way toward the end of the seventy years. So then he repented. He said, verse 3: “I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:” and frankly brethren, that’s what the Church of God needs to do. Verse 4: “And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O LORD, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled even by departing from your precepts and your judgments: Neither have we listened to your servants the prophets, which spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. O LORD, righteousness belongs to you, but unto us confusion of faces…” and doesn’t that tell you what’s going on in the country and in the church—confusion, everybody is confused. Why, because they have left God. “…As it is this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither you have driven them…” and isn’t the church being scattered today? Yes it is—it parallels, it’s amazing, stunning. “…Because of their trespass that they have trespassed against you. O LORD, to us belongs confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against you.” And I tell what, there isn’t going to be any straightening out of doctrine or knowledge of truth and doctrine until this kind of repentance and admission is made before God. It won’t happen. Verse 10: “Neither have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.” And then he goes through and says, “Oh God, all these things have happened” (Daniel 9:1-8, 10).
Now let’s come down here to verse 18: “O my God, incline your ear, and hear…” and that’s what we need to do for this Pentecost, brethren—have an ear to hear. Isn’t that something when you run the parallel there? God will hear us when? When we hear Him. So he says, “…incline your ear and hear; open your eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by your name: for we do not present our supplications before you for our righteousnesses, but for your great mercies.” And that’s what needs to happen with the whole church—all the brethren everywhere.
Daniel 9:19 “O LORD, hear; O LORD, forgive; O LORD, listen and do; defer not, for your own sake, O my God: for your city, for your people which are called by your name.” And then he was given what? He was given the prophecy of the seventy weeks of the coming of the Messiah. (Daniel 9:18-19).
Now let’s go back to Revelation 2 and 3, and we are going to see some tremendous parallels, because part of the thing we are dealing with, with the events leading up to Pentecost, are the things that are happening within the Churches of God. Let’s pick it up here in Chapter 1 and verse 18. After seeing the vision of Christ, He says to John, “Even the one Who is living; for I was dead, and behold, I am alive into the ages of eternity. Amen. And I have the keys of the grave and of death.” In other words: God is going to judge whom He is going to resurrect, when He is going to resurrect, and what resurrection it will be. “…And of death.” He is the only one Who can give us life. Verse 19: “Write the things that you saw, ...” Up to this point, “…and the things that are, and the things that shall take place. The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, is this: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven lampstands that you saw are the seven churches” (Revelation 1:18-20). And Christ said He would walk in the midst of them.
Now let’s go to Revelation 5, and let’s understand something as we put this together, because Revelation 2 and 3 is everything that we have pretty well understood that it is. Yes, it is the seven churches which were literally then. Yes, it is a prophecy of God’s church down through time. We have defined it in the past as eras. That’s not necessarily wrong, but it was not as clearcut as people like to make it be understood that they thought it was—because we see that these are also the seven attitudes that you find at any one time within the church. These are all the major problems that will confront the church, etc. Now Chapter 5 and verse 5: “Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion Who is of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome to open the book, and to loose its seven seals.” Then I saw, and behold, before the throne and the four living creatures, and before the elders, was standing a Lamb as having been slain,…” that is Christ alone “…having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God that are sent into all the earth” (Revelation 5:5-6).
Now let’s back up and we want to focus in on the seven horns. Why would the symbol of Christ, being a lamb, have seven horns? Well, we can answer the question this way. What do horns in the Book of Daniel represent? Each horn we know, we won’t go back there and turn there, each horn represents a king or a kingdom, correct? Yes. So if you have a horn in the head of Christ—seven of them—let’s ask some other questions. Who is the head of the Church? Christ. Can we conclude properly then that these seven horns represent the Churches of God through history that Christ is the head of? Yes, I think that would be a fair statement. We can also conclude that it refers to the seven churches as we found in Revelation 2 and 3. That would also be another conclusion we can come to without stretching the Scriptures at all—because we know Christ is the Head of the Church. He dwells in the midst of the Church, He is the Lamb which takes away the sins of the world, He was the Lamb Who was slain, and now He is the Lamb with the seven horns. (Answer to comment from congregation): I am sure the seven Spirits of God also apply to the seven churches, I am sure that applies to the seven angels of the seven churches, because it is both. Yes, good comment.
Now let’s just review parts on Revelation 2 and 3, I am not going to concentrate on it. So we have we know definitely—not definitely, but we can conclude from the things we have seen that there is every reason to believe that this has to do with the history of the churches. It has to do with the seven churches, has to do with the attitudes of the churches, has to do with the practices of the churches, and it has to do with the major confrontation of the churches and Satan the Devil. All of those you can put all together.
Now the first church—it is interesting as you look back in your Christian life, I think you are going to see that many of these things you have gone through and you have experienced. Now the first church: Ephesus. He said, “I know your works, and your labor, and your endurance, and that you cannot bear those who are evil; and that you did test those who proclaim themselves to be apostles, but are not, and did find them liars;” (Revelation 2:2). What is one of the biggest problems we have to do today? Is that not it? Have we not found, now I’m not talking about in someone’s personal life that they may tell a lie because they are weak, or they feel as though the truth would be too damaging in some little lowlevel thing here. That could be repented of, and Christians tell lies, they shouldn’t, but Paul said, “Lie not one to another” didn’t he? Yes, he did. But what have we found? When you really get to the truth of examining the doctrines which we have learned, and some of the doctrines, which were mistakes—some of them which were not true; what have we found? Everyone we held in high esteem, we found to be a liar—right? Now I could name names, but no use naming names. Any name you can think of would be it. Are we to find them liars? Yes we are, especially concerning doctrine. So we have to do that.
Now then, they had their problem—they did a lot of work, they had a lot of patience, but they lost the first love, verse 4. So they had to repent. And then He says in Revelation 2, verse 7: “The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes I will give the right to eat of the tree of life that is in the midst of the paradise of God” (Revelation 2:4,7).
Then He says unto the angel of Smyrna. Now here is the one you wouldn’t think would be a Church of God because they are thrown in jail, they are ridiculed, they are put down, they are killed, they are slaughtered, they are poor—despised by everyone. And I tell you what: The world loves a winner.
Here in this area we have a sports phenomena—it is the San Jose Sharks. And everyone will know what I mean. No one was interested in hockey. No one could care about hockey, and the first two years, they were the dregs and the pits of the National Hockey League. All of a sudden, they made it to the playoffs, and then they beat the number one team, and everyone now is jumping on the bandwagon, right? Yes, because people love a winner. Remember when the Oakland Athletics were doing great and winning pennants? Everyone loves a winner, but when you are down and out, no one wants you. Now it was the same with Christ. Remember when He fed the five thousand? Boy, we got a winner! We’re going to make Him king, John the sixth chapter. They were going to come by force and make Him king, because we love a winner. So He escaped. When He was on the cross, they said, “We’ll give you one last chance to be a winner.” I am sort of paraphrasing here. “You come down off that cross and we will believe that you’re the Son of God.” So when everything is going good, every one wants to jump on the bandwagon, but what does God have to do when you’ve got a bandwagon full of bandwagoners, and not the “real McCoy”? He’s got to shake the bandwagon, right? Because the ones who jump on the bandwagon because they love a winner, are not really “true blue”. That’s why the church at Smyrna is such a powerful church. That’s why Christ said, “You are rich, even though you are poor.” He said, “Don’t fear death. I have died.” And He says, verse 11: “The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches…” and all the way through, it’s all the churches. Ok, the reason I’m going through this is because the seven weeks to the harvest is the time of the harvest of the seven churches, and that pictures everything that the church is going to do. So He says to the churches, “…The one who overcomes shall not be hurt of the second death” (Revelation 2:8-11).
Then we come to two of the most problematic churches there are. The church of Pergamos, right there, right in Satan’s capitol—Do the ways of the world affect the Church? Yes, they do. What’s one of the biggest problems that has happened to the Church of God today—the same thing here, two of their great sins: Organized according to a corporate structure, hierarchical authority from the top down. If the minister says it, I’m off the hook, because the Bible has assured me that he is going to stand before God and my judgment. Now people don’t phrase it that way, but that’s how they look at it. And you still hear today, “Oh brethren, come and attend this church. If you are here you are going to receive salvation.” Not so. They had the doctrines of Balaam, ate things sacrificed to idols, committed fornication, spiritual and everything there. You can read it in the book Lord, What Shall I Do? So He says, You have to overcome this, verse 17.
Then you have the next church, Thyatira. And here we have all the women’s libbers. We have a woman prophetess, Jezebel. That tells what kind of doctrines they were getting—calls herself a prophetess. They went clear into the depths of Satan, but God wanted to make everyone know something clear and sure, verse 23: “…I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am He Who searches the reins and hearts; and I will give to each of you according to your works.” So God made sure that everyone knew that everyone was responsible for taking care of it. So He tells them to overcome, keep the first works, “…keeps My works … I will give authority over the nations;” (verse 26).
Then in history, we come to the church which is called Sardis and after all the things that you go through with these other churches, you come up to Sardis—they’re dead, they have a little life and they are just about ready to collapse and have only a couple of things left, and God says, “I’ll be merciful to you. You keep those few things that you have and I will not deny you before My Father.” Now isn’t that something? You think about that. For Christ says, “You do those few things and I won’t deny you…” which tells us what? That if you don’t do those things, you’re denying Christ and He’ll have to deny you, right? Didn’t Jesus say, “The one who denies me, I shall also deny” (Revelation 3:1-6 paraphrased)?
Then you come to the church of Philadelphia. And I think there is something most interesting about the Philadelphians—a true Philadelphian does not know who he really is because you read the parable of the goats, and the sheep, and you remember what He said to the sheep? He said, “Enter into the Kingdom.” He said because when I was hungry, when I was down and out, when I was in prison, and so forth, you came and visited me.” And they said, “Lord, when did we do that?” They didn’t know they had done it, did they? And He said, “…because you have done it to the least of these, my brethren, you have also done it unto me.” So we won’t belabor the point with the Philadelphians, we’ve had plenty enough sermons going over that, pro and con. But He says, verse 13: “The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Revelation 3:7, 13).
Laodicea— “And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans, write: These things says the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginner of the creation of God” verse 14. Now we come to a contemporary time which is, talking back to God, not believing God, being rich and increased with goods, but spiritually taking off their cloths because they are naked. They are literally taking off their spiritual cloths and telling God “I’m in good shape.” Because we know, let’s go back to Revelation 19, we know that the white clothing or the white raiment is the righteousness of the saints. Let’s come back here to Revelation 19:8: “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.” So they are not doing the righteousness of God. So here we have all of these churches and let’s just throw into the mix of it all the problems of the churches at Corinth—divisions, following men because they are a man, not building on the foundation of Christ, thinking they have already got it made, all kinds of prophecies, all kinds of Psalms, talking in tongues, bowing down before idols, all of those problems.
Now then, let’s come to Revelation 5, because there is going to come a time when all of this is going to come to a screeching halt, and we are all going to be brought to the reality of things that are going to happen. And it is going to come as a shock, much as the shock that has come to Rwanda where they have killed about 150,000 people by slaughtering and hacking and killing and shooting. I heard a news clip just yesterday over the radio, where there is now a special organization where they go around the world and they are getting rid of mine fields. Did you know that 1,200 people a month are killed from mine fields that have been laid in 60 different countries that have been in various forms of fighting and guerilla warfare since World War II? Twelve hundred people are killed! They said mines can go off after twenty or thirty years. You just walk across a field and “boom!” you are either gone, lost a leg, lost an arm, blow out your eyes, or whatever. And that is how it is going to happen, brethren. It’s going to come in a day and Bam! And it’s going to be something!
Then we are going to come to the time that we have right here when God says, “That’s it! Now is the time!” And this is when Christ is given the scroll. Revelation 5:1: “And in the right hand of Him Who sits on the throne…” that is God the Father “…I saw a book, written within and on the back, which had been sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, ‘Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose its seals? But no one in heaven, or on the earth, or under the earth was able to open the book, or to look inside it.” So this is telling us that there are some things in there that no one understands yet. We have a bare little glimpse of it don’t we. Verse 4: “And I was weeping greatly because no one was found worthy to open and to read the book, or to look into it. Then one of the elders said to me, ‘Do not weep. Behold, the Lion Who is of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome to open the book, and to loose its seven seals” (Revelation 5:1-6). And then he saw the Lamb with seven horns.
Then we come all the way down here to verse 11: “And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the living creatures and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing.” Now every man that wants to set himself up as a prophet, and one of them is ready to proclaim himself one of the two witnesses any time someone comes up with enough evidence—read this! OK? Christ is going to do it! He alone is going to open it. Verse 13: “And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto him that sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb forever and ever. And the four living creatures said, Amen. And the twentyfour elders fell down and worshiped him that lives forever and ever” (Revelation 5:11-14).
Then the seals are opened. The first seal is the white horse. A lot of these things we know, we’ve gone over many times. So let me just review them. I’ve said in the past, verse 2, “…I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer” (Revelation 6:2). And we have always looked at that and said, “Well, that’s got to be the Catholic Church.” Well, it fits the Catholic Church up to a certain point. Let’s think of it beyond just the Catholic Church and let’s understand that the reason a horse is used is because things happen suddenly. And I think the world is ready for a great common religious, spiritual, revival to bring together all religions, and I think we’ve given enough sermons in the past to show that that’s the way it’s going—which will include the Catholic Church and all of those, so called Christians, and also all the other religions of the world.
I still remember the ad that Belinda brought from IBM which showed the Tower of Babel which was crumbled down and they boasted, “We are now able to finish what they started.” Wasn’t that it? Something like that.
So this is going to come suddenly. This is part of the events leading up to the fulfilling of Pentecost—and they are going to do miracles! Right now there are a lot of people talking about aliens come to help us! What if they bring a new religion? And everyone says this is wonderful. We can now have peace, we can now get along, and there are miracles that are performed, because everyone likes a winner—remember that. And when there comes along this great religious movement, everyone’s going to be considered a winner. It’s going to be a wonderful event for them. So I would have to say we need to think in that term, along those lines.
Then verse 3, the second seal: “…I heard a voice say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given to him a great sword” (Revelation 6:24). And I think that’s going to happen, brethren, which we’ll see where that fits in.
Let’s go to Revelation 13, because when the great religious leader comes on, there is also going to be the great military leader and it’s going to come on. He is going to come and it will come to this point—All the world is going to worship him. He is going to receive the deadly wound that will be healed. Now verse 4: “And they worshiped the dragon which gave power to the beast: and they worshiped the beast, saying Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him?” In other words, you can’t resist his warmaking powers. That is what it is saying.
Now I want you to just think on this, (cowbell rings indicating an opinion) there is my cowbell. I want you to think of the UN. How many members vote? You have ten, plus five who are the permanent members. What if they add two more permanent members—Japan and Germany? Now how many do you have—seven and ten. Is that not correct? Yes. Think on it—very possible. What if, and I have heard this suggested: The way we can have world peace is to turn over all nuclear weapons under UN control. Think on that for a minute. Who is able to make war with the beast? Now then, think what is going to happen when whoever the leader of the UN is, is killed and comes back to life or one of the seven heads. That disturbs the peace. Then he is going to go make war and here is what’s going to happen, verse 5. I think the second seal and verse 5 fit exactly together. Revelation 6 verses 3 and 4 tie in together with Revelation 13, verses 4 down through 8. Who is able to make war with him? Now verse 5 of Revelation 13: “And there was given him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.” That is after the deadly wound was healed. Verse 6: “…He opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. If any man have an ear, let him hear” (Revelation 13:3-9). So that means we need to really pay attention.
Now then, of the events leading up to Pentecost, let’s continue back in Revelation 6. We have the third seal a black horse, famine, shortage of food. That can come on us quickly. How long could you last in the event you couldn’t buy any food at the grocery store or there was war or [it was] cut off. Let’s reverse the question. How many times a month do you go to the store? Or if that is too many? How many times a week do you go to the store? Now you might be able to calculate that, but I know there are times when I go to the store three or four times, because it’s close, right? Any of you experience that? How long could you exist—not very long. So you see you don’t have to wait for any great monstrous event to take place, it’s just going to happen once and that’s going to be it.
Then we come to the fourth seal which then is death as a result of that. And I tell you, we have these super viruses, super bacteria, super this and that and everything else, it’s going to come and when there is starvation, lack of food, lack of water, guess what happens—wham! Throw in the mix all kinds of rats. Throw in the mix all kinds of insects. Throw in the mix all kinds of insane people running around killing, taking, looting, and stealing. Throw in the mix, cannibalism. All that will be part of it.
Then they are going to come after us, Revelation 6:9. The fifth seal is the martyrdom of the saints. That’s going to be something! And then there is going to be an event that leads up to the fulfilling of the next to the last and the last Pentecost which is going to startle this whole earth. Verse 12: “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casts her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.” Now you’re not going to watch this on NBC, CBS, ABC, or CNN, or CBNC newscasts. This is going to happen suddenly—so much so that, “…the kings of the earth and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;” Why—because everything is going to be in an upheaval. Verse 16: “And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” (Revelation 6:12-17). So this is going to be something! What’s going to happen when that scroll of heaven rolls back? What is going to be seen? They are going to see something. They’re going to know it is something coming from outer space. They may not call Him Christ. The False Prophet is going to call Him Antichrist.
Let’s go back to Matthew 24, because this is the event leading up to the fulfilling of the next to the last Pentecost and the last Pentecost, and I will just say right here—I believe that the sixth seal happens on the next to the last Pentecost. I won’t ring the bell with that because I think that is based on fairly sound Scriptures, as we will see. Matthew 24, and let’s pick it up here in verse 21: “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved:” or that is living, “…but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened. Then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets…” Now let’s do this, let’s figure that they don’t all have to be religious. Do we not have saviors for the economy? Yes. Do we not have saviors for increasing the human race genetically? Yes. Do we not have prophets telling us how good things are going to be? Yes. Do we not have religious people doing that? Yes. So let’s put it all in the whole mix. Someone mentioned to me that he thought this might be a possibility, I don’t know so I will ring the bell (Bell rung). That’s an opinion. His opinion was that he felt that Rush Limbaugh was a secular prophet telling them the truth and telling the truth to people that you can’t get to listen to from a spiritual prophet, but God is going to make sure that they hear it! I would say, that’s a reasonable opinion. So we need to realize that there are going to be those, there are also going to be false prophets.
Now notice what they are going to do. So mark it, brethren, watch, there are going to be more miracles done. (Comment was made that they are going to allow religious programming, and I think that means within programs, religious scenes of prayers and things like that on prime time.) But I tell you what: What’s going to happen when there are five hundred television channels? I mean if you are fed up with the garbage with just twentyplus [channels], times that by five and by five. Five times twenty is one hundred; times five is five hundred. But that is going to give opportunities isn’t it? Yes. So watch, there are going to be miracles that are going to be done, great signs and wonders. Some of them can be medical signs and wonders—not only just healings, but they can be all kinds of things going on. “…and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect” (Matthew 24:24). Now I want us to grasp this. We’ve got to really be on the ball constantly or the deception will be so great, we could be deceived. It’s going to be hard to say that these bona fide, absolutely provable, documented miracles are of Satan. The world won’t believe it. Why? Because they love a winner, and this is going to be a winner.
Verse 25: “Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning…” Now let’s focus in on verse 27 because this ties in with Revelation 6 and verse 12. “For as lightning coming out of the east, and shining unto the west;” that is only the sun, that cannot be a bolt of lightning—because lightning goes up, lightning comes down, lightning goes north and south and east and west and at all angles. “…So shall the coming of the Son of man be. For wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together” (Matthew 24:25-28). And He gives us this statement which really it’s hard to understand. The carcass, the body, the eagles are gathered that must have some reference to the church, some reference to protection.
Let’s go on verse 29: “Immediately after the tribulation of those days…” This is the sixth seal. This happens on next to the last Pentecost, which I will prove. “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven:” What is the sign of the Son of man in heaven? When does it all of a sudden appear? Bam! When the heavens are rolled back like a scroll, and they see Christ as a sun, s-u-n. When they first see Him, notice it says shining from east to west. Which means that it’s going to be far enough out in space that the gravitational pull of the earth is not going to affect it—because the earth will continue on its orbit and every eye is going to see it. And I believe, brethren, that from the next to the last Pentecost to the last Pentecost that that is going to get closer, and closer, and closer, and closer to the earth. And then on the last Pentecost, which we will cover tomorrow, when the first resurrection takes place it’s going to come down into the clouds over Jerusalem. Now that’s going to make a lot of excited people on earth, right? Militarists and otherwise. So the sign of the Son of man shall appear in heaven, “…then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with the sound of a great trumpet…” Did you realize the trumpet was blown on Pentecost? We’ll cover that tomorrow. “…And they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (Matthew 24:29-31). So let’s do it this way: verse 30 is the next to the last Pentecost, verse 31 is the last one. And we will cover that a little bit more tomorrow.
Let’s see, I’m just about done here. Let’s go to Luke 17, and let’s cover the same thing there concerning His return. Luke 17:22: “And he said to the disciples, The days will come, when you shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and you shall not see it.” Longing for the good ol’ days. Verse 23: “And they shall say to you See here; or, See there: go not after them, nor follow them. For as lightning that lights out of one part under heaven, shines unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day” (Luke 17:22-24).
We know that a day fulfilled in prophecy is one year. And what we’re going to do is look at His day, from the next to the last Pentecost, to the last Pentecost and we will do that tomorrow on Pentecost, and put all of these events together.
End of Sermon
(End of Sermon)
Transcriber: Judith Anderson
Events Leading Up to Pentecost
May 14, 1994
Scriptural References
- Exodus 33:1-22
- Exodus 25:8
- Exodus 34:1, 4-11, 21-22, 28-33
- Exodus 32:26-28
- Jeremiah 5:1, 3-17, 19-31
- Daniel 9:1-8, 10, 18-19
- Revelation 1:18-20
- Revelation 5:5-6
- Revelation 2:2, 4, 7-11, 17, 23, 26
- Revelation 3:1-7, 13-14
- Revelation 19:8
- Revelation 5:1-6, 11-14
- Revelation 6:2-4
- Revelation 13:3-9
- Revelation 6:5-9, 12-17
- Matthew 24:21-31
- Luke 17:22-24
