Feast of Pentecost - 2016

(True Spiritual Liberty)
Fred R. Coulter—June 12, 2016

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Greetings, brethren! Welcome to the Feast Pentecost, and time marches on. How much time we have left, how long it will be before the resurrection occurs and the return of Jesus Christ… By the way, we'll be the aliens from outer space. Satan is preparing the world to fight us! I wonder where that comes from? We'll see a little later!

Glad you're here and hope you had a good Day 49; so let's once again come back here to Lev. 23 and let's look at some of the commands concerning the Day of Pentecost. This ties right in with what Jesus said, 'No one knows the day or the hour.'

Isn't it interesting how many people get mixed up on account of Pentecost, and how many people get mixed up on the sequence of events of the return of Jesus Christ? How many have given dates, but the dates have all failed? But the Father knows! As we will see, there's a reason connected with Pentecost and the resurrection, and the confusion over this Feast. It's also interesting that with the Jews they have confusion with Passover, Unleavened Bread and Pentecost, but they don't have any confusion with Trumpets, Atonement, Tabernacles and the Last Great Day as far as the correct days go.

So, here in Lev. 23 we already covered on how to count it. I covered it in the May letter and then for the short presentation video on how to count Pentecost.

Here we are on the 50th day, and here is what was to happen. They had a special offering to give. Isn't it interesting that there's a special offering on the Wave Sheaf Offering Day, and there's a special offering on the Day of Pentecost. We will see exactly what that means, and that ties it right in with relating to us. Now, we won't repeat on how to count.

Leviticus 23:16: "Even unto the day after the seventh Sabbath… [that's always on Sunday, because the Sabbath is always on Saturday] …you shall number fifty days. And you shall offer a new grain offering to the LORD." What are we looking forward to? The resurrection!

• a new body
• a new mind
• a new type of existence

as a spirit being, and that's what this pictures. Isn't the resurrection likened unto a harvest? Yes, it is! Here's a new grain offering!

Verse 17: "You shall bring out of your homes two wave loaves of two tenth parts…. [just the way it's supposed to be] …They shall be of fine flour…." –finely ground; that's a type of trial. Of course, we all have trials!

"…They shall be baked with leaven, they are the firstfruits to the LORD" (v 17). Some people object to God's command to bake it with leaven. They think that's a mistranslation. No! There's one other offering, it's a peace offering that is offered with leaven.

Why would God command them to make it with leaven? Notice what He calls them: "…they are the firstfruits to the LORD." We find in that we are called the firstfruits of His creation (James 1:18).

Of course, preparing for the resurrection and developing the mind of Christ, and growing in grace and knowledge, we are a new creation and we are the firstfruits. So, here's a complete harvest of the firstfruits.

Why would God have them bake with leaven? In Matt. 13 it says that the Kingdom of Heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman put into three measures of flour and it was all leavened.

During the Feast of Unleavened Bread, leaven is a type of sin, but only during that time. Here this is a good thing, because God wants it presented to Him. What does this picture? This is picturing when we are resurrected and changed! But we have to do all the building of character all along.

We will see that when we are resurrected and changed that that will be permanent. So, in this case, leaven is likened to the final development by the work of the Holy Spirit within us, just like leaven in these loaves work within and the loaves grow. Then when they are baked, they are permanent.

So, these two are waved before the Lord: one is symbolic of those up to the time of Christ who will enter into the Kingdom of God as spirit beings; the other one is the New Testament Church. Once they're baked, it's permanent.

Verse 18: "And you shall offer with the bread seven lambs without blemish of the first year… [a type of the seven churches] …and one young bull, and two rams. They shall be for a burnt offering to the LORD with their grain offering, and their drink offerings, even an offering made by fire, of sweet savor to the LORD. Then you shall sacrifice one male goat for a sin offering, and two lambs of the first year for a sacrifice of peace offerings. And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits…" (vs 18-20).

This includes all that are going to be in the resurrection. When they're waved, that's a lifting up.

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

This is one of the reasons why we take up offerings on the Holy Days. God specifically says to bring an offering. As we've see in Deut. 16, it's to be in the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Tabernacles.

We are to give as God has made it possible, according to the blessings that God has given us. So, on the Day of Pentecost this was a great offering to be given, because of the meaning of the day. This is quite a tremendous day for us to look forward to, and we will see that this is the day of the resurrection. That's when the harvest of the firstfruits has been completed!

(pause for the offering)

Let's continue on with this wonderful and tremendous Feast of Pentecost. There are three major fulfillments of the Feast of Pentecost: the first is when God gave the Ten Commandments to the children of Israel at Mt. Sinai. That was a spectacular event, which we'll read about that later!

The next one was a very interesting one, indeed! Let's understand something that's important, as well. We count to Pentecost 50 full days, but also in counting for the Jubilee, it is counted in the same manner, not in days per week but in years per seven-year segments. Then the 50th day is a Jubilee; the 50th year is a Jubilee. This connects the Day of Atonement with Pentecost, because all the Feast days are connected together.

In time they run in sequence, but in meaning they all fit together just like a sphere, and the Word of God is like a sphere.

I was squeezing grapefruit juice and I looked at the grapefruit and it's round, the orange is round, the lemon is a little oblong and I was thinking of all the fruit that is round. Yet, there are some people, even with all the witnesses of everything that there is, still believe that the earth is flat.

How much flat fruit do you see? Virtually none! Some are oblong, some are shaped like pears and avocados, etc., but look all the fruit that is round. Very interesting!

Luke 4 is where it gives the account of Jesus' temptation with Satan the devil. This is tied to the Day of Atonement. When there is a Jubilee of 50 years, a great trumpet is blown on the Day of Atonement.

When you go back in the chronology, and we have this in the book The Appointed Times of Jesus the Messiah, the day that Jesus began the temptation with Satan the devil was on the Day of Atonement, beginning a Jubilee Year. Also, this ties in to Pentecost, because:

• Israel began on Pentecost
• the Church began on Pentecost
• Pentecost is the resurrection of the firstfruits

So, this whole year was a Jubilee Year. During the time that Jesus was being tempted by Satan the devil for 40 days and 40 nights, there was no way He could proclaim what He did when He came to Nazareth, and it was the Day of Pentecost that He gave this announcement:

Luke 4:16: "And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and according to His custom, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath Day and stood up to read." If you will read the footnote in The Holy Bible in Its Original Order, A Faithful Version, you will see that this day was the day of the Sabbaths—plural! That is the Day of Pentecost.

Notice what He did when He stood up to read, v 17: "And there was given Him the book of the prophet Isaiah; and when He had unrolled the scroll, He found the place where it was written, 'The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me…'" (vs 17-18).

God came down on Mt. Sinai as a spirit being. He gave His laws, He gave His commandments and all the people said, 'We will do it, but only let Moses talk to us, don't let God talk to us.'

We come to this time here and it takes the Spirit of God; He made the announcement on the Day of Atonement because this shows the true spiritual liberty!

"…for this reason, He has anointed Me…" (v 18)—right there in the synagogue; they didn't like that, because after He got done they were ready to take Him out and throw Him over the cliff and kill Him.

"…to preach the Gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal those who are brokenhearted… [only the Spirit of God can heal the brokenhearted] …to proclaim pardon to the captives… [we're all captives of Satan the devil] …and recovery of sight to the blind… [physical and spiritual] …to send forth in deliverance those who have been crushed" (v 18).

Many of us in our lives have experienced that kind of thing. That's why it's so important to understand:

• the love of God
• the power of God
• using His Holy Spirit
• growing and overcoming
• developing the character of God

That's how the brokenhearted are healed.

Verse 19: "To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." The beginning of the ministry of Christ which was the first year of the next 50-year cycle, and was a Jubilee year. This is a Jubilee message!

Quite a profound thing—isn't it? That's very interesting the way that all of this comes together. So, we can add into these three things:

• the ministry of Christ
• proclaiming the liberty, the deliverance of God, on the Day of Pentecost, which is a mini-Jubilee because it's the 50th day
  • Jubilee year
  • mini-Jubilee

Look at what He is proclaiming.

Of course, in a Jubilee year all the slaves would be released, all debts would be forgiven and everyone would return to their inheritance.

Sidebar: Think about this! Satan's way, just look at it in a situation concerning finance. God's way is that loans could only be for six years. In the seventh year you were to forgive. Every seventh year was a year of release from loans. Compare that to Satan's way. Look at the debt that's in the world in the nations, everywhere in the world: people, corporations, families!

Someone sent me an article about what it would be like for your children in paying off the $19-trillion debt that we have now. What does that tell you? Satan's way provides no forgiveness! Just project forward to the return of Christ. Guess what's going to happen to all those loans when Christ returns: null and void!

With God, there is always forgiveness upon repentance! His mercy endures forever! His steadfast love endures forever! God has a flat fantastic plan to rescue this world and we are integral part of that. But we have to develop the character of God and the mind of Christ to handle the responsibilities that are going to be given to us to rule the world under Jesus Christ. That's why this day is so important!

Just before Jesus ascended into heaven after being with the disciples and showing them things, teaching them for 40 days, He told them to remain in Jerusalem until they received power from on high.

We won't get into the controversy of are there three in the Godhead, two in the Godhead, is the Holy Spirit a person or power. The Bible teaches that it is power!

So, they did that. They went back and had a special meeting room called Solomon's Porch connected with the temple complex. When this Day of Pentecost came, it's very important to understand something that affects the Jews directly. What did Jesus say of the Jews? The Jews demand a sign! So, when they came to Jesus and said, 'What sign will You give us?' He said, 'I'm only going to give you the sign of Jonah. Jonah was in the heart of the great fish for three days and three nights, so will the Son of man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.' Then, of course, He was resurrected.

At Mt. Sinai when the children of Israel were gathered around the mount to hear God speak, God gave them great signs: power, smoke, trumpet blowing long and loud. You see, there is a trumpet to be blown on every one of the Holy Days. The trumpet was announcing what God was going to give to the people: His Law, His Covenant! That was a profound day; very frightful, indeed!

Now then, when we come to Pentecost as we find in Acts 2, God gave them several powerful witnesses. Also, it was absolutely important that this take place at the temple of God. Why? Because that's where God placed His name!

Think about this for a minute: If it would have been done say in Galilee or over across the ocean, and someone would come to Jerusalem and say, 'This happened over here and we're from God…' It never would have been accepted. They never accepted Jesus Christ either, though He was right there in all the prophecies about Him were being fulfilled right before their eyes.

Look at how many people He raised from the dead, how many people He healed—thousands and thousands of them—and how many people He fed, the preaching of the Word. Incredible! Yet, they killed Him! That doesn't stop God!

Here now, 54 days later after the death of Jesus Christ, on this Day of Pentecost God gave them a sign so spectacular and so powerful that they knew that this was from God! Remember what happened when they were at Mt. Sinai.

We'll cover something important concerning our coming before God on Pentecost, and our coming before God when the resurrection occurs. You get a real picture of what went on when they came to Mt. Sinai, and we'll compare that with what happened at the temple when the apostles and disciples began to preach.

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

Now then, think about what it's going to be like at the resurrection. Also think about what it was like in Acts 2.

Verse 22: "But you have come to Mount Sion…"—in heaven above; remember that God is preparing New Jerusalem:

• for His Church
• for His people
• for all that will be converted through the Millennium
• for all that will make it into the Kingdom of God through the Last Great Day

The Great City New Jerusalem and a new heaven and new earth. That's going to be a fantastic day!

"…and to the city of the living God, heavenly Jerusalem; and to an innumerable company of angels; to the joyous festival gathering; and to the Church of the Firstborn registered in the Book of Life in heaven…" (vs 22-23). That is us; the firstfruits, the Church of the Firstborn and Jesus is the Firstborn among many brethren.

"…and to God, the Judge of all; and to the spirits of the just who have been perfected" (v 23). When we come to the end of our lives and die, our spirit with the Spirit of God goes back to God. He's got a place there—Church of the Firstborn—and that spirit is put right there! How many are in that compartment? Do not know! Then at the resurrection He takes this and uses that as the pattern/plan to resurrect us as spirit beings. We'll see a little bit more of that later on, but that's something!"…the spirits of the just who have been perfected."

Verse 24: "And to Jesus, the Mediator of the New Covenant; and to sprinkling of the blood of ratification, proclaiming superior things than that of Abel."

• Abel is going to be resurrected
• all the patriarchs
• some of the kings of Judah
• all of the prophets

then

• the great Pentecost harvest happens with the Church

Here is the beginning. What we have is the Church begins on Pentecost and the Church is finished on Pentecost; that is the Church of the Firstborn!

Acts 2:1: "And when the Day of Pentecost, the fiftieth day, was being fulfilled…" That's a special Greek articular infinitive that shows it was beingfulfilled or observed. Not the day before or the day after.

"…they were all with one accord in the same place. And suddenly there came from heaven… [from God] …a sound like the rushing of a powerful wind… [just like it was at Mt. Sinai with the children of Israel] …and filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them divided tongues as of fire, and sat upon each one of them" (vs 1-3).

What did they have at Mt. Sinai? The fire, the smoke, the power, the wind! Here we have spiritually God giving them the spirit of power to preach the Gospel. This is the beginning of the true Church of God! That was a tremendous sign, indeed, for the Jews. Here's another tremendous sign for them.

Verse 4: "And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit; and they began to speak with other languages, as the Spirit gave them the words to proclaim." All the different languages, because God was showing that salvation was going to come to all people through the Church, the now spiritual organization, as depicted by the seven churches as we covered yesterday in the book of Revelation.

Then it talks about where they all came from. Some of them said that they were drunk. These were Galileans; that was an epitaph. It was like saying, 'these are rebels from down south.' Not so!

Verse 11: "Cretes and Arabians; we hear them speaking in our own languages the great things of God." To speak in tongues, or other languages, means that it is intelligible to those who hear it. Satan's counterfeit is gibberish! All the pentecostal churches and all of those who go for their rock concert in the Pentecostal Church with shouting and yelling and screaming, and saying the name of Jesus is all a counterfeit from Satan the devil. That is not from God! The first clue is that God never blessed the weekly Sunday-keeping!

Though Pentecost is on the first day of the week, that doesn't sanctify every first day of the week during the year. This is a special one day during the year to celebrate a new beginning.

After being mocked, v 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…. [nine o'clock in the morning] …But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel'" (vs 14-16).

When we read this, you are going to see that there are some elements of that that happened during the week of Jesus' crucifixion.

• Did the sun go dark? Yes!
• Was there a thick darkness? Yes!
• Did the earth shake? Yes!

That was a type of what is going to happen at the last Pentecost and the days leading up to it.

Verse 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'" (vs 17-18).

That's going to happen when we come to the 144,000 and great innumerable multitude. That is also an event that takes place on Pentecost.

Verse 19: "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" (vs 19-20). That is a prophecy yet to be fulfilled, but fulfilled in a partial type on this Day of Pentecost.

Then Peter talks about the crucifixion of Christ and what happened. He also made it clear that David is not ascended into heaven, that his grave was still with them right there where the tombs of the kings were, right in Jerusalem.

Verse 34: "For David has not ascended into the heavens…"

• Why is it that people today believe in going to heaven? Because they really don't read or believe the Bible!
• What are they told?
• How can people buy such satanic lies?

It's like going along in life and it says, 'Danger! Minefield! Don't enter!' So, you stop. Then someone comes along and says, 'Forget that sign, that doesn't mean anything, go ahead and go on.' That's likened to what has happened to the world, going its own way, coming apart at the seams: wars, lying cheating, stealing! Unreal!

Sidebar: I was watching NatGeo. The lust and covetousness of people to make money illegally is astounding! We know about bankers, we know about loans, we know about the scams that they have with 'get rich quick,' but I never knew what people do to smuggle in exotic animals into the United States. Did you know that they have a special department with the border people that deals with smuggling in exotic animals: birds, snakes turtles, monkeys.

This one really got me, I could not believe this until I saw it. There's a special little monkey that is a cute little thing with big eyes. This man was going to make a lot of money by smuggling two of them into the United States. They were so small that he wrapped them up and stuck them right in his belt up front. He almost got away with it.

The agent that caught him, when they searched him, and found those said that this was the 'most bazaar thing he'd ever seen in his life. If he had gotten away with it, he could have gotten as much as $25,000. I thought: How evil and sneaky and deliberate that human nature is.

Verse 34: "For David has not ascended into the heavens, but he himself said, The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand until I have made Your enemies a footstool for Your feet"'" (vs 34-35).

So, the Gospel goes first to the Jews and the house of Israel. Remember this: All of the early converts were Jews!The first 12 years! They did not have the New Testament like we have today. Shortly after the Church began they had the Gospel of Matthew, at least part of it, so they would know what to do on how to keep the Passover. But all of the preaching of the Gospel for years and years came out of the Old Testament and the prophecies, just like we're reading here.

That's why God wanted the New Testament written, so we would have a greater witness, so we would have these thing all together so we would be able to, with the Spirit of God, grow in grace and knowledge.

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

Sidebar: The question is always asked: Who killed Christ? He laid down His life, that's true! But who were the ones who were involved? First of all Judas Iscariot; that represents Satan the devil in the person of Judas Iscariot. Satan has yet to be removed and we'll understand that with the Day of Atonement.

Then there were the religious leaders, and the high priest represented all the religions of the world! Then there was the governor representing all the governments of this world in type. Then there were the people; they represented all the people of the world!

That's why when we read, "…Whom you crucified…" it's the same way with us. Our sins are forgiven through crucifixion of Jesus Christ and His shed blood. Our sins, since Christ died for the sins whole world, had a part in killing Christ.

It could be said of every one of us and everyone who comes to repentance and baptism, that you have crucified Christ through your sins!

Verse 37: "Now, after hearing this, they were cut to the heart; and they said to Peter and the other apostles, 'Men and brethren, what shall we do?' Then Peter said to them, 'Repent and be baptized each one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you yourselves shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all those who are afar off… [all the nation of the world] …as many as the Lord our God may call'" (vs 37-39).

As you have probably already read in our new book From a Speck of Dust to a Son of God: Why Were You Born?:

• how God calls
• how He leads us to repentance
• how we are to, after baptism and being conjoined to the death of Christ, walk in newness of life
• how we are to walk with the Spirit of God within us
• how God is solving the problem of sin by conversion of mind
• how God is helping us through writing the laws and commandments in our heart and mind so that we can see what is sin
• how we choose to stop it and repent of it

This is how we build Godly character! Then we bring in the love of God and the fruits of the Spirit. This is a fantastic thing, brethren! When we read these Scriptures it tells a whole lot more than just meets the eye.

(go the next track)

This Feast of Pentecost is really something when we understand it, and how many things are associated with it. When we really grasp the full significance of what God is doing with Pentecost, and that it pictures the resurrection of the firstfruits and the firstborn church, then we understand that this is the greatest thing to occur on the earth since creation!

That's something to contemplate. Rev. 2 & 3 is where we finished off yesterday—Day 49—with this. This pictures the seven churches, and they represent, in type, the harvest of God down through the ages.

When we get done with the seven churches in Rev. 3 the first thing that happens is that in vision John is told to come up. There was a special opening that was given to him. Remember, going back to the time of the children of Israel the high priest could only come into the Holy of Holies one day a year, and that was on the Day of Atonement.

The Apostle John was a descendant of the house of Aaron. Isn't it interesting that he was the only one to be able to see the throne of God, the vision of God, and Christ the Lamb of God at His right hand? Isn't that something?

So, this is a type of the resurrection, and this is the first time in the entire Bible that all the details are clearly laid out. We're also shown something in Rev. 5: all of the events leading up to the return of Christ are controlled by Christ Himself as He opens the seven seals and then there will be the seven trumpets and then the seven last plagues, all controlled by God!

Rev. 6 is the beginning of it. There comes a time when events are going to transpire that there will be a time of peace, a time of the religions coming together, which we're seeing right now. How long that will exist and last we are not told.

When we come to the seven seals, we find that six of them are opened (Rev. 6). Very interesting sequence in itself! Rev. 5 tells us that only Christ can open the seven 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.' And I looked, and behold, there was a white horse… [this is not Christ; this is the false christ; this is the false prophet] …and the one who was sitting on it had a bow… [notice no arrows] …and a crown was given to him; and he went out conquering, and to conquer" (vs 1-2). This is a type of all the religions of the world getting together. This precedes the Tribulation.

Verse 3 is the beginning of the Tribulation; up to that time Jesus said that there are 'wars and rumors of wars.' But what is the thing that kicks off the Great Tribulation? The abomination of desolation standing in the Holy Place! So, there has to be a temple that is built. There has to be a 'Holy Place' and we know that is defiled by one called 'the man of sin, the son of perdition who exalts himself above all that is called God' (2-Thess. 2). He will be destroyed by the brightness and power of Jesus Christ, showing that that will take place at the end of the age.

So, the one sitting on this 'white horse' has to be the pope of Rome. It's amazing that if you go online and look at all of the ecumenical activities with all the religions of the world, you will see that the base is being made, and it is built and coming together and all of this emanates out of Rome!

1-Thess. 5 tells us there will be a time when they will say 'peace and security' then 'sudden destruction comes upon them.' That sudden destruction is the beginning of the Tribulation. The Tribulations lasts 3-1/2 years.

Revelation 6:3: "And when He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, 'Come and see.' And another horse went out that was red; and power was given to the one sitting on it to take peace from the earth…" (vs 3-4).

Compare that with Rev. 13 when the beast power comes he has power given to him from Satan the devil. The world worships him and it says, 'Who is able to make war with him?' That shows the time of peace. However, he's going to receive a deadly wound. When that wound comes, then right after that comes the beginning of the Tribulation.

"…and to cause them to kill one another; and a great sword was given to him" (v 4). Great wars are going to take place. Of course, we're all getting armed up for it now in the world. Then right after that we have the third seal, which is the black horse: famine, starvation and death!

The fourth seal is opened, and v 7: "…I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, 'Come and see.'

Verse 9: "And when He opened the fifth seal… [here's a vision] …I [John] saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the Word of God, and for the testimony that they held; and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, 'How long, O Lord, Holy and true, do You not judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?' 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 9-11).

So, there's going to be the great martyrdom of the saints. That's going to be quite a thing. Here is what happens when He opens the sixth seal, and the timing has to be just before Pentecost somewhere at the beginning of the third year. That means that at the beginning of the third year there is a year and a half left of the Tribulation.

This ties in with what we read in Acts 2 about the prophecy of Joel that Peter quoted. Also, this ties in with what Jesus told us in Matt. 24. But here is where God gets the attention of the whole world; all of the world! This is the sign of the coming of Jesus Christ.

Verse 12: "And when He opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as the hair of sackcloth, and the moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its untimely figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. Then the heaven departed like a scroll…" (vs 12-14). A sudden change in the heavens above, only it's by God! This is going to result in several very profound things!

Notice what happens to the earth, "…that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place…. [no place to hide] …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…" (vs 14-16)—because the earth is going to be shaken. God says that He's going to 'shake the heavens and shake the earth (Hag. 2). All of that is leading up to the return of Christ.

"…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 16-17).

That is going to be a tremendous thing what is going to happen at that point. Let's see how these things follow along in the sequence of things that Jesus talked about in Matt. 24, and also about the resurrection. Here's what's going to happen when the heavens rollback as a scroll everything changes.

Matthew 24:27: "For as the light of day, which comes forth from the east and shines as far as the west… [that's the sun] …so also shall the coming of the Son of man be. For wherever the carcass may be, there will the eagles be gathered together" (vs 27-28). That is symbolism of the resurrection.

There are two parts to the Tribulation:

• the Tribulation against Israel is two full years. That Tribulation is what Jesus is talking about here

Notice how this ties right in with Rev. 6:

Verse 29: "But immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven…" (vs 29-30). What is that like? Like a second sun!

"…and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming upon the clouds of heaven with power and great glory" (v 30). That's a summary of the events that will take place. We'll see them described a little more fully when we get back to the book of Revelation.

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

We will see a little bit more about the Tribulation and then the resurrection. Immediately when the Tribulation of Israel ends there's a brief pause. This is an additional harvest of God in addition to the seven churches. This is the Pentecost, 50th day harvest of God, before the resurrection, and this occurs one year prior to the resurrection.

We'll just summarize it quickly: The winds are held back, the sealing of the 144,000 and great innumerable multitude takes place. A lot of people when they read Rev. 7 think that they go to heaven immediately. Not so!

No one is resurrected until the seventh trumpet. At this point on this Pentecost the first trumpet has not even blown. Again, this is a summary of what is going to happen when the resurrection takes place.

We will see that there are two Scriptures here that tells us that there are those who have been sealed, and it's the 144,000 and the great innumerable multitude who are still human beings and wherever they are God is watching over and protecting them from that time forward.

Revelation 8:1: "Now, when He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about a half hour. Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them" (vs 1-2). So, we have the sealing of the 144,000 and the great innumerable multitude on Pentecost, the next to the last Pentecost. You go one year forward and that's when the resurrection takes place.

Since the earth has been in upheaval everything has to be straightened out, so from the time between Pentecost and Trumpets is about 4-1/2 months, to give the people time to get things ready for the great battle of the return of Christ. They are going to be seeing this second sun all that time, for one year. They are going to be preparing to fight against the aliens in this 4-1/2 months before the first trumpet is blown.

When the first trumpet is blown they are going to know that, yes, it is true that aliens are coming! Look at the power that they have! That is true, because they don't know God the Father and Jesus Christ. They don't know what it's going to be like when the saints are resurrected and come back in power with Jesus Christ.

• now we have Satan, men and demons fighting against God and God against them, and they against each other

This is an escalation of the Great Tribulation. The last year of the Tribulation is really going to be something!

Verse 3: "And another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar; and much incense was given to him, so that he might offer it with the prayers of all the saints…" That shows that we're still alive in the flesh. The 144,000 have been sealed and they are saints and still alive.

Verse 4: "And the smoke of the incense went up before God from the hand of the angel, ascending with the prayers of the saints. And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire from the altar, and cast it into the earth; and there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings, and an earthquake" (vs 4-5). Great and tremendous and fantastic things that are going to happen.

Well, all of these plagues come along; the first angel, the second angel, the third angel and the fourth angel. They all come real quickly! We'll cover these when we get to the Feast of Trumpets, because I want to go forward and finish off the meaning of the Feast of Pentecost.

See how all of the Feasts of God are connected together?

Rev. 9—we have the last three woes, the last three angels that sound. They're called woes; the woes that come because of the angels with their trumpets. Then it's going to be a tremendous thing. Satan is going to have an opportunity to show how powerful he is. The abyss is going to be opened. Millions and millions of demons are released and they come out and empower the armies. Of course, they fight each other all the way through Rev. 9.

It's very interesting here! All of this and there's no repentance! Then we come to another section in Rev. 10 that is called the seven thunders. John was going to write the seven thunders, which this magnificent angel brought to John and told John to take the book and 'eat it' because he still had to prophesy. He was going to write down the seven thunders and the word came to him, 'Don't write it down.'

No one knows what they are! We don't know what it is. If any man says that he knows what it is, then you know they're not from God.

Rev. 11—this backs up in time and tells us about the two witnesses coming on the scene, and they will be there for 1260 days. They will be right against the beast and the false prophet who will be at Jerusalem, as well. This is going to be a powerful thing with the two witnesses; so powerful that if anyone tries to kill them, they just open their mouth and speak, fire comes out and devours those who try to bring them harm. They have power to bring plagues on the earth 'as often as they will.'

Revelation 11:3: "And I will give power to My two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees, and the two lampstands that stand before the God of the earth" (vs 3-4).

That goes right back to Zech. 3 and 4. These will not be people from the Church! This will undoubtedly be the high priest at the coming temple in Jerusalem, and the governor of Judea. When they complete their ministry then the beast will overcome them and they will be killed. Their bodies will lie in Jerusalem in the streets, and the whole world is going to see it, and the whole world is going to rejoice: 'Finally, we have overcome them! Finally, we're going to get it! It looks like we're going to win the battle!'

It reminds me of what the Japanese were preparing to do at the end of WWII. They were preparing to fight to the death, and there was a time that they would be able to do it. But they didn't count on what was coming. Likewise with the world; they're going to rejoice and think, 'Yes, finally we have some relief.'

And the seventh trumpet will sound! Just prior to its sounding, the last—the two witnesses—two martyrs will be the first raised from the dead. After their bodies have been viewed for the last three and a half days, the spirit of life comes into them.

Verse 11: "Then after the three and a half days, the spirit of life from God entered into them and they stood on their feet; and great fear fell upon those who were watching them. And they heard a great voice from heaven, say, 'Come up here!' And they ascended into heaven in a cloud; and their enemies saw them rise" (vs 11-12).

The first resurrected! A preview of coming things!

Verse 13: "And in that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell; and seven thousand men were killed in the earthquake. And the rest were filled with fear, and gave glory to the God of heaven. The second woe is past. Behold, the third woe is coming immediately" (vs 12-14)—which is the seventh angel with the last trumpet, the seventh trump.

This has to be the last trump! This has to be the resurrection, because this is the only place in the flow of history where you have a first trumpet and a last trumpet.

Understand this for just a minute. Many times in the Bible before it talks about an event it will give a preview. Then it will describe the event. So, don't mix up the preview as something that has already happened. None of the dead will be raised until the seventh trumpet. That last trumpet will sound on that Pentecost of the resurrection of the dead for all the saints.

1-Thessalonians 4:14—Paul says: "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, in exactly the same way also, those who have fallen asleep in Jesus will God bring with Him." But they have to get where He is first, and none of them get there until the resurrection.

This is how they get with Him, v 15: "For this we say to you by the Word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall in no wise precede those who have fallen asleep, because the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds for the meeting with the Lord in the air; and so shall we always be with the Lord" (vs 15-17). And we will see that we come back to the earth with the Lord.

1-Cor. 15 talks about the trumpet, and it tells us about the last trumpet; 1-Corinthians 15:50: Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God, nor does corruption inherit incorruption." That's when our bodies will be transformed into spirit bodies.

Verse 51: "Behold, I show you a mystery: we shall not all fall asleep, but we shall all be changed, in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed" (vs 51-52). The seventh angel sounded his trumpet.

Verse 53: "For this corruptible must put on incorruptibility, and this mortal must put on immortality. Now, when this corruptible shall have put on incorruptibility, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: 'Death is swallowed up in victory.' O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory?" (vs 53-55). Not there!

Let's see what happens when that last trumpet is sounded, and this is on the final Pentecost. We will see how that is described, because it goes forward to Rev. 14.

Revelation 11:15: "Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, 'The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ, and He shall reign into the ages of eternity.'" This is when Christ takes His power!

He has to have His army. All those who are raised from the dead will be raised. Notice a preview of it right here:

Verse 16: "And the twenty-four elders, who sit before God on their thrones, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying, 'We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty, Who is, and Who was, and Who is to come; for You have taken to Yourself Your great power, and have reigned. For the nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, and the time for the dead to be judged, and to give reward to Your servants the prophets, and to the saints, and to all those who fear Your name, the small and the great; and to destroy those who destroy the earth.'" (vs 16-18). That's when the saints are resurrected; that's when all of the prophets are resurrected—at the seventh trumpet!

Rev. 14 ties it together with the harvest, with the sickle, with the grain. It's ripe! It's ready! Here on the very last Pentecost, and remember Trumpets comes four months later. There's a reason why we don't come back to the earth immediately. Certain things have to happen.

Revelation 14:14: "And I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and one like the Son of man sitting on the cloud, having a golden crown on His head; and in His hand was a sharp sickle." For harvesting! That's what the resurrection is, a harvest!

Verse 15: "And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him Who was sitting on the cloud, 'Thrust in your sickle and reap, because the time has come for You to reap…" The appointed time of God; the appointed time for the first resurrection is on the Feast of Pentecost.

Sidebar: Let's clear up something else. Jesus said that we would be raised on 'the last day.' That is accomplished several ways.

• on the last day that men rule the earth and on the first day that Christ begins to reign is when the resurrection takes place.
• the Calculated Hebrew Calendar is figured beginning with Trumpets

Everything is adjusted to the first day of the seventh month by the calendar. The observing of the Holy days began in the first month and end in the seventh month. However, when you count forward from Trumpets you have this sequence of days:

• Trumpets
• Atonement
• Tabernacles
• Last Great Day

Passover (not a Holy Day)

• First day of Unleavened Bread
• Last day of Unleavened Bread
• Pentecost

The last day in that sequence is Pentecost. Here it is taking place, the harvest!

When we're raised, we're going to be permanently changed by the power of the Holy Spirit, which goes right back to where we started: the two wave loaves with leaven. This time not depicting sin, but this time depicting the completed spiritual changed that was worked within us. At the resurrection we'll be raised from the dead.

"…for the harvest of the earth is ripe.' And He Who was sitting on the cloud thrust forth His sickle upon the earth, and the earth was reaped" (vs 16-17). Then there's another harvest by another angel that is pictured after that. That's the harvest of the wicked on the Feast of Trumpets. We'll cover that when we get to the Feast of Trumpets.

Rev. 15 is the great event. The resurrection takes place, we're going to meet Christ in the air, in the clouds.

• How are we going to get there? The angels will take us there (Matt. 24)!
• Where are we going? When the heavens roll back as a scroll, and the second sun appears in the heavens, that's the sign of the Son of man!

The earth will see this for a period of about a year until the next Pentecost; from Pentecost to Pentecost! Just before the last Pentecost something has to happen. What is that? That is probably the second sun that looks like it's coming to hurdle into the earth and destroy the earth! But when it enters into the clouds, probably over Jerusalem, it will spread out as a great sea of glass. Then the people on the earth are going to be wondering what is this?

Then the resurrection starts. The angels are going to carry us up to the Sea of Glass. We will be there for quite an extended period of time; from Pentecost to Trumpets, four month. That gives the world time to reorganize again, and God is going to bring the seven last plagues on them. That gives time for God and all the saints to take care of the business on the Sea of Glass that needs to be taken care of before we come back to the earth with Jesus Christ on Trumpets.

Revelation 15:1: "Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and awesome: seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is filled up. And I saw a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, standing on the Sea of Glass, having the lyres of God" (vs 1-2). That's where we will be.

Verse 3: "And they were singing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, 'Great and awesome are Your works, Lord God Almighty; righteous and true are Your ways, King of the saints.'" Then it talks about the beginning of the seven last plagues.

On this Sea of Glass, what is going to happen there? This is going to be quite a thing! It's not Christ returns to the earth, we meet Him in the air and He says 'everybody follow Me.' Everybody says, 'What do we do? What do we do? I don't know! What is this new body? God is organized!

• Did He organize the children of Israel getting ready for the exodus? Yes!
• Is He going to organize all the saints and prepare them to come back to the earth to take over the rule and reign of the earth as kings and priests under Christ? Yes!

So, we have to know what we're going to do! First of all, at the resurrection we're all going to have one language so we can understand each other.

Then certain events are going to take place. This is going to be quite a thing! What do we see in Rev. 15? The temple of God and the throne of God!

• Presentation to the Father

When we're resurrected from the dead and meet Christ in air, and we're on the Sea of Glass, will we not be able to see the Father? Will not the Father not want to come down and see His children? Yes, indeed! After we are there and are organized, Christ and the angels will organize us, then there has to be the presentation of the saints to God the Father (Heb. 2:12-13), where Christ says to the Father: 'Behold!'

Here we all are standing on the Sea of Glass, there is Christ right up there in front of us, right before the throne of God and is standing just to the side of it. He stretches out His arms and says, 'Behold! The children of God whom You have give to Me, Father. Your children are here!' Can you imagine what that's going to be like? Then I'm sure that we're all going to sing the Song of Moses and the Son of the Lamb at that time in praise to God the Father, because we are His children.

• Receive A New Name

Now then, the Father and Christ have prepared for us a new name. So, we're going to have to receive our new name, whatever that's going to be. We're promised that (Rev. 2 & 3).

• Receive Our Reward

Next, we're going to receive our reward. What are we going to do? What is it when we come back to the earth? Where do I go? Where do you go? What's going to happen? The earth is in chaos! Everything is in a mess! How do we straighten it out? We're going to be given our instructions, what we're going to do!

• where we're going to work
• what cities we'll rule over
• what villages we'll rule over
• who are going to be advisors
• who are going to be the priests
• who are going to be the kings

We know that the 12 apostles will sit over the 12 tribes judging the children of Israel. That will be under King David. We know a few things but not very much!

This resurrection is going to be something, and I'm sure the whole world is going to see it. They're going to look up there at the Sea of Glass and it's going to be there and they will be wondering: 'They're preparing for war!' Yes, we are!

What is the world going to do? They're going to prepare for war, and then comes the confrontation with the seven last plagues!

• Receive our assignments, what we're going to do
• The marriage of the Lamb

We're going to have a great banquet up there because

• The marriage supper of the Lamb

What a fantastic thing that is going to be! Can you imagine what that is going to be like? This is going to be a celebration that will be for all eternity! One of the greatest things to take place in our lives and in all the lives of all the saints, and in the plan of God

This first resurrection is going to take place on that last Pentecost. We'll be there 4-1/2 months. This is connected with the next Feast, which is the Feast of Trumpets, and then will be fulfilled what Jesus said: If My kingdom were of this world, then would My servants fight!

We're going to fight! Get rid of the demons! Get rid of the evil people! An angel will have a special surprise for Satan the devil!

We'll pick up the rest of this story on the Feast of Trumpets.

Scriptural References:

• Leviticus 23:16-21

• Luke 4:16-19
• Hebrews 12:18-24
• Acts 2:1-4, 11, 14-20, 34-39
• Revelation 6:3-4, 7, 9-17
• Matthew 24:27-31
• Revelation 8:1-5
• Revelation 11:3-4, 11-14
• 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17
• 1 Corinthians 15:50-55
• Revelation 11:15-18
• Revelation 14:14-17
• Revelation 15:1-3

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:

• James 1:18
• Matthew 13
• Deuteronomy 16

• Revelation 2-5
• 2 Thessalonians 2; 5
• Revelation 13
• Haggai 2
• Revelation 7; 9; 10
• Zechariah 3; 4
• Hebrews 2:12-13

Also referenced: Books:

• The Appointed Times of Jesus the Messiah by Fred R. Coulter
• From a Speck of Dust to a Son of God: Why Were You Born? by Fred R. Coulter

FRC:bo
Transcribed: 5/22/16

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