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Pentecost 2008—Day
50 AM Service
Fred R.
Coulter—June 8, 2008
Greetings, brethren! This is the Feast of Pentecost, 2008. And we look back
at all the time that we’ve been in the Church and all of this, and we find
that a lot of us thought we’d already be in the
Kingdom of God by now.
But as it turns out, that is a fulfilling of the prophecy that Jesus said,
“And of that day and hour knows no man!” However, we can clearly see that we
are in the last days and we’re marching closer and closer and closer to the
return of Jesus Christ, and also the setting up of the
Kingdom of God on earth.
Now
let’s first of all begin in Leviticus 23 and we’ll fill a few things that we
need to fill in here. And I know this year perhaps we have read this part of
Leviticus 23, and have gone over it, more than other years. And that’s
simply because for the first time we have it properly translated in the new
Bible, and it leaves no doubt about the fact that Pentecost is always on the
first day of the week.
So
let’s come here to Leviticus 23:10: “Speak to the children of
Israel and say to them, ‘When you have come into the land which I give to you,
and shall reap the harvest of it, then you shall bring the premier
sheaf of the firstfruits…” Now we need to understand—and I’m going to
emphasize this—that Pentecost is a harvest feast. Though I
have emphasized it in the sermons coming up to it, but I also want to
emphasize again there is not one single Scripture—Old Testament or New
Testament—that substantiates Trumpets as a harvest feast. Because of the
blowing of the trumpets and rams horns all day long, this pictures a
war feast. And does fit in with the final return of Christ and the
saints to the earth in the battle that’s going to finish all wars—because it
says that “in righteousness and in judgment does He make war.” And that is
Christ returning to destroy the armies of the Beast and the False Prophet.
However, the Wave Sheaf Offering Day is a harvest feast—though
it’s not a Holy Day. And it is the day in which the premier sheaf of the
firstfruits is waved. And we know that is a portent of Christ. Then he
continues on here: “And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD
to be accepted for you. On the next day after the Sabbath… [which then has
to be the weekly Sabbath] …the priest shall wave it. And you shall
offer that day…” (vs 11-12). And then it shows what they shall offer.
Let’s
come down here on v 15: “And you shall count to you beginning with the next
day after the Sabbath, beginning with the day that you brought the sheaf of
the wave offering; seven Sabbaths shall be complete…. [Now, like we showed
yesterday, seven complete weeks, each ending in a Sabbath.] …Even unto the
day after the seventh Sabbath you shall number fifty days…. [And that’s
always got to be first day of the week. And it says the offerings that they
were to offer.] …And you shall offer a new grain offering to the LORD…. [And then it shows the other offerings that they
were to do. We’ll come back to this in just a minute.] …You shall bring out
of your homes two wave loaves of two tenth parts. They shall be of fine
flour” (vs 15-17).
Now,
there have been some, even within the
Church of God, as we
have seen, who say: ‘Well, the only thing we wave is the Wave Sheaf
Offering.’ Well, here are two loaves that are waved. We’ll get back and find
out what is the meaning of these two loaves. “They shall be of fine flour.
They shall be baked with leaven… [Whoa, the opposite of what
we’re told during Unleavened Bread. And what does that picture? We’ll find
out in a little bit.] …They are the firstfruits to the LORD…. [Harvest, firstfruits.] (Then it says): …And you shall offer with the
bread seven lambs without blemish of the first year, 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, a wave offering before the LORD…
[Exactly the same as waving the premier sheaf of the firstfruits.] …with the
two lambs. They shall be holy to the LORD for the priest. 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” (vs 17-21).
Now
instead of offering the offerings, that are offered by sacrifice, we are to
bring an offering in addition to it, as we find here in Deuteronomy 16—we
are to bring an offering according as to the way that God will bless us. We
read here in Deuteronomy 16:16: “Three times in a year shall all your males
appear before the LORD your God in the place which He shall choose: in the
Feast of Unleavened Bread, and in the Feast of Weeks… [Which we saw means
the Feast of Pentecost] …and in the Feast of Tabernacles. And they shall not
appear before the LORD
empty, Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing
of the LORD your God, which He has given you” (vs 16-17). And we have other
Scriptures which show that God will give us sufficiency, He will bless us in
it, and if we believe God and believe His Word and are thankful for what He
has done in our lives, by giving offerings on the Holy Days—in addition to
our other tithes and offerings—this is expressing our gratitude and love for
God in a substantial and meaningful way—beyond just the feeling and the
emotion that we may have. So at this time we will pause and take up an
offering for the Lord.
(pause)
Now
let’s continue on with the theme we had from yesterday, from Sinai to Mt.
Sion. And let’s
understand that it was Mt. Zion where the temple was placed—that’s the spot
that God showed David where they would put the temple—and it’s not in the
area where the Mosque of Omar is today. It’s south of that area. But let’s
also understand, since God chose to place His name there, any profound and
official act had to begin at the temple. And this is why we find the very
first Feast of Pentecost in the New Testament, the disciples were gathered
there. They actually had a side room in the temple that they used on a
regular basis, apparently. And it was in that side room that they cast lots
and chose Mathis to replace Judas. And Jesus had told them to stay in
Jerusalem ’til they were “imbued with power from on high”—that is the Holy
Spirit. Now, make the comparison between what we have when God gave the Ten
Commandments on Pentecost in Exodus 20 and all the power and things that
were going on there. And think about what was going on at the temple in
Jerusalem. So let’s come here to Acts, the second chapter, and let’s see the
account—and it’s quite a long account, which means that this is very
important for us to understand, because there were a lot of things that took
place on this day of Pentecost, the 50th day.
Now,
with the temple service working, the priests were there; they blew the
trumpet on the Feast of Pentecost [transcriber’s correction];
they had the offerings that they were to give; many of the people were there
with their wave sheaf offering loaves—baked with leaven; and as we will see,
there were thousands and thousands and thousands who were also there, who
were Jews, who had come out of all the countries in the Diaspora. And we
also need to understand something else—let’s put a little bit of realism
into this so we understand what was happening. How many of the Jews were
there, or their friends were there during Passover and Unleavened Bread,
when they crucified Jesus? And then later heard, a little past the middle of
the Feast, that the One that they crucified and buried wasn’t in the tomb?
And they couldn’t find the body. And all the officials were looking
everywhere for the body. And the disciples were afraid that they would be
arrested for stealing away the body. There was no body! And they found out
that the disciples had told them that the burial cloths in which Jesus was
wrapped in was still in the tomb, when they went in there! And it still had
the form of His body, just sort of with the body out of it, it just sort of
fell down a little bit and the napkin, which covered His face, was folded up
and put in another place. Now that shows that He was raised from the dead.
And
these stories went back to all the synagogues in the Diaspora. And think
about how many people said, “Oh really, God is moving. There are strange
things happening in Jerusalem. I’m going to go and be there for the Feast of
Pentecost.” And so God moved a lot of the Jews, in spirit and mind, to make
that pilgrimage journey to
Jerusalem. And Jerusalem
was the place where He placed His name, so this is where He had to begin the
Church. The Church which would become the new
spiritual temple
of God was begun right there at the
Temple of God. That’s
why this day is so important!
Now
let’s begin, Acts 2:1: “And when the day of Pentecost, the
fiftieth day, was being fulfilled… [Now, all of those who believe in
the lie of a Monday Pentecost, forget it! It’s not the day after
Pentecost that they were there.] …was being fulfilled, they were all
with one accord in the same place. And suddenly there came from
heaven… [So this had to come from God, just like at Mt. Sinai,
suddenly, the clouds appeared and the wind was blowing and the
lightning was flashing—and it looked like the mountain was all on fire.]
(Now here): …there came from heaven a sound like the rushing
of a powerful wind, and filled the whole house where they were sitting” (vs
1-2). Isn’t that just akin to the cloud of the presence of the Lord filling
the temple? Yes! So here are the 120 disciples, and now they are
filled with the Holy Spirit, and especially the apostles.
“And
there appeared to them divided tongues as of fire… [So you’ve got wind and
fire on Pentecost, right? Yes, indeed!] …and sat upon each one of
them…. [One time. Has not happened again, will never happen again this way,
because this is when God began His Church and empowered the apostles.] …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.
Now there were many Jews who were sojourning in
Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven…. [Now, we’ll see
what nations…obviously some of them could speak Hebrew; some of them could
speak Aramaic; some of them spoke Latin; some of them spoke Greek; some of
them spoke in the language of the other countries in which they were.] …And
when word of this went out, the multitude came together and were confounded,
because each one heard them speaking in his own language” (vs 3-6). Two
miracles: the miracle of speaking, and the miracle of hearing. And we could
just add to that a third miracle: because the apostles were, in their minds,
speaking words probably in Greek that they knew, maybe some in Aramaic, but
they were thinking their own thoughts, but out of their mouths came multiple
languages. So there was that miracle in the speaking and the miracle in the
hearing. And this was done because the Jews always demand a sign, don’t
they? Didn’t Jesus say, He said that, didn’t He? They always demand a
sign! So here’s the sign.
Now,
let’s see how many it convinced. Let’s see what they spoke. Let’s see some
of the prophecies that are brought in here that have to do with the Day of
the Lord; and we’re also going to see that Pentecost also has to do with the
Day of the Lord. Let’s go on—v 7: “And they were all amazed, and marveled,
saying to one another, ‘Behold, are not all these who are speaking
Galileans? Then how is it that we hear each one in our own language
in which we were born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and those who
inhabit Mesopotamia, and Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Both Phrygia
and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya which are near Cyrene,
and the Romans who are sojourning here, both Jews and proselytes,
Cretes and Arabians; we hear them speaking in our own languages the
great things of God’” (vs 7-11).
Now,
quite a demonstration. That’s why this is recorded. This is a key
change in history! A key change in the way that God is dealing with
people. And though He began it at the temple, He is actually demonstrating
to them that they will no longer need the temple because they now have the
Spirit of God and the teachings of the apostles, which show them that
they are a temple of God, with the Spirit of God abiding in them.
“And
they were all amazed and greatly perplexed, saying to one another, ‘What
does this mean?’…. [They were at the
temple of God, and this is the Feast day of God: Pentecost. And
here this is going on. ‘What does this mean?’] …But others were mocking
and saying, ‘They are full of new wine.’ Then Peter, standing up with
the eleven… [So they were all speaking] …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’” (vs 12-15).
Now
notice what he says because there is a link between Pentecost and the Day of
the Lord, which cannot be overlooked. “‘But this is that which was spoken by
the prophet Joel [transcriber correction]:
“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… [Now this was a partial
fulfillment of that. This was the beginning fulfillment of it. And when we
come to, say perhaps, the 144,000 and great innumerable multitude then that
may perhaps be repeated again there at that particular place.] …And
even upon My servants and upon My handmaids will I pour out My Spirit in
those days, and they shall prophesy; And I will show wonders in the heaven
above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and vapors of smoke….
[Now, we’re going to see that all has to do with the return of Christ.] …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 16-20).
Now,
let’s understand something concerning the Day of the Lord. There is the
literal Day of the Lord in which Jesus and the saints put their feet on the
Mt. of
Olives—that’s
the Feast of Trumpets. There is the Day of the Lord referring to the last
year from Trumpets to Trumpets. There is the Day of the Lord referring to
all three and one-half years of the Tribulation period. And even as Jesus
said in Luke 17: ‘days’ of the Lord. So that phrase must be understood by
the context in each place where the Scriptures are used in order to
understand which [of the] three that it’s referring to.
Notice
v 21: “‘“And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the
name of the Lord shall be saved.”’ Now, that’s a direct prophecy for
the great innumerable multitude (Rev. 7) which was given in the book of
Joel. So there’s a first fulfillment—there’s a second fulfillment. There’s a
type—there is anti-type. And the Scriptures are not just restricted to one,
small, little incident. But can be applied in several different ways, as God
fulfills His will.
So he
says, v 22: “‘Men, Israelites, listen to
these words: Jesus the Nazarean, a man sent forth to you by God, as
demonstrated by works of power and wonders and signs, which God performed by
Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know… [How many of those out
there, on Pentecost, were some of those that Jesus healed? Healed from
leprosy, healed from blindness. And there were three that He raised from the
dead. And probably among the 120 that were with the disciples was Lazarus,
who had been raised from the dead; and he could verify that, yes, he was
dead. And his sisters could verify that, yes, he was in the grave four days.
So they knew!] … as you yourselves also know; Him, having been
delivered up by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God… [And that
plan was before the foundation of the world] …you have seized by lawless
hands and have crucified and killed. But God has raised Him
up, having loosed the throes of death, because it was not possible for
Him to be held by it…’” (vs 22-24). So that’s quite an important and
profound thing to understand.
“‘For
David speaks concerning Him… [Another prophecy] …“I foresaw the Lord before
Me continually; for He is at My right hand, so that I may not be moved.
Therefore, My heart rejoiced and My tongue was glad; moreover, My flesh also
shall rest in hope; For You will not leave My soul in the grave, nor
will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption…. [Now, he’s quoting Psa. 16,
here.] …You did make Me to know the ways of life; You will fill Me
with joy with Your countenance.”…. [Then, after quoting that Psalm, Peter
said]: …Men and brethren, let me speak to you freely
concerning the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his
tomb is with us to this day’” (vs 25-29). Now, where was his tomb? Well,
you have the Roman Fort, where the Mosque of Omar is today; then you have
the temple area, just south of that; and then you have the tombs of the
kings right in the city of David, which was just down from the south-side of
the temple. And his tomb was there. Anyone who wanted to see it could go
down there and see, yes, there’s David’s tomb. Hasn’t been disturbed,
nothing has been opened. David is in the grave! So he’s showing that this
prophecy is concerning Christ.
“‘…he
is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.
Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing
that God had sworn to him in an oath that from the fruit of
his loins, as concerning the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to
sit upon his throne; He foresaw this and spoke
concerning the resurrection of Christ… [So he’s saying David interpreted
Psa. 16 as the resurrection of Christ] …that His soul was not left in the
grave, nor did His flesh see corruption. This Jesus has God raised up,
whereof we all are witnesses… [We saw Him 40 days, and there
were over 500 at once that saw that He had been raised from the dead. We
handled Him. We touched Him. He spoke to us. And we saw Him ascend into
heaven in a cloud. That’s something!] …Therefore, having been exalted
by the right hand of God, and having received the promise of the Holy Spirit
from the Father, He has poured out this that you are now seeing and
hearing…. [Amazing! Isn’t it? Then he goes on to explain]: …For
David has not ascended into the heavens… [So much for the immortality of the
soul. Everyone’s waiting the resurrection, there are no souls in heaven;
there are no souls in hell.] …but he himself said, “The Lord said to my
Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand (Psa. 110)… [Notice, he’s using Scripture to
establish the fulfilled prophecies of Jesus Christ.] …Until I have
made Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.’” Therefore, let all the
house of Israel know with full assurance that God has made this same
Jesus, Whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ’” (vs 29-36).
So in
that group that were there hearing Peter speak were those who had said,
‘Crucify Him! Crucify Him! Crucify Him!’ And now is extended to them what
Jesus said before He died on the cross: ‘Father, forgive them for they know
not what they do.’ Which is the great example of forgiveness for every
single one of us. Not only of our sins, but the sins of others, and the sins
between each of us—we need to forgive with the same kind of attitude and
heart.
“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?’….
[Now here’s a verse you all have memorized! But understand how absolutely
awesome this was on the Day of Pentecost, this having taken place.] …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…. [They just witnessed that the Holy
Spirit had come to them, the apostles who were preaching. And now the
apostles say that if you repent and are baptized, you’ll receive the Holy
Spirit yourselves! So that was an amazing thing to take place.] (now
notice): …For the promise is to you
and to your children, and to all those who are afar off, as many as
the Lord our God may call’” (vs 37-39).
Now we don’t know how many thousands of Jews were there, but there were
thousands. Out of that, how many did He call? Well, we’ll see here in just
the next verse: “And
with many other words he earnestly testified and exhorted, saying, ‘Be saved
from this perverse generation’” (v 40). And that’s sure is true what we need
today: be saved from this perverse generation. That’s why John said,
‘Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world; for the lust
of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pretentious pride of life are all
of the world and not of the Father.’ What God has, to give us, as
we’ll see pictured by this Feast of Pentecost, is so great and so awesome.
And we need to understand that, brethren.
“Then those who joyfully received his message were baptized; and about three
thousand souls were added that day” (v 41). What a tremendous, tremendous
thing!
Now,
let’s look at some more things concerning Pentecost. Let’s come to our day
today. And let’s look forward to the fulfilling of the prophecies and the
return of Jesus Christ. And we are going to see that the return of Jesus
Christ is one continuous event that begins sometime before Pentecost. Then
the resurrection takes place at Pentecost and then continues until the next
Trumpets when Jesus and the saints return to the earth. Now that’s a summary
of what’s going to happen. It is not all of a sudden the day
before Trumpets, BAM! there’s the sign of the Son of man in heaven,
BOOM!
the resurrection takes place, everyone meets Christ in the air, they’re
hurriedly given their horses and they sing some songs and then all of a
sudden they come down in an army to the earth.
NO!
It’s not way! It’s like we have seen in the sermons leading up to Pentecost
that God makes manifest His power, just like He did in
Egypt, in stages. So that the people will have warning and
know that this is from God. So let’s see how that is going to be.
Let’s see what happens. Let’s come here to Revelation, the fifth chapter,
because this tells us about a time that is yet to occur. And to fulfill the
prophecy that Jesus said, that “no man knows the hour or the day—only My
Father Who is in heaven.” Now, Jesus knew of that time, after He was
resurrected. Obviously, He would.
But
now here is the continued scene, that we left off yesterday, with the
Apostle John seeing the throne of God. And he sees the events take place in
heaven that are going to unleash the things that take place on earth. And we
will see the progression of these prophecies being fulfilled in the book of
Revelation.
Now,
let’s pick it up here, Revelation 5:1: “And in the right hand of Him Who
sits on the throne 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” (vs 1-3).
Lesson: No man on earth knows the day when Christ is going to be
revealed to the world! NO
MAN!
And I say this to all who follow men that have set
themselves up as apostles and witnesses—claiming to be the two witnesses—and
right while I am doing this video, there is a man in Jerusalem, Ron Weinland,
who says he’s one of the two witnesses—and over there he’s going to reveal
who the second one is. They’re presumptuous and they’re arrogant and they
have no understanding because it says ‘NO
ONE
in heaven, on earth or under the earth was able to open the book and to look
inside’—and that means to set the time when the events in Revelation would
occur.
Now all the arrogantly and presumptuously set themselves up that way, they
better start repenting, because you’re going to fall into the hands of
the Living God. And God is going to say to you, ‘Who do you think
you are? In all your arrogance, trying to usurp the power of Jesus Christ
and God the Father!’ We better think long and hard on those kinds of things.
And yet there are brethren who are out there just like lemmings, follow them
and go right over the cliff.
Now
let’s go on. Let’s see what Christ is going to do—the revelation that is
here for us: “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.’ 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,
having seven horns and seven eyes… [The seven horns are the seven
churches—Christ is the Head and out of His head come the seven churches
(Rev. 2 & 3). The seven eyes are the seven spirits of God.] …which
are the seven Spirits of God that are sent into all the earth…” (vs 4-6).
So if you don’t have the sermon on The Spirit of God—The Seven
Spirits of God, write in for it.
“And
He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him Who sits on the
throne…. [So it does not occur until the time that God the Father calls
Jesus and hands Him the scroll.] …And when He took the book, the four living
creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having
harps and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
And they sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy are You to take the book, and to
open its seals because You were slain, and did redeem us to God by Your own
blood, out of every tribe and language and people and nation, And did make
us unto our God kings and priests; and we shall reign on the earth’” (vs
7-10). Now, they were singing the song that we’re going to sing—not that the
24 elders are going to reign as kings and priests. No! We are going to!
“And I
saw and I heard the voices of many angels around the throne, and
the voices of the living creatures and the elders, and thousands of
thousands, Saying with a loud voice, ‘Worthy is the Lamb Who was slain to
receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory
and blessing’” (vs 11-12). Only He knows! And He got that from God the
Father. And it’s going to be given to Him at the time that God the Father
wants to give it to Him.
“And
every creature that is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and
those that are on the sea, and all the things in them, I heard saying, ‘To
Him Who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing, and honor,
and glory, and sovereignty into the ages of eternity.’ And the four living
creatures said, ‘Amen.’ And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped
Him Who lives into the ages of eternity’” (vs 13-14). Now, that’s a
powerful section of Scripture.
Then
we come to Revelation 6, the opening of the seals, which only Jesus Christ
can open. And the six seals—actually the seven seals—have nothing to do with
the ‘seven thunders’ of Revelation 10. The seals are the seals and
the thunders are the thunders, and God told John: ‘Do not write
anything that the seven thunders have uttered.’
Now
let’s go through the first six seals, and we will see a parallel of that in
the book of Matthew 24. Revelation 6:1: “And I looked when the Lamb opened
one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures say, like the
sound of thunder, ‘Come and see.’ And I looked, and behold, there was
a white horse; and the one who was sitting on it had a bow, and a crown was
given to him; and he went out conquering, and to conquer…. [This is the
coming great, false religion in the world—which started out right after
Jesus’ ministry—as false prophets. And it’s building, building, building,
building, building, building to the end of it today.] …And when He opened
the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, ‘Come and see.’ And
another horse went out that was red; and power was given to
the one sitting on it to take peace from the earth… [And these are all the
forces of Satan the devil that God has allowed to be unleashed, to bring
about the activities of men. So we have men against men in all of these
instances until we come to the sixth seal.] … take peace from the earth, and
to cause them to kill one another; and a great sword was given to
him” (vs 1-4).
Now
there are many other prophecies that we can add to it, but that’s for
another time. “And when He opened the third seal, I heard the third living
creature say, ‘Come and see.’ And I looked, and behold, there was a
black horse; and the one sitting on it had a balance in his hand. And I
heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures say, ‘A
measure of wheat for a silver coin, and three measures of barley for a
silver coin: and see that you do not damage the oil and the wine’” (vs
5-6). Because immediately after war there’s a shortage of food, which then
is quickly followed by famine and death.
Verse
7: “And when He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the
fourth living creature say, ‘Come and see.’ And I looked, and behold,
there was a pale horse; and the name of the one sitting on it was
Death… [that was his name] …and the grave followed him; and authority was
given to them over one fourth of the earth… [So here is going to
break out a great conflagrational war, which will encompass one-fourth of
the earth!] “…to kill with the sword and with famine and with death,
and by the beasts of the earth” (vs 7-8).
Now,
as we’ll see, as it ties in with Matthew 24—we’ll go there in just a minute.
Christians are going to be hated and blamed. Christians who are prophesying
that these things would come and take place, they’re going to say, ‘Go get
them, they’re responsible for this.’ So there’s going to be a martyrdom of
saints. And we know from Rev. 12, that before the second seal is opened,
that there are going to be some taken to a place of safety in the
wilderness. That’s going to be the smaller number. The rest who are left
behind will be the greater number. But they are going to know where the true
Christians are, and they are going to martyr them. And the only Christians
who will be living after this martyrdom will be those who are in a place of
safety—to fulfill the prophecy that Jesus said that ‘the gates of the grave
would never overcome His Church’—that He was building.
So
let’s read it: “And when He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the
souls of those who had been slain for the Word of God, and for the testimony
that they held… [This was in vision to tell John what to write so we get the
message of the fact that martyrdom is going to take place.] …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 these were the ones who had already been martyred. Now then, the
martyrdom comes on those of us who are still alive today. God accounts for
all of us. And it’s going to come.
Now,
let’s come to the book of Matthew, chapter 24, and see the parallel of these
and then we’ll come back to the book of Revelation.
(go to the next track)
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