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Pentecost 2008—Day
50 AM Service
Part 2
Now let’s come to
Matthew 24 and we’re going to see some parallels that follow right along
with what we just read in Revelation 6. And we’re also going to see that
those things started out here during Jesus’ time, continued on until we
reach a certain point. We’re going to see that certain point has to
do with the sixth seal that is open.
Now let’s begin,
Matthew 24:1: “And after going out… [that is out of the temple] …Jesus
departed from the temple; and His disciples came to Him to point out
the buildings of the temple. But Jesus said to them, ‘Do you not see all
these things? Truly I say to you, there shall not be left here even a stone
upon a stone that shall not be thrown down’” (vs 1-2). Now that’s why with
the Mosque of Omar, [where it] is sitting, cannot be where the temple was,
because there are stones upon stones—aren’t there? Yes! Just a little
aside in understanding prophecy. And you need to understand this: Because
the Jews don’t have the New Testament, they know very little concerning
prophecy.
Now, let’s continue
on: “And as He was sitting on the
Mount of
Olives… [and He could look across the valley where the Brook Kidron was and
look right into the temple area.] …His disciples came to Him alone, saying,
‘Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of
Your coming, and of the completion of the age?’” (v 3). Now, let’s
understand something here, very important, because it says down here, v 30:
“And then shall appear the sign of
the Son of man in heaven…” So there’s going to be a sign that’s going
to appear. This is what they were asking. ‘…the
sign of Your coming, and of the completion of the age?’
Then Jesus answered
and said to them, ‘Be on guard, so that no one deceives you…. [And let
me tell you, brethren, that is more true than ever before. Christians need
to always be on guard because there are a lot of false prophets within
the Churches of God! So you need to test them. Just like it says in
the Church of the Ephesians: you test them and ‘have found them liars.’]
…For many shall come in My name, saying, “I am the Christ”; and they shall
deceive many. And you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that
you do not let these things disturb you. For it is necessary that
all these things take place, but the end is not yet…. [So Jesus is
showing that these things are continuing clear out until the sign of the Son
of man that appears in the heaven.] …For nation shall rise against nation,
and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be famines and pestilences and
earthquakes in different places” (vs 4-7). We’ve always had those. We
have them now. They will continue to be. And it is the sign of the Son of
man in heaven that distinguishes the time that it is the time of the end.
“‘Now all these
things are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to
affliction, and shall kill you; and you shall be hated by all nations for My
name’s sake…. [Beginning then and spreading out to all the world in our
day.] …And then shall many be led into sin… [And if that doesn’t describe
our generation I don’t know what does.] …and shall betray one another, and
shall hate one another; And many false prophets shall arise, and shall
deceive many…’” (vs 11). Majority of the world. And if you don’t think how
easy it’s going to be, just take this latest trip of Pope Benedict XVI to
the United States, throw in some miracles and throw in some demonic signs,
and everyone would go ‘OOOOOOOOhhhhhhh.’ Just like one woman said when she
saw the Pope-mobile go by with the Pope in it: ‘It’s just like God going
past us.’ And like Rush Limbaugh said, ‘God visited America today.’ Well,
not quite! But you add in there healings; you add in calling fire down from
heaven; and people will just flock. And the False Prophet who does those
things is going to say of the Beast, ‘Here is the Messiah. Here is God in
the flesh.’ Now, that’s for another whole sermon, but that’s going to be the
pinnacle fulfillment of it, you see.
Verse 12: ‘And because
lawlessness shall be multiplied…’” Now you think about that! There is
lawlessness on every side! And it’s reaching down to younger and younger and
younger and younger and younger people, to where even ten, twelve year-old
boys and girls have their cell phones and take pictures of their sex organs
and put them online for their friends to see. And they have this special
text-code where they have an understanding of meaning by having abbreviated
words into letters. So they’re sending, over their phones, to one another.
Filthy-minded little kids who have been led into sin and sex at a very early
age. Then you have lying, cheating, stealing, murder, rape, shootings,
killings, wars—all those things. “‘…lawlessness shall be multiplied… [And
become the law of the land] …the love of many shall grow cold.” And
we’ve seen that.
“‘But the one
who endures to the end, that one shall be saved” (v 13). So,
to have the promise of salvation:
-
We have to endure to the end of our
life
-
or, if we’re still living during the
times leading up to the return of Christ:
-
Until we are changed from flesh to
spirit at the resurrection.
One of the two.
Verse 14: “‘And this
gospel of the kingdom shall be proclaimed in all the world for a witness to
all nations; and then shall the end come.’” And it’s going to be a great
proclamation of the Truth! And as I’ve mentioned before, there are going to
be 800-million Bibles printed per year by the United Bible Society in
eastern China—and in all languages. And those Bibles are going to flood the
world. And God is doing that to raise up His Word and to make sure that the
Gospel, which is contained in the Bible, will be to all nations. And there
will be no one on earth who is going to have an excuse: ‘Lord, I didn’t
know.’
Then He gives a
warning: “‘Therefore, when you see the abomination of desolation, which was
spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place…’ [There’s got
to be a temple. There’s got to be a Holy Place. And here’s a parenthetical
statement put in here by John when he canonized the New Testament]: …(the
one who reads, let him understand)” (v 15). Why did he put that in there?
Because when he canonized the New Testament, around 98-99 AD, they could
look back and see that with the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem there
was no man who came into the temple proclaiming himself to be God—as the
Apostle Paul wrote of in 2-Thess. 2. And so they didn’t understand, except
that they knew that there has to be understanding at the end-time, because
that’s what Daniel promised. So you see, the Bible is a fantastic book.
There’s no book like it in the world. It tells you about things before
the foundation of the world and the ages of eternity past. And brings you
out into the ages of eternity into the future with a New heaven, new earth
and New Jerusalem. And it tells you all about man’s history and story and
his nature, and who he is, and what he is, and why God made him. And there’s
no other book in the world that does that. And that’s why there’s so many
people out there that hate it! That condemn it! That ridicule it! And
they’re all agents of Satan the devil, and the devil doesn’t want you to
know.
All right, let’s go
on. “‘Then let those who are in Judea flee into the mountains. Let the one
who is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his
house… [Now, that’s a tall order! Isn’t it? If you’re going to flea and you
think, ‘Oh, I’m going to the mountains. Oh, what am I going to do? I need my
toothbrush. I better get my toothbrush.’ NO! Don’t get your toothbrush.
‘Oooo, I got to walk barefooted. I better get my shoes.’ NO! Don’t get your
shoes. Don’t take anything. That’s what He says.] …And let the one who is
in the field not go back to take his garments…. [GO! That’s how suddenly
this is going to come on Jerusalem.] …But woe to those women who are
expecting a child, and to those who are nursing infants in those days! And
pray that your flight be not in the winter, nor on the
Sabbath…’” (vs 16-20). Does that not prove that God holds binding the
Sabbath Day today? Yes, indeed!
“For then shall there
be great tribulation… [Now, it’s not going to start until the man of sin—the
son of perdition—stands in the Holy place and says, ‘I am God.’ When that
happens, then the Tribulation is going to start—which is the second seal in
Rev. 6.] …such as has not been from the beginning of the world
until this time, nor ever shall be again…. [You can read of it in
Dan. 12; Jer. 25; Rev.; Joel; Isa.—all of them point toward the end-times.]
…And if those days were not limited… [God set it for 3-1/2 years, a limit.]
…there would no flesh be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days shall be
limited. Then if anyone says to you, “Behold, here is the Christ,”
or, “He is there,” do not believe it. For there
shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and they shall present great
signs and wonders, in order to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
Behold, I have foretold it to you. Therefore, if they say to you, “Come
and see! He is in the wilderness”; do not go forth. “Come and
see! He is in the secret chambers”; do not believe it’” (vs
21-26).
Now, we’re going to
stop right there, because we need to go back to Revelation 6—so hold your
place here, because we’re going to come back to Matthew 24. Revelation
6—because here’s where the sixth seal and the sign of the sign of the Son of
man and the beginning of the return of Christ appears. And we’re
going to do a little analyzing and put it together so we understand the flow
of events and the sequence of things as they take place.
Revelation 6:12: “And
when He opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great
earthquake… [God says He’s going to shake the heavens; He’s going to shake
the earth; He’s going to shake the sea; He’s going to shake the dry ground.
And through the book of Revelation there are many earthquakes.] …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).
That’s the beginning,
so they can see the sign of the Son of man. The heavens are going to open!
And it’s going to be an awesome event! And God wants the world to know:
Christ is returning! He wants them to know: This is of God!
And He wants to give them plenty of warnings—as we will see. And from that
time, from that sign of the Son of man appears, it’s going to be in the
heavens for a protracted period of time. It’s not going to be all of a
sudden on Trumpets: Woops! The heavens open up, everything takes place and
it’s all done in one day. Not going to happen that way. We’ve gone through
some these in some of the sermons leading up to it.
Let’s continue on
here: “…and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. And the
kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief
captains, and the powerful men, and every bondman, and every free man
hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains… [This is a
worldwide, earth-shaking event! It says back here in Rev. 1: ‘Every eye will
see Him!’ And He’s coming in the clouds. Clouds are within the atmosphere of
the earth. That’s the first heaven—keep that in mind.] …And they said to the
mountains and to the rocks, ‘Fall on us, and hide us from the face of
Him Who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb Because the great
day of His wrath has come, and who has the power to stand?’” (vs 14-17). And
that great day—if you have the series on Revelation—is going to be a little
more than one year; about one year and four-six months, exactly.
Now, let’s come back
to Matthew [transcriber correction] 24 and let’s see the parallel
here. Matthew 24:27: “For as the light of day, which comes forth from the
east and shines as far as the west, so also shall the coming of the
Son of man be.” Now, some people did not like that translation. Let me read
you the Greek—it comes from ‘astrapē’ from which we also get asteroid
or astron. Lightning, illuminating the whole sky. BAM! It’s going to
light up the whole sky, pulling the heavens, rolling back like a scroll.
That’s the start of it. Then will appear the sign of the Son of man. Then we
have ‘astraptō’—which then is light flashing. And we have
‘astron’—which is constellation, single star or constellation of stars. So
that is a correct translation that I did back here in Matt. 24.
Now notice: which
‘shines’—and that comes from the Greek word, ‘phainō’—which means to
shine as sun or the moon or the stars. So there you have it. That’s the
correct translation. So it’s going to be a phenomena. As I said before, it’s
just exactly like all of a sudden there’s a new star that they never saw
before. It wasn’t revealed until the heavens rolled back as a scroll.
And He says: “…shines
as far as the west… [So it’s going to remain up there and it’s going
to look like it’s rising and falling as the earth turns.] …so also
shall the coming of the Son of man be.” Then He gives enigmatic
statement here, which is: “For wherever the carcass may be, there will the
eagles be gathered together” (v 28). Now that must have some reference to
the resurrection and meeting Christ in the air.
But, let’s go on—we
can’t say that exactly for sure, so we can’t say dogmatically, but
nevertheless, there’s that statement there. But notice, v 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…. [That’s what we just read
back there in Revelation 6:12] …And then shall appear the sign of the
Son of man in heaven… [and it’s going to be there for a while.] …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…. [Then He
talks about the resurrection] …And He shall send His angels with a great
sound of a trumpet… [Which we know is the last trumpet, which
has to be then the seventh trumpet of the book of Revelation of the trumpet
plagues.] …and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds,
from one end of heaven to the other” (vs 29-31). That is, the angels
are going to gather them and we’re going to see what’s going to happen then.
But there are some other events that have to take place—I’m a little ahead
of myself.
So, let’s come back
here to Revelation, the seventh chapter—and let’s continue on because
Revelation 7 flows right after Revelation 6. Let’s continue on in Revelation
7, and here we have the sealing of the 144,000 from the tribes of Israel—and
the great, innumerable multitude. And we’re going to see that also fits in
with the prophecy of Joel that Peter gave on Pentecost, which is “and all
who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Now, we’re down into the
Tribulation, as we’ll see here in just a little bit, approximately two full
years—which means there’s a year and half left for the rest of the events to
take place.
Now, let’s see what we
have here with the 144,000, because we need to understand something of God
that is always true. God is always interested in repentance. So when the
children of Israel are in captivity and they see all of these awesome signs
going on in heaven, there are going to be the children of Israel falling
down on their knees and repenting knowing that they have been in captivity
because of their sins. And so God always honors repentance. Likewise, there
will be the great innumerable multitude—those who will repent. And God will
honor that repentance, as well.
Now, let’s read
it—Revelation 7:1: “And after these things I saw four angels standing on the
four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, so that
the wind might not blow on the earth, or on the sea, or on any tree. Then I
saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having
the seal of the living God; and he cried out with a loud voice
to the four angels, to whom it was given to damage the earth and the sea,
Saying, ‘Do not damage the earth, or the sea, or the trees until we have
sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads’” (vs 1-3). Let’s
understand something, too. ‘Servants means’ anyone who has been given the
Spirit of God. We’re all servants of God. This has nothing to do with
ministers.
“And I heard the
number of those who were sealed: one hundred forty-four thousand, sealed out
of every tribe of the children of Israel. From the tribe of
Judah, twelve thousand were sealed; from the tribe of Reuben,
twelve thousand were sealed; from the tribe of Gad, twelve
thousand were sealed; From the tribe of Asher, twelve thousand
were sealed; from the tribe of Naphtali, twelve thousand
were sealed; from the tribe of Manasseh, twelve thousand were
sealed; From the tribe of Simeon, twelve thousand were sealed;
from the tribe of Levi, twelve thousand were sealed; from
the tribe of Issachar, twelve thousand were sealed” (vs 4-8).
They were all sealed. The angel seals them. And when God has them sealed He
gives them the Holy Spirit at that time. Now why? There aren’t any
ministers around to baptize them, that’s why. God is practical. Can God
do that if He chooses so, though He requires us to be baptized? Yes, He
can! God is the one Who’s doing it, right? Yes! Are we going to
argue with God? No!
Now let’s come back to
the book of Hosea—we’ll come here to Revelation 7 again here in just a
minute. And let’s read it here where we see a prophecy of this very thing
concerning Israel, and all the tribes of Israel. Let’s come here to Hosea
5:14—this shows the tribulation against Ephraim and the house of Judah. In
other words, Israel and the house of Judah. “For I will be to Ephraim
as a lion, and as a strong lion to the house of Judah. I, even I,
will tear and go away…. [He’s going to turn His back on them for a while.]
…I will take away, and none shall rescue him. I will go; I will return to My
place until they confess their guilt and seek My face… [repentance] …in
their affliction they will seek Me earnestly” (vs 14-15).
Now, Hosea 6:1—and
here’s what it says; here’s their repentance: “Come and let us return to the
LORD, for He has torn, and He will heal us; He has smitten, and He will bind
us up. After two days… [How long is day in prophecy? A day is equal to a
year. So after two years. How far after two years? We don’t know.
But shortly after.] …He will revive us; in the third day He will raise us
up, and we shall live in His sight” (vs 1-2). Now, that’s what Israel’s
going to do when they’re in captivity. This is how the repentance of the
144,000 is going to take place. They will repent! God grants them that
repentance; He grants them His Holy Spirit; they are sealed with the angels
sealing them and they are the servants of God. Now likewise, there are going
to be a lot of other people in the world who are going to repent. But you
see, to the Jew first—and isn’t it interesting, it starts out with the
children of Israel, house of Judah. Then to the Gentiles, after Judah and
the house of Israel.
So let’s come back
here to Revelation 7:9 and let’s see what takes place here. Now, could it
be—and I’ve asked this question many times, and I see every reason to see
that the sequence of the Holy Days makes this true. Just like on the Day of
Pentecost, in Acts 2, there were 3,000 who were converted that day—that’s
the beginning of the harvest. Now we have here, that this is probably what
took place in Revelation 7, is probably the next to the last Pentecost. So
the sign of the Son of man appears before the next to the last Pentecost,
and becomes like a second sun that no one has seen before. All of a sudden
it is out there. Great things take place. Those of the tribes of Israel, the
144,000, repent; and the great innumerable multitude. Let’s see that they’re
going to get salvation. Now they won’t precede anyone to eternal life until
the two witness are first lifted up. We’ll see that in a little bit.
Revelation 7:9: “After
these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude, which no one was able
to number, out of every nation and tribe and people and language, was
standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes and
holding palms in their hands… [Very interesting, isn’t it? Yes!
This shows that they’re going to receive salvation. Not at that instant, but
that’s where they’re going to be. So it’s showing their ultimate place in
God’s Kingdom.] …And they were calling out with a loud voice to Him Who sits
on the throne and to the Lamb, saying, ‘The salvation of our God has come’
(vs 9-10).
“Then all the angels
stood around the throne, and the elders and the four living creatures, and
fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, Saying, ‘Amen.
Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power and
strength be to our God into the ages of eternity. Amen.’ And one of
the elders answered and said to me, ‘These who are clothed with white
robes, who are they, and where did they come from?’ Then I said to him,
‘Sir, you know.’ And he said to me, They are the ones who have come out of
the great tribulation; and they have washed their robes, and have made their
robes white in the blood of the Lamb. For this reason, they are before the
throne of God… [that’s their reward] …and serve Him day and night in His
temple; and the one Who sits on the throne shall dwell among them. They
shall not hunger any more, nor shall they thirst any more; neither shall the
sun nor the heat fall upon them, Because the Lamb Who is in the
midst of the throne will shepherd them, and will lead them to fountains of
living waters; and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes’” (vs
11-17).
Now, a lot of this you
find again repeated in Revelation 21 & 22. So this shows the ultimate
reward. This does not mean that as soon as they’re sealed, immediately they
are then up in heaven at God’s throne.
We’re going to see a
little later on, sure enough, God’s throne—in the person of Christ, and
maybe even the Father—is going to come down to the Sea of Glass. Now that
upsets some people because they think, in saying that, that we’re preaching
some kind of secret rapture. Hey, have I read anything here that’s secret?
Or is this going to be known openly? I haven’t preached anything that’s in
secret—NO! Now, let’s come all the way over to Revelation 14. Now, this
becomes important. We have a sermon on it, and I don’t know if we can get it
on this CD, but we’ll get it to you: the difference between the 144,000 of
Revelation 7 and Revelation 14. Suffice it to say, at this point for the
sake of time, that the 144,000 of Revelation 7 are from the children of
Israel. The ones in Revelation 14—so there is apparently two sets of
144,000—these are the ones who were ‘redeemed from the earth.’ These were
the ones who remained virgins. In other words, once they were converted,
they never backslid. Now, I’ll give a sermon on it, to explain it a little
bit more.
Let’s come here to
Revelation 14:6: “And I saw another angel flying in the midst of
heaven, having the everlasting gospel to proclaim to those who
dwell on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and language and
people… [So God is going to have angels saying with a loud voice…See, God is
desirous of repentance. Now, this is probably at the beginning, somewhere
close to the beginning of the Tribulation—here in this particular setting.]
…Saying with a loud voice, ‘Fear God, and give glory to Him, because the
hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him Who made the heaven, and the
earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.’ Then another
angel followed, saying, ‘The great city Babylon is fallen… [Now, that’s a
prophecy. Hasn’t fallen yet, but it’s going to.] …is fallen, because of the
wine of the wrath of her fornication, which she has given all nations
to drink.’ And a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, ‘If
anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives the mark in his
forehead or in his hand, He shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of
God, which is mixed undiluted in the cup of His wrath; and he shall be
tormented in fire and brimstone in the sight of the holy angels, and of the
Lamb’” (vs 6-10).
Now, why do I say that
these have to take place toward the beginning of the Tribulation? Because
that’s when the mark of the Beast is given—just before the Tribulation
begins. Why give a warning after they already have it? Because it says, ‘if
anyone receives the mark of the Beast.’ So this has to be
before.
Now, here is another
verse that we need to pay attention to—v 12: “Here
is the patience of the saints; here are the ones who keep the
commandments of God and the faith of Jesus…. [So this part of the prophecy
is toward the beginning of the Tribulation.] …And I heard a voice
from heaven say to me, ‘Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the
Lord from this time forward. Yes, says the Spirit, so that they may rest
from their labors; and their works follow them’…. [That’s the martyrdom,
back in Rev. 6. So you see, we have points of reference to give us where we
need to understand that these things take place.
Now then, since we
have already seen that the firstfruits are a harvest, notice v
14: “And I looked, and behold, a white cloud and one like the
Son of man sitting on the cloud… [Jesus comes in the clouds, right? Yes!]
…having a golden crown on His head; and in His hand was a sharp
sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice
to Him Who was sitting on the cloud, ‘Thrust in your sickle and reap,
because the time has come for You to reap; for the harvest of the earth is
ripe’…. [Now that’s the harvest of the resurrection. Again, there is not one
Scripture in the entire Bible which shows that Trumpets is a harvest feast.
Only the Wave Sheaf Offering Day and the Feast of Pentecost.
Sorry, I missed giving
you the understanding of those two loaves. Those two loaves represents those
who have been changed. And there’s leaven in those loaves and they are
baked. And when you bake bread, it is permanently changed. While it is in
the dough you can beat it down again. But when it’s baked, it’s permanently
changed. That’s why they are waved before God, because that first of the
grain harvest is finished and this is the finished product of it, which are
those who are in the first resurrection. One loaf pictures those from the
Old Testament, the other loaf pictures those from the New Testament. Sorry
that I took so long to get to that, but that’s the answer as to what they
are.
Now, let’s come here
and see what happens. “…‘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 15-16) That’s the resurrection. Now there’s another harvest
that takes place shortly after that. And that is the harvest of the wicked.
And we find here, v 18: “And out from the altar came another angel, who had
authority over fire; and he called with a loud cry to the one who had the
sharp sickle, saying, ‘Thrust in your sharp sickle, and gather the clusters
of the earth, because her grapes are fully ripe’…. [These are the grapes for
the wrath of God—the seven last plagues.] …And the angel thrust his sickle
into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast its fruit
into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden
outside the city, and blood spewed out from the winepress as high as the
horses’ bridles, to the distance of a thousand six hundred furlongs” (vs
18-20).
Now, that part is
fulfilled in Revelation 16—the resurrection of the righteous is fulfilled in
chapter 15. Where is Christ coming to? He’s coming in the clouds. Now
let’s go back and let’s read here in 1-Thessalonians, the fourth chapter;
let’s read this again. Though I’ve read it in the past, let’s read it again
because this becomes very important for us to understand. Now, I’ll fill in
some other things with the sermons that will lead up to Pentecost, so we’ll
have full, clear picture of it.
1-Thessalonians 4:14:
“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.
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… [Now, this has
to refer to those who are in the place of safety and to the 144,000 and the
great, innumerable multitude.] …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… [Because at the last trump
we’re going to be changed ‘in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye’] …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… [Now what are
we going to do in the clouds—that’s in the first heaven. That is not a
secret rapture! That is the first resurrection.] …and so shall we
always be with the Lord” (vs 14-17). And as we read, yesterday, the
festival gathering of the saints.
All right, now let’s
come back to 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… [Now
this is literal, this is not symbolic. When we’re resurrected and meet
Christ in the air, there’s going to be a sea of glass; and that sea of glass
has got to be big enough and broad enough and long enough that it’s going to
be able to hold all the saints. Because God has promised that all the saints
will see the vengeance of God. They will see it!] (notice):
…and those who had gotten the victory over the beast… [That goes all the way
back to the days of Abel, because Satan was that beast.] …and over his
image… [Those are all the idols of Nimrod down through time.] …and over his
mark… [which is toward the end-time, mark of the Beast.] …and over
the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having
the lyres of God” (vs 1-2). Special musical instruments.
“And they were singing
the song of Moses… [the loaf that was from the Old Testament] …the
servant of God, and the song of the Lamb… [the loaf for the New
Testament] saying, ‘Great and awesome are Your works, Lord God
Almighty; righteous and true are Your ways, King of the saints. Who
shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name?…. [Yes, because after all
that the whole world is going to come to glorify God’s name. Now sure, there
are other things to take place after the saints and Christ
come back to the earth, but we’ll see when that will happen.] …For You
only are holy; and all the nations shall come and worship before You…
[That’s during the Millennium.] …for Your judgments have been revealed’” (vs
3-4).
“And after these
things I looked, and behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony
in heaven was opened…. [Not too far from the Sea of Glass, right? Yes!]
…And the seven angels who had the seven last plagues…” (vs 5-6) that
are going to be poured out on the earth on the wicked, which then is going
to be the wrath of God.
So next week, I’m
going to give a sermon on Revelation 16 & 19 and we’ll take care of some of
the loose ends of the things that take place after Pentecost. But Pentecost
has to be the harvest of the firstfruits. That’s what we are. That’s when it
takes place. That’s what Pentecost pictures—not Trumpets. Now
granted, there are a lot of things that need to fill in the different
aspects of it, but we’ll try and have all of that done before Pentecost.
Scripture References:
-
Leviticus 23:10-12, 15-21
-
Deuteronomy 16:16-17
-
Acts 2:1-41
-
Revelation 5:1-14
-
Revelation 6:1-11
-
Matthew 24:1-3, 30, 4-26
-
Revelation 6:12-17
-
Matthew 24:27-31
-
Revelation 7:1-8
-
Hosea 5:14-15
-
Hosea 6:1-2
-
Revelation 7:9-17
-
Revelation 14:6-10, 12-16, 18-20
-
1 Thessalonians 4:14-17
-
Revelation 15:1-6
Scriptures referenced,
not quoted:
-
Luke 17
-
Revelation 2, 3, 10, 12, 16, 20, 21
-
Psalm 16, 110
-
2 Thessalonians 2
-
Daniel 12
-
Jeremiah 25
-
Joel
Also referenced:
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