How to Understand the Bible IV

Events Leading Up to the Resurrection

Fred R. Coulter

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Let's talk about the Tribulation at the end-time. Let's also examine again whether the Tribulation at the end-time against Israel includes the whole three and a half years or part of the three and a half years, and perhaps only two years.

A lot of these things we've gone over before, and let me just encourage everyone to get:

• Sermon Series (with Transcript Book and CD): Daniel/Revelation.

Addition reading:

• Occult Holidays or God's Holy Days—Which?
• God's Plan for Mankind Revealed by His Sabbath and Holy Days

Dan. 12—when we read these Scriptures we need to understand as we go along and ask some questions. There are many things that it tells us, but there many other things that it doesn't tell us. The whole situation of man is such that it can be of far greater magnitude than we have understood.

Daniel 12:4: "But you, O Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, even to the time of the end…."

Again, I'm going to emphasize that many of the things that we are covering, though they are things we can understand today:

• Daniel didn't know
• Isaiah didn't know
• Ezekiel didn't know
• Moses didn't know
• the apostles didn't know

So therefore, we need to realize and understand and that while understand prophecy is very interesting, and understanding prophecy in many cases is very essential, but understanding prophecy per se is not a salvational issue. Your relationship with God through:

• prayer
• study
• yieldedness
• use of the Holy Spirit
• growing
• overcoming
• developing the character of God
• developing the mind of Christ

those are salvational issues! Understanding prophecy is like the 'frosting on the cake,' or the 'whipping cream on the pie.' The 'meat and potatoes' as it were is:

• loving God
• loving each other
• keeping His commandments
• developing the character of God and the mind of Christ

So, it's sealed even to the time of the end!

Verse 10: "Many shall be purified, and made white and refined. But the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand."

Even with the wise, in understanding there are going to be varying degrees of understanding depending upon our relationship with God.

There are number of sermons on the seven churches at: https://www.cbcg.org/seven-churches/seven-churches.html

You will see the various different attitudes and problems that they had. I doubt very seriously how much knowledge of prophecy that the Church at Ephesus—in an historical setting and talking about all seven churches now—how much they had. I don't think that Smyrna, because of all the persecution that took place had very much understanding about prophecy at all. But they loved God and kept His commandments and stood unto death. They're going to be in the first resurrection. So, prophecy was not important for their salvation!

Likewise with the Church at Pergamos, living in the midst of where Satan lives and eating things sacrificed to idols, having the Nicolaitans and a hierarchical government.

How much did they understand about prophecy? Probably very little! Or if they would have read and studied deeply the prophecies of the Old Testament, they would have been able to understand and see the things sacrificed to idols and having the wrong kind of authority is contrary to the Word of God. Same way with Thyatira and getting 'into bed' with the Catholic Church being taught even into to the depths of Satan. Obviously, they didn't understand very much about prophecy.

Let's go to Sardis, which only has a name that they live and they're nearly dead. The very few things that they understood, Jesus admonished them to 'strengthen it,' so that they wouldn't even lose that. Sardis is probably the worst church of all, because only a few are worthy to walk with Christ.

Then we come to the Church of Philadelphia, and everyone wants to be a Philadelphian. But not everyone can be a Philadelphian, and no one who proclaims that they are Philadelphians probably never were Philadelphians in the first place. My observation has been with most of the churches who profess to be Philadelphian are actually Hitlarian! So, how can that be 'brotherly love.' They operate on fear instead of love, competence and knowing the Word of God.

Yes, they were faithful to the Word of God, so in the end-time of all the seven churches the one who would probably understand about prophecy are the true Philadelphians. But they have 'little strength,' but haven't 'denied the name of Jesus.'

Then you come to the Laodiceans and they are so wrapped up in themselves and so self-centered and so 'increased with riches and goods,' they're smug and spiritually arrogant, that God has to 'spew them out of His mouth.' How much do they understand of the prophecies? Probably not very much! Just enough to make them smug an self-assured. Just enough for them to be arrogant and think that they know everything and can tell God what to do. Well, God 'spews them out of His mouth'!

In examining the seven churches, upon repentance they're all going to receive salvation. So, prophecy is not the key to salvation. As we read these Scriptures:

Daniel 12:4: "But you, O Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, even to the time of the end…."

Does the Bible anyplace tell us how long the time of the end is? No, it doesn't! So, as we read these Scriptures and we think we know a lot about them, they are telling us things of which there is a whole lot more implied, and God gives Himself a lot of latitude in it, though they are specific.

"…Many shall run to and fro…" (v 4). Who ever thought that it would be the kind of transportation that we have now. It is absolutely overwhelming! I'm not going to dwell on it, but everyone is going "…to and fro…" and you can just compound that with computers, Internet and everything like that.

"…and knowledge shall be increased" (v 4). It doesn't tell us how much, but knowledge is increasing where it is doubling every three or four months now. They are having knowledge of doing and making things in high technology that they put together atom by atom.
Example: television screens in the future will be no thicker than a thick piece of plastic and will be flexible and clearer than any television screen today.

Knowledge shall be increased and you can use that as a big umbrella to cover knowledge of everything, knowledge of:

• man
• things
• minerals
• building
• aerodynamics
• going into space
• the heavens above
• how man works
• etc, etc, etc

Though they have a lot knowledge, they don't have the knowledge unto salvation, because they don't have a relationship with God the Father and Jesus Christ!

So, this one verse—though it tells us a lot—doesn't expound it at all. In its actual fulfillment, it is so vastly fulfilled multitudes of times over that it's almost mind-boggling! So, we need to understand that the Scriptures contain a lot more in than we really realize.

Verse 5: "Then I, Daniel, looked; and behold, there stood two others, the one on this side of the bank of the river, and the one on that side of the bank of the river. And one said to the man clothed in linen who was above the waters of the river… [so there are actually three men there, one on each side and one in the middle] …'How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?'" (vs 5-6). And we still don't know—do we?

Verse 7: "And I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand to heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever, saying, 'It shall be for a time, times, and a half a time….'" So, we have three and a half years!

We see that in Rev. 12. so, the whole overall end-time when it begins with the King of the North coming against the King of the South it will be three and a half years. That's concerning all the events at the end, but:

• How long is the Tribulation against Israel?
• Is it the full three and a half years?

or

• Is it less?

We'll examine the Scriptures that I covered very quickly in part three. We'll go over them and add some Scriptures to it, and we will see that it is undoubtedly shorter than three and a half years. Let's look at it and see some principles involved that we need to understand.

Isaiah 54:5: "'For your Maker is your husband… [the relationship of the Lord God of the Old Testament to Israel] …the LORD of hosts is His name; and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; the God of the whole earth shall He be called, for the LORD has called you as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when you were rejected,' says your God" (vs 5-6).

Now, v 7 is a different timeframe than the three and a half years; "'For a little moment I forsook you; but with great compassions I will gather you." You can tie in all the Scriptures that show the bringing of the children of Israel and back.

Verse 8: "'In a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment… [again, not three and a half years] …but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you,' says the LORD your Redeemer."

Let's look at another principle that we eluded to in part three. Let's see how that when all the plagues came upon Egypt that there was a time when God separated the children of Israel from the Egyptians. When you read in Rev. 11:8 that the world is called 'Sodom and Egypt.' That's what Jerusalem is called as the headquarters of this world. Sodom and Egypt where our Lord was crucified!

So, there may be a principle here that we can learn. Not all things necessarily apply exactly in this way, but let's take a look at it here:

Exodus 9:22: "And the LORD said to Moses, 'Stretch forth your hand toward heaven, so that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, upon man, and upon beast, and upon every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.' And Moses stretched forth his rod toward the heavens. And the LORD sent thunder and hail, and the fire came down to the ground. And the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt. And there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. And the hail struck throughout all the land of Egypt, all that was in the field, both man and beast. And the hail struck every herb of the field, and broke every tree of the field. Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail" (vs 22-26).

Here's one that I was looking for, the first time that God separated the children of Israel from the Egyptians as far as the plagues were concerned.

Exodus 8:20: "And the LORD said to Moses, 'Rise up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh. Lo, he comes forth to the water. And say to him, "Thus says the LORD, 'Let My people go, so that they may serve Me. And if you will not let My people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you, and on your servants, and on your people, and into your house. And the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they are. And in that day I will cut off the land of Goshen, in which My people live, so that no swarms of flies shall be there, so that you may know that I am the LORD in the midst of the earth. And I will put a dividing line between My people and your people. This sign shall be tomorrow'"'" (vs 20-23).

Of course, it didn't come upon any of the children o Israel. There comes a time in God's punishment of Egypt and of the world that He has mercy upon Israel.

Hos. 5 may help us to understand the sequence of things in the book of Revelation, and also in Matthew where it says, 'After the Tribulation of those days.'

Hosea 5:15: "I will go; I will return to My place until they confess their guilt and seek My face; in their affliction they will seek Me earnestly."

It's very interesting that we do not find a place in the Bible where it says that Israel was inflicted for three and a half years. We do find that the end-time events are three and a half years long. We also will find that God intervenes with Israel before the trumpet plagues (book of Rev.).

Hosea 6:1: "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 He will revive us…" (vs 1-2). A day in prophecy is a year, so that's two full years!

"…in the third day He will raise us up, and we shall live in His sight" (v 2).

At the end of three and a half years—because we're dealing with three years here—this prophecy tells us that God is going to raise them up after two years. Do we find anything in the book of Revelation that substantiates that? Yes, we do!

In the sequence of things at the time of the end, we saw that we have:

• sign #1: the abomination that makes desolate
• sign #2: the taking of the brethren to a place of safety
• sign #3: the war against the Church

How that Rev. 6:4 coordinates it with the beginning of the war, and the war is not only against Israel, but it is mainly against the Church. Israel also is involved. Also remember this, too, before the abomination that makes desolate sets in, God is already punishing Israel with various different sets of punishments that are coming along:

• rain
• drought
• sickness
• disease
• crime
• increase of aliens in the land

So, we have to understand that the punishment of Israel is now already taking hold, which is not even into the time of the Tribulation. When the Tribulation comes, and the war really hits, then Israel has already been knocked low before it starts.

Then we come down through the seals, all five seals that come quickly. Then we come to the sixth seal. The way that I've taught this in the past, which I think is correct, that when the sixth seal is opened, this has to be the 'sign of the Son of man in heaven' when the heavens are rolled back or departed 'as a scroll.'

This ties in with Matt. 24 at this point; Revelation 6: 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 that is being rolled up, 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; 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… [God's intervention] …and who has the power to stand?'" (vs 12-17).

So, right in the middle of all of these events… It talks about the "…the great day of His wrath…" but the seven last plagues being the final wrath of God do not take place until much later. So, this is the beginning of it.

When the heavens depart as a scroll, that's when the 'sign of the Son of man' appears. Let's look at that, and let's see how that fits in. Something is going to happen in the universe, something is going to happen in the skies that is going to be so dramatic that it's going to shake the whole earth.

Matthew 24:29: "But immediately after the tribulation of those days… [it doesn't say that the Tribulation has ended and we are not told how long that is] …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…. [Rev. 6] …And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven… [because the heavens are rolled back as a scroll] …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" (vs 29-30).

It's not going to be done in one day, a single day. Because of the three and a half years Hosea shows us that at the end of two of those years—two full years—then Israel will return to God. We'll see how God responds, because remember:

Verse 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."

So, vs 29-30 and v 27 tie together with each other, and define it for us. We know that in Rev. 6 the resurrection doesn't take place there, so Matt. 24:31 referring to the resurrection does not yet occur, though v 31 follows.

Everything is not necessarily in sequence and must be interpreted with the other Scriptures, and must be interpreted with the book of Revelation, which gives us the understanding of 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" (vs 1-2).

This shows that there is more of the Tribulation and desolation coming because after this, beginning in Rev. 8, we have the trumpet plagues that are even worse than the thing that took place in Rev. 6 with the seven seals. The trumpet plagues magnify it, and then you come to the seven last plagues and we will see that magnifies it even more.

Verse 3: saying, 'Do not damage the earth, or the sea, or the trees until we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.' 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" (vs 3-4).

{note sermons on the 144,000 at truthofgod.org}

Notice that these are from the tribes of Israel, and v 5: "From the tribe of Judah…" Tie in Zech. 12 that shows that fulfills the prophecy that God would save the tents of Judah first!

That also happened going clear back to when the Church began. The Jews received it first! Now here with the nation of Israel that the children of Israel, Zech. 12 shows us that the tents of Judah will be saved first so we have Judah named first right here. Then it lists the 12 tribes of Israel.

Sure enough, someone is going to ask: Where is Ephraim? Ephraim is covered by Joseph! Where is Dan? Gen. 49 says that 'Dan will wait for his salvation!'

They were sealed with the seal of God. This is basic, and we all ought to know: If you have the Holy Spirit of God now, you are already sealed and you cannot be any one of the 144,000! They are not saved until two years down into the Tribulation. Apparently, based upon this, the Tribulation against the end-time 12 tribes of Israel ends at the two-year period.

With the Daniel/Revelation series and chart, what you will see is that because the Feast of Pentecost being the harvest of God, and the Feast of Pentecost is when Israel received the Ten Commandments, I have put on the chart that this event takes place in the next to the last Pentecost before Christ and the saints return to the Earth. This is literally one year before the resurrection!

We also have the great innumerable multitude. These are the ones who are saved at the eleventh hour as you go to the parable of the workers in the field, and where it is said that 'the last shall be first.'

We know from the rest of Rev. 7 that they will receive salvation and will come before the Throne of God, which then means they will be in the first resurrection.

Here we have strong proof that the Tribulation against Israel ends after two years. So, when it talks about 'after the Tribulation of those days then shall the sign of the Son of man appear in heaven' this is two years into the three and a half year time period.

Verse 14: "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.'"

They're going to repent with all the events that are taking place and going on, they're going to repent and God is going to give them His Spirit and have the angels seal them with the Spirit of God because there is no one at that point to go in and baptize them. God makes the judgments individually based upon their hearts and their repentance, and gives them the Holy Spirit and seals them.

God can do that at this point. This is not quite a repeat of what took place with Cornelius (Acts 10) but similar to it. However, they were taken out and baptized later. I don't know if they're going to be baptized here, it could very likely be, it doesn't tell us. We can't be dogmatic about that.

There is still right about a year and a half left, which is exactly what you have from Pentecost of one year, going through Trumpets, Atonement, Tabernacles, and on into Passover, Unleavened Bread and then Pentecost again, which then will be the last Pentecost and the resurrection.

Then we come on down to the day of Trumpets when Christ and the saints return and set their feet on the earth. That is approximately a year and a half! That's ties right in with Hos. 6, that 'after two days they would be raised up' out of the affliction that God put them through. That agrees with what God said that He would 'turn His back on them for a moment.'

Now then, God begins to deal with those who have not repented, and we come on down with the seven trumpet plagues.

The first ones come very quickly, then the fifth and sixth angel blow their trumpets, the wars take place and horrendous things occur. This is all there in the area of the Middle East going from Jerusalem all the way back to the east with an army of 200-million strung out along the way. That also has to include the armies coming from Russia, Siberia, Mongolia, China, Japan, South East Asia, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq—all of those nations are involved, all the nations of the world!

We're dealing with tremendous events that now God has spared the physical children of Israel and the great innumerable multitude.

God can do that; He can spare them. He can set them aside and sever them from the situation just like He did with the children of Israel in Egypt. We also have Psa, 91 that God can protect them from the things that happen. This is separate from those who are in a place of safety for three and a half years. Please remember, those who are in a place of safety are not going to be very many people.

But nevertheless, going to a place of safety is one of the leading indicators that the end-time is to begin:

• abomination of desolation'
• going to a place of safety
• the war with the King of the South coming at the King of the North, and the King of the North retaliating

Let me just say again, please, please get the whole series of Daniel/Revelation and go over it in fine detail.

Rev. 10—we find the angel who has the seven thunders, and we don't know what they are because God told John not to write them, it's sealed.

Revelation 10:5: "Then the angel whom I had seen standing on the sea and on the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, and swore by Him Who lives into the ages of eternity, Who created the heaven and the things in it, and the earth and the things in it, and the sea and the things in it, 'There shall be no more delay'" (vs 5-6).

Now, v 7 is a key question, vs 7 & 11, having to do with the timing of the resurrection, and we'll look at the different things concerning that.

Verse 7: "But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound the trumpet, the mystery of God shall also be completed, according to the Gospel that He declared to His servants the prophets."

Does the resurrection occur at the end of the sixth trumpet, but before the seventh trumpet? If it occurred before the seventh trumpet, then that would not be the last trumpet, there being seven. Also, when the sound of the seventh angel—it may not be just the angel speaking, his voice. The mystery of God is not completed until the seventh trump is sounded!

Let's look at some Scriptures where it tells us this, and look at some things and understand the timing. In talking about the resurrection it says the trump, the shout, the great voice in heaven and the voice of an archangel.

Let's finish up a little bit in Revelation 10:7: "But in the days of the voice… [Greek: 'phone'—sound] …of the seventh angel…" That is not referring to the speaking of the angel, but the sound of the trumpet, because it says:

"…when he is about to sound the trumpet, the mystery of God shall also be completed…" (v 7)—not before the trumpet sounds! We'll see that in just a minute. Rev. 4 also has voice—'phone'—and is referring to a sound of a trumpet.

Revelation 4:1: "After these things I looked, and behold, a door opened in heaven; and the first voice that I heard was as if a trumpet were speaking with me, saying, 'Come up here…'"

The seventh angel is not going to speak, but he is going to sound the trumpet and this is what is going to be heard and not him speaking. And as we will see, the emphasis is not on the resurrection occurring when he is about to sound, but the resurrection occurring when he does sound. However the chronological sequence of events here in the book of Revelation at this point in chapter ten he is ready or about to sound. When he does sound then the plan of God, the mystery of God concerning the resurrection and so forth, is finished.

Here we have voice, trumpet and archangel; 1-Thessalonians 4:15: "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… [those who are dead in Christ] …because the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven…" (vs 15-16).

That doesn't mean all the way to the earth, because we know that He's coming in the clouds and we're going to meet Him in the air. So, He is descending from heaven to as close to wherever the Sea of Glass is going to be.

"…with a shout of command… [doesn't necessarily say that we will hear it] …with the voice of an archangel… [we may or may not hear that] …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 16-17).

This tells us very clearly that we're going rise when the trumpet sounds! If we're still alive after the trumpet sounds, we're going to be a little delayed after that in being resurrected.

Let's come to 1-Cor. 15 because this may be another misunderstanding, so let's read that first. Sometimes we really need to ask when we're reading something: What does it say? What does it not say?

1-Corinthians 15:51: "Behold, I show you a mystery… [it says the mystery shall be completed when the seventh angel sounds his trumpet] …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…" (vs 51-52). Our change is going to come at the last trump.

Those who remain alive and hear the trumpet are going to have to wait until the dead in Christ are raised first. We're not told how long that is, however, when we are changed we will be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye!

"…for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 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.'" (vs 52-54).

Our change takes place in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, but the last trumpet has to sound first. So, our change takes place instantly, but obviously there has to be a little time between those who are dead who are raised and changed, and then those who are changed and raised.

I think it's going to be, since it's on the Day of Pentecost, that it's going to take place on the day portion of Pentecost as it goes around the world until all are resurrected. I see no reason why the world is not going to see this resurrection taking place. This will be a spectacular thing, the great thing since the creation of the world.

Here we're getting into areas that we cannot absolutely dogmatically say, however, in all probability the whole world is going to see the resurrection. This is going to be quite a thing!

Let's talk about the two witnesses, and let's see what happens to them. We know that they are killed.

Revelation 11:7: "'And when they have completed their testimony, the beast who ascends out of the abyss will make war against them, and will overcome them, and will kill them. And their bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. Then those of the peoples and tribes and languages and nations shall see their bodies three and a half days, for they will not allow their bodies to be put into tombs. And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, and will make merry, and will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets had tormented those who dwell on the earth.' Then after the three and a half days, the spirit of life from God entered into them and they stood on their feet…" (vs 7-11).

Three and a half days, because the standard was that if someone was dead over three days, he or she was truly dead and not coming back from some sort of coma.

"…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).

• Did the two witnesses die in Christ? Yes!
• Were they the last martyrs to die? Yes!

According to this, when a voice came out of heaven saying, 'Cm up here!' that shows that they were the first to rise. "…And they ascended into heaven in a cloud; and their enemies saw them rise."

But this does not say, nor is it implied, that the rest of the dead in Christ rise immediately afterward. It says, at the last trump, the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall rise incorruptible.

The Spirit of Life from God entered into them; was that changing them to eternal life at that point? or Was that Spirit of Life more to enliven their physical bodies and they ascend to meet Christ in the air, because they were told to come up and obviously the angels had to take them up. Although they wouldn't be able to see the angels taking them up.

The seventh trump had not yet sounded, but it follows immediately. So, we don't know the exact time-setting right here.

How far were they into the heavens to meet Christ in the air, after they started ascending, that the seventh trump was blown?

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. 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.' 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'" (vs 13-17). This is the beginning of the reign of Christ!

Verse 18: "'For the nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, and the time for the dead to be judged…'"

Those are judged for the first resurrection; obviously has nothing to do with the dead who are not in Christ, or the dead for the second resurrection. This can only apply to those in the first resurrection.

"'…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'" (v 18).

Let's analyze these verses:

v 15—"…the seventh angel sounded his trumpet… [and then it says that]: …'The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ…'"

That's just starting. He is just taking the authority to do it. He has yet, by other prophecies in the Bible, to come back the earth with His saints and to take over all the kingdoms. It's going to take a period of time after we come back to the earth after the resurrection to bring all nations into subjection.

Isa. 2 says that He's going 'rebuke nations afar off.' We also know that Ezek. 38-39 having to do with Gog and Magog takes place after the Millennium begins.

So, even though this statement says so, it is a process to be completed. The process goes clear on through the Millennium and into the White Throne Judgment until all enemies are put as footstool under the feet of Christ. Then He delivers the Kingdom to the Father.

This is just the start of it. This is the authority that is given to Christ to take over the world.

v-18—"…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…"

This has to be the resurrection. The resurrection does not take place before the seventh trumpet sounded, based upon Rev. 10:7 when the angel is about to sound, because the mystery of God will not be completed until the seventh angel sounds his trumpet.

How much time there is between Rev. 10:7 and Rev. 11:15 we do not know, but there is a length of time. The resurrection does not take place during that length of time.

Let's see that there is more time before the seventh angel sounds. If we are not raised or changed until the last trumpet, the resurrection cannot take place until the last trumpet, with the exception of the two witnesses. Can God make an exception and they are raised and changed or as they're being raised and as soon as they stand on the Sea of Glass the last trumpet sounds and they're already alive in Christ. They died in Christ and now they're alive in Christ.

So, if we say that they're not spirit beings until the seventh trumpet and here they ascend to heaven and obviously they're going to go on the Sea of Glass. Yes, they'd be able to live on the Sea of Glass in the flesh, because it's going to be close enough to the earth that God is able to make that happen. Then the angel blows his trumpet and they are immediately changed. That's also a possibility.

Between the two of them we can't make a dogmatic statement and say that the resurrection occurs (Rev. 10:7) when he's about to sound his trumpet. When he sounds the trumpet then the mystery of God shall also be completed, not before.

Let's see that there is a length of time in Rev. 10 before the seventh trump. It says nothing of a resurrection.

Revelation 10:8: "Then the voice that I heard from heaven spoke to me again, and said, 'Go, take the little book that is open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the earth.' And I went to the angel, and said to him, 'Give me the little book.' And he said to me, 'Take it and eat it; and it shall make your belly bitter, but in your mouth it shall be sweet as honey.' Then I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it; and it was sweet as honey in my mouth; but after I ate it, my belly was bitter. And he said to me, 'You must again prophesy against many people, and nations, and languages and kings" (vs 8-11).

This is a separate prophecy and a separate testimony from the two witnesses. Exactly how that is done, exactly how many people will be involved in that, we do not know! It doesn't tell us. But it does show us that there is a space of time between Rev. 10:7 and The end of the chapter, and that's not picked up again until the two witnesses are killed and raised, which ends the sixth trumpet, then the seventh trumpet is blown immediately.

QUESTIONS

What about the trump, the shout, the great voice from heaven, the voice of the archangel? They all take place, every one of them, in different sequence! But the last trumpet is the important thing.

Are these the last trumpets of Rev. 11? No! the last trumpet of Rev. 11 is the last trumpet in verse 15! There is a sound of a great voice say ing to the two witness 'Come up here.' That's separate from the trumpet. A shout (1-Thess. 4). The voice of the archangel they do not equate to exactly the same thing, but they are all involved beginning with the raising of the two witnesses.

Are these the last trumpet of Rev. 11? No, only the last trumpet of Rev. 11 is the last trumpet! You also have after the trumpet is sounded (v 15) there were great voices in heaven saying… This would have to be all the angels, because the angels have had dominion over the earth until this point. The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign into the ages of eternity!

Don't try and blend everything into one. They all occur, they all have different meanings and they all are pretty close together. But that doesn't mean that they are all the same thing.

The third woe that ushers in the seven last plagues, or are these God's final called out ones? I don't know what is meant by the final called out ones. Does this mean the call to the called out ones who are going to be resurrected? Probably means that, but I am sure that after the trumpet sounds and the angels begin to gather us and take us from the four corners of the earth and take us to the Sea of Glass, that we're going hear and see a lot of things and there's going to be conversation going on. I'm sure that when we're resurrected we're going to be talking to the angel: Who are you? What is your name? We're happen to see you, and he'll say, 'Look down here and you will see the armies and everything.' That's going to be quite a thing.

So, this does not necessarily follow along at all, and to go back to Exo. 19 to try and fit the three days that the children of Israel were there getting ready before they met God to receive the Ten Commandments on Pentecost. Remember they did not meet God until the day that God came down on the mountain the trumpet sounded long and loud and got louder and louder. Paul wrote that there was great whirlwind, tempest, earthquake and many thing going on.

So, they assembled at the foot of the mountain. The assembly had to take place so they could present themselves to God on the Day of Pentecost. If you want to liken that to a type of resurrection, that's fine, but you can't count the days of preparation leading up to it as days in which the resurrection would occur. It would be a stretch to take that parallel from Exo. 19 to do so.

Concerning the two in the field and two grinding has to do, as I pointed out, with those going to a place of safety.

I think some of the questions here are how these phrases relate and what they are relating to, rather than a misunderstanding of it. Also, when we get down to the exact finite detail of understanding of every one of these prophecies it is not a salvational issue whatsoever.

The salvational issue is that we make sure that our relationship is right with God and that we can get there. That's what's important.

Revelation 15—Why did they sing the son of Moses first? I do not know! It does not tell us why they sing the song of Moses first. I could not tell you why they do. And the song of the Lamb? I don't know what the song of the Lamb is! But all of them combined are:

Revelation 15:3: "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 the seven last plagues are poured out (Rev. 16). So, I hope this answers the question surrounding it. But as you can see and understand, we still have more to understand. 

Where we began in the beginning, yes, there are some things that we're looking through a glass darkly. Other things we have a fairly good understanding. In other things, we have very little understanding. In other things we have almost perfect understanding.

So, we just have to take it at that, and we have to take it the way that God wants us to and to not put things on a level of a salvational issue if it is not a salvational issue.

Just think about how many Christians lived and died and couldn't even understand the book of Revelation, because the book of Revelations was make to be understood in the end-time. That's why with the proper division of the Bible, the book of Revelation is the seventh division, just one book.

The reason that is, is because it requires the whole Bible together with the book of Revelation to understand it. We also have to realize that we need to:

• grow in grace
• grow in knowledge
• grow in understanding

We also have to realize that some of these things are only understood by inspiration and revelation from God.

It's not just something that we can study and come to a great conclusion on immediately in some of these things.

I hope that this helps line things up a little better. But as I said before, please go through the whole series of Daniel/Revelation with the charts that we have. I hope those will help lay out a time sequence, too.

A chart does not mean that it is cast in iron. This is a snapshot of how we see things at the present time. Will there possibly be changes in the future? Yes, as we come to a better understanding!

Go through as many of the sermons relating to Day 49 and Day 50: the day before Pentecost and the Day of Pentecost. Please go through the 144,000 and the messages on CD that come with the book God's Plan for Mankind Revealed by His Sabbath and Holy Days, which covers events before Pentecost and events after Pentecost and it covers about the Sea of Glass.

We just have to realize that we have to grow in grace, knowledge, understanding and the main important thing for everyone of us is not complete finite knowledge of prophecy, but a loving, kind relationship with God and with each other, so that we have love, patience and forbearance with each other!

Scriptures from The Holy Bible in Its Original Order, A Faithful Version

Scriptural References:

• Daniel 12:4, 10, 4-7
• Isaiah 54:5-8
• Exodus 9:22-26
• Exodus 8:20-23
• Hosea 5:15
• Hosea 6:1-2
• Revelation 6:12-17\
• Matthew 24:29-30, 27
• Revelation 7:1-5, 14
• Revelation 10:5-7
• Revelation 4:1
• 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17
• 1 Corinthians 15:51-54
• Revelation 11:7-18
• Revelation 10:8-11
• Revelation 15:3

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:

• Revelation 12; 8
• Matthew 21:31
• Zechariah 12
• Genesis 49
• Acts 10
• Psalm 91
• Isaiah 2
• Ezekiel 38, 39
• Exodus 19
• Revelation 16

Also referenced:

Sermon Series Daniel/Revelation (with Transcript Book and CD)

Books:

• Occult Holidays or God's Holy Days—Which? by Fred R. Coulter
• God's Plan for Mankind Revealed by His Sabbath and Holy Days by Fred R. Coulter

FRC:bo
Transcribed: 8/15/19