Feast of Trumpets 2024: Where Can We Be in Prophecy?

The Feast of Trumpets has always been a very special day for me because I'm celebrating my spiritual anniversary as a 17-year-old boy close to Asheville. Or, actually, we lived close to Asheville, North Carolina, that's going through a lot of these things. I'll move this just a little bit. I'd like to have full view of people. But I lived in Murphy, North Carolina, and the first Feast of Trumpets, that was the first day I attended church. As a young 17-year-old ex-Catholic, three weeks before, right? But I had studied the Bible, I had studied the booklets, and somehow I knew it. This was the truth. And then when I met the people, and such fantastic messages that really came to your heart, they re-penetrated in. Remember, the sermonette was about the atomic tests that were being done in the atmosphere of the earth, and how dangerous that was. And I'm thinking, wow, I never heard that in a Catholic church. It was very boring. He's talking about modern things. He's talking about prophecies that come from the Bible. And so that was my beginning of the adventure into God's Word. And here we are, and prophecy is being fulfilled day by day. I'm thankful God has given time for us, or many would not have been called. But there's still time to get in before the door shuts. And we know that's going to happen, but thankfully it hasn't happened yet.

So let's look again at another aspect of the meaning of the Feast of Trumpets. What do trumpets mean in the Bible? Let's go to Numbers 10, where God instructs them to construct trumpets to be sounded. Numbers 10, verse 9. Here we can get a good sense of the definition. Numbers 10, verse 9. It says, when you go to war in your land against the enemy who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, and you will be remembered before the Lord your God, and you will be saved from your enemies. So it was one of these warnings. Today we have them in warning sirens. We don't have trumpets, but boy, when you hear whether it's a hurricane that's going to come, or an earthquake, or whatever, and you hear the warning, you have to go into a shelter. Well, then they used trumpets as a way of warning people something is going to happen. And then he says, also in the day of your gladness, in your appointed feasts, that's... So appointed feasts also are described as these days of gladness.

And at the beginning of your months, this is one of them, the seventh month, today's the beginning, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings, and they shall be a memorial for you before your God. I am the Lord your God. So God is looking down from heaven, and for him, he's seeing who is obedient, who is following his instructions. It's a memorial. It's a way of remembering who are the ones who are doing these things.

So trumpets mainly are about announcements of important gatherings or events, and especially about prophesied happenings, occurrences that will come. Now Bible prophecy is described in the Bible in 2 Peter 2. I'm sorry, 2 Peter 1, verse 19. 2 Peter 1, verse 19.

This is the way the Bible is described regarding prophecy. He says, And so we have the prophetic word, that's the Bible, confirmed, which you do well to heed, as a light that shines in a dark place. You need a flashlight when you're out there in the darkness. In those days, they use lamps, oil lamps. But the Bible is a lamp, a light that shows your path in the darkness of this world. That's what your Bible, the purpose of it. It says, It shines in a dark place until the day dawns, and the morning star rises in your hearts. So this is talking about until dawn comes, you need that light.

You need to see that. I like the way this translation describes this verse. It's called the expanded Bible version. It says, This makes us more sure about the message the prophets gave. You do well to follow closely what they said, as you would follow a lamp shining in a dark place until the day dawns, and the morning star rises in your hearts. That is, the planet Venus is seen before sunrise, here symbolizing Christ. So in those days when people went out in the morning, they didn't have watches, they didn't have clocks, so they went by the different planets and stars.

And the planet Venus was right before dawn, people knew, especially like shepherds. Once they saw Venus rising, then they said dawn is very close by. And so the Bible is especially useful before Christ's coming, because it is that light. So don't pay attention to what people say and all kinds of ideas, false prophets are going to appear. Go to your Bible. Check out these prophecies. And one of the things has to do with the Feast of Trumpets that we are observing that God gave us the meaning behind it and His plan of salvation.

So the purpose of this message is to briefly go over the events that have to do with the ultimate meaning of the seven trumpets that are blown, mentioned in the book of Revelation. Because after all, yes, they had all kinds of trumpets gathering people or announcing events, but there's nothing in comparison to when Jesus Christ comes back. That is the ultimate fulfillment of the Feast of Trumpets. One day, just like Passover already happened, one day we're going to look back on the Feast of Trumpets and its fulfillment when Christ returns. We'll know, okay, that day is over. And then what's the next one? Satan is going to be bound, which has to do with the Day of Atonement.

And what happens after that? Well, the thousand year reign. So you see, everything has its place, and God wanted us to celebrate these things ahead of time in anticipation of the fulfillment of them. It's like before you have a wonderful celebration, you're looking forward to it. And so that's the way we look at it today. So let's go to Luke chapter 21, verse 27 through 31. Luke 21, 27 through 31, because even though there is darkness enveloping the earth, there is going to be a time of tribulation. There is hope.

We should never lose that hope. In Luke chapter 21, verse 27, it says, Then they will see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to happen, because it's describing all of these things, events, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.

The term redemption means your rescue. You're able to, your salvation. It's going to happen. Also, Matthew 24, verse 21. It says, For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world, until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And that has a lot to do with the arms, what men have accumulated. They've never accumulated more mortal arms than today.

He says, And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved, but for the elect's sake, those days will be shortened. So just remember, yes, this is going to be a punishment upon the earth, but God knows His people. He's going to protect them in the midst of it. Just like it was a very tough time when Noah's day, but God protected His people then.

He has done it so through time. And so let's go over the timeline of events that this feast ultimately represents. It's not pleasant, but it does have a very happy ending. And there are basically eight chapters of the book of Revelation that cover the situation about these trumpets, that cover the subject of them. So I want to go through them. And we start in Revelation 5, 6 through 7. Revelation 5, verses 6 through 7. There's a moment when God the Father tells Jesus Christ, It is time to intervene upon this earth.

Things have gotten so bad that there's no more delay. Now, there are going to be things that are going to happen in this world to help people repent. God is going to send warnings. I think this situation with Noah's ark from everything that we have seen, that is going to be announced. And it is a huge ark that is basically the length of a football field.

And it is broken into parts. There have been dozens and dozens of witnesses. Now they have the army protecting the place. They have drones above them. And it's just a matter of time before they announce that. Now, what is that going to do? Well, it's going to show people that, yes, God intervened before. He's loving. He's patient.

He's letting politicians. He's letting rulers have wars and exploitation of people. He allows a lot of this. But there's going to be a moment when he says, enough. I am not an absentee land holder that just left this world on its own. And so, yeah, he's going to yank the chain.

He's going to get the person's attention. And I believe that Noah's ark, and again, we have to wait. But it certainly shows every indication of being up there. And slowly, some of that ark object is being seen now because of the melting of the ice around it. So, I was with Dr.

Joel Clank, the archaeologist from Harvard, oh, a little over a month ago. And we had, he went to Cincinnati, talked to President Rick Shaby and several others. And I had three days with him. And believe me, he explained every detail of how everything happened. And maybe one day I will just go step by step. And he's given his life to warning the world. And he wants to protect that. So anyways, the point is that an ark that is up 14,000 feet on Mount Ararat and it is still in quite good condition.

It's going to show the world that ark to get up there had to be floating above it. You don't push a huge, over a football field-sized ship up a mountain, right? No, that actually floated down and rested there. And the funny thing is that Joel Clank says, look, I've been there and it is in an ideal position. It's in a gorge on Mount Ararat.

And underneath that ark is a sandy surface so that you can go down that ark. You're not with precipices or this unwieldy area. No, it's a natural ramp where animals and Noah could have gone down. He says, I've slipped. I've fallen there. He says, but it's like falling on a cushion because that sand protects it. So God thought of everything there. And so it's going to be a warning because it's a miracle from God that made that possible. And there's no scientist that's going to be able to explain away how that ark got up there unless God told a man that the flood was coming and you needed to build it.

Because there's no other purpose for something like that except to save life at that time. So that's coming. And I wonder how people are going to change. Are they going to say, yes, I really believe it's time. And you know what? I don't want to be on the wrong side of God when His wrath falls upon this earth. I don't want to. I was thinking the other day, you know what the greatest gift that God has given me as I look back on my life? It was at 17 He gave me.

He didn't give me great wisdom. He didn't give me money or any. He gave me one thing, the fear of the Lord. I had a fear of the Lord, which means a deep respect to do what He said in His word. That's the greatest gift. The fear of the Lord, as it says in Proverbs 1, is the beginning of wisdom, of godly wisdom.

If you have a fear of God, you're going to respect Him. And whether you like it or not, you're going to obey Him and do it His way. And then He's going to straighten your life and everything is going to fall into place. I was thinking what a privilege it is to have the fear of the Lord. Because you know what? Even at this age, I fear God more than man. I've had many times when people have intimidated, have tried to change me, have tried to bribe me, have tried to influence me.

And I always say, you know, I'm not going to get into trouble with God to get out of trouble with you. Just bring it on because I'm not going to get into trouble with God. And so anyways, that's just one of the things about the ark that is coming. So let's go to Revelation because you can picture some moment in heaven.

This is going to happen. This is already written. This is like a script of a play that has already been drawn out. You remember Shakespeare said that the world's like a stage and we are all playing roles in it. So this is the script. Revelation 5 verse 6. It says, And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne, and on the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a lamb, as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out in all the earth.

These are seven spirits which are angels, which have the job of informing Jesus Christ of what's going on. God has angels to carry out His will. Then He, talking about Christ, came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.

So remember, it is God the Father, the one that's initiating this. It is not Christ's scroll. It is God the Father's scroll, and He's giving it to Christ. So there's going to be a moment, and this is just like a countdown that takes place. And here it is, and now the first seal is going to be broken, so the countdown begins. And nothing can prevent it.

We are living now pretty comfortable lives, but really, when this happens, it's going to start changing things. This is the way God has done it, out of mercy to discipline mankind, see if they repent or not, and give a person an opportunity. So it goes on to say in verse 9, and they sang a new song, You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, talk about Christ, and have redeemed us to God by your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation.

So talking about the nations, and have made us kings, other translations are more accurate, and have made them kings, because these are angels that are singing, and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth. That's a proper translation. So God gives Christ the scroll, and it contains all the main events until Christ's coming. So now we go to chapter 6. Here, the scroll has six seals. And again, if you have something rolled up in this way, like you'd have this as a scroll, it'd be rolled up.

And what you have in each of the sections here, you have the clay seal, which keeps this section sealed. So what you're doing is you're opening up one part of the scroll, but you can't open the rest. There are six seals there. These are events. These are instructions that now angels will carry out. And so the earth needs a good spanking, and here it comes. He says, verse 1, And in Matthew 24, where we have the parallel, it talks about false prophets.

False Christs are going to appear. And certainly from the time of Christ forward, we've had people, pretenders, that have taken the name of Christ, that they represent Christ. And they are what they call anti-Christs. These are fake people that are representing Christ. And this will culminate with a person that is mentioned in Revelation 13 as the false prophet. So all of these are coming, and they're conquering people through false teachings. Certainly we have false prophets.

In Rome, one false prophet started a big church in Christianity. And then others have followed through. Some have plagiarized Christ. And around 600, the 600s, we had an Arab who said, well, I'm going to set up a new type of Bible. It's called the Quran. And so, okay, now you're taking off with another false teaching. And then eventually you have the church in Rome splitting up, having different Protestant evangelical groups that come out from her. In the 1500s, you have the religious wars in Europe, which took a century and a half, basically.

With the 30-year war ending it in 1648, with a piece of Westphalia, because they devastated the great part of Central Europe. Wars and wars. You know, God's Church has never been involved that way. And yes, people have left, taken up arms and followed armies, but the people that remain faithful are not going to war, as others do.

Now, we're supposed to be good citizens, pay taxes, support, pray for the kings. Now, pray for those defending. But at the same time, we are not going to shed blood for our nation. We can be arrested, we can pray, but until God tells us, He is our ruler. And that's when He comes back. We're part of God's army. So anyways, this is the first one. In verse 3 it says, When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, Come and see. Another horse, fiery red, went out, and it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another, and there was given to Him a great sword.

So this has to do with the multiplication of wars until we come to the end time, where again, it culminates, as the first seal culminates in the false prophet, the second seal culminates with who? The beast power. That's the first beast. Remember there are two beasts in chapter 13. And then the third seal, when He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, Come and see.

So I looked, and behold, the black horse. And he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand, and I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, A quart of wheat for denarius, which is basically one day's salary. So you can imagine just basically having probably about a pound of wheat for paying over $100 for it, and three quarters of barley for a denarius, but did not harm the oil and the wine. So it's talking about drought, famine, and the food is going to become limited.

And then, verse 7, when He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, Come and see. So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. This is a type of sickly pale green, which is when a person is really sick, they get pale green. And the name of him who sat on it was death. And Hades, which means the tomb, followed with him. A lot of people were buried.

This is having to do with pestilences. And the power was given to them over a fourth of the earth to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth. So a fourth of the earth is going to eventually fall into these types of sicknesses and wars and everything else. So a good booklet, if you have it, it's called The Rapture versus The Bible. And inside, here's a progression of events that you can look at.

And I'm just going to go over some of them, because those first four seals have to do with religious deception, war, famine, and disease epidemics. And then with the fifth seal is where we enter this time tunnel of three and a half years. This is when the saints have to flee. It says, verse 9, 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 which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, until you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth.

Then a white robe was given to each one of them, and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed. So the fifth seal has to do with the Great Tribulation. That's what starts it. And here we have basically from the fifth seal to the final seal and the seven trumpets, we have a three and a half year period of time.

And then we have verse 12. I looked when he opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. So the atmosphere got very dark, and the stars of heaven fell to the earth, talking about all kinds of meteorite showers, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind.

Then the sky receded as a scroll when it rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place, and the kings of the earth, in other words, presidents, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, so it doesn't matter what status you have, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains. That's what you do when an earthquake is so strong that you don't feel secure in your house.

And you go, and you try to go up into a hill someplace, and usually caves are pretty good protection, better than houses. And said to the mountains, and rocks fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the land. So, God the Father and Jesus Christ, although they are love personified, they are angry with what has been going on, all the injustices, all the little dead babies that are being aborted, and things like this. It's just over a million just in this country alone, and we know that's all kinds of issues, but still, those are little babies.

There's a lot of people who would love to have adopted babies, and yet, all of these things, the wrath of God the Father and Jesus Christ, for the great day of his wrath has come, and who is able to stand? So then, we got the six seals. There's one left, and that is found in chapter 8, in verse 1. When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. It was so impressive. It was so surprising and awful. It says, So here, you see that the seventh seal is actually composed of seven trumpets.

So, there are going to be seven events that are going to take place before Christ comes back. So, we're getting closer to the return of Jesus Christ.

And notice, in verse 6, it says, So the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. The first trumpet, the vegetation, is struck. The first angel sounded, and hail and fire followed, mingled with blood, and they were thrown to the earth, and a third of the trees were burnt up, and all the green grass was burnt up. So, it's going to be very hot, and the vegetation is affected. Again, this all has to do with a discipline. Are you ready to repent now? Are you ready to quit fornicating the drug addiction? Are you changing sex? Are you ready to quit all of this or not? Because he's not going to put up with it forever. And so, it says here that it's this step-by-step discipline that takes place. The second trumpet, the seas are struck. It says when the second angel sounded, and something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood, which means contaminated. It was dark, red. You've heard of the red tide that kills all of these other fishes, poisonous microorganisms. And a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed. So, all of these are one-third are destroyed. That's the type of punishment. The third trumpet, the waters struck, then the third angel sounded, and a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch. And it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. The name of the star is wormwood, which is something bitter. A third of the waters became wormwood, bitter to the taste and poisonous. And many men died from the water because it was made bitter. Then the fourth angel sounded, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. A third of the day did not shine, and likewise the night. And I looked, and I heard an angel flying through the midst of the heaven, saying with a loud voice, Whoa, whoa, whoa! These are the last three trumpets to sound, to the inhabitants because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound.

Now, what's going to happen to the church at that time? Well, the church is going to a place of safety. It's going to be protected. Notice in Revelation chapter 12. At the beginning of that tribulation period, which we talked about, Revelation chapter 12, verse 12, it says, But when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child. But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle. So there is this place. Just like Jerusalem is a spiritual place for God, he has a place, and people are going to be able to be transported by air that she might fly into the wilderness to her place. It doesn't tell us the exact location, but it's here on earth, where she is nourished for a time, times, and half a time from the presence of the serpent. So the church is going to be fed. It's going to be protected during this time of punishment. We're basically going to be in an isolated area. And guess what? Brethren from Latin America are going to be there, brethren from Africa, from Europe, and all parts of the earth are going to go to this place, and we're going to be protected. It'll be something like manna. You'll be fed and nourished, because it says here, it doesn't say the woman nourishes herself. It has to find out where the food is. No, she will be nourished for time and times and half a time.

And then it tells us how the serpent, Satan, tries to prevent the woman from entering her place. In verse 17, it says, and the dragon was enraged with a woman because he couldn't do anything against her. And he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. So there are going to be people behind, and there are going to be people that, during that great tribulation, are going to repent and start keeping the commandments and the Sabbath and feast days. But that's the time of persecution. Satan's going to go after the people at that time. So that's still in the future. So what happens with the seventh trumpet? Let's go to Revelation 11. In verse 15, the story picks up here. Then the seventh angel sounded, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever. Have you heard that phrase? Well, that's famous. It handles Messiah. We've sang it here at church. It's beautiful. With a chorus singing this verse time and time again in different tones.

It goes on to say, in chapter 15, Let's go before we go to chapter 15. Here in verse 11, it says, verse 17, angels are crying out at this time because Christ is ready to come back. He says, We give you thanks, O Lord, God Almighty, the one who is and who was and who is to come, because you have taken your great power and reigned. The nations were angry, and your wrath has come, and the time of the dead that they should be judged, and that you should reward your servants, the prophets, and the saints. The reward hasn't shown up yet. It hasn't come. We have to be faithful to the end. And those who fear your name, small and great, should destroy those who destroy the earth. Well, I'd like to read to you about those who destroy the earth. I don't know how many of you have heard about the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Have you ever heard that Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists? Diana has. Okay. This Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, which I'm subscribed to, you can subscribe. It's free. It was founded in 1945 by Albert Einstein and Robert Oppenheimer, and University of Chicago scientists who helped develop the first atomic weapons in the Manhattan Project in World War II. The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists created the Doomsday Clock two years later, in 1947, because of the alarm. What have we loosed upon the earth? It basically had guilty consciences.

And so they used the symbols of the apocalypse, midnight, and the contemporary countdown of a nuclear explosion. Countdown to zero. To convey the threats to humanity and the planet. So every year they have a statement they put out. The Doomsday Clock is set every year by the Bulletin's Science and Security Board in consultation with its Board of Sponsors, which includes nine Nobel Laureates, or award winners. The clock has become a universally recognized indicator of the world's vulnerability to global catastrophe caused by man-made technologies. When it started, they only had atomic bombs measured in the kilotons, which are the thousand kilotons. You get a ton of dynamite together, and then you multiply it by a thousand, and you have a kiloton. Basically, the bombs dropped there in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. They're around anywhere from 50 to 60 kilotons. And you saw how that devastated. Well, now you don't fool around with kilotons. Now they have atomic bombs on megatons. Kilo means a thousand. Mega means a million. So now you're going a thousand times more powerful. And many of these hydrogen bombs that are multiplied probably somewhere. The US has about 6,000, and the Russians have another 6,000, and then France, England, and others have a couple thousand. China is trying to build up to be equal to the US. It's madness what's happening in the world. And the book that I have on this topic was recommended by The Economist magazine. It's called Nuclear War, A Scenario. And so this is from an expert on the subject. It talks about the destruction that would happen. It would basically put man back into stone age. It says, years pass. 24,000 years after the atomic bombs have been dropped on the Earth. The life-sustaining capacity of terrestrial environment, greatly reduced at first, becomes revitalized and rejuvenated. Temperatures return to pre-war conditions. 24,000 years for the Earth to be able to start getting new species develop and thrive. So much has been damaged, but planet Earth has a way of always recovering and repairing herself, at least so far. And so if they're dropped, then it's the beginning of the end for mankind. But God has promised this is not going to happen. He is going to intervene. And that's part of the book of Revelation, how yes, He is going to spank the Earth, but He's not going to allow it to be destroyed by mankind. We have the capacity to destroy it many times over, but that's not going to happen, which is the good news. Let's go to Revelation 15, verse 1, the seven last plagues, which is the seventh trumpet. It says, verse 1, then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is complete. So that finishes this punishment period. And then it starts in chapter 16, the seven plagues. It says in verse 1, then I heard a loud voice from the temple, saying to the seventh angel, Go and pour out the bowls of the wrath of God on the earth. So the first went and poured out his bowl upon the earth, and a fowl and loathsome sore came upon the men who had the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. Not everybody, just those that are participating in the system of the beast and the false prophet, they get punished by this. I believe, let me go here, I think I left, let me go to Revelation 9 real quickly, verse 13.

Let's see, a little bit before, I'm sorry, because I went to the fourth trumpet. Let's go before we start with the plagues, chapter 9, I don't want to skip this. Then the fifth angel sounded, this is the fifth trumpet, and I saw an angel fall in from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit. And then it goes on to say, verse 3, Then out of the smoke, locusts came upon the earth, and to them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. They were commanded not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only those who do not have the seal of God on their forehead. So you see, you're still being protected by God. They were given authority to kill them, but to torment them, they were not given authority to kill them, but to torment them for five months. A torment was like the torment of scorpion when it strikes a man. In those days, men will seek death and will not find it. They will desire to die, and death will flee from them. And the shape of the locust was like horses prepared for battle. So it's not talking about little locusts here. It's talking of the biggest animal for battling in that area was the horse. And it says, on their heads were crowns of something like gold, something very shiny, and their faces were like faces of men. So it looks like inside these flying mechanical things, which had a bubble, probably having to do with the windshield, and the faces were like the faces of men.

They had hair like women's hair, so it could be the streaming of the vapor from jets or others, and their teeth were like lions. They had breastplates like breastplates of iron. So now you know these are very protected. They have armor to protect these, and they fly. And the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots with many horses running into battle. And they had tails like scorpions. It's probably talking about the types of helicopters. It could be drones now, too, that are that way. And there were stings in their tails, their power was to hurt men five months, and they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, that's Satan, whose name is Abaddon.

But in Greek he has the name Apollyon. One woe is passed, behold, still two more woes are coming. And so the sixth trumpet sounded, and it says, verse 14, released the four angels who were bound at the great river Euphrates. So this is talking about a physical place. So it looks like we have always said the first woe is when the beast and the ball falls place. And the prophet attack the area of Russia, maybe China, because the Euphrates river separates Asia from the area of the Middle East and Europe.

So it's very important. One group is east of the Euphrates, the other group is west, as you will see. It says, and now the army of the horsemen was 200 million, and these are the ones that are crossing to the Promised Land. By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed. And this is interesting in verse 20. It says, but the rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk.

And they did not repent of their murders or their sauceries from the Greek pharmacia, which has to do with drugs and also magic, black magic, or their sexual immorality. I just read today that anywhere from kids from 15 to 24 years old are not protecting themselves when they have sex, and half of them have sexual diseases because of that. Chlamydia and all these other types. God's going to put a stop to this. You can put a stop to this before he does, but he's going to take care of these things.

And so then, just to finish, because I don't have much more time, let's go now to what I was going to the plagues that happened in chapter 16. I mentioned already the first bowl, the boils that are going to be on the people, the second one.

The sea now is not a third, but now it says, and it became blood. And every living creature in the sea died. And then the third angel poured out the bowl, and the rivers and springs, and they became blood. So this is why Christ has to come, because mankind can only survive a few days. But it's interesting that it doesn't sound like this is all having to do with radioactivity, because if we have bombs, that radioactivity, the half-life of that radioactivity is 30 years.

And there's going to be a nuclear winter that's going to be 10 years, basically, that's going to cover the earth, that's going to kill all the plants. And so this is not talking about this. This is talking about how God individually does punish mankind. It says in verse 10, the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast and his kingdom. And this is when Babylon is attacked. God destroys that. And it says, they blaspheme the God of heaven because of their pains and sores, but they did not repent of their deeds.

Then the sixth angel poured out the bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its waters was dried up so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared. And they gathered them, as it says, verse 16, and they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon. And then the seventh bowl has to do with the great earthquake and shook the cities up and men blasphemed God. So I want to finish in chapter 19 because this is the good news. After all of this, it goes on to say in verse 11, Now I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse, and he who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.

And he says, verse 13, he was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, so we can never forget. The love that God has done, he has been forced into this by man's hardness of heart and Satan's deceit. We know a lot of people wouldn't be the way they are except they've been deceived by Satan.

And it goes on to say, And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed them. And then it says, that verse 19, And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth, and their armies gathered together to make war against him who sat on the horse and against his army. Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet. Verse 21, And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of him who sat on the horse. And then the next step is to bring peace on the earth. Chapter 20 has to do with the Day of Atonement. That, God willing, will see a week from this Sabbath. And so, brethren, this is a little bit about the day. We can only take this once a year, right, of what's going on. If this doesn't curl the hairs on the back of your neck, nothing will. But we're in the right place. We have the right team. Thanks to God that we're not going to come into this as ignorant people, and are going to have to experience the wrath of the Father and the Lamb. Have a wonderful feast of trumpets.