Signs of the Time of the End

Well, that certainly is a very beautiful song. It won't be long now. And it's very fitting, as far as the meaning of this day and what this day introduces for the whole world. The Feast of Trumpets. What a wonderful and beautiful day it is. It's the fourth of the seven holy days. It's right in the middle, maybe right where God purposefully placed it in the middle of everything because so much of God's plan revolves around the second coming of Christ and the establishment of God's kingdom on this earth to bring a time of peace and joy and love for all nations.

I was listening to the radio the other day, and it was just bringing out that people everywhere want peace and love. That's what the ordinary people want. And that's true anywhere you go around the world. People want peace and love. And yet the governments of this world are not able to bring those simple things. It would seem like it would be so easy, wouldn't it, to bring peace and love.

Instead, there's strife and war and hatred everywhere. But Jesus Christ, the King of Peace and the one that knows the way to love, is going to bring these two things for all nations, to all of mankind. So what a wonderful day this is. It's our only hope. It's the world's only hope. And it's the only hope we need, the hope of God's kingdom being established on this earth at the return of Christ. Can we envision what this day means culminating in the visible return of Jesus Christ? Can we envision the events that are to happen to our nation and to the world? I want to go into that briefly, anyway, before getting into the Second Coming of Christ, those verses.

Do we have a good knowledge and understanding of end-time events? Many times when I visit new people, and I was just visiting some of this past week, they have read other prophetic ideas and teachings of the world and may not have a good firm grip on exactly what is going to happen. For example, they may believe that the tribulation is going to be seven years long, and they have a three-and-a-half-year period that certain things happen, then another three-and-a-half-year period that other things happen. Many people in the world don't quite understand prophecy the way it's really going to happen.

And so I think it's important that we do have a true understanding of prophetic events that God has revealed to us. And I want to go over some of that in the sermon, the first half of the sermon today. Let's go ahead and do that, quickly review some of the major prophetic events of the Bible leading up to the Second Coming of Christ represented by this Feast of Trumpets and focus then also near the end of the sermon on what we need to be busy doing in the Church and in our lives.

Let's look at our first chart. Here is the chart on Daniel 2, 7, 8, Revelation 13 and 17. I don't propose to go over all of the things on this chart. I think most of us are very familiar with this, with these prophecies and these chapters. But I would like to begin in Daniel 2 and read a few verses in Daniel chapter 2 and chapter 7 because this really begins to lay the groundwork, you might say, the skeletal outline for understanding prophetic events at the end time.

We really have to go back, yes, to Daniel chapter 2. Now, this is the time that ancient Israel and Judah were going into captivity. And God gave a prophecy here through a dream that was given to Nebuchadnezzar. And we're very familiar with it. Nebuchadnezzar had this dream, but he forgot what it was. And so finally Daniel came in and God revealed to Daniel what the dream was and also the meaning of the dream. Well, the dream was, and begin in verse 31, Daniel 2, verse 31.

There are five kingdoms that are brought out in this dream. Very important that we understand about these five kingdoms. It relates to this Feast of Trumpets that we're keeping today. Verse 31, you, O King, were watching, and behold a great image, this great image, whose splendor was excellent, stood before you, and its form was awesome. This is an ugly system of human government, actually, human empires. This image's head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, and its legs of iron, the feet partly iron and partly of clay.

You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay and broke them in pieces. And it goes on to say that in verse 35, latter part, that the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. Well, these four metals, gold, silver, bronze and iron, represent four world-ruling empires, Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome.

And the stone represents the kingdom of God that is going to be set upon the earth. It's going to cover and fill the earth. And it goes on to say in verse 44, in the days of these kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, and the kingdom shall not be left to other people. It shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.

You know, that brings us to events that are going to happen just ahead of us right now.

Many people don't realize that this prophecy began around 600 or so BC with the Babylonian Empire that was then rolling over all of the area in the Middle East. And then Persia would come on the Seine represented by the silver. Then Greece would come on the Seine represented by the bronze. And then the Roman Empire, represented by the iron, would come on the Seine. And then that the Roman Empire would have revivals and would come back to power again and again and again. Well, the Roman Empire was in Europe. Two of these empires were Asian empires in the Middle Eastern area, and that was Babylon and Persia. And the last two of these empires were European, Greece, and then Rome. The last one, Rome, would continue to then have revivals up until the time that this stone, the kingdom of God, would smash all these human governments and would set up God's kingdom on the earth. What also is that we pick up from this dream is that Daniel did not see four images. He saw one image. So in many ways, the empires that came along, Babylon, then succeeded by Persia, and then by Greece, and then by Rome, were still one system of human government that would come down through the ages. In fact, about 2,600 years they would come down through the ages until our time today, until the stone will eventually smite this whole system and destroy it at the Second Coming of Christ. So it's important then, as far as your chart is concerned, that you then go on down. And unfortunately, this chart doesn't have the fifth empire done at the bottom. If you want to write that in, you could do so, but I've done that on my copy of it. And if I redo this chart, sometime I'll add that in. But the fifth empire would be the stone. You have the gold and the silver and the brass and the iron under chapter 2, but we don't have the stone. And the stone will be at the very bottom of the page, and that will be the fifth empire that will be set upon the earth, and it will endure forever. It will be the kingdom of God. The human governments and empires will be destroyed. So brethren, did you know that this is the starting point in really understanding end-time Bible prophecy? The tenth toes that are part iron and part clay actually represent a final revival of the Roman Empire in Europe. And we're going to carry this through now to other prophecies, but the important part of this image for our time is down at the toes. Chronologically, this image or this begins at the head, and it goes down to the feet. So we are all the way down to the feet and the toes now, part of iron and part of clay. That's all that remains to be fulfilled in this prophecy until Christ returns to set up God's kingdom.

There is that one thing, though, that is not yet fulfilled, the ten toes, part of iron and part of clay that will unite at the very time of the end just ahead of us over in Europe. So, you know, that's why even now we see that the European nations have this economic union, the European Union, but they are having problems really coming together, uniting. But they keep working at it, and that's going to happen. They're all going to give their power to a very powerful military political leader, but a strong religious leader alongside him. And we'll read those prophecies in just a moment. Well, let's go to the second chapter, Daniel 7. And again, I don't have time to read all of this, but you see, these prophecies back in Daniel set the stage for understanding what lies just ahead for us right now, just before Christ returns to set up God's kingdom.

It's important we understand this chart. It's knowledge that Mr. Armstrong began to understand back in the 30s and the 40s. I think especially after World War II, it came together that, hey, we're looking for one final resurrection of the Roman Empire after World-Dearing and after World War II, when it became very apparent that Germany was going to be defeated in World War II. Mr.

Armstrong began to understand we're looking for 10 nations to rise in Europe. We've been saying that all during the 1950s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and right on until 2013 today. Let's look in chapter 7 then and just read a little bit here. Again, we don't have time to read all of it.

Most of us are very familiar with what I'm saying here, but if not, you certainly should study and be strong in understanding the foundation for end-time prophecies that are about to happen in the world today. In Daniel 7 and in verse 2, Daniel spoke saying, I saw in my vision by night, and he says in verse 3, four great beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other.

Well, these are the same four empires, Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome. The first was like a lion that represents Babylon. In verse 5, the second was like a bear, represents Persia. And verse 6, another like a leopard, represents Greece. By the way, Greece was very quick and moved very fast like a bear, and Persia was more like a leopard, I should say, and Persia was more like a bear, moving more lumbering and slowly. In verse 7, I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, strong, exceedingly strong. It had a huge iron teeth, oh, the same metal as we read about in Daniel 2. It was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling, and so forth. I considered, well, we don't, this other horn that certainly is important, a religious aspect to this system, is introduced here. And verse 9 is that fifth kingdom, the same as the stone in Daniel 2.

I watched till thrones were put in place, and the ancient of days was seated, and his garment was white as snow. And then God's kingdom is set up on the earth. And in verse 14, it goes on to say that, well, in verse 13, I was watching, and behold, one light the Son of Man, come in with the clouds of heaven, came to the ancient of days. And that's Christ ascending up to God's throne almost 2,000 years ago. Then to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away in his kingdom, one that would not, shall not be destroyed.

So we have this fifth kingdom here in Daniel 7 as well. And notice that this fifth kingdom then is when Christ will set up God's kingdom on the earth. And it's the fourth empire then, the Roman empire, that is going to be existing at the time that Christ will return to set up the kingdom of God. Okay, well, on your chart, then, we're going to skip over Daniel chapter 8 and come on ahead to Revelation chapter 13. We come into the New Testament and guess what? We find a reference back to these to these beasts in Daniel 7. And from there you could extend it to say back to Daniel chapter 2 to those four empires as well. But in Revelation chapter 13, we then pick it up, we pick up the story here at the time of the end when there is going to be, again, a Roman empire that is going to unite in Europe. One final revival. Those toes will somehow get together for a short period of time as a political union. In chapter 13 verse 1, I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns. Well, we didn't read that in Daniel 7, but that you can find the seven heads and the ten horns mentioned there in that chapter. On his horns ten crowns and on his heads a blasphemous name. Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard. Oh, that's the third beast of Daniel 7. His feet were like the feet of a bear. That's like the second beast. And his mouth like the mouth of a lion, like the first beast. And the dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. And so this is talking here especially about a final revival of this system. Notice in verse 5 that he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemous, and he was given authority to continue for 42 months. 42 months is three and one half years. So this is one of those verses that indicates that the great tribulation, the whole period there from the time of the, including the time of the great tribulation, the heavenly signs, and the day of the Lord is going to be a three and one half year period. 42 months. This system then is going to come to power and it is going to actually then persecute and it is going to cause death and destruction on the earth.

Now there's going to be a religious aspect associated with this system, and that is mentioned in the second beast here in Revelation 13 beginning in verse 11. This second beast had two horns like a lamb, but he spoke as a dragon. Oh, here's a religious system represented by the lamb, but it speaks like a dragon because it is a false religious system. And you can go on down to see that there were great signs and wonders performed by this beast, and this beast causes everyone, verse 16, small and great, rich and poor, free and enslaved to receive a mark on their right hand or in their foreheads, that no one may buy or sell except one has the mark or the name of the beast or the number of his name. And it goes on to say that here's he that has understanding to calculate the number of the beast for the number of it's the number of a man his number is 666.

Now we don't understand all aspects of the mark of the beast. You can read our booklet on the book of Revelation Unveiled. Well, we do know that there's going to rise up a religious system that is going to force people to worship this way of false religion, or they will not be able to do business to buy or to sell. There will be compulsion placed upon human beings to cooperate and be a part of this false worship, or else they will not be able to buy or sell. Just how the 666 and how the mark of the beast will manifest itself in all of its aspects we don't claim to know exactly yet.

Time will tell just how that will manifest itself. But we keep watching and we know that it will happen. So this system is going to rise up in Europe. There will be 10 nations. Finally, that is confirmed in Revelation chapter 17. And again, this is on your chart. You can read on down.

The verses are given in the scriptures, each of these chapters. And in Revelation chapter 17, there is this great false church religious system. That would tie in with the second beast of Revelation 13. And this religious system sits over mountains. It says in verse 9, the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. There are seven kings, five are fallen.

One is, the other is not yet come. And so this refers then to something yet to come into future.

And in verse 12, we read about this final revival in Europe. The ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet. And that's about where we are now.

There are ten kings that have not really received a kingdom yet. They've not really put it all together. But they receive authority for one hour. And we believe that to mean just a short period of time, maybe that three and one half year period, you know, this is going to be a short-lived system, isn't it? It's only about a three and a half year period or so that they will have power. But to receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast. These are of one mind.

So they will come together and they will give their power and authority to the beast.

So ten nations, or maybe groups of nations possibly. Just all the ways this might be fulfilled, but there are ten that are going to give their power and their authority to a strong political military leader called the beast. And notice verse 14, these will make war with the Lamb.

And the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings. And those that are with them are called, chosen, and faithful. Now we read about those who are with them in Revelation chapter 19. And the final destruction of this system is also described in Revelation chapter 19. We might just skip ahead to chapter 19 and see that Christ is going to destroy this system. This is the stone, you might say, the stone of Daniel 2 that strikes this image at the feet. And the feet will be where the ten toes are, these ten kings that are going to eventually unite and give their power to the beast. Well, verse 19, I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their arm is gathered together to make war against him who sat on the horse and against his army.

Then the beast was captured and with them the false prophet. The false prophet would be that second beast of Revelation 13, the one that imposes the mark of the beast. So the beast was captured and with them the false prophet who worked signs in his presence by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and who worshipped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone and the rest were killed with the sword that proceeded from the mouth of him that sat on the horse and the birds filled with their flesh. So, brethren, this shows then Jesus Christ. It shows that fifth empire of Daniel 2 and Daniel 7, Jesus Christ coming to set up God's kingdom on the earth and that stone, remember, fills the whole earth.

The kingdom of God will come then and it will destroy the last remnant of this human governmental system that actually began in the Old Testament times of Daniel and comes all the way forward to the time of the end. And so it will be destroyed and Jesus Christ will set up God's kingdom on the earth. So be sure that you do understand these prophecies in Daniel 2, Daniel 7, Revelation 13, and Revelation 17. Be sure that you do understand them. They are certainly very important as far as a framework of what is going to happen, especially to the nations in Europe. That is important. Those nations right now are not yet together. We know that that's a sign to be watching for. And when those nations do unite, it may be in a time of crisis economically or politically. We don't know exactly the things that may bring these nations together and cause them to coalesce and to give their power to a strong man. But something is going to happen. But it hasn't happened yet. It could happen rather quickly. It could take a little bit of time to develop. So let's keep watching. And until that does happen, we believe that God will continue to give us daylight to proclaim the Gospel, to do the work He's called us to do. The night hasn't quite come yet that no man can work, which Jesus referred to. Meanwhile, we also look at the Middle East. And what a situation we have over in the Middle East. How unstable this region, this whole region has become with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and also the Arab Spring, as they call it in Libya and Egypt and the political civil war. And, boy, a hundred thousand people have been killed in this war. There are two million refugees. Have you looked at some of the camps? They're just living out in a desert-like area.

And here are these tents. And they showed on the TV screen some very precious and sweet little children who were suffering from this war. And your heart just goes out to them. And you long for God's kingdom, which is the solution for their situation. But the Scriptures make it clear that the Middle East is important. Jesus Himself said, when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, and when you see the abomination of desolation stand in the Holy Place, as in the Olivet Prophecy. So we keep watching Jerusalem. And the time is coming, yes, that the little state of Israel is not going to be able to stand. It is going to sub-come to forces, armies that come in from without. Let's read about that in Daniel 11. So we keep watching the Middle East. And that is very important. These events that are happening there, I don't know that we profess to understand exactly how all of this is playing into the fulfillment of end-time prophecy in the Middle East. But we do know that it is leading in that direction. And we'll keep watching.

Just exactly how is it all going to come together there? What's going to precipitate the prophecies that we read about here to be fulfilled? Well, let's read it in Daniel 11.

Verse 40. At the time of the end, the king of the south shall attack him, who? The king of the north.

The king of the north shall come against him. Now, the king of the north would be those nations in Europe, the ten nations that we have just read about. The king of the north and the European nations shall come against him like a whirlwind with chariots. We know in World War II, the Germans have what was called Blitzkrieg, lightning warfare. They moved their units rapidly. They had major highways. They could war. They could move their troops quickly where they wanted them to be.

Well, like a whirlwind with chariots, horsemen and many ships, and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through. He shall also enter the glorious land. And so, the little nation of Israel today, which is a Jewish state, is not going to be able to stand up to the nations of Europe when they come into the Middle East. He shall enter the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown. But it shows certain ones that escaped. Maybe that's because they're allied with the system. He will stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. He shall have power over the treasures of gold and other things, also the Libyans and the Ethiopians, deeper than invasions done into Africa. But then, news from the east and the north. This would indicate China to the east, and maybe India, and the north would indicate Russia.

Shall trouble him. Therefore, he shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many.

So, we believe there may very well be an alliance at first between the nations in Europe and Russia.

There was in World War II. There could be an alliance. And then later, when Russia and China see what these nations are doing, they will begin to actually plot a war against the nations of Europe. And then, so it says here that news from the east and the north will trouble the king of the north, and he will go out with great fury. So, we believe that fits into some of the trumpet plagues, actually, during the day of the Lord. In verse 45, he shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain. So, we believe the beast and the false prophet will at some point move their headquarters to the area here, the glorious holy mountain being Jerusalem. Yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him. So, it's important to understand these prophecies that relate to the Middle East as well. So, we keep watching end-time events in Europe, those ten nations that are to form. And also, the king of the south is going to rise up in the Middle East. Exactly who's going to be the king of the south? From what nation will he be?

Will it be Egypt, as in years past, or as in history? The king of the south was from Egypt.

So, it could be in the end time. We believe it will certainly be from the Middle East. Of course, it will be from the Islamic world. And then the king of the south will make some kind of attack or some kind of push at the king of the north, the nations in Europe. So, these things will take shape and form. What's happening right now in the Middle East is important to watch and how that may play out and develop. At the same time, it's very important that we be watching prophecies that pertain to the United States and Britain, modern Israel. We know that there's going to be a time of captivity, a time of trouble. How might this develop? What kind of problems or repercussions might develop from even now this involvement with Syria? What kind of things could develop?

We're almost committed, it seems like, to save face to have some kind of attack if Congress will authorize the president doing so. So, what kind of repercussions will there be in the Middle East?

What other nations may be drawn in more than ever like Russia, like China, like Iran? So, we should keep watching that as well. How might that play into the time of Jacob's trouble? Let's read about that. Jeremiah 30. Brethren, I tell you we're living in times right now. We see things certainly speeding up, it seems like, as far as the fulfillment of these prophecies. In Jeremiah chapter 30 and verse 3, the days are coming, says the Lord, that I will bring back from captivity.

Oh, they have been in captivity. They'll be brought back. My people Israel and Judah, says the Lord. I will cause them to return from captivity to the land that I gave to their fathers and they shall possess it. Well, this is when God begins to restore Israel and Judah after a time of punishment and captivity. And then it gets back to the punishment and captivity in verse 4.

These are the words that the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah. See the little nation of Israel, which is actually from the tribe of Judah. They will suffer this time of captivity just like the other tribes, just like Ephraim and Manasseh and the other tribes of Israel.

Well, it's concerning Israel and Judah. Thus says the Lord, we've heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. Ask now and see whether a man is ever in labor with child.

So why do I see every man with his hands on his loins like a woman in labor? Because it's such a rough and tough time. All faces turn pale. Alas, for that day is great, so that none is like it.

It is the time of Jacob's trouble, but he shall be saved out of it. So we believe that time of great tribulation, like has never been, is actually the time that that Israel will be in captivity.

The great tribulation and Israel will be punished, and it will be a hard and difficult time for the modern nations of Israel. Well, we see our moral decline. We see our economic problems, and here we are about ready to try to up the debt ceiling and borrow some more money. Give us more than credit. It'd be like you having spent all of your credit allowance on your credit card, so you say, up my limit, and you get several more thousand dollars added where you can go in debt deeper. Is that solving your problem, or is that getting deeper in the hole?

So we see our economic situation. We see our political strength also. How much is the nation going to come together? How much is Washington going to break out of its gridlock and really support or work together as one? Don't expect too much. We see crime and corruption and bloodshed and immorality and acceptance of gay marriage and abortion. Isn't it odd that in Russia and the two nations we're going to for the feast outlaw or have things against gay marriage? It's against the law in Zambia and Zimbabwe for gay marriage. Anybody that wants to go to those countries and be gay, you better watch out. They might be imprisoned up to 15 years.

So, you know, isn't it odd that they are much more in line, really, with God's will that certainly gay marriage is not right? And yet our country wants to just accept it.

These nations, a nation like Russia that has been atheistic, and of course there are, you know, people that believe in God there, but that they actually then do not allow something that we do.

So we are warning our nation, and God will punish for our sins, but then He will deliver. Let's read on down here that in verse 8, it shall come to pass, and that day says the Lord, I will break His yoke from your neck, and I will burst your bonds. Foreigners shall no more enslave them, but they shall serve the Lord their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.

In verse 17 it says, I will restore health to you and heal you of your wounds, because you they called you an outcast, saying this is Zion, no one seeks her. Well, God is going to then have mercy upon Israel. Brother, be sure to understand the prophecies then about Europe, about the Middle East, about modern-day Israel, and I want us to look take a quick look at our second chart that I've handed out, and again we've handed these charts out before, but the seven seals of revelation play right into this day that we are observing, the Feast of Trumpets, and Jesus Christ is going to return at the seventh trumpet. Notice on your chart at the very top it says the seven seals of revelation, and the second line has sacrifices starting at some point. We have felt that that will be the case. There's been talk along that line, and then there is a two and one half year period that, if you look down below, corresponds with the fifth seal and the Great Tribulation, and then there is a one-year period that is the day of the Lord after the heavenly signs. That is, if you skip on down just below, you see the sixth seal is the heavenly signs.

So, looking at the seals of revelation, I don't think we will take time to read them, but the first seal is the white horse, religious deception. The explanation is right down below. The red horse is warfare, and the third seal is the black horse, famine. The verses in Revelation in Matthew 24 are given. The fourth seal is the pale horse, pestilence and death, one-fourth of the population of the earth destroyed by the pale horse. And then the fifth seal, the Great Tribulation, national captivity, and also a martyrdom of God's people. And then the sixth seal, also found in Matthew 24, as well as Revelation 6, the heavenly signs. Again, there are plenty of scriptures that you can turn to about each of these seals. And then finally, look at the seventh seal. What is the seventh seal? Well, the seven trumpets of Revelation beginning in chapter 8 and found in also chapter 9 and then also in chapter 11. And then when you... let's go through these trumpet plagues. And we believe this will be the time of the day of the Lord. The seven trumpets will be the day of the Lord, the time of God's wrath. And it will take perhaps a year, a day represents a year in prophecy quite often in the Bible. Well, the first trumpet, the first trumpet is one-third of the trees and all grass will be burned. One-third, that's a lot of grass and trees. The second trumpet sounds and one-third of the sea becomes blood and one-third of the sea creatures die and one-third of the ships are destroyed. So a lot of destruction by the second trumpet. The third trumpet, one-third of the rivers become wormwood, bitter and poisonous and people die because of that. The fourth trumpet, one-third of the sun, moon and stars darkened. See, these are things that are really going to begin to get man's attention. And yet, he doesn't repent as verses bring out. The fifth trumpet, which is also the first woe.

There are three woes. The locust symbolic of the beast's military power seems to be then those ten nations in Europe that are going to at that point unleash chemical and biological warfare.

The sixth trumpet, an army of 200 million, 200 million we believe to be from the nations to the east, from China, from India, maybe some from Russia. 200 million horsemen, one-third of humanity killed. And humanity yet refuses to repent. That's the second woe. And then, notice the seventh trumpet breaks out into the seven last plagues. And also, just below the seven trumpets, as you come on down to the lower part of the page, about two-thirds of the way down, this is the time, the seventh trumpet for the return of Jesus Christ. And many verses were given. The first plague soars on people who accepted the mark of the beast. These are the seven last plagues.

The second last plague, the sea turns to blood, all the sea creatures die. The third plague, rivers turn to blood. The fourth plague, the sun scorches humanity with great heat, and humanity blasphemes God. And then the fifth plague, the beast's seat of power or government, is afflicted. And the sixth plague, the Euphrates River dried up, and the world's arm is gathered to Armageddon. Oh, we get very close to the coming of Jesus Christ with great power now. And finally, in verse or in the seventh plague, the great earthquake and hail. And finally, Jesus Christ will return to this earth, and the nations will be defeated, as we read previously in Revelation chapter 19. Well, brethren, again, be sure to read and to understand this chart, the seals of Revelation. There's a lot of information, and sometimes a chart can really help in putting these prophecies together, the understanding that God has given to the church. Hold on to this last chart. I'm going to get back to it in just a moment, because there's something on here pertaining to the church that is important for us. I think it is important we've taken a little bit of time here to go over these prophecies, and I think that it certainly is very important that we understand the prophecies that pertain to the end of this age in Daniel 2 and 7, Revelation 13 and 17, and also these prophecies about the seven trumpets leading up to the second coming of Jesus Christ. What about the church? Jesus Christ then certainly has prophecies about the church that we need to consider today. He encouraged the church to watch and to pray. He warned that our love could grow cold.

I tell you, we all should—that should be frightening to us, that our love would not grow cold. Our love for God and our love for His law and our love for His way of life and our love for one another. Jesus warned about the virgins in the parable of the virgins. Five were wise, and they were ready and prepared, and five were not ready and prepared. Five were foolish. And so we need to take warning. He mentioned that there would be a fleeing of the people of God, and that the church would be taken to a place in the wilderness to be protected. I want us to read that in Revelation 12. It is there, just how this might be fulfilled. But earlier Jesus had said, as you're turning to Revelation 12, Jesus had said, watch and pray always that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things. So we believe that God's people will be nourished and protected during this time. And if they are watching and praying always, as Jesus said in Revelation 12 and verse 13, When the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child. And we believe this will be perhaps just before the tribulation begins, that there will be a persecution against the church of God. He persecuted the woman that gave birth to the male child. But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time, and that we believe to be a year and times, two years, and half a time. That's during the three and one half year period then, during the tribulation, from the presence of the serpent. So the woman is nourished in the wilderness. She's given two wings of a great eagle. Some have felt that this means that the woman, the church, will use air flight. You know, we don't know. You know, if God uses air flight, He can do that. But it may just mean that He divinely, supernaturally, provides a way for members of the church that have watched Him pray and takes them to this place. And in the wilderness, we have wondered in the past, would this be Petra in modern-day Jordan? Again, we simply do not know. We have no official position on understanding exactly where this place might be.

Well, we do believe that there is protection for those that do watch Him pray. Does this mean every single man, woman, and child in the church of God? No. Even here in verse 17, it goes on to say that the dragon was enraged with the woman and went to make war with the rest of her offspring.

So there's a remainder of the offspring that obviously are not in this wilderness place, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. So what about these?

Are they ones that did not watch Him pray? Are they ones that let down? Maybe they became lukewarm.

We simply don't know. I have a statement to make on that either. We'll have to wait and see exactly how that will be fulfilled. We believe that it's possible that someone could be very strong and very close to God and be watching and praying and yet could be murdered. For example, the two witnesses are people that obviously are very spiritually minded, close to God, and yet they're going to be murdered. So God could allow someone that is strong spiritually to be murdered. But in general, we believe that God will be nourishing and protecting those who have watched and prayed always that they might be worthy to be accounted worthy to escape all these things, as Jesus said.

So we'll have to see how all of that plays out. We are not in it to save our hide anyway, are we?

And we must be like those described in this 12th chapter of Revelation that did not love their lives unto death. So our life is on the line, and we don't love our lives. We're willing to give our life. Jesus said that He that does not hate His father and mother, brothers and sisters, and His own life also cannot be my disciple. So we must never get into that feeling that God is going to protect me because I'm watching and praying always. We just have to leave that in God's hands, don't we? And walk in faith that God will provide. But He certainly could allow some that are very strong spiritually to be murdered. That could happen. He has in the past Paul was murdered. Many of the apostles were murdered. So many of God's people that have been very strong have been murdered. But we still believe that in general we have this passage here in Revelation 12 that those who do watch and pray, that the broad majority of them, I think that is our belief, will be nourished and protected in this place. So we'll see how all of that plays out. These are thoughts that go through our mind, and we leave it all in God's hands and strive to keep ourselves watching and praying and ready spiritually, ready to meet Christ. After all, we never know, do we?

If we will live to that time, we might die in the meantime. Our life could end any time. And so we should constantly be ready to meet Christ. We should constantly be ready to be watching and praying and spiritually ready for our lives in the hands of Almighty God. I want you to notice something on this chart, the last one, the seven seals of Revelation. Notice on the very bottom that we did not cover the three little block in section sections at the bottom. And if you notice on the left-hand side of these, it says 1335 days, 1290 days, and 1260 days. Let's very quickly throw these into the equation. In Daniel chapter 12, we read about these days that are just very odd numbers, and yet it's good for us as members of the Church of God to read them.

Now they're in the Bible, and we believe we have some understanding on them. In Daniel chapter 12 and in verse 11. From the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away and the abomination of desolation is set up—oh, Jesus spoke about that, didn't He? In the Olivet prophecy. So from the time the daily sacrifice is taken away and the abomination of desolation set up, there shall be 1,290 days—1,290. Well, that's three and a half years plus 30 days. And then it says, blessed is He who waits and comes to the 1,335 days. So as our chart at the bottom shows, the 1,335 we have understood to the best of our ability to understand that organized efforts of God's work to proclaim the gospel to the world ends. No longer able to do the work of God. The night comes when no one can work. The Church's work is not possible to do. 1,290 days sacrifices end. Abomination of desolation set up. Church goes to place of protection.

The place in the wilderness where God will nourish the Church. And then 1,260 days, Jerusalem surrounded. Gentiles overrun the city. Two witnesses begin their prophecy. The Church protected in the wilderness. The beast power rises with rules the earth. You'll notice that these days begin on the left-hand side of this chart at a different time. But they all end at the same time. On the right-hand side, they all end with what? The return of Jesus Christ.

So that's the best of our ability to understand these days. I think it's good for us to understand that. They're in the Bible, and we do strive to understand. We believe, Mr. Armstrong came to believe, that this was the explanation for these days.

Brethren, it's exciting to think about that at the end of these days, the righteous saints will be resurrected, and the ones who are living will be caught up with them in the air to meet the returning Jesus Christ. We've heard quite a few verses read earlier from 1 Thessalonians 4 about meeting Christ up in the air. And in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, we read that flesh and blood cannot inherit God's kingdom. But Paul went on to say, I'll show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep.

Not everyone is going to die, not all Christians. But we shall all be changed in a moment, just instantaneously. And in the twinkling of an eye, he went on to say, changed from mortal to immortal. Can you imagine that? Being human is possible, some of us right here will live to the second coming of Christ. And we will be mortal one moment and instantaneously become spirit the next. It's going to be a wonderful thing, isn't it? That will happen to some of God's people that live to the second coming of Christ. Regardless whether we live until the coming of Christ or whether we die and rest until the resurrection, then what's it going to be like to rise up in the air and meet Jesus Christ?

To suddenly start rising up in the air, no longer human.

Just a brand new glorified spirit body. What's it going to be like to look around and see thousands and thousands of others? Maybe angels are kind of beckoning all of us to come on this way because angels are going to gather the elect from the four winds to the returning Jesus Christ. His feet are going to stand upon the Mount of Olives, so where is He going to come down? Well, He went from the cloud up into the clouds of heaven from the Mount of Olives. He's going to come back down the same way. So the angels will gather the elect from the four winds to where Jesus Christ is returning.

What's it going to be like to see Jesus Christ for the first time? And to greet Him, and to be greeted by Him, and to have Him say to you and to others, well done, good and faithful servants, welcome to the family of God. I think there's no way that we can begin to describe what that's going to be like, but today we celebrate in advance that time when that will happen, and we will be changed instantly from flesh to spirit, and we will have no more struggle like we do now at that time. Our victory will be complete. For then we must not fail. We must be there.

Conditions in the world will continue to grow worse and worse, and today we brought out some of the things to be looking for. If our nation doesn't repent, then we still ourselves must come out and be separate and repent and do God's will, hold fast to His laws, put away all evil and wickedness, and use God's spirit to perfect holiness and the fear of God. If we do, God may hide us during the troubles ahead, but most of all we will be ready to meet Christ as He returns.

So yes, I encourage all of us to examine ourselves this fall Holy Day season, and we must go on enduring and overcoming, keep our faith strong, our eyes and hope on God's kingdom, spending sufficient time in prayer and study and meditation, and watching continuously and being continuously ready to meet Christ.

We'll read two passages in conclusion. Let's go to Revelation chapter 19.

Revelation chapter 19. If we do prepare and are made ready, then it's going to be a wonderful thing to happen to us along with other of the first fruits. In Revelation 19 and verse 6, I heard the voice of a great multitude, the sound of many waters as the sound of mighty thundering, saying, Alleluia for the Lord God omnipotent reigns. The time has come for what this day represents. Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His wife has made herself ready. That means we are growing and overcoming and being made ready spiritually. We are watching and praying always. To her was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright. It shows really what is going on in our lives now, being cleaned up and having the Holy Character of God in us. For the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

And He said to me, Right, blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb.

And the second passage is in chapter 20. In the first three verses, we find an angel comes down and binds Satan for a thousand years. This we know is represented by the next Holy Day, the Feast of or the Day of Atonement. That's a spiritual feast day.

I saw thrones and they sat on them, verse 4, and judgment was committed to them.

Here we have then the coming of Christ and the resurrection of God's people that have been prepared and made ready. They lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. That jumps ahead to the last great day. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is He who has part in the first resurrection.

Over such the second death as no power, for they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. A thousand years represents the millennium, which is pictured by the Feast of Tabernacles just ahead.

Yes, brethren, we must be there. We must continue then growing and developing and overcoming.

So let's rejoice in the holy days in this month of September. Do worship and draw close to Almighty God. Do rejoice and be thankful and pray for the safety of God's people around the world.