When God Holds Court

You go stand before Pharaoh. You tell him what I have to say, and I'm going to be there backing you up all the way. Notice with me Exodus 7, verses 1 through 5. Exodus 7, verses 1 through 5. And the Lord said to Moses, Look, see, I have made you a God to Pharaoh. I'm going to put the kind of power there. You're going to be like a God to him in that sense, a being that has a lot of power. And Aaron your brother shall be your prophet. You shall speak all that I command you. And Aaron your brother shall speak to Pharaoh that he and the children of Israel, that he send the children of Israel out of his land. And I will harden or allow to be hardened. Pharaoh's hard and multiply my slimes. Multiply my slimes and wonders in the land of Egypt. The Pharaoh shall not hearken to you, that I may lay my hand upon Egypt and bring forth mine armies. And my people, the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord. When I stretch forth my hand upon Egypt and bring out the children of Israel from among them, God was going to hold court. Egypt was a type of sin. Pharaoh was a type of the devil. God was going to render judgment. Moses and Aaron were his two witnesses to bear his testimony. They were God's instruments. Well, hold up, Mr. Bain. Don't you have your holy days mixed up? Aren't you preaching something that's a spring holy day season sermon? We're in the fall. Have you ever read the Scripture about, I am the Lord, I change not? Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever. Look at what God's done in the past and look at what He's going to do in the future. Look at what God did in the past and look at what God's going to do in our age, the same God. See, the reality is that God held court and He called His two witnesses and judgment was rendered. That's what a court is. It is a place where testimony is given and judgment is rendered. And a witness is one who bears testimony. God's witness bears His testimony. And God bore His witness, His testimony, through His witnesses, Moses and Aaron in the court of Pharaoh. So, God sent His two witnesses and they began to bear testimony and God backed them. Notice again, right here in Exodus 7 and beginning in verse 10, and Moses and Aaron went into Pharaoh. They did so as the Lord had commanded and Aaron, Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants and it became a serpent.

Then Pharaoh also called the wise man and the sorcerers. Now, the magicians of Egypt, they also did and like men are with their enchantments. In verse 12, for they cast down every man his rod and they became scorpions.

We've got the same power. Oh, yeah? But Aaron's rod swallowed up their rod, showed the greater power.

And as we know from being very familiar with that entire account, God kept turning up the power more and more and more. Ten plagues in all until He had rendered judgment on the land of Egypt, hadn't He? But, you know, during this time of testimony, Pharaoh, a type of the devil, of course, Pharaoh's dead, long since been dead. The devil's not dead. He was around then.

He's around now and he's going to be around for a while yet. But Pharaoh, a type of the devil, well, he had his own two witnesses. He had his own instruments. And again, we know that if we look at 2 Timothy 3.8, 2 Timothy 3 and verse 8, we know that Paul named them. The names were known, two of them. Not saying there weren't more, maybe, but there were two that were the two prime witnesses for the devil, for Pharaoh.

Now, as Janneas and Jambres with said Moses, you have the two of the opposition named Janneas and Jambres with said Moses, so do these also resist the truth. Men of corrupt minds reprobate concerning the faith. But it's interesting we have the names of them. See, here's part of the reality of this world and just the reality period. When the land fills up with sin, God holds court and he renders judgment because that's His nature. That's His way. When the land fills up with sin, God holds court and renders judgment. Genesis 6, there is so much about that world we do not know.

Previous to the flood. But the things we do know are very significant.

In Genesis 6, verses 5 through 7, as you progress in time through more and more being born and growing up in a very corrupt time, and the corruptions increasing and increasing and increasing, and the closer you got to the time that God was going to have to bring a flood upon them and start over, it was getting worse and worse and worse. And God saw that the wickedness of man, Genesis 6, verse 5, God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth. Now, the King James, the way it's worded a lot of times, it kind of understates. But yeah, we can express it with a whole lot more magnification than that for that matter.

The wickedness of man was great. Yeah, it was great. It was so great that God, well, we'll just read on the rest here. And that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually, and it repented the Lord. That is, that he felt bad. He felt emotionally sick. God has emotions. It saddened him. It thickened him. He felt sorrow over having created man because of what he saw man doing to himself. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy man. Now, he didn't say, I'm going to wipe out mankind and be no more men, no more men, no more women, no more mankind. No. He was going to start over. And like he started with Adam and Eve, he was going to start over with a righteous man and his family. Noah, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast and the creeping thing and the files of the air, for it repents me that I have made them. I'm going to have to start over. And what did he do? Well, in one sense, he can I like held court for 120 years. If you look at verse 3, verse 3, and the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for he also is flesh, yet his days shall be...

And I don't know how else to read this other than reading it that God determined he would give another 120 years of time before the Flood. That's how I read it. I don't know any other way to read it. Yet his days shall be 120 years. So I'm going to give him that much more time. And Noah and the ark were his witness and testimony. How do you think about it?

The ark itself was a witness. If you understand all the ramifications of building an ark out there where there's no water to float it. That itself was a witness. It's a testimony. It got attention.

And then there was a speaking witness by the name of Noah. And he was speaking a message of repentance.

He was speaking a message of the coming Kingdom of God. He was speaking a message of God's paying up a kingdom on this earth in due time. He was speaking a message of righteousness. And by the way, during that 120 years and before that 120 years, for that matter with Noah, he was keeping trumpets. He was keeping atonement. He was keeping the holy days because they were instituted from the beginning. That's something that escaped some people, but they were. They were instituted from the beginning. So you could say, well Noah and the ark he was building, both Noah's preaching and the testimony of the ark itself was bearing, the visual testimony. Those were two witnesses. But don't leave out the fact that you could also bring in Enoch because he was preaching the great-grandson. Noah was Enoch's great-grandson. They were both preachers of righteousness and they both were preaching. If you know where to go, it's in Jude. The message that Enoch was preaching was a message of judgment on the world, that God was going to render judgment and that he was coming with thousands of saints.

Enoch was the first fruit. So you had both Noah and Enoch. Enoch at a previous time, and then Noah, but you had them both in that sense as two witnesses bearing testimony.

When Solomon and Gomorrah filled up with sin, God rendered judgment.

What does it say in Genesis 19 and verse 1? Now, remember Christ and the angels with him had appeared to Abraham just previous to this. And then in Genesis 19 verse 1, And there came two angels to Sodom at evening time.

Two. Interesting. Two witnesses. It's God's pattern. It's God's way of working.

And verse 4 says, But before they lay down that night, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round about, both young and old, and came from every quarter. And verse 5, they called to Lot and said to him, Where are the men which came in? Where are the men?

Those two angels appeared as human beings, as men, when they came in. But again, I'm focusing mainly on the part of two. What's happening with the earth today? What's happening with this nation? What's happening with the world? It's filling up with sin again.

The world is filling up with sin. Our nation is becoming more and more corrupt. We're coming again to the condition man was previous to the flood. Not as extensive, not as heavy duty yet, but the same things and the same type of things. And when you look at what's happening even in this land of the brave and the home of the free and the brave and all of that, when you look at this land and what they want to do to our three-year-olds and four-year-olds and five-year-olds, the corruptions, I hope we all realize just how bad it actually, the forces, there are forces, what they're wanting to do to our kids. Few old folks just die off, get out of the way.

We're not worried about you because you're too set in your ways. We're targeting the kids. We're going to bring up generations that will love the corruptions we love, that will be perverted and not realize its perversion. They'll just think of it as normal. They'll accept perversion as normal.

No, the earth is filling up with sin again. And we're coming again to the condition that man was previous to the flood, only this time with the power to destroy ourselves. Putin is threatening. Now, we're not about to have World War III, but Putin is threatening to use nuclear weaponry in this battle with Ukraine. And what's the world doing right now? They're kind of scared that, hey, hey, look, let's be careful. Let's not escalate this into World War III, nuclear holocaust. Well, we're not about to have nuclear holocaust. I'm not saying there won't be or couldn't be some tactical nuclear weapons used, but it's not time yet for the world to start growing up in flames, literally.

No. Earth prophecies that have yet got to be filled first. Once again, we're coming to a time of judgment. Notice with me Psalm 82, verse 8. Psalm 82, verse 8. See, this day, this Feast of Trumpets is about judgment. It's about witnessing. It's about two witnesses, for that matter.

Psalm 82, verse 8. The psalmist says, David says, Arise, O God, judge the earth, for you shall inherit all nations. He's going to inherit all nations.

He's going to judge them. He's going to rule them. And as we say in the vernacular, he's going to have to break some heads first. And for the heads he has to break first, he will break those heads first. Isaiah 13, verse 11.

And I will punish the world for their evil. That's what he did with the noation flood.

And he's going to have to do it again, not wipe out mankind this time.

He will intervene in time to save remnants of the nations. Yes.

But he's going to punish the world for their evil and the wicked for their iniquity.

And I will cause the arrogance of the proud, the feasts, and will lay low the haultiness of the terrible. Revelation 11, verse 18. Again, talking about having to break some heads first.

And that's entailed in the meaning of what this day is about. Revelation 11, verse 18.

Now I'll read the whole verse and then focus on the breaking head part, you might say.

And the nations were angry, and your wrath has come in the time of the dead that they should be judged or ruled, and that you should give reward to your servants, the prophets, and to the saints.

That time has come. Of course, this day, pictures when the wonderful, joyful part of this day is the part of us being taken from mortality into immortality. To be removed from the susceptibility to breakage, and tiredness, and disease, and heartache, and headache, and all of that.

To be moved into a life form that is so full of energy you can't imagine it.

Perfect control of mind, of thought, of word, of deed.

A thousand, a million times better than the best days of your life in this life.

The joy of receiving eternal life and being in a form, a composition, that truly, in every sense of the word, is perfect. A wonder beyond our ability to fully grasp. We only can get a taste of it, you might say. And then they fear His name, your name, and great.

And notice, in as far as the breaking heads part, and should destroy them which destroy the earth.

That's why it's coming back with a rod of iron. Coming back with a rod of iron to put a stop to those who are in the process of destroying the earth. And the Scripture is very plain that, at the time Christ returns, if God the Father chose not to send Him at the right time for physical salvation of the planet, the planet would become extinct. There would be nothing left here.

Trumpets involves a time when God holds court with and before the whole world. So if you want a title when God holds court, because that's what this day is about.

When God holds court. Well, when is God going to hold court in our day? He's going to hold court in the period of time that this day pictures.

Because the Feast of Trumpets very specifically pictures what's called in the Bible the Day of the Lord. That's what it is. When you say the Feast of Trumpets, that is synonymous with the Day of the Lord. That is what the Feast of Trumpets is all about. The Day of the Lord.

It's not about before. It's not about after. It's about the Day of the Lord. And what transpires in the Day of the Lord? And the Day of the Lord is made up prophetically of seven trumpets. There were seven angels that God lined up and He gave each one a trumpet. And they were to sound them when God gives the signal for them to begin. They sound them in sequence until you get to the seventh one. And the seventh one is our joy. The seventh one is when we leave the realm of matter and become immortal. That happens at the seventh one. That's right at the end of the Day of the Lord. But let's look at Joel 2. Joel 2, I'll give you time to find it.

Right after Hosea.

Joel 2 in verse 1, "... blow you the trumpet in Zion." Feast of Trumpets. And as I always like to point out, it's not the Feast of Trumpet singular. It's plural, Feast of Trumpets. And Revelation reveals that there are seven. But you blow one at a time and in sequence. And the Day of the Lord, a day for a year, the Day of the Lord is basically a year long.

"... blow you the trumpet in Zion and sound an alarm." Because the trumpet was often used to sound the alarm. "... and sound an alarm in my holy mountain. Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble." You know, let them tremble. Let them be alarmed and tremble. For the Day of the Lord comes for it is nigh at hand.

It's something that causes trembling. It causes fear.

It shakes people up. It's alarming. Verse 2, a day of darkness.

If we understand what's unleashed on this day, yeah, we know why it's called a day of darkness.

And of gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness as the morning spread upon the mountains, a great people and a strong, because it's also going to be a time when there are great militaries getting ready to fight it out with each other in a way that's going to wind up annihilating the earth.

And again, Christ will be spent back in time that it won't come to that fruition, that result.

A great people and a strong, there has not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations. And then verse 11, Joel 2, and verse 11, And the Lord shall utter His voice before His army.

For His camp is very grateful, He is strong that executes His word, for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible, and who can handle it? Who can stand it? Who can abide by it?

Now, with that thought in mind, just keep Joel there in mind about how that day is described, the day of the Lord, and then correspond it to Revelation 6, verses 16 and 17. Revelation 6, verses 16 and 17.

In Revelation 6, in the progression of the prophetic events, and we're coming down to the day of the Lord, verse 16, speaking of human beings and their response and reaction, where they said to the mountains and rocks, fall on us, bury us, fall on us, hide us from the face of Him that sits on the throne, and from what? The wrath of the Lamb, from the anger and the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day, the great day of His wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand? I tell you who stands, the repentant, those who humble themselves, and they repent, and they turn in obedience to God, and they say nothing is worth putting before you. Not Him, not her, not material goods, not material things. Who shall be able to stand? Those who stay in their sins will not be able to stand. So, as I said, that will last approximately one year. But let me make something clear. By the time we get to this point, that the day of the Lord is about to be unleashed, starting with the blowing of the first trumpet, God will already have been holding court for two and a half years already. He doesn't start holding court at that point. He's already been holding court for two and a half years.

Up to that point already. Zechariah 4, verses 1-4. And I'm not going to flesh out or detail out everything in terms of His two witnesses, but I'm going to hit some significant points. God hasn't changed the way He works. He hasn't changed the way He holds court. Zechariah 4, verses 1-4. And the angel that talked with me came again, and he awakened me as the man that has awakened out of his sleep. And he said to me, verse 2, What do you see? And I said, Well, the prophet said, I've looked, and behold, a candlestick, all of gold. Of course, we know a candlestick is a church. Revelation 1 defines candlestick as church, God's church. And a bowl upon the top of it, and a bowl is to hold something. And there's seven lamps there on, and seven pipes to the seven lamps which are upon the top thereof. And in verse 3, he says, and two olive trees. Olive trees, olive oil.

Olive oil has always been used as the symbol of God's Spirit, and of healing. Two olive trees by it, one's on the right side of the bowl, and the other on the left side. So I answered and spoke to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my Lord? Can you or will you define who these two olive trees are? Verse 14, then he said, These are the two anointed ones, sons of oil. In other words, having His Spirit converted, extremely deeply converted, humbled before God. God's instruments, witnesses, these are the two anointed ones that stand by the Lord, that represent Him, that are standing as instruments for Him of the whole earth. The whole earth. This is an earth-wide court. It's going to be an earth-wide court. It's not just going to be limited to the land of Egypt. It's going to be in the face of the whole world.

Not just against Pharaoh, but in the face of whatever forms of world government and all of that that's going on. So, these are the two anointed ones, sons of oil, as it can be rendered in the Hebrew, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth. Who stood in the land of Israel? The land of Egypt? You know, Israel is captives there. Moses and Aaron. They were the sons of oil there. They were the two witnesses there. And those actual events are also typologies and parallels and revealings of how God works and how He's going to work here in the end time. Now, it's not going to be Moses and Aaron. They're dead. And they're waiting the blowing of the seventh trumpet, just like others who are not consciously waiting. You know, the dead don't know anything, but they went to their death knowing the next consciousness they would have beyond death is when that seventh trumpet is blowing and they're rising to meet the returning Lord. Anyway, these are the two anointed ones. Then, if you go to Revelation 11, verses 3 and 4, Revelation 11, verses 3 and 4, these two anointed ones are spoken of right here in Revelation, Revelation verses 3 and 4, chapter 11. And I will give power to my two witnesses. Now, notice the length of time that they do their preaching or their testimony. And they shall prophesy or preach, or that is, give their testimony, a thousand, two hundred, and three score, that is sixty days, clothed in sackcloth, because they're going to have to be two men who are extremely humble and yielded in God's hands, because of what God is going to do through them, clothed in sackcloth, and also as a sign of fasting and mourning, because it is a day of gloominess that's coming, plus it's a very gloomy time that they're preaching during. But that is three and a half years. That is three.

You have the term 1260 years in some places. You have the term years, year and a half, which is three and a half years in some places. Then you have the term 42 months used in some places, which is all the same corresponding time period, just expressed differently, but it's three and a half years. In verse 4, notice, what did we read back in Zechariah 4? Verse 14, where it says, these are the two anointed ones. And in verse 3, the two olive trees. And here in Revelation 4, it says, these are the two olive trees. It identifies what's being talked about in Zechariah 4 and talked about in Revelation 11 here. Same two beings prophesied in the Old Testament and prophesied in the New. These were the two olive trees and the two candlesticks standing before the guide of the earth, of the whole earth. And it's going to be an earth-wide testimony. This final court in man's age will cover both the great tribulation and the day of the Lord. Chronologically, the great tribulation starts. It is going to run for three and a half years, but when it gets to the two and a half year point, at that point in time, even as the great tribulation has another year to go, at that point in time, the day of the Lord begins and runs parallel with the last year of the great tribulation.

You might keep your finger in Revelation. I'm going to be coming back into Revelation, but I'm going back to Joel 2. In this time, verse 12. In Joel 2 and verse 12, verse 11, it finished by saying, who can abide it? Who can stand it? Who's going to be able to handle that? And then verse 12 says, Therefore also now, says the Lord, turn you even to me with all your heart. In other words, like I said, those who repent, those who repent, turn you even to me with all your heart. Turn, repent, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning.

In verse 13, rend your heart, rend your heart and not your garments, and turn to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness, and repent from the evil. That is the calamity. If you turn, if you turn, and if you go back to Revelation with me, there will be fruit born. If you look at Revelation 7 and verse 9, in Revelation 7 and verse 9, during this time of great tribulation, and specifically the first two and a half years in particular, but after this I beheld and lo, a great multitude which no man could number. Verse 9, of all nations, kindreds, people, tongues, stood before the throne, before the Lamb clothed with white robes and palms in their hands. It's referencing those who have repented during that time, and those are not the church now. Those are those who become part of the church during that time. Just like if you look at verses 2 and 3 and 4 here, chapter 7, verses 2, 3, and 4. And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying, Hurt not the earth, neither to the sea nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God, and therefore it's. This is at the two and a half year point of the great tribulation. This is dealing with those who during that period of time have repented and are repenting. And what God does first is He focuses on the Israelite-ish nations. They're about to be sealed. They're about to be converted. They're about to be given His Spirit. The day of the Lord is about to begin, and they're going to have a certain measure of protection during that which is about to be unleashed. And He first deals with Israel. These are not those who are converted right now, you and me and others. These are those who are converted during that time.

And I heard the number of them which were sealed. There was still 144,000 of all the tribes of the children of Israel. And the church today is made up of black, white, yellow, red, brown, of all peoples, wherever God's called. Here, these are specifically of Israel that are converted.

And then it breaks it down by the tribes here. And then after it does that, it talks about a great multitude because it's not just Israel that's repenting. God starts in mentioning them. But then there's a whole bunch more here from all nations and all. And if you look at verse 13, one of the elders answered saying to me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes, symbol of righteousness? And where did they come from? And I said to him, Sir, you know.

And he said to me, notice, These are they which came out of great tribulation and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

There will be fruit born by God through the two witnesses who preach for two and a half years of the great tribulation. And the day of the Lord is about to begin where God very specifically begins to add to or pour add to the great tribulation or pour out, however you want to word it, his wrath. But what are we dealing with? We're dealing with world court.

We're dealing with world court. This is God's testimony through the two witnesses before the entire world. It's undeniable and it's unstoppable. It can't be stopped. Revelation 11 again, right here, verses 3-6, and I will give power. And when he says power, he means power. There's no way God would give the power that He's going to give to any man, any individual who's got pride, ego, vanity, because pride and ego and vanity could not handle that kind of power and would not make wise choices in the use of that. Because if you know the account, we'll just read it here.

I'll give power to my two witnesses and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and three score days clothed in sack law. Again, these are the two olive trees, the two candles stick standing for the God of the earth. And if any man will hurt them, fire proceeds out of their mouth and devours their enemies. And if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.

Someone sent to take them? They're just consumed right into smoking ashes in front of all the cameras. These have power, notice, these have power to strut heaven that it rained not in the days of their prophecy. And they have power over waters to turn them to blood and smite the earth with all plagues as often as they will. Again, in a much lesser way, what God did through Moses and Aaron.

Just as powerful, but in a limited area, limited area, limited way, and this is going to be the same thing on a global basis. Verse 7-10, and it was given to him, hold on, my page flipped on me. Verse 7 of this same chapter, verse 10, and when they shall have finished their testimony, verse 7, the beast that is finished out of the bottomless pit, or the abyss, shall make war against them, and shall overcome them and kill them. And their dead bodies, the two witnesses, shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually, spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified, naming Jerusalem like Sodom and Egypt because of the sins and all that are there and the corruption. And they of the people in kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and a half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves, and they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry and send gifts one to another, because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. Years ago, a member told me about someone that the member knew, and someone that the member knew had a demon. And the person one day told the member, just simply told the member, said, someday we are going to fight. And here's the demon speaking. He said, someday we're going to fight, and you're going to win, but we'll fight anyway.

And you think about that. Someday we're going to fight, and you're going to win, but we're going to fight anyway. Remember of Janice and Jambres, just as Moses and Aaron were God's two witnesses, Pharaoh had his own. The devil had his own. And just as God will have his two witnesses in the wrap-up of man's age, so will Satan have his own too. We refer to them as the beast and the false prophet, don't we? You know, a tremendous court, now don't you think about this, a tremendous court is going to be in session for three and a half years. There's going to be a fire display. There's going to be a display of signs and wonders and counter signs and wonders in the eyes of the world for three and a half years. Some of us, right now in this room, some of us won't be around to see that, but some of us in this room are, I'm sure, going to be alive to see that happen when it does. The whole world is going to have a ringside view.

Revelation 13, verses 4 and 5, Revelation 13, verses 4 and 5, and they worship the dragon which gave power to the beast.

God is going to allow Satan to exercise more power than what he is currently exercising. Satan does not exercise all the power he has because he's restrained to a degree, but some of the restraints are going to be removed for a time.

And they worship the dragon which gave power to the beast, and they worship the beast saying, who is like to the beast? Who is like this the beast because who is able to make war with him? He is so powerful and all.

And there was given to him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies and power, notice the timing or the time frame, the length, and power was given to him to continue 42 months. That's the three and a half years. Verse 7, And it was given to him to make war with the saints, to overcome them, and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations, and all that dwelt upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb, the Lamb's plain from the foundation of the world. And verse 13 and 14, verse 13, And he does great wonders, so that he makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the spite of men. Okay, fire comes forth from the two witnesses, consumes those who try to take them or harm them.

But the beast's power and the great false prophet, they're able to call down fire too.

And what are the two witnesses preaching?

They're preaching the same thing that we are preaching today.

They're going to be preaching repentance and the keeping of God's law.

The Amen body of God! We are going to learn how to make running this day,orgary, wordless.

Are you familiar with the same truth? As Moses was familiar with, Aaron was, we are today. And deceived them, verse 14, and deceived them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles, which he had power to do in the sight of the beast, saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast which had the wound by his sword and did live. Keep your finger in Revelation, and I'll come back. Daniel 7. Daniel 7. And verse 8, I considered the horns, and behold, I came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots, and behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouse speaking great things. Again, I said I'm not going to flesh out or detail out everything. There's a lot involved here. But this little horn, and look at verse 20, here in Daniel 7, verses 20 and 21. And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell, even of that horn that had eyes and a mouth, that little horn, that spoke very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellow's. Verse 21, I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints. I could rap it to say the beast and the false prophet. But let's singular it out to the false prophet, who's backed up by the beast's power. Because that's who the little horn is going to make war with the saints and prevailed against them. In verse 25, and he shall speak great words against the most high, and shall wear out the saints of the most high, and think to change times and laws. And notice this, and they shall be given unto his hand unto a time singular, times plural. That's true. And the dividing of the time are half. That's three and a half years. Again, you're 1260, you're 42 months, you're three and a half years, you're time, times, and the dividing of a time. I might come back to Daniel. I won't say that for sure I won't. But in Revelation 18, Revelation 18, in verse 23, during the day of the Lord, with all this going on, some of it obviously already going on, two and a half years previous, right up to the time that the day of the Lord begins with the blowing of the trumpets and God's wrath to begin to break heads, so to speak. In Revelation 18, verse 23, says, The light of a candle shall shine no more at all in you. The voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in you. For your merchants were the great men of the earth, for by your sorceries were all nations deceived. We're talking about a global impact, a global situation, with the false prophet and the beast power and the court that God will hold, to be countering that is global.

Second Thessalonians, and I'm going to come back to Revelation also, but Second Thessalonians 2.

Second Thessalonians 2, verses 8 and 9.

And then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of what? His coming. Even Him whose coming is after the working of Satan, with all power and signs and lying wonders.

There have always been types, but this is the ultimate fulfillment of a great false prophet, wicked one, supported and backed by a great beast power. And He will be destroyed at the return of Jesus Christ, which occurs at the blowing of the seventh trumpet. Keep your finger here. I'm coming right back to Second Thessalonians. Again, Revelation 11 and verse 7. And when they, the two witnesses, shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them.

Because, again, the great false religion has always used military power behind it to carry out its will, and shall overcome them and kill them. Now, again, I'll keep my finger there in Revelation. But back in Second Thessalonians 2 and verse 4, this wicked one, this false prophet, this little horn, who opposes and exalts himself, verse 4, Second Thessalonians 2, above all that is called God. He's higher than all of it.

Exalts himself higher. Or that is worshiped so that he, as God, sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Certainly, in this mighty display of power and counter-power, for two and a half years, and then for another year, and then at the end of that, when the testimony of the two witnesses is finished, and they're allowed to be killed, and their dead bodies lie in the street of Jerusalem, for three and a half days.

Certainly, by that time, at the latest, this wicked one will claim to be God, because obviously his power is greater, because he has won out. Back in Revelation 11, in verse 11, And after three days and a half, the Spirit of life from God enters into them the two witnesses, and they stood upon their feet, and great fear fell upon them which saw them.

Because they're being resurrected, and they're going to spend to meet the returning Christ. I want to go back to Daniel 7 and read there as we wrap this up. Daniel 7, again, reading again, verse 25 of Daniel 7, And he shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws, and they shall be given into his hand to a time and times and the dividing of a time. Verse 26, But the judgment shall sit, the judgment of God that's coming, the rulership of God, and they shall take away they.

And if you understand what it's saying, God, Christ, and the resurrected saints shall take away His dominion to consume and destroy it to the end. I might interject something here. If Mr. Taylor spoke on some of this in his message, there in Psalm, if you look with me where we were during his message, one of the places, Psalm 149.

Psalm 149, where verse 6, Psalm 149 verse 6, Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, but two edges toward in their hand, to execute vengeance. He read this, to execute vengeance upon the heathen and punishments upon the people, to bind their kings with chains and their nobles with fetters of iron. Christ will break heads. He'll do the necessary breakage. When that seventh trumpet sounds, we, our ascent into the clouds to meet the returning Christ, occurs. Whether we are brought from the grave or we're changed while we stand alive on our feet, we meet the returning Christ.

At the sounding of that seventh trumpet. But that seventh trumpet also unleashes what's called the seven last plagues that have yet to be poured out as a grand finale upon wayward mankind. When those are poured out, we're not human anymore. We are spirit beings with Christ. When those last, those seven last plagues are poured out, we are with Christ and His holy angels as those plagues are being poured out. And so Psalm 149 in verse 9 is actually speaking to that when it says, to execute upon them the judgment written, this honor have all His thanks.

It's an honor to be part of that. It's an honor to be with Him at that time and that's why that is speaking of. I'll just conclude and say God has held court before. The biggest court of all is yet to be held. And some of us will have a ringside seat. But whether we're in the grave or alive, a day of clouds and gloominess is coming, but on the other side of it is a bright and beautiful, wonderful new world.