The Wonderful Feast of Trumpets

In our Holy Day booklet, God's Holy Day Plan, The Promise of Hope for All Mankind, there is a chapter for each of the seven Holy Days thoroughly explaining the meaning of that Holy Day. There's a chapter for the one coming up this coming Monday, the Feast of Trumpets. I just want to quote from the very beginning of that chapter, the Feast of Trumpets introduces the autumn festivals, representing the culmination of the present age of man and the beginning of an incredible time during which God will play a much more direct part in world events. The Feast of Trumpets heralds the intervention of God in the affairs of humanity on a global basis. This Holy Day represents a dramatic turning point in world history. The Feast of Trumpets depicts nothing less than the return of Jesus Christ to earth to establish the Kingdom of God. Yes, this Feast pictures a turning point in human history and the end of this present evil age with all of its pain and suffering, and at the beginning with the dramatic and powerful Second Coming of Jesus Christ. I wonder if we can imagine in our minds nations at war and mankind actually about ready to destroy himself to annihilate human life from this earth and destroy this beautiful planet that God created. Can we imagine nations gathered ready to unleash nuclear weapons and destruction that would cause the end of human life? Then suddenly, unexpectedly, the visible appearance of somebody from outer space, Jesus Christ, to defeat the nations gathered around Jerusalem. Furthermore, because this is a part of the Feast of Trumpets, can you envision yourself having overcome and rising up in the air as a spirit being to meet the returning Jesus Christ? What is that going to be like? Brethren, this day that we will be now celebrating beginning tomorrow evening is an amazing day. And it's the day we and our children and our families need to appreciate and to understand. We need to see how relevant this day is to the world that we live in. Yes, the problems of today are getting out of control. And man would come to the point that he would use those nuclear weapons. Many nations have them stored up. And we would destroy life from this planet. This day, the Feast of Trumpets, is the solution to all of the problems that this world faces. It's a day special for the people of God. God's people down through the ages have been rejected. They've been persecuted. They've been martyred. They have been misfits in this world. This day is special for the saints, the holy people of God. I want to go over some of these things today with you in preparation for the Feast of Trumpets. I'm sure we'll hear more about it from sermons on Monday. But I want to also ask near the end, and I'm going to pass around a chart near the end of the sermon, I want to ask how near are we to what the Feast of Trumpets pictures, the dramatic end of this age and the coming of Jesus Christ, and what should we be doing to get ready?

I want us to first of all notice, again, some of these may be verses that will be read again on Monday. That's okay. Repetition is just fine. But in Leviticus chapter 23, I wanted us to read scriptures that show that we should be meeting and keeping this day, which most of the world will not be observing at all on Monday. Most people will go about their regular back to work on Monday. But the people of God will be not working on this day, and they will be meeting together in special services. In Leviticus chapter 23, we're all very much aware of the first two or three verses that this chapter is about the Festivals of God. These are the Feasts of the Lord, it says, and they are holy convocations. It gives the weekly Sabbath, first of all, in verse 3.

And then in verse 4 and the rest of the chapter, these are the annual festivals. These are the Feasts of the Lord. They're not my Feasts or your Feasts, the Church's Feasts. They're God's Feast Days, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times during the year. You might say we have some appointments with God throughout the year on these special days. The 14th day of the month is Passover, verse 5. It goes on to the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And then it gets into counting 50, the Feast of Pentecost. And then we come to the Feast of Trumpets, which will be the next Holy Day. In verse 23, the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel in the seventh month, on the first day of the month. Well, that is this coming Monday. The seventh month, the first day of the month, you shall have a Sabbath rest. A memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. Now, we don't do the blowing of the trumpets that the Israelites did, but you know there are trumpets that we do remember and talk about on this festival, the seven trumpets of the book of Revelation. I'm sure that these will be mentioned. I'll mention them today, but they'll also be mentioned on Monday as well, I'm quite sure. A memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it, and you shall offer an offering made by fire. They had their offerings on the Sabbath and actually every day, and on the holy days, though in the Sabbath, even special offerings were done.

This chapter goes on to describe the next holy day, the day of atonement, beginning in verse 27, the tenth day of the seventh month. And it goes on to also describe the feast of tabernacles and the eighth day, what we call the last great day. So yes, these festivals we should be observing today, they are festivals of great joy. Why, you know, we should just take a moment to read from Nehemiah chapter 8, the book of Nehemiah, and chapter 8. And in verse 1, when the seventh month came, Nehemiah chapter 8, and verse 1, when the seventh month came, the children of Israel were in their cities, and all the people gathered together as one man, and they read from the book of the law of Moses, the seventh month. But notice what day it was in verse 2, on the first day of the seventh month. Well, that is the feast of tropics, isn't it? The first day of the seventh month. They read from the laws of God. The people were very respectful. Verse 5, Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people. When he had opened it, the people stood up, and Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. All the people answered, Amen. Amen. It's like an opening prayer. They bowed their heads and they worshiped, and they heard God's Word read to them. Verse 8, they read distinctly from the book, the law of God, and gave the sense and helped them understand the meaning. Nehemiah was there. Ezra the priest, the Levites, taught the people, and they said, This day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn nor weep, for all the people wept when they heard the words of the law. And they said, Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, have nice food to enjoy together. For this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. And the Levites quieted all the people, saying, Be still, for the day is holy. Do not be grieved. And so all the people went their way, ate and drank, and they rejoiced greatly because they understood the words that were declared to them. Well, you know, brethren, if we can come with that same joy and happiness this coming Monday, we're actually celebrating something that is joyful. You know, we're celebrating also the trumpet plagues during the day of the Lord that precede the coming of Christ are going to be intense. And we'll read some verses on that in just a few minutes. But, you know, it's all necessary. God is giving mankind a good spanking in order to get man's attention and get things going in the right direction. It's just like a child that's out of control. And when you spank him, it's painful, but it's really what needs to be done. And this world needs a spanking, and it is going to get a good one when Jesus Christ returns. Let's read some verses about it today. And again, I'm sure that many verses will be read this coming Monday as well.

First of all, we recognize that today we live in a time of trouble, that time that Jesus foretold in the Olivet prophecy. Let's go to Matthew 24. It's the chapter we go to fairly regular or often, but it is an important prophecy. Matthew 24. And Jesus was asked about the end of the age and the sign of His coming in verse 3. When will these things be? And what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age? He warned of religious deception. He warned of wars and rumors of wars. He warned of famines and pestilences and earthquakes in different places. But He said, all these are the beginning of sorrows. He warned about religious persecution and martyrdom. And He said in verse 14, this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all nations and then the end will come. Did you know that our Beyond Today program reaches about two-thirds of the population of the world today? Those who can tune in to the internet can get our program, two-thirds of the inhabitants of the earth. So this message is going out as a witness.

And let's continue praying that God will bless it on television, on the internet, and also our printed literature as well. The preaching of the gospel to the world. But Jesus said it would be a time of great trouble. In verse 21, there will be great tribulations such as has not been since the beginning of the world to this time, wherever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, here's how bad it will get in the days ahead. Unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved. But for the elect's sake, those days will be shortened. And you imagine mankind ready to destroy human life from this earth. And I want to read at this point from a couple of articles that I have saved from the past. Quite a number of years ago, in fact, this article goes back to the U.S. News and World Report Magazine issue of June 23, 1975, an article on page 64, Experts See World Perils Ahead. Now, this is 37 years ago. They were looking ahead in 1975. What's it going to be like until the end of this century, until the year 2000? Here's what they came up with. Effective leadership will be hard to find in the next quarter century, because today's political institutions can't respond quickly enough to head off rapidly escalating problems. The world scholars feel is destined to lurch from crisis to crisis until political systems can deal with dangerous trends before they get out of control. I'll tell you what. We're lurching today from one crisis to another. This article goes on to say that the teeming population and the shrinking resources and the time to find a way to take care of this question is critically short. Thus, global crises that may include nuclear terrorism, oil wars, widespread famine, and political revolution are almost certain to occur before the end of the century. I think we can say, looking on ahead to where we are after the turn of the century, that we are seeing these very things to happen. And effective leadership. Governments are not really able to deal with the problems we are facing today.

We have seven billion people on the earth. We can't find work for everybody. We can't get an economy going where everybody can be cared for to make a good, decent standard of living. In Egypt, it just came out, where one of the nations where our embassy was attacked this past week, Egypt has an unemployment rate of 25 percent. They have a lot of young people roaming around without a job. And so this world is not able to take care of everybody as far as work, employment, providing a standard of living for everyone. Not to mention all the other difficult things that we face in this world. That's just one. But we're not able to come up with an economy that is able to take care of the needs of mankind. So governments do not have the solution. Jesus said it would get so bad that unless those days were shortened, that there would be no flesh left alive. And I want to read from an article that came out in Newsweek magazine. This goes way back to November 7, 1983 on page 137. Nuclear war, the long view. You see, man has the weapons of destruction right now that could erase life from this planet. And here's an article that deals with that. One billion people killed before the mushroom cloud even dissipates.

An equal number doomed to slow agonizing deaths. And then the nuclear war claims its next victim, planet Earth. Months of twilight shroud the globe, and temperatures plunge 55 degrees, killing nearly all plant life. The ecological systems that once supported the Earth become so devastated that the potential effects extend even to the extermination of homo sapiens, mankind. The article goes on to say that the air would be filled with poison fumes of carbon monoxide, dioxins, and cyanides.

And that there would be darkness, a blacktop highway three miles high. The smoke would absorb most of the sun's rays. That less than 5% of the normal amount of light could even reach the ground. And choke off photosynthesis, the process by which plants convert sunshine to food. Virtually all land plants in the northern hemisphere would be damaged or killed. Every higher organism would risk starvation.

The smoke would also make temperatures plummet for several months, freezing surface waters to a depth of three feet in what was dubbed nuclear winter. So the article ends by saying that scientists hope by demonstrating the futility of nuclear exchange, they will show that man or men with their finger on the button that a nuclear war would be the last war. You see, we are able to fulfill that prophecy that Jesus said that man would be able to destroy all flesh and no flesh would be left alive except for the second coming of Jesus Christ.

That's exactly where the Feast of Trumpets comes in and that is that these days are going to be cut short and it goes on down to describe that in this very chapter, Matthew 24, verse 29. After the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light. The stars will fall from heaven and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven and all the tribes of the earth will mourn and they will see the Son of Man. This is the visible return of Jesus Christ. Christ is able to just shed his looking like the sun shining in full brilliance.

He's able to appear like so that people can see him like he's in human form. He did that after his resurrection and they did not recognize him for who he was. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. We're going to look at some of that power in just a moment. And he will send his angels with the great sound of a trumpet and they will gather together his elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other. That's where the saints of God come in as far as this day. This is the day that they will be given their salvation. They will be made immortal beings, become members of the family of Almighty God.

So brethren, this day coming up is a dramatic event in human history. We will celebrate in advance the second coming of Jesus Christ to rescue mankind from himself. I want you to notice just a few verses back in the Old Testament showing the power that Christ will use. In Isaiah chapter 2, this is the same chapter at the very beginning that brings out that mankind is going to beat their swords and the plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. They're not going to learn war anymore. They're going to instead learn about the laws of Almighty God.

But later in the same chapter, beginning in verse 10, Isaiah chapter 2 and verse 10, it says, "...enter into the rock and hide in the dust from the terror of the Lord, and the glory of His majesty. The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day." God's going to let man be thoroughly humbled to the day of the Lord. That's what we believe is going to be that period of time during which the seven trumpets and Jesus Christ comes at the seventh trumpet. The day of the Lord, the seven trumpets, the seventh seal of Revelation, the day of the Lord shall come upon everything proud and lofty, upon everything lifted up, and it shall be brought low.

In verse 17, again, the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be brought low. The Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. Jesus Christ is going to manifest the power of Almighty God. In verse 20, "...in that day a man will cast away his idols of silver, his idols of gold." Verse 21, "...they will go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the crags of the rugged rocks, from the terror of the Lord, and the glory of his majesty, when he arises to shake the earth mightily." Jesus Christ is coming back with great power. That is also what will be with anger. It will be the wrath of God against human beings who are trying to destroy human life and life on this planet. Notice Isaiah 66 and verse 15. That Christ will come back with anger. He'll come diving into the middle of things to resolve the problems and stop man from destroying himself. Isaiah 66 and verse 15, "...behold the Lord will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with theory, and his rebuke with flames of fire." So he'll come back with anger and theory. "...For by fire and by his sword the Lord will judge all flesh, and the slain of the Lord will be many." God has a controversy with mankind when man is destroying himself on this planet that is so beautiful. Let's go to Jeremiah chapter 25. Yes, God has a controversy with mankind. Jeremiah chapter 25 and verse 30, "...prophesy against them the Lord will roar from on high." God is holding back and when he gets ready to act, he will act quickly and with power. He will roar from on high and utter his voice from his holy habitation. He will roar mightily against his fold. He will give a shout as those who tread the grapes against all the inhabitants of the earth. A noise will come to the ends of the earth, for the Lord has a controversy with the nations. He will plead his case with all flesh. He will give those who are wicked to the sword. The sastre shall go forth from nation to nation. A great whirlwind shall be raised up from the farthest parts of the earth. At that time the slain of the Lord shall be from one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth." So, you know, Almighty God is going to come back with great power to get mankind to change his ways.

And the end result is going to be that Jesus Christ will take control over the nations. They will be defeated. Let's read in Zechariah 14. Zechariah 14, the nations are like a drop in the bucket. You know, Isaiah 40 says that all nations are like a drop in the bucket. All the man in his greatness is like dust on the scales it brings out. You know, the ladies when you go to buy some bananas or something try to get the dust off of the scales. You don't worry about the dust on there. It's nothing. It doesn't weigh anything. That's how God looks at man. Man is like dust on the scales. He's like a drop in the bucket. So, you know, Almighty God will manifest His great power and easily defeat the nations that are gathered at Jerusalem. Zechariah 14, in verse 1, the day of the Lord is coming. That's what we're celebrating this coming Monday, the day when Christ will return. He says in verse 2, I will gather all nations to battle against Jerusalem. And even the Euphrates River will be dried up, it says in Revelation, so that nations' armies can come across. Armies of 200 million people in them, just huge armies of people, will gather against Jerusalem. The city will be taken. The house is rifled. Verse 3, the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations as He fights in the day of battle. In that day, His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives that faces Jerusalem on the east side. The saints will be with Him. In verse 5, the latter part. And guess what? Jesus Christ goes on to easily defeat the nations. And in verse 9, the Lord shall be king over all the earth. In that day it shall be. The Lord is one, and His name one. And so Jesus Christ is going to easily defeat the nations. And one thing that we should bring out, because certainly this is very much a part of Bible prophecies as far as the Feast of Trumpets. And that is that the prophecies of the end of this age certainly very much affect modern-day Israel, both Judah and Israel. And a time of trouble is coming for Israel, the 12 tribes of Israel, including the Jews, the nation we call Israel today, and the United States and Great Britain and democracies of northwestern Europe. Let's go to Jeremiah chapter 30, and we see that this time of the end is going to be a time of trouble for modern-day Israel and Judah. But they're going to be delivered out of it. And that deliverance, we believe, will begin even during the day of the Lord, during the sounding of the trumpets as God begins to deal with nations, then the Israelites will begin to be set free from their captivity. But it appears that the captivity of Israel will last for at least two and one-half years before the day of the Lord.

In Jeremiah chapter 30, verse 3, "'Behold, the days are coming,' says the Lord, "'that I will bring back from captivity my people Israel and Judah.'" Oh, if they're going to be brought back from captivity, that means they went into captivity. And God goes on to say, "'I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.'" And so it appears that during the day of the Lord that God begins to rescue and deliver Israel and Judah out of captivity.

Now these are the words that the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah. Thus says the Lord, "'I have heard the voice of trembling, of fear and not peace. Ask whether a man is ever in labor with child. Why do I see every man with his hands on his loins, like a woman in labor, and all faces turn pale?'" I'll tell you, this is a time of trouble that brings on captivity for modern-day Israel. Verse 7, "'Alas, for that day is great, so that none is like it.'" Same language as Matthew 24, the great tribulation, nothing like it before or after. That day is like, so that none is like it. It is the time of Jacob's trouble, but he shall be saved out of it. God will deliver the twelve tribes of Israel from captivity, and He will bring them back to the land that He gave to Abraham. So that fits right into the Feast of Trumpets and prophecies about the Feast of Trumpets and about the Second Coming of Christ as well. What about the New Testament? You know we could go to the Olivet prophecies. You know those three chapters where they were found, don't you? The Olivet prophecies, Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21. What about John? He doesn't have the Olivet prophecy. His book is different than the other three. So we won't go to the Olivet prophecies, but let's go to a prophecy that Paul wrote down in 2 Thessalonians chapter 1. It describes the day of the Lord in the same language, actually, as what we read in the Old Testament in 2 Thessalonians chapter 1 and verse 6. Since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you and to give you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels. When will that be? Well, the second coming of Christ. What, the Feast of Trumpets pictures. Verse 8, In flaming fire, taking vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, these shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power. When He comes in that day to be glorified in His saints, the saints will be made immortal, glorified, immortal beings. And be admired among all who believe because our testimony among you was believed. So this is a prophecy about Jesus Christ coming back with power. We can read New Testament prophecies in the book of Revelation.

We can read about the seven seals, religious deception about wars and bloodshed, and about famine and pestilence and death and martyrdom of God's people and heavenly signs.

Why, the first six of the seals that we read about in Revelation chapter 6. We can read, then, about the seventh seal. Well, we know the seventh seal, the final seal, breaks out into the seven trumpets. And the seven trumpets lead up to the second coming of Jesus Christ. Let's read about that in Revelation 11.

I think, again, that many of us are very familiar with these scriptures, and yet it is so good for us to be refreshed and see what they mean all over again and understand them more deeply than ever. The seventh trumpet, the last trumpet, Revelation 11 in verse 15. When the seventh angel sounded, 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. The implication is He's going to reign over these kingdoms, these nations, and as other verses clearly point out.

And the next verse, the 24 elders fell down and worshiped. Verse 17 gave thanks to the Lord God Almighty and said, Because you have taken your great power and reigned. The nations were angry. The other nations are going to be angry against Christ and fight against Him. But guess what? Christ is angry. Your wrath has come. And the time of the dead. Actually, it's the first resurrection of the coming of Christ and the rest of the dead after the thousand years. They shall be judged, and that you reward your servants, the prophets, and the saints, and those who fear your name, small and great, and should destroy those who would destroy the earth. Who would destroy all of mankind. Christ is going to put an end to all of that. We notice in the seventh trumpet, which also includes the seven last plagues, look at the last of the plagues in Revelation 16. Verse 17, the last of the seven last plagues, when the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven from the throne, saying, It is done! Now, mankind's evil society then is coming to an end. It is done. And God's great wrath and Christ fighting against the nations, all that coming then to a head and bringing things under the government of Jesus Christ. Chapter 17 and 18 are inset chapters. They explain very important things, but the story flow continues in chapter 19, time flow. And it brings out here in Revelation 19, in verse 6, the latter part, that the Lord God omnipotent reigns. 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. Those who are resurrected at the coming of Christ will be made into the bride of Christ. They will comprise the bride of Christ. And His wife has made herself ready. That means we have grown in the... Well, it goes on the same. To her was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright. The fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

It's keeping God's laws, the first great commandment, the second great commandment, the righteous acts of the saints. Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper. And it goes on to describe the warfare that Jesus Christ is going to wage to put down mankind in this final battle that is described in the last half of chapter 19. Verse 15, out of His mouth goes a sharp sword that with it He should strike the nations, and He Himself will rule them with the rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. I tell you, when God gets angry, we better watch out. Nobody is going to restrain Him from doing what He's going to do. Mankind is going to be utterly defeated. Those nations gathered around Jerusalem, even one verse describes blood flowing up to the horses' bridles. So when you have an army of 200 million coming from the east, and we don't know exactly how many other armies of nations will be around Jerusalem, then there's going to be a lot of destruction. And we read about the slain of the Lord being from one end of the earth to the other. Jesus Christ treads the winepress of the fierceness and the wrath of Almighty God.

And it describes then how He is going to defeat the nations that are gathered.

Going on down to verse 19, I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against Him, Christ, who sat on the horse and against His army. These are the armies that have gathered at Jerusalem. The beast was captured and also the false prophet. These two were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone, and the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh. It's going to be a mighty destruction when Jesus Christ does return. Then what happens? Satan is bound. Revelation 20, verses 1-3, as depicted by the day of atonement, Satan will be bound. He can deceive the nations no more. And then what? The thousand years where the saints in Christ reign in verses 4-6. And brethren are calling us to be there to reign with Christ. And blessed and holy is He that has part in the first resurrection. Verse 6, over such the second death as no power, there will be priests of God in Christ and reign with Him a thousand years. And so the Feast of Trumpets pictures this dramatic turning point in human history. We're going to hear more about it, I'm sure, on Monday. Jesus Christ and the righteous saints then are going to reign on the earth. The righteous saints will be changed to immortality. They will no longer be human. Let's notice that in 1 Corinthians chapter 15. 1 Corinthians chapter 15. Now as we're turning there, and they mentioned that earlier, we read how the elect are going to rise up in the air and be gathered by the angels to meet Christ as He returns. Well, as they rise up in the air, guess what? They're not going to be human anymore.

They will have been changed to immortal beings. They'll have immortality.

They'll be sons of God. They'll shine like the sun. They'll be just like the glorious body of Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 50, this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does corruption inherit incorruption. I'll tell you a mystery.

Something most people don't understand. We shall not all sleep or die. There will be Christians who don't sleep or die. They'll be alive when Christ returns. But it goes on to say, but we shall all be changed. Whether we die and then are resurrected, or whether we are alive at Christ's return, we'll all be changed. When? In a moment. In the twinkling of an eye. At the last trumpet.

Why do people say that when you die, the good people go to heaven? Sometimes at funeral services, I usually read this very slowly and then try to sink in and even bring out. Why do people believe that you go to heaven? Jesus said, no one has ascended to heaven except Himself who came down from heaven. But this change will be at the last trumpet. Instantaneously at the last trumpet. The trumpet will sound. The last trumpet we read about in Revelation 11, the seventh trumpet. The trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised incorruptible and we shall be changed.

Change to immortality. And guess what? What are the saints going to do? They're going to reign with Christ right here on the earth. He will be king, as we read in Zechariah 14 and verse 9. And the saints, the righteous saints, and mortal beings are going to reign with Christ over the nations. Let's go to Jude verses 14 and 15. This is a prophecy that goes back before the flood.

This is one of the most ancient prophecies of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and what He and the saints will do. One of the most ancient prophecies in the Bible, oddly enough, found in Jude near the end of the Bible. Jude verses 14 and 15. Now Enoch, now this is before the flood, Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men saying, Behold the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints. This is the Second Coming of Christ, isn't it? Ten thousands of His saints and there may likely be hundreds of thousands when you consider the 144,000 and the innumerable multitude, the ones that God has dealt with, could be several hundreds of thousands of saints. And what would they do? They're going to govern and reign right here on the earth. They'll execute judgment on all. Oh, that's on all nations, all during the millennium, and also in the second resurrection. They will execute judgment on all to convict all who are ungodly among them of their ungodly deeds. That's our job, to convict those who are going opposite God's laws and get them to change and start going the way of righteousness and godliness, which they've committed in an ungodly way and all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against Him. It's our job then to turn things around and get people going the right way.

Well, brethren, the saints are going to meet Jesus Christ up in the air. What will that be like?

The elect, if we overcome, we'll be among the elect. The elect will rise up in the air to meet the returning Jesus Christ. They won't know which way to go, so an angel will guide the elect. The angels will assist Christ in gathering the elect together because, you know, the elect, even though they're spirit beings, they start rising up. They don't know where Christ is, but the angels do, and they will lead the elect to Jesus Christ. What's that going to be like? It's hard, impossible for us to even begin to imagine it. What would it be like to be one of those rising up with your face shining like the sun? No longer human! You don't even feel any pull of gravity. Instead, you have the power of a brand new glorified spirit body. What's that going to be like?

And what's it going to be like to look around and see other brilliant beings, sons of God, being led by less brilliant beings, angels, to Jesus Christ? What's it going to be like to see Jesus Christ for the first time? Will we see Him in His glory? Or will we see Him...

He's going to be seen visibly by humans. He will manifest Himself so He can be seen. And He will see Him in His full glory just before that.

What will it be like for Christ to say to us individually and maybe collectively, well done?

I'll tell you what, that's going to be something else. Well done, good and faithful servant. Welcome to the family of God. We know there's no words in any human language to describe what that will be like. Indescribable joy and excitement. And at the Feast of Trumpets, we celebrate that time and we will be changed to spirit. And we will meet Jesus Christ. Our victory will be complete. And our struggle will be over. Won't that be wonderful? We struggle now.

Let's keep up the struggle and the fight, but let's be there.

Because we don't want to miss rising up in the air to meet Jesus at His return.

I want to spend the latter part of this sermon on how close are we to that time. Could we hand out the chart very quickly? I'd like to have Mr. Parks to get several people helping. And we have a chart that will help us understand some of the time periods that lie just ahead at the end of this age. So we have enough for every man, woman, and child. Every child is old enough to have one to have a chart. It's a time chart for the prophecies at the end of this age. And to help us to know what to look for, we're not quite to these time periods yet, but they lie just ahead.

Most of us have our chart by this time. You will notice that the very top line on the left-hand side is the Great Tribulation. Great Tribulation starts and goes for two and a half years. Then there are the heavenly signs. Again, we're at the top line. Great Tribulation starts. And then the heavenly signs. And then the Day of the Lord, which we believe could very well last one year. A day being a year. And then the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, which will be the end of human civilization and the start of the government of God on the earth. Let's go to the second line.

During the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord, let's consider where the church will be. Go to Revelation 12, verses 13 and 14.

Now, when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child.

All right.

Satan is going to persecute the woman. We're close to the end of the age. Notice in verse 12 that it says, "'Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.'" And then he persecutes the woman.

And in verse 14, "'And the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, for she is nourished for a time and time and half a time from the presence of the serpent.'" Well, a time equals a year. And times two years and half a time, half a year. So that adds up to three and one-half years. So we have put that into on this line, the church nourished in the wilderness and protected during this time for three and one-half years. Let's go to Revelation 11 and verse 3. Meanwhile, there are two witnesses that are doing a work of preaching the message of God to the world. Revelation 11 and verse 3, "'I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy 1260 days clothed in sackcloth.'" So the two witnesses will prophesy 1260 days.

If we divide that by 30, we come up with 42, and there are 42 42 months equals three and one-half years.

So that's the same length of time as the church will be nourished in the wilderness on the line just above. Let's go back to Revelation 11 and verse 2. Meanwhile, around Jerusalem, what is happening in Revelation 11 and verse 2, "'Leave out the court that is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles, and they will tread the holy city under foot for 42 months.'" So the holy city Jerusalem is trodden down by the Gentiles under Gentile domination for 42 months. Well, that is three and one-half years. That corresponds to the 1260 days and the three and one-half years and the previous two.

Notice one other prophecy about the political system in Revelation 13 and verse 5. You can read the first few verses about this system that is going to rise up. And it did much of this as historical in the first several verses. The Roman Empire did have the characteristics that are described, the seven heads and the ten horns. It did have the revivals of the Roman Empire. Later, it did have the qualities of the beasts that are animals that are found in Daniel chapter 7, the leopard and the bear and the lion. But then in verse 3, I saw one of his heads as it was mortally wounded. We believe then that that would be where the Roman Empire ceased to exist for a while. And then the deadly wound, though, was healed. And this system, the government in Europe, the Roman Empire, was revived. And there were different resurrections of the Roman Empire down through history until our time. So they worshipped the dragon that gave authority to the beast, and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who's like the beast? Who's able to make war with him? Notice in verse 5, he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for 42 months. You can read on down and actually see that these beasts, the first beast and the second beast, that was like this first one that actually causes the mark of the beast in the latter part of this chapter, how this system, a religious system, will work with the political system. But they're given authority to continue for 42 months.

And that is the important verse that I wanted, because it shows that this political system is given authority to continue for 42 months. And that is during this time of the Great Tribulation, they come to great power and are able to trod down the holy city even during that time. But let's go now to Daniel, some time prophecies in Daniel that also fit into end-time prophecy.

Daniel. And I think I would like to begin in chapter 11, just briefly, chapter 11 and verse 40, because it describes the time of the end, at the end of this age. In Daniel 11 and verse 40, at the time of the end, the king of the south shall attack him, and the king of the north shall come against him. So we believe out of the Middle East is going to come the king of the south, some type of maybe confederation of nations in that area. And then the king of the north out of Europe, the ten nations that are going to unite in Europe. We'll just skip on down to chapter 12 and verse 1. At that time, Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people. There shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation. Well, the very top line on your chart, that's the great tribulation. And the great tribulation is especially a time of trouble for Israel, Israel in captivity and scattered in different nations. So Daniel was then told in verse 4 to shut up the words and seal the book. Till the time of the end, people would run to and fro, knowledge would be increased. In verse 5, he saw two others standing on the river bank, either side of the river bank. And one said to the man clothed in linen above the waters of the river. Important question here. How long shall the fulfillment of these wonders be?

How long will the fulfillment of these wonders be? So we've got a timeline for that because the answer is given in verse 7. I heard the man clothed in linen that was above the waters of the river when he held up his hand and he swore to him that lives forever, that it shall be for a time, a year, times, two years, and half a time. And when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, all these things shall be fulfilled. So how long till these wonders will be fulfilled? This three and one half year period that involves the great tribulation and the day of the Lord. Well, we read on down that Daniel in verse 9 was told to go his way. The words were closed up and sealed. In verse 10, many shall be purified and made white and refined, for the wicked will do wickedly and none of the wicked shall understand, for the wise shall understand.

And here's another time element in verse 11. From the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be 1,290 days. So not 1,260 days, 1,290 days, 30 days more. And what is the description of what has to happen from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away? We have taught and believe that there is some type of daily sacrifice that will be set up in the temple area of Jerusalem. And from the time that it is stopped or taken away and the abomination of desolation set up, the great false religious system comes in and sets up its own false worship, then there will be 1,290 days. Keep your finger here in Daniel 12, but do look at Revelation 24 and verses 14 and 15. Matthew 24 and verses 14 and 15. This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all nations, and then the end will come. And verse 15, therefore, when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet standing in the holy place, whoever reads, let him understand. Then let those in Judea flee to the mountains. And it goes on to say, Woe to those who are pregnant, and pray that your flight be not in the winter or the Sabbath. And then will be great tribulation. Verse 21. See, this precedes, obviously, in Matthew 24 comes right before the great tribulation. So we believe that then 30 days before going back to your timeline, that 30 days before the beginning of the great tribulation, there will be the ceasing of some sacrifices that have been started, and there will be the setting up of the abomination of desolation, a false religious system. The great false church system will set up this abomination of desolation. Just what its manifestation will be, I don't know that we claim to know that. But 30 days before the great tribulation begins. All right. Well, let's read on down in Daniel 12 and the last two verses. Blessed is He who waits and comes to the 1,335 days. We have yet a different time period, 1,335 days.

What does this mean? Blessed is He that waits.

Mr. Armstrong wrote about this in the latter years of his life, that we believe that this would be the time that the organized work of the church would cease.

Notice that would be the 45 days plus the 30 days before the great tribulation starts. There would be a time period in there of about 45 days that the work of the church would cease, and the church would prepare itself to flee. And then when the abomination of desolation is set up, Jesus said, let him this in Judea flee. And that would give 30 days for God's church to be placed in that wilderness location where the church will be nourished during the great tribulation and the day of the Lord. Brother, what does it mean when it says blessed is He who waits?

You know, I think that means that there's been some enduring going on, doesn't it? Jesus said, He that endures to the end will be saved. He also said, watch and pray always that you might be accounted worthy to escape all these things and stand before the Son of Man. Might this mean that one that has been faithful in doing the work of God, has endured to the end, has not deviated to the left or to the right, has waited and been steadfast, that He will be blessed.

And we'll just have to wait and see all the ways. We know that such a person will be blessed to be in God's kingdom. He will certainly be blessed to rise up to meet Christ in the air. Maybe He'll be blessed in certain ways, too, as far as God hiding Him during this time of trouble, as it says in the first few verses of Zephaniah, chapter 2. It just might be that God will hide those who endure and wait patiently and continue doing the work of God. Blessed? This verse is in the Bible. What does it mean? Mr. Armstrong and the Church have concluded that this is the best explanation that we understand, and that is that those who do endure, those who do remain steadfast in doing the work of God, will be blessed. And they're waiting and end their enduring.

So when will the Great Tribulation begin, though? See, we don't know, do we? We don't know just how close we are. Events like happened in the Middle East just show that we're moving on in that direction. Events like are happening even in our own country in this political year. The moral climate of the United States, it doesn't seem to matter in the United States about whether you protect a little baby in the womb. It doesn't seem to matter to at least half of the population. It doesn't seem to matter too much to them. If a man marries a man and a woman marries a woman, it seems like many people... those are not major issues in this political year.

They should be taking a human life in the womb or elsewhere and also upsetting the family structure as God made it... should be major issues. It seems like Americans are just accepting that more and more and there's other things that they are concerned about. So, brethren, I'll just give you this time chart. You know, this is the best we understand, let's say, the time frame of these prophecies and the time elements that are brought out in the Bible.

Conditions in the world are going to continue to get worse and worse. That much we know. We must continue doing God's work. Our nation, there's no indication, will repent. We must, ourselves, though, continue to come out and be separate. We must hold fast God's laws and use His Spirit to grow and overcome and do God's will. He may hide us during the troubles. We may be so blessed during the troubles that lie ahead. So, let's keep on enduring, let's keep on overcoming, keep our faith strong, keep our eyes and our hope on the kingdom of God. Spend sufficient time in daily Bible study and prayer. Maybe do some extra meditating at the Feast of Tabernacles, if you can, thinking about your life and examining yourself. Yes, let's examine ourselves at the Feast of Tabernacles. But our challenge is to grow and go forward in faith and confidence and unity, and to go forward full of hope and joy. Same challenge for young people.

So, I want to wish you a very joyful Feast of Trumpets. I hope this will give you some things to think about. I certainly would encourage everyone to read the chapter on the Feast of Trumpets in our Holy Day booklet. We'll be thinking about you on Monday. We'll be over in Goldsboro with the Raleigh and Jacksonville churches. But we'll be thinking about you in this area and wishing you a wonderful Feast of Trumpets on Monday.