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Christian Biblical Church of God
Post Office Box 1442
Hollister, California 95024-1442
(831)-637-1875
Fred R. Coulter, Minister
September 9, 2005
Dear Brethren,
Last week our country witnessed the tragic
horror of the gigantic hurricane, Katrina, which
struck with indiscriminate ferocity the states
of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. It was
the worst disaster ever to hit the United States
and reportedly more devastating than 9/11.
Katrina’s path left a swath of over 90,000
square miles in shambles. The death toll is yet
unknown. Multiple thousands of people lost their
loved one, homes, jobs and businesses—everything
they had. Cities were destroyed—roads and
bridges obliterated. Nearly all commerce ceased.
Electric and phone services were
inoperative—cell phone towers were knocked down.
Many of the unfortunate survivors, who did not
leave or were not evacuated, were left in New
Orleans without water and food for up to five
days in blistering heat and oppressive humidity.
Most of those who survived only had the clothes
they were wearing and were transported to
shelters where they received food, medical care
and encouragement. As long as there is life
there is hope. They must begin to rebuild
their lives from scratch. The cities of
New Orleans, LA; Biloxi and Gulf Port, MS were
hit the hardest. When rescue efforts
finally reached high gear, they were able to
move all the survivors to safety and transport
them to other cities in Louisiana, Texas and
other states.
Surely everyone asks the question, “Why did this
happen?” All too often we like to give
uncomplicated answers. However, there are probably many reasons why this
hurricane struck the USA. Because God
is in charge and He knows the hearts of all men
and women, we can be sure this disaster has to
do with His judgment against our nation. It has
forgotten God.
There has never been anything like this in the
Gulf states. They have been hit by seven
hurricanes within one year. Four last
year, Dennis three months ago, and Katrina is
counted twice because it hit southern Florida
before it hit the Gulf states. Yesterday,
I talked with Glenn Daniel and he reported that
Gulf Shores, Alabama was yet devastated again
with Katrina. This is the third hurricane
to hit that area in one year—Ivan last year,
Dennis and Katrina this year. As a result,
it would be impossible to keep the Feast of
Tabernacles there. We are thankful that
God made it possible for us to secure facilities
in Waco, Texas for the Feast as a replacement
for Foley/Gulf Shores, Alabama.
After the hurricane hit, Jim Hyles, Kimberly and
I were on the phones trying to contact any
brethren who are on our mailing list to see if
they are safe and how the storm has affected
them. From what we have been able to
determine, most, if not all the brethren who are
with us suffered very little damage or were not
affected at all. We thank God for His
mercy and protection. However, because we
have not yet heard from all the brethren in
those states, we have set aside a special
fund to help those who may be in need because we
are our brother’s keepers. We should
know shortly what their circumstances are and
what assistance they may need. If you know
of anyone who was affected by this disaster,
please let us know and how we may contact him or
her.
We need to pray for all the people affected.
We are grieved about those who have died, and
pray that the survivors will realize that what
they experienced was the hand of God and they
need to repent and change their lives.
While most will not repent unto salvation, they
surely can repent and begin to live their lives
in accordance to the letter of God’ laws.
As the nation did with 9/11 and the hurricanes
last year, America as a whole should pull
together to help restore the survivors lives and
rebuild the destroyed cities and homes.
When they begin to rebuild they will have to do
it virtually from the ground up and it will take
several years to complete. The damage is
estimated to be about one hundred billion
dollars. It makes one wonder how many more
disasters this nation can handle and how many
insurance companies will go bankrupt because of
insurmountable costs.
To rebuild New Orleans, which is below sea
level, they should first investigate the way the
Dutch have built their dikes to hold back the
North Sea and survive two hundred miles an hour
wind. Also, when they begin to rebuild
their lives, homes and cities, they need to
consider some basic physical and spiritual
principles spoken by Jesus: “Therefore, everyone
who hears these words of Mine and practices
them, I will compare him to a wise man, who
built his house upon the rock; and the rain came
down, and the floods came, and the winds blew,
and beat upon that house; but it did not fall,
for it was founded upon the rock.
“And everyone who hears these words of
Mine and does not practice them shall be
compared to a foolish man, who built his house
upon the sand; and the rain came down, and the
floods came, and beat upon that house; and it
fell, and great was the fall of it” (Matt.
7:24-27). This is true physically and
spiritually.
We can be guaranteed that the rains, winds
and floods will come—especially in the tornado,
hurricane or flood vulnerable states.
Consequently, there should be preparation for
any eventuality as they rebuild their lives,
homes and business. However, if they
repeat the same mistakes, when disasters strike
in the future, they will again suffer. Here are
two practical proverbs that come to mind: “A
prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth
himself: but the simple pass on, and are
punished” (Pro. 22:3). Always prepare
ahead for possible calamity. Incorporate a
plan of survival in case a disaster may hit.
And again, “Every prudent man dealeth with
knowledge: but a fool layeth open his folly”
(Pro. 13:16). They need to be wise in
their plans to rebuild. They need to
change their lives and not let sin rule them.
But remember: All plans are to no avail when God
punishes and pours out His wrath.
Halloween Book: What started out
to be a booklet on Halloween, has evolved into a
full-fledged book. The new title is Occult Holidays or God’s Holy Days—Which?
It will be approximately 200 pages covering the
satanic, pagan origin of all the holidays of
orthodox Christendom—including Sunday. It
documents the occult holidays in the
Bible—showing that God has never accepted them
in worship toward Him. When Israel and Judah
forsook God, they observed all the occult
holidays, as do professing Christians today.
It also surveys the Sabbath, feasts and holy
days of God. Because we are close to the feast
of Trumpets, we are enclosing, a copy of the
first part of Chapter Eleven concerning
the feast of Trumpets. As I was writing
this chapter and watching all the things that
were happening with the rescue operations in the
aftermath of hurricane Katrina, I could not help
but think of how the entire world will be in a
far worse condition when Jesus returns. We will
be confronted with these conditions when we
begin to rule under Jesus Christ in the kingdom
of God. But, in every disaster there is
hope. When the saints return to the earth
with Jesus Christ, we will be the hope of the
world to begin the building of the kingdom of
God that will last for a thousand years—the
greatest time in the history of mankind.
We will have to restore people, heal them, and
lead them to repentance and conversion. We will
direct the rebuilding of their lives, families,
cities and nations—a mind-boggling task.
As spirit beings, under the direction of Jesus
Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords, we
will restore and transform all people. The
entire world will become a fabulous, beautiful
Garden of Eden through the power and blessings
of God.
My Schedule for the Feast of Tabernacles: This year I will begin the Feast in Goshen,
Indiana—October 17-18; Waco, Texas—October 19-21
and Monterey, California 22-25. I am
looking forward to seeing everyone and
fellowshiping with you.
Brethren, we love you and thank you for your
love, prayers for the brethren, as well as your
continued support through God’s tithes and
offerings. We realize that you are making
every effort to grow and overcome spiritually;
and to cope with the problems pressing in on
your daily lives because we live still have to
live in this sin sick world. We are
continually praying for you every day that your
love and knowledge of God increase as you grow
in grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
May God’s love, grace and blessings be with you
in everything.
With love in Christ Jesus,
Fred R. Coulter
FRC
Chapter Eleven
A Survey of God’s Fall Feasts
and Holy Days in the New Testament
The fall feasts and holy days, which occur in
the seventh month of the calculated Hebrew
calendar, reveal the future fulfillment of
prophecies in God’s plan for all mankind. The
knowledge and meaning, as well as the keeping of
these days impart to us the understanding of how
and approximately when the events prophesied at
the end time will unfold as foretold in the Old
and New Testaments. Our focus will begin
with the feast of Trumpets which is the fourth,
or middle holy day of God’s seven holy days of
the year. As we will learn, it is the
fulcrum or tipping point in the history of the
world and humanity. The endtime events
portrayed by this holy particular day reveal
God’s direct visible intervention in the world
leading to the return of Jesus Christ and His
establishment of the kingdom of God on earth.
The Feast of Trumpets in the New Testament
On the feast of Trumpets, the first day of
the seventh month in Leviticus 23:23-25, God
instructs the priests and Levites to blow the
trumpets as a memorial, meaning they were to
blow them all day long (Psa. 81:3). In
addition to the silver temple trumpets, they
blew a multitude of shofars which were trumpets
made from ram’s horns used in a time of war
(Josh. 6:1-16; Judges 7:8, 16-18). They
were only to go to war when God commanded them
to gather their armies. He then would lead
them into battle as the priests carried the Ark
of the Covenant. He would fight and
protect them from their enemies on the condition
that they obeyed God and kept His covenant.
Additionally, guards who watched over the cities
and villages were to blow the shofar if enemy
armies came to attack the cities of Israel or
Judah (Ezk. 33:1-6; Joel 2:1, 15).
In the New Testament there is no direct
reference to the Feast of Trumpets by name.
However, based on the structure of John’s
Gospel, we can conclude from his chronology the
feast that he mentioned in John 5:1 was probably
the Feast of Trumpets. John’s framework
for his Gospel is: Passover, John 2; Pentecost,
John 4; a feast of the Jews, John 5; Passover,
John 6; Tabernacles and Last Great Day, John 7
and 8; Passover, John 12-19. Based on the
seasons, John had the following sequence:
spring, fall, spring, fall, and spring.
Since the feast in John 5:1 was after Jesus’
reference to Pentecost in John 4, it must have
been a fall feast. If it were the feast of
Tabernacles, John would have mentioned it, as he
did in Chapter 7, but he did not. If it were the
day of Atonement, because as a fast day
absolutely no work whatsoever was to be done on
that day, the Jews would have been even more
vehement against Jesus for healing the man and
telling him to pick up his bedroll and walk.
Therefore, we can conclude that the feast
mentioned in John 5:1 was undoubtedly the Feast
of Trumpets.
The Birth of Jesus Christ and the Feast
of Trumpets: As the Word of God demonstrates, God has always
used His feasts and holy days to fulfill His
will and prophesies. We have seen the
appointed time for Jesus to die—that God had set
before the foundation of the world—was the
Passover day in 30 AD. But what about
Jesus’ birth? Was it likewise
predetermined before the foundation of the world
that Jesus would born on a particular day?
Was that day a holy day? If so which holy
day was it? What do the Scriptures and
history reveal about His birth?
Paul gives direct evidence that Jesus was
born at a set time: “But when the time for the
fulfillment came, God sent forth His own Son,
born of a woman” (Gal. 4:4). This reveals
that the time of His birth was pre-determined in
accordance to God’s plan. While the
Gospels do not announce the specific day of
Jesus’ birth, He was definitely born at a
particular set time preordained by God to
fulfill His will and prophecies. From all
the evidence contained in the New Testament,
historical records of Josephus, other historical
sources, specific astronomical events and the
calculated Hebrew calendar, we are able to
determine when Jesus was born—perhaps even the
exact day. However, all the information showing
when Jesus was born is far too extensive to be
reviewed in this book. All the details are
fully documented in two books: A Harmony of the Gospels in Modern English—the
Life of Jesus Christ, and The New Testament In Its Original Order—a
Faithful Version with Commentary by Fred
R. Coulter. It is sufficient to say, the complex
scriptural and historical evidence compiled in
these books systematically detail all the facts
which support the Feast of Trumpets in 5 BC as
the most probable date of Jesus’ birth.
These books may be obtained from York
Publishing, address in the front of this book,
or from Amazon.com. (Follow links above to
purchase these books at Amazon.com.)
Prophetic Meaning of the Feast of Trumpets: The book of Revelation shows the prophetic
meaning of the feast of Trumpets. In prophecy it
is called the day of the Lord. Moreover, a
day in prophecy is one year in fulfillment (Num.
14:34). Therefore, the end time literal
day of the Lord is the last year before Jesus
returns to earth, reckoned from Trumpets to
Trumpets. There are hundreds of prophecies in
the Old Testament that give us many details of
the day of the Lord. Nearly all of them
show God’s direct intervention and judgment when
Jesus Christ returns as the King of Glory to
take control of the world.
The day of the Lord will be a time of
disasters, famine, pestilence and wars with
death, carnage and destruction of unparalleled
magnitude in all human history. God gave
this prophecy to Jeremiah showing that in the
end time all the nations of the world will be
involved in these prophetic events: “For thus
saith the LORD God of Israel unto me; Take the
wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all
the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it.
And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad,
because of the sword that I will send among
them. Then took I the cup at the LORD'S hand, and
made all the nations to drink, unto whom the
LORD had sent me … [to] all the kingdoms of the world, which are upon
the face of the earth: and the king of
Sheshach [the coming final beast of Revelation
13] shall drink after them. Therefore thou
shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of
hosts, the God of Israel; Drink ye, and be
drunken, and spue, and fall, and rise no more,
because of the sword which I will send among
you” (Jer. 25:15-17, 26-27).
God will intervene from heaven against all the
nations of the world—none shall escape:
“Therefore prophesy thou against them all these
words, and say unto them, The LORD shall roar
from on high, and utter his voice from his holy
habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his
habitation; he shall give a shout, as they that
tread the grapes [Rev. 14:18-20], against all
the inhabitants of the earth. A noise
shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the LORD hath a controversy with the nations, he
will plead with all flesh; he will give them
that are wicked to the sword, saith the LORD.
Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, evil shall
go forth from nation to nation, and a great
whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of
the earth. And the slain of the LORD shall be at that
day from one end of the earth even unto the
other end of the earth: they shall not be
lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they
shall be dung upon the ground” (verses
30-33).
God divinely gave Daniel a vision of this time:
“…there shall be a time of trouble, such as
never was since there was a nation even to that
same time” (Dan. 12:1). When Jesus told
His disciples of the time of tribulation at the
end of this age, He described a time that would
be so horrendous that if He did not intervene to
limit those days no flesh would be saved alive:
“For then shall there be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning
of the world until this time, nor ever
shall be again. And if those
days were not limited, there would no flesh be
saved; but for the elect’s sake those days shall
be limited” (Matt. 24:21-22).
When Jesus Christ emerges mightily to intervene
in this world, He is going to shake the earth so
violently that it will nearly thrust it out of
orbit, as Isaiah prophesied: “Howl ye; for the
day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as
destruction from the Almighty. Therefore
shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart
shall melt: And they shall be afraid: pangs and
sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be
in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall
be amazed one at another; their faces shall be
as flames.
“Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel
both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the
land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners
thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven
and the constellations thereof shall not give
their light: the sun shall be darkened in his
going forth, and the moon shall not cause her
light to shine. And I will punish the
world for their evil, and the wicked for
their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy
of the proud to cease, and will lay low the
haughtiness of the terrible. I will make a
man more precious than fine gold; even a man
than the golden wedge of Ophir. Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the
earth shall remove out of her place, in the
wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of
his fierce anger” (Isa. 13:6-13, also see
Hag. 2:6-7).
Throughout the history of the world, mankind
has suffered greatly from wars, famine,
pestilence and natural disasters. But
nothing will compare to the day of the Lord: “The
great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and
hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day
of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there
bitterly. That day is a day of wrath, a
day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness
and desolation, a day of darkness and
gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,
a day of the trumpet and alarm against the
fenced cities, and against the high towers.
And I will bring distress upon men, that they
shall walk like blind men, because they have
sinned against the LORD: and their blood
shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as
the dung. Neither their silver nor
their gold shall be able to deliver them in the
day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land
shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy:
for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all
them that dwell in the land” (Zep. 1:14-18).
Another prophecy of Isaiah reveals the
awesome power of God when He makes Himself known
to the world. Thee will be no doubt that
this is the hand of God: “Enter into the rock,
and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the LORD,
and for 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. For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon
every one that is proud and lofty, and upon
every one that is lifted up; and he shall be
brought low” (Isa. 2:10-12).
“And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down,
and the haughtiness of men shall be made low:
and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.
And the idols he shall utterly abolish.
And they shall go into the holes of the rocks,
and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the
LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when
he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. In
that day a man shall cast his idols of silver,
and his idols of gold, which they made each one
for himself to worship, to the moles and to the
bats; to go into the clefts of the rocks, and
into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear
of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty,
when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth”
(verses 18-21).
The book of Revelation shows the fulfillment
of these prophecies when Jesus Christ directly
intervenes and personally reveals Himself when
the heavens roll back as a scroll. This
sets the stage for the day of the Lord to begin:
“And when He [Jesus Christ] opened the sixth
seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great
earthquake; and the sun became black as the hair of sackcloth, and the moon became as blood; and the
stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree
casts its untimely figs when it is shaken by a
mighty wind. Then the heaven
departed like a scroll that is being rolled up,
and every mountain and island was moved out of
its place. And the kings of the earth,
and the great men, and the rich men, and the
chief captains, and the powerful men, and every
bondman, and every free man hid
themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the
mountains; and they said to the mountains
and to the rocks, ‘Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him Who sits on the throne, and
from the wrath of the Lamb because the great
day of His wrath has come, and who has the
power to stand?’ ” (Rev. 6:12-17).
The day of the Lord begins when the seven
angels sound their trumpets signaling various
phases of God’s angelic war from heaven against
the united armies of men and demons on the
earth. John describes what he saw in
vision of the seven trumpet plagues sent from
God by the hands of angels: “Then I saw the
seven angels who stand before God, and seven
trumpets were given to them. And another
angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood
at the altar; and much incense was given to him,
so that he might offer it with the
prayers of all the saints on the golden altar
that was before the throne. And the
smoke of the incense went up before God from the hand of the angel, ascending with the
prayers of the saints. And the angel took the
censer, and filled it with fire from the altar,
and cast it into the earth; and there
were voices, and thunders, and lightnings, and
an earthquake.
“Then the seven angels who had the seven
trumpets prepared themselves to sound their trumpets. And the first angel sounded his trumpet; and there was hail and fire
mingled with blood, and it was cast upon the
earth; and a third of the trees were burnt up,
and all green grass was burnt up. Then the second angel sounded his trumpet;
and there was cast into the sea as it were a great mountain burning with fire, and a third
of the sea became blood; and a third of the
living creatures that were in the sea
died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
And the third angel sounded his trumpet; and there fell out of heaven
a great star, burning like a lamp; and it fell
on a third of the rivers, and on the fountains
of waters. Now the name of the star is
Wormwood; and a third of the waters became
wormwood; and many men died from drinking the waters because they were made bitter. Then the fourth angel sounded his trumpet;
and a third of the sun was smitten, and a third
of the moon, and a third of the stars; so that a
third of them were darkened; and a third part of
the day did not shine, and likewise a third
part of the night. And I looked; and I
heard an angel flying in the midst of heaven,
saying with a loud voice, “Woe, woe, woe to
those who are dwelling on the earth, because of
the voices of the remaining trumpets of the
three angels who are about to sound their trumpets’ ” (Rev. 8:1-13).
When the fifth angel sounds his trumpet, vast
hordes of demons will be released to join human
armies using fantastic weapons: “And the fifth angel sounded his trumpet;
and I saw a star that had fallen from heaven to the earth,
and there was given to him the key to the
bottomless abyss. And he opened the bottomless
abyss [to release the imprisoned demons]; and
there went up smoke from the pit, like the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the
air were darkened by the smoke from the pit.
Then locusts [the demons] came onto the earth
from the smoke; and power was given to them, as
the scorpions of the earth have power. And
it was said to them that they should not damage
the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or
any tree, but only the men who did not have the
seal of God in their foreheads. And it was
given to them that they should not kill them,
but that they should be tormented five months;
and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings a man.
And in those days men will seek death but will
not find it; and they will desire to die, but
death will flee from them.
“And the appearance of the locusts was like horses prepared for war; and on their heads were crowns like those of gold; and
their faces were like the faces of
men; and they had hair like women’s hair; and
their teeth were like those of lions. And they had
breastplates like iron breastplates; and the
sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots drawn by many
horses running to war; and they had tails like
scorpions, and stingers; and they were given power to injure men with their tails for five months. And they have over them a king, the
angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but the name he has in Greek is Apollyon [Satan the devil]. The
first woe is past. Behold, after these
things two more woes are still to come” (Rev.
9:11-12). John is graphically describing
futuristic weapons used by the armies and
demons.
After five months, the kings of the east will
retaliate with the largest collection of armies
ever assembled in the history of the world. This
massive army of two hundred million will be
composed of men armed with powerful
sophisticated weapons, and the hordes of demons
will deliver to them supernatural strength: “And
the sixth angel sounded his trumpet;
and I heard a voice from the four horns of the
golden altar that is before God; and it said to the sixth angel, who had the trumpet,
‘Loose the four angels who are bound in the
great river Euphrates.’ Then the four
angels, who had been prepared for the hour and
day and month and year, were loosed, so that
they might kill a third of men; and the number
of the armies of the horsemen was two hundred
thousand thousand; and I heard the number of
them.
“And so I saw the horses in the vision, and
those sitting on them, who had fiery
breastplates, even like jacinth and brimstone.
And the heads of the horses were like
heads of lions, and fire and smoke and brimstone
shoot out of their mouths. By these three, a third of men were killed: by
the fire and the smoke and the brimstone that
shoot out of their mouths. For their
power is in their mouths; for their tails are like serpents, and have heads, and with
them they inflict wounds. But the rest of the
men who were not killed by these plagues still
did not repent of the works of their hands, that
they might not worship demons, and idols of gold
and silver and brass and stone and wood, which
do not have the power to see, nor to hear, nor
to walk. And they did not repent of their
murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their
fornications, nor of their thievery” (Rev.
9:13-21).
The prophet Joel describes this pitch battle
that takes place between the armies of the fifth
and sixth trumpet plagues: “Blow ye the
trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my
holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the
land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh,
for it is nigh at hand; a day of darkness and of
gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick
darkness, as the morning spread upon the
mountains: a great people and a strong; there
hath not been ever the like, neither shall be
any more after it, even to the years of many
generations.
“A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a
flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden
before them, and behind them a desolate
wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
The appearance of them is as the appearance of
horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run.
Like the noise of chariots on the tops of
mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a
flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a
strong people set in battle array. Before
their face the people shall be much pained: all
faces shall gather blackness. They shall run
like mighty men; they shall climb the wall
like men of war; and they shall march every one
on his ways, and they shall not break their
ranks: neither shall one thrust another; they
shall walk every one in his path: and when
they fall upon the sword, they shall not be
wounded. They shall run to and fro in
the city; they shall run upon the wall, they
shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter
in at the windows like a thief. The
earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall
tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and
the stars shall withdraw their shining: and
the LORD shall utter his voice before his army:
for his camp is very great: for he is strong
that executeth his word: for the day of the
LORD is great and very terrible; and who can
abide it?” (Joel 2:1-11.)
These wars of vast destruction will encompass
all of the Middle East and the armies of the
kings of the east of the sixth seal will extend
all the way to the Far East. When they
have fought to a stand still, the seventh
trumpet will be sounded. As we have seen, when the seventh angel sounds his trumpet the
first resurrection takes place on Pentecost (Rev. 11:15-19).
The time from Pentecost to Trumpets is
approximately four months. During that
time the seven last plagues will be poured out
by seven other angels. The final plague
will end with the battle of Armageddon: “And
after these things I looked, and behold, the
temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in
heaven was opened. And the seven angels
who had the seven last plagues came out of the temple; they were
clothed in linen, pure and bright, and girded
about the chest with golden breastplates.
And one of the four living creatures gave to the
seven angels seven golden vials, full of the
wrath of God, Who lives into the ages of
eternity. And the temple was filled with
smoke from the glory of God, and from His power;
and no one was able to enter inside the temple
until the seven plagues of the seven angels were
fulfilled” (Rev. 15:5-8).
“Then I heard a loud voice from the temple
say to the seven angels, ‘Go and pour out the
vials of the wrath of God onto the earth.’ And
the first angel went and poured
out his vial onto the earth; and an evil and
grievous sore fell upon the men who had the mark
of the beast and upon those who were worshiping
his image. And the second angel went and poured out his vial into the sea; and it became
blood, like that of a dead man; and every living
soul in the sea died. And the third
angel poured out his vial upon the rivers,
and into the fountains of waters; and they
became blood.
“Then I heard the angel of the waters say,
‘You are righteous, O Lord, Who are, and Who
was, even the Holy One, in that You have
executed this judgment. For they have
poured out the blood of saints and of prophets, and You have
given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.’
And I heard another voice from the altar say, ‘Yes, Lord God
Almighty, true and righteous are Your
judgments.’
“And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the
sun; and power was given to it to scorch men with fire. Then
men were scorched with great heat; and they
blasphemed the name of God, Who has authority
over these plagues, and did not repent to give
Him glory. And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the throne of the
beast; and his kingdom became full of darkness;
and they gnawed their tongues because of the
pain, and blasphemed the God of heaven because
of their pains and their sores; yet they did not
repent of their works. And the sixth angel poured out his vial into the
great river Euphrates; and its waters were dried
up, so that the way of the kings from the rising
of the sun might be prepared. Then
I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the
mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the
false prophet; for they are spirits of demons
working miracles, going forth to the kings of
the earth, even of the whole world, to gather
them together to the battle of that great day of the Almighty God.
“Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is the one who is watching and is keeping
his garments, so that he may not walk naked and
they may not see his shame. And he
gathered them together to the place that in
Hebrew is called Armageddon. Then the seventh angel poured out his vial into the
air; and a loud voice came out of the temple of
heaven, from the throne, saying, ‘IT IS
FINISHED.’
“And there were voices and thunders and
lightnings; and there was a great earthquake,
such as was not since men were on the earth, so
mighty an earthquake, and so great.
And the great city was divided into three parts;
and the cities of the nations fell; and Babylon
the Great was remembered before God to give her
the cup of the wine of the fury of His wrath.
And every island disappeared, and no mountains
were found; and great hail, each stone the weight of a talent, fell down from heaven
upon men; and men blasphemed God because of the
plague of the hail, for the plague was
exceedingly great” (Rev. 16:1-21).
After the seven last plagues have been poured
out, Jesus and the saints will return to the
earth from the sea of glass to fight against the
beast and false prophet and their armies.
Undoubtedly, as they are descending to the earth
on this feast of Trumpets, the seven angels will
be blowing the trumpets of God mightily which
all the earth will hear: “And I saw the
beast and the kings of the earth and their
armies, gathered together to make war with Him
Who sits on the horse, and with His army.
And the beast was taken, and with him the
false prophet who worked miracles in his presence, by which he
had deceived those who received the mark of the
beast and those who worshiped his image. Those two were cast alive into the lake of fire,
which burns with brimstone; and the rest were
killed by the sword of Him Who sits on the
horse, even the sword that goes out of His mouth; and all the birds
were filled with their flesh” (Rev. 19:19-21).
The prophetic fulfillment of this climatic
battle as pictured by the feast of Trumpets is
described in Zechariah: “Then shall the LORD go
forth, and fight against those nations, as when
he fought in the day of battle. And his
feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of
Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east,
and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the
midst thereof toward the east and toward the
west, and there shall be a very great valley;
and half of the mountain shall remove toward the
north, and half of it toward the south … and the LORD my God shall come, and all the
saints with thee … And the LORD shall be king over all the earth:
in that day shall there be one LORD, and his
name one … And this shall be the plague
wherewith the LORD will smite all the people
that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh
shall consume away while they stand upon their
feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their
holes, and their tongue shall consume away in
their mouth” (Zech. 14:3-5, 9, 12). Thus
ends the battle of Armageddon.
This survey of these scriptures portrays the
meaning of the feast of Trumpets and its final
fulfillment when Jesus Christ and all the saints
return to the earth. There are many more
prophecies in the Bible also showing the meaning
of this momentous day of the Lord. The
reader is encouraged to thoroughly study the
Word of God, Old and New Testaments for a more
complete insight and understanding of these
events. The time is at hand. The
prophesied events of the last days and the
return of Jesus Christ are near.
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