PENTECOST – DAY 50

Fred Coulter – June 12, 2005

And greetings brethren. Welcome to the Feast of Pentecost – 2005. And here we are on the 50^th day. Now we know that we start on the Sabbath during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and let’s count the fifty days. And I don’t know why people get all complicated on this and do not know how to count. But it’s really very, very simple when we understand it. And you can look at any calendar and you can count out fifty days, and it’s very easy to do if we follow the instructions that were given here in Leviticus 23.

So let’s pick it up now, Leviticus 23:15. Now remember, counting is different than addition or subtraction. For example: if you work from Monday through Friday you count Monday. You don’t start counting on Tuesday. And that’s exactly with the way that it is with counting. “And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day…”, which means including that day, not the day after. Because you see, “after” is already used up here - “after the Sabbath, from the day”, which means including that day. And of course that’s the day that Jesus was accepted of God the Father, wasn’t it? So that first day must be included in the count. And if He was accepted of the Father on the first day of the week then the count begins on a Sunday. And if you count 50 days you end up on a Sunday. “…From the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete…” Now that’s easy to understand, isn’t it?

Now notice verse 16: “…even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath…” Now that means it has to be the first day of the week because there are only seven days in a week. And the seventh sabbath, then, is the 49^th day. And as we saw yesterday there are seven weeks to the harvest.

Now notice: “…shall ye number fifty days…” So this fills in what was missing there in Deuteronomy 16 and gives us the complete picture. Now the thing to always understand is this: whenever there are Scriptures that either don’t tell all of the story, or part of the story, or it’s spread through three or four different Scriptures, we are to get all of those and bring them together and get the whole picture. So here’s the whole picture for us.

And then it says: “…and ye shall offer a new meat [meal] offering unto the LORD.” And this becomes a very special presentation to God. “Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven…” Now there’s only one other sacrifice where leavened bread is allowed to be given, and we find that in Leviticus 7:13 concerning a peace offering, which is a thank offering. So when a peace offering becomes a thank offering then they are able to offer with the unleavened bread, leavened bread. That’s the only one.

Now it says, these two loaves: “…they are the firstfruits unto the LORD.” Now we’ll come back to that in a just a bit. “And ye shall offer with the bread seven lambs without blemish of the first year [now that might be a type of the seven churches or the peace offering for the seven churches], and one young bullock, and two rams: they shall be for a burnt offering unto the LORD, with their meat [meal] offering…” Now every time you see “meat offering” in the King James, that’s a meal offering. “…And their drink offerings, even an offering made by fire, of sweet savour unto the LORD. Then ye shall sacrifice one kid of the goats for a sin offering, and two lambs of the first year for a sacrifice of peace offerings. And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the first fruits…” Now there was a ceremonial two loaves that the priest waved. And all the people would come to bring their two loaves to be waved. And there would be many priests and many Levites around there and they would hand them to the priests and the Levites, and they would wave the loaves to be accepted of the Lord, and then give them back to the people so they could go participate in the Feast of Pentecost. So there were many, many, many, many loaves and many people. Now we’ll see a little later when we get to Acts 2 how many people were there on the day of Pentecost, and of course they were doing exactly what was said here. “…The bread of the firstfruits for a wave offering before the LORD, with the two lambs: they shall be holy to the LORD for the priest. And ye shall proclaim on the selfsame day [that’s the 50^th day], that it may be an holy convocation unto you: ye shall do no servile work therein: it shall be a statute for ever in all your dwellings throughout your generations” (Lev. 23:15-21, KJV). Now we know from last time that in Leviticus 16 we are told that we are to bring an offering on the Feast of Weeks, which is today. The Feast of Weeks is the Feast of Pentecost.

Now let’s come to II Corinthians 9 and let’s see a principle. Again, here is something that we need to understand and realize how God is working, and how God is doing, and how God works in our lives. God responds to us exactly in the way that we respond to Him. Now here is a living principle that the apostle Paul wrote of, and here was a thing where they were actually planting crops, growing them, harvesting them, laying them up in store for a shipment of famine relief to the brethren down in Jerusalem. And Paul is making a very important point concerning planting and harvesting and so forth.

Now let’s pick it up here in verse 6 because this is important. And as I read this I want you to think about your life and how you respond to God and what you do. And then also keep in mind the parable of Matthew 25 of the five talents, the two talents, and the one talent. Now verse 6: “But this I say: the one who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly; and the one who sows bountifully shall also reap bountifully.” And of course many of these things have to do with spiritual blessing, spiritual understanding. God will take care of the physical things. As long as we are growing in grace and knowledge and loving God and doing the things that are pleasing to Him, He will be with us.

Now, verse 7. Here is the key important thing because this is what we all must do: “Each one as he purposes in his heart, so let him give…” So we must make the decision on giving an offering to God, what we are going to do, how much we are going to give, our attitude toward it, our attitude God, Jesus Christ, our attitude toward the minister who brings up concerning bringing an offering. There are some people who have been so burned because of being merchandised in other churches of God that they grudging give what ever little bit they can give. Well, that’s also something that needs to be overcome too, because you see if you have a beef with a man, then your beef is really with God. Now you are away from those people. You’re gone from them. So just as you want things a new beginning for you, just as you want things to be better for you, then you need to examine how you are responding to God. “…But not grudgingly or by compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver.”

Now here’s a promise – a blessing which ties in with Malachi 3. And there are some brethren, unfortunately, when they hear that section of Scripture read in Malachi 3, their minds close, their ears stop, their eyes are shut, and get mad. Well, you can’t do that with the Word of God, because what are you doing? You are picking and you are choosing. Now God wants us to love Him with our whole heart, and our whole mind, and our whole being, and our whole attitude, and part of it is our relationship with God. And here’s a principle that Paul brings out here: “For God is able to make all grace abound toward you so that in every way you may always have sufficiency in all things, and may abound unto every good work…” (II Cor. 9:6-8, FV). So God is able to do that. But we must trust Him in faith.

Notice the whole purpose of everything that we do then is to “abound unto every good work” and those are the good works that God has laid before us in keeping His commandments, and loving God, and loving the brethren, and everything that God wants us to do. So you need to keep that in mind as you prepare for the offering, or have already prepared. I hope that you have considered all of these things and placed it in God’s hands and that you give from the heart willingly so that we can continue to serve the brethren and help do the things that we need to do. We’re all doing this together. So at this time we’ll pause and take up the offering.

(Pause)

Now let’s come back to Leviticus 23 and let’s look at something here that’s important for us to understand. Let’s concentrate on the two wave loaves that were baked with leaven. And what I want you to do is have in your mind..now if you can look in the Harmony and see the whole court area around the temple. And I want you to picture the whole court area filled with people and everyone bringing these two loaves. And they bring them up to the line of the priests and the Levites and give them to them, and they turn and wave them to the temple and give them back to the people and then they go ahead and continue on with it.

Now if Pentecost, which it does, pictures the end of the harvest (there’s no question about that), and if the harvest of the firstfruits, as we have seen, is likened unto planting grain and harvesting grain as we find there in Matthew 13 and Mark 4, then we have a type of the resurrected brethren. And let’s put it this way – one loaf is for all of those who attained to salvation before Christ (the special ones that God called beginning with Abel all the way down through the different prophets and kings and Moses and so forth), the other one then beginning with the New Testament church. And it’s very interesting how we’re going to see that Pentecost is also a beginning, and Pentecost is also an ending, which ties in with the theme of the book of Revelation where Jesus said, “I am the beginning and I am the ending. I am the first, I am the last, I am Alpha and Omega.”

Now notice what it says here: they shall be baked with leaven, fine flour, the very best. So in this particular case the very best means the character of God. And after all isn’t that the purpose of all the trials that we go through? Yes – to refine us, to give us the spiritual character of God, to grant us of the things that God wants us to have.

Now, when you put leaven in the dough, what happens? It rises. Now we have to understand this: that only during the Feast of Unleavened Bread is leaven a type of sin. Now when we come to the day of Pentecost the leaven pictures something else. And it pictures something far more important. So let’s look at it here. Come to Matthew 13 and let’s look at another parable concerning the Kingdom of God, which is interesting, which takes place what? When we read Matthew 13 we were talking of two instances of the harvest, correct? Now, let’s read what it says after the harvest. So this ties in with the whole counting of Pentecost leading up to the day of Pentecost – the seven weeks of Pentecost.

Now let’s come here and let’s see. Let’s come to Matthew 13:44. We are going to see a couple parables. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is compared to treasure hidden in a field; which when a man finds, he conceals, and for the joy of finding it, goes and sells everything that he has, and buys that field.” Now this shows the whole dedication that we are to have concerning God, concerning our calling. Why is it that people want to have eternal life and do nothing to receive it? Now think about that for a minute. Why is it that people want to have eternal life and don’t even want to do the bare minimum? Now think about that too. Here it shows the maximum effort to acquire whatever is necessary to receive eternal life.

Now the next one. Verse 44: “Again, the kingdom of heaven is compared to a merchant seeking beautiful pearls; who, after finding one very precious pearl, went and sold everything that he had, and bought it.” And so this is showing the parable here – how we are to put forth the maximum effort.

Now let’s tie that in over here, with the parable of the leaven. Let’s pick it up in verse 31, and as we will see this is right at the harvest. Just like the day of Pentecost, the 50^th day also follows the seven week[s] of harvest. “Another parable He presented to them…” This is the parable of the mustard seed, a very small thing, and grows and provides for everything. Verse 33: “Another parable He spoke to them: ‘The kingdom of heaven is compared to leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour until all was leavened’ ” (Matt. 13:44-46, 31, 33, FV).

Now let’s concentrate on the leaven. Why leaven? And what does that symbolize? Now first of all, whatever the leavening agent is it acts as a gas. It works in a way that you can only see the results. You can’t see it happening. You can’t see the gas. Now that in with John 3 that the Spirit you can’t see where it comes and where it goes. So this is the spiritual action.

Now, where does the leaven work? In this case the spiritual action, or the good work of the leaven, works within us to change the unleavened bread to leaven to make it in a different form. And this is exactly what the resurrection is all about. Now then, when you take the loaf and you bake it, now what happens? The dough is permanently changed. Before you bake it you can beat it down and you can make the raised dough get flat again and then leave it and it will raise again. I guess sometimes they allow it to raise two or three times before they go ahead and bake it. And of course you might look at the pushing down and the smashing of the leavened dough the couple of times as likened unto the trials that we go through. But when you put it in the oven and you bake it, it is permanently changed. It is a finished product. So these two loaves back in Leviticus 23 picture the finished product of us entering into the Kingdom of God, being accepted of God. Now just like it says there in I Corinthians 10, it says if the lump is Holy (that’s Christ) then the loaf is Holy, and we are the loaf. So here’s the acceptance of us by God the Father. And this has to be on Pentecost, and this is why the resurrection is on Pentecost, and why these things are portrayed this way. And what we’re going to see, and what we’ve been learning all the way through all the years, God uses the holy days. He has a plan, He has a purpose, and it unfolds as we keep the holy days.

Now let’s come to the book of Acts and let’s see another Pentecost. Now we know from previous things that we’ve studied in years past that the law was given on Pentecost. And we also know that at that time, after Moses received the statutes and judgments and the commandments of God that he wrote it all in a scroll, he presented it to the people, read all the words in the ears of the people, and all the people said, “Whatever God said, we will do.” And then there were the sacrifices where he sprinkled the book of the covenant, and he sprinkled the people, and then that was the establishment of the marriage covenant with God between Israel and God. And then Moses went up on the mountain. And we have seen how that when Moses went up there certain of the elders and the priests went up so far. And then they had a meal with God. This is probably the day after Pentecost. So here is likened unto the marriage feast. And as they looked up toward the top of the mountain where God was they saw a clear glass paving of stone. It looked like a platform, but they could see through it. And they were able to see kind of a visage of God. So they had the privilege of knowing and understanding that the covenant that they were entering into and sealed by the blood of these animals, and so forth, that it was God Who was dealing with them. And then Moses went up after seven days and God gave him the Ten Commandments written with His own finger, and so forth.

Now when we come to Acts 2 we see something that happens on the day of Pentecost for another purpose. So we can liken the Old Covenant Pentecost and the events that happened afterwards, and then we come the New Covenant Pentecost here in Acts 2. And remember, what did Jesus tell them? He said, “You wait in Jerusalem until you receive power from on high”, which was the power of the Holy Spirit. And so this is what we’re talking about here and what has been recorded. And this is recorded to show us how God uses the holy days, and how God has a purpose for them. And here now we have, with the giving of the Holy Spirit, we have something that is a key in understanding the New Covenant, which is this: under the Old Covenant they were not given the Holy Spirit. God said to them, after He had given the Ten Commandments and the people said, “All that God says, we will do”, He said, “Oh that there were such a heart in them that they would fear Me and keep My commandments always.” Well now when we come to Acts 2, on the day of Pentecost, God also gives His Spirit in power for preaching, for teaching, as a witness. And He does it right at the temple because that’s where God had placed His name. So in order for everyone to know that this came from God, right at the temple, God used the temple area and the apostles to do the preaching. He filled them with the Holy Spirit and did a profound and special thing that had never been done.

Now let’s come here to Acts 2 and begin in verse 1. Now what we have here in verse 1 is a literal translation of verse 1: “And when the day of Pentecost, the fiftieth day…”, because that’s what Pentecost means – count 50. And the 50^th day: “…was being fulfilled…” That means “during the accomplishing of.” Now we have a whole booklet about Pentecost, exactly what it means. And I go into detail in it very, very particularly with the Greek to show that this means “was being fulfilled.” Now the reason that that is so is because there is one translation back in about 1539 by Bishop Cramner for the Great Bible, where he said, “and after the day of Pentecost was completed.” And there’s where some people get off on counting the day of Pentecost. No, it’s not after it was completed, it was during the fulfilling of, or was being fulfilled, or during the accomplishing of the day of Pentecost.

Now notice: “…they were all with one accord in the same place.” Now here comes something that never happened before. But remember, from Mt. Sinai when God spoke the Ten Commandments and everything that occurred there, that was quite an event. Now here he is showing something else that is likened unto it only in stead of the voice of God coming it was the power of the Holy Spirit so He could fill the apostles to preach and teach about Christ.

Verse 2: “And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like the rushing of a powerful wind, and filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them divided tongues as of fire, and sat upon each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit; and they began to speak with other languages, as the Spirit gave them the words to proclaim.” That’s something to understand. It’s not what the world thinks as “speaking in tongues.” This is speaking in languages because, as we will see, they all heard the wonderful works of God.

“Now there were many Jews who were sojourning in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven.” Now what was it that they had prepared for them? The wave loaves. So here they all are with the wave loaves and ready to bring to the priests and all of a sudden this occurs. Verse 6: “And when word of this went out, the multitude came together and were confounded, because each one heard them speaking in his own language.” So here are two miracles that God has performed: 1) in the minds of the apostles as they were speaking, they were thinking in the language of their own minds. But as the words came out there was another miracle: 2) they all heard their own language. Now this is an astounding event. And right there at the temple of God. And the reason that God began there was so that everyone would know that this was God Who was doing it.

“And they were all amazed, and marveled, saying to one another, ‘Behold, are not all these who are speaking Galileans?’ ” So they knew. And the Galileans were not those who were supposed to be speaking the Words of God. They were not supposed to be the educated, and mighty, and the intelligentsia which were there in Jerusalem, because that’s where all of the elite were, and the priests and so forth. Notice it wasn’t the priests who were doing it, it wasn’t the Levites who were doing it. But it was the apostles who were speaking.

Verse 8: “ ‘Then how is it that we hear each one in our own language in which we were born?’ ” Then it lists off all the countries. All over the Mediterranean and clear up into Parthia and Media and Egypt and Mesopotamia and Arabia and so forth. Now verse 11: “ ‘…we hear them speaking in our own languages the great things of God.’ ” So they were preaching the truth of God. Now they couldn’t understand how that was happening. So verse 12: “And they were all amazed and greatly perplexed, saying to one another, ‘What does this mean?’ But others were mocking and saying, ‘They are full of new wine.’ Then Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice and spoke out to them: ‘Men, Jews, and all those of you who inhabit Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and pay attention to my words. For these are not drunken as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘ “And it shall come to pass in the last days,” ’ says God, ‘ “that I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh…” ’ ” Now this was a type of it. This prophecy has yet to be completely fulfilled. So what was happening there at the temple with the apostles was a type of it. “ ‘ “…And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; and even upon My servants and upon My handmaids will I pour out My Spirit in those days, and they shall prophesy…” ’ ” Now we’ll see in a little bit in Revelation 7 when that fulfillment is going to take place.

“ ‘ “…And I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and vapors of smoke.” ’ ” And we’ll see the fulfillment of that when we come to Revelation. It was partially fulfilled during the events through the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. “ ‘ “The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.” ’ ” And so we’re going to see how that fits into Pentecost. So it’s interesting that Peter preaches this sermon, not only to explain what was happening there at the temple, but also a prophecy, as we will see, that will be fulfilled in Revelation 7.

Verse 21: “ ‘ “And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” ’ ” Then he talks about Christ, how they delivered Him up to be crucified, and how terrible and awesome this was, and how that God did not allow His body to see corruption. And he said something very profound – that David prophesied of this, and David’s tomb was still with them there in Jerusalem. So once they understood that Jesus died for their sins, God granted a good number of them repentance.

Now let’s pick it up here in verse 36: “ ‘Therefore, let all the house of Israel know with full assurance that God has made this same Jesus, Whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.’ Now after hearing this, they were cut to the heart; and they said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Men and brethren, what shall we do?’ Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent and be baptized each one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you yourselves shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’ ” This is the planting of the seed, as we saw yesterday. Now the harvest is going to start with the planting of the seed. And it’s going to continue, as the seven weeks picture, right on down to the return of Jesus Christ. So you might way this: from Pentecost in Acts 2 until Pentecost where we come in the book of Revelation, we are in the planting and harvesting age – the age of the church. And then we are going to see the special harvest of God when we come to Revelation 7.

Now notice verse 40: “And with many other words he earnestly testified and exhorted, saying, ‘Be saved from this perverse generation.’ Then those who joyfully received his message were baptized…” Remember, there were some who mocked. They didn’t joyfully receive it. And the priests didn’t joyfully receive it, nor the scribes, nor the Pharisees because why? This was the beginning of their loosing power. So that’s why God gave the power of the Holy Spirit to the apostles to do the preaching they did.

“…Those who joyfully received his message were baptized; and about three thousand souls were added that day.” Now notice: “And they steadfastly continued in the teachings of the apostles and in fellowship, and in the breaking of bread and in prayers.” And that just means eating meals together. That doesn’t mean holding communion every time they got together. “And fear came upon every soul, and many signs and miracles were done by the apostles” (Acts 2:1-8, 11-21, 36-38, 40-43, FV). So that’s the way the church started out. Now we’re going to see that the church is also going to end with a bang just as it started out. Now all the rest of the way through are the instructions in the New Testament on how we are to develop and build the character so when we come to the point of dying, or we come to the point of the resurrection, that character will be fixed in us just like the leavened cakes that were leavened and then baked.

Now let’s continue on and see how we have another fulfillment of this in the book of Revelation. Now the seven churches..and isn’t it interesting that it’s called the “mystery of the seven churches.” Now why is that called a mystery? Because of the prophetic message for all the churches of God from the time of John on down to the return of Christ. And these seven churches picture the seven weeks of the harvest. Now let’s see what’s going to happen one of these days very soon down the road.

Now after the seven churches..let’s come here to Revelation 4:1: “After these things I looked, and behold, a door opened in heaven; and the first voice that I heard was as if a trumpet were speaking with me, saying, “ ‘Come up here, and I will show you the things that must take place after these things.’ ” And the way the book of Revelation is laid out: you start with John where he is – and John was told, “Write the thing which you have seen, the things which are, and the thing which will be hereafter.” And so we have some more things that are being shown. So then he was immediately carried up in Spirit and he saw the throne of God, and the twenty-four elders, and the innumerable company of angels, and the great rainbow that was around the throne of God, and also that the throne of God was sitting on a sea of glass. Now we’re first introduced to the sea of glass back there in Exodus 24. Now we are reintroduced to it here which shows the throne of God. And then the four living creatures and so forth and all that was going on there.

Now let’s come to Chapter 5, because Chapter 5 shows that there is a time that is going to occur, and maybe part of it has already occurred in heaven, when the events at the end-time are set on their course according to the schedule of God. Now Chapter 5, this has to do with the book and the seven seals.

Now let’s pick it up here concerning opening of the seven seals, verse 5: “Then one of the elders said to me, ‘Do not weep. Behold, the Lion Who is of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David [that’s the physical linage of Christ], has overcome to open the book, and to loose its seven seals.’ Then I saw, and behold, before the throne and the four living creatures, and before the elders, was standing a Lamb as having been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes…” Now the seven horns are the seven churches. I have a tape that I’ve done on the seven spirits of God, which are the seven eyes, and how God uses those. Now verse 7: “And He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him Who sits on the throne.” Now this is showing that God the Father, as Jesus said, has the full schedule, the full understanding of when these events are going to occur. And Jesus also, after He was resurrected, understood when these would be. So now is the time to start these events unfolding, and they begin from the throne of God. It’s not going to start on earth. No. God looks down here and says, “Oh, look at that. Well, we better hurry up and do this and such, don’t You think, Son?” No. It starts with the Father, through the Son, and then down through the angels, down to the earth, and down to the men who are on the earth to carry out the events that God has prophesied.

Now verse 8: “And when He took the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having harps…” and so forth. They sang a new song. Now let’s come down here to verse 11: “And I saw and I heard the voices of many angels around the throne, and the voices of the living creatures and the elders, and thousands of thousands…” So when this event occurs in heaven at the throne of God it’s a powerful thing. And it is quite an event that takes place. “…Saying with a loud voice, ‘Worthy is the Lamb Who was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory and blessing.’ And every creature that is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and those that are on the sea, and all the things in them, I heard saying, ‘To Him Who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing, and honor, and glory, and sovereignty into the ages of eternity’ ” (Rev. 5:5-8, 11-13, FV). And so the whole plan of God now comes to a focal point. And we will see how this again leads us up to Pentecost. But these events have to happen.

Now Chapter 6:1: “And I looked when the Lamb opened one of the seals…” Now, the Lamb is Christ. He is at the throne of God. He opens up one of the seals. Now notice what happens. And this is the reason we know that the first seal with the white horse is not Christ – because Christ opens the first seal, He opens all the seals one after the other, so He doesn’t open a seal, jump on a horse and start doing what it says of the one on the white horse. But these events unfold one after the other.

And he said, verse 2: “ ‘…Come and see.’ And I looked, and behold, there was a white horse; and the one who was sitting on it had a bow, and a crown was given to him; and he went out conquering, and to conquer.” Now, the white horse is a type of the false righteousness of the religious systems of this world. And so it’s no surprise that we are seeing this event unfold now. Very likely the first seal has already been opened. And if it hasn’t been opened, it’s ready to be opened because all of the religions are going to come together in this great movement against God and under Satan the devil. And they conquer for to conquer. And notice he has a bow but no arrows. No swords.

Now then verse 3: “And when He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, ‘Come and see.’ And another horse went out that was red; and power was given to the one sitting on it to take peace from the earth…” Now here comes a time of great war. And this is the war to set off the events leading to the end-time. So this has got to be the beginning of the great tribulation. So right here we can tie in Revelation 13, we can tie in Revelation 17, and so forth. And here’s the one who is proclaimed god on earth to have the power for war. And the one sitting on this red horse was given power “…to take peace from the earth, and to cause them to kill one another; and a great sword was given to him.” So this is really quite a thing that is taking place. And when that happens it’s right on the schedule that God has set for the prophecies.