FEAST OF TRUMPETS - 2002

Fred Coulter - September 7, 2002

And greetings, brethren. This is the Feast of Trumpets, the year 2002. And every time we observe a holy day we always go to Leviticus 23. And now that we’ve progressed through all the way through to Pentecost up to Trumpets, it’s very interesting that there is a span of time from Pentecost unto Trumpets. And that span of time really is quite interesting. And that symbolizes the time from the beginning of the church until the return of Christ. And so that’s why we have a variable time that is in there, and that’s why it is difficult to pin down exactly the year when Christ is going to return. And so let’s back here to Leviticus 23, and let’s see that the Feast of Trumpets is a very profound feast, and it is a feast that is a war feast.

Now let’s read it here, Leviticus 23, and just a short three verses. Verse 23, “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation.” And these trumpets were blown all day long. “Ye shall do no servile work therein: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD” (Lev. 23:23-25). And of course we follow the commands of God to take up an offering, so we take up an offering with each one of the holy days, as God shows us here in Leviticus 23. And God shows in every situation what we are to do.

Now God judges our heart. God judges our mind. God judges our very lives. Yes, we’re under the grace of God. Yes, we’re under the freedom that Christ has given us. And so therefore with something so important, and something so precious as eternal life and ruling in the kingdom of God, which is going to be the greatest treasure that is ever in our whole existence. Then you need to calculate that in relationship to coming before the Lord, and not coming before Him empty; and coming before Him considering the blessings that the Lord your God has given you. So with that we’ll go ahead and pause and we’ll take up the offering at this time.

(Pause)

Now let’s first of all begin by going to Psalm 81, because this is a very good Psalm. This is a Psalm concerning the Feast of Trumpets. And also concerning the Feast of Tabernacles because the first day of the seventh month is the day which is calculated for the calculated Hebrew calendar, for determining all of the holy days. And here in Psalm 81 it gives us some very interesting things that we need to consider, and we need to understand.

Verse 1, “Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob. Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery. Blow up the trumpet in the new moon,…” Now that’s the new moon for the year, the new moon of the seventh month. “…In the time appointed, on our solemn feast day” (Psa. 81:1-3). And of course the only new moon feast that we keep is the Feast of Trumpets, which is the new moon.

Now then, “For this was a statute for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob. This he ordained in Joseph for a testimony,…” So it goes clear back to the time of Joseph and comes forward to now. “…When he went out through the land of Egypt: where I heard a language that I understood not” (vs. 4-5). Now when it comes down here for “the new moon in the appointed time, on our solemn feast”. Now back in verse 3, “solemn feast”, that means the Feast of Tabernacles. We have the new moon, begins the first day of the seventh month. Then the Feast of Tabernacles, because this, in the Hebrew, is the feast day is the full moon. So there are two things that need to be coordinated with the calculated Hebrew calendar for the seventh month. That is the first day of the month, and the fifteenth day of the month. And the fifteenth day of the month must have a full moon because that is the Feast of Tabernacles. So we have right in this verse a little bit of calendar education for us, and understanding how the calculated Hebrew calendar works.

Well this feast is a war feast. And let’s go back to the book of Judges. Let’s come to Judges 7, and let’s see the account of Gideon and the 300 men that went on the battle that the LORD chose to fight. Now isn’t it interesting where this is typical of a New Testament example, isn’t it? The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. Many are called but few are chosen. Now when Gideon sent out the message for “let’s go fight the enemy”, what happened? Thirty thousand men showed up. But God only chose 300. And He chose them in very peculiar way. That is, those who lapped water as a dog.

Now then Judges 7:7, “And the LORD said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other people go every man unto his place.” So they went ahead. They went to their place. He formed the battle plan. The battle plan was this: “You’re going to go out this night, and you’re going to take a lantern. And you’re going to put a pot over that lantern. We’re going to take the 300 men and separate them out into three different approaches to the Midianites. And when I break the pot over my lamp and blow the trumpet, all of the rest of you do the same thing.”

And so, let’s come down here to verse 19. “So Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came unto the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch [that’s approximately about midnight]; and they had but newly set the watch: and they blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers that were in their hands. And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow withal: and they cried, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon. And they stood every man in his place round about the camp:…” (vs. 19-21). And then what happened? God caused the enemy to just fight against themselves and kill themselves. So you see, God’s way of destroying the enemy is quite a bit different than we would suppose. And I think God has a lot of surprises for those armies in the end-time that come to fight against Christ and how He’s going to fight them. And it’s going to be as spectacular, in it’s own way, as this was unusual and spectacular in it’s way.

Now, let’s come here to Ezekiel 33 and let’s see that there is also a spiritual responsibility when we have a watchman. Now let’s understand something. This ties in very clearly with Matthew 24. Let’s go to Ezekiel 33 please. Because Matthew 24 says, “And this gospel shall be preached as a witness in all the world, and then shall the end come.”

Now here in Ezekiel 33, this tells of the duty of the watchman. Let’s pick it up here in verse 7. “So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel;…” Now a lot of people claim that the watchman sitting on the wall, according to Ezekiel, you see, but God has to make it clear who’s He’s using, and when it’s going to be used, and in which generation it is going to be used. And God says that it will be done. But here is the duty. “…Therefore thou shalt hear the word at My mouth, and warn them from Me.” That’s why the duty of those who are the watchmen, or the duty of those who are the teachers or the shepherds is to preach the word in season, be instant in season and out of season, and also to rebuke, to correct, to warn, to give witness, and all of these things are part of it. So we have the watchman here, and here is what he is to do.

Now he is to do this whether he’s accepted or not. And sometimes there are things that have to be said that it really doesn’t matter whether anyone accepts it or not, it’s because God said so. And if God has said so, then it’s going to happen. So He says, “When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand” (vs. 8). Now we could cover that in many principles and many different ways. So you think about it.

“Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it;…” And that’s the whole purpose of what God wants. God wants there to be repentance. “…If he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul. Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of Israel; Thus ye speak, saying, If our [iniquities] transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live? Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked;…” Now you see, when we’re coming to the end-time, this end-time message and witness is going to be powerful and profound, and the two witnesses of Revelation 11 will do a great deal of this. Because God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked. But nevertheless, He still has to execute His judgment, and execute His vengeance, and the Feast of Trumpets pictures that, and that day is coming. He says, “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?” (vs. 9-11).

Now when we go back and review a little bit concerning Pentecost, what do we find? We find that there were those, the children of Israel, who were in captivity, and the great innumerable multitude who repented and came out of great tribulation, and God was merciful to them. Now we’ll see the prophecy of that a little bit later, as we go along.

Now, let’s look at this concerning what is going to happen, and how it’s going to happen, and that this pictures the events at the end-time. Now let’s look at a couple of scriptures here which show this for us. Let’s first of all come to Jeremiah 25, because what is going to happen is going to happen. Christ is going to return, and all of this is as inevitable as the rising and the setting of the sun. Now Jeremiah 25 is quite a thing. Jeremiah is to take this cup and take it to all nations, and they are all to drink of it.

Jeremiah 25:15, “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:…” (Jer. 25:15-17). And it starts right out at Jerusalem. And it comes right down to verse 26, listing all the nations, all the kings, all the kingdoms of this world.

Now verse 26, “And all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world, which are upon the face of the earth:…” Now when it says “all the kingdoms of the world which are upon the face of the earth”, that is an all inclusive statement. So the Feast of Trumpets, picturing the Day of the Lord, and the return of Christ, is going to effect everything on this globe. Nothing is going to escape. We’ll see that.

“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. And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ye shall certainly drink. For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by My name [Jerusalem], and should ye be utterly unpunished?” Of course not. “Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the LORD of hosts” (vs. 27-29). Now you talk about a world war. That makes this war on terrorism look just like a sandbox, really.

“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, against all the inhabitants of the earth.” And we’ll see that, the grapes that are going to be trodden down at Armageddon. “A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the LORD hath a controversy with the nations,…” All the nations of the world. They have all gone against God. They have all broken His laws. They have all rejected Jesus Christ. They have all gone after the beast and the false prophet, and this controversy is going to be settled by God, and He’s going to win. Now notice what happens. “…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” (vs. 30-33).

Now, Jesus also talked about this same time. He talked about it very clearly. While we’re going back to the New Testament, let’s stop off at Joel 3 for just a minute, and we will see exactly how this is coming about, even in our day. Joel 3. It comes right after Hosea. You have Daniel, then Hosea, then Joel. Joel 3:9. “Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up:…” And that’s what we’re going to see. We’re going to see a massive buildup of war in all nations. “Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause Thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD. Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there…”, God says, “…will I sit to judge all the heathen round about” (Joel 3:9-12). And we’ll come back to the rest of that in just a bit.

Let’s come to Matthew 24, and let’s see the time that we are entering into, which is going to be an awesome time indeed. And that’s why, living at the end-time, a lot of people say, “Oh, I wish Christ would return just as quickly as possible.” Well, let’s understand a couple of things. Number one, you don’t know what you are asking for, because you don’t understand the fullness and the magnitude of what’s going to happen. Number two, it’s going to be on schedule the way that God the Father has set the schedule. And so those things will happen according to God’s way and God’s plan. Now as we look out and we see prophecy and see the things happening in the world, sometimes it looks like, boy, it’s going to come real quickly. And then we look at it and it looks like, wow, it may be a whole lot longer than we’ve anticipated. But either way, in our lifetimes, we have to be prepared because we don’t know how long we are going to live, we don’t know how long it’s going to be to the end, but one thing we do know: when the end comes, then it’s going to set forth the events which are going to end in the resurrection of the saints and the return of Jesus Christ.

Now let’s come here to Matthew 24:14. “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations;…” And that has to be in this generation at the end. And I believe “this generation” is the generation of those who have been nurtured on occultism and Harry Potter, and all this sort of thing. That is the generation that’s going to worship Satan. That is the generation that is going to reject God. That is the generation that thinks that they’re going to be able to solve all of their problems. And it’s going to be a witness to come upon them. Then shall the end come. Not until that is done.

Now here is a key event. Verse 15, because this is the event that triggers the Great Tribulation. “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) …” So this tells us there will be a temple built. This tells us there will be a holy place. This tells us that the abomination as described by the apostle Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2, the man of sin, the son of perdition who exalts himself above all that is called God or worshipped as God, and sits in the temple of God, giving himself out that he is God. That’s the abomination that makes desolate. That’s why the parenthetical statement is put in here “whoso readeth, let him understand.”

Now at that time, those in Judea, they have just a few minutes to think about what they’re going to do, and run to the hills. “Then…”, Christ says, “…let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house: neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.” So it’s going to come that fast. And it’s going to happen very quickly. “And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: for then shall be great tribulation,…” Just like we read in Jeremiah 25. “The slain of the LORD shall be from one end of the earth unto the other end of the earth.” “…Be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened[limited]…” Now it says shortened here, but the Greek really means “limited”. In other words, God has set aside a limited time for the great tribulation, and that, as we understand it, is 3 ½ years. God is not going to intervene and cut the prophecy short. God is not going to intervene and cut the time short. Everything is right on schedule. And that’s why it should read “limited”. And if He hadn’t set the limitation on the time, “…there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened [limited]” (vs. 16-22). Now God is doing this for the elect. For those who have the Spirit of God now. So that’s quite a thing when you understand that this whole prophecy has been built around for the sake of the elect. And so it is going to come. It is going to be quite a time.

Let’s go back to Daniel 12 and let’s see again, what God says about the end-time and what it’s going to be like. It’s going to be an awesome time indeed. Daniel 12:1, “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of Thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.” So the main thing we need to do, you see, if your name is written in the book of life then you’re taken care of. Whether you live through all of this, whether you go to a place of safety, or whether you die and are put in your place of safety, the grave, before Christ returns, you’re taken care of . You shall be delivered. That’s what God says. So as we go through this I want you to understand that though that we are going to cover some of the most fearsome things that are going to take place in the whole history of the world, the whole history of mankind, if you have the Spirit of God, if your name is written in the book of life, you are secure. So you don’t have to worry, and fret, and stew about that.

Now, since we’re here in the Old Testament, let’s go to the book of Zephaniah. Now Zephaniah is just two back from Zechariah. So you have Zachariah, Haggai, then Zephaniah. Let’s come to the first chapter of Zephaniah, ok? Again, I want you to notice how God is going to start at Jerusalem, and it’s going to go around the world, and it’s going to end at Jerusalem. Very interesting, isn’t it?

Zephaniah 1:12, “And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The LORD will not do good, neither will He do evil.” Because God is just way off there, and God is sort of an ethereal glob, and God is not a person. And we are going to manage everything ourselves. We’re going to work it out for ourselves. Well, it isn’t going to work that way.

Verse 13, “Therefore their goods shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation: they shall also build houses, but not inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, but not drink the wine thereof. 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,…” Now we’re going to see what happens when all of this takes place in just a bit. Here’s the reason: “…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” (vs. 13-18).

Then He gives just a little bit of respite right here in chapter 2, verse 1. “Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired; before the decree bring forth [before the decree that the end is going to be here], before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD come upon you, before the day of the LORD’S anger come upon you. Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought His judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD’S anger” (Zeph. 2:1-3). So that’s what they need to do. Now you see, God always gives a time of repentance.

Now let’s come back to Revelation 6. Now we’re going to cover a little territory. A little are that we covered with the Feast of Pentecost, but let’s see how all this ties in. Let’s see how the Day of the LORD is going to be announced to the world. Revelation 6. Let’s begin with the sixth seal, verse 12. This is how the Day of the LORD is going to be announced. It’s going to be an awesome day, indeed.

“And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll…” (Rev. 6:12-14). The heavens are going to open and it’s going to be a startling event that is going to take place. And it’s going to be an awesome thing, an unheard of thing, and the world is going to prepare to fight Christ. When the heavens are rolled back as a scroll the sign of the Son of Man appears in the heaven, and it’s like a big burst of light that lightens the whole heavens. And then looks like a sun and becomes closer, and closer, and closer, and closer to the earth. While it’s still out there in the heavens, before it gets close enough to the earth, as the earth turns and rotates on its axis, it’s going to look like a second sun that’s coming to the earth. It’s going to be a phenomenal thing for all to behold.

Now let’s come back here to verse 14. Let’s see what happens when this takes place. It is going to affect the earth. God says in Haggai 2, He’s going to shake the heavens. He’s going to shake the earth. He’s going to shake the dry land. He’s going to shake the seas. You see, God is all powerful, and God is Almighty. And this is going to happen. That’s why we keep this Feast of Trumpets because it shows and reminds us the power of God, the return of Christ, and the judgment against the wicked, and how God views this world and what God is going to do to it.

“…Every mountain and island were moved out of their places.” Now when you read the book of Revelation, there are many earthquakes that take place. Not just one or two - many. “And the kings of the earth,…” Now these are the leaders. These are the ones. This is the beast with the ten horns and the seven heads. “…And the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains [it’s like all the generals], and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of His wrath is come;…”, and that is the Day of the LORD, and that’s what this Feast pictures. “…And who shall be able to stand?” (vs. 14-17).

Ok, let’s come back here to Isaiah 2 and let’s see this. It tells us about the same thing. Here it was prophesied back here. All the security that men have will be all gone. Everything that men trusted in is going to fail, because you see, unless you trust in God, unless you trust in Jesus Christ and God the Father, everything else is going to fail. Let’s pick it up here in Isaiah 2:10. “Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust [see how this ties in with Revelation 6], 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). Now when we get into Revelation 8 and 9, we’re going to see that when God brings these plagues, they don’t repent. That’s because they are exalted.

Now let’s come down here to verse 17. “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…” Now what were they to do, Revelation 13? Make an image, or an idol for the beast. And make an image and an idol of the beast. These are their gods. “…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” (vs. 17-21). Now I tell you, it’s going to be an awesome day when that happens. This feast is really something.

Now in the middle of all of that, just like we found in the book of Revelation, what did we find there? Chapter 6, the Day of the LORD is right there with the pulling back of the heavens as a scroll. And then God reaches down and shows mercy. The 144,000 are saved, and the great innumerable multitude are saved. Now let’s come back to Joel 2 and let’s see where that was prophesied. This ties right in with it exactly. Joel 2:28. Now isn’t it interesting how we saw that on Pentecost that’s when 144,000 and the great innumerable multitude are sealed. Notice this right here, Joel 2:28. Here is a prophecy of it. And which Peter mentioned, by the way, in Acts 2 at the giving of the Holy Spirit at the temple in Jerusalem when the church began in 30 AD.

“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: and also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out My Spirit. And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come. And it shall come to pass..” Now here’s the promise which brings us the understanding of Revelation 7, of the 144,000 and great innumerable multitude that are saved out of great tribulation, “…Shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call” (Joel 2:28-32). So the very last remnant that God calls are those back there in Revelation 7.

Now, let’s see how this develops even further. Let’s come to Isaiah 13, and let’s see why this is coming. Because this is also part of the judgment that is upon Babylon the Great. And remember, it says, “Babylon the Great is fallen, is fallen.” And that means it will never rise again. And Babylon, we know, will be the whole world at that time. The Great Babylon.

Now let’s pick it up in Isaiah 13:1. “The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz did see. Lift ye up a banner upon the high mountain, exalt the voice unto them, shake the hand, that they may go into the gates of the nobles. I have commanded My sanctified ones, I have also called My mighty ones for Mine anger, even them that rejoice in My highness. The noise of a multitude in the mountains, like as of a great people; a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together: the LORD of hosts mustereth the host of the battle.” And we’re going to see that is going to be an awesome army, indeed. “They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, even the LORD, and the weapons of His indignation, to destroy the whole land” (Isa. 13:1-5). You see, after all of this is done the whole earth is going to be in one great giant shambles.

Verse 6, “Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.” They aren’t going to be able to fight against the weapons that God has. “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 [waste] 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” (vs. 6-10).

Verse 11, and God says, “And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity;…” So you see, because God right now at this time does not come down with judgment and death against the wicked, don’t think that God is slack. It’s coming. Inevitably, it is coming. “…And I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.” Now that’s the terrible one, or the beast power of Revelation 13. “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,…” God is going to shake the earth so much that it says in another place that it will be like a drunken man, reeling to and fro. That’s why there are going to be a lot of earthquakes taking place. God rises to shake the heavens and the earth, it’s going to be something. “…Remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of His fierce anger” (vs. 11-13). And so this is what this day pictures. This day, the Feast of Trumpets pictures the wrath of God, the judgment of God, the warring of God against the sinners of this earth, and right in the middle of it the saving of all of those who will repent.

Now let’s come to Isaiah 34 and let’s see how this goes even further. This is quite a thing. I mean this is really quite a feast day. And this pictures…that’s why there is memorial of the blowing of trumpets. It’s not just a war, it is the war. Isaiah 34:1, “Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it. For the indignation of the LORD is upon all nations, and His fury upon all their armies:…” All of their super weapons and everything will be of no avail. He will utterly destroy them. “…He hath delivered them to the slaughter. Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcases, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood. And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree. For My sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Idumea [and that means, the land of blood], and upon the people of My curse, to judgment. The sword of the LORD is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for the LORD hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea” (Isa. 34:1-6).

Well, we’re going to go to the book of Revelation now, and we’re going to see how all of these things will transpire and come down to the time when Christ returns to the earth and all the saints with Him, to begin to set this world in order.