FEAST OF TRUMPETS - 2004

Fred Coulter - September 16, 2004

Greetings, brethren, to the Feast of Trumpets, 2004. And here we are with the time going by. We’re at the fourth holy day of the year. The first holy days of the year apply directly to the church. The last four: Trumpets, Atonement, Tabernacles, and the Last Great Day apply to the world, and also to the church. And in this, this Feast of Trumpets, as we come down through Leviticus 23, it lists all the holy days. All the holy days are important to God, and they tell the plan and the story that God wants us to know so we can understand why we’re here, where we’re going, what God is doing, how He’s doing it, approximately when He is going to do it so we can have understanding, faith, and hope. That’s why we have the holy days.

Now the Feast of Trumpets is an unusual feast inasmuch as that it pictures being a war-feast from this point of view. Let’s go to Leviticus 23, which we always do, and here we have the Feast of Trumpets. It says in 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” (Lev. 23:23-24). Now the “memorial of blowing of trumpets” means that the trumpets were to be blown all day long. So this is a feast where then it incorporates everything that it talks about what the trumpets are used for in Numbers 10. We’re going to see this as we go through the explanation of the day.

Let’s come over here to Numbers 10 and let’s go back and review the use of the trumpet. There were two special trumpets that were made. One, Numbers 10:2 - the calling of assembly. Verse 5, and this is calling of assembly, as we will see. God is going to gather all nations there at Armageddon. And then it’s blown for an alarm or a warning, which this day is. And then it’s also, verse 9, if you go to war. So this is a war feast. But also, after the war is over you have the recovery of it, so you also have the trumpet here. “…In the day of your gladness, and in your solemn days, and in the beginnings of your months, ye shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings;…” (Nu. 10:2, 5, 9-10). So the trumpet had a lot to do with the ceremony at the temple. And of course, as we will see as we already have leading up to Pentecost, that the trumpet plagues in Revelation 8 and 9 have an awful lot to do with the fulfilling of God’s plan and the carrying out of what He’s doing leading up to the return of Jesus Christ.

Now in Leviticus 23 it says that on this day we are to offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord. And of course we always take up an offering on the holy days. An offering is something that you need to determine, something that you need to plan for, something that reflects your thankfulness to God for the blessings that He has given you, and it has to be from your heart.

And so God expects us to do that and then we in turn use this money to help the brethren. Everything that you send in is used to produce books, booklets, tapes, CD’s, pay for mail, pay for office help, and all of these things. So if you appreciate receiving the tapes, if you appreciate receiving the things then you can express it back in an offering, which will then be honored by God because you give from a willing heart and attitude. So at this time we’ll pause and take up the offering.

(Pause)

Now as we saw leading up to Pentecost and including Pentecost, that the return of Jesus Christ is a spectacular event. And it’s something that is not just done in an instant, and it’s something the whole world will understand when the time comes. And it will be something that no one is going to be able to avoid. It’s not going to be a secret rapture. It’s not going to be a secret coming. It is going to be known in power and strength and glory, and especially as we will see for the Feast of Trumpets, because the Feast of Trumpets caps off the return of Jesus Christ to this earth.

Now when Jesus was talking to His disciples on the Passover night, He said, “If I go I will come again and receive you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also.” So Christ is going to receive us to Himself. But many people don’t believe in the return of Jesus Christ anymore. We’re going to find that that is going to be more and more of a problem. And also that people are so deceived with the Rapture, even to the point that some of them say, “Well, you can receive the mark of the beast and still go to heaven.” Well I don’t read that in the Bible. The Bible says you have to have victory over the beast and over his mark, and over his number, and over his name. But nevertheless they are not going to believe it because there is going to be, as we’ll see a little later, a false messiah, a false prophet and they are going to deceive the whole world under the spiritual power of Satan and the demons.

Now the apostle Peter wrote of this in II Peter 3, so let’s turn there. And while you’re turning there remember this: that Jesus even said when He comes will He find faith in the earth? Of course there will be some with His church. But even then, the quality of faith is in question. Now here in II Peter 3 is what Peter wrote. He said, “Now, beloved, I am writing this second epistle to you; in both, I am stirring up your pure minds by causing you to remember in order for you to be mindful of the words that were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of the Lord and Savior, spoken by us, the apostles; knowing this first, that in the last days there will come mockers, walking according to their own personal lusts, and asking, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the forefathers died, everything has remained the same as from the beginning of creation’ ” (II Peter 3:1-4, FV). And so they have ignored the facts of history, as he says there in verse 5. They have ignored the facts in the geological table of the earth. They have believed in evolution. They don’t believe in God. They don’t believe in the second return of Jesus Christ. And so when Jesus Christ comes, you wait and see, He is going to be counted as an alien. He and His angels and all the saints with Him. We’re going to see this.

Let’s look at some of the prophecies which tell us about the setting up of the kingdom of God on earth at the return of Jesus Christ in power and in glory, and in a scope that is going to be awesome indeed. Far greater than even most of us in the church have ever assumed or ever thought of. It is going to be something else.

Now here, let’s go back to the book of Daniel. And of course the whole book of Daniel tells us some of the things here about the return of Christ and when these things will be, and how they are going to happen, and what it is going to be like. Let’s come to Daniel 2 because here is a promise that was given to Nebuchadnezzar in the interpretation of the dream that he had, which Daniel interpreted for him. Now I’m not going to go through the whole thing, but we’ll just come here to Daniel 2:44. We’re going to see how this fills in, in the book of Revelation a little later.

“And in the days of these kings…” So there’s coming a time when all of these things will be. And they’re going to be done on time according to God’s schedule, according to His plan as outlined by the holy days, and God has predetermined all of this. You know, the apostles wanted to know, “Are You at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” And He said, “No, you go your way and you preach. That’s given into the hands of the Father and that’s under His authority.”

It talks about it. “And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed:…” Notice how it’s going to come. “…And the kingdom shall not be left to other people,…” It’s going to be given to the saints and we’re going to rule, and we’re going to reign. And we’re going to help straighten out this whole earth. You see, the Protestants focus in on having sin forgiven so they can be right with God, and they can be saved, and they can go to heaven. And they never get past beginning. God wants us to grow in character, grow in knowledge, grow in understanding. He wants us to develop the character so that we can rule and reign with Jesus Christ, because it’s not going to be left to other people, it’s going to be for the saints. And this whole civilization of this world is going to come to a destructive end. And that’s what this feast pictures – the destruction of the civilizations of this world. And it’s pictured right here.

“…It shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure” (Dan. 2:44-45). Now all of the details are not given here.

Some of the details are given a little later in chapter seven. Let’s come over here and see this. This is quite a thing. Brethren, God has called us to the greatest calling, to the greatest event, to be able to be partakers of it, to be able to be part of it, to be able to help solve all the problems of this world. And know for sure they’re going to get worse.

Daniel 7:13, “I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven,…” That’s how He’s coming. That’s how He left. That’s how He’s returning. And the book of Revelation says every eye shall see Him. “…And came to the Ancient of days, and they brought Him near before Him. And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve Him: His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.” Now you see, this is going to bring the beast, the false prophets, the nations of the world into a head-on confrontation with the return of Jesus Christ and the saints of God. But as we are going to see, they are going to lose. And they are going to lose big time.

Now when we come to verse 27, again we’ll see that dominion was given to Christ, and then He gives some of that dominion to us to rule and reign with Him. “And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him” (Dan. 7:13-14, 27). But the thing that is profound and important is the way this is going to happen and how big an event this is going to be. It is going to be almost beyond the scope of our imagination. So maybe we can help expand that a little more today, to understand that we are called to the greatest most significant and most profound event to ever occur since the creation of the world. And that’s what this Feast of Trumpets is all about.

Now let’s look and see a little bit more here. We’ll come back to chapter 8 when we get to the feast a little bit later on. But let’s come over here to Daniel 12:1. “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people [so this is going to rescue the physical tribes of Israel]: 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.” Now we saw that. We saw how the first resurrection takes place on Pentecost. And we’re going to look at the events that take place after we are on the sea of glass leading up to the literal return of Christ and the saints on the earth.

Now let’s come to Jeremiah 25 and let’s see what a tremendous event this is going to be. This is going to be something just affecting the whole world. Jeremiah 25:12, “And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished,…” Now, it finishes off with the seventy year captivity of the Jews in Babylon, but then it extends out way beyond to the end. So this prophecy begins here and then projects to the return of Jesus Christ. “…I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the LORD, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations. And I will bring upon that land all My words which I have pronounced against it, even all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah hath prophesied against all the nations.” Now you go back and you read Jeremiah 50, 51, and 52 and you see how profound this is going to be. He’s going to bring to pass all His words. “For many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of them also: and I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the works of their own hands. 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.” So then Jeremiah said, “Then took I the cup at the LORD’S hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the LORD had sent me:…” And He starts right at Jerusalem. Then it lists all the nation.

Now come over here to verse 26 and let’s see how far this goes. “And all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world,…” So when we come to the end-time and we’re talking about the return of Jesus Christ, we are talking about world-wide events. And we are living in a time when all of these things are possible. They weren’t possible 25 years ago, 30 years ago, 100 years ago, 500 years ago, 1000 years ago. But now they are possible. “…All the kingdoms of the world, which are upon the face of the earth:…” Now that’s very inclusive, isn’t it? That’s quite a thing to understand.

Now notice what it’s going to be. Verse 29, “For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by My name,…” Now God is saying, “I want you to understand something very important. If I start correcting and bringing evil upon the city that is called by My name, the rest of you are not going to escape.” And we’re going to see the thing at Jerusalem is going to key these end-time events as never before. And we can see how that is coming more, and more, and more, and more, can’t we? Now notice, He says, “…Which is called by My name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the LORD of hosts.” Now how all encompassing is that? That’s profound. Remember Jesus said, “It is a time of trouble that has not been since there was a nation on earth, nor no ever shall be.” And unless God had not limited that time all flesh should be destroyed. So we need to get our thinking caps on and we need to think big. We need to think huge. We need to use the Spirit of God to understand as greatly as possible, as much as we can, what God is going to do.

Now what you need to do is understand this: because these events are coming this way – do not be fearful! Do not be cowardly. Do not run and try and hide in a corner. God wants us to be courageous. God wants us to stand for the truth. God wants us to understand one thing very important – we are on God’s side and there is nothing that anyone can do to us to turn back what God has promised for us and to turn back the hand of God.

Just like He told Jeremiah when He said, “I want you to go.” He said, “I’m going to give you a forehead of flint so you will speak the words that I want you to speak, and don’t be afraid of them, don’t be afraid of their faces, don’t be afraid of their threats. So likewise with the events that are coming here at the end-time, don’t be afraid. But you know, as Luke wrote, “Look up and rejoice for your salvation is near.”

Verse 30, “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.” That’s why the book of Revelation is so profound because it shows how this is going to happen worldwide. “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,…” When we read the book of Revelation, the deaths are going to be astounding. It’s going to be something. “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 [we’re going to see this in Revelation 16 a little later] 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” (Jer. 25:12-17, 26, 29-33). Then He lays it all at the feet of the pastors and the shepherds. So there we have quite a situation with this as it is coming.

Let’s come back here to Revelation 13. Let’s see how all of this is going to develop. Now after seeing the events that have been taking place in Iraq, seeing the events that are transpiring with the United Nations, I’m more convinced in my own mind – so this is my own opinion – but I’m more convinced in my own mind than ever before that the United Nations is going to have to be reformed and reconstituted. And I think that it will probably take place in Europe. Now there are a lot of scandals coming out concerning how the U.N. has been run. There are some books coming out which are going to expose it, so that means that it’s going to have to be reformed. Which means that we have more time than the end coming just next year or the year after, or however long it will be. But you see, there is one thing we need to do: we need to always be ready. And as it says in the King James - we need to occupy. That means we need to be doing. And as we see the day coming closer we need to put forth the effort, we need to draw close to God, we need to be filled with His Spirit.

Now, Revelation 13 tells us how this whole world-wide system is going to develop. And it’s going to be awesome indeed. And there is going to come out of it the false Christ, the false messiah who is called the beast. And the world is being set-up for it. Part of it has to do with the movie “The Passion”, part of it has to do with The Da Vinci Code and the holy grail, and the movie that is coming out. Part of it has to do with how everything is being organized worldwide. Part of it has to do with the mark of the beast. Part of it has to do with the other events that are taking place, but they are all focusing together on fulfilling Revelation 13 to an absolute “t.”

Now let’s begin in Revelation 13:1. John saw this prophecy taking place. “And I stood on the sand of the sea; and I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns,…” - the signs of Satan the devil. This is his system. And it’s going to be his grandest most glorious system. “…And on his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.” Now this is going to be an unusual political set-up because it’s going to amalgamate and bring in the best of all the civilizations in the past, so that it is going to look like this is a wonderful and a magnificent thing.

“And the beast that I saw was like a leopard [so it’s going to have swift military], and his feet like the feet of a bear [it’s going to have power], and his mouth like the mouth of a lion; and the dragon gave him his power, and his throne and great authority.” So all of this comes from Satan the devil. God is going to let Satan the devil rise to where he’s going to be convinced in his own mind that he’s going to fulfill Isaiah 14 and finally have the forces, and finally have the ability, and finally have the capacity to rise and usurp the throne of God. And we will see how he’s going to try and convince the nations to do that. And it’s going to be quite a deception indeed.

Now let’s continue on. Verse 3, “And I saw one of his heads as if it were slain to death, but his deadly wound was healed; and the whole earth was amazed and followed the beast.” And you can see how quickly this will take place. You can see what a fantastic thing this is going to be. So here we have, if the prophecies are correct back there in Daniel 9, which they are. All the prophecies are correct. It’s just a matter of our interpretation. So when we come to a final seven year period we’re going to have the first three and a half years be some of the most astounding things with false prophets, with miracles, with calling fire down from heaven, with nations giving their power and authority to the beast, with peace coming on the earth. And yet the prophets of God and the ministers of God are going to be saying, “Don’t be deceived. This is a deception and it’s not going to work because this is not of God – this is of Satan the devil.” And there are going to be some fanatics. Now we don’t know who they are but maybe they’re going to be fanatical Jews who will come and try and assassinate the beast so he receives a deadly wound, but his deadly wound is healed.

Now notice what happens after the deadly wound is healed. We’ll see this here. “And they worshiped the dragon,…” That’s why every vestige of Christianity must be destroyed in this plan that they’re bringing about, so that Satan-worship, and witchcraft, and all of these things will be the predominant form of worship. And that’s the only way that they are going to bring in a whole one-world religion, which will be an amalgamation. It will have parts of all the religions of the world just like the civil authority here has parts of all the great kingdoms of the world. But just like all the kingdoms of the world are going to give their power to the beast, all the religions of the world are going to give their power and authority to the second beast.

Now here’s what they’re going to do. “And they worshiped the dragon, who gave his authority to the beast. And they worshiped the beast, saying, ‘Who is like the beast? Who has the power to make war against him?’ And a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies was given to him; and authority was given to him to continue for forty-two months.” So after the deadly wound is healed he continues for forty and two months. The same exact time that it talks about in Revelation 11 that Jerusalem is trodden down of the Gentiles. So one of the first moves that he makes, as we find in Daniel 11, is he’s going to come against the king of the south, and he’s going to go into the holy land and stand in the temple and he is going to say that he is God. Now won’t that be interesting and profound if the beast power claims that he is of the Monrovian king line of Europe. And then everybody’s going to be convinced (because of the movie “The Da Vinci Code”, and other movies, and the book and so forth, that’s coming out) that he actually has the genes of the physical Christ through Mary Magdalene. Isn’t that something?

Now here’s what’s going to happen when he’s possessed of Satan the devil, when he is raised up from that. “And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, and His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven.” You can put in your notes there II Thessalonians 2, that he goes into the temple of God and says that he himself is God. Well you know that’s not going to stand. Now notice, “And he was given power to make war against the saints,…” So here is something that God always allows the wicked to do: to think that they are winning. And that’s what happens – “…given power to make war against the saints, and to overcome them; and he was given authority over every tribe and language and nation.” So here’s the great counterfeit kingdom. Now notice, “And all who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. If anyone has an ear, let him hear.” So there we have it. That’s how it’s going to be.

Now he’s going to have a partner and that partner is going to be another beast. And that partner is going to be the false prophet. And he is going to do great signs and great wonders. Let’s read it here, verse 11. “And I saw another beast rising out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, but spoke like a dragon; and he exercises all the authority of the first beast before him; and he causes the earth and those who dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he performs great wonders, so that he even causes fire to come down to the earth from heaven in the sight of men.” Now you know the old saying: seeing is believing. And if he says “I am from God” and people see this they’re going to say he’s from God. But the question needs to be: which God? The God of heaven, or the god of this world? Because Satan is called the god of this world.

“And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by means of the wonders that were given to him to perform in the sight of the beast, saying to those who dwell on the earth that they should make an image for the beast, which had the wound by the sword, yet was alive. And he was given power to give life to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast also could speak; and he causes everyone who will not worship the image of the beast to be killed.” And that’s when (how shall we say, the qualifying exam to receive the mark of the beast), to show that you are loyal to this new world government is going to be whether you will make the image, and fall down and worship the image. That’s why it’s absolutely profound that in every Catholic catechism the second commandment concerning idolatry is removed from the Ten Commandments. Yet, in their own Bibles, to show the gall, the hypocrisy, and to show how confident they are in their lying ability to change the Word of God, right in their own Bible they leave in the second commandment. So we’re going to make that one of the first things on Biblical Truth Ministries: “Lies From the Pulpit”, which by the time you view this video it will be up and going for quite a while, and I think you’re really going to like it.

Now let’s continue on here. “And he…” Now this “he” refers back to the first beast. And the second beast, undoubtedly the false prophet, is undoubtedly going to be the pope. It can’t be anyone else. And all the religions of the world will acknowledge him just like they do the first beast. And they say, “Ah, now we have a wonderful system. We have cultural diversity. We have all of the good things that we have here: multi-culturalism and every one loves each other and accepts each other, except for those people who won’t go along with this system and receive the mark of the beast, so they’re going to be killed.”

“And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor,…” See, because it has to be a government edict to do it, to make it a requirement. “And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free and the bond, to receive a mark in their right hands, or in their foreheads; so that no one may have the ability to buy and sell unless he has the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name” (Rev. 13:1-9, 11-17, FV). You can see how that is coming. I’m going to bring some sermons on the mark of the beast, which I hope to have out before the Feast of Trumpets. But it’s going to be something. It’s going to be everywhere, and in everything – this whole system, until the final thing is the mark of the beast in the right hand or in the forehead. Now it’s going to be quite a thing that’s going to take place.

Now let’s come over here to Revelation 15 and 16, and let’s see what’s going to happen because this fills in the gap from Pentecost up to Trumpets. And it’s going to be quite a thing. Let’s ask the question: as we saw on Pentecost first there’s the sign of the Son of man in heaven that shines like the light of day. And apparently it comes closer and closer, and closer, and closer, and closer to the earth. Everyone is going to see that. Everyone is going to know that something profound has happened, because as we saw on Pentecost the heavens are rolled back as a scroll. And God shakes the heaven and shakes the earth and shakes the sea and the dry land and everything that there is. It’s going to be an awesome time indeed. Then the resurrection takes place and every one meets Christ in the air on the sea of glass. Now how big will the sea of glass be when it finally comes down to the earth close enough in the clouds? And I think it’s going to be plenty close enough so that the people of the world are going to be able to see it, and that they are going to figure that this is an alien invasion, which is actually true from this point of view: we, and Christ, and the angels are the aliens. Not these silly looking things they depict in the movies. Those are not aliens. Those are silly things for people to be deceived.

Now how big will the sea of glass be? How high will it be? It’s going to be in the clouds. Now the highest clouds are 60,000 feet. So maybe it’s going to be like 10,000 or 15,000 feet, but every eye is going to be able to see it. Now when the saints are resurrected on Pentecost does the sea of glass move around the earth in accordance with the sun, and the dead are raised and brought up to the sea of glass all during the time that it makes it’s trip around the earth? And then does it stop and hover over Jerusalem? Now that’s a very distinct possibility. How big will this be? Well it’s going to be enough to accommodate all the saints, right? Yes, it will be. So let’s read that again.

Let’s review here in Revelation 15. “Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and awesome: seven angels having the seven last plagues,…” And this is going to lead up to the finality of Trumpets which will cap it off. “…For in them the wrath of God is filled up. And I saw a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.” So how big is this sea of glass going to be? We’ll just review it here. They sing the song of Moses, they sing the song of the Lamb and then it says, verse 4, “ ‘Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You only are holy; and all the nations shall come and worship before You,…’ ” Now that won’t take place right away. That’s a prophecy – shall. “ ‘…For Your judgments have been revealed’ ” (Rev. 15:1-4, FV). And then right after that we’ll take a look at what happens.