Prophecies Leading Up To the First Resurrection

(Feast of Pentecost)

Fred R. Coulter—June 1, 2025

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Greetings, brethren. Welcome to the Feast of Pentecost, the Day of Pentecost, the 50th day! We know that in Lev. 23 that it talks about all the Feast days of God.

Now, a lot of people won't pay any attention to it, because they don't understand what Jesus said; that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God!

Here in Lev. 23 we have all of the days called the Feasts of the Lord, His Feast—

• not the Feast of men
• not the Feast of the Jews
• God's

—and, as we will see, for all people!

Lev. 23 we have, as we explained yesterday, the very unusual offering of the two loaves of bread made with leaven. Those were Wave Sheaf. And the reason that they were waved, symbolizing the completed saints of God, and that they would be resurrected and go meet Christ on the Sea of Glass.

Well, I'm getting a little ahead of myself here. But nevertheless, all these offerings are very important. However, since the temple has been destroyed and the whole priestly system is not functioning, we still have the days that we are to keep! We're to bring an offering, so what we will do, we will bring that offering and we'll take a little pause for you to take up the offering.

(pause for the offering)

Leviticus 23:17: "You shall bring out of your homes two wave loaves of two tenth parts. They shall be of fine flour. They shall be baked with leaven…"

And as we pointed out there in Matt. 13, that that is the active power of the Holy Spirit changing the dough into bread and then baked.

Now notice what it says; "…they are the firstfruits to God" (v 17). We're going to see that we are the firstfruits and that we will be what is called the Church of the Firstborn. We'll see that a little bit later. So, we need to understand what we are doing, where we are going, etc.

Now let's talk about another time when God used Pentecost for a very important thing. We saw that God gave the Ten Commandments on the Day of Pentecost. Then we have this, and we'll see in a little bit that it also depicts the beginning of the Church and everything that's tied with that; all of those things. So, when you read in the Old Testament, 'bring your firstfruits' and so forth, we are the firstfruits, those who will be in the first resurrection!

Now it's very interesting that it says the first resurrection for the firstfruits! You put the Scriptures together and it all makes sense. So, let's come to Acts 1 and see that the Church at its very beginning kept the Feast of Pentecost! We'll take a look at that because it's still the same thing today: Everyone wants to know, 'Lord, are you coming right now?'

The disciples wanted to know. because after being taught 40 days and 40 nights by Jesus, then He was getting ready to ascend into heaven and to stay there until His return. Everything was going to be guided by the Church and the Holy Spirit of God and then the intervention of angels whenever necessary.

Acts 1:4: "And while they were assembled with Him, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem but to 'await the promise of the Father, which,' He said, 'you have heard of Me'"—and that is the Holy Spirit!

Like He told him on the Passover night, the Spirit is with you! When we come to Pentecost, the Spirit would be within them to speak, because we find that in John 20, the last part of it when they were assembled for fear of the Jews and he appeared unto them, that He breathed on them and said, 'receive the Holy Spirit'!

Now, that was the begettal of the Holy Spirit. When you come to Acts 2, then we have the power of speaking and the conviction of the Truth!

Verse 6: "So then, when they were assembled together, they asked Him, saying, 'Lord, will You restore the Kingdom to Israel at this time?' And He said to them, 'It is not for you to know the times or the seasons...'" (vs 6-7).

Isn't that interesting? The times and the seasons. And those are marked by the Sabbath and the Holy Days and the Calculated Hebrew Calendar.

The times and seasons goes back to Gen. 1:14. An amazing thing, how the Bible just substantiates itself everywhere.

"…which the Father has placed in His own authority" (v 7).

Now then, very interesting, we'll jump right ahead and just mention it here:

Revelation 1:1 "The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God [the Father] gave to Him…"

Amazing, isn't it? See how the Bible all ties together with everything? Yes!

Acts 1:8: "But you yourselves shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses, both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and unto the ends of the earth."

Now, that last part is quite a prophecy, isn't it? None of them got to the ends of the earth, but there was the Church, and the Church would go everywhere in the world. Look at it today. Now is the time when the Gospel—that these apostles preached and wrote about and has become the Word of God and preserved for us—is going out to the ends of the earth!

That's all in preparation for the return of Jesus Christ. So, this tells us how great that the Word of God is. How magnificent it is in its fulfillment. And how a lot of our own estimations have been puny human ideas that don't work! You know, just in our day we've had Jesus returning in 1975, 78, 83, 88, 92, 94, 95, 97. He hasn't come, because the Gospel has to go to the ends of the earth, and all the prophecies, as we will see, must be fulfilled as God has said!

Now let's understand another thing. God doesn't speed up and God doesn't slow down; everything is on time!

After saying these things; v 9: "And after saying these things, as they were looking at Him, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. Now, while they were gazing intently up into heaven as He was going up, two men in white apparel suddenly stood by them, Who also said, 'You men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking up into heaven? This same Jesus, Who was taken up from you into heaven, shall come in exactly the same manner as you have seen Him go into heaven'" (vs 9-11).

Sidebar here concerning the return of Christ: There will be no 'secret rapture.' Rev. 1 says, every eye shall see Him. We'll get to that a little bit later.

• that doesn't mean most
• that doesn't mean nearly all
• that means every eye

We'll examine what the Scriptures tell us they will see concerning the coming of Christ, because that's all tied up in all the events leading up to the resurrection of the saints on the Feast of Pentecost!

Just like there are seven weeks, there are seven trumpets, as we will see when we get to Revelation.

Acts 2:1: "And when the Day of Pentecost, the fiftieth day, was being fulfilled…"—that is a present tense participle right there. It doesn't mean before, doesn't mean after, it means during, while the fulfillment was taking place!

We see a little later that this was started in the morning, perhaps about the time that the morning sacrifice was to be given, the morning and the evening sacrifice. Here's what happened: because God wanted to know, just like when they came before God at Mount Sinai:

• they saw the fire
• they saw the smoke
• they heard the voice of God

Now God wants them to know that this is from God! He did this at the temple because if it would have been any place else, the Jews would have said, 'This can't be of God because it wasn't done in Jerusalem.'

So, here they are right at the temple;Acts 2:1: "And when the Day of Pentecost, the fiftieth day, was being fulfilled. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like the rushing of a powerful wind, and filled the whole house where they were sitting" (vs 1-2).

As you will see in the pictures of the temple, there were areas where rooms were set aside and they were in one of those rooms in that place, which is called the house or the building.

Verse 3: "And there appeared to them divided tongues as of fire, and sat upon each one of them…. [they had to know this came from God] …And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit; and they began to speak with other languages…" " (vs 3-4).

Why? Because the Gospel was to go to the whole world.

"…as the Spirit gave them the words to proclaim. Now, there were many Jews who were sojourning in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven" (vs 4-5).

That's also a prophecy, reaching out beyond there!

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, what was happening, the words in the minds of the apostles were the language that they were speaking, Greek. And coming out of their mouth into the ears of all of the different ones there was the Word of God in their own language. Now, for all you 'sacred namers' out there you need to think on that. Let's go forward.

Verse 7: "And they were all amazed, and marveled, saying to one another, 'Behold, are not all these who are speaking Galileans?

Look at that, these are unlearned men! How did this happen? Galileans are not counted as anything up here in Jerusalem!

Verse 8: "Then how is it that we hear each one in our own language in which we were born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and those who inhabit Mesopotamia, and Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, both Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya which are near Cyrene, and the Romans who are sojourning here, both Jews and proselytes" (vs 8-10).

So the proselytes were Gentiles. Amazing thing, isn't it, how one word expands our understanding?

Verse 11: "Cretes and Arabians; we hear them speaking in our own languages the great things of God."

We don't know exactly all what was said, but probably narrating to them that:

• Jesus was the Christ
• Jesus came from God the Father
• we are His apostles
• He taught us
• He showed us
• we are representing Him
• we are speaking the words of God as God is moving us to speak

So this was a momentous day! How about that!

• Did they hear the words of God? Yes!
• Did the Jews when they were assembled at Mount Sinai, hear the words of God? Yes!

You see the parallel, the physical and the spiritual!

Verse 12: "And they were all amazed and greatly perplexed, saying to one another, 'What does this mean?'

Because you know, something like this happened at the temple, it's got to be what we would say in today's language, a big deal. Yes, more than a big deal.

This was a universal thing of power by God to start His Church. And He said, 'the gates of hell would never prevail against it.'

Verse 13: "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'" (vs 13-15). That's nine o'clock in the morning!

Verse 16: "But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel:"

Then God poured out His Spirit, and so forth. That's going to happen again in the last days. Then Peter told them about Jesus! He told them all that it was. They said that it's not David. David's in his tomb. He hasn't been resurrected. He hasn't gone to heaven, but Jesus did. 

Verse 29: "Men and brethren, let me speak to you freely concerning the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing… [the things of God] …that God had sworn to him in an oath that from the fruit of his loins, as concerning the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit upon His Throne" (vs 29-30).

Now, that's going to happen when Christ returns. Amazing! Now,

Verse 31: "He foresaw this and spoke concerning the resurrection of Christ, that His soul was not left in the grave, nor did His flesh see corruption." All in the Word of God!

Verse 32: "This Jesus has God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses." That's what Jesus told them to start preaching!

Verse 33: "Therefore, having been exalted by the right hand of God, and having received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father, He has poured out this that you are now seeing and hearing"—the words from God by his Spirit to you! Now that is a profound thing that happened!

Verse 34: "For David has not ascended into the heavens…"

Verse 36: "Therefore, let all the house of Israel… [now that's everyone who was there at the temple, all the Israelites, the proselytes and the Jews] …know with full assurance that God has made this same Jesus, Whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.'"

Now this is interesting because when we repent of our sins, the crucifixion of Christ—His shed blood and his broken body—is the sacrifice that pays for our sins!

But our sins, as well as the sins of everyone in the world, all had a part in crucifying Christ, because He died as the Lamb of God to remove the sin of the world!

Verse 37: Now, after hearing this, they were cut to the heart..."

That was a message of deep power and correction and it got to their hearts and to their minds.

"…and they said to Peter and the other apostles, 'Men and brethren, what shall we do?' Then Peter said to them…" (vs 37-38).

This is the whole thing that goes through all of the Church all the way down through time:

• we must draw close to God
• we must answer the calling of God
• we must repent of our sins
• we must be baptized and receive the Holy Spirit

That's the whole purpose of what God is going to do from that time until the return of Christ!

Verse 38: "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.'"

• it's nothing you can earn
• it's nothing you can buy
• it's nothing that you can persuade God to give you in any other fashion but complete repentance

Then as we have seen, we come to understand what's very important, which is this:

• we must have the Spirit of God
• we must use the Spirit of God
• we must grow in grace and knowledge

and we will become the sons and daughters of God!

This is going to go down through history, through time, as it is with the prophecies. There's always going to be a scattered flock somewhere:

• who have the Truth
• who have the knowledge of God
• who believe in Christ

and there will always be the martyrs that will be there!

Let's see what happened here. For the promise is to you and your children, first to Israel.

And to all those who are far off—they came from far off to the temple—and that means that's a reference to the ends of the earth, of the Gospel going out until the return of Christ!

Verse 40: "And with many other words he earnestly testified and exhorted, saying, 'Be saved from this perverse generation.'"

That is a statement that applies to every single generation of human beings.

Verse 41: "Then those who joyfully received his message were baptized; and about three thousand souls were added that day. And they steadfastly continued in the teachings of the apostles and in fellowship, and in the breaking of bread…" (vs 41-42).

That's not taking communion. That is eating meals.

Verse 43: "And fear came upon every soul, and many signs and miracles were done by the apostles."

It doesn't tell us what they were doing, but they were probably:

• healing the sick
• cleansing those who had demons and casting them out

So, that one little verse there tells us a lot that was going on in a summary form. And we find that many times in the book of Acts. We need to realize that it was greater than that.

Now then, let's come to Rom. 8 for just a minute and understand something concerning the Spirit of God and how necessary it is and how we need to be baptized and have hands laid on us for the begettal of the Holy Spirit, as Jesus said!

Romans 8:8: "But those who are in the flesh cannot please God"—those who are not baptized!

You can't have 'a religion' that is going to substitute for the Truth of God. That's why all the religions of the world are not of God! That's why they can't bring salvation. They all come from Satan the devil who said, 'If you will eat of this tree, you shall not surely perish,' which tells you that Satan was going to give them 'a religion' that appeared to give them everlasting life! The counterfeit! The liar! Absolutely from the beginning and down through time.

• Isn't that true?
• How bad did it get?

Well, you go to John 8 and Jesus said to the religious leaders of his day, who were all wrapped up in their traditions and their hierarchies, He said to them, 'you are of your father the devil! That's why you can't bear to hear My words!

Verse 8: "But those who are in the flesh cannot please God"—because:

• there must be repentance
• there must be baptism
• there must be the laying on of hands

Verse 9: "However, you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, IF…"—conditional!

• How did they receive it? They repented!
• How do we receive it? We repent and have the laying on of hands!

THEN we continue to walk in the Commandments of God!

We won't get into all of that because that's the way that we can cover in many different messages.

"…IF the Spirit of God is indeed dwelling within you… [that's how you belong to God] …But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him" (v 9). No in between!

So when we have read about the Churches and what they do, and they start going off the track, what happens? God has to correct them, because you see, having the Spirit of God is the greatest thing that can happen to us in this physical life.

What is all of this going to lead to? Let's see what it is:

• we're to grow
• we're to change
• we're to overcome
• we're to come out of the world

We'll see that so that we can be in the first resurrection, and we will see that. Then we will see the prophecies of how these things are going to take place.

2-Cointhians 6:14–this is a quick summary of how we live overcome, grow, change and understand the Word of God:

•  
• through His grace
• through His mercy
• through His Truth
•  

Because we love Him! As we have covered with the Passover and all the way down through it, the love of God!

Do we love Him with all our heart, mind and soul and being? Yes! What does that require of us, living in the world?

2-Corinthians 6:14: "Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers…. [that's clear, you can't be partners in a room with nonbelievers] …For what do righteousness and lawlessness have in common?...."

You can't live in the world in lawlessness and expect the blessing of God. IF you have the Spirit of God, God's Spirit will convict you so you can repent and come out of that!

"…And what fellowship does light have with darkness? And what union does Christ have with Belial?...." (vs 14-15).

You can't breed religions together with the Truth of God and think you have something great. That's what Catholicism is, Protestantism is, and Judaism is, and the rejection of Christ in the New Testament!

Verse 16: "And what agreement is there between a Temple of God and idols?...."

We, as we find in 1-Cor. 3 if we have the Spirit of God, we are a mini temple of God!

• think about that
• think how important that is
• think about how important that we understand the working of the Holy Spirit in our life
• think about how we are to live by every Word of God as Jesus is magnified

Verse 16: "And what agreement is there between a Temple of God and idols? For you are a Temple of the living God, exactly as God said…" Notice, this is the whole purpose of:

• growing
• changing
• overcoming
• being faithful to the end

everything all involved in it:

• our trials
• our joys
• our successes
• our understanding of the Word of God
• our being faithful to the end and waiting to resurrection

"'I will dwell in them and walk in them…" (v 16)

Think on that! That's what the whole meaning of the Feast of Pentecost is for us who are living right now!

"…and I will be their God, and they shall be My people" (v 16).

Doesn't matter where you are. Doesn't matter if you're alone. If you have the Spirit of God and you're loving God with all your heart, mind and soul and being, you are a Temple of God—mini temples with God the Father and Christ in you—and you belong to God! And you'll be in the first resurrection!

Verse 17: "'Therefore, come out from the midst of them and be separate,' says the Lord, 'and touch not the unclean, and I will receive you; and I shall be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters,' says the Lord Almighty" (vs 17-18).

That's the whole meaning of Pentecost! That's what we're going to look forward to. We will see how that will be, and we will see the things concerning the first resurrection.

So, let's go ahead and talk about the first resurrection and let's talk about what we need to do. Then we will go through the prophecies leading up to the first resurrection and how that's going to be, as described in the Bible. It's going to be a whole lot different than people think, when you put it all together.

1-Cor. 15—the whole thing is talking about the resurrection. The Greeks, in their religion, believed in the immortal soul. Have you heard of that before? So, what they were trying to do is marry some of their paganism into the Truth of God! One of the first things they came up with was 'the resurrection is over, it was only Christ.' Well, let's see what it says right here:

1-Corinthians 15:12: "But if Christ is being preached, that He rose from the dead, how is it that some among you are saying that there is no resurrection of the dead?"

That's exactly what they believe today! Oh, they give mouthed words about the resurrection, but they all believe in the immortal soul if you die: 'Oh, there's grandma up in heaven looking down on us right now.' How do you square a resurrection with that?

Verse 13: "For IF there is no resurrection from the dead, neither has Christ been raised. And IF Christ has not been raised, THEN our preaching is in vain, and your faith is also in vain" (vs 13-14).

Now, think about that! All these religions out there who claim to be Christian today, who believe in:

• Sunday
• in the holidays
• Easter and Christmas
• the soul going to heaven

It's all in vain! You need to think on that!

Verse 15: "And we… [as apostles] …are also found to be false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that He raised Christ, Whom He did not raise, IF indeed the dead are not raised. For IF the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised" (vs 15-16).

So, those who believe in the soul going to heaven, you're rejecting the resurrection! The first resurrection is the resurrection that we are looking to, and it's called in Rev. 20, the first resurrection!

Verse 17: "But if Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain; you are still in your sins."

That goes right back to Acts 2; Repent and be baptized and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit! You repent for the remission of sins!

Verse 19: "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most miserable. But now…" (vs 19-20)

Paul is telling the Truth to them for them to understand, and also he's revealing:

• about the Wave Sheaf Offering
• about the resurrection of Christ
• that Christ is the First of the firstfruits
• that Christ is the Head of the Church, which is the Church of the Firstborn

Verse 20: "But now Christ has been raised from the dead; He has become the Firstfruit of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead" (vs 20-21).

This is the whole thing. The resurrection, as we will see, will be at the last trumpet! We'll see that in just a minute.

Verse 20: "But now Christ has been raised from the dead…"

Paul knew that because he saw Him, and Christ appeared to Paul and Christ taught him! That's why he was an apostle.

"…He has become the Firstfruit… [singular; the very First fruit] …of those who have fallen asleep" (v 20). That is the resurrection of the dead!

Now this is a direct reference to the Wave Sheaf Offering, which then is offered on the first Day of the count toward Pentecost!

Verse 21: "For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die…" (vs 21-22).

We all have the law of sin and death in us and there's nothing we can do to change that.

"…all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive" (v 22).

That is all who change, grow and overcome, and the whole Plan of God, which is much greater than people even understand, as we know through the process of the Holy Days especially considering the Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day.

Verse 23: "But each in his own order…"

So, there is an order of the resurrection. There's Christ, then the first resurrection of the saints! Rev. 20 says, those in the first resurrection, blessed and Holy are they for they shall be priest of God and kings and reign with Him a thousand years!

"…Christ the Firstfruit; then those who are Christ's at His coming" (v 23). We'll look at that here in a little bit and cover:

• How is Christ going to return?
• How is that first resurrection going to be?
• Why it will be on Pentecost

Verse 24: "Afterwards the end comes… [tie in Rev. 20] …when He shall have delivered up the Kingdom to Him Who is God and Father, when He shall have put an end to all rule and all authority and power." He's going to be King over all!

There's going to be Satan removed, the demons removed, all of those who have committed the unpardonable sin will be cast into the Lake of Fire.

Verse 25: "For it is ordained that He reign until He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death" (vs 25-26).

There will come that time when that will be, so then he talks about the resurrection of the dead.

Verse 34: "Awake to righteousness, and do not sin, for some of you do not have the knowledge of God. I say this to your shame. Nevertheless, someone will say, 'How are the dead raised? And with what body do they come?' Fool! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body that shall be; rather, it is bare grain—it may be of wheat, or one of the other grains; and God gives it a body according to His will, and to each of the seeds its own body" (vs 34-38).

Paul is just saying it's going to be different for everyone. Then he talks about that the stars will shine and we will be like the stars, the sun as Jesus said in Matt. 13, that the righteous shall shine as the sun! Then Dan. 12 that many who turn those to righteousness shall shine as the stars forever.

Verse 42: "So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption…. [only God can do that] … It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power" (vs 42-43)—and that's certainly true!

When we come to the end of our life, we're weak, we have difficulties and problems.

Verse 44: "It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body; accordingly, it is written, 'The first man, Adam, became a living soul; the last Adam became an ever-living Spirit.'…. [that's Christ] …However, the spiritual was not first, but the natural—then the spiritual" (vs 44-46).

So, we have to understand that God's Plan is really great, and it's going to encompass everything that there is concerning the earth.

• that's why He made it the way that He did
• that's why He made us in His image
• that we could become His sons and daughters

which will take place when we're raised from the dead!

Verse 47: "The first man is of the earth—made of dust. The second Man is the Lord from heaven. As is the one made of dust, so also are all those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly One, so also are all those who are heavenly" (vs 47-48)—a spiritual body!

That's why we're made in the image and likeness of God!

Verse 49: "And as we have borne the image of the one made of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly One."

That's what it says in 1-John 3! That we will see Him like He is, because we will be like Him! That's an amazing thing!

Verse 50: "Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God, nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I show you a mystery…" (vs 50-51).

And we still don't know how God is going to do it. We can suppose different things concerning the spirit of man that goes back to God when we die, and that all the Spirit of God, of those who are righteous, are in one place before God.

Just like a chip that is with a computer. The chip itself may contain a lot of things on it, but until it's put into the computer, it has nothing there. When it's put in there, everything on that chip becomes available.

So likewise when we die, our spirit goes back to God, which is like a chip. That chip is stored at all of the Church of the Firstborn. That's what it's all about, it goes back to God. God is in complete control of everything!

Verse 51: "Behold, I show you a mystery: we shall not all fall asleep, but we shall all be changed."

Then he says something very interesting here, which is the key, which we'll understand in just a little bit.

Verse 52: "In an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet…" Now, it doesn't say a trumpet.

So, we'll see the only place in Revelation where there's the first trumpet and there's the last trumpet. And we will see that fits right in with this verse.

"…at the last trumpet; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed" (v 52).

• that's the whole purpose of our calling
• that's the whole purpose of overcoming
• that's the whole purpose of growing in grace and knowledge
• that's the whole purpose of loving God and keeping His Commandments
• that's the whole purpose as to why:
• we draw breath
• we have understanding
• we, with the Spirit of God, can understand the Word of God

That's an amazing thing!

Verse 53: "For this corruptible must put on incorruptibility, and this mortal must put on immortality." God has to give it!

Verse 54: "Now, when this corruptible shall have put on incorruptibility, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: 'Death is swallowed up in victory.'"

Yes! ALL who are in that first resurrection will be raised to life, spiritual and glorious:

• having the very character of God
• having the very exact likeness of God

As John said, we will see Him exactly as He is!

Verse 55: "O death, where is your sting?...."

When we're raised from the dead, which is called a sleep, then we'll be just like waking up and we'll say, 'Oh, what do you know about that?' And the angels, we'll see, will take us up to meet Christ in the air:

• Where are we going to meet Him?
• What is it going to be?
• Well, we'll cover that in a little bit!

Verse 56: "Now the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the Law. But thanks be to God, Who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, my beloved brethren, be steadfast… [now, this is what we need to do right now so we can attain to everything that we have just covered] …immovable…" (vs 56-58),

• don't be drawn away
• don't let Satan tempt you
• don't let other people tempt you
• don't let your own lust tempt you
• don't be moved away from the Truth of God

"…always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord" (v 58). Everything you do in the Lord:

• to change
• to grow
• to overcome
• to prepare for the resurrection

is what God wants in this life!

Now then, we're going to see the prophecies of how is Christ going to return? And when the first resurrection actually occurs, and also we will see how that every eye will see Him! Just like He said!

(break@52:37)

Let's come to 1-Thess. 4 and then we'll get into the book of Revelation. Here is the place where the Protestants think that there will be a rapture, but they confuse the rapture with the resurrection, because there will be no great millions raptured away. That is an absolute false doctrine!

• When does it say that we will be raised?
• What did we just read? At His coming!

If there's a 'secret rapture,' and people are taken to Christ, then He hasn't come for them. Do you understand what I'm saying?

1-Thessalonians 4:13: "But I do not wish you to be ignorant, brethren… [he wants us to understand what's going to happen] …concerning those who have fallen asleep… [those who have died in Christ] …that you be not grieved, even as others, who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again… [we just read that] …in exactly the same way also, those who have fallen asleep in Jesus will God bring with Him" (vs 13-14).

That almost sounds like they're in heaven! What does that mean? (We'll see in a little bit).

Verse 15: "For this we say to you by the Word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall in no wise precede those who have fallen asleep."

We find in Matt. 24 that the trumpet will sound, and the angels will take those who are resurrected, will take them in the air! Where are they going? (We'll answer that)

Verse 16: "Because the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds for the meeting with the Lord in the air; and so shall we always be with the Lord" (vs 16-17).

Now it doesn't say that we will always be up in the clouds, the area of the clouds, because we know from Rev. 19 that all of those in the first resurrection will come back with Christ to the earth! But we will always be with Him!

Now, always being with him does not mean in a particular set place only, but wherever the Lord is, that's where we will be. So, let's continue on and we'll answer the questions that have come up concerning this. Because there are some people who think that to Feast of Trumpets is the resurrection day! We used to believe that. However, it's an amazing thing that the Feast of Pentecost is the only thing that fits it!

• you have the seven weeks' harvest
• you have the seven churches
• you have everything that is there

Let's come to the book of Revelation and see something very important with it. We'll keep this in mind as we go through it. And we'll pretty much stay in the book of Revelation and I'll refer to some of the Old Testament prophecies as we go along here.

Now, remember what we read back in the book of Acts? That it's, those things that God has put under His own authority, He's going to reveal!

The book of Revelation is telling us that Christ is revealing it and giving us some timeframes when some of these things will take place and how they tie in with prophecies in the Old Testament, which refer to it.

Revelation 1:1: "The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God [the Father] gave to Him [Christ] to show to His servants the things that are ordained tocome to pass shortly; and He made it known, having sent it by His angel to His servant John who gave witness to the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ, and all the things he saw" (vs 1-2).

Verse 4: "John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace and peace be to you from Him Who is, and Who was, and Who is to come; and from the seven spirits that are before His Throne."

We'll talk about that in a bit; but this shows that John put in this paragraph here to the seven Churches after he was given the message to the seven Churches.

Verse 5: "And from Jesus Christ, the faithful Witness, the Firstborn from the dead, and the Ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him Who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to God and His Father…" (vs 5-6).

That ties right in with Rev. 20; here we have a good example of the First and the Last: the first chapter and the ending of the book of Revelation!

"…to Him be the glory and the sovereignty into the Ages of Eternity. Amen" (v 6).

So he's telling us here that what is going to happen in the book of Revelation is going to bring us to the finality of the whole Plan of God.

Now, many other Scriptures in other parts of the Bible that can fit in there, but we're going to do an overview today and just refer to them.

Verse 7: "Behold, He is coming with the clouds…"

He's coming down to where the clouds are in the atmosphere of the earth. It's not up at the Throne of God! People don't go up to the Throne of God. They are raised and carried by the angels to an area in the clouds!

"…and every eye shall see Him…" (v 7).

We'll see how that's going to be; every eye! Think about this living in the end of the age. We have everything almost instantaneous communication from anywhere in the world all at once. And that right now in our present time is being developed even more and more.

Just look at what happened with some of the disasters that have occurred. Volcanoes that have taken place. The whole situation with the Roman Catholic Church and the death of Pope Francis, and how—just like the Bible said—the Catholic Church has royal power over the kings of the earth. That is the rulers.

Who was there at that special funeral service that they gave for the pope? The leaders of the world; the presidents, the prime ministers, they were all there. Plus even the Orthodox, the Greek Orthodox were there and they also gave a special burial ceremony. So, they are recognizing Rome.

You go back and read Rev. 17, that the woman sits on the throne of power over everything on the earth. And we will see that coming up. Let's go on with it here.

"…and every eye shall see Him, and those who pierced Him…" (v 7). Now this can be applied two ways:

• When we have sinned and have our sins forgiven, we literally were there with the killing of Christ because of our sins
• But literally speaking, those who pierced Him, the Roman soldiers, they won't see Christ until they are in the 2nd resurrection

Then think of what they're going to think of when they see the Christ.

"…and all the tribes of the earth shall wail because of Him. Even so, Amen" (v 7).

So, it's going to affect the whole world. Every tribe, every family, everything on the earth, there isn't going to be anything that will be excluded from it.

Then Jesus said; v 8: "'I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the Ending,' says the Lord, 'Who is, and Who was, and Who is to come—the Almighty.'"

Now then, since we have covered the seven Churches, we won't go through them. But let's draw a parallel.

• How many weeks do we count up to Pentecost? Seven weeks!
• How many Churches do we have? Seven!
• All seven weeks picture phases of the harvest!

which means that we don't all live at the same time, but down through time down through the ages, from the time of Christ to the time of His return. All of those who have the Spirit of God will be part of one of the seven Churches.

Now let's look at something here in Rev. 5. After we get done with the seven Churches Rev. 5 becomes something very important to read and to see and to understand. John was told, and we'll see it here, and this is actually a type of the resurrection.

Outside of John, seeing what he sees here in Rev. 5, the only one who came close to it was Ezekiel, when he saw the Throne of God in the cherubim.

Revelation 4:1—John is writing what he saw: "After these things I looked, and behold, a door opened in heaven; and the first voice that I heard was as if a trumpet…"—a trumpet!

You're not going to be raised until you hear a trumpet. So here's a type of it. This is not the resurrection, but this is a type.

"…speaking with me, saying, 'Come up here, and I will show you the things that must take place after these things.' And immediately I was in the Spirit…" (vs 1-2).

What's going to happen when we hear the last trump? Immediately we will be in the spirit, and we're going to be carried by the angels!

"…I was in the Spirit; and behold, a Throne was set in heaven, and One was sitting on the Throne. And He Who was sitting was in appearance like a jasper stone and a sardius stone; and a rainbow was around the Throne, like an emerald in its appearance" (vs 2-3).

Verse :4: "And around the Throne were twenty-four thrones; and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders…"—the created spirit beings that help administer the running of the whole universe!

Verse 5: "And proceeding from the Thronewere lightnings and thunders and voices; and seven lamps of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, were burning before the Throne."

This is the type of the resurrection and seeing God! God wants us to know that everything from this point forward comes directly from God the Father!

Just as Jesus said, the Father has put these things into His hands for the time and seasons that He's determined.

Then it talks about the four living creatures and saying, 'Lord, God Almighty,' and so forth.

Then it shows a picture of the Lamb, and that nothing in heaven is going to take place that's going to affect the earth will be done until God says so.

Jesus Christ, the One resurrected from the dead, will be the One Who will open the seals, Who will then make possible the trumpets, which will make possible the seven last plagues. All of those things will come because of Christ!

Rev. 5—Only Christ can open the seals and only He can make them happen. We don't know if any of those have been opened. Again, it's repeated. And here's the song with the prayer of the saints.

Revelation 5:8: "…which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song…" (vs 8-9).

That's when we're raised from the dead; so this is the prophecy of when we're raised from the dead.

Verse 9: "And they sang a new song, saying, 'Worthy are You to take the book, and to open its seals because You were slain, and did redeem us to God by Your own blood, out of every tribe and language and people and nation, and did make us unto our God kings and priests; and we shall reign on the earth'" (vs 9-10). And then great praise to God!

Absolutely marvelous saying all the angels, the 24 elders, the four living creatures. They all say this here.

Verse 12: "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.'"

Now, if you have the Messiah by George Frederick Handel, you can play that; that's quite a thing that they sing with it.

Verse 13: "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..."

This is so fantastic and so magnificent that the whole creation, everything that there is on the earth is going to be saying this thing here in whatever language or whatever sound or whatever it is that they do.

"…I [John] 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'" (v 13).

Now, when the book of Revelation is fulfilled, it will go on into the ages of eternity! What is that going to be like?

Verse 14: "And the four living creatures said, 'Amen.' And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him Who lives into the ages of eternity."

Rev. 6—we will see some things here that are very interesting, indeed. And we will refer to some prophecies in the Old Testament. We won't turn to them because we need to cover all of this up to the resurrection. So, this will be an overview.

Revelation 6:1: "And I looked when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures say, like the sound of thunder, '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" (vs 1-2).

Now, how are you going to have a bow and no arrows yet conquer? So this white horse here has got to be the amalgamation of all religions together under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Church! That is going to happen. They've already planted the seeds. It's going to take place. They've been working at it. But the only thing that is missing is the last pope.

Now, a lot of people—because the pope just was changed and now there's a new pope, Leo XIV—are going to think that this is the last pope. Well, if he's going to be the last pope, then he's got to do miracles and he's got to have the beast with him in order to do those things.

If he's not the last pope, is he going to be performing some of the conquering and to conquer, but have it so that the last pope will take over? We'll have to wait and see!

Verse 3 is a very key thing because we have this that's going to happen. The starting of the last world war, which will have many phases in it as we go through the Book of Revelation.

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..." (vs 3-4).

That tells us there will come a time of peace, because you can't take peace from the earth unless there is peace. But this is going to be the kind of peace which men have. They declare peace, peace, but there is no peace! Why? Because they still have all their weapons of war!

"…and to cause them to kill one another; and a great sword was given to him" (v 4).

Great power! Great sword! What is this? This begins the final war as we find in Daniel 11! That the King of the North, which is yet to come, and the King of the South, which is yet to come—which is the Arab nations—start again to disturb the peace that's on the earth by coming against the King of the North. The King of the North comes against him like a whirlwind and overcomes him, comes into Egypt.

There will be a temple [in Jerusalem], as we know, from Rev. 11 and Matt. 24. So, the Beast Power is going to come down, conquer over Egypt. He's going to go into the Holy Land. And then we know 2-Thess. 2, that he's going to go into the Holy of Holies and say, 'he is God.' And that's when the Tribulation begins! That's a tremendous thing that's going to happen. And that's going to unleash war on the earth like we have never seen.

Verse 5: "And when He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, 'Come and see.' And I looked, and behold, there was a black horse; and the one sitting on it had a balance in his hand."

So there's rationing of food—that always happens in war—there was death, destruction and famine (vs 7, 8, 9).

Verse 9: "And when He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the Word of God…"

This tells us there's going to come right after that war starts, coming after everyone who truly believes in God. There will be a martyrdom of the saints. That's what it's telling us with the fifth seal.

What's the timeframe with all of this? When the war starts, until we come to the sixth seal, will be a period of two years!

We find this in the book of Hosea, chapter 5, that Israel goes into captivity. Then in chapter 6, it says that after two days, He will raise us up; that means two years. So, there will be the Great Tribulation, and it will last for two years.

It says that 'after two days, God will raise us up in the third day, meaning the third year? What is going to happen to end the second year and begin the third year and to raise up Israel from its captivity?

Revelation 6:11—concerning those who are being martyred: "And white robes were given to each of them; and they were told that they should rest a short time, yet, until it be fulfilled that both their fellow servants and their brethren also would be killed, just as they had been."

The  sixth seal becomes a key, and that ties in with the end of the second year and the beginning of the third year of the three and a half years Tribulation.

So, from this point forward, there remains a year and a half, and we'll see how that goes. We'll look at a number of Scriptures concerning this, because this begins how every eye will see Him! The return of Christ is not going to be instantaneously He comes to the earth. First of all, we're going to have this, and we'll see what this is when we get to Matt. 24.

Verse 12: "And when He opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as the hair of sackcloth, and the moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its untimely figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. Then the heaven departed like a scroll…" (vs 12-14).

Now, this is a great thing that's going to happen. What is going to happen when the heavens depart like a scroll? Every eye will see it! No one on earth is going to avoid seeing this, because this will be spectacular!. This, we could say, is the first beginning of the return of Christ! What is that?

Verse 14: "Then the heaven departed like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the powerful men, and every bondman, and every free man hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains; and they said to the mountains and to the rocks…" (vs 14-16). Every eye shall see it! That's describing every eye!

Verse 16: "And they said to the mountains and to the rocks, 'Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him Who sits on the Throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, because the great day of His wrath has come, and who has the power to stand?'" (vs 16-17).

Now then, this is how every eye is going to see Him. Now let's see what Jesus said that was. Let's come back here to Matt. 24, and this becomes important for us to understand, because Jesus was talking about His return, and He was talking about the resurrection in:

Matthew 24:23: "Then if anyone says to you, 'Behold, here is the Christ,' or, 'He is there,' do not believe it. For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and they shall present great signs and wonders, in order to deceive, if possible, even the elect. Behold, I have foretold it to you. Therefore, if they say to you, 'Come and see! He is in the wilderness'; do not go forth. 'Come and see! He is in the secret chambers'; do not believe it" (vs 23-26).

Verse 27—Here is the sign of the Son of Man and the heavens departing as a scroll. And that's going to be worldwide, and everyone's going to see it.

Verse 27: "For as the light of day… [What is the light of day? The sun!] …which comes forth from the east and shines as far as the west, so also shall the coming of the Son of man be." It's going to be visible! Every eye shall see Him!

Verse 29: "But immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light… [ties right in with Rev. 6] …and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven" (vs 29-30).

• What is that sign?
• What's going to happen when the heavens roll back as a scroll?
• Why is everyone going to have the idea that this is Christ returning?

Then later, Satan will have intervened and convinced them that these are aliens from outer space trying to conquer the world. That's why they will fight Christ.

Verse 30: "And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming upon the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet… [that's the last trumpet; remember that; keep that in mind] …and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other" (vs 30-31).

Let's look at Malachi the 4th chapter. And we will see something very interesting indeed. What a thing this is. This ties in with 'the great light of day,' as Jesus said, and 'the heavens rolling back as a scroll.'

Malachi 4:1: "'For behold, the day is coming… [that's the day we're talking about right now] …burning like a consuming oven; and all the proud, and every doer of wickedness, shall be stubble. And the day that comes shall burn them up,' says the LORD of hosts, 'and will leave them neither root nor branch. But unto you who fear My name… [that's all of us] …the Sun of Righteousness shall arise…'" (vs 1-2).

That's what Matt. 24 is talking about. That's what Rev. 6 is talking about. That Sun that appears when heavens roll back as a scroll.

"…the Sun of Righteousness shall arise, and healing will be in His wings…." (v 2).

Now, let's understand this and we will see it several places in the book of Revelation. In spite of everything that happens, God is interested in repentance!

Now, what happens after the heavens roll back as a scroll, and the Light of day, the sign of the Son of man, shines from east to west so it will appear out there like a second sun.

• the Sun of Righteousness
• the sign of the coming of the Son of man

Now, a lot of people are going to repent. And what do we have immediately following Rev. 6. Let's look at this and think about this for just a minute.

Is this another fulfillment of Pentecost, Rev. 7? Just like we had the children of Israel coming to Mount Sinai, and then we had the giving of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2. Now then, we have something else.

This is the last harvest of God. Now, this is the harvest of the 144,000 and the great innumerable multitude! The 144,000 are then, they are in, captivity has been released against them, and they're able to repent, and then an angel comes and seals them with the Spirit of God; the 144,000 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel. Amazing! Now, think of that for just a minute.

Since this is right at the end of the age, this tells us something very important. That there are physical children of Israel still alive. They repent. There we are. So, anyone who says, well, the Jews have absorbed all of them, that's not true.

Now then, it shows that they will be with Christ at the time of the resurrection, because no one goes up to the Throne of God until the time of the resurrection.

Then we have Rev. 8. So, if Rev. 7 occurs on Pentecost, and all this destruction that is described in Rev. 6 takes place, which it does, then there's a four-month period between Pentecost and Trumpets, because in Rev. 8, we have the beginning of the trumpet plagues.

Now then, how many trumpets are there? Seven! They're blown in sequence, one after the other. And we will see how that will be.

So, when we come here to Rev. 8, we find the opening of the seventh seal. See how we have come:

• the seven Churches
• then the vision of God
• then we have the seven seals
• then we have the seven trumpet plagues
• then we have the seven last plagues

Revelation 8:1: "Now, when He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about a half hour. Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. And another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar; and much incense was given to him, so that he might offer it with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar that was before the Throne" (vs 1-3).

Where are all the saints? Right here in Rev. 7 The 144,000 and the great innumerable multitude, because all of the others up to that point have been martyred. So, God is not going to have it that the Church would die out. That's why He has set aside the 144,000 in great innumerable multitude.

Verse 4: "And the smoke of the incense went up before God from the hand of the angel, ascending with the prayers of the saints. And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire from the altar, and cast it into the earth…" (vs 4-5). A prelude of what's going to happen here.

"…and there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings, and an earthquake. Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound their trumpets" (vs 5-6).

Then it lists them. Trumpet #1, trumpet #2, trumpet #3, trumpet #4. After those and all of the plagues that came with them, what are we seeing? We're seeing the number of trumpets. We see the first one, the second one, the third one, the fourth one. Now, here we come to the fifth one:

Verse 13: "And I looked; and I heard an angel flying in the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, 'Woe, woe, woe to those who are dwelling on the earth, because of the voices of the remaining trumpets of the three angels who are about to sound their trumpets.'" Then what do we have?

Revelation 9:1: "And the fifth angel sounded his trumpet…"

What happened there? That's quite a thing. I'll let you read that. Now then, this is a great army. This is a return in fighting:

Verse 11: "And they have over them a king, the angel of the abyss… [Satan the devil] …his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but the name he has in Greek is Apollyon. The first woe is past…" (vs 11-12). So the 5th trumpet is the 1st woe!

Then we have the 2nd woe, which is the 6th angel! Now, this is quite a thing. This happens during that last year.

First, we have this and then it's for seven months. Then we have the attack from the east. This is going to be the greatest army that there ever was. And it's an army of armies. And there will be 200-million coming from the east.

Verse 14: "And it said to the sixth angel, who had the trumpet, 'Loose the four angels who are bound in the great River Euphrates.' Then the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were loosed, so that they might kill a third of men; and the number of the armies of the horsemen was two hundred thousand thousand…" (vs 14-16)—200-million coming!

"…and I heard the number of them. And so, I saw the horses in the vision…" (vs 16-17)—and what they were doing! What they were killing!

Let's come over here and see something very interesting, indeed! After all of this, after all the killing, after all the destruction, what does God say?

Verse 21: "And they did not repent of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornications, nor of their thievery."

God is interested in repentance, but they didn't do it.

Then we have Rev. 10. No one knows what the seven thunders are because God told John, don't write it. 

Then we come to Rev. 11—this is quite a thing, which brings us up to date of what happened when the two witnesses were there at the temple. We know that the starting of the Great Tribulation is when the Beast Power comes into the temple and says that he 'is God.'

Then the two witnesses are killed. And their bodies lie in the great city of Jerusalem. And the world rejoices, because they were bringing plagues and things on the earth at their will.

Just like Moses and Aaron did with Pharaoh, they're going to do to the beast and the false prophet! And they're going to bring these plagues, so they're going to finally kill them, and their bodies will lay in the streets of Jerusalem for three and a half days. They won't be buried.

Revelation 11:11: "Then after the three and a half days, the Spirit of Life from God entered into them and they stood on their feet; and great fear fell upon those who were watching them."

And can you imagine the whole world is also going to see this, as well. They stood on their feet! Isn't it interesting? The last two that die are the first two resurrected! Think about that.

Verse 12: "And they heard a great voice from heaven, say, 'Come up here!' And they ascended into heaven in a cloud; and their enemies saw them rise. And in that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell; and seven thousand men were killed in the earthquake. And the rest were filled with fear, and gave glory to the God of heaven. The second woe is past. Behold, the third woe is coming immediately" (vs 12-14).

And the third woe comes with the seventh angel, with the seventh trump, which is the last trump. Let's see what happens with the last trump. This is the only place that shows the last trump. What happens? It is the first resurrection!

Verse 15: "Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, 'The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ, and He shall reign into the ages of eternity.'"

Amazing thing! That's when Christ takes over the rulership of the world. Then what has to happen? He's not going to do it alone. And we will see right here that the resurrection occurs at the seventh trump, which of seven is the last trump!

So, if the 144,000 and great innumerable multitude are saved in the last year, before the trumpet plagues begin, then they'll be part of the resurrection. But notice this. It talks about the seventh angel:

Verse 14: "The second woe is past. Behold, the third woe is coming immediately. Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, 'The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ, and He shall reign into the ages of eternity.' And the twenty-four elders, who sit before God on their thrones, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying, 'We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty, Who is, and Who was, and Who is to come; for You have taken to Yourself Your great power, and have reigned. For the nations were angry…" (vs 14-18)—and they were fighting.

Rev. 14—let's see what happens. Because it says the angels are going to take those who are in the first resurrection in the air.

• Where are they going?
• What will they do?
• What will we do?

This occurs on Pentecost. It doesn't occur on Trumpets. Because Trumpets comes later. This comes first:

Revelation 14:14: "And I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and one like the Son of man sitting on the cloud, having a golden crown on His head; and in His hand was a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him Who was sitting on the cloud, 'Thrust in your sickle and reap, because the time has come for You to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe'" (vs 14-15). The first resurrection!

There it is right here. Then it talks about the seven last plagues with the angel for the rebellious.

Rev. 15—This is a good place for us to understand something. Sometimes God mentions it just once. But once is enough, is it not? Let me give you an example:

What does it say in Rev. 20 about the rest of the dead? One sentence! No place else does it say it like this. "And the rest of the dead live not again till the thousand years were completed!"

Think what a great thing is going to happen with that one little sentence.

Revelation 15: "Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and awesome: seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is filled up. And I saw a Sea of Glass…" (vs 1-2).

Let's stop and think about this. What did they see in Exo. 24? They saw a Sea of Glass like sapphire stone! When John went up in spirit to see the Throne of God, what was it sitting on? A Sea of Glass.

Now, if we're going to meet Christ in the air, this is where we're going to meet Him, on a Sea of Glass. What's going to happen? That Sun, which appeared as the second sun, the sign of the Son of man coming, will then at the time when the resurrection takes place—the first resurrection—will come streaking to the earth. Then all of a sudden, it will become a great Sea of Glass. What for? For the meeting with the Lord in the air!

What do we have to do and what takes place before we come back to the earth? Let's read it here:

Verse 2: "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…" First resurrection!

• Where are you taken to? Angels take us up in the air!
• Where are we going?

We're not going to go up and say, 'Hello, Jesus,' and He's going to say, 'Follow Me' and we come to the earth in the same day. Taking over the world is going to be a gigantic thing that needs to take place.

We will see what's going to have to happen on this great Sea of Glass. We will all be there, all in the first resurrection, all the saints from Abel! We have Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all of the righteous of the Old Testament. Then all of those who were the firstfruits in the New Testament will be raised at the same time.

Verse 3: "And they were singing the song of Moses… [Old Testamen] …the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb… [these are two songs we're going to have to learn] …saying, 'Great and awesome are Your works, Lord God Almighty; righteous and true are Your ways, King of the saints. 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, for Your judgments have been revealed'" (vs 3-4). An amazing thing indeed!

Verse 5: "And after these things I looked, and behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened." Daniel reveals the seven last plagues that are coming!

• What are we going to do on the Sea of Glass?
• What is it that is going to have to take place?

We have to be prepared. We're not coming down to the earth and then asking the Lord, what should we do? No! There are going to be a lot of things that take place on the Sea of Glass.

First of all, the very first thing, We saw that the temple was there, and there was the Throne of God. What's going to happen? Here are all of them on the Sea of Glass, standing on the Sea of Glass!

What's going to happen first? There's Christ. There are all of those there, however it's going to be, how many ever it's going to be. The first thing that's going to happen is this: Since we are the children of God, Christ is going to present us to the Father!

• We find this in Heb. 2. That He will declare and say, 'O Lord, those whom You have given Me.' Then we'll be presented to God the Father. That will be an amazing thing! We have to do that!
• We will receive our new names. Whatever it is, 'I'll give you a new name.' He said to everyone.
• Then the saints will be given their rewards.

You can look at all of the Scriptures concerning that.

• The saints will receive their assignments as kings and priests

• What are we going to do?
• How are we going to do it?
• Who's going to go here?
• Who's going to go there?
• Who's going to go to Europe?
• Who's going to go to Africa?
• Who's going to go to what we call America?
• Who's going to go to South America?
• Who's going to go to the Isles of the Sea?  Because we're going to rule and reign with Christ!

• The marriage of the Lamb! Yes! That's going to take place. We will see that. Now, that's a covenant. So there will be a new spiritual covenant that will seal the marriage.
• Then there will be the wedding supper of the Lamb and the saints! Now, that's going to be quite a thing. We don't know what's going to happen there. But you see, that's how the time between Pentecost and Trumpets is going to be taken up. All of these things will take time.
• The seven last plagues are going to take place!

What is the promise that God gave to everyone who trusted in Him? You shall see the vengeance of God. And the vengeance of God will be the seven last plagues.

• We'll be gathered together in the army of God, and we will return to the earth (Rev. 19), and begin ruling. Guess what's going to happen? The seven last plagues are poured out. The armies are destroyed, and we return down to the earth. Those who are still fighting, Jesus will give the command, and all their flesh is going to fall off their bones. God is going to call for all of the fowl of heavens to come and clean up this mess.
• Then we will all come to wherever God wants us to go, and we will begin reigning as kings and priests, and we will help set this world in order for the beginning of the Millennium.

So, that blends over into the Feast of Trumpets and into the Feast of Tabernacles!

This day, the Feast of Pentecost, is really a tremendous thing that we are resurrected on this day, just like the most important things that God did with His people, Mount Sinai, Jerusalem, and the Holy Spirit, and now the first resurrection on the Sea of Glass.

That's going to be a tremendous thing, and we're going to learn an awful lot there. Just like after Jesus was resurrected, He taught them for 40 days and 40 nights after His resurrection. Likewise with us, after we're resurrected, we've got to know what we're going to do.

We have to know how we're going to do it. We have to understand how our spirit bodies work, and all of that sort of thing will have to take place before we come back to the earth.

That's why the resurrection is on Pentecost, and all of these things that we just described at the end happening on the Sea of Glass take the time from Pentecost to Trumpets. Then on Trumpets, we come as the army of God to conquer the world, and we will reign as kings and priests!

So that's the meaning of the Feast of Pentecost!

Scriptural References:

• Leviticus 23:17
• Acts 1:4-7
• Revelation 1:1
• Acts 1:8-11
• Acts 2:1-16, 29-34, 36-38, 40-43
• Romans 8:8-9
• 2-Corinthians 6:14-18
• 1-Corinthians 15:12-26, 34-38, 42-58
• 1-Thessalonians 4:13-17
• Revelation 1:1-2, 4-8
• Revelation 4:1-5
• Revelation 5:8-10, 12-14
• Revelation 6:1-5, 9, 11-17
• Matthew 24:23-27, 29-31
• Malachi 4:1-2
• Revelation 8:1-5, 13
• Revelation 9:1, 11-12, 14-17, 21
• Revelation 11:11-15, 14-18
• Revelation 14:14-15
• Revelation 15:1-5

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:

• Matthew 13
• John 20
• Genesis 1:14
• John 8
• 1-Corinthians 3
• Revelation 20
• Daniel 12
• 1-John 3
• Revelation 19, 17
• Daniel 11
• Hosea 5; 6
• Revelation 7; 10
• Exodus 24
• Hebrews 2

FRC:bo/po
Transcribed: 5/21/25

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