Pentecost – Pt. 2

Ron Weinland

June 12, 2011

First of all I wanted to mention the Holy Day offering.  Turn over to Deuteronomy 16.  We actually read this yesterday as a part of the first sermon in the series on Pentecost. I want to pick that up again because it was talking about Pentecost at that particular time because it goes through the various Holy Days leading up to what we’re going to read in a moment here about why we do this year by year in addition to those things that God commands us concerning tithing and that which we save for our self as a second tithe to observe the Feast and the Holy Days, that God has given to us for ourselves.

There’s also the Holy Day offering and we were in Deuteronomy 16:9 where it makes the comment... it says, Seven weeks shall you number unto you: begin to number the seven weeks from, as it is here, the beginning of the sickle to the corn. Which is just another way of saying the wave sheaf.  So the first thing ‘of the sickle to the corn’ is the wave sheaf.  That was the first ceremony that was done.  It was a ceremony well before the harvest here and it’s referring to the wave sheaf, knowing when it is waved before God.  There are things that God says and gives instruction in sometimes that is a matter of if you know the law, if you know God’s way, if you know all the things given in Leviticus and how to do things – and that’s why there’s such minute discussion and instruction there; when you read something like this it’s not a problem.

People go to difficult scriptures sometimes to twist and distort them, to try to say it’s something different.  And so we have to use those things that are very clear from God first and foremost to give us understanding.  There are some things that God just tells us later that should be a matter of, “Sure, because you’ve already told us how to do it.  You told us exactly how to do it.”  So it’s about the wave sheaf and from the time the wave sheaf is actually offered.

And you shall keep the Feast of Weeks unto the Eternal your God with a tribute of a freewill offering

of your hand, which you shall give according as the Eternal your God has blessed you.  And that’s what this is about today in the sense of the offering here.  It is something that’s freewill that God says to bring specifically at this time, according in our mind, in our judgment and so forth as how we’ve been blessed in our lives.  And that’s something each individual has to look at and examine in their relationship with God.  And that’s why it comes down then finally to verse 16 after it talks about other Feasts, Feast of Tabernacles and so forth.

And it mentions here three seasons in a year, it’s about the seasons of the year, shall all your males appear before the Eternal your God in the place which He shall choose; and so again, the way it was organized as a part of worship and a part of the ceremony here that was to take place at that time.  Today we understand its all baptized people who are part of the Church of God.  It says, at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the High Days there, the Feast of Weeks, which is later on, but it’s referred to as one of the seasons, and at the Feast of Tabernacles which includes Trumpets and Atonement and the Last Great Day, all High Days.  It says they shall not appear before the Eternal empty: or as one translation says, empty-handed.  And that’s referring back to the previous verse there when it talks about why and so forth here; bringing something before God as a freewill offering according as the Eternal God has blessed you.

So again, we do this year by year, annual Sabbath by annual Sabbath, Holy Day, and every area does it a little bit different in different manner here.

Wherever you are today listening to this particular sermon, to do it according to how it’s done in your area, and if it isn’t done in your area then obviously we send it in like tithes are sent in.

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Last night right after sundown in Antwerp several of us left the hotel to go out in the city Centrum to get some snacks and refreshments in order to relax and have more fellowship; and by the time we got back after all the fellowship we had in the afternoon and early evening there it was getting on to 9:30 - 10:00 PM by the time we went out, and as soon as I went out the door it struck me – this time next year it’ll already have happened – a great resurrection.  What’s pictured in this day, the Feast of Firstfruits, the Feast of Weeks, Pentecost.  It will have already have started, it will have already begun.  Very, very sobering to think about that, realizing I’m going to be in a new body.  Can’t imagine what it’ll be like but I believe God. And that’s what we do, we go forward believing what God has told us, not knowing what those things mean fully, but to understand the resurrection will have already occurred, this is an awesome day!  The last one of this type, picturing, foreshadowing what’s going to take place, because by this time next year it’ll have been fulfilled to its fullest in a very powerful way.

We live in some incredible times, things we have the opportunity to see, as I mentioned at the beginning of this sermon series, this today obviously being Part 2, this day being obviously Pentecost, that as I was talking about it yesterday, it is an incredible thing to think about the things that we get to see.  Things about the Feast of Trumpets; the Feast of Trumpets – we’re living it!  We live in an awesome time!  Things that God has looked forward to for so long; we’re almost to the time of the Feast of Tabernacles, and all these things in God’s plan that we get to witness, that we get to be a part of, that we get to share in.  We don’t grasp the magnitude of it.  We don’t grasp how awesome it is, but it’s very moving, very exciting, very inspiring in ways that I can’t even begin to put into words!

And so again, being struck by that!  Also thinking about 50 weeks... 50 weeks away – count 50.  It doesn’t go without meaning, okay?  It does have meaning!  You can look at other years, and I did a little bit of that today, over a span of a pretty good period of time and didn’t find another year where Pentecost is exactly 50 weeks from the next Pentecost.  I know there has to be others, I’m sure of that, but the point being is that it’s this year!  And when you put that together with all the other things we have gone through, with all the other things that have to do with the working out of time, of when they are, when they are fulfilled, when they happen, when they take place, it is no coincidence that this is happening in this manner – completeness – complete!  50 weeks!  Awesome!  Incredible what God is telling us, what He’s showing to us, what He’s giving us more encouragement in, and that which it teaches, very, very powerful.  50 times seven... and the world has no idea.  The world has no idea what’s going to take place.  The world has no idea of where God’s Church is, who God’s Church is – even those who are scattered don’t know where the Church is. They’re not sure.  They think that they know, they think that they see certain things and believe certain things, but there’s great confusion among the scattered groups.

I wanted to go through a few things today just to read some of the news articles that are out there.  There are so many more and I wish I’d have brought more together, I just happened to have a few in my briefcase here from the last day or so.  We live in a world where things are happening so fast in the sense of manoeuvring and getting into place; and we’re watching this and we see it.  We’re blessed to be able to see this, to see the news and understand where it fits, to recognize that everything is moving together and when it’s time it will take place rapidly, powerfully – maybe a lot more rapidly than we grasp and comprehend.  We have to wait and see what God gives to us, what God reveals, what God shows the world and how He accomplishes what He says will come to pass.

But here’s a report, just of unease in the world; just like last night, watching the unease in Syria.  The world is a volatile place, things that are going on in Lebanon, things that are going on in Yemen, things that are going on with Bahrain – on and on and on it goes, especially the Middle East and all the things that have to do with oil, because it’s always about oil for the western world.  And one of these days the spigot gets turned off.  But here’s one, it says....

[1] Report: Military Coup Possible in Greece

Sunday, May 29, 2011

BERLIN – Daily News with wires

And when we look at things like that, hear things like that, and the world hears things.... “Oh sure, a military coup in Greece...!”  The world hasn’t seen anything yet of what’s building up and what’s going to take place.  But it says....

The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency....

I probably shouldn’t say this – “...which may be an oxymoron.”

...warned in a report that the tough austerity measures and the dire situation could escalate and even lead to a military coup, according to a report by Germany’s popular daily Bild.

I’m not going to read the rest of the article. Here is another one.

[2] UN sees risk of crisis of confidence in U.S. dollar

Reuters - May 25, 2011 | Last Updated: May 26, 2011

UNITED NATIONS – The United Nations warned on Wednesday of a possible crisis of confidence in, and even a “collapse” of, the U.S. dollar if its value against other currencies continued to decline.

In a mid-year review of the world economy, the UN economic division said such a development, stemming from the falling value of foreign dollar holdings, would imperil the global financial system.

The report, an update of the UN “World Economic Situation and Prospects 2011” report first issued in December, noted that the dollar exchange rate against a basket of other key currencies had reached its lowest level since the 1970s.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.  Another one....

[3] Saudi-Iran Feud Draws Sectarian Line Amid Mideast Oilfields

Bloomberg - May 31, 2011

Part-way in the article it says....

The Gulf, home to three-fifths of the world’s oil reserves, has largely escaped the violence that accompanied uprisings in Egypt, Libya and other countries this year. The main exception, though, carries the risk of a wider conflict. Bahrain’s Saudi- backed rulers are using force to suppress an opposition that mostly shares Iran’s Shiite faith -- exacerbating the rivalry between the region’s two most powerful and oil-rich countries.

It’s “frightening to think of this conflict and the effects on oil and other markets,” said Paul Sullivan, a political scientist specializing in Middle East security at Georgetown University.

There are people who are scared, you can tell.  I’ll tell you what, when President Bush spoke to the nation and other economists spoke at that time (2008), their countenance was different than I’d ever seen it. He was afraid.  You could tell by the way he spoke.  It wasn’t the way he spoke at other times, it wasn’t the way he talked at other times; he was genuinely afraid of what was about to occur.  They panicked!  That’s why they wanted to give a stimulus like they did.  They were in genuine panic mode.  We’re almost there again.  People are starting to fear; you can hear certain things in the background, things that are being said, every once in a while something thrown out that is just about to happen again – this time with far greater fear.

And you know what?  It really struck me as I’ve mentioned here already, that that’s what’s going to cause the western world to begin at least to examine, to think, to stop, and rather than burying their heads in the sand... because when it’s all taken away, when it begins to be taken away and that which they think they’re getting back and that they’ve been trying to ignore and not wanting to address and not wanting to hear any bad news... the nonsense of propping up the stock market and manipulating commodities and everything else...and all of a sudden when they realize that’s a pipedream and it didn’t come to pass and now it’s gone - that’s worse!  That’s worse than floods, that’s worse than a nuclear weapon going off in some areas – because if it doesn’t touch you, knowing mankind and knowing the western world and knowing the United States, people don’t care.  What happened in New York City on 9/11 didn’t touch the west coast, and people out there seemed to have little concern after it happened.  You could travel to that part of the country and it’s like, “It didn’t affect us.”  It didn’t affect their life!  Whereas in the eastern part of the United States attitudes were different.  We were dumbfounded when we went to Australia later and found that they were far more moved than most of the people in the United States by what happened on that day!  Amazing what strikes people sometimes, and how man just wants to ignore, stick their head in the sand and not acknowledge what is taking place and what is coming to pass!  It blows the mind!

But when you take away money and savings in one fell swoop that’s going to cause a hurt that’s the greatest hurt because it’s in the mind.  Something that happens physically you deal with it.  A tornado wipes out a third of a city, you go in and you deal with it, you go on with life, you move, you do something else...and others forget about it after a while.  They don’t think about you anymore! Floods?  You know, things that take place, after a while it’s not on the news and people don’t care because it didn’t affect them. They still go out Friday and Saturday nights and Sunday night, spending money in the restaurants.  It’s hard to get a reservation, it’s hard to get in; wait an hour, hour and forty-five minutes to get in at some place.  People aren’t hurting in those areas because life goes on – eat, drink, and be merry – and they don’t even think about ‘tomorrow we die’.  It’s just eat, drink, and be merry, going on with life, putting as much as you can on your credit card, still keeping up the way you’ve been used to living because to live less hurts up here in the mind.  Sometimes that which happens in the mind is far worse than something that happens physical.

I’ve thought about that many times when I think about the apostasy.  I would have rather taken a beating!  I’d rather have gone through some things where bad things happen in my body physically, than what I had to go through up here in my mind and the pain and the suffering and the loss that was there in my mind!  I came to realize in a very powerful way – those things have greater hurt sometimes, by far, than something physical.  Your body can heal and if it doesn’t you won’t know it; in other words if you die it’s over with.  Sometimes the torment that goes on in the mind... That’s why Satan can’t die yet, but he’s being tormented already.  And the next thousand years he’s going to be tormented.  Why?  It’s in his mind – that’s where the torment is – it’s not in the body.  So people suffer and people are going to suffer a great deal.  And so it’s an awesome thing to me the continuation of the 1st Trumpet and some of those things that are associated with it and why things are the way they are.

[4] Saudi Bid to Curb Iran Worries the U.S.

The Wall Street Journal – Middle East News: May 27, 2011

Saudi Arabia is rallying Muslim nations across the Middle East and Asia to join an informal Arab alliance against Iran, in a move some U.S. officials worry could draw other troubled nations into the sectarian tensions gripping the Arab world.

People are choosing sides!  Things are happening right here in Europe in a very powerful way where it isn’t too long up the road here now and all of a sudden 10 nations are going to come out of this.  You think Greece is going to be one of them?  You think Greece that is dragging it down and holding it back... I highly doubt it!  If they are, it’s really going to be bad times for those 10 nations; iron and clay.  Iron and clay – they don’t mix.  It’s a powerful thing – iron and clay – but it’s there.

Just like Pentecost here in Europe.  Was talking yesterday about the people going into the churches here, mostly old people.  It’s not the young people.  They’re not worshipping on this Pentecost; they’re not worshipping today, this Sunday, in the churches as a whole.  Is there still Carnival going on today?  They’re out there at the Carnival most likely, not in the churches. It’s the older people, those who are thinking about maybe the end of their life and realize it’s coming and want to make things ‘work out’ when it’s all done...little more concerned.  Others aren’t there.  And I thought – the Catholic church in Europe today, it’s iron and clay, the way things are held together.   It isn’t real strong, it isn’t real powerful in one respect, and in another it is.  It’s an awesome thing...the same way Europe will be – barely held together but powerful for a moment in time.

The article goes on to say....

Saudi officials have approached Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia and Central Asian states to lend diplomatic support—and potentially military assistance in some cases—to help stifle a majority Shiite revolt in Sunni-led Bahrain, a conflict that has become a symbol of Arab defiance against Iran.

Awesome what’s happening in the Middle East between nations right now at the same time things are happening in Europe, at the same time things are happening in the United States, things that are happening around the world – just with the economy alone and people choosing sides, and have been for some time already, it’s just getting closer and closer, obviously.

Saudi Arabia's efforts, though against a common enemy, signal increasing friction with the Obama administration. Its invitation to Pakistan in particular could complicate U.S. security goals in South Asia. The push also complicates U.S. efforts to guide popular uprisings in the Middle East toward a peaceful and democratic conclusion.

I have a hard time sometimes not laughing at some of these things!  “...a peaceful and democratic solution.”  We’re going to give people peace and democracy in Afghanistan, in Iraq, and now in Libya... you don’t know who’s going to be next...but anyway, it’s a farce, it’s just disgusting!

[5] Moody’s Downgrades Greece To Just A Few Notches Above Default: From B1 to Caa1, Outlook Negative

Zero Hedge - 06/01/2011

[6] Wall Street Baffled by Slowing Economy, Low Yields: Trader

CNBC - Wednesday, 1 Jun 2011

They just don’t understand it, and people are talking about déjà vu – here’s 2008 all over again.  “We’re there at the door again!  What happened?!”  It’s a lot worse than 2008 and many know it.

Wall Street is having a hard time figuring out what to do now that the U.S. economy appears to be sputtering and yields are so low, Peter Yastrow, market strategist for Yastrow Origer, told CNBC.

"What we’ve got right now is almost near panic going on with money managers and people who are responsible for money," he said.

This is coming from people who do this, who work at these things, who are concerned about these things and these money managers are saying that people are near panic.  I won’t read the rest....  We’re right on the brink – in God’s time.  Another one here from a CNBC article....

[7] Horror for U.S. Economy as Data Falls Off Cliff

CNBC – Wednesday, 1 Jun 2011

They’re not happy.  Another one....

[8] ADP Disaster: Just 38K New Private Jobs in May

Business Insider - Jun. 1, 2011

Just 38K new private sector jobs in May. That's well below the 175K jobs that were expected.

That’s a pretty big bump.

[9] Back towards a US double-dip

Financial Times - June 1, 2011

[10] Debt Ceiling: Moody’s just threatened to slash the US credit rating

Business Insider - Jun. 2, 2011

Well, that’s kind of a joke too, it’s all political, but I won’t go there – we’d just spend a half an hour discussing that one.

[11] China ratings house says U.S. is defaulting on Massive Debt

(AFP) – 6 days ago

Well, they have their reasons for saying some of that too, but they put us there, shrewdly so.  They helped to put us close to the cliff.  They got us used to spending a lot of money.  Isn’t that amazing?  Pretty shrewd!  You think that wasn’t a plan?  You think that things haven’t been planned?  The Chinese don’t do anything without planning long term; and sometimes you get toward the end of it and it ends up being short term.  But even the prophecy about ‘a year, a month, and a day’ has already gone by; we don’t know when it was, and that’ll come out later on in time – what they did, what they decided, what they determined, what they determined to do has now already been decided. They’re moving in a certain direction full force, powerfully so.  They have an agenda, a powerful one, and so the things that they have done are working towards that.

I hate to use some analogies; don’t want to offend people even though I do.  If you give someone a high credit amount to go out and spend, spend, spend, spend, and you give (let’s say it’s a bank)... this has happened, banks back up a company let’s say, and they’re excited about what’s taking place, they’re excited about a new business so they just pump money into it and they keep pumping money into it, and things get kind of bad and they’re kind of stuck but they keep pumping money into it, what’s tough is that people on the other side get used to receiving that money and spending it. But all of a sudden the bank says, “Enough!”, then the money’s cut off and the people on the other side are in a world of hurt.  You know, the Chinese have done it in a step beyond that and they have given money and given money and given money but their motive wasn’t to boost us like a bank might.  They’re not excited about helping us, they never have been.  They’re helping themselves!

We think they’re doing it out of good will?  You think they’re doing everything out of good will because they ‘love the United States’?  They hate our guts and always have hated us!  They’re not at peace with us, they’re at war in their minds!  They only want half the United States!  That’s what one general said, “Just move to the east, we’ll take half of it and that’ll satisfy us.”  For a while anyway.  You think they want a piece of Australia or the whole thing?  Amazing that a leader of Australia would say, “Yes, your ships can dock in our ports now.”  A nation that has designs for them already – Australia and China.  I get upset when I read these things and think about the blindness.

And God over and over again in scripture condemns Israel – Ephraim and Manasseh especially – for how they deal with other world leaders, world governments and so forth; the stupidity when it comes to certain policies.  Says ‘Ephraim is half-baked’ at the end-time.  You know what that means?  ‘Half-baked’?  To be ‘half-baked’?  It’s not fully cooked in the decisions and choices that are made with governments and what’s going on in the world.

What’s taking place with Great Britain and playing around with the 10 nations hasn’t been a smart thing, just to be real candid about it, okay?  Playing this game with them but not all the way, not accepting the Euro but still playing the game. It’s because its money, it can mean something to our economy so we’re going to play this game.  Someone said about Australia, “Okay, we want to keep business up with China. They’re buying our mines!  They’re putting in a lot of money in over here.  We don’t want to get them upset so we’ll let their ships come into our port.”  Amazing!

Another article....

[12] Europe drought: France pledges 1bn euros for farmers

BBC - 10 June 2011

...because of the drought down there and what’s taking place.  And that article talked about how that even for Germany it says....

Weather forecasters say it could be the worst spring drought in Germany since records began.

That’s just what came off the wire.  On and on it goes, article after article; and today....

[13] Chile volcano: Quantus cancels all flights into Melbourne

BBC - 12 June 2011

Isn’t that amazing?  That far away from Chile and they have to cancel all flights into Melbourne?  And it says...

[Strong winds have carried the fine particles of ash from the volcano to southern New Zealand and Australia at] between 6,000 and 10,600m (20,000 and 35,000ft).

It’s so thick in those areas that they have to cancel flights and they’re talking about how that Jetstar, another airline there, has cancelled all flights within New Zealand and New Zealand to Australia.  Air New Zealand though is flying.  It says they’re just changing some of their routes.  I used to like them.

So, how do we think about news when we see these things week after week after week. Some days it’s just packed out there!  And people are getting accustomed to thinking this is the norm!  They hear all this stuff all the time and they really don’t even want to hear it anymore; they’d rather hear about someone in Congress or a Representative or a Senator or whatever who was on Twitter sending some pictures of himself – like this is somehow news and this is all they’re talking about!  The world’s in bad shape and people are asleep.

So again, we should be very moved to understand where we are.  One year from now and God’s going to change this world!  One year from now!  What happens on this day in China, throughout Asia, what happens in parts of Europe, what God does; He says, “I am going to destroy those who are destroying the earth!”  By that time, it says, that China and Russia and their alliance will have destroyed one third...one third... of all the earth.  One third of mankind!  What God does on that last day – it’s big, more powerful.  There’s not going to be a lot left of some places and some countries and some peoples. And then God will be able to begin to work with them, to teach them, to lead them.  Their attitudes will change, their desire to learn will change; they will have a desire to learn about God and what they see on the earth at that time.

Yesterday we ended as we began covering how Jesus Christ fulfilled the symbolism contained in the wave sheaf offering, being received of God for us.  It’s a beautiful picture, it truly is!  And we understand what this day means in a very powerful way.  This is a unique Holy Day. This is a unique Holy Day. It’s the last one in this age.  It’s the last Pentecost to be observed in the age of man, and you’re a part of it, you’re able to observe it.

This is the last scripture that I read: Hebrews 9:11 - But Christ being come a High Priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; So we talked about that, what that means.  Beautiful picture. Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood, through His own blood, because of what He did, because of His willingness to be impaled on a pole, like this. Like I like to tell everyone when I go from area to area, because there are always new people in areas.  He was not put on a cross!  He was not put on a cross and the word doesn’t mean ‘cross’, it means ‘a pole’ – and the nail, one nail went through His hands and one nail down below in the feet area.

And the reason they came around to break the legs of all three who were put up there was so that they would die right away, because in order to stay alive they were pushing themselves up to breathe, because when you’re hanging from your hands like this and you can’t push yourself up anymore, which is what happens when the legs are broken, they hang like this and they die, they suffocate because you can’t breathe that way, but you can breathe ‘this’ way (with your arms stretched out on your sides instead of over your head).  I hate those damnable lies that the world of Traditional Christianity has told, I truly do, because it blinds the minds of people, the eyes of people.  And so they wear a cross around their neck.  If it was done by a guillotine they’d be wearing a guillotine, celebrating what He suffered!  Stupid, stupid, stupid, sick, and perverted, from Satan.  I get so disgusted by it!  I can tell you, God Almighty is disgusted by the things that Satan has done.  So glad, so thankful that he’s come to his end, he’s at his end.  This is his last year...a little less than a year in this age and he gets to start being tormented.  He’s already being tormented in his mind, in his being.  Sick, perverted mind that has perverted the minds of so many people, harassed so many people through time.

And so Jesus Christ - He entered in once because of His dying; it says a soldier came up and ran a spear into His side and ‘out came water and blood.’  Because that’s how the Passover Lamb had to die, He had to spill His blood to the earth, not suffocate!  Was it an evangelist that began to teach that?  An evangelist in God’s Church, one of the same one who pushed 14th/15th Passover to so many ministers who went out into the 70’s and the 80’s – taught that maybe, it’s a possibility, that Christ suffocated on the ‘cross’.  Dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, ignorant dumb.  He spilled out His blood.  He had to fulfill the roll of a Passover.  My wife told an individual in that conversation, when it came to light of was happening, a minister’s wife in another area, long-time friends of ours, and she said, “That isn’t true and it can’t be true because He had to spill His blood to the earth to fulfill the Passover.”  She said, “If that had been the case, that He was suffocated, then God would have told us to squeeze that little lamb’s neck until he died!”  True.  That’s what God would have done, because everything has meaning and purpose.

I get a little worked up when I think about the deceptions in this world and the lies in this world and the lies that have taken place, even within the environment of God’s Church.  It doesn’t please God; it’s an evil thing when there’s not unity and oneness in the Body of Christ, in the Church of God.  It truly is an evil thing when those things happen. That’s why God desires and talks about it so much and that’s why we focus on it so much; that we are to be of one Word. That series you’re going to start going through about perfection; some of the words there – awesome - in the book of John, 1st John and what they mean – God’s great desire for us to be of one mind, of one Word, one Logos with Him.  Unity and oneness!  Everything else hurts, takes away from, causes suffering, and must be destroyed, truly.

After Jesus Christ was resurrected He gave the disciples instruction to remain in Jerusalem until more of the meaning of Pentecost could be fulfilled.  We talked about how the 10 Commandments were given, the Jews celebrate that on this particular day...or not today, they don’t know when this day is because they don’t count right.  But we know. Just like they keep 14th/15th at the wrong time, but the calendar is true, the calendar is correct, they just don’t observe everything when they should observe it.  But anyway, on this particular day here the 10 Commandments were given; we talked about that.  On this day also as recorded in the book of Acts an awesome event took place that we’re going to read about, the story here of God’s spirit being poured out on that particular day.  Jesus Christ told them to stay in Jerusalem so that this day could be fulfilled in a greater way, so that the promise that they were to be given could happen, could take place, which took place on Pentecost.

Let’s read the story:  Acts 1:1 – In the former treatise, and this is Luke writing, talking about the book of Luke; so he’s talking about the former book he wrote and now he’s going to continue on with the story.  Basically that’s what he’s telling them; I wrote the book of Luke, whatever it was called at that time, as men gave it names later on. But in that particular book, in that particular writing he’s saying, O Theophilus, I gave account of all that Jesus both began to do and to teach.  And so he’s telling him, “This is what I witnessed and this is what I wrote.”

And now he’s going on with more of the story.  It says, Until the day in which He was taken up, so now Luke continues to write from where he left off in the book of Luke as he continues in the story writing this around 61 AD.  That He through the holy spirit had given commandments unto the apostles whom He had chosen: To whom also He showed Himself alive after His endurance/after His suffering, is what the word means, by many infallible proofs; so he’s talking about how the book of Luke took him up to that point and now he’s going on with the story here at 61 AD to continue with the story of what took place afterwards.  And so he’s continuing on after Jesus Christ had suffered and began to show Himself alive with many infallible proofs, it says here, as He appeared before them and spoke to them and things that took place; by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of those things pertaining to the Kingdom of God:

Just like in the story yesterday when we talked about how that at that particular time Mary Magdalene and then Peter and John and different ones went up there to the tomb and what took place at that time.  And I mentioned how that Jesus Christ said, “Don’t touch Me, I have not ascended yet.”  He said, “Go and tell them I ascend to My God and your God, to My Father and your Father.”  Later on that same day when He appeared amongst them He told Thomas, “Put your hand in here, touch Me.”  So He was showing that indeed He fulfilled the wave sheaf and came back and then they could touch Him at that point in time; but before that they couldn’t, the part of the ceremony there was not fulfilled then.

Going on here, verse 4 - And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem but wait for the promise of the Father, which you have heard from Me. For John truly baptized with water; but you shall be baptized in the holy spirit not many days from now.  And so He told them, “Remember what I’ve told you!” and talking about that which John did, in saying, “You’re going to be baptized; you’re going to be immersed in the holy spirit.”  And that’s why we’ve changed some, updated some, improved some of the ceremony on baptism showing and giving understanding, that yes, we’re baptized in the water, but we are baptized in the holy spirit as well, immersed in God’s spirit in a very powerful way.  That’s part of the ceremony that takes place there as God impregnates us with His holy spirit.

Verse 6 – Therefore when they had come together, they asked of Him, saying, Lord, will You at this time restore again the kingdom of Israel? They still didn’t understand!  It wasn’t given to them to understand, it wasn’t for their time!  They still went on for a time thinking that the Kingdom of God was coming in a short amount of time!  Paul thought that for a time until finally he wrote later on, when God revealed it, because he lived by the present truth – until God revealed to him that something had to happen in the Church – 2nd Thessalonians.  When he wrote it, God revealed to him that there are things that had to happen in the future, and then by his writings you can see how that he began to look farther into the future.  But before that, in his writings, he spoke of those things that were ‘soon to come to pass’.  So did the other disciples, because God hadn’t revealed it to them yet.

And so even here they asked this question to Him before He died!  They didn’t know He was going to die and they said, “When are You going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”  They believed He was the Messiah, the Christ!  That’s why they asked those questions!  “We believe You’re the Christ!” because the prophecies about a Messiah has to do with making Israel, and the One who’s going to lead them, ruler of the world, of all mankind, of the entire earth, and they were excited about that because they were under Roman rule – and so they were excited when He came into Jerusalem.  That’s why they said, talked about hailing Him as the One descended from David.  They knew He was the Messiah, they talked about Him being the Messiah; they were crying out “Hosanna!”  - basically, “The King, the Messiah that’s come to rule!” ...and then He died and they were asking, “What do we do now?!”  They were distraught.  They didn’t know He had to die.

They didn’t understand that Israel is about spiritual Israel, it’s not about a physical people.  The restoration of Government is not about a physical people, it’s about all people, it’s about all mankind – everyone! It’s just that that’s the name we’re given, all of us!  Not physical; not at all!  It doesn’t matter where we came from; if we’re living, breathing human beings we’re one Family, we’re God’s Family, we’re God’s children and He just gives labels to identify who we are in His Family, where He places us.

Verse 6 – Therefore when they came together they asked of Him, Lord, will you at this time restore again the kingdom of Israel? Is it now?  You died, You’re resurrected, You’re a spirit being...is this it?  And He said to them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father has put, which means He has set/appointed in His own power, a word that means, in His own authority and power to act. And when it’s His time to give it, He will give it to whomever He will.

But you shall receive power, which means ‘strength’ and power, yes, after that the holy spirit is come to you: so that isn’t what this is about – “it’s not about restoring the kingdom to Israel now. It’s not about Me being the Messiah now. It isn’t about that; it’s about you receiving the spirit, God’s spirit, the holy spirit” and you shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and to the uttermost part of the earth. Today it’s all around the world.  It’s been that way for some time since the time of Mr. Armstrong, since Philadelphia when it became the ‘Worldwide Church of God’.

Verse 9 - And when He had spoken these things, while they were yet watching Him He was taken up; and a cloud received Him out of their sight.  And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; two angelic beings, Who also said, You men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as you have seen Him go into heaven. He’s coming back.  And they believed at that point it was still going to be in their lifetime.  God didn’t give them anything else to believe at that point in time.  He didn’t reveal to them the truth.  He didn’t tell them it was going to be for another 2,000 years.  He didn’t show them that.  God doesn’t reveal everything all at once.

Just like right now, we want to know the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Trumpet... I’d love to know!  I’m glad that God gave to me to write we won’t know until the day it happens...then we will know.  We will know when the 2nd Trumpet blast takes place.  But we have that desire; they had that desire; we’re the same, we have a desire to know, we want to know, I’d like to know!  But I can’t. And so they just had this burning desire.  It’s just a natural thing.  God gives us something and we want that and we’d like a little bit more because it’s kind of like the carrot thing....  Because we’re excited about God’s Word, we’re excited about it being fulfilled and we want to know more and we look forward to it and we’re excited when He gives us more.

So he says, You men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner, come back in the same way you see Him going...He’s going to come back in the same way.  And that day His feet stands on the Mount of Olives... on this day 50 weeks from now!  Awesome!  By the time the day is over with, at the end of the day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives once again; hasn’t been there since He left them at this point in the story.

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the Mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a Sabbath day's journey. And when they had arrived, they went up into the upper room where they were staying, Peter, James, John, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James.  These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers. Think the Catholic church has a tough time with that one?  ...that Mary had other children?  If I remember rightly don’t they think that she didn’t have any more children?  Yes, she did!  ...and with His brothers.

And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of the names together were about an hundred and twenty), Men and brethren, it was necessary that this scripture be fulfilled, which the holy spirit by/through the mouth of David spoke before concerning Judas, here is something written by the prophet David, by King David, and he says it was inspired, given to him, through the holy spirit because he was a prophet.  ...spoke before concerning Judas, which was guide to them who took Jesus. Again, going back here in context of the whole story, speaking of Judas.  For he was numbered with us, Judas was, and had obtained part of this ministry. Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and having fallen headlong he burst open in the middle and his bowels gushed out.  He hung himself and this is his end; rotted, fell down...not a pretty picture, but that’s what it says took place to him.

And it was well known unto all who dwelt in Jerusalem; insomuch as that field to this day is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blood. Interesting where it’s located, south of the Valley of Hinnom; a field there where he was buried.  Even the money that was given to him, it was called ‘blood money’ from the very beginning.

For it is written in the book of the Psalms, Let his habitation... there are things that God gives at times that have to do with a verse or a few verses that you would have no idea what it’s talking about – nobody does – until God says this is what it fulfills, this is what it means.  There are things recorded in the Psalms that fulfilled the life and death of Christ. There are some things you read that you couldn’t even remotely know that it was about the Messiah, until God revealed and gave through His apostles or prophets at times things that had been fulfilled, of things that had been written earlier.  And that’s the way it’s been through time – an awesome thing!  And here is one as an example.  You can’t go back there and read that and know what it is by itself except that God has told us.

It says, Let his habitation/dwelling be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and let another take his office. That’s from Psalm 109. Now how in the world could you know that’s about Judas?  How in the world could anyone know that that was a fulfillment of Judas and what it meant.  Peter was inspired to know, by the holy spirit, that someone else was to take his office and that they had a job to do to decide that now and how they were going to go about it.  They were inspired by the holy spirit.  God communicates with the mind to inspire us, to reveal things to us, to give us understanding just as He did the first moment you began to see and understand things about the truth, things about the Sabbath, things about the holy days, that you could begin to see the plan of God, the importance of Passover.  Awesome!  AWESOME!  Your mind is opened to see something the world is so blind to – the Lamb – and yet in the Protestant world they talk about these scriptures, “‘the Lamb of God’ – what does that mean?!”  He’s our Passover, that’s what it means.  It means the Lamb has to die; He has to spill His blood to the earth.  But they don’t want to keep Passover, they want to keep Easter.  They’d rather point to rabbits squatting around laying eggs - lie to your children.  Incredible!

Verse 21 - Therefore of these men who have accompanied us, so this is his conclusion, this is what he’s led to by the holy spirit.  He said, since this is what is written in the Psalms about Judas and about our current situation, now it is expedient (in other words), therefore of these men who have accompanied us, in other words, been with us, all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, Beginning from the baptism of John, someone that had to be there, witness of that, of Christ’s baptism, of what took place, from the beginning of the baptism of John until the same day that He was taken up from us, someone who is still with us, among us, (not of the twelve...obviously of the eleven at this point) there must be one ordained to be witness with us of His resurrection.  There had to be 12 – perfection; a number that God gives for that which is perfect.  Twelve:  12,000.... 12 times 12,000 – 144,000...that God’s bringing in His Kingdom to rule under Christ, to reign with Christ and on and on it goes.

And they appointed two; Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.  And they prayed, and said, You, Lord, who know the heart of all, show which of these two you have chosen; and so a decision had to be made, and because of the example, because of what had taken place, they were led to see two, that there were two who stood out amongst all the rest; but they couldn’t make decision then of who it should be between the two.   They looked to God to show them.

It’s like the example I love in Leviticus 16 with Atonement, on the Day of Atonement it talks about the two lambs, one to be the azazael.  So there’s one that represents Satan, there’s one that represents Christ – the two goats – and the point being in this example is that the high priest didn’t know which was which.  God had to reveal it to him, if you know the story here; God had to reveal which is which and that’s the way it is with us as well.  God had to show us who the true Christ is.  The world can’t know it unless God Almighty through the power of His spirit begins to draw and call someone to reveal who the Messiah, who the Passover is.  And that’s the way it is with the world.  They don’t understand the true Christ, they believe a different one.

And so the example is here in Acts, two men now stand here that stand out amongst all the rest, who have been with us during this entire time, have been witness in all these things above everyone else – very obvious to them but still that God Almighty, “You have to show us whom You have chosen to fulfill the scripture in Psalms, to be the one who is to be given this office with us.”  That’s basically what they were saying.

So he says, You know the heart of all and which of these two You have chosen, that he may take part of the ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place. And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.  So Matthias, where he’s mentioned here, became one of the 12 at this point to fulfill God’s perfect purpose and plan.

Acts 2:1 - And when the Day of Pentecost had come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And so all of a sudden they’re inside and this sound of a mighty wind comes through. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like fire, and it rested upon them. Just like fire on top of their heads.  It’d kind of freak you out, but it was something that God was manifesting in a miraculous way to show the importance of this awesome event, to inspire them, to motivate them, to encourage them for what was ahead.

And they were all filled with the holy spirit, God poured out His spirit upon them, and began to speak with other tongues, sometimes this is difficult for people that have been in a Pentecostal world because they don’t understand what this means and they think speaking in tongues is speaking in some kind of gibberish, some kind of language that only maybe one other person is given the interpretation, of who hears them, or maybe they could even interpret it themselves.  It’s a word in the Greek that just means ‘languages’. Would to God that people would do a little bit of research, open up a ‘Strong’s Concordance’ at least to try to find out what a Greek word means.  It just means a different language.  And so it says here they began to speak in other languages as the spirit gave them the power to speak.

And the Jews were dwelling at Jerusalem, or it talks about Jews who were there, who were devout men of every nation under heaven.  So this is Pentecost and people have come in from the entire region.  They came in on the Holy Days to worship God at the temple.  That’s why they came in there, in the place that God chose to place His name as we talked about yesterday.  So they were there, people from all over the region, Jewish people who grew up and lived in other regions of the world. And it says, Now when this was noised abroad, in other words rumour began to spread about what was happening, that people were hearing these individuals speak in other languages, something they’d never witnessed before.  This was early in the day.

It says, a multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own tongue/his own language. Awesome!  I don’t know what took place, I don’t know if they were speaking at one time in one language and one in another and continued to go on, or whether it was by what they were hearing, a miracle of hearing in their own language (because you can only speak one language at a time), or whether they were speaking and... I don’t know!  I’ve never experienced and I wasn’t there and those things have not happened since the time of Paul when he addressed it in the Church, and God... because there was a period of time when that was still given, for a time, to some to be able to speak in other languages for the purpose of preaching the gospel – meaning that if one of the disciples had travelled to another area that spoke a different dialect, a different language, I should say, as far as the Jews were concerned, to the Jews to preach to them, another language in another area, they could speak to them in that language not even knowing it – the truth.  In other words, in their mind they’re speaking what they’re speaking in their own dialect, their own language from Galilee but whether the words are coming out in the other or there’s the sound of that that the people there are hearing... I don’t know, but it happened and so they were able to (it calls it here ‘speaking’) in other languages.  For the purpose of preaching the gospel, of witnessing to them of what had happened.

Because that’s the first thing the Church began to do, talking about Christ, what He just fulfilled, proving that He was the Passover.  That’s the whole story of what happened in the book of Acts.  It wasn’t the things that God began to add to them later on, through Paul especially, in the Church, in the giving of greater knowledge and understanding of God’s plan and purpose as you go through the New Testament as it were; and so all this knowledge that was being given to them.

And so in the very beginning, in a very powerful way, up to the 60’s AD there especially, their primary effort was to go out to talk about what they had witnessed from the time of John the Baptist and what they saw fulfilled in Christ when He was baptized and all the things that took place in that next period of time, of 3 to 3 ½ years, and up to the point in time that He died and then He was resurrected.  They testified of those things because they witnessed them and talking about the Kingdom of God, that He is the Messiah, that He is the Christ!  And so it was about Jesus Christ, the message powerfully was in the very beginning, especially more than any other time in the sense of what was being focused upon – because it’s just been accomplished.

And so again here, talking about what took place; every man heard in his own language.

Verse 7 - And all of them were amazed/astonished, as the word is here, and marvelled, In other words they wondered about what was taking place and they began to talk out loud about it in some cases, as it says here, saying one to another, Behold, aren’t these all who speak Galileans? It’s like, “They’re not highly educated, they’re just Galileans!  Aren’t they just Galileans that are up there...?” and they’re not noted for basically knowing a whole lot!”  They’re from up there; they don’t know other languages, the Galileans...” So how is it that every one of us is able to hear in his own language of which we were born? Parthian, Mede, Elamite, and the dwellers of Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, and Pontus, and Asia, it lists the languages, where they were born, in their tongue in which they were born – different from what was being spoken there; Phrygia, Pamphylia, and Egypt, and all parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, because we can hear them speak in our own language the incredible works of God.  Awesome the miracle that God performed on that day, showing how great that day was...and it was an incredible day!

That’s why I love John 14.  There is to me no greater truth, no greater revelation given to man than what God, Jesus Christ, gave, what God gave through Jesus Christ that day when He said, ‘the words that I speak to you are not My own, they’re from the Father.’  And He talked about them believing who He was and that everything He did, He said He was able to do it because He dwelt in the Father and the Father was dwelling in Him through the power of the holy spirit.  That’s why it goes on in John then in saying this awesome thing that can now take place in your lives, “...that I will dwell in you and the Father will dwell in you and you will dwell in us.”

So again, the incredible works of God, and so I was talking about John.  It’s an awesome thing, an awesome revelation.  This is the beginning of the fulfillment of it; that-God-began-to-dwell-in-man in an organized fashion called The Body of Christ, The Church of God – awesome!

And they were all amazed, and greatly perplexed, saying one to another, What does all this mean? Yet others mocking saying, because others refused to believe obviously, as the world is prone to do; These men are full of new wine. It didn’t make a whole lot of sense, but they had to find something to try to refute it, to try to say “This isn’t really happening. You’re not really hearing what you think you’re hearing.”  But if they’re full of new wine that doesn’t mean you talk as well, so how in the world are you hearing everything in an awesome way in your own language with such perfection.  People don’t generally think too far when they are critical and try to find fault with what God gives.

But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said to them, You men of Judaea, and all of you who are dwelling here in Jerusalem, Let it be known unto you, and listen to my words: Boy, he was moved by God’s spirit – very powerfully so – and he said, for these are not drunk as you suppose, seeing its but the third hour of the day. 9:00 AM in the morning; But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the latter days, said God, I will pour out My spirit upon all flesh: Now those who find fault with, at that time if they wanted to, like they do today and like they have for 6,000 years, could say, “Well God didn’t pour out His spirit on all flesh!”  That’s God’s plan!  This isn’t the total fulfillment of it, this is the beginning fulfillment of God pouring out His spirit in a more powerful way on mankind – and this was the beginning.  It wasn’t the fulfillment of it, it’s the beginning fulfilment of it, because God’s purpose is to pour out His His spirit upon all who receive it through time, whether it be soon now in a very powerful way in the world after we go through what we’re going to experience and millions begin to change, to repent and seek to be baptized, seek God’s spirit and live on into the Millennial period after Jesus Christ has returned as King of kings and Lord of lords to finally be the Messiah, to restore God’s Kingdom and God’s government on this earth – because it has to do with restoring God’s government, that’s why Satan is removed, because Satan has been in charge of a process of governing with power, and it had to be fulfilled for a purpose as we talked about even at last year’s Feast.  But anyway, going on... I get distracted in that and we’ll be in a lot of different sermons.

But he said here, This is the fulfillment of what Joel said.... I will pour out My spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, I’ve had people write in and say, “You’ve got to hear this!  This was given to me by God. This is a prophecy and you need to see it...because Joel says later on that there will be different ones who are going to prophecy and I believe this is a fulfillment of that.”  That’s not what it means at all, but people sometimes get lifted up with self-importance in thinking that they have a special calling from God.  The reality is if you’re called from God, by God, to be a part of His Church – that is special!  But sometimes people like to lift themselves up above and beyond what God does and how God works and in the timing that God works.

And so in this particular case here, as we’re talking about it, has to do with what is spoken.  You are able to fulfill these verses.  You fulfill these things when you speak to one another about God’s plan and God’s purpose, because it’s inspired speaking – that’s what the word means.  That’s why when I wrote the first book I was very careful to make note of, because I didn’t like what I had to write, what I believed I had to write in talking about what part of a prophet I fulfilled, and that was one who spoke with inspired speaking, not one who had anything to do with anything in the future or giving an understanding of things to happen in the future. And so I wouldn’t write that in the first book and had a bit of a conversation with God about it in what I had to write there in the first place, and then in the second book I wrote what I had to write; yes, indeed, a full prophet in every way, and again, by God’s spirit.  That’s how Peter did what he did.  That’s how Paul did what he did.  That’s how everyone in God’s - that has been a part of the government of God - as apostles and prophets have done what they’ve done, it’s by the inspiration of God’s spirit.  If it comes out of man it’s not worth anything, it’s worthless!

And so again here, when it talks about those who will have the ability...your sons and daughters shall prophesy... and your young men shall see visions, when people read things like this and the way it’s written, it’s written at a time in the English language especially, translated in such a way and such a means that it has to do with their thinking about God and their thinking about the church and the way their church was, which wasn’t God’s Church (when it was done in England in the 1600’s), and then other translations that have happened in different places have been taken from others, from other translations as well and these things are just... (especially in the great false church that’s out there), and these things are just perpetuated in language, mistranslated, not giving what it’s talking about.

Now it’s talking about individuals who are brought into God’s Church who have the ability to talk about God’s plan with inspiration!  There’s nothing more inspiring to me, and it’s something we do occasionally, not all the time, and you shouldn’t push it and try to do it unless it’s natural, unless it’s just something that God gives when you’re able to maybe discuss a sermon or whatever it might be – that’s when those things happen - something that’s happened in your life that has taken place and you’ve learned a lesson about something that God is showing a truth about – such as that which God is doing in the Church concerning women and you’re a part of that and you understand that and you’re able to talk about it with understanding to others and you’re excited about it – you have inspired speech and speaking!  The world isn’t talking about those things because they don’t know it, but you know it.  How do you know it?  By God’s spirit.  When a new truth comes along, you’re able to discuss that truth with one another.  How?  Inspired speaking!  That’s what this word means in the Greek language; inspired by God’s spirit to be able to speak about it because you see it in your mind because God has given you the ability to see it.  Nobody else can do it, the rest of the scattered Church can’t see it, they don’t talk about it, but you can.  Simple definition of what this means.

And it says, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: it has to do with the future!  It has to do with things that now you can see!  How are you able to see things into the future?  ...to see it in your mind?  ...the Millennium?  ...the Great White Throne?  I’ll tell you one thing that inspires me about the Great White Throne in a very powerful way; because of what we’ve gone through recently its hit me like a tonne of bricks.  I’ve known it, I’ve believed it, but it’s just never hit me in the same way...What an awesome time, the blessing of a second life!  You realize that everyone who has ever lived will be together, whether spirit being or back to physical life again a second time.  Every family on earth, as a whole, will be able to be alive at that time and visit with each other.  You will know your lineage. People who are resurrected are going to know family lines all the way through time – they’re going to all be there!  Incredible!  And then when it’s all over with, those who’ve received God’s spirit, changed, grown, choose God’s way of life...the millions, billions who are resurrected to be in God’s Family at the end of that hundred years into eternity in God’s Family...  That’s an awesome picture!  But it never hit me in the same regard, that everyone, spirit or physical, everyone will be together!  What could be a more beautiful picture?  What an awesome time to share!  I can’t... it’s hard to comprehend, but it’s inspiring, awesomely inspiring.

Verse 18 - And on My servants and on My handmaidens I will pour out in those days of My spirit; when we become a part of God’s Family He-pours-out-His-spirit-into-our-life, He impregnates us with a portion of His very being.  He begins to dwell in us with a continual supply of His life in us, except when there’s sin and we’re cut off.  That’s why we must speedily repent, seek to repent, be at one with God so He will continue to dwell in us: abiding – that ongoing present progressive term of Jesus Christ coming in the flesh, constantly coming into our life.  Sin is what gets in the way and has to be repented of.  For that to stop, or that to continue to come and happen in our life we must repent.

And so He says, on My servants, servants of God.  We’re all servants of God.  ...I’ll pour out My spirit.  That’s how we’re able to see, that’s how we’re able to dream dreams of things that are going to be possible, of looking forward to what we’re going to be able to accomplish and do during the Millennial period, in the Great White Throne; and more and more God is helping us to see that and be excited about what’s going to take place on the earth... by His spirit.

...and they shall prophesy: in other words, have inspired speaking one to another; because when your mind is opened up to see the truth, how long does it take?  To me that’s an awesome picture, a beautiful thing... how long does it take when God begins to call someone... you know, I can talk to them a short time on the telephone and discern, know that they’re being given this, that they’re being drawn by God’s spirit.  They have some choices to make and prayerfully they’ll make it, but it doesn’t take very long to know when God’s spirit’s involved in something, as a whole.  And we talk to each other, not knowing each other, doesn’t take long does it, to know?  That’s an inspiring thing when people are of the same mind because of the power of God’s spirit – that’s how you know.

Verse 19 - And I will show wonders in heaven and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: those who are critical, those who find fault at that day, they would say, “Well that wasn’t fulfilled! Joel wasn’t fulfilled!  This couldn’t be the fulfillment of Joel because none of this happened!  Peter, what’s wrong with you?!”  It’s not happening today – “You’re a false prophet! You’re a false minister!” No, this is for later on; it’s still prophetic. Everything wasn’t to happen in that day, that was just the beginning of it.  What Joel spoke of wasn’t a one day event!  It was going to happen for 3,100 more years as a whole.  But this specific thing about the blood, fire, and vapour of smoke is very specific.  That happens in less than a year.  The vast majority happens exactly 50 weeks from today.

Verse 20 - The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the Lord come: well, obviously here these things are taking place even before this because of what China and Russia do; but again, very much right at the end and then it all comes to pass on this day 50 weeks from now.  And it shall come to pass, because even that’s a continuation; it begins and continues in through that day with what God does. And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. What a beautiful picture!  If people will just repent, if people will just humble themselves and yield to God and say, “This has to be of God, there is no other answer!  And from what I’m hearing and what I understand, I repent!  I repent of worshipping God in some other time.”  It’s a matter of being turned to God – that means being turned to His laws, being turned to His Sabbath, being turned to His Holy Days and thankful for what God is doing on the earth and that indeed the Messiah is coming to rule the earth.  People aren’t going to heaven; God is sending His Son here.  Amazing!

It would be good to continue reading a little bit more here about what happened on this particular day.  Incredible things that have to do with Pentecost, that have to do with the story here  of things being fulfilled in a  very powerful way and how God does things in such an awesome and powerful way.

Verse 22 - You men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, and this is what they taught over and over again from area to area to area.  You men of Israel, hear these words; and who were the men of Israel?  In that area it was primarily the Jews, primarily the tribe of Judah, and we understand that, one tribe of all of Israel.  It’s an exciting thing when people are drawn into God’s Church and they begin to understand who Israel is and the captivities that took place and what happened with the larger portion of Israel, ten tribes that were taken captive by Assyria, by the Germanic people into the north; because when they conquered a people they didn’t let you stay in the same area you were accustomed to lest you should rise up again with great power and be a threat to them – instead they moved you someplace else and let you start all over and have certain controls over you because of where you were.  And so they took them in the north and into parts of Europe.  The migration that took place, the ‘brit-ish’ people... ‘ish’ – ‘man’, Hebrew for man.  ‘Brit’ – ‘covenant people’ – covenant!  The covenant people of God.  Some of these names that are out there – Issac’s sons – Sax’sons... the words that are used there and the spellings that are used, Hebrew to English that are unique.  Over and over again, the things that have been given to the fulfillment of Ephraim and God’s blessings there; the fulfillment of Manasseh and God’s blessings there...and brothers; and why the world doesn’t understand.  And people talk to each other and they don’t understand, “It’s like we have this brotherhood, this closeness, like family.”  And they don’t understand – duh – you are family more than you know.

You men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you, showing that He was from God, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by Him in the midst of you, as you yourselves also know: they had seen some of these things, those who were listening to him.  They were around!  Some of them were around when He called, “Lazarus!  Come forth!” ...and he came out from his grave/tomb still bound up, and He told them to unwrap the cloth. Incredible things that took place!

Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, He’s saying here that God predetermined this, that this should happen, what so many witnessed.  You have taken and by wicked hands have... and it’s not ‘crucified’, it’s not a word for crucified; it’s the word having to do with ‘impaled to a pole’, ‘stauros’ in Greek, and slain: Whom God has raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that He should be held by it.  He couldn’t be held by death because of what He fulfilled, because of what He accomplished, a man who lived a perfect life without sin!  Death had no power of Him, meaning that Satan had no power over Him.

For David spoke concerning Him (Jesus Christ): I foresaw the LORD, it wasn’t David saying this... this is an inspiring piece of scripture here, truly is!  This is a quote of what David wrote of what He said. This is a conversation of something that is from Christ to God, from Christ to His Father.  I (Jesus Christ) saw the LORD always before My face, for He (God Almighty) is at My right hand, that I should not be moved: Therefore did My heart rejoice, and My tongue was glad; moreover also My flesh shall rest in hope: Because You (Almighty God)...that’s who it’s referring back to again, will not leave My (Jesus Christ speaking) My soul in hades, the Old Testament, sheol, the grave.  And because the Protestant world doesn’t understand they translate it ‘hell’ because they like to teach ‘hell fire’, this place where these little beings are, they run around with these hot pitchforks shooting you in the butt with them, and you’re just jumping around all the time.  Just like the cartoons – that’s what it is, a cartoon – it’s a joke!  Just calling it what it is, and if you’re offended by that you need to repent!

...Because God will not leave My soul in hades/in sheol/in the grave, the concepts of ‘hell’, and so they want to use the word here, they want to misconstrue in time because they have a different definition they want to give to mankind in time.  ...neither shall you Holy Father (God Almighty), that’s who it’s talking about here, suffer Your Holy One, God’s Holy One – the Christ, the Messiah.  They knew what that meant!  They knew what the Holy One meant!  They know it meant the Anointed One, the Messiah, the Christ!  You will not suffer the Holy One to see corruption, speaking of the body, to decompose, to begin to rot, to begin to smell.  And Jesus Christ knew all these things!  It was His mind because it was the Word made flesh. He knew everything in the Old Testament that was there, scriptures, it was His mind in ways we can’t even begin to comprehend. It was His mind.

You have made known to Me the ways of life; He didn’t start out that way... He didn’t have it all.  He started out as a baby, He began to grow, He began to see things at the age of 12, that when He spoke,  because there were things in His mind and in His being, that He was able to talk to learned men, rabbi’s, teachers, and dumbfound them, confound them by His conversation.  You shall make Me full of joy with Your countenance/Your life/Your power/Your might. ...being made spirit – that’s what He’s talking about.

Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you about the patriarch David, so he’s showing them now what this means.  He says, “You’ve misunderstood, you don’t grasp the scriptures!  This is what this is about.”  So Let me speak to you about the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, this isn’t about David, and his sepulchre is with us to this day. He wasn’t the one; he saw corruption!  His bones are still there!  David rotted and all that remained have to do with some bones and a lot of dust!

Therefore being a prophet, speaking of David, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him/to David, that of the fruit of his loins (of David’s), according to the flesh, He, speaking of God, would raise up Christ/the Messiah to sit on his throne.  Awesome beautiful scriptures!  Again, sadly Ephraim doesn’t know.  It talks about coming back to a throne that has never ceased through time.  There have been those who are of the lineage of David who have the right, the power, the authority to sit on a throne; and that throne today still exists this very day with a woman sitting on it.  Awesome!  Jewish!  Descended from David...and the United Kingdom doesn’t understand that.  The rest of Ephraim, Canada, New Zealand, Australia – they don’t understand that, that the one they have looked to through time to be king or queen over them fulfills these things that have continued on through time.  That is the throne that Jesus Christ, that the Messiah, is going to receive.  He said, from the fruit of your loins...and He will rein... and that throne would exist at the end when He returned.  Awesome, beautiful things!

I still get excited about the Stone of Scone, Jacob’s pillar stone where he had his dream and they kept it with him all that time – and through time sitting under that big throne that’s still in Westminster Abbey.  The stone is not there, they sent it back to Scotland. Scotland finally got it back after I think the 1500’s when it was taken away, I believe, by a king or by the people there taking it south.  If I have the history all mixed up, please forgive me.  We don’t even know our own in the States!

But he’s giving them a bit of a lesson here in history, of things they didn’t understand, and saying, “Hey! David is dead and in his grave and this is not about David, it is about the Messiah! And David understood this because he was a prophet inspired by God’s spirit and he wrote about these things and God had promised him that of the fruit of his loins, that in time there would be the One who would sit on his throne who would descend from him, the Christ.

He seeing this before/David seeing this before, spoke of the resurrection of Christ (the Messiah), that His soul (Christ’s), was not left in hades/in the tomb/in the grave if you will; neither His flesh did see corruption.  It didn’t start to stink and decompose as a human body does when it’s put in the grave. This Jesus has God raised up, whereof we are all witnesses. So he’s speaking of themselves there and those who were there teaching and speaking, said we’re all witness of this.

Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted... And what day to teach all this? What day did He reveal all these things in a very powerful way and begin to teach them in the Church, and to the world who could receive it if they were called by God’s spirit, to begin to give understanding of something that was to take place in the future?  ...that Christ is going to come?  ...that Christ is going to reign, He’s going to rule?  But there is that which you must learn now, and that which you must receive now into your own life – the holy spirit, that you’re able to grow, that you must be impregnated with God’s spirit and be born as Jesus Christ said, begotten of the spirit and a life begin to grow within you so that you can be born into God’s Family, born of spirit, born again.

And so he says, therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the holy spirit, He (Jesus Christ) has shed forth this which you now see and hear. Comes from God the Father through Jesus Christ to us.  They both dwell in us and we can dwell in them.

For David has not ascended into the heavens: you would think that any intelligent teacher who’s gone to a seminary (rather call it cemetery), and studied the Bible would know this verse, but they fully reject it, full well, they won’t accept it.  Because if David’s still in the grave, if David’s tomb is still there, if David never ascended into heaven, if he was a prophet of God, a king over Israel, what does that mean for the rest of mankind?  Hmmm – you suppose everyone’s still in the grave and no one’s gone to heaven?  They won’t accept what Jesus Christ said either in John 3.

For David has not ascended into the heavens, but he said himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, in other words, the Eternal, as it’s quoting here, Yahweh said unto my Lord, David is saying this.  He’s saying, “This is what David said.”  The Eternal said to my Lord, David’s saying...and who is His Lord, the Messiah, the one who is to come, the Christ.  The Eternal said unto my Lord, Sit You at My right hand until I make Your foes Your footstool. Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God has made this same Jesus, whom you have impaled on a pole/a stake, both Lord and Christ. Lord of lords, King of kings, the Messiah.

Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their hearts, there were those who all of a sudden understood something that everyone who is ever baptized comes to understand: you killed Jesus Christ.  Every human being who has ever lived is guilty of killing Jesus Christ – your sins.  You would have done the same if you’d been there – you would have been a part of it saying “Kill Him!  Kill Him! Impale Him!”... if you had lived in that time, been in that environment.  And you think, maybe no you wouldn’t have, and the very reason He had to die is because of your sins – that’s the point of it all.  Sometimes we don’t realize our sin and how it destroys and kills. It doesn’t lead to life, it leads to death.  And yet God calls us so that we can repent of sin.

And so it says here, they were pricked in their heart.  You come to understand that your sins required the death of Christ, otherwise you would have no ability to live into the future, you’d have no ability to be born and live a second life – no life, no point of resurrection, no purpose of resurrection unless there was the one who was the Passover and the Christ.  So they were pricked in the heart and they said to Peter and the rest of the disciples, Men and brethren, what shall we do? They realized, they believed what he said, “We killed the Christ, our sins!”

And Peter said to them, Repent/turn to God/return to God, all the words that are used in scripture for that, turn to God/turn to the truth/turn to what is right/turn from your own ways...Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, the forgiveness of sins, and that’s just a beginning.  Baptism is the beginning.  It’s the acceptance of Jesus Christ as our Passover, the one who died for us, and we have that desire of being forgiven of all our past sins.  And after baptism what an awesome covenant we enter into with God, a new covenant.  The new covenant is about the blessing from that moment on, of being able to go before God and say, “Father forgive me.” whenever there’s sin and God promises to forgive; through what you began and what you convicted yourself to at baptism – from that moment forward God will cleanse you of all sin, remove all sin from you.

And so it goes on to say...all this story on the Day of Pentecost to bring together in a greater way how Pentecost can be fulfilled. Because you see, there’s a lot more to the story of Pentecost, and Pentecost is only in part a beginning, but it takes a long time to fulfill.  It has taken 6,000 years to fulfill Pentecost.  Passover – 1 day.  The wave sheaf – a few hours.  Pentecost – 6,000 years to fulfill.  And all those who were called of God to become who they become – the firstfruits of God in a first, great, mighty resurrection, and then the example that all others must follow through time – must do the same thing in order to enter God’s Family.

Showing, again, how Pentecost is fulfilled, here, and so he said, for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the holy spirit. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the LORD our God shall call. And how many will God call?  In His plan everyone who will receive Him can receive Him.  Some can’t because they’ve already committed the unpardonable sin, which is sin that cannot be forgiven because their minds will not seek forgiveness.  Their spirit, their mind is already set, just like Lucifer did when he became Satan.  Being spirit, his mind was set from the beginning.  Man can live such an atrocious life, do such hideous things, so pervert his mind and go so far astray that his choice will always be never God, never obedience to God, never surrender, and God knows that mind and whose minds are that way, or have been through history that way.  And there are people through history, never a part of God’s Church, who have gone so far, their mind so polluted, their mind so gone, they cannot be resurrected and worked with, they will never change.  And God knows that and there’s no purpose in resurrecting them in the Great White Throne.

And there are some who are called who have turned against God, knowingly so, and who would never want God’s way of life – just as much as I, a long time ago when I was called, began to see and my eyes were opened up to what was true, knew in my heart and mind and being, if God is like the god of this world I reject Him and would choose death for all eternity.  Do you understand that?  If He’s like the god of this world, if he’s like the gods of this world, if He’s like what the Protestants and the Catholics say God is like, that kind of hideous, hard god, I reject, because I know the truth, and I see the truth.  And God has shown me what He is like, who He is, what the truth is.  It’s an awesome thing to understand!  But there are others, other minds that choose the evil, that don’t want what is true and right – their minds are set.

And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.  Then they who gladly received his word were baptized: that’s what you have to do; you have to gladly receive it.  See there were others standing around who didn’t gladly receive it that day, there were still mockers out there and people who just left off sputtering and muttering to themselves because they didn’t like what Peter was saying.  They didn’t like what he said about David – they disagreed with him, so they left.  But those who remained around, and there were those who remained around, a few thousand who were baptized that day.  Incredible! ...the same day there were added to them about three thousand lives. A beautiful picture! And they continued steadfastly in the apostle’s doctrine, ‘the apostle’s doctrine’- what they were teaching, and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.  That’s a beautiful picture!  Let’s read the rest of the chapter here.

And fear came upon every soul/every life, everyone living that had chosen those things, of how they lived, how they believed – in other word a right respect toward God, a fear of doing anything wrong in the sense of sinning against God, the desire to live what is right, a desire to repent of the things that are wrong as they came to see them – that’s what that means.  ...and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. And all who believed were together, and had all things common; so this was the beginning and they were so moved by God’s spirit, a beginning of something so profound, from Judaism and all of a sudden they saw something so incredible, that they were so moved, that everything they had in the sense of possession and ability to stay there and fellowship together, they gave together and pooled together in order to continue together for a longer period of time.   That’s what this is talking about, they had all things in common and sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all, not to all around, but to those amongst them who had need, and every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and the breaking of bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness, their food, in gladness and singleness of heart, praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the LORD added to the Church daily such as should be saved.

Awesome thing that happened in a powerful way in the beginning – God giving such an incredible jumpstart to His Church at the beginning; and He’s getting ready to give a most awesome jumpstart to the Church, to the world, because His Son is now coming – far beyond what we can comprehend and dream brethren, truly, far greater than our minds can grasp, how awesome all this is.

Let’s turn over again to Leviticus 23.  Again, all these things we’ve read through, revealed on the Day of Pentecost for a great purpose of why it’s in the Pentecost day, the Pentecost message, because of what it accomplishes, what it looks forward to, what happens in our lives.  And so we’ve seen, we’ve covered God’s very precise instruction regarding how the wave sheaf was to be offered up before Him to be received for us, and we’ve focused on how Jesus Christ fulfilled it on the precise Sunday after He was resurrected.  And then after Passover and the wave sheaf offering that occurred on Sunday God ties this period to the Passover days and the Days of Unleavened Bread together with Pentecost in a very precise instruction of how to count it; and we’re going to read some of those things now, more to be added to the story.

Leviticus 23:14 - And you shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day that you have brought an offering unto your God: it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. In other words, when they came in across the Jordan River, came into Jericho and that particular region there and had the harvest there and they had the wave sheaf offering so they could begin to partake of this – and that was being fulfilled – He’s discussing those things. And you shall count unto you from the morrow after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven Sabbaths shall be complete. And even the morrow after the seventh Sabbath you shall number fifty days; so simple to count. It always begins on a Sunday and always ends on that seventh Sabbath with one more day, as it says here, count 50 to the next day; and you shall offer a new meat offering unto the Eternal.

And you shall bring out of your habitations...now we’re going on with some incredibly inspiring lessons here... and you shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour and they shall be baked with leaven; now we had the wave sheaf – no leaven involved – picturing Jesus Christ waved up before God.  And now we have two loaves of bread – bread with leavening in it - sin – that are to be waved before God, to be accepted by God.  What an awesome picture!

Some have asked me in times past, could this possibly be...?  Well, really not until today could I say it truly dogmatically and in the sense of this is absolutely true... it has to do with the connection between the Old Testament and the New Testament, what is offered up before God.  Powerful, powerful, powerful, what God did and the timing of the wave sheaf and what it means.  It’s such an inspiring story, it truly is.

And so it says here, these two loaves...and they shall be of fine flour and they shall be baked with leaven; these are the firstfruits unto the Eternal.  Not the wave sheaf!  That which comes later that’s a result of what is accomplished because of the wave sheaf; that which happens later that’s pictured in Pentecost that ties Unleavened Bread and Passover together with these firstfruits and with this picture of God’s plan.  And so they went out amongst the people and they picked out this stuff and they put it together and they baked it and they had the loaves.  It was gathered in from among the people!  That’s what God has been doing from among the world, from those who are alive, and He’s been calling people out over 6,000 years!  For 6,000 years He’s been working with individuals to mould and fashion as the firstfruits, bringing them along.  These two wave loaves that one day could be waved before God.

What day are they waved and accepted by God?  Not on the Feast of Trumpets!  What an awesome picture!  On the Day of Pentecost it’ll already have happened.  This will have already have been fulfilled by this time 50 weeks from now.  What an incredibly awesome thing to understand and to know, that this very thing will have been accomplished, just as much as when Jesus Christ said, “Mary, don’t touch Me... and go and tell the disciples...go and tell Peter and the rest...that I have not yet ascended... that I’ll ascend to My Father and Your Father, to My God and your God.”  And later in the same day, because He fulfilled it, told Thomas to put his hand in His side - doubting Thomas... had to have a little more proof.

And this then taking place, two wave loaves, the 144,000... When they’re resurrected – that’s when they’re received and accepted by God.

And the priest shall wave the bread of the firstfruits for a wave offering before the Eternal, with the two lambs: they shall be holy to the Eternal for the Priest... ‘holy to the Eternal for the Priest’... to rule and reign with Jesus Christ, the High Priest.  Awesome!  Awesome picture!  So there is really such an incredibly beautiful picture.

I hope we are moved by understanding that this day, a High Day to be observed, that the fulfillment will have been completed by this time next year on the Day of Pentecost.  You’re living something that you don’t really fully grasp right now.  You can strive to appreciate it and I know that you’ve moved by it to the degree that God’s spirit is moving you, but it is so profound, it is so inspiring, it is so moving.  Awesome, awesome, awesome!

~~~end

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