God Fulfilling Pentecost, Pt. 3

Ron Weinland

May 20, 2018

This is Part 3 of the series entitled God Fulfilling Pentecost.

We have started through the book of Joshua that reveals far more about Christ being our and the incredible timing that God gave that is only contained in the book of Joshua. We went back to Leviticus 23 that reveals how God told the Israelites that when you come into the land that  I’m going to give to you then there were certain instruction regarding that counting and certain things they were to do. So the reality is God had them look forward to a particular time, of something He already planned out knowing exactly what would take place, forty years already predetermined, the things that God planned for mankind to learn lessons from.

They didn’t just happen. God knows what mankind will do in all kinds of circumstances and situations. Just as today with things that are taking place in the world in various nations, He knows what nations are going to do in response to others. So it’s a part of a process whereby God molds and fashions things according to His will in His timing. He allows many things to go on as they are or have through time, but when it comes time that something fits into His purpose and His plan He works with that. He works with leaders. He works with nations.

The Bible is filled with those kinds of things that have happened through time. The different periods of time that God spoke of that followed the period of time of Egypt, Egypt wasn’t even spoken of. But later on He talked about different kingdoms especially, obviously, to Daniel and the prophecy that’s there about kingdoms that would rise and kingdoms that would fall. God accomplishes those things because He knows how to work, obviously, with His creation, with mankind. But as far as choices and the like that’s concerned about Him and about His way of life and things of that nature He gives man free choice.

But there are some things whereby He leads people. They still have free choice. Nations today still have free choice in everything they’re getting ready to do. It’s just that it’s going to happen in God’s timing and not theirs. Time would come no matter what happens whereby man would, with the kind of technology that he has, eventually work toward annihilating himself. God lets us know that’s not going to happen. So all that is precise as far as how God works with it.

So it is here in this story that God gave the Israelites precise timing of certain things that He wasn’t going to reveal to them until they came into the promised land. There was certain instruction given to them of what to do, of how to count Pentecost once they came into the promised land. What He gave them at that particular moment in time is a precedent for counting Pentecost because there are some years that if you don’t follow what is given there exactly as it is you will not keep Pentecost at the proper time unless by accident or unless God just works with a group to be able to do it at the right time without actual knowledge and understanding. God has that power and He’s done that.

So it’s awesome to see how God works in our lives, how He works to mold and fashion us, and it’s an awesome thing then when He gives us understanding of what He’s been doing in our lives and how He’s been working and why He’s been working in that manner, but when people are left to themselves in their own intellect they go off on tangents as so many have done in the scattered Body as well.

So, we’re going to continue on with some of that story in the book of Joshua. Awesome here how God used a particular name here for an individual who was going to be worked with in a fashion to bring the children of Israel into a promised land, yet that all in a prophetic nature of something that was going to happen later that was far more meaningful because it wouldn’t be on a physical plane eventually but on a spiritual one – into His very Kingdom. So those things are closely tied in with what we’ve been going through and especially in Part 2 that we just completed yesterday.

That, of course, is about the name of Joshua, a name that means “the Eternal is salvation,” or “the Eternal’s salvation,” and why He told Joseph through an angelic being that this is what you’re to name him, this is what you’re to call him because he will be the one who saves his people from sin. He’s to carry a name that reflects that he’s going to save his people, God’s people, from sin. That’s an awesome thing.

We have gone through now and looked at how Iēsous (Ἰησοῦς) or Jesus doesn’t bear that at all. It doesn’t carry that command. It doesn’t carry what God said it’s supposed to carry with it. That’s an awesome thing to recognize that God is cleaning something up, the last great thing that truly needed to be addressed.

Someone asked, “Is that going to be the 58th truth?” I said no, but I’ll call it the 57+1, because it is an awesome truth that God has given to us that we’re to live by now, though I believed for some time that that wouldn’t’ happen until Christ, Joshua the Christ, returned and he would do that when he returned because that’s his name.

Actually I thought I’d mention, too, that I’m writing a post on that right now that I’m very moved by, excited by, that will probably be out there for a long time because they don’t pop up that often. This one here may be there until the end for a purpose. So I find that inspiring to understand why some of those things are written and when they are and what is being stated in them.

So this has been cleansed up because everything about that name that they chose does not depict what God in essence told Joseph to do in naming the Messiah, the Christ. That other name that’s used in Latin and Greek is supposedly the only way to have a sound that would be similar to Joshua or Yeshua. Well, anyway, sick what mankind has done, but that name depicts everything that is wrong, everything that is false in the world about traditional Christianity, everything that basically was given tremendous power starting in 325 A.D., and we’ve been blessed to have that shaken off of us. I am excited. I am thankful for that, truly thankful that the last thing that carried such falsehood is something we don’t carry. God’s Church doesn’t carry it anymore and it separates us mightily from everyone else with the truths that God has given to us, the truths that God gave through Mr. Armstrong that some still partially hold on to in some of the scattered groups, yet I think of all the things that we have been blessed with and received since we became a separate organization, in that sense, that God has been working with, the remnant, the Church of God—Preparing for the Kingdom of God. Here is one of the last things in preparing for that Kingdom. That’s awesome when you understand it.

So we’re going to go back to the story here now in the story flow and we’ll just pick up here in Joshua 1 again. We’ve read these verses, again, as they applied to Joshua physically leading the children of Israel into a physical promised land, but to see them prophetically and spiritually as they apply to Christ, again, what an incredible thing to realize where we are on this specific day and the time that God chose that we would be clean – on this day today. Incredible. Incredible, it truly is.

Joshua 1:16, and so here is the response of the people to all that they were told. And they answered Joshua, saying, All that you command us we will do, and wherever you send us, that is where we will go. Now, those who follow God, those who are led by God’s spirit, this is what they do on a spiritual plane, a desire deep inside to follow wherever Christ, wherever God leads us as His people, through Joshua Christ. I’m going to get this down yet. I tell you, this is a tough one because when you’ve done this for so long in all of your prayers and you end your prayers in a certain way it’s a habit that’s deeply embedded in us, but it’s one that I desire to break quickly.

According as we have listened to Moses in all things, so will we listen to you: and may the Eternal your God be with you, as He was with Moses. Whoever it is that rebels against your commandment, and will not listen to your words in all that you command, then he shall be put to death. So be strong and of good courage. And to me this just drives home the point that if we don’t follow God where He leads us, if we don’t follow the Christ where we’re being led according to God’s will, as Christ leads us, we’re cut off. The reality is death is an answer and we don’t want that. We want the life that God offers us and that requires being in unity and harmony with Him and following wherever He leads us.

So we’re going to go on to Chapter 2 now. We’ll continue on with the story flow of Joshua here as we work up to that point in time when they came into the promised land and here is an account of two spies who were sent out to scout out the city of Jericho, the region of Jericho there and their encounter with Rahab, a woman whom God used in the lineage of the Christ. Awesome! Awesome to understand God working in the way He did clear back then. Understanding what the name Joshua was, coming into the promised land, and still those things that had to do with another work that God was doing with certain people through time. Incredible story. It really is, incredible how God works to bring things about.

So in Joshua 2:9 it says, And she said to the men, I know that the Eternal has given you the land. Now, she had help. There was a purpose here of something that God was working out for the Israelites but for a plan of His as well. So she made this comment to them, “I know.” You know, to have that kind of boldness and confidence, to see something so clearly of a people as she was, she had help. She had help from the Great God of the universe to be able to see something here.

...and that the terror (the fear of you) has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt because of you. She knew what was taking place. She knew the stories of things that were taking place and things that had happened there and the kind of ability, in that respect, because of who she was and what she did and all those that she met from different areas of the world that travelled through there and how they responded and how they spoke about what this group of people was that were coming closer and closer and moving up toward Jericho, and how that indeed the inhabitants of the land were fearful, because she goes on to explain here – For we have heard how the Eternal dried up the water of the Red Sea for you... Forty years before this and it still stuck with them. It was moved throughout the land because something of such an incredible magnitude that happened, a people came through a sea, and others in other regions around there were aware of this who lived in those regions and that word travelled outward from there. Though God kept the Israelites in specific areas, others travelled to other regions (not the Israelites), and they took these stories with them. And not only that, but the entire army of Egypt was destroyed including Pharaoh. You don’t think that that swept throughout the entire region of the world at that time? The greatest nation on earth was destroyed, in essence, their armies, Pharaoh himself? Absolutely!

So we have heard of these things, of how God opened the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt; and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. And as soon as we had heard these things our hearts melted, and neither was there any more courage anymore. “So we see what your God has been doing and what you have been doing,” what the Israelites are doing and these others who can’t stand before them.

For the Eternal your God, He is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath. Awesome! She was given to see that just as much as you are given truth. Now, hers wasn’t for a purpose on a spiritual plane, but what she saw and what she understood, to what degree, how far these things went and God worked in her life later we don’t know. But specifically here God gave her the ability to see things that others couldn’t see. Now, they were fearful only because of some of these things they saw, but she acknowledged He is God in heaven and of the earth beneath.

So the setting of Israel coming into the promised land, again, as a result of God fulfilling His promise to them and also the very specific instruction given in Leviticus 23, again. Again, it is incredible to see the meticulousness, the exact way in which God works when it comes to the timing of things and how things are accomplished.

Joshua 3:1, the story goes on in verse 1 here, And Joshua rose early in the morning; and they left from Shittim, and came to Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and encamped there before they passed over. And it came to pass, in other words in Hebrew it literally means “toward the end of” the three days, that the officers went through the multitude.

So this story is going to go back and forth here a little bit as some stories do in the Bible where God has told, in this case, Joshua certain things that he was to do, certain things that he was to tell the Israelites, and then they would go out and tell them and they would come back to, again, other things that God told Joshua and so forth. So this is a continuing story that goes back and forth.

Verse 3—and they commanded the people, saying, When you see the ark of the covenant of the Eternal your God, and the priests, the Levites bearing it, then you shall leave your place, and follow after it. Yet there shall be a space between you and it by the distance of about two thousand cubits. So it’s nearly a kilometer or just over half a mile. That’s how far they were to stay back. They weren’t to get any closer. God was giving them specific instruction just like He did when they came up and there were the 10 Commandments given and they came up to Mount Sinai and there was a certain boundary area. They were not to come up on the sides of the mountain whatsoever. They were to stand back in a certain region that was well marked, that they were told if you do you’re going to die.

They knew these stories of things that God had done with them so they followed the instruction. They were excited about where they were. Joshua had already told them certain things are going to begin taking place here; we’re going to go into the promised land after forty long years, and that anticipation and what they were looking forward to, they were eager to enter in, in that respect, because of what God was doing with them and going to do even more so in this story here.

So He told them, Stay back, about that distance, do not come near to it, and they will lead so you will know where you must go: for you have not passed this way before. Beautiful. So this was done on a physical plane and he said you haven’t known this before, you haven’t seen this before. You don’t know the way to go, in essence, just as He did when He brought them up to the Red Sea; you don’t know how you’re supposed to do this and you’re supposed to follow. You’re supposed to look ahead and keep your focus on God, keep your focus on that whereby God is leading you and He will lead you and He will guide you so you’ll know where you need to go, what you need to be doing.

It’s same thing with us spiritually as a Church. God gives to us truth, He gives us His way of life and we’re to keep focused on where we’re going and how God is leading us and wherever we turn. That’s how it’s always been, and that’s how God works with His people, and so we learn from these things.

Verse 5—And Joshua said to the people, Sanctify yourselves: for tomorrow the Eternal will do wonders among you. So here it is again in the story, you’re to sanctify yourselves, you’re to set yourself apart for a holy purpose that God has for you and what you’re going to accomplish so be prepared, be ready.

And Joshua spoke unto the priests, saying, Take up the ark of the covenant and pass over before the people. So step by step here God had given Joshua instruction of exactly what to do, of exactly how He wanted things done, and then that was conveyed to the people and they were to follow it and do it. So that’s what’s taking place here and he’s telling the priests this is how you are to do this as you begin carrying the ark.

It says here, You’re to take up the ark of the covenant and pass over before the people. And they took up the ark of the covenant, so they followed that instruction that was given to them when it was time, when they were told to go, and they went before, or in other words ahead of the people, obviously.

And the Eternal said to Joshua, This day I will begin to magnify you in the sight of all Israel, so that they may know that just as I was with Moses I will be with you. Awesome! So there’s a way that God works. There are things He gives to us so we can know where God’s working. God has done the same thing in His Church—that’s the way He functions—so we can have a confidence and boldness. He’s done those things with us as a result of truth. Those things He gave to Mr. Armstrong, those 18 Truths, we could see them. God opened our mind to see them and realize this is God’s apostle. This is why we do what we do; we are convicted of those truths, we know where He’s leading and guiding and directing us.

As people began to drift away from some of that, they began to wonder, “Well, he’s getting old. God may not be working with him now. Maybe he shouldn’t be building that auditorium, that house for God out there. Maybe God’s trying to tell him something.” I’ve heard all this stuff in the past too often, being sickened in my stomach as I heard people making comments like that, thinking, “Who on earth do you think you are? He’s God’s apostle! If anyone knows God’s will and God’s purpose it’s him! Who are you? If God’s going to show him something and He’s given him these truths, don’t you think He has the power to show him exactly what he’s supposed to do and when he’s supposed to do it?”

So people became weak in faith, in confidence in how God was working and how they were called! God said never forget how you’re called. Paul talks about that. Don’t forget how you’re called and the truth you receive and where you received it, because that’s how God works. It gives strength to us.

God was giving something on a physical plane that God has done to His Church on a spiritual plane. It’s just the way it is. It’s not a matter of haughtiness and pride; it’s just the way it is in truth and humility of spirit, candidly. So we learn to live by those things and to yield ourselves to those things.

God was revealing and showing the Israelites something that they could have a boldness and a confidence in as much as they did with Moses to follow Joshua, to uphold Joshua and all the things that God would give along the way because just entering the promised land was not the end of it all. There was a lot more to follow.

And you shall command the priests who bear (carry) the ark of the covenant, saying, When you have come to the brink of the water of the Jordan you shall stand still in the Jordan, just right at the edge stand still there, once you get the ark to that point.

And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, Come here, and hear the words of the Eternal your God. And Joshua said, Hereby you shall know that the living God is among you, and that without fail He will drive out from before you the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites. All these people that are out here in this land, God’ll take care of it. There is nothing to fear. God destroyed the Egyptian army in the Red Sea; He’ll take care of these people too. So a part of the story was a matter of helping them to have a boldness and a confidence in where they were going.

God has done the same thing for His Church. He gives us a kind of boldness and a confidence that comes with knowing, as especially when we see others and we recognize but by the grace of God there go I. To be able to see that all the stones of the temple were cast down, to be able to see that the entirety of the Church was spewed out of God’s mouth and what came to pass, what was told of Laodicea had come to pass; to understand the things of Ezekiel that speak of certain things that would take place in time, that all the different thirds that were there and that a remnant would come out of all that; to understand a third and a third and a third and what happened with those thirds, that some went right back to the traditions that they had been called out of, that others just gave up because it’s like if you’ve known the truth and you’ve known this way and you’ve lived it, what’s happened? Can there be a God then? And that’s where people were. It’s like, how could such a thing happen to God’s Church? Not understanding we did it. We did it because we disobeyed God because we became weak, because we began to let down, because we became lukewarm and He will not accept that which is lukewarm and so He spewed the entirety of the Church out of His mouth.

So a third of us were wandering around out here wanting to hold on to something, wanting to hold on to the past, wanting to hold on to the Sabbath and holy days and not knowing how to do it. Where is God’s government? So you search for God’s government. It’s not there. What happened? It’s been scattered. So what is God going to do with His people? And eventually for a few God showed them what He was doing and why He was doing it. So what do we have? Well, those things gave you a boldness and a confidence because you see them and you know. I mean, it’s clear to you; you can see what happened to the Church. It’s a clear thing that there was an apostasy.

We’re not waiting for an apostasy as others are because they don’t think it’s happened yet. They think they have to become so large in time that there will still be an apostasy because it hasn’t happened yet. You’d think you’d be able to see that physically, but you can’t unless God gives it to you, and you feel for them, because, again, the only reason any one of us sees it is because God has a purpose in a remnant. We are nothing but what God gives to us. God has given us so very, very much. That’s what we have; we have what God has handed us, what God has given to us freely as a gift, incredible, beyond measure, of things I look forward to the day that others are able to see the same thing and are able to be awakened out of their sleep and join in once again, to make the changes they have to make. It’s going to be like being called for the first time. Can you imagine?

That’s really what an awakening has been like for many in God’s Church. It’s been like a calling but on a different plane, on a higher plane, because the first time you’re called all of a sudden you see where Sunday, Easter, Christmas, all these things are wrong and not true and it’s so clear to you. But now there are those who have had things about the Sabbath and the holy days and tithing and all those things that were given through Mr. Armstrong, but look where we are today. No trinity whatsoever, not even about Christ, because he had a beginning, he hasn’t eternally existed. That’s going to take humility of spirit just as when we were first called out of the world, the ability to acknowledge indeed that that name which portrays Easter, Christmas, Sunday, the trinity, that that isn’t the Christ, but it does depict a false Christ. It’s everything that stands for a false Christ – everything about it. That’s why I’m so thankful it’s gone, that God gave us that time now, not when Joshua the Christ returns, but now we can begin living it and seeing it in a different light and having that complete separation from the way of the world.

I think of those who are coming. They’re going to have to be a lot of humility there because I know there are going to be those who can’t exercise that kind of humility, and neither will they come into the promised land, let alone the physical one that is a Millennial period.

So he says, Look (verse 11), at how the ark of the covenant of the LORD of all the earth passes over before you into the Jordan. Basically he’s telling them, “Now watch what God does. Watch what God does and be in awe.”

Verse 13—And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests who bear (that carry) the ark of the Eternal, the LORD of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that flow down from upstream; and they shall mass together in a heap. It’s a word that just means they’re going to be stacked up in an area farther upstream like a dam. And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents to pass over Jordan and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people; and as they who bare the ark had come unto the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bare the ark had stepped on the edge of the water, (for the Jordan, the Jordan River, overflows all its banks during the whole time of harvest). God makes it clear when He was taking them into the promised land. He tells more about it as time goes along, but just adds to it the fact that this is a time of flooding for the Jordan and you don’t just cross over the Jordan when it’s flooding like this unless you have a boat. But a mass of people? It’s not going to happen.

Again here, (for the Jordan overflows its banks during the whole time of harvest), that the waters which came down from upstream, it goes on to say here in verse 16 then, it says, stood still and rose in a heap, backed up as a dam, as I said, very far away at Adam, the city that is beside Zaretan. They knew where it was. There are people who saw it. There are people who witnessed what took place, people who lived all up and down the Jordan, people who’d planted crops all up and down that area on the west bank where they were going in.

...so that the waters that went down into the Sea of Arabah, the salt sea, failed, and were cut off. And the people crossed over opposite of Jericho. Then the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Eternal stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all Israel crossed over on dry ground. Again, God dried it up. God dried it up so they could, the whole contingency of all of Israel can cross over. Just like He did with the Red Sea He dried up the soil that was underneath. He had to. It wasn’t enough just to stop the water. He had to dry it up because that’s what got the Egyptians. Their chariot wheels after the water began to come back began to seep up in the earth again; it wasn’t dry any longer, their chariots got bogged down and they couldn’t move and their horses couldn’t pull them through anymore. They themselves got bogged down and then God slapped the water back together again and destroyed them all. Incredible!

Here God is repeating something on a different plane in a different area to drive the point home, “I did it before and I’m doing it again. In a different manner, yes, but I am the one who has stopped these waters. I am the one who has dried up the ground. I am the one who’s bringing you into the promised land by a great and a mighty miracle that there is no physical explanation for.”

It says here, Israel crossed over on dry ground; until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan. And what happens when they’re all the way over there? Time to let it go again, flooding again.

Joshua 4:14—On that day the Eternal magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel, because they watched, they followed the commands that were given to them of how to leave and how to cross over and when to do it and how far to stay back as they were being led, except for the process there of crossing over, and they feared him, meaning they had great respect, just as they had great respect toward Moses, all the days of his life, because they saw something that they couldn’t give answers to on a physical plane. So because of that they had a belief, indeed, that Moses was unique and special, that God worked through him and spoke through him to them. They saw that evidence over and over and over again in that forty years. So this was being transferred to another man, to Joshua.

And the Eternal spoke unto Joshua, saying, Command the priests who bear the ark of the testimony, that they come up out of the Jordan. And Joshua, therefore, commanded the priests saying, Come up out of Jordan. And it came to pass, when the priests who carry the ark of the covenant of the Eternal were come up out of the midst of Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet had lifted up on to the dry land, that the waters of the Jordan returned unto their place and flowed over all his banks, as they were before.

And the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month. Unique time, isn’t it? And we all know what that time is. It’s a time for them to choose out a lamb. They had their livestock with them and here was something they were commanded to do. Again here, On the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho. So in four more days it’s going to be Passover. So God leaves the timing here very specific about what was taking place and when it was happening.

Joshua 5:1—And it came to pass, when all the kings of the Amorites, which were on the side of Jordan westward, that’s why we talk about or it is spoken of today as being the West Bank, because it’s on the west side of the Jordan River, and all the kings of the Canaanites, which were by the sea, heard that the Eternal had dried up the waters of Jordan from before the children of Israel, until we had passed over, that their heart melted. They lost heart. It’s like they were afraid. How are you going to defeat a people like this? If they come in to take the land who can stand before them? And they saw, heard of such power and how they came in because the story of Egypt and their coming through the Red Sea was still in them. This had been passed down for forty years by these other people. Just as Rahab told them, the people knew these stories and here it is God brings them across the Jordan in a flooding season, holds up the waters above until they’ve crossed over, and they were afraid and their heart melted. ...neither was there spirit, in other words, as though life had drained out of them. That’s what this means, it’s like their life had just drained out of them. What can you do? ...neither was their spirit in them anymore, in other words, just like paralyzed with fear (that’s kind of what it was like), because of the children of Israel.

Incredible story! Incredible story as you go through this, even as you go past where we’re going to end this when we get through with Joshua here, this portion of Joshua. But then we come to one of the most overlooked and misunderstood areas of scripture that begin to reveal matters of this precise timing that God gave to know exactly how to count Pentecost all the time and why. This begins farther down in verse 9.

Joshua 5:9—And the Eternal said to Joshua, This day I have rolled away, it’s a word that just simply means “removed,” the reproach of Egypt from off you. It’s like, “I’m the one who has rolled it back off of you, away from you.” Wherefore, the name of the place is called Gilgal, which is the word for “wheel” or “rolling” unto this day. That’s how it got its name.

And the children of Israel camped in Gilgal and kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho. Now, God gave us to see this not too long after we became established, to understand that this usage is a little bit different than other places where it uses the terms “ba erev” and talking about “at even,” at sundown because we begin to keep the Sabbath after the sixth. Let’s put it this way: When it uses this term here “at even” on the sixth day of the week it means after the daytime portion is gone, “at even.” Then begins the Sabbath, the seventh day of the week, at even, at that moment in time.

So this has been confusing to some as to what it means and how it’s used, but in this story here it’s going back in past tense speaking of it and it’s used differently in those cases. And this may not seem important, but I’ll tell you what, you know, it doesn’t hurt to have this knowledge in your mind. One day you’re going to have different ones that may come along who are not understanding, especially if they have any understanding at all in what Judaism teaches and many of those who are in the scattered Body. To be able to know these things is important because it’s because of these things here that so many people have gone astray in the Church of God in times past because they haven’t known how to counteract or to be able to give reason why they continue to do what they do in spite of ministers or different ones who come along and say, “No, this isn’t what this means. That’s why we’re to keep a different time, the fifteenth,” or whatever it might be because that’s exactly what’s happened in these cases.

Then it goes on to say, adds something so incredibly important, and they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the Passover.

Verse 10—And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal and kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even, yes, in the plains of Jericho. So again, it’s looking back in past tense. You know, and this is a no-brainer really. That’s why I love what Mr. Armstrong wrote in the booklet, “Pagan holidays or God’s holy days – which?” about God’s holy days or holidays at that particular time. It goes way, way back because I read it in ’69. Right in there in the middle or at some point when it was talking about Passover and Unleavened Bread there’s that question and it’s in dark as a subheading, 14th or 15th Passover, and he simply goes through and gives three scriptures in the Old Testament that make it so plain. There’s no reason, there’s no purpose in arguing with them because they’re straightforward.

Yet I think of all the ministry that followed the garbage that was given to them from Dr. Hoeh, and they themselves who added even more to some of these stupid ideas. Why anyone would ever listen when right there in that book, if you just read it and accept what it says it says exactly what it means and there’s no argument for it. It’s just like Leviticus 23; if you read it for what it says when it talks about, “In the fourteenth day of the first month you’re to keep Passover.” It doesn’t say any portion of it’s in the thirteenth or any portion is in the fifteenth. It’s very specific, but people get caught up in these stupid arguments that seem to be “intellectual.” No, they’re just dumb! They really are. They’re just dumb, ignorant, and rebellious. There is no reason to do such things.

But I think of how much that’s happened in God’s Church and how many minsters went off on these things because they went to some of the difficult scriptures. You know, Mr. Armstrong always gave guidelines. I remember Spokesman’s Club and some of the simplicity of things. You use the clear scriptures to give you understanding of the things that are more difficult so the more difficult things really aren’t so difficult. But the “intellectuals” sometimes of individuals, they like to get you in the ones that “seem” to be difficult that they can twist a little bit here and there and say, “See, it’s on the fifteenth.” You think, “You moron!” Anyway, that’s what they do. They take you to the difficult ones and then they say, “See, that doesn’t really mean what it says back there in those three scriptures Mr. Armstrong gave.” Think, “Well, I thought it did. It sure looks like it. But people follow that stupidity and garbage.

I’m sorry. I get worked up over these things because I’ve seen a lot of hurt, a lot of pain, a lot of suffering, a lot of people go astray, a lot of people turn their back on God, a lot of people cut off from God because they listened to those false teachers. That’s what they became the day they turned against any doctrine that God gave – antichrist – not the antichrist but the type of antichrist that John did speak of in the Church of God.

What’s disgusting here even in the translation, you know why the word “old corn” is used? Because it’s not a word for old corn. There is a reason why they used old corn, okay? The reason is because that the world of traditional Christianity as well as the Church has gone back and looked at certain things that they don’t understand and believe that the Jews understand it, so let’s write down what the Jews say it is. “They understand the Old Testament inside and out, surely, and they’re not wrong, surely, about the Old Testament.” Many in the Church did the same thing, many in the Church of God, many ministers. There are some evangelists that did exactly the same thing. It’s like, “The Jews are the authority of the Old Testament.” I think, no, God’s ministry, the Church of God, God’s apostle is authority of the Old Testament. They lost it a long time ago. They were condemned by Joshua the Christ a long time ago.

You think, if they were condemned a long time ago why all of a sudden, as we know they have become worse in history and they changed thing, that there are so many different ideas amongst themselves as there is similar to that in traditional Christianity, you think why would anybody look to them as an authority?

My wife and I were just recently talking about it. I think we were discussing this conversation here about what had happened to the Church at a certain point concerning Passover and I’d been at a particular funeral and someone came up to me and asked me, that they were concerned because their husband was persuaded to keep the 15th Passover that year and was going to do it and did we know anyone that was a Jewish teacher who could help them to understand that that wasn’t the case. I gave them a name of a teacher at Ambassador who was Jewish and had practiced, been taught in preparation in schooling to become a rabbi and came into God’s Church. I thought that he had a good understanding of Hebrew.

Anyway, to make a long story short I regretted the day that I gave them the name because we later got in contact with each other and had a discussion. It was just after the Apostasy, wasn’t it? Yeah, even the timing of some of these things anymore it’s hard to keep track of. So this had been after the Apostasy, and this individual, this teacher, we finally got in touch with each other and discussed this subject. I was basically going back and forth with him about why did you push them toward the 15th and talked about some of these different things and he finally said, “Do you think you know more than the Jews do concerning Hebrew and what these words mean?” And I said, believe it or not, I told the Jewish teacher, “Yes, I do.”

Now, that blew his mind. It was like, “You haughty....! Who do you think you are?” Well, I’m a member of God’s Church who has God’s spirit. Those Jewish leaders have none of that. What happened to you? Why didn’t you listen to Mr. Armstrong?” I didn’t ask him that strongly, but you know what, he sent me a whole list of scriptures to prove his idea about the 15th and I was dumbstruck by it, because I told my wife, I said, “Those are the exact – every one of them – the exact same scriptures I would send to him to prove the 14th is the right day.” It’s what you see. It’s what you know certain things are and you can understand certain things even in Hebrew by just being obedient to God. It’s not hard, but it becomes hard when you begin to get cut off from God’s spirit.

So we’re going through these things because they solidify what is true, they drive home what is true. There are so many in God’s Church, so many teachers, so many ministers who have taken away from the simplicity of things that are here and twisted and distorted them, and yet it’s right there in front of their nose if they’d just accept it and obey, if they would just have accepted what Mr. Armstrong showed them. Those scriptures are clear and plain; you can’t argue with them. Passover is in the 14th day of the month.

So this word “old corn.” There is a reason why they use this because the timing doesn’t fit into what the Jews believe so they have to change some of this and say, “Well, they didn’t eat the new corn of that year, it was the old corn,” because of some stupid ideas they have about when the Wave Sheaf was offered and when you could begin harvest or when you could eat of the harvest. Actually, for them it was when you could begin harvest not when you could eat it.

So their traditions and ideas are not true, they’re not right, because somewhere along the line they got all screwed up because of their teachers, because they had a motivation of changing these times, because this just didn’t agree with their doctrines and their ideas. Because what do they do? After the death of Christ they had to change certain ideas, because if they really acknowledged what the scriptures said they might be more pressured into having to acknowledge that Joshua the Christ was indeed the Messiah, see, and that he did fulfill Passover in the 14th day of the 1st month. So there’s always motivation why people have twisted and distorted, why the word Christ is translated properly because it means “the anointed,” why Iēsous is used instead of Joshua, why they have to twist certain things here and there. Because they have an agenda, they have a belief that they’re pressing and forcing into scripture just like everything else has been done through time. Candidly, it makes me sick to the stomach. I hope it does you too. Because, you see, how could you be so stupid and so dumb as not to acknowledge and recognize that this is the fulfillment of Leviticus 23? They are coming into the promised land, “and when you eat of the fruit of the land, of the things that the land has produced in that year there are certain things you’re supposed to do.” You think, well, that sure throws a twister in there if they’re eating the old stuff, so when does it mean they actually came into the promised land? What does all this mean? It’s confusing.

I’m sorry, but the word just stupid, stupid, stupid just rings in my mind about what people have done. “Intellect” becomes absolute stupidity.

And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the Sabbath. Now, this is important. Why are they talking about this “day after the Sabbath?” I mean, after the Passover. Sorry, it just happens that it is a Sabbath, weekly Sabbath. That comes out here. And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the Passover, unleavened cakes, and parched corn in the selfsame day. And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten (what’s translated here “old corn”; it’s not “old corn”), of the land. Doesn’t even mean that in Hebrew. ...neither did the children of Israel have manna anymore. You know, God had this written in a way that’s so succinct, so absolute that no one can really argue with what is true. But they do, because they have to change a few words around. But they’re going to argue with it and they’re going to put these words in there because it gives it a different meaning so they can deceive others into something that’s not true.

But if you know what the words really are it’s really clear. It’s really, really clear as to what was happening and why it was happening, why the manna ceased on a very specific day. It’s beautiful! If you know the story and it all fits into place it’s like, “Wow, that’s awesome!” So clear!

...neither did the children of Israel have manna anymore; but/for they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year. Oh, I thought it was the old stuff? No, they ate of the fruit of the land that year, not something that had been in storage for a year or two or three or four or whatever it might have been that they want you to believe, the old stuff. No, they ate of it that year.

So I’m going to read a few things here because I don’t want to miss any of this, but I’m going to spend some time going through some of this, stuff that’s in part, in large part is written on the publication page of the Church website under Counting Pentecost. So the article is out there, went through it a long time ago, gathered these things together and put out there that talk about this story and how we know when and how Pentecost is to be counted – because of this and for no other reason. Because there’s no place else you can go in the Bible to find this. There’s no way else you can know exactly how to count it except for exactly what God said. That’s why He told them in Leviticus 23 when you come into the promised land that I’m going to take you into, at that time there’s a specific thing you’re to do with the fruit of the land that you come into, the grain you have, and there’s a time for the Wave Sheaf and all these things you’re supposed to do and how to count to Pentecost from that point on. It’s because of the timing of when they came in that you can know some things that you can’t know any other way. It’s basically for the day that Passover is that makes all the difference in the world.

Again, although most of this is covered in that particular article we’re still going to go through some of this because of the importance of a series like this and what we’re discussing about God fulfilling the Pentecost period and what it means because we’ve gone back through time, we’ve looked at Abel all the way up to Zacharias and things that Christ said. We came forward then to Mount Sinai, Pentecost. We’ve come forward to this point in time now as they’re going into the promised land because it’s here that God gave them specific instruction that would lead to Pentecost because God ties together the period of Unleavened Bread and Pentecost powerfully so for great purpose that He’s revealed to us more and more about in the last several years, a few years ago, actually, in a very great way.

So again here, although we’ve gone through some of that, again, there is this way that we can know exactly how Pentecost is to be counted. So the Hebrew word used here for “at even” is one that describes the moment of sunset that marks when a day ends and a new day begins. So we’re going to hit that because most of the times when you use this word, when you speak of a particular moment, you’re talking about the end of a day, that day is over and a beginning of a new day, just like we do when we see the sun go down on a Friday; when it’s down, a new day has begun, the seventh day of the week, the Sabbath.

So, specifically it’s said of the daytime portion when it comes to an end, “at even,” and basically it can only be spoken of that way when you’re looking forward to something and you speak of Friday “at even” when the sun is down a new day begins. That’s how this word is used.

The reason I’m mentioning this is because if you look in context and you look at the 14th at even, the daytime portion of the 14th at even it would have to be at the end of the 14th. See how they twist and distort little things here and there? They say, “See! ‘At even’ on the 14th means it’s the 15th. ‘At even’ on the sixth day of the week, on that daytime portion, because at even on the daytime portion is the end of that day and the beginning of the next.” It’s not the beginning of a day.

I hope you understand what I’m talking about, what I’m saying. If not, go back and read the article, because sometimes these things can be a little confusing. That’s why people have been misled as they have, because sometimes it’s difficult to follow some things.

You have to understand it’s sometimes used by some to try to give credibility, again, to the 15th Passover, like we just talked about, but if it’s said Passover was to be observed “at even” on the 14th then indeed it would be showing at the very end of the 14th (as I just mentioned) was the beginning of the 15th. That’s not what its saying because it’s looking back in time; it’s not looking forward in time. If God tells you to do something “at even” looking ahead in time then you know it’s the end of that day and the beginning of a new day. “At even” on the sixth day will be the Sabbath. It’s the start of it. It’s the end of that day because it can only happen on a daytime portion “at even.”

Again here, this is why we’ve talked about in times past, God is very specific about the keeping of Atonement, that it’s to be observed when it says, “on the 9th day at even.” We know that it’s on the 10th. But at the 9th day “at even” is Atonement. The sun goes down and what happens? You’re not eating or drinking anymore. You know that Atonement has started on the 9th day “at even.” See? That’s the word that’s used here. Then all the way through throughout the 10th day until the next even.

God makes it very specific. That’s why when you read about what it says in how to keep Atonement God is very, very specific that it begins at even on the 9th and ends on the even of the 10th, this “ba erev,” this particular phrase that were talking about.

But when looking back in past tense, and this is the only place where this occurs anywhere in the Bible – that’s why it’s easier for some to twist and distort it is simply saying that “at even, when the 14th day was upon them, they observed Passover.” We know what even that was. That’s all it’s talking about. It’s not talking like it did “between the evenings” in Leviticus 23 or in other places when it speaks of specific times “at even.” But this one here is looking back and making it very clear.

So this verse is not instruction for when to observe Passover as it does not look forward to when we’re to keep the Passover. This is a historical account looking back and explaining the timing of their entrance into the promised land. It tells us that on the 14th they kept the Passover “at even.” That’s not so hard to understand. When you look, you’re talking back and you’re looking back at something, “We kept the Passover.” It’s like us looking back and saying, “I kept the Sabbath at even on the sixth day.” That’s when you start it. This is what it’s talking about here. They kept Passover. This is when it began on the evening on this particular evening here. We understand it’s the 13th, but this is when they kept it. We know what “even” it was.

So again, it’s talking about an evening in the past, and even in the past, and everybody in God’s Church should understand when they keep the Sabbath, at what particular evening. The same is true with Passover here. It’s a specific time.

So, it is a more difficult scripture in that regard, and so that’s why they go to these to try to twist and distort, and then they go back to the other ones and say, “See! This doesn’t really mean what its saying.” And that’s exactly what ministers in the Church have done. That’s exactly what Dr. Hoeh has done in times past to twist and distort and confuse people. That’s why we take simple, easy to understand scriptures and that gives us understanding of the things that are more difficult. It’s clear to us. You know when to keep the Sabbath day. You know when to keep the Passover. You know when to keep these things.

No one should come along and cause you to become confused, yet it’s happened to thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands and tens of thousands of God’s people because they thought they could never be deceived. Incredible! Don’t ever have that mind to think that you have an ability to never become deceived because if you let down on a spiritual plane, if you let down in any fashion or form on a spiritual plane and begin to become lukewarm in life you will not be able to see things clearly and someone can come along and just add a little twist here and lead you astray. We’re not above anyone whose gone before us, we truly aren’t. We are here because of God’s mercy, because of God’s grace, and because of God’s purpose that He’s given to you, to offer to you to be a part of a remnant. Awesome!

It’s not because of how great we are or how much we know, how much we think we know, its how much God has given to us and He does the work, Him and His Son.

So I want to read this again here in Leviticus 23:10. You don’t have to turn there, just listen to what it’s saying. Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, When you have come into the land which I give you and shall reap the harvest of it... Old corn? I mean how stupid is that? Can’t they acknowledge? Can’t those of Judaism acknowledge something took place here? I mean, to deny what was taking place I can’t think of any other word but stupidity. How could you think this wasn’t the fulfillment of Leviticus 23? And if you think it’s the fulfillment, if you know it’s the fulfillment, if you know that’s what’s taking place then why can’t this be read for what it says?

When God says, and you shall reap the harvest of it, does that mean the following year? Or does it mean, “When you come into the land that I give you and you reap the harvest?” Because that’s exactly what they did as soon as they went there and they didn’t have to eat manna anymore. But so that they could twist and distort time they said it was the “old corn,” because this is not yet the fulfillment of Leviticus 23.

I mean, is that a head scratcher for you? I hope it is. It’s one of the dumbest things I think has ever been done in scripture.

When you have come into the land which I give unto you and shall reap the harvest of it then you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits... “Oh, you’re coming into the promised land? When is this? Oh, the year after you came into the promised land! Oh, now I understand!” Stupidity!

So it says when you go into this promised land that I’m giving to you and you start to reap it’s harvest, meaning you start the harvest, you’re going to take a sheaf of what you have started, the first, as it means here, the first of this harvest, that’s just a bundle of grain, the stalk and the grain on top, and wrap it up and there is something you’re to do with this. You’re to set it aside.

So it says, When you have come into the land which I give unto you and reap its harvest you shall bring a sheaf, the beginning of your harvest unto the priest: and he shall wave the sheaf before the Eternal to be accepted for you. On the morrow after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. See, this is very specific. And that’s how you can know with such incredible surety exactly what was taking place, the timing of the events as God had taken them through on the 10th day across the Jordan and then they started the harvest. They couldn’t eat of it yet. Why? Because they hadn’t come to the time of the Wave Sheaf. You can’t eat, partake of the harvest until this sheaf is waved up before God. That’s what He told them, but there is that which they could begin to do right away, but He was very specific and they followed that instruction. They did not eat of anything, though they crossed over on the 10th day, until God said they could. Awesome!

Smart, because there are many times they didn’t listen and do things the way He said and when that happened tens of thousands died out of rebellion to the Great God. Just like that example we know of when they rebelled and God sent serpents out and they began to kill people. I love that story. Every time I see an ambulance I see that story, I think of God. I think of what God did with the Israelites every time I see an ambulance with that pole and the serpent wrapped around it. Awesome!

Awesome, awesome, awesome to realize how things are passed down generation to generation hundreds and hundreds, and hundreds, and thousands of years because this happened around 1400 B.C. when they crossed over into the promised land. Well, we know the story of what happened with the kings later on, but there’s a lot of time that passed, seven hundred and some years, I think 720.

Anyway, you go back in the Old Testament there to the time when they were in the wilderness and here the serpents were sent out and God put the serpent on a pole and He said any time you’re bitten by the poisonous snake to look upon it and you’d live. Twenty some thousand died. You know a lot of people who had been bitten by the serpents and died because of your rebellion, and finally Moses said if you look upon the serpent on this pole you’ll live. Now, that’s a no-brainer. You know, if you get bit by a poisonous snake and you know that thousands have already died, you don’t want to be next. “I’ll go look on that pole.” “I’ll go look at that snake on the pole.” And so they did, and they became so superstitious through time they began to make replicas of this thing because it was like it had the power for healing. It became a symbol for healing. Israelites have carried it with them ever since that time! Incredible!

People have no idea where that came from. They have no idea. The serpent on a pole came from what God did with the Israelites while they were in the wilderness. Awesome! Then 700 years later a king had to come along to destroy that same serpent on the pole because they were worshipping it as though it had power, as though it was their God! Amazing!

Verse 11—and he shall wave the sheaf before the Eternal, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. So when is the Sabbath? Well, that’s what becomes important here as they enter the promised land, and that’s how you can know how to count Pentecost. It’s really quite simple.

So it’s important to note here that the Wave Sheaf was focal to the timing for the counting of Pentecost. It’s the Wave Sheaf. It’s the timing of the Wave Sheaf that’s critical. This sheaf was not waved before God every year on the day following the annual Sabbath, on the first day of Unleavened Bread. Because, see, people have become confused by that and they think and they have thought in times past, there are some who believe this at a particular point in time, that if it’s after the annual Sabbath of the first day of Unleavened Bread, because they’ve even done that, not even talking about the weekly Sabbath, but we understand what it’s about. If that were so then the yearly observance of Pentecost would only be on a fixed date at Sivan the 6th because there are Jews who keep it that way because this is how they count it. Because they don’t know how to count — the Jews who know Hebrew! I’m sorry; I can’t help it but poke a little sarcasm there because they don’t and their teachers, their Rabbis have misled them. Sad, pathetic, disgusting because they should know better, and frankly, some of them do. They should know better than what they did here even amongst themselves in Judaism.

So there are those who have Pentecost on Sivan the 6th because they don’t know what Sabbath it’s talking about. Well, you think, that isn’t that difficult. It really isn’t. So this instruction becomes quite specific here regarding a count that centers around the weekly Sabbath, because it has to do with the waving of the sheaf and doesn’t center around a yearly Sabbath.

So let’s go back and see why God was so specific and what’s been recorded here. Joshua 5 again here picking up the story flow once again and why things are recorded in the way they are. Just look at how this develops, how God develops this, of when they were to have the Passover, what they did, and then bring the Wave Sheaf.

Joshua 5:10—And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal and kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho, just like all people do when they keep the Passover on the 14th day. And they did eat, it’s really of the produce of the land; that’s what the word is, that’s what it literally means in Hebrew. It doesn’t have any word “old” in it whatsoever. And they did eat of the produce of the land on the morrow after the Passover. What does that tell you? What do you automatically know by God’s word, by the timing given in Leviticus 23 for when things are observed? What do you know about Passover then? If the Wave Sheaf was on the day after Passover when is the Wave Sheaf offered? First day of the week. Always, always, always, always it’s on the first day of the week. That Passover was a weekly Sabbath, a weekly Sabbath, and that is so incredibly important to understand. It is so simple to understand if you just acknowledge the truth of what it says in Leviticus 23 and that this was the fulfillment of them coming into the promised land. God then becomes very specific for how to count because there are those who have been a part of us who because of their “intellect” went out in left field. Now, God blessed Mr. Armstrong to follow this though the full understanding of some things was not here, but this is the process that was used and He gave the understanding then later on of why.

It’s kind of like what God gave at one point in time when He revealed that John 14 and 1st John, and different areas like that have a beautiful expression when it says, talks about Christ coming in the flesh. Because the world can only see that basically in a physical way, and so they think about, well, that’s about him, when he came. Then when it talks about him coming in the future, that’s when he returns.

God began to reveal that this is a different kind of expression and it’s not about something fulfilled in his physical life, but it’s about him dwelling in us, about him living in human flesh, about how Christ told them in John 14 when he said, in essence, “You believe the Father, now believe in me.” He explained to them in very basic details. He led them all the way up to the point in saying, “What I have done is because the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” “The Father dwells in me, and I dwell in the Father.” Then he talked about the holy spirit that would be sent, the comforter, and he spoke of that which was going to take place, that now was coming a time in which people, individuals who had a relationship with God would experience the same thing. He said, “I,” basically, “and my Father will dwell in you and you will dwell in us,” because he’s coming in the flesh, in us as human beings – ongoing process, abiding in, dwelling in.

So we know those things. We’ve gone through those things, but we didn’t have the proof of it until later on even though God gave the knowing of that. A similar thing happened with how to count Pentecost. God gave the knowing to Mr. Armstrong, but not the full proof of those things that were fully in scripture here. To me that’s an awesome thing. God leads His people in truth though we sometimes, and maybe oftentimes, don’t understand the whole story. Then at some point in time He gives us more of the true story so that we can see it and think, “That’s always been there. How awesome that God’s given us the ability to see things and not even know this is where it is; it’s right there in front of us!”

How many times have you kind of hit yourself, figuratively speaking, on the forehead and think, “Why didn’t I see that before?” and then you know, “Well, because God hadn’t given it yet, now I can see it.” It makes it more exciting, more fulfilling, and makes God’s word come alive even more so.

So, anyway, again here, going on with the story: And they did eat of the produce of the land in the morrow, the day after, in other words, the Passover... The Passover was the weekly Sabbath. See they couldn’t eat the produce of the land until what? The Wave Sheaf. After the Wave Sheaf has been waved before God then you can eat the produce of the land. That’s what He told them in essence. That’s what He instructed them as His people. So we can know the exact timing of these things and because of that we can know how to count to Pentecost. Awesome! From what Sabbath? The next day was clearly the Wave Sheaf. It was clearly the time they began to eat the produce of the land. They didn’t eat manna on that day. They ate the produce of the land.

It’s a unique way that God describes this story. Let’s go on to read some of this. It says they had the unleavened bread and parched corn in the selfsame day. They didn’t have to follow the recipe for 1001 Ways to Cook Manna, to bake manna, or whatever it was that they had for forty years in the wilderness.

Can you imagine after having been in the wilderness for forty years and you have this harvest, all this right in front of you? You come into the promised land and people have worked the land already; the harvest is already there. It’s yours for the taking. They’re not coming out of the walled city of Jericho to stop you because you’re a large army. So here you are and you start cutting it down, you start taking it in, but you can’t start eating it because you know that God said through what God gave to Joshua, there’s a certain way to do this and you’re not to eat of this until a specific moment in time.

There is so much here that I could go through, but anyway, Joshua 5:10 again. I’m just going to skip ahead here in some of this. I want to read this again in Leviticus 23... I’ve already stated it. We’re just going to push ahead!

Joshua 5:10 again here, And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho. See, they were on the other side already and this harvest had already begun. And they did eat of the produce of the land on the morrow after the Passover, unleavened bread, and parched corn in the selfsame day. God makes it very specific. We know they were obeying God. It’s very clear this was after the Wave Sheaf was given that morning up before God. They said you’re to cut the first of it, take it to the priests and they’ll wave it.

And the manna ceased. Beautiful! Notice when it ceased: And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the produce, or in other words, the yield of the land; neither did the children of Israel have manna anymore. Now, why does it say it this way? Simple. They couldn’t gather on a Sabbath. They couldn’t gather on a weekly Sabbath. They couldn’t gather on an annual Sabbath. The weekly Sabbath was the Passover, the annual Sabbath was the next day, the first day of the week, and on that day God provided for them the ability to eat of something they had not, some had never had before.

Can you imagine people born, up to forty years old who came into the promised land who had never eaten the grain of the earth, but only manna. Awesome! Here it was a holy day, a high day, the priests waved the sheaf and now they were free to eat what they had just harvested. Incredible! The excitement! “How do you do this?” “Well, you get something and you start grinding this up and you make a flour out of it and similar to what we’ve done with this manna.” Anyway, some had to be shown. “How do you bake this stuff? How do you make bread out of it? What do you do?” So they were shown how to do various things here.

Beautiful story. God makes it very clear what had taken place, the timing of all these events.

So again, Joshua 5 makes it clear when they came out into the promised land. The day after Passover is when they ate of the yield of the produce of the land and knowing that the Passover then was the Sabbath, and following Passover is the first day of Unleavened Bread. So that was a high day, that was the high day there, but it’s from that period of time that you start counting, because it was the day of the Wave Sheaf as well. So you had a weekly Sabbath, an annual Sabbath, and from that point on then God says it was the day after they ate of the produce of the land that the manna ceased because that was the only day they could have started back to gathering it. That’s why He said it that way. They wouldn’t have gathered it on the Sabbath. They wouldn’t have gathered it on a high day, the first day of Unleavened Bread. So God sets it, says it in a very specific way to leaving no doubt because they were commanded they could never do that on a Sabbath, therefore, God didn’t let it come back at a time it would normally have come back. It would normally have been back there on a Monday when they had to go out Monday morning and start gathering the manna again. From then on, it says, it ceased on that day, the morrow after.

And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the produce of the land, when the Wave Sheaf took place, on the first day of Unleavened Bread. It’s awesome to understand that it’s about a count involving the Wave Sheaf. To know when to do the Wave Sheaf, yes, but the count from that point forward, seven days, seven days, seven cycles, and the morrow after the seventh Sabbath is Pentecost. Beautiful!

I’m just wondering whether I want to continue on at this point here. I think we’re going to stop there, stop a little earlier today. You’re not used to that one. This is a high day, the Day of Pentecost. I do want to stop or conclude today on this particular day by talking about a year from now.

We are focused as a part of a job and responsibility we have as watchmen, that everything that God has given to us and everything that’s contained in this last book is about looking ahead. So again, something to pray about, to ask God to help each and every one of us to be yielded to Him, to be growing, to be cleansing our self fully, richly, mightily just as He has been doing things as far as truth and doctrine is concerned, that we yield ourselves to the same process, that we be able to indeed be ready, that we be the people and that continuing process here that is still some that are to be sealed yet. That we be fully readied so that indeed these things be able to be fulfilled in 2019, because it doesn’t take much in this world for things to happen very swiftly, very quickly. We are at that point where nations have already decided where they stand. Turkey has decided where it stands and it is not with NATO and it is not with the United States. And that man who leads them, we know the kind of mind he has and we know the kind of power he has. He has power over nuclear weapons on a United States base, basically is what it amounts to. Awesome! He will not let them go. He will not let them out of his country. There are a lot of them and he loathes this nation. They are prophesied, he is prophesied to betray Israel.

Things to watch for, things we’ve been seeing in the news, things to understand of why in Europe right now, that I’ve already mentioned, but Angela Merkel making the comments to her people, “We can no longer rely on the United States.” They have been pushing for some time anyway to push an army forward. Isn’t that amazing? The last thing that hasn’t been fully to the degree finally has come together now that remained that Mr. Armstrong talked about. He didn’t even see the euro come to pass though he said it would come to pass, that they would have their own currency. To understand that they have their own government, but they haven’t really had a very strong military that was strictly theirs. Now they have it. The mobility, they have it. They just passed this past year the ability to cross all those nations in Europe now, that freedom of their armies to travel.

It’s incredible what’s taking place before our eyes. So it only takes one thing, things that continue on in the South China Sea, things that continue on as far as Russia is concerned, things between India and Pakistan; it only takes one big thing and everything starts.

But I want to tell you something else today – that prophecy can still be fulfilled any way that God so chooses to fulfill it.  I dread to think, but I want to pass it along to you just so you understand, the Day of the Lord is not restricted to 50 days, though I hope and pray with all my being that it is. We had a Day of the Lord – 2012 to 2013 – that is spoken of and written about already that happened as far as the Church is concerned.

That’s why God has great latitude in how to fulfill those things He has prophesied. And things depend a lot upon people and their choices. I hope that makes sense to you – our choices in this particular case in large part because the world really depends upon the sealing because there are certain things that God says cannot happen until that’s accomplished, until it’s fulfilled.

So it is my great desire with all my being, and I believe yours too, that we all be doing our part to yield to the molding and fashioning of God Almighty so that we can indeed be fully ready well before the Feast of Tabernacles this year.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1