The Mystery Completed, Pt. 3

Ronald Weinland

November 16, 2019

Today we’re going to continue in Part 3 of the sermon entitled The Mystery Completed; I’m just going to continue on from where we left off last week. But again, this is going through Chapter 6 talking about some of those things that we are being given a little bit better understanding as far as some of the things that take place at the end of this age, and especially as it leads up to some of those things in the 7th Trumpet.

I’m just going to pick it up in the book here as it is. This is under the heading of “The First Event In The Mystery of God To Be Revealed: When following the flow of events that are contained in the book of Revelation after revealing things about the Seven Thunders and God’s two end-time witnesses...” So I’m not even going to go into those things, as a whole, because there is no point. If people are interested in what they hear they’ll be able to find their way back through some of the other literature and the books that have been written in the past.

Quite candidly, we’re just not going to promote them upfront like we are right now. We’re going to have one book that we push and it’s going to be this one here when it’s completed. I’m toward the end of Chapter 7 now. The editors are moving right along. This last week they have been keeping me quite busy in keeping up. Anyway, it’s quite a process to go through. We have three individuals looking at it and working with it and then I get them back and look at those things and we make choices. Anyway, trying to write Chapter 7 while they’re bothering me with all this... I’m just kidding. But anyway, it’s exciting to see where we are in some of these things and how fast this is coming along.

But again, in this portion here we’re not even going to talk about in the book two end-time witnesses. There is no point. 7 Thunders – there is no point. Those things remain exactly as they are. We understand them. We know what they are. But people who really have an interest, they can go back and read up on these things even more so, but that’s not the primary purpose of this book.

So anyway, after talking about that here, after revealing those things or talking about those things it goes on to say, “...the flow comes back to the end,” talking about what’s in the flow of the book of Revelation, “the flow comes back to the end of the events of the 6th Trumpet, in the beginning, for the fulfillment of the 7th.”

I think about this, how Revelation is written, and people think they can read it and understand where things are, even in the Church that was scattered. The reality is not even close. There are things that are grasped as far as the three Church eras... And candidly, most people have let those go by the wayside. They don’t even believe in that anymore. But as far as the rest of the things are concerned people are so far off, even this Church that was scattered.

So we’ve been very blessed to understand where we are, what’s taking place, the Seals that have been opened, and to understand how many of the Trumpets have already, in that sense, been blown. It’s just waiting for the events to take place and they’re being held back and we understand why. So there are some things in the book that we don’t need to focus upon, but just to give a flow of it.

So anyway, this is quoting now Revelation 11:14, coming to this point. “The second woe is past. And look, the third woe is coming quickly (Revelation 11:14).” Well, that’s in the perspective of how it’s written in the book. There are things written in scripture about coming quickly, things are going to happen quickly, things that are going to happen in the end-time, Christ talking about it being the end-time when he was here. But it’s a matter of perspective of understanding what God is giving to mankind, because when you take 7,100 years of history of mankind and you look at the last 2,000 years, that is at the end of that period of time, in that respect, so that’s why some of that language is used by Christ himself. Then as you get closer, obviously, as where we are now at the end of 6,000 years, obviously we’re toward the end and things as far as God’s plan from His perspective are going to happen quickly. They’ll come to pass.

It’s kind of like, for us, the Feast of Tabernacles. You get there, you know it’s coming, and you know as soon as you get there you’re going to turn around and you’re going to be heading home very soon. That’s just the way it goes, time passes quickly, and it does in God’s plan as well. There are awesome things to be accomplished the longer we live on this earth, see things come to pass. One day we’re going to look back and think, man, where did the time go. That’s hard to understand right now because 70 years is kind of hard for us to understand right now in these human bodies. But that’s going to change and our perspective will change.

I thought it would be good, too, at this point here to talk about the woes as well. What are they all about, a woe, woe upon mankind? I’m thankful that over a period of time of at least a decade or more (more than that) God has been showing us in a very powerful way that everything that has been written about in scripture through time, when it talks about a time of judgment, we’re there. This is one of the primary times of judgment that’s going to come upon the earth at the end of 6,000 years.

God has not been judging the earth for 6,000 years or mankind on the earth for 6,000 years. Judgment has only been on those whom God has called. Because you can’t be judged in those things, specifically when it talks about that kind of judgment, until your mind is opened up, until you know the truth. But as far as mankind and His selfish way is concerned God reveals that there will come a time of judgment, and we understand what those times are.

We spoke about that last week, especially at the end, of that which takes place at the end of a hundred years. That’s about a judgment upon the earth, upon mankind, upon those who don’t choose, don’t want God’s way of life. That’s kind of hard, I think, for us to understand. In some respects it’s not hard for me any longer, but it was when God began revealing some of these things. But I think we’re starting to see that and understand that more and more when it talks about those who are going to be as the sand of the sea. When we understand human nature, when we see what’s happened in the Church over 2,000 years, how not many have stayed in the fight, that things pull at people and people make various decisions, and the world, human nature has such a strong pull in a different direction and people have to make choices along the way. The reality is there are going to be a lot who just don’t choose God, who just don’t want it. It’s not for them. God doesn’t force that upon anyone. He doesn’t make anyone, though He would desire, He desires that everyone would choose His ways.

That is an astounding thing to understand. It’s a personal choice and if you want it you have to fight for it because even then it’s not just going to be given to you. It can’t be with the spirit of Laodicea. We learned that. It can’t be when people are lukewarm and kind of just going through the motions of things. Because that doesn’t reflect that someone really wants it, it’s just something in that kind of a spirit that, well, it’s kind of conforming to what’s already there but not really choosing it and not really wanting it. God won’t give you His life, His spirit life, His mind, His being for all time for Him to dwell within us unless we want with all of our being His way of life. Incredible!

So the woes are about judgment. It’s about judgment that comes upon the earth. As we look upon those things, as you think about the first woe, it’s about a judgment upon Manasseh. That’s what it’s about first and foremost. Ephraim is going to suffer, too, but first and foremost Mr. Armstrong was given very clearly to understand that it’s about a judgment upon Manasseh, upon this nation first and foremost. And to understand the promises that God gave to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to understand that there was going to be one great nation, the greatest nation the earth has ever known, and that God gave it to us. God gave us what we have, but people don’t recognize that. They don’t really grasp that. They are not truly thankful for that in every regard because they don’t understand it, but it was a matter of a fulfillment of a promise that God gave. The wealthiest, most powerful nation the world has ever known, the greatest.

That’s been fulfilled and now judgment’s going to come, because it shows what happens when human beings receive those things from God and take it to themselves. Look what we’ve done. Look how great we are. Look how great we are. To come to a point where you worship a flag more than you worship God. To where you’re more worried about the desecration of a piece of cloth than you are about God Almighty. I hope you understand what I’m saying. It’s just a reality of life of how human beings think. It’s not a matter of grasping that God gave us the wealth of this nation. We didn’t do it ourselves. Yes, there are people who sacrificed and gave, but anyone that was given all this would have done that too—and most of it has to do with greed anyway. That’s why people went west. There’s money out there in them those hills so people moved west and they fought off a lot of foe on the way.

But anyway, so this is about judgment. The first woe, obviously, is about the judgment upon Manasseh, but there is another that follows after that and it’s on the rest of the earth. It’s upon the rest of the nations of the earth because when that one is unleashed it’s about that which God is going to allow. This is something that’s brought out in the book in a very strong fashion, in that sense, that God is going to allow, because it’s His plan and purpose, because there is no other way to humble mankind, to begin to sharpen up the listening of mankind until a third of mankind has been destroyed. That’s just a reality.

God knows what it takes to get the attention of His creation, and sadly, it takes that much. It takes that much to so shake the minds of people, to see such massive destruction all around them that finally they begin to listen; they begin to cry out for deliverance in a way that they really never have in earth’s history.

There are probably some wanting some kind of deliverance during the days of Noah, but that happened pretty swiftly. It didn’t take very long. The water was rising fast and judgment was already set and it wasn’t a matter of anyone given an opportunity to live into another age except those who were on the ark. This is different.

So we live at a very unique time, exceedingly blessed. But the woes are about judgment, so understanding that will help us to understand a little bit more the third woe. Because the 7th Trumpet is the very reason why we’re going through some of this talking about this mystery that is to be completed, the mystery of God, the mystery of the ages that Mr. Armstrong wrote about.

It’s about His plan that begins to be fulfilled at a specific moment in time and it’s not complete until a specific moment in time. That’s very clear in scripture. That 7th Trumpet is about that mystery becoming completed. It’s not something that happens as soon as Christ returns; it just begins at that point in time and it lasts for 1,100 plus years before it’s fulfilled, before it’s completed.

All the things that God has spoken of throughout time, from Genesis to Revelation, it’s about this. It’s about what He’s going to do, what He’s offering in His Family, to become a part of His Family and what mankind must go through before that can become a reality.

Again, to understand what a woe is, is important because it’s all about judgment. [Revelation 11:14] The second woe is past. And look, the third woe is coming quickly. Then the seventh angel sounded and there were great voices in heaven saying... Now, this is the first thing to take place. This is the first event, if you will, of the 7th Trumpet. It’s not the Seven Last Plagues.

We’ve had that in our minds. You know, it’s been there since I’ve been in the Church, since 1969, it was planted in my mind. It’s just the way it was. You know, you have certain things take place, the Seventh Seal, you have Seven Trumpets, and then you come to the end and you have Seven Last Plagues and it’s like, well, this all fits together, that makes sense, all this. But God just hadn’t revealed everything to us yet because it wasn’t time yet to reveal other things that He saved until the end.

These things can try and test people, they truly do, especially for some who are scattered. Because it’s going to take some a while once they begin to be awakened to acknowledge some of these things. Because I think of when it talks about Lazarus and this great chasm, if you remember the story, of distance that exists between knowing the truth and not knowing it. You can’t help those on the other side of this; it’s something that God will have to do. Anyway, the same sort of thing is true as far as the scattered Church is concerned. You want to talk about a chasm, a giant gulf between us, it’s incredible how far God has brought us and where we are.

It’s going to be a tough thing for some people to come to humble themselves and to recognize, because we’ve had the advantage of going through this since the Apostasy a little bit at a time, though it’s been speeding up here toward the end, and there are many who have been with us who couldn’t take it. Because the more God revealed, the faster He revealed those things, the harder sometimes those are in the testing. It tests us in where we are and how we think. The reality is if we’re not staying close to God we’re going to trip up on some things at some point in time. That’s what’s happened in the scattered Church.

That’s what happened in 2008. There were people who just tripped up just over one simple thing, a simple change in understanding that Christ’s return is pictured in that which goes from the time of, if you will, from the time of the wave sheaf to the wave loaves. And the wave loaves, it’s about that period of time when he returns to this earth with the 144,000, and it’s not complete until all the firstfruits are there. It’s a marvelous revelation, in that respect, but there were people who just couldn’t take that. There were ministers in the Church, the remnant Church that just couldn’t take that, and others, obviously.

So God has given us so much, He truly has. It’s awesome. So this is a continuation of some of this, Then the seventh angel sounded... It is about the woes as well. There are things that God’s revealing here to be able to see things in a clearer fashion because we’re going to go into a new age with understanding, not misunderstanding of things that we haven’t grasped.

So that’s why I talk about the 7 Last Plagues. In my mind since 1969 it was there. Then to come to a point where you realize, whew, this does not fit; God is showing it doesn’t fit here. So, I wrote about it in the last book believing it fit, believing it was a part, but God has revealed no, it’s not there. It’s not there. It doesn’t fit. Timing was fine. There are certain periods in there, so, yeah, it plugs in perfectly. But it doesn’t plug in properly, in other words, with present truth. That’s how you have to judge things, by the present truth. Thankfully, God is clarifying those things.

Then the seventh angel sounded and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world have now become become the kingdoms of our LORD, even of His Christ, and He shall reign for now on and forever more! Awesome! Awesome! The first event of the 7th Trumpet is this. It’s not the unleashing of Seven Last Plagues, it’s this. This is the first thing that God has us focus upon. When you go through all these verses, all these scriptures in order and you see what’s taking place this is what’s important, this is what’s taking place as a part of the fulfillment of the 7th Trumpet, the beginning of it.

Because there’s a lot more to come. A lot more. That’s inspiring because this is what the prophets spoke of long before Christ’s coming. When he came they wanted to know when, when will that kingdom come? There were thousands along the street, it talks about, as he came into Jerusalem at the very end, and they were throwing down palm branches and crying out about “Hosanna! Hosanna in the highest!” and speaking about the one who was promised from king David, in essence, the Messiah. Christ said if they didn’t cry out the stones would, the rocks would. So they cried out and they were moved, they were motivated, because they honestly believed, as the disciples did, that Christ was going to rise up and as the Christ, as the Messiah, to fulfill that job and to take up the reign of government and to remove that of the Roman government. They didn’t have any concept of really what it was all about but they were looking to him to fulfill those things.

It’s always been about this, God, God’s Kingdom and when it would come. It says, The kingdoms of this world have now become the kingdoms of our LORD... Well, at that time they were just looking at the Romans not the whole world. Today the world is so changed over 2,000 years. Governments all over the earth, world wars already, and here it’s talking about all these kingdoms, all these nations, finally God’s taking control.

The kingdoms of this world have now become the kingdoms of our LORD, even of His Christ, and He shall reign from now on and forever more! So again, that’s what the gospel is. It’s the good news of God’s kingdom that’s going to reign and how those things are going to be accomplished.

“This is the good news that God will now begin to bring to pass that’s been spoken of for thousands of years. It is what is translated as the gospel of the New Testament. That word translated ‘gospel’ actually means ‘good news.’ Joshua the Christ said much about that good news, however, the world did not understand it as it was yet neither the time to fully reveal it nor to begin to fulfill it.” This is talking about the time to begin to fulfill it. Incredible.

“That which will take place at this moment in time is about the beginning for the work that lies ahead in the completing of the mystery of God.” This is the first event. Well, that’s what the next sentence says. I just need to read it. “This is the first event to become established in order for the mystery of God to become accomplished because it is the foundation that enables the entire mystery of God to become fulfilled.”

That’s where it starts. Christ is the head cornerstone. Everything is being built upon him, upon him as the King of kings. God’s kingdom is established upon that and those who come with him and then it just grows and grows and grows through time here that’s ahead for mankind.

Going on, “To summarize this last Trumpet in its simplest form the 7th Trumpet reveals the fulfillment of God’s plan and purpose for mankind that will take 1,100 years to become completed.” So even though I talked about that before this, this is the first it’s mentioned in the book in this straight fashion, if you will.

“So when it states that the second woe is past and the third woe is coming quickly it’s showing that before the events of the third woe began that there is something else that happens first. It clearly states this marks a very specific moment in time. It is when the kingdoms, the nations of this world are no longer under the rule of mankind. This is the first event of the 7th Trumpet, when the nations of the world now become the nations of Christ under his rule.”

“This first event of the 7th Trumpet is the transition in time when the time for mankind’s self-rule has ended and God’s rule is established. God’s Kingdom begins to reign over the nations of the world. It is on this one day that these kingdoms now become Christ’s and it makes clear that he will reign from that moment and forever more. Christ will reign directly under His Father into everlasting life forever more.”

Now, we know these things and this can maybe seem a little drudgery to go through all this, but the reality is, you know, it’s exciting to understand what God is going to begin to reveal and show mankind, and we’re at that time.

“He will reign in the Kingdom of God over the nations of the earth for the next 1,100 years and he will reign beyond that forever. That first 1,000 years is the time of the Millennium. That will be followed by what is known as the Great White Throne Judgment and the Last Great Day of God. It is about a period that will last for the following 100 years after the Millennium is complete.”

Again, things we take for granted, but how incredible it is that we understand these things. How incredible, the peace of mind we have to understand what it’s all about, about an incredible resurrection that’s going to take place, the peace of mind that can give people that the world doesn’t have.

“This period of time will finish God’s plan of salvation for mankind. Once it’s over the mystery of God will have been completed and the second great countdown will have ended.” Because that’s what we’re talking about.

So some of those things are being spoken of in the book about a countdown that’s taking place and building up to a specific moment in time of Christ’s coming. But then when that happens and that countdown in complete and Christ has returned another countdown begins, 1,100 years plus. We don’t know what the plus is but there’s more. We understand that.

“The first phase of God’s great plan has remained a mystery to mankind for the past 6,000 years.” That’s why I love the title that God inspired Mr. Armstrong to give to that last book, The Mystery of the Ages, because the world has never understood, never known what it’s all about, why they’re created, what their purpose is.

“The Last Great Day is one of the most exciting for mankind. It is the last phase of salvation to be accomplished in completing the mystery of God that’s announced by the 7th Trumpet. That trumpet is about the establishment of God’s Kingdom to rule over the nations under Christ as King of kings until the mystery of God is completed.”

Then under the heading “God Brings an End to Man’s Self-rule: Once the events from the sounding of the seventh angel begin next it describes how angels in heaven responded to what happens at that time.” So again here, we’re going through in an orderly fashion of what God is helping us to understand very clearly, that that announcement is made “the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ...”

Here in Revelation 11 under this heading, again, “God Brings an End to Man’s Self-rule:  Once the events from the sounding of the seventh angel began next it describes how angels in heaven respond to what happens at that time.” So here is what it says, Then the twenty-four elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying: We give thanks to You... We can’t imagine their feelings. We can’t imagine what they’re going to experience at that time. After working so long to serve God over such a period of time and being a part of all the creation of God – and we don’t know what, to what extent or what that all involved, but they were very much a part of it. They saw a being that rebelled against God and a continuing creation that continued on for a long, long time. They saw the earth that was basically destroyed and then God coming back and remolding and refashioning it – with the angels, because they were involved. They’re a part of all those things, power that was given to them.

They have seen all these things transpire over the past 6,000 years. So to come to this point after all that they have seen mankind go through, all the suffering, all that Satan and the demonic world have done to thwart that (but never succeeding, obviously), they’ve seen much. Now to be at this point where they see a point in time where the greater part of the firstfruits, the vast majority (obviously all of them except the one, the first of the firstfruits), now come to pass, incredibly exciting to them in ways we can’t even begin to comprehend, and exciting to God more so.

Then the twenty-four elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying: We give thanks to You, O Lord God Almighty, The One who is, who was, and who is coming, because You have taken to Yourself Your great power and reigned. That means a lot because He hasn’t done that for 6,000 years. He let man have his own reign.

Going on in the book: “By God sending His Son to reign in His Kingdom over the nations of the world He is taking to Himself that which He has not done over the previous 6,000 years. Instead, God has allowed mankind to exercise its own kind of rule in order for it to learn the ultimate lesson, that mankind cannot rule itself,” and because of TV today that’s becoming very clear. We can’t govern diddly-squat. Man can’t cooperate. Man can’t work together. People oppose each other and it’s just getting worse and worse and worse throughout the world. Not just here, throughout the world!

Going on: “So at this moment in time God takes back that which is His anyway and sends His own Son to rule over His Kingdom. After revealing what takes place as God takes back what is His, His own rule, and establishes His Son over His Kingdom the book of Revelation then goes on to tell of the history that has led up to this time. It includes how Satan tried...” So this is going on in the flow of Revelation and what it’s saying. “It includes how Satan tried to destroy Joshua...” When you go through Chapter 12 that’s what it’s talking about. “...after his physical birth. It then goes on to cover a summary of time that led up to the end of this age when the same being attacked God’s own Church and God then allowed a prophetic apostasy to occur in His Church.”

So again, some of those things are talked about there in Revelation 12, and it talks about this span of time, 1260 days, 3½ years that was given as a protection, in essence, to the Church, and then it goes on to talk about those who have the testimony of Joshua the Christ, and speaking of a remnant Church. But anyway, that’s what the flow of some of that is.

“That apostasy was prophesied to be what became the revelation for the beginning of the final countdown that would lead to world war three and of Christ then becoming established in the reign of God’s Kingdom. What follows next is that which continues to show the history of what has led up to this final end-time. After covering what’s been happening to God’s own Church in this end-time it focuses once more upon the final 10 nations of the last European Empire and the religious Babylon that has deceived and lied to mankind. It then continues by telling about the kind of massive destruction that comes upon mankind at the very end just before God intervenes to put a stop to mankind’s last war.”

“All that takes place in this final end-time is exceeding important to God and He conveys that by what is being described in these chapters. A synopsis of history is given that has led to this time, especially of those things that have happened both in the world and in the Church during this period of the countdown to Christ’s coming. Once this brief summery is given then the story comes full circle back to the day when God establishes the reign of Joshua the Christ over His Kingdom.”

So again, there is a flow. It’s not just straight through from one point to another through time. There are things that God interjects and brings in from time to time in the book of Revelation. The only way to know is by Him revealing to us what it’s all about in the first place, and He has been doing that for a long time. He began by revealing those things to Mr. Armstrong in a kind of like a puzzle, like we said, a framework, but we weren’t anywhere close in some things and pieces have had to be moved around since that time. But we had a basic framework to work within.

“Once this brief summary is given...” And that’s no fault of his. Just as things have happened with me, it’s what God gives us at any time. We must function within what we have at any moment in time. That’s how we’re judged. We’re judged according to a present truth. So until God gives us all those things to fill in and we have it and we know then it’s not so difficult. But before that you have to live and judge according to the present truth. That’s how we’ve been living our lives the whole period.

“Once this brief summary is given then the story comes back full circle to the day when God establishes the reign of Joshua the Christ over His Kingdom. That Kingdom will then begin to reign over the nations of the earth until all has become completed – until the complete mystery of God has been fulfilled. Again, it’s important to note that this will take a little over 1,100 years to accomplish.”

“There is so much more to this mystery of God becoming completed. It indeed begins with a revelation of Joshua the Christ as the one who will reign over the nations in God’s Kingdom, but the next part of that mystery becoming completed concerns those who share with Christ in that government of the Kingdom of God.”

So again, hopefully some of this will be edited to sound better and have a better flow. But again here, there are things we take for granted that we automatically know, but people reading this for the first time don’t know these things. So again, it’s a learning process.

Under “The 144,000” it says, “So once again the very first event that occurs as a result of the 7th Trumpet sounding is what has been addressed about the kingdoms of this world then becoming the kingdoms of God. This is when the nations of the world come under the government of God that will be ruled over by Joshua the Christ. After that was revealed in Revelation 11 it’s followed by a brief history...”

Anyway, we’re coming full circle, as it says here, back to what happens next as part of this process. This is in Revelation 14:1. Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb, speaking of Christ, was standing on Mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand... What an incredible thing, Mount Zion, the beginning of it, the creation of it now being made manifest, coming to a reality, people who have been dead for long periods of time throughout 6,000 years, and now made alive, given spirit life, the first to become Elohim of this number of people from among mankind. ...and with him were one hundred and forty-four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads. So explaining here this is not literal but metaphorically about being written in their minds, their thinking.

Then I heard a voice from heaven, like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of a loud thunder. I heard the sound of harpists playing their harps as they sang about these new things, in a song before the throne, before the four living creatures and the elders. None were able to know that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earth. That’s an incredible thing, to know that God’s going to give that and all is going to be in unison. We can’t comprehend that but that’s what He says is going to happen.

These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These were redeemed from mankind, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. So it goes on to explain then: “This is speaking of those who will come with Christ to reign in the Kingdom of God over the nations of the world. This is all happening as part of what was being proclaimed at this first event of the 7th Trumpet concerning God taking to Himself His own power to now begin His reign over the world.”

Again, things we take for granted. We know that Christ is coming. We know he’s coming with 144,000 to set up, to establish God’s Kingdom.

“The 144,000 are described as being redeemed from among mankind over the previous 6,000 years and not being defiled by false churches (those women).” That’s what it’s talking about, “...because they are virgins spiritually. They have been faithful to God, Christ, and God’s Church.” We have to understand that the vast majority of people that are going to be in the 144,000 have come out of those in the last 2,000 years, have been in God’s Church. Before that there weren’t that many through time; through 4,000 years there weren’t that many. Most have been over 2,000 years.

“These are further described in scripture as being the firstfruits of God’s plan of salvation with Joshua the Christ being the first of the firstfruits. This is about the first phase of the mystery of God beginning to now become fulfilled. This government of the Kingdom of God is about those who first become part of God’s family that’s described in the Old Testament as Elohim, the God Family. Those who come with Christ are described next as an army coming with him to engage in war.” It becomes very clear what they’re doing. “This is actually about the very means by which God is going to bring an end to WWIII.” Whereas, before we’ve totally thought, the focus has been the Seven Last Plagues.

“Those nations who are fully engaged in war at this time are going to be stopped by this army. The story picks up once again as those twenty-four elders and other angelic beings who are in heaven are rejoicing over the fact that God has taken to Himself rule over the nations of the earth as He begins to establish His Kingdom to reign over it.”

So this is Revelation 19:4 now where it talks about this. There are some things the flow is very clear as to what’s being stated and what’s happening. The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sat on the throne, saying, Amen! Hallelujah! Then a voice came from the throne, saying, Praise our God, all you servants and those who fear Him, both small and great! Then I heard what this was about in the voice of a great multitude... That’s kind of awkwardly translated, but this is what it’s actually saying very clearly. Some of the way some of these things are translated, they’re not really good. Then I heard what this was about in the voice of the great multitude, as the sound of many waters, and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, Hallelujah! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! So it comes back to that again. It’s about that reign which He is taking to Himself and how it’s going to be accomplished. Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his wife has made herself ready.

It’s important to notice what we read last week, too, later on in Revelation 21 and in through there, all the way up through 22 and some of the things it’s discussing. Because it’s talking about God’s Kingdom and that which is coming later, but the reality is there is some similarities in some things when it talks about those who are resurrected, and it’s basically in the atmosphere the way it’s talking about—whether that means something else or not but that’s what it’s talking about—and those who come later at the end of 1,100 years, they go through the same thing of the 144,000. Everyone is resurrected in the same manner and they accomplish the same thing. It’s about the marriage supper of the Lamb.

So I remember times past when people would talk about, “I wonder what this marriage supper is going to be like. It’s going to be like this big banquet.” And how is that going to be? “It’s like we’re going to have all these big tables and this huge banquet of 144,000 people and there’s going to be this great, big supper. I wonder what they’re going to serve?” No, I’m sorry. Turkey? So we get these funny ideas sometimes and we start out with that which is physical because we don’t grasp God, we don’t grasp the things that God tells us, and candidly, He has to reveal those things to us anyway, of what they’re all about.

It’s important to understand this, that those who are resurrected later on, whether it be at the end of the thousand years or at the end of that next hundred years, all of mankind, they all go through the same thing when they’re resurrected. It talks about a sea of glass. People are resurrected in whatever environment this is, whatever that is in a spirit realm, because it’s not a physical one.

Anyway, there are things we just don’t grasp and comprehend that God’s doing and fulfilling, but there are similarities of things that happen in like manner. So what happens to the 144,000, it talks about Christ, the way we saw him go up is the way he’s going to return. We don’t understand all that. How he manifests himself, what people are able to see. Candidly, after it’s all over with there’s not going to be anyone physical seeing it anyway. It’s all going to be spiritual.

So going back to some of this, of what it’s talking about here, it says, For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, again, for the marriage supper of the Lamb has come... Everyone goes through that, but here is the first great marriage supper because it’s about the firstfruits coming into God’s Kingdom. ...and His wife has made herself ready. Well, the others are described exactly the same way later on.

To her is granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous of saints. Everybody has to go through the same process and has to conquer and overcome this in order to be cleansed, in order to have such garments on a spiritual plane of what’s being described here, of what we go through.

Going on: “In what was described earlier in Revelation, at the beginning event of the 7th Trumpet, it now adds more that has been revealed to what it means by the establishment of Christ reigning over the Kingdom of God. It now shows that there are those symbolically referred to as having made themselves ready for the marriage supper of the Lamb. They are the 144,000 who are resurrected at this time to now come with Christ in the Kingdom of God that then begins to reign on earth.”

Then moving along to Revelation 19:11, just adding here what it says in the book. “This is adding to the mystery of God that is now beginning to become completed and revealed concerning the first phase of God’s Family, because these are the first to enter that family. Again, this is only the beginning event of the 7th Trumpet. It then goes on to show what they will do first once this government becomes established.” So there is an order in this on these events.

Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. This literally means he wages war. That’s what he’s coming back to do. When it talks about he’s not coming back as a Lamb this time he’s coming back as a Lion, we understand what that means. He’s coming back with great power. He’s going to take control. We don’t know how that’s going to be accomplished.

We don’t know what kind of power is going to be fully used but it describes him and what he’s doing here. It says, He is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and wages war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head many crowns.  This is, again, figuratively here, meaning now ruling over all the nations because all these crowns are his. He wears them. He rules.

He had a name written that no one knew except himself, and he was clothed with a robe dipped in blood... So, very clearly here talking about Joshua the Christ and what he went through in order to come to this point in time; that he’s coming back now to reign with power and might and not as a Lamb who humbles himself, who goes through what he did go through 2,000 years ago. Now he comes back with incredible power. ...and He is called The Word of God.

The armies in heaven, that’s how they’re described, the armies in heaven... and this is an expression concerning the sky and the atmosphere above the earth, clothed in fine linen, white and pure, speaking of, again, the 144,000, followed him on white horses. I don’t know what that means. You don’t know what that means. Spirit? Horses? I don’t know but this is what it says. So again, it has to do with power. It has to do with what they’re going to do at this point in time.

It goes on to say, Out of his mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it he should strike the nations. Well, we understand there when it talks about a two-edged sword we understand that part of the sword is about God’s word and it’s about being judged according to that and that which can be a part of our life, in that sense, that helps us in conquering and overcoming self and the world around us. But there’s another aspect of it and it’s the execution of judgment. That’s what this is about.

It’s about a time of the execution of judgment that Christ brings when he comes and what he’s going to accomplish. Perhaps the beginning of the third woe, I candidly do not know, but there are things about this that God hasn’t fully revealed. So that may involve other things, that he says it comes quickly and it talks about a third woe. This may be the beginning of a judgment that’s very powerful on the earth, but there is other judgment to come later on that God makes very clear. But it may well all be coupled together in one phrase like that because it’s about a judgment that comes from the point of time that God’s government is established until it’s over, until the mystery of God is completed.

So those things fit into place so much better in that sense, as far as understanding certain things that are going to take place. But again, Out of his mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it he should strike the nations. Why? Well, if you strike something, this word here is used very powerfully so in the sense of judgment, in the sense of it’s not going to be pleasant. There is going to be incredible destruction that takes place. This is how he takes control. What all the 144,000 do with him, we don’t know, but we’re talking about power of the God Family to be exercised over the earth, to have the ability to bring an end to a great war that’s taking place. Christ and the 144,000 have that power to do that and this is a part of what they’re going to accomplish – whatever it means, whatever happens.

That he should strike the nations. And he will rule them with a rod of iron. Meaning from that point forward when he takes control he will never allow, God’s Family will never allow another war to exist on earth. Just like what Satan tries to do at the end, they want to come together, their purpose is for war, but God brings it to a screeching halt at the very end. It’s not going to happen. They’re not going to be able to wage it though they’ll gather together for it. Because God makes it very clear there will be no more wars once Christ and the God Family accomplish what they’re going to accomplish in stopping the last of man’s wars.

And he will rule them with a rod of iron. That means with power! God has never done that on the earth except a few times when He’s intervened to stop various things and some of the battles that took place with the Israelites and some of the incredible things He did and accomplished in fighting some of their wars for them and the miraculous way He did some of that, and if you want to talk about the time of Noah’s flood, or whatever. But here is a time, this is powerful in what takes place.

Now out of his mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it he should strike the nations. And he will rule them with a rod of iron. He treads the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God. That’s a powerful statement that’s made there because it’s using the example here when you tread the winepress it’s like the old way of doing it, not like with modern machinery today. But it’s like getting inside and stomping on the grapes and all the juice flows out, all the juice. That’s what makes the wine. But here it something that takes place, it’s the winepress of the wrath, if you will, which it says here, which, again, that word is not like we think it to be as human beings when we talk about human wrath. This is about judgment. This is about the execution of God’s judgment and something that’s going to be done.

It’s about this winepress that takes place of blood that pours out because of it. God’s going to take control and it’s going to be a powerful thing that He does. We don’t know how many are going to be destroyed through all this, but we do know that He’s going to destroy those who are destroying the earth. That’s what Christ and the 144,000 are going to do until it stops.

That’s why, if we really understand it, this doesn’t take very long. The war that’s coming doesn’t take very long. We may be planning for Malaga but it may not be there next year. You have to be prepared always for the reality of whatever comes your way, because God has not revealed to us the specific moment in time that these things are going to come to pass. The truth, the reality is they can happen very quickly, and thank God they can because the kind of war that’s coming is powerful and we can’t even begin to comprehend what a nuclear war is going to be like, because no one wants to be conquered by it.

Europe doesn’t want to be conquered by it. Europe. There are going to be some interesting things. I’ll just leave that to you in Chapter 5 because God’s made it really clear. It’s always bothered me. I’ve always wondered how on earth would Europe ever do what was given to Mr. Armstrong to say was going to take place by ten nations and what they’re going to do to this country. Just never seemed like a reality. I’ll be honest – just never really seemed like it was a sound reality of anything that could take place in our age, until the last few years.

Then when you begin to see what’s taking place on the earth right now and where everything is headed, it’s not so hard to see why they would be motivated to do some of the things that they would do in order to keep something at least 5,000 miles away from them. Because if they don’t do it they know it’s going to hit them hard right where they are.

So again, some of those things will be explained a little more in detail later on when the book is out. But it’s very clear today how those things can come to pass very quickly so and what Europe is going through, why they feel the way they do, why they think differently now than the way they used to. In just a few years they’ve changed, they really have. They’ve changed powerfully so in how they think.

A lot of nations, just like this country, are kind of turning inward and it becomes about them and when they see one part of the world doing that, especially the most powerful nation in the world, how do you think they think? Do they have some of the same feelings; they’ve got to protect what is theirs? They’ve got to do what they need to do to come together? That’s why they have formed a military now because they feel the stress and this pressure and they don’t really think, they don’t really believe they can rely upon a nation protecting them.

Because when it comes right down to it, to a nuclear war, are they really going to start using those things to protect us or not? If I were in Japan’s shoes or some of those nations over there, South Korea, I would think that way. Do you really think they’re going to come to our aid if a bomb drops on us? Do you really think they’re going to start a great world war?

So that’s why some nations are working more right now to do what they have to do themselves because they don’t feel like they can trust others; they have to protect themselves. Anyway, that’s the kind of world we live in, a sick world, and when it’s unleashed it happens quickly, one thing leads into another, and there is really no stopping it except for God, and by the time it gets stopped God says one-third of everything will have been destroyed.

That’s hard to comprehend, but that’s where we live and that’s God’s judgment. Sad it takes something like that, of that magnitude to get the attention of people to where people will start listening to God, and even many in the scattered Body, it’s going to take that. It’s going to take that nuclear war to start.

See, everything they’re looking for, everything they think is going to come to pass isn’t going to happen the way they think because they’re holding on to the past without understanding what’s been given since that time in Revelation as to what is really going to come to pass and how these pieces of the puzzle fit together. They’re still looking for things that aren’t going to happen in the way they think, and so when a war breaks loose they’re fully unprepared. But it takes that to jar the tar out of them so they will humble themselves and turn to what they know is true, or what they can see is true.

Out of his mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it he should strike the nations. And he will rule them with a rod of iron. He treads the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God. He and those who are with him because it’s about the 144,000, the armies who come with him. It’s about this great army. And he has on his robe and on his thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

So it’s not a choice that mankind has anymore, “Do you want God’s rule or not?” “We want a king like everyone else around us.” Not going to be like that anymore. No more voting. God just takes control, thank God. Just stops all the madness and the insanity in the world around us, every government; just brings it to an end. They have to humble themselves because there’s a power there that the world has never experienced. They’re going to see it. It’s going to be manifest to them, whatever that is. Maybe they’re on horses, I don’t know. Maybe that’s what they’re going to see. I don’t know. Wouldn’t that cause chills to go up and down your spine if you saw something like that, 144,000 coming in your direction all around the world in the atmosphere and there’s power coming from that to destroy those who are destroying the earth. Whatever it is it’s going to be powerful because God’s going to bring it to a screeching halt quickly.

It’s not going to be drug out. It’s not going to be drug out like whatever how long this things lasts, because we don’t know how long it’s going to last because it’s dependent upon how quickly some begin to turn against each other once this nation is brought down, and it will be brought down. It’s very clear this is where it begins—it’s the first four Trumpets, the events of the first four Trumpets. When the sealing is complete it’s going to start.

I hope we’re that close – January, February. Wouldn’t that be awesome to finally just be at a point in time where finally the 144,000 is complete? Because that’s what this is all about. Everything leading up to this point in time has been about things that have to happen in the Church first. The Apostasy, it was about the Church. It wasn’t about things in the world. Those things came to pass. We’ve been going through time, God’s been preparing the world for the events, speeding up certain things, putting certain things in place so that when it’s time they’ll act according to that being who has always led nations into war.  Incredible, what’s going to take place.

Please understand, when I talk about Europe it’s very clear in prophecy now, powerfully so, that somebody is going to do something to this country first. It’s not about Europe. Europe is drug into it and they feel like they have to do what they do later on. But something else begins in the beginning and it is about nuclear weapons going off. It’s unmistakable when it describes some of those things and you read those things in those first four Trumpets. There is no mystery in it, there really isn’t. It’s about war. It’s about things that can cripple a nation.

So there is going to be a period of time in the crippling of a nation. If you have certain EMP’s go off in the atmosphere it only takes...one would be devastating but three would totally bring this nation to its knees. You know, people have been talking about, there have been articles written here recently about different nations and what they think about first strike, and you think, today it doesn’t take an Einstein to figure this out. It takes two or three EMP’s and maybe three or four other weapons going off in certain strategic cities and this nation, it’s done as far as its power for then.

So the question then becomes, how long is it going to take for them to recover because they fear this power that’s going to be used here. This nation has a lot of power. But when everything is fried it’s going to take a little while for it to get it up and running and to do something in an organized strategic manner. That’s the kind of world we live in. So how long does that take? That’s where the 5th Trumpet has tremendous power in what’s accomplished and why Europe does what it does. I think I said the first four earlier, but that’s about someone else that strikes, and then the 5th Trumpet and what Europe does at that point in time. I may not have said that in order but I have now, okay?

So, incredible what’s going to take place and what happens and at the time we live in and just to be on guard that you don’t know when it’s going to happen. I don’t know when it’s going to happen. So God gives us warnings and He’s giving us a lot more now to understand certain timing of events and how things can transpire. I do believe with all my being there will be a book there though that’s going to be the best of finally the maturity that’s come that God has given finally after three before that He’s used for that process to bring us to where we are and now we’re there.

Going on: “The wrath of God being spoken of here is not what most believe it to be. This is actually speaking of an execution of judgment that comes from God. It is that which God has deemed just and right. It is about those who come in God’s righteousness to execute judgment by waging war against those who are warring on earth, a war that will lead to earth’s complete destruction if they do not intervene to stop it. This righteous execution of judgment that is waged by Christ and the 144,000 is the war that will end all wars for all time.”

“This is revealing that Christ returns with 144,000 and the first act will be one of engaging in war. He’s coming back the second time as the Lion of God. He is not coming back this time as he did the first time as a Lamb of God who humbled himself and did not resist when he was beaten and then killed in order to become the Passover of all mankind. This time he is coming as the Lion of God.”

Isn’t that amazing? You think why he came the first time. He humbled himself and submitted himself to that. That’s why it uses a lamb. It doesn’t fight against you. It doesn’t resist. It just goes to the slaughter; doesn’t know what’s coming. He knew what was coming.

“This time he is coming as the Lion of God, as a great King, and he will begin his reign by destroying those who are destroying God’s creation.” That’s an awesome thing. You talk about taking control and about humbling the governments of the earth, making it clear to them you no longer rule, you no longer reign. You can no longer resist. Whether you like it or not, thankfully. You think about the angels crying out like they do, “Thank God You’re taking Your rule, Your power, to reign over mankind!”

Going on: “Notice something else that was added to what was being said by the angels when they were first thanking God that He was now taking to Himself His power to begin reigning over the nations of the world...” Revelation 11:16—Then the twenty-four elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying: We give thanks to You, O Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was and who is coming, because You have taken to Yourself Your great power and reigned. Here it is again. It’s what it’s talking about, “Thank God Your time has come. Your Son is taking control, the 144,000, the first to enter Your family, Elohim.” They’re going to rejoice in that alone, of how great that is. “Finally, after all this time the foundation of Your government that’s going to continue on for the salvation of mankind, for those who will receive it in order to become a part of Elohim.” This is an incredible giant step forward.

You have taken to Yourself Your great power and reigned. Even as the nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, again, the execution of judgment. Deserving. It’s just. ...and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that You should give reward unto Your servants the prophets and to the saints... So it’s talking here about those who have been judged who have come through this, who have come to a point in time where they have been sealed and now they’re going to be resurrected. It’s a revelation of the judgment for the 144,000 who are now resurrected to rule with Christ. That’s what this is talking about. ...and those who fear Your name, small and great, and that You should destroy those who are destroying the earth.

“The first thing that must be addressed upon God taking to Himself His own power to reign is to stop the war that will annihilate mankind if He doesn’t do so. Christ and the 144,000 will do just that. They will use great power–such power never experienced by mankind to begin destroying those who are destroying the earth.”

Then moving over to Revelation 20. “This reign of Christ and the 144,000 is spoken of further, and even the length of that reign is defined. It also describes what is done to Satan at this time.” So again here, going on and showing this mystery of God that’s being revealed but it starts with Christ and the 144,000.

Revelation 20:1—Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold on the dragon, the old serpent who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years; and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him that he should no more deceive the nations till the thousand years should be fulfilled. And after that he must be loosed for a little while. Then I saw thrones... Again here, just as a reminder. It doesn’t say it’s immediately after the thousand years. It just says there’s coming that time, this must first be accomplished, then he’s going to be released for a little while. Because it’s not until the hundred years are over that this is done.

Then I saw thrones and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them, this is 144,000 who reign with Christ. And I saw the lives of those who had been cut off for the witness of Joshua. Cut off from the world. You know, we are when God calls us. Again, I think of translations sometimes and what it says in King James here, “beheaded?” Well, there weren’t very many who fit in that category. Here is 144,000. Anyway, we understand what that’s about. We understand what it means to be cut off from the world. When God calls us out of the world we’re no longer in the world, and the relationships we had out there, they don’t think the same way toward us anymore for purpose, for a reason, and if they think the same way something is wrong with us because we have to change. That’s a part of the process of being cut off.

...cut off for the witness of Joshua. What does that mean, “for the witness of Joshua?” I think of what it says in Revelation 12 at the end there when it’s talking about this witness as well. It’s the proof of, if you will, of what is working in our lives. He’s living in us, Him and His Son. God Almighty and His Son, Joshua, are living in us. How we live our lives are a witness to that truth. Because if we’re in the Church, part of the Church, that which we’re able to live is accomplished by God’s spirit, by God dwelling in us.

So anyway, going on here it says, And I saw the lives of those who were cut off for the witness of Joshua and for the word of God. We are because our minds are opened up to the truth and we start changing, we live different and we stand up for what is true and what is right. We stand up for the Sabbath. We don’t go to work Friday at sunset. We don’t do that. We change our life. We do for the holy days as well.

“...and for the word of God.” So we stand tall for God’s truth, for God’s word, and if we don’t, if we’re not willing to do those things, no matter where it comes from, I don’t care where it comes from, and so often it can come from those that are closest to us whether it be on the job or whether it be in family or whatever, we must live this way of life and reflect that, and people know where we stand. That’s one of the biggest things I’ve seen through time in God’s Church, especially going back to the time of Philadelphia and on into Laodicea especially after that, of a weakening that began to take place more and more within the Church, and of this mindset where people didn’t stand up and other people didn’t know or weren’t being told where they stood.

You know, you’ve got to stand firm, if there is a disagreement about something. It’s like tithing. If you have a job. Let’s see, even a mate and they have a job, whatever it is, but the point is that whoever you are, man or wife, you have a job and they’re going to know that you’re going to tithe on that money! I have known tons of people in God’s Church who wouldn’t make that stand or who played games with it! Think, no, you don’t, that’s God’s.

That’s what a mate should know. That’s what the children should know, or the parents. I’ve known where situations where children and young people have been called and they have to make that stand, “I’m going to...” “This money... You’re not going to give to that church. We have a budget. What about this plan and that plan?” “Well, we’ll make some other arrangements but I’m going to do this. That comes first in my life.” They can have no doubt in their mind what you’re going to do.

You know what? When you take a stand like that they have some choices to make because God is first and no one else is, and if people drag that out, the longer they drag those things out the more they’re likely to be pulled away from what is true. I have seen that over and over and over and over again in God’s Church. So we learn from those things. We learn from the history of those things and we realize that we must, indeed, take a stand for what we believe. “This is my life. This is my calling and this is what I’m doing.” Even if it’s to a mate, “I want you to be with me through this, but God comes first. Things in the Church, they come first in my life because God comes first.” “Whoo, you love the Church more than you love me?” “No, I love God first, and because of that I’ll be better toward you because I want to change my life. I don’t want to live selfishly. But there are things I must do that I’m going to do and if we can share in this that’s wonderful. If not, if it comes down to it, it’s your choice but I serve God. God comes first.”

Why would there be anything different? Why would there be anything different in our lives? That’s what God must know. Does He come first? Those are the hardest areas sometimes for people to make choices and decisions. It really is. It’s not easy. It’s hard. But that’s what makes us. That’s how we can grow. That’s how we can become stronger in character and then hopefully we’re able to share that with others around us because we’re better toward them, we’re living better toward them. But it’s going to be their decisions in time at times when maybe a conflict comes – but God comes first always. And if people know that about you, you know what?

That’s why in God’s Church, I think of things that have happened in times past. You know, if you are strong in the truth you’re going to have a less likelihood—going back in time when these things happened because I don’t believe any of them are happening anymore; if they are I think someone would be shut down quickly—but when someone comes up with some other idea or disagreement about something that’s being taught or being said the individuals who are strong and people know they’re strong, they don’t come and talk to them. They go and try to pick off others, it’s like a magnet, people who aren’t putting God first. People in times past have known these things and that’s who they’ll gravitate to, someone who’s going to listen to “me.” “If someone will listen to me...”

Ah, that reveals everything right then and there. If somebody will listen to that crap against the Church, against doctrine, whatever it might be, whew. There have gone thousands and thousands and hundreds of thousands over 2,000 years, because the vast majority whom God has called has been in that, in those numbers through time.

So how blessed are you to be able to have God’s truth, to be able to hold on to it like you have been, to know that God is living in your life and giving you the ability to see and know the truths and to hold on to them? Awesome!

So again, we have to stand up for, as it talked about here, for the word of God. So we’re cut off for the witness of Joshua and for the word of God. And those who had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark in their foreheads or in their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. That which was being spoken of, the 144,000. Awesome!

I don’t really need to read some of these other things because, again, we know what they mean, we know what they’re about. Things that are about Satan’s mark. I think of things that have been written in times past where people think they have to have numbers, you know, tattooed in the hand, and you think... It’s really amazing. You know, mankind is really amazing because we can only think physically first. We take things physical first and foremost and so does the world around us who don’t know God’s truth. But even within the Church those things have existed where people have gotten different ideas because they look at the physical part first. Those things have kept us from being able to grow so often because we just can’t see through it. We can’t until God reveals what is spiritual in the first place.

So we’ll probably have a different title for the next section because I think it’s good that we address some of this, but not under, necessarily, the same title of the mystery being completed here. So next week we’ll continue on in Chapter 6 with a new title.