They Refuse To Listen To God, Pt. 2

Ronald Weinland

April 24, 2021

We are continuing today with a new series entitled They Refuse To Listen To God, with this being Part 2.

Toward the end of the sermon last Sabbath we covered some of what God had said through Jeremiah concerning the attitude, the spirit of Israel. Now, this is a progressive thing as well when you read something in prophecy, and some things are actually inspired for a certain period of time, some things apply to a period of time that lasts continually. But for the most part in what we’re discussing here when we talk about Israel it is a type.

Some of the things that took place we can learn from as far as a Church is concerned. There are things here that we should benefit from and learn from and be admonished by. But in what we’re really focusing on at this point in time has to do with the nations themselves, the countries.

And frankly, if you look at the world today the nations of Israel have always had more knowledge of, not necessarily understanding and not the right knowledge, but at least knowledge of the Bible, scripture. They purport to abide by it, live by it, or have at different states as far as the countries are concerned. It’s predominantly, in this case here, Christian. In Europe, much of it uses that name as well. But today, obviously, a lot of that is changing.

But if you look at the rest of the world there are all kinds of religions and all kinds of gods and everything. So, the things said here reflect a spirit and an attitude of a people that have migrated but still had certain opportunities to have certain knowledge. God blessed them in that manner and yet that knowledge is very lacking in the sense of what we understand once you’re called and you have the truth.

But it’s not as far of a jump from having certain knowledge like that than it is from no knowledge at all or having other gods and living in a world where perhaps people think that people are reincarnated when they die, into animals or into other family members later on when they’re born into the family. Because there are all kinds of ideas out there that people have, strange and weird.

That’s a huge jump then to have to begin to learn that everything, everything, period, there is nothing there – to moving from traditional Christianity, every one of us, as a whole, has had to do that when we’re called out of the world and begin to have things corrected. We begin to see that everything has been off base. God gives us an adjustment, a readjustment, a big one.

So, again here, we’re talking about certain attitudes and so forth, and this very much applies to the end of this age because it was something to continue on and be focused upon more so at the end-time. But it shows a pattern of something that existed in people, and it really reflects the entirety of the world at this time because the rest of the world is involved in the same kind of spirit and attitude, but Israel is the one that God focuses upon because of a work that He has been doing with them for a long, long time, and still is as far as nations are concerned – as well as other nations of the world. But again, another subject.

In Jeremiah 7:24 we looked at this where it’s stated, But they did not listen nor incline their ear but walked in the counsels and in the… The word here is translated as “imaginations” in King James here, but it’s a word in Hebrew that means “stubbornness; to be set in your own way.” So, that says it all. That’s the way of mankind. People are set in their own way and sometimes become more set as time goes on or depending on the pride and the haughtiness. That’s a part of this walking in the counsels and in the stubbornness of their own evil heart.

Well, we understand that that’s just a basic part of human nature. “The carnal mind is enmity against God.” But we’re discussing something here and focusing on something that there are stages where this becomes much, much worse. We live in an age right now where this is at the height of that, if you will, as far as the scattered nations of Israel, and all the nations of the world, candidly, that this is multiplied many, many times over, this attitude, this spirit, an evil heart that is moving, has moved farther and farther away from ever listening to anything about God, to anything that has to do with anything that’s true.

Look at society. Look at the world at a time like 9/11. People started going back to churches. Didn’t last very long. And now, they’ve moved farther and farther away from that inclination, so something happens in the world, something happens and takes place like this, people aren’t rushing to churches more as a whole. That’s just not happening. Matter of fact, they won’t even as a whole, don’t even want them to go back in there. Some fight against it but for the wrong reasons in some cases.

What an incredible thing God’s helping us to focus on right now, as this spirit has grown so much in the world right now because of the time we live in. It’s been God’s purpose to allow mankind to come to this point. He knew what mankind would do when technology was increased to the point that it is.

So again, “they walked in the counsels…of their own evil heart.” Everybody thinks they’re right. More today than ever before you watch something on TV, you watch the news and everybody has an opinion about anything and everything. Their expertise in their opinion. I mean, especially if they’ve read these things on the internet. They know. “It’s written there. I’ve studied. I’ve looked at it. I know.” Anyway, you just have to shake your head.

…and they went backward and not forward. That’s the age we live in right now, where people are getting farther and farther and farther away from anything of wanting to have God mentioned ever. If you go to Europe they don’t talk about God. You just don’t hear about it as far as the world is concerned. Other nations as well.

But the U.S. is a little unique in that regard as especially, like, in the southern part of the U.S. they will tend to have those conversations more than other areas. But you’ll find it in certain communities and certain areas as well. But even the mention of God, people don’t really want that in their life. That’s not what they’re looking for. That’s not what they really desire as a whole. So, that’s gotten worse just on a physical plane.

Verse 25—Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt unto this day, I have even sent unto you My servants the prophets, daily rising up and early sending them. Yet they did not listen to Me. So, in this case here whether it be as like Herbert Armstrong, an apostle who in this respect then was given more than a prophet was as far as responsibility in God’s Church to reestablish truth in the Church and certain things inspired and given to him to give that was above and beyond anything that had been given before.

There are things there as well that were given to him besides just restoring truth, a much greater explanation, a much greater picture, if you will, clearer picture of God’s plan and purpose was given during the period of Philadelphia, the era of Philadelphia, and given through him.

But as a whole, when you look at what was done with The Plain Truth, with telecast and broadcasts, to a degree people would listen. A lot of co-workers, people who even were so moved by a message that they sent in help. They wanted to be a part but not in it. They wanted to remain at a distance. As time went along that became less and less, but still took place for a period of time.

Yet they did not listen to me nor inclined their ear but hardened their neck. This is what takes place over time. The more that people rely on themselves, the more that people turn inward, the more that nations turn inward this attitude of listening to anything about God goes farther and farther by the wayside and people rely upon their own thinking, their own ideas of how to resolve things, of how to make things better, of what needs to be done in the world.

For some, it’s the planet is getting hotter. Yeah, we’ve messed up the world, the earth, but there are extremes in these things as well and ideas that don’t work. It’s like if every car was on batteries wouldn’t that be great? You think, well, where are you going to recharge all those batteries around the earth? What kind of power do you use to do all that? They don’t charge themselves. You don’t go to another battery and charge up the battery. If you do, it’s going to be empty and you got to charge it up too.

So, some of the crazy things that go on out here and not thought through and people just, there is no soundness of mind.

Yet they did not listen to me nor inclined their ear but hardened their neck and have done worse than their forefathers. This has been a constant thing that’s happened with Israel. They would have to come to a time where—even that didn’t work, as far as nations coming in and attacking them and so forth, because when the nation separated from Judah Israel really went off base and just got worse and worse and worse, farther and farther from any semblance of anything that God had given to them, even though they would use at times the name of God. But they would put it into foreign gods and mix it together like is done today with things like Christmas and Easter and all that that has taken place. People have no idea where that all came from, what it is.

But they turned farther and farther away from God where finally, God just took them into captivity. That’s the reason they were taken into captivity by Assyria, is because they left the Sabbath, they left the Holy Days, they left everything that had to do with anything that was a beginning point for a relationship with God. Then they’re scattered throughout Europe and then got connected with a great church, and that had power throughout Europe within those nations, within those tribes of people. We see the mass confusion that came out of that once the printing press was invented and the chaos and the confusion just has gotten worse and worse and worse through time.

In these different times, especially the only time we can say that we’re familiar with, that someone was sent out, was at the end here through Herbert Armstrong in a very powerful way to do a work, that the gospel was to go unto all the world to the measure, to the level, to the degree that God wanted it to be fulfilled.

No human being could determine how much that would be. All we have to do is look at what took place and realize that’s what it was. Because everyone else that’s come along now and tried to do that, they’re having no success whatsoever because God’s not in it and that’s not what God is doing. Herbert Armstrong fulfilled his role and it said, “then the end would come.”

Yet they did not listen to Me nor incline their ear but hardened their neck and have done worse than their forefathers. Therefore, you shall speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you. I guess what is so profound right now is God is driving this point home this is where we are in the world right now today. No one, as a whole, is listening, period. It’s just that’s the way mankind is.

You shall also call out to them, but they will not respond to you. So say unto them, This is a nation that does not obey the voice of the Eternal their God. That’s the message for the rest of the world now at this time. They will not. That’s what God has said. They won’t obey Him and that’s why God is going to do and bring on this earth what He’s going to allow happen.

They will not receive correction. Who receives correction out there today? Look at how good politicians are at receiving any kind of correction. It’s justification. It’s they’re right. They’re right in their own counsels, their own thinking, and those who are around them. Then they have their own squabbles around themselves and it’s massive chaos and confusion.

Truth has perished. The farther we get into this the more that’s true in everything. Not just the truth about God’s way of life that has a possibility of reaching out in the world, but truth, period, people being true. “My word is my bond.” Whatever happened to that? Well, that went by the wayside a long, long time ago.

I remember a time when, actually, before I came in the Church there, and being 18 I could go into a bank, did, got a loan, basically, by a handshake. Who ever heard of such a thing? By them knowing you or getting to know you and making certain payments and a relationship there and it was known whether you did or didn’t repay as you should. If you did then that just gave you more credit. You keep your word.

That’s not the way of the world today. Now you have to have lawyers and reams of paper. You buy a home, you buy a car, who reads everything? Who goes through it? And if you do, what does it all mean? Do you really know? Are you really concerned? Because you can get lawyers involved and then they have to fight over it because they really don’t know either because it’s all by interpretation, “What does this mean?” “What does that word mean?” It’s nuts. It’s crazy. It’s the kind of world we live in.

Truth, where is it? People don’t want the truth.

This is a nation that does not obey the voice of the Eternal our God. They will not receive correction. Truth has perished and is cut off from their mouth. They’re so deep in what they believe and what they’re doing, in the ideas, their own ways of doing things that they’re trapped. They have to support it and sustain that thinking, whatever it might be, because they’re right. So, whatever it takes.

You know what? It’s like someone telling a little lie and then something comes along, and the individual is forced to add something else to it in order to support that little lie. After a while you have this whole string of lies and they can’t keep track of them all. Look at politicians. Today, you can’t get away with certain things. Well, you can because people don’t really care. If they like them, it’s like who cares? They go back and they show these things people have said at different times, and it’s totally contradictory to what they’re saying now. And you think, what a mess. What a world we live in. People don’t keep their word and they don’t even know what the truth is. What do they really believe anymore?

Well, I hope we’re understanding that because God desires that we understand this. That’s good for us, to understand how important it is to be true in your relationship to God. It’s one thing above things you read throughout scripture that God is more concerned about. Hates the lie, the lying. And yet human nature, that’s what human nature does, and they have to rely on other lies to reinforce the lies that they want to believe. They choose to believe a certain way.

What a sick way to live life. In the Church of God, I’ve known of a lot of liars through time. People who have left the Church—we were having a conversation last night—concerning this area here and Spokane and having the Feast here and the people coming here. Asking Czechs here to take care of some of those things as far as planning because they know the area really well and so kind of coordinating the things and talking to the different ones about some of the things that they may want to try to do during the Feast. And then, of course, Beth out in Cincinnati will be over all of that. But working it through and getting things set up out here, it’s going to be a great site. We have a lot of people coming here so we had the opportunity of being at that hotel and ironing out some things. Which I should have said in the announcements, but I forgot.

Anyway, you think about the Church, and we were discussing that a little bit last night, about different ones that we’ve known at different times, and it doesn’t matter what time it might be, but what a horrible time when people don’t live what is true. It’s so sick when the human mind lives a lie and lies to God. What do we think we’re going to get by with if we lie to God?

That’s why I mention about things about tithing and giving of offerings. But even it goes so much further because there are things that people will lie about in their lives because they’re living something different and feel like they’re a part of something when they’re blatantly disobeying God. Perhaps having an affair on the side! You think, what is wrong with you? How on earth can you do that and be in God’s Church?

So, we lie to ourselves if we’re not careful. It’s a spirit in the world that’s getting stronger and stronger, and we have to fight against that, we truly do. So, indeed, when it talks about loving the truth we need to really love the truth that comes from God. But the world is getting farther from it in everything in life. Not just talking about what is true as far as the Church, because they don’t know it.

It has been addressed, that’s why some of this was addressed, that in our testing of the waters concerning advertising or the promotion of the last book that God has revealed even more fully this time and why things are the way they are. That helps us to realize we need to back away from that and the amount of money being put into it because there is a reason. Why do that? If there is not a response, then pull back and use it more wisely at whatever point that God may inspire, lead for that to be done.

Anyway, it also reminds me then of this hardening of heart has been taking place, but realizing in the perspective of things, in the last twelve or thirteen years, things have gotten horribly worse than what they were back then, they really have, and the response of the world and how people think. Just look at society and look at nations and where we are right now. Things are really at a point of ready to explode.

Another observation concerns the matter of how God, again, leads His Church in another matter. We’ve talked about the flow of sermons, how you can go back and look at the flow of sermons. You can learn from that. You can see… I marvel at that when I see things happening. Then if one of the other fellows there has a sermon, it doesn’t even matter when they might have given it, when it’s finally played, because we don’t discuss it and I don’t even know what they’ve given, and then you play it and you think, how incredible is that, that it was played at that particular time and it fits in so perfectly to what has been given? I don’t know about you, but those things inspire me, they really do. They move me mightily because, well, I need it. And you need it too.

Anyway, there is a similar thing to that and that has to do with even the personal on the website. It’s gotten to a point I feel kind of bad sometimes because I think, well, I should write something in there as far as that website, because that’s how it’s used in the world, that people post things on there. But I haven’t been given anything to put on except for the book as a whole. That was basically it. That was, yes, to the world, but who cares, sort of thing. But it’s been out there on there. But I haven’t put anything else out there because most of what God has given me to give to the Church comes this way, right through sermons and not in that other means.

The only other thing is the upcoming trips, so it’s been a great tool for that. But you think the entire thing, that’s the primary focus. Anyway, the last time that something was really given before the book was put on—that was kind of a given, that it should be there—but was two years ago in the first part of June. It was entitled, PREPARING FOR WWIII.[1] That was the last thing that was on there. That’s a long time ago when you look at something like that, PREPARING FOR WWIII. Who cares? But look at the news in the last two years? They’re going to care and that’s the sad thing.

You think of what’s taking place and some of the sabre-rattling that’s going on? We’re just inching closer and closer.

I want to go through and read that because it fits today even more so than it did back then.

Before WWII began, there were very few who acknowledged the signs of a coming world war. Most would not even entertain such a possibility.

It’s kind of interesting when you see documentaries or those types of films that they go back and reenact or play out various things based on truth and some of these things are brought in as far as the response and attitude of different countries to what was coming toward them and what they did.

I think the most sobering thing my wife and I ever saw was going through the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem and seeing all the newspapers and the years and the times that certain things were written and it is an eye-opener. Things that were out there but being ignored by governments, being ignored by nations, and yet they were being reported at different times.

But people didn’t care. They didn’t want to be involved. They didn’t want to lose family going off to a war. Why do we want to fight their war? Why do we want to be a part of that? Not understanding it’s a world war and what that’s going to mean in time here if you don’t address it. Anyway.

Anyway, going on in what was said there:

Much of the same is true once again, but now it is a little different. Within the past couple of years, the rhetoric of a third world war—one that is nuclear—is increasing. But still, most do not really want to consider such a possibility.

Increasingly so, the nations of the world are being drawn into confrontation, one that will inevitably become a world war. If you are truly watching, you will see this movement is consistently escalating. How prepared are you, both physically and mentally for such a reality?

Who saw this? I don’t know; probably no one in the world. I don’t know, maybe some did. But no one is looking, as a whole. If they’re looking for WWIII or something like that their chances of finding it at different times have been increased because of publicity, if you will, money put into it, ads.

Before this past year, it was rare to find news that mentioned anything about concern of a third world war, let alone the potential for a nuclear war. That has changed! But most people do not see such news being reported, especially in the United States, as the news is more about personalities, people’s opinions, and feuding on the political front.

Now, how much has that even changed just in two years time since this was written? You look at the news and you have to read the bottom sometimes to get an idea of what might be some news in the world, and on occasion you might see a blurb of something that’s stated.

Even within nations, the escalation of opposing ideas and beliefs is turning into ideological warfare. Political warfare is at an all-time high. Such unrest is fomenting agitation and even violence, as well as generating greater division. When nations experience such growing divisions within themselves and turn that toward other nations as well, then all-out war is not far behind.

Now more than ever, nations are threatening one another. At the forefront are trade wars. These tend to move nations toward real war, and that is what is happening.

Some of these nations are not happy at all with what’s taking place. Put Covid on top of that and it just has made it worse for them. I hope we care! I hope in God’s Church we care and understand what the world is suffering through right now and understand that we are witnesses of all this. We truly are. This is a large part of what God’s Church’s responsibility is in our lives because we’re to learn from that as well, of what it means to be a witness of something, of what is true in testimony.

The world is false out here. What’s true? God’s Church. What we’re able to experience and see. What we’re going to be able to share in future times in the Millennium. Obviously, for those in the first resurrection, but what about those who live on through? Awesome, the testimony, what you’re able to say, what you’re able to tell. Going on:

At the forefront are trade wars. These tend to move nations toward real war, and that is what is happening. Nations are escalating their threats toward one another. Tensions are so high that it will now take only one significant spark to continue or start a domino effect that ignites the whole world in a cataclysmic end-time reality.

That’s what we have to grab hold of, to realize that’s what we’re going to witness as well. We live in an incredible age of what we have to witness, and it’s not a pleasant thing. It’s the worse thing of 6,000 years. It’s the worst thing any human beings have ever witnessed in 6,000 years.

Noah and his family experienced the other big one. This is much, much greater. Look at the population of the earth. Incredible, the nations, the technology, the way that the world has changed just in the last hundred years. Incredible, what we’ve seen, what we’ve witnessed.

I used to think about Mr. Armstrong, showing, he’d go back though and talk about this time span of what he’s lived through, what he’s witnessed himself. He lived in the beginnings, as it were, into a heightened age. It was phenomenal. It mightily moved him to see how it was affecting all of mankind and the world and what we were getting ready for as far as the end of the age. We’re seeing that far beyond that, in that respect.

Then examples of news concerning different hotspots in the world was given, and every once in a while I do that in sermons. This was followed by the next paragraph. These are all to keep us focused. Because all you have to do is look at what’s being said out there and you realize the trend of what’s changing and how much closer we’re getting.

God hasn’t given us a timeline to look at anymore. We don’t know when. The closest we can look at is thinking, okay, Pentecost, Pentecost, Pentecost, Pentecost. Which one? I have no idea. I just hope it’s not a lot because it makes it harder on you. It makes it harder on God’s Church to endure, to fight.

It’s like Jacob. The longer he went into that through the night, the harder it was. His hip was put out of place – harder yet – and he kept wrestling with God; kept it up, didn’t give up, wasn’t going to give up. Well, that’s the way we have to be.

Even upon hearing such news, the response of most is well captured in the attitude of “c’est la vie” (se la vie), which is an English term borrowed from the French, meaning “oh well, such is life.”

That attitude has become more predominant in the last two years than it was back then. It’s changing rapidly.

It seems as though people are uncaringly resigned to accepting such things without concern. Sadly, it will soon become of great concern once the last world war erupts.

Then under the subheading, I’m just going to read a little bit more here:

Warning, Watching, and Being Prepared

Whether the world sees it or not, nations are preparing for war. Therefore, you would be wise to be prepared for that war as much as you possibly can. For those who are caught off guard to such an event in the world, there will be horrifying shock, depressive disillusionment, inability to cope, and massive trauma, as well as death.

We really, even in the Church, though God has told us these things for so long, have no comprehension, and we’ve been told. We’ve been prepared for a long time. We have God’s help. But to know it, to see it?

I think of Christ when he suffered and how he perspired to a point of droplets of blood… because he saw it. He knew it so powerfully in his mind. Well, the closer we draw to God the more that that kind of spirit and attitude can be in us of realizing where we are in time and understanding what this means for the world.

But for those who are heeding the warning and watching, one can be far better prepared physically, mentally, and hopefully spiritually. The ability to know what is happening and why is exceedingly important to one’s ability to press forward and endure because of the hope they embrace of God’s intervention.

This blog, including literature we have published on these matters, especially over the past fourteen years, has been for the very purpose of warning people. It is to help anyone who will listen become more fully prepared for these end-time events.

I have to tell you, sometimes I just, I candidly feel like what’s the use? But I’m supposed to do it so that’s why those things have been written. But when you know no one is listening as a whole, and the farther you go into this the less they’re listening, think, why continue to do it? Because it’s a part of a witness that God’s establishing of what the world is really like. That’s what this is about. And so, you continue to do it even though it’s exceedingly—I can’t tell you how much—exceedingly frustrating that the world would be like this at this time and why it’s going to take so much to shake people up to get them sobered, to understand what we’re in.

Covid. You think, that was nothing! And suicide rates have gone up. People can’t cope as well. That attitude of mind of people? I understand that. I mean, who wants to be cooped up inside in a home, and long periods of time?

Now it’s gotten to the problem in some areas people are receiving more money than what they would on the job so they can’t even get people in some places to reopen these restaurants in New York and different areas of the country because why work when you can get more money from the government?  You’re making more because you don’t even have to pay taxes on that. On your paycheck taxes have to be deducted, so you’re doing better! You think, what a mind of human beings today!

It is also to encourage such individuals to better endure what is coming with the hope of what is just beyond that war.

And candidly, that’s what your strength is going to be when these things begin. Because this isn’t going to be easy for you in what you go through and what you see and what you experience, though we think we can do it. Well, just put it this way, you really can’t on your own. You can’t physically and you can’t spiritually. It’s in God’s hands. Your life, your family, everything is in God’s hands. His desire is to protect you. His desire is to intervene for you. His desire is to help you. It doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy though.

Just like with Covid. People are getting Covid. There is much to be learned in that, why we, to a certain degree, will experience certain things within the Body, within the Church right along with the world. We’re not immune from it. We’re not protected like Goshen was when certain plagues came. It’s not the same thing. Though we have a protection that’s actually far beyond that. But that’s another story. But the reality is there is a certain plane here of that which we are going to have to go through and have to learn from and experience as well and become stronger. That we’re going to have to be strong in a relationship with God, we truly are.

Going on:

This age was prophesied to come to pass in the end-time in which we are now living.

I hope we don’t get tired and weary of hearing about the end-time. Because a lot have come and gone before you who have. They’ve gotten sick and tired of hearing about the end-time. “Nothing’s happening.” Oh yeah? Where is your head? Where are you? Can we not see the world and what’s happened in a short length of time, in twelve years, in six years, in two years how much of a change has been taking place? We can’t if we’re not close to God. We lose those things.

We have plenty of people that have been a part with us who aren’t with us anymore. We continue to get smaller and smaller and whittled down in size. I hate to see that too, but I know it’s a part of a process. Going on:

This age was prophesied to come to pass in the end-time in which we are now living. It is about a final world war where mankind will annihilate itself if God did not intervene to stop it and all wars forever.

God also revealed the “c’est la vie” attitude of the world, and that overall, most would not listen to such warnings, but instead, would ridicule and/or haughtily dismiss them.

That’s what people do when they hear about such things like this, especially the truth, it’s mocked, it’s made fun of. Incredible! Pride that hardens the heart. It’s worse, much worse today than it was just a few years ago. Going on in what it says here:

Understandably so, most who have read these posts, or the books written to explain and warn about these end-time events have quickly rejected them for any serious consideration.

Anyway, then it would be good to mention the last two paragraphs of the post. I’m going to read that.

So yes, we will continue to watch and encourage people to be alert to world events and those things that are being prophetically fulfilled.

God has been doing that though sermons, not on the site.

This will include the publishing of important dates [and that was back then] that fit into prophetic parameters mentioned earlier.

Then the book came out and explained those things to us in a better way though we don’t have all understanding of it yet. We have a portion of it that God has given us to grasp and comprehend, of why things have happened and the timing that they have. There’s still timing to be fulfilled, so when we get to that point we’re going to be able to look back and say, “Oh, yeah. It’s so simple. Why didn’t we see that?” You can’t see it until God gives it and He’s not giving it.

In doing this, there will be greater effort made to express these periods of time in the context of markers to watch for when such events can be fulfilled, rather than that being absolute or as the only times for potential fulfillment.

But for those watching, it should be abundantly clear that we are really, really, close to the spark that will ignite into a cataclysmic nuclear war.

I don’t know about you but when I see China doing some of the things it’s doing, the kind of power that they have compared to the U.S. now, it’s scary. It really is. It’s scary. Looking at the ability they have as far as their naval capacity is beyond ours. The ability now, they know at every moment in time where every ship is – every ship that we have. They know where they are real time. Russia does as well, but especially China. Incredible, the world we live in today.

Acts 1. Let’s take a look at Chapter 1. We’re now going to look at a time when there was a great transition in the world, one that the world didn’t recognize except for a very small portion of it, and that was in Judea. So, there have been these periods of time that we are focusing upon in this series here, that we realize that people have reacted differently toward God and toward what was happening in the world and here was such a period of time.

Because we have to recognize here that we’re at a point in time where God is preparing the world, He’s preparing a small Church, but He’s preparing everything for His Son’s coming. In that process here we see how He is working. We’re going to learn from that process more and more as we go along, but it’s all in the vein of or in the focus of what has to take place on the earth to humble mankind.

Because otherwise there is no purpose for God’s Kingdom being established in the manner that God intends for it to be established. Because when it is, they’re going to welcome or have a desire, a humble desire, “Now I’ll listen.”  Isn’t that a horrifying thing, that it takes so much before someone will listen and give thought to something that’s being told to them? That they have to be shaken to the core of their being and see massive numbers of people around them fall?

Acts 1. Very moving here what happened at the time between Christ’s death and his resurrection, and finally his leaving this earth in that forty days that followed. Acts 1, looking at what God did to mold and fashion the world at that time.

Candidly, it started at a point in time when He was working with John the Baptist and God started stirring up the world, the world of Judea, if you will, around Jerusalem and the Jewish people, and this message that was going out from John the Baptist, of what he was saying. Things were happening in Judah, in the nation, physically on a physical plane because of being under the Roman rule at that particular time and an oppression was taking place.

If you look at history and go back even before that, two hundred years before that, and even well before that as well, there have been these different stages at time where they were oppressed. Every time they were oppressed they would begin to turn to God, and they would begin to look more for rescue, help, intervention, a Messiah. That’s what they’ve wanted. They wanted God’s intervention, and this is the period of time here now where they were far more receptive to a Messiah because of what the Romans were doing.

And you look at the period of the Maccabees, a couple hundred years before, some of these things revolved around that desire that they had of being relieved from the oppression that was taking place then. Then you come all the way up to the time of Herod and the time of Christ’s birth and the things taking place. Again, a mindset that was different in the land of Judah at this particular time where they were primed for Christ’s first coming. Awesome!

A war has to prime the world for his second coming. What a difference! What a difference that the world can’t be moved in the same way it was back then.

Acts 1:1—This former account, or he’s saying, The former account that I made, Luke is speaking here referring back to the book of Luke that was written earlier. He says, O Theophilus, of all that Joshua began both to do and teach… So, in that former writing that’s what he did. He began, he went through and talked about his experience, what he witnessed of his life. That’s the way Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are written in that respect. Luke is taking them back in his writing here telling them about this.

He says, until the day in which he was taken up, after he through the holy spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom he had chosen, to whom after his suffering he also presented himself alive by many infallible proofs. So again, they didn’t know what was taking place. “You going to go back fishing?” “What do you do, go back to your other job? Our work with him, it’s over with. He’s not around anymore. He was killed.” All these things that start running through the mind. “What are we going to do?”

He’s kind of reviewing some of this and talking about then how he witnessed these things, things that were written, as it says here, to whom after his suffering, now he goes on, he also presented himself alive. So, we know the story here and we’re going to go into a little bit of it.

But what an incredibly inspiring thing when he began to reveal himself to different ones, to Mary and then to Peter, and then to the whole group as they were meeting together in a location. Things they didn’t really understand, they’d never witnessed. Because they thought there was a ghost in their midst at one point. Just like this thought of something that they had ghosts. People talk about ghosts, have through time, these things that people see and have, “Is there a spirit world out there?” Anyway.

…to whom after his suffering he also presented himself alive by many infallible proofs and being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God. He’s picking up from where he left off before in writing the book of Luke and his experiences with him, and now this period of time, this short period of time as he goes into writing this book. He starts at the beginning here with what they experienced after his resurrection.

Verse 4—Then being assembled together with them, he commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father. Now, they still didn’t grasp that. They didn’t grasp what was going to take place. It’s like us being prepared for what’s getting ready to take place.

It’s like those who are going to be a part of 144,000. No one can grasp that. We’ve been taught that. We’ve been told about it. But to know what it is, no one has any experience of anything of what that can be, except for what happened with Christ and what is said about him. But to grasp that, we really can’t even grasp that. To be a spirit being? To be way up there and looking down here and then coming down? That’s pretty far out!

So again here, to grasp certain things, just like the end-time here and what we’re going to experience, we’ve been told about it. The church was told about an apostasy that would one day come to pass, a great falling away. Couldn’t grasp that! Way off in the sense of really grasping it though we were told it.

Then now being prepared for what’s coming so that when things do happen then they’ll start fitting into place in a way that we’ll be able to deal with it and fight the fight that’s needed and to endure the things that are around us, and to look to God for protection, for help, for intervention in ways you’ve really never had to do in your life yet. You really haven’t had to, to the degree you’re going to have to. But it’s going to be far more natural and you’re going to obviously want to far more in your life. So, anyway.

He goes on here, Then being assembled together with them and commanded them to not depart from Jerusalem but to wait for the promise of the Father, for the holy spirit. So, they were told some of this, but what does that mean to have a holy spirit, for this to take place?

…which you have heard from me. So, he wrote about it, and he’s writing the book of Acts here at a point in time when he knows these things now. He’s experienced all this and gone through this is an incredible way. But to put all this together, what an incredible experience here.

He’s telling the story here, that they were to wait for the promise of the Father, which you have heard from me; for John truly baptized in water, but you shall be baptized, and that just means “to be immersed” in the holy spirit not many days from now.

This is what Christ is telling them in this regard at this point in time, that this is what they were to wait for as far as the promise of the Father. That’s what he’s telling them. They were commanded not to depart Jerusalem from Christ, as he told them these things. I mixed in here what Luke was going through here as well.

But anyway, he says, You shall be baptized (immersed) in the holy spirit not many days from now. So, they understood. They had a basic understanding what it means to be immersed in water, to be baptized. But to be immersed in the holy spirit? They didn’t grasp what that was going to entail.

Therefore, when they have come together, they asked him, saying, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? It always went back to this. It was this concept, this idea of what they had in the past of a Messiah, that a Messiah was going to come and take them out from under the rule of a foreign government. In this case, the Romans. That was the idea through time there when they had different invasions, “Is the Messiah going to intervene? Is he going to come?”

…will you at this time restore the kingdom of Israel? They didn’t know what that meant. What do you mean, “restore the kingdom of Israel?” Look how far they had to go and how the apostles had to be given so much more before they understood what that was.

It is not for you to know the times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. God has strengthened that powerfully here in recent time. But there’s a reason why God is leaving even the specific time to Himself. Now, we’re going to learn from that as time goes along and what all this means in that regard, but basically, he’s telling them, especially then 2,000 years ago, there is nothing about this you’re to know.

They had no idea at any point in time. Even John when he wrote Revelation, no idea that 1900 years are going to go by before these things begin to happen that he was writing about and that even the eras o the Church, that that would take nearly 1900 years to become fully fulfilled. Because he was in a period of time about in his nineties at that point in time, if you look at him when he might have been called, around thirtyish, a little before that, and you look at the sixty years that had gone by. This was the period of Ephesus and he lived a little longer, died after some of the things he had written there, after being on the Isle of Patmos.

Again here, he’s telling them in this regard that its not for you to know, it’s not given for you to know. It’s reserved, in this respect, in His own authority.

We know that now in a profound way. We were blessed to look at a period of time of 2008, that this is important and had a pattern of something that came out perfect, but it wasn’t the time because God intended for more to be done for what’s going to happen in the world as a witness and what should take place yet.

Then he said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.” Other scriptures you can put them together now, God has shown us even more so, that it’s not been given to Christ yet. It’s in God’s own authority and when it’s time and when it’s given to him, “This is the time.” He knows very, very close. God has given to us, because it’s given to us through Christ to know we’re very, very close but we’re not there yet.

Verse 8—But you shall receive power when the holy spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witness to me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. Now, it wasn’t to them. They weren’t going to go to the ends of the earth. But he’s talking to that which was going to come as a result of this, which was the Church. Because it’s building up to when the beginning of the Church is, the Day of Pentecost when the holy spirit is given. This begins the Church; this is the beginning of the Church.

This is prophetic in the sense of this is where it’s going to go. It’s going to go “into all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” So, when it’s all said and done, just like with what Herbert Armstrong accomplished, it truly did go into all the earth at that particular time. Radio, TV – whether people listened or not, it went throughout the world.

Now when he had spoken these things, while they watched, he was taken up and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while steadfastly looked toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel and said, Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into the heaven? This same Joshua who was taken up from you into heaven will so come in like manner as you saw him go into heaven. So, it’s going to be something that’s going to be seen on his return. God has given us to see those things, to know those things, to look forward to them.

Then down in Acts 2:1—So when the Day of Pentecost was fully come and they were all with one accord… I love this word here because it says, it’s the Greek word that means “with one mind.” That’s God’s great desire for His Church, that we be of one mind. The Church has never been at a point in time to the degree it is now of being more of one mind than it is right now in unity and harmony. A lot of it because of being as small as we are, but also because of the blessing of the ability through technology to reach out to help us to stay unified.

Herbert Armstrong had no control over the ministry. It was very limited. He had to go through many layers to go out and work with the ministry. Ministers were left on their own to teach and guide and lead the Church, and ministers were able to go off on tangent on their own with their own ideas and interject their own ideas and different thoughts that didn’t agree with what they were taught by God’s apostle. Incredible!

We live in a very unique time of oneness of mind, a unity of mind.

It says here they were all with one accord, with one mind, in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, or from the sky, if you will. So, imagine this, something that there is this sound and it’s outside and it’s coming in to where they’re meeting, where they’re at. All this happened at a particular time here and where they were gathered together. …as a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.

So, it’s going through a period of time here, but there is that which was experienced in that area as you’re going to find out when we go through this.

Then there appeared to them divided tongues like fire and sat upon each of them. So, this is something they could physically see that appeared like flames coming down on top of them. What an incredible sight. The only time to this degree that something happened like this on the scale that it did.

Verse 4 then, it went on to say, Then they were all filled with the holy spirit and began to speak in other languages as the spirit gave them to speak. Something that God gives through His spirit when they’re moved and motivated as they were to say something, to teach something, God gave through the power of His holy spirit. It’s an incredible thing.

This was a heightened moment in time when God gives that in the Church as well. He has from this point forward. But what an incredible thing here that they, in this particular case, were able to speak and other people in other languages were able to hear them in their own language, as it talks about.

Now, there were Jews dwelling in Jerusalem who were devout men from every nation under heaven. In other words, where there were Jewish people living. It’s talking about all these different areas and the regions around there where Jews had come from because they would come together for the Holy Days. They would come together there for the Feast of Tabernacles period. They would come there for the Passover, Days of Unleavened Bread period, and that’s why they were in this area.

So, when this sound occurred… They heard this. It wasn’t just the disciples that heard it. Others around them heard this incredible sound that had to be great. I mean, we can hear thunderstorms, we can hear things like that that take place, but this was unique in itself. God made it unique in the sense of what they heard, but it got their attention in a very powerful way.

So, when this sound occurred the multitude came together, and were confused because everyone… So, this here, I’m sorry. This is talking about what they were saying. But it also had to do with the fact that some of this was taking place, as it comes out.

So, when the sound occurred the multitude came together, and were confused because everyone heard them speak in his own language. They heard this because this started happening immediately as this sound that came upon them, and then the flame or whatever they saw came upon them. Then all of a sudden those who were gathered around from these different areas, they started hearing in their own native tongue.

They were born in different areas, Jewish people who had migrated to different regions around there, and still coming back as their custom was.

Then they were all amazed and marveled saying one to another, Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? So, here they are, they were from Galilee. They were kind of looked down upon. They weren’t educated (in their estimation), like they were from some of these other areas. They were also noted and known by how they spoke.

Because it’s kind of like here in the U.S. you can go down into Alabama and Georgia and some of those areas, they speak different than what they do in Texas. You can go in different areas of Texas and people speak differently. There are about five different regions of Texas, how the English is spoken, different accents even there. And so it is in different parts of the United States. Massachusetts, go up into the New England states.

Here it is, people, there was a sound, or if you will, an accent that Galileans had in how they spoke. But not just that, what they were hearing was in their own tongue. So, how could they do that when they knew what they sounded like or what they even knew as far as education?

Verse 8—So how can we hear each one in our own language in which we were born? “We were born in these different areas and we have our own unique language, and yet these Galileans, we’re hearing them speak (in other words), fluently with the right accent in our tongue.” That’s what they were saying.

Then it goes on to mention, Parthians and Medes, Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia. We’re talking about a large different unique region here of people scattered all over in the place from these different areas. Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—and we hear them speaking in our own language the wonderful works of God.

So, here they were inspired in what they were saying as far as God and things that they were able to bring together in a way that Christ had taught them and so forth. They were able to speak these things now with an understanding or with a clarity that they didn’t have before. Incredible! Incredible when God gives His spirit and you see something and it’s clear and you’re able to speak about it, talk about it. What an awesome thing. That’s what gives us the ability to talk about God’s plan and God’s purpose with the same mind.

Because when people leave, when they become disfellowshipped, when they’re no longer in fellowship, they begin losing it immediately. They begin losing it before that, but they are really cut off at that point in time, and the change that takes place in people’s lives is astronomical in the sense of a difference.

Verse 12—So, they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, What does this mean? So again, what an awesome thing here of how God began to work in bringing some people together in this region of the world at this particular season of the year. Because their custom at that time is to come into Jerusalem, it was to observe the Days of Unleavened Bread, and there were people who stayed there all the way through Pentecost, and so forth, or came back at that particular time because they observed the Holy Days and that’s the purpose for being in Jerusalem, and they kept the Feast days in that regard. Here we are at that particular time when you talk about Pentecost.

Then it goes on to say, But others hearing the same thing were mocking, saying, They are full of new wine. Because they didn’t have an explanation and couldn’t give any credibility to them because of judging, how people judge people sometimes. They’re Galileans and they looked down upon them. And you think, “Now, how could you speak so well with wine?” But that’s how far people will go when they start becoming hardened of heart. Because they will not listen, they have to find some fault. This is what was taking place as well.

But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice and said to them, You men of Judea and all you who are dwelling here in Jerusalem, let this be known unto you, and listen to my words. That’s pretty powerful what he did. He took charge. God was blessing him, if you will, with an extra power, portion of His spirit to do this as well. He was the one who was the chief apostle over all the rest. That’s what God made him, in this respect, at this point in time.

Again, we’re going through this process but we’re seeing here how God was working with people to move people to listen. That’s what this is all about. It’s how He was working with them at that time to move them to listen. So, you think of these different periods in time when people have refused to listen to God and what it takes to begin to humble people so they will listen. And first of all, it was the Roman government who was very oppressive in the things that were taking place there in Judah, in Judea, and then these things beings spoken.

So he says, For these are not drunk as you suppose since it is only the third hour of the day. It’s only 9 AM, so obviously they’re not drunk. But what good does it do to reason with some of them? But it had to be spoken for a purpose.

But this is that which was spoken of by the prophet Joel. How did he know that? God gave it to him. He didn’t know that before this moment. But at this moment in time, he knew it. God gave it to him in his mind.

Verse 17—It shall come to pass in the latter days, says God, That I will pour out My spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy. What an incredible thing, “in the latter days.” So, here we’re talking about a period of time; it’s in the latter days. It’s 4,000 years have gone by, as a whole, and now we’re in a beginning period of, again, the latter days of certain things that are taking place.

So again, our perception sometimes of time is kind of messed up, but we have to see what God is doing and what He’s working out and how He addresses things and what He calls them.

It says, “and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.” In other words, are going to be given the ability of inspired speaking just like they were. That doesn’t mean on the plane and on the level they had because they were speaking to a people who had no ability to grasp and comprehend. They hadn’t been with Christ, most of these who are gathered together there.

There were those who had been around and had heard him speak, but at this point in time here there was a mixture of people. Those who had listened and had followed along, others who didn’t, who hadn’t heard anything at all. He’s telling them “your sons and your daughters.” Well, this is a prophetic thing. It began to be fulfilled at this point, of something that God said was going to happen, that there would be those who would experience this, inspired speaking. He was experiencing it. Joel said it, this is the beginning of this on a more massive plane, if you will – in the Church.

The apostles, or the disciples at this point (became apostles and God used them as such), they were moved by God’s holy spirit to see, to know things, to bring things together in a way that Christ had taught them and now it was clear to them. They were able to inspire with inspiration and to know this is from Joel. Incredible! It’s in his mind.

And your sons and your daughters shall prophecy. The ability of inspired speaking. That’s what this word has to do with, this word “prophecy,” inspired speaking.

And your young men shall see visions. Now, there is much involved in some of these things, of what it’s talking about here, but this more fully means to see in the sense of experiencing or witnessing prophetic visions being fulfilled. This is a part of this as well. This is a part of what they were to witness and see being accomplished. This, God started this at this period of time on the day of Pentecost. We have seen things happen at different times within the Church, of how God has inspired, moved, and motivated the Church. These all fulfill that, what it says in Joel. It just gets greater and greater as time goes on.

And your old men shall dream dreams. This is rather hard because when we think about “dreaming dreams” it’s like, especially if it has to do with the truth or God’s way of life, people can get some funny ideas about what these things mean. It’s not that people have to have a dream about God and they see these things, it’s what God has given in the mind of an ability when you talk about dreaming. We do in the use of this word here and what it means. What do we dream? In a sense of, not a distorted way but a good way, dream of that Kingdom that’s coming. We look forward to that. That’s a part of what it’s talking about here. We can foresee. We look forward to that. We try to envision it in our minds.

It’s not some sleepy type of thing we’re talking about here. It’s talking about the ability to now begin to see things that we otherwise wouldn’t have the ability to see. We can grasp more fully a world that’s about to be established. We see it far better now than we ever have. Because in times past it was seen as kind of a utopia. We know that’s not true now and we understand and see things within it that are going to be challenging, but beautiful and inspiring, one government, one Church. Awesome!

“And your older men will dream dreams.” Again, that ability of those things that were said by prophets that now they can begin to see. We’ve been given that ability in a very powerful way. We can see things that were said prophetically in times past, and that’s what it’s talking about, of those things that are prophesied of old that we can see now in a way that people who have gone before us even in the Church have not been able to see to this level, this degree.

Verse 18—Then on My servants and on My handmaidens, I will pour out in those days of My spirit and they shall prophesy. Again, this inspired speech and speaking.

So, who are these people? Anyone that’s called. It just gets greater and greater and greater. Those who have been called in the last 2,000 years fit into this. They are a part of this, those who serve God, those who are called are there to learn to serve God and God’s way of life. That’s a choice. God gives us that opportunity and so what does He do? He gives us of His spirit.

That’s what was given in Joel, I will pour out in those days of My spirit and they shall… So we can talk about God’s way of life. It’s not about giving prophetic things of the Old Testament as things were done by Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Joel and others to be written. That’s not what this is about. This is inspired speaking, the ability to speak about those things that God wrote about and gave to Isaiah, Jeremiah, Joel, all the others. That’s what this is discussing then, that ability that God gives through the power of His holy spirit.

I will also show wonders in the heaven above and signs in the earth below with blood, fire, and vapor of smoke. So again, all these things that are going to transpire to fulfill God’s plan of what was said by Joel and of God’s purpose of giving His holy spirit in the first place to those whom He calls. We see thing through time. We see a unique time we live in; we see a unique time that goes on into the Great White Throne and this happens on a much greater scale, some of these things take place, of things that are going to be seen and witnessed by God’s people and the world.

He’s going to show wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth below, and blood, fire, and vapor of smoke. And candidly, so much of this happens at the end here of this age, of what’s going to be witnessed in order to usher in a new age.

The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the great—and that’s exactly where it’s headed here—and notable day of the Lord come. So, what an incredible thing that was even given here. Things were said by Joel that really weren’t for their time right here. Only a portion of it was. “What you’re seeing fulfilled is what was spoken of by the prophet Joel in His spirit being poured out and they’re going to speak.” That’s why they’re speaking in this way because they’ve been given of this spirit now and they’re able to speak in terms prophetically of what prophets have written and tell you.

This is what Joel said. What he did is fulfilling exactly, and the first to speak in this context what Joel gave in prophecy. In other words, it’s coming alive what Joel wrote back then in his life and what he’s experiencing and what the others are experiencing by what they’re saying. “They’re not drunk. They’re inspired by God. This is being fulfilled.”

And it shall come to pass, as it goes on here. So again, these things lead all the way up to exactly what it says here, “before the great and notable day of the Lord comes.” So, there’s going to be things that just mushroom and get greater and greater and have a greater fulfillment.

This part here wasn’t being fulfilled, “the sun turned to darkness, the moon to blood,” until our time, and toward the very end as well of the hundred years, that its even going to be greater, what takes place.

And it shall come to pass that whoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. So again, this is prophetic. It’s spiritual first and foremost, but it has a physical type with it as well when you think about the end of this age and what we’re living through. I just mentioned it a minute ago, that you’re going to obviously rely on God in ways you never have relied upon Him in your own physical life, things that you don’t have anymore.

Running water, you don’t have it anymore. You don’t have electricity. Things we take for granted to do things for us that we’re not going to have. When you’re in winter or whatever it might be, whatever part of the globe you’re in and you have to have certain heat and different things that are going to be more difficult than what we’re accustomed to, and that magnified in some cases many times over. You’re going to look to God and rely upon God to supply various things, food, water, in ways, you can prepare for a short time to a degree.

“And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” So, this is more for its intent spiritual, than anything else. It’s about a process, that we rely upon God, we look to God and our desire is salvation. Our desire is to leave this and be spirit in God’s Family. But that doesn’t happen to everyone at the very end because some are to live on into a new age. But that’s still their hope and their desire in time.

And so, “you have to call on the name of the Lord,” means you have to have a relationship with God. You have to pray. You have to have a relationship with God and be a part of your life. And if you’re not doing it, what do you want? What do you expect? Either we have a relationship with God, or we don’t. I’ve known too many in times past, and this is what happens when people leave, they don’t have that relationship.

They’re not praying like they should. They might be praying about certain things because they want things. It becomes so distorted and perverted in their own thinking in lying and how they’re living before God that they may pray to God as the protestant world does, but it has no meaning and purpose in it anymore, no life in it anymore.

Because everyone in God’s Church should always understand that if we have sin in our life, we better be making that right and praying to God and asking for forgiveness above and beyond everything else. And if we’re not addressing those sins in our life and we’re just kind of keeping them off the side here and trying to hide them from the rest of the Church…

Again, I can’t help but think of the conversation last night and knowing different ones that did that, things that happened in 2013 especially, even in the Church at that point in time with many in the ministry still, things that were being hidden on the side and God manifests them and reveals them and then they have to be addressed.

That’s what people do in life. That’s what everyone who’s ever left God’s Church has gone through, in that respect. There comes a point in time if you’re not seeking repentance…

That’s the primary thing you do in your prayer life. You have things to repent of. If we don’t see our sins, if we don’t acknowledge our sins before God, what are we? If we’re perfect in the use of our tongue, as it talks about in James, we don’t really need God. The point is we’re not perfect in how we speak, in everything that comes out of our mouth in this, our mind.

There are times that we just don’t act right. I have those pretty much every day of my life. There are times I don’t act right. It’s not because I’m hangry, even though that may be part of it. The fact that it happens, if I become irritable or things that happen in the world around me and I let that bother me and I react in a way or think in a way that isn’t the way it should be, then I have something to repent of. We all do. And if we don’t grasp those things that are happening in our minds something is wrong with us.

Who among us is perfect? Who among us doesn’t have something to repent of day by day in our lives? We must…  I don’t know what you could do. Lock yourself up in a closet and be in a soundproof area. Then you’re going to get an attitude too because human nature is not going to like that.

Our human nature is selfish, and we do, and we say things, we think things, things happen out here in the world or on TV or whatever it might be, and you find yourself fighting a battle. Or at least we should rather than just letting life happen. So, we have to acknowledge those things.

That’s a primary area that people let down in, not repenting, calling on God. Of all things, that’s why Christ died as our Passover. So, we could call on God! For what? Forgiveness of our sins! Because we’re exceedingly selfish and we sin every day of our life. And if you don’t believe that something is wrong with you, you’re getting closer to being brain dead. Seriously! If our brain is alive and working well, we have something to look at. We are far from perfect. We are very imperfect beings. I hope everyone understands they have selfishness to repent of every day of their life.

Whoso shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. What is that about? Repentance and forgiveness of sins. That’s the way you’re saved. We’re talking about spiritual salvation. So, we have to repent, we have to look at ourselves, ask God to help us to see ourselves, help us to see where we’re selfish and when we react selfishly in life. Because every one of us has “lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride of life” to some degree, whatever that degree is. Hopefully, in time as we’ve grown in God’s Church it becomes less and less, but it’s still there and it will always be there until you’re changed into a spirit being.

You men of Israel, hear these words, Joshua of Nazareth, a man who has been proven of God among you by miracles, and wonders, and signs… He’s talking to all of them, those who looked upon these individuals as being drunken as well who were mocking and telling them all. Because primarily, the message is to those who are willing to listen. Others who have already made up their mind there is not much you’re going to be able to do to help them whatsoever, except there will be a witness there of what they’ve done.

…by miracles, and wonders, and signs. He says, “You have seen this, those of you who have been around him, those of you who have heard of these things that he’s accomplished and done. Because what he did, the different miracles that took place, those things went throughout Judea. Especially on Holy Days, they were spoken of, they were talked about.

…by miracles, and wonders, and signs which God did by him in the midst of you, as you yourselves also know.

Verse 23—Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken and by wicked hands, have nailed him to a pole and killed. Incredible! Very strong language here, speaking out to those who were listening at that point in time. A lot of people because more had gathered around. They kept gathering around. This was not a small thing that took place, things that were happening very quickly there.

…whom God has raised up, having released him from the agony or the sorrow of death because it was not possible that he should be held by it. What a profound thing to be talking about someone who had died, was now resurrected, and you have heard about, you have seen. In many cases here, there are things that they saw themselves when he was around them, things that took place, things of the individuals being healed, whatever it might be.

A little farther down it continues to say then, verse 32, This Joshua has God raised up, whereof we are all witnesses. Therefore, being on the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the holy spirit, He has shed forth this which you now see and hear. So again, reminding them again what you’re seeing here is what was written by Joel. What Peter is talking about is the very thing that he’s experiencing and the other apostles are experiencing and what others are seeing and hearing with their own ears.

Then it goes on to say here, profound what it says, For David has not ascended into the heavens, but he himself said, The LORD… This was actually quoted as Lord here out of Hebrew but it’s the word back there “Eternal.” So, they’re using, in this respect, a different word here. They’re not using the word for Eternal as it’s actually stated in scripture here.

The Eternal said unto my Lord, Sit on My right hand, until I make your foes your footstool. Even this is a marvel to think about, that even at this time why he would talk about David. And candidly, a lot of that wasn’t given till the very end here in PKG, of why this was written this way.

Now, these things ought to inspire you. We hear truth, we hear something perhaps, it’s stated as being new, and it is for the first time we hear it, and then we marvel at that moment in time but sometimes we don’t keep that marvel in our minds, of being in awe of what God has done and the timing in which He did it and what we have. Here is a case of something written clear back here that in that regard was for another time totally, in the sense of what was going to take place.

So again here, these things about David, again, were told to them on a particular plane to help them to understand, even those being drawn at that time on a smaller scale (because there is more revealed here momentarily when it talks about David), but it starts out here talking about some of this because this concept they had was something concerning David and their ideas about David and the Messiah that weren’t correct, that weren’t true.

And so again here, he’s telling them that this, that David isn’t the one who is great. It’s the one he was talking about who is great. That scriptures weren’t talking about David fulfilling these things or these things about, in that respect, David at all but one who would come of David is what it boiled down to in time here. So, that’s what he’s telling them.

He goes on to say, For David has not ascended into the heavens, but he himself said… So again here, making it very clear here that when you read these things, and this concept and ideas that people have about what’s happened to different ones in times past, and this thing of going to heaven or whatever, and yet no one has ever entered into heaven. He’s making it clear here David never ascended into heaven. This isn’t written about king David at all, it’s something far greater than that.

For David has not ascended into the heavens, but he himself said, The LORD, in other words, The Eternal said unto my Lord… In other words, he’s saying David acknowledged that this one being spoken of is his lord, David’s lord that David was to look to.

He said unto my Lord, Sit you on My right hand, until I make your foes your footstool. So, he said to David’s Lord, which is about Joshua, this is what God Almighty did, “Sit on My right hand until…” So, it’s about Joshua who was resurrected. That’s what he’s telling them here, “This is who is in heaven now on the right hand of God and this is what God prophesied through David.”

Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Joshua, whom you have nailed to a pole, both Lord and Messiah. It’s what he’s telling them. He is that Lord. He is the Messiah.

What an incredible thing to have lived during. Sometimes it’s just good for us to think about what they knew at that time and to think about how incredible it was what they were being told that they had never heard before. Now those who are being drawn, because there were individuals in that group, a lot of them, being drawn by God’s holy spirit who would begin the Church, they were being drawn out of this crowd. Others were still of the same mind. They weren’t going to listen no matter what. Their minds are made up. They’re resisting God because of their prejudices and so forth.

But there are others that there were things planted in their thinking, in their mind, and they were receptive to what God had been drawing them to and now God fulfilling this. But this didn’t happen overnight. This happened over a long period of time. All the things of Christ’s teaching in the last 3½ years and all the things that he did preparing them for this particular moment. Actually, starting even with John the Baptist but continuing on.

Verse 37—Now, when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart. Not all of them, but those who were drawn were pricked in their heart. In other words, their heart wasn’t so hardened that they couldn’t hear what was being told to them

All of us have gone through different things when God determines to call us. Sometimes our heart can be so hard that it takes a lot to get through. I’m thankful that God used a lot to get through in the mind and all the things I had to go through and experience. Because if I hadn’t of gone through every one of those steps I wouldn’t have listened. Awesome, to know the power of God, that He knows us and what it takes if we will listen to bring us to that point of listening.

However, we live in an age right now when it’s getting so much worse, where it’s going to take so much more to get through. And not only that, the vast majority possibly aren’t going to be there. They’re not going to come through all this. Because God is helping us to recognize the farther we go into this the more hardened of heart people are becoming, the harder the world is becoming.

We understand what’s going to happen with one trumpet alone, one-third of all life on earth to be destroyed. One-third of all human life to be destroyed. But what about that that preceded that? There was a lot of destruction already. That can be far greater depending upon the response and the thinking of this country, of Europe and so forth, but primarily of this part of the world right here in the beginning of the first Four Trumpets. And then we have the Fifth and what takes place. And how massive is that? Again, it’s going to depend upon people.

If it had happened back in 2012 it wouldn’t be as massive. Now, it’s going to be more massive because of the hardness of heart of people and what it’s going to take, and the attitude of mind especially within the scattered nations of Israel to bring them to a point where they’re going to be more willing to listen. Because that’s what God insists upon to bring His Son, to send His Son. That’s not talking about the rest of the world either because there is going to be a lot that has to happen there too.

We go through the Fifth Trumpet, we go through the Sixth Trumpet, and then finally on to the Seventh, how many? How hardened has the world become? How strong is it going to be as far as the primary nations of the world then outside? Because Israel by this time, as a whole, the most part of it has been conquered in the sense of what it’s going to have to go through. But the last part of it toward the very end and what remains and continues to destroy the earth, how vast is that going to be? Another third? More? Because we have to understand it can be.

To think that’s the kind of world we live in today, that the world is so hardened. God is not going to bring the flood, He said, ever again upon the world. But He’s going to allow mankind to do it to himself this time in a very great way. We have these concepts a lot of time that God owes it to people or He’s going to bring a majority through or whatever it might be. But that’s not the case.

Not even in the Millennium. Everyone is going to have choice. In the Great White Throne, people are going to have choice. Does that mean the overwhelming majority are going to want God? Doesn’t mean that at all. It’s going to go back to this, the hardness of heart and what age and time people are called out of, how far they’ve gone in their thinking. And it’s a hard, hard thing for this mind to change and be changed. You’ve got to want it. You’ve got to be willing to receive it, to listen. Because God’s spirit, if someone won’t listen, if it’s not humbled of heart, it can’t receive what God wants to give it.

God desires with desire that all human beings listen, but the reality is they won’t. That’s a horrible thing.

So now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said to Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? There was this group of individuals who were pricked in their heart and willing to listen and receive what was being told to them.

Then Peter answered… Amazing, you come back round to it, those who call on God will be saved? Where does it start? Right here. This is what it’s all about, a relationship with God is about repenting. Repent and, in this case here, be baptized. But that repentance never stops. It’s something you have to do throughout your rest of your life.

…and be baptized every one of you in the name of Joshua the Christ for the remission (the release, the pardon) of sins. What an awesome thing. We learn that’s just an infinitesimal amount, small as it is of a beginning, and it’s to be built upon through the rest of our life. Awesome! This is where it starts, and the pattern never quits.

…and you shall receive the gift of the holy spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off. We are some of those who are afar off. There are those who are afar off beyond that, the Millennium and the Great White Throne. …even as many as the Lord our God shall call. Awesome!

And with many other words did he testified and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this crooked or this corrupt, perverse generation. That was at that time, and it wasn’t nearly as corrupt and perverse as we have today because of technology. So, what do you have to fight? A lot!

They didn’t have the kind of battles you have in that age. Society was totally different at that particular time. Again, you have to go all the way back to Noah and people living as long as they did, hundreds and hundreds of years, to see how corrupt human beings became, by that time how hard this was in them, and come all the way up to this point in time to have a time that’s similar, actually, at a point of being worse than what it was back then.

That’s where we are. That’s why when you watch things out here, we should be far beyond Lot ever was in vexing his righteous soul, of things that he saw in his area, Sodom and Gomorrah region of the world. The world today is worse.

Then they who gladly received his word were baptized; and the same day there were added about three thousand lives. What an incredible thing, a beginning, the Church, three thousand from this point. Awesome! God began to build upon that with the apostles and things that were taught throughout that region. But here it started out with a bang as God started the Church. But it took a lot.

You think of all the things that Christ did, all the things that people saw and witnessed, and still at this point in time here people who knew all that had taken place. Everyone that was gathered there heard the things that had taken place in Jerusalem. They were there. It was being talked about by everyone, about the individual that people had looked upon as being the Christ, the Messiah, and all the rumblings of those things they were discussing amongst themselves. Some passing it off, shrugging it off. “He’s dead. He wasn’t the Messiah. He couldn’t be; look what happened. He’s dead.” Others saying, “No, he’s alive.” Then being told that here by this group.

These things that were going out and being talked about, and yet the hardness of heart of those who still at that point of time mocked and make fun of something that rationally with a sound mind they would have to admit this isn’t possible, that someone can speak with clarity. You know what it’s like when you’re drunk and no one can do this being drunk, so let’s be a little bit honest here. But they weren’t willing to do so because the hardness of their heart.

So again here, a marvel here. We’re just building upon a process here of seeing what God has done, how He’s dealt with the world here at this time, Christ’s first coming, and how He worked with a small part of the world—not a large part—to bring them into the Church to start a process of something that was to remain small for 2,000 years, go through different ups and downs, be up to a point in time where 95-96,000 baptized at one time in Philadelphia, into Laodicea and the things that that Church has gone through. And yet what’s happened there?

Oh, I have one more thing here. Of what took place during the Apostasy and shortly afterwards and people who died in a period of time shortly therein, my wife and I have talked about this, but I thought I’d share just a thought and idea about part of this, is to understand that God judges us by what we have at any moment in time. There are individuals that I have hope for that went through part of that period of time, that I believe God has shown and is making clear within the Church, that there are some who weren’t given what you were given, if you came through the Apostasy.

They weren’t given to go on and see some of the things that you have seen, to be able to know what you know because it wasn’t for them to be a part of a remnant. There were individuals who were older. I think of one minister in particular that Herbert Armstrong put great responsibility on toward the end who was the only one, basically, he could trust to that regard, who was an individual that is easy to see could be a person that indeed was brought up to a point in time but didn’t have to go any farther. He didn’t have to know what we know. He was judged by what God had given him to that point in time to know.

I hope we understand that about judgment. You’re judged according to what you know at any moment in time.

So, I think it’s going to be interesting as time goes along to see how God has prepared 144,000 and how He’s working with the last portion of that and what we’re going through. But to look at different stages of time too to see the world for what it is, how God has prepared it like He did for Christ’s first coming. We’re going to continue on, obviously now, in looking at what God is doing and preparing for the second coming.

[1] https://www.ronaldweinland.com/2019/06/03/preparing-for-wwiii/

1. Chapter 1