The Legacy Collection

© 2015 Dennis Fischer ®
All rights reserved

Volume XVI

"Count Fifty"

By
Dennis Fischer

Summary: By Blow the Trumpet

The words that follow reflect a message given by Mr. Dennis Fischer on Sunday May 24^th 2015 to the United Church of God in Billings, Montana. At that time the vast majority of the Churches of God were honoring the Day of Pentecost in accordance with Gods’ command as expressed in the Torah (Leviticus 23:10-16).

When asking Mr. Fischer to speak several weeks earlier Mr. Dan Deininger inquired of him if he was familiar with how Pentecost was calculated. He then informed Fischer that a new teaching had emerged among some splinter groups on this subject and thought he (Fischer) could effectively address them. In typical Fischer style he informed Mr. Deininger that he could explain why he (Fischer) believes as he does and that his belief is in keeping with the long held practice of God’s Church.

When recalling the day Fischer indicated that he couldn’t remember how many were in attendance but that it appeared to be significantly more than a typical Sabbath. Fischer attributed this to two reasons.

One thing Fischer did recall was that on this morning he had a serious bout with vertigo leading him to consider withdrawing from the assignment his pastor had recruited him for. However, instead, he elected to “tough it out” not wanting to impose on a man that drove over two hundred miles to serve God’s people that day.

After services Mr., Deininger could easily detect that Fischer wasn’t feeling well and encouraged him to return home. Fischer, genuinely loved Mr. “D” and his family and absolutely relished the hours of fellowship they shared on God’s sabbath and Holy Days. However, this day he reluctantly returned home missing the afternoon services. But before he left Mr. Deininger conveyed an exception he took with a part of Fischer’s message.

A Problem in Speculation

Prior to Fischer leaving Mr. Deininger commended him on the effectiveness of his presentation. However, he also scolded him for presenting a theory concerning when the very first Pentecost in history was mentioned in the Bible. A few weeks earlier they had spoken about it with Fischer asking if the UCG had an official opinion regarding it. Mr. Deininger indicated he was unaware of one and that was it. In retrospect Fischer conceded that Mr. Deininger may have thought that his answer implied that Fischer should avoid integrating speculation in his message. However, Fischer saw the issue as very benign and an interesting thought. He even believes the UCG may even agree with it.  

As it turned out it became clear that Mr. Deininger was genuinely frustrated that Fischer would bring it up during his message. Only this time he was more direct in his rebuke going so far as to indicate that he was not at all persuaded with Fischer’s theory. According to Fischer Mr. Deininger seemed demonstrably agitated in his criticism. However, in future weeks virtually everyone in attendance who commented offered their unqualified endorsement of Fischer’s theory. 

At this point we at Blow the Trumpet are fully persuaded by it as well and are honored to include it in the sixteenth volume of its Legacy Collection. We hope you can easily detect that it is presented respectfully and honestly with deference to those who may disagree.

Special Notice:

As you may notice this particular presentation is broken into two parts. According to Fischer Part II was never presented in its entirety because of illness. He simply terminated his message after thanking his audience for their consideration. He then met briefly with his friend and pastor and left.

Sermon

Introduction: 

The late Herbert W Armstrong once made a very interesting observation regarding the Bible.

When asked to describe it in one sentence Mr. Armstrong pondered the query then offered the following.

“The Bible is the story of Israel”

Although simple in form Mr. Armstrong’s observation is profoundly true.

For in a very real sense the Bible is the story (or history) of Israel.

The Old Testament tells the story of an ancient people—chosen by God and their quest for a land of promise.

The New Testament tells the story of a spiritual body—called by God and their quest for an eternal Realm.

Their stories are remarkably similar and possess a continuity that is unmistakable.

SPS:

Today I would like to share with you each of their stories and the impact they have had, and continue to have on God’s Kingdom as well as His people down through the ages and on into eternity.

And as amazing as it may seem each of their stories actually intersect on a day called Pentecost.

So let’s begin.

Body:

By way of introduction I would like to make a couple of observations about Pentecost.

First, this day is unique in that its exact timing within God’s holy days is not directly provided in the scripture but rather must be determined by calculus.

In other words, unlike every other holy day in which God specifically identifies the precise month and precise day within a month on which it falls, when it comes to Pentecost his is not the case.

On this particular day God actually provides a specific formula for determining when it occurs.

He does this because Pentecost doesn’t fall on a precise day of a month but rather on a precise day of a particular week.

To illustrate this point please go to Leviticus 23, beginning in verse 1.

Leviticus 23:1-2

And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, “Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, ‘Concerning the feasts of the Lord, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are My feasts…’”

The word for convocations in this verse is Miqra and is translated as:

“A Sacred assembly”

“A calling together”

“A gathering”

And “A Rehearsal”

Brethren, each of these definitions applies perfectly to each of God’s Holy Days.

We now come to the timing of these convocations.

Beginning with God’s spring Festival.

Notice how the Almighty identifies the specific day and month they are to be observed.

The Spring Holy Days

(Verse 4)

Note to self: Comment concerning the clear presence of a specific day and month (see bold) v 5&6)

4 These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons. 

5 In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD's Passover. 

6-8 and on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread. In the first day ye shall have a holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.  But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD seven days: in the seventh day is a holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.

Feast of Trumpets 
 (Verse 24)

Continue to comment concerning the inclusion of a specific day and a specific month.

                         
Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a Sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. 

Atonement 
 (verse 27)

Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD. 

Feast of Tabernacles 
 (Verse 34)

34 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD. 

 35 On the first day shall be a holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. 

                               
36 Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: on the eighth day (22nd day of the month) shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein.

Calculating Pentecost

                       
I’m sure you noticed that I omitted one of God’s holy convocations—Pentecost.

And brethren, this is because unlike all His other holy days God doesn’t identify the timing of Pentecost by month or day but rather by a specific calculation.

Verse 10

10 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, when you come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest: 

It is here that God actually begins to reveal the benchmark from which Pentecost is to be calculated.

Let’s continue with what happens to this sheaf when it is brought to the priest.

Verse 11

11 And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. 

Notice when this takes place “On the morrow after the Sabbath”.

To better understand this instruction; here is how it played out during the year the Messiah was crucified.

I’ll try to be brief.

Jesus and the Wave Sheaf

The Calculation

(Verses 15, 16)

                   
 This now brings us to the calculating of Pentecost as prescribed in Leviticus 23

15 And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the Sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven Sabbaths shall be complete: 

16 Even unto the morrow after the seventh Sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD.

Here is the point.

The benchmark in which Pentecost is calculated takes place on the morrow after the Sabbath which is a Sunday.

When counting 50 days beginning with the benchmark you will arrive at another Sunday and will have passed seven Sabbaths just as the scriptures require.

This is why the vast majority of God’s Church assemble today.

It is why we appear before the Almighty at this precise time.

A Dissenting View

However, with that said, there are some well-intended believers within God’s Church who believe differently.

They contend that Pentecost must always fall on the sixth day of the third month (Sivan 6) which would be impossible if you began counting from the morrow after the weekly Sabbath

However, those who hold this view believe that the calculation should begin from the day after the annual Sabbath (the first day of unleavened bread) as opposed to the weekly Sabbath—which in Jesus case would have been Friday—the High Sabbath being Thursday.

Brethren, the overwhelming number of Jews today embrace this position.

And because of this fact many of God’s people are beginning to do so do as well. 

In essence, they conclude that because the Jews are the final authority in matters pertaining to the calendar, it is their right to legitimately make the call.  

Not a Calendar Issue

However, this is not a calendar issue.

We are not attempting to determine on what day the weekly Sabbath falls or when the first day of unleavened bread arrives. 

The issue today involves how Pentecost it is to be calculated.

In other words, what is the benchmark?

Defending the Church

At this point I would like to present for your consideration why the United Church of God as well as myself don’t agree with this emerging view.

For the sake of efficiency, I will present two rebuttals:

1) First, if Pentecost always falls on Sivan 6, why didn’t God simply say so like He did with every other day.

For example; why didn’t He say: “In the third month on the sixth day of the month at even is a holy convocation and you shall offer an offering before the Eternal?”

Why would He have to be so complex when identifying the timing of Pentecost and so simple when identifying the timing of His other “Sacred Assemblies”?

2) The second rebuttal involves the Jewish reckoning of this day because this is why so many hold to a Sivan 6 belief. 

This might come as a surprise but there was debate on this issue during the time of Christ. 

The principle characters in this debate were the Pharisees and the Sadducees.

For the Sadducees, Pentecost always fell on Sunday, while the Pharisees had it on various days of the week but always Sivan 6. 

The difference was that the Sadducees started counting 50 days after the first weekly Sabbath like the Church does today.

The Pharisees however, concluded their count 50 days after the High Sabbath (Nisan 15, + 50 would always take you to Sivan 6).

Today, the Pharisaical view is embraced by the overwhelming majority of Jews.

The Tiebreaker

So the question for us is: how can one know what formula to accept?

To ascertain the answer to this query, consider the following: 

                           /p>

Pentecost from the Beginning

Today, Sunday, May 24, 2015 we honor the last Pentecost in human history and in doing so continue a great journey taken by God’s people down through the ages. Now next year that day will be the last.

However, with that said, is it possible to determine when the first recorded Pentecost occurred?

Brethren, the answer appears to be an emphatic YES!!

And today I’d like to share it with you.

Finding the First Pentecost

If one wishes to examine Pentecost historically, I believe he/she would have to go back to the very beginning

So let’s go to Genesis chapter 1

A Message in the Heavens

Here, God reveals that on the fourth day of what we understand as re-creation, He fashioned the sun, moon, and stars. 

However, when describing this act, the scriptures also explain why He created these great astronomical wonders. 

Notice what God’s word says.

Genesis 1:14

And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and for years:

“Signs”

Brethren, the Hebrew word for “signs” in this verse is owth. 

This word can be translated as a “signal,” “beacon,” “evidence,” or “mark.” 

This is the same word God used when describing His Sabbath.

“Seasons”

The word “seasons” in Genesis 1:14 is moed. 

This word means “appointed times.” 

Throughout history, God’s appointed times have always been His holy days. 

The point here is that God created the heavens as an instrument that would help man identify specific holy days created by the One who would later become the Savior of the world.

And He did this before the first human being was ever created.

Enter Pentecost

But what does this have to do with the first Pentecost?

The answer is found in chapter 4 which chronicles the story of Cain and Abel.

Cain and Abel

Genesis 4:1-5

1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD. 

 
 2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 

 
3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. 

 
 4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: 

 
 5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

The description of what occurred in the story of Cain and Able is universally accepted by God’s Church. 

However, the story tells more than WHAT occurred; it also reveals specifically WHEN it occurred. 

And I submit to you that armed with nothing more than what is easily available to us we can ascertain the WHEN.

Here is what we know based on what we can reasonably conclude based solely on the Biblical narrative.

Here’s are the Facts

This view is attested to by such scholars as Matthew Henry, John Gill, JFB, John Wesley, and a host of others. Furthermore, this fact has never been disputed by God’s Church.

Here it is.

According to scripture at no time have God’s people ever presented offerings on a weekly Sabbath with His blessing. 

Only the priests did and that was done in accordance with God’s instructions. 

The Church has always understood this truth—which is why offerings in the COG today are never taken up on the weekly Sabbath.

However, when it comes to Pentecost (a Harvest season no less), offerings are specifically mandated by God to be presented. Notice His command.

Deuteronomy 16:16

Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty:

But there’s more.

Notice what the Almighty says regarding calculating this day.

As we read His instructions I want you to know that I took the liberty to insert a parenthetical thought to illustrate the point.

However, in no way shape or form does this parenthetical thought compromise the integrity of the text.

It simply adds clarity to it—a fact that you will easily be able to appreciate.

Let’s go back to Leviticus 23.

Leviticus 23:15-16

And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the Sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven Sabbaths shall be complete: 

Even unto the morrow after the seventh Sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and [at the end of days] ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD.

Part II

Comparing Two Nations        

We now transition to a comparison of Old Testament Israel and the New Testament Church 

And I believe you will find the similarities striking.

For example:

But the similarities go much deeper.

At this point I would like to share some with you. 

I’ve chosen seven other parallels:

In deference to time constraints I’ll try be brief.

However, I am confident you will get the point.

# I

Both ancient Israel and the New Testament Church 

were founded on the day of Pentecost

The birth of the New Testament Church is recorded in Acts 2 

Here, Luke, the author of Acts leaves no doubt as to when this happened.

Acts 2:1-6

1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 

2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 

3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 

4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. 

5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. 

6 Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.

Brethren, a supernatural miracle accompanied the receiving of God’s Spirit.

Peter would later give a powerful message about a risen Christ and then reveal what was necessary in order to receive the power these people had witnessed.

On this precise day a people called by God would begin a journey that would literally shape eternity.

The Birth of a Nation

In the Old Testament, and on this precise day, ancient Israel would receive God’s great moral law, the Ten Commandments, and as a result one nation under God was born.

The reason many believe this occurred on Pentecost is found in Exodus 19.

Exodus 19:1-4

1 In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai. 

2 For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount. 

       
3 And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; 

     
4 Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself. 

There is something about this passage that bears notice.

It is its reference to eagle’s wings.

In the New Testament a similar reference is made.

Revelation 12:10-14

10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. 

     
11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. 

 
12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knows that he hath but a short time. 

 
13 And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child. 

 
14 And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.

Then there is God’s covenant with ancient Israel. 

Exodus 19:5-6

Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation.

The Resurrected Saints

When speaking of the His resurrected saints God honors them with a similar distinction.

In Revelation 5:10 He refers to them as Kings and Priests.

Later John, the author of Revelation describes them this way.

Revelation 20:4

And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

#2

Both ancient Israel and the New Testament Church 

were founded by a great deliverer

When it comes to ancient Israel God actually identified Himself as such when introducing the Ten Commandments.

Exodus 20:1-3

And God spoke all these words, saying, I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Earlier when calling Moses to lead His people God revealed a critical component of His plan regarding Israel.

Exodus 3:8

And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

A New Testament Deliverer

In the New Testament Paul reveals that we too were delivered from bondage.

And that bondage is a far more sinister enemy than Egypt. 

Our slave master is sin.

And our Champion was a man named Yahshua.

Here is what He did and how it turned out.

Colossians 1:21-22

And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:        

What Paul is saying here is that Christ’s sacrifice is so powerful that no one can even bring an accusation against those who claim that gift.

Here is the point:

The scriptures reveal that just as the children of Israel were enslaved in Egypt until God miraculously delivered them, those whom He has called in this present age were also once enslaved in spiritual Egypt. 

God’s people today were once in bondage. 

We once believed the things the world believes, taught the things the world teaches, and practiced the things the world practices.

However, our calling reveals that a Great Deliverer has again rescued His people from a world that does not know Him or His way.

And that miracle is far greater than any Red Sea or ten plagues.

#3

God’s Law was Written on Tables of Stone for the Physical nation of Ancient Israel and Written on the Heart for the for the Spiritual Body of the New Covenant Church

God actually used the great prophet Jeremiah to reveal this truth.

Jeremiah 31:31-33

       
 31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: 

 32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: 

 33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

The first phase of this prophetic miracle (the New Covenant) took place on Pentecost when God’s spirit was made available.

And ultimately its effects will cover the entire earth.

#4

Both Ancient Israel and the New Testament Church 

were Commissioned to Preach the Gospel 

Early in His ministry Jesus uttered a profound truth about the work he had been given by the Father and what it said about Him.

John 5:36

These are not simply words about the Messiah; these are words BY the Messiah.

... for the works which the Father has given Me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me.

In truth God has given His Church a work that bears witness of it as well.

Included in that work is proclaiming the gospel of God’s Kingdom.

Jesus actually said that a forceful end time warning is absolutely essential to the completion of God’s work.

When giving the Olivet prophecy the Messiah expressed it this way: 

Matthew 24:14

And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

There are many ways to preach the gospel, however, one of the most powerful ways God’s people today can proactively proclaim the good news of the Kingdom is by their behavior.

Matthew 5:14

14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. 

15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; that it may give light unto all that are in the house. 

16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Ancient Israel

This principle was also conveyed to ancient Israel.

Here God explains one of the great benefits of obedience to Him.

Deuteronomy 4:6-7

6 Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. 

 
 7 For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for?

#5

Both Ancient Israel and the New Testament Church 

have suffered great persecution and even captivity

When describing what the world would look like in the last days Jesus made reference to something He referred to as the “beginning of sorrows.”

He then explained that great horrors would consume the earth at an accelerated rate and would even bring massive persecution on God’s people.

Matthew 24:9-10

Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. 

This will not be the first time God’s people will have been persecuted. 

The eleventh chapter of Hebrews describes great heroes of faith and the tremendous sacrifices they made for the Kingdom of God. 

Hebrews 11:32-38

And what shall I more say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: and others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. 

The voices of these and other martyrs will be heard in the last days.

Revelation 6:9-11

And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:  And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?  And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.

Brethren, this seal has not yet been opened and the martyrdom it describes has not yet taken place.

Ancient Israel

But what about ancient Israel?

History as well as the scriptures reveal that both the nations of Israel and Judah were defeated and led away captive over twenty-five hundred years ago. 

Israel was crushed by the armies of Assyria in 721-718 B.C. 

Assyria was a war-like kingdom and their approach to the conquest of other lands has been characterized as “brutal” and “unmerciful.” 

As a general rule, they would destroy the culture of a territory’s prior inhabitants. 

When doing so, they would often resort to great acts of savagery in their treatment of the people they conquered. 

According to the early twentieth century scholar Dr. Henry Halley, the Assyrians would subject their captives to acts of unspeakable cruelty.

Assyrians were great warriors... They built their state on the loot of other peoples. They practiced cruelty. They skinned their prisoners alive, or cut off their hands, feet, noses, ears, or put out their eyes, or pulled out their tongues, and made mounds of human skulls, all to inspire terror. (Halley’s Bible Handbook, p. 209)

God referred to Assyria as the rod of His correction.

Judah

As for Judah, their captivity, although less savage, was massively painful.

Here is how Jeremiah described the devastation inflicted on Jerusalem by Babylon.

Jeremiah 52:12-14

Now on the tenth day of the fifth month, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, who was in the service of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. He burned the house of the Lord, the king’s house and all the houses of Jerusalem; even every large house he burned with fire. So all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard broke down all the walls around Jerusalem. 

The book of Lamentations employs striking imagery when describing how heartbreaking Jerusalem’s fall was.  

I’m reading from the “New American Standard” version.

Lamentations 1:1

How lonely sits the city

That was full of people!

She has become like a widow

Who was once great among the nations!

She who was a princess among the provinces

Has become a forced laborer!

#6

The individual Histories of both Ancient Israel 

and the New Testament Church can be broken into 

seven distinct periods (ERAS) 

The second and third chapters of the book of Revelation contain seven letters written to seven Church.

For the most part God’s people have understood these churches as representing seven chapters in the history of the New Testament beginning with the apostles and ending with a very complacent community called Laodicea.

One of the most compelling proofs of church eras is the fact that the history of ancient Israel also contains seven distinct periods. 

They are: 

1. Wandering in the wilderness for forty years under Moses
2. Entering into Canaan and the period of the judges
3. The establishment of a united monarchy
4. The fracturing of the kingdom resulting in a divided monarchy
5. The captivity of Israel by Assyria and Judah by Babylon
6. The return of the Jews to Jerusalem under Ezra and Nehemiah
7. The period of the Pharisees where self-righteousness was the model of the day 

Each of these periods closely resembles their New Testament counterpart.

#7

Both Ancient Israel and God’s New Testament Church 

will Ultimately Experience Unbridled Joy and Hope

Brethren, Mr. Armstrong had an expression that he would often share.

“I’ve read the book and in the end, we win.”

Well brethren, I too have read the book and I am happy to report Mr. Armstrong was right.

Here is what the Almighty has decreed regarding Israel and Judah.

His words were recorded by the great prophet Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 33:7-8

And I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and will build them, AS AT THE FIRST. And I will cleanse them from ALL their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me; and I will pardon ALL their iniquities, whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed against me.

God’s forgiveness is so complete that it will restore the one receiving it back to a state prior to the trespass—“as at the first.” 

As for the saints their destiny was conveyed by a man named Daniel.

Daniel 7:18, 22

“But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever…. and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.”

But this is only part of it.

The apostle John wrote that we would be the bride of a great God-King.

Revelation 19:6-8

And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

Conclusion:

We now come to the conclusion of the matter.

God’s holy days reveal a great Plan crafted by Him before the foundations of the world. 

In a very real sense, they represent the architectural drawings of that Plan. 

And each Holy Convocation marks a critical step in a journey that two people (a NATION and a CHURCH) began on this day and will ultimately lead all mankind to an eternal, incorruptible Kingdom.

Enjoy the journey everyone.

And as always, it’s been an honor.

Volume XVII
COMING SOON

DIRECTORY