THE SOUNDING OF THE 1ST TRUMPET...

“And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.” The first angel sounded and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up.” Revelation 8:6-7

Chapter 9

THE REVELATION IS TO BE SPIRITUALLY DISCERNED…

Revelation 8:7 “And the first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood and they were cast upon the earth; and the third part of the trees was burnt up and all green grass was burned up.” I’ve found by the help of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God that it takes preparation to be able to sound the trumpet in a way that is shall give a certain sound. We also found that there’s much uncertain sounding going on. This is causing much grief in the religious world.

As we went down through the Scriptures and summed it all up, we realize that the thing needed for the certain sound of the trumpet, was Pentecost. The casting of the fire into earth or God’s Holy Spirit moving upon us and through us is that power we stand in need of for the fulfilling of the task. Since the trumpeters are preparing to sound, we choose to reveal a little. These seven trumpeters preparing to sound are nothing more than God’s ministers through the Gospel Day, or the seven periods of time in the Gospel Day.

God’s Word shows us how there could be seven days in a day. Turn to the book of Isaiah, the 30th chapter and the 26th verse, which speaks of this Gospel Day. He said, the light of the moon would be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun would be as seven days in a day. We have made it plain (I repeat) that these trumpeters are God’s ministers throughout the Gospel Day beginning at Pentecost down to the end of time. The first trumpet sounding covers 270 years approximately.

When God’s truth went forth in all its purity, the light drove the darkness from men and women and they could see God’s will for their individual lives. The Word tells us, that when this first trumpet sounded, there followed hail, and fire, mingled with blood. They were cast upon the earth and a third part of the trees were burnt up and the green grass was burnt up. If you want to literalize this word, as many do, (especially people who want to hold to a millennium) you would have indeed a strange picture before you. An angel, sounding a trumpet, and hail and fire coming out of his mouth---burning up trees and grass. Would that be edifying for us to spend time on and study about?

The Revelation is written in symbolic language. Speaking on the Revelation, one time in a certain city, we noticed a Protestant minister attending every night and he seemed to get into the spirit of it and enjoyed the revelation of simple truth. But one night he brought a young minister with him and in the very beginning he was stirred within. His face was flushed and the minute it was over, he came up and said: “I never heard such foolishness in my life. You’re the first man I ever met that says the Bible doesn’t mean what it says. I heard you preach tonight that when it said “heaven” in that place it did not mean heaven and you have preached all evening telling people that the Book don’t mean what it says.”

“If,” I replied, “the Revelation was written in plain language and meant just what it said, any sinner could sit down and read it, but thank God, the content is hidden as God said, God has hidden it from the wise and prudent and revealed it unto Babes.”

John was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day. So when we begin to study about a ministry sounding, and the hail and fire mingled with blood coming, we forget about literal things. The sounding of the trumpets is a spiritual work. This is proved by the fact that they prepared for the sounding, at Pentecost.

THE WORD IS SYMBOLIZED AS HAIL…

And what happened at Pentecost? The Holy Spirit of God came down and filled them and prepared them to sound and that which they sound will be a spiritual something. The Word tells us that this sounding covers 270 years. This was before Rome began to rise up in her Papal form and the light of God’s eternal truth was going forth.

Can God’s Word, then, be symbolized in hail and fire and blood? That is exactly what I’m trying to tell you, but few realize how far the ministry has gone off the track from preaching God’s Word. We’re sorry to say, but we must confess that the evidence is very clear, there’s been far too much “back-patting”, “sugar-coating” and “jelly-fishing gospel” handed out to the people. The Word of God is powerful and full of force and here it is symbolized as hail and fire mingled with blood.

True, that was back in the morning time and they say that people are different today. No, they’re not. The Psalmist said God fashioned all their hearts just alike, and this Gospel is not given to fit or suit the people. They may dress different and ride in autos instead of an ox cart, but men’s hearts are the same as at Pentecost. This Gospel was not to be preached to men’s heads or fancies, but to reach their hearts and it is the same. It’s the old doctrines that men have changed and say that we have to be different and preach different today. But if this were so, we would have had a changing Christ, but the Word says He’s the same yesterday, today and forever!

He’s just the same, because man is just the same, at heart, sin is just the same, and a holy life is just the same. Also the Word of God never changes and it is just the same. Whenever a man or woman truly is saved from sin, he must pay the price, the same price that the Apostle Peter did.

He must “sell out” the same way. It will cost him the same. He will get the same peace and glory in his soul. He’ll get the same “spiritual vision” as Peter had to have, and walk the same “holy walk” that Peter and the apostles walked.

The trouble today is, that there are not many paying the price, and getting a true experience. This is why there’s such a varied picture before us. The Word of God is symbolized as hail and fire, mingled with blood. If we turn to Isaiah 28:16 we read: “Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation; he that believeth shall not make haste.”

“Judgment also will I lay to the line and righteousness to the plummet; and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies and the waters shall overflow the hiding place. And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden by it. From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you; for morning by morning it shall pass over, by day and by night, and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report. For the bed is shorter than a man can stretch himself on it and the covering narrower than he can wrap himself in it.”

The picture just given in the Revelation, at the blowing of the first trumpet, is that of the Gospel going forth as hail and fire, mingled with blood. Isaiah pictures it going forth as hail, just as the Revelation did, and also symbolized it as water, which when it is turned loose, ran people out of their false refuges and hiding places, which the creeds and teachings of men have created for them. Man has made it easy by his various creeds and teachings, for men to get by here on earth with only a profession, but thank God, when the true Gospel sounded out, it ran over these things and ran men out and left them stranded without hope and God, and helpless to save themselves, helpless without the real truth.

It takes positive and straight to the line preaching, to flush such out of their hiding places. We read again Isaiah: “Therefore thus saith the Lord God, behold I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation, he that believeth shall not make haste. Judgment also will I lay to the line and righteousness to the plummet; and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding places.”

CREEDS OF MEN HAVE PROVIDED FALSE RUFUGES…

God never gives judgment until He affords something better. First, He afforded a sure foundation for men. He will give men ample time to lay hold of something better. God never required holy living until it was possible to live holy. He didn’t shake the houses that were on the sand until He laid the rock foundation and gave something better to build on.

Hail is a symbol of truth or judgment by God’s Word. Let’s use a little common sense. He said, “The hail will sweep away the refuge of lies. What is the thing, the only thing that will sweep away lies or a lie? Tell the truth about it! Is it not easy enough to understand that symbol?

The Word God has spoken to us; the same will judge us in the last day. Let’s find more Scripture: Deuteronomy 32:2, “My doctrine shall fall as rain.” Isaiah 55:10-11, “Even as the rain and the snow comes down from heaven, so will my Word be that goes forth from my mouth. It will prosper in the thing whereunto I sent it.” Hail is rain in solid form. That’s all it is.

The Word of God is spoken of or symbolized as rain or water and when He used hail, it is nothing more than the symbol of solid truth or putting judgment on souls where it really stings and moves them. Praise God for the truth.

Some people say, “It does no good to preach anymore; the message goes like water on a duck’s back, with people in our day.” “Well”, I say, “Try a little hail. It won’t run off like water.” Hail is a symbol of solid truth. In the 15th verse of the 28th chapter of Isaiah, and we will stay here a bit; it’s given in the latter part of the verse. “We have made lies our refuge and under falsehood we have hid ourselves; and in the 18th verse God says: “Your covenant with death shall be disannulled and your agreement with hell will not stand, when the overflowing scourge shall pass through then ye shall be trodden down by it.”

We’re laying a foundation for the Gospel turned loose at Pentecost in the morning time of the Gospel church. Prophets had declared that things would happen. The 20th verse said the truth would make the bed shorter than man could stretch himself on it, and the covers narrower than he could wrap himself in.

Men had found false spiritual resting places. Before Christ came with truth, man had made many false resting places. They thought they had an agreement with hell all fixed up. They were like people of today. They confess their sins to a man and think all is well. Others join some church and get their names on a record and seem to feel safe. A certain man said to me that some one had asked him if he were a Christian. He had a lodge pin in his lapel. He said, “I flashed that before his eyes and said he should not even have to ask whether I’m a Christian or not.” Here’s a false hiding place for some people.

Isaiah said when this scourge (whip---and that is about what it is) is turned loose, the bed will be too short and the covers will be too narrow. In other words, you might rest on an old profession or something short of a real experience until you get it out where the truth is turned loose on you, and you will never go back to that again. It will be too short and it will not cover your sins, and you will never be able to rest on that again. The solid Word of God (the hail) will sweep away this false refuge and the waters will overflow your hiding places. You may have been satisfied, but when the truth comes it will cause you to be cramped and uncomfortable. When I went down to Cuba and I slept in a double bed, but those people are little and the beds are small and another man and I slept in it. We were trying to get enough sheet to cover us up and when we covered our heads to keep the mosquitoes from biting us on the head, then they would bite us on the feet. Well, we learned that night about that verse in Isaiah and what it meant.

Chapter 10

THE MESSAGE OF THE FIRST TRUMPET REVEALS THE HIDING PLACES OF FALSE REFUGES…

Well, you know what fire is. Fire through the Word of God is an emblem of, or symbol of the Holy Spirit. They preached a straight solid Gospel. If we preach God’s Word we can expect the fire. If we preach solid truth it brings the fire. They so preached it and fire was mingled with it, and it brought results. It stirred people. And it will do it, today.

He said, “Your covenant with death will be annulled.” Many times I have been at a funeral service and realized this. Many people feel they are safe spiritually because they made a certain move or agreement. And when the truth of God’s judgment was put on them they became stirred in their soul and as to the agreement, they had thought they were settled and ready to face death. But they found out it was not as real as they thought it was and they were not ready to face death as they had thought they were. The false refuges are many, but you cannot rest if the truth pierces your soul. No man can rest short of a real heart experience in Jesus Christ.

They said the truth went forth as hail and fire mingled with blood. It may be that you feel you have plenty of insurance on your home, but it catches fire---when it goes to burning, you run and get your insurance policy and find out it’s no good. Judge about how much rest you would have, realizing your loss. Just so, many people think they are insured by church joining, etc., for heaven, but when they get around the fire of the Holy Spirit, it sets them on fire, and they begin to be fearful and go to checking up on this thing and find out their covenant is no good. Jesus said: “Search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life.” People are building their experience on this part of the Bible or that part of the Bible. You have to have Him reign in your heart. You must have a living, born again experience in your very heart and life. Many, when the Holy Spirit begins to work on them and they begin to check, they find their experience is not as good, even as Jesus said, and they have only thought they had eternal life and they haven’t. This is hiding in false refuges. He took not only the emblem of the hail and the water in speaking of God’s Word and righteousness, but He used the line and plummet. He said he had laid judgment to the line and righteousness to the plummet.

When you put the plummet to the wall, it will show up all the crooked places and the errors that are hid in the crooked places. Even so, God said in His Word He was going to lay His truth to the line and righteousness to the plummet. It will show up every place that doesn’t come up to standard. It’s in those doctrines that fail to come up to the standard of God’s truth, that’s the false refuge---hiding the errors today. But we’re told: the waters (Word) will overflow the hiding places. The over “flowing scourge” is what we need. There’s been too much tampering with the Word. There’s been too much dealing out at a “famine rate”. We need to let truth loose and have an over flowing scourge. The truth turned loose, will surely do the job. Let’s take an illustration of Noah and the ark: When God turned the water loose, back in Noah’s time, it over flowed all the hiding places. They probably found hiding places in the rocks and the tops of the mountains.

No doubt it took days and maybe weeks for the water to get up there, but it finally reached there and overflowed every hiding place, and there was only one place of safety. That was the ark. But the same waters that overflowed the hiding places and destroyed the hiders, made the ark float and that’s the Gospel; the same truth that uncovers man’s false hiding places! These “waters of truth” will never over flow the church, the true body of Christ, for she’s built on the truth of God’s Eternal Word. The more truth you turn loose, the higher her position will be. Let’s turn the truth loose as never before. What a day for the Gospel to shine out, when hearts are troubled and men don’t know which way to go. If you’re hiding in any place, where the truth will overflow, it would be better to run out of it. We can hide behind a preacher, or behind an organization, but if they won’t receive the truth, we had better flee the thing.

This is what God meant where He said, “Come out of her my people.” It is a false hiding place and the truth will overflow it. And you will drown when the flood comes. The hail will sweep away the refuge of lies. This was the morning church where the truth worked so powerfully.

HAIL WILL SWEEP AWAY THE LIES ABOUT CREATION…

Well, we’re doing our best to sound the first trumpet, but when we get to the seventh we’ll find there’s still hail there. When the seventh vial was poured out there were hailstones the size of a talent. And that’s the day and age we’re living in. The hail will still sweep away the refuge of lies about our creation. Our land is becoming more and more saturated with this false doctrine of evolution. It’s not true, and anybody who advocates this teaching is not a Child of God. Some ministers say “we have to preach this teaching of evolution if we get any credit.” Well, there will be lots of credits in hell! What credit is it to them, to teach the doctrines that will damn their souls and maybe lead other souls astray; and influence them toward damnation? This is a picture of earth bound men and women, who step aside from the principles and doctrines of Christ and His truth, to get some earthly credit. Genesis 1:26 God says: “Let us make man in our own image after our own likeness.”

The truth says He made us in His own likeness so when the evolution teacher says we came from monkeys, he, in so may words, is he saying God’s a monkey? But the hail of God’s eternal judgment will sweep away the lies about creation.

THE HAIL WILL SWEEP AWAY THE LIES ABOUT REGENERATION…

It will sweep away the lies about regeneration and sin. For example, here’s a little hail: John was a morning time trumpeter. He was in the first group that sounded out the first hail, 1 John 3. Many Ministers are surely scattering lies today. They say, “I sin, you sin, we all sin.” But John answers this with hail. He says, “Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons of God. Therefore, the world knoweth us not, because it knew Him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God; and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that when He shall appear; we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” “And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure.” There is some hail. This will sweep away a lot of lies. You can tell who has the hope and who has not. John said, “everyone that has this hope will became pure as Christ is.”

“Whosoever committeth sin, transgresseth also the law, for sin is the transgression of the law. And ye know that He was manifested to take away our sins; and in Him is no sin.” “Everyone that hath this hope purifieth himself even as He is pure.” “Whosoever abideth in Him sinneth not; whosoever sinneth hath not seen Him, neither known Him. Little children, let no man deceive you, (this is where the trouble is) he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as He is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil.”

We have many preachers who by the sounding of the trumpets are of the devil. They say, “I sin more or less.” The trumpet sounds out saying, He that committeth sin is of the devil. He has not yet known Christ according to scripture. He may have been sprinkled, confirmed or baptized, but if he never quit the sin business, he’s still of the devil. “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for His seed remaineth in Him, and He cannot sin because he is born of God.” Do we mean we cannot sin? We can stop living for Christ and commit sin, but we must sow other seed. Our free moral agency is not taken away from us, but if we want to keep that seed, there is only one way to keep it, to cultivate it---make room for it, let it take root and let it grow, and do nothing to hinder the growth of that seed. You cannot plant wheat and get oats; neither can you plant the seed of God in your hearts, a righteous seed, and see fruits of unrighteousness. Brother, if we have unrighteous fruit coming forth in our life, there’s another seed in there. You cannot have two kinds of seed at once.

“This hail will sweep away the refuge of lies.” In this the children of God are manifested, and the children of the devil. There are only two groups of people in the world, children of God and children of the devil. Well, the fence is torn down. We’re either one or the other. Doesn’t matter how many churches we’ve joined, how many lodges we may belong to, how many times we were baptized, we’re either a child of God or a child of the devil. When we get up to the seventh trumpet, the people tried (so we find) to get on the fence of lukewarmness. This puts a false picture of the church before the world. People “on the fence” say, “dear devil and dear God”. Only one of them is their father. “In this the children of God are manifest and the children of the devil.” “Whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.”

IT WILL REVEAL TRUTH AND CONDEMN LYING…

A man on the radio recently said that no man goes without lying, that it’s a common thing. Many times in the day, he continued, the situation merits you telling a lie, instead of telling the truth---when there’s much involved. Then, psychologists say it is unhealthy to not lie, once in a while. And it is, he said, an impossibility to live without telling a lie. He said if you could live that way, you’d be an oddity. Well, there he told the truth, finally (smile).

We thank God for peculiar people. Well, he finally ended by saying that the man who tells the biggest lie today, is the man who says he doesn’t lie. Rev. 21:8 says: “All liars have their place in the lake of fire.” That’s hail and hell!

It is absurd to think we can have a league with death and hell and be at peace with God. Rev. 1:18 Christ says “I am he that was alive, (or was dead) and am alive forever more and I have the keys of death and hell.” We cannot have a league with death and hell without meeting Jesus Christ on His terms first.

Chapter 11

THE FIRST TRUMPET SWEEPS AWAY THE LIES ABOUT THE MILLENNIUM…

When the first trumpet sounded there was hail and fire mingled with blood. Some may desire to have some hail as it actually fell in the morning time. “Show us a few lies swept away.” Turn to Acts 2. We say that this first trumpet covered about 270 years and when sounded off, there was hail and fire mingled with blood and we want to see it sweep away the refuge of lies.

After the coming of the Holy Spirit, God moved on Peter and he preached. Acts 2:16 “This is that which was spoken of by the prophet Joel, and it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; and on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my spirit, And they shall prophesy; and I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood and fire, and vapour of smoke; The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come; and it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

What about the sun turning dark at noon? Acts 2:22, “Ye men of Israel,” (Israel had been in a false refuge and had many ideas of false doctrine). Truth was sweeping away those refuges. “Hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you” (a little hard on those fellows that had killed Him) that was hail, wasn’t it? Peter had to have the power of the Holy Ghost go up and down his backbone to be able to stand. He continues, “A man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by Him in the midst of you as ye yourselves also know.” You know that He was Christ of Calvary. “Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.” There were some of the best members present when Peter took his stand to cry out the truth of the situation. He called them murderers and crucifiers. He went on, “Whom God hath raised up.” There was one lie. They said He was not the Christ. They also said His men had come and stolen Him away, but Peter preached that God had raised Him up.

Then there was another lie. We read on, “Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be holden of it. “ David speaketh concerning Him, “I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for He is on my right hand that I should not be moved; Therefore did my heart rejoice and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope; because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine holy One to see corruption. Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.”

“Men and brethren, let me speak freely unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulcher is with us to this day. Therefore, being a prophet and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ on his throne.” All the millennialists say He’s going to come back and sit on David’s throne, in a second advent. Israel believed that too! The Jews believed that Christ was literally and actually to sit on David’s throne, but when the Holy Ghost came and Peter sounded the trumpet, he strove to clear out the lies from their heads and hearts. “But,” said Peter, “David is still lying in his tomb and his sepulcher is in our midst.” So, “He seeing this, spake of the resurrection of Christ, that His soul was not left in hell, neither did His flesh see corruption. This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.”

Therefore, being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, He hath she forth this, which ye now see and hear. For David is not ascended into the heavens; but he saith himself, “The Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou on my right hand, until I make they foes thy footstool.” Therefore, let all the household of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified both Lord and Christ.” He’s already ruler. The millennialists get their foundation clear from Judaism, but the very first sounding of the first trumpet was against the millennium theory. Christ will never sit on David’s throne, only as He sits on it, right now. In 2 Samuel, chapter 7:12, “And when thy days be fulfilled,” (speaking of David) “and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shalt proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish His kingdom. He shalt build an house for my name and I will establish the throne of His kingdom forever.”

Some will say that was Solomon. First Kings 1:33 David was still alive when Solomon was crowned king. First Kings, the first chapter, tells us that he was old and weary and said, “I am no longer able to be the king, let us crown my son, Solomon, king.” While David yet lived they put Solomon on David’s mule and let him ride into town and crowned him king. “This matter” (prophecy in 2 Samuel 2:12) was to take place after David died and David was still alive when Solomon was crowned king, and of him (Christ) God said, I will be his father and he will be my son. When John was baptizing Him He came up out of the water and again God spoke and said, “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.” Verse 14, “I will be a Father and He will be my son…verse16, and thine house and they kingdom shall be established forever.”

When was it to take place? When David lay in his grave. It can’t happen after his second coming. Christ had to sit on David’s throne while David was still in his tomb. And Christ’s own words were: John 5:28 “The hour is coming when all that are in the graves (that included David too) shall hear His voice and shall come forth. When Christ comes again, the dead are going to rise and all in the graves will come forth---both Christians and sinners. “They that have done good to the resurrection of life; they that have done evil to the resurrection of damnation” ---all in the same resurrection---David will come out, too! “This” (Christ on David’s throne) had to be done while he was still in the grave.

Peter stood up and said, “The Holy Ghost has shed this thing abroad.” How is Christ sitting on David’s throne? David’s throne was a symbol of a throne of mercy. David was a merciful king. Christ sits on the throne of mercy for a lost and dying world. Christ has sat on David’s throne ever since the day of Pentecost. And before David ever leaves his grave, Christ will be off the throne. When God says time will be no more, when He says, “It’s enough” Christ is going to leave His mediatorial throne and come back for His own. When He leaves the throne, then, David will come out of his grave, and so will we and others, if we’re in there, at His coming.