Chapter 12

HAIL WILL SWEEP AWAY LIES ABOUT THE LAW OF THE OLD TESTAMENT…

Peter kept right on preaching, saying: “This same Christ that you killed, God exalted Him and made Him both Lord and Christ, or ruler and Christ.” They were pricked to the heart. They said, “Men and brethren what must we do?” The truth was sweeping away the lies. Acts 13th chapter, gives us a little more of this morning sounding of the trumpet. There were people back there, that were going to hold on to the law. Acts 13:34: “And as concerning that He raised Him up (preaching about Christ) from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David.” Wherefore he saith also in another Psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thy Holy one to see corruption. For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell to sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption. Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins; and by Him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.”

We have Seventh Day Adventists yet today, that want to hang to the old law and pray that they be justified by the law, but they need to hear about the hail. It will sweep away the lie to them that believe in Christ. We, can, under Christ, be justified from the things we could not be justified from under the law. Romans 3:19, The law never made anybody a Christian, it made you a sinner. “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them that are under the law.” That every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before God.” The law was given to make you guilty. You can hang on to it if you want to, but I don’t need something to make me guilty. I need something to save me. We were starting for services and I told my little boy to turn back and get his faced washed. He had a candy bar and it was all over his face, but he said, “I ain’t dirty, Mamma washed me.” “Yes, you are dirty”, but he held on. Then I picked him up and held him in front of the mirror and that convinced him and he said no more. The Word of God is a glass, James said, it convinces you. “That every mouth may be stopped.” It will sweep away the false hiding places. All the world will become guilty before God.

There’s no salvation in the law. “Therefore, by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight; for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now, the righteousness of God without the law.” But didn’t Jesus say, keep my commandments? He said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” But He wasn’t talking about the ten.

THE FIRE OF THE FIRST TRUMPET WAS THE SYMBOL OF THE HOLY SPIRIT…

He sent His disciples out. He said: “Go teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. (Did you hear of anything like that in the ten commandments?) Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. If you love me, keep my commandments. What is another of the New Testament laws? “I, your Lord and Master have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet.” “But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe; for there is no difference.”

This was hail to a race of Jews who thought they were the chosen race. Here we find Paul telling the Jews, that concerning the plan of salvation, they were on the same level as the Gentiles. That hail, still affects the Jews.

When you find a man, who has been a member of a church for 40 or 50 years and preach that church joining is not salvation and that they have no more security in Christ than the man out there in the world, if they have not been born again, well…that’s plain talk and that’s hail! It’s truth! There’s no difference. You can turn to Stephen. He poured it out! He began with Abraham and brought it clear up to Christ. We’re told in Scripture, they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit of his message.

THE BLOOD OF CHRIST (THE SACRIFICE) MINGLED WITH THE HAIL AND FIRE…

He told them that with wicked hands they had crucified Christ! He poured it out---he laid it on! He swept away lies and called them stiff necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears. Always resisting the Holy Spirit. Here was hail and fire mingled with blood. Now, we get to the blood. We’ve found that hail is the judgment of God’s eternal Word. Truth was sweeping away the refuge of lies that people are hiding under. The fire of the Holy Spirit was what they could not resist. It upset their belief from beginning to end. He had called them murderers to their face. This was hail and fire, mingled with blood. The blood of Christ was mingled all through it. Peter preached plainly on the day of Pentecost. And we’re told they were pricked in their hearts and said, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” He had put the hail on them and the fire had scorched them. Then he told them about the blood. After he had swept away the false professions, he told them about the blood of Jesus Christ. It’s our only refuge, the rock of ages; but let’s get back to our test.

“Therefore, I have laid in Zion a stone, a tried stone.” Any other rock or stone is a false one. Every other refuge or hiding place is a false one. The rock that He laid Him in the tomb, and He raised Him from the dead. That’s the rock of our salvation, Christ’s resurrection. When the early church preached, they began with Abraham and brought it up to Christ’s resurrection. By the time they got to Christ’s resurrection, there was conviction.

Jesus Christ went down into the grave and broke the power of death and so broke the power of sin, broke the power of the devil, raised above it, was exalted at God’s right hand, and lives today as intercessor upon a throne of mercy. John 5:8, There are three that bear witness in the earth: the Spirit, the water and the blood, or the hail, the fire and the blood.

Chapter 13

TREES BURN UP – THE SYMBOL OF GOD’S PEOPLE…

The Scripture reads that when these went forth the third part of the trees were burned up. Trees are a symbol of God’s people. Isa. 61:3, “To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that thy might be called the trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.”

Isaiah 55:13 “Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the briar, shall come up the myrtle tree; and it shall be to the Lord for a name for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.” Jeremiah 17:8 “…He shall be as a tree planted by the waters, that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.”

The first Psalm tells us that a righteous man is one like a tree planted by the waters and will not be moved. Now when this Gospel of hail, fire and blood went forth, a third part of the trees were burnt up. These were people that actually had an experience with God, couldn’t take the heat of the messages, couldn’t meet the standards and were burnt out. Who were these? Ananias, Sapphira, Demus, and others. There were many that turned back and followed Him no more. What was wrong? The standard was too high. A third part of the trees were burnt up. It is so today. People start and go along. They like the sound of the Gospel and when you begin to lift the standard and pour on the hail and uncover the false refuges and overflow the hiding places, the people burn out.

GRASS – (ALL FLESH IS GRASS) – BURNT UP...

And he said, “all the green grass was burnt up.” Perhaps you know what this is before you are told. Isaiah 40:6-8 “The voice said, Cry. And He said, what shall I cry? All flesh is grass and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field. (7) The grass withereth, the flower fadeth because the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it.” Surely the people is grass. Why did it fade? Because the Spirit of the Lord blows upon it. If there is one need greater than another it is to have the spirit of the Lord to blow upon the Church. Well, amen! Sometimes we sing, “Let it breathe on me.” All green grass, or the flesh. In 1 Corinthians chapter one, we are told that God chose the things that are not to bring to naught the things that are.” He chose the foolishness of this world to confound the wise. Paul tells us He chose the things that are not to bring to naught the things that are, that no flesh could glory in His presence. Only let us say that when His Word goes forth like hail, with fire, mingled with blood, the green grass is burnt up. That is why many people don’t like the truth. Not long ago, it was our privilege to preach this truth among several ministers who profess to be ministers of the church of God. As the 4th vial began to come from God’s Word they were scorched. The flesh began to suffer. They were stirred as the Jews were under the preaching of Stephen and Paul.

If we sit under the preaching of the eternal word, poured out and anointed by the Holy Spirit, there can be no flesh glory in His presence. An, if Christ is in the midst of the Church, as He ought to be, there will be no glorying in the flesh whatsoever. We will be glorying in the cross of Christ.

We live in an age when men are glorying in their own attainments and what they have been able to acquire. A good solid message from the Holy Spirit will burn the very heart out of such men. That is the reason this great truth is being pushed out of our camps and services at home. People are living after the flesh. Jesus said that as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the coming of the son of man. How were they living in the days of Noah? They were living completely after the flesh. They ate, drank, married; just satisfied the flesh. That’s the way people are living today. They say, “I have to have my food, my clothes, and my rest.” We have to have this. We must have that. It appears we’re a bit far from any effort toward sacrifice. A sacrifice is when we’re going beyond what is easy. We must fight living after the flesh. If we don’t fight it, it will take us over. This is an age when the spirit of this world is to satisfy the flesh. Many do what they want, forgetting what Christ wants.

WHY DOES NOT THE CHURCH TODAY HAVE THE EARLY CHURCH GLORY?

When Peter finished preaching and pouring out the hail and fire they went out straightway and sold everything they had and brought in the money and laid it at his feet. Men had never heard such a message. Why can’t we have the glory in our midst that the early morning church had? We don’t sell out like they did. We’re not asking any body to sell their property and bring in the money, but we’re going to have to sell out our own life on an altar of prayer, and put it in God’s hands, even as they sold out literally, if we ever have God in our soul as they did.

“All green grass is burnt up.” Psalm 90, verses 5 and 6---Moses prayed the wonderful prayer we’ve read so many times. Verse 5, “Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as asleep; in the morning they are like grass (speaking of people) which groweth up. In the morning it flourisheth and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down and withereth.” In the morning they seem to flourish and begin to get somewhere, but alas, they go right on living after the flesh and in the evening of life they are cut down and wither.

THE SOUNDING OF THE 2ND TRUMPET...

“And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea; and the third part of the sea became blood; And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.” Revelation 8:8-9

Chapter 14

THE MESSAGE OF THE SECOND TRUMPET...

Lift the Saviour up. That’s God’s solution for a lost and dying world. Many times, with that thought in mind, some people wonder why we spend time studying the Revelation. We always answer, this way. It’s the greatest desire of our heart to lift Jesus up, but the first thing necessary is to clear a place for Him. You can’t lift Christ up in the midst of this confusion that mankind is in today. One of the first things we found out in the sounding of the first trumpet, (covering the period of time of the early morning church) was to let the hail sweep away the refuge of lies and overcome the hiding places. God wants man to come out in the open where he has no place to hide and let him see his own naked condition before God. If we can get men there, they will break down under the convicting power of the Holy Spirit, and turn to God. But we must try to get men to that place. They’re hiding in this place and that place, and feel they are secure and have made a league with death, and they are ready to die, and they have made a covenant with hell. But we need to get them out in the open, so there will be not hiding place---only in Jesus Christ.

The old prophet said (speaking of these conditions and of getting men out in the open) that God will send many fishermen to fish them out, and after that, He would send many hunters, to hunt them out from the rocks. We’ve seen people just stand and preach the Gospel, but they’re not fishermen.

We’re a hunter. We try to “kick-out” or uncover them, and when they get in the open, shoot at them until they get in another place, then, get them out in the open and “cut loose on them again”. For the benefit of those who read this, we are dealing with the seventh seal. Rev. 8:8, We wish that it were possible to give you the understanding that would calm your feats of this seventh seal message. We’ve dealt with the sounding of the first trumpet angel and have seen that when the morning church preached, something followed. It had an effect on people. It never left them the same. There followed hail and fire mingled with blood.

Now, let’s consider the sounding of the second trumpet, which brings us farther in this great gospel day and in the 8th verse of the 8th chapter, we read: “And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea; and the third part of the sea became blood; and the third part of the creatures which were in the sea and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.” We must look into what happened following the sounding of the second trumpet message or that dealing with the church in the Gospel day, just a little farther in the period of time that we call the apostasy or the falling away. When we begin to look in the Revelation, we see something different following the sounding of this trumpet, than that which followed the sounding of the first trumpet.

Results are governed by what is preached. It is easily proved by these trumpets. A definite work followed the sounding of the trumpets and how the trumpet was blown, governed the results and the conditions that the people of God got into. When the morning trumpet sounded, there was hail, fire and blood. And it swept away false refuge, unbelief, and self-righteousness in the old law, and the waters overflowed the hiding places, but when the second trumpet sounded out, something else followed. A mountain, (burning as if it were on fire) was cast into the sea and the third part of the sea became blood, and the creatures that had life in the sea died, and a third part of the ships were destroyed. The first thing we must do, is to gain understanding from God’s Word, as to what this great mountain is.

DANIEL’S IMAGE OF THE KINGDOM…

We can get many ideas about this Revelation and people will inform you that the mountain is this, or that, but the Word of God lets us know. In Daniel, 2:31, Nebuchadnezzar had a dream and Daniel received the dream and interpretation from God and He gives him understanding---and in the 31st verse, we read: “Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This image whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee, and the form thereof was terrible. This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, his legs of iron and his feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay and broke them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver and the gold broken to pieces together; and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floor; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them.

(1) And the stone that smote the image became a great mountain (2) A mountain that was on fire (3) That went into the sea (4) The stone that beat the image to powder (5) Became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. This is the dream and we will give the interpretation thereof. The Babylonian kingdom was the head of gold, followed by Medes and Persians, and then by the Grecian, on down to the Romans, who were the feet of iron and clay. We read that in the days of these kings, he told him there were four different kingdoms symbolized. In the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom. The millennial theory needs to be erased from the minds of the people completely. The spirit of God is raising up a standard against it. Too many ministers are indifferent concerning this doctrine. Some will say, “What makes the difference? If there is a millennium, I’m ready, if there is not, I’m also prepared.” Well, it makes all the difference in the world. Just this much difference, that it is not true, and when we teach it, we can’t expect to have God’s blessing on it. It’s the easy way to say, “What makes the difference?” It makes all the difference in the world. It makes this much difference, that if we’re a called man of God, He called us to preach the truth. He didn’t send us out to compromise or tell people it makes no difference. He called you to declare the plain truth to His people and the world. It is either truth or error.

A Man talked to me recently, saying, “You’re not even trying to get together with these holiness movements.” I said that I was really trying to get together with every holiness movement on the face of the globe, but there is only one place we can meet and get together. That’s on the Word, and I’m standing on the Word of God. They’ll have to do the moving. Then another said, “We ought to be ready to join with everybody who fights against sin.” I am. I’m not only ready, but I am joined together with every man or woman that is fighting against sin. Let’s analyze that statement just a little.

I’ll join with every man that is fighting against sin, but the sin of division is one of the worst sins of our day. We’re in the final days of the battle of Armageddon. People say there’s little difference between holiness movements. There’s just this much. They all teach a millennium of some kind. I’ll show you how they’re teaching.

THE KINGDOM OF GOD…

They say the battle of Armageddon is not going to start until Jesus comes back again, and we nearly have it finished. That’s how much they help in scripture. Let’s not be deceived any longer. We must take a stand on this truth and this 44th verse, in the second chapter of Daniel said, “In the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom.” If, you try to pressure these fellows, they reach for a straw when they realize they’re drowning. They also have a doctrine that there’s a difference between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven. They say, He has set up the kingdom of God now, in the hearts of people and the kingdom of heaven will be set up at His coming. Daniel said: In the days of these kings (before they ever pass off the stage of action) shall the god of heaven set up a kingdom.

Some places in the gospel, Jesus spoke of it as the kingdom of heaven; other places He called it the kingdom of God. Matthew wrote kingdom of heaven and Mark called it the kingdom of God and they were both writing of the same conversation. That term is used interchangeably. There’s only one kingdom. The kingdom would not be left to other people, but would break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms and stand forever. No need of another one coming because this one is going to stand forever. If we had that image here again today, we would find that we moved on out of the time of the Babylonian kingdom into the Medes and Persians and on into the Grecians---then we get down to the feet, in the days of the Roman Empire.

The very thing that God showed Daniel would happen, did happen. When Rome reached the very summit of her glory, her domain was so large, that she dominated the whole known world. Caesar sent out a decree that the whole world should be taxed. At the same time, a babe was born in Bethlehem.

That little stone cut out of the mountain without hands---the 45th verse reads: “For as much as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces, the iron, brass, the clay, the silver and the gold, the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter…” Now let’s look at this a little. He taught us back in the 35th verse, that the iron and the clay and the silver, brass and gold or all these kingdoms were broken to pieces together. Together, means something.

There are all kinds of millennialists. They go right along in the teaching of Daniel’s image, until they get down to the feet, and then they make the toes run out to the second coming of Christ. Wouldn’t that be a picture? We want you to see that the stone, which struck the image in the feet and toes will also be that stone, which will strike all the kingdoms of the earth at His second coming.

The scripture says the “stone smote the image in the feet”. Now, it says that the feet were of iron and clay. Even as you cannot mix iron and clay together, so, we see the divided condition of Rome when Christ was born. And going on down to the ten toes, we see pictured, the division that came out of the Roman empire, when she went into “the ten kingdom phase”. The ten toes correspond to the ten horns on the beast. It was when the Roman Empire had suffered the movement of the barbarians and was broken. The dragon had crown on his heads. Those seven heads, symbolizing the seven forms of government of the pagan Roman empire---but when the barbarians moved in, we see this beast rise up and the crowns that moved off the heads to the 10 horns, show that she was already divided up into her ten kingdoms.

Someone might say, “But that still doesn’t prove that the blow came to the Roman Empire or to Daniel’s image in the morning time of the church”. Yes, it does! The 35th verse said: “Then (when the stone hit it in the feet) was the gold and the silver and the brass and the iron all broken to pieces together.” These kingdoms had to still be in existence when the stone hit it. Those empires have been gone a long time. It’s too late, even now, and Jesus hasn’t come again and it’s too late, even now, for the stone to hit the image. In the 34th and 35th verses: (we must find out what this mountain is) “Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then, was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver and the gold broken to pieces together.” This stone will smite all images. If any thing is set up, that will draw men’s affection to it and they begin to worship it, instead of God; that stone will go to rolling again. It will still break in pieces and consume any image that will exalt itself against God.

THE POWER OF THE STONE…

The metals were broken to pieces, together, so if Christ would come today, it’s too late, because the image is gone. Let’s see what it became like. Let’s find this mountain. It said they were broken to pieces together and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floor, and the wind carried them away. The Lord sent the wind. I’m praying like Ezekiel: “Lord, breathe on these people.” We’re preaching on the Holy Ghost, again. There’s nothing that will carry the false away, like the Holy Ghost. They will be like the chaff on the summer threshing floor---and there was found no place for them. Let’s see if it worked that way.

When Christ, in the early ministry, began to move in on the pagan Roman Empire, Daniel said that that was carried like the wind would carry the chaff away, and no place was found for it. Turn to Rev. 12, and read about a wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet; a crown of 12 stars on her head, symbolizing the church in her pristine glory. And another wonder in heaven, not in God’s heaven, but up in a heavenly position, or an ecclesiastical position, the red dragon, symbolizing the Roman empire was exalted as the religion of the day. All the people were worshipping in paganism and there was a battle set, Michael and His angels, or Christ and His ministry fought the dragon and his ministry.

And the dragon was cast out, and prevailed not and there was no place found for it. This is what Daniel said would happen. Daniel said the wind (symbolizing the Holy Spirit) would carry it away. In the third chapter of Matthew, John told the people that he baptized with water unto repentance, but there would come one mightier than he whose shoes he was not worthy to even unloose, and He would baptize with the Holy Ghost and with fire.