Feast of the Church
Part 2
(Sermon Notes)
By Warren Zehrung – May 19, 2013

Jesus Christ said, “I will build my Church” (Matthew 16:18).  And then He said, “I will give unto thee the keys of the Kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 16:19).  Indeed, God is making it possible for us – His Children – to be in the Kingdom of heaven – or the Kingdom of God, who is in heaven.

The Greek word translated “Church” here, is ‘ekklesia.’  It means the called out ones, the assembly, a gathering, a group or congregation of people.  Each of us had to be individually called by God the Father and personally placed in the Church by Jesus Christ.

John 6:

43  Jesus therefore answered and said…

44  No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

John 6:

65  And [Jesus] said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.

The night before Jesus died He prayed to His Father in heaven:

John 17:

11  And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou have given me, that they may be one, as we are.

What day did God choose to establish the Church on earth?  It was Pentecost Day.  At the beginning of Creation  of mankind, the very first thing God did in bringing many sons and daughters to Glory – was to begin the spiritual creation for mankind – it was the seventh-day Sabbath.

*The  final Pentecost – as we shall see – pictures the completion of the Spiritual Creation when we, the Children of God, become full-fledged members of the Spiritual, Eternal Family of God.

The Feast of Tabernacles is the great ingathering harvest of the world.

But the Feast of Weeks – Pentecost – is our Feast – the Feast of the Church.

Exodus 23:

16  And [speaking of Pentecost] the Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of thy labors, which thou hast sown in the field: and [then speaking of the Feast of Tabernacles] the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labors out of the field.

At that final Pentecost, that is when we shall be like Him; When we shall see Him as He is.  We shall be like Him.  But great change yet needs to take place in us – and that is what the Feast of Pentecost pictures.  At this time we are a work in progress – not yet complete – not yet like Him as He is (1 John 3:2).

This process of our spiritual development is shown by Pentecost and the events surrounding Pentecost – up to the final Pentecost before Christ Returns.  When will the process of our being spiritually created be complete?  Our being Spiritually created will not be complete until we are spiritual beings in the eternal family of God.

Acts 2:

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

Acts 2:

4  And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.

God's Holy Spirit is the Life, Mind, Love, and Power of God the Father and Jesus Christ.  The congregation of the Church is therefore a spiritual entity.  The New Covenant, New Testament Church was founded on Pentecost.

This day of Pentecost was fifty days after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ when He had gone into heaven to be accepted by His Father.  We saw in:

Leviticus 23:

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.

Remember Mary Magdalene at the empty tomb early in the morning?

John 20:

15  Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why are you weeping? Whom do you seek? She, supposing him to be the gardener said unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him somewhere, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.

16  Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.

17  Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.

Jesus ascended to His Father instantaneously as a Spirit being – and returned the same day.

The Greek shows that this is the first day of the first of seven weeks counting toward Pentecost.

John 20:

19  Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the weeks, [Wave Sheaf Day] when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.

20  And when He had so said, He showed unto them his hands and His side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.

The Wave Sheaf pictures the sacrifice of Jesus being accepted by God the Father as the First of the firstfruits of the harvest.

The saints also must be accepted by God.  After our resurrection we too shall be presented, as the Wave Sheaf was, to the Father for His acceptance.

Leviticus 23:

20  And the priest shall wave them with the bread [two wave loaves] of the firstfruits for a wave offering before the Lord.

We will be accepted because:

Ephesians 2:

10  … we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Our acceptance by God the Father is based on the sacrifice of Christ, who atoned for our sins, and in so doing, He made us acceptable in the eyes of the Father!  As Paul wrote in:

Romans 5:

1  Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

2  By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

The “hope of the glory of God” – that’s the ‘resurrection’ of the Saints.  That means that we will be resurrected, accepted and glorified as Jesus Christ was.

That first Pentecost in the New Testament, the Church came into being – it was the birthday of the Church that would never die.

Matthew 16:

18  …the gates of [the grave] shall not prevail against it.

In John 3 Jesus even uses the analogy of a new birth when he speaks of our being born into the Kingdom of God.

We are not told specifically by John that this event takes place at Pentecost – but it follows Spring Holy Days of John Chapter 2:13 in John’s chronology of events.  We know that John Chapter 4 takes place on Pentecost with the subject of “Living Water,” an allusion to God’s Holy Spirit.   Followed by:

John 4:

23  But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeks such to worship Him.

24 God is Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

John 3:

3  Jesus answered and said unto [Nicodemus], Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, [born anew, born from above – we do not need to be shy of using the same phraseology that Jesus used] he cannot see the kingdom of God.

John 3:

6  That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of Spirit is spirit.

‘Born of Spirit’ is speaking of our resurrection.

John 3:

7  Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

Pentecost pictures the ‘spirit born’ resurrection of the saints.

Paul put it this way:

1 Corinthians 15:

44  It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

1 Corinthians 15:

50  Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither does corruption inherit incorruption.

These old fading physical bodies of ours are not going to live throughout all eternity.

1 Corinthians 15:

51  Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep [physical death], but we shall all be changed,

52  In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

53  For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

Each of the individuals of the Church was to go on to perfection the seventh Doctrine of Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 6:

1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God.

When Jesus Christ was telling His disciples, “I will build my Church,” He went on to say:

Matthew 16:

24  If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

25  For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

John 15:

12  This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.  [Jesus laid down His life for us]

13  Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

1 John 3:

16  Hereby perceive we the love of God, because He laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

Jesus said a lot about laying down our lives for one another – just as He did for us.

Romans 12:

1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

We need to examine ourselves to see if we are serving Jesus Christ by laying down our lives properly.

In the second year of Jesus’ ministry John has this discourse between references of Passover and Tabernacles – possibly on Pentecost.

John 6:

63  It is the spirit that quickens; the flesh profits nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

We look at the things Jesus said and did on the Holy days – like Pentecost – to gain a better understanding of the Plan of God.

Let’s take a look at how our “change” takes place.

There’s a resurrection, a presentation to the Father, His acceptance, and a new marriage covenant – and it all takes place in conjunction with Pentecost.

That is when God will have completed His spiritual creation in us.

We saw how long and how exceedingly loud the trumpet is.

This is the seventh and last trumpet – and it sounds on that final Pentecost.

Exodus 19:

16  And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightning’s, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled.

Exodus 19:

19  And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by a voice.

We see here the type and the antitype of this Pentecost trumpet.

Revelation 8:

7  The first angel sounded, [The First Trumpet] 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, and all green grass was burnt up.

8  And the second angel sounded, [The Second Trumpet] and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;

Revelation 8:

10  And the third angel sounded,  [The Third Trumpet] and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;

Revelation 8:

12  And the fourth angel sounded, [The Fourth Trumpet] and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.

Revelation 9:

1  And the fifth angel sounded, [The Fifth Trumpet] and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.

Revelation 9:

13  And the sixth angel sounded, [The Sixth Trumpet] and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God.

Then we come to the last Pentecost before Jesus returns when The Seventh Trumpet sounds.

Revelation 11:

15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign forever and ever.

16  And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God.

There are tremendous happenings taking place at the throne of God.

Revelation 11:

17  Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.

18  And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou should give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and should destroy them which destroy the earth.

Read about the seven plagues being poured out in Revelation 15 and 16 and ask yourself if all those things could transpire in the course of one day – the Feast of Trumpets when Christ returns? The wrath of God takes place after Pentecost and before Trumpets.  There is too much that is going to happen for all the vials to be poured out in one day – it will take a longer time.  It takes a long time for the plagues those 7 last vials of Revelation 15 and 16 to be poured out on earth.  On the other hand, the last trumpet being sounded on Pentecost allows plenty of time for the acceptance of the firstfruits, the marriage supper of the Lamb, and the vials to be poured out on the earth – before Christ’s return on the Feast of Trumpets.

Revelation 15:

6  And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles.

7  And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever.

Revelation 16:

1  And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.

Perhaps even the exact same amount of time – four and a half months between the Feast of Pentecost and the Feast of Trumpets when Jesus will return to this earth – and we with Him.

Exodus 24:

* 3  And Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the LORD hath said we will do.

The Old Testament marriage covenant took place in conjunction with the Feast of Pentecost.

Exodus 24:

8  And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words.

9  Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel:

Remember what Pentecost pictures: In our resurrected state – when we are born into the Kingdom of God we will be able – for the first time – to see God as He is.

1 John 3:

2  Beloved, now [already] are we the sons of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be: [a change to spirit beings needs to take place] but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is.

Again, notice the type and antitype of seeing God at Pentecost in the Old Testament, and our being able to see him at the final Pentecost.

Exodus 24:

* 10  And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness.

11  And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink.

Seeing God, eating and drinking in verse 11 is a type of the Marriage Supper at God’s throne that will take place on the final Pentecost before the return of Jesus Christ.

Our soon coming marriage supper will certainly be in conjunction with that soon coming Feast of Pentecost.

There is the God of Israel in verse :10 – Jesus Christ, the God of the Old Testament – and at His feet a transparent - clear floor – like a slab of sapphire colored glass, crystal clear.

It was as clear as the sky on a brilliant day – and yet we are told that it was tinted as a sapphire stone.

Have you ever had a pair of dark – dark sunglasses – Jesus’ flooring under His feet was like that – to protect the men from His extreme brilliance.  Something like the old timers using smoked glass to look an eclipse of the sun. [Do not attempt this – it is extremely dangerous to your eyes – and could cause blindness.]

Jesus is too brilliant to look upon with human eyes.  God had to provide a way that the elders could look up through this “tinted glass shield” to be able to look at Him and not be blinded.  Notice the similarity of God’s throne in:

Ezekiel 1:

26  And above [just like in Exodus 24] the firmament [expansive crystal slab] that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it.

27  And I saw as the color of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about.

28  As the appearance of the rainbow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory [brilliance] of the Lord.

Those examples took place in the past.  Let’s see what is prophesied in Revelation for us in the future.

Revelation 4:

1  After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will show thee things which must be hereafter.

Psalm 11:

4  The LORD is in His holy temple, the Lord's throne is in heaven.

Revelation 4:

2  And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.

3  And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.

4  And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.

5  And out of the throne proceeded lightning and thundering and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.

6  And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal.

Revelation 4 establishes that the sea of glass and the throne are in heaven.  We do not hold to the “secret rapture false doctrine.”  Nor do we have an eternal soul, and we do not go to heaven when we die.  We will not behold the beatific vision, as the Catholics believe, where the face of God is held in awe and enjoyed by the blessed in heaven for all eternity. But we do know for positive that Jesus ascended to His Father in heaven and was accepted!

Brethren, please do not think of God’s heaven being far, far away.  Heaven is a spiritual reality and in a different dimension from that in which we live – and so it is really near us in spiritual terms.  The second heaven is where the stars are, but the third heaven is not beyond the stars – but a different realm altogether.

After our resurrection we will always be with the Lord.  We will return with Jesus Christ on the Feast of Trumpets. [Trumpets is plural, not a singular trumpet like the singular trumpet on the final Pentecost.]

1 Thessalonians 4:

16  For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet [singular] of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

Jesus will first come to raise the dead.

John 5:

25  Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.

26  For as the Father hath life in Himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in Himself;

27  And hath given Him authority to execute judgment [as to who will be resurrected to life] also, because he is the Son of man.

28  Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,

29  And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life.

Jesus is going to gather the saints from the earth and bring them up and they will come to the sea of glass.

1 Thessalonians 4:

17  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. [The Lord will shortly be returning to the earth.]

Revelation 19:

13  And He [Jesus Christ] was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and His name is called The Word of God.

Zechariah 14:

5  ... the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.

Revelation 19:

14  And the armies [resurrected saints] which were in heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

Then, after we have met the Lord in the air:

Revelation 15:

1  And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.

Brethren, how do we gain victory over the beast of Revelation – who is empowered by Satan so that we can be accepted by the Father?

We will be accepted by God the Father because we:

Revelation 12:

11 … overcame [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of [our] testimony; and [we] loved not [our] lives unto the death.

Revelation 15:

2  And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them [the saints of God] that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.

We will be spirit beings – so we do not need to be under the glass, protected, looking up.  We will have been resurrected and brought to the throne of God in heaven and stand on the sea of glass.

Revelation 15:

3  And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.

We will finally see God as He is – and we will be like Him – spirit (1 John 3:2).

Notice again the type that took place on Pentecost, and antitype:

Exodus 24:

10  And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness.

11  And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink.

Seeing God, and eating and drinking in verse 11 is a type of the marriage supper at God’s throne that will take place on the final Pentecost before the return of Jesus Christ.

Here in Revelation 19 is where our Marriage Supper is spoken of.  This is when the marriage covenant of the saints will ACTUALLY take place.

These are the true sayings of God.  Jesus says that this is not a type, or an allegory, and it is not symbolic - but the real, definite, genuine Marriage Covenant of the Bride and the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ taking place.

We start here at God’s Throne in Heaven.

Revelation 19:

4  And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia.

5  And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great.

6  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 thundering, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigns.

7  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.

8  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.

9  And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And He saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

These Prophetic Scriptures show us the splendor of the ultimate nuptial ceremony.  We do not want to miss out on the most splendid and majestic wedding of all time. What an incredible truth that our Lord and Master has chosen to make us His Wife by entering into an eternal pledge with us.  Jesus Himself spoke of His wedding day – and how He would adorn His Bride:

Ezekiel 16:

10  I clothed thee also with an embroidered gown, and I placed badgers' skin slippers on your feet, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk.

11  I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck.

12  And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head.

13  Thus were you decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and embroidered work; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil: and thou were exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom.

Mere words fail to portray the most glorious ceremony ever, which Christ has reserved for His Bride alone.  Divine music will reverberate across the heavens, and gleaming, brilliance will illuminate the throne room, as the Bride is presented to her Lord. 

His Bride will be accepted by Jesus Christ, adorned in her radiant white silk wedding gown – and upon her head she will wear a beautiful sparkling crown.  At that soon coming Pentecost ceremony at the throne of God, when the glorified, resurrected saints of God are asked, “Do you take Jesus Christ to be your lawful wedded husband for all eternity to come”…

We will answer, I do.”

Brethren, we are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb.

End “Feast of the Church - Part 2”

***

Sermon:  "Feast of the Church - Part 1"
Sermon:  "Feast of the Church - Part 2"

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