(Go to Meeting)

Steve Durham—November 8, 2024

computer - Video - pdfIcon - PDF | Audio | [Up]

Track 1 or Download

The last couple times I've spoken, I've talked about Pentecost vs the Trumpets resurrection.

We've been going over two of those three parts in the last two messages, and tonight I'd like to finish it up.

What I mentioned the second time was that there were some objections that people in the Churches of God have toward whether or not Trumpets is the resurrection day or Pentecost is the resurrection day.

They don't seem to understand or want to understand—for whatever reason—they don't understand that Pentecost is actually the resurrection day.

It's very obvious that it is as we go through the Scriptures and the different things that God has laid out for us in His Word.

We've been focused on the world here in the last couple of weeks. Aside from the election, prophecy and end time events is one of the greatest interests to people today. You'll get their attention when you start talking about the end-time.

Most people want to know what's going to happen to them in the future, obviously. Subjects like

  • the four horsemen of the apocalypse
  • seven seals
  • the trumpet plagues
  • the three woes
  • the seven vials
  • Armageddon
  • the return of Christ, of course, is a big one,
  • the resurrection

There are all sorts of different ideas about the resurrection in Christianity and in the Churches or the religions of the world.

But in the Church, God's Word is very clear about the resurrection. These all are very popular to the world. The world doesn't understand these very, very clearly, but in the Church of God, we should! We should understand them very well.

God's people have been given a great blessing that with our calling and God's Holy Spirit we can understand these truths found in the Scriptures.

The sad thing is that even with this understanding and with God's Holy Spirit leading and guiding us, many in the Church do not understand when the resurrection of the saints occur. We understand we will be resurrected, but when? Of course, I guess it's a mute point, because when you are resurrected, you'll know!

But for all of us on the earth that are still alive and still breathing, God is laying out this information for us, this Truth. So, we need to look into it.

Again, some believe it's Pentecost, some believe it's Trumpets. The last couple of times, I've done a message on leading up to this one. I want to do these objections, because in that it will give us these other ingredients, these other items that we can look at, that will show us:

  • where the Sea of Glass is
  • what it is
  • what its purpose is

and also help us understand about why Trumpets is not the resurrection day!

There are several things found in Scriptures that will help us understand this, and I want to go through those. I want to focus on the sign of the Son of man and the Sea of Glass.

Fred has thoroughly covered that, but still there seems to be an objection. We just hang on to it. I understand that because I was one of the ones who 'cut my teeth' on a Trumpets resurrection way back.

1-Thess. 4:17 was one of the Scriptures we used to adhered to. I'm going to go over that today. And it's going to be interesting for you, I hope, when you really look into that Scripture:

  • what it is saying
  • what it is not saying

Now, of course you can't begin to cover the entire subject here. {transcriber's clarification: But there are many messages on this subject can be found on truthofGod.org; plus the book: God's Plan Revealed by His Sabbath and Holy Days}

I just want to focus on those objections and help us understand about the Sea of Glass and the sign of the Son of man, which are critical in understanding a Pentecost resurrection.

Here are some of the objections, just a few:

  • the Sea of Glass is a made up pipe-dream, it doesn't exist
  • it's not Scriptural
  • it's not important for determining when the saints are resurrected
  • what is the sign of the Son of man? There's some confusion over that!
  • many people base their belief of a Trumpet's resurrection on the Scripture found in 1-Thess. 4:16 and 17
  • a minor objection is that Pentecost resurrection would have Christ returning twice; that Pentecost could not be the harvest feast, because then Christ would come back twice

So just to answer that question real quickly, I agree, but Christ's feet do not touch the Mount of Olives twice. He only comes down once!

  • He comes in the clouds
  • then the sign of the Son of man
  • he remains there for about a year
  • we'll see that He's on the Sea of Glass with His Throne there until the saints are resurrected on Pentecost

Then there is much to do for the saints in preparation. And we're going to see something that's really interesting. But yes, Christ only comes once. I agree with that!

  • Finally, they refuse to agree that Pentecost is a harvest feast.

Look at Ruth, Boaz and the barley harvest. It's read every year on Pentecost. That's just a minor indication.

Then we have the seven church harvest, and we have the harvest coming, the crops growing, and harvested on the 50th day in the Jubilee year the harvest of the saints.

There's an earnest down payment of God's Holy Spirit given on Pentecost. Why not a fulfillment of it on the Day of Pentecost in the future as a resurrection? So, the more you look into it, the more understanding you gain and the more obvious it becomes.

So today I'd like to address those objections and give more of an explanation regarding them and the resurrection.

I started this back before Pentecost. Here we are past Feast of Tabernacles, moving into the new year. But I wanted to finish it. I wanted to finish the small three messages to indicate that Pentecost is definitely the harvest feast, the resurrection.

My desire and my hope is that everyone in the Churches of God—all of our brothers and sisters, everybody, all who are called and have God's Holy Spirit—will come to that understanding. I hope they do!

  • Wouldn't it be wonderful?
  • Would it be wonderful if we were all on the same page?

First Objection: The Sea of Glass is a made up idea. It's not Scriptural. It doesn't exist.

Before we get started, as I did in the first message, the couple Scriptures that pop up into your mind, I'm sure, is Acts 17 about Bereans and what they did in:

Acts 17:11 "Now, these were more noble than those in Thessalonica, for they received the Word with all readiness of mind… [they were teachable; they had a love of the Truth] …and examined the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so."

Obviously, that's the approach we need to take in anything. Take everything off the table, put the Scriptures back on, not our opinions, not tradition, not anything else! Just: What do the Scriptures say?

That's what we want to do. We want to follow what God tells us to do.

2-Timothy 2:15: "Diligently study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of the Truth."

It's not Scriptural; this is the objection. If it isn't, then we won't be able to find it in the Scriptures!

Revelation 4:1[transcriber's correction]: "After these things I looked, and behold, a door opened in heaven; and the first voice that I heard was as if a trumpet…"

There are certain indicators within these Scriptures that we're going to read that show us that when you put them together, that the Sea of Glass is near, and the sign of the Son of man have commonality in them.

The fact that it's a harvest feast, listen to these words.

"…I heard was as if a trumpet were speaking with me, saying, 'Come up here…'" (v 1)—that's a that's a very interesting statement!

It's made in a couple places. It's made in Ezekiel and also with Moses, when the Sea of Glass was there in both cases: at Mount Sinai and when Ezekiel was taken off into heaven to the River Kebar.

"…'Come up here, and I will show you the things that must take place after these things.' And immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a Throne… [everywhere you see the Sea of Glass, you see a Throne] …was set in heaven, and One was sitting on the Throne. And He Who was sitting was in appearance like a jasper stone and a sardius stone; and a rainbow… [another indicator] … was around the Throne, like an emerald in its appearance" (vs 1-3).

Verse 4: "And around the Throne were twenty-four thrones; and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments; and they had on their heads golden crowns…. [another indicator] … And proceeding from the Thronewere lightnings and thunders and voices; and seven lamps of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, were burning before the Throne" (vs 4-5).

Here we have the answer to the objection:

Verse 6: "And before the Throne was a Sea of Glass… [it names it: a Sea of Glass] …like crystal… [clear/transparent] …And around the Throne and over the Throne were four living creatures, full of eyes before and behind."

So here's one accounting of the Sea of Glass. There is a Sea of Glass mentioned in Scripture. Okay, not only once. Once would be enough, but twice.

Revelation 15:1: "Then I saw another sign in heaven…"—this was right after the 6th seal!

This probably is the place to introduce this. I have a chart that makes the end-time seals and all a lot more understandable.

{showing a chart on video}

Seven Seals/Seven Trumpets: The seals come first/seven trumpets come next, and within the trumpets:

  • the 5th trumpet is the 1st woe
  • the 6th trumpet is the 2nd woe
  • the 7th trumpet is the 3rd woe

Now I have:

  • a red dot, a blue dot
  • a red dot/a blue dot
  • a red arrow

At the 3rd woe I have a red arrow here, because the 3rd woe is the 7th trumpet, the final trumpet. Out of the seven, which are listed, this is the only place they're listed in sequence: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. On the seventh trumpet, the last trump—is the resurrection of the saints on Pentecost, it happens right here!

Look what else has to come. We have the seven last plagues or the vials being poured out—the wrath of God. The saints see that from the Sea of Glass.

There's more to happen, so these seven vials are poured out. The seventh one is when the trumpets are blown to announce war and Christ returns—the battle of Armageddon—and the saints with Him.

The sign of the son of man comes in after the 6th seal, which is the heavenly sign. At this point, the sign of the Son of man is over Jerusalem, over the Mount of Olives. There's where the action is, is going to happen.

The armies are going to come where Christ will come back on the Mount of Olives. It's hovering. It's right there on a cloud. We'll see the significance of a cloud. The saints go to that and watch the vials being poured out and then they return. So, I hope that helps a little bit. If you're a visual person, which I am.

Revelation 15:1: "Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and awesome: seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is filled up. And I saw a Sea of Glass mingled with fire, and those who had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name… [the saints] …standing on the Sea of Glass, having the lyres of God" (vs 1-2).

Notice that the vials are going to be poured out and the saints are watching it. That has happened after Pentecost.

See the sequence? That's the last trump. the last of those trumpets blown.

So these two Scriptures name the Sea of Glass. There are more places in the Bible where it's referred to, but it's not named as the Sea of Glass. But these common items are there. When you see those common items grouped together, know that the Sea of Glass is somewhere around. It's there in most cases.

So, looking for these words and associating them with the Sea of Glass. If you don't notice those words, you'll overlook the fact that there's the Sea of Glass there. Two examples:

  • Mount Sinai
  • Ezekiel

So you must make the connection when you see these common items being mentioned. If you don't, you'll overlook it. God's Word is a mystery and a secret, isn't it? Sometimes there are hidden jewels within the pages of the Bible.

Proverbs 25:2: "The glory of God is to conceal a thing, but the honor of kings is to search out a matter."

Search out the matter, just like the Bereans. He wants to reveal those precious gems to us. All we need to do is ask God to teach us.

Psalm 69:32—David wrote this: "The humble shall see and be glad; and your heart shall live, you who seek God."

We all want to seek God. We're all seeking God. And when we see these things and understand them, we're happy. But we have to be humble, and teachable.

Psalm 119:18—David says: "Open my eyes so that I may behold wondrous things out of Your Law."

This subject is a wondrous thing! It is an amazing thing! It's amazing piece of a puzzle, the picture of what God is doing.

Isaiah 28:10: "For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, there a little'"

It's like a puzzle, and you're putting the pieces together. So. let's go on now.

Matthew 24:23-31—We'll see some more of these common things in relation to the Bible. And that's been a confusing thing for some. But when you get all the pieces put together, it makes sense.

The sign of the Son of man comes in on a cloud. It comes in as light from the east to the west, and it hovers. It stops ; it's a staging area. The Sea of Glass is there, as well. God's Throne is there. God and Jesus Christ are there—the Light.

We can go to several places and see that. He's operating the next events from that location. That is the staging point where He's working from. If you think of it that way. It's also a warning; everyone sees it.

Some in Christianity believe that there's a secret rapture.

Revelation 1:7: "Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye shall see Him, and those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth shall wail because of Him…."

Every eye will see Him; that's not a secret! That's not a secret rapture. It's very obvious. That alone should stop the secret rapture people.

Matthew 24:23: "Then if anyone says to you, 'Behold, here is the Christ,' or, 'He is there,' do not believe it. For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets…"

Verse 26: "Therefore, if they say to you, 'Come and see! He is in the wilderness'; do not go forth. 'Come and see! He is in the secret chambers'; do not believe it. For as the light of day, which comes forth from the east and shines as far as the west, so also shall the coming of the Son of man be" (vs 26-27).

Malachi 4:2—it looks like the sun. It's like a second sun, as Fred says.

Malachi 4:2: "But unto you who fear My name, the Sun of Righteousness shall arise…"—S-U-N. Now that's not sun-worship. But he's the Son of… If you go into Rev. 21 & 22 and you see that there is no need of the sun in the temple. There's no need because God the Father and Jesus Christ are there.

"…the Sun of Righteousness shall arise, and healing will be in His wings…. [for the salvation of the world] …And you shall go out and grow up like calves of the stall" (vs 2-3).

Have you ever seen a calf let out and running on the meadow, jumping and kicking? That's how the world is going to be Satan's put away.

Matthew 24:29: "But immediately after the tribulation of those days… [talking about the seals, and after that begins the Day of the Lord] …the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken." That's referring to the sixth seal!

Second Objection—Sign of the Son of man

The heavenly signs; then the sign of the Son of man comes in. What happens? After that sign of the Son of man comes in! Men look for shelter under rocks. They're scared. They know it's the sign of the Christ returning and they're scared. But then it says

Revelation 8:1: "Now, when He opened the seventh seal…"

The 7th seal opens the 7 trumpet plagues, the 7 trumpets.

"…there was silence in heaven for about a half hour" (v 1).

Sidebar: After that, they said, 'Well, Christ isn't coming. Is this all He's got? This is it. And they go back to normal and continue. But it stays there. And only Christ can open the seals.

Nothing's going to happen on this earth concerning all these events leading up to the return of Christ that are not initiated from heaven. From that Sea of Glass, from the Throne of God in heaven. God the Father and the Sea of Glass, that portable throne standing there, hovering in the clouds above Jerusalem. It's initiated from the Throne of God.

Rev. 6:12 ties in with this. There's a Jacob's trouble at the end of two years, the tribulation against Israel ends. And of the three and a half years, the tribulation, how much more time? There's a year and a half left!

So that's a year from Pentecost to Pentecost, the resurrection. Then there's the rest of that that takes place. The Sea of Glass full months. That's about a half a year. And then we return.

Revelation 6:12: "And when He opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as the hair of sackcloth, and the moon became as blood."

Verse 14: "Then the heaven departed like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the powerful men, and every bondman, and every free man hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains; and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, 'Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him Who sits on the Throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, because the great day of His wrath has come, and who has the power to stand?'" (vs 14-17).

So, they realized that. But after that half hour, they go back to business as usual.

Rev 16 say, they will not repent. They do not repent.

Matthew 24:30: "And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming upon the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet; and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other" (vs 30-31).

So it says the sign of the Son stays over there about a year, and it's on a cloud. It's a warning to mankind to repent before it's too late. And some do, an innumerable multitude do!

It takes place on the Pentecost before the resurrection; it's there for a year. This is God's notice that Christ is coming. But not to the earth yet. Not yet!

He's coming, He's staging, but He's coming. He's not coming immediately. He doesn't come down immediately. We don't meet Him and come back. There's a period of time.

Christ does not come to the earth immediately because there's other things to do. So, to answer those who say Christ comes twice, He doesn't. He only comes once, at the seventh vial being poured out. Remember the chart I showed you.

He comes in the clouds and to the Sea of Glass, and then returns with the saints, those who are on the Sea of Glass with Him, at Trumpets. After they've seen the wrath of God poured out when many trumpets are blown as a warning signaling a war, the war to end all wars. A major war!

Amazing! What do you do? You have to stage before that. You have to make preparations. D-Day took forever to plan and prepare and bring the armaments in and get ready for the invasion. It takes time.

  • Trumpets is a war feast
  • Pentecost is a harvest feast

That alone should be enough, right there! In fact, the Feast of Trumpets is on the 1st day[transcriber's correction] of the 7th month, when many trumpets are blown (Lev. 23:24). It's a Sabbath of blowing of rams horns, blasting all day long, a long convocation.

In Exo. 19 when it's first mentioned—the very first mention of it in the Bible—a trumpet blast is found. It records the very first Pentecost. When God came down to meet Moses on Mount Sinai, and gave him the Ten Commandments. And He did so with the first trumpet.

When the congregation was gathered, they came to a gathering, You shall blow that, but you shall not sound an alarm. One time. More than one was a war, you were sounding for war.

One was a gathering to assemble the people together. Pentecost is a gathering.  The first trump we as we saw above was a long blast, which summoned the entire congregation before Mount Sinai.

It also sounded the very first Pentecost, and God's presence hovered in a cloud over the mountain. Lightnings and thunderings so great that the people were scared to death.

He says in Numbers 10:9[transcriber's correction] "And if you go to war in your land against the enemy who attacks you, then you shall blow with the silver trumpets…."—plenty, many; as a matter of fact it was all day long.

Verse 7: "But when the congregation is to be gathered, you shall blow… [one long blast] … but you shall not sound an alarm. And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow with the silver trumpets. And they shall be to you for an ordinance forever throughout your generations. And if you go to war in your land against the enemy who attacks you, then you shall blow with the silver trumpets…." (vs 7-9).

Hebrews 12:18—Paul refers back to this: "For you have not come to the mount that could be touched and that burned with fire, nor to gloominess, and fearful darkness, and the whirlwind…. [which Ezekiel saw when the Sea of Glass came in] …and to the sound of the trumpet, and to the voice of the words, which those who heard, begged that the word not be spoken directly to them" (vs 18-19).

I think we've made that case.

The Third Objection

This is the interesting one; this is the key Scripture that is used. I learned it. It's the key Scripture that backs up a Trumpets resurrection; many based their belief on this.

1-Thess. 4:17—actually you can go all the way back to 13. It's talking about the resurrection. But in 16 and 17 is what we want to look at. They associate with the belief that the Feast of Trumpets is the last trump—which we saw it wasn't—is blown. That's not true!

Many trumpets are blown on Trumpets. Pentecost is when one trumpet is blown, and it's the last trump. It is for an assembly or for a meeting. Remember that word: A meeting is to take place.

1-Thessalonians 4:15: "For this we say to you by the Word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain… [tie in 1-Cor. 15] …unto the coming of the Lord shall in no wise precede those who have fallen asleep, because the Lord Himself…" (vs 15-16).

Now listen to this. We're going to go over this. But let's read it for what it says, not what it doesn't say, because that's been the problem. There's been an assumption made, but the Scripture doesn't say what the assumption is. Let's just read it and see exactly what it says.

Verse 16: "Because the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven..."

It doesn't say He's coming to earth; He's on his way down, and He goes to the Sea of Glass. Goes to the sign of the Son of man, as it enters in with His Throne in the clouds with the thunder and the lightning and all the brightness. He goes there as a staging place.

Verse 16: "Because the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first." He's coming down they rise first. They're in the air!

Verse 17: "Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them… [they shall rise] …in the clouds for the meeting with the Lord in the air; and so shall we always be with the Lord.

Why doesn't it say that 'we shall meet Him in the air'? Doesn't say that. It says, "…for the meeting…"

Now all of you that are still in the corporate world. If you have a sales meeting or you have a corporate meeting, you have an agenda, you have a schedule. You talk to the president of the company—introductory—then you break out into different groups and you go over your sales plans,  you go over your new software that new contact manager software that the company bought. You're going to learn how to deal with your customers and learn to manage. Learn to be somebody that goes back into the workforce into the world and manages and sales and orchestrates things. You learn that in the sales meeting.

"…for the meeting with the Lord in the air; and so shall we always be with the Lord" (v 17). Nothing about coming to earth!

The last trump or trumpet; 1-Corinthians 15:51: "Behold, I show you a mystery: we shall not all fall asleep, but we shall all be changed, in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed" (vs 51-52).

The Law/the Ten Commandments were given at Mount Sinai, and there was a very loud trumpet sound, and the people were in camps, and they trembled.

Exodus 19:16: "And it came to pass on the third day in the morning that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mountain. And the sound of the trumpet was exceedingly loud so that all the people in the camp trembled."

All symbolizing Pentecost; also symbolizing the Sea of Glass. The blast was used to call Israel to assemble for a meeting at the foot of Mount Sinai in preparation to enter into a covenant with God.

So Christ comes down and the angels gather the saints in the air on a cloud for a meeting. Where does that meeting take place?

Revelation 11:18: "…to all those who fear Your name, the small and the great; and to destroy those who destroy the earth."

'Vengeance is Mine,' says the Lord! Don't you take vengeance. 'I'll do it, and you'll see it. You're going to see it.'

Revelation 6:9—think about the martyrdom of the saints: And when He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the Word of God, and for the testimony that they held; and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, 'How long, O Lord, Holy and true, do You not judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?'" (vs 9-10).

Well here it is: The saints will be on the Sea of Glass watching God pour out the wrath.

Revelation 15:1: "Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and awesome: seven angels having the seven last plagues…"—the 7 vials!

Verse 7: "And one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden vials, full of the wrath of God, Who lives into the ages of eternity."

Verse 1: "…for in them the wrath of God is filled up."

The wrath of God is still to be poured out, and the saints are there to watch:

Verse 2: "And I saw a Sea of Glass mingled with fire..."

The Sea of Glass over where the sign of the Son of man is at the staging point, where the saints are learning.

"…and those who had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, standing on the Sea of Glass" (v 2).

Tied in with the wrath of God still to come. They're already on the Sea of Glass. They're already resurrected at Pentecost. Before the war starts.

1-Thess 4—There's no mention of Christ putting His feet on the earth, yet. That's what it doesn't say. But some of us believed and some say it does. It doesn't!

Because IF He comes back, and we go up and meet Him, THEN He has to come to the earth. It doesn't say that. He does not return to Mount of Olives until later.

1-Thessalonians 4:15: "For this we say to you by the Word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall in no wise precede those who have fallen asleep, because the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first" (vs 15-16)—a resurrection!  There it is!

Verse 17: "Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds… [not on earth] …for the meeting with the Lord in the air; and so shall we always be with the Lord."

In the clouds is where the meeting is; in the air! The saints are gathered by an angel.

Matthew 24:31: "And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet; and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."

So there are several things to note in 1-Thess. 4. It is talking about the resurrection of the saints; everybody agrees with that. It occurs at the last trump or the last trumpet. Not everyone understands this. They say that 'many trumpets are blown.'

We will be caught up in the clouds in the air, but it doesn't say that we will come to the earth at that time. In fact, it specifically says there will be a meeting, a gathering, an assembly just like at the base of Mount Sinai on Pentecost.

He didn't say to meet Christ; He said a meeting. He specifically said that. It is the meeting, not a meeting. The meeting with the Lord! Where is it going to happen? Sea of Glass; sign of the Son of man now over there above Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives.

  • where the armies are going to come
  • where the action is

It's going to happen in the air in the clouds!

So, the sign of the Son of man plays an important part at this point—as well as a year before—as a warning. He's up there! Everyone sees it!

That's where Christ is staging and planning. That's where the saints go to get all the things they get, all the instruction and everything that happens.

It's been around a year now. The Throne of Christ is there on the Sea of Glass to which the saints are going (Rev. 15:1-2).

It's on a cloud. We're going to look at:

  • a cloud
  • the clouds
  • on a cloud

It also talks about the cloud. That's interesting!

Revelation 14:14: "And I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and one like the Son of man sitting on the cloud, having a golden crown on His head; and in His hand was a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him Who was sitting on the cloud, 'Thrust in your sickle and reap, because the time has come for You to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.' And He Who was sitting on the cloud thrust forth His sickle upon the earth, and the earth was reaped" (vs 14-16). Again the association, the common items:

  • the cloud
  • lightnings and thunderings
  • voices
  • a rainbow
  • a throne
  • a Sea of Glass
  • crystal

It's also described in other places!

As a matter of fact, look up Nolan Joseph's message on the Sea of Glass and it will describe the power behind it and how it moves. The Sea of Glass is a transportation item, as well, for God. It moves.

I think there is one stationary at the Throne of God the Father. But I think that this is an item that is a transport. As a matter of fact, read Ezek. 1 all the way through. Then go to chapter 3 and you'll see where Ezekiel gets his orders to go:

Ezekiel 3:11—God says: "'And go! Go to those of the captivity, to the children of your people, and speak to them…' [v 12]—Ezekiel says: And the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me a sound of a great rushing…"

And if you read Ezek. 1 it'll show you that it's the wings of the four beasts that are there, the four cherubim that are there and they take off. It sounds like a jet engine: a great rushing.

Verse 12: "I heard behind me a sound of a great rushing, saying, 'Blessed be the glory of the LORD from His place.' I also heard the sound of the wings of the living creatures touching one another, and the sound of the wheels along with them, and a sound of a great rushing. So, the Spirit lifted me up and took me away…" (vs 12-14). Transportation!

"…and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the LORD was strong upon me" (v 14).

Ezekiel 1:16: "The appearance of the wheels and their workmanship was the color of beryl, and the four of them had the same likeness. And their appearance and their workmanship was like a wheel inside of a wheel." It's a balancing system!

When you were a child or young individual that we used to have gyroscopes and you could take a gyroscope, and it came a little box with a string and you spun it. That wheel spun inside the post. You could take that post and put it on a string and it would balance, and it would just hover. It would just spin and spin and spin and had balance.

Again, read Ezek. 1 all the way through. It's amazing! It talks about the Sea of Glass and what it looks like and what happens with it. Talking about clouds.

Job 26:9: "He covers the face of His throne, spreading His cloud upon it."

Exodus 24:15: "And Moses went up into the mountain, and a cloud covered the mountain. And the glory of the LORD abode upon Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And the seventh day He called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like a consuming fire… [Heb. 12:29(transcriber's correction)] …on the top of the mountain to the eyes of the children of Israel. And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and went up into the mountain. And Moses was in the mountain forty days and forty nights" (vs 15-18).

In other places it talks about them being able to see up through this platform that was pure as crystal a platform, a floor, a Sea of Glass, which is part of the vehicle:

  • it sits on a cloud
  • it's transparent
  • the throne is on it
  • the saints will be on it
  • Ezekiel was moved with it

It's an amazing thing when you look at these common items and find it in Scripture there's more to the Sea of Glass, and it doesn't exist! Yes it does, and we'll see it firsthand.

Rev. 15:2[transcriber's correction]—the saints will be standing on the Sea of Glass to witness the pouring out of the wrath and the vials of God upon the wicked.

We will be on the Sea of Glass from Pentecost until Trumpets. We see the saints that the saints do not go up to meet Christ in the air and then return to the earth immediately; they go for a meeting!

And they are going to the Sea of Glass for an extensive meeting with Christ. Four months meeting to discuss some very important things.

How's the company going to run? You know the Owner of the companyGod the Fatheris involved in this, too.

There's a lot to learn in the scheduled meeting. What will we do on the Sea of Glass? There are so many things that happen. God has to you know we have to have a new language.

Rom. 8:26—sometimes when we're praying we don't know what to say. But we feel it. We know it. We know what to say but we can't find the words.

Romans 8:26: "Now, in the same way also, the Spirit is conjointly helping our weaknesses because we do not fully understand what we should pray for, according as it is necessary, but the Spirit itself makes intercession for us with groaning that cannot be expressed by us"—because it's a different language! It's a spirit language!

It connects God with our spirit and with the Holy Spirit; it connects with God through the Spirit this communication system.

Verse 27: "And the One Who searches the hearts comprehends what the strivings of the Spirit are because it makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God."

  • a new language, a spirit language
  • we have a new name, and 'Elohim' as part of it

I would imagine the last name because that's who we are. We belong to God and Christ, and we're in the Family then.

  • the saints will receive their rewards, whatever they will be
  • they'll receive their assignments in this meeting and all that goes along with that

If you've ever been a big in a big corporate meeting you're learning all sorts of things:

  • how to operate; going to know what to do
  • we're going to take over the world
  • it's going to be a big, big project

You talk about MS project or a Gantt chart, that's a monster. It takes a lot of planning to reconcile the world to God's way.

  • first, we have to be reconciled
  • we are ministers of reconciliation
  • we are ambassadors for Christ

We're learning that now and we're going to learn it on the Sea of Glass and we're going to come back and apply it. We can apply it now, as well. That's what God wants to see us do:

  • to be like Him
  • to glorify Him by being like Him
  • we have to be organized

Look at D-Day. You had to be organized to do that.

  • we have to know what we're going to do
  • who we're going to work with
  • how we're going to take care of things that God wants us to take care of

Those are all assignments that we're going to have!

  • marriage of the Lamb; a big marriage

At Sinai they ate with God! They had a banquet. They had a covenant, a marriage covenant. Christ married Israel and He died later so that He could marry spiritual Israel on the Sea of Glass.

  • we're going to witness the seven last plagues

God fulfills the promise, 'Vengeance is mine.' We're going to see that vengeance played out. We'll be gathered together in God's army and we will fight with Christ and return to the earth to take it over.

But we're called to an assembly. We're called to a meeting. We are to prepare now for that resurrection on the Sea of Glass where we will have a meeting with the Lord in the clouds/on the cloud.

Every Holy Day is a direct intervention of God into this world!

Scriptural References:

  • Acts 17:11
  • 2-Timothy 2:15
  • Revelation 4:1-6
  • Revelation 15:1-2
  • Proverbs 25:2
  • Psalm 69:32
  • Psalm 119:18
  • Isaiah 28:10
  • Revelation 1:7
  • Matthew 24:23, 26-27
  • Malachi 4:2-3
  • Matthew 24:29
  • Revelation 8:1
  • Revelation 6:12, 14-17
  • Matthew 24:30-31
  • Numbers 10:9, 7-9
  • Hebrews 12:18-19
  • 1-Thessalonians 4:15-17
  • 1-Corinthians 15:51-52
  • Exodus 19:16
  • Revelation 11:18
  • Revelation 6:9-10
  • Revelation 15:1, 7, 1-2
  • 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17
  • Matthew 24:31
  • Revelation 14:14-16
  • Ezekiel 3:11-14
  • Ezekiel 1:16
  • Job 26:9
  • Exodus 24:15-18
  • Romans 8:26-27

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:

  • Revelation 21; 22; 16
  • Leviticus 23:24
  • Exodus 19
  • 1-Corinthians 15
  • Hebrews 12:29

Also referenced: {truthofGod.org}

Book: God's Plan for Mankind Revealed by His Sabbath and Holy Days

Message: Sea of Glass by Nolan Joseph

SD:bo/po
Transcribed: 2/20/25

Copyright 2024—All rights reserved. Except for brief excerpts for review purposes, no part of this publication may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means without the written permission of the copyright owner. This includes electronic and mechanical photocopying or recording, as well as the use of information storage and retrieval systems.

Books