I love Brandon Holthaus, the pastor of Rock Harbor Church, Bakersfield, California, I have learned a lot from many of his sermons, but every now and then he says things that I don’t believe come from a straight forward reading of the biblical text. Such was the case in a sermon posted on the 5th of December, 2025.
Brandon did get some things correct, but he didn’t really answer the question “What is the mystery of God”. In fact he kind of side-steps the question and says that this means the delay of God’s Judgment is now over. That now God’s wrath will be revealed fully. The problem is that God’s judgment is not a mystery. The bible makes it clear that God’s judgment against sin is the reason we need to cling to the Cross like our life depends upon it, because it does! God’s judgment against the sin of the early earth in the flood, is also very clear! No, God’s judgment against sin is clear from Genesis to Revelation; this is not the “mystery of God”.
This phrase is found at the seventh Trumpet Judgment which comes after the 7 Seal judgments, and the first 6 Trumpet Judgments in Revelation 10-11.
It is true that God’s Judgments increase in intensity throughout the Tribulation, and the worst Judgments will come in the second half of the Tribulation, especially towards the end, but this isn’t what the Angel is talking about regarding the Seventh Trumpet!
Let’s look at it here;
5 And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven,
6 And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer:
7 But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.
So the entirety of the delay in question is not the Lord’s Judgments, rather it is the “time of the mystery of God, should be finished, as he hath declared to His servants the prophets”!
No, I can’t say that I know every relevant prophecy, but I do know a couple that he is referring to here. Here’s one from Hosea:
5:15 I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early. 6:1 Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. 2 After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.
This is the last verse from Hosea 5 and the first 2 from the next chapter. The whole of chapter 6 is End Times, but you can look it up on your own.
Notice that in verse 5:15 that the Lord will leave until they acknowledge their offense. What offense is this? This is the offense of interpreting Jesus’ miracles as having come from Satan and then claiming that Jesus was not who He claimed to be. Now not every Jew did this, and there have always been Jews in the Church of Jesus Christ, but the nation as a whole did this! The nation as a whole needs to acknowledge this offense!
As He says in the same verse, “in their affliction they will seek me early”! This means that many Jews will come to Christ in the early part of the Tribulation! If you have seen other sermons from Brandon you will see that he thinks that Israel will only turn to Christ one day near the end of the Tribulation. This is incorrect, for Jesus is telling us here that they will begin to turn to him shortly after the Rapture of the Church! In fact the 144,000 Jewish evangelists will have their ministry entirely in the first half of the Tribulation, and they will be with Jesus early in the second half. How early I’m not sure, but it appears they will be in Heaven around the time of the Abomination of Desolation. 6:1 is simply an acknowledgment that the scattering of Israel was a result of their own sin, and it was the Lord who was behind it.
Verse 6:2 is referred to by Peter in 2 Peter 3:3-8 especially verse 8;
3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:
6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
So, this verse says that Israel will be revived after 2 days, and he is not talking about 24 hour days, but 1,000 year days! We are getting very close to 2,000 years of the Church Age, and it is winding down!
This verse tells us that Jesus will revive the nation of Israel after the 2,000 year point. When it says “in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.” This is a reference to Him raising Israel up to the point of ruling the world with Him, and the “living” here is spiritual; the nation will be entirely born-again, and they won’t abandon Him ever again! Just to be clear, he is talking about the entirety of Israel who survive the Tribulation; all of them will be saved!
Brandon Holthaus is one of those preachers who will tell you that Israel will collectively turn to the Lord near the end of the Tribulation, and He won’t help them for 48 hours! Well, what does this say about the character of the Lord? As I have shown already, Peter tells us that the return of the Lord has to do with the fact that for God a 1,000 years is as one day, and a day as 1,000 years. Literally 1,000 years, and not some generally long period of time!
What about the “mystery of God”? You already know what that is; God is here and actively working in the lives of 8 Billion people, but you can’t see Him! 2,000 years ago, God was not a mystery; you could walk down the road with Him, and ask Him questions, and He would give you answers! He even ate meals with both friends and enemies! He did not become a mystery until 40 days after the resurrection when He left for Heaven. In the passage from Hosea, the mystery of God is the time from when Jesus left, in 5:15 until He returns in the beginning of the third day in 6:2!
That mystery will end when Jesus Christ sets His foot on the mount of Olives! His statement that He will leave until 2 days are over will have been fulfilled, and now He is free to come and go, from Heaven to Earth, and back, any time He pleases! If He were to return before the 2 days are over then He would have lied, but Jesus cannot lie! He always keeps His word!
Just as an aside: when Jesus revealed Himself to Saul of Tarsus, later the Apostle Paul, He was in the air above him; he didn’t set foot on the earth!
Look with me at Zechariah 14 for a moment:
4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.
When Jesus sets His foot on the mount of olives, the mountain will split in two, creating a large earthquake in Jerusalem! You can see this same earthquake in Revelation 11: 13
13 And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.
14 The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.
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 for ever and ever.
This event occurs immediately after the two witnesses are slain, and resurrected in Jerusalem, at the end of their ministry, which is the first half of the Tribulation!
Notice the close proximity of the earthquake and the seventh trumpet, only 2 verses later. These events may not be chronological, but actually could occur simultaneously. According to the angel in chapter 10 the mystery of God will end when the seventh trumpet blows! It surely looks like Jesus returns to the mount of Olives at the mid-point of the Tribulation.
Notice also that in verse 15, the seventh angel sounds, and great voices in Heaven declare that “the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ”. At this point the Kingdom of God has come to earth! This is His return! He will not hide Himself any more from this point on!
Notice in Zechariah 14:5 that the Jews are obeying a command of Jesus Christ; they are fleeing from the Antichrist! When did Jesus tell them to flee? There is a certain event that triggers their flight!
15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
16 Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains:
17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
You see, the believers of Israel will be ready to flee when they see the two prophets killed, and 4 days later they will be on their way when they see the ceremony of the Antichrist’s Abomination of Desolation on their phones and other devices!
Many pastors teach that Israel will not flee until the end of the Tribulation, but Jesus told them to flee when they see the Abomination of Desolation! Zechariah shows Israel fleeing when Jesus returns, and Matthew tells us when this will be!
This also explains why Jesus told them not to go into their houses for anything; the earthquake is coming and if they are in their house they could be killed by the falling structure, or trapped and be unable to get away! Those who are trapped in their homes will be forced to take the mark of the beast or die, once they are dug out!
Will everyone who flees be a believer at that time? I don’t think so; I think that new believers will grab their unbelieving friends and neighbors, and say “come with us, we know a place of safety!” They may not understand everything that is going on, but they know that they have been betrayed, when the Antichrist claims to be God in the flesh! These people will become believers when they realize who it is who is taking them to safety!
This also explains why Revelation chapter 14 tells us;
9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
You see, after the Abomination of Desolation there will be 2 persons on earth who have been raised from the dead, and both claiming to be God in the flesh; Jesus will be back after 2,000 years, and the Antichrist will make the same claim! People must choose between them. There will be no sitting on the fence!
Taking the Mark of the Beast is actually a form of the unforgiveable sin! When you take the mark of the beast you are stating that you believe that he is the Saviour of the world, and that he can save you from your sins! When you take that mark you are saying that you don’t believe Jesus can save you, even though He is back on the earth after 2,000 years!
So when will Jesus return? The best guess is that He will return during the ceremony when the False Prophet is unveiling the Abomination of Desolation and the mark of the beast! I think He will interrupt that ceremony, by landing on the Mount of Olives, ¼ mile away, create a diversion with the earthquake, and take His people to safety in a place across the Jordan river!
What can I say about Brandon Holthaus? By all means watch some of his sermons, but always have your bible open, and after it is over continue to study. God is not a respecter of persons, and you shouldn’t be one either! Check everything by the Word of God! Accept what is true, and disregard the mistakes; we all make mistakes!
I would give this same advice regarding any preacher, and even my own articles; check everything by the word of God, and hold on to what is true, but discard the mistakes! And, if I have made a mistake please let me know!
Dan
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