Sermon presented by Peter Eddington during the Feast of Trumpets on September 5, 2013 in the Dayton, Ohio congregation.

 

As we begin the sermon today let me quote some excerpts from a Los Angeles Times Newspaper report.  This is from a few years ago from July 2, 2002, by Laura Loh and Eric Melnic, and the report was titled, Planes Found Death Trap in Canyon.  Now let me read you some parts from it.

"The three small planes were flying in tight formation Sunday, with veteran lead pilot Arpad Bottlo heading up a narrow canyon, when a pilot behind them realized they were in trouble. 'Can you make it out?' the trailing pilot radioed Bottlo. 'I don't think so,' Bottlo replied." Seconds later, Bottlo's plane crashed into the steep wall at the end of the canyon, killing him and his two passengers, Jesus Lizarraga and Robert Maddux. A moment later, a second plane a few feet behind Bottlo's crashed into the same canyon wall, killing the pilot, Steve Herman, and his two passengers, Les and Gloria Stobbe. The third plane in the formation, a high-performance, kit-built aircraft, was able to climb steeply and clear the ridge at the end of the canyon. Five planes in two trailing formations also reacted in time to avoid disaster. NTSB investigators said it was too early to determine the exact cause of the crashes. But Barry Schiff, a retired Trans World Airlines pilot and air safety consultant, said, 'The lead pilot may have made a fundamental error."

And here is a quote from Barry Schiff:

"One of the first things you're taught is that you never fly up a canyon if you can't see your way out, If the walls narrow down or it turns out to be a box canyon, there's no way out of there." And then Schiff continues: "In formation flying, you put all your trust in the leader.  He's the one who determines where you're going and you keep your eye on him. You don't look around. The crashes occurred about 500 feet below the top of a 6,000-foot ridge near Mt. Ardo, in the Los Padres National Forest."

What does flying up a box canyon have to do with you and me here today?  What does keeping our eye on the lead pilot mean to us? Or perhaps we should ask: Is humankind itself headed up a box canyon with no way out? 

In the sermon this afternoon we are going to look at the Day of Trumpets from a different angle of attack.  The title of the sermon:  "The box canyon" and I have five questions to ask you as we go through the sermon here and proceed. 

Over three decades ago an American news weekly magazine wrote about the world needing a strong hand from somewhere and, of course, this evokes a divine solution to humanity's problems.  Indeed, as we will see, divine intervention remains our only hope, only real hope, for deliverance from the box canyon that mankind has entered.  Mankind doesn't even really realize how it has entered into that box canyon.  Jesus Christ promised a solution.  Not a solution from down here but a solution from above and this solution will occur shortly before humanity would otherwise destroy itself from the face of the earth.

Do you remember Matthew 24:21-22?  Let me read it to you or you can turn there, if you wish. Do you remember the prophecy of the end time where Jesus Christ Himself said:

Matthew 24:21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.

So Christ predicted a time at the end that would be very dire. 

V.22 – He says: and unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved;

Is humankind heading up this proverbial box canyon?  Is impact assured unless those days were shortened?  Well, let me bring to you the first main question I have and that is: What is a box canyon?  

Number 1:  What is a box canyon?  A box canyon is a small ravine or canyon with steep walls on three sides allowing entry and an exit only through the mouth of the canyon.  Box canyons were frequently used in the American West as convenient corals with their entrances then fenced off.  They were also used as kill sites for wild game.  The game could be driven into the confined space, then the fence was closed and then they could be killed.  That's at ground level.

In aviation the same concept exists aloft.  Mountain flying can be harsh and unforgiving for the pilot who fails to adhere to two basic principles for all mountain flying.  Number one: Always remain in a position to be able to turn around toward lowering terrain. And secondly: Never fly beyond the point of no return.  Being able to turn around while still having some extra altitude to descend encompasses the idea that you never enter into a canyon if there is not sufficient room to turn around and secondly, you never fly beyond the point of no return.  This requires the pilot to establish a turnaround point whenever flying up-slope terrain.  The point of no return is defined as a point on the ground of rising terrain where the terrain out- climbs the aircraft and so a canyon wall would be a dramatic effect of that rising terrain.

Let me read to you an excerpt from a New York Times report from 2004 about a crash in Afghanistan.  From the New York Times, from May28, 2007 by Matthew Wald, I will read you a couple of notes from this but this is of course after September 11, when we had planes flying in Afghanistan.

"Carrying three soldiers and two pallets of mortar shells through the Hindu Kush mountains of Afghanistan, the twin-engine turbo prop was on a military mission. But Flight BW61 from Bagram Air base was technically an air taxi (a US airline company under contract), according to civilian safety officials. 'I hope I'm goin' up the right valley,' said the captain, Noel B. English, according to the transcript. 'We'll see where this leads.' Eventually the crew flew into a box canyon, essentially a dead end boarded by mountains. Despite excellent daylight weather, they waited too long to begin climbing, which would have allowed them to fly over the mountains, or make a U-turn. Less than two minutes before impact, evidently still trying to climb, captain English said urgently, 'Come on baby, come on baby, you can make it.' A mechanic, flying in the cockpit and assisting with navigation, said, 'You guys are gonna make this, right?' 'Yeah, I'm hopin', the captain said. 'Hope we don't have a downdraft comin' over that, dude,' the mechanic added, evidently referring to a nearby mountain peak. Such downdrafts are common in the mountains, experts say. The mechanic said, 'Got a way out? You need to make a decision.' "Seconds later, the plane slammed into the mountain." The November 27, 2004 crash killed everyone on board.

The three-man crew and two of the passengers died on impact, a military investigation found. But a third passenger apparently lived for at least eight hours, long enough to climb out of the plane, smoke a cigarette and unroll two sleeping bags before dying of internal injuries."

When they investigated this crash they found an incredible lack of wisdom, lack of flight planning, lack of common sense. Many, many mistakes led to this particular tragedy.

Notice Proverbs 15:24.  Let's read that for a moment. Here are some of Solomon's words of wisdom for us.

Proverbs 15:24 The path of life leads upward for the wise, to keep him from going down to the grave.

In aviation entering a box canyon can be a death wish sending you to the grave.  Instead, the path of life means flying, means never flying beyond the point of no return like into a box canyon, always having sufficient altitude, always looking up either physically or spiritually.  We must always have altitude and room to turn around.

As you can probably figure I am leading to a point here as we work through this in the sermon.  So now you know what a box canyon is and how dangerous it is to enter one flying a plane especially if you don't have the performance to out-climb the rising terrain. 

Secondly, is our world flying into a box canyon?  Is our world flying into a box canyon?  Is terrain out-climbing the events in this world and its ability to turn around before the point of no return and certain destruction as Jesus Christ prophesied? Well, think about it for a minute in events even just in the past week or two. 

We only need to look at the Middle East to see the Arab Spring that has become a frozen Arab winter.  In the news now, of course, is Egypt and the terrain is rising faster than the leaders of Egypt can out-climb.  Egypt continues to unravel as violence and unrest sweeps through the major cities and how the country gets out of its present mess is anyone's guess and it shows how quickly much of the world can turn into chaos given the right conditions.

Here at home, in the United States, American policy towards Egypt is in disarray.  The President and other officials have adopted a broad approach threatening to withhold financial aid maybe and America's policy across the Middle East at present is pretty much rudderless. Events of the Arab Spring showed President Obama's initiative to be ineffective at best and in many instances the US has become the laughing stock of the world.  Egypt as a nation is crying out for leadership that can give its people peace and security and a decent chance of a decent life where families can form and children can be raised. Egypt is a roiling mass of humanity on the verge of coming apart.  Yes, the terrain is rising fast towards the underbelly of the plane in Egypt, to use the analogy, and throughout most of the Middle East.  It is precursor of what is prophesied to come in much of the world. 

How about the nation of Syria?  A civil war is underway.  They say there are three groups of people in Syria.  There are those who are supporting President Bashar al-Ashad, there are those who are supporting the rebels and there are those who simply just want to be able to live their lives.  They are not really on either side.  They just want to be able to raise their kids and have a family and have a job and as a result two million refugees have fled Syria, just wanting to protect their families and have a life. 

Methods of mass destruction have been used.  The United States and its Allies have a hard time identifying with either side actually, because both sides are wracked with extremists and terrorist elements.  You may recall from just Tuesday of this week, a CNN reporter, about the Syria war resolution, "trying to get passed down through Congress, a new ABC news Washington Post Poll released Tuesday" – and this is from CNN – "showed that nearly 6 in 10 Americans oppose military strikes against Syria with similar results - the respondents identifying themselves as Democrats and Republicans.  The administration has launched what it calls a 'flood the zone' lobbying effort to persuade legislature to support the resolution, authorizing military strikes against Syria and it remains to be seen how this all play out."

Will the U.S. Congress authorize military action against Syria's Bashar al-Ashad as punishment for using chemical weapons or will President Obama fail to get the support he asks?  Whatever the outcome, it will not eventually bode well for Damascus. 

There is an unfulfilled prophecy about Syria in the book of Isaiah.  I am not sure if you are familiar with it or not.  I am just going to read you one verse from Isaiah 17.

Isaiah 17:1 The burden against Damascus.

The NIV says: The oracle against Damascus.

V.1 – "Behold, Damascus will cease from being a city, and it will be a ruinous heap.

This first part of Isaiah 17 seems to date from a time after Syria and Israel had already been taken captive by the Assyrians years and years ago and if this is so, this makes it most likely an end time prophecy.  Supporting this conclusion is the repeated phrase "in that day" in Isaiah 17:4, 7, 9 which of course, as you know, "in that day" often refers to events surrounding the return of Jesus Christ at the sound of the 7th Trumpet.  Damascus still stands today, doesn't it?  It still exists as a city.  It has not yet, throughout history, ceased from being a city.  This prophecy says at some point it will be destroyed.  Who knows, perhaps President Bashar al-Asad will help contribute towards that.

We are living in dire times and so when we ask, is this world heading up a box canyon, I think you can start to draw some good conclusions.  God revealed to the prophet Daniel in Daniel 12:1, we will turn there, that a time of grave trouble would occur at the time of the end and it appears that society slowly will fly into a box canyon from which escape seems impossible.

Daniel 12:1 "At that time (once again referring to the time of the end) Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people;

Just as a side note there, Michael seems to be the archangel that watches over the people of God and over Israel.  He watches over the sons of your people.

V.1 – … And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time. 

The descendants of the Biblical patriarch Jacob, many of them right here in the United States, will not go unscathed from this either.  It is spoken of as a time of trouble like this world has never seen.

Notice Jeremiah 30:4 as we continue to set the stage a little bit here.  The prophet Jeremiah calls this end time catastrophe, especially on the descendants of ancient Israel's northern kingdom now known only as the Lost Ten Tribes, the time of Jacob's trouble.  Let's notice:

Jeremiah 30:4 Now these are the words that the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah.

So it is all 12 tribes here; the lost ten tribes and then Judah as well.

V.5 – "For thus says the Lord: 'We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace.

V.6 – Ask now, and see, whether a man is ever in labor with child?  So why do I see every man with his hands on his loins like a woman in labor and all faces turned pale?

V.7 – Alas! For that day is great, so that none is like it; and it is the time of Jacob's trouble, (I like the last part of this verse), but he shall be saved out of it.

It will be a terrible time but the crash at the end of the box canyon just may not completely be realized.

This and other prophecies indicate that Satan's wrath during the last days will be directed not only toward faithful Christians but also toward the ethnic descendants of all of Israel. The Jews as well as the descendants of the Lost Ten Tribes, whom we might point out, Satan has always known the identity of the Ten Tribes. They are not lost to him.  It will be especially directed toward the United States, Britain, Canada and the other British descendant peoples who are the modern day descendants of Joseph's sons Ephraim and Manasseh and it is because of these nations' sin and disregard for God.

Yes, without doubt our world has already entered the box canyon and our nation in particular is involved.  It doesn't take much more than a cursory glance at our evening headlines to understand this, and the Middle East is in particular a very hot spot, and immorality and a lost love for God and His way and perhaps one of the biggest contributing factors, disobedience to God.  Our plane is fast approaching the wall at the end of the canyon and there is no room now to turn around.

A third question for you:  Is society flying in formation? 

Let's talk about formation flying for a moment.  Have you ever been to an air show to see the Blue Angels or the Thunderbirds? Having three boys and living in Southern California for 18 years where there are numerous Military bases, we saw many an airshow. Just ask Terri about it.  She'll groan and tell you about every one of them.  That's what she gets for having three boys. 

Formation pilots are extremely skilled pilots.  Only the best candidates get selected for this duty.  In essence they follow the lead of the planes next to them and collectively they follow the formation leader.  The entire show is flown over and over again on the ground until they have it all memorized before they ever take to the air. Then they get in their planes and they practice for months.  When you actually see it in the air it may have taken a year or two to perfect and then between shows they practice even more.

There is only one drawback to this "follow the leader" style of flying and it is a big one.  Entire groups of display teams have followed their leader straight into the ground.  This has happened at least a couple of times that I know of.  The pilots are concentrating so hard on each other and to follow their leader, they fail to acknowledge the ground coming up at them.

The Los Angeles Times report that I read you at the beginning of the sermon, if you recall, stated that one plane follow the leader straight into the box canyon wall. The others were a little bit further back and managed to avert disaster.  But how does this relate to our world today, flying in formation?  Who is the lead pilot?  Who is humanity following up the box canyon without looking at the rising terrain below? Well, you recall 2 Corinthians 4:3-4.  If you want to make a note of it - I will read it to you.

2 Corinthians 4:3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,

V.4 – whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.

The god of this age, the god of this world, the lead pilot in this formation, in this formation of destruction, is Satan himself.  This world is following an evil leader hurtling in formation towards the wall at the end of the box canyon. Remember what Jesus Christ said when He was here on earth about the Devil?

John 8:44 Jesus said: The devil was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.

This is not the leader we are to follow.  Unfortunately the world has been deceived and is following without heed the evil lead pilot.  Yes, our world is flying into a box canyon and is in a pretty tight formation right now. 

So that leads us to the fourth question.  Things look pretty dire. Things don't look too good.  Will society be saved before hitting the canyon wall? That's the fourth question.  Will society be saved before hitting the canyon wall because this world needs to be saved from its flight path.

The solution to this world's box canyon flight is the Savior Himself.  This world needs a new formation leader, a new chief pilot and the old pilot is to be banished.  So what is the good news? What is our eternal hope? Over 300 prophecies in the Bible promise Christ's return to planet earth to save us from ourselves.  Not one, not two, not three, there are 300 references to Christ's return to save us.  Let's read one of them from Isaiah 40:10-11. Let's turn over there.

Isaiah 40:10 Behold, the Lord God shall come with a strong hand, and His arm shall rule for Him; Behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him.

V.11 – He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young.

This is a beautiful picture of Christ's return, saving this world from disaster. Feeding His flock; gathering the lambs with His arm; gently leading those who have young but He will come with a strong hand.  He is going to have to enforce some rules along the way.  This is such good news!  One of God's annual Holyday observances commemorates Christ's second coming to planet earth where He was about 2000 years ago.  You and I celebrate this benchmark today, this world shaking event, by observing a little known and even misunderstood Day of Trumpets.

Most people, as we heard earlier today, just think it is a Jewish festival of some kind.  No, this day pictures Jesus Christ arriving on this earth at the seventh and last Trump.

Revelation 11:15 – let's turn there and make a note of it in our notes – where we read:

Revelation 11:15 Then the seventh angel sounded: and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!"

Part of the words from the Messiah that were penned; taken from this and penned into the Messiah. The kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of Jesus Christ.  Yes, for the elect's sake and for the sake of all humanity those days of destruction will be shortened.  The box canyon disaster will be avoided. 

Stop and consider it:  In movies, the imagery is all smoked mirrors and computer- generated graphics and make-believe.  Not so in the book of Revelation.  The drama we see outlined in the book of Revelation is real, to be believed.  It is going to happen and it will be a momentous event.  You read other scriptures of Jesus' return where the whole world will see Him returning.  The seventh trumpet of the seventh seal of Revelation will be an earth-changing event.  The box canyon trajectory humanity is on will be aborted.  Yes, unfortunately there will be some lives lost along the way but all of humanity will not be destroyed but it would be if Jesus Christ did not intervene.

When the seventh angel blows his trumpet the world has hope again. In the trumpet countdown to Christ's return, this is the final horn blown as we read in Revelation, so it is called the last trumpet. Humanity will be saved before hitting the box canyon wall.

Let's reference 1 Corinthians 15:52 where we are given some good news of our own here:

1 Corinthians 15:52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

This is the best news we can deliver.  This is the ride of the fifth horseman of Revelation. The gospel of the Kingdom of God provides a message of hope.  Yes, it is a message of repentance; yes, it is a message about obedience; a message about punishment for sin but it is also a message about deliverance.  A message about salvation; it is a message about eternal life.  We shall all be changed to spirit beings, never to die again and then we will take part with Jesus Christ now here on earth to help deliver a message of peace to all of humanity.  And as the rest of these fall holydays unfold of course we find out how that is done and how eventually all who've ever lived will be given the same opportunity that we have been given: to be saved and have eternal life. 

So this is good news that we deliver.  Yes, a message of repentance and punishment for sin but also a message of salvation and hope.  We know the end of the story, don't we?  We know that the world will not die in one giant nuclear catastrophe. Christ will stop it.  Society will be saved before it actually hits the canyon wall and is destroyed forever.

The fifth question I have for you is: Can society make a 180-degree turn?  Can society make a 180 degree turn, and there is actually an element in this question for each of us to make sure that if we ever, if we ever, enter the spiritual box canyon, that we turn around immediately. 

Here is a pilot's "Tip of the week" from Wally Moran and this tip is titled: Escaping a Box Canyon.  It is at pilotworkshop.com so it is featuring Wally Moran.  So a subscriber asked Wally this question: "What is the best way to get out of a narrow box canyon?"  Here is Wally's response:   "Of course, don't get in a box canyon is the easy answer for this one, but that does not answer the question. We are all aware of the accident over the East River in New York City wherein the pilot was unable to turn around in the available space and struck an apartment building. A sad and preventable accident. Our first choice to get out of a box canyon of course is to climb out of it. And by the way, that was an option in the NYC accident. It would have resulted in a violation of airspace, but would have been a lot better than the end result in that case. If we can't climb out of the canyon, then we need to complete a 180 degree turn in the shortest distance possible. To do that, we need to turn into the wind with as steep a bank and at the minimum safe airspeed as possible. By the way, in the NYC accident the pilot turned downwind." Not upwind and then he concludes:

"So how many pilots are really ready for that kind of maneuver. Steep bank, low airspeed, 180 degree turn, ... that's not something we practice very often."

So did you catch the two main points from this article on how to get out of narrow box canyon? Of course don't enter it to begin with but in any case a 180-degree turn in the shortest distance possible is a remedy.  It has to be done before you go beyond the point of no return. 

Our world must make a 180-degree turn.  It is called repentance. This world must turn to its Creator God.  We too must forsake our own ways.  Can society make a 180-degree turn?  Yes. Will it? It is a yes but not till after Jesus Christ returns.  The prophecies show that it will careen toward destruction until Jesus Christ finally puts a stop to it.

Notice Lamentations 3. We don't read Lamentations very often.  I would like to read Lamentations 3:40-41.  As we go through this final point about making a 180 degree turn just think: is there a warning in this for you?  Is there a warning in this for me, for all of us?  I'd say yes, most certainly there is a warning for each of us. Watch your flight path.  Don't enter any box canyon that will destroy you. Stay in formation with Jesus Christ, not the devil. Rely on Jesus Christ. Prepare for His return.  Stay close to God in prayer and study and meditation. Turn back to the Lord. Read His word. Know what He teaches and live it.  That is the solution.

Lamentations 3:40 – Let us search out and examine our ways, and turn back to the Lord;

V.41- Let us lift our hearts and hands to God in heaven.

That's the solution for society in making a 180-degree turn and that is the solution for each of us too, as we stray from following our formation leader, Jesus Christ.

The Bible is full of examples then of what we ought to do and how we ought to live.  Let me just read one list for you from 1 Corinthians 10.  What specifically are we to do?  What are we to avoid?  Is there a list?  Yes, there are quite a few lists actually but notice this one in:

1 Corinthians 10:6 Now these things became our examples, to the intent (first) that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted.

So there is one item right there in verse 6 – not to lust after things that are not ours.

V.7 – And do not become idolaters as were some of them.  As it is written, "The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play."

They weren't serving God. They were just living a riotous lifestyle.  Idolatry against God in the way they were living.

V.8 – Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell;

Now in our world is there any sexual immorality?  Are people in the Church fighting their own desires in this regard? Watch out.

V.9 – nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by the serpent;

V.10 – nor complain, (are you a complainer?) as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer.

V.11 – Now all these things happened to them as examples (for us), and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.

V.12 – Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.

So, don't be so sure you don't need to do a 180-degree turn in your life in some aspect. Stay on top of your life.  It is not just before the Passover that we examine ourselves but continually making sure that we are not heading up in any way into that box canyon, because as you know some have gone beyond the point of no return, even in the Church, and have not turned around and have hit the wall. Don't let it happen to you.

And so we ask do any of these here in 1 Corinthians 10 apply to you?  Perhaps they do and you haven't examined yourself carefully enough and so as Paul said: Take heed, don't fall, because the reward is great. You too can be counted in that number when Christ returns and the saints go marching in, as we sing. We too can be counted in that number when the saints are resurrected to spirit life. 

Let's go back to 1 Corinthians 15.  I read just one verse from it a moment ago, and here is part of this day that we really look forward too so much.  There have been many sermons given over the years that talked about all seven trumpets but today we will focus more on the 7th trump, which is Christ's return, but there are six trumpets before that depicted by the Feast of Trumpets that are the punishment on this world for its sins but then at the end, at the last trumpet:

1 Corinthians 15:51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed –

Of course that is a prophecy of those who have died in the faith as well as those are alive when Christ returns.

V.52 – (we shall all be changed) in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.  For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

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

In spite what most churches teach today, we do not already have immortality.  We do not have an immortal soul.  That has to be put on. That has to be given to us at the resurrection.

V.54 – So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory."

We will not die again.

V.55 – "O Death, where is your sting?  O Hades (or the grave), where is your victory?"

V.56 – The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.

V.57 – but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

V.58 – Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

Be steadfast. Be immovable and if it is necessary do that 180-degree turn in repentance to make sure you are not flying up the box canyon. 

Even in the Old Testament there are prophecies of the saints being resurrected upon Christ's return.  Let me read to you:

Daniel 7:18 but the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.

So it will be forever - the saints of the Most High. The saints of the Most High are those who are filled with His Holy Spirit. Those who have repented and been baptized and received the Holy Spirit and have it living in them from that point forward. Brethren, that is you and me.  We are the saints of the Most High.  It is not those whom some churches sainted 200 years after they died because they said they performed some miracle after they were dead. No, the saints are you and me.

So here's what happens when the events anticipated by the Feast of Trumpets unfold. I'll just summarize 5 points.

First of all, number one – Feast of Trumpets:  Jesus Christ returns to earth.

Secondly: His true believers are resurrected and changed from physical to spiritual.

Thirdly: The nations and kingdoms of this world become Christ's kingdoms.  He takes over.

Fourthly: With the seventh trumpet and its seven final judgments, Christ neutralizes rebellious armies who resist Him.  That is in Revelation 16.  Christ has to neutralize the armies of this world who fight against Him when He returns.

Fifthly: The Kingdom of God on earth begins with divinely installed peace for all men.

The Apostle Paul explained in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 - I will read it to you first:

1 Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first - Immediately followed by the people of God who are alive at the time.

In the book of Romans 8:19-23 we read this: Paul depicts this resurrection as a glorious deliverance from bondage. I guess we could say that Christ's return is a glorious deliverance from formation flying into the box canyon.

Romans 8:19 For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.

V.21 – because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

V.23 – Not only they, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption (the sonship), the redemption of our body.

So it is an event for us but it is also an event for all of creation, to be finally released from the bondage of the leader, the pilot, of this world who will be banished, as we will be thinking about on the Day of Atonement next weekend.  We see that even through the tragic events that lie ahead, even as we look at the tragedies on the world scene even today, the good news is that God will intervene to save humanity and guide mankind into His abundant way of life and offer salvation to all of mankind. 

Jesus Christ will return to raise His followers from death and to establish God's perfect rule on earth.  This is the wonderful, inspiring meaning of the feast of Trumpets.  Christ taught us to pray to the Father: They kingdom come.  And how urgently we know we need an answer to that prayer.  I don't know if you've noticed but at the end of every Beyond Today program that's how we sign off. "Join us in praying, Thy Kingdom come", we tell our audience.

Let's all read one final passage together. Make sure that if you enter the spiritual box canyon that you turn around now before the terrain begins to rise too sharply and you are no longer able to climb out. Do a 180. Do it before you are no longer able to climb out of it.  So that is a lesson for each of us in the message today, that we realize that the world itself is flying into a box canyon with no way out were it not for Jesus Christ. So let's read this passage together as we grow near to the end of this year's observance of the Day of Trumpets.  Think and ponder over these words as we conclude this afternoon's service. Just think about this as we read them.

1 Thessalonians 3:11 Now may our God and Father Himself, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way to you.

V.12 – And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you,

V.13 – so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.