Sermon Transcript — September 7, 2002
Good afternoon, everyone. Very, very pleasant afternoon to you, and a very special day in which we gather today to pay honor and reverence to our heavenly Father, and to our Elder Brother and the head of the Church of God, Jesus Christ. We're here today as God has commanded us to be for a very special purpose, and it's a purpose of review, because there are things that are going to happen in the days, weeks, months and years ahead that God wants us to be mindful of, and He does not want us to forget. And it is easy for us to forget. We get caught up and hypnotized by the routine of everyday life, and it's easy for us, if we're not careful, to forget strategic information that God wants His sons and daughters to understand and never to forget.
This day, the Feast of Trumpets, as it is referred to, it is a day that marks a pivotal part and a pivotal place in the plan and purpose of God. And that's what we want to look at today because it deals with events that are very joyous for one group of people and very terrifying for another group. And it's important that people know that there is a distinction, and that there are certain things that must be understood, and certain behavior that must be executed in order to be on the right side when the chips fall. This is why this day is so important. It's going to have a powerful impact on mankind in the years ahead.
So today we gather as God has commanded us for a holy convocation. That is spoken in Leviticus 23:24. I won't turn there but just for your notes in referencing, but it is God's desire that we stop, that we reflect, and that we review some very strategic information that is necessary for all of us as begotten sons and daughters of God and remember the promises to you and to your children. So our children need to know this too, because their lives are going to be affected in the days, weeks, months and years ahead. It's not just Mom and Dad's religion. This is something that involves all of us, and this is something that is very, very serious in the eyes of God, and He wants you and I to take it very seriously, because if we don't, we're going to be on the short end of the stick, plain and simple.
So what I've done today, I've entitled this sermon: "Trumpets: Day of Divine Destiny," because the hand of God is going to become very apparent to this world when this day becomes a reality. And it will take a divine hand, that strong hand from somewhere that U. S. News and World Report spoke about years ago in an editorial review; they saw the problems and difficulties in the world, and they said, "If something doesn't happen; if a strong hand from somewhere doesn't come to rescue us, we're headed for our Armageddon." Now that's when they thought everything was bad back then, but now look what has happened since that time. It's been bumped up a few notches, has it not, dear brethren. We now live in a world that is getting geared up for a memorial. We're here for a memorial of the blowing of trumpets that pictures something very important in the Old Testament and something in the New.
The world is getting ready to have a memorial on nine-eleven because their world changed overnight. And we were a part of it, because we're in this world just like everyone else. And so we were hit with the grief; we were hit with the reality, the loss of life, and the terrible, terrible slaughter, the ungodly slaughter of human beings who never, ever dreamed that morning when they got up and went to work in the twin towers that their world was coming to an end.
I would imagine nobody dreamed back in the days of Noah, when he was building that ark, and they all looked at him, and they said, "What kind of a crackpot is that out there building that bigga boat? He thinks that that bigga boat, its a gonna float." You know, and he's going to find out, low and behold, they're all going to be scratching in just the days ahead trying to get in that big boat. None of them made it except Noah, because he found grace in the eyes of the Lord, and his family was spared.
It is important that we grow in the grace and the knowledge of Jesus Christ. That's what we're here for today. As children, and we are children, the children of God, representative in the New Testament as the Church of God, which Jesus said, "I will build My church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it." But then in the Old Testament we also find that God, when He singled out a group of people to represent Him, that they were going to be a peculiar treasure among all the peoples of the earth because they were going to be a role model to mankind how you should live. And so, Israel was born as the nation of God, a kind of a — kingdom of God— on the earth, because God was going to be their king. And they were also called — children of God — in the sense that they were of the Church of God in the wilderness, the congregation. So in the New Testament church, we look back in the Old Testament and we glean lessons from those particular events, but we now have to apply them in the context of the New Testament in which you and I live and function.
Now can you imagine what happens when ministers get up in their churches, and they tell people, "You don't have to worry about that Old Testament. It's all done away; it doesn't apply to you."
And yet, Jesus says, "You'd better have your eyes riveted on that back there because there's a lot of info there that you need, because it's going to impact on your life in the New Testament period of time in which you find yourself living."
So this is very, very necessary for us to keep in mind as we review this wonderful day of Trumpets, and it is a festival, because it is a festival of joy to the people of God who understand what's going to happen on the positive side of the ledger on this day. But oh, brother! Is it going to be a day of darkness and gloominess and terrible day of reckoning for another group of people who have laughed and scoffed at the hand of almighty God. Who thought, "It's always been like this. What do you mean, God exists; what do you mean, God is going to come back?"
If you'll turn with me please to II Peter 3:1-4, is what we want to look at. Now this is part of my job today as a pastor, to remind you of some of these strategic things. That's the job of all the ministry in God's church, and their job is to do exactly what Peter is talking about here. He says:
II Peter 3:1 - "This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto (to) you;" (He says) "in (both) which I..." Do what? "I stir up your pure minds..." The purpose today of this message is to stir up your mind; to stir your spirit with the spirit of God and the word of God, "by way of remembrance." This is a day of remembrance, and we are supposed to keep this in mind. It says:
Verse 2 - "That ye (you) may be mindful..." You see, that this is forefront in your mind, not in the back, but in the forefront of your mind. "... of the words..." Notice. We're to be mindful of some words now, now, whose words? "...mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets," Where were they? In the Old Testament. Now if the Old Testament's done away, look at all those words that we've just lost. You see how critical this is? Jesus said we are to live by every word of God, and these words of the holy prophets, notice, not just prophets, holy prophets, they were moved by the spirit of God to record things that were necessary for people living in their time, and also for future generations that come down into our time today. And here we see that they were the holy prophets and, "the commandments of (from) us, the apostles..."
Verse 2 (continued) - So the words that the apostles spoke are very critical and necessary for our edification. But it doesn't end there. It builds on another one. "... and of the Lord and Saviour:" In other words, we'd better know what Jesus spoke about in the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John because it was His life recorded for our learning. And as we hear those words from the prophets; as we hear the words from the disciples who became the apostles; as we hear the words of Jesus Christ, we get a clear picture of what does it all mean? What does it all mean?
A wise man once said the following: "If you don't know the reason why you were born, you are ignorant." Woo! The first time I heard that, I says, "That's a battle challenge!" I said, "What is he talking about? I know why I was born. I'm going to go to heaven." I thought I was going to go to heaven. I had to learn, with a little bit of study and research, that "No, nobody's going to go to heaven." Now that might be a shocking statement for someone to hear for the first time but the promises of the Bible nowhere talk about extraterrestrial. It's not a matter of extraterrestrial. The promises of God deal with terrestrial, the earth, and all that involves the earth, and how God purposed life to be. And that's where we come in to a very, very unique opportunity for, what I like to call — a chance of a lifetime. It's the chance of a lifetime to be given what we have been given at this time, to know those words of the holy prophets and of the disciples, the apostles, and of the Lord, Jesus Christ. And then it goes on to say:
Verse 3 - "Knowing this first," Now when you keep all this in mind, He says, "Knowing first," This is what you're going to be up against. What's going to happen? "... that there shall come in the last days scoffers," Now there's always been scoffers on the human planet, among human kind, but what this is telling you is that in the last days, there is going to be a real concentrated effort and a focus of the human mind on things that do not relate to God. Things of God will be scoffed at; they'll be laughed at.
Now how many times have we given reference and brought things to your attention showing how the Bible is being eroded and hacked and whacked and just assaulted from every direction, and you know who's behind that, the god of this world. He does not like what this book has to say because it unmasks him; it exposes what's going on out there in his world, so he doesn't want people to understand this, and if they do begin to dig into the Bible in a desire to understand; if they don't receive the right help and assistance from God, Satan will do something. He will corrupt their understanding of the Bible; he will twist it and turn it in ways that they will draw wrong conclusions, and they will think certain things are going to happen when they're not going to happen that way. That's why we are cautioned to listen to the words carefully of the apostles, the prophets and of Jesus Christ.
Verse 3 (continued) — He says, "these scoffers are going to come along" "...walking after their own lusts," Their own desires, the things they want to do. They don't care about what God wants us to do. Who cares about God? We want to do what we want to do; we want to be foot—lose and fancy—free; we don't want anybody telling us what to do. This is the mentality that has grown over these past decades today. And if you try to introduce anything from a Biblical perspective, it gets shot down in a hurry. They don't want to hear it, because it condemns them just like it says here. And they go on to say the following: Please note.
Verse 4 - And here's what they say: "(And saying), Where is the promise..." It's almost like a catty phrase, "Where is the promise of His coming?" Ah, we've heard that time and time, everybody's talking about, "Jesus's going to come; Jesus's going to come. He ain't here yet." And they get real kind of catty with it. And they think, "Oh, boy," you know, that's going to make Jesus go away because they don't want to believe. Well, it goes on to say: "...for since the fathers fell asleep," This is their reasoning, "...all things continue (as they were) (the way it has been) from the beginning of (the) creation."
So what they're preaching at us is uniformitarianism, meaning everything has always been the same, just the same even keel, but our own scientists prove that that is not what this world has experienced. Our world has experienced what is called — catastrophism. There have been times in our earth's history when asteroids have plowed into this earth and decimated whole areas. We still can go to meteor crater out in Arizona and see the remains of what can happen when a little bitty thing comes flying out of space, a piece of junk, and hit the ground and BOOM, you've got something like an atomic explosion. Incredible. And then they want to say, "Everything just happened like it's always happened."
God condemns. He says, "That's an absolute lie. Don't fall for that."
Verse 5 - He says: "For this they (are) willingly (are) ignorant..." He says, "... that by the word of God the heavens were of old," He says, 'and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:
Verse 6 - "Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, (and) perished:" They don't want to hear that. So Noah's flood didn't really happen. It was just a localized thing that happened, maybe in the Caspian Sea somewhere, but that's what they meant by the whole world. That's not what God meant. He created the whole world, and He said, "Every mountain was submerged." The only thing that was floating on that gigantic ocean that was created at the time by God was that boat with eight souls, human souls, and all those animals that God preserved to give seed to the regrowth of mankind on the other side of the flood.
Well all of this, again, is powerful things that we could talk about and go on, but what I wanted to do today in the remaining time we have is to touch on an aspect showing the day of trumpets as a day of divine destiny because you and I come, as the Bible shows, as children. Now, children don't know a whole lot about what's going on; how can we understand how God is. I mean, we're kids. He's God. He has all this capacity that is so far above us, and we're just the little kids. We can identify with that.
If you've have had family or children, when you're an adult and you're working with your children, do your children understand the adult world that you're operating out of? I mean, you could talk with them, you could reveal to them what it is, they come to you. What is the first question they always ask you? Why? Why? And if you're not careful, they'll "why" you to death, because they're good at that. You may give an answer, and they say, "Why?" Another answer. "Why?" "Why?"
And after a while, you may say, "This a recording." And you think that their little minds should know, they want to know. There's a curiosity there. We all want to know. We want to know — why?
Now there is no capacity for human beings to grasp all the ramifications of — why. There's just some things that are just beyond. We have to in deference to God, look in faith, and trust Him, but, God, believe it or not, gives us a lot of answers for — why — but the problem we have as kids is, He tells us; we hear it, but we don't comprehend it fully. That's why we have to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ, just like children growing up. They don't understand what Mom and Dad are talking about, but suddenly, one day, they are one. They're an adult. They're a parent, and they remember things that Mom and Dad said. "Oh, this is what Mom meant. Oh, this is what Dad meant." Now it comes back like a bolt of lightning from the blue. It's all part of life. It's a growing process.
Now in this particular concept, what I wanted to do today, we come as God's children on this day, to learn and ask our heavenly Father as His children, "Why, heavenly Father? Why is this a festival of divine destiny? May we please have some answers, Father?" And I thought from the standpoint of being as little children, let's go through, and there's a lot of things we could cover, but I've chosen to isolate it down to this. We're going to cover seven reasons why this day of trumpets is a day of divine destiny. Seven reasons why. So, here we go.
Reason #1 - Jesus promised to return. Jesus promised to return. Now that's very important because we see that in Acts 1, if you'll turn there, Acts 1. The disciples are getting ready to observe the Feast of Pentecost within just a matter of a little while, and Jesus is now talking to His disciples and all of a sudden in the process they begin to see Him going up into the clouds. Now, you would be shocked if you were talking to somebody, and you suddenly saw somebody going up in clouds right before your eyes. You'd stand there and kind of be just thunder-struck, looking up and wondering what's going on. That's what happened here.
They'd never seen their Lord and Master, Jesus, now on this side of the grave as the resurrected Christ, they'd never seen Him do anything like this. They'd seen Him walk on water, but now here He's going ...I can't believe it! He's going up into the clouds. Look it says that. And in Acts 1:9:
Acts 1:9 - "And when He had spoken these things, while they beheld, He was taken up; and in a cloud received Him out of their sight.
Verse 10 - "And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven..." It's like — Duh! They just looked and paralyzed with the awesomeness of the event of what they're witnessing. And low and behold, what does it say? These men, they're looking up to heaven, and "... behold, two men stood by them in white apparel." Now we would know that these would be angels, always appearing or revealing themselves in white linen, showing their righteous state of being.
Verse 11 - "Which also said, 'Ye men of Galilee, Why..." He says, Why "... stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus," What about Him? "...This same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner..." He's going to come again. You know there's a lot of ministers today don't believe He's going to come. Things have changed, brethren. Things have changed in this world a great deal. Things that are being preached from the pulpit today are absolutely contrary to what the scripture clearly says. It's almost like a song and dance, the way religion has become in the minds of a lot of people. And that's not how it is revealed in the pages of the Bible. It says, "...as you have seen Him go into heaven..." So He's coming back. The scripture verifies it here, and if you'll turn with me please to John 14, we see the following.
John 14: 1 - Jesus says: "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me." Because He was the son of God in the flesh, God's representative of God's kingdom.
Verse 2 - He says, "In My Father's house..." He says, "... are many mansions:" He says, "...if (it were) not (so), I would have told you. (And) I go to prepare a place for you." So we have been called to be a part of something that is in a preparatory state of involvement right now, and Jesus is preparing; He's getting ready to gear up for His brothers and sisters to take up those responsibilities. And notice what He goes on to say:
Verse 3 - "And if I go..." He says, "... and prepare a place for you, I will come again," He promised that. This was to give hope and encouragement to the Christian man and woman, the God—fearing saint that was looking for Jesus Christ to come and establish His rule and kingdom on this earth. He says, "I will receive you unto Myself; that where I am, (there) ye may be also." Now where is He going to be? Many people read this scripture and think that means He's translating everybody up to heaven. But if you go to Zechariah 14 for your notes, you'll find that "...in that day His feet shall stand on the mount of Olives..." That's in Jerusalem, Palestine, folks; that's not up in heaven. And Jesus is going to come, and He's going to be on this earth.
John 10, just a few chapters back, John 10:35, if you'll notice a very important principle of the scripture. John 10:35. Now the Jews were very upset with Him because they said, "You're just a man, and yet You're claiming to be God, a son of God." And then He quotes scripture to them.
John 10:35 - "If He" referencing God "called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken:" Emphasis mine. That's what I want to emphasis; that's the point I want to keep in mind. It doesn't matter what kind of arguments are going on out there even if you don't fully understand an argument. If somebody is trying to hatchet-job the Bible, and give you a fancy song and dance to tell you that it doesn't mean what it says it means, just remember this: The scripture can't be broken. You and I may not have all the ramifications and give all the fancy answers to it, maybe they have a really good gift of gab and they can go ahead and run rings around us. But if they tell us that it doesn't mean what it says that Jesus says it plainly means, then who're you going to believe? The Bible says the scripture can't be broken, and if that's true, it can't be broken, Jesus said He is going to come again. You just saw it. The angels confirmed it; He's going to come again, in the clouds, just like you saw Him.
So, the very first thing, this day of divine destiny points us to is the fulfillment of a promise that Jesus made to His beloved brothers and sisters in the faith, that He would come again. He's not going to leave us alone in this world; He's going to come to our aid. And why? Why? There's that why. Why has He got to come? Well, that brings us to the second point on this day of Trumpets, and that is this:
#2 His presence is desperately needed. His presence is desperately needed. There is a serious problem now that has erupted to a cataclysmic element in which none of us as human beings can solve. It's out of control; it's like watching those fires that were burning out in California and out in the west, when those fires merged and they got to a certain point, what happened? Even the forest fire guys, the service guys, they had to back off. They said this thing is running out of control; we can't deal with it. They've just got to let it burn, and that's what is happening to the world. People are losing control; they can't deal with it anymore; this thing is getting wild. And notice what Jesus said is going to be happening in the days, weeks, months and years ahead.
We thought nine-eleven was something. Well, nine-eleven is a divider; it's a marker in our generation of time right now. For those who are our seniors in our midst and go back further, there was another great marker that happened — December 7, 1941. You'll always remember that. Your life changed that day and so did America. America was basically a passive nation, isolated, it did not want to get involved in the wars that were raging in Europe. Even FDR stood before the American Congress and pledged before that election to the American people, "I will not send your sons to war."
He pledged that. And then what happened (Sound like a bomb dropping...) December 7th, Boom, there goes the Arizona; Boom, three hundred and fifty Japanese airplanes come in, literally creamed the whole Pacific fleet. What are we going to do? Stay passive now? No. Overnight, people changed in this country, and they said, "We can't let them get away with that! Remember Pearl Harbor!" That became a battle cry that marked time for a whole generation of people.
Well, nine-eleven marked time for us. It marked time; we're not the same anymore, and it's going to be a different ball game because God is showing this world is changing before our very eyes. We see it changing in our own beloved United States. Now we're having to do things; we're seeing our freedoms being taken away from us, because we're fearful and afraid. And I would like to emphasize at this point, dear brethren, God has not called us to live in fear. He's called us to live by faith, and if you have faith, live your faith before God, the scripture says. That is important. The reason why is because the world around you is going to be developing a culture of fear, and God does not want that to run rampant among His sons and daughters. If you're caught in that noose, in that snare of the devil, then you're going to end up just like it says, "Perfect love will not be able to be perfected in you." Because Peter brings that out very clearly and John emphasizes that in his commentary about love; he says, "Perfect love casts out fear, because fear has torment."
God didn't call us to be tormented individuals. But we're living in a tormented world, and people are getting more tormented by the passing of every day. Now who is the evil one behind the scene that loves to create torment in people's lives? I think we know who that is; the god of this world.
Well, in this particular case, what we're being told, if you'll turn to Matthew 24, now here are the words of Jesus which we're supposed to listen to, that's a very important aspect of this. In Matthew 24, the famous Olivet prophecy, what did Jesus bring forth? He's telling His disciples, and they were concerned about, "Well, tell us, what's going to happen in the years to come?"
And as events began to unfold in humankind. And He goes on and describes a lot of this, and then He says, in verse 21 and 22:
Matthew 24: 21 - "For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
Verse 22 - "And except those days should be shortened," Unless something happens to shorten and curtail this madness, He says. "... there should no flesh be saved:" Or as Moffatt translation puts it, "no flesh saved alive." That's all of us. We're part of the human family. We're flesh. All human flesh would be vaporized. Gone. That does not fulfill the purpose of God, and God will not allow that to happen. That's why these days are going to be shortened, because God is going to take charge of that.
This world is in a serious state of upheaval and growing more so as you turn on the news every night and you listen, you hear the growing problems that are beginning to happen. War here, famine here, pestilence there, all kinds of things. Now we've got West Nile virus, which we never had before in this country, to the degree that it's happening. You've got earthquakes in California again, up in Orange County. You've got forest fires; you've got floods around the world. Something's going on here, folks. This world we live in is a living world, and it's alive and it's bubbling right underneath our feet. Big things are about to happen is what God is trying to help us understand because we now have advanced in the plan of God for the next major holy day to transpire.
It pictures something very, very wonderful, the promise of Jesus' return, as we pointed out, number one, and two, that His presence is necessary, simply because when you add all what man is doing, and then you compound it with climatic, natural disasters...you see, this is not a dead planet; it's alive. And these tectonic plates bump up against one another, and things happen. Then you add to that the spirit world that's behind the scene, ...the air, stirring things up. Remember, you and I have not under our feet the control of this world, not yet. God's purpose was to put all things under our feet. We have spiritual control, but we do not have physical control. The god of this world has control. That's why we pray for God's protection and God's guidance and God's help, because we are like in the enemy mine field. It's all out there, and if you think that didn't happen, then think again, because Jesus didn't challenge Satan when he says, "It's all mine to give to whomever I will if You fall down and worship me." Jesus never said a word, because Lucifer/Satan won that responsibility back in the garden of Eden when mankind surrendered to his influence rather than the influence of God.
Now we're coming out of that and under the control of God's spirit, and in the process of time this is what it means when Paul says in Romans, "The whole creation groans in agony." It's hurting, and it's waiting for the wonderful, glorious redemption of the sons and the daughters of God. That's where we come in; that's why this day is so important to us. We're not just here in a passive way to sit in a chair and hear words thrown at us. We're here hungering and thirsting to understand the dynamics of where we fit in in this great plan of God. And God made no mistake when He called you and me to it. The question is, will you endure to the end, or will you abandon God's plan?
I got news for you. The bottom line from the book says, "Nobody wins against God." You join God, and you've got eternity through Jesus Christ. You go against Him, you've got nothing but destruction because you chose to follow a god of death instead of a God of life.
Well, that's not why we're here today. We want to follow the God of life, the God of the living, not the god of the dead. Now here we are seeing that Jesus Christ made it very clear. Look at Luke 21, if you will, the compatible scripture dealing with this area here in Luke 21 matches Matthew 24 and gives you a composite picture. And notice how the world around us is going to move into this time frame. Luke 21:25, it says:
Luke 21:25 - There will come a time in that process where there shall be signs in the sun and the moon and the stars, and our scientists are going to be stunned. They're not going to be able to answer. As smart as they are, they will not be able to have a handle on it, because they don't see the hand of God that is beginning now to intervene in the course of human events. And it says: "...and on the earth there will be distress of nations, with perplexity; the seas (raging)...and roaring;
Verse 26 - Notice Verse 26, "Men's hearts failing them for..." What? "...for fear," I told you at the beginning of this message that this is a day of great joy for those who are looking to God and the fulfillment of all God's promises that this day represents. It's a festival of joy to the believer. To the unbeliever, it is a nightmare. "Woe unto you that desire the day of the Lord!" You know, there are people out there that talk about, "Oh, I can't wait for the day of the Lord. I can't wait for Jesus to come through the clouds, and He's going to love me, and He's going to kiss me." That's not what the book says. They've got a distorted picture of the return of Jesus Christ. God says it is a day of darkness and gloominess upon something that is got to be corrected. And God is going to correct it. And it goes on to say:
Verse 26 (continued) - "...the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
Verse 27 - "And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory." That is going to be an absolutely stunning event when that transpires. Don't you wish you could be somewhere in a nice place of safety and you could kind of look up and see that happening? You know, there's a lot of people who take the approach, "Well, I don't want to be around. I'd rather be dead and buried, and so forth." If that's your place of safety in the process of time, so be it. But if you could be alive to see the greatest event in human history, the return of the beloved son of God, I don't want to miss that. I just want to miss all the bad stuff. I want to be there in God's place of safety because when His hand is there to protect, I have nothing to fear. They can't touch me, no matter what's going on out there. They can't touch me because in the hand of Jesus Christ, there's no power in heaven and earth, no principality, nothing can separate Jesus Christ and me. I mean, His hand. I don't have to worry about Allstate. I'm in the best hands of all. You see, it's not Allstate. Allstate will be history by that time. It's Christ's hands that are going to be the great hands of protection for mankind.
But notice the fear. So, the whole world is going to be in a mind-staggering state of affairs.
#3 - We need to look at very quickly, because we ask the question, "Why, Father? Why is all this going on? Man, Your son is coming back, why? Well, everything is getting into a desperate state of affairs, well, why?" Well because prophecy must be fulfilled. You'll turn with me to Luke 21:22. Same chapter, just up a few verses.
Luke 21:22 - "...these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled." The Bible is loaded with prophecy, and God has shown prophecies that have come to pass in the past, and that these are future prophecies that are yet to happen.
Now in conjunction with this, please keep this in mind. The Bible now translates and takes you into the New Testament. Revelation 22:10, if you will. There are a lot of people today that run scared from the book of Revelation. They say, "I don't want any part of this book. This book is filled with monsters and beasts and boogie bears and all kinds of things. I don't want it. It's spooky, and I don't understand it."
Well the truth of the matter is, it is a life-essential book of understanding. It completes the picture that God wanted to give to mankind, especially His church, because remember the Bible is written to the Church of God, and to whoever else is willing to listen to what God has to say. And if that happens, a true repentance and that can be grafted in and brought in to the plan and purpose of God, but other than that, it's God's covenant, God's plan, God's purpose, and He adds to the church daily those that are in the process of being saved. Now in Revelation 22:10
Revelation 22:10 - "And He said unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand." And then He goes on to say about the conditions of the world,
Verse 11 - "Those (He) that is unjust, let him (them) be unjust still:" In other words, they're just happy to go the way they are; they don't want to change; just let things go. "Let (him) those who are (be) filthy (or morally defiled, let them stay that way.) "...(But) he that is righteous, let him be righteous still:" In other words, don't stop striving to live by God's way of life. "...And he that is holy, let him be holy still." In other words, you are now beginning to see that you have a mission in life that is to become holy in your relationship with a holy God. That something's got to change, because we can't stay in a sinful condition and have a relationship with our God. And he goes on to say:
Verse 12 - "... behold I come quickly; and My reward is with me..." So time is going to move fast, and rapidly. Now just very quickly, I would to review this for your benefit on this day.
The book of Revelation is divided into sequence. There is a series of three sevens that we must be mindful of and remember. You can do this in your own time. I'm not going to take the time now, but this is for your benefit to review. If you go back, the Bible first begins with a series of seven seals. It's spoken of in Revelation 6. It's good to go back and see what those seven seals are all about. When you come to that seventh seal, that kicks over and opens up another group of seven, and that is called the seven trumpet plagues. When we come to the last of that, and that kicks over into the final series of seven, we now come to the seven vials, or what is called the bowls, the seven last plagues of which Jesus Christ comes at the very last of that, but all this is poured out in his presence as He's in the process of making His entrance into this world. So those three areas are very important to be aware of: Revelation 6, Revelation 8, and Revelation 16. I'll move on for the sake of time.
But why? But why? We ask that question as little children again, asking, "Why God? Why is this necessary?" We've seen three reasons.
#4 - Is that the time has finally come. The time has finally come to punish a God-rejecting world for their sinful way of living. God punished the ancient world, and He buried them in a flood. He punished ancient Egypt with plagues because He wanted to demonstrate that He was God, and He alone, and He punished all the gods of Egypt, and He set His people free. Now God is going to do something that mankind is going to be dreading.
Notice Revelation 6:15. If you haven't read the book of Revelation in a while, it's just a good one to go back and just kind of read and get the feel and the flow of certain things that are spoken of here. But remember there are some inset chapters. Things kind of shift and change from time to time, and that can throw you a curve, if you forget that. But in chapter six, the events now begin to happen.
Revelation 6:14 - "And the heaven departed like a scroll (when it is) rolled together; (and) every mountain (and) island (were) moved out of (its) (their) place(s)." What you're having pictured here is a tremendous upheaval going on, the sky, the heavens looked just like a scroll, and it's just blowing people away.
Verse 15 - "The kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich (men, and the chief) captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, (and every) free man, (they) hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains." In other words, they ran screaming for cover. Now what would produce that? What kind of a condition is coming that would cause a terrifying situation. I've said this was a day of terror for the ungodly, and notice, Verse 16, they begin to say:
Verse 16 - "(And said) to the mountains and rocks," Figuratively speaking, "...Fall on us, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
Verse 17 - "For the great day of His (God's wrath) wrath is come; and who is (shall be) able to stand?" Oh, that's ...this is what I'm saying; this is the other side of the coin a person doesn't want to be on. You don't want to be on that side of the ledger, because nobody can stand against the hand of God when God has been provoked, and this is the time He's going to come roaring out, Revelation 19, very quickly, Revelation 19 tells us that the time is now come.
Revelation 19:11 - "And I saw heaven opened, and (behold) (I saw) a white horse;" symbol of righteousness. Revelation 6 shows the first seal has a white horse, but that is false religion that is masquerading as true religion, but it is leading people astray. Jesus is the true servant of God; He is the King of Kings; He comes on a white horse pictured here in this vision. "...and He that sat upon him; He was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He does judge and make war."
You see, we live in an unfair world because Satan is not a fair shooter. He's not a square shooter. He's corrupt; if he can't kill it, he corrupts it, one way or the other. If he can't kill it, he corrupts it. That's an interesting study to go back and see in the scriptures. Now those seem to be his two great weapons that he utilizes. One, he tries to kill it. If he can't kill it, then he tries to corrupt it.
We go on, it says here, this wonderful, wonderful demonstration of God's power, His name:
Verse 13 - He's got "(And He was clothed with) a vesture dipped in blood; His name is called the word of God." Notice:
Verse 14 - "(And) the armies which were in heaven followed Him..." So He's the Commander in Chief of the heavenly host. Jesus Christ is the one who controls and guides the affairs of these things in heaven and with the angels.
Verse 15 - "(And) out of His mouth goes (forth) a sharp sword, that (with it) He should smite the nations: and He shall (should) rule them with a rod of iron: (and He) treads the winepress of the (His) fierce(ness and) wrath of Almighty God." Notice: "(The) wrath of Almighty God." Now that's not coming down on God-fearing people. God's not coming to punish God-fearing people. He's coming to punish this very important fourth point: To punish a God-rejecting world that has had plenty of time to repent, and even more so, not only all the warnings down through time from the apostles, from Christ Himself, and then all the different works of God that God has used down through time into our time today, and then when we are neutralized, and we not longer can be, because "there's going to be a hot time in the old town tonight," He's going to take his believing body of Christ, and He's going to take them to a place of safety in a world that has become very dangerous.
And then only two individuals are going to stand up, the two witnesses, self-governing, they're going to have the power of God of divine protection so that they can, in self defense, when individuals try to kill them, they will die in like manner. And it talks about them. That's why they're going to be hated, but they are going to preach the truth of God. It'll be the last opportunity before all hell breaks loose on this earth.
That is coming in the process of time, and we, as children, we say, "Why?" Because, you see, we can hear that intellectually, how do we understand that, dear brethren? How can we comprehend this? How could we even comprehend what happened fifty-sixty-some years ago in those Nazi concentration camps? To see those terrifying films of replays of these people who went through that nightmare, and that is going to be nothing compared to what this is. This is a time of great tribulation. That's why God says you need to know about this, mankind. You need to heed My voice, hear My prayer, because that is God's prayer for mankind. He is not willing any should perish, but all come to the knowledge of His truth.
So, He's going to punish them. And we say, "Why?" Well, because it is needed, but it is also time now for number five, the joyous side of this festival. We've looked at some of the rough stuff that's going to come, and that's not something we want to be a part of, and God didn't call us to be a part of that. He called us to be a part of what is now here, very clearly, and it's shown in I Thessalonians 4:16.
What we have here is the fifth important aspect of why this a day of divine destiny because it pictures the joyous resurrection of the dead in Christ. The joyous resurrection of the dead in Christ, and on beyond that, those who are alive, changed in a twinkling of an eye.
I Thessolonians 4:16 - "For the Lord Himself shall descend..." Notice: "...from heaven..." We're not going there; He's coming here. He's got to correct the problems that exist here. "... with a shout, (and) with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God..." That trumpet, you can't get away, Old Testament Israel was loaded with examples of trumpets going off, an alert for assembly, an alert for war, alert for special times of worship, and in the New Testament, the trumpets are significant again, in that manner. And then it goes on to say: "...and (then) the dead in Christ shall rise first:" So here is a momentous event taking place, the resurrection of the dead in Christ. It is a resurrection unto immortality; it is not physical life; it is the very hope of the Christian, that John, as he said, "We will see Him as He is. We'll behold Him in all His glory. And then it goes on to say:
Verse 17 - "Then we which are alive..." If any of us are still blessed to be alive, and I would think if it happens in our lifetime, I would pray that that would be the case, that it would be in a twinkling of an eye that our change would come, that we wouldn't have to go through all the agony and heartache and loss of loved ones. I know that's not realistic, in one sense. We know that that's in Gods hands to determine those things, but He says you have not because you ask not. So, if it's going to happen in our time, in our lifetime may it be in the twinkling of an eye, because I think that would be a lovely way to go. Just twinkle your eye, and you've changed from flesh to divine spirit. That, I think, is a wonderful thing.
Verse 17 (continued) - And it says: "...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." Where do we go from there? Zechariah 14 - "...His feet shall stand in that day (on) (upon) the mount of Olives." The mount of Olives is going to cleave in two. Dynamic events are going to be happening. Christ is going to have to come and save Jerusalem with all the holy angels and all the saints. Remember what He said to the Jews when He walked the earth the first time. He says, "If my kingdom were of this world then would my servants fight that I should not be delivered to the Jews." He says, "But My kingdom is not except from hence." In other words, it's from another time, another place, but when He comes, He's coming to wage war. You saw that in Revelation 19.
All right, moving along, why? Why, dear Father? After this joyous resurrection, what happens then? Well, what happens then is that we're going to have the establishment of the kingdom of God upon the earth, the very thing that Jesus came and preached - the good news of the coming kingdom of God. The kingdoms of men are no good. That's why they're starving in Zimbabwe, and in Zambia, and in other places of the world. Food can be available, but governments won't give the people the food. They'd rather let them rot and die when the people are crying out on the evening news, "Let us have the food. If we die tomorrow, let that be tomorrow, but this is today. I'm hungry. Let me eat."
And the governments say, "No." They don't care about the lives of their people. Rather, they go and do what? They use the money to buy guns and other things to wage war against other nations. And so again, the kingdom of God must be established. It's a very important part.
We're told in Daniel 7:27 that this would come to be at the end of days when man's rule is coming to its final conclusion. It says:
Daniel 7:27 - "And the kingdom and (the) dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints..." That's where we come in. We're not just a passing phenomena. We're a part of a dynamics that is going on, and it says: and it's "...the saints of the Most High" How do you recognize who are the saints of the Most High? Because they hear His voice; they keep his commandments; they're there assembling on holy convocations when God commands it to be so. And they respond like Abraham did, in faith, to the word of God. And so it goes on to say: "...whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him." Back to Daniel 2:44, the last resurrection of the Roman empire as it now is beginning to take shape in Europe. It tells us that it is:
Daniel 2:44 - "In the days of these kings..." These five, ten toes, all together...It says, "the God of heaven..." Notice: What's He going to do? He's going to... It says it shall, "...set up a kingdom," it says, "which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, (but) it (will) (shall) break (in pieces), and consume all these (other) kingdoms, and it shall stand forever." Man has had the rise and fall of kingdoms, rise and fall of kingdoms, but in the kingdom of God, when it is established, it will be there forever.
Remember in Luke 12:32, it tell us ..."...it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." This is part of what God has had planned from way back when, along with Jesus Christ, and, we are told that Jesus Christ is going to do what? He's going to sit upon the throne of His glory, and we have an opportunity to sit with him, by the grace of God.
So, that sixth point is to understand why that it's time to establish the kingdom of God. It's not on the earth yet. People want to say, "Well, it's established in my heart." Or they want to go on and say, "They're working for the kingdom" No, I'm sorry. They're not working for the kingdom because the kingdom of God has not come yet. When the kingdom of God becomes a reality as pictured by this day, and the intervention of God...now, some people will challenge and say, "Well, you know, it says of that day and that hour know no man. So how can we say that the Feast of Trumpets is the day?"
We don't say, "That's the day." We say, "This is the day that God has said." Now whether He cuts it short; whether He intervenes before this day, after this day, I think it is right quite obvious that when you study scripture, God is on time. So, when He says, "Of that day and that hour know no man except the Father..." Yes, the Father, and then will Jesus know? Well, the Father will tell him, and will God's people know? They will know something big is coming down. And do you think it would mean anything for us to be talking about all this on the day of Trumpets and God's intervention in man's affairs if God wasn't going to use this day in something special? I think it becomes quite obvious that God's time table says this day is going to have a lot to say about it.
All right, the last point that I want to touch on is in this area. If we were to ask, "Why?" It's because it's time to prepare for the next great festival of God. Remember when Trumpets becomes a reality, and Christ is upon the earth, and He demonstrates His rule, and He begins to put down all enemies; He's routing enemies left and right; there's still one great enemy that has to be dealt with before all mankind can be at one with God. That's the great Feast of Atonement, And so mankind will be in a preparatory state to be ready to get ready to meet their Creator in a way like they have never known Him before. And since He is a holy God, the world has got to be educated during that time, how to become holy in their conduct and their lifestyle. This is what the Bible teaches, and so, that's why Leviticus 23:27 is written to describe the Day of Atonement, a day of fasting, a day of drawing close to God.
In conclusion, it's all part of God's plan, these seven points all touch on the "whys," the why this day of Trumpets is a day of divine destiny. And it all focuses around Jesus Christ; it's part of God's step by step plan to bring salvation to mankind, to you, to me, and what's so beautiful about it is that Acts 3:19-24 talks about a time of great restitution of all things, a time of refreshing. It says Christ is in the heavens, waiting for the time...what time can we look at in the Bible that shows He's going to come again? The Feast of Trumpets focuses our attention. The ramifications and fine points, we don't have to worry about. We just need to look at what God has outlined. There's something about this day that involves the saints of God taking charge and the kingdom of God being established and Christ dealing with the wickedness of this world and beginning to establish something that leads to Atonement, which we'll celebrate on the sixteenth, on a Monday, and then we'll go and have a most wonderful Festival of Tabernacles, which will picture that time of great rejoicing. And that's why Trumpets is a day of divine destiny. It's for you; it's for me, and it's for all individuals who, if you will turn with me, please, in conclusion: Titus 2:13. It says for all those who are living with this hope and this understanding, who are living soberly and righteously as verse 12 says, "and Godly in this present world;" and what are we doing?
Titus 2:13 - "We're looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing..." the glorious appearing... "...of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;" That is going to be one of the most spectacular things in all of human history. And God wants us to understand that this is not just "head knowledge" to be funneled in and forgotten. We need to be mindful of it, review it, think about it, and then ask God for the strength and help of His spirit because when we move into the final phase of when this day becomes a reality, as you've already seen — there's a very dark side of this day that is going to just cause the world to be thunder-struck — the saints of God do not have to fear that part.
This will be a day of great rejoicing because our life that is hid in Christ, as pictured by the holy days in the spring of the year is suddenly going to be made manifest to the whole world. And the saints of God are going to shine like the stars in heaven, and we're going to take up our responsibilities to guide and direct the rest of mankind in a way that their present world leaders are not guiding them. Those that are leading today are leading people down a primrose path to destruction. It will take Jesus Christ and the saints of God to help bring restitution to this earth. And then, we can truly say, "Hey, we live in a fair world, not an unfair world." And we'll have an opportunity to make it so. Thank God for that calling.