Babylon WILL Fall

Wonderful to be here together on the Feast of Trumpets. Very exciting time in God's plan of salvation for all of mankind for what it pictures and portrays. I suppose it depends what side of the trumpet you're standing on. You know, a very dreadful, fearful day as it will be realized for some, and a very joyous and exciting and a hopeful day as it will be realized for others as well.

It is wonderful to be here with you, and I bring you greetings from the congregation down south. It's a beautiful sunny day enjoying a picnic down by the river in between services down there. There is a prophecy in the writings of the Apostle Peter that speak to the condition of the age in which we live, and I'll just read it to you. You don't necessarily have to turn there, but at 2 Peter chapter 3 verse 3 through 4, and he says, knowing this first, that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts and saying, where's the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation. It says there'll be scoffers, people who mock, who laugh, who say, okay, so you say he is coming, where is he? And it says, as we approach the end of the age, rather than our time, I believe, specifically, these would increase. And I think it's fairly evident as we turn on the TV, as we look at the world around us, as we consider that love for the Word of God and the truth of God is in decline. The numbers of those who would grab hold of the Bible as the inspired Word of God in order their lives according to it are less and less. And those who do in fact do so and stand up for the truth oftentimes are ridiculed by scoffers. It is the age in which we live. And again, as it continues, that further and farther slide away from God in the ways of God, the scoffers will increase. Now, a side effect of that is discouragement can set in. You know, somebody stands up for the truth, stands up for righteousness in the way of God, and you're mocked, you're ridiculed, you're put down, you're called a hate-filled speech, whatever it might be, and it's viewed as something that is contrary to what is according to the ways of this world. And we must never become discouraged. We must never look at God's Word with doubt and listen to the scoffers and think, well, is He really coming? You know, will things continue such as they always have been? We can never doubt the Word of God and what God says is true because this day will come.

God the Father has promised it and declared it. The one who declares the end from the beginning and has the power and will to bring it to pass has said it as so. His Son has reinforced that declaration, and it will be so. For me, an element of Scripture that's always helpful and it brings confidence if there's ever, say, a hint of doubt in my mind of what God will do is to go back and look at what He has already done and to consider what He's promised and fulfilled. But another thing that adds confidence is the construct in the Bible as it pertains to type and fulfillment or forerunners and fulfillment. And I think we generally understand what type and fulfillment looks like, something that is associated with an individual or a circumstance that has taken place, and yet it points to something of greater spiritual fulfillment that God intends. An example of that would be Israelites in slavery in Egypt. And Egypt being obviously ruled by Pharaoh, that is a type that is a forerunner of this world held in bondage, a world held captive by Satan the devil, the God of this age. We look at the sacrifice of the Passover lamb, Exodus 12, when the blood was painted on the doorposts, on the lentil, and the fact that the destroyer passed over and the penalty didn't come upon the people of God, that lamb is a type. And again, it foreshadowed Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world for those that come under His sacrifice. We also know that the Promised Land that God brought Israel into was a type, it was a forerunner, of the kingdom of God. And so when we look through the Bible, we see these types or forerunners, we see the fulfillments that are in place, and you know many of those types and fulfillments that are spelled out in Scripture have already come to pass in terms of, okay, that Passover lamb pointing to Jesus Christ as the ultimate spiritual fulfillment that's come to pass.

We can see it in retrospect. Some types are already set, but the fulfillment is yet to come to pass. And that is the Feast of Trumpets and things that we see portrayed by this day. Because there is a type, a forerunner, that we're going to see today that exists in a series of events that were faced by ancient Israel.

They walk through these things. They, if I can use the word, rehearsed what this day portrays, and the forerunner points to the fulfillment that will occur. And again, these things can give us confidence seeing what God has laid out, prophesied, and rehearsed before our very eyes.

Scoffers will increase, but that should have no bearing on our faith. A title for the message today is Babylon will fall. Babylon will fall. That is the fulfillment of the type we're going to look at today. Babylon will fall. And I'd like to begin by turning to the forerunner events that we're going to consider today in Joshua chapter 5. So if you go there, please. Joshua chapter 5.

The setting here is shortly after the death of Moses. God has now commissioned Joshua to go forward, take the people into the land. Those who have wandered now 40 years, that older generation has died off. This is the children, this is the grandchildren, and now they're coming forward into the promised land. God had miraculously held back the waters of the Jordan River so that Israel could walk across on dry ground, just as he had done at the Red Sea. Now they've entered the land, the land of promise, and upon their arrival there God had Joshua circumcised their males, because all those that were born during the wilderness wandering since leaving Egypt had not been circumcised. And now God's bringing them into the promise, into the land of covenant that he made with Abraham. And as his people, they needed to show forth the sign of that covenant.

They're the people of God receiving the promises of God. So that's the background.

I want to pick up the account in Joshua chapter 5 and verse 9. Joshua 5 verse 9.

It says, Then the LORD said to Joshua, This day I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you. Therefore the name of the place is called Gilgal to this day. Now the children of Israel camped in Gilgal and kept the Passover on the 14th day of the month at twilight on the plains of Jericho, and they ate the produce of the land on the day after the Passover. It says, Unleavened bread and parched grain on the very same day. So we get a time stamp here for when this event takes place in the subsequent events. It's centered around the time frame of the Days of Unleavened Bread. I'm going to talk about Jericho today. And if you go back, I would say about 10 years in the archives, I gave a sermon on Jericho pertaining to the Days of Unleavened Bread. And because there's great symbolism on tearing down the strongholds of sin in our lives. But I want to look at Jericho from a little different perspective today as it points to what God will do on this day of trumpets as well. But just understand the the time frame is set during Days of Unleavened Bread, but the type again points to what will be fulfilled. Verse 12 says, Then the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten the produce of the land, and the children of Israel no longer had manna, but they ate the food of the land of Canaan that year. So we can just maybe imagine what the children of Israel are going through for a moment. The excitement, you know, 40 years of wilderness wandering. It had been tough. They had seen many of them, their parents in that generation, die off. And yet God had promised something. And He brought them now into the promise. And all that they've been trained for, heard about, prepared for, they were there. So you just imagine the excitement, and after 40 years, setting foot in the land that would be in their inheritance. But you see, now the work begins. Because simply crossing the Jordan and stepping into the land of inheritance was different than actually possessing the inheritance. You know, wrapping their arms around it as a possession. There are some things that would have to change before they received their inheritance. You remember there were giants in the land.

Those have been spies that had gone in and spied out, and 10 of the 12 gave a bad report, said, you know, there's giants, the cities walled up to heaven, and there's no way that we can take the land. Of course, they rejected God, and that was the cause of their wanderings. But those things were still there, and they would have to be overcome. There were giants in the land, there were fortified cities, there were strong armies there, and the gateway obstacle that Israel would encounter as soon as they crossed over the Jordan was that great fortified city of Jericho. You look up and here's the walls, here's the fortification of Jericho. Now the work begins. We're gonna focus on certain elements of the Battle of Jericho today because Jericho stood as a roadblock to Israel receiving the promise. Before they could take possession of their inheritance, Jericho would have to be moved out of the way. And again, it was a strong and walled-up city, it was a fortified city, and it would have to fall if they were to have possession of the Promised Land. And so what we need to understand as we go through this account is that Jericho is representative of all the cities, all the peoples, the kings, the tribes of the land of Canaan. You know, this was a symbolic battle that basically said, you know, we're here. God is leading us. And when Jericho falls, Israel now has possession. God says, this is your land, and it's just a matter now of following God in and picking up what it is that He has now delivered to you. So Jericho stood in that sense of symbolism, a symbolic war of representative of the whole land. Rather than on this Feast of Trumpets, we're reminded that we too are standing on the brink of the Promised Land, of possessing the kingdom of God that He has set before us, that He has promised in His Word. He has brought us up to the brink, I believe, literally in the time in which we live. But each and every one of us individually, as we have a lifetime, stand on the brink of the kingdom of God. And what it is God has allowed us to do, and how He's called us to live. But there's an inheritance that's waiting, and is waiting to be possessed. We've been called on to this world just as Israel was called out of Egypt. Those who've been baptized, received God's Spirit, and received the circumcision of the heart just as Israel received the circumcision of the covenant coming into the land. And now the kingdom awaits, the Promised Land awaits, but you see there's this city. There's this obstacle. The Bible calls it a city, it calls it a religious, a spiritual system.

It's a walled-up, fortified spiritual system that's going to gain power and strength all the way up to the end of the age. It's going to dominate the world, finances, economy, military, religion, and that walled-up, fortified spiritual city will stand in opposition to the kingdom of God. And before the kingdom can be established, before the saints can take possession of their inheritance, that city must fall. Babylon must fall. Again, just like Israel could not simply walk in, take possession of the Promised Land without the complete destruction of Jericho, the kingdom of God will not be established on this earth apart from the complete destruction of Babylon. And it's actually what we're going to see portrayed as we walk through the Scriptures today. The fall of Jericho was the opening event to establishing God's people in their inheritance, and that is what the Feast of Trumpets is in God's plan of salvation in terms of removing the old and the system that dominates and installing the new. The Feast of Trumpets, brethren, is that opening event to establishing God's people in their inheritance on this earth, the kingdom of God, and the kingdom that would be above all kingdoms and all nations and all peoples. There's a series of events we're going to see throughout Joshua chapter 5 and 6 that bring about total destruction to Jericho and allow the Israelites to take possession. As we walk through these chapters, we're going to look at parallels of what they encountered in their day and indeed what yet remains ahead of us at the fulfillment of these days and this day of trumpets. So let's go back here to Joshua 5 with that in mind. Joshua chapter 5 and pick it up where we left off in verse 13. Joshua chapter 5 and verse 13, it says, and it came to pass when Joshua was by Jericho that he lifted up his eyes and looked and behold a man, capital M. Man stood opposite of him with his sword drawn in his hand and Joshua went to him and he said to him, are you for us or for our adversaries? He said to him, no, or neither, as it could be translated, but as the commander of the army of the Lord I have come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and he worshipped and he said to him, what does my Lord say to his servant? Then the commander of the Lord's army said to Joshua, take your sandal off your foot, the place where you stand is holy.

And Joshua did so. So there's a number of things happening here in this interaction that we actually don't want to miss. They're important to what we come to understand God has done and will done do. First of all, this commander was no mere man and I think that's clear. He was no mere man. This was a divine being.

Joshua understood clearly that this was no man by the fact that he fell on his face and he worshipped him. And if you look at different commentaries on the topic, some of them will basically dismiss the action as that of a servant being submissive to a master and I won't dismiss that that is a portion of this, okay, but it is more than that when you're talking about worship. Joshua fell on his face and he worshipped. Joshua was a faithful servant of God. He understood the commandment not to bow down to anything or anyone in heaven or on earth apart from the true God and yet he worshipped this man. It's interesting.

We see further proof of the divine nature of this man. He tells Joshua, take the sandal off your foot the place you stand is holy ground, mirroring what God had told Moses at the burning bush. And so what we understand is that man can make nothing holy of and by themselves. It merely, you know, falls short of that. It is only the presence of God that makes something holy. So, brethren, this was the one who Joshua fell down before, a divine being. This was the divine Word of God, the one who eventually became Jesus Christ in the flesh.

And what we notice about him is that he has his sword drawn. I saw Joshua encounters him. He's out there in the plains of Jericho and he has his sword drawn. Now, I'll throw it out for a little feedback. What comes to your mind when somebody has their sword drawn? What's going to happen?

What's that symbolizing? Battle? Right? War? Any other thoughts? What the sword drawn might symbolize as well? Charge? And how about judgment? Judgment. When you walk through the Scriptures where it talks about the sword of the Lord, essentially, God has his sword drawn in places where he brings the sword. It is not simply for war only, but for judgment.

And so this man standing there with his sword drawn, it's not a tongue twister, had his it drawn for judgment and for war. This is the Word who become Jesus Christ standing ready to bring judgment and war upon Jericho himself. Additionally, as the commander of the army of the Lord, the Word had been sent to lead the army into battle, to command it. That's what the commander does. Organizes the troop movements, orchestrates the battle, takes the troops into battle. Because as we will see, the scope of the fight against Jericho ultimately included supernatural means.

This wasn't just a physical defeat of a by itself, but it included the power of God. Question, brethren, where else in the Bible can we find a description of Jesus Christ commanding the Lord's army into battle? Where else can we find him with sword drawn, commanding the armies into battle? Well, it's what is represented by, in part, this day, isn't it? Keep a marker here in Joshua, chapter 5, if you like. We'll go back and forth, but let's go to Revelation, chapter 19.

Revelation 19. We're gonna see this commander of the Lord's army with sword drawn, yet in the future. Revelation chapter 19 in verse 11 says, Now I saw heaven open, and behold a white horse. And he who sat on him was called faithful and true, and in righteousness he noticed judges and makes war. So we see two elements of authority that have been given to Jesus Christ.

He's been given the authority to judge by his father, and he's been given the authority to make war. You know, God reserves for himself when this will be, but the time comes when he says go, and it's on. But these are things that God has charged Christ with. John 5 22 tells us, The Father judges no one but has committed all judgment to the Son. Those were Jesus' words. Also Paul's words in Acts chapter 17 and verse 31 says, He, speaking of the Father, has appointed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he has ordained.

So this day of trumpets is a day of the judgment of God Almighty upon the earth, but he judges it by and through his Son and what he has given him to fulfill. And so we see him now arrive on the scene, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.

Verse 12, His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns, and he had a name written that no one knew except himself. He was clothed with the robe dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God. No confusion here who this being is. It is the Word who was with God from the beginning. It is the one who was the commander of the Lord's army at Jericho, and he returns to do battle once again as the end-time commander of the army of the Lord.

Verse 14, And the armies in heaven clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed him. He's commanding. They're following him on white horses. Now out of his mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it he should strike the nations. And he himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He himself treads out the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

And he has on his robe and on his thigh a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. When Jesus Christ returns to this earth, it will be with sword drawn for judgment and for war. He's bringing the fight that God has given him to bring, and it will be against the end-time Babylonian system. It's a city, but it's also a system. It's a government backed by the power of Satan the devil. It's a satanic influence that will rule the world. It stands in opposition to the kingdom of God. Jesus Christ commands the army in the destruction of spiritual Babylon.

You know, if anyone were to ask him at that time, you know, you see him come on the scene and you say, well, are you for us or for our adversaries? I suspect his answer would be the same as it was back in Joshua, which is neither. I am here as the commander of the army of the Lord. I am here to do God's will, and the real question is, are you on my side? Christ would say, if I may paraphrase, are you on my side? That's the question. Are we on God's side? Joshua, the question isn't, am I on your side? Joshua, are you on my side? Ask the commander of the army of the Lord.

So again, just as the commander of the army of the Lord was sent to lead the battle against Jericho for possession of the promised land, God the Father will send Jesus Christ again to lead the battle against the rebellious nations in order to take possession of what is promised as a part of the establishment of the kingdom of God over this earth. And that is what this day of trumpets in part points us to. Now if we go back to Joshua chapter 6, we see even more parallels that are yet to be fulfilled at the end of the age. Picking up where we left off, Joshua chapter 6 and verse 1 says, now Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel. None went out and none came in. And the Lord Yahweh said to Joshua, See I have given Jericho into your hand its king and the mighty men of Valor. He said, You shall march around the city, all you men of war, you shall go all around the city once. This you shall do for six days. Well, something we need to remember as we read this is that there's chapter breaks inserted and sometimes, at least in my mind, when I run up on a chapter break, I think, oh, change of scene or change of time. But we need to understand chapter breaks aren't in the original Hebrew. They're inserted by the translators to help us be able to get around the Scripture a little more easily. But what we need to understand is this is a continual flow here. So as the account progresses, this is still the commander of the Lord's army, who's also called Yahweh, speaking with Joshua. And what is he doing? What would you expect the commander to be doing? He is ordering the movements of the troops, because Israel and the people of Israel and the armies and the tribes of Israel are also part of the army of God. And the commander of the army, the Lord directs the army and the troops in the battle, both spiritual and physical. So he's ordering the troops on the earth. Verse 4, And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of ram's horns before the ark. He says, But the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. And it shall come to pass when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout, then the wall of the city will fall down flat, and the people will go up every man straight before him. So the instructions of going out, blowing the trumpets, shouting, the city falling, this is all being ordered now of what at least the physical portion of this army is going to do on the assault of Jericho. What's interesting is that the word trumpets, Mr. Klein referenced Leviticus 23 verse 24, the word trumpets can also be translated shouting. And that's something interesting to consider. It could be translated shouting. Actually, in a number of places it's used to reference a battle cry, a shouting of voices, but as it pertains to the trumpet, and I would say the Feast of Trumpets, essentially how we would describe the sound of the trumpet is a shout, right? A blast that's blown, and it's a shout. But what's interesting is if you read Leviticus 23 verse 24, some other translations actually render it a memorial of shouting.

The Young's literal translation says, speaking to the sons of Israel, saying, in the seventh month, on the first of the month, you shall have a Sabbath, a memorial of shouting, a holy convocation. And again, I'm not trying to replace the trumpet with the voice, but I'm saying the trumpet sounds, and it is as a shout, but we also see in Scripture shouting, tied to this holy day as well, lifting up your voice like a trumpet. And we will see that as we continue. So circle around, and eventually they will shout. Verse 6, Then Joshua, the son of Nun, called the priests, and he said to them, Take up the ark of the covenant, and let the seven priests bear seven trumpets of ram's horns before the ark of the Lord. And he said to the people, Proceed and march around the city, let him who was armed advance before the ark of the Lord. And so it was when Joshua had spoken to the people that the seven priests, bearing the seven trumpets of ram's horns before the Lord, advanced and blew the trumpets, and the ark of the covenant of the Lord followed them. The ark of the covenant of the Lord was a type of God's presence among his people on earth. And so what we have is actually God going into battle with them, and the priests are going before God, literally, in the presence of God, blowing the seven trumpets. Verse 7, And he said to the people, again, Proceed, march around the city, let him who was armed advance before the ark of the Lord. And it was when Joshua had spoken to the people that the seven priests, bearing the seven trumpets of ram's horns before the Lord, advanced, blew the trumpets, the ark of the Lord, the covenant of the Lord, followed them. Verse 9, The armed men went before the priests, who blew the trumpets, the men of war, and the rearguard came after the ark, while the priests continued blowing the trumpets. Now Joshua had commanded the people, saying, You shall not shout or make any noise with your voice, nor shall a word proceed from your mouth until the day that I say to you, shout. Then you shall shout. She says, On these days, six days, that you're walking around the city, you're gonna maintain silence. No talking, no laughing, no noise.

It's gonna be a silent march around. The trumpets will blow. You go back to camp, and we'll do it again. Till I say, shout. Verse 11, So he had the ark of the Lord circle the city, going around it once. Then they came into the camp and lodged in the camp. And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took the ark of the Lord. The seven priests, bearing the seven trumpets of ram's horns, before the ark of the Lord went on continually and blew the trumpets. And the armed men went before them, but the rearguard came after the ark of the Lord, while the priests continued blowing the trumpets. In the second day, they marched around the city once and returned to camp, and so they did this for six days. Verse 15, it says, But it came to pass on the seventh day that they rose early, about the dawning of the day. They marched around the city seven times in the same manner. On that day, only they marched around the city seven times. And the seventh time it happened when the priests blew the trumpets that Joshua said to the people, Shout! For the Lord has given you the city. Does all this seem a little familiar, perhaps? Seven trumpets, seven priests bearing trumpets here marching around the city, blowing seven trumpets before the ark of the Lord, the presence of God, seven days, seven times on the seventh day. There's a lot of sevens here.

And they mean something. This is a literal action, but it is a forerunner, once again, to what it is God is doing. Is there typology that it seems familiar to you here to this day? Where else in the Bible do we find seven individuals blowing seven trumpets in the presence of God? Let's go back to the book of Revelation. This time chapter 8 and verse 1.

Revelation chapter 8 and verse 1. It says, When he opened the seventh seal, the he here is Jesus Christ. We don't have time to necessarily go through all the setting the history of this, but no one was found able to open that seal or worthy to open the seals except the Lamb who had been slain Jesus Christ. So now he opens the seventh seal, and there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.

So the opening of the seventh seal, I think we understand, ushers in the day of the Lord. It's a period of time that would appear to be one year, overlapping with the last year of the three and a half years of the Great Tribulation.

Isaiah chapter 34 verse 8 says, For it is the day of the Lord's vengeance, the year of recompense for the cause of Zion. In Isaiah 34 verse 8, and the best our understanding is the trumpets represent in the day of the Lord a year in the period of time. So when the seventh seal is opened, all noise in heaven stops, and it is silent. Kind of interesting to consider. It's like a moment of silence acknowledging this is a significant event. The seal is opened, and this is a focal point in history of what God is now about to do to intervene into this world in a very direct and a dramatic way. And in my mind, I almost imagine it as the seal is open and they all stand up in anticipation, and there's silence.

The silence is interesting to consider because Joshua instructed Israel to remain silent for the seven days that they marched around the city of Jericho.

No noise, no voices, no shouting, silence. And it would seem to point to, in type, what is yet to be received. Silence until they were to shout. Revelation chapter 8 and verse 2, again we're considering the seven priests with the seven trumpets that were back in Joshua. Here, Revelation 8 verse 2, and I saw the seven angels who stand before God and to them were given seven trumpets. So the seven angels that stand in the presence of God before God, just as the seven priests, went before the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord and received the seven trumpets.

Verse 6, so the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. What we're going to see, brethren, and I hope what we're seeing, is that the end time day of the Lord, the judgment God is bringing on Babylon, the system that stands in opposition to His kingdom, was typified in Joshua by the Battle of Jericho, by the seven priests who blew the seven trumpets in the presence of God there. It's the same battle plan, right? It's the same God, maybe a different scope of a battle plan. I'll give you that, right? But it's the same battle plan, the same God, the same commander of the army of the Lord, and it is yet to happen again. The seven seal includes seven plagues that announce seven angels with, or announced by seven angels with trumpets. Each trumpet is blown one by one, each introducing another plague, a portion of God's judgment upon the earth.

Verse 7 says, the first angel sounded, and hail and fire followed, mingled with blood, and they were thrown to the earth, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up. The second angel sounded. I just want you to think it's like, you know, the trumpet blows when they walk around Jericho one day, and they come back the next day, and the trumpet sounds again. Second angel sounded in something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed. I went through a lot of detail last year in my sermon on these things, so I'm not gonna necessarily do that other than overview, but these are plague upon plague, disaster upon disaster, building upon one another. I mean, just even think of a third of the ships destroyed. What happened with one measly little ship got stuck crossways in the Suez Canal? What happened to your two-day delivery by Amazon Prime? Well, obviously it backed a whole bunch of ships up behind it as well, but remember this is Babylon, physical and spiritual. It is a world-ruling system, and global economy, global government, global control, instruction and mayhem are coming upon that system. Verse 11, the name of the star, because, excuse me, verse 10, the third angel sounded. A great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch.

It fell on the third of the rivers and on the springs of water, and the name of the stars called Wormwood, and a third of the waters became Wormwood, and many men died from the water because it was made bitter. Then the fourth angel sounded, and a third of the Sun was struck, a third of the moon, a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened, a third of the day did not shine, and likewise the night. And I looked, and I heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who were about to sound.

It's pretty incredible. Again, each trumpet announces God's judgment on Babylon, on the spiritual system, but you know they're also a call to repentance. As the trumpet is blown, it's an alarm, it's a sound, it's a warning, but it's a call to change, called to turn and repent, to turn to God, to forsake your way, to call to worship the God of heaven, if any will heed the warning. And if I may take a little liberty with what isn't exactly in the scripture, I believe it was the same at Jericho. Each day around Israelite army marched, and they blew the trumpet, and it was a warning of impending doom on that city, but it was also an opportunity to repent, an opportunity maybe to walk out of that fortified city and say, Your God is God, and I worship Him.

Trumpet 1, Trumpet 2, Trumpet 3, up through Trumpet 6, called repentance. Time to turn, time to change. But again, just as at Jericho, so will be the end of the age, by and large fall on deaf ears. Revelation chapter 9 goes on to describe the fifth and the sixth trumpet that unleashes all kinds of grief on the earth.

I'm not going to cover that necessarily. It's not my direct focus. I want to look at the seventh trumpet. See some remarkable parallels in the seventh trumpet. Let's go to Revelation 11 and verse 15. Revelation chapter 11 and verse 15 says, And the seventh angel sounded, and there were loud voices in heaven. What do we typically call loud voices? Is it whispering or is it shouting? 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. It's a pronouncement with loud voices. Again, at home, I'll pull my wife out for a little illustration here. She won't mind, hopefully. But, you know, when she gets excited, or she tells a story, her voice tends to get a little louder, a little louder, and not that she's upset or anything, she's excited.

And oftentimes, at some point, she's excited, and I'll say, You're shouting!

Right? This is a time of excitement. The seventh trumpet sounds. These loud voices have something to declare. The declaration is made that possession of this world's kingdoms have just changed hands. Right? The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ. Joshua chapter 6 and verse 16, we read it, and the seventh time it happened, when the priests blew the trumpet, that Joshua said to the people, Shout! For the Lord has given you the city, a change of possession. God has taken it away from them, and He has given it to you.

This promise, this land, this inheritance, is becoming your possession.

Another exciting prophecy surrounding the seventh trumpet in shouting is found in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. Let's go there.

1 Thessalonians chapter 4. There are some very exciting and yet heartfelt things that we look forward to. Again, depends what side of the trumpet you're standing on, but the seventh trumpet gives us hope, gives us confidence, and frankly, comfort at very difficult times. 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 and verse 13, Apostle Paul writing, he says, But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep. In context is those who have died in the faith. Lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.

For this we say to you, by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout. Jesus Christ will descend from heaven with a shout. You've heard of somebody making such noise.

You say, Be quiet. You're going to wake up the dead. Right? Jesus Christ is going to wake up the dead with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words. And indeed they are a comfort. They're a comfort in times of difficulty. They're a comfort when we think of friends we've labored through the heat of the day with that are no longer here. Maybe there'll be a comfort to someone else when we're no longer here. But I just I think of trumpets. I think of the blast. I think of the shout. I think of Christ coming with the shout.

And I think of what will we be doing? You know, what would be your response to suddenly you resurrected to life, resurrected to glory, and look and see your spouse, your friend. I think there's gonna be some shouting. I think there's gonna be some celebrating. I think there's gonna be cries of victory.

Be some cries of victory on that day.

Dead in Christ will rise, and our change will come. It will happen quickly.

1 Corinthians chapter 15 verse 52. And I'll just quote it for you. It reiterates what will happen in a moment in a twinkling of an eye when at the last trumpet, the last shout of the trumpet, for the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. Exciting times. At times we all look forward to, and maybe sometimes more than others. But what a joy, what a blessing. Joshua chapter 6, we also read about another activity related to the seventh trumpet. Again, you'll recall that on the seventh day, Israel was instructed to march around the city seven times, which they did. Each day was one rotation around the city. They went back to camp. On the seventh day, they marched around the city seven times, and those seven times around Jericho parallel the seven last plagues poured out in judgment on the earth at the seventh trumpet. We find that in Revelation chapter 15. Let's go there.

Revelation chapter 15 verse 1 says, Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is complete. So when the seven last plagues are poured out, spiritual Babylon will fall. The wrath of God upon the satanic system, upon the oppressor of his people at the end of the age, will fall. Just as Jericho was brought to her knees at the conclusion of Israel's seventh march. Joshua chapter 6 in verse 15, let's turn back there.

Joshua chapter 6. It's not going to read good in Judges. Joshua 6 and verse 15 says, But it came to pass on the seventh day. They rose early, about the dawning of the day, marched around the city seven times in the same manner. On that day, only they marched around the city seven times. And the seventh time it happened when the priests blew the trumpets that Joshua said to the people, Shout, for the Lord has given you the city. Now the city shall be doomed by the Lord to destruction, it and all who are in it. Only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all who are with her in her house because she hid the messengers that we sent. Verse 18, And you by all means abstain from the accursed things lest you become accursed. When you take of the accursed things and make the camp of Israel a curse and trouble it, and just say there's nothing of the accursed things of this world that we should ever think we can carry over into the kingdom of God. This is being swept away. Verse 19, it says, But all the silver, the gold, the vessels of bronze and iron are consecrated to the Lord, they shall come into the treasury of the Lord. So the people shouted when the priests blew the trumpets. And it happened when the people heard the sound of the trumpet and the people shouted with a great shout that the wall fell down flat. Then the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, ox and sheep and donkey, with the edge of the sword. So the people circled the city seven times on the seventh day. After the seventh rotation around, the trumpet sounded, they all shouted, and the walls protecting Jericho fell suddenly. It was an incredible miracle. Again, this was not a fight by human means alone. The commander of the army of the Lord and the angelic realm were directing the outcome of this assault. Israel had their part to play, but it was miraculous. And at the shout, the walls fell suddenly. Suddenly. Indeed, the Bible shows that in time Babylon will fall in much in the same manner as Jericho. It will fall suddenly. Revelation chapter 16. Follow me there.

Revelation chapter 16. We'll pick it up in verse 16. This chapter shows the seven bowls of God's wrath being poured out, but let's notice what happens at the seventh bowl. Revelation chapter 16 and verse 16, it says, And they gathered them together to a place called in Hebrew Armageddon. Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a, notice, loud voice came out of the temple of heaven from the throne, saying, It is done. And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings, and there was a great earthquake. So it's a mighty and a great earthquake, as has not occurred since men were on the earth. I won't necessarily speculate to say that the earthquake, an earthquake is what leveled Jericho, but God certainly shook the walls down. Verse 19, Now that great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. God is directing his focus against that satanic end-time system, the oppressor of his people, the one that slaughtered the saints, the one that stands in opposition to his kingdom. He remembers Babylon. Let's turn over to Revelation 18. Again, the focus is how suddenly this will system will come crashing down. Revelation chapter 18 in verse 1, After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory. And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird. For all the nations had drunk of the wine and the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth that committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth that become rich through the abundance of her luxury. You know, just as the destruction of Jericho was symbolic of God's defeat on all the peoples in the nations of Jericho, his destruction on Babylon is symbolic of his destruction against all the nations and all those who played the harlot with her, and aligned indeed with this system.

Verse 4, And I heard a voice, another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, lest you receive of her plagues. For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. Back in Joshua at Jericho, there was only a very small group of people that escaped the judgment and the destruction of that city. It was Rahab, her family. She had hidden the spies, but beyond that she had also declared that your God is God of heaven and earth, and I submit myself to him. So she was protected, and the rest of the city fell. Her little portion of the wall actually remained standing. They had told her for a sign to tie that scarlet cord outside her window, a representation and a type of those that would come under the blood of Jesus Christ. I believe if we wanted to, we could draw a parallel to a place of safety for the people of God amidst the destruction that will come on this earth.

Additionally, Revelation chapter 7 verse 14 speaks of those who have come out of the Great Tribulation, those who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. So there's not many, but there will be some. There will be a first fruit harvest. There will be those who are sleeping at this time in the grave, but there are also those whom have the protection of God upon them and the seal of God in His protection. Carrying on in verse 8, Revelation chapter 18 verse 8, therefore her plagues will come upon her in one day, suddenly. Death and mourning and famine, and she will be utterly burned with fire. For strong is the Lord God who judges her. The kings of the earth who committed fortication and lived luxuriously with her will weep and lament for her when they see the smoke of her burning, standing at a distance for fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, the great city Babylon, that mighty city, for in one hour your judgment has come. So that in time, satanic system, the system that is built up on this earth in opposition to God and the people of God, will be judged by God and found wanting. And her destruction will come, and it will come suddenly. Just as Jericho fell, that great and fortified city that stands in opposition to God at the end of the age will fall, and it will make way for the establishment of His kingdom, make way for the saints in the possession of the promised land. You know, this isn't a remarkable series of coincidences that we see tying these two events together. It is the plan and purpose of God. It is what will take place. The God who declares the end from the beginning has both the will and the power to bring it to pass, will bring it to pass. But you know what? He also has walked through it with Israel as a history and a rehearsal for us to look at and see the faithfulness of what it is that He will do. These things are what are represented in the future by this day of trumpets. Verse 8 here of Revelation chapter 18 declared that upon its following Babylon will be utterly burned with fire. So let's pick it back up in Joshua chapter 6 verse 21. I think you know by now where we're heading what's happening. Joshua chapter 6 verse 21. And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, oxen sheep and donkey with the edge of the sword. But Joshua had said to the two men who had spied out the country, go into the harlot's house, and from there bring out the woman and all that she has as you swore to her. And the young men who had been spies went in and brought out Rahab. You know, if you wanted to, maybe we could even draw a parallel of the two witnesses to these two spies and those few who actually came out in response to their message.

Brought Rahab, her father, her mother, her brothers, and all that she had. So they brought out all her relatives and left them outside the camp of Israel. But they burned the city and all that was in it with fire. Only the silver and the gold and the vessels of bronze and iron they put into the sanctuary and the Treasury of the House of the Lord. And Joshua spared Rahab the harlot and her father's house and all that she had. Again, the point is this was burned to destruction just as Babylon. So he brought her out, father's house and all that she had. So she dwells in Israel to this day because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho. Then Joshua charged them at the same time, saying, Cursed be the man before the Lord who raises up and builds this city Jericho. He shall lay its foundation with his firstborn and with his youngest he shall set up its gates. So the Lord was with Joshua and his fame spread throughout all the country. Brother, in this mighty city of Jericho, this great city that stood as an obstacle to the people of Israel as they crossed the Jordan and entered the Promised Land, once it was destroyed it was never to have a place in the Promised Land again. It was never to be rebuilt. It was never to stand prominent in the land in which God's people dwelled, in which he was doing his work.

And the same is true for Babylon. God will wipe the system off the face of the earth, never to be rebuilt. As I spoke about a couple of years ago on Trumpets, God's not interested in a remodeling project. He's not putting a little window dressing on Jericho, little window dressing on Babylon to suit his purposes. He is destroying the system, the city, and ultimately removing the satanic influence. This stands in opposite to his kingdom. That's what this day of Trumpets represents. If there's a trumpet warning I'd like to declare today, it is scoffers beware. Scoffers beware. While God has declared from the beginning, he will accomplish. What he has laid out for us as a forerunner will happen again. What we see and yearn for and hope for and pray for about this day will indeed be fulfilled. This forerunner is set. The spiritual fulfillment will come. Brother, may we take confidence in the hope that God has set before us all to ascend his Son Jesus Christ to this earth, to establish his world-ruling kingdom on this earth, and to gather his saints into the promised land that will finally be ours. And so I would say on this feast of Trumpets, don't be afraid to shout. Don't be afraid to lift up your voice like a trumpet. The plan and purpose of God is at hand. It will happen. The victory is God's, and it will be ours as well.