Feast of Trumpets

Well, good afternoon, everyone! Good to see all of you, and welcome to the Feast of Trumpets for 2009 here in Spencer for the Greensboro and Charlotte and Ashboro churches and maybe beyond. We welcome everyone this afternoon. I'm sure that your service here went well this morning and also your lunch meal and fellowship together. Everything went real well over in the Raleigh area. A nice turnout. I don't know exactly how many, but last week when Mr. Suclin was there, we set a record in Raleigh for 139 people. We averaged about 110, and probably about 125 were there this morning. It's very good to be here with all of you and hope that you're just really delighting in this Feast of Trumpets. I'd like to make one addition to the announcement, and that is that it is the Ashboro and Charlotte congregations that have services at 2 p.m. on the Day of Atonement, and the Ashville and Hickory and Greensboro churches have their Day of Atonement services at 1 p.m. So let's please remember that. Mr. Keller's church is at 1 p.m., and my two churches here, in fact all four of my churches are at 2 p.m. Okay, well, it's very good to be with you. My wife was just not feeling good. She began to feel bad yesterday and wasn't feeling any better this morning, so I told her to stay home and rest up. She needs to get rested up for a trip to Africa. So we trust that she will be able to make that trip that we both will. It's going to be a difficult trip to make, so we appreciate your prayers for us. So, brethren, this is an exciting day, an amazing day, in fact. I'd like to read from our Holy Day booklet, God's Holy Day Plan, The Feast of Trumpets, a Turning Point in History. The very first paragraph says, The Feast of Trumpets introduces the autumn festivals, representing the culmination of the present age of man and the beginning of an incredible time during which God will play a much more direct part in world events. The Day of Trumpets heralds the intervention of God in the affairs of humanity on a global basis. This Holy Day represents a dramatic turning point in world history. The Feast of Trumpets depicts nothing less than the return of Jesus Christ to earth to establish the kingdom of God. And God ends his lace affair, hands-off policy, and he begins to have a very active hands-on policy for everything that goes on all over the earth. For one thousand years and even beyond that, he is going to reign and bring the great plan of God to completion.

This festival then depicts nothing less than the return of Jesus Christ to earth. Do a little bit of search on the Internet. I did just a bit, typing in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. You know you get hundreds of thousands, even into the millions of sites that you can go to. I didn't begin to look at very many of them, but I did notice that there were some very strange ideas out there. One group, for example, or one man in the way, believed that the Second Coming of Jesus Christ occurred in 70 A.D. Now, exactly how you justify that, I don't know, I didn't even search it out. But he presents a powerful case, it says, that the Second Coming of Jesus Christ occurred in A.D. 70. Now, another group, the Miller Rites, predicted the end of the world and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ would be on October 22, 1844. They set that date, that date came and went. And I believe they said that they were off by a year and so it was going to be the next year, but when that did not happen, then they said, well, there was something up in heaven that happened on that date. And so they kind of justified their error. But you can get a lot of ideas. There are many ideas about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. And, of course, the Protestant churches in general believe that Jesus will return and that will be the time of a resurrection of everyone, the general resurrection. All the wicked, the goats, will be then separated to the left hand and sent down to hell to be tormented forever. And then all the sheep on the right hand will follow Jesus Christ back up to heaven. So that's the general Protestant viewpoint. There are many, many ideas about the Second Coming of Christ. But you know there are not very many that really understand what is going to happen when Christ returns and what is going to happen during the next thousand years after Jesus Christ returns. And then even fewer that understand the resurrection of all the deceived masses of humanity down through the ages that are going to be resurrected at the end of the one thousand years, including little babies. And they're all going to be brought back to physical life and given an opportunity for salvation. How many people understand that wonderful truth as pictured by the last great day? Brother, can we begin to get excited about what this day represents? World conditions continue to worsen almost daily. We have all kinds of crimes and evils that are happening in our own country. This graduate student up at Yale University has captured much of the news this past week. We have this man out in California, his situation, and they're been digging around to see if there are more bones to be found in his yard. So all kinds of grisly and odd things are happening, and the world is getting worse and worse all the time. We hear about bombings over in the Gaza Strip and in Israel and in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The United States has mired down in a war in Afghanistan that some say we cannot really win. So the world continues to get worse and worse. Can we envision a time coming when mankind would be ready to erase life off of this planet? Jesus Christ, the greatest prophet of them all, said that it would come to that time. Let's write about that at the beginning of the sermon this afternoon by turning over to Matthew 24, a time when human beings would use nuclear weapons and maybe other means to destroy life on this planet. And this day shows that God has a rescue, that Jesus Christ is going to return and cut short those days.

Matthew 24 will begin in verse 3, as He said on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately and they said, tell us, when will these things be? Oh, we want to know the answer to that one, don't we? All of us. When will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming and the end of the age? Jesus warned about religious deception, all kinds of false ideas and teachings. He warned about wars and rumors of wars in verse 6 and nation rising against nation, kingdom against kingdom, famines, pestilences and earthquakes in verse 7.

He said, all these are the beginning of sorrows and warned about religious persecution as well. They will deliver you up to tribulation. Brother, we believe at the end of this age our faith will be tried. There will be a persecution against the Church of God. Our faith will be tried at the end of this age.

In verse 14 He said, the Gospel will be preached to all nations as a witness and then the end will come. We believe that Gospel has been preached by Mr. Armstrong and that we continue to carry on the work of Mr. Armstrong these last, what, almost two decades, well, about, since 1995, about fourteen years, that we have been carrying on, and since the death of Mr.

Armstrong it would be, actually, over twenty years, carrying on the work of preaching the Gospel to the world. Well, in verse 21 Jesus said that conditions would become so bad and we're living on toward that time even right now. Then there will be great tribulation, great trouble, great problems. We might not even seem to full extent of this yet.

Such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time known or ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved. But for the elect's sake, those days will be shortened. And they will be shortened, as we'll see in just a moment, by the powerful second coming of Jesus Christ.

Today we know that nuclear weapons are well capable of erasing life off of this planet. There's an article from Newsweek magazine a number of years ago about nuclear war and how an all-out nuclear exchange, of course at that time they were thinking about a Soviet United States exchange of nuclear weapons. But an all-out exchange of weapons would cause such dramatic changes on the earth that the, quote, potential effects extend even to the extermination of homo sapiens. So here is an article that says the same thing as we just read in Matthew 24, that man would be ready to destroy life on this earth. The air would fill with poisonous fumes like carbon monoxide, dioxins, and cyanides.

Then would come the darkness, a blacktop highway three miles up. The smoke would absorb so much of the sun's rays that less than five percent of the normal amount of light would reach the ground. And virtually all land plants in the northern hemisphere would be damaged or killed. Every higher organism would risk starvation. It would become a nuclear winter when scientists says.

And they're just hoping that to describe what would happen in an all-out nuclear war, that they will influence those who have their finger on the button for nuclear weapons. Well, that's one way that mankind is certainly able to destroy life on this planet. You know, another thing you wonder about, I was just reading this past week in National Geographic, the August 2009 issue, an article about shading the earth.

It says if we don't cut fossil fuels fast enough, and we know that the polar caps are melting, high mountain snow ranges are also melting up at higher altitudes. So if we don't cut fossil fuels fast enough, global warming may get out of hand. Some scientists say we need a Plan V, a giant sunshade that would cool the whole planet. And when man begins to do things of this type, we better really watch out. One person has an idea of sending out into the building a sunshade that would send out into the stratosphere millions of tons of tiny reflective particles such as sulfate.

And he feels that we're well able to put those real tiny millions of tiny particles up there in the stratosphere. And then that catches some of the sun's rays coming down, and it cools the earth down below. Another idea that is brought out in this article is by an astronomer. Well, it says an eminent astronomer and telescope designer at the University of Arizona. He proposes launching trillions of two-foot wide, thinner than clinics, discs of silicone nitride.

Each disc and autonomous robot weighing less than a gram into space between earth and the sun where they would deflect sunlight. And the article ends by saying, if we put a sunshade without restraining emissions and the sunshade later fails, the climate accident would become a train wreck. The global warming we've been masking would come rushing at us all at once.

That might be the worst unintended consequence of geoengineering, but there could be others damaged to the ozone layer, perhaps for an increase in drought.

So, you know, man begins to tamper around in ways like that. We'd better really watch out. Jesus said that it would come to the time that man would destroy life on this earth. Here it is again in verse 22, unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved. But for the elect's sake, those days will be shortened. And they're shortened by the powerful return of Jesus Christ.

In verse 29, we read about it immediately after the tribulation of those days, there will be the heavenly signs. The sun will be dark and the moon will not give its light. The stars will fall from heaven. The powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven. And then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, the powerful Second Coming of Jesus Christ. That's what this day pictures. Jesus comes of the last trump. There are seven trumpets described in the book of Revelation, which I don't really have time and don't plan to get to today. We have gotten to them before, we'll get to them again. And we need to each of us understand about these seven trumpets. And Jesus Christ returns at the seventh trump. And He will begin then to set up God's kingdom and government on the earth. Also, at that time of His return, verse 31, He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and it will be the last trumpet. And they will gather together His elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other.

Brother, can we envision that part of this day, a time of trouble like the world has never seen mankind ready to destroy life on this planet? And then Jesus Christ returns and the elect, those who have been prepared, those who are ready to reign with Christ are going to begin to rise up in the air. Can you picture yourself? I dare say that it's not easy for us to picture ourselves that time that will come if we remain steadfast, when we will begin to rise up into the air, and an angel will motion to us, because we won't know which way to go. We won't know where Jesus is coming, which way it is toward Jerusalem. But an angel will then lead us toward Jesus Christ, the returning Jesus Christ. The angels will gather together God's people from one, you know, all different directions, all east and north and, you know, south, and all directions. The angels will gather God's elect toward Jesus Christ. Can you imagine yourself rising up in the air, no longer human, immortal, your face like the sun, your eyes like flames of fire, just like your body, just like the body of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and then being led by an angel to meet the returning Jesus Christ. And what is it going to be like to lay your eyes on Christ for the first time? There he is. He won't look like that picture on the wall of many people, long-haired and weak and effeminate-looking. He will have a person's face will be shining like the sun, just like yours will be, and eyes like flames of fire. And we'll see Jesus Christ as he is. And of course, we're going to spend a whole thousand years reigning with him if we overcome and have that privilege of being there with him. We will if we do grow and overcome. Well, this day celebrates in advance the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. We need to try to envision what this day does represent, what it does picture. Let's read just a few verses in the Old Testament about the Second Coming of Christ. Turn over to Isaiah 40. Isaiah 40. And let's read verse 5.

Isaiah 40 and 5. The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

And of course, that's all during the millennium that all, and even the white throne judgment after the millennium, that all flesh will see the glory of the Lord revealed. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken. Verse 10. Behold, the Lord God shall come with a strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him. Not coming back as a weak puny human being this time, like he did the first time. He's going to come back with power and glory. And his arm shall rule for him. His reward is with him, and his work before him. And I'll say Jesus Christ has a work to do. For one thousand years, he will be teaching human beings how to live together in peace, teaching them the laws and commandments of Almighty God. They will be keeping the holy days. They'll be keeping the Sabbath, the same as we do, and learning how to fulfill their great purpose in life.

And of course, that's true also in the white throne judgment that follows the millennium. Let's go to Isaiah 66 and read verses 15 and 16. This also describes the powerful coming of Christ, and that's what this day is actually all about. Those events leading up to and including the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to this earth. In Isaiah 66 and verse 15, the Lord will come with fire and with His chariots, like a whirlwind, to render His anger with theory and His rebuke with flames of fire. Why is Christ angry? Because man was about ready to destroy himself, destroy this beautiful planet, destroy human life created in the image of Almighty God with such great potential. Jesus is going to come back angry. Verse 16, by fire and by His sword, the Lord will judge all flesh, and the slain of the Lord shall be many.

Yes, and you can read about that in Zechariah 14. You can read more about it in Revelation 19. There's even a great supper that all the birds of the air are invited to for those armies of people that are gathered around Jerusalem. So Jesus Christ will come back with great power. Let's read a couple of New Testament verses also. You know, I just had to in having to reduce down, turn to Acts chapter 1, and having to reduce down the number of verses that describe the Second Coming of Christ. We just don't have time to even read them all.

Not even a very big portion of them. In Acts chapter 1 and verse 9.

Acts 1 and verse 9, when He had spoken these things while they watched. Now, this is when Jesus ascended up to heaven. When He had been with the disciples about 40 days after His resurrection, and He had been with them, they got kind of used to Him, I guess, appearing. He'd appear and talk with them, sometimes even in a locked room. He'd come, you know, appear right into the room. Every door was locked, but there He was. They got kind of used to Him appearing and disappearing. Well, here He was. He had appeared to them. He was instructing them. And suddenly, as they were talking with Him, it says, while they watched, then He just began to rise. How would you feel about that? Are you talking to somebody? Somebody you know well. You know, they knew Jesus very well after three and a half years being with Him. And you look at Him as your Lord and Master, even, your Savior. And now you know He's been resurrected. And He's appearing a good number of times since His resurrection. And suddenly, you're talking with Him, and He just starts rising up in the air.

And before too long, all you see is the sole of His feet. And there He goes. Maybe a couple of thousand feet up into the air. Well, let's read about it. While they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. Suddenly, they didn't see Him anymore. They looked up as long as they could, and He just kind of disappeared into a cloud, kind of like an airplane. You ever seen an airplane kind of disappear into a cloud? Jesus disappeared into a cloud. That's the last they saw of Him. And they just continued looking up there.

They were just going to come back down. They didn't know. But as they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel.

Must have been two angels, no doubt, who also said, men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? The same Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven. He's going to come back in like manner. And we read already in Matthew 24 that He comes with clouds. He's going to come in the clouds with a trumpet, and He's going to come visibly. And His feet are going to stand, according to Zechariah 14, on the Mount of Olives. He's going to come back with a cloud. He's going to come back at the same location He left, the Mount of Olives, just outside of, just to be east of Jerusalem.

And Jesus Christ, that's where He will return. Let's turn now to Revelation, Chapter 1. There's so many exciting verses in the Bible about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. That's what this day is all about. It's an exciting day. It's an amazing day. The Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

You know, as we're turning over to Revelation, Chapter 1, in many ways, the whole Bible rests upon the First Coming of Jesus Christ and on the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

Everything centers on the First Coming and the Second Coming, the two comings of Jesus Christ.

And one has occurred already almost 2,000 years ago, and then the other is to appear in the near future. We'll look in Revelation, Chapter 1 now, and in verse 5.

Revelation 1 and verse 5. From Jesus Christ, we have this grace or this greeting, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, the ruler over the kings of the earth, to Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood. Well, that's the Passover. That's the First Coming of Christ where that was accomplished. And we certainly could not get anywhere without the First Coming of Christ. As a human being, it made into flesh and able to die for us so that our sins can be forgiven. He loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood at His First Coming. Verse 6, and He's made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Verse 6 is more like a Pentecost message. Those who are being prepared today, called and prepared today, will be kings and priests in the Kingdom of God. And then verse 7, we get to the Feast of Trunkets and the Second Coming of Christ. He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, and they also who pierced Him. By the way, when are those who pierced Him going to see Him? What do you think? Are they going to see Him as He comes back to the earth at His Second Coming? Those who pierced Him? No. Unless they were converted, of which there's no indication there was, they will be among the rest of the dead who will see Him at their resurrection after the Millennium. When they come back and have an opportunity to repent and to accept the sacrifice of Christ, those who pierced Him, they won't see Him at His Second Coming, unless indeed they were converted, which does not appear to be the case. But it will be at the end of a thousand years when they are resurrected. They also who pierced Him then, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Everybody is going to come to repentance. Mourning is certainly a part of repentance. The whole world is going to repent during the Millennium and during the white throne judgment of Jesus Christ reigning on this earth.

Further in chapter 19, we're going to skip right over the seven seals. You can read about them, and also the seven trumpets. Jesus Christ will come at the seventh trump. We read about that in Revelation 11, but we're going to skip on over to chapter 19. And here we see the return of Jesus Christ to the earth in verse 11. Revelation 19, verse 11, I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And he who sat on him was called faithful and true. It is Jesus Christ. Verse 13, he was clothed with a robe dipped in blood. His name is called the Word of God. The arm is in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. It's as symbolic of us. The saints, 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. Notice the nations are not destroyed, but they will be brought under the government of Jesus Christ. He will rule them with a rod of iron, will not just allow anything to happen anymore as it is today. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and the wrath of Almighty God. He has on His robe and on His fire a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. So Jesus Christ comes back to be King of kings all over the earth. He will reign as the King, World King. And He will be also the Lord of lords. The chief one that people worship on the earth. Chapter 20, you can read the first six verses and see that Satan the devil is bound during the one thousand years. And then as we heard in the sermon at verses four through six, that those who do overcome are going to reign with Christ and the second death will have no power. They will be spirit beings. That is our calling if we accept it and follow through on it.

But brethren, as we think about our high calling reigning with Christ, we need to ask ourselves this afternoon, are we on the way to to word being there so that we can be ready to rise up in the air to meet Jesus Christ at His return? There's nothing more important for you and me to be doing day by day in our lives than to be preparing our letting God prepare us for the second coming of Christ. Nothing is more important. Notice in chapter 19 that in verse seven, let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory for the marriage of the Lamb has come. There's a marriage that takes place at the return of Christ and it is to the saints. It is to those who overcome. It is to the first fruits. His wife has made herself ready and to her it was granted to be a raid and fine linen clean and bright for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. And He said to me, blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. Are we allowing God to prepare us every day as is foremost in our minds? Everything else is just done, as Paul said, so that we may win God's kingdom and that we might be a part of the bride of Christ. Nothing else matters. There are so many trumpet warnings in the Bible. I like for us, we can't read them all, but I'd like for us to turn to some of them and read some of the warnings to us and encourage all of us to take them to heart. Let's begin in 2 Peter, chapter 3. Will we be ready?

You know, one thing is for sure. Jesus Christ is going to return. Something else is not sure yet. Will we rise in the air to meet Him at His return? That none of us knows. We don't have it made.

We have not attained. I have not. You have not. But we've got to keep on pressing toward that high calling. In 2 Peter, chapter 3, verse 3, 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?

Since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. Everything just goes right on like it always was. Scoffers, could you ever begin to be a little bit of a scoffer and wonder? I don't think so. God's people should never doubt or scoff concerning the second coming of Jesus Christ. But in the world, there no doubt are many people that would be scoffers. Jesus returned? No, I'm not sure about that at all. Many people probably do feel that way, and many live that way for sure. In verse 10, it goes on to say, though, that the day of the Lord will come. And how is it going to come? It is going to come as a thief. How does a thief come?

He first of all sends you a letter or gives you a phone call, unless you know exactly what time. No. And He comes unexpectedly. He comes suddenly.

And Jesus Christ is going to come suddenly, unexpectedly. The end of this age is going to come upon even some of God's people, perhaps unexpectedly. There's a warning in this that we be careful, but we'd be alert to the signs of the times that we're living in.

Well, things could happen so rapidly in our fragile world today. Our whole economy could and the, let's say, reliance upon the U.S. dollar as the reserve currency could go down so fast. Our whole way of life, brethren, it could almost happen overnight. We need to realize that, how suddenly and unexpectedly. I don't know that we are discerning the signs of the times ourselves the way that we should be. We need to be alert. We certainly must never scoff.

Let's turn over to Matthew 24. Read some more warnings to us, the church. It's not to the world. This is to the church. Those that God has called to be members of the church today in Matthew 24 in verse 12. Because lawlessness will abound, and we do see it abounding and increasing all the time. Because lawlessness will abound. The love of many will grow cold. Some translations say the love of most. What about you? Your love for the truth, your love for God, your love for the brethren, your love for the plan of salvation that God has, your love for the holy days, the Sabbath.

Have you let your love grow cold? Is it not as hot and fervent as it was at one time?

Well, because lawlessness will abound. The love of many. It's not talking about people in the world. They never had the love of God. It's talking about people in the church that had the love of God in them. And let that love grow cold. It's a warning. Let's also read in verse 48.

Verse 48 of Matthew 24. If that evil servant says in his heart, again, he's talking to the church, an evil servant of God, or a servant that becomes evil. He says, My master is delaying his coming and begins to beat his fellow servants, begins to take advantage of other members of the church, and even to eat and drink with the drunkards going out into the world and beginning to live that way of life. For the master of the servant will come in the day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware and cut him into and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. These warnings are for you and me, brethren. We cannot afford to think, well, my Lord is delaying his coming. You know, this verse implies that we would think and maybe even try to say that there might be certain dates where Christ might return. We did that at one time a bit more than we do now. In fact, we do not set a day. We don't know if Christ might come in the next decade. We don't believe this one is almost over, but could he come in the next decade?

It is possible. We just don't really know. But we don't set a date or say it's going to be four to seven years or another decade and no more. We just don't really know. But neither do we say our Lord delays his coming, so kind of rest a little bit. You can relax. You don't have to push on forward quite as hard in your spiritual life. You don't need to study quite as much or pray quite as much. No, we cannot let down. This man here, this evil servant, began to let down. My master is delaying his coming, so we can relax. We don't have to press on forward quite as hard. And he let down and he will lose out on God's kingdom because of that.

Let's turn to Matthew 25. Well, we're right there now, the very next chapter in verse 1. Then the kingdom of heaven will be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were wise and five were foolish. I think we all are aware of this terrible. Five of them had oil and five of them were running out, virtually out of oil.

And while they went to buy oil, the bridegroom came into this age and the second coming of Christ. And they came back and it was too late for them. And in verse 11, the other virgins came, the foolish virgins, and said, Lord, Lord, open to us. And he said, I say to you, I do not know you. I don't know you. You know, God does not know us if we are not full of His Holy Spirit. That's what the oil here represents, being led by God's Spirit, plenty of it. Brethren, there's nothing we need more than more of God's Holy Spirit to empower us, to help us to be zealous, help us to be excited about our calling, help us to discern the signs of the times in which we are living.

Verse 13 says, Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming. So that is the lesson that we are to learn from the five wise and five foolish virgins. Watch, because we don't know the times that we are living in. And do not be running low in that relationship with God, and having this Spirit coming in every day, plenty of it, to empower and to guide. Be zealous. Turn to Luke 21, another warning. The Olivet prophecy, according to Luke's version of it. Luke 21, and beginning to read in verse 35. I'm sorry, verse 21, and beginning in verse 25.

There will be signs in the sun, in the moon, in the stars, and on the earth distress of nations. Picture that. With perplexity. The sea and the waves roaring. Maybe nuclear weapons might play a role on some of those other factors, even things that human beings have done. But maybe it's also God's hand involved as well. Men's hearts failing them from fear and expectation of those things that are coming on the earth.

For the powers of heaven will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads because your redemption draws near. So we need to be aware that this is drawing near. Look at verse 34, brethren, this is a warning. But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life.

Just trying to make ends meet and trying to pay the bills and all the physical cares of this life. And that day come on you unexpectedly, suddenly and unexpectedly, like a thief. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.

Watch, therefore, Jesus said, these are red letters in your Bible. Watch, therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass and stand before the Son of Man. Brethren, we need to make sure we don't lose our sense of urgency. We need to have our loins girded and zealous and on fire, not letting the cares of this life and the things all around us in a materialistic, pleasure-seeking world pull us down. But you know, one of these days, suddenly and unexpectedly, it's going to happen. And we're going to have great tribulation like this world has never seen. We believe that tribulation, including the Day of the Lord, will be a three and one half year period leading up to the Second Coming of Christ.

When we study all of the prophecies and Daniel and Revelation, the great tribulation and the Day of the Lord will be a three and one half year period. You need to make sure you study and understand that, and maybe we need to give sermons on it, and maybe we'll in the future. But suddenly, this time is going to be upon us.

We need to be ready for it. And then Jesus Christ, at the end of this time, will suddenly and quickly come back to this earth. Are we getting ready? The bride, his wife, has made herself ready.

That's what it says in Revelation 19. His wife has made herself ready. We need to heed these warnings. These are just a few. Many verses in the Bible admonish us concerning steadfastness and perseverance and endurance. Want to have us to read a few of those verses. Matthew 24, verse 13. So what must we do? Many of us have a lot of Bible knowledge and understanding. I think most of us have a very good understanding of what lies ahead. We're pretty well versed in Bible prophecy.

Many of us, most of us, I believe, and we know what we need to be doing. We know that God's laws should be observed and kept. We know we need to pray and study daily. We need to fast, certainly often, not just once a year, at the day of atonement.

So we know what we need to be doing and we need to be busy doing it. And we need to endure in doing it steadfastly, persevering, standing firm. Look in Matthew 24, verse 13.

We read verse 12 earlier, because lawlessness will abound. The love of many will grow cold.

We don't want that to happen. Verse 13 shows us how to avoid it happening. He who endures to the end shall be saved. We must endure to the end.

When you look more closely at the word endure, it becomes an interesting study. The word endure goes back to the great word, hupomone, H-U-P-O-M-O-N-E, accent on the last syllable. Hupomone. It means to stay under. It does mean endurance, patient continuance, with a constancy in it. Constant, patiently continuing. Perseverance, steadfastness, you may even have a Bible, some translations in other places I'm not sure here translate it, stand firm. He who stands firm to the end shall be saved. So this means that we must endure.

The word endure is not a bad one when we realize it does involve patience, it does involve perseverance and steadfastness, and it's not just an easy thing to do. He that endures holds on fast, won't let go. In Revelation 13, verse 10, we find this word hupomone again in Revelation 13, verse 10. It is talking about the people of God. In Revelation 13, verse 10, He who leads in the captivity shall go into captivity. He who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. So God's church certainly has been persecuted down through the ages, but notice it goes on to say, here is the patience, hupomone, and the faith of the saints. Here's the endurance. Here's the holding in firm, standing firm, and faith of the saints. We find the same word in Revelation 14, verse 12. Here is the patience, the endurance, the standing firm, hupomone, of the saints. Here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

So brethren, it does require that we be steadfast, that we persevere, that we endure, that we just won't let go, and we won't let down. You know, if we let down, we are letting go.

We've got to...to stand firm means to hold things high, hold up high our prayers, our Bible study, our meditation, our Christian life as a whole. Let's go to Revelation chapter 3, and one of the most...for the strongest warnings in the Bible for our time, if we consider that these different church eras are perhaps chronological ages, and in our booklet on the book of Revelation unveiled, we bring that out as one of the possibilities. It may not be the only application of the seven messages to the seven churches, but the chronological eras down through the ages, from the apostolic age until the second coming of Christ. It's certainly one of the ways that this can be understood. If that be the case, there is to be at the end of this age a Laodicean church. And, brethren, it could be around even right now. Will we be a part of it? We are warned not to be. In Revelation 3 and verse 14, to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, these things says the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God. I know your works, that you're neither cold nor hot. I wish you were cold or hot, because you are lukewarm, neither cold nor hot. I will spew you out of my mouth. You know, God does not want us to be, well, in that position where we don't want to leave the church. We believe this is it. But yet, at the same time, we're not on fire. We're not excited about our calling, and our heart is not in the work of God the way that it needs to be. We're lukewarm. No, lukewarmness is not the only problem of the Laodiceans though. In verse 17, because you say, I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing. Just think about that. This attitude of the Laodicean, or the Laodicean attitude, also includes a smugness, a certain complacent spirit.

Because you say, it's not really true, but you say, I am rich, I have become wealthy, and have need of nothing, and do not know that you are, in reality, wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold, tried into fire, that you, and white garments, that you may be rich, and white garments, that you may be clothed. But the shame of your nakedness, so spiritual nakedness, may not be revealed, and anoint your eyes with eyes, saith, that they may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten, therefore be zealous and repent. Brother, how about us? Are we lukewarm or zealous?

You know, it's probably, you know, or cold. We hope it's not either cold or lukewarm, but instead hot and zealous for God and His way of life. How do we feel about ourselves? How do we look at ourselves? You know, the Laodiceans felt good about themselves. They were like the Pharisee. I fast twice in the week. I give tithes of all I possess. I'm not like this lowly tax collector and publican. Jesus said the tax collector, who said, God, be merciful to me, the sinner, went away justified. You know, the tax collector's attitude is the one we want to take.

We want to make sure that we don't have a spiritual pride like the Pharisee and like the Laodiceans. We don't want to say, oh, I'm rich. I'm doing just fine spiritually. We want to feel that we are coming up short. We want to feel low in heart, not high and mighty. We want to be low in our own sight. We don't want to ever put ourselves up as being better than someone else, but worse than others or lower than others. You know, the very first beatitude in Matthew, chapter 5, you know what it is? The very first one is blessed are the poor in spirit.

That means someone that realizes his spiritual need. It's not someone that's all high and lofty and exalted about himself. He needs God. He needs God's spirit. He needs God's help. He's humble and teachable like a little child because he realizes his need. Blessed are the poor in spirit, Jesus said, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. That's the route we want to take. We want to take, not the high route. Part of the problem the Laodicean church has is that they think of themselves more highly than they should. Oh, we're okay. They might even think they are the best.

But then we don't want to think we are the best. Whether we're looking at it as an individual, as a church congregation, or as an organization, we don't want to look at ourselves and kind of pat ourselves on the back and say, oh, we're the best. We're number one. When we've done all this required of us, we want to follow through on what Jesus said. When you've done all required of you, still say that you are an unprofitable servant. Feel like you could have done better. You could have done more. Feel like you came up short. I'm not saying this is something that you, as a surface type attitude that you have, or a mental type thing, you say, okay, well, I recognize it's something, no, that we must feel deeply in our hearts and minds. There must be that quality of meekness and loneliness of mind that Jesus had. We must truly be poor in spirit, realizing that we are spiritual paupers and we need God's Spirit desperately. So, we want to keep fighting our bodies like the Apostle Paul. He didn't feel like he had it made. He said, no, I'm not attained.

I'm not there yet in Philippians chapter 3. And he said in 1 Corinthians chapter 9 near the end of the chapter that I fight my body, lest I be a castaway. But then we've got our own human nature. We've got Satan the devil. We've got this world to fight. We've got our hands full, and we need to be fighting that battle, lest we be a castaway.

I'm not saying that we should be discouraged at all. That's not what lowliness of mind means.

Lowliness of mind and meekness does not mean weakness. It means strength toward God. It means reliance toward God, dependence upon God as a little child, humble and teachable like a little child. That's when we're strong, when we are in that mindset. That's what we want. And pressing on then with confidence, not overconfidence, pressing on with confidence that God is with us, full of faith and full of hope, full of God's Spirit. That's the way we need to proceed forward.

Rooted heed the warnings that we have read this afternoon. That's the way that we must proceed. Poor in spirit, lowly in heart, humble and teachable as a little child, pressing on forward with full faith and confidence in Almighty God.

I remember very well my first holy day was this holy day in 1958, 51 years ago.

What was the church like in the 1950s and 60s? Very many of us go back that long.

I believe that Lillian Meyer goes back to that era, and there may be one or two others that go back to the 50s. But the church at that time had a lot of knowledge and understanding.

What really stood out about the church to me in looking back at it is that there was a zeal, an effervancy, and a dedication that was from the heart. There was a family unity and love and closeness in the church. There were people that really had their hearts in the work of God. I'm not saying that it's that different that we're different today. I would just say that sometimes I wonder if our zeal is as great. Sometimes I wonder if our family unity is as great. I think we have a lot of family unity and we have a lot of zeal. You know, we have people here that have been through decades in the church. They have really stood firm. They have been steadfast, down through not just years, but decades and decades. And they're not planning on quitting either. They're standing firm. They're standing fast. That's what I'm saying that we all must do as we proceed forward. But we've got to make sure that we do maintain at a high level our zeal. Maintain at a high level our family unity and closeness. Don't let down. I will say this. I don't think we're any higher in zeal and family unity than we were back in the late 50s. And I wonder sometimes if we're quite as high. Something to think about. We don't want to let that go.

Family unity, closeness, and love for each other, and zeal for God and His work, His plan of salvation. We want to always hold those up at the highest level.

This challenge is not a... this is our challenge, I believe, as we go on forward. And it's not an easy one. But we have to yield ourselves, heart and soul and mind and body. Young people, if you are to participate and be a part of God's kingdom and God's plan, you have to make the same complete sacrifice as your parents and as all the adults going on forward, coming out of this wicked world and putting your heart soddenly in God's church. I want to end with several verses of exhortation and encouragement. Let's turn to 1 Thessalonians 2 and verse 19. Here's a wonderful verse that pertains to this day. For what is our hope or joy? Brethren, this is looking at it from a ministerial point of view. What is the ministerial hope or joy or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you, the members of the church of God, our brethren, in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? Brethren, our crown of rejoicing is all of us in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming. That means rising up in the air to meet Him. That means we've made ourselves ready. We're part of the wife that has made herself ready. And we're ready then to rise up together to be in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming.

That will be my crown of rejoicing if each and every one of us here, including myself, will be able to do that. Rise up together and be in the presence of the returning Jesus Christ. 2 Timothy 4 is another very wonderful, encouraging verse. It encourages us to stand firm also just like the Apostle did. 2 Timothy 4 and verse 6, Paul said just before being murdered, I am ready.

Already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight. May we also, in the days ahead, I have finished the race.

Anybody here feel like they finished the race? My hand is down. I don't think anybody here has finished the race, but let us go on to finish our race. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. May we also keep it as we finish our race. Verse 8, finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness. That is what we are striving after, brethren, a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day. The time represented by this very day, the Feast of Trumpets. And not to me only, but to all who have loved his appearing.

Brethren, do we love the appearing? Do we just delight to think about one day Jesus Christ is going to return. My Savior, my Lord, is going to return. And He is going to set up God's kingdom on the earth, and it's going to be a wonderful time. He's invited me to be there, to be with Him, and to reign and teach people, show people the right way to live, stop all this war and suffering and evils going on today. Why, I tell you what, you know, we must love the appearing of Jesus Christ. Jude 24, the book of Jude, verse 24. It's a wonderful verse also that pertains to the Feast of Trumpets. Jude 24, now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, when our God is able to keep us from falling away from the church, He's able to keep us in the faith if we will stay close to Him in prayer, study, and all the things we should be doing, faithfully keeping His Sabbath and holy days as we are doing, to Him that is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you faultless. That's the direction we all should be heading in, overcoming our weaknesses and shortcomings. And God will help us to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. And that presence will be at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, and we will see Him and be like He is. Oh, what a wonderful time of joy that is going to be. Can you imagine? Can you imagine again just rising up in the air? This day pictures it, and who knows? Jesus might even return on the day of trumpets. He died on Passover Day. We can only speculate about that. He may return on this very day. He rises up in the air, has a spirit being in our face, shining like the sun, and eyes like flames of fire, an immortal spirit being. At last, at long last, we will finally come to the end of our struggle, and we will indeed have it made for all eternity. Something to look forward to, and be there before Him, faultless, before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. Joy we can not even begin to imagine. What an amazing day this is. A couple of final verses, Luke 21 and verse 19.

Luke chapter 21, again back to the Olivet prophecy by Luke. Luke chapter 21 and verse 19, a short little verse, packed with meaning and also hidden admonition.

In your patience possess your souls, says the New King James translation. In your patience, in the word for patience is again, poupo monet. In your endurance, in your faithful patient continuance, in your steadfastness, in your standing firm, possess your souls.

What does that mean? New International Version says, by standing firm, you will gain life.

By standing firm. But, and I believe that we all want to do that. I think that's why we're here today. That's why we keep God's laws and commandments. We want to stand firm.

Got to make sure, though, that we're doing it, that we're not kidding ourselves, and that we are indeed growing and overcoming and not letting down. By standing firm, you will gain life. Stand firm in these evil days that we're living in. Final verse is Revelation 22 in verse 20. Let's read some of the last words of the Bible, and they pertain to this very day.

Revelation 22 in verse 20. Revelation 22 in verse 20. He who testifies to these things says, and this would be Jesus Christ, and I believe these would be red letters if you have a red letter Bible. He who testifies to these things says, surely I am coming quickly.

And the new international version says, yes, I am coming soon.

Jesus Christ is coming soon. That's what this feast of trumpets is all about. Jesus Christ is coming back to this earth. And we're living at that time where it really is soon.

But look at the last part of verse 20. Amen. Even so come Lord Jesus.

These are some of the final words of the Bible. There are just a few words after this. Some of the final words of the Bible are about Jesus saying, yes, I'm coming soon. And then we, the church, respond and say, even so, come Lord Jesus. I believe you could say that we plead, come Lord Jesus.