The Gospel of Rome

Yesterday was an interesting day, wasn't it? 25 years ago, for those of us who were alive then, we remember September 11, 2001, like very few other days in our life. I think most of us remember where we were at the moment that we realized terrorist activities were occurring in the United States. We were sometimes calling home, checking in with others, wondering how this is all going to shake out, wondering if it was safe to even come to church the next week.

I remember being at my first job. Laura and I were engaged. We were not yet married, and quickly I picked up the phone when I was listening to a radio program, and they started changing. It was one of these programs. They like to have fun, and they're engaging, and they're making jokes with each other, and then all of a sudden they went very serious.

And I didn't at first realize what was going on, but then I started realizing they're talking about, they're not joking anymore. They're not laughing anymore. What's going on? And then I could hear people talking out in the hall. It was a change, and I called Laura. Like, are you listening? Are you watching? Often, the rest of the day was a blur of neither listening to radios, watching on TV, trying to understand what was happening in this nation. And as we continued through that day, we finally went home.

I remember Laura was here in Michigan. I was in Athens at an Ohio University, still working there, and we spent the whole night on the phone just talking to each other while we both watched the same news channel. And then they talked about runs on groceries and runs on gas, and I said, oh, I got to hang up here. I got to go get gas because there was a gas station right across the street, and I looked out the window, and there was already like 12 to 15 cars there.

And I'm like, well, I'm not getting gas tonight. And then we went to bed wondering what the next day would be, which is today, the 12th, and we woke up, and it was just as confusing as it was the day before, unknowns, unquestions. And it led to a lot of changes. We were forever changed as people because of what happened on that day. Our airport travel changed. Our abilities to just feel secure changed. It was a day of change, a day of disruption, a day of confusion.

And I read this week that 100 million Americans were not yet born. And so some of you, this is history. This is not real life. You can't remember where you were born because you weren't here yet. But 100 million Americans did not experience 9-11, but yet have been impacted through their lives and still impacted today. In a different but similar unsettledness that we felt on 9-11, the Roman Empire experienced similar unsettledness. After long periods of instability, war, and an excess of petty kingdoms, Romans believed that the gods, you got to put that in strengthen their hand to bring peace and prosperity to the land.

This was something the Roman people yearned for. This was something they wanted to be able to enjoy as families. It's a natural feeling for us to desire peace. But true peace and everlasting peace has been unachievable by the governments of man and remains out of mankind's grasp apart from a relationship with the one and true God.

We'll get more to this here shortly. But as we know from our study and our keeping of these holy days, each of God's festivals represent a tremendous part of His plan to bring salvation and to bring restoration to humanity and their relationship with Him. The Feast of Trumpets that we're celebrating today pictures two vital steps of that plan, one being the triumphant return of Jesus Christ to put down the kingdoms of this world and to establish the kingdom of God on this earth. We say Godspeed that day, don't we? The second aspect is the resurrection of God's firstfruits, those who committed their lives to God's way and faithfully endured to the end of their lives.

Intertwined in the symbolism of this day is a wonderful aspect of the deep relationship that God has with His people. And as just mentioned, on the day of Christ's return, God's people who have diligently followed Him will be resurrected in that first resurrection. It's not a resurrection to just go to the heavens and to stare into the face of God for all eternity or to play arps sitting on clouds. It's a resurrection to join Jesus in establishing God's kingdom on this earth, and we will be assigned jobs and roles to help form this kingdom.

We will help spread the law and the teachings. We will help to continue to move forward and to help humanity move forward and being one and at peace with God. These laws and this way of life have never been fully implemented on this planet worldwide. This is the gospel of Jesus Christ in the kingdom of God. We often use the word gospel in our Christian circles to describe the writings of Jesus and the good news that He brought to this earth. But non-Christians in the Greco-Roman world first use this term. I'm not sure we've always... okay, I'll speak to myself. I've not always recognized when you read through the gospels and you read through the good news in the kingdom of God. I'm thinking for years that this was a Christian, this was a God-based idea. But the word gospel is an ancient Greek word with meanings of good tidings or good news. And the Greeks were the first to start using this word and then the Romans followed them. And so from the time of Alexander the Great and into the Roman Empire, this word was used to refer to history making world-shaping reports of political, military, and societal victories. They brought good tidings to one another. They brought the good news of their conquests and a better way for man to live as Romans. The Greeks had become accustomed to giving the rulers divine honors, even, elevating them to God status. This later became part of the Roman Empire as well with the Caesars and the Emperors. The gospel of Rome was the imperial propaganda announcing a good and a better time for the Roman Empire, announcing Caesar as the divine Savior and Lord of the Empire. Religion and politics completely merged. And as time went on, the Roman Empire used the word gospel first to describe this era of prosperity ushered in by man. The word gospel in the Greek is euangelion, euangelion, which means, again, good tidings or good news.

This message of good tidings spread through the Roman Empire as Caesar was deemed the Savior of the Empire and a God who was ushering in better times for the Empire. Many public inscriptions unearthed from Rome's ruins document a kind of civic instruction outlining what citizens were expected to know and to believe. Among these beliefs was the reverence of the Emperor or Caesar who was not only immensely powerful but also regarded as the divine Son of God. And here are a few examples from Julius Caesar. This was said about him. He reigned from 48 to 44 BC, so before Jesus Christ was born is God in the flesh. An inscription from Ephesus describes him as the manifest God from Aries and Aphrodite, a universal Savior of human life, and it's one of many such inscriptions. Following him was Augustus, and that's from 27 BC to AD 14, so he was reigning when Jesus was born. It says this inscription, Emperor Caesar Augustus, Son of God, or God of God, is another way that could have been phrased. Emperor Caesar Augustus, Savior and benefactor. These are all inscriptions. Following him was Tiberius, who reigned when Jesus was crucified. Imperial Tiberius, Caesar Augustus, Son of God.

Imperial Tiberius, Caesar, New Augustus, Son of God, Zeus the Liberator. Following him, we come to Nero, who was a crazed Roman Emperor who reigned from AD 54 to 68. So during the time, Jesus is now dead and raised on the right hand of the Father. But the message that he proclaimed continues to go out through the apostles during this crazed Emperor's reign. This is his inscription, Nero Caesar the Lord, Nero Claudius Caesar, the Savior and benefactor of the inhabited world, the good God of the inhabited world, the beginning and existence of all good things. Another inscription, the Son of the Greatest of Gods. And the last one, Nero, the Lord of the whole world.

But I want to go back to Augustus, because he was Emperor when Jesus was born and was the one who really established himself and his father, Julius Caesar, as the Savior of the world. Augustus, known as Octavian, founded the Roman Empire and he served as the first Roman Emperor from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD. With the beginning of Augustus's role, life in the Roman Empire became far more stable and people lived with hope for a prosperous future. In 1899, so about 127 years ago, two stone tablets were found in an ancient Greek city of Pyrene, which is now in western Turkey. And these tablets contain a Roman provincial decree, quote, The birthday of the God Augustus was the beginning of the gospel for the world that came by reason of him, end quote. This gospel message is good news. It's good tidings by the hand of Caesar Augustus. And it was Augustus who ushered in the Pax Romana, which in Latin means Roman Peace. The Pax Romana lasted for the better part of 200 years and represented a remarkable period of relative peace and stability and economic growth across the Roman Empire. During this era, the Empire reached its largest land area and highest population, around 70 million people. Safe shipping lanes and secure land routes let trade grow across the Mediterranean. Famous landmarks like the Colosseum and the Pantheon were built. Extensive road networks connected distant providences to Rome. But it was also during this period that all people under Rome's control were directed and expected to offer sacrifices to the Roman's God to preserve the stability of the Empire and to celebrate the gifts Rome spread throughout the Empire. Augustus would be proclaimed, as we've already read, Savior of the World, Prince of Peace, Lord of the World. And as I mentioned earlier, he was viewed as the Son of God, who brought peace and order to an empire that had long been at civil war. His peace, Augustus's peace from a worldly perspective, ended a century of civil war. But Augustus did this through the slaughter of his rivals, consolidating power, and instituting imperial worship, which he demanded throughout the Empire. Augustus was the ultimate man-made Savior, polished, a great speaker, praised, and powerful by human standards. But he led people to a false peace, false worship, and a false security. I share this because this is the backdrop of when Jesus Christ came upon the scene. And when the Gospel writers captured the story of Jesus's life, this was the environment that they were speaking within. This is where the early church got its foundation, with a false Gospel of Rome being present against the backdrop of the real Gospel of Jesus Christ. Later, Paul and the apostles would continue describing and explaining Jesus's life and his teachings, often painting a contrasting picture to the Pax Romana, the empire around them that others were proclaiming. I want us to journey back to that time. Imagine what it would have been like for you to be one of the apostles or one of the members of the early church. Imagine you open up your newspapers, turn on your TVs, and you're watching the news, and you're hearing the stories, and your Emperor Claudius Augustus Caesar is proclaiming the good news of the empire and how wonderful things are going and how blessed we are as a nation because the gods are looking down upon us through his hands and through the Roman institution, the Roman empire. And yet, we're believers of Jesus Christ. We've seen maybe some of his miracles, even.

We've heard the apostles share the accounts. We've heard the stories, and we continue to believe in the one true God. Yet, there's a counter-Gospel message that's continuing to be spread, one that we can't ignore.

The writers, the Gospel writers, and the New Testament writers took great care to present Jesus, though, as the one true divine King who came to bring true salvation to the whole world, and they wrote as a direct challenge to this Gospel of Rome that was all around them. Let's open our Bibles to some of the Gospel accounts and look at how they wrote Mark 1, verse 1.

There's no accident that the writers wrote the way that they did in the face of the empire that was around them. Because, again, this word, Gospel, did not originate in Christian circles. It originated from a political stance, first by the Greeks and later by the Romans. They were the ones that were using it, and I guess you could say God's people kind of hijacked the term to present a different side of the one true Lord and King of the world. Notice what Mark wrote, Mark 1, verse 1. The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Imagine how that would have flown in the face of Caesar and any Roman, anybody, I guess, devoted to the Roman Empire. The Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Mark opens this Gospel account written probably around 65 CE. So, about just before, maybe probably a few years before the Romans destroyed Jerusalem. And he writes this truth. He opens his account by telling the readers that Jesus, not Caesar, is the true Lord, Savior, and bringer of peace. Notice later in verse 14 and 15, Mark 1, now after John was put into prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God and saying the time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in this or the Gospel. Imagine again, pick up your paper, you turn on your TVs, what's the news you're hearing? And yet, from God's elect, this is what they're what is being preached. And Mark wasn't the only writer to make this powerful statement. Turn with me to Matthew 24 and verse 14. So, just a few pages back in my Bible, Matthew 24, and verse 14. Again, written about the similar time frame of Mark, so 60-65 CE.

Matthew wrote, Matthew 24, verse 14, and this Gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. Not the Gospel of Rome. The Gospel of the Kingdom will be preached to the world. And then Paul, in Romans 1 verse 16, let's flip forward so we can see multiple writers used similar terminology.

And Paul would have wrote Romans around 57 or 58 CE, Romans 1 and verse 16.

Romans 1 verse 16, Paul writes, For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God's salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first, and also for the Greek. This Gospel of Christ that was not being proclaimed broadly because it was the Gospel of Rome that everybody was hearing and listening to, but instead of giving Caesar the credit for the power, he says, this Gospel of Christ, for it is the power. This is the environment that Jesus Christ lived in and preached in, that the apostles were sent out to continue this teaching, to continue holding fast.

And so it's with this backdrop that I want to explore this Holy Day that we are observing as we consider the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. The autumn festivals portray the beginning of a new era for mankind with the new reign of the King of Kings. The Feast of Trumpets is also, as we heard, the only Holy Day that opens on a new moon. If you would have looked last night, if you would have googled the lunar calendar, it would have said that we are right at the window of a new moon. And on this Holy Day, God instructed ancient Israel to use shofars to shout aloud and to herald in this special day. Someone asked me if I would blow a shofar today, and I said, I already tried that previous years and it did not go well. So I'm not going to try it. I'm thankful that Mr. Kaczmalski did. Valant effort. I'll leave it there.

But when Jesus returns, there will be loud blasts as from a trumpet to announce the triumphant return of the great King. As Jesus himself said in Matthew 24, verse 30 and 31, then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They're not going to mourn because they're happy. They're mourning because they're not looking forward to his reign. They want to continue living life as we've always lived it. Let's do things our way with our governments. Roman Empire, it's not so bad. Let's continue it.

Jesus says the earth will mourn because of his return and they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and with great glory and he will send his angels with the great sound of a trumpet and they will gather together his elect. That's you and me. That's the saints from the four winds and from one end of heaven to the other.

It's with this understanding that Paul and Barnabas came to Antioch and Poseidon where they taught in the synagogue. Augustus was long dead at this time, but Caesar worship was still in full swing. Notice what is captured for us in Acts 13 and verse 14.

It says, When they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch and Poseidon, went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and sat down. And after reading of the law and the prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent to them, saying, Men and brethren, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say on. And then I can't help but think, like, as a minister and as a pastor, Paul was probably thinking, here we go. In this environment of Caesar worship and of good tidings, this gospel of Rome, I'm going to have to let the truth out. Then Paul stood up and motioned with his hands and said, Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen. And then he begins a brief history of God's people from Egypt up to this present time, verse 23. And from this man's seed, he says, referring to King David, according to the promise, God raised up for Israel a Savior.

And it wasn't Caesar, a Savior, Jesus. And after John had first preached before his coming the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel, this is the message that the true Savior was bringing. Verse 26, he says, Men and brethren, sons of the family of Abraham and those among you who fear God, to you the word of this salvation has been sent. Because Caesar was claiming salvation, he was bringing good tidings, he was bringing salvation to the world, because he was a Savior.

But Paul says this Savior, Jesus Christ, has been sent. Verse 32, he says, And we declare to you glad tidings. He could have said the gospel.

He says, And we declare to you glad tidings, good news, that promise which was made to the fathers, God has fulfilled this for us, their children, and that he has raised up Jesus. Verse 38, Therefore, let it be known to you, brethren, that through this man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins.

What greater gift could be given to mankind than to be at one with God, to have our sins forgiven? Caesar can't do that. He may proclaim and act like he can do those things, and grant pardons and remove sins from people's lives. But Paul's preaching of the one who brings true forgiveness of sins. Verse 39, And by him, everyone who believes is justified from all things, from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.

And then verse 42, So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged them that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath. Now, when the congregation had broken up, many of the Jews and devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God. And on the next Sabbath, almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God. You can only imagine the two sides of this coin. One Paul enthused, because now more people are going to hear this message, and now he's thinking, boy, this is going to get loud. This is going to spread beyond the city, probably. The Roman guards sitting at different stations through the city are probably going to hear this message going out and wonder, where are all these people going on this Sabbath?

Did he ever stop, though, teaching and preaching of the one true Savior, the good news of Jesus Christ? Verse 45, when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy and contradicting and blaspheming. They opposed the things spoken by Paul. So he didn't just have the Romans, who wouldn't like this message. The Jews didn't like it as well. The Gospel of Rome, on one side, elevated a man to be worshipped and revered. And it's within this environment that the apostles were sent out to preach the true Gospel of Jesus Christ in the kingdom of God.

Tying back into this feast of trumpets, let's quickly look at three truths of the real gospel. The Gospel of Rome proclaims Caesar as Lord, but who do we see as the coming King of kings and Lord of lords? Turn with me to Revelation 19. Revelation 19, verse 1.

Revelation 19 pictures a future time when Jesus Christ will reign with power and righteousness.

And says, after these things, as John's speaking, I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, Alleluia, salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God, not to Caesar. For true and righteous are his judgments, because he has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication, and he has avenged on her the blood of his servants shed by her. Verse 5, then a voice came from the throne, saying, Praise our God, all you, his servants, and those who fear him, both small and great. Verse 11, I saw heaven open, and behold a white horse, and he who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns, and he has a name written that no one knew except himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed him on white horses, and 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 the wine presses, and 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. This is our God. This is our Savior. This is the one who gave his life for the world, and he will return, symbolized in this feast of trumpets. Let's look at another aspect quickly. The Gospel of Rome proclaimed peace throughout the empire, but what peace will Jesus Christ usher in at his return? Let's turn to Isaiah 9 and verse 2.

Remember, these are messages that the apostles would have been sharing. These are the same messages that we continue to share with the world today. Those who are listening, those who are able to understand, and even those who are not able to understand. We continue to teach this same message because it's not ours, it's our Lord's. And so we go forward. Isaiah 9 verse 2 says, The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined. You have multiplied the nation and increased its joy. They rejoice before you according to the joy of harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. For you have broken the yoke of his burden and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of medium. Verse 6, And for us unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called wonderful, counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, and of the increase of his government and peace, there will be no end. Upon the throne of David and over his kingdom, to order it and to establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever, the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. Caesar Augustus, Octavian, he proclaimed the one who was going to bring peace and brought peace to the Roman Empire. He was the one to be revered. He was the one to be referred to as the Son of God. Yet he brought nothing, nothing, compared to what Jesus Christ will bring. Upon the increase of his government and peace, there will be of no end. This is the God that we proclaim, and this is the Savior that the Apostle Paul and Peter and James and the gospel writers, those bringing good tidings, held fast to teaching. But we know that this peace of God isn't just for the millennium. It's also for us and all believers today. You can quickly write these into your notes, just as reference Romans 15 verse 33. Now the God of peace be with you all, amen. Romans 16 and verse 20. And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. Philippians 4 verse 9, Paul going through all of these accounts, the things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me these do and the God of peace will be with you.

And then 1 Thessalonians 5 and verse 23, now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, referencing again this day that we're celebrating here.

Mankind have sought for peace forever. Peace was interrupted where? First in the garden. When Satan entered in and created havoc and lies and confusion, peace was ruined when two brothers, one took the life of the other. And peace has been sought for, and lost time and time and time again. Thinking back to yesterday and what it symbolized 25 years ago, we wanted peace in that moment. We wanted peace of heart, peace of mind. We were unstable, unsettled, didn't know what the future was going to hold for this nation or even the world. And then man continued on for now 25 years seeking peace, trying to find it through wars, through decrees, through alliances, not finding its semblance of real peace.

Our God is going to bring peace to this earth. The third aspect quickly to look at. The gospel of Rome proclaimed prosperity through the empire. But what prosperity will Jesus Christ usher in at His return? Let's look at Ezekiel 36 and verse 23. For this one, we could spend the rest of the day looking at scripture after scripture after scripture. And we're going to go to the Feast of Tabernacles here soon and tune into messages online. And we're going to hear message after message, scripture after scripture, to fulfill and to explain this aspect of prosperity coming to this earth. But for today, we'll look at just one passage. Ezekiel 36 and verse 23.

The prophet captures in verse 23, And I will sanctify my great name, and this is referring to God and to Jesus Christ, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst. And the nations shall know that I am the Lord, not Caesar, right? Not the Roman Empire, but I am the Lord, says the Lord God, when I am hollowed in you before their eyes. For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out from all countries, and bring you into your own land. And he's doing that as a gift to bring prosperity to his people. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean. And I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all of your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you, a spirit that can understand God, a spirit that can desire to seek after him, a spirit that says, I don't want to do things my way, I want to do them God's way. And he will put that spirit in all of humanity to know him, to understand him, and to be able to be in a relationship with him. He says, I will take out the heart of stone from your flesh, and I'll give you a heart of flesh.

And I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you will keep my judgments and do them. Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. I will deliver you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the grain and multiply it and bring no famine upon you. And I will multiply the fruit of your trees and the increase of your fields. Nobody will be hungry. Nobody will be lacking. And he says, so that you will never again bear the reproach of famine among the nations. Then you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and your abominations. Not for your sake do I do this, says the Lord God. Let it be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel.

This is, of course, a prophecy for Israel, but it's also a prophecy for the world when God will bring everyone towards him, when he will bring prosperity to all the nations, to all those who want to seek after him. There is a warning. Those who do not come up and keep the holy days, those who do not keep the Feast of Tabernacles, they won't have rain. They won't receive these blessings. But God is doing this out of love to turn their hearts so that they can't deny it any further what God has called them to do. Caesar ruled with a threat of death, and many Christians died at different times because they did not proclaim and profess him as the Son of God. Jesus Christ is going to give everybody an opportunity out of love to know him. He's going to gently work with everyone. He's going to gently open their mind and say, this is different, I get it, but this is the way to go. And you and I will have an opportunity to help teach, to help share, to maybe even share some of our own stories of life, our own brokenness, our own dysfunction that we couldn't fix ourselves, but God in his mercy helped us to fix. And he gets all the credit, and we'll be able to say, this is the change that you're looking for.

There's a better way to go. God is going to bring prosperity to this earth. As we looked at through this message, the social and political order of the Roman Empire rested on two fundamental assumptions. One, that Rome had achieved its virtually unlimited earthly domain at the will of the gods. And two, that the emperor or Caesar was the divinely chosen agent of gods, the human manifestation of divine protection and authority over the civilized world. This was the gospel of Rome. Yet it was a counterfeit of the true kingdom of God we remember today. Jesus Christ prophesied that he would return to overthrow the kingdoms of this world and establish God's kingdom again on this earth. So what is the big takeaway for us today as we celebrate this feast of trumpets? I find it interesting that the timing of Jesus Christ's birth and the timing of him bringing the true gospel message was also during a time of a false savior, a false messiah, a false peace, and a false security. In all ways, it was against this false gospel of Rome. To know and we know that God knows all timing. He's perfect in this plan. He's perfect in this plan. He's perfect in all timing. This was part of his plan in the midst of a false gospel to bring his son to this earth. As the early church was established, it was established where people had a choice. Choose to revere the gospel of Rome or the gospel of Jesus Christ in the kingdom of God. It's the same two choices that we continue to be presented with today.

The gospel of Rome will not be the last false gospel, nor will it be the last era of peace that man will proclaim on this earth. Before the return of Jesus Christ, other world leaders will speak of peace, and we may live long enough to see much of the world embrace a world government which will express this new gospel and their required devotion to it. A time will come when everyone alive will have to choose between a religious compromise or standing for the truth of God, even in the face of whatever that brings for our lives.

I don't want to be negative, but 11 out of the 12 apostles died an early death. They died a martyr's death. John was the only one with a mission from God to preserve certain truths later on, and he's the only one that we believe died of old age. Christians persecuted during the Roman Empire were persecuted not for worshiping Caesar as Lord. Is this time similar to this coming again? Scripture says it is. So we must take heart this message and the meaning of this day of trumpets because God has given this as a gift to us to proclaim an exciting and wonderful time to come, and a time that we have to hold fast to and be diligent to keep our vision secure on the truth that we have in the scripture. Let's close in 1 Thessalonians 5 and verse 1.

Sometimes we can think that our messaging is hard to get out in a world that doesn't want to listen and it's true. But I don't know that I've always appreciated the environment and the false messaging that was prevalent during Jesus's time, the Apostle's time, and the early church time. But Paul writes this in 1 Thessalonians 5 and verse 1. He says, But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you, because they already know the truth. He says, For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord, this day of Jesus Christ's return, so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say peace and safety, have we heard that term before? Yeah, in the past, present, and we'll hear it again in the future. When they say peace and safety, then suddenly, destruction comes upon them as labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore, let us not sleep as others do, as we again heard in the messaging of the Sermonet, but let us watch and be sober. Let us be serious-minded. That word sober means, let us be aware of what's going on. Let us be watching and looking and aware to remain calm, collected, and clear-headed, and to be about our Father's business as Paul and the apostles were about their Father's business. Verse 7, For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk or drunk at night, but let us who are of the day be sober, or again, serious-minded, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, these two aspects, faith in our God and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and showing love to God and to one another and to the world. And as a helmet, the hope of salvation, not losing our hope on His return and His reward being with Him. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ in no other name, not Caesar's, not an emperor, not some decree of good tidings and gospel messages from an eighthly stance, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake, speaking of our natural life, or sleep, speaking of natural death, we should live together with Him. Therefore, comfort each other and edify one another, just as you are doing. On this feast of trumpets, let us rejoice that God has called us to understand the true gospel from above, established and framed on the heavenly return of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Thy kingdom come.