The Return of the King

Well, brethren, on this Feast of Trumpets, let us consider a few parallels from the life of King Joash, and that of the King of Kings. Of course, we know Jesus Christ is to return, as has been mentioned a number of times today. We believe the Feast of Trumpets certainly pictures the return of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Now, you may remember that Joash's evil grandmother, Apheliah, who was the mother of King Amaziah, who had just died, she attempted to kill all of her sons' heirs. And she did kill them all, except Joash. Now, Joash was just a baby, and he was hidden in the temple by his aunt Jehoshaphat and her husband Jehoedah the priest. Apheliah reigned as Queen in Judah until Joash was crowned king at age 7. You may remember Joash, age 7, he became king. Now, the land and people had suffered greatly under the rule of the evil Queen Apheliah. Bail worship was promoted, and God's temple was greatly neglected under this evil rule of the queen. Now, like Joash, the rightful king, Jesus Christ had to be hidden from Herod, who tried to slay him as a child. I'm sure we can see the parallel between Herod and ultimately Satan the devil, who tried to kill Christ as a small child, and the evil Queen Apheliah, who was willing to kill her own grandchildren, so she could reign. This world has suffered greatly under the rule of the God of this world, Satan the devil. Satan stirred up the people, and we know that Christ was eventually crucified because of Satan's influence. We now await his return. Joash was not accepted as king the first time around as a baby. He had to be hidden, but he did return later on, and he was crowned king. Of course, Jesus Christ was not accepted as king the first time around. In fact, Christ said, My kingdom is not of this world. If it were of this world, my servants would fight, that I would not be delivered under the Jews. So Christ didn't come the first time to rule as king of kings. He came to die for mankind. He came to qualify to be king for all eternity under the Father. Christ was delivered to the Jews, and he was crucified. Of course, we know he was resurrected. He is now at the right hand of God the Father, as it has been mentioned. Now, today in 2012, the time is just about right for the return of Jesus Christ and the establishment of the kingdom of God. So let's ask ourselves, what impact will the return of the king have on this world? We're going to consider, in a small way, the impact that Joash had on the house of Judah and on the people that he served as king. I've actually got five principles or points that I'd like to bring out today in terms of the impact that Jesus Christ will have on this earth. And the first impact, and this will happen immediately, rebellion against Christ will be squashed. It will be more than an apple on top of someone's forehead. There will be tremendous authority when Christ returns. So rebellion will be squashed, it will be smashed, it will be eliminated in a great war at Christ's return. Now let's go back to 2 Kings 11, or let's go to 2 Kings 11. Let's notice that there was a blowing of trumpets on the day that Joash returned from hiding in the time when he was crowned as king. 2 Kings 11, verse 14. 2 Kings 11, verse 14. Speaking of Athaliah, it says in verse 13 that she heard a commotion in the temple.

She came to the people in the temple of the Lord, and when she looked, there was the king, speaking of little Joash, standing by a pillar, according to custom. And the leaders and the trumpeters were by the king. All the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets that day when Joash was made king, when he had returned to be king.

So Athaliah tore her clothes and she cried out, Treason! Treason! Now, of course, she was the treasonous one, not Joash, because Joash was the rightful king. Joash was the one that was supposed to succeed, his father. But she had his brothers killed, all the royal heirs were killed, and only he survived because he was hidden.

So when young Joash was finally made king, his servants had to fight for him. They had to fight to establish him as king. Now, of course, when Christ returns, he doesn't really need our help, necessarily, because he could certainly do it without our help. Queen Athaliah was then killed. The trumpets were blown. She was killed. In fact, we could read a little bit further. Verse 15, And Jehota the priest commanded the captains of the hundreds, the officers of the army, and said to them, Take her outside under guard, and slay with the sword whoever follows her. For the priest had said, Do not let her be killed in the house of the Lord. So they seized her, and she went by way of the horse's entrance into the king's side. And there she was killed. So her rebellion was put down. She was no longer around to influence anyone. She was dead.

Now, of course, when Christ returns, he will make war himself. He will also have tens of thousands of angels and all the first fruits of God. The saints who will fight alongside him, he is going to put down rebellion. Now, Mr. Cagle read Revelation 11, verses 15 through 18, where the seventh angel sounded, and it said, The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever. And Christ took great power and will take great power and will reign from that time forward. And the nations were angry, and they rose up to fight against Christ. We know that Christ will break in pieces anyone who opposes Him. In fact, if we go to the book of Daniel, chapter 2, verse 44, we're going to see this very thing here in the book of Daniel. Of course, we know this is a prophecy. Daniel, chapter 2. This is actually the dream of Nebuchadnezzar. Remember the golden image that was set up? So, this is in regards to that dream of Nebuchadnezzar and this golden image. Notice verse 44. Remember the parts of the image were representative of four world governments or kingdoms. Verse 44, and in the days of these kings, and it's talking about those last kings, that last world-ruling government, the Roman Empire that will rise again, and the kings will unite against Christ. And in the days of these kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, and the kingdom shall not be left to other people. It shall break in pieces, and it will consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. It will break them in pieces. So, there will be no opposition that will stand for long against Christ. Christ will put down this rebellion. Now, in Revelation 17, it does talk about these ten kings that will band together in these last days. Let's read Revelation 17 verses 13 and 14. Revelation 17 verses 13 and 14. These are of one mind, and they will give their power, these ten kings will give their power and authority to the beast. These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them. For he is Lord of lords, and he is King of kings, and those who are with him are called chosen and faithful. So, they're going to rise up against Christ, but Christ is going to overcome them easily, frankly. It will, in Revelation, verses of a great multitude in Hallelujah, "...sell honor and power, and long for his judgments, because he has judged it, who corrupted the earth with her fornication, and he has avenged on her the blood of his servants, shed by her." So salvation, power, glory, and honor belong to the Lord our God, and he is going to judge those who stand against him. In verse 11 of chapter 19, notice that Christ is coming back on a white horse. Let's read in verse 11. Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on him was called faithful and true, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. Yes, the shofar is to sound war, the blowing of the trumpet, to call an assembly, to gather together, to battle. That's one of the purposes of blowing the trumpet. Now, I was talking to Mr. Dunn between services, and he mentioned that my little puny effort really...

I'm not supposed to tell on him. I thought it was funny. Now, he mentioned that it was supposed to bring fear into the heart of people. So, I do have to work on that. I do have to practice, and next year it will bring fear into your hearts and minds.

But this year, I've got a ways to go. So, it is to bring fear into the hearts and minds because we're blowing the trumpet, and it's to assemble people together. It's a frightening blowing of the trumpet because Christ is coming back, and it is going to be a very cataclysmic time when Christ returns in that regard at the very beginning, and His return when He puts down the rebellion that will rise up against Him. So, He is coming on this white horse, and He will judge.

Verse 12, "'His eyes were like a flame of fire. On His head were many crowns, and He had 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. 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.' So, He is coming back with all authority with a rod of iron, and He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and the wrath of Almighty God." He's carrying out the will of the Father, as He always has.

And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And it goes on to show that the beast and all the armies that fight along with the beast will be defeated. Christ, again, is going to put down all of the rebellion. Notice verse 19, "'And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. Then the beast was captured, and with Him the false prophet, who worked signs in His presence, by which He deceived those who received the mark of the beast, and those who worshipped His image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire, burning with brimstone, and the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him of Christ, who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.' So there will be no denying the power of Christ at His return, and He will put down rebellion speedily, quickly, and completely. So the beast and the false prophet will be dealt with very quickly at His return, and again, all rebellion will be put down very quickly. Now that's the first point, and that's important that we realize that, and that we have faith in that. Christ is coming back to rule with a rod of iron, with power. The second point that we can glean from the sermon today is that a new world government is going to be established. A new world government is going to be established at that time. Now let's go back to 2 Kings chapter 11, where we pick up the story once again of Joash. 2 Kings 11 verse 17.

Then Jeholadeh made a covenant between the Eternal. Now, Jeholadeh again was the priest, and also his uncle, Joash's uncle, and he was the priest, and he was the one along with his wife who hid Joash until the time when he would become king. And Jeholadeh made a covenant between the Eternal, the King, and the people, and that they should be the Lord's people, and also between the King and the people. And all the people of the land went to the temple of Baal, and they tore it down. They thoroughly broke in pieces its altars and its images, and killed Matan, the priest of Baal. So these were religious symbols and religious happenings that were going on that were destroyed at this time because of the effect that they were having on the children of Israel and the house of Judah. So the priest was killed, the priest of Baal was killed, the altars were torn down, and the priest appointed officers over the house of the Lord. Then he took the captains of hundreds, the bodyguards, the escorts, and all the people of the land, and they brought the king down from the house of the Eternal, and they went by way of the gate of the escorts to the king's house. Then he sat on the throne of the kings, and Joash became king. So all the people of the land rejoiced. They rejoiced, and the city was quiet, for they had slain Ataliah with the sword in the king's house. And Joash, or Jehoash, spelled two different ways here, he was seven years old when he became king. So a new world government is going to be established when Christ returns. Now this was a new government in Judah, the house of Judah. Now Joash, along with Jehoada, who was guiding him and instructing him, he was only seven years old. But the priest was there to guide him and to direct him. Now it's interesting that in God's kingdom there will be no separation between church and state.

There will be one world ruling government, and that will also be the religion, the worship of the day.

Now in 2 Kings 12, notice that Joash, or Jehoash, did what was right in the sight of the Lord all the days in which Jehoada the priest instructed him. So as long as this young boy had the guidance and the direction of his uncle the priest, then he did what was right in the sight of God.

Now in 2 Chronicles, we'll go over there because this is a parallel account of Joash. 2 Chronicles 24, let's read verses 12 through 14.

2 Chronicles 24 verse 12, The king and Jehoada gave it to those who did the work of the service of the house of the Lord. Now it's talking about all the money that they had collected because Joash is going to have the temple repaired at this time.

So there is going to be, again, no separation between church and state. Joash is the king. Jehoada is the priest. They're working together. True worship is going to be stored. And Joash is going to repair the temple, the temple that had been neglected under the rule of the evil queen, Apheliah. So they collected all this money and they gave it to those who did the work of the service of the house of the Lord. And they hired masons and carpenters to repair the house of the Lord. And also those who worked in iron and bronze to restore the house of the Lord. So the workmen labored and the work was completed by them. They restored the house of God to its original condition and they reinforced it. So its former glory had returned. The true worship of God had returned. And when they had finished, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoada. They were faithful men who were working on the temple. They brought the rest of the money and they made from it articles for the house of the Lord, articles for serving and offering, spoons and vessels of gold and silver. And they offered burnt offerings in the house of the Lord continually all the days of Jehoada, all the days of the good priest that was there to guide and direct the king. So here we see that Joash had God's temple repaired and restored. Now when Christ returns, true worship is going to be restored along with power as far as the government is concerned. Again, there will be no separation between church and state. There will be a world-ruling government and there will be one faith, one church, as Mr. Redline had mentioned, and it'll be united. It's going to be a wonderful time.

Now in Revelation 4, let's go there and we'll see in the book of Revelation that this new world government is indeed going to be established. And we can count on these words because these are prophecies that will be fulfilled. In the book of Daniel where I read Daniel 2 and talked about how that last government would be smashed in pieces, it said, this dream is true. You can count on the words. It's going to happen. Christ is coming back to put down all rebellion. He's coming back to establish a new world order. In Revelation 1, verse 4, and this is in the introduction of the book of Revelation, of course John is recounting a vision that he was given regarding the last days.

In verse 4, John said, to the seven churches which are in Asia, grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, speaking at this point of the Father, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth, to him who loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and has made us kings and priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. So here we see again that the saints will become kings and priests.

Again, there will be one government, one faith, one religion at that time, and we'll all be united together. And behold, in verse 7, behold he is coming with clouds, and every eye will see him, even they who pierced him, some will be resurrected to see Christ at his return, some who pierced him, some who repented, they will see Christ at his return, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of him, even so, amen. The nations will mourn at Christ's return. They will see Christ coming as a threat to him. They will rise up against him, and we already read that that rebellion will be put down immediately. Now in Revelation 2, verses 25 through 27, notice what was written to the church in Thyatira. Now to you I say, and to the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this doctrine, who have not known the depths of Satan, as they say, I will put on you no other burden, but hold fast what you have till I come. And he who overcomes and keeps my works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations, and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, and they shall be dashed to pieces like the potter's vessels. To he who overcomes and keeps my work, to him I will give power over the nations. A new world government will be established. Kings and priests will rise up, frankly, at Christ's return. In a resurrection, as Mr. Hopper talked about, they will rise up to rule and reign with Christ, and they will rule with a rod of iron.

In Revelation 3, notice what's written to the church at Philadelphia. Revelation 3, verse 11, Behold, I am coming quickly, says Christ, hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown, hold fast to what you've been given. You have to remain faithful. He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. I will make him a pillar, a foundational ruling part of the government of God. He will be a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem which comes down out of heaven from my God, and I will write on him my new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. And then the Spirit speaks to the church at Laodicea. And this is a prophetic book, and I certainly believe in the idea of the eras of God's church. I think it's fundamental that we understand that all of the eras of God's church have an opportunity to repent and to be a part of God's kingdom. Some in the past, you know, they repented of their sins in the various churches. They repented of their sins. They will be in the first resurrection. Notice in Laodicea what God has to say here. To the church at Laodicea, verse 19. To the lukewarm church, As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten, Therefore be zealous and repent.

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him. I will dine with him, and he with me. To him who overcomes, I will grant to sit with me on my throne. As I also overcame and sat down with my father on his throne. Mr. Redline talked about the church being healed. Well, the church is going to be healed. I look forward to that time as well. Frankly, we need to be healed. We need to have one mind. We need to have the mind of Jesus Christ, all of us. We need to grow in that. We are to become a church without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. We do have brothers and sisters that go to other organizations. Friendships have been broken for a variety of reasons. Let's pray that God would bring us all back together as one church, that we might glorify Him, that we might truly become a church without spot or wrinkle. Let's all repent of our sins individually and collectively so that we might have unity in the church of God. So to he who overcomes, I will grant to sit with me on my throne as I also overcame and sat down with my father on his throne. So he's speaking to Philadelphia, Thyatira, Laodicea. We all need to repent. We all need to overcome. We all need to endure to the end. And if we do, then we will sit on the throne. We will rule along with Christ. We will rule under Christ and we will rule with a rod of iron and we will rule with love and justice and equity as well. So it is important that we comprehend and we understand our calling. Revelation 5 verses 9 and 10. A new song was being sung in the third heaven sung by the four living creatures and the 24 elders. And John was able to hear this choir.

Verse 9, and you are worthy to take the scroll, speaking of Christ, and to open its seals for you were slain and you have redeemed us to God by your blood. It's talking about the saints of God here. These 24 elders and the four living creatures are speaking about human beings who are going to be ruling with Christ. Because notice what it says here. You have redeemed us to God by your blood.

Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, God's called us from all tribes, tongues, nations. And you have made us kings and priests to our God, and we shall reign on the earth.

One world-ruling government under Christ reigning on the earth. Revelation 14. Notice what it says here about one world government. Revelation 14 verse 1. Then I looked, and behold, a lamb standing on Mount Zion. And with him 144,000 having his father's name written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven like the voice of many waters and like the voice of loud thunder, and I heard the sound of harpists playing their harps. And they sang as it were a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures and the elders. And no one could learn that song except the 144,000 who were redeemed from the earth. They were redeemed. They were resurrected. They were, you know, speaking of the resurrection here, that they were redeemed from the earth. These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the lamb wherever he goes. These were redeemed from among men, being first fruits to God and to the lamb. And in their mouth was found no deceit, for they are without fault before the throne of God. So these are repentant saints who have been resurrected to life, and they're there with Christ on the Mount of Olives, or the Mount Zion here. Zion is representative of Jerusalem, and of course Mount of Olives was there. I don't know if there was actually two different mounts that it's talking about, but we know Christ is coming back on the Mount of Olives. You know, that's what Zachariah 14 tells us. Here it refers to Mount Zion. It could be just talking about Jerusalem in general. If there's another mount that's specifically Mount Zion, then evidently they would have moved to that particular mount. But I believe what the Bible says is true, and there's no contradiction there. So they were firstfruits to God and to the Lamb.

In Revelation 15 verse 3 it speaks of the song of Moses and the servant of God and the song of the Lamb saying they were singing the song of Moses, Great and marvelous are your works, Lord God Almighty, just and true are your ways, O King of the saints. Christ is our King. We are the saints of God. We are sanctified and set apart by the Spirit of God. We are truly God's people. We are the saints of God, and we are to be there with Christ. When He returns, we are to be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye if we happen to be alive.

But just before that, those who have died will come out of the graves, and they will be changed, and they will be quickened, and their bodies will become glorious, radiant spirit bodies. He says, just and true are your ways, O King of the saints, who shall not fear you, O Lord, and glorify your name. For you alone are holy, for all nations shall come and worship before you.

All nations will come and bow before Jesus Christ. And also the saints of God that will be resurrected. Revelation chapter 19 verse 6, And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters, and as the sound of mighty thundering, saying, Hallelujah! For the Lord God, omnipotent reigns, let us be glad and rejoice, and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come. And His wife has made herself ready, the church has made itself ready. The church has become without spot or wrinkle.

And it's made itself ready, and to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. And then the marriage supper takes place. And it says, these are the true sayings of God. We can count on them. They're true. They're going to happen. So the Lamb is returning. The eternal God will reign omnipotent.

There will be a wedding supper in Revelation 20. And I believe this was already read earlier. And it talked about how we will live and reign with Christ for 1,000 years. So that's what's going to happen secondarily. The rebellion will be put down. The government of God will be established. It's going to rule with a rod of iron, with great power here on the earth. So that leads us to point number three, which is world peace.

World peace is going to be the result of the government of God and the worship of God. King Joash reigned for 40 years in the land of Judah. Joash reigned for 40 years. He was seven years old when he became king. He reigned for 40 years. And during most of that time, while Jehovah the priest still lived, there was relative peace and justice in the land. There was, in fact, the last verse I read talked about there being peace in the land. When Joash was established as king. And for the most part, there was peace and quiet in the house of Judah, as long as King Joash followed the instruction of the priest, Jeholada.

Now in Isaiah chapter 9, verses 6 and 7, we see that one of his names is the Prince of Peace. We know Christ is coming back to establish peace on the earth. Today we see wars. We hear rumors of wars. We wonder what's going to happen next. What's going to happen in the Middle East. Sometimes we wonder when we go to bed at night what we'll rise up to in the morning.

We really don't know. This is a volatile world. Things could change overnight. Things could happen very quickly. In chapter 9 of Isaiah, verse 6, for unto us a child is born, for 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. Nothing is going to stand in the way of God any longer.

You know, a lot of people wonder today if God even exists. They wonder because God is allowing us to learn some hard lessons down here on earth. Now, he is not revealing himself to the vast majority of the world. Now, the vast majority of the world doesn't understand and know the true God. A small minority of people who are called and chosen by God and some who are in the process of being called and chosen as God sees fit.

But many billions of people don't acknowledge the true God. They don't know the true God. So how are we going to have world peace until they come to know God? They come to know Jesus Christ as the Prince of Peace. So there is going to be a government and a peace that will last forever and there will be no end to that government and to the peace of God. So world peace is going to result and that's going to be a huge impact when Christ returns.

Rebellion is put down, the government is established, peace will go throughout the land. It's going to be a wonderful time and when we go to the Feast of Tabernacles we'll picture the wonderful peace of God. I'm looking forward to that. I'm looking forward to all of the holy days that are coming. Of course, the Day of Atonement pictures the binding of Satan the devil. We know Christ is going to do that. That's one of the first things that will happen.

Satan is going to be bound. He's not going to be able to influence for a thousand years people on the earth. Peace will prevail on the earth.

So that is point number three. World peace will be the result.

Point number four, the impact. We're talking about the impact of Christ's return.

God's law will be the standard and God's law will go forth throughout the world. So that's going to make a huge difference. Just as Joash had the book of the law there with him. In fact, let's go to 2 Kings 11 and see that.

Joash was to follow the law of God. All the kings were supposed to follow God's law.

If they were good kings, they followed God's law. They let God's law guide and direct them.

In 2 Kings 11, verse 12, let's go back there a moment. Now, this was right before Atholiah was taken and killed. This was as Joash was being crowned the king.

So what happened was Jeholedah got men together who were loyal to the king and loyal to God.

And so they brought out the king's son, speaking of Joash, and they put the crown on him. And they gave him the testimony. You can just imagine how much Jeholedah was looking forward to this time.

For six years, they had to hide him, wondering if he would be found, wondering whether he would be called and they would all be killed.

They suffered under Queen Atholiah's rule. They anticipated this moment where they would crown the true king. So they brought out the king's son, they put the crown on him, and they gave him the testimony. That's speaking of the law, the Ten Commandments, the law of God. It could include the Torah, the first five books of Moses. Certainly included the Ten Commandments. And they made him king and they anointed him. And they clapped their hands and they said, Long live the king. Long live King Joash. So Joash was crowned king.

And the law of God was what was guiding Joash as long as his uncle Jeholedah, the priest, was there to guide him. Now Isaiah chapter 2, let's go there.

And you're familiar with these verses, many of them, because we often read them during the Feast of Tabernacles. Isaiah chapter 2 verse 1, Scripture after Scripture talks about the establishment of the government of God and the kingdom of God and the world-ruling government of God. So the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established on the top of the mountains and shall be exalted above the hills and all nations shall flow to it. All nations will become subservient to the king. And remember what happens if they don't go up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles, then they'll have no reign. And they will reap what they've sown and they will have to repent of their wrong thinking. And then they will come up to Jerusalem. And they will come up and they will say, or many people will come and they will say, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, and He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His path. For out of Zion shall go forth the law. Out of Zion, out of Jerusalem will go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem, and He shall judge between the nations.

God is going to be the judge. Christ is going to be the judge. He will judge between the nations, and He will rebuke many people. Any rebellion will be put down. He will rebuke that rebellion. And they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. And nation shall not lift up sword against nation. Neither shall they learn war anymore. Again, peace in the land. Because any type of rebellion will be dealt with quickly and powerfully.

So that is the fourth large impact that's going to take place when Christ comes back. The law will be established. It will go forth, and all people will come to know the law, and they will come to know the God of that law, the true lawgiver.

Now this leads us to the last and final point, and that is the love of God will also be spread abroad throughout the earth. There is no disconnect with ruling with a rod of iron and ruling in love, because the Father who loves His Son corrects His Son.

If you love your children, you correct them. You discipline them. You help bring them into subjection so that they can be responsible citizens, so they can learn and grow, so they can learn to be overcomers and learn to be pleasing to God. It is important that we learn to rear our children, and that we do bring them into subjection, and that we, patiently and lovingly but forcefully at times, we deal with them. That is the way God is. We should follow His example in our child rearing. Some of us think we know more than God. Some of us think we don't really need to discipline our children much. Somehow they'll learn on their own. So we let them do things that they ought not do. We let them cause problems for others that they should not be causing. There's a balance here. There's a godly balance, and we should all strive to have that balance in our child rearing. We should follow the example of God and how He deals with His children. God is very merciful, but there are times when, especially when someone is hurting someone else or causing a problem, that they deal swiftly and forcefully if necessary. So the love of God is going to be spread abroad throughout the earth because God is love. And frankly, we will become born into the family of God. All of us who are called chosen and faithful, who are changed into spirit, we are going to have the love of God. So He's going to have a lot of us there to back Him up and to spread this love throughout the earth.

Now, Mr. Cagle mentioned that the love of many is going to wax cold at this time, and that's already happening big time. It's going to get worse. As things get worse, then the love of many is going to wax colder and colder because people are going to become more and more selfish. They're going to be looking out for themselves. They're going to want to survive. They're not going to care who they run over in order to survive. So the love of many is going to wax cold, but we need to set an example of love and compassion.

We need to have the balance of God in these days ahead. Now, in Galatians chapter 5, Galatians chapter 5 verse 22, let's go to the book of Galatians. We're familiar with these verses, but we need to consider them today. What do they mean to you and me today? How can we apply these verses now as God's children who are called out by Him? Galatians chapter 5 verse 22, but the fruit of the Spirit is love. It is joy. It is peace. It is long suffering and patience. It is kindness. It is goodness. And it is faithfulness. And it is gentleness. And it is self-control.

It is all of these things. The fruit of the Spirit is love and joy and peace and long suffering, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Again, such there is no law because this is how God wants us to live. Sin is the transgression of the law.

None of this transgresses God's law. There's no law against any of this. This is the way we're to become. And we're to become that way now. You are to become loving. You are to become joyful and peaceful. You're to become patient. These are things that we all need to work on as we stir up the Spirit of God in us. Notice what it says in verse 24, And those who are Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. That's what we're supposed to do. We're supposed to bury the old man, crucify him in the waters of baptism, and we're not to let him out. We're not to let him come back up. We need to keep him down there so that we can grow in love and in joy and in peace and in patience. So we need to stir up the Spirit as it says here in verse 25. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let's walk by the Spirit of God. Let's allow God's Spirit to guide us. Now, everyone will learn to love God's law in the coming Kingdom. They will learn to love it, but human nature will still exist, and we know that Satan is going to be loosed for a short time at the end of the millennium. People will still be tested as to whether or not they really love God's law and whether they love the truth of God and if they will refuse to listen to the lies of Satan the devil. Satan is going to come back. He's going to tell lots of lies. People are going to be deceived again. People are going to follow him, and that rebellion is going to be put down very forcefully at that time because peace is going to rule on the earth. Now, God's going to allow a certain time for Satan to do his dirty work after the thousand-year period because he's going to test people, as he is testing you and he is testing me today. So it is important that we grasp this and we understand it and that we don't listen to the lies of Satan the devil, and we don't allow our love to wax cold. If we get selfish as times get hard, then Satan has won. Satan has overcome us. We must not allow Satan to overcome us. We must overcome him.

So we have to walk in the Spirit. Now, in Galatians 6, verse 6, "...that him who is taught the word, sharing all good things with him who teaches. And do not be deceived, God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life." The Spirit of God is to be stirred up within us, so that we may have eternal life, everlasting life. "...and let us not grow weary while doing good. For in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart, if we remain faithful and we don't lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of God." Now, I might just say now that some of you, we've been able to help go to the feast. And we want to do that. And if there's anyone else here that is going to need a little extra help, we've got some people that have said they are very willing to help you. So please let me know, and I will get in contact with those who have the funds to help. And we will make sure that you have what you need. So, you know, the first thing is if you've done your part in keeping your festival ties. Some of you aren't working. Some of you are retired. You know, you may need a little extra help. We want you to enjoy the feast. We want you to be able to go out and have a nice meal and not have to worry about every single penny. Now, we've got people that are willing to help out. So please let me know if you need a little help. And we certainly would like to do that and help you as much as we can.

So, in the days ahead, at Christ's return, after He returns, then the flesh will no longer hamper us. Right now, the flesh hampers us. The flesh weighs us down. It causes problems for us. The flesh will no longer frustrate us at Christ's return because we will no longer be flesh. We will be spirit at that time. Now, that's extremely exciting, the power that we'll be given. But more importantly, we are really going to have the love of God because God is spirit, and God is love. And the Holy Spirit is what's going to make the huge difference in God's kingdom. It's God's Spirit. We, too, will be composed of Spirit, the Holy Spirit. It will be our power at that time. Now, we have just a down payment. We have an earnest. We have a little bit. But one day we'll be changed. As Christ was changed, when He was, you know, He died, He was crucified, He was resurrected, He had a glorified body. We will have the same glorified body. Now, let's go to 2 Peter for a moment. 2 Peter 1. 2 Peter 1. Verse 5. 2 Peter 1. Verse 5. Well, actually, let's skip over some of this. It's very similar to what we just read in Galatians.

It talks about self-control, brotherly love, perseverance, godliness, all of these things, these characteristics of God that we need to be developing now. Brotherly kindness and love. In verse 8. I'm sorry, in verse 7. And then in verse 8 it says, For if these things are yours, and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is short-sighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that He was cleansed from his old sins. Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never stumble. If you do these things, if you stir up the Spirit of God, you will never stumble. Now, that doesn't mean that you won't sin. It means that you won't stumble to the point that you won't get up again. It's talking spiritually, that you won't fall away. You will get back up, and you will ask God to forgive you, and God will continue to grant you repentance. In verse 11. For so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is God's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. That is God's desire for each and every one of us. Today is a very positive day. It's a wonderful day to reflect on what we have in store for us. So we ought to be very, very encouraged. However, we need to also be cautioned, because if we go back to 2 Chronicles 24, and we pick up the story of Joash, we will see that Joash did indeed fall away.

Joash, this king, who was a good king as long as he listened to the priest, as long as he was tuned into God and God's law, then he did well in the land of Judah. But notice what happens here in verse 15 of 2 Chronicles 24. Remember, Joash had repaired the temple, and he was zealous in repairing the temple. He was turned on, and he was zealous. He showed good fruits for many years.

But notice in verse 15 of chapter 24, now Jehoedah grew old and was full of days, and he died. And he was 130 years old when he died. And they buried him in the city of David among the kings, even though he wasn't a king. They buried him among the kings because he had done good in Israel, both toward God and toward God's house, toward the temple of God. So, Jehoedah was well respected, and he was honored. Verse 17, now after the death of Jehoedah, the priest, the leaders of Judah came, and they bowed down to the king. They bowed down to the king, and the king listened to them. They were deceiving the king. They were going before the king. They were flattering the king. They were deceiving the king. Therefore, they left the house of the Lord God of their fathers. Speaking of Joash and all these men, they couldn't wait until Jehoedah died.

There are false prophets. There are false people. There are people that want to deceive us today. We must remain faithful to the truth of God. We must be careful who we listen to, because there are false prophets, and there are false apostles out there today. So, we do need to take heed. So, the king listened to them, these false men. Therefore, they left the house of the Lord God of their fathers, and they served wooden images and idols. And the wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem because of their trespass. Because God is a God of justice, a God of equity, and we do reap what we sow. Yet, he sent prophets to them. God is merciful. So, he sent his prophets to the house of Judah to bring them back to the Eternal, and they testified against them. But they wouldn't listen, just like Mr. Cagle said, they didn't repent. They didn't repent. They didn't repent. Even though all hell was breaking loose around them, the whole earth was being shattered. And yet, they would not repent.

And they believed lies. And they said, well, this can't be really God doing this. You know, surely things will get better. Things will turn out okay. Then the Spirit of God came upon Zachariah, the son of Jehoa, the priest, who stood above the people and said to them, this was the son of Jehoa, the one that Joash had been guided by Jehoa all these days, his uncle. It was his son. It was his uncle's son. And Zachariah stood up above the people and said to them, Thus says God, why do you transgress the commandments of the Lord so that you cannot prosper? He was speaking to Joash and also the others, so that you cannot prosper because you have forsaken the Lord. He also has forsaken you. If you forsake God, he will forsake you. If you do not forsake God, then God will never forsake you. God says, I will never forsake you. I will never leave you nor forsake you. But when we forsake God, then we reap destruction upon ourselves. So they conspired against him, that is, against Zachariah. And at the command of the king, at the command of the king, Joash commanded this, they stoned him with stones in the court of the house of the Lord.

Thus, Joash the king did not remember the kindness which Jehoa his father had done to him, but he killed his son. And as he died, he said, as Zachariah was dying, he said, The Lord look on it and repay. Vengeous is mine, saith the Lord.

So it happened in the spring of the year that the army of Syria came up against him, and they came to Judah and Jerusalem and destroyed all the leaders of the people from among the people, and sent all their spoils to the king of Damascus, to Syria. For the army of the Syrians came with a small company of men, but the Lord delivered a very great army into their hand.

The house of Judah had a great army. In human terms, they should have easily taken care of the Syrians, but they displeased God, and Joash displeased God. So instead of making 10,000 run, 10,000 of them ran. You know what the scripture talks about? The true saints of God, the true people of God?

10,000 will run from us if we obey God and follow him, because we have God behind us. But if we forsake God, then 10,000 of us will run from a single person.

So it's so important, brethren, that we learn the lessons of this day, this Feast of Trumpets.

We need to learn the lesson. We need to be faithful men and women. We need to teach our children faithfully to be faithful as well.

So the army came against them, and a great army on the house of Judah came, and they were destroyed because they had forsaken the Lord God of their fathers. So they executed judgment against Joash. And when they had withdrawn from him, for they left him severely wounded, his own servants conspired against him because of the blood of the sons of Jehoa to the priest, and killed him on his bed. So he died, and they buried him in the city of David. But they did not bury him in the tombs of the kings, because he had lost honor. He had been unfaithful, and so he did not deserve to be buried among the kings, because he turned out to be a bad king. A good king turned into a bad king. There's a lesson in that for us, isn't there? There's a lesson that we must remain faithful. That we have to listen to God and not to Satan. We must not listen to Satan's voice. Christ is the true shepherd. We must listen to his voice.

Now, today has been a marvelous day. It has been a day of blowing of trumpets, heralding the return of Jesus Christ, the King of Kings. Jesus Christ is going to put down all rebellion at his return. He is going to establish a new world government, a new world order. There will be true peace and true worship throughout the land, and all people will come to know God and his law as it goes forth from Zion. People's hearts and minds will be turned to God, but God is going to have to test them to be sure. That's what he did to Joash.

Joash was tested. Jehoa was no longer along. Joash fell the test. We're always going to be tested. We must remain faithful throughout all the tests. Even when Satan is bound for a thousand years and when he's loosed, there will be people who will listen to him then. So if you think you might not fall prey to Satan the devil, take heed lest you fall. He who thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall.

Let us learn the lessons of this day, this day of trumpets, a day of blowing of trumpets. The good king is coming back. We are to be kings and priests along with Christ, but we will be tested. The testing is not over. It will continue. Now, the next ten days, as we lead up to the day of atonement, are referred to by the Jews as the days of awe. They are looked upon as days of reflection and days of repentance. In fact, I've given sermons in the past about a call to repentance. The trumpet blows. It's also a call to repentance. For those who need to repent, and that's all of us, it is a call of repentance. So these next ten days, let us consider these days. Let us prepare for the day of atonement, which also is symbolic of a day of judgment, a day of judgment for God's people. God is judging us. We must be faithful. So, brethren, let us rejoice and let us thank God for the richness and the wonderful meaning of His holy days. Brethren, have a great wonderful feast of tabernacles, those that I don't see before that. Be safe driving back and be careful driving to the feast. Go out and worship the King.