Spirit of the Times

The title of the sermon is Spirit of the Times. In German, it is the Zeitgeist.

The German word Zeitgeist is often used as a synonym for the Spirit of the Times.

The English poet and literary critic Matthew Arnold introduced the term Zeitgeist into the English language in 1848. Zeit gives us an identity and a name to a range of concurrent, observable, and often irrational phenomena, often observed by many, and yet not immediately traceable to the source. Now I want to read that carefully. Zeitgeist gives an identity and a name to a range of concurrent, observable, and often irrational phenomena observed by many, and not yet immediately traceable to their source. In other words, people know something is dreadfully wrong, but they can't quite identify what it is. In short, there's a spirit at work that most people are not aware of. With peoples and nations, the causes of the Zeitgeist can be traced with reasonable confidence, but the same forces that brought the changes desire to hide their role.

They want to do it secretly, and then as they slowly take away all of your freedoms, lest the people rise up and resist what is happening to them. Most people bury their head in the sand. They really don't know what is happening to them and how slowly we are losing the wonderful land we call America, the home of the free, and the home of the brave, and the land of the free. The people might openly rebel if they knew what it was, but because they have been pressured into resignation, thinking they cannot do anything themselves or say anything. So I can't do anything about this craziness, they think, that is tearing the very fabric of our society apart.

Why does virtually everyone feel so helpless? One of the main reasons they're losing and to some degree have lost one of the key essential tools of self-defense, and that self-defense is being denied, and that causes people to feel virtually helpless. Perhaps the main loss of self-defense is they're losing to some degree and have lost one of those essential tools, and that is the freedom of speech guaranteed by the First Amendment.

Now, living where we live, and a few more words about this later, we live in one of the best places in the world to live at the present time. I hope we recognize that, I hope we realize that, from whatever perspective you want to name, from the government to the climate, to the people, to the societal structure, just about everything that makes up what we call our culture is here for the best. You can hardly find another place on earth that can offer what we are offered, so some of these things we're not even aware of, but the masses are being shifted in a very quick way to a culture that we hardly recognize.

If you publicly or in some cases privately say something that is not politically correct, for example, not in keeping with the woke doctrine that's spelled W-O-K-E, they jump on you like dogs on a fresh kill, fresh meat. The woke movement is defined, perhaps you have heard of this time after time, it's called different things at different times, but the woke movement is defined as, quote, being alert to injustice and discrimination in society, especially racism. Well, did Isaiah prophesy of the fact that judgment has fallen into the streets and truth is a rare commodity today. I'd like for us to turn now to Isaiah 59 in verse 13, which aptly describes what I've just said in Isaiah 59 and beginning in verse 13.

In transgressing and lying against the eternal and departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood, how many lies have been told in the last two or three weeks with regard to the situation in Afghanistan, such a sad tragedy, and it's far from over, and it will continue to plague the nation for years to come.

And judgment has turned away backward, and justice stands afar off, for truth has fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter. Of course, that's one of the great cries of the day is equity, but they're doing the very opposite of what they cry, and it's a paradox. It's an oxymoron for what was cried just a few years ago. Yet truth fails, and he that departs from evil makes himself a prey. He that departs from evil becomes the object of scorn, of ridicule. Oh, look at him! He thinks he knows. Oh, he has a conservative point of view. Doesn't he know this is the 21st century, and so on it goes. And the Lord saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment. And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor. Therefore his arm brought salvation unto him, and his righteousness it sustained him. For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation with his head. And he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak. And that's where we should be, filled with zeal and a garment as a cloak, filled with zeal and ready to do the work of God. The forces that are shaping the spirit of the times, the zeitgeist, own and control the current platforms of mass communications. And it's through the platforms of mass communication that the public is swayed and persuaded to whatever point of view. They are gullible, so gullible, you can't believe that people would believe some of the things that they currently believe. You can't believe that a culture could be shifted so quickly. And as a result of the fact that they fear reprisal, they draw in. They become withdrawn from the battleground. Yet God asked us to be in the arena, and as we have heard today, to fight the good fight of faith. The big media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and many others are able to get away with what they are doing on the grounds that they are private and therefore they can do whatever they please.

They can shut you down. They can make fun of you. They can ridicule you. As a result, they have persuaded millions to be ashamed of their own being, for example, being of a certain race or holding certain values of certain views on social issues. We have a thing raging right now in Texas with regard to the law that has been passed with regard to abortion. After the heartbeat is recognizable, you cannot have an abortion in the state of Texas. Immediately, the Supreme Court of the United States heard it and they said they could not stop the Texas law, and Congress is going to have a hearing on it. One author writes shamefully—this is a quote—what it took of Russian to say it out loud. One author writes shamefully, it took the Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov to state officially what most Americans already know but are afraid to say it, that there is an ongoing war against Americans of European ethnicity. There are many related events, policy statements, media blitzes level against those of certain races and that hold conservative moral, social, and political views. Whereas, just as you go back even five to ten years ago, and it was the cry was equality of the racist, but now it is different.

Some may recall before the last presidential election articles with headlines such as Trump's last stand for white Americans, the clear implication being that with Trump gone, so will be the white race. The main creators of the giant guide—guys, this is incredible—is academia, the intelligentsia of the land, those that are teaching our children from pre-school, kindergarten, all the way up through the highest learning centers of the land and graduate schools and in the think tanks and foundations. So, academia, in addition to academia, politicians, technocrats, corporate CEOs, various celebrities in the media, and others could be added to the list. There is a virtual blitz against all of those who hold views that have made this country what it is—the views that are akin to Scripture. But unbeknownst to the masses is the principle—there's another thing—a principle spirit behind the zeitgeist, the spirit of the times, led by Satan the devil and his demons. We are in a spiritual warfare that you cannot believe. Satan and the demons seem to be far more clever and intelligent than they were during the days of Jesus. Time after time, in the Gospels, you will read of Jesus casting out demons and evil spirits. Do you think Satan and the demons have left planet Earth, or do you think they are very active today?

Let's go now to Ephesians 2 and verse 1. Ephesians 2 and verse 1.

And you hath he quickened, made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins?

Why are you dead in trespasses and sin? Because of Romans 6.23, the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Wherein times pass, you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience, among whom also we all know exceptions.

No, you are not the exception. I'm not the exception. No one is the exception in which we all had our conduct in times past, in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh, and of the mind, and where by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

But God, who is rich in mercy for his great love, wherewith he has saved us, even when we were dead in trespasses and sins. Jesus Christ, God the Father sent Jesus Christ, and he came on the scene, and he paid the price so that we could be liberated truly. If the sun makes you free, you shall be free indeed. God, through his reveal, word warns us time after time to be aware of the spirit that now tends to control the thinking, and thus the behavior of the masses. They are not even aware of the fact that they are being led by Satan and his demons. Yes, Satan and the demons seem to be far more sophisticated than they were during the days of demons. You hardly hear of any religious denomination casting out demons, except for the Catholic Church. They have exorcists. They have even advertised on Drudge Report that the Catholic Church is in search of exorcists because of the demon activity that is so great in the land today. Yet it's as if the masses are not even aware of it. In 2 Corinthians 4, verse 4, it clearly says that Satan is the God of this present evil age, that Satan has blinded the minds. Most people are not even aware of Satan. Yes, Satan is alive on planet earth. I shall now read 2 Corinthians 4, verse 4.

In whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them, which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. Paul says, we preach not ourselves. Paul preached Christ in him crucified.

Paul preached so many things that pertain to God and Christ, leaving us a record that we should follow therein. Revelation 12, 9, that we're familiar with, we could practically, everyone in this room could quote, hopefully, that Satan is deceiving the whole world. Now let's go to 1 Peter, chapter 5, verse 8, another warning by one of the apostles who traveled with Satan and slept with Jesus Christ on his journeys throughout Judea during his earthly ministry. In 1 Peter 5, verse 8, be sober, be vigilant. This word, vigilant and sober, is most often especially vigilant. Vigilant is translated watch 25 times. It's used 26 times or 27 times in the whole New Testament, and 25 of those times is translated as watchful. Be watchful. Realize, not like the woke movement whose sole target is to destroy the culture that made this nation, to whatever degree it was, great, great. At least most people could walk down the street in their communities and not be afraid.

Today you don't know where the next bullet is coming from, and I'll quote something a little later about that. We feel so uncertain, so anxious. So both of these words, sober, vigilant, more aptly translated as wakeful or watchful in this case, be sober, be watchful, because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about seeking whom he may devour. None of us is an exception. We're all subject to the whims of the devil. We're now in a perfect storm where the forces of evil are raging with impunity. Proverbs 30, in verse 11 through 14, describes this time very aptly, Proverbs chapter 30 and beginning in verse 11. Proverbs 30 and verse 11, there is a generation that curses their father. You're familiar with the scripture in Isaiah that says that children are their oppressors and women rule over them. Also, it says in Isaiah 3 in that same chapter that God looked for leadership in the land, but he could find none. Don't tell me that I'm a leader now. I don't want to be a leader. Of course, every person that assumes any kind of leadership role immediately becomes the object of scorn, especially if they try to go in the right way. There's a generation that curses their father and does not bless their mother. There's a generation that are pure in their own eyes and yet is not washed from their filthiness.

They don't realize how ugly, how bad, how filthy they really are. There is a generation who will have lofty eyes, and their eyelids are lifted up. There is a generation whose teeth are as swords, and we have a world that is filled with those, and their jaws and their jaw teeth as knives to devour the poor from off the earth and the needy from among men. We have all of those manifested at this present time. Isaiah did so aptly write, woe unto those who call evil good and good evil.

The apostle John warns us to try the spirits. Let's go down to 1 John, and we'll see that. Of course, John is called the apostle of love, and he writes a great deal about love, but he defines love as, for this is the love of God, that we should keep his commandments, and his commandments are not grievous. And the apostle John warns us to be wary of all of the spirits that are extant in the world. There are many false prophets, false spirits that have gone out into the world.

Beloved, believe not every spirit. This is 1 John 4, verse 1. Beloved, believe not every spirit.

But try the spirits, whether they are of God. How do you try the spirits? Well, two of the main ways would be Isaiah 8.20. If they speak not according to the law and testimony, it is because there is no truth in them. Or it could be 1 John 2, verse 4.

He who says he knows me and keeps not my commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. And of course, there are many other ways you can tell. You can test the spirits as well.

Hereby know with the Spirit of God. So how can you tell every spirit confesses that Jesus Christ is not coming, is present, progressive, and the tense coming in the flesh is of God. See, Jesus Christ should be coming in each one of us. The words that I speak, they are spirit in their life. See, there is another spirit that we can tune into, and that is the Spirit of God.

Romans 8.14 says, he that is led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. They are not led by the false spirits. Verse 3, in every spirit and confesses not that Jesus Christ is coming in the flesh, is not of God. And this is that Spirit of Antichrist, whereof we have heard that it should come, and even now already is it in the world, you are of God, little children. So you have the Spirit of God. You have the power to overcome the forces that have been unleashed on an unsuspecting world.

All they love to have it that way is Jeremiah writes, they love to have it that way. They like their so-called freedom, but they are not free at all, like Paul writes in Romans chapter 6, you are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. They are of the world, therefore speak they of the world, and the world hears them.

We are of God, he that knows God hears us. And what did Paul, what did John, what did Paul, what did Peter, what did the apostles preach? They preach the Word of God. What is truth? Thou yore, sanctify them through your word. Your word is truth. He, we are of God. He that knows God hears us. He that is not of God hears not us. Hereby know we the Spirit of truth and the Spirit of error. Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone that loves is begotten of God and knows God.

And that love is the love that is defined, as I said, in 1 John 5 and verse 4. 1 John 5 defines love as, for this is the love of God, that we should keep his commandments. It's 1 John 5.3, and his commandments are not grievous. Jesus warns us to discern the times and to watch. You know, a lot of people talk, well, and we'll read a scripture about this a little later.

I don't want to hear about the world and what's going on in the world. I just want to be rocked to sleep on the Sabbath. I want to be out of this world. Well, what did Jesus say about discerning the times in which we lived, and what should be our response to the times in which we live?

In Matthew 16 verse 1, the Pharisees, also with the Sadducees, the Pharisees believed in the resurrection, the Sadducees did not, both were in error, came and tempting desire in him that he would show them a sign from heaven. He answered and said unto them, When it is evening you say it will be fair weather, for the sky is red, and in the morning it will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and lowering. Oh, you hypocrites, you can discern the face of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times.

Can we discern the signs of the times, or do we have our heads buried in the sand? In Luke 21. Luke 21 is Luke's account of the Olivet prophecy. So let's go to Luke 21 and see what Christ says himself. Again, that was him speaking there, you cannot discern the times. You can discern the weather, but you can't discern the times. What's wrong with you? In Luke 21 and verse 25.

Luke 21 25. And there shall be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars. That's when the sixth seal is opened that you heard about this morning. And upon the earth, distress of nations, perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring, men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

See, Satan is now the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience, like we read from Ephesians 2. Those powers are going to be shaken. Satan is going to be cast down. His activity will be greatly increased. There shall be great tribulation, such as never was since the beginning of time.

And then shall they see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of glory. Therefore, look at verse 35. Luke 21 and verse 35. For as a snare shall it come upon them and they dwell on the face of the earth. Watch you therefore, discern the times, watch you therefore, and pray always, that you may be accounted worthy to escape. And we heard this morning a scripture from Revelation chapter 12 that some will be protected. There will be a way of escape from God's wrath at that time, that you shall be counted worthy to escape those things that shall come to pass and to stand before the Son of God.

Let's note the example of the sons of Issachar. Issachar was one of the sons of Jacob, one of the tribes of Jacob. Issachar and his family, his tribe discerned the signs of the times in the day that Israel decided to make David the king of all of Israel. Look at 2 Chronicles. No, it's 1 Chronicles. 1 Chronicles 12 and verse 32.

1 Chronicles 12 and verse 32. Jesus said that we should discern the times, the sons of Issachar, and their day discern the signs of the times. And notice what it says.

1 Chronicles 12 and 32. And the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times. How in the world would they have understanding of the times? Was it because they buried their heads in the sand that they ignored what was going on? They knew that David should be made the king of all of Israel. You see, David at first was king only of Judah and Benjamin. Then he became king of all 12 tribes. The children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times to know what Israel ought to do, the heads of them were 200, and all their brethren were at their command.

And so the 12 tribes at that time made David king over all of Israel. Do you want to hear just smooth things with your head buried in the sands, living in a state of denial?

Oh, we've heard it all before. No, you haven't heard it all before. Even the apostle Paul, who was taught by Jesus Christ himself, said, we see through a glass dimly, darkly now, even after having been taught by Jesus Christ. It is not that difficult to discern. Be aware of and accept the challenges we face as God's watchmen. Are we serving as watchmen? Are we sighing and crying? Look at Ezekiel. In Ezekiel chapter 9, what should we do at this time?

We've heard people, and we know the verse, I think, very well, but we shall read it in Ezekiel chapter 9 and verse 1. It's a very weighty passage of Scripture in Ezekiel chapter 9.

In Ezekiel chapter 9, he cried also in mine ears with a loud voice, saying, cause them that have charge over the city, the leadership, to draw near even every man with his destroying weapon in his hand. And six men came forth to the higher gate which lies toward the north, and every man a slaughter weapon in his hand. You see, when God does bring about judgment, as you heard in the sermonette this morning, he's not just playing around.

He's not just playing around. And one man among them was clothed with linen, with a writer's inkhorn by his side, and they went in and stood beside the brazen altar. And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the carob, whereupon he was to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed with linen that had the writer's inkhorn in his side. And the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof. And to the others, he said in mine hearing, Go you after him through the city, and smite, let not your eyes spare, neither have you pity. Slay utterly old and young, both maids, men and women, little children and women, but come not near any man upon whom is the mark. How did you get the mark? You got the mark by sighing and crying, by discerning the times, by praying, by studying, by pouring out your heart, your being. What about the fires in California? The fires in California. We have brethren that lived that live in those western states. What about Louisiana? I mean, it makes you cry almost, and some people, I'm sure, do cry when they see the devastation in the New Orleans area. What about the northeast and the floods there?

And then what about all the people with COVID around the world? The U.S. is now averaging 1,100 deaths a day in the U.S., 1,100 deaths a day from COVID. You have pestilence in the land.

Slay utterly everyone that doesn't have the mark and begin where?

At my sanctuary, where I dwell, start there. Then they begin at the ancient men, which were before the house. In other places, it talks about the ancient men doing a sunrise service with their backs toward the east, and they were participating in worshiping the sun god.

Be careful with regard to the spirits.

The long and short account is that Israel and Judah had forgotten God, even saying that God had forsaken the earth. No, God has not forsaken the earth. He's well aware of what is going on. Not even as far off falls the ground unless he's aware of it. The hair on your head are numbered. So God commanded that all with such an attitude, all with such an attitude, that God has gone off somewhere. Be slain both men, women, and children. God commands us to serve as watchmen. The commission is not just to one person. The commission is not just to the ministry. The commission is not just to the home office. The commission is not just to those who do the Beyond Today program. The commission is not just to those who write articles for Beyond Today magazine. The commission is to all of us. Let's notice now Ezekiel 33. Follow it a few pages from chapter 9 to Ezekiel 33. In Ezekiel 33, again, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and say unto them, When I bring this sword upon the land, if the people of the land take a man of the coast, and set him for their watchmen. Now there was in the 60s and 70s a man who went through the book of Ezekiel. He cried aloud, he spared not, his name was Herbert Armstrong, and he covered the book of Ezekiel, basically saying this message was not for then that time in which Ezekiel lived, but for us now. And I've told the story how that one and I went after we began seeking accreditation. This was in the early 80s. The early 80s, we had the state of Texas pass the law that required us to have a certification to be certified to offer degrees, which we secured. We were sort of on the map then of academia, and we received that the deans of the colleges throughout the U.S. received an invitation to Liberty University to celebrate them going from a university, from a college to a university. And so we went. And we at the celebration, John Mourners, U.S. Senator, spoke, and then Falwell spoke. And his main passage was from Esther, in which he quoted the scripture that says, who knows whether you'll come to the kingdom for such a time as this, as Mordecai challenged Esther when the evil Haman plodded his scheme to kill all the Jews. But you could choose to be in academic regalia, cap and gown and all that, and march with the faculty of Liberty or not. I chose not to. At that time, you know, cap and gowns were evil. Somebody had read something about a cap and gown. I don't know who it was. But anyhow, it didn't march. It just so happened. They marched out, and then Wanda and I walked down a long hallway, and we saw this figure out there. And soon we approached the figure, and it was Jerry Falwell, and he came out and greeted us. And he said, well, where are you from? He said, well, we're from Ambassador College. He said, oh, Herbert Armstrong, he's done a great service in the field of prophecy. So this was like 1983. And we chatted for a few minutes.

So God says, I have sent you as a watchman. The watchman's job, verse 3, of when he sees the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet. Oh, we got another trumpet here.

Of course, in Revelation 1.10, trumpet is equated with a voice like you heard this morning. The trumpet that is being sounded in the church is not a shofar, it is not a trumpet of silver. It is the voice of those who cry loud and spare not.

When he sees the sword come in the land and blow the trumpet and warn the people, then whosoever hears the sound of the trumpet and takes not warning, and takes not warning, his blood shall be upon him. But he that takes warning shall deliver his life essence. But if the watchman sees the sword come, blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned if the sword come and take any person from among them, he's taken away in his lawlessness, but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand. So then you, O son of man, I've sent you a watchman into the house of Israel. So you are a watchman. You're the head of your household.

Are you blowing the trumpet in your household? Is the trumpet being sounded throughout the land?

Therefore you shall hear the word in my mouth and warn them from me. We're blessed, as I said earlier, to live where we live. By that I mean right here in this, say, 100-mile radius of Big Sandy, Texas, but especially in this area of a 50-mile radius, we'll say, and it extends to some degree beyond that because of government, because of the economic situation, because of the climate, because of just about any factor that you want to name.

Some countries are already being locked down. New Zealand, they had a couple of people sneeze and they locked down the whole country. Actually, they had two cases of COVID.

In Australia, this is a true story, in Australia, this guy was living in a fancy apartment complex. He decided you're not supposed to get out of the complex.

You're not supposed to even go out in the hall without some kind of need. So he decided to take a little stroll, so he went out in the hall, got on the elevator. They had cameras in the elevator. He sneezed and somebody viewed the film and he became the object of a nationwide manhunt.

I don't know if they caught him or not. It was on the networks, the object of a nationwide manhunt. A large percentage of the peoples of the world realized that things are never going to be normal again.

There were 57 people shot in Chicago over the Labor Day weekend. 57 shot. I mean, they had a bullet plowing to their flesh somewhere. A four-year-old boy was killed.

I saw a picture of this little boy. This little boy looked like a bright, happy youngster. Four years old. His life snuffed out accidentally. A stray bullet hit him. He's dead.

He'll never grow up in this world. Maybe that's a blessing. We can hope and pray that Murrell Haggard's song or the Good Times Over for Good comes true. Now here's Murrell's song. He sings about a world headed downhill like a snowball headed for hell. He laments that the world is headed in the wrong direction. They've forgotten the flag of the country, the Liberty Bell. Then the song takes a dramatic turn, and people return to the Good Times. Sadly, I'm here to say that the Good Times will not return until the great Jubilee trumpet is sounded on the Day of Atonement. So we're taking up the trumpet again.

And Liberty is proclaimed for the whole creation. Look at Romans chapter 8. Romans chapter 8. The whole creation is in dire need of the Day of Trumpets and the Feast of Atonement. In Romans chapter 8 and verse 18. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us, for the earnest expectation of the creation, the whole creation, the whole universe, and we're just a small part of the universe, waits for the manifestation of the sons of God.

For the creation was made subject to vanity, meaning a short time, not willingly, but by reason of Him who has subjected the same in hope. Because the creation itself, even nature, cries out. Now one of the scriptures I'm not going to turn there in Revelation chapter 11 talks about when Christ comes again. He's going to destroy those who are destroying the earth. Yes, the earth is being destroyed. The environment is being wrecked. The Amazon rainforests are disappearing. Yes, there is climate change in a lot of places.

Sad is the use of the political tool.

And yes, the Dead Sea. I mean, not the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea, I guess, is dead, but it's going to become alive if you read Zachariah 14. But the Black Sea is practically dead, almost no life in the Black Sea. For the creation itself groans and travails and pain together until now.

For not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves, groan within ourselves waiting for the sonship to wit to know the redemption of our body.

We're going to be made glorious, radiant Spirit beings. After the fulfillment of this day, the Feast of Trumpets and the Feast of Atonement, the creation will be liberated and restored. The liberty and restoration is associated with the year of Jubilee and the seven-year time cycle. Let's go to Leviticus 25. Leviticus 25. This is very important to prophecy. Many of the students of prophecy believe that the Feast of Trumpets is going to take place and the Day of Atonement I'm going to be talking about in a moment will be fulfilled in the Jubilee year. According to some, the next Jubilee year is 2025.

In Leviticus 25 and verse 8, And you shall number seven sabbaths of years unto you, seven times seven years, forty-nine years, and the space of the seven sabbaths of the year shall be unto you, forty-nine. Then shall you cause the trumpet of the Jubilee to sound on the tenth day, the Day of Atonement, of the seventh month. The Day of Atonement shall you make the trumpet sound throughout all your land. This trumpet is going to sound liberty in the economic sense, in the social sense. Those who have indebted themselves will be set free and Satan the devil, the spirit that now works in the children to disobedience, and his demons will be cast out and locked up for a thousand years.

And you shall hallow the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout all the land, and all the inhabitants thereof it shall be a Jubilee unto you.

And you shall return every man unto his possession. And I ask you to look up the Hebrew word for Jubilee. You shall return every man unto his possession, and you shall return every man unto his family. A Jubilee shall that fiftieth year be unto you. You shall not sow, neither reap that which grows of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it, or your vine undressed.

For it is the Jubilee it shall be holy unto you. You shall eat the increase thereof out of the field. In the year of Jubilee you shall return every man unto his possession. Now every verse in this chapter is devoted to this seven-year time, the seven times seventy, the Jubilee, from verse one through, I think, is verse, what, 52? 55. 55 verses are devoted to it. We can see clearly from Scripture that the Jubilee was declared on the Feast of Atonement.

The Feast of Atonement, of course, comes nine days after the Feast of Trumpets on the tenth day. The Prophet spoke of this day as a day of liberty for humankind and the whole creation, as we noted from Romans 8. Let's notice further from Scripture the wonderful events and its results the year of Jubilee brings to us when the great trumpet is sounded throughout the world.

It will be a worldwide thing. As a church of God has proclaimed on the Day of Atonement, the father of lies and the author of sin will be shut up and bound for a thousand years.

The land will be cleansed in one day. Look at Zechariah, Zechariah chapter 3 verse 6. Of all the prophecies in the Bible that focus on Jubilee and the Day of the Lord and the millennium, it is the book of Zechariah. Zechariah 6, I mean chapter 3. Zechariah 3 verse 6. Zechariah 3 verse 6. And the angel of the Lord confirmed unto Joshua's say, O King James says, protest it. Protest it, and that day didn't mean what it meant and what it means now.

Under the angel of the Lord, confirmed unto Joshua this. Then said the Lord of hosts, if you will walk in my ways, if you will keep my charge, then you also shall judge my house, and you shall keep my courts, and I will give you places to walk among these that stand by.

Now, you see, they were building what is known as the Second Temple, the Restoration Temple, they being Zerababel and Joshua the High Priest. This is Joshua the High Priest that he's speaking to now. Then God sent two prophets on the scene, Haggai and Zechariah, to stir up the spirit of those two beings, one the governor and the other the High Priest. Here now, Joshua the High Priest, you and your fellows said before you, for they are men of sign. Where it says, men wondered, it means the Hebrew is mothath, it means sign, men of sign.

Behold, I will bring forth my servant, the branch. Now, in Zechariah 6, 12, it tells you that the servant, the branch, what will he do? He will build the temple, as in Matthew 16, 18, and I will build my church upon this big rock. For behold, the stone that I have laid before Joshua upon one stone shall be seven eyes. Of course, there are seven churches mentioned in Revelation 2 and 3. Behold, I will engrave the engraving thereof, says the Lord of Hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of the land in one day. What day is that? The day of atonement, when Satan is bound and put away.

In that day, in that day, a prophetic utterance says the Lord of Hosts, shall you call every man his neighbor under the vine and under the fig tree. When does that happen? At the beginning of the millennium. At the beginning of the millennium, see, the reign of Solomon was a type of the kingdom of God in which every man dwelt under his vine and his fig tree.

The same will happen in the millennium. The great trumpet will be blown, and Leviathan, the devil. Satan, the devil, will be removed. Look at Isaiah 21. I mean 27, verse 1. Isaiah 27 in verse 1. I'm already there. Isaiah 27 and verse 1. In that day, the Lord with his sword and great strong sword shall punish Leviathan. The serpent, Leviathan, is identified in Job 41 as he who rules over the children of pride.

As Satan, the devil. Leviathan, the piercing serpent. In Revelation 12.9, he's identified as that old serpent, Satan, the devil. Even Leviathan, that crooked serpent, and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea using figurative symbolic language.

In that day, sing you unto her a vineyard of red wine. I, the Lord, do keep it. I will water it every moment lest any hurt it. You see the vineyard in Isaiah 5 is Israel. And this is speaking of the Israel of God. God is going to keep the Israel of God. The overall purpose of God is to bring every nation, kindred, race, and tongue into the Israel of God. Now notice verse 12. Remember what I said. This is Satan, the devil. He's going to put away. And it shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall beat off the channel of the river under the stream of Egypt, the Nile, and you shall be gathered one by one, O you children of Israel. And it shall come to pass in that day that the great trumpet shall be blown. What trumpet is the great trumpet? It is the trumpet of Jubilee. The great trumpet shall be blown and they shall come, which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria and the outcast in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the eternal in the holy mount of Jerusalem. And the law shall go forth from Zion and his word from Jerusalem. After this the saints are rewarded, and Satan the devil is bound for a thousand years. Look at Revelation 20. And Revelation 20 and verse 1. We're going to notice something else very interesting about Revelation 20 here. And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the devil of Satan, and bound him a thousand years and shut him into the bottomless pit, shut him up and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more. See this spirit, the spirit of the times, the spirit that works in the children of disobedience, till the thousand years should be fulfilled. And after that he must be loosed a little season. Isn't it interesting that for a thousand years after Satan is bound, you have peace and prosperity for the most part. There are three things to overcome in this world.

Self, the hardest, society, and Satan. Satan is the great deceiver. It's interesting that after a thousand years, verse seven, and when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison and shall go out to deceive the nations. Well, why weren't the nations deceived during the thousand years? Shall go out to deceive the nations. Now see if you really have the law of God written on your inward parts. How on earth would you be deceived after a thousand years of the rule and reign of God and the saints?

The four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, together them together to battle the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breath of the earth and encompassed the camp of the saints about that beloved city, of course, is Jerusalem. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them those that were in the flesh. And the devil that deceived them was cast in the lake of fire in brimstone where the beast and false prophet were cast. Of course, they burned up when everything, when their combustible material was burned. Old King James has and italics are, but it's where they were cast. And shall be tormented day and night forever.

Yes, that influence is going to be bound and the great trumpet will sound. On this day we can and should rejoice. We've heard that today. Rejoice, knowing that our redemption draws nigh. So let us take a glimpse of what is in store for those who are called, chosen, and faithful. We're going to rule and reign on this earth. Look at Revelation chapter 5 verse 6. In Revelation chapter 5, you have the account of the one who is worthy to open the seals. We heard the six seals read from Revelation 6 this morning.

Here we pick up on the one who is worthy to open the seals to the end of the chapter.

I think it gives us insight into what we can look forward to.

Revelation 5, 6, And beheld and lo in the midst of the throne, and of the four creatures, and in the midst of the elders stood a lamb, Jesus Christ, as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes. Remember in Zechariah 3, you saw the seven eyes upon one stone, which are the seven spirits, so the eyes are equated with the seven spirits, sent forth unto all the earth. And of course, the church is to go forth into all the earth. A city sat on the hill that cannot be hidden to proclaim the gospel, make disciples of all nations. And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat on the throne. And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and twenty-four elders fell down before the lamb, having every one of them hearts and golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers of the saints. Now in Revelation 8, it sounds like the prayers of the saints is what turns this thing around, and God begins to intervene. And they sung a new song saying, You are worthy to take the book. See, the book was in the hands of the Father in verse 1.

You are worthy to take the book and open the seals thereof, for you were slain and have redeemed us to God by the blood out of every kindred, tongue, and people, and nation. And have made us unto your God, see unto God kings and priests, and we shall reign on the earth. And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beast, and the elders and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands. Saying with a loud voice, worship are worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessed in honor and glory and power be unto him that sits upon the throne, that's God the Father, and unto the Lamb forever and ever. And the four beasts said, Amen, and the twenty-four elders fell down and worship him that lives forever and ever. After the Feast of Trumpets and the great Jubilee trumpet, when we sounded, and may we all hear that trumpet, we shall all be set free in the year of Jubilee.