Trumpets and Fixing Moral Injury

So, the Feast of Trumpets depicts the great return of Jesus Christ to establish the Kingdom of God on earth. That's what we pray about, that's what we hope for, that's what we think about, the return of Christ and the Kingdom of God being established here on earth. And the Bible reveals a series of literally earth-shaking events that are announced by angels who sound a series of seven trumpet blasts. As we know, it all culminates in the blast by the trumpet of the seventh angel, the seventh trumpet, signifying that the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdom of our God, of our Lord and Jesus Christ, of our Lord and Christ. It's in Revelation, Chapter 11. So, when the seventh trumpet sounds, this is the time when Jesus Christ returned here to bring peace and offer salvation to all, not just to the first fruits. And of all the prophecies in the Bible, this is perhaps the most exciting for us because it leads to our own resurrection, to spirit life, to immortal life. When the seventh trumpet sounds, that leads to our resurrection, when Christ is our hope. But here's an interesting way to think about the meaning of these holy days, and in this holy day in particular, the Day of Trumpets or the Feast of Trumpets. It's through the concept of healing, healing of this world from moral injury. Moral injury. Injury is a fairly recent term, and it's used to describe a crisis of conscience. Psychologists are coming to realize that soldiers have faced this for centuries. They used to call it shell shock. Now it's often labeled as PTSD, but moral injury is another new term, and psychologists have come to realize soldiers face this in battle. Moral injury is the internal suffering resulting from doing something against your moral code, against your conscience. In essence, it's a wound to your conscience. You do something you know you shouldn't.

So soldiers often face a crisis or injury. In a combat situation, the damage done to a person's mind may result from following or issuing certain orders, or from witnessing something that is deeply offensive to the soldier's moral sense. Some of the symptoms include feelings of guilt, shame, and meaninglessness from knowing he or she has transgressed their heavily held personal beliefs and moral values. And therefore, they've transgressed the very heart and core of what they are. But it's not just something that affects soldiers. The average citizen can commit moral injury, too. So in the sermon here today, we're going to look at the Feast of Trumpets and the concept of moral injury, and we'll be reminded how hope beyond moral injury will be found. And we'll see the ultimate solution is not just for soldiers in battle, but for all of us, and for all of humanity, all who have been affected by various levels of moral injury. So I've titled the message Trumpets and Fixing Moral Injury. Trumpets and Fixed Moral Injury. I've divided the sermon up into four main sections that we'll get to here in a minute. Let me first tell you about Sergeant First Class Marshall Powell. He was serving in Iraq for the U.S. Army. He's now retired, of course, but he tells the story of being diagnosed with moral injury. And let me just read you some excerpts from about him. It was from Guideposts in April of 2017. It was titled, And Iraq Veteran Comes to Turns with Moral Injury. And he says, just after midnight on August 12, 2007, we heard a bomb go off, and trucks pulled up, loaded with casualties. Iraqi civilians, badly burned, blood everywhere, some already dead. We had only 10 beds. There were at least that many casualties. It was on me to decide who would be treated. Basically, who lives and who dies. We tended to the most urgent cases, and nearly an hour passed before I saw her. A tiny Iraqi girl lying on a blanket in the hallway. She couldn't have been more than six years old. Burned, covered in blood, and she was dying, and I could do nothing. She let out deep moans and ease. She had a sweetness to her face that reminded me of my niece. I asked her to ease her suffering, I told myself. This girl's really hurting. I got a syringe filled with morphine, several doses. I set up an IV and pressed dose after dose into it. She smiled at me. I smiled back and told her it was going to be okay. Then she took her last breath and was gone. I killed that little girl. I took her broken body to the morgue, then I went to my office and sobbed. I tried to tell myself I'd done the right thing. But I was besieged with doubt. This innocent child who could have never been in the midst of a war zone. I'd stolen her last moments as if I were God. Yes, there was absolutely nothing we could have done to save her. She was suffering horribly. I knew what I was doing with that with morphine. But wasn't do-no-harm the first principle of medicine? Wasn't my purpose to heal?

Three months later, I was home in Hawaii. I struggled to get back to my old routine. But my work no longer had the same meaning. I was angry all the time. I felt so alone. And one night in my sleep, I saw her, the girl, her face looking up at me just night. And I worked screaming. Night after night, the girl haunted my dreams until I was afraid to go to sleep. There was no one I could talk to. Others hadn't been there. They wouldn't understand. And Sergeant Powell was eventually diagnosed with a haunting moral injury by the doctors. He'd done something that had totally feared his conscience.

This type of story was repeated many times over by soldiers who have had similar feelings of guilt from what they were required to do in a time of war. Of course, this was just one example of many. Hundreds. Thousands. Right? But soldiers are not the only ones affected by a moral injury.

Numerous psychological studies have revealed that most people are full of doing terrible things to one another. In fact, some studies have concluded that given the right circumstances, like starvation, national catastrophe, or your own family being threatened, the average person, they say, is just six days away from committing murder.

And so I guess, you know, if there's no food, there's no gas, but you've got home, you've got your stash of my Patriot supply or whatever, right? You've got your water, but the neighbors notice that you're not getting thin, and they are. So they come and attack you to get your food. You see, the average person is just six days away from defending their family to the point of killing someone. Have you heard of Stanley Milgram? He was an American social psychologist who lived from 1933 to 1984. He's best known for his controversial experiment on obedience. He was conducted in the 1960s during his professorship at Yale University. So Milgram was influenced by the events of the Jewish Holocaust, especially the trial of Adolf Eichmann in developing this experiment. And in an article in American Psychologists in 1990, it summed up Milgram's obedience experiments. Let me quote to you from an American psychologist. In Milgram's basic paradigm, a subject walks into a laboratory believing that she or he is about to take part in the study of memory and learning. After being assigned the role of a teacher, the subject is asked to teach word associations to a fellow subject, who in reality is a collaborator of the experiment. The teaching method, however, is unconventional, administering increasingly higher electric shocks to the learner. Once the presumed shock level reaches a certain point, the subject is thrown into a conflict. On the one hand, the learner demands to be set free. He appears to suffer pain in going all the way, may pose a risk to his health. On the other hand, the experimenter, if asked, insists that the experiment is not as unhealthy as it appears to be, and that the teacher must go on. In sharp contrast to the expectations of professionals and laymen alike, some 65% of all subjects can see shocks up to the very highest levels. So, you see, whenever the student made an error in the answer, the teacher, who was being, you know, they were experimenting on this person, the teacher was told to press a lever to shock the student. For each mistake, levels of shock would be increased up to a dose of 450 volts, which is really only imaginary. They really were told that the teacher was told, you know, could be lethal. And at the teacher's side, a researcher in a long white coat, standing calmly and confidently with an air of authority, commanded the teacher to administer and increase the shocks. But it was all a setup. In reality, both the student and the researcher were paid actors, and nobody shocked. But what about the teachers, the two subjects of the experiment? All the volunteer teachers shocked the students repeatedly, and 65% went all the way to what was to be a lethal shock level. Despite the screams and pleas from the student actor to start. So this experiment horrified the average citizen because it seemed to demonstrate that the average person was not too different from citizens of World War II, who participated in atrocities there under the command of the Nazis. It became clear that otherwise good and responsible people could be induced to act against their conscience and injure or potentially kill others.

And the experiment has been replicated many times, with others, including you may have heard of the Stanford Prison experiment. There's quite a bit online about that. So what would you do?

Would you follow authority no matter what? Would you allow your mind to rationalize a way such conscience-searing events? Of course, in the Church of God we pray that we would do differently, right? Being led by God's Spirit. It's about having a seared conscience. And it's not a good thing. As we know, look at 1 Timothy 4, verses 1 and 2, if you will. Let's turn to 1 Timothy 4. Read verses 1 and 2. 1 Timothy 4, verses 1.

Now, the Spirit expressly, in the end days, some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared like with a hot iron. So people will do things in the latter days that are unthinkable, searing their conscience, kind of like committing moral input to themselves. Titus chapter 1, verse 15, says something similar. Titus chapter 1 and verse 15, verse 16, "...to the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure, but even their minds and conscience are defiled." So citizens are capable of doing horrific things and in the heat of battle, in war, we see people capable of doing terrible things to other human beings and searing their conscience. Sometimes soldiers perform actions that they later find hard to explain and become consumed with guilt and regret. In times of even outside of war, people can act against their moral code. For example, a mother who can't provide for a family, a poverty-stricken mother may abandon her starving children and then live to regret it, having feared her moral beliefs, knowing that she was the one responsible for her children's well-being. A drug addict may end up supporting a drug habit, knowing that the crime was a moral affront and carry the guilt that goes with it. Or even an office worker may fabricate documents or outright lie for fear of losing his or her job, knowing full well that it was morally wrong and then live with the guilt. Our world has experimented for 6,000 years and take the knowledge of good and evil. It's been a very sad ride for 6,000 years. It's been a painful experiment. A lot worse than fake 450 volt shocks. It's been a painful experiment for 6,000 years since Adam and Eve. And the world has become injured, morally injured. The example of moral injury from the Bible is that of King David.

With Uriah and Bathsheba, King David committed murder against Uriah that would haunt him for the rest of his life. Neither would be that of Judas Iscariot, who was so remorseful that he committed suicide after betraying Jesus. How about Peter's denial of Jesus during the crucifixion? Peter wept bitterly and needed forgiveness. Our world has been very much injured, and people have feared their conscience for the last 6,000 years, doing things that sometimes are unthinkable. So I have four points here for think about regarding the day of trumpets, the Feast of Trumpets. And the first one is, Trumpets, the ultimate solution. Trumpets, the ultimate solution. What is the ultimate solution to the pain, suffering, and moral injury humankind has inflicted upon one another for millennia? And how will the healing of the mind... Let's turn to Leviticus chapter 23, if you would. The excitement of this holy day, picturing monumental end-time events, is captured in the symbolism of the trumpet. And ancient Israel celebrated it with a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts. Leviticus chapter 23, we see why... Starting in verse 23. Leviticus 23, 23. Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, verse 24, speak to the children of Israel, saying, in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, that's today, the seventh month, the first day of the seventh month, you shall have a Sabbath rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a Holy Spirit. That's why we're meeting together today for a worship service, a holy convocation. In verse 25, you shall do no customary work on it, and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. So on the first day of the seventh month, on God's calendar, the Hebrew calendar, that's today, that's why we're here. And God instructed ancient Israel to use trumpets, say, important messages. The sounding of one silver trumpet meant a meeting was to be held of the leaders of Israel. Two blasts of the silver trumpet was a gathering of all the people. You can read about the various uses of the trumpet in Numbers chapter 10.

Trumpets were also used to give a festive sound.

Numbers 10.10 tells us, also in the day of your gladness, in your appointed feasts, and at the beginning of your months you shall blow the trumpets, and there shall be a memorial for you before your God. So it's kind of a triumphant blast. But trumpets are not just for calling meetings. They're also used to sound a warning, an alert of impending warfare. And that's how we see the trumpet blast being used in the end time, the last seven trumpets. It's a warning, an alert of impending danger. Numbers 10 verse 9 states, when you go to war in your land against the enemy who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets. That's when you sound an alarm, a time of war. So trumpets had various uses in ancient Israel for calling meetings, for festive occasions, and for a warning, or a warning of an impending war. And with their ability to transmit sound over great distances, trumpets in ancient times were excellent instruments for attracting people's attention. And so that brings us to this day, when a trumpet will sound, announcing Jesus' return and the possibility for all of humanity to be healed from all kinds of moral injuries and seared consciences. And this truly will be the ultimate solution to the pains of this world. Trumpets is the ultimate solution. And as you said for many years in the church, the solution to humanity's problems is spiritual in nature, not physical. It's a spiritual problem that this world has. And we'll get back to the idea of the Feast of Trumpets in a moment and look further into our first point, the ultimate is trumpets. But I want to go to point two, which is the spiritual solution. Because, as we said for many years, it's a spiritual problem this world has. So, number two, the spiritual solution.

What's the spiritual perspective to moral injury?

Large studies have been undertaken by psychotic goal of finding a cure or way of healing moral injury, particularly at army medical centers, trying to help soldiers who have seared their conscience with what they had to do during war. They're trying to find a way to heal these soldiers of the problem. And major developments in the spiritual perspective on moral injury have been credited to a lady named Rita Nakash and Gabriella Latini. And they emphasize moral injury as, quote, souls in anguish, not a psychological disorder.

It's their conscience that their soul, they say, that is in anguish. It's not a psychological disorder. They say this occurs when veterans struggle with a lost sense of humanity after transgressing deeply held moral beliefs. Now, it's not just a struggle for military veterans. Research by Dr. Lindsay Carey at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia, and Tim Hodgson at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, they claim that clergy and chaplains in particular have a key role with regard to moral injury and spiritual care. They read an article published in the Journal of Religion and Health, out in 17. It was titled, Moral Injury and Definition of Clarity, Betrayal, Spirituality, and the Role of Chaplains. If you ever want to find it, it's in Volume 56, issue 4, pages 1212 to 1228. The Journal of Religion and Health, okay. It was titled, Moral Injury and the Role of Chaplains, basically. Their views that spirituality should be a core component for understanding, defining, and addressing moral injury. It also supports the role of chaplains being involved in the holistic care and rehabilitation of those affected by moral injury. So they see religion being help to those who have suffered moral injury. You see, they even acknowledge that it's eventually a spiritual matter that has to be dealt with. It's of the mind. It's a seared conscience. And so U.S. Army chaplains, particularly at the U.S. Army Medical Department Center and School, are addressing the spiritual aspects of moral injury. And together with the chaplain's role, with soldiers, in assisting in the healing process, by teaching and engaging in further research about moral injury. But it's not just about the military. Our entire world needs a great moral healing. And it's a spiritual solution.

It will finally come about on the day pictured by this holy day, the day of Trump, Feast of Trumpets. We saw the command in Leviticus chapter 23 for us to observe the Feast of Trumpets. But now let's take a look at some New Testament verses about this solution, beginning with 1 Thessalonians chapter 4.

We've got some passages here from the Thessalonians, Corinthians, and Revelation that talk direct when the seventh trumpet sounds. 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, verses 16 and 17.

Chapter 4 verse 16, For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, with the trumpet of God. And here's our hope. The dead in Christ will rise first, and those who are alive and rich, together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we, we, shall always be with the Lord. So this in particular is our hope on this day of Trumpets.

We will always then be with the Lord. We will meet Him in the air as He descends from heaven. 1 The Apostle Paul also spoke of the day when the first fruits will be resurrected to a mortal life in 1 Corinthians chapter 15. We'll just read two of the verses there. Verses 51 and 52. 1 Corinthians 15, 51. 2 Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep. We're not going to all remain in the grave, but we shall all be changed. How? In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised. The dead will be raised incorruptible, and we too shall be changed. Those who are alive and those who are dead in Christ will be changed at the last trumpet. So the awakening blast of the last trumpet will literally wake up the dead. Quite an alarm clock, right? You wake out of quite a sleep. 2 And the Apostle John associated the blowing of a trumpet with Christ's return into 11 verse 15. Revelation 11 verse 15.

3 And the seventh angel sounded his trumpet. So we've gone through the first six, which is all part of this day of trumpets as well. I'm not going to talk about the first six trumpets, but as you know, lots of woes and plagues upon the earth were mankind's disobedience. The seventh angel sounds his trumpet. And of course, we could do a whole sermon on the first six and what those mean. But the seventh angel sounded his, and there were loud voices in heaven saying, The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever. So these passages dramatically attest to the significance of the final trumpets. And it brings about a spiritual fix to moral injury facing our world. A new society will be born. Christ will rule from Jerusalem with the saints. And his spirit and truth will fill the earth as the waters cover the sea. Of course, that more defeats the tabernacles. But this is how moral injury will be overcome. And it's a spiritual solution. It's the return of Jesus Christ and his rule on earth. Now, part three I've called overcoming moral injury with the law of God. Overcoming moral injury with the law of God. Because when Jesus returns, everybody's not just going to do whatever they want. There's going to be rules put in place that everybody has to follow. Of course, we know what those rules are. We're trying to live by those rules ourselves now. Whereas much of humanity is not, and they're going their own way, as we read. The point is through overcoming moral injury with the law of God. So how is moral injury treated by psychologists?

What do they believe is the best treatment today?

Well, military veterans have found support, of course, by meeting with other veterans who've had similar issues, either one-on-one in a group. But they have found that a chaplain or clergy or a minister can offer guidance, because it's a spiritual problem. Some veterans have turned to public speaking and writing about it, trying to make sense of what happened. And they've found that prayer and meditation provide spiritual reassurance to them. But even I know, the only way to true moral recovery is actually contained in this holy day of trumpets, and in particular the seventh trumpet, because it's the time of restoration of all things. Read about that in Acts chapter 3. The restoration of all things, which includes the restoration of the law of God. When Jesus Christ returns, all the nations, all of mankind, will have to follow a set of law of God. That's the solution. It's the removal of sin and installation of a new way of doing things. Once again, it's a spiritual solution. Let's turn to Nehemiah chapter 8, if you would with me. It's a passage in the book of Nehemiah that explains this perfectly. You may recall that the Jews from Babylon were allowed to return and restore the city of Jerusalem. Because of their disobedience, of course, the Jews were taken away to Babylon for 70 years. And they're allowed to return and restore the city of Jerusalem at the end of that 70 years. Look at Nehemiah chapter 8 verse 1.

Now all the people gathered together and in the open square that was in front of the water gate, and they told Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded Israel. Now, of course, remember, the nation had forgotten all about the law of God, the law of Moses. They'd gone into captivity in Babylon and were putt forgotten the law of God, because they'd forgotten the law of Moses.

They were punished for it. And so they told Ezra to bring out the law. Verse 2. So Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly of men and women and all who could hear with understanding on the first day of the seventh month. What day did they decide to bring out the law and read it? Day of Trumpets. First day of the seventh month, God inspired them to bring out the law and read it.

Verse 3. Then he read from it in the open square. It was in front of the water gate from morning until midday. So it was a long church service, okay? You need your coffee that day to stay awake. They started reading the law before the men and women and those who could understand before the men and women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law.

It was almost like they'd never heard this before, because many of them, quite honestly, had not heard it before. In the seventies in Babylon, there was a loss to them. Verse 4. So Ezra the scribe stood on a platform of wood which they had made for the purpose, and beside him at his right hand stood lots of important people. You see all the names there? I'm not going to try to read all those people that stood there. Verse 5. And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people, and when he opened it, all the people stood up.

And Ezra blessed the Lord the great God that all the people answered, Amen, Amen, while lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground. Verse 7. Also, lots of other important people helped the people to understand the law, and the people stood in their place. Verse 8. So they read distinctly from the book in the law of God, and they gave the sense to understand the reading. So a sense of understanding came to the people of what they were reading what it was all about.

Verse 9. And Nehemiah, who was the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites, who taught the people, said to all the people, quote, This day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn, nor weep, who wept when they heard the words of the law. So it seems like they just figured out this was all happening on a holy day, and it was the Feast of Trumpets. And they cried. They wept when they realized what had just been revealed to them.

They had the law of God revealed to them on the day of trumpets, and they wept. Verse 10. Then he said to them, Eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared. For this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. Look at verse 13. Now the next day, the second day, the heads of the fathers' houses of all the people with the priests and Levites were gathered to Ezra the scribe in order to understand the words of the law.

So then they started to read some more. Verse 14. And they found written in the law, which the Lord had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths during the Feast of the Seventh Month. So now they figured out we're supposed to keep the Feast of Tabernacles, too. So all this is being revealed to them on the day of trumpets and the day after.

Solution to ancient Judah's sins, being captive in Babylon for 70 years, to their anguish, their seared consciences, their moral injury, was pointed out to them on the very day of trumpets.

It's the law of God. That's the solution. It's a return to holiness. They had broken God, forgotten it, and then endured years of suffering, decades of suffering and persecution at the hands of the Babylonians as punishment. And guess what? The law of God will be restored throughout the whole world next time on the day of trumpets, when the seventh trumpet sounds. And Jesus Christ returns to this earth to establish the kingdom of God. It's quite a parallel between Nehemiah chapter 8 on the day of trumpets, realizing that this was the law of God they were to follow, and the day of trumpets when Christ returns, and this whole world will be taught God's law. The books will be as we read for them to understand. The day of trumpets is a pivotal beginning of that. Let's look at Hebrews chapter 8 and read verses 8 through 12 for a moment. Hebrews chapter 8 verse 8.

Hebrews 8, 8. Because God found fault, with behold the days of coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. Verse 9, not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt. Because back then they did not continue in my covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord. In fact, he divorced them, right? Verse 10, but this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel in the end time, says after those days, says the Lord. I will put my mind and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, Know the Lord, because all shall know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more. So the global solution to spiritual healing, to overcoming moral injury, and sin is the instilling of the law of God into humankind's heart, into everyone's heart. And it would begin to be fully realized and to take shape on the day pictured by this feast of trumpets, the return of Jesus Christ, and new society will be born at that time. So part four is, is the end time close? Is the end time close? How soon is all this going to happen when the law of God will be the the law of the land? How close are we to the end time? When will the seventh trumpet blast sound? What are the signals to watch for that lead to this thing being fulfilled and the law of God being restored, finally allowing moral injury to inflict our world no more?

Here at the end of Christ's earthly ministry, the apostles asked him this very question. When will the end be? They said, is it going to be soon? And in response, Jesus laid out a series of events that would lead up to his return. He included religious deception, war, famine, disease, earthquakes, and then great tribulation. Jesus added that the time of his return will be an era of hatred and lawlessness, he said, because setting up to Jesus Christ's return will be a time of great sin and great committing of moral injuries. And then Jesus said to them, this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. Of course, you read about all this in Matthew 24. But he says, the gospel of the kingdom will be preached and then the end will come. And that's one of our greatest goals of the church. It's part of our mission statement as a church to preach the good news of the kingdom. We see the importance of that. He says, after this, the time of great tribulation will come upon humanity. Seven plagues will be poured out on a spinning world with trumpet blasts announcing each one. And you can read about all those trumpet blasts in Revelation 8 and a month later. At the same time, God will send two witnesses to proclaim His truth through a valorous world for three and a half years during the great tribulation. But those witnesses, those two servants of God, are murdered by the government. They don't want to hear it anymore. And these dramatic events all set the stage for the seventh angel's trumpet sounding and Jesus returned to assume role of the governments of the earth. And then, like I said, moral injury will finally become no more. Along with Jesus' return, the Feast of Trumpets signals a resurrection of the dead. Like I said, that's our hope. Our change to immortal life was the hope of early Christians. And it is, of course, our hope we make as well as we understand God's plan. We call it the first resurrection. Outline in Revelation chapter 20, we understand there is at least two more to come. But is this scenario close to being fulfilled? Is the end time close? Let's turn to Romans chapter 8, if you would. In the book of Romans, Paul depicts this resurrection as a glorious deliverer, a glorious deliverance from all kinds of sin and moral injury being committed. Romans 8 verse 19, For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willing with him who subjected it in hope, because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Verse 23, Not only that, but we also, who have the first roots of the spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption and redemption of our body. We, too, are waiting for the redemption for our resurrection. Is this scenario close to being fulfilled? Is the end time close?

Yes, we are seeing already religious deception, war, famine, disease, earthquakes, and other calamities. But the great tribulation has not yet begun, and the beast of revelation has not yet risen. You can see it's not going to happen tomorrow. So should we relax?

Do whatever we want for a while. I actually remember as a kid, this just came to me. Not a good example, but as a child, I'd be 10-11 years old. And of course, we'd hear about the great tribulation, but we taught about a place of safety. And I thought, I'll be good next year. I'll be really good next year so that I get to flee with the church. So I kind of get away with a few things for now. I'll do it tomorrow, right? I'll be good tomorrow. I'll be good next year. When I'm 12, then I'll be good, because I know it's not happening tomorrow. Should we relax?

Well, actually, for each of us, the time of the end may come with us failing to take our next breath. You don't know how long you have. So the end time is very close for all of us, for us to be right with God, to be following His law, to be living according to His way. We have to live each day in holiness and in readiness for our call to eternal life. We have to live with a pure conscience now, filled with the Holy Spirit.

Let's read Hebrews chapter 9 verse 13. Hebrews chapter 9 verse 13. This is 13 and 14.

About our conscience and our mind and the things we may do to commit injury against the law of God. Hebrews 9 verse 13, For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling in the unclean sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

The sacrifice of Jesus Christ is extremely important to us and not to be taken lightly for our sins. The blood of Jesus Christ, our Savior, is what cleanses our conscience. We read here. It's what cleanses our sins. It's what cleanses us from immorality and form of moral injury. Incredibly, when Jesus Christ returns to the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, the nations of the earth will fight against Him. When God, when Christ returns, they don't want it. The earth says, no, stay where you are. Don't come back. Let's read about it in Revelation chapter 19.

You'll recall that Zechariah chapter 14 talks about this great battle against Christ, and so does Revelation chapter 19. Revelation 19-19. And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gather to make war against him who sat on the horse. It's Jesus Christ on the horse. To make war against him who sat on the horse and against his army. Verse 20 didn't go so well for the beast. The beast was captured, and with him the false prophet. Of course, the false prophet is a leader of a great false end-time church. The beast was captured together with the false prophet signs in his presence before miracles, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshipped his image. And these two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. Why would anyone want to fight against the Messiah? After all, doesn't this day of trumpets picture the liberation of humanity? But no. The devils will be great and inspire the nations to fight against Christ when he returns. Satan will encourage humanity to commit the worst of moral crimes against their conscience and battle Jesus Christ to sear their consciences. When mankind finally realizes what he's been a part of, it has to be then a sense of guilt and moral failing to follow. Repentance will be necessary for fighting God, and will take a lot of healing and forgiveness of humanity. As the first group to understand this plan God has for the world, we must take our calling seriously. We must take the knowledge we have and the understanding of the meaning of the day of trumpets and act upon it. We must have a clean conscience and remove sin and all types of moral impurity that can endure our mind. We have to live in holiness.

Let's turn to Hebrews chapter 9, a final passage I'd like to turn to. Hebrews chapter 9 verses 19 through 22. Hebrews 10 verse 19. Hebrews 10-19. Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus, verse 20, by a new and living way, a new way when we accept the blood of Jesus Christ, a new and living way which He consecrated for us through the veil that is His flesh, and having a high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. We have to live a pure life with a pure conscience, not doing anything that we'll see our conscience.

So as we conclude, let me share with you just one more story of moral injury. It's a true story.

And it's from the Washington Post from March 2015.

The journalist is Thomas Gibbon. It's called, Haunted by their Decisions in War.

It says, in the short overnight ops, sometimes we've talked about things we knew we'd carry home.

On a cold night in March 2010, Jeff brought up the kid he'd shot a month earlier when the battle for the Afghan city of Marjah was hot, and there was no shortage of 15-year-olds picking up collisioner cars off the ground. Jeff had killed one of them with four shots from a heavy caliber semi-auto that made a sob-bolt released. The kid had a rifle, and even kids with rifles can kill Marines, Jeff had figured. That was five years ago. Jeff doesn't bring up the story anymore. The story of the kid Jeff shot stuck with him. It grew and matured just as Jeff had until one J. Jeff sat on his bed with a loaded rifle across his lap, staring at a part of his life, and he could not understand. I'm not crazy, he told me, and I knew he wasn't crazy. Ten years ago, we would have just called it Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. 60 years ago, it would have been combat fatigue. And the shell-raked trenches of the Western Front, it would have been shell shock. But Jeff's dead kid was none of those things. Jeff's weight was something else. Moral injury.

So we see that even though tragic events lie ahead, the good news is that God will intervene to save humanity and guide humanity into an abundant way of life, free of these kinds of moral injuries. Jesus Christ was at the sound of the 7th Trump to raise us, his followers, from death and establish God's perfect rule over the earth, putting an end finally to war at all times, a sin and moral injury. And this is the wonderful, inspiring meaning of the Feast of Trumpets. Christ taught us to pray to the Father, like Him, and we know we must pray for God's Kingdom to come every day. How urgently we need the answer to that prayer. How urgently we need the sound of the 7th Trumpet and the healing of this world from sin and all kinds of moral injury.