Why Trumpets?

[Greg Thomas] Well, thank you, Mr. Blakey, and happy Feast of Trumpets to all of you. I feel sorry for Mr. Blakey up here, because if you've ever been in that kind of situation, it feels like an eternity. It may have only been a minute or two, but when you're up here and you're waiting for the music to start, or the slide to advance, or the video to start that you want to show, it seems like years are going by. Everyone's looking at you wondering when you're going to get started. So thank you so much. It's very beautiful and I appreciate the fine, inspiring music today that we had in both the Offertory and in our special music.

Well, this is the Feast of Trumpets, and the Scriptures have a lot to say about the Feast of Trumpets, which are rich in both spiritual meaning and prophecy. We could go on and on. Perhaps of all the Holy Days, this Holy Day is just rich in a phenomenal layer upon layer of events and prophecies that will be fulfilled. Obviously, we can't cover them all today, but we'll cover some. Let's begin by looking at God's instruction about this day. We're going to go to Leviticus 23, verse 1, a Scripture we read quite often.

It is a seminal part of our religious belief, and we continue to do these things and observe these days because they're part of the New Covenant. When you look in the book of Acts, you see that Paul observed these days. When you look in the book of 1 Corinthians, you see that Paul is telling Gentiles of all people to continue to observe the days of unleavened bread. Because they still have rich and wonderful meaning for us in the New Covenant. That's why we observe them. We follow the example of Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul and the early Christian Church in observing these days.

Leviticus 23, verse 1, "And the Lord said to Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, The Feast of the Lord" (Leviticus 23:1-2). That's so important because these are God's feasts. They're not the Feast of the United Church of God. They're not Greg Thomas's feast. They're not your feast. These are the Feast of the Lord. That alone should tell us how important they are from God, considering who they came from and who owns these feast days.

"Which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations"—gatherings in which people are set apart from the world. And that's exactly what we're doing right now. "Proclaim to be holy convocations. These are my feasts," God says. "They belong to me" (Leviticus 23:2). I have ownership of them.

And I think for anyone who begins to get a religious interest in God, one of the first questions they should ask themselves is, Well, now that I believe in this great supreme being in the heavens, how does he desire to be worshipped? It shouldn't be the question, well, how does the world worship this God? Or what's my opinion on worshipping this God? How does he want to be worshipped and honored and glorified? And God makes that statement very clear here in calling these his feasts.

So let's quickly recap the feasts that occurred as this calendar year began in the Hebrew calendar. And we'll just quickly go over a few things before we move down to verse 23 and talk about the Feast of Trumpets today. We had the Passover, and the Passover, of course, reminds us that our Savior Jesus Christ came to this earth, lived a perfect life. He was killed, and he shed his blood for the sins of all humankind. And he told his disciples, "I will not leave you orphans." So I'm leaving. "I will not leave you orphans. I will not abandon you" (John 14:18).

And that was a promise that is fulfilled a few holy days later when the Church receives the gift of the Holy Spirit, that same spirit that the Father and Son share together, have been given to us as individuals as they make our homes within us. And so we observed the Passover when we began this year in the spring.

And that was followed by the Days of Unleavened Bread. And we understand that leaven is a symbol, a symbolic of sin. And we make a sincere effort to look at our lives, to do some self-examination, and to remove sin from our lives. And we realize through that process that sanctification is a process. It's a lifetime of growing and learning and changing, spiritually maturing, a lifetime of examining ourselves to become more like Jesus Christ and to develop the mind of Christ. So sanctification is the process, step by step, of becoming holy, becoming like God.

And then, during that feast, we had the wave-sheaf offering. Jesus Christ was resurrected. And as our high priest and complete sacrifice, he went to the Father on our behalf. And we worship a living Savior. We do not worship a dead one hanging on a cross or buried in a tomb. We worship a living Savior, Jesus Christ, who was the ultimate wave-sheaf offering. And during that time, a countdown began for 50 days to arrive at the Feast of Pentecost.

Then we observe the Feast of Pentecost as God's people. It reminds us that the Holy Spirit was given to the Church in 31 A.D. And this began the spiritual firstfruits of the New Covenant for those who were called by the Father into the faith on the Day of Pentecost. So those are the holy days that occurred this year, as every year, before we get to the Feast of Trumpets.

Now let's drop down to verse 23. Here in Leviticus 23, it says, "Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 'Speak to the children of Israel, saying: In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a sabbath-rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord'" (Leviticus 23:23–25).

Now in the New Covenant, we are living sacrifices. We didn't come here with offerings and sacrifices because we're the sacrifice. We have God's Spirit dwelling in us, either dwelling in us or God's Spirit working with us, everyone in this room, one of those two. And because of that, we are a living sacrifice. There's no need to bring sacrifices here today.

Verse 24, I'm going to quote from the Holman Christian Standard Bible: "Tell the Israelites: In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you are to have a day of complete rest, commemoration, and joyful shouting."

So that's how we really should feel this day. It's as a sacred assembly. So again, I want to emphasize a joyful shouting. Are we joyful this day? I hope we are, because this day represents some very significant things that are going to occur in the future. We'll be talking about a few of those in just a few minutes.

This word "memorial," I want to focus on that just for a second. In the Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge, it says, quote, a memorial—and it's from the Greek phrase zikron teruah. It's here, it says, “it's rendered a memorial of the blowing of trumpets, properly signifies a memorial of triumph or shouting for joy.” And when we think of all the things that are going to occur represented by this day for you and I and New Covenant believers, we should absolutely, positively be joyful—shouting for joy.

Some scholars suggest that it's a memorial even to the creation of the world, in which the sons of God shouted for joy, as is mentioned in "When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy" (Job 38:7).

Now, there were two types of trumpets blown on this day. One was two silver trumpets. They were used to do a number of things, but also to announce all the feasts, and that's recorded in Numbers 11.

And then there was a ram's horn, a shofar, which was also blown on this day. It had a piercing alarm blast. So, the metal trumpet was more melodic, but the blowing into the horn of that animal is a sharper, piercing blast.

So those were the two types of trumpets used on this day. Get a little drink of vodka here. Ah, that cures all ills.

So, in the Hebrew calendar, you may have noticed there's a long gap of months between Pentecost and the Feast of Trumpets, which is on the first day of the seventh month, which we're observing today. Have you ever wondered why that long period of time? Well, this was to represent to everyone, prophetically, that the return of Christ would not be very soon after the day of Pentecost in 31 A.D.

Months and months go by between Pentecost and Trumpets, but instead, it signifies that the work of the Church would last a few thousand years over a long period of time. And that's why there's so many days between Pentecost and getting to the Feast of Trumpets in the seventh month.

But why a trumpet? Why is this the Feast of Trumpets? Why not the Feast of Violins, or the Feast of Flutes, or some other instrument? That's a good question. And obviously, the loudness of the trumpet represented something very special. And we can understand the importance of this loudness and this piercing trumpet blast from the biblical event of when Israel was brought to Mount Sinai to receive God's law.

So let's go there next to Exodus chapter 19, and we're going to see an example of the trumpet blast. And the trumpet blast, depending on your relationship with God, can be one of the most wonderful things you'll ever hear. If you have the right relationship with God, that trumpet blast can mean resurrection, changing into immortality. If you don't have the right relationship with God, it can be fearful, frightening, horrible. It all depends on our relationship with God.

“Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud” (Exodus 19:16).

So this is a piercing trumpet blast. They're prepared to meet God. They're, frankly, terrified. They're very frightened.

“So that all the people who were in the camp trembled. And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly” (Exodus 19:16–18).

You can imagine these carnal people who did not have the Holy Spirit, except for Moses and perhaps a few leaders—they were terrified. They were afraid.

“And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice” (Exodus 19:19).

Now, we're going to end right now. We're not going to finish that particular story. The end result is that they didn't want to see God personally. They said, well, how about if He just talks to you, Moses, and you relay the message to us? So they obviously were very terrified. But the loud trumpet sound is representative of the presence of God and the Word of God. Depending on the event or situation, that trumpet blast can be frightful or it can be joyful. It can be inspirational. It can be a call to action, like, I need to get out of here. I need to hide. I need to run away. Again, all depending on one's relationship with God.

The blowing of trumpets signaled a number of important events in the camp of Israel. Anciently, some were for the sound of alarm or warning. Others were for celebration. They blew the trumpets—the silver trumpets particularly—over all of the offerings. And on all the holy days, they blew those silver trumpets.

Recently, I saw something on television that I found kind of interesting. Because think about it. You have two to three million people, very primitive people, Bronze Age people. They don't have texts. They can't send a text to each other. They don't have social media. There's no email. So how in the world do you communicate with two to three million people? That's really difficult.

I saw a show recently where it was talking about army ants and it was quite an engaging show. I know what some of you are thinking, Mr. Thomas, you really need a life. And you may be right, but it was still an interesting show. And what I found most interesting is the way ants communicate with one another.

One of God's most remarkable creations, in my opinion, is the ant. They have detected—scientists and people who actually get paid money to do these things, that’s what staggers me—scientists who study ants all day. What a great career that must be.

But anyway, they have so far discovered 20 distinct communication signals that one ant gives to another one. And they do it either by their antennae, they brush their antennae with each other, or more remarkably, they leave a scent behind. And when a following ant comes and smells that particular scent, it communicates with them.

And some of the signals are: there's an enemy ahead. Some of their signals are: there's food straight ahead. Some of their signals are: it's too hot or it's too cold. And they've designated 20 different ways that they communicate with each other. A lowly ant. Think about it. And think about God's magnificence in creating a little creature like that, who literally can communicate with each other.

Well, ancient Israel had to communicate with each other, too. And none of them had antennae. And I'm sure that most of them did not have nice smells. I mean, if any of them had a smell, it probably meant they needed to take a bath. So they weren't communicating by their smells or by antennae. So they needed to communicate in a different way. And they used these trumpets as instructed by God. Numbers chapter 10. And we're going to take a look at verses 1 through 10. If you'll turn there with me, Numbers chapter 10.

“And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ‘Make two silver trumpets for yourself; you shall make them of hammered work; you shall use them for calling the congregation and for directing the movement of the camps. When they blow both of them, all the congregation shall gather before you at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. But if they blow only one, then the leaders, the heads of the divisions of Israel, shall gather to you’” (Numbers 10:1–4).

“When you sound the advance”—and this is kind of an interesting Hebrew word, this “advance”—some scholars believe that it meant when you are blowing it harder to make it louder. Some other scholars say blowing in advance was like a fanfare. It was almost like a staccato. And it might have been like [demonstrates], rather than just one long sound. Whatever originally happened here, it obviously was a distinct sound from just blowing into the trumpet.

“So it says, ‘When you sound the advance, the camps that lie on the east side shall then begin their journey. When you sound the advance the second time, then the camps that lie on the south side shall begin their journey. They shall sound the call for them to begin their journeys. And when the assembly is to be gathered together, you shall blow, but not sound the advance’” (Numbers 10:5–7).

So, so far what we've read, there were three different ways to communicate through these silver trumpets so far. One is to assemble the congregation together at the door of the tabernacle toward Moses’s presence.

The second way was to assemble the elders or the leaders only to come to the door of the tabernacle and meet with Moses. The third way was to direct the movement of the various tribal camps who were located in the north and south, east and west of the tabernacle. The tabernacle was in the center. It was like in the old wild, wild west, where they would encircle what was most precious with the wagons. And they would put it in the center. That's what ancient Israel did. They surrounded—they kept protected—that tabernacle, which was in the center of where the tribes were.

“The sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow the trumpets; and these shall be to you as an ordinance forever throughout your generations. When you go to war in your land against the enemy who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, and you will be remembered before the Lord your God, and you will be saved from your enemies” (Numbers 10:8–9).

Verse 10 also,

“Also in the day of your gladness, in your appointed feasts, and at the beginning of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; and they shall be a memorial for you before your God: I am the Lord your God” (Numbers 10:10).

So we have some additional instruction. When Israel went to war, they were to blow those silver trumpets. And God would remember that His people need His help and protection, and He would protect them.

Also, they joyfully remember that they're in God's presence on the appointed festival days and the beginning of months. Well, why the beginning of months? Because the typical ancient Israelite was not literate. They also didn’t have calendars with grids like we have today, where you can flip three pages and know when the new month is coming. Time could easily get by you. You could easily lose track of time. Yet you needed to know when to plant—a very important part of the year—when to prepare for the Holy Days. You needed something to remind you when a new month was beginning. So one of the things that happened was that they would blow those trumpets in the beginning of a new month. The trumpets were also blown over burnt and peace offerings.

So you can see that depending on the situation or the event, the blowing of trumpets could arouse different emotions and responses. Again, depending on the situation and depending on one's relationship with God.

According to Josephus, the trumpets were 18 inches long—these silver trumpets. Now, my wife and I have had the blessing of being in Rome. We've seen the monument to Titus. There's a beautiful monument there of the fall of Jerusalem. They're carrying the Ark of the Covenant. There are trumpets there. Those trumpets look a whole lot longer than 18 inches, but then that is just sketched in the stone. Josephus said they were about 18 inches long.

So today, I would like to focus on the Festival of Trumpets as a day of gladness and joyfulness for the Church of God. I could spend the rest of the time looking at some very distressing prophecies and the enormous number of people that are going to die, unfortunately, due to the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord. But that’s not what I’m going to focus on today with God’s people. I’m going to talk about the central theme for those who are part of the elect of God—one of shouting for joy.

This should be a day in which we literally shout for joy. Of course, right now, this is a worship service, and we should approach this service with solemnity. We should act serious and dignified. God wants things done decently and in order, because we’re here in His presence in a worship service. Outside of this service, we should, as we fellowship with one another and as we enjoy the rest of the day, we have every reason to be filled with joy abundantly when we think about God’s promises for us and why God has called us as fulfilled by this day.

Why is there an emotion of joy associated with this day of worship and the blowing of trumpets? Because God, if you have the right relationship with Him, wants us to memorialize the promises He has for us.

Let’s go to Psalm 81 and verse 1. This is a psalm that’s purported to be written by David himself, and it’s a psalm that’s specifically written about this Holy Day.

“Sing aloud to God our strength; make a joyful shout to the God of Jacob. Raise a song and strike the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the lute. Blow the trumpet at the time of the New Moon, at the full moon, on our solemn feast day. For this is a statute for Israel, a law of the God of Jacob” (Psalm 81:1–4).

Notice, if you have a relationship with God—the right kind of relationship—you should be blowing the trumpet. You should be making a joyful shout to the God of Jacob.

So with this background in mind, thinking of the joyfulness of all the things that this day represents on many different layers, I’d like to just show three joyful future events pictured by the Feast of Trumpets that we will be involved in, in one way or another.

Many people will say that the Feast of Trumpets is obsolete or fulfilled. And anyone who would say that to me, I would say to them, well, let’s talk about these three things. And if you can show me where these three things have already been fulfilled—when they’ve already taken place—then maybe you can convince me that worshipping on this day is obsolete. But you cannot show me where these events have been fulfilled.

So here’s number one: to resurrect God’s chosen faithful elect from the dead. Number one—to resurrect God’s chosen faithful elect from the dead.

And as a minister for many, many years—decades and decades—I can tell you that I buried a lot of people whose hope was in the resurrection. In their final days, all they thought about was this changeover of their sick, ill, or aged bodies, and literally being transformed into a new form of existence as a spirit being at the return and the first resurrection.

So let’s go to Matthew chapter 24 and verse 29. Again, we’re on the first event: to resurrect God’s chosen faithful elect from the dead.

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven”—by the way, this is really a poor translation. It says "heaven" here in the New King James Version, in the New American Standard Bible, in the NIV, in the New Century Version—everywhere it says "heaven" here is correctly translated "sky" and not "heaven."

“Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (Matthew 24:29–31).

Think about that day when those who have been faithful in Christ for 2,000 years—almost 2,000 years now—will all come out of the earth in different areas of the world. People who grew up in different languages, different cultures, different skin colors—all who were called and given the Holy Spirit and lived out their lives.

And they will all be called at one time at the sound of a great trumpet and gather together, and it calls them his elect. For most people alive on earth at this future time, the return of Jesus Christ will be very frightening. Again, because they don't have the relationship that we're talking about. After all the terror that they would have experienced—the Great Tribulation, the Day of the Lord—they will feel threatened by the dramatic appearance of Jesus Christ. And as we'll see in just a few minutes, Jesus Christ is coming to destroy the armies of the world. He's coming to destroy the beast. He's coming to destroy the religious structure of this world. In all of this world's armies, cultures, everything about this world has to be eliminated. So He's coming back as a destroyer.

The sound of the trumpet will alarm the remnant of humankind. And for them, it will be one message—a message of terror and fright and fearfulness. But for the elect, it's going to be a totally different message. To the elect faithful of God, called by the Father for thousands of years, this will be the event that we all prayed for. Generation after generation after generation since the 30s A.D., it will be the culmination of a prayer or phrase that was uttered hundreds of millions of times: "Thy kingdom come." And suddenly, it will.

1 Corinthians 15 and verse 50. Let's see how Paul gives us a little more detail about it—the sound of this trumpet, the things that will occur as we fulfill the future of resurrecting God's chosen faithful from the dead.

"Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption" (1 Corinthians 15:50). Right now, you and I are corruptible. We're physical. We're fleshly. We're aging. We're corruptible. Eventually, we will—if time goes on and Jesus doesn't return—we will all cease to exist in this physical life form. We need to be changed from being corruptible to incorruptible.

Verse 51: "Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed" (1 Corinthians 15:51). And he means changed from being carnal and physical to becoming spiritual, immortal, incorruptible.

Verse 52: "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed" (1 Corinthians 15:52). We'll be far better than we are today.

Verse 53: "For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality" (1 Corinthians 15:53).

"So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: 'Death is swallowed up in victory'" (1 Corinthians 15:54). When you are immortal, when you are incorruptible, you no longer fear death. Death has no power over you. You are victorious over death. There's no longer a fear of death. There is no longer a concern about growing old and dying. There is no longer a concern about disease or the things that we experience in this physical lifetime. We are victorious over death.

Paul, like so many that I personally knew in the early 70s, sincerely believed that Jesus Christ would come within a few years, perhaps even in his own lifetime. He uses his word, we, because it was his hope that Jesus Christ would come in his own lifetime. God does things when it's His timing—not necessarily what we want, or what our timing is, or what we hope for. God does things according to His plan and His time.

Now let's go to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 and verse 13. See another statement that Paul makes here regarding the resurrection of the elect—faithful elect. 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 and verse 13:

"But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope" (1 Thessalonians 4:13). And people who don't understand the Bible, people who don't believe that there is a God, they don’t have much hope of life after their physical body dies, after this physical life ends. They have no hope. Or some may have this vague belief that somehow they're immortal and they'll somehow be merged into some greater being or some greater immortality upon their death. But people who don't believe in God and don't understand the Bible usually have no hope.

Verse 14: "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 4:14). And he's going to explain exactly how He's going to do that in the next few verses. So how is God going to bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus? And that's how it fulfills verse 14—"those who sleep in Jesus." They join Jesus Christ in the sky, followed by those who are still alive and faithful at that time, and they all come back down to earth to establish the Kingdom of God.

Let's pick it up here in verse 16: "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first" (1 Thessalonians 4:16).

So what’s Jesus Christ doing after everyone gathers with Him in the sky? Well, verse 14 said, "God will bring with Him"—He’s coming back to earth. Zechariah chapter 14 and verse 4 says that “on that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives” (Zechariah 14:4). So Jesus Christ is coming back to establish the Kingdom of God.

At the last trumpet, the deceased saints of God will be raised from the dead to meet the returning Christ and join Him as He returns to earth to rule the nations. And they will be immediately followed by the elect who are still alive during the return of Christ. We will be changed—spiritual, incorruptible—and joyful that God’s promise for us has literally come to pass.

So that’s the first event that’s going to happen represented by this day, and a good reason all by itself for those of us to be joyful—who have been called and who live under the grace of God.

Okay, the second event—the second reason, the thing that this day represents that we should be joyful about—is: Christ is coming to seize control of the earth from the god of this world and his governments. I’m going to read that again: to seize control of the earth from the god of this world and his governments.

How’s He going to do that? Well, let’s begin by taking a look at Matthew chapter 24 and verse 21.

Matthew chapter 24 and verse 21. This shows how much God loves His elect. He’s not even going to subject them to the horrors of the final days of the age of man, and all the events that are going to take place. He’s going to have resurrected them, made them immortal, and they will be with Jesus Christ as He returns to earth rather than experiencing that level of horror.

"For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened" (Matthew 24:21–22).

For the elect of God—if they weren’t there—God could allow the world to just destroy itself. And we’re on the cusp of that now, on this Feast of Trumpets in 2024. There’s a war in Ukraine, and one of the entities—Russia—has nuclear weapons, and they keep threatening to use them. We have a war going on in the Middle East, and Israel has attacked a number of its enemies. Actually, Israel faces seven different enemies. It’s fighting a war on seven different fronts—Israel is—and one of them is Iran, who may already have a nuclear weapon.

They’re very close to it, if they don’t have it yet, and that could lead to a nuclear war—even if they have a crude weapon. If their structure is destroyed, if their oil system is destroyed by the Israelites, if the Israelites attack Iran again, that could lead to some very terrible things.

But God is not going to allow His elect to suffer through those things. I want you to notice why Jesus Christ returns. The world at this time is in deep crisis—even worse than it is today—and that’s scary. It’s on the brink of complete annihilation. And as Jesus approaches the earth, the first thing He does is to remove His chosen elect away from that crisis. They are brought to join Him in the sky. They are transformed from mortal to immortal. They become spirit beings, and they return to earth with Jesus Christ Himself.

Let’s drop down now to verse 31: “And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (Matthew 24:31). And we’ve seen a similar scripture to this a few minutes ago.

So why would Jesus do this? What is the purpose of this gathering together of His elect—or one of the purposes?

Well, you know, you and I are pacifists. Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers.” Right? We are basically pacifists. We do not like war. We know how terrible and tragic war is. Jesus Christ Himself is the Prince of Peace, and He’s coming to establish peace over all of the earth. And all of that is true—except for one time. And that is when Jesus Christ returns to this earth to eliminate Satan and all the governments, and to fight armies that have been assembled to try to destroy Christ as He returns to earth.

You see, the way they’re going to spin it is that this being from space is like a creature from outer space. He’s coming to control us and dominate us. He’s coming to destroy everything that we’ve designed and created—and He is. But they’re going to paint the returning Jesus Christ as some type of alien invader coming to take over the earth. So the armies of the earth are going to gather together around Jerusalem and literally have a standoff with Jesus Christ as He returns to earth.

But do you know that Jesus Christ is also coming with armies?

Now, some of that army may very well be angels, archangels, maybe some spiritual beings, maybe the twenty-four elders. But part of that army is also going to be you—after you’ve been resurrected and after you’ve been changed and transformed.

Let’s take a look at a couple of scriptures. Revelation chapter 19 and verse 11. It says, “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” (Revelation 19:11). This is that one time when Jesus Christ is not the Prince of Peace. He’s coming to clean up the mess that humankind has created of this world, and that’s going to require violence. That’s going to require God showing His strength and dominance over the world. “He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood”—that’s, of course, symbolic of His shed blood, dying for the sins of humanity—“and His name is called The Word of God” (Revelation 19:12–13).

John, the first chapter of the Gospel of John, it says Jesus Christ was the Word. “The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses” (Revelation 19:14).

I want you to notice these armies that come with Jesus Christ—how are they clothed? Fine linen, white and clean.

Now let’s go back to verse 7 of Revelation 19: “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. 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” (Revelation 19:7–8).

I want you to notice—almost the exact same phraseology. Revelation 19:14 says “fine linen, white and clean”, and verse 8 says “fine linen, clean and bright.” Slight little change in terminology between those two verses. Jesus Christ desires that His saints, the elect, join Him as He returns to earth to remove all evil and to establish the Kingdom of God.

In their physical lives, the elect were considered the weak and foolish by the standards of this world. They were mocked and ridiculed because they maintained the values of God, and they lived by the law of God. And because of that, they were humiliated and shunted and not given the promotions they deserved, and not given the opportunities they had earned in their lives—because they were the faithful of God.

But now—they return with Christ in victory and triumph.

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” (Revelation 19:19). Again, Jesus Christ is coming back with an 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 worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone” (Revelation 19:20).

What about the army? What about the people that are left?

Verse 21: “And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh” (Revelation 19:21).

It’s a terrible thing to challenge the awesome living God when He returns to earth. It’s not really much of a battle. It’s not going to go on very long. He’s coming to destroy—to crush the systems of this world: the world’s political powers and its armies, the world’s religious structures, and indeed even Satan himself. All are defeated by the all-conquering Christ.

And how difficult is this battle going to be for Jesus Christ, who obviously takes the lead and gives the impression He does it all by Himself—which He’s certainly capable of doing and strong enough to do?

Zechariah chapter 14 and verse 12 says this, in addition to the fact that the birds were filled with their flesh. Zechariah said: “And this shall be the plague with which the Lord will strike all the people who fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh shall dissolve while they stand on their feet, their eyes shall dissolve in their sockets, and their tongues shall dissolve in their mouths” (Zechariah 14:12).

Wow! Not much of a battle, not much of a war. It really won't take long. But we'll be there to see it.

Alright, the third event that celebrates something to occur on this day. And this is in regard to God’s old covenant people and relationship. But the reason it ties to us is that we’re being prepared today to be the shepherds who will teach and guide God’s people who have been in captivity for thousands and thousands of years. As they return to Jerusalem, they will be taught God’s way. That’s what we’re being prepared for right now in this lifetime.

So the third is to gather the scattered physical descendants of Israel back to Palestine. To gather the scattered physical descendants of Israel back to Palestine. Wherever they may be on the earth—and they’re pretty scattered on every continent and all over the earth.

Isaiah 11, verse 11. Isaiah was inspired to write, “It shall come to pass in that day”—phraseology about the end of times—“that the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people who are left: from Assyria and Egypt, from Pathros and Cush, from Elam and Shinar, from Hamath and the islands of the sea” (Isaiah 11:11).

“He will set up a banner for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth” (Isaiah 11:12).

This is a promise. This is important to God because He keeps His covenants. God keeps His promises. And He told ancient Israel that, though I will punish you for your sins, for breaking My covenant, and though I send you and your descendants into captivity and into exile away from this land, I will not forget you. And someday, I will bring you back again.

Again, this is the second deliverance of Israel in human history—the original one being the Exodus out of Egypt. And this second Exodus is for the physical return of the descendants of Israel back to the Promised Land to Abraham, the land that was promised to Abraham, their forefather. God keeps His promises and His covenants. And anciently, He promised to bring back the physical descendants of Israel to the Promised Land, even if they’d been in exile for thousands and thousands of years, which some indeed have been.

Now, Isaiah 27 and verse 12. Let’s build upon this understanding. This is very important to God. Important part of His plan. He loves His old covenant people.

“And it shall come to pass in that day”—this is the 27th chapter of Isaiah—“that the Lord will thresh, from the channel of the River to the Brook of Egypt; and you will be gathered one by one, O you children of Israel” (Isaiah 27:12).

So He’s going to separate the chaff from the wheat. In other words, He’s going to go into these nations, and He’s going to know whose DNA is linked to the descendants of Abraham and whose within those nations are just native to those nations and peoples. He’s going to thresh them. This is a metaphor of what one does in a farming community—to separate the wheat from the chaff.

“So it shall be in that day: the great trumpet will be blown; they will come, who are about to perish in the land of Assyria, and they who are outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem” (Isaiah 27:13).

I want you to notice the trumpet blast and the people of Israel—the physical descendants—being gathered and being returned back to the Promised Land. Again, at this great trumpet, after God removes the defeated armies who surround Jerusalem, He brings back those who will be kidnapped and those who will be held captive in modern Assyria.

Isn’t it interesting now that Israel has individuals who have been kidnapped since October 7th and held as hostages in tunnels in Gaza? That is a classic weapon used against the Jewish people. And they will be held captive in modern Assyria, and He will restore the physical land of Israel to the descendants of Abraham.

And at that time, they will live in peace. They will live unafraid. Contrast that to what we see in the world today with what Israel experiences. In Israel recently, within the last few days, some missiles from Iran got through their shield and actually landed in Israel. And many people in Israel ran to shelters, bomb shelters. This is what they’re living in today, in contrast to what is prophesied about the descendants of Israel in the Kingdom of God—or the world tomorrow.

One more prophet we’ll take a look at here: Jeremiah 23, verse 3. And this ties in with what you and I will be doing and why it’s such a day of joyfulness and celebration for us. And an event that we should look forward to, because we’ll be participating in it.

Just like we participated in the return of Jesus Christ to this earth, we will be participating in the return of the scattered descendants of Abraham, scattered all throughout the world as they come home.

Let's read about it here. Jeremiah 23, verse 3. Guess who those shepherds are? Those shepherds are you and I, and that's why we're being prepared in this lifetime so that we can serve and give to the people in the Kingdom of God and teach them of God's way. Teach them about God's law. Be a coach. Be a mentor. Be someone who loves them and cares for them and practices servant leadership principles over these peoples.

"But I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, nor shall they be lacking,” says the Lord (Jeremiah 23:3–4).

Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, that I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness. David, and other scriptures’ prophecies, will be resurrected from the dead and will also have rulership over the peoples who are coming back—the physical descendants to Israel. Who else will be ruling there? Well, Jesus promised His disciples that they would sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. So they also will be part of that network along with the resurrected King David, along with the disciples that Jesus promised would have rulership over the tribes of Israel. But have no fear. The overwhelming majority of people and nations on earth are not of the descendants of Israel. There’s still plenty to do. There’s plenty of rulership needed. There’s plenty of things for God’s people to do even outside of the descendants of Israel.

Again, let’s go back here in verse 5.

"Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; a King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely; now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS" (Jeremiah 23:5–6).

That’s a very important phrase, because Jesus Christ is our righteousness as well in the New Covenant.

"Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “that they shall no longer say, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,’ but, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up and led the descendants of the house of Israel from the north country and from all the countries where I had driven them.’ And they shall dwell in their own land” (Jeremiah 23:7–8).

Think about how wonderful that is. How people will, from all over the world—some who still practice some form of Judaism, and many others who have no idea that they're a descendant of Abraham, that’s been lost in their family history...

They have no knowledge of the fact that they're a descendant of Abraham. But God will know them, and as we read earlier in Isaiah 27, they'll be gathered one by one.

So why is this gathering of the physical descendants of Israel so important to God? Why is it important to Jesus Christ? Well, it's a very simple reason. They will be the first physical survivors in the new Kingdom of God who will be taught God's law. The Kingdom of God spreads slowly, and we shouldn't think that Jesus Christ returns to earth and, you know, presto—all the nations that he has submitted to him, and everything is jolly and happy from that day forward.

Well, now there's like a—there's actually a parable about the Kingdom of God. It's like leaven that a woman put in. Now, we usually think of leaven in a negative way, but in the parable, the woman puts leaven in it, and Christ likens it to the Kingdom of God, and eventually that leaven spreads throughout the whole loaf, and that's similar to what the Kingdom of God is like. It has to begin somewhere. It has to begin with a physical people, and the physical people and where it will begin is Jerusalem, and the descendants of Israel being brought back to their homeland.

And why is this? Because God wants them to become the model nation that they failed to be after they left ancient Egypt. They could have been a model nation to the world, and they failed miserably, and they ended up going into exile, and they'll be the very first people whom God will work with as a physical people and teach them of His laws and teach them of His ways, and they will become a model nation to the point where people in other areas of the earth will say, Wow, look how these people are prospering. Look how happy these people are. We need to learn more about this God. We need to be taught about the God of Israel, the God of Abraham. We need to change the way we are and become more like them so we can enjoy the blessings that these people have. And I think that's very important.

So today we have seen three joyful events that we can all look forward to as represented by the sound of the trumpet of God. For the rebellious and unrepentant people of earth, this day will be the worst day of their lives. The fear and terror of people who will experience when Jesus Christ returns, who don't have the right relationship with God, will be absolutely horrendous. But for the elect of God, it will be a totally different emotion.

Let's look forward to the fulfilling of God's prophecies. Let's look forward to the time of these three events when we will participate in these things as a Church and as individuals in which God will give us the blessings of His family, give us immortality, give us eternal life as spirit beings, and give us a life of fulfillment because we'll have that. We will have things to do. We will have rulership and people that we mentor and teach and coach and love, and we're being prepared right now to do those things.

So I have one last scripture for you this morning. Psalm 47 and verse 1. I hope we all look forward to the fulfilling, wonderful prophecy in this book of Psalms. Some people don't realize that some of the Psalms are prophetic. This particular section of the book of Psalms is. And I think it encapsulates this day for the elect of God in a unique and beautiful way.

"Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples! Shout to God with the voice of triumph! For the Lord Most High is awesome; He is a great King over all the earth. He will subdue the peoples under us, and the nations under our feet. He will choose our inheritance for us, the excellence of Jacob whom He loves. God has gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet. Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises! For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with understanding. God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne" (Psalm 47:1–8).

The only thing I can end with that is Amen.