In the Old Testament book of Leviticus 23:24-25, the Lord told Moses to gather the people for an annual Sabbath called the Feast of Trumpets. This celebration begins the four fall festival seasons which commences from the first day of the seventh month depicting the completeness and perfection of God's Plan of salvation for mankind. In the Jewish community, this holiday is observed as the Rosh Hashanah - which means the beginning of the Jewish civil year. In Scriptures, it is called the Yom Teruah - the Day of Trumpets - as the children of Israel are to blow trumpets on that day.
A ram's horn - shofar - is blown announcing the commencement of the festival. It was also used to warn of imminent danger such as a call to arms when enemies are near the gates. According to Numbers 10:8, only the sons of Aaron of the Levitical Priesthood had been given the authority to blow these trumpets. In our days, we are no longer required to literally blow these trumpets as Jesus is our High Priest (Hebrews 6:20).
The Lord Jesus Christ spoke of this in His Olivet prophecy in Matthew 24 of a time before His return (Second Coming) when the whole world will be entrenched in war, epidemic, famine and natural disasters. Such is the time of the Great Tribulation (Matthew 24:21; Rev 7:14), a time of immense sufferings and disasters that the world had never seen until that time - which is yet to happen. Without God's supernatural intervention in the affairs of man, humanity would tip over the brink of total destruction! The day when God intervenes in the affairs of man is also called the 'Day of the Lord' - a day when the blowing of the trumpet is called for.
In today's context , the work of the true church of God is to be the watchman (Ezekiel 33: 5-9; Jeremiah 6:17) to proclaim the Gospel of the coming kingdom of God to all the nations (Matthew 24:14) and to warn the people of the impending dangers yet ahead. Unless they repent, many will perish when the wrath of Satan is unleashed, followed by the punishment of God - the Day of the Lord! Therefore, God's watchmen are to raise their voice like a trumpet to warn the people to repent (Isaiah 58:1), especially in these last days.
The Day of the Lord has its former and latter days fulfillment. The former part had been fulfilled in ancient Isreal and Judah while the latter part has yet to happen in the future. Zechariah 14:1-4 prophecies that the Day of the Lord is coming when nations of the world will gather together to wage battle in Jerusalem. The battle will be so intense that Christ has to return for the sake of the elect (the potential sons of God who are living then -Matt 24:22) or else mankind will be totally annihilated -probably through nuclear weapons!
Matthew 24:29-31 gives a clear account of what will happen after the Great Tribulation. The Lord Jesus Christ will return to earth accompanied by the sound of a trumpet (verse 31). Those who are His elect who are dead (sleeping) will hear His voice and be the first to resurrect - for His sheep know and hear His voice (John 10:4, 16), follow by the elect who are alive then. This will be the last trumpet call (1 Cor:15:52) - the seventh trumpet - when all His elect (to be born again as members of the divine family - a new creation) will be resurrected to immortality (1 Cor 15:53-54). Then and only then is their salvation complete.
The Apostle Paul warned the church in Thessalonica not to sleep - meaning not to be spiritually blurred, blinded or deceived - but to watch and be sober (1 Thessalonians 5:6). For the Lord will return at a time most unexpected and those who are spiritually blinded, deceived and not prepared will not escape the cataclysmic events that will unfold before their very eyes (1 Thess 5:3; Matt 25:1-13). Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man (Luke 21:36). Yes, Christians have to be found worthy as overcomers to escape the cataclysmic events of the Great Tribulations(Matthew 25:1-13). The testing for them is already in progress (1 Peter 4:17)!
Revelation 8:7-12 describes the four trumpet plagues that will affect mankind. The first plague affects one third of all plant life and hence the source of food for mankind. The second plague affects the seas with one third of all sea creatures dead, another important source of food. The third plague affects a third of all waters in the rivers and springs, an essential life source. The fourth plague affects the light source, without which mankind is doom. Through God's grace, only one third of mankind is affected but man will still refuse to repent and turn to God. With humanity unrepentant, God will unleash His wrath.
God will destroy the Beast power and the false religious systems of this world. When the last trumpet is sounded, Christ will resurrect His saints to His divine Family to set up the kingdom of God on earth (Rev 11:15). The armies of this world will turn against Christ and His resurrected divine Family for one final battle. The King of kings (Christ) and the resurrected saints (sons of God) will completely rout the rebellious human army (Rev 19:17-21). The seventh bowl plague will result in a cataclysmic earthquake that completely change the face of the earth (Rev 16:18-20) and finally a loud voice from heaven saying, 'It is done!' (Rev 16:17).
The Feast of Trumpets is to remind us of the coming events culminating in the resurrection of the saints (First Resurrection), the destruction of the world's false religious systems and the Return of Christ to set up the kingdom of God on earth. Proverbs 25:2 tells us that 'It is the glory of God to conceal a matter,but the glory of kings (sons of God) is to search out a matter.' God's elect (sons of God) will continue to sow in tears, but they shall reap in joy (Psalms 126:5-6). For the sufferings and hardship of this world will never last since they are only temporal. But the overcoming saints will last as they inherit the divine Family with immortality to gain eternal joy when Jesus Christ return to rule and reign the world with His Headquarters in Jerusalem!
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
GOD'S WAY TO UNIVERSAL PEACE
The Second Coming of Jesus Christ to establish His kingdom on earth is the consummation of hope not just for the saved, but also for humanity as a whole. The world cannot find any enduring solutions to all its problems - wars, famines, pollutions, natural disasters, racial and religious conflicts, poverty, terrorism - and the list goes on. No government or organisation can solve them -not even the superpowers or the United Nations!
Man has to come to the end of his tether before God will come to intervene in the affairs of man. The timeline for the six thousand years of man's rule is coming to an end. Christ will come to rule with His resurrected saints for the next one thousand years (Revelation 20:6) to restore all that has been lost to the great deceiver (Acts 3:21) - Satan. The whole of creation is groaning in pain awaiting the revelation of the sons of God to accomplish the great works yet ahead (Romans 8:18-23)! But take heart, as night follows day, this will surely come to pass as the sure Word of Prophecy says so (Rev 19:10e).
The prophet Isaiah refers to Christ the Messiah as the Prince of Peace -Isaiah 9:6 - and following on in verse 7, it reads 'Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice. From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.' Many sermons have had been preached from these few verses over the centuries but with so little understanding. God is saying through the good prophet that the time of universal world government will be the time when Christ will come (Second Coming) to govern the world as King on the throne of David (based in Jerusalem). That will be the time of peace the world had never known (Isaiah 59:8a).
The Bible records for us God's blueprint to accomplish universal peace that will endure. The seven biblical festivals and feasts are a typology of what is to come. It depicts what Christ and His resurrected saints (sons of God) will do to bring about universal peace and prosperity.
The first is the Passover (Exodus 12:11; Deuteronomy 16:1-2). In Old Testament days, the slaughter of a lamb signifies the future sacrificial death of Christ. In New Testament era, the sacrifice has already been accomplished by Christ's death on the cross, and hence the slaughter of an animal has become unnecessary. However, the meaning and significance is still relevant in this time and age. The celebration reminds us of the sacrifice of Christ to atone for the sins of mankind. In fact, Christ and His disciples kept this festival ( Mark 14:12-16) and the Lord Christ was crucified in the midst of the Passover celebration!
The second festival is the Days of Unleavened Bread. In 1 Corinthians 5:7-8, the Apostle Paul explains that we are to keep the feast not in the ritualistic way, but with the unleaven bread of sincerity and truth. This festival was celebrated following the Passover, signifying that once delivered from slavery and bondage to sin, they are to become slave of righteousness.
The third festival showing God's divine plan is the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1) when the New Testament church was born. In the Old Testament it was known as the Feasts of Weeks and the Day of the Firstfruits (Numbers 28:26). Christ calls out a small group of people as His church (Luke 12:32) who will be the salt and light of this world (Satan is god of this age, 2 Cor 4:4) -Matthew 5:13-14 - until He returns. This 'little flock' has been endowed with the power of His Holy Spirit for inner transformation in preparation for the tasks of great harvest during the millennial age. The Apostle James calls it a kind of firstfruits of His creatures (James 1:18). Many have been deceived thinking that they are called and chosen to be part of this group. The sad truth is that not all have truly repented and been transformed by the Spirit of God to be in this 'first harvest' (Matthew 7:20-23). Just like parents have their firstborn child, second born, third born and so on; there is a first harvest (firstfruits) in this age and subsequent harvests in the age to come.
The first three festivals are a typology of spring harvest. They laid the groundwork for the last four festivals which will serve to gather in the harvest of all humanity who will repent and accept the forgiveness of Christ's atoning work on the cross. All the last four festivals take place in the autumn harvest when crops harvest are gathered in and stored in the northern hemisphere. Such spiritual harvest is yet to take place in the future when Satan will be incarcerated and Christ will sit on the throne of David (currently occupied by Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain) with His Headquarters in Jerusalem! There will be no more wars as swords will be turned to plowshares (Isaiah 2:4), deceptions and spiritual blindness will be removed so all knees will bow down to worship Christ as King over all the earth (Zechariah 14:9; 14:16). Those who refused will find themselves on the wrong end of the stick (Zechariah 14:17-19).
Only the establishment of God's kingdom on earth will there be universal peace. Christ and the resurrected born again sons of God will rule with an iron fist in the initial stage until all rebellion that has its root planted by the great deceiver are pluck out of existence! For the God of Peace (Christ) and His kings (sons of God) will crush Satan (all those values and principles which had their source from the great deceiver) under their feet (Romans 16:20). A new economy that is based on solid principles of honest weights, savings and prudence rather than debts will be implemented worldwide. Man will be taught the truth about life's principles right from the pages of Scriptures. What a wonderful world that will be!
Man has to come to the end of his tether before God will come to intervene in the affairs of man. The timeline for the six thousand years of man's rule is coming to an end. Christ will come to rule with His resurrected saints for the next one thousand years (Revelation 20:6) to restore all that has been lost to the great deceiver (Acts 3:21) - Satan. The whole of creation is groaning in pain awaiting the revelation of the sons of God to accomplish the great works yet ahead (Romans 8:18-23)! But take heart, as night follows day, this will surely come to pass as the sure Word of Prophecy says so (Rev 19:10e).
The prophet Isaiah refers to Christ the Messiah as the Prince of Peace -Isaiah 9:6 - and following on in verse 7, it reads 'Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice. From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.' Many sermons have had been preached from these few verses over the centuries but with so little understanding. God is saying through the good prophet that the time of universal world government will be the time when Christ will come (Second Coming) to govern the world as King on the throne of David (based in Jerusalem). That will be the time of peace the world had never known (Isaiah 59:8a).
The Bible records for us God's blueprint to accomplish universal peace that will endure. The seven biblical festivals and feasts are a typology of what is to come. It depicts what Christ and His resurrected saints (sons of God) will do to bring about universal peace and prosperity.
The first is the Passover (Exodus 12:11; Deuteronomy 16:1-2). In Old Testament days, the slaughter of a lamb signifies the future sacrificial death of Christ. In New Testament era, the sacrifice has already been accomplished by Christ's death on the cross, and hence the slaughter of an animal has become unnecessary. However, the meaning and significance is still relevant in this time and age. The celebration reminds us of the sacrifice of Christ to atone for the sins of mankind. In fact, Christ and His disciples kept this festival ( Mark 14:12-16) and the Lord Christ was crucified in the midst of the Passover celebration!
The second festival is the Days of Unleavened Bread. In 1 Corinthians 5:7-8, the Apostle Paul explains that we are to keep the feast not in the ritualistic way, but with the unleaven bread of sincerity and truth. This festival was celebrated following the Passover, signifying that once delivered from slavery and bondage to sin, they are to become slave of righteousness.
The third festival showing God's divine plan is the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1) when the New Testament church was born. In the Old Testament it was known as the Feasts of Weeks and the Day of the Firstfruits (Numbers 28:26). Christ calls out a small group of people as His church (Luke 12:32) who will be the salt and light of this world (Satan is god of this age, 2 Cor 4:4) -Matthew 5:13-14 - until He returns. This 'little flock' has been endowed with the power of His Holy Spirit for inner transformation in preparation for the tasks of great harvest during the millennial age. The Apostle James calls it a kind of firstfruits of His creatures (James 1:18). Many have been deceived thinking that they are called and chosen to be part of this group. The sad truth is that not all have truly repented and been transformed by the Spirit of God to be in this 'first harvest' (Matthew 7:20-23). Just like parents have their firstborn child, second born, third born and so on; there is a first harvest (firstfruits) in this age and subsequent harvests in the age to come.
The first three festivals are a typology of spring harvest. They laid the groundwork for the last four festivals which will serve to gather in the harvest of all humanity who will repent and accept the forgiveness of Christ's atoning work on the cross. All the last four festivals take place in the autumn harvest when crops harvest are gathered in and stored in the northern hemisphere. Such spiritual harvest is yet to take place in the future when Satan will be incarcerated and Christ will sit on the throne of David (currently occupied by Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain) with His Headquarters in Jerusalem! There will be no more wars as swords will be turned to plowshares (Isaiah 2:4), deceptions and spiritual blindness will be removed so all knees will bow down to worship Christ as King over all the earth (Zechariah 14:9; 14:16). Those who refused will find themselves on the wrong end of the stick (Zechariah 14:17-19).
Only the establishment of God's kingdom on earth will there be universal peace. Christ and the resurrected born again sons of God will rule with an iron fist in the initial stage until all rebellion that has its root planted by the great deceiver are pluck out of existence! For the God of Peace (Christ) and His kings (sons of God) will crush Satan (all those values and principles which had their source from the great deceiver) under their feet (Romans 16:20). A new economy that is based on solid principles of honest weights, savings and prudence rather than debts will be implemented worldwide. Man will be taught the truth about life's principles right from the pages of Scriptures. What a wonderful world that will be!
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