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The Prelude to Trumpets
September 24, 2022

It is hard to believe that the fall Holy Day season is upon us. The Feast of Trumpets will be Monday, and during the fall Holy Day season we broadly look to the banishment of Satan and all that is evil as righteousness through Jesus Christ and God the Father dominate all that happens on earth. This wonderful change is yet to happen and between now and then the Bible gives us some good information through prophecy as to what is to happen. We’re also given warnings and a direction in how we are to be living our lives.

We’ll start first with the warnings. All of the evil we see in the world today is brought to us by its sponsor, Satan the Devil, and his contingent of demons. Peter warns of the need to be sober and vigilant knowing that Satan is our enemy and seeks whom he may devour. Satan would welcome the opportunity to spiritually destroy any of us, and we are told to resist Satan through the faith, understanding any and all hardships of life can be either looked at through the lens of faith and our relationship with Jesus Christ and God the Father, or we can succumb to those hardships of life as we are devoured by Satan. Sometimes we have problems in life that come upon us, and sometimes those problems come at us from multiple directions at the same time. It is through faith we endure the hardships of life. In Peter’s writings, a connection is made between these hardships of life and Satan seeking whom he may devour, and we know through faith that God the Father through Jesus Christ will bring us through and all hardships in life we may have. God’s focus is spiritual salvation and not necessarily our physical life. Sometimes people face incredible challenges in life and they die, not because God is cruel, but in Satan’s attempt to spiritually destroy a person, God brings that person to salvation through the end of their life.

1 Peter 5:8-11
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Each year as we move closer to the end of time, we also move closer to events prophesied for the end of time and some of these events involve Satan as the end of time is the exile of evil so that righteousness is established for all. The Book of Revelation tells us of this war in heaven. We can’t tell from the verses if this event has already occurred or is yet to occur, but we do know from the Bible that this war results in Satan being tossed to the earth, and knowing the end time is approaching, Satan persecutes the woman, symbolic of the church, and even though God protects the church, it does not prevent Satan from attacking the church. Because a specific length of time is mentioned of a time, times, and half a time, or three and one-half years, most who read these verses understand that this persecution happens at the end of time. The woman, the church, is described as those who keep the commandments of God who also have the testimony of Jesus Christ, so leading up to this future time, we know we must continue to keep the commandments of God while maintaining the testimony of Jesus Christ. There will never be an occasion to do away with one or the other.

Revelation 12:7-17
And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child. And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

We know that as the end time approaches, attacks on the church, and the people of the church, will increase, and while some of these may manifest as a physical attack, all attacks have a spiritual basis resulting from the evil that is Satan. With that in mind, we can begin to explore what Jesus cautioned the disciples of shortly before death when he told them the temple would be destroyed.

The idea of the temple being destroyed was alarming to the disciples and they wanted to know when this would happen and when the end of the world would come. They used the information from Jesus to seek answers to two questions, the first being when the temple would be destroyed, and the second referencing the timing of the end of the world including the return of Jesus Christ.

Jesus told them that many would proclaim the message of Jesus and deceive many, that there would be wars and rumors of war, and that this would happen well before the end of time and be marked with nation rising against nation and kingdom against kingdom, with food shortages, diseases, and earthquakes in various places around the globe. All of that has happened and continues to happen and it is within the context of these first few verses of the chapter that the temple was destroyed. Those very same signs continue to persist.

Then Jesus transitions to events specific to the end of time. Jesus mentions his followers would be betrayed and religiously challenged with death and hatred from others would be a reality for the church. Jesus explained many false prophets would arise and deceive many, adding that those who endure to the end will be saved, and that when the Kingdom of God is preached into all the world for a witness, then the end will come.

God will determine when the Gospel of the Kingdom of God is preached into all of the world, not any man. When God has determined that the Kingdom of God has been preached into the world for a witness, then the end will come according to God’s design. Jesus adds to the urgency of our understanding by adding a reference to the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place as a stark reminder of the immediacy of a time of great trouble and how those who are in Jerusalem need to immediately flee to the mountains at that time. There have been a lot of claims about what the abomination of desolation is and in Daniel we can only count a certain number of days. What we can’t tell for sure from Daniel, is when the daily sacrifice is taken away, as that triggers the start of the count. What man counts is not important in prophecy because when it comes to prophecy it is what God intended. But from the words of Jesus, we do know there is a sense of urgency to leave Jerusalem, not even taking time to take possessions with you, just leave. We are told this is the time of the great tribulation.

We are also told this will be a time when everyone will be looking for the time of trouble to end and some will claim to either be Jesus Christ or will claim to be able to take you to Jesus. Jesus told his disciples to reject all of these attempts at fakery and fraud. We have to remember that at this time virtually all people will hate Christians showing that the cancel culture of today is just the warm-up for how society will try to cancel Christians. Some of these fake Christs will use impressive trickery with signs and wonders, showing that magical and unexplainable events will be linked to these fakers, all in an attempt to deceive the followers of Jesus, if it were possible. Those who are not followers of Jesus will easily be deceived. Jesus reminded the disciples then and it is recorded for our benefit today, that when Jesus returns it will be as easy to see as the rising sun. The return of Jesus will not be a hidden and secretive event.

Matthew 24:1-28
And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, whoso readeth, let him understand: Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.

Jesus quoted Daniel the prophet when speaking of the abomination that makes desolate, and Daniel also wrote extensively of what would happen at the end of time, after first giving an overview of what would become world history. Daniel explained that the kingdom of Greece would eventually be no more.

He also wrote that the king of the south shall be strong and that one of the princes of the king of the south would have incredible power. It’s unthinkable that a prince be more powerful than a king, but that is what Daniel is recording in his writings. Daniel also wrote that the daughter of the king of the south will seek an agreement with the king of the north, but that the agreement would be short-lived. Daniel then adds after this failed agreement the armies of the king of the south would invade the king of the north and prevail, but that eventually the king of the south would return to his own land.

Later, the sons of the King of the south will be moved to rekindle the fight and eventually, people would begin to win against the king of the south with some seeing themselves as the fulfillment of this vision, even laying siege to a city. Eventually, the king of the north will divert his attention elsewhere, back to his home country, to the islands, and will come to nothing. With a focus on the home country, taxes will be increased.

The king of the north will be replaced with a vile person through a peaceable transfer of power by appealing to people. What this person does will turn upside down what is expected and for a short time will have a total lock on the kingdom using what sounds like sanctions to affect a result. This vile person who is acting as the king of the north will try to come against the king of the south, and yet what sounds like sanctions will stop progress. They are described as speaking lies on one table so the two opposing sides get together for some type of a summit, and yet with all of this, the end is not yet, indicating the types of lies being told are designed to show followers that their actions will hasten the end of time.

When it is actually the end of time, the king of the north will return to engage the king of the south and unlike the previous engagements will be met with military hostility while armies are enroute. It is at this time, at the end of time that the abomination that makes desolate is placed at the sanctuary taking away the daily sacrifice, almost as if a religious shrine of some type is used for military purposes because the religious shrine itself serves as a deterrent to the king of the south. Because of the religious significance of the location, the king of the south won’t attack it. It will be at this time that while the political and military elites are using flattering words to engage each other and the general population, that those who know their God will be strong and do great exploits, remembering that from the words of Jesus, they have already fled from Jerusalem. While these people of faith will continue to teach many, many of these people who are being taught the truth of God’s way will have a difficult ride, and yet receive help to continue the fight. Even some of the faithful will die during this time as a final test of faith.

This king of the north will become drunk through his own power and will see himself being more important than God, and will continue until it is time for God to bring this person to his end. This king of the north will not have regard for God, women, or any belief, because to this person all of these are less than he is, and will recognize a strange god, and use this strange god to broker his power.

At the time of the end, the king of the south will militarily engage the king of the north and the king of the north will respond with a lightning fast military strike. In this military conflict, the kingdoms of Edom, Moab, and Ammon are spared from the attack, and using the historical locations of these lands with today’s political boundaries, the country Jordan is best described by these names. During this final assault, news from the north and east will trouble him, even as the king of the north is plundering Egypt. The king of the north will lay claim to the holy land, and yet in the end will come to nothing.

Daniel 11:1-45
Also I in the first year of Darius the Mede, even I, stood to confirm and to strengthen him. And now will I shew thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far richer than they all: and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia. And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will. And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven; and not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled: for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others beside those. And the king of the south shall be strong, and one of his princes; and he shall be strong above him, and have dominion; his dominion shall be a great dominion. And in the end of years they shall join themselves together; for the king's daughter of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement: but she shall not retain the power of the arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm: but she shall be given up, and they that brought her, and he that begat her, and he that strengthened her in these times. But out of a branch of her roots shall one stand up in his estate, which shall come with an army, and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and shall deal against them, and shall prevail: And shall also carry captives into Egypt their gods, with their princes, and with their precious vessels of silver and of gold; and he shall continue more years than the king of the north. So the king of the south shall come into his kingdom, and shall return into his own land. But his sons shall be stirred up, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces: and one shall certainly come, and overflow, and pass through: then shall he return, and be stirred up, even to his fortress. And the king of the south shall be moved with choler, and shall come forth and fight with him, even with the king of the north: and he shall set forth a great multitude; but the multitude shall be given into his hand. And when he hath taken away the multitude, his heart shall be lifted up; and he shall cast down many ten thousands: but he shall not be strengthened by it. For the king of the north shall return, and shall set forth a multitude greater than the former, and shall certainly come after certain years with a great army and with much riches. And in those times there shall many stand up against the king of the south: also the robbers of thy people shall exalt themselves to establish the vision; but they shall fall. So the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mount, and take the most fenced cities: and the arms of the south shall not withstand, neither his chosen people, neither shall there be any strength to withstand. But he that cometh against him shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him: and he shall stand in the glorious land, which by his hand shall be consumed. He shall also set his face to enter with the strength of his whole kingdom, and upright ones with him; thus shall he do: and he shall give him the daughter of women, corrupting her: but she shall not stand on his side, neither be for him. After this shall he turn his face unto the isles, and shall take many: but a prince for his own behalf shall cause the reproach offered by him to cease; without his own reproach he shall cause it to turn upon him. Then he shall turn his face toward the fort of his own land: but he shall stumble and fall, and not be found. Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser of taxes in the glory of the kingdom: but within few days he shall be destroyed, neither in anger, nor in battle. And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries. And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown from before him, and shall be broken; yea, also the prince of the covenant. And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people. He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches: yea, and he shall forecast his devices against the strong holds, even for a time. And he shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the south with a great army; and the king of the south shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand: for they shall forecast devices against him. Yea, they that feed of the portion of his meat shall destroy him, and his army shall overflow: and many shall fall down slain. And both these kings' hearts shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not prosper: for yet the end shall be at the time appointed. Then shall he return into his land with great riches; and his heart shall be against the holy covenant; and he shall do exploits, and return to his own land. At the time appointed he shall return, and come toward the south; but it shall not be as the former, or as the latter. For the ships of Chittim shall come against him: therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant: so shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant. And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate. And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits. And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days. Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries. And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed. And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done. Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all. But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things. Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain. And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon. He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape. But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps. But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many. And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.

The disciples sought a sign from Jesus and Jesus gave them an explanation about what would happen at the end of time. The scribes and Pharisees also sought a sign from Jesus and instead of sharing with them what would be told the disciples, Jesus called a generation that seeks a sign an evil and adulterous generation, and then went on to give these people the sign of the prophet Jonah who spent three days and three nights in the belly of a great fish.

Matthew 12:38-42
Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.

While prophecy might serve as a roadmap of the times in which we live, prophecy cannot serve as a sign that we use to verify our faith. Whenever we see military action, especially military action in the middle east, we know we are somewhere on that end time roadmap of prophecy, and yet we cannot use that event to either confirm our deny or faith, because faith is the substance of things we hope for but haven’t seen. When we can confirm with our own eyes that something is happening, that’s not faith, that is science.

A better way to approach the end of time is to instead of being focused on prophecy to the point we lose focus on much of everything else, we should be focused on what it is we are to do. We are to remain mission driven, especially during mission critical periods of time. We are to constantly be doing what we are expected to do, and through this we will be blessed.

Luke 12:35-40
Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through. Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.

As we stay mission-focused we remain focused on the message given to us by Jesus, who is the door of the sheep. We listen to the voice of Jesus, not to the voice of any false Jesus, knowing that it is only through Jesus we can be saved. All others who claim to be representing Jesus have a message that will lead to our death.

John 10:1-18
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them. Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.

We can recall the words of Paul who told the Ephesians to put on the whole armor of God to withstand the trickery of Satan knowing that we don’t fight physical battles, we fight spiritual battles through the proper use of truth, righteousness, understanding the gospel of the kingdom of God, based in faith through the power of the Holy Spirit that speaks to us through the pages of the Bible.

Ephesians 6:10-17
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

The fall Holy Days are about the return of Jesus Christ and establishment of the Kingdom of God and all that is entailed to achieve this. As we focus our attention on this wonderful time of tomorrow, we must remember to pause and reflect that Satan is still very much wandering about seeking whom he may devour. Now is the time for us to grow our faith so that we may withstand every trick of Satan.

All verses are from the King James Version.
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