End Times – Page 2 – Light from the Word

God’s Trumpet and the Last Trumpet of Revelation

The Jewish Feast of Trumpets has nothing to do with the new covenant of blood YAHSHUA established for all who will believe in Him- His church, comprised of Jews and Gentiles. From God’s command to blow trumpets, it derived its name. The word teruah in Hebrew has its meaning in English a shout or a blowing. The significance of the blowing of trumpets in the Jewish tradition is:

Time to move on

Time to gather the people and call an assembly

To mark a sacrifice on a feast day

Warning of war or danger

To praise

To declare a procession or feast

To proclaim a king

Assemble the troops for battle

To declare victory.

We see here the blowing of trumpets as God commanded Israel, has great significance for that nation in the formation of their tradition, in setting them apart from other nations, as a guide and many other reasons. The blowing of trumpets does not necessarily serve the church of the New Testament, as it embraces all nations with different traditions and life-styles. It connected the nation of Israel to God’s command as in the practice of a feast, although the meaning of gathering the people for an assembly, is relevant to the church, because God’s calling His bride to assemble to heaven will be through the sound of His trumpet, according to the words of Paul, which read, For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud cry of summons, with the shout of an archangel, and with the blast of the trumpet of God… (I Thess. 4:16). The trumpet mentioned here clearly shows a difference from the trumpets of Revelation 8-9, whose purposes are for judgments. These seven trumpets are angelic trumpets and not defined as God’s trumpet. For those who believe that the last trumpet mentioned by Paul has to do with the last trumpet in Revelation, remember one thing: that seventh and last trumpet is not the trumpet of God. Not one of the seven trumpets in Revelation is defined as the trumpet of God. In God’s coming judgment there will be seven angels, seven seals, seven trumpets, and seven bowls each carrying that which was determined to fulfill God’s judgments on the wicked. One more thing, the last trumpet of Revelation is not the same last trumpet Paul mentioned in I Corinthians, since the book of Revelation had not yet been written. Someone has said that Paul was drawing his tradition from the Old Testament in referring to the summoning the congregation of Israel to set out (Numbers 10:2-5) Paul called it the last trumpet to show the completion of God’s redemption embed in the number seven.

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Do Not I Fill Heaven and Earth?

(Jer. 23:24b)

Where could I go from Your Spirit? Or where could I flee from Your presence? If I ascend up into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there; if I take the wings of the morning or dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall Your hand lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me. If I say, surely the darkness shall cover me and the night shall be light about me, even the darkness hides nothing from You, but the night shines as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to You (Ps. 139:7-12). In the beginning, God. In the beginning of creation, God was there creating all that was created. When He spoke, things were created. “Let it be” and existence took place. The world was created in order of things as God planned. Before Adam and Eve sinned, they enjoyed the presence of the Lord in the cool of the day, as He walked in the garden. However, when they sinned, they tried to hide from His presence, ashamed of what they had just done; The relationship was then broken, but God’s presence was ever in the world He created. No place to run from Him as the psalmist so expressed and asked the question, Where could I go from Your Spirit?

As humans, we can never comprehend the omnipresence of God. He is everywhere at the same time. When reading the verse in Jeremiah 23:24b, I came to understand better how it is that God is everywhere: “He fills heaven and earth.” His presence is everywhere we go, or cannot go. It is God Who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; it is He Who stretches out the heavens like curtains and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in (Isaiah 40:22).

The world, in midst of chaos because of sin, still enjoys peace and physical order, because the heavens and earth are filled with God’s presence. It is the presence of the Lord that maintains order in the universe. Sitting above the circle of the earth, nothing escapes Him. The Patriarch Job said, He is Who spreads out the northern skies over emptiness and hangs the earth upon or over nothing; He holds the waters bound in His clouds and the cloud is not rent under them; He covers the face of His throne and spreads over it His cloud; He has placed an enclosing limit [the horizon] upon the waters at the boundary between light and darkness; the pillars of the heavens tremble and are astonished at His rebuke; He stills or stirs up the sea by His power, and by His understanding, He smites proud Rahab; by His breath the heavens are garnished; His hand pierced the fleeing serpent; yet, these are but the outskirts of His ways or the mere fringes of His force, the faintest whisper of His voice! Who dares contemplate or who can understand the thunders of His full magnificent power? (Job 26:7-14). These inspired words from the Holy Spirit to the Patriarch Job make us to realize how much do we lack in respect and the honor we due Him. The Bible says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” What fear means here is reverence; it is to regard Him as holy and honor His holy name. To fear men instead of God, it constitutes an offense to Him; God spoke to Isaiah and said, The Lord of hosts-regard Him as holy and honor His holy name; and let Him be your fear and let Him be your dread (Isaiah 8:13).

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You Rule the Raging of the Sea

King Hezekiah of Judah, a righteous king before God, suffered two raging of the sea storms. In II Kings chapters eighteen to twenty, is the story of how Jerusalem was about to be conquered by the king of Assyria, a very powerful king, who God had used in the past to bring destruction of nations. King Hezekiah found himself at his mercy, when he declared his purpose to him through a letter saying, Behold, you have heard what the Assyrian kings have done to all lands, destroying them utterly, and shall you be delivered?… Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it. He went up into the house of the Lord and spread it before the Lord. And Hezekiah prayed: O Lord, the God of Israel, Who is enthroned above the cherubim. You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made the heavens and the earth; Lord, bow down You ear and hear; Lord, open You eyes and see; hear the words of Sennacherib which he has sent to mock, reproach, insult and defy the living God…Now therefore, O Lord, our God, I beseech You, save us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know and understand that You, O Lord, are God alone (II Kings 19:14-16,19). This storm of tsunami proportion came to Hezekiah without any warning. Just imagine the devastation King Sennacherib would have caused to the city of Jerusalem, as it would have been in time of war! King Hezekiah’s heart sunk with fear, however, his faith in God led him to the path of deliverance, when he cried to Him. God heard him, and responded by causing chaos among his enemies; He said, I will put a spirit in him so that he will hear a rumor and return to his own land, and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own country. While King Sennacherib was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons killed him with the sword (II Kings 19:7, 37). Exactly as God told him. Who would not fear You, O King of the nations? The Prophet Jeremiah asked the question (Jer. 10:7).

But King Hezekiah became deadly ill in those days. The Prophet Isaiah came and said to him, Thus says the Lord: Set your house in order, for you shall die; you shall not recover (II Kings 20:1). After such great victory, King Hezekiah was facing with a challenge, the rage of the sea, once again. Still young, he pleaded with God for his life saying, I beseech You, O Lord, remember now how I have walked before You in faithfulness and truth and with a whole heart and have done what is good in Your sight. Hezekiah wept bitterly (II Kings 10:3). The word of the Lord came to Isaiah then saying, Turn back and tell Hezekiah, the Leader of My people, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your [forefather]: I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord; I will add to your life fifteen years and deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for My own sake and for My servant David’s sake. (II Kings 20:5-6). King Hezekiah was miraculously healed according to the words of the Lord God. These two times the raging sea arose against King Hezekiah, it did not accomplish its purpose, for the Lord God intervened through the prayers that went up to Him with sincere heart and in humbleness. Who is like our God? O Lord God of hosts, who is a mighty one like unto You, O Lord? And Your faithfulness is round about You; you rule the raging of the sea, when its waves arise, You still them. (Ps. 89:8-9).

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But My Words Will Not Pass Away

(Luke 21)

Just before His trials and death, YAHSHUA left us warnings about the end-time. He assured that His words were firm in heaven and that the words uttered by Him were alive and powerful to bring about all that came from His mouth. “My words will not pass away.” The future is His; and He is very much in control of it. By the power of His words, He created all that has been created, just by expressing command- “let it be and there it was.” The apostle John said, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself. He was present originally with God; all things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him was not even one thing ma that has come into being (John 1:1-3). So, we conclude that if YAHSHUA said, it will happen, soon or later. We live here on this earth on borrowed time, not knowing when, neither the imminence of things to come. But God in His mercy has given us a window of knowledge concerning the future, so that we will not be found unprepared. In Deuteronomy 29:29, Moses said, The secret things belong unto the Lord our God; but the things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all of the words of this Law. YAHSHUA revealed the future to His disciples and to us so that we will not be found surprised and doomed for lack of knowledge. After finishing the sermon about the end time, He assured all by saying, The sky and the earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away (Luke 21:33). That was emphatic and profound, for His spoken words will be forever relevant to all.

Take heed to yourselves and be on your guard, (He warned), lest your hearts be overburdened and depressed with the giddiness and headache and nausea of self-indulgence, drunkenness, and worldly worries and cares pertaining to this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap or a noose; for it will come upon all who live upon the face of the entire earth (Luke 21:34-35). I am sure YAHSHUA was talking about today. Yes, we have arrived to the time when our life is surrendered by confusion, lies, calamities, pandemics, loss of freedom, and the enemy of our soul- fear, while the world turns to the direction for the antichrist to be revealed and the One World order to take place. Left in the dark, for lack of knowledge of Scriptures, many are unaware and in disbelief of what is happening. So, it is that the knowledge some of them have of prophecy is without insight; for this reason, they have not been able to acquire the understanding of YAHSHUA’S prophetic words to connect with today’s day. As a result, they walk and stumble in darkness, led by the spirit of fear, which has permeated this world. The signs of it are seen on the wearing of masks and vaccines, when the message YAHSHUA left for us was given to guide us to faith, peace and to trust in Him in the troubled world that was to come. This is the time to revive our faith in His prophetic words and rejoice that our names are written in the Book of Life, that is, if you have a relationship with Him. YAHSHUA said, I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world you will have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world (John 16:33). He prayed that God will not take us out of the world, but that He would keep and protect us from the evil one (John 17:15). What we are going through today, will continue, bringing the world to its climax, when the judgment found in Revelation will take place. But we His bride are to keep awake and watch at all times, praying that we may have the full strength and ability and be accounted worthy to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand in the presence of the Son of Man (Luke 21:36). There will be a reward for those who will keep the faith; we will stand in the presence of the Son of Man saved from the tribulation that will follow, as Paul said, for God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord YAHSHUA the Messiah, Who died for us so that whether we are still alive or are dead, we might live together with Him and share His life (I Thess. 5:9-10).

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Do You Love Me? (part 1)

This question automatically brings Peter to mind, for it was to him that this question was directed after the ordeal our Lord YAHSHUA had to go through. Peter became part of it when he fell into the temptation of denying his Savior in time when He needed him most. Peter, as a fisherman, was strong and gruff, shabbily dressed, with vulgar language; He was born in the year 1 B.C in the city of Bethsaida and died in 67 A.D. He was one of the first disciples of Christ led by his brother, Andrew. Simon was his original name, but YAHSHUA changed to Petra or Rock.

Peter’s first experience with the Lord was on one of his fishing experiences. He had caught nothing that night, and frustrated he responded to YAHSHUA when He told him to lower his nets into the deep, Master, we toiled all night and caught nothing, but on the ground of Your word I will lower the nets (Luke 5:5). Peter had no idea that by submitting to the Lord’s command, he would be so blessed. When he saw the result, he then realized that before him stood not an ordinary man. And falling down at His knees he said, Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord. After they had run their boats on the shore, he, James and John left everything to follow YAHSHUA as His disciples (Luke 5). Peter was one of the three disciples who witnessed YAHSHUA’S transfiguration at mount Hermon; he also experienced the miracle of walking on water during a storm, which happened when they were alone on the boat after the multiplication of fish and loaves of bread when YAHSHUA sent them ahead of Him. When he saw the Lord walking on the water, coming toward them, he said, “If it is you Lord, command me to come to you on the water,” but failing to believe, he started to drown. He cried to the Lord, Lord, save me! YAHSHUA lifted Peter from the water, saying, O you of little faith, why did you doubt? (Matt. 14:31) Peter also witnessed the anguish of the Lord at the Garden of Gethsemane, but could not pray for and with Him. Three times he was warned to “watch and pray.” But he failed and three times he fell into the temptation of denying the Lord.

Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Peter rightly answered YAHSHUA’S question, Who do you say I am? But the same Peter went against God’s plan of salvation when he rebuked the Lord at His announcement of His death. The Lord YAHSHUA vehemently rejected Peter’s advice by saying, Get behind Me Satan! Peter, in his plan did not want his Lord to die. Perhaps he thought that He was going to establish the kingdom at that time. He fought the arrest of YAHSHUA by cutting the ear of the high priest, who came to arrest Him. But when the time had come for him to show his love for his Master, he could not do it; he run away instead, because Peter did not sincerely love the Lord. He walked with the Lord YAHSHUA three years, witnessing the miracles He performed, but Peter’s heart was hard.

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The Answer That Determined YAHSHUA’S Death

(Matthews 26:63-68)

After agonizing in the Garden of Gethsemane, YAHSHUA was taken by a crowd with swords, and clubs guided by Judas, sent from the chief priests and elders of the people. He was taken to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had assembled (Matt. 26:47,57). YAHSHUA’S six illegal trials started then. The chief priests and the whole council sought to get false witnesses to testify against Him, so that they might put Him to death but they found none, though may witnesses came forward; until two men came forward testifying that YAHSHUA had said, I am able to tear down the sanctuary of the temple of God and to build it up again in three days. YAHSHUA remained silent to the accusation until the high priest stood up and said, Have You no answer to make? What about this that these men testify against You? YAHSHUA continued silent until the Hight Priest said to Him, I CALL UPON YOU TO SWEAR BY THE LIVING God, and tell us whether you are the Messiah, the Son of God (Matt. 26:57,59-63). That was a request that demanded the verdict that YAHSHUA was the Messiah, the Son of God, the King of Israel. In purity and honest truth, in sincerity of heart, YAHSHUA said, You have stated (the fact). And He added, more than that, I tell you: You will in the future see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Almighty and coming on the clouds of the sky (Matt. 26:64). His answer covered the present and the future, prophesized in the book of Daniel 7:13-14: “I saw in the night visions, and behold, on the clouds of the heavens came One like a Son of man, and He came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. And there was given Him dominion and glory and kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and His kingdom is one which shall not be destroyed.” That was the complete answer they did not expected. But if they were familiar with the prophecies, found in their possession, they should have remembered this one and feared for their lives.

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Out of the Womb of the Morning

Out of the womb of the morning is where the day starts; it is the beginning of things. Everything has a beginning from somewhere, or from someone. The womb of a woman holds her child for over nine months – a secure place where life starts and develops, provided the baby is not aborted. Life springs forth from the womb; the morning springs forth the day in its arrays of light sparkling on the dew, as the earth makes its turn, making it possible for a new day to be visible. In the spiritual sense, the death and resurrection of our Messiah YAHSHUA sprang forth the birth of His church. We are born again from His Spirit, for what is born of flesh is flesh; and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. (John 3:5-6). A new beginning, He gave to men through His death. He had to die to bring forth life everlasting to all who will. As the seed must die before it becomes a tree, He died that we might have life. His life was shared with us through His Holy Spirit. Out of the womb of His sufferings, His church was born and became His bride. We must be born again, YAHSHUA said to Nicodemus. For it is from Him that salvation springs forth. The Prophet Isaiah prophesized about His death many years before it happened. He said, He (YAHSHUA) shall see [the fruit] of the travail of His soul and be satisfied; by His knowledge of Himself shall My righteous one, My Servant, justify many and many and make many righteous, for He shall bear their iniquities and their guilt (Isaiah 53:11).

Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning (Ps. 30:5b). The anguish that embraces the soul is felt in the night. However, in hope we wait for our morning to arrive, when its womb will spring forth joy. Morning does not have to be a specific time, but it is that time when relief comes rescuing us from our troubles. In trials, we must always remember that there from out of a womb of a morning, joy will spring forth sooner or later. YAHSHUA was in the heart of the earth three days and three nights; His morning came with His resurrection and unspeakable joy to all His disciples, and to all of us who would accept His gift of life. YAHSHUA said, blessed are you who weep and sob now, for you shall laugh (Luke 6:21b). The Patriarch Job did not see his morning for a long time. The womb of the morning stayed closed for him until God opened it in His time. And then, the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning (Job 42:12), for the Lord will not cast off forever; but though He causes grief, yet will He be moved to compassion according to the multitude of His loving-kindness and tender mercy (Lam. 3:31-32). The dew of a morning is life sustaining for the green of the earth; it is life expressed in the beginning of a new day, springing forth from the womb of a morning. The dew, in the spiritual sense, is resurrection of the Lord’s saints at the rapture. Isaiah said, Your dead shall live; the bodies of our dead shall rise, You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For the Lord’s dew is a dew of light; and the earth shall cast forth the dead [to life again; for on the land of the shades of the dead You will let Your dew fall] (Isaiah 26:19). The Lord’s supernatural dew will spring forth from the womb of that glorious day in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet call. For a trumpet will sound, and the dead [in Christ] will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed (I Cor. 15:52). For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud cry of summons, with the shout of an archangel, and with the blast of the trumpet of God. And those who have departed this life in Christ will rise first (I Thess. 4:16). Therefore, comfort and encourage one another with these words (I Thess. 4:18).

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Opportunity Today, Gone Tomorrow

The uncertainties of life are measured by lost opportunities, in many cases. They come to us in ways we do not realize at first, until it is gone. “I wish I had known it” is the regret of many of us at the perception of the reality. Opportunities, present themselves as chances to perform a task at a good time with possibilities to advance to better things. It is life’s one time, not realized, chance. YAHSHUA, seeing the spiritual condition of Jerusalem wept over it exclaiming, Would that you had known personally, even at least in this your day, the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes, for a time is coming upon you when your enemies will throw up a bank about you and surround you and shut you in on every side, and they will dahs you down to the ground, your [Jerusalem] and your children within you; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not come progressively to recognize and know and understand the time of your visitation [that is, when God was visiting you, the time in which God showed Himself gracious toward you and offered you salvation through Christ] (Luke 19:42-44). Those days were the days when God was showing favor to the nation; they were days when the prophecy of Isaiah 61 was being fulfilled. That was the passage YAHSHUA read in the synagogue, when it was handed to Him the scroll of the book of Isaiah. He read verses 1 and 2: The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the good news to the poor; He has sent Me to announce release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed, to proclaim the accepted and acceptable year of the Lord… And He began to speak to them: Today the Scripture has been fulfilled while you are present and hearing (Luke 4:17-19, 21). So great was the incredulity of the Jewish nation, that at the end of YAHSHUA’S teaching, they tried to kill Him by trying to hurl Him headlong down. Israel rejected YAHSHUA’S messages, they ignored the signs and wonders He performed among them; they handled Him to Rome to be crucified, at their request, even though, the death by crucifixion was not practiced by their Law. Isaiah’s prophecy Who has believed our message? was then fulfilled. At the ultimate opportunity presented to them to repent, they rejected and shouted, Away with Him! Crucify Him! Let His blood be on us and on our children! (Matt. 27:25b). Israel put themselves under condemnation of God’s judgment and suffered the consequences for having rejected His Son and ignored their opportunity to be saved.

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Time to Keep Silent, For the Days Are Evil

(Micah 7; Amos 5:13)

What constitutes evil days, if they weren’t for mankind? When God created the world, He created a beautiful world for man to enjoy and take care of it. There was no presence of evil anywhere, all were in harmony with the Creator. The animals weren’t violent toward one another and they did not eat one another. Peace was the harmony that kept them together, heard in a bird song. Music filled the air of that garden- the garden of Eden with happiness and innocence. It was the world God created. I can’t tell how long did the world of yesterday enjoyed perfection in every side, neither can I tell you how long it was before our parents messed it up by doubting God’s word and falling into temptation. That must have been one dark day in the lives of Adam and Eve, which changed the destiny of the world and theirs too. The door was then opened for evil to permeate the garden and take control of the lives of men and animals. They no longer behaved peacefully toward one another. The sweet fragrance of love and peace vanished and the world started to experience evil, hate, jealousy instead. As a matter of fact, the first-born son of Eve, committed the first homicide. From there, it went from bad to worse, until God destroyed the yesterday’s world by means of water in the days of Noah. Those were truly evil days!

The psalmist cried to God, Help, Lord! For principled and godly people are here no more; faithfulness and the faithful vanish from among the sons of men. To his neighbor each one speaks words without use or worth of truth; with flattering lips and double heart they speak (Psa. 12:1-2); and Isaiah prophesized, The righteous man perishes, and no one lays it to heart; and merciful and devout men are taken away, with no one considering that the uncompromisingly upright and godly person is taken away from the calamity and evil to come (Isaiah 57:1); Micah echoes by saying, the godly man has perished from the earth, and there is none upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood; each hunts his brother with a net; both their hands are put forth and are upon what is evil to do it diligently; the prince and the judge ask for a bribe, and the great man utters his evil desire. Thus, they twist between them; the best of them is like a brier; the most upright or the straightest is like a thorn hedge. The day of your watchmen, even of [God’s] judgment and your punishment, has come; now shall be their perplexity and confusion. Trust not in a neighbor; put no confidence in a friend. Keep the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your bosom…But as for me, I will look to the Lord and confident in Him I will keep watch; I will wait with hope and expectancy for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me (Micah 7:2-5,7). Therefore, he who is prudent will keep silence in such a time, for it is an evil time (Amos 5:13).

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A New Era Is Coming Our Way

There is a promise out there that “The Best Is Yet to Come.” We have been waiting for it to be implemented for two years now in this chaotic world of lies and deceit. They say, It is almost here, feeding false hope to all who believed them. This promise seems vague and undecided concerning the time when it will be reality, because it is based on numbers and signs seemly from the New Age religion. The question remains, what is it about? False peace. A peace that will be dissipated in a very short time of its existence, when destruction will take the world by surprise (I Thess. 5). The new government promises prosperity for all, debts forgiven, health for all, free energy, money for all and love for all. It is wrapped up in the belief, among many others, that we all will become gods. Hugging a tree, as the object of worship, and earth is called “Mother Earth.” I am referring to the new spirituality, or New Age religion, which is rooted in eastern mysticism. It is obvious to see that several of their beliefs have bled into Christian churches, as these, for example: (1) thinking positively with faith, we will get from God anything we desire. (2) Follow your heart, because our emotions indicate truth and direction (3) we are gods because we are children of God; we can get anything we desire, for we are divine in nature (4) we can become one with God through being without sin, and not by faith alone. (5) there are many spiritual paths to God and heaven. (From Daily She pursues website).

New Age has many dark sides we Christians must realize, even when they use the Bible for many of their references to support their plans. Yes, they know the Bible and use it to appropriate to their plan. They say if you do not believe their plan, you will be left behind, while those who believe it will ascend. There are five types of ascensions:

Awakening of the mind
Awakening of a new personality
Awakening of spiritual energy
Awakening of the soul
Total wakening (enlightenment)

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