Sermon: Watch and Vigilantly Prepare

#1673-AM
Martin G. Collins
Given 26-Sep-22; 64 minutes

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God's plan of salvation for humanity, in which He pictures the master plan for reproducing Himself, is observed by keeping His annual holy days and feasts. The world does not have this knowledge and understanding because it has not been revealed to them. However, by a divine miracle, it has been revealed to us. How thankful are you, how thankful am I about this? Can we really show our appreciation? We must greatly appreciate this tremendous gift of divine favor.

The crucifixion was on Passover day reminding us that Christ's supreme sacrifice paid the penalty for our sins. Next the Feast of Unleavened Bread reminds us of our continual need to put the leaven of sin out of our lives and obey God. On the Day of Pentecost, we observe as a memorial God sending forth His Spirit to spiritually dwell in and strengthen the firstfruits of God's plan of salvation.

God intends His spring festivals to illustrate to His church every year that all those He has called to become His Spirit begotten children since Christ's first coming and are now firstfruits, the relatively small beginning of His eventual spiritual harvest of all mankind into this universe-ruling Family. Then His fall holy days, fall festivals of the much larger autumn feasts season, picture God's calling of the rest of the billions of people to salvation and sonship in His glorious Family after Christ's return.

The Feast of Trumpets immediately makes us think of the return of Christ—it is the first thought we get when we think of this day—to rule the earth and God wants us to stop in order to concentrate on truly eternal things. Not only the return of Christ, but the resurrection of the dead, and the end of the age of man and the rulership in the Kingdom of God.

Repeatedly, Jesus warned us to watch and vigilantly prepare for Christ's second coming. The sudden and unexpected nature of Jesus' return is expressed in several urgent situations that relate to scenes from common circumstances in life to depict His return. The thief in the night, the master who returns after a long journey, and the bridegroom who arrives in the middle of the night. These examples relate to the light and dark regarding the normal rhythm of life that has us active during the day and sleeping at night, while stressing the abruptness of the second coming.

These examples also emphasize the necessity of constant readiness indicated in the call to stay awake; not to wake up, but to stay awake. The emphasis of both surprise and readiness is seen in such warnings as Jesus coming like a thief, so His followers should keep their clothes on.

Revelation 16:15 "Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame."

Being clothed, in this instance, has to do with constant faithfulness in the midst of suffering similar to that demonstration by Jesus in His own suffering and death. There are two primary emphases in the New Testament depictions of the second coming: Its certainty and suddenness on the one hand and the need for vigilant preparedness on the other.

Please turn with me to Leviticus 23. We must observe the Feast of Trumpets so we will be ready and caught up to meet Him when the appointed time comes. Be forewarned, half of the ten virgins are not ready. The Feast of Trumpets celebrates the second coming of Jesus Christ to intervene in world affairs, resurrect the firstfruits, and establish the Kingdom of God on earth.

Leviticus 23:23-25 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.'"

So this feast symbolizes a vast turning point in world history. It pictures the pivotal changeover between the age of man, darkness, and Satan, and the age of God, light, the Millennium, and the Kingdom of God.

God allows wars because His purpose is to develop righteous character in human beings and that purpose necessitates free moral agency in people. It is absolutely necessary that people be given both the prerogative and the ability to make their own choice and exercise their own will. Otherwise, good character would not be developed.

God offered people the way that will prevent war and produce peace and let us choose. And He created and set in motion inexorable laws that work. Not only laws of chemistry and physics, but also a basic spiritual law of peace. Keeping that law produces and maintains peace. Its violation produces war. But human nature is basically rebellious against God and His laws. He laid before humans the knowledge of His law and how to have peace, but people yield to human nature, having pride, greed, and self-centeredness, which is rebelliousness against God's law of peace. That rebelliousness begins with wrong desire. It is sin and it is the cause of wars.

James 4:1 [James identified this source of worldly antagonisms] Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?

So it is an internal problem that is going on, one that we do not always see. The phrase translated desires for pleasure in verse 1 is the source of the English word hedonism, the designation of the philosophy that views pleasure as the chief goal of life. Is that not a banner that this world flies today? James pictures these pleasures as residing within people carrying on a bitter campaign to gain satisfaction. Pleasure is the overriding desire of people's lives, and nothing is allowed to stand in the way of its realization, of its accomplishment.

James 4:2-3 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask [that is, in faith according to the will of God]. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.

Again, he emphasizes pleasures. In verses 4 through 6 James criticized spiritual unfaithfulness.

James 4:4-5 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. [you immediately have a war growing right there at that point] Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, "The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously"?

The ESV renders verse 5 a little bit clearer, I think. It says, "Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, 'He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us"?

James 4:6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says, "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble."

Because of their lack of humility they have chosen the praise and methods of the world and are acting as God's enemies. God sends judgment on the proud accordingly. In verses 7 through 10, James pleaded for submission to God.

James 4:7-10 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

So with regard to war, the warring starts within a person in the form of lust and pride. Eventually it manifests itself openly toward others. This happens on a personal level, which carries over to a national level. Initially, people reject God's universal law which has a domino effect that quickly spreads.

With respect to war, the basic point of God's spiritual law is the sixth commandment. As you know, it simply says, "You shall not kill" or "You shall not murder," depending on the translation. Whether the killing is intentional or accidental, it still carries some level of penalty. Even if it is only a matter of fleeing for one's life to a city of refuge, that is still a penalty. It uproots a person even if it was an accidental killing.

To any people, whether an individual, a nation, or even all nations who will voluntarily subject subject themselves under God's government, God says the same thing. He is no respecter of persons. And although it was spoken to ancient Israel, Exodus 23:22 declares a universal truth. "But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries."

In this sense, what He said to the Israelites He says to all. God promised to supernaturally fight any invading enemy to protect the nation and people that will obey and trust Him. Of course, there are conditions to His promise of divine protection. It is not in God's interest to force any nation or individual to come under His law at this time. But the freed Israelite slaves accepted God's covenant with Abraham, confirmed it, and became His nation, and they agreed to obey Him according to His laws. And He agreed to give them protection and peace.

People do not believe that God could give them, individually or nationally, the material possessions that they need, or even desire. Instead, they do what is right in their own eyes and so compete and fight and war to get these things.

When an aggressor attacks, peoples and nations of this world refuse to trust God to deliver them, as He did ancient Israel at the Red Sea and in many other instances. There is no nation on earth, including the United States, Britain, Canada, or other Israelitish nations or Gentile countries that really knows and trusts the true God for His supernatural protection in time of war.

Instead, humanity finds it easier to spend countless billions of dollars and man hours to protect themselves. Countless millions of lives are crippled, ruined, and killed, and millions of young men are taught to become skilled killers. And one of the most devastating indictments against war is that it breeds in whole populations the spirit of violence and murder among themselves. To even hate our enemies is murder in the heart, according to the spirit of the law: "You shall not kill."

As Christians, we must strive for the ideal, we must be cleansed and made pure from hatred.

In one generation, Americans were taught to hate the British in the Revolutionary War. Later they were taught to hate the Mexicans and the Spanish. Still later, they had to hate and destroy the Germans and the Japanese, and after that, they were pressured to hate the Russians and the North Koreans and the North Vietnamese and the Iranians and the Chinese. Now Americans are allied with the British and somewhat with the Germans. And the Japanese and the Mexicans are economic allies. And so the cycle goes on because of the attitude of war, of wanting what you do not have, and being willing to kill for it.

But Americans are taught and willingly accept warring by self-seeking, prideful political leaders and a propaganda film media, and hate other countries all over again because the people are of a warring nature. They are ready and willing to accept warring, as did ancient Israel. And so it gets back to our human nature and the pride that our human nature is driven by. No wonder there is such violence, crime, adultery, and abortion in the wake of war. More than any other thing, war breeds the spirit of murder and that evil spirit is growing and increasing exponentially as the end of this age grows near.

The Feast of Trumpets is a memorial of blowing of trumpets and the trumpet is a symbol of war in many cases. Christ comes in a time of worldwide war when the nations are very angry. The nations rage because they follow the wrong path and receive its dire consequences. The outline of Psalm 2 is straightforward. It divides into four nearly equal parts, each uttered by a different speaker or speakers. And it is not only about Jesus, but He Himself speaks in it. In the first section, verses 1 through 3, the speakers are the rebellious rulers of the earth, introduced by the narrator. He asks why they engage in anything useless as trying to throw off the rule of God's anointed.

Psalm 2:1-3 Why do the nations rage, and the peoples plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, "Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us."

These three verses are a description of the hatred of humanity against Christ, the Son of the Father.

In the second section in Psalm 2, the speaker is God the Father, though the narrator sets up His words, just as in the opening section he set up the arrogant words of the rebelling monarchs of the earth.

Psalm 2:4-6 He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall hold them in derision. Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, and distress them in His deep displeasure: "Yet I have set My King on My holy hill of Zion."

What is God's reaction to the haughty words of these arrogant human rulers? God does not tremble one bit. He does not hide behind a vast celestial fortification, counting the enemy, and calculating whether or not He has sufficient force to counter this new challenge to His Kingdom. He does not even rise from where He is sitting. He simply laughs at these great imbeciles. This is the only place in the Bible where God is said to laugh and it is not a pleasant laugh; it is a laugh of disdain as the next verb shows. The Lord scoffs at them. This is what human attempts to throw off the role of the sovereign God deserve.

It is understandable that sinners would want to reject God's rule. That is what sin is, a repudiation of God's rule in favor of one's own will. But although it is understandable, the folly of this attempt surpasses belief. How can mere human beings expect to get rid of the sovereign, Almighty, all-powerful, all-knowing God of the universe and beyond? What arrogance these leaders have!

After laughing at such foolishness, God speaks to rebuke and to terrify these rulers. He tells of the appointment of His Son to be King in Zion and foretells His triumph.

In the third section of Psalm 2, verses 7 through 9, contain the words of God's anointed, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Psalm 2:7 "I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to Me, 'You are My Son, today I have begotten You.'

The words "You are My Son" or "This is My beloved Son" were spoken by His eternal Father twice during His earthly ministry. Once said at His baptism, and once at His transfiguration. At the baptism, a voice from heaven said, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." And at His transfiguration, God said, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!"

Although verse 6 speaks of God having established His King in Zion in the past tense, verses 8-9 speak in a future tense.

Psalm 2:8-9 "Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron; and You shall dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel."

This is an acknowledgement of what the author of Hebrews says in applying another psalm to Jesus. In Hebrews 2 he quotes Psalm 8:4-6, noting that the Father has placed everything under Jesus' feet. But he says, at present we do not see everything subject subject to Him, there in Hebrews 2:8. Jesus is the Lord. But there are still many, like the rulers of the psalm's opening lines, who resist Him.

In the fourth and final section of Psalm 2, verses 10 through 12, the narrator speaks again, expressing words of warning and entreaty to those who have not yet bowed before God's Son.

Psalm 2:10-11 Now therefore, be wise, O kings; be instructed, you judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.

The kings of the earth that give in to God's leadership and subject themselves to Him can do the same rejoicing that we do, knowing what our future is and what our future holds and what our rewards hold. These kings can have rejoicing as well if they were to submit to God.

Psalm 2:12 Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.

What does this gentle, loving, and tender voice require these rebellious humans to do? A number of things: To be wise, to be warned, to serve the Lord with fear, to rejoice with trembling. But primarily they are to "Kiss the Son" in grateful, loving submission. And this is what these rulers will not do, of course, and it is why they are in danger of a final, fierce destruction.

Psalm 2 speaks of the rebellion of the world's rulers against God's Anointed. The actual word is Messiah (for the anointed Messiah) and of the Father's decree to give Him dominion over them. Now this determination plus the psalm's ready and obvious application to the hostile circumstances of their day, made Psalm 2 one of the psalms most quoted by the writers of the New Testament.

Acts 4:23-31 is the most extensive New Testament reference to Psalm 2. And Psalm 2:1-2 is cited by the earliest Christians in a thanksgiving prayer following the release of Peter and John by the Sanhedrin.

Acts 4:23-26 And being let go, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. [that is Peter and John] So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: "Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea and all that is in them, who by the mouth of Your servant David have said: 'Why do the nations rage, and the people plot vain things? The kings of the earth took their stand, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against His Christ.'

In verses 27 through 30 they identified this rebellion with the conspiracy of Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the peoples of Israel against Jesus. That was the comparison that Luke was making in recording this.

Psalm 2 is referred to frequently in Revelation. For example, in Revelation 1:5, it says, "Jesus Christ. . . the ruler of the kings of the earth." Revelation 2:27, "He will rule them with an iron scepter; He will dash them to pieces like pottery." Revelation 12:5 says, "She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter." I think some translations say, a rod of iron, and other less specific references.

So since Jesus is God's Son, the rebellion against Him is ultimately a rebellion against God the Father.

Old Testament Israel was not called to nor offered spiritual salvation except for specific individuals. But Jesus Christ did not come proclaiming the physical worldly kingdom of Israel, but the Spirit-born Kingdom of God. And He promised the gift of the Spirit of God for His church. This comes by God's grace when two conditions are met, faith and repentance.

Those in whom the Spirit of God dwells are true Christians and the Holy Spirit imparts provisionally and conditionally the divine and immortal life of God. It imparts a new nature—the divine nature—and it opens the mind to comprehension of spiritual knowledge and understanding.

I Corinthians 2:7-9 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages of our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written: "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him."

And those things are mostly the gift of salvation, and partly the rewards that we receive, the things for the way we live our lives.

I Corinthians 2:10-11 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.

So anyone without God's Holy Spirit just cannot understand even the simple, in a sense, plan of God. For the plan of the salvation of man, the natural-born mind of a human being cannot comprehend God's spiritual truth. Once we receive God's Spirit, we are sons of God. We are heirs. We are joint heirs with Christ, and even a converted Gentile born person, upon receiving God's Spirit, becomes an heir of God according to God's covenant with Abraham.

The presence of God's Spirit changes us. It changes our whole attitude from hostile against God to submission, obedience, and faith. Of course, it is a process which we call sanctification. The Holy Spirit changes our outlook on life and changes our way of life so that it becomes God-centered rather than self-centered, sinless rather than sinful. The world is sinful as a way of life. We commit sin and we repent of it, but it is not our way of life.

Jesus Christ came into this world as a messenger of the government or Kingdom of God and He took no part in His world's politics or wars. On trial for His life before Pontius Pilate, Jesus revealed where His Kingdom is not.

John 18:36 "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here."

But when He comes, His Kingdom will begin to be from here and His servants, you and I hopefully, will fight because we will be spirit beings. He does not allow human beings to kill human beings. But being members of the Family of God we will be under God's authority and in God's Family, and it will be a different situation because we will be carrying out God's judgment with Jesus Christ.

Ancient Israel was one of the kingdoms or nations of this world; and although no nation should fight, they do go to war and fight, and Israel did and does fight. But Jesus made plain that His people, now members of His church, do not fight. Now, we are in a spiritual battle, of course. We are fighting in that way. I am talking physically, in that sense.

The reception of God's Spirit through Jesus Christ brings us into His spiritual Kingdom and as long as God's Spirit dwells in us, we have spiritual citizenship in God's Kingdom.

Philippians 3:20-21 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.

We have received a new, a different, and a spiritual citizenship, and we are citizens of the Kingdom of God. But even though God's government has not yet come to earth to rule all nations under the glorified Christ as King of kings, our spiritual citizenship is recorded in heaven. We are still naturally born citizens of the government under which we have been born (we are called naturalized citizens). We love our country, which in reality, is the people. And we are subject to its laws and authority. We are here on earth as ambassadors for Christ, as Paul confirms:

II Corinthians 5:20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: and we [that is the apostle speaking] implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God.

So even Abraham, the father of the faithful whose promises they were, was merely a sojourner in the Promised Land as in a strange country. We are in the same way sojourners in the country in which we live. We are ambassadors representing Christ our King who is in heaven. Even though we have a temporary earthly citizenship, our spiritual citizenship makes a tremendous difference because it spiritually sets us apart. It sanctifies us; it separates separates us out from the war-making nations of this world in which we have our physical residence. In this new Christian life, our primary allegiance, above all, is to the Almighty God, our Creator, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

In II Corinthians 10, the apostle Paul instructed the Christians at Corinth:

II Corinthians 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.

And he says that we no longer live according to our own will, but by faith in Jesus Christ.

Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by [the] faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

God's law of love requires us to love our neighbor as ourselves. It is called a royal law or kingly law because of its excellence and nobleness. Not because it is ordained by God as a king, but because it has supreme importance among other laws as a king has among its subjects. In other words, it is majestic and honorable, but it must be elevated to its spiritual potential. God's law must be elevated to its spiritual potential.

Turn with me if you will please to Matthew 5. It must be raised from the letter of the law to the spirit of the law in our application. Jesus came to do that and to show us how it is to be lived.

Matthew 5:17 "Do not think that I came to destroy [the NIV has abolished] the Law or the Prophets. [that is, the holy Scriptures of the Old Testament] I did not come to destroy but to fulfill."

Fulfill means to establish, to validate, to confirm the law. Jesus did not come to abolish the law but to confirm it and to establish it. He magnified it, giving us a clear understanding of the spirit of the law.

Matthew 5:18-20 "For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men to so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of God."

So Jesus set us an example of obedience to the law that we must follow. And we, as a royal priesthood, must also fulfill and confirm the law by living it.

I Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

Please turn over to James 2. James elaborated on this principle with an example of two specific laws of love: Do not commit adultery and do not murder.

James 2:8-11 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you do well [and according to that doing well, you are rewarded]; but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. For He who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.

Far from abolishing God's law, Jesus put a magnifying glass on it so that we may see more clearly how to obey it in principle and in spirit, not merely according to the literal letter of the law.

Now back to Matthew 5. Jesus came into this world to magnify God's law and to make it honorable. He cast a spotlight on the Ten Commandments and showed their true spiritual intent and meaning. The expanding of the law that Christ taught is seen in His instruction on murder.

Matthew 5:21-22 [the subtitle in my Bible says, Murder Begins in the Heart] "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.' But I say to you, that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, 'Raca!' shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be in danger of hellfire."

Christ shows that God's law is spiritual and is designed to extend to the thoughts and feelings as well as to the external act. Here in Matthew 5, killing, murder, war is traced to its source—hate, anger, self-centeredness, greed, lust, spirit of competition, and spirit of aggression. This is Jesus Christ's application of the sixth commandment regarding our respecting others. If we harbor hate and anger in our hearts, we are harboring the spirit of murder. If we maintain an attitude of disdain and disagreement for the welfare of others, we are guilty of breaking the spirit of the sixth commandment and the law against murder.

Matthew 5:43-46 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even tax the tax collectors do so?"

So actions follow thought; and first we think, then we do. The Spirit of Christ guides us not only to control our actions, but to control our thoughts and attitudes. In part, the New Covenant is the process of God writing His law in our hearts and minds.

Please turn over to Romans 12. The way we deal with our enemies is one of the areas that makes us different from the world.

Romans 12:17-19 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord.

People are incapable of taking vengeance with proper wisdom and justice to all concerned. God alone has the wisdom and the power and the right to take vengeance on human beings to the extent of executing them if His righteous judgment requires it. It takes righteous character to help and serve human beings when they have directly tried to harm us. It takes spiritual wisdom to realize that they are made in the image of God and deceived by their own human nature.

Romans 12:20-21 Therefore "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him drink; for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

So it is important for us to understand that although we return with Christ to fight against the evil warmongers who are still defiant against Him by the end of the tribulation, the war is engaged according to God's will and carried out by the Commander of His army. We will not enter this battle with a thirst for revenge or with hatred for evil human beings. We will still be abiding by God's royal law—the law of love.

Jesus Christ will come with the full authority of God the Father as the Commander of the army of the Lord, and He comes to do God the Father's will.

I am going to repeat over the next few minutes part of one of my sermons before where I covered in Joshua about the Commander of the Lord (just so it refreshes in our mind and the point is more clear).

The reality of war is that it brings death and destruction, shattered lives, and suffering children. When we consider the misery and sorrow caused by war, we cannot help but joyously long for the return of Christ to set up God's government of peace here on earth.

Micah 4:3 He [that is, the Lord] shall judge between many peoples, and rebuke strong nations afar off. They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.

However, throughout the Bible, God appears as a powerful soldier who asserts His power against the evil of the world. God's sovereignty over Israel's history is witnessed in victory or defeat in warfare between Israel and the Gentile nations.

At the end of the fifth chapter of Joshua, we see the Lord as a divine warrior who brings His people into the Land of Promise.

Joshua 5:13-15 [The Commander of the Army of the Lord] And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, "Are You for us or for our adversaries?" So He said, "No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come." And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, "What does my Lord say to His servant?" Then the Commander of the Lord's army said to Joshua, "Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy." And Joshua did so.

Of course, the Commander of the Lord is Jesus Christ. And to have the Lord appear as Commander of the heavenly regions must have tremendously lifted Joshua's mental state and assured him that the necessary force would be available when the assault on Jericho was finally made. And it was the host of the Lord rather than the armies of Israel that demolished the walls of Jericho and permitted its overflow. A major difference will not only be the host of the Lord, but it will be us as the host of the Lord returning with Jesus Christ after we have risen to meet Him in the air.

The exchange between Joshua and the Commander is interesting. Joshua asked, "Are you for us or for our enemies?" And here is Jesus Christ, who has come with the armies of heaven to defend Joshua and secure the conquest of Jericho, then why did He not reply, "I am for you and Israel"? You may recall that from several sermons ago. Instead, although we know He was for Joshua and certainly did assist in the battle against Jericho, the Commander replied with what sounded like a lack of commitment to this question. The Commander of the armies of the Lord answers, "No." That is, I am neither for you nor your for your enemies. I am here to command the Lord's armies.

So the point of the exchange seems to be that it was not for Joshua to claim the allegiance of God for his cause however right it was, but rather for God to claim Joshua. The two would fight together, but Joshua would be following the Commander of the armies of the Lord in His cause and battles rather than it being the other way around. We will follow Christ under Christ's authority as King of kings.

This is a very important principle. We tend to marshal God for our programs rather than simply follow Him wherever He leads. Some people view God's will as a projection of their own concerns. The God in our minds is always smaller than the true Almighty God, because our minds, even though expanded by understanding, by Scripture, and the Holy Spirit, are too inadequate to completely conceive of or comprehend Him.

So we will not return with Christ with an attitude of revenge or hatred. It will be out of righteous judgment to carry out the Father's will on earth under Jesus Christ's leadership.

Please turn over to Matthew 24. We are always amazed and awed by God if we are in a personal reverential relationship with Him and not merely going through the motions of appearing to be living God's way of life. {Which gets back to the sermonette about hypocrisy. We want to make sure that we avoid hypocrisy at all costs in times of stress.)

The sincere believer asks God, "Are you for us or for our enemies?" And Jesus replies, "Neither, but as commander of the army of the Lord, I have now come." We are not suggesting that He is not there to exclusively support His people, but the Lord is emphasizing He assembles His hosts according to God's will. And the Lord will assemble the firstfruits of His Kingdom to judge the world according to God's will.

Matthew 24:36-39 "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be."

Matthew 24:42-44 "Watch therefore [there is that watch again], for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."

God knows how to equitably judge each one according to what one knows and understands. Now is not our time to judge the world, but that day is coming. Judgment on the world will come with the return of Christ to establish God's government on earth. Only God, who gave life, has the right to take life. Therefore, only God has the right to wage war.

I Samuel 2:6 "The Lord kills and makes alive; He brings down to the grave and brings up."

God does not want His human children waging war, but His spiritual children, as members of the Family of God, will help carry out His judgment on His enemies.

Please turn over to Revelation 1. When Christ returns with the saints to fight against the armies of the earth, it will not be a battle of physical saints killing other physical human beings, but spiritual members of the Kingdom of God carrying out God's righteous judgments by fighting against and killing sinful, rebellious human beings, putting them out of their misery. It is a merciful and a loving act.

Because Christ will journey from heaven to earth, His coming is associated with the heavens and with arrival on the clouds of heaven. The universal visibility of the coming is part of the picture and everywhere the second coming is accompanied by the spectacle of people's response of either joy or terror, as we read about all tribes of the earth wailing and people hiding in caves and among the rocks of the mountains.

Revelation 1:4-7 John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.

Now, earlier we read in Psalm 2:11 words of warning and appeal to those who have not yet bowed before God's Son, "Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling."

Turn over to Nehemiah 8. The Feast of Trumpets is a day of rejoicing, and as the weekly Sabbath, it is holy to the Lord.

Nehemiah 8:2 So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly of men and women and all who could hear it with understanding on the first day of the seventh month [that is, on the Feast of Trumpets].

Nehemiah 8:9-12 And Nehemiah, who was the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people, said to all the people, "This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep." For all the people wept when they heard the words of the Law. And then he said to them, "Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." So the Levites quieted all the people, saying, "Be still, for the day is holy; do not be grieved." All the people went their way to eat and drink, to send portions and rejoice greatly, because they understood the words that were declared to them.

So on this Feast of Trumpets God wants us to stop in order to concentrate on the truly eternal things: The return of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, the end of the age of man, and the Kingdom of God.

Please turn over to II Thessalonians 2. A great deal happens on the Feast of Trumpets and with Christ's return.

II Thessalonians 2:1-2 Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come.

So Jesus will set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people, to search out and to find His lost sheep.

Matthew 24:30-31 "Then the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven 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."

The most massive gathering in the history of life, Israel will be gathered at the sound of the trumpet at the second coming of Christ. And Christ's direct intervention in world affairs will be the next event in the plan of redemption.

As part of God's redemptive plan, the Feast of Trumpets pictures the time when Christ comes again in clouds with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God. Unless Christ returns to resurrect the dead, we would never gain eternal life. That is how important this day represents. And there must be a resurrection.

I Thessalonians 4:14-18 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep [or those who are dead]. 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. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with Him in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.

In describing the second coming of Jesus, Paul uses a picture borrowed from the triumph of a divine warrior. The triumphant call is meaningful of the call to battle, just as the picture of the faithful meeting in the air is drawn from the ancient practice of coming out of the city to welcome a returning warrior who has been successful in battle. The timing of this spectacular event is revealed in I Corinthians 15.

I Corinthians 15:51-52 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—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.

Please turn over to I Peter 1. We have hope of an eternal inheritance that can never die, rot, or disappear. The concept of inheritance stresses family connection and the saving gift. The inheritance is kept or reserved in heaven. Here in I Peter 1, this section of my Bible is titled, A Heavenly Inheritance.

I Peter 1:3-9 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing [yet having faith in Him], you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.

So the reason for the paradoxical joy is that we are kept by God's power through faith in the goal of salvation, which is now being realized. The basic meaning of salvation here is deliverance, and the word "souls" basic meaning here is "selves" or "persons." So it is a deliverance of our persons, of ourselves. And then, of course, even greater, the salvation of eternal life.

Please turn over to Revelation 11. So the rejoicing with overwhelming joy comes from God's indwelling Spirit which strengthens our faith with the guarantee that we are being delivered into a new Spirit life. The book of Revelation, of course, continues the description of divine warfare in relation to Jesus' return. Christ directly intervenes in world affairs at the seventh last trumpet.

Revelation 11:15-19 [this section is titled, Seventh Trumpet: The Kingdom Proclaimed] Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!" And the twenty-four elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying:

"We give you thanks, O Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was and the who is to come, because you have taken Your great power and reigned. The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, and those who fear Your name, small and great, and should destroy those who destroy the earth." Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of the covenant was seen in His temple. And there were lightnings, noises, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail.

Despite the Feast of Trumpet's heavy emphasis on troubles of a very dangerous proportion, it is, in an overall sense, a day that should give all of us as God's people the greatest hope and rejoicing. It is capable of lifting, encouraging, inspiring, and giving sense and reason to life. It fills us with hope and right direction for our efforts. It also has its somber, painful, and destructive side.

For a final scripture please turn over to Micah 4. Even though it is a time of great disruption and the end of Satan's invisible dominion of mankind, it is also the time of our receiving of rewards for our many acts of sacrifice in the service of God and mankind. It will officially mark the beginning of God's Sabbath-rest and thus the time period just before that must be a time of working, a time of vigilant preparedness, and that time, from the indicators that we are able to see, must be very soon, at least in the scheme of things. When you think about the 6,000 years of man on earth, it is very soon and we must stay awake.

When God's government does come, His law will be established and kept as the standard of conduct for all nations. When God reigns, nations will be at peace with one another.

Micah 4:1-3 [the title here is, The Lord Reigns in Zion]. Now it shall come to pass in the latter days [not the Millennium, God must establish His authority first] that the mountain [that is, the Kingdom] of the Lord's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and peoples shall flow to it. Many nations shall come and say, "Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths."

For out of Zion the law shall go forth, and the word of Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between many peoples, and rebuke strong nations afar off; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.

That is part of the result of what the Feast of Trumpets represents!

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