Nazarene Israelite Two House Congregation of Port Elizabeth

Blow the Trumpet!

Despite the fact that many in Churchianity pray the same model prayer Messiah taught His disciples in Matthew 6: 9 – 13, not everyone who claim faith in Messiah believe that Yahshua our Messiah will return to earth to establish the kingdom of Elohim on earth, as it is in heaven, in the foreseeable future. The main reason for this is the fact that Christianity and a number of other religions believe the reward of the ‘saved’ is to go to heaven after death, whilst the wicked will go to an everlasting hellfire when they die one day. As a result of this Rav Kepha warned us about what some of us have also heard people saying to us in 2 Peter 3: 3 & 4, saying: ‘Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, (4) and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.”

Rav Shaul also wrote to us the modern day disciples of Messiah in 1 Thessalonians 5:  1 – 6, saying:‘Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you. (2) For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Master will come just like a thief in the night. (3) While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then destruction will come upon them suddenly like birth pangs upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. (4) But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you like a thief; (5) for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; (6) so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober.’So even though Yahshua used almost the same words to tell His disciples about the Set-apart Spirit that they were to receive on Shavuot/Pentecost a few days after He ascended to heaven, stating that it was not for them to know the times or epochs which the Fatherhas fixed by His own authority, in Acts 1: 7 & 8 at that time, we have a goodidea when He will return to earth in the near future. In fact the Scriptures reveal in graphic detail the Second coming of Yahshua Messiah in supreme power and glory to usher in the Kingdom of Elohim on earth on a Feast of Trumpets in the near future. Even so, the world seems to understand very little about this prophetic event and Elohim’s annual festival that pictures it. In a few years Yahshua the Messiah will return to earth; this time to save mankind from self-destruction and to usher in peace, happiness and joy for all. He will return to rule over and judge all nations and usher in Elohim’s reign on earth, as it is in heaven.During the past almost 6,000 years since Adam’s fall, Elohim has allowed mankind to reap the consequences of their wrong ways. But, because He knows the end from the beginning, Elohim started a single twelve-tribe nation through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who would eventually provide Him with ‘children’ to help Him restore the earth into Paradise once again. As His model nation, they will show the other nations of the world, how obedience to Elohim’s Torah will lead to everyone’s benefit during the millennium. Even though mankind now stands at the brink of destroying all life on earth, Yahshua our Messiah is prophesied to return to earth to put an end to warfare and usher in Elohim’s Kingdom.During the first 6,000 years of Elohim’s 7,000 year plan of salvation, civilizations developed based on the way of Satan, who is the ruler of the present world (2 Corinthians 4: 3 &4[1]& 1 John 5: 19[2]). At Messiah’s return, Satan’s rule will come to an end and Yahshua will establish Elohim’s Kingdom on earth, thereby also fulfilling the two-fold promise He made to Abraham and his descendants through Isaac and Jacob; namely that those of His descendants who remained faithful to Him by being obedient to Him, including to circumcise their children at eight days old, will receive the Promised Land or kingdom of Elohim to live in it eternally as fellow heirs with Messiah. The second part of the promise was as Rav Shaul explained in Galatians 3, that those children of Israel who were scattered into the world because of idolatry, will be able to return to the covenant they made with Elohim, together with the house of Judah at Mount Sinaithrough Abraham’s one seed, Yahshua, through whom He will also save the rest of mankind after Messiah’s millennial rule during the Great White Throne Judgment period.

Elohim uses the spring and autumn harvests of the Land of Israel in the Middle East, as symbolic types of His spiritual harvests of mankind. The spring festivals picture those Elohim has chosen from the House of Judah who remain Torah observant and those whom He is busy calling from the house of Israel (plus a few real Gentiles) to become His Spirit-begotten children as the ‘first fruits’ (James 1: 18) during that time. They are the comparatively small beginning of His spiritual harvest of mankind into His divine Family. Then in the autumn, the festivals of the later harvest season pictures Elohim calling the rest of mankind to salvation after Messiah’s return. Elohim begins His annual Feast Days with the Passover (Pesach), to remind us of how He saved the first born children ofIsrael from death when He brought them out of Egypt by the hand of Moses, but also how Messiah’s sacrifice (1 Corinthians 11: 23 – 26) makes it possible for the first fruits of the house of Israel to be forgiven our sins and be saved from the second death. The Feast of Unleavened Bread pictures the continual need for Elohim’s people, to put leaven (or sin) from their lives and to obey Him (1 Corinthians 5: 8). The Feast of Pentecost (Shavuot) is observed as a memorial of Elohim’s giving Israel His Law at Mount Sinai on the 6th of Sivan and many years later after Messiah’s death, resurrection and ascension to heaven, on the very same date His Set-apart Spirit, to spiritually beget and strengthen the first fruits of His salvation. However, the first fruits will not be reaped into Elohim’s family until Messiah comes again on the Feast of Trumpets (Yom Teruah). The Feast of Trumpets is essentially the focal point of Elohim’s Set-apart Day plan. It not only pictures the terrible time of trouble and war to befall this final generation, but also Messiah’s intervention to save the living from self-annihilation and to establish the Kingdom of Elohim on earth. It further pictures the resurrection from death of the first fruit believersfrom both houses, at His second coming.

At the last (or seventh) trumpet blast, Messiah will usher in the 1,000 year period when He and the resurrected first born believers from both houses of Israel will rule under Him, as His  bride, as YHVH promised in Jeremiah 31: 31 - 34[3]. This will be similar to when His disciples saw Him ascend to heaven in 31 CE, when two angels told them in Acts 1: 11, saying: “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Yahshua, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.” Messiah came more than 1980 years ago as a messenger to announce the good news of the coming Kingdom of Elohim, but will return in power and glory of Elohim’s Kingdom. As opposed todying as the sacrificial Lamb of Elohim for the sins of the world, He will return to earth to forcibly put an end to all sin.Weread accordingly from Revelation 11: 15 – 17:‘And the seventh angel sounded; and there arose loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of YHVH, and of His Messiah; and He will reign forever and ever.” (16) And the twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before Elohim, fell on their faces and worshiped Elohim, (17) saying, “We give Thee thanks, O YHVH Elohim, the Almighty, who art and who wast, because Thou hast taken Thy great power and hast begun to reign.”’ The nations and their political leaders will be furious when they realize that Messiah has come to put an end to their governments and to establish the Kingdom of Elohim, which will rule over the entire earth from Jerusalem, as its headquarters. Yahshua revealed the outline of events that would lead up to His return in Matthew 24 andgaveHis disciples the sign that will announce His return in Matthew 24: 30 & 31, saying: “And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory. (31) And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.” Yahshua said that the coming Kingdom of Elohim will be established during a time of world-wide war and distress, as we read from verses 21 & 22 of Matthew 24, as follows: “For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall.  (22) And unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days shall be cut short.”The world, in which we live, is overflowing with weapons of mass destruction that could destroy all of humanity from the face of the earth. We are today living in the very days that Yahshua spoke about and unless the days of trouble, immediately ahead of us, are not shortened, no flesh would be saved alive. Yes, those of us alive at this time will witness the destructiveness of nuclear war, but we will also witness the last-minute intervention by Yahshua our Messiah to come and save us from ourselves.  The seventh trumpet will sound, announcing the victory of the King of kings, before this generation will pass away.

We read the outline of all Elohim’s Feast Days from Leviticus 23. The Feast of Trumpets is to be held on the first day of the seventh month of Elohim’s calendar, containing the final festivals outlining His Master Plan of salvation for all mankind.We see according to verses 23 - 25 that the Feast of Trumpets is one of Elohim’s annual Sabbath’s, upon which believers should not do any servile work, in this way: ‘Again YHVH spoke to Moses, saying,(24) “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘In the seventh month on the first of the month, you shall have a (Sabbath) rest, a reminder by blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. (25) You shall not do any laborious work, but you shall present an offering by fire to YHVH.’”’The Hebrew statement, ‘a reminder of blowing of trumpets’ signifies a memorial of triumph, or shouting for joy with trumpets.King David understood the Feast of Trumpets to be a day of singing and shouting for joy, as he wrote in Psalm 81: 1 – 4, saying:‘Sing for joy to Elohim our strength; shout joyfully to the Elohim of Jacob. (2) Raise a song, strike the timbrel, the sweet sounding lyre with the harp. (3) Blow the trumpet at the new moon, at the time of concealment appointed for our feast day.(4)For it is a statute for Israel, an ordinance of the Elohim of Jacob.’ The way the trumpets were to be blown on the Feast of Trumpets, is recorded in Numbers 10: 2 & 10 as follows: “Make yourself two trumpets of silver, of hammered work you shall make them; and you shall use them for summoning the congregation and for having the camps set out. (10) Also in the day of your gladness and in your appointed feasts, and on the first days of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; and they shall be as a reminder of you before your Elohim. I am YHVH your Elohim.”In addition to the silver trumpets that were blown on (YHVH)’s appointed feasts, a ram’s horn was also sounded annually on the first day of the Feast of Trumpets (Talmud, “Rosh Hosanna,” Mishnah 26b). The silver trumpets could produce a variety of sounds, but the ram’s horn (or Shofar) produced only a piercing blast. The piercing blast is often referred to in the Scriptures as a shout, signifying a warning.

In fact the tremendous sound of Elohim’s voice is compared to the sound of the great trumpet in Revelation 1: 10& 11, in this way: ‘I was in the Spirit on (YHVH)’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet, (11) saying, “Write in a book what you see, and send it to the seven congregations: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”’The shofar was used as an alarm of war and its sound filled those who heard it with fear,since they knew it signified the terror of looming war. It is the warning of war that gives the joyous Feast of Trumpets its contrasting note of somberness. We see from Ezekiel 33: 2 – 6 that the ram’s horn was blown by a watchman of the Israelites when an enemy approached the camp, as follows: “Son of man, speak to the sons of your people, and say to them, ‘If I bring a sword upon a land, and the people of the land take one man from among them and make him their watchman; (3) and he sees the sword coming upon the land, and he blows on the trumpet and warns the people, (4) then he who hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, and a sword comes and takes him away, his blood will be on his own head. (5) He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning; his blood will be on himself. But had he taken warning, he would have delivered his life. (6)But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and a sword comes and takes a person from them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require from the watchman’s hand.’”Continuing in verses 7 – 9 of Ezekiel 33we see that YHVH appoints watchmen over the house of Israel to warn the wicked to turn from their sins; when these watchmen do not transmit Elohim’s warning message to the wicked and they die in their iniquity, He will require their blood from the watchmen. But if the watchmen perform their function of warning the wicked to repent,but theydo not listen and die as a result, the watchmen have delivered their lives. The faithful servants of YHVH were responsible throughout the ages to warn His people, as witnessed from Amos 3: 6 & 7, in this way: ‘If a trumpet is blown in a city will not the people tremble? If a calamity occurs in a city has not YHVH done it? (7) Surely YHVH Elohim does nothing unless He reveals His secret counsel to His servants the prophets.’ A second witness comes from Isaiah 62: 6 & 7 as follows: ‘On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen; all day and all night they will never keep silent. You who remind YHVH, take no rest for yourselves; (7) and give Him no rest until He establishes and makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.’ We read Elohim’s instruction to us through Isaiah 58: 1, saying:“Cry loudly, do not hold back; raise your voice like a trumpet, and declare to My people their transgression, and to the house of Jacob their sins.”YHVH has revealed to His true servants what is going to happen before Messiah’s return on earth in Matthew 24: 1 – 14. We see that He warned them about the many counterfeits of the true faith, where false teachers will come in His name and will mislead many of His followers. Yahshua also told His followers that they will hear of wars and rumors of wars, adding that they should not be frightened, because these things must happen before the end will come. Then His followers will be delivered to tribulation and some will be killed for believing in His true name. Many will fall away and deliver up one another and because lawlessness will increase, most people’s love for Elohim will grow cold. But, He assured those who endure to the end that they will be saved. Yahshua also commissioned His followers to proclaim the gospel of the coming kingdom of Elohim, as a witness to all nations, then the end shall come.  It is therefore important for each and every one of us  to assist in getting the good news about the coming Kingdom of Elohim out into the world. We are at this time in a recess between the second and the third world wars. World War III is coming and only those accounted worthy in Elohim’s congregation of called out believers, will be protected during this terrible time.

We turn to the book of Revelation, to read about the prophecy of the seven trumpets, symbolic of the terrifying and disastrous world events soon to occur before Messiah’s return. The time-setting of the seven trumpets, is the time of Elohim’s wrath against rebellious mankind. Yes, the symbolic trumpets portray the day of YHVH– the time when YHVH will intervene in world affairs to punish the world for all its evil.  Messiah will intervene supernaturally and people who have been leading lives of sin will be terrified with fear and want to hide from Elohim, when they realize He is intervening in world affairs, as witnessed in Revelation 6: 15 & 16, as follows: ‘And the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, (16) and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.”’We see further from Revelation 7, the four angels holding back the four winds of the earth. We also see that Elohim will protect His faithful servants, including the ones who turn to Him during this time of trouble. The 144,000 made up of 12,000 of every tribe of the sons of Israel, as well as the great multitude from all nations who will repent of their sins and return to obey Elohim and will be put under the blood of Yahshua the Lamb of Elohim, as we read from verse 14, of Revelation 7, in this way: ‘And I said to him, “My master you know.” And he said to me, ‘These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.’”’After Elohim’s faithful servants are sealed by His Spirit to protect them from the plagues announced by the trumpets, Elohim broke the seventh seal and handed seven trumpets to the seven angels standing before Him. Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censerand much incense was given him, that he might add it to the prayers of the saints upon the golden altar before the throne.The smoke of the incense with the prayers of the saints, went up before Elohim and the angel took the censor, filled it with fire of the altar and threw it to the earth and there followed peals of thunder and sounds and flashes of lightning and an earthquake.

According to Revelation 8: 7 when  the first angel soundshis trumpet, a gigantic firestorm will burn all the grassand a third of the trees as punishment for continued refusal to submit to Elohim and obey His commandments.  When the second angel sounds his trumpet (in verses 8) a third of the seas will be turned to blood and a third of all life in the seas as well as a  third of the ships used for trade and warfare will be destroyed. As each plague from Elohim falls on the wicked, those who surrender to Him in obedience will be protected from the terrible punishment yet to come. We also see from verses 10 & 11 that Elohim will punish the un-repented sinners by making a third of the waters of the earth unfit for human consumption. Then, when the fourth angel sounded his trumpet in verse 12 of Revelation 8, a third of the sun, the moon and the stars were smitten so that a third of them might be darkened and the day might not shine for a third of it and the night the same way. In verse 13 of Revelation 12, three woes declaring further cataclysmic events to punish humanity are declared. These three woes are in fact the same as the last three trumpets that the angels are about to sound. Three being Elohim’s special number signifying finality,these three woes involve three final battles, each so terrifying that it is called a ‘woe’ by Almighty Elohim. Each of these battles will be so destructive that only Elohim will be able to repair the damage man’s armies will do to the surface of the earth. Fortunately, Elohim will intervene at the end of the third battleto save mankind from extinction. These terrifying events certainly make the Feast of Trumpets a most solemn day. But to those who have begun to obey Elohim and started following His way of life, it will be a time of rejoicing. Today’s lawless society will be destroyed and the Kingdom of Elohim will be established on earth.Revelation 9: 1 and 12 confirms that the first woe and the fifth trumpets are one and the same, as follows:  ‘And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from heaven which had fallen to the earth; and the key of the bottomless pit was given to him. (12) The first woe is past; behold, two woes are still coming after these things.’

Rav Yochanan describes terrifying grasshoppers that will be used to inflict pain on men in verses 3 - 10. He used the term ‘locusts’ to describe the terrifying military machines that would be invented and used in the final world conflict. These ‘locusts’ are driven by men and are able to fly. In addition they are protected by armor plating and make a tremendous noise. Even though these weapons of conquest were completely unknown to Yochanan, he described them in the language of his day. These weapons of war exist in modern military arsenals and almost sound like the modern helicopters being used by modern armies, armed with powerful guns capable of releasing nerve gasses, guided missiles and nuclear warheads. Verse 11 of Revelation9 reveals Satan as the leader of this army. The Hebrew word ‘Abaddon’ and the Greek word ‘Apollyon’ used here both means ‘destroyer’, confirming that the sinister power that will guide this army will be Satan the devil. We see that the army with its diabolical leader comes from the symbolic ‘bottomless pit’ referred to in Revelation 17: 8 as the abyss. In fact this super-army of the beast power, is the final restoration of the Roman Empire (in Europe) backed by the  great false religion, as identified in verse 7 – 13 of Revelation 17 as the Roman Catholic Church. When the whirlwind attack of the armies of the beast resounds against their enemies to the east, those who have the seal of Elohim on their foreheads will be protected. However, billions of the modern-day descendants of the lost ten tribes of the house of Israel and the house of Judah, includingGreat Britain, the United Statedand other nations in northwestern Europe will have been conquered and will be in physical and spiritual slavery. The people, who are now being warned of the coming captivity, will not be protected from the violence of the final world war; unless they repent and receive the seal of Elohim’s Set-apart Spirit. In the meantime, hordes from the east will be preparing to attack the beast power. But rather than let them obtain the advantage by striking the first blow, the beast will have turned to attack them with the full anger of his military might. This attack will be the first woe- the beginning of the all-out battle for complete world domination between two Eurasian rivals for world rule.

This sets the stage for the second battle for human domination of the world. The second woe – the sixth trumpet is ready to be blown. Turning back to Revelation 9: 13 - 16, we see what will happen when the sixth trumpet is blown, as follows: ‘And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before Elohim, (14) one saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” (15) And the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released, so that they might kill a third of mankind. (16) And the number of the armies of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them.’ We see a description of their weapons in verses 17 – 19, in this way: ‘And this is how I saw in the vision the horses and those who sat on them: the riders had breastplates the color of fire and of hyacinth and of brimstone (the type of camouflage used by modern day armies); and the heads of the horses are like the heads of lions (to scare those being attacked); and out of their mouths proceed fire and smoke and brimstone (like armored cars used by modern armies). (18) A third of mankind was killed by these three plagues, by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone, which proceeded out of their mouths. (19) For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents and have heads; and with them they do harm.’With millions being attacked by the armies of the beast power, Isaiah describes the value of man’s life at that time in Isaiah 13: 12 – 16, saying: ‘I will make mortal man scarcer than pure gold, and mankind than the gold of Ophir. (13) Therefore I shall make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken from its place at the fury of YHVH of hosts in the day of His burning anger. (14) And it will be that like a hunted gazelle, or like sheep with none to gather them, they will each turn to his own people, and each one flee to his own land. (15) Anyone who is found will be thrust through, and anyone who is captured will fall by the sword. (16) Their  little ones also will be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses will be plundered and their wives ravished.’ According to verses 17 & 18 this destruction will be brought about by the descendants of the Medes and their allies, who are living to the north-east and east of modern Babylon. Babylon, Elohim’s name for the religious and political system that originated from the ancient city of Babylon, has been continued by Satan in the Roman Empire and its restoration, prophesied to fall a second time in (Isaiah 21: 9 and) Revelation 18: 2, in this way: ‘And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! And she has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird.’The counterattack by the Soviet-led descendants of the Medes and their allies will contribute in a major way to the fall of the beast, spoken about here as ‘Babylon’. The fall of ancient Babylon was only the smaller historic fulfillment of the much larger future end-time destruction of the modern ‘daughter’ of ancient Babylon. However, we see that even after the devastating attack on modern Babylon by the armies of the east, men will still not repent, as witnessed in Revelation 9: 20 & 21, as follows: ‘And the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk; (21) and they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorceries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts.’

Nevertheless, we see from Revelation 11: 3 – 6 that Elohim will continue to send His faithful messengers throughout this period to plead to mankind to repent. However, even with these two witnesses of Elohim prophesying for twelve hundred and sixty days, it seems that men will still not turn to Elohim.  After giving their testimony for three and a half years, the beast will come out of the abyss and will make war with these two witnesses and finally kill them (verse 7). The two witnesses will be killed in the great city in which Yahshua was crucified. Yahshua was crucified in Jerusalem, which had become as evil as Sodom and Gemorrah and as sinful as Egypt, in Elohim’s sight (verse 8). We read accordingly from Jeremiah 23: 14, “Also among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing: the committing of adultery and walking in falsehood; and they strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one has turned back from his wickedness. All of them have become to Me like Sodom, and her inhabitants like Gemorrah.”We see from Revelation 11: 9 that the beast will not permit the dead bodies of the two witnesses to be buried for three and a half days.  However, after the three and a half days, breath of life came from Elohim and filled the two witnesses and they stood on their feet, so that great fear fell on those who saw them. Then a loud voice from heaven was heard saying: “Come up here.” And they went up into heaven in the cloud, with their enemies looking on. Then a great earthquake destroyed a tenth of the city (verse 13).When the seventh and last trumpet sounds and the third woe begin  (Revelation 11: 14 ), there arose loud voices in heaven, stating that the kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of YHVH and His Messiah and He will reign forever. But we see from verse 18 of Revelation 11, that the nations of the world will not accept Messiah’s rule and will in joint effort with the beast and the Soviet East, gather their armies in the Holy Land to challenge Messiah. They will consider Him to be their common enemy and will try and make war with Him. Just as the seventh seal is divided into the seven last trumpets, so the seventh trumpet is divided into the seven last plagues. These plagues will finally crush all rebellion and bring mankind to their knees in a repentant attitude. We see from Revelation 15: 6 that the seven angels who had the seven plagues  came out of the temple clothed in linen, clean and bright and girded around their breasts with golden girdles.

Even though our Elohim is a merciful Elohim, He will not wait any longer for people to repent of their evil deeds. Power-crazed politicians in charge of human governments will have already destroyed much of the earth and unless Elohim intervenes with force to stop warfare, no human being would be left alive. We read about the seven last plagues from Revelation 16: 1 – 4 and 8 – 21, paraphrased in this way: ‘A loud voice from heaven says to the seven angels, “Go pour out the seven bowls of the wrath of Elohim on Earth.” The first angel poured out his bowl into the earth, resulting in loathsome and malignant sores upon men who had the mark of the beast and worshiped his image. The second angelpoured out his bowl into the sea and it became blood like that of a dead man, and everything in the sea died. The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and springs of water and they became blood. The fourth angel poured out his bowl upon the sun and it was given to it to scorch men with fire and fierce heat and they blasphemed the name of Elohim who has power over these plagues, but did not repent so as to give Him glory. The fifth angel poured out the bowl upon the throne of the beast and his kingdom became darkened and they gnawed their tongues because of pain. They also blasphemed the Elohim of heaven because of their pains and sores, but they did not repent of their deeds. The sixth angel pour out his bowl upon the great river, the Euphrates; and its water was dried up, that they might prepare for the kings from the east. Then frogs came out of the mouths of the dragon, the beast and the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs; being spirits of demons performing signs which go out to the kings of the earth, to gather them together for the war of the great day of Elohim, the Almighty. Verse 15 is inserted as a warning from Yahshua, saying that He is coming like a thief and that we should stay awake (to be totally aware that our every action is in accordance with Torah) and keep our garments[4], lest we walk naked and men see our shame. Back in verse 16, we see that the kings gathered in a place called Armageddon. Next the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying “It is done.” This is followed by flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. Then there was a great earthquake, such as there had not been since the creation of mankind and the great city was split into three parts and the cities of the nations fell. At that time Babylon the great was remembered before Elohim, to give her the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath; all the islands disappeared and the mountains were flattened. Then huge hailstones about a hundred pounds each came out of heaven upon men and they blasphemed Elohim, because of the severity of this plague.’

We see from this that Elohim prepared a way for the kings of the east and their armies to cross the Euphrates into the Holy Land. It is part of Elohim’s plan to gather the armies of all the nations that remain rebellious to His rule, into one place for the final battle of World War III, as explained in Zephaniah 3: 8, as follows: “Therefore, wait for Me,” declares YHVH, “For the day when I rise up to the prey. Indeed, My decision is to gather nations, to assemble kingdoms, to pour out on them My indignation, all My burning anger; for all the earth will be devoured by the fire of My zeal.”We see further from Joel 3: 12, that YHVH will battle the wicked forces in the valley of Jehoshaphat, to judge all the surrounding nations. Armageddon is the English word used in place of the Hebrew Har-Magedon, meaning Mount of Megiddo. Megiddo is a small town about 55 miles north of Jerusalem, situated in a large bowl-shaped Valley of Jezreel. It is here where the armies of the rebellious nations will gather to challenge Yahshua at His return.Messiah will make war in righteousness against the rebellious nations and will smite them with His sharp sword, symbolic of His power and to rule them with a rod of iron (Revelation 19: 11 & 15). Yahshua Messiah will tread the ‘winepress of Elohim’s wrath’ symbolic of the great battle that He will fight against disobedient, rebellious mankind.We see from Revelation 19: 19 & 20, that Satan will be defeated in the climactic battle of World War III, as follows: ‘And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies, assembled to make war against Him who sat upon the (white) horse, and against His army. (20) And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone.’After all military resistance to Elohim’s government is crushed; Messiah will punish the political and religious leaders who fought against Him.

Elohim’s Feast of Trumpets pictures this final world war and the establishment of His Kingdom on earth. When Elohim intervenes, His faithful servants will rejoice at His Second Coming. They will understand what is happening in world affairs because they have been keeping Elohim’s Set-apart Days. But the rest of mankind will mourn when they see the sign of Yahshua appearing in the sky, as we’ve read before in Matthew 24: 30 & 31. In the final battle of World War III, at the seventh trumpet and the third woe, Almighty Elohim will intervene to save the human race from total destruction. We see that when Messiah returns with the shout of an archangel and the trumpet of Elohim, the dead in Messiah will be raised imperishable and those believers in Messiah still alive at that time, will be changed into the immortal Spiritual children of Elohim (1 Corinthians 15; 52). These are the ‘elect’ who will be raised from the dead to be given immortal life in the first resurrection. It will only be a small group of saints and true Torah observant Jews who will be the ‘first fruit’ harvest in Elohim’s Master Plan of Salvation. These Jews already believe in the coming Kingdom of Elohim with Messiah ruling, but they will only come to know the true Messiah, when Yahshua returns one day on the Feast of Trumpets (or Rosh Hashanah), and as per Zechariah 12: 7 & 10, save the house of Judah, when they will see His hands and accept Him as their savior and Elohim, similar to the way the unbelieving Thomas did before Yahshua’s ascension to heaven. It is this relatively small groupwho will ’marry’ Messiah after His return. We see further that Messiah will reward the saints with crowns and offices of rulership at His coming, as recorded in Revelation 11: 18, in this way: “And the nations were enraged, and Thy wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to give their reward to Thy bond-servants the prophets and to the saints and to those who fear Thy name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.” A second witness comes from and 2 Timothy 4: 8, as follows: “In the future there is laid up for me (Rav Shaul) the crown of righteousness, which the Master, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.” These first fruits of salvation will have the great honor of being Messiah’s assistants in building a new civilization in the Kingdom of Elohim.

As soon as Elohim has harvested the first fruits at the first resurrection, He will gather the modern-day descendants of the ancient 12 tribes of Israel, as recorded in Isaiah 27: 12 & 13, as follows: ‘And it will come about in that day, that YHVH will start His threshing from the flowing stream of the Euphrates to the brook of Egypt; and you will be gathered up one by one, O sons of Israel. (13) It will come about also in that day that a great trumpet will be blown; and those who were perishing in the land of Assyria and who were scattered in the land of Egypt will come and worship YHVH in the holy mountain at Jerusalem.’ Modern-day descendants of the 12 tribes of Israel, including, but not limited to, the British Commonwealth, the United States and democracies in northwestern Europe will go into captivity before the second coming of Messiah. The exodus spoken about above will be from around the world, as witnessed in Jeremiah 23: 3, in this way: “Then I Myself shall gather the remnant of My flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and shall bring them back to their pasture; and they will be fruitful and multiply.”These people will not be changed to immortality when Messiah returns, but, instead they will be taken to the Promised Land as physical human beings (they are the ones who survive the Great Tribulation). They will at that time loathe themselves for the evils they committed, as we read from Ezekiel 20: 42 & 43, as follows: “And you will know that I am YHVH, when I bring you into the land of Israel, into the land which I swore to give to your forefathers. (43) And there you will remember your ways and all your deeds, with which you have defiled yourselves; and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight for all the evil things that you have done.”

The vast majority of the descendants of Israel are not even aware of their identity. Nor do they obey Elohim’s commandments. It is for this reason that they will go into captivity, but the Elohim of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob will once again deliver them from captivity and bring them back to the Holy Land. At this time we as watchmen are responsible to keep warning those whom Elohim has called out of the world, to continue in the way of Elohim and to repent and return, as and when they discover their actions and beliefs in opposition to Elohim’s Torah. We need not to only warn people of the coming calamity but to also proclaim the good news of the coming Kingdom of Elohim. The vast majority of those who hear and read Elohim’s end-time warnings are not preparing for the time of world turmoil and the devastating war that is coming. But for those few who listen to the warning message that Elohim is sending out via ministries like ours,only these few will be given protection from the terrors to come. This protection is available to those willing to forsake the broad, easy way that is leading to destruction. Those who are willing to yield to Messiah’s  authority and do what He says, will be protected during the coming great tribulation.Think about it!

 

[1]2 Corinthians 4: 3 & 4:  ‘And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing (busy dying), in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Messiah, who is the image of Elohim.’

[2]1 John 5: 19, ‘We know that we are of Elohim, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.’

[3]Jeremiah 31: 31 – 34: “Behold, days are coming,” declares YHVH, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares YHVH. But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares YHVH, “I will put My law within them, and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their Elohim, and they shall be My people.”

[4] Garments – Spiritual fruits in our lives.