KINGDOM BIBLE STUDIES

"For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with THE TRUMP OF GOD..." (I Thes. 4:16).

In the previous two studies in which we have considered the beautiful passage above we have noted that Young's Literal Translation correctly translates the Greek text so that it reads, "Because the Lord Himself, IN a shout, IN the voice of a chief-messenger, and IN the trump of God, shall come down from heaven." The Lord does not come "with" the trump of God, but "in" the trump of God. If, therefore, we can know what the trump of God is, and are able to recognize its sound, we will have assurance that the Lord Himself has descended from heaven and is present, for He comes to us IN the trump of God.

It is strange what odd notions some people get concerning the meaning of scriptures they read in the Bible. For instance, I was brought up under ministries who taught that every word in the Bible was to be taken literally, and that the word "trumpet," as used in our subject, and also in the book of Revelation and elsewhere, referred to the Lord blowing a literal trumpet when He crashes down through the clouds at the end of this age, a trumpet blast so piercing and electrifying that it would actually awaken the dead bodies in the cemeteries. Nothing, of course, could be farther from the truth than such a strange notion. When Jesus said that He was the vine and His disciples were the branches, He certainly did not mean that He was a literal vine and they were literal branches. When He told His followers they were the salt of the earth, He certainly did not mean that they were literally sodium chloride. The Bible is full of symbols and figures of speech, of which these are but a few. The greatest danger, when we come to the Word of God, is not in "spiritualizing" it away, but in "carnalizing" it away! "The words that I speak unto you, they ARE SPIRIT, and they ARE LIFE," Jesus said.

On one occasion Jesus said, "Behold, I come as a thief" (Rev. 16:15). Paul explained that the Lord would come in a "shout," also in the "voice of the archangel," and in the "trump of God." Certainly thieves do not blow trumpets and shout, nor did Jesus blow a trumpet or shout when He departed from the mount of Olives; although the scripture assures us that He comes "in like manner" even as He went into heaven. But these are not contradictions. They are but word pictures to help our minds comprehend more clearly some of the great factors in the coming of Christ and what the various facets of His coming mean to us spiritually. We know something about the manner of a thief's coming. We know a little concerning the purpose of blowing trumpets. We are familiar with shouts of command. We know something of the characteristics of clouds and what they specify. When we put all these together and add to them the many other illustrations of the scriptures pertaining to Christ's coming, we begin to understand that what we are to look for is not a human being coming down through the rain-clouds tooting a horn, but a series of MIGHTY MANIFESTATIONS OF THE CHRIST IN GREAT SPIRITUAL POWER AND GLORY, shaking everything that is earthly, quickening all that is dead, and transforming men and nations until the prayer is fully answered, "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven." In each case the language is metaphorical; of necessity heavenly things are described to us under earthly imagery, otherwise we who have been subjected to this gross material realm, and who speak the language of this world, could not understand them.

The word "trumpet" appears approximately one hundred times in the Bible. In the Old Testament the word is found about eighty-five times while in the New Testament it occurs only about fifteen times. The first use of the term is recorded in Exodus, the last in the book of Revelation. To get the spiritual meaning of trumpets we need to establish something of their typological significance. The meaning of the trumpet is made crystal clear in a number of scriptures. Isaiah said, "Cry aloud, spare not, lift up T-H-Y V-O-I-C-E LIKE A TRUMPET, and show My people their transgressions, and the house of Jacob their sins" (Isa. 58:1). Here the voice bearing God's message to His people is likened unto the sounding of a trumpet.

One day as the beloved apostle John trod the burning sands of the desolation of Patmos, he was suddenly caught away in the spirit and immediately, "I heard behind me a great V-O-I-C-E, AS OF A TRUMPET, saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last" (Rev. 1:10-11). Here, Christ's voice, as John heard it, is compared to a trumpet. "After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first V-O-I-C-E which I heard was as it were a TRUMPET talking with me; which said, COME UP HITHER, and I will show you things which must be hereafter" (Rev. 4:1). Notice this trumpet-voice told him to come up higher, so he could see the things God wanted to show him. God's trumpet-message is always to come up higher. It is sent because that is the great need of the saints and of all mankind, to come up into the higher realms of the spirit, for we cannot see the glorious spiritual truths nor behold the wondrous heavenly things from the lowlands of our carnal mind and nature. Normally we "hear" a voice, but John said of the trumpet-voice that penetrated his spiritual consciousness, "And I turned to SEE THE VOICE that spake with me. And being turned, I SAW seven golden candlesticks; and in the midst of the seven candlesticks ONE like unto the Son of man..." (Rev. 1:12-13). The One who spoke with a "voice" as of a "trumpet" was IN the trumpet voice, and it was IN THE MESSAGE OF THE VOICE that this glorious One was revealed. I do not hesitate to tell you that this was the revelation of Jesus Christ as He appeared to John IN THE TRUMP OF GOD!

Isaiah foretells many things pertaining to the day of the Lord, this day in which we live. The trumpet that shall be blown is none other than the voice of God sounding forth. It is His word, His message going out to the people. "And He shall send His angels with the great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other" (Mat. 24:31). Now if HE sends HIS messengers with a great sound of a trumpet, it must be HIS TRUMPET they are sounding; His word they are giving out. His mighty message gathers together in the spirit His elect. It brings them from the low places of spiritual experience, to high ones. Oh! think of the power the sound of His trumpet carries to lift men from corruption into His pure divine nature!

"God is gone up with a shout, the Lord with the SOUND OF A TRUMPET" (Ps. 47:5). When a rising time is due for God's people, it may be said that God is "gone UP," as taken from the lesson that He moved in a pillar of cloud and fire to lead His ancient people, Israel. "With the sound of a trumpet" signifies that His voice is being heard. God's VOICE and His TRUMPET are ore and the same. It is the sounding forth of His Word. Many messengers (His many-membered body) add volume to the sound of that trumpet. Rev. 1:15 says, "...His voice as the sound of MANY WATERS." John also tells us in Rev. 17:15 that waters means multitudes of peoples. So God's trumpet voice is sounding through many people, "many waters." "And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye servants, and ye that fear Him, both small and great. And I heard as it were the voice of a multitude, and as the VOICE OF MANY WATERS, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia, for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth" (Rev. 19:5-6). John heard coming from the throne (divine authority) a message which he said was a voice of a "multitude," of "many waters," and of "mighty thunderings," saying, "Alleluia, for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth." It was one trumpet message with many voices adding volume to it. It was ONE MESSAGE, but being trumpeted by many voices, so that it became as the voice of a "great thunder." This shows the beautiful unity in Christ and His many-membered body.

There need be no question in the mind of anyone but that God's "trumpet" is a MESSAGE given to a person or persons and sounded out to the people. The word of the Lord came to the prophet Ezekiel saying, "Son of man, SPEAK to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman: if when he see the sword come upon the land, he blow the TRUMPET, and warn the people; then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. He heard the SOUND OF THE TRUMPET, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul. SO THOU, O son of man, I have set THEE A WATCHMAN unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at My mouth, and warn them from Me...therefore ... SPEAK unto the house of Israel, saying..." (Eze. 33:2-10).

How clear that the Holy Spirit here equates the VOICE of God's prophet, bearing the Lord's MESSAGE to the house of Israel, with the SOUNDING OF THE TRUMPET of the watchman. The trumpet bespeaks a clear word of God from the Spirit appointed and Spirit anointed messengers, His ministers. Trumpets are words, clear words, living words. The trumpet of God is His voice, His voice from heaven, His voice in the saints; even the voice of the Holy Spirit through the consecrated priests of the Most High. The voice of the Lord is the trumpet-sound and the trumpet-voice, the divine message of His truth and life. The trumpet is the revelation of the Lord speaking through His true ministries in an oracle of the Spirit. The sound of the trumpet is simply the PROCLAMATION OF A MESSAGE!

With a simple knowledge like this we should have no trouble at all in understanding that our blessed Lord Jesus Christ, the Logos of God, is Himself the trumpet, the message, the revelation! In type, Jesus is the trumpet of God, delivering a clear sound, a living word, and introducing us to the reality of the perfection and incorruptible life of which He is the beginning. Praise God, it is the LORD HIMSELF who comes in the trumpet (message), and at the sound of His voice we are CAUGHT UP with Him to share the glory of His sphere of life. The Lord Himself descends out from the highest realms of our heavens (spirit) into the lower realm of our earth. We are the creatures God is creating to express His nature, power and glory unto creation. His purpose for coming out of the realm of spirit into your earth is to catch your whole being up into the realm of spirit, to swallow up all death into HIS LIFE. And He accomplishes this by coming to us IN A TRUMPET MESSAGE. He comes in a shout, in a voice of command, and in the trump of God because though we are hungry for God and desire more of Him, because of our flesh and the control of the carnal mind we are not easily alerted or moved.

Too numerous to mention have been the things God has taught us as we have walked in the light of His ever-increasing truth. Our minds have often been staggered by the wonderful things we have seen and heard and our ambitions have been raised as we have gazed into the promised land of the Spirit and have seen the innumerable and wonderful glories that lie before us in the fullness of our sonship. We are undoubtedly standing at the threshold of a new dimension in God, a higher realm in the Spirit, and a new level of experience. When we come to a time like this, many will refuse to go on. There is some strange thing inherent in all men that makes them reluctant to leave the security of their fixed abode to press forward into the challenge of the new. They feel that they have journeyed far enough and that the effort to press into the new and more wonderful realm is too great a risk. We tend to become rigid, settled, self confident and and crystallized, - fixed in our gaze and in our pose. In order for us not to miss the next phase of the unfolding revelation of Jesus Christ, God has to sound a shrill trumpet into our hearts that we might be alerted. God is wanting to say and do a NEW THING. It is time to go forward. It is the hour to arise to the battle and possess our land, our full inheritance in God. It is time to leave the first principles of the doctrine of Christ and GO ON TO PERFECTION. It is time to put on the mind of Christ and be transformed by the renewing of our mind. It is time to live and not die. So the Lord descends from heaven in a battle alarm, in the electrifying sound of a trumpet-message, to stimulate, to arouse, to alert and challenge you to get ready for the battle of the ages and the victory of victories that follows!

Today God is trumpeting a message into our hearing. He is projecting into our thinking a realm beyond the feasts of Passover and Pentecost, yea, beyond anything we have heretofore seen, heard, or experienced. He is projecting the fullness of salvation, the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, the King-Priesthood after the order of Melchizedek, maturity in the nature and power of sonship and the dynamic realities of the Most Holy Place into us. No matter what our spiritual understanding has been, we are finally being made aware that we are now living in the most momentous hour imaginable. There is an awakening among the elect of the Lord that transcends human knowledge. He is putting into the hearts of His chosen people the desire to ready themselves for the sonship prepared for them from the foundation of the world.

The trumpet-message is alerting our minds to the fact that the sons of God who are being prepared to restore creation are not just ordinary Christians with ordinary experiences. We have tasted of the earnest of our inheritance, and it is now time to arise and enter an entirely new realm of experience in God. I am speaking of the realm which is in truth the realm of the fullness of God, the realm far above all heavens, the realm of incorruptible life and glory, and the realm of the Kingdom in authority and power. Furthermore I am convinced that those who have ears to hear the sound of the trumpet in this hour will attain to the glory of that new realm while the rest of the church world go on as usual in the old realm and on the old planes. Jesus is the revelation of this realm of which I speak because He came forth as the Pattern Son and He spoke a clear sounding word. He is the pattern of this heavenly sonship and He is the Alpha and the Omega of it. He is the beginning of the new creation of God, but you and I are following the forerunner, and just as He trumpeted a clear sounding word, you and I are going to trumpet a clear sounding word to the elect in this generation.

We need to take heed to how we hear, and how we speak and what we speak. The order of man is passing. How? BY THE SOUNDING OF THE TRUMPET! By the very word of your mouth, because of Him who speaks out of you. We might compromise the message and bear a message of appeasement to the old order of the religious systems, but what would that accomplish? I hear the voice of the Lord calling and commanding us today, "Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in My holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand" (Joel 2:1). It has been prophesied that a trumpet would be sounding at this time. If a trumpeter blows an uncertain sound, how will you know to prepare? If the trumpeter has no message, how is he going to speak? God has commanded us to blow a trumpet in Zion and sound an alarm in His holy mountain. Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord cometh, it is nigh at hand. Our job is to sound an alarm in Zion and awaken His people, arouse His elect and let them know THE DAY OF THE LORD IS HERE!

In I Thes. 4:16 we are told that the Lord descends from heaven in a shout, in the voice of the archangel, and in the trump of God - a threefold announcement and publicity. In scripture the number three speaks of completeness. The emphasis here is that God is speaking a complete word, conveying a full, total, unfragmented and unimpaired message, truly the FULL GOSPEL! This message will not be received by reason or logic, nor by searching the letter that killeth, nor by might nor by power, "...but by My Spirit, saith the Lord" (Zech. 4:6). I have wondered betimes when passing through cities and seeing church buildings with the words over the doorway "FULL GOSPEL," whether those who lead or attend really understand those words. The words "FULL GOSPEL" have a far greater significance than most folks realize. The word "full" implies maximum in size, extent and degree And the word "gospel" speaks of GOOD NEWS. There IS such a gospel, praise God! that reaches out to the whole creation with the promise of reconciliation, restoration, and fullness. But few who proclaim that they preach the "full gospel" have ever heard of it.

Trumpets were used as a means of mass communication in ancient Israel, in their camps in the wilderness, and after they were settled in the promised land. The assembly in the wilderness was large and unruly. It was difficult to communicate by voice to upwards of two million people. When the troops were needed to fight, they might be out gathering the daily supply of manna. At night they would be sound asleep in their tents. At times all the people needed to be assembled. At other times only a portion of the people was required, such as the elders or the warriors. To communicate with the entire wilderness people, a clear system had to be devised.

Moses was instructed by the Lord as to the solution. He was to have two silver trumpets fashioned (Num. 10:1-2). From time immemorial, the military organizations of the world have used TRUMPETS because of their shrill, strident, exciting and piercing tones, in marshalling and moving military bands and groups of men. What veteran of the service is not familiar with "reveille," "general quarters," "chow call," and "taps"? A trumpet is far louder and more effective than any human voice. With the use of a system of calls, various portions of the congregation of Israel could be gathered for whatever purpose necessary. The alarm for war could be sounded as well as the announcement of the various feast days. The Israelites could be called to make their journey with clarity of direction sounded by these trumpets. Israel was now ready to move.

The tenth chapter of the book of Numbers deals with the importance of God's people KNOWING THE MEANING of the blowing of trumpets. Each trumpet blast has a spiritual significance. God's people had to become acquainted with each sound so that they would know what to do so there would not be confusion in the time of the blowing of the trumpets. There were twelve different uses of the trumpets. One purpose of the blowing of the trumpets was for the assembling together of the congregation, calling the tribes together as one nation, proclaiming the principle of unity. Out of their various tribes came the people of Judah, Issachar, Dan, Levi, etc., until they stood as ONE before the Door of the Tabernacle of God, to hear the voice of the Lord through His prophet. And in this hour, God is once again gathering His people together UNTO CHRIST, the Door, to hear His prophet, that anointed ministry that God is raising up to bear the Word of the Lord. This trumpet blast of truth is freeing us from our sectarianism, hypocrisy, selfhood and confusion. This is no time for intellectual sermons and pleasing platitudes ... it is time for God's prophet, the anointed body, to lift up his voice like a trumpet as Isaiah says, "Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins" (Isa. 58:1). This silver, redemptive trumpet, is washing us with the water of His pure Word, resulting in our being cleansed and sanctified. This trumpet is perfecting us that we may be without spot or wrinkle and clothed in the white linen of the righteousness of the saints. This trumpet is watering and feeding the incorruptible seed in our spirit and causing Christ in us to be formed and arise in us. But many will not hear, their ears are dull, and they remain in the tents of their captivity and refuse to "come out of her, My people."

The second purpose of the blowing of the trumpets was for the Journeyings of the camp. When the cloud moved, the camp moved. Sometimes the camp of Israel would be in one place for just a few days, sometimes for several months. But when God moved on and the cloud moved on, Israel was called upon to move on. The move was announced by a certain blast of the trumpet. And today, beloved, God hag a trumpet-message to send forth when it is time for His people to move into new territory.  This redemptive message implores us to "follow on to know the Lord" (Hos. 6:3). This trumpet sound commands us to pull up the tent stakes of tradition; fold up the tents of man-made religion; take down the banners of static creeds and dogmas and past experiences in God, and stop camping around this mountain of "kingdom-building" and a partial experience of God. We have camped around this mountain long enough. Let us go on to know the Lord in all of His glorious and eternal reality! Only men who have ears to hear can hear this call of the Spirit, but the trumpet is blowing and many have heard the call. Thank God for the manna which has sustained us throughout our pilgrimage journey, even unto now. Thank God for the water out of the rock, to quench our thirst. Thank God for the Holy Spirit, the cloud that has gone ahead of us, and directed us all through this great and terrible wilderness. But there are better things ahead! What worked yesterday will not work today, and what satisfied yesterday will not satisfy today, and it will not take you on to perfection. There are times in your life when God wants you to move forward in Him. He says you have camped around this mountain long enough. He has a land of promise ahead for you with all its inexhaustible abundance! Let us not settle for a partial revelation of God as through a glass darkly, but let us see Him face to face, to know Him even as we are known of Him. Why sit ye here and die in the prison house of man's program when the very heavens cannot contain the glory of our God, whom the Spirit shall reveal and is revealing in all His fullness, if only we dare to journey on with Him!

The third purpose for the blowing of the trumpets was the calling together of the princes, or leadership of the tribes. Do you know how many times the trumpets blew to call the princes? ONLY ONCE! In this realm God only speaks once. These are the elders of Israel, the disciplined ones, the prepared ones, the experienced ones, the mature ones, the responsible ones who by intense dealings have learned to HEAR and to KNOW God's voice for themselves. These are the FIRSTFRUITS! If you are still of the mentality that questions, "God, is that really you? Are you sure Lord? I don't know for certain whether thi the will of God, but I THINK the Lord is saying... it seems to me...," then you are not of the princely spirit. In this dimension God speaks only once, with one clear sound, and those whose hearts are circumcised and whose ears are disciplined respond without hesitation or questioning.

The fourth purpose for the sounding of the trumpets was to sound an alarm. This was a warning when there was danger or Israel was threatened by an enemy. All the people could hear these blasts which were prolonged and frequently repeated to alert the people to the danger. This is fulfilled in the life of the believer when the Holy Spirit gives that unquestionable "check" in one's spirit concerning a course of action, a false ministry, a wrong direction, false teachings, etc. This trumpet call fulfills the principle of SPIRITUAL DISCERNMENT.

The fifth purpose of the sounding of the trumpets was the call to war. This trumpet is the redemptive message that beseeches us to put on the full armour of God that we may be able to STAND in THE EVIL DAY (Eph. 6:13). The church systems today are literally filled with carnal, earthly-minded Christians who sit back in ease and self-complacency awaiting a "rapture" that will translate them out of the day of great tribulation and trouble. In the vast majority of evangelical circles the people are taught the tranquilizing doctrine that at any moment all God's people shall be caught up, raptured, to be with the Lord in the air - to escape the great tribulation which shall soon visit the earth. It is not true! Nowhere within the pages of God's blessed Book are we told that we are to be raptured out of trouble - including the "great tribulation." What is does say is that we are to put on the whole armour of God that we may be able to STAND IN T-H-E  E-V-I-L  D-A-Y. The Holy Spirit witnesses of battle and warfare unto victory, not a massive "evacuation" of the army of the Lord carried out in the face of its greatest challenge. This truth is presented in an especially beautiful and forceful way in Weymouth's translation. "In conclusion, strengthen yourselves in the Lord and in the power which His supreme might imparts. Put on the complete armour of God, so as to be able to stand firm against all the stratagems of the devil. For ours is not a conflict with mere flesh and blood, but with the despotisms, the empires, the forces that control and govern this dark world - the spiritual hosts of evil arrayed against us in the heavenly warfare. Therefore PUT ON THE COMPLETE ARMOUR OF GOD, so that you will be able to stand your ground IN THE EVIL DAY, and, having fought to the end, TO REMAIN VICTORS ON THE FIELD" (Eph. 6:10-13, Weymouth).

"And having fought to the end, to REMAIN VICTORS ON THE FIELD." What a word! We are not instructed to seek wings to fly away to heaven while the devil trods roughshod over the earth and all mankind. We have a helmet and a breastplate, a shield and a sword, but NO WINGS. We are given enough armour to win the victory against the greatest foe, even the principalities and powers in the heavens, for our weapons are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. All hell trembles when it hears of this great army of the sons of God, small in number out of earth's teeming billions, but mighty through God. Ah, the saints shall be "caught up" alright; caught up into the throne of God, into the realm of His almighty power and sovereign authority. Arise, sons of God, from the dust of desolation and defeat. Put on your beautiful garments, and the whole armour of God! The trumpet call goes forth in this great hour, calling for a Gideon's band who shall be "more than conquerors" through Christ that loved us. And the band is being prepared, for which we are thankful; an army whose power is not in themselves, but in the Sword of the LORD!

The sixth purpose for the sounding of the trumpets was to announce the celebration of the Feasts of the Lord, the days of gladness, and times of joy and victory. There are three great Feasts: Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. Trumpets sound for each Feast. There is a trumpet, or a message, that introduces the Feast of Passover. Another trumpet or message sounds for Pentecost. And there is a message or trumpet that brings God's people into the fullness of God in the Feast of Tabernacles. The trumpet message that calls us to celebrate Passover sounds like this: "Ye must be born again;

believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." The trumpet that calls us to celebrate the Feast of Pentecost, sounds like this: "Ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, for the promise is unto you, and your children, to as many as the Lord our God shall call" (Acts 2:38-39). "...be filled with the Spirit" (Eph. 5:18). "He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost" (Mat. 3:11). "Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?" (Acts 19:2).

The trumpet-message that calls us to the Feast of Tabernacles sounds like this: "Let us go on to perfection" (Heb. 6:1). "Take heed...until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts" (II Pet. 1:19). "Arise, shine..." (Isa. 60:1). "Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us" (Heb. 12:2). "I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 3:14). "... till Christ be formed in you" (Gal. 4:19). "Heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ" (Rom. 8:17). "The earnest expectation of the creation waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God" (Rom. 8:19). "He that overcometh... to him will I give power over the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron" (Rev. 2:26-27). "The people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits" (Dan. 11:32). All enemies shall be put under the feet of the body of Christ, until every enemy has been destroyed, even death! Whether or not you have faith to believe for these great things, does not bother me in the least. For the performance of those things God has spoken does not depend upon your faith, and is not hindered by your unbelief. HE has spoken, and HE shall perform it. The age of sin, sickness, crime, hate, war, pain, darkness, and death is rapidly coming to an end. The door is opening to a new age. The Kingdom of God shall triumph in the earth! Hallelujah! I can hear the trumpet sounding!

The seventh purpose for the sounding of the trumpets in Israel was to gather the people to the solemn assemblies, to show God's people their transgression, and call them to mourning and repentance. The eighth purpose was to announce the beginning of the months, to herald the arrival of a new phase in God's purposes. The ninth was the announcing of offerings and sacrifices, the tenth the anointing of kings, the eleventh the dedication of the temple, and the twelth the proclamation of the great year of Jubilee, when all creation is freed, restored to their inheritance again.

HEAR YE THE WORD OF THE LORD! "In the old covenant, the sons of Aaron blow with the trumpets; and this was an ordinance to the priests; and when they blowed the trumpets, the outward Israelites were to assemble themselves before the tabernacle. And when they blew an alarm, then the camp set forward. So they did not gather them together to the door of the tabernacle with ringing of bells, in the old covenant, but with the blowing of trumpets. And in the solemn feasts they blew the trumpets; which was a day of blowing the trumpets, which were outward, in their outward feasts, to their outward gathering to their outward tabernacle. But in the new covenant and testament, which is not according to the old, the trumpets are spiritual and heavenly, which are sounded with the power and spirit of God, in the day of Christ; yea, all the elect in His light, the life in Him, are a royal priesthood, and blow the trumpet. And at the sound of this heavenly trumpet, they gather to this heavenly tabernacle, not made with hands, and to the heavenly Jerusalem, to His heavenly solemn feast, through the baptism of Christ and circumcision with His spirit, that plunges down and cuts off all corruption; and so all come to drink into one spirit, that put off the body of death and sins of the flesh. And so by these spiritual and heavenly trumpets, ye are gathered to the heavenly feast, and bread, and wine, and honey, from heaven, and the new milk from the living word, that lives and abides, whose heavenly breast is never dry, but is always full of heavenly milk. And so as the heavenly trumpet sounds, the Israelites in spirit move and go, and follow the heavenly spiritual Lamb in their fine linen of righteousness, and keep their feast of the heavenly bread, that cannot be leavened. So the bread, the wine, the milk, the honey, the water, the trumpets, and the tabernacle, are heavenly and spiritual in the new covenant and testament, which are not according to the old, with their outward bread, and water, and trumpets, and outward tabernacle. All those outward things Christ

abolished, which served until the seed came to reform it; and in the time of the seed reformation of Christ, the heavenly and spiritual Man, translates His believers and followers out of the natural, outward, and carnal, into the heavenly, inward, spiritual. And so the new and living way, and the new covenant and testament, and the new time of reformation, are not according to Israel's old covenant and testament, and old order and way." - From the writings of George Fox in the year 1706.

In interpreting scripture we are so inclined to interpret all things with our human understanding. When the Word speaks of the sounding of a trumpet, our carnal mind envisages a loud blast akin to the sound of reveille, but such is not necessarily the case. In I Cor. 15:51-52 we have this significant statement: "Behold, I show 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 trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." The scripture is clear: we shall be CHANGED at the LAST TRUMP! The Bible speaks of many trumpets, each with its own signification, but I think all will agree that there cannot be any trumpet sounding after the LAST TRUMP. There may be other trumpets of different orders, but the Last Trump is always the final trumpet to sound in any series.

It is significant to note that in the book of Revelation, chapters eight through twelve, we have presented the sounding of seven trumpets. I am confident that this seventh trumpet is the LAST TRUMPET, for after the seventh trumpet there can be no other. Trumpet after trumpet the inworking of God's truth progresses in the spiritual lives of the elect until at last the final trumpet, the last message, the ultimate revelation is ready to complete the process, producing a people in the fullness of the glory of the Lord. So great is the crowning work wrought by this final unveiling that a "strong" or mighty "angel" is dispatched from heaven to sound the trumpet. This honored messenger is seen coming from heaven with a rainbow over His head. A rainbow is formed when pure white light is passed through a three-dimensional object called a prism. As the light passes through the prism it is divided into the color spectrum. Throughout scripture we see these colors associated with God and His throne. Here, it bespeaks of the three-dimensional character of our LORD-JESUS-CHRIST who is "the expression of the glory of God - the Light-being, the outraying of the divine - the perfect imprint and very image of God's nature" (Heb. 1:3, Amplified). The "angel" can be none other than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, for this is the LAST TRUMP and HE it is, the LORD HIMSELF, who descends from heaven IN the trump of God." As the holy and perfect One descends from the heaven of our spirit into the earth of body and soul at the sounding of the last trump, we too shall become a perfect three-dimensional prism of perfected and glorified body, soul, and spirit, whose ends are equal and parallel triangles, and whose faces are parallelograms, each equally and perfectly refracting the light of God to creation. As God's nature flows through our triangular being we, too, shall express the nature of God on many levels of His Spirit, such as wisdom, understanding, might, counsel, knowledge, and the fear of the Lord - God's Spirit coming forth as light which is the true expression of life denoting righteousness, peace and joy.

May God grant us wisdom and understanding that we may apprehend the mystery of these things. The number seven gives me the understanding that contained within the seven trumpets is the totality of God's character and the complete revelation of His will and purpose. As the trumpets sound within the lives of God's people they begin to experience the fullness of all that God is. There has never been an expression of God at this level in the earth at any time except in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, for He is the firstborn among many brethren. But now there is a people who have been sealed unto the day of redemption and when God begins to loose the seals and sound the trumpet-messages it will bring forth a many-membered expression of God at the same level of God's fullness. This is the Lord Himself descending.

Rev. 8:1 records the opening of the "seventh" and last "seal." Then "seven angels" appear, and to these are given "seven trumpets." We will not attempt to go into detail concerning the nature of these various messages which are symbolized by the seven trumpets. Suffice it to call attention briefly to the fact that in connection with the "voice" or trumpet of the seventh angel, "when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished" (Rev. 10:7). In verses eight and nine of Rev. 10, this "finished mystery" of God is likened to a "little book," which, when it is eaten is sweet as honey in the mouth, but "shall make thy belly bitter." God's intention is to see His nature inscribed perfectly in the lives of a people. As we take the revelation of God - the present truth - into our mouths, all its wonderful promise and divine potential is sweet as honey to our taste (how wonderful it is!), but as it begins to be assimilated and work within the inner man it becomes bitter by the work of the cross as it leads to purging, processing, breaking, and multiplied changes of mind, heart, confession, and action.

The sounding of the seven trumpets denotes a process. "In the DAYS of the VOICE of the seventh angel (messenger), when he shall BEGIN TO SOUND, the mystery of God should be finished." The words, "In the D-A-Y-S of the voice of the seventh angel and the words, "begin to sound," speak volumes to me because the complete sounding of that trumpet involves a process in time and shows us that our change which comes with the sounding of the seventh or last trumpet is not to find its total consummation in one specific moment. There is an obvious implication of a prolonged sounding extending through various periods and dealings. Yet at the initial sounding, the "mystery" of God's purpose for His elect shall no longer be hidden. Ah - methinks I have heard this trumpet, for the mystery of God has been revealed in the midst of the saints in these days! In Rev. 12, when we arrive at the final drama, the closing act, the grand finale of the seventh trumpet the MANCHILD is birthed - that glorious company of the sons of God is caught up to God and His throne and given authority to rule all nations with a rod of iron. Hallelujah!

Let me reiterate. John said, "And I saw seven angels (messengers) which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets" (Rev. 8:2). "And the seven angels (messengers) which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound" (Rev. 8:6). Then follows the account of their sounding, ONE AFTER ANOTHER, which denotes times and seasons in which new messages come. "But in the days of the VOICE of the seventh angel (messenger), when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as He hath declared to His servants the prophets" (Rev. 10:7). When Christ appears in His SEVENTH TRUMPET MESSAGE the mystery of God is finished. "There are seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which ARE the seven spirits of God" (Rev. 4:7). "And I beheld...a lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns (power) and seven eyes (perception), which ARE the seven spirits of God sent forth into all the earth" (Rev. 5:6). The term seven is used to denote completeness, and as seven spirits of God are mentioned, it means that He has a spirit of power that accompanies each trumpet message, and a vision which goes with each particular message, according to the need of the time. May the Lord help us to see these deep and precious truths.

It is time, my beloved, for the mystery of God to be finished. "Finished" means completed or consummated. What is the mystery of God? Eph. 3:2-6 explains the mystery! "How that by revelation He made known unto me the MYSTERY; which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ by the gospel." When you follow the word "mystery" through the writings of the apostles it is clear that the mystery is the body of Christ. In Eph. 5:31-32 it is the mystery of the union of Christ with His body.

The body of Christ has been being formed since the conception of the Church on the day of Pentecost. We all understand that when a baby comes forth in a normal birth the head comes forth first, and afterwards the body. Two thousand years ago Christ came forth as the Head and from that day to this He has been forming His body - right down to the feet. When the voice of the seventh and final trumpet begins to sound, precious saints of God, what is going to happen? THE BODY OF CHRIST IS GOING TO BE FINISHED! Not just quantitatively, but qualitatively. That trumpet signifies that the Lord's elect, the sons of God or the body of Christ, have all been transformed into His image and likeness, have partaken of His life, and are also joined to Christ the Head, making one radiantly adorned Christ in the image and likeness of God almighty. The MYSTERY will be completed! The body of Christ will come forth into full birth, full and complete manifestation. This corporate Christ, Head and body, this manchild company, is to rule all nations with a rod of iron. Caught up to God and His throne - into His authority. In the days of the voice of the seventh trumpet the mystery shall be finished, the body completed, the long and tedious work of the preparation of God's sons shall at last be consummated, praise His name! The trumpet has begun to sound! There is an increase of God's revelatory word, an intensified trumpet-message, a clear revelation of Jesus Christ! Listen, my friend, for the sounding of the trumpet-voice within your spirit!

If you can hear this trumpet sounding above the hue and cry of rapture, antichrist, mark of the beast, Christmas, Easter, denominationalism, sectarianism, mansions over the hilltop, cabins in the corner of gloryland, pie in the sky, religious programs, rituals, ceremonies, endless meetings, shepherding, coverings, cunningly devised fables, money raising schemes, false prophets, false healers, lying signs and wonders, and carnal health and wealth and prosperity doctrines; if you can mount up with wings as eagles and soar high above all this carnal, confused, frustrated clamor of noisy gongs and clanging cymbals, and hear the distinct, plain, unmistakable sound of this last trump then it can be said to you: Blessed art thou, overcomer, manchild, hundredfold, firstfruits: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. This is the last redemptive message and when it is finished sounding God will have made man in His image. What tremendous truths are being blown on this redemptive trumpet! Let not any man rob you of the greatest sound that man has ever been privileged to hear. A sound with such a high and holy pitch, with tones so deep and profound, that only the Spirit can reveal its message to those who hunger and thirst after righteousness. Do not miss what the Spirit is saying; gird up the loins of your mind with the truth that will fully redeem you, spirit, soul, and body.

When the last trumpet sounds the mystery of Christ and His body is finished. The body of Christ will have appropriated their full inheritance in God. But let not any man imagine that that ends the purposes of God for His creation. No way! It is not an ending, but a glorious BEGINNING! The truth is that out of the seventh trumpet comes deliverance for all mankind! This is the purpose of the Christ body - to restore all things into the life, and light, and love of God. Nothing can be clearer than this in these inspired words of the beloved Seer of Patmos: "And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world ARE BECOME the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign forever and ever. We give Thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because Thou hast taken to Thee Thy great power, and hast reigned" (Rev. 11:15-17).

In closing this message I share with you a significant vision from a prophet of God of yesteryear. There is neither time nor space to elaborate upon this remarkable vision but I am confident that as you meditate prayerfully upon it the blessed Spirit of Truth will illuminate the eyes of your understanding and interpret its message to mind and heart. The vision is as follows...

"Just before we went to Africa, God came to me in a vision. In it I stood where I could view the whole world, and it was wrapped in darkness. At times I could see great fires springing up on the surface of the earth and the people would gather around the fires to warm themselves. Then, as I continued to watch, fires would break out in other places. But without exception, after a large group would gather around the fire, little evil-looking figures came out of the shadows. Those who were gathered around the fire were so occupied with rejoicings that they seemed wholly unconscious of these little figures. But, from where I stood, I could see these shadowy figures as they came silently out of the surrounding darkness. I noticed that each one was carrying a little, engraved shovel. These they placed in the hands of each one who stood around the fire. In the immediate vicinity, I could see where great fires had burned in by-gone days, but had long since burned themselves out, leaving only great heaps of ashes.

"As I watched, each of those around the fire would go over to the ash heap, fill his little shovel with cold ashes; then, with much dignity - as though faithfully performing a solemn duty - they would scatter the cold ashes very carefully over the fire. This they continued to do until the fire was completely smothered and dead. They then knelt in the ashes and prayed for light and warmth. This procedure was repeated over, and over, and over. The world began to grow darker and colder, and the men continued in their efforts to extinguish every fire, here, there, and everywhere...

"All the fires had long since died out, and the people were weeping and wailing as they prayed for light and warmth. My heart was deeply stirred and I began to pray with a fervency that can only be born in the darkness of the world's Gethsemanes. Then I became a part of the scene, kneeling in the ashes. No longer an interceding observer, I prayed even more fervently. I stood to my feet and lifted my hands and my face toward heaven. I began to cry with great agony of soul. Louder and louder I lifted my voice, in frantic desperation, until all the other crying around about me was merged into my own desperate cry.

"As I stood there, calling unto the Lord with all the anguish of my soul, I saw a light, 'way, 'way high in the heavens, just a speck of light. It began to come closer and closer, and then, suddenly, it stood by my side - a celestial Being of fire. He was formed like a man and yet he was a Being of fire. In his hand was a trumpet of fire which he handed to me saying, 'Blow!' I stood transfixed, overcome with awe! He placed the trumpet to my lips; I breathed into it, and lo! the sound was amplified until it reverberated over the countryside. As I continued to blow, the creature of fire leaped into the ashes and stirred the smoldering embers until the flames leaped high into the sky. I was now blowing the trumpet louder and louder, and people began coming out of the darkness from every direction. The light from the fire seemed now to light the whole earth, and, as the people gathered, they began to march past the fiery messenger. He stood in the flaming fire, and, when they went by, he would give to each of them a trumpet of fire. They, in turn, would put it to their lips and start out across the earth, blowing with all their strength. As they went, fires were lighted everywhere. It seemed as though the very tones of the trumpets were lighting fires, sending a great wall of flame rolling across the earth. It was consuming everything in its path - burning everything as it went. As I looked, I thought, 'What desolation! What desolation! Everything that we have known is gone.' Then it began to rain, a slow, gentle rain.

"As I watched, vegetation began to spring up - grass, green herbs and trees, and every tree was loaded with fruit. Everything was fruitful, there wasn't one thing twisted, warped or barren. I turned to speak to the messenger, but he was gone. Yet the whole world remained beautiful and serene. The warfare was accomplished, the Kingdom of God had been established in the earth, and peace reigned. The Long night was over, and morning had come.

"I believe that, in this vision, God was showing me the course of these end-time days..." -Thomas Wyatt, in THUNDER BEFORE DAWN.

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