KINGDOM BIBLE STUDIES
"Teaching the things concerning the kingdom of God..."
FROM THE CANDLESTICK TO THE THRONE
Part 105
THE SOUNDING OF THE TRUMPETS
(continued)
“And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven
about the space of half an hour…and the seven angels which had the seven
trumpets prepared themselves to sound” (Rev. 8:1,6).
This vision reveals the great truth that in the outworking
of God’s kingdom purposes, first something happens in the heavens, and
then as a consequence, certain events take place on earth. John sees
seven angels standing before God. It is a heavenly, celestial scene!
There in the high and holy presence of God and His throne seven trumpets
are given to the seven angels, and they prepare themselves to sound. As
each trumpet sounds there are solemn and marvelous events that transpire
in the earth, the sea, upon the rivers and fountains of water, and in
the heavens that govern the earth man. Every divine action that affects
the earth realm begins in the heavenly, celestial realm! The sounding
of the trumpets heralds and initiates the next step in God’s great
redemptive and restorative program!
The central portion of the book of Revelation to which we
now come, may be likened to a drama in three acts — the Seals, the
Trumpets, and the Vials. Each act of the drama brings to us a view of
the same landscape, but every time we come afresh to it the view is
widened by the fact that we regard it from a greater height and further
stage of development. With the breaking of the seventh seal we expect
the end, the final consummation, for now the book of life within us is
fully open and all the seals are broken! We would suppose the work of
God is now fully accomplished, yet the end does not come. John pauses
but for a moment before launching on a new series of visions introduced
by the seven trumpets, which in turn are followed by the pouring out of
the seven vials and the events which follow. As we look at these three
acts of the drama it is clear that each in some measure touches and
affects the same realms — the heavens, the earth, and the sea. So here
we too pause, and ask what we are to make of this unique scheme of
things!
We would deprive ourselves of infinite treasure should we
refrain from investigating the deep meaning of the three series of
visions — the seven Seals, the seven Trumpets, and the seven Vials.
Does series follow series merely for emphasis, or can some difference be
discerned between them? There is a remarkable difference! The
breaking of the seals is an unveiling, thus denoting revelation. It
should be observed that with the breaking of the respective seals,
nothing is said about reading anything from the book which is being
opened. The events which accompany the breaking of the seals one after
another are not represented as being read — they are dramatic scenes
vividly enacted before the Seer’s vision opening to his mind and spirit
the revelation of how, the revelation of the process by which the Christ
is brought forth into full manifestation in and through each member of
God’s called and chosen elect. Thus the Lamb in proceeding to break the
seals begins His work as a Revealer!
Can we not see by this that the seals are the revelation of
how the Lamb progressively brings forth the manifestation of the Christ
life in the experience of each member of the body of Christ. Actually,
as I see it, nothing really happens when the seals are loosed except the
dawning of spiritual understanding within ourselves. Here the
revelation, the blueprint, of God’s great and glorious purpose in us is
made known to us! This is purely revelation! Nothing ever happens in
our lives until first we receive a quickening, an understanding, a
revelation! No man can come to Christ and trust Him as Saviour until
first he has received by revelation (spiritual quickening, awakening)
the awareness of his need and God’s gracious provision of
reconciliation, redemption, and transformation through Jesus Christ.
Very few have received healings, miracles, answers to prayer, baptism in
the Holy Spirit, gifts, or any other blessing and benefit until first
the revelation divinely broke within their consciousness of the
availability of these wonderful provisions. All things are received by
faith, and faith comes only by hearing the word of God. The principle
is clear — the man who has received no revelation of sonship to God
cannot become a manifest son of God! God has a beautiful plan for
everything. Revelation is the prerequisite for initiation, as
initiation is the harbinger of consummation!
The breaking of the seals is to reveal things that have been
concealed, or unknown to us; trumpets, on the contrary, are to announce
new things, summon armies, initiate movement of the camp, call the
Lord’s people to His great feasts, and in all things to give the signal
for change and transformation. No more delay! The hour has come!
When the trumpets sound, the Lord sets His hand to commence the
accomplishment of all that was revealed through the loosing of the
seals!
The seven seals then give us the introduction to the Lord’s work in us —
all that was revealed by the opening of the seals of revelation now, as
the trumpets sound, begins to be inwrought and accomplished
experientially in our lives. Beyond the seals lie the trumpets, and
beyond the trumpets lie the vials which also may be contrasted with the
seals and the trumpets. The opening of the seals is the key to the
book, for when they are opened, the book is. Yet we have merely seen by
revelation what God is going to do! The seals break to us the
revelation; the trumpets then usher in the initiation, inauguration, and
accomplishment of the work, raising up within God’s elect the reality we
have so clearly seen by revelation, conforming us to the full stature of
manifest sonship. Finally, the vials bring the result of God’s work in
us to and upon the whole creation of God, producing the FINISHED
PRODUCT! Therefore we may say that John beheld the seals of revelation
opened; he heard the trumpets of initiation and accomplishment in God’s
firstfruit company, sounding their herald; and then the vials of
consummation bringing an end in all realms to everything that opposes
the kingdom, establishing the nature, life, wisdom, glory, and power of
God from the lowest sea to the highest heaven. What a mighty God we
serve!
Many commentators on the book of Revelation teach that
the seven trumpets are contained in the seventh seal — in other words,
the seven trumpets proceed out of the seventh seal and are, therefore,
the events of the seventh seal. They further teach that the seven vials
are contained in the seventh trumpet, or proceed out of the seventh
trumpet and are, therefore, the events of the seventh trumpet. I see
no ground for believing that. On the contrary, the vision of the seven
seals was finished before John saw the seven trumpets, and the seven
trumpets all sounded before he saw the seven vials. The same is true in
their spiritual fulfillment within us! If we can insert the seven
trumpets into the seventh seal and the seven vials into the seventh
trumpet then all are the contents of the seventh seal. In my mind that
destroys the whole scheme of the revelation! What would be the object
of having the seven trumpets and seven vials if they are not different
from the mere contents of the seals? Why not make the rest of the
Revelation also come out of the seals? Yet the real truth of the matter
is far deeper than this!
THE SEVEN TRUMPETS
It is odd what strange notions some people get concerning
the meaning of scriptures they read in the Bible. As a young boy I was
brought up in a church system that taught that every word in the Bible
was to be taken literally, and that the word “trumpet,” where it appears
in the book of Revelation, referred to a literal angel blowing an actual
trumpet at the end of this age, announcing terrible judgments to be
poured out upon the world. Nothing, of course, could be further from
the truth than such a crude and carnal 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 growing out of the earth and that they
were literal branches. When He told His disciples that they were the
“salt of the earth,” He certainly did not mean that they literally were
sodium chloride! The Bible is full of symbols and figures of speech,
and Jesus spoke in such allegorical, parabolic, and spiritual terms that
it is said of Him, “without a parable spake He not unto them” (Mat.
13:34). The term “trumpet” is a symbol of victory, battle, warfare,
movement, feasts, deliverance, and a number of other meanings. 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 mention of
trumpets is recorded in the book of Exodus, the last in the book of
Revelation.
Multitudes of the Lord’s people throughout the earth are filled with
fear and dread when they read or think about the events connected with
the blowing of the trumpets in Revelation. Because they read the
scriptures and understand them only with the natural, carnal mind, they
miss the wonderful and deeply spiritual message that can only be
understood by the spiritual mind. When they read of hail and fire
mingled with blood being cast into the earth, burning up the grass and
the trees, the seas turning to blood, the waters made bitter, the sun,
moon, and stars smitten, locusts swarming out of the abyss tormenting
men so that they seek death but cannot find it, they are completely
overwhelmed with anxiety, consternation, and foreboding.
There are many who feel that every earth-shaking event that
shocks the public must be a sign of the “end-time,” and we must make
certain that we are prepared for the “doom day” which is upon us.
Millions of Christians suffer from a malady called “Doomsday Syndrome.”
They constantly fear what the future holds, believing that the “great
tribulation” or the “end of the world” is upon us. Hardly a day goes by
that we don’t hear some doomsday disciple pronouncing imminent judgment
and damnation. Babylon’s preachers and teachers continually have a
hey-day with sensational world events, trying to make them fit the
fulfillment of specific Bible prophecies, speculating about their
meaning, projecting, predicting, and even prophesying about their
outcome, and never apologizing for all their past mistakes and erroneous
conclusions. Almost every year another super-disaster hoax is
perpetrated upon gullible Christians.
No matter what you have been hearing about the dark and
dreadful things to come upon the earth, let me tell you something about
the doomsday prophecies that keep coming year after year and decade
after decade. Sherlock Holmes once solved a famous murder case by
noticing what did not happen. He observed that the victim’s dog did not
bark on the night of the crime. Therefore the dog — and hence the
victim — must have known the assailant. The rest was easy. So it is
with the so-called “end-time” events! What hasn’t happened is
significant. For instance, a great economic crash mindlessly foretold
by the parrots of pessimism year after year has tremendous significance
by its very absence! Despite all the prophets of gloom and doom the
communists have not taken over the world, the Roman empire has not been
revived by a ten-nation European Union, America has not been invaded,
California has not fallen into the ocean, the new currency printed by
the United States Treasury proved not to be a conspiracy to confiscate
everybody’s money, the mark of the beast has not come via a cashless
money system, the government has not declared martial law, the churches
have not been closed, Clinton was not our last president, the Antichrist
(as people think of him) is nowhere to be seen, communist Russia did not
invade Israel, we have not been laser-tattooed with 666 on the forehead,
Y2K went the way of all flesh and the folks who fled to remote areas
with their generators, out-houses, guns, and stockpiles of food had
plenty to eat for a while before creeping back into civilization — and
the sons of God continue to be processed and matured for the Day of
Unveiling! Only the word of the Lord has stood! All the false prophets
have been proven liars, and God alone is true!
In my files over the past thirty years I have purposely
saved booklets and papers in which people have set dates for devastating
tidal waves, killer earthquakes, the collapse of the money system, the
fall of America, the so-called “rapture” of the church, the appearance
of the antichrist, and a host of other ominous events. I refer to these
prophecies and predictions from time to time, and with the passing of
time their falseness is starkly evident, for not one single prophecy of
gloom and doom has come to pass! Ah, Sherlock Holmes, what hasn’t
happened is significant! All these doomsday apocalyptic pictures of the
end of the age, the antichrist, the great tribulation, etc., are based
upon carnal-minded interpretations of certain prophecies in the Bible
which have nothing whatever to do with the unfolding of the kingdom of
God in the earth, are completely irrelevant to God’s great purposes in
this hour, and simply do not enter into the equation at all. They are
founded upon a confusion of thought — a failure to understand the
scriptures by the Spirit!
You cannot teach the book of Revelation as doctrine. It is
not a book of doctrine! It is a book of spiritual pictures and
experiential realities! The book of Revelation is not meant to be
preached, it is meant to be experienced! That is the only way to really
understand and know it. We truly grasp it as it happens within us! We
must read and keep (fulfill within ourselves) the words of the prophecy
of this book, in order to receive the promises in it (Rev. 1:3).
Remember that Israel was armed too with seven trumpets which they
sounded against their enemies in order to inherit the land of Canaan
(Josh. 6:13,20). In this hour God’s elect are called to act like Joshua
and Caleb who had faith in the promises of God made to Israel and did
not look to their weakness and to the strength of their enemies before
them, as did the unbelieving spies.
Through the unbelief of the ten spies the whole congregation of Israel
was turned back from the onward march of victory, and had to retreat and
fell into shame, punishment, and death. These ten spies were men of
high honor. They were rulers chosen by the Lord for His tribes, but
they forfeited their high calling to conquer their enemies in the land
and raise up the kingdom of God in the earth, because of their sin of
unbelief. They refused to sound the trumpets of God’s command and march
forward in the sound of those trumpets to attain the promises. This
experience of Israel is the lesson now laid out before us in the
sounding of the trumpets of the Revelation, through which we must
believe the word of our Father unto us in this new day of the kingdom,
pressing on in to conquer all our enemies within and without which
prevent us from inheriting the promises of the Father to those
apprehended to become the manifest sons of God, being conformed to the
image of the firstborn Son, putting on the mind of Christ, thus
inheriting the power, authority, dominion, and glory of rulership with
Christ in His kingdom!
PREPARED TO SOUND
Now consider the scene! Seven angels are prepared to blow seven
trumpets! Seven trumpets are about to sound! In chapter five of the
Revelation we find a lamb, as it had been slain, having seven horns and
seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God, sent forth into all the
earth (Rev. 5:6). Then we find that “out of the throne proceeded
lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of
fire burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God”
(Rev. 4:5). Take note that the horns and the eyes are in the Lamb that
is in the throne. The seven spirits of God originate from the Lamb in
the throne! But they are “sent forth into all the earth” (Rev. 5:6).
Thus there is an emanation out of the throne of the seven-fold spirit of
the Lord, that radiates out until it penetrates and fills all the earth
and every dimension of creation. The seven lamps of fire which burn
before the throne are the first aspect of that emanation! Let us grasp
the picture! The horns and eyes of the Lamb, which are the seven
spirits of God, are in the throne. By this we can understand that the
seven spirits of God issue out of the very nature and authority of God
in the Lamb! But the light of the seven lamps or candlesticks, which
are also the seven spirits of God, burn before the throne. There has
now been movement, for both that which is in the throne and that which
is before the throne are the seven spirits of God — which eventually are
sent forth from before the throne “into all the earth!”
In consideration of these beautiful truths it will be
instructive to look again at the significant scene in chapter eight of
the Revelation. “And I saw seven angels which stood before God; and to
them were given seven trumpets” (Rev. 8:2). Before God! Before the
throne! Is it not clear that the position of the seven angels is
identical with the position of the seven lamps of fire, which are the
seven spirits? The great truth is that these are the same seven angels
of the seven churches! Therefore, the sound of their trumpets is a
sound that comes out of the midst of God’s elect! Consider this, my
beloved. Seven lamps of fire are burning before the throne. And now
there are seven angels, and they are standing before the throne.
Furthermore, the seven angels are given seven trumpets — a seven-fold
message. They are sounding forth a word! As you study chapter eight
you will see that these trumpet sounds go forth into three dimensions —
the sea, the earth, and the heavens. Oh, yes! These are the seven
spirits of God sent forth into all the earth!
Can you not see by this that the seven angels are also the seven
spirits? The seven trumpets they blow are the seven-fold creative word
of God which issues forth out of the spirit in the Lord’s apprehended
people. Oh, how wonderful are these things! As you follow these seven
angels all the way through the book of Revelation, you will find that
their relationship is to everything that happens to the three realms men
live in upon earth. They sound the trumpets that affect the
earth-realm. These same angels pour out the vials that affect the
earth-realm. Follow these seven angels and you will see how they are
identified with every activity of God that affects the earth-realm! The
sound of their trumpets is the seven spirits of God sent forth into all
the earth in the power of a creative word! Oh, the wonder of it!
We are told that these angels “prepared themselves to
sound.” In what did their preparation consist? In that preparation,
as John saw it in the picture, we would have to include the erecting of
the figure, the standing upon the feet, grasping the instrument, the
bending of the arm, and adjusting of the head, the inflating of the
lungs, the swelling of the cheeks, and the pressing of the trumpet
firmly to the mouth. All of this, and much more, were necessary to the
production of a clear, far-reaching, and reverberating sound. Without
that preparation there could not be the intelligent and effective
blowing of the trumpets. Oh, yes! The trumpeting of a message requires
preparation. Today I hear many saying that there is nothing more to do
in order to become the manifest sons of God — just wait upon the Lord,
they say, and one day, when God’s hour arrives, we will be magically
changed, glorified, and manifested. There are others today who are
trumpeting messages who have not prepared themselves! If you have ever
heard a high school band play you know that they are amateurs.. There
is often a bit of discord in the sound of the music. I have heard many
“trumpet messages” across the land that spiritually sounded worse than
any high school band I ever heard! I have heard trumpet messages, even
among those who profess to be the sons of God, which to my spirit were
naught but a raucous, screeching, clamorous, discordant noise.
Those who played in the Big Bands of the early and mid twentieth century
were accomplished musicians. Do you think they got there
automatically? Those men and women spent years practicing, every day
staying true to their craft, and to the talent God had invested in
them. They perfected that gift through exercise, going beyond the
ordinary effort and toil of everyone else that picked up a musical
instrument. They became masters of their art through discipline,
through struggle, through hours of dedication and unswerving commitment
to that which God had placed in their souls. When the concert opened
there was no uncertain sound! There were no discordant notes, no
dissonance! Those who blew the horns and bowed the violins had prepared
themselves to sound! They had practiced the music until it became a
part of them — they were in fact themselves the music! That’s what it
means to prepare to sound — the messenger becomes the message. When we
become the message, then, and only then, are we truly prepared to sound!
When we finally blow the horn we have something to say and we say it
by what we are, more than by what we speak!
The trumpets are sounded within us by the seven-fold
anointing (angels) of the spirit, and we hear them, not with our
external, fleshly ears, but with those greater and more meaningful
“ears” of the spirit! And if Father has given us “hearing ears,” or
spiritual ears, to hear the sounds of His trumpets, then we will hear
them indeed and be empowered to experience within ourselves all they
call us to! Seeing that the trumpets are spiritual trumpets sounding
first within our spirit, later through us as the Lord’s trumpet people,
it follows that the preparation for their sounding is likewise something
that takes place within us by the spirit. The preparation comes as
Christ is raised up in our lives in the power of the Holy Spirit! It is
the word of the Lord finding a lodging place and responsiveness in our
lives, becoming established as the law of our life. It means separation
from all other voices, heart-felt consecration and commitment to the
ways of our Father, and the inflating of the whole personality with the
power and presence of the Holy Spirit!
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 seven-fold trumpet, the message, the revelation, and
the power! In type Jesus is the trumpet of God, delivering a clear
sound, a living word, 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 changed with Him to share the glory of His sphere of
life. Remember — it is the Lamb in the throne who has the seven spirits
of God, which seven spirits are also the seven lamps of fire burning
before the throne and the seven angels standing before the throne
sounding the seven trumpets! Oh, the mystery of it! The Lord Himself
descends out from the highest realms of our heavens (spirit) into the
lower realms 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 our earth (soulish realm) and
into our sea (body realm) is to catch our 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, the Living Word of God! It
is the living, creative word that changes us!
SEVEN TRUMPETS
Let us look
a little deeper into the meaning of the seven trumpets. The figure of the
trumpets is taken from the Old Testament, and hence we must go back to the Old
Testament for a full understanding. There were different kinds of trumpets
under the Israelite economy. There was first the trumpet of God’s law, when God
manifested Himself in awesome righteousness, in terrible majesty and power.
When Yahweh appeared on the summit of Sinai, there was “the voice of the trumpet
exceeding loud,” so that all the people in the camps trembled (Ex. 19:16).
There was a military trumpet which summoned the armies of Israel to battle
against their enemies (Num. 10:9; Jer. 4:19). There was also the musical
trumpet which, like all the other trumpets, was a wind instrument, which formed
a part of the temple orchestra (Ps. 98:6; 150:3). This trumpet was never used
in the synagogue service, but always in the service of the holy temple. In
addition to these, there was the sacrificial trumpet which was blown over the
burnt offerings and peace offerings while they were being presented, announcing
to the people outside that reconciliation with God was being established (Num.
10:10; Lev. 23:24; 25:9). Further, there was the royal trumpet which was only
blown when a new king was anointed and crowned. When Solomon was made king the
trumpet was blown and the shout went up, “God save the king!” (I Kings 1:34,39;
II Kings 9:13). The trumpet of jubilee was also a significant trumpet in
Israel, but only once in every fifty years. Those who were privileged to hear
that trumpet were blessed indeed, for it proclaimed their liberty from all debts
and servitude (Lev. 25:8-12). At the sound of that trumpet all shackles fell
from the arms and feet of the prisoners, and all who had been in bondage
returned to their possessions and their families. During the year of jubilee
the people ate of the increase of their fields and rejoiced with joy
unspeakable.
Another important trumpet was the trumpet of solemn assembly which
called all the representative men of the whole assembly of Israel to the door of
the tabernacle, to receive the instructions of the Lord. Then there was the
trumpet of forward movement which was blown when it was time to break camp and
move on to another place at the word of the Lord (Num. 10:3-7). There was also
the festal trumpet which called the Lord’s people to each of the seven great
feasts of Yahweh. There was another trumpet used in Israel, and it might be
called the trumpet of the seventh month. It was blown for one day only, and
that on the first day of the seventh month, and then the whole day was given up
to it. That trumpet called the people to rest, for on that day they ceased from
all their labors and kept holy sabbath. The blowing of these trumpets announced
the beginning of the civil year. It corresponded to our New Year’s day. It
also ushered in the seventh month of the religious year with its three feasts of
trumpets, atonement, and tabernacles. It is claimed by many that the seventh
month trumpet was the most significant of them all!
With these facts before us, what is our conclusion concerning the
meaning of the seven trumpets in the book of Revelation? They are truly a
figure from the types and shadows of Old Testament economy, and in the light
that the Spirit now brings they are not difficult to understand. Are they the
trumpets of the law? Then they call us to be awakened to the law or nature of
God which He is putting in our minds and writing upon our hearts!
Are they the
musical trumpets of the temple worship? Then they call us to prayer, to the
high praises of God at all times and every situation, to worship in spirit and
in truth, and to the new song that springs forth out of the hearts of the
overcoming sons of God! Men have done all sorts of things and called it
worship, and many have even enjoyed the ecstasy of a realm of spiritual worship
where, because of the thrill, release, and glory of it, rather than truly
worshipping the Lord in spirit and in truth have instead worshipped worship!
Those who experience the deep work of this trumpet rise above all fear,
frustration, doubts, depression, and unbelief, recognizing the hand of God in
all that happens in their lives, acknowledging that our great and glorious
Father is absolutely in control of everything that comes our way, and that He
divinely, purposefully, and wisely directs all our steps according to His
infinite plan and purpose. The Lord’s called and chosen elect who have
spiritual ears to hear this trumpet have come out of the old order religious
systems of man with their programmed and controlled “worship” to now worship the
Father freely in the high places of the spirit! No longer is it the command of
men to raise the hands, clap, dance, and praise the Lord, but it is a deep,
awesome reverence that springs from the spirit and flows forth unto God. This
worship no longer draws attention to the worshipper, nor yet to the beauty and
glory of worship itself, but glorifies the Lord alone, always. In the lives of
God’s apprehended ones in this great Day of the Lord, the Father is cutting off
everything we thought to be worship and leaving us void that we might really
recognize true worship as it is spontaneously energized by the Spirit of God!
Are the trumpets of Revelation the festal trumpets? Then they call
us to follow on to know the Lord in His feasts! How precious the knowledge that
we have a God who hungers, thirsts, deeply desires to feast with His people!
The feast means that God and man are brought together, the Lord appears unto man
to associate Himself with him in an intimate manner, in an extremely close
relationship. There were seven feasts given to Israel, just as there are seven
trumpets in the Revelation. The three primary feasts were the feast of
Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. A feast involves an appointed day, a
public assembly at a fixed time or season. The feast days were times when
Israel kept divine appointments; times when they assembled before the Lord;
times when they met with God in the revelation of His great purposes. All their
worship centered around these religious festivals. Our Father has also set some
appointments for us, and He expects us to keep them! Only by keeping all these
divine appointments can we meet with Him or know and experience Him in all His
glorious and eternal reality. The sublime truth is not merely that we are
called to appear before Him in His great spiritual feasts, but that HE COMES to
the feasts! HE APPEARS in the feasts! In Passover we meet the Saviour; in
Pentecost we meet the Spirit as the firstfruits of our inheritance; in
Tabernacles we meet the Father in all the fullness of God! There is a complete
salvation that God has ordained for His sons, in spirit, in soul, and in body.
These feasts provide it all! All the feasts of the Lord are necessary for a
full salvation! Ah, as we hear the trumpets blow spiritually in our walk with
God they will call us to His feasts, and as we appear before Him in all His
feasts we are transformed in His presence, they are bringing us to our full
sonship to God!
Are the seven trumpets of John’s vision the military trumpets? Then
they call us to battle with every enemy of the Christ life, to warfare against
the carnal mind, all fleshly desires, every vestige of self-will, the bondages
of religion, the limitations of the natural man, and every cunning working of
sin and death. Our enemies are not outside of us, my beloved, they are not the
world, the church systems, our boss, our spouse, our neighbor, or the
government. Oh, no! The only enemies any of us have are right here within us,
and it is here that the Lord’s chosen people are learning to cast down
imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge
(knowing) of God, bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of
Christ (II Cor. 10:5).
Are the seven trumpets the royal trumpets? Then they proclaim the fact that a
new King is on the throne of our lives and that a new reign has begun within
us! The kingdom of God is being raised up within a people who are called and
are being perfected, matured, transformed, and prepared to rule and reign with
Christ over the nations! Are the trumpets of the Revelation the sacrificial
trumpets? Then they reveal that those who are pressing on into the fullness of
God have now presented their bodies as a living sacrifice unto God, holy and
acceptable unto Him. Are they the trumpets of forward movement? Then they
proclaim the great truth that in our journey into our promised land of fullness
of sonship to God we have not ever, nor do we now, settle down in any religious
system of man, nor in any calling, ministry, revelation, order, or any spiritual
realm of attainment we have come to in God. There are people who claim to be
in this walk of sonship and the kingdom, but the sad truth is, they’re not! At
least they are not in the message and dealings of the Father that we have
received and are experiencing! They are too comfortable. They are too
content. They are too satisfied. They are too relaxed. They are too set in
their ways, too settled down in an order that is even now ready to pass away!
And you can’t get them to move even if their life depends upon it! I tell you,
my beloved, wherever we are camped at this moment in our spiritual experience,
we must have our spiritual “ear” tuned for the sound of the trumpet, ready at
any moment to break camp and press forward into the next move of God!
Are they the jubilee trumpets? Then they proclaim liberty to the
captives, health to the sick, strength to the weak, comfort to the sorrowing,
joy to the sad, sight to the spiritually blind, healing to the spiritually lame,
understanding and wisdom to all who lack, liberty to every prisoner of sin,
limitation, and death, and glory, authority and overcoming power to every man
who rises up in the spirit to return to His former estate and full inheritance
in God!
Are they the
trumpets of the seventh month? Then they announce that just as the Lord’s
people have experienced the spiritual feasts of Passover and Pentecost, the hour
has now come to celebrate the last feast, the feast of Tabernacles, and all that
it speaks of. The feast of Tabernacles is a further realm and a higher
dimension than has been apprehended by any except the firstborn Son of God!
Pentecost is only the firstfruits of the Spirit, but Tabernacles is the full
harvest — FULLNESS! Oh, yes, our gracious Father shall surely give unto the
elect sons of God the FULLNESS OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD which rested and now rests
upon our resurrected, glorified, ascended, and enthroned forerunner. Blessed
are they that are called to this great feast, that which supersedes Pentecost,
that which is the balance of the meal of which Passover and Pentecost were
merely the first courses. This Tabernacles feast, being the last, shall bring
perfection! It will bring the consummation of our salvation, spirit, soul, and
body! As we leave this feast in great strength, those who will be in control of
this planet from that time forth will be abiding in the fullness of RESURRECTION
LIFE — it shall mean a new day of hope and deliverance and glory for the whole
earth as the Lord moves through His body of manifest sons to deliver the entire
creation from the bondage of corruption — the tyranny of sin, sickness, sorrow,
limitation, and death. Aren’t you glad!
It is
abundantly clear that the seven trumpets of the Revelation embody within
themselves ALL that the trumpets of God signify throughout the entire word of
God! All the trumpets in the scriptures are models, prophetic pointers to the
heavenly and spiritual trumpets of the new covenant. In these trumpets we see
God’s perfect number, His complete, all-inclusive number — SEVEN. All that God
will say to His elect, and do in His elect, as we walk with Christ and grow up
into our full spiritual stature as sons of the Father, will be sounded from
these trumpets! At one time it will be the call to true spiritual prayer,
praise, and worship, while at another time it will be the trumpet calling the
camp to war, to rise up in the might of God to defeat all our enemies! In years
past we heard the sound of the trumpets calling us to the spiritual feasts of
Passover and Pentecost, and now in this new day of the Lord we are hearing the
seventh trumpet calling us to arise and gather unto the feast of Tabernacles,
the feast of His fullness! Oh! There are so many trumpets, and in the seven
trumpets of the Revelation we hear them all line upon line, precept upon
precept, until we are changed into His likeness, for they each call us onward to
the very fullness of that life which He is!
THE SOUND OF THE TRUMPETS
If you make a study of trumpets in the scriptures you will discover that
the sound of a trumpet represents the word of the Lord. It is His voice
communicating a specific word to man. The trumpets blow a specific
message. It is not a general word, nor an uncertain sound, nor yet a
trumpet sound swallowed up in the harmony of the various instruments of
an orchestra, but a specific and clear word from God. That’s the main
thought with trumpets — the word is clear! The sound pierces the air
with the sense of awesomeness. It’s a clear, resonant sound, it comes
in power, with enlightenment, opening a revelation in your spirit, and
producing the effect of that revelation in your being. Just one word
from the Lord can change our life forever! It is an announcement, a
creative purpose of God proclaimed, put into action, to bring about a
certain transformation within us. Remember that the messengers were
“given seven trumpets.” They are given the trumpets from the Lamb upon
the throne! Those who have received their trumpet-message directly from
the Lamb on the throne will not blow an uncertain sound, for they
receive their word directly from Him who is “the way, the truth, and the
life.” Such is the trumpet sound we are hearing in these days, and have
been hearing for a number of years, as the word of the Lord is sounding
forth clearly and powerfully in the message of sonship and the kingdom
of God! Isn’t it wonderful!
Let us take heed how we hear, and how we speak, and what we
speak! The order of man is passing. How? BY THE SOUNDING OF THE
TRUMPETS! By the very word of our mouth, because of HIM who speaks out
of us! We might compromise the message and bear a message of
appeasement to the old order of the religious systems, but what would
that accomplish? If a trumpeter blows an uncertain sound, how will you
know to prepare yourself? If the trumpeter has no message, how is he
going to speak? If he has a weak or false message, the truly spiritual
“ear” will detect the screeching, discordant note and reject the sound.
I have had to reject many sounds that I have heard among God’s people!
The seven trumpets are like the seven eyes, seven horns,
seven stars, and seven spirits — they are the seven-fold fullness of
God’s trumpet-message, the declaration, proclamation of the process of
His victory wrought out experientially within each of us! Seven angels
sound the seven trumpets. Who are they? THEY ARE THE LORD! It is the
Lord in His people, of course, but it is the Lord! Know this, and you
will possess a great key to the book of Revelation. It is the
revelation of Jesus Christ! So when someone shows up under a symbol,
doing something that originates with God, who do you suppose it is?
Why, bless your heart, IT IS THE LORD! The Lord Jesus said in chapter
one, “Behold, I come quickly.” And throughout the book He comes, and He
comes, and He comes, and He continues to come! He comes as a
trumpet-voice. He comes as a Lion. He comes as a Lamb. He comes as
seven spirits. He comes as seven angels, messengers. He comes as a
mighty angel, or messenger. He comes as the Son of man. He comes as
horses galloping out of a seven-sealed book. He comes as a star coming
down out of heaven. We could go on and on. But when an action
originates out of God and out of heaven, under whatever symbol is used —
IT IS THE LORD! It is the Lord coming to purge us, refine us, thresh
us, instruct us, enlighten us, perfect us, change us, transform us,
mature us, and conform us to the image of the Son! As the trumpets
sound within the lives of God’s elect we 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 that has been sealed unto the day of redemption, and as God
begins to sound the trumpets it will bring forth a many-membered
expression of God at the same level of God’s fullness.
THIS IS THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST!
Our Father loves us with an everlasting
love, and He has a plan that will change, perfect, mature, and transform
us into the image of His firstborn Son. This
order, plan, and purpose of God will come into fulfillment in our lives
as we hear the sound of the seven trumpets within ourselves, respond
whole-heartedly to each sound, and begin to “walk” through the events
they inaugurate in our lives. Do
not let anyone ever tell you that our omniscient and omnipotent Father
does not have a precise order, process, growth, and development to bring
us to the fullness of Christ. The
God whom we love and serve knows the end from the beginning, for He
planned it all, and He would never awaken within us the revelation and
hope of sonship unless He already had in motion an order, plan, and
purpose by which to accomplish the reality of our call within
ourselves. He knows where we are in our walk with Him today, for He
called us to walk in this wonderful new Day! We are not on this journey as a result
of wishful thinking, for we have heard His voice and we have beheld His glory! He has had a plan and purpose for our present and future
attainments in Him that have existed from before the foundation of the
world. And even were we to
stray and make our bed in hell (Ps. 139:7-10) our all-wise Father will
be there with just the right plan and dealings to bring us out of it in
a better spiritual condition than when we made that “bed.” Further, our loving, merciful, and
faithful Father has a plan, order, and purpose that will bring us to the
very throne of God!
The sounding of the trumpets is
fulfilled in us spiritually as we hear the Voice of the Lord! Every time the word of God comes to us
in and by the Spirit and changes us we are experiencing the mighty power
of the seven trumpets. We
cannot go on with God unless there is one clear sound after another that
blasts with power in our spiritual consciousness. We can only do the will of our Father by
hearing His Voice. God’s
will is also declared in the Bible, but there must be a word beyond the sacred page, spoken by the very breath and mouth of
God, before that word can change and transform us. To try to fulfill the written word by
the obedience of the natural, carnal mind is folly. But to fulfill the living word of God,
spoken out of the mouth of God by the Spirit, by the mind of Christ
within, will surely raise us up to live in His sight!
“A
THIRD PART”
The seven angels with the seven trumpets are divided into two groups. The
first four, which we shall consider first, announce God’s dealings or
judgments upon the “world” of the carnal man. In
the symbolism of John’s vision the first judgment falls on the earth,
the land mass. The second
falls on the seas and oceans. The
third falls on the rivers and their sources. And the fourth affects the light-bearers
— the sun, moon, and stars. In each case, a third of their power is destroyed. The expression “a third part” occurs as
many as twelve times in this passage, surely indicating that the Lord
would have us pay special attention to this particular feature. A third part of the trees are burned up;
and though it literally reads that all the green grass is burnt up, we
take it to mean all the green grass that grows on the third part of the
earth, as would be most natural. A
third part of the oceans becomes blood so that life cannot exist in
them; a third part of all ships on the seas are destroyed; a third part
of fresh, flowing water becomes so bitter that it cannot be drunk, and
men die of thirst; and a third part of the light of the heavens is
darkened.
Surely, there is reason for the
question: What is indicated by this “third part” occurring so often in
the text? One third! Three is the divine number and four is the earth number. Now, as I have pointed out, under the
first four trumpets, we read the words “a third” twelve times! And twelve is God’s governmental number
concerning this earth. Let
us see what the picture means at this point. THERE IS NO PART OF THE WORLD OF THE
CARNAL MIND, THE NATURAL MAN, THE HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS, OR THE ADAMIC
LIFE THAT IS BEYOND THE REACH OF OUR FATHER’S DEALING HAND, AUTHORITY,
AND DOMINION! Within me,
within you, my beloved, there is a “sea realm,” the outer man of the
body. In our intellect, in
our soul life, there is an “earth realm.” And in our spirit there is a “heaven
realm”! There are things
that are true in each of these realms, in each of these dimensions of
our life. Every man on earth
fits into one of those three categories — every man! There is not a man on this planet who is
not living out his life from one of those three realms. Billions of people live in the
consciousness and power of the sea or body realm (desires and sins of
the flesh); vast multitudes more live in the consciousness and power of
the earth or soul realm (intellectual, moral, and religious); and a
little flock of the Lord’s elect live in the consciousness and power of
the heaven or spirit realm (Christ life).
I have mentioned previously that John
saw three series of dramas, each with seven parts. There is the drama of the seals, that of
the trumpets, and finally the vials. As we meditate upon these great truths,
surely we can see that the opening of the seals is the revelation of Jesus Christ! A revelation is an unveiling, and it
is Jesus Christ who is unveiled unto us and within us as the seals are
loosed. The further truth is
that all our glorious Father wrought out in Jesus in order to reveal the
fullness of God in Him, must now be wrought out also in God’s firstfruit
company of “many sons” brought to glory. God’s elect, grown up unto the measure
of the stature of the fullness of Christ, is the second company to be brought to full and complete
redemption, restoration to the life and glory of God! The third
company to be restored
back into God again comprises all the rest of creation. The point I wish to make is just this:
As the loosing of the seals brings the revelation of Jesus Christ, the firstborn Son, so the blowing of the
trumpets accomplishes the very same work of God in His called and chosen
elect, the many-membered
body of Christ, or the manifest sons of God. And just as the trumpets show the work
of our Father in His chosen elect, so the pouring out of the seven vials
reveals the deep and awesome dealings of God with the rest of mankind! Thus the seals represent the work of God
in and through Jesus Christ, the trumpets show the work of God in His
many-membered son company, and the vials reveal the work of God in all
creation. Three series of dramas, each with seven
parts! Three is the number
of completeness, seven the number of perfection. These three dramas with their seven
parts reveal the great truth of God’s complete redemption and
restoration of all things, bringing perfection! There are three stages in the redemptive program, and a full
and complete redemption wrought in each stage. Jesus has already been resurrected,
glorified, and enthroned! Multitudes who read these lines are even
now in the process of full redemption and restoration! And our Father has a wonderful plan and
purpose to restore all things and all men back into the perfection and
glory of God! Isn’t it
wonderful!
It is my deep conviction that the “third
part” mentioned so often in connection with the trumpets bespeaks of the
work of God in His elect in contrast to all the rest of the Lord’s
people and the people of the world. When
this “third part” has been thoroughly purged, when the work of
perfection and maturity has been fully accomplished in the sons of God,
there remain yet multitudes of the Lord’s people who are still babes in
Christ and slaves to the man-made religious systems of Babylon, and
millions more of the peoples of the world who do not even know God.
THE SEVENTH TRUMPET
To me, the greatest evidence that the ministry
of the seven angels through the seven trumpets finishes our Father’s great work of bringing many sons to glory is found in the fact that at the
sounding of the seventh trumpet, which is necessarily also the “last
trump,” John is explicitly informed that “in the days of the seventh angel,
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). This statement gives the meaning and
purpose of the vision of the trumpets, and therefore we know what the
work of the trumpets accomplishes and we have the interpretation of the
vision! The “mystery” of God which is “finished”
is the mystery of CHRIST IN YOU, THE HOPE OF GLORY! (Col. 1:26-27). Yet here, Christ in us is no longer a hope — HE IS BECOME THE GLORY! The mystery is finished, completed,
fulfilled, realized, attained, accomplished, concluded, perfected, and
consummated! Isn’t it
wonderful!
The truth of the statements we have made
will be clearly demonstrated by that which is to follow. The Holy Spirit has not left us without
a witness to all these glorious things! He testifies unerringly that “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 for ever and ever…and
the nations were angry, and Thy wrath (passion) is come, and the time of
the dead, that they should be judged, and that Thou shouldest give
reward unto Thy servants
the prophets, and to the saints…and shouldest destroy them which
destroy the earth. And the
temple of God ( sons) was opened in heaven, and there was seen in His
temple the ark of His testament (His presence, glory, and power): and
there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake,
and great hail” (Rev.
11:15-19).
Just as soon as the seventh angel begins
to sound his trumpet-message and the mystery of God formed as Christ in
His sons is finished, the very next scene is the birth of the manchild who is to rule all nations with a rod of
iron! The manchild, or the
manifest sons of God, is “caught up unto God and His throne.” Oh, yes! When the seven trumpets have fully
performed their work in the lives of God’s elect, the “one third”
company, immediately there appears a great wonder in heaven, “a woman clothed with the sun, and
the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: and
she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be
delivered. And she brought
forth a man child, who was
to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto
God, and to His throne” (Rev.
12:1-2,5). And further, before the seven angels pour out the seven
vials of the last seven plagues, which completes the work of God in
creation, the 144,000 sons of God are also seen standing with the Lamb
upon mount Zion — the mount of kingship, rulership, and dominion! The work in them is truly finished, for John describes their glory in these
wonderful words, “And I
looked, and lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Zion, and with Him an hundred
forty and four thousand, having His Father’s name written in their
foreheads…these are they which were not defiled with women (religious
systems); for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb
whithersoever He goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being
the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no
guile: for they are without
fault before the throne of God” (Rev. 14:1-5). ALL
OF THE ABOVE IS THE RESULT OF THE SOUNDING OF THE SEVENTH TRUMPET! Without doubt, then, the seven trumpets
bring full redemption, perfection, maturity, immortality, and kingship
dominion to God’s called and chosen elect. That is the mystery!
FIRE!
Another truth clamors here for our attention. At the sounding of the trumpets several
things are cast into the heavens, earth, and sea of man’s carnal, mortal
existence. There is hail,
blood, a great mountain, stars, angels, and a dragon. There
is one other item, however, which appears alike in the sounding of each
of the seven trumpets! Whatever
is poured out under a given trumpet, this one ingredient is part of the
mix — fire! There is fire and hail mingled with
blood, the great mountain burning with fire, the star from heaven
burning as a lamp, the sun is a fire, there is smoke from the fire
burning in the bottomless pit, fire from the horses’ mouths, and
finally, under the seventh trumpet, there is the fire of lightning. Ah, can we not see by this that the
seven trumpets bring the purging, refining, purifying, cleansing fire of
God into the religious carnality of our soul-life, and into the bestial
nature of our body-life! When
our Father wants to change and transform us, in the totality of
ourselves, He commissions His seven angels, the seven spirits of God,
who are the fullness of the Holy Ghost fire of God, to descend as the
fire of His all-consuming glory into every area, part, facet, crevice,
dimension, realm, height, and depth of our being! What happens when these blessed seven
spirits of God cast into the earth and into the sea this fire which
produces such holy blazes? Through
this fire He brings total destruction — destruction even as far as the
natural consciousness, the carnal mind, the self life, the fleshly
desires, and the human identity of the man of earth! Then are we able to say of a truth, “It is no more I that liveth, but Christ liveth in me!”
Never forget, my beloved, that the book
of Revelation reveals the processes that God takes His people through so
that the bride can make herself ready, arrayed in linen pure and white;
the manchild can be birthed and caught up to God’s throne of authority,
power, and dominion; and all creation redeemed, purged, and transformed
by the fiat of the almighty Creator and Redeemer: “Behold, I make all things new!” (Rev. 21:5). ALL
THINGS NEW! Ah, that is the
mystery! Ah, that is the
purpose! Oh, yes! That is the work! In former times we supposed the book of
Revelation was about God’s vindictive, implacable vengeance poured out
upon the inhabitants of the world, and we felt sad for them, or perhaps
some felt glad, feeling that mankind deserved what they would get! Only now, in the light that the Spirit
brings, can we say with the beloved Seer of Patmos, “Blessed, happy, to be envied is the
man who reads the word of this prophecy!” (Rev. 1:3). Isn’t
it wonderful!
To be continued…
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Joyce Morris of Lord Of Life Ministries has published a book called The Book of Life. It is about God’s Ultimate Plan
for mankind through His unfailing Love. Did you know that God has a
script that He wrote for you before the foundation of the earth for you
to walk out? Psalm 139:16 Amp. says: "Every person has their own story,
but the greatest story of us all is "The Book of Life."
This book will answer many questions
such as: Finding out what your script is; How to get unstuck;
Restoration for your loved ones; Life after Death. The book is on the
web-site and can be obtained through Pay-Pal or by writing the author.
The Web address: www.lordoflifeministries.com.
Her email address is: virjoymor@lordoflifeministries.com.
To contact her by mail, write to: Joyce Morris, P. O. Box 2007, Fairfax,
VA 22031, U. S. A.
Directory
 Please send any inquiries or requests to: Kingdom Bible Studies
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