Jeremiah 3 (part 1)

Saturday's Prayer 24JAN26

Revelation Friday Night Bible Study 16JAN26 (Revelation 11:15-19)

The Seventh Trumpet

 

“Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”

 

And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying, “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign.

 

The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.”

 

Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail” (Revelation 11:15-19).

 

 

We have now come to the seventh and final trumpet that was blown. This final trumpet is blown upon the return of Jesus when He comes to take His children home to be with Him. But let’s do a quick recap of the first six trumpets.

 

First Trumpet: Hail, fire, and blood strike the earth and burn 1/3 of the trees and grass.

 

Second Trumpet: A blazing mountain is thrown into the sea, turning 1/3 of the sea to blood, killing sea life, and destroying the ships.

 

Third Trumpet: A star named Wormwood falls to the earth, causing 1/3 of the fresh waters to become bitter, resulting in people’s death.

 

Fourth Trumpet: 1/3 of the sun, moon, and stars are darkened, causing less light in the day and night.

 

Fifth Trumpet (First Woe): Demonic locusts are released from the abyss to torment people for five months, but death will flee them.

 

Sixth Trumpet (Second Woe): A mighty army from the Euphrates kills 1/3 of mankind.

 

Now, the apostle John sees the seventh trumpet blown, which is the third woe, which announces the eternal reign of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ returns at the sounding of the seventh trumpet. This final trumpet indicates the end of the Tribulation, the fall and destruction of man-made kingdoms, and the beginning of Christ’s millennial reign. It is also accompanied by the resurrection of the saints. The Bible says: “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). During this seventh trumpet’s blow, God is bringing an end to sin, death, and wickedness upon the world. There will be no more death for the saints of God, for death will have its end.

The Apostle John witnessed the twenty-four elders, representing the saints of God, who were seated on their thrones, worshiping God because of who He is and that His promises had been fulfilled. Jesus had finally returned to reign, and the wicked were given the reward they deserved. All, both great and small, received what was due to them. The Bible says: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:10). There will be no escape for God will give the reward according to what each man has done rather it be good or bad. The saints will receive their rewards at the Bema Seat of Christ, and those who are lost will also receive their rewards at the Great White Throne of God. The Bible says: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:10). The Judgment Seat of Christ, also known as the Bema Seat, and the Great White Throne Judgment are two separate events. The Judgment Seat of Christ (Bema Seat) is for believers to receive rewards for their faithfulness and earthly service (good or bad, not salvation), while the Great White Throne is for the wicked to reward them with their eternal punishment.

We will be able to come into God’s Temple once we leave this earth. It is the very presence of the Lord. The Bible says, “The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him” (Habakkuk 2:20). The ark of His covenant will then be seen, representing the covenant God made with man: that if we obey Him, we will see His face. The Bible says: “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them, declares the Lord. “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more” (Jeremiah 31:31-34). What a glorious day it will be when we see Jesus. We will never have to pass through this sinful life again, but will reside with the Lord forever and ever.

Many scholars interpret the revealing of the Ark of the Covenant as being symbolic of God's presence. While some biblical scholars hold a literal view that the original ark is in the heavenly temple, it is generally considered a symbol of God’s divine justice and abiding presence.

There was lightning, thunder, an earthquake, and hail, but these things were not for the ones who made it to Heaven. This is the destruction of those who were lost for continuing in their sins. We need not be worried about the wrath of God if we are saved. God’s love is forever constant and will never change. Such are the seven trumpets’ judgments, with the seventh trumpet to include the outpouring of the seven bowls of God’s wrath by seven angels upon the earth. The seven bowls of God's wrath are generally understood to be the final, intense, and rapid outpouring of judgment, acting as the conclusion of the third "woe" in Revelation 16.

HOMEWORK: Read Revelation 12:7-9 and give your meaning of the text and how it relates to today's times.  

 

Jeremiah 2 (Part 2)

Saturday's Prayer 17JAN26

-Revelation Friday Night Bible Study 16JAN26 (Revelation 11:8-14)

 

The Two Witnesses (part 3)

 

“And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and a half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. And after three days and a half the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them” (Revelation 11:8-11).

  

            The United States has a long history of burying the dead, from its intimate, family-led home burials in churchyards and family plots to the modern funeral industry, which includes embalming services at funeral homes and public cemeteries. During and after the black slavery era, it was a well-documented practice in the United States to leave the bodies of executed or lynched Black people hanging in public for extended periods, sometimes for days, to instill fear in the Black community and deter those who would dare fight against the injustices of that time.

            The act of suspending a body in chains (known as gibbeting) or simply leaving it hanging was a common postmortem punishment, especially for enslaved individuals accused of serious crimes or rebellion. In some cases of public spectacle lynchings, crowds would mutilate the bodies, taking pieces as souvenirs, and professional photographers would take pictures to be circulated as postcards. While there were formal, legal public executions that took place, there were many instances of bodies being left hanging because of extrajudicial lynch mobs, where local authorities often did nothing to bring the guilty to justice but looked the other way.

 

In John’s vision, the two witnesses are killed, and their bodies are left for public display in the great city. In Moses’ day, God had given instructions for burying individuals guilty of committing a capital offense. The Bible says: “If someone guilty of a capital offense is put to death and their body is exposed on a pole,  you must not leave the body hanging on the pole overnight. Be sure to bury it that same day, because anyone who is hung on a pole is under God’s curse. You must not desecrate the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance” (Deuteronomy 21:22-23). This was one of the reasons Jesus was buried right away, because of the charges that had been brought against him, with him having been condemned to death for a capital offense. Yet, we know that Jesus had never committed a crime, nor will the two witnesses, but they will be put to death due to hatred of the truth, with their bodies being denied burial.

What is this great city that was in John’s vision? It is none other than Jerusalem. The Bible says: “This is what the Lord says: “I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City, and the mountain of the Lord Almighty will be called the Holy Mountain” (Zechariah 8:3). The city of Jerusalem has always been special to God, but was described by John as representing Sodom and Egypt as well as where Jesus was crucified. During King David’s reign, he captured Jerusalem, a well-fortified Canaanite city inhabited by the Jebusites, around 1000 BC, making it the capital of his unified kingdom and establishing it as Israel's pivotal political and spiritual center. The Bible says: “The king and his men marched to Jerusalem to attack the Jebusites, who lived there. The Jebusites said to David, “You will not get in here; even the blind and the lame can ward you off.” They thought, “David cannot get in here.” Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion—which is the City of David” (2 Samuel 5:6-7).

John refers to Jerusalem as Sodom and Egypt. Sodom was wicked in God’s eyes due to the homosexuality and other sins that took place in the city. Therefore, God destroyed Sodom and the surrounding cities with fire and brimstone. The Bible says: “Then the LORD rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah--from the LORD out of the heavens” (Genesis 19:24). This lets us know that there will be a lot of wickedness taking place during the time of the two witnesses’ arrival, as we see already happening in today’s times. John also compared Jerusalem to Egypt. The Bible tells of how Pharaoh and the Egyptians were also punished due to the sins that they committed against the Children of Israel during their enslavement and pursued them after the Israelites left Egypt. The Bible says: “Pharaoh's chariots and his army he has hurled into the sea. The best of Pharaoh's officers are drowned in the Red Sea” (Exodus 15:4). Pharaoh was given the opportunity to obey God and let the Children of Israel go. Unfortunately, he decided to try to recapture and reclaim them as his slaves. Therefore, with no fear of God in him, he pursued the Israelites, which led to his own demise. The same will take place with the wicked. Those who refuse to turn their hearts to God will meet a similar fate, as this is why Jerusalem is paralleled to Sodom and Egypt.

John said that people on earth celebrated the fact that the witnesses were dead. They were so happy that they were giving each other gifts as if it were a holiday. Can you imagine celebrating that someone has been killed who had done nothing but speak the truth? Yet, many people witnessed this with the death of Charlie Kirk, an American right-wing political activist, entrepreneur, and media personality, who co-founded the conservative student organization Turning Point USA. Never had the evilness that the Bible foretells of what’s to come to the two witnesses been so evident as was shown with Charlie Kirk’s assassination. People celebrated and defended the actions of a murderer just because they hated the opinions, ideas, and beliefs of one man. Similarly, the wickedness in men’s hearts did not even allow them to feel for the two witnesses’ deaths, and no one cared or empathized that they lay dead in the streets and weren’t buried. Now, one may ask how it is that all the earth could see this take place. Due to satellites, TV, cell phones, and other devices, it is quite possible that news stations will be broadcasting live while all of this is happening. The main thing is that there is obviously a coldness in the hearts of men during this time. The Bible says: “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12). Yet, the two witnesses will not stay dead.

After the 3 ½ days, God will breathe into them the breath of life, and they will live again. Remember, God breathed the breath of life into Adam, and he became a living being. The Bible says: “Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7). Similarly, the Lord will place breath back into the bodies of the two witnesses, and they will live again. The devil may think that he will have victory, but just as he couldn’t keep Jesus in the grave, God is the one with the power over death. This should encourage every believer that God can restore any dead situation in one’s life.

The Two Witnesses (part 4)

 “Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here!” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them. And at that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. The second woe has passed; behold, the third woe is soon to come” (Revelation 11:12-14).

  

After God brought the witnesses back to life, He called them back up to Heaven as their enemies looked on. The witnesses had done their commission, and now it was time for them to return to Heaven. The psalmist, David, wrote of having his enemies as his footstool, so God will do the same for the witnesses. The Bible says: “For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, ‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet” ’ (Acts 2:34-35). Therefore, as the witnesses are lifted up to Heaven, their enemies will be under their feet as they are taken away in a cloud. One day, all of God’s children will leave this world and go to meet the Lord.

During that hour, there was an earthquake, and 1/10 of the city collapsed, and seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake. Those who survived were fearful of what they saw and worshiped God. Sometimes it takes tragedy to bring people to their knees. God will send warning after warning, but then the judgment will come, and those who are not ready will be lost. The Bible says: “But now you are laden with the judgment due the wicked; judgment and justice have taken hold of you” (Job 36:17).