God told Joshua, “When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have all the people give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the people will go up, every man straight in (Joshua 6:5).” And then we find that “When the trumpets sounded, the people shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the people gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so every man charged straight in, and they took the city (Joshua 6:20).”

Notice that it was not the trumpets that collapsed the walls of the city, but the people’s obedience and their shout after they heard the trumpets. Trumpets were always used to announce something important was about to happen. That is what they do in Revelation.

My other questions go back to Bible basics: “How can the nation of Israel be restored when there were absolutely no promises given to it before or after the Romans destroyed it? The promise of nation restoration that everyone quotes happens a long time before when Israel was going to inherit the promised land. In Joshua we read Joshua giving the Israelites this little speech: “Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the LORD your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed. But just as every good promise of the LORD your God has come true, so the LORD will bring on you all the evil he has threatened, until he has destroyed you from this good land he has given you. If you violate the covenant of the LORD your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, the LORD’S anger will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from the good land he has given you (Joshua 23:14-16).”

If all of the Lord’s promises were fulfilled for Israel and all the land was given them, why do we look to 1948 as the restoration of Israel? God’s promises were always contingent upon them following Him. When they did not, they were condemned. When they failed to recognize God’s One and only Son, Jesus Christ, He cursed them (Matthew 24) and told them that Jerusalem would be destroyed. He never mentions a restoration, a rebuilding, a reestablishment of the temple, except spiritually (John 4). Paul reiterates this as well: “For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people (2 Corinthians 6:16).” To think otherwise, in fact, is paganism – not my words – Paul’s!

This is why Peter relates that Christians are “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy (1 Peter 2:9-10).” Only those who place their faith and trust in Christ are the Holy Nation of God.

The trumpets, seals, announcements in Revelation are for seven churches who were going to face persecution and would wonder why in the world Jerusalem and the temple would be totally destroyed. God explains it to John so the church can have hope in a dynamic and threatening situation.

I used to read every new book that came out by those who said they knew how to tell me what Revelations meant, who the antichrist would be, or when Jesus might return. I discovered that the words of David ring true: “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God (Psalm 20:7).” When we begin to trust what others say rather than what Scriptures tell us, we are not trusting in the Lord our God. His Word tells us exactly what we need to know without any guess work or supposition. When we begin to bring in charts, graphs, and try to punish the Word by making it fit into scenarios it was never meant to, we are distorting the Word just as much as those who belong to cults do. Daniel tells you exactly why, what, and to whom it was written. As does Ezekiel and Revelations. We have distorted the message for personal gain and recognition and can fail to see the simple truth it contains.

You need not worry one whit about tribulation, numbers on your forehead, who the antichrist is, or being deceived if you know the Lord and follow Him daily. He will return when He is told to and not one moment sooner. Each day brings us closer.

“Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.” The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life. I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.

Notice what word is repeated over and over? COME! Come to Christ, come to the truth, come to the certainty of the resurrection. Those who come to Christ never have to be afraid or fear anything. It is the testimony of Jesus. Praise the Lord, that is the message of Revelation.

Yes we can disagree and the only reason I respond is to show that there are other views concerning the end times. In reality it does not matter because Jesus will return when He does and we had better be ready. The real problem I have is when folks make it a matter of salvation or true spirituality. Not that you do, because I do not think you do.

I am old enough to remember when Russia placed nukes in Cuba when many radical evangelicals, LaHaye and Lindsey to name two, were telling folks that the time was near and Jesus would return by 1970. It did not happen. Then they said it would be in the 80s. It did not happen. Then they changed their date setting to the 90s, then the year 2000 or wait… 2001! It did not happen. (By the way, LaHaye and his wife, as Christians, used to speak, promote, and belong to the John Birch Society, for what it is worth.)

Two extremely good books that relate the history, facts, and theology of these folks are “Last Days Madness,” by DeMar and a better book is “End Time Visions, the Road to Armageddon?” by Richard Abanes. Both give you a good view of the history of the theology of some of these people.

Abanes’ book relates where many of these folks get their theology. It may open your eyes and perhaps help you to see this in a different perspective.

What you may not realize is that I taught this for years just the way you are, believing that you had to read Daniel, Ezekiel, Amos, Joel, and Revelations and try to make them all fit. That Jesus’ return was just around the corner. It had to be because so many of the “signs” were in place. Sure, we could not know the day or hour, but were we not warned to be aware of the signs? I had literally hundreds of books and whole bookcases full of books by Criswell, Lindsey, LaHaye, Combey, Hunt, and others at that time. Then, I was challenged to read the Bible without any of these “helps,” and to study early Christian history.

Read about Millerites, Darby, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormonism – their theology on the last days, how it came about and how it has evolved into what many unsuspecting Christians are taught today. It has nothing to do with historical orthodox (meaning right teaching) Christian doctrinal theology.

Another good book, although the author has fallen quite a bit, is “Christianity in Crisis,” by Hank Hanegraaff. Most of it was researched not by him, but by the Christian Research Institute and still contains good relevant information.

When I discovered where the theology of these folks evolved from, I threw every book away except for a few that I keep when I teach classes to pastors about cults.

I grew up in the New Age Movement and my father was a devout Catholic. My Uncle was an area Bishop in the Catholic Church. My sister was a witch (not her attitude but belief) and my brother was a Rosicrucian. He now has come to Christ. I came to Christ at 23 years old. I am trained in all the major faith practices in their history, theology, and evolution. I have written extensively on the Hindu and New Age influence on the church today. I am trained and conduct seminars on cults, occult, other faith practices, and world religions including Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, TBN, Islam, Hinduism, New Age, Buddhism, and Catholicism. I have studied how, where, and why we have our Bible, the differing translations and how they have influenced the church.

So while what I write may seem to disagree, my approach is always to try to help folks to read their Bibles more deeply without reading the latest Left Behind book or to get involved in the latest Christian fad. More folks need to stop listening to the CD of the month and begin to study Scripture and church history on their own. Including the Reformation. Why it was fought, who fought it, what they believed and why and how much of what you may adhere to today has come through a process of going back to biblical truth as found in Scripture. Not fads, books, or philosophies that focus on people’s fear of an amoral world.

I apologize if I came across in any way as disagreeable. That is never my intent. Our faith must be based on what is real and true, not on wishful thinking, emotions, or feelings. Loving God and loving others is our priori as Christians.

In His Mercy and Grace…