The Rise of the House Of Joseph

 THE RISE OF THE HOUSE OF JOSEPH

By Dr. Stephen Jones

Blog Post Date:  5-4-2021

In the progression of the Kingdom of God upon the earth, God first raised up and empowered the house of David in a 7½ year period from May 30, 1993 until November 30, 2000. This period began with the death of prophetic “Saul,” who had reigned for 40 Jubilees since the day of Pentecost in Acts 2. Prophetic “David” then received partial authority—enough to begin the work of establishing the Kingdom.

During this early phase of the rule of the overcomers representing David, “David grew steadily stronger, but the house of Saul grew weaker continually” (2 Samuel 3:1). In other words, those who were of the house of Saul (i.e., Pentecost) gradually lost the authority to decide the future of the earth. Conversely, those who were of the house of David (i.e., Tabernacles) gradually grew in strength and authority to bring righteousness into the earth.

On November 30, 2000, the transition from Saul to David was complete according to the biblical pattern in 2 Samuel 5:5. “David,” that is, the overcomers, had received full authority a month earlier at the feast of Tabernacles in Champaign, Illinois. This empowered the overcomers to cast out the Old Covenant (“Hagar”) and her son—the children of the flesh—so that the true Birthright holders (“Isaac”) could be established fully.

So the White Horse Army, prophesied by Sunny Day, overthrew the earthly Jerusalem (or Jebus) on November 29 and then established the heavenly Jerusalem as the mother of the Kingdom.

The declaration was rooted in Psalm 24:1, 2,

¹ The earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains, the world, and those who dwell in it. ² For He has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.

This was essentially a restatement of Genesis 1:1, which established the Creator as the Owner of all things. By right of creation, God owns all things and is ultimately responsible for all that He created, according to the laws of liability and responsibility in Exodus 22. The Apostle Paul thus wrote in Romans 11:36,

³⁶ For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.

Although the flesh has fought against the will of God by its own limited authority, God’s will is stronger and ultimately prevails. God’s New Covenant promises will be fulfilled in the end. He will save the world and all that is in it. All the fragments will be gathered, so that nothing is lost (John 6:12). Those who believe the promises of God understand this.

So the house of David, when it was fully empowered on November 30, 2000, declared,

"On that basis [Psalm 24:1, 2], we claim the whole earth as the Kingdom of God. The whole earth will be ruled henceforth, by the Overcomers and their decrees from the position and standpoint of the New Jerusalem. The decree will go forth no longer from Babylon but from Jerusalem."

David and Joseph

The ministry of David did not end on November 30, 2000. David’s authority reached its apex and laid the foundations for the greater work of Joseph that lay ahead. Without David’s work, Joseph could not proceed; without Joseph’s work, David’s work would be limited. Both are vital to the work of establishing God’s Kingdom.

The two works are set forth in the two comings of Christ. He came the first time of the house of David to claim His Scepter. He comes the second time as Joseph to claim His Birthright. Jesus’ death and resurrection was necessary to lay the foundations for His second coming. Without this “David” work, His “Joseph” work could not be finished. This is depicted symbolically in Revelation 19:13, where His second coming is described this way:

¹³ He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.

Joseph is the only man in Scripture whose robe was dipped in blood. Genesis 37:31 says,

³¹ So they took Joseph’s tunic, and slaughtered a male goat, and dipped the tunic in the blood.

Prophetically speaking, the blood of the goat represented the blood of Christ in His first coming. This is described in greater detail in the ceremonies on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16), combined with the law of leprosy (Leviticus 14). The two goats on the Day of Atonement represent the two comings of Christ. Likewise, the two doves to cleanse lepers prophesy of Christ in His two comings. The second dove was dipped in the blood of the first dove.

Thus, the law of God prophesies of Christ and reveals that He must come twice. Both comings are important. The first work on the cross makes the second possible. So also is it with the houses of David and Joseph. Jesus had to fulfill the Passover before He could fulfill the feast of Tabernacles. And Pentecost was an interim that allowed spiritual growth and cleansing by the fire of the Holy Spirit.

Saul’s Kingdom was Temporary

There are three churches in the progression of the Kingdom. The Passover church began when Moses led Israel out of Egypt at their first Passover. The Pentecost church began in Acts 2, when a greater anointing was given. The Tabernacles church is that which is arising today, and its apex will be reached when the overcomers are changed into His likeness (1 Corinthians 15:52).

The countdown toward that historic event has already begun. The rise of the house of David was the first phase toward the fulfillment of the feast of Tabernacles. The rise of the house of Joseph is the second phase. I have no revelation about the length of time this second phase requires.

Saul was a prophetic type of the anointing of Pentecost. The main sign that Samuel gave to assure him of the legitimacy of his calling is found in 1 Samuel 10:6,

⁶ Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you mightily, and you shall prophesy with them and be changed into another man.

A few days later, this occurred (1 Samuel 10:9, 10). A few days later Saul was crowned on the feast of weeks, later known as Pentecost. At Samuel’s coronation speech, he said in 1 Samuel 12:17, “Is it not the wheat harvest today?” It was the day that the meal offering of wheat was to be given to God so that men could begin the wheat harvest.

Hence, Saul’s reign was a Pentecostal reign, prophesying of the church that was empowered in the interim between the two comings of Christ. Though the calling was legitimate, it was not meant to be permanent, for Saul was of the tribe of Benjamin, not Judah. The Scepter had been given to Judah in Genesis 49:10. So it was inevitable that Saul would disqualify himself.

In the story of Saul’s war with Amalek, we read of Saul’s rebellion in 1 Samuel 15:23,

²³ For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has also rejected you from being king.

Saul reigned another 22 years, but his dynasty was limited at that point. The Roman Church (along with many other denominations) has claimed that its reign will never end. They cite Jesus’ statement to Peter in Matthew 16:18 as proof of this.

¹⁸ I also say to you that you are Peter; and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.

Jesus’ words are true, but men have misunderstood it, not knowing that there are three churches, not just one. Acts 7:38 KJV refers to the Passover church under Moses, calling it “the church in the wilderness.” Likewise, there is a Tabernacles church that will rule in the age to come, because the Pentecost church disqualified itself in the early tenth century.

Saul was disqualified in the 18^th year of his reign; the Pentecost church disqualified itself in the 18^th Jubilee of its reign. Each year in the reign of Saul represents a Jubilee cycle in the history of the Pentecost church.

The Jews in Jesus’ day thought that the Passover church would rule forever, but they were wrong. They disqualified themselves by rejecting the Messiah. When the right to rule was given to the Pentecost church, they too thought their kingdom would endure forever. They too were wrong. It requires the full anointing to succeed and to establish an enduring dynasty. This is what is being given to the Tabernacles church, under whose rule the Kingdom will grow until it fills the whole earth.

Daniel 2:35 describes this Kingdom as a great Stone, which “became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.” Daniel 2:44 interprets it this way:

⁴⁴ In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever.

This is the final church and the final “kingdom.” It is established after the Pentecost Age has run its course. It is established also when the beast kingdoms have been destroyed. These beast empires have been ruling since the days of Nebuchadnezzar and are only now collapsing.

The Controversies

The house of Saul obviously disagreed with David’s divine right to rule Israel. For this reason, when Saul died, his son Ish-bosheth succeeded him and reigned two years (2 Samuel 2:10). So it is no surprise to see that the house of Pentecost refuses to recognize the overcomers’ right to rule. For this reason, the overcomers had to engage in many court battles for 7½ years before the house of David was fully empowered on November 30, 2000.

The same is true with the beast empires which have ruled since Nebuchadnezzar. They too have refused to step aside when their time expired in 2017. Hence, God is overthrowing them by spiritual warfare even now.

The Jews, too, want to rule the Kingdom from the earthly Jerusalem, but the divine court has already “cast out” Hagar (Galatians 4:30). Their plans will come to naught.

Two months after the house of David was fully empowered, the Pentecost church appealed its case to the divine court, claiming that the Pentecost kingdom retained an everlasting right to rule the Kingdom. God ruled in favor of the overcomers, as we will see, but the Pentecost church refused to accept this ruling. This resulted in another year of great spiritual warfare in 2001.

Nonetheless, the house of Joseph was rising, assisted by the house of David. This combination could not be defeated.

 

The Rise of the House Of David

 

THE RISE OF THE HOUSE OF DAVID, PART 16

By Dr. Stephen Jones

Blog Post Date:  4-24-2021

The Dragon War was primarily a war between Michael and the red dragon, as we see in Revelation 12:7. The two are what I call “natural enemies.” In other words, Michael is the angel who is called to overcome the red dragon, even as Peniel is called to overcome the Prince of Persia.

Michael is also the angel assigned to protect and fight for the tribe of Judah and the house of David—if they avail themselves of his strength. In the past, Judah fell into sin and corruption and so Michael turned against them and became their enemy (Isaiah 63:10). But in the end, the tabernacle of David was rebuilt, and the house of David overthrew the red dragon with the help of Michael.

The rise of the house of David from 1993-2000 was necessary to lay foundations for the rise of the house of Joseph/Ephraim. In long-term prophecy, we see this manifested with the two comings of Christ, who came the first time of Judah to claim the Scepter, and who is coming the second time of Joseph to claim the Birthright. Christ’s victory through death and resurrection—which is Michael’s venue—laid the necessary foundations for the second work of Christ through Peniel.

We see this pattern emerge once again in the shorter term at the end of the age. The house of David arose first to engage in spiritual warfare against the red dragon in the Dragon War of the late 1990’s. Michael’s ultimate victory allowed Peniel to begin the second phase of this Kingdom work after the turn of the century.

Looking ahead, we expect to see this sequence repeated in the short-term fulfillment of the feast days. When Michael stands up, the overcomers will stand up as they are raised from the dead (Daniel 12:1, 2). This will occur on the feast of Trumpets of some year, because the dead will be raised “at the last trumpet” (1 Corinthians 15:52), that is, the seventh trumpet, which is the first day of the seventh month.

1 Thessalonians 4:16 says that “the dead in Christ will rise first.” Hence, the feast of Trumpets is the first of the autumn feasts. Two weeks later, Peniel, the angel of Tabernacles, will “change” the living overcomers into the likeness of Christ, so that the two groups can be united fully as a single body.

Michael and Peniel make a great team! When their work is completed, the autumn feasts will be fulfilled, and the sons of God will be revealed (unveiled) to creation (Romans 8:19) in the ages to come.

We also see that Michael was assigned primarily to Judah and the house of David, while Peniel was assigned to Ephraim and the house of Joseph.

3000^th Year of David’s Rule (1996)

The Israeli government passed a bill in 1993 calling for a celebration in 1996 marking the 3000^th anniversary of the crowning of King David in 1004 B.C.

https://mfa.gov.il/mfa/mfa-archive/1993/pages/jerusalem%203000-%20city%20of%20david%201996.aspx

The timing of this agrees with the chronology that I set forth in Secrets of Time. We celebrated this by declaring the Jubilee, as I said earlier. The Israelis did not do so, for they were not called to do so, nor did they receive any revelation about this. Hence, their “Statement of Purpose” at the end of the article above says nothing about declaring a Jubilee.

The Israeli Jubilee (1998)

The Israelis did attempt to celebrate a partial Jubilee two years later in 1998, which was the 50^th anniversary of statehood (1948-1998). They kept their Jubilee by cutting the sentences of some jailed Palestinians by ten percent, as long as they had already completed 60 percent of their sentences. This affected about 800 prisoners.

By way of contrast, a biblical Jubilee was supposed to cancel all debt so that every man could return to his family and property. This is true grace, whereas the “Jubilee Amnesty” of the Israelis was very limited in scope and only reduced their debt by ten percent.

Even so, Scripture shows that God gives men credit for any good that they may do. I discerned that their ten percent extension of grace would be credited to them as well when Jeremiah’s prophecy of the final destruction of Jerusalem takes place. It appears that God will spare a “tithe” of ten percent.

The revelation of 1998 centered around the idea of doing things God’s way. Though most people continued to do things their own way, the house of David focused on doing things God’s way.

The 32^nd Super Bowl (January 25, 1998)

The Super Bowls have been known to contain prophetic signs of the times. Some have followed these signs closely each year. The 32^nd Super Bowl was played while I was in Australia on a teaching tour, but I heard about it later.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/broncos-win-super-bowl-xxxii/

John Elway led the Denver Broncos to a 31-24 victory over the Green Bay Packers. El is Hebrew for God, so Elway means “God’s way.”

A few months later, on the Israeli Jubilee (May 14, 1998), Frank Sinatra died. He was best known for his 1968 song, My Way. Sinatra was Italian but also Jewish, which links his death to the Israeli Jubilee.

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/frank-sinatra-dies

Round Two of the Dragon War (1998)

The second round of the Dragon War showed the conflict between God’s Way and My Way. This built upon the previous theme in 1997, where we established New Covenant marriage. In other words, the Old Covenant does things by the power of man’s will, while the New Covenant does things by the power of God’s will (John 1:13).

Round two of the Dragon War can be understood only by those who study and believe Paul’s exposition in Galatians 4. There we learn that Abraham had two wives. Hagar was a bondwoman corresponding to Mount Sinai and the earthly Jerusalem. Sarah was a freewoman corresponding to the heavenly Jerusalem and, by extension, Mount Sion, where Jesus was transfigured.

The disagreement between Hagar and Sarah and the resulting conflict between their sons has continued for thousands of year from the time of Abraham to the present day. It is not merely a conflict between Arabs and Jews, as so many think. It is a conflict between the two covenants and biblical salvation. Which covenant has the calling to save us? Is it by man’s will or by God’s will? Is it flesh or spirit? Who are the seed of Abraham, those with fleshly genealogy or those who have the faith of Abraham that is defined in Romans 4:20, 21, 22?

²⁰ Yet, with respect to the promise of God, he [Abraham] did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, ²¹ and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform. ²² Therefore it was also credited to him as righteousness.

Man’s way is to be saved by deciding by the power of his own will to follow God. This can succeed only if the person is able to fulfill his vow. The problem is that “all have sinned” (Romans 3:23), and this includes those who decide to follow Jesus.

God has another plan for salvation—one that actually works. It is based on the New Covenant, which is God’s promise to mankind. Those who believe that God is “able also to perform” or fulfill His promise confess that they have placed no confidence in the flesh. This is Abrahamic faith, and it is one of the keys to being the true seed of Abraham (Galatians 3:7) and an overcomer as well.

The conflict between the son of Sarah and the son of Hagar is an “allegory,” Paul says, which manifests an age-old dispute as to who is truly called to bring the blessing of Abraham to all families of the earth.

The sons of Hagar are those who base their salvation on the Old Covenant, that is, their own decisions/vows to follow Christ. The sons of Sarah are those who base their salvation on the New Covenant, having faith that God is able to fulfill His promise.

Hagar’s children include those who claim that the earthly Jerusalem is their mother and the mother of the church as a whole. Such people promote Jerusalem as the capital of the Kingdom and that a physical temple with Levitical priests and animal sacrifices will be reinstated in the age to come.

Sarah’s children claim the heavenly Jerusalem as their mother (Galatians 4:26, 28), believing that Hagar-Jerusalem must be “cast out” (Galatians 4:30) and that Jeremiah’s prophecy will be fulfilled (Jeremiah 19:10, 11).

All of this came to center stage in 1998, as I will soon show.

 

The Son Of Man Cometh

 THE SON OF MAN COMETH

By Rob Pue, April 18th, 2021

Some things in this world can simply be chalked up to coincidence. Others, not so much. For those who have studied God’s Word and have eyes to see, it’s obvious that the words of prophecy in Scripture are coming to pass now, before our very eyes.

Let’s look at just a few things that have been happening on Planet Earth in just the past month. These are things you most likely are not aware of, because the mainstream media doesn’t generally report on them, and if they do, they report on them only in passing, or worse yet, in jest.  Yet, the things now coming upon the Earth are nothing to joke about.

As Christ-followers we’re in the midst of a spiritual battle. We wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (Ephesians 6). Let’s also look at Ephesians 2, which offers an especially relevant message for our day. “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience, among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ — by grace you have been saved — and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus…”

Yes, the spiritual battle rages on. The children of God versus the children of wrath, as we face off against Satan and his demons — spiritual wickedness in high places. Those of us who now follow Christ were once dead in our trespasses and sins, like the rest of the world. We followed the “prince of the power of the air,” (Satan).  That’s the power the unsaved world follows today, still living in the passions of the flesh.  Still carrying out the desires of the body and mind. Still children of wrath. They cannot understand what’s happening in our world because they’re without the power of the Holy Spirit of God within them, and so they’re without the ability to discern those things that are spiritually discerned. They’re lost, confused, and soon their hearts will fail them for fear, when they see all that is coming upon the earth.

In Luke 21 and Matthew 24, Jesus warned us all not to be deceived, because many would come in His name. Many false prophets rising to deceive many. There are a lot of false prophets in our world today. Many claiming to be more intelligent than God, our Creator. They claim to follow “science,” yet their science will disappoint them when all their human wisdom is proven to be nonsense. Speaking of false prophets, are you aware that the pope held an interfaith meeting in the city of Ur in Northern Iraq — the birthplace of Abraham — last month? His purpose was to stress the commonalities between all world religions and call for global cooperation.

But those who read and study Scripture know that not all “religions” lead to our one true God. Only one does. Jesus said, “No man comes to the Father but by Me.” While the Global Elites are now seeking a New World Order, a One World Government, they will also be seeking a One World Religion, denying Christ as the Way, the Truth and the Life.  Yet one day, perhaps one day soon, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is LORD. Even the pope will bow to the one TRUE God of Heaven.

We’ve seen the wars and rumors of wars, we’ve seen nation rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. We’ve seen the horrific famines and pestilences and earthquakes in diverse places.  Jesus said these are but the beginning of sorrows.  We were also warned by Jesus that Christ-followers would be delivered up to be persecuted and killed.  Jesus said that we would be hated of all nations for His name’s sake.  How true that is today.

Certainly you’ve seen what’s happened in Canada recently, where a pastor had the courage to stand up against the tyranny of government officials and police and keep the church he leads open. In righteous indignation, he threw the tyrants out of God’s house and off the property.  But they returned — this time to erect a giant fence around the church, and post 200 armed guards around it to keep people out. This, NOT in communist China — but rather, in communist Canada.  We know that Canada’s been bowing down to Satan for a long time now, and many Christian brothers and sisters there are being persecuted daily.  Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently stated openly that “evangelical Christians are the worst part of Canadian society.”  But the same sentiment has been playing out in our country for years now as well.  The stories are too many in number to even begin to list.

But make no mistake, Jesus IS coming back and He will be coming as the just Judge of the world, to make war on those who have blasphemed Almighty God and persecuted His people.

Scripture tells us that immediately before we see the sign of the Son of Man coming in the heavens, the sun will be darkened, the moon shall not give her light, the stars will fall from heaven and the heavens will be shaken.  (This section most likely is spiritual in nature)

Remember, this is in addition to earthquakes, famines and pestilences.

So in case you missed it, here are some news stories from around the world, that have taken place just in the past month. There’s been an enormous increase in strange lights being seen in the sky all over the world. These lights appear to be some sort of spacecraft — moving at speeds that exceed the speed of sound, but they make no sound at all. No sonic booms. Sightings of “UFOs” have become so concerning that the Pentagon has been ordered to research this and release a report on these phenomenon by June of this year.  (One explanation is satellites from SpaceX – sometimes sixty in a row)

There have also been an increase in loud “booming” sounds coming from deep underground; again, all over the world. In the US, they’ve been encountered in every state — from Maine to California — over the past month, and there is no explanation. When these loud booms take place, there is never any indication of an earthquake, yet they’re so strong they shake houses. A man in Michigan reported last month that this happened again — the second time in six months, and authorities have offered no explanation.  (From the Internet:  No one knows for sure, but scientists speculate that these "booms" are probably small shallow earthquakes that are too small to be recorded, but large enough to be felt by people nearby. Large sonic booms can be recorded on the seismic instruments and have lead to some interesting observations.)

Then there were the deadly tornadoes that ravaged the southern US.  In Alabama, one tornado, with winds of 150 miles per hour, traveled on the ground for 150 miles, destroying everything in it’s path for three hours straight last month.   And that was just one of 17 tornadoes that struck the southern US in March.

Meanwhile, we’ve been seeing signs in the skies overhead.  Two fireballs, believed to be meteors were seen March 21st in New York, Vermont and Pennsylvania.  The same day fireballs in the sky frightened people across England.  Others were seen in March in other countries around the world.

About that same time, a huge geyser was reported in Imperial City, California.  But this one’s different.  It is MOVING… it’s moving ten feet every month and is said to be the only moving geyser in the world.

Los Angeles reported it’s third earthquake in ten days on April 10th.  The average number of earthquakes there is five in a year.  Here we have three within ten days.  There has also been extreme flooding in Maui.  Residents there said they’ve never seen anything like it.  And on April 9th, western Australia received more rain in 24 hours than they get during the heaviest rains in a month’s time.  The massive flooding that has resulted there has been called “of biblical proportions.”

In China, cyclones and strong winds have caused the worst sandstorm in over a decade.  Residents of Beijing said, “it looks like the end of the world,” and “It feels like a science fiction movie.”

And then there are the volcanoes. It’s very likely that you missed out on hearing about these as well.  First of all, the “dormant” volcano in Iceland erupted last month, for the first time in 800 years.  This was accompanied by 40,000 mini earthquakes in the area.  There was also a volcanic eruption in eastern Russia, as well as giant sinkholes opening up in Croatia.  And another volcano erupted multiple times in Sicily within the last month.  Not to mention the earthquake in Congo, Africa, or the volcano that erupted for the first time in forty years on the island of St. Vincent in the Carribean, on April 9th.  Experts say this one could continue for weeks or months.

These are just a few of the odd occurrences we’ve seen over just the past month around the world.  Many will claim all this is due to “climate change.”  Others will say the Earth goes through natural cycles and none of this is out of the ordinary at all.  But I disagree.  What we’re seeing is not just an increase in frequency of these violent natural phemomena, but an increase in intensity, and an increased number of these events around the world.

Add to that the things even our best scientists cannot explain:  the loud booms heard worldwide, coming from far beneath the earth.   The strange lights in the sky that defy science, and for which our Pentagon is preparing a report on “UFOs.”  Incidentally, I would not be surprised if the enemy of our souls uses the idea of “extraterrestrials” and “UFOs” to deceive even more people around the world.  I can also see how a discovery of “life” from other galaxies could well be used to help usher in the New World Order and the Planetary One-World Government that is now being prepared to enslave the peoples of the earth.

But what makes all these things even more interesting is the discovery, in mid-March, of additional fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls.  This is the first time in more than sixty years that such a discovery has been made, and the texts date back 2,000 years.  The newly discovered fragments contain verses from the biblical books of Nahum and Zechariah.  The words of these ancient Scriptures are significant, considering all we’ve just talked about.

Specifically, the text of Nahum 1:5 & 6 were discovered.  Let’s read that together:  “The mountains quake before Him and the hills melt away.  The earth trembles at His presence, the world and all who live in it.  Who can withstand His indignation?  Who can endure His fierce anger?  His wrath is poured out like fire; the rocks are shattered before Him.”

And Zechariah 8:16 & 17 tell us how we SHOULD be living: “These are the things you are to do: speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts. Do not plot evil against each other, and do not love to swear falsely. ‘I hate all this,’ declares the Lord.”

Today, we have the kings and rulers of the earth taking counsel together against the Lord and His anointed. We see the heathen raging and the people imagining vain things.  We, as a people, seem no longer capable of telling the truth; so much of what we hear and believe today are lies. As for “sound judgment” in our courts, I think we can all agree that our so-called “justice” system is anything but just. People plot against one another and those so many of us trust “swear falsely,” doing the bidding of Satan and his demons and deceiving the whole world… even, if possible, the very elect of God.

So we shouldn’t be surprised when we see the mountains quake, and the hills melt away with volcanic heat. Because the earth is trembling as heaven prepares for Christ’s soon return. How gracious of our God to reveal, once again to us, the words of these prophets, at a time we all need to hear and heed them most. For as we read again in Nahum: “…Who can withstand His indignation?  Who can endure His fierce anger?  His wrath is poured out like fire; the rocks are shattered before Him.”

Now, of course, no one knows the day or the hour when Jesus will return. But we have been warned in Scripture, and now Scripture is coming to life all around us, and not only that, our gracious God has unearthed again, perhaps a final warning in the words from those recently found Dead Sea Scrolls.

“Therefore, be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of Man cometh.”   (Mathew 24:44).  Let me finish with the words of Luke 21: “Then there will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars; and there will be anguish on the earth among nations bewildered by the roaring sea and waves.  People will faint from fear and expectation of the things that are coming on the world, because the celestial powers will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But when these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is near!” Amen.