Sycamore a place to share with you my obseration in daily lives.

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Speaker: Pr. Steve Hwang
Date: 8/10/07
Time: Friday Evening Service
Place: Canoga Park True Jesus Church,CA, USA
Hymns: 523,108
Bible Background: Revelations 8
Introduction:

The world is filled with warning signs. A yellow light at the intersection warns us of the imminent red; a typhoon warning warns us of the weather we are about to experience; a terrorist warning tells us the threat level we are under.

In the Old Testament, there are also trumpet warnings. Numbers 10:9 records, “When you go into battle in your own land against an enemy who is oppressing you, sound a blast on the trumpets. Then you will be remembered by the LORD your God and rescued from your enemies.”

We know that when the Lord Jesus came, it marked the beginning of the end. The disciples thought Jesus would come right away. He is not late, but patient so that all may be saved.

Purposes of Sounding the Trumpet

There are many purposes of sounding the trumpet, but we will focus on the purpose of warning.
Warn us of coming disaster Amos 3:6 “When a trumpet sounds in a city, do not the people tremble? When disaster comes to a city, has not the LORD caused it?” This warns us that the kingdom will be destroyed. The Day of the Lord will repeat in the End Times.
Urge repentance Joel 2:1 “Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill.Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming.It is close at hand”Zion = church. This is telling the church to blow the trumpet. Joel 2:12 -17
12 ”Even now,” declares the LORD,
”return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.”
13 “Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God,for he is gracious and compassionate,slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.
14 Who knows? He may turn and have pity and leave behind a blessing—
grain offerings and drink offerings for the LORD your God.
15 Blow the trumpet in Zion,declare a holy fast,call a sacred assembly.
16 Gather the people,consecrate the assembly; bring together the elders,gather the children,those nursing at the breast.
Let the bridegroom leave his roomand the bride her chamber.
17 Let the priests, who minister before the LORD,weep between the temple porch and the altar. Let them say, ”Spare your people, O LORD. Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn,a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples,Where is their God?’ ”

Why do we have to blow the horn in the church?

We have to give warning to all people. Those who do not repent will be destroyed.

Call those who are saved Matt 24:31 “And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.”
This verse tells us that the TJC will spread across the world.
During the End Times, the devil will also be released from the bottomless pit.

Prepare us to fight
1 Cor 14:8 – “Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle?”
This verse tells us that the trumpet teaches us to prepare and fight. If we do not sound the trumpet in the End Times, will those who do not believe accuse us?
Bible’s description of the End Times: 7 Angels & 7 Trumpets – Rev. 8: 7-12

Order of trumpets Destruction

1st – Hail, fire, blood
1/3 earth 1/3 trees 1/3 grass

2nd – Fiery mount into sea
1/3 sea 1/3 sea creatures 1/3 ships

3rd – Blazing star
1/3 rivers 1/3 springs of water

4th - Sun/moon/star
1/3 sun 1/3 moon 1/3 stars

Elder Elisha Hwang’s interpretation
First trumpet = atomic bombs going off during war
Second trumpet = naval warfare
3rd trumpet = hydrogen bombs
4th trumpet = the darkening of society

However, we still have to wait to see what really happens.
There are 2 aspects of Revelations; the spiritual and the physical

We can’t interpret everything spiritually. For example, v. 12 says that 1/3 of the sun was struck. We can’t interpret this as God being struck. Thus, we should look at the physical aspects. If we take the 4 trumpets literally, we see an alarming situation.

Interpretation of 4 trumpets from a physical perspective.

From the physical perspective, trumpets 1, 2, 3, 4 have already happened.

1st trumpet – 1/3 earth, trees, grass destroyed

If we look at the Amazon forest-jungle, we will see that between 2000-2006, Brazil lost 150,000 sq. km of forest. This is roughly the same size as Greece. Since 1970, 600,000 sq. km has been destroyed.
The destruction is not only in Brazil. If we go to google.com, we will find lots of information on trees dying. Example: In the U.S., there is a disease killing dogwood trees.
Because of farming and people, there is also a loss of vegetation.

2nd trumpet – 1/3 sea, sea creatures, ships destroyed
(picture from National Geographic) There is a surprising article that talks about how fish in the ocean are a small portion of what they used to be. There are too many boats after too few fish. Some people estimate that there are 80% LESS fish than a few centuries ago. If this is a correct estimate, it is much more than the 1/3 loss by the 2nd trumpet in Revelations.
Some say that fishing technology is too advanced. Thus, all fishes, big and small are being caught. As a result, there has been a proliferation of sea stars that are damaging the coral reefs. Coral reefs provide 25% of food and habitat for fish. If you go to Hawaii’s Honuma Bay, they make you watch a movie that tells you not to step on coral reefs or feed fish. Destruction of habitat and food further kills fish.

3rd trumpet – 1/3 rivers and springs
Rivers are the source of drinking water. Currently, there are lots of pollutants in the rivers and lakes.
A search on google.com will tell you that the major rivers in the world are so polluted that we cannot eat fish from them.

4th trumpet – 1/3 sun, stars
Today, the sun and stars are darkened by air pollution. An article Pr. Hwang read talked about heath problems related to the air. People have itchy eyes, ears, throat, and breathing problems because of pollution. Cancerous particles in the air cause birth defects and damages head, lungs.
In China, acid rain is seen as the Grim Reaper/god of death. It causes farms to die.

Who’s blowing the trumpets?
The Bible says that angels are blowing trumpets. However, we know that “angel” means “messenger.” The church is also the “messenger” of Christ. Will there be spiritual beings to blow the trumpets, or are we required to sound the trumpet? What will happen if we do no blow the trumpet?

Responsibility of Sounding the Trumpet
“Woe, woe, woe” to those on earth
Rev. 8:13 “As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in midair call out in a loud voice: ”Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!”
The “woes” were addressed to those on earth.
Woe to us if we do not give warning
Ezek. 3:17-19 ”Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to a wicked man, ’You will surely die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his evil ways, he will die for his sin; but you will have saved yourself.”

Message of warning
Signs have been fulfilled and are being fulfilled
When the bowl is poured, it will be too late
Rev. 15:7 –“Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God, who lives for ever and ever.”

There is an end day for each individual person.
Buying “insurance” from our Lord is a good idea
Rev. 3:17-18 – “You say, ’I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.”

Blowing out loud
Num 10:9 – “When you go into battle in your own land against an enemy who is oppressing you, sound a blast on the trumpets. Then you will be remembered by the LORD your God and rescued from your enemies.”
Do we want our friends to endure woe? Tell them many signs are coming in ways recorded in the Bible. Don’t wait until the very end.

Cup of wrath
In the Old Testament, the cup was too small
When the New Testament bowl is poured, it will be too late to turn back
Rev. 15:7-8 – “Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls filled with the wrath of God, who lives for ever and ever. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.”

Conclusion
Christ will come when the church is perfect and the bride is prepared. Today, the church is not prepared yet, but disaster will come one day.

More and more will flee. We will need to tell them these things before the one day when we will let the unrighteous be unrighteous and we will no longer visit them.

Rev. 3:17-18 tells us we should persuade them to buy God, to wear a white robe. When we buy a car, we cannot register in the DMV without buying insurance. How much more so with heaven? Why do we hold back from buying God’s insurance when there are so many signs? We don’t know when we are going to leave this world.

Num 10:9 tells us to blow out loud. This is not only for angels, but for us, too. We need to sound the alarm of the end times so more can believe. As we live in the world, we need to bring the trumpet with us.

In Ghana, Pr. Hwang experienced how there was a co-worker who really knew how to blow the trumpet. He would preach to the taxi drive and the shop-keepers. We should feel the same sense of commission, because the souls around us are our responsibility.