WHEN THE TRUMPET SOUNDS

Time with Jesus - 19 Oct 2013

Hi all,

Since the time of the apostles, almost every generation has been confident that theirs is the final generation. Jesus Christ’s second coming would be in their lifetime. 

This is certainly true of my own generation. Rumours of “who, what and where”, concerning the antichrist, are buzzing in the air. Hitler, Stalin, the Japanese Emperor, and one or two generals of that time were hotly favoured when I was younger. 

Hitler = Antichrist?

Now, for the first time in history, man is able to wipe himself, and most of the animals off the face of the earth. The Atom bomb, Hydrogen bomb and a variety of other and perhaps imaginary bombs, could achieve this so quickly, there would be hardly time to breathe. Death would be by fire, instant and total such that nothing remained on our planet.

When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder by James M. Black, 1893
When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound, & time shall be no more, And the morning breaks, eternal, bright and fair; When the saved of earth shall gather over on the other shore, And the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there.
Chorus	When the roll is called up yonder, When the roll is called up yonder, When the roll is called up yonder, When the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there
On that bright & cloudless morning when the dead in Christ shall rise And the glory of His resurrection share; When His chosen ones shall gather to their home beyond the skies, And the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there.
Let us labour for the Master from the dawn till setting sun, Let us talk of all His wondrous love and care; Then when all of life is over, and our work on earth is done, And the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there.

At that instant in time we would experience what has been called, “The noisiest verse in the Bible”, written by Paul to the Thessalonians: ¹⁶ For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. 

¹⁷ Then, together with them, we who are still alive and re-main on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. ¹⁸ So encourage each other with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 NLT

As a teenager, the prospect was rather exciting! On reflection, I think it was the noise aspect. Anyone who was born and brought up in the West knows a bit about noise. “Turn that noise down”, my mother would shout at me. “It will make you deaf!” 

Dad didn’t comment much. He was slightly deaf from power station noise anyway. In his final years, his deafness was a bit embarrassing. He couldn’t hear what we were saying, unless we spoke up. Now, at the same age as he was, when deafness started to be a problem for him, I find that I’ve got much the same problem and need a hearing aid. Mind you, I also endured a number of years working in the noise of a power station environment. What I still recall from those distant years was my mother’s comment, “Elvis Presley will make you deaf!”

At the turn of the 19^th to 20^th century, evangelists and itinerant preachers had life much easier than today. Sound recording equipment was in its infancy, so the likelihood that a sermon would be “taped” was not thought of as a remote possibility. It follows, that a preacher could “repeat” a sermon on several occasions and no one would know. 

Likewise, singers who accompanied the evangelist could sing the same song on several occasions and not annoy anyone. Such possibilities are now out of the question. In most of the larger churches in SA and elsewhere, after the service, there is a quick scramble in the recording department, so that as the congregation makes its way home after the service, CD copies of the sermon etc. are on sale. In the 1970’s all was on cassette tapes. 

Now you can get CD’s and, in many cases, copies of the sermon on DVD. You can go home after the morning service and see a DVD of what you had seen earlier. Is it a good thing? It depends on what the preacher said. Certainly he/she must be more circumspect than in bygone days.

James M Black

In the table above we have a gospel song written by James M. Black (1856 to 1938) in 1893. Black, a Methodist Sunday school teacher in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, was calling roll one day for a youth meeting. Young Bessie, daughter of a drunkard, did not show up, and he was disappointed at her failure to appear. Black made a comment to the effect, “Well, I trust when the roll is called up yonder, she’ll be there.” 

He tried to respond with an appropriate song, but could not find one in his song book: “This lack of a fitting song caused me both sorrow and disappointment. An inner voice seemed to say, “Why don’t you write one?” I put away the thought. As I opened the gate on my way home, the same thought came again so strongly, tears filled my eyes. I entered the house and sat down at the piano. The words came to me effortlessly. The tune came the same way. I dared not change a single note or word. (Courtesy Wikipedia)

I remember singing it in the 1960’s. It’s a sort of sung commentary on 1 Thess. 4:16 of Paul’s Epistle. It was the chorus that really appealed to me and others. I've found that most Christians know the chorus. The verses are not as familiar. Today, thinking of the chorus, my feet start tapping and I remember with great affection the influence those words had on my early days as a Christian.

There are two “unfortunate” reactions among Christians concerning the imminence of Jesus’ return. One reaction is to be so obsessed by the event; all focus is lost on what is happening in and around us in this world. This is foolish since it is the impression we make on unbelievers, which is so important concerning their salvation. To totally disregard the reality of His imminent return is also foolish. It gives unbelievers the impression that it is unimportant. 

Rev Andrew Murray

We need to learn to live in a state of keen anticipation of the event, without neglecting what is happening around us. When Andrew Murray was asked what he would do today if He knew Jesus would return tomorrow, he wisely stated, “I would be planting a tree”. We need that sort of wisdom in Christianity today, doing what we should be doing.

Shalom

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – 19 Oct 2013			Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give
©	These devotionals are the intellectual property of Jim Strickland and copyright protected. You are welcome to copy and distribute them to anyone provided it is for non-commercial Christian purposes					©
INTRODUCTION			DAILY LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES	WHEN THE TRUMPET SOUNDS
The fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. I wonder what it looked like. How easy was it to identify. We know that it was located in the middle of the Garden of Eden. But how did Adam know which tree it was? Did it look any different from all the other trees? Was it in the middle of an orchard? Did it stand all alone so that you would recognise it if you walked toward it? We don’t know. What we do know is that Adam and Eve had the complete run of the garden. But they were not given ownership. 15 The LORD God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it. Genesis 2:15 NLT Adam and Eve were “innocents in paradise” with no restriction on them. I assume that the fruit of every other tree in the garden would contribute to their knowledge of what was good. I’m not sure that they had any idea about evil at all. How could they. The knowledge of evil was confined to the fruit of one tree. There was no other evil in that garden. Presumably, if Satan hadn’t come along, we would all be there romping and playing in the garden and enjoying our time with God in the cool of the evening! But I digress. There was no sin in the world. Nothing died. Did the trees grow? Did the grass, flowers and plant life grow? What about the animals? Man was told to be fruitful, multiply and fill the earth. Presumably this applied to all the creatures God had made. The instruction may have been given to Adam and Eve only. Presumably it applied to all the creatures? It seems that this would inevitably result in the entire world being fully populated. Only one thing could prevent this from happening. If Adam ate fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. he would lose the leasehold right of occupation on God’s world. Only one sin was possible. For Adam (not Eve) to eat the forbidden fruit. We usually include Eve in this prohibition. But the way she spoke to the serpent, suggests the Lord had not given the instruction to her. God gave the order to Adam. It was his responsibility to pass it on. We know what happened. God had given Adam an indefinite lease on the Garden. 1 The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it. The world and all the people belong to Him. Psalms 24:1 NLT Satan now had legal possession for an undefined period. But he didn’t own it. This means that God had the right to take it back, subject to the laws He had put in place. So Jesus did not “steal” the world back. He legally cancelled the lease and terminated Satan’s tenancy agreement. Since the “freehold” was His, He had every right to do so. One of these days, Satan will be evicted. When the last trumpet blows! Jim & Phyllida Strickland			1 Are you cheerful because you belong to Christ? Does his love comfort you? Is the Holy Spirit your companion? Has Christ been gentle and loving toward you? Philippians 2:1 NIrV	When he’d been created; in the days before the fall; I’ve wondered about Adam. Did he understand at all, What the Lord was saying, when He told him he would die. The fruit of good and evil He told him not to try. If ever Adam ate it, death would come on board And he would face destruction, by death’s great and mighty sword. Did he really listen? Did he comprehend, The outcome of his eating and that death would be his end? It seems he wasn’t frightened. He wasn’t quite aware, Of all the consequences. He didn’t seem to care. But after he had fallen; with Satan in control, He knew that all his children had lost their mortal soul. He didn’t seem to realise, a little tiny sin, Would put all of his children in the mess that we are in. He didn’t quite appreciate that everyone would die. That fear of death would haunt us, for to all death would apply. From that very moment, when death was in control, We have all been frightened, of what happens to our “soul”. From that very instant, we have been the slaves of fear. Terrified of dying and knowing it was near. No one could avoid it. Death’s “jaws” were open wide. It was unrelenting and to all it was applied. No one could avoid it. No man dispute its claim. This would last forever, or till Christ the Saviour came. He took on the devil and Satan was defeated! Beat him fair and squarely. The devil wasn’t cheated. Jesus through His lifetime had not committed sin. So it was inevitable Jesus Christ would win. Death had been defeated, when Christ was resurrected! By His precious blood, His saints are thoroughly protected. Death has lost its terror. His saints can overcome, In the precious Name of Jesus Christ God’s only son. Yes, our mortal bodies will surely pass away. But we’ll get a new one when He comes again one day! So be a little patient. All of us will rise, The instant that His trumpet sounds. the devil and his guys, Will have to give the lease back. It will not be extended. And Christ will have the “freehold” of all that God intended. Jim Strickland Written 19th Oct 2012
			1 "How frail is humanity! How short is life, how full of trouble! 2 We blossom like a flower and then wither. Like a passing shadow, we quickly disappear. Job 14:1-2 NLT
			26 When my skin sags and my bones get brittle, GOD is rock-firm and faithful. Psalms 73:26 MSG
			16 I will talk to the Father, and he'll provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone with you.26 The Friend, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send at my request, will make everything plain to you. He will remind you of all the things I have told you. John 14:16 & 26 MSG
			3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. 4 He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NLT
			14 For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with Him the believers who have died. 15 We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet Him ahead of those who have died. 16 For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. 17 Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. 18 So encourage each other with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18 NLT

AMEN AND AMEN

Time with Jesus - 18 Oct 2013

Hi all,

Every time I come across the word “Amen”, in Scripture, I’m reminded of the hypothetical question asked by a member of the female liberation movement. The question was, “Why do we say “Amen” and not “A-women” at the end of our prayers. The answer of course is because we sing “hymns” and not “hers”!

So, why do we use the word “Amen” at all? Those of us who have been in the Charismatic movement for a few years, have grown accustomed to it being used by preachers, as a means of getting a quick response from the congregation. Perhaps audience would be a better word, but let’s not go down that road. What happens is the preacher arrives at a point in his sermon and wants to get the people to agree with what he has said. So he makes his statement and then says, “Amen?” 

For instance, “Jesus is the way, the truth and the life!” He then says, “Amen?” The people are all expected to answer, “Amen”. Better still would be “Amen brother!” or “Preach it brother!” or something equally inane. It’s not so much a question of seeking approval, as evoking a response from his listeners. Actually, it’s a bit annoying. Not because the original statement was incorrect. It’s more a question of the preacher trying to find if his listeners are awake! Sadly, this verbal routine has almost reached the point where it has become part of customary Charismatic ritual.

What then is the word “Amen” all about? In English, the word amen has two primary pronunciations, ah-men (/ɑːˈmɛn/) or ay-men (/eɪˈmɛn/), with minor additional variation in emphasis (the two syllables may be equally stressed instead of placing primary stress on the second). The Oxford English Dictionary gives "eɪ'mεn, or ɑː'mɛn". (Courtesy Wikipedia)

In the New Testament it is often used to imply that nothing further can be added. It’s the way Christians should view the word. It’s a bit like saying, “God said it – that settles it”. When God has spoken, that’s it. Nothing can be added or taken away. It’s guaranteed. It cannot be changed. Of course that’s because He is God. In English the word “FINIS” is sometimes appended to the end of a statement. It’s over and done. Amen is the word we can write under what God has said. It’s a guaranteed certainty!

The uses of “Amen”, “Verily-verily” or "I tell you the truth", depending on the translation, fit into a peculiar “class” of phrases. They are the words Jesus used to affirm his own utterances, not those of another person. The use of the initial amen, single or double in form, to introduce solemn statements of Jesus in the Gospels, appears to have originated with Jesus. It would have been very difficult for Jesus to convince His hearers that He was speaking the truth, particularly in the early days of His ministry. It follows that the use of the words, “Amen” or “Verily-verily”, or "I tell you the truth" would tend to add credence to what He was saying. Later in His ministry, He would have used them, not so much to convince people His words were true; but to emphasise the importance of His statements.

Today, the use of "amen" has been generally adopted in Christian worship as a concluding word for prayers and hymns that express strong agreement with what has been stated.

Overall, the word “Amen” appears in the Hebrew Bible 30 times.

In the King James Bible, the word “Amen” is preserved in a number of contexts. Notable ones include:

The word first occurs in the Hebrew Bible in Numbers 5.22 when the Priest addresses a suspected adulteress and she responds “Amen, Amen”. Numbers 5 is a fascinating chapter, in that it outlines the procedure to follow, in the case of a wife suspected of committing adultery. ²¹ "At this point the priest must put the woman under oath by saying, 'May the people know that the LORD's curse is upon you when He makes you infertile, causing your womb to shrivel and your abdomen to swell. ²² Now may this water that brings the curse enter your body and cause your abdomen to swell and your womb to shrivel. ' And the woman will be required to say, (Amen) - Yes, let it be so. Numbers 5:21-22 NLT

Deuteronomy 27:15-27 recounts the curses of the Law that would come upon the people in the event of the various laws of God being broken. The people were required to say, “Amen” as the Levites “called out” the law to the listening Israelites. 

The people were required to say “Amen” after each portion was called out. An example is ¹⁹ 'Cursed is anyone who denies justice to foreigners, orphans, or widows.' And all the people will reply, 'Amen.' Deuteronomy 27:19 NLT

A double amen ("amen and amen") occurs in Psalm 89, Psalm 41:13; 72:19; & 89:52 to confirm the words and invoke the fulfilment of them.

Psalm 89:52 NLT Praise the LORD forever! Amen and amen!

Psalm 41:13 NLT Praise the LORD, the God of Israel, who lives from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and amen!

Psalm 72:19 NLT Praise His glorious name forever! Let the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and amen!

Psalm 89:52 NLT Praise the LORD forever! Amen and amen!

The custom of closing prayers with amen originates in the Lord's Prayer at Matthew 6:13. ¹³ And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. Mat 6:13 KJV

Jewish men praying at the
Western (Wailing) Wall

It concludes all of Paul's general epistles.

In Revelation 3:14, Jesus is referred to as, "the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation."

Amen concludes the New Testament at Rev. 22:21.

The word has been used in sacred music on a number of occasions. One of the best known is probably the “Amen Chorus” which concludes Handel’s Messiah. Denominational choirs often make use of a variety of “Amen” conclusions for Divine Worship services. As a result the sung “Amen” has been used on so many occasions, that for me, repetition has devalued the word. 

If you couple this with the Charismatic use of “Amen”, being used to obtain a response from congregants, the sacred meaning of “Let it be so” or “Verily-verily” is no longer what it was once intended to be.

Shalom

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – 18 Oct 2013			Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give
©	These devotionals are the intellectual property of Jim Strickland and copyright protected. You are welcome to copy and distribute them to anyone provided it is for non-commercial Christian purposes					©
INTRODUCTION			DAILY LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES	AMEN AND AMEN
Words seem to come and go. They appear to change meaning from time to time and from place to place. One of the big surprises I found as reading school reports. In my days, if I got a 5 on my report card, my parents would have been very unimpressed. 1’s were wonderful, not that I ever got any. I seemed to be able to hover at ±3. No more and no less with the accompanying statement, “Jim could do better! The last time I looked at my grandchildren’s school reports, they were dotted with 4’s and 5’s. Then I was told that to understand them, I should stand on my head. They were upside down to what I knew. Words also have a habit of changing meaning. Perhaps the best known is the word “gay”. It used to mean carefree, happy and enjoying things. Now it means homosexual. I’m not sure I approve. But my opinion is not important. The word “Amen or So be it” doesn’t mean what it meant when the Bible was translated into English. According to Nelson’s New Bible Dictionary it means: a solemn word by which a person confirms a statement, an oath, or a covenant (Num. 5:22; Neh. 5:13). It is also used in worship to affirm an address, psalm, or prayer. It used to mean the truth. The Lord identified Himself with this word when He said, I am Amen. I am the truth. No longer. The word has been considerably downgraded. Today it is used to answer a question. The preacher will say something, followed by the word, “amen?” He expects the congregation to reply “amen”. So the word has been downgraded from being one of the Names of our great and glorious God. Now, all it seems to mean is, “I agree!” So, how do we change this? Do we need to change it? This is perhaps a better question. I think we should do what we can to make people aware of the words they use. In USA the people speak of an automobile. We understand that they mean a motor car. We speak of a bonnet. They call it the hood. They say trunk when we say boot. But we do understand each other. In South Africa we know what is meant by the word “condom”. In USA it’s called a “rubber”. So if you go for a brief visit, be careful you don’t ask your hostess if she’s got a rubber. She will not be amused. Not even to rub out pencil. That’s an eraser. Listening to dialects on the TV or movies, it doesn’t take long to realise that the way people speak English in USA, UK, RSA and Australia is different. Not so different that we can’t understand each other. There may come a day when this changes. In the UK, dialects are significantly different. A couple of years ago I picked up a book called, “Laarn yersel Geordie!” Which being translated means teach {learn (laarn)} yourself (Yersel) [to speak] Geordie! Geordie being the dialect spoken in and around Newcastle on Tyne! I’ve also come across a book on “Strine” - Australian. We also find that the style of speech in the North and South of the USA is markedly different. Here in RSA we have a small sample of it in the Afrikaans speaking community. Listen to the dialect in Malmsbury. It’s different. Dear old Professor Higgins of My Fair Lady fame asked the question, “Why can’t the English teach their children how to speak?” For me it would be enough if we started understanding the language we use! Jim & Phyllida Strickland			13 'And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.' Matthew 6:13 NASB	Amen; It is all over; it’s finished; it is done. It seems to be a kind of verb that’s seldom used for fun. It means finalisation. That’s how it’s going to be. A thousand million years from now and for eternity, This truth is now established; the earth may pass away. But this will be unvarying as what it is today. A little illustration. One plus one is two. It will always be this way, no matter what we do. The Lord above won’t change it. There’s really is no need. It is the confirmation in thought and word and deed. In local courtroom jargon, it’s an established fact. It tells us the right way to go, when we’re compelled to act. It verifies a statement; it establishes the truth. Regardless of the circumstance, maturity or youth. At times you’ll find it’s also used, as some sort of a noun. Rather like the title of some rather special town. So we speak about it and say it is a trust. It’s firm and confidential; a certainty; a must! It also is an adjective, a specific piece of law. Although we find it’s seldom used in this way anymore. On the odd occasion a prayer begins “Amen” Confirming that what follows is reliable again. But the common usage is at the very end. “Yes, this is reliable. On this you may depend. A congregation uses it when they are all agreed. When they’ve heard a statement they believe is truth indeed. Written in Psalm eighty nine and in verse fifty two, We find Amen repeated; so everyone may view; The glory and the majesty of Him Who reigns on High. Who deals with every mocker and informs them, “Do not try”. God used the expression, when by Himself He swore. None can overrule Him. He is the highest law! We’re told that all God’s promises in Jesus are AMEN. They won’t be rescinded or issued once again! The book of Revelation, behold in chapter three, Recorded in the fourteenth verse quite categorically, He says He is the Amen. He’s faithful and He’s true. “Those in Laodicea, be careful what you do; If you are not careful, I’m going to spit you out. Turn from being lukewarm. Your future is in doubt. Only overcomers shall sit at my right hand. All the rest will go to Hell when I give the command. Indeed I am the Holy One, “I AM!” That is My Name. Amen! All this is certain. Amen! Always the same. Jim Strickland Written 18th Oct 2012
			36 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king and said, "Amen! Thus may the LORD, the God of my lord the king, say. 1 Kings 1:36 NASB
			16 All who invoke a blessing or take an oath will do so by the God of truth. (The Amen – Hebrew aw-mane Amen, so be it, truth). For I will put aside My anger and forget the evil of earlier days. Isaiah 65:16 NLT
			13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, (The Amen – The truth) Hebrews 6:13 ESV
			16 Now when people take an oath, they call on someone greater than themselves to hold them to it. And without any question that oath is binding. 17 God also bound Himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that He would never change His mind. 18 So God has given both His promise and His oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to Him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. Hebrews 6:16-18 NLT
			14 "And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: 'The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witne ss, the beginning of God's creation. Revelation 3:14 ESV
			20 For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God. 2 Corinthians 1:20 TNIV
			18 Praise the LORD God, the God of Israel, who alone does such wonderful things. 19 Praise His glorious name forever! Let the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and amen! Psalms 72:18-19 NLT