How the Process of God's Trumpets Work
Who Will Hearken?
Each of the 7 Trumpets involve the same process revealed in the Old Testament of an entity experiencing a moral fall, warnings being sent by God and the entity receiving the judgments of God through affliction and disaster. More detail of this process is provided below:- A Moral Fall Occurs: An entity (nation/political power) experiences a moral fall by repeatedly refusing God and His laws. This occurs after a long time of pleading and warning by God (Jer. 7:13, 25-28, Jer. 19:15).
- A) Choice is Sealed: God is patient and longsuffering, striving with people until they go so far that they step beyond His help (Gen. 6:3, Mic. 1:9). They reject the pleadings of the Holy Spirit for so long that their conscience becomes seared (1 Tim. 4:2). This is the unpardonable sin (Matt. 12:31) and the filling of the cup of iniquity (Gen. 5:16), and signals the end of the entity's probation and the assurance of its destruction. Note: Nineveh is an example of a nation responding to the pleading of God, averting disaster and prolonging its probation (Jonah 1:2, 3:1-10, 4:2).
- B) Intercession Ends: Intercessory prayer for the entity becomes of no avail (Jer. 7:16), however, prayers for individuals belonging to the entity continue.
- God Begins to Withdraw: The entity's rejection of God forces Him to withdraw from them, in respect of their freedom of choice. This allows afflictions to begin. They have brought these hardships upon themselves because of their own sins (see Hosea 5:8-15, Hosea 8, Jer. 30:15). Affliction may or may not appear immediately, but the withdrawing of God's protection releases the forces that put in motion destructive events.
- Warning Is Given: The sound of the Trumpet is heard in the form of warnings proclaimed by God's faithful people. These warnings speak to two groups:
- A) The call to the faithful to assemble and organize for action, whether a meeting, journey, to flee or battle (see Numbers 10:1-10, Lev. 23:24-25, Ex. 19:13,16, Judges 3:27-30, Neh. 4:19-20, Jer. 4:5).
- B) The warning to the unfaithful to repent (see Ez. 33:1-9, Joel 2:1,12, Is. 58:1, 1 Cor. 14:8-9), which includes an explanation of what they are doing wrong, what will happen if they continue and how to escape the pending disaster. Though the immorality of the entity or system is denounced, the individuals that compose the entity, such as the people within the nation, can still be saved out of it.
- The Warning Reaches Everyone: God's mercy holds back the full forces of destruction in order to give every person a chance to hear the warning, learn the truth under circumstances that bring conviction and make their own decision. Many repeatedly reject the warning, revealing their own steadfastedness in rebellion and participation in the entity's fall. But, there are some who heed the warning and join the faithful in sounding the Trumpet.
- God's People Escape: God mercifully delays the full force of judgment in order to give individuals time to escape. God's faithful people follow God's instructions for escaping the disasters, which may include separating themselves from the entity or coping through its downfall. The Trumpet can also announce the proclaimation of liberty and act of deliverance of the faithful (see Lev. 25:9-13, Psalm 47, Is. 27:13, Matt. 24:31, 1 Cor. 15:52).
- Terrible Destruction: The entity's moral fall is completely matured and exposed. God further withdraws His protection, resulting in the culmination of the judgment through destruction and calamities and the overthrowing of the unfaithful (Joshua 6, Judges 7:16-22, Amos 2:2, Zeph. 1:14-18). The ruling entity loses its priveleges and the land is given over to another ruling power (Ezekiel 30:6,18-25. Amos 1:15, 2:2-3, 3:11). Thus, the Trumpet ends.
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