General Articles

The Last Trumpet of the Rapture :: By Randy Nettles

Published on: by RR7

There are two types of wind instruments or air horns mentioned in the Bible that the Hebrews used for religious ceremonies and as a signal for the congregation to assemble, or as a call to battle. One is the trumpet and is first described in Numbers 10:2-4. “Make two silver trumpets for yourself; you shall make them of hammered work, you shall use them for calling the congregation and for directing the movement of the camps. And when both are blown, all the congregation shall gather themselves to you at the entrance of the tabernacle of meeting.” The Hebrew word for trumpets is ‘chatzotzerah.’

The silver trumpets could only be blown by priests (vs.8) and were used to call the people to gather at the door of the tabernacle of meeting (vs. 3) or for setting the camps in motion to move out (vv. 5-6). They were also to be used in war against their enemies as an alarm or warning system, and to alert God for His help. “And you will be remembered before the Lord your God, and you will be saved from your enemies” (Numbers 10:9). Also, they were to be blown in their appointed feasts (Feasts of the Lord) and at the beginning of their months (new moons) when they offered their burnt offerings and peace offerings (vs. 10).

Here are a few examples of silver trumpets (chatzotzerah) being blown in the Old Testament: “Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests regularly blew the trumpets before the ark of the covenant of God” (1 Chronicles 16:6). “And when Judah looked around, to their surprise the battle line was at both front and rear; and they cried out to the Lord, and the priests sounded the trumpets.”

The second trumpet or bugle is known as the ram’s horn and is actually made from the horn of a ram. The Hebrew word for this horn is ‘shophar’ or ‘shofar.’ This horn makes a loud blasting sound that is guaranteed to get one’s attention. The first undoubted use of the shofar in Jewish ritual is found in Leviticus 25:9 and was used to declare the year of Jubilee (50th year of redemption).

“Then you shall sound the trumpet of the Jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement you shall make the trumpet throughout all your land” (New King James translation). As you can see, in the NKJ translation (and many others), the word is translated ‘trumpets,’ but in other translations, the word is translated as ‘ram’s horn’ or ‘shofar.’ For instance, here is that same verse in the Complete Jewish Bible translation (and others): “Then, on the tenth day of the seventh month, on Yom-Kippur, you are to sound a blast on the shofar; you are to sound the shofar all through your land.”

So, did the sound come from a trumpet or a ram’s horn/shofar? Which translation is correct? To be precise, you must look at the Hebrew word since that is the language that Leviticus and the Old Testament were written in.

The actual Hebrew word that is used for this horn is ‘shophar’ and is described as a cornet or curved horn. In this instance, the CJB is the best translation, and the horn that is used on Yom-Kippur is a ram’s horn or shofar and not an actual silver trumpet. Also, in Hebrew (as well as Greek), nouns and adjectives are classified as feminine and masculine (sad news for the woke crowd, Lol). Without going into all the details, in the Old Testament, a trumpet is classified as feminine, and a shofar is classified as masculine. In the Greek New Testament, every horn (air blown) that is mentioned is called a trumpet, and the word is feminine. The only translation (out of 53 different ones) that calls it a masculine shofar is the Complete Jewish Bible.

In the Old Testament, both the shofar and trumpet were used for various functions or events, sometimes by themselves, and other times together. Here is an example where they were both used: “Thus all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the horn (shofar), with trumpets and with cymbals, making music with stringed instruments and harps” (1 Chronicles 15:28). Shofars were also used in battle as a call to arms and in religious ceremonies. One of the main differences between the shofar and the trumpet is that while everyone could blow the shofar, only the priests were allowed to blow the silver trumpets.

The most famous example of man-made trumpets/shofars used in war was at Jericho when the Israelites first entered the land of Canaan. I wrote in detail on this matter and the Biblical significance of the number 7 in my article, Seven: God’s Perfect Number and its Biblical Significance :: By Randy Nettles – Rapture Ready, so I will just add a few more thoughts.

The Lord instructed Joshua and the men of war to march around the city once for six days. “And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams’ horns: and the seventh day you shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets. These trumpets are actually shofars (ram’s horns). The 7th and last time around the city, it happened exactly as the Lord told Joshua, “And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him” (Joshua 6:2-5).

The wording of Joshua 6: 5 has always intrigued me. It reminds me of the rapture verse of 1 Thessalonians, although it is not a rapture event. “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first” (1 Thessalonians 4:16). However, they are both great victories for the Lord and His people.

This great victory at Jericho occurred at the last trump (by the priests’ 7th and last time around the city), and there was a great shout (by the people and not by Jesus and the archangel – although I think the Lord might have shouted at Jericho also) which brought the walls down (the walls of gravity will come down at the Rapture). The warriors of Israel go up into the city of Jericho (like the army of the Church will go up into the city of New Jerusalem) every man straight before him.

The first mention of a trumpet (according to many translations) in the Bible is in Exodus 19, which describes the children of Israel’s encounter with God at Mount Sinai. This miraculous event occurred in the third month after the Israelites had gone out of the land of Egypt. “On the same day, they came to the Wilderness of Sinai” (Exodus 19:1).

They left Egypt on the 14th day of the first month of Nisan, so they must have come to Mount Sinai on the 14th day of Sivan. The Lord told Moses to get the people ready, for in 3 days the Lord would come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people (vs. 11). The Lord said, “When the trumpet (chatzotzerah/shofar) sounds long, they shall come near the mountain” (Exodus 19:13). This was no man-made trumpet but was the supernatural trumpet of God. In this chapter and verse, the “trumpet” is actually a shofar.

On the third day (Sivan 17), Moses obeyed the words of the Lord and brought the people out of the camp to meet with God at the foot of Mt. Sinai. “There were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain, and the sound of the shofar was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled” (Exodus 19:16). Mt. Sinai was completely in smoke because the Lord descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly (vs. 18). Exodus 19:19 describes the shofar of God sounding long, and it became louder and louder, and God spoke to Moses and gave him further instructions.

Moses wrote all the words of the Lord, and then he built an altar and offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the Lord. Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded with, “All that the Lord has said, we will do, and be obedient” (Exodus 20:7). Of course, we know this didn’t last long. Moses took the blood from the sacrifices and sprinkled it on the people and said, “This is the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you according to all these words” (Exodus 20:8).

On Mt. Sinai, God sounded His heavenly shofar to summon the people so they could witness His power and glory. The children of Israel would then truly realize who they were making a covenant with, and they would realize the consequences of disobeying the Law and His statutes.

To be sure, this exposure to God, with the shofar sounding and the smoke, fire, thunders, lightnings, and shakings was a terribly frightening experience for the children of Israel. Although the shofar was a call for the people to assemble, it was also a warning not to come up the mountain or even touch its base. They could only come near the mountain and not up the mountain lest they be killed. Only Moses was allowed to go all the way up the mountain to meet with God “face to face” (actually face to backside). This experience at Mt. Sinai was the first time humans have heard the trumpet call of God, but it will not be the last.

In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul lists three last things – the last enemy to be defeated (death), the last Adam (Jesus), and the last trump (trumpet). The first trumpet of God, as recorded in Exodus 19, was for the purpose of assembling God’s people to establish His Law, which Paul called a ministry of death (2 Corinthians 3:7-9). The last trumpet of God, as described by 1 Corinthians 15:52, is for the purpose of calling Jesus’ people to Himself by way of resurrection and translation. This calling by the last trumpet of God is a ministry of life. “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52).

This contrast is made in Hebrews 12:18-24: “For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet (shofar) and the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore. (For they could not endure what was commanded: ‘And if so much as a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned or shot with an arrow.’ And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, ‘I am exceedingly afraid and trembling.’)

“But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men (Old Testament saints) made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.”

People throughout the ages have wondered why this trumpet of God at the Rapture is called the last trumpet. Many post-tribulation adherents justify their views because they think this last trumpet of 1st Corinthians 15:52 is the same trumpet blown by an angel in Revelation 11:15 at the 7th trumpet judgment during the Tribulation period. This is wrong on many levels. In Revelation, the trumpet is blown by an angel and not God/Jesus. The Rapture will precede the Tribulation by at least 7 years.

Will there be other trumpets of God that are sounded after the Rapture?

Yes, there will be more trumpets that are blown by God, such as in Isaiah 27:13, Zechariah 9:14, and Matthew 24:31.

So why is this particular one in 1 Corinthians called the last trump?

The last trump doesn’t necessarily mean it is the last trumpet to ever sound by God. It could be the last trump blast of a series of blasts, maybe two or more. Also, there could be two trumpets that are used, and the second one that is blown could be the last trumpet.

Remember in Numbers 10, God commanded Moses to make two silver trumpets, and when they were both blown, the congregation was to assemble at the entrance of the tabernacle (worship center). This could be a typology of the trumpet call of God at the Rapture. Numbers 10:4 doesn’t specify that both trumpets were blown simultaneously. Perhaps they had different sounds and were blown separately, one after the other. When the second or last trumpet of God sounds, the congregation of Christian saints will gather at the entrance (in the air) of their new worship center (the New Jerusalem).

However, I believe the main reason the Rapture trump is called the last trumpet is because it occurs on the last day (as mentioned in the book of John) of the Church. The Church began on the day of Pentecost and will end on the day of the Rapture. It will be the last day for Christians on the earth in our earthly bodies and the last day for Christians in heaven without a body. It will be such a magnificent and joyous event that even Jesus and the archangel will give a great shout of victory.

The “last day” (not last days) is mentioned 7 times in the New Testament, all of them in John. Many scholars believe John is referring to the Rapture (in most of these verses) and not Jesus’ 2nd Coming. John wrote the book of Revelation in 95 AD and later wrote his Gospel titled John. The last books of the Bible to be written were 2 John and 3 John between 96 and 98 AD. John was familiar with the teachings of Paul and his writings and letters, such as 1 Corinthians, which was written in 56 AD, so he would have also been familiar with the concept of the Rapture. John’s audience was not limited to one nation or people (Israel and the Jews); rather, he presents Jesus as the Christ and Lord over all nations and peoples. Here are the 7 references to the last day (rapture):

  1. John 6:39 – This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.
  2. John 6:40 – And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
  3. John 6:44 – No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.
  4. John 6:54 – Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.
  5. John 7:37 – On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. (Note: this verse is not about the last day of the Rapture but is referring to the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles. Jesus is talking about the giving of the Holy Spirit, which comes approximately 220 days later on Pentecost.)
  6. John 11:24 – Martha said to Him, “I know that he [Lazarus] will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” (Note: Martha was probably referring to the last day before the Millennium Reign of Jesus when the Old Testament saints will be resurrected. However, I believe Lazarus lived long enough to receive the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and he will be one of the saints that will be resurrected at the Rapture.)
  7. John 12:48 – He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him – the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day. (Note: A non-believer will be judged for their lack of faith and will not be raptured into heaven. Instead, they will have to endure the hardships of the New World Order and the Tribulation.)

So, I know what you’re wondering. Is the last trumpet of God, at the Rapture, a shofar or an actual trumpet?

I don’t know for sure, but I have my opinion and the reasons for it. If you ask a Gentile Christian, he/she would probably say a trumpet. If you ask a Messianic Jew, he/she would probably say a shofar. The New Testament was written in Greek. The word for the air horn used in 1 Corinthians 15:52 is ‘salpingi,’ which is described as a trumpet and not a shofar. It is also a feminine noun, which is a good reason for it to be a trumpet. I suppose it doesn’t really matter. What really matters is that you hear it and assemble with the group.

The last day for Christians at the Rapture is not the last day for the rest of the non-believing world. The remaining population of the world will have to experience the horrors of the 7-year Tribulation before the 2nd Coming of Jesus to the earth. Here is how the Old Testament Zechariah describes His return. “Then the Lord will be seen over them, and His arrow will go forth like lightning. The Lord God will blow the shofar and go with whirlwinds from the south. The Lord their God will save them in that day, as the flock of His people” (Zechariah 9:14-16). Once again, God’s shofar will sound; only this time, it will be a call to war. Zechariah tells us who wins the war in Zechariah 14:9. “And the Lord shall be King over all the earth. In that day it shall be – The Lord is one, and His name one.”

The Jews have always required a ‘sign’ (supernatural) before they would acknowledge God. Jesus declared this fact in John 4:48, and Paul did likewise in 1 Corinthians 1:22. The Jewish people asked Jesus twice to show them a sign so they could believe in him, once in John 2:18 and again in John 6:30. I don’t know what kind of a sign they were looking for because Jesus performed many miracles during his earthly ministry. John recorded 7 (perfect and complete) signs in his Gospel that proved Jesus’ deity. They are called (anonymously, as far as I know) THE SIGN. Here they are:

T – turning water into wine (John 2:1-11)
H – healing the official’s son in Capernaum (John 4:46-54)
E – elevating the lame man at the Pool of Bethesda (John 5:1-19)

S – supper for 5,000 near the Sea of Galilee (John 6:5-14)
I – interim on the sea (walking on water – Sea of Galilee (John 6:16-21)
G – giving sight to the blind man in Jerusalem (John 9:1-7)
N – notification of Lazarus to “come forth” from the grave… perhaps Jesus’ greatest miracle (John 11:1-45)

After all the miracles and signs Jesus accomplished (and His own resurrection), the majority of the Jewish people still did not believe He was their long-awaited Messiah. Even to this day, they are still awaiting the Messiah’s arrival. Before Jacob’s trouble begins, Jesus will oblige them with one last great sign – the Rapture of the Church.

The Rapture is the supernatural sign that the Messiah (Jesus) is coming (again) to establish His Millennium Kingdom and to fulfill all the prophecies written about Him and the Kingdom of God. Let’s hope and pray the Jews recognize this sign and finally accept Him as their Messiah and call for His return. “I will go away and return to My place until they (Jews) acknowledge their guilt and seek My face; in their affliction they will earnestly seek Me” (Hosea 5:15).

“Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near” (Luke 21:28). While you are looking up, you might also want to listen for the sound of a trumpet.

Randy Nettles

nettlesr@suddenlink.net.

Malachi Lesson 3: God Hates Fake Spiritual Leaders :: By Sean Gooding

Published on: by RR7

Chapter 2:1-9

“And now, O priests, this commandment is for you. 2 If you will not hear, and if you will not take it to heart, to give glory to My name,’ Says the Lord of hosts, ‘I will send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have cursed them already, because you do not take it to heart.

3 Behold, I will rebuke your descendants and spread refuse on your faces, the refuse of your solemn feasts; and one will take you away with it. 4 Then you shall know that I have sent this commandment to you, that My covenant with Levi may continue,’ says the Lord of hosts. 5 ‘My covenant was with him, one of life and peace, and I gave them to him that he might fear Me; so he feared Me and was reverent before My names. 6 The law of truth was in his mouth, and injustice was not found on his lips. He walked with Me in peace and equity, and turned many away from iniquity. 7 For the lips of a priest should keep knowledge, and people should seek the law from his mouth; for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.

8 But you have departed from the way; you have caused many to stumble at the law. You have corrupted the covenant of Levi,’ says the Lord of hosts. 9 ‘Therefore I also have made you contemptible and base before all the people, because you have not kept My ways but have shown partiality in the law.“

This is our third conversation that God is having with the people of Israel, they that had returned from the captivity in Babylon and then Persia. God is calling out the problems that He is seeing and working to set things in order.

God is a merciful God, but He is first and foremost a Holy God. He is patient and kind, but He hates sin, and as a perfect God, has to address what He is seeing. His desire is to correct bad behavior and to preserve the future. Our actions have consequences, and often the consequences are not seen right now but in the generations to come.

God addresses the problems with the priest here, and it is clear that the vast majority did not listen since the priests are totally corrupt by the time Jesus is walking the streets of Jerusalem. They are totally sold out to power and have no appreciation for the truth at all. They, the priests, orchestrated the execution of the Messiah and pledged allegiance to Ceasar rather than their rightful King. God is addressing the roots of this corruption here in Malachi some 400 years before the real problems came to the surface, and if that vast majority of the priests had made a change, maybe things would have been different in Jesus’ day.

Think with me for a few minutes; Herod asked the priests where the king of the Jews would be born. They knew where, in Bethlehem, but NONE of the priests went with the Wisemen to see their King. So let us look at how they got to this sad place and then take a look at where we are today. We are in the same place, and many of our ‘spiritual’ leaders are just fakes seeking power and money. We are in a sad state; as such, many of the Lord’s people are not excited for Jesus’ Second Coming, just like the leaders were not excited for His first one.

  • Spiritual Leaders Should Seek to Glorify God, verses 1-2

I am my greatest enemy. I am a sinful man. Yet when I was 17 years old, the Lord called me into the Ministry. I did not know what I was getting into, and now some 37 years later, I would never go back and change it. But I was taught early and often by some of the greatest preachers and pastors that you have never heard of. Their ministry is about Jesus, Jesus, and Jesus. Every sermon, every lesson, every talk should point to Jesus. He is the answer and the solution.

If they recall Jesus and never remember who I am, then I have done my job. The purpose of us preachers, pastors, evangelists, Sunday School teachers, and the like is to glorify God. The word glorify comes from a Greek word that means ‘to form the right opinion of,’ thus my job, our job as preachers and pastors is to teach the Bible so that the people listening form the ‘right opinion’ of God. Do they see Him as Holy? Do they see Him as Perfect? Do they see Him as Loving? Do they see Him as All-Powerful, All-Knowing, and Ever-Present? Do they see Him as the Righteous Judge to whom we will all answer? Do they see Him as Truthful and Trustworthy? Do they see Him as the Personal and Intimate God? Do they see Him as Merciful and Gracious?

I can go on, but you can see the responsibility is real and serious. But this is what God called us to do. This requires commitment and time, it requires learning and preparing, and it requires that we know the English language as it is a very vague language and can be used to do just as much damage as good using the same words. It means we have to be careful to carry the name of Jesus carefully. We use the 4th Commandment, “You shall not take the name of the Lord in Vain,” to talk about swearing or people using the ‘OMG’ phrase. But I hear a Jewish man talk about that commandment, and he said the real context is that we are not to take the name of the Lord to do evil and use it as an excuse to do wrong. Thus, we leave a negative glorification of God, not the right one.

Pastors and preachers should carry the name of Jesus carefully. How many times have we heard someone assume God was an ogre because they had encountered someone at a church who was one? That person did not carry the name of Jesus carefully. They left the wrong impression, a negative conclusion about God; they did not glorify Him.

  • Spiritual Leaders are called by God, verses 4-5

In these verses, God accounts how He chose the tribe of Levi to be the Priestly tribe. All of the priests who served in the Temple, who served a High Priest and shared in the work of the Temple and Tabernacle, came from the tribe of Levi. It was their calling from birth, and they were groomed to take the various responsibilities that came with being born in the tribe of Levi.

In like manner today, pastors and preachers are called by God; they are not called by mom or grandma, and they are not called by a group of men. God calls preachers, and if He did not call you, then you are not in it for the right reasons. The calling is for life. Yes, we all stumble and fail, but the calling is for life. There is no real retirement from the calling of God. The priests of the Old Testament served in various capacities until they died. God called sinful men so that we can identify with the people we serve. Yes, serve. This is the most important work that we do. We serve the Lord’s people; we are under-shepherds with the Lord, and we will answer to Him as to how we fed, watered, and cared for His people, His sheep. See Ephesian 4: 10-12,

“He who descended is the very One who ascended above all the heavens, in order to fill all things. And it was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for works of ministry and to build up the body of Christ.”

He, God, Jesus, is the one who calls the spiritual leaders. It is not a hobby or something that you just did because your dad did it and because you like it. If your calling is not from God, you have bitten off more than you can chew, and the Devil is at the door waiting for you to use you; yes, even as saved people, he can use you. He will bring glory to you and anyone else except Jesus, and he will use you.

As I mentioned before, being a servant is important to the heart of a pastor or preacher. We must be the head servants in our churches; it is not another’s job. Take the lead and serve. Get dirty and sweaty, show by example, and if you are a good servant leader, you will glorify God. Jesus was the Perfect Servant Leader. See Philippians 2: 5-8,

“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”

Jesus came to seek and save the lost, He did this by walking among the sinners of Israel, interacting with the outcasts and dregs of society, and He loved the unlovable, in man’s opinion.

We are the sinners of the world, the dregs of our society, and the hated of the world, yet Jesus still walks among us. Our job is to bring the modern outcasts into the eternal family of God. It is a calling from God, or the burden of the call will eat you, and the costs will be too much as you are not sure-footed in God’s calling, God’s approval only, and in pleasing Him and Him only as need be. The cost will loom on the horizon of every decision and not the power of the call from God, and you will fail. You may be successful in man’s eyes with a big ‘church’ and a lot of money, but you will fail because the goal of ministry is for me to fade and Jesus to be glorified, lifted up, and loved.

I/ We preachers are just dust, earthen vessels to be used and used up by and for God, for His glory, His goals, and His plans, not ours.

  • Spiritual Leaders Need to Know to Teach the Bible Carefully, verses 6-7

The Bible!!! This is the book that we need to know. Did you know that the local church existed for 1900+ years without Christian bookstores? Yes, we did. Preachers and pastors saturated themselves in the Word of God. They read it over and over again.

I am blessed to have been raised and am still a part of a group of preachers that challenge each other to read the Bible a lot. In the past few years, I have read through the Bible multiple times. Last year I read through the New Testament 4 times, and this year I made a pledge to only read the Book of Proverbs for my personal devotions, and I have read through it close to a dozen times. We have forums where we discuss the Bible, learn from each other. This lesson series that I am working through has been 12+ years of teaching through the Bible verse by verse. I have taught through John, Revelation, Romans (twice), Daniel, Zechariah, Ruth, Esther, Matthew, and in church, I have taught through 1,2,3 John and 1 Corinthians verse by verse.

I am not boasting; that is my job as a preacher and pastor. Teach the Bible all the time. Right now, I am preparing for a series on the Trinity.

The priests’ job in the day of the book of Malachi was to know the law of Moses. They were to know it in and out and be able to use it to lead the people in righteousness. They led the people in disputes, and they were to rely on the OT Law to guide them in settlement and the way God wanted things done, not man’s opinion.

What does the Bible say? That was drilled into my head in our preaching classes. Many of us young preachers would begin a lesson with the phrase, “This is what I believe.” one of the old preachers would stop you and say, “Brother, I don’t care what you believe, what does the Bible say?” They would say it lovingly but firmly. What does the Bible say? Preacher/pastor, God called you to tell people what He said; that is it. Tell people what the Bible says. Often what it says is not popular.

There are only 2 genders, male and female. You cannot change what God has done; you will be either male or female for eternity no matter how many drugs you take and surgeries you have. Marriage is for a man and a woman; nothing else will work. Jesus is the only means of salvation; there is no other way. Hell is real. Judgment is coming, and we will all answer to God. The world cannot change God’s view by legislating sin to be legal. The Bible is God’s only word to us, and it does not need to be reinterpreted or changed.

We live in a celebrity-ruled world, but remember, they killed Jesus, Stephen, and almost all of the apostles for teaching the truth. You are not called to be popular, but you and I are called to tell the truth. That means countless hours of reading and studying, even and especially when you don’t want to. I will confess that some days it takes all I have to read one verse, other days I can read entire books. But on those days that it is hard, I have learned that consistency is more important than anything else.

Learn how to teach the Bible, ask the fundamental questions: who said, to whom did he/she say it, why did they say it, when did they say it, what did they say, and what did it mean at the time they said it. These are the rules of interpretation. The last one is the most important of all — what did it mean when they said it?

The English language is a fluid language; if I said a man was gay in the 1960s, it meant he was happy. If I say that in 2021, it means he is attracted to men. So, if we are reading a book dated in the 1960s, we must interpret the book to see what it means in the era that it was written in. Well, that is why we study things like culture and history in regards to the Bible; this is why we even look at secular Jewish and Roman historians to find out what things meant then. Then we can properly interpret and apply them today.

The Bible has not changed, and God is not progressive. He does not have to be; He has neither a past nor a future; He is Ever-Present.

Pastor/ preacher, know the Bible, love it, love its message and its author. It is all we need and more than we will ever need. We will never get to the end, and we never complete it. There is always more to learn and more to grow into. The more you study, the more you realize that you are the one who needs it the most. It challenges you and calls you out, and God transforms you into a person only He can make while still struggling with my sinfulness and humanity. Lord help me!

  • Spiritual Leaders are Dangerous When they Defy God, verses 8-9

Jesus calls them wolves. Undisciplined and Biblically illiterate spiritual leaders are wolves. They seek fortune and fame at the expense of God’s people. Sadly, what happens is that God’s people begin to be drowned out, and then the fans of the wolves keep calling wolves and hate the pastors who are the servants of Jesus the King. Truth becomes the enemy and lies the norm.

Remember, they killed Jesus for preaching the truth. They killed a Man who could raise the dead, heal the sick and cure the diseased; they killed a Man who loved the poor, fed the hungry, and befriended the outcasts. Remember that it was the religious leaders that led the charge to kill this Man. Remember that the crowd followed the wolves, the very people that hate them and killed them, their own people, and they hated the Man who told the truth. Wolves devour their prey, but they are always looking to fight the leadership for power, and the only way to maintain power is to be nastier and meaner than the other guy.

This is what is happening in the Lord’s churches today; there are constant power struggles, and men come in who use the Bible as a springboard to teach lies. Remember what Paul said in Galatians 1:8,

“But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.”

Wolves are majestic-looking animals, but they are dangerous and deadly. They seek to kill and eat. The leader who is ruthless and insubordinate is intolerant, and questioning the leadership is met with deadly force. We see this in the Lord’s churches today, and we have an abundance of wolves, men who are obviously not called by God. They take the word of God and lie about God. Each sermon reminds you how good you are, but the Bible tells us we are evil and ONLY GOD is GOOD.

Somewhere along the lines, we began to measure success in God’s churches by how many we had in church, not by how many lived like Jesus. We wanted subjects over submission, and we traded disciples for attendees. There are many churches here in Ontario that have hundreds, if not thousands, that attend, but few are members who serve each other and take responsibility. Church has become something they do, not someone they are. They no longer glorify God. Why? Because the preacher does not lead that way. There is a paid staff, and the guy in the pew is just a number to keep the money rolling in, not an active follower of Jesus.

Hey, Sean, are you knocking on large churches? No, I am not. What I am asking is that no matter how big the church, that we, the preachers and pastors, make sure that Jesus is the Head, the King, the One we glorify.

Remember, all preachers and pastors leave, some in U-hauls and others in hearses, but if Jesus is the Head of your local church, He never leaves.

God bless you,

Dr. Sean Gooding

Pastor of Mississauga Missionary Baptist Church

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