February 2024
In January I flew to New Orleans and ministered at the Houma, LA Foursquare church. Then, I next flew to Boise, Idaho and ministered at the Meridian, ID Foursquare Church. February 4, I minister at my home church, the Crossing Foursquare Church in Whittier, California. I have been doing a lot of writing and am in the middle of a daily email teaching on the Book of Revelation. The Sermon of the Month for February is a part of that teaching which you’ll read shortly.
Nathan Warford’s Report:
“I am writing to you from China. This is my fifth time in China, and third as a teacher at a special camp. Little do people know but China has one of the fastest growing churches in the world with close to 17% Christians. During this trip I’ve had the opportunity to reconnect with a school that I visited 4 years ago. I’ve built great relationships with the staff, as I work alongside my good friend and businessman, Gary Surdam. Several team members were from my home church. We have taught a group of middle school students topics such as science, film, and art. We also gave them opportunities to work on building hovercrafts, airplanes and play baseball. It’s an incredible opportunity to not only pour into these young people’s lives but also to influence and encourage local teachers. I am now headed on a train to a second camp where I’ll get to work with another school as well as network with a great teaching friend of mine. I’m so thankful God is providing more opportunities to serve in China and build relationships with this amazing people.”
Nathan (at right) with other “China” team members.
Nathan with His middle school students. The Youth with a Mission plan is still to plant churches in Japan, but Nathan is a Missionary/Evangelist to Asia with a special burden for China. It is officially closed to the gospel, but through things like education, future doors can be opened and opportunities to be light and life to the most populous nation on earth!
Thank you for your prayers and financial support for both Dea and Kathy and for Nathan’s ministry. God is opening doors in 2024, prophets are declaring. You are helping us to walk through those doors. We are indebted to you. God will bless you for it!
The 7 Trumpets
By Dea Warford
Prophecy teachers find in the Book of Revelation evidence for their theories as to the timing of the Lord’s return. But, of all available clues in John’s writings, none throw more light on the subject than the description of 7 trumpets that will sound in the last days of time. But first, we need to look at 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17:
“For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet (note that word “trumpet” which is the focus of our study today) of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.”
Probably no one reading this doubts that the above is speaking of the Lord’s return or the rapture. But, “rightly dividing the Word,” we must compare this with some of Paul’s other writings. First, though, we need to look at Revelation 8-11 which shows the things happening on Earth at the sounding of 7 different trumpets.
You can read it yourself and without going into great detail, here’s a quick look at the things that these angelic trump blasts will release on earth:
Trumpet 1 “…a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up” (8:7).
Trumpet 2 “…a third of the sea became blood; and a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed” (8:8, 9).
Trumpet 3 “…a third of the waters became wormwood; and many men died from the water, because it was made bitter” (8:10, 11).
Trumpet 4 “…a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars…and a third of the day did not shine” (8:12).
Trumpet 5 “…he opened the bottomless pit…locusts came upon the earth…to torment them for five months…” (9:2,3, 5).
Trumpet 6 “…four angels…were released to kill a third of mankind” (9:15).
There is little argument that these 6 trumpets announce judgments on earth which are part of the Great Tribulation. The debate is if the rapture is before, during, or after these trumpets are sounded. Here’s another teaching from Paul about the rapture in 1 Thess. 4:16, 17:
“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.”
Again, we know this is clearly speaking of the rapture of the church when we receive our new eternal bodies, both those who already died and are in heaven, and those of us still alive on Earth. But take note of two important phrases:
1 “I tell you a mystery” and
2 “at the last trumpet.”
There are only 7 trumpets mentioned in Revelation. The 7th one is the last and this is what John writes about that trumpet:
“…in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servant the prophets” (10:7).
Paul wrote about a mystery at Christ’s coming in 1 Thess. 4:16 and it is accompanied by a trumpet. Now, John says this 7th and “last trumpet” will finish the whole mystery of Christ’s return. This will be the end of the church age:
“Then the seventh angel sounded. And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of this world have become the kingdoms of our Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever” (11:15).
I remind you that all 7 trumpets are blown during the Great Tribulation. This is a time of judgment, and it is before the bowls of God’s wrath are poured out in chapters 15 and 17. 1 Peter 4:17 says:
“For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?”
It is fully consistent scripturally and historically for God’s people to be on Earth during bad times (i.e. Israel in Egyptian bondage, Christians and Jews in Nazi Germany, Believers killed by the millions in Mao’s China and Stalin’s Russia). “
Paul wrote about “the day of the Lord:’
“…the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night… But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief….You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness…For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess. 5:1-9).
The “day of the Lord” is not the 24-hr. period of the rapture, nor a 24-hr. day of a Second Coming. It describes an expanse of time which includes all the final dealings of God with His people and the planet. We thus can see the importance of not limiting the rapture to Revelation 4:1 or some other hidden text in Revelation. 14:14 talks about a harvest that sounds like the rapture (and it is smack dab in the middle of the Tribulation!): An angel crying with a loud voice said,
“Thrust in your sickle and reap, for the time has come for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe” (14:15).
Matt. 13:39 surely speaks of this: “the harvest is the end of the age and the reapers are the angels.”
Then there is another kind of harvest, not of believers, but unbelievers in 14:18, 19:
“Thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth…So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.”
Above, angels are removing the tares from the wheat as Jesus spoke in Matt. 13:30. Rev. 6:12-17 adds, parenthetically, (which proves arguably that Revelation is not written sequentially but rather in back-and-forth scenes throughout the last days). Here’s a final curtain dropped between many other Great Tribulation scenes:
“And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?’”
“…seven angels having seven last plagues for in them the wrath of God is complete.”
Stand? 7 last plagues? Since we’re “not appointed to wrath” we won’t be here! (If post-trib. folks are right, we’ll at least be supernaturally protected!). With us gone, there is not one mention of anybody getting saved during this time. In fact, it says more than once that despite these plagues on earth,
“…they did not repent” (16:9).
The marriage supper of the Lamb is reported by pretribulation teachers to take place after the rapture. Yet, it isn’t until well after the wrath is poured out, the Harlot of chapter 17 is revealed, and Babylon the Great is fallen in chapter 18, that an invitation is given:
“…the marriage of the Lamb has come and His wife has made herself ready…Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!” (19:7).
Confusing? No, just a mystery! Perry Stone, Jonathan Cahn, John Hagee, and, I confess, Dea Warford don’t know for sure about all these things. Just “make yourself ready” and obey Jesus:
“Watch and pray,; for you do not know when the time is” (Mark 13:33).