The Army of the Lord

After the Israelites passed Mount Sinai the Lord directed them to organize as an army in preparation for the invasion of Canaan.

In Bible typology, Mount Sinai is representative of the Jewish feast of Pentecost. The next feast after Pentecost is the Blowing of Trumpets-war, in other words. Thus in the type of the organizing of Israel into an army, and the feast of the Blowing of Trumpets, we see that the next event after Pentecost, after the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, is preparation for war.

We notice today that the choruses being sung are often on the subject of war. It is time for the Christian people to be organized into an army, the army of the Lord.

When the Lord Jesus returns with His saints they will be resisted by the armies of the wicked. Therefore they must return as a disciplined army-saints who are invincible because they already have died and been brought back to life in Christ.

Having been associated with Christian churches for over half a century it is my opinion that many of us older people will neither understand nor enter into what God is doing today. We have fought our fight to this point and now we are ready to let the next generation take over.

However, there may be a few Joshuas and Calebs among us who can make the transition from "Sweet Hour of Prayer" to "He Is the Living God." Perhaps you are such a person.

It is obvious to those who work with children that there is an unusual spirit of understanding on the younger generation. They are called to "go across Jordan."

Now what does this mean? It means they will be willing to leave their earthly nature, the worldliness, lust, and self-will, on the cross with Jesus and press forward until they lay hold on their life at the right hand of God. They will actually do what our generation has only talked about.

In America, at least, this spiritual maturing probably will take place during a period of great trouble. Our nation today is in a horrible condition before God. We can expect severe Divine judgment until we cease aborting babies and get rid of the filthy television shows with their endless emphasis on lust and marital infidelity.

We in America are as Sodom and Gomorrah and we can expect a similar destiny. God is not a respecter of persons.

It is my opinion that out of this cesspool of moral horrors God will prepare Christian warriors who once and for all will put Satan behind their back and press forward to the right hand of God in Heaven. Then we will see the conflict between God and Satan, and finally the return of the Lord with His mature saints to bring justice to the nations of the earth.

A terrible, wonderful future awaits us. Terrible for the ungodly and the hypocrites. Wonderful for those who love Jesus.

What is the true vision of the Day of the Lord?

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- A day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness. Like dawn spreading across the mountains a large and mighty army comes, such as never was of old nor ever will be in ages to come. (Joel 2:1,2-NIV)

A large and mighty army. A great people and a strong. This is the true nature of the return of Jesus Christ to the earth. He will not appear until these saints are ready to appear with Him. He must become their life-the life of each one of them without exception. There can be no Achans in this camp!

Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: "See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him." (Jude 1:14,15-NIV)

A careful study of the context of this passage from Jude will reveal that the "holy ones" will judge the hypocrites in the Christian churches. These will be the first to be dealt with by the army of the Lord.

This is why the trumpet is blown in Zion. This is why fearfulness surprises the hypocrites.

The sinners in Zion are terrified; trembling grips the godless: "Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?" (Isaiah 33:14-NIV)

It is the sinners in Zion, in the churches, who will experience terror at the coming of the Lord. There will be trembling and a rupture rather than a hilarious "rapture." Only those who are walking in iron righteousness, fiery holiness, and stern obedience to the Father can dwell with the consuming fire.

When the Lord Jesus appears His saints will appear with Him.

On the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you. (II Thessalonians 1:10-NIV)

When the Lord appears from Heaven His name will be "Faithful and True." To be faithful and true is to have integrity. Those who ride with the Lord also will have integrity. There will be no church foolishness and deviousness, immorality, covetousness, seeking of preeminence, gossip, slander, malice, in this army. These are a kind of Christian we are not always accustomed to.

I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. (Revelation 19:11-14-NIV)

The fine linen is the righteous behavior of the saints-behavior that reflects the formation of Christ in their personalities.

At their faces the hypocrites of the churches and the wicked of the earth will be horror stricken, realizing that the game is over. Judgment has come and it knows no favorites.

But the meek of the earth will come with rejoicing, bringing their children with them to present to the Lord. What a day for the righteous, as justice has finally come to them. What a nightmare of agony for those who have lived for their own pleasure on the earth, harming other people in order to secure their own comfort and satisfaction.

The day of reckoning has arrived, administered by the saints.

May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands, to inflict vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples, to bind their kings with fetters, their nobles with shackles of iron, to carry out the sentence written against them. This is the glory of all his saints. Praise the LORD. (Psalms 149:6-9-NIV)