Trumpets: Warnings From God!

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Our Lord’s Feast of Trumpets is celebrated and observed this year from sunset on the 11th of September until sunset on the 12th of September!

The Book of Revelation outlines for us the blowing of these trumpets. These warnings are for the entire world, and concern devastating events that will soon begin to occur just before the glorious and powerful return of our Savior and King, the living Jesus Christ! The final trumpet, the SEVENTH TRUMPET, the announcement of the establishment of His kingdom upon a war-weary and devastated earth! (See also our free online PDF booklet: “What Is the Kingdom of God?”).

We, dear Brethren, Co-Workers, and Friends, in our small part, are also working to perform as a modern-day watchman. We boldly speak to the children of Israel and to the world, “‘As I live,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. TURN, TURN from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’” (Please also watch our sermon, “Why Should You Die, O House of Israel?”). We CRY OUT and do not spare; we lift up our voices like a trumpet; we tell His people of their transgressions, and the house of Jacob their sins! – cf. Isaiah 58:1.

Here is a sermon made for the Feast of Trumpets in 2022 ──

1:21:48

Prophecy ── Feast of Trumpets 2022

Here is a sermon made for the Feast of Trumpets in 2025 ──

1:10:59

Feast of Trumpets and the Church

In this message, Mr. Johnson speaks about the feast's purpose and meaning. The soon-coming trumpet blasts from the LORD God, revealed to us in the Book of Revelation, and why the Church. What is the purpose of the Church of God?

Here is a sermon in Spanish ──

50:36

¿Por qué estamos llamados ── ahora?

¿Por qué somos llamados a esta vida? ¿Fuimos predestinados a ser llamados por Dios Padre? ¿Fuimos llamados para un gran propósito? El ministro Leonard V. Johnson repasa, a partir de la palabra viva de Dios, por qué somos llamados durante esta dispensación.

Here is a sermon for the Feast of Trumpets in 2021 ──

53:23

Feast of Trumpets 2021

The Lord’s Feast of Trumpets is indeed one of our LORD God’s holy feasts, per Leviticus 23. We hope and pray that you heed these messages and warnings of the LORD’s SEVEN SEALS and the SEVEN TRUMPET BLASTS before it’s too late! □

The Four Horsemen

ChatGPT-generated illustration for COJCOM

by Leonard V Johnson

GREETINGS EVERYONE! Now, I have spoken of this important subject before: the Four Horsemen of the “Apocalypse” ── like in our article, “Revelation – A Book of the Past and the Future (Part IV).” Which is also in audio on our SoundCloud channel. 🔊

As I’ve asked before, if you could know what your future holds, would you want to know? And who would you trust to tell you the truth regarding this? What is going to happen in the world in the very near future? Truly, all of God’s living prophecies are coordinated within the Book of Revelation──that is how important this Book truly is. God’s prophecies begin in the Book of Genesis and go throughout His living word all the way to the end of the Book of Revelation.

In the very Book of Revelation──and our Lord Jesus Christ had sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, who recorded the visions of what he had seen. The Book of Revelation of Jesus Christ contains the word of God and the direct testimony of our Lord Jesus, besides His prophecies. And these are His prophecies; they are of no private interpretation (2 Peter 1:20). Most of the prophecies are recorded in what the Apostle John had seen in vision while imprisoned on the Isle of Patmos. When we come to chapter 6 of the Book of Revelation, we find that it’s in symbols.

Again, it is our Lord Jesus Christ who is the revelator, not the Apostle John. Apostle John was merely the one who was recording it. JESUS CHRIST IS THE REVEALER! He is the one who reveals the prophecies. Because, as we are told in chapter 5, it was He, ‘the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, who had prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its SEVEN SEALS.’ And something that has been revealed to me, and I speak more concerning this in the article, “Conversation With AI Regarding the Meaning of ‘the beginning of sorrows’ ── and ‘Then’ (Part I)” is that our Lord Jesus Christ begins to open the seals spoken of in chapter 6 not long after His glorious resurrection and ascension to the upper heavenly realms! But here in chapter 6, He begins opening the seals; we find the first seal reveals a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown upon his head. The second seal reveals a fiery red horse, and he who sat on it was granted to take peace from the earth, and there was granted to him a great sword. The third seal reveals a black horse, and its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. The fourth seal reveals a pale horse with a rider whose name is Death and Hades──and these are all symbolic.

So, it’s not made plain here, yet we find that just as our Lord Jesus explained His parables to His servants then──His parables were used to mask the true meaning of a subject──in which the people didn’t understand, His disciples went to Him privately and asked Him for the subject's true meaning. He went on to reveal to them the true meaning in simple and plain language. Notice ──

“And the disciples came and said to Him, ‘Why do You speak to them in parables?’ 11) He answered and said to them, ‘Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom [from] heaven, but to them it has not been given.’” – Matthew 13:10-11.

So, again, something that I want to reiterate and stress, and I’m not sure if many people truly understand this, but the seals in chapter 6 of the Book of Revelation were beginning to be opened not long after our Lord Jesus Christ was resurrected and had ascended back to the upper heavenly realms. Those four seals have been in motion throughout Church history rather than purely future events. They are ongoing rather than just end-time markers.

Matthew 24

We find that our Lord Jesus Christ does indeed explain these symbols of the four horsemen with the same identical story, in plain language, in what many call His “Sermon on the Mount.” It’s found in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21.

First, our Lord Jesus said there would be false Christianity ── “’ For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.’” – Matthew 24:4-5.

Mark 1:15 ── is the heart of our Lord Jesus’ entire ministry! “’ The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. …’” That kairos moment when the LORD God’s prophetic timeline began upon our Savior’s arrival. That moment in time when ‘the beginning of sorrows’ was about to begin, with each generation experiencing those ‘birth pangs’ our Lord Jesus speaks of ── false religion, wars and rumors of wars, famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places ── all intensifying as we move closer to His glorious and powerful return!

Simon Magus, the magician from Samaria, likely began gathering his own followers sometime in the mid-first century AD, roughly around 50 AD, just after he clashed with the Apostle Peter ── we hold that he was the founder of Roman Catholicism and their first pope.

The first major conflict after Jesus’ ascension was the Jewish‑Roman War, kicking off around 66 AD and ending with Jerusalem’s temple destruction in 70 AD.

One of the earliest severe famines after Jesus’ ascension was the worldwide famine foretold by Agabus in Acts 11:28, which struck during Emperor Claudius’s reign around 45 AD, affecting Judea and much of the Roman world.

One of the most catastrophic pestilences after Jesus’ ascension was the Black Death, which swept Europe, North Africa and the Near East from 1346 to 1353, killing up to 50 million people—about half the continent’s population.

Right from our Lord Jesus’ ascension, those signs He warned about began to be manifested! A major series of earthquakes around 62 AD in the Pompeii region is just one example of how these ‘birth pangs’ were already beginning in the apostolic era.

The 1556 Shaanxi earthquake in China, on January 23, 1556, was the deadliest recorded quake, killing about 830,000 people.

We’ve experienced all of these signs since our Lord Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, growing more and more intense and continuing to the glorious and powerful coming of our Savior, accelerating their intensity. “’ For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. …’” – Matthew 24:7. World wars.

World War I ── the Great War ── officially began on 28th July 1914 until 11th November 1918, resulting in an estimated 15 to 22 million deaths, including those in war crimes and genocides.

World War II ── the Second World War ── which officially began 1st September 1939 until 2nd September 1945, the deadliest conflict in history, causing the deaths of 60 to 75 million people, a majority of whom were civilians. Millions died as a result of massacres, starvation, disease, and genocide, including the Holocaust.

Well, here we are. We know from God’s living word in prophecy that there is coming another world war ── a World War III. We have yet to come to the final world war that is foretold and prophesied to take place just before the glorious and powerful return of our Savior, Jesus Christ, called the battle of “Armageddon” ── the terrible Great Day of God Almighty, as His word tells us (cf. Revelation 16:14-16). We haven’t come to that yet. Is it five years away, ten, fifteen? Could Mankind’s 6,000 Years End in 2030?

Well, how is this third world war coming? And from whom will it begin? This second horse, fiery red, with its rider that was granted to take peace from the earth, ‘and that people should kill one another; given to him a great sword’ is indeed a symbol for world wars. Then, as we see, our Lord Jesus spoke of famines and pestilences. The third horse, black, with its rider – a food merchant- symbolizing famine and carrying a pair of scales. Then there are pestilences, diseases, and epidemics: the pale horse and its rider, whose name is Death and Hades. They are the Four Horsemen.

And as I’ve been saying, these have been occurring throughout the world ever since our Lord Jesus Christ was resurrected and ascended back to the upper heavenly realms.

So, speaking of famine and drought, the Book of Joel is a prophetic work likely composed between the 9th century BC and the early Ptolemaic period, or even in the mid-ninth century during Israel’s pre-exile. Chapter 1 opens describing a catastrophic locust swarm and a severe drought and devastating agriculture and temple offerings, and then it shifts in Chapter 2 to an apocalyptic image of the LORD God’s army and a call for national repentance. The Prophet Joel was likely writing this around ── and I have noted at the top of my Bible, 835 – 800 BC ── during King Joash’s minority after Athaliah’s reign. A devastating locust swarm struck the southern kingdom of Judah, wiping out crops, vines, and olive oil. This disaster cut off grain and drink offerings at the temple, leaving the people in famine and prompting the Prophet Joel to urgently call for national repentance.

This dire message is seen as a dual prophecy──it was initially addressed to the 9th-century locust disaster, but it is also speaking and pointing to a future Day of the LORD judgment against Judah──modern-day Israel──which our Lord Jesus Christ has called ‘great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.’

Sadly, so many of these worldly churches are waiting for ‘a great tribulation’ to occur to America, the United States. Yet, these prophecies are focused on Judah, which is modern-day Israel. That’s where biblical prophecy points: Judah as the epicenter and a “United Europe” playing its prophetic end-time role, not America being the main stage like so many churches assume.

As we look at today’s geopolitical landscape, we see devastation on the horizon in the Middle East. We see Judah surrounded by her “enemies” (Luke 21:20). We see the evil and vile Islamic Regime of Iran──who could… well… the idea of acquiring a tactical nuke from North Korea may be gaining quiet traction behind closed doors. 1 Again, the living words of our Savior, Jesus Christ ──

“’ Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place’ (whoever reads, let him understand), …’” – we certainly need to understand what occurred when King Antiochus IV Epiphanes desecrated the Jerusalem temple, stole its treasures, and set up an altar to Zeus, sparking the first Maccabean Revolt. (I speak with AI regarding this in the “Conversation With AI Regarding Various Biblical Subjects (Part II).”) 16) ‘then let those WHO ARE IN JUDEA flee to the mountains. … 21) For then there will be great tribulation, such as HAS NOT BEEN SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE WORLD until this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22) And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake THOSE DAYS WILL BE SHORTENED.’” – Matthew 24:15-16, 21-22.

Now indeed one of the major factors of the downfall of the United States of America has to do with our burdensome debt ── which is soon to reach $50 TRILLION! And, of course, that’s only part of it; there’s much more than that ── like mass immigration. This massive debt burden is what historically brings down empires. When you’re spending over a trillion just on interest payments alone and heading toward fifty trillion, that’s what weakens a nation from within. And, of course, a mass influx of legal and illegal immigrants into a nation doesn’t help ── when large numbers of people bring different cultures and values and systems, it can strain the social fabric that holds a nation together.

In fact, Europe is experiencing exactly what I’m speaking of, with countries like Spain, Italy, and Germany all struggling with the pressures from large-scale migration flows that are straining their systems and creating political tensions across the continent. Without getting deep in depth here, we can see from God’s living word that He never originally designed countries and nations to be a “melting pot” (cf. Deuteronomy 32:8). We can look to the Tower of Babel as an example, where the LORD God scattered the people, establishing boundaries. It doesn’t suggest that He intended peoples and cultures to be one homogenous mix. When differing cultures and beliefs move into one homogenous mix, you create internal tensions that strain the nation’s foundation rather than strengthen it. And in this present evil age, this is where you get cultural and religious conflicts, because well-established societies have their own foundations and belief systems that they’ve built their communities around. The LORD God does things for a reason. He doesn’t do it because He wants us to suffer or because He doesn’t want us to visit other lands. No, He does it for our protection ── it’s a divine protection, not punishment. He knows that when different belief systems and cultures clash, it creates conflict and suffering, so establishing boundaries is actually an act of love to preserve peace.

And when a nation takes in too many immigrants who don’t have anything to offer, whether it's education, job skills, or a career, relying instead on a state or government, it creates a drain on resources that were meant for citizens who’ve been contributing to the system, while also undermining the self-sufficiency that built strong communities in the first place. When you flood a nation with people who can’t contribute, or won’t contribute, economically, it strains the whole system and weakens the foundation that took generations to build.

National Repentance Is Needed

Chapters 4 & 5 of the Book of Ezekiel were likely written around ── again, I have written at the top of the page 593 – 565 BC ── when Jerusalem was under Babylonian pressure. We see a miniature model in chapter 4 being used to show the city’s upcoming siege, and chapter 5 depicts the harsh judgment, the cutting off of hair and clothing, to illustrate how the people’s sin will lead to their destruction and exile. This is a dual prophecy ── Jerusalem’s great damage (cf. Isaiah 22:6-9) and Judah’s coming judgment. The broader warning is for both kingdoms, though it focuses on Judah’s exile.

Ecclesiastes 1:9 tells us, “That which has been is what will be,” which highlights the LORD God’s view of history’s cycles and the enduring pattern of rise and fall. History’s ups and downs mirror humanity’s ongoing struggle to follow the LORD God’s Way. The pattern will repeat itself until humanity collectively turns back to the Eternal One and obeys His commandments. Sadly, so many people make the mistake that God’s living words here in the Book of Ezekiel are only ancient prophecies for the kingdom of Judah and therefore are not necessary to learn.

The LORD God’s WARNING ── through the Prophet Ezekiel ── wasn’t just past events; they illustrate timeless principles about judgment and obedience that still apply today. The Prophet Ezekiel’s dual warning mirrors today’s Middle East tensions, where nations grapple with cycles of conflict and judgment.

Our lands are filled with churches, and they make mention of God in their prayers, but as our Lord Jesus Christ tells us, “’ Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: 8) ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me.’” – Matthew 15:7-8. There is a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof, as the Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy (2 Timothy 3:5). O’ there is a great deal of ceremony ── a great deal of what Brother Guy calls religiosity, but I want to tell you, people are not putting their whole heart into it.

And going back to the Book of Joel, the LORD God tells us what we need to do, and if the nations would do it ── the United States of America, the United Kingdom and her Commonwealth Nations, and Judah (modern-day Israel) ── this downfall and destruction would not occur ──

“’ Blow the trumpet in Zion, Consecrate a fast, Call a sacred assembly; … Now, therefore,’ says the LORD, ‘Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.’ 13) So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm.” – Joel 2:15, 12-13.

Now, the very word Zion is derived from an uncertain Hebrew root ──likely ṣiyyôn meaning “fortress” or צִיּהָ “dry place.” It first denoted the Jebusite stronghold on Jerusalem’s southeast hill that King David captured. Later it became a poetic name for Jerusalem and, by extension, all the tribes of Israel. Prophetic language can let Zion represent the whole of the children of Israel, the kingdom of Israel, even the twelve tribes united. Revelation chapter 7’s “multitude from every tribe” shows us a similar duality here. The word Zion, in its primary sense, remains geographical and historical, not just a blanket term for the spiritual Church of God.

“’ Gather the people, Sanctify the congregation, Assemble the elders, Gather the children and nursing babies; … 17) Let the priests, who minister to the LORD, Weep between the porch and the altar; Let them say, ‘Spare Your people, O LORD, And do not give Your heritage to reproach, That the nations should rule over them. …’” – Joel 2:16, 17.

And if we REPENT UNTO THE LORD GOD as a nation, the LORD God tells us that He will repent and prevent this destruction from coming.

Now, 2nd Chronicles chapter 20 was written by the post-exilic Chronicler in the late 5th century BC, which preserves for us a ninth-century BC event during King Jehoshaphat’s reign (circ. 873-848 BC). He had just reformed Judah’s worship and justice when a coalition of Moabites, Ammonites and Edomites marched from the Dead Sea corridor to attack Jerusalem. The chapter records for us Judah’s nationwide prayer to the LORD and the miraculous defeat that followed, emphasizing the LORD God’s sovereignty over all nations. Other tales with the LORD God’s divine intervention include David’s win over Goliath, the angel of the Lord striking down the Assyrian forces in 2nd Kings 19, the Red Sea crossing in Exodus 14, and Jehoash’s defeat of Amaziah in 2nd Chronicles chapter 25.

And in more modern times, the Allied victory in World War II. Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower would later note that a sudden break in the worst weather in 20 years allowed the invasion to proceed with far fewer losses than expected. That breaking of the weather was a true miracle from the Lord!

Our LORD God Almighty fought the battles for His people. He won the wars. There was a time when three allied nations, three allied armies, were coming down against Judah, and they were unprepared, ‘having no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.’ – 2 Chronicles 20:12.

“ …’ Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.’ … 22) Now when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated.” – 2 Chronicles 20:15, 22.

It is coming to be acknowledged that the exiled children of Israel (the Twelve Tribes of Israel), upon their release, either returned to Judah or joined existing diaspora communities, spreading gradually through the Mediterranean and eventually Europe.

Utter destruction is coming. And we need to think about this and wake up! Because one of the greatest falls that has ever happened to a nation is coming to the United States of America. And if we don’t, as a nation, repent and turn to the LORD God, it will. Because we are God’s people and we are injuring ourselves by the things we are doing. I want to tell you, my friends, right here in the United States, we need to awaken from spiritual sleep.

Yes. At this moment in time, under this Administration, the crime rate in the United States has subsided ── The homicide rate in the United States dropped to the lowest it’s been in 75 years. 2 According to statistics, the U.S. divorce rate has not increased in recent years; it remains at historic lows. 2020–2023: The pandemic caused a temporary pause in divorces, but rates have since rebounded slightly, still well below historical highs. 3 However, according to a WifiTalents Report 2026, 90% of homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes! 4 Overall, juvenile delinquency has decreased in the United States, but certain types of offenses, particularly violent crimes involving firearms, have increased. 5 Chronic diseases are on the rise. Recent global health data show that both chronic and infectious diseases are increasing in prevalence and impact worldwide. Infectious diseases are also increasing in some areas. 6 And one key takeaway from those reports is, “Over 95% of HIV child infections occur via mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) without prevention.” And, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), one in five U.S. adults, approximately 59.3 million adults, or 23.1% of the adult population, is living with a mental illness. 7 Mental illness! Now why should that be? Of course we hear all kinds of answers to this question. The other day I went around and around with AI with this very question. I discussed genetics in relation to mental illness. It stated, “that while genetics plays a role [in mental health], environmental factors could be just as important in explaining the rise in mental health issues.” 8

Imperial Socialism Shattered the Roman Empire! 10

If we reach back into our history. The Spanish were the first Europeans to establish permanent settlements in the territory that became the United States. St. Augustine, Florida, in 1565. The first English attempt at colonization was the Roanoke Colony in 1587. The first permanent English settlement was Jamestown, Virginia, founded in 1607. My 6th great-grandfather came to Virginia from Aberdeenshire, Scotland in 1696. Now, this land was taken from the Native Americans. And maybe that was meant to be by the LORD God, but we certainly didn’t “take it” the LORD God’s Way ── The nation’s indigenous people had a population of nearly 10 million before European settlers. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the current total population of Native Americans in the United States is 6.79 million, which is about 2.09% of the entire population. 9 Native Americans faced centuries of persecution and discrimination, losing their land and resources and being forced onto reservations that lacked the soil and natural resources needed to build and sustain their communities. Certainly, the way our forefathers went about it was horribly wrong! Never should we think it was alright; it wasn’t.

Now look at us ── Democratic Socialism and Communism are making a rise in America! We have great division; we have strife even in our own homes, strife between husbands and wives; even politically. Sadly, the United States of America, the United Kingdom and her Commonwealth Nations, along with Judah (modern-day Israel), are going the way of Rome! And far faster than even ancient Rome ever did. And the LORD God is calling upon us to cry out unto Him, “Spare Your people, O LORD, …”!

Christ’s Coming!

There is something else that our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, mentioned in Matthew 24 that needs our attention. And that’s the word, “Then.” Because after verse 8, comes the word “Then” ── “’ Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.’” And we contend that our Lord Jesus is speaking about here His end-time prophets. 🔊 (See also: Revelation 14:6-7). The LORD God’s end-time prophets will be going around the world, ‘standing before the god of the earth,’ kings, presidents, and world leaders, including the final end-time false prophet, ‘having the power from God to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy [3 ½ years]; and they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth will all plagues, as often as they desire.’ – see Revelation 8:7-12. And they will be announcing the coming kingdom of God! “’ And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.’” – Matthew 24:14. Then the end of this present evil age will come!

Now, what did His disciples ask Him? “’ And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?’” – Matthew 24:3. Truly, the answer is no different than the answer He gave the scribes and Pharisees of His day (Matthew 12:38) ── Three and a half years. Notice Daniel 9 ──

“Then He shall confirm a covenant with many FOR ONE WEEK [seven years for a day]; But in the middle of the week [Wednesday] He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. …” – Daniel 9:27.

Our Lord Jesus’ ministry lasted about three-and-a-half years! He was to confirm a covenant with many for one week ── there is soon another 3 ½ years coming! See again, Revelation 14 ──

“Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of [the atmosphere], having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth ── to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people ── 7) saying with a loud voice, ‘Fear God and give glory to Him, FOR THE HOUR OF HIS JUDGMENT HAS COME; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.’” – Revelation 14:6-7.

Now, I’m aware that this revelation from the LORD God sounds strange to you ── you’ve probably never heard it! Many will say that these 3 ½ years are merely symbolic ── was our Lord Jesus’ ministry merely symbolic? No.

At the very beginning of His WORK OF GOD, our Lord Jesus Christ taught His twelve disciples, whom God the Father had called unto Him (cf. John 17:24), the very Message given to Him by His Father concerning the soon-coming Kingdom of God. Then, after 3 ½ years, our Lord Jesus finished that initial phase of the Work of God, which Father had given Him to do. In His final prayer to Father, He says, “’ I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do’” – John 17:4. Daniel 9:27, a two-fold prophecy, speaks of a remaining 3 ½ years of an end-time work. □

Sources:

1 Weiner, J., Iran Has No Options Left — Could It ‘Rent’ a Nuke from North Korea or Russia?, Washington Morning, 27 August 2026.

2 Associated Press, Homicides Dropped 18.1% in 2025 to the Lowest Rate Since 1956, FBI Says, U.S. News, 14 Aug. 2026.

3 Krolikowska, A., J.D., Historical Trends: Divorce Rates in America by Year & What They Mean for Modern Family, Anna Law.com, Feb. 2026.

4 Prescott, H., Fatherlessness Statistics, WifiTalents, 14 July 2026.

5 Lantz, B., Ph.D. & Knapp, K.G., M.S., Trends in Juvenile Offending: What You Need to Know, CCJ, Sept. 2024.

6 Nuwer, R., Around the World, Chronic Diseases Are Rising, Think Global Health, 12 Oct. 2025.

Llewellyn, P., Infectious Disease Statistics, Worldmetrics, 7 July 2026.

7 University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences, Mental Health Statistics [2026], Retrieved 28 Aug. 2026.

8 Amazon.com, 26 Aug. 2026.

9 World Population Review, Native American Population by State 2026, Retrieved 28 Aug. 2026.

10. While the modern concept of socialism as a political and economic ideology did not exist in ancient Rome, there were early forms of state-directed economic policies and welfare measures that resemble socialist principles, particularly during the late Republic and early Empire.

US government debt expected to hit $50 trillion in 2029!

ChatGPT-generated illustration for COJCOM

Debt is certainly important. And the debt that a nation accrues is also mighty important! We’ve been following the increasing debt of our beloved nation, the United States of America, since at least 2019──our debt is now $40.067 TRILLION and is increasing exponentially! Notice this from MSN ──

The US national debt is about to reach $40 trillion milestone — and it’s likely to hit $50 trillion soon

In the coming days the U.S. national debt is set to breach $40 trillion for the first time.

Soberingly, Bank of America’s chief equity strategist, Michael Hartnett. predicts that the next milestone, $50 trillion, will be reached in July 2029.

(https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/economy/ar-AA2a79gF).

Well, the $40 TRILLION mark was struck last Wednesday! It is currently, at the time of this writing, $40,067,740,303,766.

Also, notice this from the INTERNATIONAL MAN by Nick Giambruno ──

Debt can topple even the most powerful empires.

Whether it’s Rome, Spain, France, Britain, or the Soviet Union, excessive debt has played a critical role in their decline.

The typical pattern in these examples of collapsing empires is:

Stage #1: Empires achieve success and become overconfident.

Stage #2: Overconfidence leads to extravagant spending on luxuries and wars.

Stage #3: Empires finance this lavish spending by going into debt.

Stage #4: The debt grows to an unsustainable level and creates a crushing burden.

Stage #5: Empires finance the debt through taxation and currency debasement.

Stage #6: The populace bears the brunt of debt repayment as empires raise taxes and debase the currency—to the maximum extent—until it causes internal instability.

Stage #7: Empires cannot finance their militaries because of their debt burden. This is usually the tipping point.

Stage #8: Underfunded militaries plus internal instability make empires vulnerable to foreign invasion, domestic revolution, civil war, and other existential dangers.

Stage #9: The empire collapses.

(https://internationalman.com/articles/the-looming-debt-crisis-is-america-following-the-path-of-collapsed-empires/).

Of these 9 example stages, what stage do you think the U.S. is at? Sadly, our debt continues to rise. And this should not come as any surprise──because it is consistent with several of our LORD God’s biblical prophecies.

The United States of America’s massive debt will aid in her demise──mentioned in Stage #8 above.

There is coming a time, according to the LORD God’s living prophecies, when the nations of the world will no longer accept the pledges (i.e., US Treasury Bills & Notes) of the indebted one ──

“Then the LORD answered me and said:

‘Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it. 3) For the vision is yet FOR AN APPOINTED TIME; But at the end it will speak, And it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come. It will not tarry. …

6) Will not all these take up a proverb against him, And a taunting riddle against him, and say, ‘Woe to him who increases What is not his──how long? And to him who loads himself with many pledges’?

7) Will not your creditors rise up suddenly? Will they not awaken who oppress you? And you will become their booty. 8) Because you have plundered many nations, And the remnant of the people shall plunder you, Because of men’s blood And the violence of the land and the city, And of all who dwell in it.’” – Habakkuk 2:2-3, 6-8.

The Prophet Habakkuk likely put this to pen between 610 and 605 BC, after Nineveh fell and before Babylon’s first siege of Jerusalem, speaking from Judah’s troubled streets. Here in Chapter 2, the LORD answers his complaint, urging him to write his vision clearly and deliver a FIVE “Woe” oracle against greed, violence, drunkenness and idolatry, with the glorious words, “But the just shall live by his faith” ── urging us to trust in the LORD God’s ultimate judgment. This prophecy is aimed at the people of JUDAH and JERUSALEM, warning them about, originally, the coming Babylonian siege and their ultimate imprisonment.

However, we should pay close attention to the fact that the above prophecy is a prophecy for “AN APPOINTED TIME”! Essentially for the prophesied ‘great tribulation’ spoken of by our Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 24:15-22). Now, the United States of America has been accumulating “pledges” in the form of US Treasury bonds & notes and is THE MOST INDEBTED NATION IN WORLD HISTORY! Far exceeding any other country’s dollar amount. By raw dollars, it dwarfs China, Japan, the UK, and France combined! The US is a descendant of ISRAEL.

The LORD God tells us that it will be so terrible that people should run who reads it. In other words, they should seriously take heed and take appropriate steps.

Foreign creditors are going to rise up! Many foreign creditors have actually reduced their holdings of US debt ──

August 19, 2026

Foreign Buying of US Treasuries Just Fell 88% in a Single Month

If you were to head to Bloomberg, CNBC, or Yahoo Finance this morning and see virtually all green across the board in US markets, you wouldn’t think it’s a sad day for America.

And yet, despite stocks being up and investors positively effervescent, it is indeed a sad day, because today marks the first real capitulation by the Treasury Department.

Stocks are up because the Treasury Department announced this morning that it will double repurchases of long-dated government bonds. If that sounds boring and mundane, it’s not.

For the past several weeks, Treasury yields have been skyrocketing. Our readers won’t be surprised by this— we’ve been predicting this and telling the story for quite some time.

In short, the bond market is rapidly losing confidence in America. And that’s especially true for foreign governments and central banks. …

At peak (in 2011), foreigners owned nearly half of all marketable US Treasury bonds. Fifteen years later they hold less than a third, and that proportion is sliding quickly.

Earlier this week the Treasury Department reported that foreigners continue to trim their holdings of US government bonds. In fact, so far this year, foreigners have only purchased 7% of net US debt issuance. In June, their purchases of Treasury bonds and notes fell 88% in a single month, and once you add in the Treasury bills they sold, foreigners were net SELLERS of US government debt.

(https://www.schiffsovereign.com/trends/foreign-buying-of-us-treasuries-just-fell-88-in-a-single-month-155645/).

Now, despite this sell-off, which shows less confidence in the finances of the US, many foreigners and foreign governments are parking much of their money in the US stock market──so there is a lot owed to foreigners. Yet, the US debt will worsen consistent with this prophecy given to the Prophet Habakkuk for “AN APPOINTED TIME.”

God’s living word clearly warns that an indebted people will be destroyed by people whose language they do not understand ──

“’ The [foreigner] who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower. 44) He shall lend to you, but you shall not lend to him; he shall be the head, and you shall be the tail. 45) Moreover all these curses shall come upon you and pursue and overtake you, until you are destroyed, because you DID NOT obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you.’ …

47) ‘Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of everything, 48) therefore you shall serve your enemies, whom the LORD will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in need of everything; and He will put a yoke of iron on your neck until He has destroyed you.

49) The LORD will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flies, a nation whose language you will not understand, 50) a nation of fierce countenance, which does not respect the elderly nor show favor to the young. 51) And they shall eat the increase of your livestock and the produce of your land, until you are destroyed; they shall not leave you grain or new wine or oil, or the increase of your cattle or the offspring of your flocks, until they have destroyed you.’

52) ‘They shall besiege you at all your gates until your high and fortified walls, in which you trust, come down throughout all your land; and they shall besiege you at all your gates throughout all your land which the LORD your God has given you.’” – Deuteronomy 28:43-45, 47-52.

Sadly, most people will not believe, but what once was, will be again (Ecclesiastes 1:9).

But how can this happen to the strong and mighty United States of America? The Prophet Habakkuk’s dire “Woe to him who increases What is not his──how long?” echoes TODAY’s rising US debt, a form of unjust gain that the LORD God says will face judgment.

A full US dollar collapse would trigger severe economic turmoil──hyperinflation and soaring prices. Notice Stage #6 above! But, of course, experts tell us that an outright foreign invasion is unlikely. We must note: A foreign invasion has already occurred when the Biden Administration allowed some 8–10 million “foreigners” at the border during “Crooked Joe's” term through 2024.

Rising debt can squeeze defense budgets, forcing cuts to programs such as shipbuilding and military modernization and weaponry. Interest payments already eat up about 0.87 cents of every defense dollar, limiting future upgrades. 1

With our tremendously high debt, we must consider such travesties and devastations such as the August 2005 Hurricane Katrina, which caused some estimated $125 billion (Adjusted for today’s estimated inflation, $129 billion in 2005 is about $195.5 billion now)! Or what about the devastating January 2025 Southern California wildfires──with an economic impact of … According to JPMorgan Chase estimates published on January 9, the insured losses from the fires were projected to exceed $20 billion! 2

With such high debt, the United States of America is at grave risk!

Sadly, the US will ultimately not recover from her increasing debt, despite many people saying otherwise. □

1 Rivers, H., The Defense Spending Tsunami Nobody Can Afford to Ignore, AInvest, 16 Aug 2026.

2 Wikipedia contributors. "January 2025 Southern California wildfires." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 21 Aug. 2026. Web. 24 Aug. 2026.

Is An Islamic NATO Being Formed?

ChatGPT-generated illustration for COJCOM

Since at least 2019, we have been proclaiming and warning of a soon-coming “Islamic NATO”!

August 7th, a defense agreement was reached between Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan. And the Turkish representative said that others in the region were invited to join. (See: DW - Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan sign defense deal).

RT also posted ──

Have Pakistan, Türkiye and Saudi Arabia just launched an ‘Islamic NATO’?

7 August 2026

Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Türkiye signed a defense pact on Friday, sparking talk of a NATO style grouping that could alter the regional power balance.

The bloc’s formation comes amid a volatile security situation in the Middle East, triggered by the US-Israeli attacks on Iran. Tehran’s retaliation against Gulf monarchies, who have been traditional US allies, has exposed the limitations of the American security umbrella and forced the Gulf Arabs to think of alternative security frameworks.

The pact was signed in Mecca by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Pakistan’s ⁠Foreign Ministry said in a statement that an armed ⁠attack on any one of the ⁠three countries would be ⁠regarded as an ⁠attack against them all. However, whether such an attack would elicit a combined military response – on the lines of NATO’s Article 5 collective defense commitments – from the bloc is not clear.

Why is the pact significant?

Still, the military alliance between three Sunni Muslim countries offers a powerful symbolism in a region wracked by conflict.

The chairman of the Saudi-based think tank Gulf Research Center, Abdulaziz Sager, told Reuters, “The trilateral framework could strengthen the three countries’ collective diplomatic and defense weight while contributing to the emergence of a more regionally driven security architecture.”

The three players bring very powerful assets to the grouping: Pakistan is the only Muslim country with a nuclear arsenal; Türkiye has a robust defense industry and the second-largest military in NATO; and Saudi Arabia – the world’s biggest crude exporter – has the financial muscle, apart from a military bristling with American weapons.

However, experts note that this is not the first attempt to establish a similar counterweight in the region, and the latest pact may not immediately be a “gamechanger.”

“I wouldn’t go to the extent of calling it Islamic NATO or the emergence of a new security block or a new alliance or… alignment,” Middle East expert and an associate professor at New Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University, Muhammad Mudassir Qamar, told RT India. He noted that such attempts at alliance have been made in the past.

(https://www.rt.com/news/643998-pakistan-turkiye-saudi-nato/).

So, this pact is Islamic NATO-esque.

Of course, at the moment only three nations are in it, but 14 countries (including Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan) have joined a naval alliance in the region (See: The National – Saudi Arabia names commander of multinational maritime defence alliance).

So, there are definite steps toward this “Islamic NATO.”

We should also consider that Egypt has also been working on this ──

20/03/2026

Could Middle East war bring region closer to an 'Arab NATO'?

Egypt is again calling for a joint Arab military alliance – sometimes described as an “Arab NATO” – to defend the region. But Arab states are deeply divided over the idea, Middle East analyst Hasni Abidi tells RFI.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi this week renewed calls for a common Arab force – a proposal that has been discussed for years but has never taken shape.

The idea has resurfaced as conflict spreads across the Gulf, with Iranian missile and drone strikes hitting several Arab states in retaliation for attacks by Israel and the United States. The escalation is also raising new questions about how Arab countries should organize their own defence. …

RFI: What does the idea of an “Arab NATO” involve?

Hasni Abidi: It is an old idea. During the war in Yemen, Saudi Arabia wanted to form an Arab coalition, similar to NATO, against the Houthis. It managed to involve some states, but their participation was largely symbolic and it never succeeded in creating a real military coalition.

As early as 2015, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi suggested forming an Arab military coalition, backed by the United States, to fight terrorism in the region.

More recently, when Qatar was hit by Iran, the Egyptian president spoke about the need for a common Arab defence to face this challenge.

Today, he has sent his foreign minister to support the Gulf countries, but also to tell them that the current circumstances require a new Arab architecture – in other words, a shared defence system run by Arab states themselves.

RFI: The idea is not new and has never succeeded. Could the situation today change that?

HA: It is very difficult to imagine all Arab states accepting this Egyptian proposal. Several states say they have no interest in joining a military alliance. …

RFI: Do the attacks on Gulf countries because of their alliance with the United States call into question their relationship with Washington?

HA: There is now a debate in Gulf countries about their relationship with the United States. Is this partnership still relevant? The war with Iran has exposed not only the vulnerability of the Gulf states but also what many see as American inaction when it came to protecting their partners, even though they are linked by mutual defence agreements.

There is a growing feeling of abandonment in the Gulf.

(https://www.rfi.fr/en/international/20260320-could-war-in-middle-east-bring-region-closer-to-an-arab-nato).

Truly, because of this WAR between the United States of America and the Islamic Regime of Iran ── the Arab countries are looking for increased military alliance and cooperation. The end-time prophecy recorded for us in Daniel 11:40-43 will come to pass. And Pakistan being involved should be of no surprise.

There is a global fear that there is a secret nuclear ‘umbrella’ deal between Riyadh and Islamabad! Is Saudi Arabia building a nuclear bomb with Pakistan’s help? (See: Zee News – A.Q. Khan 2.0? Global fears erupt over secret nuclear 'umbrella' deal between Riyadh and Islamabad). Of course, the Government of Pakistan has denied the existence of any such agreement, followed by the confirmation from Saudi Arabia. 1

Back in 2015, “Saudi Arabia Announces 34-Nation Islamic Alliance Against Terrorism” without Iran! In 2017, the Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, of Saudi Arabia stated that he wanted even more military alliances and cooperation against “terrorism until it is eradicated.”

Again, we are certainly witnessing steps in that direction!

According to God’s living word in prophecy, a combined end-time Islamic military force of Arabs and others will come to pass. And this military alliance will be led by what the LORD God calls a final ‘king of the South.’

“’ AT THE TIME OF THE END the king of the South shall attack him; and the king of the North [a final “United States of Europe”] shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through. 41) He shall also enter the Glorious Land [Palestine], and many countries shall be overthrown; but these [initially] shall escape from his hand: Edom [which is Turkey], Moab [which is Iraq], and the prominent people of Ammon [or Jordan]. 42) He shall stretch out his hand [the ‘king of the North’] against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. 43) He [a final “United States of Europe”] shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; also the Libyans and Ethiopians shall follow at his heels.’” – Daniel 11:40-43, NKJV.

The peoples mentioned above are mainly located in North Africa and the Middle East──and 12 of them recently signed a naval coalition agreement! They are in Islamic-dominated lands and include the Arabs and some Turks.

Our beloved King David, in a prophetic psalm, provides for us some additional insight into this soon-coming prophecy. Germany (which was anciently Assyria) and perhaps the rest of Europe will be in league in the near future with an Arab alliance──a vast confederacy bound together in an effort to annihilate the very name of “Israel” from the face of the Earth! This Arab/Islamic confederacy can technically be considered the final ‘king of the South’──a mighty power that will encompass large swaths of the Islamic world.

“’ They have taken crafty counsel against Your people, And consulted together against Your sheltered ones. 4) They have said, ‘Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, That the name of Israel may be remembered no more.’ 5) For they have consulted together with one consent; They form a confederacy against You: 6) The tents of Edom [the progenitor of the Turkish people] and the Ishmaelites [Saudi Arabia]; Moab [think Jordan] and the Hagrites [they anciently dwelt in the land known as Syria today]; 7) Gebal [Lebanon], Ammon [modern Jordan], and Amalek [Turks]; Philistia [modern Palestinians] with the inhabitants of Tyre [Lebanon] 8) Assyria [whose descendants migrated to Germany] also has joined with them; They have helped the children of Lot [Moab and Ammon in modern Jordan]” – Psalm 83:3-8.

In the end, this European/Arab alliance will be short-lived. The final ‘king of the North’──the Catholic-led civic and military leader of a reorganized SEVENTH RESURRECTION of a “Holy” Roman Empire will ultimately turn against the final ‘king of the South’──the Islamic-led civic and military leader of a final Islamic Confederation of Nations (cf. Daniel 11:40-43). “’ … and the king of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through.’” So, this final end-time Islamic Confederation of Nations will be attacked and thrown into a chaotic disarray with this massive attack!

While this final end-time leader hasn’t risen quite yet, we are certainly witnessing even more military alliances and cooperation between Arabic and Islamic countries──especially since the beginning of this WAR between the USA and the Islamic Regime of Iran. Yes, this will lead to the rise of a final ‘king of the South,’ so says God Almighty!

We can certainly quote here Charlton Heston upon the opening of the blockbuster movie, Armageddon, “It happened before. It will happen again. It’s just a question of when.” □

1 Fox News, Saudi Arabia threatens to go nuclear if Iran does, 10 Feb. 2012. Retrieved 10 Aug. 2026.

Prophet Joel ── Prophet of Divine Judgment

by Leonard V Johnson

A little history: The Prophet Joel was inspired to write here between 835──800 BC, during the reign of Jehoash, king of Judah. The Book of Joel, chapter 1, verses 1-20 describes a devastating locust plague that struck Judah. The locusts came in four waves, stripping the land bare and causing drought and famine. The Prophet Joel calls the nation to repent of their sins and turn back to the LORD God ── because no human effort could solve this crisis.

This devastating locust plague wasn’t just a natural disaster ── it was seen as a “Day of the Lord” event, a Divine Judgment! The Prophet Joel uses this grave crisis to call the nation of Judah to repent, showing how physical hardships can indeed be viewed as a spiritual wake-up call within God’s living word.

Here is most of the first chapter of this amazing Book ── the Prophet Joel painting a vivid picture that continues to speak to us today ──

“The word of the LORD that came to Joel the son of Pethuel.

2) Hear this, you elders, And give ear, all you inhabitants of the land! Has anything like this happened in your days, Or even in the days of your fathers? 3) Tell your children about it, Let your children tell their children, And their children another generation. [AND EVEN, THIS GENERATION!].

4) What the chewing locust left, the swarming locust has eaten; What the swarming locust left, the crawling locust has eaten; And what the crawling locust left, the consuming locust has eaten.

5) AWAKE, you [spiritual] drunkards, and weep; And wail, all you drinkers of wine, Because of the new wine, For it has been cut off from your mouth.”

The Prophet Joel is calling out that spiritual numbness where people are so caught up in their own pleasures, distractions, and life itself, that they’re completely oblivious to what the LORD God is trying to tell them through the crisis at hand. The “new wine” is a metaphor for THE COMING JUDGMENT ── it’s not about literal wine, but it represents the severe consequences of ignoring this dire warning from the LORD God.

Then, the LORD God begins to talk about a nation coming up against the land ── describing the locust plague as an invading army. The following verse sets up the locusts as the LORD’s tool for judgment, showing just how serious the situation is ──

6) For the nation has come up against My land, Strong, and without number; His teeth are the teeth of a lion, And he has the fangs of a fierce lion. 7) He has laid waste My vine, And ruined My fig tree; He has stripped it bare and thrown it away; Its branches are made white.”

Let us turn momentarily to the Book of Revelation, the 9th chapter ── I want to make a comparison with what the Apostle John is describing with the FIFTH TRUMPET plague.

Verse 1 – “Then the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. …” – Satan and his demons being thrown down to the earth from the atmosphere. “ … To him was given the key to the bottomless pit, 2) And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit.” – as I mentioned in “A ‘Secret Rapture’?” certainly, an indication that the atmosphere will be thick with volcanic ash, towers or even radioactive dust and ash! And, as I have witnessed, there is grave trouble with America’s disaster response. 1

Verse 3 – “Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth. And to them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. 4) They were commanded not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only those men who do not have the seal [the glorious Spirit of God] on their foreheads.”

Now, I do believe there’s a very good chance – and I can’t prove it – that a nuclear electromagnetic pulse (EMP) may be used. Here is the Apostle John in a great vision – under the inspiration of God’s Spirit – writing and describing a series of events which are to take place at the time of the end of this age – the end-time trauma. This great army of Islamic soldiers, 200 million strong (cf. Revelation 9:16), will go forth swarming as locusts and as ferocious as lions. But they don’t ‘harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree’ like we see here in the Book of Joel – they destroy men with different types of weapons which destroy not the buildings, trees, or grass. It’s interesting to know that many nations have this technology and what damage these types of weapons can indeed do.

Let’s go back to the Book of Joel, the 1st chapter ──

8) Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth For the husband of her youth. 9) The grain offering and the drink offering Have been cut off from the house of the LORD; The priests mourn, who minister to the LORD. 10) The field is wasted, The land mourns; For the grain is ruined, The new wine is dried up, The oil fails.

11) Be ashamed, you farmers, Wail, you vinedressers, For the wheat and the barley; Because the harvest of the field has perished. 12) The vine has dried up, And the fig tree has withered; The pomegranate tree, The palm tree also, And the apple tree ── All the trees of the field are withered; Surely joy has withered away from the sons of men.

13) Gird yourselves and lament you priests; Wail, you who minister before the altar; Come, lie all night in sackcloth, You who minister to my God; For the grain offering and the drink offering Are withheld from the house of your God.”

Verse 13, the LORD God calling priests to show deep reverence through the traditional mourning practices ── sackcloth and lamentations ── showing the seriousness of the LORD’s message. The LORD God’s ministers today truly need to take these future prophetic warnings seriously and mourn for what’s coming to the nations. Speaking to us about both this crisis written about here and a soon-coming crisis.

14) Consecrate a fast, Call a sacred assembly; Gather the elders And all the inhabitants of the land Into the house of the LORD your God, And cry out to the LORD.”

Now, he uses a term ‘you elders’ which were the leaders, the higher-educated, the wise, the kings and princes – today you might say presidents, vice presidents, prime ministers, senators, governors.

This dire warning was certainly for the Prophet Joel’s day ── but it still stands TODAY as testimony against the modern-day nations of Israel – including the United States of America, the United Kingdom and her Commonwealth Nations; Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

15) Alas for the day! For the Day of the LORD is at hand; It shall come as destruction from the Almighty.”

This is the whole message of the Prophet Joel!

My friend, it’s not about the locusts which are eating up the land in such places as East Africa, but the message here is – THE DAY OF THE LORD IS AT HAND!! WAKE UP, SLEEPER, RISE FROM THE DEAD! ‘Awake, you drunkards, and weep; turn to Almighty God and our Lord Jesus Christ!’ He is crying out with this little, short prophecy here to the nations of Israel ── the United States of America, the United Kingdom and her Commonwealth Nations, such as Australia and New Zealand! As well as JUDAH ── modern-day Israel!

Droughts in Human Civilization History

Droughts have been a constant challenge throughout human history. Evidence shows that droughts have influenced human civilizations since the very beginning of mankind’s civilizations, such as the Mesopotamian and Persian, from early human migrations to the collapse of ancient empires.

From the mega-droughts that toppled the Egyptian Old Kingdom and the Maya civilization, it’s been a constant thread through human history. Here, Prophet Joel is using this locust plague as a powerful metaphor. It’s fascinating how he describes four stages of locusts, each more devastating than the last, to illustrate the LORD God’s judgment getting worse. The Prophet Joel turns that immediate disaster into a grave warning about the soon-coming Day of the LORD!

It saddens me that many Sunday-going churches don’t even teach from the Old Testament, and they’re not even privy to this metaphor of the LORD God’s judgment on an unrepentant world as time marches forward in this present evil age. When shepherds don’t teach the full Counsel of God, including the Old Testament warnings about progressive judgment, it leaves people unprepared for what is coming.

So, we have certainly had droughts. There was the great dust storm of May 11, 1934, one of the most severe storms of the Dust Bowl, carrying hundreds of millions of tons of topsoil from the Great Plains to the Eastern United States. In 1935, the United States faced one of its most devastating agricultural crises — a massive locust and grasshopper invasion that compounded the hardships of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. As devastating as all of that was ── those, too, were only forerunners of what is prophesied to occur. What has been will be once again (Ecclesiastes 1:9). When drought comes at its full force and fury, described by the Prophet Joel, as well as other places within God’s living word, it will be a time when ‘the seed shrivels under the clods, Storehouses are in shambles; Barns are broken down, For the grain has withered. The animals groan ── the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; the flocks of sheep suffer’ – Joel 1:17-18.

Verse 19 ── “O LORD, to You I cry out; For fire has devoured the open pastures, And a flame has burned all the trees of the field. 20) The beasts of the field also cry out to You, For the water brooks are dried up, And fire has devoured the open pasture.”

The Day of the LORD ── at our doorstep

Surely, the Day of the LORD prophesied often feels like some far-away future event, doesn’t it? Many today are proclaiming, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning’ – cf. 2 Peter 3:4. O’ how much closer it is since the time of the inspired words of the Prophet Joel! When you look upon the population of the Earth, some 8.3 billion people. When you look today at the massive murder rate around the world ── The global intentional homicide rate, defined by the UN, is about 5.8 homicides per-100,000 people on average. 2 When you still look at the United States’ debt that continues to rise ── some $39.5 trillion! How long can we continue going down this dirt road? Does not all that, alone, show you the WRITING ON THE WALL for where in the world it is headed? ── that the prophesied Day of the LORD is at our doorstep?

The Seventh Seal Opened – the Seventh Trumpet Blast

Our loving and merciful Savior, Jesus Christ, gave us some things to look for in Matthew the 24th chapter, when He said, “’ THEN they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. 10) And then many will be offended, and will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11) Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.’” ── they will be proclaiming to their people, ‘Nothing to see here, people! Just go about your business!’ And like the famous Elton John sings, “And all this talk of Jesus coming back to see us. Hmm, couldn’t fool us.”

Verse 12 ── “’ And because lawlessness will abound [see verse 37], the love of many will grow cold. 13) But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 14) And this gospel of the kingdom [of God] will be preached in all the world AS A WITNESS to all the nations, and then the end will come.’”

Because then the end-time prophets will arise and shall go out unto all the world and to all nations proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom of God is coming soon, and they will be persecuted and hated, and will ultimately be martyred!

Let’s turn again to the Book of Joel, to chapter 2 ──

Verse 1 – “Blow the trumpet in Zion, And sound an alarm in My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the day of the LORD is coming, For it is at hand.”

Verse 2 ── “A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness, Like the morning clouds spread over the mountains. A people come, great and strong, The like of whom HAS NEVER BEEN; Nor will there ever be any such after them, Even for many successive generations.”

Notice the living words of our Savior ──

Matthew 24:15 ── “’ THEREFORE when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place’ (whoever reads, let him understand).” ── concerning a prophesied future Catholic-led European civic and military leader of a “United States of Europe,” like the Emperor Antiochus IV Epiphanes had done before, coming into Jerusalem. Antiochus IV’s early actions in Israel were part of a military and political campaign to secure Seleucid control over the region. Verse 16 ── ‘then let those who ARE IN JUDEA [modern-day Israel] flee to the mountains. … 21) For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22) And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.’”

The Prophet Daniel spoke of this same Day of the LORD and the Seventh Trumpet Blast ──

“’ At that time Michael shall stand up, The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; And there shall be a time of trouble, Such as never was since there was a nation, Even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered [the saints of the living LORD God!], Every one who is found written in the Book. 2) And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life [the FIRST RESURRECTION], Some to shame and everlasting contempt [the SECOND RESURRECTION].” ─ Daniel 12:1-2.

Returning again to the Book of Joel chapter 2 ──

Verse 3 – “A fire devours before them, And behind them a flame burns; The land is like the Garden of Eden before them, And behind them a desolate wilderness; Surely nothing shall escape them.”

Illustration of Revelation 9:13-17 (AI-generated)

It should remind us of what the sixth messenger sounded in the Book of Revelation, chapter 9 ──

“Then the sixth angel sounded: And I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, 14) saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, ‘Release the four angels [which could indeed be demons] who are bound at the great river Euphrates.’ 15) So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released to kill a third of mankind.’

Verse 16 ── “Now the number of the army of the horsemen [an Islamic army] was TWO HUNDRED MILLION; I heard the number of them. 17) And thus I saw the horses in the vision: those who sat on them had breastplates of fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow; and the heads of the horses were like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths came fire, smoke, and brimstone.” – Revelation 9:13-17.

Joel 2 ──

Verse 12 ── “’ Now, therefore,’ says the LORD, ‘Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.’ 13) So rend your heart, and not your garments; RETURN TO THE LORD YOUR GOD, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm.”

Verse 15 ── “’ Blow the trumpet in Zion, Consecrate a fast, Call a sacred assembly; 16) Gather the people, Sanctify the congregation, Assemble the elders, gather the children and nursing babies; …” ── and like our Lord Jesus Christ admonished, “’ pray that your flight [out of Jerusalem, Israel] may not be in winter or on the Sabbath.’”

Verse 17 ── “’ Let the priests, who minister to the LORD, Weep between the porch and the altar; Let them say, ‘Spare Your people, O LORD, And do not give Your heritage to reproach, That the nations should rule over them. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’”

Let’s turn over to the Book of Jeremiah, the 30th chapter, and let’s read a quick reference ──

Verse 6 – “’ Ask now, and see, Whether a man is ever in labor with child? …’” – God looks around and sees men walking around doubled over as if they are in labor pains. “ … ‘So why do I see every man with his hands on his loins Like a woman in labor, And all faces turned pale?’”

Verse 7 – “’ Alas! For that day is great, So that none is like it; And it is the time of Jacob’s trouble, But he shall be saved out of it.’” – recall, Jacob was Abraham’s grandson – and his name was changed to Israel. And he passed that name onto his two grandsons – Ephraim and Manasseh. Jacob had crossed his arms and said, “let my name be named on them.” Now, the Apostle Paul made it abundantly clear that those who have the faith of Abraham are Abraham’s seed and are recipients of the promises which were made by God – becoming spiritual Israel. But friend, this here is not only speaking concerning the nations of Israel today, like the two main tribes Ephraim and Manasseh – United States of America, the United Kingdom and her Commonwealth nations, respectively. But it’s speaking primarily concerning JUDAH ── which is modern-day Israel today!

A great majority of the people of this world do many things while they pray to show how pious they are – like wrenching their clothes, or reciting prayers while wearing a tallit prayer shawl, or flogging themselves, or thumbing through rosary beads and giving the sign of the beast. Almighty God wants us to rend our hearts – get down to the very inside of our spirit, REPENT AND TURN UNTO HIM!

Almighty God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ are not sitting upon Their thrones throwing lightning bolts at people – like the imaginative Zeus! What They desire is for us to repent – “’ But on this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, And who trembles [in reverence] at My word’” – Isaiah 66:2.

We beseech You, Father God, that You will save us, even though we’re rotten sinners and we deserve every bit of it – we need Your mercy, and we need You to be slow to anger. Help us to turn to You and to rend our hearts. □

1 Atkin, E., “The Troubling Failure of America’s Disaster Response” 17 July 2018. Retrieved 15 July 2026. https://newrepublic.com/article/149899/troubling-failure-americas-disaster-response.

2 Maria, Caitronia, Countries Ranked by Murder Rate, The Facts Institute, 28 May 2026.