And he will send his messengers with the loud blast of the trumpet, and with a great voice they will gather his beloved chosen ones from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other!”
For the Lord himself will appear with the declaration of victory, the shout of an archangel, and the trumpet blast of God. He will descend from the heavenly realm and command those who are dead in Christ to rise first.
At that time he will send his messengers to gather together his beloved chosen ones from every direction—from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven!”
When that day comes, a great trumpet will sound, and those lost in the land of Assyria and Egypt—all the exiles—will come and bow down before the Lord Yahweh in Jerusalem and worship him on the holy mountain!
It will happen in an instant —in the twinkling of his eye. For when the last trumpet is sounded, the dead will come back to life. We will be indestructible and we will be transformed.
The Son of Man will send his messengers, and they will uproot everything out of his kingdom. All the lawless ones and everything that causes sin will be removed.
And because of God’s unfailing purpose, this detailed plan will reign supreme through every period of time until the fulfillment of all the ages finally reaches its climax—when God makes all things new in all of heaven and earth through Jesus Christ.
I will say to the north, ‘Hand them over!’ and to the south, ‘Don’t hold them back!’ Bring me my sons from far away, my daughters from the ends of the earth!
Lift up your eyes higher! Look all around you and believe, for your sons are returning from far away and your daughters are being tenderly carried home. Watch as they all gather together, eager to come back to you!”
Lift up your head and look all around you. See! All your children, your builders, gather to come back to you. As surely as I live, I make this promise,” says Yahweh. “You will wear them all like jewels, as a radiant bride wears her beautiful jewelry!
After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, and they were restraining the four winds so that no wind would blow on the land, on the sea, or on any tree.
Can it be that Israel hasn’t heard the message? No, they have heard it, for: The voice has been heard throughout the world, and its message has gone to the ends of the earth!
Sing to Yahweh a brand-new song! Sing his praise until it echoes from the ends of the earth! Sailors and sea creatures, praise him! Islands and all their inhabitants, sing his praise!
Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and a loud voice broke forth in heaven, saying: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our God and of his Anointed One! He will reign supreme for an eternity of eternities!”
The mystery of the lampstands and the seven stars is this: the seven lampstands are the seven churches, and the seven stars in my right hand are the seven messengers of the seven churches.
For there will be imposters falsely claiming to be God’s ‘Anointed One,’ and false prophets will arise to perform miracle signs to lead astray, if possible, those God has chosen to be his.
“Now learn the lesson from the parable of the fig tree. When spring arrives and it sends out its tender branches and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near.