Amos, possibly the first of the writing prophets, was a shepherd and farmer called to prophesy during the reigns of Uzziah (792–740 b.c.) in the southern kingdom (Judah) and Jeroboam II (793–753) in the north (Israel). During this time both kingdoms enjoyed political stability, which in turn brought prosperity. It was also a time of idolatry, sexual perversion, extravagance, and corruption. The rich and powerful were oppressing the poor. The sacrificial system is exploited and corrupt in every conceivable way. Amos denounced the people for their apostasy and social injustice and warned them that disaster would fall upon them for breaking the covenant.

In all of it, God gives examples of warning after warning, calling them to repentance, only to give the refrain, “…yet you have not returned to Me.” Thus, the inevitable result of their sin is that God’s judgment has gone forth and it will not be returned. The Lion shall come and consume them in His wrath, yet all the while, they will not see His discipline through, drought, famine, plague, pestilence, swarms of insects, warfare, and fire and brimstone. They shall come face to face with the living God Himself. Thus the summons is given to Israel, “Prepare to meet your God.”

Stark as the language may be, the command, “prepare to meet your God” is not simply one of the inevitable reality all men must face. It is a plea. It is a plea to seek God and live. In other words: it is a plea that the ten tribes of the Northern Kingdom would repent and turn back to God. He is calling Israel back to covenant faithfulness so they may avoid judgement. God’s aim is not simply destruction, but restoration. Note that the entire nation would face judgement, the book of Amos simply reveals that there was no innocent party to be found. All were commanded: return to the Lord, or perish.

Likewise in our day like Israel, “they will not see His discipline through famine, drought, pestilence, swarms of insects, plague, warfare, and fires.” The evil being done in our day takes the culturally acceptable look of ripping an infant limb from limb whilst in their mother’s womb. It dons the appearance of one who exploits those around them, seeing them as expendable objects rather than those who bear the very image of God. Likewise, it embraces the sexual perversion bound up in a culture that defiles the marriage bed in every meaningful way. Gender is a choice, not assigned by God. In all of it, the point where things terminate is in deception. Deception for the one who believes they can reject God and still be prepared to die. Likewise, deception for the one who believes they can fool God by living a double-life.

Many of the end times Bible prophecies have already been fulfilled and it is possible that Jesus has already taken off one or more seals from The Scroll (Revelation 5) containing the wrath of God. It is past time for the church to alert the world of coming judgement.

The Trumpet and Bowl Judgements of God

When the seventh seal is taken off and The Scroll of Revelation is finally opened the seven trumpet and seven bowl judgements release the wrath of God upon the earth. I have shown just the first five trumpet judgements to show their ferocity. The intensity escalates to the bowl judgements. Whilst Christians will experience the time of tribulation even great tribulation spoken of by Daniel and in Revelation during the last seven years prior to the Millennial Kingdom They will not be on earth when the wrath of God is poured out with the trumpet and bowl judgements during the last year. The saints will return to earth with Jesus to rule and reign with Him in the Millennium.

“The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.
The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many people died from the water, because it had been made bitter.
The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light might be darkened, and a third of the day might be kept from shining, and likewise a third of the night.
Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew directly overhead, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!”
​ And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit. He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft. Then from the smoke came locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth. They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree, but only those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. They were allowed to torment them for five months, but not to kill them, and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings someone. And in those days people will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them.” Revelation 8:7-13 and 9:1-6