Brethren, President Trump’s recent warning was chilling. It rang with the exact language the elders used when I was a boy: “When the beast speaks, it will close churches who do not speak its lies.” They would add with gravity, “Woe to the parent of younger children.”
That picture never fully made sense to me until 9/11, the Covid years, and now as socialist and communist ideas gain ground. Even now it still feels far-fetched at times — yet the pattern is becoming harder to ignore.
“In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” — 1 Corinthians 15:52 (KJV)
The very name “Trump” carries the sound of the trumpet. And right now the horns of the third heaven seem to be blaring in my ears — the warnings of the elders, the patterns of Scripture, and current events all sounding the alarm together.
Prayer:
Lord, give us ears to hear the trumpet. Keep us from the Adamic nature that would fight in the flesh. Let us overcome by the blood of the Lamb, the word of our testimony, and by loving not our lives unto the death. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
The Dragon and the Beast
Brother Ray Leniger taught that the enemy works in three phases: the dragon (civil/godless government systems), the Adamic/carnal nature inside man, and evil spirits that deceive. When the dragon unites with a religious system, the result is the beast — church and state fused into one power that demands conformity. That is when “the beast speaks.”
The dragon is separate. When Christianity is not involved, it remains a dragon (godless civil power). Communism fits this description perfectly. The sea beast of Revelation 13 has already had its historic day. What rises from the earth now may take a different form but carry the same spirit.
How God Has Used Outside Powers to Judge His People
Scripture shows a clear pattern: when God’s people drift into compromise, He raises up instruments of correction from outside the camp. In the Old Testament He used the surrounding “ites” and empires like Assyria and Babylon as rods of His anger.
In the seventh century the same sovereign hand appeared. A new power arose from Arabia. Within decades it took Damascus (635), Jerusalem (638), and Alexandria (641). Early Christian writers and later voices such as Luther saw these conquests as God’s judgment on a church entangled with imperial power. God used what many viewed as a “dragon” power to chasten both Jews and Christians.
Modern Parallels and the Coming Shaking
If godless communism (the dragon) gains greater power, it will seek to close or silence churches that refuse to speak its lies — exactly as the elders warned. Such a rise would empower the dragon and potentially open the way for a new beast to rise from the earth.
History shows God can use one instrument to address multiple deviations at once. In certain scenarios, the same forces that pressure compromised churches could also bring judgment on moral rebellion. Some who have extended political or cultural cover to such forces may discover those systems do not return the favor.
Revelation 12 speaks of the man child caught up to the throne and the dragon making war with the remnant of the woman’s seed. At some point the untimely fig tree will be shaken. God has used and can use outside powers to judge, prune, and purify. Our calling is to overcome spiritually.
Final Thoughts
Brethren, the trumpet is sounding. The warnings are blaring. The beast is preparing to speak.
The Lord Himself says, “Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame” (Revelation 16:15). And to the church that has grown sleepy: “If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee” (Revelation 3:3).
Get ready, My people. I am coming like a thief. The shaking has begun. The question is not whether these things will happen, but whether we will be found watching, overcoming, and ready when the last trumpet sounds.
Author’s Note: This reflection flows from teachings I received as a young man in the Gospel Assembly tradition — the same stream that produced William Sowders and Brother Ray Leniger’s teaching on the three phases of the devil. You can hear that message here: https://youtu.be/Ivjdh8-2-0A. I offer these thoughts as prophetic pondering for the remnant. May the Lord give us ears to hear the trumpet and grace to be found ready.
The Audio Missionary 
Leave a comment