I was struck recently by this prophecy from Joel 2:1 -
"Blow a trumpet (shofar) in Zion, and sound an alarm in My holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble;
For the day for the Lord is coming, for it is at hand."

I realized that this was not speaking of us "charismatics" blowing ram's horns in our worship services, but rather the declaring of an urgent prophetic message, both in Israel and around the world.That message has to do with the "day of the Lord." That day is the second coming of Yeshua (Jesus). We have to proclaim in the most urgent and public way, the soon coming of the Messiah, as conquering king and righteous judge. It is an end-times message. It is preaching the gospel in the light of the soon approaching "day of judgment."In thinking of the end times, many believers get caught up in the wrong emphases, such as, "Who is the anti-Christ?" and "When is the rapture?" I am surprised how much confusion there is over these issues. Because of that issue, we are not really proclaiming to the world in an effective way that the day of the Lord is at hand.This has always been a central message of the Bible in all generations, and therefore how much more so in our generation.

Matthew 4:17
"Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

Matthew 10:7
"And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'"

People need to be warned. Their lives need to change. They need to get ready to face God.Those of you who know me personally know that it is almost embarrassing the degree to which I do not "push" to sell my teaching materials. As I read the prophecy in Joel, I felt a rebuke from the Lord and an urgency to get my new book "From Iraq to Armageddon" into the hands of as many people as possible. (Please join us in pray for divinely successful distribution.)There are issues that must be clear to the body of believers in the world today. The Messianic kingdom will soon be set up with its capital in Jerusalem. On the Day of Judgment, every one will be judged for his works, whether good or bad. Yeshua will return in the midst of the battle of Armageddon, when all the nations will attack Israel. While Yeshua came the first time for the forgiveness of sins, at the second time there will be the punishment of sins.