Verse 3 “Blessed is he that readeth and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.”
This is the only book in the Bible that has a blessing attached to it. That indicates its importance in God’s eyes. Many people, in fact many pastors, do not even read or study this book as they feel it is irrelevant to Christians. From personally being told this by more than one pastor, and having been brought up with this belief, I can say without prejudice or rancor that this attitude comes from believing that they won’t be here when all these things take place. It is an unfortunate side effect of that belief. Growing up I saw this attitude in many, many people as a result. The blessing is given to those who read, hear, and keep the words of prophecy in this book. I guess if you don’t think you will have to endure anything in it, the blessing is irrelevant, as there is nothing you have to “keep”. The blessing is for those who not only read and understand, but keep the words in this book. If you can’t understand, you can’t keep the words. Therefore, to understand, it must be that it has to be taken as literally as possible. This is the only way that everyone could have the same understanding. The words of most importance, as we will see, are the words that keep coming up, and that is for Christians to overcome and patiently endure to the end. The blessing is that they will know what is coming, live accordingly, and possibly escape those things which lie ahead (as Christ had told them to pray in the Olivet discourse). We are told that the time is at hand. Once Christ died on the cross, it enabled the next phase, which will lead to the end, to start. We shall shortly see what that is.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Revelation 1:1-2
Finally we are getting to the book of Revelation. We could have taken a lot more time in the O.T. prophets, but where we need to fill in more details, we will just go back as needed. Since this is an end times study and most people think this is the only book that covers that subject, I’m sure most will think it is time that I finally got around to going over this book. You will see that all that we have reviewed so far, though, makes the book of Revelation far more understandable now than it would have been had we not done all of these preparatory studies.
Revelation Chapter 1
Verses 1-2 “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.”
This book is commonly known as the Revelation of Saint John the Divine, but that is only because he is the one who wrote it all down. The first verse tells us whose revelation this actually is. It is the Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to him, to show us His servants what will shortly come to pass. The word “Revelation” or “apokalupsis” means “unveiling”. This book is considered by many people to be a book that cannot be understood by the average person. It is considered mysterious, cryptic, frightening, and in general just plain confusing. But that is not what Christ intended. This was supposed to be understood. He expected that the average reader/listener would understand it, because He presumed that we would all have studied the entire scope of the scriptures thus far, and that the symbols, signs, and terminology would all be familiar to us. Unfortunately many Christians never read or study their Bible so when it comes to understanding this book, they are totally lost. The book of Revelation is an unveiling or revealing of information and truths of what is to come. It has been given by God the Father to Jesus Christ to show to his servants, us, what is shortly to come to pass. This book is intended for Christians (not unbelieving Jews), as it was given to Christ to give to His servants and that is us. We are the ones for whom the information is vital.
The word shortly is translated in Luke 18:8 as speedily and in Acts 12:7 and 22:18 as quickly. So the phrase “shortly come to pass” can be taken several ways. First it can mean that the events will happen soon in the normal sense of soon, or second it can mean that it will happen soon from God’s perspective. It has been two thousand years, but in God’s eyes and in terms of eternity, that is a short time. One day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. A third way it can be interpreted is to mean that the events being outlined will happen quickly once they being to happen. So the question as to how to take this statement is,…… is John speaking of when things will happen or how things will happen? Since nobody but the Father knows the day or the hour, John couldn’t for certain say that the time was near in the usual sense. And it has been almost 2,000 years, so we can rule out the idea of the normal sense of soon. The two ideas left are: 1) soon in terms of God’s perspective, and that certainly works, and 2) soon in the sense of it will happen quickly. It will be seen that most of the events that will be outlined in Revelation refer to that time period of three and a half years after the abomination of desolation, so there is reason to say that this phrase can mean how things will happen, which is quickly.
This revelation was given by God to Christ who gives it to an angel who signifies it to John. It was signified to John. The word “signified” means to make known by signs. The book of Revelation is a book of signs. Signs that we are meant to study and then recognize as they come to pass. It is God’s way of letting us know what events we will have to look forward to (unpleasantly so in most cases), so that we won’t be deceived. Remembering the warnings by Christ from the gospels, it has all been given to us so that we might not be deceived. When you travel someplace you get directions from signs. Whether they are a map, written words, or objects for which you are told to look. By that way, you get to your destination without mishap or getting on the wrong road. So it is with this journey. We are to follow the signs so that we don’t get on the wrong road.
This revelation is sent to John. It is pretty much agreed upon that this is the beloved disciple John, who was pastor to the church in Ephesus before being exiled to Patmos. In the gospel of John, he related that when Peter asked about John’s future, Jesus asked Peter if John were to still be alive when He returned, what business was it of Peter’s. John 21:22. This wasn’t saying that John would still be alive then, it was saying that even if he were, it wasn’t Peter’s concern. However, in showing John the Day of the Lord and His return, John did in essence remain alive to see the Lord’s Second Coming. It was a sort of prophecy about what would happen to John at Patmos.
Further, John identifies himself as having been the eyewitness to the fact that this is the word of God that he is writing, and the testimony of Jesus, and that he actually saw what we are about to read. Remember he is writing from the perspective of having already had the entire vision when he writes this introduction. John also bore record of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ in his gospel. Here he is saying that he wrote only what he actually saw and heard. He makes a point of saying numerous times (I haven’t counted them although I have heard it said that they amount to a number that is a multiple of seven, and the number seven is important in Revelation) I heard, I saw, I beheld, I looked, etc.. He was writing exactly what he heard and saw, so we shouldn’t spiritualize things in this book simply because they may sound bizarre at first. We have to look for a literal interpretation first. The symbols that are spiritualized are either defined in Revelation itself, or are symbols that have occurred in other scriptures, so we can use those to define the symbol.
Revelation Chapter 1
Verses 1-2 “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.”
This book is commonly known as the Revelation of Saint John the Divine, but that is only because he is the one who wrote it all down. The first verse tells us whose revelation this actually is. It is the Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to him, to show us His servants what will shortly come to pass. The word “Revelation” or “apokalupsis” means “unveiling”. This book is considered by many people to be a book that cannot be understood by the average person. It is considered mysterious, cryptic, frightening, and in general just plain confusing. But that is not what Christ intended. This was supposed to be understood. He expected that the average reader/listener would understand it, because He presumed that we would all have studied the entire scope of the scriptures thus far, and that the symbols, signs, and terminology would all be familiar to us. Unfortunately many Christians never read or study their Bible so when it comes to understanding this book, they are totally lost. The book of Revelation is an unveiling or revealing of information and truths of what is to come. It has been given by God the Father to Jesus Christ to show to his servants, us, what is shortly to come to pass. This book is intended for Christians (not unbelieving Jews), as it was given to Christ to give to His servants and that is us. We are the ones for whom the information is vital.
The word shortly is translated in Luke 18:8 as speedily and in Acts 12:7 and 22:18 as quickly. So the phrase “shortly come to pass” can be taken several ways. First it can mean that the events will happen soon in the normal sense of soon, or second it can mean that it will happen soon from God’s perspective. It has been two thousand years, but in God’s eyes and in terms of eternity, that is a short time. One day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. A third way it can be interpreted is to mean that the events being outlined will happen quickly once they being to happen. So the question as to how to take this statement is,…… is John speaking of when things will happen or how things will happen? Since nobody but the Father knows the day or the hour, John couldn’t for certain say that the time was near in the usual sense. And it has been almost 2,000 years, so we can rule out the idea of the normal sense of soon. The two ideas left are: 1) soon in terms of God’s perspective, and that certainly works, and 2) soon in the sense of it will happen quickly. It will be seen that most of the events that will be outlined in Revelation refer to that time period of three and a half years after the abomination of desolation, so there is reason to say that this phrase can mean how things will happen, which is quickly.
This revelation was given by God to Christ who gives it to an angel who signifies it to John. It was signified to John. The word “signified” means to make known by signs. The book of Revelation is a book of signs. Signs that we are meant to study and then recognize as they come to pass. It is God’s way of letting us know what events we will have to look forward to (unpleasantly so in most cases), so that we won’t be deceived. Remembering the warnings by Christ from the gospels, it has all been given to us so that we might not be deceived. When you travel someplace you get directions from signs. Whether they are a map, written words, or objects for which you are told to look. By that way, you get to your destination without mishap or getting on the wrong road. So it is with this journey. We are to follow the signs so that we don’t get on the wrong road.
This revelation is sent to John. It is pretty much agreed upon that this is the beloved disciple John, who was pastor to the church in Ephesus before being exiled to Patmos. In the gospel of John, he related that when Peter asked about John’s future, Jesus asked Peter if John were to still be alive when He returned, what business was it of Peter’s. John 21:22. This wasn’t saying that John would still be alive then, it was saying that even if he were, it wasn’t Peter’s concern. However, in showing John the Day of the Lord and His return, John did in essence remain alive to see the Lord’s Second Coming. It was a sort of prophecy about what would happen to John at Patmos.
Further, John identifies himself as having been the eyewitness to the fact that this is the word of God that he is writing, and the testimony of Jesus, and that he actually saw what we are about to read. Remember he is writing from the perspective of having already had the entire vision when he writes this introduction. John also bore record of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ in his gospel. Here he is saying that he wrote only what he actually saw and heard. He makes a point of saying numerous times (I haven’t counted them although I have heard it said that they amount to a number that is a multiple of seven, and the number seven is important in Revelation) I heard, I saw, I beheld, I looked, etc.. He was writing exactly what he heard and saw, so we shouldn’t spiritualize things in this book simply because they may sound bizarre at first. We have to look for a literal interpretation first. The symbols that are spiritualized are either defined in Revelation itself, or are symbols that have occurred in other scriptures, so we can use those to define the symbol.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
The Problem of Dispensationalism
Before getting into the Book of Revelation, there is one concept that needs to be addressed. This concept seems to be a stumbling block for some in accepting a straightforward literal understanding of the scriptures. That is the doctrine of dispensations. There is a branch of Christendom that teaches that God has dealt with mankind through different means at different times and these are referred to as dispensations. It is said that the covenants, as well as the Law determined how God dealt with the people and that now, since Christ's 1st coming, it is the time of grace, that the law no longer applies. Dispensationalism also seems to teach that there is an abrupt ceasing of one dispensation to go to the next. Under this belief the church must be gone before God deals with Israel, thus the need for the church to be gone before the 70th week begins. Let’s see if that is the case.
To begin we will go over the major covenants. First there was the Adamic covenant which promised a redeemer after the fall. The sign of this covenant was the beginning of sacrifices, as this (an animal sacrifice) was what was required to literally cover Adam's and Eve's bodies, as well as their sin. It was the sacrifices which taught that there needed to be a blood sacrifice for sin. The reason this was necessary was that when they sinned, their lives became forfeit by death. Their death was the necessary punishment to satisfy God, as that was the rule He had established and He had to carry it out. In actuality it was a blessing, as had God not required death as the punishment, man would never have had the chance for redemption. It is only through our death that we can move on to a sinless body again. On the other hand, Satan had won their souls by getting them to reject God in favor of him. He then owned them, as he owns all of us until we accept the Lord. As the life is in the blood, (Leviticus 17:11 “For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.”), their life or blood was forfeit to both God (that was the penalty for disobedience) and their souls to Satan (by their making him their new master). By all rights, Satan was owed their lives immediately and could take them by inflicting death, but God arranged for a substitute, as it was not His will to have them die right then. This explains why during the temple days there were two goats sacrificed at Yom Kippur. One was slain and offered on the ark of the covenant, and the other was was taken out to the desert and given to Azazel, the demon of the desert. Satan was forced to accept this arrangement. He can have a person when they die, if they have not accepted God's substitute(Yeshua) for their sins and lives. Whenever anyone offered a sacrifice, it was in faith that there would one day be a redeemer who would offer the ultimate sacrifice that would once and for all be sufficient to cover their sins, redeeming their souls and thereby freeing them from the claim of Satan. As Yeshua would keep the law perfectly (a much harder proposition than Adam had been given) His soul would not be forfeit to Satan, so to offer His blood in our place would cover our sins. So He had to die and shed His blood, but Satan could not claim His soul.
The Adamic covenant overlaps the next covenant, in fact it overlaps them all until the New Covenant which is the last one. However, sacrifices will be re-instituted during the millennium. Many people have a real problem with this as Christ was supposed to be the ultimate sacrifice, so there should no longer be sacrifices. It is in understanding that sacrifices didn't cover sins and were only to remind people of their sins and the need for Christ's sacrifice, that it can be reconciled that God would again have the sacrifices at the temple. This is explained more fully further on.
The next covenant was the Noahic covenant. This established that God would never flood the earth again to destroy it. The sign of this covenant was the rainbow. This covenant still exists today, so it overlaps all of the following including the New Covenant. With the earth in all probability reverting back to an antediluvian state, this covenant sign would disappear as it requires the particular atmospheric conditions that exist in the present world to become visible. However God's bow also exists over His throne, which will be here in New Jerusalem when the millennium begins.
Then there was the Abrahamic covenant which said that God would make a nation of Abraham that would be so large it would be like numbering the stars. He would give them the land which we now know as Israel as an everlasting possession, and the redeemer would come through this nation. He signed this covenant with circumcision. This covenant will continue through the millennium.
There followed the Mosaic covenant which said that God would make Israel a special people out of all people. They would be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. This also came with a blessing and curse for obedience and disobedience. The sign of this covenant was the Sabbath. Again, this covenant is still waiting to be fulfilled in completion. It is said that Christ’s resurrection on Sunday superceded the Sabbath, but this is an eternal sign. The excuse is that the church is not Israel so the Sabbath doesn’t apply to us. My questions are to those who say this….How are Messianic Jews supposed to deal with this discrepancy, do they observe the Sabbath, or Sunday, and why if it is one of the commandments, and we as Christians are supposed to keep the commandments (“If you love me, keep my commandments”) does the church completely ignore this one. Two more questions are, why will people be again commanded to observe the Sabbath, not Sunday in the millennium, and why was Christ expecting His followers (who were not just Jews but Christians as we have already discussed) to be observing it at the time of the tribulation which is still future? (Pray that your flight be not on the Sabbath day). I do not intend to get into a discussion on this (be forewarned if you want to, that I won’t do that, as it is too lengthy a subject to debate right now) but the questions do beg to be considered. (later) This covenant also will last through the millennium.
Then the Davidic covenant said that God would establish David and his descendants as the rightful kings of Judah. The greatest sign that would confirm this would be the giving of the Messiah (a Virgin will conceive) who will reign on the throne forever. This covenant is still to be fulfilled also, as Christ has not been crowned King of Kings yet and given the Kingdom. That will come with the millennium. He was the Lamb, now He is the Priest, and shortly He will reign as King. This covenant is eternal. Christ will always sit on the throne.
The last major covenant is the New Covenant. Christ established a permanent way of reconciling us to God by His death and resurrection. He wrote the Law on our hearts. The sign of this is the Holy Spirit who helps us to keep that Law. This covenant is also eternal.
So we can see that the covenants overlap each other, in fact they all continue through the millennium and some beyond. God does not abruptly stop one thing to start the next.
It is said that up until the time of Moses that God dealt with man by man's own conscience and that was one dispensation. When God gave the Law, that was another way of dealing with man, so that was another dispensation. Then when Christ came, God instead of dealing with man by the Law, is dealing with man by grace. This is yet another dispensation. I would argue that God’s way of offering salvation and dealing with man has always been by grace through faith, right from the start. "For by it (faith) the elders obtained a good report.... By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous (grace)....By faith Enoch was translated....By faith Noah....prepared an ark...and became heir of the righteousness (grace) which is by faith." Heb. 11:2-7 "By grace Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord." Gen. 6:8. "By faith Abraham...obeyed...by faith he sojourned...through faith Sara...these all died in faith." Heb.8-13. Read Hebrews 11, it is all about everyone from Abel on down being justified by faith through the grace of God. That is exactly how we are justified.
The sacrifices that began with Abel were never sufficient to cover man's sins, Heb. 10:4. They were a substitute for us because of Satan's demand for our blood, which was rightfully his, and as a remembrance for mankind that our blood was forfeit due to our sin, and that we needed a redeemer who would be the ultimate sacrifice. Heb. 10:3. The faithful O.T. people died looking forward to the promise, not having yet received it, and it was counted to them as righteousness, by faith through God's grace. Heb. 11:13,39.
The Gentiles, before and without the law, did those things contained in the law, showing the law written in their hearts when their consciences bore witness and accused or excused them. Rom. 2:14-15. The Law (10 commandments) was given to make people more aware of their sins, not provide a means of salvation. Romans 3:20. "Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin." As to the other 613 laws for the Jews, these were written to keep them healthy, producing children, and spiritually accountable. The reason Gentiles were not compelled to follow all these laws was because they were only for that reason, to make a great nation that could rule the world, to make a healthy nation into which the Savior could be born, and to be the spiritual guide for their lives. The church is not a nation (at least not in the same way), and we do not have to bring the Messiah into the world, so we don‘t need the laws for health and expansion of a people. We have the Holy Spirit to be the spiritual guide and conscience for our lives, plus the rest of Scriptures. We don’t need all the laws that God demanded of Israel. Thus there are very few rules that we were given in Acts that we are to follow. In the millennium laws will be enacted again. Why? After the world is destroyed, there will be few people left, and living conditions will no doubt be barbaric again. Disease could become a problem that could wipe out what people are left in the world. Therefore dietary and hygienic laws will be crucial to keep people alive. Also the world will need to be repopulated, so these laws will be instrumental in providing that ability.
People say we are no longer under the law (10 commandments), we are under grace. People were never under the law to keep it for salvation. That is misunderstanding the whole concept. No flesh could be justified by the law. It was to accuse us of our sins, and it still does. And as to keeping it, we are more expected to keep it than the Jews ever were, because we have the Holy Spirit to help us. Rom. 8:1-5,9-15 Christ has written the Law on our hearts. Heb. 10:16. Christ summed up the law in two commandments. "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." Matt. 22:37-40. "If ye love me, keep my commandments." John 14:15. We are expected to keep the commandments. The Law still condemns us, just as it did the Jews. The only difference being, while they had to have the faith of looking forward to the redeemer and offered sacrifices, we have to have faith to look back to the redeemer who was our sacrifice. We have the advantage of the Holy Spirit so that we can actually keep the Law, if we so choose to walk in God‘s path of obedience. But God has not been dealing with us differently when it comes to salvation. The only reason the church exists apart from Israel is because of Israel's rejection of Christ as the Messiah.
There were always Gentiles that sojourned with Israel and believed, and there have always been Jews who have been Christians. The difference in the supposed way of God’s dealing with us is that the manifestation of how the remembrance is made has been changed. We have the Lord's supper. They had Passover. We have the ultimate sacrifice that doesn't need repeating. They had to constantly be reminded of the need for an ultimate sacrifice for their sins by the offering of animals. God took forty years to give plenty of time for the gospel to go out into the world before he eliminated the temple worship. There was an overlapping of the start of Christianity and the removal of the sacrificial system. Israel overlapped onto the "church age". By trying to pigeonhole God into a box to try to comprehend how God deals with man, people have created situations that they then have to try to reconcile scripturally, and that can lead to some major errors in interpreting scripture. If you believe in dispensations where there is a clear line drawn at one point in time and that God abruptly changes His dealings with mankind, you end up having to force scriptures to accommodate that position. If on the other hand you realize God has always dealt spiritually with man in the same way, by grace through faith, it allows God to work with both Israel and the church simultaneously and allows the scriptures to flow freely without being twisted up into knots.
Part of the problem lies in not understanding that Israel, as a nation, and the church are not the same type of entities. One is physical, one is spiritual. While the nation of Israel is being punished as a nation, that has nothing to do with how God deals with us on the matter of our salvation and the church’s need for cleansing, purging, refining, or rewarding. The church exists as a body and the bride of Christ due to salvation, individual salvation. Salvation is the prerequisite to being part of that body. It fulfills the spiritual part of the covenant with Abraham. It is not a nation in the same way Israel is. It is a spiritual entity. It consists of both Gentiles and Jews.
The nation of Israel on the other hand is the result of a covenant with Abraham for a physical nation of his physical, biological descendants. It is a physical entity. This physical part of the covenant will be fulfilled because of a promise made to Abraham about his biological descendants, due to his faith. The two can and do overlap, as they are not dependent upon one another. They exist on different planes and they can and do exist together. Israel already exists as a nation. It is not yet a holy nation, as they have to accept the Messiah for that, but the fact remains that they are again a nation. So already the church and Israel overlap. God started dealing with the Jews when He brought those dry bones back together and created a nation. The time of the Jews has begun. The end has not yet started, but God’s dealing with the Jews has begun. The time of the Gentiles is yet to be fulfilled. If that line of demarcation was so abrupt and explicit, the church would already be gone. So why is it so difficult to accept that the church will go into the tribulation? We have already begun the time of transition from this age into the age of the millennium where Israel will be the leading nation. We simply have to go through that period of cleansing. Just as the temple was finally destroyed after a period of time, when God turned from the Jews after preparing the Gentiles to take over the role of taking the message to the world, God is going to cleanse (punish) the church and is preparing the Jews to take over again as the ones who will bring the message of salvation to the world. Can it not be seen that there is a pattern? Apostate nation of Israel, Christianity comes in. After a period of time for transition, the temple is destroyed and Israel is punished. Christianity takes over. Now let’s see the reverse. Apostate Christianity, the nation of Israel comes in. After a period of time for transition, the temple is rebuilt and Christianity is punished. Israel will take over. Perfect symmetry. Of course when Christianity took over for Israel, God did not destroy the world, which He will do this time.
So we can see that while it might be nice and neat to think that God has boxed us into boxes when dealing with us, that isn’t the case. When it comes to salvation, He has always dealt with man in the same way - by grace through faith. What has had to change through the ages is the way man has had to respond to God. Man had to sacrifice and live by the law written on his conscience, then man had to sacrifice and acknowledge the law written on stone, as well as follow a multitude of rules for the sake of establishing a healthy, righteous nation into which the Savior could be born. Then man no longer had to sacrifice, because there was the ultimate sacrifice, and the law written on stone was transferred to his heart. The multitude of rules were no longer needed as the Savior had come. We are now free to observe the law, which they couldn’t do before in the same way we can now. What has changed is our response, not God’s way of dealing with us.
When it comes to the nation of Israel, it is a physical, corporate, biological, governmental entity that people are born into, with a destiny tied to a promise to a man’s physical body as well as his spiritual being. When it comes to the church, it is a spiritual, corporate entity that individuals choose to enter into with a completely different destiny tied to a promise to a man‘s faith alone. These two are not mutually exclusive, nor are they dependent upon each other. They can exist separately, and they can exist together. There is a small part of the church that is also of the nation of Israel. They can and do exist simultaneously and God deals with both simultaneously, as they are being dealt with for different things. Hopefully this explanation will settle the problem that the doctrine of dispensations seems to create for people and prevents them from accepting the clear teachings of Christ and His apostles.
To begin we will go over the major covenants. First there was the Adamic covenant which promised a redeemer after the fall. The sign of this covenant was the beginning of sacrifices, as this (an animal sacrifice) was what was required to literally cover Adam's and Eve's bodies, as well as their sin. It was the sacrifices which taught that there needed to be a blood sacrifice for sin. The reason this was necessary was that when they sinned, their lives became forfeit by death. Their death was the necessary punishment to satisfy God, as that was the rule He had established and He had to carry it out. In actuality it was a blessing, as had God not required death as the punishment, man would never have had the chance for redemption. It is only through our death that we can move on to a sinless body again. On the other hand, Satan had won their souls by getting them to reject God in favor of him. He then owned them, as he owns all of us until we accept the Lord. As the life is in the blood, (Leviticus 17:11 “For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.”), their life or blood was forfeit to both God (that was the penalty for disobedience) and their souls to Satan (by their making him their new master). By all rights, Satan was owed their lives immediately and could take them by inflicting death, but God arranged for a substitute, as it was not His will to have them die right then. This explains why during the temple days there were two goats sacrificed at Yom Kippur. One was slain and offered on the ark of the covenant, and the other was was taken out to the desert and given to Azazel, the demon of the desert. Satan was forced to accept this arrangement. He can have a person when they die, if they have not accepted God's substitute(Yeshua) for their sins and lives. Whenever anyone offered a sacrifice, it was in faith that there would one day be a redeemer who would offer the ultimate sacrifice that would once and for all be sufficient to cover their sins, redeeming their souls and thereby freeing them from the claim of Satan. As Yeshua would keep the law perfectly (a much harder proposition than Adam had been given) His soul would not be forfeit to Satan, so to offer His blood in our place would cover our sins. So He had to die and shed His blood, but Satan could not claim His soul.
The Adamic covenant overlaps the next covenant, in fact it overlaps them all until the New Covenant which is the last one. However, sacrifices will be re-instituted during the millennium. Many people have a real problem with this as Christ was supposed to be the ultimate sacrifice, so there should no longer be sacrifices. It is in understanding that sacrifices didn't cover sins and were only to remind people of their sins and the need for Christ's sacrifice, that it can be reconciled that God would again have the sacrifices at the temple. This is explained more fully further on.
The next covenant was the Noahic covenant. This established that God would never flood the earth again to destroy it. The sign of this covenant was the rainbow. This covenant still exists today, so it overlaps all of the following including the New Covenant. With the earth in all probability reverting back to an antediluvian state, this covenant sign would disappear as it requires the particular atmospheric conditions that exist in the present world to become visible. However God's bow also exists over His throne, which will be here in New Jerusalem when the millennium begins.
Then there was the Abrahamic covenant which said that God would make a nation of Abraham that would be so large it would be like numbering the stars. He would give them the land which we now know as Israel as an everlasting possession, and the redeemer would come through this nation. He signed this covenant with circumcision. This covenant will continue through the millennium.
There followed the Mosaic covenant which said that God would make Israel a special people out of all people. They would be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. This also came with a blessing and curse for obedience and disobedience. The sign of this covenant was the Sabbath. Again, this covenant is still waiting to be fulfilled in completion. It is said that Christ’s resurrection on Sunday superceded the Sabbath, but this is an eternal sign. The excuse is that the church is not Israel so the Sabbath doesn’t apply to us. My questions are to those who say this….How are Messianic Jews supposed to deal with this discrepancy, do they observe the Sabbath, or Sunday, and why if it is one of the commandments, and we as Christians are supposed to keep the commandments (“If you love me, keep my commandments”) does the church completely ignore this one. Two more questions are, why will people be again commanded to observe the Sabbath, not Sunday in the millennium, and why was Christ expecting His followers (who were not just Jews but Christians as we have already discussed) to be observing it at the time of the tribulation which is still future? (Pray that your flight be not on the Sabbath day). I do not intend to get into a discussion on this (be forewarned if you want to, that I won’t do that, as it is too lengthy a subject to debate right now) but the questions do beg to be considered. (later) This covenant also will last through the millennium.
Then the Davidic covenant said that God would establish David and his descendants as the rightful kings of Judah. The greatest sign that would confirm this would be the giving of the Messiah (a Virgin will conceive) who will reign on the throne forever. This covenant is still to be fulfilled also, as Christ has not been crowned King of Kings yet and given the Kingdom. That will come with the millennium. He was the Lamb, now He is the Priest, and shortly He will reign as King. This covenant is eternal. Christ will always sit on the throne.
The last major covenant is the New Covenant. Christ established a permanent way of reconciling us to God by His death and resurrection. He wrote the Law on our hearts. The sign of this is the Holy Spirit who helps us to keep that Law. This covenant is also eternal.
So we can see that the covenants overlap each other, in fact they all continue through the millennium and some beyond. God does not abruptly stop one thing to start the next.
It is said that up until the time of Moses that God dealt with man by man's own conscience and that was one dispensation. When God gave the Law, that was another way of dealing with man, so that was another dispensation. Then when Christ came, God instead of dealing with man by the Law, is dealing with man by grace. This is yet another dispensation. I would argue that God’s way of offering salvation and dealing with man has always been by grace through faith, right from the start. "For by it (faith) the elders obtained a good report.... By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous (grace)....By faith Enoch was translated....By faith Noah....prepared an ark...and became heir of the righteousness (grace) which is by faith." Heb. 11:2-7 "By grace Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord." Gen. 6:8. "By faith Abraham...obeyed...by faith he sojourned...through faith Sara...these all died in faith." Heb.8-13. Read Hebrews 11, it is all about everyone from Abel on down being justified by faith through the grace of God. That is exactly how we are justified.
The sacrifices that began with Abel were never sufficient to cover man's sins, Heb. 10:4. They were a substitute for us because of Satan's demand for our blood, which was rightfully his, and as a remembrance for mankind that our blood was forfeit due to our sin, and that we needed a redeemer who would be the ultimate sacrifice. Heb. 10:3. The faithful O.T. people died looking forward to the promise, not having yet received it, and it was counted to them as righteousness, by faith through God's grace. Heb. 11:13,39.
The Gentiles, before and without the law, did those things contained in the law, showing the law written in their hearts when their consciences bore witness and accused or excused them. Rom. 2:14-15. The Law (10 commandments) was given to make people more aware of their sins, not provide a means of salvation. Romans 3:20. "Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin." As to the other 613 laws for the Jews, these were written to keep them healthy, producing children, and spiritually accountable. The reason Gentiles were not compelled to follow all these laws was because they were only for that reason, to make a great nation that could rule the world, to make a healthy nation into which the Savior could be born, and to be the spiritual guide for their lives. The church is not a nation (at least not in the same way), and we do not have to bring the Messiah into the world, so we don‘t need the laws for health and expansion of a people. We have the Holy Spirit to be the spiritual guide and conscience for our lives, plus the rest of Scriptures. We don’t need all the laws that God demanded of Israel. Thus there are very few rules that we were given in Acts that we are to follow. In the millennium laws will be enacted again. Why? After the world is destroyed, there will be few people left, and living conditions will no doubt be barbaric again. Disease could become a problem that could wipe out what people are left in the world. Therefore dietary and hygienic laws will be crucial to keep people alive. Also the world will need to be repopulated, so these laws will be instrumental in providing that ability.
People say we are no longer under the law (10 commandments), we are under grace. People were never under the law to keep it for salvation. That is misunderstanding the whole concept. No flesh could be justified by the law. It was to accuse us of our sins, and it still does. And as to keeping it, we are more expected to keep it than the Jews ever were, because we have the Holy Spirit to help us. Rom. 8:1-5,9-15 Christ has written the Law on our hearts. Heb. 10:16. Christ summed up the law in two commandments. "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." Matt. 22:37-40. "If ye love me, keep my commandments." John 14:15. We are expected to keep the commandments. The Law still condemns us, just as it did the Jews. The only difference being, while they had to have the faith of looking forward to the redeemer and offered sacrifices, we have to have faith to look back to the redeemer who was our sacrifice. We have the advantage of the Holy Spirit so that we can actually keep the Law, if we so choose to walk in God‘s path of obedience. But God has not been dealing with us differently when it comes to salvation. The only reason the church exists apart from Israel is because of Israel's rejection of Christ as the Messiah.
There were always Gentiles that sojourned with Israel and believed, and there have always been Jews who have been Christians. The difference in the supposed way of God’s dealing with us is that the manifestation of how the remembrance is made has been changed. We have the Lord's supper. They had Passover. We have the ultimate sacrifice that doesn't need repeating. They had to constantly be reminded of the need for an ultimate sacrifice for their sins by the offering of animals. God took forty years to give plenty of time for the gospel to go out into the world before he eliminated the temple worship. There was an overlapping of the start of Christianity and the removal of the sacrificial system. Israel overlapped onto the "church age". By trying to pigeonhole God into a box to try to comprehend how God deals with man, people have created situations that they then have to try to reconcile scripturally, and that can lead to some major errors in interpreting scripture. If you believe in dispensations where there is a clear line drawn at one point in time and that God abruptly changes His dealings with mankind, you end up having to force scriptures to accommodate that position. If on the other hand you realize God has always dealt spiritually with man in the same way, by grace through faith, it allows God to work with both Israel and the church simultaneously and allows the scriptures to flow freely without being twisted up into knots.
Part of the problem lies in not understanding that Israel, as a nation, and the church are not the same type of entities. One is physical, one is spiritual. While the nation of Israel is being punished as a nation, that has nothing to do with how God deals with us on the matter of our salvation and the church’s need for cleansing, purging, refining, or rewarding. The church exists as a body and the bride of Christ due to salvation, individual salvation. Salvation is the prerequisite to being part of that body. It fulfills the spiritual part of the covenant with Abraham. It is not a nation in the same way Israel is. It is a spiritual entity. It consists of both Gentiles and Jews.
The nation of Israel on the other hand is the result of a covenant with Abraham for a physical nation of his physical, biological descendants. It is a physical entity. This physical part of the covenant will be fulfilled because of a promise made to Abraham about his biological descendants, due to his faith. The two can and do overlap, as they are not dependent upon one another. They exist on different planes and they can and do exist together. Israel already exists as a nation. It is not yet a holy nation, as they have to accept the Messiah for that, but the fact remains that they are again a nation. So already the church and Israel overlap. God started dealing with the Jews when He brought those dry bones back together and created a nation. The time of the Jews has begun. The end has not yet started, but God’s dealing with the Jews has begun. The time of the Gentiles is yet to be fulfilled. If that line of demarcation was so abrupt and explicit, the church would already be gone. So why is it so difficult to accept that the church will go into the tribulation? We have already begun the time of transition from this age into the age of the millennium where Israel will be the leading nation. We simply have to go through that period of cleansing. Just as the temple was finally destroyed after a period of time, when God turned from the Jews after preparing the Gentiles to take over the role of taking the message to the world, God is going to cleanse (punish) the church and is preparing the Jews to take over again as the ones who will bring the message of salvation to the world. Can it not be seen that there is a pattern? Apostate nation of Israel, Christianity comes in. After a period of time for transition, the temple is destroyed and Israel is punished. Christianity takes over. Now let’s see the reverse. Apostate Christianity, the nation of Israel comes in. After a period of time for transition, the temple is rebuilt and Christianity is punished. Israel will take over. Perfect symmetry. Of course when Christianity took over for Israel, God did not destroy the world, which He will do this time.
So we can see that while it might be nice and neat to think that God has boxed us into boxes when dealing with us, that isn’t the case. When it comes to salvation, He has always dealt with man in the same way - by grace through faith. What has had to change through the ages is the way man has had to respond to God. Man had to sacrifice and live by the law written on his conscience, then man had to sacrifice and acknowledge the law written on stone, as well as follow a multitude of rules for the sake of establishing a healthy, righteous nation into which the Savior could be born. Then man no longer had to sacrifice, because there was the ultimate sacrifice, and the law written on stone was transferred to his heart. The multitude of rules were no longer needed as the Savior had come. We are now free to observe the law, which they couldn’t do before in the same way we can now. What has changed is our response, not God’s way of dealing with us.
When it comes to the nation of Israel, it is a physical, corporate, biological, governmental entity that people are born into, with a destiny tied to a promise to a man’s physical body as well as his spiritual being. When it comes to the church, it is a spiritual, corporate entity that individuals choose to enter into with a completely different destiny tied to a promise to a man‘s faith alone. These two are not mutually exclusive, nor are they dependent upon each other. They can exist separately, and they can exist together. There is a small part of the church that is also of the nation of Israel. They can and do exist simultaneously and God deals with both simultaneously, as they are being dealt with for different things. Hopefully this explanation will settle the problem that the doctrine of dispensations seems to create for people and prevents them from accepting the clear teachings of Christ and His apostles.
Monday, July 6, 2009
The Rapture/Resurrection
The verses concerning the rapture and resurrection are the next thing that we will study
1 Cor. 15:20-25.
Paul says that every man will be resurrected in his own order. First Christ, then those that are Christ’s at His Coming. Here Paul puts the resurrection at the Second Coming. We are told in 1 Thess. 4:15 that the rapture does not precede the resurrection. So this would put the rapture at the Second Coming after the resurrection. Next we are told in Corinthians that “the end” will come. Up to this point, when we see the phrase “the end” it has meant that entire 70th week period. If that is what is meant here then pre-trib rapturists would finally have a verse in their favor. But we have seen a lot of scriptures that do not point to that being the case, so now we must see if this verse can be reconciled to the others without having to twist the verse totally out of order and context. We cannot build a theory around this one verse alone in the face of all the others that don’t say this, but if there is no way to reconcile it, then we have to reconsider what we have understood up to this point. Let’s look further.
By simple grammatical rules, “the end” in this verse is referring to that time when Christ will have delivered up the kingdom to God, when He shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. That He will put all enemies under His feet. From what we have already studied and will study in Revelation, we know that antichrist rules and reigns until the very end of the 70th week. It is then that Christ finally delivers the kingdom to God and starts to fully reign as the one and only King. So now we see there is no discrepancy. This is referring to the very, very end, when all is concluded and the kingdom of God will begin. Therefore this verse is putting the timing of the Second Coming at the end of the 70th week.
1 Thess. 4:13-18. Paul says in verse 14 that those who died in Jesus will be brought back with Jesus when He returns. In verse 15 it says that by “the word of the Lord” in other words according to scripture, that we who are alive until the 2nd coming of Christ will not go before those who are resurrected. Notice that this says that those who are alive at the 2nd coming, will not be raptured before the resurrection. The resurrection occurs at the 2nd coming according to this scripture. Then the rapture follows. Again, this happens at the Second Coming according to "the word of the Lord".
Now in verse 16 and 17 we are given information that we have seen before. We just need to recognize and accept it. The Lord will descend from heaven, and with a shout (thundering), with the voice of the archangel (angels in attendance), with a trumpet blast, and the dead in Christ will rise first, then those who are alive and remain (until the Lord’s 2nd coming) will be caught up in the clouds (angels gather his elect from the four winds) to meet the Lord in the air. This is exactly as described in Matthew, Mark, and Luke and even the Psalms. Everyone agrees that this is the rapture in this verse. Clearly this is the same that Matthew, Mark, and Luke give of the Second Coming where the elect are gathered, so this confirms that the passages in the gospels are about the rapture.
2 Thess. 2:1. This is the third time we have seen this scripture. The first was because it spoke of the Day of the Lord. The second time was because it spoke of the 2nd coming. Now it speaks of the rapture (gathering - notice the use of the same word as in the gospels). The reason it has fallen into all three categories is because all three events are connected. As Paul says, by “the word of the Lord”, the 2nd coming is first, the gathering next. We also know that the signs of the Day of the Lord precedes both of these events and that they kick it off.
1 Cor. 15:51-52. We are told that we won’t all have to die. That some shall be changed without having to go through death. This will take the space of time that a twinkling of an eye takes. It will happen at the last trump. The last trumpet blast by God. Here is a problem. This is the last trumpet blast. There are no more trumpets after the last trumpet blast at which time those who are alive and remain will be changed in the twinkling of an eye. So the trumpet blast that occurs at the Second Coming must also be the last trumpet blast. Therefore, the trumpet blast for the rapture, and the trumpet blast for the Second Coming are the same trumpet blast. We will see when this last trumpet blast occurs in Revelation.
The other verses about the rapture are ones that we have covered when going over the Second Coming. They are the verses in Matthew 24:30-31, 40-41, Mark13:26-27 , and Luke 17:34-36, 21:27-28 which speak of the Son of Man appearing on the clouds and with a trumpet blast, the angels gathering His elect from the four winds, and the one taken, one left. After seeing the parallels in these scriptures, how it can be denied that they are all talking about the same event is a mystery to me. It is clear that they are all speaking of the same event as the same things happen each time.
We already have a timeline from the 2nd Coming scriptures. Here again is the Reader’s Digest condensed (as it were) version of the order of events are as follows:
Beginning of sorrows
70th week begins
Temple is built
Restrainer is removed
Abomination of desolation
Great tribulation
False prophets with signs and wonders
Delusion
Tribulation cut short of the 3 ½ weeks
Day of the Lord begins as-
Son of Man returns and resurrects/raptures the elect
These following last couple of things are still to be more fully covered, but just to give you a preview, we will see that they occur after the Lord returns.
Punishment poured out on the nations
Marriage feast of the Lamb
Son of Man comes down with saints to earth (from New Jerusalem) at Armageddon
1 Cor. 15:20-25.
Paul says that every man will be resurrected in his own order. First Christ, then those that are Christ’s at His Coming. Here Paul puts the resurrection at the Second Coming. We are told in 1 Thess. 4:15 that the rapture does not precede the resurrection. So this would put the rapture at the Second Coming after the resurrection. Next we are told in Corinthians that “the end” will come. Up to this point, when we see the phrase “the end” it has meant that entire 70th week period. If that is what is meant here then pre-trib rapturists would finally have a verse in their favor. But we have seen a lot of scriptures that do not point to that being the case, so now we must see if this verse can be reconciled to the others without having to twist the verse totally out of order and context. We cannot build a theory around this one verse alone in the face of all the others that don’t say this, but if there is no way to reconcile it, then we have to reconsider what we have understood up to this point. Let’s look further.
By simple grammatical rules, “the end” in this verse is referring to that time when Christ will have delivered up the kingdom to God, when He shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. That He will put all enemies under His feet. From what we have already studied and will study in Revelation, we know that antichrist rules and reigns until the very end of the 70th week. It is then that Christ finally delivers the kingdom to God and starts to fully reign as the one and only King. So now we see there is no discrepancy. This is referring to the very, very end, when all is concluded and the kingdom of God will begin. Therefore this verse is putting the timing of the Second Coming at the end of the 70th week.
1 Thess. 4:13-18. Paul says in verse 14 that those who died in Jesus will be brought back with Jesus when He returns. In verse 15 it says that by “the word of the Lord” in other words according to scripture, that we who are alive until the 2nd coming of Christ will not go before those who are resurrected. Notice that this says that those who are alive at the 2nd coming, will not be raptured before the resurrection. The resurrection occurs at the 2nd coming according to this scripture. Then the rapture follows. Again, this happens at the Second Coming according to "the word of the Lord".
Now in verse 16 and 17 we are given information that we have seen before. We just need to recognize and accept it. The Lord will descend from heaven, and with a shout (thundering), with the voice of the archangel (angels in attendance), with a trumpet blast, and the dead in Christ will rise first, then those who are alive and remain (until the Lord’s 2nd coming) will be caught up in the clouds (angels gather his elect from the four winds) to meet the Lord in the air. This is exactly as described in Matthew, Mark, and Luke and even the Psalms. Everyone agrees that this is the rapture in this verse. Clearly this is the same that Matthew, Mark, and Luke give of the Second Coming where the elect are gathered, so this confirms that the passages in the gospels are about the rapture.
2 Thess. 2:1. This is the third time we have seen this scripture. The first was because it spoke of the Day of the Lord. The second time was because it spoke of the 2nd coming. Now it speaks of the rapture (gathering - notice the use of the same word as in the gospels). The reason it has fallen into all three categories is because all three events are connected. As Paul says, by “the word of the Lord”, the 2nd coming is first, the gathering next. We also know that the signs of the Day of the Lord precedes both of these events and that they kick it off.
1 Cor. 15:51-52. We are told that we won’t all have to die. That some shall be changed without having to go through death. This will take the space of time that a twinkling of an eye takes. It will happen at the last trump. The last trumpet blast by God. Here is a problem. This is the last trumpet blast. There are no more trumpets after the last trumpet blast at which time those who are alive and remain will be changed in the twinkling of an eye. So the trumpet blast that occurs at the Second Coming must also be the last trumpet blast. Therefore, the trumpet blast for the rapture, and the trumpet blast for the Second Coming are the same trumpet blast. We will see when this last trumpet blast occurs in Revelation.
The other verses about the rapture are ones that we have covered when going over the Second Coming. They are the verses in Matthew 24:30-31, 40-41, Mark13:26-27 , and Luke 17:34-36, 21:27-28 which speak of the Son of Man appearing on the clouds and with a trumpet blast, the angels gathering His elect from the four winds, and the one taken, one left. After seeing the parallels in these scriptures, how it can be denied that they are all talking about the same event is a mystery to me. It is clear that they are all speaking of the same event as the same things happen each time.
We already have a timeline from the 2nd Coming scriptures. Here again is the Reader’s Digest condensed (as it were) version of the order of events are as follows:
Beginning of sorrows
70th week begins
Temple is built
Restrainer is removed
Abomination of desolation
Great tribulation
False prophets with signs and wonders
Delusion
Tribulation cut short of the 3 ½ weeks
Day of the Lord begins as-
Son of Man returns and resurrects/raptures the elect
These following last couple of things are still to be more fully covered, but just to give you a preview, we will see that they occur after the Lord returns.
Punishment poured out on the nations
Marriage feast of the Lamb
Son of Man comes down with saints to earth (from New Jerusalem) at Armageddon
Sunday, July 5, 2009
The Second Coming of Christ Pt. 9
Now we need to put together all of the signs of the 2nd coming from all of these scriptures in the working order that they have been given to us. This is a timeline that can now be drawn out like a map and into which we can insert the things, in their proper place, that we still have yet to study.
Beginning of Sorrows
False christs.
Wars and rumors of wars.
Nation vs. nation, kingdom vs. kingdom, ethnic group vs. ethnic group
Famine.
Pestilence
Earthquakes
Betrayal
Persecution
Martyrdom
False prophets
People’s love grows cold
Gospel preached in whole world
Then the end shall come.
70th week begins
Christians need to endure to the end.
Apostasy - itching ears, doctrines of demons
Mocking and rejection of God and His word
Belief in evolution
Increase in wickedness - days of Noah, days of Lot
Midpoint of 70th week
Jerusalem surrounded
Restrainer removed
Abomination of desolation
Jews flee Judea
Great tribulation (known in the O.T. as Jacob's trouble)
Jerusalem trodden by Gentiles until end
False prophets show great signs and wonders
Delusion to all who won’t believe the truth/ if possible elect are deceived
Tribulation shortened - doesn't go the whole 3 1/2 years
Day of the Lord - starts sometime after tribulation ends and before end of 70th week
Fearful sights and wonders in heaven
Sun darkened
Moon gives no light
Stars fall
Heavens parted (rolled up like a scroll)
Nations in upheaval
Seas and waves roar
Men’s hearts failing for fear
Powers shaken in heaven
Things coming on the earth
Earth trembles and quakes
Earth’s foundations moved
Elements burned up
Devastation in heaven
Earth burned up
Smoke and fire
*Notice how the above signs, taken from the Scriptures about the 2nd coming exactly parallel the scriptures in both the O.T. and the N.T. that speak about the Day of the Lord. There is no question that this is the exact same event spoken of in those scriptures and is definitely the Day of the Lord. We will see these signs again in Revelation and by then should easily recognize them. They do not occur multiple times. These horrific events are a one time deal only. They will be devastating in their consequences.
2nd Coming
Sign of the Son of Man
Brightness of His appearing
Antichrist's reign comes to an end
Tribes mourn
Son of Man comes in clouds with great glory and power
Trumpet blast
God thunders
Angels gather elect - the rapture
One taken, one left
*All of the above signs are connected with both the 2nd Coming and the rapture, as we shall confirm even more next. There is no mistake that the rapture occurs at the time of the 2nd Coming.
Very end of 70th week - this will become more clear in Revelation
Hailstones
Lord comes with the saints at Armageddon
With this basic outline, we will see how easily the events of Revelation fit in and make perfect sense. But we still have a few more things to cover before we begin studying the book of Revelation.
Beginning of Sorrows
False christs.
Wars and rumors of wars.
Nation vs. nation, kingdom vs. kingdom, ethnic group vs. ethnic group
Famine.
Pestilence
Earthquakes
Betrayal
Persecution
Martyrdom
False prophets
People’s love grows cold
Gospel preached in whole world
Then the end shall come.
70th week begins
Christians need to endure to the end.
Apostasy - itching ears, doctrines of demons
Mocking and rejection of God and His word
Belief in evolution
Increase in wickedness - days of Noah, days of Lot
Midpoint of 70th week
Jerusalem surrounded
Restrainer removed
Abomination of desolation
Jews flee Judea
Great tribulation (known in the O.T. as Jacob's trouble)
Jerusalem trodden by Gentiles until end
False prophets show great signs and wonders
Delusion to all who won’t believe the truth/ if possible elect are deceived
Tribulation shortened - doesn't go the whole 3 1/2 years
Day of the Lord - starts sometime after tribulation ends and before end of 70th week
Fearful sights and wonders in heaven
Sun darkened
Moon gives no light
Stars fall
Heavens parted (rolled up like a scroll)
Nations in upheaval
Seas and waves roar
Men’s hearts failing for fear
Powers shaken in heaven
Things coming on the earth
Earth trembles and quakes
Earth’s foundations moved
Elements burned up
Devastation in heaven
Earth burned up
Smoke and fire
*Notice how the above signs, taken from the Scriptures about the 2nd coming exactly parallel the scriptures in both the O.T. and the N.T. that speak about the Day of the Lord. There is no question that this is the exact same event spoken of in those scriptures and is definitely the Day of the Lord. We will see these signs again in Revelation and by then should easily recognize them. They do not occur multiple times. These horrific events are a one time deal only. They will be devastating in their consequences.
2nd Coming
Sign of the Son of Man
Brightness of His appearing
Antichrist's reign comes to an end
Tribes mourn
Son of Man comes in clouds with great glory and power
Trumpet blast
God thunders
Angels gather elect - the rapture
One taken, one left
*All of the above signs are connected with both the 2nd Coming and the rapture, as we shall confirm even more next. There is no mistake that the rapture occurs at the time of the 2nd Coming.
Very end of 70th week - this will become more clear in Revelation
Hailstones
Lord comes with the saints at Armageddon
With this basic outline, we will see how easily the events of Revelation fit in and make perfect sense. But we still have a few more things to cover before we begin studying the book of Revelation.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
The Second Coming of Christ Pt. 8
Now we go back to a scripture we have already covered with the Day of the Lord.
2 Thess. 2:1-12. The Lord returns and then we are gathered together to him. This is the order given in the verse and now that we have looked at Matthew, Mark, and Luke, we see that this is the same order that they gave. The Lord returns and gathers the elect. As we have already covered this scripture, it seems unnecessary to go over it in detail again, but Paul verifies that he understands the 2nd coming and rapture just as given by Christ to the disciples. The Thessalonians thought the Day of the Lord either had begun or was about to begin. Paul told the them not to be worried that it had begun as it couldn‘t have yet, as there were signs that had to precede it. He then tells them what events must happen before the Day of the Lord can begin and they follow the same pattern as laid out in the gospels. But just as each of the disciples/apostles added to the information, so Paul adds some. He tells us that another sign will be the apostasy of the church. Then the tribulation. And he gives us the information about the restrainer, which coordinates with Daniel’s information.
Just as a reminder, this scripture says that during the 70th week, after the abomination of desolation, there won’t be multitudes of people coming to the Lord during this time. This says that there won’t be any coming to the Lord. They will all believe the lie. They may not take the mark out of other reasons (Jews won’t believe in Christ until he returns, but they won’t accept antichrist either as many still believe in God and righteousness, and some people are simply anti-New World Order- those who will help but not be sincere), but this clearly says that if you haven’t accepted the Lord before this, you won’t during the tribulation or Day of the Lord. Those who don't take the mark will probably make it into the millennium, but they won’t be part of the bride of Christ as they didn't believe the truth in time.
2 Peter 3:3-13. Peter mentions the 2nd coming in the context of it being mocked, and he goes on to describe the end and Day of the Lord, so I will include it in this section even though it also covers the Day of the Lord, (since the Day of the Lord precedes the 2nd coming.)
First Peter warns that in the last days (end times) there will be scoffers (of God and His word and His coming) who will walk after their own lusts. They will mockingly ask where is the promise (evidence, announcement) of His coming. For (and this is interesting) they say that since the fathers fell asleep (since the beginning of time) all things continue as they were (this is the definition of uniformitarianism - an evolutionary teaching, God actually included here the fact that evolution would be taught in our age) from the beginning of creation (or the beginning of the big bang in their belief system). They are willingly ignorant (deliberately ignore) of the fact that the Bible teaches that the heavens were created first, then the earth was created out of water and was in the water (before land and such were brought forth) and that the world that was then (before the flood) was overflowed with water (the entire earth was flooded) and the world that existed then perished. Noah’s flood accommodates all of the geological fossils and strata and all of the “evidence” for evolution. It is merely that they choose to interpret the evidence to accommodate their belief system. Which is a problem with interpreting scripture also. People approach scripture with a theory in hand and look for the verses to back it up rather than studying scripture to see what it straightforwardly says and take their belief from there.
But the heavens and earth which exist now, also by the word of God, are being kept in store and are being reserved to be destroyed by fire on the day of judgment (Day of the Lord) and the damnation of ungodly mankind.
Next Peter says that we should not be ignorant that one day with the Lord is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. I happen to believe that Ussher’s chronology is fairly accurate as to how old the earth is. I believe from Adam to Abraham there was roughly 2,000 years. From Abraham to Christ there was 2,000 years, and from Christ to us there has been 2,000 years. During each period God revealed Himself further to mankind. I believe the earth is 6,000 years old. And I have a reason for believing that other than just his chronology. It has to do with God’s laws and observances. He created the world in seven days. Six were for work, one was for rest. He demanded that Israel observe this week. He also created a seven year week for them. Six for the land to be worked, the seventh for the land to have a rest. If the world is indeed 6000 years old, and we know the end times are here and the Lord is close to returning, then the world would have 6000 years for mankind, and one thousand years for the Lord (to reign). We know that the millennium is called a time of rest for the world and Christians to enter into. It would be another type of week where each day is a thousand years. In other words, one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. In a seven day week, the last day is the Sabbath (or rest) Day belonging to the Lord. In a seven year week, the seventh year is the Sabbath year, belonging to the Lord. In a 7000 year long world, the seventh millennium would be the Sabbath or Day of (belonging to) the Lord. Most of the time people think of the Day of the Lord as a short period just before the millennium where God pours out his wrath. What if the entire period is a Sabbath “day’s” rest - the Day of the Lord? A Sabbath for the earth (and mankind). Before the Sabbath began in temple days, right before sundown (when the Sabbath day began) the priests would do a thorough house cleaning to make sure that everything had been cleansed for the Sabbath day. So we see that just before the Sabbath “day” of the millennium God cleanses the earth. Patterns are one of God’s chosen ways of teaching us. Perhaps this is a pattern too. And actually this understanding of the Day of the Lord as being the entire period from the time the heavenly signs start until the Great White Throne Judgment makes some scriptures more understandable.
Now we are told that (although it has taken 2000 years) the Lord is not slow to keep His promises. It is merely that He is so very long suffering toward us and not willing that any should perish, that He holds back.
Then Peter says that the Day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night (unexpectedly and suddenly without warning, but only to unbelievers) in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, the elements will melt with heat and the earth and all its works will be burned up. There will be great devastation in the heavens. We know the sun and moon go dark. What is going to happen to them? We shall see. The earth will be burned up. Fire will destroy this time, not water.
Then we are given a warning that seeing as all of this will happen, how should we be behaving and speaking. We should be looking forward to this regardless of the devastation, because we look forward to the new earth (a renovated one at this time, just as the new world after Noah) and new heavens where righteousness will be the way of life. We will see how the heavens may change in other scriptures.
Jude 14-15. Enoch - an antediluvian patriarch prophesied about the 2nd coming of Christ. This is interesting as the first coming had not taken place yet. He said that the Lord would come (return) with ten thousands of his saints (us) to execute judgment on all. This is because of the world's gross ungodliness. We will see later that this will be truly fulfilled at Armageddon when He does come with His saints riding behind Him. Many point to this as confirmation that the church must have been raptured previous to the 2nd Coming as the saints come with Him. This verse doesn't contradict a rapture at the 2nd Coming. There are two ways of looking at this verse that fit perfectly with what I have been teaching. First is the one already mentioned, we will see in Revelation that when Christ comes at Armageddon, it will be with the saints in tow. But there is another very rational explanation. When Christ comes to earth, he will be bringing all the saints that have died in the Lord up to that point to resurrect them from the graves. So He will be bringing His saints with Him. Again, there is no discrepancy here. There is another thing that must be understood about the Coming of Christ. It isn't a momentary thing that happens and is over in a second. When Christ comes, first He will take the time to resurrect the dead. When that is accomplished, He will meet the raptured saints in the air. From that vantage point, in New Jerusalem which will be orbiting the earth, He will continue to pour out His wrath on the nations. This will all take time and will encompass the minimum time of a month, possibly more. Then He will come down to earth itself at Armageddon with the saints accompanying Him. In relating this, I jump way ahead of myself into Revelation, but the apparent discrepancy of His having the saints with Him at His Second Coming here had to be reconciled, so it was necessary to cover some material that we are not really ready to cover yet.
2 Thess. 2:1-12. The Lord returns and then we are gathered together to him. This is the order given in the verse and now that we have looked at Matthew, Mark, and Luke, we see that this is the same order that they gave. The Lord returns and gathers the elect. As we have already covered this scripture, it seems unnecessary to go over it in detail again, but Paul verifies that he understands the 2nd coming and rapture just as given by Christ to the disciples. The Thessalonians thought the Day of the Lord either had begun or was about to begin. Paul told the them not to be worried that it had begun as it couldn‘t have yet, as there were signs that had to precede it. He then tells them what events must happen before the Day of the Lord can begin and they follow the same pattern as laid out in the gospels. But just as each of the disciples/apostles added to the information, so Paul adds some. He tells us that another sign will be the apostasy of the church. Then the tribulation. And he gives us the information about the restrainer, which coordinates with Daniel’s information.
Just as a reminder, this scripture says that during the 70th week, after the abomination of desolation, there won’t be multitudes of people coming to the Lord during this time. This says that there won’t be any coming to the Lord. They will all believe the lie. They may not take the mark out of other reasons (Jews won’t believe in Christ until he returns, but they won’t accept antichrist either as many still believe in God and righteousness, and some people are simply anti-New World Order- those who will help but not be sincere), but this clearly says that if you haven’t accepted the Lord before this, you won’t during the tribulation or Day of the Lord. Those who don't take the mark will probably make it into the millennium, but they won’t be part of the bride of Christ as they didn't believe the truth in time.
2 Peter 3:3-13. Peter mentions the 2nd coming in the context of it being mocked, and he goes on to describe the end and Day of the Lord, so I will include it in this section even though it also covers the Day of the Lord, (since the Day of the Lord precedes the 2nd coming.)
First Peter warns that in the last days (end times) there will be scoffers (of God and His word and His coming) who will walk after their own lusts. They will mockingly ask where is the promise (evidence, announcement) of His coming. For (and this is interesting) they say that since the fathers fell asleep (since the beginning of time) all things continue as they were (this is the definition of uniformitarianism - an evolutionary teaching, God actually included here the fact that evolution would be taught in our age) from the beginning of creation (or the beginning of the big bang in their belief system). They are willingly ignorant (deliberately ignore) of the fact that the Bible teaches that the heavens were created first, then the earth was created out of water and was in the water (before land and such were brought forth) and that the world that was then (before the flood) was overflowed with water (the entire earth was flooded) and the world that existed then perished. Noah’s flood accommodates all of the geological fossils and strata and all of the “evidence” for evolution. It is merely that they choose to interpret the evidence to accommodate their belief system. Which is a problem with interpreting scripture also. People approach scripture with a theory in hand and look for the verses to back it up rather than studying scripture to see what it straightforwardly says and take their belief from there.
But the heavens and earth which exist now, also by the word of God, are being kept in store and are being reserved to be destroyed by fire on the day of judgment (Day of the Lord) and the damnation of ungodly mankind.
Next Peter says that we should not be ignorant that one day with the Lord is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. I happen to believe that Ussher’s chronology is fairly accurate as to how old the earth is. I believe from Adam to Abraham there was roughly 2,000 years. From Abraham to Christ there was 2,000 years, and from Christ to us there has been 2,000 years. During each period God revealed Himself further to mankind. I believe the earth is 6,000 years old. And I have a reason for believing that other than just his chronology. It has to do with God’s laws and observances. He created the world in seven days. Six were for work, one was for rest. He demanded that Israel observe this week. He also created a seven year week for them. Six for the land to be worked, the seventh for the land to have a rest. If the world is indeed 6000 years old, and we know the end times are here and the Lord is close to returning, then the world would have 6000 years for mankind, and one thousand years for the Lord (to reign). We know that the millennium is called a time of rest for the world and Christians to enter into. It would be another type of week where each day is a thousand years. In other words, one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. In a seven day week, the last day is the Sabbath (or rest) Day belonging to the Lord. In a seven year week, the seventh year is the Sabbath year, belonging to the Lord. In a 7000 year long world, the seventh millennium would be the Sabbath or Day of (belonging to) the Lord. Most of the time people think of the Day of the Lord as a short period just before the millennium where God pours out his wrath. What if the entire period is a Sabbath “day’s” rest - the Day of the Lord? A Sabbath for the earth (and mankind). Before the Sabbath began in temple days, right before sundown (when the Sabbath day began) the priests would do a thorough house cleaning to make sure that everything had been cleansed for the Sabbath day. So we see that just before the Sabbath “day” of the millennium God cleanses the earth. Patterns are one of God’s chosen ways of teaching us. Perhaps this is a pattern too. And actually this understanding of the Day of the Lord as being the entire period from the time the heavenly signs start until the Great White Throne Judgment makes some scriptures more understandable.
Now we are told that (although it has taken 2000 years) the Lord is not slow to keep His promises. It is merely that He is so very long suffering toward us and not willing that any should perish, that He holds back.
Then Peter says that the Day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night (unexpectedly and suddenly without warning, but only to unbelievers) in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, the elements will melt with heat and the earth and all its works will be burned up. There will be great devastation in the heavens. We know the sun and moon go dark. What is going to happen to them? We shall see. The earth will be burned up. Fire will destroy this time, not water.
Then we are given a warning that seeing as all of this will happen, how should we be behaving and speaking. We should be looking forward to this regardless of the devastation, because we look forward to the new earth (a renovated one at this time, just as the new world after Noah) and new heavens where righteousness will be the way of life. We will see how the heavens may change in other scriptures.
Jude 14-15. Enoch - an antediluvian patriarch prophesied about the 2nd coming of Christ. This is interesting as the first coming had not taken place yet. He said that the Lord would come (return) with ten thousands of his saints (us) to execute judgment on all. This is because of the world's gross ungodliness. We will see later that this will be truly fulfilled at Armageddon when He does come with His saints riding behind Him. Many point to this as confirmation that the church must have been raptured previous to the 2nd Coming as the saints come with Him. This verse doesn't contradict a rapture at the 2nd Coming. There are two ways of looking at this verse that fit perfectly with what I have been teaching. First is the one already mentioned, we will see in Revelation that when Christ comes at Armageddon, it will be with the saints in tow. But there is another very rational explanation. When Christ comes to earth, he will be bringing all the saints that have died in the Lord up to that point to resurrect them from the graves. So He will be bringing His saints with Him. Again, there is no discrepancy here. There is another thing that must be understood about the Coming of Christ. It isn't a momentary thing that happens and is over in a second. When Christ comes, first He will take the time to resurrect the dead. When that is accomplished, He will meet the raptured saints in the air. From that vantage point, in New Jerusalem which will be orbiting the earth, He will continue to pour out His wrath on the nations. This will all take time and will encompass the minimum time of a month, possibly more. Then He will come down to earth itself at Armageddon with the saints accompanying Him. In relating this, I jump way ahead of myself into Revelation, but the apparent discrepancy of His having the saints with Him at His Second Coming here had to be reconciled, so it was necessary to cover some material that we are not really ready to cover yet.
Friday, July 3, 2009
The Second Coming of Christ Pt. 7
Now we go to Luke. Luke split the Olivet message up when writing about it and inserted it into two different places in his writings, but the information is still there. Because we have both Matthew and Mark’s writings, we can put Luke’s in the correct order.
Luke 21: 7-36, 17:22-36
1st warning: Don’t be deceived.
False christs.
Wars and rumors of wars.
The end is not yet.
Nations rise against nations, kingdoms against kingdoms.
Earthquakes.
Famines.
Pestilence.
Fearful sights and wonders in the heavens. The others didn’t have signs in the heavens at this point, but we need to look closely at how Luke qualifies these. It is as if he jumped the gun and put them in early, as then he says “But before all these things”, in other words, “I’ve gotten a little ahead of myself”, and he goes back to the order that Matthew and Mark give.
Martyrdom.
Don’t answer when brought before judges, let the Holy Spirit speak through you.
Will be betrayed by parents, brothers, kinsmen, and friends to the death.
Have patience. Instead of saying that we should endure to the end, he simply says that we will need to have patience.
When Jerusalem is surrounded by armies, the abomination of desolation is about to occur. There is a little more information given here. Before the abomination of desolation, Jerusalem will be surrounded by armies. There will be some sort of military battle going on against Israel. For those who know to expect this, it will be the warning for them to do the next item listed - flee.
Those who are in Judea should flee to the mountains. Now they are told where to flee. There is speculation that they will flee to Petra in Jordan, or what used to be called Edom. There are some scriptural reasons for believing this, but we won’t go into them now. We’ll run into this again in Revelation, so we can deal with it more there.
Some will be killed or taken prisoner. This is what will happen in the tribulation.
Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles until the time of the Gentiles is fulfilled. (This verse is completely in context of the chronology of events, so it cannot be moved in the timeline.) The time of the Gentiles has not been fulfilled yet as of this time - after the abomination of desolation and within the tribulation. Again, this is where Luke puts it. The time of the Gentiles is not fulfilled, or the fullness of the Gentiles has not yet come in. The “fullness of the Gentiles coming in” is a phrase that Paul uses in Romans 11:25. He says that Israel will be blind until the fullness of the Gentiles comes in. So as of this point (the tribulation), Israel is still blind, according to Paul. Rev. 11:2 says that the court of the temple will be given to the Gentiles, as well as the holy city, to be trodden down by the Gentiles for forty-two months. The use of the same words is not coincidence in these verses by these three different authors. This is God’s inspiration for our benefit of ferreting out the truth.
By simple substitution, as you would use in a geometry theorem, we can rephrase Luke’s verse like this. The holy city, Jerusalem, will be trodden down for forty-two months (after the abomination of desolation, as that is where Luke puts it) by the Gentiles, and Israel will be blinded until the time of the Gentiles is fulfilled (forty-two months later).
If you didn’t follow that, here it is again. Luke says that Jerusalem (the holy city) will be trodden down by Gentiles after the tribulation until the time of the Gentiles is fulfilled. Revelation says that the treading of Jerusalem by the Gentiles will last forty-two months. So Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles for forty-two months. The treading of Jerusalem continues (for forty-two months) until the time of the Gentiles is fulfilled. Israel is blind until the time of the Gentiles is fulfilled (after the forty-two months). So the fulfillment of the Gentiles comes at the end of the forty-two months, which we will eventually see starts at the abomination of desolation. After that time, Israel’s blindness will be lifted. Some teach that one of the reasons that the rapture occurs before the 70th week is that the time of the Gentiles is over and this is the time for the Jews. This verse in Luke when in conjunction with Romans 11:25 and Revelation 11:2 says otherwise. The Jews will be blind until those forty-two months are over and they see Him whom they have pierced when He makes a visible appearance in the sky with clouds and angels to gather His elect. (when the time of the Gentiles is fulfilled). We will get more into the forty-two months in Revelation.
There will be the following signs in the following heavenly bodies:
The sun.
The moon.
The stars.
Nations in upheaval.
Seas and waves roaring .
Men’s hearts failing them for fear.
Things are coming on the earth.
The powers of heaven are shaken.
This time there is more Day of the Lord signs, which only verifies that it is the Day of the Lord to which it refers.
The Son of man comes in a cloud with power and glory.
When this happens, redemption is near - for Christians.
The parable of the fig tree.
This generation will not pass away till all is done.
2nd warning: don’t let this day come on you unexpectedly.
3rd warning: watch and PRAY that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things. We are now told that we should be praying that we can escape ( by God’s miraculous protection) out of all that is going to come upon the earth, so that we may live until the Lord does return. Only those who have not been guilty of all the apostasy that has been going on in the church, who as we will see in Revelation are overcomers, will be worthy to escape. The rest will suffer greatly at the hand of antichrist and from the things that will befall the earth.
(Chapter 17)
We have seen the following signs before, and can place them in their proper place with the events listed in chapter 21.
1st warning: don’t follow false christs.
As lightning shines from one part of heaven to the other, so will be the Son of man when he comes.
As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in that day, eating, drinking marrying, etc.
As it was in the days of Lot, so shall it be. The same day that Lot left Sodom, it was destroyed. So it shall be on the day the Lord returns. The problem in Lot’s day was homosexuality. Homosexuality is becoming so prevalent these days that it sometimes seems every other person is one. It is just one more sign of the times that lets us know the end is near. The day that Lot was rescued, Sodom was destroyed. The day that Noah got in the ark, judgment began. The day the Lord returns and removes us, will be the day when His judgment on the nations begins. We will see that judgment begins with the house of the Lord, then goes to the Jew, then is lastly poured out on the nations.
In that day those who seek to save their lives will lose it and those who lose their lives will preserve it. Saving your physical life will require taking the mark of the beast. To do so will mean the loss of eternal life. In losing their physical lives, and refusing the mark, they will save their souls.
People who are side by side, one will be taken, one will be left.
Where the body is there will the eagles be gathered. The placement of this verse after the one taken, one left, would seem to lean toward the interpretation that the eagles are Christians and the body is Christ to whom they are gathered.
Just as Mark gave us a little more information than Matthew, so Luke gives us a little more yet. We keep getting more information, so that we can work out the details as to what is going to happen. It is similar to putting a jigsaw puzzle together. You have to fit the pieces together, but they must fit exactly.
As a last note, Luke was a Greek physician. I have been getting comments that this discourse was meant only for the Jews, and I asked the question, what if one of the disciples was not a Jew, what would that mean about to whom this discourse was aimed? Well, Luke accepted this discourse as being pertinent to Christians or he would not have included it in his gospel, as the New Testament was being written for the sake of believers. It is believers that are told to look for the 2nd Coming of Christ. The Jewish population will not be looking for His return. They will only acknowledge Him once He has returned. This is what scripture teaches, and this is what we must accept.
Luke 21: 7-36, 17:22-36
1st warning: Don’t be deceived.
False christs.
Wars and rumors of wars.
The end is not yet.
Nations rise against nations, kingdoms against kingdoms.
Earthquakes.
Famines.
Pestilence.
Fearful sights and wonders in the heavens. The others didn’t have signs in the heavens at this point, but we need to look closely at how Luke qualifies these. It is as if he jumped the gun and put them in early, as then he says “But before all these things”, in other words, “I’ve gotten a little ahead of myself”, and he goes back to the order that Matthew and Mark give.
Martyrdom.
Don’t answer when brought before judges, let the Holy Spirit speak through you.
Will be betrayed by parents, brothers, kinsmen, and friends to the death.
Have patience. Instead of saying that we should endure to the end, he simply says that we will need to have patience.
When Jerusalem is surrounded by armies, the abomination of desolation is about to occur. There is a little more information given here. Before the abomination of desolation, Jerusalem will be surrounded by armies. There will be some sort of military battle going on against Israel. For those who know to expect this, it will be the warning for them to do the next item listed - flee.
Those who are in Judea should flee to the mountains. Now they are told where to flee. There is speculation that they will flee to Petra in Jordan, or what used to be called Edom. There are some scriptural reasons for believing this, but we won’t go into them now. We’ll run into this again in Revelation, so we can deal with it more there.
Some will be killed or taken prisoner. This is what will happen in the tribulation.
Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles until the time of the Gentiles is fulfilled. (This verse is completely in context of the chronology of events, so it cannot be moved in the timeline.) The time of the Gentiles has not been fulfilled yet as of this time - after the abomination of desolation and within the tribulation. Again, this is where Luke puts it. The time of the Gentiles is not fulfilled, or the fullness of the Gentiles has not yet come in. The “fullness of the Gentiles coming in” is a phrase that Paul uses in Romans 11:25. He says that Israel will be blind until the fullness of the Gentiles comes in. So as of this point (the tribulation), Israel is still blind, according to Paul. Rev. 11:2 says that the court of the temple will be given to the Gentiles, as well as the holy city, to be trodden down by the Gentiles for forty-two months. The use of the same words is not coincidence in these verses by these three different authors. This is God’s inspiration for our benefit of ferreting out the truth.
By simple substitution, as you would use in a geometry theorem, we can rephrase Luke’s verse like this. The holy city, Jerusalem, will be trodden down for forty-two months (after the abomination of desolation, as that is where Luke puts it) by the Gentiles, and Israel will be blinded until the time of the Gentiles is fulfilled (forty-two months later).
If you didn’t follow that, here it is again. Luke says that Jerusalem (the holy city) will be trodden down by Gentiles after the tribulation until the time of the Gentiles is fulfilled. Revelation says that the treading of Jerusalem by the Gentiles will last forty-two months. So Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles for forty-two months. The treading of Jerusalem continues (for forty-two months) until the time of the Gentiles is fulfilled. Israel is blind until the time of the Gentiles is fulfilled (after the forty-two months). So the fulfillment of the Gentiles comes at the end of the forty-two months, which we will eventually see starts at the abomination of desolation. After that time, Israel’s blindness will be lifted. Some teach that one of the reasons that the rapture occurs before the 70th week is that the time of the Gentiles is over and this is the time for the Jews. This verse in Luke when in conjunction with Romans 11:25 and Revelation 11:2 says otherwise. The Jews will be blind until those forty-two months are over and they see Him whom they have pierced when He makes a visible appearance in the sky with clouds and angels to gather His elect. (when the time of the Gentiles is fulfilled). We will get more into the forty-two months in Revelation.
There will be the following signs in the following heavenly bodies:
The sun.
The moon.
The stars.
Nations in upheaval.
Seas and waves roaring .
Men’s hearts failing them for fear.
Things are coming on the earth.
The powers of heaven are shaken.
This time there is more Day of the Lord signs, which only verifies that it is the Day of the Lord to which it refers.
The Son of man comes in a cloud with power and glory.
When this happens, redemption is near - for Christians.
The parable of the fig tree.
This generation will not pass away till all is done.
2nd warning: don’t let this day come on you unexpectedly.
3rd warning: watch and PRAY that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things. We are now told that we should be praying that we can escape ( by God’s miraculous protection) out of all that is going to come upon the earth, so that we may live until the Lord does return. Only those who have not been guilty of all the apostasy that has been going on in the church, who as we will see in Revelation are overcomers, will be worthy to escape. The rest will suffer greatly at the hand of antichrist and from the things that will befall the earth.
(Chapter 17)
We have seen the following signs before, and can place them in their proper place with the events listed in chapter 21.
1st warning: don’t follow false christs.
As lightning shines from one part of heaven to the other, so will be the Son of man when he comes.
As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in that day, eating, drinking marrying, etc.
As it was in the days of Lot, so shall it be. The same day that Lot left Sodom, it was destroyed. So it shall be on the day the Lord returns. The problem in Lot’s day was homosexuality. Homosexuality is becoming so prevalent these days that it sometimes seems every other person is one. It is just one more sign of the times that lets us know the end is near. The day that Lot was rescued, Sodom was destroyed. The day that Noah got in the ark, judgment began. The day the Lord returns and removes us, will be the day when His judgment on the nations begins. We will see that judgment begins with the house of the Lord, then goes to the Jew, then is lastly poured out on the nations.
In that day those who seek to save their lives will lose it and those who lose their lives will preserve it. Saving your physical life will require taking the mark of the beast. To do so will mean the loss of eternal life. In losing their physical lives, and refusing the mark, they will save their souls.
People who are side by side, one will be taken, one will be left.
Where the body is there will the eagles be gathered. The placement of this verse after the one taken, one left, would seem to lean toward the interpretation that the eagles are Christians and the body is Christ to whom they are gathered.
Just as Mark gave us a little more information than Matthew, so Luke gives us a little more yet. We keep getting more information, so that we can work out the details as to what is going to happen. It is similar to putting a jigsaw puzzle together. You have to fit the pieces together, but they must fit exactly.
As a last note, Luke was a Greek physician. I have been getting comments that this discourse was meant only for the Jews, and I asked the question, what if one of the disciples was not a Jew, what would that mean about to whom this discourse was aimed? Well, Luke accepted this discourse as being pertinent to Christians or he would not have included it in his gospel, as the New Testament was being written for the sake of believers. It is believers that are told to look for the 2nd Coming of Christ. The Jewish population will not be looking for His return. They will only acknowledge Him once He has returned. This is what scripture teaches, and this is what we must accept.
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