Israel

What Did Jesus Mean?

Ken

“He that is not against us is on our part” (Mark 9:40 KJV). Jesus had just responded to His disciples forbidding others from casting out demons in His name, who were not followers and colleagues of theirs. Jesus is not interested in building our human organizations; instead, He glories in raising up His Spiritual Kingdom. We are not to quantify support for Jesus simply by counting membership in our group or following, because we are only fellow laborers with the larger Body of Christ. We ought to pray as an organization for all the endeavors of the Body, whether we are familiar with the other members or not. Our power is not in the superiority of our numbers at any given location but our connection with the entire Body of Christ. “He that is not with Me is against Me; and he that gathereth not with Me scattereth abroad” (Matthew 12:3). Our understanding and emphasis must be upon our connection to Jesus. 

Yes, we have more connection to Christ’s Body than possibly we have appreciated; but, do we have more connection to OT Israel than also we have realized? Before there was an Israel, back at the Beginning, at the time of the Fall, the battle lines were drawn, when the LORD announced the conflict between Satan “and the woman, and between thy [Satan’s] seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15). Israel and the Jews proclaim, “We have Abraham to our father” (Matthew 3:9; Luke 3:8); and likewise, the Church acknowledges Abraham’s parentage. “Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham” (Galatians 3:7). 

What connects Israel and the Church? The Messiah. It is Jesus, who proclaimed, “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30), and further made known, “he that hath seen Me hath seen the Father” (14:9). Both Israel and the Church are peculiar to the Almighty. “Now therefore, if ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then ye [Israel] shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people: for all the earth is Mine” (Exodus 19:5). “But ye [the Church] are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvellous light” (1Peter 2:9). 

Israel’s current status is “unbelief” (Romans 11:20) and “blindness” (11:25) for the past 2,000 years. But, God’s choice or election of Israel is unconditional, “for the gifts and calling of God are without repentance” (11:29). All of this is consistent with the “purpose of God according to election [that it] might stand, not of works, but of Him that calleth” (9:11). On the other hand, God’s Church has also been called, chosen, or elected (Romans 8:28) to fulfill His purpose of fulfilling His promise to Abraham of gaining for Himself “many nations” (Genesis 17:4), even while Israel sleeps. “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom He hath chosen for His own inheritance” (Psalm 33:12). 

If both Israel and the Church are to “declare His glory among the heathen; His marvellous works among all nations” (1Chronicles 16:24), then the Church does not replace Israel but explains the conduct of Israel “until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in” (Romans 11:25). The Church is only doing what Israel should have done, but without the baggage of the ceremonial, Mosaic Law. It would appear the Fulness of the Gentiles concludes at the Rapture or Harpazō of the Church (1Thessalonians 4:17), when the prophetic program of the Seventieth Week of Daniel (Daniel 9:24-27) would recommence, concluding with the Battle of Armageddon (Revelation 16:16; 19:19-21), the Spiritual Rebirth of the Nation of Israel (Isaiah 66:8), and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to begin the Millennium (Revelation 19:15). 

To be remembered, the all important outpouring of the Spirit of God that defines the essence of the Church (Acts 2:38) was originally promised to Israel (cf. Jeremiah 31:31). Finally, the Blessing will come home to Israel! “And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments, and do them” (Ezekiel 36:27). Only by unbelief has Israel been sidelined, God using the Church to stir up Israel to jealousy (Romans 11:11). That God’s election of Israel might stand, He will pour out His Spirit upon Israel in one day (Isaiah 66:11) and will work out all the elements upon the Nation that once had only been received by a small number of Jews 2,000 years earlier at Pentecost (Acts 2).  

Father, bring about all Your will for Israel and Your Church that You may receive the honor and praise for so vast, mighty, wise, and loving a work. Lord Jesus, return quickly. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen and amen. 

Pushing a String

Ken

“You say, We want to be like the nations, like the peoples of the world, who serve wood and stone. But what you have in mind will never happen” (Ezekiel 20:32 NIV). A friend of mine would often use the expression, pushing a string, when speaking of an impossibility. Ancient Israel was never intended by Yahweh to be anything but a Peculiar People and Treasure for the LORD (Exodus 19:5; Deuteronomy 14:2; 26:18; Psalm 135:4). “For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto Himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth” (Deuteronomy 14:2 KJV). Almighty God never intended Israel to be replaced by the Church (Romans 11:1); however, “the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed” (Romans 9:8). Though Israel was politically resurrected from the dead in 1948, it will be spiritually given rebirth at the Second Coming of the Messiah. “Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children” (Isaiah 66:8). LORD, hasten the day when Your Church is Raptured Home to You that the events of Daniel’s Seventieth Week (Daniel 9:24-27) may unfold and Israel will be finally saved at Your Son’s triumphant return at Armageddon (Revelation 16:16). In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

God Is Not Done With Israel

Ken

God is not done with Israel. “I say then, Hath God cast away His people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin” (Romans 11:1 KJV). When the LORD established His covenant with Abraham, He unconditionally promised, “I will make of thee a great nation [Israel]” (Genesis 12:2), but He further promised, “in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed [the Church]” (Genesis 12:3). Both Israel and the Church were foreseen. And, no, the OT Mosaic law and feasts are not necessary for the salvation and sanctification of the Church. “In that He saith, A new covenant, He hath made the first old [literally, obsolete]” (Hebrews 8:13). Remember, humanity is equal in the sight of God — “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son” (John 3:16) — but, He still has a special place in His heart for Israel — “Ye are My witnesses, saith the LORD, and My servant whom I have chosen” (Isaiah 43:10) — and in His prophetic program — “to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16). 

It was no accident that the Gospel message started first “in Jerusalem, and [then spread] in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8). All the first converts to Jesus were Jews, who crucified their Messiah. “Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children” (Matthew 27:25). Peter’s instructions to the Jews at the beginning of the Church, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call” (Acts 2:38-39), which includes the rest of us Gentiles, who have come to Messiah Jesus. 

The essence of Bible prophecy is God’s before-it-happens-certain-declarations of future events. If the OT Jews misread prophecy and missed the Messiah the first time, then shouldn’t the Church pay closer attention to prophecies to prepare for the return of Messiah Jesus the second time? “So Christ [Greek, Christos, anointed one, the Messiah] was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation” (Hebrews 9:28). Isaiah reveals God’s special relationship to Israel. “1 O Jacob, and He that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art Mine. 4 Since thou wast precious in My sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life. 5 Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; 11 I, even I, am the LORD; and beside Me there is no saviour. 12 I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are My witnesses, saith the LORD, that I am God. 18 Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. 19 Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert” (Isaiah 43:1, 4-5, 11-12, 18-19). 

That “new thing” (Isaiah 43:19) prophesied by Isaiah was spoken of by Jeremiah, as well. “For the LORD hath created a new thing in the earth, A woman shall compass a man” (Jeremiah 31:22). “Created” (31:22) implies divine intervention. “Woman” (31:22) indicates an individual, not a collective noun. “Man” (31:22) compares to Isaiah 9:6, where it refers to God. Jeremiah 31:22 was believed by many in the Early Church as a reference to the Virgin Birth (Isaiah 7:14) of the Messiah: a virgin womb encircling a man without the necessity of a man’s participation, yielding the miraculous result of a Savior. As difficult to believe as this narrative, it would eventually result in Israel becoming a nation spiritually at Messiah’s Second Coming. “Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children” (Isaiah 66:8). 

Paul asked the Romans, “What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision” (Romans 3:1). What strategic advantage had the Jews over the rest of the world? The Jews superiority was their possession of the Word of God. “Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God” (3:2). But, you say, Nearly everyone today has access to the Word of God, so where is the advantage? Scripture has no practical benefit to us unless understood and obeyed. “For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified” (2:13). Intelligence is valuable in society, science, government, military, and business, as well. It is not what you know, but what you do with the Word of God. “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him” (2Chronicles 16:9). 

We must remember, the Jews have long been the subject of prophecies: (1) that they would be subjected to the Babylonian captivity of Judah, i.e., “shall be carried to Babylon” (Isaiah 39:6), and (2) that they would be held in the Babylonian desolations for seventy years, i.e., “And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years” (Jeremiah 25:11). 

But, the Jews were also told: (1) when “Messiah the Prince” (Daniel 9:25) would appear, He would be “be cut off, but not for Himself” (9:26), answering to Christ’s atonement [First Coming of the Messiah], and (2) they were also told the Son of Man would have an “everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away” (7:14), answering to the Millennial Reign of Christ and beyond (Revelation 20:4) at the end of the Seventieth Week of Daniel (Daniel 9:26-27) [Second Coming of the Messiah]. 

In summary, the Jews were responsible for the custodial care of the Divine Scriptures (Romans 3:2), furnishing the bloodline of the House of David for the Messiah (Matthew 1:1-17), for the political rebirth of the modern nation of Israel (1948), and providing us a prophetic clock for the reappearance of the Messiah. “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in” (Romans 11:25). 

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee” (Psalm 122:6). 

Father, You have not cast away Israel, the “apple of [Your] eye” (Deuteronomy 32:10). We pray for Your success in winning back the hearts of Your Chosen People Israel. Cause us the Gentiles to provoke Israel (32:21) to faith in the Messiah (Romans 11:11). We ask that our eyes would be enlightened, and we would not follow Israel’s former example of unbelief. May we see our victories in the immediate inspiration of Your Spirit inciting us to obedience (Ezekiel 36:27). May Jerusalem see Your peace. Messiah Jesus, return quickly. In Jesus’ name, we pray, amen.

Importance of the Rapture

Ken

Perhaps the most difficult doctrine to believe is the Rapture of the Church. If you can believe Israel was prophesied a coming Messiah (Isaiah 7:14; 9:6; Daniel 9:26), then you can believe the Church has been promised a Second Coming of that same Messiah. “Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11 KJV). But, is that a picture of the Rapture? No, it is not the Rapture. Then, what is the difference between the Rapture and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ? The Rapture and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ are two separate events. Read on to see the difference. 

[This is intended as a more comprehensive read. Scan ahead to see how long. Come back later and examine the pivotal design of the Rapture.]

Question: What Scripture depicts the Rapture best? 

Answer: The Rapture (Greek, harpazō) is described best in First Thessalonians 4:16-17: “16 For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up [Greek, harpazō, caught up, violently but firmly plucked] together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1Thessalonians 4:16-17). Rapture and Resurrection are without debate, placed together by the LORD. This cannot simply be at the point of death of the individual saint. Prophecy demands more. “It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter” (Proverbs 25:2). 

Christ’s Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25:1-13) portrays the Rapture of the Bride of Christ: 

(1) In the Jewish custom, a marriage was contracted by the parents of the bride and the bridegroom, where the parents of the bridegroom would pay a dowry to the parents of the bride. “Now He that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest [Greek, arrhabōn, pledge, downpayment] of the Spirit” (2Corinthians 5:5). The Father has given His Holy Spirit as the downpayment for us to be His Son’s “bride, the Lamb’s wife” (Revelation 21:9). Both the “Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely” (22:17). Before the Rapture is consummated, there is opportunity for the Bride of Christ to be spiritually enlarged by new members of the Body of Christ. 

(2) The betrothal of the Bride came through God saving us by the “precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1Peter 19). We are now in the stage of awaiting the Bridegroom to come for us. “Which is the earnest [downpayment] of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of His glory” (Ephesians 1:14). Though the actual coming of the Bridegroom is indeterminate, it is at hand, so the Bride must be careful to be ready. Christ’s Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25) depicts the Wise Virgins as those who are ready, and the Unwise Virgins as those who were foolishly unprepared. “Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh” (Matthew 24:44). Readiness involves believing and walking “in the light” (John 12:36; 1John 2:7) free of known sin, and conducting our Master’s “business” (Luke 2:49). 

(3) The Marriage Supper of the Lamb would be the next stage of the Jewish ceremony; however, even before the actual Marriage Supper, the Judgment Seat of Christ (Romans 14:10) or Bema Seat Judgment (2Corinthians 5:10) would seem to coincide with the opportunity to praise the Bride to be wedded and feted. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad [Greek, kakos, worthless]” (2Corinthians 5:10). 

Question: You say you believe in the Resurrection of the Dead in Christ. When will the Marriage Supper of the Lamb take place, if the alive and remaining Christians are caught up “to meet the Lord in the air” (1Thessalonians 4:17), who then accompany Him to defeat the Antichrist at Armageddon (Revelation 16:16), which is the Great Banquet of God (19:17 NET), feeding the flesh of the rebel kings to scavenger birds?

Answer: Scripturally, the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:9) takes place directly before the Battle of Armageddon (19:16). What we know as the Second Coming of Jesus Christ is the Messiah’s return to defeat the Antichrist at Armageddon. “And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS” (19:16). The perceived difficulty is time. How can all these things take place? The answer is simple. “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” (2Corinthians 5:8). We change from our present dimension to the dimension of eternity. Everything promised by God can easily take place, because time will have no restriction or effect upon the outcome. God can easily Rapture Christians prior to the Beginning of the Seventieth Week of Daniel, conduct a Bema Seat Judgment, entertain the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, then complete the Second Coming Return at Armageddon, all within seven years. The catching up takes place before the Tribulation Week, while the completion of the Second Coming takes place at the End of the Seventieth Week of Daniel (Daniel 9:24-27). 

Significance of the Rapture 

First, the Literal Interpretation of the Word of God is the foundation of all doctrine, much less the Rapture. To be clear, the Literal Interpretation of the Word of God does not deny the use of figurative, parabolic, or poetic language; but, it insists that God is to be taken at His Word, meaning what He says, and saying what He means, as we allow for any other person. “God is not a man, that He should lie; neither the son of man, that He should repent: hath He said, and shall He not do it? or hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good” (Numbers 23:19). God’s Word is absolutely efficient in accomplishing everything He says. “So shall My word be that goeth forth out of My mouth: it shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11). 

As the amillennialists, who deny a literal Millennium is intended by the words “thousand years” (Revelation 20:2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7); because Peter used the comparative, “one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (2Peter 3:8); would they also fail to see the literalness of the Psalmist’s use of ‘thousand’ in Psalm 84? “For a day in Thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness” (Psalm 84:10). The Psalmist did not demand a ‘thousand’ to be the equivalent of a single ‘day.’ Neither should we force Peter to promote a ‘thousand years’ to mean only a day. Nor should we conclude John’s use of ‘thousand years’ to also mean only one day. “The premillennial return of Christ to institute a literal kingdom is the outcome of the literal method of interpretation of the Old Testament prophecies. It is only natural, therefore, that the same basic method of interpretation must be employed in our interpretation of the rapture question. It would be most illogical to build a premillennial system on a literal method and then depart from that method in consideration of the related questions. It can easily be seen that the literal method of interpretation demands a pretribulation rapture of the church” (p. 193, Things to Come: A Study in Biblical Eschatology (1965), J. Dwight Pentecost).

Second, the Doctrine of Imminency (coming at any moment) to deliver the Righteous, at Christ’s return for us, is reinforced with the Rapture, i.e., the Pre-Tribulational Rapture prior to the onset of the Seventieth Week of Daniel (Daniel 9:26). As far as can be known, the Rapture is the next thing that must be accomplished before the Tribulation Week can begin. “Waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1Corinthians 1:7). “For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20). “The Lord is at hand” (Philippians 4:5). “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). “The Judge standeth before the door” (James 5:9). “I come quickly” (Revelation 3:11; 22:7, 12, 20). 

Third, a promise of judging the earth without harming the godly (as in Lot’s deliverance from Sodom) is the promise to be kept from the ‘hour of temptation’ — not simply overcoming temptation (1Corinthians 10:13) — was and is promised to the Church of Philadelphia, of whom Christ said, “Because thou hast kept the word of My patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth” (Revelation 3:10). Why such a magnanimous promise? Because He is the Most Generous Master and an Utterly Capable Judge. “I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept My word [obedience], and hast not denied My name [faithfulness]” (3:8). Oh, to be counted among that number! 

Fourth, pray that you would be worthy to escape all the events of the Tribulation Week, as a testament to the promise of the Lord Jesus Christ. “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man” (Luke 21:36). Though Pre-Tribulation Rapture adherents defend the concept of salvation by grace through faith, they must consistently abide by the literalness of Christ’s Luke 21:36 commandment with promise to watch and pray that we “may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass” (21:36), i.e., through a Pre-Tribulational Rapture. Remember, “faith without works is dead” (James 2:20). 

Fifth, our hope is in the Lord (Psalm 146:5), but thank God, He has emboldened us through His promise of Rapture and Deliverance, as we see the disintegration of the world around us. “But evil people and charlatans will go from bad to worse, deceiving others and being deceived themselves” (2Timothy 3:13 NET). We shrink not from admitting the boldness and hope produced by the Doctrine of the Rapture. “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). 

Sixth, the Rapture solves a problem, not viewed by most as a problem. How does flesh and blood inherit eternity? Well, of course, God simply makes it to happen, when it is needed. Quite correct. But, can the Rapture be such an obvious solution? “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality” (1Corinthians 15:50-53). The Rapture is the means to accomplish this inheriting eternity “in the twinkling of an eye” (15:52).  Thank you, Chuck Missler, for reminding of this thought (from The Rapture: Christianity’s Most Preposterous Belief). 

Seventh, the Church Age ends where Daniel’s Seventieth Week starts again. Most prophetic confusion comes from mixing or replacing the Church for Israel. When Scripture explicitly grants the New Covenant, made to Israel (Ezekiel 36:27) to be inherited also by the Gentiles, then no confusion takes place. But, when Daniel’s Seventieth Week begins, the Church Age has ended, since the Church has departed in the Pre-Tribulational Rapture. So, the Rapture returns the focus to Israel, who has been blinded since their rejection of Messiah Jesus (Romans 11:25). “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not” (Matthew 23:37).

Eighth, no Resurrection without the Rapture, and no Rapture without the Resurrection. “For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1Thessalonians 4:16-17). Debates about the Rapture would be reduced or eliminated, if the timing of the Rapture had to coincide with the Resurrection, which is what the above Sixth Point references. 

Ninth, no Church in the Seventieth Week of Daniel, and no Seventieth Week of Daniel with the Church. Ekklēsia (Greek, church) does not appear outside of Christ’s Seven Letters to the Churches in Revelation 2 and 3, except in the plural (22:16) as part of the epilogue at the end of the Revelation. The Church is absent from the discussions of the remaining 19 chapters of the Book of Revelation. Why? Because the Church has been Raptured. Immediately after the invitation given to the Church of Laodicea, the door promised to the faithful Church of Philadelphia, is offered even to Lukewarm Laodicea, of whom nothing good is said. To Laodicea: “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me” (Revelation 3:20). Notice, immediately after the invitation is given to Lukewarm Laodicea, Revelation 4:1 begins with, “After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter” (Revelation 4:1). 

No guarantee that any or all Lukewarm Professors of the Christian Religion repented of their lukewarmness, but it is notable that Christ cared enough to make the offer, to make it with the same door of deliverance from the “hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world” (3:10), then He opens the door with the Rapture. “After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter” (4:1). Also, notice the phrase, “Come Up Hither” (4:1), coinciding with a Pre-Tribulational Rapture, appears again in the Resurrection of the Two Witnesses, when they are Raptured into Heaven in the presence of the entire world (11:12). The Two Witnesses are first resurrected from the dead, then they are raptured; so, understandably, some term this a Pre-Wrath Rapture. And, their Enoch-like (OT, previously translated without physical death), Moses-like (called down plagues on Egypt), or Elijah-like (OT, previously translated without physical death) ministry of calling down judgments upon the earth are immediately positioned before the Seventh Trumpet Judgment (11:15). But still, notice the absence of the Church in the Tribulation. 

Tenth, the Rapture of the Church accomplishes what the Apostle Paul said, “I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you” (Romans 10:19). In other words, the Gentile world, chiefly through the Church, will arouse the obstinate Jew to jealousy, because the Church escaped the Wrath of God of the Tribulation Week, which they now face. “I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy” (11:11). Our Salvation and Rapture will ultimately provoke the Jew and Israel to jealousy and finally to repentance. This is part of God’s masterplan to win back Israel. “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!” (11:33). Pray for all men; but especially, pray for the salvation of Israel. God most certainly will answer! 

Eleventh, the Restraining Influence of the Holy Spirit will obviously be removed, when all the Spirit Indwelt people are removed at the Rapture. “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He [the Holy Spirit] who now restrains will do so until He [the Holy Spirit] is taken out of the way” (2Thessalonians 2:7 NKJV). This will have the effect: (1) The right action promoted by the Holy Spirit with all humanity, will be felt less because the Christians are removed from the world, and (2) Satan will have to immediately offset this with “signs and lying wonders” (2Thessalonians 2:8-9). Remember, the bizarreness and outlandishness of the imagination will be available to the Wicked One, since the Holy Spirit has withdrawn His people to represent truthful opposition to Antichrist’s lie, that He is the God of the Universe. “And then shall that Wicked [Antichrist] be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming: Even him [Antichrist], whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders” (2Thessalonians 2:8-9). 

Twelfth, the Rapture clearly distinguishes between Israel and the Church. The initial difficulty of the Apostles to comprehend the nature and scope of their present circumstances, i.e., do you need to become a Jew first before you become a Christian, illustrated the learning necessary to function in this Church Age. Debate as to who is “in Jesus” (1Thessalonians 4:14) or “in Christ” (4:16) “which are alive and remain” (4:17), are determined by our appreciation of the nature of faith. But, Spiritual Israel is now part of the Spiritual Church. Paul understandably answered the concerns of the Early Church over the reluctance of the nation of the Jews to admit Jesus to be their Messiah. Israel is temporarily relegated to a status of Blindness — but, not forgotten. “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in” (Romans 11:25). The Rapture is about the Church. The Second Coming is more about Israel. “And His [Messiah Jesus] feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south” (Zechariah 14:4).

NOTE: I have previously posted representing the Rapture as only a part of the Second Coming, which is more attractive to those who barely admit to the Rapture as an eschatological event. However, I would like to correct that emphasis. The Rapture (1Thessalonians 4:17) is a distinct and separate event from the Second Coming (Revelation 19:11-21), and both the Lord Jesus Christ and the Antichrist are well aware of the difference. A time separation between the two events of about seven years of a Tribulation Week (Daniel 9:24-27, especially v. 27) is sufficient for the prophesied events of Revelation 4 through 19 to take place. The Rapture is a Blessed Hope (Titus 2:13) for the Saints Departed and the Church Remaining to be reunited and gathered to their Lord, while the Second Coming is a fearful time of judgment and “fiery indignation” (Hebrews 9:27) upon those, who reject the KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. Honesty compels me to change my position, as often as I receive increased light or understanding to “grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2Peter 3:18).

Father, Your plans for the Church are “exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us” (Ephesians 3:20). Thank You for showing us how we rightly have this Blessed Hope of the Rapture. Fortify us that we may be “stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as [we] know that [our] labour is not in vain in the [You]” (1Corinthians 15:58). Lord Jesus, return quickly. In Jesus’ name, amen. 

God’s Strange Work

Ken

It is strange work, when God must deal with His people in the same way He treated their enemies in times past. “For the LORD shall rise up as in mount Perazim, He shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that He may do His work, His strange work; and bring to pass His act, His strange act” (Isaiah 28:21 KJV). It is “strange work” (28:21) for God to turn on His own people. It was formerly at Mount Perazim that the LORD gave David  victory over the Philistines (2Samuel 5:20). And, at Gibeon, Jehovah gave victory to Joshua over a confederation of kings (Joshua 10:10), but now He will perform a work that “ye will not believe, though it be told you” (Habakkuk 1:5). Israel will lose its military engagements. Why? Because of the wickedness of Israel’s conduct, God will allow Israel’s enemies to treacherously abuse and devour her (1:13). 

By doctrine and tradition, both Israel and the Church have so absorbed the idea of their national and moral invincibility, they have forgotten what God requires of them to maintain that invincibility. “And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul” (Deuteronomy 10:12). God will always find a way to deal with His people, though He will treat His people in the same way He dealt with their enemies in times past. 

Father, it is You who are faithful to the uttermost, not we. You have never abandoned the kindness of Your Word of promise to Your people. But, You are to be exalted in Your work, Your strange work for dealing with our unfaithfulness. May You be praised for the wisdom of Your love in judging us. And, may You be held in the highest esteem for all Your actions regarding us. In Jesus’ name, we ask it. Amen and amen.

Has Israel Been Cursed?

Ken

Yes. “If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it” (Isaiah 1:19-20 KJV). If Israel is cursed, it is only because they have rebelled against the LORD. How is the cursed removed? “If My people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (2Chronicles 7:14). National repentance works for any nation to return to God. How long will Israel’s curse last? Until their national blindness is lifted by Jehovah.”For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is My covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins” (Romans 11:25-27). 

When will all this happen? “I will go and return to My place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek My face: in their affliction they will seek Me early” (Hosea 5:15). Israel will collectively realize their offense against the Son of God. “And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for Him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn” (Zechariah 12:10). This will occur in a single day— at the Second Coming of Jesus the Messiah, at the end of the Tribulation Week, the Seventieth Week of Daniel. “Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children” (Isaiah 66:8). Father, we pray for Israel’s repentance that You might lift the curse from Israel. Lord Jesus, return quickly, that Israel may be saved. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

Dealing With the Rapture (Part 2)

Ken

Though the Rapture will be suddenly and instantaneous (Mark 13: 33, 35), the unbelieving world will notice the departure, just as they will inescapably notice the resurrection of the martyred Two Witnesses mere days before the end of the Tribulation Week. “3 And I will give power unto My two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. 12 And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them” (Revelation 11:3, 12). The unbelieving world will respond to the death of the Two Witnesses with glee; most likely, in the same way they responded previously to the Pre-Tribulational Rapture departure of the unwanted Christians. “And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth” (11:10). When the Jews disappeared into the Holocaust of WW2, their neighbors knew of their removal. In our earth timeframe, seven years must pass, before Christ actually returns; but, in the heaven timeframe, everything precisely and necessarily can take place in the heavenlies, before all the Raptured and Resurrected Saints are returning with Christ (1Thessalonians 4:14, 17). Like the Second Coming Return of Christ with His Saints, the Two Witnesses will be visibly noticed by the world as they will be resurrected and ascend into Heaven. “11 And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. 12 And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them” (Revelation 11:11-12). LORD, may we take encouragement from the resurrection and ascension of Your Two Witnesses that our return with You will be marked by the certainty of Israel’s Great Returning to You. In Jesus’ name, we ask it. Amen and amen. “Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation [Israel] be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children” (Isaiah 66:8).

Greatest Earthquake of All Time (Revelation 16:18)

Ken

Earthquakes are God’s signature judgment disaster, since earth dwellers generally reside on solid ground that God can shake. The final judgment of the Seven Vial Judgments is the greatest earthquake of all time. “And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great” (Revelation 16:18 KJV). This unprecedented shaking of everywhere on planet earth at the same time would be akin to heavy artillery softening things up, but worse, before invasion, as well as, ensuring no one will be ignored in the judgments of God. Once poured out, “there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done” (16:17). This is the Almighty declaring the last judgment of the Tribulation completed, just as the Messiah announced His atoning work was completely accomplished, “It is finished” (John 19:30). “Voices” (16:18) along with “thunders, and lightnings” (16:18) accompany the “great earthquake” (16:18). Those voices (Revelation 4:5; 8:5; 11:19) belong to a great “cloud of witnesses” (Hebrews 12:1) of humans and angels, voicing their agreement, approval, encouragement, congratulations, fascination, and interest in Jehovah’s “work, His strange work” (Isaiah 28:21) of judgment. God is schooling us for our future judgment of angels (1Corinthians 6:3). 

Babylon is the “great city” (Revelation 16:19) that will be “divided into three parts” (16:19), in other words, destroyed. Since the Revelation narrative proceeds immediately to a description of Babylon the Great (Chapter 17) and the Fall of Babylon (Chapter 18), then Rome would be most likely the great city named. “And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath” (16:19). Additionally: (1) “the cities of the nations fell” (16:19), all cities are destroyed, like WW2 Stalingrad, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Dresden, or Berlin, (2) the topography of every “island fled away” (16:20) existing no longer, (3) “mountains were not found” (16:20) laying down, and (4) “gigantic hailstones, weighing about a hundred pounds each, fell from heaven on people, but they blasphemed God because of the plague of hail, since it was so horrendous” (16:21 NET). 

LORD, my mind reels from the description of the total devastation of just this Seventh Vial Judgment. We always knew You could do something so horrendously different, but now we can see why You have held back Your hand. Fulfill Your prophecies and faithfully pour out Your judgments. I give You thanks for delivering Your Church from the wrath to come and from all these things that will come to pass. May a righteous seed come even out of all of this. May Israel be that nation born in a day. Lord, come quickly, in Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen and amen. 

Explanation: Name of Jesus

Ken

The name of Jesus is powerful because Jesus saves us from the sin separating us from God, whose holiness frees us from the sin separating us from Jesus. “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12 KJV). The adversary hates the name of Jesus both because he loses followers, and he can no longer be saved from his own sins. Jesus, meaning ‘Jehovah is salvation,’ seeks to “save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). OT Israel had a limited view of salvation for the gentile world, just as the NT church has a limited view of salvation as only delivering us from the penalty of sin, but not from the necessity of having to sin. “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1Thessalonians 5:23). The “name of Jesus”: (1) is essential to “receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38), (2) was used for a lame man to “rise up and walk” (3:6), (3) was proclaimed, taught, spoken, and “preached boldly” by early disciples (4:10, 18; 5:40; 8:12; 9:27), and (4) was used to command a demon out of a fortune teller, “in the name of” (16:18). Why such critical importance for the “name of Jesus”?  Because Jesus is the tip of the spear, the point of the arrow, the edge of the knife that defeats our true “adversary the devil” (1Peter 5:8), who tempts us to sin. But, of more importance, Jesus has promised to save us from ourselves. “He will turn again, He will have compassion upon us; He will subdue our iniquities; and Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:19). Either sin separates us from God or God separates us from sin. LORD, You are the God of Salvation, who is able to save “to the uttermost” them that come to You through the name of Jesus (Hebrews 7:25). We do not want to waste our time with gods many and lords many, but only You. “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11). In Jesus name, we pray. Amen and amen. 

Israel: Remnant Seed of the Woman (Revelation 12:16-17)

Ken

Israel as the remnant seed of the “woman” (Revelation 12:16) is singled out for satanic wrath, for many reject the worship of antichrist and will embrace the Messiah before the end of the Tribulation Week. “And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ” (Revelation 12:16-17 KJV). Excitement bristles in the Unseen Realm as all eagerly anticipate how the Almighty will conclude the story, while keeping His promise to Abraham of blessing his descendants, as well as the Gentiles (Genesis 22:17-18). Even the earth miraculously helps the fleeing fugitives of Israel, who refuse the worship of the antichrist, and who now “have the testimony of Jesus” (Revelation 12:17). Many speculate these flee to Petra, and pray the prayer, “Who will bring me into the strong city? who will lead me into Edom?” (Psalm 60:9). Yahweh will “let none of his words fall to the ground” (1Samuel 3:19), as He secured for Samuel. National conversion awaits Israel (Isaiah 66:8), as her Messiah comes the second time. LORD, Your faithfulness astounds us in fulfilling all Your prophecies. May Israel be preserved and saved to their joy and Your glory. In Jesus’ name, we ask it. Amen.