By Joseph Chambers
Jesus Christ – glorious in battle, triumphant over every enemy, riding a mighty white stallion – will split the eastern sky to come back to earth as the King of Kings. This is truly the colossal event and even more spectacular than Gog and Magog. The breath (Spirit) of His mouth is a two-edged sword. He has sat – at times stood – at His Father’s Right Hand for two thousand years. Now, he returns to reign over the world for a millennium.
As He returns to this earth, He will face an army from every kingdom ruled by the Antichrist. Demons will have been dispatched to gather this army and they will be chosen to be part of the most vicious army ever assembled. Each soldier will be chosen by the highest possible standard of both military and New Age religions. “And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty” (Revelation 16:13-14). Every chosen warrior will have taken the Mark of the Beast will be possessed by unclean spirits and will be ready to die for this masquerade of their “christ.”
The Son of God will not return from His Father’s presence alone. The triumphant Church of the blood-washed and glorified saints will be riding with Him on their white horses. Every one of these Saints will be overcomers from their generation and each of them will be a match for Satan himself. They will have already proven that Satan could not stop their faith or compromise their purity. They will surely gleam brightly in their garments of righteousness, “And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean” (Revelation 19:14).
Even before this great drama is portrayed in Revelation Chapter nineteen, the Spirit declared that a host of angels would join the ranks for this grand moment, “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats” (Matthew 25:31-32). To even attempt to number this multitude will be impossible. Every angel will be an experienced warrior that have fought and won numerous conflicts with their evil counterparts that rebelled with their champion, Lucifer or Satan.
This great multitude will stretch from one end of the heavens to the opposite end. The day of invisible angels will be finished and this awesome company will startle the earthly inhabitants that are still alive. The saints on their spectacular white horses will number “ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands” but the angels will be innumerable. At the head of this great and awesome multitude and brighter than the noon day sun, will be the triumphant King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
The Son of God is called the Lamb or the Lamb of God from Revelation 4:1 to this victorious moment. His total purpose during that period is the redemption of this universe. At this point the earth will be redeemed, sin will be judged, injustice will be set straight, and the righteous King of Kings can now mount the Throne of David in Jerusalem. Satan has been the god of this earth for better than six thousand years, but he knows if he loses the “Battle of Armageddon”, he is finished.
To picture the ground and air forces gathered in Megiddo will be to witness in one location the military hardware of every great army on earth. As the Antichrist armies gather, the forward direction will be Jerusalem. It is clear in Scripture that the Antichrist’s capitol city of Babylon will already be in ruins, the Vatican city of Rome will have been burned, and, now, Jerusalem’s must be conquered. The destruction of Babylon was an act of God but Rome’s destruction was the fury of the Antichrist. When the great minds of these world leaders are fully prepared and the march to Jerusalem is announced, the heavens will suddenly explode with action.
Jesus Christ in all of His excellent glory will return to personally direct this battle. We serve a patient God; but when His wrath is kindled, there is no defense. Zechariah spoke by the Spirit, “For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle”… Then shall the LORD go forth…And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth” (Zechariah 14:2a,3a &12). The slaughter of this angry mob will be unprecedented.
The Son of God will actually fight with His army of the redeemed and His angels. The Antichrist will flee in fear and defeat to the ruined entrance of His once proud capitol. Micah reported his end at Babylon, “And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders” (Micah 5:6).
Our victorious King will arrive in Jerusalem with grace in His heart for the convicted nation of His own kin. “And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends” (Zechariah 13:6). “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).
The very word “Armageddon” has always been a word that suggests the end of human conflicts or the end of time. It has been used as freely by the unbelieving and the wild spiritualists as it has by the Bible believers. That suggests that it is God’s designed word – all fixed in the human thought processes – raising both great fear but also final victory. Only we that know the infallibility of Scripture can speak this word “Armageddon” with great joy in our hearts.
It’s closer than you can possibly imagine!
A City Too Priceless To Value
By Joseph Chambers
This earth is a beautiful creation. Men have built cities, parks, buildings, and campuses that are marvels of technology and splendor. The natural splendor of this earth is overwhelming. But, never has this earth seen beauty as we are destined to view. Ancient Babylon was known as one of the wonders of the world. Chariots raced on and around the tops of its walls, and the Great Euphrates River flowed beneath its towering strength. Yet, when New Jerusalem descends out of Heaven its glowing beauty will dazzle the world. Never has this world viewed anything so glorious and so massive. The streets of gold are the most common of all its riches. This city will actually be Heaven on earth.
God Himself, in the excellent glory of His person, and His exalted glorified Son will dwell in the midst of this city. It will become a temple or a sanctuary of His sovereign presence, and worship will fill every beautiful inch. I cannot explain the presence of the Heavenly Father, but I can assure you that there are not human words to fully describe Him. He is awesome in holiness, and that characteristic will be the overarching expression of Him. No sin can live or even approach Him. His holiness is not acquired but issues forth from Him. He is the one and only source of all holiness, and it absolutely fills His person to overflowing. All that come near to Him will take on His holiness in them and reflect it throughout this matchless city.
The Son of God in all His glorified manhood will, along with His Father, be the Light of the city and of the New Heaven and New Earth. The brilliance of that light will create a lighted world without shadows. Everywhere you look will be this brilliance of Light so remarkable that it will appear to reflect off and out of everything. It will be Light that forever and totally eliminates the presence of darkness so that the entire universe has a God-like splendor. The Son of God Himself is the source of this Light. When He said, “I am the light of the world” (John 9:5), it was a divine statement. When we see Him there will be a satisfaction in us that forever fulfills the greatest hunger known to man. Every pain, sadness, or sorrow known to the human family is but a deep need to be filled with Him. In His literal presence is fullness of life, and we will never have emptiness again. “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known” (I Corinthians 13:12).
The massive walls of this city are fifteen hundred miles high and are created with jewels of great value and beauty. The city will be foursquare, equal on each side to its height. There will be three identical gates on each side of the city of the same height as the twelve levels of city walls. They will add splendor because they will be solid pearls polished to their highest perfection. There is nowhere in God’s universe that this city will not be visible. The Bible does not tell us how it will be set in conjunction to the new earth, but it must be seen because within it is the source of all light and there is no darkness. The gates will bear the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, and the twelve foundations will bear the names of the twelve apostles. These twenty-four representations reflect the same complete type as seen in chapter four when the Rapture occurred. They are His raptured saints from the Old and New Testament. The number twenty-four is but a type of a multitude.
The “New Heaven” assures us that the heavenly bodies, the weather patterns, and the very atmosphere will be purified unto perfection. The great planets, stars, and other celestial bodies will be the source of beauty and heavenly splendor that will make the sky above to glisten in perfect clarity. It will be picture perfect, and the weather will never be anything but the source of life. When it rains, it will be like drinking water bathing His created world. Snow and ice flakes will fill His world with a carpet that delights His entire creation. The birds, earth animals, and the sea creatures will spend their lives in playful delight, and God’s family will love every moment of it.
The earth will bring forth nothing but that which delights our appetites. Fruit trees will never bear imperfect fruit. The vineyards will provide its vintage flavors to man. The entire earth will be a garden and flowers will explode in their beauty. There will be nothing on the earth or produced by the earth but those things that man enjoys. The earth will be so pure that God Himself will find delight in a renewed fellowship with His family. He will walk among us as He visited Adam in the garden. Labor will be sweet and we will tend our gardens with delight. Every moment on God’s earth will be like Heaven.
The twentieth first chapter of Revelation is the single place in God’s World that the Book of Life is called by its full title. John wrote as the Spirit gave witness, “And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, nor maketh a lie: but they which are written in the “LAMB’S BOOK OF LIFE” (Revelation 21:27). Nothing on His earth, in His Heaven, or in New Jerusalem will be unclean. Nothing that defiles can enter His eternity. The total culture and population will be His redeemed saints. Holiness will be the lifestyle and love will be the emotion that fills this universe and His holy city forever. Sinners that refused to repent and surrender only to Christ will already have been cast into the Lake of Fire.
“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away” (Revelation 21:1-4).
Dwelling in the midst of this city and of His own family will be the Father Himself. The Son of God loves His Father with a love that can only be called divine. Yet, this divine love has a component of manhood because He was begotten of the Father in His earthly pilgrimage. This city is the Son’s gift to His Bride. After He brings His Bride into the city, He proceeds to exalt His Father to be with Him and His Bride and to be their God. One of the greatest mysteries that we shall soon discover is voiced in words that show this future honor that the Son gives His Father. “Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death” (I Corinthians 15:24-26).
This earth is a beautiful creation. Men have built cities, parks, buildings, and campuses that are marvels of technology and splendor. The natural splendor of this earth is overwhelming. But, never has this earth seen beauty as we are destined to view. Ancient Babylon was known as one of the wonders of the world. Chariots raced on and around the tops of its walls, and the Great Euphrates River flowed beneath its towering strength. Yet, when New Jerusalem descends out of Heaven its glowing beauty will dazzle the world. Never has this world viewed anything so glorious and so massive. The streets of gold are the most common of all its riches. This city will actually be Heaven on earth.
God Himself, in the excellent glory of His person, and His exalted glorified Son will dwell in the midst of this city. It will become a temple or a sanctuary of His sovereign presence, and worship will fill every beautiful inch. I cannot explain the presence of the Heavenly Father, but I can assure you that there are not human words to fully describe Him. He is awesome in holiness, and that characteristic will be the overarching expression of Him. No sin can live or even approach Him. His holiness is not acquired but issues forth from Him. He is the one and only source of all holiness, and it absolutely fills His person to overflowing. All that come near to Him will take on His holiness in them and reflect it throughout this matchless city.
The Son of God in all His glorified manhood will, along with His Father, be the Light of the city and of the New Heaven and New Earth. The brilliance of that light will create a lighted world without shadows. Everywhere you look will be this brilliance of Light so remarkable that it will appear to reflect off and out of everything. It will be Light that forever and totally eliminates the presence of darkness so that the entire universe has a God-like splendor. The Son of God Himself is the source of this Light. When He said, “I am the light of the world” (John 9:5), it was a divine statement. When we see Him there will be a satisfaction in us that forever fulfills the greatest hunger known to man. Every pain, sadness, or sorrow known to the human family is but a deep need to be filled with Him. In His literal presence is fullness of life, and we will never have emptiness again. “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known” (I Corinthians 13:12).
The massive walls of this city are fifteen hundred miles high and are created with jewels of great value and beauty. The city will be foursquare, equal on each side to its height. There will be three identical gates on each side of the city of the same height as the twelve levels of city walls. They will add splendor because they will be solid pearls polished to their highest perfection. There is nowhere in God’s universe that this city will not be visible. The Bible does not tell us how it will be set in conjunction to the new earth, but it must be seen because within it is the source of all light and there is no darkness. The gates will bear the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, and the twelve foundations will bear the names of the twelve apostles. These twenty-four representations reflect the same complete type as seen in chapter four when the Rapture occurred. They are His raptured saints from the Old and New Testament. The number twenty-four is but a type of a multitude.
The “New Heaven” assures us that the heavenly bodies, the weather patterns, and the very atmosphere will be purified unto perfection. The great planets, stars, and other celestial bodies will be the source of beauty and heavenly splendor that will make the sky above to glisten in perfect clarity. It will be picture perfect, and the weather will never be anything but the source of life. When it rains, it will be like drinking water bathing His created world. Snow and ice flakes will fill His world with a carpet that delights His entire creation. The birds, earth animals, and the sea creatures will spend their lives in playful delight, and God’s family will love every moment of it.
The earth will bring forth nothing but that which delights our appetites. Fruit trees will never bear imperfect fruit. The vineyards will provide its vintage flavors to man. The entire earth will be a garden and flowers will explode in their beauty. There will be nothing on the earth or produced by the earth but those things that man enjoys. The earth will be so pure that God Himself will find delight in a renewed fellowship with His family. He will walk among us as He visited Adam in the garden. Labor will be sweet and we will tend our gardens with delight. Every moment on God’s earth will be like Heaven.
The twentieth first chapter of Revelation is the single place in God’s World that the Book of Life is called by its full title. John wrote as the Spirit gave witness, “And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, nor maketh a lie: but they which are written in the “LAMB’S BOOK OF LIFE” (Revelation 21:27). Nothing on His earth, in His Heaven, or in New Jerusalem will be unclean. Nothing that defiles can enter His eternity. The total culture and population will be His redeemed saints. Holiness will be the lifestyle and love will be the emotion that fills this universe and His holy city forever. Sinners that refused to repent and surrender only to Christ will already have been cast into the Lake of Fire.
“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away” (Revelation 21:1-4).
Dwelling in the midst of this city and of His own family will be the Father Himself. The Son of God loves His Father with a love that can only be called divine. Yet, this divine love has a component of manhood because He was begotten of the Father in His earthly pilgrimage. This city is the Son’s gift to His Bride. After He brings His Bride into the city, He proceeds to exalt His Father to be with Him and His Bride and to be their God. One of the greatest mysteries that we shall soon discover is voiced in words that show this future honor that the Son gives His Father. “Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death” (I Corinthians 15:24-26).
IN DEFENSE OF ISRAEL
By Mike Taylor
In the world in which we live in, there are no other people that have been persecuted more than the Jewish people. People who claim to be Christians, believe that Israel has been replaced and has no place in the heart of God, even though God called them “His chosen people.” In Genesis chapter 12 we find the following proclamation by God:
12:1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee:
12:2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: (what is that blessing? God's final remark in verse 3 is the most fundamental reason God chose Abraham, and thus Israel and his descendants: to bless mankind in the Person of Jesus Christ. Christ is the center, the focus, of everything.)
12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
Before God called Abram to leave his father and the family he had known, the human race was called the nations, until God made a covenant with Abram, who became Abraham and was called “a friend of God.” Throughout all of the bible, we see a personal, intimate relationship, both good and bad, that God had with this selected race of people that became the nation of Israel, named after Jacob, who became Israel after wrestling with the Spirit of the Lord. God dealt with these people to be a witness to the whole world. God spoke to Moses, His desire for a peculiar and special people:
19:5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
19:6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
When studying your bible, you see a trend that develops with mortal man, even a special people. Man, when he is following what God says and obeys His voice, the blessings flow until in this ancient time, Israel became the greatest nation on earth in the time of David and into the reign of Solomon. But when man does not follow God’s commandments and obey His voice, then because of His disobedience, he experiences curses, exile, and death at the hand of his enemies. It happened many times to Israel and God was patient with them for hundreds of years and sent many prophets to warn them, but they failed miserably and were scattered to the four winds after Rome destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD.
For almost 2000 years, the Jewish people (so named because of the tribe of Judah) were a nation no more. They were persecuted, hunted down, and killed because of Gentile nation prejudice of being “the killers of Jesus Christ.” Yes, the Jews did indeed have a indirect hand in the crucifixion and death, (right along with the Romans), of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, as was His plan from the beginning. When Jesus was speaking about what would happen to the nation of Israel, which during the time of Jesus was being ruled in servitude to Roman conquerors, Jesus said in Matthew 21: 42
“Did you never read in the Scriptures: "The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone? This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes"? Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it.”
Jesus was speaking of a time coming when the nation of Israel would lose the commission that was given to them, to be a royal priesthood to all the nations of the earth and a peculiar people. They were to be a witness, or intermediary for the gentile nations though the Levitical priesthood, until the time of the revealing of their Messiah. But as we should know, they failed miserably. But they are no better, or worse than we are, because as humans, we fail miserably when looking to ourselves and not following God’s leadership through His Holy Spirit.
So, if God has rejected the children of Israel, what was their purpose? Was Israel God's failed trial run at ruling humans, or was there something more to it? Why did God choose Israel? What makes Israel so special? Where does Israel fit in the grand scheme of God's plan?
There is good news and bad news concerning what has happened to Israel for the last 2000 years. First, let’s discuss the good news of Israel’s failure to follow God and to accept His only begotten Son, as the Savior of their souls. The good news is that because Israel rejected Jesus as their Messiah, and rejected the message preached by the apostles noted in the book of Acts, that the message was taken to the Gentiles, especially by Paul the apostle, who had been known as the Pharisee, Saul, before his conversion on a dusty road to Damascus. Paul writes
Romans 11:26-32:
And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; for this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins." Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For as you were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their disobedience, even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown you they also may obtain mercy. For God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all.
That folks is it in a nutshell. In God’s eternal wisdom, He blinded the Jewish people to the truth and the revelation of Jesus Christ as their long awaited Messiah, so God could have mercy on us, the gentiles and eventually on us all. But is God done with the nation of Israel? Some in modern evangelical religions seem to think that God has abandoned Israel and has replaced her with the church. That contradicts the above scripture, and as we all know, God cannot lie. The church will be God’s first fruits into His kingdom, but as He says, “He will take away their sins.” But do they deserve it? Do you? Of course, we do not deserve the sacrifice Jesus made on His cross, almost 2000 years ago, during Passover season. But for the sake of His promise to the fathers of the Jews, namely, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and because of His Holy Name, He will confirm and honor the covenant He made with their father Abraham when He called him into the land of Canaan.
We read in Ezekiel the 37th chapter about the prophecy of the “valley of dry bones”. We won’t take time to quote the entire chapter, so take a moment and read that chapter and meditate what the meaning of the passage means to Israel. They were a nation scattered, lost as a people, blinded to the truth, and seemingly beyond hope. But God has called them again and they were prophesied to be a great nation again, a vast army. For 2000 years, this passage lay dormant in the annals of history, until 1948 when beyond all reason, beyond all human comprehension, and against all odds, Israel became a nation AGAIN. It has never, never, ever happened in all of the history of the world. There has never been a nation destroyed, scattered, and forgotten, and then reconstitute itself to be the same nation as it was centuries before with essentially the same customs, language, and culture. I repeat, NEVER!!
Why has this happened? Because God is not done with them, until He saves THEM ALL!! He wishes to show mercy, as it is written in Roman chapter 11:
11:30 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
11:31 Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
1 1:32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.
Did you get that? He will have mercy upon all. That includes us, the church in the Age of Grace and upon the nation of Israel in the time of tribulation when He will purge them as a refiner of silver. Malachi chapter 3:
3:2 But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap:
3:3 And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.
3:4 Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years.
God has used Israel and its descendents, to move along the plan of God and introduce His salvation through the Hebrew people, namely the nation of Israel. He has now reconstituted that nation again into a nation long thought of destroyed for these end times we live in. Zechariah prophesied and wrote down what we have seen and will see in the near future. Turn over to the 12th chapter in your bible.
12:2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.
12:3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.
God will defend His people and will in the end, reveal Himself to His people and they will believe as a nation.
Zechariah 12:10 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.
And that soon to be future event, God says this in Hebrews chapter 10:
10:16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;
10:17 And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.
Remember the beginning of the message? “I will bless them that bless you, and will curse them that curse you.’? Every member of God’s church, His true church, must pray for Israel, must stand with her, and must believe the Words of Almighty God. Anyone who lifts a hand against her will be cut to pieces. Anyone who thinks they are so powerful that they can undermine the nation of Israel in these last days, I believe, is going against God Himself. Look all around us. Have we not been blessed when we stood shoulder to shoulder with God’s chosen people? And if we try and divide His land, (as it belongs to God), and do evil to a people God has made an unbreakable promises to then I fear for that nation. My fellow Americans, I fear for us. We must stand up and make known our voice loud and clear, that we stand with Israel. Not because they deserve it, but because God said it. They don’t deserve, but then again, neither do we.
As we fast approach the coming time of Jacob’s trouble and seven year tribulation, John spoke of Israel as a people in the Revelation chapter 12, we see a symbol of the nation of Israel, as woman with 12 stars about her head, as a crown, and the moon under her feet.
12:1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:
12:2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.
The next few verses, we see the Red Dragon, Satan the devil, appear to wait to devour the child, which is Jesus Christ, which he tried many times, but when he thought he had won at the crucifixion, his victory was his ultimate defeat.
12:5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.
Jesus has risen and been taken to the right side of God the Father waiting for setting up His kingdom, here on earth.
But notice the next lines? 12:6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.
All through this chapter, God protects His people, so to say that God is done with the Israelites, is to ignore scripture references to the contrary. We see many references to standing with Israel in the annals of this website, but we must continue to make our case known and our voice heard where we stand on the side of God’s chosen people and what He called “the apple of His eye.”
Pray for our leaders. And if they won’t follow standing with Israel, or live by what this nation was founded upon. Then pray for leaders that will. But as individuals that are responsible to God for our actions, our thoughts, and obedience to His Word. Pray for Israel, because she is the door to end time events, and Jerusalem is the key and the clearest indicator of how close we really are to the return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to receive His church unto Himself. So come Lord Jesus.
In the world in which we live in, there are no other people that have been persecuted more than the Jewish people. People who claim to be Christians, believe that Israel has been replaced and has no place in the heart of God, even though God called them “His chosen people.” In Genesis chapter 12 we find the following proclamation by God:
12:1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee:
12:2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: (what is that blessing? God's final remark in verse 3 is the most fundamental reason God chose Abraham, and thus Israel and his descendants: to bless mankind in the Person of Jesus Christ. Christ is the center, the focus, of everything.)
12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
Before God called Abram to leave his father and the family he had known, the human race was called the nations, until God made a covenant with Abram, who became Abraham and was called “a friend of God.” Throughout all of the bible, we see a personal, intimate relationship, both good and bad, that God had with this selected race of people that became the nation of Israel, named after Jacob, who became Israel after wrestling with the Spirit of the Lord. God dealt with these people to be a witness to the whole world. God spoke to Moses, His desire for a peculiar and special people:
19:5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
19:6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
When studying your bible, you see a trend that develops with mortal man, even a special people. Man, when he is following what God says and obeys His voice, the blessings flow until in this ancient time, Israel became the greatest nation on earth in the time of David and into the reign of Solomon. But when man does not follow God’s commandments and obey His voice, then because of His disobedience, he experiences curses, exile, and death at the hand of his enemies. It happened many times to Israel and God was patient with them for hundreds of years and sent many prophets to warn them, but they failed miserably and were scattered to the four winds after Rome destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD.
For almost 2000 years, the Jewish people (so named because of the tribe of Judah) were a nation no more. They were persecuted, hunted down, and killed because of Gentile nation prejudice of being “the killers of Jesus Christ.” Yes, the Jews did indeed have a indirect hand in the crucifixion and death, (right along with the Romans), of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, as was His plan from the beginning. When Jesus was speaking about what would happen to the nation of Israel, which during the time of Jesus was being ruled in servitude to Roman conquerors, Jesus said in Matthew 21: 42
“Did you never read in the Scriptures: "The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone? This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes"? Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it.”
Jesus was speaking of a time coming when the nation of Israel would lose the commission that was given to them, to be a royal priesthood to all the nations of the earth and a peculiar people. They were to be a witness, or intermediary for the gentile nations though the Levitical priesthood, until the time of the revealing of their Messiah. But as we should know, they failed miserably. But they are no better, or worse than we are, because as humans, we fail miserably when looking to ourselves and not following God’s leadership through His Holy Spirit.
So, if God has rejected the children of Israel, what was their purpose? Was Israel God's failed trial run at ruling humans, or was there something more to it? Why did God choose Israel? What makes Israel so special? Where does Israel fit in the grand scheme of God's plan?
There is good news and bad news concerning what has happened to Israel for the last 2000 years. First, let’s discuss the good news of Israel’s failure to follow God and to accept His only begotten Son, as the Savior of their souls. The good news is that because Israel rejected Jesus as their Messiah, and rejected the message preached by the apostles noted in the book of Acts, that the message was taken to the Gentiles, especially by Paul the apostle, who had been known as the Pharisee, Saul, before his conversion on a dusty road to Damascus. Paul writes
Romans 11:26-32:
And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; for this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins." Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For as you were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their disobedience, even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown you they also may obtain mercy. For God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all.
That folks is it in a nutshell. In God’s eternal wisdom, He blinded the Jewish people to the truth and the revelation of Jesus Christ as their long awaited Messiah, so God could have mercy on us, the gentiles and eventually on us all. But is God done with the nation of Israel? Some in modern evangelical religions seem to think that God has abandoned Israel and has replaced her with the church. That contradicts the above scripture, and as we all know, God cannot lie. The church will be God’s first fruits into His kingdom, but as He says, “He will take away their sins.” But do they deserve it? Do you? Of course, we do not deserve the sacrifice Jesus made on His cross, almost 2000 years ago, during Passover season. But for the sake of His promise to the fathers of the Jews, namely, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and because of His Holy Name, He will confirm and honor the covenant He made with their father Abraham when He called him into the land of Canaan.
We read in Ezekiel the 37th chapter about the prophecy of the “valley of dry bones”. We won’t take time to quote the entire chapter, so take a moment and read that chapter and meditate what the meaning of the passage means to Israel. They were a nation scattered, lost as a people, blinded to the truth, and seemingly beyond hope. But God has called them again and they were prophesied to be a great nation again, a vast army. For 2000 years, this passage lay dormant in the annals of history, until 1948 when beyond all reason, beyond all human comprehension, and against all odds, Israel became a nation AGAIN. It has never, never, ever happened in all of the history of the world. There has never been a nation destroyed, scattered, and forgotten, and then reconstitute itself to be the same nation as it was centuries before with essentially the same customs, language, and culture. I repeat, NEVER!!
Why has this happened? Because God is not done with them, until He saves THEM ALL!! He wishes to show mercy, as it is written in Roman chapter 11:
11:30 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
11:31 Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
1 1:32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.
Did you get that? He will have mercy upon all. That includes us, the church in the Age of Grace and upon the nation of Israel in the time of tribulation when He will purge them as a refiner of silver. Malachi chapter 3:
3:2 But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap:
3:3 And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.
3:4 Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years.
God has used Israel and its descendents, to move along the plan of God and introduce His salvation through the Hebrew people, namely the nation of Israel. He has now reconstituted that nation again into a nation long thought of destroyed for these end times we live in. Zechariah prophesied and wrote down what we have seen and will see in the near future. Turn over to the 12th chapter in your bible.
12:2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.
12:3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.
God will defend His people and will in the end, reveal Himself to His people and they will believe as a nation.
Zechariah 12:10 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.
And that soon to be future event, God says this in Hebrews chapter 10:
10:16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;
10:17 And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.
Remember the beginning of the message? “I will bless them that bless you, and will curse them that curse you.’? Every member of God’s church, His true church, must pray for Israel, must stand with her, and must believe the Words of Almighty God. Anyone who lifts a hand against her will be cut to pieces. Anyone who thinks they are so powerful that they can undermine the nation of Israel in these last days, I believe, is going against God Himself. Look all around us. Have we not been blessed when we stood shoulder to shoulder with God’s chosen people? And if we try and divide His land, (as it belongs to God), and do evil to a people God has made an unbreakable promises to then I fear for that nation. My fellow Americans, I fear for us. We must stand up and make known our voice loud and clear, that we stand with Israel. Not because they deserve it, but because God said it. They don’t deserve, but then again, neither do we.
As we fast approach the coming time of Jacob’s trouble and seven year tribulation, John spoke of Israel as a people in the Revelation chapter 12, we see a symbol of the nation of Israel, as woman with 12 stars about her head, as a crown, and the moon under her feet.
12:1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:
12:2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.
The next few verses, we see the Red Dragon, Satan the devil, appear to wait to devour the child, which is Jesus Christ, which he tried many times, but when he thought he had won at the crucifixion, his victory was his ultimate defeat.
12:5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.
Jesus has risen and been taken to the right side of God the Father waiting for setting up His kingdom, here on earth.
But notice the next lines? 12:6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.
All through this chapter, God protects His people, so to say that God is done with the Israelites, is to ignore scripture references to the contrary. We see many references to standing with Israel in the annals of this website, but we must continue to make our case known and our voice heard where we stand on the side of God’s chosen people and what He called “the apple of His eye.”
Pray for our leaders. And if they won’t follow standing with Israel, or live by what this nation was founded upon. Then pray for leaders that will. But as individuals that are responsible to God for our actions, our thoughts, and obedience to His Word. Pray for Israel, because she is the door to end time events, and Jerusalem is the key and the clearest indicator of how close we really are to the return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to receive His church unto Himself. So come Lord Jesus.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)