Edition 119: April 29 ^th 2012

Are the days numbered for the church?

News events and commentary:

●Israel has just celebrated 64 years of being reconciled as a nation. This began with independence in 1948. This is of major importance and part of the subject of this edition.

●I’m almost finished writing two new books, which will soon be available on this website. Here’re the covers:

I’ll share more about these books as soon as I’m finished writing and compiling them, which should be in a week or so. I’ll soon be starting a new book as well, which will be a real shocker as well as a real inspiration.

Are the days are numbered for the church!

If our Lord is not coming in the next 200 years or more, then it’s not really important to know the things about the timing of the coming of the Lord. This is exactly why people got it so wrong at 1000AD and many other times in the past.

But if our Lord is coming very soon, it IS important to know as much as we are entitled to know.

If you get to the station early and the train is only coming in an hour, you’ve got plenty of time to wonder off to the shop or read a book or anything else. If the train is due in a minute and you can already hear the rumble, should you get ready? The answer is obvious.

Right now, many are blind to the soon coming of our Lord and they actively discourage others to get ready, or to have anything to do with eschatology. They actively encourage others to ignore the signs of the times and live as though everything will continue as always. There’s no urgency they say.

But there are a fast growing number of church leaders who are unanimous on one thing and that is; The Lord is coming very soon! There are many churches that are really all hearing the “rumble” of the Lord’s soon coming right now, at the same time!

► I want to now look at some shocking facts, numbers and principles, and at some amazing signs of the soon coming of our Lord.

How many will be saved?

The word of the Lord gives us many shocking indications that only a few will be saved. That will still be a very large number, but it will be few in terms of the professing church and also few in terms of the world population.

Let’s have a look at some Bible verses:

1Timothy 4:1 “Now the Spirit expressly says that in the latter times, some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons.”

1Timothy 5:15 “For some have already turned aside after Satan.”

Matthew 24:12 “And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.”

Revelation 3:16 “So then because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I will spew you out of My mouth.”

2 Thessalonians 2:3 “...For that day will not come unless the falling away (great apostasy) comes first.”

Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to Me Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord have we not prophesied in your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?” And then I will declare to them, “I never knew you, depart from Me...”

These verses above all relate to the church. The verses are shocking indeed. They paint a picture that is contrary to much of what is believed today.

The big thing is that many think they’re just fine, and that our Lord will pat them on the back and say “well done” when actually, He’ll say “depart from Me” Of course there are many who will be just fine with our Lord when He appears, but that’s not our subject now.

Please read these verses above again and let the truth sink in.

►Now let’s look at some Bible verses relating to the Jews who are being saved and will be in the near future.

Romans 11:5 “Even so then at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace.”

Zechariah 8:12 “...I will cause a remnant of this people to possess all these things, and it shall come to pass that just as you were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you and you shall be a blessing.”

Amos 5:15 “Hate evil, love good; establish justice in the gate. It may be that the Lord God of hosts will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.”

Joel 2:32 “And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance as the Lord has said among the remnant whom the Lord calls.”

Isaiah 10:20-21 “And it shall come to pass in that day that the remnant of Israel and such as have escaped of the house of Jacob, will never again depend on him who defeated them, but will depend on the Lord the Holy On e of Israel, in truth. The remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the Mighty God.”

Romans 11:25-26 “For I do not desire that you be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that hardening in part has happened to Israel, until the fullness of the gentiles has come in and so all Israel will be saved.”

The “all Israel” to be saved, would be the entire remnant and not every single person.

So, now we see almost the same thing relating to the coming mass salvation of the Jews. Only a remnant among them will be saved, just as with the church.

We must take these things very seriously.

Because the issue is so critical our Lord gives us all many deadly warnings.

Ezekiel 3:18 “...When you give no warning to the wicked...his blood I will require at your hand”

Acts 20:31 “...Remember that I did not cease to warn everyone with tears for three years.”

Colossians 1:28 “Him we preach warning every man in all wisdom...”

So now we have the Bible itself showing that only a remnant in the church and in Israel will be saved.

You can sit back and scream the odds at God. You can say that He isn’t fair. You can come up with all sorts of reasons why all these verses above are wrong and you are right. That’s not very clever.

The best thing to do is simply to accept the Bible at face value and turn your heart and soul to our great Lord in humility, repentance, desperation and in sincerity and truth.

Our Lord will never turn anyone away who set’s his heart after Him and does His will, even if it takes some time to get going!

The soon coming end of the era:

If you’ve read previous editions, you’ll be aware that the seven Feats of the Lord have an amazing prophetic parallel. The first four have been fulfilled to the actual day. The remaining three are still to be fulfilled.

Now if the last one which is Tabernacles will be fulfilled in the Second Coming and setting up of the Millennium, that would obviously be at the very end of the seven-year tribulation period. So, if we come forward seven years it will bring us to the Feast that signals the start of the tribulation.

This is the Feast of Trumpets, or Rosh Hashanah.

Again I’ve indicated in many previous editions that the Feats of Trumpets of 2014 may well be the start of the tribulation period. (Note I said “may well be”)

There are so many signs all dovetailing and coming together now that there’re far too much for it all to simply be coincidence. So, if it’s not Trumpets 2014 it’s pretty close anyway!

If the tribulation period is going to start within a few years, it means that the church era is coming to an end and the salvation of the Jews is about to go into top gear.

Of course if you believe in a pre-tribulation rapture, this means that the true church will be gone by then.

Personally, I lean towards this position, but I can walk happily with the ‘pre’ and ‘post’ crowd.

The only post-tribulation crowd that I find it difficult to walk with are those bound in legalism. Their view is so solidly cast in stone that they condemn and insult others who don’t have their view. It’s good to remember that legalism is as witchcraft!

A very interesting exposition:

First things first! No, I’m not date setting. The problem is that many have gone to the other extreme and thrown the baby out with the bathwater. They’ve fallen into the camp condemned by our Lord:  2 Peter 3:3 “Knowing this that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying “Where the promise of His coming, all things will continue as they were.”

This may come as a shock to many!

We may be at the very last year until the church begins a fast, terminal decline. If not it is very, very soon!

There’re many clues our Lord gives us for the timing of the end of the age. “The times of the Gentiles” is one of them.

Luke 21:24 “And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.”

Here’s the big question. When will the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled? If we can know this, then we can know when the tribulation period will begin and salvation will come to the Jews.

Is the church age or era synonymous with times of the Gentile”?  The term “Times of the Gentiles” relates clearly to the dispersion of the Jews and Gentile occupation and power over Jerusalem and Israel as a whole, by extension.

The term “times of the Gentiles” includes the church, but isn’t restricted to it.

The name “Ephraim” is well understood to refer collectively to the ten lost tribes of Israel. They fell into disobedience and were scattered among the Gentile nations. They then became Gentiles, so to speak.

There is a popular school of thought out there that these ten lost tribes have not completely lost their Jewish identity.

Either way, the ten tribes will be reunited with the others. All twelve tribes according to a number of prophecies will again come into being. The book of Romans, chapter 11, sees the “natural olive branch” as all twelve tribes.

A remnant of all twelve will be reunited.

Some believe that “Ephraim” refers to the USA. This may be true by extension, but not in actual interpretation.

So, it can be demonstrated that “Ephraim” and the “times of the Gentiles” are linked.

Now have a look at this amazing portion of scripture:

Isaiah 7:5-8 “Because Syria, Ephraim and the son of Remaliah have taken evil counsel against you saying, “Let us go up against Judah and trouble it, and let us make a gap in its wall for ourselves, and set a king over them, the son of Tabeel” ‘Thus says the Lord God: It shall not stand, nor shall it come to pass. For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; within 65 years Ephraim will be broken, so that it will not be a people.

Okay now things get interesting. The above verse was fulfilled way back when. But as with many Bible prophecies they have a double reference and application. This is one of them.

Could this be a reference to the end of the “times of the Gentiles”? Could this be referring to our day?

If “Ephraim” is a reference to the Gentile era, including the church, and the times of the Gentiles refers to Gentile domination over Jerusalem and Israel, and it will be “broken in 65 years”. What can we get from that?

Well, quite simply, Israel has now just celebrated its 64^th year since independence from Gentile control. Next year will be “65 years”

If we apply Isaiah 7:8 to this time period, it could mean that next year is going to be critical for the world. “Ephraim will be broken” it says. This could refer to great troubles coming. We do know that the restoration of Israel will be in terrible and troublesome times.

It’s now 64 years since Israel’s independence. Next year is 65 years. Is Isaiah saying that “times of the Gentiles” are just about up, and we’re about to see God intensify His plans towards the remnant of Israel?

A bit earlier in chapter seven, Isaiah mentions his son, Shear- Jashub. This name literally means, “The remnant shall return”

Then a bit further on in the chapter we see the wonderful “Immanuel” prophecy speaking of the “virgin conceiving” and Israel’s eyes being opened to their Messiah.

A word of caution: This is all application and not direct interpretation cast in stone. But it is all interesting when we tie it all together with so many other signs of the times!

We’re commanded to watch for signs of the times.

Here are just a few verses amongst many:

Titus 2:13 “Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our Lord...”

Hebrews 10:25 “...Exhorting one another, and so much the more, as you see the Day approaching.”

Matthew 16:3 “...Hypocrites, you know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.”

Luke 21:29-31 “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that the summer is now near. So you likewise, when you see all these things happening know that the kingdom of God is near.

Matthew 24:33 “So you also when you see all these things, know that it is near even at the very doors.”

1 Thessalonians 5:4 “But you brethren are not in darkness so that this day should overtake you as a thief.”

Summary:

Will you be one of the ‘remnant’ of God’s people?  My prayer for you is exactly that!

The 65 years of Isaiah could well be a warning from our Lord. I may be wrong also. What I’m not wrong about is the fact that our Messiah is coming soon, and it’s time get serious about our spiritual lives.

Knowing God’s program and His plans should inspire us to know our Lord more and better. Only this way can we face the future with confidence.

My prayed for you and me is that we may know our Lord and His word and be known by Him.

1 John 5:4 “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world...”

Here’s a painting Raphael representing the prophet Isaiah.

Shalom and grow in grace!