1 Timothy 4:16 (NKJV)
Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.

Acts 2:42 (KJV)
And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.

Prelude:

With God – it’s all or nothing! There is no middle ground; there is no room for compromise! You either serve God or you don’t.

You’re either hot or cold – those lukewarm are spewed out of His mouth!

You cannot have a “build-a-Bible” and pick and choose those verses you like and discard those you don’t like.

It’s either God’s way or the highway!

I’ve come to declare the truth today and draw a line in the sand! Those who are willing to cross over the line may face persecution from man, but will walk with God and please Him!

In a day and age where some preachers are afraid to declare the truth, let it be known that I am NOT one of them!

My purpose today is simply to comfort those who are afflicted, yet also afflict those who are comfortable!

These are the last days and there is NO room for complacency or apathy!

We cannot just simply go through the motions and hope for the best – we must TAKE HEED TO OURSELVES AND TO THE DOCTRINE! We must continue steadfastly in the Apostles’ Doctrine, fellowship, prayers, and breaking of bread!

Doctrine divides…

• The teaching and preaching of the doctrine divides…

• …the wheat from the chaff…

• …the sheep from the goats…

• …the truth from the lie…

• …the saved from the damned…

Doctrine also unites…

• But the doctrine also unites us with God and His Word, creating a link – a threefold cord if you will – that will not be broken.

• What God has put together, let no man put asunder! Those who believe, love, obey, and live this Apostolic Truth find themselves pleasing God and seeing the blessings of God upon them!

Take this whole world, but give me Jesus… though none go with me, still I will follow… I have decided to follow Jesus…

1) Salvation:

Isaiah 35:1-4 (ESV)
¹ The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus; ² it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God. ³ Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. ⁴ Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.“

I love the doctrine of salvation!

The Bible is replete with the plan of salvation; even in the Old Testament, we see typology giving us insight as to how one must be saved.

• Creation shows us the plan of salvation…

• The way God instructed Moses to lay out the Tabernacle shows death, burial, and resurrection…

• Elijah on Mount Carmel gives insight to death, burial, and resurrection…

• The prophets prophesied the new birth message, from Moses, to Isaiah, to Joel, to Ezekiel, and even David…

The message of death, burial, and resurrection is essential to eternity!

One must repent, be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of those sins, and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost!

Jesus clearly stated this to Nicodemus – except you are born again of the water and of the Spirit, you cannot enter the kingdom of God!

You cannot just accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. You cannot recite a few words or phrases and hope that’s enough to be saved.

You MUST be born again of the water and of the Spirit! That’s not my words – that’s the words of Jesus Christ Himself and the word “MUST” makes it an absolute! It makes it eternally essential!

We are identified by how we preach, teach, believe, and obey the Word of God concerning salvation! I for one will not allow the devil to commit identity theft on my life or the church I’m called to pastor!

2) Signs:

Isaiah 35:5-7 (ESV)
⁵ Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; ⁶ then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; ⁷ the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down, the grass shall become reeds and rushes.

Jesus promised that signs and wonders would follow those that believe!

Especially in the apostolic movement, signs are one of the things that identify us.

We don’t have to follow signs – they follow true believers! God opens blind eyes, unstops deaf ears, heals the lame, makes the mute to speak, gives water in the desert, and makes a way where their seems to be no way!

In West Virginia, a young man who was born without heels on his feet was prayed for and made whole – God gave him heels and he was able to stomp his feet for the first time in his life! This miracle, along with many others, followed apostolic preaching and teaching and worship!

We here at Solid Rock have seen God do the miraculous – cancer has been healed, heart problems, Pastor David’s son brought back from the dead, pains of all sort made whole, as well as financial miracles and other miracles take place!

We are identified by how we preach, teach, believe, and obey the Word of God concerning signs also! I for one will not allow the devil to commit identity theft on my life or the church I’m called to pastor!

3) Separation:

Isaiah 35:8-9 (ESV)
⁸ And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Way of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it. It shall belong to those who walk on the way; even if they are fools, they shall not go astray. ⁹ No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it; they shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there.

Holiness is not an option – it is standard for the true worshiper! Again, you cannot pick and choose what you want to hear and believe! It’s all or nothing! There is no “build-a-Bible” here.

The problem I have with mainstream Christianity today is that they preach a lot of grace, mercy, love, and forgiveness – but where are the messages about salvation, sacrifice, sanctification, and separation?

The emergent-charismatic philosophy says that one should have a conversation – but the world needs conversion!

• This diabolical philosophy says “Preach Jesus” but the Bible says to “preach Jesus Christ AND Him crucified!” You cannot have one without the other!

• The same Jesus that said, “Neither do I condemn you” also said, “Go and sin no more!”
• The same Jesus that healed the lame man also told him, “sin no more or a worse thing will come upon you!”

On the HIGHWAY OF HOLINESS, lions and ravenous beasts are not allowed. When you pull onto I-95, you will see signs giving instructions as to what is prohibited from the highway.

Some say, “I’m being tormented by the devil; he’s picking on me, he’s chasing me, etc.” Well, I’ve got a question for you – are you walking on the HIGHWAY OF HOLINESS? If you’re not, then you’re susceptible to being tracked by lions and ravenous beasts.

2 Corinthians 7:1 (ESV)
Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.

God is calling His church today to be HOLY which means separated. Just two verses earlier (2 Corinthians 6:17) we are commanded to come out from the world AND BE SEPARATE and touch not the unclean thing!

Holiness of the spirit (within):

• You’ve got to keep your heart and mind right!

• Do you keep your mind focused on pure things?

• From the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks – is your heart holy?

• Holiness of the heart and mind are important – we are instructed to not even look on a woman to lust after her, because that’s the same as committing adultery as far as God is concerned.

• Hypocrites are despised by God – He commands our love to be genuine and without hypocrisy!

• Don’t say one thing with your lips and have another thing on your mind or in your heart.

• Don’t be two-faced, double-tongued, or unholy in any way in your heart or mind!

Holiness of the body (without):

• “The inside matters but it’s the outside that people notice.“

• What do you do, where do you go? How do you live, act, and dress? What do you refrain from?

• God’s Word says that for a woman to wear what pertains to man or a man to wear a woman’s garment is an abomination! That’s God’s Word, not mine!

Deuteronomy 22:5 (NKJV)
A woman shall not wear anything that pertains to a man, nor shall a man put on a woman’s garment, for all who do so are an abomination to the Lord your God.

• Some want to say that Deuteronomy 22:5 is a part of the law which Jesus fulfilled when He died on the cross; however, the last phrase of the verse changes everything – for all who do so are an abomination to the Lord your God. Jesus did not fulfill “abominations” when He died on the cross!

Revelation 21:27 (NKJV)
But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

• God’s word says it’s a shame for men to have long hair and that women should have long hair. The Greek word for “long” in 1 Corinthians 11:15 means, “to let one’s hair grow long: to not cut one’s hair.” (from Greek-English Lexicon Based on Semantic Domain. Copyright © 1988 United Bible Societies, New York. Used by permission.)

1 Corinthians 11:6 (ESV)
For if a WOMAN will not cover her head, then she should cut her hair short. But since it is disgraceful for a WOMAN to cut off her hair or shave her head, let her cover her head.

1 Corinthians 11:14-15 (ESV)
¹⁴ Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him, ¹⁵ but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her for a covering.

Be holy…

God is omnipresent (everywhere always), omniscient (all-knowing), omnipotent (all powerful)… God is love… God is holy… Yet the only characteristic that God said we should BE is holy! Why? Because God knows that’s the only one we CAN BE!

Leviticus 20:7 (ESV)
Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am the Lord your God.

1 Peter 1:15-16 (NKJV)
¹⁵ but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, ¹⁶ because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

There is no way we can be omnipresent, omniscient, omnipresent, or even be love – we CAN love, but not BE love. But we CAN BE HOLY! We MUST “BE” holy! God requires it! Only those who are holy will see the Lord…

Hebrews 12:14 (NKJV)
Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:

We are identified by how we preach, teach, believe, and obey the Word of God concerning separation! I for one will not allow the devil to commit identity theft on my life or the church I’m called to pastor!

Apex – Singing or Sorrow; Your Choice:

Isaiah 35:10 (ESV)
And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

It’s all or nothing! Those that reject any part of what I’ve preached today will have sorrow; however, those who accept it and obey it will go forth with singing, rejoicing in the everlasting joy that is promised by God!

You can’t pick and choose what you want to believe from the Bible – it’s all or nothing!

If it pleases God, it doesn’t matter who it displeases! If it displeases God, it doesn’t matter who it pleases!

I will be able to leave today knowing that I have pleased God by what I’ve preached to you – now it is up to you as to what you do with it.

Trampoline of Truth – frame (Word of God), springs (Doctrine), the mat (True Worship), the net (Separation): Separation is our SAFETY!

Take this whole world, but give me Jesus… though none go with me, still I will follow… I have decided to follow Jesus…

“Post-Tribulation Eschatology”

Sunday, July 5, 2009

James 1:21-25 (ESV)
²¹ Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. ²² But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. ²³ For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. ²⁴ For he looks at him self and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. ²⁵ But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

Prelude:

James gives a great challenge in this passage we’ve selected for our text. In a nutshell, it’s broken down as such:

1)    Put away sin

2)    Receive the implanted word

3)    Be a doer, not just a hearer of that word

There is great wisdom in these verses, and they serve to lay the foundation for the rest of this message. This is not the first time hearing and doing the word were mentioned in Scripture.

1) ‘Hearing and Doing’ in the Sermon on the Mount:

One of the greatest passages of the Bible is Matthew 5-7, which is commonly called “The Sermon on the Mount.” In it, Jesus taught many valuable principles!

At the end of that sermon, Jesus says something very powerful about hearing and doing the Word…

Matthew 7:24-27 (ESV)
²⁴ “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. ²⁶ And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. ²⁷ And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

To what is Jesus referring to specifically here? Let’s back up a little in the sermon and see…

Matthew 7:15-23 (ESV)
¹⁵ “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. ¹⁶ You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. ²¹ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ ²³ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

• This is an unfortunate and tragic passage as it shows that there are some who feel safe and secure in their traditional religious thinking that will not be saved!

• The reason this connects us to post-tribulation eschatology is that Jesus is speaking specifically to Jews here. Also, the “church” started in Acts 2 as a “Jewish Bride” and has never been a “Gentile Bride” as dispensationalists teaches.

• The words of Jesus here are relevant to us as well, because we are “true Jews” according to Romans 2:28-29, and therefore we too must maintain our relationship with Him!

Romans 2:28-29 (ESV)
²⁸ For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. ²⁹ But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.

Colossians 2:11-12 (ESV)
¹¹ In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, ¹² having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.

2) ‘Hearing and Doing’ in Parables:

Jesus taught in parables for a single purpose…

Matthew 13:10-17 (ESV)
¹⁰ Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” ¹¹ And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. ¹² For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. ¹³ This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. ¹⁴ Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: ” ‘You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive. ¹⁵ For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’ ¹⁶ But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. ¹⁷ Truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

• Jesus is telling His disciples, WHO ARE JEWS, that national Jews – the religious leaders and their followers – cannot hear or see because there hearts are dull and there eyes are closed.

• This is more proof that only a remnant of Israel will be saved.

Romans 9:6-8 (ESV)
⁶ But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, ⁷ and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” ⁸ This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.

Romans 9:27 (ESV)
And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved,

Jesus taught the concept of “hearing and doing” in the parable of the Sower and three different Gospel writers included it (Matthew, Mark, and Luke)…

• It is plain to see throughout the three Gospels that it is important to HEAR the Word and DO the Word!

• But also, it is important to notice something in the text.

Matthew 13:20-21 (ESV)
²⁰ As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, ²¹ yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.

Mark 4:16-17 (ESV)
¹⁶ And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. ¹⁷ And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; Then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.

Luke 8:13 (ESV)
And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away.

• Not only do these passages mention the tribulation (“time of testing” in Luke), but they also say something else…

• All three of them say these two words at the end of Jesus’ explanation – “fall away.” Why is this important?

2 Thessalonians 2:3 (KJV)
Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

• I do not believe it’s just a coincidence! Scripture qualifies scripture! People are already falling away – I’ve seen friends of mine walk away from this Apostolic Truth – preachers that heralded this message who now preach NO TRUTH!

3) More on ‘hearing and doing’:

Jesus spoke a lot about hearing and doing throughout His ministry on earth, and John 8 records a passage where Jesus mentions this very frequently…

John 8:31 (ESV)
So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,”

• Abide means, “to stay (in a given place, state, relation or expectancy): continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain, to stand.” (Biblesoft’s New Exhaustive Strong’s Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.)

• Discipleship is proven by ABIDING in the Word of God!

John 8:37 (ESV)
I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you.

• False Christians do not allow the Word of God to be implanted in their hearts… True Christians hear it, do it, obey it, love it, live it, teach it, preach it, treasure it…

John 8:43, 47 (ESV)
Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. ⁴⁷ Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.

• WOW! Whenever you’ve heard me say “God ain’t playing” this verse and passage is why!

John 8:43-47 (MSG)
⁴³ Why can’t you understand one word I say? Here’s why: You can’t handle it. ⁴⁴ You’re from your father, the Devil, and all you want to do is please him. He was a killer from the very start. He couldn’t stand the truth because there wasn’t a shred of truth in him. When the Liar speaks, he makes it up out of his lying nature and fills the world with lies. ⁴⁵ I arrive on the scene, tell you the plain truth, and you refuse to have a thing to do with me. ⁴⁶ Can any one of you convict me of a single misleading word, a single sinful act? But if I’m telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? ⁴⁷ Anyone on God’s side listens to God’s words. This is why you’re not listening—because you’re not on God’s side.”

• God is not on OUR side – we have to be on God’s side! Are you listening to the truth? Are you hearing the Word? Are you obeying the Word?

John 8:51 (ESV)
Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.

• Don’t think carnally! Jesus is not referring to physical death, but rather, He is referring to the second death!

Revelation 2:11 (ESV)
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.

Revelation 20:6 (ESV)
Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.

Revelation 20:14 (ESV)
Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.

Revelation 21:8 (ESV)
But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.

• Those who hear and obey the Word of the Lord will be saved! Those who hear but disregard the Word of the Lord will be damned!

Mark 16:16 (KJV)
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

John 8:24 (ESV)
I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.

Apex – What’s the Connection?

So, how does this connect with our study of eschatology? It further proves that the only way to be saved is through the New Covenant which will last until Jesus comes! When Jesus comes, the “well of grace” will dry up and there will be no more chance for anyone, not even national Israel.

Consider this OT prophet and his inspired words and how it connects to the last days…

Hosea 10:8 (ESV)
The high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed. Thorn and thistle shall grow up on their altars, and they shall say to the mountains, “Cover us, and to the hills, Fall on us.”

Revelation 6:12-17 (ESV)
¹² When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, ¹³ and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. ¹⁴ The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. ¹⁵ Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, ¹⁶ calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, ¹⁷ for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

The New Covenant is an eternal one – the only way for ANYONE and EVERYONE regardless of their race is through the Blood of the EVERLASTING COVENANT…

Hebrews 13:20-21 (ESV)
²⁰ Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, ²¹ equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

God did not inspire this to be written haphazardly – it is written on purpose! The New Covenant will translate to everlasting, in that DEATH WILL NOT BE ABLE TO STOP THIS COVENANT! Because Jesus has already stopped DEATH!

The Holy Spirit you received was just a DOWN-PAYMENT of what eternal life is going to feel like…

2 Corinthians 1:21-22 (ESV)
²¹ And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, ²² and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.

2 Corinthians 5:1-5 (ESV)
¹ For we know that if the tent, which is our earthly home, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. ² For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, ³ if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. ⁴ For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened–not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. ⁵ He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.

Ephesians 1:13-14 (ESV)
¹³ In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, ¹⁴ who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

My mom tells me that I was in church within three days of being born into this world; thus, I cut my teeth on a Pentecostal pew. I grew up and attended traditional Pentecostal churches. These churches used the King James Version (KJV) as their primary Bible. Some of them used them KJV exclusively.

After moving to Maine in 1993 to become the youth pastor in Augusta and to marry my bride, I purchased my first other translation – the God’s Word Translation (GW). I read the Bible through that year in the GW and enjoyed some of the fresh revelation I received on Scriptures that I had before had difficulty understanding. However, I continued to use the KJV exclusively in my preaching and teaching.

After about one year of being the lead pastor in Caribou, Maine, I upgraded a Bible program my sister-in-law had given me as a Christmas gift for Christmas 2000. I upgraded the program a year later and it included a new translation called the English Standard Version (ESV). I began reading through it and purchased my first print ESV early in 2002. The way it was worded enlightened me with fresh perspective on the fundamentals of the Apostolic Truth that I love so much.

Not long after purchasing my first print copy, I began seeing articles in various publications about the completeness and accuracy of the ESV. Men whom I respect in the Apostolic Faith were also singing the praises of the ESV and its clarity. What stood out to me most was they said that the ESV did not take away from Apostolic Truth but instead strengthened it. This caused me to do my own research on this timely translation compared to others and to the KJV.

I started noticing that when I would look up a difficult word in the KJV to define it more clearly, the ESV would already use a more clear phrase or word without deviating from the context. Time and time again this happened.

Now, please understand, I’m not saying the KJV is “wrong” nor has doctrinal flaws. It does not! Let me say that again, the KJV does NOT deviate from the Apostolic Truth that I love so much. However, after carefully studying the KJV, I realized it was a translation of the Bible, but not exclusively the Bible. There were other English translations of the Word of God BEFORE the KJV came into existence.

While I respect the work of the KJV, I have come to realize that very few people, if anyone, talks in that style of English anymore. And some of the English words used to describe the literal Hebrew, Greek, and/or Aramaic no longer mean the same thing.

• Bro. J.R. Ensey, in his book, The Book We Call The Bible, writes 55 pages concerning the KJV. On page 131, he states, “The KJV is still a ‘preacher’s Bible’ – only those who are deeply committed to its study and have all the appropriate books and references can consistently grasp its meaning. Perhaps as much as 20 percent of the KJV is beyond the immediate comprehension of the average adult reader. It is rated as the most difficult of all versions to understand. (See Chapter Nine.)”

• Bro. Ensey further states on page 135, “God’s Word should be easily understood, employing modern terms that accurately convey the original meaning. A study commissioned by Zondervan Publishers and released in November of 2000 (reviewed in Washington Times, 12/18/2000 p. 19) revealed that Americans are more willing to enter the complex Bible world if they find it packaged palatably and easy to grasp. Most find it easier to read a newspaper than the Bible. Perhaps that is why more people read newspapers than the Bible.”

It is my strong recommendation that you read Bro. Ensey’s words on the subject, as it would be time-consuming to type all 55 pages of this excerpt of the book.

The KJV, being a translation itself, is not the Bible. The translators of the KJV were careful to point this out and did not claim any Divine Authority when translating the Scriptures. Proof of this is found in the fact that there are many different versions of the KJV from 1611 to 1769 – some eighteen different times that the KJV was updated and changed. If the KJV is the Bible, why did the translators change it?

With due respect to ANY translation, no single version or translation is the Bible! We can learn from other translations and strengthen our understanding of the original text of the Word of God. The Bible is literally the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek!

My final reason for making the switch to using the ESV primarily is that I want to understand God’s Word in the English I use today. The New Testament was spoken and written in Greek for the benefit of the common man. Hebrew was and is a difficult language to learn and use, but Greek was easy, therefore, it was used commonly. Today, we do not speak in 1600’s Elizabethan English.

I still treasure the KJV and will use it often. There are verses that I like better from this translation; however, it will not be the main Bible I use. This is not a heresy and I should not be castigated for this.

In the preface of a KJV Bible on my shelf are these words, “Containing the Old and New Testaments, King James Version, translated out of the original tongues and with former translations diligently compared and revised.” If the translators claimed no such superiority to their work – the KJV – why then would I be called a heretic for using various translations as well as other resources, namely lexicons and dictionaries, to fully grasp and comprehend the Scriptures?

Please feel free to use the Bible translation of your choice. I will not judge you for your decision. However, please do not judge me for my decision to use the ESV primarily, as well as other translations.

• Pages 147-148, “The KJV is a good revision overall. It has found its place in history. But those who claim the KJV is “inspired” and alone is the Word of God must answer these questions: Where was the Word before 1611? Was it in the Latin Vulgate? The Erasmus text? The Wycliffe Bible? The Tyndale Bible? The Bishops’ Bible? The Geneva Bible? If the KJV was “inspired” and was the perfect edition of the Word, then why was the Apocrypha included then later removed? Why has it undergone a number of subsequent revisions? If the KJV is the “only Bible,” one must also ask: which KJV? And if the KJV is the “only real Bible,” are all of those translations which preceded it and came afterward “corrupt” and the product of “someone tampering with the Word of God?” That is not an easy position for which to find solid support.”

• Pages 155-156, “If one reads the Ten Commandments in Matthew 19:18, 19, then reads them in Mark 10:19 and also from Luke 18:20, he finds them all using different wording although Jesus was the single speaker. Which Gospel writer was correct? The KJV doesn’t seem to agree with itself. If slightly different variants are presented in the Gospels themselves and are acceptable, then why are variants in versions other than the KJV wrong on their face? Although these parallel accounts of the words of Jesus differ somewhat in wording, they do not differ in message. Clearly the original New Testament writers and readers had no problem with verbal differences when the events were described … but in some circles today to quote from a translation other than the English KJV is blasphemy.”

• Page 167, “It is truth, not tradition that interests us most.”

In summary, I will maintain the use of the KJV; however, it will not be my primary study Bible. In addition to the many questions asked in this letter, let me finally ask you why would you want to conjure up in the minds of people a mystical creature that doesn’t exist? You say, “Huh? What are you talking about?” Let me explain: six times, the KJV uses the word “unicorn” which we know are mystical creatures – they are not real. Why not, instead use a translation that better explains these six verses? Consider the following chart:

These verses are just a sample of why I am making this change. I would rather encourage someone to read the ESV or the NKJV and receive enlightenment without having to request numerous study helps. I have been asked by many what resources to buy in order to understand the KJV. Now, I am telling them, “Just buy an ESV Bible.”

We, David Sutherland, Thomas Donaldson, and Roland Belanger whole-heatedly agree with our Lead Pastor, Myron Powell, and do also maintain the usage of the ESV as our study Bible, as well as other translations and resources, including the KJV, to glean deeper understanding of the Apostolic Truth of God’s Word through the leading of the Holy Spirit. We treasure truth, not tradition.

Colossians 2:8 (ESV)
See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.

Sincerely,

Myron Powell , David Sutherland, Thomas Donaldson, & Roland Belanger

To Apostolic Truth!

Post-Tribulation Eschatology

Sunday, June 28, 2009 – PM

Acts 2:42 (NKJV)
And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.

Prelude:

Can we truly continue steadfastly while teaching eschatology?

It’s been said that it’s distracting to preach eschatology, so I felt challenged by the Holy Spirit to show that in fact eschatology LINKS Apostolic Truth and therefore SHOULD be preached!

1) The New Birth:

The New Birth is found within Scriptures related to eschatology:

Romans 2:28-29 (ESV)
²⁸ For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. ²⁹ But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.

• Romans 2:28-29 connects to eschatology because it shows us that the New Covenant is the ONLY way for anyone to be saved, including Jews. This Scripture disproves the theory presented by dispensational teaching that God will turn back to the Jews. God will not turn back to the Jews because He has never rejected them!

Romans 11:1-6 (ESV)
¹ I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. ² God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? ³ “Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.” ⁴ But what is God’s reply to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” ⁵ So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. ⁶ But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.

• Furthermore, Romans 2:28-29 connects to the New Birth by teaching the truth about circumcision of the heart!

• Moses prophesied it:

Deuteronomy 30:6 (ESV)
And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.

• Deuteronomy 30:6 sounds strikingly similar to something Peter preached…

Acts 2:39 (ESV)
For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.

• To whom is Peter preaching?

Acts 2:5 (ESV)
Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven.

Acts 2:36 (ESV)
Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.

• Peter is preaching to Jews – the remnant of natural Israel. They were the first to receive the promise!

Romans 1:16 (ESV)
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

• Paul wrote to the Colossians about the New Birth as well, and links us back to Deuteronomy 30:6 and Romans 2:28-29:

Colossians 2:11-13 (ESV)
¹¹ In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, ¹² having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. ¹³ And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,

• Putting off the body of the flesh – repentance
• Buried with him in baptism – baptism in Jesus name
• Raised with him through faith – in-filling of the Holy Spirit.

The way this becomes even more real to the study of eschatology, and the disproving of pre-tribulation and dispensational teaching, is found in two more Scriptures:

John 8:24 (ESV)
I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.

Acts 3:23 (ESV)
And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.’

• The only way for ANYONE regardless of their race to be saved is through the blood of the New Covenant!

Matthew 26:26-28 (ESV)
²⁶ Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” ²⁷ And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, ²⁸ for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

• And this New Covenant is ETERNAL meaning that there is no other one to follow it! It will culminate in the changing of the saints from mortal to immortality!

Hebrews 13:20 (ESV)
Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant,

1 Corinthians 15:51-58 (ESV)
⁵¹ Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, ⁵² in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. ⁵³ For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. ⁵⁴ When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” ⁵⁵ “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” ⁵⁶ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷ But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁵⁸ Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

• There is no question that the New Birth makes even more sense in the study of eschatology because it proves the truth and disproves false doctrine!

John 3:1-8 (ESV)
¹ Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. ² This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” ³ Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” ⁴ Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” ⁵ Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. ⁶ That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. ⁷ Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ ⁸ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

2) Oneness:

The One-God message is found within eschatology!

John 8:24 (ESV)
I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.

• This and many other references in John 8 include the phrase “I AM” linking back to the burning bush…

Exodus 3:13-15 (ESV)
¹³ Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” ¹⁴ God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ” ¹⁵ God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.

But there’s an even more direct reference to the One-God message found within direct teaching of eschatology:

1 John 3:1-5 (ESV)
¹ See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. ² Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. ³ And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. ⁴ Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. ⁵ You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.

• John starts by talking about the Father, however, he goes on to say in verse 3 “when he appears” and again in verse 5 “you know that he appeared to take away sins.”

• Trinity is not a Biblical doctrine – it is false!

• So is John confused here? Why would he say that the Father is going to be appearing and that he already did appear to take away sin? We know that both of these are a reference to Jesus Christ!

• In order to understand this, you have to know that Jesus IS the Father!

Isaiah 9:6 (ESV)
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

John 10:30 (ESV)
I and the Father are one.

John 14:8-9 (ESV)
⁸ Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” ⁹ Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

• So, John wasn’t wrong! When Jesus comes back (appears) WE WILL SEE THE FATHER because Jesus IS the FATHER!

And if that isn’t enough, there is yet another Scripture that links the One-God message to eschatology…

Romans 3:29-30 (ESV)
²⁹ Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, ³⁰ since God is one. He will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.

• Romans 3:29-30 is found nestled in teachings by Paul, proving that there is only one way to be saved – by the New Covenant! From Romans 1 through 11, there are numerous Scriptures proving that God has ONE Church – the Israel of God.

• Why is it so hard to see that there is only ONE Church since we know that there is ONE God?

• Also, notice how we’ve now linked the One-God message back to the New Birth and all through eschatology! Not only does eschatology help to prove these fundamentals of the faith, but also serve to connect the dots between each tenet of the faith!

• Friends, this connection is even better than a three-fold cord because it will NEVER be broken!

Psalms 119:89 (NKJV)
Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven.

Psalms 119:160 (NKJV)
The entirety of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever.

John 17:17 (ESV)
Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.

3) The Mighty God in Christ:

The Mighty God in Christ is seen through the lens of eschatology!

Colossians 2:8-17 (NKJV)
⁸ Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. ⁹ For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; ¹⁰ and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. ¹¹ In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, ¹² buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. ¹³ And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, ¹⁴ having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. ¹⁵ Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it. ¹⁶ So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, ¹⁷ which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.

• Verse nine perfectly illustrates the Mighty God in Christ and is also found in 2 Corinthians…

2 Corinthians 5:16-21 (ESV)
¹⁶ From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. ¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. ¹⁸ All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; ¹⁹ that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰ Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. ²¹ For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

• Colossians 2:8-17 also links to eschatology by proving that through the cross, the LAW (Old Covenant) is OVER!

Romans 10:4 (ESV)
For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

• And this also serves to disprove that another covenant will come to the Jews in the tribulation!

Romans 11:26-28 (ESV)
²⁶ And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”; ²⁷ “and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.” ²⁸ As regards the gospel, they are enemies of God for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers.

• “All Israel” in verse 26 and “election” in verse 28 refer to the remnant that was saved beginning on the Day of Pentecost – the 3,120 Jews!
• Notice how Colossians 2:8-17 not only proves the Mighty God in Christ truth, but links to the New Birth and One-God truths also? Again, through the “channel” of accurate Apostolic eschatology, one can also prove other truths of the Apostles’ Doctrine and continue steadfastly therein!

4) Separation & Holy Living:

Separation and Holy Living also are linked to eschatology!

Both Peter and John taught the connection:

2 Peter 3:10-13 (ESV)
¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. ¹¹ Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, ¹² waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! ¹³ But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

1 John 3:1-5 (ESV)
¹ See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. ² Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. ³ And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. ⁴ Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. ⁵ You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.

• We’ve already shown how the One-God message is proven through 1 John 3:1-5 and now we see that it also connects to living holy and separation from sin!

• You need to live holy! We must live separated from sin and the world in these last days!

2 Corinthians 6:14-18 (ESV)
¹⁴ Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? ¹⁵ What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? ¹⁶ What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. ¹⁷ Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, ¹⁸ and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.”

2 Corinthians 7:1 (ESV)
Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.

• The world is going to “pass away” which is a fundamental truth of eschatology – this heaven and earth will pass away! And this also connects us to living holy and separate!

2 Peter 3:10 (ESV)
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.

1 John 2:15-17 (ESV)
¹⁵ Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ For all that is in the world— the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. ¹⁷ And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

• This is not a time to get closer to the world but rather closer to God! Don’t act, think, dress, talk or do ANYTHING like the world!

• Consider what you do, what you wear, where you go, things you read, things you watch, and let God lead you in all TRUTH! Jesus IS coming and you must be clothed with His righteousness – the wedding garment – in order to be saved!

Matthew 22:1-14 (ESV)
¹ And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, ² “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, ³ and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. ⁴ Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.’ ⁵ But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, ⁶ while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. ⁷ The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. ⁸ Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. ⁹ Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ ¹⁰ And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests. ¹¹ “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. ¹² And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. ¹³ Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ ¹⁴ For many are called, but few are chosen.”

• Do you have your wedding garment on? This parable likens a literal wedding garment to being clothed with God’s righteousness! Are you clothed or are you naked?

Revelation 3:18 (ESV)
I counsel you to buy from me … white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen …

• Do you also see the link between all of these tenets of faith and eschatology? This is not coincidental or haphazard. God is a God of order!

Apex:

I was led of the Holy Spirit to preach this to you because such apostates as John Darby, Clarence Larkin, C.I. Scofield, among others, have propagated a lie on the Church through dispensational and pre-tribulation teaching.

In one such article that I read related to these damnable heresies, I quote the following:

• I confess proudly, that Dispensationalism is the true interpretation of Bible prophecy. First, because it teaches the doctrine of the Trinity, without which it would certainly collapse. Second, because it proves the Father and the Son are two separate persons and have two separate programs in the earth and eternity.

• One of the greatest mysteries of all ages is the blessed Trinity. Although it is not found in the Bible, we accept it by faith, because the Church can not explain the relationships of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, any other way. It was not until the Church discovered Plato and his pluralistic unity in the oneness of the cosmic soul, that the Church discovered a way to clearly explain the relationship of the three separate persons in the holy Trinity. The three persons in the Godhead are separate and distinct, but they are one God in unity as the cosmos is many but one. God the Son is the person of the Trinity who is now getting his bride-Church out of the earth. God the Father has his program with Israel now on hold until God the Son gets his wife out of the way. Israel is the wife of God the Father and the Church is the wife of God the Son. Do not despair my beloved, God the Holy Spirit will get his wife in a new creation.

• Should you meet any who believe the Post Tribulation doctrine, do not receive them. They deny the mystery of the Trinity and are thus antichrist. They are not mainstream Evangelical Protestants. Any literature or books containing anti-Jewish teachings should be given to an agency that monitors anti-Semitic behavior, such as the Simon Wisenthal Center. Some local police departments have hate-crime sections that should be notified of hate literature and these groups. You will be doing God service. The greatest sin of all is to be silent about anyone who denies the Trinity. Anyone who teaches or believes the doctrine of the Post Tribulation coming of Christ, is antichrist! They deny that the Father and the Son, are working in unity to fulfill the two Covenants in Dispensational Truth. God bless you my beloved, John Delbert DeHann – Radio Program – 12-1-1992.

This John DeHann and his mentors – Darby, Scofield, and Larkin – cannot even explain the Trinity BECAUSE IT DOESN’T EXIST IN THE WORD OF GOD! And then they create a false doctrine based on the Babylonian Talmud of Jewish mythology with a Christian slant, and perpetrate a lie on Christianity and I’m the one called a heretic?

Friends – BUY THE TRUTH – the Apostolic Truth – AND DON’T SELL IT!

I want to only know the TRUTH, the whole TRUTH, and nothing but the TRUTH, so help me God!

I’ve presented to you ONLY the Word of God – not supposition, not “mystery” and not false doctrine! DON’T TAKE MY WORD FOR IT, TAKE GOD’S WORD FOR IT! His Word does not and cannot lie!

Proverbs 23:23 (ESV)
Buy truth, and do not sell it…

Post-Tribulation Eschatology

June 24, 2009

This handout is taken from the book of Romans proving and showing that there is one Church – the Israel of God – and that the only way to be saved is through New Covenant as it is eternal…

Matthew 26:26-28 (ESV)
²⁶ Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” ²⁷ And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, ²⁸ for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”

Hebrews 13:20 (ESV)
Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant,

Therefore, if the New Covenant is eternal, how then can there be a resurrection of the Old Covenant during the tribulation period? The Law never saved anyone and it came to an end. For the rest of this handout, there will be nothing but the Scriptures, free of commentary. Allow the Holy Spirit to open your understanding that you may comprehend the Scriptures…

Romans 1:16 (ESV)
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Romans 2:6-11 (ESV)
⁶ He will render to each one according to his works: ⁷ to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; ⁸ but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. ⁹ There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, ¹⁰ but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. ¹¹ For God shows no partiality.

Romans 2:28-29 (ESV)
²⁸ For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. ²⁹ But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.

Romans 3:9-12 (ESV)
⁹ What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, ¹⁰ as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; ¹¹ no one understands; no one seeks for God. ¹² All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.“

Romans 3:20 (ESV)
For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

Romans 3:21-26 (ESV)
²¹ But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— ²² the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, ²⁵ whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. ²⁶ It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Romans 3:29-30 (ESV)
²⁹ Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, ³⁰ since God is one. He will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.

Romans 4:9-12 (ESV)
⁹ Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. ¹⁰ How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. ¹¹ He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, ¹² and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

Romans 4:13-14 (ESV)
¹³ For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. ¹⁴ For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void.

Romans 4:16 (ESV)
That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all,

Romans 5:11 (ESV)
More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Romans 7:1-6 (ESV)
¹ Or do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives? ² Thus a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage. ³ Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress. ⁴ Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. ⁵ For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. ⁶ But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve not under the old written code but in the new life of the Spirit.

Romans 8:1-17 (ESV)
¹ There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. ² For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. ³ For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴ in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. ⁵ For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. ⁶ To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. ⁷ For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. ⁸ Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. ⁹ You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. ¹⁰ But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. ¹¹ If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. ¹² So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. ¹³ For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. ¹⁴ For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. ¹⁵ For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” ¹⁶ The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷ and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

Romans 8:35-39 (ESV)
³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? ³⁶ As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” ³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 9:25-27 (ESV)
²⁵ As indeed he says in Hosea, “Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’ and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.’ ” ²⁶ “And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’ ” ²⁷ And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved,

Romans 9:30-33 (ESV)
³⁰ What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; ³¹ but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. ³² Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, ³³ as it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

Romans 10:1-4 (ESV)
¹ Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. ² I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. ³ For, being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. ⁴ For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

Romans 10:14-21 (ESV)
¹⁴ But how are they to call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? ¹⁵ And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” ¹⁶ But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” ¹⁷ So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. ¹⁸ But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for “Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.” ¹⁹ But I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says, “I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation; with a foolish nation I will make you angry.” ²⁰ Then Isaiah is so bold as to say, “I have been found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.” ²¹ But of Israel he says, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.”

Romans 11:1-6 (ESV)
¹ I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. ² God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? ³ “Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.” ⁴ But what is God’s reply to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” ⁵ So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. ⁶ But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.

Romans 11:7 (ESV)
What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened,

Romans 11:17-24 (ESV)
¹⁷ But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, ¹⁸ do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. ¹⁹ Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” ²⁰ That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but stand in awe. ²¹ For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. ²² Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. ²³ And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. ²⁴ For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree.

You can argue against opinions, but you cannot argue against the truth!

Post-Tribulation Eschatology

June 22, 2009

Revelation 21:2 (ESV)
And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Revelation 21:9-10 (ESV)
⁹ Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” ¹⁰ And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God,

Prelude:

This handout will contain no commentary, not even from me, but rather just Scripture’s showing how “that city” is not literal, but figurative and is indicative of the complete Church in Christ! You cannot argue with truth and God’s Word is truth!

Hebrews 11:8-10 (ESV)
⁸ By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. ⁹ By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. ¹⁰ For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.

Hebrews 11:13-16 (ESV)
¹³ These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. ¹⁴ For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. ¹⁵ If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. ¹⁶ But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

Hebrews 12:22-24 (ESV)
²² But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, ²³ and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, ²⁴ and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

Hebrews 13:14 (ESV)
For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.

Revelation 3:12 (ESV)
The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.

Revelation 21:18 (ESV)
The wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, clear as glass.

Job 23:8-10 (ESV)
⁸ “Behold, I go forward, but he is not there, and backward, but I do not perceive him; ⁹ on the left hand when he is working, I do not behold him; he turns to the right hand, but I do not see him. ¹⁰ But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold.

1 Peter 1:3-9 (ESV)
³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, ⁵ who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶ In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, ⁷ so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ⁸ Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, ⁹ obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Revelation 22:14 (ESV)
Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates.

Revelation 22:18-19 (ESV)
¹⁸ I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, ¹⁹ and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

Post-Tribulation Eschatology

June 22, 2009

Revelation 21:2 (ESV)
And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Revelation 21:9 (ESV)
Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.”

Prelude:

This handout will contain no commentary, not even from me, but rather just Scripture’s that serve to prove that there is One Church – also called “His Elect” or “God’s Chosen” etc., and is the True Israel of God according to Galatians 6:16. You can argue with opinion, but not with Scripture.

Matthew 16:18 (ESV)
And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Romans 1:16 (ESV)
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Romans 3:29-30 (ESV)
²⁹ Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, ³⁰ since God is one. He will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.

1 Corinthians 12:12-13 (ESV)
¹² For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. ¹³ For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body— Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

Galatians 3:27-29 (ESV)
²⁷ For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. ²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹ And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.

Ephesians 2:11-22 (ESV)
¹¹ Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the un-circumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— ¹² remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. ¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. ¹⁴ For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility ¹⁵ by abolishing the law of commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, ¹⁶ and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. ¹⁷ And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. ¹⁸ For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. ¹⁹ So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, ²⁰ built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, ²¹ in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. ²² In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

Prophecy Series

Sunday PM, June 21, 2009

Genesis 49:1 (KJV)

And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.

Daniel 11:32-33 (KJV)

…but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits. [33] And they that understand among the people shall instruct many…

Prelude:

In the spirit of Jacob, I want to express to you what shall “befall you in the last days.”

In the spirit of Daniel, I want you to have the knowledge needed so that you can be strong and do exploits for God, instructing others!

4) When is Jesus coming back?

We know Jesus IS coming back; we’ve examined how and why He is coming back; can we really know when He is coming back?

Yes!

Now, let that answer sink in and let me explain…

Matthew 24:36 (King James Version)

But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

Matthew 24:42 (King James Version)

Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

Matthew 25:13 (King James Version)

Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

• So, how can I say “yes” when Jesus clearly states that He (the Father) is the only One that knows the day and hour?

2 Thessalonians 2:1-4 (KJV)

Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, [2] That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. [3] Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; [4] Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

• While we will not know the exact day and hour, we will know the season in which the Lord returns! Paul explains at least two things that MUST happen before the Lord returns.

• Jesus Himself plainly explained when He would come back:

Matthew 24:29-31 (KJV)

Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: [30] And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. [31] And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Mark 13:24-29 (KJV)

But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, [25] And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. [26] And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. [27] And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven. [28] Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near: [29] So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors.

Luke 21:25-28 (KJV)

And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; [26] Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. [27] And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. [28] And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.

• Three different Gospel writers included the words of Jesus which plainly tell us that AFTER the tribulation, THEN shall coming of the Lord Jesus be! However, pre-tribulation teachers and dispensationalists would have you believe that this is only the Jews as they are the “Elect” of God.

Matthew 24:31 (KJV)

And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Mark 13:27 (KJV)

And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.

• So, who are “His elect?”

• Elect is defined as, “chosen by God to obtain salvation through Christ.” (from Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, Electronic Database. Copyright © 2000, 2003, 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)

• Additionally, elect means, “the chosen race (1 Peter 2:9)” (from Greek-English Lexicon Based on Semantic Domain. Copyright © 1988 United Bible Societies, New York. Used by permission.)

• Notice the Scripture reference – 1 Peter 2:9 – that is a verse written to the Church in the Epistle of Peter and it is referring to the Gentiles who at one time were NOT a part of the Church of God:

1 Peter 2:9-10 (KJV)

But ye 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: [10] Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

• “Peculiar people” is a phrase that some misunderstand. It does NOT mean strange or weird, but rather it means, “A purchased possession.” The church is purchased…

Acts 20:28 (KJV)

Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.

1 Cor. 6:20 (KJV)

For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

• “His elect” refers to the Church, not just Jews and not just Gentiles. “Dispensational Teaching” is a damnable heresy and later in this sermon series I will prove that Biblically, but for now, let’s consider another verse that proves that there is ONE Church – His elect!

Ephes. 2:11-22 (KJV)

Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; [12] That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: [13] But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. [14] For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; [15] Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; [16] And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: [17] And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. [18] For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. [19] Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; [20] And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; [21] In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: [22] In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

• The Word of God is the final authority – His elect is the Church! “ELECT literally signifies picked out, chosen: to gather, to pick out” (from Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, Copyright © 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers.)

• Notice that part of the word Elect means “to gather.”
• Paul further speaks about when Jesus is coming back…

1 Thes. 5:1-11 (KJV)

But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. [2] For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. [3] For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. [4] But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. [5] Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. [6] Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. [7] For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. [8] But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. [9] For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, [10] Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. [11] Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.

• Some have jumped on verse 9 and feel they’ve got an “AH-HA” to present to me that I’m wrong…

1 Thessalonians 5:9 (King James Version)
For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ

• The Hebrews were experiencing the tribulation of man – the task masters and Pharaoh – who beat and enslaved them; however, when God brought Moses to deliver them, the Hebrews were protected from the plagues and were not adversely affected by them nor did they succumb to them.  Instead, God poured out the plagues, which perfectly parallel the judgments in the book of Revelation, upon the Egyptians only…

• Let’s compare the plagues upon Egypt to the Judgments in the Last Days:

• It should be noted that there are other comparisons also that are too coincidental to be coincidence.  For example: Pharaoh did not repent, even after the plagues had decimated his country and neither do those in the last days who serve the antichrist.

• The main point that I’m making is that God miraculously protected the Hebrews even while He was pouring out His wrath upon Egypt.

• The same will be true in the Last Days – while we may succumb to the persecution of man, we will not be overtaken by the wrath of God – we will be protected just as the Hebrews were in Goshen.

One of the strongest arguments of those who believe in pre-tribulation is, “Why would God beat up His bride and then take her home?”

• My reply is, “What about the rest of the years, decades, centuries, and eras of persecution that the WHOLE CHURCH has been through?  Are they not part of the bride too?”

• Do you know the difference between the wrath of man/Satan and the wrath of God?  The wrath of God is only contained in the seven vials, not the entirety of the tribulation period.  Furthermore, we’ve already shown how God can and did miraculously protect the Hebrews in Goshen; is God limited to only protecting them?  And what of Acts 1:8…

Acts 1:8 (King James Version)
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

• This verse is NOT about evangelism – while we are called to preach the gospel to the whole world, this verse is not a cross-reference to them.  So, what does “witness” mean?  It is the Greek word MARTUSS meaning, “a person who has been deprived of life as the result of bearing witness to his beliefs: martyr.” (from Greek-English Lexicon Based on Semantic Domain. Copyright © 1988 United Bible Societies, New York. Used by permission.)

• We are called to be martyr’s in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, AND UNTO THE UTTERMOST PART OF THE EARTH!  The Message Bible translates that phrase, “even to the ends of the world” and the English Standard Version translates it, “and to the end of the earth.”  This phrase indicates that up until the end of the world, martyrdom will be prevalent.  Revelation also bears this out in the passage concerning the first resurrection (rapture)…

Rev. 20:4 (KJV)

And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

We will be “changed” when He comes back, NOT an immediate disappearance… It’s not going to be a “secret.”

1 Cor. 15:51-52 (KJV)

Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, [52] 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.

• Some have believed that they will be resurrected (raptured) in the twinkling of an eye, but that is not what the Bible says – it says we shall all be changed in the twinkling of an eye.  This is parallel to the ascension of Jesus Christ…

Acts 1:9-11 (KJV)

And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. [10] And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; [11] 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.

• The disciples watched him ascend; it was not an immediate disappearance!  He will be returning “in the same way” and therefore, it’s NOT going to be an immediate event but one that every eye will see and behold.

• The resurrection of the “two witnesses” of Revelation also run parallel to this same type of slow ascension:

Rev. 11:11-12 (KJV)

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.

• We do not know the day or the hour of His coming, but we do know the season in which He will come.  We will know that His coming is nigh based on certain events.

• HOWEVER…this does not mean that we can be complacent.  Jesus rebuked laziness and the Bible clearly is against it!  We must work while it is yet day for the night comes when no one will be able to work.  We must keep our hands on the plow.  The Bible is replete with Scriptures to prove this point…

Matthew 24:45-51 (KJV)

Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? [46] Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. [47] Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods. [48] But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; [49] And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; [50] The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, [51] And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Luke 9:62 (KJV)

And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

1 Cor. 15:58 (KJV)

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

Supplemental Study of Post-Tribulation Eschatology

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Galatians 6:16 (English Standard Version)
And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.

Prelude:

Last week (June 10, 2009) I brought out some points on the subject of Pastor David’s study of Moses and the Israelites.

Exodus 12:43-49 (English Standard Version)
⁴³ And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the statute of the Passover: no foreigner shall eat of it, ⁴⁴ but every slave that is bought for money may eat of it after you have circumcised him. ⁴⁵ No foreigner or hired servant may eat of it. ⁴⁶ It shall be eaten in one house; you shall not take any of the flesh outside the house, and you shall not break any of its bones. ⁴⁷ All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. ⁴⁸ If a stranger shall sojourn with you and would keep the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised. Then he may come near and keep it; he shall be as a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person shall eat of it. ⁴⁹ There shall be one law for the native and for the stranger who sojourns among you.”

Ephesians 2:19-22 (New King James Version)
¹⁹ Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, ²⁰ having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone, ²¹ in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, ²² in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

Tonight, I want to pick up where we left off, and as well, this will help you to understand the direction of our Sunday night series on the Last Days.

1) Will God turn back to the Jews in the last days?

First, you need to understand that God didn’t TURN AWAY from the Jews: they rejected Him!

But, the rejection of Jesus Christ wasn’t the first time the Jews had turned away from God.

• In the wilderness, they turned away from God…

Psalms 78:41 (English Standard Version)
They tested God again and again and provoked the Holy One of Israel.

• They Jews rejected God as their king…

1 Samuel 8:7 (English Standard Version)
And the Lord said to Samuel, Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.

• Then we move to the NT where they once again rejected Him: this time as being their Lord and Christ – MESSIAH!

John 1:11 (English Standard Version)
He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.

Anyone today, INCLUDING A JEW, can be saved…

• If they repent of their sins and confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of the Living God…

• If they are buried with Him in baptism – the sign of the New Covenant – circumcision of the heart…

• And if they receive the gift of the Holy Ghost…

Don’t be caught in the trap of traditional thinking that says Jesus turned away from the Jews! That is a lie. The Bible says otherwise…

Luke 13:34 (English Standard Version)
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!

• It is evident in Jesus’ own words that He wanted His own (Jews) to be saved…

• Further proof that His own (Jews) can be saved, and that He didn’t turn away from them is also found in the Bible…

Acts 2:5 (English Standard Version)
Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven.

Acts 2:36 (English Standard Version)
Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.

• The first 120 to be “endued with power from on high” included the eleven remaining disciples and Jesus’ own mother – all Jews!

Acts 1:12-14 (English Standard Version)
¹² Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. ¹³ And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. ¹⁴ All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

• Jews were the first to receive the promise of the Holy Spirit and still today, Jews can and are being born again! Again, don’t be duped by the deception of false teaching!

2) Only a remnant of Israel will be saved:

A remnant of Israel is born again (born from above)…

Acts 2:36-41 (English Standard Version)
³⁶ Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” ³⁷ Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” ³⁸ And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹ For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” ⁴⁰ And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” ⁴¹ So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.

Notice verse 41 – “so those who received his word.” This implies that some did not receive his word. Of the total crowd, a remnant is born again, not the whole crowd!

This is in accordance with the whole counsel of God from the Old Testament throughout the New Testament…

Isaiah 10:20-23 (English Standard Version)
²⁰ In that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no more lean on him who struck them, but will lean on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. ²¹ A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God. ²² For though your people Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will return. Destruction is decreed, overflowing with righteousness. ²³ For the Lord God of hosts will make a full end, as decreed, in the midst of all the earth.

Paul refers to Isaiah’s prophecy…

Romans 9:27 (English Standard Version)
And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved,

National Israel (Jews) rejected Jesus Christ – or better said, rejected Jesus as their Christ! A decision to reject Jesus has eternal consequences:

John 8:24 (English Standard Version)
I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.

Paul explains to us what a “true Jew” is in the New Covenant:

Romans 2:28-29 (English Standard Version)
²⁸ For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. ²⁹ But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.

AGAIN, as stated before, anyone today, including Jews can be saved…

• If they repent of their sins and confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of the Living God…

• If they are buried with Him in baptism – the sign of the New Covenant – circumcision of the heart…

• And if they receive the gift of the Holy Ghost…

Don’t be caught in the trap of traditional thinking! God is not going to turn back to the Jews because He has never turned away from them!

3) What about the 144,000 in Revelation:

ONLY the Jews IN the Church are the TRUE JEWS! Those Jews in the righteous remnant of Israel are the true Jews, and the rest are frauds! Those Jews who are not in the Body of Christ are false Jews, deceivers, liars, and imposters, and the Bible further proves this…

Revelation 2:9 (English Standard Version)
I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.

Revelation 3:9 (English Standard Version)
Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet and they will learn that I have loved you.

This righteous remnant of national Israel began to come into the Church of Christ in Acts 2 as the first-fruits unto God and unto the Lamb. James addresses the twelve tribes IN the Church as first-fruits and these are captured in symbol as the 144,000 from the twelve tribes who were redeemed by Jesus…

James 1:1 (English Standard Version)
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings.

James 1:18 (English Standard Version)
Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

Revelation 7:4 (English Standard Version)
And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:

Revelation 14:1-5 (English Standard Version)
¹ Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. ² And I heard a voice from heaven like the roar of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps, ³ and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. ⁴ It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb, ⁵ and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless.

The dispensationalists erroneously place the 144,000 in the end time, therefore making them the “last-fruits.” But we’ve just seen in James that the remnant was called the “first-fruits.” When a doctrine does not line up to the Word of God, it is false! It is heresy! It is against God!

Peter preached to “all the house of Israel” in Acts 2:36 in one day, yet only about 3,000 of them were born again. This gives us a great picture of the remnant concept! The whole nation hears the message, but only a remnant of about 3,000 obey the message!

From Acts 2 and for several years, the Church consisted completely of righteous BORN AGAIN Israelites ONLY. There was not a single Gentile among them until Acts 10 – but even then, there is still not a single Gentile or Jew in the Church…

Galatians 3:27-29 (English Standard Version)
²⁷ For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. ²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹ And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.

Why do you think its called being “born again” in the first place? By being born again, you take on a new CITIZENSHIP – a holy one!

John 3:3 (Complete Jewish Bible)
“Yes, indeed,” Jesus answered him, “I tell you that unless a person is born again from above, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.”

Ephesians 2:11-22 (English Standard Version)
¹¹ Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— ¹² remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. ¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. ¹⁴ For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility ¹⁵ by abolishing the law of commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, ¹⁶ and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. ¹⁷ And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. ¹⁸ For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. ¹⁹ So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, ²⁰ built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, ²¹ in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. ²² In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

Colossians 1:21-23 (English Standard Version)
²¹ And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, ²² he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, ²³ if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

4) All the tribes will mourn:s

There is a very interesting passage in Matthew 24 that further speaks to our topic tonight:

Matthew 24:29-31 (English Standard Version)
²⁹ “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ³⁰ Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. ³¹ And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

After the tribulation…then will appear Jesus…

• Notice “when” Jesus appears = AFTER the tribulation…

AND then all the tribes will mourn…

• This is a reference to national Israel (Jews)…

• If Jesus is supposed to “turn back” to them, why are they mourning? Again, He will not turn back to them because He never turned away from them in the first place.

• The reason they will mourn is because they will realize they missed it and were duped by a “false Christ” – the Antichrist.

A loud trumpet call…gather His elect…

• This is called in 1 Corinthians 15 – “the last trumpet”; the “trump of God” in 1 Thessalonians 4; and the “seventh trumpet” in Revelation 10-11… The elect is a reference to the true Israel of God – the Church!

5) Can God’s Covenant be Broken?

Some say that God’s covenant with Israel is binding and thus proves that God will turn back to the Jews. They take the following Scripture to prove their point.

Psalms 72:5 (English Standard Version)
May they fear you while the sun endures, and as long as the moon, throughout all generations!

Psalms 72:17 (English Standard Version)
May his name endure forever, his fame continue as long as the sun! May people be blessed in him, all nations call him blessed!

Psalms 89:34-37 (English Standard Version)
³⁴ I will not violate my covenant or alter the word that went forth from my lips. ³⁵ Once for all I have sworn by my holiness; I will not lie to David. ³⁶ His offspring shall endure forever, his throne as long as the sun before me. ³⁷ Like the moon it shall be established forever, a faithful witness in the skies.” Selah

Jeremiah 33:19-22 (English Standard Version)
¹⁹ The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ²⁰ “Thus says the Lord: If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that day and night will not come at their appointed time, ²¹ then also my covenant with David my servant may be broken, so that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne, and my covenant with the Levitical priests my ministers. ²² As the host of heaven cannot be numbered and the sands of the sea cannot be measured, so I will multiply the offspring of David my servant, and the Levitical priests who minister to me.”

This is a reference to God’s covenant with Israel… BUT, don’t miss something in the text… something would nullify the covenant…

Psalms 72:5 (English Standard Version)
…while the sun endures…

Psalms 72:17 (English Standard Version)
…as long as the sun!…

Psalms 89:36 (English Standard Version)
…endure forever, his throne as long as the sun…

Jeremiah 33:20 (English Standard Version)

…so that day and night will not come at their appointed time…

So, we have to ask the question – was there a time when the sun stopped shining?  YES! There was a moment when the sun ceased to shine!

Luke 23:44-47 (English Standard Version)
⁴⁴ It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, ⁴⁵ while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. ⁴⁶ Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. ⁴⁷ Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent!”

The sun ceased to shine while Jesus hung on the cross. This broke the Old Covenant and allowed for the unveiling of the New Covenant!

Notice that while the sun stopped shining, the veil in the temple was turn in two signifying the END of the Old Covenant and the birth of the New Covenant!

Insurance companies add riders and clauses to the contract so that if you violate it, they are free from paying the claim. God realized that He can’t lie and so He added a “rider” to the covenant – if the sun doesn’t shine, then my covenant will be broken!

What happened on the cross for three hours was NOT just an eclipse, the darkness covered the whole land! Luke was inspired to say, “the sun’s light failed.” And it failed for three hours! From Noon until 3pm! The sun should have been at it’s peak during this time, but it failed in order that God could legally be out of the old covenant and make a new one!

Apex:

So, who is the Israel of God?

• Those who have been truly born again!

Is Jesus going to turn back to the Jews?

• NO! Because He has never turned away from them!

Who perpetrated the lie of Dispensational Teaching?

• Clarence Larkin – who also said that speaking in tongues was of the devil and believed in the trinity among other false doctrines.

• Why would a born again Apostolic believe something from someone who does not even have the Holy Spirit? In order to understand prophecy, you have to be led by the Spirit of God and if you don’t have the Holy Spirit then you cannot be led by the Holy Spirit.

2 Peter 1:20-21 (English Standard Version) knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. ²¹ For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:14 (English Standard Version) For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

Prophecy Series – Sunday PM, June 7, 2009

Genesis 49:1 (KJV)

And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.

Daniel 11:32-33 (KJV)

…but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits. [33] And they that understand among the people shall instruct many…

Prelude:

In the spirit of Jacob, I want to express to you what shall “befall you in the last days.”

In the spirit of Daniel, I want you to have the knowledge needed so that you can be strong and do exploits for God, instructing others!

1) Jesus IS coming again!

In our warped society where we are lied to and betrayed, you can know that God doesn’t lie – HE IS COMING AGAIN!!!!!!!

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 (King James Version)
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 together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. ¹⁸ Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

It is recorded all throughout the Bible and is worthy to be examined from the following Scriptures:

Philippians 3:20-21 (English Standard Version)
²⁰ But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, ²¹ who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

Colossians 3:2-4 (English Standard Version)
² Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. ³ For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

1 Thessalonians 3:12-13 (King James Version)
¹² And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you: ¹³ To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.

1 Peter 1:6-9 (King James Version)
⁶ Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: ⁷ That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: ⁸ Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: ⁹ Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

1 Peter 5:4 (King James Version)
And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.

1 John 3:2 (King James Version)
Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

Revelation 20:4-6 (King James Version)
⁴ And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. ⁵ But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. ⁶ Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

These Scriptures MORE than prove that Jesus is coming!  You have to understand this before we can move on to any other point in this message series!  His coming is our HOPE to endure in this present world…

Titus 2:13 (King James Version)
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

Just as faith is the prerequisite to being born again, it is also the key that unlocks the door to understanding the coming of the Lord.

Hebrews 11:6 (English Standard Version)
And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

The reward for diligently seeking the Lord and believing that He exists will be His glorious appearing!

Jesus spoke about “coming back” through His teaching of parables…

Matthew 24:44 (King James Version)
Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

Luke 12:37-38 (King James Version)
³⁷ Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. ³⁸ And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.

Luke 19:12-13 (King James Version)
¹² He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. ¹³ And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.

It’s been preached for years, but it’s still true and even truer now!  The day of the Lord is closer now than it was before!  Don’t be duped by the scoffers and mockers!

2 Peter 3:1-10 (English Standard Version)
¹ This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, ² that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, ³ knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. ⁴ They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” ⁵ For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, ⁶ and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. ⁷ But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. ⁸ But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. ⁹ The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. ¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.

2) How is Jesus coming back?

With a SHOUT (trumpets)…

1 Thessalonians 4:16 (King James Version)
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:

• This is important, because of the use of the word “trump” connecting it to another comparison in the last days – “trumpets.” John wrote Revelation and mentioned trumpets…

Revelation 8:2 (King James Version)
And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.

Revelation 8:6 (King James Version)
And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.

• Revelation, chapters eight and nine give explicit detail to the sounding of these trumpets.
• Bible scholars (and I) agree that the seventh trumpet is the “trump of God” that Paul wrote about in 1 Thessalonians.
• Further proof of this is found in another of Paul’s writings; this time to the in 1 Corinthians:

1 Corinthians 15:52 (King James Version)
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.

• The “last trump” in 1 Corinthians is the “trump of God” in 1 Thessalonians, and is the “seventh trumpet” in Revelation.
• So, where is the seventh angel with the seventh trumpet?

Revelation 10:1-8 (King James Version)
¹ And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire: ² And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth, ³ And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. ⁴ And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not. ⁵ And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, ⁶ And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer: ⁷ But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.

• Revelation 10 indicates a culmination of all things written (mystery of God) and the beginning of something new…

Revelation 21:1-8 (King James Version)
¹ 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. ² And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ³ 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. ⁴ 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. ⁵ And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. ⁶ And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. ⁷ He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. ⁸ But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

The 1^st Resurrection is the “rapture.”  The word “rapture” is not found in the Bible, but the phrase “First Resurrection” is.  What has been taught to be the “rapture” takes place at the first resurrection!

John 11:24 (King James Version)
Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.

Revelation 20:5-6 (King James Version)
⁵ But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. ⁶ Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

• The first resurrection is the “rapture!” Other passages refer to this event as well:

Luke 14:14 (English Standard Version)
and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.

John 5:28-29 (English Standard Version)
²⁸ Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice ²⁹ and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

Daniel 12:2 (English Standard Version)
And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

1 Corinthians 15:22 (English Standard Version)
For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.

• How is Jesus coming back?  VICTORIOUSLY with a SHOUT!  The sound of the trumpet will indicate our victory over death!

1 Corinthians 15:54-55 (King James Version)
⁵⁴ So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. ⁵⁵ O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

3) Why is Jesus coming back?

To establish His kingdom – the new heaven and new earth!

Revelation 11:14-19 (King James Version)
¹⁴ The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly. ¹⁵ And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. ¹⁶ And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, ¹⁷ Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. ¹⁸ And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth. ¹⁹ And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.

• Isaiah prophesied of the eternal kingdom of God:

Isaiah 9:6-7 (King James Version)
⁶ For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. ⁷ Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

• When the last trumpet sounds – we shall be resurrected to be with Him and reign with Him in His eternal kingdom!

Revelation 20:1-15 (King James Version)
¹ And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. ² And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, ³ And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. ⁴ And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. ⁵ But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. ⁶ Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. ⁷ And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, ⁸ And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. ⁹ And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. ¹⁰ And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. ¹¹ And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. ¹² And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. ¹³ And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. ¹⁴ And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. ¹⁵ And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

• The “second death” takes place at what is sometimes referred to as the “White Throne Judgment.”  Other passages also refer to this:

Matthew 25:33 (King James Version)

And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

Matthew 25:41 (King James Version)

Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

• Upon the reward of the just and the damnation of the wicked, we then become citizens of the new heaven and new earth.

Revelation 21:1-8 (King James Version)
¹ 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. ² And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ³ 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. ⁴ 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. ⁵ And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. ⁶ And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. ⁷ He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. ⁸ But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

• Revelation 21 is a beautiful picture of the COMPLETE CHURCH in her resurrected state!

The second reason Jesus is coming back is to conquer death!

1 Corinthians 15:51-58 (King James Version)
⁵¹ Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, ⁵² 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. ⁵³ For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. ⁵⁴ So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. ⁵⁵ O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? ⁵⁶ The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. ⁵⁷ But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁵⁸ Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

• Death is the ultimate enemy of God and will be the last enemy destroyed:

1 Corinthians 15:26 (King James Version)
The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

• What is so important about death and why is it such a defiant enemy of God?

• If you recall, in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.  In that garden, east of Eden, God made man and woman and created them as eternal beings!  Death did not have any hold on them… UNTIL the man disobeyed!

Romans 5:19 (King James Version)
For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

Romans 6:23 (King James Version)
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

• When Adam partook of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, death took hold on his life.
• Why do you think the devil was so afraid of Jesus rising from the dead?  The devil convinced the Pharisees to get Pilot to put Roman guards at the tomb!
• The devil realized the power of life that comes from resurrection!  When Jesus arose, He had conquered death, hell, and the grave!
• You and I too – soon and very soon – will rise from this mortal life to conquer death ALSO!!!!!!!

Romans 8:11 (English Standard Version)
If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

• Jesus is coming back to establish His kingdom and resurrect you, giving you eternal life!  Are you ready?