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Author
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Topic: The Messianic Kingdom Of Christ
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Carol Swenson
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Member # 6929
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The Apostles expected the Lord to return soon. Why has He waited for 2000 years?
One reason is to build His church.
One theme of Romans 11 is that, when the Jewish people rejected Christ, they were temporarily cut off from the blessings of a relationship with God. As a result, the gospel was given to the Gentiles, and they gladly received it. This partial hardening of heart for Israel doesn't preclude individual Jews from being saved, but it prevents the nation from accepting Christ as Messiah until His plans are finished.
A second reason is because of time.
One of the great secrets to Bible prophecy is the understanding of the prophetic nature of the Feasts of the LORD (known as the Jewish holy days). It appears that this key has been mostly unknown until around the turn of the century. But now you can find many, mostly Messianic teachers teaching it
If you are not already familiar with the concept, the basic idea is that the appointed times which God gave to Israel to keep were a prophetic "shadow of things to come" (Col 2:17). Or as Jesus said he came to fulfill the Law because "not one jot or tittle would pass from the Law until all are fulfilled" (Mt 5:17-18). Jesus did not fulfill all of it, just the Spring feasts (Passover, Feast of Unleavened Bread, Pentecost) and many other aspects. The Fall Feasts (Day of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, etc.) and other aspects are yet to be fulfilled.
While clearly many teachers grasp how the annual Spring and Fall feast days of Leviticus 23 are prophetic, few apply what Jesus and Paul taught about the Law (or Torah) to the sabbath day which is also found in Leviticus 23:
The Six-Then-One Rhythm of Torah
The Torah has several instructions relating to groups of six related days or years followed by a seventh that is distinct.
7-day Week: Leviticus 23:3 — Work may be done for six days, but on the seventh day there must be a Sabbath of complete rest, a sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; it is a Sabbath to the LORD wherever you live.
Sabbath Day Picture: Isaiah 58:13 — If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of GOD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
7 Day Creation Week: Exodus 20:8-11 — Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy:...11 For Yahweh made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and everything in them in six days; then He rested on the seventh day.
7 Year Slave Release: Exodus 21:2 — When you buy a Hebrew slave, he is to serve for six years; then in the seventh he is to leave as a free man without paying anything.
7 Year Land Sabbath: Exodus 23:10-11 — 10 Sow your land for six years and gather its produce. 11 But during the seventh year you are to let it rest and leave it uncultivated, so that the poor among your people may eat from it and the wild animals may consume what they leave. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.
These verses demonstrate a pattern of six days or years being for work or enslavement and then in the seventh day or year to rest or be set free. The picture of the Sabbath day goes beyond just rest from work to being a day to cease from self-interest and to honor God.
So what are the sabbath day and the six preceding days a prophecy of?
The Day-For-a-Year Principle
It's hard to answer that with any confidence from these verses alone. A few other key verses found in the OT and especially the NT shed light on how to look at the days prophetically:
Psalms 90:4 — For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.
2 Peter 3:8 — But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with GOD as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
These passages establish what is called the "day-for-a-year" principle. It means that when the Bible uses or refers to days, sometimes what is meant, at least on a prophetic level, is years.
This is seen most prominently in Daniel's "70 Weeks" prophecy (Dan 9:24-27). The common accepted understanding interprets the 70 weeks as not literally 490 days, but 490 years. The first 69 weeks of years predicted the timing of Jesus' first coming and the final or 70th week describes the seven years leading up to Jesus' Second Coming.
The implication of this is that besides the Sabbath day and Sabbath Year, there is also a Sabbath Millennium.
The Sabbath Millennium
This "Sabbath Millennium" concept may sound familiar. Most people are already familiar with Revelation's prophecy of the 1,000 year reign of Christ and his saints. It's taught in Revelation 20 where the phrase "1,000 years" is repeated seven times.
Rev 20:6—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 the Messiah, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
Revelation 19 shows that this 1,000 year period begins immediately following Jesus return as King to rule, accompanied by the resurrected/raptured and glorified OT and NT saints. This is a period distinct from the time before, known for peace and prosperity:
Isaiah 2:4 — He will settle disputes among the nations and provide arbitration for many peoples. They will turn their swords into plows and their spears into pruning knives. Nations will not take up the sword against other nations, and they will never again train for war.
Isaiah 11:9 — They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of GOD, as the waters cover the sea.
Revelation 20:2 — He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for 1,000 years.
You can see just from this sampling of verses how different the Sabbath Millennium is from today's world. It's in stark contrast to all the preceding millennia filled with deception, confusion, war, destruction and hurt. It fulfills the picture of the Sabbath day that we saw above.
If the Sabbath Millennium mirrors the Sabbath day, it follows that the preceding six work days likewise mirror six millennia of human history leading up to Jesus' return.
http://www.escapeallthesethings.com/6000-year-timeline.htm
Posts: 6787 | From: Colorado | Registered: Dec 2007
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Carol Swenson
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The Jews wanted so desperately to be freed from the Romans. They overlooked all the prophecies about the suffering of the Messiah, and focused only on the glorious Messiah King. Why didn’t the Messiah come to save them?
Matthew 5:20 (NASB)
For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
THE PURPOSES OF THE INCARNATION
To Reveal God to Us
Though God reveals Himself in various ways, including the magnificences of nature around us, only the Incarnation revealed the essence of God, though veiled (John 1:18; 14:7-11). The only way man can see the Father is to know about the Son, and the only way we can do that today is through studying the record of His life in the Scriptures. Because He became a man, the revelation of God was personalized; because He is God, that revelation is completely truthful.
To Provide an Example for Our Lives
The earthly life of our Lord is held up to us as a pattern for our living today (1 Pet. 2:21; 1 John 2:6). Without the Incarnation we would not have that example. As man He experienced the vicissitudes of life and furnishes for us an experienced example; as God He offers us the power to follow His example.
To Provide an Effective Sacrifice for Sin
Without the Incarnation we would have no Savior. Sin requires death for its payment. God does not die. So the Savior must be human in order to be able to die. But the death of an ordinary man would not pay for sin eternally, so the Savior must also be God. We must have a God-man Savior, and we do in our Lord (Heb. 10:1-10).
To Be Able to Fulfill the Davidic Covenant
Gabriel announced to Mary that her Son would be given the throne of David (Luke 1:31-33). This is not fulfilled by the invisible God reigning over the affairs of men (which He does, to be sure). To have an occupant of David’s throne requires a human being. Therefore, Messiah had to be a human being. But to occupy that throne forever requires that the occupant never die. And only God qualifies. So the One who ultimately fulfills the Davidic promise has to be a God-man.
To Destroy the Works of the Devil (1 John 3:8)
Notice that this was done by Christ’s appearing. The focus is on His coming, not on His resurrection as might be expected. Why was the Incarnation necessary to defeat Satan? Because Satan must be defeated in the arena he dominates, this world. So Christ was sent into this world to destroy Satan’s works.
To Be Able to Be a Sympathetic High Priest (Heb. 4:14-16)
Our High Priest can feel our weaknesses because He was tested as we are. But God is never tested, so it was necessary that God become man so that He could be tested in order to be a sympathetic Priest.
To Be Able to Be a Qualified Judge
Though most people think of God the Father as the Judge before whom all will appear, the truth is that Jesus will be that Judge (John 5:22, 27). All judgment will be executed by our Lord “because He is the Son of Man.” This is the title that links Him to the earth and to His earthly mission. Why is it necessary for the Judge to be human and to have lived on earth? So that He may put down all excuses people might try to make. Why must the Judge also be God? So that His judgment will be true and just.
Thus the Incarnation has ramifications in relation to our knowledge of God, to our salvation, to our daily living, to our pressing needs, and to the future. It truly is the central fact of history.
(Basic Theology: A Popular Systematic Guide to Understanding Biblical Truth)
Posts: 6787 | From: Colorado | Registered: Dec 2007
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Carol Swenson
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 THE MESSIANIC KINGDOM
In August of 2008 I posted “Jesus’ Mystery Kingdom” that states He came to establish a spiritual kingdom in the hearts of His people during His first advent. Yes, the fulfillment of the kingdom began as a tiny mustard seed, and the kingdom has been growing for 2000 years. And yes, the Holy Spirit establishes the kingdom of God in our hearts and we should be living by His kingdom’s spiritual values now, such as the Beatitudes.
But the church, the body of Christ, is only a part of the Messianic Kingdom, the Millennial Kingdom.
Our Lord knew all of the Old Testament prophecies about Himself, and more. He knew that He would be rejected, suffer, die, and be resurrected. He knew the Gentiles would be included in His kingdom (I have other sheep that are not of this fold). He knew about the resurrection of believers, He knew about the Tribulation, and He knew He would return in the future to establish the kingdom that God promised to Israel.
But what did He teach Israel during His earthly ministry?
Matthew 15:24, But He answered and said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
This is only a brief summary. To include all of the prophecies and verses would be too much.
God promised the people of Israel a Land, a King, and a Kingdom.
Their nation was to eventually become a nation of priests to bring salvation to the Gentile nations. In the Old Testament, it was no mystery that Israel would someday spread the Word of God to all nations. But, it was prophesied to be after the Messiah had come and set up His kingdom centered in Jerusalem. The people of Israel would then be sent to all nations to lead the Gentiles to their God in Jerusalem.
Exodus 19:6, and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel."
Zechariah 2:10-11, "Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion (Jerusalem): for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the LORD. And many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people ...."
The Messiah would also be the Redeemer of Israel.
Zechariah 13:1, "And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD" (Isaiah 59:20). "And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities" (Psalms 130:8). "In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness"
There are numerous prophecies about the birth of the Messiah. A few of them are
Isaiah 9:6-7, "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. 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."
Isaiah 7:14: Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
Micah 5:2: But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.
Hosea 11:1: When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.
There are numerous prophecies about the life and death of the Messiah.
Some interpreters place the number of Messianic prophecies in the hundreds. The following are those that are considered the clearest and most important.
Concerning Jesus' ministry and death—Zechariah 9:9: “Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Psalm 22:16-18: “Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.”
Likely the clearest prophecy about Jesus is the entire 53rd chapter of Isaiah. Isaiah 53:3-7 is especially unmistakable: “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.”
The “seventy sevens” prophecy in Daniel chapter 9 predicted the precise date that Jesus, the Messiah, would be “cut off.” Isaiah 50:6 accurately describes the beating that Jesus endured. Zechariah 12:10 predicts the “piercing” of the Messiah, which occurred after Jesus died on the cross. Many more examples could be provided, but these will suffice. The Old Testament most definitely prophesies the coming of Jesus as the Messiah.
During His earthly ministry, the Lord, John the Baptist, and the apostles taught about the kingdom.
The phrase “kingdom of God” appears 53 times in the New Testament Gospels, almost always on the lips of the Lord. The synonymous phrase, “kingdom of heaven,” appears 32 times in the Gospel of Matthew. Throughout the accounts of the Lord’s ministry, He is always talking about the kingdom of God. Many of His parables explain something about this kingdom: it is like mustard seed, a treasure, a merchant looking for pearls, and a king who gave a banquet (Matt 13:44-47; 22:2). The Lord even defines His purpose in light of the kingdom: “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other cities also; for I was sent for this purpose” (Luke 4:43).
John the Baptist preached the gospel of the kingdom, which was, "... Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 3:2). Mark 1:4 says that, "John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins." This shows that before the cross, the people of Israel could receive forgiveness of sins without even knowing that the Messiah would be put to death or would rise from the dead. John the Baptist preached and baptized with water in order to prepare Israel to receive the Messiah. "... that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water" (John 1:31).
Mark 1:14-15 records, "Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel." This gospel of the kingdom which Jesus Christ preached was same message that John the Baptist preached: "From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 4:17).
Matthew 9:35 says, "And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people." It had not yet been revealed that Jesus Christ would die and rise again, much less that He would give Himself as the sacrifice for our sins. So that was not part of the gospel which the twelve, John the Baptist, and Jesus Christ were preaching. Yet, they were still preaching the gospel of the kingdom.
Jesus Christ sent the twelve to preach only to Israel in Matthew 10:5-7, "These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand." The disciples were specifically told to go only to the people of Israel, and they were not preaching anything about the death, burial, and resurrection.
In John 11:27, Martha said, "... Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world." That is all that a Jew, living at that time, had to believe to be saved when the Holy Spirit came.
It is important to realize that the apostles during Christ's earthly ministry did not know that Jesus Christ would die and then rise from the dead.
In Matthew 16:15, Jesus Christ asked His disciples, "... whom say ye that I am?" Peter answered in verse 16, "... Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." Christ replies, "Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven." Now Peter had no clue that Jesus Christ would be crucified and resurrected. He only believed that Jesus was the Messiah. This is obvious when, only moments later, Peter rebukes Jesus Christ for saying he will "... be killed, and be raised again the third day" (Matthew 16:21). In verse 22, "... Peter took him and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from the, Lord: this shall not be unto thee."
In Luke 18:33, Jesus Christ, referring to himself as the Son of man says, "And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again." But even though he told them plainly, "... they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things that were spoken" (Luke 18:34).
Israel did not receive Him.
The Jews were expecting their Messiah to come and set up His kingdom. He would destroy the Romans and all the enemies of Israel. What the Jews did not know, was that not all of Israel would recognize or accept their Messiah, even though there are so many prophecies about Him. The leaders of Israel brought destruction to their nation by rejecting the Lord.
Matthew 21:43, "Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it.
Luke 20:17-18, But Jesus looked at them and said, “What then is this that is written:
‘THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED,
THIS BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER STONE’?
“Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.”
John 5:43, "I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, you will receive him.
Luke 13:34-35, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it! “Behold, your house is left to you desolate; and I say to you, you will not see Me until the time comes when you say, ‘BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!’”
Even after the resurrection of the Lord, His apostles were still thinking about the Messianic Kingdom.
Acts 1:6-8, So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
Acts 2: 22-24, 36 “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know—this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. “But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.
“Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.”
Acts 3:17-26, “And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers did also. “But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. “Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time. “Moses said, ‘THE LORD GOD WILL RAISE UP FOR YOU A PROPHET LIKE ME FROM YOUR BRETHREN; TO HIM YOU SHALL GIVE HEED to everything He says to you. ‘And it will be that every soul that does not heed that prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’ “And likewise, all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and his successors onward, also announced these days. “It is you who are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘AND IN YOUR SEED ALL THE FAMILIES OF THE EARTH SHALL BE BLESSED.’ “For you first, God raised up His Servant and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways.”
The mystery revealed to Paul, who was once a Pharisee, is that God accepted the Gentiles as equals , without the law of Moses, when Israel rejected their Messiah.
Romans 3:21-22, “But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe”
Ephesians 3:4-7, By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel, of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of His power.
Romans 11:7-8, What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened;
just as it is written,
“GOD GAVE THEM A SPIRIT OF STUPOR,
EYES TO SEE NOT AND EARS TO HEAR NOT,
DOWN TO THIS VERY DAY.”
1 Peter 2:9, But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
Romans 9:30-33, What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith; but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone,
just as it is written,
“BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE,
AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.”
Romans 11:17-21, If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but tremble. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.
This dispensation of grace, sometimes called the "church age", will end at the rapture.
God will resume the kingdom program with Israel. God will honor the promises He made after Israel has been purified by the Tribulation.
The Bible teaches that the tribulation is a time of preparation for Israel's restoration and conversion (Deut. 4:29-30; Jer. 30:3-11; Zech. 12:10).1 While the church will experience tribulation in general during this present age (John 15:18-25; 16:33; 2 Tim. 3:10-13), she is never mentioned as participating in Israel's time of trouble, which includes the Great Tribulation, the Day of the Lord, and the Wrath of God. Gerald Stanton explains:
The Tribulation does not deal with the Church at all, but with the purification of Israel. It is not the "time of the Church's trouble," but the "time of Jacob's trouble." The emphasis of the Tribulation is primarily Jewish. This fact is borne out by Old Testament Scriptures (Deut. 4: 30; Jer. 30: 7; Ezek. 20: 37; Dan. 12:1; Zech. 13:8-9), by the Olivet Discourse of Christ (Matt. 24:9-26), and by the book of Revelation itself (Rev. 7:4-8; 12:1-2; 17, etc.).
It concerns "Daniel's people," the coming of "false Messiah," the preaching of the "gospel of the kingdom," flight on the "sabbath," the temple and the "holy place," the land of Judea, the city of Jerusalem, the twelve "tribes of the children of Israel," the "son of Moses," "signs" in the heavens, the "covenant" with the Beast, the "sanctuary," the "sacrifice and the oblation" of the temple ritual. These all speak of Israel and clearly demonstrate that the Tribulation is largely a time when God deals with His ancient people prior to their entrance into the promised kingdom. The many Old Testament prophecies yet to be fulfilled for Israel further indicate a future time when God will deal with this nation (Deut. 30:1-6; Jer. 30:8-10, etc.).2
Isaiah 10:22, Though your people be like the sand by the sea, Israel, only a remnant will return. Destruction has been decreed, overwhelming and righteous.
At the end of the Tribulation the Lord will return to establish the Messianic Kingdom.
Matthew 24:29-30, "But 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 the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. "And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory.
Revelation 1:7, BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.
Zechariah 12:10, "And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.
The Lord taught Israel about God the Father, about their Messiah and about His kingdom. Not a spiritual kingdom, but the Messianic Kingdom that is founded on spiritual principles.
Mark 14:60-64, The high priest stood up and came forward and questioned Jesus, saying, “Do You not answer? What is it that these men are testifying against You?” But He kept silent and did not answer. Again the high priest was questioning Him, and saying to Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” And Jesus said, “I am; and you shall see THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF POWER, and COMING WITH THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN.” Tearing his clothes, the high priest said, “What further need do we have of witnesses? “You have heard the blasphemy; how does it seem to you?” And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death.
They rejected Him because He was not what they expected. They thought the Messiah would destroy the Romans and glorify their nation; instead their nation was destroyed and the Gentiles were raised up.
Today Israel is preparing for the coming of their Messiah, still not accepting that He has already come in the person of Jesus Christ. Without realizing it, they are actually preparing for the Antichrist, and the Tribulation that will purify them.
Posts: 6787 | From: Colorado | Registered: Dec 2007
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